Thinking soap But Speaking ‘oaps’. The Sound Preparation Period: Backward Calculation From Utterance to Muscle Innervation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nora Wiedenmann

2010-04-01

Full Text Available

In this article’s model—on speech and on speech errors, dyscoordinations, and disorders—, the time-course from the muscle innervation impetuses to the utterance of sounds as intended for canonical speech sound sequences is calculated backward. This time-course is shown as the sum of all the known physiological durations of speech sounds and speech gestures that are necessary to produce an utterance. The model introduces two internal clocks, based on positive or negative factors, representing certain physiologically-based time-courses during the sound preparation period (Lautvorspann. The use of these internal clocks show that speech gestures—like other motor activities—work according to a simple serialization principle: Under non-default conditions,
alterations of the time-courses may cause speech errors of sound serialization, dyscoordinations of sounds as observed during first language acquisition, or speech disorders as pathological cases. These alterations of the time-course are modelled by varying the two internal-clock factors. The calculation of time-courses uses as default values the sound durations of the context-dependent Munich PHONDAT Database of Spoken German (see Appendix 4. As a new, human approach, this calculation agrees mathematically with the approach of Linear Programming / Operations Research. This work gives strong support to the fairly old suspicion (of 1908 of the famous Austrian speech error scientist Meringer [15], namely that one mostly thinks and articulates in a different serialization than is audible from one’s uttered sound sequences.

Combined Electrophysiological and Behavioral Evidence for the Suppression of Salient Distractors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspelin, Nicholas; Luck, Steven J

2018-05-15

Researchers have long debated how salient-but-irrelevant features guide visual attention. Pure stimulus-driven theories claim that salient stimuli automatically capture attention irrespective of goals, whereas pure goal-driven theories propose that an individual's attentional control settings determine whether salient stimuli capture attention. However, recent studies have suggested a hybrid model in which salient stimuli attract visual attention but can be actively suppressed by top-down attentional mechanisms. Support for this hybrid model has primarily come from ERP studies demonstrating that salient stimuli, which fail to capture attention, also elicit a distractor positivity (P D ) component, a putative neural index of suppression. Other support comes from a handful of behavioral studies showing that processing at the salient locations is inhibited compared with other locations. The current study was designed to link the behavioral and neural evidence by combining ERP recordings with an experimental paradigm that provides a behavioral measure of suppression. We found that, when a salient distractor item elicited the P D component, processing at the location of this distractor was suppressed below baseline levels. Furthermore, the magnitude of behavioral suppression and the magnitude of the P D component covaried across participants. These findings provide a crucial connection between the behavioral and neural measures of suppression, which opens the door to using the P D component to assess the timing and neural substrates of the behaviorally observed suppression.

A "looming bias" in spatial hearing? Effects of acoustic intensity and spectrum on categorical sound source localization.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Lisa; Olsen, Kirk N

2017-01-01

Continuous increases of acoustic intensity (up-ramps) can indicate a looming (approaching) sound source in the environment, whereas continuous decreases of intensity (down-ramps) can indicate a receding sound source. From psychoacoustic experiments, an "adaptive perceptual bias" for up-ramp looming tonal stimuli has been proposed (Neuhoff, 1998). This theory postulates that (1) up-ramps are perceptually salient because of their association with looming and potentially threatening stimuli in the environment; (2) tonal stimuli are perceptually salient because of an association with single and potentially threatening biological sound sources in the environment, relative to white noise, which is more likely to arise from dispersed signals and nonthreatening/nonbiological sources (wind/ocean). In the present study, we extrapolated the "adaptive perceptual bias" theory and investigated its assumptions by measuring sound source localization in response to acoustic stimuli presented in azimuth to imply looming, stationary, and receding motion in depth. Participants (N = 26) heard three directions of intensity change (up-ramps, down-ramps, and steady state, associated with looming, receding, and stationary motion, respectively) and three levels of acoustic spectrum (a 1-kHz pure tone, the tonal vowel /ә/, and white noise) in a within-subjects design. We first hypothesized that if up-ramps are "perceptually salient" and capable of eliciting adaptive responses, then they would be localized faster and more accurately than down-ramps. This hypothesis was supported. However, the results did not support the second hypothesis. Rather, the white-noise and vowel conditions were localized faster and more accurately than the pure-tone conditions. These results are discussed in the context of auditory and visual theories of motion perception, auditory attentional capture, and the spectral causes of spatial ambiguity.

Task-irrelevant novel sounds improve attentional performance in children with and without ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana eTegelbeckers

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Task-irrelevant salient stimuli involuntarily capture attention and can lead to distraction from an ongoing task, especially in children with ADHD. However, there has been tentative evidence that the presentation of novel sounds can have beneficial effects on cognitive performance. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the influence of novel sounds compared to no sound and a repeatedly presented standard sound on attentional performance in children and adolescents with and without ADHD. We therefore had 32 patients with ADHD and 32 typically developing children and adolescents (8 to 13 years executed a flanker task in which each trial was preceded either by a repeatedly presented standard sound (33%, an unrepeated novel sound (33% or no auditory stimulation (33%. Task-irrelevant novel sounds facilitated attentional performance similarly in children with and without ADHD, as indicated by reduced omission error rates, reaction times, and reaction time variability without compromising performance accuracy. By contrast, standard sounds, while also reducing omission error rates and reaction times, led to increased commission error rates. Therefore, the beneficial effect of novel sounds exceeds cueing of the target display by potentially increased alerting and/or enhanced behavioral control.

Salient cues improve prospective remembering in Korsakoff's syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Altgassen, Mareike; Ariese, Laura; Wester, Arie J; Kessels, Roy P C

2016-06-01

Korsakoff's syndrome is characterized by deficits in episodic memory and executive functions. Both cognitive functions are needed to remember to execute delayed intentions (prospective memory, PM), an ability that is crucial for independent living in everyday life. So far, PM has only been targeted by one study in Korsakoff's syndrome. This study explored the effects of executive control demands on PM to shed further light on a possible interdependence of memory and executive functions in Korsakoff's syndrome, Twenty-five individuals with Korsakoff's syndrome and 23 chronic alcoholics (without amnesia) performed a categorization task into which a PM task was embedded that put either high or low demands on executive control processes (using low vs. high salient cues). Overall, Korsakoff patients had fewer PM hits than alcoholic controls. Across groups, participants had fewer PM hits when cues were low salient as compared to high salient. Korsakoff patients performed better on PM when highly salient cues were presented than cues of low salience, while there were no differential effects for alcoholic controls. While overall Korsakoff patients' showed a global PM deficit, the extent of this deficit was moderated by the executive control demands of the task applied. This indicated further support for an interrelation of executive functions and memory performance in Korsakoff. Positive clinical implications of the work Prospective memory (PM) performance in Korsakoff's syndrome is related to executive control load. Increasing cues' salience improves PM performance in Korsakoff's syndrome. Salient visual aids may be used in everyday life to improve Korsakoff individuals' planning and organization skills. Cautions or limitations of the study Results were obtained in a structured laboratory setting and need to be replicated in a more naturalistic setting to assess their transferability to everyday life. Given the relatively small sample size, individual predictors of PM

Learning to Produce Syllabic Speech Sounds via Reward-Modulated Neural Plasticity

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Warlaumont, Anne S.; Finnegan, Megan K.

2016-01-01

At around 7 months of age, human infants begin to reliably produce well-formed syllables containing both consonants and vowels, a behavior called canonical babbling. Over subsequent months, the frequency of canonical babbling continues to increase. How the infant’s nervous system supports the acquisition of this ability is unknown. Here we present a computational model that combines a spiking neural network, reinforcement-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity, and a human-like vocal tract to simulate the acquisition of canonical babbling. Like human infants, the model’s frequency of canonical babbling gradually increases. The model is rewarded when it produces a sound that is more auditorily salient than sounds it has previously produced. This is consistent with data from human infants indicating that contingent adult responses shape infant behavior and with data from deaf and tracheostomized infants indicating that hearing, including hearing one’s own vocalizations, is critical for canonical babbling development. Reward receipt increases the level of dopamine in the neural network. The neural network contains a reservoir with recurrent connections and two motor neuron groups, one agonist and one antagonist, which control the masseter and orbicularis oris muscles, promoting or inhibiting mouth closure. The model learns to increase the number of salient, syllabic sounds it produces by adjusting the base level of muscle activation and increasing their range of activity. Our results support the possibility that through dopamine-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity, the motor cortex learns to harness its natural oscillations in activity in order to produce syllabic sounds. It thus suggests that learning to produce rhythmic mouth movements for speech production may be supported by general cortical learning mechanisms. The model makes several testable predictions and has implications for our understanding not only of how syllabic vocalizations develop

Current superimposition variable flux reluctance motor with 8 salient poles

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Takahara, Kazuaki; Hirata, Katsuhiro; Niguchi, Noboru; Kohara, Akira

2017-12-01

We propose a current superimposition variable flux reluctance motor for a traction motor of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, which consists of 10 salient poles in the rotor and 12 slots in the stator. However, iron losses of this motor in high rotation speed ranges is large because the number of salient poles is large. In this paper, we propose a current superimposition variable flux reluctance motor that consists of 8 salient poles and 12 slots. The characteristics of the 10-pole-12-slot and 8-pole-12-slot current superimposition variable flux reluctance motors are compared using finite element analysis under vector control.

Current superimposition variable flux reluctance motor with 8 salient poles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahara Kazuaki

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We propose a current superimposition variable flux reluctance motor for a traction motor of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, which consists of 10 salient poles in the rotor and 12 slots in the stator. However, iron losses of this motor in high rotation speed ranges is large because the number of salient poles is large. In this paper, we propose a current superimposition variable flux reluctance motor that consists of 8 salient poles and 12 slots. The characteristics of the 10-pole-12-slot and 8-pole-12-slot current superimposition variable flux reluctance motors are compared using finite element analysis under vector control.

Sound effects: Multimodal input helps infants find displaced objects.

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Shinskey, Jeanne L

2017-09-01

Before 9 months, infants use sound to retrieve a stationary object hidden by darkness but not one hidden by occlusion, suggesting auditory input is more salient in the absence of visual input. This article addresses how audiovisual input affects 10-month-olds' search for displaced objects. In AB tasks, infants who previously retrieved an object at A subsequently fail to find it after it is displaced to B, especially following a delay between hiding and retrieval. Experiment 1 manipulated auditory input by keeping the hidden object audible versus silent, and visual input by presenting the delay in the light versus dark. Infants succeeded more at B with audible than silent objects and, unexpectedly, more after delays in the light than dark. Experiment 2 presented both the delay and search phases in darkness. The unexpected light-dark difference disappeared. Across experiments, the presence of auditory input helped infants find displaced objects, whereas the absence of visual input did not. Sound might help by strengthening object representation, reducing memory load, or focusing attention. This work provides new evidence on when bimodal input aids object processing, corroborates claims that audiovisual processing improves over the first year of life, and contributes to multisensory approaches to studying cognition. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject Before 9 months, infants use sound to retrieve a stationary object hidden by darkness but not one hidden by occlusion. This suggests they find auditory input more salient in the absence of visual input in simple search tasks. After 9 months, infants' object processing appears more sensitive to multimodal (e.g., audiovisual) input. What does this study add? This study tested how audiovisual input affects 10-month-olds' search for an object displaced in an AB task. Sound helped infants find displaced objects in both the presence and absence of visual input. Object processing becomes more

Salient Region Detection via Feature Combination and Discriminative Classifier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deming Kong

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We introduce a novel approach to detect salient regions of an image via feature combination and discriminative classifier. Our method, which is based on hierarchical image abstraction, uses the logistic regression approach to map the regional feature vector to a saliency score. Four saliency cues are used in our approach, including color contrast in a global context, center-boundary priors, spatially compact color distribution, and objectness, which is as an atomic feature of segmented region in the image. By mapping a four-dimensional regional feature to fifteen-dimensional feature vector, we can linearly separate the salient regions from the clustered background by finding an optimal linear combination of feature coefficients in the fifteen-dimensional feature space and finally fuse the saliency maps across multiple levels. Furthermore, we introduce the weighted salient image center into our saliency analysis task. Extensive experiments on two large benchmark datasets show that the proposed approach achieves the best performance over several state-of-the-art approaches.

Multi-scale salient feature extraction on mesh models

KAUST Repository

Yang, Yongliang; Shen, ChaoHui

2012-01-01

We present a new method of extracting multi-scale salient features on meshes. It is based on robust estimation of curvature on multiple scales. The coincidence between salient feature and the scale of interest can be established straightforwardly, where detailed feature appears on small scale and feature with more global shape information shows up on large scale. We demonstrate this multi-scale description of features accords with human perception and can be further used for several applications as feature classification and viewpoint selection. Experiments exhibit that our method as a multi-scale analysis tool is very helpful for studying 3D shapes. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

The Role of Inhibition in Avoiding Distraction by Salient Stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspelin, Nicholas; Luck, Steven J

2018-01-01

Researchers have long debated whether salient stimuli can involuntarily 'capture' visual attention. We review here evidence for a recently discovered inhibitory mechanism that may help to resolve this debate. This evidence suggests that salient stimuli naturally attempt to capture attention, but capture can be avoided if the salient stimulus is suppressed before it captures attention. Importantly, the suppression process can be more or less effective as a result of changing task demands or lapses in cognitive control. Converging evidence for the existence of this suppression mechanism comes from multiple sources, including psychophysics, eye-tracking, and event-related potentials (ERPs). We conclude that the evidence for suppression is strong, but future research will need to explore the nature and limits of this mechanism. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 37318 - Eighth Coast Guard District Annual Safety Zones; Sound of Independence; Santa Rosa Sound; Fort...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-21

...-AA00 Eighth Coast Guard District Annual Safety Zones; Sound of Independence; Santa Rosa Sound; Fort... Coast Guard will enforce a Safety Zone for the Sound of Independence event in the Santa Rosa Sound, Fort... during the Sound of Independence. During the enforcement period, entry into, transiting or anchoring in...

Salient aspects of PBP2A-inhibition; A QSAR Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogunleye, Adewale J; Eniafe, Gabriel O; Inyang, Olumide K; Adewumi, Benjamin; Omotuyi, Olaposi I

2018-05-15

Backgound: Inhibition of penicillin binding protein 2A (PBP2A) represents a sound drug design strategy in combatting Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Considering the urgent need for effective antimicrobials in combatting MRSA infections, we have developed a statistically robust ensemble of molecular descriptors (1, 2, & 3-D) from compounds targeting PBP2A in vivo. 37 (training set: 26, test set: 11) PBP2A-inhibitors were submitted for descriptor generation after which an unsupervised, non-exhaustive genetic algorithm (GA) was deployed for fishing out the best descriptor subset. Assignment of descriptors to a regression model was accomplished with the Partial Least Square (PLS) algorithm. At the end, an ensemble of 30 descriptors accurately predicted the ligand bioactivity, IC50 (R = 0.9996, R2 = 0.9992, R2a = 0.9949, SEE =, 0.2297 Q2LOO = 0.9741). Inferentially, we noticed that the overall efficacy of this model greatly depends on atomic polarizability and negative charge (electron) density. Besides the formula derived, the high dimensional model also offers critical insights into salient cheminformatics parameter to note during hit-to-lead PBP2A-antagonist optimization. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Salient Point Detection in Protrusion Parts of 3D Object Robust to Isometric Variations

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Mirloo, Mahsa; Ebrahimnezhad, Hosein

2018-03-01

In this paper, a novel method is proposed to detect 3D object salient points robust to isometric variations and stable against scaling and noise. Salient points can be used as the representative points from object protrusion parts in order to improve the object matching and retrieval algorithms. The proposed algorithm is started by determining the first salient point of the model based on the average geodesic distance of several random points. Then, according to the previous salient point, a new point is added to this set of points in each iteration. By adding every salient point, decision function is updated. Hence, a condition is created for selecting the next point in which the iterative point is not extracted from the same protrusion part so that drawing out of a representative point from every protrusion part is guaranteed. This method is stable against model variations with isometric transformations, scaling, and noise with different levels of strength due to using a feature robust to isometric variations and considering the relation between the salient points. In addition, the number of points used in averaging process is decreased in this method, which leads to lower computational complexity in comparison with the other salient point detection algorithms.

Tinnitus and sound intolerance: evidence and experience of a Brazilian group.

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Onishi, Ektor Tsuneo; Coelho, Cláudia Couto de Barros; Oiticica, Jeanne; Figueiredo, Ricardo Rodrigues; Guimarães, Rita de Cassia Cassou; Sanchez, Tanit Ganz; Gürtler, Adriana Lima; Venosa, Alessandra Ramos; Sampaio, André Luiz Lopes; Azevedo, Andreia Aparecida; Pires, Anna Paula Batista de Ávila; Barros, Bruno Borges de Carvalho; Oliveira, Carlos Augusto Costa Pires de; Saba, Clarice; Yonamine, Fernando Kaoru; Medeiros, Ítalo Roberto Torres de; Rosito, Letícia Petersen Schmidt; Rates, Marcelo José Abras; Kii, Márcia Akemi; Fávero, Mariana Lopes; Santos, Mônica Alcantara de Oliveira; Person, Osmar Clayton; Ciminelli, Patrícia; Marcondes, Renata de Almeida; Moreira, Ronaldo Kennedy de Paula; Torres, Sandro de Menezes Santos

Tinnitus and sound intolerance are frequent and subjective complaints that may have an impact on a patient's quality of life. To present a review of the salient points including concepts, pathophysiology, diagnosis and approach of the patient with tinnitus and sensitivity to sounds. Literature review with bibliographic survey in LILACS, SciELO, Pubmed and MEDLINE database. Articles and book chapters on tinnitus and sound sensitivity were selected. The several topics were discussed by a group of Brazilian professionals and the conclusions were described. The prevalence of tinnitus has increased over the years, often associated with hearing loss, metabolic factors and inadequate diet. Medical evaluation should be performed carefully to guide the request of subsidiary exams. Currently available treatments range from medications to the use of sounds with specific characteristics and meditation techniques, with variable results. A review on tinnitus and auditory sensitivity was presented, allowing the reader a broad view of the approach to these patients, based on scientific evidence and national experience. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Event-related potentials reveal increased distraction by salient global objects in older adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiegand, Iris; Finke, Kathrin; Töllner, Thomas

Age-related changes in visual functions influence how older individuals perceive and react upon objects in their environment. In particular, older individuals might be more distracted by highly salient, irrelevant information. Kanizsa figures induce a ‘global precedence’ effect, which reflects...... a processing advantage for salient whole-object representations relative to configurations of local elements not inducing a global form. We investigated event-related potential (ERP) correlates of age-related decline in visual abilities, and specifically, distractibility by salient global objects in visual...

Distance-dependent pattern blending can camouflage salient aposematic signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, James B; Cuthill, Innes C; Scott-Samuel, Nicholas E

2017-07-12

The effect of viewing distance on the perception of visual texture is well known: spatial frequencies higher than the resolution limit of an observer's visual system will be summed and perceived as a single combined colour. In animal defensive colour patterns, distance-dependent pattern blending may allow aposematic patterns, salient at close range, to match the background to distant observers. Indeed, recent research has indicated that reducing the distance from which a salient signal can be detected can increase survival over camouflage or conspicuous aposematism alone. We investigated whether the spatial frequency of conspicuous and cryptically coloured stripes affects the rate of avian predation. Our results are consistent with pattern blending acting to camouflage salient aposematic signals effectively at a distance. Experiments into the relative rate of avian predation on edible model caterpillars found that increasing spatial frequency (thinner stripes) increased survival. Similarly, visual modelling of avian predators showed that pattern blending increased the similarity between caterpillar and background. These results show how a colour pattern can be tuned to reveal or conceal different information at different distances, and produce tangible survival benefits. © 2017 The Author(s).

Preschoolers Benefit from Visually Salient Speech Cues

Science.gov (United States)

Lalonde, Kaylah; Holt, Rachael Frush

2015-01-01

Purpose: This study explored visual speech influence in preschoolers using 3 developmentally appropriate tasks that vary in perceptual difficulty and task demands. They also examined developmental differences in the ability to use visually salient speech cues and visual phonological knowledge. Method: Twelve adults and 27 typically developing 3-…

Reverberation impairs brainstem temporal representations of voiced vowel sounds: challenging periodicity-tagged segregation of competing speech in rooms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark eSayles

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The auditory system typically processes information from concurrently active sound sources (e.g., two voices speaking at once, in the presence of multiple delayed, attenuated and distorted sound-wave reflections (reverberation. Brainstem circuits help segregate these complex acoustic mixtures into auditory objects. Psychophysical studies demonstrate a strong interaction between reverberation and fundamental-frequency (F0 modulation, leading to impaired segregation of competing vowels when segregation is on the basis of F0 differences. Neurophysiological studies of complex-sound segregation have concentrated on sounds with steady F0s, in anechoic environments. However, F0 modulation and reverberation are quasi-ubiquitous.We examine the ability of 129 single units in the ventral cochlear nucleus of the anesthetized guinea pig to segregate the concurrent synthetic vowel sounds /a/ and /i/, based on temporal discharge patterns under closed-field conditions. We address the effects of added real-room reverberation, F0 modulation, and the interaction of these two factors, on brainstem neural segregation of voiced speech sounds. A firing-rate representation of single-vowels’ spectral envelopes is robust to the combination of F0 modulation and reverberation: local firing-rate maxima and minima across the tonotopic array code vowel-formant structure. However, single-vowel F0-related periodicity information in shuffled inter-spike interval distributions is significantly degraded in the combined presence of reverberation and F0 modulation. Hence, segregation of double-vowels’ spectral energy into two streams (corresponding to the two vowels, on the basis of temporal discharge patterns, is impaired by reverberation; specifically when F0 is modulated. All unit types (primary-like, chopper, onset are similarly affected. These results offer neurophysiological insights to perceptual organization of complex acoustic scenes under realistically challenging

When message-frame fits salient cultural-frame, messages feel more persuasive

OpenAIRE

Uskul, Ayse K.; Oyserman, Daphna

2010-01-01

The present study examines the persuasive effects of tailored health messages comparing those tailored to match (versus not match) both chronic cultural frame and momentarily salient cultural frame. Evidence from two studies (Study 1: n = 72 European Americans; Study 2: n = 48 Asian Americans) supports the hypothesis that message persuasiveness increases when chronic cultural frame, health message tailoring and momentarily salient cultural frame all match. The hypothesis was tested using a me...

Line-up member similarity influences the effectiveness of a salient rejection option for eyewitnesses

OpenAIRE

Bruer, Kaila C.; Fitzgerald, Ryan J.; Therrien, Natalie M.; Price, Heather L.

2015-01-01

Visually salient line-up rejection options have not been systematically studied with adult eyewitnesses. We explored the impact of using a non-verbal, salient rejection option on adults' identification accuracy for line-ups containing low- or high-similarity fillers. The non-verbal, salient rejection option had minimal impact on accuracy in low-similarity line-ups, but in high-similarity line-ups its inclusion increased correct rejections for target-absent line-ups as well as incorrect reject...

System and method for smoothing a salient rotor in electrical machines

Science.gov (United States)

Raminosoa, Tsarafidy; Alexander, James Pellegrino; El-Refaie, Ayman Mohamed Fawzi; Torrey, David A.

2016-12-13

An electrical machine exhibiting reduced friction and windage losses is disclosed. The electrical machine includes a stator and a rotor assembly configured to rotate relative to the stator, wherein the rotor assembly comprises a rotor core including a plurality of salient rotor poles that are spaced apart from one another around an inner hub such that an interpolar gap is formed between each adjacent pair of salient rotor poles, with an opening being defined by the rotor core in each interpolar gap. Electrically non-conductive and non-magnetic inserts are positioned in the gaps formed between the salient rotor poles, with each of the inserts including a mating feature formed an axially inner edge thereof that is configured to mate with a respective opening being defined by the rotor core, so as to secure the insert to the rotor core against centrifugal force experienced during rotation of the rotor assembly.

In Search of the Golden Age Hip-Hop Sound (1986–1996

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ben Duinker

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The notion of a musical repertoire's "sound" is frequently evoked in journalism and scholarship, but what parameters comprise such a sound? This question is addressed through a statistically-driven corpus analysis of hip-hop music released during the genre's Golden Age era. The first part of the paper presents a methodology for developing, transcribing, and analyzing a corpus of 100 hip-hop tracks released during the Golden Age. Eight categories of aurally salient musical and production parameters are analyzed: tempo, orchestration and texture, harmony, form, vocal and lyric profiles, global and local production effects, vocal doubling and backing, and loudness and compression. The second part of the paper organizes the analysis data into three trend categories: trends of change (parameters that change over time, trends of prevalence (parameters that remain generally constant across the corpus, and trends of similarity (parameters that are similar from song to song. These trends form a generalized model of the Golden Age hip-hop sound which considers both global (the whole corpus and local (unique songs within the corpus contexts. By operationalizing "sound" as the sum of musical and production parameters, aspects of popular music that are resistant to traditional music-analytical methods can be considered.

Sound symbolism: the role of word sound in meaning.

Science.gov (United States)

Svantesson, Jan-Olof

2017-09-01

The question whether there is a natural connection between sound and meaning or if they are related only by convention has been debated since antiquity. In linguistics, it is usually taken for granted that 'the linguistic sign is arbitrary,' and exceptions like onomatopoeia have been regarded as marginal phenomena. However, it is becoming more and more clear that motivated relations between sound and meaning are more common and important than has been thought. There is now a large and rapidly growing literature on subjects as ideophones (or expressives), words that describe how a speaker perceives a situation with the senses, and phonaesthemes, units like English gl-, which occur in many words that share a meaning component (in this case 'light': gleam, glitter, etc.). Furthermore, psychological experiments have shown that sound symbolism in one language can be understood by speakers of other languages, suggesting that some kinds of sound symbolism are universal. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1441. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1441 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Morality salience increases adherence to salient norms and values

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gailliot, M.T.; Stillman, T.F.; Schmeichel, B.J.; Maner, J.K.; Plant, E.A.

2008-01-01

Four studies indicate that mortality salience increases adherence to social norms and values, but only when cultural norms and values are salient. In Study 1, mortality salience coupled with a reminder about cultural values of egalitarianism reduced prejudice toward Blacks among non-Black

Younger but not older adults benefit from salient feedback during learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael eHerbert

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Older adults are impaired in reinforcement learning (RL when feedback is partially ambiguous (e.g., Eppinger and Kray, 2011. In this study we examined whether older adults benefit from salient feedback information during learning. We used an electrophysiological approach and investigated 15 younger and 15 older adults with a RL task in which they had to learn stimulus-response associations under two learning conditions. In the positive learning conditions, participants could gain 50 Cents for a correct response but did not gain or lose money (*00 Cent for an incorrect response. In negative learning conditions, they could lose 50 Cents for an incorrect response but did not gain or lose money (*00 Cent for a correct response. As the identical outcome 00 Cent is either better or worse than the alternative outcome depending on the learning condition, this feedback type is ambiguous. To examine the influence of feedback salience we compared this condition with a condition in which positive and negative outcomes were color-coded and thereby clearly separable. The behavioral results indicated that younger adults reached higher accuracy levels under salient feedback conditions. Moreover, the error-related negativity (ERN and the feedback-related negativity (FRN for losses were larger if the good-bad dimension of feedback was salient. Hence, in younger adults salient feedback facilitates the rapid evaluation of outcomes on a good-bad dimension and by this supports learning. In contrast, for older adults we obtained neither behavioral nor electrophysiological effects of feedback salience. The older adults’ performance monitoring system therefore appears less flexible in integrating additional information in this evaluation process.

Sound and sound sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Ole Næsbye; Wahlberg, Magnus

2017-01-01

There is no difference in principle between the infrasonic and ultrasonic sounds, which are inaudible to humans (or other animals) and the sounds that we can hear. In all cases, sound is a wave of pressure and particle oscillations propagating through an elastic medium, such as air. This chapter...... is about the physical laws that govern how animals produce sound signals and how physical principles determine the signals’ frequency content and sound level, the nature of the sound field (sound pressure versus particle vibrations) as well as directional properties of the emitted signal. Many...... of these properties are dictated by simple physical relationships between the size of the sound emitter and the wavelength of emitted sound. The wavelengths of the signals need to be sufficiently short in relation to the size of the emitter to allow for the efficient production of propagating sound pressure waves...

Salient region detection by fusing bottom-up and top-down features extracted from a single image.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Huawei; Fang, Yuming; Zhao, Yao; Lin, Weisi; Ni, Rongrong; Zhu, Zhenfeng

2014-10-01

Recently, some global contrast-based salient region detection models have been proposed based on only the low-level feature of color. It is necessary to consider both color and orientation features to overcome their limitations, and thus improve the performance of salient region detection for images with low-contrast in color and high-contrast in orientation. In addition, the existing fusion methods for different feature maps, like the simple averaging method and the selective method, are not effective sufficiently. To overcome these limitations of existing salient region detection models, we propose a novel salient region model based on the bottom-up and top-down mechanisms: the color contrast and orientation contrast are adopted to calculate the bottom-up feature maps, while the top-down cue of depth-from-focus from the same single image is used to guide the generation of final salient regions, since depth-from-focus reflects the photographer's preference and knowledge of the task. A more general and effective fusion method is designed to combine the bottom-up feature maps. According to the degree-of-scattering and eccentricities of feature maps, the proposed fusion method can assign adaptive weights to different feature maps to reflect the confidence level of each feature map. The depth-from-focus of the image as a significant top-down feature for visual attention in the image is used to guide the salient regions during the fusion process; with its aid, the proposed fusion method can filter out the background and highlight salient regions for the image. Experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art models on three public available data sets.

Salient Public Beliefs Underlying Disaster Preparedness Behaviors: A Theory-Based Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Najafi, Mehdi; Ardalan, Ali; Akbarisari, Ali; Noorbala, Ahmad Ali; Elmi, Helen

2017-04-01

Introduction Given the increasing importance of disaster preparedness in Tehran, the capital of Iran, interventions encouraging disaster preparedness behavior (DPB) are needed. This study was conducted to show how an elicitation method can be used to identify salient consequences, referents, and circumstances about DPB and provide recommendations for interventions and quantitative research. A theory-based qualitative study using a semi-structured elicitation questionnaire was conducted with 132 heads of households from 22 districts in Tehran, Iran. Following the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), six open-ended questions were used to record the opinion of people about DPB: advantages of engaging in DPB; disadvantages of doing so; people who approve; people who disapprove; things that make it easy; and things that make it difficult. Content analysis showed the categories of salient consequences, reference groups, and circumstances. The three most frequently mentioned advantages obtained from inhabitants of Tehran were health outcomes (eg, it helps us to save our lives, it provides basic needs, and it protects us until relief workers arrive); other salient advantages were mentioned (eg, helps family reunification). The main disadvantage was preparedness anxiety. Family members were the most frequently mentioned social referent when people were asked who might approve or disapprove of their DPB. The two main circumstances perceived to obstruct DPB included not having enough knowledge or enough time. The results of this qualitative study suggest that interventions to encourage DPB among Tehran inhabitants should address: perceived consequences of DPB on health and other factors beyond health; barriers of not having enough knowledge and time perceived to hinder DPB; and social approval. More accurate research on salient beliefs with close-ended items developed from these open-ended data and with larger sample sizes of Tehran inhabitants is necessary. Research with other

Estimation of salient regions related to chronic gastritis using gastric X-ray images.

Science.gov (United States)

Togo, Ren; Ishihara, Kenta; Ogawa, Takahiro; Haseyama, Miki

2016-10-01

Since technical knowledge and a high degree of experience are necessary for diagnosis of chronic gastritis, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems that analyze gastric X-ray images are desirable in the field of medicine. Therefore, a new method that estimates salient regions related to chronic gastritis/non-gastritis for supporting diagnosis is presented in this paper. In order to estimate salient regions related to chronic gastritis/non-gastritis, the proposed method monitors the distance between a target image feature and Support Vector Machine (SVM)-based hyperplane for its classification. Furthermore, our method realizes removal of the influence of regions outside the stomach by using positional relationships between the stomach and other organs. Consequently, since the proposed method successfully estimates salient regions of gastric X-ray images for which chronic gastritis and non-gastritis are unknown, visual support for inexperienced clinicians becomes feasible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Red to green or fast to slow? Infants' visual working memory for "just salient differences".

Science.gov (United States)

Kaldy, Zsuzsa; Blaser, Erik

2013-01-01

In this study, 6-month-old infants' visual working memory for a static feature (color) and a dynamic feature (rotational motion) was compared. Comparing infants' use of different features can only be done properly if experimental manipulations to those features are equally salient (Kaldy & Blaser, 2009; Kaldy, Blaser, & Leslie, 2006). The interdimensional salience mapping method was used to find two objects that each were one Just Salient Difference from a common baseline object (N = 16). These calibrated stimuli were then used in a subsequent two-alternative forced-choice preferential looking memory test (N = 28). Results showed that infants noted the color change, but not the equally salient change in rotation speed. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Generation of the vorticity mode by sound in a Bingham plastic

Science.gov (United States)

Perelomova, Anna; Wojda, Pawel

2011-10-01

This study investigates interaction between acoustic and non-acoustic modes, such as vorticity mode, in some class of a non-newtonian fluid called Bingham plastic. The instantaneous equations describing interaction between different modes are derived. The attention is paid to the nonlinear effects in the field of intense sound. The resulting equations which describe dynamics of both sound and the vorticity mode apply to both periodic and aperiodic sound of any waveform. They use only instantaneous quantities and do not imply averaging over the sound period. The theory is illustrated by an example of acoustic force of vorticity induced in the field of a Gaussian sound beam. Some unusual peculiarities in both sound and the vorticity induced in its field as compared to a newtonian fluid, are discovered.

On the second-order homogenization of wave motion in periodic media and the sound of a chessboard

Science.gov (United States)

Wautier, Antoine; Guzina, Bojan B.

2015-05-01

The goal of this study is to better understand the mathematical structure and ramifications of the second-order homogenization of low-frequency wave motion in periodic solids. To this end, multiple-scales asymptotic approach is applied to the scalar wave equation (describing anti-plane shear motion) in one and two spatial dimensions. In contrast to previous studies where the second-order homogenization has lead to the introduction of a single fourth-order derivative in the governing equation, present investigation demonstrates that such (asymptotic) approach results in a family of field equations uniting spatial, temporal, and mixed fourth-order derivatives - that jointly control incipient wave dispersion. Given the consequent freedom in selecting the affiliated lengthscale parameters, the notion of an optimal asymptotic model is next considered in a one-dimensional setting via its ability to capture the salient features of wave propagation within the first Brillouin zone, including the onset and magnitude of the phononic band gap. In the context of two-dimensional wave propagation, on the other hand, the asymptotic analysis is first established in a general setting, exposing the constant shear modulus as sufficient condition under which the second-order approximation of a bi-periodic elastic solid is both isotropic and limited to even-order derivatives. On adopting a chessboard-like periodic structure (with contrasts in both modulus and mass density) as a testbed for in-depth analytical treatment, it is next shown that the second-order approximation of germane wave motion is governed by a family fourth-order differential equations that: (i) entail exclusively even-order derivatives and homogenization coefficients that depend explicitly on the contrast in mass density; (ii) describe anisotropic wave dispersion characterized by the "sin4 θ +cos4 θ" term, and (iii) include the asymptotic model for a square lattice of circular inclusions as degenerate case. For

Effects of End CAP and Aspect Ratio on Transmission of Sound across a Truss-Like Periodic Double Panel

Science.gov (United States)

EL-RAHEB, M.; WAGNER, P.

2002-02-01

Transmission of sound across 2-D truss-like periodic double panels separated by an air gap and in contact with an acoustic fluid on the external faces is analyzed. Each panel is made of repeated cells. Combining the transfer matrices of the unit cell forms a set of equations for the overall elastic frequency response. The acoustic pressure in the fluids is expressed using a source boundary element method. Adding rigid reflecting end caps confines the air in the gap between panels which influences sound transmission. Measured values of transmission loss differ from the 2-D model by the wide low-frequency dip of the mass-spring-mass or “msm” resonance also termed the “air gap resonance”. In this case, the panels act as rigid masses and the air gap acts as an adiabatic air spring. Results from the idealized 3-D and 2-D models, incorporating rigid cavities and elastic plates, reveal that the “msm” dip is absent in 2-D models radiating into a semi-infinite medium. The dip strengthens as aspect ratio approaches unity. Even when the dip disappears in 2-D, TL rises more steeply for frequencies above the “msm” frequency.

Foley Sounds vs Real Sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trento, Stefano; Götzen, Amalia De

2011-01-01

This paper is an initial attempt to study the world of sound effects for motion pictures, also known as Foley sounds. Throughout several audio and audio-video tests we have compared both Foley and real sounds originated by an identical action. The main purpose was to evaluate if sound effects...

78 FR 13869 - Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-01

...-123-LNG; 12-128-NG; 12-148-NG; 12- 158-NG] Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; CE FLNG, LLC; Consolidated...-NG Puget Sound Energy, Inc Order granting long- term authority to import/export natural gas from/to...

RASS sound speed profile (SSP) measurements for use in outdoor sound propagation models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradley, S G [Physics Department, University of Auckland (New Zealand); Huenerbein, S v; Waddington, D [Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment, University of Salford (United Kingdom)], E-mail: s.vonhunerbein@salford.ac.uk

2008-05-01

The performance of outdoor sound propagation models depends to a great extent on meteorological input parameters. In an effort to improve speed and accuracy, model output synthetic sound speed profiles (SSP) are commonly used depending on meteorological classification schemes. In order to use SSP measured by RASS in outdoor sound propagation models, the complex profiles need to be simplified. In this paper we extend an investigation on the spatial and temporal characteristics of the meteorological data set required to yield adequate comparisons between models and field measurements, so that the models can be fairly judged. Vertical SSP from RASS, SODAR wind profiles as well as mast wind and temperature data from a flat terrain site and measured over a period of several months are used to evaluate applicability of the logarithmic approximation for a stability classification scheme proposed by the HARMONOISE working group.

RASS sound speed profile (SSP) measurements for use in outdoor sound propagation models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bradley, S G; Huenerbein, S v; Waddington, D

2008-01-01

The performance of outdoor sound propagation models depends to a great extent on meteorological input parameters. In an effort to improve speed and accuracy, model output synthetic sound speed profiles (SSP) are commonly used depending on meteorological classification schemes. In order to use SSP measured by RASS in outdoor sound propagation models, the complex profiles need to be simplified. In this paper we extend an investigation on the spatial and temporal characteristics of the meteorological data set required to yield adequate comparisons between models and field measurements, so that the models can be fairly judged. Vertical SSP from RASS, SODAR wind profiles as well as mast wind and temperature data from a flat terrain site and measured over a period of several months are used to evaluate applicability of the logarithmic approximation for a stability classification scheme proposed by the HARMONOISE working group

A review of salient elements defining team collaboration in paediatric rehabilitation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijhuis, B. J. G.; Reinders-Messelink, H. A.; de Blecourt, A. C. E.; Olijve, W. G.; Groothoff, J. W.; Nakken, H.; Postema, K.; Postuma, K.

Objective: To explicate the complex process of team collaboration and identify salient elements of team collaboration in paediatric rehabilitation. Data sources: After an initial search to define key features of team collaboration a systematic search on team collaboration and the key features was

Sexual dimorphism of sonic apparatus and extreme intersexual variation of sounds in Ophidion rochei (Ophidiidae: first evidence of a tight relationship between morphology and sound characteristics in Ophidiidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kéver Loïc

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many Ophidiidae are active in dark environments and display complex sonic apparatus morphologies. However, sound recordings are scarce and little is known about acoustic communication in this family. This paper focuses on Ophidion rochei which is known to display an important sexual dimorphism in swimbladder and anterior skeleton. The aims of this study were to compare the sound producing morphology, and the resulting sounds in juveniles, females and males of O. rochei. Results Males, females, and juveniles possessed different morphotypes. Females and juveniles contrasted with males because they possessed dramatic differences in morphology of their sonic muscles, swimbladder, supraoccipital crest, and first vertebrae and associated ribs. Further, they lacked the ‘rocker bone’ typically found in males. Sounds from each morphotype were highly divergent. Males generally produced non harmonic, multiple-pulsed sounds that lasted for several seconds (3.5 ± 1.3 s with a pulse period of ca. 100 ms. Juvenile and female sounds were recorded for the first time in ophidiids. Female sounds were harmonic, had shorter pulse period (±3.7 ms, and never exceeded a few dozen milliseconds (18 ± 11 ms. Moreover, unlike male sounds, female sounds did not have alternating long and short pulse periods. Juvenile sounds were weaker but appear to be similar to female sounds. Conclusions Although it is not possible to distinguish externally male from female in O. rochei, they show a sonic apparatus and sounds that are dramatically different. This difference is likely due to their nocturnal habits that may have favored the evolution of internal secondary sexual characters that help to distinguish males from females and that could facilitate mate choice by females. Moreover, the comparison of different morphotypes in this study shows that these morphological differences result from a peramorphosis that takes place during the development of

The NASA Sounding Rocket Program and space sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Gurkin, L. W.

1992-01-01

High altitude suborbital rockets (sounding rockets) have been extensively used for space science research in the post-World War II period; the NASA Sounding Rocket Program has been on-going since the inception of the Agency and supports all space science disciplines. In recent years, sounding rockets have been utilized to provide a low gravity environment for materials processing research, particularly in the commercial sector. Sounding rockets offer unique features as a low gravity flight platform. Quick response and low cost combine to provide more frequent spaceflight opportunities. Suborbital spacecraft design practice has achieved a high level of sophistication which optimizes the limited available flight times. High data-rate telemetry, real-time ground up-link command and down-link video data are routinely used in sounding rocket payloads. Standard, off-the-shelf, active control systems are available which limit payload body rates such that the gravitational environment remains less than 10(-4) g during the control period. Operational launch vehicles are available which can provide up to 7 minutes of experiment time for experiment weights up to 270 kg. Standard payload recovery systems allow soft impact retrieval of payloads. When launched from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, payloads can be retrieved and returned to the launch site within hours.

The redoubtable ecological periodic table

Science.gov (United States)

Ecological periodic tables are repositories of reliable information on quantitative, predictably recurring (periodic) habitat–community patterns and their uncertainty, scaling and transferability. Their reliability derives from their grounding in sound ecological principle...

Sound

CERN Document Server

Robertson, William C

2003-01-01

Muddled about what makes music? Stuck on the study of harmonics? Dumbfounded by how sound gets around? Now you no longer have to struggle to teach concepts you really don t grasp yourself. Sound takes an intentionally light touch to help out all those adults science teachers, parents wanting to help with homework, home-schoolers seeking necessary scientific background to teach middle school physics with confidence. The book introduces sound waves and uses that model to explain sound-related occurrences. Starting with the basics of what causes sound and how it travels, you'll learn how musical instruments work, how sound waves add and subtract, how the human ear works, and even why you can sound like a Munchkin when you inhale helium. Sound is the fourth book in the award-winning Stop Faking It! Series, published by NSTA Press. Like the other popular volumes, it is written by irreverent educator Bill Robertson, who offers this Sound recommendation: One of the coolest activities is whacking a spinning metal rod...

Salient Predictors of School Dropout among Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Doren, Bonnie; Murray, Christopher; Gau, Jeff M.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the unique contributions of a comprehensive set of predictors and the most salient predictors of school dropout among a nationally representative sample of students with learning disabilities (LD). A comprehensive set of theoretically and empirically relevant factors was selected for examination. Analyses…

Detection of Emotional Faces: Salient Physical Features Guide Effective Visual Search

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, Manuel G.; Nummenmaa, Lauri

2008-01-01

In this study, the authors investigated how salient visual features capture attention and facilitate detection of emotional facial expressions. In a visual search task, a target emotional face (happy, disgusted, fearful, angry, sad, or surprised) was presented in an array of neutral faces. Faster detection of happy and, to a lesser extent,…

Salient Beliefs of Secondary School Mathematics Teachers Using Dynamic Geometry Software

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Kan Kan

2015-01-01

Even though dynamic geometry software (DGS) is becoming an emergent instructional tool for mathematics teachers, many teachers are still in the process of consideration about whether to use it. In order to encourage teachers to use DGS, this study seeks to discover mathematics teachers' salient beliefs about the use of DGS in mathematics class.…

Salient Key Features of Actual English Instructional Practices in Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Seghayer, Khalid

2015-01-01

This is a comprehensive review of the salient key features of the actual English instructional practices in Saudi Arabia. The goal of this work is to gain insights into the practices and pedagogic approaches to English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching currently employed in this country. In particular, we identify the following central features…

Spatial filtering of audible sound with acoustic landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shuping; Tao, Jiancheng; Qiu, Xiaojun; Cheng, Jianchun

2017-07-01

Acoustic metasurfaces manipulate waves with specially designed structures and achieve properties that natural materials cannot offer. Similar surfaces work in audio frequency range as well and lead to marvelous acoustic phenomena that can be perceived by human ears. Being intrigued by the famous Maoshan Bugle phenomenon, we investigate large scale metasurfaces consisting of periodic steps of sizes comparable to the wavelength of audio frequency in both time and space domains. We propose a theoretical method to calculate the scattered sound field and find that periodic corrugated surfaces work as spatial filters and the frequency selective character can only be observed at the same side as the incident wave. The Maoshan Bugle phenomenon can be well explained with the method. Finally, we demonstrate that the proposed method can be used to design acoustical landscapes, which transform impulsive sound into famous trumpet solos or other melodious sound.

Spectral envelope sensitivity of musical instrument sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunawan, David; Sen, D

2008-01-01

It is well known that the spectral envelope is a perceptually salient attribute in musical instrument timbre perception. While a number of studies have explored discrimination thresholds for changes to the spectral envelope, the question of how sensitivity varies as a function of center frequency and bandwidth for musical instruments has yet to be addressed. In this paper a two-alternative forced-choice experiment was conducted to observe perceptual sensitivity to modifications made on trumpet, clarinet and viola sounds. The experiment involved attenuating 14 frequency bands for each instrument in order to determine discrimination thresholds as a function of center frequency and bandwidth. The results indicate that perceptual sensitivity is governed by the first few harmonics and sensitivity does not improve when extending the bandwidth any higher. However, sensitivity was found to decrease if changes were made only to the higher frequencies and continued to decrease as the distorted bandwidth was widened. The results are analyzed and discussed with respect to two other spectral envelope discrimination studies in the literature as well as what is predicted from a psychoacoustic model.

Comparison of Flux Regulation Ability of the Hybrid Excitation Doubly Salient Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, ZhiHui; Wang, Bo; Chen, Zhe

2014-01-01

A hybrid excitation doubly salient machine (DSM) (HEDSM) can adjust the air gap flux with the limited field exciting ampere-turns. There are a few studied structures with different air gap flux regulation abilities. In this paper, several HEDSMs with different structures are analyzed by using an ...

The Effect of Resolution on Detecting Visually Salient Preattentive Features

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

resolutions in descending order (a–e). The plot compiles the areas of interest displayed in the images and each symbol represents 1 of the images. Data...to particular regions in a scene by highly salient 2 features, for example, the color of the flower discussed in the previous example. These...descending order (a–e). The plot compiles the areas of interest displayed in the images and each symbol represents 1 of the images. Data clusters

Sensorless Speed Control including zero speed of Non Salient PM Synchronous Drives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Henrik

This paper presents a position sensorless drive of non salient pole PM synchronous motors for all speeds including zero speed. Using adaptive Lyapunov design a new approach for the design of an observer is developed. The resulting scheme leads to a nonlinear full order observer for the motor states...

