Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Levels Of Autotrophy And Heterotrophy In Mesophotic Corals Near The End Photic Zone, Amy Carmignani, Veronica Z. Radice, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Alex I. Holman, Karen Miller, Kliti Grice, Zoe Richards

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mesophotic corals live at ~30-150 m depth and can sustain metabolic processes under light-limited conditions by enhancing autotrophy through specialized photoadaptations or increasing heterotrophic nutrient acquisition. These acclimatory processes are often species-specific, however mesophotic ecosystems are largely unexplored and acclimation limits for most species are unknown. This study examined mesophotic coral ecosystems using a remotely operated vehicle (Ashmore Reef, Western Australia at 40–75m depth) to investigate the trophic ecology of five species of scleractinian coral (from genera Leptoseris, Pachyseris, and Craterastrea) using stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of host and symbiont tissues …

Bacterial Metabolism Of Glucosinolates From Brassica: Association With Isothiocyanate Production, Stephanie Thomas, Jiaxuan Li, Michael J. Miller

PRECS student projects

Study Focus: To explore the alternative metabolic pathways of GSLs in bacteria, present on the surface of brassica vegetables.

Hypothesis: The alternative pathways used to metabolize GSLs in bacteria located on the surface of brassica vegetables, may contribute to the high variance of human gut GSL conversion to ITC.

Sediment Mineralogy Influences The Rate Of Microbial Sulfate Reduction In Marine Sediments, Chin Yik Lin, Harold J. Bradbury, Gilad Antler, David J. Burdige, Thomas D. Bennett, Shichun Li, Alexandra V. Turchyn

OES Faculty Publications

Sedimentary microbial communities play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, oxidizing deposited organic carbon and thus influencing the type of carbon buried from Earth's surface. The rate of microbial metabolism within sedimentary microbial communities is often linked to the lability and amount of organic carbon deposited. Here we show that, in pure culture, for sulfate-reducing bacteria (Desulfovibrio bizertensis) the rate of microbial sulfate reduction is a function of the proportion of clay minerals present in the incubation vials. We argue that the presence of clay minerals stimulates the growth of the sulfate-reducing bacteria and the rate …

Associations Between Fasting Duration, Timing Of First And Last Meal, And Cardiometabolic Endpoints In The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, Michael David Wirth, Longgang Zhao, Gabrielle Turner-Mcgrievy, Andrew Ortaglia

Faculty Publications

Background: Research indicates potential cardiometabolic benefits of energy consumption earlier in the day. This study examined the association between fasting duration, timing of first and last meals, and cardiometabolic endpoints using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: Cross-sectional data from NHANES (2005–2016) were utilized. Diet was obtained from one to two 24-h dietary recalls to characterize nighttime fasting duration and timing of first and last meal. Blood samples were obtained for characterization of C-reactive protein (CRP); glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c %); insulin; glucose; and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and total cholesterol. Survey design procedures …

Nitrogen Supply And Physical Disturbance Shapes Arctic Stream Nitrogen Uptake Through Effects On Metabolic Activity, Maria Myrstener, Steven A. Thomas, Reiner Giesler, Ryan A. Sponseller

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

1. Climate change in the Arctic is altering the delivery of nutrients from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. The impact of these changes on downstream lakes and rivers is influenced by the capacity of small streams to retain such inputs. Given the potential for nutrient limitation in oligotrophic Arctic streams, biotic demand should be high, unless harsh environmental conditions maintain low biomass standing stocks that limit nutrient uptake capacity.

