WorldWideScience

Sample records for sound output rises

  1. Effects of an oil price rise on inflation, output, and the exchange rate in the case of subsidization policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zandi, F R

    1982-01-01

    Since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised the price of oil by 400% in 1974, the theory of supply inflation has received a great deal of attention. This study analyses the short and long run effects of an oil price rise on output, inflation, and the exchange rate. The study also analyses dynamic adjustments to the oil price rise in cases where oil-price subsidies are provided and where no subsidies are provided. In the no-subsidy case it is shown that the oil price rise can be inflationary or deflationary. The implications of the policy of subsidizing the price of oil is highlighted by taking account of a government budget constraint which in turn leads to the possibility of monetization as a source of financing the deficit, and thereby to higher output relative to the no subsidy case. As to the price level, the possibility is illustrated that subsidization can actually be more inflationary. The important element giving rise to the above possibility is the subsidy induced increase in the money supply. Exchange-rate flexibility is shown not to insulate the domestic price level against an oil price rise. In the long run the rate of inflation and exchange-rate variations are determined by the rate of growth of the money supply. The dynamic adjustment path of price and output is shown to be determined by the rate of adjustment of inflationary expectations.

  2. Influence of temperature rise distribution in second harmonic generation crystal on intensity distributions of output second harmonic wave

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Wei; Feng Guoying; Li Gang; Huang Yu; Zhang Qiuhui

    2009-01-01

    Second-harmonic generation (SHG) of high-intensity laser with an SHG crystal for type I angle phase matching has been studied by the use of a split-step algorithm based on the fast Fourier transform and a fourth-order Runge-Kutta (R-K) integrator. The transverse walk-off effect, diffraction, the second-order and the third-order nonlinear effects have been taken into consideration. Influences of a temperature rise distribution of the SHG crystal on the refractive indices of ordinary wave and extraordinary wave have been discussed. The rules of phase mismatching quantity, intensity distribution of output beam and frequency conversion efficiency varying with the temperature rise distribution of the SHG crystal have been analyzed quantitatively. The calculated results indicate that in a high power frequency conversion system, the temperature rise distribution of SHG crystal would result in the phase mismatching of fundamental and harmonic waves, leading to the variation of intensity distribution of the output beam and the decrease of the conversion efficiency. (authors)

  3. Brief report: sound output of infant humidifiers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royer, Allison K; Wilson, Paul F; Royer, Mark C; Miyamoto, Richard T

    2015-06-01

    The sound pressure levels (SPLs) of common infant humidifiers were determined to identify the likely sound exposure to infants and young children. This primary investigative research study was completed at a tertiary-level academic medical center otolaryngology and audiology laboratory. Five commercially available humidifiers were obtained from brick-and-mortar infant supply stores. Sound levels were measured at 20-, 100-, and 150-cm distances at all available humidifier settings. Two of 5 (40%) humidifiers tested had SPL readings greater than the recommended hospital infant nursery levels (50 dB) at distances up to 100 cm. In this preliminary study, it was demonstrated that humidifiers marketed for infant nurseries may produce appreciably high decibel levels. Further characterization of the effect of humidifier design on SPLs and further elucidation of ambient sound levels associated with hearing risk are necessary before definitive conclusions and recommendations can be made. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

  4. Emphasis of spatial cues in the temporal fine structure during the rising segments of amplitude-modulated sounds II: single-neuron recordings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marquardt, Torsten; Stange, Annette; Pecka, Michael; Grothe, Benedikt; McAlpine, David

    2014-01-01

    Recently, with the use of an amplitude-modulated binaural beat (AMBB), in which sound amplitude and interaural-phase difference (IPD) were modulated with a fixed mutual relationship (Dietz et al. 2013b), we demonstrated that the human auditory system uses interaural timing differences in the temporal fine structure of modulated sounds only during the rising portion of each modulation cycle. However, the degree to which peripheral or central mechanisms contribute to the observed strong dominance of the rising slope remains to be determined. Here, by recording responses of single neurons in the medial superior olive (MSO) of anesthetized gerbils and in the inferior colliculus (IC) of anesthetized guinea pigs to AMBBs, we report a correlation between the position within the amplitude-modulation (AM) cycle generating the maximum response rate and the position at which the instantaneous IPD dominates the total neural response. The IPD during the rising segment dominates the total response in 78% of MSO neurons and 69% of IC neurons, with responses of the remaining neurons predominantly coding the IPD around the modulation maximum. The observed diversity of dominance regions within the AM cycle, especially in the IC, and its comparison with the human behavioral data suggest that only the subpopulation of neurons with rising slope dominance codes the sound-source location in complex listening conditions. A comparison of two models to account for the data suggests that emphasis on IPDs during the rising slope of the AM cycle depends on adaptation processes occurring before binaural interaction. PMID:24554782

  5. The correlation between the first heart sound and cardiac output as measured by using digital esophageal stethoscope under anaesthesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duck Shin, Young; Hoon Yim, Kyoung; Hi Park, Sang; Wook Jeon, Yong; Ho Bae, Jin; Soo Lee, Tae; Hwan Kim, Myoung; Jin Choi, Young

    2014-03-01

    The use of an esophageal stethoscope is a basic heart sounds monitoring procedure performed in patients under general anesthesia. As the size of the first heart sound can express the left ventricle function, its correlation with cardiac output should be investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cardiac output (CO) on the first heart sound (S1) amplitude. Methods : Six male beagles were chosen. The S1 was obtained with the newly developed esophageal stethoscope system. CO was measured using NICOM, a non-invasive CO measuring device. Ephedrine and beta blockers were administered to the subjects to compare changes in figures, and the change from using an inhalation anesthetic was also compared. The S1 amplitude displayed positive correlation with the change rate of CO (r = 0.935, p < 0.001). The heart rate measured using the esophageal stethoscope and ECG showed considerably close figures through the Bland-Altman plot and showed a high positive correlation (r = 0.988, p < 0,001). In beagles, the amplitude of S1 had a significant correlation with changes in CO in a variety of situations.

  6. Emphasis of spatial cues in the temporal fine structure during the rising segments of amplitude-modulated sounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietz, Mathias; Marquardt, Torsten; Salminen, Nelli H.; McAlpine, David

    2013-01-01

    The ability to locate the direction of a target sound in a background of competing sources is critical to the survival of many species and important for human communication. Nevertheless, brain mechanisms that provide for such accurate localization abilities remain poorly understood. In particular, it remains unclear how the auditory brain is able to extract reliable spatial information directly from the source when competing sounds and reflections dominate all but the earliest moments of the sound wave reaching each ear. We developed a stimulus mimicking the mutual relationship of sound amplitude and binaural cues, characteristic to reverberant speech. This stimulus, named amplitude modulated binaural beat, allows for a parametric and isolated change of modulation frequency and phase relations. Employing magnetoencephalography and psychoacoustics it is demonstrated that the auditory brain uses binaural information in the stimulus fine structure only during the rising portion of each modulation cycle, rendering spatial information recoverable in an otherwise unlocalizable sound. The data suggest that amplitude modulation provides a means of “glimpsing” low-frequency spatial cues in a manner that benefits listening in noisy or reverberant environments. PMID:23980161

  7. Canada's helium output rising fast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1966-12-01

    About 12 months from now, International Helium Limited will be almost ready to start up Canada's second helium extraction plant at Mankota, in Saskatchewan's Wood Mountain area about 100 miles southwest of Moose Jaw. Another 80 miles north is Saskatchewan's (and Canada's) first helium plant, operated by Canadian Helium and sitting on a gas deposit at Wilhelm, 9 miles north of Swift Current. It contains almost 2% helium, some COD2U, and the rest nitrogen. One year in production was apparently enough to convince Canadian Helium that the export market (it sells most of its helium in W. Europe) can take a lot more than it's getting. Construction began this summer on an addition to the Swift Current plant that will raise its capacity from 12 to 36MMcf per yr when it goes on stream next spring. Six months later, International Helium's 40 MMcf per yr plant to be located about 4 miles from its 2 Wood Mountain wells will double Canada's helium output again.

  8. Xinyinqin: a computer-based heart sound simulator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, X X; Pei, J H; Xiao, Y H

    1995-01-01

    "Xinyinqin" is the Chinese phoneticized name of the Heart Sound Simulator (HSS). The "qin" in "Xinyinqin" is the Chinese name of a category of musical instruments, which means that the operation of HSS is very convenient--like playing an electric piano with the keys. HSS is connected to the GAME I/O of an Apple microcomputer. The generation of sound is controlled by a program. Xinyinqin is used as a teaching aid of Diagnostics. It has been applied in teaching for three years. In this demonstration we will introduce the following functions of HSS: 1) The main program has two modules. The first one is the heart auscultation training module. HSS can output a heart sound selected by the student. Another program module is used to test the student's learning condition. The computer can randomly simulate a certain heart sound and ask the student to name it. The computer gives the student's answer an assessment: "correct" or "incorrect." When the answer is incorrect, the computer will output that heart sound again for the student to listen to; this process is repeated until she correctly identifies it. 2) The program is convenient to use and easy to control. By pressing the S key, it is able to output a slow heart rate until the student can clearly identify the rhythm. The heart rate, like the actual rate of a patient, can then be restored by hitting any key. By pressing the SPACE BAR, the heart sound output can be stopped to allow the teacher to explain something to the student. The teacher can resume playing the heart sound again by hitting any key; she can also change the content of the training by hitting RETURN key. In the future, we plan to simulate more heart sounds and incorporate relevant graphs.

  9. INFLUENCE OF FISCAL POLICY DYNAMICS ON OUTPUT MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Predescu Antoniu

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Dynamics of fiscal policy, more specific rise in fiscal pressure, increase which can be obtained either through enforcing one or more taxes, or by augmenting at least a tax, has a powerful impact on output management – visible, in the first place, in the realm of output size. But, not only output size will vary, after an increase in fiscal pressure, at least because output management is dealing with more than issue of producing a certain quantity of products, material or not, goods and/or services. Products are made for selling, but selling is impossible but through price and with a price; price is an essential economic variable, both in microeconomic and macroeconomic spheres. Thus, on one side rise in fiscal pressure determines, at least in short term, and, of course, if producers pay, or even support, a tax, be it newly enforced or (newly augmented, a rise of prices for sold products, and, on the other side, this results in a variation in output size, e.g. a reduced output volume, but, though, not in a linear trend. The dynamics, in this case of economic mechanism whose yield is a reduced volume of goods and/or services, in not linear, because essential are, too, the characteristics of products, from which effects of demand price elasticity and offer price elasticity influence significantly, in this framework, output management.

  10. A noisy spring: the impact of globally rising underwater sound levels on fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slabbekoorn, Hans; Bouton, Niels; van Opzeeland, Ilse; Coers, Aukje; ten Cate, Carel; Popper, Arthur N

    2010-07-01

    The underwater environment is filled with biotic and abiotic sounds, many of which can be important for the survival and reproduction of fish. Over the last century, human activities in and near the water have increasingly added artificial sounds to this environment. Very loud sounds of relatively short exposure, such as those produced during pile driving, can harm nearby fish. However, more moderate underwater noises of longer duration, such as those produced by vessels, could potentially impact much larger areas, and involve much larger numbers of fish. Here we call attention to the urgent need to study the role of sound in the lives of fish and to develop a better understanding of the ecological impact of anthropogenic noise. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Modelling sea level rise impacts on storm surges along US coasts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tebaldi, Claudia; Strauss, Benjamin H; Zervas, Chris E

    2012-01-01

    Sound policies for protecting coastal communities and assets require good information about vulnerability to flooding. Here, we investigate the influence of sea level rise on expected storm surge-driven water levels and their frequencies along the contiguous United States. We use model output for global temperature changes, a semi-empirical model of global sea level rise, and long-term records from 55 nationally distributed tidal gauges to develop sea level rise projections at each gauge location. We employ more detailed records over the period 1979–2008 from the same gauges to elicit historic patterns of extreme high water events, and combine these statistics with anticipated relative sea level rise to project changing local extremes through 2050. We find that substantial changes in the frequency of what are now considered extreme water levels may occur even at locations with relatively slow local sea level rise, when the difference in height between presently common and rare water levels is small. We estimate that, by mid-century, some locations may experience high water levels annually that would qualify today as ‘century’ (i.e., having a chance of occurrence of 1% annually) extremes. Today’s century levels become ‘decade’ (having a chance of 10% annually) or more frequent events at about a third of the study gauges, and the majority of locations see substantially higher frequency of previously rare storm-driven water heights in the future. These results add support to the need for policy approaches that consider the non-stationarity of extreme events when evaluating risks of adverse climate impacts. (letter)

  12. Metrics for Polyphonic Sound Event Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annamaria Mesaros

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents and discusses various metrics proposed for evaluation of polyphonic sound event detection systems used in realistic situations where there are typically multiple sound sources active simultaneously. The system output in this case contains overlapping events, marked as multiple sounds detected as being active at the same time. The polyphonic system output requires a suitable procedure for evaluation against a reference. Metrics from neighboring fields such as speech recognition and speaker diarization can be used, but they need to be partially redefined to deal with the overlapping events. We present a review of the most common metrics in the field and the way they are adapted and interpreted in the polyphonic case. We discuss segment-based and event-based definitions of each metric and explain the consequences of instance-based and class-based averaging using a case study. In parallel, we provide a toolbox containing implementations of presented metrics.

  13. 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."

  14. Toward Inverse Control of Physics-Based Sound Synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfalz, A.; Berdahl, E.

    2017-05-01

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

  15. Energy and output dynamics in Bangladesh

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paul, Biru Paksha; Uddin, Gazi Salah

    2011-01-01

    The relationship between energy consumption and output is still ambiguous in the existing literature. The economy of Bangladesh, having spectacular output growth and rising energy demand as well as energy efficiency in recent decades, can be an ideal case for examining energy-output dynamics. We find that while fluctuations in energy consumption do not affect output fluctuations, movements in output inversely affect movements in energy use. The results of Granger causality tests in this respect are consistent with those of innovative accounting that includes variance decompositions and impulse responses. Autoregressive distributed lag models also suggest a role of output in Bangladesh's energy use. Hence, the findings of this study have policy implications for other developing nations where measures for energy conservation and efficiency can be relevant in policymaking.

  16. Output levels of commercially available portable compact disc players and the potential risk to hearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fligor, Brian J; Cox, L Clarke

    2004-12-01

    To measure the sound levels generated by the headphones of commercially available portable compact disc players and provide hearing healthcare providers with safety guidelines based on a theoretical noise dose model. Using a Knowles Electronics Manikin for Acoustical Research and a personal computer, output levels across volume control settings were recorded from headphones driven by a standard signal (white noise) and compared with output levels from music samples of eight different genres. Many commercially available models from different manufacturers were investigated. Several different styles of headphones (insert, supra-aural, vertical, and circumaural) were used to determine if style of headphone influenced output level. Free-field equivalent sound pressure levels measured at maximum volume control setting ranged from 91 dBA to 121 dBA. Output levels varied across manufacturers and style of headphone, although generally the smaller the headphone, the higher the sound level for a given volume control setting. Specifically, in one manufacturer, insert earphones increased output level 7-9 dB, relative to the output from stock headphones included in the purchase of the CD player. In a few headphone-CD player combinations, peak sound pressure levels exceeded 130 dB SPL. Based on measured sound pressure levels across systems and the noise dose model recommended by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for protecting the occupational worker, a maximum permissible noise dose would typically be reached within 1 hr of listening with the volume control set to 70% of maximum gain using supra-aural headphones. Using headphones that resulted in boosting the output level (e.g., insert earphones used in this study) would significantly decrease the maximum safe volume control setting; this effect was unpredictable from one manufacturer to another. In the interest of providing a straightforward recommendation that should protect the hearing of the majority of

  17. A level switch with a sound tube

    OpenAIRE

    赤池, 誠規

    2017-01-01

    Level switches are sensor with an electrical contact output at a specific liquid, powder or bulk level. Most of traditional level switches are not suitable for harsh environments. The level switch in this study connects a loudspeaker on top end of the sound tube. When liquid, powder or bulk closes bottom end of the sound tube, the level switch turns on. The level switch is suitable for harsh environments and easy to install. The aim of this study is to propose a level switch with a sound tube...

