The Ecology of Dynamic Body Color in the Green Anole, \u3cem\u3eAnolis carolinensis\u3c/em\u3e

Organisms capable of physiological body color change can respond rapidly to changes in their social or external environment. Given that color change is often context-dependent, studying the role of color change can provide insights into how different organisms respond to and interact with their immediate environment. Currently there are three main hypotheses which explain the adaptive significance of rapid color change, including camouflage, social signaling, and thermoregulation. Green anoles, Anolis carolinensis, are one such species that use physiological color change to rapidly shift their dorsal body color from bright green to dark brown within seconds. Thus, they may use darkening and lightening of body color to either regulate their body temperature throughout the day, or as a visual signal during intraspecific communication. Previous studies have determined the physiological mechanisms by which color change occurs in green anoles, but few naturalistic studies have determined the ecological role of dynamic color change in anoles, and fewer still have examined how males and female green anoles may differentially use color change. In this thesis, I performed two studies testing two major hypotheses for the evolution of physiological color change. In my first study I examined the relationship between body color and body temperature of green anoles, and whether this varies between the sexes, or among different substrate types. My data showed that while males choose marginally warmer substrates and more exposed perch sites than females, there was no association between body color and body temperature in either sex. In the second study I tested whether body color is used in conjunction with behavioral displays of green anoles, and if this differs between the sexes. My results showed that overall, males are far more likely to be green than females. Further, males and females differ in how they use body color during social displays. In sum, my studies found that body color change is predominantly used in behavioral displays of green anoles, and males and females differ in how they use color during social signaling. My findings also indicate that thermoregulation is likely not a primary reason for body color change in either sex, and color likely plays less of a role in thermoregulation in anoles than previously believed

Advanced Dynamic & Crash Simulation of Lightweight Profiles for Design of Roadside Infrastructure

AbstractMany research works recently have attempted to use different computational and numerical simulation techniques to model the material thermal large deformation processes for the design of high performance profiles in new roadside infrastructure designs. The material processes for the lightweight crash-capable parts are among the most delicate processes for the material scientist and designing engineers. The forming and extrusion of lightweight alloys involves thermal effects, large deformation, complex geometries and free surface boundaries. The conventional approach towards the simulation of extrusion process using Finite Element (FE) or Finite Volume (FV) has serious short comes even when updated Lagrangian, Eulerian or ALE techniques are employed. During past decades, there has been considerable effort to simulate the whole extrusion process by splitting it into steady state (using Eulerian technique) and transient (using Updated Lagrangian technique) processes.The damage initiation, progression and also failure of lightweight hollow profiles during crash are a result of accumulated damage under plastic deformation. Based on the damage theories, as the loading condition is changing for the material, a plastic deformation may take place which would progressively increase the damage in the component. The accumulated damage would ultimately result in the failure of the cross-section. There are different numerical models to calculate the damage evolution, fracture initiation and also its propagation using continuum and/or discrete damage techniques. In the present study, following an in-depth study of material processing and its absorption capacities, folding modes and geometric/production constrains; a frame work has been setup to develop and test an optimised aluminium extruded profiles for best dynamic and crash performance characteristics. The numerical dynamic simulations (including fatigue, vehicle buffeting …) and virtual crash performance of lightweight hollow profiles have been considered for the design of new generation of roadside signals, lighting posts… for future.The complicated mathematical basis of large deformations, plasticity, contact and folding have been developed and special attention has been devoted to the plastic deformation, rate dependency and tailored yield locus. To assess the dynamic performance and energy absorption of these profiles, a full transient dynamic analysis can be performed using a time history dynamic loading. The new absorbing component design has been checked and verified using a result of carefully-setup experiments work and also advanced explicit simulation runs. One of the main contributions of this paper is to show the applicability and reliability of the numerical simulation approach for the crash performance of new lightweight roadside entities

Coupling FEM and CFD solvers for continuous casting process simulation using precice

The numerical investigation of continuous casting requires more than just one simulation technique. In continuous casting, liquid metal is continuously poured into a mould while the starting head is slowly moved downwards, which results in a growing metal ingot. Though, the ingot’s outer surface is solidified after the mould, its inside core is still a mixture of liquid and mushy phases. This mixture of physical states requires different numerical schemes to describe the constitutive behaviour and relation. While the liquid region is described in the Eulerian approach, the solid is well described in the Lagrangian approach. Commonly the finite volume method is chosen for the Eulerian and the finite element method for the Lagrangian perspective. Consequently, it is logical to combine a CFD solver with a FEM solver for an ideal numerical representation of the continuous casting process. The coupling of two different solvers communicating in two different programming languages - in the present work OpenFOAM and LS-DYNA - is not an easy task. However, preCICE enables the coupling of the different solvers with a minimum of intrusive functions. The present work deals with the first step towards the coupled simulation routine for the continuous casting process. A first basic simulation of a simple plate was setup consisting of OpenFOAM for the Eulerian approach and LS-DYNA for the Lagrangian approach. OpenFOAM calculates the temperature field due to time-dependent boundary conditions, while the mechanical LS-DYNA solver calculates resulting strains and stresses considering thermal strain. The aim of this simulation was to develop and test the preCICE adapter for LS-DYNA, as the adapter for OpenFOAM is already available and ready to use. The mapping techniques of preCICE did manage to achieve good energy conservation results. The first results showed a good correlation especially in the middle of the domain. The difference at the plates’ ends between the two different methods defined the next steps for the coupling

