Properties of Channel Interference for Wi-Fi Location Fingerprinting

Localization systems for indoor areas have recently been suggested that make use of existing wireless local area network (WLAN) infrastructure and location fingerprinting approach. However, most existing research work ignores channel interference between wireless infrastructures and this could affect accurate and precise positioning. A better understanding of the properties of channel interference could assist in improving the positioning accuracy while saving significant amounts of resources in the location-aware infrastructure. This paper investigates to what extent the positioning accuracy is affected by channel interference between access points. Two sets of experiments compare how the positioning accuracy is affected in three different channel assignment schemes: ad-hoc, sequential, and orthogonal data is analyzed to understand what features of channel interference affect positioning accuracy. The results show that choosing an appropriate channel assignment scheme could make localization 10% more accurate and reduces the number of access points that are required by 15%. The experimental analysis also indicates that the channel interference usually obeys a right-skewed distribution and positioning accuracy is heavily dependent on channel interference between access points (APs)

Exploring the Photocyclization Pathways of Styrylthiophenes in the Synthesis of Thiahelicenes: When the Theory and Experiment Meet

The introduction of thiophene rings to the helical structure of carbohelicenes has electronic effects that may be used advantageously in organic electronics. The performance of these devices is highly dependent on the sulfur atom topology, so a precise knowledge of the synthetic routes that may afford isomeric structures is necessary. We have studied the photocyclization pathway of both 2- and 3-styrylthiophenes on their way to thiahelicenes by experiment and theory. To begin with, the synthesis of stereochemically well-defined 2- and 3-styrylthiophenes allowed us to register first, and simulate later, the UV–vis electronic spectra of these precursors. This information gave us access through time-dependent density functional theory calculations to the very nature of the excited states involved in the photocyclization step and from there to the regio- and stereochemical outcome of the reaction. For the widely known case of a 2-styrylthiophene derivative, the expected naphtho[2,1-b]thiophene type of ring fusion was predicted and experimentally observed by synthesis. On the contrary, 3-styrylthiophene derivatives have been seldom used in synthetic photocyclizations. Among the two possible structural outcomes, only the naphtho[1,2-b]thiophene type of ring fusion was found to be mechanistically sound, and this was actually the only compound observed by synthesis.Financial support by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MAT2016-78625-C2-2-P), the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (PID2019-109539GB-C4 and PGC2018-096955-B-C44), the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2017/139), and finally, the University of Alicante (VIGROB-285) is gratefully acknowledged. The computational resources provided by the Department of Applied Physics of the University of Alicante are greatly appreciated

Mud volcanoes and methane seeps in Romania: main features and gas flux

Romania is one of the European countries with the most vigorous natural seepage of methane, uprising from pressurised natural gas and petroleum reservoirs through deep faults. The largest seepage zone is represented by large mud volcanoes, with CH4 >80% v/v, occurring on the Berca-Arbanasi hydrocarbon-bearing faulted anticline, in the Carpathian Foredeep. Smaller mud volcanoes have been identified in other areas of the Carpathian Foredeep, in the Transylvanian Depression and on the Moldavian Platform. New surveys carried out in Transylvania allowed us to discover the richest N2 mud volcano zone in the world (N2>90% v/v), with a remarkably high He content and a helium isotopic signature which highlights a contribution of mantle-derived source. The large mud volcanoes are generally quiescent, with rare explosive episodes and provide a methane flux in the order of 102-103 t km−2 y−1. Independently from mud volcanism, a remarkable dry macroseepage, however, has been found, with a degassing rate up to three orders of magnitude higher than that of mud volcanoes (i.e. 103-105 t km−2 y−1). The total gas flux from all investigated macroseepage zones in Romania is estimated in the range of 1500-2500 t y−1. The emission from microseepage, pervasively occurring throughout the hydrocarbon-prone basins, has yet to be assessed and added to the total gas output to the atmosphere

