scholarly journals The fractal dimension of Islamic and Persian four-folding gardens

Author(s):  
Agnès Patuano ◽  
M. Francisca Lima

AbstractSince Benoit Mandelbrot (1924–2010) coined the term “fractal” in 1975, mathematical theories of fractal geometry have deeply influenced the fields of landscape perception, architecture, and technology. Indeed, their ability to describe complex forms nested within each other, and repeated towards infinity, has allowed the modeling of chaotic phenomena such as weather patterns or plant growth. Some human-designed patterns such as the ones developed by Islamic cultures have been found to follow similar principles of hierarchy, symmetry, and repetition. However, the application of these principles in the design of gardens is an underexplored field. This paper presents a comparative exploration of the four-fold garden design model—the chahár-bágh—typical of Persian and Islamic garden design by analyzing two case studies: Taj Mahal and Isfahan’s city plan. This four-fold pattern is known to not only have a religious reading but to be also linked with ideals of fair distribution. Using an innovative compositional fractal analysis inspired by architecture, our results demonstrate that these gardens contain a high level of self-replication and scale invariance and that they exhibit a high fractal dimension. The novel application of this method of analysis to historical landscape plans allows us to assess to what extent fractal concepts were already in use before the European Renaissance and Mandelbrot’s explorations, and to speculate on their symbolism in the context of Islamic and Persian garden design. Specifically, we conclude that the fractal characteristics of these gardens might be intended as a representation of the infinite divine but also of principles of fairness and equality. Moving forward, this approach could be applied to design spaces, namely in the infrastructural design of the urban fabric, which are both meaningful and environmentally just.

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuo Li ◽  
Zhikai Liang ◽  
Zhenxue Jiang ◽  
Fenglin Gao ◽  
Yinghan Zhang ◽  
...  

The Lower Cretaceous Shahezi shales are the targets for lacustrine shale gas exploration in Changling Fault Depression (CFD), Southern Songliao Basin. In this study, the Shahezi shales were investigated to further understand the impacts of rock compositions, including organic matters and minerals on pore structure and fractal characteristics. An integrated experiment procedure, including total organic carbon (TOC) content, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), low pressure nitrogen physisorption (LPNP), and mercury intrusion capillary pressure (MICP), was conducted. Seven lithofacies can be identified according to on a mineralogy-based classification scheme for shales. Inorganic mineral hosted pores are the most abundant pore type, while relatively few organic matter (OM) pores are observed in FE-SEM images of the Shahezi shales. Multimodal pore size distribution characteristics were shown in pore width ranges of 0.5–0.9 nm, 3–6 nm, and 10–40 nm. The primary controlling factors for pore structure in Shahezi shales are clay minerals rather than OM. Organic-medium mixed shale (OMMS) has the highest total pore volumes (0.0353 mL/g), followed by organic-rich mixed shale (ORMS) (0.02369 mL/g), while the organic-poor shale (OPS) has the lowest pore volumes of 0.0122 mL/g. Fractal dimensions D1 and D2 (at relative pressures of 0–0.5 and 0.5–1 of LPNP isotherms) were obtained using the Frenkel–Halsey–Hill (FHH) method, with D1 ranging from 2.0336 to 2.5957, and D2 between 2.5779 and 2.8821. Fractal dimensions are associated with specific lithofacies, because each lithofacies has a distinctive composition. Organic-medium argillaceous shale (OMAS), rich in clay, have comparatively high fractal dimension D1. In addition, organic-medium argillaceous shale (ORAS), rich in TOC, have comparatively high fractal dimension D2. OPS shale contains more siliceous and less TOC, with the lowest D1 and D2. Factor analysis indicates that clay contents is the most significant factor controlling the fractal dimensions of the lacustrine Shahezi shale.


