Internet of things

Manual of Digital Earth / Editors: Huadong Guo, Michael F. Goodchild, Alessandro Annoni .- Springer, 2020 .- ISBN: 978-981-32-9915-3Digital Earth was born with the aim of replicating the real world within the digital world. Many efforts have been made to observe and sense the Earth, both from space (remote sensing) and by using in situ sensors. Focusing on the latter, advances in Digital Earth have established vital bridges to exploit these sensors and their networks by taking location as a key element. The current era of connectivity envisions that everything is connected to everything. The concept of the Internet of Things(IoT)emergedasaholisticproposaltoenableanecosystemofvaried,heterogeneous networked objects and devices to speak to and interact with each other. To make the IoT ecosystem a reality, it is necessary to understand the electronic components, communication protocols, real-time analysis techniques, and the location of the objects and devices. The IoT ecosystem and the Digital Earth (DE) jointly form interrelated infrastructures for addressing today’s pressing issues and complex challenges. In this chapter, we explore the synergies and frictions in establishing an efficient and permanent collaboration between the two infrastructures, in order to adequately address multidisciplinary and increasingly complex real-world problems. Although there are still some pending issues, the identified synergies generate optimism for a true collaboration between the Internet of Things and the Digital Earth

Estimating Volumetric Water Content in Soil for IoUT Contexts by Exploiting RSSI-Based Augmented Sensors via Machine Learning

This paper aims at proposing an augmented sensing method for estimating volumetric water content (VWC) in soil for Internet of Underground Things (IoUT) applications. The system exploits an IoUT sensor node embedding a low-cost, low-precision soil moisture sensor and a long-range wide-area network (LoRaWAN) transceiver sending relative measurements within LoRaWAN packets. The VWC estimation is achieved by means of machine learning (ML) algorithms combining the readings provided by the soil moisture sensor with the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values measured at the LoRaWAN gateway side during broadcasting. A dataset containing such measurements was especially collected in the laboratory by burying the IoUT sensor node within a plastic case filled with sand, while several VWCs were artificially created by progressively adding water. The adopted ML algorithms are trained and tested using three different techniques for estimating VWC. Firstly, the low-cost, low-precision soil moisture sensor is calibrated by resorting to an ML model exploiting only its raw readings to estimate VWC. Secondly, a virtual VWC sensor is shown, where no real sensor readings are used because only LoRaWAN RSSIs are exploited. Lastly, an augmented VWC sensing method relying on the combination of RSSIs and soil moisture sensor readings is presented. The findings of this paper demonstrate that the augmented sensor outperforms both the virtual sensor and the calibrated real soil moisture sensor. The latter provides a root mean square error (RMSE) of (Formula presented.), a virtual sensor of (Formula presented.), and an augmented sensor of (Formula presented.), which improves down to (Formula presented.) if filtered in post-processing

Development of a Self-Sufficient LoRaWAN Sensor Node with Flexible and Glass Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Modules Harvesting Energy from Diffuse Low-Intensity Solar Radiation

This paper aims to demonstrate the viability of energy harvesting for wide area wireless sensing systems based on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) under diffuse sunlight conditions, proving the feasibility of deploying autonomous sensor nodes even under unfavorable outdoor scenarios, such as during cloudy days, in the proximity of tall buildings, among the trees in a forest and during winter days in general. A flexible thin-film module and a glass thin-film module, both featuring an area smaller than an A4 sheet of paper, were initially characterized in diffuse solar light. Afterward, the protype sensor nodes were tested in a laboratory in two different working conditions, emulating outdoor sunlight in unfavorable lighting and weather to reconstruct a worst-case scenario. A Li-Po battery was employed as a power reserve for a long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN)-based sensor node that transmitted data every 8 h and every hour. To this end, an RFM95x LoRa module was used, while the node energy management was attained by exploiting a nano-power boost charger buck converter integrated circuit conceived for the nano-power harvesting from the light source and the managing of the battery charge and protection. A positive charge balance was demonstrated by monitoring the battery trend along two series of 6 and 9 days, thus allowing us to affirm that the system’s permanent energy self-sufficiency was guaranteed even in the worst-case lighting and weather scenario

LoRaWAN Transmissions in Salt Water for Superficial Marine Sensor Networking: Laboratory and Field Tests

In this paper, the authors present the results of a set of measurements carried out to analyze the transmission capabilities of the LoRaWAN technology for underwater to above water transmission in saline water. A theoretical analysis was used to model the link budget of the radio channel in the considered operative conditions and to estimate the electrical permittivity of salt water. Preliminary measurements were performed in the laboratory at different salinity levels to confirm the application boundaries of the technology, then field tests were conducted in the Venice lagoon. While these test are not focused on demonstrating the usability of LoRaWAN to collect data underwater, the achieved results demonstrate that LoRaWAN transmitters can be used in all those conditions when they are expected to be partially or totally submerged below a thin layer of marine water, in accordance with the prediction of the proposed theoretical model. This achievement paves the way for the deployment of superficial marine sensor networks in the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) context, as for the monitoring of bridges, harbor structures, water parameters and water sport athletes and for the realization of high-water or fill-level alarm systems