An edge-queued datagram service for all datacenter traffic

Modern datacenters support a wide range of protocols and in-network switch enhancements aimed at improving performance. Unfortunately, the resulting protocols often do not coexist gracefully because they inevitably interact via queuing in the network. In this paper we describe EQDS, a new datagram service for datacenters that moves almost all of the queuing out of the core network and into the sending host. This enables it to support multiple (conflicting) higher layer protocols, while only sending packets into the network according to any receiver-driven credit scheme. EQDS can transparently speed up legacy TCP and RDMA stacks, and enables transport protocol evolution, while benefiting from future switch enhancements without needing to modify higher layer stacks. We show through simulation and multiple implementations that EQDS can reduce FCT of legacy TCP by 2x, improve the NVMeOF-RDMA throughput by 30%, and safely run TCP alongside RDMA on the same network

Strategies and cognitive reserve to preserve lexical production in aging.

In the absence of any neuropsychiatric condition, older adults may show declining performance in several cognitive processes and among them, in retrieving and producing words, reflected in slower responses and even reduced accuracy compared to younger adults. To overcome this difficulty, healthy older adults implement compensatory strategies, which are the focus of this paper. We provide a review of mainstream findings on deficient mechanisms and possible neurocognitive strategies used by older adults to overcome the deleterious effects of age on lexical production. Moreover, we present findings on genetic and lifestyle factors that might either be protective or risk factors of cognitive impairment in advanced age. We propose that "aging-modulating factors" (AMF) can be modified, offering prevention opportunities against aging effects. Based on our review and this proposition, we introduce an integrative neurocognitive model of mechanisms and compensatory strategies for lexical production in older adults (entitled Lexical Access and Retrieval in Aging, LARA). The main hypothesis defended in LARA is that cognitive aging evolves heterogeneously and involves complementary domain-general and domain-specific mechanisms, with substantial inter-individual variability, reflected at behavioral, cognitive, and brain levels. Furthermore, we argue that the ability to compensate for the effect of cognitive aging depends on the amount of reserve specific to each individual which is, in turn, modulated by the AMF. Our conclusion is that a variety of mechanisms and compensatory strategies coexist in the same individual to oppose the effect of age. The role of reserve is pivotal for a successful coping with age-related changes and future research should continue to explore the modulating role of AMF

Signature of adsorbed solvents for molecular electronics revealed via scanning tunneling microscopy

After evaporation of the organic solvents, benzene, toluene, and cyclohexane on gold substrates, Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) shows the presence of a remaining adsorbed layer. The different solvent molecules were individually observed at ambient conditions, and their electronic transport properties characterized through the STM in the Break Junction approach. The combination of both techniques reveals, on one hand, that solvents are not fully evaporated over the gold electrode and, secondly, characterize the electronic transport of the solvents in molecular electronics.This work was supported by the Spanish Government (MAT2016-78625-C2 and PID2019-109539 GB-C41) and the Generalitat Valenciana through PROMETEO/2017/139 and program CDEIGENT/2018/028

Behavioral assessment of emotional and motivational appraisal during visual processing of emotional scenes depending on spatial frequencies

a b s t r a c t Previous studies performed on visual processing of emotional stimuli have revealed preference for a specific type of visual spatial frequencies (high spatial frequency, HSF; low spatial frequency, LSF) according to task demands. The majority of studies used a face and focused on the appraisal of the emotional state of others. The present behavioral study investigates the relative role of spatial frequencies on processing emotional natural scenes during two explicit cognitive appraisal tasks, one emotional, based on the selfemotional experience and one motivational, based on the tendency to action. Our results suggest that HSF information was the most relevant to rapidly identify the self-emotional experience (unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral) while LSF was required to rapidly identify the tendency to action (avoidance, approach, and no action). The tendency to action based on LSF analysis showed a priority for unpleasant stimuli whereas the identification of emotional experience based on HSF analysis showed a priority for pleasant stimuli. The present study confirms the interest of considering both emotional and motivational characteristics of visual stimuli