A generalized sound extrapolation method for turbulent flows

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Siyang; Zhang, Xin

2018-02-01

Sound extrapolation methods are often used to compute acoustic far-field directivities using near-field flow data in aeroacoustics applications. The results may be erroneous if the volume integrals are neglected (to save computational cost), while non-acoustic fluctuations are collected on the integration surfaces. In this work, we develop a new sound extrapolation method based on an acoustic analogy using Taylor's hypothesis (Taylor 1938 Proc. R. Soc. Lon. A 164, 476-490. (doi:10.1098/rspa.1938.0032)). Typically, a convection operator is used to filter out the acoustically inefficient components in the turbulent flows, and an acoustics dominant indirect variable Dcp‧ is solved. The sound pressure p' at the far field is computed from Dcp‧ based on the asymptotic properties of the Green's function. Validations results for benchmark problems with well-defined sources match well with the exact solutions. For aeroacoustics applications: the sound predictions by the aerofoil-gust interaction are close to those by an earlier method specially developed to remove the effect of vortical fluctuations (Zhong & Zhang 2017 J. Fluid Mech. 820, 424-450. (doi:10.1017/jfm.2017.219)); for the case of vortex shedding noise from a cylinder, the off-body predictions by the proposed method match well with the on-body Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings result; different integration surfaces yield close predictions (of both spectra and far-field directivities) for a co-flowing jet case using an established direct numerical simulation database. The results suggest that the method may be a potential candidate for sound projection in aeroacoustics applications.

Analysis of the drilling sound in maxillo-facial surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Pablo F.; Gosselin, Florian; Taha, Farid

2009-01-01

Auditory feedback can have a great potential in surgical simulators that aim at training skills associated to the correct interpretation of acoustic information. Here, we present a preliminary analysis of the sound that is produced by the drilling procedure in a maxillo-facial surgery when...... performed by expert surgeons. The motivation of this work is to find relevant acoustic parameters that allow for an efficient synthesis method of the drilling sound and to set the basis of the audio component in the simulator so that expert surgical drilling can effectively be conveyed to users...

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.

Machine learning analysis of binaural rowing sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johard, Leonard; Ruffaldi, Emanuele; Hoffmann, Pablo F.

2011-01-01

Techniques for machine hearing are increasing their potentiality due to new application domains. In this work we are addressing the analysis of rowing sounds in natural context for the purpose of supporting a training system based on virtual environments. This paper presents the acquisition metho...... methodology and the evaluation of different machine learning techniques for classifying rowing-sound data. We see that a combination of principal component analysis and shallow networks perform equally well as deep architectures, while being much faster to train.......Techniques for machine hearing are increasing their potentiality due to new application domains. In this work we are addressing the analysis of rowing sounds in natural context for the purpose of supporting a training system based on virtual environments. This paper presents the acquisition...

Higuchi’s Method applied to detection of changes in timbre of digital sound synthesis of string instruments with the functional transformation method

Science.gov (United States)

Kanjanapen, Manorth; Kunsombat, Cherdsak; Chiangga, Surasak

2017-09-01

The functional transformation method (FTM) is a powerful tool for detailed investigation of digital sound synthesis by the physical modeling method, the resulting sound or measured vibrational characteristics at discretized points on real instruments directly solves the underlying physical effect of partial differential equation (PDE). In this paper, we present the Higuchi’s method to examine the difference between the timbre of tone and estimate fractal dimension of musical signals which contains information about their geometrical structure that synthesizes by FTM. With the Higuchi’s method we obtain the whole process is not complicated, fast processing, with the ease of analysis without expertise in the physics or virtuoso musicians and the easiest way for the common people can judge that sounds similarly presented.

A noise reduction technique based on nonlinear kernel function for heart sound analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Ashok; Saxena, Ishan; Tang, Hong; Banerjee, Poulami

2017-02-13

The main difficulty encountered in interpretation of cardiac sound is interference of noise. The contaminated noise obscures the relevant information which are useful for recognition of heart diseases. The unwanted signals are produced mainly by lungs and surrounding environment. In this paper, a novel heart sound de-noising technique has been introduced based on a combined framework of wavelet packet transform (WPT) and singular value decomposition (SVD). The most informative node of wavelet tree is selected on the criteria of mutual information measurement. Next, the coefficient corresponding to the selected node is processed by SVD technique to suppress noisy component from heart sound signal. To justify the efficacy of the proposed technique, several experiments have been conducted with heart sound dataset, including normal and pathological cases at different signal to noise ratios. The significance of the method is validated by statistical analysis of the results. The biological information preserved in de-noised heart sound (HS) signal is evaluated by k-means clustering algorithm and Fit Factor calculation. The overall results show that proposed method is superior than the baseline methods.

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:

Analysis of adventitious lung sounds originating from pulmonary tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, K W; Scheffer, C; Blanckenberg, M M; Diacon, A H

2013-01-01

Tuberculosis is a common and potentially deadly infectious disease, usually affecting the respiratory system and causing the sound properties of symptomatic infected lungs to differ from non-infected lungs. Auscultation is often ruled out as a reliable diagnostic technique for TB due to the random distribution of the infection and the varying severity of damage to the lungs. However, advancements in signal processing techniques for respiratory sounds can improve the potential of auscultation far beyond the capabilities of the conventional mechanical stethoscope. Though computer-based signal analysis of respiratory sounds has produced a significant body of research, there have not been any recent investigations into the computer-aided analysis of lung sounds associated with pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB), despite the severity of the disease in many countries. In this paper, respiratory sounds were recorded from 14 locations around the posterior and anterior chest walls of healthy volunteers and patients infected with pulmonary TB. The most significant signal features in both the time and frequency domains associated with the presence of TB, were identified by using the statistical overlap factor (SOF). These features were then employed to train a neural network to automatically classify the auscultation recordings into their respective healthy or TB-origin categories. The neural network yielded a diagnostic accuracy of 73%, but it is believed that automated filtering of the noise in the clinics, more training samples and perhaps other signal processing methods can improve the results of future studies. This work demonstrates the potential of computer-aided auscultation as an aid for the diagnosis and treatment of TB.

Research on fiber Bragg grating heart sound sensing and wavelength demodulation method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Cheng; Miao, Chang-Yun; Gao, Hua; Gan, Jing-Meng; Li, Hong-Qiang

2010-11-01

Heart sound includes a lot of physiological and pathological information of heart and blood vessel. Heart sound detecting is an important method to gain the heart status, and has important significance to early diagnoses of cardiopathy. In order to improve sensitivity and reduce noise, a heart sound measurement method based on fiber Bragg grating was researched. By the vibration principle of plane round diaphragm, a heart sound sensor structure of fiber Bragg grating was designed and a heart sound sensing mathematical model was established. A formula of heart sound sensitivity was deduced and the theoretical sensitivity of the designed sensor is 957.11pm/KPa. Based on matched grating method, the experiment system was built, by which the excursion of reflected wavelength of the sensing grating was detected and the information of heart sound was obtained. Experiments show that the designed sensor can detect the heart sound and the reflected wavelength variety range is about 70pm. When the sampling frequency is 1 KHz, the extracted heart sound waveform by using the db4 wavelet has the same characteristics with a standard heart sound sensor.

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.

Portable system for auscultation and lung sound analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nabiev, Rustam; Glazova, Anna; Olyinik, Valery; Makarenkova, Anastasiia; Makarenkov, Anatolii; Rakhimov, Abdulvosid; Felländer-Tsai, Li

2014-01-01

A portable system for auscultation and lung sound analysis has been developed, including the original electronic stethoscope coupled with mobile devices and special algorithms for the automated analysis of pulmonary sound signals. It's planned that the developed system will be used for monitoring of health status of patients with various pulmonary diseases.

A particle velocity based method for separating all multi incoherent sound sources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Winkel, J.C.; Yntema, Doekle Reinder; Druyvesteyn, W.F.; de Bree, H.E.

2006-01-01

In this paper we present a method to separate the contributions of different uncorrelated sound sources to the total sound field. When the contribution of each sound source to the total sound field is known, techniques with array-applications like direct sound field measurements or inverse acoustics

Validity and reliability of acoustic analysis of respiratory sounds in infants

Science.gov (United States)

Elphick, H; Lancaster, G; Solis, A; Majumdar, A; Gupta, R; Smyth, R

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate the validity and reliability of computerised acoustic analysis in the detection of abnormal respiratory noises in infants. Methods: Blinded, prospective comparison of acoustic analysis with stethoscope examination. Validity and reliability of acoustic analysis were assessed by calculating the degree of observer agreement using the κ statistic with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: 102 infants under 18 months were recruited. Convergent validity for agreement between stethoscope examination and acoustic analysis was poor for wheeze (κ = 0.07 (95% CI, –0.13 to 0.26)) and rattles (κ = 0.11 (–0.05 to 0.27)) and fair for crackles (κ = 0.36 (0.18 to 0.54)). Both the stethoscope and acoustic analysis distinguished well between sounds (discriminant validity). Agreement between observers for the presence of wheeze was poor for both stethoscope examination and acoustic analysis. Agreement for rattles was moderate for the stethoscope but poor for acoustic analysis. Agreement for crackles was moderate using both techniques. Within-observer reliability for all sounds using acoustic analysis was moderate to good. Conclusions: The stethoscope is unreliable for assessing respiratory sounds in infants. This has important implications for its use as a diagnostic tool for lung disorders in infants, and confirms that it cannot be used as a gold standard. Because of the unreliability of the stethoscope, the validity of acoustic analysis could not be demonstrated, although it could discriminate between sounds well and showed good within-observer reliability. For acoustic analysis, targeted training and the development of computerised pattern recognition systems may improve reliability so that it can be used in clinical practice. PMID:15499065

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.

Multi-feature snore sound analysis in obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karunajeewa, Asela S; Abeyratne, Udantha R; Hukins, Craig

2011-01-01

Snoring is the most common symptom of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), which is a serious disease with high community prevalence. The standard method of OSAHS diagnosis, known as polysomnography (PSG), is expensive and time consuming. There is evidence suggesting that snore-related sounds (SRS) carry sufficient information to diagnose OSAHS. In this paper we present a technique for diagnosing OSAHS based solely on snore sound analysis. The method comprises a logistic regression model fed with snore parameters derived from its features such as the pitch and total airway response (TAR) estimated using a higher order statistics (HOS)-based algorithm. Pitch represents a time domain characteristic of the airway vibrations and the TAR represents the acoustical changes brought about by the collapsing upper airways. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated using the technique of K-fold cross validation, on a clinical database consisting of overnight snoring sounds of 41 subjects. The method achieved 89.3% sensitivity with 92.3% specificity (the area under the ROC curve was 0.96). These results establish the feasibility of developing a snore-based OSAHS community-screening device, which does not require any contact measurements

Intelligent Systems Approaches to Product Sound Quality Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Pietila, Glenn M.

As a product market becomes more competitive, consumers become more discriminating in the way in which they differentiate between engineered products. The consumer often makes a purchasing decision based on the sound emitted from the product during operation by using the sound to judge quality or annoyance. Therefore, in recent years, many sound quality analysis tools have been developed to evaluate the consumer preference as it relates to a product sound and to quantify this preference based on objective measurements. This understanding can be used to direct a product design process in order to help differentiate the product from competitive products or to establish an impression on consumers regarding a product's quality or robustness. The sound quality process is typically a statistical tool that is used to model subjective preference, or merit score, based on objective measurements, or metrics. In this way, new product developments can be evaluated in an objective manner without the laborious process of gathering a sample population of consumers for subjective studies each time. The most common model used today is the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), although recently non-linear Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approaches are gaining popularity. This dissertation will review publicly available published literature and present additional intelligent systems approaches that can be used to improve on the current sound quality process. The focus of this work is to address shortcomings in the current paired comparison approach to sound quality analysis. This research will propose a framework for an adaptive jury analysis approach as an alternative to the current Bradley-Terry model. The adaptive jury framework uses statistical hypothesis testing to focus on sound pairings that are most interesting and is expected to address some of the restrictions required by the Bradley-Terry model. It will also provide a more amicable framework for an intelligent systems approach

Path length entropy analysis of diastolic heart sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffel, Benjamin; Zia, Mohammad K; Fridman, Vladamir; Saponieri, Cesare; Semmlow, John L

2013-09-01

Early detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) using the acoustic approach, a noninvasive and cost-effective method, would greatly improve the outcome of CAD patients. To detect CAD, we analyze diastolic sounds for possible CAD murmurs. We observed diastolic sounds to exhibit 1/f structure and developed a new method, path length entropy (PLE) and a scaled version (SPLE), to characterize this structure to improve CAD detection. We compare SPLE results to Hurst exponent, Sample entropy and Multiscale entropy for distinguishing between normal and CAD patients. SPLE achieved a sensitivity-specificity of 80%-81%, the best of the tested methods. However, PLE and SPLE are not sufficient to prove nonlinearity, and evaluation using surrogate data suggests that our cardiovascular sound recordings do not contain significant nonlinear properties. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Sound Radiation from a Loudspeaker Cabinet using the Boundary Element Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandez Grande, Efren

had been reported, based on subjective testing. This study aims to detect the reported problem. The radiation from the cabinet is calculated using the Boundary Element Method. The analysis examines both the frequency domain and the time domain characteristics (in other words, the steady state response......, in some cases becoming clearly audible. The aim of this study is to provide a tool that can evaluate the contribution from the cabinet to the overall sound radiated by a loudspeaker. The specific case of a B&O Beolab 9 early prototype has been investigated. An influence by the cabinet of this prototype...... and the impulse response) of the loudspeaker and the cabinet. A significant influence of the cabinet has been detected, which becomes especially apparent in the time domain, during the sound decay process....

Analysis of acoustic sound signal for ONB measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, S. J.; Kim, H. I.; Han, K. Y.; Chai, H. T.; Park, C.

2003-01-01

The onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) was measured in a test fuel bundle composed of several fuel element simulators (FES) by analysing the aquatic sound signals. In order measure ONBs, a hydrophone, a pre-amplifier, and a data acquisition system to acquire/process the aquatic signal was prepared. The acoustic signal generated in the coolant is converted to the current signal through the microphone. When the signal is analyzed in the frequency domain, each sound signal can be identified according to its origin of sound source. As the power is increased to a certain degree, a nucleate boiling is started. The frequent formation and collapse of the void bubbles produce sound signal. By measuring this sound signal one can pinpoint the ONB. Since the signal characteristics is identical for different mass flow rates, this method can be applicable for ascertaining ONB

Determination of the mechanical thermostat electrical contacts switching quality with sound and vibration analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rejc, Jure; Munih, Marko [University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

2017-05-15

A mechanical thermostat is a device that switches heating or cooling appliances on or off based on temperature. For this kind of use, electronic or mechanical switching concepts are applied. During the production of electrical contacts, several irregularities can occur leading to improper switching events of the thermostat electrical contacts. This paper presents a non-obstructive method based on the fact that when the switching event occurs it can be heard and felt by human senses. We performed several laboratory tests with two different methods. The first method includes thermostat switch sound signal analysis during the switching event. The second method is based on sampling of the accelerometer signal during the switching event. The results show that the sound analysis approach has great potential. The approach enables an accurate determination of the switching event even if the sampled signal carries also the switching event of the neighbour thermostat.

Statistical Analysis for Subjective and Objective Evaluations of Dental Drill Sounds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomomi Yamada

Full Text Available The sound produced by a dental air turbine handpiece (dental drill can markedly influence the sound environment in a dental clinic. Indeed, many patients report that the sound of a dental drill elicits an unpleasant feeling. Although several manufacturers have attempted to reduce the sound pressure levels produced by dental drills during idling based on ISO 14457, the sound emitted by such drills under active drilling conditions may negatively influence the dental clinic sound environment. The physical metrics related to the unpleasant impressions associated with dental drill sounds have not been determined. In the present study, psychological measurements of dental drill sounds were conducted with the aim of facilitating improvement of the sound environment at dental clinics. Specifically, we examined the impressions elicited by the sounds of 12 types of dental drills in idling and drilling conditions using a semantic differential. The analysis revealed that the impressions of dental drill sounds varied considerably between idling and drilling conditions and among the examined drills. This finding suggests that measuring the sound of a dental drill in idling conditions alone may be insufficient for evaluating the effects of the sound. We related the results of the psychological evaluations to those of measurements of the physical metrics of equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure levels (LAeq and sharpness. Factor analysis indicated that impressions of the dental drill sounds consisted of two factors: "metallic and unpleasant" and "powerful". LAeq had a strong relationship with "powerful impression", calculated sharpness was positively related to "metallic impression", and "unpleasant impression" was predicted by the combination of both LAeq and calculated sharpness. The present analyses indicate that, in addition to a reduction in sound pressure level, refining the frequency components of dental drill sounds is important for creating a

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.

Heart sounds analysis using probability assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Plesinger, F; Viscor, I; Halamek, J; Jurco, J; Jurak, P

2017-07-31

This paper describes a method for automated discrimination of heart sounds recordings according to the Physionet Challenge 2016. The goal was to decide if the recording refers to normal or abnormal heart sounds or if it is not possible to decide (i.e. 'unsure' recordings). Heart sounds S1 and S2 are detected using amplitude envelopes in the band 15-90 Hz. The averaged shape of the S1/S2 pair is computed from amplitude envelopes in five different bands (15-90 Hz; 55-150 Hz; 100-250 Hz; 200-450 Hz; 400-800 Hz). A total of 53 features are extracted from the data. The largest group of features is extracted from the statistical properties of the averaged shapes; other features are extracted from the symmetry of averaged shapes, and the last group of features is independent of S1 and S2 detection. Generated features are processed using logical rules and probability assessment, a prototype of a new machine-learning method. The method was trained using 3155 records and tested on 1277 hidden records. It resulted in a training score of 0.903 (sensitivity 0.869, specificity 0.937) and a testing score of 0.841 (sensitivity 0.770, specificity 0.913). The revised method led to a test score of 0.853 in the follow-up phase of the challenge. The presented solution achieved 7th place out of 48 competing entries in the Physionet Challenge 2016 (official phase). In addition, the PROBAfind software for probability assessment was introduced.

THE MODEL FOR DIEGETIC ANALYSIS OF SOUNDS IN SCREEN MEDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denikin Anton A.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article includes the analysis of the relationship between representational visual spaces and sounds in screen media. The methodology presented in this paper can be used for the accurate classification and differentiation for screen sounds, as well as for the general analysis of the specific sound of screen media. For this, the concept of «diegesis» is used. It allows us to analyze the spatial specificity of audiovisual images in cinematographic works and the spatial-functional interactive action in video games and others multimedia.

Shape analysis of pulsed second sound in He II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worthington, T.; Yan, J.; Trefny, J.U.

1976-01-01

Second sound in He II has been observed using a heat pulse method. At temperatures where well-developed second sound is observed, the entire pulse shape can be understood if heat sources and geometrical effects are properly taken into account. 4 figures

Carbon isotope analysis of carbonaceous compounds in Puget Sound and Lake Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swanson, J.R.

1980-01-01

A new method has been developed and tested for determining chronological profiles of organic pollutants. This method, Carbon Isotope Analysis (CIA), involves measurements of 12 C, 13 C and 14 C in carbonaceous compounds found in layers of sediment. Lipids, total aliphatic hydrocarbons (TAHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are separated from kg quantities of sediment. Large Soxhlet extractors are used to remove the extractable organics, using ultra-pure benzene-methanol solution and having an extraction efficiency of about 86% for compounds with boiling points higher than n-tetradecane (n-C 14 ). The basic steps in compound separation include freeze-drying, extraction, fractionation, column chromatography and evaporation. Isolating the TAH and PAH fractions is accomplished by eluting samples from Sephadex and alumina/silica-gel columns. The amount of each fraction recovered is determined by converting the hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and measuring this gas manometrically. Variations in 12 C and 13 C abundances for carbonaceous compounds are primarily due to thermodynamic, photosynthetic and metabolic fractionation processes. Thus, the source of a particular organic compound can often be determined by measuring its 13 C/ 12 C ratio. Combining the information from both the 13 C analysis and 14 C analysis makes source identification more certain. In addition, this investigation reviews carbon isotopic data and carbon cycling and analyzes organic pollution in two limited ecosystems (Puget Sound and Lake Washington). Specifically, distinct carbonaceous species are analyzed for pollution in sediments of Lake Washington, Elliott Bay, Commencement Bay, central Puget Sound and northern Puget Sound near the Cherry Point oil refineries

Lung and Heart Sounds Analysis: State-of-the-Art and Future Trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Padilla-Ortiz, Ana L; Ibarra, David

2018-01-01

Lung sounds, which include all sounds that are produced during the mechanism of respiration, may be classified into normal breath sounds and adventitious sounds. Normal breath sounds occur when no respiratory problems exist, whereas adventitious lung sounds (wheeze, rhonchi, crackle, etc.) are usually associated with certain pulmonary pathologies. Heart and lung sounds that are heard using a stethoscope are the result of mechanical interactions that indicate operation of cardiac and respiratory systems, respectively. In this article, we review the research conducted during the last six years on lung and heart sounds, instrumentation and data sources (sensors and databases), technological advances, and perspectives in processing and data analysis. Our review suggests that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are the most common respiratory diseases reported on in the literature; related diseases that are less analyzed include chronic bronchitis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, congestive heart failure, and parenchymal pathology. Some new findings regarding the methodologies associated with advances in the electronic stethoscope have been presented for the auscultatory heart sound signaling process, including analysis and clarification of resulting sounds to create a diagnosis based on a quantifiable medical assessment. The availability of automatic interpretation of high precision of heart and lung sounds opens interesting possibilities for cardiovascular diagnosis as well as potential for intelligent diagnosis of heart and lung diseases.

Analysis of financial soundness of manufacturing companies in Indonesia Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Widi Hidayat

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study aims to provide information to the issuer and Bapepam and Indonesian Institute of Accountants with additional important information content of ratings and financial soundness of the indicators that do not harm investors. This is an explanatory and descriptive nature of causality using quantitative methods, using all companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (ISE taken as the sample. The data were analyzed using discriminant statistical analysis tools are processed with SPSS. The results showed that the level of financial soundness of the manufacturing industries listed on the ISE such as 23 (62% Companies Current Asset Growth (CAG is low as well as Fixed Asset growth (FAG 28 (76% companies is still low, Equity Growth (EqG by 27 (73% the company, Revenue growth (RG 27 (65% companies and Net Income Growth (NIG 35 (95% firms. Two manufacturing companies have a very high NIG, thus, NIG average is very high. The seven models of financial soundness were tested based on the growth of corporate finance such as CAG, FAG, LG, EqG, RG, ExG and NIG. Only one model is not significant, the model RG, while the other model is a significant, with a significant difference be-tween the growths rates of the sound and unsound corporate finances industry groups.

Noise source separation of diesel engine by combining binaural sound localization method and blind source separation method

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Jiachi; Xiang, Yang; Qian, Sichong; Li, Shengyang; Wu, Shaowei

2017-11-01

In order to separate and identify the combustion noise and the piston slap noise of a diesel engine, a noise source separation and identification method that combines a binaural sound localization method and blind source separation method is proposed. During a diesel engine noise and vibration test, because a diesel engine has many complex noise sources, a lead covering method was carried out on a diesel engine to isolate other interference noise from the No. 1-5 cylinders. Only the No. 6 cylinder parts were left bare. Two microphones that simulated the human ears were utilized to measure the radiated noise signals 1 m away from the diesel engine. First, a binaural sound localization method was adopted to separate the noise sources that are in different places. Then, for noise sources that are in the same place, a blind source separation method is utilized to further separate and identify the noise sources. Finally, a coherence function method, continuous wavelet time-frequency analysis method, and prior knowledge of the diesel engine are combined to further identify the separation results. The results show that the proposed method can effectively separate and identify the combustion noise and the piston slap noise of a diesel engine. The frequency of the combustion noise and the piston slap noise are respectively concentrated at 4350 Hz and 1988 Hz. Compared with the blind source separation method, the proposed method has superior separation and identification effects, and the separation results have fewer interference components from other noise.

Heart Sound Biometric System Based on Marginal Spectrum Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Zhidong; Shen, Qinqin; Ren, Fangqin

2013-01-01

This work presents a heart sound biometric system based on marginal spectrum analysis, which is a new feature extraction technique for identification purposes. This heart sound identification system is comprised of signal acquisition, pre-processing, feature extraction, training, and identification. Experiments on the selection of the optimal values for the system parameters are conducted. The results indicate that the new spectrum coefficients result in a significant increase in the recognition rate of 94.40% compared with that of the traditional Fourier spectrum (84.32%) based on a database of 280 heart sounds from 40 participants. PMID:23429515

Lung sound analysis helps localize airway inflammation in patients with bronchial asthma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shimoda T

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Terufumi Shimoda,1 Yasushi Obase,2 Yukio Nagasaka,3 Hiroshi Nakano,1 Akiko Ishimatsu,1 Reiko Kishikawa,1 Tomoaki Iwanaga1 1Clinical Research Center, Fukuoka National Hospital, Fukuoka, 2Second Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 3Kyoto Respiratory Center, Otowa Hospital, Kyoto, Japan Purpose: Airway inflammation can be detected by lung sound analysis (LSA at a single point in the posterior lower lung field. We performed LSA at 7 points to examine whether the technique could identify the location of airway inflammation in patients with asthma. Patients and methods: Breath sounds were recorded at 7 points on the body surface of 22 asthmatic subjects. Inspiration sound pressure level (ISPL, expiration sound pressure level (ESPL, and the expiration-to-inspiration sound pressure ratio (E/I were calculated in 6 frequency bands. The data were analyzed for potential correlation with spirometry, airway hyperresponsiveness (PC20, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO. Results: The E/I data in the frequency range of 100–400 Hz (E/I low frequency [LF], E/I mid frequency [MF] were better correlated with the spirometry, PC20, and FeNO values than were the ISPL or ESPL data. The left anterior chest and left posterior lower recording positions were associated with the best correlations (forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity: r=–0.55 and r=–0.58; logPC20: r=–0.46 and r=–0.45; and FeNO: r=0.42 and r=0.46, respectively. The majority of asthmatic subjects with FeNO ≥70 ppb exhibited high E/I MF levels in all lung fields (excluding the trachea and V50%pred <80%, suggesting inflammation throughout the airway. Asthmatic subjects with FeNO <70 ppb showed high or low E/I MF levels depending on the recording position, indicating uneven airway inflammation. Conclusion: E/I LF and E/I MF are more useful LSA parameters for evaluating airway inflammation in bronchial asthma; 7-point lung

Deterministic Approach to Detect Heart Sound Irregularities

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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.

High frequency analysis of cough sounds in pediatric patients with respiratory diseases.

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Kosasih, K; Abeyratne, U R; Swarnkar, V

2012-01-01

Cough is a common symptom in a range of respiratory diseases and is considered a natural defense mechanism of the body. Despite its critical importance in the diagnosis of illness, there are no golden methods to objectively assess cough. In a typical consultation session, a physician may briefly listen to the cough sounds using a stethoscope placed against the chest. The physician may also listen to spontaneous cough sounds via naked ears, as they naturally propagate through air. Cough sounds carry vital information on the state of the respiratory system but the field of cough analysis in clinical medicine is in its infancy. All existing cough analysis approaches are severely handicapped by the limitations of the human hearing range and simplified analysis techniques. In this paper, we address these problems, and explore the use of frequencies covering a range well beyond the human perception (up to 90 kHz) and use wavelet analysis to extract diagnostically important information from coughs. Our data set comes from a pediatric respiratory ward in Indonesia, from subjects diagnosed with asthma, pneumonia and rhinopharyngitis. We analyzed over 90 cough samples from 4 patients and explored if high frequencies carried useful information in separating these disease groups. Multiple regression analysis resulted in coefficients of determination (R(2)) of 77-82% at high frequencies (15 kHz-90 kHz) indicating that they carry useful information. When the high frequencies were combined with frequencies below 15kHz, the R(2) performance increased to 85-90%.

Sound recovery via intensity variations of speckle pattern pixels selected with variance-based method

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Zhu, Ge; Yao, Xu-Ri; Qiu, Peng; Mahmood, Waqas; Yu, Wen-Kai; Sun, Zhi-Bin; Zhai, Guang-Jie; Zhao, Qing

2018-02-01

In general, the sound waves can cause the vibration of the objects that are encountered in the traveling path. If we make a laser beam illuminate the rough surface of an object, it will be scattered into a speckle pattern that vibrates with these sound waves. Here, an efficient variance-based method is proposed to recover the sound information from speckle patterns captured by a high-speed camera. This method allows us to select the proper pixels that have large variances of the gray-value variations over time, from a small region of the speckle patterns. The gray-value variations of these pixels are summed together according to a simple model to recover the sound with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Meanwhile, our method will significantly simplify the computation compared with the traditional digital-image-correlation technique. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been verified by applying a variety of objects. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed method is robust to the quality of the speckle patterns and costs more than one-order less time to perform the same number of the speckle patterns. In our experiment, a sound signal of time duration 1.876 s is recovered from various objects with time consumption of 5.38 s only.

Analysis of speech sounds is left-hemisphere predominant at 100-150ms after sound onset.

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Rinne, T; Alho, K; Alku, P; Holi, M; Sinkkonen, J; Virtanen, J; Bertrand, O; Näätänen, R

1999-04-06

Hemispheric specialization of human speech processing has been found in brain imaging studies using fMRI and PET. Due to the restricted time resolution, these methods cannot, however, determine the stage of auditory processing at which this specialization first emerges. We used a dense electrode array covering the whole scalp to record the mismatch negativity (MMN), an event-related brain potential (ERP) automatically elicited by occasional changes in sounds, which ranged from non-phonetic (tones) to phonetic (vowels). MMN can be used to probe auditory central processing on a millisecond scale with no attention-dependent task requirements. Our results indicate that speech processing occurs predominantly in the left hemisphere at the early, pre-attentive level of auditory analysis.

Identification of Mobile Phone and Analysis of Original Version of Videos through a Delay Time Analysis of Sound Signals from Mobile Phone Videos.

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Hwang, Min Gu; Har, Dong Hwan

2017-11-01

This study designs a method of identifying the camera model used to take videos that are distributed through mobile phones and determines the original version of the mobile phone video for use as legal evidence. For this analysis, an experiment was conducted to find the unique characteristics of each mobile phone. The videos recorded by mobile phones were analyzed to establish the delay time of sound signals, and the differences between the delay times of sound signals for different mobile phones were traced by classifying their characteristics. Furthermore, the sound input signals for mobile phone videos used as legal evidence were analyzed to ascertain whether they have the unique characteristics of the original version. The objective of this study was to find a method for validating the use of mobile phone videos as legal evidence using mobile phones through differences in the delay times of sound input signals. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

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.

Reflector construction by sound path curves - A method of manual reflector evaluation in the field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siciliano, F.; Heumuller, R.

1985-01-01

In order to describe the time-of-flight behavior of various reflectors we have set up models and derived from them analytical and graphic approaches to reflector reconstruction. In the course of this work, maximum achievable accuracy and possible simplifications were investigated. The aim of the time-of-flight reconstruction method is to determine the points of a reflector on the basis of a sound path function (sound path as the function of the probe index position). This method can only be used on materials which are isotropic in terms of sound velocity since the method relies on time of flight being converted into sound path. This paper deals only with two-dimensional reconstruction, in other words all statements relate to the plane of incidence. The method is based on the fact that the geometrical location of the points equidistant from a certain probe index position is a circle. If circles with radiuses equal to the associated sound path are drawn for various search unit positions the points of intersection of the circles are the desired reflector points

The Development of a Finite Volume Method for Modeling Sound in Coastal Ocean Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Long, Wen; Yang, Zhaoqing; Copping, Andrea E.; Jung, Ki Won; Deng, Zhiqun

2015-10-28

: As the rapid growth of marine renewable energy and off-shore wind energy, there have been concerns that the noises generated from construction and operation of the devices may interfere marine animals’ communication. In this research, a underwater sound model is developed to simulate sound prorogation generated by marine-hydrokinetic energy (MHK) devices or offshore wind (OSW) energy platforms. Finite volume and finite difference methods are developed to solve the 3D Helmholtz equation of sound propagation in the coastal environment. For finite volume method, the grid system consists of triangular grids in horizontal plane and sigma-layers in vertical dimension. A 3D sparse matrix solver with complex coefficients is formed for solving the resulting acoustic pressure field. The Complex Shifted Laplacian Preconditioner (CSLP) method is applied to efficiently solve the matrix system iteratively with MPI parallelization using a high performance cluster. The sound model is then coupled with the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) for simulating sound propagation generated by human activities in a range-dependent setting, such as offshore wind energy platform constructions and tidal stream turbines. As a proof of concept, initial validation of the finite difference solver is presented for two coastal wedge problems. Validation of finite volume method will be reported separately.

PREFACE: Aerodynamic sound Aerodynamic sound

Science.gov (United States)

Akishita, Sadao

2010-02-01

reduction of bluff-body noise. Xiaoyu Wang and Xiaofeng Sun discuss the interaction of fan stator and acoustic treatments using the transfer element method. S Saito and his colleagues in JAXA report the development of active devices for reducing helicopter noise. The paper by A Tamura and M Tsutahara proposes a brand new methodology for aerodynamic sound by applying the lattice Boltzmann finite difference method. As the method solves the fluctuation of air density directly, it has the advantage of not requiring modeling of the sound generation. M A Langthjem and M Nakano solve the hole-tone feedback cycle in jet flow by a numerical method. Y Ogami and S Akishita propose the application of a line-vortex method to the three-dimensional separated flow from a bluff body. I hope that a second issue on aerodynamic sound will be published in FDR in the not too distant future.

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.

A Geometrical Method for Sound-Hole Size and Location Enhancement in Lute Family Musical Instruments: The Golden Method

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Soheil Jafari

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new analytical approach, the Golden Method, to enhance sound-hole size and location in musical instruments of the lute family in order to obtain better sound damping characteristics based on the concept of the golden ratio and the instrument geometry. The main objective of the paper is to increase the capability of lute family musical instruments in keeping a note for a certain time at a certain level to enhance the instruments’ orchestral characteristics. For this purpose, a geometry-based analytical method, the Golden Method is first described in detail in an itemized feature. A new musical instrument is then developed and tested to confirm the ability of the Golden Method in optimizing the acoustical characteristics of musical instruments from a damping point of view by designing the modified sound-hole. Finally, the new-developed instrument is tested, and the obtained results are compared with those of two well-known instruments to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the suggested method is able to increase the sound damping time by at least 2.4% without affecting the frequency response function and other acoustic characteristics of the instrument. This methodology could be used as the first step in future studies on design, optimization and evaluation of musical instruments of the lute family (e.g., lute, oud, barbat, mandolin, setar, and etc..

