Calibration system correction factor for measuring the reference air kerma rate (RAKR) applied to high dose rate192Ir sources (HDR).

The aim of this study was to use computer simulation to analyze the impact of the aluminum fixing support on the Reference Air Kerma (RAK), a physical quantity obtained in a calibration system that was experimentally developed in the Laboratory of Radiological Sciences of the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (LCR-UERJ). Correction factors due to scattered radiation and the geometry of the192Ir sources were also sought to be determined. The computational simulation was validated by comparing some parameters of the experimental results with the computational results. These parameters were: verification of the inverse square law of distance, determination of (RAKR), analysis of the source spectrum with and without encapsulation, and the sensitivity curve of the Sourcecheck 4PI ionization chamber response, as a function of the distance from the source along the axial axis, using the microSelectron-v2 (mSv2) and GammaMedplus (GMp) sources. Kerma was determined by activity in the Reference air, with calculated values of 1.725 × 10-3U. Bq-1and 1.710 × 10-3U. Bq-1for the ionization chamber NE 2571 and TN 30001, respectively. The expanded uncertainty for these values was 0.932% and 0.919%, respectively, for a coverage factor (k = 2). The correction factor due to the influence of the aluminum fixing support for measurements at 1 cm and 10 cm from the source was 0.978 and 0.969, respectively. The geometric correction factor of the sources was ksg= 1.005 with an expanded uncertainty of 0.7% for a coverage factor (k = 2). This value has a difference of approximately 0.2% compared to the experimental values.

Bioelectrochemical cascade reaction for energy-saving hydrogen production and innovative Zn-air batteries.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an important half-reaction in electrochemical hydrogen production (EHP) and rechargeable metal-air batteries. However, the sluggish OER kinetics has seriously impeded their performance. Herein, we report a bioelectrochemical cascade system composed of glucose oxidase (GOx)-functionalized N-doped porous carbon nanofibers to replace OER in EHP and rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs) applications. In this cascade system, GOx catalyzes oxidation of glucose to produce value-added gluconic acid accompanied with the generation of H2O2 under aerobic conditions. The subsequent electrocatalytic oxidation of H2O2 replacing the OER results in an onset voltage below 1.10 V for EHP, and a low charging voltage of 1.35 V as well as a small charging/discharging voltage gap of âˆ¼ 280 mV over 170 h for ZABs in neutral aqueous electrolytes. The advantages of employing the innovative bioelectrochemical cascade reaction are demonstrated in EHP and ZABs, achieving the full utilization of biomass energy in energy-saving electrochemical systems for energy storage and conversion.

Dense Monolayer Network Structures of Double Hydrophilic Hyperbranched Copolymers at the Air/Water Interface.

Influences of subphase pH and temperature on the interfacial aggregation behavior of two double hydrophilic hyperbranched copolymers of poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate-co-(2-diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (P(OEGMA-co-DIPAEMA)) at the air/water interface are studied by the Langmuir film balance technique. Morphologies of their Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films are characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). At the interface, P(OEGMA-co-DIPAEMA) copolymers tend to form a dense network structure of circular micelles composed of branching agent-connected carbon backbone cores and mixed shells of OEGMA and DIPAEMA segments (pendant groups). This network structure containing many honeycomb-like holes with diameters of 6-8 nm is identified for the first time and clearly observed in the enlarged AFM images of their LB films. Under acidic conditions, surface pressure versus molecular area isotherms of the two copolymers in the low-pressure region show larger mean molecular area than those under neutral and alkaline conditions due to the lack of impediment from DIPAEMA segments. Upon further compression, each isotherm exhibits a wide pseudo-plateau, which corresponds to OEGMA segments being pressed into the subphase. Furthermore, the isotherms under neutral and alkaline conditions exhibit the lower critical solution temperature behavior of OEGMA segments, and the critical temperature is lower when the hyperbranched copolymer contains higher OEGMA content.

