Quoted from fgulen.com

In order to survive, organizations need to gain the commitment of their members regardless of whether they are non-profit organizations or large business-oriented enterprises. Organizational commitment has important implications for both individual and organizational outcomes and is a central issue for an organization.

Organizational commitment can be defined as the relative strength of an individual’s identification with, and involvement in, a particular organization and it can be characterized by three factors: a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization (Mowday et al 1979).

Organizational commitment can be categorized in three dimensions. First is the affective dimension and refers to the person’s emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization. The second is the continuance dimension and refers to commitment based on the costs the person associates with leaving the organization. The last is the normative dimension and it refers to the person’s feelings of obligation to remain with the organization (Meyer and Allen 1984, 1990).

Positive organizational commitment is associated with improved organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Organizations need to support their human capital in every possible way in order to earn their psychological or emotional attachment rather than having a group of people who just comply solely for material gains. Many critical behaviors in organizations rely on acts of cooperation, altruism, and spontaneous unrewarded help (Smith et a. 1983). Also, innovative behaviors that go beyond role prescriptions are essential for functioning organizations (Katz 1964).

Considering these factors, what are the factors that today’s leaders need to pay attention to in order to not only retain, but also commit people to their organizations while heading their groups? Is there a magic formula?

Procedural justice, good communication, increased participation, more supportive management and reasonable rewards are some of the means to achieve this goal (Nehmeh, 2009). Perceived job characteristics (such as task autonomy, skill variety, supervisory feedback), organizational dependability, perceived participation opportunities, career satisfaction are also found to be related to organizational commitment (Dunham et al 1994).

We always compare and contrast the fairness of the behaviors of others that is particularly directed at us. We always question whether we are being treated fairly as compared to them. This thought is always present, unconsciously running at the back of our minds while we deal with others in our daily life. We get dissatisfied as soon as we perceive injustice being committed towards ourselves. Similarly, it is important to provide procedural justice in an organization. One example of fairness is the distribution of rewards or promotions. As members of the group weigh the treatment they receive, if they perceive fairness and equality in treatment, their organizational commitment level is likely to increase.

One problem we often encounter in our daily interactions, which is the cause of other problems, is miscommunication. When we misunderstand each others’ attitudes or behaviors, we tend to become easily discontent and lose touch with the reality of the situation. This applies to organizational settings as well. If the communication channels are open and clear, and if there are multiple ways of communication in order to clarify our intentions, we minimize the probability that other group members misunderstand us. This way, we can minimize the risk of alienating our peers. For example, giving timely supervisory feedback could positively contribute in an organizational setting in this respect.

Another way of achieving more organizational commitment is encouraging participation either through consultation or direct engagement. The more individuals take part in projects, the more they will identify themselves with the goals of the larger group. It always feels good to be asked one’s opinion, because it shows that their opinion is valued.

Socialization opportunities also contribute to an individual’s integration into the organizational culture. Leaders that seek ways to organize retreats, trainings, and team building exercises can help build an atmosphere of citizenship in an organization. As individuals integrate to the community and get reminded of the common goals in such settings, they tend to feel more valued, see the bigger picture, and understand how their work contributes to the final outcome. Such events also open more channels of communication between peers.

Further, the more supportive the leaders are, the more likely they are to gain their group’s attachment. It is important to envision coworkers as living and breathing people who have individual needs and responsibilities (such as family, voluntary work, religious, and academic responsibilities) outside the organizational setting rather than machines or tools to achieve project goals. The more support people get in these areas, the more committed they are likely to become to their organization.

For example, many organizations encourage their members to pursue higher degrees and support their professional activities outside the organizational setting. Research suggests that professionally committed individuals also tend to be organizationally committed. Such individuals like scientists who are committed to their specialized areas thrive for opportunities to associate with their peers and stay in touch with the latest advances in their fields. It is also important to match the skill levels of individuals with meaningful tasks. It would be a definite mismatch if an individual with a doctorate degree is given simple repetitive tasks that has very little to do with their expertise.

Other organizations provide silent rooms for individuals to meditate or pray during work hours. Respecting people’s daily habits and providing such conveniences at work can make a difference in employee performance and satisfaction. Flexible hours or work-from-home arrangements are also common among organizations with professionals who have to joggle work and family responsibilities.

Some of us get tired of doing the same tasks over and over again. We tend to get dissatisfied after a while and start looking for new challenges. In such situations, a change of setting or scope of the tasks we perform can make us more productive. Similarly, switching of roles in a group at an organizational setting can help to overcome the dissatisfaction such people could develop over time. Perception of various opportunities that one can pursue is also likely to increase individuals’ tendency to stay in the same organization.

While performing our share of work in a group, we generally want a certain level of autonomy. We may need some direction at the beginning, but no one likes to be micro-managed. Good leaders should be able to find a balance in the degree of their involvement while dealing with their coworkers. Otherwise they may find themselves micro-managing others and being overloaded with extra work. This also can alienate the people who prefer to perform autonomously.

In summation, organizations need committed individuals to reach their goals. When we associate with the values of an organization, we tend to contribute more positively, even in an altruistic manner. Good leaders should see their team as individuals who have their own needs and responsibilities. It is important not only to retain people but also to win over their hearts in order to attain the highest quality of outcomes.

Alptekin Kavi is an electrical engineer and designs computer chips at a high-technology company. He lives in Superior, Colorado.

References

Dunham B., Grube J. A., Castaneda M. B. "Organizational commitment: the utility of an integrative definition." Journal of Applied Psychology. 1994, Vol. 79, No. 3, 370-380

Katz D. "The motivational basis of organizational behavior." Behavioral Science. 1964, 9, 131-133.

Meyer J.P, Allen N. J. "Affective and continuance commitment to the organization: evaluation of measures and analysis of concurrent and time-tagged relations." Journal of Applied Psychology. 1990, 75, No. 3710-733.

Meyer J.P, Allen N. J. "Testing the side-bet theory of organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology. 1984, Vol. 69, No. 3, 372-378.

Mowday R. T, Steers R. M, Porter L. W. "The measurement of organizational commitment." Journal of Vocational Behavior. 1979, 14, 224-247.

Nehmeh R. http://www.swissmc.ch/Media/Ranya_Nehmeh_working_paper_05-2009.pdf "What is organizational commitment, why should managers want it in their workforce and is there any cost effective way to secure it?" SMC Working Paper, Issue 05, 2009.

Smith C. A, Organ D., Near J. "Organizational citizenship behavior: its nature and antecedents." Journal of Applied Psychology. 1983, 68, 653-663.

It is estimated that our earth was bombarded with life destructing cosmic radiation 700 million years after its creation. We do not know exactly how carbon-centered life came into existence and we can only make assumptions based on clues. As the verse goes, we did not witness the first creation of life (Qur’an 18:51, 43:19). However we can develop various scenarios through traces left by the earlier events. We know that the first traces of life on earth date back to around 4 billion years ago. The molecular basis of material life relies on the facts of quantum world because chemical affinities of biochemical molecules, conservation of catalytic domains/surfaces and formation of three dimensional structures all depend on principles of quantum mechanics. Microscopic pores of clay crystals or oceanic basalt (a type of volcanic rock) are suitable for synthesis of complex organic molecules.

If planet earth did not have plate tectonics, problems would occur with the logistic flow of materials needed to be used for the formation of life. For instance, if carbon stored in carbonated sediments meets water, it dissolves as CO2, and then released into the atmosphere. These tectonic movements constantly generate new materials ready to be oxidized, thus preventing oxygen ratio to reach dangerous levels. The reason Mars has been a dead planet is because all its tectonic movements almost have come to a halt. Plates gain high level of flexibility with the water content of the earth crust. This way, both the gliding of tectonic plates over one another and the continuous flow of inner planetary material towards the surface is enabled.

One of the scenarios regarding where life on earth had started relies on the hot springs at the bottom of the oceans as being the earliest and most suitable places for life. These environments located near the inner crust of the earth are host to micro-organisms since those times. Therefore, the first organisms on earth are most likely to be organisms (hyperthermophiles) living in high temperature waters.

Furthermore, because ribosomes are the protein makers of the cell, when ribosomal RNA’s sequence analyses were compared, it was understood that hyperthermophilic organisms were among the first life forms. Stability of DNA and proteins are at risk when they are over 100 °C, so that is the reason today’s hyperthermophilic organisms are equipped with enzymes that recognize and repair high temperature damage and respond to specific thermal shocks.

