scholarly journals Symmetry in plants: from Bravais' lattices to an explanation of Fibonacci phyllotaxis.

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C1420-C1420
Author(s):  
Christophe Gole

In 1837, fourteen years before publishing his seminal Etude sur la cristallographie Auguste Bravais and his brother Louis wrote an equally seminal work on the arrangement of leaves around the stem of a plant. In this paper, one of the very first truly bio-mathematical work, they introduce and analyze cylindrical lattices and conjecture that only those with the golden angle between successive leaves can exhibit the Fibonacci numbers of spirals predominant in plants. With the advent of the microscope, and following  observations of the plants growing tips by Hofmeister, botanists Schwendener and van Iterson  developed an accretion model of the plant structures. Their work use ideas of what we now would call renormalization of morphogenetic fronts to understand transitions between successive Fibonacci pairs. This gives rise to a  simple explanation of the omni-presence of Fibonacci numbers in plants, which can be verified on digitized plant samples and with systematic computer simulations. This could inform crystallographers in their study of dislocations.

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Helmut Satz

Following the seminal work of T. Vicsek et al. (Budapest), mathematical models are formulated, based on next neighbor interactions (alignment of flight direction) leading to global correlations. Computer simulations of these models lead to behavior patterns very much like those observed in empirical studies of bird flocks. In particular, a transition from random motion to flock behavior is observed for sufficiently precise flight alignment, corresponding to sufficiently low temperature in spin systems.


Author(s):  
Luuk Voskuilen ◽  
Jasper Schoormans ◽  
Oliver J. Gurney-Champion ◽  
Alfons J. M. Balm ◽  
Gustav J. Strijkers ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing is a potentially hazardous clinical problem that needs regular monitoring. Real-time 2D MRI of swallowing is a promising radiation-free alternative to the current clinical standard: videofluoroscopy. However, aspiration may be missed if it occurs outside this single imaged slice. We therefore aimed to image swallowing in 3D real time at 12 frames per second (fps). Materials and methods At 3 T, three 3D real-time MRI acquisition approaches were compared to the 2D acquisition: an aligned stack-of-stars (SOS), and a rotated SOS with a golden-angle increment and with a tiny golden-angle increment. The optimal 3D acquisition was determined by computer simulations and phantom scans. Subsequently, five healthy volunteers were scanned and swallowing parameters were measured. Results Although the rotated SOS approaches resulted in better image quality in simulations, in practice, the aligned SOS performed best due to the limited number of slices. The four swallowing phases could be distinguished in 3D real-time MRI, even though the spatial blurring was stronger than in 2D. The swallowing parameters were similar between 2 and 3D. Conclusion At a spatial resolution of 2-by-2-by-6 mm with seven slices, swallowing can be imaged in 3D real time at a frame rate of 12 fps.


2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Golé ◽  
Jacques Dumais ◽  
Stéphane Douady

The study of phyllotaxis has focused on seeking explanations for the occurrence of consecutive Fibonacci numbers in the number of helices paving the stems of plants in the two opposite directions. Using the disk-accretion model, first introduced by Schwendener and justified by modern biological studies, we observe two distinct types of solutions: the classical Fibonacci-like ones, and also more irregular configurations exhibiting nearly equal number of helices in a quasi-square packing, the quasi-symmetric ones, which are a generalization of the whorled patterns. Defining new geometric tools allowing to work with irregular patterns and local transitions, we provide simple explanations for the emergence of these two states within the same elementary model. A companion paper will provide a wide array of plant data analyses that support our view.


Author(s):  
R. Gronsky

The phenomenon of clustering in Al-Ag alloys has been extensively studied since the early work of Guinierl, wherein the pre-precipitation state was characterized as an assembly of spherical, ordered, silver-rich G.P. zones. Subsequent x-ray and TEM investigations yielded results in general agreement with this model. However, serious discrepancies were later revealed by the detailed x-ray diffraction - based computer simulations of Gragg and Cohen, i.e., the silver-rich clusters were instead octahedral in shape and fully disordered, atleast below 170°C. The object of the present investigation is to examine directly the structural characteristics of G.P. zones in Al-Ag by high resolution transmission electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
R. Herrera ◽  
A. Gómez

Computer simulations of electron diffraction patterns and images are an essential step in the process of structure and/or defect elucidation. So far most programs are designed to deal specifically with crystals, requiring frequently the space group as imput parameter. In such programs the deviations from perfect periodicity are dealt with by means of “periodic continuation”.However, for many applications involving amorphous materials, quasiperiodic materials or simply crystals with defects (including finite shape effects) it is convenient to have an algorithm capable of handling non-periodicity. Our program “HeGo” is an implementation of the well known multislice equations in which no periodicity assumption is made whatsoever. The salient features of our implementation are: 1) We made Gaussian fits to the atomic scattering factors for electrons covering the whole periodic table and the ranges [0-2]Å−1 and [2-6]Å−1.


Author(s):  
Vladimir Yu. Kolosov ◽  
Anders R. Thölén

In this paper we give a short overview of two TEM applications utilizing the extinction bend contour technique (BC) giving the advantages and disadvantages; especially we consider two areas in which the BC technique remains unique. Special attention is given to an approach including computer simulations of TEM micrographs.BC patterns are often observed in TEM studies but are rarely exploited in a serious way. However, this type of diffraction contrast was one of the first to be used for analysis of imperfections in crystalline foils, but since then only some groups have utilized the BC technique. The most extensive studies were performed by Steeds, Eades and colleagues. They were the first to demonstrate the unique possibilities of the BC method and named it real space crystallography, which developed later into the somewhat similar but more powerful convergent beam method. Maybe, due to the difficulties in analysis, BCs have seldom been used in TEM, and then mainly to visualize different imperfections and transformations.


Author(s):  
Natalie J. Allen ◽  
David Stanley ◽  
Helen Williams ◽  
Sarah J. Irwin
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