共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 140 毫秒
1.
Roger Sansom 《Biology & philosophy》2008,23(4):475-491
I show that gene regulation networks are qualitatively consistent and therefore sufficiently similar to linearly seperable
connectionist networks to warrant that the connectionist framework be applied to gene regulation. On this view, natural selection
designs gene regulation networks to overcome the difficulty of development. I offer some general lessons about their evolvability
that can be learned by examining the generic features of connectionist networks.
相似文献
Roger SansomEmail: |
2.
Sub-Antarctic Marion Island has had a permanent research station for 50 years and the islands Wandering Albatrosses have been intensively studied for 20 years. The reactions of breeding birds to approaches by a human on foot were recorded. Three response variables were calculated: intensity of vocal reaction (IVR), intensity of non-vocal reaction (INR) and overall response index (ORI). At 5 m from the nest, twice as many birds stood and/or vocalised as at 15 m. Nearest neighbour distance, age and gender did not explain individual variability of responses. Study colony birds had higher IVR scores than non-study colony birds; birds at colonies closest to the station had the highest ORI scores. A better breeding record was associated with lower IVR and ORI scores, but a causative relationship remains to be demonstrated. A minimum viewing distance of 25 m is recommended for breeding Wandering Albatrosses.
相似文献
Marienne S. de VilliersEmail: Fax: +27-21-6503434 |
John CooperEmail: |
Peter G. RyanEmail: |
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James Carney 《Biosemiotics》2008,1(3):313-327
The basic premise of biosemiotics as a discipline is that there are elementary processes linking signifying strategies in
all forms of animate life. Correspondingly, the discoveries of biosemiotics should, in principle, be capable of revealing
new insights about human signification. In the present article, I show that this is in fact the case by constructing a biosemiotic
model that links advertising strategies with corresponding structures in animal predation. The methodological framework for
this model is the catastrophe theory of René Thom. The end result is a revised understanding of an ostensibly cultural phenomenon
that demonstrates its continuity with signalling processes conventionally associated with the natural world.
相似文献
James CarneyEmail: |
5.
The paper introduces a novel computational approach to brain dynamics modeling that integrates dynamic gene–protein regulatory
networks with a neural network model. Interaction of genes and proteins in neurons affects the dynamics of the whole neural
network. Through tuning the gene–protein interaction network and the initial gene/protein expression values, different states
of the neural network dynamics can be achieved. A generic computational neurogenetic model is introduced that implements this
approach. It is illustrated by means of a simple neurogenetic model of a spiking neural network of the generation of local
field potential. Our approach allows for investigation of how deleted or mutated genes can alter the dynamics of a model neural
network. We conclude with the proposal how to extend this approach to model cognitive neurodynamics.
相似文献
Nikola KasabovEmail: |
6.
A key point in the analysis of dynamical models of biological systems is to handle systems of relatively high dimensions.
In the present paper we propose a method to hierarchically organize a certain type of piecewise affine (PWA) differential
systems. This specific class of systems has been extensively studied for the past few years, as it provides a good framework
to model gene regulatory networks. The method, shown on several examples, allows a qualitative analysis of the asymptotic
behavior of a PWA system, decomposing it into several smaller subsystems. This technique, based on the well-known strongly
connected components decomposition, is not new. However, its adaptation to the non-smooth PWA differential equations turns
out to be quite relevant because of the strong discrete structure underlying these equations. Its biological relevance is
shown on a 7-dimensional PWA system modeling the gene network responsible for the carbon starvation response in Escherichia coli.
相似文献
Laurent Tournier (Corresponding author)Email: |
Jean-Luc GouzéEmail: |
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This study is dedicated to the development of manufacturing principles of food emulsions for food functionalization and formulation. In the experiments presented, the emulsions are generated using the effects of electrochemical instability and surface tension decrease at a polarized liquid/liquid interface. Polarization of the oil/liquid interface is studied in various aqueous systems including electrolytes and water-based solutions of cationic, anionic, zwitterionic, and nonionic surfactants. The physical features of the obtained emulsions, such as hydrodynamic flow patterns, droplet size distribution, and emulsion organization, are described. The efficacy of different electrode configurations is also evaluated. The theoretical model of the liquid/liquid interface polarization and experimental data obtained from various emulsification regimes are presented.
相似文献
Paul TakhistovEmail: |
10.
The recent contribution by Jarmila Kukalová-Peck on Hennigian phylogenetics and hexapod limb evolution is critically evaluated.
相似文献
Michael S. Engel (Corresponding author)Email: |
11.
