Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

What is a human being? What is life? Can science give us reliable answers to such questions? The electricity of life. The meaning of human consciousness. Are we alone? Are the traditional contests between science and religion still relevant? Does the word "spirit" still hold meaning today?

Moderators: MGmirkin, bboyer

Locked
User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:11 pm

Junglelord
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:28 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
The physical response is the increased ROM, increased strength, decreased pain and negitive tensegrity assessment.

The fascial system is the acupuncture system. The nodes of local stations are the acupuncture points that lie over fascial three dimensional planes and intersections of those planes.

Quote:
Acupuncture meridians traditionally are believed to constitute channels connecting the surface of the body to internal organs. We hypothesize that the network of acupuncture points and meridians can be viewed as a representation of the network formed by interstitial connective tissue. This hypothesis is supported by ultrasound images showing connective tissue cleavage planes at acupuncture points in normal human subjects. To test this hypothesis, we mapped acupuncture points in serial gross anatomical sections through the human arm. We found an 80% correspondence between the sites of acupuncture points and the location of intermuscular or intramuscular connective tissue planes in postmortem tissue sections. We propose that the anatomical relationship of acupuncture points and meridians to connective tissue planes is relevant to acupuncture's mechanism of action and suggests a potentially important integrative role for interstitial connective tissue.


I learn a lot at these web pages.

http://www.somatics.de/articlesprof.html
http://www.fasciaresearch.com/


Quote:
See this article.

We propose that both the DC electrodynamical field and the acupuncture system have a common anatomical basis. It is the aligned, collagen liquid crystalline continuum in the connective tissues of the body with its layers of structured water molecules supporting rapid semi-conduction of protons. This enables all parts of the body to intercommunicate readily, so the organism can function as a coherent whole. This liquid crystalline continuum may mediate hyperreactivity to allergens and the body's responsiveness to different forms of subtle energy medicine. Furthermore, it constitutes a "body consciousness" that is functionally interconnected with the "brain consciousness" of the nervous system (Ho, 1997a). We review supporting evidence from biochemistry, cell biology, biophysics and neurophysiology, and suggest experiments to test our hypothesis.

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/lcm.php
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
StefanR
Posts: 1371
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:31 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by StefanR » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:13 pm

StefanR
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:22 am Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
The Acupuncture System and The Liquid Crystalline Collagen Fibres of the Connective Tissues


This is more of what I was searching.

Quote:
We have proposed that the acupuncture (meridian) system and the DC body field detected by Western scientists both inhere in the continuum of liquid crystalline collagen fibres and the associated layers of bound water that make up the bulk of the connective tissues of the body. Acupunture merdians may be associated with the bound water layers along oriented collagen fibres, which provide proton conduction pathways for rapid intercommunication throughout the body; while acupuncture points may correspond to gaps in the fibres or fibres oriented at right angles to the surface of the skin. The sum total of the electrical and electromechanical activities of the liquid crystalline continuum constitutes a "body consciousness" that works in tandem with the "brain consciousness" of the nervous system. We have reviewed supporting evidence from biochemistry, cell biology, biophysics and neurophysiology, and have suggested the following experiments to test our hypothesis.

Seems, they beat me to it . This is what flashed my brain.
Now let's put some scalars in this research and we have lift off.
The illusion from which we are seeking to extricate ourselves is not that constituted by the realm of space and time, but that which comes from failing to know that realm from the standpoint of a higher vision. -L.H.

User avatar
StefanR
Posts: 1371
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:31 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by StefanR » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:13 pm

StefanR
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:53 am Post subject: Reply with quote
Qigong Demo With John Chang Master Of Thai Chi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77nD5xmL0kU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aos0hnwi ... re=related

traitement par qigong médical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqDsRmwq8TQ
The illusion from which we are seeking to extricate ourselves is not that constituted by the realm of space and time, but that which comes from failing to know that realm from the standpoint of a higher vision. -L.H.

User avatar
StefanR
Posts: 1371
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:31 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Recovered: Pneumaticity

Unread post by StefanR » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:21 pm

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:48 am Post subject: Pneumaticity Reply with quote

Pneumaticity
It’s come up here a few times already–it’s hard to talk about sauropod vertebrae without bringing it up–but now it’s time to get it out in the open. In almost all sauropods, and certainly in all the ones you learned about as a kid, at least some of the vertebrae were pneumatic (air-filled). Now, this is a very strange thing. Most bones are filled with marrow, so if we find a bone that is filled with air, somebody’s got some ’splainin’ to do.
How does the air get into the bone?

You probably know more about pneumatic bones than you think, because you’ve carrying some around your whole life. Some of the bones of yourskull are pneumatic, and we call the air-filled spaces sinuses. Your sinuses are connected to your nasal passages or the air-filled spaces in your middle ear—but connected by what? These connections are made and maintained by diverticula, which are pouches of epithelium (tissue that lines your internal surfaces) that grow out into the surrounding bones. For example, when you were a baby, pouches of epithelial tissue in your nose pushed up into the bones of your forehead. The spaces enlarged as you grew up, and today they form your frontal sinuses. But those sinuses are still lined with epithelium that is much like the inner lining of your nose, and the sinuses are still connected to your nasal passages, as you may discover when you have a cold. The air-filled pouches of epithelium that fill your sinuses are called pneumatic diverticula. The growth of the diverticula into the bones produces the pneumatic cavities, or holes in the bone, that house the diverticula.

In mammals, pneumatic bones are normally only found in the skull (there are very rare cases of diverticula getting loose and invading the first cervical vertebra). But in birds almost any bone in the body can be pneumatized, by diverticula of the lungs and air sacs. The lungs of birds are very different from our lungs–in fact, they are unique in the animal kingdom. The lungs themselves are small and not very flexible, but they are attached to a system of large air sacs in the thorax and abdomen. These air sacs are empty—in other words, they contain no tissue except a thin lining of epithelium. Like us, birds breathe by movements of muscles and bones, but instead of expanding and compressing the lungs as we do, the breathing movements of birds expand and compress the air sacs, and the air sacs blow air through the lungs. The air sacs are connected in such a way that birds get fresh air blown through their lungs when they inhale, and then again when they exhale (fresh air is stored in some of the air sacs between inhalation and exhalation). This constant flow of fresh air through the lungs (which are arranged into tubes rather than small sacs, like ours) means that birds have the ability to pull much more oxygen out of the air than mammals can.

In addition to providing large amounts of oxygen, the air sacs give rise to a network of pneumatic diverticula. These diverticula spread throughout the body: in between the internal organs, between the bodies of the muscles, and even under the skin. (Junglelord!) If one of these diverticula comes into contact with a bone, it may press into the bone in the same way that the diverticula of your nasal cavities pressed into the bones of your forehead when you were young. Because the diverticula go just about everywhere, they can pneumatize almost all of the bones in the body. In some birds, such as pelicans, almost the entire skeleton is pneumatic, but in most birds only the vertebrae, sternum, hip and shoulder bones, and humeri and femora (upper arm and leg bones) are pneumatic.
What does this have to do with sauropods?

If a bone is pneumatic, the air has to get into the bone through a diverticulum, and the diverticulum has to get into the bone through a hole. So almost all pneumatic bones have one or more large holes on the outside, which are the pneumatic foramina. Human medical histories and experiments on birds have shown that these pneumatic foramina must remain open for a pneumatic bone to develop properly and be maintained. If the foramen is closed—for example, by a disease or injury—the air space inside the bone will eventually be replaced by new bone growth.

In addition, pneumatic bones tend to have relatively large, smooth-walled chambers inside, compared to non-pneumatic bones that are filled with marrow. These chambers have a distinct appearance and they are not easily confused with anything else. So if we find a bone with a good-sized foramen leading to big internal chambers, we can infer that the bone was pneumatized. No other anatomical system makes the same traces on the skeleton.