Open Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 419-427
Author(s):  
Wenfeng He ◽  
Xia Liu ◽  
Zhijie Luo ◽  
Longmei Li ◽  
Xisheng Fang

Abstract FGF16 is implicated in the progression of some specific types of cancers, such as embryonic carcinoma, ovarian cancer, and liver cancer. Yet, the function of FGF16 in the development of lung cancer remains largely unexplored. In this study, we present the novel function of FGF16 and the regulation of miR-520b on FGF16 in lung cancer progression. In clinical lung cancer tissues, FGF16 is overexpressed and its high level is negatively associated with the low level of miR-520b. Furthermore, both the transcription and translation levels of FGF16 are restrained by miR-520b in lung cancer cells. For the regulatory mechanism investigation, miR-520b is able to directly bind to the 3′-untranslated region (3′UTR) of FGF16 mRNA, leading to its mRNA cleavage in the cells. Functionally, miR-520b reduces the growth of lung cancer and its inhibitor anti-miR520b is able to promote the growth through competing endogenous miR-520b. Moreover, FGF16 silence using RNA interference is capable of doing great damage to anti-miR-520b-accelerated growth of lung cancer. Thus, our finding indicates that FGF16 is a new target gene of miR-520b in lung cancer. For lung cancer, FGF16 may serve as a novel biomarker and miR-520b/FGF16 may be useful in clinical treatment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 01006
Author(s):  
Bagus Hario Setiadji ◽  
Supriyono ◽  
Djoko Purwanto

Several studies have shown that fractal theory can be used to analyze the morphology of aggregate materials in designing the gradation. However, the question arises whether a fractal dimension can actually represent a single aggregate gradation. This study, which is a part of a grand research to determine aggregate gradation based on known asphalt mixture specifications, is performed to clarify the aforementioned question. To do so, two steps of methodology were proposed in this study, that is, step 1 is to determine the fractal characteristics using 3 aggregate gradations (i.e. gradations near upper and lower bounds, and middle gradation); and step 2 is to back-calculate aggregate gradation based on fractal characteristics obtained using 2 scenarios, one-and multi-fractal dimension scenarios. The results of this study indicate that the multi-fractal dimension scenario provides a better prediction of aggregate gradation due to the ability of this scenario to better represent the shape of the original aggregate gradation. However, careful consideration must be observed when using more than two fractal dimensions in predicting aggregate gradation as it will increase the difficulty in developing the fractal characteristic equations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
He Zhang ◽  
Yang Xie

AbstractStart-gain mutations can introduce novel start codons and generate novel coding sequences that may affect the function of genes. In this study, we systematically investigated the novel start codons that were either polymorphic or fixed in the human genomes. 829 polymorphic start-gain SNVs were identified in the human populations, and the novel start codons introduced by these SNVs have significantly higher activity in translation initiation. Some of these start-gain SNVs were reported to be associated with phenotypes and diseases in previous studies. By comparative genomic analysis, we found 26 human-specific start codons that were fixed after the divergence between the human and chimpanzee, and high-level translation initiation activity was observed on them. The negative selection signal was detected in the novel coding sequences introduced by these human-specific start codons, indicating the important function of these novel coding sequences. This study reveals start-gain mutations are keeping appearing in the human genomes during the evolution and may be important sources altering the function of genes which may further affect the phenotypes or cause diseases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kerry Alistair Nitz

