Mario Antonelli

A Correntropy-based voice to MIDI transcription algorithm

In this paper we describe an automatic voice-to-MIDI transcription procedure. In particular we propose a note segmentation method based on the analysis of the signal envelope and its derivative. The pitch of the segmented note is extracted with a novel generalized correlation function called correntropy function achieving high accuracy with the same computational cost of traditional correlation based methods. The performances of our transcription system have been measured on examples extracted by some repositories available on internet; they consist in sung melodies and hummed queries. Results show the ability of our transcription procedure to cope with query-by-humming systems, as well as with monophonic singing transcription. Performances can be easily evaluated by downloading from the authors web site the original PCM files and the corresponding MIDI files produced by the proposed transcription algorithm.

A Non-Monotone Optimization Algorithm for IIR Filter Design

In this paper, a new algorithm is proposed for digital filter design. Filter specifications are fixed as a mask defined by upper and lower bounds on the magnitude response of the filter. The filter is designed by minimizing a particular objective function measuring the average violation on mask constraints for a discrete set of frequencies. The minimization of the objective function is performed by a non monotone modification of the projected gradient algorithm. It allows to include the filter stability constraints in the optimization problem, while the non monotone approach avoids the local minima problem which is often encountered in non convex optimization problems.

Celiac disease and CFTR mutations in patients with chronic asymptomatic pancreatic hyperenzymemia.

Celiac Disease and CFTR Mutations in Patients With Chronic Asymptomatic Pancreatic Hyperenzymemia

Incidentally diagnosed ipmns in liver cirrhosis: Prevalence and clinical relevance

Context Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas (IPMN) have become diagnosed with increased frequency mainly due to the improvement and wide spread use of imaging studies, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR). The incidental diagnosis of IPMN in patients with other chronic disorders may affect their management. Incidental pancreatic cysts (PCs) are frequent in liver-transplanted patients, but there are no data on their prevalence in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Objective The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of newly diagnosed PCs and IPMNs in a series of LC patients undergoing CT and/or MR during their follow-up. The secondary aim is to investigate whether LC patients with IPMNs have different features from LC without, and if the diagnosis of IPMN affects their clinical management. Methods Retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort of LC patients seen at our Unit between January 2002 and November 2011, who underwent at least one CT or MR. Clinical and demographic features of all patients, and their follow-up were recorded in a database. LC patients with (group A) or without IPMN (group B) were compared by means of Fisher test or t-test. Results Fourteen of 223 LC patients (6.2%) had an incidental diagnosis of a PC. Of these, 9 patients (4%) had a confirmed diagnosis of IPMN; all of them were branch duct (BD) lesions, with a diameter <3 cm. Patients with IPMN (group A, n=9) were slightly older at diagnosis of LC (mean 67.1 years) as compared to those without any PC (group B, n=209; mean age 62.9 years, P=0.08). There were no differences in terms of sex (male 67% in group A vs . 70% in group B; P=1), viral etiology (56% in group A vs . 40% in group B, P=0.5), alcoholic etiology (22% in group A vs . 39% in group B, P=0.5), HCV positivity (56% in group A vs . 30.5%, P=0.1), and rate of HCC (22% in group A vs . 38% in group B; P=0.5). A similar distribution for clinical liver function was observed (Child A 33%, B 45%, C 22% in group A; Child A 46%, B 40%, C 14% in group B; P NS). IPMNs did not significantly affect the clinical management of LC patients, and none of the patients died due to IPMN during a 17 months mean follow-up. Conclusion In this series of patient with LC, we observed an occasional 4% rate of BD-IPMN, apparently unrelated to the underlying hepatic disease, nor to clinical features. Diagnosed IPMN were small BD lesions, and their finding did not affect the management or the prognosis of LC patients. Future studies should compare the rate of PCs and IPMNs in LC and controls to confirm that the association is merely occasional.