A Low Energy FPGA Platform for Real-Time Event-Based Control

We present a wireless sensor node suitable for event-based real-time control networks. The node achieves low-power operation thanks to tight clock synchronisation with the network master (at present we refer to a star network but extensions are envisaged). Also, the node does not employ any programmable device but rather an FPGA, thus being inherently immune to attacks based on code tampering. Experimental results on a simple laboratory apparatus are presented

Economic Optimism High Among Granite Staters 3/4/2020

Optimism about business conditions in New Hampshire remains high and nearly half of residents foresee continuous good times for the national economy over the next five years, the highest percentage to say so since 2004. However, much of the positivity concerning the national economy and household finances is driven by record or near high optimism among Republicans, as Independents and Democrats are more sanguine. These findings are based on interviews conducted largely prior to the increased number of cases of coronavirus in the United States and its effect on the U.S. economy and markets

Studies of a Lacustrine-Volcanic Mars Analog Field Site with Mars-2020-like Instruments

On the upcoming Mars‐2020 rover two remote sensing instruments, Mastcam‐Z and SuperCam, and two microscopic proximity science instruments, SHERLOC and PIXL, will collect compositional (mineralogy, chemistry, and organics) data essential for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The synergies between and limitations of these instruments were evaluated via study of a Mars analog field site in the Mojave Desert, using instruments approximating the data that will be returned by Mars‐2020. A ground truth dataset was generated for comparison to validate the results. The site consists of a succession of clay‐rich mudstones of lacustrine origin, interbedded tuffs, a carbonate‐silica travertine deposit, and gypsiferous mudstone strata. The major geological units were mapped successfully using simulated Mars‐2020 data. Simulated Mastcam‐Z data identified unit boundaries and Fe‐bearing weathering products. Simulated SuperCam passive shortwave infrared and green Raman data were essential in identifying major mineralogical composition and changes in lacustrine facies at distance; this was possible even with spectrally downsampled passive IR data. LIBS and simulated PIXL data discriminated and mapped major element chemistry. Simulated PIXL revealed mm‐scale zones enriched in zirconium, of interest for age dating. SHERLOC‐like data mapped sulfate and carbonate at sub‐mm scale; silicates were identified with increased laser pulses/spot or by averaging of hundreds of spectra. Fluorescence scans detected and mapped varied classes of organics in all samples, characterized further with follow‐on spatially targeted deep‐UV Raman spectra. Development of dedicated organics spectral libraries is needed to aid interpretation. Given these observations, the important units in the outcrop would be sampled and cached for sample return

Observed Tightening of Tropical Ascent in Recent Decades and Linkage to Regional Precipitation Changes

Climate models predict that the tropical ascending region should tighten under global warming, but observational quantification of the tightening rate is limited. Here we show that the observed spatial extent of the relatively moist, rainy and cloudy regions in the tropics associated with large‐scale ascent has been decreasing at a rate of −1%/decade (−5%/K) from 1979 to 2016, resulting from combined effects of interdecadal variability and anthropogenic forcings, with the former contributing more than the latter. The tightening of tropical ascent is associated with an increase in the occurrence frequency of extremely strong ascent, leading to an increase in the average precipitation rate in the top 1% of monthly rainfall in the tropics. At the margins of the convective zones such as the Southeast Amazonia region, the contraction of large‐scale ascent is related to a long‐term drying trend about −3.2%/decade in the past 38 years