Search results for "dynamics."

Identifiability problem for recovering the mortality rate in an age-structured population dynamics model

2014

In this article is studied the identifiability of the age-dependent mortality rate of the Von Foerster–Mc Kendrick model, from the observation of a given age group of the population. In the case where there is no renewal for the population, translated by an additional homogeneous boundary condition to the Von Foerster equation, we give a necessary and sufficient condition on the initial density that ensures the mortality rate identifiability. In the inhomogeneous case, modelled by a non-local boundary condition, we make explicit a sufficient condition for the identifiability property, and give a condition for which the identifiability problem is ill-posed. We illustrate this latter case wit…

Analysis of ecological shifts in the two‐age structured population model with Allee effect and environmental noise

2020

We study noise-induced transformations in the two-age structured population model with the Allee effect and environmental fluctuations. In this bistable model, ecological shifts are associated mathematically with random transitions between basins of coexisting attractors. The following phenomena are revealed and studied: (i) noise-induced extinction, (ii) stochastic regeneration, and (iii) excitement of random mixed-mode oscillations. Constructive abilities of the analytical method of confidence domains are demonstrated in the parametric study of these phenomena.

Progress towards sustainable agriculture – Drivers of change

2021

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 calls for global action to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”. Meeting this challenge requires global partnerships to support more productive, nutritious and equitable food systems, while helping to conserve environmental resources and reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions responsible for global climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offers a global vision for a more sustainable agriculture that encompasses economic, social and environmental dimensions of food and agriculture systems. This technical study examines the key factors driving changes in…

A Bayesian Reconstruction of a Historical Population in Finland, 1647–1850

2020

This article provides a novel method for estimating historical population development. We review the previous literature on historical population time-series estimates and propose a general outline to address the well-known methodological problems. We use a Bayesian hierarchical time-series model that allows us to integrate the parish-level data set and prior population information in a coherent manner. The procedure provides us with model-based posterior intervals for the final population estimates. We demonstrate its applicability by estimating the long-term development of Finlands population from 1647 onward and simultaneously place the country among the very few to have an annual popula…

Effects of density, species interactions, and environmental stochasticity on the dynamics of British bird communities

2022

Our knowledge of the factors affecting species abundances is mainly based on time-series analyses of a few well-studied species at single or few localities, but we know little about whether results from such analyses can be extrapolated to the community level. We apply a joint species distribution model to long-term time-series data on British bird communities to examine the relative contribution of intra- and interspecific density dependence at different spatial scales, as well as the influence of environmental stochasticity, to spatiotemporal interspecific variation in abundance. Intraspecific density dependence has the major structuring effect on these bird communities. In addition, envi…

Thermodynamics and kinetics of ion permeation in wild-type and mutated open active conformation of the human α7 nicotinic receptor

2020

Molecular studies of human pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) expressed in neurons and at neuromuscular junctions are of utmost importance in the development of therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders. We focus here on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor nAChR-α7, a homopentameric channel widely expressed in the human brain, with a proven role in a wide spectrum of disorders including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. By exploiting an all-atom structural model of the full (transmembrane and extracellular) protein in the open, agonist-bound conformation we recently developed, we evaluate the free energy and the mean first passage time of single-ion permeation using …

Dynamics of the ligand-binding domains of ionotropic glutamate receptors

2010

Targeting G-quadruplexes with Organic Dyes: Chelerythrine–DNA Binding Elucidated by Combining Molecular Modeling and Optical Spectroscopy

2019

The DNA-binding of the natural benzophenanthridine alkaloid chelerythrine (CHE) has been assessed by combining molecular modeling and optical absorption spectroscopy. Specifically, both double-helical (B-DNA) and G-quadruplex sequences&mdash

A synthetic derivative of antimicrobial peptide holothuroidin 2 from mediterranean sea cucumber (Holothuria tubulosa) in the control of Listeria mono…

2019

Due to the limited number of available antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered antimicrobial candidates to fight difficult-to-treat infections such as those associated with biofilms. Marine environments are precious sources of AMPs, as shown by the recent discovery of antibiofilm properties of Holothuroidin 2 (H2), an AMP produced by the Mediterranean sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa. In this study, we considered the properties of a new H2 derivative, named H2d, and we tested it against seven strains of the dangerous foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. This peptide was more active than H2 in inhibiting the growth of planktonic L. monocytogenes and was able to interf…

Molecular dynamics of electrosprayed water nanodroplets containing sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate

2013

The behavior of aqueous solutions of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOTNa) subject to electrospray ionization (ESI) has been investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at three temperatures (350, 500 and 800 K). We consider several types of water nanodroplets containing AOTNa molecules and composed of a fixed number of water molecules (1000), N(AOT)(0) AOT(-) anions (N(AOT)(0) =  0, 5, 10) and N(Na)(0) sodium ions (N(Na)(0) =  0, 5, 10, 15, 20): in a short time scale (less than 1 ns), the AOTNa molecules, initially forming direct micelles in the interior of the water nanodroplets, are observed in all cases to diffuse nearby the nanodroplet surface, so that the hydrophilic …