MEDIA ART IN MODERN SYNTHESIS OF ARTS IN ARCHITECTURE

The article substantiates the problem of synthesis of media art in the modern synthesis of arts in architecture, provides a definition of the term " Media Art" as a higher form of artistic development. Attention is paid to the analysis of recent research and publications devoted to the study of the artistic component of interactive design in the synthesis of the arts of architectural space, the influence of media technologies on the formation of the architectural image of art centers, describing trends in media technology in architecture. The purpose of the article is to consider the forms of media art, their role in the synthesis of arts in architecture. The article emphasizes the objects created and embodied in Ukraine, describes the synthesis of arts from the angle of influence of media art on human perception and outlines the prospects for development. The history of the synthesis of arts in architecture from ancient times, the development of the synthesis of arts in the Art Nouveau style, the preconditions for the emergence of media art are briefly described. The synthesis of media art and architecture, interaction with other arts, namely painting, sculpture, music and others is considered on the example of the multimedia center Atelier des Lumières – "Workshop of the World" in Paris, which specializes in digital art exhibitions; Ukraine WOW exhibition in Kyiv, which is equipped with various forms of media art; media facades in Kyiv; media cube on the facade of Chicago Central House, which is the first media sculpture in Europe. The definition of "media facades" is also given and the influence of media technologies on the emotional and psychological state of a person is considered. Examples of interaction of various forms of media art with architecture are given. The conclusions determine the role of media art in architecture, the impact of media technology on human psychology, outline the prospects for the development of media art in the modern synthesis of arts in architecture.

1,4-Azaborines: Origin, Modern Synthesis, and Applications as Optoelectronic Materials

This short review summarizes the origins and recent progress in 1,4-azaborine research, focusing on synthetic methodologies. Academic laboratories have made significant efforts to generate boron-nitrogen-containing heteroaromatic compounds that mimic arenes. 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-Azaborine motifs have provided breakthrough molecules in applications ranging from medicines to materials. Owing to recent advances in polyaromatic 1,4-azaborine synthesis and applications in industry, the research field is currently undergoing a renaissance. Photo- and electroluminescent properties driven by distinct structural variations are key components in the design of novel 1,4-azaborine structures. In this review, seminal reports on the synthesis of simple 1,4-azaborines to complex π-extended structures are briefly highlighted together along with key optoelectronic properties.1 Introduction2 Non-Fused 1,4-Azaborines3 Monobenzo-Fused 1,4-Azaborines4 Dibenzo-Fused 1,4-Azaborines and Their Derivatives5 Ladder-Type 1,4-Azaborines6 Complex 1,4-Azaborines7 Optoelectronic Properties of Key 1,4-Azaborines8 Conclusion and Outlook

Nickel-Catalyzed Dimerization/(4+2) Cycloaddition Tandem of Terminal Alkynes with Four-Membered Ring Ketones

Controlling the behaviour of terminal alkynes in metal-catalysed intermolecular tandem reactions is a formidable challenge despite the potential advantage offered by these strategies in modern synthesis. Herein, we describe that a nickel catalyst enables a tandem consisting in the rapid dimerization of terminal alkynes into 1,3-enynes and the cycloaddition of these intermediates with an azetidinone, an oxetanone and benzocyclobutenones. Significantly, the slow or sequential additions of reagents and catalysts is not required to orchestrate their reactivity. These results are in stark contrast with previous cycloadditions of terminal alkynes with those strained four-membered ring substrates, which previously led to oligomerization or cyclotrimerization, except in the case of tert-butylacetylene.

What Future for Evolutionary Biology? Response to Commentaries on “The Illusions of the Modern Synthesis”

The extensive range and depth of the twenty commentaries on my target article (Noble, 2021) confirms that something has gone deeply wrong in biology. A wide range of biologists has more than met my invitation for “others to pitch in and develop or counter my arguments.” The commentaries greatly develop those arguments. Also remarkably, none raise issues I would seriously disagree with. I will focus first on the more critical comments, summarise the other comments, and then point the way forward on what I view as a necessary and long-overdue transition in the foundations of biology.

Role of environmentally induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance in evolutionary biology: Unified Evolution Theory

The current evolutionary biology theory primarily involves genetic alterations and random DNA sequence mutations to generate the phenotypic variation required for Darwinian natural selection to act. This neo-Darwinian evolution is termed the Modern Evolution Synthesis and has been the primary paradigm for nearly 100 years. Although environmental factors have a role in neo-Darwinian natural selection, Modern Evolution Synthesis does not consider environment to impact the basic molecular processes involved in evolution. An Extended Evolutionary Synthesis has recently developed that extends the modern synthesis to consider non-genetic processes. Over the past few decades, environmental epigenetics research has been demonstrated to regulate genetic processes and directly generate phenotypic variation independent of genetic sequence alterations. Therefore, the environment can on a molecular level through non-genetic (i.e. epigenetic) mechanisms directly influence phenotypic variation, genetic variation, inheritance and adaptation. This direct action of the environment to alter phenotype that is heritable is a neo-Lamarckian concept that can facilitate neo-Darwinian (i.e. Modern Synthesis) evolution. The integration of genetics, epigenetics, Darwinian theory, Lamarckian concepts, environment, and epigenetic inheritance provides a paradigm shift in evolution theory. The role of environmental-induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance in evolution is presented to describe a more unified theory of evolutionary biology.