  18. The role of envelope shape in the localization of multiple sound sources and echoes in the barn owl.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baxter, Caitlin S; Nelson, Brian S; Takahashi, Terry T

    2013-02-01

    Echoes and sounds of independent origin often obscure sounds of interest, but echoes can go undetected under natural listening conditions, a perception called the precedence effect. How does the auditory system distinguish between echoes and independent sources? To investigate, we presented two broadband noises to barn owls (Tyto alba) while varying the similarity of the sounds' envelopes. The carriers of the noises were identical except for a 2- or 3-ms delay. Their onsets and offsets were also synchronized. In owls, sound localization is guided by neural activity on a topographic map of auditory space. When there are two sources concomitantly emitting sounds with overlapping amplitude spectra, space map neurons discharge when the stimulus in their receptive field is louder than the one outside it and when the averaged amplitudes of both sounds are rising. A model incorporating these features calculated the strengths of the two sources' representations on the map (B. S. Nelson and T. T. Takahashi; Neuron 67: 643-655, 2010). The target localized by the owls could be predicted from the model's output. The model also explained why the echo is not localized at short delays: when envelopes are similar, peaks in the leading sound mask corresponding peaks in the echo, weakening the echo's space map representation. When the envelopes are dissimilar, there are few or no corresponding peaks, and the owl localizes whichever source is predicted by the model to be less masked. Thus the precedence effect in the owl is a by-product of a mechanism for representing multiple sound sources on its map.

  19. Test program for NIS calibration to reactor thermal output in HTTR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Shinozaki, Masayuki; Tachibana, Yukio; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko

    2000-03-01

    Rise-to-power test program for reactor thermal output measurement has been established to calibrate a neutron instrumentation system taking account of the characteristics of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR). An error of reactor thermal output measurement was evaluated taking account of a configuration of instrumentation system. And the expected dispersion of measurement in the full power operation was evaluated from non-nuclear heat-up of primary coolant up to 213degC. From the evaluation, it was found that an error of reactor thermal output measurement would be less than ±2.0% at the rated power. This report presents the detailed program of rise-to-power test for reactor thermal output measurement and discusses its measurement error. (author)

  20. Quantifying sound quality in loudspeaker reproduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beerends, John G.; van Nieuwenhuizen, Kevin; van den Broek, E.L.

    2016-01-01

    We present PREQUEL: Perceptual Reproduction Quality Evaluation for Loudspeakers. Instead of quantifying the loudspeaker system itself, PREQUEL quantifies the overall loudspeakers' perceived sound quality by assessing their acoustic output using a set of music signals. This approach introduces a

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2008-05-01

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

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2008-01-01

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

  3. 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

  4. A three-dimensional integrated nanogenerator for effectively harvesting sound energy from the environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jinmei; Cui, Nuanyang; Gu, Long; Chen, Xiaobo; Bai, Suo; Zheng, Youbin; Hu, Caixia; Qin, Yong

    2016-02-01

    An integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (ITNG) with a three-dimensional structure benefiting sound propagation and adsorption is demonstrated to more effectively harvest sound energy with improved output performance. With different multifunctional integrated layers working harmonically, it could generate a short-circuit current up to 2.1 mA, an open-circuit voltage up to 232 V and the maximum charging rate can reach 453 μC s-1 for a 1 mF capacitor, which are 4.6 times, 2.6 times and 7.4 times the highest reported values, respectively. Further study shows that the ITNG works well under sound in a wide range of sound intensity levels (SILs) and frequencies, and its output is sensitive to the SIL and frequency of the sound, which reveals that the ITNG can act as a self-powered active sensor for real-time noise surveillance and health care. Moreover, this generator can be used to directly power the Fe(OH)3 sol electrophoresis and shows great potential as a wireless power supply in the electrochemical industry.An integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (ITNG) with a three-dimensional structure benefiting sound propagation and adsorption is demonstrated to more effectively harvest sound energy with improved output performance. With different multifunctional integrated layers working harmonically, it could generate a short-circuit current up to 2.1 mA, an open-circuit voltage up to 232 V and the maximum charging rate can reach 453 μC s-1 for a 1 mF capacitor, which are 4.6 times, 2.6 times and 7.4 times the highest reported values, respectively. Further study shows that the ITNG works well under sound in a wide range of sound intensity levels (SILs) and frequencies, and its output is sensitive to the SIL and frequency of the sound, which reveals that the ITNG can act as a self-powered active sensor for real-time noise surveillance and health care. Moreover, this generator can be used to directly power the Fe(OH)3 sol electrophoresis and shows great potential as a

  5. Stochastic Signal Processing for Sound Environment System with Decibel Evaluation and Energy Observation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akira Ikuta

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In real sound environment system, a specific signal shows various types of probability distribution, and the observation data are usually contaminated by external noise (e.g., background noise of non-Gaussian distribution type. Furthermore, there potentially exist various nonlinear correlations in addition to the linear correlation between input and output time series. Consequently, often the system input and output relationship in the real phenomenon cannot be represented by a simple model using only the linear correlation and lower order statistics. In this study, complex sound environment systems difficult to analyze by using usual structural method are considered. By introducing an estimation method of the system parameters reflecting correlation information for conditional probability distribution under existence of the external noise, a prediction method of output response probability for sound environment systems is theoretically proposed in a suitable form for the additive property of energy variable and the evaluation in decibel scale. The effectiveness of the proposed stochastic signal processing method is experimentally confirmed by applying it to the observed data in sound environment systems.

  6. Effects of Measurement Error on the Output Gap in Japan

    OpenAIRE

    Koichiro Kamada; Kazuto Masuda

    2000-01-01

    Potential output is the largest amount of products that can be produced by fully utilizing available labor and capital stock; the output gap is defined as the discrepancy between actual and potential output. If data on production factors contain measurement errors, total factor productivity (TFP) cannot be estimated accurately from the Solow residual(i.e., the portion of output that is not attributable to labor and capital inputs). This may give rise to distortions in the estimation of potent...

  7. Central Puget Sound Ecopath/Ecosim model outputs - Developing food web models for ecosystem-based management applications in Puget Sound

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This project is developing food web models for ecosystem-based management applications in Puget Sound. It is primarily being done by NMFS FTEs and contractors, in...

  8. [Synchronous playing and acquiring of heart sounds and electrocardiogram based on labVIEW].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dan, Chunmei; He, Wei; Zhou, Jing; Que, Xiaosheng

    2008-12-01

    In this paper is described a comprehensive system, which can acquire heart sounds and electrocardiogram (ECG) in parallel, synchronize the display; and play of heart sound and make auscultation and check phonocardiogram to tie in. The hardware system with C8051F340 as the core acquires the heart sound and ECG synchronously, and then sends them to indicators, respectively. Heart sounds are displayed and played simultaneously by controlling the moment of writing to indicator and sound output device. In clinical testing, heart sounds can be successfully located with ECG and real-time played.

  9. Sound characteristics of Terapon jorbua as a response to temperature changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amron; Jaya, I.; Hestirianoto, T.; Juterzenka, K. v.

    2017-10-01

    The change of water temperature has potential impact on the behavior of aquatic animal including fish which generated by their sound productivity and characteristics. This research aimed to study the response of sound productivity and characteristics of Terapon jorbua to temperature change. As a response to temperature increase, T. jorbua to have decreased the number of sound productivity. Two characteristic parameters of fish sound, i.e. intensity and frequency as were quadratic increased during the water temperature rises. In contrast, pulse duration was quadratic decreased.

  10. Pitch Based Sound Classification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Andreas Brinch; Hansen, Lars Kai; Kjems, U

    2006-01-01

    A sound classification model is presented that can classify signals into music, noise and speech. The model extracts the pitch of the signal using the harmonic product spectrum. Based on the pitch estimate and a pitch error measure, features are created and used in a probabilistic model with soft......-max output function. Both linear and quadratic inputs are used. The model is trained on 2 hours of sound and tested on publicly available data. A test classification error below 0.05 with 1 s classification windows is achieved. Further more it is shown that linear input performs as well as a quadratic......, and that even though classification gets marginally better, not much is achieved by increasing the window size beyond 1 s....

  11. Contingent sounds change the mental representation of one's finger length.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tajadura-Jiménez, Ana; Vakali, Maria; Fairhurst, Merle T; Mandrigin, Alisa; Bianchi-Berthouze, Nadia; Deroy, Ophelia

    2017-07-18

    Mental body-representations are highly plastic and can be modified after brief exposure to unexpected sensory feedback. While the role of vision, touch and proprioception in shaping body-representations has been highlighted by many studies, the auditory influences on mental body-representations remain poorly understood. Changes in body-representations by the manipulation of natural sounds produced when one's body impacts on surfaces have recently been evidenced. But will these changes also occur with non-naturalistic sounds, which provide no information about the impact produced by or on the body? Drawing on the well-documented capacity of dynamic changes in pitch to elicit impressions of motion along the vertical plane and of changes in object size, we asked participants to pull on their right index fingertip with their left hand while they were presented with brief sounds of rising, falling or constant pitches, and in the absence of visual information of their hands. Results show an "auditory Pinocchio" effect, with participants feeling and estimating their finger to be longer after the rising pitch condition. These results provide the first evidence that sounds that are not indicative of veridical movement, such as non-naturalistic sounds, can induce a Pinocchio-like change in body-representation when arbitrarily paired with a bodily action.

  12. A Real-Time Sound Field Rendering Processor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tan Yiyu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Real-time sound field renderings are computationally intensive and memory-intensive. Traditional rendering systems based on computer simulations suffer from memory bandwidth and arithmetic units. The computation is time-consuming, and the sample rate of the output sound is low because of the long computation time at each time step. In this work, a processor with a hybrid architecture is proposed to speed up computation and improve the sample rate of the output sound, and an interface is developed for system scalability through simply cascading many chips to enlarge the simulated area. To render a three-minute Beethoven wave sound in a small shoe-box room with dimensions of 1.28 m × 1.28 m × 0.64 m, the field programming gate array (FPGA-based prototype machine with the proposed architecture carries out the sound rendering at run-time while the software simulation with the OpenMP parallelization takes about 12.70 min on a personal computer (PC with 32 GB random access memory (RAM and an Intel i7-6800K six-core processor running at 3.4 GHz. The throughput in the software simulation is about 194 M grids/s while it is 51.2 G grids/s in the prototype machine even if the clock frequency of the prototype machine is much lower than that of the PC. The rendering processor with a processing element (PE and interfaces consumes about 238,515 gates after fabricated by the 0.18 µm processing technology from the ROHM semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Kyoto Japan, and the power consumption is about 143.8 mW.

  13. Mechanisms Regulating the Cardiac Output Response to Cyanide Infusion, a Model of Hypoxia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Chang-seng; Huckabee, William E.

    1973-01-01

    When tissue metabolic changes like those of hypoxia were induced by intra-aortic infusion of cyanide in dogs, cardiac output began to increase after 3 to 5 min, reached a peak (220% of the control value) at 15 min, and returned to control in 40 min. This pattern of cardiac output rise was not altered by vagotomy with or without atropine pretreatment. However, this cardiac output response could be differentiated into three phases by pretreating the animals with agents that block specific activities of the sympatho-adrenal system. First, ganglionic blockade produced by mecamylamine or sympathetic nerve blockade by bretylium abolished the middle phase of the cardiac output seen in the untreated animal, but early and late phases still could be discerned. Second, beta-adrenergic receptor blockade produced by propranolol shortened the total duration of the cardiac output rise by abolishing the late phase. Third, when given together, propranolol and mecamylamine (or bretylium) prevented most of the cardiac output rise that follows the early phase. When cyanide was given to splenectomized dogs, the duration of the cardiac output response was not shortened, but the response became biphasic, resembling that seen after chemical sympathectomy. A similar biphasic response of the cardiac output also resulted from splenic denervation; sham operation or nephrectomy had no effect on the monophasic pattern of the normal response. Splenic venous blood obtained from cyanide-treated dogs, when infused intraportally, caused an increase in cardiac output in recipient dogs; similar infusion of arterial blood had no effects. These results suggest that the cardiac output response to cyanide infusion consists of three components: an early phase, related neither to the autonomic nervous system nor to circulating catecholamines; a middle phase, caused by a nonadrenergic humoral substance released from the spleen by sympathetic stimulation; and a late phase, dependent upon adrenergic receptors

  14. 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.

  15. Radiation monitoring for the HTTR rise-to-power test (1) and (2)'

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakazawa, Takashi; Yoshino, Toshiaki; Yasu, Katsuji; Ashikagaya, Yoshinobu; Kikuchi, Toshiki [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Oarai, Ibaraki (Japan). Oarai Research Establishment

    2001-02-01

    The High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) is the first high temperature gas-cooled research reactor in Japan. This reactor is a helium-gas-cooled and graphite-moderated reactor with a thermal output of 30 MW. The rated operation temperature of the outlet coolant is 850degC. (During high temperature test operation, this reaches 950degC). The first criticality of the HTTR was attained in November 1998. The single loaded, parallel loaded operation with a thermal output of 9 MW (called the HTTR Rise-to-Power Test (1)) was completed between September 16, 1999 and July 8, 2000. The single loaded, parallel loaded continuous operation with a thermal output of 20 MW (called the HTTR Rise-to-Power Test (2)) has also been carried out, but it was shutdown at the halfway stage by a single from the reactor, when the thermal output was 16.5 MW and the reactor outlet coolant temperature was 500degC. This report describes the radiation monitoring carried out during the HTTR Rise-to-Power Tests (1) and (2)'. The data measured by the various radiation monitors is also reported. These data will be used for the estimation of radiation levels (such as the radiation dose equivalent rate, the radioactive concentration in effluents, etc.) for the next HTTR Rise-to-Power Test, and for periodic inspections. (author)

  16. Electromagnetic Sampo monitoring soundings at Olkiluoto 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2010-12-01

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

  17. Influence of current input-output and age of first exposure on phonological acquisition in early bilingual Spanish-English-speaking kindergarteners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-Felter, Roxanna; Cooperson, Solaman J; Bedore, Lisa M; Peña, Elizabeth D

    2016-07-01

    Although some investigations of phonological development have found that segmental accuracy is comparable in monolingual children and their bilingual peers, there is evidence that language use affects segmental accuracy in both languages. To investigate the influence of age of first exposure to English and the amount of current input-output on phonological accuracy in English and Spanish in early bilingual Spanish-English kindergarteners. Also whether parent and teacher ratings of the children's intelligibility are correlated with phonological accuracy and the amount of experience with each language. Data for 91 kindergarteners (mean age = 5;6 years) were selected from a larger dataset focusing on Spanish-English bilingual language development. All children were from Central Texas, spoke a Mexican Spanish dialect and were learning American English. Children completed a single-word phonological assessment with separate forms for English and Spanish. The assessment was analyzed for segmental accuracy: percentage of consonants and vowels correct and percentage of early-, middle- and late-developing (EML) sounds correct were calculated. Children were more accurate on vowel production than consonant production and showed a decrease in accuracy from early to middle to late sounds. The amount of current input-output explained more of the variance in phonological accuracy than age of first English exposure. Although greater current input-output of a language was associated with greater accuracy in that language, English-dominant children were only significantly more accurate in English than Spanish on late sounds, whereas Spanish-dominant children were only significantly more accurate in Spanish than English on early sounds. Higher parent and teacher ratings of intelligibility in Spanish were correlated with greater consonant accuracy in Spanish, but the same did not hold for English. Higher intelligibility ratings in English were correlated with greater current English

  18. Sound of a cup with and without instant coffee

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Andrew; Rossing, Thomas D.

