702 research outputs found
Nonlocality of Accelerated Systems
The conceptual basis for the nonlocality of accelerated systems is presented.
The nonlocal theory of accelerated observers and its consequences are briefly
described. Nonlocal field equations are developed for the case of the
electrodynamics of linearly accelerated systems.Comment: LaTeX file, no figures, 9 pages, to appear in: "Black Holes,
Gravitational Waves and Cosmology" (World Scientific, Singapore, 2003
On Foundation of the Generalized Nambu Mechanics
We outline the basic principles of canonical formalism for the Nambu
mechanics---a generalization of Hamiltonian mechanics proposed by Yoichiro
Nambu in 1973. It is based on the notion of Nambu bracket which generalizes the
Poisson bracket to the multiple operation of higher order on
classical observables and is described by Hambu-Hamilton equations of motion
given by Hamiltonians. We introduce the fundamental identity for the
Nambu bracket which replaces Jacobi identity as a consistency condition for the
dynamics. We show that Nambu structure of given order defines a family of
subordinated structures of lower order, including the Poisson structure,
satisfying certain matching conditions. We introduce analogs of action from and
principle of the least action for the Nambu mechanics and show how dynamics of
loops (-dimensional objects) naturally appears in this formalism. We
discuss several approaches to the quantization problem and present explicit
representation of Nambu-Heisenberg commutation relation for case. We
emphasize the role higher order algebraic operations and mathematical
structures related with them play in passing from Hamilton's to Nambu's
dynamical picture.Comment: 27 page
Amplitude dependent frequency, desynchronization, and stabilization in noisy metapopulation dynamics
The enigmatic stability of population oscillations within ecological systems
is analyzed. The underlying mechanism is presented in the framework of two
interacting species free to migrate between two spatial patches. It is shown
that that the combined effects of migration and noise cannot account for the
stabilization. The missing ingredient is the dependence of the oscillations'
frequency upon their amplitude; with that, noise-induced differences between
patches are amplified due to the frequency gradient. Migration among
desynchronized regions then stabilizes a "soft" limit cycle in the vicinity of
the homogenous manifold. A simple model of diffusively coupled oscillators
allows the derivation of quantitative results, like the functional dependence
of the desynchronization upon diffusion strength and frequency differences. The
oscillations' amplitude is shown to be (almost) noise independent. The results
are compared with a numerical integration of the marginally stable
Lotka-Volterra equations. An unstable system is extinction-prone for small
noise, but stabilizes at larger noise intensity
Nonlocal Electrodynamics of Rotating Systems
The nonlocal electrodynamics of uniformly rotating systems is presented and
its predictions are discussed. In this case, due to paucity of experimental
data, the nonlocal theory cannot be directly confronted with observation at
present. The approach adopted here is therefore based on the correspondence
principle: the nonrelativistic quantum physics of electrons in circular
"orbits" is studied. The helicity dependence of the photoeffect from the
circular states of atomic hydrogen is explored as well as the resonant
absorption of a photon by an electron in a circular "orbit" about a uniform
magnetic field. Qualitative agreement of the predictions of the classical
nonlocal electrodynamics with quantum-mechanical results is demonstrated in the
correspondence regime.Comment: 23 pages, no figures, submitted for publicatio
Oscillatory behaviour in a lattice prey-predator system
Using Monte Carlo simulations we study a lattice model of a prey-predator
system. We show that in the three-dimensional model populations of preys and
predators exhibit coherent periodic oscillations but such a behaviour is absent
in lower-dimensional models. Finite-size analysis indicate that amplitude of
these oscillations is finite even in the thermodynamic limit. In our opinion,
this is the first example of a microscopic model with stochastic dynamics which
exhibits oscillatory behaviour without any external driving force. We suggest
that oscillations in our model are induced by some kind of stochastic
resonance.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figures, Phys.Rev.E (Nov. 1999
Multiscale Analysis of Discrete Nonlinear Evolution Equations
The method of multiscale analysis is constructed for dicrete systems of
evolution equations for which the problem is that of the far behavior of an
input boundary datum. Discrete slow space variables are introduced in a general
setting and the related finite differences are constructed. The method is
applied to a series of representative examples: the Toda lattice, the nonlinear
Klein-Gordon chain, the Takeno system and a discrete version of the
Benjamin-Bona-Mahoney equation. Among the resulting limit models we find a
discrete nonlinear Schroedinger equation (with reversed space-time), a 3-wave
resonant interaction system and a discrete modified Volterra model.Comment: published in J. Phys. A : Math. Gen. 32 (1999) 927-94
