scholarly journals Morphological plant modeling: Unleashing geometric and topological potential within the plant sciences

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Bucksch ◽  
Acheampong Atta-Boateng ◽  
Akomian Fortuné Azihou ◽  
Mathilde Balduzzi ◽  
Dorjsuren Battogtokh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Morphology ◽  
Open Science ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Topological Descriptors ◽  
Biological Synthesis ◽  
University Of Tennessee ◽  
Plant Modeling ◽  
Plant Sciences ◽  
Plant Form ◽  
And Mathematics

AbstractPlant morphology is inherently mathematical in that morphology describes plant form and architecture with geometrical and topological descriptors. The geometries and topologies of leaves, flowers, roots, shoots and their spatial arrangements have fascinated plant biologists and mathematicians alike. Beyond providing aesthetic inspiration, quantifying plant morphology has become pressing in an era of climate change and a growing human population. Modifying plant morphology, through molecular biology and breeding, aided by a mathematical perspective, is critical to improving agriculture, and the monitoring of ecosystems with fewer natural resources. In this white paper, we begin with an overview of the mathematical models applied to quantify patterning in plants. We then explore fundamental challenges that remain unanswered concerning plant morphology, from the barriers preventing the prediction of phenotype from genotype to modeling the movement of leafs in air streams. We end with a discussion concerning the incorporation of plant morphology into educational programs. This strategy focuses on synthesizing biological and mathematical approaches and ways to facilitate research advances through outreach, cross-disciplinary training, and open science. This white paper arose from bringing mathematicians and biologists together at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) workshop titled “Morphological Plant Modeling: Unleashing Geometric and Topological Potential within the Plant Sciences” held at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in September, 2015. Never has the need to quantify plant morphology been more imperative. Unleashing the potential of geometric and topological approaches in the plant sciences promises to transform our understanding of both plants and mathematics.

scholarly journals Preparing the “New” Biologist of the Future: Student Research at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah I. Duncan ◽  
Pamela Bishop ◽  
Suzanne Lenhart
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Biological Synthesis ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Summer Program ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
University Of Tennessee ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The University ◽  
Faculty Mentors

We describe a unique Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Veterinary students summer program at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The program focused on interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and mathematics. Participants were selected to work on projects with a biology mentor and a mathematics mentor in an environment that promoted collaboration outside of the students' respective disciplines. There were four research projects with teams of four participants and two faculty mentors. The participants consisted of a mixture of 10 undergraduates in biology- and mathematics-related disciplines, four veterinary students, and two high-school teachers. The activities included lectures on both the biological and mathematical backgrounds of the projects, tutorials for software, and sessions on ethics, graduate school, and possible career paths for individuals interested in biology and mathematics. The program was designed to give students the ability to actively participate in the scientific research process by working on a project, writing up their results in a final report, and presenting their work orally. We report on the results of our evaluation surveys of the participants.

scholarly journals ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN THE HINTERLANDS OF NORTHERN SAMAR

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-176
Author(s):  
Felisa L. Sanico
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Positive Response ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Air Conditioner ◽  
Natural Lighting ◽  
Fluorescent Lamps ◽  
Local Water ◽  
And Mathematics

This study investigated the perceptions of the faculty of members, school official and students in terms of environmental protection and management. It employed random sampling using survey questionnaires to gather data from the respondents. Frequency counts and percentage were used to process the data. Most of the respondents had positive responses on waste reduction and management, as the commonly used environmental protection strategy in the school. A majority of them rejected plastics and agreed that these are harmful to the environment friendly products, are materials that can be recycled, and less favored materials are the non-toxic products, and a majority of the respondents favored that individual bulk packaging is preferred than bulk packaging of products from suppliers. High percentage favored that the classrooms are designed to make use of natural ventilation and natural lighting. Most of the respondents had negative responses on the issue of planning the campus in such a way as to reduce the use of motor vehicle in terms of motor boat as mode of transportation. There was a high percentage of positive response regarding the physical greening of the school, as observed in the entire campus. A majority of the respondents had positive responses on fluorescent lamps as the commonly used source of light, than of the use of incandescent. Most of the respondents had negative response on artesian well as the source of water, and a high positive response was observed regarding local water works as the source of water for everyday use.  Majority of the respondents agreed that office machines are turned off when not in use, and using the fans whenever possible also had a high positive response; only fewer respondents agreed on the usage of air conditioner. A majority of the respondents agreed that white paper is the most preferred kind of paper in the school. A majority of the respondents had positive response in using the used paper in photocopying articles as commonly used paper recycling or use of reduction program. A majority of the respondents agreed that composting biodegradable was right in the campus and wet waste sent to recyclers had a low positive response. There was a high percentage of positive response on disposable plastic utensils as the most discouraged material in the canteen. Disposable cups, disposable plates, paper napkins and plastic wrappers had also high percentage as materials discouraged in the canteen. A majority of the respondents agreed that waste segregation in the school is practiced. Most of the respondents agreed that containers for biodegradable and non-biodegradable are provided in the entire campus. A majority of the respondents favored that biodegradable materials are made to compose. Respondents favored that sealing properly before disposal of hazardous/chemicals water is done inside the campus. All the eight (8) environment concerns/themes are integrated in the curriculum. A majority of the respondents indicated that environment concerns/themes are incorporated in Music, Health and Physical Education. They are also integrated in English, Social Studies, Pilipino, and Mathematics.