    2002-05-01

    An empty coffee cup, like an ancient Chinese two-tone bell, emits two distinctly different tones, depending upon where it is tapped. When it is filled with hot water, and some instant coffee is added, however, a whole new set of sounds is heard when the cup is tapped. The pitch rises an octave or more as the foam clears due to the dramatic change in the speed of sound in the bubble-filled liquid. A similar, but smaller, effect was noted in beer by Bragg [The World of Sound (1968)] and in hot chocolate by Crawford [Am. J. Phys. (1982)]. We describe the modes of vibration in a coffee cup and the sound emitted by a coffee cup as filled with instant coffee as the bubble density changes.

  19. Observed rise of visible plumes from hyperbolic natural draft cooling towers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brennan, P T [Smith-Singer Meteorologists, Inc., Amityville, NY; Seymour, D E; Butler, M J; Kramer, M L; Smith, M E; Frankenberg, T T

    1976-01-01

    The behavior of natural draft cooling tower plumes and related meteorological variables have been measured from aircraft near three major plants of the American Electric Power System. The rise of those plumes which persisted long enough to reach a stabilized height depended primarily upon the height of the capping inversion aloft. All such plumes rose to elevations of 425 m or more above grade. No significant relationships between plume rise and wind speed, plant load, or ambient temperature were found. We conclude that simple temperature humidity soundings in the vicinity of the towers would serve as effective predictors of plume rise and persistence.

  20. Subnanosecond-rise-time, low-impedance pulse generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Druce, R.; Vogtlin, G.

    1983-01-01

    This paper describes a fast rise, low-impedance pulse generator that has been developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The design specifications of this generator are: 50-kV operating voltage, 1-ohm output impedance, subnanosecond rise time, and a 2 to 10 nanosecond pulse length. High repetition rate is not required. The design chosen is a parallel-plate, folded Blumlein generator. A tack switch is utilized for its simple construction and high performance. The primary diagnostic is a capacitive voltage divider with a B probe used to measure the current waveform

  1. Subnanosecond-rise-time, low-impedance pulse generator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Druce, R.; Vogtlin, G.

    1983-06-03

    This paper describes a fast rise, low-impedance pulse generator that has been developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The design specifications of this generator are: 50-kV operating voltage, 1-ohm output impedance, subnanosecond rise time, and a 2 to 10 nanosecond pulse length. High repetition rate is not required. The design chosen is a parallel-plate, folded Blumlein generator. A tack switch is utilized for its simple construction and high performance. The primary diagnostic is a capacitive voltage divider with a B probe used to measure the current waveform.

  2. Subnanosecond-rise-time, low-impedance pulse generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Druce, R.; Vigtlin, G.

    1983-06-01

    A fast rise, low impedance pulse generator developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is described. The design specifications of this generator are: 50-kV operating voltage, 1-ohm output impedance, subnanosecond rise time, and a 2 to 10 nanosecond pulse length. High repetition rate is not required. The design chosen is a parallel plate, folded Blumlein generator. A tack switch is utilized for its simple construction and high performance. The primary diagnostic is a capacitive voltage divider with a B probe used to measure the current waveform.

  3. Relating auditory attributes of multichannel sound to preference and to physical parameters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choisel, Sylvain; Wickelmaier, Florian Maria

    2006-01-01

    playing a role in sound quality evaluation. Eight selected attributes are quantified by a panel of 39 listeners using paired-comparison judgments and probabilistic choice models, and related to overall preference. A multiple-regression model predicts preference well, and some similarities are observed......Sound reproduced by multichannel systems is affected by many factors giving rise to various sensations, or auditory attributes. Relating specific attributes to overall preference and to physical measures of the sound field provides valuable information for a better understanding of the parameters...

  4. Bioenergetics model output - Trophic impacts of bald eagles in the Puget Sound food web

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This project is developing models to examine the ecological roles of bald eagles in the Puget Sound region. It is primarily being done by NMFS FTEs, in collaboration...

  5. 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...

  6. Effect of room absorption on human vocal output in multitalker situations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijs, L.; Saher, K.; Den Ouden, D.

    2008-01-01

    People increase their vocal output in noisy environments. This is known as the Lombard effect. The aim of the present study was to measure the effect as a function of the absorption coefficient. The noise source was generated by using other talkers in the room. A-weighted sound levels were measured

  7. Safety limit warning levels for the avoidance of excessive sound amplification to protect against further hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Earl E

    2017-11-01

    To determine safe output sound pressure levels (SPL) for sound amplification devices to preserve hearing sensitivity after usage. A mathematical model consisting of the Modified Power Law (MPL) (Humes & Jesteadt, 1991 ) combined with equations for predicting temporary threshold shift (TTS) and subsequent permanent threshold shift (PTS) (Macrae, 1994b ) was used to determine safe output SPL. The study involves no new human subject measurements of loudness tolerance or threshold shifts. PTS was determined by the MPL model for 234 audiograms and the SPL output recommended by four different validated prescription recommendations for hearing aids. PTS can, on rare occasion, occur as a result of SPL delivered by hearing aids at modern day prescription recommendations. The trading relationship of safe output SPL, decibel hearing level (dB HL) threshold, and PTS was captured with algebraic expressions. Better hearing thresholds lowered the safe output SPL and higher thresholds raised the safe output SPL. Safe output SPL can consider the magnitude of unaided hearing loss. For devices not set to prescriptive levels, limiting the output SPL below the safe levels identified should protect against threshold worsening as a result of long-term usage.

  8. 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.

  9. Multiplex Outputs ns Grade High-voltage Fast Pulse Generator Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xin; Chen Kenan

    2009-01-01

    Using a double-grid hydrogen thyratron, a fast pulse generator with four outputs, high-voltage, low jitter, was made to use at special occasion.In this paper, the basic structure of pulser, switching theory and double-grid driving of hydrogen thyratron was introduced, and also, the effects of grids driving pulses characteristics, the delay between too grids driving, the reservoir heater voltage and cathode heater voltage on the output are carefully examined in experiments. The pulse generator with four outputs was made to producing pulses with amplitude up to 4 kV, rise-time less than 15 ns and jitter less than 3 ns. (authors)

  10. Study of the temperature rise induced by a focusing transducer with a wide aperture angle on biological tissue containing ribs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xin; Lin Jiexing; Liu Xiaozhou; Liu Jiehui; Gong Xiufen

    2016-01-01

    We used the spheroidal beam equation to calculate the sound field created by focusing a transducer with a wide aperture angle to obtain the heat deposition, and then we used the Pennes bioheat equation to calculate the temperature field in biological tissue with ribs and to ascertain the effects of rib parameters on the temperature field. The results show that the location and the gap width between the ribs have a great influence on the axial and radial temperature rise of multilayer biological tissue. With a decreasing gap width, the location of the maximum temperature rise moves forward; as the ribs are closer to the transducer surface, the sound energy that passes through the gap between the ribs at the focus decreases, the maximum temperature rise decreases, and the location of the maximum temperature rise moves forward with the ribs. (paper)

  11. Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Using Sound Speed

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2002-05-01

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

  12. 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.

  13. Food web model output - Trophic impacts of bald eagles in the Puget Sound food web

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This project is developing models to examine the ecological roles of bald eagles in the Puget Sound region. It is primarily being done by NMFS FTEs, in collaboration...

  14. The Flooding of Long Island Sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, E.; Varekamp, J. C.; Lewis, R. S.

    2007-12-01

    Between the Last Glacial Maximum (22-19 ka) and the Holocene (10 ka) regions marginal to the Laurentide Ice Sheets saw complex environmental changes from moraines to lake basins to dry land to estuaries and marginal ocean basins, as a result of the interplay between the topography of moraines formed at the maximum extent and during stages of the retreat of the ice sheet, regional glacial rebound, and global eustatic sea level rise. In New England, the history of deglaciation and relative sea level rise has been studied extensively, and the sequence of events has been documented in detail. The Laurentide Ice Sheet reached its maximum extent (Long Island) at 21.3-20.4 ka according to radiocarbon dating (calibrated ages), 19.0-18.4 ka according to radionuclide dating. Periglacial Lake Connecticut formed behind the moraines in what is now the Long Island Sound Basin. The lake drained through the moraine at its eastern end. Seismic records show that a fluvial system was cut into the exposed lake beds, and a wave-cut unconformity was produced during the marine flooding, which has been inferred to have occurred at about 15.5 ka (Melt Water Pulse 1A) through correlation with dated events on land. Vibracores from eastern Long Island Sound penetrate the unconformity and contain red, varved lake beds overlain by marine grey sands and silts with a dense concentration of oysters in life position above the erosional contact. The marine sediments consist of intertidal to shallow subtidal deposits with oysters, shallow-water foraminifera and litoral diatoms, overlain by somewhat laminated sandy silts, in turn overlain by coarser-grained, sandy to silty sediments with reworked foraminifera and bivalve fragments. The latter may have been deposited in a sand-wave environment as present today at the core locations. We provide direct age control of the transgression with 30 radiocarbon dates on oysters, and compared the ages with those obtained on macrophytes and bulk organic carbon in

  15. Differential Intracochlear Sound Pressure Measurements in Human Temporal Bones with an Off-the-Shelf Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Grossöhmichen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The standard method to determine the output level of acoustic and mechanical stimulation to the inner ear is measurement of vibration response of the stapes in human cadaveric temporal bones (TBs by laser Doppler vibrometry. However, this method is reliable only if the intact ossicular chain is stimulated. For other stimulation modes an alternative method is needed. The differential intracochlear sound pressure between scala vestibuli (SV and scala tympani (ST is assumed to correlate with excitation. Using a custom-made pressure sensor it has been successfully measured and used to determine the output level of acoustic and mechanical stimulation. To make this method generally accessible, an off-the-shelf pressure sensor (Samba Preclin 420 LP, Samba Sensors was tested here for intracochlear sound pressure measurements. During acoustic stimulation, intracochlear sound pressures were simultaneously measurable in SV and ST between 0.1 and 8 kHz with sufficient signal-to-noise ratios with this sensor. The pressure differences were comparable to results obtained with custom-made sensors. Our results demonstrated that the pressure sensor Samba Preclin 420 LP is usable for measurements of intracochlear sound pressures in SV and ST and for the determination of differential intracochlear sound pressures.

  16. Total (fumarolic?+?diffuse soil) CO2 output from Furnas volcano

    OpenAIRE

    Pedone, M.; Viveiros, F.; Aiuppa, A.; Giudice, G.; Grassa, F.; Gagliano, A. L.; Francofonte, V.; Ferreira, T.

    2015-01-01

    Furnas volcano, in S?o Miguel island (Azores), being the surface expression of rising hydrothermal steam, is the site of intense carbon dioxide (CO2) release by diffuse degassing and fumaroles. While the diffusive CO2 output has long (since the early 1990s) been characterized by soil CO2 surveys, no information is presently available on the fumarolic CO2 output. Here, we performed (in August 2014) a study in which soil CO2 degassing survey was combined for the first time with the measurement ...

  17. Improving Sound Systems by Electrical Means

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schneider, Henrik

    to intelligent control and protection functionality and so on. In this work different strategies towards improvements of sound systems by electrical means was investigated considering the interfaces between each component and the performance of the full system. The strategies can be categorized by improvements...... reduction in the best case. This technology is very promising since it compensates for most distortion mechanisms of the transducer such as non-linearities, production variation, wear-n-tear, temperature changes and so on. Furthermore the accelerometer output can be used for protection purposes. The only...... of the bended copper foils to optimize the DC resistance. The DC resistance was reduced by 30 % compared to the starting point for a 10 turn toroidal inductor using this method. The combined work indicate that large sound system improvements are in reach by use of electrical means. Innovative solutions have...

  18. Comparison of x-ray output of inverter-type x-ray equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asano, Hiroshi; Miyake, Hiroyuki; Yamamoto, Keiichi

    2000-01-01

    The x-ray output of 54 inverter-type x-ray apparatuses used at 18 institutions was investigated. The reproducibility and linearity of x-ray output and variations among the x-ray equipment were evaluated using the same fluorescence meter. In addition, the x-ray apparatuses were re-measured using the same non-invasive instrument to check for variations in tube voltage, tube current, and irradiation time. The non-invasive instrument was calibrated by simultaneously obtaining measurements with an invasive instrument, employing the tube voltage and current used for the invasive instrument, and the difference was calculated. Reproducibility of x-ray output was satisfactory for all x-ray apparatuses. The coefficient of variation was 0.04 or less for irradiation times of 5 ms or longer. In 84.3% of all x-ray equipment, variation in the linearity of x-ray output was 15% or less for an irradiation time of 5 ms. However, for all the apparatuses, the figure was 50% when irradiation time was the shortest (1 to 3 ms). Variation in x-ray output increased as irradiation time decreased. Variation in x-ray output ranged between 1.8 and 2.5 compared with the maximum and minimum values, excluding those obtained at the shortest irradiation time. The relative standard deviation ranged from ±15.5% to ±21.0%. The largest variation in x-ray output was confirmed in regions irradiated for the shortest time, with smaller variations observed for longer irradiation times. The major factor responsible for variation in x-ray output in regions irradiated for 10 ms or longer, which is a relatively long irradiation time, was variation in tube current. Variation in tube current was slightly greater than 30% at maximum, with an average value of 7% compared with the preset tube current. Variations in x-ray output in regions irradiated for the shortest time were due to photographic effects related to the rise and fall times of the tube voltage waveform. Accordingly, in order to obtain constant x

  19. 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...

  20. 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...

