Interference and X Networks with Noisy Cooperation and Feedback

The Gaussian $K$-user interference and $M\times K$ X channels are investigated with no instantaneous channel state information (CSI) at transmitters. First, it is assumed that the CSI is fed back to all nodes after a finite delay (delayed CSIT), and furthermore, the transmitters operate in full-duplex mode, i.e., they can transmit and receive simultaneously. Achievable results are obtained on the degrees of freedom (DoF) of these channels under the above assumption. It is observed that, in contrast with no CSIT and full CSIT models, when CSIT is delayed, the achievable DoFs for both channels with full-duplex transmitter cooperation are greater than the best available achievable results on their DoF without transmitter cooperation. Our results are the first to show that the full-duplex transmitter cooperation can potentially improve the channel DoF with delayed CSIT. Then, $K$-user interference and $K\times K$ X channels are considered with output feedback, wherein the channel output of each receiver is causally fed back to its corresponding transmitter. Our achievable results with output feedback demonstrate strict DoF improvements over those with the full-duplex delayed CSIT when $K>5$ in the $K$-user interference channel and $K>2$ in the $K\times K$ X channel. Next, the combination of delayed CSIT and output feedback, known as Shannon feedback, is studied and strictly higher DoFs compared to the output feedback model are achieved in the $K$-user interference channel when K=5 or $K>6$, and in the $K\times K$ X channel when $K>2$. Although being strictly greater than 1 and increasing with size of the networks, the achievable DoFs in all the models studied in this paper approach limiting values not greater than 2.Comment: 53 pages, 15 figures; Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, May 2012. To be presented in part in ISIT 2012, Cambridge, MA, US

Cistos de dinoflagelados do Paleoceno-Oligoceno do Anticlinal de Siah, Bacia de Zagros, sudoeste do Irã

A section of the Pabdeh Formation dating back to the Paleocene-Oligocene has been sampled in the Zagros Basin in Southwest Iran for palynological investigations and evaluation of thermal maturity and hydrocarbon generation potential. In total, 125 rock samples were collected and processed palynologically. The samples yielded rich assemblages of dinoflagellate cysts, and 65 cyst species were identified. Some index species allowed us age dating and establishment of seven dinoflagellate cyst zones in accordance with the existing European zonation. The dinoflagellate cyst zones allowed precise age assignment of the formation under study to late Paleocene to early Oligocene. For thermal maturity evaluation, spore and pollen grain color were correlated against the standard color chart prepared by the Shell Oil Company. The properties of the samples, according to palynomorph color changes, suggest that this formation is potentially oil prone and may have produced oil.Uma seção da Formação Pabdeh do Paleoceno-Oligoceno foi amostrada na Bacia Zagros, no sudoeste do Irã, para investigações palinológicas e avaliação de maturidade térmica e potencial de geração de hidrocarbonetos. Ao todo, 125 amostras de rochas foram coletadas e processadas palinologicamente. As amostras produziram assembleias ricas de cistos de dinoflagelados, nas quais foram identificadas 65 espécies de cistos. Algumas espécies-guia permitiram datação por meio do estabelecimento de sete biozonas de dinoflagelados de acordo com o arcabouço de biozoneamento europeu existente. As zonas de cistos de dinoflagelados permitiram atribuir a idade precisa da formação em estudo, a qual se estende do Neopaleoceno até o Eo-oligoceno. Para maturidade térmica, a coloração de esporos e grãos de pólen foi correlacionada com a escala padrão de cores da companhia de petróleo Shell. Propriedades das amostras, indicadas pela mudança de cor dos palinomorfos, sugerem que a formação é potencialmente geradora, podendo ter produzido petróleo

Interference Management in MIMO Wireless Networks

The scarce and overpopulated radio spectrum is going to present a major barrier to the growth and development of future wireless networks. As such, spectrum sharing seems to be inevitable to accommodate the exploding demand for high data rate applications. A major challenge to realizing the potential advantages of spectrum sharing is interference management. This thesis deals with interference management techniques in noncooperative networks. In specific, interference alignment is used as a powerful technique for interference management. We use the degrees of freedom (DoF) as the figure of merit to evaluate the performance improvement due to the interference management schemes. This dissertation is organized in two parts. In the first part, we consider the K-user multiple input multiple output (MIMO) Gaussian interference channel (IC) with M antennas at each transmitter and N antennas at each receiver. This channel models the interaction between K transmitter-receiver pairs sharing the same spectrum for data communication. It is assumed that the channel coefficients are constant and are available at all nodes prior to data transmission. A new cooperative upper-bound on the DoF of this channel is developed which outperforms the known bounds. Also, a new achievable transmission scheme is provided based on the idea of interference alignment. It is shown that the achievable DoF meets the upper-bound when the number of users is greater than a certain threshold, and thus it reveals the channel DoF. In the second part, we consider communication over MIMO interference and X channels in a fast fading environment. It is assumed that the transmitters obtain the channel state information (CSI) after a finite delay which is greater than the coherence time of the channel. In other words, the CSI at the transmitters becomes outdated prior to being exploited for the current transmission. New transmission schemes are proposed which exploit the knowledge of the past CSI at the transmitters to retrospectively align interference in the subsequent channel uses. The proposed transmission schemes offer DoF gain compared to having no CSI at transmitters. The achievable DoF results are the best known results for these channels. Simple cooperative upper-bounds are developed to prove the tightness of our achievable results for some network configurations

On the Degrees of Freedom of KK-User SISO Interference and X Channels with Delayed CSIT