This finding constitutes evidence that the earliest signs of life appeared on the critical boundaries of high temperature conditions and thermal degradation. Thus, there is a great possibility for chemotropic microorganisms (methane bacteria) to be considered among the earliest creatures as they utilize inorganic substances in order to generate energy to maintain their lives. Methane bacteria have been supplied with conditions for their survival which is characterized with their ability to produce methane from dissolved hydrogen and CO2 in the water. The fine balance here can be observed in the critical properties of water. If water a) was not separated into hydrogen and oxygen while it passed through hot rock layers, and b) was not returned back to the surface after the tectonic circulation via leakage through micro holes of rocks, and c) did not have the capacity to dissolve both hydrogen and CO2 in sufficient levels, chemotrophic organisms would not be able to have a sustainable life. This is because the supply of required raw materials for energy production is linked to physicochemical properties of water as part of the causation chain. Another important property of water is that it can be transported in carbon nanotubes as this property has critical importance, especially in relation to plant osmosis and cell membrane transport of protons. In the formation of these properties of water (such as the dedication of electron and proton mass value and charges), the phenomena of fine balance during the earlier moments of the universe has a significant role.

How dependant is life on water?

There is no evidence up until today that shows the presence of an organism which can live and reproduce completely without water. The most dangerous factor for a life on land is the dryness of air in lethal levels (Zero humidity ratios). When the air is at 20 °C and with 50% humidity, cells carry 0.1 gr. of water per dry biomass. Cellular metabolic functions come to a halt when water concentrations drop to this level. This is deadly for many plants and animals. However, an unknown percentage of microorganisms and few plant and animal species are equipped with such mechanisms to be able to withstand drought in an ametabolic state for hours or years. Returning back to their ordinary living functions and activities depends on their coming in contact with a humid environment or water. Drought tolerance is very limited, so is the number of tolerant species and their quantities.

Scientists have been conducting extensive research on these organisms and have found that these organisms are equipped with protective proteins, with sugars that do not lose function in dry environment, and with genes uniquely assigned to regulate the syntheses of these proteins and sugars, and that they are so finely incorporated in these organism’s genetic and metabolic programming – these facts are truly amazing and indicative of an all-comprehensive knowledge and willpower constantly operative in the universe. For instance, Trihalose sugars are utilized during drought tolerance response in animals. This type of sugar indeed increases drought toleration in human thrombocytes to some level. It has been proven that the longevity of dried plants depend on the fat content of their cell membrane and particularly the number of double bonds in acyl chains. Without losing vitality, time for seed drying gets shorter as the number of double bonds increase. Also, if cells cannot renew the reduced form of Glutathione as it functions in the removal of oxidation causing agents during both the drought and drying process, programmed cell death is initiated.

Aphelenchus avenae, one of the nematodes (round worms), can regulate expression of genes encoding proteins pertaining to drought resistance according to the presence of water. Nemotadoes living in Antarctica become active with a slight increase in soil humidity. Extreme humid conditions however cause a shorter life span in these animals. Studies exhibit that drought is not a favorable living condition and that life forms increase productivity as they distance themselves from drought. The factors that contribute to famine outside of anthropologic elements can be listed as dry climates and drought intolerance of the human body. Studies regarding drought resistance gene transfer have been going on via plants and animals which can bear such toleration.

The genes that hold the information in their structures in order to provide drought resistance have gained importance in such environmental conditions and can be noticed more frequently. All of these illustrate that major roles have been assigned to water in terms of formation and maintenance of a carbon-centered life on earth. The difference between organisms which have resistance to drought and those who have resistance to dehydration are hidden in the details at the molecular level.

Fine balance in early life forms

We are witnessing a great deal of diversity on earth because every single event that has happened since the beginning of the universe was made suitable for life. Microorganisms living in deep ocean hot springs, in freezing cold regions of Antarctica, in extremely acidic or saline waters are very good examples for this. If human skin was to touch these kinds of acidic waters, it would cause severe burns. Pyrolobus fumarii, a hyperthermophile organism, lives in volcanic pits as hot as 90 to 121 °C and proliferates at 121 °C. In recent years, archaebacteria species which can live in 130 °C heat have been isolated.

Saline water has the property to stay in a liquid state even in -20 °C. Properties of water like heat conduction, heat preservation, solubility, viscosity, surface tension, and cell membrane interactivity should be reinvestigated for temperatures between -15 °C and 130 °C in which life can be observed. One important feature of water is that it retains its fluidity over dirty surfaces and over thin films that form on ice crystals, even in temperatures below freezing point. Physical and chemical properties of water in ultra-cold micrometer thin films are different when compared to normal conditions. There are many microbial organisms living in life-permitting conditions generated on these thin films. Specific organisms have been created for every climate type and location on planet earth. Microorganisms and plants (psychrophilic) living in extreme cold conditions (between -10 °C and -20 °C) are great examples of this phenomenon.

It may be considered as a law operative in nature that organisms living in the same environment from different categories of life are created equipped with common features adapted to that habitat. Such features, motifs and adaptive processes that are repeated and conserved among living things in fact indicate the One and His creative power in unity. The overlap and correspondence of biological features of livings things with their living conditions is an important evidence for the fine balance phenomenon of organisms. The commonality between the polar cod (Boreogadus saida), which is a significant source of trade in the North Sea, and distant fish species such as Dissotichus mawsoni, which live in the cold waters of Antarctica, lies in the fact that they both have the genetic information for the antifreeze feature. This genetic information involves synthesis of an antifreeze protein with a repeating Threonin, Alanine and Proline amino acid motif when expressed as an antifreeze feature. This specific protein present in the blood of both fish is in charge of inhibiting proliferation of ice crystals which therefore prevents fish from freezing.

Molecules that function with water

If one observes the events that are taking place in our nature and universe with an objective lens, the presence of purpose and target centered processes and behaviors (teleological) in each stage are witnessed. Properties of water, particularly the presence of suitable chemical (hydrogen) bonding strength in transcription, proliferation and expression of genetic programs, show the fine balance phenomenon. If the hydrogen bond strength between DNA, RNA strands and of matching nucleotide bases were different, both translation and amplification of these messages coded via DNA and RNA would be impossible. Another striking aspect of the fine balance phenomenon is seen with Serine proteases in charge of protein degradation.

The reason that these enzymes are known as subtilisin in bacteria and trypsin in vertebrates is because of the presence of different amino acid sequences and three dimensional structures in each of these proteins. However, there are three common amino acids that are conserved in the active site of both of these proteins, as if generated by a single hand. These amino acids have vital importance to the function of trypsin and subtilisin, and they only differ in their positions throughout the protein. In Trypsin Histidine, Aspartic acid and Serine is respectively located as the 57th, 32nd and 195th amino acid, but in subtilisin the same aminoacids are respectively located in the 64th, 32nd and 221st positions.

Can the functional choice in the location of these amino acids be considered as coincidental or self-occurring? It is very difficult to convince one’s mind and heart to answer this question in the affirmative.

Hamza Aydin is a professor of biology and freelance writer based in Turkey.

It is in this great irony that we ask ourselves what if. What if I had taken that job? What if I had called him? What if I only had 72 hours to live? What would I do? It is a difficult question, because many of us do not know how to live yet. At twenty years old, I am not living yet. I have been preparing myself for life since I was born, starting with learning to walk and talk, followed by a long, successful scholarly career. Now I am in college and working, still preparing for a life. I must finish graduate school before I get a career. Once I’m established in a career, I can think about marriage, family, and a home. I will work until I am comfortable. Then, I can truly live. Then, I can see the world around me. Until then, I have no time to live. I am not alive, because I am not able to enjoy what I have. I am not spending the time I want with family and friends. I am not developing as a soul. Life is put on the wayside, because I have to be practical.

But what if there was no future to prepare for and the door of opportunity was closed? Many would pick an excess of life, sampling every morsel of emotion and sensation possible, until their untimely death. They would pick to savor everything they had sacrificed for a comfortable future. They would sky dive, stuff their faces with their favorite foods, and travel the world. They would act in ways that could undo all of the preparation they have made for their future, but at least they would enjoy themselves. And, honestly, that does sound extremely appealing to me at first glance. But, in the end, none of it would quiet my heart or put it at peace. Material happiness would satisfy the surface, but in the end, it would leave anyone caught in its whirl wind over-stimulated, numb, empty, and lost. It would be a premature death, really.

The goal before death is to be whole again. Through most of our lives, whether we are truly living or not, we are searching. We are not sure what we are looking for, but we, innately, search. We prepare for and dream of a future where we fulfill whatever that innate feeling is. If I had 72 hours left in my life, that is the hole I would try to fill. It would have nothing to do with my senses (though I would enjoy all of the chocolate cake I could eat!) and would, instead, deal with the hopes that have been eluding me for most of my non-life. I would realize the dreams that would make me whole again.

