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Morphological dynamics of bilayer membrane is intrinsically coupled to the translational and orientational localization of membrane proteins. In this paper we are concerned with the orientational localization of membrane proteins in the absence of protein interaction and correlation. Entropic energy depending on the angular distribution function and the curvature energy depending on the principal curvature vectors are introduced to assemble an energy functional for the coupled system. Application of the Onsager's variational principle gives rise to a generalized Smoluchowskii equation governing the temporal and angular variations of the protein orientation. We prove the existence of the stationary solution of the equation as fixed points of a continuous nonlinear nonlocal map, and for biologically relevant conditions we obtain the uniqueness of the solution. To approximate the stationary solution in the Fourier space we construct an efficient numerical method that reduces the expansion and relates the coefficients to the modified Bessel functions of the first kind. Existence and uniqueness of the numerical solution are justified for biologically relevant conditions.

Structure, function and dynamics of many biomolecular systems can be characterized by the energetic variational principle and the corresponding systems of partial differential equations (PDEs). This principle allows us to focus on the identification of essential energetic components, the optimal parametrization of energies, and the efficient computational implementation of energy variation or minimization. Given the fact that complex biomolecular systems are structurally non-uniform and their interactions occur through contact interfaces, their free energies are associated with various interfaces as well, such as solute-solvent interface, molecular binding interface, lipid domain interface, and membrane surfaces. This fact motivates the inclusion of interface geometry, particular its curvatures, to the parametrization of free energies. Applications of such interface geometry based energetic variational principles are illustrated through three concrete topics: the multiscale modeling of biomolecular electrostatics and solvation that includes the curvature energy of the molecular surface, the formation of microdomains on lipid membrane due to the geometric and molecular mechanics at the lipid interface, and the mean curvature driven protein localization on membrane surfaces. By further implicitly representing the interface using a phase field function over the entire domain, one can simulate the dynamics of the interface and the corresponding energy variation by evolving the phase field function, achieving significant reduction of the number of degrees of freedom and computational complexity. Strategies for improving the efficiency of computational implementations and for extending applications to coarse-graining or multiscale molecular simulations are outlined., 36 pages

Morphological change of bilayer membrane in vivo is not a spontaneous procedure but modulated by various types of proteins in general. Most of these modulations are associated with the localization of related proteins in the crowded lipid environment in bilayer membrane. This work presents an mathematical model for the localization of multiple species of diffusion molecules on membrane surfaces. We start with the energetic description of the distributions of molecules on curved membrane surface, by assembling the bending energy of bilayer membrane and the entropic energy of diffusive molecules. We introduce the spontaneous curvature of molecules in membrane, and define the spontaneous curvature of bilayer membrane as a function of the molecule concentrations on membrane surfaces. This connection gives rise to a drift-diffusion equation to govern the gradient flows of the surface molecule concentrations. We recast the energetic formulation and the related governing equations in the Eulerian framework by using a phase field function that defines the membrane morphology. Computational simulations with the proposed mathematical model and related numerical techniques predict the molecular localization on membrane surfaces at locations with preferred mean curvature.

Linear elastic fracture mechanics admit analytic solutions that have low regularity at crack tips. Current numerical methods for partial differential equations (PDEs) of this type suffer from the constraint of such low regularity, and fail to deliver optimal high order rate of convergence. We approach the problem by (i) choosing an artificial interface to enclose the center of the low regularity; and (ii) representing the solution in the interior of artificial interface as unknown linear combination of known modes of low regular solutions. This gives rise to an interface formulation of the original PDE, and the linear combination are represented the interface conditions. By enforcing the smooth component of numerical solution in the interior domain to be approximately zero, a least square problem is obtained for the unknown coefficients. The solution of this least square problem will provide approximate interface conditions for the numerical solution of the PDE in the exterior domain. The potential of our interface formulation is favorably demonstrated by numerical experiments on 1-D and 2-D Poisson equations with low regular solutions. High order numerical solutions of unknown coefficients and PDEs are obtained. This proves the potential of the proposed interface formulation as the theoretical basis for solving linear elastic fracture mechanics problems. We indicate the relations between our interface formulation and domain decomposition methods as well as a regularization strategy for the Poisson-Boltzmann equation with singular charge density., Comment: 16 pages

Lipid vesicles appear ubiquitously in biological systems. Understanding how the mechanical and intermolecular interations deform vesicle membrane is a fundamental question in biophysics. In this article we developed a fast algorithm to compute the surface configurations of lipid vesicles by introducing the surface harmonic functions to approximate the surfaces. This parameterization of the surfaces allows an analytical computation of the membrane curvature energy and its gradient for the efficient minimization of the curvature energy using a nonlinear conjugate gradient method. Our approach drastically reduces the degrees of freedom for approximating the membrane surfaces compared to the previously developed finite element and finite difference methods. Vesicle deformations with a reduced volume larger than 0.65 can be well approximated by using as small as 49 surface harmonic functions. The method thus has a great potential to reduce the computational expense of tracking multiple vesicles which deform for their interaction with external fields.

