308 research outputs found
Analysis of adaptive walks on NK fitness landscapes with different interaction schemes
Fitness landscapes are genotype to fitness mappings commonly used in
evolutionary biology and computer science which are closely related to spin
glass models. In this paper, we study the NK model for fitness landscapes where
the interaction scheme between genes can be explicitly defined. The focus is on
how this scheme influences the overall shape of the landscape. Our main tool
for the analysis are adaptive walks, an idealized dynamics by which the
population moves uphill in fitness and terminates at a local fitness maximum.
We use three different types of walks and investigate how their length (the
number of steps required to reach a local peak) and height (the fitness at the
endpoint of the walk) depend on the dimensionality and structure of the
landscape. We find that the distribution of local maxima over the landscape is
particularly sensitive to the choice of interaction pattern. Most quantities
that we measure are simply correlated to the rank of the scheme, which is equal
to the number of nonzero coefficients in the expansion of the fitness landscape
in terms of Walsh functions.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
Accessibility percolation on n-trees
Accessibility percolation is a new type of percolation problem inspired by
evolutionary biology. To each vertex of a graph a random number is assigned and
a path through the graph is called accessible if all numbers along the path are
in ascending order. For the case when the random variables are independent and
identically distributed, we derive an asymptotically exact expression for the
probability that there is at least one accessible path from the root to the
leaves in an -tree. This probability tends to 1 (0) if the branching number
is increased with the height of the tree faster (slower) than linearly. When
the random variables are biased such that the mean value increases linearly
with the distance from the root, a percolation threshold emerges at a finite
value of the bias.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Multidimensional epistasis and the transitory advantage of sex
Identifying and quantifying the benefits of sex and recombination is a long
standing problem in evolutionary theory. In particular, contradictory claims
have been made about the existence of a benefit of recombination on high
dimensional fitness landscapes in the presence of sign epistasis. Here we
present a comparative numerical study of sexual and asexual evolutionary
dynamics of haploids on tunably rugged model landscapes under strong selection,
paying special attention to the temporal development of the evolutionary
advantage of recombination and the link between population diversity and the
rate of adaptation. We show that the adaptive advantage of recombination on
static rugged landscapes is strictly transitory. At early times, an advantage
of recombination arises through the possibility to combine individually
occurring beneficial mutations, but this effect is reversed at longer times by
the much more efficient trapping of recombining populations at local fitness
peaks. These findings are explained by means of well established results for a
setup with only two loci. In accordance with the Red Queen hypothesis the
transitory advantage can be prolonged indefinitely in fluctuating environments,
and it is maximal when the environment fluctuates on the same time scale on
which trapping at local optima typically occurs.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures and 8 supplementary figures; revised and final
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TRAINING EFFECTS OF RAPID ROTATIONS IN A ”SOMERSAULT SIMULATOR”
The purpose of the present study was to analyze training effects in a new training device. State-of-the-art analyses in diving and gymnastics showed an increasing of angular velocity in somersault rotations. Subjects of different ages and performance levels took part in several experiments with the ”somersault simulator”. The investigation was divided in two parts. The differences between the movement in the training device and real situation of competition were analyzed. In the ”somersault simulator” the athletes reached an angular velocity of approximately 700 deg/s. This is similar to a 2 ½ somersault in diving or a double somersault in gymnastics. The experiments demonstrated that with the use of the simulator, the athletes significantly improved the level of vestibular adaptation and visual perception by performing rapid somersault rotations
Evidence for a Ru Kondo Lattice in LaCuRuO
Rare -electron derived heavy-fermion properties of the solid-solution
series LaCuRuTiO were studied for by
resistivity, susceptibility, specific-heat measurements, and magnetic-resonance
techniques. The pure ruthenate () is a heavy-fermion metal characterized
by a resistivity proportional to at low temperatures . The coherent
Kondo lattice formed by the localized Ru 4 electrons is screened by the
conduction electrons leading to strongly enhanced effective electron masses. By
increasing titanium substitution the Kondo lattice becomes diluted resulting in
single-ion Kondo properties like in the paradigm -based heavy-fermion
compound CeLaCuSi [M. Ocko {\em et al.}, Phys. Rev. B
\textbf{64}, 195106 (2001)]. In LaCuRuTiO the
heavy-fermion behavior finally breaks down on crossing the metal-to-insulator
transition close to .Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Inhaled iloprost for the control of pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening disease characterized by an elevated pulmonary arterial pressure and vascular resistance with a poor prognosis. Various pulmonary and extrapulmonary causes are now recognized to exist separately from the idiopathic form of pulmonary hypertension. An imbalance in the presence of vasoconstrictors and vasodilators plays an important role in the pathophysiology of the disease, one example being the lack of prostacyclin. Prostacyclin and its analogues are potent vasodilators with antithrombotic, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory qualities, all of which are important factors in the pathogenesis of precapillary pulmonary hypertension. Iloprost is a stable prostacyclin analogue available for intravenous and aerosolized application. Due to the severe side effects of intravenous administration, the use of inhaled iloprost has become a mainstay in PAH therapy. However, owing to the necessity for 6 to 9 inhalations a day, oral treatment is often preferred as a first-line therapy. Numerous studies proving the efficacy and safety of inhaled iloprost have been performed. It is therefore available for a first-line therapy for PAH. The combination with endothelin-receptor antagonists or sildenafil has shown encouraging effects. Further studies with larger patient populations will have to demonstrate the use of combination therapy for long-term treatment of pulmonary hypertension
Influence of adatom interactions on second layer nucleation
We develop a theory for the inclusion of adatom interactions in second layer
nucleation occurring in epitaxial growth. The interactions considered are due
to ring barriers between pairs of adatoms and binding energies of unstable
clusters. The theory is based on a master equation, which describes the time
development of microscopic states that are specified by cluster configurations
on top of an island. The transition rates are derived by scaling arguments and
tested against kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations. As an application we reanalyze
experiments to determine the step edge barrier for Ag/Pt(111).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Self-organized density patterns of molecular motors in arrays of cytoskeletal filaments
The stationary states of systems with many molecular motors are studied
theoretically for uniaxial and centered (aster-like) arrangements of
cytoskeletal filaments using Monte Carlo simulations and a two-state model.
