Tennessee Temple University

With the rapid adoption of cloud computing platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure, the demand for scalable computing resources has surged. Kubernetes has emerged as a vital orchestration tool for managing dynamic, cloud-native applications across multiple nodes, ensuring efficient scaling and failover mechanisms. However, in bare-metal environments, the challenge of providing a dynamic, adaptable load-balancing solution for Kubernetes clusters remains. This work explores the development of a custom load balancer integration for multi-cluster Kubernetes environments in bare-metal deployments, focusing on the gaps in current load-balancing solutions for such setups. By leveraging Kubernetes' capabilities, the proposed solution enables automated provisioning, health checks, and failover, optimizing resource allocation and ensuring high availability. This paper also presents the Kubermatic Kubernetes Platform and the KubeLB project as key components in addressing these challenges while also detailing the architecture, implementation, and future prospects of this load-balancing solution in large-scale Kubernetes infrastructures.

Over the past 30 years, captive propagation and reintroduction efforts have been undertaken to mitigate the decline of the federally endangered Fundulus julisia (Barrens Topminnow [BTM]) throughout the Barrens Plateau region of Middle Tennessee. However, concerns remain about the loss of genetic diversity and adaptive potential in captivity, especially as reintroductions of captive-reared fish have had mixed success. This study analyzed genome-wide SNP genotypes in captive and wild BTM populations to assess patterns of genetic variation in captive populations relative to their wild counterparts. Estimates of heterozygosity and pairwise population distances indicated significant genetic drift and reduced genetic diversity when compared with source populations. Notably, a newly discovered natural population of BTM in the upper Collins River was found to be genetically distinct, warranting its classification as a separate evolutionarily significant unit. These findings can provide insights into the management of the BTM captive-breeding program and underscore the need for protection of the upper Collins River population.

Voluntary knowledge contributions on question and answer (Q&A) platforms are important for users, platforms, and organizations.Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) techniques have made it possible to automatically generate voluntary knowledge on Q&A platforms.The relative impact of GAI vs. humans on users' voluntary contribution of knowledge to Q&A platforms has yet to be explored.On the one hand, GAI can generate highly accurate answers because it is trained on large volumes of diverse, high-quality data.On the other hand, GAI can produce incorrect answers and fabricated facts.Using data from one of the largest Q&A platforms, Stack Overflow, we apply fixed effects models to understand the relative impact of GAI vs. human contributors on answer quality.We find that, on average, GAI answers receive lower scores and are shorter, but they can also be easier to read, more positive, and more objective.Our study has both theoretical and practical implications.

The detrimental effect of ocean acidification (OA) on marine animals with carbonate exoskeletons or shells is an issue drawing increased attention in marine biology and ecology, yet few studies have focused on the impact on gelatinous organisms like scyphozoan medusae.Here, we examined the physiological tolerance of Cassiopea sp., an abundant genus of scyphozoans valuable for their role as bioindicators and for having similarities to other cnidarians, to OA by conducting three, 12-week trials using CO 2 diffusers and electronic pH controllers to incrementally lower the water to test pHs of 7.5 and 7.0.The impact of reduced pH on the survival, pulse rate, bell diameter, and reorientation and settlement abilities of Cassiopea sp.medusae were measured weekly.Cassiopea sp. was tolerant to pH 7.5 while further reduction of the pH to 7.0 resulted in 22.22% mortality rate, which was significantly different from the control and treatment pH 7.5.Significant differences between the treatment pH 7.0 and control first occurred on day 23.5 with a 50% reduction in the pulse rate, and on day 36 with a 16.6% reduction in bell diameter, while pH 7.5 had no effect.By the final time point of 66 days in treatment pH 7.0, there was an 87% reduction in pulse rate and a 36% reduction in bell diameter versus control.Reduced pH 7.0 caused bell malformations, inhibited swimming abilities, and deterioration of the oral arm feeding apparatus, but had no effect on the orientation and settlement assay.Observations indicate that asexual reproduction via planuloid production and strobilation was unaffected by pH reduction, though polyps in treatment pH 7.0 gave rise to ephyrae with inverted bells.Combined, findings from this study demonstrate Cassiopea sp. to be resilient to the end of century ocean acidity prediction of pH 7.6, and vulnerable to more severe OA to pH 7.0.How to site this article:

To consider the acceptability and content validity of patient-reported outcome measures commonly used in rheumatoid arthritis by describing patients' perceptions of patient-reported outcome measures and comparing patients' responses on patient-reported outcome measures with their verbal accounts of disease impacts. We used a sequential mixed methods approach, combining analysis of interviews and data from patient-reported outcome measures (from the Health Assessment Questionnaire, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue subscale, the EuroQol 5-domain instrument, the Short Form 36 health survey, and a visual analog scale [VAS] for pain, fatigue, sleep, and patient global assessment of disease activity). Qualitative analysis of patients' perceptions of patient-reported outcome measures informed a subsequent comparison between data from patient-reported outcome measures and verbal accounts of pain, fatigue, sleep, and functional limitations to assess the effectiveness of patient-reported outcome measures in communicating disease impact. The study included 18 patients. Although a few patients offered positive comments about patient-reported outcome measures, most doubted that patient-reported outcome measures could accurately convey their experience of symptoms and functional limitations. Patients discussed the ease of responding to questions, capturing and conveying symptoms, and concerns about the underreporting of symptoms and interpretation of responses. Compared with verbal accounts, patient-reported outcome measures often did not convey the personal significance of limitations; however, patient-reported outcome measures captured limitations that patients omitted or described with insufficient detail during interviews. Although verbal accounts of pain could be categorized into 3 levels of severity (pain without interference in activities, pain is not the worst ever experienced but interferes with activities, and pain is omnipresent), the pain VAS was more effective at conveying finer gradations in pain severity. Although patients may feel that patient-reported outcome measures have certain shortcomings, patient-reported outcome measures also have advantages relative to verbal discussion for communicating symptoms and disease impact.

Abstract Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus and Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella are morphologically similar species native to eastern Asia and imported to North America as biological control organisms. Preferred identification methods are coloration and pharyngeal tooth form. Grass Carp possess serrated teeth and Black Carp molariform teeth. Examination of pharyngeal teeth causes extensive damage to a specimen and is labor and time intensive. Coloration can vary within a species and fades with preservation. We present a suite of external characteristics consisting of a truss network canonical variate analysis of distance measurements among landmarks on the lateral view of the head of each fish, the ratio of head length to mouth width, the visible presence of the premaxilla viewed dorsally with the mouth fully closed, and anterior lateral line angles among scales. Canonical variate analysis suggested that Grass Carp have a deeper head at the preoperculum and Black Carp a more elongate head relative to the preoperculum and eye. Comparisons of head length to mouth width ratio, visibility of the premaxilla dorsally with the mouth fully closed, and anterior lateral line angles all served as external characteristics of species, but outliers were present for each method. Because of the plastic morphology of wild populations, we suggest that a combination of characters be applied for identification.

Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) reaches the southern edge of its range in the Sonoran Desert of California. The reproductive ecology of this wideranging species is understudied here compared to populations in the adjacent Mojave Desert. Understanding potential geographic variation in reproductive ecology is important for effective management of conservation-reliant species like G. agassizii. We studied the fecundity and clutch phenology of female G. agassizii at two study sites in the Sonoran Desert region of Joshua Tree National Park over five years (1997–1999, 2015–2016) spanning two of the strongest El Nino events on record and an epic drought. Across all years, mean clutch size was 4.3±1.5 eggs, mean clutch frequency was 1.78 clutches/female/year, and mean X-ray egg width was 36.51±1.56 mm, all of which are comparable to other published studies both in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of California. Our results generally support earlier published findings that G. agassizii utilize a bet-hedging strategy of consistently producing small clutches almost every year, even during times of low annual primary productivity. A regionally warmer climate in the Sonoran Desert of California appears to have an effect on the timing of egg production, as the earliest dates of egg visibility in our study (April 6) were approximately two weeks earlier than the earliest dates reported for G. agassizii in the Mojave Desert. Shelled eggs were no longer visible in tortoises after mid-June in all years but the El Nino year 1998, when eggs were visible until mid-July.

