No Arabic abstract
Ability of smooth muscles to contract in response to distension plays a crucial role in motor function of intestine. Qualitative analysis of dynamical models using myogenic active property of smooth muscles has shown well agreement with physiologic data. Considered as a self-regulatory unit, function of gastrointestinal (GI) segment is assumed to be regulated by integration of basis patterns providing accumulation and propagation of intestinal content. By implementing external, depending on neural system, variable to the previous model, and considering two attaches to one another reservoirs as a physical analogue of the segmental partition of intestine, a system of six ODE equations, three for each reservoir, describes coordinated wall motions and propagation of the content from one reservoir to another. It was shown that besides negative feedback (NFB), other functional patterns, namely positive feedback (PFB) and reciprocal links (RL) are involved in regulations of filling-emptying cycle. Being integrated in a whole functional system these three patterns expressed in a matrix form represent basis elements of imaginary part of coquaternion which with identity basis component is an algebraically closed structure under addition and multiplication of its elements. A coquaternion ring may be considered as a model of inner self-regulatory functional structure providing coordinated wall motions of GI tract portions.
Coordination in circular and longitudinal muscle motions are of crucial importance in the motor function of gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Intestinal wall motions depend on myogenic-active properties of smooth muscles layers of intestinal wall, which is the ability to create active contractile forces in response to distension. Considering the stress in the circular and longitudinal smooth muscles as a sum of passive, depending on muscle deformations, and active, depending on muscle tone, components, and also assuming that the change in the muscle tone depends on the current stress-strain condition, the system of four ordinary differential equations (ODE) is obtained, which describes filling-emptying cycle of intestinal segment as a process of coordinated activities of circular and longitudinal muscles of intestinal wall. A general approach in formulating the modelling conditions is based on the previously described model restricted to the circularly distensible reservoir of constant length. Obtained results illustrate the character of coordinated activities of two orthogonal muscle layers, which are alternating phases of reciprocally and uniformly changing modalities such as stretching of the wall and muscle tone. The results also contribute to the existing understanding of the roles of Auerbachs and Meisners intermuscular and submucous neural plexuses in regulations of autonomous intestinal motility, as well as clarify functional mechanisms of the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in triggering of smooth muscle contractions.
This article discusses how to create an interactive virtual training program at the intersection of neuroscience, robotics, and computer science for high school students. A four-day microseminar, titled Swarming Powered by Neuroscience (SPN), was conducted virtually through a combination of presentations and interactive computer game simulations, delivered by subject matter experts in neuroscience, mathematics, multi-agent swarm robotics, and education. The objective of this research was to determine if taking an interdisciplinary approach to high school education would enhance the students learning experiences in fields such as neuroscience, robotics, or computer science. This study found an improvement in student engagement for neuroscience by 16.6%, while interest in robotics and computer science improved respectively by 2.7% and 1.8%. The curriculum materials, developed for the SPN microseminar, can be used by high school teachers to further evaluate interdisciplinary instructions across life and physical sciences and computer science.
Organisms are equipped with regulatory systems that display a variety of dynamical behaviours ranging from simple stable steady states, to switching and multistability, to oscillations. Earlier work has shown that oscillations in protein concentrations or gene expression levels are related to the presence of at least one negative feedback loop in the regulatory network. Here we study the dynamics of a very general class of negative feedback loops. Our main result is that in these systems the sequence of maxima and minima of the concentrations is uniquely determined by the topology of the loop and the activating/repressing nature of the interaction between pairs of variables. This allows us to devise an algorithm to reconstruct the topology of oscillating negative feedback loops from their time series; this method applies even when some variables are missing from the data set, or if the time series shows transients, like damped oscillations. We illustrate the relevance and the limits of validity of our method with three examples: p53-Mdm2 oscillations, circadian gene expression in cyanobacteria, and cyclic binding of cofactors at the estrogen-sensitive pS2 promoter.
The nuclear DNA amount in angiosperms is studied from the eigen-value equation of the genome evolution operator H. The operator H is introduced by physical simulation and it is defined as a function of the genome size N and the derivative with respective to the size. The discontinuity of DNA size distribution and its synergetic occurrence in related angiosperms species are successfully deduced from the solution of the equation. The results agree well with the existing experimental data of Aloe, Clarkia, Nicotiana, Lathyrus, Allium and other genera. It may indicate that the evolutionary constrains on angiosperm genome are essentially of quantum origin.
Emergency department (ED) crowding has been an increasing problem worldwide. Prior research has identified factors that contribute to ED crowding. However, the relationships between these remain incompletely understood. This studys objective was to analyse the effects of initiating a local protocol to alleviate crowding situations at the expense of increasing returning patients through the development of a system dynamics (SD) simulation model. The SD study is from an academic care hospital in Boston, MA. Data sources include direct observations, semi-structured interviews, archival data from October 2013, and peer-reviewed literature from the domains of emergency medicine and management science. The SD model shows interrelations between inpatient capacity restraints and return visits due to potential premature discharges. The model reflects the vulnerability of the ED system when exposed to unpredicted increases in demand. Default trigger values for the protocol are tested to determine a balance between increased patient flows and the number of returning patients. Baseline simulation runs for generic variables assessment showed high leverage potential in bed assignment- and transfer times. A thorough understanding of the complex non-linear behaviour of causes and effects of ED crowding is enabled through the use of SD. The vulnerability of the system lies in the crucial interaction between the physical constraints and the expedited patient flows through protocol activation. This study is an example of how hospital managers can benefit from virtual scenario testing within a safe simulation environment to immediately visualise the impacts of policy adjustments.