Online Acoustic System Identification Exploiting Kalman Filtering and an Adaptive Impulse Response Subspace Model

We introduce a novel algorithm for online estimation of Acoustic Impulse Responses (AIRs) which allows for fast convergence by exploiting prior knowledge about the fundamental structure of AIRs. The proposed method assumes that the variability of AIRs of an acoustic scene is confined to a low-dimensional manifold which is embedded in a high-dimensional space of possible AIR estimates. We discuss various approaches which exploit a training data set of AIRs, e.g., high-accuracy AIR estimates from the acoustic scene, to learn a local affine subspace approximation of the AIR manifold. The model is motivated by the idea of describing the generally nonlinear AIR manifold locally by tangential hyperplanes and its validity is verified for simulated data. Subsequently, we describe how the manifold assumption can be used to enhance online AIR estimates by projecting them onto an adaptively estimated subspace. Motivated by the assumption of manifolds being locally Euclidean, the parameters determining the adaptive subspace are learned from the nearest neighbor AIR training samples to the current AIR estimate. To assess the proximity of training data AIRs to the current AIR estimate, we introduce a probabilistic extension of the Euclidean distance which improves the performance for applications with non-white excitation signals. Furthermore, we describe how model imperfections can be tackled by a soft projection of the AIR estimates. The proposed algorithm exhibits significantly faster convergence properties in comparison to a high-performance state-of-the-art algorithm. Furthermore, we show an improved steady-state performance for speech-excited system identification scenarios suffering from high-level interfering noise and nonunique solutions.

     

Gasförmige Acetate

Gaseous Acetates Thermoanalytical and mass-spectrometrical observations are undertaken with some acetates and oxiacetates. The volatilization of copper(I) acetate takes place like that of the silver acetate as M₂Ac₂⁺ (besides the deposition of Ag). On the volatilization of the anhydrous compounds Cu₂Ac₄, Cr₂Ac₄, Rh₂Ac₄, and Mo₂Ac₄ in the vacuum of a mass spectrometer is observed that Cu₂Ac₄ vaporizes dissociative as Cu₂Ac₂⁺ (+ 2 “Ac”), while the other compounds vaporize as M₂Ac₄⁺ and simultaneously is formed an oxidic (e.g. Cr₂O₄) or metallic residue. PdAc₂ vaporizes in the mass spectrometer as a trimeric molecule Pd₃Ac₆. M₄OAc₆, which is formed from the dihydrates, vaporizes in a mass spectrometer with M ? Co, Mn as M₄OAc₆⁺. Other complexes of the same type appear as Be₄OAc₅⁺, Mg₄OAc₅⁺, and Zn₄OAc₅⁺.     

Simultaneous determination of capecitabine and its metabolite 5-fluorouracil by column switching and liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for the quantitation of capecitabine and its metabolite 5-fluorouracil in human plasma. The simultaneous determination of both analytes was achieved by a column switching method using a trapping column and two analytical columns with different stationary phases. Isocratic elution was used for the separation of capecitabine on a C18 column whereas 5-fluorouracil was separated using gradient elution on an non-polar carbon phase. The calibration curves were linear for both compounds with a correlation factor (R2) > 0.9993 for 5-fluorouracil and >0.9942 for capecitabine. The assay was validated in the concentration range 5.00-1000 ng ml(-1) for both compounds. The intra-day precision was better than 10% for 5-fluorouracil and better than 11% for capecitabine whereas the inter-day precision was better than 8% for 5-fluorouracil and better than 14% for capecitabine.     

The discovery of Kv1.5 blockers as a case study for the application of virtual screening approaches

Different virtual screening techniques are available as alternatives to high throughput screening. These different techniques have been rarely used together on the same target. We had the opportunity to do so in order to discover novel blockers of the voltage-dependent potassium channel Kv1.5, a potential target for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Our corporate database was searched, using a protein-based pharmacophore, derived from a homology model, as query. As a result, 244 molecules were screened in vitro, 19 of them (7.8%) were found to be active. Five of them, belonging to five different chemical classes, exhibited IC50 values under 10 microM. The performance of this structure-based virtual screening protocol has been compared with those of similarity and ligand-based pharmacophore searches. The analysis of the results supports the conventional wisdom of using as many virtual screening techniques as possible in order to maximize the chance of finding as many chemotypes as possible.     

