Automatic Generation of Load Tests

Load tests aim to validate whether system performance is acceptable under peak conditions. Existing test generation techniques induce load by increasing the size or rate of the input. Ignoring the particular input values, however, may lead to test suites that grossly mischaracterize a system’s performance. To address this limitation we introduce a mixed symbolic execution based approach that is unique in how it 1) favors program paths associated with a performance measure of interest, 2) operates in an iterative-deepening beam-search fashion to discard paths that are unlikely to lead to high-load tests, and 3) generates a test suite of a given size and level of diversity. An assessment of the approach shows it generates test suites that induce program response times and memory consumption several times worse than the compared alternatives, it scales to large and complex inputs, and it exposes a diversity of resource consuming program behavior

Preparation of Nickel-Based Nanolubricants and Investigation of their Tribological Behavior

In situ surface-modification technique is adopted in present research to fabricate a series of Ni nanoparticles as well as Cu@Ni nanoparticles with different size and morphology. The correlation among the composition, structure, size, and morphology and tribological properties of as-synthesized additives were explored, and the friction-reducing, antiwear, and worn surface self-healing mechanisms of the additives were discussed. It was found that Ni nanoparticles with a smaller size show higher surface activity and can readily deposit on the sliding surface and form a stable and continuous protective layer thereon. Compared with sphere-like and triangular rod-like Ni nanoparticles, triangular plate-like Ni nanoparticles are more liable to form protective layer. Compared to Ni-based nanolubricants, as-synthesized Cu@Ni nanolubricants exhibit better friction-reducing, antiwear, and extreme pressure properties. It is because the highly active Ni nanocores and O- and N-containing organic modifying agents can readily form boundary lubricating film on sliding steel surfaces, while Cu nanocores can easily deposit on sliding steel surface to form a protective layer (self-healing film) thereon. Ni nanoparticles as nanoadditives in solid-liquid lubricating system significantly reduce the friction in all lubrication regimes: As a nanolubricant, Ni nanoparticles exhibit popular and effective friction-reducing, antiwear, and extreme pressure properties

The Impact of Impending Demolition on Ageing in Place in Declining Neighbourhoods in Shenyang, China

Facilitating ageing in place enables older people to remain in familiar places, namely their homes and neighbourhoods, as long as possible. However, urban redevelopment that includes the forced relocation of residents often makes ageing in place impossible. The present research examined how impending neighbourhood demolition affects the ageing in place of older people in Shenyang, China. Starting with the presscompetence model and related academic work concerning the influences of person– environment interaction on the wellbeing of older people, this paper discusses the impact of forced relocation and demolition on the meaning of home, the living arrangement and the role of family, and strategies to maintain the independence of older people. Transcript analysis of 54 semi-structured interviews with older residents revealed their ambivalent feelings towards the impending demolition. Long-term residence in declining neighbourhoods makes them feel rooted and enables them to develop their living strategies and plan for ageing in place. However, neighbourhood decline challenges their daily activities and they increasingly struggle to maintain their independence, which leads them to consider impending neighbourhood redevelopment as an opportunity to improve their living conditions. The impending forced relocation interrupts their place-based identity and living strategies and causes significant stress due to their lack of autonomy in the decision making on the relocation process, the move itself and their uncertainty regarding their post-relocation life. Implications for further research and policy are provided

Synthesis and Application of Copper Nanowires and Silver Nanosheet-Coated Copper Nanowires as Nanofillers in Several Polymers

A large amount of copper (Cu) nanowires was synthesized through the reduction of Cu(OH)2 by hydrazine in an aqueous solution containing NaOH and ethylenediamine. Besides, Cu nanowires coated by silver nanosheet (denoted as Cu@Ag nanowires) were prepared with a facile transmetalation reaction method. In the meantime, the as‐prepared Cu and Cu@Ag nanowires were used as the nanofillers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and epoxy resin (EP), and their effects on the thermal properties and mechanical properties as well as friction and wear behavior of the polymer‐matrix composites nanocomposites were examined. Results indicate that the as‐prepared Cu@Ag nanowires consist of Cu nanowires core and Ag nanosheet shell. The Ag nanosheet shell can well inhibit the oxidation of the Cu nanowires core, thereby providing the as‐prepared Cu@Ag nanowires with good thermal stability even at an elevated temperature of 230°C. As compared with Cu nanowires, Cu@Ag nanowires could effectively increase the thermal stability of the PVC matrix composites. Moreover, due to the special morphology and microstructure, the as‐prepared Cu@Ag nanowires can effectively improve the mechanical properties and wear resistance of PVC, UHMWPE, and EP

