Urban area suffers severe multipath effects due to its complex infrastructure environment and sector antenna is a popular choice as a base station antenna in those areas. Within sector antennas, omni cell antenna is utilized as supporting antenna to cover low reception areas between them. This paper proposes a slant 45° dual polarized omnidirectional antenna to operate as the omni cell antenna in those environments. The frequency band covers the IMT band, ranging from 1920MHz to 2170MHz with directivity focusing in horizontal plane. The antenna structure consists of a loop slot antenna array as excitation element which is placed inside a cylindrical slot antenna as parasitic element. Good performance is achieved in both S-parameter and directivity results, with a gain of more than 4 dBi and a gain difference of less than 1.5dB. The measurement results also agree well with the simulation results and the final design confirms that the proposed antenna works effectively as a slant ±45 ° dual polarized omnidirectional antenna.

Refinement-based formal specification is a promising approach to the increasing complexity of software systems, as demonstrated in the formal method Event-B. It allows stepwise modeling and verifying of complex systems with multiple steps at different abstraction levels. However, making changes is more difficult, as caution is necessary to avoid breaking the consistency between the steps. Judging whether a change is valid or not is a non-trivial task, as the logical dependency relationships between the modeling elements (predicates) are implicit and complex. In this paper, we propose a method for analyzing the impact of the changes of Event-B. By attaching labels to modeling elements (predicates), the method helps engineers understand how a model is structured and what needs to be modified to accomplish a change.

This paper proposes a computationally efficient offline semi-supervised algorithm that yields a more accurate prediction than the label propagation algorithm, which is commonly used in online graph-based semi-supervised learning (SSL). Our proposed method is an offline method that is intended to assist online graph-based SSL algorithms. The efficacy of the tool in creating new learning algorithms of this type is demonstrated in numerical experiments.

This paper improves our previously proposed semi-blind uplink interference suppression scheme for multicell multiuser massive MIMO systems by incorporating the beamspace approach. The constant modulus algorithm (CMA), a known blind adaptive array scheme, can fully exploit the degree of freedom (DoF) offered by massive antenna arrays to suppress inter-user interference (IUI) and inter-cell interference (ICI). Unfortunately, CMA wastes a lot of the benefit of DoF for null-steering even when the number of incoming signal is fewer than that of receiving antenna elements. Our new proposal introduces the beamspace method which degenerates the number of array input for CMA from element-space to beamspace. It can control DoF expended for subsequent interference suppression by CMA. Optimizing the array beamforming gain and null-steering ability, can further improve the output signal-to-interference and noise power ratio (SINR). Computer simulation confirmed that our new proposal reduced the required number of data symbols by 34.6%. In addition, the 5th percentile SINR was also improved by 14.3dB.

In compressive sensing theory (CS), the restricted isometry property (RIP) is commonly used for the measurement matrix to guarantee the reliable recovery of sparse signals from linear measurements. Although many works have indicated that random matrices with excellent recovery performance satisfy the RIP with high probability, Toeplitz-structured matrices arise naturally in real scenarios, such as applications of linear time-invariant systems. Thus, the corresponding measurement matrix can be modeled as a Toeplitz (partial) structured matrix instead of a completely random matrix. The structure characteristics introduce coherence and cause the performance degradation of the measurement matrix. To enhance the recovery performance of the Toeplitz structured measurement matrix in multichannel convolution source separation, an efficient construction of measurement matrix is presented, referred to as sparse random block-banded Toeplitz matrix (SRBT). The sparse signal is pre-randomized by locally scrambling its sample locations. Then, the signal is subsampled using the sparse random banded matrix. Finally, the mixing measurements are obtained. Based on the analysis of eigenvalues, the theoretical results indicate that the SRBT matrix satisfies the RIP with high probability. Simulation results show that the SRBT matrix almost matches the recovery performance of random matrices. Compared with the existing banded block Toeplitz matrix, SRBT significantly improves the probability of successful recovery. Additionally, SRBT has the advantages of low storage requirements and fast computation in reconstruction.

Joint transmit and receive antenna selection (JTRAS) for transceive spatial modulation (TRSM) is investigated in this paper. A couple of low-complexity and efficient JTRAS algorithms are proposed to improve the reliability of TRSM systems by maximizing the minimum Euclidean distance (ED) among all received signals. Specifically, the QR decomposition based ED-JTRAS achieves near-optimal error performance with a moderate complexity reduction as compared to the optimal ED-JTRAS method. The singular value decomposition based ED-JTRAS achieves sub-optimal error performance with a significant complexity reduction. Simulation results show that the proposed methods remarkably improve the system reliability in both uncorrelated and spatially correlated Rayleigh fading channels, as compared to the conventional norm based JTRAS method.

