User selection scheme with limited feedback processing and outdated CSI in multiuser relay networks

A new user selection strategy is investigated and analyzed in a multiuser relaying environment in the presence of co‐channel interference. The proposed selection scheme aims at avoiding unnecessary feedback load processing, in cases where a target threshold, in the received instantaneous signal‐to‐noise ratio, is exceeded. Assuming that perfect channel state information is available, closed‐form lower bound expressions are derived for the cumulative distribution function of the output signal to interference plus noise ratio. Moreover, the impact of outdated channel state information on the system's performance is also investigated. In addition, under the assumption of high signal‐to‐noise ratio conditions, simplified approximated expressions are also provided for the cumulative distribution functions of the output signal to interference plus noise ratio, which are employed to study the outage probability and bit error probability performance of the system. It is shown that with the proposed approach, a significant reduction in feedback load processing is achieved, with only a slight loss in performance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-similar fluid-dynamic limits for the Broadwell system

This report discusses a new approach for the resolution of the fluid-dynamic limit for the Broadwell system of the kinetic theory of gases, appropriate in the case of Riemann, Maxwellian data. Since the formal limiting system is expected to have self-similar solutions, we are motivated to replace the Knudsen number in the Broadwell model so that the resulting model admits self-similar solutions =x/t and then let go to zero. The limiting procedure is justified and the resulting limit is a solution of the Riemann problem for the fluid-dynamic limit equations. A class of Riemann data for which this program can be carried out is exhibited. Furthermore, it is shown that for the Carleman model the complete program can be done successfully for arbitrary Riemann data.     

Thermal Drying of <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Lactobacillus delbrueckii</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">bulgaricus</Emphasis> and its Efficient Use as Starter for Whey Fermentation and Unsalted Cheese Making

Lactobacillus bulgaricus grown on whey was dried by a simple thermal drying method at the range 35–55°C and its efficiency for lactic acid fermentation of whey was evaluated. Drying of cells in whey suspension in the examined temperature range did not affect significantly their viability (82–87% survival), indicating a protective effect of whey as both growth and drying medium. The kinetics of fermentation of whey and mixtures of whey/molasses using the dried culture were comparable to those of non-dried cells, and only low pH had a detrimental effect on the fermentation ability of the dried cells. Furthermore, dried L. bulgaricus, free or immobilized on casein coagulates, was used as starter for the production of unsalted hard-type cheese. The effects of the amount of starter culture and the immobilization technique, the evolution of microbial counts, and the sensory properties of the produced cheeses were evaluated during ripening at various temperatures.     

Routing for disruption tolerant networks: taxonomy and design

Communication networks, whether they are wired or wireless, have traditionally been assumed to be connected at least most of the time. However, emerging applications such as emergency response, special operations, smart environments, VANETs, etc. coupled with node heterogeneity and volatile links (e.g. due to wireless propagation phenomena and node mobility) will likely change the typical conditions under which networks operate. In fact, in such scenarios, networks may be mostly disconnected, i.e., most of the time, end-to-end paths connecting every node pair do not exist. To cope with frequent, long-lived disconnections, opportunistic routing techniques have been proposed in which, at every hop, a node decides whether it should forward or store-and-carry a message. Despite a growing number of such proposals, there still exists little consensus on the most suitable routing algorithm(s) in this context. One of the reasons is the large diversity of emerging wireless applications and networks exhibiting such “episodic” connectivity. These networks often have very different characteristics and requirements, making it very difficult, if not impossible, to design a routing solution that fits all. In this paper, we first break up existing routing strategies into a small number of common and tunable routing modules (e.g. message replication, coding, etc.), and then show how and when a given routing module should be used, depending on the set of network characteristics exhibited by the wireless application. We further attempt to create a taxonomy for intermittently connected networks. We try to identify generic network characteristics that are relevant to the routing process (e.g., network density, node heterogeneity, mobility patterns) and dissect different “challenged” wireless networks or applications based on these characteristics. Our goal is to identify a set of useful design guidelines that will enable one to choose an appropriate routing protocol for the application or network in hand. Finally, to demonstrate the utility of our approach, we take up some case studies of challenged wireless networks, and validate some of our routing design principles using simulations.     

