Towards Energy Neutrality in Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks: A Case for Distributed Compressive Sensing?

This paper advocates the use of the emerging distributed compressive sensing (DCS) paradigm in order to deploy energy harvesting (EH) wireless sensor networks (WSN) with practical network lifetime and data gathering rates that are substantially higher than the state-of-the-art. In particular, we argue that there are two fundamental mechanisms in an EH WSN: i) the energy diversity associated with the EH process that entails that the harvested energy can vary from sensor node to sensor node, and ii) the sensing diversity associated with the DCS process that entails that the energy consumption can also vary across the sensor nodes without compromising data recovery. We also argue that such mechanisms offer the means to match closely the energy demand to the energy supply in order to unlock the possibility for energy-neutral WSNs that leverage EH capability. A number of analytic and simulation results are presented in order to illustrate the potential of the approach.Comment: 6 pages. This work will be presented at the 2013 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), Atlanta, US, December 201

Understanding the adoption of a new waste management system

Vorobeva, D., Scott, I. J., Oliveira, T., & Neto, M. (2023). Leveraging technology for waste sustainability: Understanding the adoption of a new waste management system. Sustainable Environment Research, (33), [12]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42834-023-00174-x --- The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal under the project UIDB/0415s2/2020—Centro de Investigação em Gestão de Informação (MagIC). Project BEE2WasteCrypto (reference IDT-COP 45933) leading to this work is co-financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalisation COMPETE 2020, the Lisbon Portugal Regional Operational Program – LISBOA 2020 and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT under CMU Portugal Program.Many countries are under escalating pressure to meet legally binding targets in relation to recycling and waste management. This paper explores how innovative tools, including blockchain, economic incentives, and gamification, encourage consumer adoption of a novel household waste management system. We focus on developing a comprehensive framework that combines UTAUT2 (the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2) with novel features in the waste management context and additional behavioral construct, intention to recommend the system to others. We tested the proposed model using the partial least square structural equation modeling approach based on a survey of 400 respondents. The results indicate that in addition to effort expectancy, social influence, and hedonic motivation, trust, a property of blockchain technology, also impacts the respondent’s behavioral intention to use the new system. Furthermore, trust has a significant effect on both the level of system use and intention to recommend waste management system to others. The role of gamification was identified as a moderator between behavioral intention and system use and between trust and system use but not between system use and facilitating conditions. This result demonstrates that gamification can be valuable to increase adoption in users with otherwise low levels of behavioral intention. However, we did not find a strong link between either economic incentives, facilitating conditions, or performance expectancy and behavioral intention. The paper concludes by presenting the application of the proposed framework and the implications for the design of future consumer-facing waste management systems. The introduction of the novel features such as blockchain and gamification is discussed.publishersversionpublishe

The role of financial incentives and pro-environmental behavior

Vorobeva, D., Scott, I. J., Oliveira, T., & Neto, M. (2022). Adoption of new household waste management technologies: The role of financial incentives and pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Cleaner Production, 362(August), 1-10. [132328]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132328 --- Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal under the project UIDB/0415s2/2020 - Centro de Investigação em Gestão de Informação (MagIC) . Project BEE2WasteCrypto (reference IDT-COP 45933) leading to this work is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalisation COMPETE 2020, the Lisbon Portugal Regional Operational Program – LISBOA 2020 and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT under CMU Portugal Program.New technological solutions can encourage lower household waste production and higher levels of waste separation. This paper focuses on analyzing the role of different behavioral factors, such as empowerment and pro-environmental behavior (PEB), have on citizens' intention to use a novel household waste management and separation system and how these interact with the financial incentives typically applied in this area, pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) and save-as-you-throw (SAYT). The proposed model was tested in Portugal using the structural equation modeling approach. Survey data from 400 respondents found that empowerment plays a vital role in adopting an innovative waste management system. The research discerns pro-environmental behavior (PEB) both as an antecedent and a moderator between system use and empowerment, system use and behavioral intention, and also between system use and financial incentives. We discovered that for people with low perceived PEB, PAYT actually reduces the use of the new waste management system, while SAYT can increase the use of the system. Furthermore, increasing the empowerment of users in the system can work exceptionally well at encouraging consumers that already have a high level of PEB. The paper concludes with a discussion section about the developed framework's application and implication in the waste management sector. This study is valuable for understanding how citizens will adopt a new waste management system and essential for encouraging citizens to engage in recycling behavior regularly.publishersversionpublishe

