Refinement of the random coding bound

An improved pre-factor for the random coding bound is proved. Specifically, for channels with critical rate not equal to capacity, if a regularity condition is satisfied (resp. not satisfied), then for any $\epsilon >0$ a pre-factor of $O(N^{-\frac{1}{2}\left( 1 - \epsilon + \bar{\rho}^\ast_R \right)})$ (resp. $O(N^{-\frac{1}{2}})$) is achievable for rates above the critical rate, where $N$ and $R$ is the blocklength and rate, respectively. The extra term $\bar{\rho}^\ast_R$ is related to the slope of the random coding exponent. Further, the relation of these bounds with the authors' recent refinement of the sphere-packing bound, as well as the pre-factor for the random coding bound below the critical rate, is discussed.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Trans. Inform. Theor

The third-order term in the normal approximation for singular channels

For a singular and symmetric discrete memoryless channel with positive dispersion, the third-order term in the normal approximation is shown to be upper bounded by a constant. This finding completes the characterization of the third-order term for symmetric discrete memoryless channels. The proof method is extended to asymmetric and singular channels with constant composition codes, and its connection to existing results, as well as its limitation in the error exponents regime, are discussed.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Trans. Inform. Theor

Watermarking via zero assigned filter banks

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In order to identify the owner and distributor of digital data, a watermarking scheme in frequency domain for multimedia files is proposed. The scheme satisfies the imperceptibility and persistence requirements and it is robust against additive noise. It consists of a few stages of wavelet decomposition of several subblocks of the original signal using special zero assigned filter banks. By assigning zeros to filters on the high frequency portion of the spectrum, filter banks with frequency selective response are obtained. The information is then inserted in the wavelet-decomposed and compressed signal. Several robustness tests are performed on male voice, female voice, and music files, color and gray level images. The algorithm is tested under white Gaussian noise and against JPEG compression and it is observed to be robust even when exposed to high levels of corruption. & 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserve

Minimally invasive double lung transplantation technique (Anteroaxillary approach)

Lung transplantation has been performed through several approaches in the past. Sternothoracotomy is the most widely used approach for double lung transplantation. Although bilateral anterolateral thoracotomy for double lung transplantation has been described in the past, this approach has not widely adopted worldwide. The 'anteroaxillary approach' utilizes a limited incision compared to others, preserves sternal anatomy as well as thoracic arteries, and provides an excellent exposure to hilum. We would like to present our standard approach at University of Pittsburgh through anteroaxillary incision

First quantized electron and photon model of QED and radiative processes

In this study we combine the classical models of the massive and massless spinning particles, derive the current-current interaction Lagrangian of the particles from the gauge transformations of the classical spinors, and discuss radiative processes in electrodynamics by using the solutions of the Dirac equation and the quantum wave equations of the photon. The longitudinal polarized photon states give a new idea about the vacuum concept in electrodynamics.Comment: LaTeX file, 20 pages, 7 figures. to appear in Canadian Journal of Physic

Automated discrimination of psychotropic drugs in mice via computer vision-based analysis

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We developed an inexpensive computer vision-based method utilizing an algorithm which differentiates drug-induced behavioral alterations. The mice were observed in an open-field arena and their activity was recorded for 100 min. For each animal the first 50 min of observation were regarded as the drug-free period. Each animal was exposed to only one drug and they were injected (i.p.) with either amphetamine or cocaine as the stimulant drugs or morphine or diazepam as the inhibitory agents. The software divided the arena into virtual grids and calculated the number of visits (sojourn counts) to the grids and instantaneous speeds within these grids by analyzing video data. These spatial distributions of sojourn counts and instantaneous speeds were used to construct feature vectors which were fed to the classifier algorithms for the final step of matching the animals and the drugs. The software decided which of the animals were drug-treated at a rate of 96%. The algorithm achieved 92% accuracy in sorting the data according to the increased or decreased activity and then determined which drug was delivered. The method differentiated the type of psychostimulant or inhibitory drugs with a success ratio of 70% and 80%, respectively. This method provides a new way to automatically evaluate and classify drug-induced behaviors in mice. Crown Copyright © 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved