Search results for: Blind speech separation
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 733

Search results for: Blind speech separation

583 Absence of Developmental Change in Epenthetic Vowel Duration in Japanese Speakers’ English

Authors: Takayuki Konishi, Kakeru Yazawa, Mariko Kondo

Abstract:

This study examines developmental change in the production of epenthetic vowels by Japanese learners of English in relation to acquisition of L2 English speech rhythm. Seventy-two Japanese learners of English in the J-AESOP corpus were divided into lower- and higher-level learners according to their proficiency score and the frequency of vowel epenthesis. Three learners were excluded because no vowel epenthesis was observed in their utterances. The analysis of their read English speech data showed no statistical difference between lower- and higher-level learners, implying the absence of any developmental change in durations of epenthetic vowels. This result, together with the findings of previous studies, will be discussed in relation to the transfer of L1 phonology and manifestation of L2 English rhythm.

Keywords: Vowel epenthesis, Japanese learners of English, L2 speech corpus, speech rhythm.

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582 Accent Identification by Clustering and Scoring Formants

Authors: Dejan Stantic, Jun Jo

Abstract:

There have been significant improvements in automatic voice recognition technology. However, existing systems still face difficulties, particularly when used by non-native speakers with accents. In this paper we address a problem of identifying the English accented speech of speakers from different backgrounds. Once an accent is identified the speech recognition software can utilise training set from appropriate accent and therefore improve the efficiency and accuracy of the speech recognition system. We introduced the Q factor, which is defined by the sum of relationships between frequencies of the formants. Four different accents were considered and experimented for this research. A scoring method was introduced in order to effectively analyse accents. The proposed concept indicates that the accent could be identified by analysing their formants.

Keywords: Accent Identification, Formants, Q Factor.

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581 Delineating Students’ Speaking Anxieties and Assessment Gaps in Online Speech Performances

Authors: Mary Jane B. Suarez

Abstract:

Speech anxiety is innumerable in any traditional communication classes especially for ESL students. The speech anxiety intensifies when communication skills assessments have taken its toll in an online mode of learning due to the perils of the COVID-19 virus. Teachers and students have experienced vast ambiguity on how to realize a still effective way to teach and learn various speaking skills amidst the pandemic. This mixed method study determined the factors that affected the public speaking skills of students in online performances, delineated the assessment gaps in assessing speaking skills in an online setup, and recommended ways to address students’ speech anxieties. Using convergent parallel design, quantitative data were gathered by examining the desired learning competencies of the English course including a review of the teacher’s class record to analyze how students’ performances reflected a significantly high level of anxiety in online speech delivery. Focus group discussion was also conducted for qualitative data describing students’ public speaking anxiety and assessment gaps. Results showed a significantly high level of students’ speech anxiety affected by time constraints, use of technology, lack of audience response, being conscious of making mistakes, and the use of English as a second language. The study presented recommendations to redesign curricular assessments of English teachers and to have a robust diagnosis of students’ speaking anxiety to better cater to the needs of learners in attempt to bridge any gaps in cultivating public speaking skills of students as educational institutions segue from the pandemic to the post-pandemic milieu.

Keywords: Blended learning, communication skills assessment, online speech delivery, public speaking anxiety, speech anxiety.

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580 Antenna Array Beamforming Using Neural Network

Authors: Maja Sarevska, Abdel-Badeeh M. Salem

Abstract:

This paper considers the problem of Null-Steering beamforming using Neural Network (NN) approach for antenna array system. Two cases are presented. First, unlike the other authors, the estimated Direction Of Arrivals (DOAs) are used for antenna array weights NN-based determination and the imprecise DOAs estimations are taken into account. Second, the blind null-steering beamforming is presented. In this case the antenna array outputs are presented at the input of the NN without DOAs estimation. The results of computer simulations will show much better relative mean error performances of the first NN approach compared to the NNbased blind beamforming.

Keywords: Beamforming, DOAs, neural network.

