A LoRa-based protocol for connecting IoT edge computing nodes to provide small-data-based services

Data is becoming increasingly personal. Individuals regularly interact with a variety of structured data, ranging from SQLite databases on the phone to personal sensors and open government data. The “digital traces left by individuals through these interactions” are sometimes referred to as “small data”. Examples of “small data” include driving records, biometric measurements, search histories, weather forecasts and usage alerts. In this paper, we present a flexible protocol called LoRaCTP, which is based on LoRa technology that allows data “chunks” to be transferred over large distances with very low energy expenditure. LoRaCTP provides all the mechanisms necessary to make LoRa transfer reliable by introducing a lightweight connection setup and allowing the ideal sending of an as-long-as necessary data message. We designed this protocol as communication support for small-data edge-based IoT solutions, given its stability, low power usage, and the possibility to cover long distances. We evaluated our protocol using various data content sizes and communication distances to demonstrate its performance and reliability.     

A 10.7-MHz self-calibrated switched-capacitor-based multibit second-order bandpass /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ modulator with on-chip switched buffer

A second-order multibit bandpass /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ modulator (BP/spl Sigma//spl Delta/M) used for the digitizing of AM/FM radio broadcasting signals at a 10.7-MHz IF is presented. The BP/spl Sigma//spl Delta/M is realized with switched-capacitor (SC) techniques and operates with a sampling frequency of 37.05 MHz. The input impulse current, required by the SC input branch, is minimized by the use of a switched buffer without deteriorating the overall system performance. The accuracy of the in-band noise shaping is ensured with two self-calibrating control systems. In a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology, the device die size is 1 mm/sup 2/ and the power consumption is 88 mW. In production, the BP/spl Sigma//spl Delta/M features at least 78-dB dynamic range and 72-dB peak SNR within a 200-kHz bandwidth (FM bandwidth). The intermodulation (IMD) is -65 dBc for two tones at -11 dBFS. The robustness of the aforementioned performance is demonstrated by the fact that it has been realized with the BP/spl Sigma//spl Delta/M embedded in the noisy on-chip environment of a complete mixed-signal FM receiver.     

Macroscopic and microscopic techno-economic analyses highlighting aspects of 5G transport network deployments

Photonic Network Communications - 5G networks will comprise multiple, versatile infrastructures at finest granularity consisting of multiple disaggregated pools of network, compute and storage...     

A closed‐form expression for the total degradation in OFDM systems

In this paper, building upon Bussgang's theorem, we present a new expression for the total degradation (TD) in OFDM systems. This novel expression is applicable to any high power amplifier (HPA) model. In case of ideal clipping HPA model and for particular realizations of Rapp and Saleh HPA models, it and can be expressed in closed form. It enables a significant speed‐up in computing TD, because it avoids end‐to‐end system simulations. As a consequence, it simplifies the evaluation of TD as a function of the back‐off, yielding a more accurate evaluation of the optimum HPA back‐off (i.e., the back‐off value that minimizes TD). Numerical results show a perfect agreement between the proposed analytical framework and the Monte Carlo simulation results.Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance evaluation of softer vertical handovers in multiuser heterogeneous wireless networks

In the future fifth generation (5G) networked society, devices will integrate heterogeneous radio access technologies (RATs) to improve the network performance and the user quality of experience. In this paper, we focus on softer vertical handover (SRVH), discussing its feasibility and its performance in a multiuser scenario. Specifically, a new taxonomy for vertical handovers is proposed to resolve ambiguities in current terminology and technical issues related to SRVH implementation are discussed. Then, a simple but accurate analytical model is proposed to evaluate the performance of SRVH and results are provided with reference to best effort services in the presence of two RATs. Two case studies are considered, a mobile controlled approach with uncoordinated RATs and a network controlled approach with coordination among RATs. Results demonstrate that SRVHs are useful to allow finer granularity in resource allocation when there is coordination among RATs, although they fail to provide throughput improvements if they are selfishly performed by mobile terminals.     

Assessment of the Influence of the Decanter Set-up During Continuous Processing of Olives at Different Pigmentation Index

New generation decanters allow operators to make real-time adjustments during the virgin olive oil extraction process in order to gain the best performance possible. However, the opportunity to act in line requires a deep understanding of the consequences of changing machine parameters. To this purpose, an experiment was carried out at industrial scale. The decanter feed rate (Fr), ranging from 4075 to 5820 kg h^?1, the bowl/screw conveyor differential speed (?n), set at 18 and 22, and two ripening degrees of the olives were considered as process variables. Two combinations Fr-?n, namely 4620 kg h^?1 at ?n-18 and 5210 kg h^?1 at ?n-22, were found to similarly maximize the process efficiency, regardless the raw material features. After pointing out the best working settings, the corresponding virgin olive oils were compared. The analysis of variance showed that peroxide value, K ₂₃₂, K ₂₇₀, phenols, chlorophylls, β-tocopherol, fruity and bitter notes, and C6 volatile compounds were significantly affected by the machine parameters. An inverse proportionality was observed between the combination Fr-?n and the phenolic compounds. On the whole, the sampling factor exerted a larger influence on the product quality than the decanter set-up.     

Contribution of soil compositions,harvested times and varieties on chemical fingerprint of Italian and Turkish citrus cultivars

This paper aims to define the stability over the time of chemical elemental patterns in some citrus varieties of PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and not PGI Interdonato and Lunario cultivars coming from Italy and Turkey and to set up a range of markers useful to trace their geographical origin. During the 2015–2017 growing seasons, all fruits were collected and subjected to Inductively Coupled Mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis, in order to determine the multielemental chemical profiles. The chemical variability was calculated for each element by Multi-way analysis of variance. The results highlighted how the measured Cr, Ni, Al, K, Fe and Zn levels mainly depend on the soil composition and the fingerprint allow to trace the geographical origins. Moreover, the stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) has allowed to correctly classify the 100% of lemon pulps provenances, based on Ni, Al, K, Ca and Na contents. Finally, our study demonstrates the role played by harvest years, variety and soils composition whose interaction contributed to define the chemical fingerprints.