Constellation constrained multiuser multiple‐input multiple‐output for high capacity and error performance over correlated fading channels

Channels' correlation has direct impact to degrade the capacity and reliability of multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) systems considerably. In this paper, new signal constellation designs are investigated to mitigate fading correlation and maximize the capacity and error performance of multiuser MIMO (MU‐MIMO) over correlated channels, which is a major research challenge. Two methods are studied in a novel constellation constrained MU‐MIMO approach, namely, unequal power allocation and rotated constellation. Based on principles of maximizing the minimum Euclidean distance (d_min) of composite received signals, users' data can be recovered using maximum likelihood joint detection irrespective of correlation values. Compared with the identical constellation scenario in conventional MU‐MIMO, it is shown that constellation rearrangement of transmitted signals has direct impact to resolve the detection ambiguity when the channel difference is not sufficient, particularly in moderate to high correlations. Extensive analysis and simulation results demonstrate the superiority of proposed technique to capture most of the promised gains of multiantenna systems and application for future wireless communications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterizing multi‐hop localization for Internet of things

Deployments over large geographical areas in the Internet of Things (IoT) pose a major challenge for single‐hop localization techniques, giving rise to applications of multi‐hop localizations. And while many proposals have been made on implementations for multi‐hop localization, a close understanding of its characteristics is yet to be established. Such an understanding is necessary, and is inevitable in extending the reliability of location based services in IoT. In this paper, we study the characteristics of multi‐hop localization and propose a new solution to enhance the performance of multi‐hop localization techniques. We first examine popular assumptions made in simulating multi‐hop localization techniques, and offer rectifications facilitating more realistic simulation models. We identify the introduced errors to follow the Gaussian distribution, and the estimated distance follows the Rayleigh distribution. We next use our simulation model to characterize the effect of the number of hops on localization in both dense and sparse deployments. We find that, contrary to common belief, it is better to use long hops in sparse deployments, while short hops are better in dense deployments – despite the traffic overhead. Finally, we propose a new solution that decreases and manages the overhead generated during the localization process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal degradation of high‐temperature fluorinated polyimide and its carbon fiber composite

High‐temperature polymers are being used for a broad range of applications, such as composite matrices for structural applications (e.g., high speed aircraft). Polyimides are a special class of polymers that meet the thermal and oxidative stability requirements for high temperature composite aerospace applications. A weight loss study was performed on a fluorinated polyimide resin and its carbon fiber composite in an effort to determine its thermal stability and degradation mechanisms. Experiments were conducted using a preheated oven and thermogravimetric analysis to obtain the weight loss. Regardless of the method used, the resin and composite exhibited excellent thermal stability (less than 1% weight loss) below 430°C, regardless of 2–20 min of exposure. After 20 min of exposure at 510°C, the composite remained relatively stable with only 5.3% weight loss using the oven technique, whereas the neat polyimide sustained 12.6%. When degradation occurred, it was found to be the result of thermolysis and oxidation (to a lesser extent). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Antioxidant capacities of phenolic compounds and tocopherols from Tunisian pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruits

This article aims to determine the phenolic, tocopherol contents, and antioxidant capacities from fruits (juices, peels, and seed oils) of 6 Tunisian pomegranate ecotypes. Total anthocyanins were determined by a differential pH method. Hydrolyzable tannins were determined with potassium iodate. The tocopherol (α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and δ-tocopherol) contents were, respectively, 165.77, 107.38, and 27.29 mg/100 g from dry seed. Four phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in pomegranate peel and pulp using the high-performance liquid chromatography/ultraviolet method: 2 hydroxybenzoic acids (gallic and ellagic acids) and 2 hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic and p-coumaric acids). Juice, peel, and seed oil antioxidants were confirmed by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) methods. The highest values were recorded in peels with 25.63 mmol trolox equivalent/100 g and 22.08 mmol TE/100 g for FRAP and ORAC assay, respectively. Results showed that the antioxidant potency of pomegranate extracts was correlated with their phenolic compound content. In particular, the highest correlation was reported in peels. High correlations were also found between peel hydroxybenzoic acids and FRAP ORAC antioxidant capacities. Identified tocopherols seem to contribute in major part to the antioxidant activity of seed oil. The results implied that bioactive compounds from the peel might be potential resources for the development of antioxidant function dietary food.     