  1. Five mechanisms of sound symbolic association.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidhu, David M; Pexman, Penny M

    2017-08-24

    Sound symbolism refers to an association between phonemes and stimuli containing particular perceptual and/or semantic elements (e.g., objects of a certain size or shape). Some of the best-known examples include the mil/mal effect (Sapir, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 225-239, 1929) and the maluma/takete effect (Köhler, 1929). Interest in this topic has been on the rise within psychology, and studies have demonstrated that sound symbolic effects are relevant for many facets of cognition, including language, action, memory, and categorization. Sound symbolism also provides a mechanism by which words' forms can have nonarbitrary, iconic relationships with their meanings. Although various proposals have been put forth for how phonetic features (both acoustic and articulatory) come to be associated with stimuli, there is as yet no generally agreed-upon explanation. We review five proposals: statistical co-occurrence between phonetic features and associated stimuli in the environment, a shared property among phonetic features and stimuli; neural factors; species-general, evolved associations; and patterns extracted from language. We identify a number of outstanding questions that need to be addressed on this topic and suggest next steps for the field.

  2. Development of a fast rise-time, high-voltage pulse generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yanxia; Zhu Jie; Li Xianyou

    2006-01-01

    In order to test the attenuation of the system, a fast rise-time, high-voltage pulse generator is required for the fast pulse signal measurement. The paper presents the development of the generator. More emphasis is paid on the discussion of the difficulties occurring in the circuit debugging and their resolutions. The output rise-time of the generator is 700 ps, the amplitude is adjustable in the range of 0 to 500 V, the pulse-width is adjustable in the range of 4ns to 1μs. (authors)

  3. Sound pressure levels generated at risk volume steps of portable listening devices: types of smartphone and genres of music.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Gibbeum; Han, Woojae

    2018-05-01

    The present study estimated the sound pressure levels of various music genres at the volume steps that contemporary smartphones deliver, because these levels put the listener at potential risk for hearing loss. Using six different smartphones (Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 3, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, LG G2, and LG G3), the sound pressure levels for three genres of K-pop music (dance-pop, hip-hop, and pop-ballad) and a Billboard pop chart of assorted genres were measured through an earbud for the first risk volume that was at the risk sign proposed by the smartphones, as well as consecutive higher volumes using a sound level meter and artificial mastoid. The first risk volume step of the Galaxy S6 and the LG G2, among the six smartphones, had the significantly lowest (84.1 dBA) and highest output levels (92.4 dBA), respectively. As the volume step increased, so did the sound pressure levels. The iPhone 6 was loudest (113.1 dBA) at the maximum volume step. Of the music genres, dance-pop showed the highest output level (91.1 dBA) for all smartphones. Within the frequency range of 20~ 20,000 Hz, the sound pressure level peaked at 2000 Hz for all the smartphones. The results showed that the sound pressure levels of either the first volume step or the maximum volume step were not the same for the different smartphone models and genres of music, which means that the risk volume sign and its output levels should be unified across the devices for their users. In addition, the risk volume steps proposed by the latest smartphone models are high enough to cause noise-induced hearing loss if their users habitually listen to music at those levels.

  4. Sustained Magnetic Responses in Temporal Cortex Reflect Instantaneous Significance of Approaching and Receding Sounds.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominik R Bach

    Full Text Available Rising sound intensity often signals an approaching sound source and can serve as a powerful warning cue, eliciting phasic attention, perception biases and emotional responses. How the evaluation of approaching sounds unfolds over time remains elusive. Here, we capitalised on the temporal resolution of magnetoencephalograpy (MEG to investigate in humans a dynamic encoding of perceiving approaching and receding sounds. We compared magnetic responses to intensity envelopes of complex sounds to those of white noise sounds, in which intensity change is not perceived as approaching. Sustained magnetic fields over temporal sensors tracked intensity change in complex sounds in an approximately linear fashion, an effect not seen for intensity change in white noise sounds, or for overall intensity. Hence, these fields are likely to track approach/recession, but not the apparent (instantaneous distance of the sound source, or its intensity as such. As a likely source of this activity, the bilateral inferior temporal gyrus and right temporo-parietal junction emerged. Our results indicate that discrete temporal cortical areas parametrically encode behavioural significance in moving sound sources where the signal unfolded in a manner reminiscent of evidence accumulation. This may help an understanding of how acoustic percepts are evaluated as behaviourally relevant, where our results highlight a crucial role of cortical areas.

  5. 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.)

  6. 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...

  7. Dynamic Estimation on Output Elasticity of Highway Capital Stock in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, W. J.; Zuo, Q. L.; Bai, Y. F.

    2017-12-01

    By using the Perpetual Inventory Method to calculate the capital stock of highway in China from 1988 to 2016, the paper builds the State Space Model based on Translog Production Function, according to the Ridge Regression and Kalman Filter Method, the dynamic estimation results of output elasticity are measured continuously and analyzed. The conclusions show that: Firstly, China’s growth speed on highway industry capital stock are divided into three stages which are respectively from 1988 to 2000, from 2001 to 2009 and from 2010 to 2016, during which shows steady growth, between which reflect rapid growth; Secondly, the output elasticity of highway capital stock, being between 0.154 and 0.248, is slightly larger than the output elasticity of human input factor, lower than the output elasticity of the technical level, shows positive effect on transport economy and rises steadily, but the output efficiency is low on the whole; Thirdly, around the year of 2010, the scale pay on highway industry begins to highlight the characteristic of increase.

  8. L-type calcium channels refine the neural population code of sound level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimsley, Calum Alex; Green, David Brian

    2016-01-01

    The coding of sound level by ensembles of neurons improves the accuracy with which listeners identify how loud a sound is. In the auditory system, the rate at which neurons fire in response to changes in sound level is shaped by local networks. Voltage-gated conductances alter local output by regulating neuronal firing, but their role in modulating responses to sound level is unclear. We tested the effects of L-type calcium channels (CaL: CaV1.1–1.4) on sound-level coding in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) in the auditory midbrain. We characterized the contribution of CaL to the total calcium current in brain slices and then examined its effects on rate-level functions (RLFs) in vivo using single-unit recordings in awake mice. CaL is a high-threshold current and comprises ∼50% of the total calcium current in ICC neurons. In vivo, CaL activates at sound levels that evoke high firing rates. In RLFs that increase monotonically with sound level, CaL boosts spike rates at high sound levels and increases the maximum firing rate achieved. In different populations of RLFs that change nonmonotonically with sound level, CaL either suppresses or enhances firing at sound levels that evoke maximum firing. CaL multiplies the gain of monotonic RLFs with dynamic range and divides the gain of nonmonotonic RLFs with the width of the RLF. These results suggest that a single broad class of calcium channels activates enhancing and suppressing local circuits to regulate the sensitivity of neuronal populations to sound level. PMID:27605536

  9. Input-output analysis of high-speed axisymmetric isothermal jet noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeun, Jinah; Nichols, Joseph W.; Jovanović, Mihailo R.

    2016-04-01

    We use input-output analysis to predict and understand the aeroacoustics of high-speed isothermal turbulent jets. We consider axisymmetric linear perturbations about Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions of ideally expanded turbulent jets with jet Mach numbers 0.6 parabolized stability equations (PSE), and this mode dominates the response. For subsonic jets, however, the singular values indicate that the contributions of sub-optimal modes to noise generation are nearly equal to that of the optimal mode, explaining why the PSE do not fully capture the far-field sound in this case. Furthermore, high-fidelity large eddy simulation (LES) is used to assess the prevalence of sub-optimal modes in the unsteady data. By projecting LES source term data onto input modes and the LES acoustic far-field onto output modes, we demonstrate that sub-optimal modes of both types are physically relevant.

  10. Internal-state analysis in layered artificial neural network trained to categorize lung sounds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oud, M

    2002-01-01

    In regular use of artificial neural networks, only input and output states of the network are known to the user. Weight and bias values can be extracted but are difficult to interpret. We analyzed internal states of networks trained to map asthmatic lung sound spectra onto lung function parameters.

  11. Apparatus for measuring speed through the Doppler frequency shift of sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schier, Walter

    2011-04-01

    The Doppler frequency shift of sound apparatus is based on a one meter diameter rotary table with a "button" speaker at its outer edge. A semicircular waveguide encloses half the periphery and has a microphone pickup on its wall at the midpoint. The tangential speed of the button speaker can be determined two ways for comparison. One method calculates speed from the frequency shift of sound, the other uses the repeat sound pattern. Agreement to one percent is possible at speeds of about 25 mph. In the lab the microphone output is fed successively to pairs of students at ten computer stations. Students must also perform an exercise in their lab report that introduces them to the red shifted wavelengths of receding galaxies at determined distances from the earth thus introducing them to Hubble's law, the concept of the "Big Bang", and their estimate of the age of the universe.

  12. Cortical processing of dynamic sound envelope transitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yi; Wang, Xiaoqin

    2010-12-08

    Slow envelope fluctuations in the range of 2-20 Hz provide important segmental cues for processing communication sounds. For a successful segmentation, a neural processor must capture envelope features associated with the rise and fall of signal energy, a process that is often challenged by the interference of background noise. This study investigated the neural representations of slowly varying envelopes in quiet and in background noise in the primary auditory cortex (A1) of awake marmoset monkeys. We characterized envelope features based on the local average and rate of change of sound level in envelope waveforms and identified envelope features to which neurons were selective by reverse correlation. Our results showed that envelope feature selectivity of A1 neurons was correlated with the degree of nonmonotonicity in their static rate-level functions. Nonmonotonic neurons exhibited greater feature selectivity than monotonic neurons in quiet and in background noise. The diverse envelope feature selectivity decreased spike-timing correlation among A1 neurons in response to the same envelope waveforms. As a result, the variability, but not the average, of the ensemble responses of A1 neurons represented more faithfully the dynamic transitions in low-frequency sound envelopes both in quiet and in background noise.

  13. Research on the Interior Sound Quality in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liao Lian Ying

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Even the overall level of vehicle interior noise of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV reduced to a certain degree, the vibration and noise generated by the engine, motor, generator and power split have made greater effect on the vehicle interior sound quality in HEV. In order to research the feature of vehicle interior sound quality in HEV, the HEV is used to be the research object, the binaural noise sample of the driver when playing different kinds of music in the vehicle with the speed of sixty kilometers per hour is collected. ArtemiS is used to conduct frequency division processing, so as to obtain the relative weight of each frequency band and the overall noise. The tone, roughness and sharpness of sound quality subjective evaluation parameters are quantified, the SPSS is used to establish the linear regression model of the sample, and the best masking music tracks are found out. Then, the sound samples that contains the best music tracks and the simple vehicle interior noise are re-collected, the regression model and ArtemiS are used to predict the subjective evaluation value. The research results show that when adding the music, the tone degree rises and the lowering degree decreases, thus the disturbing degree reduces, which significantly improves the sound quality in the HEV.

  14. 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.

  15. 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...

  16. An integrated experimental and computational approach to material selection for sound proof thermally insulted enclosure of a power generation system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waheed, R.; Tarar, W.; Saeed, H. A.

    2016-08-01

    Sound proof canopies for diesel power generators are fabricated with a layer of sound absorbing material applied to all the inner walls. The physical properties of the majority of commercially available sound proofing materials reveal that a material with high sound absorption coefficient has very low thermal conductivity. Consequently a good sound absorbing material is also a good heat insulator. In this research it has been found through various experiments that ordinary sound proofing materials tend to rise the inside temperature of sound proof enclosure in certain turbo engines by capturing the heat produced by engine and not allowing it to be transferred to atmosphere. The same phenomenon is studied by creating a finite element model of the sound proof enclosure and performing a steady state and transient thermal analysis. The prospects of using aluminium foam as sound proofing material has been studied and it is found that inside temperature of sound proof enclosure can be cut down to safe working temperature of power generator engine without compromise on sound proofing.

  17. Bayesian stock assessment of Pacific herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muradian, Melissa L; Branch, Trevor A; Moffitt, Steven D; Hulson, Peter-John F

    2017-01-01

    The Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) population in Prince William Sound, Alaska crashed in 1993 and has yet to recover, affecting food web dynamics in the Sound and impacting Alaskan communities. To help researchers design and implement the most effective monitoring, management, and recovery programs, a Bayesian assessment of Prince William Sound herring was developed by reformulating the current model used by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Bayesian model estimated pre-fishery spawning biomass of herring age-3 and older in 2013 to be a median of 19,410 mt (95% credibility interval 12,150-31,740 mt), with a 54% probability that biomass in 2013 was below the management limit used to regulate fisheries in Prince William Sound. The main advantages of the Bayesian model are that it can more objectively weight different datasets and provide estimates of uncertainty for model parameters and outputs, unlike the weighted sum-of-squares used in the original model. In addition, the revised model could be used to manage herring stocks with a decision rule that considers both stock status and the uncertainty in stock status.

  18. Bayesian stock assessment of Pacific herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa L Muradian

    Full Text Available The Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii population in Prince William Sound, Alaska crashed in 1993 and has yet to recover, affecting food web dynamics in the Sound and impacting Alaskan communities. To help researchers design and implement the most effective monitoring, management, and recovery programs, a Bayesian assessment of Prince William Sound herring was developed by reformulating the current model used by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Bayesian model estimated pre-fishery spawning biomass of herring age-3 and older in 2013 to be a median of 19,410 mt (95% credibility interval 12,150-31,740 mt, with a 54% probability that biomass in 2013 was below the management limit used to regulate fisheries in Prince William Sound. The main advantages of the Bayesian model are that it can more objectively weight different datasets and provide estimates of uncertainty for model parameters and outputs, unlike the weighted sum-of-squares used in the original model. In addition, the revised model could be used to manage herring stocks with a decision rule that considers both stock status and the uncertainty in stock status.

  19. Measuring nuclear power plant output by neutrino detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korovkin, V.A.; Kodanev, S.A.; Panashchenko, N.S.; Sokolov, D.A.; Solov'yanov, O.M.; Tverdovskii, N.D.; Yarichin, A.D.; Ketov, S.N.; Kopeikin, V.I.; Machulin, I.N.; Mikaelyan, L.A.; Sinev, V.V.

    1989-01-01

    Neutrino emission from a reactor is inseparably linked with the fission process of heavy nuclei: each fission contributes a specific amount to the overall power output and gives rise to neutrinos which are emitted by the fission fragments created. Using a detector to record the neutrino flux gives a curve for the number of nuclei undergoing fission and the reactor power output. The question of whether it is practically possible to make use of neutrino emission from reactors was first posed in the mid-70s in connection with preparations for neutrino research at the Roven nuclear power plant (RAES) and in 1986 at an IAEA symposium on the topic of guarantees. Since 1982, research has been carried on at RAES on the fundamental properties and interactions of neutrinos. Based on this research and in parallel with it, in 1983 specialists from the Kurchatov Nuclear Power Institute and RAES jointly conducted an experiment which demonstrated in principle the possibility of remotely measuring reactor power output using the neutrino emission. This experiment had extremely limited statistics and is of interest today as the first demonstration of practical usage of neutrino emission from a reactor. At present the statistics for detecting neutrino events have increased tenfold and experience in lengthy measurements has been accumulated. This allows better analysis for the possibilities of the method. This paper reviews neutrino detection, theoretical bases of the method, determining the fission scale values for converting a number of neutrinos into power output, and measuring the power output

  20. China's rise as a major contributor to science and technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yu; Zhang, Chunni; Lai, Qing

    2014-07-01

    In the past three decades, China has become a major contributor to science and technology. China now employs an increasingly large labor force of scientists and engineers at relatively high earnings and produces more science and engineering degrees than the United States at all levels, particularly bachelor's. China's research and development expenditure has been rising. Research output in China has been sharply increasing since 2002, making China the second largest producer of scientific papers after the United States. The quality of research by Chinese scientists has also been improving steadily. However, China's rise in science also faces serious difficulties, partly attributable to its rigid, top-down administrative system, with allegations of scientific misconduct trending upward.

