Ecology Emergent

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Culliney ◽  
David Jones
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Competition And Cooperation ◽  
Evolving Systems ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Edge Of Chaos ◽  
Cellular Life ◽  
The World ◽  
Complex Carbon ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Self Replication

Ever since life’s debut on the earth, biotic evolution has been a near-balancing act. On virtually every level, competition and cooperation, shifting endlessly between foreground and background, have tugged and teased evolving systems as they have wobbled through time along the edge of chaos. The emergence of cellular life from the world of complex carbon-based chemistry appears to have happened only once in the primordial dreamtime of planet Earth. Scientists base this conjecture on a number of virtually universal distributions of chemical structures and processes across the spectrum of living organisms. Despite their perhaps tenuous hold on life, the earliest cells, primitive bacteria and archea, possessed the keys to the opening of new potential for matter and energy—the capabilities of self-replication, controlled energy transduction, directed locomotion, and the regulation of an internal environment. Out of this cellular Big Bang there arose a totally new force field on planet Earth superimposed over the physical, chemical, and geological, but with tendrils pervading all of those realms. It was the beginning of the biosphere. Life pervaded and began to transform the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The chapter highlights transitions of prokaryote to eukaryote via endosymbiosis. Also featured are: biofilms, bioluminescence, coral reefs, and ecological succession.

GENOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF THE PESTICIDE MIXTURES

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Ilyushina ◽  
Yu. A. Revazova
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Literature Information ◽  
Genotoxic Effects ◽  
Antagonistic Effects ◽  
Pesticide Mixtures ◽  
The World ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Genetic Structures ◽  
Active Substances

In order to overcome resistance to individual pesticides and improve their effectiveness, formulations containing two or more active substances are constantly being developed and put on the market over recent years. Mixtures of residual amounts of pesticides can be present in water and food and enter the human and animal bodies. However, the combined effect of pesticides on living organisms, including genetic structures in cells, has not been studied enough and it is not yet possible to predict the genotoxic effects of their mixtures based on available data. The purpose of this review was to collect and summarize literature information on the genotoxicity of pesticide combinations obtained at different objects. The results of studies conducted in different countries of the world are discussed, examples of detected synergistic, additive and antagonistic effects are given, indicating the need for testing the genotoxicity of preparative forms of pesticides containing several active substances, as well as mixtures of jointly used pesticides in order to ensure the safe use of pesticides for public health.

scholarly journals Self-replication of a quantum artificial organism driven by single-photon pulses

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Valente
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Artificial Life ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Physical Systems ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
A Chain ◽  
Thermodynamic Mechanism ◽  
Self Replication

AbstractImitating the transition from inanimate to living matter is a longstanding challenge. Artificial life has achieved computer programs that self-replicate, mutate, compete and evolve, but lacks self-organized hardwares akin to the self-assembly of the first living cells. Nonequilibrium thermodynamics has achieved lifelike self-organization in diverse physical systems, but has not yet met the open-ended evolution of living organisms. Here, I look for the emergence of an artificial-life code in a nonequilibrium physical system undergoing self-organization. I devise a toy model where the onset of self-replication of a quantum artificial organism (a chain of lambda systems) is owing to single-photon pulses added to a zero-temperature environment. I find that spontaneous mutations during self-replication are unavoidable in this model, due to rare but finite absorption of off-resonant photons. I also show that the replication probability is proportional to the absorbed work from the photon, thereby fulfilling a dissipative adaptation (a thermodynamic mechanism underlying lifelike self-organization). These results hint at self-replication as the scenario where dissipative adaptation (pointing towards convergence) coexists with open-ended evolution (pointing towards divergence).

scholarly journals Why anything rather than nothing? The answer of quantum mechanics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasil Dinev Penchev
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Mathematical Truth ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Philosophical Interpretation ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
In Virtue Of

