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At least 1,477 records · Page 82Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Nonlocal interaction effects on pattern formation in population dynamics.

We consider a model for population dynamics such as for the evolution of bacterial colonies which is of the Fisher type but where the competitive interaction among individuals is nonlocal, and show that spatial structures with interesting features emerge. These features depend on the nature of the competitive interaction as well as on its range, specifically on the presence or absence of tails in, and the central curvature of, the influence function of the interaction.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2004

Anomalously localized states in the Anderson model.

It is demonstrated that anomalously localized states (ALS) in the Anderson model, being lattice specific, are not related to any of the continuous theories. We identify the spatial structure of ALS on a lattice and calculate their likelihood. Analytical results explain peculiarities in previous numerical simulations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Photonic band-gap inhibition of modulational instabilities.

Spatial structures as a result of a modulational instability are studied in a nonlinear cavity with a photonic crystal. The interaction of the modulated refractive index with the nonlinearity inhibits the instability via the creation of a photonic band gap. A novel mechanism of light localization due to defects and pattern inhibition is also described.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Enhanced mesoscopic correlations in dynamic speckle patterns.

We study the temporal evolution of speckle patterns in transmission of short wave pulses through a disordered waveguide. In the diffuse regime, the short-range spatial structure of speckles is the same as for the continuous-wave (cw) illumination, whereas the long-range correlation between distant speckle spots grows linearly with time and can exceed its cw value. We discuss the physical origin of this phenomenon, compare our results to recent microwave experiments, and suggest that a similar linear growth with time should also be characteristic for other mesoscopic interference phenomena.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Dynamic origin of stripe domains.

We investigate stripe domain formation in nanometer sized Co bars. The magnetic equilibrium states and the magnetic spin wave frequencies are obtained from micromagnetic-like simulations. We find that the lowest frequency standing-wave mode has the same spatial structure as the stripe domains at remanence and it goes soft at the field where the stripe domains emerge. We show, therefore, that the final domain structure at remanence, which is not the configuration with lowest energy, is predicted from a high-field analysis of the frequencies of the standing spin waves.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Problems with small area surveys: lensing covariance of supernova distance measurements.

While luminosity distances from type Ia supernovae (SNe) are a powerful probe of cosmology, the accuracy with which these distances can be measured is limited by cosmic magnification due to gravitational lensing by the intervening large-scale structure. Spatial clustering of foreground mass leads to correlated errors in SNe distances. By including the full covariance matrix of SNe, we show that future wide-field surveys will remain largely unaffected by lensing correlations. However, "pencil beam" surveys, and those with narrow (but possibly long) fields of view, can be strongly affected. For a survey with 30 arcmin mean separation between SNe, lensing covariance leads to a approximately 45% increase in the expected errors in dark energy parameters.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Observation of spatially coherent polarization vector fields and visualization of vector singularities.

We present experimental observations of polarization vector fields from a highly isotropic microchip laser with a large Fresnel number. The experimental polarization vector field leads to complex entanglement of spatial structures and polarization states. We theoretically derive the representation of generalized coherent states to reconstruct the experimental polarization-resolved patterns. The analytical and precise reconstruction enables the vector singularities to be clearly visualized.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Universal features of hydrodynamic Lyapunov modes in extended systems with continuous symmetries.

Numerical and analytical evidence is presented to show that hydrodynamic Lyapunov modes (HLMs) do exist in lattices of coupled Hamiltonian and dissipative maps. More importantly, we find that HLMs in these two classes of systems are different with respect to their spatial structure and their dynamical behavior. To be concrete, the corresponding dispersion relations of Lyapunov exponent versus wave number are characterized by lambda approximately k and lambda approximately k2, respectively. The HLMs in Hamiltonian systems are propagating, whereas those of dissipative systems show only diffusive motion. Extensive numerical simulations of various systems confirm that the existence of HLMs is a very general feature of extended dynamical systems with continuous symmetries and that the above-mentioned differences between the two classes of systems are universal in large extent.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2026

Diffusive Noise Controls Early Stages of Genetic Demixing.

Theoretical descriptions of the stepping-stone model, a cornerstone of spatial population genetics, have long overlooked diffusive noise arising from migration dynamics. We derive a fluctuating hydrodynamic description of this model from microscopic rules, which we then use to demonstrate that diffusive noise significantly alters early-time genetic demixing, which we characterize through heterozygosity, a key measure of diversity. Combining macroscopic fluctuation theory and microscopic simulations, we demonstrate that the scaling of allele-number fluctuations in a spatial domain displays an early-time behavior dominated by diffusive noise. Our results underscore the need for additional terms in existing continuum theories and highlight the necessity of including diffusive noise in models of spatially structured populations.

Models, Genetic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Properties of school Chinese: implications for learning to read.