Die Perthioborate RbBS3, TIBS3 und TI3B3S10

The Perthioborates RbBS₃, TIBS₃, and Tl₃B₃S₁₀ . RbBS₃ (P2₁/c, a=7.082(2) Å, b=11.863(4) Å, c=5.794(2) Å, β=106.54(2)°) was prepared as colourless, plate-shaped crystals by reaction of stoichiometric amounts of rubidium sulfide, boron, and sulfur at 600°C and subsequent annealing. TlBS₃ (P2₁/c, a=6.874(3) Å, b=11.739(3) Å, c=5.775(2) Å, β=113.08(2)°) which is isotypic with RbBS₃ was synthesized from a sample of the composition Tl₂S · 2 B₂S₃. The glassy product which was obtained after 7 h at 850°C was annealed in a two zone furnace for 400 h at 400→350°C. Yellow crystals of TlBS₃ formed at the warmer side of the furnace. Tl₃B₃S₁₀ (P1 , a=6.828(2) Å, b=7.713(2) Å, c=13.769(5) Å, α=104.32(2)°, β=94.03(3)°, γ=94.69(2)°) was prepared as yellow plates from stoichiometric amounts of thallium sulfide, boron, and sulfur at 850°C and subsequent annealing. All compounds contain tetrahedrally coordinated boron. The crystal structures consist of polymeric anion chains. In the case of RbBS₃ and TlBS₃ nonplanar five-membered B₂S₃ rings are spirocyclically connected via the boron atoms. To obtain the anionic structure of Tl₃B₃S₁₀ every third B₂S₃ ring of the polymeric chains of MBS₃ is to be substituted by a six-membered B(S₂)₂B ring.     

The Effect of Gradual Fluorination on the Properties of FnZnPc Thin Films and FnZnPc/C60 Bilayer Photovoltaic Cells

Motivated by the possibility of modifying energy levels of a molecule without substantially changing its band gap, the impact of gradual fluorination on the optical and structural properties of zinc phthalocyanine (F_nZnPc) thin films and the electronic characteristics of F_nZnPc/C₆₀ (n = 0, 4, 8, 16) bilayer cells is investigated. UV–vis measurements reveal similar Q‐ and B‐band absorption of F_nZnPc thin films with n = 0, 4, 8, whereas for F₁₆ZnPc a different absorption pattern is detected. A correlation between structure and electronic transport is deduced. For F₄ZnPc/C₆₀ cells, the enhanced long range order supports fill factors of 55% and an increase of the short circuit current density by 18%, compared to ZnPc/C₆₀. As a parameter being sensitive to the organic/organic interface energetics, the open circuit voltage is analyzed. An enhancement of this quantity by 27% and 50% is detected for F₄ZnPc‐ and F₈ZnPc‐based devices, respectively, and is attributed to an increase of the quasi‐Fermi level splitting at the donor/acceptor interface. In contrast, for F₁₆ZnPc/C₆₀ a decrease of the open circuit voltage is observed. Complementary photoelectron spectroscopy, external quantum efficiency, and photoluminescence measurements reveal a different working principle, which is ascribed to the particular energy level alignment at the interface of the photoactive materials.     

Strength and failure of cemented granular matter

Cemented granular materials (CGMs) consist of densely packed solid particles and a pore-filling solid matrix sticking to the particles. We use a sub-particle lattice discretization method to investigate the particle-scale origins of strength and failure properties of CGMs. We show that jamming of the particles leads to highly inhomogeneous stress fields. The stress probability density functions are increasingly wider for a decreasing matrix volume fraction, the stresses being more and more concentrated in the interparticle contact zones with an exponential distribution as in cohesionless granular media. Under uniaxial loading, pronounced asymmetry can occur between tension and compression both in strength and in the initial stiffness as a result of the presence of bare contacts (with no matrix interposed) between the particles. Damage growth is analyzed by considering the evolution of stiffness degradation and the number of broken bonds in the particle phase. A brutal degradation appears in tension as a consequence of brittle fracture in contrast to the more progressive nature of damage growth in compression. We also carry out a detailed parametric study in order to assess the combined influence of the matrix volume fraction and particle-matrix adherence. Three regimes of crack propagation can be distinguished corresponding to no particle damage, particle abrasion and particle fragmentation, respectively. We find that particle damage scales well with the relative toughness of the particle-matrix interface with respect to the particle toughness. This relative toughness is a function of both matrix volume fraction and particle-matrix adherence and it appears therefore to be the unique control parameter governing transition from soft to hard behavior.     

Adaptation of electrodes and printable gel polymer electrolytes for optimized fully organic batteries

Despite intensive scientific efforts on the development of organic batteries, their full potential is still not being realized. The individual components, such as electrode materials and electrolytes, are in most cases developed independently and are not adjusted to each other. In this context, we report on the performance optimization of a full-organic solid-state battery system by the mutual adaptation of the electrode materials and an ionic liquid (IL)-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE). The formulation of the latter was designed for a one-step manufacturing approach and can be applied directly to the electrode surface, where it is UV-cured to yield the GPE without further post-treatment steps. Herein, a special focus was placed on the applicability in industrial processes. A first significant capacity increase was achieved by the incorporation of the IL into the electrode composite. Furthermore, the GPE composition was adapted applying acrylate- and methacrylate-based monomers and combinations thereof with the premise of a fast curing step. Furthermore, the amount of IL was varied, and all combinations were evaluated for their final performance in cells. The latter variation revealed that a high ionic conductivity is not the only determining factor for a good cell performance. Next to a sufficient conductivity, the interaction between electrode and electrolyte plays a key role for the cell performance as it enhances the accessibility of the counter ions to the redox-active sites.