Software rejuvenation is a recently proposed practive fault-tolerance approach to counteract software-aging phenomenon. Compared with clusters of a flat architecture, all the nodes share the same functions. The applic...Software rejuvenation is a recently proposed practive fault-tolerance approach to counteract software-aging phenomenon. Compared with clusters of a flat architecture, all the nodes share the same functions. The application of software rejuvenation on dispatcher-based web server farms is discussed, which employ rejuvenation both on the dispatcher and the worker pool. Stochastic reward net (SRN)models for time-based and prediction-based rejuvenation policies are constructed respectively and solved by stochastic Petri net package (SPNP). Numerical results show that appropriate rejuvenation strategies on the dispatcher and the worker pool could significantly reduce the expected downtime cost of the whole web server farm.展开更多
Wild collection management and farming of the mangrove oyster (Crassostrea gasar) occurring widely at the Benin (West Africa) coastal zone require knowledge on the feeding ecology to explore energy sources and nutriti...Wild collection management and farming of the mangrove oyster (Crassostrea gasar) occurring widely at the Benin (West Africa) coastal zone require knowledge on the feeding ecology to explore energy sources and nutritional needs. Six hundred thirty (630) individuals of C. gasar have been sampled in the rearing site at the Benin coastal lagoon to investigate on the trophic ecology of this cultivated bivalve. The diet analysis revealed that C. gasar is a filter-feeder foraging mainly on phytoplankton (72.70%) and substrate particles (22.95%). This trophic specialization results from anatomical structure, mainly the presence of gills which facilitate the filtering of number of plankton taxa. Dominant phytoplanktons ingested comprised of Diatomophycea (33.52%), Chlorophycae (17.19%), Scenedesmacae (13.80%), Dictyosphaeriacae (3.79%), and Pleurococcacae (2.75%). Eight genuses of phytoplankton, Polycystis, Coelosphaerium, Protococcus, Botryoccocus, Crucigenia, Melosira, Cyclotella, and Gyrosigma dominated the diet of C. gasar with aggreated volumetric proportions reaching 69.06% of the diet. Higher occurrences were recorded mainly for Melosira occurring in 263 (41.75%) stomachs, substrate particles in 211 (33.49%), and Polycystis in 151 (23.97%). C. gasar exhibited a high niche breadths varying from 4.54 to 5.78, suggesting that this bivalve consumed a high variety of food items, thus exhibiting a degree of trophic plasticity. Diet overlaps (?jk) among different size classes were high and varied from 0.71 to 0.98, indicating an ontogenetic diet shift pattern in C. gasar. Probably, to adapt to the benthic-muddy environment and to increase survival, C. gasar has evolved a specialized feeding mechanism and strategy to retrieve only needed nutrients for growth and to reject awful and nondigestible foods. Also, at the oyster rearing grounds, there is an evidence of shift in the food web structure leading to an increase of the biological productivity at the coastal zone. The output from this study is a valuable documentation for the sustainable development of oyster aquaculture, wild stock management and conservation. However, further scientific knowledge on nutritional needs, phytoplankton toxicity and habitat degradation, and improvement of farming techniques are required for an integrated oyster management.展开更多
Agricultural pollution is a major issue in the United States (U.S.) and the world. Biotic and abiotic farming byproducts adversely affect the ecosystem and human health. While pesticides and fertilizers are the primar...Agricultural pollution is a major issue in the United States (U.S.) and the world. Biotic and abiotic farming byproducts adversely affect the ecosystem and human health. While pesticides and fertilizers are the primary sources of agricultural pollution, organic agriculture can help remediate the negative effects on humans and the ecosystem. However, many factors like chemical drift can limit this advantage. This paper presents a feasibility study of a web-based (Geografic Information System) GIS application which can model and predict the areas affected by agricultural chemicals drift. Other applications exist with limited assumptions that make their outcomes far from reality. A root definition and a rich picture are developed as well as a Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Because of the huge geographical context, data requirements and analyses requirements are expected to be massive. Nonetheless, despite the expected challenges, the advantages of the proposed application outweigh the risks.展开更多
文摘Software rejuvenation is a recently proposed practive fault-tolerance approach to counteract software-aging phenomenon. Compared with clusters of a flat architecture, all the nodes share the same functions. The application of software rejuvenation on dispatcher-based web server farms is discussed, which employ rejuvenation both on the dispatcher and the worker pool. Stochastic reward net (SRN)models for time-based and prediction-based rejuvenation policies are constructed respectively and solved by stochastic Petri net package (SPNP). Numerical results show that appropriate rejuvenation strategies on the dispatcher and the worker pool could significantly reduce the expected downtime cost of the whole web server farm.
文摘Wild collection management and farming of the mangrove oyster (Crassostrea gasar) occurring widely at the Benin (West Africa) coastal zone require knowledge on the feeding ecology to explore energy sources and nutritional needs. Six hundred thirty (630) individuals of C. gasar have been sampled in the rearing site at the Benin coastal lagoon to investigate on the trophic ecology of this cultivated bivalve. The diet analysis revealed that C. gasar is a filter-feeder foraging mainly on phytoplankton (72.70%) and substrate particles (22.95%). This trophic specialization results from anatomical structure, mainly the presence of gills which facilitate the filtering of number of plankton taxa. Dominant phytoplanktons ingested comprised of Diatomophycea (33.52%), Chlorophycae (17.19%), Scenedesmacae (13.80%), Dictyosphaeriacae (3.79%), and Pleurococcacae (2.75%). Eight genuses of phytoplankton, Polycystis, Coelosphaerium, Protococcus, Botryoccocus, Crucigenia, Melosira, Cyclotella, and Gyrosigma dominated the diet of C. gasar with aggreated volumetric proportions reaching 69.06% of the diet. Higher occurrences were recorded mainly for Melosira occurring in 263 (41.75%) stomachs, substrate particles in 211 (33.49%), and Polycystis in 151 (23.97%). C. gasar exhibited a high niche breadths varying from 4.54 to 5.78, suggesting that this bivalve consumed a high variety of food items, thus exhibiting a degree of trophic plasticity. Diet overlaps (?jk) among different size classes were high and varied from 0.71 to 0.98, indicating an ontogenetic diet shift pattern in C. gasar. Probably, to adapt to the benthic-muddy environment and to increase survival, C. gasar has evolved a specialized feeding mechanism and strategy to retrieve only needed nutrients for growth and to reject awful and nondigestible foods. Also, at the oyster rearing grounds, there is an evidence of shift in the food web structure leading to an increase of the biological productivity at the coastal zone. The output from this study is a valuable documentation for the sustainable development of oyster aquaculture, wild stock management and conservation. However, further scientific knowledge on nutritional needs, phytoplankton toxicity and habitat degradation, and improvement of farming techniques are required for an integrated oyster management.
文摘Agricultural pollution is a major issue in the United States (U.S.) and the world. Biotic and abiotic farming byproducts adversely affect the ecosystem and human health. While pesticides and fertilizers are the primary sources of agricultural pollution, organic agriculture can help remediate the negative effects on humans and the ecosystem. However, many factors like chemical drift can limit this advantage. This paper presents a feasibility study of a web-based (Geografic Information System) GIS application which can model and predict the areas affected by agricultural chemicals drift. Other applications exist with limited assumptions that make their outcomes far from reality. A root definition and a rich picture are developed as well as a Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Because of the huge geographical context, data requirements and analyses requirements are expected to be massive. Nonetheless, despite the expected challenges, the advantages of the proposed application outweigh the risks.
