Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-based communication system is a promising solution to meet coverage and capacity requirements of future wireless networks. However, UAV-enabled communications is constrained with its coverage, energy consumption, and flying regulations, and the number of works focusing on the sustainability aspect of UAV-assisted networking has been limited in the literature so far. In this paper, we propose a solution to this limitation; particularly, we design a $Q$-learning-based UAV positioning scheme for sustainable wireless connectivity considering key constraints, that are, altitude regulations, non-flight zones, and transmit power. The objective is to find the optimal position of the UAV base station (BS) and minimize the energy consumption while maximizing the number of users covered. Moreover, a weighting mechanism is developed, where the energy consumption and number of users covered can be prioritized according to network/battery conditions. The proposed Q-learning-based solution is compared to the baseline k-means clustering method, where the UAV BS is positioned at the centroid location that minimizes the cumulative distance between the UAV BS and the users. The results demonstrate that the proposed solution outperforms the baseline k-means clustering-based method in terms of the number of users covered while achieving the desired minimization of the energy consumption.

In this work, the ternary titanium, copper and silver (Ti-Cu-Ag) system is investigated as a potential candidate for the production of mechanically robust biomedical thin films. The coatings are produced by physical vapor deposition-magnetron sputtering (MS-PVD). The composite thin films are deposited on a silicon (100) substrate. The ratio between Ti and Cu was approximately kept one, with the variation of the Ag content between 10 and 35 at.%, while the power on the targets is changed during each deposition to get the desired Ag content. Thin film characterization is performed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), nanoindentation (modulus and hardness) and Atomic force microscopy to determine the surface topography. The residual stresses are measured by focused ion beam and digital image correlation method (FIB-DIC). The produced Ti-Cu-Ag thin films appear to be smooth, uniformly thick and exhibit amorphous structure for the Ag contents lower than 25 at.%, with a transition to partially crystalline structure for higher Ag concentrations. The Ti-Cu control film shows higher values of 124.5 GPa and 7.85 GPa for modulus and hardness respectively. There is a clear trend of continuous decrease in the modulus and hardness with the increase of Ag content, as lowest value of 105.5 GPa and 6 GPa for 35 at.% Ag containing thin films. In particular, a transition from the compressive (-36.5 MPa) to tensile residual stresses between 229 MPa and 288 MPa are observed with an increasing Ag content. The obtained results suggest that the Ag concentration should not exceed 25 at.%, in order to avoid an excessive reduction of the modulus and hardness with maintaining (at the same time) the potential for an increase of the antibacterial properties. In summary, Ti-Cu-Ag thin films shows characteristic mechanical properties that can be used to improve the properties of biomedical implants such as Ti-alloys and stainless steel.

This study endeavors the preparation and evaluation of Phenol Furfural Resin (PFR) from bagasse and its nanocomposites for Electrically Conductive Adhesives (ECAs) application. PFR was prepared with the furfural extracted from bagasse using modified acid digestion method. Three different formulations of PFR nanocomposites with conductive nanoparticles i.e., PFR-silver, PFR-graphite, and PFR-silver + graphite were prepared using 20-60 w/w% of fillers via impregnation method. Resultant products were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, EDS and XRD spectroscopy. Electrical conductivity was measured using four probe technique while band gap was calculated via Tauc plot. Virgin PFR has shown poor conductivity up to 2.6 × 10-4 Scm-1 while the highest conductivity achieved was 8.2 × 10-1 Scm-1 for nanocomposite constituted silver, graphite, and PFR with 40:30:20 ratios respectively. This synergism was exhibited because graphite and Ag NPs supply excellent junctions for building networks. Both tend to coalesce due to van der Waals forces and high surface energies, therefore conductive pathways numbers can be increased, and contact area can be effectively enlarged. This ternary composite has exhibited the lowest bandgap energy value i.e., 3.1 eV. Thermogravimetric temperatures T0 and Tdeg values were increased up to 120 °C and 484 °C respectively, showing significant increase in thermal stability. Therefore, the resultant nanocomposite material has good potential to be employed as ECAs in electronic industry.

Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is an idiopathic disorder characterized by an abnormal and marked accumulation of eosinophils in the interstitial and alveolar spaces of the lung. Idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia is reported to comprise anywhere from 0-2.5% of cases within the registries of interstitial lung disease. Diagnosis is based on the clinical constellation of symptoms, characteristic radiographic findings and peripheral blood or BAL eosinophilia, in the absence of infection or drug-induced eosinophilia. There is no consensus on the dose and duration of treatment, but most authors recommend initial doses of prednisone at 0.5–1 mg/kg/day with gradual tapering of the dose for total treatment duration of 6–12 months.

In this study, we evaluated the potential of fungal endophytes to control yellow rust in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as endophytes are beneficial microbes and alternate to pesticides for confronting pathogens. The in-vitro efficacy of the fungal endophytes isolated from different desert plants was evaluated and the best four namely Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, Piriformospora indica, Acremonium lolii and Trichoderma viride were selected. Seeds of two susceptible wheat genotypes namely Fareed-06 and Shafaq-06 obtained from screening experiment were inoculated by dipping in four endophytic spore suspensions and were sown using randomized complete block design under factorial arrangement. Data concerning about area under disease progress curve, final disease severity percentage, coefficient of infection,1000- grains weight and grain yield were recorded. Results showed that endophyte P. indica showed significant decrease in final disease severity (FDS) and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), resultantly 12.2% grain yield gain in rust susceptible wheat genotypes of Fareed-06 and Shafaq-06 followed by the endophytes T. viride, C. lindemuthianum and A. lolii with the grain yield gain of 10.6%, 06.2% and 04.2% respectively. In crux, fungal endophytes are valuable microbes which can be employed to induce tolerance against P. striiformis in yellow rust vulnerable areas for better and sustainable wheat production.