Living Systems

Examples of Living Systems in the following topics:

• Efficient wastewater treatment

  • Typically, it takes one to three days for sewage to pass through all the required tanks in a living machine system.
  • The first tank is covered with a layer of soil and living grass.
  • Conversely, a system can be arranged outside.
  • Every system can be uniquely tailored to suit the volume and make-up of its waste.
  • Some companies even harvest and sell the methane gas their living systems produce, as well as the flowers, fish, tomatoes and lettuce that grow within them – which means that ‘living machine' systems can be money-spinners.

• The Nitrogen Cycle

  • Getting nitrogen into the living world is difficult.
  • Nitrogen enters the living world via free-living and symbiotic bacteria, which incorporate nitrogen into their macromolecules through nitrogen fixation (conversion of N2).
  • The nitrogen that enters living systems by nitrogen fixation is successively converted from organic nitrogen back into nitrogen gas by bacteria .
  • This process occurs in three steps in terrestrial systems: ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification.
  • Although the movement of nitrogen from rock directly into living systems has been traditionally seen as insignificant compared with nitrogen fixed from the atmosphere, a recent study showed that this process may indeed be significant and should be included in any study of the global nitrogen cycle.

• Overview of the Endocrine System

  • The endocrine system is a system of ductless glands that secrete hormones, which are chemical messengers that act at a distance.
  • The endocrine system is a system of ductless glands that secrete hormones directly into the circulatory system to be carried long distances to other target organs regulating key body and organ functions.
  • Endocrine signalling is typically slow to initiate but is prolonged in response, providing a counterpoint to the more rapid and short lived nervous system signals.
  • The endocrine system is in contrast to the exocrine system which features ducted glands which secrete substances onto an epithelial surface for example a sweat gland.
  • The endocrine systems found in the head and neck include the hypothalamus, pineal, pituitary and thyroid glands.

• Levels of Organization

  • Living organisms are made up of four levels of organization: cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems.
  • Using the circulatory system as an example, a cell in this system is a red blood cell, the heart's cardiac muscle is a tissue, an organ is the heart itself, and the organ system is the circulatory system.
  • An organism is made up of four levels of organization: cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems.
  • While most organ systems control a few specific physiological processes, some processes are more complex and require multiple organ systems to work together.
  • For example, blood pressure is controlled by a combination of the renal system (kidneys), the circulatory system, and the nervous system.

• Comparing the Nervous and Endocrine Systems

  • The nervous system and endocrine system both use chemical messengers to signal cells, but the speed of transmission is different.
  • Both the nervous system and the endocrine system use chemical messengers to signal cells, but the speed at which these messages are transmitted and the length of effect differs.
  • The nervous system responds rapidly to stimuli by sending electrical action potentials along neurons, which in turn transmit these action potentials to their target cells using neurotransmitters, the chemical messenger of the nervous system.
  • The response to stimuli by the nervous system is near instantaneous although the effects are often short lived.
  • The endocrine system relies on hormones to elicit responses from target cells.

• Safety Precautions in the Household

  • There are many systems and devices that prevent electrical hazards .
  • The live or hot wire (live/hot) supplies the voltage and current to operate the appliance.
  • The three-wire system is connected to an appliance through a three-prong plug .
  • The three-wire system replaced the older two-wire system, which lacks an earth/ground wire .
  • Live/hot wires may be brown, red, black, blue, or grey.

• The Lowell System

  • The precursor to the Waltham-Lowell system was the "Rhode Island System," established by British immigrant Samuel Slater in the 1790s.
  • The mill girls, as they came to be known, lived in boarding houses provided by the company, where they were kept under supervision and subject to a strict routine.
  • This immensely profitable model became known as the Waltham-Lowell System, or Lowell System.
  • The Lowell mill girls lived in collective housing, under strict supervision.
  • Describe the transformation of the "Rhode Island System" into the Waltham -Lowell System and its effects on textile production

• Expert Systems

  • An expert system has a unique structure, different from traditional computer programs.
  • For example: "If it is living then it is mortal. " This dialog interface has the advantage of speaking in everyday language, which is very rare in computer science (a classic computer program must be written in a specific programming language in order for the computer to understand and carry out instructions) .
  • Knowledge-based systems are systems based on the methods and techniques of artificial Intelligence.
  • Knowledge base systems (KBS) go beyond the decision support philosophy to incorporate expert system technology into the decision-making framework.
  • Break down expert systems to the inference engine, the knowledge base, and conversational

• Cells as the Basic Unit of Life

  • A cell is the smallest unit of a living thing and is the basic building block of all organisms.
  • A cell is the smallest unit of a living thing.
  • A living thing, whether made of one cell (like bacteria) or many cells (like a human), is called an organism.
  • Several cells of one kind that interconnect with each other and perform a shared function form tissues; several tissues combine to form an organ (your stomach, heart, or brain); and several organs make up an organ system (such as the digestive system, circulatory system, or nervous system).
  • Cells of the immune system fight invading bacteria.

• Levels of Organization of Living Things

  • All living things are made of cells, and the cell itself is the smallest fundamental unit of structure and function in living organisms.
  • An organ system is a higher level of organization that consists of functionally related organs.
  • Mammals have many organ systems.
  • For instance, the circulatory system transports blood through the body and to and from the lungs; it includes organs such as the heart and blood vessels.
  • Furthermore, organisms are individual living entities.