Institute for Telecommunication Sciences

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A new mathematical method is developed for interpolation from a given set of data points in a plane and for fitting a smooth curve to the points. This method is devised in such a way that the resultant curve will pass through the given points and will appear smooth and natural. It is based on a piecewise function composed of a set of polynomials, each of degree three, at most, and applicable to successive intervals of the given points. In this method, the slope of the curve is determined at each given point locally, and each polynomial representing a portion of the curve between a pair of given points is determined by the coordinates of and the slopes at the points. Comparison indicates that the curve obtained by this new method is closer to a manually drawn curve than those drawn by other mathematical methods.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) General Model for estimating video quality and its associated calibration techniques were independently evaluated by the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG) in their Phase II Full Reference Television (FR-TV) test. The NTIA General Model was the only video quality estimator that was in the top performing group for both the 525-line and 625-line video tests. As a result, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) adopted the NTIA General Model and its associated calibration techniques as a North American Standard in 2003. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has also included the NTIA General Model as a normative method in two Draft Recommendations. This paper presents a description of the NTIA General Model and its associated calibration techniques. The independent test results from the VQEG FR-TV Phase II tests are summarized, as well as results from eleven other subjective data sets that were used to develop the method.

A Distributed Clustering Algorithm (DCA) and a Distributed Mobility-Adaptive Clustering (DMAC) algorithm are presented that partition the nodes of a fully mobile network: (ad hoc network) into clusters, this giving the network a hierarchical organization. Nodes are grouped by following a new weight-based criterion that allows the choice of the nodes that coordinate the clustering process based on node mobility-rebated parameters. The DCA is suitable for clustering "quasistatic" ad hoc networks. It is easy to implement and its time complexity is proven to be bounded by a network parameter that depends on the topology of the network rather than on its size, i.e., the invariant number of the network nodes. The DMAC algorithm adapts to the changes in the network topology due to the mobility of the nodes, and it is thus suitable for any mobile environment. Both algorithms are executed at each node with the sole knowledge of the identity of the one hop neighbors, and induce on the network the same clustering structure.

One of the main design issues for a sensor network is conservation of the energy available at each sensor node. We propose to deploy multiple, mobile base stations to prolong the lifetime of the sensor network. We split the lifetime of the sensor network into equal periods of time known as rounds. Base stations are relocated at the start of a round. Our method uses an integer linear program to determine new locations for the base stations and a flow-based routing protocol to ensure energy efficient routing during each round. We propose four metrics and evaluate our solution using these metrics. Based on the simulation results we show that employing multiple, mobile base stations in accordance with the solution given by our schemes would significantly increase the lifetime of the sensor network.

The theoretical background and present status of formulas for the refractive index of air are reviewed. In supplement to Edlén's recently revised formula for relative refractivity, the density dependence of refractive index is reanalyzed. New formulas are presented for both phase and group refractive index which are more useful over a wide range of pressure, temperature, and composition than any presently available. The application of the new formulas to optical distance measuring is briefly discussed.

The rapid advances of high-throughput sequencing technologies dramatically prompted metagenomic studies of microbial communities that exist at various environments. Fundamental questions in metagenomics include the identities, composition and dynamics of microbial populations and their functions and interactions. However, the massive quantity and the comprehensive complexity of these sequence data pose tremendous challenges in data analysis. These challenges include but are not limited to ever-increasing computational demand, biased sequence sampling, sequence errors, sequence artifacts and novel sequences. Sequence clustering methods can directly answer many of the fundamental questions by grouping similar sequences into families. In addition, clustering analysis also addresses the challenges in metagenomics. Thus, a large redundant data set can be represented with a small non-redundant set, where each cluster can be represented by a single entry or a consensus. Artifacts can be rapidly detected through clustering. Errors can be identified, filtered or corrected by using consensus from sequences within clusters.

Proposes a method for classification and discrimination of textures based on the energies of image subbands. The authors show that with this relatively simple feature set, effective texture discrimination can be achieved. In the paper, subband-energy feature sets extracted from the following typical image decompositions are compared: wavelet subband, uniform subband, discrete cosine transform (DCT), and spatial partitioning. The authors report that over 90% correct classification was attained using the feature set in classifying the full Brodatz [1965] collection of 112 textures. Furthermore, the subband energy-based feature set can be readily applied to a system for indexing images by texture content in image databases, since the features can be extracted directly from spatial-frequency decomposed image data. The authors also show that to construct a suitable space for discrimination, Fisher discrimination analysis (Dillon and Goldstein, 1984) can be used to compact the original features into a set of uncorrelated linear discriminant functions. This procedure makes it easier to perform texture-based searches in a database by reducing the dimensionality of the discriminant space. The authors also examine the effects of varying training class size, the number of training classes, the dimension of the discriminant space and number of energy measures used for classification. The authors hope that the performance for texture discrimination of these simple energy-based features will allow images in a database to be efficiently and effectively indexed by contents of their textured regions.>