Acoustics flow analysis in circular duct using sound intensity and dynamic mode decomposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weyna, S

2014-01-01

Sound intensity generation in hard-walled duct with acoustic flow (no mean-flow) is treated experimentally and shown graphically. In paper, numerous methods of visualization illustrating the vortex flow (2D, 3D) can graphically explain diffraction and scattering phenomena occurring inside the duct and around open end area. Sound intensity investigation in annular duct gives a physical picture of sound waves in any duct mode. In the paper, modal energy analysis are discussed with particular reference to acoustics acoustic orthogonal decomposition (AOD). The image of sound intensity fields before and above 'cut-off' frequency region are found to compare acoustic modes which might resonate in duct. The experimental results show also the effects of axial and swirling flow. However acoustic field is extremely complicated, because pressures in non-propagating (cut-off) modes cooperate with the particle velocities in propagating modes, and vice versa. Measurement in cylindrical duct demonstrates also the cut-off phenomenon and the effect of reflection from open end. The aim of experimental study was to obtain information on low Mach number flows in ducts in order to improve physical understanding and validate theoretical CFD and CAA models that still may be improved.

Improvements on the directional characteristics of a calibration sound source using the Boundary Element Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriquez, Vicente Cutanda; Barrera Figueroa, Salvador; Juhl, Peter Møller

2008-01-01

is of particular importance to achieve a sound field that reaches both microphones with the same level and that is sufficiently uniform at the microphone positions, in order to reduce the effect of misalignment. An existing sound source has been modeled using the Boundary Element Method, and the simulations have......The project Euromet-792 aims to investigate and improve methods for secondary free-field calibration of microphones. In this framework, the comparison method is being studied at DFM in relation to the more usual substitution method of microphone calibration. The design of the sound source...... been used to modify the source and make it suitable for this kind of calibration. It has been found that a central plug, already present in the device, can be re-shaped in such a way that makes the sound field on the microphone positions more uniform, even at rather high frequencies. Measurements have...

Application of semi-supervised deep learning to lung sound analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chamberlain, Daniel; Kodgule, Rahul; Ganelin, Daniela; Miglani, Vivek; Fletcher, Richard Ribon

2016-08-01

The analysis of lung sounds, collected through auscultation, is a fundamental component of pulmonary disease diagnostics for primary care and general patient monitoring for telemedicine. Despite advances in computation and algorithms, the goal of automated lung sound identification and classification has remained elusive. Over the past 40 years, published work in this field has demonstrated only limited success in identifying lung sounds, with most published studies using only a small numbers of patients (typically Ndeep learning algorithm for automatically classify lung sounds from a relatively large number of patients (N=284). Focusing on the two most common lung sounds, wheeze and crackle, we present results from 11,627 sound files recorded from 11 different auscultation locations on these 284 patients with pulmonary disease. 890 of these sound files were labeled to evaluate the model, which is significantly larger than previously published studies. Data was collected with a custom mobile phone application and a low-cost (US$30) electronic stethoscope. On this data set, our algorithm achieves ROC curves with AUCs of 0.86 for wheeze and 0.74 for crackle. Most importantly, this study demonstrates how semi-supervised deep learning can be used with larger data sets without requiring extensive labeling of data.

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

A NOTE ON METHODS FOR THE ESTIMATION OF THE AIRBORNE SOUND INSULATION OF TIMBER FRAME STRUCTURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Šlechta

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Acoustic behavior of structures with wooden elements is nowadays of great interest. At the same time, the estimation of the airborne sound insulation of timber frame structures is a complex procedure which includes the prediction of several resonances and the analysis of a significant decrease of the transmission loss in the low frequency range. Three case studies are presented in the paper. The emphasis is put on the transmission loss in 1/3 octave frequency bands of double leaf structures with gypsum panels, wood studs and a well-damped cavity. Methods of Sharp and Davy are used for the transmission loss prediction. Particular issues are discussed for an asymmetrically sheathed timber frame structure, wood studs with resilient channels and staggered studs. The paper also presents that the weighted sound reduction index is not sufficient quantity for characterizing the airborne sound insulation of timber frame structures. Various methods are employed for the calculation of the transmission loss of a traditional structure on a silicate base. Characteristic differences between a silicate based structure and a timber frame structure are highlighted. The usage of the spectrum adaptation terms is encouraged. The paper intends to be helpful in the field of the transmission loss estimation of double leaf structures with wood studs. Since the acoustic behavior of double leaf structures with wood studs is certainly a complex phenomenon, there is a further need for an improvement of methods for the transmission loss estimation and single number quantities for the evaluation of the sound insulation.

Creating wavelet-based models for real-time synthesis of perceptually convincing environmental sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Miner, Nadine Elizabeth

1998-09-01

This dissertation presents a new wavelet-based method for synthesizing perceptually convincing, dynamic sounds using parameterized sound models. The sound synthesis method is applicable to a variety of applications including Virtual Reality (VR), multi-media, entertainment, and the World Wide Web (WWW). A unique contribution of this research is the modeling of the stochastic, or non-pitched, sound components. This stochastic-based modeling approach leads to perceptually compelling sound synthesis. Two preliminary studies conducted provide data on multi-sensory interaction and audio-visual synchronization timing. These results contributed to the design of the new sound synthesis method. The method uses a four-phase development process, including analysis, parameterization, synthesis and validation, to create the wavelet-based sound models. A patent is pending for this dynamic sound synthesis method, which provides perceptually-realistic, real-time sound generation. This dissertation also presents a battery of perceptual experiments developed to verify the sound synthesis results. These experiments are applicable for validation of any sound synthesis technique.

Sound Classification in Hearing Aids Inspired by Auditory Scene Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Büchler, Michael; Allegro, Silvia; Launer, Stefan; Dillier, Norbert

2005-12-01

A sound classification system for the automatic recognition of the acoustic environment in a hearing aid is discussed. The system distinguishes the four sound classes "clean speech," "speech in noise," "noise," and "music." A number of features that are inspired by auditory scene analysis are extracted from the sound signal. These features describe amplitude modulations, spectral profile, harmonicity, amplitude onsets, and rhythm. They are evaluated together with different pattern classifiers. Simple classifiers, such as rule-based and minimum-distance classifiers, are compared with more complex approaches, such as Bayes classifier, neural network, and hidden Markov model. Sounds from a large database are employed for both training and testing of the system. The achieved recognition rates are very high except for the class "speech in noise." Problems arise in the classification of compressed pop music, strongly reverberated speech, and tonal or fluctuating noises.

The impact of the microphone position on the frequency analysis of snoring sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Herzog, Michael; Kühnel, Thomas; Bremert, Thomas; Herzog, Beatrice; Hosemann, Werner; Kaftan, Holger

2009-08-01

Frequency analysis of snoring sounds has been reported as a diagnostic tool to differentiate between different sources of snoring. Several studies have been published presenting diverging results of the frequency analyses of snoring sounds. Depending on the position of the used microphones, the results of the frequency analysis of snoring sounds vary. The present study investigated the influence of different microphone positions on the outcome of the frequency analysis of snoring sounds. Nocturnal snoring was recorded simultaneously at six positions (air-coupled: 30 cm middle, 100 cm middle, 30 cm lateral to both sides of the patients' head; body contact: neck and parasternal) in five patients. The used microphones had a flat frequency response and a similar frequency range (10/40 Hz-18 kHz). Frequency analysis was performed by fast Fourier transformation and frequency bands as well as peak intensities (Peaks 1-5) were detected. Air-coupled microphones presented a wider frequency range (60 Hz-10 kHz) compared to contact microphones. The contact microphone at cervical position presented a cut off at frequencies above 300 Hz, whereas the contact microphone at parasternal position revealed a cut off above 100 Hz. On an exemplary base, the study demonstrates that frequencies above 1,000 Hz do appear in complex snoring patterns, and it is emphasised that high frequencies are imported for the interpretation of snoring sounds with respect to the identification of the source of snoring. Contact microphones might be used in screening devices, but for a natural analysis of snoring sounds the use of air-coupled microphones is indispensable.

Theoretical analysis of sound transmission loss through graphene sheets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Natsuki, Toshiaki; Ni, Qing-Qing

2014-01-01

We examine the potential of using graphene sheets (GSs) as sound insulating materials that can be used for nano-devices because of their small size, super electronic, and mechanical properties. In this study, a theoretical analysis is proposed to predict the sound transmission loss through multi-layered GSs, which are formed by stacks of GS and bound together by van der Waals (vdW) forces between individual layers. The result shows that the resonant frequencies of the sound transmission loss occur in the multi-layered GSs and the values are very high. Based on the present analytical solution, we predict the acoustic insulation property for various layers of sheets under both normal incident wave and acoustic field of random incidence source. The scheme could be useful in vibration absorption application of nano devices and materials

Theoretical analysis of sound transmission loss through graphene sheets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Natsuki, Toshiaki, E-mail: natsuki@shinshu-u.ac.jp [Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda 386-8567 (Japan); Institute of Carbon Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553 (Japan); Ni, Qing-Qing [Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda 386-8567 (Japan)

2014-11-17

We examine the potential of using graphene sheets (GSs) as sound insulating materials that can be used for nano-devices because of their small size, super electronic, and mechanical properties. In this study, a theoretical analysis is proposed to predict the sound transmission loss through multi-layered GSs, which are formed by stacks of GS and bound together by van der Waals (vdW) forces between individual layers. The result shows that the resonant frequencies of the sound transmission loss occur in the multi-layered GSs and the values are very high. Based on the present analytical solution, we predict the acoustic insulation property for various layers of sheets under both normal incident wave and acoustic field of random incidence source. The scheme could be useful in vibration absorption application of nano devices and materials.

The Keyimage Method of Learning Sound-Symbol Correspondences: A Case Study of Learning Written Khmer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Lavolette

2009-01-01

Full Text Available I documented my strategies for learning sound-symbol correspondences during a Khmer course. I used a mnemonic strategy that I call the keyimage method. In this method, a character evokes an image (the keyimage, which evokes the corresponding sound. For example, the keyimage for the character 2 could be a swan with its head tucked in. This evokes the sound "kaw" that a swan makes, which sounds similar to the Khmer sound corresponding to 2. The method has some similarities to the keyword method. Considering the results of keyword studies, I hypothesize that the keyimage method is more effective than rote learning and that peer-generated keyimages are more effective than researcher- or teacher-generated keyimages, which are more effective than learner-generated ones. In Dr. Andrew Cohen's plenary presentation at the Hawaii TESOL 2007 conference, he mentioned that more case studies are needed on learning strategies (LSs. One reason to study LSs is that what learners do with input to produce output is unclear, and knowing what strategies learners use may help us understand that process (Dornyei, 2005, p. 170. Hopefully, we can use that knowledge to improve language learning, perhaps by teaching learners to use the strategies that we find. With that in mind, I have examined the LSs that I used in studying Khmer as a foreign language, focusing on learning the syllabic alphabet.

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...

The diagnostics of a nuclear reactor by the analysis of boiling sound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kudo, Kazuhiko; Tanaka, Yoshihisa; Ohsawa, Takaaki; Ohta, Masao

1980-01-01

This paper is described on the basic research concerning the method of detecting abnormality by analyzing boiling sound when the heat transfer to coolant became locally abnormal in a pressurized nuclear reactor. In this study, the power spectra of sound were grasped as a sort of pattern, and it was aimed at to diagnose exactly the state in a reactor by analyzing the change with an electronic computer. As the calculating method, the theory of linear distinction function was applied. The subcritical experimental apparatus was used as a simulated reactor core vessel, and boiling sound was received with a hydrophone, amplified, digitalized and processed with a computer. The power spectra of boiling sound were displayed on an oscilloscope, and the digital values were stored in a micro-computer. The method of calculating treatment of the power spectra stored as the data in the microcomputer is explained. The magnitude of the power spectra was large in low frequency region, and decreased as the frequency became higher. The experimental conditions and the results are described. According to the results, considerably good distinction capability was obtained. By utilizing the power spectra in relatively low frequency region, the detection of boiling sound can be made with considerably high accuracy. (Kako, I.)

A comparison of radiosity with current methods of sound level prediction in commercial spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Beamer, C. Walter, IV; Muehleisen, Ralph T.

2002-11-01

The ray tracing and image methods (and variations thereof) are widely used for the computation of sound fields in architectural spaces. The ray tracing and image methods are best suited for spaces with mostly specular reflecting surfaces. The radiosity method, a method based on solving a system of energy balance equations, is best applied to spaces with mainly diffusely reflective surfaces. Because very few spaces are either purely specular or purely diffuse, all methods must deal with both types of reflecting surfaces. A comparison of the radiosity method to other methods for the prediction of sound levels in commercial environments is presented. [Work supported by NSF.

Differences in chewing sounds of dry-crisp snacks by multivariate data analysis

Science.gov (United States)

De Belie, N.; Sivertsvik, M.; De Baerdemaeker, J.

2003-09-01

Chewing sounds of different types of dry-crisp snacks (two types of potato chips, prawn crackers, cornflakes and low calorie snacks from extruded starch) were analysed to assess differences in sound emission patterns. The emitted sounds were recorded by a microphone placed over the ear canal. The first bite and the first subsequent chew were selected from the time signal and a fast Fourier transformation provided the power spectra. Different multivariate analysis techniques were used for classification of the snack groups. This included principal component analysis (PCA) and unfold partial least-squares (PLS) algorithms, as well as multi-way techniques such as three-way PLS, three-way PCA (Tucker3), and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) on the first bite and subsequent chew. The models were evaluated by calculating the classification errors and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for independent validation sets. It appeared that the logarithm of the power spectra obtained from the chewing sounds could be used successfully to distinguish the different snack groups. When different chewers were used, recalibration of the models was necessary. Multi-way models distinguished better between chewing sounds of different snack groups than PCA on bite or chew separately and than unfold PLS. From all three-way models applied, N-PLS with three components showed the best classification capabilities, resulting in classification errors of 14-18%. The major amount of incorrect classifications was due to one type of potato chips that had a very irregular shape, resulting in a wide variation of the emitted sounds.

Experimental implementation of a low-frequency global sound equalization method based on free field propagation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Santillan, Arturo Orozco; Pedersen, Christian Sejer; Lydolf, Morten

2007-01-01

An experimental implementation of a global sound equalization method in a rectangular room using active control is described in this paper. The main purpose of the work has been to provide experimental evidence that sound can be equalized in a continuous three-dimensional region, the listening zone......, which occupies a considerable part of the complete volume of the room. The equalization method, based on the simulation of a progressive plane wave, was implemented in a room with inner dimensions of 2.70 m x 2.74 m x 2.40 m. With this method,the sound was reproduced by a matrix of 4 x 5 loudspeakers...... in one of the walls. After traveling through the room, the sound wave was absorbed on the opposite wall, which had a similar arrangement of loudspeakers, by means of active control. A set of 40 digital FIR filters was used to modify the original input signal before it was fed to the loudspeakers, one...

Method for measuring violin sound radiation based on bowed glissandi and its application to sound synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Perez Carrillo, Alfonso; Bonada, Jordi; Patynen, Jukka; Valimaki, Vesa

2011-08-01

This work presents a method for measuring and computing violin-body directional frequency responses, which are used for violin sound synthesis. The approach is based on a frame-weighted deconvolution of excitation and response signals. The excitation, consisting of bowed glissandi, is measured with piezoelectric transducers built into the bridge. Radiation responses are recorded in an anechoic chamber with multiple microphones placed at different angles around the violin. The proposed deconvolution algorithm computes impulse responses that, when convolved with any source signal (captured with the same transducer), produce a highly realistic violin sound very similar to that of a microphone recording. The use of motion sensors allows for tracking violin movements. Combining this information with the directional responses and using a dynamic convolution algorithm, helps to improve the listening experience by incorporating the violinist motion effect in stereo.

Data Analysis of the TK-1G Sounding Rocket Installed with a Satellite Navigation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lesong Zhou

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article gives an in-depth analysis of the experimental data of the TK-1G sounding rocket installed with the satellite navigation system. It turns out that the data acquisition rate of the rocket sonde is high, making the collection of complete trajectory and meteorological data possible. By comparing the rocket sonde measurements with those obtained by virtue of other methods, we find that the rocket sonde can be relatively precise in measuring atmospheric parameters within the scope of 20–60 km above the ground. This establishes the fact that the TK-1G sounding rocket system is effective in detecting near-space atmospheric environment.

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

Analysis of failure of voice production by a sound-producing voice prosthesis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Torn, M.; van Gogh, C.D.L.; Verdonck-de Leeuw, I M; Festen, J.M.; Mahieu, H.F.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the cause of failing voice production by a sound-producing voice prosthesis (SPVP). METHODS: The functioning of a prototype SPVP is described in a female laryngectomee before and after its sound-producing mechanism was impeded by tracheal phlegm. This assessment included:

Modulation of the sound press level by the treatment of polymer diaphragms through ion implantation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeo, Sunmog; Park, Jaewon; Lee, Hojae

2010-01-01

We present two different surface modification treatments, an ion implantation, and an ion beam mixing, and show that the surface modifications caused by these treatments are useful tools to modulate the sound press level. The ion implantations on various polymer diaphragms cause an increase in the resonant frequency so that the sound press level is lowered at low frequencies. On the contrary, a Cu or Fe 2 O 3 coating by using an ion beam mixing method causes a decrease in the resonant frequency, resulting in a high sound press level at low frequencies. We discuss the physical reasons for the change in the sound press level due to the ion-implantation methods.

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.

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."

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....

Tipping point analysis of a large ocean ambient sound record

Science.gov (United States)

Livina, Valerie N.; Harris, Peter; Brower, Albert; Wang, Lian; Sotirakopoulos, Kostas; Robinson, Stephen

2017-04-01

We study a long (2003-2015) high-resolution (250Hz) sound pressure record provided by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) from the hydro-acoustic station Cape Leeuwin (Australia). We transform the hydrophone waveforms into five bands of 10-min-average sound pressure levels (including the third-octave band) and apply tipping point analysis techniques [1-3]. We report the results of the analysis of fluctuations and trends in the data and discuss the BigData challenges in processing this record, including handling data segments of large size and possible HPC solutions. References: [1] Livina et al, GRL 2007, [2] Livina et al, Climate of the Past 2010, [3] Livina et al, Chaos 2015.

A statistical method for predicting sound absorbing property of porous metal materials by using quartet structure generation set

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan, Dong; Wu, Jiu Hui; Jing, Li

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A random internal morphology and structure generation-growth method, termed as the quartet structure generation set (QSGS), has been utilized based on the stochastic cluster growth theory for numerical generating the various microstructures of porous metal materials. • Effects of different parameters such as thickness and porosity on sound absorption performance of the generated structures are studied by the present method, and the obtained results are validated by an empirical model as well. • This method could be utilized to guide the design and fabrication of the sound-absorption porous metal materials. - Abstract: In this paper, a statistical method for predicting sound absorption properties of porous metal materials is presented. To reflect the stochastic distribution characteristics of the porous metal materials, a random internal morphology and structure generation-growth method, termed as the quartet structure generation set (QSGS), has been utilized based on the stochastic cluster growth theory for numerical generating the various microstructures of porous metal materials. Then by using the transfer-function approach along with the QSGS tool, we investigate the sound absorbing performance of porous metal materials with complex stochastic geometries. The statistical method has been validated by the good agreement among the numerical results for metal rubber from this method and a previous empirical model and the corresponding experimental data. Furthermore, the effects of different parameters such as thickness and porosity on sound absorption performance of the generated structures are studied by the present method, and the obtained results are validated by an empirical model as well. Therefore, the present method is a reliable and robust method for predicting the sound absorption performance of porous metal materials, and could be utilized to guide the design and fabrication of the sound-absorption porous metal materials

Acoustic analysis of swallowing sounds: a new technique for assessing dysphagia.

Science.gov (United States)

Santamato, Andrea; Panza, Francesco; Solfrizzi, Vincenzo; Russo, Anna; Frisardi, Vincenza; Megna, Marisa; Ranieri, Maurizio; Fiore, Pietro

2009-07-01

To perform acoustic analysis of swallowing sounds, using a microphone and a notebook computer system, in healthy subjects and patients with dysphagia affected by neurological diseases, testing the positive/negative predictive value of a pathological pattern of swallowing sounds for penetration/aspiration. Diagnostic test study, prospective, not blinded, with the penetration/aspiration evaluated by fibreoptic endoscopy of swallowing as criterion standard. Data from a previously recorded database of normal swallowing sounds for 60 healthy subjects according to gender, age, and bolus consistency was compared with those of 15 patients with dysphagia from a university hospital referral centre who were affected by various neurological diseases. Mean duration of the swallowing sounds and post-swallowing apnoea were recorded. Penetration/aspiration was verified by fibreoptic endoscopy of swallowing in all patients with dysphagia. The mean duration of swallowing sounds for a liquid bolus of 10 ml water was significantly different between patients with dysphagia and healthy patients. We also described patterns of swallowing sounds and tested the negative/positive predictive values of post-swallowing apnoea for penetration/aspiration verified by fibreoptic endoscopy of swallowing (sensitivity 0.67 (95% confidence interval 0.24-0.94); specificity 1.00 (95% confidence interval 0.56-1.00)). The proposed technique for recording and measuring swallowing sounds could be incorporated into the bedside evaluation, but it should not replace the use of more diagnostic and valuable measures.

Applications of Hilbert Spectral Analysis for Speech and Sound Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Norden E.

2003-01-01

A new method for analyzing nonlinear and nonstationary data has been developed, and the natural applications are to speech and sound signals. The key part of the method is the Empirical Mode Decomposition method with which any complicated data set can be decomposed into a finite and often small number of Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF). An IMF is defined as any function having the same numbers of zero-crossing and extrema, and also having symmetric envelopes defined by the local maxima and minima respectively. The IMF also admits well-behaved Hilbert transform. This decomposition method is adaptive, and, therefore, highly efficient. Since the decomposition is based on the local characteristic time scale of the data, it is applicable to nonlinear and nonstationary processes. With the Hilbert transform, the Intrinsic Mode Functions yield instantaneous frequencies as functions of time, which give sharp identifications of imbedded structures. This method invention can be used to process all acoustic signals. Specifically, it can process the speech signals for Speech synthesis, Speaker identification and verification, Speech recognition, and Sound signal enhancement and filtering. Additionally, as the acoustical signals from machinery are essentially the way the machines are talking to us. Therefore, the acoustical signals, from the machines, either from sound through air or vibration on the machines, can tell us the operating conditions of the machines. Thus, we can use the acoustic signal to diagnosis the problems of machines.

Improved methods for nightside time domain Lunar Electromagnetic Sounding

Science.gov (United States)

Fuqua-Haviland, H.; Poppe, A. R.; Fatemi, S.; Delory, G. T.; De Pater, I.

2017-12-01

Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) Sounding isolates induced magnetic fields to remotely deduce material properties at depth. The first step of performing TDEM Sounding at the Moon is to fully characterize the dynamic plasma environment, and isolate geophysically induced currents from concurrently present plasma currents. The transfer function method requires a two-point measurement: an upstream reference measuring the pristine solar wind, and one downstream near the Moon. This method was last performed during Apollo assuming the induced fields on the nightside of the Moon expand as in an undisturbed vacuum within the wake cavity [1]. Here we present an approach to isolating induction and performing TDEM with any two point magnetometer measurement at or near the surface of the Moon. Our models include a plasma induction model capturing the kinetic plasma environment within the wake cavity around a conducting Moon, and a geophysical forward model capturing induction in a vacuum. The combination of these two models enable the analysis of magnetometer data within the wake cavity. Plasma hybrid models use the upstream plasma conditions and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) to capture the wake current systems formed around the Moon. The plasma kinetic equations are solved for ion particles with electrons as a charge-neutralizing fluid. These models accurately capture the large scale lunar wake dynamics for a variety of solar wind conditions: ion density, temperature, solar wind velocity, and IMF orientation [2]. Given the 3D orientation variability coupled with the large range of conditions seen within the lunar plasma environment, we characterize the environment one case at a time. The global electromagnetic induction response of the Moon in a vacuum has been solved numerically for a variety of electrical conductivity models using the finite-element method implemented within the COMSOL software. This model solves for the geophysically induced response in vacuum to

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…

Automatic moment segmentation and peak detection analysis of heart sound pattern via short-time modified Hilbert transform.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shuping; Jiang, Zhongwei; Wang, Haibin; Fang, Yu

2014-05-01

This paper proposes a novel automatic method for the moment segmentation and peak detection analysis of heart sound (HS) pattern, with special attention to the characteristics of the envelopes of HS and considering the properties of the Hilbert transform (HT). The moment segmentation and peak location are accomplished in two steps. First, by applying the Viola integral waveform method in the time domain, the envelope (E(T)) of the HS signal is obtained with an emphasis on the first heart sound (S1) and the second heart sound (S2). Then, based on the characteristics of the E(T) and the properties of the HT of the convex and concave functions, a novel method, the short-time modified Hilbert transform (STMHT), is proposed to automatically locate the moment segmentation and peak points for the HS by the zero crossing points of the STMHT. A fast algorithm for calculating the STMHT of E(T) can be expressed by multiplying the E(T) by an equivalent window (W(E)). According to the range of heart beats and based on the numerical experiments and the important parameters of the STMHT, a moving window width of N=1s is validated for locating the moment segmentation and peak points for HS. The proposed moment segmentation and peak location procedure method is validated by sounds from Michigan HS database and sounds from clinical heart diseases, such as a ventricular septal defect (VSD), an aortic septal defect (ASD), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), rheumatic heart disease (RHD), and so on. As a result, for the sounds where S2 can be separated from S1, the average accuracies achieved for the peak of S1 (AP₁), the peak of S2 (AP₂), the moment segmentation points from S1 to S2 (AT₁₂) and the cardiac cycle (ACC) are 98.53%, 98.31% and 98.36% and 97.37%, respectively. For the sounds where S1 cannot be separated from S2, the average accuracies achieved for the peak of S1 and S2 (AP₁₂) and the cardiac cycle ACC are 100% and 96.69%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All

Lung function interpolation by analysis of means of neural-network-supported respiration sounds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oud, M

Respiration sounds of individual asthmatic patients were analysed in the scope of the development of a method for computerised recognition of the degree of airways obstruction. Respiration sounds were recorded during laboratory sessions of allergen provoked airways obstruction, during several stages

An analysis of collegiate band directors' exposure to sound pressure levels

Science.gov (United States)

Roebuck, Nikole Moore

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a significant but unfortunate common occupational hazard. The purpose of the current study was to measure the magnitude of sound pressure levels generated within a collegiate band room and determine if those sound pressure levels are of a magnitude that exceeds the policy standards and recommendations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). In addition, reverberation times were measured and analyzed in order to determine the appropriateness of acoustical conditions for the band rehearsal environment. Sound pressure measurements were taken from the rehearsal of seven collegiate marching bands. Single sample t test were conducted to compare the sound pressure levels of all bands to the noise exposure standards of OSHA and NIOSH. Multiple regression analysis were conducted and analyzed in order to determine the effect of the band room's conditions on the sound pressure levels and reverberation times. Time weighted averages (TWA), noise percentage doses, and peak levels were also collected. The mean Leq for all band directors was 90.5 dBA. The total accumulated noise percentage dose for all band directors was 77.6% of the maximum allowable daily noise dose under the OSHA standard. The total calculated TWA for all band directors was 88.2% of the maximum allowable daily noise dose under the OSHA standard. The total accumulated noise percentage dose for all band directors was 152.1% of the maximum allowable daily noise dose under the NIOSH standards, and the total calculated TWA for all band directors was 93dBA of the maximum allowable daily noise dose under the NIOSH standard. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the room volume, the level of acoustical treatment and the mean room reverberation time predicted 80% of the variance in sound pressure levels in this study.

[Analysis of the heart sound with arrhythmia based on nonlinear chaos theory].

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Xiaorong; Guo, Xingming; Zhong, Lisha; Xiao, Shouzhong

2012-10-01

In this paper, a new method based on the nonlinear chaos theory was proposed to study the arrhythmia with the combination of the correlation dimension and largest Lyapunov exponent, through computing and analyzing these two parameters of 30 cases normal heart sound and 30 cases with arrhythmia. The results showed that the two parameters of the heart sounds with arrhythmia were higher than those with the normal, and there was significant difference between these two kinds of heart sounds. That is probably due to the irregularity of the arrhythmia which causes the decrease of predictability, and it's more complex than the normal heart sound. Therefore, the correlation dimension and the largest Lyapunov exponent can be used to analyze the arrhythmia and for its feature extraction.

A Analysis of the Low Frequency Sound Field in Non-Rectangular Enclosures Using the Finite Element Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Geddes, Earl Russell

The details of the low frequency sound field for a rectangular room can be studied by the use of an established analytic technique--separation of variables. The solution is straightforward and the results are well-known. A non -rectangular room has boundary conditions which are not separable and therefore other solution techniques must be used. This study shows that the finite element method can be adapted for use in the study of sound fields in arbitrary shaped enclosures. The finite element acoustics problem is formulated and the modification of a standard program, which is necessary for solving acoustic field problems, is examined. The solution of the semi-non-rectangular room problem (one where the floor and ceiling remain parallel) is carried out by a combined finite element/separation of variables approach. The solution results are used to construct the Green's function for the low frequency sound field in five rooms (or data cases): (1) a rectangular (Louden) room; (2) The smallest wall of the Louden room canted 20 degrees from normal; (3) The largest wall of the Louden room canted 20 degrees from normal; (4) both the largest and the smallest walls are canted 20 degrees; and (5) a five-sided room variation of Case 4. Case 1, the rectangular room was calculated using both the finite element method and the separation of variables technique. The results for the two methods are compared in order to access the accuracy of the finite element method models. The modal damping coefficient are calculated and the results examined. The statistics of the source and receiver average normalized RMS P('2) responses in the 80 Hz, 100 Hz, and 125 Hz one-third octave bands are developed. The receiver averaged pressure response is developed to determine the effect of the source locations on the response. Twelve source locations are examined and the results tabulated for comparison. The effect of a finite sized source is looked at briefly. Finally, the standard deviation of the

Applying cybernetic technology to diagnose human pulmonary sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Mei-Yung; Chou, Cheng-Han

2014-06-01

Chest auscultation is a crucial and efficient method for diagnosing lung disease; however, it is a subjective process that relies on physician experience and the ability to differentiate between various sound patterns. Because the physiological signals composed of heart sounds and pulmonary sounds (PSs) are greater than 120 Hz and the human ear is not sensitive to low frequencies, successfully making diagnostic classifications is difficult. To solve this problem, we constructed various PS recognition systems for classifying six PS classes: vesicular breath sounds, bronchial breath sounds, tracheal breath sounds, crackles, wheezes, and stridor sounds. First, we used a piezoelectric microphone and data acquisition card to acquire PS signals and perform signal preprocessing. A wavelet transform was used for feature extraction, and the PS signals were decomposed into frequency subbands. Using a statistical method, we extracted 17 features that were used as the input vectors of a neural network. We proposed a 2-stage classifier combined with a back-propagation (BP) neural network and learning vector quantization (LVQ) neural network, which improves classification accuracy by using a haploid neural network. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve verifies the high performance level of the neural network. To expand traditional auscultation methods, we constructed various PS diagnostic systems that can correctly classify the six common PSs. The proposed device overcomes the lack of human sensitivity to low-frequency sounds and various PS waves, characteristic values, and a spectral analysis charts are provided to elucidate the design of the human-machine interface.

Software development for the analysis of heartbeat sounds with LabVIEW in diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Topal, Taner; Polat, Hüseyin; Güler, Inan

2008-10-01

In this paper, a time-frequency spectral analysis software (Heart Sound Analyzer) for the computer-aided analysis of cardiac sounds has been developed with LabVIEW. Software modules reveal important information for cardiovascular disorders, it can also assist to general physicians to come up with more accurate and reliable diagnosis at early stages. Heart sound analyzer (HSA) software can overcome the deficiency of expert doctors and help them in rural as well as urban clinics and hospitals. HSA has two main blocks: data acquisition and preprocessing, time-frequency spectral analyses. The heart sounds are first acquired using a modified stethoscope which has an electret microphone in it. Then, the signals are analysed using the time-frequency/scale spectral analysis techniques such as STFT, Wigner-Ville distribution and wavelet transforms. HSA modules have been tested with real heart sounds from 35 volunteers and proved to be quite efficient and robust while dealing with a large variety of pathological conditions.

The block Gauss-Seidel method in sound transmission problems

OpenAIRE

Poblet-Puig, Jordi; Rodríguez Ferran, Antonio

2009-01-01

Sound transmission through partitions can be modelled as an acoustic fluid-elastic structure interaction problem. The block Gauss-Seidel iterative method is used in order to solve the finite element linear system of equations. The blocks are defined in a natural way, respecting the fluid and structural domains. The convergence criterion (spectral radius of iteration matrix smaller than one) is analysed and interpreted in physical terms by means of simple one-dimensional problems. This anal...

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.

Method of synthesizing silica nanofibers using sound waves

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Jaswinder K.; Datskos, Panos G.

2015-09-15

A method for synthesizing silica nanofibers using sound waves is provided. The method includes providing a solution of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, adding sodium citrate and ammonium hydroxide to form a first mixture, adding a silica-based compound to the solution to form a second mixture, and sonicating the second mixture to synthesize a plurality of silica nanofibers having an average cross-sectional diameter of less than 70 nm and having a length on the order of at least several hundred microns. The method can be performed without heating or electrospinning, and instead includes less energy intensive strategies that can be scaled up to an industrial scale. The resulting nanofibers can achieve a decreased mean diameter over conventional fibers. The decreased diameter generally increases the tensile strength of the silica nanofibers, as defects and contaminations decrease with the decreasing diameter.

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.

Automation method to identify the geological structure of seabed using spatial statistic analysis of echo sounding data

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, O.; Kim, W.; Kim, J.