Side-effects of a number of insecticides on predatory mites in apple orchards

Background: Amblyseius andersoni is a common predatory mite occurring in fruit orchards located in Europe and North America. Its role in preventing spider mite outbreaks is widely recognized, in particular when selective pesticides are used. The compatibility between plant protection products and predatory mites is crucial to preserve their activity. There is a need to investigate the effects of pesticides on beneficials using multiple approaches. Objectives: Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of a number of insecticides on A. andersoni. Methods: The effects of neonicotinoids (i.e., acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thia-methoxam) were compared with those of pyrethroids (i.e., tau-fluvalinate), well known for their negative impact on predatory mites. Insecticides were applied 1-3 times in an experimental fruit orchard located in Northern Italy. Laboratory trials focused on their effects on the survival and the fecundity of predatory mite females. Results: Field experiments showed a decline in predatory mite numbers in plots treated with neonicotinoids or tau-fluvalinate compared to the untreated control. However, predatory mites in neonicotinoid plots reached higher densities compared to those recorded in tau-fluvalinate plots. Spider mite (Panonychus ulmi) populations reached moderate to high densities in plots treated with tau-fluvalinate while their densities were negligible in the remaining plots. Amblyseius andersoni survival was moderately affected by some neonicotinoids in the laboratory while they significantly reduced predatory mite fecundity. In contrast tau-fluvalinate exerted severe effects on survival and fecundity of predatory mites. Finally, escaping rate increased after pesticide exposure suggesting possible alterations in predatory mite behavior. Conclusions: Neonicotinoid applications significantly affected predatory mite densities in field conditions and this phenomenon appeared to be influenced by their impact on female fecundity. Their effects on survival were less severe. Implications of these results for IPM tactics in fruit orchards are discusse

Pollen provisioning attenuates pesticide side-effects on a phytoseiid predator

BACKGROUND: Biological control with predatory mites is applied against pests in greenhouse crops. Chemical control with the use of selective, reduced-risk pesticides, is an important component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, that often needs to be combined with biological control. Here, we evaluated the effect of plant pollen when used as supplementary food on the survival, reproduction and predation of the predatory mite Amblydromalus limonicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) after exposing young larvae and adults to flonicamid, an insecticide of moderate toxicity to phytoseiids. Pollen is an important alternative food for generalist phytoseiids ensuring survival and supporting populations build-up during periods of prey scarcity. Two regimes of cattail (Typha angustifolia L.) pollen differing in application frequency were used. In the first, the total amount of pollen was supplied once, within 30 min after insecticide application, whereas in the second regime, the same amount of pollen was supplied gradually, i.e., every 48 h. RESULTS: Regardless of the frequency of application, pollen provisioning results in a reduction in prey (thrips) consumption relative to the control (no pollen provisioning). Nevertheless, when adult mites were directly exposed to flonicamid residues, pollen provisioning attenuated the reduction in prey consumption as compared to the control. In addition, the gradual (every 48 h) provisioning of pollen to adult predators exposed to flonicamid residues impacted positively the intrinsic rate of population increase (rm) of A. limonicus as compared to when feeding on prey. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal an unexpected role of pollen provisioning in alleviating pesticides side-effects on phytoseiids. © 2024 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry

Editorial: Ecosystem Services and Disservices Provided by Plant-Feeding Predatory Arthropods

Editorial of the Research Topic issue on Ecosystem Services and Disservices Provided by Plant-Feeding Predatory Arthropod

Development of solid-phase extraction for triazines: application to a biological sample.

A sensitive extraction method for the triazines simazine, atrazine, and ametryn was developed and applied to a biological sample (urine). After protein precipitation with acetonitrile, a further purification using solid-phase extraction (SPE) was carried out. The samples were then analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) usina a C18 column and an acetonitrile-water (40:60, v/v) mobile phase. The pH of the mobile phase was adjusted to 9.0 with NH4OH, the flow-rate was 0.5 mL/min and UV detection was at 220 nm. Recovery values were satisfactory and the method developed can be used for monitoring urine samples of workers exposed to simazine, atrazine, and ametryn, in forensic, veterinay, and environmental toxicologies

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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Application of new high-performance liquid chromatography and solid-phase extraction materials to the analysis of pesticides in human urine.

A method for the simultaneous determination of diuron and linuron pesticides in human urine was developed, using both solid-phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) phases made in our own laboratory. These materials were prepared by sorption of polysiloxanes onto a silica surface, followed by immobilization. The HPLC columns were prepared from poly(methyloctylsiloxane), PMOS, immobilized onto silica with microwave radiation while the SPE cartridges where made with poly(methyloctadecylsiloxane), immobilized thermally. Method validation was performed for diuron and linuron for three fortification levels. The recoveries obtained were 85?103%, the inter- and intra-assay precisions were less than 1.6 and 1.8%, respectively. The limits of quantitation and detection for diuron were 2.4 and 8.0 ?g/l and for linuron were 5.0 and 12 ?g/l, respectively