An Online Resource Scheduling for Maximizing Quality-of-Experience in Meta Computing

Meta Computing is a new computing paradigm, which aims to solve the problem of computing islands in current edge computing paradigms and integrate all the resources on a network by incorporating cloud, edge, and particularly terminal-end devices. It throws light on solving the problem of lacking computing power. However, at this stage, due to technical limitations, it is impossible to integrate the resources of the whole network. Thus, we create a new meta computing architecture composed of multiple meta computers, each of which integrates the resources in a small-scale network. To make meta computing widely applied in society, the service quality and user experience of meta computing cannot be ignored. Consider a meta computing system providing services for users by scheduling meta computers, how to choose from multiple meta computers to achieve maximum Quality-of-Experience (QoE) with limited budgets especially when the true expected QoE of each meta computer is not known as a priori? The existing studies, however, usually ignore the costs and budgets and barely consider the ubiquitous law of diminishing marginal utility. In this paper, we formulate a resource scheduling problem from the perspective of the multi-armed bandit (MAB). To determine a scheduling strategy that can maximize the total QoE utility under a limited budget, we propose an upper confidence bound (UCB) based algorithm and model the utility of service by using a concave function of total QoE to characterize the marginal utility in the real world. We theoretically upper bound the regret of our proposed algorithm with sublinear growth to the budget. Finally, extensive experiments are conducted, and the results indicate the correctness and effectiveness of our algorithm

Deficiency and excess of groundwater iodine and their health associations

More than two billion people worldwide have suffered thyroid disorders from either iodine deficiency or excess. By creating the national map of groundwater iodine throughout China, we reveal the spatial responses of diverse health risks to iodine in continental groundwater. Greater non-carcinogenic risks relevant to lower iodine more likely occur in the areas of higher altitude, while those associated with high groundwater iodine are concentrated in the areas suffered from transgressions enhanced by land over-use and intensive anthropogenic overexploitation. The potential roles of groundwater iodine species are also explored: iodide might be associated with subclinical hypothyroidism particularly in higher iodine regions, whereas iodate impacts on thyroid risks in presence of universal salt iodization exhibit high uncertainties in lower iodine regions. This implies that accurate iodine supply depending on spatial heterogeneity and dietary iodine structure optimization are highly needed to mitigate thyroid risks in iodine-deficient and -excess areas globally

Pengembangan Modul Berbasis Bounded Inquiry Laboratory (Lab) Untuk Meningkatkan Literasi Sains Dimensi Proses Pada Materi Sistem Pencernaan Kelas XI

Penelitian bertujuan untuk: 1) Mengetahui karakteristik modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) untuk meningkatkan literasi sains dimensi proses; 2) Menguji kelayakan modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) untuk meningkatkan literasi sains dimensi proses; 3) Menguji keefektivan penggunaan modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) untuk meningkatkan literasi sains dimensi proses pada materi Sistem Pencernaan kelas XI. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Research and Development (R & D) mengacu pada model Borg and Gall (1983) yang dimodifikasi. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah lembar analisis, lembar observasi, angket, lembar validasi, wawancara, dan tes. Data penelitian dianalisis dengan metode deskriptif kualitatif dan literasi sains dimensi proses dianalisis dengan N-gain ternormalisasi untuk mengetahui keefektivan modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab), dan uji Wilcoxon untuk mengetahui literasi sains dimensi proses. Hasil penelitian dan pengembangan menunjukkan bahwa: 1) Modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) untuk meningkatkan literasi sains dimensi proses pada materi Sistem Pencernaan dikembangkan sesuai dengan tahapan bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) (observasi, manipulasi, generalisasi, verifikasi, aplikasi) dan pendekatan saintifik; 2) Hasil pengembangan modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) layak untuk diterapkan pada materi Sistem Pencernaan. Kelayakan modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) pada materi Sistem Pencernaan berdasarkan validasi ahli memperoleh kategori “sangat baik” dengan persentase 98,21%, validasi praktisi memperoleh kategori “sangat baik” dengan persentase 99,22%, dan responden uji coba skala kecil memperoleh kategori “baik” dengan persentase 77,34%, sehingga layak digunakan kelas XI; 3) Modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) pada materi Sistem Pencernaan efektif untuk meningkatkan literasi sains dimensi proses yang ditunjukkan dengan hasil uji Wilcoxon yaitu diperoleh probabilitas (p) sebesar 0,000 (p < 0,05), H0 ditolak, sehingga ada perbedaan literasi sains dimensi proses sebelum dan setelah menggunakan modul bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) pada materi sistem pencernaan. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa karakteristik modul berbasis bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) sesuai tahapan bounded inquiry laboratory (lab) (observasi, manipulasi, generalisasi, verifikasi, aplikasi) dan pendekatan saintifik; layak dan efektif untuk meningkatkan literasi sains dimensi proses pada materi Sistem Pencernaan kelas XI

