Effects of signal-to-noise ratio, signal periodicity, and degree of hearing impairment on the performance of voice-separation algorithms

Procedures for enhancing the intelligibility of a target talker in the presence of a co-channel competing talker were evaluated in tests involving (i) continuously voiced sentences spoken on a monotone, (ii) continuously voiced sentences with time-varying intonation, and (iii) noncontinuously voiced sentences produced with natural intonation. The procedures were based on the methods of harmonic selection and cepstral filtering [R.J. Stubbs and Q. Summerfield, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 87, 359-372 (1990)]. Target and competing voices were combined at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) between -10 dB and +10 dB. Subjects were a group with normal hearing and a heterogeneous group with mild-moderate cochlear hearing impairments. Processing enhanced the target voice over a range of SNRs for each type of sentence and for most listeners. Enhancement was greatest at negative SNRs. Among the impaired listeners, benefit was generally greater for those with milder losses. These results consolidate and extend previous demonstrations that voice-separation algorithms that exploit the harmonic structure of the voiced portions of speech can enhance intelligibility. However, practical application of such algorithms depends on a solution to the problem of tracking the fundamental-frequency contour of one voice in the presence of a competing voice.     

Spectral line suppression and sideband narrowing via quantum interference

We reveal that for a realistic system, interference effects are obtained such as the suppression of central line and inner sidebands and the narrowing of the outer fluorescence sidebands. For this purpose, we consider a spontaneous decay from an excited state to a metastable state when the excited and metastable states are resonantly coupled to an auxiliary metastable state by a laser field and a microwave field, respectively. The fluorescence spectrum evolves from a five-peaked structure into a doublet of ultrasharp lines as the ratio of the laser field Rabi frequency to the microwave Rabi frequency is decreased. The physical origin is presented in terms of dressed states.     

基于同步辐射加速器的康普顿背散射γ射线源(Ⅰ)产生MeV量级γ光子的数值计算

提出在筹建的上海同步辐射装置上建造一条MeV量级γ射线束及应用站,采用μm波长的红外(或远红外)激光与储存环中3.5GeV电子束进行康普顿背散射,从而获得能区为1—25MeV的康普顿背散射γ光子束,该光子束具有高强度、高极化度(线和圆极化)、准单色、方向性好的优点,可以广泛地应用于核物理和核天体物理基础研究及相关的应用研究领域.介绍了康普顿背散射的基本原理,并结合储存环参数给出了光子束性能的数值计算结果.     

Numerical differentiation of photomechanical data using smoothing spline functions with generalized boundary conditions

The smoothing spline function has been used for differentiation of photomechanical data in experimental stress analysis. However, since the available software packages use the algorithm with the so-called natural boundary conditions which are not necessarily suitable in many circumstances, errors tend to occur in both the first and second derivatives. In this paper we have modified the algorithm so that the user can have more freedom in selecting boundary conditions which suit the problem best and therefore, as a result, improve the accuracy of the analysis. Two examples are given to show the improvement achievable using the new scheme.     

Existence, Multiplicity and Infinite Solvability of Positive Solutions for One-Dimensional p-Laplacian

The existence, multiplicity and infinite solvability of positive solutions are established for some two-point boundary value problems of one-dimensional p-Laplacian. In this paper, by multiplicity we mean the existence of m solutions, where m is an arbitrary natural number.     

Crystallographic report: Bis{[diacetyl‐bis(2,6‐isopropylphenylimine)]nickel(I)(µ‐chloro)}

The first α‐diimine nickel(I) complex having a chloro bridge is reported. The centrosymmetric dinuclear structure of {[ArN?C(Me)C(Me)?NAr]NiCl}₂[Ar?2,6?C₆H₃(i‐Pr)₂] features two chelating α‐diimine ligands and two bridged chlorine atoms, so that a distorted tetrahedral N₂Cl₂ coordination geometry for nickel results. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluorous osmium tetraoxide (OsO4): a recoverable and reusable catalyst for dihydroxylation of olefins

A fluorous osmium catalyst was firstly developed. It had been effectively used as recoverable and reusable catalyst in the dihydroxylation of olefins.     

A stable dual-wavelength fiber laser with tunable wavelength spacing using a polarization-maintaining linear cavity

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a stable dual-wavelength erbium-doped polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber laser with tunable wavelength spacing using an all-PM linear cavity that makes use of two reflection peaks from the PM fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG). Experimental results show stable dual lasing lines with a wavelength separation of ∼0.22 nm and a large optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of over 40 dB under room temperature. By applying axial strain to the PM-FBG, the center wavelengths of the two lasing lines can be tuned over several nanometers and the wavelength separation between the lasing lines can also be tuned to as small as 0.05 nm, which, to our knowledge, is the smallest wavelength spacing ever obtained from a stable room-temperature dual-wavelength fiber laser. The proposed laser configuration has the advantages of simple structure, low loss, stable dual-wavelength operation and a very small lasing linewidth of ∼5 kHz . PACS 42.55.Wd; 42.81.-i; 42.81.Gs     

Univariate Ore Polynomial Rings in Computer Algebra

We present some algorithms related to rings of Ore polynomials (or, briefly, Ore rings) and describe a computer algebra library for basic operations in an arbitrary Ore ring. The library can be used as a basis for various algorithms in Ore rings, in particular, in differential, shift, and q-shift rings. __________ Translated from Sovremennaya Matematika i Ee Prilozheniya (Contemporary Mathematics and Its Applications), Vol. 13, Algebra, 2004.     

从像上提取非旋转对称系统的传递函数制作解卷空间滤波器

本文提出从高分辨电子显微像中,利用光学、全息和部分相干等方法,提取传递函数,制作相位和振幅滤波器,实现解卷,提高高分辨电子显微像的分辨率.