ASCD: Automatic sensing and control device for crop irrigation scheduling.

Traditional agricultural irrigation systems suffer from wasting a lot of water allocated for irrigation through evaporation and drainage. To address water waste and increase crop productivity, irrigation scheduling is used, as irrigation scheduling depends on four elements: soil moisture, soil characteristics, weather conditions, and plant type. This paper proposes a new design for monitoring agricultural conditions and controlling the amount of soil moisture by determining the required irrigation water ratios and the ideal time period for irrigating crops. An intelligent control and monitoring algorithm was created using experimental data for a wide range of plants (for soil moisture from 21 to 80 kPa), where plants were classified into three groups according to their common irrigation starting point. Based on the proposed plant classification, three models were provided, where irrigation ratios as the required parameter, soil moisture, plant type, and time interval as input parameters. This algorithm was used to program a custom-made automatic sensor and control device (ASCD). The ASCD is equipped with two input ports to communicate with two types of soil moisture sensors (a resistive sensor and a capacitive sensor) and with three output ports to drive three types of electronic irrigation valves. The ASCD can read from one sensor and drive one electronic valve at a time, the choice of which is made by the farmer. ASCD based the new algorithm showed high accuracy compared to a number of experimental results. The average absolute relative deviation (AAPD) of the new models and experimental data is 5.46 %. The application of the new algorithm shows a reduction in the amount of water used for crop irrigation during the day versus irrigation at night. On the other hand, ASCD has proven its success in sensing and controlling, and it works automatically and independently.

Dreaming during the COVID-19 pandemic: Support for the threat simulation function of dreams.

Evolutionary theories suggest that dreams function as a world simulator of events that maximizes our ability to surmount social and threat-related challenges critical to survivorship and reproduction. Here, in contrast to the incorporation continuity hypothesis, we test the (1) social bias hypothesis, which states that dreams will overrepresent positive social interactions relative to waking life, (2) the mutually exclusive threat bias hypothesis, the idea that dream content will be negative relative to waking life, (3) the strengthening hypothesis, which states that dreams will rehearse more positive interactions with individuals the self is familiar with relative to waking life, and (4) the compensation hypothesis, which states that social contents in dreams increases during periods of social seclusion. Dream (n = 168) and wake (n = 184) reports were collected through a standardized online survey from 24 undergraduate students. Recalls were analyzed using the Social Content Scale. Generalized linear mixed effects models were used, and the following fixed-effects were considered for the study; the number of reports contributed, report state, biological sex, stress, social support, and media exposures. Results showed support for the threat bias hypothesis, we found that dreams were more negative and featured more unfamiliar individuals in contrast to waking life. Additionally, we found partial support for the social bias and the strengthening hypotheses, however no support was shown for the compensation hypothesis. Overall, these results demonstrate support for the threat simulation function of dreams.

Evidence for an emotional adaptive function of dreams: a cross-cultural study.

The function of dreams is a longstanding scientific research question. Simulation theories of dream function, which are based on the premise that dreams represent evolutionary past selective pressures and fitness improvement through modified states of consciousness, have yet to be tested in cross-cultural populations that include small-scale forager societies. Here, we analyze dream content with cross-cultural comparisons between the BaYaka (Rep. of Congo) and Hadza (Tanzania) foraging groups and Global North populations, to test the hypothesis that dreams in forager groups serve a more effective emotion regulation function due to their strong social norms and high interpersonal support. Using a linear mixed effects model we analyzed 896 dreams from 234 individuals across these populations, recorded using dream diaries. Dream texts were processed into four psychosocial constructs using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22) dictionary. The BaYaka displayed greater community-oriented dream content. Both the BaYaka and Hadza exhibited heightened threat dream content, while, at the same time, the Hadza demonstrated low negative emotions in their dreams. The Global North Nightmare Disorder group had increased negative emotion content, and the Canadian student sample during the COVID-19 pandemic displayed the highest anxiety dream content. In conclusion, this study supports the notion that dreams in non-clinical populations can effectively regulate emotions by linking potential threats with non-fearful contexts, reducing anxiety and negative emotions through emotional release or catharsis. Overall, this work contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary significance of this altered state of consciousness.

Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss.

While global patterns of human genetic diversity are increasingly well characterized, the diversity of human languages remains less systematically described. Here, we outline the Grambank database. With over 400,000 data points and 2400 languages, Grambank is the largest comparative grammatical database available. The comprehensiveness of Grambank allows us to quantify the relative effects of genealogical inheritance and geographic proximity on the structural diversity of the world's languages, evaluate constraints on linguistic diversity, and identify the world's most unusual languages. An analysis of the consequences of language loss reveals that the reduction in diversity will be strikingly uneven across the major linguistic regions of the world. Without sustained efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages, our linguistic window into human history, cognition, and culture will be seriously fragmented.

Pandemic Nightmares: COVID-19 Lockdown Associated With Increased Aggression in Female University Students' Dreams.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated stressors have impacted the daily lives and sleeping patterns of many individuals, including university students. Dreams may provide insight into how the mind processes changing realities; dreams not only allow consolidation of new information, but may give the opportunity to creatively "play out" low-risk, hypothetical threat simulations. While there are studies that analyze dreams in high-stress situations, little is known of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted dreams of university students. The aim of this study was to explore how the dream content of students was affected during the university COVID-19 lockdown period (March-July, 2020). Using online survey methods, we analyzed dream recall content (n = 71) using the Hall-Van de Castle dream coding system and Fisher's exact tests for sex comparisons. Preliminary results indicate that female students experienced more nightmares as compared to male students. Dream analysis found that, relative to normative American College Student (ACS) samples generated pre-COVID-19, women were more likely to experience aggressive interactions in their dream content, including increased physical aggression. Results indicate that university students did experience changes in dream content due to the pandemic lockdown period, with women disproportionally affected. These findings can aid universities in developing support programs for students by bringing forth an understanding of students' concerns and anxieties as they process the "new normal" of social distancing.