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[1]    Definitions : PDE stands for Partial Differential Equation and parabolic means equations of the form :

We only treat the last case.

[2]    Hint(Schulman, 1981) : Write down the binomial distribution for the number of molecules at a fixed position after N=Nl+Nr steps. Then determine the proper conditions and apply the appropriate Limit Theorem of Formal Statistics to find the Normal (i.e. Gaussian) distribution.

[3]    This is generally done by using boundary detectiontechniques based on the ray-tracing techniques of Computer Graphics (Foley et al., 1990). See the Numerical Methods section.

[4]    See fig.1 for a depicted example of an initialcondition.

[5]    Definition :

[6]    Definition :

[7]    In this scheme, reversible reactions are written as a pair of irreversiblereactions!

[8]   The spherical cell had a diameter of 20 μm and was simulated using a Crank-Nicholson solution method (eq.(35)) with 0.1 μm thick shells. Resting calcium concentration was 50 nM and diffusionconstant for calcium was 2*10-6cm2s-1. Removal mechanismswere not implemented. Slow buffer (EGTA): concentration 50 μM ,K,d=0.20 μM, f=2.5*106 M-1s-1 , b=0.5 s-1. Fast buffer (BAPTA): concentration 50 μM ,Kd=0.20 μM , f=4.0*108 M-1s-1 , b=8 s-1. Diffusible buffers had a diffusion constant of 2*10-6cm2s-1. The current was 100ms long and had an amplitude of 50 pA.

[9]    Dapp was computed as formula and the calcium influx was scaled toachieve the same final free calcium concentration as in the case of realbuffer.

[10]    Concentrations of 50 μM for the slowbuffer and 10 μM for the fast buffer. The cell is also larger(diameter of 60 μm ) and additional traces are shown forconcentrations 20 μm and 30 μm below the plasmamembrane.

[11]    Since computers are generally deterministicmachines, it is better to use the term 'pseudo-random' numbers. It is not therandomness of every individual number per se that's important but thestatistical properties of a sequence that have to match the statisticalproperties of a sequence of 'real' random numbers.

[12]    Of course, nothing keeps you from reformulating aset of reaction-diffusion equations into a set of integral equations and usingthe first type to solve them. Good luck!

[13]    That is, on nowadays workstations. More molecules (on the order of hundred thousand to a million) can be tracked using workstation clusters or supercomputers.

[14]    Such a solution is called the Green's Function of the differential equation at hand. Hence the name Green's Function Monte Carlo.

[15]    It can be proven that var Formula when no additional information about the solution is used.

[16]    An exact definition of detailed balance strongly depends on the type of stochastic process involved (see (Fishman,1996)).

[17]    Formula is the integer part of x.

[18]    A definition for 'implicit method' is given afterintroducing the equations.