The BH4 domain of Bcl-XL rescues astrocyte degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by modulating intracellular calcium signals
Collective evidence indicates that motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is non-cell-autonomous and requires the interaction with the neighboring astrocytes. Recently, we reported that a subpopulation of spinal cord astrocytes degenerates in the microenvironment of motor neurons in the hSOD1G93A mouse model of ALS. Mechanistic studies in vitro identified a role for the excitatory amino acid glutamate in the gliodegenerative process via the activation of its inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3)-generating metabotropic receptor 5 (mGluR5). Since non-physiological formation of IP3 can prompt IP3 receptor (IP3R)-mediated Ca2+ release from the intracellular stores and trigger various forms of cell death, here we investigated the intracellular Ca2+ signaling that occurs downstream of mGluR5 in hSOD1G93A-expressing astrocytes. Contrary to wild-type cells, stimulation of mGluR5 causes aberrant and persistent elevations of intracellular Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) in the absence of spontaneous oscillations. The interaction of IP3Rs with the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-XL was previously described to prevent cell death by modulating intracellular Ca2+ signals. In mutant SOD1-expressing astrocytes, we found that the sole BH4 domain of Bcl-XL, fused to the protein transduction domain of the HIV-1 TAT protein (TAT-BH4), is sufficient to restore sustained Ca2+ oscillations and cell death resistance. Furthermore, chronic treatment of hSOD1G93A mice with the TAT-BH4 peptide reduces focal degeneration of astrocytes, slightly delays the onset of the disease and improves both motor performance and animal lifespan. Our results point at TAT-BH4 as a novel glioprotective agent with a therapeutic potential for AL
Coexistence and Survival in Conservative Lotka-Volterra Networks
Analyzing coexistence and survival scenarios of Lotka-Volterra (LV) networks in which the total biomass is conserved is of vital importance for the characterization of long-term dynamics of ecological communities. Here, we introduce a classification scheme for coexistence scenarios in these conservative LV models and quantify the extinction process by employing the Pfaffian of the network's interaction matrix. We illustrate our findings on global stability properties for general systems of four and five species and find a generalized scaling law for the extinction time
Synaptic Adhesion Molecules Regulate the Integration of New Granule Neurons in the Postnatal Mouse Hippocampus and their Impact on Spatial Memory.
Postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis induces network remodeling and may participate to mechanisms of learning. In turn, the maturation and survival of newborn neurons is regulated by their activity. Here, we tested the effect of a cell-autonomous overexpression of synaptic adhesion molecules on the maturation and survival of neurons born postnatally and on hippocampal-dependent memory performances. Families of adhesion molecules are known to induce pre- and post-synaptic assembly. Using viral targeting, we overexpressed three different synaptic adhesion molecules, SynCAM1, Neuroligin-1B and Neuroligin-2A in newborn neurons in the dentate gyrus of 7- to 9-week-old mice. We found that SynCAM1 increased the morphological maturation of dendritic spines and mossy fiber terminals while Neuroligin-1B increased spine density. In contrast, Neuroligin-2A increased both spine density and size as well as GABAergic innervation and resulted in a drastic increase of neuronal survival. Surprisingly, despite increased neurogenesis, mice overexpressing Neuroligin-2A in new neurons showed decreased memory performances in a Morris water maze task. These results indicate that the cell-autonomous overexpression of synaptic adhesion molecules can enhance different aspects of synapse formation on new neurons and increase their survival. Furthermore, they suggest that the mechanisms by which new neurons integrate in the postnatal hippocampus conditions their functional implication in learning and memory
Junctions and spiral patterns in Rock-Paper-Scissors type models
We investigate the population dynamics in generalized Rock-Paper-Scissors
models with an arbitrary number of species . We show, for the first time,
that spiral patterns with -arms may develop both for odd and even , in
particular in models where a bidirectional predation interaction of equal
strength between all species is modified to include one N-cyclic predator-prey
rule. While the former case gives rise to an interface network with Y-type
junctions obeying the scaling law , where is the
characteristic length of the network and is the time, the later can lead to
a population network with -armed spiral patterns, having a roughly constant
characteristic length scale. We explicitly demonstrate the connection between
interface junctions and spiral patterns in these models and compute the
corresponding scaling laws. This work significantly extends the results of
previous studies of population dynamics and could have profound implications
for the understanding of biological complexity in systems with a large number
of species.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, published versio
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