Sensorless Speed Control including zero speed of Non Salient PM Synchronous Drives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Henrik

2005-01-01

This paper presents a position sensorless drive of non salient pole PM synchronous motors for all speeds including zero speed. Using adaptive Lyapunov design a new approach for the design of an observer is developed. The resulting scheme leads to a nonlinear full order observer for the motor states...

Sensorless speed Control including Zero Speed on Non Salient PM Synchronous Drives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Henrik

2006-01-01

This paper presents a position sensorless drive of non salient pole PM synchronous motors for all speeds including zero speed. Using adaptive Lyapunov design a new approach for the design of an observer is developed. The resulting scheme leads to a nonlinear full order observer for the motor states...

Earliest Memories and Recent Memories of Highly Salient Events--Are They Similar?

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Carole; Fowler, Tania; Brandeau, Katherine M.

2015-01-01

Four- to 11-year-old children were interviewed about 2 different sorts of memories in the same home visit: recent memories of highly salient and stressful events--namely, injuries serious enough to require hospital emergency room treatment--and their earliest memories. Injury memories were scored for amount of unique information, completeness…

The Impact of Salient Advertisements on Reading and Attention on Web Pages

Science.gov (United States)

Simola, Jaana; Kuisma, Jarmo; Oorni, Anssi; Uusitalo, Liisa; Hyona, Jukka

2011-01-01

Human vision is sensitive to salient features such as motion. Therefore, animation and onset of advertisements on Websites may attract visual attention and disrupt reading. We conducted three eye tracking experiments with authentic Web pages to assess whether (a) ads are efficiently ignored, (b) ads attract overt visual attention and disrupt…

Sound algorithms

OpenAIRE

De Götzen , Amalia; Mion , Luca; Tache , Olivier

2007-01-01

International audience; We call sound algorithms the categories of algorithms that deal with digital sound signal. Sound algorithms appeared in the very infancy of computer. Sound algorithms present strong specificities that are the consequence of two dual considerations: the properties of the digital sound signal itself and its uses, and the properties of auditory perception.

When message-frame fits salient cultural-frame, messages feel more persuasive.

Science.gov (United States)

Uskul, Ayse K; Oyserman, Daphna

2010-03-01

The present study examines the persuasive effects of tailored health messages comparing those tailored to match (versus not match) both chronic cultural frame and momentarily salient cultural frame. Evidence from two studies (Study 1: n = 72 European Americans; Study 2: n = 48 Asian Americans) supports the hypothesis that message persuasiveness increases when chronic cultural frame, health message tailoring and momentarily salient cultural frame all match. The hypothesis was tested using a message about health risks of caffeine consumption among individuals prescreened to be regular caffeine consumers. After being primed for individualism, European Americans who read a health message that focused on the personal self were more likely to accept the message-they found it more persuasive, believed they were more at risk and engaged in more message-congruent behaviour. These effects were also found among Asian Americans who were primed for collectivism and who read a health message that focused on relational obligations. The findings point to the importance of investigating the role of situational cues in persuasive effects of health messages and suggest that matching content to primed frame consistent with the chronic frame may be a way to know what to match messages to.

46 CFR 7.20 - Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, MA, Block Island Sound and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, MA, Block Island Sound and easterly entrance to Long Island Sound, NY. 7.20 Section 7.20... Atlantic Coast § 7.20 Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, MA, Block Island...

Salient value similarity, social trust, and attitudes toward wildland fire management strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Jerry J. Vaske; James D. Absher; Alan D. Bright

2007-01-01

Using the salient value similarity (SVS) model, we predicted that social trust mediated the relationship between SVS and attitudes toward prescribed burns and mechanical thinning. Data were obtained from a mail survey (n = 532) of Colorado residents living in the wildland-urban interface. Results indicated that respondents shared the same values as U...

High frequency components of tracheal sound are emphasized during prolonged flow limitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenhunen, M; Huupponen, E; Saastamoinen, A; Kulkas, A; Himanen, S-L; Rauhala, E

2009-01-01

A nasal pressure transducer, which is used to study nocturnal airflow, also provides information about the inspiratory flow waveform. A round flow shape is presented during normal breathing. A flattened, non-round shape is found during hypopneas and it can also appear in prolonged episodes. The significance of this prolonged flow limitation is still not established. A tracheal sound spectrum has been analyzed further in order to achieve additional information about breathing during sleep. Increased sound frequencies over 500 Hz have been connected to obstruction of the upper airway. The aim of the present study was to examine the tracheal sound signal content of prolonged flow limitation and to find out whether prolonged flow limitation would consist of abundant high frequency activity. Sleep recordings of 36 consecutive patients were examined. The tracheal sound spectral analysis was performed on 10 min episodes of prolonged flow limitation, normal breathing and periodic apnea-hypopnea breathing. The highest total spectral amplitude, implicating loudest sounds, occurred during flow-limited breathing which also presented loudest sounds in all frequency bands above 100 Hz. In addition, the tracheal sound signal during flow-limited breathing constituted proportionally more high frequency activities compared to normal breathing and even periodic apnea-hypopnea breathing

Evidence of sound production by spawning lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in lakes Huron and Champlain

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Nicholas S.; Higgs, Dennis; Binder, Thomas R.; Marsden, J. Ellen; Buchinger, Tyler John; Brege, Linnea; Bruning, Tyler; Farha, Steve A.; Krueger, Charles C.

2018-01-01

Two sounds associated with spawning lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in lakes Huron and Champlain were characterized by comparing sound recordings to behavioral data collected using acoustic telemetry and video. These sounds were named growls and snaps, and were heard on lake trout spawning reefs, but not on a non-spawning reef, and were more common at night than during the day. Growls also occurred more often during the spawning period than the pre-spawning period, while the trend for snaps was reversed. In a laboratory flume, sounds occurred when male lake trout were displaying spawning behaviors; growls when males were quivering and parallel swimming, and snaps when males moved their jaw. Combining our results with the observation of possible sound production by spawning splake (Salvelinus fontinalis × Salvelinus namaycush hybrid), provides rare evidence for spawning-related sound production by a salmonid, or any other fish in the superorder Protacanthopterygii. Further characterization of these sounds could be useful for lake trout assessment, restoration, and control.

Exploring dietitians' salient beliefs about shared decision-making behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gagnon Marie-Pierre

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Shared decision making (SDM, a process by which health professionals and patients go through the decision-making process together to agree on treatment, is a promising strategy for promoting diet-related decisions that are informed and value based and to which patients adhere well. The objective of the present study was to identify dietitians' salient beliefs regarding their exercise of two behaviors during the clinical encounter, both of which have been deemed essential for SDM to take place: (1 presenting patients with all dietary treatment options for a given health condition and (2 helping patients clarify their values and preferences regarding the options. Methods Twenty-one dietitians were allocated to four focus groups. Facilitators conducted the focus groups using a semistructured interview guide based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Discussions were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed with NVivo8 (QSR International, Cambridge, MA software. Results Most participants stated that better patient adherence to treatment was an advantage of adopting the two SDM behaviors. Dietitians identified patients, physicians, and the multidisciplinary team as normative referents who would approve or disapprove of their adoption of the SDM behaviors. The most often reported barriers and facilitators for the behaviors concerned patients' characteristics, patients' clinical situation, and time. Conclusions The implementation of SDM in nutrition clinical practice can be guided by addressing dietitians' salient beliefs. Identifying these beliefs also provides the theoretical framework needed for developing a quantitative survey questionnaire to further study the determinants of dietitians' adoption of SDM behaviors.

Ten Salient Practices of Undergraduate Research Mentors: A Review of the Literature

Science.gov (United States)

Shanahan, Jenny Olin; Ackley-Holbrook, Elizabeth; Hall, Eric; Stewart, Kearsley; Walkington, Helen

2015-01-01

This paper identifies salient practices of faculty mentors of undergraduate research (UR) as indicated in the extensive literature of the past two decades on UR. The well-established benefits for students involved in UR are dependent, first and foremost, on high-quality mentoring. Mentorship is a defining feature of UR. As more and different types…

Dissonance: scientific paradigms underpinning the study of sound in geography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Paiva

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The objective of this article is to approach the different conceptions of sound – and its relations to the underlying scientific paradigms – that emerged throughout the history of geography. There has been a growing interest among geographers in understanding the spatialities of sound, and geographies of sound have become an emerging subfield of the discipline. For this reason, it is the right time to address how the discipline has approached sound throughout its history. Several theoretical perspectives influenced geography in the twentieth century, changing its methodologies and how its subjects were conceived. Sound, like other subjects, has been conceived very differently by geographers of competing paradigms. Concepts such as noise, soundscape, or sound as affect, among others, have dominated geographies of sound at specific periods. Due to the marginality of the subject in the discipline, assessments of these conceptual shifts are rare. I tackle this issue in this article as I provide a first attempt of writing a history of sound in geography. The article reviews debates regarding the name of the subfield, and the conceptions of sound in the successive and competing scientific paradigms in geography.

Sound transmission through lightweight double-leaf partitions: theoretical modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Lu, T. J.; Woodhouse, J.; Langley, R. S.; Evans, J.

2005-09-01

This paper presents theoretical modelling of the sound transmission loss through double-leaf lightweight partitions stiffened with periodically placed studs. First, by assuming that the effect of the studs can be replaced with elastic springs uniformly distributed between the sheathing panels, a simple smeared model is established. Second, periodic structure theory is used to develop a more accurate model taking account of the discrete placing of the studs. Both models treat incident sound waves in the horizontal plane only, for simplicity. The predictions of the two models are compared, to reveal the physical mechanisms determining sound transmission. The smeared model predicts relatively simple behaviour, in which the only conspicuous features are associated with coincidence effects with the two types of structural wave allowed by the partition model, and internal resonances of the air between the panels. In the periodic model, many more features are evident, associated with the structure of pass- and stop-bands for structural waves in the partition. The models are used to explain the effects of incidence angle and of the various system parameters. The predictions are compared with existing test data for steel plates with wooden stiffeners, and good agreement is obtained.

Walrus Movements in Smith Sound: A Canada - Greenland Shared Stock

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heide-Jorgensen, Mads Peter; Flora, Janne; Andersen, Astrid O.

2017-01-01

Fifty of 58 walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) instrumented with satellite-linked transmitters in four areas in eastern Smith Sound, Northwest Greenland, during May and June of 2010 – 13 and 2015 provided data for this study. These animals departed from the feeding banks along the Greenland...... coast in June – July (average 14th June), simultaneously with the disappearance of sea ice from these areas. Most of them moved to Canadian waters in western Smith Sound. The most frequently used summering grounds were along the coasts of Ellesmere Island: on the eastern coast, the area around Alexandra...... of Jones Sound and Lancaster Sound for short periods during the summer, though this cannot be confirmed with certainty. The return migration from western Smith Sound to the wintering area in eastern Smith Sound takes place in October. The tracked walrus showed high affinity to coastal areas, while walruses...

When Politics Matters: The Impact of Politicians' and Bureaucrats' Policy Preferences on Salient and Nonsalient Policy Areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bækgaard, Martin; Blom-Hansen, Jens; Serritzlew, Søren

2015-01-01

whether politics still matters when bureaucratic preferences are taken into account. We do this in a simultaneous test of political and bureaucratic influences on public budgets, a policy measure often studied in the ‘politics matters’ literature. We find that political preferences trump bureaucratic ones...... in policy areas salient to the public, but not in less salient areas. This might be comforting news from a democratic perspective. However, since public budgets represent an easy case for political influence, it is food for thought that political preferences do not always prevail....

The kinematic evolution of the Serra Central Salient, Eastern Brazil: A Neoproterozoic progressive arc in northern Espinhaço fold-thrust belt

Science.gov (United States)

Bersan, Samuel Moreira; Danderfer, André; Lagoeiro, Leonardo; Costa, Alice Fernanda de Oliveira

2017-12-01

Convex-to-the-foreland map-view curves are common features in fold-thrust belts around cratonic areas. These features are easily identifiable in belts composed of supracrustal rocks but have been rarely described in rocks from relatively deeper crustal levels where plastic deformation mechanisms stand out. Several local salients have been described in Neoproterozoic marginal fold-thrust belts around the São Francisco craton. In the northern part of the Espinhaço fold-thrust belt, which borders the eastern portion of the São Francisco craton, both Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement rocks and Proterozoic cover rocks are involved in the so-called Serra Central salient. A combination of conventional structural analysis and microstructural and paleostress studies were conducted to characterize the kinematic and the overall architecture and processes involved in the generation of this salient. The results allowed us to determine that the deformation along the Serra Central salient occur under low-grade metamorphic conditions and was related to a gently oblique convergence with westward mass transport that developed in a confined flow, controlled by two transverse bounding shear zones. We propose that the Serra Central salient nucleates as a basin-controlled primary arc that evolves to a progressive arc with secondary vertical axis rotation. This secondary rotation, well-illustrated by the presence of two almost orthogonal families of folds, was dominantly controlled by buttress effect exert by a basement high located in the foreland of the Serra Central salient.

Spatial discretization methods for air gap permeance calculations in double salient traction motors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ilhan, E.; Kremers, M.F.J.; Motoasca, T.E.; Paulides, J.J.H.; Lomonova, E.

2012-01-01

Weight limitations in electric/hybrid cars demand the highest possible power-to-weight ratio from the traction motor, as in double salient permanent magnet (PM) machines. Their high flux densities in the air gap result in nonlinear analytical models, which need to be time optimized. The incorporated

Technological and economical analysis of salient pole and permanent magnet synchronous machines designed for wind turbines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guendogdu, Tayfun, E-mail: tgundogdu@itu.edu.tr [Istanbul Technical University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Ayazaga Campus, 34469 Maslak/Istanbul (Turkey); Koemuergoez, Gueven, E-mail: komurgoz@itu.edu.tr [Istanbul Technical University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Ayazaga Campus, 34469 Maslak/Istanbul (Turkey)

2012-08-15

Chinese export restrictions already reduced the planning reliability for investments in permanent magnet wind turbines. Today the production of permanent magnets consumes the largest proportion of rare earth elements, with 40% of the rare earth-based magnets used for generators and other electrical machines. The cost and availability of NdFeB magnets will likely determine the production rate of permanent magnet generators. The high volatility of rare earth metals makes it very difficult to quote a price. Prices may also vary from supplier to supplier to an extent of up to 50% for the same size, shape and quantity with a minor difference in quality. The paper presents the analysis and the comparison of salient pole with field winding and of peripheral winding synchronous electrical machines, presenting important advantages. A neodymium alloy magnet rotor structure has been considered and compared to the salient rotor case. The Salient Pole Synchronous Machine and the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine were designed so that the plate values remain constant. The Eddy current effect on the windings is taken into account during the design, and the efficiency, output power and the air-gap flux density obtained after the simulation were compared. The analysis results clearly indicate that Salient Pole Synchronous Machine designs would be attractive to wind power companies. Furthermore, the importance of the design of electrical machines and the determination of criteria are emphasized. This paper will be a helpful resource in terms of examination and comparison of the basic structure and magnetic features of the Salient Pole Synchronous Machine and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine. Furthermore, an economic analysis of the designed machines was conducted. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Importance of the design of electrical machines and the determination of criteria are emphasized. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Machines were investigated in terms of

Technological and economical analysis of salient pole and permanent magnet synchronous machines designed for wind turbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gündoğdu, Tayfun; Kömürgöz, Güven

2012-01-01

Chinese export restrictions already reduced the planning reliability for investments in permanent magnet wind turbines. Today the production of permanent magnets consumes the largest proportion of rare earth elements, with 40% of the rare earth-based magnets used for generators and other electrical machines. The cost and availability of NdFeB magnets will likely determine the production rate of permanent magnet generators. The high volatility of rare earth metals makes it very difficult to quote a price. Prices may also vary from supplier to supplier to an extent of up to 50% for the same size, shape and quantity with a minor difference in quality. The paper presents the analysis and the comparison of salient pole with field winding and of peripheral winding synchronous electrical machines, presenting important advantages. A neodymium alloy magnet rotor structure has been considered and compared to the salient rotor case. The Salient Pole Synchronous Machine and the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine were designed so that the plate values remain constant. The Eddy current effect on the windings is taken into account during the design, and the efficiency, output power and the air-gap flux density obtained after the simulation were compared. The analysis results clearly indicate that Salient Pole Synchronous Machine designs would be attractive to wind power companies. Furthermore, the importance of the design of electrical machines and the determination of criteria are emphasized. This paper will be a helpful resource in terms of examination and comparison of the basic structure and magnetic features of the Salient Pole Synchronous Machine and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine. Furthermore, an economic analysis of the designed machines was conducted. - Highlights: ► Importance of the design of electrical machines and the determination of criteria are emphasized. ► Machines were investigated in terms of efficiency, weight and maintenance requirements. ► An

Sound at the zoo: Using animal monitoring, sound measurement, and noise reduction in zoo animal management.

Science.gov (United States)

Orban, David A; Soltis, Joseph; Perkins, Lori; Mellen, Jill D

2017-05-01

A clear need for evidence-based animal management in zoos and aquariums has been expressed by industry leaders. Here, we show how individual animal welfare monitoring can be combined with measurement of environmental conditions to inform science-based animal management decisions. Over the last several years, Disney's Animal Kingdom® has been undergoing significant construction and exhibit renovation, warranting institution-wide animal welfare monitoring. Animal care and science staff developed a model that tracked animal keepers' daily assessments of an animal's physical health, behavior, and responses to husbandry activity; these data were matched to different external stimuli and environmental conditions, including sound levels. A case study of a female giant anteater and her environment is presented to illustrate how this process worked. Associated with this case, several sound-reducing barriers were tested for efficacy in mitigating sound. Integrating daily animal welfare assessment with environmental monitoring can lead to a better understanding of animals and their sensory environment and positively impact animal welfare. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electromagnetic Sampo monitoring soundings at Olkiluoto 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korhonen, K.; Korpisalo, A.; Ojamo, H.

2010-12-01

The Geological Survey of Finland has carried out electromagnetic frequency-domain depth soundings at fixed measurement stations in Olkiluoto annually since 2004. The purpose of the soundings is to monitor the groundwater conditions in the vicinity of the ONKALO rock characterization facility which will ultimately be part of the final nuclear waste disposal facility for the Finnish nuclear power companies. A new monitoring survey was carried out at the turn of May-June 2010. The survey resulted in 38 successfully performed soundings at 10 stations. The data set spanning the time period of 2004 to 2010 was interpreted with layered-earth models. Most of the interpretations indicate no systematic changes in the level of deep saline groundwater. However, at one station there are indications of a systematic rise in the groundwater level. (orig.)

42 CFR 460.80 - Fiscal soundness.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... organization must have a fiscally sound operation, as demonstrated by the following: (1) Total assets greater than total unsubordinated liabilities. (2) Sufficient cash flow and adequate liquidity to meet..., which provides for the following: (1) Continuation of benefits for the duration of the period for which...

Sound-proof Sandwich Panel Design via Metamaterial Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, Ni

Sandwich panels consisting of hollow core cells and two face-sheets bonded on both sides have been widely used as lightweight and strong structures in practical engineering applications, but with poor acoustic performance especially at low frequency regime. Basic sound-proof methods for the sandwich panel design are spontaneously categorized as sound insulation and sound absorption. Motivated by metamaterial concept, this dissertation presents two sandwich panel designs without sacrificing weight or size penalty: A lightweight yet sound-proof honeycomb acoustic metamateiral can be used as core material for honeycomb sandwich panels to block sound and break the mass law to realize minimum sound transmission; the other sandwich panel design is based on coupled Helmholtz resonators and can achieve perfect sound absorption without sound reflection. Based on the honeycomb sandwich panel, the mechanical properties of the honeycomb core structure were studied first. By incorporating a thin membrane on top of each honeycomb core, the traditional honeycomb core turns into honeycomb acoustic metamaterial. The basic theory for such kind of membrane-type acoustic metamaterial is demonstrated by a lumped model with infinite periodic oscillator system, and the negative dynamic effective mass density for clamped membrane is analyzed under the membrane resonance condition. Evanescent wave mode caused by negative dynamic effective mass density and impedance methods are utilized to interpret the physical phenomenon of honeycomb acoustic metamaterials at resonance. The honeycomb metamaterials can extraordinarily improve low-frequency sound transmission loss below the first resonant frequency of the membrane. The property of the membrane, the tension of the membrane and the numbers of attached membranes can impact the sound transmission loss, which are observed by numerical simulations and validated by experiments. The sandwich panel which incorporates the honeycomb metamateiral as

Salient beliefs about eating and buying dark green vegetables as told by Mid-western African–American women☆

Science.gov (United States)

Sheats, Jylana L.; Middlestadt, Susan E.

2013-01-01

Vegetables in the dark green group are the most nutritious, yet intake is low. Studies suggest that an increase in fruit and vegetables may improve diet-related health outcomes of African Americans. The aim of this exploratory study was to use the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to qualitatively assess salient, top-of-the-mind, beliefs (consequences, circumstances and referents) about eating and buying more dark green leafy vegetables each week over the next 3 months. Adult (n = 30), Midwestern African–American women, who buy and prepare food for their household participated in a face-to-face salient belief elicitation. A content analysis of verbatim text and a descriptive analysis were conducted. Findings suggest that the RAA can be used to identify salient consequences, circumstances and referents about eating and buying more dark green leafy vegetables. The use of the RAA allowed for the extraction of specific beliefs that may aid in the development of nutrition education programs that consider the varying priorities, motivators and barriers that subgroups within the population have in regard to buying and consuming dark green leafy vegetables. PMID:23415980

Problems in nonlinear acoustics: Scattering of sound by sound, parametric receiving arrays, nonlinear effects in asymmetric sound beams and pulsed finite amplitude sound beams

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Mark F.

1989-08-01

Four projects are discussed in this annual summary report, all of which involve basic research in nonlinear acoustics: Scattering of Sound by Sound, a theoretical study of two nonconlinear Gaussian beams which interact to produce sum and difference frequency sound; Parametric Receiving Arrays, a theoretical study of parametric reception in a reverberant environment; Nonlinear Effects in Asymmetric Sound Beams, a numerical study of two dimensional finite amplitude sound fields; and Pulsed Finite Amplitude Sound Beams, a numerical time domain solution of the KZK equation.

Acoustic analysis of trill sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhananjaya, N; Yegnanarayana, B; Bhaskararao, Peri

2012-04-01

In this paper, the acoustic-phonetic characteristics of steady apical trills--trill sounds produced by the periodic vibration of the apex of the tongue--are studied. Signal processing methods, namely, zero-frequency filtering and zero-time liftering of speech signals, are used to analyze the excitation source and the resonance characteristics of the vocal tract system, respectively. Although it is natural to expect the effect of trilling on the resonances of the vocal tract system, it is interesting to note that trilling influences the glottal source of excitation as well. The excitation characteristics derived using zero-frequency filtering of speech signals are glottal epochs, strength of impulses at the glottal epochs, and instantaneous fundamental frequency of the glottal vibration. Analysis based on zero-time liftering of speech signals is used to study the dynamic resonance characteristics of vocal tract system during the production of trill sounds. Qualitative analysis of trill sounds in different vowel contexts, and the acoustic cues that may help spotting trills in continuous speech are discussed.

PREFACE: Aerodynamic sound Aerodynamic sound

Science.gov (United States)

Akishita, Sadao

2010-02-01

The modern theory of aerodynamic sound originates from Lighthill's two papers in 1952 and 1954, as is well known. I have heard that Lighthill was motivated in writing the papers by the jet-noise emitted by the newly commercialized jet-engined airplanes at that time. The technology of aerodynamic sound is destined for environmental problems. Therefore the theory should always be applied to newly emerged public nuisances. This issue of Fluid Dynamics Research (FDR) reflects problems of environmental sound in present Japanese technology. The Japanese community studying aerodynamic sound has held an annual symposium since 29 years ago when the late Professor S Kotake and Professor S Kaji of Teikyo University organized the symposium. Most of the Japanese authors in this issue are members of the annual symposium. I should note the contribution of the two professors cited above in establishing the Japanese community of aerodynamic sound research. It is my pleasure to present the publication in this issue of ten papers discussed at the annual symposium. I would like to express many thanks to the Editorial Board of FDR for giving us the chance to contribute these papers. We have a review paper by T Suzuki on the study of jet noise, which continues to be important nowadays, and is expected to reform the theoretical model of generating mechanisms. Professor M S Howe and R S McGowan contribute an analytical paper, a valuable study in today's fluid dynamics research. They apply hydrodynamics to solve the compressible flow generated in the vocal cords of the human body. Experimental study continues to be the main methodology in aerodynamic sound, and it is expected to explore new horizons. H Fujita's study on the Aeolian tone provides a new viewpoint on major, longstanding sound problems. The paper by M Nishimura and T Goto on textile fabrics describes new technology for the effective reduction of bluff-body noise. The paper by T Sueki et al also reports new technology for the

Winter sound-level characterization of the Deaf Smith County location in the Palo Duro Basin, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-03-01

A description of sound levels and sound sources in the Deaf Smith County location in the Palo Duro Basin during a period representative of the winter season is presented. Data were collected during the period February 26 through March 1, 1983. 4 references, 1 figure, 3 tables

Broadband low-frequency sound isolation by lightweight adaptive metamaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Yunhong; Chen, Yangyang; Huang, Guoliang; Zhou, Xiaoming

2018-03-01

Blocking broadband low-frequency airborne noises is highly desirable in lots of engineering applications, while it is extremely difficult to be realized with lightweight materials and/or structures. Recently, a new class of lightweight adaptive metamaterials with hybrid shunting circuits has been proposed, demonstrating super broadband structure-borne bandgaps. In this study, we aim at examining their potentials in broadband sound isolation by establishing an analytical model that rigorously combines the piezoelectric dynamic couplings between adaptive metamaterials and acoustics. Sound transmission loss of the adaptive metamaterial is investigated with respect to both the frequency and angular spectrum to demonstrate their sound-insulation effects. We find that efficient sound isolation can indeed be pursued in the broadband bi-spectrum for not only the case of the small resonator's periodicity where only one mode relevant to the mass-spring resonance exists, but also for the large-periodicity scenario, so that the total weight can be even lighter, in which the multiple plate-resonator coupling modes appear. In the latter case, the negative spring stiffness provided by the piezoelectric stack has been utilized to suppress the resonance-induced high acoustic transmission. Such kinds of adaptive metamaterials could open a new approach for broadband noise isolation with extremely lightweight structures.

Increasing low frequency sound attenuation using compounded single layer of sonic crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Gulia, Preeti; Gupta, Arpan

2018-05-01

Sonic crystals (SC) are man-made periodic structures where sound hard scatterers are arranged in a crystalline manner. SC reduces noise in a particular range of frequencies called as band gap. Sonic crystals have a promising application in noise shielding; however, the application is limited due to the size of structure. Particularly for low frequencies, the structure becomes quite bulky, restricting its practical application. This paper presents a compounded model of SC, which has the same overall area and filling fraction but with increased low frequency sound attenuation. Two cases have been considered, a three layer SC and a compounded single layer SC. Both models have been analyzed using finite element simulation and plane wave expansion method. Band gaps for periodic structures have been obtained using both methods which are in good agreement. Further, sound transmission loss has been evaluated using finite element method. The results demonstrate the use of compounded model of Sonic Crystal for low frequency sound attenuation.

The Use of an Open Field Model to Assess Sound-Induced Fear and Anxiety Associated Behaviors in Labrador Retrievers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gruen, Margaret E; Case, Beth C; Foster, Melanie L; Lazarowski, Lucia; Fish, Richard E; Landsberg, Gary; DePuy, Venita; Dorman, David C; Sherman, Barbara L

2015-01-01

Previous studies have shown that the playing of thunderstorm recordings during an open-field task elicits fearful or anxious responses in adult beagles. The goal of our study was to apply this open field test to assess sound-induced behaviors in Labrador retrievers drawn from a pool of candidate improvised explosive devices (IED)-detection dogs. Being robust to fear-inducing sounds and recovering quickly is a critical requirement of these military working dogs. This study presented male and female dogs, with 3 minutes of either ambient noise (Days 1, 3 and 5), recorded thunderstorm (Day 2), or gunfire (Day 4) sounds in an open field arena. Behavioral and physiological responses were assessed and compared to control (ambient noise) periods. An observer blinded to sound treatment analyzed video records of the 9-minute daily test sessions. Additional assessments included measurement of distance traveled (activity), heart rate, body temperature, and salivary cortisol concentrations. Overall, there was a decline in distance traveled and heart rate within each day and over the five-day test period, suggesting that dogs habituated to the open field arena. Behavioral postures and expressions were assessed using a standardized rubric to score behaviors linked to canine fear and anxiety. These fear/anxiety scores were used to evaluate changes in behaviors following exposure to a sound stressor. Compared to control periods, there was an overall increase in fear/anxiety scores during thunderstorm and gunfire sound stimuli treatment periods. Fear/anxiety scores were correlated with distance traveled, and heart rate. Fear/anxiety scores in response to thunderstorm and gunfire were correlated. Dogs showed higher fear/anxiety scores during periods after the sound stimuli compared to control periods. In general, candidate IED-detection Labrador retrievers responded to sound stimuli and recovered quickly, although dogs stratified in their response to sound stimuli. Some dogs were

Segmentation of heart sound recordings by a duration-dependent hidden Markov model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, S E; Graff, C; Toft, E; Struijk, J J; Holst-Hansen, C

2010-01-01

Digital stethoscopes offer new opportunities for computerized analysis of heart sounds. Segmentation of heart sound recordings into periods related to the first and second heart sound (S1 and S2) is fundamental in the analysis process. However, segmentation of heart sounds recorded with handheld stethoscopes in clinical environments is often complicated by background noise. A duration-dependent hidden Markov model (DHMM) is proposed for robust segmentation of heart sounds. The DHMM identifies the most likely sequence of physiological heart sounds, based on duration of the events, the amplitude of the signal envelope and a predefined model structure. The DHMM model was developed and tested with heart sounds recorded bedside with a commercially available handheld stethoscope from a population of patients referred for coronary arterioangiography. The DHMM identified 890 S1 and S2 sounds out of 901 which corresponds to 98.8% (CI: 97.8–99.3%) sensitivity in 73 test patients and 13 misplaced sounds out of 903 identified sounds which corresponds to 98.6% (CI: 97.6–99.1%) positive predictivity. These results indicate that the DHMM is an appropriate model of the heart cycle and suitable for segmentation of clinically recorded heart sounds

Role of sound stimulation in reprogramming brain connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhury, Sraboni; Nag, Tapas C; Jain, Suman; Wadhwa, Shashi

2013-09-01

Sensory stimulation has a critical role to play in the development of an individual. Environmental factors tend to modify the inputs received by the sensory pathway. The developing brain is most vulnerable to these alterations and interacts with the environment to modify its neural circuitry. In addition to other sensory stimuli, auditory stimulation can also act as external stimuli to provide enrichment during the perinatal period. There is evidence that suggests that enriched environment in the form of auditory stimulation can play a substantial role in modulating plasticity during the prenatal period. This review focuses on the emerging role of prenatal auditory stimulation in the development of higher brain functions such as learning and memory in birds and mammals. The molecular mechanisms of various changes in the hippocampus following sound stimulation to effect neurogenesis, learning and memory are described. Sound stimulation can also modify neural connectivity in the early postnatal life to enhance higher cognitive function or even repair the secondary damages in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Thus, it becomes imperative to examine in detail the possible ameliorating effects of prenatal sound stimulation in existing animal models of various psychiatric disorders, such as autism.

Imagining Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grimshaw, Mark; Garner, Tom Alexander

2014-01-01

We make the case in this essay that sound that is imagined is both a perception and as much a sound as that perceived through external stimulation. To argue this, we look at the evidence from auditory science, neuroscience, and philosophy, briefly present some new conceptual thinking on sound...... that accounts for this view, and then use this to look at what the future might hold in the context of imagining sound and developing technology....

Effects of temperature on sound production and auditory abilities in the Striped Raphael catfish Platydoras armatulus (Family Doradidae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Papes

Full Text Available Sound production and hearing sensitivity of ectothermic animals are affected by the ambient temperature. This is the first study investigating the influence of temperature on both sound production and on hearing abilities in a fish species, namely the neotropical Striped Raphael catfish Platydoras armatulus.Doradid catfishes produce stridulation sounds by rubbing the pectoral spines in the shoulder girdle and drumming sounds by an elastic spring mechanism which vibrates the swimbladder. Eight fish were acclimated for at least three weeks to 22°, then to 30° and again to 22°C. Sounds were recorded in distress situations when fish were hand-held. The stridulation sounds became shorter at the higher temperature, whereas pulse number, maximum pulse period and sound pressure level did not change with temperature. The dominant frequency increased when the temperature was raised to 30°C and the minimum pulse period became longer when the temperature decreased again. The fundamental frequency of drumming sounds increased at the higher temperature. Using the auditory evoked potential (AEP recording technique, the hearing thresholds were tested at six different frequencies from 0.1 to 4 kHz. The temporal resolution was determined by analyzing the minimum resolvable click period (0.3-5 ms. The hearing sensitivity was higher at the higher temperature and differences were more pronounced at higher frequencies. In general, latencies of AEPs in response to single clicks became shorter at the higher temperature, whereas temporal resolution in response to double-clicks did not change.These data indicate that sound characteristics as well as hearing abilities are affected by temperatures in fishes. Constraints imposed on hearing sensitivity at different temperatures cannot be compensated even by longer acclimation periods. These changes in sound production and detection suggest that acoustic orientation and communication are affected by temperature changes in

Torque Analysis With Saturation Effects for Non-Salient Single-Phase Permanent-Magnet Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lu, Kaiyuan; Ritchie, Ewen

2011-01-01

The effects of saturation on torque production for non-salient, single-phase, permanent-magnet machines are studied in this paper. An analytical torque equation is proposed to predict the instantaneous torque with saturation effects. Compared to the existing methods, it is computationally faster......-element results, and experimental results obtained on a prototype single-phase permanent-magnet machine....

Prediction of chaos in non-salient permanent-magnet synchronous machines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rasoolzadeh, Arsalan [Department of Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Tavazoei, Mohammad Saleh, E-mail: tavazoei@sharif.edu [Department of Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-12-03

This Letter tries to find the area in parameter space of a non-salient Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Machine (PMSM) in which chaos can occur. This area is briefly named as chaotic area. The predicted chaotic area is obtained by checking some conditions which are necessary for existence of chaos in a dynamical system. In this Letter, it is assumed that this machine is in the generator mode, and its model is based on direct and quadrature axis of stator voltages and currents. The information of the predicted area is used in non-chaotic maximum power control of torque in the machine.

Sound radiation contrast in MR phase images. Method for the representation of elasticity, sound damping, and sound impedance changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radicke, Marcus

2009-01-01

The method presented in this thesis combines ultrasound techniques with the magnetic-resonance tomography (MRT). An ultrasonic wave generates in absorbing media a static force in sound-propagation direction. The force leads at sound intensities of some W/cm 2 and a sound frequency in the lower MHz range to a tissue shift in the micrometer range. This tissue shift depends on the sound power, the sound frequency, the sound absorption, and the elastic properties of the tissue. A MRT sequence of the Siemens Healthcare AG was modified so that it measures (indirectly) the tissue shift, codes as grey values, and presents as 2D picture. By means of the grey values the sound-beam slope in the tissue can be visualized, and so additionally sound obstacles (changes of the sound impedance) can be detected. By the MRT images token up spatial changes of the tissue parameters sound absorption and elasticity can be detected. In this thesis measurements are presented, which show the feasibility and future chances of this method especially for the mammary-cancer diagnostics. [de

Heart sound segmentation of pediatric auscultations using wavelet analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro, Ana; Vinhoza, Tiago T V; Mattos, Sandra S; Coimbra, Miguel T

2013-01-01

Auscultation is widely applied in clinical activity, nonetheless sound interpretation is dependent on clinician training and experience. Heart sound features such as spatial loudness, relative amplitude, murmurs, and localization of each component may be indicative of pathology. In this study we propose a segmentation algorithm to extract heart sound components (S1 and S2) based on it's time and frequency characteristics. This algorithm takes advantage of the knowledge of the heart cycle times (systolic and diastolic periods) and of the spectral characteristics of each component, through wavelet analysis. Data collected in a clinical environment, and annotated by a clinician was used to assess algorithm's performance. Heart sound components were correctly identified in 99.5% of the annotated events. S1 and S2 detection rates were 90.9% and 93.3% respectively. The median difference between annotated and detected events was of 33.9 ms.

Ichthyophonus in Puget Sound rockfish from the San Juan Islands archipelago and Puget Sound, Washington, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Halos, D.; Hart, S.A.; Hershberger, P.; Kocan, R.

2005-01-01

In vitro explant cultures identified Ichthyophonus in 10.9% of 302 Puget Sound rockfish Sebastes emphaeus sampled from five sites in the San Juan Islands archipelago and Puget Sound, Washington, in 2003. None of the infected fish exhibited visible lesions and only a single fish was histologically positive. Significantly more females were infected (12.4%) than males (6.8%), and while infected males were only detected at two of the five sites, infected females were identified at all sites, with no significant differences in infection prevalence. Genomic sequences of Ichthyophonus isolates obtained from Puget Sound rockfish, Pacific herring Clupea pallasii, and Yukon River Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha were identical in both the A and B regions of the small subunit 18S ribosomal DNA but were different from Ichthyophonus sequences previously isolated from four different species of rockfish from the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Ichthyophonus in Puget Sound rockfish may not have been previously detected because the infection is subclinical in this species and earlier investigators did not utilize in vitro techniques for diagnosis of ichthyophoniasis. However, since clinical ichthyophoniasis has recently been identified in several other species of northeast Pacific rockfishes, it is hypothesized that this either is an emerging disease resulting from changing marine conditions or the result of introduction by infected southern species that appear during periodic El Nin??o events. ?? Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2005.

Development of Prediction Tool for Sound Absorption and Sound Insulation for Sound Proof Properties

OpenAIRE

Yoshio Kurosawa; Takao Yamaguchi

2015-01-01

High frequency automotive interior noise above 500 Hz considerably affects automotive passenger comfort. To reduce this noise, sound insulation material is often laminated on body panels or interior trim panels. For a more effective noise reduction, the sound reduction properties of this laminated structure need to be estimated. We have developed a new calculate tool that can roughly calculate the sound absorption and insulation properties of laminate structure and handy ...

Nonlinear Speed Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor with Salient Poles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Kyslan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the speed control of permanent magnet synchronous motor with salient poles based on two-step linearization method. In the first step, the direct compensation of the nonlinearities in the equations of current is used. In the second step, the input-output linearization in the state space is used for the decoupling of flux and torque axis. Simulated results are compared to the field oriented vector control structure with PI controllers in order to show differences in the performance of both approaches.

Parameterizing Sound: Design Considerations for an Environmental Sound Database

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-01

associated with, or produced by, a physical event or human activity and 2) sound sources that are common in the environment. Reproductions or sound...Rogers S. Confrontation naming of environmental sounds. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology . 2000;22(6):830–864. 14 VanDerveer NJ

Development of an Amplifier for Electronic Stethoscope System and Heart Sound Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, D. J.; Kang, D. K. [Chongju University, Chongju (Korea)

2001-05-01

The conventional stethoscope can not store its stethoscopic sounds. Therefore a doctor diagnoses a patient with instantaneous stethoscopic sounds at that time, and he can not remember the state of the patient's stethoscopic sounds on the next. This prevent accurate and objective diagnosis. If the electronic stethoscope, which can store the stethoscopic sound, is developed, the auscultation will be greatly improved. This study describes an amplifier for electronic stethoscope system that can extract heart sounds of fetus as well as adult and allow us hear and record the sounds. Using the developed stethoscopic amplifier, clean heart sounds of fetus and adult can be heard in noisy environment, such as a consultation room of a university hospital, a laboratory of a university. Surprisingly, the heart sound of a 22-week fetus was heard through the developed electronic stethoscope. Pitch detection experiments using the detected heart sounds showed that the signal represents distinct periodicity. It can be expected that the developed electronic stethoscope can substitute for conventional stethoscopes and if proper analysis method for the stethoscopic signal is developed, a good electronic stethoscope system can be produced. (author). 17 refs., 6 figs.

Making fictions sound real - On film sound, perceptual realism and genre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birger Langkjær

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This article examines the role that sound plays in making fictions perceptually real to film audiences, whether these fictions are realist or non-realist in content and narrative form. I will argue that some aspects of film sound practices and the kind of experiences they trigger are related to basic rules of human perception, whereas others are more properly explained in relation to how aesthetic devices, including sound, are used to characterise the fiction and thereby make it perceptually real to its audience. Finally, I will argue that not all genres can be defined by a simple taxonomy of sounds. Apart from an account of the kinds of sounds that typically appear in a specific genre, a genre analysis of sound may also benefit from a functionalist approach that focuses on how sounds can make both realist and non-realist aspects of genres sound real to audiences.

Making fictions sound real - On film sound, perceptual realism and genre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birger Langkjær

2009-09-01

Full Text Available This article examines the role that sound plays in making fictions perceptually real to film audiences, whether these fictions are realist or non-realist in content and narrative form. I will argue that some aspects of film sound practices and the kind of experiences they trigger are related to basic rules of human perception, whereas others are more properly explained in relation to how aesthetic devices, including sound, are used to characterise the fiction and thereby make it perceptually real to its audience. Finally, I will argue that not all genres can be defined by a simple taxonomy of sounds. Apart from an account of the kinds of sounds that typically appear in a specific genre, a genre analysis of sound may also benefit from a functionalist approach that focuses on how sounds can make both realist and non-realist aspects of genres sound real to audiences.

Salient aspects of inflation and growth in selected countries Aspectos mais salientes da inflação e do crescimento em países selecionados

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pichai Chumvichitra

1982-11-01

Full Text Available Análise do figurativo dos problemas de inflação e de crescimento e seu trade-off. Com o problema de choques externos, os acontecimentos exógenos afetaram extremamente suas relações. Uma observação empírica de vários países e vários períodos daria a compreensão mais útil e complementaria análises mais abrangentes de problemas. Alguns resultados obtidos de indicadores econômicos específicos refletiram aspectos salientes desse problema, tal como o papel de tomador de preço, a inflexibilidade da oferta de produto e a moeda passiva que produziram mudanças não antecipadas permitiram explorar persistentemente a característica desse problema em geral para vários países.This paper comments on the figurative problems of inflation and growth, and the character of its trade-off a topic which was the subject of heated numerous studies in developed countries. As a problem of external shocks, the unexpected procedures produce an extra point of their relationship. The observation of evidence in several level of country experiences and various periods should provide a useful comprehension and complement to the wide analysis of these problems. Some lessons obtained from the specific economic indicators reflect to general aspects of the subject under the role of price taker, inflexibility output supply and passive money which make the unexpected changes explore persistently to the character of this problem in general for many countries.

STUDYING THE EFFECT OF AN ADDITIONAL ACTIVE RESISTANCE IN THE FIELD WINDING CIRCUIT ON STARTING CHARACTERISTICS OF SALIENT-POLE SYNCHRONOUS MOTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. S. Malyar

2018-04-01

Full Text Available On the basis of the developed method for calculating steady-state asynchronous operation modes of salient-pole synchronous motors, a procedure of mathematical modelling of the starting characteristics is proposed. The problem of calculating the steady-state asynchronous mode is solved as a boundary value one for differential equations of motor circuit electrical equilibrium. Algebraization of the system of differential equations is carried out by approximating the equations of state using cubic spline functions on a grid of period nodes, taking into account the periodic law of variation of the coordinates. This results in the changeover from continual values to nodal ones. The starting static characteristics are calculated using the parameter continuation method. The study of the effect of the starting resistance value on the asynchronous characteristics of the motor relied on a mathematical model of the motor taking into consideration real field circuits, saturation and asymmetry of the magnetic path.

Sound Absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, H. V.; Möser, M.

Sound absorption indicates the transformation of sound energy into heat. It is, for instance, employed to design the acoustics in rooms. The noise emitted by machinery and plants shall be reduced before arriving at a workplace; auditoria such as lecture rooms or concert halls require a certain reverberation time. Such design goals are realised by installing absorbing components at the walls with well-defined absorption characteristics, which are adjusted for corresponding demands. Sound absorbers also play an important role in acoustic capsules, ducts and screens to avoid sound immission from noise intensive environments into the neighbourhood.

Characterization of the seismically imaged Tuscarora fold system and implications for layer parallel shortening in the Pennsylvania salient

Science.gov (United States)

Mount, Van S.; Wilkins, Scott; Comiskey, Cody S.

2017-12-01

The Tuscarora fold system (TFS) is located in the Pennsylvania salient in the foreland of the Valley and Ridge province. The TFS is imaged in high quality 3D seismic data and comprises a system of small-scale folds within relatively flat-lying Lower Silurian Tuscarora Formation strata. We characterize the TFS structures and infer layer parallel shortening (LPS) directions and magnitudes associated with deformation during the Alleghany Orogeny. Previously reported LPS data in our study area are from shallow Devonian and Carboniferous strata (based on outcrop and core analyses) above the shallowest of three major detachments recognized in the region. Seismic data allows us to characterize LPS at depth in strata beneath the shallow detachment. Our LPS data (orientations and inferred magnitudes) are consistent with the shallow data leading us to surmise that LPS during Alleghanian deformation fanned around the salient and was distributed throughout the stratigraphic section - and not isolated to strata above the shallow detachment. We propose that a NW-SE oriented Alleghanian maximum principal stress was perturbed by deep structure associated with the non-linear margin of Laurentia resulting in fanning of shortening directions within the salient.

Orexin receptor antagonist-induced sleep does not impair the ability to wake in response to emotionally salient acoustic stimuli in dogs

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Pamela L. Tannenbaum

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The ability to awaken from sleep in response to important stimuli is a critical feature of normal sleep, as is maintaining sleep continuity in the presence of irrelevant background noise. Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs effectively promote sleep across species by targeting the evolutionarily conserved wake-promoting orexin signaling pathway. This study in dogs investigated whether DORA-induced sleep preserved the ability to awaken appropriately to salient acoustic stimuli but remain asleep when exposed to irrelevant stimuli. Sleep and wake in response to DORAs, vehicle, GABA-A receptor modulators (diazepam, eszopiclone and zolpidem and antihistamine (diphenhydramine administration were evaluated in telemetry-implanted adult dogs with continuous electrocorticogram, electromyogram, electrooculogram, and activity recordings. DORAs induced sleep, but GABA-A modulators and antihistamine induced paradoxical hyperarousal. Thus, salience gating studies were conducted during DORA-22 (0.3, 1, and 5 mg/kg; day and night and vehicle nighttime sleep. The acoustic stimuli were either classically conditioned using food reward and positive attention (salient stimulus or presented randomly (neutral stimulus. Once conditioned, the tones were presented at sleep times corresponding to maximal DORA-22 exposure. In response to the salient stimuli, dogs woke completely from vehicle and orexin-antagonized sleep across all sleep stages but rarely awoke to neutral stimuli. Notably, acute pharmacological antagonism of orexin receptors paired with emotionally salient anticipation produced wake, not cataplexy, in a species where genetic (chronic loss of orexin receptor signaling leads to narcolepsy/cataplexy. DORA-induced sleep in this species thereby retains the desired capacity to awaken to emotionally salient acoustic stimuli while preserving uninterrupted sleep in response to irrelevant stimuli.