  1. Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from October 2011 Through December 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-01

    used to finance 11. Changes in the output gap affect unemployment gradually over several quarters. Initially, part of a rise in output shows up as...discussion of the long-run effects of other debt- financed policies for boosting output and employment, see statement of Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director...DECEMBER 2011 CBO 6. See Eric M. Leeper, "Monetary Science, Fiscal Alchemy " (paper presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City symposium

  2. Reproduction of nearby sources by imposing true interaural differences on a sound field control approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Badajoz, Javier; Chang, Ji-ho; Agerkvist, Finn T.

    2015-01-01

    In anechoic conditions, the Interaural Level Difference (ILD) is the most significant auditory cue to judge the distance to a sound source located within 1 m of the listener's head. This is due to the unique characteristics of a point source in its near field, which result in exceptionally high...... as Pressure Matching (PM), and a binaural control technique. While PM aims at reproducing the incident sound field, the objective of the binaural control technique is to ensure a correct reproduction of interaural differences. The combination of these two approaches gives rise to the following features: (i......, distance dependent ILDs. When reproducing the sound field of sources located near the head with line or circular arrays of loudspeakers, the reproduced ILDs are generally lower than expected, due to physical limitations. This study presents an approach that combines a sound field reproduction method, known...

  3. Potential impacts of ocean acidification on the Puget Sound food web from a model study (NCEI Accession 0134852)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains output from a study designed to evaluate the impacts of ocean acidification on the food web of Puget Sound, a large estuary in the...

  4. Inverted relativistic magnetron with a single axial output

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballard, W.P.; Earley, L.M.; Wharton, C.B.

    1986-01-01

    A twelve vane, 1 MV, S-band magnetron has been designed and tested. An inverted design was selected to minimize the parasitic axial electron losses. The stainless steel anode is approximately one wavelength long. One end is partially short-circuited to rf, while the other end has a mode transformer to couple the 3.16 GHz π-mode out into a TM 01 circular waveguide. The magnetron has a loaded output Q of about 100. Operation at 1 MV, 0.31 T, 5 kA routinely produces approx.150 MW peak rms and 100 MW average rms with pulse lengths adjustable from 5 to 70 ns. The microwave power pulse has a rise time of approx.2 ns. The output power is diagnosed using four methods: calorimetry, two circular-waveguide directional couplers installed on the magnetron, two transmitting-receiving systems, and gaseous breakdown. Operation at other voltages and magnetic fields shows that the oscillation frequency is somewhat dependent on the magnetron current. Frequency changes of approx.20 MHz/kA occur as the operating conditions are varied. A series of experiments varying the anode conductivity, the electron emission profile, and the output coupling transformer design showed that none of these significantly increased the output power. Therefore, we have concluded that this magnetron operates in saturation. Because of the anode lifetime and repeatability, this magnetron has the potential to be repetitively pulsed. 36 refs., 16 figs

  5. 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.

  6. PREFACE: Aerodynamic sound Aerodynamic sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akishita, Sadao

    2010-02-01

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

  7. The sound-induced phosphene illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolognini, Nadia; Convento, Silvia; Fusaro, Martina; Vallar, Giuseppe

    2013-12-01

    Crossmodal illusions clearly show how perception, rather than being a modular and self-contained function, can be dramatically altered by interactions between senses. Here, we provide evidence for a novel crossmodal "physiological" illusion, showing that sounds can boost visual cortical responses in such a way to give rise to a striking illusory visual percept. In healthy participants, a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) delivered to the occipital cortex evoked a visual percept, i.e., a phosphene. When sTMS is accompanied by two auditory beeps, the second beep induces in neurologically unimpaired participants the perception of an illusory second phosphene, namely the sound-induced phosphene illusion. This perceptual "fission" of a single phosphene, due to multiple beeps, is not matched by a "fusion" of double phosphenes due to a single beep, and it is characterized by an early auditory modulation of the TMS-induced visual responses (~80 ms). Multiple beeps also induce an illusory feeling of multiple TMS pulses on the participants' scalp, consistent with an audio-tactile fission illusion. In conclusion, an auditory stimulation may bring about a phenomenological change in the conscious visual experience produced by the transcranial stimulation of the occipital cortex, which reveals crossmodal binding mechanisms within early stages of visual processing.

  8. Development of sound absorption measuring system with acoustic chamber; Kogata kyuon koka sokutei sochi no kaihatsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takahira, M.; Noba, M. [Toyota Motor Corp., Aichi (Japan); Matsuoka, H. [Nippon Soken, Inc., Tokyo (Japan)

    1998-05-01

    In order to measure sound absorption performance necessary to develop sound absorption materials, development was made on a device consisting of a small sound box capable of measurement inexpensively and easily, as a measure against the reverberation chamber method. In order to obtain stabilized diffusion sound internally, the sound box has a shape of asymmetric seven-side body in which sides do not face squarely with each other. The box was so sized that a large number of resonant vibration postures can be constituted at the targeted frequency simultaneously in the box. The box has a commercially available cone speaker with good acoustic output characteristics in frequency range of higher than 500 Hz installed on an inner side of the box. The sound source uses a method to derive sound absorption rate from difference of sound pressure levels. In order to eliminate need of averaging treatment by using a multi-point measurement inside the box, a discussion was given to provide an opening on part of the box to place the sound receiving point outside the opening. A square test piece is placed on the floor 0.5 meter or more away from the speaker in the box. As a result of the experiment, it was verified that the sound absorption rate obtained by this device corresponds well with that by the reverberation chamber method. The size of the test piece was also found adequate. 2 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab.

  9. Global warming alters sound transmission: differential impact on the prey detection ability of echolocating bats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Jinhong; Koselj, Klemen; Zsebők, Sándor; Siemers, Björn M.; Goerlitz, Holger R.

    2014-01-01

    Climate change impacts the biogeography and phenology of plants and animals, yet the underlying mechanisms are little known. Here, we present a functional link between rising temperature and the prey detection ability of echolocating bats. The maximum distance for echo-based prey detection is physically determined by sound attenuation. Attenuation is more pronounced for high-frequency sound, such as echolocation, and is a nonlinear function of both call frequency and ambient temperature. Hence, the prey detection ability, and thus possibly the foraging efficiency, of echolocating bats and susceptible to rising temperatures through climate change. Using present-day climate data and projected temperature rises, we modelled this effect for the entire range of bat call frequencies and climate zones around the globe. We show that depending on call frequency, the prey detection volume of bats will either decrease or increase: species calling above a crossover frequency will lose and species emitting lower frequencies will gain prey detection volume, with crossover frequency and magnitude depending on the local climatic conditions. Within local species assemblages, this may cause a change in community composition. Global warming can thus directly affect the prey detection ability of individual bats and indirectly their interspecific interactions with competitors and prey. PMID:24335559

  10. Global warming alters sound transmission: differential impact on the prey detection ability of echolocating bats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Jinhong; Koselj, Klemen; Zsebok, Sándor; Siemers, Björn M; Goerlitz, Holger R

    2014-02-06

    Climate change impacts the biogeography and phenology of plants and animals, yet the underlying mechanisms are little known. Here, we present a functional link between rising temperature and the prey detection ability of echolocating bats. The maximum distance for echo-based prey detection is physically determined by sound attenuation. Attenuation is more pronounced for high-frequency sound, such as echolocation, and is a nonlinear function of both call frequency and ambient temperature. Hence, the prey detection ability, and thus possibly the foraging efficiency, of echolocating bats and susceptible to rising temperatures through climate change. Using present-day climate data and projected temperature rises, we modelled this effect for the entire range of bat call frequencies and climate zones around the globe. We show that depending on call frequency, the prey detection volume of bats will either decrease or increase: species calling above a crossover frequency will lose and species emitting lower frequencies will gain prey detection volume, with crossover frequency and magnitude depending on the local climatic conditions. Within local species assemblages, this may cause a change in community composition. Global warming can thus directly affect the prey detection ability of individual bats and indirectly their interspecific interactions with competitors and prey.

  11. 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

  12. 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....

  13. Dose estimate by personal music players based on weighted output voltage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hammershøi, Dorte; Ordoñez Pizarro, Rodrigo Eduardo; Christensen, Anders Tornvig

    2015-01-01

    The exposure by personal music players may in future be displayed to users, as described in the current draft of EN 50332-3. The suggested procedure includes a weighting of the electrical output voltages of the music player, and does not include the significance of the earphone sensitivity. It does...... not include the weighting principles necessary for sound sources close to the ears either, which constitutes an inverse head-related transfer function for the free- or diffuse field. The purpose of the present study is to assess the uncertainties in the dose estimate determined this way. Measurements for 20...

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radicke, Marcus

    2009-01-01

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

  15. 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 ...

  16. China’s rise as a major contributor to science and technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yu; Zhang, Chunni; Lai, Qing

    2014-01-01

    In the past three decades, China has become a major contributor to science and technology. China now employs an increasingly large labor force of scientists and engineers at relatively high earnings and produces more science and engineering degrees than the United States at all levels, particularly bachelor’s. China’s research and development expenditure has been rising. Research output in China has been sharply increasing since 2002, making China the second largest producer of scientific papers after the United States. The quality of research by Chinese scientists has also been improving steadily. However, China’s rise in science also faces serious difficulties, partly attributable to its rigid, top–down administrative system, with allegations of scientific misconduct trending upward. PMID:24979796

  17. 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

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. Output capabilities of personal music players and assessment of preferred listening levels of test subjects: outlining recommendations for preventing music-induced hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breinbauer, Hayo A; Anabalón, Jose L; Gutierrez, Daniela; Cárcamo, Rodrigo; Olivares, Carla; Caro, Jorge

    2012-11-01

    Our goal was to assess the impact of personal music players, earphones, and music styles on output, the subject's preferred listening levels, and outline recommendations for the prevention of music-induced hearing loss. Experimental study. Personal music players' output capabilities and volunteers' preferred output levels were assessed in different settings. Based on current noise-induced hearing loss exposure limits, recommendations were outlined. On three different devices and earphone types and 10 music styles, free field equivalent sound pressure output levels were assessed by applying a microphone probe inside the auditory canal. Forty-five hearing-healthy volunteers were asked to select preferred listening levels in different background noise scenarios. Sound pressure output reached 126 dB. No difference was found between device types, whereas earbud and supra-aural earphones showed significantly lower outputs than in-ear earphones (P music style groups were identified with as much as 14.4 dB difference between them. In silence, 17.8% of volunteers spontaneously selected a listening level above 85 dB. With 90 dB background noise, 40% selected a level above 94 dB. Earphone attenuation capability was found to correlate significantly with preferred level reductions (r = 0.585, P < .001). In-ear and especially supra-aural earphones reduced preferred listening levels the most. Safe-use recommendations were outlined, whereas selecting the lowest volume setting comfortable remained the main suggestion. High background noise attenuating earphones may help in reducing comfortable listening levels and should be preferred. A risk table was elaborated, presenting time limits before reaching a risky exposure. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

  1. Modular and Adaptive Control of Sound Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Nort, Douglas

    This dissertation presents research into the creation of systems for the control of sound synthesis and processing. The focus differs from much of the work related to digital musical instrument design, which has rightly concentrated on the physicality of the instrument and interface: sensor design, choice of controller, feedback to performer and so on. Often times a particular choice of sound processing is made, and the resultant parameters from the physical interface are conditioned and mapped to the available sound parameters in an exploratory fashion. The main goal of the work presented here is to demonstrate the importance of the space that lies between physical interface design and the choice of sound manipulation algorithm, and to present a new framework for instrument design that strongly considers this essential part of the design process. In particular, this research takes the viewpoint that instrument designs should be considered in a musical control context, and that both control and sound dynamics must be considered in tandem. In order to achieve this holistic approach, the work presented in this dissertation assumes complementary points of view. Instrument design is first seen as a function of musical context, focusing on electroacoustic music and leading to a view on gesture that relates perceived musical intent to the dynamics of an instrumental system. The important design concept of mapping is then discussed from a theoretical and conceptual point of view, relating perceptual, systems and mathematically-oriented ways of examining the subject. This theoretical framework gives rise to a mapping design space, functional analysis of pertinent existing literature, implementations of mapping tools, instrumental control designs and several perceptual studies that explore the influence of mapping structure. Each of these reflect a high-level approach in which control structures are imposed on top of a high-dimensional space of control and sound synthesis

  2. Experimental and theoretical analysis of cell module output performance for a thermophotovoltaic system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Xiaojie; Ye, Hong; Xu, Yexin; Shen, Mingrong; Zhang, Xiaojing; Wu, Xi

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • An accurate theoretical model for thermophotovoltaic system is constructed. • Parallel connected module is superior if radiator temperature is uneven. • Series connected module is superior if cell temperature is uneven. • Short circuit current of series module rises when the shunt resistance decreases. • Fill factor is not always accurate to evaluate the module performance. - Abstract: An experimental thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system with a cylindrical-geometry radiator was established to test the output performances of modules under different conditions. The results demonstrate that the output performance of a cell module decreases when the combustion power increases because of the uneven temperature of the radiator or cells. On this basis, a theoretical model for a TPV system was constructed to compare the performance under different conditions of the series-connected (SC) module and the parallel-connected (PC) module, and was verified by the experimental results. The influences of the temperature gradient of the radiator or the cell module, and the series and shunt resistance of the TPV cell on the module performance were analyzed in detail. The results demonstrate that the PC module can effectively reduce the mismatch loss of output power caused by the uneven radiator temperature. The PC module, for instance, has a maximum output power of 2.54 times higher than that of the SC module when the radiator temperature difference is 500 K. However, the output performance of the module connected in series is superior to the PC module while the cell temperature is non-uniform. The output power of the SC module is 9.93% higher than that of the PC module at the cell temperature difference of 125 K. The short circuit current of the SC module is sensitive to the series and shunt resistance if the radiator temperature distribution is non-uniform. As the shunt resistance falls from ∞ to 0.5 Ω, the current varies from 1.757 A to 4.488 A when the

  3. 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.

  4. Input-output analysis of high-speed turbulent jet noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeun, Jinah; Nichols, Joseph W.

    2015-11-01

    We apply input-output analysis to predict and understand the aeroacoustics of high-speed isothermal turbulent jets. We consider axisymmetric linear perturbations about Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions of ideally expanded turbulent jets with Mach numbers 0 . 6 parabolized stability equations (PSE), and this mode dominates the response. For subsonic jets, however, the singular values indicate that the contributions of suboptimal modes to noise generation are nearly equal to that of the optimal mode, explaining why PSE misses some of the farfield sound in this case. Finally, high-fidelity large eddy simulation (LES) is used to assess the prevalence of suboptimal modes in the unsteady data. By projecting LES data onto the corresponding input modes, the weighted gain of each mode is examined.

