The harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, is characterized by high levels of intracolonial genetic diversity resulting from multiple mating by the queen. Within reproductively mature colonies, the relative frequency of different male genotypes (patrilines) is not stable. The difference between samples increases with time, nearing an asymptote after a year. Patriline distributions in gynes a...

The process of reproductive caste determination in eusocial insect colonies is generally understood to be mediated by environmental, rather than genetic factors. We present data demonstrating unexpected genetic differences between reproductive castes in a variant of the rough harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex rugosus var. fuscatus. Across multiple loci, queens were consistently more homozygous than e...

This paper utilizes recent optimization algorithm called Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO) for optimal design of skeletal structures. The ALO is based on the hunting mechanism of Antlions in nature. The random walk of ants, building traps, entrapment of ants in traps, catching preys, and re-building traps are main steps for this algorithm. The new algorithm is examined by designing three truss and frame...

A control law for an electromagnetic vibration energy harvester is derived using the maximum power transfer theorem. Using regenerative electronics, the controller cancels the reactive portion of the harvester’s impedance by eliminating the effect of mechanical inertia and stiffness elements, and the coil’s electrical inductive element. The result is an energy harvester approach that captures m...

This paper compares performance of a piezoelectric vibration energy harvester, in terms of output power, under different types of vibration. The most common method used to characterize a vibration energy harvester is to excite the energy harvester under a sinusoidal vibration of its resonant frequency and measure the voltage across certain electrical loads. However, in practical applications, t...

In this paper a rotational, radial-flux energy harvester incorporating a three-phase generation principle is presented for converting energy from water flow in domestic water pipelines. The energy harvester together with a power management circuit and energy storage is used to power a smart metering system installed underground making it independent from external power supplies or depleting bat...