Making Sound Connections

Science.gov (United States)

Deal, Walter F., III

2007-01-01

Sound provides and offers amazing insights into the world. Sound waves may be defined as mechanical energy that moves through air or other medium as a longitudinal wave and consists of pressure fluctuations. Humans and animals alike use sound as a means of communication and a tool for survival. Mammals, such as bats, use ultrasonic sound waves to…

Seismic and Biological Sources of Ambient Ocean Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Simon Eric

Sound is the most efficient radiation in the ocean. Sounds of seismic and biological origin contain information regarding the underlying processes that created them. A single hydrophone records summary time-frequency information from the volume within acoustic range. Beamforming using a hydrophone array additionally produces azimuthal estimates of sound sources. A two-dimensional array and acoustic focusing produce an unambiguous two-dimensional `image' of sources. This dissertation describes the application of these techniques in three cases. The first utilizes hydrophone arrays to investigate T-phases (water-borne seismic waves) in the Philippine Sea. Ninety T-phases were recorded over a 12-day period, implying a greater number of seismic events occur than are detected by terrestrial seismic monitoring in the region. Observation of an azimuthally migrating T-phase suggests that reverberation of such sounds from bathymetric features can occur over megameter scales. In the second case, single hydrophone recordings from coral reefs in the Line Islands archipelago reveal that local ambient reef sound is spectrally similar to sounds produced by small, hard-shelled benthic invertebrates in captivity. Time-lapse photography of the reef reveals an increase in benthic invertebrate activity at sundown, consistent with an increase in sound level. The dominant acoustic phenomenon on these reefs may thus originate from the interaction between a large number of small invertebrates and the substrate. Such sounds could be used to take census of hard-shelled benthic invertebrates that are otherwise extremely difficult to survey. A two-dimensional `map' of sound production over a coral reef in the Hawaiian Islands was obtained using two-dimensional hydrophone array in the third case. Heterogeneously distributed bio-acoustic sources were generally co-located with rocky reef areas. Acoustically dominant snapping shrimp were largely restricted to one location within the area surveyed

Abnormal sound detection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Izumi; Matsui, Yuji.

1995-01-01

Only components synchronized with rotation of pumps are sampled from detected acoustic sounds, to judge the presence or absence of abnormality based on the magnitude of the synchronized components. A synchronized component sampling means can remove resonance sounds and other acoustic sounds generated at a synchronously with the rotation based on the knowledge that generated acoustic components in a normal state are a sort of resonance sounds and are not precisely synchronized with the number of rotation. On the other hand, abnormal sounds of a rotating body are often caused by compulsory force accompanying the rotation as a generation source, and the abnormal sounds can be detected by extracting only the rotation-synchronized components. Since components of normal acoustic sounds generated at present are discriminated from the detected sounds, reduction of the abnormal sounds due to a signal processing can be avoided and, as a result, abnormal sound detection sensitivity can be improved. Further, since it is adapted to discriminate the occurrence of the abnormal sound from the actually detected sounds, the other frequency components which are forecast but not generated actually are not removed, so that it is further effective for the improvement of detection sensitivity. (N.H.)

Role of sound stimulation in reprogramming brain connectivity

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2013-07-17

Jul 17, 2013 ... higher brain functions such as learning and memory in birds and mammals. ... Sound at an optimum level for a short period may act as an auditory stimulus to ... This could lead to long-term plasticity, which allows fine tuning to ...

77 FR 66651 - Salient Advisors, L.P. and MarketShares ETF Trust; Notice of Application

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-06

... Advisors, L.P. and MarketShares ETF Trust; Notice of Application October 31, 2012 AGENCY: Securities and... ETF Trust (the ``Trust''). Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that permits: (a... statutory trust. The Trust will initially offer one series, the Salient MLP and Energy Infrastructure ETF...

Behavioral response of manatees to variations in environmental sound levels

Science.gov (United States)

Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L.; Wagner, Tyler

2011-01-01

Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) inhabit coastal regions because they feed on the aquatic vegetation that grows in shallow waters, which are the same areas where human activities are greatest. Noise produced from anthropogenic and natural sources has the potential to affect these animals by eliciting responses ranging from mild behavioral changes to extreme aversion. Sound levels were calculated from recordings made throughout behavioral observation periods. An information theoretic approach was used to investigate the relationship between behavior patterns and sound level. Results indicated that elevated sound levels affect manatee activity and are a function of behavioral state. The proportion of time manatees spent feeding and milling changed in response to sound level. When ambient sound levels were highest, more time was spent in the directed, goal-oriented behavior of feeding, whereas less time was spent engaged in undirected behavior such as milling. This work illustrates how shifts in activity of individual manatees may be useful parameters for identifying impacts of noise on manatees and might inform population level effects.

Observance and development of salient quality overprint for tablecloths embroidery with use of RFID technology

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Jana Strauszová

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Mission of this paper is to enable those interested in observance and development quality embroidery typical of the region use with RFID technologies for designing, implementing and providing overprint for tablecloths embroidery. The starting point is present situation and method of observance and development of overprint embroidery. The solution is in scanning of patterns and their saving into database of industrial patterns with implemented RFID tag. This will allow indentifying, evaluating and using overprint for tablecloths embroidery. RFID technology can be applied for observance and development of salient quality any products of individual, organizations and their protected pattern and support creative and innovative acting of individuals and organizations in region. The paper is intended especially for specialists, who are interested in issue observance salient quality in sense of cultural heritage of regions. The paper has been compiled in connection with resolving project KEGA 3/6411/08 Transformation of the already existing study programme Management of production quality to a university-wide bilingual study programme.

OBSERVANCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SALIENT QUALITY OVERPRINT FOR TABLECLOTHS EMBROIDERY WITH USE OF RFID TECHNOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KRISTÍNA ZGODAVOVÁ

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Mission of this paper is to enable those interested in observance and development quality embroidery typical of the region use with RFID technologies for designing, implementing and providing overprint for tablecloths embroidery. The starting point is present situation and method of observance and development of overprint embroidery. The solution is in scanning of patterns and their saving into database of industrial patterns with implemented RFID tag. This will allow indentifying, evaluating and using overprint for tablecloths embroidery. RFID technology can be applied for observance and development of salient quality any products of individual, organizations and their protected pattern and support creative and innovative acting of individuals and organizations in region. The paper is intended especially for specialists, who are interested in issue observance salient quality in sense of cultural heritage of regions. The paper has been compiled in connection with resolving project KEGA 3/6411/08 Transformation of the already existing study programme Management of production quality to a university-wide bilingual study programme.

Paleozoic age of high-pressure metamorphic rocks of the Dakh salient, North-Western Caucasus: results of U-Pb-geochronological study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Somin, M.L.; Levchenkov, O.A.; Kotov, A.B.; Makeev, A.F.; Komarov, A.N.; Ro, N.I.; Lavrishchev, V.A.; Lebedev, V.A.

2007-01-01

U-Pb geochronological studies of an ancient component of the Dakh salient, i.e. metaaplites, which are vein fine-grained rocks made up by albite, microcline, quartz and potash mica, were made. Besides, K-Ar dating of granodiorites breaking through metamorphic rocks was conducted. U-Pb dating of accessory zircons (353 mln. years) defines the lower age boundary of the Dakh salient rock metamorphism. Its upper boundary was identified by K-Ar dating (301 ± 10 mln. years) of hornfels blende of nonmetamophized granodiorites [ru

The Changing Role of Sound-Symbolism for Small Versus Large Vocabularies.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, James; Monaghan, Padraic; Walker, Peter

2017-12-12

Natural language contains many examples of sound-symbolism, where the form of the word carries information about its meaning. Such systematicity is more prevalent in the words children acquire first, but arbitrariness dominates during later vocabulary development. Furthermore, systematicity appears to promote learning category distinctions, which may become more important as the vocabulary grows. In this study, we tested the relative costs and benefits of sound-symbolism for word learning as vocabulary size varies. Participants learned form-meaning mappings for words which were either congruent or incongruent with regard to sound-symbolic relations. For the smaller vocabulary, sound-symbolism facilitated learning individual words, whereas for larger vocabularies sound-symbolism supported learning category distinctions. The changing properties of form-meaning mappings according to vocabulary size may reflect the different ways in which language is learned at different stages of development. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Cognitive Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Cognitive Science Society.

Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Using Sound Speed

Science.gov (United States)

Dukhovskoy, D. S.; Johnson, M. A.

2002-05-01

The monthly and annual means from three Arctic ocean - sea ice climate model simulations are compared for the period 1979-1997. Sound speed is used to integrate model outputs of temperature and salinity along a section between Barrow and Franz Josef Land. A statistical approach is used to test for differences among the three models for two basic data subsets. We integrated and then analyzed an upper layer between 2 m - 50 m, and also a deep layer from 500 m to the bottom. The deep layer is characterized by low time-variability. No high-frequency signals appear in the deep layer having been filtered out in the upper layer. There is no seasonal signal in the deep layer and the monthly means insignificantly oscillate about the long-period mean. For the deep ocean the long-period mean can be considered quasi-constant, at least within the 19 year period of our analysis. Thus we assumed that the deep ocean would be the best choice for comparing the means of the model outputs. The upper (mixed) layer was chosen to contrast the deep layer dynamics. There are distinct seasonal and interannual signals in the sound speed time series in this layer. The mixed layer is a major link in the ocean - air interaction mechanism. Thus, different mean states of the upper layer in the models might cause different responses in other components of the Arctic climate system. The upper layer also strongly reflects any differences in atmosphere forcing. To compare data from the three models we have used a one-way t-test for the population mean, the Wilcoxon one-sample signed-rank test (when the requirement of normality of tested data is violated), and one-way ANOVA method and F-test to verify our hypothesis that the model outputs have the same mean sound speed. The different statistical approaches have shown that all models have different mean characteristics of the deep and upper layers of the Arctic Ocean.

Sound generating flames of a gas turbine burner observed by laser-induced fluorescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hubschmid, W; Inauen, A.; Bombach, R.; Kreutner, W.; Schenker, S.; Zajadatz, M. [Alstom (Switzerland); Motz, C. [Alstom (Switzerland); Haffner, K. [Alstom (Switzerland); Paschereit, C.O. [Alstom (Switzerland)

2002-03-01

We performed 2-D OH LIF measurements to investigate the sound emission of a gas turbine combustor. The measured LIF signal was averaged over pulses at constant phase of the dominant acoustic oscillation. A periodic variation in intensity and position of the signal is observed and it is related to the measured sound intensity. (author)

Sound Search Engine Concept

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2006-01-01

Sound search is provided by the major search engines, however, indexing is text based, not sound based. We will establish a dedicated sound search services with based on sound feature indexing. The current demo shows the concept of the sound search engine. The first engine will be realased June...

Oyster larvae settle in response to habitat-associated underwater sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Lillis, Ashlee; Eggleston, David B; Bohnenstiehl, DelWayne R

2013-01-01

Following a planktonic dispersal period of days to months, the larvae of benthic marine organisms must locate suitable seafloor habitat in which to settle and metamorphose. For animals that are sessile or sedentary as adults, settlement onto substrates that are adequate for survival and reproduction is particularly critical, yet represents a challenge since patchily distributed settlement sites may be difficult to find along a coast or within an estuary. Recent studies have demonstrated that the underwater soundscape, the distinct sounds that emanate from habitats and contain information about their biological and physical characteristics, may serve as broad-scale environmental cue for marine larvae to find satisfactory settlement sites. Here, we contrast the acoustic characteristics of oyster reef and off-reef soft bottoms, and investigate the effect of habitat-associated estuarine sound on the settlement patterns of an economically and ecologically important reef-building bivalve, the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Subtidal oyster reefs in coastal North Carolina, USA show distinct acoustic signatures compared to adjacent off-reef soft bottom habitats, characterized by consistently higher levels of sound in the 1.5-20 kHz range. Manipulative laboratory playback experiments found increased settlement in larval oyster cultures exposed to oyster reef sound compared to unstructured soft bottom sound or no sound treatments. In field experiments, ambient reef sound produced higher levels of oyster settlement in larval cultures than did off-reef sound treatments. The results suggest that oyster larvae have the ability to respond to sounds indicative of optimal settlement sites, and this is the first evidence that habitat-related differences in estuarine sounds influence the settlement of a mollusk. Habitat-specific sound characteristics may represent an important settlement and habitat selection cue for estuarine invertebrates and could play a role in driving

Oyster larvae settle in response to habitat-associated underwater sounds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashlee Lillis

Full Text Available Following a planktonic dispersal period of days to months, the larvae of benthic marine organisms must locate suitable seafloor habitat in which to settle and metamorphose. For animals that are sessile or sedentary as adults, settlement onto substrates that are adequate for survival and reproduction is particularly critical, yet represents a challenge since patchily distributed settlement sites may be difficult to find along a coast or within an estuary. Recent studies have demonstrated that the underwater soundscape, the distinct sounds that emanate from habitats and contain information about their biological and physical characteristics, may serve as broad-scale environmental cue for marine larvae to find satisfactory settlement sites. Here, we contrast the acoustic characteristics of oyster reef and off-reef soft bottoms, and investigate the effect of habitat-associated estuarine sound on the settlement patterns of an economically and ecologically important reef-building bivalve, the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica. Subtidal oyster reefs in coastal North Carolina, USA show distinct acoustic signatures compared to adjacent off-reef soft bottom habitats, characterized by consistently higher levels of sound in the 1.5-20 kHz range. Manipulative laboratory playback experiments found increased settlement in larval oyster cultures exposed to oyster reef sound compared to unstructured soft bottom sound or no sound treatments. In field experiments, ambient reef sound produced higher levels of oyster settlement in larval cultures than did off-reef sound treatments. The results suggest that oyster larvae have the ability to respond to sounds indicative of optimal settlement sites, and this is the first evidence that habitat-related differences in estuarine sounds influence the settlement of a mollusk. Habitat-specific sound characteristics may represent an important settlement and habitat selection cue for estuarine invertebrates and could play a

The sound manifesto

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Michael J.; Bisnovatyi, Ilia

2000-11-01

Computing practice today depends on visual output to drive almost all user interaction. Other senses, such as audition, may be totally neglected, or used tangentially, or used in highly restricted specialized ways. We have excellent audio rendering through D-A conversion, but we lack rich general facilities for modeling and manipulating sound comparable in quality and flexibility to graphics. We need coordinated research in several disciplines to improve the use of sound as an interactive information channel. Incremental and separate improvements in synthesis, analysis, speech processing, audiology, acoustics, music, etc. will not alone produce the radical progress that we seek in sonic practice. We also need to create a new central topic of study in digital audio research. The new topic will assimilate the contributions of different disciplines on a common foundation. The key central concept that we lack is sound as a general-purpose information channel. We must investigate the structure of this information channel, which is driven by the cooperative development of auditory perception and physical sound production. Particular audible encodings, such as speech and music, illuminate sonic information by example, but they are no more sufficient for a characterization than typography is sufficient for characterization of visual information. To develop this new conceptual topic of sonic information structure, we need to integrate insights from a number of different disciplines that deal with sound. In particular, we need to coordinate central and foundational studies of the representational models of sound with specific applications that illuminate the good and bad qualities of these models. Each natural or artificial process that generates informative sound, and each perceptual mechanism that derives information from sound, will teach us something about the right structure to attribute to the sound itself. The new Sound topic will combine the work of computer

Sound levels in a neonatal intensive care unit significantly exceeded recommendations, especially inside incubators.

Science.gov (United States)

Parra, Johanna; de Suremain, Aurelie; Berne Audeoud, Frederique; Ego, Anne; Debillon, Thierry

2017-12-01

This study measured sound levels in a 2008 built French neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and compared them to the 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations. The ultimate aim was to identify factors that could influence noise levels. The study measured sound in 17 single or double rooms in the NICU. Two dosimeters were installed in each room, one inside and one outside the incubators, and these conducted measurements over a 24-hour period. The noise metrics measured were the equivalent continuous sound level (L eq ), the maximum noise level (L max ) and the noise level exceeded for 10% of the measurement period (L 10 ). The mean L eq , L 10 and L max were 60.4, 62.1 and 89.1 decibels (dBA), which exceeded the recommended levels of 45, 50 and 65 dBA (p care was correlated to an increased noise level, except for a postconceptional age below 32 weeks. The sound levels significantly exceeded the AAP recommendations, particularly inside incubators. A multipronged strategy is required to improve the sound environment and protect the neonates' sensory development. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Unsound Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knakkergaard, Martin

2016-01-01

This article discusses the change in premise that digitally produced sound brings about and how digital technologies more generally have changed our relationship to the musical artifact, not simply in degree but in kind. It demonstrates how our acoustical conceptions are thoroughly challenged...... by the digital production of sound and, by questioning the ontological basis for digital sound, turns our understanding of the core term substance upside down....

Early Sound Symbolism for Vowel Sounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferrinne Spector

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Children and adults consistently match some words (e.g., kiki to jagged shapes and other words (e.g., bouba to rounded shapes, providing evidence for non-arbitrary sound–shape mapping. In this study, we investigated the influence of vowels on sound–shape matching in toddlers, using four contrasting pairs of nonsense words differing in vowel sound (/i/ as in feet vs. /o/ as in boat and four rounded–jagged shape pairs. Crucially, we used reduplicated syllables (e.g., kiki vs. koko rather than confounding vowel sound with consonant context and syllable variability (e.g., kiki vs. bouba. Toddlers consistently matched words with /o/ to rounded shapes and words with /i/ to jagged shapes (p < 0.01. The results suggest that there may be naturally biased correspondences between vowel sound and shape.

Sound Art and Spatial Practices: Situating Sound Installation Art Since 1958

OpenAIRE

Ouzounian, Gascia

2008-01-01

This dissertation examines the emergence and development ofsound installation art, an under-recognized tradition that hasdeveloped between music, architecture, and media art practicessince the late 1950s. Unlike many musical works, which are concernedwith organizing sounds in time, sound installations organize sounds inspace; they thus necessitate new theoretical and analytical modelsthat take into consideration the spatial situated-ness of sound. Existingdiscourses on “spatial sound” privile...

Sound a very short introduction

CERN Document Server

Goldsmith, Mike

2015-01-01

Sound is integral to how we experience the world, in the form of noise as well as music. But what is sound? What is the physical basis of pitch and harmony? And how are sound waves exploited in musical instruments? Sound: A Very Short Introduction looks at the science of sound and the behaviour of sound waves with their different frequencies. It also explores sound in different contexts, covering the audible and inaudible, sound underground and underwater, acoustic and electronic sound, and hearing in humans and animals. It concludes with the problem of sound out of place—noise and its reduction.

Identification and evaluation of the salient physical activity beliefs of colorectal cancer survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Speed-Andrews, Amy E; McGowan, Erin L; Rhodes, Ryan E; Blanchard, Chris M; Culos-Reed, S Nicole; Friedenreich, Christine M; Courneya, Kerry S

2014-01-01

Physical activity (PA) has been associated with lower risk of disease recurrence and longer survival in colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors; however, less than one-third of CRC survivors are meeting PA guidelines. Interventions to promote PA in CRC survivors need to understand the most critical beliefs that influence PA behavior. The objective of this study was to examine the strength of associations between the most common PA beliefs of CRC survivors and motivational constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as well as PA behavior. Colorectal cancer survivors (n = 600) residing in Alberta, Canada, completed self-report questionnaires assessing medical and demographic variables, PA beliefs, constructs from the TPB, and PA behavior. Colorectal cancer survivors identified improved fitness (69.5%), family members (67.3%), and medical/health problems (8.8%) as the most prevalent behavioral, normative, and control beliefs, respectively. All PA beliefs were significantly correlated with all TPB constructs and PA. Physical activity interventions for CRC survivors should target many salient beliefs including behavioral, normative, and control beliefs. Insights into the salient beliefs for PA in CRC survivors can guide nurses in developing successful strategies to promote PA in this population and likely improve quality of life and possibly disease outcomes.

Summer sound-level characterization of the Deaf Smith County and Swisher County locations in the Palo Duro Basin, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-03-01

A description of sound levels and sound sources in the Deaf Smith County and Swisher County locations in the Palo Duro Basin during a period representative of the summer season is presented. Included are data collected during the period August 4 through 8, 1982, for both locations. 3 references, 2 figures, 3 tables

Do top predators cue on sound production by mesopelagic prey?

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann-Pickering, S.; Checkley, D. M., Jr.; Demer, D. A.

2016-02-01

Deep-scattering layer (DSL) organisms, comprising a variety of mesopelagic fishes, and squids, siphonophores, crustaceans, and other invertebrates, are preferred prey for numerous large marine predators, e.g. cetaceans, seabirds, and fishes. Some of the DSL species migrate from depth during daylight to feed near the surface at night, transitioning during dusk and dawn. We investigated if any DSL organisms create sound, particularly during the crepuscular periods. Over several nights in summer 2015, underwater sound was recorded in the San Diego Trough using a high-frequency acoustic recording package (HARP, 10 Hz to 100 kHz), suspended from a drifting surface float. Acoustic backscatter from the DSL was monitored nearby using a calibrated multiple-frequency (38, 70, 120, and 200 kHz) split-beam echosounder (Simrad EK60) on a small boat. DSL organisms produced sound, between 300 and 1000 Hz, and the received levels were highest when the animals migrated past the recorder during ascent and descent. The DSL are globally present, so the observed acoustic phenomenon, if also ubiquitous, has wide-reaching implications. Sound travels farther than light or chemicals and thus can be sensed at greater distances by predators, prey, and mates. If sound is a characteristic feature of pelagic ecosystems, it likely plays a role in predator-prey relationships and overall ecosystem dynamics. Our new finding inspires numerous questions such as: Which, how, and why have DSL organisms evolved to create sound, for what do they use it and under what circumstances? Is sound production by DSL organisms truly ubiquitous, or does it depend on the local environment and species composition? How may sound production and perception be adapted to a changing environment? Do predators react to changes in sound? Can sound be used to quantify the composition of mixed-species assemblages, component densities and abundances, and hence be used in stock assessment or predictive modeling?

The Rio Pardo salient, northern Araçuaí orogen: an example of a complex basin-controlled fold-thrust belt curve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliza Peixoto

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The Rio Pardo salient, the large antitaxial curve described by the Araçuaí fold-and-thrust belt along the southeastern edge of the São Francisco craton, is one of the most prominent and one of the least studied features of the Brasiliano Araçuaí-West Congo orogenic system (AWCO. In addition to the Archean/Paleoproterozoic basement, the salient is comprised of metasedimentary rocks mainly from the Neoproterozoic Macaúbas Group and the Salinas Formation. Its western limb occupies a portion of the Espinhaço ridge, where the NS-trending structures of the Araçuaí belt progressively curve NE and E, thereby defining the hinge zone along the Serra Geral on the Minas-Bahia boundary. The eastern limb is NW-trending and marked by a major shear zone. In models postulated to generate the AWCO through the closure of the Neoproterozoic Macaúbas basin, this large curve plays a critical kinematic role. Yet, in spite of this, its development is still not fully understood. How did this curve originate? Which factors controlled its generation? Our field study performed in the northern Araçuaí orogen characterized the kinematic picture of the salient, and led to a model that addresses these questions. The results we obtained indicate that the Rio Pardo salient developed in response to four deformation phases. The contractional D1 and D2 phases are coaxial and responsible for a craton-directed tectonic transport along the salient’s outer arc, which is coupled with an overall southward motion of the inner arc, thereby giving rise to a rather complex kinematic picture. Furthermore, structures of the D1/D2 phases define a zigzag pattern with alternating NE- and NW-trending segments along the salient’s leading edge. Along the NE-trending segments, the metasedimentary rocks are thrust northwestwards on top of the craton basement, while along the NW-trending segments, the supracrustal rocks are displaced along dextral to reverse

Circulation and fjord-shelf exchange during the ice-covered period in Young Sound-Tyrolerfjord, Northeast Greenland (74°N)

Science.gov (United States)

Boone, W.; Rysgaard, S.; Kirillov, S.; Dmitrenko, I.; Bendtsen, J.; Mortensen, J.; Meire, L.; Petrusevich, V.; Barber, D. G.

2017-07-01

Fjords around Greenland connect the Greenland Ice Sheet to the ocean and their hydrography and circulation are determined by the interplay between atmospheric forcing, runoff, topography, fjord-shelf exchange, tides, waves, and seasonal growth and melt of sea ice. Limited knowledge exists on circulation in high-Arctic fjords, particularly those not impacted by tidewater glaciers, and especially during winter, when they are covered with sea-ice and freshwater input is low. Here, we present and analyze seasonal observations of circulation, hydrography and cross-sill exchange of the Young Sound-Tyrolerfjord system (74°N) in Northeast Greenland. Distinct seasonal circulation phases are identified and related to polynya activity, meltwater and inflow of coastal water masses. Renewal of basin water in the fjord is a relatively slow process that modifies the fjord water masses on a seasonal timescale. By the end of winter, there is two-layer circulation, with outflow in the upper 45 m and inflow extending down to approximately 150 m. Tidal analysis showed that tidal currents above the sill were almost barotropic and dominated by the M2 tidal constituent (0.26 m s-1), and that residual currents (∼0.02 m s-1) were relatively small during the ice-covered period. Tidal pumping, a tidally driven fjord-shelf exchange mechanism, drives a salt flux that is estimated to range between 145 kg s-1 and 603 kg s-1. Extrapolation of these values over the ice-covered period indicates that tidal pumping is likely a major source of dense water and driver of fjord circulation during the ice-covered period.

What is Sound?

OpenAIRE

Nelson, Peter

2014-01-01

What is sound? This question is posed in contradiction to the every-day understanding that sound is a phenomenon apart from us, to be heard, made, shaped and organised. Thinking through the history of computer music, and considering the current configuration of digital communi-cations, sound is reconfigured as a type of network. This network is envisaged as non-hierarchical, in keeping with currents of thought that refuse to prioritise the human in the world. The relationship of sound to musi...

Broadcast sound technology

CERN Document Server

Talbot-Smith, Michael

1990-01-01

Broadcast Sound Technology provides an explanation of the underlying principles of modern audio technology. Organized into 21 chapters, the book first describes the basic sound; behavior of sound waves; aspects of hearing, harming, and charming the ear; room acoustics; reverberation; microphones; phantom power; loudspeakers; basic stereo; and monitoring of audio signal. Subsequent chapters explore the processing of audio signal, sockets, sound desks, and digital audio. Analogue and digital tape recording and reproduction, as well as noise reduction, are also explained.

Propagation of sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wahlberg, Magnus; Larsen, Ole Næsbye

2017-01-01

properties can be modified by sound absorption, refraction, and interference from multi paths caused by reflections.The path from the source to the receiver may be bent due to refraction. Besides geometrical attenuation, the ground effect and turbulence are the most important mechanisms to influence...... communication sounds for airborne acoustics and bottom and surface effects for underwater sounds. Refraction becomes very important close to shadow zones. For echolocation signals, geometric attenuation and sound absorption have the largest effects on the signals....

Sound quality indicators for urban places in Paris cross-validated by Milan data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricciardi, Paola; Delaitre, Pauline; Lavandier, Catherine; Torchia, Francesca; Aumond, Pierre

2015-10-01

A specific smartphone application was developed to collect perceptive and acoustic data in Paris. About 3400 questionnaires were analyzed, regarding the global sound environment characterization, the perceived loudness of some emergent sources and the presence time ratio of sources that do not emerge from the background. Sound pressure level was recorded each second from the mobile phone's microphone during a 10-min period. The aim of this study is to propose indicators of urban sound quality based on linear regressions with perceptive variables. A cross validation of the quality models extracted from Paris data was carried out by conducting the same survey in Milan. The proposed sound quality general model is correlated with the real perceived sound quality (72%). Another model without visual amenity and familiarity is 58% correlated with perceived sound quality. In order to improve the sound quality indicator, a site classification was performed by Kohonen's Artificial Neural Network algorithm, and seven specific class models were developed. These specific models attribute more importance on source events and are slightly closer to the individual data than the global model. In general, the Parisian models underestimate the sound quality of Milan environments assessed by Italian people.

Making fictions sound real

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langkjær, Birger

2010-01-01

This article examines the role that sound plays in making fictions perceptually real to film audiences, whether these fictions are realist or non-realist in content and narrative form. I will argue that some aspects of film sound practices and the kind of experiences they trigger are related...... to basic rules of human perception, whereas others are more properly explained in relation to how aesthetic devices, including sound, are used to characterise the fiction and thereby make it perceptually real to its audience. Finally, I will argue that not all genres can be defined by a simple taxonomy...... of sounds. Apart from an account of the kinds of sounds that typically appear in a specific genre, a genre analysis of sound may also benefit from a functionalist approach that focuses on how sounds can make both realist and non-realist aspects of genres sound real to audiences....

Seasonal variation in aragonite saturation in surface waters of Puget Sound – a pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory Pelletier

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A pilot study of sampling, using monthly marine flights over spatially distributed stations, was conducted with the aim to characterize the carbonate system in Puget Sound over a full year-long period. Surface waters of Puget Sound were found to be under-saturated with respect to aragonite during October–March, and super-saturated during April–September. Highest pCO2 and lowest pH occurred during the corrosive October–March period. Lowest pCO2 and highest pH occurred during the super-saturated April–September period. The monthly variations in pCO2 , pH, and aragonite saturation state closely followed the variations in monthly average chlorophyll a. Super-saturated conditions during April–September are likely strongly influenced by photosynthetic uptake of CO2 during the phytoplankton growing season. The relationship between phytoplankton production, the carbonate system, and aragonite saturation state suggests that long-term trends in eutrophication processes may contribute to trends in ocean acidification in Puget Sound

Sound sensitivity of neurons in rat hippocampus during performance of a sound-guided task

Science.gov (United States)

Vinnik, Ekaterina; Honey, Christian; Schnupp, Jan; Diamond, Mathew E.

2012-01-01

To investigate how hippocampal neurons encode sound stimuli, and the conjunction of sound stimuli with the animal's position in space, we recorded from neurons in the CA1 region of hippocampus in rats while they performed a sound discrimination task. Four different sounds were used, two associated with water reward on the right side of the animal and the other two with water reward on the left side. This allowed us to separate neuronal activity related to sound identity from activity related to response direction. To test the effect of spatial context on sound coding, we trained rats to carry out the task on two identical testing platforms at different locations in the same room. Twenty-one percent of the recorded neurons exhibited sensitivity to sound identity, as quantified by the difference in firing rate for the two sounds associated with the same response direction. Sensitivity to sound identity was often observed on only one of the two testing platforms, indicating an effect of spatial context on sensory responses. Forty-three percent of the neurons were sensitive to response direction, and the probability that any one neuron was sensitive to response direction was statistically independent from its sensitivity to sound identity. There was no significant coding for sound identity when the rats heard the same sounds outside the behavioral task. These results suggest that CA1 neurons encode sound stimuli, but only when those sounds are associated with actions. PMID:22219030

Effects of musical training on sound pattern processing in high-school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wenjung; Staffaroni, Laura; Reid, Errold; Steinschneider, Mitchell; Sussman, Elyse

2009-05-01

Recognizing melody in music involves detection of both the pitch intervals and the silence between sequentially presented sounds. This study tested the hypothesis that active musical training in adolescents facilitates the ability to passively detect sequential sound patterns compared to musically non-trained age-matched peers. Twenty adolescents, aged 15-18 years, were divided into groups according to their musical training and current experience. A fixed order tone pattern was presented at various stimulus rates while electroencephalogram was recorded. The influence of musical training on passive auditory processing of the sound patterns was assessed using components of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The mismatch negativity (MMN) ERP component was elicited in different stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) conditions in non-musicians than musicians, indicating that musically active adolescents were able to detect sound patterns across longer time intervals than age-matched peers. Musical training facilitates detection of auditory patterns, allowing the ability to automatically recognize sequential sound patterns over longer time periods than non-musical counterparts.

Underwater sound from vessel traffic reduces the effective communication range in Atlantic cod and haddock.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Jenni A; Van Parijs, Sofie M; Hatch, Leila T

2017-11-07

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is located in Massachusetts Bay off the densely populated northeast coast of the United States; subsequently, the marine inhabitants of the area are exposed to elevated levels of anthropogenic underwater sound, particularly due to commercial shipping. The current study investigated the alteration of estimated effective communication spaces at three spawning locations for populations of the commercially and ecologically important fishes, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). Both the ambient sound pressure levels and the estimated effective vocalization radii, estimated through spherical spreading models, fluctuated dramatically during the three-month recording periods. Increases in sound pressure level appeared to be largely driven by large vessel activity, and accordingly exhibited a significant positive correlation with the number of Automatic Identification System tracked vessels at the two of the three sites. The near constant high levels of low frequency sound and consequential reduction in the communication space observed at these recording sites during times of high vocalization activity raises significant concerns that communication between conspecifics may be compromised during critical biological periods. This study takes the first steps in evaluating these animals' communication spaces and alteration of these spaces due to anthropogenic underwater sound.

Magnocellular Bias in Exogenous Attention to Biologically Salient Stimuli as Revealed by Manipulating Their Luminosity and Color.

Science.gov (United States)

Carretié, Luis; Kessel, Dominique; García-Rubio, María J; Giménez-Fernández, Tamara; Hoyos, Sandra; Hernández-Lorca, María

2017-10-01

Exogenous attention is a set of mechanisms that allow us to detect and reorient toward salient events-such as appetitive or aversive-that appear out of the current focus of attention. The nature of these mechanisms, particularly the involvement of the parvocellular and magnocellular visual processing systems, was explored. Thirty-four participants performed a demanding digit categorization task while salient (spiders or S) and neutral (wheels or W) stimuli were presented as distractors under two figure-ground formats: heterochromatic/isoluminant (exclusively processed by the parvocellular system, Par trials) and isochromatic/heteroluminant (preferentially processed by the magnocellular system, Mag trials). This resulted in four conditions: SPar, SMag, WPar, and WMag. Behavioral (RTs and error rates in the task) and electrophysiological (ERPs) indices of exogenous attention were analyzed. Behavior showed greater attentional capture by SMag than by SPar distractors and enhanced modulation of SMag capture as fear of spiders reported by participants increased. ERPs reflected a sequence from magnocellular dominant (P1p, ≃120 msec) to both magnocellular and parvocellular processing (N2p and P2a, ≃200 msec). Importantly, amplitudes in one N2p subcomponent were greater to SMag than to SPar and WMag distractors, indicating greater magnocellular sensitivity to saliency. Taking together, results support a magnocellular bias in exogenous attention toward distractors of any nature during initial processing, a bias that remains in later stages when biologically salient distractors are present.

Memory for product sounds: the effect of sound and label type.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozcan, Elif; van Egmond, René

2007-11-01

The (mnemonic) interactions between auditory, visual, and the semantic systems have been investigated using structurally complex auditory stimuli (i.e., product sounds). Six types of product sounds (air, alarm, cyclic, impact, liquid, mechanical) that vary in spectral-temporal structure were presented in four label type conditions: self-generated text, text, image, and pictogram. A memory paradigm that incorporated free recall, recognition, and matching tasks was employed. The results for the sound type suggest that the amount of spectral-temporal structure in a sound can be indicative for memory performance. Findings related to label type suggest that 'self' creates a strong bias for the retrieval and the recognition of sounds that were self-labeled; the density and the complexity of the visual information (i.e., pictograms) hinders the memory performance ('visual' overshadowing effect); and image labeling has an additive effect on the recall and matching tasks (dual coding). Thus, the findings suggest that the memory performances for product sounds are task-dependent.

33 CFR 167.1702 - In Prince William Sound: Prince William Sound Traffic Separation Scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false In Prince William Sound: Prince William Sound Traffic Separation Scheme. 167.1702 Section 167.1702 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST....1702 In Prince William Sound: Prince William Sound Traffic Separation Scheme. The Prince William Sound...

Effect of Listening to the Al-Quran on Heart Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Daud, N. F.; Sharif, Z.

2018-03-01

This paper investigates the effect on the heart sounds upon listening to the chosen verses of the Al Quran. A signal of the heart sounds is extracted using Thinklabs Phonocardiography software and then the frequency components are extracted using MATLAB 7.11.0. Frequency components during diastolic are compared for two sessions; before and during listening sessions. Diastolic is a period where the chamber of the heart is filled with the blood when the heart muscle is in a relaxed condition. From this study, it is found that the frequency of the heart sound during listening to Al-Quran is lower than the one before listening to Al-Quran. This indicates that, the state of calmness can be achieved by listening to this selected verses of the Al-Quran.

Sounds Exaggerate Visual Shape

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeny, Timothy D.; Guzman-Martinez, Emmanuel; Ortega, Laura; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2012-01-01

While perceiving speech, people see mouth shapes that are systematically associated with sounds. In particular, a vertically stretched mouth produces a /woo/ sound, whereas a horizontally stretched mouth produces a /wee/ sound. We demonstrate that hearing these speech sounds alters how we see aspect ratio, a basic visual feature that contributes…

An elicitation study of critical care nurses' salient hand hygiene beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Piras, Susan E; Lauderdale, Jana; Minnick, Ann

2017-10-01

To describe critical care nurses' hand hygiene attitudinal, normative referent, and control beliefs. Hand hygiene is the primary strategy to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Social influence is an underdeveloped hand hygiene strategy. This qualitative descriptive study was conducted with 25 ICU nurses in the southeastern United States. Data were collected using the Nurses' Salient Belief Instrument. Thematic analysis generated four themes: Hand Hygiene is Protective; Nurses look to Nurses; Time-related Concerns; and Convenience is Essential. Nurses look to nurses as hand hygiene referents and believe hand hygiene is a protective behaviour that requires time and functional equipment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sound Zones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Martin Bo; Olsen, Martin

2017-01-01

Sound zones, i.e. spatially confined regions of individual audio content, can be created by appropriate filtering of the desired audio signals reproduced by an array of loudspeakers. The challenge of designing filters for sound zones is twofold: First, the filtered responses should generate...... an acoustic separation between the control regions. Secondly, the pre- and post-ringing as well as spectral deterioration introduced by the filters should be minimized. The tradeoff between acoustic separation and filter ringing is the focus of this paper. A weighted L2-norm penalty is introduced in the sound...

Tool-use-associated sound in the evolution of language.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsson, Matz

2015-09-01

Proponents of the motor theory of language evolution have primarily focused on the visual domain and communication through observation of movements. In the present paper, it is hypothesized that the production and perception of sound, particularly of incidental sound of locomotion (ISOL) and tool-use sound (TUS), also contributed. Human bipedalism resulted in rhythmic and more predictable ISOL. It has been proposed that this stimulated the evolution of musical abilities, auditory working memory, and abilities to produce complex vocalizations and to mimic natural sounds. Since the human brain proficiently extracts information about objects and events from the sounds they produce, TUS, and mimicry of TUS, might have achieved an iconic function. The prevalence of sound symbolism in many extant languages supports this idea. Self-produced TUS activates multimodal brain processing (motor neurons, hearing, proprioception, touch, vision), and TUS stimulates primate audiovisual mirror neurons, which is likely to stimulate the development of association chains. Tool use and auditory gestures involve motor processing of the forelimbs, which is associated with the evolution of vertebrate vocal communication. The production, perception, and mimicry of TUS may have resulted in a limited number of vocalizations or protowords that were associated with tool use. A new way to communicate about tools, especially when out of sight, would have had selective advantage. A gradual change in acoustic properties and/or meaning could have resulted in arbitrariness and an expanded repertoire of words. Humans have been increasingly exposed to TUS over millions of years, coinciding with the period during which spoken language evolved. ISOL and tool-use-related sound are worth further exploration.

Torque ripple minimization in a doubly salient permanent magnet motors by skewing the rotor teeth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheth, N.K.; Sekharbabu, A.R.C.; Rajagopal, K.R.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the effects of skewing the rotor teeth on the performance of an 8/6 doubly salient permanent magnet motor using a simple method, which utilizes the results obtained from the 2-D FE analysis. The optimum skewing angle is obtained as 12-15 o for the least ripple torque without much reduction in the back-emf

A State-of-the-Art Review: Personalization of Tinnitus Sound Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Searchfield, Grant D; Durai, Mithila; Linford, Tania

2017-01-01

Background: There are several established, and an increasing number of putative, therapies using sound to treat tinnitus. There appear to be few guidelines for sound therapy selection and application. Aim: To review current approaches to personalizing sound therapy for tinnitus. Methods: A "state-of-the-art" review (Grant and Booth, 2009) was undertaken to answer the question: how do current sound-based therapies for tinnitus adjust for tinnitus heterogeneity? Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase and PubMed were searched for the 10-year period 2006-2016. The search strategy used the following key words: "tinnitus" AND "sound" AND "therapy" AND "guidelines" OR "personalized" OR "customized" OR "individual" OR "questionnaire" OR "selection." The results of the review were cataloged and organized into themes. Results: In total 165 articles were reviewed in full, 83 contained sufficient details to contribute to answering the study question. The key themes identified were hearing compensation, pitched-match therapy, maskability, reaction to sound and psychosocial factors. Although many therapies mentioned customization, few could be classified as being personalized. Several psychoacoustic and questionnaire-based methods for assisting treatment selection were identified. Conclusions: Assessment methods are available to assist clinicians to personalize sound-therapy and empower patients to be active in therapy decision-making. Most current therapies are modified using only one characteristic of the individual and/or their tinnitus.

Sound production in Onuxodon fowleri (Carapidae) and its amplification by the host shell.

Science.gov (United States)

Kéver, Loïc; Colleye, Orphal; Lugli, Marco; Lecchini, David; Lerouvreur, Franck; Herrel, Anthony; Parmentier, Eric

2014-12-15

Onuxodon species are well known for living inside pearl oysters. As in other carapids, their anatomy highlights their ability to make sounds but sound production has never been documented in Onuxodon. This paper describes sound production in Onuxodon fowleri as well as the anatomy of the sound production apparatus. Single-pulsed sounds and multiple-pulsed sounds that sometimes last more than 3 s were recorded in the field and in captivity (Makemo Island, French Polynesia). These pulses are characterized by a broadband frequency spectrum from 100 to 1000 Hz. Onuxodon fowleri is mainly characterized by its ability to modulate the pulse period, meaning that this species can produce pulsed sounds and tonal-like sounds using the same mechanism. In addition, the sound can be remarkably amplified by the shell cavity (peak gain can exceed 10 dB for some frequencies). The sonic apparatus of O. fowleri is characterized by a rocker bone in front of the swimbladder, modified vertebrae and epineurals, and two pairs of sonic muscles, one of which (primary sonic muscle) inserts on the rocker bone. The latter structure, which is absent in other carapid genera, appears to be sexually dimorphic suggesting differences in sound production in males and females. Sound production in O. fowleri could be an example of adaptation where an animal exploits features of its environment to enhance communication. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Can road traffic mask sound from wind turbines? Response to wind turbine sound at different levels of road traffic sound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedersen, Eja; Berg, Frits van den; Bakker, Roel; Bouma, Jelte

2010-01-01

Wind turbines are favoured in the switch-over to renewable energy. Suitable sites for further developments could be difficult to find as the sound emitted from the rotor blades calls for a sufficient distance to residents to avoid negative effects. The aim of this study was to explore if road traffic sound could mask wind turbine sound or, in contrast, increases annoyance due to wind turbine noise. Annoyance of road traffic and wind turbine noise was measured in the WINDFARMperception survey in the Netherlands in 2007 (n=725) and related to calculated levels of sound. The presence of road traffic sound did not in general decrease annoyance with wind turbine noise, except when levels of wind turbine sound were moderate (35-40 dB(A) Lden) and road traffic sound level exceeded that level with at least 20 dB(A). Annoyance with both noises was intercorrelated but this correlation was probably due to the influence of individual factors. Furthermore, visibility and attitude towards wind turbines were significantly related to noise annoyance of modern wind turbines. The results can be used for the selection of suitable sites, possibly favouring already noise exposed areas if wind turbine sound levels are sufficiently low.

Wearable Eating Habit Sensing System Using Internal Body Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Shuzo, Masaki; Komori, Shintaro; Takashima, Tomoko; Lopez, Guillaume; Tatsuta, Seiji; Yanagimoto, Shintaro; Warisawa, Shin'ichi; Delaunay, Jean-Jacques; Yamada, Ichiro

Continuous monitoring of eating habits could be useful in preventing lifestyle diseases such as metabolic syndrome. Conventional methods consist of self-reporting and calculating mastication frequency based on the myoelectric potential of the masseter muscle. Both these methods are significant burdens for the user. We developed a non-invasive, wearable sensing system that can record eating habits over a long period of time in daily life. Our sensing system is composed of two bone conduction microphones placed in the ears that send internal body sound data to a portable IC recorder. Applying frequency spectrum analysis on the collected sound data, we could not only count the number of mastications during eating, but also accurately differentiate between eating, drinking, and speaking activities. This information can be used to evaluate the regularity of meals. Moreover, we were able to analyze sound features to classify the types of foods eaten by food texture.

Structure-borne sound structural vibrations and sound radiation at audio frequencies

CERN Document Server

Cremer, L; Petersson, Björn AT

2005-01-01

Structure-Borne Sound"" is a thorough introduction to structural vibrations with emphasis on audio frequencies and the associated radiation of sound. The book presents in-depth discussions of fundamental principles and basic problems, in order to enable the reader to understand and solve his own problems. It includes chapters dealing with measurement and generation of vibrations and sound, various types of structural wave motion, structural damping and its effects, impedances and vibration responses of the important types of structures, as well as with attenuation of vibrations, and sound radi

Oral methylphenidate normalizes cingulate activity in cocaine addiction during a salient cognitive task

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstein, R.Z.; Woicik, P.A.; Maloney, T.; Tomasi, D.; Alia-Klein, N.; Shan, J.; Honorario, J.; Samaras, D.; Wang, R.; Telang, F.; Wang, G.-J.; Volkow, N.D.

2010-01-01

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) hypoactivations during cognitive demand are a hallmark deficit in drug addiction. Methylphenidate (MPH) normalizes cortical function, enhancing task salience and improving associated cognitive abilities, in other frontal lobe pathologies; however, in clinical trials, MPH did not improve treatment outcome in cocaine addiction. We hypothesized that oral MPH will attenuate ACC hypoactivations and improve associated performance during a salient cognitive task in individuals with cocaine-use disorders (CUD). In the current functional MRI study, we used a rewarded drug cue-reactivity task previously shown to be associated with hypoactivations in both major ACC subdivisions (implicated in default brain function) in CUD compared with healthy controls. The task was performed by 13 CUD and 14 matched healthy controls on 2 d: after ingesting a single dose of oral MPH (20 mg) or placebo (lactose) in a counterbalanced fashion. Results show that oral MPH increased responses to this salient cognitive task in both major ACC subdivisions (including the caudal-dorsal ACC and rostroventromedial ACC extending to the medial orbitofrontal cortex) in the CUD. These functional MRI results were associated with reduced errors of commission (a common impulsivity measure) and improved task accuracy, especially during the drug (vs. neutral) cue-reactivity condition in all subjects. The clinical application of such MPH-induced brain-behavior enhancements remains to be tested.

Salient Region Detection by Fusing Foreground and Background Cues Extracted from Single Image

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiangqiang Zhou

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Saliency detection is an important preprocessing step in many application fields such as computer vision, robotics, and graphics to reduce computational cost by focusing on significant positions and neglecting the nonsignificant in the scene. Different from most previous methods which mainly utilize the contrast of low-level features, various feature maps are fused in a simple linear weighting form. In this paper, we propose a novel salient object detection algorithm which takes both background and foreground cues into consideration and integrate a bottom-up coarse salient regions extraction and a top-down background measure via boundary labels propagation into a unified optimization framework to acquire a refined saliency detection result. Wherein the coarse saliency map is also fused by three components, the first is local contrast map which is in more accordance with the psychological law, the second is global frequency prior map, and the third is global color distribution map. During the formation of background map, first we construct an affinity matrix and select some nodes which lie on border as labels to represent the background and then carry out a propagation to generate the regional background map. The evaluation of the proposed model has been implemented on four datasets. As demonstrated in the experiments, our proposed method outperforms most existing saliency detection models with a robust performance.

Oral methylphenidate normalizes cingulate activity in cocaine addiction during a salient cognitive task

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldstein, R.Z.; Goldstein, R.Z.; Woicik, P.A.; Maloney, T.; Tomasi, D.; Alia-Klein, N.; Shan, J.; Honorario, J.; Samaras, d.; Wang, R.; Telang, F.; Wang, G.-J.; Volkow, N.D.

2010-09-21

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) hypoactivations during cognitive demand are a hallmark deficit in drug addiction. Methylphenidate (MPH) normalizes cortical function, enhancing task salience and improving associated cognitive abilities, in other frontal lobe pathologies; however, in clinical trials, MPH did not improve treatment outcome in cocaine addiction. We hypothesized that oral MPH will attenuate ACC hypoactivations and improve associated performance during a salient cognitive task in individuals with cocaine-use disorders (CUD). In the current functional MRI study, we used a rewarded drug cue-reactivity task previously shown to be associated with hypoactivations in both major ACC subdivisions (implicated in default brain function) in CUD compared with healthy controls. The task was performed by 13 CUD and 14 matched healthy controls on 2 d: after ingesting a single dose of oral MPH (20 mg) or placebo (lactose) in a counterbalanced fashion. Results show that oral MPH increased responses to this salient cognitive task in both major ACC subdivisions (including the caudal-dorsal ACC and rostroventromedial ACC extending to the medial orbitofrontal cortex) in the CUD. These functional MRI results were associated with reduced errors of commission (a common impulsivity measure) and improved task accuracy, especially during the drug (vs. neutral) cue-reactivity condition in all subjects. The clinical application of such MPH-induced brain-behavior enhancements remains to be tested.

InfoSound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenwald, Diane H.; Gopinath, B.; Haberman, Gary O.

1990-01-01

The authors explore ways to enhance users' comprehension of complex applications using music and sound effects to present application-program events that are difficult to detect visually. A prototype system, Infosound, allows developers to create and store musical sequences and sound effects with...

The Sound of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Merwade, Venkatesh; Eichinger, David; Harriger, Bradley; Doherty, Erin; Habben, Ryan

2014-01-01

While the science of sound can be taught by explaining the concept of sound waves and vibrations, the authors of this article focused their efforts on creating a more engaging way to teach the science of sound--through engineering design. In this article they share the experience of teaching sound to third graders through an engineering challenge…

Storage changes in the quality of sound and sprouted flour.

Science.gov (United States)

Sur, R; Nagi, H P; Sharma, S; Sekhon, K S

1993-07-01

Sound and sprouted flours (24 and 48 hr) from bread wheat (WL-1562), durum wheat (PBW-34) and triticale (TL-1210) were stored at room temperature (34.8 degrees C) and relative humidity (66.7%) for 0, 45, 90 and 135 days to assess the changes in physico-chemical and baking properties. Protein, gluten, sedimentation value, starch and crude fat decreased during storage in all the samples; however, the decrease was more in sprouted flours. Free amino acids, proteolytic activity, diastatic activity and damaged starch decreased with increase in storage period. Total sugars and free fatty acids increased more rapidly in the flours of sprouted wheats during 135 days of storage. Loaf volume of breads decreased during storage in both sound and sprouted flour but the mean percent decrease in loaf volume was more in stored sound flours. Aging of sprouted flour for 45 days improved the cookie and cake making properties but further storage was of no value for these baked products. Chapati making properties of stored sound and sprouted flour were inferior to that of fresh counterparts.

Digital stethoscopes compared to standard auscultation for detecting abnormal paediatric breath sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Kevat, Ajay C; Kalirajah, Anaath; Roseby, Robert

2017-07-01

Our study aimed to objectively describe the audiological characteristics of wheeze and crackles in children by using digital stethoscope (DS) auscultation, as well as assess concordance between standard auscultation and two different DS devices in their ability to detect pathological breath sounds. Twenty children were auscultated by a paediatric consultant doctor and digitally recorded using the Littman™ 3200 Digital Electronic Stethoscope and a Clinicloud™ DS with smart device. Using spectrographic analysis, we found those with clinically described wheeze had prominent periodic waveform segments spanning expiration for a period of 0.03-1.2 s at frequencies of 100-1050 Hz, and occasionally spanning shorter inspiratory segments; paediatric crackles were brief discontinuous sounds with a distinguishing waveform. There was moderate concordance with respect to wheeze detection between digital and standard binaural stethoscopes, and 100% concordance for crackle detection. Importantly, DS devices were more sensitive than clinician auscultation in detecting wheeze in our study. Objective definition of audio characteristics of abnormal paediatric breath sounds was achieved using DS technology. We demonstrated superiority of our DS method compared to traditional auscultation for detection of wheeze. What is Known: • The audiological characteristics of abnormal breath sounds have been well-described in adult populations but not in children. • Inter-observer agreement for detection of pathological breath sounds using standard auscultation has been shown to be poor, but the clinical value of now easily available digital stethoscopes has not been sufficiently examined. What is New: • Digital stethoscopes can objectively define the nature of pathological breath sounds such as wheeze and crackles in children. • Paediatric wheeze was better detected by digital stethoscopes than by standard auscultation performed by an expert paediatric clinician.

Design and analysis of a flux intensifying permanent magnet embedded salient pole wind generator

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yujing; Jin, Ping; Lin, Heyun; Yang, Hui; Lyu, Shukang

2018-05-01

This paper presents an improved flux intensifying permanent magnet embedded salient pole wind generator (FI-PMESPWG) with mirror symmetrical magnetizing directions permanent magnet (PM) for improving generator's performances. The air-gap flux densities, the output voltage, the cogging torque and the d- and q-axis inductances of FI-PMESPWG are all calculated and analyzed by using the finite element method (FEM). To highlight the advantages of the proposed FI-PMESPWG, an original permanent magnet embedded salient pole wind generator (PMESPWG) model is adopted for comparison under the same operating conditions. The calculating results show that the air-gap flux densities of FI-PMESPWG are intensified with the same magnet amounts because the PMs are set in a form of V shape in each pole. The difference between d-axis inductance and q-axis inductance of the proposed FI-PMESPWG is reduced. Thus, the output power of the proposed FI-PMESPWG reaches a higher value than that of the original PMESPWG at the same current phase angle. The cogging torque is diminished because the flux path is changed. All the analysis results indicate that the electromagnetic characteristics of the proposed FI-PMESPWG are significantly better than that of the original PMESPWG.

Light and Sound

CERN Document Server

Karam, P Andrew

2010-01-01

Our world is largely defined by what we see and hear-but our uses for light and sound go far beyond simply seeing a photo or hearing a song. A concentrated beam of light, lasers are powerful tools used in industry, research, and medicine, as well as in everyday electronics like DVD and CD players. Ultrasound, sound emitted at a high frequency, helps create images of a developing baby, cleans teeth, and much more. Light and Sound teaches how light and sound work, how they are used in our day-to-day lives, and how they can be used to learn about the universe at large.

The Textile Form of Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendixen, Cecilie

Sound is a part of architecture, and sound is complex. Upon this, sound is invisible. How is it then possible to design visual objects that interact with the sound? This paper addresses the problem of how to get access to the complexity of sound and how to make textile material revealing the form...... goemetry by analysing the sound pattern at a specific spot. This analysis is done theoretically with algorithmic systems and practical with waves in water. The paper describes the experiments and the findings, and explains how an analysis of sound can be catched in a textile form....

Remote Sensing of Martian Terrain Hazards via Visually Salient Feature Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Milli, S.; Shaukat, A.; Spiteri, C.; Gao, Y.

2014-04-01

The main objective of the FASTER remote sensing system is the detection of rocks on planetary surfaces by employing models that can efficiently characterise rocks in terms of semantic descriptions. The proposed technique abates some of the algorithmic limitations of existing methods with no training requirements, lower computational complexity and greater robustness towards visual tracking applications over long-distance planetary terrains. Visual saliency models inspired from biological systems help to identify important regions (such as rocks) in the visual scene. Surface rocks are therefore completely described in terms of their local or global conspicuity pop-out characteristics. These local and global pop-out cues are (but not limited to); colour, depth, orientation, curvature, size, luminance intensity, shape, topology etc. The currently applied methods follow a purely bottom-up strategy of visual attention for selection of conspicuous regions in the visual scene without any topdown control. Furthermore the choice of models used (tested and evaluated) are relatively fast among the state-of-the-art and have very low computational load. Quantitative evaluation of these state-ofthe- art models was carried out using benchmark datasets including the Surrey Space Centre Lab Testbed, Pangu generated images, RAL Space SEEKER and CNES Mars Yard datasets. The analysis indicates that models based on visually salient information in the frequency domain (SRA, SDSR, PQFT) are the best performing ones for detecting rocks in an extra-terrestrial setting. In particular the SRA model seems to be the most optimum of the lot especially that it requires the least computational time while keeping errors competitively low. The salient objects extracted using these models can then be merged with the Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) generated from the same navigation cameras in order to be fused to the navigation map thus giving a clear indication of the rock locations.

Reduction of heart sound interference from lung sound signals using empirical mode decomposition technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Ashok; Bhattacharya, P S; Saha, Goutam

2011-01-01

During the recording time of lung sound (LS) signals from the chest wall of a subject, there is always heart sound (HS) signal interfering with it. This obscures the features of lung sound signals and creates confusion on pathological states, if any, of the lungs. A novel method based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) technique is proposed in this paper for reducing the undesired heart sound interference from the desired lung sound signals. In this, the mixed signal is split into several components. Some of these components contain larger proportions of interfering signals like heart sound, environmental noise etc. and are filtered out. Experiments have been conducted on simulated and real-time recorded mixed signals of heart sound and lung sound. The proposed method is found to be superior in terms of time domain, frequency domain, and time-frequency domain representations and also in listening test performed by pulmonologist.

Red to Green or Fast to Slow? Infants' Visual Working Memory for "Just Salient Differences"

Science.gov (United States)

Kaldy, Zsuzsa; Blaser, Erik

2013-01-01

In this study, 6-month-old infants' visual working memory for a static feature (color) and a dynamic feature (rotational motion) was compared. Comparing infants' use of different features can only be done properly if experimental manipulations to those features are equally salient (Kaldy & Blaser, 2009; Kaldy, Blaser, & Leslie,…

Sound generator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2008-01-01

A sound generator, particularly a loudspeaker, configured to emit sound, comprising a rigid element (2) enclosing a plurality of air compartments (3), wherein the rigid element (2) has a back side (B) comprising apertures (4), and a front side (F) that is closed, wherein the generator is provided

Sound generator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2010-01-01

A sound generator, particularly a loudspeaker, configured to emit sound, comprising a rigid element (2) enclosing a plurality of air compartments (3), wherein the rigid element (2) has a back side (B) comprising apertures (4), and a front side (F) that is closed, wherein the generator is provided

Sound generator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2007-01-01

A sound generator, particularly a loudspeaker, configured to emit sound, comprising a rigid element (2) enclosing a plurality of air compartments (3), wherein the rigid element (2) has a back side (B) comprising apertures (4), and a front side (F) that is closed, wherein the generator is provided

Long-period and short-period variations of ionospheric parameters studied from complex observations performed on Cuba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laso, B; Lobachevskii, L A; Potapova, N I; Freizon, I A; Shapiro, B S

1980-09-01

Cuban data from 1978 are used to study long-period (i.e., diurnal) variations of Doppler shift on a 3000 km path at frequencies of 10 and 15 MHz these variations are related to variations of parameters on the ionospheric path. Short-period variations were also studied on the basis of Doppler shift data and vertical sounding data in the 0.000111-0.00113 Hz frequency range. The relation between the observed variations and internal gravity waves are discussed.

NASA Space Sounds API

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA has released a series of space sounds via sound cloud. We have abstracted away some of the hassle in accessing these sounds, so that developers can play with...

Thermo-active building systems and sound absorbers: Thermal comfort under real operation conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Köhler, Benjamin; Rage, Nils; Chigot, Pierre

2018-01-01

Radiant systems are established today and have a high ecological potential in buildings while ensuring thermal comfort. Free-hanging sound absorbers are commonly used for room acoustic control, but can reduce the heat exchange when suspended under an active slab. The aim of this study...... is to evaluate the impact on thermal comfort of horizontal and vertical free-hanging porous sound absorbers placed in rooms of a building cooled by Thermo-Active Building System (TABS), under real operation conditions. A design comparing five different ceiling coverage ratios and two room types has been...... implemented during three measurement periods. A clear correlation between increase of ceiling coverage ratio and reduction of thermal comfort could not be derived systematically for each measurement period and room type, contrarily to what was expected from literature. In the first two monitoring periods...

Feasibility of an electronic stethoscope system for monitoring neonatal bowel sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Jasmine; Hill, Krista M; Adrezin, Ronald S; Alba, Jorge; Curry, Raquel; Campagna, Eric; Fernandes, Cecilia; Lamba, Vineet; Eisenfeld, Leonard

2013-09-01

Bowel dysfunction remains a major problem in neonates. Traditional auscultation of bowel sounds as a diagnostic aid in neonatal gastrointestinal complications is limited by skill and inability to document and reassess. Consequently, we built a unique prototype to investigate the feasibility of an electronic monitoring system for continuous assessment of bowel sounds. We attained approval by the Institutional Review Boards for the investigational study to test our system. The system incorporated a prototype stethoscope head with a built-in microphone connected to a digital recorder. Recordings made over extended periods were evaluated for quality. We also considered the acoustic environment of the hospital, where the stethoscope was used. The stethoscope head was attached to the abdomen with a hydrogel patch designed especially for this purpose. We used the system to obtain recordings from eight healthy, full-term babies. A scoring system was used to determine loudness, clarity, and ease of recognition comparing it to the traditional stethoscope. The recording duration was initially two hours and was increased to a maximum of eight hours. Median duration of attachment was three hours (3.75, 2.68). Based on the scoring, the bowel sound recording was perceived to be as loud and clear in sound reproduction as a traditional stethoscope. We determined that room noise and other noises were significant forms of interference in the recordings, which at times prevented analysis. However, no sound quality drift was noted in the recordings and no patient discomfort was noted. Minimal erythema was observed over the fixation site which subsided within one hour. We demonstrated the long-term recording of infant bowel sounds. Our contributions included a prototype stethoscope head, which was affixed using a specially designed hydrogel adhesive patch. Such a recording can be reviewed and reassessed, which is new technology and an improvement over current practice. The use of this

Sound produced by an oscillating arc in a high-pressure gas

Science.gov (United States)

Popov, Fedor K.; Shneider, Mikhail N.

2017-08-01

We suggest a simple theory to describe the sound generated by small periodic perturbations of a cylindrical arc in a dense gas. Theoretical analysis was done within the framework of the non-self-consistent channel arc model and supplemented with time-dependent gas dynamic equations. It is shown that an arc with power amplitude oscillations on the order of several percent is a source of sound whose intensity is comparable with external ultrasound sources used in experiments to increase the yield of nanoparticles in the high pressure arc systems for nanoparticle synthesis.

Sound Insulation between Dwellings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2011-01-01

Regulatory sound insulation requirements for dwellings exist in more than 30 countries in Europe. In some countries, requirements have existed since the 1950s. Findings from comparative studies show that sound insulation descriptors and requirements represent a high degree of diversity...... and initiate – where needed – improvement of sound insulation of new and existing dwellings in Europe to the benefit of the inhabitants and the society. A European COST Action TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing Constructions", has been established and runs...... 2009-2013. The main objectives of TU0901 are to prepare proposals for harmonized sound insulation descriptors and for a European sound classification scheme with a number of quality classes for dwellings. Findings from the studies provide input for the discussions in COST TU0901. Data collected from 24...

Remembering that big things sound big: Sound symbolism and associative memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Preziosi, Melissa A; Coane, Jennifer H

2017-01-01

According to sound symbolism theory, individual sounds or clusters of sounds can convey meaning. To examine the role of sound symbolic effects on processing and memory for nonwords, we developed a novel set of 100 nonwords to convey largeness (nonwords containing plosive consonants and back vowels) and smallness (nonwords containing fricative consonants and front vowels). In Experiments 1A and 1B, participants rated the size of the 100 nonwords and provided definitions to them as if they were products. Nonwords composed of fricative/front vowels were rated as smaller than those composed of plosive/back vowels. In Experiment 2, participants studied sound symbolic congruent and incongruent nonword and participant-generated definition pairings. Definitions paired with nonwords that matched the size and participant-generated meanings were recalled better than those that did not match. When the participant-generated definitions were re-paired with other nonwords, this mnemonic advantage was reduced, although still reliable. In a final free association study, the possibility that plosive/back vowel and fricative/front vowel nonwords elicit sound symbolic size effects due to mediation from word neighbors was ruled out. Together, these results suggest that definitions that are sound symbolically congruent with a nonword are more memorable than incongruent definition-nonword pairings. This work has implications for the creation of brand names and how to create brand names that not only convey desired product characteristics, but also are memorable for consumers.

An Antropologist of Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Groth, Sanne Krogh

2015-01-01

PROFESSOR PORTRAIT: Sanne Krogh Groth met Holger Schulze, newly appointed professor in Musicology at the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen, to a talk about anthropology of sound, sound studies, musical canons and ideology.......PROFESSOR PORTRAIT: Sanne Krogh Groth met Holger Schulze, newly appointed professor in Musicology at the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen, to a talk about anthropology of sound, sound studies, musical canons and ideology....

Somatosensory BOLD fMRI reveals close link between salient blood pressure changes and the murine neuromatrix.

Science.gov (United States)

Reimann, Henning Matthias; Todiras, Mihail; Hodge, Russ; Huelnhagen, Till; Millward, Jason Michael; Turner, Robert; Seeliger, Erdmann; Bader, Michael; Pohlmann, Andreas; Niendorf, Thoralf

2018-05-15

The neuromatrix, or "pain matrix", is a network of cortical brain areas which is activated by noxious as well as salient somatosensory stimulation. This has been studied in mice and humans using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI. Here we demonstrate that BOLD effects observed in the murine neuromatrix in response to salient somatosensory stimuli are prone to reflect mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) changes, rather than neural activity. We show that a standard electrostimulus typically used in murine somatosensory fMRI can induce substantial elevations in MABP. Equivalent drug-induced MABP changes - without somatosensory stimulation - evoked BOLD patterns in the neuromatrix strikingly similar to those evoked by electrostimulation. This constitutes a serious caveat for murine fMRI. The regional specificity of these BOLD patterns can be attributed to the co-localization of the neuromatrix with large draining veins. Based on these findings we propose a cardiovascular support mechanism whereby abrupt elevations in MABP provide additional energy supply to the neuromatrix and other essential brain areas in fight-or-flight situations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Auditory spatial attention to speech and complex non-speech sounds in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Soskey, Laura N; Allen, Paul D; Bennetto, Loisa

2017-08-01

One of the earliest observable impairments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a failure to orient to speech and other social stimuli. Auditory spatial attention, a key component of orienting to sounds in the environment, has been shown to be impaired in adults with ASD. Additionally, specific deficits in orienting to social sounds could be related to increased acoustic complexity of speech. We aimed to characterize auditory spatial attention in children with ASD and neurotypical controls, and to determine the effect of auditory stimulus complexity on spatial attention. In a spatial attention task, target and distractor sounds were played randomly in rapid succession from speakers in a free-field array. Participants attended to a central or peripheral location, and were instructed to respond to target sounds at the attended location while ignoring nearby sounds. Stimulus-specific blocks evaluated spatial attention for simple non-speech tones, speech sounds (vowels), and complex non-speech sounds matched to vowels on key acoustic properties. Children with ASD had significantly more diffuse auditory spatial attention than neurotypical children when attending front, indicated by increased responding to sounds at adjacent non-target locations. No significant differences in spatial attention emerged based on stimulus complexity. Additionally, in the ASD group, more diffuse spatial attention was associated with more severe ASD symptoms but not with general inattention symptoms. Spatial attention deficits have important implications for understanding social orienting deficits and atypical attentional processes that contribute to core deficits of ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1405-1416. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Free Sixteen Harmonic Fourier Series Web App with Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz, Michael J.

2018-01-01

An online HTML5 Fourier synthesizer app is provided that allows students to manipulate sixteen harmonics and construct periodic waves. Students can set the amplitudes and phases for each harmonic, seeing the resulting waveforms and hearing the sounds. Five waveform presets are included: sine, triangle, square, ramp (sawtooth), and pulse train. The…

Evolution of Field-Aligned Electron and Ion Densities From Whistler Mode Radio Soundings During Quiet to Moderately Active Period and Comparisons With SAMI2 Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, A.; Sonwalkar, V. S.; Huba, J. D.

2018-02-01

Knowledge of field-aligned electron and ion distributions is necessary for understanding the physical processes causing variations in field-aligned electron and ion densities. Using whistler mode sounding by Radio Plasma Imager/Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (RPI/IMAGE), we determined the evolution of dayside electron and ion densities along L ˜ 2 and L ˜ 3 (90-4,000 km) during a 7 day (21-27 November 2005) geomagnetically quiet to moderately active period. Over this period the O+/H+ transition height was ˜880 ± 60 km and ˜1000 ± 100 km, respectively, at L ˜ 2 and L ˜ 3. The electron density varied in a complex manner; it was different at L ˜ 2 and L ˜ 3 and below and above the O+/H+ transition height. The measured electron and ion densities are consistent with those from Challenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and other past measurements, but they deviated from bottomside sounding and International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) 2012 empirical model results. Using SAMI2 (Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) ionosphere model) with reasonably adjusted values of inputs (neutral densities, winds, electric fields, and photoelectron heating), we simulated the evolution of O+/H+ transition height and field-aligned electron and ion densities so that a fair agreement was obtained between the simulation results and observations. Simulation studies indicated that reduced neutral densities (H and/or O) with time limited O+-H charge exchange process. This reduction in neutral densities combined with changes in neutral winds and plasma temperature led to the observed variations in the electron and ion densities. The observation/simulation method presented here can be extended to investigate the role of neutral densities and composition, disturbed winds, and prompt penetration electric fields in the storm time ionosphere/plasmasphere dynamics.

An acoustic metamaterial composed of multi-layer membrane-coated perforated plates for low-frequency sound insulation

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Li; Chen, Zhe; Zhang, Shu-yi; Ding, Jin; Li, Xiao-juan; Zhang, Hui

2015-04-01

Insulating against low-frequency sound (below 500 Hz ) remains challenging despite the progress that has been achieved in sound insulation and absorption. In this work, an acoustic metamaterial based on membrane-coated perforated plates is presented for achieving sound insulation in a low-frequency range, even covering the lower audio frequency limit, 20 Hz . Theoretical analysis and finite element simulations demonstrate that this metamaterial can effectively block acoustic waves over a wide low-frequency band regardless of incident angles. Two mechanisms, non-resonance and monopolar resonance, operate in the metamaterial, resulting in a more powerful sound insulation ability than that achieved using periodically arranged multi-layer solid plates.

Sound specificity effects in spoken word recognition: The effect of integrality between words and sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strori, Dorina; Zaar, Johannes; Cooke, Martin

2017-01-01

Recent evidence has shown that nonlinguistic sounds co-occurring with spoken words may be retained in memory and affect later retrieval of the words. This sound-specificity effect shares many characteristics with the classic voice-specificity effect. In this study, we argue that the sound......-specificity effect is conditional upon the context in which the word and sound coexist. Specifically, we argue that, besides co-occurrence, integrality between words and sounds is a crucial factor in the emergence of the effect. In two recognition-memory experiments, we compared the emergence of voice and sound...... from a mere co-occurrence context effect by removing the intensity modulation. The absence of integrality led to the disappearance of the sound-specificity effect. Taken together, the results suggest that the assimilation of background sounds into memory cannot be reduced to a simple context effect...

Active sound reduction system and method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2016-01-01

The present invention refers to an active sound reduction system and method for attenuation of sound emitted by a primary sound source, especially for attenuation of snoring sounds emitted by a human being. This system comprises a primary sound source, at least one speaker as a secondary sound

Salient measures of inhibition and switching are associated with frontal lobe gray matter volume in healthy middle-aged and older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Adólfsdóttir, Steinunn; Haász, Judit; Wehling, Eike; Ystad, Martin; Lundervold, Arvid; Lundervold, Astri J

2014-11-01

To investigate brain-behavior relationships between morphometric brain measures and salient executive function (EF) measures of inhibition and switching. One hundred participants (49-80 years) performed the Color Word Interference Test from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). Salient measures of EF components of inhibition and switching, of which the effect of more fundamental skills were regressed out, were analyzed using linear models and a conditional inference trees analysis taking intercorrelations between predictor variables (brain volumes, age, gender, and education) into account. The conditional inference trees analysis demonstrated a primary role of the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in explaining variations in the salient EF measure of switching and combined inhibition/switching. Age predicted measures of inhibition. The study highlights the importance of considering fundamental cognitive skills and the use of a statistical method taking possible complex relationships between predictor variables into account when interpreting standard EF test results. Further studies should include MRI measures representing neural networks that may relate to CWIT performance, and longitudinal studies are required to investigate any causal relationships. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Sound Symbolism in Basic Vocabulary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Søren Wichmann

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The relationship between meanings of words and their sound shapes is to a large extent arbitrary, but it is well known that languages exhibit sound symbolism effects violating arbitrariness. Evidence for sound symbolism is typically anecdotal, however. Here we present a systematic approach. Using a selection of basic vocabulary in nearly one half of the world’s languages we find commonalities among sound shapes for words referring to same concepts. These are interpreted as due to sound symbolism. Studying the effects of sound symbolism cross-linguistically is of key importance for the understanding of language evolution.

The Mass and Individual Terror in the Mirror of the Soviet and Russian Cinema (the Feature Films of the Sound Period and Media Literacy Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Fedorov

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article gives the way for hermeneutic analysis of the topic of the mass and individual terror in the mirror of the Soviet and Russian cinema (the feature films of the sound period. The hermeneutical analysis suggests media text comprehension through comparison with historical, cultural tradition and reality; penetration of its logic; through comparison of media images in historical and cultural context by combining historical, hermeneutical analysis of the structural, plot, ethical, ideological, iconographic / visual, media stereotypes and analysis of media text characters. An analysis of this kind of media texts, in our opinion, is particularly important for media literacy education of future historians, culture and art historians, sociologists, psychologists and educators.

Sounding the Alarm: An Introduction to Ecological Sound Art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Gilmurray

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years, a number of sound artists have begun engaging with ecological issues through their work, forming a growing movement of ˝ecological sound art˝. This paper traces its development, examines its influences, and provides examples of the artists whose work is currently defining this important and timely new field.

Being in a Virtual World

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Walther-Hansen, Mads; Grimshaw, Mark

2016-01-01

We present a theoretical framework by which virtual world sound designers may work towards the attainment of presence. Drawing on the study of cognitive metaphors and the view that sound is an emergent perception we offer an account of the environment as a salient and dynamic construct that funct......We present a theoretical framework by which virtual world sound designers may work towards the attainment of presence. Drawing on the study of cognitive metaphors and the view that sound is an emergent perception we offer an account of the environment as a salient and dynamic construct...... that functions as a synecdoche for the nonself. Separating environment from world, we discuss the role of sound in the forming of the environment and argue that it is this environment that establishes the means for presence because it is the process behind the construction of the environment that individuates...

Sound Stuff? Naïve materialism in middle-school students' conceptions of sound

Science.gov (United States)

Eshach, Haim; Schwartz, Judah L.

2006-06-01

Few studies have dealt with students’ preconceptions of sounds. The current research employs Reiner et al. (2000) substance schema to reveal new insights about students’ difficulties in understanding this fundamental topic. It aims not only to detect whether the substance schema is present in middle school students’ thinking, but also examines how students use the schema’s properties. It asks, moreover, whether the substance schema properties are used as islands of local consistency or whether one can identify more global coherent consistencies among the properties that the students use to explain the sound phenomena. In-depth standardized open-ended interviews were conducted with ten middle school students. Consistent with the substance schema, sound was perceived by our participants as being pushable, frictional, containable, or transitional. However, sound was also viewed as a substance different from the ordinary with respect to its stability, corpuscular nature, additive properties, and inertial characteristics. In other words, students’ conceptions of sound do not seem to fit Reiner et al.’s schema in all respects. Our results also indicate that students’ conceptualization of sound lack internal consistency. Analyzing our results with respect to local and global coherence, we found students’ conception of sound is close to diSessa’s “loosely connected, fragmented collection of ideas.” The notion that sound is perceived only as a “sort of a material,” we believe, requires some revision of the substance schema as it applies to sound. The article closes with a discussion concerning the implications of the results for instruction.

Sound-by-sound thalamic stimulation modulates midbrain auditory excitability and relative binaural sensitivity in frogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponnath, Abhilash; Farris, Hamilton E

2014-01-01

Descending circuitry can modulate auditory processing, biasing sensitivity to particular stimulus parameters and locations. Using awake in vivo single unit recordings, this study tested whether electrical stimulation of the thalamus modulates auditory excitability and relative binaural sensitivity in neurons of the amphibian midbrain. In addition, by using electrical stimuli that were either longer than the acoustic stimuli (i.e., seconds) or presented on a sound-by-sound basis (ms), experiments addressed whether the form of modulation depended on the temporal structure of the electrical stimulus. Following long duration electrical stimulation (3-10 s of 20 Hz square pulses), excitability (spikes/acoustic stimulus) to free-field noise stimuli decreased by 32%, but returned over 600 s. In contrast, sound-by-sound electrical stimulation using a single 2 ms duration electrical pulse 25 ms before each noise stimulus caused faster and varied forms of modulation: modulation lasted sound-by-sound electrical stimulation varied between different acoustic stimuli, including for different male calls, suggesting modulation is specific to certain stimulus attributes. For binaural units, modulation depended on the ear of input, as sound-by-sound electrical stimulation preceding dichotic acoustic stimulation caused asymmetric modulatory effects: sensitivity shifted for sounds at only one ear, or by different relative amounts for both ears. This caused a change in the relative difference in binaural sensitivity. Thus, sound-by-sound electrical stimulation revealed fast and ear-specific (i.e., lateralized) auditory modulation that is potentially suited to shifts in auditory attention during sound segregation in the auditory scene.

Sound specificity effects in spoken word recognition: The effect of integrality between words and sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Strori, Dorina; Zaar, Johannes; Cooke, Martin; Mattys, Sven L

2018-01-01

Recent evidence has shown that nonlinguistic sounds co-occurring with spoken words may be retained in memory and affect later retrieval of the words. This sound-specificity effect shares many characteristics with the classic voice-specificity effect. In this study, we argue that the sound-specificity effect is conditional upon the context in which the word and sound coexist. Specifically, we argue that, besides co-occurrence, integrality between words and sounds is a crucial factor in the emergence of the effect. In two recognition-memory experiments, we compared the emergence of voice and sound specificity effects. In Experiment 1 , we examined two conditions where integrality is high. Namely, the classic voice-specificity effect (Exp. 1a) was compared with a condition in which the intensity envelope of a background sound was modulated along the intensity envelope of the accompanying spoken word (Exp. 1b). Results revealed a robust voice-specificity effect and, critically, a comparable sound-specificity effect: A change in the paired sound from exposure to test led to a decrease in word-recognition performance. In the second experiment, we sought to disentangle the contribution of integrality from a mere co-occurrence context effect by removing the intensity modulation. The absence of integrality led to the disappearance of the sound-specificity effect. Taken together, the results suggest that the assimilation of background sounds into memory cannot be reduced to a simple context effect. Rather, it is conditioned by the extent to which words and sounds are perceived as integral as opposed to distinct auditory objects.

Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds The Sound of Music

CERN Document Server

Beauchamp, James W

2007-01-01

Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds contains a detailed treatment of basic methods for analysis and synthesis of musical sounds, including the phase vocoder method, the McAulay-Quatieri frequency-tracking method, the constant-Q transform, and methods for pitch tracking with several examples shown. Various aspects of musical sound spectra such as spectral envelope, spectral centroid, spectral flux, and spectral irregularity are defined and discussed. One chapter is devoted to the control and synthesis of spectral envelopes. Two advanced methods of analysis/synthesis are given: "Sines Plus Transients Plus Noise" and "Spectrotemporal Reassignment" are covered. Methods for timbre morphing are given. The last two chapters discuss the perception of musical sounds based on discrimination and multidimensional scaling timbre models.

Microscopic and hydrodynamic theory of superfluidity in periodic solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saslow, W.M.

1977-01-01

The microscopic theory of fourth sound and of the superfluid fraction for perfect one-component periodic solids has been derived. It is applicable to finite temperatures and is restricted to the case of well-defined excitations. One finds that the superfluid fraction is a tensor rho/sub s//sub b//sub β//rho 0 and that the fourth-sound velocity C 4 is a tensor (C 2 4 )/sub b//sub β/ = (partialrho 0 /partialμ 0 ) -1 rho/sub s//sub b//sub β/, where μ 0 and rho 0 are the spatially averaged values of the chemical potential (per unit mass) and of the number density. In addition, the exact nonlinearized hydrodynamics is derived, and for fourth sound is found to give agreement with the microscopic theory. Because the superfluid velocity for a periodic solid cannot be generated by a Galilean transformation, it is found that elastic waves are loaded by the average mass density of the system. This is in contrast to the result of Andreev and Lifshitz, which involves only the superfluid fraction. Therefore one cannot look to (hydrodynamic) elastic waves for an obvious signature of superfluidity. A study of the effect of a transducer indicates that fourth sound will be generated to a non-negligible extent only when the crystal is imperfect (i.e., it has vacancies, interstitials, or impurities). On the other hand, a heater might be an effective generator of fourth sound, provided that the mean free path for umklapp processes is sufficiently small. In the limit of zero crystallinity the theory shows that second sound, rather than fourth sound, occurs. Detection of superflow by rotation experiments is also considered. It is pointed out that, because the superfluid velocity is not Galilean, two-fluid counterflow does not occur. Hence, it appears that rapid angular acceleration or deceleration would be the best technique for bringing the superfluid into rotation

Michael Jackson's Sound Stages

OpenAIRE

Morten Michelsen

2012-01-01

In order to discuss analytically spatial aspects of recorded sound William Moylan’s concept of ‘sound stage’ is developed within a musicological framework as part of a sound paradigm which includes timbre, texture and sound stage. Two Michael Jackson songs (‘The Lady in My Life’ from 1982 and ‘Scream’ from 1995) are used to: a) demonstrate the value of such a conceptualisation, and b) demonstrate that the model has its limits, as record producers in the 1990s began ignoring the conventions of...

ABOUT SOUNDS IN VIDEO GAMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denikin Anton A.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The article considers the aesthetical and practical possibilities for sounds (sound design in video games and interactive applications. Outlines the key features of the game sound, such as simulation, representativeness, interactivity, immersion, randomization, and audio-visuality. The author defines the basic terminology in study of game audio, as well as identifies significant aesthetic differences between film sounds and sounds in video game projects. It is an attempt to determine the techniques of art analysis for the approaches in study of video games including aesthetics of their sounds. The article offers a range of research methods, considering the video game scoring as a contemporary creative practice.

The Norwegian sounding rocket programme 1978-81

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landmark, B.

1978-01-01

The Norwegian sounding rocket programme is reasonably well defined up to and including the winter of 1981/82. All the projects have been planned and will be carried out in international cooperation. Norwegian scientists so far plan to participate in a number of 24 rocket payloads over the period. Out of these 18 will be launched from the Andoya rocket range, 3 from Esrange and 3 from the siple station in the antarctic. (author)

”Sound [signal] noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørnsten, Thomas

2012-01-01

The article discusses the intricate relationship between sound and signification through notions of noise. The emergence of new fields of sonic artistic practices has generated several questions of how to approach sound as aesthetic form and material. During the past decade an increased attention...... has been paid to, for instance, a category such as ‘sound art’ together with an equally strengthened interest in phenomena and concepts that fall outside the accepted aesthetic procedures and constructions of what we traditionally would term as musical sound – a recurring example being ‘noise’....

Beneath sci-fi sound: primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema

OpenAIRE

Johnston, Nessa

2012-01-01

Primer is a very low budget science-fiction film that deals with the subject of time travel; however, it looks and sounds quite distinctively different from other films associated with the genre. While Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi relies on “sound spectacle” as a key attraction, in contrast Primer sounds “lo-fi” and screen-centred, mixed to two channel stereo rather than the now industry-standard 5.1 surround sound. Although this is partly a consequence of the economics of its production, the...

Sound classification of dwellings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2012-01-01

National schemes for sound classification of dwellings exist in more than ten countries in Europe, typically published as national standards. The schemes define quality classes reflecting different levels of acoustical comfort. Main criteria concern airborne and impact sound insulation between...... dwellings, facade sound insulation and installation noise. The schemes have been developed, implemented and revised gradually since the early 1990s. However, due to lack of coordination between countries, there are significant discrepancies, and new standards and revisions continue to increase the diversity...... is needed, and a European COST Action TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing Constructions", has been established and runs 2009-2013, one of the main objectives being to prepare a proposal for a European sound classification scheme with a number of quality...

Vocal Imitations of Non-Vocal Sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Houix, Olivier; Voisin, Frédéric; Misdariis, Nicolas; Susini, Patrick

2016-01-01

Imitative behaviors are widespread in humans, in particular whenever two persons communicate and interact. Several tokens of spoken languages (onomatopoeias, ideophones, and phonesthemes) also display different degrees of iconicity between the sound of a word and what it refers to. Thus, it probably comes at no surprise that human speakers use a lot of imitative vocalizations and gestures when they communicate about sounds, as sounds are notably difficult to describe. What is more surprising is that vocal imitations of non-vocal everyday sounds (e.g. the sound of a car passing by) are in practice very effective: listeners identify sounds better with vocal imitations than with verbal descriptions, despite the fact that vocal imitations are inaccurate reproductions of a sound created by a particular mechanical system (e.g. a car driving by) through a different system (the voice apparatus). The present study investigated the semantic representations evoked by vocal imitations of sounds by experimentally quantifying how well listeners could match sounds to category labels. The experiment used three different types of sounds: recordings of easily identifiable sounds (sounds of human actions and manufactured products), human vocal imitations, and computational “auditory sketches” (created by algorithmic computations). The results show that performance with the best vocal imitations was similar to the best auditory sketches for most categories of sounds, and even to the referent sounds themselves in some cases. More detailed analyses showed that the acoustic distance between a vocal imitation and a referent sound is not sufficient to account for such performance. Analyses suggested that instead of trying to reproduce the referent sound as accurately as vocally possible, vocal imitations focus on a few important features, which depend on each particular sound category. These results offer perspectives for understanding how human listeners store and access long

Design of salient pole PM synchronous machines for a vehicle traction application. Analysis and implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rilla, M.

2012-07-01

This doctoral thesis presents a study on the development of a liquid-cooled frame salient pole permanent-magnet-exited traction machine for a four-wheel-driven electric car. The emphasis of the thesis is put on a radial flux machine design in order to achieve a light-weight machine structure for traction applications. The design features combine electromagnetic and thermal design methods, because traction machine operation does not have a strict operating point. Arbitrary load cycles and the flexible supply require special attention in the design process. It is shown that accurate modelling of the machine magnetic state is essential for high-performance operation. The saturation effect related to the cross-saturation has to be taken carefully into account in order to achieve the desired operation. Two prototype machines have been designed and built for testing: one totally enclosed machine with a special magnet module pole arrangement and another through-ventilated machine with a more traditional embedded magnet structure. Both structures are built with magnetically salient structures in order to increase the torque production capability with the reluctance torque component. Both machine structures show potential for traction usage. However, the traditional embedded magnet design turns out to be mechanically the more secure one of these two machine options. (orig.)

Amplitude modulation of sexy phrases is salient for song attractiveness in female canaries (Serinus canaria).

Science.gov (United States)

Pasteau, Magali; Ung, Davy; Kreutzer, Michel; Aubin, Thierry

2012-07-01

Song discrimination and recognition in songbird species have usually been studied by measuring responses to song playbacks. In female canaries, Serinus canaria, copulation solicitation displays (CSDs) are used as an index of female preferences, which are related to song recognition. Despite the fact that many studies underline the role of song syntax in this species, we observed that short segments of songs (a few seconds long) are enough for females to discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific songs, whereas such a short duration is not sufficient to identify the syntax rules. This suggests that other cues are salient for song recognition. In this experiment, we investigated the influence of amplitude modulation (AM) on the responses (CSDs) of female canaries to song playbacks. We used two groups of females: (1) raised in acoustic isolation and (2) raised in normal conditions. When adult, we tested their preferences for sexy phrases with different AMs. We broadcast three types of stimuli: (1) songs with natural canary AM, (2) songs with AM removed, or (3) song with wren Troglodytes troglodytes AM. Results indicate that female canaries prefer and have predispositions for a song type with the natural canary AM. Thus, this acoustic parameter is a salient cue for song attractiveness.

Sound Art Situations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh Groth, Sanne; Samson, Kristine

2017-01-01

and combine theories from several fields. Aspects of sound art studies, performance studies and contemporary art studies are presented in order to theoretically explore the very diverse dimensions of the two sound art pieces: Visual, auditory, performative, social, spatial and durational dimensions become......This article is an analysis of two sound art performances that took place June 2015 in outdoor public spaces in the social housing area Urbanplanen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The two performances were On the production of a poor acoustics by Brandon LaBelle and Green Interactive Biofeedback...... Environments (GIBE) by Jeremy Woodruff. In order to investigate the complex situation that arises when sound art is staged in such contexts, the authors of this article suggest exploring the events through approaching them as ‘situations’ (Doherty 2009). With this approach it becomes possible to engage...

A State-of-the-Art Review: Personalization of Tinnitus Sound Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grant D. Searchfield

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: There are several established, and an increasing number of putative, therapies using sound to treat tinnitus. There appear to be few guidelines for sound therapy selection and application.Aim: To review current approaches to personalizing sound therapy for tinnitus.Methods: A “state-of-the-art” review (Grant and Booth, 2009 was undertaken to answer the question: how do current sound-based therapies for tinnitus adjust for tinnitus heterogeneity? Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase and PubMed were searched for the 10-year period 2006–2016. The search strategy used the following key words: “tinnitus” AND “sound” AND “therapy” AND “guidelines” OR “personalized” OR “customized” OR “individual” OR “questionnaire” OR “selection.” The results of the review were cataloged and organized into themes.Results: In total 165 articles were reviewed in full, 83 contained sufficient details to contribute to answering the study question. The key themes identified were hearing compensation, pitched-match therapy, maskability, reaction to sound and psychosocial factors. Although many therapies mentioned customization, few could be classified as being personalized. Several psychoacoustic and questionnaire-based methods for assisting treatment selection were identified.Conclusions: Assessment methods are available to assist clinicians to personalize sound-therapy and empower patients to be active in therapy decision-making. Most current therapies are modified using only one characteristic of the individual and/or their tinnitus.

Characteristic sounds facilitate visual search.

Science.gov (United States)

Iordanescu, Lucica; Guzman-Martinez, Emmanuel; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2008-06-01

In a natural environment, objects that we look for often make characteristic sounds. A hiding cat may meow, or the keys in the cluttered drawer may jingle when moved. Using a visual search paradigm, we demonstrated that characteristic sounds facilitated visual localization of objects, even when the sounds carried no location information. For example, finding a cat was faster when participants heard a meow sound. In contrast, sounds had no effect when participants searched for names rather than pictures of objects. For example, hearing "meow" did not facilitate localization of the word cat. These results suggest that characteristic sounds cross-modally enhance visual (rather than conceptual) processing of the corresponding objects. Our behavioral demonstration of object-based cross-modal enhancement complements the extensive literature on space-based cross-modal interactions. When looking for your keys next time, you might want to play jingling sounds.

Determining the speed of sound in the air by sound wave interference

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Abel A.

2017-07-01

Mechanical waves propagate through material media. Sound is an example of a mechanical wave. In fluids like air, sound waves propagate through successive longitudinal perturbations of compression and decompression. Audible sound frequencies for human ears range from 20 to 20 000 Hz. In this study, the speed of sound v in the air is determined using the identification of maxima of interference from two synchronous waves at frequency f. The values of v were correct to 0 °C. The experimental average value of {\\bar{ν }}\\exp =336 +/- 4 {{m}} {{{s}}}-1 was found. It is 1.5% larger than the reference value. The standard deviation of 4 m s-1 (1.2% of {\\bar{ν }}\\exp ) is an improved value by the use of the concept of the central limit theorem. The proposed procedure to determine the speed of sound in the air aims to be an academic activity for physics classes of scientific and technological courses in college.

Localizing semantic interference from distractor sounds in picture naming: A dual-task study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mädebach, Andreas; Kieseler, Marie-Luise; Jescheniak, Jörg D

2017-10-13

In this study we explored the locus of semantic interference in a novel picture-sound interference task in which participants name pictures while ignoring environmental distractor sounds. In a previous study using this task (Mädebach, Wöhner, Kieseler, & Jescheniak, in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 43, 1629-1646, 2017), we showed that semantically related distractor sounds (e.g., BARKING dog ) interfere with a picture-naming response (e.g., "horse") more strongly than unrelated distractor sounds do (e.g., DRUMMING drum ). In the experiment reported here, we employed the psychological refractory period (PRP) approach to explore the locus of this effect. We combined a geometric form classification task (square vs. circle; Task 1) with the picture-sound interference task (Task 2). The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the tasks was systematically varied (0 vs. 500 ms). There were three central findings. First, the semantic interference effect from distractor sounds was replicated. Second, picture naming (in Task 2) was slower with the short than with the long task SOA. Third, both effects were additive-that is, the semantic interference effects were of similar magnitude at both task SOAs. This suggests that the interference arises during response selection or later stages, not during early perceptual processing. This finding corroborates the theory that semantic interference from distractor sounds reflects a competitive selection mechanism in word production.

Fluid Sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Explorations and analysis of soundscapes have, since Canadian R. Murray Schafer's work during the early 1970's, developed into various established research - and artistic disciplines. The interest in sonic environments is today present within a broad range of contemporary art projects and in arch......Explorations and analysis of soundscapes have, since Canadian R. Murray Schafer's work during the early 1970's, developed into various established research - and artistic disciplines. The interest in sonic environments is today present within a broad range of contemporary art projects...... and in architectural design. Aesthetics, psychoacoustics, perception, and cognition are all present in this expanding field embracing such categories as soundscape composition, sound art, sonic art, sound design, sound studies and auditory culture. Of greatest significance to the overall field is the investigation...

The influence of environmental sound training on the perception of spectrally degraded speech and environmental sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Shafiro, Valeriy; Sheft, Stanley; Gygi, Brian; Ho, Kim Thien N

2012-06-01

Perceptual training with spectrally degraded environmental sounds results in improved environmental sound identification, with benefits shown to extend to untrained speech perception as well. The present study extended those findings to examine longer-term training effects as well as effects of mere repeated exposure to sounds over time. Participants received two pretests (1 week apart) prior to a week-long environmental sound training regimen, which was followed by two posttest sessions, separated by another week without training. Spectrally degraded stimuli, processed with a four-channel vocoder, consisted of a 160-item environmental sound test, word and sentence tests, and a battery of basic auditory abilities and cognitive tests. Results indicated significant improvements in all speech and environmental sound scores between the initial pretest and the last posttest with performance increments following both exposure and training. For environmental sounds (the stimulus class that was trained), the magnitude of positive change that accompanied training was much greater than that due to exposure alone, with improvement for untrained sounds roughly comparable to the speech benefit from exposure. Additional tests of auditory and cognitive abilities showed that speech and environmental sound performance were differentially correlated with tests of spectral and temporal-fine-structure processing, whereas working memory and executive function were correlated with speech, but not environmental sound perception. These findings indicate generalizability of environmental sound training and provide a basis for implementing environmental sound training programs for cochlear implant (CI) patients.

