Acta Biotheoretica最新文献

{"title":"The Role of Information in Evolutionary Biology","authors":"Thomas E. Dickins","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09468-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09468-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Modern Synthesis has received criticism for its purported gene-centrism. That criticism relies on a concept of the gene as a unit of instructional information. In this paper I discuss information concepts and endorse one, developed from Floridi, that sees information as a functional relationship between data and context. I use this concept to inspect developmental criticisms of the Modern Synthesis and argue that the instructional gene arose as an idealization practice when evolutionary biologists made comment on development. However, a closer inspection of key claims shows that at least some associated with the Modern Synthesis were in fact adopting the data led definition I favour and made clear arguments for the role of developmental processes beyond genetic input. There was no instructional gene.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10441-023-09468-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10099986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sulfur is in the Air: Cyanolichen Marriages and Pollution","authors":"Dilantha Gunawardana,&nbsp;Rasika P. Wanigatunge,&nbsp;Jayani J. Wewalwela,&nbsp;Meththika Vithanage,&nbsp;Chandrani Wijeyaratne","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09465-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09465-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cyanolichens are symbiotic organisms involving cyanobacteria and fungi (bipartite) or with the addition of an algal partner (tripartite). Cyanolichens are known for their heightened susceptibility to environmental pollution. We focus here on the impacts on cyanolichens due to rising air pollution; we are especially interested in the role of sulfur dioxide on cyanolichen biology. Cyanolichens due to air pollution including sulfur dioxide exposure, show symptomatic changes including degradation of chlorophyll, lipid membrane peroxidation, decrease in ATP production, changes in respiration rate, and alteration of endogenous auxins and ethylene production, although symptoms are known to vary with species and genotype. Sulfur dioxide has been shown to be damaging to photosynthesis but is relatively benign on nitrogen fixation which proposes as a hypothesis that the algal partner may be more in harm’s way than the cyanobiont. In fact, the <i>Nostoc</i> cyanobiont of sulfur dioxide-susceptible <i>Lobaria pulmonaria</i> carries a magnified set of sulfur (alkane sulfonate) metabolism genes capable of alkane sulfonate transport and assimilation, which were only unraveled by genome sequencing, a technology unavailable in the 1950–2000 epoch, where most physiology- based studies were performed. There is worldwide a growing corpus of evidence that sulfur has an important role to play in biological symbioses including rhizobia-legumes, mycorrhizae-roots and cyanobacteria-host plants. Furthermore, the fungal and algal partners of <i>L. pulmonaria</i> appear not to have the sulfonate transporter genes again providing the roles of ambient-sulfur (alkanesulfonate metabolism etc.) mediated functions primarily to the cyanobacterial partner. In conclusion, we have addressed here the role of the atmospheric pollutant sulfur dioxide to tripartite cyanolichen viability and suggest that the weaker link is likely to be the photosynthetic algal (chlorophyte) partner and not the nitrogen-fixing cyanobiont.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10441-023-09465-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9425069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Membrane Potential Has a Primary Key Equation","authors":"Hirohisa Tamagawa,&nbsp;Toi Nakahata,&nbsp;Ren Sugimori,&nbsp;Bernard Delalande,&nbsp;Titus Mulembo","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09467-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09467-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>It is common to say that the origin of the membrane potential is attributed to transmembrane ion transport, but it is theoretically possible to explain its generation by the mechanism of ion adsorption. It has been previously suggested that the ion adsorption mechanism even leads to potential formulae identical to the famous Nernst equation or the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation. Our further analysis, presented in this paper, indicates that the potential formula based on the ion adsorption mechanism leads to an equation that is a function of the surface charge density of the material and the surface potential of the material. Furthermore, we have confirmed that the equation holds in all the different experimental systems that we have studied. This equation appears to be a key equation that governs the characteristics of the membrane potential in all systems.