Spatially Sparse Precoding in Wideband Hybrid Terahertz Massive MIMO Systems

In terahertz (THz) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, the combination of huge bandwidth and massive antennas results in severe beam split, thus making the conventional phase-shifter based hybrid precoding architecture ineffective. With the incorporation of true-time-delay (TTD) lines in the hardware implementation of the analog precoders, delay-phase precoding (DPP) emerges as a promising architecture to effectively overcome beam split. However, existing DPP approaches suffer from poor performance, high complexity, and weak robustness in practical THz channels. In this paper, we propose a novel DPP approach in wideband THz massive MIMO systems. First, the optimization problem is converted into a compressive sensing (CS) form, which can be solved by the extended spatially sparse precoding (SSP) algorithm. To compensate for beam split, frequency-dependent measurement matrices are introduced, which can be approximately realized by feasible phase and delay codebooks. Then, several efficient atom selection techniques are developed to further reduce the complexity of extended SSP. In simulation, the proposed DPP approach achieves superior performance, complexity, and robustness by using it alone or in combination with existing DPP approaches

Surface Functionalization and Patterning by Multifunctional Resorcinarenes

Plant phenolic compounds and catecholamines have been widely used to obtain substrate-independent precursor nanocoatings and adhesives. Nevertheless, there are downsides in using such phenolic compounds for surface modification such as formation of nonuniform coatings, need for multistep modification, and restricted possibilities for postfunctionalization. In this study, inspired by a strong binding ability of natural polyphenols found in plants, we used three different macrocyclic polyphenols, known as resorcin[4]­arenes, to modify the surface of different substrates by simple dip-coating into the dilute solution of these compounds. Eight hydroxyl groups on the large rim of these resorcin[4]­arenes provide multiple anchoring points to the surface, whereas the lower rim decorated with different appending groups introduces the desired chemical and physical functionalities to the substrate’s surface. Deposition of a uniform and transparent resorcinarene layer on the surface was confirmed by several surface characterization techniques. Incubation of the modified substrates in different environments indicated that the stability of the resorcinarene layer was dependent on the type of substrate and the pH value. The most stable resorcinarene layer was formed on amine-functionalized substrates. The surface was modified with alkenyl functional groups in one step using a resorcinarene compound possessing four alkenyl appending groups on its small rim. Thiol–ene photoclick chemistry was used to site-selectively postfunctionalize the surface with hydrophilic and hydrophobic micropatterns, which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Thus, we demonstrate that resorcin[4]­arenes extend the scope of applications of plant polyphenol and mussel-inspired precursors to tailor-made multifunctional nanocoatings, suitable for a variety of potential applications in biotechnology, biology, and material science

High-throughput screening of multifunctional nanocoatings based on combinations of polyphenols and catecholamines

Biomimetic surface coatings based on plant polyphenols and catecholamines have been used broadly in a variety of applications. However, the lack of a rational cost-effective platform for screening these coatings and their properties limits the true potential of these functional materials to be unleashed. Here, we investigated the oxidation behavior and coating formation ability of a library consisting of 45 phenolic compounds and catecholamines. UV–vis spectroscopy demonstrated significant acceleration of oxidation and polymerization under UV irradiation. We discovered that several binary mixtures resulted in non-additive behavior (synergistic or antagonistic effect) yielding much thicker or thinner coatings than individual compounds measured by ellipsometry. To investigate the properties of coatings derived from new combinations, we used a miniaturized high-throughput strategy to screen 2,532 spots coated with single, binary, and ternary combinations of coating precursors in one run. We evaluated the use of machine learning models to learn the relation between the chemical structure of the precursors and the thickness of the nanocoatings. Formation and stability of nanocoatings were investigated in a high-throughput manner via discontinuous dewetting. 30 stable combinations (hits) were used to tune the surface wettability and to form water droplet microarray and spot size gradients of water droplets on the coated surface. No toxicity was observed against eukaryotic HeLa cells and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (strain PA30) bacteria after 24 h incubation at 37 °C. The strategy introduced here for high-throughput screening of nanocoatings derived from combinations of coating precursors enables the discovery of new functional materials for various applications in science and technology in a cost-effective miniaturized manner

Transformer-Based Neural Surrogate for Link-Level Path Loss Prediction from Variable-Sized Maps

Estimating path loss for a transmitter-receiver location is key to many use-cases including network planning and handover. Machine learning has become a popular tool to predict wireless channel properties based on map data. In this work, we present a transformer-based neural network architecture that enables predicting link-level properties from maps of various dimensions and from sparse measurements. The map contains information about buildings and foliage. The transformer model attends to the regions that are relevant for path loss prediction and, therefore, scales efficiently to maps of different size. Further, our approach works with continuous transmitter and receiver coordinates without relying on discretization. In experiments, we show that the proposed model is able to efficiently learn dominant path losses from sparse training data and generalizes well when tested on novel maps.Comment: Accepted at IEEE GLOBECOM 2023, v2: Changed license on arxi

Beyond Codebook-Based Analog Beamforming at mmWave: Compressed Sensing and Machine Learning Methods

Analog beamforming is the predominant approach for millimeter wave (mmWave) communication given its favorable characteristics for limited-resource devices. In this work, we aim at reducing the spectral efficiency gap between analog and digital beamforming methods. We propose a method for refined beam selection based on the estimated raw channel. The channel estimation, an underdetermined problem, is solved using compressed sensing (CS) methods leveraging angular domain sparsity of the channel. To reduce the complexity of CS methods, we propose dictionary learning iterative soft-thresholding algorithm, which jointly learns the sparsifying dictionary and signal reconstruction. We evaluate the proposed method on a realistic mmWave setup and show considerable performance improvement with respect to code-book based analog beamforming approaches

