Comparison of speech parameterization techniques for Slovenian language

Abstract-The goal of speech parameterization is to extract the relevant information about what is being spoken from the audio signal. In modern speech recognition systems melfrequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) or perceptual linear prediction coefficients (PLP) are the two main techniques used. MFCC method is known to give better results when audio recordings are of high quality (no background noise, quality microphone) whereas the PLP performs better when the quality of audio is poor. In an attempt to close the gap between the two methods some modifications to the original PLP method are presented. They are mainly based on using a modified melfilter bank with a number of filters resembling the number of spectral coefficients. In our work the effectiveness of proposed changes to PLP (RPLP features) were tested and compared against the MFCC and original PLP acoustic features. A number of 3-state HMM acoustic models were build using different acoustic feature setups (different filter banks, different number of filters) in order to assess which parameterization technique gives superior recognition accuracy. To achieve a more robust estimate of the recognition results when using various parameterizations three databases of different audio quality were used

Site-Specific Conditions Change the Response of Bacterial Producers of Soil Structure-Stabilizing Agents Such as Exopolysaccarides and Lipopolysaccarides to Tillage Intensity

Agro-ecosystems experience huge losses of land every year due to soil erosion induced by poor agricultural practices such as intensive tillage. Erosion can be minimized by the presence of stable soil aggregates, the formation of which can be promoted by bacteria. Some of these microorganisms have the ability to produce exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides that "glue" soil particles together. However, little is known about the influence of tillage intensity on the bacterial potential to produce these polysaccharides, even though more stable soil aggregates are usually observed under less intense tillage. As the effects of tillage intensity on soil aggregate stability may vary between sites, we hypothesized that the response of polysaccharide-producing bacteria to tillage intensity is also determined by site-specific conditions. To investigate this, we performed a high-throughput shotgun sequencing of DNA extracted from conventionally and reduced tilled soils from three tillage system field trials characterized by different soil parameters. While we confirmed that the impact of tillage intensity on soil aggregates is site-specific, we could connect improved aggregate stability with increased absolute abundance of genes involved in the production of exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides. The potential to produce polysaccharides was generally promoted under reduced tillage due to the increased microbial biomass. We also found that the response of most potential producers of polysaccharides to tillage was site-specific, e.g., Oxalobacteraceae had higher potential to produce polysaccharides under reduced tillage at one site, and showed the opposite response at another site. However, the response of some potential producers of polysaccharides to tillage did not depend on site characteristics, but rather on their taxonomic affiliation, i.e., all members of Actinobacteria that responded to tillage intensity had higher potential for exopolysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide production specifically under reduced tillage. This could be especially crucial for aggregate stability, as polysaccharides produced by different taxa have different "gluing" efficiency. Overall, our data indicate that tillage intensity could affect aggregate stability by both influencing the absolute abundance of genes involved in the production of exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides, as well as by inducing shifts in the community of potential polysaccharide producers. The effects of tillage intensity depend mostly on site-specific conditions

Effects of agricultural management practices on soil quality : A review of long-term experiments for Europe and China

In this paper we present effects of four paired agricultural management practices (organic matter (OM) addition versus no organic matter input, no-tillage (NT) versus conventional tillage, crop rotation versus monoculture, and organic agriculture versus conventional agriculture) on five key soil quality indicators, i.e., soil organic matter (SOM) content, pH, aggregate stability, earthworms (numbers) and crop yield. We have considered organic matter addition, no-tillage, crop rotation and organic agriculture as “promising practices”; no organic matter input, conventional tillage, monoculture and conventional farming were taken as the respective references or “standard practice” (baseline). Relative effects were analysed through indicator response ratio (RR) under each paired practice. For this we considered data of 30 long-term experiments collected from 13 case study sites in Europe and China as collated in the framework of the EU-China funded iSQAPER project. These were complemented with data from 42 long-term experiments across China and 402 observations of long-term trials published in the literature. Out of these, we only considered experiments covering at least five years. The results show that OM addition favourably affected all the indicators under consideration. The most favourable effect was reported on earthworm numbers, followed by yield, SOM content and soil aggregate stability. For pH, effects depended on soil type; OM input favourably affected the pH of acidic soils, whereas no clear trend was observed under NT. NT generally led to increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content in upper soil horizons. However, the magnitude of the relative effects varied, e.g. with soil texture. No-tillage practices enhanced earthworm populations, but not where herbicides or pesticides were applied to combat weeds and pests. Overall, in this review, yield slightly decreased under NT. Crop rotation had a positive effect on SOM content and yield; rotation with ley very positively influenced earthworms’ numbers. Overall, crop rotation had little impact on soil pH and aggregate stability − depending on the type of intercrop; alternatively, rotation of arable crops only resulted in adverse effects. A clear positive trend was observed for earthworm abundance under organic agriculture. Further, organic agriculture generally resulted in increased aggregate stability and greater SOM content. Overall, no clear trend was found for pH; a decrease in yield was observed under organic agriculture in this review

