Microcosm

A cross-cultural reading hosted by Carleton University and covered by CBC In Town and Out interview

The diagram interfaces geometry and anatomy, humanity and nature, architecture and cosmos, microcosm and macrocosm. It transcends the ancient architect Vitruvius’ text and intersects with ideas prevalent among Leonardo’s contemporaries, at the threshold of modernity. Interweaving many strands of history and encapsulating the diverse interests of Leonardo, his Vitruvian Man was Renaissance’s archetypal selfie.

Second in a series of Three Cinquecento Lectures delivered at Carleton University on the occasion of Leonardo Da Vinci's 500th Anniversary in 2019
1. "Leonardo Da Vinci: From Baghdad to Bayezid"  (Oct 1)
2. “Vitruvian Man” as Renaissance Selfie (Dec 7)
3. "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mirror Writing" (Dec 12)

RESUMO
As leis rígidas que a física produziu nesses últimos quatrocentos anos e que permitiram organizar um universo ordeiro e regular estão sendo substituídas por leis cósmicas variáveis, dependentes do tempo cósmico. A violação do determinismo tradicional produzido por processos de bifurcação descobertas no século 20 em laboratórios terrestres foram estendidas para o universo e exibiram uma situação inesperada: um cosmos hesitante. No entanto, além dessas estranhas e inesperadas novidades que alteraram profundamente o papel da ciência no imaginário do filósofo, a mais fantástica novidade veio de uma releitura atualizada de Giordano Bruno através da imagem de um universo solidário. Nesse texto farei um sobrevoo dessas questões para atrair o leitor a voos futuros que a cosmologia pode permitir. Dito de outro modo, iremos tratar do microcosmo e suas múltiplas aparências; da distinção sombria entre o real e o virtual; dos múltiplos tempos da física e do tempo único da cosmologia; da dependência cósmica das leis físicas. Daremos então um salto no vazio e mesmo além; veremos o significado do processo de bifurcação exibido por um cosmos indeciso que limita o determinismo. Finalmente exibiremos o mecanismo descoberto pelos cosmólogos de um universo cíclico que produz processos em repetição e as diferenças que ocorrem em vários ciclos. Chegamos enfim ao universo solidário antecipado por Giordano Bruno e a construção de uma ética a partir dele.

ABSTRACT
The rigid laws that physics has produced in the last four hundred years and which have allowed an orderly and regular universe to be organized are being replaced by variable cosmic laws, dependent on cosmic time. The violation of traditional determinism produced by bifurcation processes discovered in the 20th century in terrestrial laboratories was extended to the universe and exhibited an unexpected situation: a hesitant cosmos. However, in addition to these strange and unexpected novelties that profoundly altered the role of science in the philosopher's imagination, the most fantastic novelty came from an updated rereading of Giordano Bruno through the image of a solidary universe. In this text I will fly over these issues to attract the reader to future flights that cosmology can allow. In other words, we will deal with the microcosm and its multiple appearances; the bleak distinction between the real and the virtual; the multiple times of physics and the single time of cosmology;of the cosmic dependence on physical laws. We will then take a leap into the void and beyond; we will see the meaning of the bifurcation process displayed by an indecisive cosmos that limits determinism. Finally, we will show the mechanism discovered by cosmologists of a cyclic universe that produces processes in repetition and the differences that occur in several cycles. We finally arrived at the solidarity universe anticipated by Giordano Bruno and the construction of an ethics based on it.

Ballast tank biofilms pose an additional risk of microbial invasion if sloughed off during ballasting operations, yet their significance and invasion biology is poorly understood. In this study, biofilms developed in marine and freshwater locations were exposed to prolonged darkness and aging by mimicking ballast water conditions in the laboratory. Upon prolonged darkness, the decay of phytoplankton, as indicated by the decrease in chlorophyll a in marine biofilms, led to remineralization and enhanced bacterial and protist populations. However, the same trend was not observed in the case of freshwater biofilms wherein the microbial parameters (i.e., bacteria, protists) and chlorophyll a decreased drastically. The bacterial community structure in such conditions was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), and results showed that the biofilm bacterial communities changed significantly over a period of time. α-Proteobacteria was the most stable taxonomic group in the marine biofilms under dark conditions. However, β-proteobacteria dominated the freshwater biofilms and seemed to play an important role in organic matter remineralization. γ-Proteobacteria, which includes most of the pathogenic genera, were affected significantly and decreased in both the types of biofilms. This study revealed that marine biofilm communities were able to adapt better to the dark conditions while freshwater biofilm communities collapsed. Adaptation of tolerant bacterial communities, regeneration of nutrients via cell lysis, and presence of grazers appeared to be key factors for survival upon prolonged darkness. However, the fate of biofilm communities upon discharge in the new environment and their invasion potential is an important topic for future investigation.

