On the Use of Automatically Generated Discourse-Level Information in a Concept-to-Speech Synthesis System

This paper describes the latest version of the SOLE concept-to-speech system, which uses linguistic information provided by a natural language generation system to improve the prosody of synthetic speech. We discuss the types of linguistic information that prove most useful and the implications for text-to-speech systems

High-fidelity quantum driving

The ability to accurately control a quantum system is a fundamental requirement in many areas of modern science such as quantum information processing and the coherent manipulation of molecular systems. It is usually necessary to realize these quantum manipulations in the shortest possible time in order to minimize decoherence, and with a large stability against fluctuations of the control parameters. While optimizing a protocol for speed leads to a natural lower bound in the form of the quantum speed limit rooted in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, stability against parameter variations typically requires adiabatic following of the system. The ultimate goal in quantum control is to prepare a desired state with 100% fidelity. Here we experimentally implement optimal control schemes that achieve nearly perfect fidelity for a two-level quantum system realized with Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices. By suitably tailoring the time-dependence of the system's parameters, we transform an initial quantum state into a desired final state through a short-cut protocol reaching the maximum speed compatible with the laws of quantum mechanics. In the opposite limit we implement the recently proposed transitionless superadiabatic protocols, in which the system perfectly follows the instantaneous adiabatic ground state. We demonstrate that superadiabatic protocols are extremely robust against parameter variations, making them useful for practical applications.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

Mapping species distributions: A comparison of skilled naturalist and lay citizen science recording

To assess the ability of traditional biological recording schemes and lay citizen science approaches to gather data on species distributions and changes therein, we examined bumblebee records from the UK’s national repository (National Biodiversity Network) and from BeeWatch. The two recording approaches revealed similar relative abundances of bumblebee species but different geographical distributions. For the widespread common carder (Bombus pascuorum), traditional recording scheme data were patchy, both spatially and temporally, reflecting active record centre rather than species distribution. Lay citizen science records displayed more extensive geographic coverage, reflecting human population density, thus offering better opportunities to account for recording effort. For the rapidly spreading tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum), both recording approaches revealed similar distributions due to a dedicated mapping project which overcame the patchy nature of naturalist records. We recommend, where possible, complementing skilled naturalist recording with lay citizen science programmes to obtain a nation-wide capability, and stress the need for timely uploading of data to the national repository

"Buy to let": A popular investment?

Purpose – The UK “buy to let” property market is significant with over 1,024,300 “buy to let” mortgages outstanding between 1996 and 2007. This paper investigates whether the factors that encourage male and female individuals to invest in the “buy to let” property market are similar or different. Design/methodology/approach – The research is conducted through a quantitative study which examines whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for landlords investing in the “buy to let” housing market and if these issues are perceived to be the same by male and female landlords. Through a literature review the research author critically evaluates books, papers and legislation to establish the current background information which exists on the “buy to let” market. The primary research contained within this paper is conducted through a survey questionnaire distributed to 100 landlords attending private sector landlord forums. Findings – This paper recognises that overall male and female landlords have differing approaches to their investment decisions within the “buy to let” sector. Originality/value – This paper establishes new learning relating to gender expectations regarding “buy to let” investments

Harmonizing post-market surveillance of prescription drug misuse: A systematic review of observational studies using routinely collected data (2000–2013)

Background Prescription drug misuse is a growing public health concern globally. Routinely collected data provides a valuable tool for quantifying prescription drug misuse. Objective To synthesize the global literature investigating prescription drug misuse utilizing routinely collected, person-level prescription/dispensing data to examine reported measures, documented extent of misuse and associated factors. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, MEDLINE In Process, Scopus citations and Google Scholar for relevant articles published between January 1 2000-July 31 2013. We screened 10,803 abstracts and retrieved 281 full-text manuscripts. Fifty-two peer-reviewed, English-language manuscripts met our inclusion criteria: an aim/method investigating prescription drug misuse and a measure of misuse derived exclusively from prescription/dispensing data. Results Four proxies of prescription drug misuse were used commonly across studies: number of prescribers, dispensing pharmacies, early refills and volume of drugs dispensed. We identified 89 unique measures of misuse across the 52 studies, reflecting the heterogeneity in how measures are constructed; single or composite; different thresholds, cohort definitions and time period of assessment. Consequently, it was not possible to make definitive comparisons about the extent (range reported: 0.01-93.5%), variations and factors associated with prescription drug misuse. Conclusion Routine data collections are relatively consistent across jurisdictions. Despite the heterogeneity of the current literature, our review identifies the capacity to develop universally accepted metrics of misuse applied to a core set of variables in prescription/dispensing claims. Our timely recommendations have the potential to unify the global research field and increase the capacity for routine surveillance of prescription drug misuse.This research has been supported, in part, by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence in Medicines (APP1060407). Bianca Blanch is supported by a University of Sydney Postgraduate Award (2013–2016); Sallie-Anne Pearson is supported by a Cancer Institute New South Wales Career Development Fellowship (ID: 12/CDF/2-25); Nicholas Buckley and Andrew Dawson receive support for toxicovigilance studies through an NHMRC Program Grant (1055176); and Andrew Dawson is also supported by an NHRMC practitioner fellowship (1059542)

Quantum scattering of distinguishable bosons using an ultracold-atom collider

We describe a new implementation of magnetic collider for investigating cold collisions between ultracold atomic clouds in different spin states, and we use this to investigate scattering involving both even and odd order partial waves. Our method relies on the axial assymetry of a double-well magnetic trap to selectively prepare the spin state in each cloud. We measure the energy dependence of s, p and d partial wave phase shifts in collisions up to 300 microKelvin between ^{87}Rb atoms in the 5S_{1/2}, F=1, m_F=-1 and 5S_{1/2}, F=2, m_F=1 states

Preface

We are happy to introduce the proceedings of the 10th European Workshop on Natural Language Generation (ENLG-05). This workshop is the tenth in a biennial series of workshops on natural language generation that has been running since 1987. Previous European workshops have been held a

An annotation scheme for concept-to-speech synthesis.

The SOLE conecept-to-speech system uses linguistic information provided by an NLG component to improve the intonation of synthetic speech. As the text is generated, the system automatically annotates the text with linguistic information using a set of XML tags which we have developed for this purpose. The annotation is then used by the synthesis component in producing the intonation. We describe the annotation system and discuss our choice of linguistic constructs to annotate

Experimental study of a self-starting Kerr-lens mode-locked titanium-doped sapphire laser

We report an experimental investigation of self-starting operation of picosecond and femtosecond Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti : sapphire lasers. Pulses as short as 5 ps duration have been generated from self-starting lasers with no intracavity prisms to optimise group velocity dispersion. Self-starting dispersion-compensated lasers have generated pulses as short as 43 fs duration with mode-locking self-starting within 0.7 ms of the onset of laser action.Peer Reviewe