A Simple Model of Ostracism Formation

We study formation of ostracism in a society from a game theoretical perspective. The dynamics of group formation is complicated in that the choices of the individuals and the form of the groups mutually affect each other in the process. A suggested simple model shows that individual efforts to increase his/her own sense of belonging is responsible for both growth of groups and creation of an outcast. Once a person happens to get behind in synchronizing with others, tendency to alienate him may grow among others, possibly making him left out in the end. Alienating minority occurs even when there is a penalty for disliking and people are encouraged to favor others. Considering that the target is accidentally picked, we can understand ostracism as an inherent part of the group formation, rather than a result of specific discrepancy among people. Another finding is that a single individual who seeks for unconditional unification of the society (“philanthropist”) likely invites his/her own isolation from the society, while the existence of such person generally promotes coalition of others.     

A Simple,Flexible Failure Model

A new failure model is introduced in the form of a four-parameter nonlinear differential equation, with failure probability as the dependent variable and failure time as the independent variable. The first parameter characterizes the location, the second the scale, and the other two the shape of the model. The type of the accompanying hazard function is immediately read off the shape parameters. The new model approximates the classical failure models with rather high precision, but also models cases where the failure density is skewed to the left. It can be used to analyze survival data objectively, based on the shape of the failure distribution. The computation of quantiles and moments is easy and fast. Nonlinear regression methods are used to estimate parameter values.     

A Simple Phenological Model of Muskmelon Development

Utilizing information gathered in previous growth chamber andfield experiments, we developed a simple temperature-drivencrop phenology model of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) to helpcommercial growers time crop phenological events and predictharvest dates. The model quantifies vegetative development interms of main vine node numbers which allows the model to simulateeither a direct-seeded or a transplanted crop. The model operateson an hourly time-step but requires only daily weather dataand a few cultivar-specific parameters including plastochroninterval and thermal time requirements to reach six predefineddevelopmental stages. The model was tested against an independentdata set consisting of three muskmelon cultivars grown at fivetransplanting dates. Tests of the model indicate an averageability to predict main vine node numbers to within one to twonodes of observed values. Estimated harvest date predictionswere more variable than those for main vine node number butan average model accuracy of 1 to 3 d was obtained in modeltests with a data set used to construct the model. Proceduresfor calibrating the model for different cultivars, culturalpractices or environments are outlined. Copyright 0000 Cucumis melo L., cantaloupe, temperature, model, thermal time, plastochron interval, growth duration     

Electrogenic Properties of the Sodium Pump in a Dynamic Model of Membrane Transport

The general purpose of this theoretical work is to contribute to understand the physiological role of the electrogenic properties of the sodium pump, by studying a dynamic model that integrates diverse processes of ionic and water transport across the plasma membrane. For this purpose, we employ a mathematical model that describes the rate of change of the intracellular concentrations of Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl⁻, of the cell volume, and of the plasma membrane potential (V _m ). We consider the case of a nonexcitable, nonpolarized cell expressing the sodium pump; Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻ and water channels, and cotransporters of KCl and NaCl in its plasma membrane. We particularly analyze here the conditions under which the physiological V _m can be generated in a predominantly electrogenic fashion, as a result of the activity of the sodium pump. A major conclusion of this study is that, for the cell model considered, a low potassium permeability is not a sufficient condition for a predominantly electrogenic generation of the V _m by the sodium pump. The presence of an electroneutral exchange of Na⁺ and K⁺ represents a necessary additional requirement. Received: 8 September 1999/Revised: 21 March 2000     

A Minimal Model for the Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia

The cardiac and respiratory rhythms in humans are known to be coupled by several mechanisms. In particular, the first rhythm is deeply modulated by the second. In this report we propose a simple operational model for heart rate variability which, taking such modulation into account, reproduces the main features of some experimental sequences of RR intervals recorded from healthy subjects in the resting condition. Also, peer analysis of the model performance allows us to answer the question whether the observed behaviour should be ascribed to phase synchronisation of the heart beating to the respiratory rhythm. Lastly, the changes of the model activity brought about by changing its relevant parameters are analysed and discussed     

A Mathematical Model of the Human Respiratory Control System

The respiratory system exhibits the properties of a control system of the regulator type. Equations describing this biological control system have been derived. Transient and steady-state solutions for various CO₂ and O₂ step input disturbances were obtained utilizing a digital computer and are compared with experimental results. The effectiveness of the respiratory system as a regulator is investigated. Further extensions of the model are suggested.     

