109 research outputs found
Anticipating the response of excitable systems driven by random forcing
We study the regime of anticipated synchronization in unidirectionally
coupled model neurons subject to a common external aperiodic forcing that makes
their behavior unpredictable. We show numerically and by implementation in
analog hardware electronic circuits that, under appropriate coupling
conditions, the pulses fired by the slave neuron anticipate (i.e. predict) the
pulses fired by the master neuron. This anticipated synchronization occurs even
when the common external forcing is white noise.Comment: 12 pages (RevTex format
Characterization of the anticipated synchronization regime in the coupled FitzHugh--Nagumo model for neurons
We characterize numerically the regime of anticipated synchronization in the
coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo model for neurons. We consider two neurons, coupled
unidirectionally (in a master-slave configuration), subject to the same random
external forcing and with a recurrent inhibitory delayed connection in the
slave neuron. We show that the scheme leads to anticipated synchronization, a
regime in which the slave neuron fires the same train of pulses as the master
neuron, but earlier in time. We characterize the synchronization in the
parameter space (coupling strength, anticipation time) and introduce several
quantities to measure the degree of synchronization.Comment: 8 pages. Proceedings of the conference on "Stochastic Systems: From
Randomness to"Complexit
Approach to predictability via anticipated ynchronization
8 pages.-- PACS nrs.: 05.45.Xt, 95.10.Fh, 87.18.Sn.Predictability of chaotic systems is limited, besides the precision of the knowledge of the initial conditions, by the error of the models used to extract the nonlinear dynamics from the time series. In this paper we analyze the predictions obtained from the anticipated synchronization scheme using a chain of slave neural network approximate replicas of the master system. We compare the maximum prediction horizons obtained with those attainable using standard prediction techniques.This work was partially supported by MCyT (Spain) and FEDER (EU) Project Nos. REN2000-1572, FIS2004-5073-C04-03, FIS2004-953, TIC2002-04255-C04-01 and the ANPCyT (Argentina) Project No. PICT03-000000-00988.Peer reviewe
Approach to predictability via anticipated synchronization
Predictability of chaotic systems is limited, in addition to the precision of the knowledge of the initial conditions, by the error of the models used to extract the nonlinear dynamics from the time series. In this paper, we analyze the predictions obtained from the anticipated synchronization scheme using a chain of slave neural network approximate replicas of the master system. We compare the maximum prediction horizons obtained with those attainable using standard prediction techniques
Ultra-high resolution X-ray structures of two forms of human recombinant insulin at 100 K
The crystal structure of a commercially available form of human recombinant (HR) insulin, Insugen (I), used in the treatment of diabetes has been determined to 0.92 Å resolution using low temperature, 100 K, synchrotron X-ray data collected at 16,000 keV (λ = 0.77 Å). Refinement carried out with anisotropic displacement parameters, removal of main-chain stereochemical restraints, inclusion of H atoms in calculated positions, and 220 water molecules, converged to a final value of R = 0.1112 and Rfree = 0.1466. The structure includes what is thought to be an ordered propanol molecule (POL) only in chain D(4) and a solvated acetate molecule (ACT) coordinated to the Zn atom only in chain B(2). Possible origins and consequences of the propanol and acetate molecules are discussed. Three types of amino acid representation in the electron density are examined in detail: (i) sharp with very clearly resolved features; (ii) well resolved but clearly divided into two conformations which are well behaved in the refinement, both having high quality geometry; (iii) poor density and difficult or impossible to model. An example of type (ii) is observed for the intra-chain disulphide bridge in chain C(3) between Sγ6–Sγ11 which has two clear conformations with relative refined occupancies of 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. In contrast the corresponding S–S bridge in chain A(1) shows one clearly defined conformation. A molecular dynamics study has provided a rational explanation of this difference between chains A and C. More generally, differences in the electron density features between corresponding residues in chains A and C and chains B and D is a common observation in the Insugen (I) structure and these effects are discussed in detail. The crystal structure, also at 0.92 Å and 100 K, of a second commercially available form of human recombinant insulin, Intergen (II), deposited in the Protein Data Bank as 3W7Y which remains otherwise unpublished is compared here with the Insugen (I) structure. In the Intergen (II) structure there is no solvated propanol or acetate molecule. The electron density of Intergen (II), however, does also exhibit the three types of amino acid representations as in Insugen (I). These effects do not necessarily correspond between chains A and C or chains B and D in Intergen (II), or between corresponding residues in Insugen (I).
The results of this comparison are reported
Cross-talk between high light stress and plant defence to the two-spotted spider mite in Arabidopsis thaliana
Little is known about how plants deal with arthropod herbivores under the fluctuating light intensity and spectra which occur in natural environments. Moreover, the role of simultaneous stress such as excess light (EL) in the regulation of plant responses to herbivores is poorly characterized. In the current study, we focused on a mite-herbivore, specifically, the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), which is one of the major agricultural pests worldwide. Our results showed that TSSM-induced leaf damage (visualized by trypan blue staining) and oviposition rate (measured as daily female fecundity) decreased after EL pre-treatment in wild-type Arabidopsis plants, but the observed responses were not wavelength specific. Thus, we established that EL pre-treatment reduced Arabidopsis susceptibility to TSSM infestation. Due to the fact that a portion of EL energy is dissipated by plants as heat in the mechanism known as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll fluorescence, we tested an Arabidopsis npq4-1 mutant impaired in NPQ. We showed that npq4-1 plants are significantly less susceptible to TSSM feeding activity, and this result was not dependent on light pre-treatment. Therefore, our findings strongly support the role of light in plant defence against TSSM, pointing to a key role for a photo-protective mechanism such as NPQ in this regulation. We hypothesize that plants impaired in NPQ are constantly primed to mite attack, as this seems to be a universal evolutionarily conserved mechanism for herbivores
- …