The structure of evolutionary theory: Beyond Neo-Darwinism, Neo-Lamarckism and biased historical narratives about the Modern Synthesis

The last decades have seen frequent calls for a more extended evolutionary synthesis (EES) that will supposedly overcome the limitations in the current evolutionary framework with its intellectual roots in the Modern Synthesis (MS). Some radical critics even want to entirely abandon the current evolutionary framework, claiming that the MS (often erroneously labelled “Neo-Darwinism”) is outdated, and will soon be replaced by an entirely new framework, such as the Third Way of Evolution (TWE). Such criticisms are not new, but have repeatedly re-surfaced every decade since the formation of the MS, and were particularly articulated by developmental biologist Conrad Waddington and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. Waddington, Gould and later critics argued that the MS was too narrowly focused on genes and natural selection, and that it ignored developmental processes, epigenetics, paleontology and macroevolutionary phenomena. More recent critics partly recycle these old arguments and argue that non-genetic inheritance, niche construction, phenotypic plasticity and developmental bias necessitate major revision of evolutionary theory. Here I discuss these supposed challenges, taking a historical perspective and tracing these arguments back to Waddington and Gould. I dissect the old arguments by Waddington, Gould and more recent critics that the MS was excessively gene centric and became increasingly “hardened” over time and narrowly focused on natural selection. Recent critics have consciously or unconsciously exaggerated the long-lasting influence of the MS on contemporary evolutionary biology and have underestimated many post-Synthesis developments, particularly Neutral Theory and evolutionary quantitative genetics. Critics have also painted a biased picture of the MS as a more monolithic research tradition than it ever was, and have downplayed the pluralistic nature of contemporary evolutionary biology, particularly the long-lasting influence of Sewall Wright with his emphasis on gene interactions and stochasticity. Finally, I outline and visualize the conceptually split landscape of contemporary evolutionary biology, with four different stably coexisting analytical frameworks: adaptationism, mutationism, neutralism and selectionism. I suggest that the field can accommodate the challenges raised by critics, although structuralism (“EvoDevo”) and macroevolution remain to be conceptually integrated within mainstream evolutionary theory.

From the Modern Synthesis to the Molecular Synthesis: updating how we teach and assess evolution by natural selection

Evolution by natural selection is recognized as both the most important concept in undergraduate biology and the most difficult to teach. Unfortunately, teaching and assessment of evolution have been impaired by legacy approaches that focus on Darwin's original insights and the Modern Synthesis' integration of Mendelian genetics, but ignore or downplay advances from what we term the Molecular Synthesis. To create better alignment between instructional approaches and contemporary research in the biosciences, we propose that the primary learning goal in teaching evolution should be for students to connect genotypes, phenotypes, and fitness. To support this approach, we developed and tested assessment questions and scoring rubrics called the Extended Assessing Conceptual Reasoning of Natural Selection (E-ACORNS) instrument. Initial E-ACORNS data suggest that after traditional instruction, few students recognize the molecular synthesis, prompting us to propose that introductory course sequences be re-organized with the molecular synthesis as their central theme.

A Semiotic Modern Synthesis: Conducting Quantitative Studies in Zoosemiotics and Interpreting Existing Ethological Studies through a Semiotic Framework

In this paper, I present an argument that quantitative behavioural analysis can be used in zoosemiotic studies to advance the field of biosemiotics. The premise is that signs and signals form patterns in space and time, which can be measured and analysed mathematically. Whole organism sign processing is an important component of the semiosphere, with individual organisms in their Umwelten deriving signs from, and contributing to, the semiosphere, and vice versa. Moreover, there is a wealth of data available in the traditional ethology literature which can be reinterpreted semiotically and drawn together to make a cohesive biosemiotic whole. For example, isolated signals, such as structural elements of birdsong, are attributed meaning by an interpreter, thus generating new ideas and hypotheses in both biology and semiotics. Furthermore, animal behaviour science has developed numerous test paradigms that with careful adaptation, could be suitable for use within a Peircean tripartite model, and thus give valuable insights into Umwelten of other species. In my conclusion, I suggest that by bringing together traditional ethology and biosemiotics, it is possible to use the Modern Synthesis to provide context to biosemiosis, thus pragmatic meaning to animal signals. On this basis, I propose updating the Modern Synthesis to a Semiotic Modern Synthesis, which focuses on whole-organism signals and their contexts, the latter being derived from neo-Darwinian theory and the ‘Umwelt’. Thus, there need be no dichotomy; the Modern Synthesis can successfully be integrated with biosemiotics.