par Smets, Philippe ;Bartholomay, Anthony A.F.
Référence Mathematical biosciences, 10, 3-4, page (333-351)
Publication Publié, 1971
Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : Periodicity, as used in the strict mathematical sense, can only be an idealization for naturally occuring phenomena. This is particularly true for biological phenomena. In fact, in biological phenomena, terms such as "bioperiodicity" or "near periodicity" have been introduced that carry a more qualitative connotation. In this article a theory of connection-preserving point-to-set mappings growing out of the set-theoretic notion of mappings is developed in a separate appendix and proposed as a basis for expliciting what seems to be implied by the concept of bioperiodicity. In this context the notion of "repetitive pattern" is introduced to replace the more mathematically constrictive notion of repeating cycle of a periodic function. The mathematical relationship between bioperiodicity is also established. This study fits into the domains of relational biology and biomathematics. It was conceived originally in connection with theoretical medical studies of cardiac arrhythmia and will be applied to such processes in another publication. © 1971.