Ružička days : International conference 16th Ružička Days “Today Science – Tomorrow Industry” : Proceedings

Proceedings contains articles presented at Conference divided into sections: open lecture (1), chemical analysis and synthesis (3), chemical and biochemical engineering (8), food technology and biotechnology (8), medical chemistry and pharmacy (3), environmental protection (11) and meeting of young chemists (2)

Effect of silver fir (Abies alba) extracts obtained with subcritical water on the viability and migration of Caco-2 and HaCaT cells

Bela jelka (Abies alba Mill.) je vednozeleni iglavec. Razširjena je na različnih območjih osrednje, južne ter vzhodne Evrope, kjer v ugodnih razmerah doseže starost tudi do 600 let. Izvlečki iz bele jelke vsebujejo različne polifenole, med katerimi so najbolj zastopani lignani. S svojim antioksidativnim in protivnetnim učinkom imajo ugoden vpliv pri različnih zdravstvenih težavah. Med najbolj raziskanimi učinki so vplivi na kožo, kardiovaskularni sistem, črevesno mikrobioto, hiperglikemijo in obrabo sklepnega hrustanca. Poznamo več klasičnih metod za pridobivanje izvlečkov iz zdravilnih rastlin, v ospredje pa prihajajo tudi modernejše tehnike, med katere štejemo tudi ekstrakcijo s subkritično vodo (ESV). Želeli smo preveriti, ali ima različna priprava izvlečkov iz bele jelke vpliv na vsebnost lignanov, viabilnost ter migracijo celic HaCaT in Caco-2. Devet izvlečkov pridobljenih z ESV, ki so se med seboj razlikovali po postopku priprave in izbiri dela rastline, smo liofilizirali, raztopili v vodi oziroma metanolu ter v njih s pomočjo metode HPLC določili koncentracijo lignanov. Rezultate smo primerjali z dvema industrijsko pridobljena izvlečkoma iz vej bele jelke s tržnim imenom Belinal®. Ugotovili smo, da način priprave izvlečka in izbira rastlinskega dela vplivata na koncentracijo lignanov v izvlečkih. Izvlečki, ki so bili pripravljeni iz vej in lubja ter postopkom ESV, so vsebovali višje koncentracije lignanov napram izvlečkom, ki so bili pridobljeni samo iz vej. Pripravili smo ustrezne raztopine izvlečkov in s pomočjo testa MTS določili viabilnost celic HaCaT in Caco-2. Ugotovili smo, da noben izvleček ni pomembno zmanjšal viabilnosti celic. S testom migracije smo ugotavljali, ali ima način priprave in sestava izvlečkov vpliv na zapiranje vrzeli na celicah HaCaT in Caco-2. Klasično pripravljen izvleček z vodo (lubje, 70 ␃) zraven industrijskega na obeh celičnih linijah pozitivno vpliva na zapiranje vrzeli napram kontroli. Skoraj vsi izvlečki, ki so bili pridobljeni s postopkom ESV, pa nimajo pomembnega vpliva na potek migracije celic. Izstopa le izvleček, pridobljen z ESV (veje in lubje100 ␃100 bar), ki zaradi svoje visoke polifenolne sestave opazno zavira migracijo celičnih linij.The Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is an evergreen conifer. It is widespread in various areas of central, southern, and eastern Europe, where, under favorable conditions, it can live up to 600 years. Extracts from the Silver Fir contain various polyphenols, among which lignans are the most represented. With their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, they have a beneficial impact on various health issues. The most researched effects include impacts on the skin, cardiovascular system, gut microbiota, hyperglycemia, and joint cartilage wear. Several traditional methods are known for obtaining extracts from medicinal plants, but modern techniques are also emerging, including subcritical water extraction (SWE). We wanted to check whether different preparations of Silver fir extracts affect the content of lignans, the viability, and migration of HaCaT and Caco-2 cells. Nine extracts obtained with SWE, which differed in preparation procedure and choice of plant part, were lyophilized, dissolved in water or methanol, and their lignan concentration was determined using the HPLC method. The results were compared with two industrially obtained extracts from Silver fir branches with the trade name Belinal®. We found that the method of extract preparation and the choice of plant part affect the concentration of lignans in the extracts. Extracts prepared from branches and bark using the SWE method contained higher concentrations of lignans compared to extracts obtained only from branches. We prepared appropriate extract solutions and determined the viability of HaCaT and Caco-2 cells using the MTS test. We found that none of the extracts significantly reduced cell viability. With the migration test, we determined whether the preparation method and composition of the extracts affect the closure of gaps in HaCaT and Caco-2 cells. The traditionally prepared extract with water (bark, 70 ␃) alongside the industrial one positively affects the closure of gaps compared to the control on both cell lines. Almost all extracts obtained with the SWE procedure do not have a significant impact on cell migration. Only the extract obtained with SWE (branches and bark100 ␃100 bar) stands out, which, due to its high polyphenolic composition, noticeably inhibits the migration of cell lines