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Block-and-hole polyhedra can be derived from a bar-joint triangulation of a polyhedron by a stepwise construction: select a set of non-overlapping disks defined by edge-cycles of the triangulation of length at least 4; then modify the interior of each disk by an addition or deletion operation on vertices and edges so that it becomes either a rigid block or a hole. The construction has a body-hinge analogue. Models of many classical objects such as the Sarrus linkage can be modelled by block-and-hole polyhedra. Symmetry extensions of counting rules for mobility (the balance of mechanisms and states of self-stress) are obtained for the bar-joint and body-hinge models. The extended rules detect mechanisms in many cases where pure counting would predict an isostatic framework. Relations between structures where blocks and holes are swapped have a simple form. Examples illustrate the finer classification of isostatic and near-isostatic block-and-hole polyhedra achievable by using symmetry. The present approach also explains a puzzle in standard models of mobility. In the bar-joint model, a fully triangulated polyhedron is isostatic, but in a body-hinge version, it is heavily overconstrained. When the bodies are panels with hinge lines intersecting at vertices, the overconstraints can be explained in local mechanical terms, with a direct symmetry description. A generalisation of the symmetry formula explains the extra states of self-stress in panel-hinge models of block-and-hole polyhedra.

A class of over-braced but typically flexible body-hinge frameworks is described. They are based on polyhedra with rigid faces where an independent subset of faces has been replaced by a set of holes. The contact polyhedron C describing the bodies (vertices of C) and their connecting joints (edges of C) is derived by subdivision of the edges of an underlying cubic polyhedron. Symmetry calculations detect flexibility not revealed by counting alone. A generic symmetry-extended version of the Grübler-Kutzbach mobility counting rule accounts for the net mobilities of infinite families of this type (based on subdivisions of prisms, wedges, barrels, and some general inflations of a parent polyhedron). The prisms with all faces even and all barrels are found to generate flexible perforated polyhedra under the subdivision construction. The investigation was inspired by a question raised by Walter Whiteley about a perforated polyhedron with a unique mechanism reducing octahedral to tetrahedral symmetry. It turns out that the perforated polyhedron with highest (Oh) point-group symmetry based on subdivision of the cube is mechanically equivalent to the Hoberman Switch-Pitch toy. Both objects exhibit an exactly similar mechanism that preserves Td subgroup symmetry over a finite range; this mechanism survives in two variants suggested by Bob Connelly and Barbara Heys that have the same contact graph, but lower initial maximum symmetry.

Mechanics has an important role during morphogenesis, both in the generation of forces driving cell shape changes and in determining the effective material properties of cells and tissues. Drosophila dorsal closure has emerged as a reference model system for investigating the interplay between tissue mechanics and cellular activity. During dorsal closure, the amnioserosa generates one of the major forces that drive closure through the apical contraction of its constituent cells. We combined quantitation of live data, genetic and mechanical perturbation and cell biology, to investigate how mechanical properties and contraction rate emerge from cytoskeletal activity. We found that a decrease in Myosin phosphorylation induces a fluidization of amnioserosa cells which become more compliant. Conversely, an increase in Myosin phosphorylation and an increase in actin linear polymerization induce a solidification of cells. Contrary to expectation, these two perturbations have an opposite effect on the strain rate of cells during DC. While an increase in actin polymerization increases the contraction rate of amnioserosa cells, an increase in Myosin phosphorylation gives rise to cells that contract very slowly. The quantification of how the perturbation induced by laser ablation decays throughout the tissue revealed that the tissue in these two mutant backgrounds reacts very differently. We suggest that the differences in the strain rate of cells in situations where Myosin activity or actin polymerization is increased arise from changes in how the contractile forces are transmitted and coordinated across the tissue through ECadherin-mediated adhesion. Altogether, our results show that there is an optimal level of Myosin activity to generate efficient contraction and suggest that the architecture of the actin cytoskeleton and the dynamics of adhesion complexes are important parameters for the emergence of coordinated activity throughout the tissue.

