Epidgeons: Combining Drones and DTNs Technologies to Provide Connectivity in Remote Areas

© Owner/Author. 2015 This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive Version of Record was published in ACM, In Proceedings of the First Workshop on Micro Aerial Vehicle Networks, Systems, and Applications for Civilian Use (pp. 57-58). http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2750675.2750688.In certain geographical areas such as the rural areas or the developing regions, the lack of infrastructure, the temporary nature of the connections and the limited access to fixed public networks does not allow the use of all the advantages offered by the Internet. In this paper we present our project that aims to test a new communication system based on the combination of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (called ePidgeons) and wireless networking technologies for Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTN). As a study case we will use the riparian communities along the rivers in the Amazon region.Manzoni, P.; Tavares De Araujo Cesariny Calafate, CM.; Cano Escribá, JC.; Mota, E. (2015). Epidgeons: Combining Drones and DTNs Technologies to Provide Connectivity in Remote Areas. ACM Digital Library. doi:10.1145/2750675.2750688SJ. Crowcroft, E. Yoneki, P. Hui, and T. Henderson, "Promoting tolerance for delay tolerant network research", ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, vol. 38, no. 5, Oct. 2008, pp. 63--68.Project "Networking for Communications Challenged Communities: Architecture, Test Beds and Innovative Alliances" (N4C), http://www.n4c.eu/.Project "DakNet", http://www.unitedvillages.com/.Phuong Tran Thi Ha, H. Yamamoto, K. Yamazaki, "Using Autonomous Air Vehicle in DTN Sensor Network for Environmental Observation", IEEE 37th Annual Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC) 2013, pp. 447--450.Uchida, N.; Kawamura, N.; Ishida, T.; Shibata, Y., "Proposal of Autonomous Flight Wireless Nodes with Delay Tolerant Networks for Disaster Use," 2014 Eighth International Conference on Innovative Mobile and Internet Services in Ubiquitous Computing (IMIS), 2-4 July 2014M. Coutinho, T. Moreira, E. Silva, A. Efrat, and T. Johnson. A new proposal of data mule network focused on Amazon riverine population. In Proceedings of the 3rd Extreme Conference on Communication: The Amazon Expedition (ExtremeCom '11). ACM, New York, NY, USAHervé Ntareme, Marco Zennaro, and Björn Pehrson. Delay tolerant network on smartphones: applications for communication challenged areas. In Proceedings of the 3rd Extreme Conference on Communication: The Amazon Expedition (ExtremeCom '11). ACM, New York, NY, USAMartinez-Vidal, Ruben, et al. "Mobile-agent based delay-tolerant network architecture for non-critical aeronautical data communications." Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence. Springer International Publishing, 2013. 513--520

A DTN routing scheme for quasi-deterministic networks with application to LEO satellites topology

We propose a novel DTN routing algorithm, called DQN, specifically designed for quasi-deterministic networks with an application to satellite constellations. We demonstrate that our proposal efficiently forwards the information over a satellite network derived from the Orbcomm topology while keeping a low replication overhead. We compare our algorithm against other well-known DTN routing schemes and show that we obtain the lowest replication ratio without the knowledge of the topology and with a delivery ratio of the same order of magnitude than a reference theoretical optimal routing

Oxidative Stress Associated with Chilling Injury in Immature Fruit: Postharvest Technological and Biotechnological Solutions

Immature, vegetable-like fruits are produced by crops of great economic importance, including cucumbers, zucchini, eggplants and bell peppers, among others. Because of their high respiration rates, associated with high rates of dehydration and metabolism, and their susceptibility to chilling injury (CI), vegetable fruits are highly perishable commodities, requiring particular storage conditions to avoid postharvest losses. This review focuses on the oxidative stress that affects the postharvest quality of vegetable fruits under chilling storage. We define the physiological and biochemical factors that are associated with the oxidative stress and the development of CI symptoms in these commodities, and discuss the different physical, chemical and biotechnological approaches that have been proposed to reduce oxidative stress while enhancing the chilling tolerance of vegetable fruits

