Hedge transfer learning routing for dynamic searching and reconnoitering applications in 3D multimedia FANETs.

With the fast development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the user increasing demand of UAV video transmission, UAV video service is widely used in dynamic searching and reconnoitering applications. Video transmissions not only consider the complexity and instability of 3D UAV network topology but also ensure reliable quality of service (QoS) in flying ad hoc networks (FANETs). We propose hedge transfer learning routing (HTLR) for dynamic searching and reconnoitering applications to address this problem. Compared with the previous transfer learning framework, HTRL has the following innovations. First, hedge principle is introduced into transfer learning. Online model is continuously trained on the basis of offline model, and their weight factors are adjusted in real-time by transfer learning, so as to adapt to the complex 3D FANETs. Secondly, distributed multi-hop link state scheme is used to estimate multi-hop link states in the whole network, thus enhancing the stability of transmission links. Among them, we propose the multiplication rule of multi-hop link states, which is a new idea to evaluate link states. Finally, we use packet delivery rate (PDR) and energy efficiency rate (EER) as two main evaluation metrics. In the same NS3 experimental scenario, the PDR of HTLR is at least 5.11% higher and the EER is at least 1.17 lower than compared protocols. Besides, we use Wilcoxon test to compare HTLR with the simplified version of HTLR without hedge transfer learning (N-HTLR). The results show that HTRL is superior to N-HTRL, effectively ensuring QoS.

Application of Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Automatic Detection of Digital Optical Fiber Repeater.

The digital optical fiber repeater (DOFR) is an important infrastructure in the LTE networks, which solve the problem of poor regional signal quality. Various types of conventional measurement data from the LTE network cannot indicate whether a working DOFR is present in the cell. Currently, the detection of DOFRs relies solely on maintenance engineers for field detection. Manual detection methods are not timely or efficient, because of the large number and wide geographical distribution of DOFRs. Implementing automatic detection of DOFR can reduce the maintenance cost for mobile network operators. We treat the DOFR detection problem as a classification problem and employ a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) to tackle it. The measurement report (MR) we used in this paper are tabular data, which is not an ideal input for DCNN. We propose a novel MR representation method that takes the overall MR data of a cell as a sample rather than a single record in the table, and represents the MR data as a pseudo-image matrix (PIM). The PIM will be used as the input for training DCNN, and the trained DCNN will be used to perform DOFR detection tasks. We conducted a series of experiments on real MR data, and the classification accuracy can achieve 93%. The proposed AI-based method can effectively detect the DOFR in a cell.

Free-standing hybrid material of Cu/Cu2O/CuO modified by graphene with commercial Cu foil using for non-enzymatic glucose detection.

Free-standing Cu/Cu2O/CuO modified by graphene was formed through two steps: Firstly, the commercial Cu foil was thermal annealed to form Cu/Cu2O/CuO; Secondly, the Cu/Cu2O/CuO was modified by graphene through electrochemical exfoliated method. The SEM, XRD, TEM and XPS have been used to characterize the morphology, the crystalline phase, and the surface composition of the hybrid electrode as-prepared. The effects of Cu and its oxides on graphene has been uncovered by the Raman results. The sensitivity of the glucose sensor in 0.1 M NaOH by using the as-prepared hybrid material reaches 3102µA·mM-1cm-2within a linear range of 0.002-2.88 mM, which is better than that of the Cu/graphene and the Cu/Cu2O/CuO prepared at the same conditions. The sensor also shows excellent anti-interference ability, good cycling stability and time stability. The advantage of the sensor is caused by the strengthened synergistic effects between the graphene and the Cu/Cu2O/CuO due to the alleviated detrimental effects of the metal on the property of the graphene through using oxides middle layer as well as the large active area that obtained. This work provides a new way to study the effects of graphene in improving the property of the metal oxide especially in using for glucose sensor.

Fluorescein isothiocyanate-doped conjugated polymer nanoparticles for two-photon ratiometric fluorescent imaging of intracellular pH fluctuations.

