2,136 research outputs found
The auxiliary region method: A hybrid method for coupling PDE- and Brownian-based dynamics for reaction-diffusion systems
Reaction-diffusion systems are used to represent many biological and physical
phenomena. They model the random motion of particles (diffusion) and
interactions between them (reactions). Such systems can be modelled at multiple
scales with varying degrees of accuracy and computational efficiency. When
representing genuinely multiscale phenomena, fine-scale models can be
prohibitively expensive, whereas coarser models, although cheaper, often lack
sufficient detail to accurately represent the phenomenon at hand. Spatial
hybrid methods couple two or more of these representations in order to improve
efficiency without compromising accuracy.
In this paper, we present a novel spatial hybrid method, which we call the
auxiliary region method (ARM), which couples PDE and Brownian-based
representations of reaction-diffusion systems. Numerical PDE solutions on one
side of an interface are coupled to Brownian-based dynamics on the other side
using compartment-based "auxiliary regions". We demonstrate that the hybrid
method is able to simulate reaction-diffusion dynamics for a number of
different test problems with high accuracy. Further, we undertake error
analysis on the ARM which demonstrates that it is robust to changes in the free
parameters in the model, where previous coupling algorithms are not. In
particular, we envisage that the method will be applicable for a wide range of
spatial multi-scales problems including, filopodial dynamics, intracellular
signalling, embryogenesis and travelling wave phenomena.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figures, 2 table
The pseudo-compartment method for coupling PDE and compartment-based models of diffusion
Spatial reaction-diffusion models have been employed to describe many
emergent phenomena in biological systems. The modelling technique most commonly
adopted in the literature implements systems of partial differential equations
(PDEs), which assumes there are sufficient densities of particles that a
continuum approximation is valid. However, due to recent advances in
computational power, the simulation, and therefore postulation, of
computationally intensive individual-based models has become a popular way to
investigate the effects of noise in reaction-diffusion systems in which regions
of low copy numbers exist.
The stochastic models with which we shall be concerned in this manuscript are
referred to as `compartment-based'. These models are characterised by a
discretisation of the computational domain into a grid/lattice of
`compartments'. Within each compartment particles are assumed to be well-mixed
and are permitted to react with other particles within their compartment or to
transfer between neighbouring compartments.
We develop two hybrid algorithms in which a PDE is coupled to a
compartment-based model. Rather than attempting to balance average fluxes, our
algorithms answer a more fundamental question: `how are individual particles
transported between the vastly different model descriptions?' First, we present
an algorithm derived by carefully re-defining the continuous PDE concentration
as a probability distribution. Whilst this first algorithm shows strong
convergence to analytic solutions of test problems, it can be cumbersome to
simulate. Our second algorithm is a simplified and more efficient
implementation of the first, it is derived in the continuum limit over the PDE
region alone. We test our hybrid methods for functionality and accuracy in a
variety of different scenarios by comparing the averaged simulations to
analytic solutions of PDEs for mean concentrations.Comment: MAIN - 24 pages, 10 figures, 1 supplementary file - 3 pages, 2
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Mathematical Modelling of Turning Delays in Swarm Robotics
We investigate the effect of turning delays on the behaviour of groups of
differential wheeled robots and show that the group-level behaviour can be
described by a transport equation with a suitably incorporated delay. The
results of our mathematical analysis are supported by numerical simulations and
experiments with e-puck robots. The experimental quantity we compare to our
revised model is the mean time for robots to find the target area in an unknown
environment. The transport equation with delay better predicts the mean time to
find the target than the standard transport equation without delay.Comment: Submitted to the IMA Journal of Applied Mathematic
Refining self-propelled particle models for collective behaviour
Swarming, schooling, flocking and herding are all names given to the wide variety of collective behaviours exhibited by groups of animals, bacteria and even individual cells. More generally, the term swarming describes the behaviour of an aggregate of agents (not necessarily biological) of similar size and shape which exhibit some emergent property such as directed migration or group cohesion. In this paper we review various individual-based models of collective behaviour and discuss their merits and drawbacks. We further analyse some one-dimensional models in the context of locust swarming. In specific models, in both one and two dimensions, we demonstrate how varying the parameters relating to how much attention individuals pay to their neighbours can dramatically change the behaviour of the group. We also introduce leader individuals to these models with the ability to guide the swarm to a greater or lesser degree as we vary the parameters of the model. We consider evolutionary scenarios for models with leaders in which individuals are allowed to evolve the degree of influence neighbouring individuals have on their subsequent motion
The NHS is facing the bleakest midwinter
With the NHS caught in a vicious cycle of connected pressures, we are heading for a very bleak midwinter, say Christina Pagel and Christian A Yates
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