Association Patterns in Saproxylic Insect Networks in Three Iberian Mediterranean Woodlands and Their Resistance to Microhabitat Loss

The assessment of the relationship between species diversity, species interactions and environmental characteristics is indispensable for understanding network architecture and ecological distribution in complex networks. Saproxylic insect communities inhabiting tree hollow microhabitats within Mediterranean woodlands are highly dependent on woodland configuration and on microhabitat supply they harbor, so can be studied under the network analysis perspective. We assessed the differences in interacting patterns according to woodland site, and analysed the importance of functional species in modelling network architecture. We then evaluated their implications for saproxylic assemblages’ persistence, through simulations of three possible scenarios of loss of tree hollow microhabitat. Tree hollow-saproxylic insect networks per woodland site presented a significant nested pattern. Those woodlands with higher complexity of tree individuals and tree hollow microhabitats also housed higher species/interactions diversity and complexity of saproxylic networks, and exhibited a higher degree of nestedness, suggesting that a higher woodland complexity positively influences saproxylic diversity and interaction complexity, thus determining higher degree of nestedness. Moreover, the number of insects acting as key interconnectors (nodes falling into the core region, using core/periphery tests) was similar among woodland sites, but the species identity varied on each. Such differences in insect core composition among woodland sites suggest the functional role they depict at woodland scale. Tree hollows acting as core corresponded with large tree hollows near the ground and simultaneously housing various breeding microsites, whereas core insects were species mediating relevant ecological interactions within saproxylic communities, e.g. predation, competitive or facilitation interactions. Differences in network patterns and tree hollow characteristics among woodland sites clearly defined different sensitivity to microhabitat loss, and higher saproxylic diversity and woodland complexity showed positive relation with robustness. These results highlight that woodland complexity goes hand in hand with biotic and ecological complexity of saproxylic networks, and together exhibited positive effects on network robustness.

A reference architecture for instructional educational software

Our extensive research has indicated that high-school teachers are reluctant to make use of existing instructional educational software (Pollard, 2005). Even software developed in a partnership between a teacher and a software engineer is unlikely to be adopted by teachers outside the partnership (Pollard, 2005). In this paper we address these issues directly by adopting a reusable architectural design for instructional educational software which allows easy customisation of software to meet the specific needs of individual teachers. By doing this we will facilitate more teachers regularly using instructional technology within their classrooms. Our domain-specific software architecture, Interface-Activities-Model, was designed specifically to facilitate individual customisation by redefining and restructuring what constitutes an object so that they can be readily reused or extended as required. The key to this architecture is the way in which the software is broken into small generic encapsulated components with minimal domain specific behaviour. The domain specific behaviour is decoupled from the interface and encapsulated in objects which relate to the instructional material through tasks and activities. The domain model is also broken into two distinct models - Application State Model and Domainspecific Data Model. This decoupling and distribution of control gives the software designer enormous flexibility in modifying components without affecting other sections of the design. This paper sets the context of this architecture, describes it in detail, and applies it to an actual application developed to teach high-school mathematical concepts.

A process framework for selecting supply system architecture in manufacturing supply chains and networks

The process framework comprises three phases, as follows: scope the supply chain/network; identify the options for supply system architecture and select supply system architecture. It facilitates a structured approach that analyses the supply chain/network contextual characteristics, in order to ensure alignment with the appropriate supply system architecture. The process framework was derived from comprehensive literature review and archival case study analysis. The review led to the classification of supply system architectures according to their orientation, whether integrated; partially integrated; co-ordinated or independent. The classification was combined with the characteristics that influence the selection of supply system architecture to encapsulate the conceptual framework. It builds upon existing frameworks and methodologies by focusing on structured procedure; supporting project management; facilitating participation and clarifying point of entry. The process framework was initially tested in three case study applications from the food, automobile and hand tool industries. A variety of industrial settings was chosen to illustrate transferability. The case study applications indicate that the process framework is a valid approach to the problem; however, further testing is required. In particular, the use of group support system technologies to support the process and the steps involving the participation of software vendors need further testing. However, the process framework can be followed due to the clarity of its presentation. It considers the issue of timing by including alternative decision-making techniques, dependent on the constraints. It is useful for ensuring a sound business case is developed, with supporting documentation and analysis that identifies the strategic and functional requirements of supply system architecture.

