Whisper intelligibility enhancement based on noise robust feature and SVM

A machine learning based speech enhancement method is proposed to improve the intelligibility of whispered speech. A binary mask estimated by a two-class support vector machine （SVM） classifier is used to synthesize the enhanced whisper. A novel noise robust feature called Gammatone feature cosine coefficients （GFCCs） extracted by an auditory periphery model is derived and used for the binary mask estimation. The intelligibility performance of the proposed method is evaluated and compared with the traditional speech enhancement methods. Objective and subjective evaluation results indicate that the proposed method can effectively improve the intelligibility of whispered speech which is contaminated by noise. Compared with the power subtract algorithm and the log-MMSE algorithm, both of which do not improve the intelligibility in lower signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） environments, the proposed method has good performance in improving the intelligibility of noisy whisper. Additionally, the intelligibility of the enhanced whispered speech using the proposed method also outperforms that of the corresponding unprocessed noisy whispered speech.

Intelligibility evaluation of enhanced whisper in joint time-frequency domain

Some factors influencing the intelligibility of the enhanced whisper in the joint time-frequency domain are evaluated. Specifically, both the spectrum density and different regions of the enhanced spectrum are analyzed. Experimental results show that for a spectrum of some density, the joint time-frequency gain-modification based speech enhancement algorithm achieves significant improvement in intelligibility. Additionally, the spectrum region where the estimated spectrum is smaller than the clean spectrum, is the most important region contributing to intelligibility improvement for the enhanced whisper. The spectrum region where the estimated spectrum is larger than twice the size of the clean spectrum is detrimental to speech intelligibility perception within the whisper context.

Dimensional emotion recognition in whispered speech signal based on cognitive performance evaluation

The cognitive performance-based dimensional emotion recognition in whispered speech is studied.First,the whispered speech emotion databases and data collection methods are compared, and the character of emotion expression in whispered speech is studied,especially the basic types of emotions.Secondly,the emotion features for whispered speech is analyzed,and by reviewing the latest references,the related valence features and the arousal features are provided. The effectiveness of valence and arousal features in whispered speech emotion classification is studied.Finally,the Gaussian mixture model is studied and applied to whispered speech emotion recognition. The cognitive performance is also considered in emotion recognition so that the recognition errors of whispered speech emotion can be corrected.Based on the cognitive scores,the emotion recognition results can be improved.The results show that the formant features are not significantly related to arousal dimension,while the short-term energy features are related to the emotion changes in arousal dimension.Using the cognitive scores,the recognition results can be improved.

Photonic lenses with whispering gallery waves at Janus particles

We show that electric field on the plane surface of truncated sphere or cylinders(so called Janus particles)have sharp resonances versus the depth of removed segment of a sphere or cylinder.These resonances are related to the excited whispering gallery waves caused by truncation.It is a new mechanism of the field localization.Optimization of this effect for cylinders permits to reach a super resolution in the line thickness,which can be used for contact optical lithography.

基于Chinese Whispers的人脸动态聚类

针对Chinese Whispers算法对于小规模数据聚类随机性大,对于大规模数据聚类速度缓慢的问题,提出了一种改进的Chinese Whispers算法用于人脸的动态聚类。新增了一个阈值P,用Chinese Whispers算法对数据规模为P的数据进行聚类时,既可以保证聚类结果的稳定性,又可以保证聚类算法的高效性;利用代表点而不是所有点完成聚类更新,能够有效减少对增量数据聚类时的数据量,从而达到提升聚类速度的目的。采用CNN+ArcFace Loss方法提取人脸特征,采用余弦距离作为相似性度量的方式,采用类中心作为代表点来描述类别信息,采用增量聚类的算法架构实现对于大规模数据的人脸动态聚类,并完成在LFW、VGGFace2和CASIA-Webface三个公开人脸数据集的测试。实验结果表明,基于Chinese Whispers人脸动态聚类算法可有效提高聚类的时间效率,时间复杂性由原来的O(n 2)变为O(n p)。

Deep‐learning powered whispering gallery mode sensor based on multiplexed imaging at fixed frequency

