Pricing strategy in a dual-channel and remanufacturing supply chain system

This article addresses the pricing strategy problems in a supply chain system where the manufacturer sells original products and remanufactured products via indirect retailer channels and direct Internet channels. Due to the complexity of that system, agent technologies that provide a new way for analysing complex systems are used for modelling. Meanwhile, in order to reduce the computational load of searching procedure for optimal prices and profits, a learning search algorithm is designed and implemented within the multi-agent supply chain model. The simulation results show that the proposed model can find out optimal prices of original products and remanufactured products in both channels, which lead to optimal profits of the manufacturer and the retailer. It is also found that the optimal profits are increased by introducing direct channel and remanufacturing. Furthermore, the effect of customer preference, direct channel cost and remanufactured unit cost on optimal prices and profits are examined.     

Optimal transmission schemes for parallel and fading Gaussian broadcast channels with an energy harvesting rechargeable transmitter

We consider an energy harvesting transmitter sending messages to two users over parallel and fading Gaussian broadcast channels. Energy required for communication arrives (is harvested) at the transmitter and a finite-capacity battery stores it before being consumed for transmission. Under off-line knowledge of energy arrival and channel fading variations, we obtain the trade-off between the performances of the users by characterizing the maximum departure region in a given interval. We first analyze the transmission with an energy harvesting transmitter over parallel broadcast channels. We show that the optimal total transmit power policy that achieves the boundary of the maximum departure region is the same as the optimal policy for the non-fading broadcast channel, which does not depend on the priorities of the users, and therefore is the same as the optimal policy for the non-fading scalar single-user channel. The optimal total transmit power can be found by a directional water-filling algorithm. The optimal splitting of the power among the parallel channels is performed in each epoch separately. Next, we consider fading broadcast channels and obtain the transmission policies that achieve the boundary of the maximum departure region. The optimal total transmit power allocation policy is found using a specific directional water-filling algorithm for fading broadcast channels. The optimal power allocation depends on the priorities of the users unlike in the case of parallel broadcast channels. Finally, we provide numerical illustrations of the optimal policies and maximum departure regions for both parallel and fading broadcast channels.     

Second-order coding rates for pure-loss bosonic channels

A pure-loss bosonic channel is a simple model for communication over free-space or fiber-optic links. More generally, phase-insensitive bosonic channels model other kinds of noise, such as thermalizing or amplifying processes. Recent work has established the classical capacity of all of these channels, and furthermore, it is now known that a strong converse theorem holds for the classical capacity of these channels under a particular photon-number constraint. The goal of the present paper is to initiate the study of second-order coding rates for these channels, by beginning with the simplest one, the pure-loss bosonic channel. In a second-order analysis of communication, one fixes the tolerable error probability and seeks to understand the back-off from capacity for a sufficiently large yet finite number of channel uses. We find a lower bound on the maximum achievable code size for the pure-loss bosonic channel, in terms of the known expression for its capacity and a quantity called channel dispersion. We accomplish this by proving a general “one-shot” coding theorem for channels with classical inputs and pure-state quantum outputs which reside in a separable Hilbert space. The theorem leads to an optimal second-order characterization when the channel output is finite-dimensional, and it remains an open question to determine whether the characterization is optimal for the pure-loss bosonic channel.     

Announced dynamic access probability protocol for next generation wireless networks

A multiple access protocol that is particularly suitable for cellular Internet access and satellite-based networks with on-board processing is developed in this paper. The basic idea is that when a user wishes to send a message, it transmits with probability p_access that depends on the load on the channel. Under conditions of low load, the probability p_access approaches 1, while at high load p_access is relatively low. This media access control protocol guarantees high channel utilization at high load, as well as low delay at low load periods. Using the statistical usage of the shared channel, the load is estimated with certain uncertainty. Our analysis shows that using the statistical usage of the shared channel, the optimal access probability can be well estimated for a broad class of load distribution patterns. In addition, we propose to use a central station to broadcast the value of p_access in networks with poor collision detection capability, or long feedback delay. The proposed method is particularly suitable for shared channels with poor collision detection capability, under conditions of bursty traffic and a large number of users. Examples for such channels are the reservation channel in satellite-based networks with on-board processing, and the control channel in cellular networks. Hence, the proposed method can be used for cellular Internet access and for accessing public satellite-based networks. The broadcast mechanism that already exists in such networks can be used to inform the users the dynamic access probability.     

