Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PAPSO: A Power-Aware VM Placement Technique Based on Particle Swarm Optimization

With the widespread usage of cloud computing to benefit from its services, cloud service providers have invested in constructing large scale data centers. Consequently, a tremendous increase in energy consumption has arisen in conjunction with its results, including a remarkable rise in costs of operating and cooling servers. Besides, increasing energy consumption has a significant impact on the environment due to emissions of carbon dioxide. Dynamic consolidation of Virtual Machines (VMs) into the minimal number of Physical Machines (PMs) is considered as one of the magic solutions to manage power consumption. The virtual machine placement problem is a critical issue for good VM consolidation. This paper proposes a Power-Aware technique depending on Particle Swarm Optimization (PAPSO) to determine the near-optimal placement for the migrated VMs. A discrete version of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is adopted based on a decimal encoding to map the migrated VMs to the best appropriate PMs. Furthermore, an effective minimization fitness function is employed to reduce power consumption without violating the Service Level Agreement (SLA). Specifically, PAPSO consolidates the migrated VMs into the minimum number of PMs with a major constraint to decrease the number of overloaded hosts as much as possible. Therefore, the number of VM migrations can be reduced drastically by taking into consideration the main sources for VM migrations; overloaded hosts and underloaded ones. PAPSO is implemented in CloudSim and the experimental results on random workloads with different sizes of VMs and PMs show that PAPSO does not violate SLA and outperforms the Power-Aware Best Fit Decreasing algorithm (PABFD). It can reduce about 8.01%, 39.65%, 66.33%, and 11.87% on average in terms of consumed energy, number of VM migrations, number of host shutdowns and the combined metric Energy SLA Violation (ESV), respectively.
Nonlinear Control Design for Multi-Terminal Voltage-Sourced Converter High Voltage Direct Current Systems with Zero Dynamics Regulation

This paper presents a nonlinear control strategy with a nested control structure for a class of multi-terminal VSC HVDC systems. An output control law is first proposed, which is based on the passive output. When the output variables converge to zero with the developed output control law, the system behavior is governed by the uncontrolled zero dynamics. However, due to some desired control variables such as the DC voltage that belong to the internal dynamics, an outer control loop is then suggested to arbitrarily drive the zero dynamics, which provides a reference to be tracked by the output control law. The performance of the proposed control algorithm is evaluated by numerical simulations which show that the system has a much faster convergence rate than the controller without the outer loop.
Model Uncertainty for Annotation Error Correction in Deep Learning Based Intrusion Detection System

Accurate network traffic classification is of urgent need in the big data era, as the anomalous network traffic becomes formidable to classify in the nowadays complicated network environment. Deep Learning (DL) techniques can master in detecting anomalous data due to the capability of fitting training data. However, this capability lay on the correctness of the training data, which also made them sensitive to annotation errors. We propose that by measuring the uncertainty of the model, annotation errors can be accurately corrected for classifying network traffic. We use dropout to approximate the prior distribution and calculate Mutual Information (MI) and Softmax Variance (SV) of the output. In this paper, we present a framework named Uncertainty Based Annotation Error Correction(UAEC) based on both MI and SV, whose accuracy outperforms other proposed methods. By modifying the labels of a public dataset, a real-life annotation scenario is simulated. Based on the regenerated dataset, we compare the detection effectiveness of Euclidean Distance, MI, SV, and UAEC. As demonstrated in the experiment, by using UAEC, an averaging 47.92% increase in the detection accuracy is attained.
Variation of reproductive traits in a population of the lizard Lacerta vivipara

