Combining vocal tract length normalization with hierarchial linear transformations

Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of vocal tract length normalization (VTLN) as a rapid adaptation technique for statistical parametric speech synthesis. VTLN produces speech with naturalness preferable to that of MLLR-based adaptation techniques, being much closer in quality to that generated by the original av-erage voice model. However with only a single parameter, VTLN captures very few speaker specific characteristics when compared to linear transform based adaptation techniques. This paper pro-poses that the merits of VTLN can be combined with those of linear transform based adaptation in a hierarchial Bayesian frame-work, where VTLN is used as the prior information. A novel tech-nique for propagating the gender information from the VTLN prior through constrained structural maximum a posteriori linear regres-sion (CSMAPLR) adaptation is presented. Experiments show that the resulting transformation has improved speech quality with better naturalness, intelligibility and improved speaker similarity. Index Terms — Statistical parametric speech synthesis, hidden Markov models, speaker adaptation, vocal tract length normaliza-tion, constrained structural maximum a posteriori linear regression 1

Integrating sequence and array data to create an improved 1000 Genomes Project haplotype reference panel

A major use of the 1000 Genomes Project (1000GP) data is genotype imputation in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here we develop a method to estimate haplotypes from low-coverage sequencing data that can take advantage of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray genotypes on the same samples. First the SNP array data are phased to build a backbone (or 'scaffold') of haplotypes across each chromosome. We then phase the sequence data 'onto' this haplotype scaffold. This approach can take advantage of relatedness between sequenced and non-sequenced samples to improve accuracy. We use this method to create a new 1000GP haplotype reference set for use by the human genetic community. Using a set of validation genotypes at SNP and bi-allelic indels we show that these haplotypes have lower genotype discordance and improved imputation performance into downstream GWAS samples, especially at low-frequency variants. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Measurement of double-differential charged-current Drell-Yan cross-sections at high transverse masses in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a first measurement of the cross-section for the charged-current Drell-Yan process $pp\rightarrow W^{\pm} \rightarrow \ell^{\pm} \nu$ above the resonance region, where $\ell$ is an electron or muon. The measurement is performed for transverse masses, $m_{\text{T}}^{\text{W}}$, between 200 GeV and 5000 GeV, using a sample of 140 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2015-2018. The data are presented single differentially in transverse mass and double differentially in transverse mass and absolute lepton pseudorapidity. A test of lepton flavour universality shows no significant deviations from the Standard Model. The electron and muon channel measurements are combined to achieve a total experimental precision of 3% at low $m_{\text{T}}^{\text{W}}$. The single- and double differential $W$-boson charge asymmetries are evaluated from the measurements. A comparison to next-to-next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions using several recent parton distribution functions and including next-to-leading-order electroweak effects indicates the potential of the data to constrain parton distribution functions. The data are also used to constrain four fermion operators in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory formalism, in particular the lepton-quark operator Wilson coefficient $c_{\ell q}^{(3)}.

Charged-hadron and identified-hadron (K0 S, , −) yield measurements in photonuclear Pb+Pband p+Pbcollisions at √ sNN = 5.02TeV with ATLAS

This paper presents the measurement of charged-hadron and identified-hadron (K0 S, , −) yields in photonuclear collisions using 1.7nb−1 of √ sNN = 5.02TeV Pb+Pb data collected in 2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Candidate photonuclear events are selected using a combination of tracking and calorimeter information, including the zero-degree calorimeter. The yields as a function of transverse momentum and rapidity are measured in these photonuclear collisions as a function of charged-particle multiplicity. These photonuclear results are compared with 0.1nb−1 of √ sNN = 5.02TeV p+Pbdata collected in 2016 by ATLAS using similar charged-particle multiplicity selections. These photonuclear measurements shed light on potential quark-gluon plasma formation in photonuclear collisions via observables sensitive to radial flow, enhanced baryon-to-meson ratios, and strangeness enhancement. The results are also compared with the Monte Carlo DPMJET-III generator and hydrodynamic calculations to test whether such photonuclear collisions may produce small droplets of quark-gluon plasma that flow collectively

Search for long-lived charged particles using large specific ionisation loss and time of flight in 140 fb−1 of pp collisions at = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a search for massive, charged, long-lived particles with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using an integrated luminosity of 140 f b−1 of proton-proton collisions at √ s = 13 TeV. These particles are expected to move signifcantly slower than the speed of light. In this paper, two signal regions provide complementary sensitivity. In one region, events are selected with at least one charged-particle track with high transverse momentum, large specifc ionisation measured in the pixel detector, and time of fight to the hadronic calorimeter inconsistent with the speed of light. In the other region, events are selected with at least two tracks of opposite charge which both have a high transverse momentum and an anomalously large specifc ionisation. The search is sensitive to particles with lifetimes greater than about 3 ns with masses ranging from 200 GeV to 3 TeV. The results are interpreted to set constraints on the supersymmetric pair production of long-lived R-hadrons, charginos and staus, with mass limits extending beyond those from previous searches in broad ranges of lifetime

Measurement of W±-boson differential cross-sections in proton–proton collisions with low pile-up data at √s = 5.02TeV and 13TeV with the ATLAS detector

High precision single-differential W±-boson production cross-sections as a function of electron or muon transverse momentum pT or their pseudorapity η, as well as double-differential cross-sections as functions of these variables, are measured in proton–proton collisions at centre-of mass energies √s = 5.02TeV and 13TeV. The W-boson charge asymmetry as a function of lepton η is also measured. The data, collected in dedicated runs at reduced instantaneous luminosity with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, correspond to integrated luminosities of 255pb−1 at 5.02TeV and 338pb−1 at 13TeV. The measurements are in agreement with Standard-Model predictions calculated at next-to-next-to-leading-order in the strong coupling constant αs including transverse-momentum resummation at next-to next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy using several parton distribution functions. The impact of the measured differential cross-sections as a function of lepton η on the determination of these functions is studied using a profiling technique

Pension aspects of takeovers: a review of practice

1.1 The purpose of this paper is to review current practice regarding the pension aspects of takeovers and mergers of companies and businesses in the UK, with particular reference to the involvement and responsibilities of actuaries. Although there is an increasingly international aspect to such transactions, this is outside the scope of this paper.1.2 Previous papers dealing with this subject either in part or in whole include those by Gilley, by Pomery and Jones, and by Chapman and Jagelman.</jats:p