Auditory filter characteristics and consonant recognition for hearing-impaired listeners

To examine the association between frequency resolution and speech recognition, auditory filter parameters and stop-consonant recognition were determined for 9 normal-hearing and 24 hearing-impaired subjects. In an earlier investigation, the relationship between stop-consonant recognition and the articulation index (AI) had been established on normal-hearing listeners. Based on AI predictions, speech-presentation levels for each subject in this experiment were selected to obtain a wide range of recognition scores. This strategy provides a method of interpreting speech-recognition performance among listeners who vary in magnitude and configuration of hearing loss by assuming that conditions which yield equal audible spectra will result in equivalent performance. It was reasoned that an association between frequency resolution and consonant recognition may be more appropriately estimated if hearing-impaired listeners' performance was measured under conditions that assured equivalent audibility of the speech stimuli. Derived auditory filter parameters indicated that filter widths and dynamic ranges were strongly associated with threshold. Stop-consonant recognition scores for most hearing-impaired listeners were not significantly poorer than predicted by the AI model. Furthermore, differences between observed recognition scores and those predicted by the AI were not associated with auditory filter characteristics, suggesting that frequency resolution and speech recognition may appear to be associated primarily because both are degraded by threshold elevation.     

A novel method for the preparation of T3 free plasma/serum for routine RIA

A novel method to eliminate T₃ from gross sera/plasma based on prior treatment with 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulphonic acid has been standardized. This method is rapid with a minimum loss of protein and uses only small quantities of charcoal. The treated sera have been tested for acceptance in the RIA system for routine assays.     

Initial study on the structure and photoluminescence properties of SiC films doped with Al

SiC films doped with aluminum (Al) were prepared by the rf-magnetron sputtering technique on p-Si substrates with a composite target of a single crystalline SiC containing several Al pieces on the surface. The as-deposited films were annealed in the temperature range of 400-800 °C under nitrogen ambient. The thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the introduction of Al into films hinders crystalline formation process. And with the increase of annealing temperature, more Si particles are formed in the films, which strongly affect the optical absorption properties. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples show two peaks at 370 nm and 412 nm. The intensities of the PL peaks are evidently improved after Al doped. We attribute the origin of the two PL peaks to a kind of Si-related defect centres. The obtained results are expected to have important applications in modern optoelectronic devices.     

Periodic and partially periodic representations ofSU(N) q

The Gelfand-Zetlin basis is adapted toSU(N) _q forq a root of unit. Extra parameters are incorporated in the matrix elements of the generators to obtain all the invariants corresponding to the augmented center. A crucial identity is derived and proved, which guarantees the periodicity of the action of the generators. Full periodicity is relaxed by stages, some raising and lowering operators remaining injective while others become nilpotent with corresponding changes in the dimension of the representation. In the extreme case of highest weight representations. all the raising and lowering operators are nilpotent. As an alternative approach an auxiliary algebra giving all the periodic representations is presented. An explicit solution of this system forN=3, while fully equivalent to the G.-Z. basis, turns out to be much simpler.     

Investigation of radical decay mechanisms in a glow-discharge plasma in carbon tetrafluoride

Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 54, No. 6, pp. 1004–1010, June, 1991.