2. We assessed the drivers of nutrient uptake in two contrasting headwater environments in Arctic Sweden: one stream draining upland tundra and the other draining an alluvial valley with birch forest. At …

Carbon Dots For Specific “Off-On” Sensing Of Co2+ And Edta For In Vivo Bioimaging, Xiangping Wen, Guangming Wen, Wenyan Li, Zhonghua Zhao, Xine Duan, Wenjun Yan, John F. Trant, Yingqi Li

Chemistry and Biochemistry Publications

Fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) were hydrothermally synthesized from a mixture of frozen tofu, ethylenediamine and phosphoric acid in an efficient 64% yield. The resulting CDs exhibit good water solubility, low cytotoxicity, high stability, and excellent biocompatibility. The CDs selectively and sensitively detect Co2+ through fluorescent quenching with a detection limit of 58 nM. Fluorescence can be restored through the introduction of EDTA, and this phenomenon can be used to quantify EDTA in solution with a detection limit of 98 nM. As both analytes are detected by the same CD platform, this is an “off-on” fluorescence sensor for Co2+ and EDTA. …

Mitochondria Exert Age-Divergent Effects On Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury, Andrew N. Stewart, Katelyn E. Mcfarlane, Hemendra J. Vekaria, William M. Bailey, Stacey A. Slone, Lauren A. Tranthem, Bei Zhang, Samir P. Patel, Patrick G. Sullivan, John C. Gensel

Physiology Faculty Publications

The extent that age-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction drives neurodegeneration is not well understood. This study tested the hypothesis that mitochondria contribute to spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced neurodegeneration in an age-dependent manner by using 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) to uncouple electron transport, thereby increasing cellular respiration and reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. We directly compared the effects of graded DNP doses in 4- and 14-month-old (MO) SCI-mice and found DNP to have increased efficacy in mitochondria isolated from 14-MO animals. In vivo, all DNP doses significantly exacerbated 4-MO SCI neurodegeneration coincident with worsened recovery. In contrast, low DNP doses (1.0-mg/kg/day) improved tissue …

Visualizing Metabolic Network Dynamics Through Time-Series Metabolomic Data., Lea F Buchweitz, James T Yurkovich, Christoph Blessing, Veronika Kohler, Fabian Schwarzkopf, Zachary A King, Laurence Yang, Freyr Jóhannsson, Ólafur E Sigurjónsson, Óttar Rolfsson, Julian Heinrich, Andreas Dräger

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: New technologies have given rise to an abundance of -omics data, particularly metabolomic data. The scale of these data introduces new challenges for the interpretation and extraction of knowledge, requiring the development of innovative computational visualization methodologies. Here, we present GEM-Vis, an original method for the visualization of time-course metabolomic data within the context of metabolic network maps. We demonstrate the utility of the GEM-Vis method by examining previously published data for two cellular systems-the human platelet and erythrocyte under cold storage for use in transfusion medicine.

RESULTS: The results comprise two animated videos that allow for new insights …

Comparative Analysis Of The Human Serine Hydrolase Ovca2 To The Model Serine Hydrolase Homolog Fsh1 From S. Cerevisiae, Jessica S. Bun, Michael D. Slack, Daniel E. Schemenauer, R. Jeremy Johnson

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Over 100 metabolic serine hydrolases are present in humans with confirmed functions in metabolism, immune response, and neurotransmission. Among potentially clinically relevant but uncharacterized human serine hydrolases is OVCA2, a serine hydrolase that has been linked with a variety of cancer-related processes. Herein, we developed a heterologous expression system for OVCA2 and determined the comprehensive substrate specificity of OVCA2 against two ester substrate libraries. Based on this analysis, OVCA2 was confirmed as a serine hydrolase with a strong preference for long-chain alkyl ester substrates (>10-carbons) and high selectivity against a variety of short, branched, and substituted esters. Substitutional analysis …

Metabolic Changes Associated With Adaptive Resistance To Daptomycin In Streptococcus Mitis-Oralis, Allison Parrett, Joseph M. Reed, Stewart G. Gardner, Nagendra N. Mishra, Arnold S. Bayer, Robert Powers, Greg A. Somerville

