Exploring Non-linear Transformations for an Entropybased Voice Activity Detector

In this paper we explore the use of non-linear transformations in order to improve the performance of an entropy based voice activity detector (VAD). The idea of using a non-linear transformation comes from some previous work done in speech linear prediction (LPC) field based in source separation techniques, where the score function was added into the classical equations in order to take into account the real distribution of the signal. We explore the possibility of estimating the entropy of frames after calculating its score function, instead of using original frames. We observe that if signal is clean, estimated entropy is essentially the same; but if signal is noisy transformed frames (with score function) are able to give different entropy if the frame is voiced against unvoiced ones. Experimental results show that this fact permits to detect voice activity under high noise, where simple entropy method fails.

Syntypaikkalajitellun sekajätteen koostumuksen sekä palamisteknisten ominaisuuksien selvitys Etelä-Karjalan alueella

Etelä-Karjalan alueen lajittelututkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää alueella syntyvän syntypaikkalajitellun sekajätteen koostumus sekä jätteen palamistekniset ominaisuudet. Palamisteknisinä ominaisuuksina selvitettiin jätteen kosteuspitoisuus, tuhkapitoisuus sekä tehollinen lämpöarvo saapumistilassa. Lisäksi pyrittiin löytämään ratkaisuja kaatopaikkakuormituksen pienentämiselle. Saatuja tuloksia verrattiin aiemmin Suomessa tehtyihin jätekoostumustutkimuksiin ja palamisteknisten ominaisuuksien selvityksiin. Lajittelututkimuksen tulosten perusteella erilliskeräys tarvitsee tehostamista. Biohajoavaa jätettä alueelta kerätyistä otoksista oli 51 m-%, josta biojätettä oli noin 24 m-%. Lisäksi jätteestä kierrätykseen kelpaavia jakeita oli 21 m-%. Palamisteknisten ominaisuuksien määrityksessä tulokset olivat kuivajätteen osalta seuraavat: kosteuspitoisuus 29 %, tehollinen lämpöarvo saapumistilassa 15 MJ/kg ja tuhkapitoisuus kuiva-aineesta 16 %. Tutkimuksesta saadut tulokset ovat linjassa referenssitutkimusten tulosten kanssa. Kaatopaikkakuormituksen vähentämisessä keskeisiä toimenpiteitä ovat tiedotus ja neuvonta. Lisäksi erilliskeräyspisteiden sijoittelulla ja määrän lisäämisellä voidaan saada vähennettyä kierrätyskelpoisen jätteen loppusijoitusta kaatopaikalle. Kierrätyskelvottomien jakeiden poltolla saadaan myös pienennettyä kaatopaikalle loppusijoitettavan jätteen määrää. Syntypaikkalajitellun sekajätteen seassa oli runsaasti polttokelpoista materiaalia. Massapolttoon kelpaavaa jätteestä oli 92 m-% ja energiajätteeseen kelpaavaa 47 m-%. Näistä 13 m-% oli kierrätykseen kelpaavaa jaetta, joka tulisi ohjata kierrätykseen.

Computerized invasive measurement of time-dependent intraocular pressure

Several methods have been described to measure intraocular pressure (IOP) in clinical and research situations. However, the measurement of time varying IOP with high accuracy, mainly in situations that alter corneal properties, has not been reported until now. The present report describes a computerized system capable of recording the transitory variability of IOP, which is sufficiently sensitive to reliably measure ocular pulse peak-to-peak values. We also describe its characteristics and discuss its applicability to research and clinical studies. The device consists of a pressure transducer, a signal conditioning unit and an analog-to-digital converter coupled to a video acquisition board. A modified Cairns trabeculectomy was performed in 9 Oryctolagus cuniculus rabbits to obtain changes in IOP decay parameters and to evaluate the utility and sensitivity of the recording system. The device was effective for the study of kinetic parameters of IOP, such as decay pattern and ocular pulse waves due to cardiac and respiratory cycle rhythm. In addition, there was a significant increase of IOP versus time curve derivative when pre- and post-trabeculectomy recordings were compared. The present procedure excludes corneal thickness and error related to individual operator ability. Clinical complications due to saline infusion and pressure overload were not observed during biomicroscopic evaluation. Among the disadvantages of the procedure are the requirement of anesthesia and the use in acute recordings rather than chronic protocols. Finally, the method described may provide a reliable alternative for the study of ocular pressure dynamic alterations in man and may facilitate the investigation of the pathogenesis of glaucoma.