I am an immigrant. My family of eight moved to America when I was four years old. It was a huge change. We came from a country where family was the most important purpose of life. We had all lived by each other. All of my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas—we saw each other every day. We held bonfires in the summer, played music together, and walked to church together. It was a simple but fulfilling time. We were a true family. But, my parents left it all behind. I don’t blame them; America is the land of opportunity. They wanted a better life for their six children, and we have all grown to be successful people in American society. However, we are all separated. We live in different suburbs and we work too much to see each other. I email my family more than I speak to them. Starting a new life in America required us to overwork ourselves and sacrifice our time. We have lost our family in the process.

America turned out to be a harsh, unforgiving, and lonely place. My parents have sat over the phone in tears, hearing about a family death, unable to take the time off or collect the money to take us all to the funeral. We have missed weddings, graduations, birthdays, births—all of the important moments of life of the most important people of our lives. And, we could not share our moments with them, either. It breaks all of our hearts. Family is satirized as a dysfunctional joke in American culture; it is taken for granted. It is seen as dysfunctional to continue living with, or near, family, extended or not. However, family togetherness is something that is unimaginably rewarding to us. America, in my opinion, is flawed for being so independent—but I digress.

With three days left in my life, I would leave America. I would take what I have saved up, ask my immediate family to do the same, and prepare a big family reunion—no, a celebration—in my native country of Poland. I cannot express the amount of freedom and joy it would bring me to have that time with my entire extended family. They are an eclectic array of wonderful people—the kind you can write an entire book on. We have not been together in one place since we have left Poland in 1994. It would be a life changing event for us all, a moment we would hold dear for the rest of our lives, and we desperately need it. We are all drained, over-worked, and drifting apart.

My immediate family has changed. We, the kids, are all grown up—some are married, and some are with kids. I have a boyfriend of two years. None of these new additions to the family have met the extended family. This family reunion would be the opportunity for those that we have fallen in love with, and the little ones that have been born, to see our history. They would meet our side of the family, the ones that left an entire side of a church or reception hall disproportionately empty, because they were on the other side of the ocean. I have met the love of my life’s side of the family, and now he would finally meet mine. I could finally share something so close to my heart—my true home and family.

In that perfect setting, I would finally marry that love of my life. We had planned it for a long time, but because of modern-day worries of school, work, and money, we have not gone through with it. With three days to live, it would be something we would no longer hold back. His family, most of which is in America or China, have the resources to reach Poland. We would finally have a true wedding, with both families in attendance, in a beautiful setting. It would be an interesting mixture of cultures: American, Polish, and Chinese. I would be surrounded with family, his and mine. My life would finally be whole.

Of course, I would still savor my senses. I would enjoy my grandma’s food and ride my uncle’s motorcycle through the countryside. I would taste all I could of life, and it would be meaningful, because it would be with the people that matter. For those short three days, I would escape my non-life and make my life whole. It is not practical, it will not set me up for a successful future, but it will set me up for a life worth living. Yes, it is ironic that I would learn to love life when it was about to end, but the best part of it all—in reality—is that it would only be just beginning. Family and togetherness, something we all lack in our modern world, is the ultimate solution to that irony.

Joanna Bodnar is a student of pharmacy at Midwestern University, Illinois.

]]> https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2013/issue-94-july-august-2013/cadherin-and-catenin-july-2013/ Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2013/issue-94-july-august-2013/cadherin-and-catenin-july-2013/ The human body is a great system made up of complex materials and tools. The molecular systems keep cells, tissues, organs, thus the entire system glued together. Just as we would not have been able to develop complex machines and build our civilization today without screws and screwdrivers, bolts and nuts, in the absence of molecular systems and their components, cells would not be able to stay together and tissues and organs would not develop. Cells sometimes form a loose linkage to some tissues, other times form a tight or very tight connections in other places. For instance, connections in the blood-brain barrier and bladder line should be very secure, preventing leaks, whereas the connections need to be loosely structured in secretive tissues to permit transport of ions and molecules in between cells.

Cellular joints are called “intercellular junctions.” There are thousands of molecules (proteins) in charge of these regions. As members of such molecules, the Cadherin and Catenin linkage system holds two cells together just like a secured nut and bolt. Thus unity of tissues and organs is ensured.

Masayuki Ozawa, a Japanese scientist, was the first to call these proteins “catenin” in 1989, derived form the word “catena” in Latin which means “chain.” Catenin links cells to each other like a chain. As you construct your buildings, you place cement or similar adhesive materials in between bricks and stones. In a similar fashion, when your body is developing, cellular cement is put in between cells, linking them via bolts of cadherin and nuts of catenin.

The catenin family has three members: alpha catenin, beta catenin and gamma catenin, classified according to our weight and length. Cadherin is a Calcium (Ca) dependent adhesion molecule (to bond and stick) that was discovered in 1961. Cadherin refers to a calcium dependent adhesion molecule. As Cadherin enables linkage between the two cells, catenin in the meantime sticks to the ends just like a nut on a bolt. This way a connection is properly secured. Structural cadherin deformities have been found in some stomach cancers. Cells without a properly secured anchor leave the flock like lost sheep. It relocates to other places and new proteins are synthesized there. Researchers have stumbled upon catenin while investigating the Cadherin molecule.

Catenin carries a special motif called “Armadillo” named as such because of its resemblance to this insectivorous mammalian which means “armor” in Spanish. Together with Cadherin, Catenin fulfills very important tasks in many places from the embryologic development in the mothers’ womb to the salivary glands through the skin. A body without Catenin would look like a building without nails, cement, hinges, and screws. Catenin operates like the anchor of a ship, thus it is also named as “anchoring junction molecule.”

While Cadherin molecule links two cells to each other, Catenin secures the Cadherin ends, and then connects Cadherin to the Actin as the main molecule of cellular framework. Catenin does other jobs in addition to the role of fastening. This multitasking is observed in many structures and molecules in the body. With the principle of maximum saving, these molecules are created to take care of many jobs in a limited space. For instance, Catenin works in a communication system called “WNT.” The WNT system relays signals that arrive at the cell to Catenin so that it can transfer the signal to the cell nucleus. In recent years errors in this system have been reported in breast and intestinal cancers. Furthermore, Catenin helps Cadherin as it functions like an orchestral conductor in the organization of intestinal cells. Catenin undertakes active tasks for the maintenance of intestinal cellular homeostasis, and it becomes hyperactive in Hirschsprung disease. This disease is a state of neural network absence that is in charge of intestinal (bowel) movements and supposed to be present through the intestines. In such parts of the intestines, bowel movements cannot be monitored and excretion cannot take place properly.

The diseases associated with cadherin have been reported in many cancer cases. Both cadherin and catenin are made to function flawlessly as best as possible. But just in every other blessing, we tend to appreciate their presence in times of sickness and disease – we seem to realize in such times the fact that nothing is insignificant in nature. When cadherin and catenin fail to work properly, embryonic lethality happens, and the baby may die even before he or she is born.

Cells cannot completely come together to arrange tissues and systems without these molecules. If these molecules in the salivary glands suffer from a problem, abnormal cellular structures may form, and cellular specialization is put at risk, and again death may happen in the womb. Unwanted situations arise from brain and face cartilage if these molecules do not function well during prenatal development. Miscarriages might happen because of flaws regarding establishment of fertilized egg in the womb. Zygote may have trouble transforming into an eight-celled blastocyst.

Mechanisms and systems that are built in our body are mind-blowing and put to service for many purposes only some of which we have been able to uncover. These molecules fulfill quite a number of those purposes assigned to them by the Creator, the One who acts with absolute subtlety, wisdom, and generosity.

