Автоматическое распознавание паралингвистических характеристик говорящего: способы улучшения качества классификации

The ability of artificial systems to recognize paralinguistic signals, such as emotions, depression, or openness, is useful in various applications. However, the performance of such recognizers is not yet perfect. In this study we consider several directions which can significantly improve the performance of such systems. Firstly, we propose building speaker- or gender-specific emotion models. Thus, an emotion recognition (ER) procedure is followed by a gender- or speaker-identifier. Speaker- or gender-specific information is used either for including into the feature vector directly, or for creating separate emotion recognition models for each gender or speaker. Secondly, a feature selection procedure is an important part of any classification problem; therefore, we proposed using a feature selection technique, based on a genetic algorithm or an information gain approach. Both methods result in higher performance than baseline methods without any feature selection algorithms. Finally, we suggest analysing not only audio signals, but also combined audio-visual cues. The early fusion method (or feature-based fusion) has been used in our investigations to combine different modalities into a multimodal approach. The results obtained show that the multimodal approach outperforms single modalities on the considered corpora. The suggested methods have been evaluated on a number of emotional databases of three languages (English, German and Japanese), in both acted and non-acted settings. The results of numerical experiments are also shown in the studyСпособность искусственных систем распознавать паралингвистические характеристики говоря- щего, такие как эмоциональное состояние, наличие и степень депрессии, открытость человека, является полезной для широкого круга приложений. Однако производительность таких систем далека от идеальных значений. В этой статье мы предлагаем подходы, применение которых позволяет существенно улучшить производительность систем распознавания. В работе описы- вается метод построения адаптивных эмоциональных моделей, позволяющих использовать ха- рактеристики конкретного человека для построения точных моделей. В статье представлены алгоритмы выявления наиболее значимых характеристик речевых сигналов, позволяющие одно- временно максимизировать точность решения поставленной задачи и минимизировать количе- ство используемых характеристик сигнала. Наконец, предлагается использовать комбинирован- ные аудио визуальные сигналы в качестве входов для алгоритма машинного обучения. Указанные подходы были реализованы и проверены на 9 эмоциональных речевых корпусах. Результаты прове- денных экспериментов позволяют утверждать, что предложенные в статье подходы улучшают качество решения поставленных задач с точки зрения выбранных критерие

Golden gaskets: variations on the Sierpi\'nski sieve

We consider the iterated function systems (IFSs) that consist of three general similitudes in the plane with centres at three non-collinear points, and with a common contraction factor \la\in(0,1). As is well known, for \la=1/2 the invariant set, \S_\la, is a fractal called the Sierpi\'nski sieve, and for \la<1/2 it is also a fractal. Our goal is to study \S_\la for this IFS for 1/2<\la<2/3, i.e., when there are "overlaps" in \S_\la as well as "holes". In this introductory paper we show that despite the overlaps (i.e., the Open Set Condition breaking down completely), the attractor can still be a totally self-similar fractal, although this happens only for a very special family of algebraic \la's (so-called "multinacci numbers"). We evaluate \dim_H(\S_\la) for these special values by showing that \S_\la is essentially the attractor for an infinite IFS which does satisfy the Open Set Condition. We also show that the set of points in the attractor with a unique ``address'' is self-similar, and compute its dimension. For ``non-multinacci'' values of \la we show that if \la is close to 2/3, then \S_\la has a nonempty interior and that if \la<1/\sqrt{3} then \S_\la$ has zero Lebesgue measure. Finally we discuss higher-dimensional analogues of the model in question.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Detection of angiospastic disorders in the microcirculatory bed using laser diagnostics technologies

The evaluation of the microcirculatory bed functional state and the identification of angiospastic disorders with related complications, when the pathological changes are reversible, have an important role in medical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of using optical noninvasive methods and the cold pressor test to solve this problem. A total of 33 patients with rheumatological diseases and 32 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Laser Doppler flowmetry, tissue reflectance oximetry and pulse oximetry were used as optical noninvasive methods. The parameters were recorded before, immediately after and 20(Formula presented.)min after the cold pressor test. Based on the measured parameters, the complex parameters of the microcirculatory bed were calculated. A detailed statistical analysis of the parameter changes for each individual in the two groups displayed diverse microcirculatory bed parameter responses upon cold exposure, with differing recovery of parameters after CPT. New diagnostic criteria were proposed for the identification of angiospastic disorders. According to the proposed criteria, 27 people of the volunteers group were confirmed to not display any disorders. In the patient group, however, 18 people were observed to have a relatively normal functional state of the microcirculatory bed, while 15 people were observed to have a possible tendency to angiospasm. To highlight the differences between a relatively normal state and presence of angiospastic disorders, statistical analysis of experimental data was carried out, which revealed significant differences. Further analysis of data with angiospastic disorders identified a relationship between their diagnoses and the results of laboratory studies. Thus, the evaluation of combined noninvasive optical diagnostic method use, the cold pressor test and proposed diagnostic criteria showed a positive result. This approach can be used to detect the presence of possible angiospastic disorders and related complications, as well as microcirculatory bed disorders against the background of other diseases