Generalized Nets Model of an E-Learning System Software Architecture

The paper has been presented at the International Conference Pioneers of Bulgarian Mathematics, Dedicated to Nikola Obreshko ff and Lubomir Tschakaloff , Sofi a, July, 2006.

Specification and quantitative analysis of probabilistic cloud deployment patterns

Cloud computing is a new technological paradigm offering computing infrastructure, software and platforms as a pay-as-you-go, subscription-based service. Many potential customers of cloud services require essential cost assessments to be undertaken before transitioning to the cloud. Current assessment techniques are imprecise as they rely on simplified specifications of resource requirements that fail to account for probabilistic variations in usage. In this paper, we address these problems and propose a new probabilistic pattern modelling (PPM) approach to cloud costing and resource usage verification. Our approach is based on a concise expression of probabilistic resource usage patterns translated to Markov decision processes (MDPs). Key costing and usage queries are identified and expressed in a probabilistic variant of temporal logic and calculated to a high degree of precision using quantitative verification techniques. The PPM cost assessment approach has been implemented as a Java library and validated with a case study and scalability experiments. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

RAGE Reusable Game Software Components and Their Integration into Serious Game Engines

This paper presents and validates a methodology for integrating reusable software components in diverse game engines. While conforming to the RAGE com-ponent-based architecture described elsewhere, the paper explains how the interac-tions and data exchange processes between a reusable software component and a game engine should be implemented for procuring seamless integration. To this end, a RAGE-compliant C# software component providing a difficulty adaptation routine was integrated with an exemplary strategic tile-based game “TileZero”. Implementa-tions in MonoGame, Unity and Xamarin, respectively, have demonstrated successful portability of the adaptation component. Also, portability across various delivery platforms (Windows desktop, iOS, Android, Windows Phone) was established. Thereby this study has established the validity of the RAGE architecture and its un-derlying interaction processes for the cross-platform and cross-game engine reuse of software components. The RAGE architecture thereby accommodates the large scale development and application of reusable software components for serious gaming.

Phobos: The design and implementation of embedded software for a low cost radar warning receiver

This portfolio thesis describes work undertaken by the author under the Engineering Doctorate program of the Institute for System Level Integration. It was carried out in conjunction with the sponsor company Teledyne Defence Limited. A radar warning receiver is a device used to detect and identify the emissions of radars. They were originally developed during the Second World War and are found today on a variety of military platforms as part of the platform’s defensive systems. Teledyne Defence has designed and built components and electronic subsystems for the defence industry since the 1970s. This thesis documents part of the work carried out to create Phobos, Teledyne Defence’s first complete radar warning receiver. Phobos was designed to be the first low cost radar warning receiver. This was made possible by the reuse of existing Teledyne Defence products, commercial off the shelf hardware and advanced UK government algorithms. The challenges of this integration are described and discussed, with detail given of the software architecture and the development of the embedded application. Performance of the embedded system as a whole is described and qualified within the context of a low cost system.

Development of JADE, a new software for the verification and validation of nuclear data libraries

Nuclear cross sections are the pillars onto which the transport simulation of particles and radiations is built on. Since the nuclear data libraries production chain is extremely complex and made of different steps, it is mandatory to foresee stringent verification and validation procedures to be applied to it. The work here presented has been focused on the development of a new python based software called JADE, whose objective is to give a significant help in increasing the level of automation and standardization of these procedures in order to reduce the time passing between new libraries releases and, at the same time, increasing their quality. After an introduction to nuclear fusion (which is the field where the majority of the V\&V action was concentrated for the time being) and to the simulation of particles and radiations transport, the motivations leading to JADE development are discussed. Subsequently, the code general architecture and the implemented benchmarks (both experimental and computational) are described. After that, the results coming from the major application of JADE during the research years are presented. At last, after a final discussion on the objective reached by JADE, the possible brief, mid and long time developments for the project are discussed.