Priorities for the exploration of Mars involve the identification and observation of biosignatures that indicate the existence of life on the planet. The atmosphere and composition of the sediments on Mars suggest suitability for anaerobic chemolithotrophic metabolism. Carbonates are often considered as morphological biosignatures, such as stromatolites, but have not been considered as potential electron acceptors. Within the present study, hydrogenotrophic methanogen enrichments were generated from sediments that had received significant quantities of lime from industrial processes (lime kiln/steel production). These enrichments were then supplemented with calcium carbonate powder or marble chips as a sole source of carbon. These microcosms saw a release of inorganic carbon into the liquid phase, which was subsequently removed, resulting in the generation of methane, with 0.37 ± 0.09 mmoles of methane observed in the steel sediment enrichments supplemented with calcium carbonate po...

Eutrophication is considered a global environmental problem that causes economic and biodiversity loss. Together with excess phosphorus in some aquatic environments, there is the depletion of phosphate rock deposits, which can directly affect fertilizer production and therefore global food security. Thus, the present work aimed to study a new remediation technique for eutrophic environments that enables the recovery of these environments through phosphorus adsorption in sawdust, creating the possibility to apply the phosphorus-enriched material as an agricultural fertilizer. The study was conducted in 36 microcosm flasks with water and sediment samples from a eutrophic reservoir in Ibirité/MG. The experiment was carried out using 18 control flasks and 18 others as treatment, consisting of water and eutrophic environment sediment and, additionally, two bags, containing 10 g of sawdust in each bag. The phosphorus adsorption on sawdust was more intense after 49 days of immersion in the...

Contribution to aquatic ecotoxicology of synthetic surfactants. Relevant results and main achievements in studying biocatalysis of matter transfer in a microcosm which was found to be inhibited by a contaminant: effects of a surfactant on Lymnaea stagnalis.
The main object of this ecotoxicology study is Lymnaea stagnalis.

https://www.academia.edu/44837054/

Tannery effluents require effective treatment prior to their final disposal, and the use of native bacterial consortia could be an appropriate strategy for this purpose. In the present work, consortium SFC 500-1 was found to be highly tolerant to different metals, metalloids and aromatic compounds like phenols. It was also able to remove the black dye commonly used in tanneries. Moreover, it promoted a significant reduction in chemical oxygen demand and exhibited high capability for the simultaneous removal of Cr(VI) and phenol. However, the effectiveness of the remediation processes markedly varied from one experimental system (Erlenmeyer flasks) to another (field microcosm system), highlighting the importance of moving from a small-scale study system to one involving more realistic environmental scenarios. In addition, we found a decrease in the toxicity of the effluent treated with consortium SFC 500-1. Taken together, our results indicate that this consortium possesses great potential for the treatment of tannery effluents. We conclude that for the development of a bioremediation strategy, it is necessary to develop experiments at a larger scale under conditions similar to those of the original system, in order to complete the scenario first created by in vitro approaches.

Three chromium resistant bacterial strains, Pseudomonas fluorescens PF28, Enterobacter amnigenus EA31 and Enterococcus gallinarum S34 isolated from tannery waste contaminated soil were used in this study. All strains could resist a high concentration of K2Cr2O7 that is up to 300 mg/L. The effect of these strains on clover plants (Trifolium campestre) in the presence of two chromium salts CrCl3 and K2Cr2O7 was studied in soil microcosm. Application of chromium salts adversely affected seed germination, root and shoot length. Bacterial inoculation improved the growth parameters under chromate stress when compared with non inoculated respective controls. There was observed more than 50% reduction of Cr(VI) in inoculated soil microcosms, as compared to the uninoculated soil under the same conditions. The results obtained in this study are significant for the bioremediation of chromate pollution.

The cladocerans Moina micrura and Diaphanosoma excisum and the copepod Thermocyclops decipiens were studied in microcosms (0.8 m3) under semi-controlled experimental conditions at 25–29 °C for 32 days, by daily sampling after an initial monospecific inoculation. For each species, the time series began with an exponential population growth phase. M. micrura showed a higher daily population growth rate (mean = 1.19) than D. excisum (0.78) and T. decipiens (0.45). The growth phase of M. micrura coincided with bacterial and phytoplanktonic peaks while the growth phase of the two other species followed these peaks. After this phase, M. micrura quickly disappeared (day 10), while D. excisum biomass decreased but showed a second increase, followed by a stabilization sequence. T. decipiens biomass had a slower increase and stabilized after day 17. The passage to sexual reproduction in relation to crowding was the main regulating factor for M. micrura, whereas food limitation was important f...