Matching random colored points with rectangles

Let S ¿ [0, 1]2 be a set of n points, randomly and uniformly selected. Let R ¿ B be a random partition, or coloring, of S in which each point of S is included in R uniformly at random with probability 1/2. We study the random number M(n) of points of S that are covered by the rectangles of a maximum strong matching of S with axis-aligned rectangles. The matching consists of closed rectangles that cover exactly two points of S of the same color. A matching is strong if all its rectangles are pairwise disjoint. We prove that almost surely M(n) = 0.83 n for n large enough. Our approach is based on modeling a deterministic greedy matching algorithm, that runs over the random point set, as a Markov chain.Postprint (published version

Cyclostationary analysis of analog least mean square loop for self-interference cancellation in in-band full-duplex systems

© 2017 IEEE. Analog least mean square (ALMS) loop is a promising mechanism to suppress self-interference (SI) in an in-band full-duplex (IBFD) system. In this letter, a general solution for the weighting error function is derived to investigate the performance of the ALMS loop employed in any IBFD system. The solution is then applied to IBFD systems with single carrier and multicarrier signaling. Due to the cyclostationary property of the transmitted signal, the weighting error function in the multicarrier system varies more significantly than in the single carrier. Therefore, if the ALMS loop can perfectly mimic the SI channel, SI in the single carrier system can be suppressed to a much smaller level than that in the multi-carrier counterpart

Algorithms for outerplanar graph roots and graph roots of pathwidth at most 2

Deciding whether a given graph has a square root is a classical problem that has been studied extensively both from graph theoretic and from algorithmic perspectives. The problem is NP-complete in general, and consequently substantial effort has been dedicated to deciding whether a given graph has a square root that belongs to a particular graph class. There are both polynomial-time solvable and NP-complete cases, depending on the graph class. We contribute with new results in this direction. Given an arbitrary input graph G, we give polynomial-time algorithms to decide whether G has an outerplanar square root, and whether G has a square root that is of pathwidth at most 2

Analog least mean square loop for self-interference cancellation: A practical perspective

©2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Self-interference (SI) is the key issue that prevents in-band full-duplex (IBFD) communications from being practical. Analog multi-tap adaptive filter is an efficient structure to cancel SI since it can capture the nonlinear components and noise in the transmitted signal. Analog least mean square (ALMS) loop is a simple adaptive filter that can be implemented by purely analog means to sufficiently mitigate SI. Comprehensive analyses on the behaviors of the ALMS loop have been published in the literature. This paper proposes a practical structure and presents an implementation of the ALMS loop. By employing off-the-shelf components, a prototype of the ALMS loop including two taps is implemented for an IBFD system operating at the carrier frequency of 2.4 GHz. The prototype is firstly evaluated in a single carrier signaling IBFD system with 20 MHz and 50 MHz bandwidths, respectively. Measured results show that the ALMS loop can provide 39 dB and 33 dB of SI cancellation in the radio frequency domain for the two bandwidths, respectively. Furthermore, the impact of the roll-off factor of the pulse shaping filter on the SI cancellation level provided by the prototype is presented. Finally, the experiment with multicarrier signaling shows that the performance of the ALMS loop is the same as that in the single carrier system. These experimental results validate the theoretical analyses presented in our previous publications on the ALMS loop behaviors

Analog Least Mean Square Loop with I/Q Imbalance for Self-Interference Cancellation in Full-Duplex Radios

© 1967-2012 IEEE. Analog least mean square (ALMS) loop is a promising structure for self-interference (SI) mitigation in full-duplex radios due to its simplicity and adaptive capability. However, being constructed from in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) demodulators and modulators to process complex signals, the ALMS loop may face I/Q imbalance problems. Thus, in this paper, the effects of frequency-independent I/Q imbalance in the ALMS loop are investigated. It is revealed that I/Q imbalance affects the loop gain and the level of SI cancellation. The loop gain can be easily compensated by adjusting the gain at other stages of the ALMS loop. Meanwhile, the degradation on cancellation performance is proved to be insignificant even under severe conditions of I/Q imbalance. In addition, an upper bound of the degradation factor is derived to provide an essential reference for the system design. Simulations are conducted to confirm the theoretical analyses

Analog Least Mean Square Loop for Self-Interference Cancellation: Implementation and Measurements

Analog least mean square (ALMS) loop is a simple and efficient adaptive filter to cancel self-interference (SI) in in-band full-duplex (IBFD) radios. This paper proposes a practical structure and presents an implementation of the ALMS loop. By employing off-the-shelf components, a prototype of the ALMS loop including two taps is implemented. The prototype is evaluated in IBFD systems which have 20 MHz and 50 MHz bandwidths, respectively, with the carrier frequency of 2.4 GHz. The performance of the prototype with different roll-off factors of the transmit pulse shaping filter is also examined. Experimental results show that the ALMS loop can provide 39 dB and 33 dB of SI cancellation for the two systems, respectively. Furthermore, when the roll-off factor of the pulse shaping filter changes, different levels of cancellation given by the prototype are also demonstrated accordingly. These experimental results validate the theoretical analyses presented in our previous publications on the ALMS loop behaviors