Variation in reproductive traits (sexual maturity, clutch size, clutch weight, mean egg mass, newborn weight) was studied during a four year period in a population of the live-bearing lizard Lacerta vivipara. Sexual maturity was associated with attaining a minimum body size. Clutch size increased with female body length and litter weight increased with clutch size. A major component of the within year variation in these reproductive traits was attributable to female size. Analysis of successive clutches in individual females indicated that a significant fraction of the variation in litter size, adjusted for female length, was due to consistent differences between individuals. Newborn weight varied within and among litters, but no relations between hatchling mass or mean egg mass in a litter and other traits were detected. Size-adjusted reproductive performances remained constant during the course of this study, even though environmental conditions (weather factors, food availability) varied annually. Observed among year variations in reproductive characteristics were attributable to differences in the body size distributions of the adult females.
Intracellular replication of Edwardsiella ictaluri in channel catfish macrophages

Abstract The ability of Edwardsiella ictaluri to enter, survive, and replicate in head kidney−derived macrophages from channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus was investigated in vitro. Primary macrophage cultures were exposed to E. ictaluri and were sampled after 0 (90 min postinfection), 4, 8, and 12 h. The data indicated that bacterial numbers for E. ictaluri increased 2.6-, 5.1-, and 7.1-fold after 4, 8, and 12 h of incubation, respectively. Microscopic examination of infected cell cultures revealed numerous intracellular bacteria that were contained within clear, spacious vacuoles. Opsonization with normal serum resulted in significantly greater internalization of E. ictaluri at 0 h compared with pretreatment with heat-inactivated serum or no serum at the same time point, and bacteria pretreated with normal serum maintained significantly greater numbers than those in the other treatments after 4 and 8 h. Opsonization, however, did not affect the ability of E. ictaluri to replicate once the cell was enter.
Evolution of reversed sex roles, sexual size dimorphism, and mating system in coucals (Centropodidae, Aves)

The evolution of greater male than female parental care remains poorly understood. In birds it is thought to be related to precocial chicks and small clutch size. This review shows, however, that such role reversal has also evolved in a family with altricial young and relatively large clutch size: coucals (Centropodidae, Cuculiformes). Males perform most nest building, incubation, and feeding of young. As predicted by sexual selection theory, coucals have also reversed sexual size dimorphism, females being larger than males in all 12 species for which size data are available. Most coucals that have been studied are monogamous, but the black coucalCentropus grilliiappears to be polyandrous, and males perform almost all parental care, whereas females show more active advertisement behaviour. In this species, females are about 50% heavier than males. Polyandry in the black coucal seems to be associated with a shift to a habitat with seasonally rich food resources. Difficulties for female coucals of gathering enough resources for producing several clutches of relatively large eggs may favour mainly male parental care. Female sexual competition and resource storage, and male foraging economy, may explain why females are larger. Additional field studies are needed to test these hypotheses; the coucals are of great interest to sexual selection and mating systems theory.
Relationship between reproduction, sediment type, and feeding activity of Lumbriculus variegatus (Müller): Implications for sediment toxicity testing

The impact of reproduction and its interaction with sediment type on feeding activity of Lumbriculus variegatus are important because one major pathway in bioaccumulation of hydrophobic sediment‐associated contaminants takes place through ingested sediment. In this study, the surface egesting behavior and the reproduction of the oligochaete were studied to understand this relationship and to give recommendations for the use of L. variegatus in sediment toxicity testing. Single individuals were used as replicates allowing proper control of reproduction behavior and egestion rate. Reproduction, growth, and egestion rates were clearly different in the two fine‐grained unpolluted lake sediments used in the first 28‐d experiment. The feeding of oligochaetes stopped during the reproduction process in the second 30‐d experiment. Individuals divided at their middle; the anterior part took 2 d and the posterior part took 6 to 7 d to regenerate new segments and to initiate egestion. Culture conditions determined at what size the animals were able to reproduce during the test. In our tests 9 mg wet weight was the approximate minimum organism size needed for reproduction behavior. Recommendations for sediment toxicity and bioaccumulation testing using L. variegatus include using the largest oligochaetes in culture if reproduction is the endpoint and using recently fragmented individuals with complete segments if animals are employed in bioaccumulation tests.
Nutrient Intake, Acid Base Status and Growth Performance of Thalli Lambs Fed Varying Level of Dietary Cation-anion Difference