CONJURE: automatic generation of constraint models from problem specifications

Funding: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/V027182/1, EP/P015638/1), Royal Society (URF/R/180015).When solving a combinatorial problem, the formulation or model of the problem is critical tothe efficiency of the solver. Automating the modelling process has long been of interest because of the expertise and time required to produce an effective model of a given problem. We describe a method to automatically produce constraint models from a problem specification written in the abstract constraint specification language Essence. Our approach is to incrementally refine the specification into a concrete model by applying a chosen refinement rule at each step. Any nontrivial specification may be refined in multiple ways, creating a space of models to choose from. The handling of symmetries is a particularly important aspect of automated modelling. Many combinatorial optimisation problems contain symmetry, which can lead to redundant search. If a partial assignment is shown to be invalid, we are wasting time if we ever consider a symmetric equivalent of it. A particularly important class of symmetries are those introduced by the constraint modelling process: modelling symmetries. We show how modelling symmetries may be broken automatically as they enter a model during refinement, obviating the need for an expensive symmetry detection step following model formulation. Our approach is implemented in a system called Conjure. We compare the models producedby Conjure to constraint models from the literature that are known to be effective. Our empirical results confirm that Conjure can reproduce successfully the kernels of the constraint models of 42 benchmark problems found in the literature.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Glutathione is involved in environmental stress responses in Rhizobium tropici, including acid tolerance

The isolation of rhizobial strains which exhibit an intrinsic tolerance to acidic conditions has been reported and has facilitated studies on the basic mechanisms underlying acid tolerance. Rhizobium tropici strain CIAT899 displays a high intrinsic tolerance to acidity and therefore was used in this work to study the molecular basis of bacterial responses to acid conditions and other environmental stresses. We generated a collection of R. tropici CIAT899 mutants affected in acid tolerance using Tn5-luxAB mutagenesis, and one mutant strain (CIAT899-13T2), which fails to grow under acid conditions, was characterized in detail. Strain CIAT899-13T2 was found to contain a single Tn5-luxAB insertion in a gene showing a high degree of similarity with the Escherichia coli gshB gene, encoding the enzyme glutathione synthetase. Intracellular potassium pools and intracellular pH levels were found to be lower in the mutant than in the parent. The glutathione-deficient mutant was shown to be sensitive to weak organic acids, osmotic and oxidative stresses, and the presence of methylglyoxal. Glutathione restores responses to these stresses almost to wild-type levels. Our data show that in R. tropici the production of glutathione is essential for growth in extreme environmental conditions. The mutant strain CIAT899-13T2 induced effective nodules; however, it was found to be outcompeted by the wild-type strain in coinoculation experiments.Facultad de Ciencias ExactasInstituto de Biotecnologia y Biologia Molecula

How Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Differ in Their Use of Neuroscience Evidence

Much of the public debate surrounding the intersection of neuroscience and criminal law is based on assumptions about how prosecutors and defense attorneys differ in their use of neuroscience evidence. For example, according to some commentators, the defense’s use of neuroscience evidence will abdicate criminals of all responsibility for their offenses. In contrast, the prosecution’s use of that same evidence will unfairly punish the most vulnerable defendants as unfixable future dangers to society. This “double- edged sword” view of neuroscience evidence is important for flagging concerns about the law’s construction of criminal responsibility and punishment: it demonstrates that the same information about the defendant can either be mitigating or aggravating depending on who is raising it. Yet empirical assessments of legal decisions reveal a far more nuanced reality, showing that public beliefs about the impact of neuroscience on the criminal law can often be wrong. This Article takes an evidence-based and multidisciplinary approach to examining how courts respond to neuroscience evidence in capital cases when the defense presents it to argue that the defendant’s mental state at the time of the crime was below the given legal requisite due to some neurologic or cognitive deficiency

