Butterfly Model Research Articles

A rapid assessment methodology for quantifying and visualizing functional landscape connectivity.

The number of publications that evaluate or use landscape connectivity has grown dramatically in recent years. But the biological realism of common connectivity assessments remains limited. To address this shortcoming, I introduce a flexible methodology for evaluating functional landscape connectivity that can be quick to implement, biologically nuanced, and straightforward to interpret. I combined a US Fish and Wildlife Service land cover map with information from existing empirical studies to develop a movement simulator for the Fender's blue butterfly, an endangered species in Oregon, USA. I use the resulting butterfly model to explore the concepts and mechanics behind my novel connectivity assessment methodology. My methods are able to identify clusters of connected resource patches, quantify and visualize movement rates between patches, and identify opportunities for enhancing connectivity through restoration and mitigation. My results include an emergent dispersal kernel that captures the influence of movement behavior on connectivity. The methods I introduce are capable of generating detailed yet practical connectivity analyses that can incorporate considerable biological and behavioral realism. My approach is simple to implement, and the requisite data can be modest. The toolkit I developed has the potential to standardize connectivity assessments that use either real or simulated movement data.

Bottom-up butterfly model with thorax-pitch control and wing-pitch flexibility

The diversity in butterfly morphology has attracted many people around the world since ancient times. Despite morphological diversity, the wing and body kinematics of butterflies have several common features. In the present study, we constructed a bottom-up butterfly model, whose morphology and kinematics are simplified while preserving the important features of butterflies. The present bottom-up butterfly model is composed of two trapezoidal wings and a rod-shaped body with a thorax and abdomen. Its wings are flapped downward in the downstroke and backward in the upstroke by changing the geometric angle of attack (AOA). The geometric AOA is determined by the thorax-pitch and wing-pitch angles. The thorax-pitch angle is actively controlled by abdominal undulation, and the wing-pitch angle is passively determined because of a rotary spring representing the basalar and subalar muscles connecting the wings and thorax. We investigated the effectiveness of abdominal undulation for thorax-pitch control and how wing-pitch flexibility affects aerodynamic-force generation and thorax-pitch control, through numerical simulations using the immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method. As a result, the thorax-pitch angle perfectly follows the desired angle through abdominal undulation. In addition, there is an optimal wing-pitch flexibility that maximizes the flying speed in both the forward and upward directions, but the effect of wing-pitch flexibility on thorax-pitch control is not significant. Finally, we compared the flight behavior of the present bottom-up butterfly model with that of an actual butterfly. It was found that the present model does not reproduce reasonable body kinematics but can provide reasonable aerodynamics in butterfly flights.

TOD typologies for metro stations based on the butterfly model

As a promising planning strategy for urban sustainability, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely encouraged and adopted to integrate land use and transport systems. Because of the different applications in form, function and impact, it is necessary to explore context-based TOD typologies to better map the TOD specificities and focus on strategic planning. As the best-known method, the node-place model provides a useful analytical framework to evaluate TOD typologies. However, by using two indexes to aggregate the node and place value, details of some important TOD characteristics are disregarded in this model. Proposing a multi-axial indexes system, the butterfly model can perform a more detailed evaluation of node and place. In this research, we have revised and optimized the butterfly model and taken Tianjin Metro Line 1 as a case study. We find that all stations can be divided into five TOD types with significant spatial variations. TOD principles have already been implemented in Tianjin with good integration between metro system and land use. The method demonstrated in this paper equips urban planners with a useful tool for evaluating TOD performance and adopting more targeted strategies.

Utilization of polysaccharide-based high internal phase emulsion for nutraceutical encapsulation and 3D printing: Reinforcement of curcumin stability and bioaccessibility

To integrate the delivery performance of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) for hydrophobic functional ingredients and the personalization and customization benefits of 3D printing, this study introduced curcumin (CUR) into polysaccharide-based HIPEs for 3D printing and characterized their structures and properties. The results suggested that the microstructure, rheological properties, and centrifugal and thermal stability of the β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-stabilized HIPEs loaded with CUR could be tailored by changing the pH and introducing chitosan (CS). This might be because the modification of β-CD by CS via physical interactions reinforced the capability of β-CD to stabilize CUR droplets. Meanwhile, the introduction of CS enhanced the viscosity of the HIPEs. Subsequently, CUR encapsulation and 3D printing of polysaccharide-based HIPEs were explored simultaneously for the first time. β-CD/CS-stabilized HIPEs showed better storage stability (25 °C for 20 days) and delivery performance for CUR than β-CD-based HIPEs. Finally, selected HIPEs prepared with β-CD/CS at pH 5 exhibited satisfactory 3D printability and color change effects while possessing outstanding CUR stability and bioaccessibility. The printed butterfly model presented a clear texture and regular shape, and the color change effect triggered by subsequent heating was obvious and interesting. These findings contribute to the synergistic development of HIPEs and 3D printing.

