Forms as Forces: The Causal Regime of Morphology in Biology

Perspectives on Science ◽

10.1162/posc_a_00387 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 627-642

Author(s):

Georg Toepfer

Keyword(s):

Boundary Conditions ◽

Laws Of Nature ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Explanatory Role ◽

Causal Factors ◽

Preliminary Step ◽

Biological Explanation ◽

Ways Of Being

Abstract Traditionally, morphology is seen merely as an auxiliary subdiscipline of biology and other fields. Allegedly, it does not provide explanations for phenomena but merely describes forms as a preliminary step in their analysis. Here, the view is defended that forms, and hence morphology, can also take over an important explanatory function and even, ultimately, constitute the explanatory level fundamental to biology as a distinct science. According to this thesis, the form of organisms and their parts provide the only specifically biological causal factors. Nothing but the form, the specific spatial arrangement of matter, determines the peculiarity of organisms’ ways of being. Therefore, biological explanation must start from specific structures. These structures provide the respective boundary conditions for harnessing the general laws of nature, thus determining their trajectory. Ultimately, then, forms play the most fundamental explanatory role in biology.

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Modelling self-organization in ice streams

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/172756400781820561 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 127-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

N. R. J. Hulton ◽

M. J. Mineter

Keyword(s):

Boundary Conditions ◽

Numerical Solution ◽

Large Scale ◽

Ice Sheets ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Thermal Mass ◽

Ice Streams ◽

Concentrated Flow ◽

Flow Features ◽

And Function

AbstractThe EISMINT II experiments revealed the tendency for idealized model ice sheets to produce spatially variable flow under certain uniform thermal, mass-balance and topographic boundary conditions. Warm, fast-flowing streams with enhanced creep were separated by zones of colder, slower flow. Similar but different spatial patterns of differentiated flow were produced by all authors. We present further experiments that explore the formation and function of such ice streams at higher modelled resolutions. These are explored by the use of flat, but stochastically rough (10 m amplitude) beds, idealized, parallel-sided model ice sheets and models of finer (12.5 and 5 km) resolutions. Ice streams self-organize irregularly, but with consistent typical spacings which vary with thermal and miss-balance boundary conditions. More radial features are produced at finer scales indicating a dependency on the grid resolution used although this is not linear; at finer resolutions streams occupy increasingly more gridcells. This variation in scale may be related to the finer resolution of the warm/cold streaming/non-streaming boundary. The numerical solution of the thermodynamic ice equation is also highly sensitive to the orthogonality of the model grid. A major deficiency is that the numerical solution appears to fail where the flow is parallel to the grid axes, suggesting that artificial diffusion in the numerical scheme helps to smooth streams lying across the axes directions. The inclusion of sliding produces fewer, more concentrated, flow features, but these also display a level of scale-dependent organization. The spatial arrangement of such streams adjusts in response to the global mass flux of the ice sheet between "warm" and "cold" flow end-member. The results point to a mechanism in which ice sheets respond to climate by altering the large-scale arrangement of their flow patterns.

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Conformation of Ribosomes from Escherichia Coli

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100051062 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 32 ◽

pp. 210-211

Author(s):

M. Boublik ◽

W. Hellmann ◽

F. Jenkins

Keyword(s):

Binding Sites ◽

Ribosomal Proteins ◽

Fluorescent Dyes ◽

Protein Biosynthesis ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Dimensional Structure ◽

Complete Understanding ◽

And Function

The present knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of ribosomes is far too limited to enable a complete understanding of the various roles which ribosomes play in protein biosynthesis. The spatial arrangement of proteins and ribonuclec acids in ribosomes can be analysed in many ways. Determination of binding sites for individual proteins on ribonuclec acid and locations of the mutual positions of proteins on the ribosome using labeling with fluorescent dyes, cross-linking reagents, neutron-diffraction or antibodies against ribosomal proteins seem to be most successful approaches. Structure and function of ribosomes can be correlated be depleting the complete ribosomes of some proteins to the functionally inactive core and by subsequent partial reconstitution in order to regain active ribosomal particles.

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Structural organization of escherichia coli ribosomes as determined by immuno electron microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100081693 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 166-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

G. Stöffler ◽

R.W. Bald ◽

J. Dieckhoff ◽

H. Eckhard ◽

R. Lührmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Escherichia Coli ◽

Ribosomal Proteins ◽

Structural Organization ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Ribosomal Subunit ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Small Subunit ◽

Antibody Binding ◽

Immuno Electron Microscopy

A central step towards an understanding of the structure and function of the Escherichia coli ribosome, a large multicomponent assembly, is the elucidation of the spatial arrangement of its 54 proteins and its three rRNA molecules. The structural organization of ribosomal components has been investigated by a number of experimental approaches. Specific antibodies directed against each of the 54 ribosomal proteins of Escherichia coli have been performed to examine antibody-subunit complexes by electron microscopy. The position of the bound antibody, specific for a particular protein, can be determined; it indicates the location of the corresponding protein on the ribosomal surface.The three-dimensional distribution of each of the 21 small subunit proteins on the ribosomal surface has been determined by immuno electron microscopy: the 21 proteins have been found exposed with altogether 43 antibody binding sites. Each one of 12 proteins showed antibody binding at remote positions on the subunit surface, indicating highly extended conformations of the proteins concerned within the 30S ribosomal subunit; the remaining proteins are, however, not necessarily globular in shape (Fig. 1).

