Across-ear interference from parametrically degraded synthetic speech signals in a dichotic cocktail-party listening task

Recent results have shown that listeners attending to the quieter of two speech signals in one ear (the target ear) are highly susceptible to interference from normal or time-reversed speech signals presented in the unattended ear. However, speech-shaped noise signals have little impact on the segregation of speech in the opposite ear. This suggests that there is a fundamental difference between the across-ear interference effects of speech and nonspeech signals. In this experiment, the intelligibility and contralateral-ear masking characteristics of three synthetic speech signals with parametrically adjustable speech-like properties were examined: (1) a modulated noise-band (MNB) speech signal composed of fixed-frequency bands of envelope-modulated noise; (2) a modulated sine-band (MSB) speech signal composed of fixed-frequency amplitude-modulated sinewaves; and (3) a "sinewave speech" signal composed of sine waves tracking the first four formants of speech. In all three cases, a systematic decrease in performance in the two-talker target-ear listening task was found as the number of bands in the contralateral speech-like masker increased. These results suggest that speech-like fluctuations in the spectral envelope of a signal play an important role in determining the amount of across-ear interference that a signal will produce in a dichotic cocktail-party listening task.     

Electronic control of chiral quaternary center creation in the intramolecular asymmetric heck reaction

The Boehringer-Ingelheim phosphinoimidazoline (BIPI) ligands were applied to the formation of chiral quaternary centers in the asymmetric Heck reaction. Several different substrates were examined in detail, using more than 70 members of this new ligand class. Hammett relationships were determined through systematic variation of the ligand electronics. All substrates showed essentially the same Hammett behavior, where enantioselectivity increased as the ligands were made more electron-deficient. Ligand optimization has led to catalysts which give the highest enantioselectivities reported to date for these difficult systems.     

At-sea measurements of sound penetration into sediments using a buried vertical synthetic array

Acoustic bottom penetration experiments were carried out in a medium-grain sandy bottom at a site in St. Andrews Bay, Florida. These investigations used a new buried, vertical, one-dimensional synthetic array system where a small hydrophone was water-jetted into the sediment to a depth of approximately 2 m. Once buried, this hydrophone was mounted to a vertical robotics stage that translated the hydrophone upward in 1-cm increments. A broadband (3 to 80 kHz) spherical source, positioned 50 cm above the sediment-water interface, was used to insonify the sediment. Measurements were made with insonification angles above and below the critical angle by changing the horizontal distance of the source relative to the insertion point. This new measurement system is detailed, and results are presented that include temporal, frequency, and wavenumber analysis for natural and roughened interfaces. The measured compressional sound speed and attenuation are shown to be self-consistent using the Kramers-Kronig relation. Furthermore, only a single fast compressional wave was observed. There was no observation of a second slower compressional wave as predicted by some applications of the Biot model to unconsolidated water-saturated porous media.     

Exchange interaction effects on the optical properties of LuMnO3

We have measured the optical conductivity of single crystal LuMnO3 from 10 to 45000 cm(-1) at temperatures between 4 and 300 K. A symmetry allowed on-site Mn d-d transition near 1.7 eV is observed to blueshift ( approximately 0.1 eV) in the antiferromagnetic state due to Mn-Mn superexchange interactions. Similar anomalies are observed in the temperature dependence of the TO phonon frequencies which arise from spin-phonon interaction. We find that the known anomaly in the temperature dependence of the quasistatic dielectric constant epsilon(0) below T(N) approximately 90 K is overwhelmingly dominated by the phonon contributions.     

Gamma-ray spectroscopy with relativistic exotic heavy-ions

Feasibility of gamma-ray spectroscopy at relativistic energies with exotic heavy-ions and new generation of germanium detectors (segmented Clover) is discussed. An experiment with such detector array and radioactive is discussed.     

A gamma-ray detector for capillary zone electrophoresis and its use in the analysis of some radiopharmaceuticals

The construction and evaluation of a gamma-ray detector for capillary zone electrophoresis is described. The detector was shown to have a linear response from the limit of detection 10 to 500 Bqcm-3 corresponding to 5.1 x 10(-17) to 2.55 x 10(-15) gcm-3 43Tc99m. The application of the detector for the analysis of some radiopharmaceuticals is presented.     

Ant colony optimization for power plant maintenance scheduling optimization—a five-station hydropower system

A number of algorithms have been developed for the optimization of power plant maintenance schedules. However, the true test of such algorithms occurs when they are applied to real systems. In this paper, the application of an Ant Colony Optimization formulation to a hydropower system is presented. The formulation is found to be effective in handling various constraints commonly encountered in practice. Overall, the results obtained using the ACO formulation are better than those given by traditional methods using engineering judgment, which indicates the potential of ACO in solving realistic power plant maintenance scheduling problems.     

Synthesis and thiol–ene photopolymerization of allyl‐ether functionalized dendrimers

Well‐defined, allyl‐ether functional, first‐generation dendrimers have been synthesized. The convergent growth approach was utilized, using the anhydride of the allyl‐ether terminated building block. Three different core moieties were used: trimethylolpropane, trisphenol, and ditrimethylolpropane. The coupling reactions proceeded in good yields and all compounds were characterized by NMR, MALDI‐TOF, and SEC. The allyl‐terminated dendrimers were crosslinked by thiol–ene chemistry, using a multifunctional thiol, TriThiol, to give clear and smooth films. The photopolymerization was conducted in the presence of a photoinitiator, Irgacure 651, and no traces of either allyl‐ether groups or thiols were observed by FT‐Raman after cure. All crosslinked films were characterized with respect to mechanical (DMA) and thermal (DSC) properties. It was found that homogeneous networks were formed and that the core functionality and structure had little effect on the network properties. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1339–1348, 2008     

Computer Simulation Studies of Anisotropic Systems XVI. The Smectic E-Smectic B Transition

We have investigated the smectic E-smectic B transition with the aid of a model smectogen whose properties have been calculated using the Monte Carlo technique of computer simulation. The lath-like mesogenic molecules are defined to lie in a plane with their centres on a triangular lattice and with their long axes orthogonal to the smectic layer. The quadrupolar interaction, restricted to nearest neighbours, is assumed to be responsible for the herring-bone arrangement of the molecular short axes, characteristic of the smectic E phase. The computer simulations have been employed to evaluate both thermodynamic and structural parameters as a function of temperature. The model smectogen is found to exhibit a continuous transition at which the long range herring-bone structure of the smectic E phase is destroyed only to be replaced by the analogous short range structure of the smectic B. Where possible the results simulated for the model smectogen are compared with the behaviour of real mesogens and the predictions of molecular field theories for the transition. In particular, contact is made with X-ray diffraction studies of the two phases by using optical techniques to generate the diffraction patterns associated with configurations produced by the simulation. The model is found to be in good accord with experiment but the molecular field prediction of the smectic E-smectic B transition temperature is shown to be poor.