A Coverage-Aware Unequal Clustering Protocol with Load Separation for Ambient Assisted Living Based on Wireless Sensor Networks

Ambient Assisted Living(AAL) is becoming an important research field. Many technologies have emerged related with pervasive computing vision, which can give support for AAL. One of the most reliable approaches is based on wireless sensor networks(WSNs). In this paper, we propose a coverage-aware unequal clustering protocol with load separation(CUCPLS) for data gathering of AAL applications based on WSNs. Firstly, the coverage overlap factor for nodes is introduced that accounts for the degree of target nodes covered. In addition, to balance the intra-cluster and inter-cluster energy consumptions, different competition radiuses of CHs are computed theoretically in different rings, and smaller clusters are formed near the sink. Moreover, two CHs are selected in each cluster for load separation to alleviate the substantial energy consumption difference between a single CH and its member nodes. Furthermore, a backoff waiting time is adopted during the selection of the two CHs to reduce the number of control messages employed. Simulation results demonstrate that the CUCPLS not only can achieve better coverage performance, but also balance the energy consumption of a network and prolong network lifetime.

An Efficient Multi-Keyword Query Processing Strategy on P2P Based Web Search

The paper presents a novel benefit based query processing strategy for efficient query routing. Based on DHT as the overlay network, it first applies Nash equilibrium to construct the optimal peer group based on the correlations of keywords and coverage and overlap of the peers to decrease the time cost, and then presents a two-layered architecture for query processing that utilizes Bloom filter as compact representation to reduce the bandwidth consumption. Extensive experiments conducted on a real world dataset have demonstrated that our approach obviously decreases the processing time, while improves the precision and recall as well.

The coexistence of seven sympatric fulvettas in Ailao Mountains,Ejia Town,Yunnan Province

The coexistence of ecologically similar species sharing sympatric areas is a central issue of community ecology. Niche differentiation is required at least in one dimension to avoid competitive exclusion. From 2012-2014, by adopting the methods of mist-nets and point counts to evaluate spatial niche partitioning and morphological differentiations, we explored the coexistence mechanisms of seven sympatric fulvettas in Ailao Mountains, Ejia town, Yunnan Province, China. The microhabitats of these seven fulvettas were significantly different in elevation, roost site height and vegetation coverage, indicating a spatial niche segregation in different levels. Approximately, 90.30% of the samples were correctly classified by linear discriminant analysis（LDA） with correct rates at 91.20%-100%, except the White-browed fulvetta（Alcippe vinipectus）（65.4%） and the Streak-throated fulvetta（A. cinereiceps）（74.6%）. The seven fulvettas were classified into four guilds based on their specific morphological characters, suggesting that the species in each guild use their unique feeding ways to realize resource partitioning in the overlapped areas. These finding indicate that through multi-dimensional spatial niche segregation and divergence in resource utilizing, the interspecific competition among these seven fulvettas is minimized, whereas, coexistence is promoted.