Animal movement, mechanical tuning and coupled systems

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (23) ◽  
pp. 3415-3421 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.L. Daniel ◽  
M.S. Tu

Over the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in developing predictive models of animal movement and force generation in fluids. In a departure from past studies that have asked how prescribed motions of a propulsor (wing or fin) generate lift and thrust during swimming and flying, we are increasingly interested in predicting the propulsor's movement as well as the forces generated by it. This interest, motivated by a need to understand the control and dynamics of locomotion and its applications to robotics and animal physiology, requires that we develop integrative models and analyses of swimming and flying that incorporate neural control and muscle physiology into more traditional biomechanical studies of locomotion in fluids. This approach extends from whole-animal studies to the molecular basis of force generation. In this paper, we explore mechanical tuning from the level of the whole animal to the proteins driving force generation in muscle.

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Blesson Varghese ◽  
Nan Wang ◽  
David Bermbach ◽  
Cheol-Ho Hong ◽  
Eyal De Lara ◽  
...  

Edge computing is the next Internet frontier that will leverage computing resources located near users, sensors, and data stores to provide more responsive services. Therefore, it is envisioned that a large-scale, geographically dispersed, and resource-rich distributed system will emerge and play a key role in the future Internet. However, given the loosely coupled nature of such complex systems, their operational conditions are expected to change significantly over time. In this context, the performance characteristics of such systems will need to be captured rapidly, which is referred to as performance benchmarking, for application deployment, resource orchestration, and adaptive decision-making. Edge performance benchmarking is a nascent research avenue that has started gaining momentum over the past five years. This article first reviews articles published over the past three decades to trace the history of performance benchmarking from tightly coupled to loosely coupled systems. It then systematically classifies previous research to identify the system under test, techniques analyzed, and benchmark runtime in edge performance benchmarking.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Steven G. Friedenberg ◽  
Danika L. Bannasch

The study of inherited diseases in companion animals has exploded over the past 15 years since the publication of the first dog genome in 2005 [...]


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yu ◽  
Kun Liu ◽  
Li Su ◽  
Xin Xia ◽  
Xun Xu

The application of perfluorocarbon liquids has been well acclaimed in vitreoretinal surgery. Its unique physical properties make it an ideal intraoperative tool to improve the efficiency and safety of surgical procedures in complicated cases. The main functions of perfluorocarbon liquids in vitreoretinal surgery include relocating and fixing the detached retina, displacing the subretinal and subchoroidal to fluid anteriorly, revealing proliferative vitreous retinopathy (PVR) for further maneuvers, protecting the macula from exposure to chemicals with potential toxicity, and assisting the removal of foreign body. The related clinical applications include retinal detachment with severe proliferative vitreoretinopathy, giant tear, diabetic retinopathy (DR), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and posterior dislocated crystalline and intraocular lenses. The application of perfluorocarbon liquids has been expended over the past fewer years. Several PFCLs related ocular inflammations have been observed inin vitrostudies, animal studies, and clinical follow-up. The complete removal of PFCLs is recommended at the end of the surgery in most cases.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1089
Author(s):  
Huimin Ren ◽  
Xiaohong Zhao ◽  
Wenjie Li ◽  
Jamshaid Hussain ◽  
Guoning Qi ◽  
...  

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a process intended for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis by eliminating old, damaged, or unwanted cells. In plants, PCD takes place during developmental processes and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In contrast to the field of animal studies, PCD is not well understood in plants. Calcium (Ca2+) is a universal cell signaling entity and regulates numerous physiological activities across all the kingdoms of life. The cytosolic increase in Ca2+ is a prerequisite for the induction of PCD in plants. Although over the past years, we have witnessed significant progress in understanding the role of Ca2+ in the regulation of PCD, it is still unclear how the upstream stress perception leads to the Ca2+ elevation and how the signal is further propagated to result in the onset of PCD. In this review article, we discuss recent advancements in the field, and compare the role of Ca2+ signaling in PCD in biotic and abiotic stresses. Moreover, we discuss the upstream and downstream components of Ca2+ signaling and its crosstalk with other signaling pathways in PCD. The review is expected to provide new insights into the role of Ca2+ signaling in PCD and to identify gaps for future research efforts.