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579 Technologies of Isolation and Separation of Anthraquinone Derivatives

Authors: Dmitry Yu. Korulkin, Raissa A. Muzychkina

Abstract:

In review the generalized data about different methods of extraction, separation and purification of natural and modify anthraquinones is presented. The basic regularity of an isolation process is analyzed. Action of temperature, pH, and polarity of extragent, catalysts and other factors on an isolation process is revealed.

Keywords: Anthraquinones, chromatography, extraction, phytopreparation, precipitation.

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578 A Robust Hybrid Blind Digital Image Watermarking System Using Discrete Wavelet Transform and Contourlet Transform

Authors: Nidal F. Shilbayeh, Belal AbuHaija, Zainab N. Al-Qudsy

Abstract:

In this paper, a hybrid blind digital watermarking system using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Contourlet Transform (CT) has been implemented and tested. The implemented combined digital watermarking system has been tested against five common types of image attacks. The performance evaluation shows improved results in terms of imperceptibility, robustness, and high tolerance against these attacks; accordingly, the system is very effective and applicable.

Keywords: DWT, contourlet transform, digital image watermarking, copyright protection, geometric attack.

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577 Environmentally Adaptive Acoustic Echo Suppression for Barge-in Speech Recognition

Authors: Jong Han Joo, Jeong Hun Lee, Young Sun Kim, Jae Young Kang, Seung Ho Choi

Abstract:

In this study, we propose a novel technique for acoustic echo suppression (AES) during speech recognition under barge-in conditions. Conventional AES methods based on spectral subtraction apply fixed weights to the estimated echo path transfer function (EPTF) at the current signal segment and to the EPTF estimated until the previous time interval. However, the effects of echo path changes should be considered for eliminating the undesired echoes. We describe a new approach that adaptively updates weight parameters in response to abrupt changes in the acoustic environment due to background noises or double-talk. Furthermore, we devised a voice activity detector and an initial time-delay estimator for barge-in speech recognition in communication networks. The initial time delay is estimated using log-spectral distance measure, as well as cross-correlation coefficients. The experimental results show that the developed techniques can be successfully applied in barge-in speech recognition systems.

Keywords: Acoustic echo suppression, barge-in, speech recognition, echo path transfer function, initial delay estimator, voice activity detector.

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576 Water Boundary Layer Flow Over Rotating Sphere with Mass Transfer

Authors: G. Revathi, P. Saikrishnan

Abstract:

An analysis is performed to study the influence of nonuniform double slot suction on a steady laminar boundary layer flow over a rotating sphere when fluid properties such as viscosity and Prandtl number are inverse linear functions of temperature. Nonsimilar solutions have been obtained from the starting point of the streamwise co-ordinate to the exact point of separation. The difficulties arising at the starting point of the streamwise co-ordinate, at the edges of the slot and at the point of separation have been overcome by applying an implicit finite difference scheme in combination with the quasi-linearization technique and an appropriate selection of the finer step sizes along the stream-wise direction. The present investigation shows that the point of ordinary separation can be delayed by nonuniform double slot suction if the mass transfer rate is increased and also if the slots are positioned further downstream. In addition, the investigation reveals that double slot suction is found to be more effective compared to a single slot suction in delaying ordinary separation. As rotation parameter increase the point of separation moves upstream direction.

Keywords: Boundary layer, suction, mass transfer, rotating sphere.

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575 Blind Channel Estimation Based on URV Decomposition Technique for Uplink of MC-CDMA

Authors: Pradya Pornnimitkul, Suwich Kunaruttanapruk, Bamrung Tau Sieskul, Somchai Jitapunkul

Abstract:

In this paper, we investigate a blind channel estimation method for Multi-carrier CDMA systems that use a subspace decomposition technique. This technique exploits the orthogonality property between the noise subspace and the received user codes to obtain channel of each user. In the past we used Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) technique but SVD have most computational complexity so in this paper use a new algorithm called URV Decomposition, which serve as an intermediary between the QR decomposition and SVD, replaced in SVD technique to track the noise space of the received data. Because of the URV decomposition has almost the same estimation performance as the SVD, but has less computational complexity.

Keywords: Channel estimation, MC-CDMA, SVD, URV.

