On the variable capacity property of CC/DS-CDMA systems

A complete complementary code based direct sequence code division multiple access (CC/DS-CDMA) system has been proposed recently as a potential candidate for beyond third generation (B3G) wireless communications. This paper addresses the issues that design of efficient code assignment schemes should be based on a flexible physical layer support, which is extremely important for emerging cross-layer designs in future wireless applications. The study in this paper considers a CC/DS-CDMA system with multiple time slots, three traffic classes and two dynamic code-flock assignment schemes, namely random assignment (RA) and compact assignment (CA). Simulation results show that the CC/DS-CDMA system has variable capacity property (VCP), which is sensitively affected by different code-flock assignment schemes. In general, CA can offer lower blocking probability, whereas RA can offer a larger mean system capacity and higher throughput when offered traffic is heavy

Data Management ofRFID-based Track-and-Trace Anti-counterfeiting in Apparel Supply Chain

With recent advancement in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), RFID-based track-and-trace anti-counterfeiting has attracted considerable research interests. A track-and-trace anti-counterfeiting system requires an integral and reliable electronic pedigree (e-pedigree) to ensure high product visibility along the supply chain. With the continuous movements of large volumes of products along the supply chain, huge amounts of RFID data would be inevitably generated, posing great challenges to system development and operation. As such, the front-end RFID data should be well-formatted for efficient capturing, filtering, and synchronization in a logical and reliable way, so that the accumulated e-pedigree would be complete and trustworthy for subsequent product authentication. In this paper, we present an innovative track-and-trace anti-counterfeiting system for apparel products, and discuss a number of key data management issues, such as e-pedigree formatting, data synchronization, and traceability / visibility control. A data format of e-pedigree for full traceability of garments is proposed to support products authentication in item-level, products antilost in pallet-level and products status prediction in batch-level. Based on this format, a three-step mechanism of data synchronization is established to ensure e-pedigree integrity. To avoid possible leakage/falsification of e-pedigree data, an RBACbased access control is proposed as an auxiliary module of the anti-counterfeiting system.published_or_final_versio

Item-level RFID for enhancement of customer shopping experience in apparel retail

In the customer-oriented apparel retail industry, providing satisfactory shopping experience for customers is a vital differentiator. However, traditional stores generally cannot fully satisfy customer needs because of difficulties in locating target products, out-of-stocks, a lack of professional assistance for product selection, and long waiting for payments. Therefore, this paper proposes an item-level RFID-enabled retail store management system for relatively high-end apparel products to provide customers with more leisure, interaction for product information, and automatic apparel collocation to promote sales during shopping. In this system, RFID hardware devices are installed to capture customer shopping behaviour and preferences, which would be especially useful for business decision-making and proactive individual marketing to enhance retail business. Intelligent fuzzy screening algorithms are then developed to promote apparel collocation based on the customer preferences, the design features of products, and the sales history accumulated in the database. It is expected that the proposed system, when fully implemented, can help promote retail business by enriching customers with intelligent and personalized services, and thus enhance the overall shopping experience. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.postprin

Computation diversity in emerging networking paradigms

Nowadays, computation is playing an increasingly more important role in the future generation of computer and communication networks, as exemplified by the recent progress in SDN for wired networks as well as C-RAN and mobile cloud computing (MCC) for wireless networks. This article proposes a unified concept (i.e., computation diversity) to describe the impact and diverse forms of the computation resources on both wired and wireless communications. By linking the computation resources to the communication networks based on quality of service requirements, we can show how computation resources influence the networks. Moreover, by analyzing the different functionalities of computation resources in SDN, C-RAN, and MCC, we can show the diverse and flexible forms that the computation resources present in different networks. The study of computation diversity can provide guidance in future networks design as far as how to allocate the resources jointly between computation (e.g., CPU capacity) and communication (e.g., bandwidth), thereby saving system energy and improving users' experiences

