Suspensions of self-propelled particles are studied in the framework of two-dimensional (2D) Stokesean hydrodynamics. A formula is obtained for the effective viscosity of such suspensions in the limit of small concentrations. This formula includes the two terms that are found in the 2D version of Einsteins classical result for passive suspensions. To this, the main result of the paper is added, an additional term due to self-propulsion which depends on the physical and geometric properties of the active suspension. This term explains the experimental observation of a decrease in effective viscosity in active suspensions.
This work is devoted to the definition and the analysis of the effective viscosity associated with a random suspension of small rigid particles in a steady Stokes fluid. While previous works on the topic have been conveniently assuming that particles are uniformly separated, we relax this restrictive assumption in form of mild moment bounds on interparticle distances.
During the initiation stage of protein synthesis, a ribosomal initiation complex (IC) is assembled on a messenger RNA (mRNA) template. In bacteria, the speed and accuracy of this assembly process are regulated by the complementary activities of three essential initiation factors (IFs). Selection of an authentic N-formylmethionyl-transfer RNA (fMet-tRNAtextsuperscript{fMet}) and the canonical, triplet-nucleotide mRNA start codon are crucial events during assembly of a canonical, ribosomal 70S IC. Mis-initiation due to the aberrant selection of an elongator tRNA or a non-canonical start codon are rare events that result in the assembly of a pseudo 70S IC or a non-canonical 70S IC, respectively. Here, we have developed a theoretical model for the stochastic kinetics of canonical-, pseudo-, and non-canonical 70S IC assembly that includes all of the major steps of the IC assembly process that have been observed and characterized in ensemble kinetic-, single-molecule kinetic-, and structural studies of the fidelity of translation initiation. Specifically, we use the rates of the individual steps in the IC assembly process and the formalism of first-passage times to derive exact analytical expressions for the probability distributions for the assembly of canonical-, pseudo- and non-canonical 70S ICs. In order to illustrate the power of this analytical approach, we compare the theoretically predicted first-passage time distributions with the corresponding computer simulation data. We also compare the mean times required for completion of these assemblies with experimental estimates. In addition to generating new, testable hypotheses, our theoretical model can also be easily extended as new experimental 70S IC assembly data become available, thereby providing a versatile tool for interpreting these data and developing advanced models of the mechanism and regulation of translation initiation.
Biofilms are communities of bacteria adhered to surfaces. Recently, biofilms of rod-shaped bacteria were observed at single-cell resolution and shown to develop from a disordered, two-dimensional layer of founder cells into a three-dimensional structure with a vertically-aligned core. Here, we elucidate the physical mechanism underpinning this transition using a combination of agent-based and continuum modeling. We find that verticalization proceeds through a series of localized mechanical instabilities on the cellular scale. For short cells, these instabilities are primarily triggered by cell division, whereas long cells are more likely to be peeled off the surface by nearby vertical cells, creating an inverse domino effect. The interplay between cell growth and cell verticalization gives rise to an exotic mechanical state in which the effective surface pressure becomes constant throughout the growing core of the biofilm surface layer. This dynamical isobaricity determines the expansion speed of a biofilm cluster and thereby governs how cells access the third dimension. In particular, theory predicts that a longer average cell length yields more rapidly expanding, flatter biofilms. We experimentally show that such changes in biofilm development occur by exploiting chemicals that modulate cell length.
We report effective hole mass ($m^{*}$) measurements through analyzing the temperature dependence of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in dilute (density $p sim 7 times 10^{10}$ cm$^{-2}$, $r_{s} sim 6$) two-dimensional (2D) hole systems confined to a 20 nm-wide, (311)A GaAs quantum well. The holes in this system occupy two nearly-degenerate spin subbands whose $m^{*}$ we measure to be $sim $ 0.2 (in units of the free electron mass). Despite the relatively large $r_{s}$ in our 2D system, the measured $m^{*}$ is in good agreement with the results of our energy band calculations which do not take interactions into account. We hen apply a sufficiently strong parallel magnetic field to fully depopulate one of the spin subbands, and measure $m^{*}$ for the populated subband. We find that this latter $m^{*}$ is surprisingly close to the $m^{*}$ we measure in the absence of the parallel field. We also deduce the spin susceptibility of the 2D hole system from the depopulation field, and conclude that the susceptibility is enhanced by about 50% relative to the value expected from the band calculations.
Active matter such as swarming bacteria and motile colloids exhibits exotic properties different from conventional equilibrium materials. Among these properties, the enhanced diffusion of tracer particles is generally deemed as a hallmark of active matter. Here, rather than spherical tracers, we investigate the diffusion of isolated ellipsoids in quasi-two-dimensional bacterial bath. Our study reveals a nonlinear enhancement of both translational and rotational diffusions. More importantly, we uncover an anomalous coupling between translation and rotation that is strictly prohibited in the classic Brownian diffusion. Combining experiments with theoretical modeling, we show that such an anomaly arises from generic stretching flows induced by swimming bacteria. Our work illustrates a universal organizing principle of active matter and sheds new light on fundamental transport processes in microbiological systems.
Brian M. Haines
,Igor S. Aranson
,Leonid Berlyand
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(2008)
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"Effective Viscosity of Dilute Bacterial Suspensions: A Two-Dimensional Model"
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Brian Haines
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