A lot of sauropod vertebrae are crazy pneumatic.
Image

http://svpow.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/t ... umaticity/

Hunting the inflatable dinosaur
It turns out that there's more than a grain of scientific truth in a T. rex floatie. T. rex's bones contained large airspaces connected to air sacs within its body cavity. In fact, more than 10% of T. rex's body volume may have been made up of "inflatable" air space. In scientific jargon, this is called pneumaticity. Biologists have long known that theropods (the dinosaur clade containing T. rex, Velociraptor, and birds — shown below) had pneumatic bones. But UCMP's Matt Wedel is pioneering studies of pneumaticity in sauropods — the clade containing the "biggest of the big": Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and the 50 ton Sauroposeidon.
There, he discovered that one of Sauroposeidon's four and a half foot vertebrae would have been surprisingly light and could reach 90% air by volume! Digging deeper into how the airspaces in these massive animals evolved pointed Matt towards a seemingly unlikely model organism: the chicken.
Image

First off, a bird's respiratory system is a bit different from ours: their lungs are ventilated by a set of forward air sacs and another set of rear air sacs. With this arrangement, birds can get oxygen out of air while both inhaling and exhaling — an efficient system, which allows birds to perform feats that mammals could never hope to accomplish, like flying over the Himalayas. As a baby bird grows, its air sacs develop a system of outgrowths and tubes that invade and pneumatize the bird's bones, forming hollows. The forward air sacs are connected to the hollow bones at the front of the bird's body, and the rear air sacs are connected to the hollow bones at the back of the bird's body. This system of pneumatized bones provides the bird with a skeleton that is both light and strong.
Image
Matt decided to focus on other research instead of chasing an elusive piece of evidence — evidence that turned out to be not so elusive after all. While rereading some classic scientific papers from the early 1900s on sauropod dinosaurs, he noticed that the authors described pneumatized vertebrae in the fore and rear of the animals but solid vertebrae in the middle! The key evidence had been available for a century — but no one had even noticed the pattern until Matt came along with a hypothesis to explain it. And emailing a colleague about his "re"-discovery turned up yet another case of the telltale gap in a tyrannosaur.

Image

For Matt, these examples sealed the deal: dinosaurs did have a fore/rear air sac system. As he puts it, "There was already plenty of evidence that saurischians [the dinosaur clade containing theropods and sauropods] had air sacs like birds — but this, to me, is the last stake in the coffin...There's just no other way you could get this pattern."
Image
"Solving the problem of how dinosaurs actually breathed is going to take the intersection of several different lines of research. I can bring the air sac piece of the pie, and say 'Well at least they had the soft tissue gear to make this happen.' Somebody else is going to have to look at birds and alligators and as many intermediates as they can, and look at muscle attachment scars to figure out how the trunk muscles evolved...And somebody else is going to have to come with the rib movement and say 'If these muscles contract in such and such a way...it's going to drive air through the lungs.' You've really got to have all three pieces: somebody who knows the bones, somebody who knows the muscles, and somebody who knows the air sacs."
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/science/pr ... l_0609.php

Sauroposeidon: Oklahoma’s Native Giant
ABSTRACT.—Sauroposeidon, the largest dinosaur ever discovered in Oklahoma, is one of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived. Sauroposeidon is represented by a series of neck vertebrae, which show that it is a sauropod dinosaur closely related to Brachiosaurus. Computed tomography (CT) scans of the vertebrae reveal a network of small internal chambers. In life, the chambers would have been filled with air, like similar chambers in the bones of living birds. These pneumatic spaces would have substantially lightened the neck, which was 12 meters (39 feet) long. An isolated vertebra from Montana and giant footprints in Texas may also pertain to Sauroposeidon.
Although they are instantly recognizable to even small children, sauropods were until recently one of the least studied
groups of dinosaurs. Their giant skeletons have been museum centerpieces for a century, but we are only beginning
to understand how they lived. The last decade has seen the first modern study of sauropod relationships (Upchurch,
1995), the first discovery of sauropod nests and embryos (Chiappe and others, 1998), and the first attempt to investigate
sauropod biomechanics using computer models (Stevens and Parrish, 1999).
Image
Figure 9. OMNH 53062, the type specimen of Sauroposeidon, in right view (parts of the cervical ribs were temporarily removed for conservation and study). The specimen probably represents cervical vertebrae 5 through 8, judging by comparison with Brachiosaurus. The
pneumatic fossae are hollows that in life were filled with air sacs. In vertebrae 5 and 6, the pneumatic fossae on each side are so deep that
they meet in the middle and make small perforations through the neural spines. The air sacs entered the bones through the pneumatic
foramina.
Image
Figure 11. Cross-section of a Sauroposeidon vertebra. (A) depicts cervical vertebra 6 in right lateral view. (B), a CT cross section through the middle of the vertebra (along line ×2) resembles a stick figure. The “head” is the neural spine, and the “arms” and “legs” are the diapophyses and parapophyseal laminae. The spaces constricting the “neck” and “body” are pneumatic fossae. The hole in the stick figure’s chest is the neural canal, which in life enclosed the spinal cord. (C) is the same section as it may have appeared in life. The pneumatic fossae contained large air sacs like those of birds. (D) and (E) show CT sections through other parts of the vertebra (lines ×1 and ×3). The internal structure is entirely filled with small pneumatic chambers called camellae. (F) The bones of living birds have similar camellae: this vertebra is from the senior author’s Christmas turkey, cut in half to reveal the internal structure.
Image
Figure 13. Evolution of vertebral internal structure in the lineage leading to Sauroposeidon. At top are diagrams (not to scale) of the vertebral structure of the various taxa; below, hypothetical relationships. Primitive sauropods such as Haplocanthosaurus have simple depressions on each side of the centrum, and small chambers toward the front. Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus have large enclosed spaces called camerae. Brachiosaurus also has tiny, honeycomb-like spaces called camellae, which are mostly restricted to the ends of the vertebrae.

The vertebrae of Sauroposeidon are the most lightly built, compared to those of the other sauropods in the figure. The bony walls enclosing
the lateral air sacs have been reduced, turning the camerae into fossae, and the internal structure is entirely filled with camellae. The precise arrangement of the camellae in the vertebrae of Sauroposeidon is unknown because of problems associated with imaging a specimen
so large and dense. The pattern shown here is speculative, but it is based on well-resolved camellae from other parts of the vertebra (see
Figs. 11 and 12). The evolutionary tree is not the result of a cladistic analysis, but it is based on the cladistic analysis of Wilson and Sereno
(1998) and the Hennigian tree of Wedel and others (2000a, fig. 3).
Image
Figure 14. The air sac system of the ostrich, Struthio camellus, and the hypothetical air sac system of Sauroposeidon. The lungs, which are ventilated by the air sacs, are shown in gray. The hollow vertebrae of birds are pneumatized by air sacs in the thorax and abdomen. Sauropods almost certainly had similar air sacs, judging from pneumatic chambers found in sauropod vertebrae.
Image
Figure 15. Sauroposeidon compared to Brachiosaurus and a human. (A) is a hypothetical reconstruction of Sauroposeidon, based on known skeletons of Brachiosaurus. As reconstructed here, Sauroposeidon would have been roughly 28 m (92 ft) long, with a 12-m (39-
ft) neck. (B) depicts Brachiosaurus, based on a mounted skeleton in Berlin, Germany. The Berlin specimen has a 9-m (30-ft) neck and an overall length of 22 m (72 ft). (C) depicts a human, 1.8 m (5 ft, 11 in.) tall. Figure 15 corrects many of the proportional and anatomical
errors of Wedel and others (2000a, fig. 5) and is intended to replace that figure.
Image
The growth rates of sauropods can be determined by counting growth lines in their bones, like counting rings in a
tree. Independent studies of North American and African sauropods indicate that they reached reproductive maturity
in 8 to 12 years and full adult size in less than two decades (Curry, 1999; Sander, 2000). Elephants take almost as long to
mature, and they start out much larger and end up much smaller: hence, sauropods grew faster than elephants and
almost as fast as modern birds. The best explanation for such rapid growth is that sauropods had high metabolic rates and
that, in this respect at least, they were more like “warmblooded” mammals and birds than “cold-blooded” amphibians
and reptiles. Sauropods would have needed large amounts of oxygen to support the high metabolic rates required
for fast growth. As already observed, the hollow vertebrae of sauropods suggest high-efficiency lungs like those of
birds. The vertebral anatomy and the high growth rates both show that sauropods were physiologically much more like
birds than like crocodiles, lizards, or snakes.
http://www.sauroposeidon.net/Wedel-Cife ... -giant.pdf

