1,512 research outputs found
A perturbation analysis of spontaneous action potential initiation by stochastic ion channels
A stochastic interpretation of spontaneous action potential initiation is developed for the Morris- Lecar equations. Initiation of a spontaneous action potential can be interpreted as the escape from one of the wells of a double well potential, and we develop an asymptotic approximation of the mean exit time using a recently-developed quasi-stationary perturbation method. Using the fact that the activating ionic channel’s random openings and closings are fast relative to other processes, we derive an accurate estimate for the mean time to fire an action potential (MFT), which is valid for a below-threshold applied current. Previous studies have found that for above-threshold applied current, where there is only a single stable fixed point, a diffusion approximation can be used. We also explore why different diffusion approximation techniques fail to estimate the MFT
Flight evaluation of the x-15 ball-nose flow-direction sensor as an air-data system
Modification of ball-nose flow direction sensor for Mach number and air pressure altitude measurement
Instability and spatiotemporal rheochaos in a shear-thickening fluid model
We model a shear-thickening fluid that combines a tendency to form
inhomogeneous, shear-banded flows with a slow relaxational dynamics for fluid
microstructure. The interplay between these factors gives rich dynamics, with
periodic regimes (oscillating bands, travelling bands, and more complex
oscillations) and spatiotemporal rheochaos. These phenomena, arising from
constitutive nonlinearity not inertia, can occur even when the steady-state
flow curve is monotonic. Our model also shows rheochaos in a low-dimensional
truncation where sharply defined shear bands cannot form
Avalanche of Bifurcations and Hysteresis in a Model of Cellular Differentiation
Cellular differentiation in a developping organism is studied via a discrete
bistable reaction-diffusion model. A system of undifferentiated cells is
allowed to receive an inductive signal emenating from its environment.
Depending on the form of the nonlinear reaction kinetics, this signal can
trigger a series of bifurcations in the system. Differentiation starts at the
surface where the signal is received, and cells change type up to a given
distance, or under other conditions, the differentiation process propagates
through the whole domain. When the signal diminishes hysteresis is observed
Noise-induced inhibitory suppression of malfunction neural oscillators
Motivated by the aim to find new medical strategies to suppress undesirable
neural synchronization we study the control of oscillations in a system of
inhibitory coupled noisy oscillators. Using dynamical properties of inhibition,
we find regimes when the malfunction oscillations can be suppressed but the
information signal of a certain frequency can be transmitted through the
system. The mechanism of this phenomenon is a resonant interplay of noise and
the transmission signal provided by certain value of inhibitory coupling.
Analyzing a system of three or four oscillators representing neural clusters,
we show that this suppression can be effectively controlled by coupling and
noise amplitudes.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure
SciRecSys: A Recommendation System for Scientific Publication by Discovering Keyword Relationships
In this work, we propose a new approach for discovering various relationships
among keywords over the scientific publications based on a Markov Chain model.
It is an important problem since keywords are the basic elements for
representing abstract objects such as documents, user profiles, topics and many
things else. Our model is very effective since it combines four important
factors in scientific publications: content, publicity, impact and randomness.
Particularly, a recommendation system (called SciRecSys) has been presented to
support users to efficiently find out relevant articles
How the asymmetry of internal potential influences the shape of I-V characteristic of nanochannels
Ion transport in biological and synthetic nanochannels is characterized by
such phenomena as ion current fluctuations, rectification, and pumping.
Recently, it has been shown that the nanofabricated synthetic pores could be
considered as analogous to biological channels with respect to their transport
characteristics \cite{Apel, Siwy}. The ion current rectification is analyzed.
Ion transport through cylindrical nanopores is described by the Smoluchowski
equation. The model is considering the symmetric nanopore with asymmetric
charge distribution. In this model, the current rectification in asymmetrically
charged nanochannels shows a diode-like shape of characteristic. It is
shown that this feature may be induced by the coupling between the degree of
asymmetry and the depth of internal electric potential well. The role of
concentration gradient is discussed
Universal behavior in populations composed of excitable and self-oscillatory elements
We study the robustness of self-sustained oscillatory activity in a globally
coupled ensemble of excitable and oscillatory units. The critical balance to
achieve collective self-sustained oscillations is analytically established. We
also report a universal scaling function for the ensemble's mean frequency. Our
results extend the framework of the `Aging Transition' [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93,
104101 (2004)] including a broad class of dynamical systems potentially
relevant in biology.Comment: 4 pages; Changed titl
Photo-excited semiconductor superlattices as constrained excitable media: Motion of dipole domains and current self-oscillations
A model for charge transport in undoped, photo-excited semiconductor
superlattices, which includes the dependence of the electron-hole recombination
on the electric field and on the photo-excitation intensity through the
field-dependent recombination coefficient, is proposed and analyzed. Under dc
voltage bias and high photo-excitation intensities, there appear self-sustained
oscillations of the current due to a repeated homogeneous nucleation of a
number of charge dipole waves inside the superlattice. In contrast to the case
of a constant recombination coefficient, nucleated dipole waves can split for a
field-dependent recombination coefficient in two oppositely moving dipoles. The
key for understanding these unusual properties is that these superlattices have
a unique static electric-field domain. At the same time, their dynamical
behavior is akin to the one of an extended excitable system: an appropriate
finite disturbance of the unique stable fixed point may cause a large excursion
in phase space before returning to the stable state and trigger pulses and wave
trains. The voltage bias constraint causes new waves to be nucleated when old
ones reach the contact.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
A minimal model for chaotic shear banding in shear-thickening fluids
We present a minimal model for spatiotemporal oscillation and rheochaos in
shear-thickening complex fluids at zero Reynolds number. In the model, a
tendency towards inhomogeneous flows in the form of shear bands combines with a
slow structural dynamics, modelled by delayed stress relaxation. Using
Fourier-space numerics, we study the nonequilibrium `phase diagram' of the
fluid as a function of a steady mean (spatially averaged) stress, and of the
relaxation time for structural relaxation. We find several distinct regions of
periodic behavior (oscillating bands, travelling bands, and more complex
oscillations) and also regions of spatiotemporal rheochaos. A low-dimensional
truncation of the model retains the important physical features of the full
model (including rheochaos) despite the suppression of sharply defined
interfaces between shear bands. Our model maps onto the FitzHugh-Nagumo model
for neural network dynamics, with an unusual form of long-range coupling.Comment: Revised version (in particular, new section III.E. and Appendix A
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