Leveraging the potential of big genomic and phenotypic data for genome-wide association mapping in wheat

Genome-wide association mapping studies(GWAS)based on Big Data are a potential approach to improve marker-assisted selection in plant breeding.The number of available phenotypic and genomic data sets in which medium-sized populations of several hundred individuals have been studied is rapidly increasing.Combining these data and using them in GWAS could increase both the power of QTL discovery and the accuracy of estimation of underlying genetic effects,but is hindered by data heterogeneity and lack of interoperability.In this study,we used genomic and phenotypic data sets,focusing on Central European winter wheat populations evaluated for heading date.We explored strategies for integrating these data and subsequently the resulting potential for GWAS.Establishing interoperability between data sets was greatly aided by some overlapping genotypes and a linear relationship between the different phenotyping protocols,resulting in high quality integrated phenotypic data.In this context,genomic prediction proved to be a suitable tool to study relevance of interactions between genotypes and experimental series,which was low in our case.Contrary to expectations,fewer associations between markers and traits were found in the larger combined data than in the individual experimental series.However,the predictive power based on the marker-trait associations of the integrated data set was higher across data sets.Therefore,the results show that the integration of medium-sized to Big Data is an approach to increase the power to detect QTL in GWAS.The results encourage further efforts to standardize and share data in the plant breeding community.

Joint User Association and Satellite Selection for Satellite-Terrestrial Integrated networks

In this paper, we investigate a cooperation mechanism for satellite-terrestrial integrated networks. The terrestrial relays act as the supplement of traditional small cells and cooperatively provide seamless coverage for users in the densely populated areas.To deal with the dynamic satellite backhaul links and backhaul capacity caused by the satellite mobility, severe co-channel interference in both satellite backhaul links and user links introduced by spectrum sharing,and the difference demands of users as well as heterogeneous characteristics of terrestrial backhaul and satellite backhaul, we propose a joint user association and satellite selection scheme to maximize the total sum rate. The optimization problem is formulated via jointly considering the influence of dynamic backhaul links, individual requirements and targeted interference management strategies, which is decomposed into two subproblems: user association and satellite selection. The user association is formulated as a nonconvex optimization problem, and solved through a low-complexity heuristic scheme to find the most suitable access point serving each user. Then, the satellite selection is resolved based on the cooperation among terrestrial relays to maximize the total backhaul capacity with the minimum date rate constraints. Finally,simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of total sum rate and power efficiency of TRs' backhaul.

Joint User Association and Resource Allocation for Self-Backhaul Ultra-Dense Networks

In order to meet the exponentially increasing demand on mobile data traffic, self-backhaul ultra-dense networks(UDNs) combined with millimeter wave(mm Wave) communications are expected to provide high spatial multiplexing gain and wide bandwidths for multi-gigabit peak data rates. In selfbackhaul UDNs, how to make the radio access rates of small cells match their backhaul rates by user association and how to dynamically allocate bandwidth for the access links and backhaul links to balance two-hop link resources are two key problems on improving the overall throughputs. Based on this, a joint scheme of user association and resource allocation is proposed in self-backhaul ultra-dense networks. Because of the combinatorial and nonconvex features of the original optimization problem, it has been divided into two subproblems. Firstly, to make the radio access rates of small base stations match their backhaul rates and maximize sum access rates per Hz of all small cells, a proportional constraint is introduced, and immune optimization algorithm(IOA) is adopted to optimize the association indicator variables and the boresight angles of between users and base stations. Then, the optimal backhaul and access bandwidths are calculated by differentiating the general expression of overall throughput. Simulation results indicatethat the proposed scheme increases the overall throughputs significantly compared to the traditional minimum-distance based association scheme.

Integration Level for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） Economic Community

The time has come for the constitution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） economic community and many facts have been analyzed regarding this topic. This paper presents the results of the statistical analysis applied to several economic parameters which firstly show how their integration pattern adjusts with a considerable good fitting to the optimum currency area model and to its extended version by Behrens; and secondly how the 10 members of this group are moving at relatively same speed in spite of their differences, that are also inferred for ranging.

China Association of Chinese Medicine Paper notice for seminar on clinical application of new technology of integrated Chinese and western medicine in treating sequelae of cerebrovascular diseases

Hosted by ChinaAssociation of Chinese Medicine,and organized by World Journal of Integrated traditional and western Medicine,seminar on clinical application of new technology of integrated Chinese and western medicine in treating sequelae of cerebrovascular diseases is planned to be held in Nanning,Guangxi in August.