Origin of postcranial skeletal pneumaticity in dinosaurs
The sauropodomorph Thecodontosaurus caducus and theropod Coelophysis bauri are the earliest known dinosaurs with postcranial skeletal pneumaticity. In both taxa, postcranial pneumatic features are confined to the cervical vertebrae. This distribution of pneumaticity in the skeleton is most consistent with pneumatization by diverticula of cervical air sacs similar to those of birds. Other hypotheses, including pneumatization by diverticula of the lungs, larynx and trachea, or cranial air spaces, are less well-supported.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pd ... 06.00019.x

Postcranial Skeletal Pneumaticity in Sauropods and Its Implications for Mass Estimates
CONCLUSIONS
The best evidence for pneumaticity in a fossil element is the presence of large foramina that lead to internal chambers. Based on this criterion, pneumatic diverticula were present in the vertebrae of most sauropods and in the ribs of some. Vertebral laminae and fossae were clearly associated with pneumatic diverticula in most eusauropods, but it is not clear whether this was the case in more basal forms. Measurements of vertebral cross sections indicate that, on average, pneumatic sauropod vertebrae were 50%–60% air, by volume. Taking skeletal pneumaticity into account may reduce mass estimates of sauropods by up to 10%. Although the functional and physiological implications of pneumaticity in sauropods and other archosaurs remain largely unexplored, most of the outstanding problems appear tractable, and there is great potential for progress in future studies of pneumaticity.
http://www.sauroposeidon.net/Wedel_2005 ... d-figs.pdf

Vertebral pneumaticity, air sacs, and the physiology of sauropod dinosaurs
The vertebrae of sauropod dinosaurs are characterized by complex architecture involving laminae, fossae, and internal chambers of various shapes and sizes. These structures are interpreted as osteological correlates of a system of air sacs and pneumatic diverticula similar to that of birds. In extant birds, diverticula of the cervical air sacs pneumatize the cervical and anterior thoracic vertebrae. Diverticula of the abdominal air sacs pneumatize the posterior thoracic vertebrae and synsacrum later in ontogeny. This ontogenetic sequence in birds parallels the evolution of vertebral pneumaticity in sauropods. In basal sauropods, only the presacral vertebrae were pneumatized, presumably by diverticula of cervical air sacs similar to those of birds. The sacrum was also pneumatized in most neosauropods, and pneumatization of the proximal caudal vertebrae was achieved independently in Diplodocidae and Titanosauria. Pneumatization of the sacral and caudal vertebrae in neosauropods may indicate the presence of abdominal air sacs. Air sacs and skeletal pneumaticity probably facilitated the evolution of extremely long necks in some sauropod lineages by overcoming respiratory dead space and reducing mass. In addition, pulmonary air sacs may have conveyed to sauropods some of the respiratory and thermoregulatory advantages enjoyed by birds, a possibility that is consistent with the observed rapid growth rates of sauropods.
http://paleobiol.geoscienceworld.org/cg ... t/29/2/243
The illusion from which we are seeking to extricate ourselves is not that constituted by the realm of space and time, but that which comes from failing to know that realm from the standpoint of a higher vision. -L.H.

User avatar
StefanR
Posts: 1371
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:31 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Recovered: Pneumaticity in Whales

Unread post by StefanR » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:22 pm

StefanR
Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:52 am Post subject: pneumaticity in whales Reply with quote

Approaching the question of scalability of structure by timing suffocating whales can give interesting results it is doubtful in what way it will shed light on which aspect of structure. Whales and dolphins are not only different in weight but also in structure. Only for one instance dolphins and orcas lack the huge fat layer that whales have. Whales poses these layers by effect of adaptation to the environment they reside in. Of course dolphins and whales reside in water, the difference in ocean water lies in depth of residence. Whales tend to hunt in much greater dephts than dolphins or orcas will. The blubber layer has the capacity to absorb a lot of pressure by the mere fact of the structure/matrix by which it is made up.
The tail flukes and dorsal fin of cetaceans have no skeletal support, and are not related to any typically mammalian structures. They are outgrowths of skin and connective tissue, and the flukes are connected to the body muscles by a complex of ligaments and tough fibres. The powerful up and down movement of the flukes produces forward propulsion.
The fins and flukes are well served by systems of subcutaneous veins and arteries, and act as heat exchangers during great activity or when a cetacean is swimming in warm waters.

The extremely smooth skin of whales and dolphins consists of several layers. The outermost epidermis is very thin, and peels off like rice-paper from sun-scorched stranded whales. Separated from the thin outer skin by a tough layer of fibres is the thick (seventeen inches in sperm whales), fatty blubber.
As for the inside, it is beginning to look as a dinosaur structural solution: tough "rigid" outer structure and hollow pressured inside.
The lungs of cetaceans are long and light and are situated in a dorsal position in the body cavity — a position which enhances stability and horizontal floating. To cope with pressure changes underwater, the lungs are very elastic. The lungs of dolphins have about one and a half times the capacity of those of land animals, whereas other whales have about half the capacity. The diaphragm is large and muscular and lies more horizontally than in other mammals, so it is able to press against more area of lung, enabling almost complete evacuation of air.

The lungs are filled by inhalation through a blowhole (two in baleen whales, one in toothed whales) which is situated on top of the head. Powerful muscles close the blowhole underwater. Whales are twice to three times as efficient at utilising oxygen in the inhaled air as land mammals.
Deep-diving cetaceans do not suffer from decompression sickness (the bends) which afflicts human divers. This happens when nitrogen from air in the lungs, which has dissolved into the bloodstream under pressure, bubbles out of solution as the diver reaches lower pressures near the surface and causes blockages in blood capillaries which sometimes results in death. As cetaceans dive, their lungs are compressed and air is forced into the windpipe and nasal passages, thus preventing the absorption of nitrogen through the lung walls. A foamy mucus in the air sinuses may also assist by absorbing excess nitrogen. Good oxygen storage in the blood, a slowing of the heart beat, and the constriction of all but vital blood vessels, compensate for the fact that oxygen as well as nitrogen is squeezed from the lungs during deep dives.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-B ... uat01_011a

So by not letting them suffocate on the beach but observe there structure and tissues and general behaviour whales allow us a good insight into effects of the structural principles applied by different organisms in even different environment. By building up pressure from the inside to the outside both whales and dinosaurs are able to cope with the pressure distributed on the outside to the inside.
And as a extra bonus we even can see that dinosaurs and whales also have started to use pneumaticity in the connective tissues.
The illusion from which we are seeking to extricate ourselves is not that constituted by the realm of space and time, but that which comes from failing to know that realm from the standpoint of a higher vision. -L.H.

User avatar
StefanR
Posts: 1371
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:31 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by StefanR » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:23 pm

Image
X-ray phase-based image of a spider showing details of internal soft tissue not visible with other imaging techniques.

Article: Timm Weitkamp, Ana Diaz, Christian David, Franz Pfeiffer, Marco Stampanoni, Peter Cloetens, and Eric Ziegler, “Quantitative X-ray phase imaging with a grating interferometer” Optics Express, August 8, 2005.
http://www.biophysics.yorku.ca/images.html
The illusion from which we are seeking to extricate ourselves is not that constituted by the realm of space and time, but that which comes from failing to know that realm from the standpoint of a higher vision. -L.H.

User avatar
StefanR
Posts: 1371
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:31 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by StefanR » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:25 pm

This was about the end of the recovered thread.
Feel free to add more info.
The illusion from which we are seeking to extricate ourselves is not that constituted by the realm of space and time, but that which comes from failing to know that realm from the standpoint of a higher vision. -L.H.

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:55 am

A primer on stress, strain and tensegrity
I hope you enjoy it.


STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Robert Hooke (1635 –1702): Established the science of elasticity or the behavior of materials and structures under load. Newton’s Third Law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Hooke
realized that if a material or a structure is to resist a load, it can only do so by pushing back with equal and opposite force. The science of elasticity is about the interactions between forces and deflections in materials and structures. Hooke’s Law or the springiness of solids governs the science of elasticity.
1. Every kind of solid changes its shape – by stretching or contracting itself – when a mechanical force is applied to it.
2. It is this change of shape which enables the solid to do the pushing back.

