An overview of the ILSP unit selection text-to-speech synthesis system

This paper presents an overview of the Text-to-Speech synthesis system developed at the Institute for Language and Speech Processing (ILSP). It focuses on the key issues regarding the design of the system components. The system currently fully supports three languages (Greek, English, Bulgarian) and is designed in such a way to be as language and speaker independent as possible. Also, experimental results are presented which show that the system produces high quality synthetic speech in terms of naturalness and intelligibility. The system was recently ranked among the first three systems worldwide in terms of achieved quality for the English language, at the international Blizzard Challenge 2013 workshop. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.

QtUCP-A program for determining unit-cell parameters in electron diffraction experiments using double-tilt and rotation-tilt holders

A computer program, QtUCP, has been developed based on several well-established algorithms using GCC 4.0 and Qt (R) 4.0 (Open Source Edition) under Debian GNU/Linux 4.0r0. it can determine the unit-cell parameters from an electron diffraction tilt series obtained from both double-tilt and rotation-tilt holders. In this approach, two or more primitive cells of the reciprocal lattice are determined from experimental data, in the meantime, the measurement errors of the tilt angles are checked and minimized. Subsequently, the derived primitive cells are converted into the reduced form and then transformed into the reduced direct primitive cell. Finally all the patterns are indexed and the least-squares refinement is employed to obtain the optimized results of the lattice parameters. Finally, two examples are given to show the application of the program, one is based on the experiment, the other is from the simulation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wide-band underwater acoustic absorption based on locally resonant unit and interpenetrating network structure

The interpenetrating network structure provides an interesting avenue to novel materials. Locally resonant phononic crystal (LRPC) exhibits excellent sound attenuation performance based on the periodical arrangement of sound wave scatters. Combining the LRPC concept and interpenetrating network glassy structure, this paper has developed a new material which can achieve a wide band underwater strong acoustic absorption. Underwater absorption coefficients of different samples were measured by the pulse tube. Measurement results show that the new material possesses excellent underwater acoustic effects in a wide frequency range. Moreover, in order to investigate impacts of locally resonant units, some defects are introduced into the sample. The experimental result and the theoretical calculation both show that locally resonant units being connected to a network structure play an important role in achieving a wide band strong acoustic absorption.

An organic sensitizer with a fused dithienothiophene unit for efficient and stable dye-sensitized solar cells

We report a high molar extinction coefficient organic sensitizer for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells. In combination with a solvent-free ionic liquid electrolyte, we have demonstrated a similar to 7% cell showing an excellent stability measured under the thermal and light soaking dual stress. This is expected to have an important practical consequence on the production of flexible, low-cost, and lightweight DSC based on plastic matrix.

Efficient white organic light-emitting diodes using europium complex as the red unit

Efficient white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) using europium complex as the red unit are presented. The WOLEDs were fabricated by using the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/N, N'-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N, N'-diphenyl-benzidine (NPB)/4,4-N, N-dicarbazolebiphenyl (CBP) : bis(2,4-diphenylquinolyl-N, C-2) iridium (acetylacetonate) ((PPQ)(2)Ir(acac)) : Eu (III) tris(thenoyltrifluoroacetone) 3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Eu(TTA)(3)(Tmphen))/NPB/2-methyl-9,10-di(2-naphthyl)anthracene (MADN) : p-bis (p-N, N-di-phenyl-aminostyryl)benzene (DSA-Ph)/9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP)/tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium (Alq3)/LiF/Al.

Synthesis and Characterization of One-Dimensional and Molecular M(tren)InAsS4 (M = Mn, Co, and Zn) Compounds with a Noncondensed AsS33- Unit

Four transition-metal-amine complexes incorporating indium thioarsenates with the general formula M(tren)InAsS4 (M=Mn, Co, and Zn) and a noncondensed AsS33- unit have been prepared and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses show that compound 1 (M=Mn) crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system (space group: P (1) over bar) and consists of a one-dimensional (1D) inorganic (1)(infinity){[InAsS4](2-)} chain and [Mn(tren)](2+) groups bonded to the opposite sides of an eight-membered In2As2S4 ring along the backbone of the infinite inorganic chains. Compounds 2 (M=Mn), 3 (M=Zn), and 4 (M=Co) are isomorphous molecular compounds. They all crystallize in the monoclinic crystal system (space group: P2(1)/c). The Mn2+ cation of [Mn(tren)](2+) in 1 has a distorted octahedral environment, while the transition-metal cations of [M(tren)](2+) in the other three compounds locate in trigonal-bipyramidal environments.

The structural composite effect of Au-WO3-Al interconnecting electrode on performance of each unit in stacked OLEDs

In this article, we report the effects of the thickness of metal and oxide layers of the Al/WO3/Au interconnecting structure on the electrical and optical characteristics of the and bottom units of the two-unit stacked organic-light-emitting-devices (OLEDs). It is found that light emission performance of the upper unit is sensitive to the transmittance of semitransparent Al/WO3/Au structure, which can be improved by changing the thickness of each layer of the Al/WO3/Au structure. It is important to note that the introduction WO3 between Al and Au significantly enhances the current efficiency of both the upper and bottom units with respect to that of the corresponding Al/Au structure without WO3. In addition, the emission spectra of both the upper and bottom units are narrower than that of the control device due to microcavity effect. Our results indicate that the All WO3/Au interconnecting structure is a good candidate for fabricating independently controllable high efficiency stacked OLEDs.

Synthesis and properties of novel soluble polyimides having a spirobisindane-linked dianhydride unit

A new synthetic procedure was elaborated allowing the preparation of semiaromatic dianhydride. N-Methyl protected 4-chlorophthalic anhydride was nitrated with HNO3 to produce N-methyl-4-chloro-5-nitrophthalimide (1). The aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction between 5,5',6,6'-tetrahydroxy-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-1,1-spirobisindane and 1 afforded spirobisindane-linked bis(N-methylphthalimide) (2), which was hydrolyzed and subsequently dehydrated to give the corresponding dianhydride (3). The latter was polymerized with five different aromatic diamines to afford a series of aromatic polyimides. The properties of polyimides such as inherent viscosity, solubility, UV transparency and thermal stability were investigated to illustrate the contribution of the introduction of spirobisindane groups into the polyimide backbone. The resulting polyimides were readily soluble in polar solvents such as chloroform, THF and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The glass-transition temperatures of these polyimides were in the range of 254-292 degrees C. The tensile strength, elongation at break, and Young's modulus of the polyimide film were 68.8-106.6 MPa, 5.9-9.8%, 1.7-2.0 GPa, respectively. The polymer films were colorless and transparent with the absorption cutoff wavelength at 286-308 nm.

Tuning the energy level and photophysical and electroluminescent properties of heavy metal complexes by controlling the ligation of the metal with the carbon of the carbazole unit

Four novel Ir-III and Pt-II complexes with cyclometalated ligands bearing a carbazole framework are prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of complexes 1, 3, and 4 reveal that the 3- or 2-position C atom of the carbazole unit coordinates to the metal center. The difference in the ligation position results in significant shifts in the emission spectra with the changes in wavelength being 84 nm for the Ir complexes and 63 nm for the Pt complexes. The electrochemical behavior and photophysical properties of the complexes are investigated, and correlate well with the results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Electroluminescent devices with a configuration of ITO/NPB/CBP:dopant/BCP/AlQ(3)/LiF/Al can attain very high efficiencies.

Carbon nanotubes and glucose oxidase bionanocomposite bridged by ionic liquid-like unit: Preparation and electrochemical properties

For their biocompatibility and potential bionanoelectronic applications, integration of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with biomolecules such as redox enzyme is highly anticipated. Therein, CNTs are expected to act not only as an electron transfer promoter, but also as immobilizing substrate for biomolecules. In this report, a novel method for immobilization of biomolecules on CNTs was proposed based on ionic interaction, which is of universality and widespread use in biological system. As illustrated, glucose oxidase (GOD) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were integrated into a unitary bionanocomposite by means of ionic liquid-like unit on functionalized SWNTs. The resulted bionanocomposite illustrated better redox response of immobilized GOD in comparison of that prepared by weak physical absorption without ionic interaction. As a potential application of concept, the electrochemical detection of glucose was exemplified based on this novel bionanocomposite.

Effect of copolymerized ethylene unit on the crystallization behavior of poly(propylene-co-ethylene)s

The crystallization behavior of two kinds of commercial poly(propylene-co-ethylene)s (PPE1, PPE2) with similar average molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, isotacticity and copolymerized ethylene unit content and their fractions was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and polarized optical microscopy (POM) techniques. The results indicate that the PPE1 isothermally crystallized films possess thicker and less cross-hatched lamellar structure than those of the PPE2. As for the fractionated samples, the thin films of low temperature (less than or equal to 90 degreesC) fractions (PPE1-80, PPE2-80) of both PPE1 and PPE2 exhibit similar crystallization behavior, while for the high temperature ( greater than or equal to 95 degreesC) fractions (PPE1-108, PPE2-108), the crystalline morphology has marked differences. Compared with PPE2-108, the PPE1-108 isothermally crystallized thin films possess thicker lamellae and less crosshatched lamellar structure, while for the fibrous crystal number, the former is less than that of the latter. The main reason to create the crystallization behavior differences between the two PPEs and their fractions is due to the effect of molecular chain structure, i.e. the different distribution of copolymerized ethylene unit in polypropylene chains.

Synthesis, crystal structure, and photoluminescent property of a novel heterobimetallic Zn(II)-Ag(I) cyano-bridged coordination polymer incorporating,a pentameric unit [Ag(CN)(2-)](5) assembled by argentophilic interaction

A new photoluminescent heterobimetallic Zn(II)-Ag(I) cyano-bridged coordination polymer, [Ag5Zn2(tren)(2)(CN)(9)] (tren = tris(2-aminoethyl)amine) (1), has been synthesized and structurally characterized. It features rare linear pentameric unit of dicyanoargentate(I) ions assembled by d(10)-d(10) interaction as building blocks. Solid state emission spectrum of I shows strong ultraviolet luminescence with emission peak in the range of 376 nm.