2017-12-01

Recently construction of subsea tunnel has been increased globally. For safe construction of subsea tunnel, identifying the geological structure including fault at design and construction stage is more than important. Then unlike the tunnel in land, it's very difficult to obtain the data on geological structure because of the limit in geological survey. This study is intended to challenge such difficulties in a way of developing the technology to identify the geological structure of seabed automatically by using echo sounding data. When investigation a potential site for a deep subsea tunnel, there is the technical and economical limit with borehole of geophysical investigation. On the contrary, echo sounding data is easily obtainable while information reliability is higher comparing to above approaches. This study is aimed at developing the algorithm that identifies the large scale of geological structure of seabed using geostatic approach. This study is based on theory of structural geology that topographic features indicate geological structure. Basic concept of algorithm is outlined as follows; (1) convert the seabed topography to the grid data using echo sounding data, (2) apply the moving window in optimal size to the grid data, (3) estimate the spatial statistics of the grid data in the window area, (4) set the percentile standard of spatial statistics, (5) display the values satisfying the standard on the map, (6) visualize the geological structure on the map. The important elements in this study include optimal size of moving window, kinds of optimal spatial statistics and determination of optimal percentile standard. To determine such optimal elements, a numerous simulations were implemented. Eventually, user program based on R was developed using optimal analysis algorithm. The user program was designed to identify the variations of various spatial statistics. It leads to easy analysis of geological structure depending on variation of spatial statistics

Time and frequency weightings and the assessment of sound exposure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ordoñez, Rodrigo Pizarro; de Toro, Miguel Angel Aranda; Hammershøi, Dorte

2010-01-01

Since the development of averaging/integrating sound level meters and frequency weighting networks in the 1950’s, measurement of the physical characteristics of sound has not changed a great deal. Advances have occurred in how the measured values are used (day-night averages, limit and action...... of the exposure. This information is being used to investigate metrics that can differentiate temporal characteristics (impulsive, fluctuating) as well as frequency characteristics (narrow-band or tonal dominance) of sound exposures. This presentation gives an overview of the existing sound measurement...... and analysis methods, that can provide a better representation of the effects of sound exposures on the hearing system...

A comparative performance study of sound zoning methods in a reflective environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olik, Marek; Francombe, Jon; Coleman, Philip

2013-01-01

Whilst sound zoning methods have typically been studied under anechoic conditions, it is desirable to evaluate the performance of various methods in a real room. Three control methods were implemented (delay and sum, DS; acoustic contrast control, ACC; and pressure matching, PM) on two regular 24...... monophonic auralisations from measured system responses to collect ratings of perceived distraction due to the alternate audio programme. Distraction ratings were a ected by control method and programme material....

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...

NIS method for uncertainty estimation of airborne sound insulation measurement in field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

El-Basheer Tarek M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In structures, airborne sound insulation is utilized to characterize the acoustic nature of barriers between rooms. However, the assessment of sound insulation index is once in a while troublesome or indeed, even questionable, both in field and laboratory measurements, notwithstanding the way that there are some unified measurement methodology indicated in the ISO 140 series standards. There are issues with the reproducibility and repeatability of the measurement results. A few troubles might be brought on by non-diffuse acoustic fields, non-uniform reverberation time, or blunders of the reverberation time measurements. Some minor issues are additionally postured by flanking transmission. In this paper, investigation of the uncertainties of the above specified measurement parts and their impact on the consolidated uncertainty in 1/3-octave frequency band. The total measurement uncertainty model contributes several different partial uncertainties, which are evaluated by the method of type A or type B. Also, the determination of the sound reduction index decided by ISO 140-4 has been performed.

Source Separation of Heartbeat Sounds for Effective E-Auscultation

Science.gov (United States)

Geethu, R. S.; Krishnakumar, M.; Pramod, K. V.; George, Sudhish N.

2016-03-01

This paper proposes a cost effective solution for improving the effectiveness of e-auscultation. Auscultation is the most difficult skill for a doctor, since it can be acquired only through experience. The heart sound mixtures are captured by placing the four numbers of sensors at appropriate auscultation area in the body. These sound mixtures are separated to its relevant components by a statistical method independent component analysis. The separated heartbeat sounds can be further processed or can be stored for future reference. This idea can be used for making a low cost, easy to use portable instrument which will be beneficial to people living in remote areas and are unable to take the advantage of advanced diagnosis methods.

Diagnostic validity of methods for assessment of swallowing sounds: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Taveira, Karinna Veríssimo Meira; Santos, Rosane Sampaio; Leão, Bianca Lopes Cavalcante de; Neto, José Stechman; Pernambuco, Leandro; Silva, Letícia Korb da; De Luca Canto, Graziela; Porporatti, André Luís

2018-02-03

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a highly prevalent comorbidity in neurological patients and presents a serious health threat, which may lead to outcomes of aspiration pneumonia, ranging from hospitalization to death. This assessment proposes a non-invasive, acoustic-based method to differentiate between individuals with and without signals of penetration and aspiration. This systematic review evaluated the diagnostic validity of different methods for assessment of swallowing sounds, when compared to Videofluroscopic of Swallowing Study (VFSS) to detect oropharyngeal dysphagia. Articles in which the primary objective was to evaluate the accuracy of swallowing sounds were searched in five electronic databases with no language or time limitations. Accuracy measurements described in the studies were transformed to construct receiver operating characteristic curves and forest plots with the aid of Review Manager v. 5.2 (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark). The methodology of the selected studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2. The final electronic search revealed 554 records, however only 3 studies met the inclusion criteria. The accuracy values (area under the curve) were 0.94 for microphone, 0.80 for Doppler, and 0.60 for stethoscope. Based on limited evidence and low methodological quality because few studies were included, with a small sample size, from all index testes found for this systematic review, Doppler showed excellent diagnostic accuracy for the discrimination of swallowing sounds, whereas microphone-reported good accuracy discrimination of swallowing sounds of dysphagic patients and stethoscope showed best screening test. Copyright © 2018 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

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...

Adaptive Wavelet Threshold Denoising Method for Machinery Sound Based on Improved Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Xu

2016-07-01

Full Text Available As the sound signal of a machine contains abundant information and is easy to measure, acoustic-based monitoring or diagnosis systems exhibit obvious superiority, especially in some extreme conditions. However, the sound directly collected from industrial field is always polluted. In order to eliminate noise components from machinery sound, a wavelet threshold denoising method optimized by an improved fruit fly optimization algorithm (WTD-IFOA is proposed in this paper. The sound is firstly decomposed by wavelet transform (WT to obtain coefficients of each level. As the wavelet threshold functions proposed by Donoho were discontinuous, many modified functions with continuous first and second order derivative were presented to realize adaptively denoising. However, the function-based denoising process is time-consuming and it is difficult to find optimal thresholds. To overcome these problems, fruit fly optimization algorithm (FOA was introduced to the process. Moreover, to avoid falling into local extremes, an improved fly distance range obeying normal distribution was proposed on the basis of original FOA. Then, sound signal of a motor was recorded in a soundproof laboratory, and Gauss white noise was added into the signal. The simulation results illustrated the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed approach by a comprehensive comparison among five typical methods. Finally, an industrial application on a shearer in coal mining working face was performed to demonstrate the practical effect.

[A Method of Synthesizing Tinnitus Rehabilitation Sound Based on Pentatonic Scale and Chaos].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jiemei; He, Peiyu; Pan, Fan

2015-12-01

Tinnitus is a common clinical symptom and its occurrence rate is high. It seriously affects life quality of the patients. Scientific researches show that listening some similar and none-repetitive music can relieve tinnitus to some extent. The overall music accorded with self-similarity character by the direct mapping method based on chaos. However, there were often the same tones continuous repeating a few times and tone mutations. To solve the problem, this paper proposes a new method for tinnitus rehabilitation sound synthesis based on pentatonic scale, chaos and musical instrument digital interface (MIDI). Experimental results showed that the tinnitus rehabilitation sounds were not only self-similar and incompletely reduplicate, but also no sudden changes. Thus, it has a referential significance for tinnitus treatment.

Dynamic Analysis of Sounding Rocket Pneumatic System Revision

Science.gov (United States)

Armen, Jerald

2010-01-01

The recent fusion of decades of advancements in mathematical models, numerical algorithms and curve fitting techniques marked the beginning of a new era in the science of simulation. It is becoming indispensable to the study of rockets and aerospace analysis. In pneumatic system, which is the main focus of this paper, particular emphasis will be placed on the efforts of compressible flow in Attitude Control System of sounding rocket.

Prediction of radiation ratio and sound transmission of complex extruded panel using wavenumber domain Unite element and boundary element methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, H; Ryue, J; Thompson, D J; Müller, A D

2016-01-01

Recently, complex shaped aluminium panels have been adopted in many structures to make them lighter and stronger. The vibro-acoustic behaviour of these complex panels has been of interest for many years but conventional finite element and boundary element methods are not efficient to predict their performance at higher frequencies. Where the cross-sectional properties of the panels are constant in one direction, wavenumber domain numerical analysis can be applied and this becomes more suitable for panels with complex cross-sectional geometries. In this paper, a coupled wavenumber domain finite element and boundary element method is applied to predict the sound radiation from and sound transmission through a double-layered aluminium extruded panel, having a typical shape used in railway carriages. The predicted results are compared with measured ones carried out on a finite length panel and good agreement is found. (paper)

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...

Analysis of the drilling sound component from expert performance in a maxillo-facial surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Pablo F.; Gosselin, Florian; Taha, Farid

2009-01-01

Auditory displays can have a great potential in surgical simulators that aim at training skills associated to the correct interpretation of auditory information. Here, we present preliminary results in the analysis of the sound produced by the drilling procedure in a maxillo-facial surgery when...... performed by expert surgeons. The motivation of this work is to find relevant acoustic parameters that allow for an efficient synthesis method of auditory displays so that they can effectively convey information on expert surgical drilling....

Energy-based method for near-real time modeling of sound field in complex urban environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasareanu, Stephanie M; Remillieux, Marcel C; Burdisso, Ricardo A

2012-12-01

Prediction of the sound field in large urban environments has been limited thus far by the heavy computational requirements of conventional numerical methods such as boundary element (BE) or finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) methods. Recently, a considerable amount of work has been devoted to developing energy-based methods for this application, and results have shown the potential to compete with conventional methods. However, these developments have been limited to two-dimensional (2-D) studies (along street axes), and no real description of the phenomena at issue has been exposed. Here the mathematical theory of diffusion is used to predict the sound field in 3-D complex urban environments. A 3-D diffusion equation is implemented by means of a simple finite-difference scheme and applied to two different types of urban configurations. This modeling approach is validated against FDTD and geometrical acoustic (GA) solutions, showing a good overall agreement. The role played by diffraction near buildings edges close to the source is discussed, and suggestions are made on the possibility to predict accurately the sound field in complex urban environments, in near real time simulations.

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...

Sound transmission analysis of plate structures using the finite element method and elementary radiator approach with radiator error index

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jung, Jaesoon; Kook, Junghwan; Goo, Seongyeol

2017-01-01

combines the FEM and Elementary Radiator Approach (ERA) is proposed. The FE-ERA method analyzes the vibrational response of the plate structure excited by incident sound using FEM and then computes the transmitted acoustic pressure from the vibrating plate using ERA. In order to improve the accuracy...... and efficiency of the FE-ERA method, a novel criterion for the optimal number of elementary radiators is proposed. The criterion is based on the radiator error index that is derived to estimate the accuracy of the computation with used number of radiators. Using the proposed criterion a radiator selection method...... is presented for determining the optimum number of radiators. The presented radiator selection method and the FE-ERA method are combined to improve the computational accuracy and efficiency. Several numerical examples that have been rarely addressed in previous studies, are presented with the proposed method...

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

An alternative respiratory sounds classification system utilizing artificial neural networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rami J Oweis

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Computerized lung sound analysis involves recording lung sound via an electronic device, followed by computer analysis and classification based on specific signal characteristics as non-linearity and nonstationarity caused by air turbulence. An automatic analysis is necessary to avoid dependence on expert skills. Methods: This work revolves around exploiting autocorrelation in the feature extraction stage. All process stages were implemented in MATLAB. The classification process was performed comparatively using both artificial neural networks (ANNs and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS toolboxes. The methods have been applied to 10 different respiratory sounds for classification. Results: The ANN was superior to the ANFIS system and returned superior performance parameters. Its accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity were 98.6%, 100%, and 97.8%, respectively. The obtained parameters showed superiority to many recent approaches. Conclusions: The promising proposed method is an efficient fast tool for the intended purpose as manifested in the performance parameters, specifically, accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity. Furthermore, it may be added that utilizing the autocorrelation function in the feature extraction in such applications results in enhanced performance and avoids undesired computation complexities compared to other techniques.

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....

An integrative time-varying frequency detection and channel sounding method for dynamic plasma sheath

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Lei; Yao, Bo; Zhao, Lei; Liu, Xiaotong; Yang, Min; Liu, Yanming

2018-01-01

The plasma sheath-surrounded hypersonic vehicle is a dynamic and time-varying medium and it is almost impossible to calculate time-varying physical parameters directly. The in-fight detection of the time-varying degree is important to understand the dynamic nature of the physical parameters and their effect on re-entry communication. In this paper, a constant envelope zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) sequence based on time-varying frequency detection and channel sounding method is proposed to detect the plasma sheath electronic density time-varying property and wireless channel characteristic. The proposed method utilizes the CAZAC sequence, which has excellent autocorrelation and spread gain characteristics, to realize dynamic time-varying detection/channel sounding under low signal-to-noise ratio in the plasma sheath environment. Theoretical simulation under a typical time-varying radio channel shows that the proposed method is capable of detecting time-variation frequency up to 200 kHz and can trace the channel amplitude and phase in the time domain well under -10 dB. Experimental results conducted in the RF modulation discharge plasma device verified the time variation detection ability in practical dynamic plasma sheath. Meanwhile, nonlinear phenomenon of dynamic plasma sheath on communication signal is observed thorough channel sounding result.

Frequency shifting approach towards textual transcription of heartbeat sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Arvin, Farshad; Doraisamy, Shyamala; Safar Khorasani, Ehsan

2011-10-04

Auscultation is an approach for diagnosing many cardiovascular problems. Automatic analysis of heartbeat sounds and extraction of its audio features can assist physicians towards diagnosing diseases. Textual transcription allows recording a continuous heart sound stream using a text format which can be stored in very small memory in comparison with other audio formats. In addition, a text-based data allows applying indexing and searching techniques to access to the critical events. Hence, the transcribed heartbeat sounds provides useful information to monitor the behavior of a patient for the long duration of time. This paper proposes a frequency shifting method in order to improve the performance of the transcription. The main objective of this study is to transfer the heartbeat sounds to the music domain. The proposed technique is tested with 100 samples which were recorded from different heart diseases categories. The observed results show that, the proposed shifting method significantly improves the performance of the transcription.

Frequency shifting approach towards textual transcription of heartbeat sounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safar Khorasani Ehsan

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Auscultation is an approach for diagnosing many cardiovascular problems. Automatic analysis of heartbeat sounds and extraction of its audio features can assist physicians towards diagnosing diseases. Textual transcription allows recording a continuous heart sound stream using a text format which can be stored in very small memory in comparison with other audio formats. In addition, a text-based data allows applying indexing and searching techniques to access to the critical events. Hence, the transcribed heartbeat sounds provides useful information to monitor the behavior of a patient for the long duration of time. This paper proposes a frequency shifting method in order to improve the performance of the transcription. The main objective of this study is to transfer the heartbeat sounds to the music domain. The proposed technique is tested with 100 samples which were recorded from different heart diseases categories. The observed results show that, the proposed shifting method significantly improves the performance of the transcription.

Acoustic performance design and optimal allocation of sound package in ship cabin noise reduction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YANG Deqing

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The sound package in noise reduction design of ship cabins has become the main approach for the future. The sound package is a specially designed acoustic component consisting of damping materials, absorption materials, sound isolation materials and base structural materials which can achieve the prescribed performance of noise reduction. Based on the Statistical Energy Analysis(SEAmethod, quick evaluation and design methods, and the optimal allocation theory of sound packages are investigated. The standard numerical acoustic performance evaluation model, sound package optimization design model and sound package optimal allocation model are presented. A genetic algorithm is applied to solve the presented optimization problems. Design examples demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the proposed models and solutions. The presented theory and methods benefit the standardization and programming of sound package design, and decrease noise reduction costs.

Spectral analysis methods for vehicle interior vibro-acoustics identification

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini Fouladi, Mohammad; Nor, Mohd. Jailani Mohd.; Ariffin, Ahmad Kamal

2009-02-01

Noise has various effects on comfort, performance and health of human. Sound are analysed by human brain based on the frequencies and amplitudes. In a dynamic system, transmission of sound and vibrations depend on frequency and direction of the input motion and characteristics of the output. It is imperative that automotive manufacturers invest a lot of effort and money to improve and enhance the vibro-acoustics performance of their products. The enhancement effort may be very difficult and time-consuming if one relies only on 'trial and error' method without prior knowledge about the sources itself. Complex noise inside a vehicle cabin originated from various sources and travel through many pathways. First stage of sound quality refinement is to find the source. It is vital for automotive engineers to identify the dominant noise sources such as engine noise, exhaust noise and noise due to vibration transmission inside of vehicle. The purpose of this paper is to find the vibro-acoustical sources of noise in a passenger vehicle compartment. The implementation of spectral analysis method is much faster than the 'trial and error' methods in which, parts should be separated to measure the transfer functions. Also by using spectral analysis method, signals can be recorded in real operational conditions which conduce to more consistent results. A multi-channel analyser is utilised to measure and record the vibro-acoustical signals. Computational algorithms are also employed to identify contribution of various sources towards the measured interior signal. These achievements can be utilised to detect, control and optimise interior noise performance of road transport vehicles.

Analysis of sound pressure levels emitted by children's toys.

Science.gov (United States)

Sleifer, Pricila; Gonçalves, Maiara Santos; Tomasi, Marinês; Gomes, Erissandra

2013-06-01

To verify the levels of sound pressure emitted by non-certified children's toys. Cross-sectional study of sound toys available at popular retail stores of the so-called informal sector. Electronic, mechanical, and musical toys were analyzed. The measurement of each product was carried out by an acoustic engineer in an acoustically isolated booth, by a decibel meter. To obtain the sound parameters of intensity and frequency, the toys were set to produce sounds at a distance of 10 and 50cm from the researcher's ear. The intensity of sound pressure [dB(A)] and the frequency in hertz (Hz) were measured. 48 toys were evaluated. The mean sound pressure 10cm from the ear was 102±10 dB(A), and at 50cm, 94±8 dB(A), with ptoys was above 85dB(A). The frequency ranged from 413 to 6,635Hz, with 56.3% of toys emitting frequency higher than 2,000Hz. The majority of toys assessed in this research emitted a high level of sound pressure.

Sound analysis of a cup drum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kun ho

2012-01-01

The International Young Physicists’ Tournament (IYPT) is a worldwide tournament that evaluates a high-school student's ability to solve various physics conundrums that have not been fully resolved in the past. The research presented here is my solution to the cup drum problem. The physics behind a cup drum has never been explored or modelled. A cup drum is a musical instrument that can generate different frequencies and amplitudes depending on the location of a cup held upside-down over, on or under a water surface. The tapping sound of a cup drum can be divided into two components: standing waves and plate vibration. By individually researching the nature of these two sounds, I arrived at conclusions that could accurately predict the frequencies in most cases. When the drum is very close to the surface, qualitative explanations are given. In addition, I examined the trend of the tapping sound amplitude at various distances and qualitatively explained the experimental results. (paper)

Numerical design and testing of a sound source for secondary calibration of microphones using the Boundary Element Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cutanda Henriquez, Vicente; Juhl, Peter Møller; Barrera Figueroa, Salvador

2009-01-01

Secondary calibration of microphones in free field is performed by placing the microphone under calibration in an anechoic chamber with a sound source, and exposing it to a controlled sound field. A calibrated microphone is also measured as a reference. While the two measurements are usually made...... apart to avoid acoustic interaction. As a part of the project Euromet-792, aiming to investigate and improve methods for secondary free-field calibration of microphones, a sound source suitable for simultaneous secondary free-field calibration has been designed using the Boundary Element Method...... of the Danish Fundamental Metrology Institute (DFM). The design and verification of the source are presented in this communication....

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

Sound Attenuation in Elliptic Mufflers Using a Regular Perturbation Method

OpenAIRE

Banerjee, Subhabrata; Jacobi, Anthony M.

2012-01-01

The study of sound attenuation in an elliptical chamber involves the solution of the Helmholtz equation in elliptic coordinate systems. The Eigen solutions for such problems involve the Mathieu and the modified Mathieu functions. The computation of such functions poses considerable challenge. An alternative method to solve such problems had been proposed in this paper. The elliptical cross-section of the muffler has been treated as a perturbed circle, enabling the use of a regular perturbatio...

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...

Full-Band Quasi-Harmonic Analysis and Synthesis of Musical Instrument Sounds with Adaptive Sinusoids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo Caetano

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Sinusoids are widely used to represent the oscillatory modes of musical instrument sounds in both analysis and synthesis. However, musical instrument sounds feature transients and instrumental noise that are poorly modeled with quasi-stationary sinusoids, requiring spectral decomposition and further dedicated modeling. In this work, we propose a full-band representation that fits sinusoids across the entire spectrum. We use the extended adaptive Quasi-Harmonic Model (eaQHM to iteratively estimate amplitude- and frequency-modulated (AM–FM sinusoids able to capture challenging features such as sharp attacks, transients, and instrumental noise. We use the signal-to-reconstruction-error ratio (SRER as the objective measure for the analysis and synthesis of 89 musical instrument sounds from different instrumental families. We compare against quasi-stationary sinusoids and exponentially damped sinusoids. First, we show that the SRER increases with adaptation in eaQHM. Then, we show that full-band modeling with eaQHM captures partials at the higher frequency end of the spectrum that are neglected by spectral decomposition. Finally, we demonstrate that a frame size equal to three periods of the fundamental frequency results in the highest SRER with AM–FM sinusoids from eaQHM. A listening test confirmed that the musical instrument sounds resynthesized from full-band analysis with eaQHM are virtually perceptually indistinguishable from the original recordings.

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.

Analysis of radiation fields in tomography on diffusion gaseous sound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bekman, I.N.

1999-01-01

Perspectives of application of equilibrium and stationary variants of diffusion tomography with radioactive gaseous sounds for spatial reconstruction of heterogeneous media in materials technology were considered. The basic attention were allocated to creation of simple algorithms of detection of sound accumulation on the background of monotonically varying concentration field. Algorithms of transformation of two-dimensional radiation field in three-dimensional distribution of radiation sources were suggested. The methods of analytical elongation of concentration field permitting separation of regional anomalies on the background of local ones and vice verse were discussed. It was shown that both equilibrium and stationary variants of diffusion tomography detect the heterogeneity of testing material, provide reduction of spatial distribution of elements of its structure and give an estimation of relative degree of defectiveness

Coupled Electro-Magneto-Mechanical-Acoustic Analysis Method Developed by Using 2D Finite Element Method for Flat Panel Speaker Driven by Magnetostrictive-Material-Based Actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Byungjin; Hirata, Katsuhiro; Oonishi, Atsurou

In this study, a coupled analysis method for flat panel speakers driven by giant magnetostrictive material (GMM) based actuator was developed. The sound field produced by a flat panel speaker that is driven by a GMM actuator depends on the vibration of the flat panel, this vibration is a result of magnetostriction property of the GMM. In this case, to predict the sound pressure level (SPL) in the audio-frequency range, it is necessary to take into account not only the magnetostriction property of the GMM but also the effect of eddy current and the vibration characteristics of the actuator and the flat panel. In this paper, a coupled electromagnetic-structural-acoustic analysis method is presented; this method was developed by using the finite element method (FEM). This analysis method is used to predict the performance of a flat panel speaker in the audio-frequency range. The validity of the analysis method is verified by comparing with the measurement results of a prototype speaker.

Improvements on the directional characteristics of a calibration sound source using the Boundary Element Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cutanda Henriquez, Vicente; Barrera Figueroa, Salvador; Juhl, Peter Møller

2008-01-01

The project Euromet-792 aims to investigate and improve methods for secondary free-field calibration of microphones. In this framework, the comparison method is being studied at DFM in relation to the more usual substitution method of microphone calibration. The design of the sound source is of p...

What Constitutes a Phrase in Sound-Based Music? A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Perception and Acoustics.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Kirk N; Dean, Roger T; Leung, Yvonne

2016-01-01

Phrasing facilitates the organization of auditory information and is central to speech and music. Not surprisingly, aspects of changing intensity, rhythm, and pitch are key determinants of musical phrases and their boundaries in instrumental note-based music. Different kinds of speech (such as tone- vs. stress-languages) share these features in different proportions and form an instructive comparison. However, little is known about whether or how musical phrasing is perceived in sound-based music, where the basic musical unit from which a piece is created is commonly non-instrumental continuous sounds, rather than instrumental discontinuous notes. This issue forms the target of the present paper. Twenty participants (17 untrained in music) were presented with six stimuli derived from sound-based music, note-based music, and environmental sound. Their task was to indicate each occurrence of a perceived phrase and qualitatively describe key characteristics of the stimulus associated with each phrase response. It was hypothesized that sound-based music does elicit phrase perception, and that this is primarily associated with temporal changes in intensity and timbre, rather than rhythm and pitch. Results supported this hypothesis. Qualitative analysis of participant descriptions showed that for sound-based music, the majority of perceived phrases were associated with intensity or timbral change. For the note-based piano piece, rhythm was the main theme associated with perceived musical phrasing. We modeled the occurrence in time of perceived musical phrases with recurrent event 'hazard' analyses using time-series data representing acoustic predictors associated with intensity, spectral flatness, and rhythmic density. Acoustic intensity and timbre (represented here by spectral flatness) were strong predictors of perceived musical phrasing in sound-based music, and rhythm was only predictive for the piano piece. A further analysis including five additional spectral

Vibration analysis and sound field characteristics of a tubular ultrasonic radiator.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Zhaofeng; Zhou, Guangping; Zhang, Yihui; Li, Zhengzhong; Lin, Shuyu

2006-12-01

A sort of tubular ultrasonic radiator used in ultrasonic liquid processing is studied. The frequency equation of the tubular radiator is derived, and its radiated sound field in cylindrical reactor is calculated using finite element method and recorded by means of aluminum foil erosion. The results indicate that sound field of tubular ultrasonic radiator in cylindrical reactor appears standing waves along both its radial direction and axial direction, and amplitudes of standing waves decrease gradually along its radial direction, and the numbers of standing waves along its axial direction are equal to the axial wave numbers of tubular radiator. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculated results.

Development of Optophone with No Diaphragm and Application to Sound Measurement in Jet Flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshito Sonoda

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The optophone with no diaphragm, which can detect sound waves without disturbing flow of air and sound field, is presented as a novel sound measurement technique and the present status of development is reviewed in this paper. The method is principally based on the Fourier optics and the sound signal is obtained by detecting ultrasmall diffraction light generated from phase modulation by sounds. The principle and theory, which have been originally developed as a plasma diagnostic technique to measure electron density fluctuations in the nuclear fusion research, are briefly introduced. Based on the theoretical analysis, property and merits as a wave-optical sound detection are presented, and the fundamental experiments and results obtained so far are reviewed. It is shown that sounds from about 100 Hz to 100 kHz can be simultaneously detected by a visible laser beam, and the method is very useful to sound measurement in aeroacoustics. Finally, present main problems of the optophone for practical uses in sound and/or noise measurements and the image of technology expected in the future are shortly shown.

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.)

Acoustic analysis of snoring sounds recorded with a smartphone according to obstruction site in OSAS patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Soo Kweon; Kwon, Soon Bok; Kim, Yang Jae; Moon, J I Seung; Kim, Young Jun; Jung, Sung Hoon

2017-03-01

Snoring is a sign of increased upper airway resistance and is the most common symptom suggestive of obstructive sleep apnea. Acoustic analysis of snoring sounds is a non-invasive diagnostic technique and may provide a screening test that can determine the location of obstruction sites. We recorded snoring sounds according to obstruction level, measured by DISE, using a smartphone and focused on the analysis of formant frequencies. The study group comprised 32 male patients (mean age 42.9 years). The spectrogram pattern, intensity (dB), fundamental frequencies (F 0 ), and formant frequencies (F 1 , F 2 , and F 3 ) of the snoring sounds were analyzed for each subject. On spectrographic analysis, retropalatal level obstruction tended to produce sharp and regular peaks, while retrolingual level obstruction tended to show peaks with a gradual onset and decay. On formant frequency analysis, F 1 (retropalatal level vs. retrolingual level: 488.1 ± 125.8 vs. 634.7 ± 196.6 Hz) and F 2 (retropalatal level vs. retrolingual level: 1267.3 ± 306.6 vs. 1723.7 ± 550.0 Hz) of retrolingual level obstructions showed significantly higher values than retropalatal level obstruction (p smartphone can be effective for recording snoring sounds.

Computerised Analysis of Telemonitored Respiratory Sounds for Predicting Acute Exacerbations of COPD.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Granero, Miguel Angel; Sanchez-Morillo, Daniel; Leon-Jimenez, Antonio

2015-10-23

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the commonest causes of death in the world and poses a substantial burden on healthcare systems and patients' quality of life. The largest component of the related healthcare costs is attributable to admissions due to acute exacerbation (AECOPD). The evidence that might support the effectiveness of the telemonitoring interventions in COPD is limited partially due to the lack of useful predictors for the early detection of AECOPD. Electronic stethoscopes and computerised analyses of respiratory sounds (CARS) techniques provide an opportunity for substantial improvement in the management of respiratory diseases. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using: (a) a respiratory sensor embedded in a self-tailored housing for ageing users; (b) a telehealth framework; (c) CARS and (d) machine learning techniques for the remote early detection of the AECOPD. In a 6-month pilot study, 16 patients with COPD were equipped with a home base-station and a sensor to daily record their respiratory sounds. Principal component analysis (PCA) and a support vector machine (SVM) classifier was designed to predict AECOPD. 75.8% exacerbations were early detected with an average of 5 ± 1.9 days in advance at medical attention. The proposed method could provide support to patients, physicians and healthcare systems.

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...

Developing a Reference of Normal Lung Sounds in Healthy Peruvian Children

Science.gov (United States)

Ellington, Laura E.; Emmanouilidou, Dimitra; Elhilali, Mounya; Gilman, Robert H.; Tielsch, James M.; Chavez, Miguel A.; Marin-Concha, Julio; Figueroa, Dante; West, James

2018-01-01

Purpose Lung auscultation has long been a standard of care for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases. Recent advances in electronic auscultation and signal processing have yet to find clinical acceptance; however, computerized lung sound analysis may be ideal for pediatric populations in settings, where skilled healthcare providers are commonly unavailable. We described features of normal lung sounds in young children using a novel signal processing approach to lay a foundation for identifying pathologic respiratory sounds. Methods 186 healthy children with normal pulmonary exams and without respiratory complaints were enrolled at a tertiary care hospital in Lima, Peru. Lung sounds were recorded at eight thoracic sites using a digital stethoscope. 151 (81 %) of the recordings were eligible for further analysis. Heavy-crying segments were automatically rejected and features extracted from spectral and temporal signal representations contributed to profiling of lung sounds. Results Mean age, height, and weight among study participants were 2.2 years (SD 1.4), 84.7 cm (SD 13.2), and 12.0 kg (SD 3.6), respectively; and, 47 % were boys. We identified ten distinct spectral and spectro-temporal signal parameters and most demonstrated linear relationships with age, height, and weight, while no differences with genders were noted. Older children had a faster decaying spectrum than younger ones. Features like spectral peak width, lower-frequency Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, and spectro-temporal modulations also showed variations with recording site. Conclusions Lung sound extracted features varied significantly with child characteristics and lung site. A comparison with adult studies revealed differences in the extracted features for children. While sound-reduction techniques will improve analysis, we offer a novel, reproducible tool for sound analysis in real-world environments. PMID:24943262

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...

A hybrid finite element - statistical energy analysis approach to robust sound transmission modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Reynders, Edwin; Langley, Robin S.; Dijckmans, Arne; Vermeir, Gerrit

2014-09-01

When considering the sound transmission through a wall in between two rooms, in an important part of the audio frequency range, the local response of the rooms is highly sensitive to uncertainty in spatial variations in geometry, material properties and boundary conditions, which have a wave scattering effect, while the local response of the wall is rather insensitive to such uncertainty. For this mid-frequency range, a computationally efficient modeling strategy is adopted that accounts for this uncertainty. The partitioning wall is modeled deterministically, e.g. with finite elements. The rooms are modeled in a very efficient, nonparametric stochastic way, as in statistical energy analysis. All components are coupled by means of a rigorous power balance. This hybrid strategy is extended so that the mean and variance of the sound transmission loss can be computed as well as the transition frequency that loosely marks the boundary between low- and high-frequency behavior of a vibro-acoustic component. The method is first validated in a simulation study, and then applied for predicting the airborne sound insulation of a series of partition walls of increasing complexity: a thin plastic plate, a wall consisting of gypsum blocks, a thicker masonry wall and a double glazing. It is found that the uncertainty caused by random scattering is important except at very high frequencies, where the modal overlap of the rooms is very high. The results are compared with laboratory measurements, and both are found to agree within the prediction uncertainty in the considered frequency range.

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.

Vibration analysis of the piping system using the modal analysis method, 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujikawa, Takeshi; Kurohashi, Michiya; Inoue, Yoshio

1975-01-01

Modal analysis method was developed for the vibration analysis of piping system in nuclear or chemical plants, with finite element theory, and verified by sinusoidal vibration method. The natural vibration equation for pipings was derived with stiffness, attenuation and mass matrices, and eigenvalues are obtained with usual method, then the forced vibration equation for pipings was derived with the same manner, and the special solutions are given by modal method from the eigenvalues of the natural vibration equation. Three simple piping models (one, two and three dimensional) were made, and the natural vibration frequency was measured with forced input from an electrical dynamic shaker and a sound speaker. The experimental values of natural vibration frequency showed good agreement with the results by the analytical method. Therefore the theoretical approach for piping system vibration was proved to be valid. (Iwase, T.)

