Abstract Underwater communication (UWC) is widely used in coastal surveillance and early warning systems. Precise channel estimation is vital for efficient and reliable UWC. The sparse direct‐adaptive filtering algorithms have become popular in UWC. Herein, we present an improved adaptive convex‐combination method for the identification of sparse structures using a reweighted normalized least‐mean‐square (RNLMS) algorithm. Moreover, to make RNLMS algorithm independent of the reweighted ‐norm parameter, a modified sparsity‐aware adaptive zero‐attracting RNLMS (AZA‐RNLMS) algorithm is introduced to ensure accurate modeling. In addition, we present a quantitative analysis of this algorithm to evaluate the convergence speed and accuracy. Furthermore, we derive an excess mean‐square‐error expression that proves that the AZA‐RNLMS algorithm performs better for the harsh underwater channel. The measured data from the experimental channel of SPACE08 is used for simulation, and results are presented to verify the performance of the proposed algorithm. The simulation results confirm that the proposed algorithm for underwater channel estimation performs better than the earlier schemes.

In software-defined wireless networking (SDWN), the optimal routing technique is one of the effective solutions to improve its performance. This routing technique is done by many different methods, with the most common using integer linear programming problem (ILP), building optimal routing metrics. These methods often only focus on one routing objective, such as minimizing the packet blocking probability, minimizing end-to-end delay (EED), and maximizing network throughput. It is difficult to consider multiple objectives concurrently in a routing algorithm. In this paper, we investigate the application of machine learning to control routing in the SDWN. An intelligent routing algorithm is then proposed based on the machine learning to improve the network performance. The proposed algorithm can optimize multiple routing objectives. Our idea is to combine supervised learning (SL) and reinforcement learning (RL) methods to discover new routes. The SL is used to predict the performance metrics of the links, including EED quality of transmission (QoT), and packet blocking probability (PBP). The routing is done by the RL method. We use the Q-value in the fundamental equation of the RL to store the PBP, which is used for the aim of route selection. Concurrently, the learning rate coefficient is flexibly changed to determine the constraints of routing during learning. These constraints include QoT and EED. Our performance evaluations based on OMNeT++ have shown that the proposed algorithm has significantly improved the network performance in terms of the QoT, EED, packet delivery ratio, and network throughput compared with other wellknown routing algorithms.

Spectral clustering has become a typical and efficient clustering method used in a variety of applications. The critical step of spectral clustering is the similarity measurement, which largely determines the performance of the spectral clustering method. In this paper, we propose a novel spectral clustering algorithm based on the local similarity measure of shared neighbors. This similarity measurement exploits the local density information between data points based on the weight of the shared neighbors in a directed k $$ k $$ -nearest neighbor graph with only one parameter k $$ k $$ , that is, the number of nearest neighbors. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate that our proposed algorithm outperforms other existing spectral clustering algorithms in terms of the clustering performance measured via the normalized mutual information, clustering accuracy, and F $$ F $$ -measure. As an example, the proposed method can provide an improvement of 15.82% in the clustering performance for the Soybean dataset.

This study proposes a novel method for identifying the primary conspirators involved in terrorist activities. To map the information related to terrorist activities, we gathered information from different sources of real cases involving terrorist attacks. We extracted useful information from available sources and then mapped them in the form of terrorist networks, and this mapping provided us with insights in these networks. Furthermore, we came up with a novel centrality measure for identifying the primary conspirators of a terrorist attack. Because the leaders of terrorist attacks usually direct conspirators to conduct terrorist activities, we designed a novel algorithm that can identify such leaders. This algorithm can identify terrorist attack leaders even if they have less connectivity in networks. We tested the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms on four real-world datasets and conducted an experimental evaluation, and the proposed algorithms could correctly identify the primary conspirators and leaders of the attacks in the four cases. To summarize, this work may provide information support for security agencies and can be helpful during the trials of the cases related to terrorist attacks.

Signal decomposition is a computational technique that dissects a signal into its constituent components, providing supplementary information. In this study, the capability of two common signal decomposition techniques, including wavelet-based and empirical mode decomposition, on preterm birth classification was investigated. Ten time-domain features were extracted from the constituent components of electrohysterogram (EHG) signals, including EHG subbands and EHG intrinsic mode functions, and employed for preterm birth classification. Preterm birth classification and anticipation are crucial tasks that can help reduce preterm birth complications. The computational results show that the preterm birth classification obtained using wavelet-based decomposition is superior. This, therefore, implies that EHG subbands decomposed through wavelet-based decomposition provide more applicable information for preterm birth classification. Furthermore, an accuracy of 0.9776 and a specificity of 0.9978, the best performance on preterm birth classification among state-of-the-art signal processing techniques, were obtained using the time-domain features of EHG subbands.

