Speaker and noise factorisation on the AURORA4 task

For many realistic scenarios, there are multiple factors that affect the clean speech signal. In this work approaches to handling two such factors, speaker and background noise differences, simultaneously are described. A new adaptation scheme is proposed. Here the acoustic models are first adapted to the target speaker via an MLLR transform. This is followed by adaptation to the target noise environment via model-based vector Taylor series (VTS) compensation. These speaker and noise transforms are jointly estimated, using maximum likelihood. Experiments on the AURORA4 task demonstrate that this adaptation scheme provides improved performance over VTS-based noise adaptation. In addition, this framework enables the speech and noise to be factorised, allowing the speaker transform estimated in one noise condition to be successfully used in a different noise condition. © 2011 IEEE.

N49 phospholipase A(2), a unique subgroup of snake venom group II phospholipase A(2)

A novel phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) with Asn at its site 49 was purified from the snake venom of Protobothrops mucrosquamatus by using SP-Sephadex C25, Superdex 75, Heparin-Sepharose (FF) and HPLC reverse-phage C-18 chromatography and designated as TM-N49

A unique group of inactive serine protease homologues from snake venom

A number of inactive serine protease homologues (SPHs), which have poorly understood functions, have been identified in invertebrates and vertebrates. Recently, several SPH transcripts have been reported from snake venom glands, which provide potential ne

Globally unique product identifiers - Requirements and solutions to product lifecycle management

Managing product information for product items during their whole lifetime is challenging, especially during their usage and end-of-life phases. A major challenge is how to keep a link between the product item and its associated information, which may be stored in backend systems of different organisations. In this paper, we analyse and compare three approaches for addressing this task, i.e. the EPC Network, DIALOG and WWAI. Copyright © 2006 IFAC.

Structure and anti-HIV activity of micrandilactones B and C, new nortriterpenoids possessing a unique skeleton from Schisandra micrantha

Two new highly oxygenated nortriterpenoids with a unique norcycloartane skeleton, micrandilactones B and C (1-2), were isolated from Schisandra micrantha; micrandilactone C ( 2) exhibited an EC50 value of 7.71 mu g/mL (SI > 25.94) against HIV-1 replication with minimal cytotoxicity, and the potent anti-HIV-1 activity and unique structural features of 2 make it a promising lead for therapeutic development of a new generation of anti-HIV drug.

Lancifodilactone G: A unique nortriterpenoid isolated from Schisandra lancifolia and its anti-HIV activity

Lancifodilactone G (1), a novel, highly oxygenated nortriterpenoid featuring a partial enol structure and a spirocyclic moiety, was isolated from the medicinal plant Schisandra lancifolia. Its structure and stereochemistry were determined from extensive one- and two-dimensional NMR and mass spectral data, coupled with single-crystal X-ray analysis. Compound 1 exerted minimal cytotoxicity against C8166 cells (CC50 > 200 mu g/mL) and showed anti-HIV activity with EC50 = 95.47 +/- 14.19 mu g/mL and a selectivity index in the range of 1.82-2.46.

Lancifodilactone F: A novel nortriterpenoid possessing a unique skeleton from Schisandra lancifolia and its anti-HIV activity

Lancifodilactone F (1), possessing an unprecedented rearranged pentanortriterpenoid backbone derived from cycloartane, was isolated from the leaves and stems of Schisandra lancifolia (Rehd. et Wils) A. C. Smith. Its structure was established by comprehensive NMR and MS spectroscopic analysis, coupled with single-crystal X-ray experiment. Compound 1 exerted minimal cytotoxicity against C8166 cells (CC50 > 200 mu g/mL) and showed anti-HIV activity with EC50 = 20.69 +/- 3.31 mu g/mL and a selectivity index > 6.62.

Mandibular morphometric variation among Chinese cercopithecoids and the unique structure of the snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus) mandible

In order to understand how mandibular structure differs among the Chinese cercopithecoids (Rhinopithecus, Trachypithecus and Macaca), particularly the uniqueness of the snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus), we analysed ten mandibular measurements by principal components analysis (PCA), and examined scaling patterns. The results provided by the PCA illustrated differences due to size among the cercopithecoids and the relationship between colobines (Trachypithecus and Rhinopithecus) and cercopithecines, in which macaques (Macaca) are included. Allometric analysis indicated that, biomechanically, there is not a marked difference between macaques and leaf-eating monkeys. This may be associated with the fact that both share some similar ecology and niches in south and southwest China. The snub-nosed monkeys exhibit a significantly more robust mandible, evident in the symphysis, corpus, condyle, and masticatory momentum arm. This supports the hypothesis, based on the study of dental structure, that Rhinopithecus is a unique group in Asian Old World monkeys (OWMs) and has developed some unique characteristics in order to adapt to the tough food available in the severe cold climate of the Plateaux of Qinghai-Tibet, Yun-Gui and Qingling in China.

An online expectation-maximisation algorithm for nonnegative matrix factorisation models

In this paper we formulate the nonnegative matrix factorisation (NMF) problem as a maximum likelihood estimation problem for hidden Markov models and propose online expectation-maximisation (EM) algorithms to estimate the NMF and the other unknown static parameters. We also propose a sequential Monte Carlo approximation of our online EM algorithm. We show the performance of the proposed method with two numerical examples. © 2012 IFAC.

π-Conjugated molecules with fused rings for organic field-effect transistors: design, synthesis and applications

π-Conjugated molecular materials with fused rings are the focus of considerable interest in the emerging area of organic electronics, since the combination of excellent charge carrier mobility and high stability may lead to their practical applications. This tutorial review discusses the synthesis, properties and applications of π-conjugated organic semiconducting materials, especially those with fused rings. The achievements to date, the remaining problems and challenges, and the key research that needs to be done in the near future are all discussed.