Sound radiation modes of cylindrical surfaces and their application to vibro-acoustics analysis of cylindrical shells

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yao; Yang, Tiejun; Chen, Yuehua

2018-06-01

In this paper, sound radiation modes of baffled cylinders have been derived by constructing the radiation resistance matrix analytically. By examining the characteristics of sound radiation modes, it is found that radiation coefficient of each radiation mode increases gradually with the increase of frequency while modal shapes of sound radiation modes of cylindrical shells show a weak dependence upon frequency. Based on understandings on sound radiation modes, vibro-acoustics behaviors of cylindrical shells have been analyzed. The vibration responses of cylindrical shells are described by modified Fourier series expansions and solved by Rayleigh-Ritz method involving Flügge shell theory. Then radiation efficiency of a resonance has been determined by examining whether the vibration pattern is in correspondence with a sound radiation mode possessing great radiation efficiency. Furthermore, effects of thickness and boundary conditions on sound radiation of cylindrical shells have been investigated. It is found that radiation efficiency of thicker shells is greater than thinner shells while shells with a clamped boundary constraint radiate sound more efficiently than simply supported shells under thin shell assumption.

Separation of non-stationary multi-source sound field based on the interpolated time-domain equivalent source method

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Chuan-Xing; Geng, Lin; Zhang, Xiao-Zheng

2016-05-01

In the sound field with multiple non-stationary sources, the measured pressure is the sum of the pressures generated by all sources, and thus cannot be used directly for studying the vibration and sound radiation characteristics of every source alone. This paper proposes a separation model based on the interpolated time-domain equivalent source method (ITDESM) to separate the pressure field belonging to every source from the non-stationary multi-source sound field. In the proposed method, ITDESM is first extended to establish the relationship between the mixed time-dependent pressure and all the equivalent sources distributed on every source with known location and geometry information, and all the equivalent source strengths at each time step are solved by an iterative solving process; then, the corresponding equivalent source strengths of one interested source are used to calculate the pressure field generated by that source alone. Numerical simulation of two baffled circular pistons demonstrates that the proposed method can be effective in separating the non-stationary pressure generated by every source alone in both time and space domains. An experiment with two speakers in a semi-anechoic chamber further evidences the effectiveness of the proposed method.

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.

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...

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...

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 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.

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.

A novel murmur-based heart sound feature extraction technique using envelope-morphological analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Hao-Dong; Ma, Jia-Li; Fu, Bin-Bin; Wang, Hai-Yang; Dong, Ming-Chui

2015-07-01

Auscultation of heart sound (HS) signals serves as an important primary approach to diagnose cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) for centuries. Confronting the intrinsic drawbacks of traditional HS auscultation, computer-aided automatic HS auscultation based on feature extraction technique has witnessed explosive development. Yet, most existing HS feature extraction methods adopt acoustic or time-frequency features which exhibit poor relationship with diagnostic information, thus restricting the performance of further interpretation and analysis. Tackling such a bottleneck problem, this paper innovatively proposes a novel murmur-based HS feature extraction method since murmurs contain massive pathological information and are regarded as the first indications of pathological occurrences of heart valves. Adapting discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and Shannon envelope, the envelope-morphological characteristics of murmurs are obtained and three features are extracted accordingly. Validated by discriminating normal HS and 5 various abnormal HS signals with extracted features, the proposed method provides an attractive candidate in automatic HS auscultation.

Orientation Estimation and Signal Reconstruction of a Directional Sound Source

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guarato, Francesco

, one for each call emission, were compared to those calculated through a pre-existing technique based on interpolation of sound-pressure levels at microphone locations. The application of the method to the bat calls could provide knowledge on bat behaviour that may be useful for a bat-inspired sensor......Previous works in the literature about one tone or broadband sound sources mainly deal with algorithms and methods developed in order to localize the source and, occasionally, estimate the source bearing angle (with respect to a global reference frame). The problem setting assumes, in these cases......, omnidirectional receivers collecting the acoustic signal from the source: analysis of arrival times in the recordings together with microphone positions and source directivity cues allows to get information about source position and bearing. Moreover, sound sources have been included into sensor systems together...

An asymptotic inversion method of inferring the sound velocity distribution in the sun from the spectrum of p-mode oscillations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekii, Takashi; Shibahashi, Hiromoto

1989-01-01

We present an inversion method of inferring the sound velocity distribution in the Sun from its oscillation data of p-modes. The equation governing the p-mode oscillations is reduced to a form similar to the Schroedinger equation in quantum mechanics. By using a quantization rule based on the KWBJ asymptotic method, we derive an integral equation of which solution provides the 'acoustic potential' of the wave equation. The acoustic potential consists of two parts: One of them is related with the squared sound velocity and is dependent on the degree of the mode l, while the other term is independent of l and dominates in the outer part of the Sun. By examining the l-dependence of the acoustic potential obtained as the solution of the integral equation, we separate these two components of the potential and eventually obtain the sound velocity distribution from a set of eigenfrequencies of p-modes. In order to evaluate prospects of this inversion method, we perform numerical simulations in which eigenfrequencies of a theoretical solar model are used to reproduce the sound velocity distribution of the model. The error of thus inferred sound velocity relative to the true values is estimated to be less than a few percent. (author)

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.

Effect of the radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction of inferior turbinate on expiratory nasal sound frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Seren, Erdal

2009-01-01

We sought to evaluate the short-term efficacy of radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction (RFVTR) in treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy (TH) as measured by expiratory nasal sound spectra. In our study, we aimed to investigate the Odiosoft-rhino (OR) as a new diagnostic method to evaluate the nasal airflow of patients before and after RFVTR. In this study, we have analyzed and recorded the expiratory nasal sound in patients with inferior TH before and after RFVTR. This analysis includes the time expanded waveform, the spectral analysis with time averaged fast Fourier transform (FFT), and the waveform analysis of nasal sound. We found an increase in sound intensity at high frequency (Hf) in the sound analyses of the patients before RFVTR and a decrease in sound intensity at Hf was found in patients after RFVTR. This study indicates that RFVTR is an effective procedure to improve nasal airflow in the patients with nasal obstruction with inferior TH. We found significant decreases in the sound intensity level at Hf in the sound spectra after RFVTR. The OR results from the 2000- to 4000-Hz frequency (Hf) interval may be more useful in assessing patients with nasal obstruction than other frequency intervals. OR may be used as a noninvasive diagnostic tool to evaluate the nasal airflow.

Fractal dimension to classify the heart sound recordings with KNN and fuzzy c-mean clustering methods

Science.gov (United States)

Juniati, D.; Khotimah, C.; Wardani, D. E. K.; Budayasa, K.

2018-01-01

The heart abnormalities can be detected from heart sound. A heart sound can be heard directly with a stethoscope or indirectly by a phonocardiograph, a machine of the heart sound recording. This paper presents the implementation of fractal dimension theory to make a classification of phonocardiograms into a normal heart sound, a murmur, or an extrasystole. The main algorithm used to calculate the fractal dimension was Higuchi’s Algorithm. There were two steps to make a classification of phonocardiograms, feature extraction, and classification. For feature extraction, we used Discrete Wavelet Transform to decompose the signal of heart sound into several sub-bands depending on the selected level. After the decomposition process, the signal was processed using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to determine the spectral frequency. The fractal dimension of the FFT output was calculated using Higuchi Algorithm. The classification of fractal dimension of all phonocardiograms was done with KNN and Fuzzy c-mean clustering methods. Based on the research results, the best accuracy obtained was 86.17%, the feature extraction by DWT decomposition level 3 with the value of kmax 50, using 5-fold cross validation and the number of neighbors was 5 at K-NN algorithm. Meanwhile, for fuzzy c-mean clustering, the accuracy was 78.56%.

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

Urban sound energy reduction by means of sound barriers

Science.gov (United States)

Iordache, Vlad; Ionita, Mihai Vlad

2018-02-01

In urban environment, various heating ventilation and air conditioning appliances designed to maintain indoor comfort become urban acoustic pollution vectors due to the sound energy produced by these equipment. The acoustic barriers are the recommended method for the sound energy reduction in urban environment. The current sizing method of these acoustic barriers is too difficult and it is not practical for any 3D location of the noisy equipment and reception point. In this study we will develop based on the same method a new simplified tool for acoustic barriers sizing, maintaining the same precision characteristic to the classical method. Abacuses for acoustic barriers sizing are built that can be used for different 3D locations of the source and the reception points, for several frequencies and several acoustic barrier heights. The study case presented in the article represents a confirmation for the rapidity and ease of use of these abacuses in the design of the acoustic barriers.

Urban sound energy reduction by means of sound barriers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iordache Vlad

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In urban environment, various heating ventilation and air conditioning appliances designed to maintain indoor comfort become urban acoustic pollution vectors due to the sound energy produced by these equipment. The acoustic barriers are the recommended method for the sound energy reduction in urban environment. The current sizing method of these acoustic barriers is too difficult and it is not practical for any 3D location of the noisy equipment and reception point. In this study we will develop based on the same method a new simplified tool for acoustic barriers sizing, maintaining the same precision characteristic to the classical method. Abacuses for acoustic barriers sizing are built that can be used for different 3D locations of the source and the reception points, for several frequencies and several acoustic barrier heights. The study case presented in the article represents a confirmation for the rapidity and ease of use of these abacuses in the design of the acoustic barriers.

Computerised Analysis of Telemonitored Respiratory Sounds for Predicting Acute Exacerbations of COPD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Angel Fernandez-Granero

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD is one of the commonest causes of death in the world and poses a substantial burden on healthcare systems and patients’ quality of life. The largest component of the related healthcare costs is attributable to admissions due to acute exacerbation (AECOPD. The evidence that might support the effectiveness of the telemonitoring interventions in COPD is limited partially due to the lack of useful predictors for the early detection of AECOPD. Electronic stethoscopes and computerised analyses of respiratory sounds (CARS techniques provide an opportunity for substantial improvement in the management of respiratory diseases. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using: (a a respiratory sensor embedded in a self-tailored housing for ageing users; (b a telehealth framework; (c CARS and (d machine learning techniques for the remote early detection of the AECOPD. In a 6-month pilot study, 16 patients with COPD were equipped with a home base-station and a sensor to daily record their respiratory sounds. Principal component analysis (PCA and a support vector machine (SVM classifier was designed to predict AECOPD. 75.8% exacerbations were early detected with an average of 5 ± 1.9 days in advance at medical attention. The proposed method could provide support to patients, physicians and healthcare systems.

On the applicability of models for outdoor sound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Karsten Bo

1999-01-01

not only sound pressure levels but also phase information. Such methods are, however, not always able to predict the sound field for more complicated scenarios involving terrain features, atmospheric wind and temperature gradients and turbulence. Another class of methods is based upon approximate theory......The suitable prediction model for outdoor sound fields depends on the situation and the application. Computationally intensive methods such as Parabolic Equation methods, FFP methods and Boundary Element Methods all have advantages in certain situations. These approaches are accurate and predict...

Two Classification Methods for Grouping Common Environmental Sounds in Terms of Perceived Pleasantness

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-01

NUMBER OF PAGES 24 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON Kelly Dickerson a. REPORT Unclassified b. ABSTRACT Unclassified c . THIS...ARL-TR-7960 ● FEB 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Two Classification Methods for Grouping Common Environmental Sounds in Terms...of Perceived Pleasantness by Kelly Dickerson, Brandon S Perelman, Laura Sherry, and Jeremy R Gaston Approved for public

Airborne sound transmission loss characteristics of wood-frame construction

Science.gov (United States)

Rudder, F. F., Jr.

1985-03-01

This report summarizes the available data on the airborne sound transmission loss properties of wood-frame construction and evaluates the methods for predicting the airborne sound transmission loss. The first part of the report comprises a summary of sound transmission loss data for wood-frame interior walls and floor-ceiling construction. Data bases describing the sound transmission loss characteristics of other building components, such as windows and doors, are discussed. The second part of the report presents the prediction of the sound transmission loss of wood-frame construction. Appropriate calculation methods are described both for single-panel and for double-panel construction with sound absorption material in the cavity. With available methods, single-panel construction and double-panel construction with the panels connected by studs may be adequately characterized. Technical appendices are included that summarize laboratory measurements, compare measurement with theory, describe details of the prediction methods, and present sound transmission loss data for common building materials.

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.

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

Robust Sounds of Activities of Daily Living Classification in Two-Channel Audio-Based Telemonitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Maunder

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Despite recent advances in the area of home telemonitoring, the challenge of automatically detecting the sound signatures of activities of daily living of an elderly patient using nonintrusive and reliable methods remains. This paper investigates the classification of eight typical sounds of daily life from arbitrarily positioned two-microphone sensors under realistic noisy conditions. In particular, the role of several source separation and sound activity detection methods is considered. Evaluations on a new four-microphone database collected under four realistic noise conditions reveal that effective sound activity detection can produce significant gains in classification accuracy and that further gains can be made using source separation methods based on independent component analysis. Encouragingly, the results show that recognition accuracies in the range 70%–100% can be consistently obtained using different microphone-pair positions, under all but the most severe noise conditions.

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

Heart sounds analysis via esophageal stethoscope system in beagles.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sang Hi; Shin, Young Duck; Bae, Jin Ho; Kwon, Eun Jung; Lee, Tae-Soo; Shin, Ji-Yun; Kim, Yeong-Cheol; Min, Gyeong-Deuk; Kim, Myoung hwan

2013-10-01

Esophageal stethoscope is less invasive and easy to handling. And it gives a lot of information. The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of blood pressure and heart sound as measured by esophageal stethoscope. Four male beagles weighing 10 to 12 kg were selected as experimental subjects. After general anesthesia, the esophageal stethoscope was inserted. After connecting the microphone, the heart sounds were visualized and recorded through a self-developed equipment and program. The amplitudes of S1 and S2 were monitored real-time to examine changes as the blood pressure increased and decreased. The relationship between the ratios of S1 to S2 (S1/S2) and changes in blood pressure due to ephedrine was evaluated. The same experiment was performed with different concentration of isoflurane. From S1 and S2 in the inotropics experiment, a high correlation appeared with change in blood pressure in S1. The relationship between S1/S2 and change in blood pressure showed a positive correlation in each experimental subject. In the volatile anesthetics experiment, the heart sounds decreased as MAC increased. Heart sounds were analyzed successfully with the esophageal stethoscope through the self-developed program and equipment. A proportional change in heart sounds was confirmed when blood pressure was changed using inotropics or volatile anesthetics. The esophageal stethoscope can achieve the closest proximity to the heart to hear sounds in a non-invasive manner.

Acoustic parameters of sound insulating materials investigation in small reverberation rooms on rubber plates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

О.О. Козлітін

2005-01-01

Full Text Available  The new method of sound insulating materials acoustic characteristics investigation in small reverberation rooms was elaborated. The research of sound insulating materials on rubber plates was done. The analysis of obtained results of acoustic parameters of materials being a part of the composite real structures of airplane was carried out.

Automatic Bowel Motility Evaluation Technique for Noncontact Sound Recordings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryunosuke Sato

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Information on bowel motility can be obtained via magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs and X-ray imaging. However, these approaches require expensive medical instruments and are unsuitable for frequent monitoring. Bowel sounds (BS can be conveniently obtained using electronic stethoscopes and have recently been employed for the evaluation of bowel motility. More recently, our group proposed a novel method to evaluate bowel motility on the basis of BS acquired using a noncontact microphone. However, the method required manually detecting BS in the sound recordings, and manual segmentation is inconvenient and time consuming. To address this issue, herein, we propose a new method to automatically evaluate bowel motility for noncontact sound recordings. Using simulations for the sound recordings obtained from 20 human participants, we showed that the proposed method achieves an accuracy of approximately 90% in automatic bowel sound detection when acoustic feature power-normalized cepstral coefficients are used as inputs to artificial neural networks. Furthermore, we showed that bowel motility can be evaluated based on the three acoustic features in the time domain extracted by our method: BS per minute, signal-to-noise ratio, and sound-to-sound interval. The proposed method has the potential to contribute towards the development of noncontact evaluation methods for bowel motility.

Isogeometric analysis of sound propagation through laminar flow in 2-dimensional ducts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørtoft, Peter; Gravesen, Jens; Willatzen, Morten

2015-01-01

We consider the propagation of sound through a slowly moving fluid in a 2-dimensional duct. A detailed description of a flow-acoustic model of the problem using B-spline based isogeometric analysis is given. The model couples the non-linear, steady-state, incompressible Navier-Stokes equation in ...

Echo-sounding method aids earthquake hazard studies

Science.gov (United States)

,

1995-01-01

Dramatic examples of catastrophic damage from an earthquake occurred in 1989, when the M 7.1 Lorna Prieta rocked the San Francisco Bay area, and in 1994, when the M 6.6 Northridge earthquake jolted southern California. The surprising amount and distribution of damage to private property and infrastructure emphasizes the importance of seismic-hazard research in urbanized areas, where the potential for damage and loss of life is greatest. During April 1995, a group of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Tennessee, using an echo-sounding method described below, is collecting data in San Antonio Park, California, to examine the Monte Vista fault which runs through this park. The Monte Vista fault in this vicinity shows evidence of movement within the last 10,000 years or so. The data will give them a "picture" of the subsurface rock deformation near this fault. The data will also be used to help locate a trench that will be dug across the fault by scientists from William Lettis & Associates.

Implications of diadochokinesia in children with speech sound disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Wertzner, Haydée Fiszbein; Pagan-Neves, Luciana de Oliveira; Alves, Renata Ramos; Barrozo, Tatiane Faria

2013-01-01

To verify the performance of children with and without speech sound disorder in oral motor skills measured by oral diadochokinesia according to age and gender and to compare the results by two different methods of analysis. Participants were 72 subjects aged from 5 years to 7 years and 11 months divided into four subgroups according to the presence of speech sound disorder (Study Group and Control Group) and age (6 years and 5 months). Diadochokinesia skills were assessed by the repetition of the sequences 'pa', 'ta', 'ka' and 'pataka' measured both manually and by the software Motor Speech Profile®. Gender was statistically different for both groups but it did not influence on the number of sequences per second produced. Correlation between the number of sequences per second and age was observed for all sequences (except for 'ka') only for the control group children. Comparison between groups did not indicate differences between the number of sequences per second and age. Results presented strong agreement between the values of oral diadochokinesia measured manually and by MSP. This research demonstrated the importance of using different methods of analysis on the functional evaluation of oro-motor processing aspects of children with speech sound disorder and evidenced the oro-motor difficulties on children aged under than eight years old.

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...

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.

Radio thermal sounding of natural environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gauss, Martin; Lomukhin, Yuriy

2017-11-01

At the moment, methods of sounding a status of soil, plant, forest and aquatic environments using radiometry and radar methods are intensively used. The main source of information using radar sounding is the back reflection ratio. The radiometric method is used for detection of the brightness temperature. In this paper, a communication between the back reflection ratio and the brightness temperature is described. This communication is proportional.

Three-Dimensional Elasticity Solutions for Sound Radiation of Functionally Graded Materials Plates considering State Space Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tieliang Yang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analytical study for sound radiation of functionally graded materials (FGM plate based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity. The FGM plate is a mixture of metal and ceramic, and its material properties are assumed to have smooth and continuous variation in the thickness direction according to a power-law distribution in terms of volume fractions of the constituents. Based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity and state space method, the governing equations with variable coefficients of the FGM plate are derived. The sound radiation of the vibration plate is calculated with Rayleigh integral. Comparisons of the present results with those of solutions in the available literature are made and good agreements are achieved. Finally, some parametric studies are carried out to investigate the sound radiation properties of FGM plates.

Measurement and classification of heart and lung sounds by using LabView for educational use.

Science.gov (United States)

Altrabsheh, B

2010-01-01

This study presents the design, development and implementation of a simple low-cost method of phonocardiography signal detection. Human heart and lung signals are detected by using a simple microphone through a personal computer; the signals are recorded and analysed using LabView software. Amplitude and frequency analyses are carried out for various phonocardiography pathological cases. Methods for automatic classification of normal and abnormal heart sounds, murmurs and lung sounds are presented. Various cases of heart and lung sound measurement are recorded and analysed. The measurements can be saved for further analysis. The method in this study can be used by doctors as a detection tool aid and may be useful for teaching purposes at medical and nursing schools.

An Exploratory Analysis of Sound Field Characteristics using the Impulse Response in a Car Cabin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiharu Soeta

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Sound environments in cars are becoming quieter and receiving attention because of the prevalence of low-noise engines such as hybrid and electric engines and the manifestation of automated driving. Although the car cabin has potential as a listening space, its acoustic quality has not been examined in detail. The present study investigated sound field characteristics in the car cabin using acoustic parameters obtained by impulse response analysis. In particular, effects of the passenger position, open windows and the use of an air conditioner on acoustic parameters were investigated. The passenger position affected the sound strength at low frequencies. Rear seats, except for the rear central seat, had lower interaural correlation than the front seats, suggesting that rear seats have more diffused sound fields. The opening of windows and use of air conditioners attenuated the ratio of early- and late-arriving energy at high frequencies, suggesting a loss of clarity for music.

Sound statistical model checking for MDP using partial order and confluence reduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hartmanns, Arnd; Timmer, Mark

Statistical model checking (SMC) is an analysis method that circumvents the state space explosion problem in model-based verification by combining probabilistic simulation with statistical methods that provide clear error bounds. As a simulation-based technique, it can in general only provide sound

From acoustic descriptors to evoked quality of car door sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Bezat, Marie-Céline; Kronland-Martinet, Richard; Roussarie, Vincent; Ystad, Sølvi

2014-07-01

This article describes the first part of a study aiming at adapting the mechanical car door construction to the drivers' expectancies in terms of perceived quality of cars deduced from car door sounds. A perceptual cartography of car door sounds is obtained from various listening tests aiming at revealing both ecological and analytical properties linked to evoked car quality. In the first test naive listeners performed absolute evaluations of five ecological properties (i.e., solidity, quality, weight, closure energy, and success of closure). Then experts in the area of automobile doors categorized the sounds according to organic constituents (lock, joints, door panel), in particular whether or not the lock mechanism could be perceived. Further, a sensory panel of naive listeners identified sensory descriptors such as classical descriptors or onomatopoeia that characterize the sounds, hereby providing an analytic description of the sounds. Finally, acoustic descriptors were calculated after decomposition of the signal into a lock and a closure component by the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method. A statistical relationship between the acoustic descriptors and the perceptual evaluations of the car door sounds could then be obtained through linear regression analysis.

Identification of aquifer potential in Karanganyar city by using vertical electrical sounding method

Science.gov (United States)

Marfuatik, L.; Koesuma, S.; Legowo, B.; Darsono

2018-03-01

The identification of aquifer was done by using Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) method. This research aims to identify potential and depth of the aquifers. The locations of surveys are at ten points,namely TS1 (Alastuwo), TS2 (Wonorejo), TS3 (Kaling), TS4 (Kaling), TS5 (Buran), TS6 (Wonolopo), TS7 (Buran), TS8 (Ngijo), TS9 (Jati), and TS10 (Suruhkalang) where all located in Karanganyar regency. The survey path is about 500-600 meters length which can penetrate current to 100 – 200 meters in depth. The measurement was done by using OYO Mc OHM-EL Model 2119C. Geoelectrical data analysis was processed using Progress version 3.0 Software. The interpretation result shows that the locations of research area are included in Lawu-volcano rock formation which is breccias, lava, and tuff as the constituents. We found that unconfined aquifer in all of locations with different depth and confined aquifer just 7 locations start from 25.04 meters.

Speed of sound reflects Young's modulus as assessed by microstructural finite element analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergh, van den J.P.W.; Lenthe, van G.H.; Hermus, A.R.M.M.; Corstens, F.H.M.; Smals, A.G.H.; Huiskes, H.W.J.

2000-01-01

We analyzed the ability of the quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameter, speed of sound (SOS), and bone mineral density (BMD), as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), to predict Young's modulus, as assessed by microstructural finite element analysis (muFEA) from microcomputed

Visualization of the hot chocolate sound effect by spectrograms

Science.gov (United States)

Trávníček, Z.; Fedorchenko, A. I.; Pavelka, M.; Hrubý, J.

2012-12-01

We present an experimental and a theoretical analysis of the hot chocolate effect. The sound effect is evaluated using time-frequency signal processing, resulting in a quantitative visualization by spectrograms. This method allows us to capture the whole phenomenon, namely to quantify the dynamics of the rising pitch. A general form of the time dependence volume fraction of the bubbles is proposed. We show that the effect occurs due to the nonlinear dependence of the speed of sound in the gas/liquid mixture on the volume fraction of the bubbles and the nonlinear time dependence of the volume fraction of the bubbles.

A Signal Processing Module for the Analysis of Heart Sounds and Heart Murmurs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Javed, Faizan; Venkatachalam, P A; H, Ahmad Fadzil M

2006-01-01

In this paper a Signal Processing Module (SPM) for the computer-aided analysis of heart sounds has been developed. The module reveals important information of cardiovascular disorders and can assist general physician to come up with more accurate and reliable diagnosis at early stages. It can overcome the deficiency of expert doctors in rural as well as urban clinics and hospitals. The module has five main blocks: Data Acquisition and Pre-processing, Segmentation, Feature Extraction, Murmur Detection and Murmur Classification. The heart sounds are first acquired using an electronic stethoscope which has the capability of transferring these signals to the near by workstation using wireless media. Then the signals are segmented into individual cycles as well as individual components using the spectral analysis of heart without using any reference signal like ECG. Then the features are extracted from the individual components using Spectrogram and are used as an input to a MLP (Multiple Layer Perceptron) Neural Network that is trained to detect the presence of heart murmurs. Once the murmur is detected they are classified into seven classes depending on their timing within the cardiac cycle using Smoothed Pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution. The module has been tested with real heart sounds from 40 patients and has proved to be quite efficient and robust while dealing with a large variety of pathological conditions

A Signal Processing Module for the Analysis of Heart Sounds and Heart Murmurs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Javed, Faizan; Venkatachalam, P A; H, Ahmad Fadzil M [Signal and Imaging Processing and Tele-Medicine Technology Research Group, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

2006-04-01

In this paper a Signal Processing Module (SPM) for the computer-aided analysis of heart sounds has been developed. The module reveals important information of cardiovascular disorders and can assist general physician to come up with more accurate and reliable diagnosis at early stages. It can overcome the deficiency of expert doctors in rural as well as urban clinics and hospitals. The module has five main blocks: Data Acquisition and Pre-processing, Segmentation, Feature Extraction, Murmur Detection and Murmur Classification. The heart sounds are first acquired using an electronic stethoscope which has the capability of transferring these signals to the near by workstation using wireless media. Then the signals are segmented into individual cycles as well as individual components using the spectral analysis of heart without using any reference signal like ECG. Then the features are extracted from the individual components using Spectrogram and are used as an input to a MLP (Multiple Layer Perceptron) Neural Network that is trained to detect the presence of heart murmurs. Once the murmur is detected they are classified into seven classes depending on their timing within the cardiac cycle using Smoothed Pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution. The module has been tested with real heart sounds from 40 patients and has proved to be quite efficient and robust while dealing with a large variety of pathological conditions.

A Sparsity-Based Approach to 3D Binaural Sound Synthesis Using Time-Frequency Array Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Cobos, Maximo; Lopez, JoseJ; Spors, Sascha

2010-12-01

Localization of sounds in physical space plays a very important role in multiple audio-related disciplines, such as music, telecommunications, and audiovisual productions. Binaural recording is the most commonly used method to provide an immersive sound experience by means of headphone reproduction. However, it requires a very specific recording setup using high-fidelity microphones mounted in a dummy head. In this paper, we present a novel processing framework for binaural sound recording and reproduction that avoids the use of dummy heads, which is specially suitable for immersive teleconferencing applications. The method is based on a time-frequency analysis of the spatial properties of the sound picked up by a simple tetrahedral microphone array, assuming source sparseness. The experiments carried out using simulations and a real-time prototype confirm the validity of the proposed approach.

On the applicability of models for outdoor sound (A)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Karsten Bo

1999-01-01

not only sound pressure levels but also phase information. Such methods are, however, not always able to predict the sound field for more complicated scenarios involving terrain features, atmospheric wind and temperature gradients, and turbulence. Another class of methods is based upon approximate theory......The suitable prediction model for outdoor sound fields depends on the situation and the application. Computationally intensive methods such as parabolic equation methods, FFP methods, and boundary element methods all have advantages in certain situations. These approaches are accurate and predict...

Controlled Acoustic Bass System (CABS) A Method to Achieve Uniform Sound Field Distribution at Low Frequencies in Rectangular Rooms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Celestinos, Adrian; Nielsen, Sofus Birkedal

2008-01-01

The sound field produced by loudspeakers at low frequencies in small- and medium-size rectangular listening rooms is highly nonuniform due to the multiple reflections and diffractions of sound on the walls and different objects in the room. A new method, called controlled acoustic bass system (CA......-frequency range. CABS has been simulated and measured in two different standard listening rooms with satisfactory results....

Artificial neural networks for breathing and snoring episode detection in sleep sounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emoto, Takahiro; Akutagawa, Masatake; Kinouchi, Yohsuke; Abeyratne, Udantha R; Chen, Yongjian; Kawata, Ikuji

2012-01-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious disorder characterized by intermittent events of upper airway collapse during sleep. Snoring is the most common nocturnal symptom of OSA. Almost all OSA patients snore, but not all snorers have the disease. Recently, researchers have attempted to develop automated snore analysis technology for the purpose of OSA diagnosis. These technologies commonly require, as the first step, the automated identification of snore/breathing episodes (SBE) in sleep sound recordings. Snore intensity may occupy a wide dynamic range (>95 dB) spanning from the barely audible to loud sounds. Low-intensity SBE sounds are sometimes seen buried within the background noise floor, even in high-fidelity sound recordings made within a sleep laboratory. The complexity of SBE sounds makes it a challenging task to develop automated snore segmentation algorithms, especially in the presence of background noise. In this paper, we propose a fundamentally novel approach based on artificial neural network (ANN) technology to detect SBEs. Working on clinical data, we show that the proposed method can detect SBE at a sensitivity and specificity exceeding 0.892 and 0.874 respectively, even when the signal is completely buried in background noise (SNR <0 dB). We compare the performance of the proposed technology with those of the existing methods (short-term energy, zero-crossing rates) and illustrate that the proposed method vastly outperforms conventional techniques. (paper)

Analysis of the acoustic sound in MRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wada, Tetsuro; Hara, Akira; Kusakari, Jun; Yoshioka, Hiroshi; Niitsu, Mamoru; Itai, Yuji [Tsukuba Univ., Ibaraki (Japan). Inst. of Clinical Medicine; Ase, Yuji

1999-04-01

The noise level and power spectra of the acoustic sound exposed during the examination of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) using a MRI scanner (Philips Gyroscan 1.5 T) were measured at the position of the human auricle. The overall noise levels on T1-weighted images and T2-weighted images with Spin Echo were 105 dB and 98 dB, respectively. The overall noise level on T2-weighted images with Turbo Spin Echo was 110 dB. Fourier analysis revealed energy peaks ranging from 225 to 325 Hz and a steep high frequency cutoff for each pulse sequence. The MRI noise was not likely to cause permanent threshold shift. However, because of the inter-subject variation in susceptibility to acoustic trauma and to exclude the anxiety in patients, ear protectors were recommended for all patients during MRI testing. (author)

Puget Sound steelhead life cycle model analyses - Population Viability Analysis

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This research was initiated by the Puget Sound Steelhead Technical Recovery Team to develop viability criteria for threatened Puget Sound steelhead and to support...

Swallowing sound detection using hidden markov modeling of recurrence plot features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aboofazeli, Mohammad; Moussavi, Zahra

2009-01-01

Automated detection of swallowing sounds in swallowing and breath sound recordings is of importance for monitoring purposes in which the recording durations are long. This paper presents a novel method for swallowing sound detection using hidden Markov modeling of recurrence plot features. Tracheal sound recordings of 15 healthy and nine dysphagic subjects were studied. The multidimensional state space trajectory of each signal was reconstructed using the Taken method of delays. The sequences of three recurrence plot features of the reconstructed trajectories (which have shown discriminating capability between swallowing and breath sounds) were modeled by three hidden Markov models. The Viterbi algorithm was used for swallowing sound detection. The results were validated manually by inspection of the simultaneously recorded airflow signal and spectrogram of the sounds, and also by auditory means. The experimental results suggested that the performance of the proposed method using hidden Markov modeling of recurrence plot features was superior to the previous swallowing sound detection methods.

Swallowing sound detection using hidden markov modeling of recurrence plot features

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aboofazeli, Mohammad [Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 5V6 (Canada)], E-mail: umaboofa@cc.umanitoba.ca; Moussavi, Zahra [Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 5V6 (Canada)], E-mail: mousavi@ee.umanitoba.ca

2009-01-30

Automated detection of swallowing sounds in swallowing and breath sound recordings is of importance for monitoring purposes in which the recording durations are long. This paper presents a novel method for swallowing sound detection using hidden Markov modeling of recurrence plot features. Tracheal sound recordings of 15 healthy and nine dysphagic subjects were studied. The multidimensional state space trajectory of each signal was reconstructed using the Taken method of delays. The sequences of three recurrence plot features of the reconstructed trajectories (which have shown discriminating capability between swallowing and breath sounds) were modeled by three hidden Markov models. The Viterbi algorithm was used for swallowing sound detection. The results were validated manually by inspection of the simultaneously recorded airflow signal and spectrogram of the sounds, and also by auditory means. The experimental results suggested that the performance of the proposed method using hidden Markov modeling of recurrence plot features was superior to the previous swallowing sound detection methods.

Adaptive sound speed correction for abdominal ultrasonography: preliminary results

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Sungmin; Kang, Jeeun; Song, Tai-Kyung; Yoo, Yangmo

2013-03-01

Ultrasonography has been conducting a critical role in assessing abdominal disorders due to its noninvasive, real-time, low cost, and deep penetrating capabilities. However, for imaging obese patients with a thick fat layer, it is challenging to achieve appropriate image quality with a conventional beamforming (CON) method due to phase aberration caused by the difference between sound speeds (e.g., 1580 and 1450m/s for liver and fat, respectively). For this, various sound speed correction (SSC) methods that estimate the accumulated sound speed for a region-of interest (ROI) have been previously proposed. However, with the SSC methods, the improvement in image quality was limited only for a specific depth of ROI. In this paper, we present the adaptive sound speed correction (ASSC) method, which can enhance the image quality for whole depths by using estimated sound speeds from two different depths in the lower layer. Since these accumulated sound speeds contain the respective contributions of layers, an optimal sound speed for each depth can be estimated by solving contribution equations. To evaluate the proposed method, the phantom study was conducted with pre-beamformed radio-frequency (RF) data acquired with a SonixTouch research package (Ultrasonix Corp., Canada) with linear and convex probes from the gel pad-stacked tissue mimicking phantom (Parker Lab. Inc., USA and Model539, ATS, USA) whose sound speeds are 1610 and 1450m/s, respectively. From the study, compared to the CON and SSC methods, the ASSC method showed the improved spatial resolution and information entropy contrast (IEC) for convex and linear array transducers, respectively. These results indicate that the ASSC method can be applied for enhancing image quality when imaging obese patients in abdominal ultrasonography.

