274 research outputs found
Competing Patterns of Signaling Activity in Dictyostelium discoideum
Quantitative experiments are described on spatio-temporal patterns of
coherent chemical signaling activity in populations of {\it Dictyostelium
discoideum} amoebae. We observe competition between spontaneously firing
centers and rotating spiral waves that depends strongly on the overall cell
density. At low densities, no complete spirals appear and chemotactic
aggregation is driven by periodic concentric waves, whereas at high densities
the firing centers seen at early times nucleate and are apparently entrained by
spiral waves whose cores ultimately serve as aggregation centers. Possible
mechanisms for these observations are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX, 4 ps figures, accepted in PR
Quasiperiodic Patterns in Boundary-Modulated Excitable Waves
We investigate the impact of the domain shape on wave propagation in
excitable media. Channelled domains with sinusoidal boundaries are considered.
Trains of fronts generated periodically at an extreme of the channel are found
to adopt a quasiperiodic spatial configuration stroboscopically frozen in time.
The phenomenon is studied in a model for the photo-sensitive
Belousov-Zabotinsky reaction, but we give a theoretical derivation of the
spatial return maps prescribing the height and position of the successive
fronts that is valid for arbitrary excitable reaction-diffusion systems.Comment: 4 pages (figures included
Analytical, Optimal, and Sparse Optimal Control of Traveling Wave Solutions to Reaction-Diffusion Systems
This work deals with the position control of selected patterns in
reaction-diffusion systems. Exemplarily, the Schl\"{o}gl and FitzHugh-Nagumo
model are discussed using three different approaches. First, an analytical
solution is proposed. Second, the standard optimal control procedure is
applied. The third approach extends standard optimal control to so-called
sparse optimal control that results in very localized control signals and
allows the analysis of second order optimality conditions.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
Order Parameter Equations for Front Transitions: Planar and Circular Fronts
Near a parity breaking front bifurcation, small perturbations may reverse the
propagation direction of fronts. Often this results in nonsteady asymptotic
motion such as breathing and domain breakup. Exploiting the time scale
differences of an activator-inhibitor model and the proximity to the front
bifurcation, we derive equations of motion for planar and circular fronts. The
equations involve a translational degree of freedom and an order parameter
describing transitions between left and right propagating fronts.
Perturbations, such as a space dependent advective field or uniform curvature
(axisymmetric spots), couple these two degrees of freedom. In both cases this
leads to a transition from stationary to oscillating fronts as the parity
breaking bifurcation is approached. For axisymmetric spots, two additional
dynamic behaviors are found: rebound and collapse.Comment: 9 pages. Aric Hagberg: http://t7.lanl.gov/People/Aric/; Ehud Meron:
http://www.bgu.ac.il/BIDR/research/staff/meron.htm
Scroll waves in isotropic excitable media : linear instabilities, bifurcations and restabilized states
Scroll waves are three-dimensional analogs of spiral waves. The linear
stability spectrum of untwisted and twisted scroll waves is computed for a
two-variable reaction-diffusion model of an excitable medium. Different bands
of modes are seen to be unstable in different regions of parameter space. The
corresponding bifurcations and bifurcated states are characterized by
performing direct numerical simulations. In addition, computations of the
adjoint linear stability operator eigenmodes are also performed and serve to
obtain a number of matrix elements characterizing the long-wavelength
deformations of scroll waves.Comment: 30 pages 16 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Підвищення якості проведення аудиторних занять шляхом автоматизації методів контролю засвоєння матеріалу студентами
Electroosmotic flow reversal outside glass nanopores.
We report observations of a striking reversal in the direction of electroosmotic flow (EOF) outside a conical glass nanopore as a function of salt concentration. At high ionic strengths (>100 mM), we observe EOF in the expected direction as predicted by classical electrokinetic theory, while at low salt concentrations (<1 mM) the direction of the flow is reversed. The critical crossover salt concentration depends on the pore diameter. Finite-element simulations indicate a competition between the EOF generated from the inner and outer walls of the pore, which drives flows in opposite directions. We have developed a simple analytical model which reveals that, as the salt concentration is reduced, the flow rates inside the pore are geometrically constrained, whereas there is no such limit for flows outside the pore. This model captures all of the essential physics of the system and explains the observed data, highlighting the key role the external environment plays in determining the overall electroosmotic behavior
Transverse electric field dragging of DNA in a nanochannel
Nanopore analysis is an emerging single-molecule strategy for non-optical and high-throughput DNA sequencing, the principle of which is based on identification of each constituent nucleobase by measuring trans-membrane ionic current blockade or transverse tunnelling current as it moves through the pore. A crucial issue for nanopore sequencing is the fact that DNA translocates a nanopore too fast for addressing sequence with a single base resolution. Here we report that a transverse electric field can be used to slow down the translocation. We find 400-fold decrease in the DNA translocation speed by adding a transverse field of 10 mV/nm in a gold-electrode-embedded silicon dioxide channel. The retarded flow allowed us to map the local folding pattern in individual DNA from trans-pore ionic current profiles. This field dragging approach may provide a new way to control the polynucleotide translocation kinetics
Engendering harm: a critique of sex selection for 'family balancing'
The most benign rationale for sex-selection is deemed to be “family balancing.” On this view, provided the sex-distribution of an existing offspring group is “unbalanced,” one may legitimately use reproductive technologies to select the sex of the next child. I present four novel concerns with granting “family balancing” as a justification for sex-selection: (a) families or family subsets should not be subject to medicalization; (b) sex selection for “family balancing” entrenches heteronormativity, inflicting harm in at least three specific ways; (c) the logic of affirmative action is appropriated; (d) the moral mandate of reproductive autonomy is misused. I conclude that the harms caused by “family balancing” are sufficiently substantive to over-ride any claim arising from a supposed right to sex selection as an instantiation of procreative autonomy
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