The rich but confusing terminology of biological nomenclature: a first step towards a comprehensive glossary

Bionomina ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Alain DUBOIS
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Higher Taxa ◽  
Unique System ◽  
Basic Need ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Protect Study

Biology deals with billions of living organisms, which display a great diversity but also share many characters, being the result of an evolution. Designating these organisms in a universal and unambiguous way is a basic need for communication, not only among taxonomists or even biologists, but with society as a whole. It is indispensable to have a unique system for distinguishing and naming the organisms that may be used for alimentary, agronomical, veterinary or medical purposes or for any other human needs, that may be responsible for diseases, pollutions, biotic invasions, that we may wish to protect, study or admire, etc. For all these purposes, we need a scientific discipline, taxonomy, dealing not only with the classification of living organisms into millions of classificatory units, the taxa, but also with the designation and indexation of these taxa (nomenclature). Biological nomenclature has to care for the scientific naming of millions of taxa (species and higher taxa like genera or families), the inventory of which is still very far from being finished.

scholarly journals THE PROBLEM OF TYPOLOGY IN CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY

Early China ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 21-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Hein
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Chinese Archaeology ◽  
Archaeological Method And Theory ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
History Of ◽  
Archaeological Method ◽  
The Rich

AbstractChinese and Western archaeologists (especially those of the anthropologically-oriented tradition) often seem to be talking past each other, not only because they are publishing in different languages, but also because of differences in theory and method. While most of the major theoretical works in Western languages are by now available in Chinese translations, hardly any English-language publications exist that explain Chinese approaches to archaeological method and theory. This article helps to bridge the gap by introducing the history of debates on archaeological method in China to a Western audience, focusing particularly on issues of typology and classification. Discussing in detail the merits—and issues—of approaches suggested by four of the most influential Chinese archaeologists (Li Chi, Xia Nai, Su Bingqi, and K. C. Chang), this article provides a deeper understanding of the preconditions of archaeological research in China. It also suggests future directions for archaeological work by local and foreign archaeologists, including but also going beyond the classification of the rich body of artifacts coming to light in Chinese excavations.

Natural history of ABC systems: not only transporters

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 19-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elie Dassa
Keyword(s):  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Last Common Ancestor ◽  
Abc Proteins ◽  
Hypothetical Scenario ◽  
History Of ◽  
Phylogenetic Perspective ◽  
Living Organisms

In recent years, our understanding of the functioning of ABC (ATP-binding cassette) systems has been boosted by the combination of biochemical and structural approaches. However, the origin and the distribution of ABC proteins among living organisms are difficult to understand in a phylogenetic perspective, because it is hard to discriminate orthology and paralogy, due to the existence of horizontal gene transfer. In this chapter, I present an update of the classification of ABC systems and discuss a hypothetical scenario of their evolution. The hypothetical presence of ABC ATPases in the last common ancestor of modern organisms is discussed, as well as the additional possibility that ABC systems might have been transmitted to eukaryotes, after the two endosymbiosis events that led to the constitution of eukaryotic organelles. I update the functional information of selected ABC systems and introduce new families of ABC proteins that have been included recently into this vast superfamily, thanks to the availability of high-resolution three-dimensional structures.

scholarly journals Mushroom Biomass: Some Clinical Implications of β-Glucans and Enzymes

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (Special-Issue-October) ◽  
pp. 37-47
Author(s):  
Ana Barros ◽  
Vitoria Bell ◽  
Jorge Ferrão ◽  
Vittorio Calabrese ◽  
Tito Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Dietary Supplement ◽  
Biological Response ◽  
Cellular Growth ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Cytochrome P 450

Mushrooms have attracted market attention because they are a potential source of bioactive compounds able to perform several functions in organisms with benefits for the health of the consumer. Cultivation processes vary according a) industrial fermentation - in large vats to produce extracted form of mushrooms or b) closed cultivation system - individually grown in jars on an aseptic “substrate” with controlled lighting and irrigation to produce a biomass form of mushrooms. Biomass is the mycelium with primordia (young fruiting body - before the mushroom blooms) containing all the nutrients and active compounds, including β-glucans, enzymes and secondary metabolites. The classification of mushroom biomass varies according to the presentation; the biomass can be classified as a “food” if in powder form or, classified as a “dietary supplement” in tablet form. While tablet mushroom biomass is considered a dietary supplement, mushroom extracts are designated pharmaceutical compounds, pharmanutrients or nutraceuticals. Here we illustrate the difference between mushrooms in the biomass and extract forms, the similarities and differences on its content on enzymes, secondary metabolites and on β-glucans, as a soluble and fermentable fibre. Of particular note is the rich enzyme activity in the biomass form of mushrooms. Such activity includes enzymes that prevent oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase), enzymes that prevent cellular growth (protease, glucoamylase) and enzymes that promote detoxification (cytochrome P-450, peroxidase, glucose-2-oxidase). β-glucans have been proposed to act as “biological response modifiers” based on their effects on the immune system, and its role in the prevention and treatment of various metabolic syndrome-linked diseases. This review focuses also on some described health-promoting potential of mushroom biomass, all through immunomodulation. The role of intestinal microbiota is enhanced.

scholarly journals Liar's war: Protecting civilians from disinformation during armed conflict

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Eian Katz
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Traditional Classification