STRESS: which is not to be confused with strain
Stress tells us how hard – that is, with how much force the atoms at any point in the solid are being pulled apart.
S = load / area2

Where stress (load) is the amount of force at any given point. It could actually be either a push or a pull. You can and should think of it as tension or a pull. You can also think of it as push or pressure. PSI is a measure of the stress or pressure in your tire. Increase the load and you increase the stress. Where area is the cross sectional area or diameter like the thickness of a tree. A tree twice as thick is twice as strong and able to withstand twice the stress or load as one half as thick. That being said all materials have a given point where their ability to handle stress overcomes it’s internal structure and breakdown will occur. The strength of a material is the stress required to break a piece of the material itself or it’s tensile strength. The contrast between the weakness of muscle and the strength of tendon accounts for the difference in cross sectional area between say a gastroc’s muscle and the Achilles tendon. Table 2 gives some relative tensile strengths for biological and industrial materials.

STRAIN: which is not the same thing as stress
Strain tells us how far the atoms are being pulled apart under the applied stress.
e = change in length / length

Where strain is amount of deformation either an increase or decrease in length due to a load. Hanging a brick by a string will either stretch the string or break it. Also the weight of a brick on a wooden floor will actually compress the floor or fall through it. So strain is felt right down to the atomic level at the level of valence band electrons and chemical bonds. When something breaks it tears at the atomic level.
Strain is stretch or compression measured as deviation from the original length.

Young’s Modulus: Thomas Young (1773 – 1829) a measure of the stiffness of a material
E = stress / strain

Young’s Modulus of elasticity or E is a formula to determine how flexible or stiff a material is. Stiffness is not always a measure of strength, for example steel is stiff and so is a stale biscuit but steel is much stronger. The ability of a material to resist deformation within the frame work of stress is important in the construction of any structure. Therefore concrete is solid and stiff, but with steel rods within additional support is gained with the addition of flex or ability to deform and not fracture. The choice of materials and the organization of the materials is critical to the success of the structure under different types of stress. Stress / Strain graphs help to plot the relative strengths of different materials under identical stress loads.

A number of common biological and engineering materials are given in Table 1. It may be noticed that many common soft biological materials do not occur in this table. This is because their elastic behavior does not obey Hooke’s Law, even approximately, so that it is really impossible to define a Young’s modulus.

What we have learned so far
Stress = load/area, expressed how hard the atoms are pulled apart or pushed together.
Strain e = extension under load/original length, expressed how far the atoms are pulled or pushed.
Stress is not the same thing as Strain.
Young’s modulus E = stress/strain, expressed how stiff or flexible a material is.
Strength. By strength we mean the stress needed to break a given material or tensile strength.
Strength is not the same thing as stiffness.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:56 am

I saw the different things you did,
But as always you yourself you hid,
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all. R.L. Stevenson

THE APPROACH TO STRUCTURES THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF ENERGY
Until fairly recently elasticity was studied and taught in terms of stresses and strains and strengths and stiffness. However, the more one sees of Nature and technology, the more one comes to look at things in terms of energy. Such a way of thinking can be very revealing, and is the basis of the modern approach to engineering and the behavior of structures. It will soon become apparent that Nature at all times uses the most energy efficient and mass effective structures that spontaneously self assemble into specific forms.

Energy, like stress and strain, needs to be properly explained. Energy is defined as the capacity to do work, and it has the dimensions of “force – multiplied – by – distance”. Energy can exist in a great variety of different forms – as potential energy, kinetic energy, heat energy, chemical energy, electrical energy and so on. In our material world every single event involves a conversion of energy from one form to another. Such transformations of energy take place only according to certain closely defined rules, the chief of which is that you can’t get something for nothing. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and so the total amount of energy which is present cannot be changed. This principle is known as the law of conversion of energy.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:59 am

STRUCTURES: COMPRESSION, PLATONIC SOLIDS, TENSEGRITY:

COMPRESSION:

Most structures that we build are compression structures. We are all familiar with the common wall, one brick upon another in a series of compressive arrangements. The study of building compressive structures is part of the science of architecture and dominates the landscape, there are many examples for us to see that compressive structures of the correct organization and selection of materials are quite reliable. Compressive structures while quite impressive would never serve as a functional form of engineering for a biological system or structure and therefore are not as critical to our understanding of structure

PLATONIC SOLIDS:
Platonic Solids are convex polyhedra with faces that are regular convex polygons. First discovered by the Greeks, it is the realization that only five complete geodesic shapes will arrange themselves to fully enclose or create one of the five Platonic Solids. In order of complexity they are the tetrahedron, the Egyptian pyramid is a perfect example, it has 4 sides all triangle shaped. The second is the hexahedron or 6 sided cube like dice. The third is the octahedron or two tetrahedrons base to base with 8 sides. The fourth is the dodecahedron or 12 sided geodesic shape like an emerald made up of honey comb shapes with a horizontal base. The most complicated is the Icosahedron, a 20 sided structure that is created with triangles. The icosahedron is natures common expression of structure from the molecular level to the tissue level for most practical purposes. It best expresses stress and strain as reveled by a spine or the cardiovascular system, unlike the archaic lever system taught in kinesiology classes. The ichosahedron also explains chronic tension patterns in soft tissue as assessed by inhibition testing.

TENSEGRITY:
“The word ‘tensegrity’ is an invention: a contraction of ‘tensional integrity’. Tensegrity describes a structural – relationship principle in which structural shape is guaranteed by the finitely closed, comprehensively continuous, tensional behaviors of the system and not by the discontinuous and exclusively local compression members behaviors. Tensegrity provides the ability to yield increasingly without ultimately breaking or coming asunder” Buckminster Fuller.
Another form of structural integrity is the science of tensegrity or continual tension structures. Unlike the multitude of compressive structures modern architecture has created few tensegrity structures. Tensegrity is the principle of structure in all biological systems and therefore we will look more closely at this form of engineering. Fuller and Nelson use two different approaches to tensegrity structures and we will look at both as both are represented in biological structures.

1: GEODESIC DOME:
Buckminster Fuller is the creator of the geodesic dome. The best example is the dome at Expo 1967 in Montreal. It is constructed with rigid struts that can bear either tension or compression. The struts are in the shape of a triangle, pentagon, or hexagon with one central fixed point. The struts are arranged to create each joint in a fixed position so that maximim stabitily is achieved. The beauty of this type of engineering principle is that the size of the structure is not limited, in other words we are not limited by most problems created by compression structures. Ever wonder how a dinosaur could get so big, this is one principle used by a biological system to achieve stability under size. Bucky balls were named in honour of Mr. Fuller, a 60 carbon atom structure that are arranged like the surface of a soccer ball. First created in the lab, they were then found in the contents of meteorites. From the atomic level to the macro level this principle of polyhedral struts that bear either stress or strain is evident in nature.

2: PRESTRESS:
Kenneth Nelson is an artist who uses this principle to create his structures. Two separate components exist in a prestress structure. Each member is either compression or tension before the structure is assembled. One of his structures resembles a spine with individual compressive elements (vertebra) and continuous tension elements (myofascia). It is actually modeled after how sunflower stems rotate to follow the movement of the sun. It has a central column with individual elements that are surronded by cables that attach at individual segmental levels. By creating tension in any one of the cables the column will deform to the stress, much like a spine does in response to scoliosis. The body uses this principle to achieve flexability within the confines of adapation to a primary restriction.

CONNECTIVE TISSUE ELEMENTS AND PROPERTIES

GROUND SUBSTANCE:

Found in all connective tissue, it is comprised of mucoploysaccarides now known as glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) that are produced and excreted by fibroblast cells. GAGs are divided into two groups, non sulfated and sulfated. Hyaluronic acid is the predominant non sulfated GAG, and binds to water. Connective tissue is 70% water. A change in water content effects critical interfiber distance between collegen molecules.