Sound Surfing Network (SSN): Mobile Phone-based Sound Spatialization with Audience Collaboration

OpenAIRE

Park, Saebyul; Ban, Seonghoon; Hong, Dae Ryong; Yeo, Woon Seung

2013-01-01

SSN (Sound Surfing Network) is a performance system that provides a new musicalexperience by incorporating mobile phone-based spatial sound control tocollaborative music performance. SSN enables both the performer and theaudience to manipulate the spatial distribution of sound using the smartphonesof the audience as distributed speaker system. Proposing a new perspective tothe social aspect music appreciation, SSN will provide a new possibility tomobile music performances in the context of in...

Nonlinear generation of non-acoustic modes by low-frequency sound in a vibrationally relaxing gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perelomova, A.

2010-01-01

Two dynamic equations referring to a weakly nonlinear and weakly dispersive flow of a gas in which molecular vibrational relaxation takes place, are derived. The first one governs an excess temperature associated with the thermal mode, and the second one describes variations in vibrational energy. Both quantities refer to non-wave types of gas motion. These variations are caused by the nonlinear transfer of acoustic energy into thermal mode and internal vibrational degrees of freedom of a relaxing gas. The final dynamic equations are instantaneous; they include a quadratic nonlinear acoustic source, reflecting the nonlinear character of interaction of low-frequency acoustic and non-acoustic motions of the fluid. All types of sound, periodic or aperiodic, may serve as an acoustic source of both phenomena. The low-frequency sound is considered in this study. Some conclusions about temporal behavior of non-acoustic modes caused by periodic and aperiodic sound are made. Under certain conditions, acoustic cooling takes place instead of heating. (author)

Sound Exposure of Symphony Orchestra Musicians

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Jesper Hvass; Pedersen, Ellen Raben; Juhl, Peter Møller

2011-01-01

dBA and their left ear was exposed 4.6 dB more than the right ear. Percussionists were exposed to high sound peaks >115 dBC but less continuous sound exposure was observed in this group. Musicians were exposed up to LAeq8h of 92 dB and a majority of musicians were exposed to sound levels exceeding......Background: Assessment of sound exposure by noise dosimetry can be challenging especially when measuring the exposure of classical orchestra musicians where sound originate from many different instruments. A new measurement method of bilateral sound exposure of classical musicians was developed...... and used to characterize sound exposure of the left and right ear simultaneously in two different symphony orchestras.Objectives: To measure binaural sound exposure of professional classical musicians and to identify possible exposure risk factors of specific musicians.Methods: Sound exposure was measured...

Selecting salient frames for spatiotemporal video modeling and segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiaomu; Fan, Guoliang

2007-12-01

We propose a new statistical generative model for spatiotemporal video segmentation. The objective is to partition a video sequence into homogeneous segments that can be used as "building blocks" for semantic video segmentation. The baseline framework is a Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based video modeling approach that involves a six-dimensional spatiotemporal feature space. Specifically, we introduce the concept of frame saliency to quantify the relevancy of a video frame to the GMM-based spatiotemporal video modeling. This helps us use a small set of salient frames to facilitate the model training by reducing data redundancy and irrelevance. A modified expectation maximization algorithm is developed for simultaneous GMM training and frame saliency estimation, and the frames with the highest saliency values are extracted to refine the GMM estimation for video segmentation. Moreover, it is interesting to find that frame saliency can imply some object behaviors. This makes the proposed method also applicable to other frame-related video analysis tasks, such as key-frame extraction, video skimming, etc. Experiments on real videos demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

A Fault-Tolerant Parallel Structure of Single-Phase Full-Bridge Rectifiers for a Wound-Field Doubly Salient Generator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Zhihui; Chen, Ran; Chen, Zhe

2013-01-01

The fault-tolerance design is widely adopted for high-reliability applications. In this paper, a parallel structure of single-phase full-bridge rectifiers (FBRs) (PS-SPFBR) is proposed for a wound-field doubly salient generator. The analysis shows the potential fault-tolerance capability of the PS...

The flexible engagement of monitoring processes in non-focal and focal prospective memory tasks with salient cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Hefer, Carmen; Cohen, Anna-Lisa; Jaudas, Alexander; Dreisbach, Gesine

2017-09-01

Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to remember to perform a delayed intention. Here, we aimed to investigate the ability to suspend such an intention and thus to confirm previous findings (Cohen, Gordon, Jaudas, Hefer, & Dreisbach, 2016) demonstrating the ability to flexibly engage in monitoring processes. In the current study, we presented a perceptually salient PM cue (bold and red) to rule out that previous findings were limited to non-salient and, thus, easy to ignore PM cues. Moreover, we used both a non-focal (Experiment 1) and a focal PM (Experiment 2) cue. In both Experiments, three groups of participants performed an Eriksen flanker task as an ongoing task with an embedded PM task (they had to remember to press the F1 key if a pre-specified cue appeared). Participants were assigned to either a control condition (performed solely the flanker task), a standard PM condition (performed the flanker task along with the PM task), or a PM delayed condition (performed the flanker task but were instructed to postpone their PM task intention). The results of Experiment 1 with the non-focal PM cue closely replicated those of Cohen et al. (2016) and confirmed that participants were able to successfully postpone the PM cue intention without additional costs even when the PM cue was a perceptually salient one. However, when the PM cue was focal (Experiment 2), it was much more difficult for participants to ignore it as evidenced by commission errors and slower latencies on PM cue trials. In sum, results showed that the focality of the PM cue plays a more crucial role in the flexibility of the monitoring process whereas the saliency of the PM cue does not. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sound production in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and its alteration by exposure to aldicarb and copper sulfate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Ik Joon; Qiu, Xuchun; Moroishi, Junya; Oshima, Yuji

2017-08-01

This study is the first to report sound production in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Sound production was affected by exposure to the carbamate insecticide (aldicarb) and heavy-metal compound (copper sulfate). Medaka were exposed at four concentrations (aldicarb: 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg L -1 ; copper sulfate: 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg L -1 ), and sound characteristics were monitored for 5 h after exposure. We observed constant average interpulse intervals (approx 0.2 s) in all test groups before exposure, and in the control groups throughout the experiment. The average interpulse interval became significantly longer during the recording periods after 50 min of exposure to aldicarb, and reached a length of more than 0.3 s during the recording periods after 120 min exposure. Most medaka fish stopped to produce sound after 50 min of exposure to copper sulfate at 1 and 2 mg L -1 , resulting in significantly declined number of sound pulses and pulse groups. Relative shortened interpulse intervals of sound were occasionally observed in medaka fish exposed to 0.5 mg L -1 copper sulfate. These alternations in sound characteristics due to toxicants exposure suggested that they might impair acoustic communication of medaka fish, which may be important for their reproduction and survival. Our results suggested that using acoustic changes of medaka has potential to monitor precipitate water pollutions, such as intentional poisoning or accidental leakage of industrial waste. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Letter-Sound Reading: Teaching Preschool Children Print-to-Sound Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Gail Marie

2016-01-01

This intervention study investigated the growth of letter sound reading and growth of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word decoding abilities for a representative sample of 41 US children in preschool settings. Specifically, the study evaluated the effectiveness of a 3-step letter-sound teaching intervention in teaching preschool children to…

Modelling Hyperboloid Sound Scattering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burry, Jane; Davis, Daniel; Peters, Brady

2011-01-01

The Responsive Acoustic Surfaces workshop project described here sought new understandings about the interaction between geometry and sound in the arena of sound scattering. This paper reports on the challenges associated with modelling, simulating, fabricating and measuring this phenomenon using...... both physical and digital models at three distinct scales. The results suggest hyperboloid geometry, while difficult to fabricate, facilitates sound scattering....

The influence of ski helmets on sound perception and sound localisation on the ski slope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lana Ružić

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate whether a ski helmet interferes with the sound localization and the time of sound perception in the frontal plane. Material and Methods: Twenty-three participants (age 30.7±10.2 were tested on the slope in 2 conditions, with and without wearing the ski helmet, by 6 different spatially distributed sound stimuli per each condition. Each of the subjects had to react when hearing the sound as soon as possible and to signalize the correct side of the sound arrival. Results: The results showed a significant difference in the ability to localize the specific ski sounds; 72.5±15.6% of correct answers without a helmet vs. 61.3±16.2% with a helmet (p < 0.01. However, the performance on this test did not depend on whether they were used to wearing a helmet (p = 0.89. In identifying the timing, at which the sound was firstly perceived, the results were also in favor of the subjects not wearing a helmet. The subjects reported hearing the ski sound clues at 73.4±5.56 m without a helmet vs. 60.29±6.34 m with a helmet (p < 0.001. In that case the results did depend on previously used helmets (p < 0.05, meaning that that regular usage of helmets might help to diminish the attenuation of the sound identification that occurs because of the helmets. Conclusions: Ski helmets might limit the ability of a skier to localize the direction of the sounds of danger and might interfere with the moment, in which the sound is firstly heard.

Reduction of noise in the neonatal intensive care unit using sound-activated noise meters.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, D; Aubertin, C; Barrowman, N; Moreau, K; Dunn, S; Harrold, J

2014-11-01

To determine if sound-activated noise meters providing direct audit and visual feedback can reduce sound levels in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Sound levels (in dB) were compared between a 2-month period with noise meters present but without visual signal fluctuation and a subsequent 2 months with the noise meters providing direct audit and visual feedback. There was a significant increase in the percentage of time the sound level in the NICU was below 50 dB across all patient care areas (9.9%, 8.9% and 7.3%). This improvement was not observed in the desk area where there are no admitted patients. There was no change in the percentage of time the NICU was below 45 or 55 dB. Sound-activated noise meters seem effective in reducing sound levels in patient care areas. Conversations may have moved to non-patient care areas preventing a similar change there. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

The influence of finite cavities on the sound insulation of double-plate structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunskog, Jonas

2005-06-01

Lightweight walls are often designed as frameworks of studs with plates on each side--a double-plate structure. The studs constitute boundaries for the cavities, thereby both affecting the sound transmission directly by short-circuiting the plates, and indirectly by disturbing the sound field between the plates. The paper presents a deterministic prediction model for airborne sound insulation including both effects of the studs. A spatial transform technique is used, taking advantage of the periodicity. The acoustic field inside the cavities is expanded by means of cosine-series. The transmission coefficient (angle-dependent and diffuse) and transmission loss are studied. Numerical examples are presented and comparisons with measurement are performed. The result indicates that a reasonably good agreement between theory and measurement can be achieved.

Material sound source localization through headphones

Science.gov (United States)

Dunai, Larisa; Peris-Fajarnes, Guillermo; Lengua, Ismael Lengua; Montaña, Ignacio Tortajada

2012-09-01

In the present paper a study of sound localization is carried out, considering two different sounds emitted from different hit materials (wood and bongo) as well as a Delta sound. The motivation of this research is to study how humans localize sounds coming from different materials, with the purpose of a future implementation of the acoustic sounds with better localization features in navigation aid systems or training audio-games suited for blind people. Wood and bongo sounds are recorded after hitting two objects made of these materials. Afterwards, they are analysed and processed. On the other hand, the Delta sound (click) is generated by using the Adobe Audition software, considering a frequency of 44.1 kHz. All sounds are analysed and convolved with previously measured non-individual Head-Related Transfer Functions both for an anechoic environment and for an environment with reverberation. The First Choice method is used in this experiment. Subjects are asked to localize the source position of the sound listened through the headphones, by using a graphic user interface. The analyses of the recorded data reveal that no significant differences are obtained either when considering the nature of the sounds (wood, bongo, Delta) or their environmental context (with or without reverberation). The localization accuracies for the anechoic sounds are: wood 90.19%, bongo 92.96% and Delta sound 89.59%, whereas for the sounds with reverberation the results are: wood 90.59%, bongo 92.63% and Delta sound 90.91%. According to these data, we can conclude that even when considering the reverberation effect, the localization accuracy does not significantly increase.

Considerations for sound policy on investment in the forestry sector ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the amount of real capital produced in terms of standing trees during some periods in the forestry sector of Osun and Oyo states with a view to considering sound policy on investment. Information were gathered through the use of primary and secondary data. The information obtained were analyzed ...

Sound insulation performance in Danish multi-storey housing 1850-2009 and upgrade possibilities to meet current regulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit; Hoffmeyer, Dan

2013-01-01

to improve sound insulation in multi-storey housing. The paper quantifies dwellings built in different periods of 1850-2009 and summarizes key characteristics of building types and constructions as well as related sound insulation performance, some being far from fulfilling the limits in the latest Danish...... regulations. Sound insulation data from selected building types are presented, and improvement potential and feasibility based on benefits and drawbacks of different solutions are discussed. To include practical experience in development of solutions, several housing associations have been contacted, but even...... when carrying out major refurbishment work, focus is on energy issues, building maintenance and visual qualities, and sound insulation improvement almost never considered. Thus, it is clearly a challenge to change the mind-set of involved parties to apply a more holistic approach and include sound...

Waveform analysis of sound

CERN Document Server

Tohyama, Mikio

2015-01-01

What is this sound? What does that sound indicate? These are two questions frequently heard in daily conversation. Sound results from the vibrations of elastic media and in daily life provides informative signals of events happening in the surrounding environment. In interpreting auditory sensations, the human ear seems particularly good at extracting the signal signatures from sound waves. Although exploring auditory processing schemes may be beyond our capabilities, source signature analysis is a very attractive area in which signal-processing schemes can be developed using mathematical expressions. This book is inspired by such processing schemes and is oriented to signature analysis of waveforms. Most of the examples in the book are taken from data of sound and vibrations; however, the methods and theories are mostly formulated using mathematical expressions rather than by acoustical interpretation. This book might therefore be attractive and informative for scientists, engineers, researchers, and graduat...

Intensive treatment with ultrasound visual feedback for speech sound errors in childhood apraxia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan L Preston

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Ultrasound imaging is an adjunct to traditional speech therapy that has shown to be beneficial in the remediation of speech sound errors. Ultrasound biofeedback can be utilized during therapy to provide clients additional knowledge about their tongue shapes when attempting to produce sounds that are in error. The additional feedback may assist children with childhood apraxia of speech in stabilizing motor patterns, thereby facilitating more consistent and accurate productions of sounds and syllables. However, due to its specialized nature, ultrasound visual feedback is a technology that is not widely available to clients. Short-term intensive treatment programs are one option that can be utilized to expand access to ultrasound biofeedback. Schema-based motor learning theory suggests that short-term intensive treatment programs (massed practice may assist children in acquiring more accurate motor patterns. In this case series, three participants ages 10-14 diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech attended 16 hours of speech therapy over a two-week period to address residual speech sound errors. Two participants had distortions on rhotic sounds, while the third participant demonstrated lateralization of sibilant sounds. During therapy, cues were provided to assist participants in obtaining a tongue shape that facilitated a correct production of the erred sound. Additional practice without ultrasound was also included. Results suggested that all participants showed signs of acquisition of sounds in error. Generalization and retention results were mixed. One participant showed generalization and retention of sounds that were treated; one showed generalization but limited retention; and the third showed no evidence of generalization or retention. Individual characteristics that may facilitate generalization are discussed. Short-term intensive treatment programs using ultrasound biofeedback may result in the acquisition of more accurate motor

Sound Settlements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Peder Duelund; Hornyanszky, Elisabeth Dalholm; Larsen, Jacob Norvig

2013-01-01

Præsentation af projektresultater fra Interreg forskningen Sound Settlements om udvikling af bæredygtighed i det almene boligbyggerier i København, Malmø, Helsingborg og Lund samt europæiske eksempler på best practice......Præsentation af projektresultater fra Interreg forskningen Sound Settlements om udvikling af bæredygtighed i det almene boligbyggerier i København, Malmø, Helsingborg og Lund samt europæiske eksempler på best practice...

Sounds of silence: How to animate virtual worlds with sound

Science.gov (United States)

Astheimer, Peter

1993-01-01

Sounds are an integral and sometimes annoying part of our daily life. Virtual worlds which imitate natural environments gain a lot of authenticity from fast, high quality visualization combined with sound effects. Sounds help to increase the degree of immersion for human dwellers in imaginary worlds significantly. The virtual reality toolkit of IGD (Institute for Computer Graphics) features a broad range of standard visual and advanced real-time audio components which interpret an object-oriented definition of the scene. The virtual reality system 'Virtual Design' realized with the toolkit enables the designer of virtual worlds to create a true audiovisual environment. Several examples on video demonstrate the usage of the audio features in Virtual Design.

How Pleasant Sounds Promote and Annoying Sounds Impede Health: A Cognitive Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tjeerd C. Andringa

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This theoretical paper addresses the cognitive functions via which quiet and in general pleasurable sounds promote and annoying sounds impede health. The article comprises a literature analysis and an interpretation of how the bidirectional influence of appraising the environment and the feelings of the perceiver can be understood in terms of core affect and motivation. This conceptual basis allows the formulation of a detailed cognitive model describing how sonic content, related to indicators of safety and danger, either allows full freedom over mind-states or forces the activation of a vigilance function with associated arousal. The model leads to a number of detailed predictions that can be used to provide existing soundscape approaches with a solid cognitive science foundation that may lead to novel approaches to soundscape design. These will take into account that louder sounds typically contribute to distal situational awareness while subtle environmental sounds provide proximal situational awareness. The role of safety indicators, mediated by proximal situational awareness and subtle sounds, should become more important in future soundscape research.

Sound synthesis and evaluation of interactive footsteps and environmental sounds rendering for virtual reality applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordahl, Rolf; Turchet, Luca; Serafin, Stefania

2011-09-01

We propose a system that affords real-time sound synthesis of footsteps on different materials. The system is based on microphones, which detect real footstep sounds from subjects, from which the ground reaction force (GRF) is estimated. Such GRF is used to control a sound synthesis engine based on physical models. Two experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, the ability of subjects to recognize the surface they were exposed to was assessed. In the second experiment, the sound synthesis engine was enhanced with environmental sounds. Results show that, in some conditions, adding a soundscape significantly improves the recognition of the simulated environment.

It sounds good!

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2010-01-01

Both the atmosphere and we ourselves are hit by hundreds of particles every second and yet nobody has ever heard a sound coming from these processes. Like cosmic rays, particles interacting inside the detectors at the LHC do not make any noise…unless you've decided to use the ‘sonification’ technique, in which case you might even hear the Higgs boson sound like music. Screenshot of the first page of the "LHC sound" site. A group of particle physicists, composers, software developers and artists recently got involved in the ‘LHC sound’ project to make the particles at the LHC produce music. Yes…music! The ‘sonification’ technique converts data into sound. “In this way, if you implement the right software you can get really nice music out of the particle tracks”, says Lily Asquith, a member of the ATLAS collaboration and one of the initiators of the project. The ‘LHC...

Musical Sound, Instruments, and Equipment

Science.gov (United States)

Photinos, Panos

2017-12-01

'Musical Sound, Instruments, and Equipment' offers a basic understanding of sound, musical instruments and music equipment, geared towards a general audience and non-science majors. The book begins with an introduction of the fundamental properties of sound waves, and the perception of the characteristics of sound. The relation between intensity and loudness, and the relation between frequency and pitch are discussed. The basics of propagation of sound waves, and the interaction of sound waves with objects and structures of various sizes are introduced. Standing waves, harmonics and resonance are explained in simple terms, using graphics that provide a visual understanding. The development is focused on musical instruments and acoustics. The construction of musical scales and the frequency relations are reviewed and applied in the description of musical instruments. The frequency spectrum of selected instruments is explored using freely available sound analysis software. Sound amplification and sound recording, including analog and digital approaches, are discussed in two separate chapters. The book concludes with a chapter on acoustics, the physical factors that affect the quality of the music experience, and practical ways to improve the acoustics at home or small recording studios. A brief technical section is provided at the end of each chapter, where the interested reader can find the relevant physics and sample calculations. These quantitative sections can be skipped without affecting the comprehension of the basic material. Questions are provided to test the reader's understanding of the material. Answers are given in the appendix.

Sound Velocity in Soap Foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Gong-Tao; Lü Yong-Jun; Liu Peng-Fei; Li Yi-Ning; Shi Qing-Fan

2012-01-01

The velocity of sound in soap foams at high gas volume fractions is experimentally studied by using the time difference method. It is found that the sound velocities increase with increasing bubble diameter, and asymptotically approach to the value in air when the diameter is larger than 12.5 mm. We propose a simple theoretical model for the sound propagation in a disordered foam. In this model, the attenuation of a sound wave due to the scattering of the bubble wall is equivalently described as the effect of an additional length. This simplicity reasonably reproduces the sound velocity in foams and the predicted results are in good agreement with the experiments. Further measurements indicate that the increase of frequency markedly slows down the sound velocity, whereas the latter does not display a strong dependence on the solution concentration

Some salient features of the atmosphere observed over the north ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

accuracy levels of 0.25◦ C and 0.2 ms−1 (or 2%, whichever is ... SST, hourly rainfall, surface pressure (PS), relative humidity (RH), wind speed and the latent heat flux (LHF) at TS2. ..... To start with, let us consider the average sound- ing for the ...

OMNIDIRECTIONAL SOUND SOURCE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

1996-01-01

A sound source comprising a loudspeaker (6) and a hollow coupler (4) with an open inlet which communicates with and is closed by the loudspeaker (6) and an open outlet, said coupler (4) comprising rigid walls which cannot respond to the sound pressures produced by the loudspeaker (6). According...

The velocity of sound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beyer, R.T.

1985-01-01

The paper reviews the work carried out on the velocity of sound in liquid alkali metals. The experimental methods to determine the velocity measurements are described. Tables are presented of reported data on the velocity of sound in lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium. A formula is given for alkali metals, in which the sound velocity is a function of shear viscosity, atomic mass and atomic volume. (U.K.)

Product sounds : Fundamentals and application

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ozcan-Vieira, E.

2008-01-01

Products are ubiquitous, so are the sounds emitted by products. Product sounds influence our reasoning, emotional state, purchase decisions, preference, and expectations regarding the product and the product's performance. Thus, auditory experience elicited by product sounds may not be just about

Suppression of sound radiation to far field of near-field acoustic communication system using evanescent sound field

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Ayaka; Wakatsuki, Naoto; Mizutani, Koichi

2016-01-01

A method of suppressing sound radiation to the far field of a near-field acoustic communication system using an evanescent sound field is proposed. The amplitude of the evanescent sound field generated from an infinite vibrating plate attenuates exponentially with increasing a distance from the surface of the vibrating plate. However, a discontinuity of the sound field exists at the edge of the finite vibrating plate in practice, which broadens the wavenumber spectrum. A sound wave radiates over the evanescent sound field because of broadening of the wavenumber spectrum. Therefore, we calculated the optimum distribution of the particle velocity on the vibrating plate to reduce the broadening of the wavenumber spectrum. We focused on a window function that is utilized in the field of signal analysis for reducing the broadening of the frequency spectrum. The optimization calculation is necessary for the design of window function suitable for suppressing sound radiation and securing a spatial area for data communication. In addition, a wide frequency bandwidth is required to increase the data transmission speed. Therefore, we investigated a suitable method for calculating the sound pressure level at the far field to confirm the variation of the distribution of sound pressure level determined on the basis of the window shape and frequency. The distribution of the sound pressure level at a finite distance was in good agreement with that obtained at an infinite far field under the condition generating the evanescent sound field. Consequently, the window function was optimized by the method used to calculate the distribution of the sound pressure level at an infinite far field using the wavenumber spectrum on the vibrating plate. According to the result of comparing the distributions of the sound pressure level in the cases with and without the window function, it was confirmed that the area whose sound pressure level was reduced from the maximum level to -50 dB was

Pre-slaughter sound levels and pre-slaughter handling from loading at the farm till slaughter influence pork quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Vermeulen, L; Van de Perre, V; Permentier, L; De Bie, S; Verbeke, G; Geers, R

2016-06-01

This study investigates the relationship between sound levels, pre-slaughter handling during loading and pork quality. Pre-slaughter variables were investigated from loading till slaughter. A total of 3213 pigs were measured 30 min post-mortem for pH(30LT) (M. Longissimus thoracis). First, a sound level model for the risk to develop PSE meat was established. The difference in maximum and mean sound level during loading, mean sound level during lairage and mean sound level prior to stunning remained significant within the model. This indicated that sound levels during loading had a significant added value to former sound models. Moreover, this study completed the global classification checklist (Vermeulen et al., 2015a) by developing a linear mixed model for pH(30LT) and PSE prevalence, with the difference in maximum and mean sound level measured during loading, the feed withdrawal period and the difference in temperature during loading and lairage. Hence, this study provided new insights over previous research where loading procedures were not included. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of SAGE II ozone measurements and ozone soundings at Uccle (Belgium) during the period February 1985 to January 1986

Science.gov (United States)

De Muer, D.; De Backer, H.; Zawodny, J. M.; Veiga, R. E.

1990-01-01

The ozone profiles obtained from 24 balloon soundings at Uccle (50 deg 48 min N, 4 deg 21 min E) made with electrochemical ozonesondes were used as correlative data for SAGE II ozone profiles retrieved within a distance of at most 600 km from Uccle. The agreement between the two data sets is in general quite good, especially for profiles nearly coincident in time and space, and during periods of little dynamic activity over the area considered. The percent difference between the ozone column density of the mean balloon and SAGE profile is 4.4 percent (-3.3) percent in the altitude region between 10 and 26 km. From a statistical analysis it appears that there is a small but meaningful difference between the mean profiles at the level of the ozone maximum and around the 30-km level. An error analysis of both data sets give similar results, leading to the conclusion that these differences are instrumentally induced. However, differences between the mean profiles in the lower stratosphere are probably real and due to the high ozone variability in time and space in that altitude region.

Pressure sound level measurements at an educational environment in Goiania, Goias, Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Jhonatha J.L.; Nascimento, Eriberto O. do; Oliveira, Lucas N. de [Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Goiás (IFG), Goiânia, GO (Brazil); Caldas, Linda V. E., E-mail: lcaldas@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-07-01

In this work, twenty five points located on the ground floor of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goias - IFG - Campus Goiania, were analyzed in morning periods of two Saturdays. The pressure sound levels were measured at internal and external environments during routine activities seeking to perform an environmental monitoring at this institution. The initial hypothesis was that an amusement park (Mutirama Park) was responsible for originating noise pollution in the institution, but the results showed, within the campus environment, sound pressure levels in accordance with the Municipal legislation of Goiania for all points. (author)

Pressure sound level measurements at an educational environment in Goiania, Goias, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Jhonatha J.L.; Nascimento, Eriberto O. do; Oliveira, Lucas N. de; Caldas, Linda V. E.

2017-01-01

In this work, twenty five points located on the ground floor of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goias - IFG - Campus Goiania, were analyzed in morning periods of two Saturdays. The pressure sound levels were measured at internal and external environments during routine activities seeking to perform an environmental monitoring at this institution. The initial hypothesis was that an amusement park (Mutirama Park) was responsible for originating noise pollution in the institution, but the results showed, within the campus environment, sound pressure levels in accordance with the Municipal legislation of Goiania for all points. (author)

33 CFR 334.410 - Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, and adjacent waters, NC; danger zones for naval aircraft operations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound... AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.410 Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, and adjacent waters, NC; danger zones for naval aircraft operations. (a) Target areas—(1) North Landing River (Currituck Sound...

Spectral analysis of bowel sounds in intestinal obstruction using an electronic stethoscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Ching, Siok Siong; Tan, Yih Kai

2012-09-07

To determine the value of bowel sounds analysis using an electronic stethoscope to support a clinical diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. Subjects were patients who presented with a diagnosis of possible intestinal obstruction based on symptoms, signs, and radiological findings. A 3M™ Littmann(®) Model 4100 electronic stethoscope was used in this study. With the patients lying supine, six 8-second recordings of bowel sounds were taken from each patient from the lower abdomen. The recordings were analysed for sound duration, sound-to-sound interval, dominant frequency, and peak frequency. Clinical and radiological data were reviewed and the patients were classified as having either acute, subacute, or no bowel obstruction. Comparison of bowel sound characteristics was made between these subgroups of patients. In the presence of an obstruction, the site of obstruction was identified and bowel calibre was also measured to correlate with bowel sounds. A total of 71 patients were studied during the period July 2009 to January 2011. Forty patients had acute bowel obstruction (27 small bowel obstruction and 13 large bowel obstruction), 11 had subacute bowel obstruction (eight in the small bowel and three in large bowel) and 20 had no bowel obstruction (diagnoses of other conditions were made). Twenty-five patients received surgical intervention (35.2%) during the same admission for acute abdominal conditions. A total of 426 recordings were made and 420 recordings were used for analysis. There was no significant difference in sound-to-sound interval, dominant frequency, and peak frequency among patients with acute bowel obstruction, subacute bowel obstruction, and no bowel obstruction. In acute large bowel obstruction, the sound duration was significantly longer (median 0.81 s vs 0.55 s, P = 0.021) and the dominant frequency was significantly higher (median 440 Hz vs 288 Hz, P = 0.003) when compared to acute small bowel obstruction. No significant difference was seen

Simulation of Sound Waves Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method for Fluid Flow: Benchmark Cases for Outdoor Sound Propagation.

Science.gov (United States)

Salomons, Erik M; Lohman, Walter J A; Zhou, Han

2016-01-01

Propagation of sound waves in air can be considered as a special case of fluid dynamics. Consequently, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for fluid flow can be used for simulating sound propagation. In this article application of the LBM to sound propagation is illustrated for various cases: free-field propagation, propagation over porous and non-porous ground, propagation over a noise barrier, and propagation in an atmosphere with wind. LBM results are compared with solutions of the equations of acoustics. It is found that the LBM works well for sound waves, but dissipation of sound waves with the LBM is generally much larger than real dissipation of sound waves in air. To circumvent this problem it is proposed here to use the LBM for assessing the excess sound level, i.e. the difference between the sound level and the free-field sound level. The effect of dissipation on the excess sound level is much smaller than the effect on the sound level, so the LBM can be used to estimate the excess sound level for a non-dissipative atmosphere, which is a useful quantity in atmospheric acoustics. To reduce dissipation in an LBM simulation two approaches are considered: i) reduction of the kinematic viscosity and ii) reduction of the lattice spacing.

Sounding out the logo shot

OpenAIRE

Nicolai Jørgensgaard Graakjær

2013-01-01

This article focuses on how sound in combination with visuals (i.e. ‘branding by’) may possibly affect the signifying potentials (i.e. ‘branding effect’) of products and corporate brands (i.e. ‘branding of’) during logo shots in television commercials (i.e. ‘branding through’). This particular focus adds both to the understanding of sound in television commercials and to the understanding of sound brands. The article firstly presents a typology of sounds. Secondly, this typology is applied...

Sound intensity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Crocker, Malcolm J.; Jacobsen, Finn

1998-01-01

This chapter is an overview, intended for readers with no special knowledge about this particular topic. The chapter deals with all aspects of sound intensity and its measurement from the fundamental theoretical background to practical applications of the measurement technique.......This chapter is an overview, intended for readers with no special knowledge about this particular topic. The chapter deals with all aspects of sound intensity and its measurement from the fundamental theoretical background to practical applications of the measurement technique....

Sound Intensity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Crocker, M.J.; Jacobsen, Finn

1997-01-01

This chapter is an overview, intended for readers with no special knowledge about this particular topic. The chapter deals with all aspects of sound intensity and its measurement from the fundamental theoretical background to practical applications of the measurement technique.......This chapter is an overview, intended for readers with no special knowledge about this particular topic. The chapter deals with all aspects of sound intensity and its measurement from the fundamental theoretical background to practical applications of the measurement technique....

SoleSound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zanotto, Damiano; Turchet, Luca; Boggs, Emily Marie

2014-01-01

This paper introduces the design of SoleSound, a wearable system designed to deliver ecological, audio-tactile, underfoot feedback. The device, which primarily targets clinical applications, uses an audio-tactile footstep synthesis engine informed by the readings of pressure and inertial sensors...... embedded in the footwear to integrate enhanced feedback modalities into the authors' previously developed instrumented footwear. The synthesis models currently implemented in the SoleSound simulate different ground surface interactions. Unlike similar devices, the system presented here is fully portable...

Sound engineering for diesel engines; Sound Engineering an Dieselmotoren

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enderich, A.; Fischer, R. [MAHLE Filtersysteme GmbH, Stuttgart (Germany)

2006-07-01

The strong acceptance for vehicles powered by turbo-charged diesel engines encourages several manufacturers to think about sportive diesel concepts. The approach of suppressing unpleasant noise by the application of distinctive insulation steps is not adequate to satisfy sportive needs. The acoustics cannot follow the engine's performance. This report documents, that it is possible to give diesel-powered vehicles a sportive sound characteristic by using an advanced MAHLE motor-sound-system with a pressure-resistant membrane and an integrated load controlled flap. With this the specific acoustic disadvantages of the diesel engine, like the ''diesel knock'' or a rough engine running can be masked. However, by the application of a motor-sound-system you must not negate the original character of the diesel engine concept, but accentuate its strong torque characteristic in the middle engine speed range. (orig.)

Free sixteen harmonic Fourier series web app with sound

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz, Michael J.

2018-03-01

An online HTML5 Fourier synthesizer app is provided that allows students to manipulate sixteen harmonics and construct periodic waves. Students can set the amplitudes and phases for each harmonic, seeing the resulting waveforms and hearing the sounds. Five waveform presets are included: sine, triangle, square, ramp (sawtooth), and pulse train. The program is free for non-commercial use and can also be downloaded for running offline.

Sonic mediations: body, sound, technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Birdsall, C.; Enns, A.

2008-01-01

Sonic Mediations: Body, Sound, Technology is a collection of original essays that represents an invaluable contribution to the burgeoning field of sound studies. While sound is often posited as having a bridging function, as a passive in-between, this volume invites readers to rethink the concept of

System for actively reducing sound

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2005-01-01

A system for actively reducing sound from a primary noise source, such as traffic noise, comprising: a loudspeaker connector for connecting to at least one loudspeaker for generating anti-sound for reducing said noisy sound; a microphone connector for connecting to at least a first microphone placed

Improved harmonic balance approach to periodic solutions of non-linear jerk equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, B.S.; Lim, C.W.; Sun, W.P.

2006-01-01

An analytical approximate approach for determining periodic solutions of non-linear jerk equations involving third-order time-derivative is presented. This approach incorporates salient features of both Newton's method and the method of harmonic balance. By appropriately imposing the method of harmonic balance to the linearized equation, the approach requires only one or two iterations to predict very accurate analytical approximate solutions for a large range of initial velocity amplitude. One typical example is used to verify and illustrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed approach

An improved test for periodicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, S.R.

1990-01-01

I discuss two widely used methods of testing for periodicity, phase dispersion minimization and epoch-folding. Using an analysis of variance approach, I demonstrate the close relationship between these two methods. I also show that the significance test sometimes used in phase dispersion minimization is statistically inaccurate, and that the test used in epoch-folding is an approximation valid only for large sample sizes. I propose a new test statistic, applicable to either epoch-folding or PDM, which is statistically sound for all sample sizes, and which is also more sensitive to periodicity than the test statistics previously used with these two methods. (author)

Cortical representations of communication sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Heiser, Marc A; Cheung, Steven W

2008-10-01

This review summarizes recent research into cortical processing of vocalizations in animals and humans. There has been a resurgent interest in this topic accompanied by an increased number of studies using animal models with complex vocalizations and new methods in human brain imaging. Recent results from such studies are discussed. Experiments have begun to reveal the bilateral cortical fields involved in communication sound processing and the transformations of neural representations that occur among those fields. Advances have also been made in understanding the neuronal basis of interaction between developmental exposures and behavioral experiences with vocalization perception. Exposure to sounds during the developmental period produces large effects on brain responses, as do a variety of specific trained tasks in adults. Studies have also uncovered a neural link between the motor production of vocalizations and the representation of vocalizations in cortex. Parallel experiments in humans and animals are answering important questions about vocalization processing in the central nervous system. This dual approach promises to reveal microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic principles of large-scale dynamic interactions between brain regions that underlie the complex phenomenon of vocalization perception. Such advances will yield a greater understanding of the causes, consequences, and treatment of disorders related to speech processing.

Measuring the 'complexity'of sound

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Sounds in the natural environment form an important class of biologically relevant nonstationary signals. We propose a dynamic spectral measure to characterize the spectral dynamics of such non-stationary sound signals and classify them based on rate of change of spectral dynamics. We categorize sounds with slowly ...

Rendering visual events as sounds: Spatial attention capture by auditory augmented reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Scott A; Tata, Matthew S

2017-01-01

Many salient visual events tend to coincide with auditory events, such as seeing and hearing a car pass by. Information from the visual and auditory senses can be used to create a stable percept of the stimulus. Having access to related coincident visual and auditory information can help for spatial tasks such as localization. However not all visual information has analogous auditory percepts, such as viewing a computer monitor. Here, we describe a system capable of detecting and augmenting visual salient events into localizable auditory events. The system uses a neuromorphic camera (DAVIS 240B) to detect logarithmic changes of brightness intensity in the scene, which can be interpreted as salient visual events. Participants were blindfolded and asked to use the device to detect new objects in the scene, as well as determine direction of motion for a moving visual object. Results suggest the system is robust enough to allow for the simple detection of new salient stimuli, as well accurately encoding direction of visual motion. Future successes are probable as neuromorphic devices are likely to become faster and smaller in the future, making this system much more feasible.

Rendering visual events as sounds: Spatial attention capture by auditory augmented reality.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott A Stone

Full Text Available Many salient visual events tend to coincide with auditory events, such as seeing and hearing a car pass by. Information from the visual and auditory senses can be used to create a stable percept of the stimulus. Having access to related coincident visual and auditory information can help for spatial tasks such as localization. However not all visual information has analogous auditory percepts, such as viewing a computer monitor. Here, we describe a system capable of detecting and augmenting visual salient events into localizable auditory events. The system uses a neuromorphic camera (DAVIS 240B to detect logarithmic changes of brightness intensity in the scene, which can be interpreted as salient visual events. Participants were blindfolded and asked to use the device to detect new objects in the scene, as well as determine direction of motion for a moving visual object. Results suggest the system is robust enough to allow for the simple detection of new salient stimuli, as well accurately encoding direction of visual motion. Future successes are probable as neuromorphic devices are likely to become faster and smaller in the future, making this system much more feasible.

Controlling sound with acoustic metamaterials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cummer, Steven A. ; Christensen, Johan; Alù, Andrea

2016-01-01

Acoustic metamaterials can manipulate and control sound waves in ways that are not possible in conventional materials. Metamaterials with zero, or even negative, refractive index for sound offer new possibilities for acoustic imaging and for the control of sound at subwavelength scales....... The combination of transformation acoustics theory and highly anisotropic acoustic metamaterials enables precise control over the deformation of sound fields, which can be used, for example, to hide or cloak objects from incident acoustic energy. Active acoustic metamaterials use external control to create......-scale metamaterial structures and converting laboratory experiments into useful devices. In this Review, we outline the designs and properties of materials with unusual acoustic parameters (for example, negative refractive index), discuss examples of extreme manipulation of sound and, finally, provide an overview...

Sound intensity as a function of sound insulation partition

OpenAIRE

Cvetkovic , S.; Prascevic , R.

1994-01-01

In the modern engineering practice, the sound insulation of the partitions is the synthesis of the theory and of the experience acquired in the procedure of the field and of the laboratory measurement. The science and research public treat the sound insulation in the context of the emission and propagation of the acoustic energy in the media with the different acoustics impedance. In this paper, starting from the essence of physical concept of the intensity as the energy vector, the authors g...

Exploring science with sound: sonification and the use of sonograms as data analysis tool

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Williams, Genevieve

2017-01-01

Resonances, periodicity, patterns and spectra are well-known notions that play crucial roles in particle physics, and that have always been at the junction between sound/music analysis and scientific exploration. Detecting the shape of a particular energy spectrum, studying the stability of a particle beam in a synchrotron, and separating signals from a noisy background are just a few examples where the connection with sound can be very strong, all sharing the same concepts of oscillations, cycles and frequency. This seminar will focus on analysing data and their relations by translating measurements into audible signals and using the natural capability of the ear to distinguish, characterise and analyse waveform shapes, amplitudes and relations. This process is called data sonification, and one of the main tools to investigate the structure of the sound is the sonogram (sometimes also called a spectrogram). A sonogram is a visual representation of how the spectrum of a certain sound signal changes with time...

Heart Sound Localization and Reduction in Tracheal Sounds by Gabor Time-Frequency Masking

OpenAIRE

SAATCI, Esra; Akan, Aydın

2018-01-01

Background and aim: Respiratorysounds, i.e. tracheal and lung sounds, have been of great interest due to theirdiagnostic values as well as the potential of their use in the estimation ofthe respiratory dynamics (mainly airflow). Thus the aim of the study is topresent a new method to filter the heart sound interference from the trachealsounds. Materials and methods: Trachealsounds and airflow signals were collected by using an accelerometer from 10 healthysubjects. Tracheal sounds were then pr...

Intermodal Matching on the Example of Sound and Color Connection in Norm and Pathology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dyachenko A.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The article describes the initial period of research of synesthesia and further work, experimental and theoretical, related to the study of various intermodal correspondences. Information about the presence of a statistically significant phenomenon of various intermodal correspondences in healthy people (which includes for example the connection of sound and color is provided. Present experiment reveals that the phenomenon of sound-color correspondences undergoes destructive changes in patients with schizophrenia compared with that in healthy individuals, but does not detect new distinct patterns.

Interactive physically-based sound simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Raghuvanshi, Nikunj

The realization of interactive, immersive virtual worlds requires the ability to present a realistic audio experience that convincingly compliments their visual rendering. Physical simulation is a natural way to achieve such realism, enabling deeply immersive virtual worlds. However, physically-based sound simulation is very computationally expensive owing to the high-frequency, transient oscillations underlying audible sounds. The increasing computational power of desktop computers has served to reduce the gap between required and available computation, and it has become possible to bridge this gap further by using a combination of algorithmic improvements that exploit the physical, as well as perceptual properties of audible sounds. My thesis is a step in this direction. My dissertation concentrates on developing real-time techniques for both sub-problems of sound simulation: synthesis and propagation. Sound synthesis is concerned with generating the sounds produced by objects due to elastic surface vibrations upon interaction with the environment, such as collisions. I present novel techniques that exploit human auditory perception to simulate scenes with hundreds of sounding objects undergoing impact and rolling in real time. Sound propagation is the complementary problem of modeling the high-order scattering and diffraction of sound in an environment as it travels from source to listener. I discuss my work on a novel numerical acoustic simulator (ARD) that is hundred times faster and consumes ten times less memory than a high-accuracy finite-difference technique, allowing acoustic simulations on previously-intractable spaces, such as a cathedral, on a desktop computer. Lastly, I present my work on interactive sound propagation that leverages my ARD simulator to render the acoustics of arbitrary static scenes for multiple moving sources and listener in real time, while accounting for scene-dependent effects such as low-pass filtering and smooth attenuation

27 CFR 9.151 - Puget Sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Puget Sound. 9.151 Section... Sound. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Puget Sound.” (b) Approved maps. The appropriate maps for determining the boundary of the Puget Sound viticultural area are...

How Pleasant Sounds Promote and Annoying Sounds Impede Health : A Cognitive Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Andringa, Tjeerd C.; Lanser, J. Jolie L.

2013-01-01

This theoretical paper addresses the cognitive functions via which quiet and in general pleasurable sounds promote and annoying sounds impede health. The article comprises a literature analysis and an interpretation of how the bidirectional influence of appraising the environment and the feelings of

Of Sound Mind: Mental Distress and Sound in Twentieth-Century Media Culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Birdsall, C.; Siewert, S.

2013-01-01

This article seeks to specify the representation of mental disturbance in sound media during the twentieth century. It engages perspectives on societal and technological change across the twentieth century as crucial for aesthetic strategies developed in radio and sound film production. The analysis

Sounds scary? Lack of habituation following the presentation of novel sounds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tine A Biedenweg

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Animals typically show less habituation to biologically meaningful sounds than to novel signals. We might therefore expect that acoustic deterrents should be based on natural sounds. METHODOLOGY: We investigated responses by western grey kangaroos (Macropus fulignosus towards playback of natural sounds (alarm foot stomps and Australian raven (Corvus coronoides calls and artificial sounds (faux snake hiss and bull whip crack. We then increased rate of presentation to examine whether animals would habituate. Finally, we varied frequency of playback to investigate optimal rates of delivery. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nine behaviors clustered into five Principal Components. PC factors 1 and 2 (animals alert or looking, or hopping and moving out of area accounted for 36% of variance. PC factor 3 (eating cessation, taking flight, movement out of area accounted for 13% of variance. Factors 4 and 5 (relaxing, grooming and walking; 12 and 11% of variation, respectively discontinued upon playback. The whip crack was most evocative; eating was reduced from 75% of time spent prior to playback to 6% following playback (post alarm stomp: 32%, raven call: 49%, hiss: 75%. Additionally, 24% of individuals took flight and moved out of area (50 m radius in response to the whip crack (foot stomp: 0%, raven call: 8% and 4%, hiss: 6%. Increasing rate of presentation (12x/min ×2 min caused 71% of animals to move out of the area. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The bull whip crack, an artificial sound, was as effective as the alarm stomp at eliciting aversive behaviors. Kangaroos did not fully habituate despite hearing the signal up to 20x/min. Highest rates of playback did not elicit the greatest responses, suggesting that 'more is not always better'. Ultimately, by utilizing both artificial and biological sounds, predictability may be masked or offset, so that habituation is delayed and more effective deterrents may be produced.

Sound localization and occupational noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro de Lemos Menezes

2014-02-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of occupational noise on sound localization in different spatial planes and frequencies among normal hearing firefighters. METHOD: A total of 29 adults with pure-tone hearing thresholds below 25 dB took part in the study. The participants were divided into a group of 19 firefighters exposed to occupational noise and a control group of 10 adults who were not exposed to such noise. All subjects were assigned a sound localization task involving 117 stimuli from 13 sound sources that were spatially distributed in horizontal, vertical, midsagittal and transverse planes. The three stimuli, which were square waves with fundamental frequencies of 500, 2,000 and 4,000 Hz, were presented at a sound level of 70 dB and were randomly repeated three times from each sound source. The angle between the speaker's axis in the same plane was 45°, and the distance to the subject was 1 m. RESULT: The results demonstrate that the sound localization ability of the firefighters was significantly lower (p<0.01 than that of the control group. CONCLUSION: Exposure to occupational noise, even when not resulting in hearing loss, may lead to a diminished ability to locate a sound source.

Spectral information for detection of acoustic time to arrival

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gordon, Michael S.; Russo, Frank A.; MacDonald, Ewen

2013-01-01

The exponential increase of intensity for an approaching sound source provides salient information for a listener to make judgments of time to arrival (TTA). Specifically, a listener will experience a greater rate of increasing intensity for higher than for lower frequencies during a sound source...