Many researchers determine the question “Why anything rather than nothing?” as the most ancient and fundamental philosophical problem. Furthermore, it is very close to the idea of Creation shared by religion, science, and philosophy, e.g. as the “Big Bang”, the doctrine of “first cause” or “causa sui”, the Creation in six days in the Bible, etc.Thus, the solution of quantum mechanics, being scientific in fact, can be interpreted also philosophically, and even religiously. However, only the philosophical interpretation is the topic of the text.The essence of the answer of quantum mechanics is:1. The creation is necessary in a rigorous mathematical sense. Thus, it does not need any choice, free will, subject, God, etc. to appear. The world exists in virtue of mathematical necessity, e.g. as any mathematical truth such as 2+2=4.2. The being is less than nothing rather than more than nothing. So, the creation is not an increase of nothing, but the decrease of nothing: it is a deficiency in relation of nothing. Time and its “arrow” are the way of that diminishing or incompleteness to nothing.

scholarly journals Assessment of Water Quality of Blue Nile River in Sudan

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Rasha Babiker Gurashi Abu Sabah ◽  
Abubaker Haroun Mohamed Adam ◽  
Dawoud Mohamed Ali
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Nile River ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
The World ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Health Organization

The objectives of this study were to quantify the fresh water quality of Blue Nile River before processing, identify the pollutants, and to determine the most polluted areas, and their impacts on living organisms as well as the surrounding environment. Thus, random water samples were collected and analyzed at the laboratory of the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, Ground water and Wadis Directorates - Khartoum. The outcomes were compared with the World Health Organization standardization. The results revealed variations in the concentration of the studied elements taken from the different locations. But, the results indicated that the water quality is good, and it is within the permissible water use. However, further study is recommended to include seasonal variation as well as the biological analysis.

scholarly journals On the biological concept of subjective significance: A link between the semiotics of nature and the semiotics of culture

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-106
Author(s):  
Zdzisław Wąsik
Keyword(s):  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Biological Concept ◽  
Natural Objects ◽  
The World ◽  
Biological Concepts ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Subjective Significance

A logical-philosophical approach to the meaning-carriers or meaning-processes is juxtaposed with the anthropological-biological concepts of subjective significance uniting both for the semiotics of culture and the semiotics of nature. It is assumed that certain objects, which are identifiable in the universe of man and in the world surrounding all living organisms as significant from the perspective of meaning-receivers, meaning-creators and meaning-utilizers, can be determined as signs when they represent other objects, perform certain tasks or satisfy certain needs of subjects. Hence, the meaning of signifying objects may be found in the relation between the expression of a signifier and (1) a signified content, or (2) a signified function, or (3) a signified value of the cultural and natural objects subsumed by the interpreting subjects under the semiotic ones.

Introductions as Factors in Diseases of Fish and Aquatic Invertebrates

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (S1) ◽  
pp. 110-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Invertebrates ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Pet Trade ◽  
Inland Fisheries ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Advisory Commission ◽  
Local Species ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Trade Control

Fish and invertebrates are subject to a wide range of disease agents. Many of their diseases are probably local in origin although a lengthy list of infections were probably imported via the vast array of exotic species which have been transferred to virtually all areas of the world. Since ail living organisms carry a full suite of microorganisms and larger parasites the likelihood of there being pathogens for local species among them is good. Introductions can occur in at least one of three separate ways: (1) intentional introductions for specific purposes, (2) accidental transport of biological agents via massive transfers of ballast waters or (3) through the ornamental or aquatic pet trade. Control measures and information services devised by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission and the Office International des Epizooties are described.

scholarly journals A 2′-O-Methyltransferase Responsible for Transfer RNA Anticodon Modification Is Pivotal for Resistance to Pseudomonas syringae DC3000 in Arabidopsis

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 1323-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Ramírez ◽  
Beatriz González ◽  
Ana López ◽  
Maria Jose Castelló ◽  
Maria José Gil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Resistance ◽  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Transfer Rna ◽  
Resistance Response ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Trna Modifications ◽  
Trna Species ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
And Function

