Automatic conversion from lexical words to prosodic words for mandarin text-to-speech system

In real speech, not like lexical words (LWs), prosodic words (PWs) are basic rhythmic units. The naturalness of a Text-to-Speech (TTS) system is directly influenced by the segmentation of the PWs. Most of the PWs are the combination of several LWs. In this paper, three Lexical Combination Models are proposed to combine LWs into PWs, including a Directed Acyclic Graph Model, a Segmentation Model and a Markov Model (MM). To cope with the situation where some long LWs should be segmented into two or more PWs, a Lexical Split Model (LSM) is applied to the long LWs. Experimental results prove that relatively constant results with various training data can be obtained from a MM. The Transformation-Based Error Driven Learning (TBED) algorithm, for its high performance of individual property, is applied in combination with the MM to improve the precision of PW segmentation. Experiments show that among the three proposed models, the MM combined with TBED and LSM, leads to the best performance, in which a precision of 93.00% and a recall of 93.23% are achieved. The perception test indicates that by using PWs as the lowest prosodic units a speech sounds more natural and acceptable than by using LWs. This paper is supported by NSFC Project (60503071); 973 Natural Basic Research Program of China (2004CB318102); Postdoctor Science Foundation of P. R. China (20070420275).     

Critical Configurations for 1-View in Projections from ℙ<Superscript>k</Superscript> → ℙ<Superscript>2</Superscript>

In this paper we describe, from a theoretical point of view, critical configurations for the projective reconstruction of a set of points, for a single view, i.e. for calibration of a camera, in the case of projections from ℙ^k to ℙ² for k ≥ 4. We give first a general result describing these critical loci in ℙ^k, which, if irreducible, are algebraic varieties of dimension k−2 and degree 3. If k=4 they can be either a smooth ruled surface or a cone and if k = 5 they can be a smooth three dimensional variety, ruled in planes, or a cone. If k≥ 6, the variety is always a cone, the vertex of which has dimension at least k − 6. The reducible cases are studied in Appendix A. These results are then applied to determine explicitly the critical loci for the projections from ℙ^k which arise from the dynamic scenes in ℙ³ considered in [13]. Marina Bertolini is currently Associate Professor of Geometry at the Department of Mathematics at the Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. Her main field of research is Complex Projective Algebraic Geometry, with particular interest for the classification of projective varieties and for the geometry of Grassmann varieties. On these topics M. Bertolini has published more than twenty reviewed papers on national and international journals. She has been for some years now interested also in applications of Algebraic Geometry to Computer Vision problems. Cristina Turrini is Associate Professor of Geometry at the Department of Mathematics of Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. Her main research interest is Complex Projective Algebraic Geometry: subvarieties of Grassmannians, special varieties, automorphisms, classification. In the last two years she has started to work on applications of Algebraic Geometry to problems of Computer Vision. She is author or co-author of about thirty reviewed papers. She is also involved in popularization of Mathematics, and on this subject she is co-editor of some books.     

Effect of Tongmai Decoction on expression of NF-κB in ox-LDL injured endothelial cells

Objective Study on the effect of NF-κB in ox-LDL injured HUVEC-304 and the intervention with the serum of Tongmai Decoction. Methods Tongmai Decoction herbage-contained serum was made by the serum pharmacology methods, then the HUVEC-304 cells were divided into 5 groups and incubated for 24 h: 1) normal group;2) fetal calf serum group; 3) ox-LDL group; 4) simvastatin group; 5) Tongmai Decoction group. RT-PCR was used to determine the mRNA of NF-κB in the cells, Western Blot Assay was used to determine the protein content of NF-κB in the cells. Results 1) Compared with the cells in normal group and serum control group , the endothelial cells in ox-LDL group are seriously injured, while those in Tongmai Decoction group grow better; 2) Compared with the cells in normal group and fetal calf serum group, the expressions of NF-κB gene and protein are up-regulated in ox-LDL group(P＜0.05, P＜0.01); 3) Compared with the cells in ox-LDL group, the expression of NF-κB gene and protein in Tongmai Decoction group are significantly down-regulated, there is no difference between Tongmai Decoction group and simvastatin group(P＞0.05). Conclusion Tongmai Decoction can protect the injured endothelial cells, up-regulate the expressions of NF-κB gene and protein content.     

秦山核电厂燃耗深度对DNBR限值的影响分析

本文研究了在秦山核电厂批平均卸料燃耗深度超过原定限值的情况下，为保证电厂的安全运行对DNBR限值进行重新确认的问题。研究过程中，综合考虑了由燃耗加深所引起的核焓升因子的变化和棒弯曲这两种效应对DNBR限值的影响。结果表明，对秦山核电厂而言，在批平均卸料燃耗超过原定限值的情况下，维持原DNBR限值不变仍是安全可行的。     

尿素解吸废液及甲醇残液联合处理工艺的应用

安阳化学工业集团公司(以下简称安化集团)现有2套200 kt/a尿素装置及1套60 kt/a甲醇装置.尿素及甲醇装置在生产过程中会产生大量的尿素解吸废液和甲醇残液,废液中的氨氮(NH3-N)含量和化学需氧量(CODCr)较高,给该公司废水的达标排放带来很大压力.     

The hot blow forming of AZ31 Mg sheet: Formability assessment and application development

The hot blow forming of magnesium sheet offers significant opportunity for forming complex, lightweight parts for automotive applications. This paper characterizes the elevated-temperature formability of AZ31 magnesium sheet materials and the effect of processing conditions on the performance of these materials. In addition, magnesium sheet application development at General Motors Corporation is reviewed.     

Simulation of Strength Distribution in Ground Ceramics by Incorporating Residual Stress Effect

Strength of ground ceramics may be affected by residual stress as well as surface flaws induced by grinding. Strength prediction for ground ceramics is convenient for mechanical design of ceramic components. In this article, a numerical procedure based on fracture mechanics was proposed to estimate strength distribution of ground ceramics by considering grinding-induced residual stress. Bending strength and residual stress of ground ceramics were measured for three grinding-conditions. By comparison of simulated results with experimental ones, it was revealed that strength characteristics in experiments were well simulated by using the proposed procedure.     

Integration framework for intelligent manufacturing processes

In this article, we describe a new approach to applying distributed artificial intelligence techniques to manufacturing processes. The construction of intelligent systems is one of the most important techniques among artificial intelligence research. Our goal is to develop an integrated intelligent system for real time manufacturing processes. An integrated intelligent system is a large knowledge integration environment that consists of several symbolic reasoning systems (expert systems) and numerical computation packages. These software programs are controlled by a meta-system which manages the selection, operation and communication of these programs. A meta-system can be implemented in different language environments and applied to many disciplines. This new architecture can serve as a universal configuration to develop high performance intelligent systems for many complicated industrial applications in real world domains.To whom all correspondence should be addressed.