A self‐scalable load injection service

Load testing of applications is an important and costly activity for software provider companies. Classical solutions are very difficult to set up statically, and their cost is prohibitive in terms of both human and hardware resources. Virtualized cloud computing platforms provide new opportunities for stressing an application's scalability, by providing a large range of flexible and less expensive (pay‐per‐use model) computation units. On the basis of these advantages, load testing solutions could be provided on demand in the cloud. This paper describes a Benchmark‐as‐a‐Service solution that automatically scales the load injection platform and facilitates its setup according to load profiles. Our approach is based on: (i) virtualization of the benchmarking platform to create self‐scaling injectors; (ii) online calibration to characterize the injector's capacity and impact on the benched application; and (iii) a provisioning solution to appropriately scale the load injection platform ahead of time. We also report experiments on a benchmark illustrating the benefits of this system in terms of cost and resource reductions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

依托基层农技推广体系改革与建设项目 综合提升城区农技推广服务水平

党的十八大报告指出，要加快发展现代农业，增强农业综合生产能力，确保国家粮食安全和重要农产品有效供给。吉林市作为重要的商品粮基地，保障粮食安全责任重大。2009年，农业部和财政部联合启动实施基层农技推广体系改革与建设示范县项目（简称“体系改革与建设项目”），对全国770个县进行扶持，2012年，中央财政安排专项资金对基层农业技术推广体系与建设进行补助，体系改革与建设项目得以全面铺开，吉林市城区作为一个项目县也实施了该项目。在2012 ~2014年项目实施的三年时间里，吉林市农技中心精心设计，认真组织实施，项目取得了良好的成效，提升了城区农技推广服务水平。     

Simplifying the powder metallurgy manufacturing process using soft computing tools

The tools of soft computing will aid the knowledge mining in predicting and classifying the properties of various parameters while designing the composite preforms in the manufacturing of Powder Metallurgy (P/M) Lab. In this paper, an integrated PRNET (PCA-Radial basis functional neural NET) model is proposed in different versions to select the relevant parameters for preparing composite preforms and to predict the deformation and strain hardening properties of Al–Fe composites. It reveals that the predictability of this model has been increased by 67.89% relatively from the conventional models. A new PR-filter is proposed by slightly modifying the conventional filters of RBFNN, which improves the power of PRNET even though raw data are highly non-linear, interrelated and noisy. Moreover, fixing the range of input parameters for classifying the properties of composite preforms can be automated by the Fuzzy logic. These types of models will avoid expensive experimentation and risky environment while preparing sintered composite preforms. Thus the manufacturing process of composites in P/M Lab will be simplified with minimum energy by the support of these soft-computing tools.     

A dynamic closed-loop location-inventory problem under disruption risk

In this paper, a dynamic closed-loop location-inventory problem is addressed that optimizes strategic decisions (i.e., facility location in terms of contracting/selection of distribution centers and reworking centers) along with tactical ones (i.e., allocation of centers, inventory management) under facility disruption risks. The presented model seeks to minimize total cost as the first objective function, and time as the second one in the considered network. Due to the NP-Hard nature of the model, a hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm based on Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is presented to solve the problem in large scales. Finally, applicability of the proposed model is tested via a real case study and the results are analyzed in depth.     

A geospatial framework to support integrated biogeochemical modelling in the United Kingdom

Anthropogenic impacts on the aquatic environment, especially in the context of nutrients, provide a major challenge for water resource management. The heterogeneous nature of policy relevant management units (e.g. catchments), in terms of environmental controls on nutrient source and transport, leads to the need for holistic management. However, current strategies are limited by current understanding and knowledge that is transferable between spatial scales and landscape typologies. This study presents a spatially-explicit framework to support the modelling of nutrients from land to water, encompassing environmental and spatial complexities. The framework recognises nine homogeneous landscape units, distinct in terms of sensitivity of nutrient losses to waterbodies. The functionality of the framework is demonstrated by supporting an exemplar nutrient model, applied within the Environmental Virtual Observatory pilot (EVOp) cloud cyber-infrastructure. We demonstrate scope for the use of the framework as a management decision support tool and for further development of integrated biogeochemical modelling.     