Simulating protein-membrane interactions is an important and dynamic area of research. A proper definition of electrostatic forces on membrane surfaces is necessary for developing electromechanical models of protein-membrane interactions. Here we modeled the bilayer membrane as a continuum with general continuous distributions of lipids charges on membrane surfaces. A new electrostatic potential energy functional was then defined for this solvated protein-membrane system. We investigated the geometrical transformation properties of the membrane surfaces under a smooth velocity field. These properties allows us to apply the Hadamard-Zolesio structure theorem, and the electrostatic forces on membrane surfaces can be computed as the shape derivative of the electrostatic energy functional.

The surface of a molecule determines much of its chemical and physical property, and is of great interest and importance. In this Letter, we introduce the concept of molecular multiresolution surfaces as a new paradigm of multiscale biological modeling. Molecular multiresolution surfaces contain not only a family of molecular surfaces, corresponding to different probe radii, but also the solvent accessible surface and van der Waals surface as limiting cases. All the proposed surfaces are generated by a novel approach, the diffusion map of continuum solvent over the van der Waals surface of a molecule. A new local spectral evolution kernel is introduced for the numerical integration of the diffusion equation in a single time step., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

A class of high-order lowpass filters, the discrete singular convolution (DSC) filters, is utilized to facilitate the Fourier pseudospectral method for the solution of hyperbolic conservation law systems. The DSC filters are implemented directly in the Fourier domain (i.e., windowed Fourier pseudospectral method), while a physical domain algorithm is also given to enable the treatment of some special boundary conditions. By adjusting the effective wavenumber region of the DSC filter, the Gibbs oscillations can be removed effectively while the high resolution feature of the spectral method can be retained. The utility and effectiveness of the present approach is validated by extensive numerical experiments., Comment: 41 pages

This paper explores the potential of a newly developed conjugate filter oscillation reduction (CFOR) scheme for shock-capturing under the influence of natural high-frequency oscillations. The conjugate low-pass and high-pass filters are constructed based on the principle of the discrete singular convolution. Two Euler systems, the advection of an isentropy vortex flow and the interaction of shock-entropy wave are considered to demonstrate the utility of the CFOR scheme. Computational accuracy and order of approximation are examined and compared with the literature. Some of the best numerical results are obtained for the shock-entropy wave interaction. Numerical experiments indicate that the proposed scheme is stable, conservative and reliable for the numerical simulation of hyperbolic conservation laws., Comment: 25 pages,3 figures

This paper proposes a Hermite-kernel realization of the conjugate filter oscillation reduction (CFOR) scheme for the simulation of fluid flows. The Hermite kernel is constructed by using the discrete singular convolution (DSC) algorithm, which provides a systematic generation of low-pass filter and its conjugate high-pass filters. The high-pass filters are utilized for approximating spatial derivatives in solving flow equations, while the conjugate low-pass filter is activated to eliminate spurious oscillations accumulated during the time evolution of a flow. As both low-pass and high-pass filters are derived from the Hermite kernel, they have similar regularity, time-frequency localization, effective frequency band and compact support. Fourier analysis indicates that the CFOR-Hermite scheme yields a nearly optimal resolution and has a better approximation to the ideal low-pass filter than previously CFOR schemes. Thus, it has better potential for resolving natural high frequency oscillations from a shock. Extensive one- and two-dimensional numerical examples, including both incompressible and compressible flows, with or without shocks, are employed to explore the utility, test the resolution, and examine the stability of the present CFOR-Hermite scheme. Extremely small ratio of point-per-wavelength (PPW) is achieved in solving the Taylor problem, advancing a wavepacket and resolving a shock/entropy wave interaction. The present results for the advection of an isentropic vortex compare very favorably to those in the literature., Comment: 37 pages, 7 figures

This article 'Overwintering ability of Dongxiang wild rice in Wuhan district, China' appeared in the International Rice Research Notes series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and rice-based systems. The series is a mechanism to help scientists keep each other informed of current rice research findings. The concise scientific notes are meant to encourage rice scientists to communicate with one another to obtain details on the research reported.