Computer speech synthesis: its status and prospects.

Computer speech synthesis has reached a high level of performance, with increasingly sophisticated models of linguistic structure, low error rates in text analysis, and high intelligibility in synthesis from phonemic input. Mass market applications are beginning to appear. However, the results are still not good enough for the ubiquitous application that such technology will eventually have. A number of alternative directions of current research aim at the ultimate goal of fully natural synthetic speech. One especially promising trend is the systematic optimization of large synthesis systems with respect to formal criteria of evaluation. Speech recognition has progressed rapidly in the past decade through such approaches, and it seems likely that their application in synthesis will produce similar improvements.

Discursive constructions of social and environmental accounting in Brazil: the case of Petrobras.

In the 29 years following \"Our Common Future\" by the United Nations, there is considerable debate among governments, civil society, interest groups and business organisations about what constitutes sustainable development, which constitutes evidence for a contested discourse concerning sustainability. The purpose of this study is to understand this debate in the developing economic context of Brazil, and in particular, to understand and critique the social and environmental accounting [SEA] discursive constructions relating to the State-owned, Petrobras as well as to understand the Brazilian literature on SEA. The discourse theory [DT]-based analysis employs rhetorical redescription to analyse twenty-two reports from Petrobras from 2004-2013. I investigate the political notions by employing the methodological framework of the Logics of Critical Explanation [LCE]. LCE engenders five methodological steps: problematisation, retroduction, logics (social, political and fantasmatic), articulation and critique. The empirical discussion suggests that the hegemony of economic development operates to obfuscate, rhetorically, the development of sustainability, so as to maintain the core business of Petrobras conceived as capital accumulation. Equally, these articulations also illustrate how the constructions of SEA operate to serve the company\'s purpose with few (none) profound changes in integration of sustainability. The Brazilian literature on SEA sustains the status quo of neo-liberal market policies that operate to protect the dominant business case approach to maintain an agenda of wealth-creation in relation to social and environmental needs. The articulations of the case manifested in policies regarding, for example, corruption, which involved over-payments for contracts and unsustainable practices relating to the use of fossil fuels and demonstrated that there was antagonism between action and disclosure. The corruption scandal that emerged after SEA disclosures highlighted the rhetorical nature of disclosure when financial resources were subtracted from the company for political parties and engineering contractors hid facts through incomplete disclosures. The articulations of SEA misrepresent a broader context of the meanings associated with sustainability, which restricted the constructions of SEA to principally serve and represent the intention of the most powerful groups. The significance of SEA, then is narrowed to represent particular interests. The study argues for more critical studies as limited Brazilian literature concerning SEA kept a \'safe distance\' from substantively critiquing the constructions of SEA and its articulations in the Brazilian context. The literature review and the Petrobras\' case illustrate a variety of naming, instituting and articulatory practices that endeavour to maintain the current hegemony of development in an emerging economy, which allows Petrobras to continue to exercise significant profit at the expense of the social and environmental. The constructed idea of development in Petrobras\' discourses emphasises a rhetoric of wider development, but, in reality, these discourses were the antithesis of political, social and ethical developmental issues. These constructions aim to hide struggles between social inequalities and exploitation of natural resources and constitute excuses about a fanciful notion of rhetorical and hegemonic neo-liberal development. In summary, this thesis contributes to the prior literature in five ways: (i) the addition of DT to the analysis of SEA enhances the discussion of political elements such as hegemony, antagonism, logic of equivalence/difference, ideology and articulation; (ii) the analysis of an emerging economy such as Brazil incorporates a new perspective of the discussion of the discourses of SEA and development; (iii) this thesis includes a focus on rhetoric to discuss the maintenance of the status quo; (iv) the holistic structure of the LCE approach enlarges the understanding of the social, political and fantasmatic logics of SEA studies and; (v) this thesis combines an analysis of the literature and the case of Petrobras to characterise and critique the state of the Brazilian academy and its impacts and reflections on the significance of SEA. This thesis, therefore, argues for more critical studies in the Brazilian academy due to the persistence of idea of SEA and development that takes-for-granted deep exclusions and contradictions and provide little space for critiques.

