Biomedical subjects

Federico Morán

Publications and source records attributed to Federico Morán.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Spatiotemporal patterns driven by autocatalytic internal reaction noise.

The influence that intrinsic local-density fluctuations can have on solutions of mean-field reaction-diffusion models is investigated numerically by means of the spatial patterns arising from two species that react and diffuse in the presence of strong internal reaction noise. The dynamics of the Gray-Scott (GS) model [P. Gray and S. K. Scott, Chem. Eng. Sci. 38, 29 (1983); and ibid.39, 1087 (1984); and J. Phys. Chem. 89, 22 (1985)] with a constant external source is first cast in terms of a continuum field theory representing the corresponding master equation. We then derive a Langevin description of the field theory and use these stochastic differential equations in our simulations. The nature of the multiplicative noise is specified exactly without recourse to assumptions and turns out to be of the same order as the reaction itself, and thus cannot be treated as a small perturbation. Many of the complex patterns obtained in the absence of noise for the GS model are completely obliterated by these strong internal fluctuations, but we find novel spatial patterns induced by this reaction noise in the regions of parameter space that otherwise correspond to homogeneous solutions when fluctuations are not included.

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PubMed2003

Large-scale emergent properties of an autocatalytic reaction-diffusion model subject to noise.

The nonequilibrium dynamic fluctuations of a stochastic version of the Gray-Scott (GS) model are studied analytically in leading order in perturbation theory by means of the dynamic renormalization group. There is an attracting stable fixed point at one-loop order, and the asymptotic scaling of the correlation functions is predicted for both spatial and temporally correlated noise sources. New effective three-body reaction terms, not present in the original GS model, are induced by the combined interplay of the fluctuations and nonlinearities.

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PubMed2003

Noise-controlled self-replicating patterns.

We present novel numerical evidence of spot self-replication controlled by noise in a simple autocatalytic reaction-diffusion system. The system dynamics exhibits a noise controlled transition from stripe growth to spot replication. The growth kinetics is also controlled by noise, and there is an optimal noise intensity for which the multiplication rate of spots is maximal. For larger noise intensities, the spots become unstable and the system is attracted by the trivial steady state. Some of the effects are reminiscent of both polymer chain and cell colony formation in random environments.

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PubMed2003

Reductive genome evolution in Buchnera aphidicola.

We have sequenced the genome of the intracellular symbiont Buchnera aphidicola from the aphid Baizongia pistacea. This strain diverged 80-150 million years ago from the common ancestor of two previously sequenced Buchnera strains. Here, a field-collected, nonclonal sample of insects was used as source material for laboratory procedures. As a consequence, the genome assembly unveiled intrapopulational variation, consisting of approximately 1,200 polymorphic sites. Comparison of the 618-kb (kbp) genome with the two other Buchnera genomes revealed a nearly perfect gene-order conservation, indicating that the onset of genomic stasis coincided closely with establishment of the symbiosis with aphids, approximately 200 million years ago. Extensive genome reduction also predates the synchronous diversification of Buchnera and its host; but, at a slower rate, gene loss continues among the extant lineages. A computational study of protein folding predicts that proteins in Buchnera, as well as proteins of other intracellular bacteria, are generally characterized by smaller folding efficiency compared with proteins of free living bacteria. These and other degenerative genomic features are discussed in light of compensatory processes and theoretical predictions on the long-term evolutionary fate of symbionts like Buchnera.

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PubMed1997

Receptive Field Map Development by Anti-Hebbian Learning.

Neurons selective to oriented visual stimuli participate in the early steps of visual signal processes in higher mammals. A highly ordered neural connectivity responds to such a selectivity. The information necessary to establish this connectivity is too large to be contained in a genome. Moreover, neurophysiological experiments show that the alteration of small parts of the developing visual neural system affects the normal development of the whole system. Self-organizing processes able to produce local order from general properties have already been proposed as the driving force of these development stages. In order to model these self-organizing processes we study a two layer neural network based on simple organizational rules such as (1) diffusion of neural signal in the same layer, (2) Hebbian and anti-Hebbian learning, and (3) individual restrictions to the growth of each neuronal connection. We simulate the development of neurons selective to orientation and size organized in a map, underscoring the importance of anti-Hebbian learning for normal neural visual system development. Copyright 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

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