Specially designed HF ionospheric propagation measurements were made and analyzed to confirm the validity and bandwidth limitations of a proposed stationary HF ionospheric channel model. In the model, the input (transmitted) signal feeds an ideal delay line and is delivered at several taps with adjustable delays, one for each resolvable ionospheric modal component. Each delayed signal is modulated in amplitude and phase by a baseband tap-gain function, and the delayed and modulated signals are summed (with additive noise) to form the output (received) signal. Statistical specifications for the tap-gain functions involved three hypotheses: 1) that each tap-gain function is a complexGaussian process that produces Rayleigh fading, 2) that the tapgain functions are independent, and 3) that each tap-gain function has a spectrum that in general is the sum of two Gaussian functions of frequency, one for each magnetoionic component. Statistical tests were performed on daytime and nighttime measurements confirming the validity of the three hypotheses, and thereby the validity of the model. For practical applications, the model can be considered valid over a bandwidth equal to about one fourth of the reciprocal of the effective (weighted) time spreads on the ionospheric modal components. The model should be useful both in theoretical analyses of communication system performance and for channel simulator designs.

Modern optical networking techniques have the potential to greatly extend the applicability of quantum communications by moving beyond simple point-to-point optical links and by leveraging existing fibre infrastructures. We experimentally demonstrate many of the fundamental capabilities that are required. These include optical-layer multiplexing, switching and routing of quantum signals; quantum key distribution (QKD) in a dynamically reconfigured optical network; and coexistence of quantum signals with strong conventional telecom traffic on the same fibre. We successfully operate QKD at 1310 nm over a fibre shared with four optically amplified data channels near 1550 nm. We identify the dominant impairment as spontaneous anti-Stokes Raman scattering of the strong signals, quantify its impact, and measure and model its propagation through fibre. We describe a quantum networking architecture which can provide the flexibility and scalability likely to be critical for supporting widespread deployment of quantum applications.

In noncooperative networks users make control decisions that optimize their individual performance measure. Focusing on routing, two methodologies for architecting noncooperative networks are devised, that improve the overall network performance. These methodologies are motivated by problem settings arising in the provisioning and the run time phases of the network. For either phase, Nash equilibria characterize the operating point of the network. The goal in the provisioning phase is to allocate link capacities that lead to systemwide efficient Nash equilibria. The solution of such design problems is, in general, counterintuitive, since adding link capacity might lead to degradation of user performance. For systems of parallel links, it is shown that such paradoxes cannot occur and that the optimal solution coincides with the solution in the single-user case. Extensions to general network topologies are derived. During the run time phase, a manager controls the routing of part of the network flow. The manager is aware of the noncooperative behavior of the users and makes its routing decisions based on this information while aiming at improving the overall system performance. We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for enforcing an equilibrium that coincides with the global network optimum, and indicate that these conditions are met in many cases of interest.>

To move beyond dedicated links and networks, quantum communications signals must be integrated into networks carrying classical optical channels at power levels many orders of magnitude higher than the quantum signals themselves. We demonstrate the transmission of a 1550 nm quantum channel with up to two simultaneous 200 GHz spaced classical telecom channels, using reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM) technology for multiplexing and routing quantum and classical signals. The quantum channel is used to perform quantum key distribution (QKD) in the presence of noise generated as a by-product of the co-propagation of classical channels. We demonstrate that the dominant noise mechanism can arise from either four-wave mixing or spontaneous Raman scattering, depending on the optical path characteristics as well as the classical channel parameters. We quantify these impairments and discuss mitigation strategies.

This study examined gender differences in the audience experience with televised sports. Men and women were expected to approach, observe, and respond to sports programming in different ways. Telephone interviews were conducted with 400 adults residing in Los Angeles and 307 adults residing in Indianapolis. Gender differences were tested using covariate analyses controlling for demographic attributes, favorite sport, and interest in viewing television sports. More than women, men responded like fans, even with initial levels of interest controlled. Social norms as well as varying household responsibilities may account for many of the differences uncovered.

Understanding people and how they factor into complex information technology (IT) implementations is critical to reversing the growing trend of costly IT implementation failures. Accordingly, this article presents an approach to dissecting the social and organizational influences impacting peoples’ acceptance of technology designed to improve business performance. This article applies the diffusion of innovation theoretical framework to understand and analyze IT innovation implementation challenges. The diffusion approach is applied to two recent cases of implementations of IT supply chain innovations at two aerospace firms, both with complex, global, inter‐firm supply chains. Results indicate that several social and organizational factors do affect the implementation's success. Those factors include users’ perceptions of the innovation, the firm's culture, the types of communication channels used to diffuse knowledge of the innovation and various leadership factors.

