Singing power ratio: Quantitative evaluation of singing voice quality

This paper presents a parameter for objectively evaluating singing voice quality. Power spectrum of vowel sound / a / was analyzed by Fast Fourier Transform. The greatest harmonics peak between 2 and 4 kHz and the greatest harmonics peak between 0 and 2 kHz were identified. Power ratio of these peaks, termed singing power ratio (SPR), was calculated in 37 singers and 20 nonsingers. SPR of sung / a / in singers was significantly greater than in nonsingers. In singers, SPR of sung / a / was significantly greater than that of spoken / a /. By digital signal processing, power spectrum of sung / a / was varied, and the processed sounds were perceptually analyzed. SPR had a significant relationship with perceptual scores of “ringing” quality. SPR provides an important quantitative measurement for evaluating singing voice quality for all voice types, including soprano.     

Column chromatography of carrier-free Tc/III,IV/-TTA complexes

The chemical species of carrier-free technetium, which were extractable into a TTA-benzene solution on reduction of⁹⁶TcO ₄ ^– either with NaBH₄ or concentrated HCl, were studied by means of silica gel chromatography. Elution peaks ascribed to the formation of Tc/tta/₄ and Tc/tta/₃ type complexes were observed. The latter complex was also synthesized by recoil effect of Ru/, p/Tc reactions in -irradiated Ru/tta/₃.     

Simultaneous production of96Tc and111In by α-particle irradiation of stacked Nb and Ag foils,and their carrier-free separations

In order to produce routinely carrier-free⁹⁶Tc and¹¹¹In, their simultaneous production was examined by means of the stacked foil method. Both niobium and silver foils were arranged on the target holder so as the desired nuclear reactions took place effectively. Simultaneous irradiation of the target with 35 MeV -particles produced effectively¹¹¹In and⁹⁶Tc by the¹⁰⁹Ag(, 2n)¹¹¹In and⁹³Nb(, n)⁹⁶Tc reactions, respectively. Sufficient amounts of radioactivities for tracer uses are obtained by the irradiation at 5 A current for 2 hrs. In addition, carrier-free⁹⁶TcO₄ ^– in a perchloric acid solution could be prepared by the combined use of precipitation and anion-exchange methods. Separation of carrier-free¹¹¹In from the silver matrix was done by means of solvent extraction using acetylacetone as a chelating agent.     

Deformation Quantizations of the Poisson Algebra of Laurent Polynomials

It is well known that the Moyal bracket gives a unique deformation quantization of the canonical phase space R2n up to equivalence. In his presentation of an interesting deformation quantization of the Poisson algebra of Laurent polynomials, Ovsienko discusses the equivalences of deformation quantizations of these algebras. We show that under suitable conditions, deformation quantizations of this algebra are equivalent. Though Ovsienko showed that there exists a deformation quantization of the Poisson algebra of Laurent polynomials which is not equivalent to the Moyal product, this is not correct. We show this equivalence by two methods: a direct construction of the intertwiner via the star exponential and a more standard approach using Hochschild 2-cocycles.     

Surface analysis of nitride layers formed on Fe‐based alloys through plasma nitride process

Nitriding phenomena that occur on the surfaces of pure Fe and Fe? Cr alloy (16 wt% Cr) samples were investigated. An Ar + N₂ mixture‐gas glow‐discharge plasma was used so that surface nitriding could occur on a clean surface etched by Ar⁺ ion sputtering. In addition, the metal substrates were kept at a low temperature to suppress the diffusion of nitrogen. These plasma‐nitriding conditions enabled us to characterize the surface reaction between nitrogen radicals and the metal substrates. The emission characteristics of the band heads of the nitrogen molecule ion (N₂⁺) and nitrogen molecule from the glow‐discharge plasma suggest that the active nitrogen molecule is probably the major nitriding reactant. AES and angle‐resolved XPS were used to characterize the thickness of the nitride layer and the concentration of elements and chemical species in the nitride layer. The thickness of the nitride layer did not depend on the metal substrate type. An oxide layer with a thickness of a few nanometers was formed on the top of the nitride layer during the nitriding process. The oxide layer consisted of several species of N_x‐Fe_y‐O, NO⁺, and NO₂^?. In the Fe? Cr alloy sample, these oxide species could be reduced because chromium is preferentially nitrided. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The outersphere complex of EuCl2+ in a mixed system of methanol and water of 1.0M (H, Na) (Cl, ClO4)

The stability constans, ₁, of each monochloride complex of Eu(III) have been determined in the methanol and water mixed system with 1.0 mol·dm^–3 ionic strength using a solvent extraction technique. The values of ₁ increase with an increase in the mole fraction of methanol (X _S ) in the mixed solvent system when 0X _S 0.40. The, distance of Eu³⁺–Cl^– in the mixed solvent system was calculated using the Born-type equation and the Gibbs' free energy derived from ₁. Calculation of the Eu³⁺–Cl^– distance and the preferential solvation, of Eu³⁺ by water proposed the variation of the outersphere complex of EuCl²⁺ as follows: (1) [Eu(H₂O)₉]³⁺Cl^–, [Eu(H₂O)₈]³⁺Cl^– and [Eu(H₂O)₇(CH₃OH)³⁺Cl^– inX _S0.014, (2) [Eu(H₂O)₈]^3–Cl^– and [Eu(H₂O)₇(CH₃OH)]³⁺Cl^– in 0.014<X _S <0.25 and (3) [Eu(H₂O)₇(CH₃OH)]^3–Cl^– and [Eu(H₂O)₆(CH₃OH)[₂ ³⁺Cl^– in 0.25<X _S 0.40.     

Chemical effects on Lγ1/Lβ1 X-ray intensity ratio of molybdenum compounds

Chemical effects on the intensity ratio of LX-ray of molybdenum compounds irradiated by 11-keV electrons and by 3-MeV protons were studied using an X-ray crystal spectrometer. It was found that the intensity ratios of L₁/L₁ markedly decrease with increase of ionicity of molybdenum compounds. An exception was for the case of metallic molybdenum.