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

Background: Viridans group streptococci of the Streptococcus mitis-oralis subgroup are important endovascular pathogens. They can rapidly develop high-level and durable non-susceptibility to daptomycin both in vitro and in vivo upon exposure to daptomycin. Two consistent genetic adaptations associated with this phenotype (i.e., mutations in cdsA and pgsA) lead to the depletion of the phospholipids, phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin, from the bacterial membrane. Such alterations in phospholipid biosynthesis will modify carbon flow and change the bacterial metabolic status. To determine the metabolic differences between daptomycin-susceptible and non- susceptible bacteria, the physiology and metabolomes of S. mitis-oralis strains 351 (daptomycin-susceptible) and 351-D10 (daptomycin …

N‑Linked Glycosylation Prevents Deamidation Of Glycopeptide And Glycoprotein, Joshua Zhu, Ding Liu, Vy P. Tran, Zhigang Wu, Kuan Jiang, He Zhu, Jiabin Zhang, Christopher Gibbons, Bingzhong Xue, Hang Shi, Peng George Wang

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Deamidation has been recognized as a common spontaneous pathway of protein degradation and a prevalent concern in the pharmaceutical industry; deamidation caused the reduction of protein/peptide drug efficacy and shelf life in several cases. More importantly, deamidation of physiological proteins is related to several human diseases and considered a "timer" for the diseases. N-linked glycosylation has a variety of significant biological functions, and it interestingly occurs right on the deamidation site-asparagine. It has been perceived that N-glycosylation could prevent deamidation, but experimental support is still lacking for clearly understanding the role of N-glycosylation on deamidation. Our results presented that deamidation …

Metabolic Profiling Reveals Biochemical Pathways Responsible For Eelgrass Response To Elevated Co2 And Temperature, Carmen C. Zayas-Santiago, Albert Rivas-Ubach, Li-Jung Kuo, Nicholas D. Ward, Richard C. Zimmerman

OES Faculty Publications

As CO₂ levels in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans steadily rise, varying organismal responses may produce ecological losers and winners. Increased ocean CO₂ can enhance seagrass productivity and thermal tolerance, providing some compensation for climate warming. However, the metabolic shifts driving the positive response to elevated CO₂ by these important ecosystem engineers remain unknown. We analyzed whole-plant performance and metabolic profiles of two geographically distinct eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) populations in response to CO₂ enrichment. In addition to enhancing overall plant size, growth and survival, CO₂ enrichment increased the abundance of Calvin Cycle and …

Closing The Oxygen Mass Balance In Shallow Coastal Ecosystems, Matthew H. Long, Jennie E. Rheuban, Daniel C. Mccorkle, David J. Burdige, Richard C. Zimmerman

OES Faculty Publications

The oxygen concentration in marine ecosystems is influenced by production and consumption in the water column and fluxes across both the atmosphere-water and benthic-water boundaries. Each of these fluxes has the potential to be significant in shallow ecosystems due to high fluxes and low water volumes. This study evaluated the contributions of these three fluxes to the oxygen budget in two contrasting ecosystems, a Zostera marina (eelgrass) meadow in Virginia, U.S.A., and a coral reef in Bermuda. Benthic oxygen fluxes were evaluated by eddy covariance. Water column oxygen production and consumption were measured using an automated water incubation system. Atmosphere-water …

American White Pelican (Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) Growth, Nutrition And Immunology, Treena L. Ferguson, Brian J. Rude, D. Tommy King

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Limited information about nutrition exists on American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) from hatching to fledging. To detail immunity, metabolism and nutrition of juvenile American White Pelicans, during 22-23 July 2011, 103 samples of regurgitate matter were collected at five Chase Lake, North Dakota, USA, and three Bitter Lake, South Dakota, USA, sub-colonies. Regurgitate sample nutrient content was significantly different for organic matter (P = 0.012), crude protein (P = 0.001), neutral detergent fiber (P = 0.014), acid detergent fiber (P = 0.005) and energy (P = 0.034) between North (n = 5) …

A Broad Spectrum Racemase In Pseudomonas Putida Kt2440 Plays A Key Role In Amino Acid Catabolism, Atanas D. Radkov, Luke A. Moe

