Region of interest-based adaptive multimedia streaming scheme

Adaptive multimedia streaming aims at adjusting the transmitted content based on the available bandwidth such as losses that often severely affect the end-user perceived quality are minimized and consequently the transmission quality increases. Current solutions affect equally the whole viewing area of the multimedia frames, despite research showing that there are regions on which the viewers are more interested in than on others. This paper presents a novel region of interest-based adaptive scheme (ROIAS) for multimedia streaming that when performing transmission-related quality adjustments, selectively affects the quality of those regions of the image the viewers are the least interested in. As the quality of the regions the viewers are the most interested in will not change (or will involve little change),the proposed scheme provides higher overall end-user perceived quality than any of the existing adaptive solutions

Perceived synchronization of mulsemedia services

Multimedia synchronization involves a temporal relationship between audio and visual media components. The presentation of "in-sync" data streams is essential to achieve a natural impression, as "out-of-sync" effects are often associated with user quality of experience (QoE) decrease. Recently, multi-sensory media (mulsemedia) has been demonstrated to provide a highly immersive experience for its users. Unlike traditional multimedia, mulsemedia consists of other media types (i.e., haptic, olfaction, taste, etc.) in addition to audio and visual content. Therefore, the goal of achieving high quality mulsemedia transmission is to present no or little synchronization errors between the multiple media components. In order to achieve this ideal synchronization, there is a need for comprehensive knowledge of the synchronization requirements at the user interface. This paper presents the results of a subjective study carried out to explore the temporal boundaries within which haptic and air-flow media objects can be successfully synchronized with video media. Results show that skews between sensorial media and multimedia might still give the effect that the mulsemedia sequence is "in-sync" and provide certain constraints under which synchronization errors might be tolerated. The outcomes of the paper are used to provide recommendations for mulsemedia service providers in order for their services to be associated with acceptable user experience levels, e.g. haptic media could be presented with a delay of up to 1 s behind video content, while air-flow media could be released either 5 s ahead of or 3 s behind video content

Reputation-based network selection solution for improved video delivery quality in heterogeneous wireless network environments

The continuous innovations and advances in both high-end mobile devices and wireless communication technologies have increased the users demand and expectations for anywhere, anytime, any device high quality multimedia applications provisioning. Moreover, the heterogeneity of the wireless network environment offers the possibility to the mobile user to select between several available radio access network technologies. However, selecting the network that enables the best user perceived video quality is not trivial given that in general the network characteristics vary widely not only in time but also depending on the user location within each network. In this context, this paper proposes a user location-aware reputation-based network selection solution which aims at improving the video delivery in a heterogeneous wireless network environment by selecting the best value network. Network performance is regularly monitored and evaluated by the currently connected users in different areas of each individual network. Based on the existing network performance-related information and mobile user location and speed, the network that offers the best support for video delivery along the user’s path is selected as the target network and the handover is triggered. The simulation results show that the proposed solution improves the video delivery quality in comparison with the case when a classic network selection mechanism was employed

Reputation-based network selection solution in heterogeneous wireless network environments

The significant developments in terms of both mobile computing device (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) and the wireless communication technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-Advanced, WiMAX, etc.), lead towards a converged heterogeneous wireless environment. In this context, the user will be facing the problem of selecting from a number of Radio Access Networks that differ in technology, coverage, pricing scheme, bandwidth, latency, etc. In order to provide high quality of service (QoS) to the user in this heterogeneous wireless environment, a network selection solution is required that will efficiently facilitate the vertical handover between different wireless access networks in a seamless manner. In this paper, we propose a reputation-based network selection solution which aims to select the best value network for the user. We propose a network profiling algorithm that used to compute the reputation of each of the available networks based on the joint collaboration of the users within the network. The network with the best reputation value is recommended for selection and handover

Preface to 'The Mathematics of Concrete'

Although the concrete is a simple man-made material with initially-controlled composition (for instance, all ingredients are known beforehand, the involved chemical mechanisms are well studied, the mechanical strength of test samples is measured accurately), forecasting its behaviour for large times under variable external (boundary) conditions is not properly understood. The main reason is that the simplicity of the material is only apparent. The combination of the heterogeneity of the material together with the occurrence of a number of multiscale phase transitions either driven by aggressive chemicals (typically ions, like in corrosion situations), or by extreme heating, or by freezing/thawing of the ice lenses within the microstructure, and the inherent non-locality of the mechanical damage leads to mathematically challenging nonlinear coupled systems of partial differential equations (PDEs)

