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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Investigating Anthropogenic Mammoth Extinction With Mathematical Models, Michael Frank, Anneliese Slaton, Teresa Tinta, Alex Capaldi Dec 2014

Investigating Anthropogenic Mammoth Extinction With Mathematical Models, Michael Frank, Anneliese Slaton, Teresa Tinta, Alex Capaldi

Alex Capaldi

One extinction hypothesis of the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), called overkill, theorizes that early humans overhunted the animal. We employ two different approaches to test this hypothesis mathematically: analyze the stability of the equilibria of a 2D ordinary differential equations (ODE) system and develop a metapopulation differential equations model. The 2D ODE system is a modified predator-prey model that also includes migration. The metapopulation model is a spatial expansion of the first model on a rectangular grid. Using this metapopulation system, we model the migration of humans into North America and the response in the mammoth population. These approaches show …


Statistical Research For The Kearny Marsh, Manfred Minimair, Juliana Newman Mar 2012

Statistical Research For The Kearny Marsh, Manfred Minimair, Juliana Newman

Manfred Minimair

Experimental data about the biological environment of the Kearny marsh, New Jersey, USA, is studied.


Symmetries Of The Central Vestibular System: Forming Movements For Gravity And A Three-Dimensional World, Gin Mccollum, Douglas A. Hanes Jan 2010

Symmetries Of The Central Vestibular System: Forming Movements For Gravity And A Three-Dimensional World, Gin Mccollum, Douglas A. Hanes

Gin McCollum

Intrinsic dynamics of the central vestibular system (CVS) appear to be at least partly determined by the symmetries of its connections. The CVS contributes to whole-body functions such as upright balance and maintenance of gaze direction. These functions coordinate disparate senses (visual, inertial, somatosensory, auditory) and body movements (leg, trunk, head/neck, eye). They are also unified by geometric conditions. Symmetry groups have been found to structure experimentally-recorded pathways of the central vestibular system. When related to geometric conditions in three-dimensional physical space, these symmetry groups make sense as a logical foundation for sensorimotor coordination.


Constructive Perception Of Self-Motion, Jan E. Holly, Gin Mccollum Jan 2008

Constructive Perception Of Self-Motion, Jan E. Holly, Gin Mccollum

Gin McCollum

This review focusses attention on a ragged edge of our knowledge of self-motion perception, where understanding ends but there are experimental results to indicate that present approaches to analysis are inadequate. Although self-motion perception displays processes of “top-down” construction, it is typically analyzed as if it is nothing more than a deformation of the stimulus, using a “bottom-up” and input/output approach beginning with the transduction of the stimulus. Analysis often focusses on the extent to which passive transduction of the movement stimulus is accurate. Some perceptual processes that deform or transform the stimulus arise from the way known properties of …


Using Math In Cell Biology: A Tale Of Two Channel Types, Borbala Mazzag Mar 2007

Using Math In Cell Biology: A Tale Of Two Channel Types, Borbala Mazzag

Borbala Mazzag

No abstract provided.


Spatial Symmetry Groups As Sensorimotor Guidelines, Gin Mccollum Jan 2007

Spatial Symmetry Groups As Sensorimotor Guidelines, Gin Mccollum

Gin McCollum

While some aspects of neuroanatomical organization are related to packing and access rather than to function, other aspects of anatomical/physiological organization are directly related to function. The mathematics of symmetry groups can be used to determine logical structure in projections and to relate it to function. This paper reviews two studies of the symmetry groups of vestibular projections that are related to the spatial functions of the vestibular complex, including gaze, posture, and movement. These logical structures have been determined by finding symmetry groups of two vestibular projections directly from physiological and anatomical data. Logical structures in vestibular projections are …


The Localized Dynamics Of A Ca2+Channel (30-Minute Talk), Borbala Mazzag, Christoper Tignanelli, Gregory D. Smith Aug 2006

The Localized Dynamics Of A Ca2+Channel (30-Minute Talk), Borbala Mazzag, Christoper Tignanelli, Gregory D. Smith

Borbala Mazzag

No abstract provided.


A Model For Shear Stress Sensing And Transmission In Vascular Endothelial Cells, Borbala Mazzag, John S. Tamaresis, Abdul Barakat May 2003

A Model For Shear Stress Sensing And Transmission In Vascular Endothelial Cells, Borbala Mazzag, John S. Tamaresis, Abdul Barakat

Borbala Mazzag

 Arterial endothelial cell (EC) responsiveness to flow is essential for normal vascular function and plays a role in the development of atherosclerosis. EC flow responses may involve sensing of the mechanical stimulus at the cell surface with subsequent transmission via cytoskeleton to intracellular transduction sites. We had previously modeled flow-induced deformation of EC-surface flow sensors represented as viscoelastic materials with standard linear solid behavior (Kelvin bodies). In the present article, we extend the analysis to arbitrary networks of viscoelastic structures connected in series and/or parallel. Application of the model to a system of two Kelvin bodies in parallel reveals that …


Mathematical Models In Biology, Borbala Mazzag Dec 2001

Mathematical Models In Biology, Borbala Mazzag

Borbala Mazzag

No abstract provided.