Online keyword based advertising: Impact of ad impressions on own-channel and cross-channel click-through rates

Keyword-based ads are becoming the dominant form of advertising online as they enable customization and tailoring of messages relevant to potential consumers. Two prominent channels within this sphere are the search channel and the content channel. We empirically examine the interaction between these two channels. Our results indicate significant cannibalization across the two channels as well as significant diminishing returns to impressions within each channel. This suggests that under certain conditions both channels may need to be used to optimize returns to advertising both for advertisers and service providers such as Google. Our game theoretic analysis which builds upon our empirical findings reveals that for intermediate budget values it is optimal to use both channels whereas for very low (very high) budget values it is optimal to use only the content (search) channel. Further as budget increases the advertiser should offer more for ads displayed on the search channel to optimally incentivize the service provider.     

Optimal dual-channel supply chain configuration for product categories with different customer preference of online channel

This study addresses the supply chain configuration problem of manufacturer faced with multiple channel choices. We investigate the optimal combination of traditional and online sales channels for different product categories with differing customer preference of the online channel. We have considered three distinct dual-channel supply chain configurations comprising of a manufacturer, a traditional channel and an online channel viz. retailer–e-tailer; company store–e-tailer; and retailer–e-marketplace. As the manufacturer will face a quantity allocation decision between traditional and online channels, the competition is modeled using Cournot model with the manufacturer as the Stackelberg leader. Values of optimal order quantity and price for the different entities have been established. Influence of variation in customer preference of online channel on the optimal policies is also examined. We find that the manufacturer prefers retailer–e-marketplace configuration for products with high customer preference of online channel and company store–e-tailer configuration for products with low customer preference of online channel. In addition, we find that the retailer–e-tailer configuration is dominated by company store–e-tailer and retailer–e-marketplace configuration irrespective of the product’s customer preference of online channel.     

Restoration of three-qubit entanglements and protection of tripartite quantum state sharing over noisy channels via environment-assisted measurement and reversal weak measurement

The restoration of three-qubit entanglement is investigated under the amplitude damping (AD) decoherence with environment-assisted measurement (EAM) and reversal weak measurement (RWM). The results show that there exists a critical strength of RWM dependent of the initial three-qubit entangled state under a given damping rate of the AD channel, i.e., if the selected RWM strength is higher than the critical strength, the entanglement will be reduced compared to one without RWM. Some three-qubit entangled states cannot be restored. We calculated the restorable condition of the initial entanglement and illustrated the valid area for three-qubit GHZ state and W state. Fortunately, an optimal strength of RWM corresponding to a certain damping rate of AD channels can be found within the valid area for a restorable initial state, by which a noise-infected entanglement can be restored to its maximum value. Particularly, when three qubits of W state are subjected to their respective AD channels, due to the symmetry of three qubits, the W state cannot be decohered provided the EAM is successful, and no RWM is required. This is beneficial to quantum communication over the noisy channel. Applying this protection regime to tripartite QSS and taking appropriate initial entangled state as the quantum channel, the fidelity of the shared state can be improved to the maximum 1 probabilistically. Thus, the decoherence effect of the noisy channels can be significantly suppressed or even avoided.     

Composite synchronization in parallel discrete-event simulation

This paper considers a technique for composing global (barrier-style) and local (channel scanning) synchronization protocols within a single parallel discrete-event simulation. Composition is attractive because it allows one to tailor the synchronization mechanism to the model being simulated. We first motivate the problem by showing the large performance gap that can be introduced by a mismatch of model and synchronization method. Our solution calls for each channel between submodels to be classified as synchronous or asynchronous. We mathematically formulate the problem of optimally classifying channels and show that, in principle, the optimal classification can be obtained in time proportional to max{C×log C, V×N}, where C is the number of channels, V the number of unique minimal delays on those channels, and N is the number of submodels. We then demonstrate an implementation which finds an optimal solution at runtime and consider its performance on network topologies, including one of the global Internet at the autonomous system level. We find that the automated method effectively determines channel assignments that maximize performance     

Advertising channel selection in a segmented market

We consider a market with a finite number of segments and assume that several advertising channels are available, with different diffusion spectra and efficiencies. The problem of the choice of an advertising channel to direct the pre-launch campaign for a new product is analyzed in two steps. First, an optimal control problem is solved explicitly in order to determine the optimal advertising policy for each channel. Then a maximum profit channel is chosen. In a simulation example we consider the choice of a newspaper among six available and analyze the relations among the firm target market and the advertising channels environment which induce the optimal decision.     

