Role of topology in complex functional networks of beta cells

Abstract

The activity of pancreatic β cells can be described by biological networks of coupled nonlinear oscillators that, via electrochemical synchronization, release insulin in response to augmented glucose levels. In this work, we analyze the emergent behavior of regular and percolated β-cells clusters through a stochastic mathematical model where "functional" networks arise. We show that the emergence and robustness of the synchronized dynamics depend both on intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. In particular, cellular noise level, glucose concentration, network spatial architecture, and cell-to-cell coupling strength are the key factors for the generation of a rhythmic and robust activity. Their role in the functional network topology associated with β-cells clusters is analyzed and discussed.

Spectroscopy ofNe19for the thermonuclearO15(α,γ)Parikh1, Laird2, Séréville3 et al. 2015Phys. Rev. C167231View full textAdd to dashboardCite

“…Despite considerable experimental and theoretical effort to better constrain these rates (see, e.g., Refs. [6,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and references within), the nuclear physics uncertainties are still sufficient to affect, for example, predictions of 18 F production in novae by at least a factor of two [16] and predictions of peak XRB luminosities by a factor of ≈ 2 [6].…”

The 18F(\(n\),\(\alpha \)) Reaction: First Study of \(n\)-Induced Reaction on a Radioactive Nucleus Using the Trojan Horse Method

“…In the same experiment, the 18 F(p,α) 15 O reaction has been studied, and the results are published in [7]. Fundamental requirement of the method is the selection of the events that proceed through a quasifree reaction mechanism among the other possible ones.…”

“…A careful Monte Carlo simulation of the experimental set-up has been performed in order to correct the data for the geometrical efficiency of the set-up. More details can be found in [7,8].…”

Improved information on astrophysical S-factor for the 10B(p,α0)7Be reaction using the Trojan Horse method

“…The cross section for this process is dominated by a strong resonance at 10 keV (J π = 5 2 + , 8.699 MeV 11 C level), laying exactly at the energy corresponding to the Gamow peak (E G ) [4]. Since the presence of low-energy resonances can introduce significant uncertainties in the extrapolation procedure, the proper evaluation of the 10 B(p,α) 7 Be reaction rate can be done by applying the Trojan Horse Method (THM) [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] to the 2 H( 10 B,α 7 Be)n three-body reaction, escaping in this way all the difficulties related to the Coulomb barrier suppression or electron screening effects. The experiment presented in this paper is a further study of the 10 B(p,α 0 ) 7 Be reaction, performed in order to complete the previously started experimental program [14,15].…”