RESUMEN
Cross-linking between the constituent chains of biopolymers has a marked effect on their materials' properties. In certain of these materials, such as fibrillar collagen, increases in cross-linking lead to an increase in the melting temperature. Fibrillar collagen is an axially-ordered network of cross-linked polymer chains exhibiting a broadened denaturation transition, which has been explained in terms of the successive denaturation with temperature of multiple species. We model axially-ordered, cross-linked materials as stiff chains with distinct arrangements of cross-link-forming sites. Simulations suggest that systems composed of chains with identical arrangements of cross-link-forming sites exhibit critical behavior. In contrast, systems composed of non-identical chains undergo a crossover. This model suggests that the arrangement of cross-link-forming sites may contribute to the broadening of the denaturation transition in fibrillar collagen.
Asunto(s)
Modelos Moleculares , Polímeros/química , Sitios de Unión , Colágenos Fibrilares/química , Modelos Químicos , Conformación Molecular , Método de Montecarlo , TemperaturaRESUMEN
Axons in the neurohypophysis are known for their "beads on a string" morphology, with numerous in-line secretory swellings lined up along the axon cable. A significant fraction of these secretory swellings, called Herring bodies, is large enough to serve as an identifying feature of the neural lobe in histological sections. Little is known about the physiological role such large axonal swellings might play in neuroendocrine physiology. Using numerical simulations, we have investigated whether large in-line varicosities affect the waveform and propagation of action potentials (APs) along neurohypophysial axons. Due to the strong nonlinear dependence of calcium influx on AP waveforms, such modulation would inevitably affect neuroendocrine release. The parameters for our numerical simulations were matched to established properties of voltage-gated ion channels in neurohypophysial swellings. We find that even a single in-line varicosity can severely depress AP waveforms far upstream in the axonal cable. In contrast, AP depolarization within varicosities becomes amplified. Amplification within varicosities varies in a nontrivial manner with varicosity dimensions, and is most pronounced for diameters close to those of Herring bodies. Overall, we find that large axonal varicosities significantly modulate AP waveforms and their propagation, and do so over large distances. Varicosity size is the main determinant for the observed AP amplification, with the kinetics of voltage-gated ion channels playing a noticeable but secondary role. Our results imply that large varicosities are sites of enhanced hormone release, suggesting that small and large varicosities target different neurohypophysial structures.
Asunto(s)
Potenciales de Acción/fisiología , Simulación por Computador , Neurohipófisis/fisiología , Animales , Axones/fisiología , Humanos , Modelos Teóricos , Neurohipófisis/citologíaRESUMEN
This work examines a simple one-dimensional acoustic band gap system made from a diameter-modulated waveguide. Experimental and theoretical results are presented on perfectly periodic waveguide arrays showing the presence of band gaps--frequency intervals in which the transmission of sound is forbidden. The introduction of defects in the perfect periodicity leads to narrow frequency transmission bands--defect states--within the forbidden band gaps. The circular cross-section waveguide system is straightforward to simulate theoretically and experimental results demonstrate good agreement with theory. The experimental transmission of the periodic waveguide arrays is measured using an impulse response technique.