Flight dynamics in forward flights of cabbage white butterfly

We conducted measurements of a butterfly’s motion in forward flight and numerical simulations using a computational model reflecting its motion. We measured the motion of a cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae), and then we constructed a computational model composed of a thorax, an abdomen, and four wings (i.e., left and right wings with fore and hind parts). Furthermore, we calculated the flow field and aerodynamic force and torque generated by the butterfly model using the immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method. In this simulation, we considered two types of periodic motions corresponding to slightly-descending and ascending forward flights. As a result, we found that the wing-tip and leading-edge vortices are formed on the wings and then released backward and downward in both flights. The major difference between the two flights is the flapping amplitude, indicating that the butterfly changes the flapping amplitude for each period and increases it to ascend. In addition, we considered a chimera model whose motion is based on the slightly-descending flight but partly given by the ascending flight. As a result, we found that the pitching angle and the angle of attack determine the traveling direction, but simply changing these angles does not achieve the ascending flight due to insufficient lift force. Thus, the butterfly should adjust the flapping and lead–lag angles in response to the pitching angle and the angle of attack to change the flight mode.

Revisiting the flight dynamics of take-off of a butterfly: experiments and CFD simulations for a cabbage white butterfly.

ABSTRACTWe conducted measurements of the taking-off motion of a butterfly (Pieris rapae) and numerical simulations using a computational model reflecting its motion. The computational butterfly model is composed of a thorax, an abdomen, and four wings (left and right wings with fore and hind parts), i.e. a six-link, rigid-body system. The present model is more sophisticated than any models that have ever been constructed in existing studies. In the butterfly model, the body trajectory and thoracic pitching angle can be calculated from the equations of motion, whereas the abdominal angle and wings’ joint angles are prescribed by the measured data. We calculated the flow field, aerodynamic force and torque generated by the butterfly model using the immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method. As a result, the butterfly generates the horizontal vortex ring and aerodynamic lift force during the downstroke, while it generates the vertical vortex ring and aerodynamic thrust force during the upstroke. The leg impulsion is essential in the upward motion of the taking-off butterfly rather than the aerodynamic lift force by the flapping wings. The inertial forces of the abdomen and wings are comparable in magnitude with the aerodynamic forces, but the net influence of the inertial forces on the position of the butterfly is not significant due to the offsetting of the body and wing inertia. The net aerodynamic and gravitational torques raise the thorax of the butterfly, and the net inertial torques suppress the rise of the thorax.

Kinematic and Aerodynamic Investigation of the Butterfly in Forward Free Flight for the Butterfly-Inspired Flapping Wing Air Vehicle

To ensure the stability of flight, the butterfly needs to flap its wings and simultaneously move its main body to achieve all kinds of flying motion, such as taking off, hovering, or reverse flight. The high-speed camera is used to record the swing of the abdomen, the movement of the wings, and the pitch angle of the body for butterflies during their free flight; the comprehensive biokinetic observations show that the butterfly’s wings and body are coupled in various flight states. The swing of the abdomen and the flap of the fore wing affect the pitch motion significantly. For theoretical analysis of the butterfly flight, a three-dimensional multi-rigid butterfly model based on real butterfly dimension is established, and the aerodynamic of the butterfly flight is simulated and analyzed via computational fluid dynamics methods to obtain an optimal kinematic model of butterfly forward flight. Moreover, the formation and development of three-dimensional vortex structures in the forward flight are also presented. The detailed structures of vortices and their dynamic behavior show that the wing’s flap and the abdominal swing play a key role in reorienting and correcting the “clap and peel” mechanism, and the force generation mechanisms are evaluated. The research indicates that longitudinal flight performance is mainly related to the kinematic parameters of the wing and body, and it can lead to the development of butterfly-inspired flapping wing air vehicles.