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574 Orchestra/Percussion Classification Algorithm for United Speech Audio Coding System

Authors: Yueming Wang, Rendong Ying, Sumxin Jiang, Peilin Liu

Abstract:

Unified Speech Audio Coding (USAC), the latest MPEG standardization for unified speech and audio coding, uses a speech/audio classification algorithm to distinguish speech and audio segments of the input signal. The quality of the recovered audio can be increased by well-designed orchestra/percussion classification and subsequent processing. However, owing to the shortcoming of the system, introducing an orchestra/percussion classification and modifying subsequent processing can enormously increase the quality of the recovered audio. This paper proposes an orchestra/percussion classification algorithm for the USAC system which only extracts 3 scales of Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) rather than traditional 13 scales of MFCCs and use Iterative Dichotomiser 3 (ID3) Decision Tree rather than other complex learning method, thus the proposed algorithm has lower computing complexity than most existing algorithms. Considering that frequent changing of attributes may lead to quality loss of the recovered audio signal, this paper also design a modified subsequent process to help the whole classification system reach an accurate rate as high as 97% which is comparable to classical 99%.

Keywords: ID3 Decision Tree, MFCC, Orchestra/Percussion Classification, USAC

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573 A High Quality Speech Coder at 600 bps

Authors: Yong Zhang, Ruimin Hu

Abstract:

This paper presents a vocoder to obtain high quality synthetic speech at 600 bps. To reduce the bit rate, the algorithm is based on a sinusoidally excited linear prediction model which extracts few coding parameters, and three consecutive frames are grouped into a superframe and jointly vector quantization is used to obtain high coding efficiency. The inter-frame redundancy is exploited with distinct quantization schemes for different unvoiced/voiced frame combinations in the superframe. Experimental results show that the quality of the proposed coder is better than that of 2.4kbps LPC10e and achieves approximately the same as that of 2.4kbps MELP and with high robustness.

Keywords: Speech coding, Vector quantization, linear predicition, Mixed sinusoidal excitation

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572 Separation of Hazardous Brominated Plastics from Waste Plastics by Froth Flotation after Surface Modification with Mild Heat-Treatment

Authors: Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc, Chi-Hyeon Lee, Byeong-Kyu Lee, Srinivasa Reddy Mallampati

Abstract:

This study evaluated to facilitate separation of ABS plastics from other waste plastics by froth flotation after surface hydrophilization of ABS with heat treatment. The mild heat treatment at 100oC for 60s could selectively increase the hydrophilicity of the ABS plastics surface (i.e., ABS contact angle decreased from 79o to 65.8o) among other plastics mixture. The SEM and XPS results of plastic samples sufficiently supported the increase in hydrophilic functional groups and decrease contact angle on ABS surface, after heat treatment. As a result of the froth flotation (at mixing speed 150 rpm and airflow rate 0.3 L/min) after heat treatment, about 85% of ABS was selectively separated from other heavy plastics with 100% of purity. The effect of optimum treatment condition and detailed mechanism onto separation efficiency in the froth floatation was also investigated. This research is successful in giving a simple, effective, and inexpensive method for ABS separation from waste plastics.

Keywords: ABS, hydrophilic, heat treatment, froth flotation, contact angle.

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571 Blind Identification of MA Models Using Cumulants

Authors: Mohamed Boulouird, Moha M'Rabet Hassani

Abstract:

In this paper, many techniques for blind identification of moving average (MA) process are presented. These methods utilize third- and fourth-order cumulants of the noisy observations of the system output. The system is driven by an independent and identically distributed (i.i.d) non-Gaussian sequence that is not observed. Two nonlinear optimization algorithms, namely the Gradient Descent and the Gauss-Newton algorithms are exposed. An algorithm based on the joint-diagonalization of the fourth-order cumulant matrices (FOSI) is also considered, as well as an improved version of the classical C(q, 0, k) algorithm based on the choice of the Best 1-D Slice of fourth-order cumulants. To illustrate the effectiveness of our methods, various simulation examples are presented.