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Use of the Magnetostatic Analogue In Electromagnetic Lens Engineering

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100068795 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 28 ◽

pp. 360-361

Author(s):

John W. Coleman

Keyword(s):

Boundary Conditions ◽

High Performance ◽

Force Fields ◽

Optical Design ◽

Direct Conversion ◽

Design Engineering ◽

Design Data ◽

Scalar Potentials ◽

Geometric Elements ◽

At Will

In the design engineering of high performance electromagnetic lenses, the direct conversion of electron optical design data into drawings for reliable hardware is oftentimes difficult, especially in terms of how to mount parts to each other, how to tolerance dimensions, and how to specify finishes. An answer to this is in the use of magnetostatic analytics, corresponding to boundary conditions for the optical design. With such models, the magnetostatic force on a test pole along the axis may be examined, and in this way one may obtain priority listings for holding dimensions, relieving stresses, etc..The development of magnetostatic models most easily proceeds from the derivation of scalar potentials of separate geometric elements. These potentials can then be conbined at will because of the superposition characteristic of conservative force fields.

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Colloidal systems in soils

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100168050 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 64-65

Author(s):

J. Thieme ◽

J. Niemeyer ◽

P. Guttman

Keyword(s):

Clay Minerals ◽

Polymeric Materials ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

High Specific Surface Area ◽

Turnover Rates ◽

Colloidal Systems ◽

Chemical Conditions ◽

Aggregation Phenomena ◽

Iron And Manganese ◽

Soil Colloids

In soil science the fraction of colloids in soils is understood as particles with diameters smaller than 2μm. Clay minerals, aquoxides of iron and manganese, humic substances, and other polymeric materials are found in this fraction. The spatial arrangement (microstructure) is controlled by the substantial structure of the colloids, by the chemical composition of the soil solution, and by thesoil biota. This microstructure determines among other things the diffusive mass flow within the soils and as a result the availability of substances for chemical and microbiological reactions. The turnover of nutrients, the adsorption of toxicants and the weathering of soil clay minerals are examples of these surface mediated reactions. Due to their high specific surface area, the soil colloids are the most reactive species in this respect. Under the chemical conditions in soils, these minerals are associated in larger aggregates. The accessibility of reactive sites for these reactions on the surface of the colloids is reduced by this aggregation. To determine the turnover rates of chemicals within these aggregates it is highly desirable to visualize directly these aggregation phenomena.

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Computational Micrograph Registration with Sieve Processes

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100164660 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 54 ◽

pp. 440-441

Author(s):

P.J. Phillips ◽

J. Huang ◽

S. M. Dunn

Keyword(s):

Planar Graph ◽

Efficient Algorithm ◽

Spatial Organization ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Stereo Image ◽

Image Model ◽

Geometric Invariants ◽

Point Set

In this paper we present an efficient algorithm for automatically finding the correspondence between pairs of stereo micrographs, the key step in forming a stereo image. The computation burden in this problem is solving for the optimal mapping and transformation between the two micrographs. In this paper, we present a sieve algorithm for efficiently estimating the transformation and correspondence.In a sieve algorithm, a sequence of stages gradually reduce the number of transformations and correspondences that need to be examined, i.e., the analogy of sieving through the set of mappings with gradually finer meshes until the answer is found. The set of sieves is derived from an image model, here a planar graph that encodes the spatial organization of the features. In the sieve algorithm, the graph represents the spatial arrangement of objects in the image. The algorithm for finding the correspondence restricts its attention to the graph, with the correspondence being found by a combination of graph matchings, point set matching and geometric invariants.

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A digital vocal tract simulator with boundary conditions at lips and glottis

Electrical Engineering in Japan ◽

10.1002/ecja.4400641104 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 64 (11) ◽

pp. 18-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tetsuya Nomura ◽

Nobuhiro Miki ◽

Nobuo Nagai

Keyword(s):

Boundary Conditions ◽

Vocal Tract

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An Application of the HFACS Method to Aviation Accidents in Africa

Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors ◽

10.1027/2192-0923/a000093 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 33-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Isaac Munene

Keyword(s):

Human Factors ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Human Factor ◽

Flight Training ◽

African Countries ◽

Causal Factors ◽

Aviation Accidents ◽

Factors Analysis ◽

Adverse Weather ◽

Decision Errors

Abstract. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) methodology was applied to accident reports from three African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. In all, 55 of 72 finalized reports for accidents occurring between 2000 and 2014 were analyzed. In most of the accidents, one or more human factors contributed to the accident. Skill-based errors (56.4%), the physical environment (36.4%), and violations (20%) were the most common causal factors in the accidents. Decision errors comprised 18.2%, while perceptual errors and crew resource management accounted for 10.9%. The results were consistent with previous industry observations: Over 70% of aviation accidents have human factor causes. Adverse weather was seen to be a common secondary casual factor. Changes in flight training and risk management methods may alleviate the high number of accidents in Africa.

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