Software Defined Networking (SDN) is considered as a promising solution for optimizing network energy consumption. This paper analyzes possible energy savings that could be achieved by turning off underutilized network links. It presents the energy consumption of a real IP/MPLS network and issues that prevent IP/MPLS from being more energy efficient. The paper proposes the SDN as an approach with a global view of the network and easier link management. A small experiment shows how easy it is for SDN to monitor and shut down unneeded links. This could enable a significant energy saving when using an SDN solution.

Blockchains are established as the most widely used P2P distributed application for Distributed Ledger Technologies. Nevertheless, their successful existence, especially known due to the cryptocurrency of Bitcoin, gets more and more competitors. One of those competitors is IOTA, which is based on a tangle or a Directed Acyclic Graph architecture. This paper stresses potentials of such architecture,especially in future IoT applications. In particular, few of the most import security issues are analyzed.

As the evolving communication standards would leverage on high data rates and low power consumption, future communication systems must be able to demonstrate these strengths. Space-time block codes (STBC) and quasi-orthogonal STBC (QO-STBC) including beamforming are multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) system design techniques used to improve data rates and reduce bit error ratio (BER). STBCs for larger antenna configurations use QO-STBC schemes which suffer from self-interference problems. The self-interference in QO-STBC systems diminishes the data rates and worsen the BER. In this study, we present three (3) methods of overcoming the self-interference problems in QO-STBC systems. We implement the interference-free QO-STBC systems with directional beamforming to improve the data rates and also reduce the BER. The results show significantly improved BER performance when the interferences are eliminated. An additional 3dB gain is achieved at 10-4 BER when the interference-free QO-STBCs are operated with directional beamforming. In terms of data rates, up to 6 bits/s at reasonably low power consumption are realized when the Hadamard-based QO-STBC is operated with directional beamforming.

The paper presents an algorithm for automatic layout of class diagrams. The presented algorithm efficiently and openly tries to lay out a diagram in the landscape format using a modified Sugiyama algorithm. The proposed algorithm is implemented as an Eclipse plug-in and works within Papyrus class diagram modeling projects.

The aim of this paper is comparing a simulation model with real IPTV (Internet Protocol TeleVision) scenario in access network. In real IPTV scenarios, it is known that packet losses appear suddenly and might have an "explosive" character, especially in DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) case. In addition, these packet losses usually appear in groups and lead to huge degradation of the video service, which decreases customer’s QoE (Quality of Experience) level. Hence, estimation of this degradation in access network is important and the paper explained one simulation model based on SSIM (Structural Similarity Index) analysis, which can be used as one perceptive video quality assessment by imitating a real environment with packet losses. To check this, we compared our simulation model with the real IPTV video distributed over DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and exposed to different packet loss appearances.

Automated detection of asphalt pavement distresses is a very popular computer vision and image processing problem. In recent years, automated detection is an essential part of every pavement management system, since it allows very fast detection of distresses on the road. This is important because timely detection can prevent many road accidents, and hence it has potential to save lives. In this paper, we presented a new unsupervised image processing method for segmentation of the most common road distresses-pavement cracks. The method first performs slicing of an image into M×N sub-images, and then removes sub-images without cracks based on empirically defined threshold. Analysis is then carried out only on a small number of sub-images, which significantly reduces computation time. Then, a series of images processing tasks are performed to select only pixels with pavement cracks. The method is suitable as a pre-processing step in a number of computer vision tasks, and can provide rough estimation of damaged area in an image.

Visual impairment severely constraints the ability to independently conduct many everyday tasks that we usually do not consider challenging. Although some types of visual impairment can be treated efficiently there is still a considerable number of visually impaired persons, especially among aging population, which depend on help of others or assistive technology to sustain their life quality. Visually impaired person cannot perceive the full extent of surrounding information due to the lack of visual details. However great progress can be achieved if surrounding information can be somehow visually transformed to the subset of visual information that visually impaired person can perceive. To certain extent every impairment has individual characteristics, as different individuals may better respond to different subsets of visual information. Thus any assistive solution aiming to visually transform surrounding information to accommodate broad range of impairment conditions must be personalized in order to be effective. Virtual reality enables individuals to experience imaginary surroundings by tricking their visual senses and such virtual surroundings can be personalized to any extent desired. We use virtual reality, image processing, and RFID to create a test setup able to simulate visual impairment and visually transformed surroundings suitable for visual Impairment studies. The test setup enables gathering information and conducting studies on both healthy and visually impaired individuals in a controlled environment enabling reliable assistive technology development and testing.

