1,703 research outputs found
Recurrence spectrum in smooth dynamical systems
We prove that for conformal expanding maps the return time does have constant
multifractal spectrum. This is the counterpart of the result by Feng and Wu in
the symbolic setting
Dynamical Organization of Cooperation in Complex Topologies
In this Letter, we study how cooperation is organized in complex topologies
by analyzing the evolutionary (replicator) dynamics of the Prisoner's Dilemma,
a two-players game with two available strategies, defection and cooperation,
whose payoff matrix favors defection. We show that, asymptotically, the
population is partitioned into three subsets: individuals that always cooperate
({\em pure cooperators}), always defect ({\em pure defectors}) and those that
intermittently change their strategy. In fact the size of the latter set is the
biggest for a wide range of the "stimulus to defect" parameter. While in
homogeneous random graphs pure cooperators are grouped into several clusters,
in heterogeneous scale-free (SF) networks they always form a single cluster
containing the most connected individuals (hubs). Our results give further
insights into why cooperation in SF networks is favored.Comment: 4 pages and 4 figures. Final version as published in Physical Review
Letter
Enhancement of cooperation in highly clustered scale-free networks
We study the effect of clustering on the organization of cooperation, by
analyzing the evolutionary dynamics of the Prisoner's Dilemma on scale-free
networks with a tunable value of clustering. We find that a high value of the
clustering coefficient produces an overall enhancement of cooperation in the
network, even for a very high temptation to defect. On the other hand, high
clustering homogeneizes the process of invasion of degree classes by defectors,
decreasing the chances of survival of low densities of cooperator strategists
in the network.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Comparison of personality traits among patients with psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and stress: a pilot study
Background: Psoriasis and atopic dermatitis are chronic skin diseases that greatly affect the quality of life. Both diseases can be triggered or exacerbated by stress.
Objective: We aimed to differentiate personality traits between patients with chronic skin conditions and people treated for stress in a pilot study.
Methods: Patients participating voluntarily in educational programs in Belgium and Switzerland were recruited to complete personality trait questionnaires, including the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). A comparison was made with patients treated for work-related stress.
Results: A total of 48 and 91 patients suffering from skin diseases and work-related stress, respectively, were included in the study. Based on the questionnaires, we found that dermatology patients were less persistent and impulsive than those with work-related stress. Dermatology patients also exhibited more rigidness and less focus on performance. Finally, patients with work-related stress seem more likely to change in response to health-promoting programs than patients with chronic dermatoses.
Conclusion: Patients with chronic skin diseases may perceive and cope with stress differently in comparison to patients with work-related stress due to inherent personality traits. Therefore, stress coping mechanisms may differ among different diseases. More research is needed into the design of educational interventions and the impact of personality traits in disease-specific groups
Random replicators with high-order interactions
We use tools of the equilibrium statistical mechanics of disordered systems
to study analytically the statistical properties of an ecosystem composed of N
species interacting via random, Gaussian interactions of order p >= 2, and
deterministic self-interactions u <= 0. We show that for nonzero u the effect
of increasing the order of the interactions is to make the system more
cooperative, in the sense that the fraction of extinct species is greatly
reduced. Furthermore, we find that for p > 2 there is a threshold value which
gives a lower bound to the concentration of the surviving species, preventing
then the existence of rare species and, consequently, increasing the robustness
of the ecosystem to external perturbations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 Postscript figure
Statistical mechanics of ecosystem assembly
We introduce a toy model of ecosystem assembly for which we are able to map
out all assembly pathways generated by external invasions. The model allows to
display the whole phase space in the form of an assembly graph whose nodes are
communities of species and whose directed links are transitions between them
induced by invasions. We characterize the process as a finite Markov chain and
prove that it exhibits a unique set of recurrent states (the endstate of the
process), which is therefore resistant to invasions. This also shows that the
endstate is independent on the assembly history. The model shares all features
with standard assembly models reported in the literature, with the advantage
that all observables can be computed in an exact manner.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
The Tangled Nature model as an evolving quasi-species model
We show that the Tangled Nature model can be interpreted as a general
formulation of the quasi-species model by Eigen et al. in a frequency dependent
fitness landscape. We present a detailed theoretical derivation of the mutation
threshold, consistent with the simulation results, that provides a valuable
insight into how the microscopic dynamics of the model determine the observed
macroscopic phenomena published previously. The dynamics of the Tangled Nature
model is defined on the microevolutionary time scale via reproduction, with
heredity, variation, and natural selection. Each organism reproduces with a
rate that is linked to the individuals' genetic sequence and depends on the
composition of the population in genotype space. Thus the microevolutionary
dynamics of the fitness landscape is regulated by, and regulates, the evolution
of the species by means of the mutual interactions. At low mutation rate, the
macro evolutionary pattern mimics the fossil data: periods of stasis, where the
population is concentrated in a network of coexisting species, is interrupted
by bursts of activity. As the mutation rate increases, the duration and the
frequency of bursts increases. Eventually, when the mutation rate reaches a
certain threshold, the population is spread evenly throughout the genotype
space showing that natural selection only leads to multiple distinct species if
adaptation is allowed time to cause fixation.Comment: Paper submitted to Journal of Physics A. 13 pages, 4 figure
Quasiperiodic perturbations of heteroclinic attractor networks
We consider heteroclinic attractor networks motivated by models of competition between neural populations during binocular rivalry. We show that gamma distributions of dominance times observed experimentally in binocular rivalry and other forms of bistable perception, commonly explained by means of noise in the models, can be achieved with quasiperiodic perturbations. For this purpose, we present a methodology based on the separatrix map to model the dynamics close to heteroclinic networks with quasiperiodic perturbations. Our methodology unifies two different approaches, one based on Melnikov integrals and the other one based on variational equations. We apply it to two models: first, to the Duffing equation, which comes from the perturbation of a Hamiltonian system and, second, to a heteroclinic attractor network for binocular rivalry, for which we develop a suitable method based on Melnikov integrals for non-Hamiltonian systems. In both models, the perturbed system shows chaotic behavior, while dominance times achieve good agreement with gamma distributions. Moreover, the separatrix map provides a new (discrete) model for bistable perception which, in addition, replaces the numerical integration of time-continuous models and, consequently, reduces the computational cost and avoids numerical instabilitiesPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Replicators in Fine-grained Environment: Adaptation and Polymorphism
Selection in a time-periodic environment is modeled via the two-player
replicator dynamics. For sufficiently fast environmental changes, this is
reduced to a multi-player replicator dynamics in a constant environment. The
two-player terms correspond to the time-averaged payoffs, while the three and
four-player terms arise from the adaptation of the morphs to their varying
environment. Such multi-player (adaptive) terms can induce a stable
polymorphism. The establishment of the polymorphism in partnership games
[genetic selection] is accompanied by decreasing mean fitness of the
population.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Networking Effects on Cooperation in Evolutionary Snowdrift Game
The effects of networking on the extent of cooperation emerging in a
competitive setting are studied. The evolutionary snowdrift game, which
represents a realistic alternative to the well-known Prisoner's Dilemma, is
studied in the Watts-Strogatz network that spans the regular, small-world, and
random networks through random re-wiring. Over a wide range of payoffs, a
re-wired network is found to suppress cooperation when compared with a
well-mixed or fully connected system. Two extinction payoffs, that characterize
the emergence of a homogeneous steady state, are identified. It is found that,
unlike in the Prisoner's Dilemma, the standard deviation of the degree
distribution is the dominant network property that governs the extinction
payoffs.Comment: Changed conten
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