Techniques for the Regeneration of Wideband Speech from Narrowband Speech

This paper addresses the problem of reconstructing wideband speech signals from observed narrowband speech signals. The goal of this work is to improve the perceived quality of speech signals which have been transmitted through narrowband channels or degraded during acquisition. We describe a system, based on linear predictive coding, for estimating wideband speech from narrowband. This system employs both previously identified and novel techniques. Experimental results are provided in order to illustrate the system’s ability to improve speech quality. Both objective and subjective criteria are used to evaluate the quality of the processed speech signals

The influence of the literary language on the popular language in the Diocese of Basel in the 15th century, as exemplified in the Chronicles of Bruglinger and Appenwiler

The period between the end of the Dichtersprache and the decisive development of Meissnisch in Luther's day has been somewhat neglected by historians of the German language. It would be interesting to know more about the development of Kanzleisprachen and the relationship between them and the speech of more influential cultural and political circles. This thesis aims to shed some light on this problem by comparing two chronicles written in Basel in the mid-15th century, and assessing the influence of the literary language on them. Although they have no connection with the language of the Meissen Chancery from which the nhd. Schriftsprache developed, they may suggest general considerations applicable to the relationship of literary and popular language. The chronicles chosen for this study are historical records of the almost continual warfare in which Basel was engaged in the years following the Battle of St. Jacob in 1444. Hans Bruglinger, the author of the first, was a native of Basel, and a prominent figure both in the Bakers' Guild and in the Basel City Council. Erhart von Appenwiler, whose chronicle covers a longer period, came from Colmar in Alsace, but spent the greater part of his life in Basel, where he was chaplain in the Cathedral. Both chronicles were written privately, i.e. outside the chanceries, and they offer a fair guide to popular usage at the time. In the study, phonology, morphology and syntax have been treated in turn, and the literary norm with which comparison has been made is the mhd. Dichtersprache. It is pointed out in the Introduction that, if allowance is made for regional, dialectal elements which intrude, and for changes which took place in literary usage in the intervening period, the language in use in the Basel chanceries, or indeed in other chanceries in Upper Germany, closely resembles the Dichtersprache. Literary influence is most clearly to be seen in vowels and consonants. While dialect forms predominate throughout both chronicles, few occur for which corresponding literary forms are not occasionally to be found. Both chroniclers write Alem. o for mhd. a as rule, but forms with a, giving evidence of literary influence, do occur occasionally, e;g. nach, rat, gnaden, graff etc. alongside more usual noch, rot, gnoden, groff etc. Literary influence may be seen in occasional instances of mhd. i after w in words such as wissen, gewinnen, but here again the Alem. form u (u) is more frequent, e.g. wuisen, gewunnen etc. in the case of mhd. Ziehen, Bruglinger writes the dialect form zuchen as a rule, and the literary form appears only once in his chronicle. The change is characteristic of Alsatian in words such as helig, resig (for mhd. heilig, reisig), and these dialect forms predominate in Appenwiler's chronicle. Epithesis of t is frequent after n in both chronicles, in accordance with the Alemannic dialect. Occasional forms without t, such as zwischen, alsamen etc. point to literary influence. One of the most consistent features of Appenwiler's chronicle is the omission of final -t after f (ff), in accordance with his native Alsatian dialect, e.g. stiff, botschaff etc. Yet even here literary influence is apparent in occasional forms showing final -t. Dialect influence is pronounced in both chronicles in the case of medial n, which is frequently dropped before dentals and gutturals in Alemannic, e.g. farsperg (for Farnsberg), beliken (for Bellingen) etc. Yet in several instances n is written in accordance with literary usage. Similar evidence of literary influence is found in the case of accidence

Influence of the dual ABCB1 and ABCG2 inhibitor tariquidar on the disposition of oral imatinib in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor currently approved for treatment of several malignancies, has been shown to be a substrate for multiple efflux-transporter proteins, including ABCB1 (P-glycoprotein) and ABCG2 (BCRP). The effect of inhibiting these transporters on tissue exposure to imatinib remains unclear.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To assess the role of these transporters on drug disposition, 50 mg/kg imatinib was administered to Balb/C mice, 30 minutes after receiving tariquidar (10 mg/kg), an inhibitor of both ABCB1 and ABCG2, or vehicle, via oral gavage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Quantitative determination of imatinib in mouse plasma, liver and brain was performed using a newly-developed and validated liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometric method. Results: Exposure to imatinib was 2.2-fold higher in plasma, liver and brain in mice that received tariquidar, as compared to those that received the vehicle (P = 0.001). The peak plasma concentration did not increase substantially, suggesting that tariquidar is affecting the distribution, metabolism and/or excretion of imatinib, rather than absorption. Though tariquidar increased the absolute exposure of imatinib, the brain-to-plasma ratio of imatinib was unaffected.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggests that intentional inhibition of ABCB1 and ABCG2 function at the blood-brain barrier is unlikely to significantly improve clinical outcome of imatinib with currently used dosing regimens.</p

Unlocking the mask: A look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors

The conceptual and empirical links between authentic leadership and follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance outcomes have not been fully developed. Although we have a number of articles developing the theory of authentic leadership and testing propositions that will appear in a forthcoming special issue of The Leadership Quarterly (Vol. 16, Issue 3, 2005), the focus of this article is to provide some of the initial foundation work for the broader theoretical framework of how authentic leaders influence follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Here, we draw from positive organizational behavior, trust, hope, emotion, identification, and identity theories to describe the processes by which authentic leaders exert their influence on followers’ attitudes and behaviors. Research propositions based on the proposed theoretical model and implications for future theory building and research are presented

“Can you see the real me?” A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development

To address present and future leadership needs, a model of authentic leader and follower development is proposed and examined with respect to its relationship to veritable, sustainable follower performance. The developmental processes of leader and follower self-awareness and self-regulation are emphasized. The influence of the leader’s and followers’ personal histories and trigger events are considered as antecedents of authentic leadership and followership, as well as the reciprocal effects with an inclusive, ethical, caring and strength-based organizational climate. Positive modeling is viewed as a primary means whereby leaders develop authentic followers. Posited outcomes of authentic leader–follower relationships include heightened levels of follower trust in the leader, engagement, workplace well-being and veritable, sustainable performance. Testable propositions and directions for exploring them are presented and discussed

Professional Organizations and Healthcare Industry Support: Ethical Conflict?