Keywords: Cumulants, Identification, MA models, Parameter estimation

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570 An Advanced Method for Speech Recognition

Authors: Meysam Mohamad pour, Fardad Farokhi

Abstract:

In this paper in consideration of each available techniques deficiencies for speech recognition, an advanced method is presented that-s able to classify speech signals with the high accuracy (98%) at the minimum time. In the presented method, first, the recorded signal is preprocessed that this section includes denoising with Mels Frequency Cepstral Analysis and feature extraction using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) coefficients; Then these features are fed to Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) network for classification. Finally, after training of neural network effective features are selected with UTA algorithm.

Keywords: Multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network, Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) , Mels Scale Frequency Filter , UTA algorithm.

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569 On the Fast Convergence of DD-LMS DFE Using a Good Strategy Initialization

Authors: Y.Ben Jemaa, M.Jaidane

Abstract:

In wireless communication system, a Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) to cancel the intersymbol interference (ISI) is required. In this paper, an exact convergence analysis of the (DFE) adapted by the Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm during the training phase is derived by taking into account the finite alphabet context of data transmission. This allows us to determine the shortest training sequence that allows to reach a given Mean Square Error (MSE). With the intention of avoiding the problem of ill-convergence, the paper proposes an initialization strategy for the blind decision directed (DD) algorithm. This then yields a semi-blind DFE with high speed and good convergence.

Keywords: Adaptive Decision Feedback Equalizer, PerformanceAnalysis, Finite Alphabet Case, Ill-Convergence, Convergence speed.

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568 The Effect of Different Compression Schemes on Speech Signals

Authors: Jalal Karam, Raed Saad

Abstract:

This paper studies the effect of different compression constraints and schemes presented in a new and flexible paradigm to achieve high compression ratios and acceptable signal to noise ratios of Arabic speech signals. Compression parameters are computed for variable frame sizes of a level 5 to 7 Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) representation of the signals for different analyzing mother wavelet functions. Results are obtained and compared for Global threshold and level dependent threshold techniques. The results obtained also include comparisons with Signal to Noise Ratios, Peak Signal to Noise Ratios and Normalized Root Mean Square Error.

Keywords: Speech Compression, Wavelets.

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567 Blind Image Deconvolution by Neural Recursive Function Approximation

Authors: Jiann-Ming Wu, Hsiao-Chang Chen, Chun-Chang Wu, Pei-Hsun Hsu

Abstract:

This work explores blind image deconvolution by recursive function approximation based on supervised learning of neural networks, under the assumption that a degraded image is linear convolution of an original source image through a linear shift-invariant (LSI) blurring matrix. Supervised learning of neural networks of radial basis functions (RBF) is employed to construct an embedded recursive function within a blurring image, try to extract non-deterministic component of an original source image, and use them to estimate hyper parameters of a linear image degradation model. Based on the estimated blurring matrix, reconstruction of an original source image from a blurred image is further resolved by an annealed Hopfield neural network. By numerical simulations, the proposed novel method is shown effective for faithful estimation of an unknown blurring matrix and restoration of an original source image.

Keywords: Blind image deconvolution, linear shift-invariant(LSI), linear image degradation model, radial basis functions (rbf), recursive function, annealed Hopfield neural networks.

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566 Investigation of the Effect of Grid Size on External Store Separation Trajectory Using CFD

Authors: Alaa A. Osman, Amgad M. Bayoumy, Ismail El baialy, Osama E. Abdellatif, Essam E. Khallil

Abstract:

In this paper, a numerical simulation of a finned store separating from a wing-pylon configuration has been studied and validated. A dynamic unstructured tetrahedral mesh approach is accomplished by using three grid sizes to numerically solving the discretized three dimensional, inviscid and compressible Euler equations. The method used for computations of separation of an external store assuming quasi-steady flow condition. Computations of quasi-steady flow have been directly coupled to a six degree-offreedom (6DOF) rigid-body motion code to generate store trajectories. The pressure coefficients at four different angular cuts and time histories of various trajectory parameters and wing pressure distribution during the store separation are compared for every grid size with published experimental data.

