FPGA-Implemented Fractal Decoder with Forward Error Correction in Short-Reach Optical Interconnects

Forward error correction (FEC) codes combined with high-order modulator formats, i.e., coded modulation (CM), are essential in optical communication networks to achieve highly efficient and reliable communication. The task of providing additional error control in the design of CM systems with high-performance requirements remains urgent. As an additional control of CM systems, we propose to use indivisible error detection codes based on a positional number system. In this work, we evaluated the indivisible code using the average probability method (APM) for the binary symmetric channel (BSC), which has the simplicity, versatility and reliability of the estimate, which is close to reality. The APM allows for evaluation and compares indivisible codes according to parameters of correct transmission, and detectable and undetectable errors. Indivisible codes allow for the end-to-end (E2E) control of the transmission and processing of information in digital systems and design devices with a regular structure and high speed. This study researched a fractal decoder device for additional error control, implemented in field-programmable gate array (FPGA) software with FEC for short-reach optical interconnects with multilevel pulse amplitude (PAM-M) modulated with Gray code mapping. Indivisible codes with natural redundancy require far fewer hardware costs to develop and implement encoding and decoding devices with a sufficiently high error detection efficiency. We achieved a reduction in hardware costs for a fractal decoder by using the fractal property of the indivisible code from 10% to 30% for different n while receiving the reciprocal of the golden ratio.

Intention-based and sensory-based predictions

We inhabit a continuously changing world, where the ability to anticipate future states of the environment is critical for adaptation. Anticipation can be achieved by learning about the causal or temporal relationship between sensory events, as well as by learning to act on the environment to produce an intended effect. Together, sensory-based and intention-based predictions provide the flexibility needed to successfully adapt. Yet it is currently unknown whether the two sources of information are processed independently to form separate predictions, or are combined into a common prediction. To investigate this, we ran an experiment in which the final tone of two possible four-tone sequences could be predicted from the preceding tones in the sequence and/or from the participants’ intention to trigger that final tone. This tone could be congruent with both sensory-based and intention-based predictions, incongruent with both, or congruent with one while incongruent with the other. Trials where predictions were incongruent with each other yielded similar prediction error responses irrespectively of the violated prediction, indicating that both predictions were formulated and coexisted simultaneously. The violation of intention-based predictions yielded late additional error responses, suggesting that those violations underwent further differential processing which the violations of sensory-based predictions did not receive.

Fluency Changes due to Sports-Related Concussion

BackgroundAlterations in speech have long been identified as indicators of various neurologic conditions including traumatic brain injury (TBI), neurodegenerative diseases, and stroke. TBIs that can be assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale often result in speech symptoms such as dysarthria and occasionally neurogenic stuttering. The manifestation of symptoms including the specific changes in speech occurring in mild TBIs (or concussions) may differ from more severe head injuries. This work aims to compare speech fluency in sport-related concussion to baseline performance as well as non-athlete controls.MethodsA total of 230 Division I student athletes participated in pre-season speech testing. Of these, 12 students (18-22 years) who sustained a concussion also participated in speech testing in the days following diagnosis of concussion. Samples of picture descriptions were independently coded by three trained raters as 17 error types within the three traditional categories of errors defined in fluency analysis (Stuttering-Like Disfluency, Articulation Error, Other Disfluency).ResultsWithin-subjects analysis comparing the difference in percent error scores at baseline and post-concussion revealed significant differences for interjections (t(11)=-2.678, p< .05). The Other Disfluency category was also significantly different (t(11)= -2.735, p< .05), with more errors occurring after a concussion. No change in the Stuttering-Like Disfluency (t(11)= -0.799, p>.05) or Articulation Error category (t(11)=-0.045, p>.05) was found.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate that speech changes occur following mild sports-related concussions. Specifically, the rate of interjections increased in a limited sample of college athletes who sustain a concussion. Changes in additional error types (fillers, pauses) were trending, but were not significant potentially due to the low sample size. Future studies should consider speech as a diagnostic tool for concussion.

Analiza vremena ispitivanja i greške očitavanja pametnih brojila električne energije u zavisnosti od njihovog podešenja

The time of checking the registers of smart meters of accuracy class 0.2 S for indirect measurement of active electricity via instrument transformers, during the first, extraordinary or periodic control and verification has been significantly increased according to the latest Rules on meters of active electrical energy of accuracy class 0.2 S from December 23, 2016. This is especially pronounced when the meter is set to show the measured value of electrical energy in kWh on the secondary side of instrument transformers with the often used meter of active electrical energy of accuracy class 0.2 S, rated phase voltage 110 / √3 V and for the rated current 1 A. In that way, the total time as well as the costs of testing such meters has increased a lot. In addition, with electricity meters set in this way with a resolution of three decimal places and a unit in kWh, there is an additional error when reading the measured value of active electrical energy and especially when calculating the energy loss of active electrical energy. A more acceptable approach to setting such meters will be considered.

