Fast Power and Channel Adaptation for Mobile Users in OFDMA Multi-Cell Scenarios

Methods for interference mitigation and adaptive multi-user resource allocation are among the most promising technological breakthroughs that should improve capacity of the last generation broadband wireless systems. In multi-cell scenarios characterized by radio technologies based on OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), co-channel interference is the performance limiting factor and techniques that reduce the transmission power act indirectly on the co-channel interference levels. In this paper we investigate multi-cell systems in which power and channel adaptation act as a positive factor on the interference reduction. We are interested particularly in the role of the closed loop power control and of simple techniques for fast channel assignment in multi-cell scenario with low reuse factors (possibly close to 1). It is found that, in multi-cell scenarios, spectral efficiency and possibly coverage can be improved by algorithms that are simple and fast enough to be exploited for mobile users

Overview about E-Mobility Conducted Immunity Tests on ESA Communication Lines

Due to the complexity of the Automotive Electromagnetic Compatibility legislation in force, this article aims to describe a simplified overview of several technical standards relating to conducted immunity tests on electronic sub-assemblies, where communication lines are involved. The discussed automotive standards reported in this article are: ISO 11452-1 and ISO 11452-4 for continuous narrowband electromagnetic fields immunity test, bulk current injection and tubular wave coupler, IEC 61000-4-5 for immunity against surge events, IEC 61000-4-4 for electrical fast transient/burst events immunity, ISO 10605 for electrostatic discharge events immunity, ISO 7637-2 and ISO 7637-3 for transient disturbances events immunity. For each cited standard, disturbance bandwidth evaluation was performed. Practical examples are reported, with analysis and discussion of some of the adoptable disturbance countermeasures applicable on controlled area network communication lines, and possible design advantages and disadvantages with different types of filtering and suppression circuit solutions

Ovarian development and analysis of mating effects on ovary maturation of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae)

As many other insects with a restricted diet, the citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, which vector the causing agent of the Huanglongbing, the bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter spp., is intimately associated with symbiotic microorganisms. These mutualist symbionts play a key role on their host nutritional ecology, and are vertically transmitted to the progeny. However, despite the role symbionts play on host development and reproduction, and the growing opportunities of exploitation of the association insect-symbiont to control insect vectored-pathogens, there are very few studies on the host reproductive biology and on the symbiont transovarial transmission. Therefore, we aimed at analyzing the ovary development during D. citri adulthood, and at verifying for the mating requirement as a trigger to initiate ovary development. Newly-emerged D. citri females were grouped as virgin or mated and ovary development was observed during adulthood. Newly-emerged females have immature ovaries, and ovaries remain without any mature eggs until females mate. Once female mates, the vitellogenesis synthesis and uptake are estimulated, and oocytes are quickly developed. Oocytes maturation in ovarioles is metachronic, with only one oocyte developing at a time in each oogenic cycle. Morphological observations of the reproductive system including the ovaries and spermatheca, after the first cluster of eggs is laid, indicated D. citri is polyandrous, and may require multiple mating to develop additional oogenic maturation cycles.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

A high-throughput, straightforward procedure for biomonitoring organomercury species in human hair

Mercury is a pervasive and concerning pollutant due to its toxicity, mobility, and tendency to biomagnify in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Speciation analysis is crucial to assess exposure and risks associated with mercury, as different mercury species exhibit varying properties and toxicities. This study aimed at developing a selective detection method for organic mercury species in a non-invasive biomonitoring matrix like human hair. The method is based on frontal chromatography (FC) in combination with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), using a low pressure, homemade, anion exchange column inserted in a standard ICP-MS introduction system, without requiring high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hyphenation. In addition to the extreme simplification and cost reduction of the chromatographic equipment, the proposed protocol involves a fast, streamlined and fully integrated sample preparation process (in contrast to existing methods): the optimized procedure features a 15-min ultrasonic assisted extraction procedure and 5 min analysis time. Consequently, up to 100 samples could be analyzed daily, making the method highly productive and suitable for large-scale screening programs in public and environmental health. Moreover, the optimized procedure enables a limit of detection (LOD) of 5.5 μg/kg for a 10 mg hair microsample. All these features undeniably demonstrate a significant advancement in routine biomonitoring practices. To provide additional evidence, the method was applied to forty-nine human hair samples from individuals with varying dietary habits successfully finding a clear correlation between methylmercury levels (ranging from 0.02 to 3.2 mg/kg) in hair and fish consumption, in line with previous literature data

How to clean and safely remove HF from acid digestion solutions for ultra-trace analysis: a microwave-assisted vessel-inside-vessel protocol