Admittance of MIS structures based on graded-gap MBE HgCdTe with Al2O3 insulator

The paper presents the results of studies of the admittance of MIS structures based on heteroepitaxial MBE n (p)-Hg0.78Cd0.22Te with insulator coating SiO2/Si3N4 and Al2O3 in the test signal frequency range 10 kHz-1 MHz at temperatures ranging from 8 to 220 K. The main parameters of MIS structures with different insulators were determined. MIS structures with Al2O3 have a large enough insulator capacitance (compared to SiO2/Si3N4), a significant modulation capacitance on the CV characteristics, high dielectric strength and low values of the flat-band voltage. The effective charge density found from the value of the flat-band voltage and slow interface trap density for structures with Al2O3 comparable with the corresponding densities for structures with SiO2/Si3N4

Impact of the graded-gap layer on the admittance of MIS structures based on MBE-grown n-Hg1-xCdxTe (x = 0.22-0.23) with the Al2O3 insulator

The impact of the presence of the near-surface graded-gap layers with an increased content of CdTe on the admittance of MIS structures based on MBE-grown n-Hg1–xCdxTe (x = 0.22–0.23) with the Al2O3 insulating coating has been experimentally studied. It has been shown that the structures with a gradedgap layer are characterized by a deeper and wider capacitance dip in the low-frequency capacitance–voltage (CV) characteristic and by higher values of the differential resistance of the space-charge region than the structures without such a layer. It has been found that the main features of the hysteresis of capacitance dependences typical of the graded-gap structures with SiO2/Si3N4 are also characteristic of the MIS structures with the Al2O3 insulator. The factors that cause an increase in the CV characteristic hysteresis upon formation of the graded-gap layer in structures with SiO2/Si3N4 or Al2O3 are still debatable, although it may be assumed that oxygen plays a certain role in formation of this hysteresis

Multimodal optical measurement for study of lower limb tissue viability in patients with diabetes mellitus

According to the International Diabetes Federation, the challenge of early stage diagnosis and treatment effectiveness monitoring in diabetes is currently one of the highest priorities in modern healthcare. The potential of combined measurements of skin fluorescence and blood perfusion by the laser Doppler flowmetry method in diagnostics of low limb diabetes complications was evaluated. Using Monte Carlo probabilistic modeling, the diagnostic volume and depth of the diagnosis were evaluated. The experimental study involved 76 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. These patients were divided into two groups depending on the degree of complications. The control group consisted of 48 healthy volunteers. The local thermal stimulation was selected as a stimulus on the blood microcirculation system. The experimental studies have shown that diabetic patients have elevated values of normalized fluorescence amplitudes, as well as a lower perfusion response to local heating. In the group of people with diabetes with trophic ulcers, these parameters also significantly differ from the control and diabetes only groups. Thus, the intensity of skin fluorescence and level of tissue blood perfusion can act as markers for various degrees of complications from the beginning of diabetes to the formation of trophic ulcers

Laser Doppler flowmetry in blood and lymph monitoring, technical aspects and analysis

The aim of this work was to study the possibilities of the laser Doppler flowmetry method for the joint study of microhaemo- and lymph circulation of human skin. Conducting a series of experimental studies allowed to trace the relationship of recorded signals of microcirculation of blood flow and lymph flow, as well as to study their oscillation nature by using wavelet analysis

The blood perfusion and NADH/FAD content combined analysis in patients with diabetes foot

Skin blood microcirculation and the metabolism activity of tissue were examined on the patients with type 2 diabetes. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) with 1064 nm laser light source and fluorescence spectroscopy (FS) with excitation light of 365 nm and 450 nm have been used to monitor the blood perfusion and the content of coenzymes NADH and FAD. Concluding, the proposed combined LDF and tissue FS approach allows to identify the significant violations in the blood microcirculation and metabolic activity for type 2 diabetes patients

