The effect of the electric field on the conformational properties of the protein 1BBL was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Our simulation results clearly capture the structural transitions of the protein sample from helix to turn or random coil conformation induced by the increasing strength of the electric field. During our analysis, we found that the conformational stability is weakened, and the protein sample is stretched as an unfolded structure when it was exposed in a sufficiently high electric field. The characteristic time when the jump occurs in the time evolution curves of root mean square deviation (RMSD) and radius of gyration R_g decreases with increasing electric strength, which demonstrates the rapidly conformational transition that occurs. The number of intra-protein hydrogen bonds, which is the key factor for stabilizing the protein structure, is related to the overall size of the protein. The value of the dipole moment and characteristic time are both influenced by the strength, but are independent of the direction of the external field. The protein sample becomes rotated with the electric field direction. These conclusions provide a theoretical realization of understanding the protein conformational transition in an electric field and the guidance for anticipative applications.

Treelike structures abound in natural as well as man-made transport systems, which have fascinated multidisciplinary researchers to study the transport phenomena and properties and understand the transport mechanisms of treelike structures for decades. The fluid flow and heat transfer in treelike networks have received an increasing attention over the past decade as the highly efficient transport processes observed in natural treelike structures can provide useful hints for optimal solutions to many engineering and industrial problems. This review paper attempts to present the background and research progress made in recent years on the transport phenomenon in treelike networks as well as technological applications of treelike structures. The subtopics included are optimization of branching structures, scaling laws of treelike networks, and transport properties for laminar flow, turbulent flow, heat conduction, and heat convection in treelike networks. Analytical expressions for the effective transport properties have been derived based on deterministic treelike networks, and the effect of branching parameters on the transport properties of treelike networks has also been discussed. Furthermore, numerical simulation results for treelike microchannel networks are presented as well. The proposed transport properties may be beneficial to understand the transport mechanisms of branching structures and promote the applications of treelike networks in engineering and industry.