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9793720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mathematical Model of Synaptic Long-Term Potentiation as a Bistability in a Chain of Biochemical Reactions with a Positive Feedback","authors":"Pranas Katauskis,&nbsp;Feliksas Ivanauskas,&nbsp;Aidas Alaburda","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09466-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09466-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) by multiple signaling pathways. Here, we show that LTP of synaptic transmission can be explained as a feature of signal transduction—bistable behavior in a chain of biochemical reactions with positive feedback, formed by diffusion of NO to the presynaptic site and facilitating the release of glutamate (Glu). The dynamics of Glu, calcium (Ca²⁺) and NO is described by a system of nonlinear reaction–diffusion equations with modified Michaelis–Menten (MM) kinetics. Numerical investigation reveals that the chain of biochemical reactions analyzed can exhibit a bistable behavior under physiological conditions when production of Glu is described by MM kinetics and decay of NO is modeled by means of two enzymatic pathways with different kinetic properties. Our finding extends understanding of the role of NO in LTP: a short high-intensity stimulus is “memorized” as a long-lasting elevation of NO concentration. The conclusions obtained by analysis of the chain of biochemical reactions describing LTP can be generalized to other chains of interactions or for creating the logical elements for biological computers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10441-023-09466-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9425066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From Minerals to Simplest Living Matter: Life Origination Hydrate Theory","authors":"Elena A. Kadyshevich,&nbsp;Victor E. Ostrovskii","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09463-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09463-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Long since, people tried to solve the mystery of the way that led to the appearance and propagation of living entities. However, no harmonious understanding of this mystery existed, because neither the scientifically grounded source minerals nor the ambient conditions were proposed and because it was groundlessly taken that the process of living matter origination is endothermal. The Life Origination Hydrate Theory (LOH-Theory) first suggests the chemical way capable of leading from the specified abundant natural minerals to origination of multitudes of multitudes of simplest living entities and gives an original explanation for the phenomena of chirality and racemization delay. The LOH-Theory covers the period up to origination of the genetic code. The LOH-Theory is grounded on the following three discoveries based on the available information and on the results of our experimental works performed using original instrumentation and computer simulations. (1) There is the only one triad of natural minerals applicable for exothermal thermodynamically possible chemical syntheses of simplest living-matter components. (2) N-base, ribose, and phosphdiester radicals and nucleic acids as whole are size-compatible with structural gas-hydrate cavities. (3) The gas-hydrate structure arises around amido-groups in cooled undisturbed systems consisting of water and highly-concentrated functional polymers with amido-groups.The natural conditions and historic periods favorable for simplest living matter origination are revealed. The LOH-Theory is supported by results of observations, biophysical and biochemical experiments, and wide application of original three-dimensional and two-dimensional computer simulations of biochemical structures within gas-hydrate matrix. The instrumentation and procedures for experimental verification of the LOH-Theory are suggested. If future experiments are successful, they, possibly, could be the first step on the way to industrial synthesis of food from minerals, i.e., to execution of the work that is performed by plants.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10441-023-09463-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9562279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Gender-Selective Harvesting Strategy: Weak Allee Effects and a Non-hyperbolic Extinction Boundary","authors":"Eric M. Takyi,&nbsp;Joydeb Bhattacharyya,&nbsp;Rana D. Parshad","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09462-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09462-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Recently a gender-selective harvesting strategy has been proposed for possible control of aquatic invasive species, wherein females of the invasive species are harvested, whilst stocking the males (abbreviated as FHMS strategy) (Lyu et al. in Nat Resour Model 33(2):e12252, 2020). We consider the FHMS strategy with a weak Allee effect, and show that its extinction boundary need <i>not</i> be hyperbolic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a non-hyperbolic extinction boundary in two-compartment mating models structured by sex. The model possesses a rich dynamical structure, with several local co-dimension one bifurcations occurring. We also show the occurrence of a global homoclinic bifurcation, which has applicability for large scale strategic bio-control.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10441-023-09462-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9513518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Random with Respect to Fitness or External Selection? An Important but Often Overlooked Distinction","authors":"Jonathan Bartlett","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09464-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09464-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mutations are often described as being “random with respect to fitness.” Here we show that the experiments used to establish randomness with respect to fitness are only capable of showing that mutations are random with respect to current external selection. Current debates about whether or not mutations are directed may be at least partially resolved by making use of this distinction. Additionally, this distinction has important mathematical, experimental, and inferential