This proceedings constitutes selected papers from the Workshops KGMA and SemiBDMA which were held in conjunction with APWeb-WAIM 2023 which took place in Wuhan, China, during October 6-8, 2023. The 7 full papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 15 papers submitted to these workshops. They focus on new research approaches on the theory, design, and implementation of data management systems.

Land deterioration, drought, desertification, and water resources shrinkage threaten natural resources, negatively impacting environmental, economic, and political stability. The increasing occurrence of climate change (extremes) impacts land degradation processes, soil erosion by water and wind, and salinization. The researchers have invested several years of scientific research in natural resources deterioration, including soil degradation and erosion, land degradation, desertification, and climate changes, which are interesting enough. However, the link between science and policymaking appears to be less active as serious actions do not take fast. The eighteen chapters of this book focus more on topics related to natural resources deterioration, such as land degradation, desertification, drought, climate change, and analysis of numerous case studies.

This book addressed the pressing challenges of climate change, land scarcity, and food security, offering a comprehensive synthesis of research on using, managing, and reclaiming marginal lands in Africa. Unfavourable climatic conditions and rapid population growth intensify competition for land, putting pressure on traditional agricultural soils thus necessitating a transition towards underutilized marginal lands. Reclaiming these damaged and undervalued areas through various technologies presents a promising path not only to food independence but also to second-generation biofuel feedstock production, utilizing excess biomass from these revived lands. While recent years have seen increased focus on restoring degraded lands, a crucial gap remains i.e. a unified knowledge base detailing the efficacy of various reclamation technologies. This book fills that void, empowering farmers and policymakers with the insights they need to make informed decisions, mobilize resources effectively, and ultimately help Africa meet its projected 60% food demand increase.

This third edition of this text covers the key technologies associated with the physical transmission of data on 5G mobile systems. Following an updated overview of these technologies, the author provides a high-level description of 3GPP’s mobile communications standard (5G/5G-Advanced) and shows how the key technologies presented earlier facilitate the transmission of very high-speed user data and control data and can provide very low latency for use cases where this is important. In the final chapter, an updated overview and the physical layer aspects of 5G NR enabled Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) networks is presented. Material in the second edition addressed mainly the key physical layer technologies and features associated with 3GPP Release 15, the first release to support 5G, and Release 16. This edition adds descriptions of some of the technological advancements supported in Releases 17 and 18, the latter being designated by 3GPP as 5G-Advanced. In addition to numerous enhancements of existing features, these releases include new features such as support for 1024-QAM in the downlink in the FR1 band, Reduced Capability (RedCAP) devices, Network Controlled repeaters, operation in the 6 GHz band and above 52.6 GHz, support for broadcast/multicast services, and Non-terrestrial Networks (NTNs). Additionally, a look ahead at some of the planned features and enhancements of Release 19 is provided. This textbook is intended for graduate and upper undergraduate engineering students and practicing engineers and technicians who have an interest in 3GPP’s 5G enabled mobile and or FWA networks and want to acquire, where missing, the necessary technology background in order to understand 3GPP’s physical layer specifications and operation. Provided are working problems and helpful examples throughout the text.