During the last decades the whispering gallery mode based sensors have become a prominent solution for label-free sensing of various physical and chemical parameters.At the same time,the widespread utilization of the approach is hindered by the restricted applicability of the known configurations for ambient variations quantification outside the laboratory conditions and their low affordability,where necessity on the spectrally-resolved data collection is among the main limiting factors.In this paper we demonstrate the first realization of an affordable whispering gallery mode sensor powered by deep learning and multi-resonator imaging at a fixed frequency.It has been shown that the approach enables refractive index unit(RIU)prediction with an absolute error at 3×10^(-6) level for dynamic range of the RIU variations from 0 to 2×10^(-3) with temporal resolution of several milliseconds and instrument-driven detection limit of 3×10−5.High sensing accuracy together with instrumental affordability and production simplicity places the reported detector among the most cost-effective realizations of the whispering gallery mode approach.The proposed solution is expected to have a great impact on the shift of the whole sensing paradigm away from the model-based and to the flexible self-learning solutions.

Speech Enhancement Algorithm Based on MMSE Short Time Spectral Amplitude in Whispered Speech

An improved method based on minimum mean square error-short time spectral amplitude （MMSE-STSA） is proposed to cancel background noise in whispered speech. Using the acoustic character of whispered speech, the algorithm can track the change of non-stationary background noise effectively. Compared with original MMSE-STSA algorithm and method in selectable mode Vo-coder （SMV）, the improved algorithm can further suppress the residual noise for low signal-to-noise radio （SNR） and avoid the excessive suppression. Simulations show that under the non-stationary noisy environment, the proposed algorithm can not only get a better performance in enhancement, but also reduce the speech distortion.

High resolution angular-displacement sensor based on whispering gallery mode resonance in bent optical fibers

A simple fiber sensor to measure angular displacement with high resolution, which is based on whispering gallery mode （WGM） resonance in bent optical fibers,is proposed. The sensor is composed of a single loop formed by loosely tying a knot using single mode fiber. To measure the transmission spectra, a tunable laser and an optic power meter are connected to the two ends of fi- ber loop, respectively. Significant WGM resonances occur over the investigated wavelength range for all the sensors with different bend radius. The angular-displacement sensitivity is studied in the range from -0. 1°to 0. 1°. The detection limit of 1.49 × 10 ^-7 rad can be achieved for the detecting system with the resolution of lpm. The simple loop-structure fiber sensor has potential application prospect in the field of architecture or bridge building with low detection limit and low cost.

Single-Photon Scattering by a Three-level System Interacting with a Whispering-Gallery Resonator Coupled to One-Dimensional Waveguide：

We investigate theoretically the single-photon scattering by a A-type three-level system interacting with a whispering-gallery-type resonator which is coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide by full quantum-mechanical approach. The single-photon transmission amplitude and reflection amplitude are obtained exactly via real-space approach. The single-photon transport properties controlling by classic optical field are discussed. The critical coupling condition in the coupled waveguide-whispering-gallery resonator-atom with three-level system is also analyzed.

ARMA Modelling for Whispered Speech

The Autoregressive Moving Average （ARMA） model for whispered speech is proposed. with normal speech, whispered speech has no fundamental frequency because of the glottis being semi-opened and turbulent flow being created, and formant shifting exists in the lower frequency region due to the narrowing of the tract in the false vocal fold regions and weak acoustic coupling with the aubglottal system. Analysis shows that the effect of the subglottal system is to introduce additional pole-zero pairs into the vocal tract transfer function. Theoretically, the method based on an ARMA process is superior to that based on an AR process in the spectral analysis of the whispered speech. Two methods, the least squared modified Yule-Walker likelihood estimate （LSMY） algorithm and the Frequency-Domain Steiglitz-Mcbide （FDSM） algorithm, are applied to the ARMA mfldel for the whispered speech. The performance evaluation shows that the ARMA model is much more appropriate for representing the whispered speech than the AR model, and the FDSM algorithm provides a name acorate estimation of the whispered speech spectral envelope than the LSMY algorithm with higher conputational complexity.

