1,167 research outputs found
Modelling and Simulation of Lily flowers using PDE Surfaces
This paper presents a partial differential equation (PDE)-based surface modelling and simulation framework for lily flowers. We use a PDE-based surface modelling technique to represent shape of a lily flower and PDE-based dynamic simulation to animate blossom and decay processes of lily flowers. To this aim, we first automatically construct the geometry of lily flowers from photos to obtain feature curves. Second, we apply a PDE-based surface modelling technique to generate sweeping surfaces to obtain geometric models of the flowers. Then, we use a physics-driven and data-based method and introduce the flower shapes at the initial and final positions into our proposed dynamic deformation model to generate a realistic deformation of flower blossom and decay. The results demonstrate that our proposed technique can create realistic flower models and their movements and shape changes against time efficiently with a small data size
On the characterization of flowering curves using Gaussian mixture models
In this paper, we develop a statistical methodology applied to the
characterization of flowering curves using Gaussian mixture models. Our study
relies on a set of rosebushes flowering data, and Gaussian mixture models are
mainly used to quantify the reblooming properties of each one. In this regard,
we also suggest our own selection criterion to take into account the lack of
symmetry of most of the flowering curves. Three classes are created on the
basis of a principal component analysis conducted on a set of reblooming
indicators, and a subclassification is made using a longitudinal --means
algorithm which also highlights the role played by the precocity of the
flowering. In this way, we obtain an overview of the correlations between the
features we decided to retain on each curve. In particular, results suggest the
lack of correlation between reblooming and flowering precocity. The pertinent
indicators obtained in this study will be a first step towards the
comprehension of the environmental and genetic control of these biological
processes.Comment: 28 pages, 27 figure
Calla Lily flower inspired morphing of flat films to conical tubes
Recently researchers have developed soft actuators capable of morphing into complex shapes taking inspiration from nature. In this paper, we have developed a splay-nematic liquid crystal polymer network tapered actuator that can morph from a flat film to a cone, mimicking the blooming of single petal Calla Lily flower. We have demonstrated the formation of conical tubes through finite element simulations and experiments. The influence of tapering and alignment orientations with respect to the edge of the film on the cones is analyzed through simulations. The design with tapering and splayed alignments oriented at 45° to the edge is found to be the optimal choice for forming conical tubes
Visualization of Tomato Growth Based on Dry Matter Flow
The visualization of tomato growth can be used in 3D computer games and virtual gardens. Based on the growth theory involving the respiration theory, the photosynthesis, and dry matter partition, a visual system is developed. The tomato growth visual simulation system is light-and-temperature-dependent and shows plausible visual effects in consideration of the continuous growth, texture map, gravity influence, and collision detection. In addition, the virtual tomato plant information, such as the plant height, leaf area index, fruit weight, and dry matter, can be updated and output in real time
Landscape Pattern and Wild Bee Communities in Maine
Commercial production of lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) in Maine relies primarily on managed honeybee hives; however, naturally occurring wild bees are more efficient pollinators of the crop. Wild bees have short foraging distances and must nest near crop fields to provide pollination services. After crop bloom, the surrounding landscape must provide sufficient forage to maintain wild bee populations for the remainder of the growing season. Lowbush blueberries in Maine are produced in a mixed-use landscape with two distinct landscape contexts. Here, we document bee communities and habitat resources (nesting and floral) in power line rights-of-way and eight land cover types including and surrounding lowbush blueberry fields. We assess landscape pattern surrounding crop fields in the two contrasting contexts and determine any effect of arrangement of habitat patches on wild bee abundance or diversity. Additionally, we use our field data to inform and validate predictions of wild bee abundance from a spatial model applied to the lowbush blueberry production landscape and assess any influence of landscape pattern on prediction accuracy. Finally, we describe a collaboration with lowbush blueberry growers to develop an interactive web mapping tool that provides maps of habitat resources and predicted wild bee abundance.