Ethical Decision-Making in Marriage and Family Therapy: An Introduction of a New Model

Ethical decision-making within marriage and family therapy is complex and often convoluted due to the relational-systemic nature of the clinical services provided. The aim of this article is to provide an overview for a new model for ethical decision-making in marriage and family therapy. This new model, entitled the Butterfly Model, will then be applied to a case vignette for illustration. It is hoped that the Butterfly Model can provide marriage and family therapists with a guide for ethical decision-making that is tailored more for the relational-systemic work they engage in.

ANALYZING THE HUMAN SPHERE WITH THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY MODEL IN POST-EARTHQUAKE CONSTRUCTION: MECHE’S HOUSE

Meche’s House is a post-earthquake house construction in Pedro Carbo, Ecuador. This article is based on the analysis of this construction under a specific model called Circular Economy (CE). The CE analyzes the flows of matter and energy, ensuring that everything recirculates in the system, causing the so-called waste to become a nutrient for new processes. This article explains the traditional concept of CE, based on the butterfly model by Ellen MacArthur Foundation which inserts flows of matter and energy in two spheres: biosphere and technosphere. However, this article inserts and analyzes a new one: the human sphere. The system for the construction of Meche’s House is analyzed especially under the latter sphere, to understand the local people as a resource within the system flows, emphasizing the post-earthquake context.

The Influence of the eyespots of peacock butterfly (Aglais io) and caterpillar on predator recognition

The main purpose of this study is to verify or refute the famous existing theory that the eyespots found on the wings of various insects are a kind of imitation which triggers birds, the predator of insects, to have a sense of avoidance by making them recognize the insects as their predator. The first experiment was conducted on the peacock butterfly using models with eyespots and those without eyespots. A single butterfly model without eyespots was used as the control group, and a pair of a butterfly models with eyespots and another without eyespots was used as the treated group. The butterfly models were attached to trees and the survival rate of the models without eyespots was checked every hour. According to the results of the experiment, it is difficult to conclude that the eyespots of peacock butterfly trigger a sense of avoidance for birds as there was no significant difference in the numbers of the attacked peacock butterfly models without eyespots between the control group and the treated group. The second experiment was conducted using caterpillar models with eyespots and those without eyespots arranged in the same way as the first experiment. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the numbers of attacked caterpillar models between the control group of a caterpillar model without eyespots only and the treated group composed of a pair of caterpillar models without eyespots and the one with eyespots. Thus, the second experiment shows that the caterpillar with eyespots does not imitate the eyes of the predator and it indirectly supports the findings of the first experiment. Through the results of the two experiments, it is possible to refute the existing theory that the eyespots actually imitate the eyes of the natural enemy of the predator.

A Practical Case Report on the Node Point of a Butterfly Model Circular Economy: Synthesis of a New Hybrid Mineral–Hydrothermal Fertilizer for Rice Cropping

With the increased importance of a circular economy in the world, in this paper we present a practical “butterfly model” (proposed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation) case report: to gain extra benefits in rice cropping through hybridizing green products of mineral waste and agricultural waste recycling. Hydrothermal biorefinery was used to turn spent agricultural biomass into a value-added biomass nutrient solution (BNS). BNS and sericite mineral waste were mixed and used as a new hybrid mineral–hydrothermal fertilizer for rice cropping. The most important extra benefit of this new hybrid mineral–hydrothermal fertilizer was that the empty grains could be reduced to 1–4 grains/spike (normally, it is 12–18 grains/spike), without significantly decreasing the panicle weight or spike saturation. This case report provides a new logic for circular design at the “node” point of a butterfly diagram.

Wnt Gene Expression During Early Embryogenesis in the Nymphalid Butterfly Bicyclus anynana

The Wnt signalling pathway is an important developmental pathway involved in many cellular processes such cell cycle, proliferation and differentiation. Wnt ligands are released by source cells and signal to target cells by binding to the Frizzled receptor family and triggering changes in downstream target gene expression. Wnt signalling evolved early in animal evolution and an early expansion in the repertoire of Wnt ligands, which is thought to achieve specificity and robustness is present. There are 13 known Wnt ligand families in metazoans but little is known about these ligands in many animal lineages. Understanding the roles of these important signalling molecules in a wider range of animals is crucial to understand the regulation and evolution of cell fate during development and how this can lead to diversification. Here, we analysed the Wnt repertoire among lepidopterans, where these ligands are understudied compared to other insect orders. To be able to explore Wnt gene roles during butterfly embryogenesis we established a staging system for the well-established butterfly model, Bicyclus anynana, and assayed the expression pattern of all eight lepidopteran Wnt genes during early butterfly development, compared to their homologues in Drosophila melanogaster and Tribolium castaneum. We detected expression of Wnt1, Wnt10 and WntA in segmental stripes as well as expression of Wnt7 in the nervous system. Overall, our study provides much needed new insights into butterfly embryogenesis and potential roles of Wnt genes in specifying cell fate in these animals as well as how this compares to other animals.

