Multiple description video coding for stereoscopic 3D

In this paper, we propose an MDC schemes for stereoscopic 3D video. In the literature, MDC has previously been applied in 2D video but not so much in 3D video. The proposed algorithm enhances the error resilience of the 3D video using the combination of even and odd frame based MDC while retaining good temporal prediction efficiency for video over error-prone networks. Improvements are made to the original even and odd frame MDC scheme by adding a controllable amount of side information to improve frame interpolation at the decoder. The side information is also sent according to the video sequence motion for further improvement. The performance of the proposed algorithms is evaluated in error free and error prone environments especially for wireless channels. Simulation results show improved performance using the proposed MDC at high error rates compared to the single description coding (SDC) and the original even and odd frame MDC

Simulation of Lattice Polymers with Multi-Self-Overlap Ensemble

A novel family of dynamical Monte Carlo algorithms for lattice polymers is proposed. Our central idea is to simulate an extended ensemble in which the self-avoiding condition is systematically weakened. The degree of the self-overlap is controlled in a similar manner as the multicanonical ensemble. As a consequence, the ensemble --the multi-self-overlap ensemble-- contains adequate portions of self-overlapping conformations as well as higher energy ones. It is shown that the multi-self-overlap ensemble algorithm reproduce correctly the canonical averages at finite temperatures of the HP model of lattice proteins. Moreover, it outperforms massively a standard multicanonical algorithm for a difficult example of a polymer with 8-stickers. Alternative algorithm based on exchange Monte Carlo method is also discussed.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses epsf.st

Orthosis reduces breast pain and mechanical forces through natural and augmented breast tissue in women lying prone

BACKGROUND: Breast implant displacement or rupture can cause aesthetic problems and serious medical complications. Activities with prone positioning and loading of the anterior chest wall, such as massage, chiropractic or osteopathic therapies may increase the risk of implant failure and can also cause discomfort in women with natural breast tissue. Here we test the effectiveness of a newly developed orthosis on pain, mechanical pressure and displacement of breast tissue in women with cosmetic augmentation, post-mastectomy reconstruction, lactating or natural breast tissue. METHODS: Thirty-two females volunteers, aged 25–56 years with augmented, reconstructed, natural or lactating breast tissue and cup sizes B-F, participated in this open-label clinical trial. We measured pain perception, peak pressure, maximum force, and breast tissue displacement using different sizes of the orthosis compared to no orthosis. Different densities of the orthosis were also tested in a subgroup of women (n = 7). Pain perception was rated using a validated 11-point visual-analogue scale. Peak pressure and maximum force were assessed using a bilateral set of capacitance-pliance® sensor strips whilst participants were load bearing in a prone position, and breast displacement was measured by magnetic-resonance-imaging. RESULTS: The orthosis significantly reduced pain, breast displacement and mechanical pressures in women with natural and augmented breast tissue in prone position. Greater relief of pain and greater reduction in mechanical forces were found with increased size and density of the orthosis. Use of the orthosis improved overall comfort by 64-100%, lowered peak pressure by up to 85% and maximum force by up to 96%. Medio-lateral displacement of breast tissue was reduced by 16%, resulting in a 51% desirable increase of breast tissue height. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that the newly developed orthosis significantly reduced pain, mechanical pressure and breast tissue displacement in women with augmented and natural breast tissue when lying prone. Our findings are of clinical significance, potentially reducing the risk of complication from prone activities in women with breast augmentation or reconstruction, as well as improving comfort whilst undergoing prone procedures. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register, ACTRN12613000541707

Outage Probability Assessment of Power line Cooperative Communication (PLCC) System

The requirement of high-speed data for various forms of application is increasing rapidly. Power Line communication (PLC), a technology which uses the existing power line network as a transmission medium, is a choice for this provision, owing to the ready presence of the medium. This channel (power line), is severely bewitched by noise and attenuation owing to the branches, length and the load connection on the line. Cooperative relaying, which transmits the same information through several nodes is deployed in this paper to combat the data outages caused by the channel's characteristics. Amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward were the cooperative protocols deployed.The outage probability of each of the protocols were obtained, analysed and compared with the conventional direct link (without cooperation). Results shows that outage probability was drastically reduced on the cooperative links. The performances of the two cooperative links were close due to the noise mitigating circuit incorporated.This achievement in outage probability performance enhances the reliability of the PLC system

Project PROMETHEUS: Design and Construction of a Radio Frequency Quadrupole at TAEK

The PROMETHEUS Project is ongoing for the design and development of a 4-vane radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) together with its H+ ion source, a low energy beam transport (LEBT) line and diagnostics section. The main goal of the project is to achieve the acceleration of the low energy ions up to 1.5 MeV by an RFQ (352 MHz) shorter than 2 meter. A plasma ion source is being developed to produce a 20 keV, 1 mA H+ beam. Simulation results for ion source, transmission and beam dynamics are presented together with analytical studies performed with newly developed RFQ design code DEMIRCI. Simulation results shows that a beam transmission 99% could be achieved at 1.7 m downstream reaching an energy of 1.5 MeV. As the first phase an Aluminum RFQ prototype, the so-called cold model, will be built for low power RF characterization. In this contribution the status of the project, design considerations, simulation results, the various diagnostics techniques and RFQ manufacturing issues are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures, Proceedings of the 2nd International Beam Instrumentation Conference 2013 (IBIC'13), 16-19 Sep 2013, WEPC02, p. 65

MODBASE, a database of annotated comparative protein structure models and associated resources.

