The aerodynamic interaction between the contralateral wings and between the body and wings of a model insect are studied, by using the method of numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations over moving overset grid...The aerodynamic interaction between the contralateral wings and between the body and wings of a model insect are studied, by using the method of numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations over moving overset grids, under typical hovering and forward flight conditions. Both the interaction between the contralateral wings and the interaction between the body and wings are very weak, e.g. at hovering, changes in aerodynamic forces of a wing due to the present of the other wing are less than 3% and changes in aerodynamic forces of the wings due to presence of the body are less than 2%. The reason for this is as following. During each down- or up-stroke, a wing produces a vortex ring, which induces a relatively large jet-like flow inside the ring but very small flow outside the ring. The vortex rings of the left and right wings are on the two sides of the body. Thus one wing is outside vortex ring of the other wing and the body is outside the vortex rings of the left and right wings, resulting in the weak interactions.展开更多
The aerodynamic interactions between the body and the wings of a model insect in forward flight and maneuvers are studied using the method of numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations over moving overset grids. ...The aerodynamic interactions between the body and the wings of a model insect in forward flight and maneuvers are studied using the method of numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations over moving overset grids. Three cases are con- sidered, including a complete insect, wing pair only and body only. By comparing the results of these cases, the interaction effect between the body and the wing pair can be identified. The changes in the force and moment coefficients of the wing pair due to the presence of the body are less than 4.5% of the mean vertical force coefficient of the model insect; the changes in the aero- dynamic force coefficients of the body due to the presence of the wings are less than 5.0% of the mean vertical force coefficient of the model insect. The results of this paper indicate that in studying the aerodynamics and flight dynamics of a flapping insect in forward flight or maneuver, separately computing （or measuring） the aerodynamic forces and moments on the wing paig and on the body could be a good approximation.展开更多
A bioinspired autopilot is presented, in which body saccadic and intersaceadic systems are combined. This autopilot en- ables a simulated hovercraft to travel along corridors comprising L-junctions, U-shaped and S-sha...A bioinspired autopilot is presented, in which body saccadic and intersaceadic systems are combined. This autopilot en- ables a simulated hovercraft to travel along corridors comprising L-junctions, U-shaped and S-shaped turns, relying on mini- realistic motion vision cues alone without measuring its speed or distance from walls, in much the same way as flies and bees manage their flight in similar situations. The saccadic system responsible for avoiding frontal collisions triggers yawing body saccades with appropriately quantified angles based simply on a few local optic flow measurements, giving the angle of inci- dence with respect to a frontal wall. The simulated robot negotiates stiff bends by triggering body saccades to realign its tra- jectory, thus traveling parallel with the wall along a corridor comprising sharp turns. Direct comparison shows that the per- formance of this new body saccade-based autopilot closely resembles the behavior of a fly using similar body saccade strategy when flying along a corridor with an S-shaped turn, despite the huge differences in terms of the inertia.展开更多
The filamentous fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella.Infection with this fungus triggered systemic immune response in G.mellonella;nevertheless,the infection was ...The filamentous fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella.Infection with this fungus triggered systemic immune response in G.mellonella;nevertheless,the infection was lethal if spores entered the insect hemocel.We observed melanin deposition in the insect cuticle and walls of air bags,while the invading fungus interrupted tssue continuity.We have shown colonization of muscles,air bags,and finally colonization and complete destruction of the fat body-the main organ responsible for the synthesis of defense molecules in response to infection.This destruction was probably not caused by simple fungal growth,because the fat body was not destroyed during colonization with a human opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans.This may mean that the infecting fungus is able to destroy actively the insect's fat body as part of its virulence mechanism.Finally,we were unable to reduce the extremely high virulence of B.bassiana against G.mellonella by priming of larvae with thermally inactivated fungal spores.展开更多