钛沉积工艺制备TiN/cBN和TiC/金钢石涂层颗粒(英文)

用钛熔盐沉积及热处理工艺分别制备碳化钛涂覆的立方碳化硼颗粒(TiN/cBN)及碳化钛涂覆的金刚石颗粒(TiC/金刚石)。将cBN或金刚石颗粒分别与钛粉和KCl、NaCl和K2TiF6熔盐混合。将所得混合物在Ar气氛中加热至900°C,然后在H2气氛中于1000°C进行热处理。采用扫描电镜、X射线衍射和聚焦离子束技术对所制得颗粒进行表征。结果表明:cBN和金刚石颗粒表面已覆盖了纳米钛层。对Ti/cBN和TiC/金刚石涂层颗粒进行热处理后,颗粒表面沉积的Ti层与cBN和金刚石颗粒发生了原位化学反应,分别转化为钛化合物TiN和TiC。     

Full-Scale Test of Continuity Diaphragms in Skewed Concrete Bridge Girders

Continuity diaphragms used in prestressed girder bridges on skewed bents have caused difficulties in detailing and construction. The results of the field verification for the effectiveness of continuity diaphragms for skewed, continuous, and prestressed concrete girder bridges are presented. The current design concept and bridge parameters that were considered include skew angle and the ratio of beam spacing to span (aspect ratio). A prestressed concrete bridge with continuity diaphragms and a skewed angle of 48° was selected for full-scale test by a team of engineers from Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Federal Highway Administration. The live load tests performed with a comprehensive instrumentation plan provided a fundamental understanding of the load transfer mechanism through these diaphragms. The findings indicated that the effects of the continuity diaphragms were negligible and they can be eliminated. The superstructure of the bridge could be designed with link slab. Thus, the bridge deck would provide the continuity over the support, improve the riding quality, enhance the structural redundancy, and reduce the expansion joint installation and maintenance costs.     

Prevalence and survival of Campylobacter in Egyptian dairy products

Campylobacter is a leading foodborne pathogen that poses an interesting paradox of being frequently transmitted by foodstuffs, yet showing sensitivity to food preservation procedures. In the present study, 227 samples of milk and dairy products were randomly collected and examined for the presence of Campylobacter spp. Samples were collected from the Egyptian area Abou-Homos, where the pathogen had been previously shown to be a major causative agent of intestinal disease. Potential Campylobacter isolates were speciated using a multiplex PCR assay targeting the housekeeping gene lpxA. Only raw milk and fresh Domiati cheese samples were found to contain Campylobacter jejuni at low incidence rates. Using a selected C. jejuni isolate recovered in this study, it was shown that the pathogen maintained its viability in Domiati cheese more than in yoghurt, yet it survived in both products more than expected. This suggests that this foodborne strain of C. jejuni may develop adaptive strategies that aid survival under food preservation conditions, which contradicts with what is known about this pathogen as a stress-sensitive organism.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of CNT/Ag nanocomposites fabricated by spark plasma sintering

Carbon nanotube/silver (CNT/Ag) nanocomposites include CNT volume fraction up to 10?vol.% were prepared by chemical reduction in solution followed by spark plasma sintering. Multiwalled CNTs underwent surface modifications by acid treatments, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy data indicated several functional groups loaded on the CNT surface by acid functionalisation. The acid-treated CNTs were sensitised and activated. Silver was deposited on the surface of the activated CNTs by chemical reduction of alkaline silver nitrate solution at room temperature. The microstructures of the prepared CNT/Ag nanocomposite powders were investigated by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), transmission electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction analysis. The results indicated that the produced CNT/Ag nanocomposite powders have coated type morphology. The produced CNT/Ag nanocomposite powders were sintered by spark plasma sintering. It was observed from the microstructure investigations of the sintered materials by HRSEM that the CNTs were distributed in the silver matrix with good homogeneity. The hardness and the tensile properties of the produced CNT/Ag nanocomposites were measured. By increasing the volume fraction of CNTs in the silver matrix, the hardness values increased but the elongation values of the prepared CNT/Ag nanocomposites decreased. In addition, the tensile strength was increased by increasing the CNTs volume fraction up to 7.5?vol.%, but the sample composed of 10?vol.% CNT/Ag was fractured before yielding.     

IBLEACH: intra-balanced LEACH protocol for wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are composed of many low cost, low power devices with sensing, local processing and wireless communication capabilities. Recent advances in wireless networks have led to many new protocols specifically designed for WSNs where energy awareness is an essential consideration. Most of the attention, however, has been given to the routing protocols since they might differ depending on the application and network architecture. Minimizing energy dissipation and maximizing network lifetime are important issues in the design of routing protocols for WSNs. In this paper, the low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH) routing protocol is considered and improved. We propose a clustering routing protocol named intra-balanced LEACH (IBLEACH), which extends LEACH protocol by balancing the energy consumption in the network. The simulation results show that IBLEACH outperforms LEACH and the existing improvements of LEACH in terms of network lifetime and energy consumption minimization.     

Parallel Discrete-Event Simulation

The availability of commercial multiprocessors gives a new importance to distributed simulation. However, while existing techniques exploit some levels of parallelism in the discrete-event simulation algorithm, they are usually targeted to specific applications and architectures. In the general scheme presented here, the algorithm is executed in parrallel using a compilation strategy that can be implemented on shared-memory multiprocessors.