Wireless Network Simulation – Your Window on Future Network Performance

The paper describes three relevant perspectives on current wireless simulation practices. In order to obtain the key challenges for future network simulations, the characteristics of “beyond 3G” networks are described, including their impact on simulation.Erik Fledderus (1970) received a PhD in Applied Mathematics in 1997, after which he started working at KPN Research, which merged with TNO in January 2003. He developed the basis for UMTS radio network planning at KPN, and initiated in 2000 a European project proposal, Momentum, in the area of UMTS radio planning and simulation, with 7 partners from Germany and Pottugal. Erik acted as project leader and co-ordinator from 2001-2003. Also at the end of 2000 he initiated together with Eindhoven University of Technology, Agere Systems and Philips Research a research proposal in the area of antenna arrays and MIMO in WLAN and UMTS. One of the results of this project~lies at the basis for the 802.11n-proposal by Agere/Philips.Since March 1st 2003, Erik is part-time professor at Eindhoven University of Technology in the field of Wireless Communication Networks.Within TNO he is senior strategist, program manager of the program Future ICT Architectures, and leading in the knowledge management regarding radio and mobile network technology, and strategist on mobile/wireless technology in general.     

Low‐Temperature Superionic Conductivity in Strained Yttria‐Stabilized Zirconia

Very high lateral ionic conductivities in epitaxial cubic yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) synthesized on single‐crystal SrTiO₃ and MgO substrates by reactive direct current magnetron sputtering are reported. Superionic conductivities (i.e., ionic conductivities of the order ～1 Ω^?1cm^?1) are observed at 500 °C for 58‐nm‐thick films on MgO. The results indicate a superposition of two parallel contributions – one due to bulk conductivity and one attributable to conduction along the film–substrate interface. Interfacial effects dominate the conductivity at low temperatures (<350 °C), showing more than three orders of magnitude enhancement compared to bulk YSZ. At higher temperatures, a more bulk‐like conductivity is observed. The films have a negligible grain‐boundary network, thus ruling out grain boundaries as a pathway for ionic conduction. The observed enhancement in lateral ionic conductivity is caused by a combination of misfit dislocation density and elastic strain in the interface. These very high ionic conductivities in the temperature range 150–500 °C are of great fundamental importance but may also be technologically relevant for low‐temperature applications.     

Hidden state models for noncontact measurements of the carotid pulse using a laser Doppler vibrometer

The method of laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) is used to sense movements of the skin overlying the carotid artery. When pointed at the skin overlying the carotid artery, the mechanical movements of the skin disclose physiological activity relating to the blood pressure pulse over the cardiac cycle. In this paper, signal modeling is addressed, with close attention to the underlying physiology. Segments of the LDV signal corresponding to single heartbeats, called LDV pulses, are extracted. Hidden Markov models (HMMs) are used to capture the dynamics of the LDV pulses from beat to beat based on pulse morphology; under resting conditions these dynamics are primarily due to respiration-related effects. LDV pulses are classified according to state, by computing the optimal state path through the data using trained HMMs. HMM state dynamics are examined within the context of respiratory effort using strain gauges placed around the abdomen. This study presented here provides a graphical model approach to modeling the dependence of the LDV pulse on latent states.     

Myoelectric signal classification for phoneme-based speech recognition

Traditional acoustic speech recognition accuracies have been shown to deteriorate in highly noisy environments. A secondary information source is exploited using surface myoelectric signals (MES) collected from facial articulatory muscles during speech. Words are classified at the phoneme level using a hidden Markov model (HMM) classifier. Acoustic and MES data was collected while the words "zero" through "nine" were spoken. An acoustic expert classified the 18 formative phonemes in low noise levels [signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 17.5 dB] with an accuracy of 99%, but deteriorated to approximately 38% under simulations with SNR approaching 0 dB. A fused acoustic-myoelectric multiexpert system, without knowledge of SNR, improved on acoustic classification results at all noise levels. A multiexpert system, incorporating SNR information, obtained accuracies of 99% at low noise levels while maintaining accuracies above 94% during low SNR (0 dB) simulations. Results improve on previous full word MES speech recognition accuracies by almost 10%.     