Mutual exclusion of motors from binding sites of the filaments is taken into
account. For small overall motor concentration, the density profiles are
exponential and algebraic in uniaxial and centered filament systems,
respectively. For uniaxial systems, exclusion leads to the coexistence of
regions of high and low densities of bound motors corresponding to motor
traffic jams, which grow upon increasing the overall motor concentration. These
jams are insensitive to the motor behavior at the end of the filament. In
centered systems, traffic jams remain small and an increase in the motor
concentration leads to a flattening of the profile, if the motors move inwards,
and to the build-up of a concentration maximum in the center of the aster if
motors move outwards. In addition to motors density patterns, we also determine
the corresponding patterns of the motor current.Comment: 48 pages, 8 figure
Floodplain management in temperate regions : is multifunctionality enhancing biodiversity?
Background: Floodplains are among the most diverse, dynamic, productive and populated but also the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Threats are mainly related to human activities that alter the landscape and disrupt fluvial processes to obtain benefits related to multiple ecosystem services (ESS). Floodplain management therefore requires close coordination among interest groups with competing claims and poses multi-dimensional challenges to policy-makers and project managers. The European Commission proposed in its recent Biodiversity Strategy to maintain and enhance European ecosystems and their services by establishing green infrastructure (GI). GI is assumed to provide multiple ecosystem functions and services including the conservation of biodiversity in the same spatial area. However, evidence for biodiversity benefits of multifunctional floodplain management is scattered and has not been synthesised.
Methods/design: This protocol specifies the methods for conducting a systematic review to answer the following policy-relevant questions: a) what is the impact of floodplain management measures on biodiversity; b) how does the impact vary according to the level of multifunctionality of the measures; c) is there a difference in the biodiversity impact of floodplain management across taxa; d) what is the effect of the time since implementation on the impact of the most important measures; and e) are there any other factors that significantly modify the biodiversity impact of floodplain management measures? Within this systematic review we will assess multifunctionality in terms of ESS that are affected by an implemented intervention. Biodiversity indicators included in this systematic review will be related to the diversity, richness and abundance of species, other taxa or functional groups. We will consider if organisms are typical for and native to natural floodplain ecosystems. Specific inclusion criteria have been developed and the wide range of quality of primary literature will be evaluated with a tailor-made system for assessing susceptibility to bias and the reliability of the studies. The review is intended to bridge the science-policy interface and will provide a useful synthesis of knowledge for decision-makers at all governance levels
Performance of Layer-by-Layer-Modified Multibore® Ultrafiltration Capillary Membranes for Salt Retention and Removal of Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Polyether sulfone Multibore® ultrafiltration membranes were modified using polyelectrolyte multilayers via the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique in order to increase their rejection capabilities towards salts and antibiotic resistance genes. The modified capillary membranes were characterized to exhibit a molecular weight cut-off (at 90% rejection) of 384 Da. The zeta-potential at pH 7 was −40 mV. Laboratory tests using single-fiber modified membrane modules were performed to evaluate the removal of antibiotic resistance genes; the LbL-coated membranes were able to completely retain DNA fragments from 90 to 1500 nt in length. Furthermore, the pure water permeability and the retention of single inorganic salts, MgSO, CaCl and NaCl, were measured using a mini-plant testing unit. The modified membranes had a retention of 80% toward MgSO and CaCl salts, and 23% in case of NaCl. The modified membranes were also found to be stable against mechanical backwashing (up to 80 LMH) and chemical regeneration (in acidic conditions and basic/oxidizing conditions)
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