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Facing intense competition from large public cloud providers both domestically and internationally, the survival difficulties of small and medium cloud providers have increased. To address this, establishing a cloud federation based on cooperation has become a viable strategy for these providers. However, there is a complex interplay between pursuing individual maximum benefits and ensuring the overall quality of service (QoS) of the federation. A QoS based cloud federation model was proposed to address the above issues, covering a three-layer architecture of cloud computing. At the application to virtual layer, an innovative task allocation strategy based on the differential evolution (DE) algorithm was proposed, specifically designed to handle multi-QoS task distribution challenges. At the virtual to physical layer, a model for virtual machine migration that coexists with cooperation and competition was proposed, suitable for balancing energy consumption and QoS in a cloud federation game-theoretic computing environment. The experimental results indicate that the proposed solution improved the service quality of cloud computing environments and revealed the relative advantages of running cooperation and competition modes in cloud federation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The Amur tiger and leopard, once roaming over the Eurasian continent, are now endangered and confined to the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, Russia-a landscape that has been increasingly fragmented due to human activities. The ultimate fate of these big cats depends on whether they can resettle in their previous main historical range in NE China. Recent sightings of these animals along the China-Russia border have aroused new hope, but direct evidence is lacking. Objectives: The main objectives of our study were (1) to determine the abundance and spatiotemporal patterns of tigers, leopards, and primary prey; (2) to investigate factors influencing the resettlement of the two big cats; and (3) to propose a landscape-scale conservation plan to secure the long-term sustainability of the Amur tiger and leopard. Methods: We monitored the two felids, their prey, and human activities, with 380 camera-trap stations, for a total of 175,127 trap days and over an area of 6000 km in NE China. We used the constraint line method to characterize cattle grazing and human influences on tigers, leopards, and their prey species. Results: Our results show that, unexpectedly, at least 26 tigers and 42 leopards are present within China, which are confined primarily to a narrow area along the border with Russia. We have further identified that cattle grazing and human disturbances are the key hurdles to the dispersal of the tigers and leopards farther into China where suitable habitat is potentially available. Conclusions: Amur tigers and leopards are returning to China, indeed, but their long-term resettlement is not likely without active and timely conservation efforts on landscape and regional scales. To overcome the hurdles to the resettlement of tigers and leopards in China, we propose a 'Tiger and Leopard Resettlement Program' that will engage the government, local communities, and researchers, so that the long-term sustainability of the Amur tigers and leopards can be ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North Chinese Leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis)is an endemic subspecies ofPanthera pardusto China, living in small and isolated populations with a severely fragmented distribution. Here we first sequenced and annotated its complete mitochondrial genome. The total length of the North Chinese Leopard is of 16,966 base pairs that consist of 2 rRNA gene, 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 1 OLR and 1 control region (CR). The structures of the genomes were highly similar to other Felidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional path planning refers to determining an optimal path in a three-dimensional space with obstacles, so that the path is as close to the target location as possible, while meeting some other constraints, including distance, altitude, threat area, flight time, energy consumption, and so on. Although the bald eagle search algorithm has the characteristics of simplicity, few control parameters, and strong global search capabilities, it has not yet been applied to complex three-dimensional path planning problems. In order to broaden the application scenarios and scope of the algorithm and solve the path planning problem in three-dimensional space, we present a study where five three-dimensional geographical environments are simulated to represent real-life unmanned aerial vehicles flying scenarios. These maps effectively test the algorithm's ability to handle various terrains, including extreme environments. The experimental results have verified the excellent performance of the BES algorithm, which can quickly, stably, and effectively solve complex three-dimensional path planning problems, making it highly competitive in this field.

The North Chinese Leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) is an endemic subspecies of Panthera pardus to China, living in small and isolated populations with a severely fragmented distribution. Here we first sequenced and annotated its complete mitochondrial genome. The total length of the North Chinese Leopard is of 16,966 base pairs that consist of 2 rRNA gene, 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 1 OLR and 1 control region (CR). The structures of the genomes were highly similar to other Felidae.