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The broad-spectrum amino acid racemase (Alr) of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 preferentially interconverts the L- and D-stereoisomers of Lys and Arg. Despite conservation of broad-spectrum racemases among bacteria, little is known regarding their physiological role. Here we explore potential functional roles for Alr in P. putida KT2440. We demonstrate through cellular fractionation that Alr enzymatic activity is found in the periplasm, consistent with its putative periplasm targeting sequence. Specific activity of Alr is highest during exponential growth, and this activity corresponds with an increased accumulation of D-Lys in the growth medium. An alr gene knockout strain (Δalr) was generated …

Comparison Of Ecosystem Processes In A Woodland And Prairie Pond With Different Hydroperiods, Daniel J. Hornbach, Mark C. Hove, Mira W. Ensley-Field, Matthew R. Glasenapp, Ian A. Goodbar, J. Douglas Harman, Benjamin D. Huber, Emily A. Kangas, Kira X. Liu, Molly Stark-Ragsdale, Long K. Tran

Faculty Publications

Shallow lakes and ponds constitute a significant number of water bodies worldwide. Many are heterotrophic, indicating that they are likely net contributors to global carbon cycling. Climate change is likely to have important impacts on these waterbodies. In this study, we examined two small Minnesota ponds; a permanent woodland pond and a temporary prairie pond. The woodland pond had lower levels of phosphorus and phytoplankton than the prairie pond. Using the open water oxygen method, we found the prairie pond typically had a higher level of gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (R) than the woodland pond, although the differences …

Draft Nuclear Genome Sequence Of The Liquid Hydrocarbon–Accumulating Green Microalga Botryococcus Braunii Race B (Showa), Daniel R. Browne, Jerry Jenkins, Jeremy Schmutz, Shengqiang Shu, Kerrie Barry, Jane Grimwood, Jennifer Chiniquy, Aditi Sharma, Thomas Daniel Niehaus, Taylor L. Weiss, Andrew T. Koppisch, David T. Fox, Suraj Dhungana, Shigeru Okada, Joe Chappell, Timothy P. Devarenne

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Botryococcus braunii has long been known as a prodigious producer of liquid hydrocarbon oils that can be converted into combustion engine fuels. This draft genome for the B race of B. braunii will allow researchers to unravel important hydrocarbon biosynthetic pathways and identify possible regulatory networks controlling this unusual metabolism.

Unusual Aerobic Performance At High Temperatures In Juvenile Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Sarah E. Baird, Trinh X. Nguyen, Valentina Cabrera-Stagno, Anthony P. Farrell, Nann A. Fangue

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding how the current warming trends affect fish populations is crucial for effective conservation and management. To help define suitable thermal habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon, the thermal performance of juvenile Chinook salmon acclimated to either 15 or 19°C was tested across a range of environmentally relevant acute temperature changes (from 12 to 26°C). Swim tunnel respirometers were used to measure routine oxygen uptake as a measure of routine metabolic rate (RMR) and oxygen uptake when swimming maximally as a measure of maximal metabolic rate (MMR) at each test temperature. We estimated absolute aerobic scope (AAS = MMR − RMR), …

Impact Of Size, Secondary Structure, And Counterions On The Binding Of Small Ribonucleic Acids To Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoparticles, B. V. Rodriguez, J. Pescador, N. Pollok, G. W. Beall, Corina Maeder, L. K. Lewis

Chemistry Faculty Research

Use of ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference to regulate protein expression has become an important research topic and gene therapy tool, and therefore, finding suitable vehicles for delivery of small RNAs into cells is of crucial importance. Layered double metal hydroxides such as hydrotalcite (HT) have shown great promise as nonviral vectors for transport of deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA), proteins, and drugs into cells, but the adsorption of RNAs to these materials has been little explored. In this study, the binding of small RNAs with different lengths and levels of secondary structure to HT nanoparticles has been analyzed and compared to …

Graph-Regularized Dual Lasso For Robust Eqtl Mapping, Wei Cheng, Xiang Zhang, Zhishan Guo, Yu Shi, Wei Wang