Analyzing and modeling the performance degradation of flash A/D converters due to substrate noise coupling

This paper presents a model to evaluate the impact of substrate noise on a CMOS regenerative comparator and moreover to predict the resulting performance degradation of a flash analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The proposed approach initially relates substrate noise to the induced timing uncertainty of the comparator by means of an analytical linear model. In particular, the analysis first focuses on analyzing and expressing the resulting non-uniform sampling distortion in regenerative comparators in the presence of a deterministic ground bounce. Two sources of distortion are identified and evaluated: the input-dependent and the substrate noise-dependent one. For each error contributor, the analysis investigates two cases of timing error, based on the frequency correlation of the interfering signal with the sampling clock. The properties (number and power of distortion tones) of the sampling error spectrum are found to be highly dependent on the spectral content of the interfering signal and the sampling clock, while the model captures accurately the induced distortion. Subsequently, the linear model is extended to estimate the degradation of flash A/D converters and is utilized to predict the performance of practical flash and time-interleaved converters in the presence of substrate noise.     

Modeling demand management strategies for evacuations

Evacuations are massive operations that create heavy travel demand on road networks some of which are experiencing major congestions even with regular traffic demand. Congestion in traffic networks during evacuations, can be eased either by supply or demand management actions. This study focuses on modeling demand management strategies of optimal departure time, optimal destination choice and optimal zone evacuation scheduling (also known as staggered evacuation) under a given fixed evacuation time assumption. The analytical models are developed for a system optimal dynamic traffic assignment problem, so that their characteristics can be studied to produce insights to be used for large-scale solution algorithms. While the first two strategies were represented in a linear programming (LP) model, evacuation zone scheduling problem inevitable included integers and resulted in a mixed integer LP (MILP) one. The dual of the LP produced an optimal assignment principle, and the nature of the MILP formulations revealed clues about more efficient heuristics. The discussed properties of the models are also supported via numerical results from a hypothetical network example.     

On the performance of two-hop message spreading in DTNs

In this paper, a Delay Tolerant Network environment is considered where the source is in full control of the two-hop spreading mechanism by setting key parameters such as the number of copies allowed to be spread in the network and the delay bound of the messages. The introduced analysis allows for a differentiation between the source of the message and the intermediate nodes (in terms of e.g. transmission power, speed or cooperation degree). Analytical expressions for the cumulative distribution function (cdf) of the delivery delay and the induced overhead are extracted, taking into account the fact that the source node may continue spreading copies after the message delivery. In addition, a fairly accurate approximate expression for the cdf of the delivery delay is also derived and validated through simulations.     

Wave interactions and variation estimates for self-similar zero-viscosity limits in systems of conservation laws

We consider the problem of self-similar zero-viscosity limits for systems ofN conservation laws. First, we give general conditions so that the resulting boundary-value problem admits solutions. The obtained existence theory covers a large class of systems, in particular the class of symmetric hyperbolic systems. Second, we show that if the system is strictly hyperbolic and the Riemann data are sufficiently close, then the resulting family of solutions is of uniformly bounded variation and oscillation. Third, we construct solutions of the Riemann problem via self-similar zero-viscosity limits and study the structure of the emerging solution and the relation of self-similar zero-viscosity limits and shock profiles. The emerging solution consists ofN wave fans separated by constant states. Each wave fan is associated with one of the characteristic fields and consists of a rarefaction, a shock, or an alternating sequence of shocks and rarefactions so that each shock adjacent to a rarefaction on one side is a contact discontinuity on that side. At shocks, the solutions of the self-similar zero-viscosity problem have the internal structure of a traveling wave.     

A non-singular continuum theory of dislocations

We develop a non-singular, self-consistent framework for computing the stress field and the total elastic energy of a general dislocation microstructure. The expressions are self-consistent in that the driving force defined as the negative derivative of the total energy with respect to the dislocation position, is equal to the force produced by stress, through the Peach-Koehler formula. The singularity intrinsic to the classical continuum theory is removed here by spreading the Burgers vector isotropically about every point on the dislocation line using a spreading function characterized by a single parameter a, the spreading radius. A particular form of the spreading function chosen here leads to simple analytic formulations for stress produced by straight dislocation segments, segment self and interaction energies, and forces on the segments. For any value a>0, the total energy and the stress remain finite everywhere, including on the dislocation lines themselves. Furthermore, the well-known singular expressions are recovered for a=0. The value of the spreading radius a can be selected for numerical convenience, to reduce the stiffness of the dislocation equations of motion. Alternatively, a can be chosen to match the atomistic and continuum energies of dislocation configurations.