Herein, we report a two-photon ratiometric fluorescent pH nanosensor based on conjugated polymer poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) nanoparticles loaded with pH-sensitive fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) for intracellular pH monitoring. The obtained nanosensor (FITC-PFO NPs) possesses high sensitivity, excellent stability, good reversibility, favorable two-photon excitability and low cytotoxicity. The ratiometric fluorescence of FITC and PFO (F517/F417) in FITC-PFO NPs solution shows an efficient pH-sensitive response over the pH range from 3 to 10 (pKa = 6.43) under two-photon excitation. Additionally, the FITC-PFO NPs is successfully applied for ratiometric imaging of intracellular pH and its fluctuation in both one-photon and two-photon excitation modes. Overall, the two-photon pH nanosensor based on FITC-PFO NPs exhibits great potential in crucial physiological and biological processes related to intracellular pH fluctuations.

Chlorin e6-1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran polymer hybrid nanoparticles for singlet oxygen-detection photodynamic abaltion.

A dual-functional nanosysterm is developed by means of Chlorin e6 (Ce6) as photosensitizer and 1,3-Diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF) as fluorescent singlet oxygen (1O2) probe. Under 660 nm laser irradiation, Ce6 exhibites efficient 1O2 generation, and subsequently the production of 1O2 is assessed by the ratiometric fluorescence of PFO and DPBF under one-photon and two-photon excitation mode. The nanoparticles with excellent biocompatibility can be internalized into Hela cells and applied for tumor treatment. For intracellular PDT, the nanoparticles perform a high phototoxicity, while the PDT proccess can be evaluated in time by monitoring fluorescence signals of DPBF. This theranostic nanosysterm provides a facile strategy to fabricate 1O2-detection PDT, which can realize accurate and efficient photodynamic therapy based on singlet oxygen detection.

Soft-Mode-Phonon-Mediated Unconventional Superconductivity in Monolayer 1T

Recent experiments have tuned the monolayer 1T^{'}-WTe_{2} to be superconducting by electrostatic gating. Here, we theoretically study the phonon-mediated superconductivity in monolayer 1T^{'}-WTe_{2} via charge doping. We reveal that the emergence of soft-mode phonons with specific momentum is crucial to give rise to the superconductivity in the electron-doping regime, whereas no such soft-mode phonons and no superconductivity emerge in the hole-doping regime. We also find a superconducting dome, which can be attributed to the change of Fermi surface nesting conditions with electron doping. By taking into account the experimentally established strong anisotropy of temperature-dependent upper critical field H_{c2} between the in-plane and out-of-plane directions, we show that the superconducting state probably has the unconventional equal-spin-triplet pairing in the A_{u} channel of the C_{2h} point group. Our studies provide a promising understanding to the doping dependent superconductivity and strong anisotropy of H_{c2} in monolayer 1T^{'}-WTe_{2}, and can be extended to understand the superconductivity in other gated transition metal dichalcogenides.

A benchmark dataset for ensemble framework by using nature inspired algorithms for the early-stage forest fire rescue.

This paper introduces a benchmark dataset to the research article entitled "Ensemble framework by using nature inspired algorithms for the early-stage forest fire rescue - a case study of dynamic optimization problems", by Zhang et al. [7]. Rescue ensemble that consists of rescue simulator and rescue algorithm is characterized by supporting the dynamic simulation of forest fire rescue. The purpose of rescue algorithm is to minimize the longest flight time of aircraft group II and the newly-increased burnt forest cost in one period, simultaneously. The map information in our dataset is from Google map and relevant parameters are also from the actual situation data. The benchmark contains 10 different maps that researchers can use to evaluate their own algorithms and compare their performance with our algorithm.

Facile synthesis of polypyrrole-rhodamine B nanoparticles for self-monitored photothermal therapy of cancer cells.

Photothermal therapy following microscopic temperature detection can avoid overheating effects or insufficient heating, and thus improve therapeutic efficacy. In this study, biocompatible dual-functional nanoparticles (NPs) are constructed from polypyrrole (PPy) and rhodamine B (RB) by a one-step modified polymerization method. The polypyrrole serves as a photothemal agent, and rhodamine B acts as a temperature-sensing probe. The polypyrrole-rhodamine B (PPy-RB) NPs possess a high photothermal effect on irradiation by 808 nm laser, and a competent temperature sensitivity for the real-time temperature monitoring based on the emission intensity response of rhodamine B. After acting on HepG2 cells, the PPy-RB NPs can effectively induce cancer cell death, and the microscopic temperature is monitored by fluorescence feedback from rhodamine B during PTT by laser confocal microscopy. Hence, the proposed approach can supply a facile and promising way for the fabrication of effective theranostic nanoplatforms assisted by self-monitoring of cancer therapeutic processes.

