Vowel-onset detection

An algorithm is presented that correctly detects the large majority of vowel onsets in fluent speech. The algorithm is based on the simple assumption that vowel onsets are characterized by the appearance of rapidly increasing resonance peaks in the amplitude spectrum. Application to carefully articulated, isolated words results in a high number of false alarms, predominantly before consonants that can function as vowels in a different context such as another language or as a syllabic consonant. After applying some modifications in the setting of some parameters, this number of false alarms for isolated words can be reduced significantly, without the risk of a large number of missed detections. The temporal accuracy of the algorithm is better than 20 ms. This accuracy is determined with respect to the perceptual moment of occurrence of a vowel onset as determined by a phonetician.     

Membrane fluidity of tetramyristoyl cardiolipin (TMCL) liposomes studied by chronoamperometric monitoring of their adhesion and spreading at the surface of a mercury electrode

Giant unilamellar liposomes of the synthetic cardiolipin 1′,3′-bis[1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho]-sn-glycerol give chronoamperometric current peaks at a stationary mercury electrode. The signals are due to the adhesion and spreading of the liposomes on the hydrophobic mercury surface. The potential dependence shows a minimum of the peak frequency at the point of zero charge, a large maximum of peak frequency at about ?0.2?V and a second, however, smaller maximum at ?0.8?V. The electrochemical behaviour of the liposomes indicates phase transitions of the cardiolipin which could be also observed in differential scanning calorimetry.     

Clustered and integrated fluorescence spectra from single atmospheric aerosol particles excited by a 263- and 351-nm laser at New Haven,CT, and Adelphi,MD

Fluorescence spectra from individual micron-sized atmospheric aerosol particles were measured by a Dual-wavelength-excitation Particle Fluorescence Spectrometer (DPFS). Particles were drawn into our laboratory at Adelphi, MD, an urban site in the Washington, DC, metroplex and within the Yale University campus at New Haven, CT. Two fluorescence spectra were obtained for every individual particle as it was moving through the DPFS system and excited sequentially by single laser pulses at 263 and 351 nm. There were around ten to a few hundred particles detected per second and up to a few million per day within the 1–10 μm particle size range. The majority of the particles have weak fluorescence, but 10–50% of the particles have fluorescence signals above the noise level at both sites at different time period. For the first time, these Ultra Violet laser-induced-fluorescence (UV-LIF) spectra from individual particles were integrated every 10 min, which forms a group of about a few thousand to a few tens of thousand particles, to provide the averaged background atmospheric fluorescence spectral profiles which may be helpful in the development of bioaerosol detection systems, particularly those systems based on integrated fluorescence from a group of aerosol particles, such as Light Detection And Rangeing (LIDAR) remotor biosensor and the point sensor based on collected particles on substrate. These integrated spectral profiles had small variations from time to time and were distinguishable from that of the bacterial simulant B. subtilis. Also for the first time, the individual spectra excited by a 351 nm laser were grouped using unstructured hierarchical cluster analysis, with parameters chosen so that spectra clustered into 8 main categories. They showed less spectral variations than that excited by a 263-nm laser. Over 98% of the spectra were able to be grouped into 8 clusters, and over 90% of the fluorescent particles were in clusters 3–5 with a fluorescence emission peak around 420–470 nm; these were mostly from biological and organic carbon-containing compounds. Integrated fluorescence spectral profiles and averaged spectra for each cluster show high similarity between New Haven, CT and Adelphi, MD.     

Trennung,Identifizierung und Bestimmung von Treibgasen und Lösungsmitteln in Aerosol-Produkten mittels Gas-Chromatographie

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine gas-chromatographische Methode angegeben, welche eine fast vollständige Auftrennung aller handelsüblichen Aerosol-Treibgase und Lösungsmittel und ihre Identifizierung und Bestimmung in einem Schritt gestatet. Die Trennung erfolgt durch reine Adsorptions-Chromatographie and Porapak T-Säulen bei 100–180°C mit einer Temperaturate von 10°C/min. Zur Bestimmung der Retentionsindices nach Kovats wurden die Treibgase isotherm bei 150°C bzw. 100°C, die Lösungsmittel bei 180°C aufgetrennt. Anhand der Kovats-Indices ist eine eindeutige Identifizierung der Treibgase und Lösungsmittel selbst in vielfältigen Gemischen möglich.

---

Separation, identification and estimation of propellant gases and solvents in aerosol products by gas chromatography

Summary A gas chromatographic method is described by which a nearly complete separation of all commonly used propellants and solvents and their identification and determination can be achieved in one step. The separation is by simple adsorption chromatography on columns packed with Porapak-T with a temperature program 100–180°C at 10°C/min. Kováts' retention indices have been calculated for isothermal conditions at 150°C respectively 100°C for the propellants, at 180°C for the solvents. An exact identification of the propellants and solvents by means of the Kováts' indices is practicable even in complex mixtures.

     

On a stabilizing feedback attitude control

The attitude control of a rotating satellite with two control jets leads to a system of four controlled ordinary differential equations of the form (S) $$dx/dt = X(x) + u_1 Y^1 (x) + u_2 Y^2 (x),x(0) = 0.$$ Our goal is to derive feedback controlsu ₁,u ₂ which automatically stabilize the system (S), i.e., drive the solution to the (uncontrolled) rest solution zero. Let $$(ad^0 X,Y) = Y,(adX,Y) = [X,Y],$$ the Lie product of the vector fieldsX, Y, and inductively $$(ad^{k + 1} X,Y) = [X,(ad^k X,Y)].$$ It is known that, if $$dim span\left\{ {\left( {ad^j X,Y^1 } \right)\left( 0 \right),j = 0,1,...} \right\} = 4,$$ then all points in some neighborhood of zero can be controlled to zero with just the controlu ₁, i.e.,u ₂≡0. In this problem,Y ¹(0), ..., (ad ³ X, Y ¹)(0) are linearly independent. We give a formula for generating the directions (ad ⁱ X, Y ⁱ )(0) as endpoints of admissible trajectories. Our modified feedback control is then formed as follows. Given an ε>0, if the state of system (S) is measured to beq ¹ ∈ ?⁴, we write $$q^1 = \sum\limits_{i = 1}^4 {\alpha _1 } (ad^{i - 1} X,Y^1 )(0),$$ and choose a controlu(t,q ¹) on the interval 0≤t≤ε to drive the solution in the direction $$ - \sum\limits_{i = 1}^4 {\alpha _1 } (ad^{i - 1} X,Y^1 )(0).$$ Thus, we assume that the state is measured (say) at time intervals 0, ε, 2ε, ..., while the control depends on the measured state, but then is open loop during a time interval ε until a new state is measured; hence, the terminologymodified feedback control. Numerical results are included for both the case of one control component and the case of two control components.     

Anzahl der Zerlegungen einer ganzen rationalen Zahl in Summanden

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Anzahl der Zerlegungen einer ganzen,rationalen Zahl in Summanden,II

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Evaporation of atoms from femtosecond laser-heated gallium arsenide

The surface temperature of a GaAs crystal irradiated with 150 fs laser pulses is determined from the Maxwell velocity distribution of the evaporated atoms. The crystal is strongly superheated, and melting is observed to occur at a temperature 600–1000 K above the equilibrium melting point.