Transfer matrix representation for periodic planar media

Science.gov (United States)

Parrinello, A.; Ghiringhelli, G. L.

2016-06-01

Sound transmission through infinite planar media characterized by in-plane periodicity is faced by exploiting the free wave propagation on the related unit cells. An appropriate through-thickness transfer matrix, relating a proper set of variables describing the acoustic field at the two external surfaces of the medium, is derived by manipulating the dynamic stiffness matrix related to a finite element model of the unit cell. The adoption of finite element models avoids analytical modeling or the simplification on geometry or materials. The obtained matrix is then used in a transfer matrix method context, making it possible to combine the periodic medium with layers of different nature and to treat both hard-wall and semi-infinite fluid termination conditions. A finite sequence of identical sub-layers through the thickness of the medium can be handled within the transfer matrix method, significantly decreasing the computational burden. Transfer matrices obtained by means of the proposed method are compared with analytical or equivalent models, in terms of sound transmission through barriers of different nature.

The effect of sound speed profile on shallow water shipping sound maps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sertlek, H.Ö.; Binnerts, B.; Ainslie, M.A.

2016-01-01

Sound mapping over large areas can be computationally expensive because of the large number of sources and large source-receiver separations involved. In order to facilitate computation, a simplifying assumption sometimes made is to neglect the sound speed gradient in shallow water. The accuracy of

Sound wave transmission (image)

Science.gov (United States)

When sounds waves reach the ear, they are translated into nerve impulses. These impulses then travel to the brain where they are interpreted by the brain as sound. The hearing mechanisms within the inner ear, can ...

Salient features, response and operation of Lead-Free Gulmarg Neutron Monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mufti, S.; Chatterjee, S.; Ishtiaq, P.M.; Darzi, M.A.; Mir, T.A.; Shah, G.N.

2016-01-01

Lead-Free Gulmarg Neutron Monitor (LFGNM) provides continuous ground level intensity measurements of atmospheric secondary neutrons produced in interactions of primary cosmic rays with the Earth's constituent atmosphere. We report the LFGNM detector salient features and simulation of its energy response for 10"−"1"1 MeV to 10"4 MeV energy incident neutrons using the FLUKA Monte Carlo package. An empirical calibration of the LFGNM detector carried out with a Pu–Be neutron source for maximising its few MeV neutron counting sensitivity is also presented. As an illustration of its functionality a single representative transient solar modulation event recorded by LFGNM depicting Forbush decrease in integrated neutron data for which the geospace consequences are well known is also presented. Performance of LFGNM under actual observation conditions for effectively responding to transient solar modulation is seen to compare well with other world-wide conventional neutron monitors.

Sound & The Society

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schulze, Holger

2014-01-01

How are those sounds you hear right now socially constructed and evaluated, how are they architecturally conceptualized and how dependant on urban planning, industrial developments and political decisions are they really? How is your ability to hear intertwined with social interactions and their ...... and their professional design? And how is listening and sounding a deeply social activity – constructing our way of living together in cities as well as in apartment houses? A radio feature with Nina Backmann, Jochen Bonz, Stefan Krebs, Esther Schelander & Holger Schulze......How are those sounds you hear right now socially constructed and evaluated, how are they architecturally conceptualized and how dependant on urban planning, industrial developments and political decisions are they really? How is your ability to hear intertwined with social interactions...

Predicting outdoor sound

CERN Document Server

Attenborough, Keith; Horoshenkov, Kirill

2014-01-01

1. Introduction  2. The Propagation of Sound Near Ground Surfaces in a Homogeneous Medium  3. Predicting the Acoustical Properties of Outdoor Ground Surfaces  4. Measurements of the Acoustical Properties of Ground Surfaces and Comparisons with Models  5. Predicting Effects of Source Characteristics on Outdoor Sound  6. Predictions, Approximations and Empirical Results for Ground Effect Excluding Meteorological Effects  7. Influence of Source Motion on Ground Effect and Diffraction  8. Predicting Effects of Mixed Impedance Ground  9. Predicting the Performance of Outdoor Noise Barriers  10. Predicting Effects of Vegetation, Trees and Turbulence  11. Analytical Approximations including Ground Effect, Refraction and Turbulence  12. Prediction Schemes  13. Predicting Sound in an Urban Environment.

Estimation of probability of coastal flooding: A case study in the Norton Sound, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, S.; Chapman, R. S.; Jensen, R. E.; Azleton, M. T.; Eisses, K. J.

2010-12-01

Along the Norton Sound, Alaska, coastal communities have been exposed to flooding induced by the extra-tropical storms. Lack of observation data especially with long-term variability makes it difficult to assess the probability of coastal flooding critical in planning for development and evacuation of the coastal communities. We estimated the probability of coastal flooding with the help of an existing storm surge model using ADCIRC and a wave model using WAM for the Western Alaska which includes the Norton Sound as well as the adjacent Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea. The surface pressure and winds as well as ice coverage was analyzed and put in a gridded format with 3 hour interval over the entire Alaskan Shelf by Ocean Weather Inc. (OWI) for the period between 1985 and 2009. The OWI also analyzed the surface conditions for the storm events over the 31 year time period between 1954 and 1984. The correlation between water levels recorded by NOAA tide gage and local meteorological conditions at Nome between 1992 and 2005 suggested strong local winds with prevailing Southerly components period are good proxies for high water events. We also selected heuristically the local winds with prevailing Westerly components at Shaktoolik which locates at the eastern end of the Norton Sound provided extra selection of flood events during the continuous meteorological data record between 1985 and 2009. The frequency analyses were performed using the simulated water levels and wave heights for the 56 year time period between 1954 and 2009. Different methods of estimating return periods were compared including the method according to FEMA guideline, the extreme value statistics, and fitting to the statistical distributions such as Weibull and Gumbel. The estimates are similar as expected but with a variation.

Learning language with the wrong neural scaffolding: The cost of neural commitment to sounds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy Sue Finn

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Does tuning to one’s native language explain the sensitive period for language learning? We explore the idea that tuning to (or becoming more selective for the properties of one’s native-language could result in being less open (or plastic for tuning to the properties of a new language. To explore how this might lead to the sensitive period for grammar learning, we ask if tuning to an earlier-learned aspect of language (sound structure has an impact on the neural representation of a later-learned aspect (grammar. English-speaking adults learned one of two miniature artificial languages over 4 days in the lab. Compared to English, both languages had novel grammar, but only one was comprised of novel sounds. After learning a language, participants were scanned while judging the grammaticality of sentences. Judgments were performed for the newly learned language and English. Learners of the similar-sounds language recruited regions that overlapped more with English. Learners of the distinct-sounds language, however, recruited the Superior Temporal Gyrus (STG to a greater extent, which was coactive with the Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG. Across learners, recruitment of IFG (but not STG predicted both learning success in tests conducted prior to the scan and grammatical judgment ability during the scan. Data suggest that adults’ difficulty learning language, especially grammar, could be due, at least in part, to the neural commitments they have made to the lower level linguistic components of their native language.

Long Range Sound Propagation over Sea: Application to Wind Turbine Noise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boue, Matieu

2007-12-13

Oeland, an array of 8 microphones created an acoustical antenna directed towards the sound sources. Wind and temperature data was measured at the source location and during one measurement period (June 2005), wind and temperature profiles were also mapped in the reception area. In order to increase the signal to noise ratio different signal enhancement methods were tested including a Kalman Filter technique and periodic time-averaging. The most accurate results were obtained by combining the Kalman Filter model with a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Sound pressure levels as low as a few dB could be detected by using this algorithm. The final results expressed as a transmission loss ('damping in sound pressure level corrected for the atmospheric damping') between the source and the receiver, have been compared to simultaneously measured wind and temperature profiles. The transmission loss data have also been expressed as statistical distributions from which e.g. the average value can be obtained. This average, based on data for the summer period June 2005/2006, has been compared with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency recommendation. It is found that the breaking point for cylindrical propagation is close to 700 m instead of the 200 m assumed in the recommendation. This is a significant difference and it shows that probably the Swedish recommendation uses a too small value for the expected breaking point. Of course in general the value of the breaking point can depend on the location and for which part of the year one takes the average. How large the variation can be due to such factors is today still unknown. Here only more measurements and perhaps simulations combined with the wind data base available in Sweden can provide an answer.

Analysis of environmental sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Keansub

Environmental sound archives - casual recordings of people's daily life - are easily collected by MPS players or camcorders with low cost and high reliability, and shared in the web-sites. There are two kinds of user generated recordings we would like to be able to handle in this thesis: Continuous long-duration personal audio and Soundtracks of short consumer video clips. These environmental recordings contain a lot of useful information (semantic concepts) related with activity, location, occasion and content. As a consequence, the environment archives present many new opportunities for the automatic extraction of information that can be used in intelligent browsing systems. This thesis proposes systems for detecting these interesting concepts on a collection of these real-world recordings. The first system is to segment and label personal audio archives - continuous recordings of an individual's everyday experiences - into 'episodes' (relatively consistent acoustic situations lasting a few minutes or more) using the Bayesian Information Criterion and spectral clustering. The second system is for identifying regions of speech or music in the kinds of energetic and highly-variable noise present in this real-world sound. Motivated by psychoacoustic evidence that pitch is crucial in the perception and organization of sound, we develop a noise-robust pitch detection algorithm to locate speech or music-like regions. To avoid false alarms resulting from background noise with strong periodic components (such as air-conditioning), a new scheme is added in order to suppress these noises in the domain of autocorrelogram. In addition, the third system is to automatically detect a large set of interesting semantic concepts; which we chose for being both informative and useful to users, as well as being technically feasible. These 25 concepts are associated with people's activities, locations, occasions, objects, scenes and sounds, and are based on a large collection of

Sounds of Web Advertising

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jessen, Iben Bredahl; Graakjær, Nicolai Jørgensgaard

2010-01-01

Sound seems to be a neglected issue in the study of web ads. Web advertising is predominantly regarded as visual phenomena–commercial messages, as for instance banner ads that we watch, read, and eventually click on–but only rarely as something that we listen to. The present chapter presents...... an overview of the auditory dimensions in web advertising: Which kinds of sounds do we hear in web ads? What are the conditions and functions of sound in web ads? Moreover, the chapter proposes a theoretical framework in order to analyse the communicative functions of sound in web advertising. The main...... argument is that an understanding of the auditory dimensions in web advertising must include a reflection on the hypertextual settings of the web ad as well as a perspective on how users engage with web content....

Linking Cognitive and Social Aspects of Sound Change Using Agent-Based Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, Jonathan; Kleber, Felicitas; Reubold, Ulrich; Schiel, Florian; Stevens, Mary

2018-03-26

The paper defines the core components of an interactive-phonetic (IP) sound change model. The starting point for the IP-model is that a phonological category is often skewed phonetically in a certain direction by the production and perception of speech. A prediction of the model is that sound change is likely to come about as a result of perceiving phonetic variants in the direction of the skew and at the probabilistic edge of the listener's phonological category. The results of agent-based computational simulations applied to the sound change in progress, /u/-fronting in Standard Southern British, were consistent with this hypothesis. The model was extended to sound changes involving splits and mergers by using the interaction between the agents to drive the phonological reclassification of perceived speech signals. The simulations showed no evidence of any acoustic change when this extended model was applied to Australian English data in which /s/ has been shown to retract due to coarticulation in /str/ clusters. Some agents nevertheless varied in their phonological categorizations during interaction between /str/ and /ʃtr/: This vacillation may represent the potential for sound change to occur. The general conclusion is that many types of sound change are the outcome of how phonetic distributions are oriented with respect to each other, their association to phonological classes, and how these types of information vary between speakers that happen to interact with each other. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Topics in Cognitive Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Cognitive Science Society.

The Aesthetic Experience of Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breinbjerg, Morten

2005-01-01

to react on. In an ecological understanding of hearing our detection of audible information affords us ways of responding to our environment. In my paper I will address both these ways of using sound in relation to computer games. Since a game player is responsible for the unfolding of the game, his......The use of sound in (3D) computer games basically falls in two. Sound is used as an element in the design of the set and as a narrative. As set design sound stages the nature of the environment, it brings it to life. As a narrative it brings us information that we can choose to or perhaps need...... exploration of the virtual space laid out before him is pertinent. In this mood of exploration sound is important and heavily contributing to the aesthetic of the experience....

Principles of underwater sound

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Urick, Robert J

1983-01-01

... the immediately useful help they need for sonar problem solving. Its coverage is broad-ranging from the basic concepts of sound in the sea to making performance predictions in such applications as depth sounding, fish finding, and submarine detection...

Sounding the field: recent works in sound studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Boon, Tim

2015-09-01

For sound studies, the publication of a 593-page handbook, not to mention the establishment of at least one society - the European Sound Studies Association - might seem to signify the emergence of a new academic discipline. Certainly, the books under consideration here, alongside many others, testify to an intensification of concern with the aural dimensions of culture. Some of this work comes from HPS and STS, some from musicology and cultural studies. But all of it should concern members of our disciplines, as it represents a long-overdue foregrounding of the aural in how we think about the intersections of science, technology and culture.

Sound Clocks and Sonic Relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, Scott L.; Menicucci, Nicolas C.

2017-10-01

Sound propagation within certain non-relativistic condensed matter models obeys a relativistic wave equation despite such systems admitting entirely non-relativistic descriptions. A natural question that arises upon consideration of this is, "do devices exist that will experience the relativity in these systems?" We describe a thought experiment in which `acoustic observers' possess devices called sound clocks that can be connected to form chains. Careful investigation shows that appropriately constructed chains of stationary and moving sound clocks are perceived by observers on the other chain as undergoing the relativistic phenomena of length contraction and time dilation by the Lorentz factor, γ , with c the speed of sound. Sound clocks within moving chains actually tick less frequently than stationary ones and must be separated by a shorter distance than when stationary to satisfy simultaneity conditions. Stationary sound clocks appear to be length contracted and time dilated to moving observers due to their misunderstanding of their own state of motion with respect to the laboratory. Observers restricted to using sound clocks describe a universe kinematically consistent with the theory of special relativity, despite the preferred frame of their universe in the laboratory. Such devices show promise in further probing analogue relativity models, for example in investigating phenomena that require careful consideration of the proper time elapsed for observers.

Non-Wovens as Sound Reducers

Science.gov (United States)

Belakova, D.; Seile, A.; Kukle, S.; Plamus, T.

2018-04-01

Within the present study, the effect of hemp (40 wt%) and polyactide (60 wt%), non-woven surface density, thickness and number of fibre web layers on the sound absorption coefficient and the sound transmission loss in the frequency range from 50 to 5000 Hz is analysed. The sound insulation properties of the experimental samples have been determined, compared to the ones in practical use, and the possible use of material has been defined. Non-woven materials are ideally suited for use in acoustic insulation products because the arrangement of fibres produces a porous material structure, which leads to a greater interaction between sound waves and fibre structure. Of all the tested samples (A, B and D), the non-woven variant B exceeded the surface density of sample A by 1.22 times and 1.15 times that of sample D. By placing non-wovens one above the other in 2 layers, it is possible to increase the absorption coefficient of the material, which depending on the frequency corresponds to C, D, and E sound absorption classes. Sample A demonstrates the best sound absorption of all the three samples in the frequency range from 250 to 2000 Hz. In the test frequency range from 50 to 5000 Hz, the sound transmission loss varies from 0.76 (Sample D at 63 Hz) to 3.90 (Sample B at 5000 Hz).

Sounds of Space

Science.gov (United States)

Gurnett, D. A.

2005-12-01

Starting in the early 1960s, spacecraft-borne plasma wave instruments revealed that space is filled with an astonishing variety of radio and plasma wave sounds, which have come to be called "sounds of space." For over forty years these sounds have been collected and played to a wide variety of audiences, often as the result of press conferences or press releases involving various NASA projects for which the University of Iowa has provided plasma wave instruments. This activity has led to many interviews on local and national radio programs, and occasionally on programs haviang world-wide coverage, such as the BBC. As a result of this media coverage, we have been approached many times by composers requesting copies of our space sounds for use in their various projects, many of which involve electronic synthesis of music. One of these collaborations led to "Sun Rings," which is a musical event produced by the Kronos Quartet that has played to large audiences all over the world. With the availability of modern computer graphic techniques we have recently been attempting to integrate some of these sound of space into an educational audio/video web site that illustrates the scientific principles involved in the origin of space plasma waves. Typically I try to emphasize that a substantial gas pressure exists everywhere in space in the form of an ionized gas called a plasma, and that this plasma can lead to a wide variety of wave phenomenon. Examples of some of this audio/video material will be presented.

Kinematic Analysis of Speech Sound Sequencing Errors Induced by Delayed Auditory Feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Cler, Gabriel J; Lee, Jackson C; Mittelman, Talia; Stepp, Cara E; Bohland, Jason W

2017-06-22

Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) causes speakers to become disfluent and make phonological errors. Methods for assessing the kinematics of speech errors are lacking, with most DAF studies relying on auditory perceptual analyses, which may be problematic, as errors judged to be categorical may actually represent blends of sounds or articulatory errors. Eight typical speakers produced nonsense syllable sequences under normal and DAF (200 ms). Lip and tongue kinematics were captured with electromagnetic articulography. Time-locked acoustic recordings were transcribed, and the kinematics of utterances with and without perceived errors were analyzed with existing and novel quantitative methods. New multivariate measures showed that for 5 participants, kinematic variability for productions perceived to be error free was significantly increased under delay; these results were validated by using the spatiotemporal index measure. Analysis of error trials revealed both typical productions of a nontarget syllable and productions with articulatory kinematics that incorporated aspects of both the target and the perceived utterance. This study is among the first to characterize articulatory changes under DAF and provides evidence for different classes of speech errors, which may not be perceptually salient. New methods were developed that may aid visualization and analysis of large kinematic data sets. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5103067.

Sound Synthesis and Evaluation of Interactive Footsteps and Environmental Sounds Rendering for Virtual Reality Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordahl, Rolf; Turchet, Luca; Serafin, Stefania

2011-01-01

We propose a system that affords real-time sound synthesis of footsteps on different materials. The system is based on microphones, which detect real footstep sounds from subjects, from which the ground reaction force (GRF) is estimated. Such GRF is used to control a sound synthesis engine based ...... a soundscape significantly improves the recognition of the simulated environment....

Puget Sound Reinforcement Project : Planning for Peak Power Needs : Scoping Report, Part A, Summary of Public Comments.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

1990-07-01

This report summarizes public participation in the environmental scoping process for the Puget Sound Reinforcement Project, a Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Puget Sound area utilities study of voltage stability in northwestern Washington state. The environmental scoping phase of the Puget Sound project consisted of a series of public meetings and a public comment period. The content of these meetings is summarized in 2.0, Public Involvement. In 3.0, Comment Summary, the report summarizes comments received via meetings, mail and phone. The report ends with a description of the next steps in the project. Chapter 4.0, describes the decision process to be used by BPA and area utilities. Chapter 5.0 describes opportunities for public participation in decisions to be made about the future reliability of Puget Sound's electricity supply.

Recognition and characterization of unstructured environmental sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Selina

2011-12-01

be used for realistic environmental sound. Natural unstructured environment sounds contain a large variety of sounds, which are in fact noise-like and are not effectively modeled by Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) or other commonly-used audio features, e.g. energy, zero-crossing, etc. Due to the lack of appropriate features that is suitable for environmental audio and to achieve a more effective representation, I proposed a specialized feature extraction algorithm for environmental sounds that utilizes the matching pursuit (MP) algorithm to learn the inherent structure of each type of sounds, which we called MP-features. MP-features have shown to capture and represent sounds from different sources and different ranges, where frequency domain features (e.g., MFCCs) fail and can be advantageous when combining with MFCCs to improve the overall performance. The third component leads to our investigation on modeling and detecting the background audio. One of the goals of this research is to characterize an environment. Since many events would blend into the background, I wanted to look for a way to achieve a general model for any particular environment. Once we have an idea of the background, it will enable us to identify foreground events even if we havent seen these events before. Therefore, the next step is to investigate into learning the audio background model for each environment type, despite the occurrences of different foreground events. In this work, I presented a framework for robust audio background modeling, which includes learning the models for prediction, data knowledge and persistent characteristics of the environment. This approach has the ability to model the background and detect foreground events as well as the ability to verify whether the predicted background is indeed the background or a foreground event that protracts for a longer period of time. In this work, I also investigated the use of a semi-supervised learning technique to

Using therapeutic sound with progressive audiologic tinnitus management.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, James A; Zaugg, Tara L; Myers, Paula J; Schechter, Martin A

2008-09-01

Management of tinnitus generally involves educational counseling, stress reduction, and/or the use of therapeutic sound. This article focuses on therapeutic sound, which can involve three objectives: (a) producing a sense of relief from tinnitus-associated stress (using soothing sound); (b) passively diverting attention away from tinnitus by reducing contrast between tinnitus and the acoustic environment (using background sound); and (c) actively diverting attention away from tinnitus (using interesting sound). Each of these goals can be accomplished using three different types of sound-broadly categorized as environmental sound, music, and speech-resulting in nine combinations of uses of sound and types of sound to manage tinnitus. The authors explain the uses and types of sound, how they can be combined, and how the different combinations are used with Progressive Audiologic Tinnitus Management. They also describe how sound is used with other sound-based methods of tinnitus management (Tinnitus Masking, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, and Neuromonics).

Letter-Sound Knowledge: Exploring Gender Differences in Children When They Start School Regarding Knowledge of Large Letters, Small Letters, Sound Large Letters, and Sound Small Letters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hermundur Sigmundsson

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study explored whether there is a gender difference in letter-sound knowledge when children start at school. 485 children aged 5–6 years completed assessment of letter-sound knowledge, i.e., large letters; sound of large letters; small letters; sound of small letters. The findings indicate a significant difference between girls and boys in all four factors tested in this study in favor of the girls. There are still no clear explanations to the basis of a presumed gender difference in letter-sound knowledge. That the findings have origin in neuro-biological factors cannot be excluded, however, the fact that girls probably have been exposed to more language experience/stimulation compared to boys, lends support to explanations derived from environmental aspects.

By the sound of it. An ERP investigation of human action sound processing in 7-month-old infants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Geangu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Recent evidence suggests that human adults perceive human action sounds as a distinct category from human vocalizations, environmental, and mechanical sounds, activating different neural networks (Engel et al., 2009; Lewis et al., 2011. Yet, little is known about the development of such specialization. Using event-related potentials (ERP, this study investigated neural correlates of 7-month-olds’ processing of human action (HA sounds in comparison to human vocalizations (HV, environmental (ENV, and mechanical (MEC sounds. Relative to the other categories, HA sounds led to increased positive amplitudes between 470 and 570 ms post-stimulus onset at left anterior temporal locations, while HV led to increased negative amplitudes at the more posterior temporal locations in both hemispheres. Collectively, human produced sounds (HA + HV led to significantly different response profiles compared to non-living sound sources (ENV + MEC at parietal and frontal locations in both hemispheres. Overall, by 7 months of age human action sounds are being differentially processed in the brain, consistent with a dichotomy for processing living versus non-living things. This provides novel evidence regarding the typical categorical processing of socially relevant sounds.

Sound as Popular Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The wide-ranging texts in this book take as their premise the idea that sound is a subject through which popular culture can be analyzed in an innovative way. From an infant’s gurgles over a baby monitor to the roar of the crowd in a stadium to the sub-bass frequencies produced by sound systems...... in the disco era, sound—not necessarily aestheticized as music—is inextricably part of the many domains of popular culture. Expanding the view taken by many scholars of cultural studies, the contributors consider cultural practices concerning sound not merely as semiotic or signifying processes but as material......, physical, perceptual, and sensory processes that integrate a multitude of cultural traditions and forms of knowledge. The chapters discuss conceptual issues as well as terminologies and research methods; analyze historical and contemporary case studies of listening in various sound cultures; and consider...

Fourth sound in relativistic superfluidity theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vil'chinskij, S.I.; Fomin, P.I.

1995-01-01

The Lorentz-covariant equations describing propagation of the fourth sound in the relativistic theory of superfluidity are derived. The expressions for the velocity of the fourth sound are obtained. The character of oscillation in sound is determined

The science of sound recording

CERN Document Server

Kadis, Jay

2012-01-01

The Science of Sound Recording will provide you with more than just an introduction to sound and recording, it will allow you to dive right into some of the technical areas that often appear overwhelming to anyone without an electrical engineering or physics background.  The Science of Sound Recording helps you build a basic foundation of scientific principles, explaining how recording really works. Packed with valuable must know information, illustrations and examples of 'worked through' equations this book introduces the theory behind sound recording practices in a logical and prac

Nuclear sound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wambach, J.

1991-01-01

Nuclei, like more familiar mechanical systems, undergo simple vibrational motion. Among these vibrations, sound modes are of particular interest since they reveal important information on the effective interactions among the constituents and, through extrapolation, on the bulk behaviour of nuclear and neutron matter. Sound wave propagation in nuclei shows strong quantum effects familiar from other quantum systems. Microscopic theory suggests that the restoring forces are caused by the complex structure of the many-Fermion wavefunction and, in some cases, have no classical analogue. The damping of the vibrational amplitude is strongly influenced by phase coherence among the particles participating in the motion. (author)

Students' Learning of a Generalized Theory of Sound Transmission from a Teaching-Learning Sequence about Sound, Hearing and Health

Science.gov (United States)

West, Eva; Wallin, Anita

2013-04-01

Learning abstract concepts such as sound often involves an ontological shift because to conceptualize sound transmission as a process of motion demands abandoning sound transmission as a transfer of matter. Thus, for students to be able to grasp and use a generalized model of sound transmission poses great challenges for them. This study involved 199 students aged 10-14. Their views about sound transmission were investigated before and after teaching by comparing their written answers about sound transfer in different media. The teaching was built on a research-based teaching-learning sequence (TLS), which was developed within a framework of design research. The analysis involved interpreting students' underlying theories of sound transmission, including the different conceptual categories that were found in their answers. The results indicated a shift in students' understandings from the use of a theory of matter before the intervention to embracing a theory of process afterwards. The described pattern was found in all groups of students irrespective of age. Thus, teaching about sound and sound transmission is fruitful already at the ages of 10-11. However, the older the students, the more advanced is their understanding of the process of motion. In conclusion, the use of a TLS about sound, hearing and auditory health promotes students' conceptualization of sound transmission as a process in all grades. The results also imply some crucial points in teaching and learning about the scientific content of sound.

Digitizing a sound archive

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cone, Louise

2017-01-01

Danish and international artists. His methodology left us with a large collection of unique and inspirational time-based media sound artworks that have, until very recently, been inaccessible. Existing on an array of different media formats, such as open reel tapes, 8-track and 4 track cassettes, VHS......In 1990 an artist by the name of William Louis Sørensen was hired by the National Gallery of Denmark to collect important works of art – made from sound. His job was to acquire sound art, but also recordings that captured rare artistic occurrences, music, performances and happenings from both...

Appraisals of Salient Visual Elements in Web Page Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johanna M. Silvennoinen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Visual elements in user interfaces elicit emotions in users and are, therefore, essential to users interacting with different software. Although there is research on the relationship between emotional experience and visual user interface design, the focus has been on the overall visual impression and not on visual elements. Additionally, often in a software development process, programming and general usability guidelines are considered as the most important parts of the process. Therefore, knowledge of programmers’ appraisals of visual elements can be utilized to understand the web page designs we interact with. In this study, appraisal theory of emotion is utilized to elaborate the relationship of emotional experience and visual elements from programmers’ perspective. Participants (N=50 used 3E-templates to express their visual and emotional experiences of web page designs. Content analysis of textual data illustrates how emotional experiences are elicited by salient visual elements. Eight hierarchical visual element categories were found and connected to various emotions, such as frustration, boredom, and calmness, via relational emotion themes. The emotional emphasis was on centered, symmetrical, and balanced composition, which was experienced as pleasant and calming. The results benefit user-centered visual interface design and researchers of visual aesthetics in human-computer interaction.

Parallel-plate third sound waveguides with fixed and variable plate spacings for the study of fifth sound in superfluid helium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jelatis, G.J.

1983-01-01

Third sound in superfluid helium four films has been investigated using two parallel-plate waveguides. These investigations led to the observation of fifth sound, a new mode of sound propagation. Both waveguides consisted of two parallel pieces of vitreous quartz. The sound speed was obtained by measuring the time-of-flight of pulsed third sound over a known distance. Investigations from 1.0-1.7K were possible with the use of superconducting bolometers, which measure the temperature component of the third sound wave. Observations were initially made with a waveguide having a plate separation fixed at five microns. Adiabatic third sound was measured in the geometry. Isothermal third sound was also observed, using the usual, single-substrate technique. Fifth sound speeds, calculated from the two-fluid theory of helium and the speeds of the two forms of third sound, agreed in size and temperature dependence with theoretical predictions. Nevertheless, only equivocal observations of fifth sound were made. As a result, the film-substrate interaction was examined, and estimates of the Kapitza conductance were made. Assuming the dominance of the effects of this conductance over those due to the ECEs led to a new expression for fifth sound. A reanalysis of the initial data was made, which contained no adjustable parameters. The observation of fifth sound was seen to be consistent with the existence of an anomalously low boundary conductance

Vocalisation Repertoire of Female Bluefin Gurnard (Chelidonichthys kumu in Captivity: Sound Structure, Context and Vocal Activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig A Radford

Full Text Available Fish vocalisation is often a major component of underwater soundscapes. Therefore, interpretation of these soundscapes requires an understanding of the vocalisation characteristics of common soniferous fish species. This study of captive female bluefin gurnard, Chelidonichthys kumu, aims to formally characterise their vocalisation sounds and daily pattern of sound production. Four types of sound were produced and characterised, twice as many as previously reported in this species. These sounds fit two aural categories; grunt and growl, the mean peak frequencies for which ranged between 129 to 215 Hz. This species vocalized throughout the 24 hour period at an average rate of (18.5 ± 2.0 sounds fish-1 h-1 with an increase in vocalization rate at dawn and dusk. Competitive feeding did not elevate vocalisation as has been found in other gurnard species. Bluefin gurnard are common in coastal waters of New Zealand, Australia and Japan and, given their vocalization rate, are likely to be significant contributors to ambient underwater soundscape in these areas.

Sound propagation in cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salomons, E.; Polinder, H.; Lohman, W.; Zhou, H.; Borst, H.

2009-01-01

A new engineering model for sound propagation in cities is presented. The model is based on numerical and experimental studies of sound propagation between street canyons. Multiple reflections in the source canyon and the receiver canyon are taken into account in an efficient way, while weak

Hamiltonian Algorithm Sound Synthesis

OpenAIRE

大矢, 健一

2013-01-01

Hamiltonian Algorithm (HA) is an algorithm for searching solutions is optimization problems. This paper introduces a sound synthesis technique using Hamiltonian Algorithm and shows a simple example. "Hamiltonian Algorithm Sound Synthesis" uses phase transition effect in HA. Because of this transition effect, totally new waveforms are produced.

Exploring Noise: Sound Pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Rillo, Thomas J.

1979-01-01

Part one of a three-part series about noise pollution and its effects on humans. This section presents the background information for teachers who are preparing a unit on sound. The next issues will offer learning activities for measuring the effects of sound and some references. (SA)

Photoacoustic Sounds from Meteors.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spalding, Richard E. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Tencer, John [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sweatt, William C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hogan, Roy E. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Boslough, Mark B. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Spurny, Pavel [Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR), Prague (Czech Republic)

2015-03-01

High-speed photometric observations of meteor fireballs have shown that they often produce high-amplitude light oscillations with frequency components in the kHz range, and in some cases exhibit strong millisecond flares. We built a light source with similar characteristics and illuminated various materials in the laboratory, generating audible sounds. Models suggest that light oscillations and pulses can radiatively heat dielectric materials, which in turn conductively heats the surrounding air on millisecond timescales. The sound waves can be heard if the illuminated material is sufficiently close to the observer’s ears. The mechanism described herein may explain many reports of meteors that appear to be audible while they are concurrently visible in the sky and too far away for sound to have propagated to the observer. This photoacoustic (PA) explanation provides an alternative to electrophonic (EP) sounds hypothesized to arise from electromagnetic coupling of plasma oscillation in the meteor wake to natural antennas in the vicinity of an observer.

Urban Sound Interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breinbjerg, Morten

2012-01-01

This paper draws on the theories of Michel de Certeau and Gaston Bachelard to discuss how media architecture, in the form of urban sound interfaces, can help us perceive the complexity of the spaces we inhabit, by exploring the history and the narratives of the places in which we live. In this pa......This paper draws on the theories of Michel de Certeau and Gaston Bachelard to discuss how media architecture, in the form of urban sound interfaces, can help us perceive the complexity of the spaces we inhabit, by exploring the history and the narratives of the places in which we live....... In this paper, three sound works are discussed in relation to the iPod, which is considered as a more private way to explore urban environments, and as a way to control the individual perception of urban spaces....

Sound field separation with sound pressure and particle velocity measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandez Grande, Efren; Jacobsen, Finn; Leclère, Quentin

2012-01-01

separation techniques make it possible to distinguish between outgoing and incoming waves from the two sides, and thus NAH can be applied. In this paper, a separation method based on the measurement of the particle velocity in two layers and another method based on the measurement of the pressure...... and the velocity in a single layer are proposed. The two methods use an equivalent source formulation with separate transfer matrices for the outgoing and incoming waves, so that the sound from the two sides of the array can be modeled independently. A weighting scheme is proposed to account for the distance......In conventional near-field acoustic holography (NAH) it is not possible to distinguish between sound from the two sides of the array, thus, it is a requirement that all the sources are confined to only one side and radiate into a free field. When this requirement cannot be fulfilled, sound field...

Electromagnetic sounding of the Earth's interior

CERN Document Server

Spichak, Viacheslav V

2015-01-01

Electromagnetic Sounding of the Earth's Interior 2nd edition provides a comprehensive up-to-date collection of contributions, covering methodological, computational and practical aspects of Electromagnetic sounding of the Earth by different techniques at global, regional and local scales. Moreover, it contains new developments such as the concept of self-consistent tasks of geophysics and , 3-D interpretation of the TEM sounding which, so far, have not all been covered by one book. Electromagnetic Sounding of the Earth's Interior 2nd edition consists of three parts: I- EM sounding methods, II- Forward modelling and inversion techniques, and III - Data processing, analysis, modelling and interpretation. The new edition includes brand new chapters on Pulse and frequency electromagnetic sounding for hydrocarbon offshore exploration. Additionally all other chapters have been extensively updated to include new developments. Presents recently developed methodological findings of the earth's study, including seism...

21 CFR 876.4590 - Interlocking urethral sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Interlocking urethral sound. 876.4590 Section 876...) MEDICAL DEVICES GASTROENTEROLOGY-UROLOGY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 876.4590 Interlocking urethral sound. (a) Identification. An interlocking urethral sound is a device that consists of two metal sounds...

Most people do not ignore salient invalid cues in memory-based decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Platzer, Christine; Bröder, Arndt

2012-08-01

Former experimental studies have shown that decisions from memory tend to rely only on a few cues, following simple noncompensatory heuristics like "take the best." However, it has also repeatedly been demonstrated that a pictorial, as opposed to a verbal, representation of cue information fosters the inclusion of more cues in compensatory strategies, suggesting a facilitated retrieval of cue patterns. These studies did not properly control for visual salience of cues, however. In the experiment reported here, the cue salience hierarchy established in a pilot study was either congruent or incongruent with the validity order of the cues. Only the latter condition increased compensatory decision making, suggesting that the apparent representational format effect is, rather, a salience effect: Participants automatically retrieve and incorporate salient cues irrespective of their validity. Results are discussed with respect to reaction time data.

How has the Long Island Sound Seafloor Changed Over Time?

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, E. C.; Nitsche, F. O.

2016-12-01

The present Long Island Sound (LIS) was mainly shaped by the last glaciation and the sea level transgression that followed. Today the LIS is an important ecosystem that provides a critical habitat to numerous plant and animal species, and is important to the stability of several economies including fishing, boating, and tourism. Determining where erosion, transportation and deposition of sediment is occurring is important for sustainable development in and around the sound. Calculating the rate of change of the seafloor, identifying the hot spots where the most change is occurring, and determining which processes impact the scale of change are important for preserving the economy and ecology that depend on the sound. This is especially true as larger and more frequent storms comparable to hurricane Sandy are anticipated due to climate change. We used older bathymetric data (collected 1990-2001 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and compared those with the more recently collected LIS bathymetric data covering the same areas (collected 2012-2014 by a collaborative LIS mapping project with NOAA, the States of New York and Connecticut). Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) we analyzed and mapped the differences between these two datasets to determine where and by how much the seafloor has changed. The results show observable changes in the LIS seafloor on the scale of 1-2 meters over this 10-20 year period. The scale and type of these changes varies across the sound. The rates of change observed depends on the area of the sound, as each area has different factors to account for that controls sediment movement. We present results from five areas of the sound that had data from 1990-2001 and 2012-2014 and that highlight different key processes that change the seafloor. Observed changes in tidal inlets are mostly controlled by existing morphology and near shore sediment transport. In areas with strong bottom currents the data show migrating

Assessing and optimizing infra-sound networks to monitor volcanic eruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tailpied, Dorianne

2016-01-01

Understanding infra-sound signals is essential to monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test ban Treaty, and also to demonstrate the potential of the global monitoring infra-sound network for civil and scientific applications. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a robust tool to estimate and optimize the performance of any infra-sound network to monitor explosive sources such as volcanic eruptions. Unlike previous studies, the developed method has the advantage to consider realistic atmospheric specifications along the propagation path, source frequency and noise levels at the stations. It allows to predict the attenuation and the minimum detectable source amplitude. By simulating the performances of any infra-sound networks, it is then possible to define the optimal configuration of the network to monitor a specific region, during a given period. When carefully adding a station to the existing network, performance can be improved by a factor of 2. However, it is not always possible to complete the network. A good knowledge of detection capabilities at large distances is thus essential. To provide a more realistic picture of the performance, we integrate the atmospheric longitudinal variability along the infra-sound propagation path in our simulations. This thesis also contributes in providing a confidence index taking into account the uncertainties related to propagation and atmospheric models. At high frequencies, the error can reach 40 dB. Volcanic eruptions are natural, powerful and valuable calibrating sources of infra-sound, worldwide detected. In this study, the well instrumented volcanoes Yasur, in Vanuatu, and Etna, in Italy, offer a unique opportunity to validate our attenuation model. In particular, accurate comparisons between near-field recordings and far-field detections of these volcanoes have helped to highlight the potential of our simulation tool to remotely monitor volcanoes. Such work could significantly help to prevent

Poetry Pages. Sound Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Fina, Allan de

1992-01-01

Explains how elementary teachers can help students understand onomatopoeia, suggesting that they define onomatopoeia, share examples of it, read poems and have students discuss onomatopoeic words, act out common household sounds, write about sound effects, and create choral readings of onomatopoeic poems. Two appropriate poems are included. (SM)

Inverse modelling and pulsating torque minimization of salient pole non-sinusoidal synchronous machines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ait-gougam, Y.; Ibtiouen, R.; Touhami, O. [Laboratoire de Recherche en Electrotechnique, Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, BP 182, El-Harrach 16200 (Algeria); Louis, J.-P.; Gabsi, M. [Systemes et Applications des Technologies de l' Information et de l' Energie (SATIE), CNRS UMR 8029, Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan, 61 Avenue du President Wilson, 94235 Cachan Cedex (France)

2008-01-15

Sinusoidal motor's mathematical models are usually obtained using classical d-q transformation in the case of salient pole synchronous motors having sinusoidal field distribution. In this paper, a new inverse modelling for synchronous motors is presented. This modelling is derived from the properties of constant torque curves in the Concordia's reference frame. It takes into account the non-sinusoidal field distribution; EMF, self and mutual inductances having non-sinusoidal variations with respect to the angular rotor position. Both copper losses and torque ripples are minimized by adapted currents waveforms calculated from this model. Experimental evaluation was carried out on a DSP-controlled PMSM drive platform. Test results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in reducing torque ripple. (author)

Developmental changes in brain activation involved in the production of novel speech sounds in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashizume, Hiroshi; Taki, Yasuyuki; Sassa, Yuko; Thyreau, Benjamin; Asano, Michiko; Asano, Kohei; Takeuchi, Hikaru; Nouchi, Rui; Kotozaki, Yuka; Jeong, Hyeonjeong; Sugiura, Motoaki; Kawashima, Ryuta

2014-08-01

Older children are more successful at producing unfamiliar, non-native speech sounds than younger children during the initial stages of learning. To reveal the neuronal underpinning of the age-related increase in the accuracy of non-native speech production, we examined the developmental changes in activation involved in the production of novel speech sounds using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Healthy right-handed children (aged 6-18 years) were scanned while performing an overt repetition task and a perceptual task involving aurally presented non-native and native syllables. Productions of non-native speech sounds were recorded and evaluated by native speakers. The mouth regions in the bilateral primary sensorimotor areas were activated more significantly during the repetition task relative to the perceptual task. The hemodynamic response in the left inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis (IFG pOp) specific to non-native speech sound production (defined by prior hypothesis) increased with age. Additionally, the accuracy of non-native speech sound production increased with age. These results provide the first evidence of developmental changes in the neural processes underlying the production of novel speech sounds. Our data further suggest that the recruitment of the left IFG pOp during the production of novel speech sounds was possibly enhanced due to the maturation of the neuronal circuits needed for speech motor planning. This, in turn, would lead to improvement in the ability to immediately imitate non-native speech. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mobile sound: media art in hybrid spaces

OpenAIRE

Behrendt, Frauke

2010-01-01

The thesis explores the relationships between sound and mobility through an examination\\ud of sound art. The research engages with the intersection of sound, mobility and\\ud art through original empirical work and theoretically through a critical engagement with\\ud sound studies. In dialogue with the work of De Certeau, Lefebvre, Huhtamo and Habermas\\ud in terms of the poetics of walking, rhythms, media archeology and questions of\\ud publicness, I understand sound art as an experimental mobil...

Sound source measurement by using a passive sound insulation and a statistical approach

Science.gov (United States)

Dragonetti, Raffaele; Di Filippo, Sabato; Mercogliano, Francesco; Romano, Rosario A.

2015-10-01

This paper describes a measurement technique developed by the authors that allows carrying out acoustic measurements inside noisy environments reducing background noise effects. The proposed method is based on the integration of a traditional passive noise insulation system with a statistical approach. The latter is applied to signals picked up by usual sensors (microphones and accelerometers) equipping the passive sound insulation system. The statistical approach allows improving of the sound insulation given only by the passive sound insulation system at low frequency. The developed measurement technique has been validated by means of numerical simulations and measurements carried out inside a real noisy environment. For the case-studies here reported, an average improvement of about 10 dB has been obtained in a frequency range up to about 250 Hz. Considerations on the lower sound pressure level that can be measured by applying the proposed method and the measurement error related to its application are reported as well.

Deep Salient Feature Based Anti-Noise Transfer Network for Scene Classification of Remote Sensing Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Gong

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Remote sensing (RS scene classification is important for RS imagery semantic interpretation. Although tremendous strides have been made in RS scene classification, one of the remaining open challenges is recognizing RS scenes in low quality variance (e.g., various scales and noises. This paper proposes a deep salient feature based anti-noise transfer network (DSFATN method that effectively enhances and explores the high-level features for RS scene classification in different scales and noise conditions. In DSFATN, a novel discriminative deep salient feature (DSF is introduced by saliency-guided DSF extraction, which conducts a patch-based visual saliency (PBVS algorithm using “visual attention” mechanisms to guide pre-trained CNNs for producing the discriminative high-level features. Then, an anti-noise network is proposed to learn and enhance the robust and anti-noise structure information of RS scene by directly propagating the label information to fully-connected layers. A joint loss is used to minimize the anti-noise network by integrating anti-noise constraint and a softmax classification loss. The proposed network architecture can be easily trained with a limited amount of training data. The experiments conducted on three different scale RS scene datasets show that the DSFATN method has achieved excellent performance and great robustness in different scales and noise conditions. It obtains classification accuracy of 98.25%, 98.46%, and 98.80%, respectively, on the UC Merced Land Use Dataset (UCM, the Google image dataset of SIRI-WHU, and the SAT-6 dataset, advancing the state-of-the-art substantially.

Film sound in preservation and presentation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Campanini, S.

2014-01-01

What is the nature of film sound? How does it change through time? How can film sound be conceptually defined? To address these issues, this work assumes the perspective of film preservation and presentation practices, describing the preservation of early sound systems, as well as the presentation

Analyzing the Pattern of L1 Sounds on L2 Sounds Produced by Javanese Students of Stkip PGRI Jombang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daning Hentasmaka

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The studyconcerns on an analysis on the tendency of first language (L1 sound patterning on second language (L2 sounds done by Javanese students.Focusing on the consonant sounds, the data were collected by recording students’ pronunciationof English words during the pronunciation test. The data then analysed through three activities: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/ verification. Theresult showedthatthe patterning of L1 sounds happened on L2 sounds especially on eleven consonant sounds: the fricatives [v, θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ], the voiceless stops [p, t, k], and the voiced stops [b, d, g].Thosepatterning case emergedmostlyduetothe difference in the existence of consonant sounds and rules of consonant distribution. Besides, one of the cases was caused by the difference in consonant clusters between L1 and L2

ANALYZING THE PATTERN OF L1 SOUNDS ON L2 SOUNDS PRODUCED BY JAVANESE STUDENTS OF STKIP PGRI JOMBANG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daning Hentasmaka

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The studyconcerns on an analysis on the tendency of first language (L1 sound patterning on second language (L2 sounds done by Javanese students.Focusing on the consonant sounds, the data were collected by recording students’ pronunciationof English words during the pronunciation test. The data then analysed through three activities: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/ verification. Theresult showedthatthe patterning of L1 sounds happened on L2 sounds especially on eleven consonant sounds: the fricatives [v, θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ], the voiceless stops [p, t, k], and the voiced stops [b, d, g].Thosepatterning case emergedmostlyduetothe difference in the existence of consonant sounds and rules of consonant distribution. Besides, one of the cases was caused by the difference in consonant clusters between L1 and L2.

Opponent Coding of Sound Location (Azimuth) in Planum Temporale is Robust to Sound-Level Variations.

Science.gov (United States)

Derey, Kiki; Valente, Giancarlo; de Gelder, Beatrice; Formisano, Elia

2016-01-01

Coding of sound location in auditory cortex (AC) is only partially understood. Recent electrophysiological research suggests that neurons in mammalian auditory cortex are characterized by broad spatial tuning and a preference for the contralateral hemifield, that is, a nonuniform sampling of sound azimuth. Additionally, spatial selectivity decreases with increasing sound intensity. To accommodate these findings, it has been proposed that sound location is encoded by the integrated activity of neuronal populations with opposite hemifield tuning ("opponent channel model"). In this study, we investigated the validity of such a model in human AC with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a phase-encoding paradigm employing binaural stimuli recorded individually for each participant. In all subjects, we observed preferential fMRI responses to contralateral azimuth positions. Additionally, in most AC locations, spatial tuning was broad and not level invariant. We derived an opponent channel model of the fMRI responses by subtracting the activity of contralaterally tuned regions in bilateral planum temporale. This resulted in accurate decoding of sound azimuth location, which was unaffected by changes in sound level. Our data thus support opponent channel coding as a neural mechanism for representing acoustic azimuth in human AC. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Breaking the Sound Barrier

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Tom; Boehringer, Kim

2007-01-01

Students in a fourth-grade class participated in a series of dynamic sound learning centers followed by a dramatic capstone event--an exploration of the amazing Trashcan Whoosh Waves. It's a notoriously difficult subject to teach, but this hands-on, exploratory approach ignited student interest in sound, promoted language acquisition, and built…

Sound therapies for tinnitus management.