Studies of fluid-structure interactions associated with flexible structures such as flapping wings require the capture and quantification of large motions of bodies that may be opaque. As a case study, motion capture ...Studies of fluid-structure interactions associated with flexible structures such as flapping wings require the capture and quantification of large motions of bodies that may be opaque. As a case study, motion capture of a free flying Manduca sexta, also known as hawkmoth, is considered by using three synchronized high-speed cameras. A solid finite element (FE) representation is used as a reference body and successive snapshots in time of the displacement fields are reconstructed via an optimization procedure. One of the original aspects of this work is the formulation of an objective function and the use of shadow matching and strain-energy regularization. With this objective function, the authors penalize the projection differences between silhouettes of the captured images and the FE representation of the deformed body. The process and procedures undertaken to go from high-speed videography to motion estimation are discussed, and snapshots of representative results are presented. Finally, the captured free-flight motion is also characterized and quantified.展开更多
Nutrition utilization and by-product formation in cultured insect cells has been investigated in several insect cells and has been of great interest to cell culturists and physiologists. In this research the biochemic...Nutrition utilization and by-product formation in cultured insect cells has been investigated in several insect cells and has been of great interest to cell culturists and physiologists. In this research the biochemical changes in embryonic and fat body primary cultures of silkworm, Bombyx mori, have been compared. TC-100 medium supplemented with 10% and 20% FBS was used in embryonic and fat body primary cultures, respectively. Medium was renewed every week and the amount of glucose, uric acid, urea, total protein and alkaline phosphatase were measured in the samples from medium of primary cultures using spectrophotometeric methods. All biochemical macromolecules except uric acid showed significant changes. Glucose decreased in embryonic tissues, while in fat body culture its amount increased. Urea accumulation in embryonic culture was higher than in the fat body cultures. Since urea is a by-product, this accumulation could be due to higher utilization of amino acids. Total protein showed considerable changes and was consumed by embryonic culture more than the fat body＇ s. Alkaline phosphatase showed stronger activity in embryonic cells.展开更多
A novel virtual four-ocular stereo measurement system based on single high speed camera is proposed for measuring double beating wings of a high speed flapping insect. The principle of virtual monocular system consist...A novel virtual four-ocular stereo measurement system based on single high speed camera is proposed for measuring double beating wings of a high speed flapping insect. The principle of virtual monocular system consisting of a few planar mirrors and a single high speed camera is introduced. The stereo vision measurement principle based on optic triangulation is explained. The wing kinematics parameters are measured. Results show that this virtual stereo system not only decreases system cost extremely but also is effective to insect motion measurement.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(10732030)the 111 Project (B 07009)
文摘The aerodynamic interaction between the contralateral wings and between the body and wings of a model insect are studied, by using the method of numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations over moving overset grids, under typical hovering and forward flight conditions. Both the interaction between the contralateral wings and the interaction between the body and wings are very weak, e.g. at hovering, changes in aerodynamic forces of a wing due to the present of the other wing are less than 3% and changes in aerodynamic forces of the wings due to presence of the body are less than 2%. The reason for this is as following. During each down- or up-stroke, a wing produces a vortex ring, which induces a relatively large jet-like flow inside the ring but very small flow outside the ring. The vortex rings of the left and right wings are on the two sides of the body. Thus one wing is outside vortex ring of the other wing and the body is outside the vortex rings of the left and right wings, resulting in the weak interactions.
文摘The aerodynamic interactions between the body and the wings of a model insect in forward flight and maneuvers are studied using the method of numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations over moving overset grids. Three cases are con- sidered, including a complete insect, wing pair only and body only. By comparing the results of these cases, the interaction effect between the body and the wing pair can be identified. The changes in the force and moment coefficients of the wing pair due to the presence of the body are less than 4.5% of the mean vertical force coefficient of the model insect; the changes in the aero- dynamic force coefficients of the body due to the presence of the wings are less than 5.0% of the mean vertical force coefficient of the model insect. The results of this paper indicate that in studying the aerodynamics and flight dynamics of a flapping insect in forward flight or maneuver, separately computing （or measuring） the aerodynamic forces and moments on the wing paig and on the body could be a good approximation.