适应于自动驾驶的计算结构与平台综述

信息与通信技术领域的不断发展,推动了自动驾驶汽车的巨大进步。自动驾驶汽车有效解决了用户对出行日益提高的安全、便捷、舒适、高效等个性化需求,有着巨大的商业前景和应用价值。首先从自动驾驶的定义出发,对自动驾驶汽车计算任务进行了分类总结,阐述了自动驾驶汽车集移动端、边缘节点和云端一体的计算结构。然后分类讨论了目前自动驾驶汽车移动端计算平台,呈现出异构多核的特点,并对当前主流的底层计算平台进行了对比分析。最后,从性能与成本和信息安全两个方面总结目前自动驾驶汽车计算结构和平台遇到的问题与挑战。     

ProVoc: An app to train vocabulary depth in order to foster children's reading comprehension

Many studies have demonstrated the crucial role of vocabulary in predicting reading performance in general. More recent work has indicated that one particular facet of vocabulary (its depth) is more closely related to language comprehension, especially inferential comprehension. On this basis, we developed a training application to specifically improve vocabulary depth. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of a mobile application designed to improve vocabulary depth. The effectiveness of this training was examined on 3rd and 4th grade children's vocabulary (breadth and depth), decoding and comprehension performances. A randomized waiting-list control paradigm was used in which an experimental group first received the intervention during the first 4 weeks (between pretest and post-test1), thereafter, a waiting control group received the training for the next 4 weeks (between postest1 and posttest2). Results showed that the developed application led to significant improvements in terms of vocabulary depth performance, as well as a significant transfer effect to reading comprehension. However, we did not observe such a beneficial effect on either vocabulary breadth or written word identification. These results are discussed in terms of the links between vocabulary depth and comprehension, and the opportunities the app presents for remedying language comprehension deficits in children.     

Model-Based Design Space Exploration for FPGA-based Image Processing Applications Employing Parameterizable Approximations

The increasing demand for low power consumption and high computational performance is outpacing available technological improvements in embedded systems. Approximate computing is a novel design paradigm trying to bridge this gap by leveraging the inherent error resilience of certain applications and trading in quality to achieve reductions in resource usage. Numerous approximation methods have emerged in this research field. While these methods are commonly demonstrated in isolation, their combination can increase the achieved benefits in complex systems. However, the propagation of errors throughout the system necessitates a global optimization of parameters, leading to an exponentially growing design space. Additionally, the parameterization of approximated components must consider potential cross-dependencies between them. This work proposes a systematic approach to integrate and optimally configure parameterizable approximate components in FPGA-based applications, focusing on low-level but high-bandwidth image processing pipelines. The design space is explored by a multi-objective genetic algorithm which takes parameter dependencies between different components into account. During the exploration, appropriate models are used to estimate the quality-resource trade-off for probed solutions without the need for time-consuming synthesis. We demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of our approach on two image processing applications that employ multiple approximations. The experimental results show that the proposed methods are able to produce a wide range of Pareto-optimal solutions, offering various choices regarding the desired quality-resource trade-off.     

Visualizing for the Non‐Visual: Enabling the Visually Impaired to Use Visualization

The majority of visualizations on the web are still stored as raster images, making them inaccessible to visually impaired users. We propose a deep‐neural‐network‐based approach that automatically recognizes key elements in a visualization, including a visualization type, graphical elements, labels, legends, and most importantly, the original data conveyed in the visualization. We leverage such extracted information to provide visually impaired people with the reading of the extracted information. Based on interviews with visually impaired users, we built a Google Chrome extension designed to work with screen reader software to automatically decode charts on a webpage using our pipeline. We compared the performance of the back‐end algorithm with existing methods and evaluated the utility using qualitative feedback from visually impaired users.