Sensitive White Space Detection with Spectral Covariance Sensing

This paper proposes a novel, highly effective spectrum sensing algorithm for cognitive radio and whitespace applications. The proposed spectral covariance sensing (SCS) algorithm exploits the different statistical correlations of the received signal and noise in the frequency domain. Test statistics are computed from the covariance matrix of a partial spectrogram and compared with a decision threshold to determine whether a primary signal or arbitrary type is present or not. This detector is analyzed theoretically and verified through realistic open-source simulations using actual digital television signals captured in the US. Compared to the state of the art in the literature, SCS improves sensitivity by 3 dB for the same dwell time, which is a very significant improvement for this application. Further, it is shown that SCS is highly robust to noise uncertainty, whereas many other spectrum sensors are not

Multi-code Multicarrier CDMA: Performance Analysis

A new multi-code multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-MC-CDMA) system is proposed and analyzed in a frequency selective fading channel. By allowing each user to transmit an M-ary code sequence, the proposed MC-MC-CDMA system can support various data rates as required by next generation standards without increasing the interference which is common in general multicarrier CDMA systems. The bit error rate of the system is analytically derived in frequency selective fading, with Gaussian noise and multiple access interference. The results show that the proposed MC-MC-CDMA system clearly outperforms both single-code multicarrier CDMA (MC CDMA) and single-carrier multi-code CDMA in a fixed bandwidth allocation. This indicates that MC-MC-CDMA can be considered for next generation cellular systems

Confirming anthropogenic influences on the major organic and inorganic constituents of rainwater in an urban area

Recently, rainwater composition affected by atmospheric pollutants has been the topic of intense study in East Asia because of its adverse environmental and human health effects. In the present study, the chemical composition and organic compounds of rainwater were investigated from June to December 2012 at Gwangju in Korea. The aim of this study is to determine the seasonal variation of rainwater chemical composition and to identify possible sources of inorganic and organic compounds. The volume-weighted mean of pH ranged from 3.83 to 8.90 with an average of 5.78. Of rainwater samples, 50 % had pH values below 5.6. The volume-weighted mean concentration (VWMC) of major ions followed the order Cl- > SO4 2- > NH4+ > Na+ > NO3- > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+. The VWMC of trace metals decreased in the order Zn > Al > Fe > Mn > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cd > Cr. The VWMCs of major ions and trace metals were higher in winter than in summer. The high enrichment factors indicate that Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd originated predominantly from anthropogenic sources. Factor analysis (principal component analysis) indicates the influence of anthropogenic pollutants, sea salt, and crustal materials on the chemical compositions of rainwater. Benzoic acids, 1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione, phthalic anhydride, benzene, acetic acids, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acids, benzonitrile, acetaldehyde, and acetamide were the most prominent pyrolysis fragments for rainwater organic compounds identified by pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The results indicate that anthropogenic sources are the most important factors affecting the organic composition of rainwater in an urban area. © 2015 Author(s)open

Removal and transformation of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants and constructed wetlands

Since trace organic compounds such as pharmaceuticals in surface water have been a relevant threat to drinking water supplies, in this study removal of pharmaceuticals and transformation of pharmaceuticals into metabolites were investigated in the main source of micropollutants such as WWTPs and engineered constructed wetlands. Pharmaceuticals were effectively removed by different WWTP processes and wetlands. Pharmaceutical metabolites with relatively low log D value were resulted in the low removal efficiencies compared to parent compounds with relatively high log D value, indicating the stability of metabolites. And the constructed wetlands fed with wastewater effluent were encouraged to prevent direct release of micropollutants into surface waters. Among various pharmaceuticals, different transformation pattern of ibuprofen was observed with significant formation of 1-hydroxy-ibuprofen during biological treatment in WWTP, indicating preferential biotransformation of ibuprofen. Lastly, transformation of pharmaceuticals depending on their structural position was investigated in terms of electron density, and, the electron rich C1 = C2 bond of carbamazepine was revealed as an initial transformation position.clos

Sonodegradation of amitriptyline and ibuprofen in the presence of Ti3C2Tx MXene

This study, which investigated the sonodegradation of selected pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) (amitriptyline (AMT) and ibuprofen (IBP)) with MXene, was carried out in an aqueous solution. To investigate the practicality of the degradation process, the experiments were conducted in various water quality conditions, including pH, temperature, natural organic matter, and ionic strength. Based on the experimental results, the produced hydrogen peroxide, which could be a representative of the produced OH radicals, was a vital factor that affected the degradation performance of both PhACs. To confirm the importance of OH radicals, the effect of a OH radical promoter (H2O2) and scavenger (t-BuOH) was also studied. In addition, the synergism between ultrasonication (US) and MXene was evaluated with the rate constants of US only, MXene only, and a US/MXene combined system. Mineralization of the PhACs was also investigated, and removal of AMT was higher than that of IBP, which could be attributed to the physicochemical properties of the compounds and enhanced adsorption by the well-dispersed MXene. Overall, utilization of MXene by means of ultrasonication could enhance the removal performance of PhACs in water