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Motivation: As a promising tool for dissecting the genetic basis of complex traits, expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping has attracted increasing research interest. An important issue in eQTL mapping is how to effectively integrate networks representing interactions among genetic markers and genes. Recently, several Lasso-based methods have been proposed to leverage such network information. Despite their success, existing methods have three common limitations: (i) a preprocessing step is usually needed to cluster the networks; (ii) the incompleteness of the networks and the noise in them are not considered; (iii) other available information, such as location of genetic markers and …

Antimicrobial And Antiinsectan Phenolic Metabolites Of Dalea Searlsiae, Gil Belofsky, Mario Aronica, Eric Foss, Jane Diamond, Felipe Santana, Jacob Darley, Patrick F. Dowd, Christina M. Coleman, Daneel Ferreira

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Continued interest in the chemistry of Dalea spp. led to investigation of Dalea searlsiae, a plant native to areas of the western United States. Methanol extractions of D. searlsiae roots and subsequent chromatographic fractionation afforded the new prenylated and geranylated flavanones malheurans A–D (1–4) and known flavanones (5 and 6). Known rotenoids (7 and 8) and isoflavones (9 and 10) were isolated from aerial portions. Structure determination of pure compounds was accomplished primarily by extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy. The absolute configurations of compounds 1–5, 7 …

Speciation, Metabolism, Toxicity, And Protein-Binding Of Different Arsenic Species In Human Cells, Szabina A. Stice

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite of its known toxicity and potential to cause cancer, arsenic has been proven to be a very important tool for the treatment of various refractory neoplasms. One of the promising arsenic-containing chemotherapeutic agents in clinical trials is Darinaparsin (dimethylarsinous glutathione, DMA^III(GS)). In order to understand its toxicity and therapeutic efficacy, the metabolism of Darinaparsin in human cancer cells was evaluated. With the aim of detecting all potential intermediates and final products of the biotransformation of Darinaparsin and other arsenicals, an analytical method employing high performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) was developed. This method was …

Gene And Protein Sequence Optimization For High-Level Production Of Fully Active And Aglycosylated Lysostaphin In Pichia Pastoris, Hongliang Zhao, Kristina Blazanovic, Yoonjoo Choi, Chris Bailey-Kellogg, Karl E. Griswold

Dartmouth Scholarship

Lysostaphin represents a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of staphylococcal infections, in particular those of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, conventional expression systems for the enzyme suffer from various limitations, and there remains a need for an efficient and cost-effective production process to facilitate clinical translation and the development of nonmedical applications. While Pichia pastoris is widely used for high-level production of recombinant proteins, there are two major barriers to the production of lysostaphin in this industrially relevant host: lack of expression from the wild-type lysostaphin gene and aberrant glycosylation of the wild-type protein sequence. The first barrier can …

Specific Intracellular Uptake Of Herceptin-Conjugated Cdse/Zns Quantum Dots Into Breast Cancer Cells, Seung-Jin Han, Pierson Rathinaraj, Soo-Young Park, Young-Kyoo Kim, Joon Hyung Lee, Inn-Kyu Kang, Jong-Sik Moon, Jeffrey G. Winiarz

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Herceptin, a typical monoclonal antibody, was immobilized on the surface of CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) to enhance their specific interactions with breast cancer cells (SK-BR3). the mean size of the core-shell quantum dots (28 nm), as determined by dynamic light scattering, increased to 86 nm after herceptin immobilization. the in vitro cell culture experiment showed that the keratin forming cancer cells (KB) proliferated well in the presence of herceptin-conjugated QDs (QD-Her, 5 nmol/mL), whereas most of the breast cancer cells (SK-BR3) had died. to clarify the mechanism of cell death, the interaction of SK-BR3 cells with QD-Her was examined …

The Development And Applications Of Nmr Metabolomics Analysis Of Bacterial Metabolomes, Steven M. Halouska