The chemical variations are complex and are in a constant state of flux. These fluid ground substances are the immediate environment of every cell in the body and have a wide range of effects upon every cellular membrane that they contact, their chemical activities are legion. It’s colloid properties range from a gel to a fluid state that are also in constant flux. It can act as both a facilitator and a barrier to transfer between cells and the vascular system. Depletion of fluid volume in the ground substance is a critical factor in local health factors and movement restriction.

ELASTIN FIBERS:
Consisting of a protein called elastin, it is smaller then collagen and able to stretch 150 times it’s own length without rupture and regain it’s original shape and length.

COLLAGEN FIBERS:
Accounting for more than a third of all animal protein this tough stand gives tissue it’s shape, tensile strength, resiliency and structural integrity. These fibers can be arranged in a variety of ways to produce a wide number of properties. These fibers are not living tissue but are made up of protein chains produced by fibroblasts. Stronger in tensile strength then steel it requires a load ten thousand times it’s own weight to stretch it. Collagen fibers are hollow tubes that have been found to contain cerebrospinal fluid! There are 13 types of collagen fibers that have been isolated, with specific production occurring due to environmental stress factors and age and body tissue location. These fibers glue themselves into nets and cables and sheets by hydrogen bonding. Each individual bond is weak but stacked together it creates an extremely stable building material.

CYTOSKELETON OF THE CELL:
CELLULAR COMPONENTS FOR TENSEGRITY:

COMPRESSION / MICROTUBULES – 22nm:

Microtubules act as struts in the structure of the cell, or compression members. They extend outward from the nucleus. They are made from the protein tubulin with MAP’s. Organelles are attached to the microtubules and are shuttled along by motor proteins found on the tubules. Specialized organelles made of microtubels are the spindle apparatus that aligns and guides DNA during cell division. They also form cilia and flagella. Microtubules have the ability to assemble and disassemble spontaneously based on stress or strain. this has a direct influence on the instructions to DNA and cell replication and also mRNA and protein synthesis.

TENSION / MICROFILAMENTS – 6nm:
Microfilaments act as cables that pull the cell membrane inwards. They line the inner surface of the cell membrane. They are made from actin filaments. They control cell movement such as that seen in lukocytes, fibroblast, and skin cells (amoeboid movement) by controlling the gel – sol formation of the cytoplasm. They are the structural rods of microvilli in the intestine. Their contractile properties are well known in skeletal muscle cells. They contract to separate the center of dividing cells. They have the ability to assemble and disassemble spontaneously based on the stress/strain patterns on the cell. This has a direct influence on the instructions to DNA and cell replication and also mRNA and protein synthesis.

INTEGRATORS / INTERMEDIATE FILAMENTS - 7 –11 nm:
Intermediate filaments resemble woven rope and connect microtubules to microfilaments, which makes them known as the great integrators. They are different types of intermediate filaments made of various proteins that appear as irregular threadlike molecules. They are tailored to suit their structural or tension bearing role in specific cell types. They play a central role in structural integrity and resist mechanical stresses applied externally from the cell. They also act to stiffen the nucleus and hold it in place. They resist pulling forces and are the most permanent of the components mentioned so far. They will not assemble or disassemble in a spontaneous pool like microtubules or microfilaments.


THE MICROTRABECULAR LATTICE - < 2nm:
Exceedingly fine interlinked filaments that appears to suspend the microtubules and microfilaments as well as organelles. Some biologist therefore believe it to be not a separate structure but the intricate interconnections between the other three structural components. It is attached to the inner surface of the plasma membrane and acts as the cell’s skeleton. It also plays a role in the organization of cytosol reactions such as glycolysis. Infact enzymes are imbedded in the lattice in some sort of sequential alignment. Ribosomes collect at intersections allowing controlled delivery of cytosol proteins. It is not a static structure and reorganizes according to expansion, contraction and deformation. This structure seems to hardwire the cytoplasm to the nucleus with the specific organelles and the cell membrane. It also has a direct role in the genetic decisions of the nucleus.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:00 am

GEODESIC FRAMEWORK OF THE CYTOSKELETON:
Triangular, octahedral and tetrahedral forms are self organizing patterns in all biological structures for they represent the best organization of least energy (energy efficient) and mass (size) through structures of continuous tension and local compression, that is through tensegrity. The geodesic dome structure found within the cytoskeleton is a classic example of a recurrent pattern that is found everywhere in nature. Tensegrity structures that are coupled together act as a single structure and will transmitt tension as a coupled tuned response. This means that our bodies vibrate at a molecular level and areas of increased tension or compression resonate as discord in what is intended to be a symphony of tuned responses. In terms of electronic circuits this ability for two separate circuits to resonate at one harmonic frequency is called a “tuned - coupled harmonic oscillator”. Many biolgical structures are tuned this way such as DNA, RNA, proteins, organs, fascia, in fact all levels of connective tissue. The fact that bone acts like so many tiny diodes (semi-conductors) is an example of electro-magnetic fields related solely to tension and compression that organize structure and remodeling of bone and cellular activity (Wolf’s Law). The tension provided by micofilaments pulling inward to wards the cell nucleus causes microfilaments, microtubuels and intermediate filaments combined with the microtrabecular lattice to self organize as a geodesic dome structure.

RECEPTORS:
Your intrafusal muscle fibers also called your muscle spindles are responsible for monitoring muscle resting length and active length has two separate subdivisions, the annulosprial type Ia which monitors change in length and rate of change and a type II also called the flowerspray ending which is probably responsible for the flexor reflex/extensor withdrawal. Your golgi tendon organs or type Ib are responsible for monitoring tension and will inhibit a muscle if the tension is a danger to the tendon. This receptor population of muscle spindle 1a + II and gto Ib only accounts for ¼ of the receptor population that conveys information to the brain and spinal cord. PNF techniques, Muscle Energy, Strain/Counterstrain are all therapies that engage and retrain these receptors to respond in a more functional manner and are extremely effective. An advanced approach to these therapies is to assess postural verses mobilizers of the musculoskeletal system and treat postural muscle with spindle/gto reflex arcs first if they present as short and weak.

Dr. Essfeld of the university of Cologne Munich has documented the presence of INTERSTITAL MUSCLE RECEPTORS which he classified as type III and type IV receptors. Based on a population density model these receptors total ¾ of the poulation verses spindles and gto. These receptors act as gravity receptors and are responsible for the information about the body within a gravitational field. The presence of these fascial based gravity receptors and the model and goal of Ida Rolf was the alignment of the fascial system within a gravitational field is a ovbious example of science proving what certain people knew all along. The research into these receptors began as part of NASA and the European Space Agency to study the effects of a zero G enviroment on the body and the receptors that gathered that information, these receptors had been overlooked in dissection all these years, but histological study has reveled the fascial sensory system or gravity receptors and are classified as type III and type IV. These receptors relate information to the cardiovascular reflex control via the medulla that stimulates blood supply to muscles via vasomotor response at the precapillary sphincter of the capillary bed. Pacinian and Ruffini receptors integrate their pressure and vibratory information with the gravity receptors to assist via neurological and endocrine response to stimulus and gravitational influences.


GLUING:
Dehydration of the ground substance cause critical interfiber distance between collagen fibers to decrease and the same hydrogen bonds responsible for connective tissue strength leads to chronic gluing of fiber bundles. This situation is facilitated by chronic pressure and chronic immobility so that an area under constant tension or that has fallen into disuse, tends to fall pray to this situation. These adhesion begin to impair the integration of movement patterns and again facilitate the gluing process. This unwanted bonding is one of the major factors in stiffness associated with old age, repeated strain, or poorly healed injuries. For this reason exercise and competent body work are effective at helping to restore optimum function after injury. These excessive deposits of connective tissue can be palpated as thick lumpy bandaging around the joints, as fibrous masses throughout an entire area, or as tough fibrotic ropes and cysts in muscle bellies. Low loads of sustained duration will melt or break hydrogen bonds.

THIXOTROPHY & COLLOID PROPERTIES:
This is the scientific principle of the gel – sol transformation ability of connective tissue and other colloids like common gelatin. It becomes more fluid when stirred up and gels or solidifies when it sits. In the human body the heat and energy of movement is appropriate for the solvent state of connective tissue. With disuse connective tissue becomes stiffer, colder, less energized and thixotrophic effects become evident. There is no way to prevent the eventual effects of aging and the drying and gluing and thixotrophic effects that follow it, but in the case of orthopedic injury these premature situations can be effectively treated. Application of manual therapy generates heat and energy that transforms connective tissue from a gel state (low energy) to a liquid state (high energy).

FLUID CRYSTAL & PIZO - ELECTRICITY:
Connective tissue in it’s many and varied forms is a colloid that at the atomic level is crystalline in form. Collagen was proven to be crystalline in structure due to it’s defraction of x-rays and experimental mathematical data suggest that the CSF in their lumen acts like a coordinated quantum computer transmitting emotion across the body in a new physical understanding of conscience. Bone acts like millions of tiny semi-conductors or diodes that generate weak electrical fields based on the stresses and strains imposed on them that direct osteoclastic and osteoblastic activity or bone modeling. All crystals weather solid or fluid in structure exhibit a natural phenomenon called the pizo – electric effect, that is when compressed they generate a weak electrical and magnetic field with well defined positive and negative domains. A common example of this is a quartz crystal in your watch that keeps the frequency of timing for your integrated circuits. By applying pressure in the form of electricity the crystal vibrates at a specific frequency due to it’s shape and size. Application of manual therapy causes pressure which generates electric and magnetic fields that increase the energy level of connective tissue.

BIOLOGICAL TISSUE AND TENSEGRITY:
For years the medical community has refused to accept the fact that structure is as important as a consideration in medical evaluation as chemical evaluation is. Now it is a powerful fact that physiological events can be understood and corrected, for example the life of a diabetic and the action of insulin. But for some reason the medical community has not given structure or it relationship to function their appropriate place in the treatment of chronic pain. It is also a powerful statement that most medical doctors have no training in treating chronic pain and are wary of alternative therapies. Yet when tensegrity, the triangulated icosahedron and structural tension as transmitted through the body by the myofascial web are considered as powerful scientific and engineering models we find a plausable explanation for the excellent results of many hands on alternative therapies. The web is a continual colloid and a fluid crystal at the cellular level. Pizo-electric effects are a large part of many myofascial therapies as well as the gel – sol transition of connective tissue. Abnormal tension is always transmitted through out the structure and therefore it’s effects can be far reaching. At the cellular level electrical gradients are low and resistance is high in dysfunctional tissue. Current always takes the line of least resistance and therefore bypasses dysfunctional tissue. Low electrical currents form poor physiological processes and life functions from the cell outward are effected. High current devices, ultrasound, and even laser light are often a poor substitute for the electrical and magnetic fields created by the pressure and vector of a trained therapist hands. Math, engineering, electro-magnetic fields, quantum physics, holograph theory, relativity all relate to health.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:01 am

THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE CONNECTION:
It should be noted that the connective tissue system is organized into three layers. The superficial fascia is associated with subdermal tissue, muscles and joints. The deep fascia surronds the muscles joints and viscera. The meninges form the membrane system around the brain and spinal cord. The principles of tensegrity apply at essentially every detectable size scale in the human body. At the macroscopic level, the 206 bones of the body are pulled up against the force of gravity and stabilized in the vertical line by the pull of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. In other words there is a complex tensegrity structure insides everyone of us, bones are the compression struts, and muscles, tendons, ligaments, and all interconnected fascia structures are tension bearing members.

Since the fascial system is one continuous structure, fixation will cause compensatory changes throughout the body. The results of these changes will be expressed as postural and motion aberrations. Therapy directed at the compensations rather than at the primary lesion will be less effective and less efficient. It should be noted that the viscera are high water content organs and therefore are the most dense areas of the body. Bone is the second most dense substance in the body. In the event of a traumatic blow to the body, the force of impact will travel as a high energy wave and be absorbed in the areas of highest density.

Tensegrity assessment focuses on the primary source of the dysfunction pattern. We can utilize the assessment of tension within the fascial system that incorporates the interconnecting links within the tissues to systematically eliminate the restrictions which are secondary in nature. This process is known as tension inhibition, or the inhibitory balance technique, allows for the detection of the primary levels of involvement in a manner which is dependent solely on the objective condition of the tissues, and is totally independent of the subjective symptomatology presented by the client. This is accomplished by compressing or decompressing various areas of the body. One practical screening method involves the use of the sternum as the indicator. The change in compressibility when another area is compressed indicates a possible lesion site. When a tensegrity structure is compressed at the point of highest tension a dampening effect is created across the entire structure that is observable in a softening of structures distinct from the primary lesion. A gentle graduated pressure called induction, or a gentle directional recoil technique is the general technique protocol for the primary lesion site.

In a Tensegrity Tension Assessment, in the majority of cases the primary lesion are intraosseous restrictions, especially the long bones of the lower limb and the pelvis, the meninges of the spine and cranium, the fascia surrounding the solid fluid filled organs of the viscera and scar tissue.

TREATMENT STRAGIES:
For a therapist this allows us to organize our treatment stratagies around a new receptor population and to explain effects of therapy in a reasonable and scientific way. Just as PNF, Muscle Engery and Strain/Counterstrain are much more powerful tools when organized around a unifiying principle such as Postural muscles verses Mobilizers, fascial based techniques become more powerful when organized around a greater principle, the interdependence of the tension tensegrity model. The application of recognized theory and techniques of Mechanical Link, Tensegrity, Myofascial Release, Rolfing, Visceral, Cranial, Joint Manipulation, approached via the systems treatment model into a Systems Therapy application. This approach unifies treatment around mediation of gravity receptors and muscle receptors via a multiple systems approach to tension assessment and treatment via a postural tensional integration of the fascial crystal structure. Scientific approachs to therapy via a system integration that correlates tensional/postural systems assessment and systems treatment is a extremely powerful tool for multiple chronic conditions as well as relating signs and symptoms to independent tissue reaction via the tensegrity model. The ability to trace and balance tension independently in each system allows self organizing principles to establish higher levels of relationship of systems in a global way.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:04 am

Tensional Release Therapy

Tensional Release Therapy is my concept of Tensegrity and Fascial Therapies and Therapy Integration within Gravity and Body Systems.

I think like Bruce Lee, I do not buy the false difference set up by schools of thought.

Here is my attempt to explain why therapy needs to be manuel in nature, not by machine (TENS, Ultrasound etc) and how to breakout of the confusion surrounding treatment care (who do I see to get better mentality? physio, chiro, orthopedic surgeon, etc.)

All therapist could learn something from this open minded view and scientificly sound principles that rely on Tensegrity and Fascial Release.

TENSIONAL RELEASE THERAPY.
Soft Tissue Therapy is lacking two essential components. Comprehensive tensional assessment and integrative treatment protocols. Tensional Release Therapy, recognizes tension in all subsystems of the body, and provides detailed structural and tensional models for treatment. Evaluation and correction of tension is the primary goal of orthopedic therapy. The ability to identify tension within the different systems and to differentiate between high tension and average tone is critical to treatment success. Chiropractic therapy is based on tension within the joint complex. Cranial sacral therapy is based on tension within the dura and the sutures of the cranial and facial bones. Visceral therapy is based on tension within the organs or the bags that surround them and ligaments that support them. Matrix therapy and Mechanical Link Therapy and Rolfing are based on tension within the fascial web, including the bone matrix. Massage therapy is based on skeletal muscle tension.

All of the above-mentioned therapies have one commonality, which is a tensional based assessment and treatment protocol. Another commonality is the isolation of tension within a subsystem. Each modality provides success, but not 100% of the time. Increased successful patient assessment and treatment would therefore include tensional assessment within all the subsystems of the body. It is impossible to treat patients complex orthopedic conditions fully without recognizing and assessing for tension in any subsystem that presents with tension. When practitioners of a specific modality achieved success with patients it is because the tension treated was the primary fixation and lack of success with others it is due to the inability to isolate the primary fixation and to recognize that tension weaves itself within the Web. Tension within the Web of the subsystems is always integrated. Tensegrity Theory is the engineering principle that is common from the cytoskeleton of the cell to the fascial web of the body. Tension is continuous, while compression is discontinuous. The truth of the matter is that tension and Tensegrity and fascia is the glue that holds us together. Tension is and always will be continuous throughout the body, and therefore isolation and assessment of abnormal tension must include all systems of the body.

