Maximum likelihood Linear Programming Data Fusion for Speaker Recognition

Biometric system performance can be improved by means of data fusion. Several kinds of information can be fused in order to obtain a more accurate classification (identification or verification) of an input sample. In this paper we present a method for computing the weights in a weighted sum fusion for score combinations, by means of a likelihood model. The maximum likelihood estimation is set as a linear programming problem. The scores are derived from a GMM classifier working on a different feature extractor. Our experimental results assesed the robustness of the system in front a changes on time (different sessions) and robustness in front a change of microphone. The improvements obtained were significantly better (error bars of two standard deviations) than a uniform weighted sum or a uniform weighted product or the best single classifier. The proposed method scales computationaly with the number of scores to be fussioned as the simplex method for linear programming.

Estimation of a maximum Lu diffusion rate in a natural eclogite garnet

Lutetium zoning in garnet within eclogites from the Zermatt-Saas Fee zone, Western Alps, reveal sharp, exponentially decreasing central peaks. They can be used to constrain maximum Lu volume diffusion in garnets. A prograde garnet growth temperature interval of 450-600 A degrees C has been estimated based on pseudosection calculations and garnet-clinopyroxene thermometry. The maximum pre-exponential diffusion coefficient which fits the measured central peak is in the order of D-0= 5.7*10(-6) m(2)/s, taking an estimated activation energy of 270 kJ/mol based on diffusion experiments for other rare earth elements in garnet. This corresponds to a maximum diffusion rate of D (600 A degrees C) = 4.0*10(-22) m(2)/s. The diffusion estimate of Lu can be used to estimate the minimum closure temperature, T-c, for Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf age data that have been obtained in eclogites of the Western Alps, postulating, based on a literature review, that D (Hf) < D (Nd) < D (Sm) a parts per thousand currency sign D (Lu). T-c calculations, using the Dodson equation, yielded minimum closure temperatures of about 630 A degrees C, assuming a rapid initial exhumation rate of 50A degrees/m.y., and an average crystal size of garnets (r = 1 mm). This suggests that Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf isochron age differences in eclogites from the Western Alps, where peak temperatures did rarely exceed 600 A degrees C must be interpreted in terms of prograde metamorphism.

Capim-tanzânia submetido a combinações entre intensidade e freqüência de pastejo

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as características estruturais e a produção de forragem do capim-tanzânia (Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Tanzânia) sob condições de pastejo rotativo, em um Latossolo Vermelho distrófico, num experimento realizado em Campo Grande, MS. Os tratamentos corresponderam a combinações entre três condições de pré e duas condições de pós-pastejo, e foram alocados às unidades experimentais segundo um delineamento de blocos completos casualizados, com três repetições e arranjo fatorial 3x2. As condições de pré-pastejo de 90, 95 e 100% de interceptação de luz (IL) foram atingidas consistentemente com alturas de dossel em torno de 60, 70 e 85 cm, respectivamente. Pastejos iniciados com 90% de IL resultaram em maior número de ciclos de pastejo em relação aos iniciados com 95 e 100% de IL. O acúmulo de forragem foi maior em pastejos realizados com 95% do que com 90 ou 100% de IL, mas não houve diferença entre os tratamentos de 90 e 95% de IL para acúmulo de folhas. O acúmulo de colmos aumentou após os 95% de IL, indicando a importância da freqüência de pastejo como maneira de controlar a estrutura e a composição do dossel.

Nematofauna fitopatogênica de sementes comerciais de forrageiras tropicais

O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar e quantificar a nematofauna fitopatogênica de sementes de forrageiras, destinadas aos mercados interno e externo. Examinaram-se sementes de Brachiaria brizantha (cvs. Marandu e Xaraés), B. decumbens cv. Basilisk, Panicum maximum (cvs. Massai, Mombaça e Tanzânia) e Stylosanthes capitata e S. macrocephala, componentes da cultivar Estilosantes Campo Grande. As extrações foram realizadas por flotação centrífuga, em solução de sacarose com caulim. Nas gramíneas, encontraram-se os gêneros Aphelenchoides e Ditylenchus. O maior número de espécimes de Aphelenchoides spp. foi observado nas sementes de 'Marandu', e, em seguida, nas sementes de 'Xaraés', 'Basilisk' e 'Tanzânia'. Quanto à densidade populacional de Ditylenchus spp., os maiores valores foram observados nas sementes de 'Marandu', 'Xaraés' e 'Basilisk'. Os resultados sugerem que pelo menos duas espécies de Aphelenchoides e Ditylenchus estão associadas às sementes de gramíneas forrageiras, destinadas ao mercado interno. Fitonematóides não são detectados em sementes de 'Estilosantes Campo Grande', tampouco nas cultivares Marandu, Mombaça e Tanzânia, destinadas à exportação.

