Stability Analysis of Epidemic Modeling Based on Spatial Correlation for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the main task of each sensor node is to sense the physical activity and then report it to a remote central monitoring sink...     

Fast 2D/3D object representation with growing neural gas

This work presents the design of a real-time system to model visual objects with the use of self-organising networks. The architecture of the system addresses multiple computer vision tasks such as image segmentation, optimal parameter estimation and object representation. We first develop a framework for building non-rigid shapes using the growth mechanism of the self-organising maps, and then we define an optimal number of nodes without overfitting or underfitting the network based on the knowledge obtained from information-theoretic considerations. We present experimental results for hands and faces, and we quantitatively evaluate the matching capabilities of the proposed method with the topographic product. The proposed method is easily extensible to 3D objects, as it offers similar features for efficient mesh reconstruction.

     

Real-Time business data acquisition: How frequent is frequent enough?

Effective data acquisition for business process monitoring has become a critical element in today’s business world. While the need for monitoring is generally agreed upon by both re- searchers and practitioners alike, the means and mechanisms are often vague. This is especially salient with the fast growing availability of various technologies to monitor in real-time through recent advances such as the Internet of Things (IoT) with specific emphasis on Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) and associated sensor networks. This study is motivated by the lack of published literature in data acquisition and analytics that specifically addresses sufficient real-time data acquisition for effective managerial monitoring. As a step in addressing this void, we review and extend existing literature in this general area by studying various requirements and information sources that relate to effective management monitoring. We then design an exploratory study to evaluate current managerial monitoring needs and the importance of automated data collection technologies. Results from this study show that the most important latent factor that influences an organization’s information need is its dynamic competitiveness, and consequently, companies with a dynamic supply chain would need a faster transaction and operations data system. The second important latent factor is the behavioral performance, which renders it essential to have a human-centric data system. This study provides evidence for the significance in adopting technologies such as RFID and other IoT systems for real-time monitoring in highly dynamic organizations and offers guidelines for analytical technology adoption for various industries.     

A tetracene-based single-electron transistor as a chlorine sensor

An organic molecular single-electron transistor (SET) based on a tetracene quantum dot has been modeled and employed for sensing of chlorine gas, within the framework of density functional theory. The sensing behavior of the SET is estimated through a charge-stability diagram and total energy as a function of gate potential (TE vs. V_g) for varying distances of chlorine from the SET quantum dot, which could be used as an electronic fingerprint for detection. The better sensing ability, high power efficiency and large operational temperature range of tetracene SET, in comparison to conventional sensors, makes it a very powerful candidate for a chlorine gas sensor.     

A Distance Based Reliable Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Algorithm in Cognitive Radio

Spectrum sensing is the most critical task in cognitive radio (CR) which needs to be performed very precisely in order to efficiently utilize the underutilized spectrum and to provide sufficient protection to the primary users (PUs). To improve the sensing performance under fading, shadowing and hidden terminal problems more than one CR users collaboratively perform the spectrum sensing called as cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS). In conventional CSS the decision of each CR is fused at fusion center with equal weights. But due to variable distance of each CR from the PU all decisions are not equally reliable and therefore should be assigned different weights according to their reliability. In this paper we propose a new weighting scheme for CSS under Rayleigh faded channel. In proposed weighting scheme, based on the distance of each CR from the PU reliability of CR nodes is determined and correspondingly appropriate weights are assigned to different users. The CSS algorithm using new weighting scheme gives better performance than conventional CSS algorithm.     

Mid‐IR transparent TeO2‐TiO2‐La2O3 glass and its crystallization behavior for photonic applications

In this report, effect of enhanced rare earth (La₂O₃) concentration on substitution of TeO₂ within ternary TeO₂‐TiO₂‐La₂O₃ (TTL) glass system has been studied with respect to its thermal, structural, mechanical, optical, and crystallization properties with an aim to achieve glass and glass‐ceramics having rare‐earth‐rich crystalline phase for nonlinear optical and infrared photonic applications. DSC analysis (10°C/min) demonstrates a progressive increase in glass‐transition temperature (T_g) from 359 to 452°C with the increase in La₂O₃ content. Continuous glass network modification with transformation of [TeO₄] to [TeO₃/TeO₃₊₁] units is evidenced from Raman spectra which is corroborated with XPS studies. While mechanical properties demonstrate enhancement of cross‐linking density in the network. These glasses exhibit optical transmission window extended from 0.4 to 6 μm with calculated zero dispersion wavelength (λ_ZDW) varying from 2.41 to 2.28 μm depending upon La₂O₃ content. Crystallization kinetics of TTL10 (80TeO₂‐10TiO₂‐10La₂O₃ in mol%) glass has been studied via established models. Activation energy (E_a) has been evaluated and dimensionality of crystal growth (m) suggests formation of surface crystals. Glass‐ceramic with crystalline phase of La₂Te₆O₁₅ has been realized in heat‐treated TTL10 glass samples (at 450°C). As predicted from DSC analysis, FESEM study unveils the formation of surface crystallized glass‐ceramics.     