A Dynamic Model for Photosynthesis

A dynamic mathematical model of the effect of radiant flux densityand CO₂ concentration on the rate of photosynthesis is proposed.An appropriate dynamic experimental method for ecological studiesof this subject is described. The methodology permits the analysisof numerous problems, including the effect of changes in CO₂concentration on photosynthesis and the effectiveness of energyconversion by a leaf of a plant in different environmental conditions. The dynamic model for photosynthesis is composed of two separateinteracting non-linear parts; one describes the dynamics ofthe complex set of light reactions, and the other describesthe dark reactions. The model explains the dynamics of leafphotosynthesis in a closed circuit flow system, and also explainsthe expressions for the equilibrium states of photosyntheticrate widely used in the literature. photosynthesis, mathematical model, carbon dioxide fixation, light reactions     

A Novel Virus-Patch Dynamic Model

The distributed patch dissemination strategies are a promising alternative to the conventional centralized patch dissemination strategies. This paper aims to establish a theoretical framework for evaluating the effectiveness of distributed patch dissemination mechanism. Assuming that the Internet offers P2P service for every pair of nodes on the network, a dynamic model capturing both the virus propagation mechanism and the distributed patch dissemination mechanism is proposed. This model takes into account the infected removable storage media and hence captures the interaction of patches with viruses better than the original SIPS model. Surprisingly, the proposed model exhibits much simpler dynamic properties than the original SIPS model. Specifically, our model admits only two potential (viral) equilibria and undergoes a fold bifurcation. The global stabilities of the two equilibria are determined. Consequently, the dynamical properties of the proposed model are fully understood. Furthermore, it is found that reducing the probability per unit time of disconnecting a node from the Internet benefits the containment of electronic viruses.     

A Simple Foliage Model for Studying Light Penetration

This paper describes a foliage model consisting of a seriesof tubes lined with reflective aluminium foil in which artificialleaves can be inserted at different orientations and spacings.The effect of leaf angle and leaf concentration on light penetrationis reported.     

A Simple Critical-sized Femoral Defect Model in Mice

While bone has a remarkable capacity for regeneration, serious bone trauma often results in damage that does not properly heal. In fact, one tenth of all limb bone fractures fail to heal completely due to the extent of the trauma, disease, or age of the patient. Our ability to improve bone regenerative strategies is critically dependent on the ability to mimic serious bone trauma in test animals, but the generation and stabilization of large bone lesions is technically challenging. In most cases, serious long bone trauma is mimicked experimentally by establishing a defect that will not naturally heal. This is achieved by complete removal of a bone segment that is larger than 1.5 times the diameter of the bone cross-section. The bone is then stabilized with a metal implant to maintain proper orientation of the fracture edges and allow for mobility. Due to their small size and the fragility of their long bones, establishment of such lesions in mice are beyond the capabilities of most research groups. As such, long bone defect models are confined to rats and larger animals. Nevertheless, mice afford significant research advantages in that they can be genetically modified and bred as immune-compromised strains that do not reject human cells and tissue.Herein, we demonstrate a technique that facilitates the generation of a segmental defect in mouse femora using standard laboratory and veterinary equipment. With practice, fabrication of the fixation device and surgical implantation is feasible for the majority of trained veterinarians and animal research personnel. Using example data, we also provide methodologies for the quantitative analysis of bone healing for the model.     

Resource Abundance and Invasiveness: A Simple Model

The 'invasiveness' of an alien species depends partly on its ability to become abundant and widespread in its new environment. While competitiveness may be an important component of this ability, so too is the abundance of resource or habitat. First, the local carrying capacity will depend on the local favourability of the habitat, hence the global density will depend on how widespread the habitat is. Second, and more subtly, the local density will also be affected by the global extent of favourable habitat, because of losses occasioned by dispersal when the population redistributes; these losses should be fewer the greater the contiguous area of favourable habitat or the more patches of such habitat across the landscape. Here we describe a model which demonstrates how habitat availability affects an invading speciesèquilibrium abundance, hence its invasiveness. The model shows that local density is likely to be an increasing function of global habitat abundance, and global density to be a non-linear, concave-up function of global habitat abundance. Examples are given to support the model's predictions, taken largely from alien species in New Zealand.     

Bladder Cancer: A Simple Model Becomes Complex

Bladder cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies in developed countries and it is also characterized by a high number of recurrences. Despite this, several authors in the past reported that only two altered molecular pathways may genetically explain all cases of bladder cancer: one involving the FGFR3 gene, and the other involving the TP53 gene. Mutations in any of these two genes are usually predictive of the malignancy final outcome. This cancer may also be further classified as low-grade tumors, which is always papillary and in most cases superficial, and high-grade tumors, not necessarily papillary and often invasive. This simple way of considering this pathology has strongly changed in the last few years, with the development of genome-wide studies on expression profiling and the discovery of small non-coding RNA affecting gene expression. An easy search in the OMIM (On-line Mendelian Inheritance in Man) database using “bladder cancer” as a query reveals that genes in some way connected to this pathology are approximately 150, and some authors report that altered gene expression (up- or down-regulation) in this disease may involve up to 500 coding sequences for low-grade tumors and up to 2300 for high-grade tumors. In many clinical cases, mutations inside the coding sequences of the above mentioned two genes were not found, but their expression changed; this indicates that also epigenetic modifications may play an important role in its development. Indeed, several reports were published about genome-wide methylation in these neoplastic tissues, and an increasing number of small non-coding RNA are either up- or down-regulated in bladder cancer, indicating that impaired gene expression may also pass through these metabolic pathways. Taken together, these data reveal that bladder cancer is far to be considered a simple model of malignancy. In the present review, we summarize recent progress in the genome-wide analysis of bladder cancer, and analyse non-genetic, genetic and epigenetic factors causing extensive gene mis-regulation in malignant cells.     