Keywords: CFD Modelling, Quasi-steady Flow, Moving-body Trajectories, Transonic Store Separation, Moving-body Trajectories.

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565 Bidirectional Dynamic Time Warping Algorithm for the Recognition of Isolated Words Impacted by Transient Noise Pulses

Authors: G. Tamulevičius, A. Serackis, T. Sledevič, D. Navakauskas

Abstract:

We consider the biggest challenge in speech recognition – noise reduction. Traditionally detected transient noise pulses are removed with the corrupted speech using pulse models. In this paper we propose to cope with the problem directly in Dynamic Time Warping domain. Bidirectional Dynamic Time Warping algorithm for the recognition of isolated words impacted by transient noise pulses is proposed. It uses simple transient noise pulse detector, employs bidirectional computation of dynamic time warping and directly manipulates with warping results. Experimental investigation with several alternative solutions confirms effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in the reduction of impact of noise on recognition process – 3.9% increase of the noisy speech recognition is achieved.

Keywords: Transient noise pulses, noise reduction, dynamic time warping, speech recognition.

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564 Blind Identification and Equalization of CDMA Signals Using the Levenvberg-Marquardt Algorithm

Authors: Mohammed Boutalline, Imad Badi, Belaid Bouikhalene, Said Safi

Abstract:

In this paper we describe the Levenvberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm for identification and equalization of CDMA signals received by an antenna array in communication channels. The synthesis explains the digital separation and equalization of signals after propagation through multipath generating intersymbol interference (ISI). Exploiting discrete data transmitted and three diversities induced at the reception, the problem can be composed by the Block Component Decomposition (BCD) of a tensor of order 3 which is a new tensor decomposition generalizing the PARAFAC decomposition. We optimize the BCD decomposition by Levenvberg-Marquardt method gives encouraging results compared to classical alternating least squares algorithm (ALS). In the equalization part, we use the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) to perform the presented method. The simulation results using the LM algorithm are important.

Keywords: Identification and equalization, communication channel, Levenvberg-Marquardt, tensor decomposition

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563 Toward an Architecture of a Component-Based System Supporting Separation of Non- Functional Concerns

Authors: Jerzy Nogiec, Kelley Trombly-Freytag, Shangping Ren

Abstract:

The promises of component-based technology can only be fully realized when the system contains in its design a necessary level of separation of concerns. The authors propose to focus on the concerns that emerge throughout the life cycle of the system and use them as an architectural foundation for the design of a component-based framework. The proposed model comprises a set of superimposed views of the system describing its functional and non-functional concerns. This approach is illustrated by the design of a specific framework for data analysis and data acquisition and supplemented with experiences from using the systems developed with this framework at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Keywords: Distributed system, component-based technology, separation of concerns, software development, supervisory and control, QoS

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562 Blind Non-Minimum Phase Channel Identification Using 3rd and 4th Order Cumulants

Authors: S. Safi, A. Zeroual

Abstract:

In this paper we propose a family of algorithms based on 3rd and 4th order cumulants for blind single-input single-output (SISO) Non-Minimum Phase (NMP) Finite Impulse Response (FIR) channel estimation driven by non-Gaussian signal. The input signal represents the signal used in 10GBASE-T (or IEEE 802.3an-2006) as a Tomlinson-Harashima Precoded (THP) version of random Pulse-Amplitude Modulation with 16 discrete levels (PAM-16). The proposed algorithms are tested using three non-minimum phase channel for different Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNR) and for different data input length. Numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithms.

Keywords: Higher Order Cumulants, Channel identification, Ethernet communication.

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561 Unit Selection Algorithm Using Bi-grams Model For Corpus-Based Speech Synthesis

Authors: Mohamed Ali KAMMOUN, Ahmed Ben HAMIDA

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a novel statistical approach to corpus-based speech synthesis. Classically, phonetic information is defined and considered as acoustic reference to be respected. In this way, many studies were elaborated for acoustical unit classification. This type of classification allows separating units according to their symbolic characteristics. Indeed, target cost and concatenation cost were classically defined for unit selection. In Corpus-Based Speech Synthesis System, when using large text corpora, cost functions were limited to a juxtaposition of symbolic criteria and the acoustic information of units is not exploited in the definition of the target cost. In this manuscript, we token in our consideration the unit phonetic information corresponding to acoustic information. This would be realized by defining a probabilistic linguistic Bi-grams model basically used for unit selection. The selected units would be extracted from the English TIMIT corpora.