Optomechanical entanglement in a whispering-gallery cavity

The dynamics of the optomechanical entanglement between optical cavity field modes and a macroscopic me- chanical breathing mode in a whispering-gallery cavity as well as the continuous variable entanglement between the phase-quadrature amplitudes of the two whispering-gallery modes have been analysed. Simulated results indicate that under state-of-the^art experimental conditions, optomechanical entanglement is obvious and can occur even at temper- atures of above 40 K. Compared with the entanglement of the mechanical oscillator at the ground state temperature, optomechanical entanglement is more intense by several orders of magnitude.

Whispers of Ethno-Religious Violence on Housing Delivery in Nigeria

Nigeria is an agglomeration of different ethnic nationalities with multiplicity of religious inclination where Christianity and Islam are the dominant.The high level of intra and inter-ethnic rivalry between ethnic nationalities and extreme religious intolerance has resulted in many catastrophic clashes.These clashes have unquantifiable debilitating effects on the equilibrium of housing supply and delivery.The paper through deductive approach from literature review,and descriptive analysis,examined the various ethno-religious violence from post-independence Nigeria and its implications on the housing sector.Findings revealed that the importance of houses in African settings is beyond mere shelter,but are sacred and generational assets worth bequeathing.This underscores the reason it becomes target for attacks during ethno-religious violence.Deductive inferences made,indicated that the greater the severity of the violence on houses the more the number of IDPs(internally-displaced-persons),and this not healthy for a sustainable urban housing growth.

STUDY OF CROSSED FIELD GYROTRON OPERATING ON WHISPERING-GALLERY MODE

A linear and nonlinear analysis of crossed-field gyrotron operating on whispering-gallery mode TEm11 is presented. The detailed discussions are given for the starting oscillationcondition, the effect of the internal conductor in coaxial cavity on the cut-off frequency of modeand the spacing between adjacent modes as well as the effect of the applied voltage on thecyclotron frequency of electron, the starting oscillation beam power and the electron efficiency.It is shown that the efficiency of 41% can be attained for m=2. A comparison of these resultswith those in cylindrical cavity is made. The analyses are helpful for the engineering design.

Space and Human Consciousness: The Great Whisper

Human Consciousness is one of most elusive issues in the scientific history. Its nature created major historical debate started thousands of years ago and still ongoing. Despite the explosive developments in the last century to explore its nature, the knowledge about it is still deficient. The important advances in the twentieth and 21st centuries in understanding cerebral cortex dynamics fortified by the dominant materialistic approach of the era dictated its impact on consciousness science, which is perceived as sole human brain function. This original review is a call for holistic perception of human consciousness incorporating the ancient wisdom of the human civilizations with the massive current era advances in different disciplines of applied sciences. The description of René Descartes in the 17th century of the Cartesian dualism is timely to revisit with new holistic perspective, in view of the major advances of our understanding of heart brain communications, astrophysical resonances with human heart ascending afferents to central nervous system, and signaling between humans and the space. Universal vibrations, frequencies and resonances as perceived by Nikola Tesla constitute the core of our new conceptual and experimental perspective on human consciousness. Neural and psychological correlates of human consciousness which dominate the consciousness research nowadays should undergo revolutionary conceptual understanding to perceive consciousness as a massive universal event expanding from human genes to galaxies. In the next discussion, we are going to navigate in the nature and fate of human consciousness with new innovative universal perspective based on heart rate variability of human heart and its cosmic resonances as represented by Schumann Resonances, Solar Wind Indices and Galactic Cosmic Rays. The interpretation of our existential secrets and biology without the space around us is a major gap in our scientific perception of life. The delicate orchestration between human heart and the space frequencies create the great whisper which in our perspective, encodes the secrets of human consciousness.

THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER

The Elephant Whisperer By Lawrence Anthony & Graham Spence Thomas Dunne Books when South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand.