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.

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.

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.

The influence of meaning on the perception of speech sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Kazanina, Nina; Phillips, Colin; Idsardi, William

2006-07-25

As part of knowledge of language, an adult speaker possesses information on which sounds are used in the language and on the distribution of these sounds in a multidimensional acoustic space. However, a speaker must know not only the sound categories of his language but also the functional significance of these categories, in particular, which sound contrasts are relevant for storing words in memory and which sound contrasts are not. Using magnetoencephalographic brain recordings with speakers of Russian and Korean, we demonstrate that a speaker's perceptual space, as reflected in early auditory brain responses, is shaped not only by bottom-up analysis of the distribution of sounds in his language but also by more abstract analysis of the functional significance of those sounds.

Environmental Sound Recognition Using Time-Frequency Intersection Patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuan Guo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental sound recognition is an important function of robots and intelligent computer systems. In this research, we use a multistage perceptron neural network system for environmental sound recognition. The input data is a combination of time-variance pattern of instantaneous powers and frequency-variance pattern with instantaneous spectrum at the power peak, referred to as a time-frequency intersection pattern. Spectra of many environmental sounds change more slowly than those of speech or voice, so the intersectional time-frequency pattern will preserve the major features of environmental sounds but with drastically reduced data requirements. Two experiments were conducted using an original database and an open database created by the RWCP project. The recognition rate for 20 kinds of environmental sounds was 92%. The recognition rate of the new method was about 12% higher than methods using only an instantaneous spectrum. The results are also comparable with HMM-based methods, although those methods need to treat the time variance of an input vector series with more complicated computations.

ENERGY CONSERVATION AND GRAVITY WAVES IN SOUND-PROOF TREATMENTS OF STELLAR INTERIORS. II. LAGRANGIAN CONSTRAINED ANALYSIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasil, Geoffrey M.; Lecoanet, Daniel; Brown, Benjamin P.; Zweibel, Ellen G.; Wood, Toby S.

2013-01-01

The speed of sound greatly exceeds typical flow velocities in many stellar and planetary interiors. To follow the slow evolution of subsonic motions, various sound-proof models attempt to remove fast acoustic waves while retaining stratified convection and buoyancy dynamics. In astrophysics, anelastic models typically receive the most attention in the class of sound-filtered stratified models. Generally, anelastic models remain valid in nearly adiabatically stratified regions like stellar convection zones, but may break down in strongly sub-adiabatic, stably stratified layers common in stellar radiative zones. However, studying stellar rotation, circulation, and dynamos requires understanding the complex coupling between convection and radiative zones, and this requires robust equations valid in both regimes. Here we extend the analysis of equation sets begun in Brown et al., which studied anelastic models, to two types of pseudo-incompressible models. This class of models has received attention in atmospheric applications, and more recently in studies of white-dwarf supernova progenitors. We demonstrate that one model conserves energy but the other does not. We use Lagrangian variational methods to extend the energy conserving model to a general equation of state, and dub the resulting equation set the generalized pseudo-incompressible (GPI) model. We show that the GPI equations suitably capture low-frequency phenomena in both convection and radiative zones in stars and other stratified systems, and we provide recommendations for converting low-Mach number codes to this equation set

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...

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...

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).

Sound transmission loss of composite sandwich panels

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ran

Light composite sandwich panels are increasingly used in automobiles, ships and aircraft, because of the advantages they offer of high strength-to-weight ratios. However, the acoustical properties of these light and stiff structures can be less desirable than those of equivalent metal panels. These undesirable properties can lead to high interior noise levels. A number of researchers have studied the acoustical properties of honeycomb and foam sandwich panels. Not much work, however, has been carried out on foam-filled honeycomb sandwich panels. In this dissertation, governing equations for the forced vibration of asymmetric sandwich panels are developed. An analytical expression for modal densities of symmetric sandwich panels is derived from a sixth-order governing equation. A boundary element analysis model for the sound transmission loss of symmetric sandwich panels is proposed. Measurements of the modal density, total loss factor, radiation loss factor, and sound transmission loss of foam-filled honeycomb sandwich panels with different configurations and thicknesses are presented. Comparisons between the predicted sound transmission loss values obtained from wave impedance analysis, statistical energy analysis, boundary element analysis, and experimental values are presented. The wave impedance analysis model provides accurate predictions of sound transmission loss for the thin foam-filled honeycomb sandwich panels at frequencies above their first resonance frequencies. The predictions from the statistical energy analysis model are in better agreement with the experimental transmission loss values of the sandwich panels when the measured radiation loss factor values near coincidence are used instead of the theoretical values for single-layer panels. The proposed boundary element analysis model provides more accurate predictions of sound transmission loss for the thick foam-filled honeycomb sandwich panels than either the wave impedance analysis model or the

Sound speed in the Mediterranean Sea: an analysis from a climatological data set

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S. Salon

2003-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of sound speed distribution in the Mediterranean Sea based on climatological temperature and salinity data. In the upper layers, propagation is characterised by upward refraction in winter and an acoustic channel in summer. The seasonal cycle of the Mediterranean and the presence of gyres and fronts create a wide range of spatial and temporal variabilities, with relevant differences between the western and eastern basins. It is shown that the analysis of a climatological data set can help in defining regions suitable for successful monitoring by means of acoustic tomography. Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF decomposition on the profiles, performed on the seasonal cycle for some selected areas, demonstrates that two modes account for more than 98% of the variability of the climatological distribution. Reduced order EOF analysis is able to correctly represent sound speed profiles within each zone, thus providing the a priori knowledge for Matched Field Tomography. It is also demonstrated that salinity can affect the tomographic inversion, creating a higher degree of complexity than in the open oceans.Key words. Oceanography: general (marginal and semi-enclosed seas; ocean acoustics

Prediction on the Enhancement of the Impact Sound Insulation to a Floating Floor with Resilient Interlayer

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xianfeng; Meng, Yao; Huang, Riming

2017-10-01

This paper describes a theoretical method for predicting the improvement of the impact sound insulation to a floating floor with the resilient interlayer. Statistical energy analysis (SEA) model, which is skilful in calculating the floor impact sound, is set up for calculating the reduction in impact sound pressure level in downstairs room. The sound transmission paths which include direct path and flanking paths are analyzed to find the dominant one; the factors that affect impact sound reduction for a floating floor are explored. Then, the impact sound level in downstairs room is determined and comparisons between predicted and measured data are conducted. It is indicated that for the impact sound transmission across a floating floor, the flanking path impact sound level contribute tiny influence on overall sound level in downstairs room, and a floating floor with low stiffness interlayer exhibits favorable sound insulation on direct path. The SEA approach applies to the floating floors with resilient interlayers, which are experimentally verified, provides a guidance in sound insulation design.

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.

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.

Unsupervised Feature Learning for Heart Sounds Classification Using Autoencoder

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Wei; Lv, Jiancheng; Liu, Dongbo; Chen, Yao

2018-04-01

Cardiovascular disease seriously threatens the health of many people. It is usually diagnosed during cardiac auscultation, which is a fast and efficient method of cardiovascular disease diagnosis. In recent years, deep learning approach using unsupervised learning has made significant breakthroughs in many fields. However, to our knowledge, deep learning has not yet been used for heart sound classification. In this paper, we first use the average Shannon energy to extract the envelope of the heart sounds, then find the highest point of S1 to extract the cardiac cycle. We convert the time-domain signals of the cardiac cycle into spectrograms and apply principal component analysis whitening to reduce the dimensionality of the spectrogram. Finally, we apply a two-layer autoencoder to extract the features of the spectrogram. The experimental results demonstrate that the features from the autoencoder are suitable for heart sound classification.

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...

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.

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.

Prospettive sonore nell’analisi sensoriale-acustica e nella progettazione del cibo - Sound perspectives in the sensory-acoustic analysis and design of food

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doriana Dal Palù

2015-09-01

Full Text Available L’articolo affronta il complesso tema della progettazione del suono del cibo, ponendo l’aspetto al centro del processo progettuale e considerandolo come un reale requisito di progetto. Sono messe in luce le potenzialità del progettare il suono, ma anche le difficoltà attuali da tenere in considerazione. Si propone l’applicazione di SounBe, una metodologia ed uno strumento brevettati che traggono origine dal mondo della psicoacustica e dell’analisi sensoriale, permettendo di confrontare attraverso una procedura standardizzata suoni di campioni di materiali o di cibi. È riportata una prima applicazione sperimentale e sono discusse le prospettive future nel mondo del cibo. ------ This paper deals with the complex theme of food sound design, focusing this issue at the core of the design process and considering it as a real project requirement. Some opportunities of sound design will be proposed, as well as some criticalities to be always considered. It will propose the application of SounBe, a patented method and tool developed drawing information from psychoacoustics and sensory analysis fields, that allows to compare by a standardized procedure the sounds produced by material samples or foodstuffs. A first experimental application of the method will be presented and, in conclusion, several future perspectives in the world of food will be discussed.

Reconstruction of sound fields with a spherical microphone array

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandez Grande, Efren; Walton, Tim

2014-01-01

waves traveling in any direction. In particular, rigid sphere microphone arrays are robust, and have the favorable property that the scattering introduced by the array can be compensated for - making the array virtually transparent. This study examines a recently proposed sound field reconstruction...... method based on a point source expansion, i.e. equivalent source method, using a rigid spherical array. The study examines the capability of the method to distinguish between sound waves arriving from different directions (i.e., as a sound field separation method). This is representative of the potential...

International Congress on Recent Developments in Air- and Structure-Borne Sound and Vibration, 2nd, Auburn Univ., AL, Mar. 4-6, 1992, Proceedings. Vols. 1-3

Science.gov (United States)

Crocker, Malcolm J. (Editor); Raju, P. K. (Editor)

1992-01-01

The papers presented in this volume cover a variety of topics, including sound intensity, structural intensity, modal analysis and synthesis, statistical energy analysis and energy methods, passive and active damping, and boundary element methods. Attention is also given to diagnostics and condition monitoring, material characterization and nondestructive evaluation, active noise and vibration control, sound radiation and scattering, and finite element analysis.

Optimization of Natural Frequencies and Sound Power of Beams Using Functionally Graded Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nabeel T. Alshabatat

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a design method to optimize the material distribution of functionally graded beams with respect to some vibration and acoustic properties. The change of the material distribution through the beam length alters the stiffness and the mass of the beam. This can be used to alter a specific beam natural frequency. It can also be used to reduce the sound power radiated from the vibrating beam. Two novel volume fraction laws are used to describe the material volume distributions through the length of the FGM beam. The proposed method couples the finite element method (for the modal and harmonic analysis, Lumped Parameter Model (for calculating the power of sound radiation, and an optimization technique based on Genetic Algorithm. As a demonstration of this technique, the optimization procedure is applied to maximize the fundamental frequency of FGM cantilever and clamped beams and to minimize the sound radiation from vibrating clamped FGM beam at a specific frequency.

Scene and character: interdisciplinary analysis of musical and sound symbols for higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep Gustems Carnicer

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyze interdisciplinary and educationally the descriptive aspects of the characters in literature in the world of music (opera, ballet, musical theater, program music, audiovisual, etc. through a wide range of resources and creative processes in various skills that include or encompass the sound. Because of that a literature review and multidisciplinary documentary is done from the most relevant texts and principal authors of the dynamic and stable personality models, from the analysis of vocal features in the scene and in the audiovisuals, from the leitmotiv as a symbol and sound representation of the character, from the the conflicts faced by the characters and how they can overcome them and how we could translated into music those transitions. The subject of myths brought to the world of music scene, character stereotypes and sound symbols that may characterize these scenic and literary content is also addressed. Notably, there is a broad consensus on the use of sound resources to characterize the different characters throughout the history of Western music in its various styles and genres. Furthermore, indications for their use are given and suggestions for activities to higher education suggest.

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

A method for recognition of coexisting environmental sound sources based on the Fisher’s linear discriminant classifier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Creixell Mediante, Ester; Haddad, Karim; Song, Wookeun

2015-01-01

A method for sound recognition of coexisting environmental noise sources by applying pattern recognition techniques is developed. The investigated technique could benefit several areas of application, such as noise impact assessment, acoustic pollution mitigation and soundscape characterization...

Aurally-adequate time-frequency analysis for scattered sound in auditoria

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Molly K.; Xiang, Ning; Kleiner, Mendel

2005-04-01

The goal of this work was to apply an aurally-adequate time-frequency analysis technique to the analysis of sound scattering effects in auditoria. Time-frequency representations were developed as a motivated effort that takes into account binaural hearing, with a specific implementation of interaural cross-correlation process. A model of the human auditory system was implemented in the MATLAB platform based on two previous models [A. Härmä and K. Palomäki, HUTear, Espoo, Finland; and M. A. Akeroyd, A. Binaural Cross-correlogram Toolbox for MATLAB (2001), University of Sussex, Brighton]. These stages include proper frequency selectivity, the conversion of the mechanical motion of the basilar membrane to neural impulses, and binaural hearing effects. The model was then used in the analysis of room impulse responses with varying scattering characteristics. This paper discusses the analysis results using simulated and measured room impulse responses. [Work supported by the Frank H. and Eva B. Buck Foundation.

Sound knowledge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kauffmann, Lene Teglhus

as knowledge based on reflexive practices. I chose ‘health promotion’ as the field for my research as it utilises knowledge produced in several research disciplines, among these both quantitative and qualitative. I mapped out the institutions, actors, events, and documents that constituted the field of health...... of the research is to investigate what is considered to ‘work as evidence’ in health promotion and how the ‘evidence discourse’ influences social practices in policymaking and in research. From investigating knowledge practices in the field of health promotion, I develop the concept of sound knowledge...... result of a rigorous and standardized research method. However, this anthropological analysis shows that evidence and evidence-based is a hegemonic ‘way of knowing’ that sometimes transposes everyday reasoning into an epistemological form. However, the empirical material shows a variety of understandings...

Noise detection in heart sound recordings.

Science.gov (United States)

Zia, Mohammad K; Griffel, Benjamin; Fridman, Vladimir; Saponieri, Cesare; Semmlow, John L

2011-01-01

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Although progression of CAD can be controlled using drugs and diet, it is usually detected in advanced stages when invasive treatment is required. Current methods to detect CAD are invasive and/or costly, hence not suitable as a regular screening tool to detect CAD in early stages. Currently, we are developing a noninvasive and cost-effective system to detect CAD using the acoustic approach. This method identifies sounds generated by turbulent flow through partially narrowed coronary arteries to detect CAD. The limiting factor of this method is sensitivity to noises commonly encountered in the clinical setting. Because the CAD sounds are faint, these noises can easily obscure the CAD sounds and make detection impossible. In this paper, we propose a method to detect and eliminate noise encountered in the clinical setting using a reference channel. We show that our method is effective in detecting noise, which is essential to the success of the acoustic approach.

How should an electric vehicle sound? User and expert perception

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petiot, Jean-François; Kristensen, Bjørn G.; Maier, Anja

2013-01-01

for electric vehicles were investigated in an experimental setting with a total of 40 participants, 34 novice users and six sound experts. Word association was used to elicit emotional reactions to the different sounds. Novice users employ more characterrelated terms to describe the sounds, while experts use...... more composition-based words. Analysis of variance and conjoint analysis was used to analyze participants’ assessments of sounds according to two semantic scales (pleasantness and appropriateness). Considerable inter-individual differences in the ratings of pleasantness and appropriateness indicate...

The Reduction of Vertical Interchannel Crosstalk: The Analysis of Localisation Thresholds for Natural Sound Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rory Wallis

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In subjective listening tests, natural sound sources were presented to subjects as vertically-oriented phantom images from two layers of loudspeakers, ‘height’ and ‘main’. Subjects were required to reduce the amplitude of the height layer until the position of the resultant sound source matched that of the same source presented from the main layer only (the localisation threshold. Delays of 0, 1 and 10 ms were applied to the height layer with respect to the main, with vertical stereophonic and quadraphonic conditions being tested. The results of the study showed that the localisation thresholds obtained were not significantly affected by sound source or presentation method. Instead, the only variable whose effect was significant was interchannel time difference (ICTD. For ICTD of 0 ms, the median threshold was −9.5 dB, which was significantly lower than the −7 dB found for both 1 and 10 ms. The results of the study have implications both for the recording of sound sources for three-dimensional (3D audio reproduction formats and also for the rendering of 3D images.

Maximizing Return From Sound Analysis and Design Practices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bramlette, J.D.

2002-01-01

With today's tightening budgets computer applications must provide ''true'' long-term benefit to the company. Businesses are spending large portions of their budgets ''Re-Engineering'' old systems to take advantage of ''new'' technology. But what they are really getting is simply a new interface implementing the same incomplete or poor defined requirements as before. ''True'' benefit can only be gained if sound analysis and design practices are used. WHAT data and processes are required of a system is not the same as HOW the system will be implemented within a company. It is the System Analyst's responsibility to understand the difference between these two concepts. The paper discusses some simple techniques to be used during the Analysis and Design phases of projects, as well as the information gathered and recorded in each phase and how it is transformed between these phases. The paper also covers production application generated using Oracle Designer. Applying these techniques to ''real world'' problems, the applications will meet the needs for today's business and adapt easily to ever-changing business environments

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.

Visualizing Sound Directivity via Smartphone Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Scott H.; McClain, Robert E.

2018-02-01

When Yang-Hann Kim received the Rossing Prize in Acoustics Education at the 2015 meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, he stressed the importance of offering visual depictions of sound fields when teaching acoustics. Often visualization methods require specialized equipment such as microphone arrays or scanning apparatus. We present a simple method for visualizing angular dependence in sound fields, made possible via the confluence of sensors available via a new smartphone app that the authors have developed.

Exploring the perceived harshness of cello sounds by morphing and synthesis techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozé, Jocelyn; Aramaki, Mitsuko; Kronland-Martinet, Richard; Ystad, Sølvi

2017-03-01

Cello bowing requires a very fine control of the musicians' gestures to ensure the quality of the perceived sound. When the interaction between the bow hair and the string is optimal, the sound is perceived as broad and round. On the other hand, when the gestural control becomes more approximate, the sound quality deteriorates and often becomes harsh, shrill, and quavering. In this study, such a timbre degradation, often described by French cellists as harshness (décharnement), is investigated from both signal and perceptual perspectives. Harsh sounds were obtained from experienced cellists subjected to a postural constraint. A signal approach based on Gabor masks enabled us to capture the main dissimilarities between round and harsh sounds. Two complementary methods perceptually validated these signal features: First, a predictive regression model of the perceived harshness was built from sound continua obtained by a morphing technique. Next, the signal structures identified by the model were validated within a perceptual timbre space, obtained by multidimensional scaling analysis on pairs of synthesized stimuli controlled in harshness. The results revealed that the perceived harshness was due to a combination between a more chaotic harmonic behavior, a formantic emergence, and a weaker attack slope.

Water-Level Analysis for Cumberland Sound, Georgia

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kraus, Nicholas

1997-01-01

.... The channel through St Marys Entrance is maintained at a 50-ft depth through significant dredging that occurred from 1986-1988 Questions arose as to whether this dredging had raised the water level in Cumberland Sound. The U.S...

Generation of sound zones in 2.5 dimensions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Finn; Olsen, Martin; Møller, Martin

2011-01-01

in a certain direction within a certain region of a room and at the same time suppress sound in another region. The method is examined through simulations and experiments. For comparison a simpler method based on the idea of maximising the ratio of the potential acoustic energy in an ensonified zone......Amethod for generating sound zones with different acoustic properties in a room is presented. The method is an extension of the two-dimensional multi-zone sound field synthesis technique recently developed by Wu and Abhayapala; the goal is, for example, to generate a plane wave that propagates...... to the potential acoustic energy in a quiet zone is also examined....

Amplitude modulation of sound from wind turbines under various meteorological conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsson, Conny; Öhlund, Olof

2014-01-01

Wind turbine (WT) sound annoys some people even though the sound levels are relatively low. This could be because of the amplitude modulated "swishing" characteristic of the turbine sound, which is not taken into account by standard procedures for measuring average sound levels. Studies of sound immission from WTs were conducted continually between 19 August 2011 and 19 August 2012 at two sites in Sweden. A method for quantifying the degree and strength of amplitude modulation (AM) is introduced here. The method reveals that AM at the immission points occur under specific meteorological conditions. For WT sound immission, the wind direction and sound speed gradient are crucial for the occurrence of AM. Interference between two or more WTs could probably enhance AM. The mechanisms by which WT sound is amplitude modulated are not fully understood.

Wheeze sound analysis using computer-based techniques: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghulam Nabi, Fizza; Sundaraj, Kenneth; Chee Kiang, Lam; Palaniappan, Rajkumar; Sundaraj, Sebastian

2017-10-31

Wheezes are high pitched continuous respiratory acoustic sounds which are produced as a result of airway obstruction. Computer-based analyses of wheeze signals have been extensively used for parametric analysis, spectral analysis, identification of airway obstruction, feature extraction and diseases or pathology classification. While this area is currently an active field of research, the available literature has not yet been reviewed. This systematic review identified articles describing wheeze analyses using computer-based techniques on the SCOPUS, IEEE Xplore, ACM, PubMed and Springer and Elsevier electronic databases. After a set of selection criteria was applied, 41 articles were selected for detailed analysis. The findings reveal that 1) computerized wheeze analysis can be used for the identification of disease severity level or pathology, 2) further research is required to achieve acceptable rates of identification on the degree of airway obstruction with normal breathing, 3) analysis using combinations of features and on subgroups of the respiratory cycle has provided a pathway to classify various diseases or pathology that stem from airway obstruction.

Analysis of the HVAC system's sound quality using the design of experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Sang Gil; Sim, Hyun Jin; Yoon, Ji Hyun; Jeong, Jae Eun; Choi, Byoung Jae; Oh, Jae Eung

2009-01-01

Human hearing is very sensitive to sound, so a subjective index of sound quality is required. Each situation of sound evaluation is composed of Sound Quality (SQ) metrics. When substituting the level of one frequency band, we could not see the tendency of substitution at the whole frequency band during SQ evaluation. In this study, the Design of Experiments (DOE) is used to analyze noise from an automotive Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. The frequency domain is divided into 12 equal parts, and each level of the domain is given an increase or decrease due to the change in frequency band based on the 'loud' and 'sharp' sound of the SQ analyzed. By using DOE, the number of tests is effectively reduced by the number of experiments, and the main result is a solution at each band. SQ in terms of the 'loud' and 'sharp' sound at each band, the change in band (increase or decrease in sound pressure) or no change in band will have the most effect on the identifiable characteristics of SQ. This will enable us to select the objective frequency band. Through the results obtained, the physical level changes in arbitrary frequency domain sensitivity can be determined

Analysis and Optimal Condition of the Rear-Sound-Aided Control Source in Active Noise Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karel Kreuter

2011-01-01

Full Text Available An active noise control scenario of simple ducts is considered. The previously suggested technique of using an single loudspeaker and its rear sound to cancel the upstream sound is further examined and compared to the bidirectional solution in order to give theoretical proof of its advantage. Firstly, a model with a new approach for taking damping effects into account is derived based on the electrical transmission line theory. By comparison with the old model, the new approach is validated, and occurring differences are discussed. Moreover, a numerical application with the consideration of damping is implemented for confirmation. The influence of the rear sound strength on the feedback-path system is investigated, and the optimal condition is determined. Finally, it is proven that the proposed source has an advantage of an extended phase lag and a time delay in the feedback-path system by both frequency-response analysis and numerical calculation of the time response.

Optimizing sound quality with AACHENHEAD {sup trademark} -technology; Optimierung der Geraeuschqualitaet mit der AACHENHEAD {sup trademark} -Technologie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krohn, C. [HEAD acoustics GmbH (Germany)

1997-08-01

The sound quality of interior and exterior vehicle noise is gaining more and more importance. Not only that modern vehicles show a considerably lower noise level, the characteristic sound of a vehicle influences the buyer`s choice of a car. The acoustic engineer is faced with a complex task. In addition to reducing the noise level he has to make sure that the sound design goes along with the product. This is where aurally-adequate sound diagnosis is needed. Conventional methods, e.g. measuring the noise level or third-octave spectrum, alone cannot solve this specific task. HEAD acoustics offers the full range of aurally-adequate measurement and analysis systems, starting with the Artificial Head Measurement System and making the recorded data available for further analysis with the Binaural Analysis System BAS or the Mobile Sound Quality Laboratory SQlab. This full range of systems helps the acoustic engineer to solve his tasks for improving sound quality in a fast and cost-effective way. (orig.) [Deutsch] Kaum jemand wuerde ein Geraeusch mit verschlossenen Ohren beurteilen. Dennoch ist dies in der Praxis durchaus noch ueblich. Konventionelle Analyseverfahren in der Akustik und Schwingungsmesstechnik verlassen sich ausschliesslich auf den Augenschein. Dieser Aufsatz zeigt neue Wege von HEAD acoustics in diesem Bereich der Messtechnik. (orig.)

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.

Comparison of snoring sounds between natural and drug-induced sleep recorded using a smartphone.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Soo Kweon; Kwon, Soon Bok; Moon, Ji Seung; Lee, Sang Hoon; Lee, Ho Byung; Lee, Sang Jun

2018-08-01

Snoring is an important clinical feature of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and recent studies suggest that the acoustic quality of snoring sounds is markedly different in drug-induced sleep compared with natural sleep. However, considering differences in sound recording methods and analysis parameters, further studies are required. This study explored whether acoustic analysis of drug-induced sleep is useful as a screening test that reflects the characteristics of natural sleep in snoring patients. The snoring sounds of 30 male subjects (mean age=41.8years) were recorded using a smartphone during natural and induced sleep, with the site of vibration noted during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE); then, we compared the sound intensity (dB), formant frequencies, and spectrograms of snoring sounds. Regarding the intensity of snoring sounds, there were minor differences within the retrolingual level obstruction group, but there was no significant difference between natural and induced sleep at either obstruction site. There was no significant difference in the F 1 and F 2 formant frequencies of snoring sounds between natural sleep and induced sleep at either obstruction site. Compared with natural sleep, induced sleep was slightly more irregular, with a stronger intensity on the spectrogram, but the spectrograms showed the same pattern at both obstruction sites. Although further studies are required, the spectrograms and formant frequencies of the snoring sounds of induced sleep did not differ significantly from those of natural sleep, and may be used as a screening test that reflects the characteristics of natural sleep according to the obstruction site. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Method for Extrapolation of Atmospheric Soundings

Science.gov (United States)

2014-05-01

case are not shown here. We also briefly examined data for the Anchorage, AK ( PANC ), radiosonde site for the case of the inversion height equal to...or greater than the extrapolation depth (i.e., hinv ≥ hext). PANC lies at the end of a broad inlet extending northward from the Gulf of Alaska at...type of terrain can affect the model and in turn affect the extrapolation. We examined a sounding from PANC (61.16 N and –150.01 W, elevation of 40

Repeatability and reproducibility of in situ measurements of sound reflection and airborne sound insulation index of noise barriers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garai, M.; Schoen, E.; Behler, G.; Bragado, B.; Chudalla, M.; Conter, M.; Defrance, J.; Demizieux, P.; Glorieux, C.; Guidorzi, P.

2014-01-01

In Europe, in situ measurements of sound reflection and airborne sound insulation of noise barriers are usually done according to CEN/TS 1793-5. This method has been improved substantially during the EU funded QUIESST collaborative project. Within the same framework, an inter-laboratory test has

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.

A study of methods of prediction and measurement of the transmission sound through the walls of light aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Forssen, B.; Wang, Y. S.; Crocker, M. J.

1981-12-01

Several aspects were studied. The SEA theory was used to develop a theoretical model to predict the transmission loss through an aircraft window. This work mainly consisted of the writing of two computer programs. One program predicts the sound transmission through a plexiglass window (the case of a single partition). The other program applies to the case of a plexiglass window window with a window shade added (the case of a double partition with an air gap). The sound transmission through a structure was measured in experimental studies using several different methods in order that the accuracy and complexity of all the methods could be compared. Also, the measurements were conducted on the simple model of a fuselage (a cylindrical shell), on a real aircraft fuselage, and on stiffened panels.

Evolutionary Sound Synthesis Controlled by Gestural Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Fornari

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on the interdisciplinary research involving Computer Music and Generative Visual Art. We describe the implementation of two interactive artistic systems based on principles of Gestural Data (WILSON, 2002 retrieval and self-organization (MORONI, 2003, to control an Evolutionary Sound Synthesis method (ESSynth. The first implementation uses, as gestural data, image mapping of handmade drawings. The second one uses gestural data from dynamic body movements of dance. The resulting computer output is generated by an interactive system implemented in Pure Data (PD. This system uses principles of Evolutionary Computation (EC, which yields the generation of a synthetic adaptive population of sound objects. Considering that music could be seen as “organized sound” the contribution of our study is to develop a system that aims to generate "self-organized sound" – a method that uses evolutionary computation to bridge between gesture, sound and music.

Heart sounds analysis using probability assessment

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Plešinger, Filip; Viščor, Ivo; Halámek, Josef; Jurčo, Juraj; Jurák, Pavel

2017-01-01

Roč. 38, č. 8 (2017), s. 1685-1700 ISSN 0967-3334 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP102/12/2034; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : heart sounds * FFT * machine learning * signal averaging * probability assessment Subject RIV: FS - Medical Facilities ; Equipment OBOR OECD: Medical engineering Impact factor: 2.058, year: 2016

Opo lidar sounding of trace atmospheric gases in the 3 - 4 μm spectral range

Science.gov (United States)

Romanovskii, Oleg A.; Sadovnikov, Sergey A.; Kharchenko, Olga V.; Yakovlev, Semen V.

2018-04-01

The applicability of a KTA crystal-based laser system with optical parametric oscillators (OPO) generation to lidar sounding of the atmosphere in the spectral range 3-4 μm is studied in this work. A technique developed for lidar sounding of trace atmospheric gases (TAG) is based on differential absorption lidar (DIAL) method and differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS). The DIAL-DOAS technique is tested to estimate its efficiency for lidar sounding of atmospheric trace gases. The numerical simulation performed shows that a KTA-based OPO laser is a promising source of radiation for remote DIAL-DOAS sounding of the TAGs under study along surface tropospheric paths. A possibility of using a PD38-03-PR photodiode for the DIAL gas analysis of the atmosphere is shown.

Hydraulic transmissivity determination for the groundwater exploration using vertical electric sounding method in comparison to the traditional methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arshad, M.; Shakoor, A.; Ahmad, M.

2013-01-01

An important aquifer characteristic, transmissivity significantly contributes to the development of local and regional groundwater resources and solute transport management. Estimation of this property allows quantitative prediction of the hydraulic response and solute transport of the aquifer to recharge and pumping. This study presents the three techniques, used to compare transmissivity determination by Vertical Electric Sounding (VES) over the traditional techniques. The validation of VES was compared with the old widely used methods such as grain size distribution and pumping test techniques. Grain size distribution analysis was carried out to determine transmissivity. Pumping test was performed to determine transmissivity using the type curves solution for unconfined aquifer and taking into account the delayed yield. In resistivity imaging survey, the soil layers were detected through interpretation of resistivity data. Formation factor for each layer was determined with the relation of aquifer soil resistivity and ground water resistivity. The estimated transmissivities though grain size distribution, pumping test and resistivity survey were 0.588, 0.578 and 0.756m/sup 2//min, respectively. The results emphasized the potential of the resistivity survey for aquifer transmissivity determination. (author)

A New Method for Rating Hazard from Intense Sounds: Implications for Hearing Protection, Speech Intelligibility, and Situation Awareness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Price, G. R

2005-01-01

The auditory hazard assessment algorithm for the human (AHAAH), developed by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, is theoretically based and has been demonstrated to rate hazard from intense sounds much more accurately than existing methods...

A probability index for surface zonda wind occurrence at Mendoza city through vertical sounding principal components analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Otero, Federico; Norte, Federico; Araneo, Diego

2018-01-01

The aim of this work is to obtain an index for predicting the probability of occurrence of zonda event at surface level from sounding data at Mendoza city, Argentine. To accomplish this goal, surface zonda wind events were previously found with an objective classification method (OCM) only considering the surface station values. Once obtained the dates and the onset time of each event, the prior closest sounding for each event was taken to realize a principal component analysis (PCA) that is used to identify the leading patterns of the vertical structure of the atmosphere previously to a zonda wind event. These components were used to construct the index model. For the PCA an entry matrix of temperature ( T) and dew point temperature (Td) anomalies for the standard levels between 850 and 300 hPa was build. The analysis yielded six significant components with a 94 % of the variance explained and the leading patterns of favorable weather conditions for the development of the phenomenon were obtained. A zonda/non-zonda indicator c can be estimated by a logistic multiple regressions depending on the PCA component loadings, determining a zonda probability index \\widehat{c} calculable from T and Td profiles and it depends on the climatological features of the region. The index showed 74.7 % efficiency. The same analysis was performed by adding surface values of T and Td from Mendoza Aero station increasing the index efficiency to 87.8 %. The results revealed four significantly correlated PCs with a major improvement in differentiating zonda cases and a reducing of the uncertainty interval.

Multimodal method for scattering of sound at a sudden area expansion in a duct with subsonic flow

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooijman, G.; Testud, P.; Aurégan, Y.; Hirschberg, A.