One prime example of orthopedic injuries that require full systems, tensional assessment are high impact velocity injuries. High impact velocity injuries cause a shock wave. The shock wave travels through the body, causing tension, as it moves. Where it finally stops will be the area of most tension be it at the bone matrix of a long bone or a fluid filled organ. Whip lash, commonly causes fixations of the pleura the pericardium and the kidneys. One must remember that water is uncompressible and therefore the most dense substance in the body. One must realize the organs are mainly water filled bags. This makes soft organs, very dense due to the high water content and therefore primary places of fixation due to tension. Organ movement is primarily based on diaphragmatic movement, and smooth muscle autonomic nervous system activation. The diaphragm moves, 24,000 times a day. This diaphragmatic motion causes movement of the abdominal organs. The liver and the kidneys, travel 600 Meters a day based on diaphragmatic motion. This motion is often termed mobility. Lack of mobility, even in small amounts will become large fixations over time and need to be treated. Mobility is largely corrected through the stretching of the ligaments that support the organ and release of the bags that surround the organ. The organs also travel with the physiological motion called motility. Motility is a result of embryological axis motion of the organ and the body as it develops in utero. Motility has less amplitude than mobility. Although much work, and success has elvolved from visceral therapy in this correction of organ movement, both in mobility and motility through specific induction or recoil we will use a basic myofascial organization technique and allow the body's self correction mechanisms to do the rest.

Bone matrix is the second most dense substance in the body, and will often hold tension. The long bones of the body most commonly hold tension and are best assessed with torsion forces for flexibility. Commonly the long bones of the legs and of the pelvis, will hold torsion within the bone matrix, which will affect all other tensegrity systems. Complex issues require therapist to recognize tension, although continuous has primary fixations within one or more subdivisions of the biological systems of the body.

Primary fixations are best identified with the Inhibitory Balance Technique. When palpating two independent systems, the dominant or primary tension will always stay firm, while the secondary tensional site will relax. Successful treatment outcome is based on correction of the primary fixation within the tensegrity model. Primary fixations always integrated secondary fixations to compensate. These secondary fixations compensations cause a chicken or egg scenario to develop so that most conditions require multiple systems tensional treatment.

If we go back to our first example, we see that high velocity impact injury causes primary tension in the densest regions of the body. Therefore bone matrix and organs which are often locations of primary fixations, which cause causes secondary joint tension fixations which causes compensatory muscle tension which causes autonomic nervous system smooth muscle fascial tension which causes deep-seated dural tension. The true detective work is to determine either the primary fixation or to treat all tension found in assessment. The true sleuth or Sherlock Holmes is aware of tension, that other practitioners forego due to their education, and pride. Patients are not isolated units and therefore tension is an integrated component within the tensegrity system. As soft tissue therapist we have the scope and education and treatment durations to fully treat many tensional conditions. The scope and practice of successful orthopedic therapy is therefore, the ability to isolate by thorough assessment tension in all subsystems and to treat by a hands-on approach with soft tissue therapy soft tissue tension in all subsystems. The failure of professional health care providers, is to step beyond the boundaries of their education and to recognize the tensional model in all its aspects. The ability to accept each professional modality as a valid concepts that can be incorporated into a soft tissue therapy treatment and the multiple systems format allows for the most productive patient outcome.

The goal and the scope of Tensional Release Therapy is to assess tension and treat tension in all the subsystems of the body within the context of extended treatment protocols that evolve integration of the structure within the gravitational field. As soft tissue orthopedic therapist we recognize all of the subsystems, including the fascial system treated by Rolfers the bone matrix treated by Mechanical Link the viscera system treated by Visceral Therapy, the dural cranial sacral and spinal joint fixations treated by Chiropractors and muscular systems treated by Physiotherapist and Massage Therapist. What we need to do is to organize and to prioritize treatment protocol for the subsystems via tension.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:10 am

7 Integrative Sequential Assessment/ Treatment Protocols:

My evolution of assessment from my college days. The initial process was something like this.

1.Posture
2.Gait
3.ROM testing, Active VS Passive
4.Muscle testing and grading
5.Neurological tests.


A nice logical sequence based on good theory and progression with the tools I had at the time for treatment. My general treatment involved NISA, Joint Play, Trager and Lomi Lomi.

As I learn new assessments and therapy approaches My assessments must progress as well and become integrative with the original group from college.

Here is where I am so far with an integrative therapy approach. I use most of the assessments in this following method and order and relationships. Mainly I am looking to evaluate and treat tension in all the subsystems of the body.


1. Active Motion Palpation
2. Common Compensatory Pattern
3. Tonic VS Phasic Muscles
4. Myofascial Mapping
5. Visceral Mobility Tests
6. Inhibitory Balance Technique
7. Active Isolated Stretching


Step 1
I do this first and seperate, it takes less then five minutes for assement and treatment.

1. Active Motion Palpation. Spinal and Pelvic Analysis.
Active Motion Palpation is a Tool and the Technique I learned from the Chiropractic Profession.

1. Active Motion Palpation Joint Analysis:
Subsystem, Synovial Joints/Axial Skeleton and Peripheral ROM

Treatment methods: Joint Mobilization grade 1 to grade 4 Joint Mobilization, Turner Direct Cranial Mobilization Techniques, Muscle Energy Techniques, Fascial Moblization Techniques

Step 2
I also do seperate, again it takes less then five minutes for assement and treatment.

2. Common Compensatory Pattern:
Subsystem, Horizontal Myofascial Planes/Transition Area Diaphragms

Treatment: Indirect Myofascial Mobilzation, PNF

Step 3 and 4
I integrate both assessments which are relatively quick but the integrative direct myofascial fascial treatments which follow are the majority of the treatment time for my patients.

3. Tonic VS Phasic Muscles
Subsystem, Janda Muscular Postural Model Upper and Lower Crossed Syndromes

Skeletal Muscular Janda Tonic/Phasic Postural Model:
One of the most important structural models and postural models that has evolved from the study of dynamic posture is the Janda Upper and Lower Crossed Syndromes. Muscular tension must be viewed as strong/tonic or weak/phasic. Typical muscle imbalances in the upper cross syndrome include postural tonic muscles that tend to be short and strong a prime example being the SCM and the pectoral muscles. Dynamic phasic muscles tend to be long and weak like the rhomboids and middle & lower trapezius. Therefore skeletal muscular approaches to patient care would evolve itself within the context of the JANDA Tonic/Phasic Model for the most success within the gravitational and postural structure equals function model.

Upper Cross Syndrome
Tight facilitated tonic postural muscles
pectorals, upper trapezius, levator scapula, SCM, antereior scalenus, suboccipitals, subscapularis, latissimus dorsi.

Upper Cross Syndrome
Weak inhibited phasic dynamic muscles.
Longus capitus, longus colli, hyoids, serratus anterior, rhomboids, middle and lower trapezius, posterior rotator cuff.

The Upper Cross Syndrome.
Notice how the tight line passes through the levator scapula, upper trapezius and the pectoralis, causing shoulder elevation and scapular protraction. Inhibition in the deep neck flexors and lower shoulder stabilizers permits this asymmetry.

Since the foreword head is the most common postural faults seen in our society Janda's upper cross syndrome is extremely helpful in visualizing exactly which muscles pull unevenly to create this distorted posture. Sustained hyper contraction in these typically tonic muscles elevates and protracts the shoulder while pulling the head anterior of the plum line.

Lower Cross Syndrome.
Tight Facilitated Tonic Postural Muscles
Iliopsoas, rectus femoris, hamstrings, T. F. L., piriformis, quadratus lumborum, thigh adductors, lumbar erectors.

Lower Cross Syndrome
Weak Inhibited Phasic Dynamic Muscles
rectus abdominus, gluteals, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, transverse abdominis

The Lower Cross Syndrome
In the lower cross syndrome, the tight line passes through illiopsoas and lumbar erectors, which pull and hold the sway back posture. Reciprocal inhibition weakens the abdominal muscles and gluteals, allowing this dysfunctional pattern to develop. In the lower cross syndrome tight psoas cause anterior tilt of the pelvis, creating excessive lumbar lordosis. While erectors spinae myofascia contractors hold this bowing pattern. The weak abdominals and gluteals unable to stabilize the pelvis allow this sway back pattern to develop.

