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# Intl. Symposium on Power-Law Modelling of Biological Systems

Thu Dec 11 06:03:16 EST 1997

Dear Coleagues,

PowBioSys - International Symposium on Power-Law Modelling of Biological=
Systems
Oeiras (Portugal), October 4-7, 1998

This is the FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT and PRE-REGISTRATION of the
International Symposium on Power-Law Modelling of Biological Systems
- PowBioSys. This symposium is centred on, but not
restricted to, developments of the power-law formalism (see text at
the end of this message) and on its applications to biological
problems, from the molecular to the ecological levels.=20
The following types of contributions are welcome:

* mathematical contributions bearing on or applying the power-law formalism;

* applications of the power-law formalism to biological problems;=20

* other applications of the power-law formalism (Chemistry, Physics,
Economics, Engineering, etc.);=20

* contributions that do not involve the power-law formalism but fall
within the scope of the biological themes of the sessions.

The contributions can be presented as seminars, posters, or software
demonstrations.

To enter your pre-registration, please fill the form below and mail it
to <a.salvador at mail.telepac.pt> not later than JANUARY 15. A=20
confirmation of receipt will be sent within two weeks by email.=20

For more detailed and complementary information about the PowBioSys meeting,

SESSION THEMES (tentative):

* Mathematical developments in the framework of the power-law formalism
* Software for simulation and analysis of biological systems=20
* Strategies for modelling biological processes=20
* Modelling of ecological systems=20
* Modelling of supracellular physiological systems=20
* Large-scale modelling of biochemical processes=20
* Modelling of specific biochemical processes=20
* Biophysical aspects of metabolism=20
* The search for design principles in Biochemistry=20

INVITED SPEAKERS (as of November 22)

Victor Fairen (TBA)
Alexandre Quintanilha (TBA)
Michael A. Savageau (TBA)
Eberhard Voit (TBA)
Winchill Vaz (TBA)

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Abstracts (600 words at most) should be sent to a.salvador at mail.telepac.pt
or to the mail address below, not later than April 15:

PowBioSys meeting
C/o Grupo de Bioquimica e Biologia Teoricas
Instituto de Investigacao Cientifica Bento da Rocha Cabral
Cc. Bento da Rocha Cabral, 14
P-1250 Lisboa
Portugal

Electronic submission in LaTeX format is preferred. Notification of receipt
will be sent within three weeks after submission; notification of acceptance
All submissions must indicate the type of contribution intended (either
seminar, poster, or software demonstration) and if a corresponding paper
will be submitted. Submission of a paper is highly recommended for all=
proposed
seminars.
High-quality contributed papers will be published at an international
journal, after they pass the standard peer-review process of the journal.

SCHEDULE

Second anouncement and call for abstracts:  January 31, 1998
Deadline for abstracts: April 15, 1998
Notification of acceptation of abstracts: May 30, 1998
Deadline for early registration:  June 15, 1998=20
Deadline for papers:  October 4, 1998
Deadline for late registration:  October 4, 1998

SESSION THEMES (tentative):

* Mathematical developments in the framework of the power-law formalism
* Software for simulation and analysis of biological systems=20
* Strategies for modelling biological processes=20
* Modelling of ecological systems=20
* Modelling of supracellular physiological systems=20
* Large-scale modelling of biochemical processes=20
* Modelling of specific biochemical processes=20
* Biophysical aspects of metabolism=20
* The search for design principles in Biochemistry=20

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Pre-Registration form for
The International Symposium on Power-Law Modelling of Biological Systems

Name:_______________________________________________________________________=
___

Affiliation:________________________________________________________________=
___

___

____________________________________________________________________________=
___

Country:____________________________

email:_________________________ Phone:_________________=
FAX:_________________

Are you a student?_____

______________________________

____________________________________________________________________________=
___

Do you intend to present a seminar?_______

Provisional=
title(s):__________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________=
___

Do you intend to present a poster?_______

Provisional=
title(s):__________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________=
___

Do you intend to present computer software?_______

Name and goal of the=
software:_________________________________________________

Hardware and software required for the software=
demonstration:_________________

____________________________________________________________________________=
___

Will you need a written invitation to the PowBioSys meeting?____

Suggestions:________________________________________________________________=
___

____________________________________________________________________________=
___

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\documentclass{article}
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\begin{document}

\section*{\center{THE POWER-LAW FORMALISM}}

Recent developments in molecular biology, such as the full sequentiation of
genomes,
highlighted a new field, known as biochemical systems theory, integrative
molecular biology
and functional genomics, whose goal is understanding the integrated behavior
of complex
biological systems.

The principal approach to this goal has been dominated by the=
Michaelis-Menten
formalism. This formalism is useful in characterizing isolated mechanisms
{\it in vitro},
but the resulting mathematical expressions have an {\it ad hoc} nonlinear
form that is
resistant to analytical solution. Moreover, its fundamental assumptions are
often invalid in
the context of the intact system {\it in vivo}.

The power-law formalism (PLF), introduced in the late 1960s, generalizes
both the
Michaelis-Menten formalism and the underlying mass-action formalism. The PLF
combines
nonlinear elements having a specific structure, products of power-law
functions, with a
linear operator to form a set of differential equations, e.g.,

$$dX_i/dt =3D \sum_{k=3D1}^r{\alpha_{ik} \sum_{j=3D1}^m= X_j^{g_{ijk}}}- \sum_{k=3D1}^r{\beta_{ik} \sum_{j=3D1}^m X_j^{h_{ijk}}} \qquad i =3D 1, ..., n$$

Development of this formalism was initiated to deal with the integrated
behavior of large
and complex biochemical systems. The PLF both broadened the functional
possibilities for
kinetic phenomena and simplified their representation to a regular canonical
form. Any kinetic
expression that is suitably differentiable can be accurately represented by
a simple product
of power-law functions within a specified neighborhood of the nominal
operating conditions.
The biochemical systems theory based on this formalism provided a new set of
definitions,
concepts, methods and solutions that relate the integrated behavior of
nonlinear systems to
the values of the independent variables and kinetic determinants of the
underlying component
processes.=20

Further developments include measures of signal propagation, system
robustness, local
stability and response time, a method of comparative analysis ('controlled
mathematical
comparison'), techniques for handling constrained variables and alternative
forms of
aggregation, studies of relative accuracy, methods of numerical solution,
strategies for
model assessment and refinement, and methods for characterizing synergies.

The PLF is a canonical nonlinear representation from three perspectives: i)