Firmware Over-the-air Programming Techniques for IoT Networks - A Survey

The devices forming Internet of Things (IoT) networks need to be re-programmed over the air, so that new features are added, software bugs or security vulnerabilities are resolved, and their applications can be re-purposed. The limitations of IoT devices, such as installation in locations with limited physical access, resource-constrained nature, large scale, and high heterogeneity, should be taken into consideration for designing an efficient and reliable pipeline for over-the-air programming (OTAP). In this work, we present a survey of OTAP techniques, which can be applied to IoT networks. We highlight the main challenges and limitations of OTAP for IoT devices and analyze the essential steps of the firmware update process, along with different approaches and techniques that implement them. In addition, we discuss schemes that focus on securing the OTAP process. Finally, we present a collection of state-of-the-art open-source and commercial platforms that integrate secure and reliable OTAP.

A Macron Signifying Nothing: Revisiting The Canterbury Tales Project Transcription Guidelines

The original transcription guidelines of The Canterbury Tales Project (CTP) were first developed by Peter Robinson and Elizabeth Solopova and were published in 1993. Since then, the project has evolved, bringing about numerous changes of varying degrees to the process of transcription. In this article, we revisit those original guidelines and the principles and aims that informed them and offer a rationale for changes in our transcription practice. We build upon Robinson and Solopova’s assertion that transcription is a fundamentally interpretive act of translation from one semiotic system to another and explore the implications and biases of our own position (e.g. how our interest in the text of The Canterbury Tales prioritizes the minutiae of that text over certain features of the document). We reevaluate the original transcription guidelines in relation to the changes in the project’s practices as a means of clarifying its position. Changes in the project’s practice illustrate how it has adapted to accommodate both necessary compromises and more efficient practices that better reflect the original principles and aims first laid down by Robinson and Solopova. This article provides practical examples that demonstrate those same principles in action as part of the transcription guidelines followed by transcribers working on The Canterbury Tales Project. Rather than perceiving this project as producing a definitive transcription of The Canterbury Tales, the CTP team conceptualizes its work as an open access resource that will aid others in producing their own editions as it has done the heavy lifting of providing a base text.

Population genomics reveal distinct and diverging populations of An. minimus in Cambodia - a widespread malaria vector in Southeast Asia

Anopheles minimus is an important malaria vector throughout its wide geographic range across Southeast Asia. Genome sequencing could provide important insights into the unique malaria transmission dynamics in this region, where many vector species feed and rest outdoors. We describe results from a study using Illumina deep whole-genome sequencing of 302 wild-caught An. minimus collected from three Cambodian provinces over several years (2010, 2014-2016) and seasons to examine the level of population structure and genetic diversity within this species. These specimens cluster into four distinct populations of An. minimus s.s., with two populations overlapping geographically. We describe the underlying genetic diversity and divergence of these populations and investigated the genetic variation in genes known to be involved in insecticide resistance. We found strong signals of selection within these An. minimus populations, most of which were present in the two Northeastern Cambodian populations and differ from those previously described in African malaria vectors. Cambodia is the focus of the emergence and spread of drug-resistant malaria parasites, so understanding the underlying genetic diversity and resilience of the vectors of these parasites is key to implementing effective malaria control and elimination strategies. These data are publicly available as part of the MalariaGEN Vector Observatory, an open access resource of genome sequence data.

Libraries and Access to Information In Palestine

Life under Occupation, for over 70 years, has had a major impact on Palestinian libraries, their function within communities, and access to materials and resources that most libraries in other places around the world do not experience. This paper will give a brief overview of several libraries within Palestine, including a historical narrative about the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Also included are snapshots of a few libraries within Palestine, the experiences of a few librarians living and working in the West Bank and Gaza, and a summary overview of the documentary film The Great Book Robbery by Billy Brunner. This paper has previously been published as a chapter within an Open Access resource titled International Libraries: An Open Textbook.

An Efficient Radio Access Resource Management Scheme Based on Priority Strategy in Dense mmWave Cellular Networks

In millimeter wave (mmWave) communication systems, beamforming-enabled directional transmission and network densification are usually used to overcome severe signal path loss problem and improve signal coverage quality. The combination of directional transmission and network densification poses a challenge to radio access resource management. The existing work presented an effective solution for dense mmWave wireless local area networks (WLANs). However, this scheme cannot adapt to network expansion when it is applied directly to dense mmWave cellular networks. In addition, there is still room for improvement in terms of energy efficiency and throughput. Therefore, we firstly propose an efficient hierarchical beamforming training (BFT) mechanism to establish directional links, which allows all the small cell base stations (SBSs) to participate in the merging of training frames to adapt to network expansion. Then, we design a BFT information-aided radio access resource allocation algorithm to improve the downlink energy efficiency of the entire mmWave cellular network by reasonably selecting beam directions and optimizing transmission powers and beam widths. Simulation results show that the proposed hierarchical BFT mechanism has the smaller overhead of BFT than the existing BFT mechanism, and the proposed BFT information-aided radio access resource allocation algorithm outperforms the existing corresponding algorithm in terms of average energy efficiency and throughput per link.