A flowing, steady-state afterglow system has been utilized to measure room-temperature ion—neutral reaction rates. A description of the apparatus and technique is given. Measured rate constants for He+ reactions with O2, N2, CO, NO, and CO2 are reported, as well as upper limits for the reactions of He+ with H2, Ne, and Ar, and an estimate for the reaction of He2+ with Ne and N2. The reactions of He+ with O2, N2, CO, NO, and CO2 are all rapid, the rate constants all being ≈10−9 cm3 sec−1, implying essentially a reaction per collision.

One consistent finding among studies using shotgun metagenomics to analyze whole viral communities is that most viral sequences show no significant homology to known sequences. Thus, bioinformatic analyses based on sequence collections such as GenBank nr, which are largely comprised of sequences from known organisms, tend to ignore a majority of sequences within most shotgun viral metagenome libraries. Here we describe a bioinformatic pipeline, the Viral Informatics Resource for Metagenome Exploration (VIROME), that emphasizes the classification of viral metagenome sequences (predicted open-reading frames) based on homology search results against both known and environmental sequences. Functional and taxonomic information is derived from five annotated sequence databases which are linked to the UniRef 100 database. Environmental classifications are obtained from hits against a custom database, MetaGenomes On-Line, which contains 49 million predicted environmental peptides. Each predicted viral metagenomic ORF run through the VIROME pipeline is placed into one of seven ORF classes, thus, every sequence receives a meaningful annotation. Additionally, the pipeline includes quality control measures to remove contaminating and poor quality sequence and assesses the potential amount of cellular DNA contamination in a viral metagenome library by screening for rRNA genes. Access to the VIROME pipeline and analysis results are provided through a web-application interface that is dynamically linked to a relational back-end database. The VIROME web-application interface is designed to allow users flexibility in retrieving sequences (reads, ORFs, predicted peptides) and search results for focused secondary analyses.

We consider the problem of link scheduling in a sensor network employing a TDMA MAC protocol. Our link scheduling algorithm involves two phases. In the first phase, we assign a color to each edge in the network such that no two edges incident on the same node are assigned the same color. We propose a distributed edge coloring algorithm that needs at most (/spl delta/+1) colors, where /spl delta/ is the maximum degree of the graph. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first distributed algorithm that can edge color a graph with at most (/spl delta/+1) colors. In the second phase, we map each color to a unique timeslot and attempt to identify a direction of transmission along each edge such that the hidden terminal and the exposed terminal problems are avoided. Next, considering topologies for which a feasible solution does not exist, we obtain a direction of transmission for each edge using additional timeslots, if necessary. Finally, we show that reversing the direction of transmission along every edge leads to another feasible direction of transmission. Using both the transmission assignments we obtain a TDMA MAC schedule, which enables two-way communication between every pair of neighbors. For acyclic topologies, we show that at most 2(/spl delta/+1) timeslots are required. Through simulations we show that for sparse graphs with cycles the number of timeslots assigned is close to 2(/spl delta/+1).

We propose a method for automatic color extraction and indexing to support color queries of image and video databases. This approach identifies the regions within images that contain colors from predetermined color sets. By searching over a large number of color sets, a color index for the database is created in a fashion similar to that for file inversion. This allows very fast indexing of the image collection by the color contents of the images. Furthermore, information about the identified regions, such as the color set, size, and location, enables a rich variety of queries that specify both color content and spatial relationships of regions. We present the single color extraction and indexing method and contrast it to other color approaches. We examine single and multiple color extraction and image query on a database of 3000 color images.

Rate constants for reactions in which the positive ions O+, N+, Ar+, N2+, CO+, CO2+, and N2O+ abstract a hydrogen atom from H2 have been measured at 300°K in a pulsed, flowing-afterglow reaction tube. Several additional reactions are observed which occur as secondary reactions in these experiments.

Objective metrics for measuring digital video performance are required by Government and industry for specification of system performance requirements, comparison of competing service offerings, service level agreements, network maintenance, and optimization of the use of limited network resources such as transmission bandwidth. To be accurate, digital video quality measurements must be based on the perceived quality of the actual video being received by the users of the digital video system rather than the measured quality of traditional video test signals (e.g., color bar). This is because the performance of digital video systems is variable and depends upon the dynamic characteristics of both the original video (e.g., spatial detail, motion) and the digital transmission system (e.g., bit rate, error rate). The goal of this report is to provide a complete description of the ITS video quality metric (VQM) algorithms and techniques. The ITS automated objective measurement algorithms provide close approximations to the overall quality impressions, or mean opinion scores, of digital video impairments that have been graded by panels of viewers.