<p>Iris Hanika’s commercially and critically successful novel Treffen sich zwei makes use of several techniques in the characterisation of its protagonists. Many of its reviews focus on the author’s deliberate placement of links to a wider literary context. Their interest extends from questions of genre-mixing through to the identification of direct quotes from other authors’ works. The critical preoccupation with intertexts demonstrates their importance for the readers’ response to the novel. More specifically, certain reviews highlight the important role intertexts play in the characterisation of the protagonists. This study catalogues the intertexts, metaphors and parodies in Treffen sich zwei and, by means of quantitative analysis, identifies high-level patterns in the use of these techniques. In particular, patterns are identified between, on the one hand, the different narrative functions of the intertexts and, on the other hand, the different ways in which they are interwoven in the text. The data also shows that distinct patterns are associated with each of the two protagonists and that certain patterns change in the course of the novel in parallel with the changes in the relationship between them. This quantitative evidence is supported by a more detailed, qualitative approach, which examines how specific intertexts or metaphors are used for the purposes of characterisation. In addition, variations in voice are used to distinguish the two main protagonists in a manner consistent with the intertexts and metaphors. It is thanks to the combination of these techniques that the theme of meeting encapsulated in the title, Treffen sich zwei, is woven into the textual fabric of the novel.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaid Zoumot ◽  
Maria-Fernanda Bonilla ◽  
Ali S. Wahla ◽  
Irfan Shafiq ◽  
Mateen Uzbeck ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Pulmonary radiological findings of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been well documented and range from scattered ground-glass infiltrates in milder cases to confluent ground-glass change, dense consolidation, and crazy paving in the critically ill. However, lung cavitation has not been commonly described in these patients. The objective of this study was to assess the incidence of pulmonary cavitation in patients with COVID-19 and describe its characteristics and evolution.Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all patients admitted to our institution with COVID-19 and reviewed electronic medical records and imaging to identify patients who developed pulmonary cavitation.Results: Twelve out of 689 (1.7%) patients admitted to our institution with COVID-19 developed pulmonary cavitation, comprising 3.3% (n=12/359) of patients who developed COVID-19 pneumonia, and 11% (n=12/110) of those admitted to the intensive care unit. We describe the imaging characteristics of the cavitation and present the clinical, pharmacological, laboratory, and microbiological parameters for these patients. In this cohort six patients have died, two are recovering in hospital and four have been discharged home. Conclusion: Cavitary lung disease in patients with severe COVID-19 disease is not uncommon, and is associated with a high level of morbidity and mortality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Shao-Heng He ◽  
Zhi Ding ◽  
Hai-Bo Hu ◽  
Min Gao

In this study, a series of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tests was conducted on calcareous sand, quartz sand, and glass bead with a wide range of grain sizes, to understand the effect of grain size on the micro-pore structure and fractal characteristics of the carbonate-based sand and silicate-based sand. The pore size distribution (PSD) of the tested materials were obtained from the NMR T2 spectra, and fractal theory was introduced to describe the fractal properties of PSD. Results demonstrate that grain size has a significant effect on the PSD of carbonate-based sand and silicate-based sand. As grain size increases, the PSD of sands evolves from a binary structure with two peaks to a ternary structure with three peaks. The increase in the grain size can cause a remarkable increase in the maximum pore size. It is also found that the more irregular the particle shape, the better the continuity between the large and medium pores. In addition, grain size has a considerable effect on the fractal dimension of the micro-pore structure. The increase of grain size can lead to a significant increase in the heterogeneity and fractal dimension in PSD for calcareous sand, quartz sand and glass bead.


2012 ◽  
Vol 204-208 ◽  
pp. 1923-1928
Author(s):  
Bo Tan ◽  
Rui Hua Yang ◽  
Yan Ting Lai

The paper presents the fractal dimension formula of distribution of asphalt mixture aggregate diameter by the deducing mass fractal characteristics function. Taking AC-20 and SMA-20 as examples, selected 6 groups of representative grading curves within the grading envelope proposed by the present specification, and calculated their fractal dimensions. The asphalt mixture gradation has fractal dimension D (D∈(1,3)), and the fractal of continuous gradation is single while the fractal of gap-gradation shows multi-fractal with 4.75 as the dividing point. Fractal dimension of aggregate gradation of asphalt mixture reflect the structure characteristics of aggregate distribution, that is, finer is aggregate, bigger is the fractal dimension.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7350
Author(s):  
Qindong Fan ◽  
Fengtian Du ◽  
Hu Li

In order to improve the study of the spatial form of villages, fractal theory is used to analyze the plane and facade of Maling Village, Changdai Town, Mengjin County, Luoyang City, Henan Province, China. The results show that the village facade and plane spatial shape of Maling Village have obvious fractal characteristics and the fractal dimension can be used as an important index to evaluate the plane and facade shape of the village. The fractal dimension of each land use type is between 1.2415 and 1.7443. The stability index of land use types in the village follows the order of village construction land > cultivated land > road > garden land > woodland > grassland. The research results can provide decision-making information for the rational use and planning of village land.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document