Science.gov (United States)

Jastreboff, Margaret M

2007-01-01

Many people with bothersome (suffering) tinnitus notice that their tinnitus changes in different acoustical surroundings, it is more intrusive in silence and less profound in the sound enriched environments. This observation led to the development of treatment methods for tinnitus utilizing sound. Many of these methods are still under investigation in respect to their specific protocol and effectiveness and only some have been objectively evaluated in clinical trials. This chapter will review therapies for tinnitus using sound stimulation.

Numerical Model on Sound-Solid Coupling in Human Ear and Study on Sound Pressure of Tympanic Membrane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yao Wen-juan

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Establishment of three-dimensional finite-element model of the whole auditory system includes external ear, middle ear, and inner ear. The sound-solid-liquid coupling frequency response analysis of the model was carried out. The correctness of the FE model was verified by comparing the vibration modes of tympanic membrane and stapes footplate with the experimental data. According to calculation results of the model, we make use of the least squares method to fit out the distribution of sound pressure of external auditory canal and obtain the sound pressure function on the tympanic membrane which varies with frequency. Using the sound pressure function, the pressure distribution on the tympanic membrane can be directly derived from the sound pressure at the external auditory canal opening. The sound pressure function can make the boundary conditions of the middle ear structure more accurate in the mechanical research and improve the previous boundary treatment which only applied uniform pressure acting to the tympanic membrane.

Sounds in one-dimensional superfluid helium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Um, C.I.; Kahng, W.H.; Whang, E.H.; Hong, S.K.; Oh, H.G.; George, T.F.

1989-01-01

The temperature variations of first-, second-, and third-sound velocity and attenuation coefficients in one-dimensional superfluid helium are evaluated explicitly for very low temperatures and frequencies (ω/sub s/tau 2 , and the ratio of second sound to first sound becomes unity as the temperature decreases to absolute zero

Conditioned sounds enhance visual processing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabrizio Leo

Full Text Available This psychophysics study investigated whether prior auditory conditioning influences how a sound interacts with visual perception. In the conditioning phase, subjects were presented with three pure tones ( =  conditioned stimuli, CS that were paired with positive, negative or neutral unconditioned stimuli. As unconditioned reinforcers we employed pictures (highly pleasant, unpleasant and neutral or monetary outcomes (+50 euro cents, -50 cents, 0 cents. In the subsequent visual selective attention paradigm, subjects were presented with near-threshold Gabors displayed in their left or right hemifield. Critically, the Gabors were presented in synchrony with one of the conditioned sounds. Subjects discriminated whether the Gabors were presented in their left or right hemifields. Participants determined the location more accurately when the Gabors were presented in synchrony with positive relative to neutral sounds irrespective of reinforcer type. Thus, previously rewarded relative to neutral sounds increased the bottom-up salience of the visual Gabors. Our results are the first demonstration that prior auditory conditioning is a potent mechanism to modulate the effect of sounds on visual perception.

Robust segmentation and retrieval of environmental sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Wichern, Gordon

The proliferation of mobile computing has provided much of the world with the ability to record any sound of interest, or possibly every sound heard in a lifetime. The technology to continuously record the auditory world has applications in surveillance, biological monitoring of non-human animal sounds, and urban planning. Unfortunately, the ability to record anything has led to an audio data deluge, where there are more recordings than time to listen. Thus, access to these archives depends on efficient techniques for segmentation (determining where sound events begin and end), indexing (storing sufficient information with each event to distinguish it from other events), and retrieval (searching for and finding desired events). While many such techniques have been developed for speech and music sounds, the environmental and natural sounds that compose the majority of our aural world are often overlooked. The process of analyzing audio signals typically begins with the process of acoustic feature extraction where a frame of raw audio (e.g., 50 milliseconds) is converted into a feature vector summarizing the audio content. In this dissertation, a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) is used to monitor changes in acoustic features in order to determine the segmentation of continuously recorded audio signals. Experiments demonstrate effective segmentation performance on test sets of environmental sounds recorded in both indoor and outdoor environments. Once segmented, every sound event is indexed with a probabilistic model, summarizing the evolution of acoustic features over the course of the event. Indexed sound events are then retrieved from the database using different query modalities. Two important query types are sound queries (query-by-example) and semantic queries (query-by-text). By treating each sound event and semantic concept in the database as a node in an undirected graph, a hybrid (content/semantic) network structure is developed. This hybrid network can

Sound-Symbolism Boosts Novel Word Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Gwilym; Dingemanse, Mark; Hagoort, Peter

2016-01-01

The existence of sound-symbolism (or a non-arbitrary link between form and meaning) is well-attested. However, sound-symbolism has mostly been investigated with nonwords in forced choice tasks, neither of which are representative of natural language. This study uses ideophones, which are naturally occurring sound-symbolic words that depict sensory…

Second sound tracking system

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jihee; Ihas, Gary G.; Ekdahl, Dan

2017-10-01

It is common that a physical system resonates at a particular frequency, whose frequency depends on physical parameters which may change in time. Often, one would like to automatically track this signal as the frequency changes, measuring, for example, its amplitude. In scientific research, one would also like to utilize the standard methods, such as lock-in amplifiers, to improve the signal to noise ratio. We present a complete He ii second sound system that uses positive feedback to generate a sinusoidal signal of constant amplitude via automatic gain control. This signal is used to produce temperature/entropy waves (second sound) in superfluid helium-4 (He ii). A lock-in amplifier limits the oscillation to a desirable frequency and demodulates the received sound signal. Using this tracking system, a second sound signal probed turbulent decay in He ii. We present results showing that the tracking system is more reliable than those of a conventional fixed frequency method; there is less correlation with temperature (frequency) fluctuation when the tracking system is used.

Underwater Sound Propagation from Marine Pile Driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyff, James A

2016-01-01

Pile driving occurs in a variety of nearshore environments that typically have very shallow-water depths. The propagation of pile-driving sound in water is complex, where sound is directly radiated from the pile as well as through the ground substrate. Piles driven in the ground near water bodies can produce considerable underwater sound energy. This paper presents examples of sound propagation through shallow-water environments. Some of these examples illustrate the substantial variation in sound amplitude over time that can be critical to understand when computing an acoustic-based safety zone for aquatic species.

Sound propagation in the steam generator - A theoretical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heckl, M.

1990-01-01

In order to assess the suitability of acoustic tomography in the steam generator, detailed information on its acoustic transmission properties is needed. We have developed a model which allows one to calculate the sound field produced by an incident wave in the steam generator. In our model we consider the steam generator as a medium consisting of a two-dimensional array of infinitely long cylindrical tubes. They are thin-walled, made of metal and are immersed in a liquid. Inside them there is a liquid or a gas. The incident wave is plane and perpendicular to the cylindrical tubes. When a sound wave crosses the tube bundle, each individual tube is exposed to a fluctuating pressure field and scatters sound which, together with the incident wave, influences the pressure at all surrounding tubes. The motion of an individual tube is given by differential equations (Heckl 1989) and the pressure difference between inside and outside. The interaction of a tube wall with the fluid inside and outside is treated by imposing suitable boundary conditions. Since the cylinder array is periodic, it can be considered as consisting of a large number of tube rows with a constant distance between adjacent cylinders within a row and constant spacing of the rows. The sound propagates from row to row, each time getting partly transmitted and partly reflected. A single row is similar to a diffraction grating known from optics. The transmission properties of one row or grating depend on the ratio between spacing and wavelength. If the wavelength is larger than the spacing, then the wave is transmitted only in the original direction. However, for wavelengths smaller than the spacing, the transmitted wave has components travelling in several discrete directions. The response of one row to sound scattered from a neighbouring row is calculated from Kirchhoff's theorem. An iteration scheme has been developed to take the reflection and transmission at several rows into account. 7 refs, figs and

Sound topology, duality, coherence and wave-mixing an introduction to the emerging new science of sound

CERN Document Server

Deymier, Pierre

2017-01-01

This book offers an essential introduction to the notions of sound wave topology, duality, coherence and wave-mixing, which constitute the emerging new science of sound. It includes general principles and specific examples that illuminate new non-conventional forms of sound (sound topology), unconventional quantum-like behavior of phonons (duality), radical linear and nonlinear phenomena associated with loss and its control (coherence), and exquisite effects that emerge from the interaction of sound with other physical and biological waves (wave mixing).  The book provides the reader with the foundations needed to master these complex notions through simple yet meaningful examples. General principles for unraveling and describing the topology of acoustic wave functions in the space of their Eigen values are presented. These principles are then applied to uncover intrinsic and extrinsic approaches to achieving non-conventional topologies by breaking the time revers al symmetry of acoustic waves. Symmetry brea...

Diffuse sound field: challenges and misconceptions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeong, Cheol-Ho

2016-01-01

Diffuse sound field is a popular, yet widely misused concept. Although its definition is relatively well established, acousticians use this term for different meanings. The diffuse sound field is defined by a uniform sound pressure distribution (spatial diffusion or homogeneity) and uniform...... tremendously in different chambers because the chambers are non-diffuse in variously different ways. Therefore, good objective measures that can quantify the degree of diffusion and potentially indicate how to fix such problems in reverberation chambers are needed. Acousticians often blend the concept...... of mixing and diffuse sound field. Acousticians often refer diffuse reflections from surfaces to diffuseness in rooms, and vice versa. Subjective aspects of diffuseness have not been much investigated. Finally, ways to realize a diffuse sound field in a finite space are discussed....

Historical trends in the accumulation of chemicals in Puget Sound sediment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crecelius, E.; Cullinan, V.; Lefkovitz, L.; Pevan, C.

1995-01-01

As human activity in and around Puget Sound increased, so did the contaminant levels in the sediment. Sediment cores collected in 1 982 revealed inputs of chemicals to the Sound, including lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and petroleum hydrocarbons, began to increase above background in the late 1800s and peaked between 1945 and 1965. Synthetic organic compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDT, first appeared in sediments deposited in the 1930s and reached a maximum in the 1960s. The presence of the subsurface maximum concentrations suggests that pollution-control strategies have improved the sediment quality of central Puget Sound. Additional sediment coring was performed in 1991 and samples were collected at six locations in the main basin of Puget Sound. Sediment ages were determined using Pb 210 radio isotope dating. Sedimentation rates were approximately 1 to 2 cm/yr and deposition rates ranged from 480 to 1000 mg/cm2/yr. The contaminant level of many metals has continued to decrease steadily in the last 10 years. The mean concentration of Pb, for example, has decreased upwards of 20% during this period, with an overall drop of about 30% since its maximum concentration in the 1950s and 1960s. Hydrocarbon contamination appears to parallel that of heavy metals. Significant decrease in PCB and DDT concentrations were also observed with a 2 to 4-fold decrease in surficial sediment concentrations. Concentrations of Ag, As, Cu, Hg, Sb, and Zn have declined significantly in the last 20 years, lending support to the hypothesis that the strengthening of environmental regulations since 1970 has influenced the water quality of Puget Sound

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU)-A Brightness Temperature, Version 1

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) for Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) brightness temperature in "window channels". The data cover a time period from...

Puget Sound Dissolved Oxygen Modeling Study: Development of an Intermediate Scale Water Quality Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khangaonkar, Tarang; Sackmann, Brandon S.; Long, Wen; Mohamedali, Teizeen; Roberts, Mindy

2012-10-01

The Salish Sea, including Puget Sound, is a large estuarine system bounded by over seven thousand miles of complex shorelines, consists of several subbasins and many large inlets with distinct properties of their own. Pacific Ocean water enters Puget Sound through the Strait of Juan de Fuca at depth over the Admiralty Inlet sill. Ocean water mixed with freshwater discharges from runoff, rivers, and wastewater outfalls exits Puget Sound through the brackish surface outflow layer. Nutrient pollution is considered one of the largest threats to Puget Sound. There is considerable interest in understanding the effect of nutrient loads on the water quality and ecological health of Puget Sound in particular and the Salish Sea as a whole. The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) contracted with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop a coupled hydrodynamic and water quality model. The water quality model simulates algae growth, dissolved oxygen, (DO) and nutrient dynamics in Puget Sound to inform potential Puget Sound-wide nutrient management strategies. Specifically, the project is expected to help determine 1) if current and potential future nitrogen loadings from point and non-point sources are significantly impairing water quality at a large scale and 2) what level of nutrient reductions are necessary to reduce or control human impacts to DO levels in the sensitive areas. The project did not include any additional data collection but instead relied on currently available information. This report describes model development effort conducted during the period 2009 to 2012 under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cooperative agreement with PNNL, Ecology, and the University of Washington awarded under the National Estuary Program

WODA Technical Guidance on Underwater Sound from Dredging.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomsen, Frank; Borsani, Fabrizio; Clarke, Douglas; de Jong, Christ; de Wit, Pim; Goethals, Fredrik; Holtkamp, Martine; Martin, Elena San; Spadaro, Philip; van Raalte, Gerard; Victor, George Yesu Vedha; Jensen, Anders

2016-01-01

The World Organization of Dredging Associations (WODA) has identified underwater sound as an environmental issue that needs further consideration. A WODA Expert Group on Underwater Sound (WEGUS) prepared a guidance paper in 2013 on dredging sound, including a summary of potential impacts on aquatic biota and advice on underwater sound monitoring procedures. The paper follows a risk-based approach and provides guidance for standardization of acoustic terminology and methods for data collection and analysis. Furthermore, the literature on dredging-related sounds and the effects of dredging sounds on marine life is surveyed and guidance on the management of dredging-related sound risks is provided.

Detecting change in stochastic sound sequences.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Skerritt-Davis

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Our ability to parse our acoustic environment relies on the brain's capacity to extract statistical regularities from surrounding sounds. Previous work in regularity extraction has predominantly focused on the brain's sensitivity to predictable patterns in sound sequences. However, natural sound environments are rarely completely predictable, often containing some level of randomness, yet the brain is able to effectively interpret its surroundings by extracting useful information from stochastic sounds. It has been previously shown that the brain is sensitive to the marginal lower-order statistics of sound sequences (i.e., mean and variance. In this work, we investigate the brain's sensitivity to higher-order statistics describing temporal dependencies between sound events through a series of change detection experiments, where listeners are asked to detect changes in randomness in the pitch of tone sequences. Behavioral data indicate listeners collect statistical estimates to process incoming sounds, and a perceptual model based on Bayesian inference shows a capacity in the brain to track higher-order statistics. Further analysis of individual subjects' behavior indicates an important role of perceptual constraints in listeners' ability to track these sensory statistics with high fidelity. In addition, the inference model facilitates analysis of neural electroencephalography (EEG responses, anchoring the analysis relative to the statistics of each stochastic stimulus. This reveals both a deviance response and a change-related disruption in phase of the stimulus-locked response that follow the higher-order statistics. These results shed light on the brain's ability to process stochastic sound sequences.

Directional sound radiation from substation transformers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maybee, N.

2009-01-01

This paper presented the results of a study in which acoustical measurements at two substations were analyzed to investigate the directional behaviour of typical arrays having 2 or 3 transformers. Substation transformers produce a characteristic humming sound that is caused primarily by vibration of the core at twice the frequency of the power supply. The humming noise radiates predominantly from the tank enclosing the core. The main components of the sound are harmonics of 120 Hz. Sound pressure level data were obtained for various directions and distances from the arrays, ranging from 0.5 m to over 100 m. The measured sound pressure levels of the transformer tones displayed substantial positive and negative excursions from the calculated average values for many distances and directions. The results support the concept that the directional effects are associated with constructive and destructive interference of tonal sound waves emanating from different parts of the array. Significant variations in the directional sound pattern can occur in the near field of a single transformer or an array, and the extent of the near field is significantly larger than the scale of the array. Based on typical dimensions for substation sites, the distance to the far field may be much beyond the substation boundary and beyond typical setbacks to the closest dwellings. As such, the directional sound radiation produced by transformer arrays introduces additional uncertainty in the prediction of substation sound levels at dwellings within a few hundred meters of a substation site. 4 refs., 4 figs.

Customized Versus Noncustomized Sound Therapy for Treatment of Tinnitus: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahboubi, Hossein; Haidar, Yarah M; Kiumehr, Saman; Ziai, Kasra; Djalilian, Hamid R

2017-10-01

To determine the effectiveness of a customized sound therapy and compare its effectiveness to that of masking with broadband noise. Subjects were randomized to receive either customized sound therapy or broadband noise for 2 hours per day for 3 months and then switched to the other treatment after a washout period. The outcome variables were tinnitus loudness (scored 0-10), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), minimum masking levels (MML), and residual inhibition (RI). Eighteen subjects completed the study. Mean age was 53 ± 11 years, and mean tinnitus duration was 118 ± 99 months. With customized sound therapy, mean loudness decreased from 6.4 ± 2.0 to 4.9 ± 1.9 ( P = .001), mean THI decreased from 42.8 ± 21.6 to 31.5 ± 20.3 ( P tinnitus patients, and the results may be superior to broadband noise.

On the sound absorption coefficient of porous asphalt pavements for oblique incident sound waves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bezemer-Krijnen, Marieke; Wijnant, Ysbrand H.; de Boer, Andries; Bekke, Dirk; Davy, J.; Don, Ch.; McMinn, T.; Dowsett, L.; Broner, N.; Burgess, M.

2014-01-01

A rolling tyre will radiate noise in all directions. However, conventional measurement techniques for the sound absorption of surfaces only give the absorption coefficient for normal incidence. In this paper, a measurement technique is described with which it is possible to perform in situ sound

Neuroplasticity beyond sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reybrouck, Mark; Brattico, Elvira

2015-01-01

Capitalizing from neuroscience knowledge on how individuals are affected by the sound environment, we propose to adopt a cybernetic and ecological point of view on the musical aesthetic experience, which includes subprocesses, such as feature extraction and integration, early affective reactions...... and motor actions, style mastering and conceptualization, emotion and proprioception, evaluation and preference. In this perspective, the role of the listener/composer/performer is seen as that of an active "agent" coping in highly individual ways with the sounds. The findings concerning the neural...

Simile: the most salient stylistic feature in Kelile and Demne

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Mahmoodi

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Kelile and Demne is one of the most salient samples of Persian technical prose rhetorical and semantic figures and figures of speech namely simile, metaphor, metonymy and irony are among the stylistic features of this book. Among these, simile, as the most influential imagination tool, play a dominant role in the illustrations of the book. In this article, simile has been analyzed and investigated in all its variations in Kelile and Demne. In this book, simile appears from its most laconic form (eloquent simile to its most extensive form. But the major feature of theirs is their outspokenness, explicitness and sometimes their novelty. Among the likening components, the range of image vocabulary is one of the likening features in this book. Also the point of similarity has been usually abstracted from man's states, shape, place, space, volume and generally affairs concerning visual and tactile senses. So, its perception is not too much difficult. The variety and extension of likening vehicles in this work are worth of contemplating. In analysis of simile on the credit of both parties, we can conclude that ratio-emotional similes are of the most frequent kinds of simile. And Nasrollah Monshi has extended the field of emotional similes and has manipulated the relations between objects in a novel way. Allegoric simile has been used abundantly in Kelile and Demne.  It justifies the didactic function of this text. Allegory approaches its main role in this book. i.e. arguing and convincing. The contents of allegories in this book are moral and political and in terms of from, they are anecdotes of animals and human beings. The types of similes on the credit of form - namely equalization similes implied comparative similes and subtrahend similes - have been also used. Among the salient features of this book, several images together or in interference with each other have been used in one word or sentence. Sometimes similes accompany other

Simile: the most salient stylistic feature in Kelile and Demne

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Mahmoodi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Kelile and Demne is one of the most salient samples of Persian technical prose rhetorical and semantic figures and figures of speech namely simile, metaphor, metonymy and irony are among the stylistic features of this book. Among these, simile, as the most influential imagination tool, play a dominant role in the illustrations of the book. In this article, simile has been analyzed and investigated in all its variations in Kelile and Demne. In this book, simile appears from its most laconic form (eloquent simile to its most extensive form. But the major feature of theirs is their outspokenness, explicitness and sometimes their novelty. Among the likening components, the range of image vocabulary is one of the likening features in this book. Also the point of similarity has been usually abstracted from man's states, shape, place, space, volume and generally affairs concerning visual and tactile senses. So, its perception is not too much difficult. The variety and extension of likening vehicles in this work are worth of contemplating. In analysis of simile on the credit of both parties, we can conclude that ratio-emotional similes are of the most frequent kinds of simile. And Nasrollah Monshi has extended the field of emotional similes and has manipulated the relations between objects in a novel way. Allegoric simile has been used abundantly in Kelile and Demne.  It justifies the didactic function of this text. Allegory approaches its main role in this book. i.e. arguing and convincing. The contents of allegories in this book are moral and political and in terms of from, they are anecdotes of animals and human beings. The types of similes on the credit of form - namely equalization similes implied comparative similes and subtrahend similes - have been also used. Among the salient features of this book, several images together or in interference with each other have been used in one word or sentence. Sometimes similes accompany other

Statistics of natural binaural sounds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiktor Młynarski

Full Text Available Binaural sound localization is usually considered a discrimination task, where interaural phase (IPD and level (ILD disparities at narrowly tuned frequency channels are utilized to identify a position of a sound source. In natural conditions however, binaural circuits are exposed to a stimulation by sound waves originating from multiple, often moving and overlapping sources. Therefore statistics of binaural cues depend on acoustic properties and the spatial configuration of the environment. Distribution of cues encountered naturally and their dependence on physical properties of an auditory scene have not been studied before. In the present work we analyzed statistics of naturally encountered binaural sounds. We performed binaural recordings of three auditory scenes with varying spatial configuration and analyzed empirical cue distributions from each scene. We have found that certain properties such as the spread of IPD distributions as well as an overall shape of ILD distributions do not vary strongly between different auditory scenes. Moreover, we found that ILD distributions vary much weaker across frequency channels and IPDs often attain much higher values, than can be predicted from head filtering properties. In order to understand the complexity of the binaural hearing task in the natural environment, sound waveforms were analyzed by performing Independent Component Analysis (ICA. Properties of learned basis functions indicate that in natural conditions soundwaves in each ear are predominantly generated by independent sources. This implies that the real-world sound localization must rely on mechanisms more complex than a mere cue extraction.

Statistics of natural binaural sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Młynarski, Wiktor; Jost, Jürgen

2014-01-01

Binaural sound localization is usually considered a discrimination task, where interaural phase (IPD) and level (ILD) disparities at narrowly tuned frequency channels are utilized to identify a position of a sound source. In natural conditions however, binaural circuits are exposed to a stimulation by sound waves originating from multiple, often moving and overlapping sources. Therefore statistics of binaural cues depend on acoustic properties and the spatial configuration of the environment. Distribution of cues encountered naturally and their dependence on physical properties of an auditory scene have not been studied before. In the present work we analyzed statistics of naturally encountered binaural sounds. We performed binaural recordings of three auditory scenes with varying spatial configuration and analyzed empirical cue distributions from each scene. We have found that certain properties such as the spread of IPD distributions as well as an overall shape of ILD distributions do not vary strongly between different auditory scenes. Moreover, we found that ILD distributions vary much weaker across frequency channels and IPDs often attain much higher values, than can be predicted from head filtering properties. In order to understand the complexity of the binaural hearing task in the natural environment, sound waveforms were analyzed by performing Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Properties of learned basis functions indicate that in natural conditions soundwaves in each ear are predominantly generated by independent sources. This implies that the real-world sound localization must rely on mechanisms more complex than a mere cue extraction.

Moth hearing and sound communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nakano, Ryo; Takanashi, Takuma; Surlykke, Annemarie

2015-01-01

Active echolocation enables bats to orient and hunt the night sky for insects. As a counter-measure against the severe predation pressure many nocturnal insects have evolved ears sensitive to ultrasonic bat calls. In moths bat-detection was the principal purpose of hearing, as evidenced by compar......Active echolocation enables bats to orient and hunt the night sky for insects. As a counter-measure against the severe predation pressure many nocturnal insects have evolved ears sensitive to ultrasonic bat calls. In moths bat-detection was the principal purpose of hearing, as evidenced...... by comparable hearing physiology with best sensitivity in the bat echolocation range, 20–60 kHz, across moths in spite of diverse ear morphology. Some eared moths subsequently developed sound-producing organs to warn/startle/jam attacking bats and/or to communicate intraspecifically with sound. Not only...... the sounds for interaction with bats, but also mating signals are within the frequency range where bats echolocate, indicating that sound communication developed after hearing by “sensory exploitation”. Recent findings on moth sound communication reveal that close-range (~ a few cm) communication with low...

Diffractons: Solitary Waves Created by Diffraction in Periodic Media

KAUST Repository

Ketcheson, David I.

2015-03-31

A new class of solitary waves arises in the solution of nonlinear wave equations with constant impedance and no dispersive terms. These solitary waves depend on a balance between nonlinearity and a dispersion-like effect due to spatial variation in the sound speed of the medium. A high-order homogenized model confirms this effective dispersive behavior, and its solutions agree well with those obtained by direct simulation of the variable-coefficient system. These waves are observed to be long-time stable, globally attracting solutions that arise in general as solutions to nonlinear wave problems with periodically varying sound speed. They share some properties with known classes of solitary waves but possess important differences as well.

IST BENOGO (IST – 2001-39184) Deliverable I-AAU-05-01: Role of sound in VR and Audio Visual Preferences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordahl, Rolf

This Periodic Progres Report (PPR) document reports on the studies done in Aalborg University on December 2004 concerning role of sound in VR, audio-visual correlations and attention triggering. The report contains a description and evaluation of the experiments run, together with the analysis...... of the data captured by the head tracker, which provide valuable insights on the role of sound events in VR....

Spectro-temporal analysis of complex tones: two cortical processes dependent on retention of sounds in the long auditory store.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, S J; Vaz Pato, M; Sprague, L

2000-09-01

To examine whether two cortical processes concerned with spectro-temporal analysis of complex tones, a 'C-process' generating CN1 and CP2 potentials at cf. 100 and 180 ms after sudden change of pitch or timbre, and an 'M-process' generating MN1 and MP2 potentials of similar latency at the sudden cessation of repeated changes, are dependent on accumulation of a sound image in the long auditory store. The durations of steady (440 Hz) and rapidly oscillating (440-494 Hz, 16 changes/s) pitch of a synthesized 'clarinet' tone were reciprocally varied between 0.5 and 4.5 s within a duty cycle of 5 s. Potentials were recorded at the beginning and end of the period of oscillation in 10 non-attending normal subjects. The CN1 at the beginning of pitch oscillation and the MN1 at the end were both strongly influenced by the duration of the immediately preceding stimulus pattern, mean amplitudes being 3-4 times larger after 4.5 s as compared with 0.5 s. The processes responsible for both CN1 and MN1 are influenced by the duration of the preceding sound pattern over a period comparable to that of the 'echoic memory' or long auditory store. The store therefore appears to occupy a key position in spectro-temporal sound analysis. The C-process is concerned with the spectral structure of complex sounds, and may therefore reflect the 'grouping' of frequency components underlying auditory stream segregation. The M-process (mismatch negativity) is concerned with the temporal sound structure, and may play an important role in the extraction of information from sequential sounds.

Simulation of sound waves using the Lattice Boltzmann Method for fluid flow: Benchmark cases for outdoor sound propagation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salomons, E.M.; Lohman, W.J.A.; Zhou, H.

2016-01-01

Propagation of sound waves in air can be considered as a special case of fluid dynamics. Consequently, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for fluid flow can be used for simulating sound propagation. In this article application of the LBM to sound propagation is illustrated for various cases:

Beacons of Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knakkergaard, Martin

2018-01-01

The chapter discusses expectations and imaginations vis-à-vis the concert hall of the twenty-first century. It outlines some of the central historical implications of western culture’s haven for sounding music. Based on the author’s study of the Icelandic concert-house Harpa, the chapter considers...... how these implications, together with the prime mover’s visions, have been transformed as private investors and politicians took over. The chapter furthermore investigates the objectives regarding musical sound and the far-reaching demands concerning acoustics that modern concert halls are required...

Sound & The Senses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schulze, Holger

2012-01-01

How are those sounds you hear right now technically generated and post-produced, how are they aesthetically conceptualized and how culturally dependant are they really? How is your ability to hear intertwined with all the other senses and their cultural, biographical and technological constructio...... over time? And how is listening and sounding a deeply social activity – constructing our way of living together in cities as well as in apartment houses? A radio feature with Jonathan Sterne, AGF a.k.a Antye Greie, Jens Gerrit Papenburg & Holger Schulze....

Deterministic Approach to Detect Heart Sound Irregularities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Mengko

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A new method to detect heart sound that does not require machine learning is proposed. The heart sound is a time series event which is generated by the heart mechanical system. From the analysis of heart sound S-transform and the understanding of how heart works, it can be deducted that each heart sound component has unique properties in terms of timing, frequency, and amplitude. Based on these facts, a deterministic method can be designed to identify each heart sound components. The recorded heart sound then can be printed with each component correctly labeled. This greatly help the physician to diagnose the heart problem. The result shows that most known heart sounds were successfully detected. There are some murmur cases where the detection failed. This can be improved by adding more heuristics including setting some initial parameters such as noise threshold accurately, taking into account the recording equipment and also the environmental condition. It is expected that this method can be integrated into an electronic stethoscope biomedical system.

Sound For Animation And Virtual Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, James K.; Docter, Pete; Foster, Scott H.; Mangini, Mark; Myers, Tom; Wenzel, Elizabeth M.; Null, Cynthia (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

Sound is an integral part of the experience in computer animation and virtual reality. In this course, we will present some of the important technical issues in sound modeling, rendering, and synchronization as well as the "art" and business of sound that are being applied in animations, feature films, and virtual reality. The central theme is to bring leading researchers and practitioners from various disciplines to share their experiences in this interdisciplinary field. The course will give the participants an understanding of the problems and techniques involved in producing and synchronizing sounds, sound effects, dialogue, and music. The problem spans a number of domains including computer animation and virtual reality. Since sound has been an integral part of animations and films much longer than for computer-related domains, we have much to learn from traditional animation and film production. By bringing leading researchers and practitioners from a wide variety of disciplines, the course seeks to give the audience a rich mixture of experiences. It is expected that the audience will be able to apply what they have learned from this course in their research or production.

Alternative Paths to Hearing (A Conjecture. Photonic and Tactile Hearing Systems Displaying the Frequency Spectrum of Sound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. H. Hara

2006-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, the hearing process is considered from a system engineering perspective. For those with total hearing loss, a cochlear implant is the only direct remedy. It first acts as a spectrum analyser and then electronically stimulates the neurons in the cochlea with a number of electrodes. Each electrode carries information on the separate frequency bands (i.e., spectrum of the original sound signal. The neurons then relay the signals in a parallel manner to the section of the brain where sound signals are processed. Photonic and tactile hearing systems displaying the spectrum of sound are proposed as alternative paths to the section of the brain that processes sound. In view of the plasticity of the brain, which can rewire itself, the following conjectures are offered. After a certain period of training, a person without the ability to hear should be able to decipher the patterns of photonic or tactile displays of the sound spectrum and learn to ‘hear’. This is very similar to the case of a blind person learning to ‘read’ by recognizing the patterns created by the series of bumps as their fingers scan the Braille writing. The conjectures are yet to be tested. Designs of photonic and tactile systems displaying the sound spectrum are outlined.

Analysis and Synthesis of Musical Instrument Sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Beauchamp, James W.

For synthesizing a wide variety of musical sounds, it is important to understand which acoustic properties of musical instrument sounds are related to specific perceptual features. Some properties are obvious: Amplitude and fundamental frequency easily control loudness and pitch. Other perceptual features are related to sound spectra and how they vary with time. For example, tonal "brightness" is strongly connected to the centroid or tilt of a spectrum. "Attack impact" (sometimes called "bite" or "attack sharpness") is strongly connected to spectral features during the first 20-100 ms of sound, as well as the rise time of the sound. Tonal "warmth" is connected to spectral features such as "incoherence" or "inharmonicity."

Audio-visual interactions in product sound design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Özcan, E.; Van Egmond, R.

2010-01-01

Consistent product experience requires congruity between product properties such as visual appearance and sound. Therefore, for designing appropriate product sounds by manipulating their spectral-temporal structure, product sounds should preferably not be considered in isolation but as an integral

Microflown based monopole sound sources for reciprocal measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bree, H.E. de; Basten, T.G.H.

2008-01-01

Monopole sound sources (i.e. omni directional sound sources with a known volume velocity) are essential for reciprocal measurements used in vehicle interior panel noise contribution analysis. Until recently, these monopole sound sources use a sound pressure transducer sensor as a reference sensor. A

Pacific and Atlantic herring produce burst pulse sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Ben; Batty, Robert S; Dill, Lawrence M

2004-02-07

The commercial importance of Pacific and Atlantic herring (Clupea pallasii and Clupea harengus) has ensured that much of their biology has received attention. However, their sound production remains poorly studied. We describe the sounds made by captive wild-caught herring. Pacific herring produce distinctive bursts of pulses, termed Fast Repetitive Tick (FRT) sounds. These trains of broadband pulses (1.7-22 kHz) lasted between 0.6 s and 7.6 s. Most were produced at night; feeding regime did not affect their frequency, and fish produced FRT sounds without direct access to the air. Digestive gas or gulped air transfer to the swim bladder, therefore, do not appear to be responsible for FRT sound generation. Atlantic herring also produce FRT sounds, and video analysis showed an association with bubble expulsion from the anal duct region (i.e. from the gut or swim bladder). To the best of the authors' knowledge, sound production by such means has not previously been described. The function(s) of these sounds are unknown, but as the per capita rates of sound production by fish at higher densities were greater, social mediation appears likely. These sounds may have consequences for our understanding of herring behaviour and the effects of noise pollution.

7 CFR 29.6036 - Sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sound. 29.6036 Section 29.6036 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... INSPECTION Standards Definitions § 29.6036 Sound. Free of damage. (See Rule 4.) ...

Misconceptions About Sound Among Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Pejuan, Arcadi; Bohigas, Xavier; Jaén, Xavier; Periago, Cristina

2012-12-01

Our first objective was to detect misconceptions about the microscopic nature of sound among senior university students enrolled in different engineering programmes (from chemistry to telecommunications). We sought to determine how these misconceptions are expressed (qualitative aspect) and, only very secondarily, to gain a general idea of the extent to which they are held (quantitative aspect). Our second objective was to explore other misconceptions about wave aspects of sound. We have also considered the degree of consistency in the model of sound used by each student. Forty students answered a questionnaire including open-ended questions. Based on their free, spontaneous answers, the main results were as follows: a large majority of students answered most of the questions regarding the microscopic model of sound according to the scientifically accepted model; however, only a small number answered consistently. The main model misconception found was the notion that sound is propagated through the travelling of air particles, even in solids. Misconceptions and mental-model inconsistencies tended to depend on the engineering programme in which the student was enrolled. However, students in general were inconsistent also in applying their model of sound to individual sound properties. The main conclusion is that our students have not truly internalised the scientifically accepted model that they have allegedly learnt. This implies a need to design learning activities that take these findings into account in order to be truly efficient.

Infra-sound cancellation and mitigation in wind turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Boretti, Albert; Ordys, Andrew; Al Zubaidy, Sarim

2018-03-01

The infra-sound spectra recorded inside homes located even several kilometres far from wind turbine installations is characterized by large pressure fluctuation in the low frequency range. There is a significant body of literature suggesting inaudible sounds at low frequency are sensed by humans and affect the wellbeing through different mechanisms. These mechanisms include amplitude modulation of heard sounds, stimulating subconscious pathways, causing endolymphatic hydrops, and possibly potentiating noise-induced hearing loss. We suggest the study of infra-sound active cancellation and mitigation to address the low frequency noise issues. Loudspeakers generate pressure wave components of same amplitude and frequency but opposite phase of the recorded infra sound. They also produce pressure wave components within the audible range reducing the perception of the infra-sound to minimize the sensing of the residual infra sound.

Evaluative conditioning induces changes in sound valence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna C. Bolders

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Evaluative Conditioning (EC has hardly been tested in the auditory domain, but it is a potentially valuable research tool. In Experiment 1 we investigated whether the affective evaluation of short environmental sounds can be changed using affective words as unconditioned stimuli (US. Congruence effects on an affective priming task (APT for conditioned sounds demonstrated successful EC. Subjective ratings for sounds paired with negative words changed accordingly. In Experiment 2 we investigated whether the acquired valence remains stable after repeated presentation of the conditioned sound without the US or whether extinction occurs. The acquired affective value remained present, albeit weaker, even after 40 extinction trials. These results warrant the use of EC to study processing of short environmental sounds with acquired valence, even if this requires repeated stimulus presentations. This paves the way for studying processing of affective environmental sounds while effectively controlling low level-stimulus properties.

Neuroanatomic organization of sound memory in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraut, Michael A; Pitcock, Jeffery A; Calhoun, Vince; Li, Juan; Freeman, Thomas; Hart, John

2006-11-01

The neural interface between sensory perception and memory is a central issue in neuroscience, particularly initial memory organization following perceptual analyses. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify anatomic regions extracting initial auditory semantic memory information related to environmental sounds. Two distinct anatomic foci were detected in the right superior temporal gyrus when subjects identified sounds representing either animals or threatening items. Threatening animal stimuli elicited signal changes in both foci, suggesting a distributed neural representation. Our results demonstrate both category- and feature-specific responses to nonverbal sounds in early stages of extracting semantic memory information from these sounds. This organization allows for these category-feature detection nodes to extract early, semantic memory information for efficient processing of transient sound stimuli. Neural regions selective for threatening sounds are similar to those of nonhuman primates, demonstrating semantic memory organization for basic biological/survival primitives are present across species.

Sound Equipment Fabrication and Values in Nigerian Theatre ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The main points of this paper is to discover ways of fabricating sound and sound effects equipment for theatrical productions in Nigeria have become of essence since most educational theatres cannot afford western sound and sound effects equipment. Even when available, they are old fashioned, compared to the ...

Thinking The City Through Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kreutzfeldt, Jacob

2011-01-01

n Acoutic Territories. Sound Culture and Everyday Life Brandon LaBelle sets out to charts an urban topology through sound. Working his way through six acoustic territories: underground, home, sidewalk, street, shopping mall and sky/radio LaBelle investigates tensions and potentials inherent in mo...

Basic semantics of product sounds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Özcan Vieira, E.; Van Egmond, R.

2012-01-01

Product experience is a result of sensory and semantic experiences with product properties. In this paper, we focus on the semantic attributes of product sounds and explore the basic components for product sound related semantics using a semantic differential paradigmand factor analysis. With two

Fourth sound of holographic superfluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yarom, Amos

2009-01-01

We compute fourth sound for superfluids dual to a charged scalar and a gauge field in an AdS 4 background. For holographic superfluids with condensates that have a large scaling dimension (greater than approximately two), we find that fourth sound approaches first sound at low temperatures. For condensates that a have a small scaling dimension it exhibits non-conformal behavior at low temperatures which may be tied to the non-conformal behavior of the order parameter of the superfluid. We show that by introducing an appropriate scalar potential, conformal invariance can be enforced at low temperatures.

THE SOUNDNESS OF THE FINANCIALSYSTEMS IN CEE COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioana-Iuliana TOMULEASA

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The financial system is vitally important for the real economy, contributing decisively to economic activities. The paper aims to examine the features of the financial system of Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, the major imbalances accumulated during the period preceding the onset of the current global economic crisis and the measures taken by monetary and financial authorities to ensure the continuity of European financial integration. Moreover, in this paper an empirical analysis was developed, investigating the major implications of the crisis on the financial soundness indicators perceived in the selected countries, in the period 2008-2013. The analysis conducted in this paper suggests that the financial system is characterized by a high sensitivity, being subjected to pressures from the international financial turmoil, observing the increasing tendency of current risks.

Cross-Modal Associations between Sounds and Drink Tastes/Textures: A Study with Spontaneous Production of Sound-Symbolic Words.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakamoto, Maki; Watanabe, Junji

2016-03-01

Many languages have a word class whose speech sounds are linked to sensory experiences. Several recent studies have demonstrated cross-modal associations (or correspondences) between sounds and gustatory sensations by asking participants to match predefined sound-symbolic words (e.g., "maluma/takete") with the taste/texture of foods. Here, we further explore cross-modal associations using the spontaneous production of words and semantic ratings of sensations. In the experiment, after drinking liquids, participants were asked to express their taste/texture using Japanese sound-symbolic words, and at the same time, to evaluate it in terms of criteria expressed by adjectives. Because the Japanese language has a large vocabulary of sound-symbolic words, and Japanese people frequently use them to describe taste/texture, analyzing a variety of Japanese sound-symbolic words spontaneously produced to express taste/textures might enable us to explore the mechanism of taste/texture categorization. A hierarchical cluster analysis based on the relationship between linguistic sounds and taste/texture evaluations revealed the structure of sensation categories. The results indicate that an emotional evaluation like pleasant/unpleasant is the primary cluster in gustation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A Fast Algorithm of Cartographic Sounding Selection

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SUI Haigang; HUA Li; ZHAO Haitao; ZHANG Yongli

2005-01-01

An effective strategy and framework that adequately integrate the automated and manual processes for fast cartographic sounding selection is presented. The important submarine topographic features are extracted for important soundings selection, and an improved "influence circle" algorithm is introduced for sounding selection. For automatic configuration of soundings distribution pattern, a special algorithm considering multi-factors is employed. A semi-automatic method for solving the ambiguous conflicts is described. On the basis of the algorithms and strategies a system named HGIS for fast cartographic sounding selection is developed and applied in Chinese Marine Safety Administration Bureau (CMSAB). The application experiments show that the system is effective and reliable. At last some conclusions and the future work are given.

Long-term evolution of brainstem electrical evoked responses to sound after restricted ablation of the auditory cortex.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verónica Lamas

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to assess the top-down control of sound processing in the auditory brainstem of rats. Short latency evoked responses were analyzed after unilateral or bilateral ablation of auditory cortex. This experimental paradigm was also used towards analyzing the long-term evolution of post-lesion plasticity in the auditory system and its ability to self-repair. METHOD: Auditory cortex lesions were performed in rats by stereotactically guided fine-needle aspiration of the cerebrocortical surface. Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABR were recorded at post-surgery day (PSD 1, 7, 15 and 30. Recordings were performed under closed-field conditions, using click trains at different sound intensity levels, followed by statistical analysis of threshold values and ABR amplitude and latency variables. Subsequently, brains were sectioned and immunostained for GAD and parvalbumin to assess the location and extent of lesions accurately. RESULTS: Alterations in ABR variables depended on the type of lesion and post-surgery time of ABR recordings. Accordingly, bilateral ablations caused a statistically significant increase in thresholds at PSD1 and 7 and a decrease in waves amplitudes at PSD1 that recover at PSD7. No effects on latency were noted at PSD1 and 7, whilst recordings at PSD15 and 30 showed statistically significant decreases in latency. Conversely, unilateral ablations had no effect on auditory thresholds or latencies, while wave amplitudes only decreased at PSD1 strictly in the ipsilateral ear. CONCLUSION: Post-lesion plasticity in the auditory system acts in two time periods: short-term period of decreased sound sensitivity (until PSD7, most likely resulting from axonal degeneration; and a long-term period (up to PSD7, with changes in latency responses and recovery of thresholds and amplitudes values. The cerebral cortex may have a net positive gain on the auditory pathway response to sound.

Research and Implementation of Heart Sound Denoising

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Feng; Wang, Yutai; Wang, Yanxiang

Heart sound is one of the most important signals. However, the process of getting heart sound signal can be interfered with many factors outside. Heart sound is weak electric signal and even weak external noise may lead to the misjudgment of pathological and physiological information in this signal, thus causing the misjudgment of disease diagnosis. As a result, it is a key to remove the noise which is mixed with heart sound. In this paper, a more systematic research and analysis which is involved in heart sound denoising based on matlab has been made. The study of heart sound denoising based on matlab firstly use the powerful image processing function of matlab to transform heart sound signals with noise into the wavelet domain through wavelet transform and decomposition these signals in muli-level. Then for the detail coefficient, soft thresholding is made using wavelet transform thresholding to eliminate noise, so that a signal denoising is significantly improved. The reconstructed signals are gained with stepwise coefficient reconstruction for the processed detail coefficient. Lastly, 50HZ power frequency and 35 Hz mechanical and electrical interference signals are eliminated using a notch filter.

PULSAR.MAKING VISIBLE THE SOUND OF STARS

OpenAIRE

Lega, Ferran

2015-01-01

[EN] Pulsar, making visible the sound of stars is a comunication based on a sound Installation raised as a site-specific project to show the hidden abilities of sound to generate images and patterns on the matter, using the acoustic science of cymatics. The objective of this communication will show people how through abstract and intangible sounds from celestial orbs of cosmos (radio waves generated by electromagnetic pulses from the rotation of neutrón stars), we can create ar...

7 CFR 29.2298 - Sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sound. 29.2298 Section 29.2298 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... INSPECTION Standards Official Standard Grades for Virginia Fire-Cured Tobacco (u.s. Type 21) § 29.2298 Sound...

Cognitive Control of Involuntary Distraction by Deviant Sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Parmentier, Fabrice B. R.; Hebrero, Maria

2013-01-01

It is well established that a task-irrelevant sound (deviant sound) departing from an otherwise repetitive sequence of sounds (standard sounds) elicits an involuntary capture of attention and orienting response toward the deviant stimulus, resulting in the lengthening of response times in an ongoing task. Some have argued that this type of…

Eliciting Sound Memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Anna

2015-11-01

Sensory experiences are often considered triggers of memory, most famously a little French cake dipped in lime blossom tea. Sense memory can also be evoked in public history research through techniques of elicitation. In this article I reflect on different social science methods for eliciting sound memories such as the use of sonic prompts, emplaced interviewing, and sound walks. I include examples from my research on medical listening. The article considers the relevance of this work for the conduct of oral histories, arguing that such methods "break the frame," allowing room for collaborative research connections and insights into the otherwise unarticulatable.

Musical Sounds, Motor Resonance, and Detectable Agency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacques Launay

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the paradox that while human music making evolved and spread in an environment where it could only occur in groups, it is now often apparently an enjoyable asocial phenomenon. Here I argue that music is, by definition, sound that we believe has been in some way organized by a human agent, meaning that listening to any musical sounds can be a social experience. There are a number of distinct mechanisms by which we might associate musical sound with agency. While some of these mechanisms involve learning motor associations with that sound, it is also possible to have a more direct relationship from musical sound to agency, and the relative importance of these potentially independent mechanisms should be further explored. Overall, I conclude that the apparent paradox of solipsistic musical engagement is in fact unproblematic, because the way that we perceive and experience musical sounds is inherently social.

Hearing abilities and sound reception of broadband sounds in an adult Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus).

Science.gov (United States)

Mooney, T Aran; Yang, Wei-Cheng; Yu, Hsin-Yi; Ketten, Darlene R; Jen, I-Fan

2015-08-01

While odontocetes do not have an external pinna that guides sound to the middle ear, they are considered to receive sound through specialized regions of the head and lower jaw. Yet odontocetes differ in the shape of the lower jaw suggesting that hearing pathways may vary between species, potentially influencing hearing directionality and noise impacts. This work measured the audiogram and received sensitivity of a Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) in an effort to comparatively examine how this species receives sound. Jaw hearing thresholds were lowest (most sensitive) at two locations along the anterior, midline region of the lower jaw (the lower jaw tip and anterior part of the throat). Responses were similarly low along a more posterior region of the lower mandible, considered the area of best hearing in bottlenose dolphins. Left- and right-side differences were also noted suggesting possible left-right asymmetries in sound reception or differences in ear sensitivities. The results indicate best hearing pathways may vary between the Risso's dolphin and other odontocetes measured. This animal received sound well, supporting a proposed throat pathway. For Risso's dolphins in particular, good ventral hearing would support their acoustic ecology by facilitating echo-detection from their proposed downward oriented echolocation beam.