Subversion in Visual and Verbal Paratexts. A Case Study of the Translation of a Contemporary Chinese Artist’s Biography

Translation has long been integral to the circulation of art between the East and West (Whyte and Heide, 2011, p. 47). Classical Chinese art was first introduced to the West when a history of classical Chinese painting was translated into English (ibid., pp. 46-47). As indicated by the plethora of books and articles published on the subject, there is now widespread interest in contemporary Chinese art, which has achieved international acclaim since the 1990s. This paper draws on existing scholarship in translation studies and political science to analyze four types of paratext (title, cover design, epigraphs, and translator’s preface) in a biography of contemporary Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang. Based on a comparative visual and verbal paratextual analysis, the paper examines the re-construction of the original title and cover design for the English translation of Zhang’s biography. In this “paratranslation” (Pellatt, 2013a), the translator subverts what Valerie Pellatt calls an “Occidentalist approach” in two ways: first, by privileging the source culture—China’s soft power—over the Western target readership and, second, by explicitly but subtly using rhetorical and narrative devices to convey his own social-political stance. The translated paratexts thus perform multiple functions. They promote the state’s soft power by constructing an image of an underground artist whose work, by resisting autocracy, was once suppressed by the state but is now acclaimed both nationally and internationally. Simultaneously, the translation provides a space for the translator’s voice. This study reveals the importance of translation to scholarship on contemporary Chinese art, which here goes beyond translation itself by giving the translator a voice to advocate for social awareness.La traduction constitue depuis longtemps un vecteur de circulation de l’art entre l’Orient et l’Occident (Whyte et Heide, 2011, p. 47). L’art chinois classique a été introduit pour la première fois en Occident lorsque l’histoire de la peinture chinoise classique a été traduite en anglais (ibid., pp. 46-47). Comme l’indique la pléthore de publications sur le sujet, l’intérêt pour l’art contemporain chinois, qui bénéficie d’une reconnaissance internationale depuis les années 1990, est désormais très répandu. Cet article, qui s’appuie sur des études existantes en traductologie et en politique, analyse quatre types de paratexte (titre, couverture, épigraphes et préface du traducteur) d’une biographie de l’artiste chinois contemporain Zhang Xiaogang. Dans cette « paratraduction » (Pellatt, 2013a), le traducteur subvertit de deux façons « l’approche occidentaliste » de la traduction : premièrement, en déplaçant l’attention des lecteurs cibles occidentaux vers le contexte social de la culture d’origine et, deuxièmement, en utilisant des procédés rhétoriques et des récits historiques explicites, mais subtils, pour transmettre sa position socio-politique. Le paratexte remplit donc de multiples fonctions. Il promeut le pouvoir de convaincre (soft power) de l’État, en construisant l’image d’un artiste autrefois clandestin qui a résisté à l’autocratie, dont le travail a été censuré par l’État, et qui est maintenant acclamé aux niveaux national et international. Simultanément, la traduction offre un espace d’expression pour le traducteur, dans un scénario complexe. Cette étude révèle l’importance de la traduction dans l’étude de l’art chinois contemporain, dont la valeur potentielle va au-delà de la traduction elle-même, et dans laquelle la voix du traducteur peut plaider pour une prise de conscience sociale