Assessing the Water Energy Nexus and Sustainability Benefits of a Closed Loop Water Treatment System in Qatar

Qatar has very limited freshwater resources. This paper assesses the sustainability implications of using bore water and treated sewage effluent (TSE) for residential water supply (for non-drinking purposes) in a residential compound in Doha, Qatar. The treated bore water was considered for non-drinking domestic applications in kitchens and bathrooms, while the TSE was considered for use in air conditioning cooling systems. Excess TSE was also considered for irrigation use. Water quality from the aquifer in the Al Waab area of Doha was used to design a pre-treatment and desalination process to produce potable water for a local residential compound consisting of 113 villas. The wastewater from these villas consisted of both grey and black water and was proposed to be treated in a sewage treatment plant to produce TSE to operate the cooling systems in the compound. The reject brine from the desalination process was designed to be discharged to sea through the storm water network and the blowdown water from the cooling systems was considered for use in irrigation in surrounding areas. A lifecycle assessment of this closed loop water recycling system was conducted to assess the potential sustainability benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, embodied energy consumption, and water consumption, together with cost savings and employment generation from these water recycling options

Proposta de controle de material de consumo

The authors propose a method for the control of the consumption material supplied by the stock room in and attempt to rationalize the work, reduce costs and control problems of damage and disappearance, as well as the quality of the material. They also suggest that distribution and control should be carried out by administrative personnel, trained for such purpose standardization of the material, setting of an average level of consumption according to the material type, and the study and analysis of those activities associated with the distribution and control of above mentioned material.As autoras propõem um método de controle de material de consumo proveniente do almoxarifado, visando a racionalização do trabalho, a redução dos custos, dos extravios e/ou dos danos, bem como o controle de qualidade do material. Propõem, também que a distribuição e o controle sejam feitos por pessoal administrativo, previamente treinado para esta finalidade. Como fase preparatória à implantação, as autoras sugerem a padronização do material, a determinação do consumo médio por tipo de material e o estudo e análise das atividades relacionadas com a distribuição e controle de referido material

Base de dados georeferenciados do CAPTA-Frutas, Jundiaí.

Para o planejamento e gestão de um campo experimental ou propriedade rural é importante a elaboração de um inventário ambiental com informações sobre pedologia, relevo, uso da terra, topografia e outras, que devem estar mapeados e integrados em um Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG). A grande importância desses dados básicos, reside no fato de facilitar a delimitação de parcelas agrícolas uniformes, aumentando a eficiência do planejamento agrícola e promovendo ganhos de produtividade. O presente trabalho objetivou apresentar um inventário ambiental de uma propriedade rural com mapas em escalas detalhadas e imagem de satélite de alta resolução espacial, integrando em um SIG todos os dados. A metodologia apresentada mostrou-se eficiente e pode ser utilizada no planejamento e gestão de propriedades rurais.bitstream/item/117853/1/CT12.pd

Temporal rate is not a distinct perceptual metric.

yesSensory adaptation experiments have revealed the existence of ‘rate after-effects’ - adapting to a relatively fast rate makes an intermediate test rate feel slow, and adapting to a slow rate makes the same moderate test rate feel fast. The present work aims to deconstruct the concept of rate and clarify how exactly the brain processes a regular sequence of sensory signals. We ask whether rate forms a distinct perceptual metric, or whether it is simply the perceptual aggregate of the intervals between its component signals. Subjects were exposed to auditory or visual temporal rates (a ‘slow’ rate of 1.5 Hz and a ‘fast’ rate of 6 Hz), before being tested with single unfilled intervals of varying durations. Results show adapting to a given rate strongly influences the perceived duration of a single empty interval. This effect is robust across both interval reproduction and duration discrimination judgments. These findings challenge our understanding of rate perception. Specifically, they suggest that contrary to some previous assertions, the perception of sequence rate is strongly influenced by the perception of the sequence’s component duration intervals.This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust [WT097387] grant to NW