The properties of the 2,570 Chinese characters explicitly taught in Chinese elementary schools were systematically investigated, including types of characters, visual complexity, spatial structure, phonetic regularity and consistency, semantic transparency, independent and bound components, and phonetic and semantic families. Among the findings are that the visual complexity, phonetic regularity, and semantic transparency of the Chinese characters taught in elementary school increase from the early grades to the later grades: Characters introduced in the 1st or 2nd grade typically contain fewer strokes, but are less likely to be regular or transparent, than characters introduced in the 5th or 6th grade. The inverse relation holds when characters are stratified by frequency. Low-frequency characters tend to be visually complex, phonetically regular, and semantically transparent whereas high-frequency characters tend to be the opposite. Combined with other findings, the analysis suggests that written Chinese has a logic that children can understand and use.

Child↗
PubMed2003

On the precision of the conditionally autoregressive prior in spatial models.

Bayesian analyses of spatial data often use a conditionally autoregressive (CAR) prior, which can be written as the kernel of an improper density that depends on a precision parameter tau that is typically unknown. To include tau in the Bayesian analysis, the kernel must be multiplied by tau(k) for some k. This article rigorously derives k = (n - I)/2 for the L2 norm CAR prior (also called a Gaussian Markov random field model) and k = n - I for the L1 norm CAR prior, where n is the number of regions and I the number of "islands" (disconnected groups of regions) in the spatial map. Since I = 1 for a spatial structure defining a connected graph, this supports Knorr-Held's (2002, in Highly Structured Stochastic Systems, 260-264) suggestion that k = (n - 1)/2 in the L2 norm case, instead of the more common k = n/2. We illustrate the practical significance of our results using a periodontal example.

Bayes Theorem↗
PubMed2004

Using image and curve registration for measuring the goodness of fit of spatial and temporal predictions.

Conventional measures of model fit for indexed data (e.g., time series or spatial data) summarize errors in y, for instance by integrating (or summing) the squared difference between predicted and measured values over a range of x. We propose an approach which recognizes that errors can occur in the x-direction as well. Instead of just measuring the difference between the predictions and observations at each site (or time), we first "deform" the predictions, stretching or compressing along the x-direction or directions, so as to improve the agreement between the observations and the deformed predictions. Error is then summarized by (a) the amount of deformation in x, and (b) the remaining difference in y between the data and the deformed predictions (i.e., the residual error in y after the deformation). A parameter, lambda, controls the tradeoff between (a) and (b), so that as lambda-->infinity no deformation is allowed, whereas for lambda=0 the deformation minimizes the errors in y. In some applications, the deformation itself is of interest because it characterizes the (temporal or spatial) structure of the errors. The optimal deformation can be computed by solving a system of nonlinear partial differential equations, or, for a unidimensional index, by using a dynamic programming algorithm. We illustrate the procedure with examples from nonlinear time series and fluid dynamics.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2001

Clinal variation at microsatellite loci reveals historical secondary intergradation between glacial races of Coregonus artedi (Teleostei: Coregoninae).

Classical models of the spatial structure of population genetics rely on the assumption of migration-drift equilibrium, which is seldom met in natural populations having only recently colonized their current range (e.g., postglacial). Population structure then depicts historical events, and counfounding effects due to recent secondary contact between recently differentiated lineages can further counfound analyses of association between geographic and genetic distances. Mitochondrial polymorphisms have revealed the existence of two closely related lineages of the lake cisco, Coregonus artedi, whose significantly different but overlaping geographical distributions provided a weak signal of past range fragmentation blurred by putative subsequent extensive secondary contacts. In this study, we analyzed geographical patterns of genetic variation at seven microsatellite loci among 22 populations of lake cisco located along the axis of an area covered by proglacial lakes 12,000-8,000 years ago in North America. The results clearly confirmed the existence of two genetically distinct races characterized by different sets of microsatellite alleles whose frequencies varied clinally across some 3000 km. Equilibrium and nonequilibrium analyses of isolation by distance revealed historical signal of gene flow resulting from the nearly complete admixture of these races following neutral secondary contacts in their historical habitat and indicated that the colonization process occurred by a stepwise expansion of an eastern (Atlantic) race into a previously established Mississippian race. This historical signal of equilibrium contrasted with the current migration-drift disequilibrium within major extant watersheds and was apparently maintained by high effective population sizes and low migration regimes.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Multilevel phenotypic selection on morphological characters in a metapopulation of Silene tatarica.