Abstract Disinformation in armed conflict may pose several distinctive forms of harm to civilians: exposure to retaliatory violence, distortion of information vital to securing human needs, and severe mental suffering. The gravity of these harms, along with the modern nature of wartime disinformation, is out of keeping with the traditional classification of disinformation in international humanitarian law (IHL) as a permissible ruse of war. A patchwork set of protections drawn from IHL, international human rights law and international criminal law may be used to limit disinformation operations during armed conflict, but numerous gaps and ambiguities undermine the force of this legal framework, calling for further scholarly attention and clarification.

scholarly journals FAST REGISTRATION OF TERRESTRIAL LIDAR POINT CLOUD AND SEQUENCE IMAGES

2017 ◽  
Vol XLII-2/W7 ◽  
pp. 875-879
Author(s):  
J. Shao ◽  
W. Zhang ◽  
Y. Zhu ◽  
A. Shen
Keyword(s):  
Point Cloud ◽  
Engineering Application ◽  
Image Point ◽  
Color Information ◽  
Registration Accuracy ◽  
Registration Method ◽  
Terrestrial Lidar ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Ground Based Lidar

Image has rich color information, and it can help to promote recognition and classification of point cloud. The registration is an important step in the application of image and point cloud. In order to give the rich texture and color information for LiDAR point cloud, the paper researched a fast registration method of point cloud and sequence images based on the ground-based LiDAR system. First, calculating transformation matrix of one of sequence images based on 2D image and LiDAR point cloud; second, using the relationships of position and attitude information among multi-angle sequence images to calculate all transformation matrixes in the horizontal direction; last, completing the registration of point cloud and sequence images based on the collinear condition of image point, projective center and LiDAR point. The experimental results show that the method is simple and fast, and the stitching error between adjacent images is litter; meanwhile, the overall registration accuracy is high, and the method can be used in engineering application.

Establishing a New Information Paradigm

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dail DeWitt Doucette
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
New Information ◽  
Chinese Association ◽  
Academic Information ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Beijing China

This paper suggests a new information paradigm and recommends the establishment of a new academic and scientific discipline, or a metaphysics of information, to be built on the premise that information is also a part of all the universes, elements, systems, and conditions. Therefore, it is also an integral part of all the other individual disciplines and sciences. It is essential to look beyond the limitations of how humans use and perceive information, or even how other living organisms use information. It is proposed that information is in a continuous and dynamic evolutionary process that ranges from simple to complex forms, at every level, across all scientific and academic domains, as well as being a significant element in everything that exists. Information is a trigger mechanism, an emphasis and a nutrient, not only for information activities, but also all physical, and biological elements, systems and activities. Each existing discipline has within it a significant core informational element, which helps formulate and define that discipline. The science of information will bring together core science and academic information elements to correlate, compare and assemble a combined theoretical base. This new discipline should coexist equally with traditional scientific and academic categories such as physical, social science, arts, and humanities. It should not compete with or replace other disciplines but should stand alongside them and assist them to build comparisons and consolidations amongst multiple disciplines regarding information theories, methodologies, practices—by adding new perspectives, resources, and developments. This paper is adapted from a presentation to the Fourth International Conference on the Foundation of Information Science, held in conjunction with the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence at the Huazhiong University of Science and Technology in August 2010 in Beijing, China.

Leonhard Euler and the Theory of Ships

2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (04) ◽  
pp. 274-290
Author(s):  
Horst Nowacki
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Scientific Development ◽  
Modern Theory ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Scientific World ◽  
Leonhard Euler ◽  
The Rich ◽  
First Time

On April 15, 2007, the scientific world commemorated Leonhard Euler's 300th birthday. Euler's eminent work has become famous in many fields: mathematics, mechanics, optics, acoustics, astronomy, and geodesy, even in the theory of music. This article will recall his no less distinguished contributions to the founding of the modern theory of ships. These are not so widely known to the general professional public. In laying these foundations in ship theory, as in other fields, Euler was seeking "first principles, generality, order and above all clarity." This article will highlight those achievements for which we owe him our gratitude. There is no doubt that Leonhard Euler was one of the founders of the modern theory of ships. He raised many fundamental questions for the first time and through all phases of his professional lifetime devoted himself to subjects of ship theory. Thereby he gave a unique profile to this still nascent scientific discipline. Many of his approaches have been of lasting, incisive influence on the structure of this field. Some of his ideas have become so much a matter of routine today that we have forgotten their descent from Euler. This article will synoptically review Euler's contributions to the foundation of this discipline, will correlate them with the stages of Euler's own scientific development, embedded in the rich environment of scientific enlightenment in the 18th century, and will appreciate the value of his lasting aftereffects until today. The same example will serve to recognize the fertile field of tension always existing between Euler's fundamental orientation and his desire to make contributions to practical applications, which has remained characteristic of ship theory to the present day. Without claiming completeness in detail, this article aims at giving a coherent overview of Euler's approaches and objectives in this discipline. This synopsis will be presented primarily from the viewpoint of engineering science in its current stage of development.

The classification of pollutants and their pathways in the atmosphere

1979 ◽  
Vol 290 (1376) ◽  
pp. 469-476 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Natural Sources ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Broad Classification

Atmospheric pollutants may damage, directly or indirectly, human life and health, other living organisms and complete ecosystems, human artefacts, and climatic conditions. The development of appropriate policies and methods for control of pollution requires, inter alia , an assessment of the routes taken by pollutants or their precursors through the atmosphere. Consideration of these routes leads to a broad classification on a local, regional or global basis associated mainly, but not exclusively, with the terrestrial boundary layer, with the troposphere and with the stratosphere respectively. This may require in some cases the perspective of total biogeochemical cycles, and in any event of the relative importance of man-made and natural sources of materials to be regarded as pollutants.

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