This paper proposes an energy efficiency (EE) maximized resource allocation (RA) algorithm in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) downlink networks with multiple relays, where a novel opportunistic subcarrier pair based decode-and-forward (DF) protocol with beamforming is used. Specifically, every data transmission is carried out in two consecutive time slots. During every transmission, multiple parallel paths, including relayed paths and direct paths, are established by the proposed RA algorithm. As for the protocol, each subcarrier in the 1st slot can be paired with any subcarrier in 2nd slot to best utilize subcarrier resources. Furthermore, for each relayed path, multiple (not just single or all) relays can be chosen to apply beamforming at the subcarrier in the 2nd slot. Each direct path is constructed by an unpaired subcarrier in either the 1st or 2nd slot. In order to guarantee an acceptable spectrum efficiency, we also introduce a minimum rate constraint. The EE-maximized problem is a highly nonlinear optimization problem, which contains both continuous, discrete variables and has a fractional structure. To solve the problem, the best relay set and resource allocation for a relayed path are derived first, then we design an iterative algorithm to find the optimal RA for the network. Finally, numerical experiments are taken to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, and show the impact of minimum rate requirement, user number and circuit power on the network EE.

A novel adaptive cross-layer optimal power allocation (OPA) scheme over physical layer and data-link layer for two-way relaying system with amplify-and-forward policy (TWR-AF) is proposed in this paper. Our goal is to find the optimal power allocation factors under each channel state information (CSI) to maximize the sum throughput of two sources under total transmit power constraint in the physical layer while guaranteeing the statistical delay quality-of-service (QoS) requirement in the data-link layer. By integrating information theory with the concept of effective capacity, the OPA problem is formulated into an optimization problem to maximize the sum effective capacity. It is solved through Lagrange multiplier approach, and the optimal power allocation factors are presented. Simulations are developed and the results show that the proposed cross-layer OPA scheme can achieve the best sum effective capacity with relatively low complexity when compared with other schemes. In addition, the proposed cross-layer OPA scheme achieves the maximal sum effective capacity when the relay is located in (or near) the middle of the two source nodes, and the sum effective capacity becomes smaller when the difference between two QoS exponents becomes larger.

Accurate traffic flow prediction is the precondition for many applications in Intelligent Transportation Systems, such as traffic control and route guidance. Traditional data driven traffic flow prediction models tend to ignore traffic self-features (e.g., periodicities), and commonly suffer from the shifts brought by various complex factors (e.g., weather and holidays). These would reduce the precision and robustness of the prediction models. To tackle this problem, in this paper, we propose a CNN-based multi-feature predictive model (MF-CNN) that collectively predicts network-scale traffic flow with multiple spatiotemporal features and external factors (weather and holidays). Specifically, we classify traffic self-features into temporal continuity as short-term feature, daily periodicity and weekly periodicity as long-term features, then map them to three two-dimensional spaces, which each one is composed of time and space, represented by two-dimensional matrices. The high-level spatiotemporal features learned by CNNs from the matrices with different time lags are further fused with external factors by a logistic regression layer to derive the final prediction. Experimental results indicate that the MF-CNN model considering multi-features improves the predictive performance compared to five baseline models, and achieves the trade-off between accuracy and efficiency.

This study proposes a Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) reduction method using an adaptive Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing systems. At the transmitter, an iterative algorithm that minimizes the p-norm of a transmitted signal vector is used to update the weight coefficients of the FIR filter to reduce PAPR. At the receiver, the FIR filter used at the transmitter is estimated using pilot symbols, and its effect can be compensated for by using an equalizer for proper demodulation. Simulation results show that the proposed method is superior to conventional methods in terms of the PAPR reduction and computational complexity. It also shows that the proposed method has a trade-off between PAPR reduction and bit error rate performance.

We present an OpenACC-based parallelization implementation of stochastic algorithms for simulating biochemical reaction networks on modern GPUs (graphics processing units). To investigate the effectiveness of using OpenACC for leveraging the massive hardware parallelism of the GPU architecture, we carefully apply OpenACC's language constructs and mechanisms to implementing a parallel version of stochastic simulation algorithms on the GPU. Using our OpenACC implementation in comparison to both the NVidia CUDA and the CPU-based implementations, we report our initial experiences on OpenACC's performance and programming productivity in the context of GPU-accelerated scientific computing.

This paper proposes a path loss model for crowded outdoor environments that can consider the density of people. Measurement results in an anechoic chamber with three blocking persons showed that multiple human body shadowing can be calculated by using finite width screens. As a result, path loss in crowded environments can be calculated by using the path losses of the multipath and the multiple human body shadowing on those paths. The path losses of the multipath are derived from a ray tracing simulation, and the simulation results are then used to predict the path loss in crowded environments. The predicted path loss of the proposed model was examined through measurements in the crowded outdoor station square in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo, and results showed that it can accurately predict the path loss in crowded environments at the frequencies of 4.7GHz and 26.4GHz under two different conditions of antenna height and density of people. The RMS error of the proposed model was less than 4dB.

With advances in information technology and the development of big data, manual operation is unlikely to be a smart choice for stock market investing. Instead, the computer-based investment model is expected to bring investors more accurate strategic analysis and more effective investment decisions than human beings. This paper aims to improve investor profits by mining for critical information in the stock data, therefore helping big data analysis. We used the R language to find the technical indicators in the stock market, and then applied the technical indicators to the prediction. The proposed R package includes several analysis toolkits, such as trend line indicators, W type reversal patterns, V type reversal patterns, and the bull or bear market. The simulation results suggest that the developed R package can accurately present the tendency of the price and enhance the return on investment.

