A cross-layer design approach on spectrum allocation and resource scheduling in cognitive PMP networks

We propose the spectrum allocation and resource scheduling algorithms in cognitive point to multipoint （PMP） networks with rapid changes of spectrum opportunities and present a media access control （MAC） protocol based on these algorithms. The objective of spectrum allocation is to make efficient use of the spectrum while maintaining the transceiver synchronization on frequency and time in the network. The objective of resource scheduling is to guarantee the quality of service （QoS） requirements of different kinds of connections and to minimize the total energy consumption in the network as well. By sensing only a small set of possible channels in each slot based on the state transition probability of each channel, our spectrum allocation algorithm achieves high spectrum efficiency in the network. The resource scheduling problem is divided into three sub problems and we derive optimal solutions to these problems by greedy algorithm and convex optimization. The simulation results show that our algorithm can make efficient use of the spectrum and the network resources at a cost of low computational complexity.     

Eccentricity and thermoviscous effects on ultrasonic scattering from a liquid-coated fluid cylinder

Calculation of the scattered field of the eccentric scatterers is an old problem with numerous applications. This study considers the interaction of a plane compressional sound wave with a liquid-encapsulated thermoviscous fluid cylinder submerged in an unbounded viscous thermally conducting medium. The translational addition theorem for cylindrical wave functions, the appropriate wave field expansions and the pertinent boundary conditions are employed to develop a closed-form solution in the form of infinite series. The analytical results are illustrated with a numerical example in which the compound cylinder is insonified by a plane sound wave at selected angles of incidence in a wide range of dimensionless frequencies. The backscattered far-field acoustic pressure amplitude and the spatial distribution of the total acoustic pressure in the vicinity of the cylinder are evaluated and discussed for representative values of the parameters characterizing the system. The effects of incident wave frequency, angle of incidence, fluid thermoviscosity, core eccentricity and size are thoroughly examined. Limiting case involving an ideal compressible liquid-coated cylinder is considered and fair agreement with a well-known solution is established.     

Bubble counter based on photoelectric technique for leakage detection of cryogenic valves

In order to overcome the inconvenience of manual bubble counting, a bubble counter based on photoelectric technique aiming for automatically detecting and measuring minute gas leakage of cryogenic valves is proposed. Experiments have been conducted on a self-built apparatus, testing the performance with different gas inlet strategies （bottom gas-inlet strategy and side gas-inlet strategy） and the influence of gas pipe length （0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 m） and leakage rate （around 10, 20, 30, 40 bubbles/min） on first bubble time and bubble rate. A buffer of 110 cm^3 is inserted between leakage source and gas pipe to simulate the downstream cavum adjacent to the valve clack. Based on analyzing the experimental data, experiential parameters have also been summarized to guide leakage detection and measurement for engineering applications. A practical system has already been successfully applied in a cryogenic testing apparatus for cryogenic valves.     

Time-domain training sequences design for MIMO OFDM channel estimation

This paper describes a Least Squares （LS） channel estimation scheme for MIMO OFDM systems based on time-domain training sequence. We first compute the minimum mean square error （MSE） of the LS channel estimation, and then derive the optimal criteria of the training sequence with respect to the minimum MSE. It is shown that optimal time-domain training sequence should satisfy two criteria. First, the autocorrelation of the sequence transmitted from the same antenna is an impulse function in a region longer than the channel maximum delay. Second, the cross-correlation between sequences transmitted from different antennas is zero in this region. Simulation results show that the estimator using optimal time-domain training sequences has better performance than that using optimal frequency training sequence at low signal-to-noise ratio （SNR）. To reduce the training overhead, a suboptimal training sequence is also proposed. Comparing with optimal training sequence, it has low computation complexity and high transmission efficiency at the expense of little performance degradation.     

Protein nanotechnology — A powerful futuristic diagnostic technique

Healthcare can be maintained well, when diagnosis is quick, accurate, cost-effective and painless. DNA and RNA based diagnosis may not reveal the right information for certain diseases. Identification and quantification of proteins and their folding mechanism are very important in diagnosis of diseases. Small quantities of proteins, which generally escape from detection and are responsible for the diseases, now can be quantified by protein nanotechniques which aids in the diagnosis. In this review, we have summarized the recent developments in nanotechnologies such as protein microarrays, biosensors etc. and their application in diagnosis of diseases at proteomics level have also been discussed.     

Reading Instruction for English Learners in the Middle Grades: a Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes the last two decades of experimental and quasi-experimental research on reading instruction across academic contexts (e.g., social studies, science, mathematics, English language arts) for English learners (ELs) in grades 4 through 8, to determine (a) the overall effectiveness of reading instruction for upper elementary and middle school students who are ELs and (b) how the magnitude of the effect varies based on student, instructional, and study characteristics. The analysis included a total of 11 studies with 46 individual effect sizes and yielded a mean effect size of g?=?0.35 across all (i.e., standardized and unstandardized) reading measures, g?=?0.01 across standardized reading measures, and g?=?0.43 across unstandardized reading measures. For all reading, unstandardized reading, all vocabulary, and unstandardized vocabulary measures, results suggest that higher quality studies tended to have smaller effects, and these effects were even more evident for unstandardized measures (i.e., one unit increase in study quality was associated with decreased effects: g?=?0.21, g?=?0.30, g?=?0.24, g?=?0.30, respectively). For all comprehension measures, effects were larger for instruction that included both vocabulary and comprehension (g?=?0.39) than for instruction that focused on vocabulary alone (g?=?0.08). Results suggest the benefit of developing and refining high-impact approaches to reading instruction for ELs that can be delivered across content areas and grades.     

Application of neural network in the study of combustion rate of natural gas/diesel dual fuel engine

In order to predict and improve the performance of natural gas/diesel dual fuel engine (DFE), a combustion rate model based on forward neural network was built to study the combustion process of the DFE. The effect of the operating parameters on combustion rate was also studied by means of this model. The study showed that the predicted results were good agreement with the experimental data. It was proved that the developed combustion rate model could be used to successfully predict and optimize the combustion process of dual fuel engine. Project supported by National Lab. for Automotive Engine and Safety, Tsinghua University, China     

Young children's causal inferences

We report 2 experiments that show a striking development between the ages of 3 and 4 years in children's ability to make causal inferences about sequences of events. The task in the first experiment was to work out what had caused the change to an object that started out as odd (noncanonical) in 1 way and ended up as odd in 2 ways--starting, for example, as a broken cup and ending as a wet and broken cup. When asked to choose the instrument that had caused the change, 3-year-olds often selected the instrument that could have caused the initial state (a hammer, in our example) and not the instrument that would produce the change. 4-year-olds hardly ever made this mistake. In the second experiment, the 3-year-olds were able to make the correct choice when the change was from a canonical to a noncanonical state (cup-wet cup) but had much more difficulty when the change was from noncanonical to canonical (wet cup-dry cup). The difference was much smaller in the older group. The first of these tasks can be solved simply on the basis of knowledge that a particular instrument can cause a particular effect without reference to the initial state. The second task requires attention to the differences between initial and final state. We conclude that the ability to make genuine causal inferences develops between the ages of 3 and 4 years.