Luz UVC como estratégia de desinfecção do ar e superfícies hospitalares / Luz UV-C como estrategia de desinfección del aire y superficies hospitalarias / UVC light as a strategy for disinfection of hospital air and surfaces

Resumo Objetivo Avaliar a eficácia antimicrobiana de um dispositivo fixo emissor de luz UV-C na desinfecção de diferentes superfícies do ambiente hospitalar e sua eficácia antifúngica na qualidade do ar. Métodos Estudo quase-experimental realizado em uma unidade de internação hospitalar, que utilizou o Bioamostrador de ar Andersen® de seis estágios para análise do ar; e na avaliação das superfícies, utilizaram-se três suspensões de microrganismos (Acinetobacter sp. MDR, Escherichia coli e Klebsiella pneumoniae produtora de KPC) para contaminar o ambiente. Para ambos foram feitas coletas pré (controle) e pós-acionamento da luz UV-C (teste). Resultados Na avaliação do ar houve uma redução importante da contagem de colônias após a luz UV-C e não foram encontrados fungos patogênicos ou toxigênicos em nenhum dos dois momentos. Em relação à desinfecção das superfícies, nenhum crescimento bacteriano foi observado após a intervenção da luz, demonstrando 100% de inativação bacteriana nas condições testadas. Conclusão A utilização da tecnologia com emissão de luz UV-C fixa foi eficaz e pode ser considerada uma intervenção promissora para protocolos de desinfecção de superfícies hospitalares.

Resumen Objetivo Evaluar la eficacia antimicrobiana de un dispositivo fijo emisor de luz UV-C para la desinfección de diferentes superficies del ambiente hospitalario y su eficacia antifúngica en la calidad del aire. Métodos Estudio cuasi experimental realizado en una unidad de internación hospitalaria, en que se utilizó el biomuestreador de aire Andersen® de seis etapas para el análisis del aire. En el análisis de las superficies, se utilizaron tres suspensiones de microorganismos (Acinetobacter sp. MDR, Escherichia coli y Klebsiella pneumoniae productora de KPC) para contaminar el ambiente. En ambos se tomó una muestra antes (control) y después de accionar la luz UV-C (prueba). Resultados En el análisis del aire hubo una reducción importante del recuento de colonias después de la luz UV-C y no se encontraron hongos patógenos ni toxigénicos en ninguno de los dos momentos. Con relación a la desinfección de las superficies, no se observó ningún crecimiento bacteriano después de la intervención de la luz, lo que demuestra un 100 % de inactivación bacteriana en las condiciones analizadas. Conclusión El uso de la tecnología con emisión de luz UV-C fija fue eficaz y puede ser considerada una intervención prometedora para protocolos de desinfección de superficies hospitalarias.

Abstract Objective To evaluate a fixed UV-C light emitting device for its antimicrobial effectiveness in the disinfection of distinct surfaces and its antifungal effectiveness on air quality in the hospital environment. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted in a hospital inpatient unit, in which a six-stage air Biosampler (Andersen®) was used for air analysis. In the evaluation of surfaces, three suspensions of microorganisms (Acinetobacter sp. multidrug-resistant, Escherichia coli, and KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae) were used to contaminate the environment. In both evaluations, pre- (control) and post-activation of UV-C light (test) collections were made. Results In the air evaluation, an important reduction was observed in the colony count after irradiation with UV-C light, and pathogenic or toxigenic fungi were not found in either of the two moments. Regarding the disinfection of surfaces, no bacterial growth was observed after the application of UV-C light, showing 100% bacterial inactivation under the tested conditions. Conclusion The use of fixed UV-C light emission technology was effective and can be considered a promising intervention for hospital surface disinfection protocols.

Simple Moving Average Applied to "ISO Method" CPAM Concentration Estimates: An Unexpected Result.

ABSTRACT: A surprisingly large amount of variance reduction has been observed when filtering International Organization for Standardization (ISO) "ISO Method" continuous particulate air monitor (CPAM) airborne radioactivity concentration estimates with a simple three-point moving average. This processing has relatively little lag relative to the amount of variance reduction obtained. The key factor producing this effect is the specific autocorrelation structure of the estimated concentrations, which are based on taking first differences of integrated-count data; this scheme results in successive count differences that contain a common count value between them. The observed variance reduction factor has also been derived analytically.

Still air resistance during walking and running.