A ROS-based software architecture for a versatile collaborative dual-armed autonomous mobile robot for the manufacturing industry

The industrial context is changing rapidly due to advancements in technology fueled by the Internet and Information Technology. The fourth industrial revolution counts integration, flexibility, and optimization as its fundamental pillars, and, in this context, Human-Robot Collaboration has become a crucial factor for manufacturing sustainability in Europe. Collaborative robots are appealing to many companies due to their low installation and running costs and high degree of flexibility, making them ideal for reshoring production facilities with a short return on investment. The ROSSINI European project aims to implement a true Human-Robot Collaboration by designing, developing, and demonstrating a modular and scalable platform for integrating human-centred robotic technologies in industrial production environments. The project focuses on safety concerns related to introducing a cobot in a shared working area and aims to lay the groundwork for a new working paradigm at the industrial level. The need for a software architecture suitable to the robotic platform employed in one of three use cases selected to deploy and test the new technology was the main trigger of this Thesis. The chosen application consists of the automatic loading and unloading of raw-material reels to an automatic packaging machine through an Autonomous Mobile Robot composed of an Autonomous Guided Vehicle, two collaborative manipulators, and an eye-on-hand vision system for performing tasks in a partially unstructured environment. The results obtained during the ROSSINI use case development were later used in the SENECA project, which addresses the need for robot-driven automatic cleaning of pharmaceutical bins in a very specific industrial context. The inherent versatility of mobile collaborative robots is evident from their deployment in the two projects with few hardware and software adjustments. The positive impact of Human-Robot Collaboration on diverse production lines is a motivation for future investments in research on this increasingly popular field by the industry.

Patterns of distribution and abundance of larval phosichthyidae (actinopterygii, stomiiformes) in southeastern Brazilian waters

Horizontal and vertical distribution patterns and abundance of larval phosichthyids were investigated from oblique and depth-stratified towns off Southeastern brazilian waters, from São Tomé cape (41ºW.; 22ºS.) to São Sebastião island (45ºW.; 24ºS.). The sampling was performed during two cruises (January/2002 -summer; August/2002 -winter). Overall 538 larvae of Phosichthyidae were collected during summer and 158 in the winter. Three species, Pollichthys mauli, Vinciguerria nimbaria and Ichthyioccoccus sp. occurred in the area, but Ichthyioccoccus sp. was extremely rare represented by only one specimen, caught in the oceanic region during the summer. Geographically, larval were concentrated in the oceanic region, and vertically distributed mainly between the surface and 80 m depth in the summer and winter. Larvae were more abundant during the night, performing a diel vertical migration in the water column. The results suggest that the meandering and eddies of Brazil Current play important role on the transport and distribution patterns of larval phosichthyids over the oceanic and neritic area in the Southeastern Brazil.

Phylogeography of the cactophilic species Drosophila gouveai: demographic events and divergence timing in dry vegetation enclaves in eastern Brazil

Aim The aim of this study was to assess the causal mechanisms underlying populational subdivision in Drosophila gouveai, a cactophilic species associated with xeric vegetation enclaves in eastern Brazil. A secondary aim was to investigate the genetic effects of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations on these environments. Location Dry vegetation enclaves within the limits of the Cerrado domain in eastern Brazil. Methods We determined the mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of 55 individuals (representing 12 populations) based on sequence data of a 483-bp fragment from the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COII) gene. Phylogenetic and coalescent analyses were used to test for the occurrence of demographic events and to infer the time of divergence amongst genetically independent groups. Results Our analyses revealed the existence of two divergent subclades (G1 and G2) plus an introgressed clade restricted to the southernmost range of D. gouveai. Subclades G1 and G2 displayed genetic footprints of range expansion and segregated geographical distributions in south-eastern and some central highland regions, east and west of the Parana River valley. Molecular dating indicated that the main demographic and diversification events occurred in the late to middle Pleistocene. Main conclusions The phylogeographical and genetic patterns observed for D. gouveai in this study are consistent with changes in the distribution of dry vegetation in eastern Brazil. All of the estimates obtained by molecular dating indicate that range expansion and isolation pre-dated the Last Glacial Maximum, occurring during the late to middle Pleistocene, and were probably triggered by climatic changes during the Pleistocene. The current patchy geographical distribution and population subdivision in D. gouveai is apparently closely linked to these past events.