  5. 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…

  6. Deep structure of crust and the upper mantle of the Mendeleev Rise on the Arktic­-2012 DSS profile

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kashubin, Sergey; Petrov, Oleg; Artemieva, Irina

    2016-01-01

    During high­latitude combined geological and geophysical expedition “Arctic­-2012”, deep seismic sounding (DSS) with ocean bottom seismometers were carried out in the Arctic Ocean along the line 740 km long, crossing the Mendeleev Rise at about 77° N. Crustal and upper mantle Vp­velocity and Vp...

  7. Spatial avoidance to experimental increase of intermittent and continuous sound in two captive harbour porpoises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kok, Annebelle C M; Engelberts, J Pamela; Kastelein, Ronald A; Helder-Hoek, Lean; Van de Voorde, Shirley; Visser, Fleur; Slabbekoorn, Hans

    2018-02-01

    The continuing rise in underwater sound levels in the oceans leads to disturbance of marine life. It is thought that one of the main impacts of sound exposure is the alteration of foraging behaviour of marine species, for example by deterring animals from a prey location, or by distracting them while they are trying to catch prey. So far, only limited knowledge is available on both mechanisms in the same species. The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is a relatively small marine mammal that could quickly suffer fitness consequences from a reduction of foraging success. To investigate effects of anthropogenic sound on their foraging efficiency, we tested whether experimentally elevated sound levels would deter two captive harbour porpoises from a noisy pool into a quiet pool (Experiment 1) and reduce their prey-search performance, measured as prey-search time in the noisy pool (Experiment 2). Furthermore, we tested the influence of the temporal structure and amplitude of the sound on the avoidance response of both animals. Both individuals avoided the pool with elevated sound levels, but they did not show a change in search time for prey when trying to find a fish hidden in one of three cages. The combination of temporal structure and SPL caused variable patterns. When the sound was intermittent, increased SPL caused increased avoidance times. When the sound was continuous, avoidance was equal for all SPLs above a threshold of 100 dB re 1 μPa. Hence, we found no evidence for an effect of sound exposure on search efficiency, but sounds of different temporal patterns did cause spatial avoidance with distinct dose-response patterns. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. 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.)

  9. Very low temperature rise laser annealing of radiation-damaged solar cells in orbit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poulek, V.

    1988-01-01

    Solar cells of all space objects are damaged by radiation in orbit. This damage, however, can be removed by laser annealing. A new in-orbit laser regeneration system for both body- and spin-stabilized space objects is proposed. For successful annealing of solar cells damaged by 10 years' radiation dose in orbit it is necessary for the temperature rise in the incidence point of the laser beam to reach about 400 0 C. By continuous regeneration, however, between two annealing cycles the solar cells are hit by about two orders of magnitude lower radiation dose. This makes it possible to carry out the regeneration at a temperature rise well under 1 0 C! If an optimal laser regeneration system is used, such low temperature rise laser annealing of radiation-damaged solar cells is possible. A semiconductor GaAlAs diode laser with output power up to 10 mW CW was used for annealing. Some results of the very low temperature rise annealing experiment are given in this paper. (author)

  10. 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...

  11. 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....

  12. 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.

  13. 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...

  14. Analysis and Compensation of Dead-Time Effect of a ZVT PWM Inverter Considering the Rise- and Fall-Times

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hailin Zhang

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The dead-time effect, as an intrinsic problem of the converters based on the half-bridge unit, leads to distortions in the converter output. Although several dead-time effect compensation or elimination methods have been proposed, they cannot fully remove the dead-time effect of blanking delay error, because the output current polarity is difficult detect accurately. This paper utilizes the zero-voltage-switching (ZVT technique to eliminate the blanking delay error, which is the main drawback of the hard-switching inverter, although the technique initially aims to improve the efficiency. A typical ZVT inverter—the auxiliary resonant snubber inverter (ARSI is analyzed. The blanking delay error is completely eliminated in the ARSI. Another error source caused by the finite rise- and fall-times of the voltage is analyzed, which was not considered in the hard-switching inverter. A compensation method based on the voltage error estimation is proposed to compensate the rise- and fall-error. A prototype was developed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control. Both the simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the qualities of the output current and voltage in the ARSI are better than that in the hard-switching inverter due to the elimination of the blanking delay error. The total harmonic distortion (THD of the output is further reduced by using the proposed compensation method in the ARSI.

  15. Can you hear the carbon rise? Evaluating multi-sensory climate media in undergraduate learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twedt, J. R.; Frierson, D. M.; Pampin, J.; Bitz, C. M.

    2017-12-01

    Sound and music in climate outreach can help to reduce visual fatigue, aid people who are visually impaired, and create new neural pathways for thinking about and remembering climate science. Infosonics are the audio analogy to infographics, and are created through a process of data sonification whereby data is expressed as a sound rather than as a graphic. An example of our infosonics can be found on YouTube, titled "The Deafening Rise of Carbon Pollution." Because sound is heard moment to moment over time, the sonic representation of data is particularly well suited for time series. This allows the listener to hear each data point in sequence, one by one, rather than seeing it all at once. Infosonics can be made musical through the design process, expressing not only information in the data, but conveying affective content such as a sense of urgency, alarm, humor, or grief. We introduced climate infosonics in two large undergraduate courses where students are expected to become familiar with canonical climate datasets, including the Keeling Curve, Arctic sea ice extent, and the global mean surface temperature index. We present outcomes and lessons learned from using these infosonics in place of traditional visual graphics.

  16. 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.

  17. In vitro pulp chamber temperature rise from irradiation and exotherm of flowable composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baroudi, Kusai; Silikas, Nick; Watts, David C

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the pulpal temperature rise induced during the polymerization of flowable and non-flowable composites using light-emitting diode (LED) and halogen (quartz-tungsten-halogen) light-curing units (LCUs). Five flowable and three non-flowable composites were examined. Pulpal temperature changes were recorded over 10 min in a sample primary tooth by a thermocouple. A conventional quartz-tungsten-halogen source and two LEDs, one of which was programmable, were used for light curing the resin composites. Three repetitions per material were made for each LCU. There was a wide range of temperature rises among the materials (P < 0.05). Temperature rises ranged between 1.3 degrees C for Filtek Supreme irradiated by low-power LED and 4.5 degrees C for Grandio Flow irradiated by high-power LED. The highest temperature rises were observed with both the LED high-power and soft-start LCUs. The time to reach the exothermic peak varied significantly between the materials (P < 0.05). Pulpal temperature rise is related to both the radiant energy output from LCUs and the polymerization exotherm of resin composites. A greater potential risk for heat-induced pulp damage might be associated with high-power LED sources. Flowable composites exhibited higher temperature rises than non-flowable materials, because of higher resin contents.

  18. 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%.

  19. The technoperception of electronic sound in cyberculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Begoña Abad Miguélez

    2003-11-01

    Full Text Available One characteristic of new information and communications technologies is that they make possible new technical uses at an instrumental level and new technological practices that affect intersubjective relationships, behaviours and models... Computer culture, or cyberculture, is no exception. With the original device that has given rise to it, now widespread and improved, we have the socially generated conditions for a radical change in even the most stable practices, concepts and cultural foundations. Most authors that have looked at the cultural sensorium have tended to look at the speed and acceleration of images and text, ignoring the role of sound and silence, in other words, of music, electronically generated. However, in the "digital" era in which computers govern our daily lives, it would be an unpardonable sin not to consider electronic, digitalised music as the most appropriate soundtrack for this new context. For these reasons, in this paper we will look at some of the cultural changes that characterise cyberculture and attempt to establish connections between the image revolution and the revolution in electronically generated music. The ultimate objective of our incursion into this field is to examine how technoperception of electronic sound affects the senses in the "the era of the intelligent machine".

  20. 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...

  1. 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.

  2. 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....

  3. 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....

  4. 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.

  5. Systemic Management of Schools: The OECD's Professionalisation and Dissemination of Output Governance in the 1960s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bürgi, Regula

    2016-01-01

    At present, European education policy, research and administration is dominated by a specific concept of reform, namely so-called output governance, whose rise to prominence in national contexts in the 1990s coincided with the advance of international tests of school performance such as PISA. In this article it is argued that there is much more to…

  6. 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

  7. 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.

  8. 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...

  9. 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…

  10. 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...

  11. Relationship between government expenditure and output in the problematic regions in the European Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irena Szarowská

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Economic and debt crisis has increased the attention paid to the development of government expenditure in problematic regions in the European Union. The goal of the article is to provide direct empirical evidence on cyclicality and the long-term and short-term relationship between government expenditure and output in the Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain in a period 1995–2011. We have applied Johansen cointegration test and the error correction model on adjusted annual data of GDP and government expenditure in compliance with the COFOG international standard. Research confirms procyclical development of government expenditure functions on GDP in the selected countries; this procyclicality is in line with development typical for developing countries. Moreover, output and government expenditure are cointegrated for at least six of the expenditure categories in every country and it implies a long-term relationship between government expenditure and output consistent with Wagner’s law. The values of the coefficients for the short-run relationship between expenditure and output confirm the voracity hypothesis, as they suggest that in response to a given shock to real GDP, government expenditure rises by even more in percentage points.

  12. 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.

  13. 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

  14. Investigation of Rising-Sun Magnetrons Operated at Relativistic Voltages Using Three Dimensional Particle-in-Cell Simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemke, R.W.; Genoni, T.C.; Spencer, T.A.

    1999-01-01

    This work is an attempt to elucidate effects that may limit efficiency in magnetrons operated at relativistic voltages (V ∼ 500 kV). Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation is used to investigate the behavior of 14 and 22 cavity, cylindrical, rising-sun magnetrons. Power is extracted radially through a single iris located at the end of every other cavity. Numerical results show that in general output power and efficiency increase approximately linearly with increasing iris width (decreasing vacuum Q) until the total Q becomes too low for stable oscillation in the n-mode to be maintained. Beyond this point mode competition and/or switching occur and efficiency decreases. Results reveal that the minimum value of Q (maximum efficiency) that can be achieved prior to the onset of mode competition is significantly affected by the magnitude of the 0-space-harmonic of the π-mode, a unique characteristic of rising-suns, and by the magnitude of the electron current density (space-charge effects). By minimizing these effects, up to 3.7 GW output power has been produced at an efficiency of 40%

  15. 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...

  16. 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…

  17. Oil Price Rise and the Great Recession of 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Siamak MONADJEMI

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The financial crises of 2007-2008, caused wide-spread falling output and unemployment, in the affected countries and also globally. The severity of the recession was such that it was called the “Great Recession”. As a result of an increase in demand from China and India, at the same time, oil prices rose significantly. The empirical results from this study show that oil price changes negatively affected global growth rate in the 1970s but not in the 1990s and 2000s. These results suggest that the Great Recession in 2008 that initiated by the financial crises, was independent of a significant rise in oil prices.

  18. Unit 16 - Output

    OpenAIRE

    Unit 16, CC in GIS; Star, Jeffrey L.

    1990-01-01

    This unit discusses issues related to GIS output, including the different types of output possible and the hardware for producing each. It describes text, graphic and digital data that can be generated by a GIS as well as line printers, dot matrix printers/plotters, pen plotters, optical scanners and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) as technologies for generating the output.

  19. 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.

  20. 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....

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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...

  6. Design and qualification of an UHV system for operation on sounding rockets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grosse, Jens, E-mail: jens.grosse@dlr.de; Braxmaier, Claus [Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), University of Bremen, Bremen, 28359, Germany and German Aerospace Center (DLR) Bremen, Bremen, 28359 (Germany); Seidel, Stephan Tobias; Becker, Dennis; Lachmann, Maike Diana [Institute of Quantum Optics, Leibniz University Hanover, Hanover, 30167 (Germany); Scharringhausen, Marco [German Aerospace Center (DLR) Bremen, Bremen, 28359 (Germany); Rasel, Ernst Maria [Institute of Quantum Optics, Leibniz University Hanover, Hanover, 30167, Bremen (Germany)

    2016-05-15

    The sounding rocket mission MAIUS-1 has the objective to create the first Bose–Einstein condensate in space; therefore, its scientific payload is a complete cold atom experiment built to be launched on a VSB-30 sounding rocket. An essential part of the setup is an ultrahigh vacuum system needed in order to sufficiently suppress interactions of the cooled atoms with the residual background gas. Contrary to vacuum systems on missions aboard satellites or the international space station, the required vacuum environment has to be reached within 47 s after motor burn-out. This paper contains a detailed description of the MAIUS-1 vacuum system, as well as a description of its qualification process for the operation under vibrational loads of up to 8.1 g{sub RMS} (where RMS is root mean square). Even though a pressure rise dependent on the level of vibration was observed, the design presented herein is capable of regaining a pressure of below 5 × 10{sup −10} mbar in less than 40 s when tested at 5.4 g{sub RMS}. To the authors' best knowledge, it is the first UHV system qualified for operation on a sounding rocket.

  7. 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...

  8. 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.

  9. 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....

  10. Input-output supervisor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dupuy, R.

    1970-01-01

    The input-output supervisor is the program which monitors the flow of informations between core storage and peripheral equipments of a computer. This work is composed of three parts: 1 - Study of a generalized input-output supervisor. With sample modifications it looks like most of input-output supervisors which are running now on computers. 2 - Application of this theory on a magnetic drum. 3 - Hardware requirement for time-sharing. (author) [fr

  11. Estimation of international output-energy relation. Effects of alternative output measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrestha, R.M.

    2000-01-01

    This paper analyzes the output-energy relationship with alternative measures of output and energy. Our analysis rejects the hypothesis of non-diminishing returns to energy consumption when GDP at purchasing power parities is used as the output measure unlike the case with GNP at market exchange rates. This finding also holds when energy input includes the usage of both commercial and traditional fuels. 13 refs

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

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strori, Dorina; Zaar, Johannes; Cooke, Martin

    2017-01-01

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

  13. Active sound reduction system and method

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2016-01-01

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

  14. Vortex Noise from Rotating Cylindrical Rods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stowell, E Z; Deming, A F

    1935-01-01

    A series of round rods of the some diameter were rotated individually about the mid-point of each rod. Vortices are shed from the rods when in motion, giving rise to the emission of sound. With the rotating system placed in the open air, the distribution of sound in space, the acoustical power output, and the spectral distribution have been studied. The frequency of emission of vortices from any point on the rod is given by the formula von Karman. From the spectrum estimates are made of the distribution of acoustical power along the rod, the amount of air concerned in sound production, the "equivalent size" of the vortices, and the acoustical energy content for each vortex.

  15. Somatotype variables related to strength and power output in male basketball players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buśko, Krzysztof; Pastuszak, Anna; Lipińska, Monika; Lipińska, Marta; Gryko, Karol

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between somatotype, muscular strength, power output measured in maximal cycle ergometer exercise bouts, and maximal power output and height of rise of the body mass centre (jump height) measured in akimbo counter movement jump (ACMJ), counter movement jump (CMJ) and spike jump (SPJ), in male basketball players. Thirteen male basketball players (second division, age 19.4 ± 0.8 years, body height 192.9 ± 5.6 cm, body mass 88.8 ± 8.6 kg, training experience 9.3 ± 0.8 years) participated in the study. Somatotype was determined using the Heath-Carter method. Maximal joint torques were measured under static conditions. Power output was measured in 2 maximal cycle ergometer exercise bouts, 10 seconds each, with increasing external loads equal to 7.5 and 10.0% of the body weight (BW). All jump trials (ACMJ, CMJ and SPJ) were performed on a force plate. The mean somatotype of basketball players amounted to: 2.8-4.2-3.2. The sum of the joint torques for left and right lower extremities (0.613), trunk (0.631) and all six measured muscle groups (0.647) were significantly correlated (p jump during ACMJ, CMJ and SPJ trials. The power output measured in maximal cycle ergometer exercise bouts with increasing external loads was significantly correlated (p basketball players' anthropometric characteristics can influence their level of performance but it is not a decisive factor.