Sound insulation performance of plates with interconnected distributed piezoelectric patches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Kaijun

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the sound insulation performance of a thin plate with interconnected distributed piezoelectric patches. Piezoelectric patches are periodically bonded on the surfaces of the plate in a collocated fashion, and are interconnected via an inductive circuit network. This piezoelectric system is termed as piezo-electromechanical (PEM plate in the paper. Homogenization methods are involved under a sub-wavelength assumption to analytically develop the dynamical equations for the PEM plate. The dispersion relationships and energy densities of the wave modes propagating in the PEM plate are studied; the sub-wavelength assumption is verified for the simulations in this paper. The coincidence frequency of the PEM plate is researched, and results show that the coincidence frequency of the PEM plate will disappear at certain circumstances; mathematical and physical explanations are made for this phenomenon. The disappearance of the coincidence frequency is used to optimize the value of inductance, for the purpose of improving the sound transmission loss of the PEM plate.

Visualizing Sound Directivity via Smartphone Sensors

OpenAIRE

Hawley, Scott H.; McClain Jr, Robert E.

2017-01-01

We present a fast, simple method for automated data acquisition and visualization of sound directivity, made convenient and accessible via a smartphone app, "Polar Pattern Plotter." The app synchronizes measurements of sound volume with the phone's angular orientation obtained from either compass, gyroscope or accelerometer sensors and produces a graph and exportable data file. It is generalizable to various sound sources and receivers via the use of an input-jack-adaptor to supplant the smar...

Effects of sounds of locomotion on speech perception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matz Larsson

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Human locomotion typically creates noise, a possible consequence of which is the masking of sound signals originating in the surroundings. When walking side by side, people often subconsciously synchronize their steps. The neurophysiological and evolutionary background of this behavior is unclear. The present study investigated the potential of sound created by walking to mask perception of speech and compared the masking produced by walking in step with that produced by unsynchronized walking. The masking sound (footsteps on gravel and the target sound (speech were presented through the same speaker to 15 normal-hearing subjects. The original recorded walking sound was modified to mimic the sound of two individuals walking in pace or walking out of synchrony. The participants were instructed to adjust the sound level of the target sound until they could just comprehend the speech signal ("just follow conversation" or JFC level when presented simultaneously with synchronized or unsynchronized walking sound at 40 dBA, 50 dBA, 60 dBA, or 70 dBA. Synchronized walking sounds produced slightly less masking of speech than did unsynchronized sound. The median JFC threshold in the synchronized condition was 38.5 dBA, while the corresponding value for the unsynchronized condition was 41.2 dBA. Combined results at all sound pressure levels showed an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR for synchronized footsteps; the median difference was 2.7 dB and the mean difference was 1.2 dB [P < 0.001, repeated-measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA]. The difference was significant for masker levels of 50 dBA and 60 dBA, but not for 40 dBA or 70 dBA. This study provides evidence that synchronized walking may reduce the masking potential of footsteps.

Light aircraft sound transmission studies - Noise reduction model

Science.gov (United States)

Atwal, Mahabir S.; Heitman, Karen E.; Crocker, Malcolm J.

1987-01-01

Experimental tests conducted on the fuselage of a single-engine Piper Cherokee light aircraft suggest that the cabin interior noise can be reduced by increasing the transmission loss of the dominant sound transmission paths and/or by increasing the cabin interior sound absorption. The validity of using a simple room equation model to predict the cabin interior sound-pressure level for different fuselage and exterior sound field conditions is also presented. The room equation model is based on the sound power flow balance for the cabin space and utilizes the measured transmitted sound intensity data. The room equation model predictions were considered good enough to be used for preliminary acoustical design studies.

A model from the First National Architecture Period in Ankara: Hotel Erzurum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Fevzi Çügen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available As Ankara became the capital, the emerging problem of accommodation required a change in the function of some dwellings in the city. In the 1930s, the Hotel Erzurum was one of the buildings involved in this change. Hotel Erzurum was located in the Ulus district, right next to the Hotel Europe which was next door to the city’s wholesale produce market. In this study information is given about the construction and architectural features of Hotel Erzurum, which was built in the neo-classical style and was one of the examples with the salient features of the First National Architecture Period structures.

Development of radio acoustic sounding method in Kharkov National University of Radio Electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proshkin, Y G; Kartashov, V M; Babkin, S I

2008-01-01

The analysis of the role of Kharkov National University of Radio Electronics in developing the atmosphere radio acoustic sounding (RAS) method within the period from 1968 to 2008 was carried out. As a part of the investigation program six experimental models of the sounding radio equipment were developed and manufactured. The atmosphere sounding methods were developed for measuring the base meteorological values. For the first time in the world practice, relevant comparative measurements of air temperature, wind velocity and direction were performed on a short base (about 150 m) using the centimetre RAS equipment and standard sensors of a high (300 m) meteorological mast. The RAS equipment was used for the purpose of meteorological support to investigations in the field of the atmosphere physics and applied problems. All instrumental, atmosphere and social factors, affecting operation the RAS systems, were generalized. It is shown that compact and mobile systems for remote monitoring of the atmospheric boundary layer with possible prompt obtaining of relevant information about base meteorological values in large volumes can be based on the RAS equipment

THE SOUND OF CINEMA: TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Poznin Vitaly F.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Technology is a means of creating any product. However, in the onscreen art, it is one of the elements creating the art space of film. Considering the main stages of the development of cinematography, this article explores the influence of technology of sound recording on the creating a special artistic and physical space of film (the beginning of the use a sound in movies; the mastering the artistic means of an audiovisual work; the expansion of the spatial characteristics for the screen sound; and the sound in a modern cinema. Today, thanks to new technologies, the sound in a cinema forms a specific quasirealistic landscape, greatly enhancing the impact on the viewer of the virtual screen images.

A taste for words and sounds: a case of lexical-gustatory and sound-gustatory synesthesia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Colizoli, O.; Murre, J.M.J.; Rouw, R.

2013-01-01

Gustatory forms of synesthesia involve the automatic and consistent experience of tastes that are triggered by non-taste related inducers. We present a case of lexical-gustatory and sound-gustatory synesthesia within one individual, SC. Most words and a subset of non-linguistic sounds induce the

Infinte Periodic Structure of Lightweight Elements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Domadiya, Parthkumar Gandalal; Andersen, Lars Vabbersgaard; Sorokin, Sergey

2013-01-01

Lightweight wooden structures have become more popular as a sustainable, environmental- friendly and cost-effective alternative to concrete, steel and masonry buildings. However, there are certain drawbacks regarding noise and vibration due to the smaller weight and stiffness of wooden buildings....... Furthermore, lightweight building elements are typically periodic structures that behave as filters for sound propagation within certain frequency ranges (stop bands), thus only allowing transmission within the pass bands. Hence, traditional methods based on statistical energy analysis cannot be used...... for proper dynamic assessment of lightweight buildings. Instead, this paper discusses and compares the use of finite element analysis and a wave approach based on Floquet theory. The present analysis has focus on the effect of periodicity on vibration transmission within semi-infinite beam structures. Two...

7 CFR 29.2550 - Sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sound. 29.2550 Section 29.2550 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing...-Cured Tobacco (u.s. Types 22, 23, and Foreign Type 96) § 29.2550 Sound. Free of damage. [37 FR 13626...

7 CFR 29.3546 - Sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sound. 29.3546 Section 29.3546 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 95) § 29.3546 Sound. Free of damage. [30 FR 9207, July 23, 1965. Redesignated at 49 FR 16759, Apr...

7 CFR 29.1058 - Sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sound. 29.1058 Section 29.1058 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 92) § 29.1058 Sound. Free of damage. [42 FR 21092, Apr. 25, 1977. Redesignated at 47 FR 51721, Nov...

7 CFR 29.3056 - Sound.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sound. 29.3056 Section 29.3056 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Sound. Free of damage. [24 FR 8771, Oct. 29, 1959. Redesignated at 47 FR 51722, Nov. 17, 1982, and at 49...

Sound Settlements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Peder Duelund; Hornyanszky, Elisabeth Dalholm; Larsen, Jacob Norvig

2013-01-01

Præsentation af projektresultater fra Interreg forskningen Sound Settlements om udvikling af bæredygtighed i det almene boligbyggerier i København, Malmø, Helsingborg og Lund samt europæiske eksempler på best practice...

Improving Sound Systems by Electrical Means

OpenAIRE

Schneider, Henrik; Andersen, Michael A. E.; Knott, Arnold

2015-01-01

The availability and flexibility of audio services on various digital platforms have created a high demand for a large range of sound systems. The fundamental components of sound systems such as docking stations, sound bars and wireless mobile speakers consists of a power supply, amplifiers and transducers. Due to historical reasons the design of each of these components are commonly handled separately which are indeed limiting the full performance potential of such systems. To state some exa...

Juvenile Pacific Salmon in Puget Sound

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Fresh, Kurt L

2006-01-01

Puget sound salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) spawn in freshwater and feed, grow and mature in marine waters, During their transition from freshwater to saltwater, juvenile salmon occupy nearshore ecosystems in Puget Sound...

Pressure sound level measurements at an educational environment in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, J. J. L.; do Nascimento, E. O.; de Oliveira, L. N.; Caldas, L. V. E.

2018-03-01

In this work, 25 points located on the ground floor of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goias - IFG - Campus Goiânia, were analyzed in morning periods of two Saturdays. The pressure sound levels were measured at internal and external environments during routine activities seeking to perform an environmental monitoring at this institution. The initial hypothesis was that an amusement park (Mutirama Park) was responsible for originating noise pollution in the institute, but the results showed, within the campus environment, sound pressure levels in accordance with the Municipal legislation of Goiânia for all points.

Physics of thermo-acoustic sound generation

Science.gov (United States)

Daschewski, M.; Boehm, R.; Prager, J.; Kreutzbruck, M.; Harrer, A.

2013-09-01

We present a generalized analytical model of thermo-acoustic sound generation based on the analysis of thermally induced energy density fluctuations and their propagation into the adjacent matter. The model provides exact analytical prediction of the sound pressure generated in fluids and solids; consequently, it can be applied to arbitrary thermal power sources such as thermophones, plasma firings, laser beams, and chemical reactions. Unlike existing approaches, our description also includes acoustic near-field effects and sound-field attenuation. Analytical results are compared with measurements of sound pressures generated by thermo-acoustic transducers in air for frequencies up to 1 MHz. The tested transducers consist of titanium and indium tin oxide coatings on quartz glass and polycarbonate substrates. The model reveals that thermo-acoustic efficiency increases linearly with the supplied thermal power and quadratically with thermal excitation frequency. Comparison of the efficiency of our thermo-acoustic transducers with those of piezoelectric-based airborne ultrasound transducers using impulse excitation showed comparable sound pressure values. The present results show that thermo-acoustic transducers can be applied as broadband, non-resonant, high-performance ultrasound sources.

The Early Years: Becoming Attuned to Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Ashbrook, Peggy

2014-01-01

Exploration of making and changing sounds is part of the first-grade performance expectation 1-PS4-1, "Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate" (NGSS Lead States 2013, p. 10; see Internet Resource). Early learning experiences build toward…

A Lexical Analysis of Environmental Sound Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Houix, Olivier; Lemaitre, Guillaume; Misdariis, Nicolas; Susini, Patrick; Urdapilleta, Isabel

2012-01-01

In this article we report on listener categorization of meaningful environmental sounds. A starting point for this study was the phenomenological taxonomy proposed by Gaver (1993b). In the first experimental study, 15 participants classified 60 environmental sounds and indicated the properties shared by the sounds in each class. In a second…

Enhancing Growth and Yield of Grey Oyster Mushroom (Plearotussajorcaju Using Different Acoustic Sound Treatments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Roshita

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mushroom, as believed by many people, grows on specific time and condition as in the wild it grows after a heavy rain falls. The effects of lightning and thunderstorm may suppress the mychorrizal structure to grow and eventually forming fruiting body. This study was conducted to determine the effect of different acoustic sound treatments on the growth and yield of grey oyster mushroom (Pleurotussajor-caju. Five different acoustic sound treatments had been applied during spawning period which were thunder storm, hardcore music, soothing instrumental, Quranic recital and without any sound treatment applied which served as control. The parameters studied were mycelium growth rate, days of mycelium filled up the bags, days of pinhead emergence, days of fruiting body formation, total weight, percentage biological efficiency, pileus color and texture. There were significant differences (P0.05 observed in other parameters, such as pinhead emergence, fruiting bodies formation, pileus color and texture. In summary, treatments using different acoustic sound at 75 dB could be considered as better treatment to enhance the mycelium growth thus accelerate the mushroom cultivation process as well as increasing the mushroom productivity. This research could help farmers to grow and harvest their mushroom at specific time frame and fulfill customer’s demand.

Effects of Exposure to the Sound from Seismic Airguns on Pallid Sturgeon and Paddlefish.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur N Popper

Full Text Available This study examined the effects of exposure to a single acoustic pulse from a seismic airgun array on caged endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus and on paddlefish (Polyodon spathula in Lake Sakakawea (North Dakota, USA. The experiment was designed to detect the onset of physiological responses including minor to mortal injuries. Experimental fish were held in cages as close as 1 to 3 m from the guns where peak negative sound pressure levels (Peak- SPL reached 231 dB re 1 μPa (205 dB re 1 μPa2·s sound exposure level [SEL]. Additional cages were placed at greater distances in an attempt to develop a dose-response relationship. Treatment and control fish were then monitored for seven days, euthanized, and necropsied to determine injuries. Necropsy results indicated that the probability of delayed mortality associated with pulse pressure following the seven day monitoring period was the same for exposed and control fish of both species. Exposure to a single pulse from a small air gun array (10,160 cm3 was not lethal for pallid sturgeon and paddlefish. However, the risks from exposure to multiple sounds and to sound exposure levels that exceed those reported here remain to be examined.

Differential presence of anthropogenic compounds dissolved in the marine waters of Puget Sound, WA and Barkley Sound, BC.

Science.gov (United States)

Keil, Richard; Salemme, Keri; Forrest, Brittany; Neibauer, Jaqui; Logsdon, Miles

2011-11-01

Organic compounds were evaluated in March 2010 at 22 stations in Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island Canada and at 66 locations in Puget Sound. Of 37 compounds, 15 were xenobiotics, 8 were determined to have an anthropogenic imprint over natural sources, and 13 were presumed to be of natural or mixed origin. The three most frequently detected compounds were salicyclic acid, vanillin and thymol. The three most abundant compounds were diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), ethyl vanillin and benzaldehyde (∼600 n g L(-1) on average). Concentrations of xenobiotics were 10-100 times higher in Puget Sound relative to Barkley Sound. Three compound couplets are used to illustrate the influence of human activity on marine waters; vanillin and ethyl vanillin, salicylic acid and acetylsalicylic acid, and cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid. Ratios indicate that anthropogenic activities are the predominant source of these chemicals in Puget Sound. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Detection of emotional faces: salient physical features guide effective visual search.

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, Manuel G; Nummenmaa, Lauri

2008-08-01

In this study, the authors investigated how salient visual features capture attention and facilitate detection of emotional facial expressions. In a visual search task, a target emotional face (happy, disgusted, fearful, angry, sad, or surprised) was presented in an array of neutral faces. Faster detection of happy and, to a lesser extent, surprised and disgusted faces was found both under upright and inverted display conditions. Inversion slowed down the detection of these faces less than that of others (fearful, angry, and sad). Accordingly, the detection advantage involves processing of featural rather than configural information. The facial features responsible for the detection advantage are located in the mouth rather than the eye region. Computationally modeled visual saliency predicted both attentional orienting and detection. Saliency was greatest for the faces (happy) and regions (mouth) that were fixated earlier and detected faster, and there was close correspondence between the onset of the modeled saliency peak and the time at which observers initially fixated the faces. The authors conclude that visual saliency of specific facial features--especially the smiling mouth--is responsible for facilitated initial orienting, which thus shortens detection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).

From Pixels to Region: A Salient Region Detection Algorithm for Location-Quantification Image

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Mengmeng Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Image saliency detection has become increasingly important with the development of intelligent identification and machine vision technology. This process is essential for many image processing algorithms such as image retrieval, image segmentation, image recognition, and adaptive image compression. We propose a salient region detection algorithm for full-resolution images. This algorithm analyzes the randomness and correlation of image pixels and pixel-to-region saliency computation mechanism. The algorithm first obtains points with more saliency probability by using the improved smallest univalue segment assimilating nucleus operator. It then reconstructs the entire saliency region detection by taking these points as reference and combining them with image spatial color distribution, as well as regional and global contrasts. The results for subjective and objective image saliency detection show that the proposed algorithm exhibits outstanding performance in terms of technology indices such as precision and recall rates.

The Textile Form of Sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendixen, Cecilie

2010-01-01

The aim of this article is to shed light on a small part of the research taking place in the textile field. The article describes an ongoing PhD research project on textiles and sound and outlines the project's two main questions: how sound can be shaped by textiles and conversely how textiles can...

Measuring the 'complexity' of sound

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

cate that specialized regions of the brain analyse different types of sounds [1]. Music, ... The left panel of figure 1 shows examples of sound–pressure waveforms from the nat- ... which is shown in the right panels in the spectrographic representation using a 45 Hz .... Plot of SFM(t) vs. time for different environmental sounds.

Constraints on decay of environmental sound memory in adult rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakai, Masashi

2006-11-27

When adult rats are pretreated with a 48-h-long 'repetitive nonreinforced sound exposure', performance in two-sound discriminative operant conditioning transiently improves. We have already proven that this 'sound exposure-enhanced discrimination' is dependent upon enhancement of the perceptual capacity of the auditory cortex. This study investigated principles governing decay of sound exposure-enhanced discrimination decay. Sound exposure-enhanced discrimination disappeared within approximately 72 h if animals were deprived of environmental sounds after sound exposure, and that shortened to less than approximately 60 h if they were exposed to environmental sounds in the animal room. Sound-deprivation itself exerted no clear effects. These findings suggest that the memory of a passively exposed behaviorally irrelevant sound signal does not merely pass along the intrinsic lifetime but also gets deteriorated by other incoming signals.

El efecto de la amenaza intergrupal y la identidad social saliente en la creencia en teorías de conspiración sobre el terrorismo en Indonesia: la angustia colectiva como un mediador

OpenAIRE

Mashuri, Ali; Zaduqisti, Esti

2015-01-01

The present study tested how intergroup threat (high versus low) and social identity as a Muslim (salient versus non-salient) affected belief in conspiracy theories. Data among Indonesian Muslim students (N = 139) from this study demonstrated that intergroup threat and social identity salience interacted to influence belief in conspiracy theories. High intergroup threat triggered greater belief in conspiracy theories than low intergroup threat, more prominently in the condition in which parti...

Game Sound from Behind the Sofa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garner, Tom Alexander

2013-01-01

The central concern of this thesis is upon the processes by which human beings perceive sound and experience emotions within a computer video gameplay context. The potential of quantitative sound parameters to evoke and modulate emotional experience is explored, working towards the development...... that provide additional support of the hypothetical frameworks: an ecological process of fear, a fear-related model of virtual and real acoustic ecologies, and an embodied virtual acoustic ecology framework. It is intended that this thesis will clearly support more effective and efficient sound design...... practices and also improve awareness of the capacity of sound to generate significant emotional experiences during computer video gameplay. It is further hoped that this thesis will elucidate the potential of biometrics/psychophysiology to allow game designers to better understand the player and to move...

33 CFR 67.20-10 - Sound signal.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Sound signal. 67.20-10 Section 67... AIDS TO NAVIGATION ON ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS AND FIXED STRUCTURES Class âAâ Requirements § 67.20-10 Sound signal. (a) The owner of a Class “A” structure shall: (1) Install a sound signal that has a rated range...

Toward Inverse Control of Physics-Based Sound Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Pfalz, A.; Berdahl, E.

2017-05-01

Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTMs) can be trained to realize inverse control of physics-based sound synthesizers. Physics-based sound synthesizers simulate the laws of physics to produce output sound according to input gesture signals. When a user's gestures are measured in real time, she or he can use them to control physics-based sound synthesizers, thereby creating simulated virtual instruments. An intriguing question is how to program a computer to learn to play such physics-based models. This work demonstrates that LSTMs can be trained to accomplish this inverse control task with four physics-based sound synthesizers.

Perception of environmental sounds by experienced cochlear implant patients

Science.gov (United States)

Shafiro, Valeriy; Gygi, Brian; Cheng, Min-Yu; Vachhani, Jay; Mulvey, Megan

2011-01-01

Objectives Environmental sound perception serves an important ecological function by providing listeners with information about objects and events in their immediate environment. Environmental sounds such as car horns, baby cries or chirping birds can alert listeners to imminent dangers as well as contribute to one's sense of awareness and well being. Perception of environmental sounds as acoustically and semantically complex stimuli, may also involve some factors common to the processing of speech. However, very limited research has investigated the abilities of cochlear implant (CI) patients to identify common environmental sounds, despite patients' general enthusiasm about them. This project (1) investigated the ability of patients with modern-day CIs to perceive environmental sounds, (2) explored associations among speech, environmental sounds and basic auditory abilities, and (3) examined acoustic factors that might be involved in environmental sound perception. Design Seventeen experienced postlingually-deafened CI patients participated in the study. Environmental sound perception was assessed with a large-item test composed of 40 sound sources, each represented by four different tokens. The relationship between speech and environmental sound perception, and the role of working memory and some basic auditory abilities were examined based on patient performance on a battery of speech tests (HINT, CNC, and individual consonant and vowel tests), tests of basic auditory abilities (audiometric thresholds, gap detection, temporal pattern and temporal order for tones tests) and a backward digit recall test. Results The results indicated substantially reduced ability to identify common environmental sounds in CI patients (45.3%). Except for vowels, all speech test scores significantly correlated with the environmental sound test scores: r = 0.73 for HINT in quiet, r = 0.69 for HINT in noise, r = 0.70 for CNC, r = 0.64 for consonants and r = 0.48 for vowels. HINT and

Sound radiation contrast in MR phase images. Method for the representation of elasticity, sound damping, and sound impedance changes; Schallstrahlungskontrast in MR-Phasenbildern. Methode zur Darstellung von Elastizitaets-, Schalldaempfungs- und Schallimpedanzaenderungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radicke, Marcus

2009-12-18

The method presented in this thesis combines ultrasound techniques with the magnetic-resonance tomography (MRT). An ultrasonic wave generates in absorbing media a static force in sound-propagation direction. The force leads at sound intensities of some W/cm{sup 2} and a sound frequency in the lower MHz range to a tissue shift in the micrometer range. This tissue shift depends on the sound power, the sound frequency, the sound absorption, and the elastic properties of the tissue. A MRT sequence of the Siemens Healthcare AG was modified so that it measures (indirectly) the tissue shift, codes as grey values, and presents as 2D picture. By means of the grey values the sound-beam slope in the tissue can be visualized, and so additionally sound obstacles (changes of the sound impedance) can be detected. By the MRT images token up spatial changes of the tissue parameters sound absorption and elasticity can be detected. In this thesis measurements are presented, which show the feasibility and future chances of this method especially for the mammary-cancer diagnostics. [German] Die in dieser Arbeit praesentierte Methode kombiniert Ultraschalltechniken mit der Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT). Eine Ultraschallwelle ruft in absorbierenden Medien eine statische Kraft in Schallausbreitungsrichtung hervor. Die Kraft fuehrt bei Schallintensitaeten von einigen W/cm{sup 2} und einer Schallfrequenz im niederen MHz-Bereich zu einer Gewebeverschiebung im Mikrometerbereich. Diese Gewebeverschiebung haengt ab von der Schallleistung, der Schallfrequenz, der Schallabsorption und den elastischen Eigenschaften des Gewebes. Es wurde eine MRT-Sequenz der Siemens Healthcare AG modifiziert, so dass sie (indirekt) die Gewebeverschiebung misst, als Grauwerte kodiert und als 2D-Bild darstellt. Anhand der Grauwerte kann der Schallstrahlverlauf in dem Gewebe visualisiert werden, und so koennen zusaetzlich Schallhindernisse (Aenderungen der Schallkennimpedanz) aufgespuert werden. Mit den

Thinking Sound and Body-Motion Shapes in Music: Public Peer Review of “Gesture and the Sonic Event in Karnatak Music” by Lara Pearson

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rolfe Inge Godøy

2013-12-01

Full Text Available It seems that the majority of research on music-related body motion has so far been focused on Western music, so this paper by Lara Pearson on music-related body motion in Indian vocal music is a most welcome contribution to this field. But research on music-related body motion does present us with a number of challenges, ranging from issues of method to fundamental issues of perception and multi-modal integration in music. In such research, thinking of perceptually salient features in different modalities (sound, motion, touch, etc. as shapes seems to go well with our cognitive apparatus, and also be quite practical in representing the features in question. The research reported in this paper gives us an insight into how tracing shapes by hand motion is an integral part of teaching Indian vocal music, and the approach of this paper also holds promise for fruitful future research.

Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound: A Research Plan in Support of the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership

Science.gov (United States)

2006-11-01

2Puget Sound nearshore ecosystems encompass the bluffs, beaches, tide flats, estuaries, rocky shores, lagoons , salt marshes, and other shoreline features...investigations of intertidal benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages along Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca (e.g., Long and others, 1983

Crossmodal deficit in dyslexic children: practice affects the neural timing of letter-speech sound integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gojko eŽarić

2015-06-01

Full Text Available A failure to build solid letter-speech sound associations may contribute to reading impairments in developmental dyslexia. Whether this reduced neural integration of letters and speech sounds changes over time within individual children and how this relates to behavioral gains in reading skills remains unknown. In this research, we examined changes in event-related potential (ERP measures of letter-speech sound integration over a 6-month period during which 9-year-old dyslexic readers (n=17 followed a training in letter-speech sound coupling next to their regular reading curriculum. We presented the Dutch spoken vowels /a/ and /o/ as standard and deviant stimuli in one auditory and two audiovisual oddball conditions. In one audiovisual condition (AV0, the letter ‘a’ was presented simultaneously with the vowels, while in the other (AV200 it was preceding vowel onset for 200 ms. Prior to the training (T1, dyslexic readers showed the expected pattern of typical auditory mismatch responses, together with the absence of letter-speech sound effects in a late negativity (LN window. After the training (T2, our results showed earlier (and enhanced crossmodal effects in the LN window. Most interestingly, earlier LN latency at T2 was significantly related to higher behavioral accuracy in letter-speech sound coupling. On a more general level, the timing of the earlier mismatch negativity (MMN in the simultaneous condition (AV0 measured at T1, significantly related to reading fluency at both T1 and T2 as well as with reading gains. Our findings suggest that the reduced neural integration of letters and speech sounds in dyslexic children may show moderate improvement with reading instruction and training and that behavioral improvements relate especially to individual differences in the timing of this neural integration.

Spellbinding and crooning: sound amplification, radio, and political rhetoric in international comparative perspective, 1900-1945.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijfjes, Huub

2014-01-01

This article researches in an interdisciplinary way the relationship of sound technology and political culture at the beginning of the twentieth century. It sketches the different strategies that politicians--Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, and Dutch prime minister Hendrikus Colijn--found for the challenges that sound amplification and radio created for their rhetoric and presentation. Taking their different political styles into account, the article demonstrates that the interconnected technologies of sound amplification and radio forced a transition from a spellbinding style based on atmosphere and pathos in a virtual environment to "political crooning" that created artificial intimacy in despatialized simultaneity. Roosevelt and Colijn created the best examples of this political crooning, while Churchill and Hitler encountered problems in this respect. Churchill's radio successes profited from the special circumstances during the first period of World War II. Hitler's speeches were integrated into a radio regime trying to shape, with dictatorial powers, a national socialistic community of listeners.

Designing a Sound Reducing Wall

Science.gov (United States)

Erk, Kendra; Lumkes, John; Shambach, Jill; Braile, Larry; Brickler, Anne; Matthys, Anna

2015-01-01

Acoustical engineers use their knowledge of sound to design quiet environments (e.g., classrooms and libraries) as well as to design environments that are supposed to be loud (e.g., concert halls and football stadiums). They also design sound barriers, such as the walls along busy roadways that decrease the traffic noise heard by people in…

Interactively Evolving Compositional Sound Synthesis Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jónsson, Björn Þór; Hoover, Amy K.; Risi, Sebastian

2015-01-01

the space of potential sounds that can be generated through such compositional sound synthesis networks (CSSNs). To study the effect of evolution on subjective appreciation, participants in a listener study ranked evolved timbres by personal preference, resulting in preferences skewed toward the first......While the success of electronic music often relies on the uniqueness and quality of selected timbres, many musicians struggle with complicated and expensive equipment and techniques to create their desired sounds. Instead, this paper presents a technique for producing novel timbres that are evolved...

Sound or Expression: Dilemmas in the Phenomenological Aesthetics of 20th Century Music (Sound or Expression: Dilemmas in the Phenomenological Aesthetics of 20th Century Music

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Stratilková

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Phenomenology, as a philosophy of the twentieth century, is often confronted with music of the same period, which in contrast with the classical-romantic repertoire recedes from previously codified means for the organisation of musical structure (namely tonality and holds up the actual matter of the music – sound – for admiration. So musical experience dwells more at the sound and its direct appearance rather than rushing to the musical meanings intended through sensuous moments. From this aspect music in the first decades of the twentieth century complemented the other arts undergoing a similar development. Romantic art was replaced by artistic creativity relying on the objectivity of the musical material and not on the emotional quality. The paper considers circumstances under which some of the phenomenological approaches adopt a positive approach to the music of the twentieth century (those which stress the immediacy of the perceptive presence and some of which tend to reject it (those which apply the requirement of expressive intentionality.

The sound of high winds. The effect of atmospheric stability on wind turbine sound and microphone noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Berg, G.P.

2006-01-01

In this thesis issues are raised concerning wind turbine noise and its relationship to altitude dependent wind velocity. The following issues are investigated: what is the influence of atmospheric stability on the speed and sound power of a wind turbine?; what is the influence of atmospheric stability on the character of wind turbine sound?; how widespread is the impact of atmospheric stability on wind turbine performance: is it relevant for new wind turbine projects; how can noise prediction take this stability into account?; what can be done to deal with the resultant higher impact of wind turbine sound? Apart from these directly wind turbine related issues, a final aim was to address a measurement problem: how does wind on a microphone affect the measurement of the ambient sound level?

A Comparative Study of Sound Speed in Air at Room Temperature between a Pressure Sensor and a Sound Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Amrani, D.

2013-01-01

This paper deals with the comparison of sound speed measurements in air using two types of sensor that are widely employed in physics and engineering education, namely a pressure sensor and a sound sensor. A computer-based laboratory with pressure and sound sensors was used to carry out measurements of air through a 60 ml syringe. The fast Fourier…

Sound waves in hadronic matter

Science.gov (United States)

Wilk, Grzegorz; Włodarczyk, Zbigniew

2018-01-01

We argue that recent high energy CERN LHC experiments on transverse momenta distributions of produced particles provide us new, so far unnoticed and not fully appreciated, information on the underlying production processes. To this end we concentrate on the small (but persistent) log-periodic oscillations decorating the observed pT spectra and visible in the measured ratios R = σdata(pT) / σfit (pT). Because such spectra are described by quasi-power-like formulas characterised by two parameters: the power index n and scale parameter T (usually identified with temperature T), the observed logperiodic behaviour of the ratios R can originate either from suitable modifications of n or T (or both, but such a possibility is not discussed). In the first case n becomes a complex number and this can be related to scale invariance in the system, in the second the scale parameter T exhibits itself log-periodic oscillations which can be interpreted as the presence of some kind of sound waves forming in the collision system during the collision process, the wave number of which has a so-called self similar solution of the second kind. Because the first case was already widely discussed we concentrate on the second one and on its possible experimental consequences.

Bubbles That Change the Speed of Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Planinsic, Gorazd; Etkina, Eugenia

2012-01-01

The influence of bubbles on sound has long attracted the attention of physicists. In his 1920 book Sir William Bragg described sound absorption caused by foam in a glass of beer tapped by a spoon. Frank S. Crawford described and analyzed the change in the pitch of sound in a similar experiment and named the phenomenon the "hot chocolate effect."…

Neuromimetic Sound Representation for Percept Detection and Manipulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi Taishih

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The acoustic wave received at the ears is processed by the human auditory system to separate different sounds along the intensity, pitch, and timbre dimensions. Conventional Fourier-based signal processing, while endowed with fast algorithms, is unable to easily represent a signal along these attributes. In this paper, we discuss the creation of maximally separable sounds in auditory user interfaces and use a recently proposed cortical sound representation, which performs a biomimetic decomposition of an acoustic signal, to represent and manipulate sound for this purpose. We briefly overview algorithms for obtaining, manipulating, and inverting a cortical representation of a sound and describe algorithms for manipulating signal pitch and timbre separately. The algorithms are also used to create sound of an instrument between a "guitar" and a "trumpet." Excellent sound quality can be achieved if processing time is not a concern, and intelligible signals can be reconstructed in reasonable processing time (about ten seconds of computational time for a one-second signal sampled at . Work on bringing the algorithms into the real-time processing domain is ongoing.

Assessment and improvement of sound quality in cochlear implant users.

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Meredith T; Jiam, Nicole T; Limb, Charles J

2017-06-01

Cochlear implants (CIs) have successfully provided speech perception to individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. Recent research has focused on more challenging acoustic stimuli such as music and voice emotion. The purpose of this review is to evaluate and describe sound quality in CI users with the purposes of summarizing novel findings and crucial information about how CI users experience complex sounds. Here we review the existing literature on PubMed and Scopus to present what is known about perceptual sound quality in CI users, discuss existing measures of sound quality, explore how sound quality may be effectively studied, and examine potential strategies of improving sound quality in the CI population. Sound quality, defined here as the perceived richness of an auditory stimulus, is an attribute of implant-mediated listening that remains poorly studied. Sound quality is distinct from appraisal, which is generally defined as the subjective likability or pleasantness of a sound. Existing studies suggest that sound quality perception in the CI population is limited by a range of factors, most notably pitch distortion and dynamic range compression. Although there are currently very few objective measures of sound quality, the CI-MUSHRA has been used as a means of evaluating sound quality. There exist a number of promising strategies to improve sound quality perception in the CI population including apical cochlear stimulation, pitch tuning, and noise reduction processing strategies. In the published literature, sound quality perception is severely limited among CI users. Future research should focus on developing systematic, objective, and quantitative sound quality metrics and designing therapies to mitigate poor sound quality perception in CI users. NA.

Plastic modes of listening: affordance in constructed sound environments

Science.gov (United States)

Sjolin, Anders

This thesis is concerned with how the ecological approach to perception with the inclusion of listening modes, informs the creation of sound art installation, or more specifically as referred to in this thesis as constructed sound environments. The basis for the thesis has been a practiced based research where the aim and purpose of the written part of this PhD project has been to critically investigate the area of sound art, in order to map various approaches towards participating in and listening to a constructed sound environment. The main areas has been the notion of affordance as coined by James J. Gibson (1986), listening modes as coined by Pierre Schaeffer (1966) and further developed by Michel Chion (1994), aural architects as coined by Blesser and Salter (2007) and the holistic approach towards understanding sound art developed by Brandon LaBelle (2006). The findings within the written part of the thesis, based on a qualitative analysis, have informed the practice that has resulted in artefacts in the form of seven constructed sound environments that also functions as case studies for further analysis. The aim of the practice has been to exemplify the methodology, strategy and progress behind the organisation and construction of sound environments The research concerns point towards the acknowledgment of affordance as the crucial factor in understanding a constructed sound environment. The affordance approach govern the idea that perceiving a sound environment is a top-down process where the autonomic quality of a constructed sound environment is based upon the perception of structures of the sound material and its relationship with speaker placement and surrounding space. This enables a researcher to side step the conflicting poles of musical/abstract and non-musical/realistic classification of sound elements and regard these poles as included, not separated elements in the analysis of a constructed sound environment.

A recognition method research based on the heart sound texture map

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huizhong Cheng

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the Heart Sound recognition rate and reduce the recognition time, in this paper, we introduces a new method for Heart Sound pattern recognition by using Heart Sound Texture Map. Based on the Heart Sound model, we give the Heart Sound time-frequency diagram and the Heart Sound Texture Map definition, we study the structure of the Heart Sound Window Function principle and realization method, and then discusses how to use the Heart Sound Window Function and the Short-time Fourier Transform to obtain two-dimensional Heart Sound time-frequency diagram, propose corner correlation recognition algorithm based on the Heart Sound Texture Map according to the characteristics of Heart Sound. The simulation results show that the Heart Sound Window Function compared with the traditional window function makes the first (S1 and the second (S2 Heart Sound texture clearer. And the corner correlation recognition algorithm based on the Heart Sound Texture Map can significantly improve the recognition rate and reduce the expense, which is an effective Heart Sound recognition method.

Imagination, Perceptual Engagement and Sound Mediation. Thinking Technologically-Produced Sound Through Simondon's Concept of the Image

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paiuk, G.

2018-01-01

Applying French philosopher Gilbert Simondon’s concept of image to the domain of the sonorous, this article aims to tackle how imagination is constitutional in our grasp of sound, and how this grasp is informed by the protocols and affordances of technological tools of sound reproduction and

Sound exposure measurements using hearing-aid technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Simon Boelt; Drastrup, Mads; Morales, Esteban Chávez

2016-01-01

scenarios. The purpose of this work is to document the use of a modified behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing-aid as a portable sound pressure level (SPL) meter. In order to obtain sound level measurements with a BTE device comparable to sound field values that can be used with existing risk assessment strategies...... levels of sound exposures are experienced in modern society in many different situations such as attending concerts, sport events and others. This leads to an interest in measurement devices which are discreet and simple to use, in order to assess sound exposures encountered in typical daily life......, differences due to microphone positions and the presence of a person in the measurement must be taken into account. The present study presents measurements carried out to document the characteristics of the BTE device, using the same framework presented in the ISO 11904 standard series. The responses...

Modeling and Eigenfrequency Analysis of Sound-Structure Interaction in a Rectangular Enclosure with Finite Element Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samira Mohamady

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Vibration of structures due to external sound is one of the main causes of interior noise in cavities like automobile, aircraft, and rotorcraft, which disturb the comfort of passengers. Accurate modelling of such phenomena is required in eigenfrequency analysis and in designing an active noise control system to reduce the interior noise. In this paper, the effect of periodic noise travelling into a rectangular enclosure is investigated with finite element method (FEM using COMSOL Multiphysics software. The periodic acoustic wave is generated by a point source outside the enclosure and propagated through the enclosure wall and excites an aluminium flexible panel clamped onto the enclosure. The behaviour of the transmission of sound into the cavity is investigated by computing the modal characteristics and the natural frequencies of the cavity. The simulation results are compared with previous analytical and experimental works for validation and an acceptable match between them were obtained.

33 CFR 167.1700 - In Prince William Sound: General.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false In Prince William Sound: General... Schemes and Precautionary Areas Pacific West Coast § 167.1700 In Prince William Sound: General. The Prince William Sound Traffic Separation Scheme consists of four parts: Prince William Sound Traffic Separation...

First and second sound in He films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, H.G.; Um, C.I.; Kahng, W.H.; Isihara, A.

1986-01-01

In consideration of a collision integral in the Boltzmann equation and with use of kinetic and hydrodynamical equations, the velocities of the first and second sound in liquid 4 He films are evaluated as functions of temperature, and the attenuation coefficients are obtained. The second sound is 2/sup -1/2/ times the first-sound velocity in the low-temperature and low-frequency limit

Lexical and perceptual grounding of a sound ontology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lobanova, Anna; Spenader, Jennifer; Valkenier, Bea; Matousek,; Mautner, P

2007-01-01

Sound ontologies need to incorporate source unidentifiable sounds in an adequate and consistent manner. Computational lexical resources like WordNet have either inserted these descriptions into conceptual categories, or make no attempt to organize the terms for these sounds. This work attempts to

33 CFR 334.412 - Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, Harvey Point and adjacent waters, NC; restricted area.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, Harvey Point and adjacent waters, NC; restricted area. 334.412 Section 334.412 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA...

Underwater Sound Levels at a Wave Energy Device Testing Facility in Falmouth Bay, UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrett, Joanne K; Witt, Matthew J; Johanning, Lars

2016-01-01

Passive acoustic monitoring devices were deployed at FaBTest in Falmouth Bay, UK, a marine renewable energy device testing facility during trials of a wave energy device. The area supports considerable commercial shipping and recreational boating along with diverse marine fauna. Noise monitoring occurred during (1) a baseline period, (2) installation activity, (3) the device in situ with inactive power status, and (4) the device in situ with active power status. This paper discusses the preliminary findings of the sound recording at FabTest during these different activity periods of a wave energy device trial.

Sound response of superheated drop bubble detectors to neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Size; Chen Zhe; Liu Chao; Ni Bangfa; Zhang Guiying; Zhao Changfa; Xiao Caijin; Liu Cunxiong; Nie Peng; Guan Yongjing

2012-01-01

The sound response of the bubble detectors to neutrons by using 252 Cf neutron source was described. Sound signals were filtered by sound card and PC. The short-time signal energy. FFT spectrum, power spectrum, and decay time constant were got to determine the authenticity of sound signal for bubbles. (authors)

The Opponent Channel Population Code of Sound Location Is an Efficient Representation of Natural Binaural Sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Młynarski, Wiktor

2015-01-01

In mammalian auditory cortex, sound source position is represented by a population of broadly tuned neurons whose firing is modulated by sounds located at all positions surrounding the animal. Peaks of their tuning curves are concentrated at lateral position, while their slopes are steepest at the interaural midline, allowing for the maximum localization accuracy in that area. These experimental observations contradict initial assumptions that the auditory space is represented as a topographic cortical map. It has been suggested that a “panoramic” code has evolved to match specific demands of the sound localization task. This work provides evidence suggesting that properties of spatial auditory neurons identified experimentally follow from a general design principle- learning a sparse, efficient representation of natural stimuli. Natural binaural sounds were recorded and served as input to a hierarchical sparse-coding model. In the first layer, left and right ear sounds were separately encoded by a population of complex-valued basis functions which separated phase and amplitude. Both parameters are known to carry information relevant for spatial hearing. Monaural input converged in the second layer, which learned a joint representation of amplitude and interaural phase difference. Spatial selectivity of each second-layer unit was measured by exposing the model to natural sound sources recorded at different positions. Obtained tuning curves match well tuning characteristics of neurons in the mammalian auditory cortex. This study connects neuronal coding of the auditory space with natural stimulus statistics and generates new experimental predictions. Moreover, results presented here suggest that cortical regions with seemingly different functions may implement the same computational strategy-efficient coding. PMID:25996373

A view not to be missed: Salient scene content interferes with cognitive restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Van der Jagt, Alexander P. N.; Craig, Tony; Brewer, Mark J.; Pearson, David G.

2017-01-01

Attention Restoration Theory (ART) states that built scenes place greater load on attentional resources than natural scenes. This is explained in terms of "hard" and "soft" fascination of built and natural scenes. Given a lack of direct empirical evidence for this assumption we propose that perceptual saliency of scene content can function as an empirically derived indicator of fascination. Saliency levels were established by measuring speed of scene category detection using a Go/No-Go detection paradigm. Experiment 1 shows that built scenes are more salient than natural scenes. Experiment 2 replicates these findings using greyscale images, ruling out a colour-based response strategy, and additionally shows that built objects in natural scenes affect saliency to a greater extent than the reverse. Experiment 3 demonstrates that the saliency of scene content is directly linked to cognitive restoration using an established restoration paradigm. Overall, these findings demonstrate an important link between the saliency of scene content and related cognitive restoration. PMID:28723975

A view not to be missed: Salient scene content interferes with cognitive restoration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander P N Van der Jagt

Full Text Available Attention Restoration Theory (ART states that built scenes place greater load on attentional resources than natural scenes. This is explained in terms of "hard" and "soft" fascination of built and natural scenes. Given a lack of direct empirical evidence for this assumption we propose that perceptual saliency of scene content can function as an empirically derived indicator of fascination. Saliency levels were established by measuring speed of scene category detection using a Go/No-Go detection paradigm. Experiment 1 shows that built scenes are more salient than natural scenes. Experiment 2 replicates these findings using greyscale images, ruling out a colour-based response strategy, and additionally shows that built objects in natural scenes affect saliency to a greater extent than the reverse. Experiment 3 demonstrates that the saliency of scene content is directly linked to cognitive restoration using an established restoration paradigm. Overall, these findings demonstrate an important link between the saliency of scene content and related cognitive restoration.

Effects of spectral complexity and sound duration on automatic complex-sound pitch processing in humans - a mismatch negativity study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tervaniemi, M; Schröger, E; Saher, M; Näätänen, R

2000-08-18

The pitch of a spectrally rich sound is known to be more easily perceived than that of a sinusoidal tone. The present study compared the importance of spectral complexity and sound duration in facilitated pitch discrimination. The mismatch negativity (MMN), which reflects automatic neural discrimination, was recorded to a 2. 5% pitch change in pure tones with only one sinusoidal frequency component (500 Hz) and in spectrally rich tones with three (500-1500 Hz) and five (500-2500 Hz) harmonic partials. During the recordings, subjects concentrated on watching a silent movie. In separate blocks, stimuli were of 100 and 250 ms in duration. The MMN amplitude was enhanced with both spectrally rich sounds when compared with pure tones. The prolonged sound duration did not significantly enhance the MMN. This suggests that increased spectral rather than temporal information facilitates pitch processing of spectrally rich sounds.

Sound Insulation Property Study on Nylon 66 Scrim Reinforced PVF Laminated Membranes and their Composite Sound Proof Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lihe; Chen, Zhaofeng; Zhang, Xinyang; Wang, Weiwei

2018-01-01

In this paper, we investigated the sound insulation property of nylon 66 scrim reinforced PVF laminated membranes and their corresponding composite structures with glass fiber felt and carbon fiber board. Sound transmission loss (STL) was measured by standing wave tube method. The results show that, with the decrease of nylon 66 gridlines spacing, STL of nylon 66 scrim reinforced PVF laminated membranes was improved. The sound insulation performance of laminated membranes with gridlines spacing of 3mm is the best, whose STL was up to 10dB at 6.3 kHz. Besides, STL was improved effectively as air layers were embedded into the composite sound proof construction consist of laminated membrane, glass fiber felt and carbon fiber board.

Integrated Human Factors Design Guidelines for Sound Interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul; Cha, Woo Chang

2004-05-01

Digital MMI, such as CRT, LCD etc., has been used increasingly in the design of main control room of the Korean standard nuclear power plants following the YGN units 3 and 4. The utilization of digital MMI may introduce various kind of sound interface into the control room design. In this project, for five top-level guideline items, including Sound Formats, Alarms, Sound Controls, Communications, and Environments, a total of 147 detail guidelines were developed and a database system for these guidelines was developed. The integrated human factors design guidelines for sound interface and the database system developed in this project will be useful for the design of sound interface of digital MMI in Korean NPPs

Integrated Human Factors Design Guidelines for Sound Interface