Patterns and levels of endemism in the Australian Wet Tropics rainforest: evidence from flightless insects

This study examines the level and pattern of endemism among 274 flightless rainforest insects found in the Wet Tropics region of Australia. Endemism is measured at two nested scales: (1) those confined to the Wet Tropics, termed 'regional endemics'; and (2) the subset of those species confined to a single subregion of the Wet Tropics, termed 'subregional endemics'. Fifty per cent of the regional endemic flightless insects are also subregional endemics compared with 15% of the known regional endemic vertebrates. The four subregions with the most endemic flightless insect species are the uplands of Mt Finnigan, Carbine, Bellenden-Ker/Bartle Frere and Atherton. Multiple regression suggests that the combination of rainforest area and shape explain the most variance (R-2 = 0.603) in the numbers of species of regional endemic insects. However, subregional endemism is not closely correlated with the size or shape of the subregions in which they occur, or a combination of these factors. Candidate refugial and recolonised subregions are identified, and are consistent with data from palaeoclimatic models and refugia identified using other taxa. We group upland subregions into larger areas of endemism using parsimony analysis of endemism. These groupings are consistent with our understanding of the history of the Wet Tropics rainforests.

Factors affecting the establishment and dispersal of nymphs of Pristhesancus plagipennis Walker (Hemiptera : Reduviidae) when released onto soybean, cotton and sunflower crops

A problem with augmenting predatory bugs through mass release is the logistical difficulty of delivering nymphs onto the foliage of field crops. In this paper we examine postrelease establishment and dispersal of the nymphs of the predatory bug Pristhesancus plagipennis on soybean, cotton and sunflower in an effort to devise an appropriate strategy for field release. The effects of predator stadia and release rates on field establishment and within-crop-canopy dispersal after hand release were recorded in soybean, cotton and sunflower. Field establishment improved with the release of more-developed nymphs, with third instars providing the most appropriate compromise between field hardiness and rearing cost. Increased nymphal density at the point of release had little effect on nymphal dispersal throughout the crop canopy. The patterns of nymphal dispersal observed on the three crops suggest that crop-canopy architecture may have an effect on the ability of nymphs to spread out postrelease, as nymphs dispersed poorly in cotton and sunflower compared to soybean. To overcome poor dispersal of nymphs after release, a mechanical release method, where nymphs were mixed with vermiculite and delivered onto a target crop through a spinning disk fertiliser spreader, was tested, and provided similar nymph establishment rates and dispersal patterns as releasing nymphs individually by hand. The implications of nymph dispersal and field hardiness in regard to inundative field release techniques are discussed.

A bot spooler architecture to integrate virtual worlds with e-learning management systems for corporate training

Joining efforts of academic and corporate teams, we developed an integration architecture - MULTIS - that enables corporate e-learning managers to use a Learning Management System (LMS) for management of educational activities in virtual worlds. This architecture was then implemented for the Formare LMS. In this paper we present this architecture and concretizations of its implementation for the Second Life Grid/OpenSimulator virtual world platforms. Current systems are focused on activities managed by individual trainers, rather than groups of trainers and large numbers of trainees: they focus on providing the LMS with information about educational activities taking place in a virtual world and/or being able to access within the virtual world some of the information stored in the LMS, and disregard the streamlining of activity setup and data collection in multi-trainer contexts, among other administrative issues. This architecture aims to overcome the limitations of existing systems for organizational management of corporate e-learning activities.