BlazeBVD: Make Scale-Time Equalization Great Again for Blind Video Deflickering

Developing blind video deflickering (BVD) algorithms to enhance video temporal consistency, is gaining importance amid the flourish of image processing and video generation. However, the intricate nature of video data complicates the training of deep learning methods, leading to high resource consumption and instability, notably under severe lighting flicker. This underscores the critical need for a compact representation beyond pixel values to advance BVD research and applications. Inspired by the classic scale-time equalization (STE), our work introduces the histogram-assisted solution, called BlazeBVD, for high-fidelity and rapid BVD. Compared with STE, which directly corrects pixel values by temporally smoothing color histograms, BlazeBVD leverages smoothed illumination histograms within STE filtering to ease the challenge of learning temporal data using neural networks. In technique, BlazeBVD begins by condensing pixel values into illumination histograms that precisely capture flickering and local exposure variations. These histograms are then smoothed to produce singular frames set, filtered illumination maps, and exposure maps. Resorting to these deflickering priors, BlazeBVD utilizes a 2D network to restore faithful and consistent texture impacted by lighting changes or localized exposure issues. BlazeBVD also incorporates a lightweight 3D network to amend slight temporal inconsistencies, avoiding the resource consumption issue. Comprehensive experiments on synthetic, real-world and generated videos, showcase the superior qualitative and quantitative results of BlazeBVD, achieving inference speeds up to 10x faster than state-of-the-arts

Genetic diversity analysis and fingerprint construction of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) clonal seed orchard

Korean pine is a native tree species in Northeast China. In order to meet the needs of germplasm resource evaluation and molecular marker-assisted breeding of Korean pine, we collected Korean pine clones from 7 populations in Northeast China, analyzed the genetic diversity and genetic structure by SSR molecular marker technology and clustered them to revealed the inter- and intrapopulation differentiation characteristics of each clone. The fingerprint profiles of 161 Korean pine clones were also constructed. 77 alleles were detected for 11 markers, and 18 genotypes were identified on average for each marker. The PIC of the different markers ranged from 0.155-0.855, and the combination of PI and PIsibs for the 11 markers was 3.1 × 10-8 and 1.14 × 10-3, respectively. MANOVA showed that genetic variation existed mainly within populations, accounting for 98% of the total variation. The level of genetic differentiation among populations was low, with an average Nm between populations of 11.036. Genetic diversity is lower in the Lushuihe population and higher in the Tieli population. The 161 Korean pine clones were divided into 4 or 7 populations, and the 7 populations were not clearly distinguished from each other, with only the Lushuihe population showing partial differentiation. There is no significant correlation between the genetic distance of Korean pine populations and the geographical distance of their superior tree sources. This result can provide recommendations for future Korean pine breeding programs. The combination of 11 markers could completely distinguish 161 clones and establish the fingerprint. Genetic diversity of Korean pine clones from the 7 populations was abundant, and the genetic distances of individuals and populations were evenly dispersed. The fingerprint map can be used for the identification of Korean pine clones

Culture-Related Health Disparities in Quality of Life: Assessment of Instrument Dimensions Among Chinese

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is one of the major focuses of primary care. However, HRQoL instruments used in China are mainly developed from Western countries. Such instruments may not cover all important health concepts valued by the Chinese as health is a culture-specific concept.Objectives: The objectives of this study are to identify culture-specific health dimensions and culture-related health disparities in primary care that are considered important by Chinese living in China.Methods: A purposive sample of 164 adult Chinese (67 healthy persons and 97 patients) were interviewed face to face. In-depth open-ended questions were asked to elicit culture-specific dimensions of quality of life in primary care settings in China.Results: Twelve health dimensions were identified. Five most frequently mentioned dimensions were: mood (N = 52, 31.71%), physical activities (N = 48, 29.27%), work (N = 40, 24.39%), diet (N = 32, 19.51%), and vitality (N = 28, 17.07%). Significantly more healthy persons reported mood (49.25 vs. 19.59%, P < 0.001), mindset (16.42 vs. 0.00%, P < 0.001), and self-care (11.94 vs. 2.06%, P = 0.016) characterizing good HRQoL, while more patients emphasized on work (4.48 vs. 38.14%, P < 0.001). Diet and vitality appeared to be culture-specific dimensions related to health among Chinese.Conclusions: To better adapt or develop HRQoL instruments for Chinese, dimensions or items regarding diet might be included and disparities in the meaning of vitality between Chinese and Western cultures should be considered

Identification of endogenous small peptides involved in rice immunity through transcriptomics- and proteomics-based screening

Small signalling peptides, generated from larger protein precursors, are important components to orchestrate various plant processes such as development and immune responses. However, small signalling peptides involved in plant immunity remain largely unknown. Here, we developed a pipeline using transcriptomics- and proteomics-based screening to identify putative precursors of small signalling peptides: small secreted proteins (SSPs) in rice, induced by rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and its elicitor, chitin. We identified 236 SSPs including members of two known small signalling peptide families, namely rapid alkalinization factors and phytosulfokines, as well as many other protein families that are known to be involved in immunity, such as proteinase inhibitors and pathogenesis-related protein families. We also isolated 52 unannotated SSPs and among them, we found one gene which we named immune response peptide (IRP) that appeared to encode the precursor of a small signalling peptide regulating rice immunity. In rice suspension cells, the expression of IRP was induced by bacterial peptidoglycan and fungal chitin. Overexpression of IRP enhanced the expression of a defence gene, PAL1 and induced the activation of the MAPKs in rice suspension cells. Moreover, the IRP protein level increased in suspension cell medium after chitin treatment. Collectively, we established a simple and efficient pipeline to discover SSP candidates that probably play important roles in rice immunity and identified 52 unannotated SSPs that may be useful for further elucidation of rice immunity. Our method can be applied to identify SSPs that are involved not only in immunity but also in other plant functions