Bandwidth-efficient pilot symbol aided technique for trellis-coded modulation in land mobile satellite fading channels

A bandwidth-efficient pilot-symbol-aided technique is proposed for use with trellis-coded modulation (TCM). Computer simulation has been used to assess the effects of the technique on the bit error rate (BER) performances of trellis-coded 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (TC-16QAM) in the flat Rician and shadowed Rician fading channels corrupted with additive white Gaussian noise. The results have shown that the proposed technique needs a very low bandwidth redundancy and can work effectively at low signal-to-noise ratios, so it is suitable for use with TCM.published_or_final_versionThe IEEE Conference on Wireless Communications and Networking (WCNC 1999), New Orleans, LA., 21-24 September 1999. In IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference Proceedings, 1999, v. 1, p. 183-18

Combining PSA fading estimation techniques for TCM and diversity reception in Rician fading channels

In this paper, a novel pilot-symbol-aided (PSA) technique is proposed for fading estimation in the land mobile satellite fading channels. The proposed technique combines the fading estimates obtained from a bandwidth-efficient technique and a conventional technique according to the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the fading estimates. To enhance the transmission quality, trellis-coded modulation (TCM) and diversity reception are employed in the system, and the combined estimates are subsequently used to correct the channel fading effects, to weight the signals from different diversity branches, and to provide channel state information of the Viterbi decoder. Monte Carlo computer simulation has been used to study the bit-error-rate (BER) performance of the proposed technique on trellis-coded 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation in the frequency non-selective Rician fading channels. Results have shown that the proposed PSA technique requires a very low bandwidth redundancy to provide satisfactory BER performance at low SNRs, and thus is suitable for use with TCM and diversity reception to achieve both bandwidth and power-efficient transmission.postprin

Data-aided fading estimation technique for shadowed mobile satellite fading channels

A novel data-aided fading estimation technique that employs both pilot and data symbols is proposed to significantly reduce the bandwidth redundancy of the pilot-symbol-aided (PSA) systems using receivers with low complexity and latency in the shadowed mobile satellite fading channels. The shadowed mobile satellite fading channels are modeled as the sum of a lognormally distributed direct component and a Rayleigh distributed multipath component, and the PSA system employs 16-ary quadrature-amplitude-modulation (16QAM) for transmission. Monte Carlo computer simulation has been used to assess the technique on the bit-error-rate (BER) performances of the system in the light shadowed, the average shadowed and the heavy shadowed Rician fading environments. The results have shown that the proposed technique requires a very low bandwidth redundancy to provide satisfactory BER performances, and can substantially lower the error floors of the PSA systems.postprin

Combining pilot-symbol-aided techniques for fading estimation and diversity reception in multipath fading channels

A novel pilot-symbol-aided (PSA) fading estimation technique that combines the estimates from a conventional PSA technique and a bandwidth-efficient PSA technique to achieve better performances is proposed for digital signals in multipath fading channels. The conventional technique has better performances at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), while the bandwidth-efficient technique is superior at high SNRs. Monte Carlo computer simulation has been used to assess the effects of the proposed combining technique on the bit-error-rate (BER) performances of 16-ary quadrature-amplitude-modulation (16QAM), with and without two-branch diversity reception, in a flat Rayleigh fading channel. Results have shown that the combining technique has the advantages of both of the conventional technique and the bandwidth-efficient technique and is more preferred for use with diversity reception. © 2006 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.postprin

Bandwidth-efficient pilot-symbol-aided technique for multipath-fading channels

Pilot-symbol-aided (PSA) transmission is one of the effective methods to combat multipath fading in digital mobile communications systems. In the PSA systems, redundant bandwidth and power are required to transmit the pilot symbols. In this paper, we propose a novel fading estimation technique that requires a very low bandwidth redundancy in the PSA systems. The proposed technique uses simple linear interpolation on the pilot symbols and the detected data symbols to obtain the estimates of the channel fading effects. Monte Carlo computer simulation has been carried out to study the effects of the technique on the bit error rate performance of 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation in the flat and the frequency-selective Rayleigh-fading channels corrupted with cochannel interference and additive white Gaussian noise. Results have shown that the proposed technique can, at the expense of a little power efficiency, significantly improve the bandwidth efficiency of the PSA systems using receivers with low com plexity and latency.published_or_final_versio

An E2-guided E3 Screen Identifies the RNF17-UBE2U Pair as Regulator of the Radiosensitivity, Immunodeficiency, Dysmorphic Features, and Learning Difficulties (RIDDLE) Syndrome Protein RNF168

Protein ubiquitination has emerged as a pivotal regulatory reaction that promotes cellular responses to DNA damage. With a goal to delineate the DNA damage signal transduction cascade, we systematically analyzed the human E2 ubiquitin- and ubiquitin-like-conjugating enzymes for their ability to mobilize the DNA damage marker 53BP1 onto ionizing radiation-induced DNA double strand breaks. An RNAi-based screen identified UBE2U as a candidate regulator of chromatin responses at double strand breaks. Further mining of the UBE2U interactome uncovered its cognate E3 RNF17 as a novel factor that, via the radiosensitivity, immunodeficiency, dysmorphic features, and learning difficulties (RIDDLE) syndrome protein RNF168, enforces DNA damage responses. Our screen allowed us to uncover new players in the mammalian DNA damage response and highlights the instrumental roles of ubiquitin machineries in promoting cell responses to genotoxic stress.published_or_final_versio

Huge adenomyotic cyst in pregnancy

Adenomyotic cyst is a rare variant of adenomyosis. It is believed to arise from repeated focal haemorrhages resulting in cystic spaces filled with altered blood products. We present a rare case of a huge adenomyotic cyst in a 27-year-old primigravida, who was in her first trimester, complaining of sudden lower abdominal pain. Diagnostic laparoscopy performed to rule out other cause of acute abdomen. Her pregnancy went on smoothly. She delivered a baby girl of 2.82 kg via vaginal delivery at 39 weeks. Diagnosis and management of this rare clinical entity were reviewed and discussed

Growth mode and strain evolution during InN growth on GaN(0001) by molecular-beam epitaxy

The plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy technique was used to study the epitaxial growth of InN on GaN. A relationship between film growth mode and the deposition condition was established by combining reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The sustained RHEED intensity oscillations were recorded for 2D growth while 2D nucleation islands were revealed by STM. Results showed less than three oscillation periods for 3 D growth, indicating the Strnski-Krastanov (SK) growth mode of the film.published_or_final_versio

Revisiting port performance measurement: A hybrid multi-stakeholder framework for the modelling of port performance indicators

This study develops a new port performance measurement model by taking the perspectives from different port stakeholders. The novelty lies in the modelling of interdependencies among port performance measures, and the combination of weights of interdependent measures with both qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the measures from multiple stakeholders for quantitative port performance measurement. It represents an effective performance measurement tool and offers a diagnostic instrument for performance evaluation and/or monitoring of ports and terminals so as to satisfy different requirements of various port stakeholders in a flexible manner. © 201