Since the advent of fault tolerance in the 1960s, numerous techniques have been developed to increase the reliability of safety critical and space borne missions. In the last decade novel approaches to this field have sought inspiration from nature in the form of evolutionary and developmental forms of fault tolerance. In nature an additional inspiration axis exists in the form of learning. The...

The effect of the inspiratory flow rate during deep inspiration on the regulation of bronchomotor tone was studied in nine normal and 22 asthmatic subjects. Changes in bronchial tone were assessed by respiratory resistance measured by an oscillation method. In normal subjects with bronchoconstriction induced by methacholine a rapid deep inspiration reduced respiratory resistance more than a slo...

In our everyday life, we deal with many optimisation problems, some of which trivial and some more complex. These problems have been frequently addressed using multiagent, population-based approaches. One of the main sources of inspiration for techniques applicable to complex search space and optimisation problems is nature. This paper proposes a new metaheuristic – Penguin Huddling Optimisatio...

There are two considerations for optical biomimetics: the diversity of submicrometre architectures found in the natural world, and the industrial manufacture of these. A review exists on the latter subject, where current engineering methods are considered along with those of the natural cells. Here, on the other hand, I will provide a modern review of the different categories of reflectors and ...

This volume is a celebration for John Bennett’s 80th birthday. It was written with respect and affection from just a few of the many he has inspired over his long professional career. It also commemorates indirectly, 40 years of the Basser Department of Computer Science at the University of Sydney, of which he was the first Professor and Head.

For as long as there has been science, inspiration has been drawn from natural phenomena and structures. However, as branches of science mature, they develop an increasingly rich store of ideas, techniques and technology, and the tendency to search the realm of nature for inspiration diminishes. Optics is certainly one of the oldest branches of science, and many of its practitioners perhaps ima...

Biological systems that have been subjected to vast time periods of evolution, have provided numerous times inspiration for problem solving techniques. These systems have evolved to survive in harsh environments, thus they provide more efficient solutions than the conventional methods. The inspiration of this study was based on the computing abilities that Physarum Polycephalum performs on grap...

Impaired airway clearance leads to recurrent chest infections and respiratory deterioration in neuromuscular weakness. It is frequently the cause of death. Cough is the major mechanism of airway clearance. Cough has several components, and assessment tools are available to measure the different components of cough. These include measuring peak cough flow, respiratory muscle strength, and inspir...

Religion has been proposed as a means of enhancing patient and community acceptance of diabetes and cultural specific motivational strategies to improve diabetes care. Sikhism is a young and vibrant religion, spread across the world and the Holy Scripture Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) is regarded as the living Guru by all Sikhs. The three key pillars of Sikhism are Kirat Karni (honest living), V...

The exquisite structures produced by biological systems provide inspiration for the fabrication of nanomaterials. We sometimes forget, however, that Nature can provide muscle while serving as a Muse--a wide array of nanosystems are produced biologically that can be used for the design of functional materials. At the 2007 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston, Symposium MM (Biomolecu...