文摘A bioinspired autopilot is presented, in which body saccadic and intersaceadic systems are combined. This autopilot en- ables a simulated hovercraft to travel along corridors comprising L-junctions, U-shaped and S-shaped turns, relying on mini- realistic motion vision cues alone without measuring its speed or distance from walls, in much the same way as flies and bees manage their flight in similar situations. The saccadic system responsible for avoiding frontal collisions triggers yawing body saccades with appropriately quantified angles based simply on a few local optic flow measurements, giving the angle of inci- dence with respect to a frontal wall. The simulated robot negotiates stiff bends by triggering body saccades to realign its tra- jectory, thus traveling parallel with the wall along a corridor comprising sharp turns. Direct comparison shows that the per- formance of this new body saccade-based autopilot closely resembles the behavior of a fly using similar body saccade strategy when flying along a corridor with an S-shaped turn, despite the huge differences in terms of the inertia.
文摘The filamentous fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella.Infection with this fungus triggered systemic immune response in G.mellonella;nevertheless,the infection was lethal if spores entered the insect hemocel.We observed melanin deposition in the insect cuticle and walls of air bags,while the invading fungus interrupted tssue continuity.We have shown colonization of muscles,air bags,and finally colonization and complete destruction of the fat body-the main organ responsible for the synthesis of defense molecules in response to infection.This destruction was probably not caused by simple fungal growth,because the fat body was not destroyed during colonization with a human opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans.This may mean that the infecting fungus is able to destroy actively the insect's fat body as part of its virulence mechanism.Finally,we were unable to reduce the extremely high virulence of B.bassiana against G.mellonella by priming of larvae with thermally inactivated fungal spores.
基金Support received for this project from the US National Science Foundation (Grant CMMI-1250187)the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant FA95501510134) is gratefully acknowledged
文摘Studies of fluid-structure interactions associated with flexible structures such as flapping wings require the capture and quantification of large motions of bodies that may be opaque. As a case study, motion capture of a free flying Manduca sexta, also known as hawkmoth, is considered by using three synchronized high-speed cameras. A solid finite element (FE) representation is used as a reference body and successive snapshots in time of the displacement fields are reconstructed via an optimization procedure. One of the original aspects of this work is the formulation of an objective function and the use of shadow matching and strain-energy regularization. With this objective function, the authors penalize the projection differences between silhouettes of the captured images and the FE representation of the deformed body. The process and procedures undertaken to go from high-speed videography to motion estimation are discussed, and snapshots of representative results are presented. Finally, the captured free-flight motion is also characterized and quantified.
文摘Nutrition utilization and by-product formation in cultured insect cells has been investigated in several insect cells and has been of great interest to cell culturists and physiologists. In this research the biochemical changes in embryonic and fat body primary cultures of silkworm, Bombyx mori, have been compared. TC-100 medium supplemented with 10% and 20% FBS was used in embryonic and fat body primary cultures, respectively. Medium was renewed every week and the amount of glucose, uric acid, urea, total protein and alkaline phosphatase were measured in the samples from medium of primary cultures using spectrophotometeric methods. All biochemical macromolecules except uric acid showed significant changes. Glucose decreased in embryonic tissues, while in fat body culture its amount increased. Urea accumulation in embryonic culture was higher than in the fat body cultures. Since urea is a by-product, this accumulation could be due to higher utilization of amino acids. Total protein showed considerable changes and was consumed by embryonic culture more than the fat body＇ s. Alkaline phosphatase showed stronger activity in embryonic cells.
基金The work was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China under Grant No. 50125518.
文摘A novel virtual four-ocular stereo measurement system based on single high speed camera is proposed for measuring double beating wings of a high speed flapping insect. The principle of virtual monocular system consisting of a few planar mirrors and a single high speed camera is introduced. The stereo vision measurement principle based on optic triangulation is explained. The wing kinematics parameters are measured. Results show that this virtual stereo system not only decreases system cost extremely but also is effective to insect motion measurement.
