On the Error Performance of 8-VSB TCM Decoder for ATSC Terrestrial Broadcasting of Digital Television

The error performance of various 8-VSB TCM decoders for reception of terrestrial digital television is analyzed. In previous work, 8-state TCM decoders were proposed and implemented for terrestrial broadcasting of digital television. In this paper, the performance of a 16-state TCM decoder is analyzed and simulated. It is shown that not only a 16-state TCM decoder outperforms one with 8-states, but it also has much smaller error coefficients

Low Complexity Decoding for Higher Order Punctured Trellis-Coded Modulation Over Intersymbol Interference Channels

Trellis-coded modulation (TCM) is a power and bandwidth efficient digital transmission scheme which offers very low structural delay of the data stream. Classical TCM uses a signal constellation of twice the cardinality compared to an uncoded transmission with one bit of redundancy per PAM symbol, i.e., application of codes with rates $\frac{n-1}{n}$ when $2^{n}$ denotes the cardinality of the signal constellation. Recently published work allows rate adjustment for TCM by means of puncturing the convolutional code (CC) on which a TCM scheme is based on. In this paper it is shown how punctured TCM-signals transmitted over intersymbol interference (ISI) channels can favorably be decoded. Significant complexity reductions at only minor performance loss can be achieved by means of reduced state sequence estimation.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, 3 algorithms, accepted and published at 6th International Symposium on Communications, Control, and Signal Processing (ISCCSP 2014

Molecular signatures distinguish human central memory from effector memory CD8 T cell subsets

Abstract Memory T cells are heterogeneous in terms of their phenotype and functional properties. We investigated the molecular profiles of human CD8 naive central memory (TCM), effector memory (TEM), and effector memory RA (TEMRA) T cells using gene expression microarrays and phospho-protein-specific intracellular flow cytometry. We demonstrate that TCM have a gene expression and cytokine signaling signature that lies between that of naive and TEM or TEMRA cells, whereas TEM and TEMRA are closely related. Our data define the molecular basis for the different functional properties of central and effector memory subsets. We show that TEM and TEMRA cells strongly express genes with known importance in CD8 T cell effector function. In contrast, TCM are characterized by high basal and cytokine-induced STAT5 phosphorylation, reflecting their capacity for self-renewal. Altogether, our results distinguish TCM and TEM/TEMRA at the molecular level and are consistent with the concept that TCM represent memory stem cells.</jats:p

An unexpected complication of a percutaneous coronary angioplasty

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) is characterized by transient ventricular dysfunction, classically in its apical and mid segments in the absence of coronary lesions, and is often observed after intense stressful events and occasionally associated to an acute medical illness. We describe a case of TCM associated with coronary artery disease and triggered by a percutaneous coronary angioplasty. This case highlights the concept that a medical procedure can lead, in certain conditions, to TCM and provides new interesting insights on the pathophysiology of coronary syndromes

On Optimal TCM Encoders

An asymptotically optimal trellis-coded modulation (TCM) encoder requires the joint design of the encoder and the binary labeling of the constellation. Since analytical approaches are unknown, the only available solution is to perform an exhaustive search over the encoder and the labeling. For large constellation sizes and/or many encoder states, however, an exhaustive search is unfeasible. Traditional TCM designs overcome this problem by using a labeling that follows the set-partitioning principle and by performing an exhaustive search over the encoders. In this paper we study binary labelings for TCM and show how they can be grouped into classes, which considerably reduces the search space in a joint design. For 8-ary constellations, the number of different binary labelings that must be tested is reduced from 8!=40320 to 240. For the particular case of an 8-ary pulse amplitude modulation constellation, this number is further reduced to 120 and for 8-ary phase shift keying to only 30. An algorithm to generate one labeling in each class is also introduced. Asymptotically optimal TCM encoders are tabulated which are up to 0.3 dB better than the previously best known encoders

Punctured Trellis-Coded Modulation

In classic trellis-coded modulation (TCM) signal constellations of twice the cardinality are applied when compared to an uncoded transmission enabling transmission of one bit of redundancy per PAM-symbol, i.e., rates of $\frac{K}{K+1}$ when $2^{K+1}$ denotes the cardinality of the signal constellation. In order to support different rates, multi-dimensional (i.e., $\mathcal{D}$-dimensional) constellations had been proposed by means of combining subsequent one- or two-dimensional modulation steps, resulting in TCM-schemes with $\frac{1}{\mathcal{D}}$ bit redundancy per real dimension. In contrast, in this paper we propose to perform rate adjustment for TCM by means of puncturing the convolutional code (CC) on which a TCM-scheme is based on. It is shown, that due to the nontrivial mapping of the output symbols of the CC to signal points in the case of puncturing, a modification of the corresponding Viterbi-decoder algorithm and an optimization of the CC and the puncturing scheme are necessary.Comment: 5 pages, 10 figures, submitted to IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory 2013 (ISIT

UTILIZATION OF TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATION MEDIA (TCM) FOR INNOVATION DISSEMINATION IN OBAFEMI OWODE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OGUN STATE

The study examined various traditional communication media (TCM) used by rural farmers as sources of information to improve their production in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. Data were drawn from a sample of one hundred and twenty (120) randomly selected farmers using a structure interview schedule. The obtained data were described with frequency and analyzed using chi-square test. The results indicated that majority (62.8%) of farmers commonly received innovations through TCM such as discussion groups, market places, agriculture-based festivals, visits, cooperative society, traditional meetings, community elders, village squares, and relations. and found them effective. A significant relationship was established between farmers’ perceptions of effectiveness TCM and effectiveness of TCM .The variables that had significant relationship with TCM was socio-cultural lifestyles of farmers (χ2 = 49.9, α =0.05) and farmers’ level of education (χ2=95.58, α =0.05) Based on the findings, it is pertinent to direct deliberate efforts towards the integration of traditional media of communication into the innovation delivery system for rural farmers.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,