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Abstract-In wireless sensor networks, majority of routing protocols considered energy efficiency as the main objective and assumed data traffic with unconstrained delivery requirements. However, the introduction of image and video sensors demands certain quality of service (QoS) from the routing protocols and underlying networks. Managing real-time data requires both energy efficiency and QoS assurance in order to ensure efficient usage of sensor resources and correctness of the collected information. In this paper, we present a novel QoS-aware routing protocol to support high data rate for wireless multimedia sensor networks. Being multi-channel multi-path the foundation, the routing decision is made according to the dynamic adjustment of the required bandwidth and path-length-based proportional delay differentiation for real-time data. The proposed protocol works in a distributed manner to ensure bandwidth and endto-end delay requirements of real-time data. At the same time, the throughput of non-real-time data is maximized by adjusting the service rate of real-time and non-real-time data. Results evaluated in simulation demonstrate a significant performance improvement in terms of average delay, average lifetime and network throughput.

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Pandemic defines the global outbreak of a disease that is caused due to some disease containing a high transmission rate. The impact of a pandemic situation can be lessened by restricting the movement of the mass. However, one of its concomitant circumstances is an economic crisis. In this article, we demonstrate what actions an agent (trained using reinforcement learning) may take in different possible scenarios of a pandemic depending on the spread of disease and economic factors. To train the agent, we design a virtual pandemic scenario closely related to the present COVID-19 crisis. Then, we apply reinforcement learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, that deals with how an individual (human/machine) should interact on an environment (real/virtual) to achieve the cherished goal. Finally, we demonstrate what optimal actions the agent perform to reduce the spread of disease while considering the economic factors. In our experiment, we let the agent find an optimal solution without providing any prior knowledge. After training, we observed that the agent places a long length lockdown to reduce the first surge of a disease. Furthermore, the agent places a combination of cyclic lockdowns and short length lockdowns to halt the resurgence of the disease. Analyzing the agent's performed actions, we discover that the agent decides movement restrictions not only based on the number of the infectious population but also considering the reproduction rate of the disease. The estimation and policy of the agent may improve the human-strategy of placing lockdown so that an economic crisis may be avoided while mitigating an infectious disease.

A study was performed using 6 × 6 F1 diallel population without reciprocals to assess the mode of inheritance of pod yield and related traits in groundnut with imposed salinity stress. Heterosis was found for pod number and yield. Data on general and specific combining ability (gca and sca) indicated additive and nonadditive gene actions. The gca: sca ratios were much less than unity suggesting predominant role of nonadditive gene effects. Cultivars “Binachinabadam-2” and “Dacca-1” and mutant M6/25/64-82 had the highest, second highest, and third highest pod number, as well as gca values, respectively. These two cultivars and another mutant M6/15/70-19 also had the highest, second highest, and third highest pod yield, as well as gca values, respectively. Therefore, “Dacca-1”, “Binachinabadam-2”, M6/25/64-82, and M6/15/70-19 could be used as source of salinity tolerance. Cross combinations showing high sca effects arising from parents with high and low gca values for any trait indicate the influence of nonadditive genes on their expression. Parents of these crosses can be used for biparental mating or reciprocal recurrent selection for developing high yielding varieties. Crosses with high sca effects having both parents with good gca effects could be exploited by pedigree breeding to get transgressive segregants.

In this paper we introduce deterministic bridge connectors, a type of construct that ensures deterministic data-flow communication in asynchronous real-time systems. We also present a methodology for generating these connectors automatically from the application's architecture description in order to reduce programmer effort and the chance of error. We provide a process algebraic verification of the determinism property of these connectors. We conclude by presenting arguments in favor of using this verification in lieu of expensive certification to qualify these constructs for onboard deployment.

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