Keywords: Unit selection, Corpus-based Speech Synthesis, Bigram model

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560 Nanofluid-Based Emulsion Liquid Membrane for Selective Extraction and Separation of Dysprosium

Authors: Maliheh Raji, Hossein Abolghasemi, Jaber Safdari, Ali Kargari

Abstract:

Dysprosium is a rare earth element which is essential for many growing high-technology applications. Dysprosium along with neodymium plays a significant role in different applications such as metal halide lamps, permanent magnets, and nuclear reactor control rods preparation. The purification and separation of rare earth elements are challenging because of their similar chemical and physical properties. Among the various methods, membrane processes provide many advantages over the conventional separation processes such as ion exchange and solvent extraction. In this work, selective extraction and separation of dysprosium from aqueous solutions containing an equimolar mixture of dysprosium and neodymium by emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) was investigated. The organic membrane phase of the ELM was a nanofluid consisting of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), Span80 as surfactant, Cyanex 272 as carrier, kerosene as base fluid, and nitric acid solution as internal aqueous phase. Factors affecting separation of dysprosium such as carrier concentration, MWCNT concentration, feed phase pH and stripping phase concentration were analyzed using Taguchi method. Optimal experimental condition was obtained using analysis of variance (ANOVA) after 10 min extraction. Based on the results, using MWCNT nanofluid in ELM process leads to increase the extraction due to higher stability of membrane and mass transfer enhancement and separation factor of 6 for dysprosium over neodymium can be achieved under the optimum conditions. Additionally, demulsification process was successfully performed and the membrane phase reused effectively in the optimum condition.

Keywords: Emulsion liquid membrane, MWCNT nanofluid, separation, Taguchi Method.

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559 An Improved Integer Frequency Offset Estimator using the P1 Symbol for OFDM System

Authors: Yong-An Jung, Young-Hwan You

Abstract:

This paper suggests an improved integer frequency offset (IFO) estimation scheme using P1 symbol for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based the second generation terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T2) system. Proposed IFO estimator is designed by a low-complexity blind IFO estimation scheme, which is implemented with complex additions. Also, we propose active carriers (ACs) selection scheme in order to prevent performance degradation in blind IFO estimation. The simulation results show that under the AWGN and TU6 channels, the proposed method has low complexity than conventional method and almost similar performance in comparison with the conventional method.

Keywords: OFDM, DVB-T2, P1 symbol, ACs, IFO.

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558 The Applicability of Distillation as an Alternative Nuclear Reprocessing Method

Authors: Dominik Böhm, Konrad Czerski

Abstract:

A customized two-stage model has been developed to simulate, analyse, and visualize distillation of actinides as a useful alternative low-pressure separation method in the nuclear recycling cases. Under the most optimal conditions of idealized thermodynamic equilibrium stages and under total reflux of distillate the investigated cases of chloride systems for the separation of such actinides are (A) UCl4-CsCl-PuCl3 and (B) ThCl4-NaCl-PuCl3. Simulatively, uranium tetrachloride in case A is successfully separated by distillation into a six-stage distillation column, and thorium tetrachloride from case B into an eight-stage distillation column. For this, a permissible mole fraction value of 1E-06 has been assumed for the residual impurification degree. With further separation effort of eleven to seventeen required separation stages, the monochlorides of plutonium trichloride from both systems A and B are simulatively shown to be separated as high pure distillation products.

Keywords: Conceptual design of a pyroprocessing unit, molten salt recovery, simulation of total-reflux distillation column, used nuclear fuel reprocessing.

