scholarly journals Spatial resource heterogeneity increases diversity and evolutionary potential

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily L. Dolson ◽  
Samuel G. Pérez ◽  
Randal S. Olson ◽  
Charles Ofria

AbstractSpatial heterogeneity is believed to be an evolutionary driver of biodiversity. Variability in the distribution of resource patches can allow an environment to support a wider variety of phenotypes for selection to act upon at the ecosystem level, which may lead to more species. However, the generality of this principle has not been thoroughly tested, as the relevant adaptive dynamics occur on evolutionary timescales. We overcame this challenge by performing experiments on populations of digital organisms in the Avida Digital Evolution Platform, in which we investigated the impact of spatial resource heterogeneity on phenotypic diversity. Since an important benefit of diversity may be increased evolutionary potential, we also tracked the probability of a complex trait evolving in the context of various levels of spatial heterogeneity. We found that spatial entropy and phenotypic diversity have a strong positive correlation and this relationship is consistent across various spatial configurations. Diversity also increases evolutionary potential, but has a much smaller impact than other components of environmental composition. The most important of these components was the mean number of resources present in locations across the environment, likely owing to the importance of building blocks for the evolution of complex features. These results suggest that a general relationship exists between spatial heterogeneity and diversity, beyond the specific ecosystems and timescales in which it has previously been studied. By examining this relationship in the context of phenotypic evolution, we advance a mechanistic understanding of the resulting dynamics. Moreover, our results suggest that the likelihood of evolving various traits can be impacted by the spatial configuration of patches in which these traits are advantageous. These findings have implications for both evolutionary biology and evolutionary computation, as generating and maintaining diversity is critical to all forms of evolution.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Camarasa-Gómez ◽  
Daniel Hernangómez-Pérez ◽  
Michael S. Inkpen ◽  
Giacomo Lovat ◽  
E-Dean Fung ◽  
...  

Ferrocenes are ubiquitous organometallic building blocks that comprise a Fe atom sandwiched between two cyclopentadienyl (Cp) rings that rotate freely at room temperature. Of widespread interest in fundamental studies and real-world applications, they have also attracted<br>some interest as functional elements of molecular-scale devices. Here we investigate the impact of<br>the configurational degrees of freedom of a ferrocene derivative on its single-molecule junction<br>conductance. Measurements indicate that the conductance of the ferrocene derivative, which is<br>suppressed by two orders of magnitude as compared to a fully conjugated analog, can be modulated<br>by altering the junction configuration. Ab initio transport calculations show that the low conductance is a consequence of destructive quantum interference effects that arise from the hybridization of metal-based d-orbitals and the ligand-based π-system. By rotating the Cp rings, the hybridization, and thus the quantum interference, can be mechanically controlled, resulting in a conductance modulation that is seen experimentally.<br>


