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In this paper, we derive a dynamic surface elasticity model for the two-dimensional midsurface of a thin, three-dimensional, homogeneous, isotropic, nonlinear gradient elastic plate of thickness ℎ. The resulting model is parameterized by five, conceivably measurable, physical properties of the plate, and the stored surface energy reduces to Koiter’s plate energy in a singular limiting case. The model corrects a theoretical issue found in wave propagation in thin sheets and, when combined with the author’s theory of Green elastic bodies possessing gradient elastic material boundary surfaces, removes the singularities present in fracture within traditional/classical models. Our approach diverges from previous research on thin shells and plates, which primarily concentrated on deriving elasticity theories for material surfaces from classical three-dimensional Green elasticity. This work is the first in rigorously developing a surface elasticity model based on a parent nonlinear gradient elasticity theory.
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Allosteric interactions in a birod model of DNA
Allosteric interactions between molecules bound to DNA at distant locations have been known for a long time. The phenomenon has been studied via experiments and numerical simulations, but a comprehensive understanding grounded in a theory of DNA elasticity remains a challenge. Here, we quantify allosteric interactions between two entities bound to DNA by using the theory of birods. We recognize that molecules bound to DNA cause local deformations that can be captured in a birod model which consists of two elastic strands interacting via an elastic web representing the basepairs. We show that the displacement field caused by bound entities decays exponentially with distance from the binding site. We compute the interaction energy between two proteins on DNA as a function of distance between them and find that it decays exponentially while oscillating with the periodicity of the double helix, in excellent agreement with experiments. The decay length of the interaction energy can be determined in terms of the mechanical properties of the strands and the webbing in our birod model, and it varies with the GC content of the DNA. Our model provides a framework for viewing allosteric interactions in DNA within the ambit of configurational forces of continuum elasticity.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1662101
- PAR ID:
- 10095554
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and physical sciences
- Volume:
- 474
- ISSN:
- 0080-4630
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 20180136
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2018.0136