In a symmetry-regular bar-and-joint framework of given point-group symmetry, all bars and joints occupy general positions with respect to the symmetry elements. The symmetry-extended form of Maxwell’s Rule is applied to this simplest type of framework and is used to derive counts within irreducible representations for infinitesimal mechanisms and states of self stress. In particular, conditions are given for symmetry-regular frameworks to have at least one infinitesimal mechanism (respectively, state of self stress) within each irreducible representation of the point group of the framework. Similar conditions are found for symmetry-regular body-and-joint frameworks.

Mechanics has an important role during morphogenesis, both in the generation of forces driving cell shape changes and in determining the effective material properties of cells and tissues. Drosophila dorsal closure has emerged as a reference model system for investigating the interplay between tissue mechanics and cellular activity. During dorsal closure, the amnioserosa generates one of the major forces that drive closure through the apical contraction of its constituent cells. We combined quantitation of live data, genetic and mechanical perturbation and cell biology, to investigate how mechanical properties and contraction rate emerge from cytoskeletal activity. We found that a decrease in Myosin phosphorylation induces a fluidization of amnioserosa cells which become more compliant. Conversely, an increase in Myosin phosphorylation and an increase in actin linear polymerization induce a solidification of cells. Contrary to expectation, these two perturbations have an opposite effect on the strain rate of cells during DC. While an increase in actin polymerization increases the contraction rate of amnioserosa cells, an increase in Myosin phosphorylation gives rise to cells that contract very slowly. The quantification of how the perturbation induced by laser ablation decays throughout the tissue revealed that the tissue in these two mutant backgrounds reacts very differently. We suggest that the differences in the strain rate of cells in situations where Myosin activity or actin polymerization is increased arise from changes in how the contractile forces are transmitted and coordinated across the tissue through ECadherin-mediated adhesion. Altogether, our results show that there is an optimal level of Myosin activity to generate efficient contraction and suggest that the architecture of the actin cytoskeleton and the dynamics of adhesion complexes are important parameters for the emergence of coordinated activity throughout the tissue.

Body-bar frameworks provide a special class of frameworks which are well understood generically, with a full combinatorial theory for rigidity. Given a symmetric body-bar framework, this paper exploits group representation theory to provide necessary conditions for rigidity in the form of very simply stated restrictions on the numbers of those structural components that are unshifted by the symmetry operations of the framework. We give some initial results, and conjectures, for when these conditions are also sufficient for rigidity.

p. 2328-2336, By introducing a 'local' texture to thin-walled sheets, the 'global' mechanical properties of the sheets can be favourably modified. In this paper we explore the intriguing mechanical properties of Folded Textured Sheets, by way of two examples. The fold patterns allow the sheets to undergo large deformations, as well as change their global Gaussian curvature without stretching the material. Furthermore, both example sheets share the remarkable property that their Poisson's ratio under bending is of opposite sign to that under extension. The properties of the sheets were studied using a simple numerical model, where the folded sheets are represented by a pin-jointed framework; this captures the key deformation modes.

Maxwell’s rule from 1864 gives a necessary condition for a framework to be isostatic in 2D or in 3D. Given a framework with point group symmetry, group representation theory is exploited to provide further necessary conditions. This paper shows how, for an isostatic framework, these conditions imply very simply stated restrictions on the numbers of those structural components that are unshifted by the symmetry operations of the framework. In particular, it turns out that an isostatic framework in 2D can belong to one of only six point groups. Some conjectures and initial results are presented that would give sufficient conditions (in both 2D and 3D) for a framework that is realized generically for a given symmetry group to be an isostatic framework.

p. 1767-1779, Forming surface features in a shell, and combining this 'texture' with prestress, can lead to a range of distinctive multistable properties. This paper is concerned with describing the structural properties of shell surfaces where local indentation and corrugation are used to replace the isotropic behaviour of the shell, and studies the possibilities of using these shells as morphing and multistable structures. By taking advantage of the anisotropic properties of the textured shell structure and further prestressing the shell, a range of interesting multistable properties can be achieved. This study investigates the properties of a particular example of a textured shell surface using experimental and computational techniques. Remarkably, these results shown that dimpled textured shells can achieve an effective Poisson's ratio in bending of close to -1, providing interesting insights into the remarkable multistable properties that textured shell surfaces can achieve.