Visualization of Babble–Speech Interactions Using Andrews Curves

Visualizing multidimensional data such as the mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) proves difficult, especially when the number of dimensions is greater than 3. As a result, it becomes extremely difficult to spot trends in high-dimensional signal interactions. Andrews curves seam to aid in the process of performing graphical analysis of high-dimensional data. This study examines the properties of the babble in the feature domain as well as the effect of the babble noise on the MFCCs of clean speech. Experiments have been conducted using two babble models: the overlapping conversation model and the overlapping speaker model. The purpose of this paper was to provide an insight into the effect of the babble noise on the first thirteen MFCCs of clean speech through the use of Andrews curves. The investigations of this paper give a visual comparison of the signals to expose trends, which the conventional visualization methods do not. The use of Andrews curves not only allows the signal to be observed, but also allows for a statistical comparisons between signals. With a better understanding of the difference between the models, it would be possible to develop systems, which are more robust in babble-corrupted environment.     

Trade-offs in the OTA-based analog filter design

Operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) are widely used in the design of electronically tunable circuits. However, electronic tunability ranges of the OTA based filters are restricted by the limited bandwidth of the transconductance gain of the OTA. Furthermore, stability conditions and the linearity of the OTA which depends on the control current restrict the tunability. In this paper, some trade-offs in the electronically tunable filters are investigated. In addition, the tunability ranges of some first and second order OTA-C and OTA-RC filters are comparatively examined. Moreover, an OTA-C all-pass filter circuit is presented. SPICE simulations are performed and stability analyses are given for both of the OTA-C and OTA-RC filters. Operation of the presented all-pass filter is verified experimentally.     

Optoelectronic charge coupled device (OECCD) using InP MIScapacitor array

An optoelectronic charge coupled device (OECCD) which is directly compatible with an incident optical signal is proposed. The nonlinear partial differential equation consisting of optical generation and recombination is solved in one dimension using the Crank-Nicolson finite-difference scheme. The charge transfer inefficiency is the main parameter considered for the calculation     

Rheology of oil in water emulsions with added solids

The effect of added solids on the rheology of oil in water emulsions was investigated. The range of the oil concentration, solids free basis, was (0-70%) and the solids volume fraction was (0-0.16). The solids mean diameter was 45 μm and it was about four times larger than the oil droplets. In the absence of added solids, non-Newtonian behaviour was observed for oil concentrations above 40%. The added solids increased the emulsion viscosity in a manner similar to the addition of solids to a homogeneous fluid. The rheological data of all the emulsion-solids mixtures investigated were correlated as relative viscosity versus solids volume fraction, where the relative viscosity is defined as the ratio of the emulsion-solids mixture viscosity to the solids-free emulsion viscosity. In the case of non-Newtonian systems, the emulsion-solids mixture viscosity and the solids-free emulsion viscosity were calculated at the same shear stress. The Barnea and Mizrahi viscosity correlation was found to fit the data well.     

Chlorosis in sugarcane: Associated soil properties,leaf mineral composition,and crop response to iron and manganese

Attempts were made to find out the nature and cause of a widespread sugarcane chlorosis in a cane growing area. Soils from chlorotic and nonchlorotic fields did not differ markedly in pH, CaCO₃, electrical conductivity, organic C, and soil test P, Zn, Cu, and Mn levels, but the chlorotic field soils had relatively more NH₄OAc-extractable K and less clay and DTPA-extractable Fe. Chlorotic and green leaf blades contained about the same concentration of P, S, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mo, but the former leaf blades had more K and less Ca and HCl soluble Fe than the green ones. Green leaves of plants that seemed to have naturally recovered in chlorotic fields were higher in Mn. A foliage spray with 2.5% FeSO₄.7H₂O solution resulted in greening of leaves and a field experiment showed marked crop response to Fe and some response to Mn. The results thus suggest that the chlorosis is due to a lime-induced Fe-deficiency with the possibility of some role of Mn in Fe nutrition in calcareous soil conditions.Deceased 22 September 1988     

Frame selection for OCR from video stream of book flipping

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in video stream of flipping pages is a challenging task because flipping at random speed causes difficulties in identifying...     