Identification de modifications post-traductionnelles de Staufen1 et étude de leur fonction régulatrice

La régulation post-transcriptionnelle joue un rôle de premier plan dans le contrôle fin de l’expression génique en permettant une modulation de la synthèse de protéines dans le temps et l’espace, en fonction des besoins de la cellule. Ainsi, des protéines reconnaissant des éléments d’ARN présents sur des transcrits peuvent influencer toutes les étapes de leur existence, soit leur épissage, leur export nucléaire, leur localisation subcellulaire, leur traduction et leur dégradation. Staufen1 (Stau1) est un membre de la famille des protéines liant l’ARN double-brin qui contribue à la régulation post-transcriptionnelle par son implication dans des mécanismes qui vont promouvoir l’épissage alternatif, le transport, la dé-répression de la traduction et l’induction de la dégradation d’ARN messagers (ARNm) spécifiques. L’identité des cibles potentielles de Stau1 est maintenant connue puisqu’une étude à l’échelle du génome a montré que la protéine s’associe à près de 7% du transcriptome des cellules HEK293T. Ces ARNm se classent dans un large éventail de catégories fonctionnelles, mais il est tout de même intéressant de noter qu’une grande proportion d’entre eux code pour des protéines reliées au métabolisme cellulaire et à la régulation de processus cellulaires. En considérant toutes ces informations, nous avons émis l’hypothèse que les différentes activités de Stau1 puissent être modulées afin de contrôler adéquatement l’expression des transcrits liés par la protéine. Dans la mesure où certains ARNm faisant partie des complexes définis par la présence de Stau1 codent pour des régulateurs clés de la prolifération cellulaire, nous avons voulu examiner si l’expression de la protéine varie au cours du cycle de division cellulaire. Nous avons montré que l’abondance de Stau1 est maximale en début de mitose et qu’elle diminue ensuite lorsque les cellules complètent la division cellulaire. Nous avons ensuite découvert que cette baisse d’expression de Stau1 en sortie de mitose dépend du complexe promoteur d’anaphase/cyclosome (APC/C). En soutien à l’idée que Stau1 soit une cible de cette ubiquitine ligase de type E3, nous avons de plus démontré que Stau1 est ubiquitiné et dégradé par le protéasome. Ce contrôle des niveaux de Stau1 semble important puisque la surexpression de la protéine retarde la sortie de mitose et entraîne une diminution importante de la prolifération cellulaire. Par ailleurs, nous avons supposé que les différentes fonctions de Stau1 puissent également être sujettes à une régulation. Compte tenu que les activités de nombreuses protéines liant l’ARN peuvent être contrôlées par des modifications post-traductionnelles telles que la phosphorylation, nous avons voulu tester la possibilité que Stau1 soit phosphorylé. L’immunopurification de Stau1 et son analyse par spectrométrie de masse nous a permis d’identifier trois phosphosites dans la protéine. L’évaluation du rôle de ces événements de phosphorylation à l’aide de mutants phoshomimétiques ou non-phoshorylables a révélé que la modification de Stau1 pourrait compromettre son association à la protéine UPF1. Comme cette interaction est nécessaire pour déstabiliser les transcrits liés par Stau1, nos résultats suggèrent fortement que la fonction de Stau1 dans la dégradation d’ARNm est régulée négativement par sa phosphorylation. Toutes ces données mettent en lumière l’importance des modifications post-traductionnelles telles que l’ubiquitination et la phosphorylation dans la modulation de l’expression et des fonctions de Stau 1. Somme toute, il est vraisemblable que ces mécanismes de contrôle puissent avoir un impact significatif sur le destin des ARNm liés par Stau1, particulièrement dans un contexte de progression dans le cycle cellulaire.

Fluorescent Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Core–Shell Nanoprobes for Multimodal Cellular Imaging

Multimodal imaging agents that combine magnetic and fluorescent imaging capabilities are desirable for the high spatial and temporal resolution. In the present work, we report the synthesis of multifunctional fluorescent ferrofluids using iron oxide as the magnetic core and rhodamine B as fluorochrome shell. The core–shell structure was designed in such a way that fluorescence quenching due to the inner magnetic core was minimized by an intermediate layer of silica. The intermediate passive layer of silica was realized by a novel method which involves the esterification reaction between the epoxy group of prehydrolysed 3-Glyidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane and the surfactant over iron oxide. The as-synthesized ferrofluids have a high saturation magnetization in the range of 62–65 emu/g and were found to emit light of wavelength 640 nm ( excitation = 446 nm). Time resolved life time decay analysis showed a bi-exponential decay pattern with an increase in the decay life time in the presence of intermediate silica layer. Cytotoxicity studies confirmed the cell viability of these materials. The in vitro MRI imaging illustrated a high contrast when these multimodal nano probes were employed and the R2 relaxivity of these ∗Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: smissmis@gmail.com sample was found to be 334 mM−1s−1 which reveals its high potential as a T2 contrast enhancing agent

La gestión colectiva: Una estrategia para las holdings. Estudio comparativo entre derecho francés y derecho colombiano