  16. Sea Level Rise in the 21st Century: Will projections ever become reliable?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, J. K.

    2014-12-01

    Global sea level rise has the potential to become one of the most costly and least well predicted impacts of human caused climate change. Unlike global surface temperature, the spread of possible scenarios (as little as 1 foot and as much as 6 feet by 2100) is not due to uncertainty about future rates of greenhouse gas emissions, but rather by a fundamental lack of knowledge about how the major ice sheets will behave in a warming climate. Clearly improved projections of sea level rise should become a major research priority in the next decade. At present, controversial techniques based on comparison with historical analogs and rates of recent warming and sea level rise are often used to create projections for the 21st Century. However, many in the scientific community feel that reliable projections must be based on a sound knowledge of the physics governing sea level rise, and particularly ice sheet behavior. In particular, large portions of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet rest on solid earth that sits below sea level. These regions may be threatened, not by atmospheric warming or changes in precipitation, but rather by direct forcing from the ocean. Fledgling efforts to understand these ocean ice interactions are already underway, as are efforts to make improved models of ice sheet behavior. However a great deal of work is still needed before widely accepted projections of sea level rise become a reality. This paper will highlight the hurdles to making such projections today and suggest ways forward in this critical area of research.

  17. Sound Symbolism in Basic Vocabulary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Søren Wichmann

    2010-04-01

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

  18. Device for selective culturing of bacteria used to increase oil bed output

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lazar, J; Zamfirescu, I

    1982-12-15

    The device is patented for selective culturing of bacteria which can be used for increasing oil bed output in order to adapt them to conditions of the field. Development and reproduction of the bacteria are recorded by increase in pressure indicated by the manometer. When the pressure in the container reaches 0.5-0.5 MPa, the gases formed in it are released into the atmosphere through the reverse valve and the hose. Slow rise in pressure in the vessel (usually within 5-10 days) indicates that the nutrient carrier is approaching depletion. After removal of the gases formed because of bacterial activity, the cover is opened and a sample is taken for microbiological analysis and establishment of bacterial growth required for increasing oil output in the given field. When it is established that the developing populations of bacteria correspond to the requirements, then the necessary quantity of bacteria are grown under the same conditions in a battery of similar devices.

  19. Measurement of the Rise-Time in a Single Sided Ladder Detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerber, C.E.

    1997-01-01

    In this note we report on the measurement of the preamplifier output rise time for a SVXII chip mounted on a D0 single sided ladder. The measurements were performed on the ladder 001-883-L, using the laser test stand of Lab D. The rise time was measured for different values of the response (or bandwidth) of the preamplifier. As a bigger bandwidth results in longer rise times and therefore in less noise, the largest possible bandwidth consistent with the time between bunch crossings should be chosen to operate the detectors. The rise time is defined as the time elapsed between 10% and 90% of the charge is collected. It is also interesting to measure the time for full charge collection and the percentage of charge collected in 132 ns and 396 ns. The results are shown in table 1, for bandwidths between 2 and 63 (binary numbers). The uncertainty on the time measurement is considered to be ∼ 10 ns. Figure 1 schematically defines the four quantities measured: rise time, time of full charge collection, and percentage of charge collected in 132 ns and 396 ns. Figures 2 to 8 are the actual measurements for bandwidths of 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 32 and 63. Figure 9 is a second measurement for BW=24, used as a consistency check of the system and the time measurement performed on the plots. The data indicate that the single sided ladders can be operated at BW=63 for 396 ns and BW=12 for 132 ns, achieving full charge collection. This will result in smaller noise than originally anticipated.

  20. Sounding the Alarm: An Introduction to Ecological Sound Art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Gilmurray

    2016-12-01

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

  1. The effect of looming and receding sounds on the perceived in-depth orientation of depth-ambiguous biological motion figures.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben Schouten

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The focus in the research on biological motion perception traditionally has been restricted to the visual modality. Recent neurophysiological and behavioural evidence, however, supports the idea that actions are not represented merely visually but rather audiovisually. The goal of the present study was to test whether the perceived in-depth orientation of depth-ambiguous point-light walkers (plws is affected by the presentation of looming or receding sounds synchronized with the footsteps. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In Experiment 1 orthographic frontal/back projections of plws were presented either without sound or with sounds of which the intensity level was rising (looming, falling (receding or stationary. Despite instructions to ignore the sounds and to only report the visually perceived in-depth orientation, plws accompanied with looming sounds were more often judged to be facing the viewer whereas plws paired with receding sounds were more often judged to be facing away from the viewer. To test whether the effects observed in Experiment 1 act at a perceptual level rather than at the decisional level, in Experiment 2 observers perceptually compared orthographic plws without sound or paired with either looming or receding sounds to plws without sound but with perspective cues making them objectively either facing towards or facing away from the viewer. Judging whether either an orthographic plw or a plw with looming (receding perspective cues is visually most looming becomes harder (easier when the orthographic plw is paired with looming sounds. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The present results suggest that looming and receding sounds alter the judgements of the in-depth orientation of depth-ambiguous point-light walkers. While looming sounds are demonstrated to act at a perceptual level and make plws look more looming, it remains a challenge for future research to clarify at what level in the processing hierarchy receding sounds

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eshach, Haim; Schwartz, Judah L.

    2006-06-01

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

  3. Sound symbolism: the role of word sound in meaning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svantesson, Jan-Olof

    2017-09-01

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

  4. OPEC Middle East plans for rising world demand amid uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ismail, I.A.H.

    1996-01-01

    The Middle Eastern members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries must plan for huge increases in oil production capacity yet wonder whether markets for the new output will develop as expected. With worldwide oil consumption rising and non-OPEC output likely to reach its resource limits soon, OPEC member countries face major gains in demand for their crude oil. To meet the demand growth, those with untapped resources will have to invest heavily in production capacity. Most OPEC members with such resources are in the Middle East. But financing the capacity investments remains a challenge. Some OPEC members have opened up to foreign equity participation in production projects, and others may eventually do so as financial pressures grow. That means additions to the opportunities now available to international companies in the Middle East. Uncertainties, however, hamper planning and worry OPEC. Chief among them are taxation and environmental policies of consuming-nation governments. This paper reviews these concerns and provides data on production, pricing, capital investment histories and revenues

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponnath, Abhilash; Farris, Hamilton E

    2014-01-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2018-01-01

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

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

    CERN Document Server

    Beauchamp, James W

    2007-01-01

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

  8. Michael Jackson's Sound Stages

    OpenAIRE

    Morten Michelsen

    2012-01-01

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

  9. 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.

  10. Sound [signal] noise

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørnsten, Thomas

    2012-01-01

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

  11. Influence of directionality and maximal power output on speech understanding with bone anchored hearing implants in single sided deafness

    OpenAIRE

    Krempaska, Silvia; Koval, Juraj; Schmid, Christoph; Pfiffner, Flurin; Kurz, Anja; Kompis, Martin

    2014-01-01

    Bone-anchored hearing implants (BAHI) are routinely used to alleviate the effects of the acoustic head shadow in single-sided sensorineural deafness (SSD). In this study, the influence of the directional microphone setting and the maximum power output of the BAHI sound processor on speech understanding in noise in a laboratory setting were investigated. Eight adult BAHI users with SSD participated in this pilot study. Speech understanding in noise was measured using a new Slovak speech-in-noi...

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

    OpenAIRE

    Johnston, Nessa

    2012-01-01

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

  13. Sound classification of dwellings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Birgit

    2012-01-01

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

  14. Vocal Imitations of Non-Vocal Sounds

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  15. 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...

  16. Characteristic sounds facilitate visual search.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2008-06-01

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

  17. Analysis of Factors Affecting Output Levels and Frequencies of MP3 Players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jinsook

    2013-09-01

    Exposure to high levels of music that could lead to music induced hearing loss (MIHL) has been of recent interest especially for young adults, considering their excessive use of personal listening devices such as MP3 player. More attention should be drawn to MIHL for noting that early noise exposure leads to earlier onset of presbycusis. In search of appropriate and safe listening habits for young adults, this investigation was aimed to evaluate output levels and frequencies generated by the Samsung galaxy note MP3 player depending on two earphone types; ear-bud and over-the-ear earphones and three music genres; rock, hip-hop, ballade. A sound level meter was used to measure output level and frequency spectrum between 12.5 and 16000 Hz at all 1/3-octave bands. The following results can be summarized. 1) The earphone styles did not produce significant difference in output levels, but the music genres did. However, the results of music genres varied. 2) Neither earphone styles nor music genres produced significant difference in frequency response spectrum, except music genres at the volume settings we usually listen to. Additionally, volume levels should be lower than 50% for usual listening situation. Through this investigation, it was noted that the frequency range was substantial between 50 and 1000 Hz regardless of the styles of earphones and music genres, implying that we should be cautious of this frequency range when we listen to music. Researchers should give more attention to the effects of the mixture of output level and frequency spectrum, considering that the auditory system has frequency specificity from the periphery to the central to provide refined methods for protecting our ears from MIHL.

  18. Output hardcopy devices

    CERN Document Server

    Durbeck, Robert

    1988-01-01

    Output Hardcopy Devices provides a technical summary of computer output hardcopy devices such as plotters, computer output printers, and CRT generated hardcopy. Important related technical areas such as papers, ribbons and inks, color techniques, controllers, and character fonts are also covered. Emphasis is on techniques primarily associated with printing, as well as the plotting capabilities of printing devices that can be effectively used for computer graphics in addition to their various printing functions. Comprised of 19 chapters, this volume begins with an introduction to vector and ras

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Abel A.

    2017-07-01

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

  20. 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...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2012-06-01

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

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

    OpenAIRE

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

    2013-01-01

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

  3. 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...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Gail Marie

    2016-01-01

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

  5. Modelling Hyperboloid Sound Scattering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Burry, Jane; Davis, Daniel; Peters, Brady

    2011-01-01

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

  6. Theoretical and experimental study on active sound transmission control based on single structural mode actuation using point force actuators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanada, Akira; Tanaka, Nobuo

    2012-08-01

    This study deals with the feedforward active control of sound transmission through a simply supported rectangular panel using vibration actuators. The control effect largely depends on the excitation method, including the number and locations of actuators. In order to obtain a large control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency, an active transmission control method based on single structural mode actuation is proposed. Then, with the goal of examining the feasibility of the proposed method, the (1, 3) mode is selected as the target mode and a modal actuation method in combination with six point force actuators is considered. Assuming that a single input single output feedforward control is used, sound transmission in the case minimizing the transmitted sound power is calculated for some actuation methods. Simulation results showed that the (1, 3) modal actuation is globally effective at reducing the sound transmission by more than 10 dB in the low-frequency range for both normal and oblique incidences. Finally, experimental results also showed that a large reduction could be achieved in the low-frequency range, which proves the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

  7. 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.

  8. Effect of room absorption on human vocal output in multitalker situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nijs, Lau; Saher, Konca; den Ouden, Daniël

    2008-02-01

    People increase their vocal output in noisy environments. This is known as the Lombard effect. The aim of the present study was to measure the effect as a function of the absorption coefficient. The noise source was generated by using other talkers in the room. A-weighted sound levels were measured in a 108 m(3) test room. The number of talkers varied from one to four and the absorption coefficients from 0.12 to 0.64. A model was introduced based on the logarithmic sum of the level found in an anechoic room plus the increasing portion of noise levels up to 80 dB. Results show that the model fits the measurements when a maximum slope of 0.5 dB per 1.0 dB increase in background level is used. Hence Lombard slopes vary from 0.2 dBdB at 50 dB background level to 0.5 dBdB at 80 dB. In addition, both measurements and the model predict a decrease of 5.5 dB per doubling of absorbing area in a room when the number of talkers is constant. Sound pressure levels increase for a doubling of talkers from 3 dB for low densities to 6 dB for dense crowds. Finally, there was correspondence between the model estimation and previous measurements reported in the literature.

  9. From Static Output Feedback to Structured Robust Static Output Feedback: A Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Sadabadi , Mahdieh ,; Peaucelle , Dimitri

    2016-01-01

    This paper reviews the vast literature on static output feedback design for linear time-invariant systems including classical results and recent developments. In particular, we focus on static output feedback synthesis with performance specifications, structured static output feedback, and robustness. The paper provides a comprehensive review on existing design approaches including iterative linear matrix inequalities heuristics, linear matrix inequalities with rank constraints, methods with ...

  10. Third sound resonance studies of 3He-4He mixture films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinrichs, R.M.

    1985-01-01

    Third sound velocity and dissipation measurements were performed on 3 He- 4 He mixture films of 3.6 and 5.3 layers 4 He and up to 3 added layers 3 He in the temperature range 0.05-0.3 K using third sound resonance techniques. The 3 He concentration dependence of the velocity was in excellent agreement with a simple layered film model down to the lowest concentrations studied. At the higher 3 He concentrations, the velocity began to deviate from the model, rising above it. The concentration dependence of the dissipation showed some unique structure with a maximum at 0.3-0.5 layers added 3 He for both 4 He coverages. The third sound velocity in the low concentration mixture films had very little temperature dependence in the range studied. The dissipation, however, had some definite temperature dependent structure that evolved with concentration. This evolution was most pronounced at concentrations near the dissipation maximum and eventually became exponential at the higher coverages. Fitting these exponentials produced estimates of the difference in binding energy for the 3 He states in and on the film. In this higher 3 He concentration regime, a temperature dependence of the velocity was observed that began as a small peak at about 0.15 K and eventually became a step at the highest concentrations studied. The exponential nature of the dissipation became clouded when the velocity evolved into this last behavior

  11. 77 FR 37318 - Eighth Coast Guard District Annual Safety Zones; Sound of Independence; Santa Rosa Sound; Fort...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-21

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

  12. 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.

  13. Waveform analysis of sound

    CERN Document Server

    Tohyama, Mikio

    2015-01-01

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

  14. Sound Settlements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2013-01-01

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

  15. Sounds of silence: How to animate virtual worlds with sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Astheimer, Peter

    1993-01-01

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

  16. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordahl, Rolf; Turchet, Luca; Serafin, Stefania

    2011-09-01

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

  18. It sounds good!

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2010-01-01

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

  19. 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.