2008-01-01

The scattering of sound at a sudden area expansion in a duct with subsonic mean flow has been modelled with a multimodal method. Technological applications are for instance internal combustion engine exhaust silencers and silencers in industrial duct systems. Both two-dimensional (2D) rectangular

An open access database for the evaluation of heart sound algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chengyu; Springer, David; Li, Qiao; Moody, Benjamin; Juan, Ricardo Abad; Chorro, Francisco J; Castells, Francisco; Roig, José Millet; Silva, Ikaro; Johnson, Alistair E W; Syed, Zeeshan; Schmidt, Samuel E; Papadaniil, Chrysa D; Hadjileontiadis, Leontios; Naseri, Hosein; Moukadem, Ali; Dieterlen, Alain; Brandt, Christian; Tang, Hong; Samieinasab, Maryam; Samieinasab, Mohammad Reza; Sameni, Reza; Mark, Roger G; Clifford, Gari D

2016-12-01

In the past few decades, analysis of heart sound signals (i.e. the phonocardiogram or PCG), especially for automated heart sound segmentation and classification, has been widely studied and has been reported to have the potential value to detect pathology accurately in clinical applications. However, comparative analyses of algorithms in the literature have been hindered by the lack of high-quality, rigorously validated, and standardized open databases of heart sound recordings. This paper describes a public heart sound database, assembled for an international competition, the PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology (CinC) Challenge 2016. The archive comprises nine different heart sound databases sourced from multiple research groups around the world. It includes 2435 heart sound recordings in total collected from 1297 healthy subjects and patients with a variety of conditions, including heart valve disease and coronary artery disease. The recordings were collected from a variety of clinical or nonclinical (such as in-home visits) environments and equipment. The length of recording varied from several seconds to several minutes. This article reports detailed information about the subjects/patients including demographics (number, age, gender), recordings (number, location, state and time length), associated synchronously recorded signals, sampling frequency and sensor type used. We also provide a brief summary of the commonly used heart sound segmentation and classification methods, including open source code provided concurrently for the Challenge. A description of the PhysioNet/CinC Challenge 2016, including the main aims, the training and test sets, the hand corrected annotations for different heart sound states, the scoring mechanism, and associated open source code are provided. In addition, several potential benefits from the public heart sound database are discussed.

Efficient sound barrier calculations with the BEM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juhl, Peter Møller; Cutanda Henriquez, Vicente

2018-01-01

The Boundary Element Method has been used for calculating the effect of introducing sound barriers for some decades. The method has also been used for optimizing the shape of the barrier and in some cases the effects of introducing sound absorption. However, numerical calculations are still quite...... time consuming and inconvenient to use, which is limiting their use for many practical problems. Moreover, measurements are mostly taken in one-third or full octave bands opposed to the numerical computations at specific frequencies, which then has to be conducted using a fine density in frequencies....... This paper addresses some of the challenges and possible solutions for developing BEM into a more efficient tool for sound barrier calculations....

Assessment of sound quality perception in cochlear implant users during music listening.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Alexis T; Jiradejvong, Patpong; Carver, Courtney; Limb, Charles J

2012-04-01

Although cochlear implant (CI) users frequently report deterioration of sound quality when listening to music, few methods exist to quantify these subjective claims. 1) To design a novel research method for quantifying sound quality perception in CI users during music listening; 2) To validate this method by assessing one attribute of music perception, bass frequency perception, which is hypothesized to be relevant to overall musical sound quality perception. Limitations in bass frequency perception contribute to CI-mediated sound quality deteriorations. The proposed method will quantify this deterioration by measuring CI users' impaired ability to make sound quality discriminations among musical stimuli with variable amounts of bass frequency removal. A method commonly used in the audio industry (multiple stimulus with hidden reference and anchor [MUSHRA]) was adapted for CI users, referred to as CI-MUSHRA. CI users and normal hearing controls were presented with 7 sound quality versions of a musical segment: 5 high pass filter cutoff versions (200-, 400-, 600-, 800-, 1000-Hz) with decreasing amounts of bass information, an unaltered version ("hidden reference"), and a highly altered version (1,000-1,200 Hz band pass filter; "anchor"). Participants provided sound quality ratings between 0 (very poor) and 100 (excellent) for each version; ratings reflected differences in perceived sound quality among stimuli. CI users had greater difficulty making overall sound quality discriminations as a function of bass frequency loss than normal hearing controls, as demonstrated by a significantly weaker correlation between bass frequency content and sound quality ratings. In particular, CI users could not perceive sound quality difference among stimuli missing up to 400 Hz of bass frequency information. Bass frequency impairments contribute to sound quality deteriorations during music listening for CI users. CI-MUSHRA provided a systematic and quantitative assessment of this

Variation of the Korotkoff Stethoscope Sounds During Blood Pressure Measurement: Analysis Using a Convolutional Neural Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Fan; He, Peiyu; Liu, Chengyu; Li, Taiyong; Murray, Alan; Zheng, Dingchang

2017-11-01

Korotkoff sounds are known to change their characteristics during blood pressure (BP) measurement, resulting in some uncertainties for systolic and diastolic pressure (SBP and DBP) determinations. The aim of this study was to assess the variation of Korotkoff sounds during BP measurement by examining all stethoscope sounds associated with each heartbeat from above systole to below diastole during linear cuff deflation. Three repeat BP measurements were taken from 140 healthy subjects (age 21 to 73 years; 62 female and 78 male) by a trained observer, giving 420 measurements. During the BP measurements, the cuff pressure and stethoscope signals were simultaneously recorded digitally to a computer for subsequent analysis. Heartbeats were identified from the oscillometric cuff pressure pulses. The presence of each beat was used to create a time window (1 s, 2000 samples) centered on the oscillometric pulse peak for extracting beat-by-beat stethoscope sounds. A time-frequency two-dimensional matrix was obtained for the stethoscope sounds associated with each beat, and all beats between the manually determined SBPs and DBPs were labeled as "Korotkoff." A convolutional neural network was then used to analyze consistency in sound patterns that were associated with Korotkoff sounds. A 10-fold cross-validation strategy was applied to the stethoscope sounds from all 140 subjects, with the data from ten groups of 14 subjects being analyzed separately, allowing consistency to be evaluated between groups. Next, within-subject variation of the Korotkoff sounds analyzed from the three repeats was quantified, separately for each stethoscope sound beat. There was consistency between folds with no significant differences between groups of 14 subjects (P = 0.09 to P = 0.62). Our results showed that 80.7% beats at SBP and 69.5% at DBP were analyzed as Korotkoff sounds, with significant differences between adjacent beats at systole (13.1%, P = 0.001) and diastole (17.4%, P < 0

Shoreline ecology program for Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Part 1: Study design and methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Page, D.S.; Gilfillan, E.S.; Boehm, P.D.; Harner, E.J.

1995-01-01

This paper describes the design and analysis of a large field and laboratory program to assess shoreline recovery in Prince William Sound following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The study was designed so that results could be generalized area-wide (biology, chemistry) or habitat-wide (toxicology) and projected forward in time (chemistry). It made use of the sediment quality triad approach, combining biological, chemical, and toxicological measurements to assess shoreline recovery. Key aspects of the study include the following: coordinated field sampling for chemical, toxicological, and biological studies; stratified random sampling (SRS) as a basis for spatial generalization; periodic sampling to assess trends, including sites with worst-case conditions; analysis of oil-spill effects on hundreds of species; statistical methods based on normal and non-normal theory, consistent with the structure of the data, including generalized linear models and multivariate correspondence analysis. 45 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs

Analysis of sound data streamed over the network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiří Fejfar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we inspect a difference between original sound recording and signal captured after streaming this original recording over a network loaded with a heavy traffic. There are several kinds of failures occurring in the captured recording caused by network congestion. We try to find a method how to evaluate correctness of streamed audio. Usually there are metrics based on a human perception of a signal such as “signal is clear, without audible failures”, “signal is having some failures but it is understandable”, or “signal is inarticulate”. These approaches need to be statistically evaluated on a broad set of respondents, which is time and resource consuming. We try to propose some metrics based on signal properties allowing us to compare the original and captured recording. We use algorithm called Dynamic Time Warping (Müller, 2007 commonly used for time series comparison in this paper. Some other time series exploration approaches can be found in (Fejfar, 2011 and (Fejfar, 2012. The data was acquired in our network laboratory simulating network traffic by downloading files, streaming audio and video simultaneously. Our former experiment inspected Quality of Service (QoS and its impact on failures of received audio data stream. This experiment is focused on the comparison of sound recordings rather than network mechanism.We focus, in this paper, on a real time audio stream such as a telephone call, where it is not possible to stream audio in advance to a “pool”. Instead it is necessary to achieve as small delay as possible (between speaker voice recording and listener voice replay. We are using RTP protocol for streaming audio.

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.

Analysis of chewing sounds for dietary monitoring

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amft, O.D.; Stäger, M.; Lukowicz, P.; Tröster, G.

2005-01-01

The paper reports the results of the first stage of our work on an automatic dietary monitoring system. The work is part of a large European project on using ubiquitous systems to support healthy lifestyle and cardiovascular disease prevention. We demonstrate that sound from the user's mouth can be

Propagation of Sound in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrews, M.R.; Kurn, D.M.; Miesner, H.; Durfee, D.S.; Townsend, C.G.; Inouye, S.; Ketterle, W.

1997-01-01

Sound propagation has been studied in a magnetically trapped dilute Bose-Einstein condensate. Localized excitations were induced by suddenly modifying the trapping potential using the optical dipole force of a focused laser beam. The resulting propagation of sound was observed using a novel technique, rapid sequencing of nondestructive phase-contrast images. The speed of sound was determined as a function of density and found to be consistent with Bogoliubov theory. This method may generally be used to observe high-lying modes and perhaps second sound. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

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.

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....

Puget Sound Area Electric Reliability Plan : Appendix E, Transmission Reinforcement Analysis.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

1992-04-01

The purpose of this appendix to the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) report is to provide an update of the latest study work done on transmission system options for the Puget Sound Area Electric Reliability Plan. Also included in the attachments to the EIS are 2 reports analyzing the voltage stability of the Puget Sound transmission system and a review by Power Technologies, Inc. of the BPA voltage stability analysis and reactive options. Five transmission line options and several reactive options are presently being considered as possible solutions to the PSAFRP by the Transmission Team. The first two line options would be built on new rights-of way adjacent (as much as possible) to existing corridors. The reactive options would optimize the existing transmission system capability by adding new stations for series capacitors and/or switchgear. The other three line options are rebuilds or upgrades of existing cross mountain transmission lines. These options are listed below and include a preliminary assessment of the additional transmission system reinforcement required to integrate the new facilities into the existing transmission system. Plans were designed to provide at least 500 MVAR reactive margin.

Numerical simulation of aerodynamic sound radiated from a two-dimensional airfoil

OpenAIRE

飯田, 明由; 大田黒, 俊夫; 加藤, 千幸; Akiyoshi, Iida; Toshio, Otaguro; Chisachi, Kato; 日立機研; 日立機研; 東大生研; Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi Ltd.; Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi Ltd.; University of Tokyo

2000-01-01

An aerodynamic sound radiated from a two-dimensional airfoil has been computed with the Lighthill-Curle's theory. The predicted sound pressure level is agreement with the measured one. Distribution of vortex sound sources is also estimated based on the correlation between the unsteady vorticity fluctuations and the aerodynamic sound. The distribution of vortex sound source reveals that separated shear layers generate aerodynamic sound. This result is help to understand noise reduction method....

General analytical approach for sound transmission loss analysis through a thick metamaterial plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oudich, Mourad; Zhou, Xiaoming; Badreddine Assouar, M.

2014-01-01

We report theoretically and numerically on the sound transmission loss performance through a thick plate-type acoustic metamaterial made of spring-mass resonators attached to the surface of a homogeneous elastic plate. Two general analytical approaches based on plane wave expansion were developed to calculate both the sound transmission loss through the metamaterial plate (thick and thin) and its band structure. The first one can be applied to thick plate systems to study the sound transmission for any normal or oblique incident sound pressure. The second approach gives the metamaterial dispersion behavior to describe the vibrational motions of the plate, which helps to understand the physics behind sound radiation through air by the structure. Computed results show that high sound transmission loss up to 72 dB at 2 kHz is reached with a thick metamaterial plate while only 23 dB can be obtained for a simple homogeneous plate with the same thickness. Such plate-type acoustic metamaterial can be a very effective solution for high performance sound insulation and structural vibration shielding in the very low-frequency range

General analytical approach for sound transmission loss analysis through a thick metamaterial plate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oudich, Mourad; Zhou, Xiaoming; Badreddine Assouar, M., E-mail: Badreddine.Assouar@univ-lorraine.fr [CNRS, Institut Jean Lamour, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy F-54506 (France); Institut Jean Lamour, University of Lorraine, Boulevard des Aiguillettes, BP: 70239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy (France)

2014-11-21

We report theoretically and numerically on the sound transmission loss performance through a thick plate-type acoustic metamaterial made of spring-mass resonators attached to the surface of a homogeneous elastic plate. Two general analytical approaches based on plane wave expansion were developed to calculate both the sound transmission loss through the metamaterial plate (thick and thin) and its band structure. The first one can be applied to thick plate systems to study the sound transmission for any normal or oblique incident sound pressure. The second approach gives the metamaterial dispersion behavior to describe the vibrational motions of the plate, which helps to understand the physics behind sound radiation through air by the structure. Computed results show that high sound transmission loss up to 72 dB at 2 kHz is reached with a thick metamaterial plate while only 23 dB can be obtained for a simple homogeneous plate with the same thickness. Such plate-type acoustic metamaterial can be a very effective solution for high performance sound insulation and structural vibration shielding in the very low-frequency range.

DESIGN AND ENGINEERING BACKGROUND FOR STATION NETWORKS OF VERTICAL IONOSPHERE SOUNDING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Y. Grishentsev

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with analysis of the network stations structure for ionosphere vertical sounding. Design features and creation principle of the program complexes for automated processing, analysis and storage of ionosphere sounding are considered. Conceptual model of complex database control system is created. The results of work are used in research practice of leading national organizations to study the ionosphere. Obtained application results of suggested algorithms and programs for automated processing and analysis of ionosphere vertical sounding are shown.

Investigation of genesis of gallop sounds in dogs by quantitative phonocardiography and digital frequency analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Aubert, A E; Denys, B G; Meno, F; Reddy, P S

1985-05-01

Several investigators have noted external gallop sounds to be of higher amplitude than their corresponding internal sounds (S3 and S4). In this study we hoped to determine if S3 and S4 are transmitted in the same manner as S1. In 11 closed-chest dogs, external (apical) and left ventricular pressures and sounds were recorded simultaneously with transducers with identical sensitivity and frequency responses. Volume and pressure overload and positive and negative inotropic drugs were used to generate gallop sounds. Recordings were made in the control state and after the various interventions. S3 and S4 were recorded in 17 experiments each. The amplitude of the external S1 was uniformly higher than that of internal S1 and internal gallop sounds were inconspicuous. With use of Fourier transforms, the gain function was determined by comparing internal to external S1. By inverse transform, the amplitude of the internal gallop sounds was predicted from external sounds. The internal sounds of significant amplitude were predicted in many instances, but the actual recordings showed no conspicuous sounds. The absence of internal gallop sounds of expected amplitude as calculated from the external gallop sounds and the gain function derived from the comparison of internal and external S1 make it very unlikely that external gallop sounds are derived from internal sounds.

ANALYSIS OF SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL (SPL AND LAY OUT OF ENGINES IN THE FACTORY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wijianto Wijianto

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Modeling layout of engines in the factory is very useful to know how many dB sound pressure level that are occur in the building in order to avoid hearing damage of employees that are caused by noise. The objective of this research is to know how many dB sound pressure level that are occur in the factory with engine composition such as boiler, diesel, turbine, motor and gear box with dimension of building are 40 m length, 35 m width and 10 m height. With MATLAB analysis can be obtain that the highest SPL is 104.7 dB and the lowest is 93.5 dB, so, this range are dangerous for human hearing. To avoid hearing damage in this area, employees must use hearing protector.

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.

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.

Hemispheric lateralization in an analysis of speech sounds. Left hemisphere dominance replicated in Japanese subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyama, S; Gunji, A; Yabe, H; Oiwa, S; Akahane-Yamada, R; Kakigi, R; Näätänen, R

2000-09-01

Evoked magnetic responses to speech sounds [R. Näätänen, A. Lehtokoski, M. Lennes, M. Cheour, M. Huotilainen, A. Iivonen, M. Vainio, P. Alku, R.J. Ilmoniemi, A. Luuk, J. Allik, J. Sinkkonen and K. Alho, Language-specific phoneme representations revealed by electric and magnetic brain responses. Nature, 385 (1997) 432-434.] were recorded from 13 Japanese subjects (right-handed). Infrequently presented vowels ([o]) among repetitive vowels ([e]) elicited the magnetic counterpart of mismatch negativity, MMNm (Bilateral, nine subjects; Left hemisphere alone, three subjects; Right hemisphere alone, one subject). The estimated source of the MMNm was stronger in the left than in the right auditory cortex. The sources were located posteriorly in the left than in the right auditory cortex. These findings are consistent with the results obtained in Finnish [R. Näätänen, A. Lehtokoski, M. Lennes, M. Cheour, M. Huotilainen, A. Iivonen, M.Vainio, P.Alku, R.J. Ilmoniemi, A. Luuk, J. Allik, J. Sinkkonen and K. Alho, Language-specific phoneme representations revealed by electric and magnetic brain responses. Nature, 385 (1997) 432-434.][T. Rinne, K. Alho, P. Alku, M. Holi, J. Sinkkonen, J. Virtanen, O. Bertrand and R. Näätänen, Analysis of speech sounds is left-hemisphere predominant at 100-150 ms after sound onset. Neuroreport, 10 (1999) 1113-1117.] and English [K. Alho, J.F. Connolly, M. Cheour, A. Lehtokoski, M. Huotilainen, J. Virtanen, R. Aulanko and R.J. Ilmoniemi, Hemispheric lateralization in preattentive processing of speech sounds. Neurosci. Lett., 258 (1998) 9-12.] subjects. Instead of the P1m observed in Finnish [M. Tervaniemi, A. Kujala, K. Alho, J. Virtanen, R.J. Ilmoniemi and R. Näätänen, Functional specialization of the human auditory cortex in processing phonetic and musical sounds: A magnetoencephalographic (MEG) study. Neuroimage, 9 (1999) 330-336.] and English [K. Alho, J. F. Connolly, M. Cheour, A. Lehtokoski, M. Huotilainen, J. Virtanen, R. Aulanko

Sound field separation with cross measurement surfaces.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Mao

Full Text Available With conventional near-field acoustical holography, it is impossible to identify sound pressure when the coherent sound sources are located on the same side of the array. This paper proposes a solution, using cross measurement surfaces to separate the sources based on the equivalent source method. Each equivalent source surface is built in the center of the corresponding original source with a spherical surface. According to the different transfer matrices between equivalent sources and points on holographic surfaces, the weighting of each equivalent source from coherent sources can be obtained. Numerical and experimental studies have been performed to test the method. For the sound pressure including noise after separation in the experiment, the calculation accuracy can be improved by reconstructing the pressure with Tikhonov regularization and the L-curve method. On the whole, a single source can be effectively separated from coherent sources using cross measurement.

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.

New perspectives on mechanisms of sound generation in songbirds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goller, Franz; Larsen, Ole Næsbye

2002-01-01

-tone mechanism similar to human phonation with the labia forming a pneumatic valve. The classical avian model proposed that vibrations of the thin medial tympaniform membranes are the primary sound generating mechanism. As a direct test of these two hypotheses we ablated the medial tympaniform membranes in two......The physical mechanisms of sound generation in the vocal organ, the syrinx, of songbirds have been investigated mostly with indirect methods. Recent direct endoscopic observation identified vibrations of the labia as the principal sound source. This model suggests sound generation in a pulse...... atmosphere) as well as direct (labial vibration during tonal sound) measurements of syringeal vibrations support a vibration-based soundgenerating mechanism even for tonal 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.

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

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.

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.

Environmental Sound Training in Cochlear Implant Users

Science.gov (United States)

Shafiro, Valeriy; Sheft, Stanley; Kuvadia, Sejal; Gygi, Brian

2015-01-01

Purpose: The study investigated the effect of a short computer-based environmental sound training regimen on the perception of environmental sounds and speech in experienced cochlear implant (CI) patients. Method: Fourteen CI patients with the average of 5 years of CI experience participated. The protocol consisted of 2 pretests, 1 week apart,…

Spherical loudspeaker array for local active control of sound.

Science.gov (United States)

Rafaely, Boaz

2009-05-01

Active control of sound has been employed to reduce noise levels around listeners' head using destructive interference from noise-canceling sound sources. Recently, spherical loudspeaker arrays have been studied as multiple-channel sound sources, capable of generating sound fields with high complexity. In this paper, the potential use of a spherical loudspeaker array for local active control of sound is investigated. A theoretical analysis of the primary and secondary sound fields around a spherical sound source reveals that the natural quiet zones for the spherical source have a shell-shape. Using numerical optimization, quiet zones with other shapes are designed, showing potential for quiet zones with extents that are significantly larger than the well-known limit of a tenth of a wavelength for monopole sources. The paper presents several simulation examples showing quiet zones in various configurations.

Visualization of Broadband Sound Sources

OpenAIRE

Sukhanov Dmitry; Erzakova Nadezhda

2016-01-01

In this paper the method of imaging of wideband audio sources based on the 2D microphone array measurements of the sound field at the same time in all the microphones is proposed. Designed microphone array consists of 160 microphones allowing to digitize signals with a frequency of 7200 Hz. Measured signals are processed using the special algorithm that makes it possible to obtain a flat image of wideband sound sources. It is shown experimentally that the visualization is not dependent on the...

Recognition and characterization of unstructured environmental sounds

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Selina

2011-12-01

Environmental sounds are what we hear everyday, or more generally sounds that surround us ambient or background audio. Humans utilize both vision and hearing to respond to their surroundings, a capability still quite limited in machine processing. The first step toward achieving multimodal input applications is the ability to process unstructured audio and recognize audio scenes (or environments). Such ability would have applications in content analysis and mining of multimedia data or improving robustness in context aware applications through multi-modality, such as in assistive robotics, surveillances, or mobile device-based services. The goal of this thesis is on the characterization of unstructured environmental sounds for understanding and predicting the context surrounding of an agent or device. Most research on audio recognition has focused primarily on speech and music. Less attention has been paid to the challenges and opportunities for using audio to characterize unstructured audio. My research focuses on investigating challenging issues in characterizing unstructured environmental audio and to develop novel algorithms for modeling the variations of the environment. The first step in building a recognition system for unstructured auditory environment was to investigate on techniques and audio features for working with such audio data. We begin by performing a study that explore suitable features and the feasibility of designing an automatic environment recognition system using audio information. In my initial investigation to explore the feasibility of designing an automatic environment recognition system using audio information, I have found that traditional recognition and feature extraction for audio were not suitable for environmental sound, as they lack any type of structures, unlike those of speech and music which contain formantic and harmonic structures, thus dispelling the notion that traditional speech and music recognition techniques can simply

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 ...

Sound velocity variation as function of polarization state in Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) Ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Essolaani, W; Farhat, N

2012-01-01

There are several ultrasonic techniques to measure the sound velocity, for example, the pulse-echo method. In such method, the size of transducer used to measure the sound velocity must be in the same order of the sample size. If not, the incompatibility of sizes becomes an error source of the sound velocity measurement. In this work, the Laser Induced Pressure Pulse (LIPP) method is used as ultrasonic method. This method has been very useful for studying the spatial distribution of charges and polarization in dielectrics. We take advantage of the fact that the method allows the sound velocity measurement, to study its variation as function of polarization state in (PZT) ceramics. In a sample with a known thickness e, the sound velocity ν is deduced from the measurement of the transit time T. The sound velocity depends on the elastic constants which in turn they depend on poling conditions. Thus, the variation of the sound velocity is related to the direction and the amplitude of the polarization.

Sound quality assessment of wood for xylophone bars.

Science.gov (United States)

Aramaki, Mitsuko; Baillères, Henri; Brancheriau, Loïc; Kronland-Martinet, Richard; Ystad, Sølvi

2007-04-01

Xylophone sounds produced by striking wooden bars with a mallet are strongly influenced by the mechanical properties of the wood species chosen by the xylophone maker. In this paper, we address the relationship between the sound quality based on the timbre attribute of impacted wooden bars and the physical parameters characterizing wood species. For this, a methodology is proposed that associates an analysis-synthesis process and a perceptual classification test. Sounds generated by impacting 59 wooden bars of different species but with the same geometry were recorded and classified by a renowned instrument maker. The sounds were further digitally processed and adjusted to the same pitch before being once again classified. The processing is based on a physical model ensuring the main characteristics of the wood are preserved during the sound transformation. Statistical analysis of both classifications showed the influence of the pitch in the xylophone maker judgement and pointed out the importance of two timbre descriptors: the frequency-dependent damping and the spectral bandwidth. These descriptors are linked with physical and anatomical characteristics of wood species, providing new clues in the choice of attractive wood species from a musical point of view.

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

Urban Noise and Strategies of Sound Mapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kreutzfeldt, Jacob

2012-01-01

project from the Copenhagen Munincipelity initiated in 2006, as a starting point to discuss the politics of urban sound. It points out an important challenge for the methodology of urban sonic environments: namely that sound as a senso-motoric register may be poorly evaluated through concepts of noise...... practices as a kind of social interaction – a method that may supplement the engineer’s quantitative sound measurements and the landscape architect’s qualitative descriptors this article outlines a few approaches to a theory of acoustic territoriality and suggests alternative ways of mapping, analyzing...

Computer analysis of sound recordings from two Anasazi sites in northwestern New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Loose, Richard

2002-11-01

Sound recordings were made at a natural outdoor amphitheater in Chaco Canyon and in a reconstructed great kiva at Aztec Ruins. Recordings included computer-generated tones and swept sine waves, classical concert flute, Native American flute, conch shell trumpet, and prerecorded music. Recording equipment included analog tape deck, digital minidisk recorder, and direct digital recording to a laptop computer disk. Microphones and geophones were used as transducers. The natural amphitheater lies between the ruins of Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl. It is a semicircular arc in a sandstone cliff measuring 500 ft. wide and 75 ft. high. The radius of the arc was verified with aerial photography, and an acoustic ray trace was generated using cad software. The arc is in an overhanging cliff face and brings distant sounds to a line focus. Along this line, there are unusual acoustic effects at conjugate foci. Time history analysis of recordings from both sites showed that a 60-dB reverb decay lasted from 1.8 to 2.0 s, nearly ideal for public performances of music. Echoes from the amphitheater were perceived to be upshifted in pitch, but this was not seen in FFT analysis. Geophones placed on the floor of the great kiva showed a resonance at 95 Hz.

An approximate inversion method of geoelectrical sounding data using linear and bayesian statistical approaches. Examples of Tritrivakely volcanic lake and Mahitsy area (central part of Madagascar)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ranaivo Nomenjanahary, F.; Rakoto, H.; Ratsimbazafy, J.B.

1994-08-01

This paper is concerned with resistivity sounding measurements performed from single site (vertical sounding) or from several sites (profiles) within a bounded area. The objective is to present an accurate information about the study area and to estimate the likelihood of the produced quantitative models. The achievement of this objective obviously requires quite relevant data and processing methods. It also requires interpretation methods which should take into account the probable effect of an heterogeneous structure. In front of such difficulties, the interpretation of resistivity sounding data inevitably involves the use of inversion methods. We suggest starting the interpretation in simple situation (1-D approximation), and using the rough but correct model obtained as an a-priori model for any more refined interpretation. Related to this point of view, special attention should be paid for the inverse problem applied to the resistivity sounding data. This inverse problem is nonlinear, while linearity inherent in the functional response used to describe the physical experiment. Two different approaches are used to build an approximate but higher dimensional inversion of geoelectrical data: the linear approach and the bayesian statistical approach. Some illustrations of their application in resistivity sounding data acquired at Tritrivakely volcanic lake (single site) and at Mahitsy area (several sites) will be given. (author). 28 refs, 7 figs

The Monte Carlo Simulation Method for System Reliability and Risk Analysis

CERN Document Server

Zio, Enrico

2013-01-01

Monte Carlo simulation is one of the best tools for performing realistic analysis of complex systems as it allows most of the limiting assumptions on system behavior to be relaxed. The Monte Carlo Simulation Method for System Reliability and Risk Analysis comprehensively illustrates the Monte Carlo simulation method and its application to reliability and system engineering. Readers are given a sound understanding of the fundamentals of Monte Carlo sampling and simulation and its application for realistic system modeling.   Whilst many of the topics rely on a high-level understanding of calculus, probability and statistics, simple academic examples will be provided in support to the explanation of the theoretical foundations to facilitate comprehension of the subject matter. Case studies will be introduced to provide the practical value of the most advanced techniques.   This detailed approach makes The Monte Carlo Simulation Method for System Reliability and Risk Analysis a key reference for senior undergra...

Opo lidar sounding of trace atmospheric gases in the 3 – 4 μm spectral range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romanovskii Oleg A.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The applicability of a KTA crystal-based laser system with optical parametric oscillators (OPO generation to lidar sounding of the atmosphere in the spectral range 3–4 μm is studied in this work. A technique developed for lidar sounding of trace atmospheric gases (TAG is based on differential absorption lidar (DIAL method and differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS. The DIAL-DOAS technique is tested to estimate its efficiency for lidar sounding of atmospheric trace gases. The numerical simulation performed shows that a KTA-based OPO laser is a promising source of radiation for remote DIAL-DOAS sounding of the TAGs under study along surface tropospheric paths. A possibility of using a PD38-03-PR photodiode for the DIAL gas analysis of the atmosphere is shown.

Effects of small variations of speed of sound in optoacoustic tomographic imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deán-Ben, X. Luís; Ntziachristos, Vasilis; Razansky, Daniel

2014-01-01

Purpose: Speed of sound difference in the imaged object and surrounding coupling medium may reduce the resolution and overall quality of optoacoustic tomographic reconstructions obtained by assuming a uniform acoustic medium. In this work, the authors investigate the effects of acoustic heterogeneities and discuss potential benefits of accounting for those during the reconstruction procedure. Methods: The time shift of optoacoustic signals in an acoustically heterogeneous medium is studied theoretically by comparing different continuous and discrete wave propagation models. A modification of filtered back-projection reconstruction is subsequently implemented by considering a straight acoustic rays model for ultrasound propagation. The results obtained with this reconstruction procedure are compared numerically and experimentally to those obtained assuming a heuristically fitted uniform speed of sound in both full-view and limited-view optoacoustic tomography scenarios. Results: The theoretical analysis showcases that the errors in the time-of-flight of the signals predicted by considering the straight acoustic rays model tend to be generally small. When using this model for reconstructing simulated data, the resulting images accurately represent the theoretical ones. On the other hand, significant deviations in the location of the absorbing structures are found when using a uniform speed of sound assumption. The experimental results obtained with tissue-mimicking phantoms and a mouse postmortem are found to be consistent with the numerical simulations. Conclusions: Accurate analysis of effects of small speed of sound variations demonstrates that accounting for differences in the speed of sound allows improving optoacoustic reconstruction results in realistic imaging scenarios involving acoustic heterogeneities in tissues and surrounding media

Chaotic dynamics of respiratory sounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahlstrom, C.; Johansson, A.; Hult, P.; Ask, P.

2006-01-01

There is a growing interest in nonlinear analysis of respiratory sounds (RS), but little has been done to justify the use of nonlinear tools on such data. The aim of this paper is to investigate the stationarity, linearity and chaotic dynamics of recorded RS. Two independent data sets from 8 + 8 healthy subjects were recorded and investigated. The first set consisted of lung sounds (LS) recorded with an electronic stethoscope and the other of tracheal sounds (TS) recorded with a contact accelerometer. Recurrence plot analysis revealed that both LS and TS are quasistationary, with the parts corresponding to inspiratory and expiratory flow plateaus being stationary. Surrogate data tests could not provide statistically sufficient evidence regarding the nonlinearity of the data. The null hypothesis could not be rejected in 4 out of 32 LS cases and in 15 out of 32 TS cases. However, the Lyapunov spectra, the correlation dimension (D 2 ) and the Kaplan-Yorke dimension (D KY ) all indicate chaotic behavior. The Lyapunov analysis showed that the sum of the exponents was negative in all cases and that the largest exponent was found to be positive. The results are partly ambiguous, but provide some evidence of chaotic dynamics of RS, both concerning LS and TS. The results motivate continuous use of nonlinear tools for analysing RS data

Chaotic dynamics of respiratory sounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahlstrom, C. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Linkoepings Universitet, IMT/LIU, Universitetssjukhuset, S-58185 Linkoeping (Sweden) and Biomedical Engineering, Orebro University Hospital, S-70185 Orebro (Sweden)]. E-mail: christer@imt.liu.se; Johansson, A. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Linkoepings Universitet, IMT/LIU, Universitetssjukhuset, S-58185 Linkoeping (Sweden); Hult, P. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Linkoepings Universitet, IMT/LIU, Universitetssjukhuset, S-58185 Linkoeping (Sweden); Biomedical Engineering, Orebro University Hospital, S-70185 Orebro (Sweden); Ask, P. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Linkoepings Universitet, IMT/LIU, Universitetssjukhuset, S-58185 Linkoeping (Sweden); Biomedical Engineering, Orebro University Hospital, S-70185 Orebro (Sweden)

2006-09-15

There is a growing interest in nonlinear analysis of respiratory sounds (RS), but little has been done to justify the use of nonlinear tools on such data. The aim of this paper is to investigate the stationarity, linearity and chaotic dynamics of recorded RS. Two independent data sets from 8 + 8 healthy subjects were recorded and investigated. The first set consisted of lung sounds (LS) recorded with an electronic stethoscope and the other of tracheal sounds (TS) recorded with a contact accelerometer. Recurrence plot analysis revealed that both LS and TS are quasistationary, with the parts corresponding to inspiratory and expiratory flow plateaus being stationary. Surrogate data tests could not provide statistically sufficient evidence regarding the nonlinearity of the data. The null hypothesis could not be rejected in 4 out of 32 LS cases and in 15 out of 32 TS cases. However, the Lyapunov spectra, the correlation dimension (D {sub 2}) and the Kaplan-Yorke dimension (D {sub KY}) all indicate chaotic behavior. The Lyapunov analysis showed that the sum of the exponents was negative in all cases and that the largest exponent was found to be positive. The results are partly ambiguous, but provide some evidence of chaotic dynamics of RS, both concerning LS and TS. The results motivate continuous use of nonlinear tools for analysing RS data.