Kadir Can is a science teacher in Ankara, Turkey.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

The human language is different from the other species. While other animal communication systems is designed to meet their basic needs—which are necessary to develop survival strategies so that they can play their role in the ecosystem—the human language has many additional facets which are absent in animals. We tell stories, share ideas, exchange information, explain how to repair a flat tire, give advice, ask the meaning of life, teach physics, tell a lie and so on. There are good reasons for believing that a special relationship exists between human language and what makes the human brain different from other mammals. (1)

How do people acquire language? What was the first language spoken on earth? These and many other questions have occupied the minds of people for centuries. Hence, language-related experiments date back to ancient times. The earliest experiments were a type of language deprivation experiments in which infants were isolated from their society to prevent any possible language contact. The experiment usually lasted two years when the babbling stage was over. The first known experiment, which is also cited as the first instance of using the experimental method in the study of social phenomena, took place in Egypt. Pharaoh Psammetichus believed that Egyptians were the most ancient race. In order to prove his hypothesis, he ordered two infants to be brought up by a mute shepherd. He was curious to know which word the children would articulate first. After two years, the children spoke the word becos which meant “bread” in Phrygian. He admitted that Phrygians preceded them in antiquity. (2) A more recent experiment took place in India in the sixteenth century. Sultan Akbar believed that people learnt to speak by listening to one another. He ordered two infants and a mute nurse to be placed in one house. At the end of the experiment, the babies failed to develop any language. This proved the validity of his hypothesis. He was not the first to establish a link between language and society. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) proposed that language was innate, that infants were born with the ability to speak, and that language learning can take place in a society. (3) Rumi mentions a story about an infant in his Mathnawi. A female tiger takes care of the infant. When the child reaches age two, a fairy comes and teaches language and manners. The tale in Mathnawi indicates that the socio-cognitive aspect of language was well-known by the people who lived centuries ago, and not a new phenomenon established by contemporary linguists.

The above historical examples are related to the cognitive and social aspect of the language.When we say that language is unique to humans, the first thing that comes to mind is the cognitive aspect of language. However, the uniqueness of language is not merely confined to cognition. There are other features of language which can be considered unique to humans. Anatomical, neurological and physiological aspects make human language unique. This paper will focus on the anatomy of speech organs and more importantly on the vocal tract.

Lungs, larynx, tongue, teeth, and lips make up the major speech organs of the body. Location of the spinal cord also has a contribution to speech. The enlarged region of the spinal cord is responsible for the voluntary control of breathing required by speech production. (4) There is a delicate design in the order of the speech organs in the human anatomy. They operate in such a harmonious way that any mismatch or anatomical deformation of these organs will have a serious effect on speech production. Therefore, the anatomical order of speech organs has a great role in their functionality. If the larynx were located above its present location in the throat, it would restrict vocalization and would not be useful for speech. Although humans share speech organs with primates, just like it shares many other organs, no primate can come up with language. Primates do not possess enough cognitive abilities to speak like a human being. In fact, cognition is one aspect of the issue as mentioned above. However, there is another thing that needs to be taken into consideration and that is the anatomy of the vocal tract which is different in both humans and primates. In order to produce human-like speech, a human-like vocal tract is needed.

The human vocal tract is unique to humans. The vocal tract can be viewed as an acoustic tube extending from the larynx to the lips. It is the main source of the resonances responsible for shaping the spectral envelope of the speech signal. The shape of the vocal tract (or more accurately its area of function) at any point in time is the most important determinant of the speech frequencies of the (oral) cavity. (5) The vocal tract can be divided into two parts: Supralaryngeal Vocal Tract in the vertical dimension and Supralaryngeal Vocal Tract in the horizontal dimension. SVTh includes the oral cavity while SVTv includes the throat, pharynx, behind the tongue and above the larynx. Interestingly, these two vertical and horizontal vocal tracts form a right angle. They are approximately equal in length giving them a 1:1 proportion. The length and the shape of the vocal tract is highly important in the formation of speech. (6) Vowels like [i], [u] and [a] can only be produced with the current anatomy of the human vocal tract. These letters exist in almost all languages.

Cognitive scientist Philip Lieberman stated that the primate vocal tract is different from the adult human’s. Humans have a 1:1 ratio of vocal tract in the horizontal and vertical dimension. However, primates have longer proportion in the horizontal dimension. They have a relatively smaller tongue and oral cavity. The anatomical restrictions do not allow them to produce [i], [u] and [a] vowels. However, in the first half of the twentieth century, linguists spent great efforts to train apes to speak like a human being. After hours of laboratory training, some apes managed to learn a few words. They uttered these words with a raspy pronunciation. Basically, the human language experience of apes did not last long. The vocal tract of chimps may not provide the articulators with enough degrees of freedom to articulate human speech sounds. (8)

The position of the larynx is highly critical. The change in the position of the larynx allows us to independently vary the area of the oral and pharyngeal tubes and to create a broad variety of vocal tract shapes and formant patterns, thus expanding our phonetic repertoire. (5) Human larynx is simpler in structure than that of other primates. This is another advantage on the human side since air can move freely through the nose and the mouth without being stopped by other appendages. The other major anatomical difference between man and primate is the fact that human beings have descended larynxes whereas the primates have their larynx situated above the throat. Human infants also share a similar vocal tract distribution with primates. This position of the larynx serves a vital function for the infant. The larynx works like a seal blocking the nasal cavity. The infant can breathe while he or she is enjoying the mother’s milk. The milk goes directly to the esophagus through the mouth. The air goes to the trachea through the nasal cavity and the larynx. This anatomical structure allows the infant to suckle and breathe at the same time.

Speech organs inside the oral cavity such as tongue and teeth have great contribution in the formation of the speech. In her book, The Articulate Mammal, Jean Aitchison explains how human teeth are unusual compared to those of animals:

“They are even in height, and form an unbroken barrier. They are upright, not slanting outwards, and the top and bottom set meet. Such regularity is surprising – it is certainly not needed for eating. Yet evenly spaced, equal-sized teeth which touch one another are valuable for the articulation of a number of sounds, S, F, and V, for example, as well as SH (as in shut), TH (as in thin) and several others. Human lips have muscles which are considerably more developed and show more intricate interlacing than those in the lips of other primates. The mouth is relatively small, and can be opened and shut rapidly. This makes it simple to pronounce sounds such as P and B, which require a total stoppage of the airstream with the lips, followed by a sudden release of pressure as the mouth is opened. The human tongue is thick, muscular and mobile, as opposed to the long, thin tongues of monkeys. The advantage of a thick tongue is that the size of the mouth cavity can be varied allowing a range of vowels to be pronounced. It seems, then, that humans are naturally geared to produce a number of different sounds rapidly and in a controlled manner.” (10)

In the light of comparative anatomy, it has become clear that every possible configuration is made at an anatomical level to make humans speak. The design of the vocal tract and the position of the speech organs tell us that the Creator wished for humans to speak:“(Having brought him into existence, God) taught Adam the names, all of them. Then (in order to clarify the supremacy of humankind and the wisdom in their being created and made vicegerent on the earth), He presented them (the things and beings, whose names had been taught to Adam, with their names) to the angels, and said, “Now tell Me the names of these” (Al-Baqarah, 2:31).

In a nutshell, human beings without language would serve no purpose in the universe. In order to read and understand what the Creator wants from them, language serves as a means of communication between human beings and their Creator.

Seyfi Agirel is a PhD candidate in Linguistics at Hacettepe University, Ankara. He is also a lecturer at Turgut Ozal University.

References

1. Ingram, C.L., John, 2007. Neurolinguistics: An Introduction to Spoken Language Processing and Its Disorders, Cambridge University Press.

2. Sulek, Antoni. 1989. “The Experiment of Psammetichus: Fact, Fiction, and Model to Follow,” Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 50, No. 4 (Oct. – Dec.), pp. 645-651.

3. Demir, Ramazan. 2008. The Issue of the Source of Languages according to the Arab Linguists. Unpublished PhD thesis, Istanbul: Marmara University.

4. Pinker, Steven, Jackendoff, Ray. 2005. “The Faculty of Language: What’s Special about it?” Cognition, 95, pp. 201-236.

5. Hauser, D. Marc, Fitch, W. Tecumseh. 2003. “What Are the Uniquely Human Components of the Language Faculty?” In Language Evolution, by Christiansen, Morten H. and Kirby, Simon, first ed., New York: Oxford University Press.

6. Liebermann, Philip, McCharty, Robert. 2007. “Tracking the Evolution of Language and Speech,” Expedition, Vol. 49. No. 2, pp. 15-20.

7. Pollick, S. Amy, De Waal, B.M. Frans. 2007. “Ape Gestures and Language Evolution,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, Vol. 104. No. 19, May 8, pp. 8184-8189.

8. Weiss, J. Daniel, Newport, Elisa. 2006. “Mechanisms Underlying Language Acquisition: Benefits From a Comparative Approach,” Infancy, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 241-257.

9. Aitchison, Jean. 2008. The Articulate Mammal, Fifth ed. New York: Routledge.

]]> https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2013/issue-94-july-august-2013/turning-on-the-labyrinth-of-chartres-july-2013/ Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2013/issue-94-july-august-2013/turning-on-the-labyrinth-of-chartres-july-2013/ Last year in March, I was able to accomplish a wish that I had been holding for a long time: I walked the labyrinth of the Cathedral of Chartres in France.