In everyday life during terrestrial locomotion our body interacts with two media opposing the forward movement of the body: the ground and the air. Whereas the work done to overcome the ground reaction force has been extensively studied, the work done to overcome still air resistance has been only indirectly estimated by means of theoretical studies and by measurements of the force exerted on puppets simulating the geometry of the human body. In this study, we directly measured the force exerted by still air resistance on eight male subjects during walking and running on an instrumented treadmill with a belt moving at the same speed of a flow of laminar air facing the subject. Overall, the coefficient of proportionality between drag and velocity squared (Aeff) was smaller during running than walking. During running Aeff decreased progressively with increasing average velocity up to an apparently constant, velocity independent value, similar to that predicted in the literature using indirect methods. A predictive equation to estimate drag as a function of the speed and the height of the running subject is provided.

Durability of heat-treated Paulownia tomentosa and Pinus koraiensis woods in palm oil and air against brown- and white-rot fungi.

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of oil- and air-heat treatments on the durability of Paulownia tomentosa and Pinus koraiensis woods against Fomitopsis palustris and Trametes versicolor. The wood samples were treated in palm oil and air at 180, 200, and 220 °C for 2 h. The weight loss, morphology, crystalline properties, and chemical compounds of untreated and heat-treated wood after fungal attack were investigated. The significant difference in weight loss between oil- and air-heat-treated samples was shown at 220 °C. Heat-treated wood exposed to white-rot fungus showed a lower weight loss than that exposed to brown-rot fungus. The cell components in the untreated- and heat-treated Paulownia tomentosa and Pinus koraiensis at 180 °C were severely damaged due to fungal exposure compared to those at 220 °C. A fungal effect on the relative crystallinity was observed in heat-treated wood at 180 °C, whereas the effect was not observed at 220 °C. Following brown-rot fungus exposure, untreated- and heat-treated wood at 180 °C showed a notable change in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) peaks of polysaccharides, whereas no noticeable change in lignin peaks was observed. Heat-treated wood at 220 °C showed no noticeable change in the FTIR spectra owing to brown-rot fungus exposure. Exposure to white-rot fungus did not noticeably change the FTIR spectra of untreated and heat-treated wood.

Prevalence of zygomatic air cell defects in a North American population.

Zygomatic air cell defects (ZACDs) are asymptomatic defects present in the zygomatic process and articular eminence of the temporal bone. This defect is considered a normal anatomical variant and can be detected on routine panoramic images. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, dominant type, and location of ZACDs in a North American population. A total of 1724 panoramic images of adult patients were analyzed by a third-year dental student in conjunction with an oral and maxillofacial radiologist. Patient demographics (age and sex) as well as ZACD location (unilateral right/left or bilateral) and appearance (unilocular or multilocular) were evaluated. Statistical analyses included the Clopper-Pearson method to calculate the 95% CI, Student t test for independent samples, and Fisher exact test. The prevalence of ZACDs in this study population was 2.1%. A total of 24 women (2.3%) and 12 men (1.7%) were affected, with no statistically significant difference between the sexes. The mean (SD) age of patients presenting with a ZACD was 56.6 (17.7) years, while that of patients without a ZACD was 53.0 (16.3) years, with no statistically significant difference between groups. Among the 36 patients with ZACDs, 28 (1.6%) had unilateral and 8 (0.5%) had bilateral lesions. One patient with bilateral ZACDs had a unilocular lesion on the right side and a multilocular lesion on the left, so there were a total of 31 unilocular lesions (1.8%) and 6 multilocular lesions (0.3%). The results of this study indicate that the prevalence of ZACDs in the study population was 2.1%, without any statistically significant differences based on the sex or age of the patient or laterality or appearance of the lesions.

Precipitation regime changes in High Mountain Asia driven by cleaner air.

