Search results for "540"
showing 10 items of 720 documents
Modeling and Backstepping Control of the Electronic Throttle System
2013
Published version of an article in the journal: Mathematical Problems in Engineering. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/871674 Open access Electronic throttle is widely used in modern automotive engines. An electronic throttle system regulates the throttle plate angle by using a DC servo motor to adjust the inlet airflow rate of an internal combustion engine. Its application leads to improvements in vehicle drivability, fuel economy, and emissions. In this paper, by taking into account the dynamical behavior of the electronic throttle, the mechanism model is first built, and then the mechanism model is transformed into the state-space model. Based on the s…
Comparative transcriptomics of albino and warningly‐coloured caterpillars
2021
Abstract Coloration is perhaps one of the most prominent adaptations for survival and reproduction of many taxa. Coloration is of particular importance for aposematic species, which rely on their coloring and patterning acting as a warning signal to deter predators. Most research has focused on the evolution of warning coloration by natural selection. However, little information is available for color mutants of aposematic species, particularly at the genomic level. Here, I compare the transcriptomes of albino mutant caterpillars of the aposematic wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) to those of their full sibs having their distinctive orange‐black warning coloration. The results showed >29…
Improved Quadratic Time-frequency Distributions for Detecting Inter-turn Short Circuits of PMSMs in Transient States
2020
This paper aims to improve quadratic time-frequency distributions to adapt condition monitoring of electrical machines in transient states. Short-Time Fourier transform (STFT) has been a baseline signal processing technique for detecting fault characteristic frequencies. However, limits of window sizes due to loss of frequency- or time-resolution, make it hard to capture rapid changes in frequencies. Within this study, Choi-Williams and Wigner-Ville distributions are proposed to effectively detect peaks at characteristic frequencies while still maintaining low computation time. The improved quadratic time-frequency distributions allow for generating spectrograms of a longer lasting data sig…
Absolute quantification of noncoding RNA by microscale thermophoresis
2019
Abstract Accurate quantification of the copy numbers of noncoding RNA has recently emerged as an urgent problem, with impact on fields such as RNA modification research, tissue differentiation, and others. Herein, we present a hybridization‐based approach that uses microscale thermophoresis (MST) as a very fast and highly precise readout to quantify, for example, single tRNA species with a turnaround time of about one hour. We developed MST to quantify the effect of tRNA toxins and of heat stress and RNA modification on single tRNA species. A comparative analysis also revealed significant differences to RNA‐Seq‐based quantification approaches, strongly suggesting a bias due to tRNA modifica…
Chemicals and chemoreceptors: ecologically relevant signals driving behavior in Drosophila
2015
Insects encounter a vast repertoire of chemicals in their natural environment, which can signal positive stimuli like the presence of a food source, a potential mate, or a suitable oviposition site as well as negative stimuli such as competitors, predators, or toxic substances reflecting danger. The presence of specialized chemoreceptors like taste and olfactory receptors allows animals to detect chemicals at short and long distances and accordingly, trigger proper behaviors toward these stimuli. Since the first description of olfactory and taste receptors in Drosophila melanogaster 15 years ago, our knowledge on the identity, properties, and function of specific chemoreceptors has increase…
Verifying the predicted risk of extinction based on ecological characteristics
2021
Red List status of species should reflect species extinction risk. Because data are limited and species response has a time lag, species may be threatened by extinction even if they are not Red‐Listed. The ability to predict species risk of extinction from ecological characteristics holds promises for proactively targeting conservation measures to species at high risk. In 2005, the risk of extinction from ecological characteristics was predicted for 81 species of Finnish butterflies. Now, after 15 years and two additional national Red List assessments, these predictions are verified. Species with a higher risk of extinction according to the original ecological extinction risk rank (EERR) ha…
Semi-natural habitats in boreal Europe: a rise of a social-ecological research agenda
2021
The European continent contains substantial areas of semi-natural habitats, mostly grasslands, which are among the most endangered habitats in Europe. Their continued existence depends on some form of human activity, for either production or conservation purposes, or both. We examined the share of semi-natural grasslands within the general grassland areas in boreal Europe. We reviewed research literature across the region to compile evidence on semi-natural grasslands and other semi-natural habitats, such as wooded pastures, in respect to a range of topics such as ecology, land-use change, socioeconomics, and production. We also explored drivers of the research agenda and outlined future re…
Alarmist by bad design: Strongly popularized unsubstantiated claims undermine credibility of conservation science
2019
“Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades.” or “Our work reveals dramatic rates of decline that may lead to the extinction of 40% of the world's insect species over the next few decades.” These are verbatim conclusions of the recent paper by Sánchez-Bayoa and Wyckhuys (2019) in Biological Conservation. Because of fundamental methodological flaws, their conclusions are unsubstantiated. Like noted by The Guardian, the conclusions of the paper were set out in unusually forceful terms for a peer-reviewed scientific paper. The current case…
Multimodal Aposematic Defenses Through the Predation Sequence
2021
Aposematic organisms warn predators of their unprofitability using a combination of defenses, including visual warning signals, startling sounds, noxious odors, or aversive tastes. Using multiple lines of defense can help prey avoid predators by stimulating multiple senses and/or by acting at different stages of predation. We tested the efficacy of three lines of defense (color, smell, taste) during the predation sequence of aposematic wood tiger moths (Arctia plantaginis) using blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) predators. Moths with two hindwing phenotypes (genotypes: WW/Wy = white, yy = yellow) were manipulated to have defense fluid with aversive smell (methoxypyrazines), body tissues with a…
Structure and dynamics in liquid bismuth and Bin clusters: A density functional study
2014
Density functional/molecular dynamics simulations with more than 500 atoms have been performed on liquid bismuth at 573, 773, 923, and 1023 K and on neutral Bi clusters with up to 14 atoms. There are similar structural patterns (coordination numbers, bond angles, and ring patterns) in the liquid and the clusters, with significant differences from the rhombohedral crystalline form. We study the details of the structure (structure factor, pair, and cavity distribution functions) and dynamical properties (vibration frequencies, diffusion constants, power spectra), and compare with experimental results where available. While the three short covalent bonds typical to pnictogens are characteristi…