Multiresolution coding techniques for digital television: A review

Multiresolution decompositions for video coding are reviewed. Both nonrecursive and recursive coding schemes are considered. In nonrecursive schemes, it is shown that pyramid structures have certain advantages over subband or wavelet techniques, and a specific spatiotemporal pyramid coding of HDTV is discussed in some detail. It is shown that recursive, DPCM like schemes will incur a slight loss of optimality due to a restricted form of prediction if multiresolution decomposition with compatible decoding is required. Compatibility and transmission issues are also discussed. Multiresolution transmission for digital broadcast TV is introduced. This, when combined with multiresolution source coding, achieves spectrum efficiency, robustness and graceful degradation under channel impairments.Invited PaperWork supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grants ECD-88-11111, MIP-90-14189 and Bell Communications Research.Work supported by the National Science Foundation under grants ECD-88-11111. K.M. Uz is now with David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, NJ 08543.     

On/off cycling under multiple stresses

The authors describe an experiment, a model, and an analytic method for on/off vs. continuous policy evaluation. The methodology was developed and verified through experimentation. An experimental life-test of small DC motors was designed and performed; it involved on/off cycling vs. continuous operation under multiple stresses. A stress-factor reliability model based on the two-parameter Weibull proportional-hazards life distribution was fitted to the data. The analysis provides an estimate of the model parameters for the life distribution of the DC motors under two operating policies, while under multiple stresses. The characteristic life was related to the explanatory covariates: voltage, on/off cycling, and load. Due to the proportional hazards (common Weibull shape) nature of the model, acceleration factors were calculated to relate the stress levels. The reliability model was extended to develop a simple rule to aid in a decision between on/off cycling and continuous-run policies (to achieve higher reliability). The proposed model (with covariates) allows a much broader approach to reliability modeling than the usual Weibull model (without covariates) because it predicts the reliability under various environmental combinations     

A Polynomial Time Solution to Minimum Forwarding Set Problem in Wireless Networks under Unit Disk Coverage Model

Network-wide broadcast (simply broadcast) is a frequently used operation in wireless ad hoc networks (WANETs). One promising practical approach for energy-efficient broadcast is to use localized algorithms to minimize the number of nodes involved in the propagation of the broadcast messages. In this context, the minimum forwarding set problem (MFSP) (also known as multipoint relay (MPR) problem) has received a considerable attention in the research community. Even though the general form of the problem is shown to be NP-complete, the complexity of the problem has not been known under the practical application context of ad hoc networks. In this paper, we present a polynomial time algorithm to solve the MFSP for wireless network under unit disk coverage model. We prove the existence of some geometrical properties for the problem and then propose a polynomial time algorithm to build an optimal solution based on these properties. To the best of our knowledge, our algorithm is the first polynomial time solution to the MFSP under the unit disk coverage model. We believe that the work presented in this paper will have an impact on the design and development of new algorithms for several wireless network applications including energy-efficient multicast, broadcast, and topology control protocols for WANETs and sensor networks.     

Electrohydrodynamic‐Induced SERS Immunoassay for Extensive Multiplexed Biomarker Sensing

Cancer diagnosis and patient monitoring require sensitive and simultaneous measurement of multiple cancer biomarkers considering that single biomarker analysis present inadequate information on the underlying biological transformations. Thus, development of sensitive and selective assays for multiple biomarker detection might improve clinical diagnosis and expedite the treatment process. Herein, a microfluidic platform for the rapid, sensitive, and parallel detection of multiple cancer‐specific protein biomarkers from complex biological samples is presented. This approach utilizes alternating current electrohydrodynamic‐induced surface shear forces that provide exquisite control over fluid flow thereby enhancing target–sensor interactions and minimizing non‐specific binding. Further, the use of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering‐based spectral encoding with individual barcodes for different targets enables specific and simultaneous detection of captured protein biomarkers. Using this approach, the specific and sensitive detection of clinically relevant biomarkers including human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2); Mucin 1, cell surface associated (MUC1); epidermal growth factor receptor; and Mucin 16, cell surface associated (MUC16) at concentrations as low as 10 fg mL^?1 in patient serum is demonstrated. Successful target detection from patient samples further demonstrates the potential of this current approach for the clinical diagnosis, which envisages a clinical translation for a rapid and sensitive appraisal of clinical samples in cancer diagnostics.     