High Mountain Asia (HMA) has experienced a spatial imbalance in water resources in recent decades, partly because of a dipolar pattern of precipitation changes known as South Drying-North Wetting1. These changes can be influenced by both human activities and internal climate variability2,3. Although climate projections indicate a future widespread wetting trend over HMA1,4, the timing and mechanism of the transition from a dipolar to a monopolar pattern remain unknown. Here we demonstrate that the observed dipolar precipitation change in HMA during summer is primarily driven by westerly- and monsoon-associated precipitation patterns. The weakening of the Asian westerly jet, caused by the uneven emission of anthropogenic aerosols, favoured a dipolar precipitation trend from 1951 to 2020. Moreover, the phase transition of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation induces an out-of-phase precipitation change between the core region of the South Asian monsoon and southeastern HMA. Under medium- or high-emission scenarios, corresponding to a global warming of 0.6-1.1 °C compared with the present, the dipolar pattern is projected to shift to a monopolar wetting trend in the 2040s. This shift in precipitation patterns is mainly attributed to the intensified jet stream resulting from reduced emissions of anthropogenic aerosols. These findings underscore the importance of considering the impact of aerosol emission reduction in future social planning by policymakers.

Characterization of atmospheric mercury from mercury-added product manufacturing using passive air samplers.

Although alternatives to mercury (Hg) are available in most products and industrial activities, Hg continues to be an ingredient in some products, including fluorescent lamps and electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). In this work, low-cost passive air samplers (PASs) were used to investigate the atmospheric Hg pollution in Zhongshan, a large industrial city and major hub of mercury-added product manufacturing in South China. The GEM concentrations in the atmosphere were measured for two weeks during the summer of 2019 at a total of 144 sites across Zhongshan. Comparison with the results of active sampling confirmed that the PASs yielded accurate and reliable gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations and were thus well-suited for multi-site field monitoring. The mean GEM concentrations in the areas with mercury-added product manufacturing activities (5.1 ± 0.4 ng m-3) were significantly higher than those in other parts of Zhongshan (1.5 ± 0.4 ng m-3), indicating that local releases, rather than regional transport, were responsible for the atmospheric Hg pollution. Elevated GEM concentrations (up to 11.4 ng m-3) were found in the vicinity of fluorescent lamp and EEE factories and workshops, indicating significant Hg vapor emissions, presumably from the outdated production technologies and non-standard operation by under-trained workers. The Hg emissions from mercury-added product manufacturing were estimated to be 0.06 and 7.8 t yr-1 for Zhongshan and China, respectively, based on the scales of fluorescent lamp and EEE production. The non-carcinogenic health risk of Zhongshan residents from inhalation and ingestion was judged acceptable, whereby the inhalation exposure in Hg-polluted areas exceeded that of dietary ingestion. These findings demonstrate that mercury-added product manufacturing still contributes notably to anthropogenic gaseous Hg releases in the industrial areas with intense mercury-added product manufacturing activities.

Molecular basis of methyl-salicylate-mediated plant airborne defence.

Aphids transmit viruses and are destructive crop pests1. Plants that have been attacked by aphids release volatile compounds to elicit airborne defence (AD) in neighbouring plants2-5. However, the mechanism underlying AD is unclear. Here we reveal that methyl-salicylate (MeSA), salicylic acid-binding protein-2 (SABP2), the transcription factor NAC2 and salicylic acid-carboxylmethyltransferase-1 (SAMT1) form a signalling circuit to mediate AD against aphids and viruses. Airborne MeSA is perceived and converted into salicylic acid by SABP2 in neighbouring plants. Salicylic acid then causes a signal transduction cascade to activate the NAC2-SAMT1 module for MeSA biosynthesis to induce plant anti-aphid immunity and reduce virus transmission. To counteract this, some aphid-transmitted viruses encode helicase-containing proteins to suppress AD by interacting with NAC2 to subcellularly relocalize and destabilize NAC2. As a consequence, plants become less repellent to aphids, and more suitable for aphid survival, infestation and viral transmission. Our findings uncover the mechanistic basis of AD and an aphid-virus co-evolutionary mutualism, demonstrating AD as a potential bioinspired strategy to control aphids and viruses.

Cascade N2 Reduction Process with DBD Plasma Oxidation and Electrocatalytic Reduction for Continuous Ammonia Synthesis.

