The Geometry of Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 93-109
Author(s):  
Manish Arora ◽  
Paul Curtin ◽  
Austen Curtin ◽  
Christine Austin ◽  
Alessandro Giuliani
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Application ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Epidemiological Methods ◽  
Biological Structure ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Independent Dimension ◽  
Functional Dynamics ◽  
As If

Chapter 5 examines the dynamic nature of interfaces and starts examining their characteristics. The authors posit that just as we might derive a multitude of dimensions to describe biological structure, so too are there many dimensions that describe the functional dynamics in how biological systems vary over time. Current environmental epidemiological methods used in analyzing data on our environment and our physiology treat each measure as if it were an independent dimension, much like a carpenter measuring the height, width, or length of a piece of furniture. However, because there are processes underlying our physiological development, constraints are applied to the forms that we and our environment can take. Knowledge of these can be harnessed to identify the primary dimensions along which we must characterize the systems under study. By doing this we were able to take an important first step in operationalizing Environmental Biodynamics for clinical application.

scholarly journals The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky

2020 ◽  
pp. 86-104
Author(s):  
Elena V. Stepanian-Rumyantseva
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Russian Literature ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Human Personality ◽  
Literary Portraits ◽  
Existential Choice ◽  
Literary Portrait ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Physical Resemblance ◽  
As If

The article explores the peculiarities of literary portraits and studies the interconnections and contrasts between painted and written portraits. The recognizability of a portrait in pictorial art is attained not only through physical resemblance but also through “artistic deformations” that the author introduces to the appearance of the portrayed. In a literary portrait, identification is achieved both by verbal and plastic detailing and by addressing the reader’s inner experience and imagination. Traditionally, the literary portrait in the Russian literature of the 19th century is based mostly on plastic characteristics, comparisons, and color accents, and because of this, it is often defined as “pictorial”. However, portraits by Pushkin and Dostoevsky stand out as exceptionally original, as if created from a different material. Pushkin avoids detailing, instead, he presents a “suggestive” portrait, i.e., a dynamic outline of the personality. The reader’s imagination is influenced not by details, but rather by the dynamic nature of Pushkin’s characters. Dostoevsky does not inherit Pushkin’s methods, though he also turns to a dynamic principle in describing the heroes of his novels. When they first appear, he presents them as if from different angles of vision, and their features may often be in discord, which makes the reader sense a contradictory impact of their personalities, as well as of their portraits. This kind of portrait is a dynamic message, where the reader follows the hero along unexpected and contrasting paths that the author previously mapped for him. From the beginning to the very end of their works, these two classics of Russian literature present the human personality as a being in a state of life-long development, always changing and always free in its existential choice.

scholarly journals Differences and implications in biogeochemistry from maximizing entropy production locally versus globally

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Vallino
Keyword(s):  
Entropy Production ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Biological Structure ◽  
Transient Conditions ◽  
Entropy Maximization ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Modeling Systems ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Multiple Levels

Abstract. In this manuscript we investigate the use of the maximum entropy production (MEP) principle for modeling biogeochemical processes that are catalyzed by living systems. Because of novelties introduced by the MEP approach, many questions need to be answered and techniques developed in the application of MEP to describe biological systems that are responsible for energy and mass transformations on a planetary scale. In previous work we introduce the importance of integrating entropy production over time to distinguish abiotic from biotic processes under transient conditions. Here we investigate the ramifications of modeling biological systems involving one or more spatial dimensions. When modeling systems over space, entropy production can be maximized either locally at each point in space asynchronously or globally over the system domain synchronously. We use a simple two-box model inspired by two-layer ocean models to illustrate the differences in local versus global entropy maximization. Synthesis and oxidation of biological structure is modeled using two autocatalytic reactions that account for changes in community kinetics using a single parameter each. Our results show that entropy production can be increased if maximized over the system domain rather than locally, which has important implications regarding how biological systems organize and supports the hypothesis for multiple levels of selection and cooperation in biology for the dissipation of free energy.

scholarly journals Differences and implications in biogeochemistry from maximizing entropy production locally versus globally

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
J. J. Vallino
Keyword(s):  
Entropy Production ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Biological Structure ◽  
Transient Conditions ◽  
Entropy Maximization ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Modeling Systems ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Multiple Levels

Abstract. In this manuscript we investigate the use of the maximum entropy production (MEP) principle for modeling biogeochemical processes that are catalyzed by living systems. Because of novelties introduced by the MEP approach, many questions need to be answered and techniques developed in the application of MEP to describe biological systems that are responsible for energy and mass transformations on a planetary scale. In previous work we introduce the importance of integrating entropy production over time to distinguish abiotic from biotic processes under transient conditions. Here we investigate the ramifications of modeling biological systems involving one or more spatial dimensions. When modeling systems with spatial dimensions, entropy production can be maximized either locally at each point in space asynchronously or globally over the system domain synchronously. We use a simple two-box model inspired by two-layer ocean models to illustrate the differences in local versus global entropy maximization. Synthesis and oxidation of biological structure is modeled using two autocatalytic reactions that account for changes in community kinetics using a single parameter each. Our results show that entropy production can be increased if maximized over the system domain rather than locally, which has important implications regarding how biological systems organize and supports the hypothesis for multiple levels of selection and cooperation in biology for the dissipation of free energy.

