Closed-form capacity bounds for downlink and uplink decoupling

©2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) decoupling (DUDe) is a new architectural paradigm where DL and UL are not constrained to be associated to the same base station (BS). Thus, a user having access to multiple BSs within a dense cellular network can receive the DL traffic from one BS and send its UL traffic through another. Building upon this architectural paradigm, the present paper provides tight analytical bounds in closed form for the UL ergodic capacity that depend solely on the density of the infrastructure. The devised bounds account for the backbone network congestion and the synchronization of the acknowledgments of the decoupled channels. The proposed bounds are compared against extensive numerical simulations demonstrating the tractability and accuracy of the expressions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Closed form analysis of Poisson cellular networks: a stochastic geometry approach

Ultra dense networks (UDNs) allow for efficient spatial reuse of the spectrum, giving rise to substantial capacity and power gains. In order to exploit those gains, tractable mathematical models need to be derived, allowing for the analysis and optimization of the network operation. In this course, stochastic geometry has emerged as a powerful tool for large-scale analysis and modeling of wireless cellular networks. In particular, the employment of stochastic geometry has been proven instrumental for the characterization of the network performance and for providing significant insights into network densification. Fundamental issues, however, remain open in order to use stochastic geometry tools for the optimization of wireless networks, with the biggest challenge being the lack of tractable closed form expressions for the derived figures of merit. To this end, the present thesis revisits stochastic geometry and provides a novel stochastic geometry framework with a twofold contribution. The first part of the thesis focuses on the derivation of simple, albeit accurate closed form approximations for the ergodic rate of Poisson cellular networks under a noise limited, an interference limited and a general case scenario. The ergodic rate constitutes the most sensible figure of merit for characterizing the system performance, but due to the inherent intractability of the available stochastic geometry frameworks, had not been formulated in closed form hitherto. To demonstrate the potential of the aforementioned tractable expressions with respect to network optimization, the present thesis proposes a flexible connectivity paradigm and employs part of the developed expressions to optimize the network connectivity. The proposed flexible connectivity paradigm exploits the downlink uplink decoupling (DUDe) configuration, which is a promising framework providing substantial capacity and outage gains in UDNs and introduces the DUDe connectivity gains into the 5G era and beyond. Subsequently, the last part of the thesis provides an analytical formulation of the probability density function (PDF) of the aggregate inter-cell interference in Poisson cellular networks. The introduced PDF is an accurate approximation of the exact PDF that could not be analytically formulated hitherto, even though it constituted a crucial tool for the analysis and optimization of cellular networks. The lack of an analytical expression for the PDF of the interference in Poisson cellular networks had imposed the use of intricate formulas, in order to derive sensible figures of merit by employing only the moment generating function (MGF). Hence, the present thesis introduces an innovative framework able to simplify the analysis of Poisson cellular networks to a great extent, while addressing fundamental issues related to network optimization and design.Las redes ultra densas (UDNs) permiten una reutilización espacial del espectro, proporcionando ventajas en términos de mejora de capacidad y ahorro de potencia. Para explotar estas ventajas se necesitan modelos matemáticos simples que permitan el análisis y la optimización de la operación de la red. Por esta razón, la geometría estocástica se ha convertido en una potente herramienta para el análisis de redes celulares. En particular, el empleo de la geometría estocástica ha sido fundamental para la caracterización del rendimiento de la red y para proporcionar información importante sobre la densificación de la misma. Sin embargo, hay problemas fundamentales que deben resolverse para utilizar estas herramientas de geometría estocástica, siendo el mayor desafío la falta de expresiones simples de forma cerrada para las funciones objetivo de interés. Por este motivo, la presente tesis examina la geometría estocástica y proporciona un marco novedoso con una doble contribución. La primera parte de la tesis se centra en la derivación de aproximaciones cerradas simples pero ajustadas para la capacidad ergódica de las redes de Poisson en escenarios limitados por ruido, por interferencia y por ambos. La capacidad ergódica constituye la figura de mérito más apropiada para caracterizar el rendimiento del sistema, pero no se ha formulado en forma cerrada debido a la complejidad inherente de las expresiones de geometría estocástica disponibles. Para demostrar el potencial de las expresiones simples propuestas, la presente tesis propone un paradigma de conectividad flexible y utiliza parte de las expresiones desarrolladas para optimizar la conectividad de la red. El paradigma de conectividad flexible propuesto explota la configuración de "Downlink Uplink Decoupling" (DUDe), que es un marco que proporciona ventajas sustanciales en términos de incremento de capacidad y reducción de la probabilidad de bloqueo en UDNs e introduce mejoras de conectividad DUDe en la era de 5G. Más adelante, la última parte de la tesis proporciona una formulación analítica de la función de densidad de probabilidad (PDF) de la interferencia agregada en las redes celulares de Poisson. La PDF desarrollada es una aproximación precisa de la PDF exacta que hasta ahora no se ha podido formular analíticamente, a pesar de que se trata de una herramienta crucial para el análisis y la optimización de las redes celulares. La falta de una expresión analítica para la PDF de la interferencia en las redes celulares de Poisson había impuesto el uso de fórmulas complejas, a fin de derivar funciones objetivas apropiadas empleando solo la función generadora de momentos (MGF). Por lo tanto, la presente tesis presenta un marco innovador capaz de simplificar el análisis de las redes celulares de Poisson y así resolver problemas fundamentales relacionados con la optimización y el diseño de la red