Correlated channel model-based secure communications in dual-hop wireless communication networks

This article is focused on secure relay beamformer design with a correlated channel model in the relay-eavesdropper network. In this network, a single-antenna source-destination pair transmits secure information with the help of an amplify-and-forward (AF) relay equipped with multiple antennas, and the legitimate and eavesdropping channels are correlated. The relay cannot obtain the instantaneous channel state information (CSI) of the eavesdropper, and has only the knowledge of correlation information between the legitimate and eavesdropping channels. Depending on this information, we derive the conditional distribution of the eavesdropping channel. Two beamformers at the relay are studied for the approximate ergodic secrecy rate: (1) the generalized match-and-forward (GMF) beamformer to maximize the legitimate channel rate, and (2) the general-rank beamformer (GRBF). In addition, one lower-bound-maximizing (LBM) beamformer at the relay is discussed for maximizing the lower bound of the ergodic secrecy rate. We find that the GMF beamformer is the optimal rank-one beamformer, that the GRBF is the iteratively optimal beamformer, and that the performance of the LBM beamformer for the ergodic secrecy rate gets close to that of the GRBF for the approximate secrecy rate. It can also be observed that when the relay has lower power or the channel gain of the second hop is low, the performance of the GMF beamformer surpasses that of the GRBF. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the beamformers’ performance.     

无线Mesh网络中多射频多信道MAC机制设计

针对无线Mesh网络中多信道分配问题,提出了一种适用于多射频网络的MAC机制MRMC-MAC.整个机制包含节点默认接收信道分配、可切换主信道集分配、节点通信以及可切换主信道集更新4部分.采用一种基于接收负载的分配算法,将接收负载作为信道分配的优先级参数,保证了接收负载重的节点优先分配到负载较小的信道,而接收负载较轻的节点间可以共享同一个默认接收信道,从而平衡了各个信道间的负载.分析了多射频网络中的多信道的隐终端问题并提出了解决方案.仿真结果表明,使用MRMC-MAC协议能够明显地改进MAC层吞吐量、碰撞次数等性能参数.     

Stabilization of two-input two-output systems over SNR-constrained channels

This paper concerns the stabilization of discrete-time two-input two-output (TITO) linear time-invariant (LTI) systems over communication channels. We consider parallel additive white noise (AWN) channels, in which each individual channel is independently constrained in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Necessary and sufficient conditions for stabilizability are obtained on the SNRs of the channels for both state and output feedback architectures. Our main results are derived assuming that the channel is located between the controller and the plant. We also consider stabilizability when the channel is between the plant and the controller, showing that there exists a duality between the results for both architectures.     

无线局域网分布式自适应信道分配问题的研究

针对目前广泛使用的无线局域网,提出了一种新的分布式自适应信道分配算法.不同于以往的集中式算法,此算法不需集中控制中心,只需要每个AP通过自身对网络的感知与预测自适应地进行调整信道.从而达到整个网络的信道优化分配.较之以往算法实时性强,能对多变的网络状况做出快速反应.首次提出了分级式最佳切换概率概念,在确保算法收敛性的基础上提高了算法的收敛速度.并在不同的仿真环境下验证了算法的正确性和通用性.     

Maximization of average number of correctly received symbols over multiple channels in the presence of idle periods

In this study, optimal channel switching (time sharing) strategies are investigated under average power and cost constraints for maximizing the average number of correctly received symbols between a transmitter and a receiver that are connected via multiple flat-fading channels with additive Gaussian noise. The optimal strategy is shown to correspond to channel switching either among at most three different channels with full channel utilization (i.e., no idle periods), or between at most two different channels with partial channel utilization. Also, it is stated that the optimal solution must operate at the maximum average power and the maximum average cost, which facilitates low-complexity approaches for obtaining the optimal strategy. For two-channel strategies, an upper bound is derived, in terms of the parameters of the employed channels, on the ratio between the optimal power levels. In addition, theoretical results are derived for characterizing the optimal solution for channel switching between two channels, and for comparing performance of single channel strategies. Sufficient conditions that depend solely on the systems parameters are obtained for specifying when partial channel utilization cannot be optimal. Furthermore, the proposed optimal channel switching problem is investigated for logarithmic cost functions, and various theoretical results are obtained related to the optimal strategy. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the validity of the theoretical results.     

