The ability to explain biological phenomena with mathematics and to generate predictions from mathematical models is critical for understanding and controlling natural systems. Concurrently, the rise in open-source software has greatly increased the ease at which researchers can implement their own mathematical models. With a reasonably sound understanding of mathematics and programming skills, a researcher can quickly and easily use such tools for their own work. The purpose of this chapter is to expose the reader to one such tool, the open-source programming language R, and to demonstrate its practical application to studying population dynamics. We use the Lotka-Volterra predator-prey dynamics as an example.
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Front Biosci (Landmark Ed)
January 2025
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Integrated Graduate School of Medicine, Engineering, and Agricultural Sciences, University of Yamanashi, 400-8510 Kofu, Japan.
Background: Sperm represent a heterogeneous population crucial for male reproductive success. Additionally, sperm undergo dynamic changes during maturation and capacitation. Despite these well-established processes, the complex nature of sperm heterogeneity and membrane dynamics remains elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViruses
January 2025
Antiguo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, "Fray Antonio Alcalde", Guadalajara 44280, Mexico.
This study investigates the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values and key COVID-19 transmission and outcome metrics across five years of the pandemic in Jalisco, Mexico. Utilizing a comprehensive time-series analysis, we evaluated weekly median Ct values as proxies for viral load and their temporal associations with positivity rates, reproduction numbers (Rt), hospitalizations, and mortality. Cross-correlation and lagged regression analyses revealed significant lead-lag relationships, with declining Ct values consistently preceding surges in positivity rates and hospitalizations, particularly during the early phases of the pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViruses
January 2025
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an endemic disease affecting the swine industry. The disease is caused by the PRRS virus (PRRSV). Despite extensive biosecurity and control measures, the persistence and seasonality of the virus have raised questions about the virus's environmental dynamics during the fall season when the yearly epidemic onset begins and when crop harvesting and manure incorporation into the field occur.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViruses
December 2024
Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) epizootics have caused repeated mass mortality events among wild birds. The effect of the infection is potentially detrimental for a variety of bird species, including the Peregrine Falcon (). The numbers of wintering and breeding Peregrine Falcons in the Netherlands have recently declined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
January 2025
Shapotou Desert Research and Experimental Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Donggang West Road, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Turcz. is a winter annual species of the Asteraceae family, distributed in sandy areas of northern China, and is crucial for wind avoidance and sand fixation. To understand the inter- and intra-annual population dynamics of in its cold desert habitats, we conducted long- and short-term demographic studies to investigate the timing of germination, seedling survival, soil seed bank and seed longevity of natural populations on the fringe of the Tengger Desert.
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