implications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10441-023-09464-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9513517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fast Track Treatment of Hypothyroidism with Levothyroxine: Reaching Homeostasis within Four Weeks","authors":"Simon L. Goede","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09461-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09461-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>With the current clinical method for the treatment of hypothyroidism the target for the optimum individual values for free thyroxine concentrations [FT4] and thyrotropine concentrations [TSH] of the specific patient are unknown. This situation leads to unnecessary long experimental medication administration that can take a period of sometimes one year. In this article a method will be described where hypothyroid patients are characterized with weekly measured FT4 and TSH concentrations during the first three weeks of synthetic thyroxine or levothyroxine (L-T4) treatment to predict their optimum [FT4] and belonging [TSH] endpoint for a euthyroid homeostatic state. The treatment with levothyroxine will start for all patients with a reference dose of 100 µg, which can be adjusted by the treating physician to a more safe and appropriate dose for the individual which is monitored with weekly thyroid function tests to observe the progress. After three weeks all characteristics of the patient can be inferred from the measured data. The final titration target together with the individual thyroxine half life can be calculated. With the known characteristics and the L-T4 titration target the clinician or treating physician has an instrument to reduce the experimental treatment burden for the patient from one year to a maximum of four weeks.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9074943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mathematical Model of COVID-19 Pandemic with Double Dose Vaccination","authors":"Olumuyiwa James Peter,&nbsp;Hasan S. Panigoro,&nbsp;Afeez Abidemi,&nbsp;Mayowa M. Ojo,&nbsp;Festus Abiodun Oguntolu","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09460-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09460-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper is concerned with the formulation and analysis of an epidemic model of COVID-19 governed by an eight-dimensional system of ordinary differential equations, by taking into account the first dose and the second dose of vaccinated individuals in the population. The developed model is analyzed and the threshold quantity known as the control reproduction number <span>(mathcal {R}_{0})</span> is obtained. We investigate the equilibrium stability of the system, and the COVID-free equilibrium is said to be locally asymptotically stable when the control reproduction number is less than unity, and unstable otherwise. Using the least-squares method, the model is calibrated based on the cumulative number of COVID-19 reported cases and available information about the mass vaccine administration in Malaysia between the 24th of February 2021 and February 2022. Following the model fitting and estimation of the parameter values, a global sensitivity analysis was performed by using the Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient (PRCC) to determine the most influential parameters on the threshold quantities. The result shows that the effective transmission rate <span>((alpha ))</span>, the rate of first vaccine dose <span>((phi ))</span>, the second dose vaccination rate <span>((sigma ))</span> and the recovery rate due to the second dose of vaccination <span>((eta ))</span> are the most influential of all the model parameters. We further investigate the impact of these parameters by performing a numerical simulation on the developed COVID-19 model. The result of the study shows that adhering to the preventive measures has a huge impact on reducing the spread of the disease in the population. Particularly, an increase in both the first and second dose vaccination rates reduces the number of infected individuals, thus reducing the disease burden in the population.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10441-023-09460-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9568735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Very Nice Meal with an Unsatisfying Appetizer","authors":"Antonella Tramacere","doi":"10.1007/s10441-023-09458-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10441-023-09458-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As an Italian from the South, I have been socialized to care a lot about cooking. Quality of the food is a fundamental starting point for a successful result; in addition, you need expertise in food preparation and the capacity to balance dishes together in a single meal, from appetizer to dessert.</p><p>I find Isabella Sarto-Jackson’s book <i>The Making and Breaking of Mind</i> a very nice meal with good-quality food prepared with expert hands, but the dish balance is a bit unsatisfying. I find dishes not always coherently combined with the general style of the meal, starting with the appetizer. A good appetizer would tell you what you should expect from the overall meal and would make you crave for tasting the rest. Instead, the book’s introduction and the first chapter seem to promise something different and does not give you a satisfactory idea of what you will read later. This is a pity, because overall the meal is quite nice, and most of the dishes delicious.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7057,"journal":{"name":"Acta Biotheoretica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50006993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}