One-step formation of a hybrid material of graphene and porous Ni with highly active Ni(OH)2 used for glucose detection.

A hybrid material of graphene and porous Ni with highly active Ni(OH)2 was formed through a one-step electrochemical exfoliation assisted method. The porous Ni with a pore size of 2-10 micrometers obtained by a hydrogen bubble template method was used as the cathode while the graphite foil was used as the anode with only (NH4)2SO4 as the electrolyte. Both the high surface areas of porous Ni and the oxygen radicals in graphene favored the formation of the Ni(OH)2. It is confirmed by energy dispersion spectrum, transmission electron microscope, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Both the active area and the glucose sensing property of the as-prepared hybrid material were estimated by electrochemical methods of cyclic voltammetry with current-voltage (C-V) curve, chronoamperometry with current-time (I-t) curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis, respectively. It shows an extraordinary active area as well as a low charge transfer resistance and absorption resistance. As a result, a high sensitivity of 6504 µA/mM-1 cm-2 within a linear range of 4 µM-1.0 mM was obtained for glucose detection.

Polylysine modified conjugated polymer nanoparticles loaded with the singlet oxygen probe 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran and the photosensitizer indocyanine green for use in fluorometric sensing and in photodynamic therapy.

Conjugated polymer hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with both indocyanine green (ICG) and 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF) are described. The NPs are dually functional in that ICG acts as the photosensitizer, and DPBF as a probe for singlet oxygen (1O2 probe). The nanoparticle core consists of the energy donating host poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(2,5-p-xylene) (PFP). The polymer is doped with the energy acceptor DPBF. Ratiometric fluorometric detection of singlet oxygen is accomplished by measurement of fluorescence at wavelengths of 415 and 458 nm. In addition, the shell of the positively charged polymeric nanoparticles was modified, via electrostatic interaction, with negatively charged PDT drugs ICG. The integrated nanoparticles of type ICG-DPBF-PFP display effective photodynamic performance under 808-nm laser irradiation. The 1O2 sensing behaviors of samples are evaluated based on the ratiometric fluorescent responses produced by DPBF and PFP. 1O2 can be fluorimetically sensed with a detection limit of 28 µM. The multifunctional nanoprobes exhibit effortless cellular uptake, superior photodynamic activity and a rapid ratiometric response to 1O2. Graphical abstractSchematic of a dual-functional nanoplatform for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and singlet oxygen (1O2) feedback. It offers a new strategy for self-monitoring photodynamic ablation. FRET: fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Indocyanine green is attached in the shell of nanoparticles, and 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran is doped into the energy donating host conjugated polymer.

Frequency-demultiplication OEO for stable millimeter-wave signal generation utilizing phase-locked frequency-quadrupling.

A novel scheme for the generation and stabilization of the millimeter-wave (mmW) signal employing a frequency-demultiplication optoelectronic oscillator (FD-OEO) has been theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated. The FD-OEO can keep sustaining without optical first-order sidebands, which would help to simplify the photonic-assisted frequency multiplication process and provide a wide frequency compensation range for the mmW system simultaneously. The stability of the generated 40-GHz mmW signal reaches 1.38 × 10-12 at the average time of 100s. Besides, the measured single-sideband phase noise of the generated mmW signal exhibits as low as -103 dBc/Hz at 10-kHz offset frequency, maintaining a spurious level of -97 dBc.

Two-photon oxygen nanosensors based on a conjugated fluorescent polymer doped with platinum porphyrins.