Chemical vapor deposited polymer layer for efficient passivation of planar perovskite solar cells

Reducing non-radiative recombination losses by advanced passivation strategies is pivotal to maximize the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Previously, polymers such as poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(ethylene oxide), and polystyrene were successfully applied in solution-processed passivation layers. However, controlling the thickness and homogeneity of these ultra-thin passivation layers on top of polycrystalline perovskite thin films is a major challenge. In response to this challenge, this work reports on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization of poly(p-xylylene) (PPX) layers at controlled substrate temperatures (14–16 °C) for efficient surface passivation of perovskite thin films. Prototype double-cation PSCs using a ∼1 nm PPX passivation layer exhibit an increase in open-circuit voltage (V$_{OC}$) of ∼40 mV along with an enhanced fill factor (FF) compared to a non-passivated PSC. These improvements result in a substantially enhanced PCE of 20.4% compared to 19.4% for the non-passivated PSC. Moreover, the power output measurements over 30 days under ambient atmosphere (relative humidity ∼40–50%) confirm that the passivated PSCs are more resilient towards humidity-induced degradation. Considering the urge to develop reliable, scalable and homogeneous deposition techniques for future large-area perovskite solar modules, this work establishes CVD polymerization as a novel approach for the passivation of perovskite thin films

Mating skew in Barbary macaque males: the role of female mating synchrony, female behavior, and male–male coalitions

A fundamental question of sexual selection theory concerns the causes and consequences of reproductive skew among males. The priority of access (PoA) model (Altmann, Ann NY Acad Sci 102:338–435, 1962) has been the most influential framework in primates living in permanent, mixed-sex groups, but to date it has only been tested with the appropriate data on female synchrony in a handful of species. In this paper, we used mating data from one large semi-free ranging group of Barbary macaques: (1) to provide the first test of the priority-of-access model in this species, using mating data from 11 sexually active females (including six females that were implanted with a hormonal contraceptive but who showed levels of sexual activity comparable to those of naturally cycling females) and (2) to determine the proximate mechanism(s) underlying male mating skew. Our results show that the fit of the observed distribution of matings with sexually attractive females to predictions of the PoA model was poor, with lower-ranking males mating more than expected. While our work confirms that female mating synchrony sets an upper limit to monopolization by high-ranking individuals, other factors are also important. Coalitionary activity was the main tactic used by males to lower mating skew in the study group. Coalitions were expressed in a strongly age-related fashion and allowed subordinate, post-prime males to increase their mating success by targeting more dominant, prime males. Conversely, females, while mating promiscuously with several males during a given mating cycle, were more likely to initiate their consortships with prime males, thus reducing the overall effectiveness of coalitions. We conclude that high-ranking Barbary macaque males have a limited ability to monopolize mating access, leading to a modest mating skew among them

Testing the priority-of-access model in a seasonally breeding primate species

In mammals, when females are clumped in space, male access to receptive females is usually determined by a dominance hierarchy based on fighting ability. In polygynandrous primates, as opposed to most mammalian species, the strength of the relationship between male social status and reproductive success varies greatly. It has been proposed that the degree to which paternity is determined by male rank decreases with increasing female reproductive synchrony. The priority-of-access model (PoA) predicts male reproductive success based on female synchrony and male dominance rank. To date, most tests of the PoA using paternity data involved nonseasonally breeding species. Here, we examine whether the PoA explains the relatively low reproductive skew in relation to dominance rank reported in the rhesus macaque, a strictly seasonal species. We collected behavioral, genetic, and hormonal data on one group of the free-ranging population on Cayo Santiago (Puerto Rico) for 2 years. The PoA correctly predicted the steepness of male reproductive skew, but not its relationship to male dominance: the most successful sire, fathering one third of the infants, was high but not top ranking. In contrast, mating success was not significantly skewed, suggesting that other mechanisms than social status contributed to male reproductive success. Dominance may be less important for paternity in rhesus macaques than in other primate species because it is reached through queuing rather than contest, leading to alpha males not necessarily being the strongest or most attractive male. More work is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms determining paternity in rhesus macaques

Sex-specific reproductive behaviours and paternity in free-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

In a wide variety of species, male reproductive success is determined by contest for access to females. Among multi-male primate groups, however, factors in addition to male competitive ability may also influence paternity outcome, although their exact nature and force is still largely unclear. Here, we have investigated in a group of free-ranging Barbary macaques whether paternity is determined on the pre- or postcopulatory level and how male competitive ability and female direct mate choice during the female fertile phase are related to male reproductive success. Behavioural observations were combined with faecal hormone analysis for timing of the fertile phase (13 cycles, 8 females) and genetic paternity analysis (n = 12). During the fertile phase, complete monopolisation of females did not occur. Females were consorted for only 49% of observation time, and all females had ejaculatory copulations with several males. Thus, in all cases, paternity was determined on the postcopulatory level. More than 80% of infants were sired by high-ranking males, and this reproductive skew was related to both, male competitive ability and female direct mate choice as high-ranking males spent more time in consort with females than low-ranking males, and females solicited copulations mainly from dominant males. As most ejaculatory copulations were female-initiated, female direct mate choice appeared to have the highest impact on male reproductive success. However, female preference was not directly translated into paternity, as fathers were not preferred over non-fathers in terms of solicitation, consortship and mating behaviour. Collectively, our data show that in the Barbary macaque, both sexes significantly influence male mating success, but that sperm of several males generally compete within the female reproductive tract and that therefore paternity is determined by mechanisms operating at the postcopulatory level