Influence of -110, +110, +220 and +330 mEq/kg of dry matter (DM) dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) on growth performance of Thalli lambs were examined in a randomized complete block design. Four DCAD diets were randomly allotted to four groups, with ten lambs in each group. A linear increase in nutrient intake was recorded with increasing DCAD level. The digestibilities of nutrients were higher in lambs fed -110 DCAD diet than those fed +110, +220 and +330 DCAD diets. Lambs fed +330 DCAD diet had higher nitrogen balance than those fed -110 and +110 DCAD diets. Blood pH and serum HCO 3 increased with increasing DCAD level. Serum chloride was higher in lambs fed -110 DCAD diet, while serum (Na+K)-(Cl+S) increased linearly with increasing DCAD level. Serum calcium increased with decreasing DCAD level while serum magnesium and phosphorus remained unaffected. Lambs fed -110 DCAD diet had higher Ca balance than those fed +110, +220 and +330 DCAD diets. Urine pH increased with increasing DCAD level. Lambs fed +220 and +330 DCAD diets gained more weight than those fed -110 and +110 DCAD diets. In conclusion, increased DCAD level not only increased the dry matter intake but also improved the weight gain of growing Thalli lambs.
Performance of Galia‐type melons grafted on to Cucurbita rootstock in Monosporascus cannonballus‐infested and non‐infested soils

Summary Galia-type melons grafted on to the Cucurbita rootstock ‘TZ 148’ and non-grafted controls were evaluated for vegetative development under greenhouse conditions. In general, the development of grafted and non-grafted plants was similar within a cultivar. The horticultural and pathological performances of the Galia-type melons ‘Carrera’, ‘NUN-5554’, ‘6003’ and ‘Arava’ were evaluated in experiments conducted in non-infested and Monosporascus-infested soils. In non-infested soil, grafted and non-grafted ‘Carrera’, ‘NUN-5554’ and ‘Arava’ had the same yields. The yield of grafted ‘6003’ was signifi cantly higher than that of its non-grafted control. Responses of grafted and non-grafted Galiatype melons to Monosporascus cannonballus were evaluated and compared in the spring and autumn growing seasons. Signifi cant differences in disease incidence were found among cultivars, between grafted and non-grafted plants, and between growing seasons. Disease reduction and the benefi cial effect of grafting on yield were more pronounced in the spring. The results indicate that Galia-type melons can be grafted successfully, but the cultivation of the grafted plants should be adapted to each growing area and season.
PCR-based RAPD technique to determine induced salinity tolerance in vitro in Acacia auriculiformis

Acacia auriculiformis is an agro-forestry species in India with application in paper industry. The species is saline intolerant and fails to establish. Experiments were conducted to induce saline tolerance in callus cultures of A. auriculiformis on Murashige & Skoogs medium supplemented with different concentrations of NaCl+CaCl2––– (2:1; 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 or 300 mM). Calli were trained for eight sub-culture generations. The genome from saline-tolerant calli was extracted by modified cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide method and subjected to polymerase chain reaction-based random amplified polymorphic DNA technique. The polymorphic DNA bands were eluted and cloned to Escherichia coli with the help of pTZ57R/T. The transformed plasmid DNA was sequenced and subjected to BLAST at National Center for Biotechnology Information. Results indicated that saline training of calli resulted in the expression of tolerance to 100 and 150 mM saline concentration after eight sub-cultures. Both the saline concentrations produced conspicuous bands in trained calli. Three nucleotide sequences were similar to those of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens sub sp. plantarum and BLAST search result indicated high homologies to ThiT thiamine transporter, YuaG flottilin type band 7, and U32 class peptidase protein genes in bacterial genome. The annotation of these protein genes in saline tolerance was discussed. The study suggested that the endophytic B. amyloliquefaciens sub sp. plantarum might be inducing saline tolerance in A. auriculiformis.
Forecasting Ozone Levels and Analyzing Their Dynamics by a Bayesian Multilayer Perceptron Model for Two Air-Monitoring Sites in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Tropospheric ozone (O3) has adverse effects on human heath and vegetation. Forecasting its daily maximum level and assessing the factors that influence its dynamics are of great importance to Hong Kong and similar metropolitans in the world. In this article, we simulate the daily maximum O3 level in Hong Kong by applying the multilayer perceptron (MLP) model trained with the automatic relevance determination (ARD) method in a Bayesian evidence framework. The proposed model is named the MLP-ARD. By using the ARD method, the O3 influential factors, which are the model's input variables, can be ranked according to their relative importance in regard to the model's output variable, that is, the daily maximum O3 level. The formation and transportation mechanism of O3 for two selected air-monitoring sites can be grossly explained by the ranking information. Compared with the MLP model trained by the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, the predictive performance of the MLP-ARD for the aforementioned air-monitoring sites is more reliable and accurate in both episode and non-episode periods.
Interleukin‐1β and tetradecanoylphorbol acetate‐induced biosynthesis of tumor necrosis factor α in human hepatoma cells involves the transcription factors ATF2 and c‐Jun and stress‐activated protein kinases

The proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α is mainly produced in cells from the monocyte/macrophage lineage. TNFα is also a key signaling molecule in the liver functioning as an important physiological and pathogenic mediator. In hepatocytes or human hepatoma cells TNFα is expressed at extremely low levels but TNFα biosynthesis can be induced by interleukin (IL)‐1β or 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate (TPA). Here, we show that IL‐1β and TPA stimulated TNFα gene transcription in hepatoma cells mediated by a composite TPA‐responsive element/cAMP response element. Both IL‐1β and TPA triggered phosphorylation and activation of the basic region leucine zipper transcription factors c‐Jun and ATF2 and expression of dominant‐negative mutants of c‐Jun and ATF2‐reduced TNFα promoter activity and secretion of TNFα. Expression of the nuclear dual‐specific MAP kinase phosphatase‐1 (MKP‐1) blocked TNFα promoter activity and TNFα secretion following IL‐1β or TPA stimulation, indicating that MKP‐1 functions as a nuclear shut‐of‐device of IL‐1β and TPA‐induced TNFα expression. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 242–255, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Establishing Causality between Exposure to Metals and Effects on Fish

This study evaluates causal relationships between chronic exposure of fish to metals and effects at different levels of biological organization based on a weight-of-evidence approach. Criteria for evaluation of causality were strength, consistency, and specificity of the association, as well as biological gradient and plausibility. Field sampling was conducted three times between 1998 and 2000, in Furnas Stream, impacted by an abandoned lead mine, and in three other locations, including two reference and one impacted sites. Levels of Pb, Zn, Cd, and Ag in sediments from the Furnas Stream exceeded background levels, and their concentrations were above sediment quality guidelines. Residual levels of metals in fish tissue were high enough to indicate reduced growth, reproduction and/or survival according to toxicological benchmarks. Lead-induced biochemical changes (ALA-D activity depletion) were observed in two species of siluriform catfish. The condition factor of a predatory catfish was reduced, and the percentage of prey generalists was higher in Furnas than at the noncontaminated sites. Reduction in fish community diversity and density was observed. Integration of data provided supporting evidence that observed effects on fish from the Furnas Stream resulted from long-term exposure to metals, however influences from other stressors cannot be ruled out.
Nest-Site Selection and Nesting Success of Grey-Backed Thrushes in Northeast China

