Validation of Functional Polymorphisms Affecting Maize Plant Height by Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) Discovers Novel Temporal Phenotypes

Plant height (PHT) in maize (Zea mays L.) has been scrutinized genetically and phenotypically due to relationship with other agronomically valuable traits (e.g. yield). Heritable variation of PHT is determined by many discovered quantitative trait loci (QTLs); however, phenotypic effects of such loci often lack validation across environments and genetic backgrounds, especially in the hybrid state grown by farmers rather than the inbred state more often used by geneticists. A previous genome wide association study using a topcrossed hybrid diversity panel identified two novel quantitative trait variants (QTVs) controlling both PHT and grain yield. Here, heterogeneous inbred families demonstrated that these two loci, characterized by two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), cause phenotypic variation in inbred lines, but that size of these effects were variable across four different genetic backgrounds, ranging from 1 to 10 cm. Weekly unoccupied aerial system flights demonstrated the two SNPs had larger effects, varying from 10 to 25 cm, in early growth while effects decreased towards the end of the season. These results show that allelic effect sizes of economically valuable loci are both dynamic in temporal growth and dynamic across genetic backgrounds, resulting in informative phenotypic variability overlooked following traditional phenotyping methods. Public genotyping data shows recent favorable allele selection in elite temperate germplasm with little change across tropical backgrounds. As these loci remain rarer in tropical germplasm, with effects most visible early in growth, they are useful for breeding and selection to expand the genetic basis of maize.

Validation of Functional Polymorphisms Affecting Maize Plant Height by Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) allows Novel Temporal Phenotypes

Plant height (PHT) in maize (Zea mays L.) has been scrutinized genetically and phenotypically due to relationship with other agronomically valuable traits (e.g. yield). Heritable variation of PHT is determined by many discovered quantitative trait loci (QTLs); however, phenotypic effects of such loci often lack validation across environments and genetic backgrounds, especially in the hybrid state grown by farmers rather than the inbred state preferred by geneticists. A previous genome wide association study using a hybrid diversity panel identified two novel quantitative trait variants (QTVs) controlling both PHT and grain yield. Here, heterogeneous inbred families demonstrated that these two loci, characterized by two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), cause phenotypic variation in inbred lines, but that size of these effects were variable across four different genetic backgrounds, ranging from 1 to 10 cm. Weekly unoccupied aerial system flights demonstrated both SNPs had larger effects, varying from 10 to 25 cm, in early growth while SNPs effects decreased towards the end of the season. These results show that allelic effect sizes of economically valuable loci are both dynamic in temporal growth and dynamic across genetic backgrounds resulting in informative phenotypic variability overlooked following traditional phenotyping methods. Public genotyping data shows recent favorably selection in elite temperate germplasm with little change across tropical backgrounds. As these loci remain rare in tropical germplasm, with effects most visible early in growth, they are useful for breeding and selection to expand the genetic basis of maize.

Hybrid Multi-Antenna Techniques for V2X Communications—Prototyping and Experimentation

The support of the connected vehicle-to-everything (V2X) vision in conjunction with intelligent transportation system applications and services constitute a major 5G objective for modern radio systems and networks. More particularly, 5G deployment will involve multiple radio access network (RAN) technologies and a massive machine-type communication environment, offering a simultaneously supported variety of broadcast, multicast, and unicast applications. In this article, we present an implementation of a diversity engine able to support the multi-objective, multi-RAN, multi-service V2X use cases. The engine is enhanced with the adoption of a hybrid diversity scheme that exploits the beamshaping capabilities of the reconfigurable electronically switched parasitic array radiator (ESPAR) antennas. The hybrid scheme combines conventional maximal ratio combining with beamspace diversity and it improves system performance in terms of reliability and throughput with increased signal-to-noise ratio. It was implemented and demonstrated with integration of novel printed antennas on connected, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)-enabled trucks in the context of the Horizon 2020 project ROADART.

Comparison of Hybrid Diversity and Space Diversity for Microwave Link Between Islands

The development of telecommunications technology today, so that some islands are still not affordable from telecommunications technology. The considerable distance between islands requires the efficiency and flexibility of the technology used. The microwave communication system is a technology that is widely implemented as a cellular network backhaul network because it has advantages in the simplicity of installation and can reach remote areas that are difficult to reach. But on the receiving side, the signal received not only comes from the LOS (Line of Sight) signal but the signal is also reflected by the surface of the Earth. The signal from some of these reflections is called multipath, the signal will cause interference that can cause fading or changes in the electromagnetic waves received. To overcome multipath fading that is too high, it is necessary to optimize antenna diversity using hybrid diversity and space diversity techniques. At maximum optimization of hybrid diversity with 135λ and 300 MHz, RSL -34.54 dBm is obtained, the fading margin is 33.70 dB, and availability is 99.99987%, the optimization is better than space diversity at maximum optimization with 135λ. Optimization of hybrid diversity has met ITU-R standards, with RSL values below -30 dBm and availability above 99.900% - 99.9966%, for the value of fading margins still do not meet the standards but can overcome multipath fading problems.