Qualitative and Quantitative Molecular Testing Methodologies and Traceability Systems for Commercialised Bt Cotton Events and Other Bt Crops Under Field Trials in India

Qualitative and quantitative PCR assays were developed for detection of commercialised Bt cotton events, i.e. MON531, MON15985 and other Bt crops, which are under different stages of field trials in India, i.e. Bt brinjal, Bt rice, Bt cauliflower, Bt potato and Bt okra. Multiplex PCR assays simultaneously detecting specific cry1Ac, cry1Ab, cry2Ab genes, Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter, nptII marker gene along with species- or taxon-specific endogenous gene in these Bt crops have been developed. The quantitative real-time PCR assays were also reported for cry1Ac gene using designed primers and TaqMan probe. The sensitivity of developed assays for detection of specific transgene was established up to 0.01%. The analytical methods developed in the present report will be of immense use for qualitative screening and detection of Bt crops along with the quantitative analysis of inserted cry1Ac gene to meet the threshold level for regulatory compliance.     

Rapid Development of Fasting-Induced Hepatic Lipidosis in the American Mink (<Emphasis Type=Italic>Neovison vison</Emphasis>): Effects of Food Deprivation and Re-Alimentation on Body Fat Depots,Tissue Fatty Acid Profiles,Hematology and Endocrinology

Hepatic lipidosis is a common pathological finding in the American mink (Neovison vison) and can be caused by nutritional imbalance due to obesity or rapid body weight loss. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the timeline and characterize the development of hepatic lipidosis in mink in response to 0–7 days of food deprivation and liver recovery after 28 days of re-feeding. We report here the effects on hematological and endocrine variables, body fat mobilization, the development of hepatic lipidosis and the alterations in the liver lipid classes and tissue fatty acid (FA) sums. Food deprivation resulted in the rapid mobilization of body fat, most notably visceral, causing elevated hepatosomatic index and increased liver triacylglycerol content. The increased absolute amounts of liver total phospholipids and phosphatidylcholine suggested endoplasmic reticulum stress. The hepatic lipid infiltration and the altered liver lipid profiles were associated with a significantly reduced proportion of n-3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) in the livers and the decrease was more evident in the females. Likewise, re-feeding of the female mink resulted in a more pronounced recovery of the liver n-3 PUFA. The rapid decrease in the n-3/n-6 PUFA ratio in response to food deprivation could trigger an inflammatory response in the liver. This could be a key contributor to the pathophysiology of fatty liver disease in mink influencing disease progression.     

Mechanical,electrical, and thermal expansion properties of carbon nanotube-based silver and silver-palladium alloy composites

The mechanical, electrical, and thermal expansion properties of carbon nanotube（CNT）-based silver and silver–palladium（10：1, w/w） alloy nanocomposites are reported. To tailor the properties of silver, CNTs were incorporated into a silver matrix by a modified molecular level-mixing process. CNTs interact weakly with silver because of their non-reactive nature and lack of mutual solubility. Therefore, palladium was utilized as an alloying element to improve interfacial adhesion. Comparative microstructural characterizations and property evaluations of the nanocomposites were performed. The structural characterizations revealed that decorated type-CNTs were dispersed, embedded, and anchored into the silver matrix. The experimental results indicated that the modification of the silver and silver–palladium nanocomposite with CNT resulted in increases in the hardness and Young＇s modulus along with concomitant decreases in the electrical conductivity and the coefficient of thermal expansion（CTE）. The hardness and Young＇s modulus of the nanocomposites were increased by 30%？40% whereas the CTE was decreased to 50%-60% of the CTE of silver. The significantly improved CTE and the mechanical properties of the CNT-reinforced silver and silver–palladium nanocomposites are correlated with the intriguing properties of CNTs and with good interfacial adhesion between the CNTs and silver as a result of the fabrication process and the contact action of palladium as an alloying element.     

Rheological properties of bitumen in water emulsions with added solids

Experimental work was carried out to investigate the rheological properties of bitumen in water emulsions containing solids of different shape and size. The bitumen volumetric concentration was varied up to 60%, solids free basis, and the solids volume fraction (total volume basis) was varied up to 0.2. Irregular-shaped silica sand (average diameter: 9 and 33 μm) and smooth spherical glass beads (average diameter: 27 and 44 μm) were used as the added solids. In the low shear stress range, shear thinning behavior was observed for bitumen in water emulsions. At high shear stress, the viscosity of the emulsions became fairly independent of the shear stress. The addition of solids to the bitumen emulsions increased the mixture viscosity. The addition of irregular-shaped silica sand gave a higher viscosity than a similar addition of the spherical glass beads. The viscosity of the emulsion/solids mixtures was influenced by the solids size as well; the smaller size particles gave a higher viscosity. The addition of solids to the bitumen emulsions also induced shear thickening (dilatancy) behavior at high solids volume fraction. The degree of the shear thickening increased with the oil concentration.