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Suwarno Suwarno

<p><strong>A</strong><strong>bstract</strong><strong>. </strong>This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Teams Games Tournament (TGT) learning model to improve student learning outcomes. This research is important because the lecture learning model makes learning meaningless so it impacts on low learning outcomes. This research uses quasi experiment using control class and experimental class. Respondents in this study were students of class X SMK 8 Semarang Academic Year 2017/2018. Sample selection using random sampling, class X1 is <em>used</em> as a control class and X2 is an experimental class. The experimental class was given an intervention by learning Teams Games Tournaments (TGT), while the control class used lecture learning. The effectiveness of the model was measured by the student test analysis method. then analyzed by completeness test and average difference test. The findings of this study are the learning outcomes of experimental class students achieving better learning outcomes than classes using the lecture method.</p><p><strong><em>Keywords</em></strong><em>: Learning Model, Teams Games Tournaments (TGT)</em><em>. Students</em></p><p><strong><br /></strong></p><p><strong>Daftar Pustaka</strong></p><p align="center"> </p><p>Bofota, Y. B., &amp; Bofota, Y. B. (2017). <em>The impact of social capital on children educational outcomes : the case of Tanzania The impact of social capital on children educational outcomes : The case of Tanzania</em>.</p><p>Cahuc, P., Shleifer, A., &amp; Algan, Y. (2014). <em>Teaching Practices and Social Capital</em>. (6052).</p><p>Catts, R., &amp; Ozga, J. (2015). <em>What is Social Capital and how might it be used in Scotland ’ s Schools ?</em> (36).</p><p>Flint, N. (2017). <em>Full report Schools , communities and social capital : building blocks in the ’ Big Society ’ Contents</em>.</p><p>Goddard, R. D. (2016). <em>Relational Networks , Social Trust , and Norms : A Social Capital Perspective on Students ’ Chances of Academic Success</em>. <em>25</em>(1), 59–74.</p><p>Eddy Prasongko, 2017. Team Game Tournament. Bandung. Jawa Barat</p><p>Endang Poerwanti, dkk. 2008. <em>Asesmen Pembelajaran SD.</em> Jakarta: Direktorat Jendral Pendidikan Tinggi Departemen Pendidikan Nasional</p><p>Hargreaves, A. (2015). <em>School Social Capital and School Effectiveness</em>. <em>37</em>, 119–136.</p><p>Kurnia, Inggridwati. dkk. 2018. <em>Perkembangan belajar peserta didik</em><em>.</em> Jakarta: Direktorat Jendral Pendidikan Tinggi Departemen Pendidikan Nasional</p><p>Purwanto. M Ngalim. 2015. <em>Psikologi Pendidikan</em>. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya</p><p>Siddiq, M. Djauhar. 2018. <em>Pengembangan Bahan Pembelajaran SD</em>. Jakarta: Direktorat Jendral Pendidikan Tinggi Departemen Pendidikan Nasional.</p><p>Sugiyono, 2005. Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif dan Rn D, Bandung Aftabeta</p><p>Lash, D., &amp; Belfiore, G. (2017). <em>5 Essentials in Building Social Capital Report 4 of the MyWays Student Success Series</em>. (October).</p><p>Mikiewicz, P., Jonasson, J. T., Gudmundsson, G., Blondal, K. S., &amp; Korczewska, D. M. (2011). <em>Comparative research between Poland and Iceland</em>.</p><p>Schlesselman, L., Borrego, M., Bloom, T. J., Mehta, B., Drobitch, R. K., &amp; Smith, T. (2015). An Assessment Of Service-Learning In 34 US Schools Of Pharmacy Follow Up On The 2001 Professional Affairs Committee Report. <em>American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education</em>, <em>79</em>(8). https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe798116</p><p><em><br /></em></p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (21) ◽  
pp. 2475-2497
Author(s):  
Andrea Verónica Rodríguez-Mayor ◽  
German Jesid Peralta-Camacho ◽  
Karen Johanna Cárdenas-Martínez ◽  
Javier Eduardo García-Castañeda

Glycoproteins and glycopeptides are an interesting focus of research, because of their potential use as therapeutic agents, since they are related to carbohydrate-carbohydrate, carbohydrate-protein, and carbohydrate-lipid interactions, which are commonly involved in biological processes. It has been established that natural glycoconjugates could be an important source of templates for the design and development of molecules with therapeutic applications. However, isolating large quantities of glycoconjugates from biological sources with the required purity is extremely complex, because these molecules are found in heterogeneous environments and in very low concentrations. As an alternative to solving this problem, the chemical synthesis of glycoconjugates has been developed. In this context, several methods for the synthesis of glycopeptides in solution and/or solid-phase have been reported. In most of these methods, glycosylated amino acid derivatives are used as building blocks for both solution and solid-phase synthesis. The synthetic viability of glycoconjugates is a critical parameter for allowing their use as drugs to mitigate the impact of microbial resistance and/or cancer. However, the chemical synthesis of glycoconjugates is a challenge, because these molecules possess multiple reaction sites and have a very specific stereochemistry. Therefore, it is necessary to design and implement synthetic routes, which may involve various protection schemes but can be stereoselective, environmentally friendly, and high-yielding. This review focuses on glycopeptide synthesis by recapitulating the progress made over the last 15 years.


Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 471
Author(s):  
Camino Gutiérrez-Corbo ◽  
Bárbara Domínguez-Asenjo ◽  
María Martínez-Valladares ◽  
Yolanda Pérez-Pertejo ◽  
Carlos García-Estrada ◽  
...  

Diseases caused by trypanosomatids (Sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis) are a serious public health concern in low-income endemic countries. These diseases are produced by single-celled parasites with a diploid genome (although aneuploidy is frequent) organized in pairs of non-condensable chromosomes. To explain the way they reproduce through the analysis of natural populations, the theory of strict clonal propagation of these microorganisms was taken as a rule at the beginning of the studies, since it partially justified their genomic stability. However, numerous experimental works provide evidence of sexual reproduction, thus explaining certain naturally occurring events that link the number of meiosis per mitosis and the frequency of mating. Recent techniques have demonstrated genetic exchange between individuals of the same species under laboratory conditions, as well as the expression of meiosis specific genes. The current debate focuses on the frequency of genomic recombination events and its impact on the natural parasite population structure. This paper reviews the results and techniques used to demonstrate the existence of sex in trypanosomatids, the inheritance of kinetoplast DNA (maxi- and minicircles), the impact of genetic exchange in these parasites, and how it can contribute to the phenotypic diversity of natural populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenio Redolfi Riva ◽  
Silvestro Micera