Due to the extremely high bond energy of N≡N (∼941 kJ/mol), the traditional Haber-Bosch process of ammonia synthesis is known as an energy-intensive and high CO2-emission industry. In this paper, a cascade N2 reduction process with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma oxidation and electrocatalytic reduction as an alternative route is first proposed. N2 is oxidized to be reactive nitrogen species (RNS) by nonthermal plasma, which would then be absorbed by KOH solution and electroreduced to NH4+. It is found that the production of NOx is a function of discharge length, discharge power, and gas flow rate. Afterward, the cobalt catalyst is used in the process of electrocatalytic reduction of ammonia, which shows high selectivity (Faradic efficiency (FE) above 90%) and high yield of ammonia (45.45 mg/h). Finally, the cascade plasma oxidation and electrocatalytic reduction for ammonia synthesis is performed. Also, the performance of the reaction system is evaluated. It is worth mentioning that a stable and sustainable ammonia production efficiency of 16.21 mg/h is achieved, and 22.16% of NOx obtained by air activation is converted into NH4+. This work provides a demonstration for further industrial application of ammonia production with DBD plasma oxidation and electrocatalytic reduction techniques.

A pilot scale of electrochemical integrated treatment technology and equipment driven by solar energy for decentralized domestic sewage treatment.

Based on the natural air diffusion electrode (NADE) cathode, a solar-driven electrochemical integrated sewage treatment technology and equipment in a pilot scale was developed to treat dispersed rural wastewater. The non-aeration NADE had efficient and stable H2O2 production performance, maintaining the H2O2 output between 1474 and 1535 mg h-1 within 50 h with the current efficiency of 77.4%-80.6%. This electrochemical integrated wastewater treatment system was coupled with technologies such as dual-cathode electro-Fenton, peroxi-coagulation and photoelectro-Fenton, which effectively improved the conversion and utilization efficiency of H2O2. It integrated Fenton-like oxidation, electro-oxidation and UV/H2O2, as well as Fe(OH)3-dominated flocculation, which could effectively remove various pollutants in wastewater. The integrated sewage treatment equipment (500 L d-1) realized the effective treatment of a rural decentralized domestic sewage, achieving simultaneous removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH3-N, total phosphorus (TP) and bacteria. Driven by solar energy, its application feasibility, superiority and stability have been proved, providing theoretical and technical support for the efficient and low-consumption treatment of dispersed organic wastewater.

Predictions of PFAS regional-scale atmospheric deposition and ambient air exposure.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of human-made compounds that have contaminated the global environment. One environmental entry point for PFAS is via atmospheric emission. Air releases can impact human health through multiple routes, including direct inhalation and contamination of drinking water following air deposition. In this work, we convert the reference dose (RfD) underlying the United States Environmental Protection Agency's GenX drinking water Health Advisory to an inhalation screening level and compare to predicted PFAS and GenX air concentrations from a fluorochemical manufacturing facility in Eastern North Carolina. We find that the area around the facility experiences ~15 days per year of GenX concentrations above the inhalation screening level we derive. We investigate the sensitivity of model predictions to assumptions regarding model spatial resolution, emissions temporal profiles, and knowledge of air emission chemical composition. Decreasing the chemical specificity of PFAS emissions has the largest impact on deposition predictions with domain-wide total deposition varying by as much as 250 % for total PFAS. However, predicted domain-wide mean and median air concentrations varied by <18 % over all scenarios tested for total PFAS. Other model features like emission temporal variability and model spatial resolution had weaker impacts on predicted PFAS deposition.

LiG Metrology, Correlated Error, and the Integrity of the Global Surface Air-Temperature Record.