UTILIZACIÓN DE PATRONES DE MUDA PARA DETERMINAR LA EDAD DE LA REINITA DE CORONA ROJIZA (MYIOTHLYPIS CORONATA)

Resumen ∙ Entender las distribuciones de edades y sexos de individuos en poblaciones es importante para describir la dinámica poblacional, demografía y para informar medidas de conservación. A pesar de la utilidad de los patrones de muda, características reproductivas, y la morfología para determinar la edad y sexo de individuos, pocas descripciones publicadas existen para las aves Neotropicales. En este estudio utilizamos la muda, características reproductivas, y morfología para desarrollar criterios confiables de determinar la edad y sexo de la Reinita de Corona Rojiza (Myiothlypis coronata), una especie común a través de los Andes. Entre junio a noviembre de 2015 y 2016 se capturaron 456 individuos de Myiothlypis coronata en los bosques de neblina del norte de Perú, de los cuales 122 presentaron límites de muda. Al igual que otras especies de la familia Parulidae, encontramos que la muda preformativa de Myiothlypis coronata es de extensión parcial e normalmente incluye 6 a 9 coberteras mayores. La muda prebásica definitiva fue de extensión completa sin evidencia de individuos con plumaje alterno. La osificación del cráneo normalmente es completa y representa un método adicional para diferenciar juveniles de adultos. Encontramos evidencia de dimorfismo sexual y la longitud de la cuerda alar de 56 machos midió ≥ 68 mm en comparación de ≤ 68 mm para 12 hembras. Los datos de este estudio demuestran métodos útiles para determinar la estructura de la población de una especie común a lo longitud de la vertiente de los Andes.Abstract ∙ Using molt patterns to age Russet‐crowned Warbler (Myiothlypis coronata) Understanding the age and sex distributions of Neotropical birds is key to describing population dynamics and demographics to inform conservation. Despite the utility of molt patterns, reproductive characteristics, and morphometrics for determining the age and sex of individuals, few published descriptions exist for Neotropical birds. In this study, we use molt, breeding characteristics, and morphometrics to develop reliable ageing and sexing criteria for the Russet‐ crowned Warbler (Myiothlypis coronata), a common species found throughout the Andes. From June to November 2015 and 2016, we captured 456 individuals of Myiothlypis coronata in the cloud forest of northern Peru, and recorded molt limits in 122. As in other warblers, Myiothlypis coronata has a partial preformative molt, and normally 6 to 9 inner greater coverts are replaced. A molt limit in the outer greater coverts was obvious in most individuals. The prebasic molt was complete and we did not observe individuals undergoing a prealternate molt. Skull ossification was typically complete, and serves as an additional tool to age birds. We found evidence for sexual size dimorphism, and wing length of 56 males measured ≥ 68 mm compared to ≤ 68 mm for 12 females. This study provides useful methods to determine population age structure for a common species along the length of the Andes.

Optically-pumped dilute nitride spin-VCSEL

We report the first room temperature optical spin-injection of a dilute nitride 1300 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) under continuous-wave optical pumping. We also present a novel experimental protocol for the investigation of optical spin-injection with a fiber setup. The experimental results indicate that the VCSEL polarization can be controlled by the pump polarization, and the measured behavior is in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions using the spin flip model. The ability to control the polarization of a long-wavelength VCSEL at room temperature emitting at the wavelength of 1.3 μm opens up a new exciting research avenue for novel uses in disparate fields of technology ranging from spintronics to optical telecommunication networks. © 2012 Optical Society of America