A quasi-Newton method (QNM) in infinite-dimensional spaces for identifying parameters involved in distributed parameter systems is presented in this paper. Next, the linear convergence of a sequence generated by the QNM algorithm is also proved. We apply the QNM algorithm to an identification problem for a nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation to illustrate the efficiency of the QNM algorithm.

A discrete spatial model of a multi-species environment is formulated, and the behaviour of the system is studied. The model is used to explore stability and resilience of biological systems and discuss how they are dependent on spatial scale chosen.

Many gravity driven flows can be modelled as homogeneous layers of inviscid fluid with a hydrostatic pressure distribution. There are examples throughout oceanography, meteorology, and many engineering applications, yet there are areas which require further investigation. Analytical and numerical results for two-layer shallow-water formulations of time dependent gravity currents travelling in one spatial dimension are presented. Model equations for three physical limits are developed from the hydraulic equations, and numerical solutions are produced using a relaxation scheme for conservation laws developed recently by S. Jin and X. Zin [6]. Hyperbolicity of the model equations is examined in conjunction with the stability Froude number, and shock formation at the interface of the two layers is investigated using the theory of weakly nonlinear hyperbolic waves.

An analytical expression for the voltage response to current stimulation at relatively short and long times is used to obtain estimates of the passive electrical constants of a neuron that is electrotonically coupled at the soma and dendritic terminals to other neurons in a neural network.

The velocities of Rayleigh surface waves and, when they exist, Stoneley interface waves can be obtained as the roots of two irrational functions. Here previous results are extended by using standard operations related to the Wiener-Hopf technique to provide expressions in quadrature for these roots.

A new version of Jensen's inequality is established for probability distributions on the non-negative real numbers which are characterized by moments higher than the first. We deduce some new sharp bounds for Laplace-Stieltjes transforms of such distribution functions.

In this paper we consider the MAP/G/1 queueing system with infinite capacity. In analysis, we use the supplementary variable method to derive the double transform of the queue length and the remaining service time of the customer in service (if any) in the steady state. As will be shown in this paper, our method is very simple and elegant. As a one-dimensional marginal transform of the double transform, we obtain the generating function of the queue length in the system for the MAP/G/1 queue, which is consistent with the known result.

A variety of approaches have been developed for the detection of features such as edges, lines, and corners in images. Many techniques presuppose the feature type, such as a step edge, and use the differential properties of the luminance function to detect the location of such features. The local energy model provides an alternative approach, detecting a variety of feature types in a single pass by analysing order in the phase components of the Fourier transform of the image. The local energy model is usually implemented by calculating the envelope of the analytic signal associated with the image function. Here we analyse the accuracy of such an implementation, and show that in certain cases the feature location is only approximately given by the local energy model. Orientation selectivity is another aspect of the local energy model, and we show that a feature is only correctly located at a peak of the local energy function when local energy has a zero gradient in two orthogonal directions at the peak point.

The influence of thermal buoyancy on neutral wave modes in Poiseuille-Couette flow is considered. We examine the modifications to the asymptotic structure first described by Mureithi, Denier & Stott [16], who demonstrated that neutral wave modes in a strongly thermally stratified boundary layer are localized at the position where the streamwise velocity attains its maximum value. The present work demonstrates that such a flow structure also holds for Poiseuille-Couette flow but that a new flow structure emerges as the position of maximum velocity approaches the wall (and which occurs as the level of shear, present as a consequence of the Couette component of the flow, is increased). The limiting behaviour of these wave modes is discussed thereby allowing us to identify the parameter regime appropriate to the eventual restabilization of the flow at moderate levels of shear.