It was not my first walk on a labyrinth. That one had been on one of its many children, for Chartres is the mother labyrinth that has inspired many replications, simple and elaborate, throughout the world. I first discovered one of those junior labyrinths in Seattle, Washington, installed in the pocket garden outside a church. I chanced upon it one afternoon. Intrigued, I walked it in the drizzling Seattle rain, rushing through it without much thought. I was more focused on understanding the process more than trying to feel it, for I had confused it with a maze. I was convinced I was being set up for an exercise of memory and cleverness and was afraid I would fail if I did not pay attention to each turn. Yet I was wrong, for this was a labyrinth, not a maze. There is one way in and one way out. There are no hidden corners, trick turns or dead ends. The path is achievable by all. No one gets lost.

The next day, for some inexplicable reason, I felt a strong pull to go back to the labyrinth and walk it again, more purposefully this time, to try to understand what the experience entailed and why this church had put it there as a spiritual tool. I returned to the labyrinth and began my walk, slowly this time, released from the fear that I would get lost. When I was half-way through it, I was suddenly surprised by a spontaneous outflow of tears. Where had that come from, I wondered, now realizing that the labyrinth had spiritual powers that I had only intuitively sensed before.

And so I vowed then to go to Chartres and walk the original labyrinth, the most famous in the world, which had inspired this one. I wanted to walk in the same steps as had thousands of other pilgrims since it was built around the year 1200. Although I had lived in France for many years, I had never walked the labyrinth. My visits to Chartres, a UNESCO World Heritage site, were carried out to study the components of this outstanding example of French High Gothic architecture, such as its odd pair of differently-sized steeples and the elaborate triple portals. I would stand in awe under the fluttering angel wings of the exterior flying buttresses. But above all, I would go to marvel in the magic of its stained-glass windows, the most celebrated in the world, for their technique, encyclopedic imagery of Biblical stories and breathtaking beauty. To stand under the magnificent rose window of the west wall, with its shimmering tones of deep blue, is worth a pilgrimage all on its own. I had never even noticed the labyrinth on my previous visits there, because it is generally obscured from view. Chartres is a working church and a famous pilgrimage site (it houses the cloak supposedly worn by Mary when she gave birth to Jesus), and due to the needs of worshippers of this busy place of reverence, the labyrinth, located in the main nave of the cathedral, is usually covered with chairs, and is only open for walking on Fridays during Lent.

But this time, I came as a pilgrim on that cold March day, taking the train from the Paris-Montparnasse station, a mode of transport far removed from the footsteps of the thousands of pilgrims of the Middle Ages, who came to Chartres as a substitute for an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the Holy Land. Since such a pilgrimage to the “Kingdom of Heaven”, as was considered Jerusalem at that time, was not possible for most, a visit to the nearest cathedral stood in for it. Pilgrims for over eight hundred years have travelled here to become closer to God.

The mother labyrinth of Chartres is all the more intriguing in that it is one of the few Gothic labyrinths to remain to this day. No one knows exactly when the labyrinth was constructed, but it must have been after the construction work of the cathedral was completed and the scaffolding removed, sometime between 1200 and 1240. At this time, a large labyrinth 40 feet across was set in tan and grey stones in the central nave. Labyrinths were placed in other French Gothic cathedrals as well, such as at Amiens, Sens, Arras and Auxerre, but they have all been suppressed, except the one at Chartres. It too, has suffered over the ages; for all that remains of the central brass plaque are the worn stubs of the rivets that held it in place.

I entered the cathedral and saw it in front of me, uncovered and inviting. Due to its setting in the shadow of the light cast by those rainbow great windows, no labyrinth in the world can inspire like the one at Chartres. The labyrinth is composed of a series of 11 concentric rings that fold over each other and lead to the six-petalled center node, or as it is poetically called in French, the rosette; they then wend their way back to the original starting point. This single path meanders in 28 loops, moving from side to side as you head towards the rosette and back out again. A short straight path leads to the rosette itself. The length of the path is only about 860 feet, a mere one third of a mile, and can take from about 20 minutes to two hours to complete. The labyrinth is framed by a glowing halo of ornamentation around the outer circle, comprised of pointed cusps enclosed in foliate borders.

How one walks the labyrinth and what one receives differs with each person, and for each person, with each walk. It is a highly personal experience. Children can walk it and find it playful; adults can find it straightforward or a life-changing spiritual tool. All it takes is an open mind and an open heart, and a slow pace to allow the emotion of the experience to build in you as you walk the path with your whole being. As you are in a space of devotion, silence is respected. No one talks while walking the labyrinth, to better hear your own voice. You receive from it what is there for you to receive. The path goes two ways, and you cross those going in as you go out.

I stared at the labyrinth for a long time before I entered it. I looked at the cross on the main altar and thought how the four quadrants of the labyrinth recalled the four arms of the cross. I thought of the rosette. Mary, Mother Rose of our existence, Woman among all Women. I will be clothed in your blue robes, Mary, as I turn on the labyrinth; your shining face will illuminate my path.

Before entering the labyrinth I was a bit apprehensive about what would happen to me when I wound my way through the serpentine path on this meditative prayer done with my feet. I told myself to take slow and deliberate steps, and just put one foot in front of the other. All I needed to do was to go into the center and then back out again. This was no race. There would be no tricks, no teasing decisions to be made, and no one would judge my performance. I just needed to surrender myself to the path, and accept the insights it would give me.

But just what insights would be given to me? Would I be overcome by angst like I was in Seattle or would a difficult question come to my mind? What grief would I let go? What help, if any, would I receive for my troubles I cannot resolve on my own? Would I find release from the problems of my life and turn its stress into the peaceful silence within myself I seek so deeply? Would I be able to carry out the work my soul is searching for? I stayed there for a long while, and prayed for the strength to get me through this mini-marathon of spiritual discovery.

I took my first step, the first of many as I wandered through each of the four quadrants several times before reaching the rosette. I entered, my head and ears full of the noise of the daily details of life. With each step I began to quiet down and release some of that clutter. I stopped thinking about the rambunctious teenagers on the train ride out, how I would ever find the time to finish that job for work I needed to complete by next week, and the worries about my sick friend. I started to empty my mind and let go of burdens and stress. The shimmering blue windows smiled down at me; the warm cloak of Mary’s blue began to envelop me.

I paused to balance my weight as I made a turn. Sometimes I stopped completely in my tracks for a while. I continued on my way, putting one foot in front of the other, turning 180 degrees each time I entered a new circuit, like a switchback on a mountain. With each switchback flip, I wondered if my brain energy was changing from the left intuitive and creative side to the more rational right side. I reflected on how the labyrinth itself even looks like an anatomical depiction of the brain with its many folds. A great expectancy was created as to when I would ever reach the center and what would happen once I reached it. Would the center leave a divine imprint onto my soul?

I continued towards the rosette, wondering if I would ever reach it. This path seemed so long! A myriad of questions, thoughts and concerns began to flood those two quadrants of my brain. Sometimes I passed others going the other way. Sometimes I came up to someone stuck dead in his tracks, unable to move. What is he feeling at this moment, I asked myself, which has stopped him so? Was it the same emotion that made those tears flow in Seattle? Sometimes someone passed me, like a car on the highway, but I did not consider it rude. His experience is pushing him to go faster. Sometimes I walked slowly; sometimes I sped through a turn. Yet throughout, I was aware of my breathing and the increasing silence in my ears. Somewhere along the path, I began to hear whisperings. I walked with my head bowed; was it to better concentrate on the position of my feet or because I felt I was praying with them?

And so it was for all of us in the labyrinth that chilly March day, as it has been every day for over 800 years. I did not feel alone but a part of a long heritage of pilgrims, all of us feeling the same emotions as we continued to turn to reach the center. You feel the beating heart of the pavement of this cathedral, the beating heart of Christ’s love, and the beating heart of your own existence. You hear your breath become an illuminated prayer to life.

When you at last reach the rosette, a sense of accomplishment fills you, and you want to stay there and absorb it and think about what led you there. You pause there to reflect even more, and listen to the whisper of a deeper revelation you had never felt before. But why doesn’t the labyrinth end here, you ask yourself? Why do you have to walk again through those turns? Of course you do, for your life is never complete, just as the turns continue. As you walk out, you have time to reflect on how you will take that beating heart of love back out and keep it beating in the face of your daily life. You want to share that peace of the rosette with the daily world around once you return to it. When you finish your final steps, you realize there are questions you will never be able to answer, no matter how many times you walk the labyrinth. The power of the labyrinth has taught you to walk humbly with your Lord, as it says in the Old Testament book of Micah.