Beyond Population and Environment: Household Demographic Life Cycles and Land Use Allocation Among Small Farms in the Amazon 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Stephen G. Perz Robert T. Walker Marcellus M. Caldas 《Human ecology: an interdisciplinary journal》2006,34(6):829-849
Most research featuring demographic factors in environmental change has focused on processes operating at the level of national or global populations. This paper focuses on household-level demographic life cycles among colonists in the Amazon, and evaluates the impacts on land use allocation. The analysis goes beyond prior research by including a broader suite of demographic variables, and by simultaneously assessing their impacts on multiple land uses with different economic and ecological implications. We estimate a system of structural equations that accounts for endogeneity among land uses, and the findings indicate stronger demographic effects than previous work. These findings bear implications for modeling land use, and the place of demography in environmental research.
相似文献
Marcellus M. CaldasPhone: +1-517-4327058Fax: +1-517-4321671 |
12.
Philip Richard Sullivan 《Biology & philosophy》2009,24(1):65-79
This paper demonstrates that the human visual system, the primary sensory conduit for primates, processes ambient energy in
a way that obligatorily constructs the objects that we ineluctably perceive. And since our perceptual apparatus processes
information only in terms of objects (along with the properties and movements of objects), we are limited in our ability to comprehend ‘what
is’ when we move beyond our ordinary world of midsize objects—as, for example, when we address the micro microworld of quantum
physics.
相似文献
Philip Richard SullivanEmail: |
13.
Debates over adaptationism can be clarified and partially resolved by careful consideration of the ‘grain’ at which evolutionary
processes are described. The framework of ‘adaptive landscapes’ can be used to illustrate and facilitate this investigation.
We argue that natural selection may have special status at an intermediate grain of analysis of evolutionary processes. The
cases of sickle-cell disease and genomic imprinting are used as case studies.
相似文献
Peter Godfrey-SmithEmail: |
14.
Coral reef marine protected areas (MPA) are widely distributed around the globe for social and ecological reasons. Relatively
few of these MPAs are well managed. This review examines the governance of coral reef MPAs and the means to improve coral
reef MPA management. It highlights common governance challenges, such as confused goals, conflict, and unrealistic attempts
to scale up beyond institutional capacity. Recommendations, based on field experience and empirical evidence from around the
world, are made for best practices at various stages of MPA implementation.
相似文献
A. T. WhiteEmail: |
15.
Event-related brain potentials (ERP) are important neural correlates of cognitive processes. In the domain of language processing,
the N400 and P600 reflect lexical-semantic integration and syntactic processing problems, respectively. We suggest an interpretation
of these markers in terms of dynamical system theory and present two nonlinear dynamical models for syntactic computations
where different processing strategies correspond to functionally different regions in the system’s phase space.
相似文献
Peter beim GrabenEmail: |
16.
This paper focuses on evolution as a unifying theme in biology education. Our aim is to argue that the different topics taught
in secondary school biology classes should be enriched with and linked together by means of accounts of the history of life.
We named this approach a “natural history perspective” on biology education. An essential aspect of the natural history perspective
is the claim that evolutionary history forms the context for the development of an understanding of evolutionary processes.
While there are some indications that a natural history perspective can function as a context for understanding micro-evolutionary
processes, more research is called for.
相似文献
Esther M. van DijkEmail: |
17.
Morgan Robertson 《Wetlands Ecology and Management》2009,17(1):35-51
Wetland banking has been discussed in the policy literature mainly at a high level of abstraction, using economic models or
generic examples to illustrate the concepts and tensions within wetland banking. This article illustrates two cases of wetland
bank creation in-depth using the methodology of the extended case study, following the process from the initiation of interest
in forming a bank through to the approval of credits for sale. The close attention to actual cases serves to move discussion
beyond the goodness of models or the supposed rationality of economic actors, towards a consideration of actual market participants
in complex situations. Successful wetland credit producers must negotiate a number of different economic, political, interpersonal,
and ecological forces which impact their project from a number of different scales. While no optimal solution to this complexity
is likely to be reached that is generalizable, the use of entrepreneurial wetland banking as a market-based policy may expand
where skillful bankers and regulators together arrive at adequate solutions that are matched to the specificity of their contexts.
相似文献
Morgan RobertsonEmail: |
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T. Ryan Gregory 《Evolution》2008,1(4):358-389
The origin of complex biological structures has long been a subject of interest and debate. Two centuries ago, natural explanations
for their occurrence were considered inconceivable. However, 150 years of scientific investigation have yielded a conceptual
framework, abundant data, and a range of analytical tools capable of addressing this question. This article reviews the various
direct and indirect evolutionary processes that contribute to the origins of complex organs. The evolution of eyes is used
as a case study to illustrate these concepts, and several of the most common misconceptions about complex organ evolution
are discussed.
相似文献
T. Ryan GregoryEmail: |