Effect of chordwise wing flexibility on flapping flight of a butterfly model using immersed-boundary lattice Boltzmann simulations.

Wing flexibility is one of the important factors not only for lift and thrust generation and enhancement in flapping flight but also for development of micro-air vehicles with flapping wings. In this study, we construct a flexible wing with chordwise flexibility by connecting two rigid plates with a torsion spring, and investigate the effect of chordwise wing flexibility on the flapping flight of a simple butterfly model by using an immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method. First, we investigate the effects of the spring stiffness on the aerodynamic performance when the body of the model is fixed. We find that the time-averaged lift and thrust forces and the required power increase with the spring stiffness. In addition, we find an appropriate range of the spring stiffness where the time-averaged lift and thrust forces are larger than those of the rigid wings. The mechanism of the lift and thrust enhancements is as follows: in the downstroke the flexible wings can generate not only the lift force but also the thrust force due to the deformation of wings; in the upstroke the flexible wings can generate not only the thrust force but also the lift force due to the deformation of wings. Second, we simulate free flights when the body of the model can only move translationally. We find that the model with the flexible wings at an appropriate value of the spring stiffness can fly more effectively than the model with the rigid wings, which is consistent with the results when the body of the model is fixed. Finally, we simulate free flights with pitching rotation. We find that the model gets off balance for any value of the spring stiffness. Therefore, the passive control of the pitching motion by the chordwise wing flexibility cannot be expected for the present butterfly model.

A trapezoidal wing equivalent to a Janatella leucodesma’s wing in terms of aerodynamic performance in the flapping flight of a butterfly model

Wing planform is one of the most important factors for lift and thrust generation and enhancement in flapping flight. In a previous study based on a simple numerical model of a butterfly, we found that the wing planform of an actual butterfly (Janatella leucodesma) is more efficient than any rectangular or trapezoidal wing planform. In the present study, we make a hypothesis that the efficient aerodynamic performance of a butterfly’s wings can be reproduced by the following four geometrical parameters of wing planform: aspect ratio, taper ratio, position of the rotational axis for the geometric angle of attack, and sweepback angle. In order to test this hypothesis, we explore a trapezoidal wing planform equivalent to an actual butterfly’s wing planform in terms of aerodynamic performance in a parameter space consisting of these four parameters. We use a simple butterfly model composed of two rigid thin wings and a rod-shaped body and calculate the aerodynamic performance of the model by an immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method to find such a trapezoidal wing planform. As a result, we find a trapezoidal wing planform which gives almost the same lift, thrust, pitching moment, power, and power-loading coefficients as an actual butterfly’s wing planform. Furthermore, in the free flight of the butterfly model with pitching motion control, the flight behavior of the model with the resulting trapezoidal wing planform is almost the same as that with an actual butterfly’s wing planform.

MAV-clic: management, analysis, and visualization of clinical data.

ObjectivesDevelop a multifunctional analytics platform for efficient management and analysis of healthcare data.Materials and MethodsManagement, Analysis, and Visualization of Clinical Data (MAV-clic) is a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)-compliant framework based on the Butterfly Model. MAV-clic extracts, cleanses, and encrypts data then restructures and aggregates data in a deidentified format. A graphical user interface allows query, analysis, and visualization of clinical data.ResultsMAV-clic manages healthcare data for over 800 000 subjects at UConn Health. Three analytic capabilities of MAV-clic include: creating cohorts based on specific criteria; performing measurement analysis of subjects with a specific diagnosis and medication; and calculating measure outcomes of subjects over time.DiscussionMAV-clic supports clinicians and healthcare analysts by efficiently stratifying subjects to understand specific scenarios and optimize decision making.ConclusionMAV-clic is founded on the scientific premise that to improve the quality and transition of healthcare, integrative platforms are necessary to analyze heterogeneous clinical, epidemiological, metabolomics, proteomics, and genomics data for precision medicine.