Proper balance in the skeletal, muscular must address imbalances in short tension muscles, versus weak long stretched muscles within the concept of tight tonic and weak phasic muscle groups. It is pointless to lengthen a long tight muscle. Tight tonic muscles require restoration of extensibility, while weak phasic muscles demand restoration of contractability. Therefore, tight muscles, create asymmetry, while weak muscles permit asymmetry.

Treatment: Eric Daltons Dirty Dozen Myofascial Approach, Structural Integration/Rolfing sessions.

4. Myofascial Mapping
Subsystem Anatomy Trains Superficial Middle and Deep Linear and Spiral Fascial Continuities

Treatment: Rolf Structural Receipe of 10 or KMI Structural Receipe of 12

Step 5 and 6
I also integrate the next two together and then I choose the most effecient treatment approach which takes only about ten minutes.

5. Visceral Mobility Tests
Subsystems, viscera, body cavities, visceral bags, ligaments

Treatment: Rolf, Visceral, Mechanical Link, Cranial Sacral.

6. Inhibitory Balance Technique.
Purpose: Global Tensegrity Primary Fascial Fixation & Restriction
Subsystem: Fascial tensegrity

Treatment: Recoil or Induction from Mechanical Link, Matrix Repatterning, Visceral, Cranial Sacral

Step 7
I then finish any lingering effects with this last step which take only five minutes

7. Active Isolated Stretching
Subsystem: Skeletal Muscular System ROM

Treatment: Aaron Mattes protocol of 2 sec stretches with antagonist active movement.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

User avatar
junglelord
Posts: 3693
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:39 am
Location: Canada

Re: Recovered: Tensegrity Structures in Biology

Unread post by junglelord » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:36 am

TISSUE TENSEGRITY –
1. MATRIX SYSTEM

One important aspect of the cell that is of prime importance is its connections to the ECM via glycoproteins, anchor proteins, integrins, cadherins, Ca+ and proteoglycans. The cell is anchored to the ECM both mechanically and in an electric/magnetic way due to the presence of Sialic acid that baths the glycoproteins. Glycoproteins extend from the interior of the cell, through the cell membrane and extend into the ECM where they contact Sialic acid that causes an electric bonding to the glycoprotein that is continuous throughout the matrix. There is a continuity that exist from the organelles within the cell via the glycoproteins into the ECM that extends through the fascia to the entire facial web, which has been called the tissue tensegrity – matrix system. Electrical conductivity is also predicated on the amount of water in the ECM. The gel – sol relationship is important as electrical and tensional activity tells the cell how to pattern its activity. There are also examples of inner cellular matrix, the mitochondria matrix is the site of the Krebs cycle and the chromatin in the nucleus is a matrix as well. In 1839 Schwann declared that the ECM was the source of life and that cells were created within it according to definite laws. This was disputed by Virchow in 1859 as he viewed the cell to be the “atom “ of life and this view has existed till this day. For years ECM was never considered for our attention has been elsewhere. But consider that all tensegrity structures have the ability to conduct and transmit vibrations. They occur as mechanical waves or sound (called phonons), electrical signals, magnetic fields, electromagnetic fields, heat, light. . When cells divide their cytoskeleton depolymerize in a non linear behavior that can be explained by biophysics and properties of the ECM. Let us consider the following laws of physics and how they relate to physiology of the cell, ECM and the fascial web, the tissue tensegrity – matrix system. This will help to explain the new science of Biophysics.

2. Semiconductors:
Semiconductors are situated somewhere between an insulator and a conductor. The position of the electrons in the valence shell have the ability to travel from atom to atom creating an electric current. All the tissue and elements that we have examined are semiconductors. Just like in an integrated circuit a semiconductor has the ability to both store and transmit energy/information. What we have is a biological means of storing and transmitting information via intrinsic currents that relay information across the global matrix to all cells of the body. Changes in gravitational stress, tension, and load cause changes in these intrinsic currents which is both conveyed and integrated as information in both a regional and global way by directing the activity from fibroblast to mitosis. Therefore we are starting to recognize that information is directed to every cell and cellular component via means other then that of the nervous or endocrine system or the hard wire and chemical means that are well accepted by the medical community.

3. Pizoelectricity:
This principle of physics states that a crystal that is compressed will emit an electrical/magnetic field and current. It is a well established law of physics that the mechanical movement of iron through a coiled wire will generate electrical and magnetic fields. Also that an electric current creates a corresponding magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field will create an electric current. Another well established principle is that pressure on a liquid crystal will create an electrical/magnetic field and current. The tissue tensegrity – matrix system and it’s components are a liquid crystal that convey this electrical magnetic information into and out of each cell and throughout the matrix. Mechanical waves are therefore able to generate electric/magnetic fields and currents and vica versa. Active or passive movement will always generate a relay of information across the tissue tensegrity – matrix system. Movement from the wave of breath outwards to the cardiac pulse and harmonizing with the cranial sacral rhythm pulsates the body with information and echo pulses back encode conditions of every region as well as a global sense of integration.

4. Crystallinity:
Many elements of the system have proven to have a crystalline structure. Lipids in the cell membrane, collegen, actin, myosin, and the cytoskeleton elements are all crystalline structures. The elements of the cytoskeleton assemble and disassemble in something Buckminster termed a gitterbug transformation due to the fact that they arrange themselves along lines of tension in a icoshedron formation. Pressure, temperature, magnetic fields and other forms of energy can make them fall apart and therefore erase information as they depolymerize and repolymerize which results in a gel sol transformation of the colloid through repeated cycles of reorganization. The manufacture of and subsequent breakdown of a clot is organized by information that is expressed by lines of force such as gravity and stress impose on the wound. As well the organization of a scar by a fibroblast and collagen fiber arrangement and quantity is expressed due to the lines of force imparted by active resisted exercise. The ability to disassemble and reassemble as higher levels of organization is related to the existence of sacred geometry and platonic solids as they relate to sound, waves, vibrations, resonance and crystals. At an atomic level the arrangement of the crystalline lattice is important for the idea that structure always takes a self replicating shape that has economy of mass and structure interrelated in the organized pattern. The orderly arrangement of a atomic crystal lattice is important if we are to have a understanding of the next property of physics that these crystalline structures generate, which is the ability to create, generate and transmit a monochrome light wave.

5. Coherency:
A property of laser light, is recognized in physics and is called Frohlick oscillations. In a regular source of light such as a light bulb, photons of light are emitted in no regular pattern or frequency but instead many different frequencies or colors of light are emitted in a random pattern in short wave emissions and hence we see only the sum total of the wave or white light. In a laser light is stimulated and emitted at a specific frequency and in time in a temporal sense. Instead of small packets of individual photon emission a laser has long wave continunity of photon emission in both a frequency and phase coherence that appears as if the photons have melted together. What this means is that we have a monochromic light that is in phase as well as frequency. Emissions of similar energy from the body have been measured by scientist, indicating that at times of love, healing, nurturing these emissions are created, possibly generated by the heart harmonic due to the Golden Mean Ratio wave that is generated at such times. The golden mean ratio is a mathmatical property of ever increasing harmonics that is transendental like the number phi and has been expressed as a function of the prime number code. The emission of laser light is also linked to the effects of Soliton Waves as they relate to the Golden Mean Ratio via a tensgrity crystalline structure and self generating reorder on higher scales of frequency and therefore complexity. It is also well recognized that sound will vibrate a medium into specific waveform patterns with higher frequencies creating more complex geometric patterns that evolve from the wave interaction with the medium. It is said that God created the universe by Sound and the Word, and the self replicating sacred geometry of platonic solids and atomic structure must organize as a coherent pattern to exist via vibrations, without vibrations there is nothing.
If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.
— Nikola Tesla
Casting Out the Nines from PHI into Indigs reveals the Cosmic Harmonic Code.
— Junglelord.
Knowledge is Structured in Consciouness. Structure and Function Cannot Be Seperated.
— Junglelord

Locked

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests