Structure and topology of transcriptional regulatory networks and their applications in bio-inspired networking

Biological networks carry out vital functions necessary for sustenance despite environmental adversities. Transcriptional Regulatory Network (TRN) is one such biological network that is formed due to the interaction between proteins, called Transcription Factors (TFs), and segments of DNA, called genes. TRNs are known to exhibit functional robustness in the face of perturbation or mutation: a property that is proven to be a result of its underlying network topology. In this thesis, we first propose a three-tier topological characterization of TRN to analyze the interplay between the significant graph-theoretic properties of TRNs such as scale-free out-degree distribution, low graph density, small world property and the abundance of subgraphs called motifs. Specifically, we pinpoint the role of a certain three-node motif, called Feed Forward Loop (FFL) motif in topological robustness as well as information spread in TRNs. With the understanding of the TRN topology, we explore its potential use in design of fault-tolerant communication topologies. To this end, we first propose an edge rewiring mechanism that remedies the vulnerability of TRNs to the failure of well-connected nodes, called hubs, while preserving its other significant graph-theoretic properties. We apply the rewired TRN topologies in the design of wireless sensor networks that are less vulnerable to targeted node failure. Similarly, we apply the TRN topology to address the issues of robustness and energy-efficiency in the following networking paradigms: robust yet energy-efficient delay tolerant network for post disaster scenarios, energy-efficient data-collection framework for smart city applications and a data transfer framework deployed over a fog computing platform for collaborative sensing --Abstract, page iii

On PAPR Reduction of OFDM using Partial Transmit Sequence with Intelligent Optimization Algorithms

In recent time, the demand for multimedia data services over wireless links has grown up rapidly. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) forms the basis for all 3G and beyond wireless communication standards due to its efficient frequency utilization permitting near ideal data rate and ubiquitous coverage with high mobility. OFDM signals are prone to high peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR). Unfortunately, the high PAPR inherent to OFDM signal envelopes occasionally drives high power amplifiers (HPAs) to operate in the nonlinear region of their characteristic leading out-of-band radiation, reduction in efficiency of communication system etc. A plethora of research has been devoted to reducing the performance degradation due to the PAPR problem inherent to OFDM systems. Advanced techniques such as partial transmit sequences (PTS) and selected mapping (SLM) have been considered most promising for PAPR reduction. Such techniques are seen to be efficient for distortion-less signal processing but suffer from computational complexity and often requires transmission of extra information in terms of several side information (SI) bits leading to loss in effective data rate. This thesis investigates the PAPR problem using Partial Transmit Sequence (PTS) scheme, where optimization is achieved with evolutionary bio-inspired metaheuristic stochastic algorithms. The phase factor optimization in PTS is used for PAPR reduction. At first, swarm intelligence based Firefly PTS (FF-PTS) algorithm is proposed which delivers improved PAPR performance with reduced searching complexity. Following this, Cuckoo Search based PTS (CS-PTS) technique is presented, which offers good PAPR performance in terms of solution quality and convergence speed. Lastly, Improved Harmony search based PTS (IHS-PTS) is introduced, which provides improved PAPR. The algorithm has simple structure with a very few parameters for larger PTS sub-blocks. The PAPR performance of the proposed technique with different parameters is also verified through extensive computer simulations. Furthermore, complexity analysis of algorithms demonstrates that the proposed schemes offer significant complexity reduction when compared to standard PAPR reduction techniques. Findings have been validated through extensive simulation tests