A Zoo of Self-Replicators

2010 ◽  
pp. 379-426
Author(s):  
Eleonora Bilotta ◽  
Pietro Pantano
Keyword(s):  
Biological Systems ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Species Level ◽  
External Observer ◽  
Broad Variety ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Developmental Dynamics ◽  
As If

Our basic metaphor: in this chapter, we present a taxonomy of self-replicators - as if they were animals in a zoo. In the zoo, we play the role of an external observer (a zoologist) whose role is to describe the animals (artificial organisms) and their behavior. Different species reproduce in different ways - some sexually, some asexually. We observe differences in their developmental dynamics and differences in the way they adapt to their environment. In each case, what we see are life-like self-replicators, each adapted to a specific habitat. In Chapters 7 and 8, we have seen how evolutionary techniques can create a broad variety of self-replicators. The complex ways in which these self-replicators grow, reproduce and become extinct bring to mind the behavior of biological systems. In Chapter 11, we examined their genetics. Here we examine their behavior at the individual and the species level, applying a range of observational and experimental methods and using the results as the basis for a taxonomy.

scholarly journals Monitoring the synthesis of biomolecules using mass spectrometry

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2079) ◽  
pp. 20150378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaru Miyagi ◽  
Takhar Kasumov
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Heavy Water ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Selective Synthesis ◽  
Quantitative Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Cellular Processes

The controlled and selective synthesis/clearance of biomolecules is critical for most cellular processes. In most high-throughput ‘omics’ studies, we measure the static quantities of only one class of biomolecules (e.g. DNA, mRNA, proteins or metabolites). It is, however, important to recognize that biological systems are highly dynamic in which biomolecules are continuously renewed and different classes of biomolecules interact and affect each other's production/clearance. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the turnover of diverse classes of biomolecules to understand the dynamic nature of biological systems. Herein, we explain why the kinetic analysis of a diverse range of biomolecules is important and how such an analysis can be done. We argue that heavy water ( 2 H 2 O) could be a universal tracer for monitoring the synthesis of biomolecules on a global scale. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Quantitative mass spectrometry’.

scholarly journals The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky

2020 ◽  
pp. 86-104
Author(s):  
Elena V. Stepanian-Rumyantseva
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Russian Literature ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Human Personality ◽  
Literary Portraits ◽  
Existential Choice ◽  
Literary Portrait ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Physical Resemblance ◽  
As If

The article explores the peculiarities of literary portraits and studies the interconnections and contrasts between painted and written portraits. The recognizability of a portrait in pictorial art is attained not only through physical resemblance but also through “artistic deformations” that the author introduces to the appearance of the portrayed. In a literary portrait, identification is achieved both by verbal and plastic detailing and by addressing the reader’s inner experience and imagination. Traditionally, the literary portrait in the Russian literature of the 19th century is based mostly on plastic characteristics, comparisons, and color accents, and because of this, it is often defined as “pictorial”. However, portraits by Pushkin and Dostoevsky stand out as exceptionally original, as if created from a different material. Pushkin avoids detailing, instead, he presents a “suggestive” portrait, i.e., a dynamic outline of the personality. The reader’s imagination is influenced not by details, but rather by the dynamic nature of Pushkin’s characters. Dostoevsky does not inherit Pushkin’s methods, though he also turns to a dynamic principle in describing the heroes of his novels. When they first appear, he presents them as if from different angles of vision, and their features may often be in discord, which makes the reader sense a contradictory impact of their personalities, as well as of their portraits. This kind of portrait is a dynamic message, where the reader follows the hero along unexpected and contrasting paths that the author previously mapped for him. From the beginning to the very end of their works, these two classics of Russian literature present the human personality as a being in a state of life-long development, always changing and always free in its existential choice.

Ultra-treatment resistance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Remington ◽  
Ofer Agid ◽  
Hiroyoshi Takeuchi ◽  
Jimmy Lee ◽  
Araba Chintoh
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Treatment Response ◽  
Clinical Application ◽  
Treatment Resistance ◽  
Confounding Factors ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Case Based

Ultra-treatment resistance or ultra-resistant schizophrenia is defined as describing individuals who meet criteria for treatment-resistant schizophrenia and receive an adequate trial of clozapine in the absence of other confounding factors that might compromise response (e.g. substance abuse, antipsychotic non-adherence), but demonstrate a suboptimal response. Because the definition currently hinges on a trial of clozapine, ‘clozapine-resistant schizophrenia’ has also been proposed as a more precise descriptor. This chapter reviews issues specific to classifying this subpopulation, including existing criteria and challenges in their clinical application. It also underscores the importance of this conceptual framework in terms of better understanding schizophrenia’s heterogeneity and the opportunity to establish different pathophysiological subtypes, in this case based on treatment response. It reviews existing evidence specific to this sample, which at this point is limited as only recently have efforts begun to isolate these individuals for the purpose of investigation. Finally, it highlights the dynamic nature of this strategy, since gains in understanding will demand that the framework, terminology, and criteria be continuously revisited and revised.

Echocardiography. Clinical application in mitral stenosis

JAMA ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 195 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Segal
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Application ◽  
Mitral Stenosis

Observation of biological macromolecules using various electron microscopic methods

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-171
Author(s):  
Mitsuo Ohtsuki ◽  
Michael Sogard
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Image Interpretation ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Contrast Effects ◽  
Biological Structure ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Structural Investigations ◽  
Staining Techniques

Structural investigations of biological macromolecules commonly employ CTEM with negative staining techniques. Difficulties in valid image interpretation arise, however, due to problems such as variability in thickness and degree of penetration of the staining agent, noise from the supporting film, and artifacts from defocus phase contrast effects. In order to determine the effects of these variables on biological structure, as seen by the electron microscope, negative stained macromolecules of high density lipoprotein-3 (HDL3) from human serum were analyzed with both CTEM and STEM, and results were then compared with CTEM micrographs of freeze-etched HDL3. In addition, we altered the structure of this molecule by digesting away its phospholipid component with phospholipase A2 and look for consistent changes in structure.

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