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.     

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.     

Influence of ethyl methacrylate content on the volume‐phase transition of temperature‐sensitive poly[(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐co‐(ethyl methacrylate)] microgels

A novel series of temperature‐sensitive poly[(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐co‐(ethyl methacrylate)] (p(NIPAM‐co‐EMA)) microgels was prepared by the surfactant‐free radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) with ethyl methacrylate (EMA). The shape, size dispersity and volume‐phase transition behavior of the microgels were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The transmission electron micrographs and DLS results showed that microgels with narrow distributions were prepared. It was shown from UV–Vis, DLS and DSC measurements that the volume‐phase transition temperature (VPTT) of the p(NIPAM‐co‐EMA) microgels decreased with increasing incorporation of EMA, but the temperature‐sensitivity was impaired when more EMA was incorporated, causing the volume‐phase transition of the microgels to become more continuous. It is noteworthy that incorporation of moderate amounts of EMA could not only lower the VPTT but also enhance the temperature‐sensitivity of the microgels. The reason for this phenomenon could be attributed to changes in the complicated interactions between the various molecules. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Analysis of multiple FSS screens of unequal periodicity using an efficient cascading technique

In this paper, we present an efficient cascading procedure for analyzing frequency selective surface (FSS) systems consisting of multiple FSS screens of unequal periodicity embedded in multiple dielectric layers. In this procedure, we first find a global period for the FSS system by studying the composite in its entirety. Next, we compute the scattering matrix [S] of each of the FSS subsystems for the global Floquet harmonics by applying a relationship we establish that maps the [S] matrix of the subsystem for the individual Floquet harmonics to that for the global harmonics. This mapping-cum-filling process substantially reduces the effort needed to compute the [S] matrix of a subsystem. Finally, we compute the [S] of the entire system by applying a modified cascading formulation, in which one matrix inversion step is eliminated, resulting in a reduction in the total computing resource requirement as well as time. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the technique.     

软β核素内部样品塑料闪烁探测器

本文评价了塑料闪烁片用作软β核素探测器时的计数效率、β谱、本底谱和康普顿电子谱的特征。文中强调:采用胶合光导剂构成的系统是一种新型探测器(软β核素内部样品塑料闪烁探测器)。本文提出内部样品固体探测器、胶合光导剂和胶合闪烁光导剂的新概念。