Teleportation of a qubit using entangled non-orthogonal states: a comparative study

The effect of non-orthogonality of an entangled non-orthogonal state-based quantum channel is investigated in detail in the context of the teleportation of a qubit. Specifically, average fidelity, minimum fidelity and minimum assured fidelity (MASFI) are obtained for teleportation of a single-qubit state using all the Bell-type entangled non-orthogonal states known as quasi-Bell states. Using Horodecki criterion, it is shown that the teleportation scheme obtained by replacing the quantum channel (Bell state) of the usual teleportation scheme by a quasi-Bell state is optimal. Further, the performance of various quasi-Bell states as teleportation channel is compared in an ideal situation (i.e., in the absence of noise) and under different noise models (e.g., amplitude and phase damping channels). It is observed that the best choice of the quasi-Bell state depends on the amount non-orthogonality, both in noisy and noiseless case. A specific quasi-Bell state, which was found to be maximally entangled in the ideal conditions, is shown to be less efficient as a teleportation channel compared to other quasi-Bell states in particular cases when subjected to noisy channels. It has also been observed that usually the value of average fidelity falls with an increase in the number of qubits exposed to noisy channels (viz., Alice’s, Bob’s and to be teleported qubits), but the converse may be observed in some particular cases.     

Robust progressive image transmission over OFDM systems using space-time block code

A joint source-channel coding (JSCC) scheme for robust progressive image transmission over broadband wireless channels using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems with spatial diversity is proposed for the application environments where no feedback channel is available such as broadcasting services. Most of current research about JSCC focuses on either binary symmetric channels (BSC) or additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. To deal with fading channels in most previous methods, the fading channel is modeled as two state Gilbert-Elliott channel model and the JSCC is normally aimed at the BER of bad channel status, which is not optimal when the channel is at good status. By using diversity techniques and OFDM, the frequency selective fading effects in broadband wireless channels can be significantly decreased and we show that subchannels in OFDM systems approach Gaussian noisy channels when the diversity gain gets large; as a result, the system performance can be improved in terms of throughput and channel coding efficiency. After analyzing the channel property of OFDM systems with spatial diversity, a practical JSCC scheme for OFDM systems is proposed. Simulation results are presented for transmit diversity with different numbers of antennas and different multipath delay and Doppler spread. It is observed from simulations that the performance can be improved more than 4 dB in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of the received image Lena and the performance is not very sensitive to different multipath spread and Doppler frequency.     

基于独立成分分析的优选N200和P300特征通道算法

针对脑电信号存在个体差异性并易受噪声、伪迹干扰的特点,提出一种基于独立成分分析ICA的优选特征通道算法。采用ICA将通道的数据分解为N200、P300、眼电伪迹以及其他生理信号,根据这些信号对每个通道的影响程度,判定各通道是否适合进行特征提取。分别采用本方法和三种常用方法对12个被试的脑电数据进行特征通道选择,并进行N200和P300电位的辨识,经比对发现,本文方法取得了93.10%的平均分类准确率,比其他三种方法下的准确率分别高出7.27%、1.07%和75.96%。为预测任意被试的最优通道,采用最小二乘法对ICA权值和通道选择阈值之间的关系进行拟合,对三个新被试进行最优通道预测和电位的辨识,得到较高的分类准确率,说明此预测方法具有一定普适性。     

一种基于有限信道的能量高效节点调度机制

在低负载、低功耗无线传感器网络中,节点状态切换的能量消耗因为用于数据传输的能量较小而变得不可忽略。针对此问题,提出了结合多信道技术与时分多路访问( TDMA)技术的节点调度算法。该算法设计了基于接收端的连续时隙分配策略以减少节点状态切换次数,并且在可用无线信道有限的约束条件下,提出了信道分配与时隙调整机制,实现了时隙重用并最小化有限信道约束对优化节点状态切换次数的影响。仿真实验结果表明,当可用无线信道数为3~5时,算法能够有效地改善节点能量效率。当可用无线信道数大于3之后,算法能够获得优化的数据汇聚时间。     

Cooperative multiple access channels: Achievable rates and optimal resource allocation

We investigate the multiple access channels (MAC) where sources can cooperate via half-duplex relaying and refer to it as cooperative MAC channels (CMAC). Assuming perfect channel state information (CSI) at the transmitters and the receivers, we determine the bounds on the achievable rate region of a Gaussian CMAC channel and an inner bound on the outage capacity region of a fading CMAC channel. Based on superposition modulation, a half-duplex cooperative relay scheme with optimal resource allocation is proposed to achieve the bounds of capacity region. Analytical results and simulation results show that the achievable rate region of a Gaussian CMAC channel is larger than that of a Gaussian MAC channel with direct transmission (DT) schemes. But they have the same achievable sum rate. Moreover, the proposed scheme can provide higher outage capacity region than DT schemes in a fading MAC channel due to the fact that sources can share the resources with each other to reduce outages. Supported partially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 60672079), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2006701), and the Natinoal High-Tech Research & Development Program of China (Grant No. 2007AA01Z267)