The bulk mechanical properties of tissues are highly tuned to the physiological loads they experience and reflect the hierarchical structure and mechanical properties of their constituent parts. A thorough understanding of the processes involved in tissue adaptation is required to develop multi-scale computational models of tissue remodelling. While extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling is partly due to the changing cellular metabolic activity, there may also be mechanically directed changes in ECM nano/microscale organization which lead to mechanical tuning. The thermal and enzymatic stability of collagen, which is the principal load-bearing biopolymer in vertebrates, have been shown to be enhanced by force suggesting that collagen has an active role in ECM mechanical properties. Here, we ask how changes in the mechanical properties of a collagen-based material are reflected by alterations in the micro/nanoscale collagen network following cyclic loading. Surprisingly, we observed significantly higher tensile stiffness and ultimate tensile strength, roughly analogous to the effect of work hardening, in the absence of network realignment and alterations to the fibril area fraction. The data suggest that mechanical loading induces stabilizing changes internal to the fibrils themselves or in the fibril-fibril interactions. If such a cell-independent strengthening effect is operational in vivo, then it would be an important consideration in any multiscale computational approach to ECM growth and remodelling.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2015.0088 | DOI Listing |
Adv Mater
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
With increasing concern about the environmental pollution of petrochemical plastics, people are constantly exploring environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative materials. Compared with petrochemical materials, cellulose has overwhelming superiority in terms of mechanical properties, thermal properties, cost, and biodegradability. However, the flammability of cellulose hinders its practical application to a certain extent, so improving the fire-retardant properties of cellulose nanofiber-based materials has become a research focus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Methods
January 2025
Steele Laboratories, Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
The physical microenvironment plays a crucial role in tumor development, progression, metastasis and treatment. Recently, we proposed four physical hallmarks of cancer, with distinct origins and consequences, to characterize abnormalities in the physical tumor microenvironment: (1) elevated compressive-tensile solid stresses, (2) elevated interstitial fluid pressure and the resulting interstitial fluid flow, (3) altered material properties (for example, increased tissue stiffness) and (4) altered physical micro-architecture. As this emerging field of physical oncology is being advanced by tumor biologists, cell and developmental biologists, engineers, physicists and oncologists, there is a critical need for model systems and measurement tools to mechanistically probe these physical hallmarks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
College of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu, China.
The synergistic utilization of multiple solid waste is an effective means of achieving green filling and resource utilization of solid waste in mines. In this paper, the synergistic effects of solid waste granulated blast furnace slag (GS) and carbide slag (CS) as cementitious materials (GCCM) are investigated, along with their preliminary feasibility in combination with coal gangue (CG) and furnace bottom slag (FBS) for the preparation of backfill materials. The synergistic hydration mechanism, mechanical properties, working performance of GCCM and GBC were studied, and the environmental impact and cost-effectiveness of GBC were evaluated.
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January 2025
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VŠB -Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, 708 00, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic.
Three types of commercial austenitic stainless steels, 1.4307 (AISI 304 L), 1.4404 (AISI 316 L) 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Renewable Energy Research Group, Isfahan, Iran.
The performance of nanofluids is largely determined by their thermophysical properties. Optimizing these properties can significantly enhance nanofluid performance. This study introduces a hybrid strategy based on computational intelligence to determine the optimal conditions for ternary hybrid nanofluids.
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