Discussion on Cultural Integration and Educational Services for International Students from the Perspective of Situational Communication

From the perspective of situational communication,this paper aims to explore how to promote cultural integration and provide better educational services for international students in China.This paper first analyzes the basic assumptions and key factors of situational communication based on international students in China.Secondly,the relationship between situational communication and cultural integration and educational services for international students in China is discussed in depth.Additionally,the role of situational communication in educational services for international students in China,such as promoting cross-cultural communication,solving language barriers,and enhancing mutual understanding,is proposed.Lastly,from the perspective of situational communication,an optimization path of educational services and cultural integration for international students in China is proposed,including the provision of diversified educational resources,the enhancement of cross-cultural communication,and the establishment of an effective communication mechanism.This study expands the perspective of educational services for international students in China,provides a new theoretical framework and practical path,and offers a reference for promoting cultural integration and improving educational services for international students in China.

Towards Interaction,Communication and Integration of Ethnic Groups with Commonality:A Comparison of Inner Mongolia,Guangxi and Ningxia Autonomous Region

One crucial measure of strengthening and advancing the Party's work on ethnic affairs in the new era is to promote interaction,communication and integration of various ethnic groups,so as to enhance commonality.Entering the new era,Inner Mongolia,Guangxi and Ningxia have achieved remarkable results in encouraging interaction,communication and integration of various ethnic groups.By comparatively analyzing successes of the three autonomous regions through the perspective of promoting commonality,this article summarizes the following strategic revelations:1)we should comprehensively implement the Party's ethnic policies and ensure theactual implementation of mutual interaction,mutual communication and mutual integration of ethnic groups;2)we should proactively promote the substantial progress of the economy,so as to provide solid material foundation for mutual interaction,mutual communication and mutual integration of ethnic groups;3)we should facilitate activities that promote ethnic unity and progress,so that the promotion of interaction,communication and mutual integration of ethnic groups can be seen,be felt and gain actual outcomes;4)we should take measures that suit to local conditions and explore all-round embedding mechanisms in order to foster the ethos for mutual interaction,mutual communication and mutual integration of ethnic groups;5)we should make every effort to forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and orient precisely to the cause of encouraging mutual interaction,mutual communication and mutual integration of ethnic groups.

Satellite Communications with 5G, B5G, and 6G: Challenges and Prospects

Satellite communications, pivotal for global connectivity, are increasingly converging with cutting-edge mobile networks, notably 5G, B5G, and 6G. This amalgamation heralds the promise of universal, high-velocity communication, yet it is not without its challenges. Paramount concerns encompass spectrum allocation, the harmonization of network architectures, and inherent latency issues in satellite transmissions. Potential mitigations, such as dynamic spectrum sharing and the deployment of edge computing, are explored as viable solutions. Looking ahead, the advent of quantum communications within satellite frameworks and the integration of AI spotlight promising research trajectories. These advancements aim to foster a seamless and synergistic coexistence between satellite communications and next-gen mobile networks.

Tasks-Oriented Joint Resource Allocation Scheme for the Internet of Vehicles with Sensing, Communication and Computing Integration

With the development of artificial intelligence(AI)and 5G technology,the integration of sensing,communication and computing in the Internet of Vehicles(Io V)is becoming a trend.However,the large amount of data transmission and the computing requirements of intelligent tasks lead to the complex resource management problems.In view of the above challenges,this paper proposes a tasks-oriented joint resource allocation scheme(TOJRAS)in the scenario of Io V.First,this paper proposes a system model with sensing,communication,and computing integration for multiple intelligent tasks with different requirements in the Io V.Secondly,joint resource allocation problems for real-time tasks and delay-tolerant tasks in the Io V are constructed respectively,including communication,computing and caching resources.Thirdly,a distributed deep Q-network(DDQN)based algorithm is proposed to solve the optimization problems,and the convergence and complexity of the algorithm are discussed.Finally,the experimental results based on real data sets verify the performance advantages of the proposed resource allocation scheme,compared to the existing ones.The exploration efficiency of our proposed DDQN-based algorithm is improved by at least about 5%,and our proposed resource allocation scheme improves the m AP performance by about 0.15 under resource constraints.

