基于基尼系数的Web社区稳定性度量

Web社区是互联网中自组织程度较高的部分,它不是一个孤立系统,而是一个耗散系统,很多时候涨落无法耗散摔,导致社区运行不稳定.基尼系数可以用来衡量Web社区稳定性,通过基尼系数的简易计算公式计算社区内部成员积分或者其它参数,可以得出Web社区稳定性的度量.该度量对于研究和利用Web社区具有重要参考意义.     

A Degeneration Gradient of Poplar Trees Contributes to the Taxonomic,Functional, and Resistome Diversity of Bacterial Communities in Rhizosphere Soils

Bacterial communities associated with roots influence the health and nutrition of the host plant. However, the microbiome discrepancy are not well understood under different healthy conditions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that rhizosphere soil microbial diversity and function varies along a degeneration gradient of poplar, with a focus on plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) and antibiotic resistance genes. Comprehensive metagenomic analysis including taxonomic investigation, functional detection, and ARG (antibiotics resistance genes) annotation revealed that available potassium (AK) was correlated with microbial diversity and function. We proposed several microbes, Bradyrhizobium, Sphingomonas, Mesorhizobium, Nocardioides, Variovorax, Gemmatimonadetes, Rhizobacter, Pedosphaera, Candidatus Solibacter, Acidobacterium, and Phenylobacterium, as candidates to reflect the soil fertility and the plant health. The highest abundance of multidrug resistance genes and the four mainly microbial resistance mechanisms (antibiotic efflux, antibiotic target protection, antibiotic target alteration, and antibiotic target replacement) in healthy poplar rhizosphere, corroborated the relationship between soil fertility and microbial activity. This result suggested that healthy rhizosphere soil harbored microbes with a higher capacity and had more complex microbial interaction network to promote plant growing and reduce intracellular levels of antibiotics. Our findings suggested a correlation between the plant degeneration gradient and bacterial communities, and provided insight into the role of high-turnover microbial communities as well as potential PGPB as real-time indicators of forestry soil quality, and demonstrated the inner interaction contributed by the bacterial communities.     

Detecting criminal organizations in mobile phone networks

The study of criminal networks using traces from heterogeneous communication media is acquiring increasing importance in nowadays society. The usage of communication media such as mobile phones and online social networks leaves digital traces in the form of metadata that can be used for this type of analysis. The goal of this work is twofold: first we provide a theoretical framework for the problem of detecting and characterizing criminal organizations in networks reconstructed from phone call records. Then, we introduce an expert system to support law enforcement agencies in the task of unveiling the underlying structure of criminal networks hidden in communication data. This platform allows for statistical network analysis, community detection and visual exploration of mobile phone network data. It enables forensic investigators to deeply understand hierarchies within criminal organizations, discovering members who play central role and provide connection among sub-groups. Our work concludes illustrating the adoption of our computational framework for a real-word criminal investigation.     

Predicting Long‐Term Changes in Riparian Bird Communities in Floodplain Landscapes

As anthropogenic impacts on riverine ecosystems expand, both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are influenced over large spatiotemporal scales. We predicted how riparian bird communities changed in response to long‐term changes in floodplain landscapes such as woodland expansion (i.e. rapid increases in vegetation cover on gravel bars and the progress of vegetation succession due to a decrease in the frequency and magnitude of flood disturbance). To test the hypothesis that woodland expansion after dam construction reduces the abundance of gravel bar‐nesting birds and increases the abundance of forest‐nesting birds, we estimated historical changes between past and present bird abundances using species distribution models across multiple rivers that were either unregulated or regulated by dams. We created past and present vegetation maps from remote sensing images and used habitat quantities as explanatory variables in the species distribution models. As we hypothesized, the estimated abundance of gravel bar‐nesting birds decreased and that of forest‐nesting birds increased because of woodland expansion in some regulated rivers. This suggests that anthropogenic alterations of riverine conditions (e.g. dam construction) can affect terrestrial ecosystems (e.g. riparian bird communities) through changes in floodplains (e.g. woodland expansion). In addition, our findings highlight the efficacy of combining spatial and temporal analyses when examining long‐term ecological dynamics. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender community online: discussions of bullying and self-disclosure in YouTube videos