Frequency-Offset PLL for Synchronous Optical Sampling of OTDM Signals

We demonstrate a novel synchronization scheme for optical sampling which is based on a nonstandard phase-locked loop (PLL). Phase comparison is performed at a 10-GHz optical time-division-multiplexing (OTDM) base rate, thus avoiding ultrafast detectors and electronics. The employed frequency-offset PLL allows synchronous sampling of OTDM signals (or any other signals with bit rates given by integer multiples of the base rate), which would be impossible using a standard PLL. This provides a higher degree of flexibility for problem-specific sweeping than asynchronous sampling     

Self‐Assembly of Mechanoplasmonic Bacterial Cellulose–Metal Nanoparticle Composites

Nanocomposites of metal nanoparticles (NPs) and bacterial nanocellulose (BC) enable fabrication of soft and biocompatible materials for optical, catalytic, electronic, and biomedical applications. Current BC–NP nanocomposites are typically prepared by in situ synthesis of the NPs or electrostatic adsorption of surface functionalized NPs, which limits possibilities to control and tune NP size, shape, concentration, and surface chemistry and influences the properties and performance of the materials. Here a self‐assembly strategy is described for fabrication of complex and well‐defined BC–NP composites using colloidal gold and silver NPs of different sizes, shapes, and concentrations. The self‐assembly process results in nanocomposites with distinct biophysical and optical properties. In addition to antibacterial materials and materials with excellent senor performance, materials with unique mechanoplasmonic properties are developed. The homogenous incorporation of plasmonic gold NPs in the BC enables extensive modulation of the optical properties by mechanical stimuli. Compression gives rise to near‐field coupling between adsorbed NPs, resulting in tunable spectral variations and enhanced broadband absorption that amplify both nonlinear optical and thermoplasmonic effects and enables novel biosensing strategies.     

Simulations for the Development of Thermoelectric Measurements

In thermoelectricity, continuum theoretical equations are usually used for the calculation of the characteristics and performance of thermoelectric elements, modules or devices as a function of external parameters (material, geometry, temperatures, current, flow, load, etc.). An increasing number of commercial software packages aimed at applications, such as COMSOL and ANSYS, contain vkernels using direct thermoelectric coupling. Application of these numerical tools also allows analysis of physical measurement conditions and can lead to specifically adapted methods for developing special test equipment required for the determination of TE material and module properties. System-theoretical and simulation-based considerations of favorable geometries are taken into account to create draft sketches in the development of such measurement systems. Particular consideration is given to the development of transient measurement methods, which have great advantages compared with the conventional static methods in terms of the measurement duration required. In this paper the benefits of using numerical tools in designing measurement facilities are shown using two examples. The first is the determination of geometric correction factors in four-point probe measurement of electrical conductivity, whereas the second example is focused on the so-called combined thermoelectric measurement (CTEM) system, where all thermoelectric material properties (Seebeck coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity, and Harman measurement of zT) are measured in a combined way. Here, we want to highlight especially the measurement of thermal conductivity in a transient mode. Factors influencing the measurement results such as coupling to the environment due to radiation, heat losses via the mounting of the probe head, as well as contact resistance between the sample and sample holder are illustrated, analyzed, and discussed. By employing the results of the simulations, we have developed an improved sample head that allows for measurements over a larger temperature interval with enhanced accuracy.     

Incumbency Bonus in Election News Coverage Explained: The Logics of Political Power and the Media Market

This article investigates the determinants of the incumbency bonuses in news coverage. Two main factors are identified: the distribution of political power and changes in the media market. To test these assumptions, a content analysis of the news coverage of 5 national election campaigns in Denmark was conducted (4,592 news stories). First, the more unevenly political power is distributed, the more visible the government is. Second, results suggest a trade‐off between the incumbency bonus and the coverage of nonsubstantive issues. Third, changes in news coverage seem to be more driven by changes in the political system than by changes in the media market. Finally, it is discussed how future research can further our understanding of political imbalances in news coverage.     

Fast Implementation of Two-Dimensional APES and CAPON Spectral Estimators

The matched-filterbank spectral estimators APES and CAPON have recently received considerable attention in a number of applications. Unfortunately, their computational complexity tends to limit their usage in several cases – a problem that has previously been addressed by different authors. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to the computation of the APES and CAPON spectra, which leads to a computational method that is considerably faster than all existing techniques. The new implementations of APES and CAPON are called fast APES and fast CAPON, respectively, and are developed for the two-dimensional case, with the one-dimensional case as a special case. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the application of APES to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, and to illustrate the reduction in computational complexity provided by our method.     

Cryptanalysis of MD2

This paper considers the hash function MD2 which was developed by Ron Rivest in 1989. Despite its age, MD2 has withstood cryptanalytic attacks until recently. This paper contains the state-of-the-art cryptanalytic results on MD2, in particular collision and preimage attacks on the full hash function, the latter having complexity 2⁷³, which should be compared to a brute-force attack of complexity 2¹²⁸.