MODBASE (http://salilab.org/modbase) is a database of annotated comparative protein structure models. The models are calculated by MODPIPE, an automated modeling pipeline that relies primarily on MODELLER for fold assignment, sequence-structure alignment, model building and model assessment (http:/salilab.org/modeller). MODBASE currently contains 5,152,695 reliable models for domains in 1,593,209 unique protein sequences; only models based on statistically significant alignments and/or models assessed to have the correct fold are included. MODBASE also allows users to calculate comparative models on demand, through an interface to the MODWEB modeling server (http://salilab.org/modweb). Other resources integrated with MODBASE include databases of multiple protein structure alignments (DBAli), structurally defined ligand binding sites (LIGBASE), predicted ligand binding sites (AnnoLyze), structurally defined binary domain interfaces (PIBASE) and annotated single nucleotide polymorphisms and somatic mutations found in human proteins (LS-SNP, LS-Mut). MODBASE models are also available through the Protein Model Portal (http://www.proteinmodelportal.org/)

Keanekaragaman Jenis Vegetasi pada Hutan Rawa Gambut Sekunder dan Belukar Rawa Desa Sungai Pelang Kabupaten Ketapang

Peat swamp forest has a valuable natural richness in the form of plants. This study aimed to find out the composition and dominance of species, species diversity, and stand structure in secondary peat swamp forest and thicket swamp. The vegetation analysis in secondary peat swamp forest and thicket swamp is done by using combination method. Mentibu (Daetylocladus stenostachys Oliver) is dominant in secondary peat swamp forest of tree growth level, and mempening (Quercus conocarpa OUD) is dominant in pole, sapling, and seedling of growth level (INP = 34,74%, 32,57%, 28,96%, respectively). In thicket swamp, prepat (Combretocarpus rotundatus Danser) is a dominant for the whole of growth level (INP = 261.89%, 126,12%, 98.96%, 64.99%, respectively). The diversity index of Shannon-Wienner (H) in secondary peat swamp forest is abundant (H > 1) and low in thicket swamp (H < 1). The secondary peat swamp forest have a normal stand structure according to de Liocourts law. In thicket swamp, the forest had been fire, but the vegetation development now has led to a succession of normal vertical forest structure and almost reach climax. Keywords: Peat swamp forest, composition and dominance of species, species diversity and stand structure

An energy-efficient spectrum-aware reinforcement learning-based clustering algorithm for cognitive radio sensor networks

It is well-known that clustering partitions network into logical groups of nodes in order to achieve energy efficiency and to enhance dynamic channel access in cognitive radio through cooperative sensing. While the topic of energy efficiency has been well investigated in conventional wireless sensor networks, the latter has not been extensively explored. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning-based spectrum-aware clustering algorithm that allows a member node to learn the energy and cooperative sensing costs for neighboring clusters to achieve an optimal solution. Each member node selects an optimal cluster that satisfies pairwise constraints, minimizes network energy consumption and enhances channel sensing performance through an exploration technique. We first model the network energy consumption and then determine the optimal number of clusters for the network. The problem of selecting an optimal cluster is formulated as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) in the algorithm and the obtained simulation results show convergence, learning and adaptability of the algorithm to dynamic environment towards achieving an optimal solution. Performance comparisons of our algorithm with the Groupwise Spectrum Aware (GWSA)-based algorithm in terms of Sum of Square Error (SSE), complexity, network energy consumption and probability of detection indicate improved performance from the proposed approach. The results further reveal that an energy savings of 9% and a significant Primary User (PU) detection improvement can be achieved with the proposed approach

A weighted hard combination scheme for cooperative spectrum sensing in cognitive radio sensor networks

Multi-user spatial sensing diversity exploration through cooperation spectrum sensing greatly improves sensing performance. However, high communication overhead and energy costs for exchanging sensing results may limit its viability in a realistic large scale resource constraint network such as cognitive radio wireless sensor networks. This paper presents a Weighted Hard Combination (WHC) scheme that combines features of both quantized and hard combining schemes to minimize energy cost for reporting sensing result and improve primary user detection performance in cooperative sensing. We evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme through simulation. Performance comparison of the WHC scheme in terms of detection performance, reporting energy cost and reporting time ratio with conventional hard combination, soft combination and quantized schemes indicates viability of the scheme. The results indicate that the WHC scheme minimizes reporting energy cost by 70% and improves detection performance by 5.6% compared to the quantized 3-bits scheme