Clinical array-based karyotyping of breast cancer with equivocal HER2 status resolves gene copy number and reveals chromosome 17 complexity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>HER2 </it>gene copy status, and concomitant administration of trastuzumab (Herceptin), remains one of the best examples of targeted cancer therapy based on understanding the genomic etiology of disease. However, newly diagnosed breast cancer cases with equivocal HER2 results present a challenge for the oncologist who must make treatment decisions despite the patient's unresolved HER2 status. In some cases both immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence <it>in situ </it>hybridization (FISH) are reported as equivocal, whereas in other cases IHC results and FISH are discordant for positive versus negative results. The recent validation of array-based, molecular karyotyping for clinical oncology testing provides an alternative method for determination of HER2 gene copy number status in cases remaining unresolved by traditional methods.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the current study, DNA extracted from 20 formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from newly diagnosed cases of invasive ductal carcinoma referred to our laboratory with unresolved HER2 status, were analyzed using a clinically validated genomic array containing 127 probes covering the HER2 amplicon, the pericentromeric regions, and both chromosome 17 arms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) analysis of chromosome 17 resolved HER2 gene status in [20/20] (100%) of cases and revealed additional chromosome 17 copy number changes in [18/20] (90%) of cases. Array CGH analysis also revealed two false positives and one false negative by FISH due to "ratio skewing" caused by chromosomal gains and losses in the centromeric region. All cases with complex rearrangements of chromosome 17 showed genome-wide chromosomal instability.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results illustrate the analytical power of array-based genomic analysis as a clinical laboratory technique for resolution of HER2 status in breast cancer cases with equivocal results. The frequency of complex chromosome 17 abnormalities in these cases suggests that the two probe FISH interphase analysis is inadequate and results interpreted using the HER2/CEP17 ratio should be reported "with caution" when the presence of centromeric amplification or monosomy is suspected by FISH signal gains or losses. The presence of these pericentromeric copy number changes may result in artificial skewing of the HER2/CEP17 ratio towards false negative or false positive results in breast cancer with chromosome 17 complexity. Full genomic analysis should be considered in all cases with complex chromosome 17 aneusomy as these cases are likely to have genome-wide instability, amplifications, and a poor prognosis.</p

Genome-wide array comparative genomic hybridization analysis reveals distinct amplifications in osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma is a highly malignant bone neoplasm of children and young adults. It is characterized by extremely complex karyotypes and high frequency of chromosomal amplifications. Currently, only the histological response (degree of necrosis) to therapy represent gold standard for predicting the outcome in a patient with non-metastatic osteosarcoma at the time of definitive surgery. Patients with lower degree of necrosis have a higher risk of relapse and poor outcome even after chemotherapy and complete resection of the primary tumor. Therefore, a better understanding of the underlying molecular genetic events leading to tumor initiation and progression could result in the identification of potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. METHODS: We used a genome-wide screening method – array based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) to identify DNA copy number changes in 48 patients with osteosarcoma. We applied fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to validate some of amplified clones in this study. RESULTS: Clones showing gains (79%) were more frequent than losses (66%). High-level amplifications and homozygous deletions constitute 28.6% and 3.8% of tumor genome respectively. High-level amplifications were present in 238 clones, of which about 37% of them showed recurrent amplification. Most frequently amplified clones were mapped to 1p36.32 (PRDM16), 6p21.1 (CDC5L, HSPCB, NFKBIE), 8q24, 12q14.3 (IFNG), 16p13 (MGRN1), and 17p11.2 (PMP22 MYCD, SOX1,ELAC27). We validated some of the amplified clones by FISH from 6p12-p21, 8q23-q24, and 17p11.2 amplicons. Homozygous deletions were noted for 32 clones and only 7 clones showed in more than one case. These 7 clones were mapped to 1q25.1 (4 cases), 3p14.1 (4 cases), 13q12.2 (2 cases), 4p15.1 (2 cases), 6q12 (2 cases), 6q12 (2 cases) and 6q16.3 (2 cases). CONCLUSIONS: This study clearly demonstrates the utility of array CGH in defining high-resolution DNA copy number changes and refining amplifications. The resolution of array CGH technology combined with human genome database suggested the possible target genes present in the gained or lost clones

Bandwidth and power efficient wireless spectrum sensing networks

textOpportunistic spectrum reuse is a promising solution to the two main causes of spectrum scarcity: most of the radio frequency (RF) bands are allocated by static licensing, and many of them are underutilized. Frequency spectrum can be more efficiently utilized by allowing communication systems to find out unoccupied spectrum and to use it harmlessly to the licensed users. Reliable sensing of these spectral opportunities is perhaps the most essential element of this technology. Despite significant work on spectrum sensing, further performance improvement is needed to approach its full potential. In this dissertation, wireless spectrum sensing networks (WSSNs) are investigated for reliable detection of the primary (licensed) users, that enables efficient spectrum utilization and minimal power consumption in communications. Reliable spectrum sensing is studied in depth in two parts: a single sensor algorithm and then cooperative sensing are proposed based on a spectral covariance sensing (SCS). The first novel contribution uses different statistical correlations of the received signal and noise in the frequency domain. This detector is analyzed theoretically and verified through realistic simulations using actual digital television signals captured in the US. The proposed SCS detector achieves significant improvement over the existing solutions in terms of sensitivity and also robustness to noise uncertainty. Second, SCS is extended to a distributed WSSN architecture to allow cooperation between 2 or more sensors. Theoretical limits of cooperative white space sensing under correlated shadowing are investigated. We analyze the probability of a false alarm when each node in the WSSN detects the white space using the SCS detection and the base station combines individual results to make the final decision. The detection performance compared with that of the cooperative energy detector is improved and fewer sensor nodes are needed to achieve the same sensitivity. Third, we propose a low power source coding and modulation scheme for power efficient communication between the sensor nodes in WSSN. Complete analysis shows that the proposed scheme not only minimizes total power consumption in the network but also improves bit error rate (BER).Electrical and Computer Engineerin