Panasonic

About: Panasonic is a company organization based out in Kadoma, Ôsaka, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Signal & Layer (electronics). The organization has 49129 authors who have published 71118 publications receiving 942756 citations. The organization is also known as: Panasonikku Kabushiki-gaisha & Panasonic.

The Lombard reflex and its role on human listeners and automatic speech recognizers.

Abstract: Automatic speech recognition experiments show that, depending on the task performed and how speech variability is modeled, automatic speech recognizers are more or less sensitive to the Lombard reflex. To gain an understanding about the Lombard effect with the prospect of improving performance of automatic speech recognizers, (1) an analysis was made of the acoustic‐phonetic changes occurring in Lombard speech, and (2) the influence of the Lombard effect on speech perception was studied. Both acoustic and perceptual analyses suggest that the influence of the Lombard effect on male and female speakers is different. The analyses also bring to light that, even if some tendencies across speakers can be observed consistently, the Lombard reflex is highly variable from speaker to speaker. Based on the results of the acoustic and perceptual studies, some ways of dealing with Lombard speech variability in automatic speech recognition are also discussed.

Structure of the bacterial flagellar protofilament and implications for a switch for supercoiling.

Abstract: The bacterial flagellar filament is a helical propeller constructed from 11 protofilaments of a single protein, flagellin. The filament switches between left- and right-handed supercoiled forms when bacteria switch their swimming mode between running and tumbling. Supercoiling is produced by two different packing interactions of flagellin called L and R. In switching from L to R, the intersubunit distance ( approximately 52 A) along the protofilament decreases by 0.8 A. Changes in the number of L and R protofilaments govern supercoiling of the filament. Here we report the 2.0 A resolution crystal structure of a Salmonella flagellin fragment of relative molecular mass 41,300. The crystal contains pairs of antiparallel straight protofilaments with the R-type repeat. By simulated extension of the protofilament model, we have identified possible switch regions responsible for the bi-stable mechanical switch that generates the 0.8 A difference in repeat distance.

Image processing device and monitoring system

Abstract: A synthetic image viewed from a virtual viewpoint above a car is created from images captured by cameras for imaging the surroundings of the car. In the synthetic image, an illustrated or real image of the car is displayed in the area where the car is present. The area which is not imaged by any of the cameras is displayed as a blind spot.

Dimercaptan–polyaniline composite electrodes for lithium batteries with high energy density

Abstract: THE development of low-cost, solid-state rechargeable batteries is of considerable technological importance. A key requirement of such batteries is that the density of energy stored electrochemically in the electrodes is high. In this context, the use of organic materials has attracted interest; they combine high theoretical energy storage capability with low weight and good mechanical strength. Here we report the development of a rechargeable lithium battery with a composite organic cathode based on a mixture of a dimercaptan and polyaniline. The redox behaviour of the dimercaptan, which is normally too slow for practical applications1,2, is accelerated when coupled to that of the polyaniline3–5 (which itself functions as an active cathode material). Intimate mixing of the two materials is achieved by casting them jointly from solution. The resulting electrode can be repeatedly charged to near its theoretical limit and discharged. The gravimetric energy density of our materials exceeds that of the oxide electrodes in commercially available lithium-ion batteries6, a feature that is likely to prove advantageous in applications where weight, rather than volume, is a critical factor.

Surface of bacteriorhodopsin revealed by high-resolution electron crystallography

Abstract: Bacteriorhodopsin is a transmembrane protein that uses light energy, absorbed by its chromophore retinal, to pump protons from the cytoplasm of bacteria such as Halobacterium salinarium into the extracellular space. It is made up of seven alpha-helices, and in the bacterium forms natural, two-dimensional crystals called purple membranes. We have analysed these crystals by electron cryo-microscopy to obtain images of bacteriorhodopsin at 3.0 A resolution. The structure covers nearly all 248 amino acids, including loops outside the membrane, and reveals the distribution of charged residues on both sides of the membrane surface. In addition, analysis of the electron-potential map produced by this method allows the determination of the charge status of these residues. On the extracellular side, four glutamate residues surround the entrance to the proton channel, whereas on the cytoplasmic side, four aspartic acids occur in a plane at the boundary of the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface. The negative charges produced by these aspartate residues is encircled by areas of positive charge that may facilitate accumulation and lateral movement of protons on this surface.