The complete dissolution of silicate-containing materials, often necessary for elemental determination, is generally performed by microwave-assisted digestion involving the forced use of hydrofluoric acid (HF). Although highly efficient in dissolving silicates, this acid exhibits many detrimental effects (e.g., formation of precipitates, corrosiveness to glassware) that make its removal after digestion essential. The displacement of HF is normally achieved by evaporation in open-vessel systems: atmospheric contamination or loss of analytes can occur when fuming-off HF owing to the non-ultraclean conditions necessarily adopted for safety reasons. This aspect strongly hinders determination at the ultra-trace level. To overcome this issue, we propose a clean and safe microwaveassisted procedure to induce the evaporative migration of HF inside a sealed \u201cvessel-inside-vessel\u201d system: up to 99.9% of HF can be removed by performing two additional microwave cycles after sample dissolution. HF migrates from the digestion solution to a scavenger (ultrapure H2O) via a simple physical mechanism, and then, it can be safely dismissed/recycled. The procedure was validated by a soil reference material (NIST 2710), and no external or cross-contamination was observed for the 27 trace elements studied. The results demonstrate the suitability of this protocol for ultra-trace analysis when the utilization of HF is mandatory

Advancing on the understanding of the genome, gene expression, and potential for biotechnological exploitation of the polydnavirus associated with Cotesia flavipes.

Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) in an efficient larval parasitoid of the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera, Crambidae). C. flavipes was introduced and is successfully used in applied biological control programs over extensive areas of sugarcane production in Brazil. The successful exploitation of host larvae by Cotesia flavipes is related to a plethora of regulatory molecules this wasp injects into the host or that is produced by parasitoid-derived tissues and associated symbiotic virus (Polydnavirus ? PDV). PDVs produce several proteins that allow host colonization by immature parasitoids, as they affect the host immune system, regulate host metabolism and growth. PDV-derived proteins are an interesting source of molecules that could be used in developing genetically-modified plants suitable for sustainable pest management. In order to determine the diversity of proteins the PDV associated with Cotesia flavipes (CfPDV) and their production during parasitoid development, we obtained high throughput sequencing data and partially sequenced, annotated and compared the PDV genome of C. flavipes to other related PDVs. A set of PDV genes was selected and their expression in parasitized host larvae was assessed. In order to evaluate the potential for biotechnological exploitation of such proteins in pest control, candidate genes were selected and used for plant transformation to allow testing the effects of CfPDV proteins on non-preferred host insects

A Study of Channel Model Parameters for Aerial Base Stations at 2.4 GHz in Different Environments

The 5th generation of cellular networks (5G) will provide high speed and high-availability wireless links for communication between mobile users. The usage of aerial platforms as base stations has been recently proposed to meet the above requirements, especially in densely-packed urban areas. To make an accurate prediction of the performance in such a communication system the availability of suitable channel models is a fundamental requirement. Here, we concentrate on a simple path loss and shadow fading channel model that is commonly used to describe the propagation between an aerial base station and a user on the ground. A commercial 3D ray-tracing simulator is used to extract the main parameters used in the model and the Line of Sight/Non Line of Sight probabilities as a function of the transmitter height and elevation angle. We consider three reference scenarios: Suburban, Urban and Urban High Rise generated according to ITU-R specifications. As a novel contribution, we also show simulation results for the spatial correlation of the received signal in the three considered scenarios

Improved detection of chemical substances from colorimetric sensor data using probabilistic machine learning

We present a data-driven machine learning approach to detect drug- and explosives-precursors using colorimetric sensor technology for air-sampling. The sensing technology has been developed in the context of the CRIM-TRACK project. At present a fullyintegrated portable prototype for air sampling with disposable sensing chips and automated data acquisition has been developed. The prototype allows for fast, user-friendly sampling, which has made it possible to produce large datasets of colorimetric data for different target analytes in laboratory and simulated real-world application scenarios. To make use of the highly multi-variate data produced from the colorimetric chip a number of machine learning techniques are employed to provide reliable classification of target analytes from confounders found in the air streams. We demonstrate that a data-driven machine learning method using dimensionality reduction in combination with a probabilistic classifier makes it possible to produce informative features and a high detection rate of analytes. Furthermore, the probabilistic machine learning approach provides a means of automatically identifying unreliable measurements that could produce false predictions. The robustness of the colorimetric sensor has been evaluated in a series of experiments focusing on the amphetamine pre-cursor phenylacetone as well as the improvised explosives pre-cursor hydrogen peroxide. The analysis demonstrates that the system is able to detect analytes in clean air and mixed with substances that occur naturally in real-world sampling scenarios. The technology under development in CRIM-TRACK has the potential as an effective tool to control traf- ficking of illegal drugs, explosive detection, or in other law enforcement applications.EU FP7 Grant Agreement Number 31320