I left the rosette, and walked back out. I was done. I took a deep breath. As I stepped out of the labyrinth, I lifted my eyes to the kaleidoscopic windows above the west transept door. I turned my head to the left to gaze at the stunning rose window over the south doors. The light streaming through them seemed brighter, or was it because my heart was not as dark as when I entered the labyrinth? I had been warmed by the light of the blue window. I had worn the blue cloak of Mary. You stop again and say a prayer of thanksgiving this time, for the love you felt when you were on the path, for the love waiting for you when you return home, and the love you will be able to give to your life from the strength you received on the walk. You feel balanced and a little more in contact with your own divinity. The Kingdom of God is within you.

After I walked the labyrinth, I thought of the other prayer journeys done on labyrinths by various seekers of truth and the appealing unity of this spiritual interface across all history and many faiths. I recalled that the very first labyrinth had been designed by the architect Daedalus over 4000 years ago in ancient Crete. Images of the sand paintings of the Navahos, the “Mother Earth” labyrinth of the Hopi Indians, Buddhist mandalas, and the Nazca lines in Peru flashed before my eyes. I thought of the Shakers of my native midwest America, named for their ritual dance and desire to lead a pure life:

‘Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free

‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be

To turn, turn, will be our delight

‘Til by turning, turning, we come ‘round right…

I pondered the spiritual journey of the three Abrahamic faiths, and of Islam especially, and how they have developed over the years from Abraham to Moses to Jesus to Paul to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a journey of faith on a long path, much like the winding path of the labyrinth is a metaphor for the spiritual journey all of us experience in one way or another, even the most dedicated of atheists.

I noted that my own body is a labyrinth, with blood flowing into the rosette of my heart and flowing out again purified with oxygen. I recalled the miracle of our natural world, where everything in the universe is revolving; electrons and neutrons and protons all forming the tiniest ant to the largest galaxy. Everything is in motion in the natural world; everything walks its own labyrinth.

Yet of all these traditions and thoughts, the one that came most strongly to me after my walk on the Chartres labyrinth is the Sufi path. I thought of the Sufis and their sema dance, and it made me realize that you don’t really walk a labyrinth, you turn on it.

Sufi whirling is a form of active meditation practiced by the dervishes of the Mevlevi Order of Konya, Turkey. This dance is performed in a ceremony with the aim to reach perfection by abandoning one’s egos and personal desires, focusing on God and spinning in repetitive circles to the music of the ney flute. Jalâluddîn Rumi, the great poet that inspired the movement, often used music and dance in his spiritual practices, and it was his son who established the Mevlevi Order.

Rumi mentioned Jesus in many of his verses, which makes him more accessible to me and makes me think that he would have understood what it was like to turn on the labyrinth of Chartres and hear those whispers:

The Jesus of your spirit is inside you now.

Ask that one for help, but don’t ask for body-things…

Don’t ask Moses for provisions

that you can get from Pharaoh.

Don’t worry so much about livelihood.

Your livelihood will turn out as it should.

Be constantly occupied instead

with listening to God.

Rumi, Mathnawi II:450-454

The Sufis believe that there is a path, or a way to experience faith, which is called the “tarikat.” Tarikat is the conscious choice a person makes to come to seek knowledge of God. Someone who walks the path of tarikat is a Sufi. The Mevlevi order of Sufism delineates a precise symbol of this path, which takes the form of the ritual turning dance of the sema. Rumi’s message is always about the love of God and the surrender to God. It is the same idea that happens with the labyrinth – you begin your walk and surrender yourself to the emotion that will come to you along the walk.

When you walk the path, you turn like a Sufi. You are taken to your center, often to a hidden and mysterious portion of your personality that you did not suspect. You can intensely concentrate or just let the steps take you to their own gift of intuition from the mundane to the divine. You feel connected to a long tradition and to the vast mystery of creation and a renewed connection to yourself, God and the world around you. You feel a greater sense of Oneness, and that you are not alone, either with your God or those people you crossed while turning on the labyrinth. I can now better sense the sema and the tarikat of the Sufis after having turned on the Chartres labyrinth.

Sema is beyond reason; it is the symbol of a spiritual journey to our innermost center where we are closest to God. It is the flame of divine love. It is a turn back, a turn forward, all for a return to love. Into the labyrinth, into the rosette and out again, all for a return to love. One hand open to heaven, one hand open to earth, the dervish spins to the left, in the direction of the heart. The first turn on the Chartres labyrinth is to the left, and the leading foot is always the left one.

Many Sufi mystics perceive that everything and everyone of us are profoundly connected to the Divine as one people, one ecology, one intelligence, one blood, one universe, one being, one humanism, one truth, one love. There is one path; perhaps with 180 degree switchback turns, but we all joined on this path. I think of the thousands of people who have come to Chartres and walked this labyrinth, and what pushed them to make this pilgrimage. I see that they are seeking the same path as a Sufi; to be joined together on those turns, in our lives, and with the Divine. We seek to break the tyranny of the ego, the tyranny of our neurosis and materialistic world. We seek to find a way to live a life of selflessness and filled with love.

One of the most well-known of the Rumi poems states:

Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing,

There is a field, I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,

The words “you” and “I” do not exist.

I entered that field of grass when I reached the rosette of the labyrinth of Chartres.

Since that first labyrinth walk in Seattle and my encounter with the labyrinth of Chartres, I continue to turn the labyrinth in my mind whenever I can. It is an ongoing spiritual practice, just like prayer. I have a mouse pad at my computer at work with a photo of the Chartres cathedral labyrinth. I trace the pattern with my finger when I am in need to quiet my mind or find comfort. I close my eyes and imagine I feel the cold stones of the cathedral floor under my feet and the warm cloak of Mary around my shoulders. I hear the ney and see the whirling white robes of the Semazen. I feel connected to others and inspired to Oneness with them.

Come, walk with me and turn on the path of the labyrinth of our lives. Let us meet all together in that rosette field of peace.

Katharine Branning is the author of Yes, I Would Love another Glass of Tea. She is also the Vice-President, Library, FIAF, New York.

The excellent nature of teeth comes from the microstructure of the material they are made of. They are not homogenous like cement used in construction work. It is composed of various different layers such as enamel, dentine, and cementum which are formed by enamel prisms and dentine tubules. This structure of the teeth is the source of inspiration for the produced restorations. Since an exact imitation is aimed, in addition to other properties, the microstructure of the teeth also needs to be imitated.

When the general structure of the teeth is investigated, it is observed that there are two major components: organic and inorganic structures. The filling material, referred to as composite, must be in the color of the tooth and must contain the same type of structure. The filling material in the composite increases the resistance of the restoration and has the same function of the mineral hydroxyapatite in the enamel. In the composite, resin matrix takes the place of the organic matrix in the enamel. Up to this point, everything seems fine but the images of scanning electron microscope (SEM) showing the cross sections portray the trivial difference between the composite and the natural tooth. The homogenous, ordinary appearance of the filling and the astonishingly embellished tooth are very easy to differentiate.

There are prerequisites that make tooth restoration successful. We can summarize these as esthetics, functionality, and phonation. These properties are affected with the loss of the tooth or the structure of the tooth. What follows is an analysis as to how and to what extent these properties can be replaced.

Esthetics in the dentistry means exact imitation of the tooth color. To be able to give a natural color to the filling or to the crown could be considered a miracle. It might sound like a very simple issue. However, this is probably the most challenging thing for dentists. If the color does not match, your restoration will look different and will easily be noticeable. Maybe it is my professional curiosity because while watching television I have a tendency to look at people’s teeth before I look anywhere else. From the most popular singers and actors to mighty and scholarly politicians, I can always recognize their prosthesis. Ironically, these people were spending their wealth on professional dentists who could not give their original teeth back to them. The color is not something that could be mixed up together by fulfilling only one of its features. The color comes into existence as a result of common features of many factors. A dentist’s only hope is one day using homogeneous clay typed structures squeezed from a tube.

The structure of the enamel and the dentine are deeply related with opacity and translucency, two important subjects of optics. That is why some parts of the tooth are translucent while the other parts are opaque. It is possible to restore it with a few optical tricks. The tooth is neither completely opaque nor translucent. For example, while the cutting edges of the tooth are translucent (especially the cutting edges of newly erupted milk teeth, they are almost glassy), the cervix of tooth, adjacent to gingiva, is opaque and dusky. Thus, in big restorations, we implant materials that reflect the light differently for every surface of the tooth. We try to compare and contrast to the original teeth by using optical tricks. However, a more important thing is the sustainability of this quality. Especially, for restorations made to anterior teeth, you can observe that the colors have become darker and have separated from adjacent tooth with a dusky-colored borderline. Indeed, it is evident that color harmony is not preserved properly.