Abstract The phenology of egg production and oviposition in organisms affects survival and development of neonates and thus, both offspring and maternal fitness. In addition, in organisms with environmental sex determination, clutch phenology can affect hatchling sex ratios with attendant effects on population demography. The rapid rate of contemporary climate change might disrupt reproductive phenologies that evolved to match environmental conditions. To better understand the response of clutch phenology to annual and long-term changes in climate, we studied a population of Sonoran Desert Tortoises (Gopherus morafkai) in Arizona in 1993 and 1997–2005, specifically quantifying three phenophases, including (1) the estimated time of appearance of shelled eggs in females, (2) the estimated time that eggs were last visible in X-radiographs, and (3) the duration of the interval between the first two events. The mean date for appearance of shelled eggs was 6 June, and the mean date they were last visible was 26...

We compared egg size phenotypes and tested several predictions from the optimal egg size (OES) and bet‐hedging theories in two North American desert‐dwelling sister tortoise taxa, Gopherus agassizii and G. morafkai, that inhabit different climate spaces: relatively unpredictable and more predictable climate spaces, respectively. Observed patterns in both species differed from the predictions of OES in several ways. Mean egg size increased with maternal body size in both species. Mean egg size was inversely related to clutch order in G. agassizii, a strategy more consistent with the within‐generation hypothesis arising out of bet‐hedging theory or a constraint in egg investment due to resource availability, and contrary to theories of density dependence, which posit that increasing hatchling competition from later season clutches should drive selection for larger eggs. We provide empirical evidence that one species, G. agassizii, employs a bet‐hedging strategy that is a combination of two different bet‐hedging hypotheses. Additionally, we found some evidence for G. morafkai employing a conservative bet‐hedging strategy. (e.g., lack of intra‐ and interclutch variation in egg size relative to body size). Our novel adaptive hypothesis suggests the possibility that natural selection favors smaller offspring in late‐season clutches because they experience a more benign environment or less energetically challenging environmental conditions (i.e., winter) than early clutch progeny, that emerge under harsher and more energetically challenging environmental conditions (i.e., summer). We also discuss alternative hypotheses of sexually antagonistic selection, which arise from the trade‐offs of son versus daughter production that might have different optima depending on clutch order and variation in temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) among clutches. Resolution of these hypotheses will require long‐term data on fitness of sons versus daughters as a function of incubation environment, data as yet unavailable for any species with TSD.

Summary The Alabama Sturgeon (ALS) Scaphirhynchus suttkusi has the smallest maximum size (78 cm FL), most restricted native range (the Mobile Basin, restricted to large coastal plain rivers), and the lowest abundance of any North American sturgeon. This riverine species is currently restricted to 524 RKM in the lower Cahaba and Alabama rivers in south Alabama. A commercial fishery existed in the 1890s, and it was still ‘not uncommon’ in Alabama in the 1930s. However, by the 1980s there was a sharp decrease in reports and confirmed collections of ALS. The recent collapse is due to loss and fragmentation of free-flowing riverine habitat and blockage of migratory routes due to construction of dams. Since 1997, state and federal agencies have collected only six individuals while expending over 3000 personnel-da in effort. Propagation efforts have proven unsuccessful to date. The last sighting of an ALS (not captured) was by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) fisheries biologists in the Alabama River in April 2009. The last confirmed collection of an ALS occurred in April 2007. This specimen was implanted with a sonic tag, providing valuable habitat and movement data. Very little is known about life history or population structure of this species. Controversy surrounded designation of the ALS as federally endangered in the U.S. under the Endangered Species Act, with a business-oriented coalition challenging the listing through the federal circuit court of appeals. Recovery efforts are focused on obtaining individuals for propagation and providing fish passage through navigation locks on the Alabama River, although this option may not be viable for the ALS. The outlook for the ALS is bleak unless adequate number of individuals can be collected for propagation, access can be provided to historical spawning grounds in the lower Cahaba River, and flow and habitat can be restored to meet life history requirements. However, preliminary results from environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis in 2015 detected the presence of ALS in the Alabama River and may guide future collection efforts.