The $K$-user single-input single-output (SISO) AWGN interference channel and $2\times K$ SISO AWGN X channel are considered where the transmitters have the delayed channel state information (CSI) through noiseless feedback links. Multi-phase transmission schemes are proposed for both channels which possess novel ingredients, namely, multi-phase partial interference nulling, distributed interference management via user scheduling, and distributed higher-order symbol generation. The achieved degrees of freedom (DoF) values are greater than the best previously known DoFs for both channels with delayed CSI at transmitters.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables; Published in IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Oct. 201

The Effect of Passive Smoking on Total Antioxidant Capacity of Serum and Saliva in Rats

Objective: Active and passive smoking lead to the production of a number of oxidants and antioxidants with various adverse health effects compromising the immune system. Tobacco use increases the production of free radicals as well. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of passive smoking on total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of serum and saliva in rats.Methods: This experimental study was conducted on 18 rats with an age range of 7-11 weeks weighing 160-200 g; 9 of them were exposed to cigarette smoke 3 times daily for 8 minutes. The 9 controls were not exposed to cigarette smoke. After injection of 0.2 mg/kg midazolam and 0.5  mg/kg pilocarpine, serum and saliva samples were taken from subjects in the exposure and control groups at 0, 15 and 30 days. Serum cotinine was measured using ELISA kit. TAC of saliva and serum was measured using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. TAC values at different time points were statistically analyzed in each group using Repeated Measures ANOVA and compared between the two groups using t-test.Results: At baseline, no significant difference existed between the two groups in terms of serum cotinine concentration but at days 15 and 30, cotinine serum concentration significantly increased in the exposure group. At baseline and 30 days, no significant difference existed between the two groups of passive smoker and non-smoker in terms of serum TAC values but at day 15, serum TAC values were significantly higher in the exposure group. Also, TAC of salivawas significantly higher in the passive smoker group at baseline and at day 15 but at day 30, the difference in this respect between the two groups was not statistically significant.Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, changes in TAC of serum and saliva in rats due to exposure to cigarette smoke were compensated by their immune system activity. However, further investigations are still required in this respect

Spontaneous Adrenal Hematoma in a Pregnant Woman; a Case Report

Spontaneous adrenal hematoma is a very rare condition and its prevalence has been reported to be about 1% in previous studies. Although various causes have been proposed to explain its incidence in existing case reports, the etiology and pathology of this condition is still not known. The present study presents a case of spontaneous adrenal hematoma in a pregnant 31 year old woman without history of trauma or other probable risk factors of hemorrhage, presenting to the emergency department with chief complaint of pain in the right flank. Diagnostic measures, imaging and laparotomy, confirmed the diagnosis of spontaneous adrenal hematoma for her

Detection and characterization of endophytic bacteria causing knot in young olive trees

Olive knot is an important disease in most countries where olives are commercially grown. In the spring of 2015, some galls were observed on the trunk and branches of 4-year-old olive trees in the north of Iran. The bacteria were isolated from galls and all isolates were gram-negative, aerobic, and capable of producing florescent pigment. Other phenotypic characteristics of the isolates were assessed. Pathogenicity tests were carried out on olive branches incubated with different isolates. Primary symptoms were observed after two weeks. Sequences of 16S rRNA and RNA polymerase beta subunit genes of pathogenic isolates were completely similar to Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi (Smith 1908) Young et al. 1978 in GenBank. Based on the results from phenotypic analyses, pathogenicity tests and phylogenetic data, the isolates were identified as P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi. The host range of our isolates was specific to olive trees. None of the inoculated oleander (Nerium oleander L.), winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum Lindl.), Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum Thunb.) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) developed disease symptoms. No difference in disease resistance was observed between six studied olive cultivars. There was no olive tree or orchard around the studied orchard as far as more than one kilometer. As the disease agent listed in Iran’s foreign quarantine pests and diseases list, appropriate quarantine and phytosanitary measures were undertaken to eradicate the disease.</p

Analgesic Effects of Ketamine Nebulizer vs. Intravenous Morphine in Limb Trauma Patients in Pre-Hospital Emergency Setting; A Randomized Double-Blinded Clinical Trial

Background: Limb trauma is one the main causes of emergency room (ER) referrals and patients often complain of pain from the very moment of arrival. Objective: We decided to compare the analgesic effect of ketamine nebulizer with intravenous (IV) morphine in trauma patients referred to ER.&nbsp;Methods: In this clinical trial study trauma patients referred to ER of Alzahra and Kashani hospitals in Isfahan, Iran were selected. All trauma patients older than 18 years with limb pain who had a pain score ≥ 7 based on visual analogue scale (VAS) criteria were included. During pre-hospital management, patients were divided into two groups of receiving ketamine nebulizer with a dose of 1.6 mg/kg and receiving IV morphine with a dose of 0.1 mg/kg. Pain score, vital signs and complications were recorded 5 and 15 minutes after receiving the first dose of drug and also at the time of arrival to ER.&nbsp;Results: Finally, the records of 391 patients were analysed. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of pain intensity, vital signs before intervention, the first 5 and 15 minutes after and the time of arrival in ER (P&gt;0.05). But the changing of VAS scores in different times was significant in both groups (P&lt;0.001). There was a significant difference between the two groups in complications including nausea and vomiting (P&lt;0.001), and also delirium (P=0.010).&nbsp;Conclusion: Using ketamine nebulizer can produce similar analgesic effects as IV morphine in trauma patients referred to ER