A free-wake method is used to simulate the wake from retractable, jointed wings. The method serves to complement existing experimental studies that visualise flying animal wakes. Simulated wakes are shown to be numerically convergent for a case study of the Rock Pigeon in minimum power cruising flight. The free-wake model is robust in simulating wakes for a range of wing geometries and dynamics...

This paper presents a novel Kalman filter based approach for approximately enforcing a linear constraint in adaptive control. One application is that this leads to an alternative forms for well known modification terms such as emodification. It is shown that employing this approach does not increase the theoretical guaranteed ultimate bounds for the closed loop error signals of an existing adap...

Triatoma jatai sp. nov. is the first new species of triatomine to be described in the state of Tocantins, in the northern region of Brazil. It was caught on rock outcrops in the wild environment and, more recently, invading homes. While T. jatai sp. nov. is morphologically similar to Triatoma costalimai, it is distinguished by its general colouring, differences in the blotches on the connexivum...

This paper presents a novel Kalman-filter-based approach for approximately enforcing a linear constraint in adaptive control. One application is that this leads to alternative forms for well-known modification terms such as e modification. It is shown that employing this approach does not increase the theoretical guaranteed ultimate bounds for the closed-loop error signals of an existing adapti...

The goal of this investigation is to study the effect of wing sweep angle on the horizontal wing-body- tail configurations in subsonic flow. For this purpose, a series of wind tunnel tests were conducted on a model having a moveable horizontal tail and a wing planform with different sweep angles. Tests were performed at different tail deflection angles. Static surface pressure distribution over...

1. Interspecific competition influences which, how many and where species coexist in biological communities. Interactions between species in different trophic levels can mediate interspecific competition; e.g. predators are known to reduce competition between prey species by suppressing their population sizes. A parallel phenomenon may take place in host-parasite systems, with host defence medi...

Controlled aerial descent has evolved at least 30 times independently in different vertebrate and invertebrate lineages. A whole suite of morphological modifications, such as patagia, lateral skin folds and webbed feet, have been suggested to enhance descending ability. In this study, we compare aerial performance (i.e. vertical and horizontal velocity, horizontal distance covered, duration of ...