Joint Active and Passive Beamforming Design for Hybrid RIS-Aided Integrated Sensing and Communication

Integrated sensing and communication(ISAC) is considered an effective technique to solve spectrum congestion in the future. In this paper, we consider a hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surface(RIS)-assisted downlink ISAC system that simultaneously serves multiple single-antenna communication users and senses multiple targets. Hybrid RIS differs from fully passive RIS in that it is composed of both active and passive elements, with the active elements having the effect of amplifying the signal in addition to phase-shifting. We maximize the achievable sum rate of communication users by collaboratively improving the beamforming matrix at the dual function base station(DFBS) and the phase-shifting matrix of the hybrid RIS, subject to the transmit power constraint at the DFBS, the signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio(SINR) constraint of the radar echo signal and the RIS constraint are satisfied at the same time. The builtin RIS-assisted ISAC design problem model is significantly non-convex due to the fractional objective function of this optimization problem and the coupling of the optimization variables in the objective function and constraints. As a result, we provide an effective alternating optimization approach based on fractional programming(FP) with block coordinate descent(BCD)to solve the optimization variables. Results from simulations show that the hybrid RIS-assisted ISAC system outperforms the other benchmark solutions.

Channel estimation in integrated radar and communication systems with power amplifier distortion

To reduce the negative impact of the power amplifier(PA)nonlinear distortion caused by the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM)waveform with high peak-to-average power ratio(PAPR)in integrated radar and communication(RadCom)systems is studied,the channel estimation in passive sensing scenarios.Adaptive channel estimation methods are proposed based on different pilot patterns,considering nonlinear distortion and channel sparsity.The proposed methods achieve sparse channel results by manipulating the least squares(LS)frequency-domain channel estimation results to preserve the most significant taps.The decision-aided method is used to optimize the sparse channel results to reduce the effect of nonlinear distortion.Numerical results show that the channel estimation performance of the proposed methods is better than that of the conventional methods under different pilot patterns.In addition,the bit error rate performance in communication and passive radar detection performance show that the proposed methods have good comprehensive performance.

Space/Air Covert Communications:Potentials,Scenarios,and Key Technologies

Space/air communications have been envisioned as an essential part of the next-generation mobile communication networks for providing highquality global connectivity. However, the inherent broadcasting nature of wireless propagation environment and the broad coverage pose severe threats to the protection of private data. Emerging covert communications provides a promising solution to achieve robust communication security. Aiming at facilitating the practical implementation of covert communications in space/air networks, we present a tutorial overview of its potentials, scenarios, and key technologies. Specifically, first, the commonly used covertness constraint model, covert performance metrics, and potential application scenarios are briefly introduced. Then, several efficient methods that introduce uncertainty into the covert system are thoroughly summarized, followed by several critical enabling technologies, including joint resource allocation and deployment/trajectory design, multi-antenna and beamforming techniques, reconfigurable intelligent surface(RIS), and artificial intelligence algorithms. Finally, we highlight some open issues for future investigation.

Beyond 5G Networks: Integration of Communication, Computing, Caching, and Control

In recent years,the exponential proliferation of smart devices with their intelligent applications poses severe challenges on conventional cellular networks.Such challenges can be potentially overcome by integrating communication,computing,caching,and control(i4C)technologies.In this survey,we first give a snapshot of different aspects of the i4C,comprising background,motivation,leading technological enablers,potential applications,and use cases.Next,we describe different models of communication,computing,caching,and control(4C)to lay the foundation of the integration approach.We review current stateof-the-art research efforts related to the i4C,focusing on recent trends of both conventional and artificial intelligence(AI)-based integration approaches.We also highlight the need for intelligence in resources integration.Then,we discuss the integration of sensing and communication(ISAC)and classify the integration approaches into various classes.Finally,we propose open challenges and present future research directions for beyond 5G networks,such as 6G.

Photonics-assisted THz wireless communication enabled by wide-bandwidth packaged backilluminated modified uni-traveling-carrier photodiode

This paper presents a wide-bandwidth back-illuminated modified uni-traveling-carrier photodiode(MUTC-PD)packaged with standard WR-5 rectangular waveguide for high-speed wireless communications.With optimized epitaxy structure and coplanar waveguide electrodes,the fabricated 4-μm-diameter PD exhibits ultra-flat frequency response and high saturation power.Integrated passive circuits including low-loss bias-tee and E-plane probe are designed to package the PD into a compact module with waveguide output.The packaged PD module has demonstrated a flat frequency response with fluctuations within±2.75 d B over a broadband of 140–220 GHz and a high saturated output power of-7.8 d Bm(166μW)at 140 GHz.For wireless communication applications,the packaged PD is used to implement 1-m free space transmission at carrier frequencies of 150.5 and 210.5 GHz,with transmission rates of 75 and 90 Gbps,respectively.