This study partitions selection in a natural metapopulation of a riparian plant species, Silene tatarica, into individual- and patch-level components by using contextual analysis, in which a patch refers to a spatially distinct stand of individual plants. We estimated selection gradients for two morphological characters (plant height and number of stems), their respective patch means, and plant density with respect to reproductive success in a two-year study. The approach was also extended to partition selection separately within habitats with varying degrees of exposure to river disturbances and herbivory. The selection differentials and gradients for plant height were positive at both individual and patch levels, with selection forces highest in the closed habitat with low exposure to disturbance. This pattern suggests that local groups with taller than average plants are more visible to pollinators than to groups that are shorter than average plants; and, within patches, individuals with short stature are visited less often than taller ones. Selection on the number of stems was in opposition at individual and patch levels. At the individual level the character was selected toward higher values, whereas selection at the patch-level favored smaller mean number of stems. The strength of the latter component was associated with the intensity of herbivory in different habitats, suggesting that the patch-level selection against a large number of stems might be due to high attractiveness of such patches to the main herbivore, reindeer. Consequently, direction and strength of selection in spatially structured populations may depend significantly on fitness effects arising at the group level.

Climate↗
PubMed1988

Red cell aggregation during normal pregnancy.

Red cell aggregation (RCA) is responsible for the increase in whole blood viscosity at lower shear rates. RCA depends on the concentrations of red cells and plasma proteins with a high molecular weight and a large and asymmetrical spatial structure such as fibrinogen, immunoglobulin M and alpha 2-macroglobulin. During normal pregnancy, changes occur in all these concentrations. In a prospective study these changes and their influence on the resulting RCA were investigated in 24 healthy women with normal pregnancies. RCA was determined by light reflection measurement (syllectometry). RCA considerably increased during normal pregnancy in spite of the physiological haemodilution. The aggregation half time, used as a measure for RCA, decreased from an average non-pregnant value of 5.6 s to 3.3 s at 37 weeks. Multiple regression analysis showed that the increase in RCA could be mainly attributed to the raised fibrinogen concentration. However, at 37 weeks other factors, in addition to fibrinogen, contribute significantly to the increase in RCA.

Erythrocyte Aggregation↗
PubMed2006

Variations on a theme: sources of heterogeneity in the form of the interspecific relationship between abundance and distribution.

1. A positive interspecific relationship between abundance and distribution is widely considered to be one of the most general patterns in ecology. However, the relationship appears to vary considerably across assemblages, from significant positive to significant negative correlations and all shades in between. 2. This variation has led to the suggestion that the abundance-distribution relationship has multiple forms, with the corollary that different patterns may inform about, or have different, causes. However, this variation has never been formally quantified, nor has it been determined whether the observed variation is indicative of sampling error in estimating a single effect or of real heterogeneity in such relationships. Here, we use the meta-analytical approach to assess variation in abundance-distribution relationships, and to test different hypotheses for it. 3. Analysis of 279 relationships found a mean effect size of 0.655, which was both highly significantly different from zero and indicative of a strong positive association between abundance and distribution. However, effect sizes were highly heterogeneous, supporting the contention that this relationship does indeed have multiple forms. 4. Most notably, relationships vary significantly in strength across realms, with the strongest in the marine and intertidal, intermediate relationships for terrestrial and parasitic assemblages, and the weakest relationships in freshwater systems. Effect sizes in all of the aquatic realms are homogeneous, suggesting that realm is an important source of the heterogeneity observed across all studies. We posit that this may be because the different spatial structure of the environment in each realm affects the opportunity for the dispersal of individuals between sites. 5. Some of the remaining heterogeneity in effect sizes for terrestrial assemblages could be explained by partitioning assemblages by habitat, scale, biogeographical region and taxon, but considerable heterogeneity in effect sizes for terrestrial and parasitic assemblages remained unexplained.

Amphibians↗
PubMed1989

Measuring through the microscope: development and evolution of stereological methods.

Obtaining, by means of microscopy, meaningful measurements pertaining to spatial structures requires methods which allow three-dimensional quantitative information to be derived from the reduced information available on the two-dimensional flat sections of the structure. The most powerful methods to that effect are those of stereology which are based on mathematical principles. This paper reviews the early invention of these methods, which sought to solve practical problems, and their further evolution as more rigorous mathematical foundations were developed. It is demonstrated that stereological methods are essentially sampling methods and that newer trends provide new and sound solutions to old and elusive problems, such as anisotropy or particle number and size.

Humans↗
PubMed1992

Evolutionary history of the honey bee Apis mellifera inferred from mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Variability of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the honey bee Apis mellifera L. has been investigated by restriction and sequence analyses on a sample of 68 colonies from ten different subspecies. The 19 mtDNA types detected are clustered in three major phylogenetic lineages. These clades correspond well to three groups of populations with distinct geographical distributions: branch A for African subspecies (intermissa, monticola, scutellata, andansonii and capensis), branch C for North Mediterranean subspecies (caucasica, carnica and ligustica) and branch M for the West European populations (mellifera subspecies). These results partially confirm previous hypotheses based on morphometrical and allozymic studies, the main difference concerning North African populations, now assigned to branch A instead of branch M. The pattern of spatial structuring suggests the Middle East as the centre of dispersion of the species, in accordance with the geographic areas of the other species of the same genus. Based on a conservative 2% divergence rate per Myr, the separation of the three branches has been dated at about 1 Myr BP.

Animals↗