This letter presents an objective quality index for benchmarking image inpainting algorithms. Under the guidance of the masks of damaged areas, the boundary region and the inpainting region are first located. Then, the statistical features are extracted from the boundary and inpainting regions respectively. For the boundary region, we utilize Weibull distribution to fit the gradient magnitude histograms of the exterior and interior regions around the boundary, and the Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD) is calculated to measure the boundary distortions caused by imperfect inpainting. Meanwhile, the quality of the inpainting region is measured by comparing the naturalness factors between the inpainted image and the reference image. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed metric outperforms the relevant state-of-the-art quality metrics.

Pre-trained CNNs on ImageNet have been widely used in object tracking for feature extraction. However, due to the domain mismatch between image classification and object tracking, the submergence of the target-specific features by noise largely decreases the expression ability of the convolutional features, resulting in an inefficient tracking. In this paper, we propose a robust tracking algorithm with low-dimensional target-specific feature extraction. First, a novel cascaded PCA module is proposed to have an explicit extraction of the low-dimensional target-specific features, which makes the new appearance model more effective and efficient. Next, a fast particle filter process is raised to further accelerate the whole tracking pipeline by sharing convolutional computation with a ROI-Align layer. Moreover, a classification-score guided scheme is used to update the appearance model for adapting to target variations while at the same time avoiding the model drift that caused by the object occlusion. Experimental results on OTB100 and Temple Color128 show that, the proposed algorithm has achieved a superior performance among real-time trackers. Besides, our algorithm is competitive with the state-of-the-art trackers in precision while runs at a real-time speed.

This paper discusses non-ideal issues in a fully passive noise shaping successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter. The fully passive noise shaping techniques are realized by switches and capacitors without operational amplifiers to be scalable and power efficient. However, some non-ideal issues, such as parasitic capacitance, comparator noise, thermal noise, will affect the performance of the noise shaping and then degrade the final achievable resolution. This paper analyzes the effects of the main non-ideal issues and provides the design reference for fully passive noise shaping techniques. The analysis is based on 2nd order fully passive noise shaping SAR ADC with an 8-bit architecture and an OSR of 4.

In this paper, we have investigated the etching selectivity of HfN encapsulating layer for high quality PtHf-alloy silicide (PtHfSi) formation with low contact resistivity on Si(100). The HfN(10 nm)/PtHf(20 nm)/p-Si(100) stacked layer was in-situ deposited by RF-magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Then, silicidation was carried out at 500°C/20 min in N2/4.9%H2 ambient. Next, the HfN encapsulating layer was etched for 1-10 min by buffered-HF (BHF) followed by the unreacted PtHf metal etching. We have found that the etching duration of the 10-nm-thick HfN encapsulating layer should be shorter than 6 min to maintain the PtHfSi crystallinity. This is probably because the PtHf-alloy silicide was gradually etched by BHF especially for the Hf atoms after the HfN was completely removed. The optimized etching process realized the ultra-low contact resistivity of PtHfSi to p+/n-Si(100) and n+/p-Si(100) such as 9.4×10-9Ωcm2 and 4.8×10-9Ωcm2, respectively, utilizing the dopant segregation process. The control of etching duration of HfN encapsulating layer is important to realize the high quality PtHfSi formation with low contact resistivity.

In this paper, we propose a new technique for the transient scattering problem of periodically arrayed dispersion media for the TE case by using a combination of the Fourier series expansion method (FSEM) and the fast inversion Laplace transform (FILT) method, and analyze the pulse response for various widths of the dispersion media. As a result, we clarified the influence of the dispersion media with an air region on the resulting waveform.

For the three-user X channel, its degree of freedom (DoF) 9/5 has been shown achievable theoretically through asymptotic model with infinite resources, which is impractical. In this article, we explore the propagation delay (PD) feature among different links to maximize the achievable DoF with the minimum cost. Since perfect interference alignment (IA) is impossible for 9 messages within 5 time-slots, at least one extra time-slot should be utilized. By the cyclic polynomial approach, we propose a scheme with the maximum achievable DoF of 5/3 for 10 messages within 6 time-slots. Feasibility conditions in the Euclidean space are also deduced, which demonstrates a quite wide range of node arrangements.

The large computational complexity makes stereo matching a big challenge in real-time application scenario. The problem of stereo matching in a video sequence is slightly different with that in a still image because there exists temporal correlation among video frames. However, no existing method considered temporal consistency of disparity for algorithm acceleration. In this work, we proposed a scheme called the dynamic disparity range (DDR) to optimize matching cost calculation and cost aggregation steps by narrowing disparity searching range, and a scheme called temporal cost aggregation path to optimize the cost aggregation step. Based on the schemes, we proposed the DDR-SGM and the DDR-MCCNN algorithms for the stereo matching in video sequences. Evaluation results showed that the proposed algorithms significantly reduced the computational complexity with only very slight loss of accuracy. We proved that the proposed optimizations for the stereo matching are effective and the temporal consistency in stereo video is highly useful for either improving accuracy or reducing computational complexity.