Random steps in evolution and point processes

The thesis consists of four papers in the area of mathematical biology and probability theory. Mathematical biology is an field of research which seeks understanding of biological phenomena through the application of existing and new mathematical methods. The motivating biological problem addressed in the first two papers of the thesis falls into the area of the mathematical theory of evolution, where an ecological model described by a dynamical system is equipped with a further mechanism, under which one (or more) of the species represented in the model is able to undergo evolution through mutation and natural selection. The present work examines when the possibility of displacement of a resident phenotype by a mutant of another phenotype is described in simple terms by a so-called optimisation principle. An optimisation principle is a numerical function, defined for phenotypes, that allows one to compare the potential to invade all potential environments set by some currently present phenotype simultaneously. The main result of the first paper gives a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for when an optimization principle exists. The third and fourth papers in the thesis deal from different viewpoints with topics connected to Poisson point processes.Väitöskirja koostuu neljästä artikkelista matemaattisen biologian ja todennäköisyysteorian aloilta. Matemaattinen biologia on tutkimusala, joka tähtää biologisten ilmiöiden ymmärrykseen olemassaolevien ja uusien matemaattisten menetelmien avulla. Kaksi ensimmäistä väitöskirjan artikkelia käsittelevät matemaattista evoluutioteoriaa. Päätulos antaa välttämättömät ja riittävät ehdot evoluution kulkua määräävän optimointntiperiaatteen olemassaololle. Kaksi jälkimmäistä artikkelia käsittelee eri näkökulmista aiheita, jotka liittyvät Poissonin pisteprosessien teoriaan

Regional Administrator Northwest Regional Office

Abstract: This Environmental Assessment (EA) analyzes the effects of establishing recordkeeping, reporting, catch sorting, and weighing requirements for persons who receive, buy, or accept Pacific whiting from vessels participating in the primary season for the shorebased sector. The Pacific whiting shoreside fishery has been managed under Exempted Fisheries Permit (EFPs) since 1992. However, EFPs are intended to be a temporary and an exploratory response to issues that potentially could be addressed by permanent regulations. The alternative action analyzed in this EA would be the first step towards replacing the EFP with permanent regulations. Although the Pacific whiting shoreside vessels will continue to operate under EFPs in 2007, the alternative action considered in this EA would supplement EFP activities with requirements that mainly affect the processors or other first receivers of EFP catch. The requirements analyzed under the alternative action mirror or enhance existing state regulations and associated paper-based fish ticket systems or provisions associated with current EFP management. The alternative action is expected to provide more timely reporting and improved estimates of the catch of Pacific whiting, ESA listed salmon species, and overfished groundfish species

Mesures visant l'intégration des élèves immigrants dans les cégeps et sensibilisation à la diversité ethnoculturelle

Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 28 oct. 2009

Le tutorat centré sur la personne

Également disponible en version papierTitre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 13 janv. 2010)Comprend des bibliogr.Vol. 1. Phase I -- v. 2. Phase II : une grille d'auto-observation : considérations théoriques -- v. 3. Phase III : une grille d'auto-observation : rapport concernant la validation des trois composantes d'une grille d'analyse des styles d'enseignement des professeurs -- v. 4. Phase IV : le PEC, ma grille d'auto-observatio

The polaroid image as photo-object

This article is part of a larger project on the cultural history of Polaroid photography and draws on research done at the Polaroid Corporate archive at Harvard and at the Polaroid company itself. It identifies two cultural practices engendered by Polaroid photography, which, at the point of its extinction, has briefly flared into visibility again. It argues that these practices are mistaken as novel but are in fact rediscoveries of practices that stretch back as many as five decades. The first section identifies Polaroid image-making as a photographic equivalent of what Tom Gunning calls the ‘cinema of attractions’. That is, the emphasis in its use is on the display of photographic technologies rather than the resultant image. Equally, the common practice, in both fine art and vernacular circles, of making composite pictures with Polaroid prints, draws attention from image content and redirects it to the photo as object

Comparison of Bioactive Secondary Metabolites in Experimental and Natural Populations of Wild Tomatillos, Physalis longifolia Nutt.

We conducted a field experiment to determine the effects of mulch, fertilizer, and mycelium on biomass and important secondary metabolite concentrations in the edible and medicinal plant Physalis longifolia Nutt., with the hypothesis that increased plant stress (i.e., no mulch, fertilizer, or mycelium) would decrease biomass production and increase secondary compound content. Experimental cultivated plots and natural populations of P. longifolia were evaluated for the abundance of major bioactive withanolides previously isolated from the species: withalongolide A (1), withaferin A (2), and withalongolide B (3). Results indicated negligible differences between experimental treatments in biomass yield and withanolide abundance. However, withanolide concentrations from wild populations varied considerably with some being much higher than the source population used in the experiment. These results suggest that variation in secondary compound concentrations among wild populations is an important consideration when selecting source material for the cultivation of medicinal plants

A Map of the Nanoworld: Sizing up the Science, Politics, and Business of the Infinitesimal

Mapping out the eight main nodes of nanotechnology discourse that have emerged in the past decade, we explore how various scientific, social, and ethical islands of discussion have developed, been recognized, and are being continually renegotiated. We do so by (1) identifying the ways in which scientists, policy makers, entrepreneurs, educators, and environmental groups have drawn boundaries on issues relating to nanotechnology; (2) describing concisely the perspectives from which these boundaries are drawn; and (3) exploring how boundaries on nanotechnology are marked and negotiated by various nodes of nanotechnology discourse.Comment: 25 page

Correlates of psychological distress and major depressive disorder among African American men

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88155/1/lincoln_taylor_watkins_chatters2011.pd