WEST WHISPER西城秘话

A.23岁的“新好男孩”成员尼克·卡特目前正和33岁的模特克里斯蒂·蕾恩积极交往,她已离婚,有一个7岁的女儿。蕾恩透露:“我爱他!我希望我们能天长地久地在一起,我是比他大10岁,但我的心依然年轻。我们很相像,经常互相开玩笑,他也喜欢孩子。”他们是今年4月在迈阿密游艇赛上认识的,7月末蕾恩拜访了尼克的家,除了正在巡演的阿伦·卡特,她见到他所有的家人,他们一点不介意她的年龄,给蕾恩留下极佳印象。

Power output correction model of narrow linewidth ring fiber laser filtered with whispering gallery mode resonator

A whispering gallery mode resonator(WGMR)filter can narrow laser linewidth while significantly changing the output power characteristics of fiber laser system.It is found that traditional laser output power model is invalid.We report a correction model of a narrow linewidth fiber laser filtered with a WGMR to analyze its power.We believe that the loss of the laser system and the threshold gain increase caused by the WGMR filter lead to the predominate amplified spontaneous emission during the original laser period.According to that,we assume the correction coefficient is an exponential decay related to the Er-doped fiber length in the large loss situation,and we verify it experimentally.As a result,the correction model is valid for WGMR-filtered fiber laser.

级联声光器件与回音壁模式微腔实现非对称传输

本文提出利用级联声光效应器和耦合回音壁模式微球腔的方案来实现非对称传输效果,并进行理论和实验验证.实验中利用加热拉锥的方式制备了两段式光纤,可同时实现声光效应的激发和回音壁模式的耦合.利用光纤中声光效应将纤芯基模中的矢量模式转换到包层高阶模式,由于基模中不同矢量模式转换包层模式的矢量模式也不同,从而产生类似双折射效果,使输出的包层模式产生偏振变化.而后通过耦合回音壁模式微腔将包层模式转换回纤芯基模.由于回音壁模式的偏振选择效果,使得相反方向入射光能量具有不同的透射特性,其传输隔离度可达17 d B.此外,对两个方向传输的透射率随偏振角度变化进行测试,测得声光效应带来的偏振变化约为80°.本文的非对称传输方案继承了声光器件响应迅速、调谐性良好的优势,同时具有全光纤结构和无工作阈值的特点,在光开关、光隔离器等场景具有重要的应用潜力.

基于回音壁模式微泡腔的流速传感应用

基于黏性流体的伯努利效应原理,利用回音壁模式微泡腔高品质因子与具有天然微流控通道的特性,提出一种基于回音壁模式微泡腔的流速传感器。理论分析了黏性流体流动时由于黏滞损耗引起的压强损失,仿真分析了不同流速范围内流动速度和压强之间的关系,发现二者之间表现出良好的线性依赖,沿程损耗是引起压强损失的主要因素;恒定流速下微腔内部为均匀的正压分布,会引起谐振波长红移。实验制备了壁厚约为2μm的微泡腔,并搭建流速传感实验测试系统。在3~106μL/min流速范围内,流速增加时,谐振波长发生红移,并且波长偏移与流速之间满足良好的线性关系,拟合得到流速传感灵敏度为0.047 pm/(μL/min),检测极限为0.635μL/min。该流速传感器结构简单、易于制备、低成本且检测极限较低。

球形双曲色散超材料腔的多重窄带回音廊模式及透明显示应用

本文提出并设计了一种用于提高彩色透明显示性能的球形双曲色散超材料(HMM)腔.该腔由介质/银层交替包裹银核组成,具有深度亚波长性质,并支持和银层数目相同的同阶回音廊模式.这些模式能够将电磁波能量高度局域在不同介质壳层内,从而降低欧姆损耗,减小共振线宽.针对5层银/介质交替包裹形成的HMM腔,详细分析了结构参数对回音廊模式的调谐作用.发现仅改变最外层介质或银层厚度,几乎不影响TM1,2和TM1,3模式的共振位置,但对TM1,1模式的共振位置及3个模式的强度产生明显调谐.通过优化HMM腔,在红绿蓝波段实现三重窄带共振,且在三重共振位置均具有偶极辐射特点,能够将散射光限制在和入射光夹角为-45°—+45°范围内.该HMM腔不仅支持红绿蓝三重窄带共振,并具有宽的散射角,可应用于实现高透明度、高亮度和宽视角的全彩透明显示.