Sensing inhomogeneous mechanical properties of human corneal Descemet's membrane with AFM nano-indentation.

The paper describes a highly space-resolved characterization of the surface mechanical properties of the posterior human corneal layer (Descemet's membrane). This has been accomplished with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) nano-indentation by using a probe with a sharp tip geometry. Results indicate that the contact with this biological tissue in liquid occurs with no (or very low) adhesion.

Strength of anisotropy in a granular material: Linear versus nonlinear contact model.

In this paper, we deal with anisotropy in an idealized granular material made of a collection of frictional, elastic, contacting particles. We present a theoretical analysis for an aggregate of particles isotropically compressed and then sheared, in which two possible contacts laws between particles are considered: a linear contact law, where the contact stiffness is constant; and a nonlinear contact law, where the contact stiffness depends on the overlapping between particles. In the former case the anisotropy observed in the aggregate is associated with particle arrangement.

Role of dextran in maintaining adhesive and stiffness properties of prestripped DMEK lenticules.

Purpose: To investigate the adhesive and stiffness properties of prestripped Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) lenticules in different preservation conditions (with and without dextran).

Methods: The study included 3 conditions: (C1) tissues collected from tissue culture media (TCM), stripped and preserved in TCM; (C2) tissues collected from transport media (TM) (TCM supplemented with 6% dextran T-500), stripped and preserved in TM; and (C3) tissues collected from TCM, stripped and preserved in TM. Using a hinge, 9.

Publisher's Note: Loading-unloading hysteresis loop of randomly rough adhesive contacts [Phys. Rev. E 92, 062404 (2015)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.92.

Loading-unloading hysteresis loop of randomly rough adhesive contacts.

We investigate the loading and unloading behavior of soft solids in adhesive contact with randomly rough profiles. The roughness is assumed to be described by a self-affine fractal on a limited range of wave vectors. A spectral method is exploited to generate such randomly rough surfaces.