A target guided subband filter for acoustic event detection in noisy environments using wavelet packets

This paper deals with acoustic event detection (AED), such as screams, gunshots, and explosions, in noisy environments. The main aim is to improve the detection performance under adverse conditions with a very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A novel filtering method combined with an energy detector is presented. The wavelet packet transform (WPT) is first used for time-frequency representation of the acoustic signals. The proposed filter in the wavelet packet domain then uses a priori knowledge of the target event and an estimate of noise features to selectively suppress the background noise. It is in fact a content-aware band-pass filter which can automatically pass the frequency bands that are more significant in the target than in the noise. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed filtering method is capable of enhancing the target content while suppressing the background noise for signals with a low SNR. A condition to increase the probability of correct detection is also obtained. Experiments have been carried out on a large dataset of acoustic events that are contaminated by different types of environmental noise and white noise with varying SNRs. Results show that the proposed method is more robust and better adapted to noise than ordinary energy detectors, and it can work even with an SNR as low as -15 dB. A practical system for real time processing and multi-target detection is also proposed in this work

Dibromido{(E)-2-eth­oxy-6-[3-(methyl­ammonio)propyl­iminometh­yl]phenol­ato}zinc(II)

The title complex, [ZnBr2(C13H20N2O2)], is a mononuclear zinc(II) compound derived from the zwitterionic form of the Schiff base (E)-2-eth­oxy-6-((3-(methyl­amino)propyl­imino)meth­yl)phenol. The ZnII atom is four-coordinated by the imine N and phenolate O atoms of the Schiff base ligand, and by two bromide ions, in a tetra­hedral coordination geometry. Adjacent mol­ecules are linked through inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains running along the b axis

Metasurface array for single-shot spectroscopic ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a potent method that is widely adopted for the measurement of thin film thickness and refractive index. However, a conventional ellipsometer, which utilizes a mechanically rotating polarizer and grating-based spectrometer for spectropolarimetric detection, is bulky, complex, and does not allow real-time measurements. Here, we demonstrated a compact metasurface array-based spectroscopic ellipsometry system that allows single-shot spectropolarimetric detection and accurate determination of thin film properties without any mechanical movement. The silicon-based metasurface array with a highly anisotropic and diverse spectral response is combined with iterative optimization to reconstruct the full Stokes polarization spectrum of the light reflected by the thin film with high fidelity. Subsequently, the film thickness and refractive index can be determined by fitting the measurement results to a proper material model with high accuracy. Our approach opens up a new pathway towards a compact and robust spectroscopic ellipsometry system for the high throughput measurement of thin film properties

catena-Poly[[(1,10-phenanthroline)lead(II)]bis­(μ-5-chloro-2-hy­droxy­benzoato)]

In the title polymer, [Pb(C7H4ClO3)2(C12H8N2)]n, the Pb(II) ion displays a distorted pseudo-octa­hedral coordination geometry. The metal center is coordinated by six O atoms from four 5-chloro­salicylate ligands and two N atoms from a chelating phenanthroline ligand. The polymeric structure is built up from bridging carboxyl­ate O atoms, forming chains along [100]. The crystal structure is stabilized by π–π inter­actions between the 1,10-phenanthroline and 5-chloro­salicylate ligands, the shortest centroid–centroid separation between neighbouring aromatic rings being 3.652 (1) Å