The published 95% uncertainty of the global surface air-temperature anomaly (GSATA) record through 1980 is impossibly less than the 2σ = ±0.25 °C lower limit of laboratory resolution of 1 °C/division liquid-in-glass (LiG) thermometers. The ~0.7 °C/century Joule-drift of lead- and soft-glass thermometer bulbs renders unreliable the entire historical air-temperature record through the 19th century. A circa 1900 Baudin meteorological spirit thermometer bulb exhibited intense Pb X-ray emission lines (10.55, 12.66, and 14.76 keV). Uncorrected LiG thermometer non-linearity leaves 1σ = ±0.27 °C uncertainty in land-surface air temperatures prior to 1981. The 2σ = ±0.43 °C from LiG resolution and non-linearity obscures most of the 20th century GSATA trend. Systematic sensor-measurement errors are highly pair-wise correlated, possibly across hundreds of km. Non-normal distributions of bucket and engine-intake difference SSTs disconfirm the assumption of random measurement error. Semivariogram analysis of ship SST measurements yields half the error difference mean, ±½Δε1,2, not the error mean. Transfer-function adjustment following a change of land station air-temperature sensor eliminates measurement independence and forward-propagates the antecedent uncertainty. LiG resolution limits, non-linearity, and sensor field calibrations yield GSATA mean ±2σ RMS uncertainties of, 1900-1945, ±1.7 °C; 1946-1980, ±2.1 °C; 1981-2004, ±2.0 °C; and 2005-2010, ±1.6 °C. Finally, the 20th century (1900-1999) GSATA, 0.74 ± 1.94 °C, does not convey any information about rate or magnitude of temperature change.

Method development for thermal desorption-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS/MS) analysis of trace level fluorotelomer alcohols emitted from consumer products.

The scientific foundation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) measurements in water, soils, sediments, biosolids, biota, and outdoor air has rapidly expanded; however, there are limited efforts devoted to developing analytical methods to measure vapor-phase PFAS in indoor air. A gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method coupled with thermal desorption (TD) sorbent tube analysis was developed to quantify trace levels of fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) emitted from consumer products in the indoor environment. Method evaluation included determination of instrument detection limits (IDLs), quality assurance checks of target standards purchased from different vendors, sample loss during storage, and TD sorbent breakthrough with tubes coupled in-series. The IDLs for TD-GC-MS/MS analyses ranged from 0.07 - 0.09 ng/tube. No significant loss of FTOHs was observed during stability tests over 28 days with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of spiked TD tubes ranging from 3.1 - 7.7% and the RSDs of polypropylene copolymer vial storage of standard solutions ranging from 4.3 - 8.4%. TD tube breakthrough was minimal with recovered FTOHs in the second tubes <1% of the spiked concentrations in the first tubes with carrier gas volume up to 20 L. The method has been applied to determine FTOH emissions from three consumer products in micro-scale chambers. A liquid stone cleaner/sealer product contained the highest levels of 6:2, 8:2, and 10:2 FTOHs, while the mattress pad products contained lower levels of 8:2 and 10:2 FTOHs. The emission parameters, including the initial emission factors and first order decay rate constants, were obtained based on the experimental data. The developed methods are sensitive and specific for analysis of all four target FTOHs (4:2, 6:2, 8:2, 10:2 FTOHs) with chamber testing. The methods can be extended to indoor air sampling and could be applicable to ambient air sampling.

Air sparging remediation of VOCs contaminated low-permeability soil based on pressure gradient control.

Air sparging (AS) is deemed unacceptable for remediating VOCs contaminated soil with low-permeability. To improve air flow and contaminant removal in sparging process, an original approach, termed as pressure gradient-enhanced air sparging (PGEAS) approach, is proposed by controlling pressure gradient in soil. Then the remediation efficiency, mass transfer characteristics, and remediation mechanism are investigated. Results showed that, the PGEAS approach accelerates gaseous contaminant exhaust, reduces residue contamination in soil, and promotes total contaminant removal, finally results in an improved remediation efficiency compared to the conventional approach. Controlled by sparging pressure and flow distance, the pressure gradient is created in soil, and a critical value needs to be exceeded to enhance the VOCs removal and mass transfer characteristics. The measured results of pore pressure and liquid saturation confirm a notable pressure gradient and drainage behavior in soil, which indicate the massive air subchannel formation during air sparging. At a two-dimensional scale, discrete distributions of contaminant concentrations in exhaust air and soil are presented, the removal extent and area are both enhanced using the PGEAS approach with a pressure gradient higher than the critical value. The reached conclusions are of great importance to contaminant removal in heterogeneous stratigraphy at sites.

Risk-Aware Distributionally Robust Optimization for Mobile Edge Computation Task Offloading in the Space-Air-Ground Integrated Network.