Ratiometric fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) under two-photon excitation are successfully developed for sensing dissolved oxygen. The NPs comprise the oxygen probe Pt(II)-porphyrins (PtTFPP) and fluorescent organic semiconducting polymer (PFO). PFO polymer acts as both a two-photon antenna and a reference dye, while PtTFPP absorbs the photonic energy transferred by the PFO under two-photon excitation at 740 nm to sense oxygen. The red fluorescence of PtTFPP is sensitive to oxygen with a quenching response of 88% from nitrogen saturation to oxygen saturation, and PFO gives oxygen-insensitive referenced blue fluorescence. The fluorescence quenching of the NPs against oxygen at two-photon excitation follows a linear Stern-Volmer behavior. The nanosensors exhibit low cytotoxic effects as well as effortless cellular uptake. When incorporated into cells, the ratio of the signals increases up to about 500% from oxygen-saturated to oxygen-free environment.

Anti-dispersion phase-tunable microwave mixer based on a dual-drive dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator.

An optically-controlled phase-tunable microwave mixer based on a dual-drive dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DDDP-MZM) is proposed, which supports wideband phase shift and immunity to power fading caused by chromatic dispersion. By using carrier-suppressed single side-band (CS-SSB) modulation for the local oscillator (LO) signal and carrier-suppressed double side-band (CS-DSB) modulation for the input signal, no vector superposition for the same output microwave frequency occurs, making the system immune from power fading caused by chromatic dispersion. Phase tuning is achieved by shifting the phase of the LO signal, and direct electrical tuning of the wideband microwave input signal is avoided, thus supporting large working bandwidth. A phase-shifted down-conversion experiment is carried out, where a phase shift with 0 ~390° and down-conversion are achieved with a phase variation of less than 5° and power variation less than 3.5 dBm when the input signal sweeps between 12 ~16 GHz. The mixer is simple and power-efficient since it uses a single compact modulator, and does not require any optical filters. No power notches are observed in the output microwave spectrum, proving that the dispersion-related frequency-selective fading is mitigated.

Supermode noise suppression with mutual injection locking for coupled optoelectronic oscillator.

The coupled optoelectronic oscillator (COEO) is typically used to generate high frequency spectrally pure microwave signal with serious sidemodes noise. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple scheme for supermode suppression with mutual injection locking between the COEO (master oscillator with multi-modes oscillation) and the embedded free-running oscillator (slave oscillator with single-mode oscillation). The master and slave oscillators share the same electrical feedback path, which means that the mutually injection-locked COEO brings no additional hardware complexity. Owing to the mode matching and mutually injection locking effect, 9.999 GHz signal has been successfully obtained by the mutually injection-locked COEO with the phase noise about -117 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset frequency. Besides, the supermode noise can be significantly suppressed more than 50 dB to below -120 dBc.

A novel tri-band T-junction impedance-transforming power divider with independent power division ratios.

In this paper, a novel L network (LN) is presented, which is composed of a frequency-selected section (FSS) and a middle stub (MS). Based on the proposed LN, a tri-band T-junction power divider (TTPD) with impedance transformation and independent power division ratios is designed. Moreover, the closed-form design theory of the TTPD is derived based on the transmission line theory and circuit theory. Finally, a microstrip prototype of the TTPD is simulated, fabricated, and measured. The design is for three arbitrarily chosen frequencies, 1 GHz, 1.6 GHz, and 2.35 GHz with the independent power division ratios of 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9. The measured results show that the fabricated prototype is consistent with the simulation, which demonstrates the effectiveness of this proposed design.

An independently reconfigurable dual-mode dual-band substrate integrated waveguide filter.

In this paper, a novel perturbation approach for implementing the independently reconfigurable dual-mode dual-band substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filter is proposed. Dual-frequency manipulation is achieved by adding perturbation via-holes (the first variable) and changing the lengths of the interference slot (the second variable) in each cavity. The independent control of the upper passband only depends on the second variable while the lower passband is independently tuned by combining the two variables. Using such a design method, a two-cavity dual-band SIW filter is designed and experimentally assessed with four via-holes and an interference slot in each cavity. The dual-band filter not only has a frequency ratio (fR) ranging from 1.14 to 1.58 but also can be considered as a single passband one with a tunable range of 40.5% from 1.26 GHz to 2.12 GHz. The scattering parameters |S11| and |S21| are in the range of -10.72 dB to -37.17 dB and -3.67 dB to -7.22 dB in the operating dual bands, respectively. All the simulated and measured results show an acceptable agreement with the predicted data.