A good deal of attention has been recently focused on the presumed advertising excesses of the healthcare industry in its promotion techniques to healthcare professionals, whether through offering gratuities such as gifts, honoraria, or travel support2-6 or through deception. Two basic concerns have been expressed: Does the acceptance of gratuities bias the recipient, tainting his or her responsibilities as the patient's agent? Does acceptance of the gratuity by the healthcare professional contribute to the high cost of healthcare products? The California Society of Hospital Pharmacists was recently asked by its members to formulate a policy for an appropriate relationship between the Society and the healthcare industry, addressing these concerns. In formulating its policy, it became clear that the Society depended on healthcare industry support, gathered through journal advertising, fees for booths at its various educational events, and grants for speaker

Molecular symmetry group analysis of the low-wavenumber torsions and vibration-torsions in the S1 state and ground state cation of p-xylene: an investigation using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and zero-kinetic-energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy

For the first time, a molecular symmetry group (MSG) analysis has been undertaken in the investigation of the electronic spectroscopy of p-xylene (p-dimethylbenzene). Torsional and vibration-torsional (vibtor) levels in the S1 state and ground state of the cation of p-xylene (p-dimethylbenzene) are investigated using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and zero-kinetic-energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy. In the present work, we concentrate on the 0–350 cm 1 region, where there are a number of torsional and vibtor bands and we discuss the assignment of this region. In an accompanying paper [Tuttle et al. J. Chem. Phys. XXX, xxxxxx (2016)], we examine the 350–600 cm 1 region where vibtor levels are observed as part of a Fermi resonance. The similarity of much of the observed spectral activity to that in the related substituted benzenes, toluene and para-fluorotoluene, is striking, despite the different symmetries. The discussion necessitates a consideration of the MSG of p-xylene, which has been designated G72, but we shall also designate [3,3]D2h and we include the symmetry operations, character table and direct product table for this. We also discuss the symmetries of the internal rotor (torsional) levels and the selection rules for the particular electronic transition of p-xylene investigated here

Movements of Spawning and Non-Spawning Shovelnose Sturgeon in the Missouri River Above Fort Peck Reservoir

During the last 40 yrs there has been a lack of pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) recruitment in the upper Missouri River (UMR). However, shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) continue to exhibit recruitment in the UMR. Understanding the recruitment dichotomy between species is receiving much attention throughout their range. The objectives of this study were to identify the effects of varying discharge on spawning locations and spawning movements for pallid and shovelnose sturgeon. Two female pallid sturgeon, 32 gravid female shovelnose sturgeon, and 32 non-reproductively active female shovelnose sturgeon were radio tagged at three locations and tracked from 1 May to 5 July 2009. Unfortunately, no data are available for spawning pallid sturgeon movements because fish were not reproductively active. Upstream movement by gravid shovelnose sturgeon varied from 20 percent of the fish tagged at Judith Landing to 56 percent of the fish tagged at Coal Banks Recreation Area (CBRA). Mean maximum upstream movement of gravid shovelnose sturgeon varied from 35.7 km at CBRA to 87.9 km at Fred Robinson Bridge (FRB), mean maximum downstream movement varied from 24.9 km at FRB to 80.3 km at CBRA. Reproductively inactive shovelnose sturgeon exhibited lower mean maximum movements than reproductively active fish (mean maximum distance 5.7 km). Shovelnose sturgeon in the UMR exhibit both upstream and downstream movements prior to spawning and are using several spawning areas. Thus, maintaining spawning habitat throughout a regulated river is important with regard to shovelnose sturgeon conservation

Vibrational and vibrational-torsional interactions in the 0–600 cm-1 region of the S1 ← S0 spectrum of p-xylene investigated with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and zero-kinetic-energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy

We assign the 0–600 cm-1 region of the S1 ← S0 transition in p-xylene using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and zero-kinetic-energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy. In the 0–300 cm-1 range, as well as the intense origin band there are a number of torsional and vibration-torsion (vibtor) features. The latter are discussed in more detail in an accompanying paper [Gardner et al. J. Chem. Phys. XXX, xxxxxx (2016)]. Here we focus on the origin and the 300–650 cm-1 region, where vibrational bands and some vibtor activity is observed. From the origin ZEKE spectrum we derive the ionization energy of p-xylene as 68200 ± 5 cm-1. The assignment of the REMPI spectrum is based on the activity observed in the ZEKE spectra coupled with knowledge of the vibrational wavenumbers obtained from quantum chemical calculations. We assign several isolated vibrations, and a complex Fermi resonance that is found to comprise contributions from both vibrations and vibtor levels, and we examine this via a two-dimensional ZEKE (2D-ZEKE) spectrum. A number of the vibrational features in the REMPI and ZEKE spectra of p-xylene that have been reported previously are reassigned and now largely consist of totally-symmetric contributions. We briefly discuss the appearance of non-Franck-Condon allowed transitions. Finally, we find remarkably similar spectral activity to that in the related disubstituted benzenes, para-difluorobenzene and para-fluorotoluene