Transfer RNA (tRNA) is the most highly modified class of RNA species in all living organisms. Recent discoveries have revealed unprecedented complexity in the tRNA chemical structures, modification patterns, regulation, and function, suggesting that each modified nucleoside in tRNA may have its own specific function. However, in plants, our knowledge of the role of individual tRNA modifications and how they are regulated is very limited. In a genetic screen designed to identify factors regulating disease resistance in Arabidopsis, we identified SUPPRESSOR OF CSB3 9 (SCS9). Our results reveal SCS9 encodes a tRNA methyltransferase that mediates the 2′-O-ribose methylation of selected tRNA species in the anticodon loop. These SCS9-mediated tRNA modifications enhance susceptibility during infection with the virulent bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae DC3000. Lack of such tRNA modification, as observed in scs9 mutants, specifically dampens plant resistance against DC3000 without compromising the activation of the salicylic acid signaling pathway or the resistance to other biotrophic pathogens. Our results support a model that gives importance to the control of certain tRNA modifications for mounting an effective disease resistance in Arabidopsis toward DC3000 and, therefore, expands the repertoire of molecular components essential for an efficient disease resistance response.

scholarly journals Towards a Hylomorphic Solution to the Grounding Problem

2018 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 333-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Koslicki
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Experience ◽  
Kit Fine ◽  
The World ◽  
Grounding Problem ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Do So

AbstractConcrete particular objects (e.g. living organisms) figure saliently in our everyday experience as well as our in our scientific theorizing about the world. Ahylomorphicanalysis of concrete particular objects holds that these entities are, in some sense, compounds of matter (hūlē) and form (morphēoreidos). TheGrounding Problemasks why an object and its matter (e.g. a statue and the clay that constitutes it) can apparently differ with respect to certain of their properties (e.g. the clay's ability to survive being squashed, as compared to the statue's inability to do so), even though they are otherwise so much alike. In this paper, I argue that a hylomorphic analysis of concrete particular objects, in conjunction with a non-modal conception of essence of the type encountered for example in the works of Aristotle and Kit Fine, has the resources to yield a solution to the Grounding Problem.

Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions in North Cyprus

2019 ◽  
pp. 98-125
Author(s):  
Mehmet Altınay ◽  
Belal Shneikat
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Association ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Internationalization Of Higher Education ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Competition And Cooperation ◽  
North Cyprus ◽  
The World ◽  
Shed Light

Internationalization has become one of the hotly debated issues in higher education institutions due its role in competitive advantage. Countries around the world encourage their universities to engage in competition and cooperation on the local and global level, and this can't be achieved without internationalization. This chapter is proposed to shed light on a unique case study: internationalization of higher education in North Cyprus, which is a politically unrecognized country. To achieve the aim of this chapter, a survey from International Association of Universities (IAU) was adapted to evaluate the internationalization in the four largest and oldest universities in North Cyprus.

The World Code

2008 ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
Azamat Abdoullaev
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Theoretical Physics ◽  
Formal Ontology ◽  
Knowledge Domain ◽  
The Real ◽  
Black And White ◽  
The World ◽  
Theory Of Everything ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Universe

Formalizing the world in rigorous mathematical terms is no less significant than its fundamental understanding and modeling in terms of ontological constructs. Like black and white, opposite sexes or polarity signs, ontology and mathematics stand complementary to each other, making up the unique and unequaled knowledge domain or knowledge base, which involves two parts: • Ontological (real) mathematics, which defines the real significance for the mathematical entities, so studying the real status of mathematical objects, functions, and relationships in terms of ontological categories and rules. • Mathematical (formal) ontology, which defines the mathematical structures of the real world features, so concerned with a meaningful representation of the universe in terms of mathematical language. The combination of ontology and mathematics and substantial knowledge of sciences is likely the only one true road to reality understanding, modeling and representation. Ontology on its own can’t specify the fabric, design, architecture, and the laws of the universe. Nor theoretical physics with its conceptual tools and models: general relativity, quantum physics, Lagrangians, Hamiltonians, conservation laws, symmetry groups, quantum field theory, string and M theory, twistor theory, loop quantum gravity, the big bang, the standard model, or theory of everything material. Nor mathematics alone with its abstract tools, complex number calculus, differential calculus, differential geometry, analytical continuation, higher algebras, Fourier series and hyperfunctions is the real path to reality (Penrose, 2005).

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