Moralism: mobility prediction with link stability based multicast routing protocol in MANETs

In recent research, link stability is getting tremendous attention in mobile adhoc networks (MANETs), because of several impediments that occur in a reliable and robust network. Link stability metric is used to improve network performance in terms of end-to-end delay, data success delivery ratio (DSDR) and available route time (ART). Energy consumption, bandwidth and communication delay of major concern in ad hoc networks. A high mobility of MANET nodes reduces the reliability of network communication. In a dynamic networks, high mobility of the nodes makes it very difficult to predict the dynamic routing topology and hence cause route/link failures. Multicast in MANETs is an emerging trend that effectively improves the performance while lowering the energy consumption and bandwidth usage. Multicast routing protocol transmits a packet to multicast a group at a given time instant to achieve a better utilization of resources. In this paper, node mobility is considered to map better their movement in the network. So, the links with long active duration time can be identified as a stable link for route construction. Variation in signal strength is used to identify whether the direction of the node is towards or away from estimating node. We consider signal strength as QoS metric to calculate link stability for route construction. Efforts are made to identify the link with highly probable longer lifetime as the best suitable link between two consecutive nodes. We predict the movement time of nodes that define the route path to the node destination. Exata/cyber simulator is used for network simulation. The simulation results of the proposed routing protocol are compared with on-demand multicast routing protocol and E-ODMRP, which works on minimum hop count path. Analysis of our simulation results has shown improvement of various routing performance metrics such as DSDR, ART, routing overhead and packet drop ratio.     

PF-ID-2PAKA: Pairing Free Identity-Based Two-Party Authenticated Key Agreement Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - To ensure secure communication between any two entities, authenticated key agreement protocol is the primary step and current research has a lot of contribution...     

Aedes aegypti Piwi4 Structural Features Are Necessary for RNA Binding and Nuclear Localization

The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway provides an RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism known from Drosophila studies to maintain the integrity of the germline genome by silencing transposable elements (TE). Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are the key vectors of several arthropod-borne viruses, exhibit an expanded repertoire of Piwi proteins involved in the piRNA pathway, suggesting functional divergence. Here, we investigate RNA-binding dynamics and subcellular localization of A. aegypti Piwi4 (AePiwi4), a Piwi protein involved in antiviral immunity and embryonic development, to better understand its function. We found that AePiwi4 PAZ (Piwi/Argonaute/Zwille), the domain that binds the 3′ ends of piRNAs, bound to mature (3′ 2′ O-methylated) and unmethylated RNAs with similar micromolar affinities (K_D = 1.7 ± 0.8 μM and K_D of 5.0 ± 2.2 μM, respectively; p = 0.05) in a sequence independent manner. Through site-directed mutagenesis studies, we identified highly conserved residues involved in RNA binding and found that subtle changes in the amino acids flanking the binding pocket across PAZ proteins have significant impacts on binding behaviors, likely by impacting the protein secondary structure. We also analyzed AePiwi4 subcellular localization in mosquito tissues. We found that the protein is both cytoplasmic and nuclear, and we identified an AePiwi4 nuclear localization signal (NLS) in the N-terminal region of the protein. Taken together, these studies provide insights on the dynamic role of AePiwi4 in RNAi and pave the way for future studies aimed at understanding Piwi interactions with diverse RNA populations.     

On chip droplet characterization: a practical, high-sensitivity measurement of droplet impedance in digital microfluidics

We demonstrate a new approach to impedance measurement on digital microfluidics chips for the purpose of simple, sensitive, and accurate volume and liquid composition measurement. Adding only a single series resistor to existing AC droplet actuation circuits, the platform is simple to implement and has negligible effect on actuation voltage. To accurately measure the complex voltage across the resistor (and hence current through the device and droplet), the designed system is based on software-implemented lock-in amplification detection of the voltage drop across the resistor which filters out noise, enabling high-resolution and low-limit signal recovery. We observe picoliter sensitivity with linear correlation of voltage to volume extending to the microliter volumes that can be handled by digital microfluidic devices. Due to the minimal hardware, the system is robust and measurements are highly repeatable. The detection technique provides both phase and magnitude information of the real-time current flowing through the droplet for a full impedance measurement. The sensitivity and resolution of this platform enables it to distinguish between various liquids which, as demonstrated in this paper, could potentially be extended to quantify solute concentrations, liquid mixtures, and presence of analytes.