On cumulant techniques in speech processing

This paper analyzes applications of cumulant analysis in speech processing. A special focus is made on different second-order statistics. A dominant role is played by an integral representation for cumulants by means of integrals involving cyclic products of kernels.

The Psychometric Properties of the French Version of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5.

In the context of the publication of DSM-5, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) has been proposed as a new dimensional assessment tool for personality disorders. This instrument includes a pool of 220 items organized around 25 facets included in a five-factor second-order domain structure. The examination of the replicability of the trait structure across methods and populations is of primary importance. In view of this need, the main objective of the current study was to validate the French version of the PID-5 among French-speaking adults from a European community sample (N=2,532). In particular, the assumption of unidimensionality of the 25 facet and the five domain scales was tested, as well as the extent to which the five-factor structure of the PID-5 and the DSM-5 personality trait hierarchical structure are replicated in the current sample. The results support the assumption of unidimensionality of both the facets and the domains. Exploratory factor and hierarchical analyses replicated the five-factor structure as initially proposed in the PID-5.

Separação de espectros simulados e de luminescência total através do método generalizado de anulação do posto (GRAM)

A multivariate curve resolution method, "GENERALIZED RANK ANNIHILATION METHOD (GRAM)", is discussed and tested with simulated and experimental data. The analysis of simulated data provides general guidelines concerning the condition for uniqueness of a solution for a given problem. The second-order emission-excitation spectra of human and animal dental calculus deposits were used as an experimental data to estimate the performance of the above method. Three porphyrinic spectral profiles, for both human and cat, were obtained by the use of GRAM.

Validation of an instrument to evaluate quality of life in the aging population: WHOQOL-AGE.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for short, specific instruments that assess quality of life (QOL) adequately in the older adult population. The aims of the present study were to obtain evidence on the validity of the inferences that could be drawn from an instrument to measure QOL in the aging population (people 50+ years old), and to test its psychometric properties. METHODS: The instrument, WHOQOL-AGE, comprised 13 positive items, assessed on a five-point rating scale, and was administered to nationally representative samples (n = 9987) from Finland, Poland, and Spain. Cronbach's alpha was employed to assess internal consistency reliability, whereas the validity of the questionnaire was assessed by means of factor analysis, graded response model, Pearson's correlation coefficient and unpaired t-test. Normative values were calculated across countries and for different age groups. RESULTS: The satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices confirmed that the factorial structure of WHOQOL-AGE comprises two first-order factors. Cronbach's alpha was 0.88 for factor 1, and 0.84 for factor 2. Evidence supporting a global score was found with a second-order factor model, according to the goodness-of-fit indices: CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.073. Convergent validity was estimated at r = 0.75 and adequate discriminant validity was also found. Significant differences were found between healthy individuals (74.19 ± 13.21) and individuals with at least one chronic condition (64.29 ± 16.29), supporting adequate known-groups validity. CONCLUSIONS: WHOQOL-AGE has shown good psychometric properties in Finland, Poland, and Spain. Therefore, considerable support is provided to using the WHOQOL-AGE to measure QOL in older adults in these countries, and to compare the QOL of older and younger adults.

Hydrogels of cellulose acetate crosslinked with pyromellitic dianhydride: part I: synthesis and swelling kinetics

This work describes the synthesis of hydrogels of cellulose acetate (AC) crosslinked with 1,2,4,5-benzenotetracarboxylic dianhydride (PMDA). The crosslinking reaction was monitored by FTIR. Analysis of aromatic fragments from the alkaline hydrolysis of the gels by UV spectroscopy indicated that an increase in the stoichiometric ratio of dianhydride resulted in higher degrees of crosslinking. The non-porous nature of the gels was confirmed by analysis of nitrogen adsorption. Water absorption isotherms showed that as the temperature and degree of crosslinking increased, the percentage of water absorbed at equilibrium (%Seq) also increased. The hydrogels presented second order swelling kinetics.

Dinâmica não-linear e reagente limitante: um exemplo de bifurcação transcrítica

The nonlinear analysis of a general mixed second order reaction was performed, aiming to explore some basic tools concerning the mathematics of nonlinear differential equations. Concepts of stability around fixed points based on linear stability analysis are introduced, together with phase plane and integral curves. The main focus is the chemical relationship between changes of limiting reagent and transcritical bifurcation, and the investigation underlying the conclusion.

Modulating the electronic structure of amino acids: interaction of model lewis acids with anthranilic acid

On the basis of theoretical B3LYP calculations, Yáñez and co-workers (J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2012, 8, 2293) illustrated that beryllium ions are capable of significantly modulating (changing) the electronic structures of imidazole. In this computational organic chemistry study, the interaction of this β-amino acid and five model Lewis acids (BeF1+, Be2+, AlF2(1+), AlF2+, and Al3+) were investigated. Several aspects were addressed: natural bond orbitals, including second order perturbation analysis of intra-molecular charge delocalization and the natural population analysis atomic charges; molecular geometries; selected infrared stretching frequencies (C-N, C-O, and N-H), and selected ¹H-NMR chemical shifts. The data illustrate that this interaction can weaken the H-O bond and goes beyond strengthening the intra-molecular hydrogen bond (N...H-O) to cause a spontaneous transfer of the proton to the nitrogen atom in five cases generating zwitterion structures. Many new features are observed. Most importantly, the zwitterion structures include a stabilizing hydrogen bond (N-H...O) that varies in relative strength according to the Lewis acid. These findings explain the experimental observations of α-amino acids (for example: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 3577) and are the first reported fundamental electronic structure characterization of β-amino acids in zwitterion form.

Resolução multivariada de curvas com mínimos quadrados alternantes: descrição, funcionamento e aplicações

Multivariate Curve Resolution with Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) is a resolution method that has been efficiently applied in many different fields, such as process analysis, environmental data and, more recently, hyperspectral image analysis. When applied to second order data (or to three-way data) arrays, recovery of the underlying basis vectors in both measurement orders (i.e. signal and concentration orders) from the data matrix can be achieved without ambiguities if the trilinear model constraint is considered during the ALS optimization. This work summarizes different protocols of MCR-ALS application, presenting a case study: near-infrared image spectroscopy.

Stiffness based trajectory planning and feedforward based vibration suppression control of parallel robot machines

The dissertation proposes two control strategies, which include the trajectory planning and vibration suppression, for a kinematic redundant serial-parallel robot machine, with the aim of attaining the satisfactory machining performance. For a given prescribed trajectory of the robot's end-effector in the Cartesian space, a set of trajectories in the robot's joint space are generated based on the best stiffness performance of the robot along the prescribed trajectory. To construct the required system-wide analytical stiffness model for the serial-parallel robot machine, a variant of the virtual joint method (VJM) is proposed in the dissertation. The modified method is an evolution of Gosselin's lumped model that can account for the deformations of a flexible link in more directions. The effectiveness of this VJM variant is validated by comparing the computed stiffness results of a flexible link with the those of a matrix structural analysis (MSA) method. The comparison shows that the numerical results from both methods on an individual flexible beam are almost identical, which, in some sense, provides mutual validation. The most prominent advantage of the presented VJM variant compared with the MSA method is that it can be applied in a flexible structure system with complicated kinematics formed in terms of flexible serial links and joints. Moreover, by combining the VJM variant and the virtual work principle, a systemwide analytical stiffness model can be easily obtained for mechanisms with both serial kinematics and parallel kinematics. In the dissertation, a system-wide stiffness model of a kinematic redundant serial-parallel robot machine is constructed based on integration of the VJM variant and the virtual work principle. Numerical results of its stiffness performance are reported. For a kinematic redundant robot, to generate a set of feasible joints' trajectories for a prescribed trajectory of its end-effector, its system-wide stiffness performance is taken as the constraint in the joints trajectory planning in the dissertation. For a prescribed location of the end-effector, the robot permits an infinite number of inverse solutions, which consequently yields infinite kinds of stiffness performance. Therefore, a differential evolution (DE) algorithm in which the positions of redundant joints in the kinematics are taken as input variables was employed to search for the best stiffness performance of the robot. Numerical results of the generated joint trajectories are given for a kinematic redundant serial-parallel robot machine, IWR (Intersector Welding/Cutting Robot), when a particular trajectory of its end-effector has been prescribed. The numerical results show that the joint trajectories generated based on the stiffness optimization are feasible for realization in the control system since they are acceptably smooth. The results imply that the stiffness performance of the robot machine deviates smoothly with respect to the kinematic configuration in the adjacent domain of its best stiffness performance. To suppress the vibration of the robot machine due to varying cutting force during the machining process, this dissertation proposed a feedforward control strategy, which is constructed based on the derived inverse dynamics model of target system. The effectiveness of applying such a feedforward control in the vibration suppression has been validated in a parallel manipulator in the software environment. The experimental study of such a feedforward control has also been included in the dissertation. The difficulties of modelling the actual system due to the unknown components in its dynamics is noticed. As a solution, a back propagation (BP) neural network is proposed for identification of the unknown components of the dynamics model of the target system. To train such a BP neural network, a modified Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm that can utilize an experimental input-output data set of the entire dynamic system is introduced in the dissertation. Validation of the BP neural network and the modified Levenberg- Marquardt algorithm is done, respectively, by a sinusoidal output approximation, a second order system parameters estimation, and a friction model estimation of a parallel manipulator, which represent three different application aspects of this method.

Surface studies of limestones and dolostones : characterisation using various techniques and batch dissolution experiments with hydrochloric acid solutions

In this thesis, stepwise titration with hydrochloric acid was used to obtain chemical reactivities and dissolution rates of ground limestones and dolostones of varying geological backgrounds (sedimentary, metamorphic or magmatic). Two different ways of conducting the calculations were used: 1) a first order mathematical model was used to calculate extrapolated initial reactivities (and dissolution rates) at pH 4, and 2) a second order mathematical model was used to acquire integrated mean specific chemical reaction constants (and dissolution rates) at pH 5. The calculations of the reactivities and dissolution rates were based on rate of change of pH and particle size distributions of the sample powders obtained by laser diffraction. The initial dissolution rates at pH 4 were repeatedly higher than previously reported literature values, whereas the dissolution rates at pH 5 were consistent with former observations. Reactivities and dissolution rates varied substantially for dolostones, whereas for limestones and calcareous rocks, the variation can be primarily explained by relatively large sample standard deviations. A list of the dolostone samples in a decreasing order of initial reactivity at pH 4 is: 1) metamorphic dolostones with calcite/dolomite ratio higher than about 6% 2) sedimentary dolostones without calcite 3) metamorphic dolostones with calcite/dolomite ratio lower than about 6% The reactivities and dissolution rates were accompanied by a wide range of experimental techniques to characterise the samples, to reveal how different rocks changed during the dissolution process, and to find out which factors had an influence on their chemical reactivities. An emphasis was put on chemical and morphological changes taking place at the surfaces of the particles via X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Supporting chemical information was obtained with X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) measurements of the samples, and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) measurements of the solutions used in the reactivity experiments. Information on mineral (modal) compositions and their occurrence was provided by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and studying thin sections with a petrographic microscope. BET (Brunauer, Emmet, Teller) surface areas were determined from nitrogen physisorption data. Factors increasing chemical reactivity of dolostones and calcareous rocks were found to be sedimentary origin, higher calcite concentration and smaller quartz concentration. Also, it is assumed that finer grain size and larger BET surface areas increase the reactivity although no certain correlation was found in this thesis. Atomic concentrations did not correlate with the reactivities. Sedimentary dolostones, unlike metamorphic ones, were found to have porous surface structures after dissolution. In addition, conventional (XPS) and synchrotron based (HRXPS) X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy were used to study bonding environments on calcite and dolomite surfaces. Both samples are insulators, which is why neutralisation measures such as electron flood gun and a conductive mask were used. Surface core level shifts of 0.7 ± 0.1 eV for Ca 2p spectrum of calcite and 0.75 ± 0.05 eV for Mg 2p and Ca 3s spectra of dolomite were obtained. Some satellite features of Ca 2p, C 1s and O 1s spectra have been suggested to be bulk plasmons. The origin of carbide bonds was suggested to be beam assisted interaction with hydrocarbons found on the surface. The results presented in this thesis are of particular importance for choosing raw materials for wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) and construction industry. Wet FGD benefits from high reactivity, whereas construction industry can take advantage of slow reactivity of carbonate rocks often used in the facades of fine buildings. Information on chemical bonding environments may help to create more accurate models for water-rock interactions of carbonates.

Monte Carlo study of the XY-model on quasi-periodic lattices

Monte Carlo Simulations were carried out using a nearest neighbour ferromagnetic XYmodel, on both 2-D and 3-D quasi-periodic lattices. In the case of 2-D, both the unfrustrated and frustrated XV-model were studied. For the unfrustrated 2-D XV-model, we have examined the magnetization, specific heat, linear susceptibility, helicity modulus and the derivative of the helicity modulus with respect to inverse temperature. The behaviour of all these quatities point to a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition occuring in temperature range Te == (1.0 -1.05) JlkB and with critical exponents that are consistent with previous results (obtained for crystalline lattices) . However, in the frustrated case, analysis of the spin glass susceptibility and EdwardsAnderson order parameter, in addition to the magnetization, specific heat and linear susceptibility, support a spin glass transition. In the case where the 'thin' rhombus is fully frustrated, a freezing transition occurs at Tf == 0.137 JlkB , which contradicts previous work suggesting the critical dimension of spin glasses to be de > 2 . In the 3-D systems, examination of the magnetization, specific heat and linear susceptibility reveal a conventional second order phase transition. Through a cumulant analysis and finite size scaling, a critical temperature of Te == (2.292 ± 0.003) JI kB and critical exponents of 0:' == 0.03 ± 0.03, f3 == 0.30 ± 0.01 and I == 1.31 ± 0.02 have been obtained.

Autonomy and Relatedness in Mainland Chinese Adolescents: Social or Personal? Accommodation or Distinctiveness?

Three studies comprised the current research program, in which the major goals were to propose and validate empirically the proposed two-level (universal and culture-specific) model of both autonomy and relatedness, as well as to develop reliable and valid measures for these two constructs. In Study 1, 143 mainland Chinese adolescents were asked open-ended questions about their understanding of autonomy and relatedness in three social contexts (peer, family, school). Chinese youth’s responses captured universal and culturally distinctive forms of autonomy (personal vs. social) and relatedness (accommodation vs. distinctiveness), according to a priori criteria based on the theoretical frameworks. Also, scenarios designed to reflect culture-specific forms of autonomy and relatedness suggested their relevance to Chinese adolescents. With a second sample of 201 mainland Chinese youth, in Study 2, the obtained autonomy and relatedness descriptors were formulated into scale items. Those items were subject to refinement analyses to examine their psychometric properties and centrality to Chinese youth. The findings of Study 1 scenarios were replicated in Study 2. The primary goal of Study 3 was to test empirically the proposed two-level (universal and culture-specific) models of both autonomy and relatedness, using the measures derived from Studies 1 and 2. A third sample of 465 mainland Chinese youth completed a questionnaire booklet consisting of autonomy and relatedness scales and scenarios and achievement motivation orientations measures. A series of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) autonomy and relatedness measurement models (first-order and second-order), as well as structural models linking culture-specific forms of autonomy and relatedness and achievement motivation orientations, were conducted. The first-order measurement models based on scale and scenario scores consistently confirmed the distinction between personal autonomy and social autonomy, and that of accommodation and distinctiveness. Although the construct validity of the two culture-specific forms of autonomy gained additional support from the structural models, the associations between the two culture-specific forms of relatedness and achievement motivation orientations were relatively weak. In general, the two-level models of autonomy and relatedness were supported in two ways: conceptual analysis of scale items and second-order measurement models. In addition, across the three studies, I explored potential contextual and sex differences in Chinese youth’s endorsement of the diverse forms of autonomy and relatedness. Overall, no substantial contextual variability or sex differences were found. The current research makes an important theoretical contribution to the field of developmental psychology in general, and autonomy and relatedness in particular, by proposing and testing empirically both universal and culture-specific parts of autonomy and relatedness. The current findings have implications for the measurement of autonomy and relatedness across social contexts, as well as for socialization and education practice.

Reduced power output in skeletal muscles devoid of skMLCK: RLC phosphorylation contributes to peak performance

Regulatory light chain (RLC) phosphorylation in fast twitch muscle is catalyzed by skeletal myosin light chain kinase (skMLCK), a reaction known to increase muscle force, work, and power. The purpose of this study was to explore the contribution of RLC phosphorylation on the power of mouse fast muscle during high frequency (100 Hz) concentric contractions. To determine peak power shortening ramps (1.05 to 0.90 Lo) were applied to Wildtype (WT) and skMLCK knockout (skMLCK-/-) EDL muscles at a range of shortening velocities between 0.05-0.65 of maximal shortening velocity (Vmax), before and after a conditioning stimulus (CS). As a result, mean power was increased to 1.28 ± 0.05 and 1.11 ± .05 of pre-CS values, when collapsed for shortening velocity in WT and skMLCK-/-, respectively (n = 10). In addition, fitting each data set to a second order polynomial revealed that WT mice had significantly higher peak power output (27.67 ± 1.12 W/ kg-1) than skMLCK-/- (25.97 ± 1.02 W/ kg-1), (p < .05). No significant differences in optimal velocity for peak power were found between conditions and genotypes (p > .05). Analysis with Urea Glycerol PAGE determined that RLC phosphate content had been elevated in WT muscles from 8 to 63 % while minimal changes were observed in skMLCK-/- muscles: 3 and 8 %, respectively. Therefore, the lack of stimulation induced increase in RLC phosphate content resulted in a ~40 % smaller enhancement of mean power in skMLCK-/-. The increase in power output in WT mice suggests that RLC phosphorylation is a major potentiating component required for achieving peak muscle performance during brief high frequency concentric contractions.

How Much Inflation is Necessary to Grease the Wheels?

This paper studies Tobin's proposition that inflation "greases" the wheels of the labor market. The analysis is carried out using a simple dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with asymmetric wage adjustment costs. Optimal inflation is determined by a benevolent government that maximizes the households' welfare. The Simulated Method of Moments is used to estimate the nonlinear model based on its second-order approximation. Econometric results indicate that nominal wages are downwardly rigid and that the optimal level of grease inflation for the U.S. economy is about 1.2 percent per year, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.2 to 1.6 percent.

Théorèmes d'existence pour des systèmes d'équations différentielles et d'équations aux échelles de temps.

Nous présentons dans cette thèse des théorèmes d’existence pour des systèmes d’équations différentielles non-linéaires d’ordre trois, pour des systèmes d’équa- tions et d’inclusions aux échelles de temps non-linéaires d’ordre un et pour des systèmes d’équations aux échelles de temps non-linéaires d’ordre deux sous cer- taines conditions aux limites. Dans le chapitre trois, nous introduirons une notion de tube-solution pour obtenir des théorèmes d’existence pour des systèmes d’équations différentielles du troisième ordre. Cette nouvelle notion généralise aux systèmes les notions de sous- et sur-solutions pour le problème aux limites de l’équation différentielle du troisième ordre étudiée dans [34]. Dans la dernière section de ce chapitre, nous traitons les systèmes d’ordre trois lorsque f est soumise à une condition de crois- sance de type Wintner-Nagumo. Pour admettre l’existence de solutions d’un tel système, nous aurons recours à la théorie des inclusions différentielles. Ce résultat d’existence généralise de diverses façons un théorème de Grossinho et Minhós [34]. Le chapitre suivant porte sur l’existence de solutions pour deux types de sys- tèmes d’équations aux échelles de temps du premier ordre. Les résultats d’exis- tence pour ces deux problèmes ont été obtenus grâce à des notions de tube-solution adaptées à ces systèmes. Le premier théorème généralise entre autre aux systèmes et à une échelle de temps quelconque, un résultat obtenu pour des équations aux différences finies par Mawhin et Bereanu [9]. Ce résultat permet également d’obte- nir l’existence de solutions pour de nouveaux systèmes dont on ne pouvait obtenir l’existence en utilisant le résultat de Dai et Tisdell [17]. Le deuxième théorème de ce chapitre généralise quant à lui, sous certaines conditions, des résultats de [60]. Le chapitre cinq aborde un nouveau théorème d’existence pour un système d’in- clusions aux échelles de temps du premier ordre. Selon nos recherches, aucun résultat avant celui-ci ne traitait de l’existence de solutions pour des systèmes d’inclusions de ce type. Ainsi, ce chapitre ouvre de nouvelles possibilités dans le domaine des inclusions aux échelles de temps. Notre résultat a été obtenu encore une fois à l’aide d’une hypothèse de tube-solution adaptée au problème. Au chapitre six, nous traitons l’existence de solutions pour des systèmes d’équations aux échelles de temps d’ordre deux. Le premier théorème d’existence que nous obtenons généralise les résultats de [36] étant donné que l’hypothèse que ces auteurs utilisent pour faire la majoration a priori est un cas particulier de notre hypothèse de tube-solution pour ce type de systèmes. Notons également que notre définition de tube-solution généralise aux systèmes les notions de sous- et sur-solutions introduites pour les équations d’ordre deux par [4] et [55]. Ainsi, nous généralisons également des résultats obtenus pour des équations aux échelles de temps d’ordre deux. Finalement, nous proposons un nouveau résultat d’exis- tence pour un système dont le membre droit des équations dépend de la ∆-dérivée de la fonction.