A Simple,Realistic Stochastic Model of Gastric Emptying

Several models of Gastric Emptying (GE) have been employed in the past to represent the rate of delivery of stomach contents to the duodenum and jejunum. These models have all used a deterministic form (algebraic equations or ordinary differential equations), considering GE as a continuous, smooth process in time. However, GE is known to occur as a sequence of spurts, irregular both in size and in timing. Hence, we formulate a simple stochastic process model, able to represent the irregular decrements of gastric contents after a meal. The model is calibrated on existing literature data and provides consistent predictions of the observed variability in the emptying trajectories. This approach may be useful in metabolic modeling, since it describes well and explains the apparently heterogeneous GE experimental results in situations where common gastric mechanics across subjects would be expected.     

A Simple Bioassay for Chemicals Active to the Photosynthetic or Respiratory Systems of Plants

After male rats of the Sprague Dawley strain, 5 weeks old, were fed a 20% casein diet with or without 0.5% nicotinamide for 13 days, 180 mg/kg body weight of alloxan was injected in- traperitoneally into the rats. The rats were kept for 18 days with the same diet. The level of blood glucose was increased 6-fold in the group on a 20% casein diet by the injection of alloxan, while there was only a 2-foid increase in the group on a nicotinamide-containing diet and the decreased body weight was also lower in the group on the nicotinamide diet than the group on the casein diet. The body weight was indirectly related to the concentration of blood glucose. A marked increase was observed in the activities of tryptophan oxygenase, aminocarboxymuconate-semialdehyde decarboxylase, and nicotinamide methyltransferase upon the injection of alloxan with both diets; on the other hand, the activities of kynureninase and NAD⁺ synthetase were decreased by the injection of alloxan. The activity of kynurenine aminotransferase increased in the group on the 20% casein diet by the injection of alloxan, while in the group on the nicotinamide-containing diet its activity was not increased by the injection. These changes in the above enzyme activities mean that the conversion ratio from tryptophan to niacin is lower in the alloxan diabetic rat than normal rat. It was found that the activities of tryptophan oxygenase, aminocarboxymuconate-semialdehyde decarboxylase, and nicotinamide methyltransferase were directly related to the concentration of blood glucose, and that the activities of kynureninase and NAD⁺ synthetase were inversely related. There was no difference in the activities of 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid oxygenase and nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase upon the injection of alloxan with both diets.     

A Model of Respiratory Heat Transfer in a Small Mammal

A steady-state model of the heat and water transfer occurring in the upper respiratory tract of the kangaroo rat, Dipodomys spectabilis, is developed and tested. The model is described by a steady-state energy balance equation in which the rate of energy transfer from a liquid stream (representing the flow of heat and blood from the body core to the nasal region) is equated with the rate of energy transfer by thermal conduction from the nose tip to the environment. All of the variables in the equation except the flow rate of the liquid stream can be either measured directly or estimated from physiological measurements, permitting the solution of the equation for the liquid stream flow rate. After solving for the liquid stream flow rate by using data from three animals, the energy balance equation is used to compute values of energy transfer, expired air temperature, rates of water loss, and efficiency of vapor recovery for a variety of ambient conditions. These computed values are compared with values measured or estimated from physiological measurements on the same three animals, and the equation is thus shown to be internally consistent. To evaluate the model's predictive value, calculated expired air temperatures are compared with measured expired air temperatures of eight additional animals. Finally, the model is used to examine the general dependence of expired air temperature, of rates of water loss, and of efficiency of vapor recovery on ambient conditions.     

A Dynamic Model of Chemoattractant-Induced Cell Migration

Cell migration refers to a directional cell movement in response to chemoattractant stimulation. In this work, we developed a cell-migration model by mimicking in vivo migration using optically manipulated chemoattractant-loaded microsources. The model facilitates a quantitative characterization of the relationship among the protrusion force, cell motility, and chemoattractant gradient for the first time (to our knowledge). We verified the correctness of the model using migrating leukemia cancer Jurkat cells. The results show that one can achieve the ideal migrating capacity by choosing the appropriate chemoattractant gradient and concentration at the leading edge of the cell.     

Light Interception by an Isolated Plant A Simple Model

A simple model for light interception by an isolated plant isproposed. The model assumes that the leaves are uniformly distributedover a region of space bounded by an ellipsoid and a plane,and that light traversing this region is attenuated accordingto Beer's law. It is shown how the model can be extended toexamine a closed row of plants, or a closed array of plants.Simulated light profiles have been calculated for single plantswith different shapes, and an isolated row of plants, underuniform and standard overcast skies.