The regenerative supply chain: a framework for developing circular economy indicators

There are widely differing experiences and practices in the development of indicators to monitor, report and communicate progress towards the implementation of the circular economy (CE). We present a framework for developing CE indicators which link to the core goals, principles and building blocks of a CE. To do this we utilise the Ellen MacArthur Foundation butterfly model as a coherent systems overview of key material stocks and flows, and representation of relationships between inputs, outputs, recovery processes, emissions, energy and value loops in physical and financial measures which constitute the CE supply chain. Based on nine multinational organisations and four cases of leading companies engaged with CE activity, we address the types of indicators being used and make recommendations for indicators to reflect key goals and principles of CE. Our research on the development and expansion of circular practices leads to the question of what new opportunities and challenges CE raises for such companies in terms of competitive business advantage and resultant requirements for supply chain redesign and indicator development, over and above pre-existing closed-loop production.

Control of Pitch Attitude by Abdomen During Forward Flight of Two-Dimensional Butterfly

The objective of this paper is to understand roles of abdominal motion in the pitch stability of flapping flights of butterflies numerically, and a two-dimensional butterfly model has thoracic pitch instability in the periodically flapping flight. Because the obtained uncontrolled flight is unstable, the hierarchical sliding-mode control is used to design the control input for thorax–abdomen joint torque. It is found in the controlled flight that the abdominal motion is sufficient to counteract the thoracic pitch instability and can maintain flapping flights with short recovery time to artificial thoracic torque perturbations. On the other hand, it is also found that the long-term pitch stabilization is not possible only by the abdominal control for all flapping trajectories. However, with the introduction of a wing lead–lag control, the long-term pitch stabilization is obtained. Hence, these observations indicate that the abdomen is used for a short-term control and the wing for a long-term control in stabilizing the pitch of the butterfly’s flight.

Exploring the coastal urban resilience and transformation of coupled human-environment systems

Resilience thinking explores the sustainability discourse and transformation of urban complex systems. From the perspective of urban and human environment, this research simulated the resilience transformation of human-environment systems according to the modified catastrophe theory. The adaptive cycle model was performed an approach to interpret resilience transformations in the interactive human-environment systems. In this study, we quantified the resilience of human and environment sub-systems through four models of catastrophe theory (Fold, Cusp, Swallowtail and Butterfly model). The resilience transformation was addressed through the mechanism of adaptive cycle that contained four phases within four different time periods (exploitation-r: 2000–2002; release phase-Ω: 2002–2003; conservation-K: 2004–2008 and exploitation-r: 2008–2010). Ultimately, we explored the key drivers of the transformation in complex human-environmental systems, which included production, energy and pollution. Moreover, understanding the transformations in terms of the human and environmental components were indispensable in urban resilience management.

Parallel String Matching with Linear Array, Butterfly and Divide and Conquer Models

String Matching is a technique of searching a pattern in a text. It is the basic concept to extract the fruitful information from large volume of text, which is used in different applications like text processing, information retrieval, text mining, pattern recognition, DNA sequencing and data cleaning etc., . Though it is stated some of the simple mechanisms perform very well in practice, plenty of research has been published on the subject and research is still active in this area and there are ample opportunities to develop new techniques. For this purpose, this paper has proposed linear array based string matching, string matching with butterfly model and string matching with divide and conquer models for sequential and parallel environments. To assess the efficiency of the proposed models, the genome sequences of different sizes (10–100 Mb) are taken as input data set. The experimental results have shown that the proposed string matching algorithms performs very well compared to those of Brute force, KMP and Boyer moore string matching algorithms.

The Iron Butterfly and the Political Warrior: mobilising models of femininity in the Australian Liberal Party

ABSTRACTAustralian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's Chief of Staff Peta Credlin have experienced very different political fortunes. Once the two most powerful women in the Australian Liberal Party, Credlin's political demise was mired in controversy, while Bishop continues to enjoy the support of her Party and the public. While there are many reasons for this, the article focuses on the gendered politics surrounding their experiences. Based on analysis of the media representations of Bishop and Credlin between 2011 and 2015, we argue that Bishop successfully negotiates gender politics by deploying the Iron Butterfly model of conservative femininity, while Credlin's fierce Political Warrior persona saw her pilloried.