Originalmente presentada en francés como proyecto de grado para la Maestría en Derecho Bancario y Financiero de la Universidad de Estrasburgo, la presente monografía tiene por objetivo analizar la Gestión Colectiva como estrategia para las Holdings. La Gestión Colectiva es un término francés empleado para designar al intermediario financiero que convierte el ahorro individual en portafolios colectivos. En Colombia, la Gestión Colectiva es conocida como Carteras Colectivas o Fondos de Inversión Colectiva, (su nombre más reciente). Este vehículo financiero, es en cierto modo una democratización de las finanzas, ya que canaliza el ahorro de la población hacia las principales industrias, permitiendo que las empresas hagan del ahorro individual una fuente de financiación para sus proyectos, y que la mayor parte de la población tenga acceso a las finanzas. Es por esto, que el tema frecuentemente es abordado desde el punto de vista de la protección a los inversionistas y no, desde los vehículos que prestan dicho servicio. Sin embargo, la presente Monografía estudia la Gestión Colectiva como una posible estrategia para las Holdings, analizando desde este punto de vista, la pertinencia de implementar la Gestión Colectiva como estrategia para reunir fondos para las Holdings. De ahí que el derecho comparado sea de gran ayuda para comprender si dicha estrategia es viable en todos los países en general o si, por el contrario, como lo vemos en Derecho Bancario, unos países sean más favorables que otros. El presente, es un estudio multidisciplinario en el cual se tienen en cuenta variables de tipo legal, económico y político, y se implementan teorías económicas aplicables al estudio del Derecho como Law & Economics. En una primera parte nos centramos en un análisis comparado de las legislaciones de dos países con niveles de desarrollo diferente, a saber, Francia y Colombia. Y, en la segunda parte analizamos el rol de la Gestión Colectiva en las Holdings, así como sus ventajas y desventajas según la legislación aplicable.

New insights into the structure of exotic nuclei using the RISING active stopper

This conference paper outlines the operation and some of the preliminary physics results using the GSI RISING active stopper. Data are presented from an experiment using combined isomer and beta‐delayed gamma‐ray spectroscopy to study low‐lying spectral and decay properties of heavy‐neutron‐rich nuclei around A∼190 produced following the relativistic projectile fragmentation of 208Pb primary beam. The response of the RISING active stopper detector is demonstrated for both the implantation of heavy secondary fragments and in‐situ decay of beta‐particles. Beta‐delayed gamma‐ray spectroscopy following decays of the neutron‐rich nucleus 194Re is presented to demonstrate the experimental performance of the set‐up. The resulting information inferred from excited states in the W and Os daughter nuclei is compared with results from Skyrme Hartree‐Fock predictions of the evolution of nuclear shape.

The double Caldeira-Leggett model: Derivation and solutions of the master equations, reservoir-induced interactions and decoherence

In this paper we analyze the double Caldeira-Leggett model: the path integral approach to two interacting dissipative harmonic oscillators. Assuming a general form of the interaction between the oscillators, we consider two different situations: (i) when each oscillator is coupled to its own reservoir, and (ii) when both oscillators are coupled to a common reservoir. After deriving and solving the master equation for each case, we analyze the decoherence process of particular entanglements in the positional space of both oscillators. To analyze the decoherence mechanism we have derived a general decay function, for the off-diagonal peaks of the density matrix, which applies both to common and separate reservoirs. We have also identified the expected interaction between the two dissipative oscillators induced by their common reservoir. Such a reservoir-induced interaction, which gives rise to interesting collective damping effects, such as the emergence of relaxation- and decoherence-free subspaces, is shown to be blurred by the high-temperature regime considered in this study. However, we find that different interactions between the dissipative oscillators, described by rotating or counter-rotating terms, result in different decay rates for the interference terms of the density matrix. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Construção e validação de um receptor GPS para uso espacial

Global Positioning System, or simply GPS, it is a radionavigation system developed by United States for military applications, but it becames very useful for civilian using. In the last decades Brazil has developed sounding rockets and today many projects to build micro and nanosatellites has appeared. This kind of vehicles named spacecrafts or high dynamic vehicles, can use GPS for its autonome location and trajectories controls. Despite of a huge number of GPS receivers available for civilian applications, they cannot used in high dynamic vehicles due environmental issues (vibrations, temperatures, etc.) or imposed dynamic working limits. Only a few nations have the technology to build GPS receivers for spacecrafts or high dynamic vehicles is available and they imposes rules who difficult the access to this receivers. This project intends to build a GPS receiver, to install them in a payload of a sounding rocket and data collecting to verify its correct operation when at the flight conditions. The inner software to this receiver was available in source code and it was tested in a software development platform named GPS Architect. Many organizations cooperated to support this project: AEB, UFRN, IAE, INPE e CLBI. After many phases: defining working conditions, choice and searching electronic, the making of the printed boards, assembling and assembling tests; the receiver was installed in a VS30 sounding rocket launched at Centro de Lançamento da Barreira do Inferno in Natal/RN. Despite of the fact the locations data from the receiver were collected only the first 70 seconds of flight, this data confirms the correct operation of the receiver by the comparison between its positioning data and the the trajectory data from CLBI s tracking radar named ADOUR

ABSOLUTE NEUTRIONO MASS FROM HELICITY MEASUREMENTS

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Measurement of the Semileptonic Branching Ratio of Bs(0) to an Orbitally Excited D-s** State: Br(Bs(0) -> Ds1(-)(2536)mu(+)nu X)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Observation of the Doubly Strange b Baryon Omega(-)(b)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Measurement of the production fraction times branching fraction f(b -> Lambda(b)) . B(Lambda(b) -> J/psi Lambda)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Is the LHC observing the pseudoscalar state of a two-Higgs-doublet model?

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)