3,489 research outputs found
Cepstral analysis based on the Glimpse proportion measure for improving the intelligibility of HMM-based synthetic speech in noise
In this paper we introduce a new cepstral coefficient extraction method based on an intelligibility measure for speech in noise, the Glimpse Proportion measure. This new method aims to increase the intelligibility of speech in noise by modifying the clean speech, and has applications in scenarios such as public announcement and car navigation systems. We first explain how the Glimpse Proportion measure operates and further show how we approximated it to integrate it into an existing spectral envelope parameter extraction method commonly used in the HMM-based speech synthesis framework. We then demonstrate how this new method changes the modelled spectrum according to the characteristics of the noise and show results for a listening test with vocoded and HMM-based synthetic speech. The test indicates that the proposed method can significantly improve intelligibility of synthetic speech in speech shaped noise. Index Terms — cepstral coefficient extraction, objective measure for speech intelligibility, Lombard speech, HMM-based speech synthesis 1
Geometrical view of quantum entanglement
Although a precise description of microscopic physical problems requires a
full quantum mechanical treatment, physical quantities are generally discussed
in terms of classical variables. One exception is quantum entanglement which
apparently has no classical counterpart. We demonstrate here how quantum
entanglement may be within the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation of quantum
mechanics visualized in geometrical terms, giving new insight into this
mysterious phenomenon and a language to describe it. On the basis of our
analysis of the dynamics of a pair of qubits, quantum entanglement is linked to
concurrent motion of angular momenta in the Bohmian space of hidden variables
and to the average angle between these momenta
Content, Construct, and Criterion Validity, Reliability, and Objectivity for Aquatic Readiness Assessment for Brazilian Children
The Aquatic Readiness Assessment (ARA) is an assessment instrument for measuring children\u27s aquatic readiness. The objective of the study was to translate the English version into Portuguese and to investigate the content, construct, and criterion validity as well as the reliability and rater objectivity of the ARA for Brazilian children. Twenty-three professionals and 464 children, newborn to 13 years-old participated in the study. We found strong content (94% to 100% of judges’ agreement) and criterion validity, internal consistency (α from .96 to .97), and inter-rater objectivity (ICC from .81 to .98), and test-retest reliability (ICC from .94 to .98). Appropriate fit indices were observed for the model (CFI = .99; TLI = .99; RMSEA .08, CI 90% = .67 to .10); the model was invariant for boys and girls (CFI = .99; RMSEA = .080; ΔCFI = .009; Δ RMSEA = .015) but not for age groups (CFI = .87, RMSEA = .160). The ARA presented adequate validity and reliability for evaluating the swimming performance of Brazilian children
Inflationary Cosmology as a Probe of Primordial Quantum Mechanics
We show that inflationary cosmology may be used to test the statistical
predictions of quantum theory at very short distances and at very early times.
Hidden-variables theories, such as the pilot-wave theory of de Broglie and
Bohm, allow the existence of vacuum states with non-standard field fluctuations
('quantum nonequilibrium'). We show that inflationary expansion can transfer
microscopic nonequilibrium to macroscopic scales, resulting in anomalous power
spectra for the cosmic microwave background. The conclusions depend only weakly
on the details of the de Broglie-Bohm dynamics. We discuss, in particular, the
nonequilibrium breaking of scale invariance for the primordial (scalar) power
spectrum. We also show how nonequilibrium can generate primordial perturbations
with non-random phases and inter-mode correlations (primordial
non-Gaussianity). We address the possibility of a low-power anomaly at large
angular scales, and show how it might arise from a nonequilibrium suppression
of quantum noise. Recent observations are used to set an approximate bound on
violations of quantum theory in the early universe.Comment: 44 pages. Minor changes in v
Hydrogen Re-Embrittlement of Aerospace grade High Strength Steels
Hydrogen Re-Embrittlement on anodically coated high strength steels is a relevant risk for aerospace structures due to the possibility of hydrogen uptake during the operative life of the components. AISI 4340 and Maraging 250 unnotched tensile specimens were subjected to SSRT in order to evaluate the influence of test environment on time to failure. Fracture surfaces were examined by SEM analysis to evaluate the degree of embrittlement and to correlate it with hydrogen diffusivity of the tested steels
Hydrogen Re-embrittlement of Aerospace Grade High Strength Steels
Hydrogen Re-Embrittlement on anodically coated high strength steels is a relevant risk for aerospace structures due to the possibility of hydrogen uptake during the operative life of the components. AISI 4340 and Maraging 250 unnotched tensile specimens were subjected to SSRT in order to evaluate the influence of test environment on time to failure. Fracture surfaces were examined by SEM analysis to evaluate the degree of embrittlement and to correlate it with hydrogen diffusivity of the tested steels
Comparative measurements of carbon dioxide fluxes from two nearby towers in a central Amazonian rainforest: the Manaus LBA site
Forests around Manaus have staged the oldest and the longest forest-atmosphere CO2 exchange studies made anywhere in the Amazon. Since July 1999 the exchange of CO2, water, and energy, as well as weather variables, have been measured almost continuously over two forests, 11 km apart, in the Cuieiras reserve near Manaus, Brazil. This paper presents the sites and climatology of the region based upon the new data sets. The landscape consists of plateaus dissected by often waterlogged valleys, and the two sites differ in terms of the relative areas of those two landscape components represented in the tower footprints. The radiation and wind climate was similar to both towers. Generally, both the long-wave and short-wave radiation input was less in the wet than in the dry season. The energy balance closure was imperfect (on average 80%) in both towers, with little variation in energy partitioning between the wet and dry seasons; likely a result of anomalously high rainfall in the 1999 dry season. Fluxes of CO2 also showed little seasonal variation except for a slightly shorter daytime uptake duration and somewhat lower respiratory fluxes in the dry season. The net effect is one of lower daily net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in the dry season. The tower, which has less waterlogged valley areas in its footprint, measured a higher overall CO2 uptake rate. We found that on first sight, NEE is underestimated during calm nights, as was observed in many other tower sites before. However, a closer inspection of the diurnal variation of CO2 storage fluxes and NEE suggests that at least part of the nighttime deficits is recovered from either lateral influx of CO2 from valleys or outgassing of soil storage. Therefore there is a high uncertainty in the magnitude of nocturnal NEE, and consequently preliminary estimates of annual carbon uptake reflecting this range from 1 to 8 T ha-1 y-1, with an even higher upper range for the less waterlogged area. The high uptake rates are clearly unsustainable and call for further investigations into the integral carbon balance of Amazon landscapes
A non-local, Lorentz-invariant, hidden-variable interpretation of relativistic quantum mechanics based on particle trajectories
We demonstrate how to construct a lorentz-invariant, hidden-variable
interpretation of relativistic quantum mechanics based on particle
trajectories. The covariant theory that we propose employs a multi-time
formalism and a lorentz-invariant rule for the coordination of the space-time
points on the individual particle trajectories. In this way we show that there
is no contradiction between nonlocality and lorentz invariance in quantum
mechanics. The approach is illustrated for relativistic bosons, using a simple
model to discuss the individual non-locally correlated particle motion which
ensues when the wavefunction is entangled. A simple example of measurement is
described.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
- …