A Framework on the Performance Analysis of Cooperative Wireless Body Area Networks

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) are deal with wireless networks in the human body. We describe the performance analysis of dual-hop cooperative relaying systems employing amplify-and-forward (AF) technique in WBANs over independent and nonnecessary identically distributed Gamma fading channels. More specifically, we present closed-form derivations of the outage probabilities (OP), symbol error probabilities (SEP) and ergodic capacity (EC) for fixed gain and channel state information (CSI)-assisted relaying techniques at arbitrary signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs). We also deduce novel expressions in the high SNR region. By doing so, we can quantify the performance of system by the diversity and coding gains. Using the derived expressions as a starting point and for the case of Exponential fading, we consider three practical optimization scenarios. They are optimal relay position with fixed power allocation, power allocation under the fixed location of the relay and joint optimization of power allocation and relay position under a transmit power constraint. The Monte Carlo simulations are used to validate the accuracy of our derivations, where it is demonstrated that the proposed adaptive allocation method significantly outperforms the fixed allocation method.

     

Estimating the scattering distribution of the received signals in multipath fading channels

This paper presents a novel approach for estimating the distribution of the incoming waves at the mobile unit antenna, i.e. the scattering distribution, in a typical micro-cellular system. This estimate is vital in determining many system parameters of interest as well as designing unbiased estimators for the velocity of mobile units in micro-cellular systems. The proposed approach deploys the zero-crossing rates of the quadrature components and the instantaneous frequency of the received signal at the mobile unit to estimate the scattering distribution. We also propose a new model for simulating multipath fading channels with non-isotropic scattering. We use the channel simulator to evaluate the performance of the proposed estimator for the scattering distribution. Simulation results show that proposed estimator exhibits small bias and root mean square error.     

Hybrid cascode compensation with feedforward stage for high-speed area-efficient three-stage CMOS amplifiers

Hybrid cascode feedforward compensation (HCFC) is proposed for low-power area-efficient three stage amplifiers driving large capacitive loads. With no overhead in power or area, the total compensation capacitor is divided and shared between two internal high-speed loops instead of solely one loop as is common in prior art. Detailed analysis of HCFC shows significant improvement in terms of stability and bandwidth. This is verified for a 1.2-V amplifier driving a 500-pF capacitive load in 90-nm CMOS technology, where HCFC reduces the total capacitor size and improves the gain-bandwidth by at least 30 and 40 %, respectively, compared to the prevailing schemes.     

Deconstructing the Effects of Matrix Elasticity and Geometry in Mesenchymal Stem Cell Lineage Commitment

A wide variety of environmental factors including physical and biochemical signals are responsible for stem cell behavior and function. In particular, matrix elasticity and cell shape have been shown to determine stem cell function, yet little is known about the interplay between how these physical cues control cell differentiation. For the first time, by using ultraviolet (UV) lithography to pattern poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) hydrogels, it is possible to manufacture microenvironments capable of parsing the effects of matrix elasticity, cell shape, and cell size in order to explore the relationship between matrix elasticity and cell shape in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) lineage commitment. These data show that cells cultured on 1000 μm² circles, squares, and rectangles are primarily adipogenic lineage regardless of matrix elasticity, while cells cultured on 2500 and 5000 μm² shapes more heavily depend on shape and elasticity for lineage specification. It is further characterized how modifying the cell cytoskeleton through pharmacological inhibitors can modify cell behavior. By showing MSC lineage commitment relationships due to physical signals, this study highlights the importance of cell shape and matrix elasticity in further understanding stem cell behavior for future tissue engineering strategies.     

Printing Reconfigurable Bundles of Dielectric Elastomer Fibers

Active soft materials that change shape on demand are of interest for a myriad of applications, including soft robotics, biomedical devices, and adaptive systems. Despite recent advances, the ability to rapidly design and fabricate active matter in complex, reconfigurable layouts remains challenging. Here, the 3D printing of core-sheath-shell dielectric elastomer fibers (DEF) and fiber bundles with programmable actuation is reported. Complex shape morphing responses are achieved by printing individually addressable fibers within 3D architectures, including vertical coils and fiber bundles. These DEF devices exhibit resonance frequencies up to 700 Hz and lifetimes exceeding 2.6 million cycles. The multimaterial, multicore-shell 3D printing method opens new avenues for creating active soft matter with fast programable actuation.     