Integrated Sensing and Communication:Who Benefits More?

This paper compares the benefits of communication-assisted sensing and sensing-assisted communication in the context of integrated sensing and communication(ISAC).Communication-assisted sensing leverages the extensive cellular infrastructure to create a vast and cooperative sensor network,enhancing environmental perception accuracy and coverage.On the other hand,sensing-assisted communication utilizes advanced sensing technologies to improve predictive beamforming and channel estimation performance in high-frequency and highmobility scenarios,thereby increasing communication efficiency and reliability.To validate our analysis,we present an example of channel knowledge map(CKM)-assisted beam tracking.This example demonstrates the practical advantages of incorporating CKM in enhancing beam tracking accuracy.Our analysis confirms that communication-assisted sensing may offer greater development potential due to its wide coverage and cost-effectiveness in large-scale applications.

Sensing and Communication Integrated Fast Neighbor Discovery for UAV Networks

In unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)networks,the high mobility of nodes leads to frequent changes in network topology,which brings challenges to the neighbor discovery(ND)for UAV networks.Integrated sensing and communication(ISAC),as an emerging technology in 6G mobile networks,has shown great potential in improving communication performance with the assistance of sensing information.ISAC obtains the prior information about node distribution,reducing the ND time.However,the prior information obtained through ISAC may be imperfect.Hence,an ND algorithm based on reinforcement learning is proposed.The learning automaton(LA)is applied to interact with the environment and continuously adjust the probability of selecting beams to accelerate the convergence speed of ND algorithms.Besides,an efficient ND algorithm in the neighbor maintenance phase is designed,which applies the Kalman filter to predict node movement.Simulation results show that the LA-based ND algorithm reduces the ND time by up to 32%compared with the Scan-Based Algorithm(SBA),which proves the efficiency of the proposed ND algorithms.

Polynomial-Time Assignment-Based Cell Association with Generic Utility Functions

Cell association is a significant research issue in future mobile communication systems due to the unacceptably large computational time of traditional schemes.This article proposes a polynomial-time cell association scheme which not only completes the association in polynomial time but also fits for a generic optimization objective function.On the one hand,traditional cell association as a non-deterministic polynomial(NP)hard problem with a generic utility function is heuristically transformed into a 2-dimensional assignment optimization and solved by a certain polynomial-time algorithm,which significantly saves computational time.On the other hand,the scheme jointly considers utility maximization and load balancing among multiple base stations(BSs)by maintaining an experience pool storing a set of weighting factor values and their corresponding performances.When an association optimization is required,a suitable weighting factor value is taken from the pool to calculate a long square utility matrix and a certain polynomial-time algorithm will be applied for the association.Comparing with several representative schemes,the proposed scheme achieves large system capacity and high fairness within a relatively short computational time.

Innovation and Practice of Teaching Methods in Digital and Adaptive Learning:Taking Communication Engineering Major as an Example

This paper proposes teaching reforms in communication engineering majors,emphasizing the implementation of digital and adaptive teaching methodologies,integrating emerging technologies,breaking free from the constraints of traditional education,and fostering high-caliber talents.The reform measures encompass fundamental data collection,recognition of individual characteristics,recommendation of adaptive learning resources,process-oriented teaching management,adaptive student guidance and early warning systems,personalized evaluation,and the construction of an integrated service platform.These measures,when combined,form a comprehensive system that is expected to enhance teaching quality and efficiency,and facilitate student development.

EU＇s Association Agreements ＆ Central America： No Milk Until the Cows Come Home

Why did the European Union （EU） conclude an Association Agreement （A.A）, rather than a free-trade agreement with Central American （CA） countries in 2010？ A CA-EU AA content analysis within the broader EU policy approach towards Latin America suggests it to be （1） the only feasible option for each side at a time of increasing commercial flux; （2） mutually attractive against globalizing threats, thus converting an institutional innovation into a double-edged instrument; and （3） illustrative of the subtle but significant shift of farm-protection demands from endogenous dynamics to exogenous. They carry important implications： （1） empirically： weak CA-EU linkages further dilute West Europe＇s broader Latin ambitions; （2） theoretically： AA analyses better reflect trading realities than pure regional economic integration theories, suggesting the corrosive impact of globalizing forces on regional pursuits; and （3） historically： the continued role of the farm jinx in trade.