Plasma Spectroscopic Techniques Applied to Biological and Environmental Matrices

The purpose of this research was to apply the use of direct ablation plasma spectroscopic techniques, including spark-induced breakdown spectroscopy (SIBS) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), to a variety of environmental matrices. These were applied to two different analytical problems. SIBS instrumentation was adapted in order to develop a fieldable monitor for the measurement of carbon in soil. SIBS spectra in the 200 nm to 400 nm region of several soils were collected, and the neutral carbon line (247.85 nm) was compared to total carbon concentration determined by standard dry combustion analysis. Additionally, Fe and Si were evaluated in a multivariate model in order to determine their impacts on the model's predictive power for total carbon concentrations. The results indicate that SIBS is a viable method to quantify total carbon levels in soils; obtaining a good correlation between measured and predicated carbon in soils. These results indicate that multivariate analysis can be used to construct a calibration model for SIBS soil spectra, and SIBS is a promising method for the determination of total soil carbon. SIBS was also applied to the study of biological warfare agent simulants. Elemental compositions (determined independently) of bioaerosol samples were compared to the SIBS atomic (Ca, Al, Fe and Si) and molecular (CN, N2 and OH) emission signals. Results indicate a linear relationship between the temporally integrated emission strength and the concentration of the associated element. Finally, LIBS signals of hematite were analyzed under low pressures of pure CO2 and compared with signals acquired with a mixture of CO2, N2 and Ar, which is representative of the Martian atmosphere. This research was in response to the potential use of LIBS instrumentation on the Martian surface and to the challenges associated with these measurements. Changes in Ca, Fe and Al lineshapes observed in the LIBS spectra at different gas compositions and pressures were studied. It was observed that the size of the plasma formed on the hematite changed in a non-linear way as a function of decreasing pressure in a CO2 atmosphere and a simulated Martian atmosphere.

Estrutura da vegetação e sua relação com a diversidade, abundância e similaridade de coleópteros bioindicadores em diferentes sistemas vegetacionais, Piracicaba, SP

A Mata Atlântica é considerada um dos biomas mais importantes do mundo devido à sua alta biodiversidade e funções ecossistêmicas. Entretanto, encontra-se fragmentada em porções de pequenas dimensões esparsas em uma matriz predominantemente agrícola, composta principalmente por extensas pastagens e monoculturas. Desse modo, os sistemas agroflorestais por apresentarem uma estrutura diferenciada dos monocultivos e similar às condições naturais, podem ser utilizados como uma alternativa para o manejo e a conservação da biodiversidade nos remanescentes florestais. A fragmentação provoca modificações no ambiente que irão refletir na perda e no deslocamento da biodiversidade, estando os insetos entre os grupos mais afetados. Uma das formas de se avaliar o estado de conservação dos fragmentos e o impacto antrópico nos sistemas vegetacionais, é estudar a presença e distribuição de organismos bioindicadores. Dentre esses, os insetos ocupam posição de destaque. Os insetos da família Scarabaeidae e da subfamília Scolytinae são bons indicadores de distúrbios, pois são muito sensíveis ás mudanças ambientais. Neste trabalho hipotetisou-se que a presença desses insetos está relacionada com a estrutura da vegetação e as condições de vida proporcionadas pelas diferentes formas de uso-da-terra. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a diversidade de espécies, o padrão de abundância e a similaridade entre as populações de coleópteros (Scarabaeidae e Scolytinae) em diferentes sistemas vegetacionais de diferentes estruturas: i) Fragmento de floresta estacional semidecidual dividido em três áreas: beira do rio, centro e borda; ii) Sistema Agroflorestal (SAF) (interface entre o fragmento e o pasto); iii) Pasto composto de Brachiaria decumbens (L.); iv) Monocultivo de café (Coffea arábica L.); v) Monocultivo de seringueira (Hevea brasiliensis Müell. Arg.); vi) SAF de café e seringueira - todos situados numa região de domínio anterior de floresta estacional semidecidual em Piracicaba-SP. Os sistemas foram caracterizados quanto à sua estrutura e condições micrometeorológicas. Os insetos foram coletados mensalmente entre agosto/2013 e julho/2014 utilizando-se dois tipos de armadilhas: Pitfall e etanol modelo ESALQ-84. Foram coletados 1.047 espécimes distribuídos em 21 espécies da família Scarabaeidae e 1.833 indivíduos de 38 espécies da subfamília Scolytinae. A maior quantidade de espécies de Scarabaeidae foi encontrada na borda do fragmento florestal, enquanto que a maior abundância ocorreu no fragmento florestal perto do rio. A subfamília Scolytinae apresentou a maior riqueza de espécies no sistema agroflorestal misto (borda) e a maior abundância no sistema agroflorestal café-seringueira. A abundância e riqueza de espécies da família Scarabaeidae foram correlacionadas positivamente com a temperatura do ar, temperatura e umidade do solo e a precipitação. Por outro lado, a abundância e a riqueza de espécies da subfamília Scolytinae apresentaram correlação negativa com a temperatura do ar e a temperatura e umidade do solo. Ambos os grupos de insetos apresentaram a maior abundância e riqueza de espécies nas áreas com estrutura vegetacional mais complexa, sendo influenciadas pelas condições microclimáticas dentro de cada local.

