668 research outputs found
APMEC: An Automated Provisioning Framework for Multi-access Edge Computing
Novel use cases and verticals such as connected cars and human-robot
cooperation in the areas of 5G and Tactile Internet can significantly benefit
from the flexibility and reduced latency provided by Network Function
Virtualization (NFV) and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC). Existing frameworks
managing and orchestrating MEC and NFV are either tightly coupled or completely
separated. The former design is inflexible and increases the complexity of one
framework. Whereas, the latter leads to inefficient use of computation
resources because information are not shared. We introduce APMEC, a dedicated
framework for MEC while enabling the collaboration with the management and
orchestration (MANO) frameworks for NFV. The new design allows to reuse
allocated network services, thus maximizing resource utilization. Measurement
results have shown that APMEC can allocate up to 60% more number of network
services. Being developed on top of OpenStack, APMEC is an open source project,
available for collaboration and facilitating further research activities
S-PRAC: Fast Partial Packet Recovery with Network Coding in Very Noisy Wireless Channels
Well-known error detection and correction solutions in wireless
communications are slow or incur high transmission overhead. Recently, notable
solutions like PRAC and DAPRAC, implementing partial packet recovery with
network coding, could address these problems. However, they perform slowly when
there are many errors. We propose S-PRAC, a fast scheme for partial packet
recovery, particularly designed for very noisy wireless channels. S-PRAC
improves on DAPRAC. It divides each packet into segments consisting of a fixed
number of small RLNC encoded symbols and then attaches a CRC code to each
segment and one to each coded packet. Extensive simulations show that S-PRAC
can detect and correct errors quickly. It also outperforms DAPRAC significantly
when the number of errors is high
Comparative Assessment of Climate Engineering Scenarios in the Presence of Parametric Uncertainty
Climate engineering (CE) measures are increasingly discussed when dealing with the adverse impacts of climate change. While much research has focused on individual methods, few studies attempt to compare and rank the effectiveness of these measures. Furthermore, model uncertainties are seldom acknowledged and lesser still, estimated when CE scenarios are assessed. In this work, we quantify the variance in outcomes due to poorly constrained model parameters under several idealized CE scenarios. The four scenarios considered are (1) warming under the high emission scenario Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 without CE applied and the same emission scenario with (2) afforestation,(3) solar radiation management, and (4) artificial ocean alkalinization. By considering the parametric uncertainty in model outputs, we demonstrate the problems with comparing these scenarios using a single parameter setting. Using statistical emulation, we estimate the probability distributions of several model outcomes. Based on such distributions, we suggest an approach to ranking the effectiveness of the scenarios considered according to their probability of avoiding climate thresholds
Evolutionary Clustering of Apprentices' Self- Regulated Learning Behavior in Learning Journals
Learning journals are increasingly used in vocational education to foster self-regulated learning and reflective learning practices. However, for many apprentices, documenting working experiences is a difficult task. In this article, we profile apprentices' learning behavior in an online learning journal. Based on a pedagogical framework, we propose a novel multistep clustering pipeline that integrates different learning dimensions into a combined profile. Specifically, the profiles are described in terms of effort, consistency, regularity, help-seeking behavior, and quality of the written entries. Our results on two populations of chef apprentices (183 apprentices) interacting with an online learning journal (over 121K entries) show that our pipeline captures changes in learning patterns over time and yields interpretable profiles that can be related to academic performance. The obtained profiles can be used as a basis for personalized interventions, with the ultimate goal of improving the apprentices' learning experience
Fast IMU-based Dual Estimation of Human Motion and Kinematic Parameters via Progressive In-Network Computing
Many applications involve humans in the loop, where continuous and accurate
human motion monitoring provides valuable information for safe and intuitive
human-machine interaction. Portable devices such as inertial measurement units
(IMUs) are applicable to monitor human motions, while in practice often limited
computational power is available locally. The human motion in task space
coordinates requires not only the human joint motion but also the nonlinear
coordinate transformation depending on the parameters such as human limb
length. In most applications, measuring these kinematics parameters for each
individual requires undesirably high effort. Therefore, it is desirable to