Distributed space scales in a semilinear reaction-diffusion system including a parabolic variational inequality : a well-posedness study

This paper treats the solvability of a semilinear reaction-diffusion system, which incorporates transport (diffusion) and reaction effects emerging from two separated spatial scales: x - macro and y - micro. The system’s origin connects to the modeling of concrete corrosion in sewer concrete pipes. It consists of three partial differential equations which are mass-balances of concentrations, as well as, one ordinary differential equation tracking the damage-by-corrosion. The system is semilinear, partially dissipative, and coupled via the solid-water interface at the microstructure (pore) level. The structure of the model equations is obtained in [7] by upscaling of the physical and chemical processes taking place within the microstructure of the concrete. Herein we ensure the positivity and L8-bounds on concentrations, and then prove the global-in-time existence and uniqueness of a suitable class of positive and bounded solutions that are stable with respect to the two-scale data and model parameters. The main ingredient to prove existence include fixed-point arguments and convergent two-scale Galerkin approximations. Keywords: Reaction and diffusion in heterogeneous media, two-scale Galerkin approximations, parabolic variational inequality, well-posednes

Distributed space scales in a semilinear reaction-diffusion system including a parabolic variational inequality : a well-posedness study

This paper treats the solvability of a semilinear reaction-diffusion system, which incorporates transport (diffusion) and reaction effects emerging from two separated spatial scales: $x$ - macro and $y$ - micro. The system's origin connects to the modeling of concrete corrosion in sewer concrete pipes. It consists of three partial differential equations which are mass-balances of concentrations, as well as, one ordinary differential equation tracking the damage-by-corrosion. The system is semilinear, partially dissipative, and coupled via the solid-water interface at the microstructure (pore) level. The structure of the model equations is obtained in \cite{tasnim1} by upscaling of the physical and chemical processes taking place within the microstructure of the concrete. Herein we ensure the positivity and $L^\infty-$bounds on concentrations, and then prove the global-in-time existence and uniqueness of a suitable class of positive and bounded solutions that are stable with respect to the two-scale data and model parameters. The main ingredient to prove existence include fixed-point arguments and convergent two-scale Galerkin approximations

Unfolding-based corrector estimates for a reaction-diffusion system predicting concrete corrosion

We use the periodic unfolding technique to derive corrector estimates for a reaction-diffusion system describing concrete corrosion penetration in the sewer pipes. The system, defined in a periodically-perforated domain, is semi-linear, partially dissipative, and coupled via a non-linear ordinary differential equation posed on the solid-water interface at the pore level. After discussing the solvability of the pore scale model, we apply the periodic unfolding techniques (adapted to treat the presence of perforations) not only to get upscaled model equations, but also to prepare a proper framework for getting a convergence rate (corrector estimates) of the averaging procedure. Keywords: Corrector estimates, periodic unfolding, homogenization, sulfate corrosion of concrete, reaction-diffusion systems

Pattern formation in reverse smoldering combustion : a homogenization approach

The development of fingering char pattern on the surface of porous thin materials has been investigated in the framework of reverse combustion. This macroscopic characteristic feature of combustible media has also been studied experimentally and through the use of phenomenological models. However, much attention has not been given to the behavior of the emerging patterns based on characteristic material properties. Starting from a microscopic description of the combustion process, macroscopic models of reverse combustion that are derived by the application of the homogenization technique are presented. Using proper scaling by means of a small scale parameter, e, the results of the formal asymptotic procedure are justified by qualitative multiscale numerical simulations at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. We consider two equilibrium models that are based on effective conductivity contrasts, in a simple adiabatic situation, to investigate the formation of unstable fingering patterns on the surface of a charred material. The behavior of the emerging patterns is analyzed using primarily the Péclet number as a control parameter

Homogenization of a thermo-diffusion system with Smoluchowski interactions

We study the solvability and homogenization of a thermal-diffusion reaction problem posed in a periodically perforated domain. The system describes the motion of populations of hot colloidal particles interacting together via Smoluchowski production terms. The upscaled system, obtained via two-scale convergence techniques, allows the investigation of deposition effects in porous materials in the presence of thermal gradients. Keywords: Homogenization, well-posedness, colloids, thermal-diffusion, cross-diffusion, combustion