Despite various speech enhancement techniques have been developed for different applications, existing methods are limited in noisy environments with high ambient noise levels. Speech presence probability (SPP) estimation is a speech enhancement technique to reduce speech distortions, especially in low signalto-noise ratios (SNRs) scenario. In this paper, we propose a new two-dimensional (2D) Teager-energyoperators (TEOs) improved SPP estimator for speech enhancement in time-frequency (T-F) domain. Wavelet packet transform (WPT) as a multiband decomposition technique is used to concentrate the energy distribution of speech components. A minimum mean-square error (MMSE) estimator is obtained based on the generalized gamma distribution speech model in WPT domain. In addition, the speech samples corrupted by environment and occupational noises (i.e., machine shop, factory and station) at different input SNRs are used to validate the proposed algorithm. Results suggest that the proposed method achieves a significant enhancement on perceptual quality, compared with four conventional speech enhancement algorithms (i.e., MMSE-84, MMSE-04, Wiener-96, and BTW).
The unbalance of the neutral point voltage is an inherent problem of three-level neutral-point-clamped (NPC) inverter, the effect of neutral point voltage balancing which is caused by voltage vector is analyzed, and the relationship of the voltage offset and neutral point voltage is studied in this paper. This paper proposes a novel neutral point balance strategy for three-level NPC inverter based on space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM). A voltage offset is added to the modulation wave, and a closed-loop neutral point voltage balance control system is designed. In the control system, the dwelling time of synthesis voltage vectors for SVPWM is varied to solve the problem of the unbalance of the neutral point voltage, the sequence of the voltage vectors maintains unchanging. Simulation and experimental results show the neutral point voltage balancing control strategy based on SVPWM is effective.
Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) as one of the major avoidable occupational related health issues has been studied for decades. To assess NIHL, the excitation pattern (EP) has been considered as one of the mechanisms to estimate the movements of the basilar membrane (BM) in the cochlea. In this study, two auditory filters, dual resonance nonlinear (DRNL) filter and rounded-exponential (ROEX) filter are applied to create two EPs, the velocity EP and the loudness EP respectively. Two noise hazard metrics are proposed based on two proposed EPs to evaluate hazardous levels caused by different types of noise. Moreover Gaussian noise and tone signals are simulated to evaluate performances of the proposed EPs and the noise metrics. The results show that both EPs can reflect the responses of the BM to different types of noise. For Gaussian noise there is a frequency shift between the velocity EP and the loudness EP. The results suggest that both EPs can be used for assessment of NIHL.
Based on real-time multi-domain communication signal analysis architecture, a high-efficiency blind carrier frequency estimation algorithm using the power spectrum symmetry of the measured modulated signal is presented. The proposed algorithm, which utilizes the moving averaged power spectrum achieved by the realtime spectrum analysis, iteratively identifies the carrier frequency in according to the power difference between the upper sideband and lower sideband, which is defined and revised by the estimated carrier frequency in each iteration. When the power difference of the two sidebands converges to the preset threshold, the carrier frequency can be obtained. For the modulation analysis, the measured signal can be coarsely compensated by the estimated result, and the residual carrier frequency error is eliminated by a following carrier synchronization loop. Compared with previous works, owing to the moving averaged power spectrum normalization and the smart iterative step variation mechanism for the two sidebands definition, the carrier frequency estimation accuracy and speed can be significantly improved without increasing the computational effort. Experimental results are included to demonstrate the outstanding performance of the proposed algorithm.
Sample-time errors can greatly degrade the dynamic range of a time-interleaved sampling system. In this paper, a novel correction technique employing a cubic spline interpolation is proposed for inter-channel sample-time error compensation. The cubic spline interpolation compensation filter is developed in the form of a finite-impulse response (FIR) filter structure. The correction method of the interpolation compensation filter coefficients is deduced. A 4GS/s two-channel, time-interleaved ADC prototype system has been implemented to evaluate the performance of the technique. The experimental results showed that the correction technique is effective to attenuate the spurious spurs and improve the dynamic performance of the system.
The aim was to explore the feasibility of using bamboo vinegar powder as an antibiotics substitute in weaning piglets. Forty-five healthy Duroc × Landrance × Yorshire piglets (weight 6.74 ± 0.17 kg; age 31 days) were randomly divided into the control group (basic diet), ANT group (basic diet + 0.12% compound antibiotics), BV1 group (basic diet + 0.1% bamboo vinegar powder), BV5 group (basic diet + 0.5% bamboo vinegar powder) and BV10 group (basic diet + 1% bamboo vinegar powder). MyD88 and CD14 expression in immune tissues was examined using real-time PCR. MyD88 expression in the control group were significantly lower than that in other groups in all tissues (p<0.05), while CD14 expression showed the opposite trend. MyD88 expression was significantly higher in the BV10 group than in other groups in lung tissue (P<0.05), significantly higher in the ANT group than in the BV1 group in the kidneys (P<0.05), significantly higher in the BV10 group than in the BV1 group in the thymus (P<0.05), and signifi- cantly higher in the BV1 group than in the BV10 group in the lymphatic tissue (P<0.05). These differences between experimental groups were not observed for the CD14 gene (P>0.05). Thus, adding bamboo vinegar powder to the basic diet of weaning piglets had immune effects similar to antibiotics and the effect was dose-dependent. Moreover, the MyD88 and CD14 genes appear to play a role in these immune effects