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Metabolomics is a relatively new field that involves the study of metabolic responses that are occurring within a biological system. Metabolite profiles of an organism, tissue extract, and biofluids are important indicators to determine the physiological state of a biological profile. Comparison of such profiles from different phenotypes can be used to identify specific metabolic changes leading to the understanding of metabolic pathways, disease progression, drug toxicity and efficacy, and cellular responses to different intracellular and extracellular conditions. Metabolomics investigations often use sophisticated analytical techniques such as NMR spectroscopy to provide an unbiased and comprehensive approach to evaluate metabolic perturbation …

Selective Catalytic Oxidation Of Organic Sulfides By Iron (Iii) Porphryin Catalysts And Generation Of Iron (Iv)-Oxo Prophyrin Radical Cations, Nawras A. Asiri

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Macrocyclic ligand-complexed transition metal-oxo intermediates are the active oxidizing species in a variety of important biological and catalytic oxidation reactions. Many transition metal catalysts have been designed to mimic the predominant oxidation catalysts in nature, namely the cytochrome P450 enzymes. Iron porphyrin complexes have been the center of research as catalysts. In this study 5,10,15,20- tetramesitylporphyrin (H₂TMP) and its corresponding iron complexes Fe^III(X)TMP (X= Cl, ClO₄, ClO₃, NO₃, NO₂, and BrO₃) have been successfully synthesized and fully characterized by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopies. For the catalytic …

Rna Profiles Of Porcine Embryos During Genome Activation Reveal Complex Metabolic Switch Sensitive To In Vitro Conditions, Olga Østrup, Gayla R. Olbricht, Esben Østrup, Poul Hyttel, Philippe Collas, Ryan A. Cabot

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fertilization is followed by complex changes in cytoplasmic composition and extensive chromatin reprogramming which results in the abundant activation of totipotent embryonic genome at embryonic genome activation (EGA). While chromatin reprogramming has been widely studied in several species, only a handful of reports characterize changing transcriptome profiles and resulting metabolic changes in cleavage stage embryos. The aims of the current study were to investigate RNA profiles of in vivo developed (ivv) and in vitro produced (ivt) porcine embryos before (2-cell stage) and after (late 4-cell stage) EGA and determine major metabolic changes that regulate totipotency. The period before EGA was …

Broadly Applicable Methodology For The Rapid And Dosable Small Molecule-Mediated Regulation Of Transcription Factors In Human Cells, M. D. Shoulders, L. M. Ryno, Christina B. Cooley, J. W. Kelly, R. L. Wiseman

Chemistry Faculty Research

Direct and selective small molecule control of transcription factor activity is an appealing avenue for elucidating the cell biology mediated by transcriptional programs. However, pharmacologic tools to modulate transcription factor activity are scarce because transcription factors are not readily amenable to small molecule-mediated regulation. Moreover, existing genetic approaches to regulate transcription factors often lead to high nonphysiologic levels of transcriptional activation that significantly impair our ability to understand the functional implications of transcription factor activity. Herein, we demonstrate that small molecule-mediated conformational control of protein degradation is a generally applicable, chemical biological methodology to obtain small molecule-regulated transcription factors that …

Slides: Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technologies: A Light To The World, Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Jason B. Aamodt, Blake Feamster

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jason Aamodt, Attorney; Adjunct Professor, University of Tulsa

15 slides

Transcendental Thermodynamics, Richard E. Morel, George Fleck

Kahn Institute Projects

Thermodynamics is often viewed as a narrow, introspective discipline, trapped by its origins in the 18th and 19th centuries. By dramatic contrast, we show that the Fourth Law of Thermodynamics provides explanations and interpretations of all natural events, extending across artificial boundaries of tradition- al academic disciplines. The Fourth Law of Thermodynamics states that far-from-equilibrium systems increase entropy at the maximum rate available to them. This broadly inclusive paradigm applies to systems from molecules, to organisms, to the biosphere. The Fourth Law is the Law of Evolution. All systems that communicate with their environment exhibit self-organization and self-optimization, enabling the …