Petahertz communication: Harmonizing optical spectra for wireless communications

With the rapid deployment of Next-Generation Networks (NGN), the research community has initiated discussions on an entirely new suite of optical enabling techniques. To pave the way for the development of future wireless networks, this article aims to unify the existing infrared, visible light, and ultraviolet subbands while also exploring the potential of the Petahertz (PHz) band to support extremely bandwidth-thirsty telepresence style applications. Our focus is on the emerging Petahertz Communication (PetaCom) framework, scenario-dependent propagation channels, modulation schemes, system performance, multiple access techniques, and networking. We conclude with a range of PetaCom challenges and open research issues.     

Factors affecting detection of a bimodal sour-savory mixture and inter-individual umami taste perception

While basic taste interactions have been the subject of many research studies, there is one combination where data is limited in the literature: sour and umami. This combination is universal in culinary preparations and of key interest to the food industry. Therefore, the primary goal of the present study is to assess how increasing concentrations of acidity (citric acid) affect, if at all, the intensity of a constant concentration of umami (monosodium glutamate, MSG). The secondary goal is to investigate other possible factors in umami taste perception. Here, a crowdsourced cohort of 734 individuals (age range 8–81) tasted and rated the intensity of 50 mM MSG alone, and in combination with citric acid at varying concentrations (1.25 mM, 6.25 mM, 31.25 mM). Participants were also genotyped for the single nucleotide polymorphism rs34160967 in the TAS1R1 gene. The results show a significant decrease in the intensity perception of umami as sour concentration increases (low: p = 0.005, medium: p < 0.001, high: p < 0.001). Situational factors such as participant hunger level and time since last eating also have a significant effect on umami intensity perception. Neither the biological factors of sex, age, and ancestry appear to play a role in umami perception, nor does variation in gene TAS1R1 at rs34160967. These new data contribute to the growing field of taste and sensory interaction by giving evidence that sour suppresses umami taste perception in bi-model samples.     

Moving beyond ‘more crop per drop’: insights from two decades of research on agricultural water productivity

ABSTRACT

Concern over increasing water scarcity has led to the introduction of the concept of agricultural water productivity and an emphasis on interventions to achieve ‘more crop per drop’. Yet, a strong debate continues on how the concept is to be defined and used. Drawing largely from the irrigation literature, the origins of the concept and its methodological developments are reviewed, and its use in applied work over two decades is discussed. Based on this analysis of conceptual and applied research, key insights into the concept’s contributions and limitations are presented, as well as opportunities for further refinements.     

Tropane alkaloid contamination of agricultural commodities and food products in relation to consumer health: Learnings from the 2019 Uganda food aid outbreak

Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are secondary plant metabolites derived mainly from Solanaceae plant families, with the most virulent invasive species being Datura stramonium. Datura stramonium commonly grows in cereal fields and produce TAs (e.g., hyoscyamine and scopolamine) which may accidentally contaminate cereals (and cereal-based foods) at occasionally high levels. Dietary exposure to TAs can be toxic and depending on the dose ingested can cause outcomes ranging from anticholinergic effects to acute poisoning and death. In 2019, 315 adults became ill and another five adults died in Uganda following consumption of a “Super Cereal” (a fortified blended food) that was later confirmed to be contaminated by TAs—a scenario which provoked this holistic review on TAs in foodstuffs. Thus, this article provides information on the history, development, occurrences, exposures, and human legislative and health benchmarks for TAs. It describes control strategies for reducing TA contamination of agricultural commodities and resultant health implications following consumption of TA contaminated foodstuffs. Adequate application of food safety control measures (including maximum limits) and good practices, from the start of cereal cultivation through to the final stages of manufacturing of food products can aid in the reduction of seeing toxic plants including D. stramonium in cereal fields.     

The influence of textese on adolescents’ perceptions of text message writers

Text messages are characterised by a casual language style, ‘textese’ (e.g., c u on thurs). This study investigated adolescents’ perceptions of the use of different levels of textese in digital messages which varied in their intended recipient (friend, teacher). Grade 8 students in Australia (N = 90, aged 13–14 years) each read six text messages purportedly written by a fellow student, and rated the extent to which they agreed (on a 7-point Likert scale) that the message writer was intelligent, paid attention to detail, used an appropriate writing style, and was friendly. Overall, participants rated message senders most favourably on all measures when they used no textese, and least favourably when they used high levels of textese. This pattern was even stronger when messages were addressed to teachers rather than same-aged friends. The findings suggest that adolescents are sensitive to both writing style and recipient when considering digital messages.     

基于 GA-SVM 算法的通信网络入侵信号自动识别技术

针对当前通信系统入侵行为自动识别技术存在入侵信号样本识别成功率较低、误识别率和漏识别率较高的问题,提出基于 GA-SVM 算法的通信网络入侵信号自动识别技术。利用混沌原理提取通信网络入侵的非平稳信号时域特征,并凭借自回归模型提取对应频域特征,捕捉邻域入侵信号间的非线性时空动作频率,评价相邻行为间的状态关联性,预测入侵信号后续行为,完成入侵信号的识别。实验表明,所提方法识别精度高、误识别率较低,漏识别率非常低,具有可应用于实际的理论价值。     

基于虚拟导航线的农业机器人精确视觉导航方法

针对农田、野外环境中无人工标记情况下的导航问题，提出了一种基于虚拟导航线的农业机器人精确视觉导航方法。该方法不需要铺设导航线或者路标即可引导机器人行走直线。首先，根据需求确定需要跟踪的目标区域，之后控制机器人调整方向直到目标移至视野中央；其次，根据机器人和目标的位置确定参照目标，并依据两个目标的位置确定虚拟导航线；然后，动态更新导航线，并结合虚拟定标线和虚拟导航线确定偏移角度和偏移距离；最后，利用偏移参数构建模糊控制表，并以此实现对机器人旋转角度和行走速度的调整。实验结果表明，该算法能较为精确地实现对导航路线的识别，进而利用模糊控制策略使机器人沿直线向目标行走，且导航精度在10 cm以内。     

计算机通信及网络远程控制技术的应用与可靠性探究

随着社会的进步和发展,计算机网络通信技术已被应用到实际生活、生产的各个方面,对人们的生活、生产等产生了深刻的影响。为此,文章就计算机通信及网络远程控制技术在实际生活中的应用问题进行了探究,旨在借助先进科技促进社会实现更优质发展。     

Scheduler-based state estimation over multiple channels networks

We investigate the remote state estimation problem for networked systems over parallel noise-free communication channels. Due to limited network capabilities in practical network environments, communication schedulers are implemented at the transmit side of each subchannel to promote resource efficiency. Specifically, the processed signals are transmitted only when it is necessary to provide the real-time measurements to the remote estimator. The recursive approximate minimum mean-square error estimator is established to restore the state vector of a target plant by utilizing the scheduled transmission signals. All the information coming from the individual subchannels, even if no measurement is sent, will contribute to improve the estimation performance in an analytical form. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the main results.     

基准信号的低相噪声长距离光纤传输设计

介绍了基准光传输设备的基本组成和原理,指出低相噪长距离光纤传输中的问题所在,并提供了解决问题的方法,即数模混合器件的选择及改进滤波器设计.