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Mechoris ursulus (Roelofs) (Coleoptera: Attelabidae) is a pest weevil of Fagaceae oak trees in eastern Asia. The female has a distinct branch-cutting behavior in conjunction with oviposition in the acorns of its host plant. This study analyzed the factors influencing oviposition preference by carrying out continuous field surveys over the course of 2009–2010 and through laboratory rearing. The field survey showed that for both of the hosts, Cyclobalanopsis glaucoides Schottky (Fagales: Fagaceae) and Quercus franchetii Skan, M. ursulus preferred branches with fewer acorns and larger acorns on the same branch for oviposition. Laboratory rearing experiments showed offspring performance (i.e., survival rate and fresh weight of larvae) was significantly and positively correlated with acorn size. Preference for larger acorns could maximize the fitness of offspring by providing sufficient food source and space.

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In the cloud computing environment, resources of services encapsulation extend from initial computing resources to all other encapsulated social resources, such as manufacturing resources, financial resources, etc. Increasingly, services are reflecting the agent characteristics. This paper proposes that the cloud computing environment is a complex adaptive system of which the service is the service agent. With the emergence of its core, the model of interactions between service agents has been established by synthesizing theories and technologies of various disciplines like System Science, Economics, Management and Computer Science. By using the CAS theory as the technical route of cloud computing environment and its service agents, we can draw the conclusion that virtual organizations will spring up because of the combination of service agents.

Rose plants are widely cultivated as cut flowers worldwide and have economic value as sources of natural fragrance and flavoring. Rosa ‘Crimson Glory’, whose petals have a pleasant fragrance, is one of the most important cultivars of edible rose plants. Flower storage at low-temperature is widely applied in production to maintain quality; however, chilling results in a decrease in aromatic volatiles. To determine the molecular basis underlying the changes in aromatic volatile emissions, we investigated the changes in volatile compounds, DNA methylation patterns, and patterns of the transcriptome in response to chilling temperature. The results demonstrated that chilling roses substantially reduced aromatic volatile emissions. We found that these reductions were correlated with the changes in the methylation status of the promoters and genic regions of the genes involved in volatile biosynthesis. These changes mainly occurred for CHH (H = A, T, or C) which accounted for 51% of the total methylation. Furthermore, transcript levels of scent-related gene Germacrene D synthase (RhGDS), Nudix hydrolase 1 (RhNUDX1), and Phenylacetaldehyde reductase (RhPAR) of roses were strikingly depressed after 24 h at low-temperature and remained low-level after 24 h of recovery at 20 °C. Overall, our findings indicated that epigenetic regulation plays an important role in the chilling tolerance of roses and lays a foundation for practical significance in the production of edible roses.

To improve the efficiencies in kinematics, dynamics analysis and finite element (FE) calculation, distributed computing is used in the project of Chinese mechanical virtual human (CMVH). A three-dimensional (3D) musculoskeletal model of a male human and its finite element model have been constructed according to the male dataset of Chinese visible human (CVH). Many servers and software have been architected by using the method of distributed computing. Finally, a distributed computing platform by using these models to solving the parameters has been established. This distributed computing platform will provide wide applications in the areas such as medical engineering, robot design, physical and art education, sport, ergonomics and traffic accident analysis etc.

This paper introduces the ontology as the basic description of the domain feature model and defines the description methods of static semantics and behavior protocols. On this basis, it proposes the Architectural Pattern based on the feature model and searching and matching methods of the Design Pattern. Variable point information on the domain feature model could guide the specific application-oriented architecture to cutting and customization so as to lay a solid foundation for the establishment of trace relationships and the system evolution management based on feature tracking.

The most effective methods of learning in programming courses depend on practical exercises. However, preparing and collecting programs manually takes time. Manual grading of programming assignments is also a tedious and error-prone task. This paper describes the implementation of an automated programming lab consisting of devices that would simplify the programming assignment management process, automate grading of programming assignments, and provide real-time feedback as students work to implement solutions to programming projects. The system has been used in actual courses at our university. With the system, instructors were able to assign more homework and provide quicker feedback to students.