In the last decade, substantial progress has been achieved in intelligent traffic control technologies to overcome consistent difficulties of traffic congestion and its adverse effect on smart cities. Edge computing is one such advanced progress facilitating real-time data transmission among vehicles and roadside units to mitigate congestion. An edge computing-based deep reinforcement learning system is demonstrated in this study that appropriately designs a multiobjective reward function for optimizing different objectives. The system seeks to overcome the challenge of evaluating actions with a simple numerical reward. The selection of reward functions has a significant impact on agents' ability to acquire the ideal behavior for managing multiple traffic signals in a large-scale road network. To ascertain effective reward functions, the agent is trained withusing the proximal policy optimization method in several deep neural network models, including the state-of-the-art transformer network. The system is verified using both hypothetical scenarios and real-world traffic maps. The comprehensive simulation outcomes demonstrate the potency of the suggested reward functions.

Bicycle- or bike-sharing systems (BSSs) have received increasing attention as a secondary transportation mode due to their advantages, for example, accessibility, prevention of air pollution, and health promotion. However, in BSSs, due to bias in bike demands, the bike rebalancing problem should be solved. Various methods have been proposed to solve this problem; however, it is difficult to apply such methods to small cities because bike demand is sparse, and there are many practical issues to solve. Thus, we propose a demand prediction model using multiple classifiers, time grouping, categorization, weather analysis, and station correlation information. In addition, we analyze real-world relocation data by relocation managers and propose a relocation algorithm based on the analytical results to solve the bike rebalancing problem. The proposed system is compared experimentally with the results obtained by the real relocation managers.

Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder associated with cognitive and neurobehavioral disorders. It affects the person's behavior and performance. Autism affects verbal and non‐verbal communication in social interactions. Early screening and diagnosis of ASD are essential and helpful for early educational planning and treatment, the provision of family support, and for providing appropriate medical support for the child on time. Thus, developing automated methods for diagnosing ASD is becoming an essential need. Herein, we investigate using various machine learning methods to build predictive models for diagnosing ASD in children using facial images. To achieve this, we used an autistic children dataset containing 2936 facial images of children with autism and typical children. In application, we used classical machine learning methods, such as support vector machine and random forest. In addition to using deep‐learning methods, we used a state‐of‐the‐art method, that is, automated machine learning (AutoML). We compared the results obtained from the existing techniques. Consequently, we obtained that AutoML achieved the highest performance of approximately 96% accuracy via the Hyperpot and tree‐based pipeline optimization tool optimization. Furthermore, AutoML methods enabled us to easily find the best parameter settings without any human efforts for feature engineering.

This study proposes a novel low-complexity algorithm for computing inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT)/fast Fourier transform (FFT) operations in binary phase shift keying-modulated orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication systems without requiring any twiddle factor multiplications. The peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction capacity of an efficient PAPR reduction technique, that is, H-SLM method, is evaluated using the proposed IFFT algorithm without any complex multiplications, and the impact of oversampling factor for the accurate calculation of PAPR is analyzed. The power spectral density of an OFDM signal generated using the proposed multiplierless IFFT algorithm is also examined. Moreover, the bit-error-rate performance of the H-SLM technique with the proposed IFFT/FFT algorithm is compared with the classical methods. Simulation results show that the proposed IFFT/FFT algorithm used in the H-SLM method requires no complex multiplications, thereby minimizing power consumption as well as the area of IFFT/FFT processors used in OFDM communication systems.

This study presents a novel multilayer structure of parallel coupled-line bandpass filtercentered at 2.42 GHz with a fractional bandwidth value of approximately 19.4%. The designed filter can suppress harmonics with an appropriate frequency response by incorporating different techniques based on the multilayer technique. A combination of different techniques such as radial microstrip stubs and defected ground structure (DGS) and defected microstrip structure techniques are employed to suppress harmonics up to 5f0. These techniques are used in two layers to suppress up to 5f0. In addition, in this study, the effects of different parameters, such as the width of slot-line DGS, the angle of diagonal line slots in the upper layer, and the air gap between the two layers on the filter performance, are investigated. To verify the correct circuit operation, the designed filter is implemented and tested. The measurement results of the proposed filter are compared with the simulation results.