0000000000067320
AUTHOR
Alan D. Rendall
Multiple steady states and the form of response functions to antigen in a model for the initiation of T cell activation
The aim of this paper is to study the qualitative behaviour predicted by a mathematical model for the initial stage of T-cell activation. The state variables in the model are the concentrations of phosphorylation states of the T-cell receptor (TCR) complex and the phosphatase SHP-1 in the cell. It is shown that these quantities cannot approach zero and that the model possesses more than one positive steady state for certain values of the parameters. It can also exhibit damped oscillations. It is proved that the chemical concentration which represents the degree of activation of the cell, that of the maximally phosphorylated form of the TCR complex, is, in general, a non-monotone function of…
The minimal model of Hahn for the Calvin cycle.
There are many models of the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis in the literature. When investigating the dynamics of these models one strategy is to look at the simplest possible models in order to get the most detailed insights. We investigate a minimal model of the Calvin cycle introduced by Hahn while he was pursuing this strategy. In a variant of the model not including photorespiration it is shown that there exists exactly one positive steady state and that this steady state is unstable. For generic initial data either all concentrations tend to infinity at lates times or all concentrations tend to zero at late times. In a variant including photorespiration it is shown that for suitable v…
Energy intake functions and energy budgets of ectotherms and endotherms derived from their ontogenetic growth in body mass and timing of sexual maturation
Abstract Ectothermic and endothermic vertebrates differ not only in their source of body temperature (environment vs. metabolism), but also in growth patterns, in timing of sexual maturation within life, and energy intake functions. Here, we present a mathematical model applicable to ectothermic and endothermic vertebrates. It is designed to test whether differences in the timing of sexual maturation within an animal's life (age at which sexual maturity is reached vs. longevity) together with its ontogenetic gain in body mass (growth curve) can predict the energy intake throughout the animal's life (food intake curve) and can explain differences in energy partitioning (between growth, repro…
The Invariant Distribution of Wealth and Employment Status in a Small Open Economy with Precautionary Savings
Abstract We study optimal savings in continuous time with exogenous transitions between employment and unemployment as the only source of uncertainty in a small open economy. We prove the existence of an optimal consumption path. We exploit that the dynamics of consumption and wealth between jumps can be expressed as a Fuchsian system. We derive conditions under which an invariant joint distribution for the state variables , i.e., wealth and labour market status, exists and is unique. We also provide conditions under which the distribution of these variables converges to the invariant distribution. Our analysis relies on the notion of T-processes and applies results on the stability of Mark…
A Calvin Bestiary
This paper compares a number of mathematical models for the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis and presents theorems on the existence and stability of steady states of these models. Results on five-variable models in the literature are surveyed. Next a number of larger models related to one introduced by Pettersson and Ryde-Pettersson are discussed. The mathematical nature of this model is clarified, showing that it is naturally defined as a system of differential-algebraic equations. It is proved that there are choices of parameters for which this model admits more than one positive steady state. This is done by analysing the limit where the storage of sugars from the cycle as starch is shut d…
Dynamics of the Selkov oscillator.
A classical example of a mathematical model for oscillations in a biological system is the Selkov oscillator, which is a simple description of glycolysis. It is a system of two ordinary differential equations which, when expressed in dimensionless variables, depends on two parameters. Surprisingly it appears that no complete rigorous analysis of the dynamics of this model has ever been given. In this paper several properties of the dynamics of solutions of the model are established. With a view to studying unbounded solutions a thorough analysis of the Poincar\'e compactification of the system is given. It is proved that for any values of the parameters there are solutions which tend to inf…
Overload breakdown in models for photosynthesis
In many models of the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis it is observed that there are solutions where concentrations of key substances belonging to the cycle tend to zero at late times, a phenomenon known as overload breakdown. In this paper we prove theorems about the existence and non-existence of solutions of this type and obtain information on which concentrations tend to zero when overload breakdown occurs. As a starting point we take a model of Pettersson and Ryde-Pettersson which seems to be prone to overload breakdown and a modification of it due to Poolman which was intended to avoid this effect.
Sustained oscillations in the MAP kinase cascade.
Abstract The MAP kinase cascade is a network of enzymatic reactions arranged in layers. In each layer occurs a multiple futile cycle of phosphorylations. The fully phosphorylated substrate then serves as an enzyme for the layer below. This paper focuses on the existence of parameters for which Hopf bifurcations occur and generate periodic orbits. Furthermore it is explained how geometric singular perturbation theory allows to generalize results from simple models to more complex ones.
Dynamical Features of the MAP Kinase Cascade
The MAP kinase cascade is an important signal transduction system in molecular biology for which a lot of mathematical modelling has been done. This paper surveys what has been proved mathematically about the qualitative properties of solutions of the ordinary differential equations arising as models for this biological system. It focuses, in particular, on the issues of multistability and the existence of sustained oscillations. It also gives a concise introduction to the mathematical techniques used in this context, bifurcation theory and geometric singular perturbation theory, as they relate to these specific examples. In addition further directions are presented in which the application…
Global stability analysis of a delay cell-population model of hepatitis B infection with humoral immune response
In this work, we propose and investigate a delay cell population model of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We suppose spatial diffusion of free HBV particles, and use a Beddington-DeAngelis incid...
Stability of stationary solutions in models of the Calvin cycle
Abstract In this paper results are obtained concerning the number of positive stationary solutions in simple models of the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis and the stability of these solutions. It is proved that there are open sets of parameters in the model of Zhu et al. (2009) for which there exist two positive stationary solutions. There are never more than two isolated positive stationary solutions but under certain explicit special conditions on the parameters there is a whole continuum of positive stationary solutions. It is also shown that in the set of parameter values for which two isolated positive stationary solutions exist there is an open subset where one of the solutions is asym…
A proof of bistability for the dual futile cycle
Abstract The multiple futile cycle is an important building block in networks of chemical reactions arising in molecular biology. A typical process which it describes is the addition of n phosphate groups to a protein. It can be modelled by a system of ordinary differential equations depending on parameters. The special case n = 2 is called the dual futile cycle. The main result of this paper is a proof that there are parameter values for which the system of ODE describing the dual futile cycle has two distinct stable stationary solutions. The proof is based on bifurcation theory and geometric singular perturbation theory. An important entity built of three coupled multiple futile cycles is…