细胞内部过程中的首达时间

The First Passage Time in Intracellular Processes

细胞行为的宏观变化常常是由微观阈值事件触发的.由于细胞内部过程的随机性,因此阈值触发的细胞事件也是随机的.数学上,跨越阈值事件可以归结为首达时间问题.该文以通俗易懂的方式建立起细胞过程中首达时间的一般数学框架,特别是给出了计算首达时间分布和平均首达时间的一般公式,这些公式具有广泛的应用,并用简单的生灭过程例子来说明如何使用该文的理论和公式.

Macroscopic changes in cellular behavior are triggered often by microscopic threshold events. These events are usually stochastic due to stochasticity of intracellular processes. Mathematically,threshold-crossing events can be formulated as first passage time( FPT) issues. Here,a general mathematical framework for FPTs of cellular processes is established in a simple manner,and in particular,general formulae for calculating FPT distributions and their statistical indices are derived. These formulae can have broad applications. The exemplar of a simple birthdeath process is used to show how the theory and formulae are used.