estimate both, the human motion and kinematic parameters from IMUs. In this
work, we propose a novel computational framework for dual estimation in
real-time exploiting in-network computational resources. We adopt the concept
of field Kalman filtering, where the dual estimation problem is decomposed into
a fast state estimation process and a computationally expensive parameter
estimation process. In order to further accelerate the convergence, the
parameter estimation is progressively computed on multiple networked
computational nodes. The superiority of our proposed method is demonstrated by
a simulation of a human arm, where the estimation accuracy is shown to converge
faster than with conventional approaches
Assessment of Aspergillus flavus Infection and Aflatoxin Contamination in Groundnut in Southern Vietnam
Groundnut is an important food and cash crop in Vietnam with a high export potential. Limited studies of foods in the country have indicated that aflatoxin contamination is a problem in groundnut and maize. Vietnam considers the aflatoxin problem in groundnut to be of great importance, especially in view of Vietnam's expanding trade in this commodity, and the increasing use of groundnut cake as animal feed, Systematic surveys were conducted to assess Aspergillus flevus infection and aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts from farmers' fields and marketsloil mills in the major groundnut-growing areas of southern Vietnam. Results indicated that preharvest aflatoxin contamination is not likely to be a serious problem in adequately irrigated groundnuts. However, groundnuts grown under residual moisture or limited irrigation can be contaminated under conducive environmental conditions prevailing in the winter-spring season as evidenced by moderate to high aflatoxin levels found in some samples. Soilborne diseases such as stemlpod rot and bacterial wilt prevalent in many parts of southern Vietnam are likely to encourage A. flavus invasion of podlseed in the field. It is emphasized that the aflatoxin problem should be viewed holistically as contamination can be pre- and postharvest with many factors influencing, e,g., the crop rotation, soil moisture, soilborne pests and diseases, crop produce drying and storage conditions. A brochure on "Aflatoxin contamination problems in groundnuts and groundnut products" was prepared (in English and Vietnamese) and distributed to many farmers, traders, and extension and research workers to enhance awareness of the aflatoxin problem and management option
Occurrence of White Grubs in Groundnut Crop in Uplands of South Vietnam: A New Report
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is an important crop in
South Vietnam covering more than 125,000 ha under
different cropping systems. Crop surveys, and the onfarm
research organized in Trang Bang, Cuchi, Duc Hoa
and Go Dau during the past (until 2000), brought out the
importance of the foliage feeding insect pests (Spodoptera,
Helicoverpa) as economically important in farmers’ fields
(Ranga Rao 1995). Field visits during the last week of
May 2004 and interactions with the farmers in Tra Vinh
province, villages around Cau Ngang town revealed the
occurrence and importance of white grubs in this region.
This soil-inhabiting pest is a menace in this area, which is
in the heart of Mekong delta mostly covered by irrigated
rice (Oryza sativa) cultivation with multiple cropping
system
TSN-FlexTest: Flexible TSN Measurement Testbed (Extended Version)
Robust, reliable, and deterministic networks are essential for a variety of
applications. In order to provide guaranteed communication network services,
Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) unites a set of standards for
time-synchronization, flow control, enhanced reliability, and management. We
design the TSN-FlexTest testbed with generic commodity hardware and open-source
software components to enable flexible TSN measurements. We have conducted
extensive measurements to validate the TSN-FlexTest testbed and to examine TSN
characteristics. The measurements provide insights into the effects of TSN
configurations, such as increasing the number of synchronization messages for
the Precision Time Protocol, indicating that a measurement accuracy of 15 ns
can be achieved. The TSN measurements included extensive evaluations of the
Time-aware Shaper (TAS) for sets of Tactile Internet (TI) packet traffic
streams. The measurements elucidate the effects of different scheduling and
shaping approaches, while revealing the need for pervasive network control that
synchronizes the sending nodes with the network switches. We present the first
measurements of distributed TAS with synchronized senders on a commodity
hardware testbed, demonstrating the same Quality-of-Service as with dedicated
wires for high-priority TI streams despite a 200% over-saturation cross traffic
load. The testbed is provided as an open-source project to facilitate future
TSN research.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables, IEEE TNSM, in print, 2024. Shorter
version in print in IEEE Trans. on Network and Service Management (see
related DOI below
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