Author(s):  
Kadri Tüür ◽  
Ene-Reet Soovik

      Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania often tend to be grouped together under the label of ’the Baltic countries’, yet they constitute a region characterised by a diversity which also manifests itself in the field of academic research. Still, it may be possible to detect some common elements in the ecocriticism-related activities that have been taking place in these states during the past couple of decades. The article maps the salient tendencies in the environmental humanities (including ecocriticism) of the region that recently gained an institutionalised platform in the form of the Baltic Conferences on the Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences (BALTEHUMS) that were started in 2018. A survey is given of the three countries’ most significant events and publications that have boasted an ecocritical component, ecocriticism’s institutional representation and inclusion of ecocritical issues in university syllabuses and theory textbooks, as well as some pertinent topics and sub-fields on which the scholars in these countries are currently working. Among these, various aspects of the connections of literature and the ecosystems of the forest (trees) and the mire can be noticed; while also animal studies, literary urban studies, bio- and ecosemiotics and environmental history appear to have entered a fruitful dialogue with ecocritical scholarship currently conducted in the Baltics.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Peyman Björklund ◽  
Lee F Starker ◽  
Annabelle L Fonseca ◽  
Tobias Carling

Abstract During the past decade and a half, studies of genetic predisposition, parathyroid tumorigenesis, and molecular genetics of familial hyperparathyroid disorders have started to unveil the molecular basis of pHPT. Primary HPT is found in several distinct disorders with autosomal dominant inheritance such as in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), MEN2A, the HPT-jaw tumor syndrome (HPT-JT), familial isolated hyperparathyroidism (FIHPT), autosomal dominant mild hyperparathyroidism (ADMH), and neonatal severe HPT (NSHPT).


2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1550) ◽  
pp. 2303-2312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Hebblewhite ◽  
Daniel T. Haydon

In the past decade, ecologists have witnessed vast improvements in our ability to collect animal movement data through animal-borne technology, such as through GPS or ARGOS systems. However, more data does not necessarily yield greater knowledge in understanding animal ecology and conservation. In this paper, we provide a review of the major benefits, problems and potential misuses of GPS/Argos technology to animal ecology and conservation. Benefits are obvious, and include the ability to collect fine-scale spatio-temporal location data on many previously impossible to study animals, such as ocean-going fish, migratory songbirds and long-distance migratory mammals. These benefits come with significant problems, however, imposed by frequent collar failures and high cost, which often results in weaker study design, reduced sample sizes and poorer statistical inference. In addition, we see the divorcing of biologists from a field-based understanding of animal ecology to be a growing problem. Despite these difficulties, GPS devices have provided significant benefits, particularly in the conservation and ecology of wide-ranging species. We conclude by offering suggestions for ecologists on which kinds of ecological questions would currently benefit the most from GPS/Argos technology, and where the technology has been potentially misused. Significant conceptual challenges remain, however, including the links between movement and behaviour, and movement and population dynamics.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 780-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Berg ◽  
Bradford C. Powell ◽  
Richard E. Cheney

The past decade has seen a remarkable explosion in our knowledge of the size and diversity of the myosin superfamily. Since these actin-based motors are candidates to provide the molecular basis for many cellular movements, it is essential that motility researchers be aware of the complete set of myosins in a given organism. The availability of cDNA and/or draft genomic sequences from humans,Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Arabidopsis thaliana,Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, andDictyostelium discoideum has allowed us to tentatively define and compare the sets of myosin genes in these organisms. This analysis has also led to the identification of several putative myosin genes that may be of general interest. In humans, for example, we find a total of 40 known or predicted myosin genes including two new myosins-I, three new class II (conventional) myosins, a second member of the class III/ninaC myosins, a gene similar to the class XV deafness myosin, and a novel myosin sharing at most 33% identity with other members of the superfamily. These myosins are in addition to the recently discovered class XVI myosin with N-terminal ankyrin repeats and two human genes with similarity to the class XVIII PDZ-myosin from mouse. We briefly describe these newly recognized myosins and extend our previous phylogenetic analysis of the myosin superfamily to include a comparison of the complete or nearly complete inventories of myosin genes from several experimentally important organisms.


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