Developing a reference of normal lung sounds in healthy Peruvian children.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellington, Laura E; Emmanouilidou, Dimitra; Elhilali, Mounya; Gilman, Robert H; Tielsch, James M; Chavez, Miguel A; Marin-Concha, Julio; Figueroa, Dante; West, James; Checkley, William

2014-10-01

Lung auscultation has long been a standard of care for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases. Recent advances in electronic auscultation and signal processing have yet to find clinical acceptance; however, computerized lung sound analysis may be ideal for pediatric populations in settings, where skilled healthcare providers are commonly unavailable. We described features of normal lung sounds in young children using a novel signal processing approach to lay a foundation for identifying pathologic respiratory sounds. 186 healthy children with normal pulmonary exams and without respiratory complaints were enrolled at a tertiary care hospital in Lima, Peru. Lung sounds were recorded at eight thoracic sites using a digital stethoscope. 151 (81%) of the recordings were eligible for further analysis. Heavy-crying segments were automatically rejected and features extracted from spectral and temporal signal representations contributed to profiling of lung sounds. Mean age, height, and weight among study participants were 2.2 years (SD 1.4), 84.7 cm (SD 13.2), and 12.0 kg (SD 3.6), respectively; and, 47% were boys. We identified ten distinct spectral and spectro-temporal signal parameters and most demonstrated linear relationships with age, height, and weight, while no differences with genders were noted. Older children had a faster decaying spectrum than younger ones. Features like spectral peak width, lower-frequency Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, and spectro-temporal modulations also showed variations with recording site. Lung sound extracted features varied significantly with child characteristics and lung site. A comparison with adult studies revealed differences in the extracted features for children. While sound-reduction techniques will improve analysis, we offer a novel, reproducible tool for sound analysis in real-world environments.

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.

Sound Power Minimization of Circular Plates Through Damping Layer Placement

Science.gov (United States)

Wodtke, H.-W.; Lamancusa, J. S.

1998-09-01

Damping layers, widely used for noise and vibration control of thin-walled structures, can be designed to provide an optimal trade-off between performance and weight which is of particular importance in the automotive and aircraft industry. The goal of the presented work is the minimization of sound power radiated from plates under broadband excitation by redistribution of unconstrained damping layers. The total radiated sound power is assumed to be represented by the sound power radiated at the structural resonances. Resonance tracking is performed by means of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF)-approximations based on near-resonance responses and their frequency derivatives. Axisymmetric vibrations of circular plates under several boundary and forcing conditions are considered. Frequency dependent Young's modulus and loss factor of the damping material are taken into account. Vibration analysis is based on the finite element method (FEM) while acoustic radiation is treated by means of Rayleigh's integral formula. It is shown that, starting from a uniform damping layer distribution, substantial reduction in radiated sound power can be achieved through redistribution of the damping layers. Depending on the given situation, these reductions are not only due to amplitude reductions but also to changes in vibration shapes and frequencies.

[Study of biometric identification of heart sound base on Mel-Frequency cepstrum coefficient].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Zhao, Yihua; Lei, Sheng; Zhao, Zikai; Pan, Min

2012-12-01

Heart sound is a physiological parameter with individual characteristics generated by heart beat. To do the individual classification and recognition, in this paper, we present our study of using wavelet transform in the signal denoising, with the Mel-Frequency cepstrum coefficients (MFCC) as the feature parameters, and propose a research of reducing the dimensionality through principal components analysis (PCA). We have done the preliminary study to test the feasibility of biometric identification method using heart sound. The results showed that under the selected experimental conditions, the system could reach a 90% recognition rate. This study can provide a reference for further research.

A neurally inspired musical instrument classification system based upon the sound onset.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Michael J; Smith, Leslie S

2012-06-01

Physiological evidence suggests that sound onset detection in the auditory system may be performed by specialized neurons as early as the cochlear nucleus. Psychoacoustic evidence shows that the sound onset can be important for the recognition of musical sounds. Here the sound onset is used in isolation to form tone descriptors for a musical instrument classification task. The task involves 2085 isolated musical tones from the McGill dataset across five instrument categories. A neurally inspired tone descriptor is created using a model of the auditory system's response to sound onset. A gammatone filterbank and spiking onset detectors, built from dynamic synapses and leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, create parallel spike trains that emphasize the sound onset. These are coded as a descriptor called the onset fingerprint. Classification uses a time-domain neural network, the echo state network. Reference strategies, based upon mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, evaluated either over the whole tone or only during the sound onset, provide context to the method. Classification success rates for the neurally-inspired method are around 75%. The cepstral methods perform between 73% and 76%. Further testing with tones from the Iowa MIS collection shows that the neurally inspired method is considerably more robust when tested with data from an unrelated dataset.

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…

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.)

A wavenumber approach to quantifying the isotropy of the sound field in reverberant spaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nolan, Melanie; Fernandez Grande, Efren; Brunskog, Jonas

2018-01-01

This study proposes an experimental method for evaluating isotropy in enclosures, based on an analysis of the wavenumber spectrum in the spherical harmonics domain. The wavenumber spectrum, which results from expanding an arbitrary sound field into a plane-wave basis, is used to characterize the ...

Sound pressure level tools design used in occupational health by means of Labview software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhad Forouharmajd

2015-01-01

Conclusion: LabVIEW programming capabilities in the field of sound can be referred to the measurement of sound, frequency analysis, and sound control that actually the software acts like a sound level meter and sound analyzer. According to the mentioned features, we can use this software to analyze and process sound and vibration as a monitoring system.

Design of Wearable Breathing Sound Monitoring System for Real-Time Wheeze Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shih-Hong Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the clinic, the wheezing sound is usually considered as an indicator symptom to reflect the degree of airway obstruction. The auscultation approach is the most common way to diagnose wheezing sounds, but it subjectively depends on the experience of the physician. Several previous studies attempted to extract the features of breathing sounds to detect wheezing sounds automatically. However, there is still a lack of suitable monitoring systems for real-time wheeze detection in daily life. In this study, a wearable and wireless breathing sound monitoring system for real-time wheeze detection was proposed. Moreover, a breathing sounds analysis algorithm was designed to continuously extract and analyze the features of breathing sounds to provide the objectively quantitative information of breathing sounds to professional physicians. Here, normalized spectral integration (NSI was also designed and applied in wheeze detection. The proposed algorithm required only short-term data of breathing sounds and lower computational complexity to perform real-time wheeze detection, and is suitable to be implemented in a commercial portable device, which contains relatively low computing power and memory. From the experimental results, the proposed system could provide good performance on wheeze detection exactly and might be a useful assisting tool for analysis of breathing sounds in clinical diagnosis.

Performance of an open-source heart sound segmentation algorithm on eight independent databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chengyu; Springer, David; Clifford, Gari D

2017-08-01

Heart sound segmentation is a prerequisite step for the automatic analysis of heart sound signals, facilitating the subsequent identification and classification of pathological events. Recently, hidden Markov model-based algorithms have received increased interest due to their robustness in processing noisy recordings. In this study we aim to evaluate the performance of the recently published logistic regression based hidden semi-Markov model (HSMM) heart sound segmentation method, by using a wider variety of independently acquired data of varying quality. Firstly, we constructed a systematic evaluation scheme based on a new collection of heart sound databases, which we assembled for the PhysioNet/CinC Challenge 2016. This collection includes a total of more than 120 000 s of heart sounds recorded from 1297 subjects (including both healthy subjects and cardiovascular patients) and comprises eight independent heart sound databases sourced from multiple independent research groups around the world. Then, the HSMM-based segmentation method was evaluated using the assembled eight databases. The common evaluation metrics of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, as well as the [Formula: see text] measure were used. In addition, the effect of varying the tolerance window for determining a correct segmentation was evaluated. The results confirm the high accuracy of the HSMM-based algorithm on a separate test dataset comprised of 102 306 heart sounds. An average [Formula: see text] score of 98.5% for segmenting S1 and systole intervals and 97.2% for segmenting S2 and diastole intervals were observed. The [Formula: see text] score was shown to increases with an increases in the tolerance window size, as expected. The high segmentation accuracy of the HSMM-based algorithm on a large database confirmed the algorithm's effectiveness. The described evaluation framework, combined with the largest collection of open access heart sound data, provides essential resources for

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...

Ultrasound sounding in air by fast-moving receiver

Science.gov (United States)

Sukhanov, D.; Erzakova, N.

2018-05-01

A method of ultrasound imaging in the air for a fast receiver. The case, when the speed of movement of the receiver can not be neglected with respect to the speed of sound. In this case, the Doppler effect is significant, making it difficult for matched filtering of the backscattered signal. The proposed method does not use a continuous repetitive noise-sounding signal. generalized approach applies spatial matched filtering in the time domain to recover the ultrasonic tomographic images.

A review of research progress in air-to-water sound transmission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Zhao-Hui; Zhang Ling-Shan

2016-01-01

International and domestic research progress in theory and experiment and applications of the air-to-water sound transmission are presented in this paper. Four classical numerical methods of calculating the underwater sound field generated by an airborne source, i.e., the ray theory, the wave solution, the normal-mode theory and the wavenumber integration approach, are introduced. Effects of two special conditions, i.e., the moving airborne source or medium and the rough air-water interface, on the air-to-water sound transmission are reviewed. In experimental studies, the depth and range distributions of the underwater sound field created by different kinds of airborne sources in near-field and far-field, the longitudinal horizontal correlation of underwater sound field and application methods for inverse problems are reviewed. (special topic)

Noise detection during heart sound recording using periodicity signatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, D; Carvalho, P; Paiva, R P; Henriques, J; Antunes, M

2011-01-01

Heart sound is a valuable biosignal for diagnosis of a large set of cardiac diseases. Ambient and physiological noise interference is one of the most usual and highly probable incidents during heart sound acquisition. It tends to change the morphological characteristics of heart sound that may carry important information for heart disease diagnosis. In this paper, we propose a new method applicable in real time to detect ambient and internal body noises manifested in heart sound during acquisition. The algorithm is developed on the basis of the periodic nature of heart sounds and physiologically inspired criteria. A small segment of uncontaminated heart sound exhibiting periodicity in time as well as in the time-frequency domain is first detected and applied as a reference signal in discriminating noise from the sound. The proposed technique has been tested with a database of heart sounds collected from 71 subjects with several types of heart disease inducing several noises during recording. The achieved average sensitivity and specificity are 95.88% and 97.56%, respectively

Cardiovascular Sound and the Stethoscope, 1816 to 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Segall, Harold N.

1963-01-01

Cardiovascular sound escaped attention until Laennec invented and demonstrated the usefulness of the stethoscope. Accuracy of diagnosis using cardiovascular sounds as clues increased with improvement in knowledge of the physiology of circulation. Nearly all currently acceptable clinicopathological correlations were established by physicians who used the simplest of stethoscopes or listened with the bare ear. Certain refinements followed the use of modern methods which afford greater precision in timing cardiovascular sounds. These methods contribute to educating the human ear, so that those advantages may be applied which accrue from auscultation, plus the method of writing quantitative symbols to describe what is heard, by focusing the sense of hearing on each segment of the cardiac cycle in turn. By the year 2016, electronic systems of collecting and analyzing data about the cardiovascular system may render the stethoscope obsolete. ImagesFig. 1Fig. 2Fig. 3Fig. 5Fig. 8 PMID:13987676

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.

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....

Breeding soundness evaluation of bulls by semen analysis, testicular fine needle aspiration cytology and trans-scrotal ultrasonography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chapwanya A

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of trans-scrotal ultrasonography and testicular fine needle aspiration cytology in assessing bulls for breeding suitability. These two techniques were also compared with semen analysis. Bulls presented for breeding soundness evaluation were assessed using all three techniques. The findings of each technique were compared. There was agreement in classification of fertile bulls using all three techniques, suggesting that the combined use of these techniques enhances routine breeding soundness examination. Use of the three techniques also enhances detailed investigation of suspected sub-fertile bulls while accurately identifying testicular cause(s of sire sub-fertility.

Evaluation of 3D Positioned Sound in Multimodal Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Anders Kalsgaard

present but interacts with the other meeting members using different virtual reality technologies. The thesis also dealt with a 3D sound system in trucks. it was investigated if 3D-sound could be used to give the truck driver an audible and lifelike experience of the cyclists’ position, in relation......This Ph.D. study has dealt with different binaural methods for implementing 3D sound in selected multimodal applications, with the purpose of evaluating the feasibility of using 3D sound in these applications. The thesis dealt with a teleconference application in which one person is not physically...

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.

Measurement of sound velocity profiles in fluids for process monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolf, M; Kühnicke, E; Lenz, M; Bock, M

2012-01-01

In ultrasonic measurements, the time of flight to the object interface is often the only information that is analysed. Conventionally it is only possible to determine distances or sound velocities if the other value is known. The current paper deals with a novel method to measure the sound propagation path length and the sound velocity in media with moving scattering particles simultaneously. Since the focal position also depends on sound velocity, it can be used as a second parameter. Via calibration curves it is possible to determine the focal position and sound velocity from the measured time of flight to the focus, which is correlated to the maximum of averaged echo signal amplitude. To move focal position along the acoustic axis, an annular array is used. This allows measuring sound velocity locally resolved without any previous knowledge of the acoustic media and without a reference reflector. In previous publications the functional efficiency of this method was shown for media with constant velocities. In this work the accuracy of these measurements is improved. Furthermore first measurements and simulations are introduced for non-homogeneous media. Therefore an experimental set-up was created to generate a linear temperature gradient, which also causes a gradient of sound velocity.

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...

Exposure to classroom sound pressure level among dance teachers in Porto Alegre (RS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nehring, Cristiane

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Dance teachers are exposed to high sound intensities. Aim: To verify the sound intensity of music used by dance teachers during classes. Method: This was a transversal and prospective study. Dance teachers were evaluated with a sociodemographic questionnaire, and sound intensity level measurements were taken at the beginning, middle, and end of dance classes. Results: The sample comprised 35 teachers (average age, 31.8 years. The duration of their career as dance teachers was 1-37 years; they worked daily for approximately 1-10 h. Among the classes followed, there were 15 (42.85% classical ballet classes, 4 (11.42% tap dancing lessons, 5 (14.28% jazz dance classes, 2 (5.71 Arab dance lessons, 6 (17.14% street dance classes, and 3 (8.57% ballroom dancing lessons. The average values observed at the beginning, middle, and end of the classes were 80.91 dB (A, 83.22 dB (A, and 85.19 dB (A, respectively. The music played in the street dance classes exposed teachers to the highest sound intensity. Conclusion: The average level of sound intensity of the dance classes in this study was either below or equal to the limit considered harmful for hearing health. Analysis of different class types showed that the sound densities of street, ballroom, and tap dance classes were above the recommended limits.

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.

Analysis of sound absorption performance of an electroacoustic absorber using a vented enclosure

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Youngeun; Wang, Semyung; Hyun, Jaeyub; Oh, Seungjae; Goo, Seongyeol

2018-03-01

The sound absorption performance of an electroacoustic absorber (EA) is primarily influenced by the dynamic characteristics of the loudspeaker that acts as the actuator of the EA system. Therefore, the sound absorption performance of the EA is maximum at the resonance frequency of the loudspeaker and tends to degrade in the low-frequency and high-frequency bands based on this resonance frequency. In this study, to adjust the sound absorption performance of the EA system in the low-frequency band of approximately 20-80 Hz, an EA system using a vented enclosure that has previously been used to enhance the radiating sound pressure of a loudspeaker in the low-frequency band, is proposed. To verify the usefulness of the proposed system, two acoustic environments are considered. In the first acoustic environment, the vent of the vented enclosure is connected to an external sound field that is distinct from the sound field coupled to the EA. In this case, the acoustic effect of the vented enclosure on the performance of the EA is analyzed through an analytical approach using dynamic equations and an impedance-based equivalent circuit. Then, it is verified through numerical and experimental approaches. Next, in the second acoustic environment, the vent is connected to the same external sound field as the EA. In this case, the effect of the vented enclosure on the EA is investigated through an analytical approach and finally verified through a numerical approach. As a result, it is confirmed that the characteristics of the sound absorption performances of the proposed EA system using the vented enclosure in the two acoustic environments considered in this study are different from each other in the low-frequency band of approximately 20-80 Hz. Furthermore, several case studies on the change tendency of the performance of the EA using the vented enclosure according to the critical design factors or vent number for the vented enclosure are also investigated. In the future

A system for heart sounds classification.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grzegorz Redlarski

Full Text Available The future of quick and efficient disease diagnosis lays in the development of reliable non-invasive methods. As for the cardiac diseases - one of the major causes of death around the globe - a concept of an electronic stethoscope equipped with an automatic heart tone identification system appears to be the best solution. Thanks to the advancement in technology, the quality of phonocardiography signals is no longer an issue. However, appropriate algorithms for auto-diagnosis systems of heart diseases that could be capable of distinguishing most of known pathological states have not been yet developed. The main issue is non-stationary character of phonocardiography signals as well as a wide range of distinguishable pathological heart sounds. In this paper a new heart sound classification technique, which might find use in medical diagnostic systems, is presented. It is shown that by combining Linear Predictive Coding coefficients, used for future extraction, with a classifier built upon combining Support Vector Machine and Modified Cuckoo Search algorithm, an improvement in performance of the diagnostic system, in terms of accuracy, complexity and range of distinguishable heart sounds, can be made. The developed system achieved accuracy above 93% for all considered cases including simultaneous identification of twelve different heart sound classes. The respective system is compared with four different major classification methods, proving its reliability.

Cascaded Amplitude Modulations in Sound Texture Perception

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Richard McWalter

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Sound textures, such as crackling fire or chirping crickets, represent a broad class of sounds defined by their homogeneous temporal structure. It has been suggested that the perception of texture is mediated by time-averaged summary statistics measured from early auditory representations. In this study, we investigated the perception of sound textures that contain rhythmic structure, specifically second-order amplitude modulations that arise from the interaction of different modulation rates, previously described as “beating” in the envelope-frequency domain. We developed an auditory texture model that utilizes a cascade of modulation filterbanks that capture the structure of simple rhythmic patterns. The model was examined in a series of psychophysical listening experiments using synthetic sound textures—stimuli generated using time-averaged statistics measured from real-world textures. In a texture identification task, our results indicated that second-order amplitude modulation sensitivity enhanced recognition. Next, we examined the contribution of the second-order modulation analysis in a preference task, where the proposed auditory texture model was preferred over a range of model deviants that lacked second-order modulation rate sensitivity. Lastly, the discriminability of textures that included second-order amplitude modulations appeared to be perceived using a time-averaging process. Overall, our results demonstrate that the inclusion of second-order modulation analysis generates improvements in the perceived quality of synthetic textures compared to the first-order modulation analysis considered in previous approaches.

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.

Hypersensitivity to sound in tinnitus patients: an analysis of a construct based on questionnaire and audiological data.

Science.gov (United States)

Bläsing, Lena; Goebel, Gerhard; Flötzinger, Uta; Berthold, Anke; Kröner-Herwig, Birgit

2010-07-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse the Questionnaire on Hypersensitivity to Sound (GUF; Nelting & Finlayson, 2004 ) and to improve its validity based on the analysis of intercorrelations (single item level) with other methods of assessing hyperacusis (uncomfortable loudness level, individual loudness function, self-rated severity of hyperacusis). Subjects consisted of 91 inpatients with tinnitus and hyperacusis. The GUF showed a good reliability (alpha = .92). The factorial structure of the questionnaire reported by Nelting et al (2002) was not completely supported by the evidence in this study. The total score and the single items showed small to moderate correlations with the other modes of measuring hyperacusis. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity were found, but overall the results corroborate the conceptual heterogeneity of the construct hyperacusis and its dependency on the assessment method. Four items of the GUF with particularly low correlations were excluded from the questionnaire. The revised GUF total score showed slightly but not statistically significant higher convergent and discriminant validity.

Sound in Ergonomics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jebreil Seraji

1999-03-01

Full Text Available The word of “Ergonomics “is composed of two separate parts: “Ergo” and” Nomos” and means the Human Factors Engineering. Indeed, Ergonomics (or human factors is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. It has applied different sciences such as Anatomy and physiology, anthropometry, engineering, psychology, biophysics and biochemistry from different ergonomics purposes. Sound when is referred as noise pollution can affect such balance in human life. The industrial noise caused by factories, traffic jam, media, and modern human activity can affect the health of the society.Here we are aimed at discussing sound from an ergonomic point of view.

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.

Application of subharmonics for active sound design of electric vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Gwak, Doo Young; Yoon, Kiseop; Seong, Yeolwan; Lee, Soogab

2014-12-01

The powertrain of electric vehicles generates an unfamiliar acoustical environment for customers. This paper seeks optimal interior sound for electric vehicles based on psychoacoustic knowledge and musical harmonic theory. The concept of inserting a virtual sound, which consists of the subharmonics of an existing high-frequency component, is suggested to improve sound quality. Subjective evaluation results indicate that the impression of interior sound can be enhanced in this manner. Increased appeal is achieved through two designed stimuli, which proves the effectiveness of the method proposed.

Multi-point accelerometric detection and principal component analysis of heart sounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Panfilis, S; Peccianti, M; Chiru, O M; Moroni, C; Vashkevich, V; Parisi, G; Cassone, R

2013-01-01

Heart sounds are a fundamental physiological variable that provide a unique insight into cardiac semiotics. However a deterministic and unambiguous association between noises in cardiac dynamics is far from being accomplished yet due to many and different overlapping events which contribute to the acoustic emission. The current computer-based capacities in terms of signal detection and processing allow one to move from the standard cardiac auscultation, even in its improved forms like electronic stethoscopes or hi-tech phonocardiography, to the extraction of information on the cardiac activity previously unexplored. In this report, we present a new equipment for the detection of heart sounds, based on a set of accelerometric sensors placed in contact with the chest skin on the precordial area, and are able to measure simultaneously the vibration induced on the chest surface by the heart's mechanical activity. By utilizing advanced algorithms for the data treatment, such as wavelet decomposition and principal component analysis, we are able to condense the spatially extended acoustic information and to provide a synthetical representation of the heart activity. We applied our approach to 30 adults, mixed per gender, age and healthiness, and correlated our results with standard echocardiographic examinations. We obtained a 93% concordance rate with echocardiography between healthy and unhealthy hearts, including minor abnormalities such as mitral valve prolapse. (fast track communication)

Aerodynamic study of sounding rocket flows using Chimera and patched multiblock meshes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Alves de Oliveira Neto

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Aerodynamic flow simulations over a typical sounding rocket are presented in this paper. The work is inserted in the effort of developing computational tools necessary to simulate aerodynamic flows over configurations of interest for Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço of Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial. Sounding rocket configurations usually require fairly large fins and, quite frequently, have more than one set of fins. In order to be able to handle such configurations, the present paper presents a novel methodology which combines both Chimera and patched multiblock grids in the discretization of the computational domain. The flows of interest are modeled using the 3-D Euler equations and the work describes the details of discretization procedure, which uses a finite difference approach for structure, body-conforming, multiblock grids. The method is used to calculate the aerodynamics of a sounding rocket vehicle. The results indicate that the present approach can be a powerful aerodynamic analysis and design tool.

Interpretation of electromagnetic Sampo monitoring soundings of Olkiluoto

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korhonen, K.

2010-04-01

The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) has carried out electromagnetic Sampo soundings at Olkiluoto annually since 2004 commissioned by Posiva. The soundings have been carried out at the same measurement stations every year. The goal of the soundings is to detect any changes in the electrical conditions of the bedrock surrounding the ONKALO underground research facility. This study aims to detect possible changes in the groundwater conditions using modelling. The sensitivity of the Sampo method to changes in the electrical properties and the level of groundwater were investigated as part of this study. The results of the sensitivity investigation indicate that the Sampo method is capable of detecting changes occurring even quite deep in the bedrock. Thus, the usage of the Sampo method to monitor the groundwater conditions is warranted. The plots of apparent resistivity as a function of depth indicate that the area directly above the ONKALO facility is very disturbed electromagnetically. However, most of the soundings to the east and west of ONKALO are of better quality and were interpreted. The results indicate possible changes in the groundwater conditions. The level of saline groundwater may be sinking in the eastern part while it may be rising on the western part. (orig.)

A High Resolution Hydrodynamic Model of Puget Sound to Support Nearshore Restoration Feasibility Analysis and Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khangaonkar, Tarang; Yang, Zhaoqing

2011-01-01

Estuarine and coastal hydrodynamic processes are sometimes neglected in the design and planning of nearshore restoration actions. Despite best intentions, efforts to restore nearshore habitats can result in poor outcomes if circulation and transport which also affect freshwater-saltwater interactions are not properly addressed. Limitations due to current land use can lead to selection of sub-optimal restoration alternatives that may result in undesirable consequences, such as flooding, deterioration of water quality, and erosion, requiring immediate remedies and costly repairs. Uncertainty with achieving restoration goals, such as recovery of tidal exchange, supply of sediment and nutrients, and establishment of fish migration pathways, may be minimized by using numerical models designed for application to the nearshore environment. A high resolution circulation and transport model of the Puget Sound, in the state of Washington, was developed to assist with nearshore habitat restoration design and analysis, and to answer the question 'can we achieve beneficial restoration outcomes at small local scale, as well as at a large estuary-wide scale?' The Puget Sound model is based on an unstructured grid framework to define the complex Puget Sound shoreline using a finite volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM). The capability of the model for simulating the important nearshore processes, such as circulation in complex multiple tidal channels, wetting and drying of tide flats, and water quality and sediment transport as part of restoration feasibility, are illustrated through examples of restoration projects in Puget Sound.

Sound insulation and energy harvesting based on acoustic metamaterial plate

Science.gov (United States)

Assouar, Badreddine; Oudich, Mourad; Zhou, Xiaoming

2015-03-01

The emergence of artificially designed sub-wavelength acoustic materials, denoted acoustic metamaterials (AMM), has significantly broadened the range of materials responses found in nature. These engineered materials can indeed manipulate sound/vibration in surprising ways, which include vibration/sound insulation, focusing, cloaking, acoustic energy harvesting …. In this work, we report both on the analysis of the airborne sound transmission loss (STL) through a thin metamaterial plate and on the possibility of acoustic energy harvesting. We first provide a theoretical study of the airborne STL and confronted them to the structure-borne dispersion of a metamaterial plate. Second, we propose to investigate the acoustic energy harvesting capability of the plate-type AMM. We have developed semi-analytical and numerical methods to investigate the STL performances of a plate-type AMM with an airborne sound excitation having different incident angles. The AMM is made of silicone rubber stubs squarely arranged in a thin aluminum plate, and the STL is calculated at low-frequency range [100Hz to 3kHz] for an incoming incident sound pressure wave. The obtained analytical and numerical STL present a very good agreement confirming the reliability of developed approaches. A comparison between computed STL and the band structure of the considered AMM shows an excellent agreement and gives a physical understanding of the observed behavior. On another hand, the acoustic energy confinement in AMM with created defects with suitable geometry was investigated. The first results give a general view for assessing the acoustic energy harvesting performances making use of AMM.

Inverse problem of radiofrequency sounding of ionosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Velichko, E. N.; Yu. Grishentsev, A.; Korobeynikov, A. G.

2016-01-01

An algorithm for the solution of the inverse problem of vertical ionosphere sounding and a mathematical model of noise filtering are presented. An automated system for processing and analysis of spectrograms of vertical ionosphere sounding based on our algorithm is described. It is shown that the algorithm we suggest has a rather high efficiency. This is supported by the data obtained at the ionospheric stations of the so-called “AIS-M” type.

Locating and classification of structure-borne sound occurrence using wavelet transformation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winterstein, Martin; Thurnreiter, Martina

2011-01-01

For the surveillance of nuclear facilities with respect to detached or loose parts within the pressure boundary structure-borne sound detector systems are used. The impact of loose parts on the wall causes energy transfer to the wall that is measured a so called singular sound event. The run-time differences of sound signals allow a rough locating of the loose part. The authors performed a finite element based simulation of structure-borne sound measurements using real geometries. New knowledge on sound wave propagation, signal analysis and processing, neuronal networks or hidden Markov models were considered. Using the wavelet transformation it is possible to improve the localization of structure-borne sound events.

Spatial aspects of sound quality - and by multichannel systems subjective assessment of sound reproduced by stereo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Choisel, Sylvain

the fidelity with which sound reproduction systems can re-create the desired stereo image, a laser pointing technique was developed to accurately collect subjects' responses in a localization task. This method is subsequently applied in an investigation of the effects of loudspeaker directivity...... on the perceived direction of panned sources. The second part of the thesis addresses the identification of auditory attributes which play a role in the perception of sound reproduced by multichannel systems. Short musical excerpts were presented in mono, stereo and several multichannel formats to evoke various...

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 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

Diversity of fish sound types in the Pearl River Estuary, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi-Tao Wang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background Repetitive species-specific sound enables the identification of the presence and behavior of soniferous species by acoustic means. Passive acoustic monitoring has been widely applied to monitor the spatial and temporal occurrence and behavior of calling species. Methods Underwater biological sounds in the Pearl River Estuary, China, were collected using passive acoustic monitoring, with special attention paid to fish sounds. A total of 1,408 suspected fish calls comprising 18,942 pulses were qualitatively analyzed using a customized acoustic analysis routine. Results We identified a diversity of 66 types of fish sounds. In addition to single pulse, the sounds tended to have a pulse train structure. The pulses were characterized by an approximate 8 ms duration, with a peak frequency from 500 to 2,600 Hz and a majority of the energy below 4,000 Hz. The median inter-pulsepeak interval (IPPI of most call types was 9 or 10 ms. Most call types with median IPPIs of 9 ms and 10 ms were observed at times that were exclusive from each other, suggesting that they might be produced by different species. According to the literature, the two section signal types of 1 + 1 and 1 + N10 might belong to big-snout croaker (Johnius macrorhynus, and 1 + N19 might be produced by Belanger’s croaker (J. belangerii. Discussion Categorization of the baseline ambient biological sound is an important first step in mapping the spatial and temporal patterns of soniferous fishes. The next step is the identification of the species producing each sound. The distribution pattern of soniferous fishes will be helpful for the protection and management of local fishery resources and in marine environmental impact assessment. Since the local vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis mainly preys on soniferous fishes, the fine-scale distribution pattern of soniferous fishes can aid in the conservation of this species. Additionally, prey and predator

A CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS OF THE BANKS’ FINANCIAL SOUNDNESS: THE CASE OF THE CEE-3 COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sargu Alina Camelia

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic environment. The existence of a well functioning and sound banking sector becomes of great importance for the integration process as the European Union economy is financed especially through this channel. The banking sectors of the new EU member countries have undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, both from an ownership and also from a business strategy point of view, these changes having a direct impact on their financial soundness. Thus, the aim of our research is to empirically examine the financial soundness of the banks operating in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania, three EU members countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-3. In order to achieve this we have employed a combine quantitative analysis based on the CAMELS framework (namely Capital Adequacy, Asset quality, Management soundness, Earnings, Liquidity, Sensitivity to market risk and the Z-score, thus being able to underline simultaneously the financial soundness and the possibility of default for the banks from our sample. The analysed period is 2004-2011 providing us with an evaluation of the impact that the EU ascension and also the global financial crisis had on the financial soundness of the analysed banks. Our sample is composed from 40 commercial banks that operate in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania, that overall own over 75% of the total banking assets, making this study one of the most comprehensive undertaken to this date. The data that we have employed in our research is obtained from the Bureau Van Dijk Bankscope database and the annual financial statements of the banks from our sample. The paper through its original dual approach contributes to the academic debate by providing not only insight into the financial soundness of the banks operating in the CEE-3 countries but also underling their financial strength through the usage of the Z

Effects of Sound on the Behavior of Wild, Unrestrained Fish Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Louise; Cheesman, Samuel; Hawkins, Anthony D

2016-01-01

To assess and manage the impact of man-made sounds on fish, we need information on how behavior is affected. Here, wild unrestrained pelagic fish schools were observed under quiet conditions using sonar. Fish were exposed to synthetic piling sounds at different levels using custom-built sound projectors, and behavioral changes were examined. In some cases, the depth of schools changed after noise playback; full dispersal of schools was also evident. The methods we developed for examining the behavior of unrestrained fish to sound exposure have proved successful and may allow further testing of the relationship between responsiveness and sound level.

Improving Robustness against Environmental Sounds for Directing Attention of Social Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Nicolai Bæk; Tan, Zheng-Hua; Lindberg, Børge

2015-01-01

This paper presents a multi-modal system for finding out where to direct the attention of a social robot in a dialog scenario, which is robust against environmental sounds (door slamming, phone ringing etc.) and short speech segments. The method is based on combining voice activity detection (VAD......) and sound source localization (SSL) and furthermore apply post-processing to SSL to filter out short sounds. The system is tested against a baseline system in four different real-world experiments, where different sounds are used as interfering sounds. The results are promising and show a clear improvement....

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.

Near-field acoustic holography with sound pressure and particle velocity measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fernandez Grande, Efren

of the particle velocity has notable potential in NAH, and furthermore, combined measurement of sound pressure and particle velocity opens a new range of possibilities that are examined in this study. On this basis, sound field separation methods have been studied, and a new measurement principle based on double...... layer measurements of the particle velocity has been proposed. Also, the relation between near-field and far-field radiation from sound sources has been examined using the concept of the supersonic intensity. The calculation of this quantity has been extended to other holographic methods, and studied...

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...

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…

Directivity of Spherical Polyhedron Sound Source Used in Near-Field HRTF Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Guang-Zheng; Xie Bo-Sun; Rao Dan

2010-01-01

The omnidirectional character is one of important requirements for the sound source used in near-field head-related transfer function (HRTF) measurements. Based on the analysis on the radiation sound pressure and directivity character of various spherical polyhedron sound sources, a spherical dodecahedral sound source with radius of 0.035m is proposed and manufactured. Theoretical and measured results indicate that the sound source is approximately omnidirectional below the frequency of 8 kHz. In addition, the sound source has reasonable magnitude response from 350Hz to 20kHz and linear phase characteristics. Therefore, it is suitable for the near-field HRTF measurements. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Visualization of Broadband Sound Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhanov Dmitry

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the method of imaging of wideband audio sources based on the 2D microphone array measurements of the sound field at the same time in all the microphones is proposed. Designed microphone array consists of 160 microphones allowing to digitize signals with a frequency of 7200 Hz. Measured signals are processed using the special algorithm that makes it possible to obtain a flat image of wideband sound sources. It is shown experimentally that the visualization is not dependent on the waveform, but determined by the bandwidth. Developed system allows to visualize sources with a resolution of up to 10 cm.

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...