We cannot expect to reach a result that is equivalent to the look and feel of natural teeth through esthetic restoration only. The mechanical properties of restoration must be similar to that of the natural teeth. The reaction of the teeth to a certain force is very important. Teeth are subjected to forces of different types and magnitudes throughout the day, and they are created so as to endure those forces. Any restoration must be as strong and durable as the natural teeth. A piece of filling that is placed into a tooth becomes a working part of the entire system. If it is not as resolute as the rest of the system, then it cannot integrate and may fall out. In this regard, the mechanical properties of the material for restoration are crucial. There are dozens of other aspects in which one can compare those properties with a natural tooth. Considering just a couple of the important properties such as hardness and flexibility is enough to show significant differences between natural teeth and restorative materials.

Both hardness and flexibility of a material are determined by certain characteristics and are all formulated in scientific terms. We can see the difference of natural teeth very easily by comparing the hardness and flexibility of the most commonly used composites in the fore teeth and that of hard tissues like enamel and dentine. There is yet another point not to be missed: What makes our teeth perfect is that they are both hard and flexible at the same time. We can see the big gap between real and artificial teeth when we compare the quantitative values of these mechanical properties.

Teeth, in addition to their superior mechanical features, impress us with their exceptional capacity to transmit the force they face. Teeth come in contact with their hard counterpart everyday while eating or otherwise. A casual observer might think that a tooth is directly attached to the chin bone. Let alone being attached, the tooth does not even touch the chin bone. It is tied to the chin bone with flexible strings. A fusion of the bone and teeth is out of the question. It’s as if a bucket is lowered in a well. Whenever we chew, the pressure endured by the teeth is transferred to the bone through these strings in the best manner. These periodontal ligaments serve as shock absorbers. It would be incomplete to explain force transfer in teeth with these strings. It is imperative to remember the structure called lines of forces located on the chin bone that are shaped in such a manner as to guide the force.

It is a noteworthy challenge to make restorations and to replace a tooth in every aspect. Man-made products or works of art cannot be completely imitated; experts at least could tell the differences right away. Could it then ever be possible to imitate an artwork of the Divine to the same degree of perfection in its authentic form?

Mehmet Yildiz is a Professor of operative dentistry at Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.

Allen Goddard

Planet earth has been created in the most flexible and durable fashion that even in extreme conditions (in terms of temperature, pressure, pollution, pH, salinity, radiation) it allows for the existence of life. Therefore, the earth has been planned to serve as a cradle for life since the beginning of universe. The limiting factor, according to our present knowledge, is the presence of water in liquid form. We have been given important clues that show us matter before life was subjected to a fine balance. Thus, chemical processes were optimized and the material world (this great system), in order to become an incubator for life, had been brought to a semi-stabilized state. Chemical substances (organic molecules) that would later be used as building blocks for life on earth were first made in stars and later prepared for use. Ice crystals that were present in dense gas as well as particle clouds of galaxies played important roles in pre-life chemical processes.

It is estimated that our earth was bombarded with life destructing cosmic radiation 700 million years after its creation. We do not know exactly how carbon-centered life came into existence and we can only make assumptions based on clues. As the verse goes, we did not witness the first creation of life (Qur’an 18:51, 43:19). However we can develop various scenarios through traces left by the earlier events. We know that the first traces of life on earth date back to around 4 billion years ago. The molecular basis of material life relies on the facts of quantum world because chemical affinities of biochemical molecules, conservation of catalytic domains/surfaces and formation of three dimensional structures all depend on principles of quantum mechanics. Microscopic pores of clay crystals or oceanic basalt (a type of volcanic rock) are suitable for synthesis of complex organic molecules.

If planet earth did not have plate tectonics, problems would occur with the logistic flow of materials needed to be used for the formation of life. For instance, if carbon stored in carbonated sediments meets water, it dissolves as CO2, and then released into the atmosphere. These tectonic movements constantly generate new materials ready to be oxidized, thus preventing oxygen ratio to reach dangerous levels. The reason Mars has been a dead planet is because all its tectonic movements almost have come to a halt. Plates gain high level of flexibility with the water content of the earth crust. This way, both the gliding of tectonic plates over one another and the continuous flow of inner planetary material towards the surface is enabled.

One of the scenarios regarding where life on earth had started relies on the hot springs at the bottom of the oceans as being the earliest and most suitable places for life. These environments located near the inner crust of the earth are host to micro-organisms since those times. Therefore, the first organisms on earth are most likely to be organisms (hyperthermophiles) living in high temperature waters.

Furthermore, because ribosomes are the protein makers of the cell, when ribosomal RNA’s sequence analyses were compared, it was understood that hyperthermophilic organisms were among the first life forms. Stability of DNA and proteins are at risk when they are over 100 °C, so that is the reason today’s hyperthermophilic organisms are equipped with enzymes that recognize and repair high temperature damage and respond to specific thermal shocks.

This finding constitutes evidence that the earliest signs of life appeared on the critical boundaries of high temperature conditions and thermal degradation. Thus, there is a great possibility for chemotropic microorganisms (methane bacteria) to be considered among the earliest creatures as they utilize inorganic substances in order to generate energy to maintain their lives. Methane bacteria have been supplied with conditions for their survival which is characterized with their ability to produce methane from dissolved hydrogen and CO2 in the water. The fine balance here can be observed in the critical properties of water. If water a) was not separated into hydrogen and oxygen while it passed through hot rock layers, and b) was not returned back to the surface after the tectonic circulation via leakage through micro holes of rocks, and c) did not have the capacity to dissolve both hydrogen and CO2 in sufficient levels, chemotrophic organisms would not be able to have a sustainable life. This is because the supply of required raw materials for energy production is linked to physicochemical properties of water as part of the causation chain. Another important property of water is that it can be transported in carbon nanotubes as this property has critical importance, especially in relation to plant osmosis and cell membrane transport of protons. In the formation of these properties of water (such as the dedication of electron and proton mass value and charges), the phenomena of fine balance during the earlier moments of the universe has a significant role.

How dependant is life on water?

There is no evidence up until today that shows the presence of an organism which can live and reproduce completely without water. The most dangerous factor for a life on land is the dryness of air in lethal levels (Zero humidity ratios). When the air is at 20 °C and with 50% humidity, cells carry 0.1 gr. of water per dry biomass. Cellular metabolic functions come to a halt when water concentrations drop to this level. This is deadly for many plants and animals. However, an unknown percentage of microorganisms and few plant and animal species are equipped with such mechanisms to be able to withstand drought in an ametabolic state for hours or years. Returning back to their ordinary living functions and activities depends on their coming in contact with a humid environment or water. Drought tolerance is very limited, so is the number of tolerant species and their quantities.

Scientists have been conducting extensive research on these organisms and have found that these organisms are equipped with protective proteins, with sugars that do not lose function in dry environment, and with genes uniquely assigned to regulate the syntheses of these proteins and sugars, and that they are so finely incorporated in these organism’s genetic and metabolic programming – these facts are truly amazing and indicative of an all-comprehensive knowledge and willpower constantly operative in the universe. For instance, Trihalose sugars are utilized during drought tolerance response in animals. This type of sugar indeed increases drought toleration in human thrombocytes to some level. It has been proven that the longevity of dried plants depend on the fat content of their cell membrane and particularly the number of double bonds in acyl chains. Without losing vitality, time for seed drying gets shorter as the number of double bonds increase. Also, if cells cannot renew the reduced form of Glutathione as it functions in the removal of oxidation causing agents during both the drought and drying process, programmed cell death is initiated.

Aphelenchus avenae, one of the nematodes (round worms), can regulate expression of genes encoding proteins pertaining to drought resistance according to the presence of water. Nemotadoes living in Antarctica become active with a slight increase in soil humidity. Extreme humid conditions however cause a shorter life span in these animals. Studies exhibit that drought is not a favorable living condition and that life forms increase productivity as they distance themselves from drought. The factors that contribute to famine outside of anthropologic elements can be listed as dry climates and drought intolerance of the human body. Studies regarding drought resistance gene transfer have been going on via plants and animals which can bear such toleration.

The genes that hold the information in their structures in order to provide drought resistance have gained importance in such environmental conditions and can be noticed more frequently. All of these illustrate that major roles have been assigned to water in terms of formation and maintenance of a carbon-centered life on earth. The difference between organisms which have resistance to drought and those who have resistance to dehydration are hidden in the details at the molecular level.