Produção de biomassa por cultivos de cobertura do solo e produtividade do algodoeiro em plantio direto

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a produção, a persistência da matéria seca e a eficiência da dessecação em espécies vegetais utilizadas para cultivos de cobertura do solo, e quantificar seus efeitos sobre a produtividade do algodoeiro em plantio direto. O trabalho foi realizado em Santa Helena de Goiás, GO, com 16 tratamentos: Panicum maximum, cultivares Mombaça, Tanzânia e Massai; Urochloa brizantha, cultivares Piatã, Xaraés, Marandu e MG4; U. decumbens; Paspalum atratum cv. Pojuca; Sorghum bicolor cultivares Santa Eliza e BRS 700; Pennisetum glaucum cv. ADR 500; Raphanus sativus; Eleusine coracana, Crotalaria spectabilis, além da testemunha em pousio. As espécies foram semeadas no início de março (2007). As espécies com menores produtividades e persistência da matéria seca foram C. spectabilis, E. coracana e R. sativus. As produtividades de algodão em caroço e fibra foram maiores no cultivo sobre palhas residuais das cultivares Tanzânia e Mombaça de P. maximum, em comparação às observadas com uso de P. atratum cv. Pojuca, R. sativus e pousio. Em geral, S. bicolor, P. glaucum e as cultivares Tanzânia e Mombaça de P. maximum, e MG4, Piatã e Xaraés de U. brizantha apresentam produção e persistência da matéria seca adequadas para o cultivo do algodoeiro no sistema de plantio direto, no cerrado brasileiro.

On an asymptotic formula for the maximum voltage drop in a on-chip power distribution network

We present a new asymptotic formula for the maximum static voltage in a simplified model for on-chip power distribution networks of array bonded integrated circuits. In this model the voltage is the solution of a Poisson equation in an infinite planar domain whose boundary is an array of circular pads of radius ", and we deal with the singular limit Ɛ → 0 case. In comparison with approximations that appear in the electronic engineering literature, our formula is more complete since we have obtained terms up to order Ɛ15. A procedure will be presented to compute all the successive terms, which can be interpreted as using multipole solutions of equations involving spatial derivatives of functions. To deduce the formula we use the method of matched asymptotic expansions. Our results are completely analytical and we make an extensive use of special functions and of the Gauss constant G

On the inefficiency of the restricted maximum likelihood

The restricted maximum likelihood is preferred by many to the full maximumlikelihood for estimation with variance component and other randomcoefficientmodels, because the variance estimator is unbiased. It is shown that thisunbiasednessis accompanied in some balanced designs by an inflation of the meansquared error.An estimator of the cluster-level variance that is uniformly moreefficient than the fullmaximum likelihood is derived. Estimators of the variance ratio are alsostudied.

Características anatômicas e morfofisiológicas de lâminas foliares de genótipos de Panicum maximum

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as características anatômicas e morfofisiológicas de lâminas foliares de genótipos de Panicum maximum e determinar quais as mais relevantes para a discriminação precoce do valor nutritivo de genótipos promissores. O experimento foi realizado entre janeiro de 2006 e novembro de 2007, em Dourados, MS. Foram avaliados 23 genótipos de P. maximum pré-selecionados do programa de melhoramento da Embrapa Gado de Corte. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, com três repetições. Foram avaliadas 27 características anatômicas e morfofisiológicas de lâminas foliares em cada genótipo. Para cada característica estudada, os resultados foram agrupados pelo teste de Scott-Knott. A importância relativa das características avaliadas para a avaliação da divergência genética foi determinada pelo método de Singh. As características que melhor discriminaram os genótipos foram as proporções - na seção transversal das lâminas - das epidermes adaxial, abaxial, adaxial + abaxial, do mesofilo e do tecido vascular + esclerênquima. A área foliar específica, a área foliar e o comprimento de lâmina foram as características morfofisiológicas que mais contribuíram para a discriminação dos genótipos; porém, sua importância relativa foi muito menor que a das características anatômicas. A proporção ocupada pela bainha parenquimática dos feixes e a largura das lâminas apresentam instabilidade fenotípica.

