抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Phd by thesis

Molecular self-assembly is the spontaneous association of molecules under equilibrium conditions into stable, structurally well-defined aggregates joined by noncovalent bonds. Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in biological systems and underlies the formation of a wide variety of complex biological structures. Understanding self-assembly and the associated noncovalent interactions that connect complementary interacting molecular surfaces in biological aggregates is a central concern in structural biochemistry. Self-assembly is also emerging as a new strategy in chemical synthesis, with the potential of generating nonbiological structures with dimensions of 1 to 10(2) nanometers (with molecular weights of 10(4) to 10(10) daltons). Structures in the upper part of this range of sizes are presently inaccessible through chemical synthesis, and the ability to prepare them would open a route to structures comparable in size (and perhaps complementary in function) to those that can be prepared by microlithography and other techniques of microfabrication.

Molecular self-assembly and nanochemistry: A chemical strategy for the synthesis of nanostructures

Shape-morphing systems can be found in many areas, including smart textiles, autonomous robotics, biomedical devices, drug delivery and tissue engineering. The natural analogues of such systems are exemplified by nastic plant motions, where a variety of organs such as tendrils, bracts, leaves and flowers respond to environmental stimuli (such as humidity, light or touch) by varying internal turgor, which leads to dynamic conformations governed by the tissue composition and microstructural anisotropy of cell walls. Inspired by these botanical systems, we printed composite hydrogel architectures that are encoded with localized, anisotropic swelling behaviour controlled by the alignment of cellulose fibrils along prescribed four-dimensional printing pathways. When combined with a minimal theoretical framework that allows us to solve the inverse problem of designing the alignment patterns for prescribed target shapes, we can programmably fabricate plant-inspired architectures that change shape on immersion in water, yielding complex three-dimensional morphologies.

/pdf/biomimetic-4d-printing-27deareeqd.pdf

Biomimetic 4D printing

Morphological instabilities and surface wrinkling of soft materials such as gels and biological tissues are of growing interest to a number of academic disciplines including soft lithography, metrology, flexible electronics, and biomedical engineering. In this paper, we review some of the recent progresses in experimental and theoretical investigations of instabilities that lead to the emergence and evolution of surface wrinkling, folding and creasing under various geometrical constraints (e.g., thin films, sheets, fibers, particles, tubes, cavities, vesicles and capsules) and loading stimuli (e.g., mechanical forces, growth, atrophy, swelling, shrinkage, van der Waals interactions). Some representative theoretical and numerical approaches aimed at modelling the onset of instabilities as well as the postbuckling evolution involving multiple bifurcations and symmetry-breakings are discussed along with the main characteristics and some possible applications of this rich phenomenon.

Mechanics of morphological instabilities and surface wrinkling in soft materials: a review

Programmable shape-shifting materials can take different physical forms to achieve multifunctionality in a dynamic and controllable manner. Although morphing a shape from 2D to 3D via programmed inhomogeneous local deformations has been demonstrated in various ways, the inverse problem—finding how to program a sheet in order for it to take an arbitrary desired 3D shape—is much harder yet critical to realize specific functions. Here, we address this inverse problem in thin liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) sheets, where the shape is preprogrammed by precise and local control of the molecular orientation of the liquid crystal monomers. We show how blueprints for arbitrary surface geometries can be generated using approximate numerical methods and how local extrinsic curvatures can be generated to assist in properly converting these geometries into shapes. Backed by faithfully alignable and rapidly lockable LCE chemistry, we precisely embed our designs in LCE sheets using advanced top-down microfabrication techniques. We thus successfully produce flat sheets that, upon thermal activation, take an arbitrary desired shape, such as a face. The general design principles presented here for creating an arbitrary 3D shape will allow for exploration of unmet needs in flexible electronics, metamaterials, aerospace and medical devices, and more.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/115/28/7206.full.pdf

Universal inverse design of surfaces with thin nematic elastomer sheets.

A thin sheet of nematic elastomer attains 3D configurations depending on the nematic director field upon heating. In this Letter, we describe the intrinsic geometry of such a sheet and derive an expression for the metric induced by general nematic director fields. Furthermore, we investigate the reverse problem of constructing a director field that induces a specified 2D geometry. We provide an explicit recipe for how to construct any surface of revolution using this method. Finally, we show that by inscribing a director field gradient across the sheet's thickness, one can obtain a nontrivial hyperbolic reference curvature tensor, which together with the prescription of a reference metric allows dictation of actual configurations for a thin sheet of nematic elastomer.

/pdf/geometry-of-thin-nematic-elastomer-sheets-420sypyov6.pdf

Geometry of Thin Nematic Elastomer Sheets

We provide a geometric-mechanical model for calculating equilibrium configurations of chemical systems that self-assemble into chiral ribbon structures. The model is based on incompatible elasticity and uses dimensionless parameters to determine the equilibrium configurations. As such, it provides universal curves for the shape and energy of self-assembled ribbons. We provide quantitative predictions for the twisted-to-helical transition, which was observed experimentally in many systems, and demonstrate it with synthetic ribbons made of responsive gels. In addition, we predict the bi-stability of wide ribbons and also show how geometrical frustration can cause arrest of ribbon widening. Finally, we show that the model's predictions provide explanations for experimental observations in different chemical systems.

Shape selection in chiral ribbons: from seed pods to supramolecular assemblies

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR16/MWS_MAR16-2015-002984.pdf

We present a limiting model for thin non-Euclidean elastic rods. Originating from the three-dimensional (3D) reference metric of the rod, which is determined by its internal material structure, we derive a 1D reduced rod theory. Specifically, we show how the spontaneous twist and curvature of a rod emerge from the reference metric derivatives. Thus, the model allows calculating the unconstrained equilibrium configuration of a thin rod directly from its internal structure. The model is applied to the study of cells from members of the Geraniaceae plant family and their configurational response to dehydration. We show how the geometrical arrangement of cellulose fibrils on the cell walls determines the helical shapes of isolated cells.

/pdf/emergence-of-spontaneous-twist-and-curvature-in-non-3562i1iu2c.pdf

Hillel Aharoni

Papers

Universal inverse design of surfaces with thin nematic elastomer sheets.

Geometry of Thin Nematic Elastomer Sheets

Shape selection in chiral ribbons: from seed pods to supramolecular assemblies

Geometry of Thin Nematic Elastomer Sheets

Emergence of Spontaneous Twist and Curvature in Non-Euclidean Rods: Application to Erodium Plant Cells