Adaptation to high ethanol reveals complex evolutionary pathways

Tolerance to high levels of ethanol is an ecologically and industrially relevant phenotype of microbes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this complex trait remain largely unknown. Here, we use long-term experimental evolution of isogenic yeast populations of different initial ploidy to study adaptation to increasing levels of ethanol. Whole-genome sequencing of more than 30 evolved populations and over 100 adapted clones isolated throughout this two-year evolution experiment revealed how a complex interplay of de novo single nucleotide mutations, copy number variation, ploidy changes, mutator phenotypes, and clonal interference led to a significant increase in ethanol tolerance. Although the specific mutations differ between different evolved lineages, application of a novel computational pipeline, PheNetic, revealed that many mutations target functional modules involved in stress response, cell cycle regulation, DNA repair and respiration. Measuring the fitness effects of selected mutations introduced in non-evolved ethanol-sensitive cells revealed several adaptive mutations that had previously not been implicated in ethanol tolerance, including mutations in PRT1, VPS70 and MEX67. Interestingly, variation in VPS70 was recently identified as a QTL for ethanol tolerance in an industrial bio-ethanol strain. Taken together, our results show how, in contrast to adaptation to some other stresses, adaptation to a continuous complex and severe stress involves interplay of different evolutionary mechanisms. In addition, our study reveals functional modules involved in ethanol resistance and identifies several mutations that could help to improve the ethanol tolerance of industrial yeasts

A compendium of Technologies, Practices, Services and Policies for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture in Odisha (India)

Stakeholders engaged in agricultural research for development (AR4D) are increasingly tackling risks associated with climate change in smallholder systems. Accordingly, development and scaling of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) are one of the priorities for all the organizations, departments and ministries associated with the farm sector. Having a ‘one-stop-shop’ compiled in the format of a compendium for CSA technologies, practices and services would therefore serve a guide for all the stakeholders for scaling CSA in smallholder systems. Bringing out a Compendium on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) for Odisha, India was therefore thought of during the workshop on ‘Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture in Odisha’ organized at Bhubaneswar on 18-19 July 2018 by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in collaboration with Department of Agriculture (DoA) & Farmers’ Empowerment, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI), Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) & International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the aegis of CGIAR Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The main objectives to bring forth this compendium are: to argue the case for agriculture policies and practices that are climate-smart; to raise awareness of what can be done to make agriculture policies and practices climatesmart; and to provide practical guidance and recommendations that are well referenced and, wherever possible, based on lessons learned from practical action. CSA programmes are unlikely to be effective unless their implementation is supported by sound policies and institutions. It is therefore important to enhance institutional capacities in order to implement and replicate CSA strategies. Institutions are vital to agricultural development as well as the realisation of resilient livelihoods.They are not only a tool for farmers and decision-makers, but are also the main conduit through which CSA practices can be scaled up and sustained. The focus in this compendium is on CSA and it’s relevant aspects, i.e., (i) technologies and practices, (ii) services, (iii) technology targeting, (iv) business models, (v) capacity building, and (vi) policies. The approaches and tools available in the compendium span from face-to-face technicianfarmer dialogues to more structured exchanges of online and offline e-learning. In every scenario it is clear that tailoring to local expectations and needs is key. In particular, the voice of farmers is essential to be captured as they are the key actors to promote sustainable agriculture, and their issues need to be prioritized. CSA practices are expected to sustainably increase productivity and resilience (adaptation), reduce Greenhouse Gases (mitigation), and enhance achievement of national food security along with sustainable development goals. CSA is widely expected to contribute towards achieving these objectives and enhance climate change adaptation. CSA practices have to be included in State’s Climate Policy as a priority intervention as the state steps up efforts to tackle climate change. Furthermore, emphasis shoud be laid on CSA training for a sustainable mode to enhance CSA adoption in the state hence the relevance of developing this document. The adaption of climate related knowledge, technologies and practices to local conditions, promoting joint learning by farmers, researchers, rural advisor and widely disseminating CSA practices, is critical. This compendium brings together a collection of experiences from different stakeholders with background of agricultural extension and rural advisory services in supporting CSA. The contributions are not intended to be state-of-the art academic articles but thought and discussion pieces of work in progress. The compendium itself is a ‘living‘ document which is intended to be revised periodically