Seminars and Colloquia by Series

Modeling cancer stem cell differentiation

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, February 1, 2010 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
269 Skiles
Speaker
Peter Kim – University of Utah –
We improved a computational model of leukemia development from stem cells to terminally differentiated cells by replacing the probabilistic, agent-based model of Roeder et al. (2006) with a system of deterministic, difference equations. The model is based on the relatively recent theory that cancer originates from cancer stem cells that reside in a microenvironment, called the stem cell niche. Depending on a stem cell’s location within the stem cell niche, the stem cell may remain quiescent or begin proliferating. This emerging theory states that leukemia (and potentially other cancers) is caused by the misregulation of the cycle ofproliferation and quiescence within the stem cell niche.Unlike the original agent-based model, which required seven hours per simulation, our model could be numerically evaluated in less than five minutes. The results of our numerical simulations showed that our model closely replicated the average behavior of the original agent-based model. We then extended our difference equation model to a system of age-structured partial differential equations (PDEs), which also reproduced the behavior of the Roeder model. Furthermore, the PDE model was amenable to mathematical stability analysis, which revealed three modes of behavior: stability at 0 (cancer dies out), stability at a nonzero equilibrium (a scenario akin to chronic myelogenous leukemia), and periodic oscillations (a scenario akin to accelerated myelogenous leukemia).The PDE formulation not only makes the model suitable for analysis, but also provides an effective mathematical framework for extending the model to include other aspects, such as the spatial distribution of stem cells within the niche.

The emergence of travelling waves for reaction-diffusion equations under a co-moving change of coordinates

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, November 30, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Maria Lopez – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Madrid, Spain
We introduce a change of coordinates allowing to capture in a fixed reference frame the profile of travelling wave solutions for nonlinear parabolic equations. For nonlinearities of bistable type the asymptotic travelling wave profile becomes an equilibrium state for the augmented reaction-diffusion equation. In the new equation, the profile of the asymptotic travelling front and its propagation speed emerge simultaneously as time evolves. Several numerical experiments illustrate the effciency of the method.

Spectral methods in Hamiltonian PDE

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, November 16, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Wei-Min Wang – Universite Paris-Sud, France
We present a new theory on Hamiltonian PDE. The linear theory solves an old spectral problem on boundedness of L infinity norm of the eigenfunctions of the Schroedinger operator on the 2-torus. The nonlinear theory develops Fourier geometry, eliminates the convexity condition on the (infinite dimension) Hamiltonian and is natural for PDE.

Quasi Non-Integrable Hamiltonian System and its Applications

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, November 9, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Dongwei Huang – Tianjin Polytechnic University, China and School of Mathematics, Georgia Tech
Many dynamical systems may be subject to stochastic excitations, so to find an efficient method to analyze the stochastic system is very important. As for the complexity of the stochastic systems, there are not any omnipotent methods. What I would like to present here is a brief introduction to quasi-non-integrable Hamiltonian systems and stochastic averaging method for analyzing certain stochastic dynamical systems. At the end, I will give some examples of the method.

Stable sets and unstable sets in positive entropy systems

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, November 2, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Wen Huang – USTC, China and SoM, Georgia Tech
Stable sets and unstable sets of a dynamical system with positive entropy are investigated. It is shown that in any invertible system with positive entropy, there is a measure-theoretically ?rather big? set such that for any point from the set, the intersection of the closure of the stable set and the closure of the unstable set of the point has positive entropy. Moreover, for several kinds of specific systems, the lower bound of Hausdorff dimension of these sets is estimated. Particularly the lower bound of the Hausdorff dimension of such sets appearing in a positive entropy diffeomorphism on a smooth Riemannian manifold is given in terms of the metric entropy and of Lyapunov exponent.

A Hepatitis B virus model with age since infection that exhibits backward bifurcation

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, October 19, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Redouane Qesmi – York University, Canada and SoM, Georgia Tech
Despite advances in treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, liver transplantation remains the only hope for many patients with end-stage liver disease due to HBV. A complication with liver transplantation, however, is that the new liver is eventually reinfected in chronic HBV patients by infection in other compartments of the body. We have formulated a model to describe the dynamics of HBV after liver transplant, considering the liver and the blood of areas of infection. Analyzing the model, we observe that the system shows either a transcritical or a backward bifurcation. Explicit conditions on the model parameters are given for the backward bifurcation to be present, to be reduced, or disappear. Consequently, we investigate possible factors that are responsible for HBV/HCV infection and assess control strategies to reduce HBV/HCV reinfection and improve graft survival after liver transplantation.

Fourier's Law, a brief mathematical review - Continued

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, September 28, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Federico Bonetto – School of Mathematics, Georgia Tech

Please Note: This talk continues from last week's colloquium.

Fourier's Law assert that the heat flow through a point in a solid is proportional to the temperature gradient at that point. Fourier himself thought that this law could not be derived from the mechanical properties of the elementary constituents (atoms and electrons, in modern language) of the solid. On the contrary, we now believe that such a derivation is possible and necessary. At the core of this change of opinion is the introduction of probability in the description. We now see the microscopic state of a system as a probability measure on phase space so that evolution becomes a stochastic process. Macroscopic properties are then obtained through averages. I will introduce some of the models used in this research and discuss their relevance for the physical problem and the mathematical results one can obtain.

Fourier's Law, a brief mathematical review

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, September 21, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Federico Bonetto – School of Mathematics, Georgia Tech
Fourier's Law assert that the heat flow through a point in a solid is proportional to the temperature gradient at that point. Fourier himself thought that this law could not be derived from the mechanical properties of the elementary constituents (atoms and electrons, in modern language) of the solid. On the contrary, we now believe that such a derivation is possible and necessary. At the core of this change of opinion is the introduction of probability in the description. We now see the microscopic state of a system as a probability measure on phase space so that evolution becomes a stochastic process. Macroscopic properties are then obtained through averages. I will introduce some of the models used in this research and discuss their relevance for the physical problem and the mathematical results one can obtain.

Asymptotic dynamics of reaction-diffusion equations in dumbbell domains

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, September 14, 2009 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 269
Speaker
Jose M. Arrieta – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
We study the behavior of the asymptotic dynamics of a dissipative reaction-diffusion equation in a dumbbell domain, which, roughly speaking, consists of two fixed domains joined by a thin channel. We analyze the behavior of the stationary solutions (solutions of the elliptic problem), their local unstable manifold and the attractor of the equation as the width of the connecting channel goes to zero.

Bendixson conditions for differential equations in Banach spaces

Series
CDSNS Colloquium
Time
Monday, August 24, 2009 - 16:30 for 2 hours
Location
Skiles 255
Speaker
Qian Wang – School of Mathematics, Georgia Tech
The Bendixson conditions for general nonlinear differential equations in Banach spaces are developed in terms of stability of associated compound differential equations. The generalized Bendixson criterion states that, if some measure of 2-dimensional surface area tends to zero with time, then there are no closed curves that are left invariant by the dynamics. In particular, there are no nontrivial periodic orbits, homoclinic loops or heteroclinic loops. Concrete conditions that preclude the existence of periodic solutions for a parabolic PDE will be given. This is joint work with Professor James S. Muldowney at University of Alberta.

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