Minimum Cost Design of Cellular Networks in Rural Areas with UAVs, Optical Rings, Solar Panels and Batteries

Bringing the cellular connectivity in rural zones is a big challenge, due to the large installation costs that are incurred when a legacy cellular network based on fixed Base Stations (BSs) is deployed. To tackle this aspect, we consider an alternative architecture composed of UAV-based BSs to provide cellular coverage, ground sites to connect the UAVs with the rest of the network, Solar Panels (SPs) and batteries to recharge the UAVs and to power the ground sites, and a ring of optical fiber links to connect the installed sites. We then target the minimization of the installation costs for the considered UAV-based cellular architecture, by taking into account the constraints of UAVs coverage, SPs energy consumption, levels of the batteries and the deployment of the optical ring. After providing the problem formulation, we derive an innovative methodology to ensure that a single ring of installed optical fibers is deployed. Moreover, we propose a new algorithm, called DIARIZE, to practically tackle the problem. Our results, obtained over a set of representative rural scenarios, show that DIARIZE performs very close to the optimal solution, and in general outperforms a reference design based on fixed BSs

Commitment to corporate, social, and environmental responsibilities: an insight into contrasting perspectives in China and the US

This cross-national study investigates antecedents and outcomes of corporate responsibility (CR) practices to stakeholders and the natural environment in the contrasting contexts of China and the US. In general, we found partial support for the proposition that the divergence of CR stakeholder practices across nations is dependent on the institutional environments of business. Whereas customer and community stakeholder practices were found to be more prevalent in US companies, there were no significant country differences in the prevalence of employee, investor, and environmental CR practices. In addition, we found that the relationship between the prevalence of CR practices and business outcomes (financial performance, corporate reputation, and employee commitment) varied depending on the type of CR practice and country

Having a family doctor is associated with some better patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations

<b>Background</b> Hong Kong (HK) has pluralistic primary care that is provided by a variety of doctors. The aim of our study was to assess patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations in HK and whether having a family doctor (FD) made any difference.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We interviewed by telephone 3148 subjects from 5174 contacted households (response rate 60.8%) randomly selected from the general population of HK about the experience of their last primary care consultations in September 2007 and April 2008. We compared the patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and patient-centered process of care in those with a FD, those with other types of regular primary care doctors (ORD) and those without any regular primary care doctor (NRD). PRO included patient enablement, global improvement in health, overall satisfaction, and likelihood of recommending their doctors to family and friends. Patient-centered process of care indicators was explanations about the illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Results</b> One thousand one hundred fifty, 746, and 1157 reported to have FD, ORD, and NRD, respectively. Over 80% of those with FD consulted their usual primary care doctors in the last consultation compared with 27% of those with NRD. Compared with subjects having ORD or NRD, subjects with FD reported being more enabled after the consultation and were more likely to recommend their doctors to family and friends. Subjects with FD and ORD were more likely than those having NRD to report a global improvement in health and satisfaction. FD group was more likely than the other two groups to report receiving an explanation on the diagnosis, nature, and expected course of the illness, and having their concerns addressed. Patient enablement was associated with explanation of diagnosis, nature, and expected course of illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> People with a regular FD were more likely to feel being enabled and to experience patient-centered care in consultations

CHONDRITES-CLADICHNUS ICHNOCOENOSIS FROM THE DEEP-SEA DEPOSITS OF PIERFRANCESCO (CRETACEOUS; ITALY): OXYGEN- OR NUTRIENT-LIMITED?

The Italian Northern Apennines are acknowledged as the place where ichnology was born, but there is comparatively little work about their ichnological record. This study bridges this gap by describing two new ichnosites from the locality of Pierfrancesco, which preserve an abundant, low-disparity trace-fossil assemblage within the Late Cretaceous beds of the M. Cassio Flysch. Results show that lithofacies and ichnotaxa are rhythmically organized. The base of each cycle consists of Megagrapton-bearing calciclastic turbidites, which are overlain by marlstone beds with an abundant, low-disparity assemblage of trace fossils. This includes Chondrites intricatus, C. patulus, C. targionii, C. recurvus and Cladichnus fischeri. The cycle top consists of mudstones with no distinct burrows. The rhythmic pattern of Pierfrancesco reflects a deep-sea ecological succession, in which species and behaviour changed as turbidite-related disturbances altered the seafloor. This study opens the question of whether the Chondrites-Cladichnus ichnocoenosis represents low-oxygen or nutrient-poor settings

Editorial

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The AuthorsEvery two years, the Pollutant Toxic Ions and Molecules Conference, PTIM, meets the environmentalist, biologist, chemists and health researchers in Costa de Caparica, Portugal, to showcase the latest technologies, methodologies and research advances in pollution detection, contamination control, remediation, and related health issues, as well as policy implications.publishersversionpublishe

Photonic Integrated Circuit Comprising Mode-Locked Laser and Pulse Interleaver for Wavelength Tunable THz Signal Generation

We report a photonic chip comprising multiple colliding pulse mode-locked laser and delay line-assisted Mach-Zehnder interleaver to generate 350GHz wave signal. With this mode-locked laser fourth harmonics are obtained. The interleaver quadruples the repetition rate. An integrated phase modulator enables wavelength tuning up to 0.03nm.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 642355 and Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad DiDACTIC project (TEC2013-47753-C3-3-R). The authors would like to thank SMART Photonics for the chip fabrication

New species of Epacanthion (Nematoda: Thoracostomopsidae) from Patagonia coast, Río Negro and Chubut, Argentina

Two new free-living marine nematodes belonging to the family Thoracostomopsidae,subfamily Enoplolaiminae and the genera Epacanthion are described from Patagonian coastal areas, Río Negro and Chubut provinces of Argentina. In Epacanthion bicuspidatum sp. nov. the main features are: two cusps on distal mandible end, presence of two rings of eight setae in the cervical region and eight setae in crown-shaped along the body, presence of one supplement distant two cbd from cloacae, gubernaculum and short spicule. Epacanthion ampullatum sp. nov. is characterized by having a tubular and long precloacal supplement, short spicule, presence of gubernaculum, presence of three long setae on the tip of the tail, the presence of one supplement distant three cbd from cloacae and the presence of two small cusps on the distal end of the mandible.Fil: Lo Russo, Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagonico; Argentina;Fil: Villares, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagonico; Argentina;Fil: Martelli, Antonela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagonico; Argentina;Fil: Pastor, Catalina Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagonico; Argentina;Fil: Harguinteguy, Carlos Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (p); Argentina