We study the mechanical response of elastic rods bent into open knots, focusing on the case of trefoil and cinquefoil topologies. The limit of a weak applied tensile force is studied both analytically and experimentally: the Kirchhoff equations with self-contact are solved by means of matched asymptotic expansions; predictions on both the geometrical and mechanical properties of the elastic equ...

Focusing CCD-based telescopes is one of the drudgeries astronomers constantly face. With the recent advent of relatively low cost, motorized position-feedback focusing hardware, comes an opportunity to fully automate the focusing operation. This paper presents a new method and software for automatically focusing CCD based telescope systems. It is highly suitable for unattended all-night robotic...

~ scinating feature of cell locomotion is that net actin polymerization and depolymerization occur simultaneously at different locations in the cytoplasm, while the total concentration of polymerized actin remains roughly constant. Net polymerization occurs primarily at the cell front and net depolymerization occurs, depending on cell type, throughout or at the rear of the lamella (Wang, 1985; ...

Focusing [1] is a proof-theoretic device to structure proof search in the sequent calculus: it provides a normal form to cut-free proofs in which the application of invertible and non-invertible inference rules is structured in two separate and disjoint phases. It is commonly believed that every “reasonable” sequent calculus has a natural focused version. Although stemming from proof-search con...

Model-based diagnosis is based on first-principles reasoning using the behavioral specifications of the primitive components of a device. Unless the computational architecture of the model-based reasoning engine is carefully designed, combinatorial explosion renders the approach useless for devices consisting of more than a handful of components. This paper analyzes the diverse origins of this ...

The external granular layer (EGL) of the cerebellum thickens, thins and disappears in its developmental process. We examined the thickness of the EGL, both intralobule differences and interlobule differences, in the whole midline sections of mouse cerebella for the entire postnatal period up to disappearance. The thinnest site in each lobule was located at the outer apex throughout the observat...

Nacrtak The authors tested two alternative treatments for small wood extraction in protected conservation areas, respectively based on direct skidding by small crawler tractors and integrated horse bunching and crawler tractor skidding. The integration of horse bunching with tractor skidding proved cheaper than direct tractor skidding, and allowed extending the distance range of horse skidding....