Visually impaired person might find it very difficult to locate an object that has been even slightly misplaced from its usual position. Unfortunately this is very common situation in a shared environment where multiple individuals can affect object’s position and where visually impaired person cannot rely on object’s position remaining unchanged since the last interaction with the object. In order to independently localize the object of its interest visually impaired person must rely on assistive technology. It is yet very unlikely that any single wearable assistive device will encompass the whole range of object localization scenarios and be universally adoptable to a broad range of environments. In this paper we propose indoors test setup for visually impaired persons by creating RFID based assistive environment – Visual Impairment Friendly RFID Room. The test setup can be used to evaluate RFID object localization and its use by visually impaired persons.

Partial differential equations are a branch of engineering mathematics that in the last decades in the scientific field has played a very important role in solving certain engineering problems. In this paper, we have applied a kind of partial differential equations when examining the influence of microwaves. We have observed the phenomena occurring in one part of the electromagnetic spectrum in the frequency range of 1 GHz-100 GHz as an aggravating factor in signal transmission by telecommunication water, which was the starting point for research on this topic. The reason for isolating this area is contained in the specific technique that characterizes it. One of the types of partial hyperbolic equations is the telegraphic equation, whose solution eliminates problems related to the transmission line. The graphical interpolation of the telegraph equation is given in the Matlab Engineering Matrix Laboratory. Only the parts of mathematically important functions are derived in the paper and the final results are presented in order to represent our starting differential equation as telegraphic.

Golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) is a spontaneous X‐linked canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy that resembles the human condition. Muscle percentage index (MPI) is proposed as an imaging biomarker of disease severity in GRMD.

Smart grids growing, with deployment of the renewables in European grids, active customers and new stakeholders’ roles in electric supply requires increase of secure and reliable data exchange, using public communication infrastructures. Data classification is important by designing of the sensitive data exchange. To meet these communication needs, ENTSO-E has developed a secure, confidential, comprehensive and accessible communication and connectivity platform – ECCo SP. It is designed to function as a highly reliable and secure messaging system. The ECP platform enables near real-time data exchange, including use case “Activation of DSO-connected resources for balancing purposes in market environment”. It has been demonstrated under world conditions in Slovenia.

As a type of architectured material, knitted textiles exhibit global mechanical behavior which is affected by their microstructure defined at the scale at which yarns are arranged topologically given the type of textile manufactured. To relate local geometrical, interfacial, material, kinematic and kinetic properties to global mechanical behavior, a first-order, two-scale homogenization scheme was developed and applied in this investigation. In this approach, the equivalent stress at the far field and the consistent material stiffness are explicitly derived from the microstructure. In addition, the macrofield is linked to the microstructural properties by a user subroutine which can compute stresses and stiffness in a looped finite element (FE) code. This multiscale homogenization scheme is computationally efficient and capable of predicting the mechanical behavior at the macroscopic level while accounting directly for the deformation-induced evolution of the underlying microstructure.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Von Willebrand factor (VWF) plays an important role in thrombogenesis and mediates platelet adhesion particularly under high shear stress. Such conditions are generally found in stenotic arteries and can eventually cause myocardial infarction or stroke. We aimed to study whether levels of VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) predict future major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients suffering from carotid artery stenosis. METHODS Patients with atherosclerotic carotid artery disease defined by the presence of nonstenotic plaques or any degree of carotid stenosis were prospectively enrolled. Concentrations of VWF were measured by enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS VWF:Ag levels were more stable after 4 freeze-thaw cycles, when compared to VWF activity, and we showed similar concentrations of VWF in citrated plasma and serum (±4%). Levels of VWF:Ag predicted future cardiovascular events in 811 patients with carotid stenosis independent of known cardiovascular risk factors. Patients with VWF:Ag concentrations in the 4th quartile had a 44% event rate after an average 3-year follow up and a hazard ratio of 2.15 (95% confidence interval 1.46-3.16; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS High concentrations of VWF:Ag predict major cardiovascular events in patients with carotid stenosis, and given their high event rate may be useful for risk stratification of such patients.