Abstract We identified microhabitat features affecting nest-site selection and examined nest-site characteristics associated with success for the Grey-backed Thrush (Turdus hortulorum) in the Dagang Forestry Farm, Jilin Province, northeast China. We collected data from 79 nests from April to August 2008. Twenty-nine nests (36.7%) were successful, 47 (59.5%) failed due to predation, and the rest were either destroyed by storms or abandoned. The overall daily survival rate (DSR) was 0.9563 ± 0.0072. Nest attempts beginning late in the breeding season were more likely to be depredated. Averaged DSR of laying and late nestling (days 7–12 after hatching) periods were higher than those of incubation and brooding (days 1–6 after hatching). We compared habitat variables between nest and random sites and assessed the effects of nest-location and nest-patch characteristics on DSR. Grey-backed Thrushes selected nest sites with shorter ground cover and a high density of small trees and shrubs. DSR was positively related to distance from the nest to the main stem of the nest tree and negatively correlated with horizontal exposure. Further research should focus on identification of nest predators, implications of nest exposure and begging calls on nesting success, and breeding habitat requirements at different spatial and temporal scales of Grey-backed Thrush in fragmented landscapes of northeast China.
Correlations between Ultrasonic Images and Macro- and Microscopic Features in the Uterine Horn of Dairy Cows

The ultrasonic features of the uterine horn in dairy cows were compared with the macro- and microscopic features to find reliable landmarks for ultrasonography. The uterine horns removed from 16 slaughtered Holstein cows were immersed in water and examined with ultrasonography in cross-section. Then these uterine horns were examined macroscopically and microscopically in cross-section. In another part of our experiment, layers in the uterine were removed from the uterine wall under ultrasonic observation and the remaining tissues were examined macroscopically and microscopically. Also a 21-G needle was placed vertically into successive layers of cross-sections of the uterine horn under macroscopic observation and then the tissues were examined ultrasonically to determine where the tip of the needle was. Then a small amount of Indian ink was injected through the needle into each layer and the locations of the ink deposits were determined histologically. The uterine wall was visualized in 5 layers on the ultrasonic images: inner echogenic layer, slightly echogenic elliptical layer, central echogenic layer, slightly echogenic arched layer and outer echogenic layer, from inside to outside. Through macro- and microscopic examinations, it was found that the slightly echogenic elliptical layer corresponded to the circular muscle layer, and the slightly echogenic arched layer corresponded to the longitudinal muscle layer. In the present study, it was demonstrated that the 5 layers imaged by ultrasonography corresponded histologically to the endometrium, myometrium (circular muscle layer, stratum vasculare, longitudinal muscle layer) and perimetrium, from inside to outside, respectively.
IMPACT OF PEER RELATIONS UPON SELF-ESTEEM OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

Juvenile delinquents are considered children, teenagers and youths up to 18 years of age whose behavior does not comply with the norms of society and is considered to be a punishable activity or crime1. Criminologists are concerned with psychosocial factors of rapidly increasing incidence of juvenile delinquency. Juvenile delinquency has always been an important legal and social issue especially in the period of transitions from one system to another. It has been widely accepted that juvenile delinquency, as a part of the whole criminality, increases during the time of sweeping changes and social crises2.
Sea lice (Caligidae) on wrasse (Labridae) from selected British wild and salmon-farm sources

The occurrence and intensity of infection of caligid species on the five species of wrasse commonly found in British waters are reported from twelve localities in the British Isles and from seven fish-farms in Scotland where wrasse are used to remove sea lice from salmon (Salmo salar L.). A low prevalence of infection was recorded for all wrasse species except ballan. Chalimus of Caligus centrodonti Baird were identified from fins of ballan, rock cook and goldsinny wrasse, this being the first host record for the latter two species. Single chalimus stages of Caligus elongatus Nordmann were identified from a ballan wrasse and a goldsinny wrasse and are similarly first records from these host species. No C. centrodonti were found on farmed salmon and conversely no Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer) were identified from wrasse kept in contact with infected salmon. This suggests that transfer of caligids between wrasse and salmon and vice versa does not pose problems for fish health on sea-farms.
Effects of Iron Ions on Rosmarinic Acid Production and Antioxidant System in Melissa officinalis L. Seedlings

Aims: In this study, effects of various Fe 2+ concentrations on the physico -chemical parameters including contents of rosmarinic acid, flavonoid andanthocyanin as well as antioxidant enzymes activi ty inMelissa officinalis seedlings were analyzed. Furthermore, some morphological parameters and contents of chlorophyll and carotenoid were investigated in 45 -day-old M. officinalisseedlings in presence of various Fe 2+