Chemical equilibrium in complex organic systems

Chapter 3 is about functional explanation in biology, rather than directly about mental content, but in this chapter the author defends a controversial premise of the methodological argument for teleosemantics (given in chapter 4). The premise is that physiologists and neurophysiologists ascribe normal-proper functions in explaining how bodies and brains operate for significant scientific reasons. How an organic system operates in the here and now depends on the actual causal contributions its components make in the here and now, and yet biologists also describe the normal-proper functions of components when explaining how (and not just why) complex organic systems operate or function the way they do. Central to the biologists’ task is describing systems that are functioning normally or properly (e.g., normal human visual systems, or normal human immune systems). The author explains how this role of a malfunction-permitting notion of function (sometimes called a “normative” notion) is consistent with the etiological theory of functions, but the aim here is not to establish the truth of the etiological theory of functions (which is defended in other works).

Download Full-text

Laboratory and Modeling Studies of Chemistry in Dense Molecular Clouds

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s007418090007282x ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 87 ◽

pp. 331-336

Author(s):

W.T. Huntress ◽

S. S. Prasad ◽

G. F. Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Chemical Equilibrium ◽

Molecular Clouds ◽

Evolutionary Model ◽

Chemical Processes ◽

Chemical Library ◽

Interstellar Clouds ◽

Organic Species ◽

Radiative Association ◽

Simple Chemical ◽

Complex Organic

A chemical evolutionary model with a large number of species and a large chemical library is used to examine the principal chemical processes in interstellar clouds. Simple chemical equilibrium arguments show the potential for synthesis of very complex organic species by ion-molecule radiative association reactions.

Download Full-text

Enzymatic synthesis in biphasic aqueous-organic systems. I. Chemical equilibrium shift

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Enzymology ◽

10.1016/0005-2744(81)90251-5 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 658 (1) ◽

pp. 76-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 149

Author(s):

Karel Martinek ◽

Anatole N. Semenov ◽

Ilya V. Berezin

Keyword(s):

Chemical Equilibrium ◽

Enzymatic Synthesis ◽

Organic Systems ◽

Equilibrium Shift

Download Full-text

Molecular mobility and transitions in complex organic systems studied by shear force microscopy

Nanotechnology ◽

10.1088/0957-4484/18/4/044009 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 044009 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Tomoko Gray ◽

Jason Killgore ◽

Jingdong Luo ◽

Alex K Y Jen ◽

René M Overney

Keyword(s):

Molecular Mobility ◽

Shear Force ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Organic Systems ◽

Shear Force Microscopy ◽

Complex Organic

Download Full-text

Enzymes in preparative organic synthesis. Chemical equilibrium in countercurrent biphasic water-organic systems

Biotechnology Letters ◽

10.1007/bf01026844 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 875-880 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A. N. Semenov ◽

A. P. Gachok ◽

M. I. Titov ◽

K. Martinek

Keyword(s):

Organic Synthesis ◽

Chemical Equilibrium ◽

Organic Systems

Download Full-text

Astrochemistry and Astrobiology: Materials Sciencein Wonderland?

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20174079 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (17) ◽

pp. 4079 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Marco d'Ischia ◽

Paola Manini ◽

Marco Moracci ◽

Raffaele Saladino ◽

Vincent Ball ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Material Design ◽

Reaction Pathways ◽

Mineral Surfaces ◽

Thermal Transformations ◽

Reaction Conditions ◽

Organic Systems ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic ◽

Broad Variety ◽

The Origin Of Life ◽

Complex Organic

Astrochemistry and astrobiology, the fascinating disciplines that strive to unravel the origin of life, have opened unprecedented and unpredicted vistas into exotic compounds as well as extreme or complex reaction conditions of potential relevance for a broad variety of applications. Representative, and so far little explored sources of inspiration include complex organic systems, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives; hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and formamide (HCONH2) oligomers and polymers, like aminomalononitrile (AMN)-derived species; and exotic processes, such as solid-state photoreactions on mineral surfaces, phosphorylation by minerals, cold ice irradiation and proton bombardment, and thermal transformations in fumaroles. In addition, meteorites and minerals like forsterite, which dominate dust chemistry in the interstellar medium, may open new avenues for the discovery of innovative catalytic processes and unconventional methodologies. The aim of this review was to offer concise and inspiring, rather than comprehensive, examples of astrochemistry-related materials and systems that may be of relevance in areas such as surface functionalization, nanostructures, and hybrid material design, and for innovative technological solutions. The potential of computational methods to predict new properties from spectroscopic data and to assess plausible reaction pathways on both kinetic and thermodynamic grounds has also been highlighted.

Download Full-text