A Novel Multi-Population Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for Energy-Efficient Hybrid Flow Shop Scheduling Problem

Considering green scheduling and sustainable manufacturing, the energy-efficient hybrid flow shop scheduling problem (EHFSP) with a variable speed constraint is investigated, and a novel multi-population artificial bee colony algorithm (MPABC) is developed to minimize makespan, total tardiness and total energy consumption (TEC), simultaneously. It is necessary for manufacturers to fully understand the notion of symmetry in balancing economic and environmental indicators. To improve the search efficiency, the population was randomly categorized into a number of subpopulations, then several groups were constructed based on the quality of subpopulations. A different search strategy was executed in each group to maintain the population diversity. The historical optimization data were also used to enhance the quality of solutions. Finally, extensive experiments were conducted. The results demonstrate that MPABC can achieve an outstanding performance on three metrics DIR, c and nd for the considered EHFSP

A Novel Multi-Population Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for Energy-Efficient Hybrid Flow Shop Scheduling Problem

Considering green scheduling and sustainable manufacturing, the energy-efficient hybrid flow shop scheduling problem (EHFSP) with a variable speed constraint is investigated, and a novel multi-population artificial bee colony algorithm (MPABC) is developed to minimize makespan, total tardiness and total energy consumption (TEC), simultaneously. It is necessary for manufacturers to fully understand the notion of symmetry in balancing economic and environmental indicators. To improve the search efficiency, the population was randomly categorized into a number of subpopulations, then several groups were constructed based on the quality of subpopulations. A different search strategy was executed in each group to maintain the population diversity. The historical optimization data were also used to enhance the quality of solutions. Finally, extensive experiments were conducted. The results demonstrate that MPABC can achieve an outstanding performance on three metrics DIR, c and nd for the considered EHFSP

Downscaling CLDAS Soil Moisture Product by Integrating Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Data over Agricultural Area

Soil Moisture (SM) plays a key role in the energy exchange between the atmosphere and the land surface. Most of the SM products retrieved from satellite remote sensing data are not suitable for drought monitoring and irrigation management in smart agriculture applications due to their coarse spatial resolution. We propose an SM downscaling method named Water Cloud Change Detection (WCCD) that effectively combines the Water-Cloud Model (WCM) and the Change Detection Method (CDM) to downscale the China Land Data Assimilation System soil moisture (CLDAS_SM, 6000-m resolution) product. The WCM is used to retrieve the soil backscattering at a fine spatial resolution by deducting the canopy backscattering from the surface total backscattering, and the linear regression relationship between soil backscattering and CLDAS_SM is established for each pixel at the coarse scale under the assumption that the surface roughness does not change for dozens of days. The performance of the algorithm is tested in an agricultural crop region in Hebei province of China with Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images. The validation results show that the downscaled SM at different spatial resolutions are in good agreement with the in-situ measurements with the correlation coefficient (R) higher than 0.71 and the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) lower than 0.042 cm3×cm−3

Soil Moisture Retrieval by Integrating SAR and Optical Data over Winter Wheat Fields

Soil moisture (SM) retrieval over agricultural fields using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is often hindered by the vegetation layer and soil roughness. Most SM inversion algorithms require in situ SM data for a calibration to eliminate these two disturbing factors, while collecting in situ data is a project that consumes a lot of manpower and resources. This paper aims to tentatively develop an inversion algorithm for retrieving SM in the absence of in situ SM in areas covered by winter wheat vegetation. Based on the analysis of the data set simulated by the Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering (MIMICS) model, an improved ratio model is proposed to remove the effect of the vegetation layer. Through the parameterization of the advanced integral equation model (AIEM), the effect of the soil roughness on the inversion of soil moisture is eliminated. The spatial distribution of SM in winter wheat fields is obtained using the Sentinel-1 SAR and Sentinel-2 images. The comparison results between the inverted SM and the in situ measured data reveal a good correlation (R = 0.85, RMSE = 0.032 cm3·cm−3), and the result confirms that the algorithm developed only based on theoretical models can also effectively monitor the spatial changes of SM over winter wheat fields