Optogenetics: Molecular and Optical Tools for Controlling Life with Light

Optogenetic tools are genetically-encoded reagents that, when targeted to specific brain cells, enable their activity to be controlled by light. These tools are having broad impact on science, and may serve clinical roles as well. 150-word Biography: Ed Boyden is Associate Professor of Biological Engineering and Brain and Cognitive Sciences, at the MIT Media Lab and the MIT McGovern Institute. He leads the Synthetic Neurobiology Group, which develops tools for analyzing and engineering the circuits of the brain. These technologies, created often in interdisciplinary collaborations, include 'optogenetic' tools, which enable the activation and silencing of neural circuit elements with light, 3-D microfabricated neural interfaces, and robotic methods for performing single-cell analyses in living brain. He has received the NIH Director's New Innovator Award, the Society for Neuroscience Research Award for Innovation in Neuroscience, the Paul Allen Distinguished Investigator Award, the Perl/UNC prize, the A. F. Harvey Prize, the Grete Lundbeck “Brain” Prize, amongst other recognitions. He has contributed to over 300 peer-reviewed papers, current or pending patents, and articles, and has given over 200 invited talks on his work

Observations on darwiche and Pearl's approach for iterated belief revision

© 2019 International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved. Notwithstanding the extensive work on iterated belief revision, there is, still, no fully satisfactory solution within the classical AGM paradigm. The seminal work of Darwiche and Pearl (DP approach, for short) remains the most dominant, despite its well-documented shortcomings. In this article, we make further observations on the DP approach. Firstly, we prove that the DP postulates are, in a strong sense, inconsistent with Parikh's relevance-sensitive axiom (P), extending previous initial conflicts. Immediate consequences of this result are that an entire class of intuitive revision operators, which includes Dalal's operator, violates the DP postulates, as well as that the Independence postulate and Spohn's conditionalization are inconsistent with (P). Lastly, we show that the DP postulates allow for more revision polices than the ones that can be captured by identifying belief states with total preorders over possible worlds, a fact implying that a preference ordering (over possible worlds) is an insufficient representation for a belief state

Determining the neurotransmitter concentration profile at active synapses

Establishing the temporal and concentration profiles of neurotransmitters during synaptic release is an essential step towards understanding the basic properties of inter-neuronal communication in the central nervous system. A variety of ingenious attempts has been made to gain insights into this process, but the general inaccessibility of central synapses, intrinsic limitations of the techniques used, and natural variety of different synaptic environments have hindered a comprehensive description of this fundamental phenomenon. Here, we describe a number of experimental and theoretical findings that has been instrumental for advancing our knowledge of various features of neurotransmitter release, as well as newly developed tools that could overcome some limits of traditional pharmacological approaches and bring new impetus to the description of the complex mechanisms of synaptic transmission

A wirelessly powered and controlled device for optical neural control of freely-behaving animals

Optogenetics, the ability to use light to activate and silence specific neuron types within neural networks in vivo and in vitro, is revolutionizing neuroscientists' capacity to understand how defined neural circuit elements contribute to normal and pathological brain functions. Typically, awake behaving experiments are conducted by inserting an optical fiber into the brain, tethered to a remote laser, or by utilizing an implanted light-emitting diode (LED), tethered to a remote power source. A fully wireless system would enable chronic or longitudinal experiments where long duration tethering is impractical, and would also support high-throughput experimentation. However, the high power requirements of light sources (LEDs, lasers), especially in the context of the extended illumination periods often desired in experiments, precludes battery-powered approaches from being widely applicable. We have developed a headborne device weighing 2 g capable of wirelessly receiving power using a resonant RF power link and storing the energy in an adaptive supercapacitor circuit, which can algorithmically control one or more headborne LEDs via a microcontroller. The device can deliver approximately 2 W of power to the LEDs in steady state, and 4.3 W in bursts. We also present an optional radio transceiver module (1 g) which, when added to the base headborne device, enables real-time updating of light delivery protocols; dozens of devices can be controlled simultaneously from one computer. We demonstrate use of the technology to wirelessly drive cortical control of movement in mice. These devices may serve as prototypes for clinical ultra-precise neural prosthetics that use light as the modality of biological control.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2OD002002))National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1R01DA029639)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1RC1MH088182)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1RC2DE020919)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1R01NS067199)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1R43NS070453)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER award)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF Grant DMS 1042134)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF Grant DMS 0848804)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF Grant EFRI 0835878)Benesse FoundationGoogle (Firm)Dr. Gerald Burnett and Marjorie BurnettUnited States. Dept. of Defense (CDMRP PTSD Program)Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyBrain & Behavior Research FoundationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationSociety for NeuroscienceMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Media LaboratoryMcGovern Institute for Brain Research at MITWallace H. Coulter Foundatio

An Epistemological Study of Theory Change

Belief Revision is a well-established field of research that deals with how agents rationally change their minds in the face of new information. The milestone of Belief Revision is a general and versatile formal framework introduced by Alchourrón, Gärdenfors and Makinson, known as the AGM paradigm, which has been, to this date, the dominant model within the field. A main shortcoming of the AGM paradigm, as originally proposed, is its lack of any guidelines for relevant change. To remedy this weakness, Parikh proposed a relevance-sensitive axiom, which applies on splittable theories; i.e., theories that can be divided into syntax-disjoint compartments. The aim of this article is to provide an epistemological interpretation of the dynamics (revision) of splittable theories, from the perspective of Kuhn's inuential work on the evolution of scientific knowledge, through the consideration of principal belief-change scenarios. The whole study establishes a conceptual bridge between rational belief revision and traditional philosophy of science, which sheds light on the application of formal epistemological tools on the dynamics of knowledge