As we stand at the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution, digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Blockchain, Robotics, 3D technologies, and many more have become the means and solutions to many of the world’s problems. Most recently, these technologies have assisted in the global fight of the COVID-19 pandemic and other societal problems. Together with these innovative techniques, the concept of circular economy and its relevant tools such as life cycle costing, life cycle impact assessment, materials passports, and circularity measurements have been implemented in a number of sectors in different countries for the transition from a linear “take, make, and dispose” model towards a more circular model, which has shown positive results for the environment and economy. In this article, with the help of implementation, prototyping, and case studies, we explore how these technological advancements and innovative techniques are used in different sectors such as information and communications technology, the built environment, mining and manufacturing, education, healthcare, the public sectors, and others to provide an opportunity to understand and resolve the agreed upon framework in 2015 by 193 countries, that is, the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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Bacterial populations are routinely characterized based on microscopic examination, colony formation, and biochemical tests. However, in the recent past, bacterial identification, classification, and nomenclature have been strongly influenced by genome sequence information. Advances in bioinformatics and growth in genome databases has placed genome-based metadata analysis in the hands of researchers who will require taxonomic experience to resolve intricacies. To achieve this, different tools are now available to quantitatively measure genome relatedness within members of the same species, and genome-wide average nucleotide identity (gANI) is one such reliable tool to measure genome similarity. A genome assembly with a gANI score of <95% at the intraspecies level is generally considered indicative of a separate species. In this study, we have analysed 300 whole-genome sequences belonging to 26 different bacterial species available in the NCBI Genome database and calculated their similarity at the intraspecies level based on gANI score. At the intraspecies level, nine bacterial species showed less than 90% gANI and more than 10% of unaligned regions. We suggest the appropriate use of available bioinformatics resources after genome assembly to arrive at the proper bacterial identification, classification, and nomenclature to avoid erroneous species assignments and disparity due to diversity at the intraspecies level.

Mobile-to-mobile communication becomes necessary in many emerging wireless communication systems. Characteristics of mobile-to-mobile communication channel have been studied through a geometrical single bounce scattering model and analytical expressions for angle of arrival and time of arrival probability density functions have been derived for such models. Analytical expressions have been verified through computer simulations. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of mobile-to-mobile channel behavior in terms of the parameters studied.

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