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557 Puff Noise Detection and Cancellation for Robust Speech Recognition

Authors: Sangjun Park, Jungpyo Hong, Byung-Ok Kang, Yun-keun Lee, Minsoo Hahn

Abstract:

In this paper, an algorithm for detecting and attenuating puff noises frequently generated under the mobile environment is proposed. As a baseline system, puff detection system is designed based on Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), and 39th Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) is extracted as feature parameters. To improve the detection performance, effective acoustic features for puff detection are proposed. In addition, detected puff intervals are attenuated by high-pass filtering. The speech recognition rate was measured for evaluation and confusion matrix and ROC curve are used to confirm the validity of the proposed system.

Keywords: Gaussian mixture model, puff detection and cancellation, speech enhancement.

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556 Utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process in Improving Performances of Blind Judo

Authors: Hyun Chul Cho, Hyunkyoung Oh, Hyun Yoon, Jooyeon Jin, Jae Won Lee

Abstract:

Identifying, structuring, and racking the most important factors related to improving athletes’ performances could pave the way for improve training system. The purpose of this study was to identify the relative importance factors to improve performance of the of judo athletes with visual impairments, including blindness by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). After reviewing the literature, the relative importance of factors affecting performance of the blind judo was selected. A group of expert reviewed the first draft of the questionnaires, and then finally selected performance factors were classified into the major categories of techniques, physical fitness, and psychological categories. Later, a pre-selected experts group was asked to review the final version of questionnaire and confirm the priories of performance factors. The order of priority was determined by performing pairwise comparisons using Expert Choice 2000. Results indicated that “grappling” (.303) and “throwing” (.234) were the most important lower hierarchy factors for blind judo skills. In addition, the most important physical factors affecting performance were “muscular strength and endurance” (.238). Further, among other psychological factors “competitive anxiety” (.393) was important factor that affects performance. It is important to offer psychological skills training to reduce anxiety of judo athletes with visual impairments and blindness, so they can compete in their optimal states. These findings offer insights into what should be considered when determining factors to improve performance of judo athletes with visual impairments and blindness.

Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process, blind athlete, judo, sport performance.

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555 Analysis of Linguistic Disfluencies in Bilingual Children’s Discourse

Authors: Sheena Christabel Pravin, M. Palanivelan

Abstract:

Speech disfluencies are common in spontaneous speech. The primary purpose of this study was to distinguish linguistic disfluencies from stuttering disfluencies in bilingual Tamil–English (TE) speaking children. The secondary purpose was to determine whether their disfluencies are mediated by native language dominance and/or on an early onset of developmental stuttering at childhood. A detailed study was carried out to identify the prosodic and acoustic features that uniquely represent the disfluent regions of speech. This paper focuses on statistical modeling of repetitions, prolongations, pauses and interjections in the speech corpus encompassing bilingual spontaneous utterances from school going children – English and Tamil. Two classifiers including Hidden Markov Models (HMM) and the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), which is a class of feed-forward artificial neural network, were compared in the classification of disfluencies. The results of the classifiers document the patterns of disfluency in spontaneous speech samples of school-aged children to distinguish between Children Who Stutter (CWS) and Children with Language Impairment CLI). The ability of the models in classifying the disfluencies was measured in terms of F-measure, Recall, and Precision.

Keywords: Bilingual, children who stutter, children with language impairment, Hidden Markov Models, multi-layer perceptron, linguistic disfluencies, stuttering disfluencies.

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554 Frictionless Contact Problem Between Two Orthotropic Elastic Layers

Authors: V. Kahya, A. Birinci, R. Erdol

Abstract:

A frictionless contact problem for a two-layer orthotropic elastic medium loaded through a rigid flat stamp is considered. It is assumed that tensile tractions are not allowed and only compressive tractions can be transmitted across the interface. In the solution, effect of gravity is taken into consideration. If the external load on the rigid stamp is less than or equal to a critical value, continuous contact between the layers is maintained. The problem is expressed in terms of a singular integral equation by using the theory of elasticity and the Fourier transforms. Numerical results for initial separation point, critical separation load and contact stress distribution are presented.

Keywords: Frictionless contact, Initial separation, Orthotropicmaterial, Singular integral equation.

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