Indocyanine green-platinum porphyrins integrated conjugated polymer hybrid nanoparticles for near-infrared-triggered photothermal and two-photon photodynamic therapy.

A type of polymeric nanoparticles loading indocyanine green and Pt(ii)-porphyrins (ICG-Pt-NPs) is constructed to achieve a synergistic effect of combined photothermal and two-photon activated photodynamic therapy. The nanoparticle core comprises the photosensitizer Pt(ii)-porphyrins (PtTFPP), and organic semiconducting polymer (PFO) that acts as a two-photon antenna. Negative ICG molecules, an NIR-absorbing photothermal dye, can be loaded into the positively charged poly-l-lysine (PLL) shell of the polymeric nanoparticles via electrostatic interaction. In these carefully designed ICG-PtTFPP integrated nanoparticles, PtTFPP absorbs the photonic energy transferred by the PFO polymer under two-photon laser excitation at 740 nm to induce photodynamic cancer cell death, while ICG offers nanoparticles a strong photothermal performance under 808 nm laser irradiation. Compared with photodynamic therapy or photothermal therapy alone, the combined therapy had a significantly synergistic effect and improved the therapeutic efficacy with near-infrared irradiation.

Dual-Band Dual-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide Filters with Independently Reconfigurable TE101 Resonant Mode.

A novel perturbation approach using additional metalized via-holes for implementation of the dual-band or wide-band dual-mode substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filters is proposed in this paper. The independent perturbation on the first resonant mode TE101 can be constructed by applying the proposed perturbation approach, whereas the second resonant mode TE102 is not affected. Thus, new kinds of dual-band or wide-band dual-mode SIW filters with a fixed or an independently reconfigurable low-frequency band have been directly achieved. In order to experimentally verify the proposed design method, four two-cavity dual-band SIW filters, which have different numbers of perturbation via-holes in each cavity, and a two-cavity dual-band SIW filter, which includes four via-holes and eight reconfigurable states in each cavity, are designed and experimentally assessed. The measured results indicate that the available frequency-ratio range from 1 to 1.3 can be realized by using four two-cavity dual-band SIW filters. The center frequency of the first band can be tuned from 4.61 GHz to 5.24 GHz, whereas the center frequency of the second one is fixed at around 6.18 GHz for the two-cavity dual-band SIW filter with four reconfigurable states via-holes. All the simulated and measured results show an acceptable agreement with the predicted data.

A Generalized Lossy Transmission-Line Model for Tunable Graphene-Based Transmission Lines with Attenuation Phenomenon.

To investigate the frequency shift phenomenon by inserting graphene, a generalized lossy transmission-line model and the related electrical parameter-extraction theory are proposed in this paper. Three kinds of graphene-based transmission lines with attenuation phenomenon including microstrip line, double-side parallel strip line, and uniplanar coplanar waveguide are analyzed under the common conditions where different chemical potentials are loaded on graphene. The values of attenuation constant and phase constant, and the real and imaginary parts of the characteristic impedance of transmission lines are extracted to analyze in details. When the attenuation constant and the reactance part of the characteristic impedance are approximately equal to zero, this kind of transmission line has low or zero insertion loss. On the contrary, the transmission line is under the radiation mode with obvious insertion loss. The phase constant changes linearly under the transmission mode and can be varied with changing of chemical potentials which attributes to the property of frequency tunability. Furthermore, a bandwidth reconfigurable uniplanar coplanar waveguide power divider is simulated to demonstrate that this theory can be applied to the design of three-port devices. In summary, this work provides a strong potential approach and design theory to help design other kinds of terahertz and mid-infrared reconfigurable devices.

Three-dimensional multiway power dividers based on transformation optics.

The two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) multiway power dividers based on transformation optical theory are proposed in this paper. It comprises of several nonisotropic mediums and one isotropic medium without any lumped and distributed elements. By using finite embedded coordinate transformations, the incident beam can be split and bent arbitrarily in order to achieve effective power division and transmission. In addition, the location of the split point can be employed to obtain unequal power dividers. Finally, several typical examples of the generalized power divider without limitation in 3D space are performed, which shows that the proposed power divider can implement required functions with arbitrary power division and arbitrary transmission paths. The excellent simulated results verify the novel design method for power dividers.