Cell-free massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) has the potential of providing joint services including joint initial access, efficient clustering of access points (APs) and pilot allocation to user equipments (UEs) over large coverage area with reduced interference. In cell-free massive MIMO, large coverage area corresponds to provision and maintenance of scalable quality of service requirements for infinitely large number of UEs. The research in cell free massive MIMO is mostly focused on time division duplex mode due to availability of channel reciprocity which aids in avoiding feedback overhead. However, frequency division duplex (FDD) protocol still dominates the current wireless standards and the provision of angle reciprocity aids in reducing this overhead. The challenge of providing a scalable cell-free massive MIMO system in FDD setting is also prevalent, since computational complexity regarding signal processing tasks such as channel estimation, precoding/combining and power allocation, becomes prohibitively high with increase in number of UEs. In this work, we consider an FDD based scalable cell-free network with angular reciprocity and dynamic cooperation clustering approach. We have proposed scalability for our FDD cell-free and perform comparative analysis with reference to channel estimation, power allocation and precoding/combining techniques. We present expressions for scalable spectral efficiency, angle based precoding/combining schemes and provide comparison of overhead between conventional and scalable angle based estimation as well as combining schemes. Simulations confirm that the proposed scalable cell-free network based on FDD scheme outperforms the conventional matched filtering scheme based on non-scalable precoding/combiming schemes. The angle based LP-MMSE in FDD cell-free network provides 14.3% improvement in spectral efficiency and 11.11% improvement in energy efficiency compared to non-scalable MF scheme.

The Azores Archipelago is a collection of volcanic islands near northwestern Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the importance of accurate environmental monitoring for the advancement of research, transportation and tourism, a LoRaWan Sensor Network was developed to monitor levels of air pollution across these islands. This study presents an approach to the implementation of a blockchain network that is both lightweight and scalable, with the goal of preventing man-in-the-middle attacks on the design of sensor networks.

Polyphenols are well-known health promoting agents, but they have some limitations due to their spontaneous oxidation. This evidence has limited their use as drugs in the last years. In this field, several chemical modifications have been proposed to overcome these restrictions; among these, the esterification seems to be the preferred. Ester derivatives could be able to reduce the bioavailability problems connected to polyphenols. On the other hand, the presence of the esterase enzymes in the body guarantees the ester hydrolysis, which in turn frees the two molecules that make it up. Lipase-catalyzed esterifications afforded several derivatives of flavonoids glycosides, in green conditions. In this short note, pancreatic porcine lipase was firstly used as a cheap bio-catalyst, to synthesize oleoyl derivatives of quercetin in aglycone form. Results demonstrated how the enzyme acyl regioselective in position C-3, with high yields and easy purification processes

Complex-structured polymeric microparticles hold significant promise as advance in next-generation medicine mostly due to demand from developing targeted drug delivery. However, the conventional methods for producing these microparticles of defined size, shape and sophisticated composition often face challenges in scalability, reliance on specialized components such as micro-patterned templates, or have limited control over particle size distribution and cargo release kinetics. In this study, we introduce a novel and reliably scalable approach for manufacturing microparticles of defined structures and sizes with variable parameters. The concept behind this method involves the deposition of a specific number of polymer layers on a substrate with low surface energy. Each layer can serve as either the carrier for cargo or a programmable shell-former with predefined permeability. Subsequently, this layered structure is precisely cut into desired-sized blanks using a laser. The manufacturing process is completed by applying of heat to the substrate what results on sealing the edges of the blanks. The combination of the high surface tension of the molten polymer and the low surface energy of the substrate enables the formation of discrete particles, each possessing semi-spherical or other designed geometries determined by their internal composition. Such anisotropic microparticles are envisaged versatile applications.

Smart grids require flexible data driven forecasting methods. We propose clustering tools for bottom-up short-term load forecasting. We focus on individual consumption data analysis which plays a major role for energy management and electricity load forecasting. The two first sections are dedicated to the industrial context and a review of individual electrical data analysis. We are interested in hierarchical time-series for bottom-up forecasting. The idea is to disaggregate the signal in such a way that the sum of disaggregated forecasts improves the direct prediction. The 3-steps strategy defines numerous super-consumers by curve clustering, builds a hierarchy of partitions and selects the best one minimizing a forecast criterion. Using a nonparametric model to handle forecasting, and wavelets to define various notions of similarity between load curves, this disaggregation strategy applied to French individual consumers leads to a gain of 16\% in forecast accuracy. We then explore the upscaling capacity of this strategy facing massive data and implement proposals using R, the free software environment for statistical computing. The proposed solutions to make the algorithm scalable combines data storage, parallel computing and double clustering step to define the super-consumers.

A new requirement for the manufacturing companies in Industry 4.0 is to be flexible with respect to changes in demands, requiring them to react rapidly and efficiently on the production capacities. Together with the trend to use Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA), this requirement induces a need for agile collaboration among supply chain partners, but also between different divisions or branches of the same company. In order to address this collaboration challenge, we~propose a novel pragmatic approach for the process analysis, implementation and execution. This~is achieved through sets of semantic annotations of business process models encoded into BPMN 2.0 extensions. Building blocks for such manufacturing processes are the individual available services, which are also semantically annotated according to the Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) principles and stored into a common marketplace. The optimization of such manufacturing processes combines pattern-based semantic composition of services with their non-functional aspects. This is achieved by means of Quality-of-Service (QoS)-based Constraint Optimization Problem (COP) solving, resulting in an automatic implementation of service-based manufacturing processes. The produced solution is mapped back to the BPMN 2.0 standard formalism by means of the introduced extension elements, fully detailing the enactable optimal process service plan produced. This approach allows enacting a process instance, using just-in-time service leasing, allocation of resources and dynamic replanning in the case of failures. This proposition provides the best compromise between external visibility, control and flexibility. In this way, it provides an optimal approach for business process models' implementation, with a full service-oriented taste, by implementing user-defined QoS metrics, just-in-time execution and basic dynamic repairing capabilities. This paper presents the described approach and the technical architecture and depicts one initial industrial application in the manufacturing domain of aluminum forging for bicycle hull body forming, where the advantages stemming from the main capabilities of this approach are sketched.