AbstractNeural interfaces are bioelectronic devices capable of stimulating a population of neurons or nerve fascicles and recording electrical signals in a specific area. Despite their success in restoring sensory-motor functions in people with disabilities, their long-term exploitation is still limited by poor biocompatibility, mechanical mismatch between the device and neural tissue and the risk of a chronic inflammatory response upon implantation.In this context, the use of nature-derived materials can help address these issues. Examples of these materials, such as extracellular matrix proteins, peptides, lipids and polysaccharides, have been employed for decades in biomedical science. Their excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability in the absence of toxic compound release, physiochemical properties that are similar to those of human tissues and reduced immunogenicity make them outstanding candidates to improve neural interface biocompatibility and long-term implantation safety. The objective of this review is to highlight progress and challenges concerning the impact of nature-derived materials on neural interface design. The use of these materials as biocompatible coatings and as building blocks of insulation materials for use in implantable neural interfaces is discussed. Moreover, future perspectives are presented to show the increasingly important uses of these materials for neural interface fabrication and their possible use for other applications in the framework of neural engineering.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 107602962110102
Author(s):  
Łukasz Nawacki ◽  
Jarosław Matykiewicz ◽  
Ewa Stochmal ◽  
Stanisław Głuszek

Splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) is a serious vascular complication that can occur in patients with acute pancreatitis. We assessed the incidence of SVT and its relationship with acute pancreatitis (AP) and associated complications. We carried out a retrospective analysis of medical histories from patients hospitalized with AP in a single surgical center. Histories were acquired from patients with abdominal and pelvic computed tomography scans performed between the 2nd and 3rd day of hospitalization. We assessed the impact and extent of thrombosis over the disease course. We found a strong positive correlation (Cramer’s V coefficient = 0.34) between SVT and disease severity. Mortality in the study group was 7.2% (8 patients) of which 5 patients (62.5%) were diagnosed with SVT. We observed an increased incidence of death among patients with thrombosis, with results approaching significance ( P = 0.056). In our study, we found that SVT has a negative effect on the course of AP and is associated with more severe disease and increased mortality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Hatem Mahmoud ◽  
Ayman Ragab

The density of building blocks and insufficient greenery in cities tend to contribute dramatically not only to increased heat stress in the built environment but also to higher energy demand for cooling. Urban planners should, therefore, be conscious of their responsibility to reduce energy usage of buildings along with improving outdoor thermal efficiency. This study examines the impact of numerous proposed urban geometry cases on the thermal efficiency of outer spaces as well as the energy consumption of adjacent buildings under various climate change scenarios as representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 climate projections for New Aswan city in 2035. The investigation was performed at one of the most underutilized outdoor spaces on the new campus of Aswan University in New Aswan city. The potential reduction of heat stress was investigated so as to improve the thermal comfort of the investigated outdoor spaces, as well as energy savings based on the proposed strategies. Accordingly, the most appropriate scenario to be adopted to cope with the inevitable climate change was identified. The proposed scenarios were divided into four categories of parameters. In the first category, shelters partially (25–50% and 75%) covering the streets were used. The second category proposed dividing the space parallel or perpendicular to the existing buildings. The third category was a hybrid scenario of the first and second categories. In the fourth category, a green cover of grass was added. A coupling evaluation was applied utilizing ENVI-met v4.2 and Design-Builder v4.5 to measure and improve the thermal efficiency of the outdoor space and reduce the cooling energy. The results demonstrated that it is better to cover outdoor spaces with 50% of the overall area than transform outdoor spaces into canyons.


RSC Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 8970-8985
Author(s):  
Robin Kunkel ◽  
Volkmar M. Schmidt ◽  
Carsten Cremers ◽  
Dominik Müller ◽  
Detlef Schmiedl ◽  
...  

Hydrovanilloin and polyvanillin were synthesized electrochemically investigating the impact of process parameters such as electrode material, charge and current density.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Peraza-Hernandez ◽  
Darren Hartl ◽  
Edgar Galvan ◽  
Richard Malak

Origami engineering—the practice of creating useful three-dimensional structures through folding and fold-like operations on two-dimensional building-blocks—has the potential to impact several areas of design and manufacturing. In this article, we study a new concept for a self-folding system. It consists of an active, self-morphing laminate that includes two meshes of thermally-actuated shape memory alloy (SMA) wire separated by a compliant passive layer. The goal of this article is to analyze the folding behavior and examine key engineering tradeoffs associated with the proposed system. We consider the impact of several design variables including mesh wire thickness, mesh wire spacing, thickness of the insulating elastomer layer, and heating power. Response parameters of interest include effective folding angle, maximum von Mises stress in the SMA, maximum temperature in the SMA, maximum temperature in the elastomer, and radius of curvature at the fold line. We identify an optimized physical realization for maximizing folding capability under mechanical and thermal failure constraints. Furthermore, we conclude that the proposed self-folding system is capable of achieving folds of significant magnitude (as measured by the effective folding angle) as required to create useful 3D structures.


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