Investigation of ultrasonic flowmeter error in distorted flow using two-peak Salami functions

Results of investigating the additional error of ultrasonic flowmeters caused by the distortion of the flow are presented in the article. The location coordinates of acoustic paths were calculated for their number from 1 to 6 according to the different numerical integrating methods: Gauss (Gauss-Legendre, Gauss-Jacobi), Chebyshev (equidistant location of acoustic paths), Westinghouse method, method of OWICS (Optimal Weighted Integration for Circular Sections). This made it possible to realize the flowrate equation for multi-path ultrasonic flowmeters and to determine their additional error for different location of the acoustic paths. The average flow velocity along each path is calculated based on the flow velocity profile in the pipe cross section. Four two-peak Salami functions of velocity are used to calculate the velocity profile of the distorted flow caused by typical local resistances. According to the research results the recommendations were developed for choosing the number of the acoustic paths of the ultrasonic flowmeters and for using the methods for determining the location coordinates of the acoustic paths.

Analysis for Error Patterns of Consonant-Vowel Combinations in Hearing-Impaired Elderly

Purpose: Many previous studies related to speech recognition of hearing-impaired elderly have found that the elderly have difficulty in monosyllable recognition under noisy situations, but there is still lack of their specific information to perceive the monosyllables in terms of error pattern. The purpose of the present study was to measure and analyze the prominent errors of consonant (C)- vowel (V) combinations as a function of noise levels in the hearing-impaired elderly. Methods: A total of twenty older adults with sensorineural hearing loss participated. While randomly presenting 122 syllables which consisted of the Korean CV and VC combinations under quiet and two signalto-noise ratios (SNRs, +6 and +3 dB) conditions, the participants were asked to respond the syllables heard in a way of either discrimination or identification. Error rate (or percent incorrect) and error patterns of the syllables were analyzed in each condition. Results: Substitution error of the initial consonant showed the highest rate regardless of the background conditions. As the medial phoneme, the vowel errors were decreased as the level of noise increased. In the final consonant, additional error rate of /k/ was abruptly increased as SNR decreased. Furthermore, it was an interesting pattern that the initial consonants such as /s/, /l/, and /t*/ had a high substitution error rate when combined with /i/, /o/, and /ɛ/ vowels, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the current results, the hearing-impaired older adults seem to have their unique error patterns although there is individual difference. We expect that these results will be fundamental data to understand characteristics of speech perception in the older adults at the monosyllables level.

Damaged Number Plate Recognition

Around the world every vehicle are identified by its number plate. Number plate detection is one of the existing automated video surveillance systems that are used to detect the number plate. This system fails if the number plates are damaged, no proper illumination, blurry images. Thus here we will be able to recognizeze such damaged number plate. The technique involves four main stages viz. pre-processing, localization, recognition and segmentation. The entire process includes capturing the image, erasing the background details and removing the noise, cropping the number plate and then recognizing the characters followed by segmenting in order to recognize the plate. All this is done in Python because it had better results compared to MATLAB. When done in MATLAB, additional error and noise gets added to the input image and can causes inclusion of a new characters in the number plate and leads to misinterpretation of the number plate. About 100 images were gathered and 98 images of them were detected correctly. The efficiency in recognizing the damaged number plate using our system is about 98%.

Investigating the Ultrasonic Flowmeter Error in Conditions of Distorted Flow Using Multipeaks Salami Functions

Paper is devoted to the problem of improving the accuracy of ultrasonic flowmeters installed in conditions that differ from their calibration conditions. The authors highlighted high sensitivity of ultrasonic flowmeters to distortions of flow structure and large additional error of flowmeters caused by flow distortions. The computer simulations using empirically-derived functions of distorted flow velocity of professor Salami are used to investigate the additional error of flowmeters. The analytical formulas of two- and multi-peaks Salami functions are used in this work to reproduce the distorted flow velocity profile. The authors proposed to determine the calibration factor of the ultrasonic flowmeter using the undistorted component of Salami functions. The values of the calibration factor for the number of acoustic channels from 1 to 6 were calculated using four numerical integration methods: Chebyshev (equidistant location of acoustic paths), Gauss, Gauss-Jacobi, OWICS met­hod. This made it possible to realize the flowrate equation for multi-path ultrasonic flowmeters and to determine their additional error for different location of the acoustic paths. The average flow velocity along each path is calculated based on the flow velocity profile in the pipe cross section. Six two- and multi-peaks Salami functions of velocity are used to calculate the velocity profile of the distorted flow caused by typical local resistances. According to the research results the recommendations were developed for choosing the number of the acoustic paths of the ultrasonic flowmeters and for using the methods for determining the location coordinates of the acoustic paths. We determined the required minimum number of chordal acoustic channels of the ultrasonic flowmeter, which makes it possible to reduce the investigated error to defined limits, even in the presence of complex flow distortions reproduced by Salami multi-peaks functions.