As an emerging network paradigm, the space-air-ground integrated network (SAGIN) has garnered attention from academia and industry. That is because SAGIN can implement seamless global coverage and connections among electronic devices in space, air, and ground spaces. Additionally, the shortage of computing and storage resources in mobile devices greatly impacts the quality of experiences for intelligent applications. Hence, we plan to integrate SAGIN as an abundant resource pool into mobile edge computing environments (MECs). To facilitate efficient processing, we need to solve the optimal task offloading decisions. In contrast to existing MEC task offloading solutions, we have to face some new challenges, such as the fluctuation of processing capabilities for edge computing nodes, the uncertainty of transmission latency caused by heterogeneous network protocols, the uncertain amount of uploaded tasks during a period, and so on. In this paper, we first describe the task offloading decision problem in environments characterized by these new challenges. However, we cannot use standard robust optimization and stochastic optimization methods to obtain optimal results under uncertain network environments. In this paper, we propose the 'condition value at risk-aware distributionally robust optimization' algorithm for task offloading, denoted as RADROO, to solve the task offloading decision problem. RADROO combines the distributionally robust optimization and the condition value at risk model to achieve optimal results. We evaluated our approach in simulated SAGIN environments, considering confidence intervals, the number of mobile task offloading instances, and various parameters. We compare our proposed RADROO algorithm with state-of-the-art algorithms, such as the standard robust optimization algorithm, the stochastic optimization algorithm, the DRO algorithm, and the Brute algorithm. The experimental results show that RADROO can achieve a sub-optimal mobile task offloading decision. Overall, RADROO is more robust than others to the new challenges mentioned above in SAGIN.

Intensity of focused waves near turning points.

A wave near an isolated turning point is typically assumed to have an Airy function profile with respect to the separation distance. This description is incomplete, however, and is insufficient to describe the behavior of more realistic wave fields that are not simple plane waves. Asymptotic matching to a prescribed incoming wave field generically introduces a phase front curvature term that changes the characteristic wave behavior from the Airy function to that of the hyperbolic umbilic function. This function, which is one of the seven classic "elementary" functions from catastrophe theory along with the Airy function, can be understood intuitively as the solution for a linearly focused Gaussian beam propagating in a linearly varying density profile, as we show. The morphology of the caustic lines that govern the intensity maxima of the diffraction pattern as one alters the density length scale of the plasma, the focal length of the incident beam, and also the injection angle of the incident beam are presented in detail. This morphology includes a Goos-Hänchen shift and focal shift at oblique incidence that do not appear in a reduced ray-based description of the caustic. The enhancement of the intensity swelling factor for a focused wave compared to the typical Airy solution is highlighted, and the impact of a finite lens aperture is discussed. Collisional damping and finite beam waist are included in the model and appear as complex components to the arguments of the hyperbolic umbilic function. The observations presented here on the behavior of waves near turning points should aid the development of improved reduced wave models to be used, for example, in designing modern nuclear fusion experiments.

Multi-Sensor Platform for Predictive Air Quality Monitoring.

Air quality monitoring is a very important aspect of providing safe indoor conditions, and carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the pollutants that most affects people's health. An automatic system able to accurately forecast CO2 concentration can prevent a sudden rise in CO2 levels through appropriate control of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, avoiding energy waste and ensuring people's comfort. There are several works in the literature dedicated to air quality assessment and control of HVAC systems; the performance maximisation of such systems is typically achieved using a significant amount of data collected over a long period of time (even months) to train the algorithm. This can be costly and may not respond to a real scenario where the habits of the house occupants or the environment conditions may change over time. To address this problem, an adaptive hardware-software platform was developed, following the IoT paradigm, with a high level of accuracy in forecasting CO2 trends by analysing only a limited window of recent data. The system was tested considering a real case study in a residential room used for smart working and physical exercise; the parameters analysed were the occupants' physical activity, temperature, humidity and CO2 in the room. Three deep-learning algorithms were evaluated, and the best result was obtained with the Long Short-Term Memory network, which features a Root Mean Square Error of about 10 ppm with a training period of 10 days.