Influence of As+ Ion implantation on properties of MBE HgCdTe near-surface layer characterized by metal–insulator–semiconductor techniques

The effect of As+ ion implantation on the electrical properties of the near-surface layer of n-HgCdTe films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si (310) substrates was experimentally studied. A specific feature of MBE n-Hg0.78Cd0.22Te films is the presence of near-surface graded-gap layers with a high CdTe content, formed during epitaxial growth. The properties of as-grown films and films after As+ ion implantation with ion energy of 200 keV and fluence of 1014 cm−2 were studied. Post-implantation activation annealing was not performed. Test metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structures were created based on as-grown and as-implanted samples by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 insulator films. The admittance of the fabricated MIS structures was measured over a wide range of frequencies and temperatures. When determining the parameters of MIS structures, we used techniques that take into account the presence of near-surface graded-gap layers and series resistance of the HgCdTe film bulk, as well as the high density of slow surface states. It was found that, in as-implanted samples, the donor center concentration in the near-surface layer exceeds 1017 cm−3 and increases with distance from the HgCdTe-Al2O3 interface (at least up to 90 nm). After implantation, the conductivity of MBE HgCdTe film bulk increases markedly. It was shown that, for as-implanted samples, the generation rate of minority charge carriers in the MBE HgCdTe surface layer is significantly reduced, which indicates the appearance of a low defect layer with a thickness of at least 90 nm

Biological properties of domestic strain vRub-Ant of rubella virus

Introduction. Rubella is a mild infectious disease affecting mainly children and is caused by the rubella virus, part of the Matonoviridae family, genus Rubivirus. Rubella causes congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) and is the main cause of developmental abnormalities, especially blindness and deafness. There is no specific treatment for rubella and CRS. In order to avoid possible complications from rubella infection, a live attenuated rubella vaccine based on the foreign strain of Wistar RA 27/3 rubella virus is used. However, the actual, more effective and preferred vaccine strain the rubella virus for the Russian Federation is considered to be a viral strain of rubella circulating on its territory. The aim of the study was to study the biological properties of the developed domestic cold-adapted strain vRub-Ant circulating in the territory of the Russian Federation. Materials and methods. Following cell cultures were used in the study human embryo lung diploid cell strain LECH-3, transferable cell line from embryonic kidney cells of green monkeys Vero CCL-81 and Vero ECC, human mesenchymal stem cells, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Cell cultures were grown on a DMEM/F12 nutrient medium with the addition of 5% fetal bovine serum. Swabs from the pharynx and nasal passages from a child with rubella were used as clinical virus-containing material. Monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies m(anti-ID)Ab were used to assess the expression level of alpha/beta and gamma interferon receptors (/ and IFN-R)Ab, imitating the biological effects of alpha/beta and gamma interferons (/ and IFN) of humans. The cultural, virological, immunochemical and serological research methods were applied in the study. Results. Attenuation of the vRub-Ant clinical isolate of rubella virus was carried out for 20 consecutive passages on LECH-3 diploid cells at a reduced temperature of 30C. The main biological markers of attenuation were determined to be ts and ca phenotypes. The avirulence of the attenuated viral strain (att-phenotype) was assessed by the level of expression of / and IFN-R. A lower level of / and IFN-R expression was found on the membranes of human PBMC induced by the vaccine strain vRub-Ant in comparison with the parent wild variant of the rubella virus. This trait,the att phenotype, is characteristic of attenuated viral strains. It has been shown that the vaccine strain vRub-Ant has lost neurotropism and was unable to bind to the membrane receptors of the brain (MRB) of guinea pig embryos, unlike its parent rubella virus strain. The high immunogenicity of the domestic cold-adapted strain vRub-Ant was confirmed by high titers of neutralizing rubella antibodies observed in guinea pigs immunized subcutaneously with one vaccination dose of the virus. Conclusion. A domestic attenuated vaccine strain vRub-Ant of the rubella virus that has the main biological markers of attenuation (ts-ca and att phenotypes) has been developed. The vaccine strain vRub-Ant induces a high levels of neutralizing antibodies in guinea pigs following the immunization with a single vaccination dose of the vaccine. The viral strain vRub-Ant has lost its tropism to the MRB of guinea pig embryos, unlike its parent variant