scholarly journals A Report from the NIMBioS/DySoC Investigative Workshop on the Mathematics of Gun Violence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby Scott
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Gun Violence ◽  
Biological Synthesis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
University Of Tennessee ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
The University

Gun violence is a central public concern in the United States, annually leading to the deaths of 36,000 individuals and the non-fatal injuries of 85,000 others. It has been called an epidemic and a public health crisis. In May of 2019, a diverse group of researchers participated in a workshop at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. This workshop was sponsored by the Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity (DySoC) and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS). The objectives of this workshop were to review the existing approaches on the mathematics and modeling of gun violence, identify and prioritize areas in the field that require further research, develop cross-disciplinary collaborations to gain new perspectives, and suggest research and data collection that could assist evidence-based policy recommendations. The purpose of this report is to present some of the responses to the mentioned objectives and to suggest areas of future research .

scholarly journals Plant Form. An Illustrated Guide to Flowering Plant Morphology.

Brittonia ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Lucia Kawasaki ◽  
Adrian D. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Plant Morphology ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Plant Form

scholarly journals Testing the FAIR metrics on data catalogs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarno A A van Erp ◽  
Carolyn D Langen ◽  
Anca Boon ◽  
Kees van Bochove
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Community ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Open Science ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Open Source Data ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Important Solution ◽  
Public Money ◽  
The Moment

The introduction of the FAIR –Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable– principles has caused quite an uproar within the scientific community. Principles which, if everyone adheres to them, could result in new, revolutionary ways of performing research and fulfill the promise of open science. Furthermore, it allows for concepts such as personalized medicine and personal health monitoring to -finally- become implemented in daily practice. However, to bring about these changes, data users need to rethink the way they treat scientific data. Just passing a dataset along, without extensive metadata will not suffice anymore. Such new ways of executing research require a significantly different approach from the entire scientific community or, for that matter, anyone who wants to reap the benefits from going FAIR. Yet, how do you initiate behavioral change? One important solution is by changing the software scientists use and requiring data owners, or data stewards, to FAIRify their dataset. Data catalogs are a great starting point for FAIRifying data as the software already intends to make data Findable and Accessible, while the metadata is Interoperable and relying on users to provide sufficient metadata to ensure Reusability. In this paper we analyse how well the FAIR principles are implemented in several data catalogs. To determine how FAIR a catalog is, the FAIR metrics were created by the GO-FAIR initiative. These metrics help determine to what extend data can be considered FAIR. However, the metrics were only recently developed, being first released at the end of 2017. At the moment software does not come standard with a FAIR metrics review. Still, this insight is highly desired by the scientific community. How else can they be sure that (public) money is spend in a FAIR way? The Hyve has tested/evaluated three popular open source data catalogs based on the FAIR metrics: CKAN, Dataverse, and Invenio. Most data stewards will be familiar with at least one of these. Within this white paper we provide answers to the following questions: Which of the three data catalogs performs best in making data FAIR? Which data catalog utilizes FAIR datasets the most? Which one creates the most FAIR metadata? Which catalog has the highest potential to increase its FAIRness, and how? Which data catalog facilitates the FAIRifying process the best?

scholarly journals Open science and the future university researcher

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Evan Niemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Open Science ◽  
White Paper ◽  
The Future ◽  
University Researcher ◽  
Institu Tions ◽  
University Leaders

This white paper was written as a contribution to the “Imagining Tomorrow’s University: Rethinking scholarship, education, and institu- tions for an open, networked era” workshop, a joint NIH/NSF-funded event held 8–9 March 2017 in Rosemont, IL. In this paper, I present an overview of what I consider open science, its importance, and how it plays a role in my research agenda. I also discuss challenges faced in pursuing research openness, and recommend changes to university leaders to address these barriers.

Motivation of play: from ethological to neurological perspectives

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 655-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Palagi ◽  
Hillary N. Fouts
Keyword(s):  
Biological Synthesis ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
University Of Tennessee ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The University

The collection of papers presented in this Special Issue is the outcome of a series of workshops on the evolution of play held between 2011 and 2013 and sponsored by the National Institute of Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN, USA). These workshops were aimed at stimulating a multidisciplinary discussion about one of the most debated and controversial behaviours in the Animal Kingdom. Although neglected for a long time by researchers studying non-human animals, play research seems to be having a new Renaissance and the last ten years have been extremely fruitful in highlighting some important functions and in delineating key correlates of this activity. Obviously, it is impossible to fully represent such a multifaceted topic as play in a handful of papers; however, the articles in this Special Issue bring to light some over-arching themes and together provide innovative perspectives on play.

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