Computer-mediated communication has become a popular platform for identity construction and experimentation as well as social interaction for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). The creation of user-generated videos has allowed content creators to share experiences on LGBT topics. With bullying becoming more common amongst LGBT youth, it is important to obtain a greater understanding of this phenomenon. In our study, we report on the analysis of 151 YouTube videos which were identified as having LGBT- and bullying-related content. The analysis reveals how content creators openly disclose personal information about themselves and their experiences in a non-anonymous rhetoric with an unknown public. These disclosures could indicate a desire to seek friendship, support and provide empathy.     

Spatial variability of thermal regimes and other environmental determinants of stream fish communities in the Great Lakes Basin,Ontario, Canada

Temperature is one of the most important environmental variables in stream ecosystems because it affects the growth, survival and distribution of stream biota. This study examined if the spatial variability of thermal regimes and 18 other environmental variables were associated with fish communities in watersheds throughout the Great Lakes Basin (GLB), Ontario. The thermal regimes were defined as regimes 1, 2 and 3 and had maximum water temperatures of 26.4, 28.4 and 23.5°C, and spring warming rates of 0.20, 0.12 and 0.10 °C d^?1, respectively. The spatial variability of the thermal regimes (VTR) within the watersheds was summarized into four VTR groups: S1, S2, M23 and M123. Stream sites in S1 watersheds had temperatures characteristic of regime 1 whereas stream sites in S2 watersheds followed regime 2. M23 watersheds had sites with a mix of regimes 2 and 3 whereas M123 watersheds had all three thermal regimes at sites throughout watersheds. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that 16% of the variation in fish communities was related to the spatial VTR in the watersheds. Forward selection CCA indicated that elevation, the S1 VTR group, sparse forest cover, wetland area, base flow index (groundwater discharge potential), flow and industrial stress explained 42% of the variance in the fish communities. Simplified indicator species analysis (ISA) showed that different species could be used as indicators for each of the VTR groups. Human activities such as industrial development, deforestation, groundwater withdrawal and flow alteration all may affect the environmental variables related to stream fish communities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the linguistic nature of cyberspace and virtual communities

This paper argues for a linguistic explanation of the nature of Virtual Communities. Virtual Communities develop and grow in electronic space. or cyberspace. Authors such as Benedikt Meyrowitz and Mitchell have theorised about the nature of electronic space whilst Lefebvre. Popper, Hakim Bey (aka Lamborn Wilson) and Kuhn have theorised more generally about the nature of space. Extending this tradition and the works of these authors, this paper presents a language based perspective on the nature of electronic spaces. Behaviour in cyberspace is based on and regulated by hardware, software tools and interfaces. A definition of electronic space cannot be given beyond its linguistic characteristics, which underlie and sustain it. The author believes that the more users and developers understand the relationship between language and cyberspace, the more they will be able to use specific metaphors for dwelling and inhabiting it. In particular, MUDs/MOOs and the Web are interesting places for testing and observing social behaviours and dynamics.     

Design and evaluation of a collaborative learning environment

Collaboration becomes an essential competency in the current knowledge society. In this study, a collaborative learning environment was designed to facilitate students in group collaboration. Instructional support strategies of friendship and meaningful learning tasks were applied to promote collaboration. Scaffolding strategies such as writing progress reports and developing product versions were used to coordinate and monitor the collaborative learning environment. In addition, the online file sharing tool DriveHQ was used to facilitate collaboration. Four classes of students used the learning environment to complete their final project in pairs. Results showed friendship and meaningful learning tasks helped to promote individual accountability and positive interdependence, and the use of progress reports and product versions was useful for coordinating and monitoring the learning process. However, additional strategies might be needed for more effective collaboration to take place. Issues involved in this study are discussed.