CMOS silicon avalanche photodiodes for NIR light detection: a survey

This paper surveys recent research on CMOS silicon avalanche photodiodes (SiAPD) and presents the design of a SiAPD based photoreceiver dedicated to near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) application. Near-infrared spectroscopy provides an inexpensive, non-invasive, and portable means to image brain function, and is one of the most efficient diagnostic techniques of different neurological diseases. In NIRS system, brain tissue is penetrated by near-infrared (NIR) radiation and the reflected signal is captured by a photodiode. Since the reflected NIR signal has very low amplitude, SiAPD is a better choice than regular photodiode for NIR signal detection due to SiAPD`s ability to amplify the photo generated signal by avalanche multiplication. Design requirements of using CMOS SiAPDs for NIR light detection are discussed, and the challenges of fabricating SiAPDs using standard CMOS process are addressed. Performances of state-of-the-art CMOS SiAPDs with different device structures are summarized and compared. The efficacy of the proposed SiAPD based photoreceiver is confirmed by post layout simulation. Finally, the SiAPD and its associated circuits has been implemented in one chip using 0.35 μm standard CMOS technology for an integrated NIRS system.     

Evaluation of performance enhancing proxies in internet over satellite

Performance enhancing proxies (PEPs) are widely used to improve the performance of TCP over high delay‐bandwidth product links and links with high error probability. In this paper we analyse the performance of using TCP connection splitting in combination with web caching via traces obtained from a commercial satellite system. We examine the resulting performance gain under different scenarios, including the effect of caching, congestion, random loss and file sizes. We show, via analysing our measurements, that the performance gain from using splitting is highly sensitive to random losses and the number of simultaneous connections, and that such sensitivity is alleviated by caching. On the other hand, the use of a splitting proxy enhances the value of web caching in that cache hits result in much more significant performance improvement over cache misses when TCP splitting is used. We also compare the performance of using different versions of HTTP in such a system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MIMO satellite communication with accelerated dual paths asynchronous design

This paper presents a novel asynchronous design approach for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) satellite communication (SatCom) systems. One of the main challenges for MIMO SatCom systems is that these are prone to transient faults that typically are attributable to radiation hazards. Hence, instead of using conventional synchronous circuits, we conceive our design using asynchronous circuits since it inherently has a high tolerance to transient fault. Additionally, we adopt accelerated dual paths (ADP) design into our system. By carefully arranging the data flow between the two paths, the ADP design approach can help to further accelerate the asynchronous system and increase the reliability of the system by circumventing transient faults induced delay, as well as tolerating latch-ups and other permanent faults. The numerical results show that this design approach provides promising results. For example, the proposed design can decrease the delay overhead of the entire system from 43.5 to 19.8 % at the fault rate of 400/clock cycle.     

Modeling and optimization of the chamber of OWC system

Due to their non-polluting nature and environment friendliness, Renewable Energies have gained great deal of attention and deserve a substantial body of both theoretical and empirical research. Amongst other factors, the low operational cost and simple maintenance procedures attributed the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) are perhaps the main reasons why this system is the most used concept for the ocean wave energy capture.In this paper, through extensive experimental research various geometrical designs of an OWC system is investigated and the optimized set up for the maximum energy harness is obtained.The initial chamber dimensions were 10 × 50 × 53 cm with the chamber being placed in an open channel with wave-simulating equipment with dimensions of 16 × 0.7 × .05 m. For various chamber geometries, with the aid of a air rotameter and a Pitot tube equipped with a digital manometer, the outlet air flow and velocity from the chamber was measured and registered.The measurements were then interpreted to provide design data for the optimal geometry of the chamber that may yield the maximum conversion of wave energy to useful energy.     

Development of a void ratio-moisture ratio-net stress framework for the prediction of the volumetric behavior of unsaturated granular materials

Despite extensive research on the behavior of unsaturated fine-grained materials, there is still a lack of understanding of the volumetric behavior of unsaturated granular materials. In this research, a model has been developed to predict the fundamental volumetric behavior of unsaturated granular materials through loading and wetting state paths. In this regard, a loading-wetting surface was developed in a space of void ratio-moisture ratio-net stress. A distinctive feature of the proposed model is the relative simplicity in obtaining the model parameters using conventional geotechnical testing equipment. Two types of recycled granular materials, commonly applied in unbound pavements were used, namely, recycled crushed brick (CB) and excavation waste rock (WR). The uniqueness of the developed surface was evaluated by employing a number of loading and wetting state paths. The results indicate that the developed surface is unique in its loading state paths; however, it only shows uniqueness in its wetting state paths for stress levels greater than 2000 kPa. The proposed model seeks to introduce the application of the unsaturated soil mechanics theory, for predicting the behavior of granular materials in the field, by providing a practical and cost-effective methodology.