General view on current conveyors

We propose a new current conveyor terminology and explain how these terms are coined. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Distributed Approach for Monitoring Multicast Service Availability

With the deployment of native multicast in commercial networks, multicast is getting closer to becoming a ubiquitous service in the Internet. The success of this deployment largely depends on the availability of good management tools and systems. One of the most important management tasks for multicast is to verify the availability of the service to its users. This task is usually referred to as reachability monitoring. Reachability monitoring requires a number of monitoring stations to work together to collect this information in a distributed manner in the interdomain scale. In this paper we present a general architecture for multicast reachability monitoring systems and focus on three critical functions: agent configuration, monitoring, and feedback collection. For each component, we provide a number of alternative approaches to implement the required functionality and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. Then, we focus on the feedback collection component. To a large extent, it determines the complexity and the overhead of a monitoring system. Using simulations, we compare a number of alternative approaches for feedback collection and make suggestions on when to use each. We believe our work provides insight into the issues and considerations in designing and developing multicast reachability monitoring systems.     

Preliminary Evidence of the Potent and Selective Adenosine A2B Receptor Antagonist PSB-603 in Reducing Obesity and Some of Its Associated Metabolic Disorders in Mice

The adenosine A_2A and A_2B receptors are promising therapeutic targets in the treatment of obesity and diabetes since the agonists and antagonists of these receptors have the potential to positively affect metabolic disorders. The present study investigated the link between body weight reduction, glucose homeostasis, and anti-inflammatory activity induced by a highly potent and specific adenosine A_2B receptor antagonist, compound PSB-603. Mice were fed a high-fat diet for 14 weeks, and after 12 weeks, they were treated for 14 days intraperitoneally with the test compound. The A₁/A_2A/A_2B receptor antagonist theophylline was used as a reference. Following two weeks of treatment, different biochemical parameters were determined, including total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, TNF-α, and IL-6 blood levels, as well as glucose and insulin tolerance. To avoid false positive results, mouse locomotor and spontaneous activities were assessed. Both theophylline and PSB-603 significantly reduced body weight in obese mice. Both compounds had no effects on glucose levels in the obese state; however, PSB-603, contrary to theophylline, significantly reduced triglycerides and total cholesterol blood levels. Thus, our observations showed that selective A_2B adenosine receptor blockade has a more favourable effect on the lipid profile than nonselective inhibition.     

Structural Characteristics of the 5′-Terminal Region of Mouse p53 mRNA and Identification of Proteins That Bind to This mRNA Region

A mouse model has often been used in studies of p53 gene expression. Detailed interpretation of functional studies is, however, hampered by insufficient knowledge of the impact of mouse p53 mRNA’s structure and its interactions with proteins in the translation process. In particular, the 5′-terminal region of mouse p53 mRNA is an important region which takes part in the regulation of the synthesis of p53 protein and its N-truncated isoform Δ41p53. In this work, the spatial folding of the 5′-terminal region of mouse p53 mRNA and its selected sub-fragments was proposed based on the results of the SAXS method and the RNAComposer program. Subsequently, RNA-assisted affinity chromatography was used to identify proteins present in mouse fibroblast cell lysates that are able to bind the RNA oligomer, which corresponds to the 5′-terminal region of mouse p53 mRNA. Possible sites to which the selected, identified proteins can bind were proposed. Interestingly, most of these binding sites coincide with the sites determined as accessible to hybridization of complementary oligonucleotides. Finally, the high binding affinity of hnRNP K and PCBP2 to the 5′-terminal region of mouse p53 mRNA was confirmed and their possible binding sites were proposed.