We documented 168 wild bee species across 72 study sites; three bee species had not been previously recorded in Maine. Power line rights-of-way had diverse and abundant bee communities owing to high habitat quality, especially within resource-poor landscapes near lowbush blueberry fields. We observed abundant floral resources in lowbush blueberry fields, forest edges, and small towns and found ample nesting resources in lowbush blueberry fields and shrubby wetlands. Bees were less abundant and diverse in a homogeneous landscape context; however, that homogeneity led to more accurate model predictions of bee abundance in crop fields. We improved prediction accuracy in a mixed-use landscape and produced accurate predictions in non-crop land cover types in a heterogeneous landscape context; however, we found that predictions of wild bee abundance in crop fields are influenced by landscape heterogeneity. The maps we share through the web tool aid growers and other stakeholders in developing pollination management and conservation plans
ハナキカンスウ ノ ガンケンセイ ト バラツキ ヲ ウミダス ハッセイ キバン ノ リロンテキ タンキュウ
本論文第3章の内容はOxford University Press のAnnals of Botany 誌に掲載される予定である( DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcw034
Long-term trends in diatom diversity and palaeoproductivity: a 16 000-year multidecadal record from Lake Baikal, southern Siberia
Biological diversity is inextricably linked to community stability and
ecosystem functioning, but our understanding of these relationships in
freshwater ecosystems is largely based on short-term observational,
experimental, and modelling approaches. Using a multidecadal diatom record
for the past ca. 16 000 years from Lake Baikal, we investigate how diversity
and palaeoproductivity have responded to climate change during periods of
both rapid climate fluctuation and relative climate stability. We show
dynamic changes in diatom communities during the past 16 000 years, with
decadal shifts in species dominance punctuating millennial-scale seasonal
trends. We describe for the first time in Lake Baikal a gradual shift from
spring to autumnal diatom communities that started during the Younger Dryas
and peaked during the Late Holocene, which likely represents orbitally driven
ecosystem responses to long-term changes in seasonality. Using a
multivariate classification tree, we show that trends in planktonic and
tychoplanktonic diatoms broadly reflect both long-term climatic changes
associated with the demise of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and abrupt
climatic changes associated with, for example, the Younger Dryas stadial.
Indeed, diatom communities are most different before and after the boundary
between the Early and Middle Holocene periods of ca. 8.2 cal kyr BP, associated
with the presence and demise of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets respectively.
Diatom richness and diversity, estimated using Hill's species numbers, are
also shown to be very responsive to periods characterized by abrupt climate
change, and using knowledge of diatom autecologies in Lake Baikal, diversity
trends are interpreted in terms of resource availability. Using diatom
biovolume accumulation rates (BVARs; µm3 cm−2 yr−1), we
show that spring diatom crops dominate palaeoproductivity for nearly all of
our record, apart from a short period during the Late Holocene, when
autumnal productivity dominated between 1.8–1.4 cal kyr BP.
Palaeoproductivity was especially unstable during the Younger Dryas,
reaching peak rates of 18.3 × 103 µm3 cm−2 yr−1 at
ca. 12.3 cal kyr BP. Generalized additive models (GAMs), which explore
productivity–diversity relationships (PDRs) during pre-defined climate
periods, reveal complex relationships. The strongest statistical evidence for
GAMs were found during the Younger Dryas, the Early Holocene, and the Late
Holocene, i.e. periods of rapid climate change. We account for these
differences in terms of climate-mediated resource availability, and the
ability of endemic diatom species in Lake Baikal to adapt to extreme forms
of living in this unique ecosystem. Our analyses offer insight into how
productivity–diversity relationships may develop in the future under a
warming climate
A chatbot for a thought: the flower of evil has bloomed (60 Years Later)
This article examines the implications of recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) through the lens of Marshall McLuhan's seminal work Understanding Media. It explores how LLMs outsource language creation, potentially abstracting verbal expression from human cognition, akin to how the phonetic alphabet abstracted thought. Overall, the essay argues McLuhan's foresight into technological extensions provides a framework to navigate the ramifications of LLMs redefining language, communication, and human experience itsel
An Introduction into the Physics of Self-folding Thin Structures
Preprint.
The article was published in: Friedman, Michael/Schäffner, Wolfgang (eds.) (2016): On Folding. Towards a New Field of Interdisciplinary Research. Bielefeld: transcript, pp. 175–210
International Conference on Food Science
UBT Annual International Conference is the 11th international interdisciplinary peer reviewed conference which publishes works of the scientists as well as practitioners in the area where UBT is active in Education, Research and Development. The UBT aims to implement an integrated strategy to establish itself as an internationally competitive, research-intensive university, committed to the transfer of knowledge and the provision of a world-class education to the most talented students from all background. The main perspective of the conference is to connect the scientists and practitioners from different disciplines in the same place and make them be aware of the recent advancements in different research fields, and provide them with a unique forum to share their experiences. It is also the place to support the new academic staff for doing research and publish their work in international standard level.
This conference consists of sub conferences in different fields like:
Art and Digital Media Agriculture, Food Science and Technology Architecture and Spatial Planning Civil Engineering, Infrastructure and Environment Computer Science and Communication Engineering Dental Sciences Education and Development Energy Efficiency Engineering Integrated Design Information Systems and Security Journalism, Media and Communication Law Language and Culture Management, Business and Economics Modern Music, Digital Production and Management Medicine and Nursing Mechatronics, System Engineering and Robotics Pharmaceutical and Natural Sciences Political Science Psychology Sport, Health and Society Security Studies
This conference is the major scientific event of the UBT. It is organizing annually and always in cooperation with the partner universities from the region and Europe. We have to thank all Authors, partners, sponsors and also the conference organizing team making this event a real international scientific event.
Edmond Hajrizi, President of UBT UBT – Higher Education Institutio
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