Frequency-domain characterization and performance bounds of ALMS loop for RF self-interference cancellation

© 1972-2012 IEEE. Analog least mean square (ALMS) loop is a promising method to cancel self-interference (SI) in in-band full-duplex (IBFD) systems. In this paper, the steady state analyses of the residual SI powers in both analog and digital domains are firstly derived. The eigenvalue decomposition is then utilized to investigate the frequency domain characteristics of the ALMS loop. Our frequency domain analyses prove that the ALMS loop has an effect of amplifying the frequency components of the residual SI at the edges of the signal spectrum in the analog domain. However, the matched filter in the receiver chain will reduce this effect, resulting in a significant improvement of the interference suppression ratio (ISR). It means that the SI will be significantly suppressed in the digital domain before information data detection. This paper also derives the lower bounds of ISRs given by the ALMS loop in both analog and digital domains. These lower bounds are joint effects of the loop gain, tap delay, number of taps, and transmitted signal properties. The discovered relationship among these parameters allows the flexibility in choosing appropriate parameters when designing the IBFD systems under given constraints

Nitrates in drinking water and methemoglobin levels in pregnancy: a longitudinal study

This is the final version of the article. Available from BioMed Central via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: Private water systems are more likely to have nitrate levels above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Pregnant women are considered vulnerable to the effects of exposure to high levels of nitrates in drinking water due to their altered physiological states. The level of methemoglobin in the blood is the biomarker often used in research for assessing exposure to nitrates. The objective of this study was to assess methemoglobin levels and examine how various factors affected methemoglobin levels during pregnancy. We also examined whether differences in water use practices existed among pregnant women based on household drinking water source of private vs. public supply. METHODS: A longitudinal study of 357 pregnant women was conducted. Longitudinal regression models were used to examine changes and predictors of the change in methemoglobin levels over the period of gestation. RESULTS: Pregnant women showed a decrease in methemoglobin levels with increasing gestation although <1% had levels above the physiologic normal of 2% methemoglobin, regardless of the source of their drinking water. The multivariable analyses did not show a statistically significant association between methemoglobin levels and the estimated nitrate intake from tap water among pregnant women around 36 weeks gestation (β = 0.046, p = 0.986). Four women had tap water nitrate levels above the MCL of 10 mg/L. At enrollment, a greater proportion of women who reported using water treatment devices were private wells users (66%) compared to public system users (46%) (p < 0.0001). Also, a greater proportion of private well users (27%) compared to public system users (13%) were using devices capable of removing nitrate from water (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Pregnant women potentially exposed to nitrate levels primarily below the MCL for drinking water were unlikely to show methemoglobin levels above the physiologic normal. Water use practices such as the use of treatment devices to remove nitrates varied according to water source and should be considered in the assessment of exposure to nitrates in future studies

Analog Least Mean Square Loop for Self-Interference Cancellation in Generalized Continuous Wave SAR

© 2018 IEEE. Generalized continuous wave synthetic aperture radar (GCW-SAR) is a promising new imaging radar system since it applies the full-duplex (FD) transmission technique to achieve continuous signaling in order to overcome several fundamental limitations of the conventional pulsed SARs. As in any FD wireless communication system, self-interference (SI) is also a key problem which can impact on the GCW-SAR system. In this paper, the analog least mean square (ALMS) loop in the radio frequency domain is adopted to cancel the SI for a GCW-SAR system with periodic chirp signaling. The average residual SI power after the ALMS loop is analyzed theoretically by a stationary analysis. It is found that the ALMS loop not only works with random signals in general FD communication systems, but also works well with the periodic signal in GCW-SAR systems. Simulation results show that over 45 dB SI cancellation can be achieved by the ALMS loop which ensures the proper operation of the GCW-SAR system

Impacts of climate variability and future climate change on harmful algal blooms and human health

This is the final version of the article. Available from BioMed Central via the DOI in this record.Anthropogenically-derived increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations have been implicated in recent climate change, and are projected to substantially impact the climate on a global scale in the future. For marine and freshwater systems, increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are expected to increase surface temperatures, lower pH, and cause changes to vertical mixing, upwelling, precipitation, and evaporation patterns. The potential consequences of these changes for harmful algal blooms (HABs) have received relatively little attention and are not well understood. Given the apparent increase in HABs around the world and the potential for greater problems as a result of climate change and ocean acidification, substantial research is needed to evaluate the direct and indirect associations between HABs, climate change, ocean acidification, and human health. This research will require a multidisciplinary approach utilizing expertise in climatology, oceanography, biology, epidemiology, and other disciplines. We review the interactions between selected patterns of large-scale climate variability and climate change, oceanic conditions, and harmful algae.This work was funded in part through grants from the NSF/NIEHS Centers for Oceans and Human Health, grant numbers NSF OCE04-32479 and NIEHS P50 ES012740 (EAL), NSF OCE-0432368 and NIEHS P50 ES012736 (LEF), NIEHS P50 ES012762 and NSF OCE-0434087 (SKM, MSP). SKM, VLT and NJM also were supported in part by the West Coast Center for Oceans and Human Health (WCCOHH) as part of the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative, and this is WCCOHH publication no. 26. The WCCOHH is part of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington