Does a regional accent perturb speech processing?

The processing costs involved in regional accent normalization were evaluated by measuring differences in lexical decision latencies for targets placed at the end of sentences with different French regional accents. Over a series of 6 experiments, the authors examined the time course of comprehension disruption by manipulating the duration and presentation conditions of accented speech. Taken together, the findings of these experiments indicate that regional accent normalization involves a short-term adjustment mechanism that develops as a certain amount of accented signal is available, resulting in a temporary perturbation in speech processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evaluation of domain integrals in complex multiply-connected three-dimensional geometries for boundary element methods

The treatment of domain integrals has been a topic of interest almost since the inception of the boundary element method (BEM). Proponents of meshless methods such as the dual reciprocity method (DRM) and the multiple reciprocity method (MRM) have typically pointed out that these meshless methods obviate the need for an interior discretization. Hence, the DRM and MRM maintain one of the biggest advantages of the BEM, namely, the boundary-only discretization. On the other hand, other researchers maintain that classical domain integration with an interior discretization is more robust. However, the discretization of the domain in complex multiply-connected geometries remains problematic. In this research, three methods for evaluating the domain integrals associated with the boundary element analysis of the three-dimensional Poisson and nonhomogeneous Helmholtz equations in complex multiply-connected geometries are compared. The methods include the DRM, classical cell-based domain integration, and a novel auxiliary domain method. The auxiliary domain method allows the evaluation of the domain integral by constructing an approximately C ¹ extension of the domain integrand into the complement of the multiply-connected domain. This approach combines the robustness and accuracy of direct domain integral evaluation while, at the same time, allowing for a relatively simple interior discretization. Comparisons are made between these three methods of domain integral evaluation in terms of speed and accuracy. This work was partially supported by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) grants DE-FG03-97ER14778 and DE-FG03-97ER25332. This financial support does not constitute an endorsement by the DOE of the views expressed in this paper.     

A Novel Channel Predictor Based on Constrained Hidden Markov Model

1　Introduction　Linkadaptationtechniqueisnowwidelyrecognizedasakeysolutiontoincreasethespectralefficiencyofwire lesssystems[1～ 3] .GPRS ,EDGE ,cdma2 0 0 0andWCDMAallincludelinkadaptationasameanstopro videhigherdatarates[4～ 5] .Torealizethepotentialoflinkadaptation ,reliablechannel predictionisneces sary[6 ] .　Therearemanydifferentchannelpredictionmethodsavailablenow ,suchasLongRangePrediction(LRP) [6 ] ,predictionbasedonsubspacesignalprocess ingalgorithms[7] ,predictionbasedonFinit…     

频域吸收边界条件的构造理论

在频域中推导了适用于差分类数值方法的吸收边界条件的构造方法，并通过选取不同参数导出了几种现有的吸收边界条件。在计算了一般形式的吸收边界条件的反射系数之后，提出了一种简单实用的自适应吸收边界条件。     

一种新的图像水印方案

目标区域是图像中视觉上最重要的部分。针对现有的水印算法很少考虑图像中确定的目标区域这一问题，提出了一种基于目标区域的水印方案(WIOR)。方案首先利用小波变换分析图像的目标特征，并依据图像的小波高频系数特征对其进行聚类，获得水印的嵌入域，在此嵌入域中，选择小波系数并对其进行量化调制来嵌入二值扩谱水印；同时，通过只在图像的局部区域内嵌入较少的水印信息来改善水印的隐蔽性。实验结果表明，该方案对于一类具有突出目标特征的图像具有较好的效果。嵌入的水印主要优势在于真正把水印嵌入图像的视觉重要部分，从而能有效地抵御剪切攻击，而且可以实现盲检测。     

泌阳凹陷层序地层样式和油气评价

在建立泌阳凹陷层序序列的基础上，系统研究了核桃园组的旋回结构。考虑箕状盆地结构、构造活动特征以及沉积物供源方式。分别论述了盆地陡坡、深凹和缓坡的层序地层样式，指出不同地形区的层序地层叠置样式主控因素是有差异的。综合层序地层学和石油地质分析结果，提出了岩性油气藏勘探的有利区带。     

Semi-supervised model adaptation for statistical machine translation

Statistical machine translation systems are usually trained on large amounts of bilingual text (used to learn a translation model), and also large amounts of monolingual text in the target language (used to train a language model). In this article we explore the use of semi-supervised model adaptation methods for the effective use of monolingual data from the source language in order to improve translation quality. We propose several algorithms with this aim, and present the strengths and weaknesses of each one. We present detailed experimental evaluations on the French–English EuroParl data set and on data from the NIST Chinese–English large-data track. We show a significant improvement in translation quality on both tasks.     

Nisin expression production from Lactococcus lactis in milk whey medium

BACKGROUND: Nisin is a commercially available bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 and used as a natural agent in the biopreservation of food. In the current investigation, milk whey, a byproduct from dairy industries was used as a fermentation substrate for the production of nisin. Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 was developed in a rotary shaker (30 °C/36 h/100 rpm) using two different media with milk whey (i) without filtration, pH 6.8, adjusted with NaOH 2 mol L^?1 and without pH adjustment, both autoclaved at 121 °C for 30 min, and (ii) filtrated (1.20 µm and 0.22 µm membrane filter). These cultures were transferred five times using 5 mL aliquots of broth culture for every new volume of the respective media. RESULTS: The results showed that culture media composed of milk whey without filtration supplied L. lactis its adaptation needs better than filtrated milk whey. Nisin titers, in milk whey without filtration (pH adjusted), was 11120.13 mg L^?1 in the second transfer, and up to 1628‐fold higher than the filtrated milk whey, 6.83 mg.L^?1 obtained in the first^t transfer. CONCLUSIONS: Biological processing of milk byproducts (milk whey) can be considered a profitable alternative, generating high‐value bioproducts and contributing to decreasing river disposals by dairy industries. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Temporal and spatial aspects of an environmental stimulus influence the dynamics of behavioral regulation of the Aplysia siphon-withdrawal response.

Exposure to turbulence, an environmental stimulus, produces behavioral adaptation in the Aplysia siphon-withdrawal response (SWR). The authors show that the duration and spatial extent of turbulence influence adaptation recovery. In terms of duration, recovery in whole animals and reduced preparations (tail, siphon, and CNS) was more rapid after longer exposures to turbulence (10 min) than after briefer exposures (10 s-5 min). In terms of spatial extent, recovery in reduced preparations was more rapid after diffuse turbulence (tail and siphon together) compared with focal turbulence (siphon alone). Furthermore, spatial extent and duration interact: Duration regulates recovery only when turbulence is diffuse. Results suggest that SWR adaptation reflects a composite of cellular processes, including short-term synaptic enhancement in L30 inhibitory interneurons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement accuracy enhancements for wideband modulated signals

Time‐domain waveform measurements of wideband modulated signals, although attractive for communication systems modeling applications, have until now lacked the required accuracy for quantitative analysis. New developments described here enhance the accuracy of these measurements, enabling their application to communication system characterization and modeling. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 13: 32–39, 2003.