Fine balance in early life forms

We are witnessing a great deal of diversity on earth because every single event that has happened since the beginning of the universe was made suitable for life. Microorganisms living in deep ocean hot springs, in freezing cold regions of Antarctica, in extremely acidic or saline waters are very good examples for this. If human skin was to touch these kinds of acidic waters, it would cause severe burns. Pyrolobus fumarii, a hyperthermophile organism, lives in volcanic pits as hot as 90 to 121 °C and proliferates at 121 °C. In recent years, archaebacteria species which can live in 130 °C heat have been isolated.

Saline water has the property to stay in a liquid state even in -20 °C. Properties of water like heat conduction, heat preservation, solubility, viscosity, surface tension, and cell membrane interactivity should be reinvestigated for temperatures between -15 °C and 130 °C in which life can be observed. One important feature of water is that it retains its fluidity over dirty surfaces and over thin films that form on ice crystals, even in temperatures below freezing point. Physical and chemical properties of water in ultra-cold micrometer thin films are different when compared to normal conditions. There are many microbial organisms living in life-permitting conditions generated on these thin films. Specific organisms have been created for every climate type and location on planet earth. Microorganisms and plants (psychrophilic) living in extreme cold conditions (between -10 °C and -20 °C) are great examples of this phenomenon.

It may be considered as a law operative in nature that organisms living in the same environment from different categories of life are created equipped with common features adapted to that habitat. Such features, motifs and adaptive processes that are repeated and conserved among living things in fact indicate the One and His creative power in unity. The overlap and correspondence of biological features of livings things with their living conditions is an important evidence for the fine balance phenomenon of organisms. The commonality between the polar cod (Boreogadus saida), which is a significant source of trade in the North Sea, and distant fish species such as Dissotichus mawsoni, which live in the cold waters of Antarctica, lies in the fact that they both have the genetic information for the antifreeze feature. This genetic information involves synthesis of an antifreeze protein with a repeating Threonin, Alanine and Proline amino acid motif when expressed as an antifreeze feature. This specific protein present in the blood of both fish is in charge of inhibiting proliferation of ice crystals which therefore prevents fish from freezing.

Molecules that function with water

If one observes the events that are taking place in our nature and universe with an objective lens, the presence of purpose and target centered processes and behaviors (teleological) in each stage are witnessed. Properties of water, particularly the presence of suitable chemical (hydrogen) bonding strength in transcription, proliferation and expression of genetic programs, show the fine balance phenomenon. If the hydrogen bond strength between DNA, RNA strands and of matching nucleotide bases were different, both translation and amplification of these messages coded via DNA and RNA would be impossible. Another striking aspect of the fine balance phenomenon is seen with Serine proteases in charge of protein degradation.

The reason that these enzymes are known as subtilisin in bacteria and trypsin in vertebrates is because of the presence of different amino acid sequences and three dimensional structures in each of these proteins. However, there are three common amino acids that are conserved in the active site of both of these proteins, as if generated by a single hand. These amino acids have vital importance to the function of trypsin and subtilisin, and they only differ in their positions throughout the protein. In Trypsin Histidine, Aspartic acid and Serine is respectively located as the 57th, 32nd and 195th amino acid, but in subtilisin the same aminoacids are respectively located in the 64th, 32nd and 221st positions.

Can the functional choice in the location of these amino acids be considered as coincidental or self-occurring? It is very difficult to convince one’s mind and heart to answer this question in the affirmative.

]]> https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2013/issue-94-july-august-2013/marifa-july-2013/ Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2013/issue-94-july-august-2013/marifa-july-2013/ Ma‘rifa literally denotes skill or talent, a special ability that belongs to certain people, and knowing by certain means. According to travelers on the path of God, it is the station where knowing is united with the one who knows, where knowing becomes second nature, and where each state reveals what or who is known. Some have defined ma‘rifa as the appearance and development of the knowledge of God in one’s conscience, or knowing God by one’s conscience. In other words, one has attained self-realization and has realized his or her humanity with all of its intrinsic values and dimensions. This may be what is meant by: The one who knows himself knows his Lord.1

The first rank of ma‘rifa is discerning the manifestations of the Divine Names surrounding us, and spectating the amazing climate of the Attributes behind the door of mystery, half-opened by these manifestations. During this journey, lights flow continuously from the traveler’s eyes and ears to his or her tongue, and one’s heart begins to direct those acts, which serve as a tongue confirming and proclaiming the Ultimate Truth. This tongue becomes, so to speak, a diskette of “good words,” and various lights from the light-giving truth of: To Him pure words ascend, and the righteous deed causes them to rise (35:10) begin to be reflected on the screen of his or her conscience.

One who has acquired such ma‘rifa is immune to all evil and is enveloped by breezes blowing from the realms beyond. As Ibrahim Haqqi of Erzurum states, “God said: ‘I can be contained by neither the heavens nor the earth.’ He is known by the heart as a Hidden Treasure in the heart,” translating the allegorical hadith qudsi: “Neither the heavens nor the earth can contain Me, but the heart of a believer contains Me,”2 corridors of light are opened from his or her spirit toward the One known by the heart. The traveler is so enraptured with observing such scenes that he or she does not think of returning to a normal life.

A traveler who is completely closed to all else save God, who has resisted all corporeal desires and impulses in order to be carried by the tides of Divine company, has reached the stage of ma‘rifa. One who travels around this point is called a traveler to ma‘rifa; one who has reached it is called an ‘arif (one who has spiritual knowledge of God).

The differences found in commentaries on ma‘rifa are based on the temperaments and schools of thought or levels of ma‘rifa itself. Some have sought ma‘rifa in those who have it, and they have seen the feeling of awe observed in them as the manifestation of ma‘rifa. Some others have seen it as connected with serenity, and judge the ma‘rifa’s depth according to the vastness of serenity; still others have seen it as the heart’s complete closure to everything but God; while there are still others who have understood it as the heart’s wonder and admiration amidst the tides of Divine manifestations. Such hearts always beat with wonder and amazement, for the eyes of their owners open and close with amazement, and their tongues pronounce with wonder and admiration: I acknowledge that I am unable to praise You as You praise Yourself.3

With the spirit always flying upward toward eternity, and the heart enraptured with the pleasure of finding peace or being at rest, but always self-possessed and cautious, a life lived in ma‘rifa is as calm and peaceful as that lived in the gardens of Paradise. Side-by-side with the angels, those who have acquired ma‘rifa are included in the meaning of: They do not disobey God in whatever He commands them, and carry out what they are commanded (66:6). With feelings that are like buds waiting for daylight to blossom, such souls open fully with ma‘rifa in “daylight” and experience the pleasure of intimacy with Him at every moment with a new dimension of ma‘rifa. So long as they keep their eyes fixed on the door of the Ultimate Truth, they are intoxicated by meeting with Him several times a day or even every hour, and are enraptured with a new manifestation at every moment.

While those supposing themselves to be scholars continue to “crawl,” and philosophers continue to philosophize and struggle to build on the information they have, an ‘arif (one who has attained knowledge of God) always tastes peace and talks about peace in an effusion of “light.” Even when ‘arifs quake with fear and awe of the Almighty, they feel infinite pleasure and, while their eyes weep, their hearts always smile.

There are differences of manners and tendencies among ‘arifs based on temperaments and schools of spiritual training. While some are deep and silent, like whirlpools, others “gurgle” like waterfalls. Some always weep for fear of committing sins, and never tire of praising their Lord; others continuously travel in awe, modesty, and familiarity and never think of leaving this “ocean.” Still others are like the earth which everybody else “treads,” as no one shows them respect or thinks that they are ‘arifs; or they are like clouds sending “water” to everyone under them, or like breezes, for they touch our feelings and blow us good and favor.

An ‘arif can be recognized in several ways: such a person expects favor from and becomes intimate only with the Known One; he or she lifts his or her eyelids and opens the doors of his or her heart only to Him; he or she turns only to Him in love; and experiences the greatest suffering when anyone other than Him is desired. One who has not acquired true knowledge of God Almighty cannot distinguish between the Beloved and others, and one who is not intimate with the Beloved cannot know separation’s torment and pain. Muhammed Lutfi says: “There is the light of knowledge of God in the eyes of the soul of an ‘arif. One with an ‘arif receives God’s help and knows what knowledge of God is.”

Our Lord! Be in our favor, and do not be against us; help us

and do not help others against us. And bestow blessings and

peace on our master Muhammad, chosen among and sent to

us, and on his Family and Companions, noble and godly.

Notes

1 al-‘Ajluni, Kashfu’l-Khafa’, 2:343.

2 Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, az-Zuhd, 81; ad-Daylami, al-Musnad, 3:174.

3 Muslim, “Salah,” 222; Abu Dawud, “Salah,” 148.