Pitch synchronous 1st-order linear d.p.c.m. system

A system called p.s.f.o.l.d. is described which exploits the correlation between successive pitch periods of a speech signal. This system is a differential one and can employ various types of encoders. We describe a p.s.f.o.l.d. system using a 1st-order d.p.c.m. encoder and show that for a speech utterance this system has a peak signal/noise ratio which is 6 dB larger, and has an increase in dynamic range of 13 dB, compared with a 1st-order d.p.c.m. codec.     

Estimation of crystallinity in isotropic isotactic polypropylene with Raman spectroscopy

The Raman spectrum of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) has been found to exhibit vibrational peaks in the region of 750 to 880 cm(-1) that are sensitive to the degree of crystallinity. These features are broadly assigned to various modes of methyl group rocking, rho(CH2), and there have been various attempts to assess crystallinity based on the integrated intensities of these bands. Various vibrational analyses performed in the past in combination with experimental studies have concluded that the presence of crystalline order with trans-gauche conformation gives rise to a peak at 809 cm(-1), which is assigned to a rho(CH2) mode coupled with the skeletal stretching mode. However, the presence of additional peaks at 830 cm(-1), 841 cm(-1), and 854 cm(-1), within the same envelope, have been the subject of controversy. In this work isotropic films of iPP derived from the same precursor of identical tacticity have been subjected to various degrees of annealing and the integrated intensities of the Raman bands were measured. The results showed that true 3d crystallinity in isotropic iPP can only be expressed by the 809 cm(-1) band whereas the band at 841 cm(-1) corresponds to an uncoupled rho(CH2) fundamental mode and thus is a measure of the amorphous content. The less intense satellite bands at 830 cm(-1) and 854 cm(-1) of solid iPP cannot be distinguished from the 841 cm(-1) band in the melt and are generally considered as intermediate phases possibly related to non-crystalline components with 3(1)-helical conformations. Independent differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) crystallinity measurements were in broad agreement with the Raman measurements based on the normalized intensity of the 809 cm(-1) Raman band. By comparing the Raman with the DSC data a new value for the theoretical heat of fusion for the 100% crystalline iPP has been proposed.     

Nanoscale rapid melting and crystallization of semiconductor thin films

The current study details nanosecond laser-based rapid melting and crystallization of thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) films at the nanoscale using two different optical near-field processing schemes. Both apertureless and tapered fiber near-field scanning optical microscope probes were utilized to deliver highly confined irradiation on the target surface. The various modification regimes produced as a result of the rapid a-Si melting and crystallization transformations were shown to critically depend on the applied laser fluence. Consequently, the crystallized pattern morphology and feature size could be finely controlled. High energy density was observed to impart ablation surrounded by a narrow melt ring. At much lower incident laser energy density, single nanostructures with a lateral dimension of approximately 90 nm were defined.     

Design of Sinh‐Domain filters using complementary operators

A new systematic method for designing Sinh‐Domain filters is introduced in this paper. This is achieved by employing an appropriate set of complementary operators, in order to transpose the conventional functional block diagram representation of each linear operation to the corresponding one into the Sinh‐Domain. The proposed method offers the benefits of facilitating the design procedure of high‐order Sinh‐Domain filters and of the absence of any restriction concerning the type and/or the order of the realized filter function. As an example, a third‐order Sinh‐Domain leapfrog filter is designed by employing the proposed set of operators. Two possible realizations are given and their performance has been evaluated and compared through simulation results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of Kluyveromyces marxianus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and L. helveticus for sourdough bread making

The application of Kluyveromyces marxianus (IFO 288), Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus (ATCC 11842) and Lactobacillus helveticus (ATCC 15009) as starter cultures for sourdough bread making was examined. Production of lactic and acetic acids, bread rising, volatile composition, shelf-life and organoleptic quality of the sourdough breads were evaluated. The amount of starter culture added to the flour, the dough fermentation temperature and the amount of sourdough used were examined in order to optimise the bread making process. The use of mixed cultures led to higher total titratable acidities and lactic acid concentrations compared to traditionally made breads. Highest acidity (3.41 g lactic acid/kg of bread) and highest resistance to mould spoilage were observed when bread was made using 50% sourdough containing 1% K. marxianus and 4% L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus. The use of these cultures also improved the aroma of sourdough breads, as shown by sensory evaluations and as revealed by GC–MS analysis.     

Adaptive Impedance Control Applied to a Pneumatic Legged Robot

An adaptive impedance control scheme with estimation of robot andenvironment parameters is proposed in this paper. It consists of two stagesof adaptation and control. The first one performs an on-line estimation ofthe robot inertial parameters, during the complete (constrained or not)motion of the leg, while the second one compensates for the uncertainties onthe characteristics of the ground (position and stiffness). Simulationresults obtained for a single leg of a pneumatic driven, quadruped robotshow the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme in case ofconsiderable uncertainty both in the robot and ground parameters.     

Tailor‐made controlled rheology polypropylenes from metallocene and Ziegler–Natta resins

Production of controlled rheology polypropylenes (CRPPs) is practiced industrially by modifying existing commodity Ziegler–Natta resins through peroxide‐induced β‐scission reactions, resulting in materials with controlled rheological properties and accompanying narrower molecular weight distributions (MWDs). In this work, this methodology was studied using both metallocene‐based polypropylenes (mPPs) and Ziegler–Natta‐based polypropylenes (ZN‐PPs). Numerical simulations based on a previously proposed kinetic model indicated that the nature of the starting resin has a significant effect on the control of MWD polydispersity index (PDI) and weight‐average molecular weight ( ${\overline{M}}_W$) of the resulting CRPP. Based on these observations, experiments were carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of producing CRPP with targeted molecular and rheological characteristics. Commercial mPP and ZN‐PP resins were selected to produce CRPP with similar ${\overline{M}}_W$ or melt flow rates (MFRs) but varying PDIs. The rheological properties and MWDs of these materials were evaluated through oscillatory shear and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements and their extrusion behavior was briefly studied and assessed with respect to these properties. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:1114–1121 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Amphiphilic diblock and ABC triblock methacrylate copolymers: synthesis and aqueous solution characterization

Three isomeric, linear, equimolar, amphiphilic ABC triblock copolymers comprising methyl methacrylate (MMA, nonionic hydrophobic), 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, (DMAEMA, ionizable hydrophilic) and hexa(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (HEGMA, nonionic hydrophilic) units (10 units in each block) were synthesized by group transfer polymerization (GTP). These were the three block sequence isomers, ABC, ACB and BAC. The corresponding random terpolymer was also prepared. The molecular weights and compositions of all the polymers were characterized by GPC and ¹H NMR. Measurements of the hydrodynamic diameters and cloud points of the copolymers in aqueous solution suggest that the various distributions of monomer units in the four terpolymers (the three triblocks and the random) result in different supramolecular structures with different colloidal stabilities.