Teaching letter sounds to kindergarten English language learners using incremental rehearsal.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Meredith; Brandes, Dana; Kunkel, Amy; Wilson, Jennifer; Rahn, Naomi L; Egan, Andrea; McComas, Jennifer

2014-02-01

Proficiency in letter-sound correspondence is important for decoding connected text. This study examined the effects of an evidence-based intervention, incremental rehearsal (IR), on the letter-sound expression of three kindergarten English language learners (ELLs) performing below the district benchmark for letter-sound fluency. Participants were native speakers of Hmong, Spanish, and Polish. A multiple-baseline design across sets of unknown letter sounds was used to evaluate the effects of IR on letter-sound expression. Visual analysis of the data showed an increase in level and trend when IR was introduced in each phase. Percentage of all non-overlapping data (PAND) ranged from 95% to 100%. All participants exceeded expected growth and reached the spring district benchmark for letter-sound fluency. Results suggest that IR is a promising intervention for increasing letter-sound expression for ELLs who evidence delays in acquiring letter sounds. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

Personal sleep pattern visualization using sequence-based kernel self-organizing map on sound data.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hongle; Kato, Takafumi; Yamada, Tomomi; Numao, Masayuki; Fukui, Ken-Ichi

2017-07-01

We propose a method to discover sleep patterns via clustering of sound events recorded during sleep. The proposed method extends the conventional self-organizing map algorithm by kernelization and sequence-based technologies to obtain a fine-grained map that visualizes the distribution and changes of sleep-related events. We introduced features widely applied in sound processing and popular kernel functions to the proposed method to evaluate and compare performance. The proposed method provides a new aspect of sleep monitoring because the results demonstrate that sound events can be directly correlated to an individual's sleep patterns. In addition, by visualizing the transition of cluster dynamics, sleep-related sound events were found to relate to the various stages of sleep. Therefore, these results empirically warrant future study into the assessment of personal sleep quality using sound data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Pervasive Sound Sensing: A Weakly Supervised Training Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Daniel; Caulfield, Brian

2016-01-01

Modern smartphones present an ideal device for pervasive sensing of human behavior. Microphones have the potential to reveal key information about a person's behavior. However, they have been utilized to a significantly lesser extent than other smartphone sensors in the context of human behavior sensing. We postulate that, in order for microphones to be useful in behavior sensing applications, the analysis techniques must be flexible and allow easy modification of the types of sounds to be sensed. A simplification of the training data collection process could allow a more flexible sound classification framework. We hypothesize that detailed training, a prerequisite for the majority of sound sensing techniques, is not necessary and that a significantly less detailed and time consuming data collection process can be carried out, allowing even a nonexpert to conduct the collection, labeling, and training process. To test this hypothesis, we implement a diverse density-based multiple instance learning framework, to identify a target sound, and a bag trimming algorithm, which, using the target sound, automatically segments weakly labeled sound clips to construct an accurate training set. Experiments reveal that our hypothesis is a valid one and results show that classifiers, trained using the automatically segmented training sets, were able to accurately classify unseen sound samples with accuracies comparable to supervised classifiers, achieving an average F -measure of 0.969 and 0.87 for two weakly supervised datasets.

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…

A novel application of Recursive Equation Method for determining thermodynamic properties of single phase fluids from density and speed-of-sound measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lago, S.; Giuliano Albo, P.A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A novel method for calculating the isobaric specific heat capacity is presented. ► Heat capacity (C p ) was determined only by speed-of-sound and density measurements. ► (C p ) temperature dependence has been related to speed-of-sound by a new expression. ► Heat capacity for water, nonane, undecane, and rapeseed oil methyl ester are obtained. -- Abstract: The determination of thermal quantities from mechanical properties is still a challenge in the thermodynamic field. In this work, the authors suggest a preliminary numerical calculation which allows to determine the constant pressure specific heat capacity, starting from density and speed-of-sound experimental values, as input data. This method is a variant of the well characterized Recursive Equation Method (REM) [1] and permits to develop empirical equations of state for single phase fluids. In particular, the isobaric specific heat capacity has been obtained, in a wide range of temperatures and pressures, for pure water, n-nonane, n-undecane, and rapeseed oil methyl ester. The results have been compared with those available in the literature, when it was possible. Moreover, the typical uncertainty of heat capacity has been estimated to be in the order of 1.5%; however it has been shown that it can be improved when proper distributions of the experimental points are available

Hybrid waste filler filled bio-polymer foam composites for sound absorbent materials

Science.gov (United States)

Rus, Anika Zafiah M.; Azahari, M. Shafiq M.; Kormin, Shaharuddin; Soon, Leong Bong; Zaliran, M. Taufiq; Ahraz Sadrina M. F., L.

2017-09-01

Sound absorption materials are one of the major requirements in many industries with regards to the sound insulation developed should be efficient to reduce sound. This is also important to contribute in economically ways of producing sound absorbing materials which is cheaper and user friendly. Thus, in this research, the sound absorbent properties of bio-polymer foam filled with hybrid fillers of wood dust and waste tire rubber has been investigated. Waste cooking oil from crisp industries was converted into bio-monomer, filled with different proportion ratio of fillers and fabricated into bio-polymer foam composite. Two fabrication methods is applied which is the Close Mold Method (CMM) and Open Mold Method (OMM). A total of four bio-polymer foam composite samples were produce for each method used. The percentage of hybrid fillers; mixture of wood dust and waste tire rubber of 2.5 %, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10% weight to weight ration with bio-monomer. The sound absorption of the bio-polymer foam composites samples were tested by using the impedance tube test according to the ASTM E-1050 and Scanning Electron Microscope to determine the morphology and porosity of the samples. The sound absorption coefficient (α) at different frequency range revealed that the polymer foam of 10.0 % hybrid fillers shows highest α of 0.963. The highest hybrid filler loading contributing to smallest pore sizes but highest interconnected pores. This also revealed that when highly porous material is exposed to incident sound waves, the air molecules at the surface of the material and within the pores of the material are forced to vibrate and loses some of their original energy. This is concluded that the suitability of bio-polymer foam filled with hybrid fillers to be used in acoustic application of automotive components such as dashboards, door panels, cushion and etc.

Active acoustic leak detection for LMFBR steam generator. Sound attenuation due to bubbles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumagai, Hiromichi; Sakuma, Toshio

1995-01-01

In the steam generators (SG) of LMFBR, it is necessary to detect the leakage of water from tubes of heat exchangers as soon as it occurs. The active acoustic detection method has drawn general interest owing to its short response time and reduction of the influence of background noise. In this paper, the application of the active acoustic detection method for SG is proposed, and sound attenuation by bubbles is investigated experimentally. Furthermore, using the SG sector model, sound field characteristics and sound attenuation characteristics due to injection of bubbles are studied. It is clarified that the sound attenuation depends upon bubble size as well as void fraction, that the distance attenuation of sound in the SG model containing heat transfer tubes is 6dB for each two-fold increase of distance, and that emitted sound attenuates immediately upon injection of bubbles. (author)

Why Do People Like Loud Sound? A Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, David; Fremaux, Guy

2017-08-11

Many people choose to expose themselves to potentially dangerous sounds such as loud music, either via speakers, personal audio systems, or at clubs. The Conditioning, Adaptation and Acculturation to Loud Music (CAALM) Model has proposed a theoretical basis for this behaviour. To compare the model to data, we interviewed a group of people who were either regular nightclub-goers or who controlled the sound levels in nightclubs (bar managers, musicians, DJs, and sound engineers) about loud sound. Results showed four main themes relating to the enjoyment of loud sound: arousal/excitement, facilitation of socialisation, masking of both external sound and unwanted thoughts, and an emphasis and enhancement of personal identity. Furthermore, an interesting incidental finding was that sound levels appeared to increase gradually over the course of the evening until they plateaued at approximately 97 dBA Leq around midnight. Consideration of the data generated by the analysis revealed a complex of influential factors that support people in wanting exposure to loud sound. Findings were considered in terms of the CAALM Model and could be explained in terms of its principles. From a health promotion perspective, the Social Ecological Model was applied to consider how the themes identified might influence behaviour. They were shown to influence people on multiple levels, providing a powerful system which health promotion approaches struggle to address.

Sound of Paddle Wheel on Sea Bass Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jafri Din

2009-04-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is sound effect for brackish water for Sea bass (Cynoscion nobilis. Breeding farm 25x100m, 2m of depth, and 6 paddle wheels which generate the sound are available for research. Sound profile has been measured to investigate the amplitude at various measurement points at various depths by using Cetacean hydrophone C304. The output of hydrophone has been analyzed by using SpectraPlus software. For the second measurement, two cages which size 3x3m have been used for life fish habitat. Then, fish put in the edge cage (20, center cage (20, and out of cage (12500. Sound profile has been measured for position-based (edge/center cage, time-based (morning/noon/evening, and point-based. Time series, spectrum frequency, and phase have been analysis. Fish growth progress has been monthly measured at every cage. Fish in the cage is growth as linearly, while fish growth for out of cage is exponentially. Size and weight of fish in the both cages is less than out of cage. This research concludes that sound have no significantly effect for fish growth. Limited mobility to look for food and stress are more influences to fish growth than sound effect.

Anglophonic Influence in the Use of Sound Symbolism in Italian Disney Comics: A Corpus-based Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pischedda Pier Simone

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article will explore the linguistic implications of employing and creating sound symbolism (ideophones, onomatopoeia and interjections in Italian Disney comics. It will endeavour to investigate the way sound symbolic forms in both imported Disney US comics and original Italian stories have profoundly influenced the development of Italian sound symbolism in the last century. The diachronic analysis is carried out thanks to the creation of a corpus of ideophones and interjections from 210 Disney stories published between 1932 and 2013. The corpus will allow the author to investigate how these forms have changed diachronically throughout the eighty years under investigation with the final aim of highlighting changes and patterns in both original and translated Italian stories. The unique status of ideophones, confirmed by language, sociological and neurological studies, has led to interesting experimentations but also to complicated dynamics. Certain linguistic settings seem to foster a better affinity towards the device- particularly if compared to Romance languages, such as Italian and Spanish, that often have to rely on Anglophone renditions. Anglicisation has indeed overshadowed previous original attempts. Nevertheless, recent creations, particularly from cartoonists, bear witness to a willingness to stretch language again in order to enhance language iconicity.

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.

Sound extinction by fish schools: forward scattering theory and data analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Raveau, M; Feuillade, C

2015-02-01

A model used previously to study collective back scattering from fish schools [Feuillade et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 99(1), 196-208 (1996)], is used to analyze the forward scattering properties of these objects. There is an essential physical difference between back and forward scattering from fish schools. Strong frequency dependent interference effects, which affect the back scattered field amplitude, are absent in the forward scattering case. This is critically important for data analysis. There is interest in using back scattering and transmission data from fish schools to study their size, the species and abundance of fish, and fish behavior. Transmission data can be processed to determine the extinction of the field by a school. The extinction of sound depends on the forward scattering characteristics of the school, and data inversion to provide information about the fish should be based upon a forward scattering paradigm. Results are presented of an analysis of transmission data obtained in September 1995 during an experiment performed in the Gulf of Lion in the Mediterranean Sea [Diachok, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105(4), 2107-2128 (1999)]. The analysis shows that using forward scattering leads to significantly larger estimates of fish abundance than previous analysis based upon back scattering approaches.

THE INTONATION AND SOUND CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING PRONUNCIATION STYLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chernyavskaya Elena Sergeevna

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article aims at describing the intonation and sound characteristics of advertising phonetic style. On the basis of acoustic analysis of transcripts of radio advertising tape recordings, broadcasted at different radio stations, as well as in the result of processing the representative part of phrases with the help of special computer programs, the author determines the parameters of superfix means. The article proves that the stylistic parameters of advertising phonetic style are oriented on modern orthoepy, and that the originality of radio advertising sounding is determined by two tendencies – the reduction of stressed vowels duration in the terminal and non-terminal word and the increase of pre-tonic and post-tonic vowels duration of non-terminal word in a phrase. The article also shows that the peculiarity of rhythmic structure of terminal and non-terminal word in radio advertising is formed by means of leveling stressed and unstressed sounds in length. The specificity of intonational structure of an advertising text consists in the following peculiarities: matching of syntactic and syntagmatic division, which allows to denote the blocks of semantic models, forming the text of radio advertising; the allocation of keywords into separate syntagmas; the design of informative parts of advertising text by means of symmetric length correlation of minimal speech segments; the combination of interstyle prosodic elements in the framework of sounding text. Thus, the conducted analysis allowed to conclude, that the texts of sounding advertising are designed using special pronunciation style, marked by sound duration.

Integrating Sound Scattering Measurements in the Design of Complex Architectural Surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peters, Brady

2010-01-01

Digital tools present the opportunity for incorporating performance analysis into the architectural design process. Acoustic performance is an important criterion for architectural design. There is much known about sound absorption but little about sound scattering, even though scattering is reco...

A novel method for direct localized sound speed measurement using the virtual source paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Byram, Brett; Trahey, Gregg E.; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2007-01-01

) mediums. The inhomogeneous mediums were arranged as an oil layer, one 6 mm thick and the other 11 mm thick, on top of a water layer. To complement the phantom studies, sources of error for spatial registration of virtual detectors were simulated. The sources of error presented here are multiple sound...... registered virtual detector. Between a pair of registered virtual detectors a spherical wave is propagated. By beamforming the received data the time of flight between the two virtual sources can be calculated. From this information the local sound speed can be estimated. Validation of the estimator used...... both phantom and simulation results. The phantom consisted of two wire targets located near the transducer's axis at depths of 17 and 28 mm. Using this phantom the sound speed between the wires was measured for a homogeneous (water) medium and for two inhomogeneous (DB-grade castor oil and water...

Detection and localization of leak of pipelines of RBMK reactor. Methods of processing of acoustic noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tcherkaschov, Y.M.; Strelkov, B.P.; Chimanski, S.B.; Lebedev, V.I.; Belyanin, L.A.

1997-01-01

For realization of leak detection of input pipelines and output pipelines of RBMK reactor the method, based on detection and control of acoustic leak signals, was designed. In this report the review of methods of processing and analysis of acoustic noise is submitted. These methods were included in the software of the leak detection system and are used for the decision of the following problems: leak detection by method of sound pressure level in conditions of powerful background noise and strong attenuation of a signal; detection of a small leak in early stage by high-sensitivity correlation method; determination of a point of a sound source in conditions of strong reflection of a signal by a correlation method and sound pressure method; evaluation of leak size by the analysis of a sound level and point of a sound source. The work of considered techniques is illustrated on an example of test results of a fragment of the leak detection system. This test was executed on a Leningrad NPP, operated at power levels of 460, 700, 890 and 1000 MWe. 16 figs

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

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...

Time domain acoustic contrast control implementation of sound zones for low-frequency input signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schellekens, Daan H. M.; Møller, Martin Bo; Olsen, Martin

2016-01-01

Sound zones are two or more regions within a listening space where listeners are provided with personal audio. Acoustic contrast control (ACC) is a sound zoning method that maximizes the average squared sound pressure in one zone constrained to constant pressure in other zones. State......-of-the-art time domain broadband acoustic contrast control (BACC) methods are designed for anechoic environments. These methods are not able to realize a flat frequency response in a limited frequency range within a reverberant environment. Sound field control in a limited frequency range is a requirement...... to accommodate the effective working range of the loudspeakers. In this paper, a new BACC method is proposed which results in an implementation realizing a flat frequency response in the target zone. This method is applied in a bandlimited low-frequency scenario where the loudspeaker layout surrounds two...

Acoustic Performance of a Real-Time Three-Dimensional Sound-Reproduction System

Science.gov (United States)

Faller, Kenneth J., II; Rizzi, Stephen A.; Aumann, Aric R.

2013-01-01

The Exterior Effects Room (EER) is a 39-seat auditorium at the NASA Langley Research Center and was built to support psychoacoustic studies of aircraft community noise. The EER has a real-time simulation environment which includes a three-dimensional sound-reproduction system. This system requires real-time application of equalization filters to compensate for spectral coloration of the sound reproduction due to installation and room effects. This paper describes the efforts taken to develop the equalization filters for use in the real-time sound-reproduction system and the subsequent analysis of the system s acoustic performance. The acoustic performance of the compensated and uncompensated sound-reproduction system is assessed for its crossover performance, its performance under stationary and dynamic conditions, the maximum spatialized sound pressure level it can produce from a single virtual source, and for the spatial uniformity of a generated sound field. Additionally, application examples are given to illustrate the compensated sound-reproduction system performance using recorded aircraft flyovers

Acoustical contribution calculation and analysis of compressor shell based on acoustic transfer vector method

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaol; Guo, Bei; Tuo, Jinliang; Zhou, Ruixin; Lu, Yang

2017-08-01

Nowadays, people are paying more and more attention to the noise reduction of household refrigerator compressor. This paper established a sound field bounded by compressor shell and ISO3744 standard field points. The Acoustic Transfer Vector (ATV) in the sound field radiated by a refrigerator compressor shell were calculated which fits the test result preferably. Then the compressor shell surface is divided into several parts. Based on Acoustic Transfer Vector approach, the sound pressure contribution to the field points and the sound power contribution to the sound field of each part were calculated. To obtain the noise radiation in the sound field, the sound pressure cloud charts were analyzed, and the contribution curves in different frequency of each part were acquired. Meanwhile, the sound power contribution of each part in different frequency was analyzed, to ensure those parts where contributes larger sound power. Through the analysis of acoustic contribution, those parts where radiate larger noise on the compressor shell were determined. This paper provides a credible and effective approach on the structure optimal design of refrigerator compressor shell, which is meaningful in the noise and vibration reduction.

Acoustic radiosity for computation of sound fields in diffuse environments

Science.gov (United States)

Muehleisen, Ralph T.; Beamer, C. Walter

2002-05-01

The use of image and ray tracing methods (and variations thereof) for the computation of sound fields in rooms is relatively well developed. In their regime of validity, both methods work well for prediction in rooms with small amounts of diffraction and mostly specular reflection at the walls. While extensions to the method to include diffuse reflections and diffraction have been made, they are limited at best. In the fields of illumination and computer graphics the ray tracing and image methods are joined by another method called luminous radiative transfer or radiosity. In radiosity, an energy balance between surfaces is computed assuming diffuse reflection at the reflective surfaces. Because the interaction between surfaces is constant, much of the computation required for sound field prediction with multiple or moving source and receiver positions can be reduced. In acoustics the radiosity method has had little attention because of the problems of diffraction and specular reflection. The utility of radiosity in acoustics and an approach to a useful development of the method for acoustics will be presented. The method looks especially useful for sound level prediction in industrial and office environments. [Work supported by NSF.

Sound field control with a circular double-layer array of loudspeakers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, Jiho; Jacobsen, Finn

2012-01-01

, and their performance is examined using computer simulations. Two performance indices are used in this work, (a) the level difference between the average sound energy density in the listening zone and that in the quiet zone (sometimes called “the acoustic contrast”), and (b) a normalized measure of the deviations...... between the desired and the generated sound field in the listening zone. It is concluded that the best compromise is obtained with a method that combines pure contrast maximization with a pressure matching technique.......This paper describes a method of generating a controlled sound field for listeners inside a circular array of loudspeakers without disturbing people outside the array appreciably. To achieve this objective, a double-layer array of loudspeakers is used. Several solution methods are suggested...

Efficient Geometric Sound Propagation Using Visibility Culling

Science.gov (United States)

Chandak, Anish

2011-07-01

Simulating propagation of sound can improve the sense of realism in interactive applications such as video games and can lead to better designs in engineering applications such as architectural acoustics. In this thesis, we present geometric sound propagation techniques which are faster than prior methods and map well to upcoming parallel multi-core CPUs. We model specular reflections by using the image-source method and model finite-edge diffraction by using the well-known Biot-Tolstoy-Medwin (BTM) model. We accelerate the computation of specular reflections by applying novel visibility algorithms, FastV and AD-Frustum, which compute visibility from a point. We accelerate finite-edge diffraction modeling by applying a novel visibility algorithm which computes visibility from a region. Our visibility algorithms are based on frustum tracing and exploit recent advances in fast ray-hierarchy intersections, data-parallel computations, and scalable, multi-core algorithms. The AD-Frustum algorithm adapts its computation to the scene complexity and allows small errors in computing specular reflection paths for higher computational efficiency. FastV and our visibility algorithm from a region are general, object-space, conservative visibility algorithms that together significantly reduce the number of image sources compared to other techniques while preserving the same accuracy. Our geometric propagation algorithms are an order of magnitude faster than prior approaches for modeling specular reflections and two to ten times faster for modeling finite-edge diffraction. Our algorithms are interactive, scale almost linearly on multi-core CPUs, and can handle large, complex, and dynamic scenes. We also compare the accuracy of our sound propagation algorithms with other methods. Once sound propagation is performed, it is desirable to listen to the propagated sound in interactive and engineering applications. We can generate smooth, artifact-free output audio signals by applying

A method for Perceptual Assessment of Automotive Audio Systems and Cabin Acoustics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaplanis, Neofytos; Bech, Søren; Sakari, Tervo

2016-01-01

This paper reports the design and implementation of a method to perceptually assess the acoustical prop- erties of a car cabin and the subsequent sound reproduction properties of automotive audio systems. Here, we combine Spatial Decomposition Method and Rapid Sensory Analysis techniques. The for......This paper reports the design and implementation of a method to perceptually assess the acoustical prop- erties of a car cabin and the subsequent sound reproduction properties of automotive audio systems. Here, we combine Spatial Decomposition Method and Rapid Sensory Analysis techniques...

Automotive Exterior Noise Optimization Using Grey Relational Analysis Coupled with Principal Component Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuming; Wang, Dengfeng; Liu, Bo

This paper investigates optimization design of the thickness of the sound package performed on a passenger automobile. The major characteristics indexes for performance selected to evaluate the processes are the SPL of the exterior noise and the weight of the sound package, and the corresponding parameters of the sound package are the thickness of the glass wool with aluminum foil for the first layer, the thickness of the glass fiber for the second layer, and the thickness of the PE foam for the third layer. In this paper, the process is fundamentally with multiple performances, thus, the grey relational analysis that utilizes grey relational grade as performance index is especially employed to determine the optimal combination of the thickness of the different layers for the designed sound package. Additionally, in order to evaluate the weighting values corresponding to various performance characteristics, the principal component analysis is used to show their relative importance properly and objectively. The results of the confirmation experiments uncover that grey relational analysis coupled with principal analysis methods can successfully be applied to find the optimal combination of the thickness for each layer of the sound package material. Therefore, the presented method can be an effective tool to improve the vehicle exterior noise and lower the weight of the sound package. In addition, it will also be helpful for other applications in the automotive industry, such as the First Automobile Works in China, Changan Automobile in China, etc.

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.

Anti-bat tiger moth sounds: Form and function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron J. CORCORAN, William E. CONNER, Jesse R. BARBER

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The night sky is the venue of an ancient acoustic battle between echolocating bats and their insect prey. Many tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae answer the attack calls of bats with a barrage of high frequency clicks. Some moth species use these clicks for acoustic aposematism and mimicry, and others for sonar jamming, however, most of the work on these defensive functions has been done on individual moth species. We here analyze the diversity of structure in tiger moth sounds from 26 species collected at three locations in North and South America. A principal components analysis of the anti-bat tiger moth sounds reveals that they vary markedly along three axes: (1 frequency, (2 duty cycle (sound production per unit time and frequency modulation, and (3 modulation cycle (clicks produced during flexion and relaxation of the sound producing tymbal structure. Tiger moth species appear to cluster into two distinct groups: one with low duty cycle and few clicks per modulation cycle that supports an acoustic aposematism function, and a second with high duty cycle and many clicks per modulation cycle that is consistent with a sonar jamming function. This is the first evidence from a community-level analysis to support multiple functions for tiger moth sounds. We also provide evidence supporting an evolutionary history for the development of these strategies. Furthermore, cross-correlation and spectrogram correlation measurements failed to support a “phantom echo” mechanism underlying sonar jamming, and instead point towards echo interference [Current Zoology 56 (3: 358–369, 2010].

FINANCIAL SOUNDNESS INDICATORS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BANKING SECTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kemal Kozaric

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to research financial soundness indicators in Bosnia and Herzegovina banking sector, their interconnections, causality and influenced factors. Therefore the subjects of analysis are core financial indicators. For that purposes data from International Monetary Fund for period 2008 – 2013th as well as data from state agencies and central bank were used. In order to gain research goal different scientific methods were used. Therefore, correlation and regression analysis were employed in order to reveal connectivity and causality between those factors. Results have shown that banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina still have to pay attention on non-performing loans as one of the main threats to their liquidity and stability.

Impact response analysis of cask for spent fuel by dimensional analysis and mode superposition method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y. J.; Kim, W. T.; Lee, Y. S.

2006-01-01

Full text: Full text: Due to the potentiality of accidents, the transportation safety of radioactive material has become extremely important in these days. The most important means of accomplishing the safety in transportation for radioactive material is the integrity of cask. The cask for spent fuel consists of a cask body and two impact limiters generally. The impact limiters are attached at the upper and the lower of the cask body. The cask comprises general requirements and test requirements for normal transport conditions and hypothetical accident conditions in accordance with IAEA regulations. Among the test requirements for hypothetical accident conditions, the 9 m drop test of dropping the cask from 9 m height to unyielding surface to get maximum damage becomes very important requirement because it can affect the structural soundness of the cask. So far the impact response analysis for 9 m drop test has been obtained by finite element method with complex computational procedure. In this study, the empirical equations of the impact forces for 9 m drop test are formulated by dimensional analysis. And then using the empirical equations the characteristics of material used for impact limiters are analysed. Also the dynamic impact response of the cask body is analysed using the mode superposition method and the analysis method is proposed. The results are also validated by comparing with previous experimental results and finite element analysis results. The present method is simpler than finite element method and can be used to predict the impact response of the cask

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...

Measurement of incident sound power using near field acoustic holography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Finn; Tiana Roig, Elisabet

2009-01-01

; and it has always been regarded as impossible to measure the sound power that is incident on a wall directly. This paper examines a new method of determining this quantity from sound pressure measurements at positions on the wall using ‘statistically optimised near field acoustic holography’ (SONAH...

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....

Low complexity lossless compression of underwater sound recordings.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Mark; Partan, Jim; Hurst, Tom

2013-03-01

Autonomous listening devices are increasingly used to study vocal aquatic animals, and there is a constant need to record longer or with greater bandwidth, requiring efficient use of memory and battery power. Real-time compression of sound has the potential to extend recording durations and bandwidths at the expense of increased processing operations and therefore power consumption. Whereas lossy methods such as MP3 introduce undesirable artifacts, lossless compression algorithms (e.g., flac) guarantee exact data recovery. But these algorithms are relatively complex due to the wide variety of signals they are designed to compress. A simpler lossless algorithm is shown here to provide compression factors of three or more for underwater sound recordings over a range of noise environments. The compressor was evaluated using samples from drifting and animal-borne sound recorders with sampling rates of 16-240 kHz. It achieves >87% of the compression of more-complex methods but requires about 1/10 of the processing operations resulting in less than 1 mW power consumption at a sampling rate of 192 kHz on a low-power microprocessor. The potential to triple recording duration with a minor increase in power consumption and no loss in sound quality may be especially valuable for battery-limited tags and robotic vehicles.

Method and Apparatus of Measuring Velocity and Sound Attenuation Coefficient in Bulk Materials Based on the Analysis of the Structure of Sound-Insulation Materials on the Basis of Perlite

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Kapranov, B. I.; Mashanov, A. P.

2017-04-01

This paper presents the results of research and describes the apparatus for measuring the acoustic characteristics of bulk materials. Ultrasound, it has passed through a layer of bulk material, is further passes through an air gap. The presence of air gap prevents from measuring tract mechanical contacts, but complicates the measurement technology Studies were conducted on the example of measuring the acoustic characteristics of the widely used perlite-based sound-proofing material.

Validation of PC-based Sound Card with Biopac for Digitalization of ECG Recording in Short-term HRV Analysis.

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Maheshkumar, K; Dilara, K; Maruthy, K N; Sundareswaren, L

2016-07-01

Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is a simple and noninvasive technique capable of assessing autonomic nervous system modulation on heart rate (HR) in healthy as well as disease conditions. The aim of the present study was to compare (validate) the HRV using a temporal series of electrocardiograms (ECG) obtained by simple analog amplifier with PC-based sound card (audacity) and Biopac MP36 module. Based on the inclusion criteria, 120 healthy participants, including 72 males and 48 females, participated in the present study. Following standard protocol, 5-min ECG was recorded after 10 min of supine rest by Portable simple analog amplifier PC-based sound card as well as by Biopac module with surface electrodes in Leads II position simultaneously. All the ECG data was visually screened and was found to be free of ectopic beats and noise. RR intervals from both ECG recordings were analyzed separately in Kubios software. Short-term HRV indexes in both time and frequency domain were used. The unpaired Student's t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient test were used for the analysis using the R statistical software. No statistically significant differences were observed when comparing the values analyzed by means of the two devices for HRV. Correlation analysis revealed perfect positive correlation (r = 0.99, P < 0.001) between the values in time and frequency domain obtained by the devices. On the basis of the results of the present study, we suggest that the calculation of HRV values in the time and frequency domains by RR series obtained from the PC-based sound card is probably as reliable as those obtained by the gold standard Biopac MP36.

Improved algorithms and methods for room sound-field prediction by acoustical radiosity in arbitrary polyhedral rooms

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Nosal, Eva-Marie; Hodgson, Murray; Ashdown, Ian

2004-08-01

This paper explores acoustical (or time-dependent) radiosity-a geometrical-acoustics sound-field prediction method that assumes diffuse surface reflection. The literature of acoustical radiosity is briefly reviewed and the advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed. A discrete form of the integral equation that results from meshing the enclosure boundaries into patches is presented and used in a discrete-time algorithm. Furthermore, an averaging technique is used to reduce computational requirements. To generalize to nonrectangular rooms, a spherical-triangle method is proposed as a means of evaluating the integrals over solid angles that appear in the discrete form of the integral equation. The evaluation of form factors, which also appear in the numerical solution, is discussed for rectangular and nonrectangular rooms. This algorithm and associated methods are validated by comparison of the steady-state predictions for a spherical enclosure to analytical solutions.

Interactive Sound Propagation using Precomputation and Statistical Approximations

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Antani, Lakulish

Acoustic phenomena such as early reflections, diffraction, and reverberation have been shown to improve the user experience in interactive virtual environments and video games. These effects arise due to repeated interactions between sound waves and objects in the environment. In interactive applications, these effects must be simulated within a prescribed time budget. We present two complementary approaches for computing such acoustic effects in real time, with plausible variation in the sound field throughout the scene. The first approach, Precomputed Acoustic Radiance Transfer, precomputes a matrix that accounts for multiple acoustic interactions between all scene objects. The matrix is used at run time to provide sound propagation effects that vary smoothly as sources and listeners move. The second approach couples two techniques---Ambient Reverberance, and Aural Proxies---to provide approximate sound propagation effects in real time, based on only the portion of the environment immediately visible to the listener. These approaches lie at different ends of a space of interactive sound propagation techniques for modeling sound propagation effects in interactive applications. The first approach emphasizes accuracy by modeling acoustic interactions between all parts of the scene; the second approach emphasizes efficiency by only taking the local environment of the listener into account. These methods have been used to efficiently generate acoustic walkthroughs of architectural models. They have also been integrated into a modern game engine, and can enable realistic, interactive sound propagation on commodity desktop PCs.

Why 'piss' is ruder than 'pee'? The role of sound in affective meaning making.

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Arash Aryani

Full Text Available Most language users agree that some words sound harsh (e.g. grotesque whereas others sound soft and pleasing (e.g. lagoon. While this prominent feature of human language has always been creatively deployed in art and poetry, it is still largely unknown whether the sound of a word in itself makes any contribution to the word's meaning as perceived and interpreted by the listener. In a large-scale lexicon analysis, we focused on the affective substrates of words' meaning (i.e. affective meaning and words' sound (i.e. affective sound; both being measured on a two-dimensional space of valence (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant and arousal (ranging from calm to excited. We tested the hypothesis that the sound of a word possesses affective iconic characteristics that can implicitly influence listeners when evaluating the affective meaning of that word. The results show that a significant portion of the variance in affective meaning ratings of printed words depends on a number of spectral and temporal acoustic features extracted from these words after converting them to their spoken form (study1. In order to test the affective nature of this effect, we independently assessed the affective sound of these words using two different methods: through direct rating (study2a, and through acoustic models that we implemented based on pseudoword materials (study2b. In line with our hypothesis, the estimated contribution of words' sound to ratings of words' affective meaning was indeed associated with the affective sound of these words; with a stronger effect for arousal than for valence. Further analyses revealed crucial phonetic features potentially causing the effect of sound on meaning: For instance, words with short vowels, voiceless consonants, and hissing sibilants (as in 'piss' feel more arousing and negative. Our findings suggest that the process of meaning making is not solely determined by arbitrary mappings between formal aspects of words and

Why 'piss' is ruder than 'pee'? The role of sound in affective meaning making.

Science.gov (United States)

Aryani, Arash; Conrad, Markus; Schmidtke, David; Jacobs, Arthur

2018-01-01

Most language users agree that some words sound harsh (e.g. grotesque) whereas others sound soft and pleasing (e.g. lagoon). While this prominent feature of human language has always been creatively deployed in art and poetry, it is still largely unknown whether the sound of a word in itself makes any contribution to the word's meaning as perceived and interpreted by the listener. In a large-scale lexicon analysis, we focused on the affective substrates of words' meaning (i.e. affective meaning) and words' sound (i.e. affective sound); both being measured on a two-dimensional space of valence (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant) and arousal (ranging from calm to excited). We tested the hypothesis that the sound of a word possesses affective iconic characteristics that can implicitly influence listeners when evaluating the affective meaning of that word. The results show that a significant portion of the variance in affective meaning ratings of printed words depends on a number of spectral and temporal acoustic features extracted from these words after converting them to their spoken form (study1). In order to test the affective nature of this effect, we independently assessed the affective sound of these words using two different methods: through direct rating (study2a), and through acoustic models that we implemented based on pseudoword materials (study2b). In line with our hypothesis, the estimated contribution of words' sound to ratings of words' affective meaning was indeed associated with the affective sound of these words; with a stronger effect for arousal than for valence. Further analyses revealed crucial phonetic features potentially causing the effect of sound on meaning: For instance, words with short vowels, voiceless consonants, and hissing sibilants (as in 'piss') feel more arousing and negative. Our findings suggest that the process of meaning making is not solely determined by arbitrary mappings between formal aspects of words and concepts they

The Voice of the Heart: Vowel-Like Sound in Pulmonary Artery Hypertension