Leveraging the Grid to Provide a Global Platform for Ubiquitous Computing Research

The requirement for distributed systems support for Ubicomp has led to the development of numerous platforms, each addressing a subset of the overall requirements of ubiquitous systems. In contrast, many other scientific disciplines have embraced the vision of a global distributed computing platform, i.e. the Grid. We believe that the Grid has the potential to evolve into an ideal platform for building ubiquitous computing applications. In this paper we explore in detail the areas of synergy between Grid computing and ubiquitous computing and highlight a series of research challenges in this space

Heat-tolerant maize for rainfed hot, dry environments in the lowland tropics: from breeding to improved seed delivery

Climate change-induced heat stress combines two challenges: high day- and nighttime temperatures, and physiological water deficit due to demand-side drought caused by increase in vapor-pressure deficit. It is one of the major factors in low productivity of maize in rainfed stress-prone environments in South Asia, affecting a large population of smallholder farmers who depend on maize for their sustenance and livelihoods. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) maize program in Asia, in partnership with public-sector maize research institutes and private-sector seed companies in South Asian countries, is implementing an intensive initiative for developing and deploying heat-tolerant maize that combines high yield potential with resilience to heat and drought stresses. With the integration of novel breeding tools and methods, including genomics-assisted breeding, doubled haploidy, field-based precision phenotyping, and trait-based selection, new maize germplasm with increased tolerance to heat stress is being developed for the South Asian tropics. Over a decade of concerted effort has resulted in the successful development and release of 20 high-yielding heat-tolerant maize hybrids in CIMMYT genetic backgrounds. Via public–private partnerships, eight hybrids are presently being deployed on over 50,000 ha in South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan

Correlating sensors and activities in an intelligent environment: A logistic regression approach

An important problem in intelligent environments is how the system can identify and model users' activities. This paper describes a new technique for identifying correlations between sensors and activities in an intelligent environment. Intelligent systems can then use these correlations to recognize the activities in a space. The proposed approach is motivated by the need for distinguishing the critical set of sensors that identifies a specific activity from others that do not. We compare several correlation techniques and show that logistic regression is a suitable solution. Finally, we describe our approach and report preliminary results

Payment support in ubiquitous computing environments

Despite ten years of extensive research, M. Weiser's (1991) vision of ubiquitous computing is far from a widespread reality. While research into enabling technologies has progressed significantly, there has been a lack of research into the economic and commercial aspects of ubiquitous computing. We investigate techniques that will enable investors in ubiquitous computing infrastructure and services to recoup their investment through charging for service use. In particular, we identify the key requirements for a ubiquitous computing payment system, discuss existing payment systems and present the payment session protocol (PSP) that is designed to support payment-enabled ubiquitous computing environments

Nanofertilizers towards sustainable agriculture and environment

Precise nutrient management of crops and soil fertility will be a major challenge worldwide in the coming decades because current agricultural practices rely predominantly on chemical fertilizers. The use of conventional fertilizers suffers from low crop nutrient efficiency, negative impacts on the environment, and high loss of water bodies. Nano-biotechnology is emerging as a promising alternative technique and has the potential to revolutionize agricultural systems by delivering nutrients to crops in a controlled release manner. Engineering nanoparticles-based nanofertilizers offer benefits in crop nutrition management by enhancing abiotic stress tolerance and improving agricultural productivity. This review focuses on the design, contribution, and interaction of nano-enabled fertilizers with edible plants based on very recent studies. Also, the review conveys the role of macronutrient, micronutrient-based nanofertilizer as well as nano-biofertilizer towards the development of smart and sustainable future agriculture.This project was done with financial support from the Ministry of Education, Bangladesh (Project ID: PS-2018774).Peer reviewe