Mangrove, Crab and Shorebird Activity as Bioindicators to the Health Status of Mangrove Ecosystems along the Surinamese Coastline, South America

This study focused on the shorebird activity along the Surinamese coast in relation to the mangrove ecosystem health. The health of three estuarine mangrove areas was assessed using important bioindicators of the mangrove ecosystem: crabs, birds and mangroves. Mangrove vegetation was measured at Weg Naar Zee, Matapica canal delta and Coronie coast. Crab activity was measured by burrow and crab counts. Occurring shorebirds were also counted at these areas. The results show that mangrove regeneration and shorebird activity is significantly related to the health of the ecosystem. Weg Naar Zee was the most damaged and highest at risk. Matapica canal delta and the Coronie coast were the least damaged, with Coronie coast showing greatest health and biodiversity of the indicators.

NaOH and KOH for preparing activated carbons used in energy and environmental applications

Alkaline hydroxides, especially sodium and potassium hydroxides, are multi-million-ton per annum commodities and strong chemical bases that have large scale applications. Some of them are related with their consequent ability to degrade most materials, depending on the temperature used. As an example, these chemicals are involved in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, biodiesels, soaps and detergents, acid gases removal (e.g., SO2) and others, as well as in many organic synthesis processes. Sodium and potassium hydroxides are strong and corrosive bases, but they are also very stable chemicals that can melt without decomposition, NaOH at 318ºC, and KOH at 360ºC. Hence, they can react with most materials, even with relatively inert ones such as carbon materials. Thus, at temperatures higher than 360ºC these melted hydroxides easily react with most types of carbon-containing raw materials (coals, lignocellulosic materials, pitches, etc.), as well as with most pure carbon materials (carbon fibers, carbon nanofibers and carbon nanotubes). This reaction occurs via a solid-liquid redox reaction in which both hydroxides (NaOH or KOH) are converted to the following main products: hydrogen, alkaline metals and alkaline carbonates, as a result of the carbon precursor oxidation. By controlling this reaction, and after a suitable washing process, good quality activated carbons (ACs), a classical type of porous materials, can be prepared. Such carbon activation by hydroxides, known since long time ago, continues to be under research due to the unique properties of the resulting activated carbons. They have promising high porosity developments and interesting pore size distributions. These two properties are important for new applications such as gas storage (e.g., natural gas or hydrogen), capture, storage and transport of carbon dioxide, electricity storage demands (EDLC-supercapacitors-) or pollution control. Because these applications require new and superior quality activated carbons, there is no doubt that among the different existing activating processes, the one based on the chemical reaction between the carbon precursor and the alkaline hydroxide (NaOH or KOH) gives the best activation results. The present article covers different aspects of the activation by hydroxides, including the characteristics of the resulting activated carbons and their performance in some environment-related applications. The following topics are discussed: i) variables of the preparation method, such as the nature of the hydroxide, the type of carbon precursor, the hydroxide/carbon precursor ratio, the mixing procedure of carbon precursor and hydroxide (impregnation of the precursor with a hydroxide solution or mixing both, hydroxide and carbon precursor, as solids), or the temperature and time of the reaction are discussed, analyzing their effect on the resulting porosity; ii) analysis of the main reactions occurring during the activation process, iii) comparative analysis of the porosity development obtained from different activation processes (e.g., CO2, steam, phosphoric acid and hydroxides activation); and iv) performance of the prepared activated carbon materials on a few applications, such as VOC removal, electricity and gas storages.

Routine histological technique applied to a biological model for environmental studies

Introduction and aim Earthworms are an important test organisms used in several standard ecotoxicological tests (e.g. ISO, 2008, 2012; OECD, 2004, 1094) and they are also model organisms to test soil structure and permeability, as well as for important soil services as the degradation organic matter. Although histopathological changes have been demonstrated to be good biomarkers to assess the exposure of these animals to different physical and chemical stress agents, studies with clear and high quality images describing normal tissue conditions are scarce in the literature, so the aim of this work was to better characterize this biological model. Material and Methods Eight adult earthworms exposed to an artificial standard soil (OECD, 2004) for 28 days, were extracted and placed in a plastic box to depurate their gut content, fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin and processed for routine histopathological diagnosis. Results and discussion Satisfactory histological sections were obtained. Some difficulties were faced related with microtome sectioning, resulting in artefacts, namely lines across sections produced by a nick in the cutting edge of the microtome knife cutting tear, motivated by the presence of sand and other solid particles that persisted in the gut of earthworms. Nevertheless, it was possible to obtain representative figures from different earthworm sections. Conclusion Routine histological technique was effective for obtaining satisfactory histological sections and the knowledge of the histology of earthworms could be very useful for future application in environmental studies, using this biological model.

Status assessment of toxic chemicals : vinylidene chloride /

Mode of access: Internet.

Status assessment of toxic chemicals : tricholorethylene /

Mode of access: Internet.

Status assessment of toxic chemicals : cadmium /

Mode of access: Internet.

Status assessment of toxic chemicals : lead /

Mode of access: Internet.

Status and quality of radiation measurements : food and human urine /

Issued Oct. 1977.

Status assessment of toxic chemicals : arsenic /

Mode of access: Internet.

Status assessment of toxic chemicals : benzene /

Mode of access: Internet.