Conditional maximum likelihood timing recovery: estimators and bounds

This paper is concerned with the derivation of new estimators and performance bounds for the problem of timing estimation of (linearly) digitally modulated signals. The conditional maximum likelihood (CML) method is adopted, in contrast to the classical low-SNR unconditional ML (UML) formulationthat is systematically applied in the literature for the derivationof non-data-aided (NDA) timing-error-detectors (TEDs). A new CML TED is derived and proved to be self-noise free, in contrast to the conventional low-SNR-UML TED. In addition, the paper provides a derivation of the conditional Cramér–Rao Bound (CRB ), which is higher (less optimistic) than the modified CRB (MCRB)[which is only reached by decision-directed (DD) methods]. It is shown that the CRB is a lower bound on the asymptotic statisticalaccuracy of the set of consistent estimators that are quadratic with respect to the received signal. Although the obtained boundis not general, it applies to most NDA synchronizers proposed in the literature. A closed-form expression of the conditional CRBis obtained, and numerical results confirm that the CML TED attains the new bound for moderate to high Eg/No.

The continuous wavelet transform as a maximum entropy solution of the corresponding inverse problem

The continuous wavelet transform is obtained as a maximumentropy solution of the corresponding inverse problem. It is well knownthat although a signal can be reconstructed from its wavelet transform,the expansion is not unique due to the redundancy of continuous wavelets.Hence, the inverse problem has no unique solution. If we want to recognizeone solution as "optimal", then an appropriate decision criterion hasto be adopted. We show here that the continuous wavelet transform is an"optimal" solution in a maximum entropy sense.

Asymptotic equivalence between the unconditional maximum likelihood and the square-law nonlinearity symbol timing estimation

This paper provides a systematic approach to theproblem of nondata aided symbol-timing estimation for linearmodulations. The study is performed under the unconditionalmaximum likelihood framework where the carrier-frequencyerror is included as a nuisance parameter in the mathematicalderivation. The second-order moments of the received signal arefound to be the sufficient statistics for the problem at hand and theyallow the provision of a robust performance in the presence of acarrier-frequency error uncertainty. We particularly focus on theexploitation of the cyclostationary property of linear modulations.This enables us to derive simple and closed-form symbol-timingestimators which are found to be based on the well-known squaretiming recovery method by Oerder and Meyr. Finally, we generalizethe OM method to the case of linear modulations withoffset formats. In this case, the square-law nonlinearity is foundto provide not only the symbol-timing but also the carrier-phaseerror.

Maximum likelihood estimation of position in GNSS

In this letter, we obtain the Maximum LikelihoodEstimator of position in the framework of Global NavigationSatellite Systems. This theoretical result is the basis of a completelydifferent approach to the positioning problem, in contrastto the conventional two-steps position estimation, consistingof estimating the synchronization parameters of the in-viewsatellites and then performing a position estimation with thatinformation. To the authors’ knowledge, this is a novel approachwhich copes with signal fading and it mitigates multipath andjamming interferences. Besides, the concept of Position–basedSynchronization is introduced, which states that synchronizationparameters can be recovered from a user position estimation. Weprovide computer simulation results showing the robustness ofthe proposed approach in fading multipath channels. The RootMean Square Error performance of the proposed algorithm iscompared to those achieved with state-of-the-art synchronizationtechniques. A Sequential Monte–Carlo based method is used todeal with the multivariate optimization problem resulting fromthe ML solution in an iterative way.

On the q=1/2 non-extensive maximum entropy distribution

A detailed mathematical analysis on the q = 1/2 non-extensive maximum entropydistribution of Tsallis' is undertaken. The analysis is based upon the splitting of such adistribution into two orthogonal components. One of the components corresponds to theminimum norm solution of the problem posed by the fulfillment of the a priori conditionson the given expectation values. The remaining component takes care of the normalizationconstraint and is the projection of a constant onto the Null space of the "expectation-values-transformation"