Sample entropy analysis of EEG signals via artificial neural networks to model patients' consciousness level based on anesthesiologists experience.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, as it can express the human brain's activities and reflect awareness, have been widely used in many research and medical equipment to build a noninvasive monitoring index to the depth of anesthesia (DOA). Bispectral (BIS) index monitor is one of the famous and important indicators for anesthesiologists primarily using EEG signals when assessing the DOA. In this study, an attempt is made to build a new indicator using EEG signals to provide a more valuable reference to the DOA for clinical researchers. The EEG signals are collected from patients under anesthetic surgery which are filtered using multivariate empirical mode decomposition (MEMD) method and analyzed using sample entropy (SampEn) analysis. The calculated signals from SampEn are utilized to train an artificial neural network (ANN) model through using expert assessment of consciousness level (EACL) which is assessed by experienced anesthesiologists as the target to train, validate, and test the ANN. The results that are achieved using the proposed system are compared to BIS index. The proposed system results show that it is not only having similar characteristic to BIS index but also more close to experienced anesthesiologists which illustrates the consciousness level and reflects the DOA successfully.This research is supported by the Center forDynamical Biomarkers and Translational Medicine, National Central University, Taiwan, which is sponsored by Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant no. MOST103-2911-I-008-001). Also, it is supported by National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology in Taiwan (Grant nos. CSIST-095-V301 and CSIST-095-V302)

Characterization of fouling layers for in-line coagulation membrane fouling by apparent zeta potential

© The Royal Society of Chemistry. This study investigated the apparent zeta potential of fouled membranes for in-line coagulation membrane fouling monitoring in micro-polluted water treatment. Results show that the apparent zeta potentials are consistent with transmembrane pressures (TMPs) in both a direct filtration process and in-line coagulation ultrafiltration (C-UF). Furthermore, the curve between apparent zeta potential and filtration resistance of C-UF conformed to the form of the Michaelis-Menten equation. The changes of apparent zeta potential along with periodical backwashing were in accordance with the trend of TMP change. As a whole, apparent zeta potential could be a useful indicator for monitoring membrane fouling

Enhanced low C/N nitrogen removal in an innovative microbial fuel cell (MFC) with electroconductivity aerated membrane (EAM) as biocathode

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. A novel microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed to enhance simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) by employing electrons from the anode. The cathode chamber of the reactor consisted of a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) which was made of an electroconductivity aerated membrane. The maximum power density of 4.20 ± 0.12 W m−3was obtained at a current density of 4.10 ± 0.11 A m−2(external resistance = 10 Ω). Compared with an open-circuit system, the removal rates of NH4+-N and TN were improved by 9.48 ± 0.33% and 19.80 ± 0.84%, respectively, which could be ascribed to the electrochemical denitrification. The anode (chemical oxygen demand, COD) and cathode (NO3−) chambers reached the maximum coulombic efficiencies (CEs) of 40.67 ± 1.05% and 42.84 ± 1.14%, respectively. It suggested that the electroconductivity MABR has some advantages in controlling aeration intensity, thus improving SND and CEs. Overall, EAM-MFC could successfully generate electricity from wastewater whilst showing high capacity for removing nitrogen at a low COD/N ratio of 2.8 ± 0.07 g COD g−1N

Coverage analysis of heterogeneous cellular networks in urban areas

© 2016 IEEE. In this article, a network model incorporating both line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) transmissions is proposed to investigate impacts of blockages in urban areas on heterogeneous network coverage performance. Results show that co-existence of NLOS and LOS transmissions has a significant impact on network performance. We find in urban areas, that deploying more BSs in different tiers is better than merely deploying all BSs in the same tier in terms of coverage probability

Detection of phylogenetic extraction of sheep populations in East and South Asia based on fuzzy discriminants analysis

No Abstract

Performance of a microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for online monitoring in an integrated system combining microbial fuel cell and upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor

© 2016. A hybrid system integrating a microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensor with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was investigated for real-time online monitoring of the internal operation of the UASB reactor. The features concerned were its rapidity and steadiness with a constant operation condition. In addition, the signal feedback mechanism was examined by the relationship between voltage and time point of changed COD concentration. The sensitivity of different concentrations was explored by comparing the signal feedback time point between the voltage and pH. Results showed that the electrical signal feedback was more sensitive than pH and the thresholds of sensitivity were S = 3 × 10-5 V/(mg/L) and S = 8 × 10-5 V/(mg/L) in different concentration ranges, respectively. Although only 0.94% of the influent COD was translated into electricity and applied for biosensing, this integrated system indicated great potential without additional COD consumption for real-time monitoring