  20. 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

  1. Neural dynamics of learning sound-action associations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam McNamara

    Full Text Available A motor component is pre-requisite to any communicative act as one must inherently move to communicate. To learn to make a communicative act, the brain must be able to dynamically associate arbitrary percepts to the neural substrate underlying the pre-requisite motor activity. We aimed to investigate whether brain regions involved in complex gestures (ventral pre-motor cortex, Brodmann Area 44 were involved in mediating association between novel abstract auditory stimuli and novel gestural movements. In a functional resonance imaging (fMRI study we asked participants to learn associations between previously unrelated novel sounds and meaningless gestures inside the scanner. We use functional connectivity analysis to eliminate the often present confound of 'strategic covert naming' when dealing with BA44 and to rule out effects of non-specific reductions in signal. Brodmann Area 44, a region incorporating Broca's region showed strong, bilateral, negative correlation of BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent response with learning of sound-action associations during data acquisition. Left-inferior-parietal-lobule (l-IPL and bilateral loci in and around visual area V5, right-orbital-frontal-gyrus, right-hippocampus, left-para-hippocampus, right-head-of-caudate, right-insula and left-lingual-gyrus also showed decreases in BOLD response with learning. Concurrent with these decreases in BOLD response, an increasing connectivity between areas of the imaged network as well as the right-middle-frontal-gyrus with rising learning performance was revealed by a psychophysiological interaction (PPI analysis. The increasing connectivity therefore occurs within an increasingly energy efficient network as learning proceeds. Strongest learning related connectivity between regions was found when analysing BA44 and l-IPL seeds. The results clearly show that BA44 and l-IPL is dynamically involved in linking gesture and sound and therefore provides evidence that one of

  2. OMNIDIRECTIONAL SOUND SOURCE

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    1996-01-01

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

  3. 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.)

  4. Reduction of sound transmission across plenum windows by incorporating an array of rigid cylinders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, S. K.

    2018-02-01

    The potential improvement of plenum window noise reduction by installing rigid circular cylinder arrays into the window cavity is investigated numerically using the finite-element method in this study. A two-dimensional approach is adopted. The sound transmission characteristics and propagation within the plenum window are also examined in detail. Results show that the installation of the cylinders in general gives rise to broadband improvement of noise reduction across a plenum window regardless of the direction of sound incidence. Such acoustical performance becomes better when more cylinder columns are installed, but it is suggested that the number of cylinder rows should not exceed two. Results also show that the cylinder positions relative to the nodal/anti-nodal planes of the acoustic modes are crucial in the noise reduction enhancement mechanisms. Noise reduction can further be enhanced by staggering the cylinder rows, such that each cylinder row supports the development of a different acoustic mode. For the simple cylinder arrangements considered in this study, the traffic noise reduction enhancement observed in this study can be as high as 4-5 dB, which is already comparable to or higher than the maximum achieved by installing sound absorption into a plenum window.

  5. Product sounds : Fundamentals and application

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ozcan-Vieira, E.

    2008-01-01

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

  6. GDP Growth, Potential Output, and Output Gaps in Mexico

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrima A Faal

    2005-01-01

    This paper analyzes the sources of Mexico's economic growth since the 1960s and compares various decompositions of historical growth into its trend and cyclical components. The role of the implied output gaps in the inflationary process is then assessed. Looking ahead, the paper presents medium-term paths for GDP based on alternative assumptions for productivity growth rates. The results indicate that the most important factor underlying the slowdown in output growth was a decline in trend to...

  7. A data-assimilative ocean forecasting system for the Prince William sound and an evaluation of its performance during sound Predictions 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrara, John D.; Chao, Yi; Li, Zhijin; Wang, Xiaochun; Jin, Xin; Zhang, Hongchun; Li, Peggy; Vu, Quoc; Olsson, Peter Q.; Schoch, G. Carl; Halverson, Mark; Moline, Mark A.; Ohlmann, Carter; Johnson, Mark; McWilliams, James C.; Colas, Francois A.

    2013-07-01

    The development and implementation of a three-dimensional ocean modeling system for the Prince William Sound (PWS) is described. The system consists of a regional ocean model component (ROMS) forced by output from a regional atmospheric model component (the Weather Research and Forecasting Model, WRF). The ROMS ocean model component has a horizontal resolution of 1km within PWS and utilizes a recently-developed multi-scale 3DVAR data assimilation methodology along with freshwater runoff from land obtained via real-time execution of a digital elevation model. During the Sound Predictions Field Experiment (July 19-August 3, 2009) the system was run in real-time to support operations and incorporated all available real-time streams of data. Nowcasts were produced every 6h and a 48-h forecast was performed once a day. In addition, a sixteen-member ensemble of forecasts was executed on most days. All results were published at a web portal (http://ourocean.jpl.nasa.gov/PWS) in real time to support decision making.The performance of the system during Sound Predictions 2009 is evaluated. The ROMS results are first compared with the assimilated data as a consistency check. RMS differences of about 0.7°C were found between the ROMS temperatures and the observed vertical profiles of temperature that are assimilated. The ROMS salinities show greater discrepancies, tending to be too salty near the surface. The overall circulation patterns observed throughout the Sound are qualitatively reproduced, including the following evolution in time. During the first week of the experiment, the weather was quite stormy with strong southeasterly winds. This resulted in strong north to northwestward surface flow in much of the central PWS. Both the observed drifter trajectories and the ROMS nowcasts showed strong surface inflow into the Sound through the Hinchinbrook Entrance and strong generally northward to northwestward flow in the central Sound that was exiting through the Knight

  8. 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

  9. 33 CFR 334.410 - Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, and adjacent waters, NC; danger zones for naval aircraft operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

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

  10. Online Citizen Science with Clickworkers & MRO HiRISE E/PO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulick, V. C.; Deardorff, G.; Kanefsky, B.; HiRISE Science Team

    2010-12-01

    The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment’s E/PO has fielded several online citizen science projects. Our efforts are guided by HiRISE E/PO’s philosophy of providing innovative opportunities for students and the public to participate in the scientific discovery process. HiRISE Clickworkers, a follow-on to the original Clickworkers crater identification and size diameter marking website, provides an opportunity for the public to identify & mark over a dozen landform feature types in HiRISE images, including dunes, gullies, patterned ground, wind streaks, boulders, craters, layering, volcanoes, etc. In HiRISE Clickworkers, the contributor views several sample images showing variations of different landforms, and simply marks all the landform types they could spot while looking at a small portion of a HiRISE image. Contributors then submit their work & once validated by comparison to the output of other participants, results are then added to geologic feature databases. Scientists & others will eventually be able to query these databases for locations of particular geologic features in the HiRISE images. Participants can also mark other features that they find intriguing for the HiRISE camera to target. The original Clickworkers website pilot study ran from November 2000 until September 2001 (Kanefsky et al., 2001, LPSC XXXII). It was among the first online Citizen Science efforts for planetary science. In its pilot study, we endeavored to answer two questions: 1) Was the public willing & able to help science, & 2) Can the public produce scientifically useful results? Since its inception over 3,500,000 craters have been identified, & over 350,000 of these craters have been classified. Over 2 million of these craters were marked on Viking Orbiter image mosaics, nearly 800,000 craters were marked on Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images. Note that these are not counts of distinct craters. For example, each crater in the Viking orbiter images was counted by about 50

  11. 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.

  12. Sounding out the logo shot

    OpenAIRE

    Nicolai Jørgensgaard Graakjær

    2013-01-01

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

  13. Sound intensity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Crocker, Malcolm J.; Jacobsen, Finn

    1998-01-01

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

  14. Sound Intensity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Crocker, M.J.; Jacobsen, Finn

    1997-01-01

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

  15. SoleSound

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2014-01-01

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

  16. Sound engineering for diesel engines; Sound Engineering an Dieselmotoren

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2006-07-01

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

  17. Sonic mediations: body, sound, technology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Birdsall, C.; Enns, A.

    2008-01-01

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

  18. System for actively reducing sound

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berkhoff, Arthur P.

    2005-01-01

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

  19. Measuring the 'complexity'of sound

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

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

  20. Controlling sound with acoustic metamaterials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  1. Sound intensity as a function of sound insulation partition

    OpenAIRE

    Cvetkovic , S.; Prascevic , R.

    1994-01-01

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

  2. 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...

  3. Interactive physically-based sound simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raghuvanshi, Nikunj

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

  4. 27 CFR 9.151 - Puget Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

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

  5. XXI century projections of wind-wave conditions and sea-level rise in the Black sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polonsky, A.; Garmashov, A.; Fomin, V.; Valchev, N.; Trifonova, E.

    2012-04-01

    Projection of regional climate changes for XXI century is one of the priorities of EC environmental programme. Potential worsening of the waves' statistics, sea level rise and extreme surges are the principal negative consequences of the climate change for marine environment. That is why the main purpose of this presentation is to discuss the above issue for the Black sea region (with a strong focus to the south-west subregion because the maximum heights of waves exceeding 10 m occur just here) using output of several global coupled models (GCM) for XXI century, wave simulation, long-term observations of sea level and statistical techniques. First of all we tried to choose the best coupled model (s) simulated the Black sea climate change and variability using the control experiments for 20 century (203). The principal result is as follows. There is not one model which is simulating adequately even one atmospheric parameter for all seasons. Therefore we considered (for the climate projection) different outputs form various models. When it was possible we calculated also the ensemble mean projection for the selected model (s) and emission scenarios. To calculate the wave projection we used the output of SWAN model forced by the GCM wind projection for 2010 to 2100. To estimate the sea level rise in XXI century and future surges statistics we extrapolate the observed sea level rise tendencies, statistical relation between wave heights and sea level and wave scenarios. Results show that in general, the climate change in XXI century doesn't lead to the catastrophic change of the Black sea wind-wave statistics including the extreme waves in the S-W Black sea. The typical atmospheric pattern leading to the intense storm in the S-W Black sea is characterized by the persistent anticyclonic area to the North of the Black sea and cyclonic conditions in the Southern Black sea region. Such pressure pattern causes persistent and strong eastern or north-eastern wind which

  6. 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

  7. 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

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tine A Biedenweg

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

  9. 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.

  10. Air Pollution and 'Dirty' Industries. How and Why Does the Composition of Manufacturing Output Change with Economic Development?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cole, M.A.

    2000-01-01

    This paper examines the impact on air pollution of changes in the composition of manufacturing output in developed and developing countries. Pollution emissions from manufacturing output are estimated in a manner which holds constant the effect of technology and regulations allowing the impact of compositional changes alone on pollution to be estimated. The paper has three main findings; (1) the inverted-U estimated between per capita income and the pollution intensity of GDP arises due to both the composition of manufacturing becoming cleaner and the share of manufacturing output in GDP falling. Compositional changes alone are not responsible for the inverted-U between per capita income and per capita emissions; (2) changes to the composition of manufacturing output are consistent with the pollution haven hypothesis, however there is clear evidence that rising per capita incomes are associated with a failing income elasticity of demand for 'dirty' products. This fact may explain the compositional changes that occur with development; (3) in addition to the income elasticity effect, the analysis suggests that land prices and to a lesser extent the prices of labour and capital, determine the proportion of dirty industry within a country's manufacturing sector. 27 refs

  11. Early-Transition Output Decline Revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Crt Kostevc

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we revisit the issue of aggregate output decline that took place in the early transition period. We propose an alternative explanation of output decline that is applicable to Central- and Eastern-European countries. In the first part of the paper we develop a simple dynamic general equilibrium model that builds on work by Gomulka and Lane (2001. In particular, we consider price liberalization, interpreted as elimination of distortionary taxation, as a trigger of the output decline. We show that price liberalization in interaction with heterogeneous adjustment costs and non-employment benefits lead to aggregate output decline and surge in wage inequality. While these patterns are consistent with actual dynamics in CEE countries, this model cannot generate output decline in all sectors. Instead sectors that were initially taxed even exhibit output growth. Thus, in the second part we consider an alternative general equilibrium model with only one production sector and two types of labor and distortion in a form of wage compression during the socialist era. The trigger for labor mobility and consequently output decline is wage liberalization. Assuming heterogeneity of workers in terms of adjustment costs and non-employment benefits can explain output decline in all industries.

  12. Estimating the Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance contribution to future sea level rise using the regional atmospheric climate model MAR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fettweis, X.; Franco, B.; Tedesco, M.; van Angelen, J.H.; Lenaerts, J.T.M.; van den Broeke, M.R.; Gallée, H.

    2013-01-01

    To estimate the sea level rise (SLR) originating from changes in surface mass balance (SMB) of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS), we present 21st century climate projections obtained with the regional climate model MAR (Mod`ele Atmosph´erique R´egional), forced by output of three CMIP5 (Coupled Model

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

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  14. Sound wave transmission (image)

    Science.gov (United States)

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

  15. Exploring the effects of energy consumption on output per worker: A study of Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Ronald Ravinesh; Stauvermann, Peter Josef; Patel, Arvind; Kumar, Radika Devi

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we explore the long-run cointegration between output, capital and energy consumption, in per worker terms, for Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. We use the augmented Solow (1956) model and the ARDL bounds procedure (Pesaran et al., 2001) to examine the short-run and long-run effects of energy and capital on output (in per worker terms). We also conduct causality test using the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) non-causality procedure. Our results show the existence of long-run cointegration between output per worker and energy per worker for all the four countries. We find that energy per worker have a dynamic short-run positive effect in Albania (0.37%), Bulgaria (0.25%), Hungary (0.36%) and Romania (0.68%), and a long-run positive effect in Bulgaria (0.32%) and Romania (0.63%) which duly indicate that energy consumption has a momentous long-run effect in these two countries. The causality results indicate a unidirectional causation from output per worker to energy per worker for all the four countries, and from capital per worker to energy per worker for Albania and Romania. Consequently, a balance between effective energy consumption and sound energy conservation policies are likely to support economic growth in the four countries. - Highlights: • Energy has a short-run positive effect in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. • A long-run positive elasticity is noted in Bulgaria and Romania. • Output per worker cause energy per worker in the four countries. • A unidirectional causality from capital to energy is noted for Albania and Romania

  16. Sound & The Society

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schulze, Holger

    2014-01-01

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

  17. Predicting outdoor sound

    CERN Document Server

    Attenborough, Keith; Horoshenkov, Kirill

    2014-01-01

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

  18. Sounds of Web Advertising

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jessen, Iben Bredahl; Graakjær, Nicolai Jørgensgaard

    2010-01-01

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

  19. Enhanced performance CCD output amplifier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, Mark E.; Morley, David W.

    1996-01-01

    A low-noise FET amplifier is connected to amplify output charge from a che coupled device (CCD). The FET has its gate connected to the CCD in common source configuration for receiving the output charge signal from the CCD and output an intermediate signal at a drain of the FET. An intermediate amplifier is connected to the drain of the FET for receiving the intermediate signal and outputting a low-noise signal functionally related to the output charge signal from the CCD. The amplifier is preferably connected as a virtual ground to the FET drain. The inherent shunt capacitance of the FET is selected to be at least equal to the sum of the remaining capacitances.

  20. Interaction Dynamics Determine Signaling and Output Pathway Responses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klement Stojanovski

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The understanding of interaction dynamics in signaling pathways can shed light on pathway architecture and provide insights into targets for intervention. Here, we explored the relevance of kinetic rate constants of a key upstream osmosensor in the yeast high-osmolarity glycerol-mitogen-activated protein kinase (HOG-MAPK pathway to signaling output responses. We created mutant pairs of the Sln1-Ypd1 complex interface that caused major compensating changes in the association (kon and dissociation (koff rate constants (kinetic perturbations but only moderate changes in the overall complex affinity (Kd. Yeast cells carrying a Sln1-Ypd1 mutant pair with moderate increases in kon and koff displayed a lower threshold of HOG pathway activation than wild-type cells. Mutants with higher kon and koff rates gave rise to higher basal signaling and gene expression but impaired osmoadaptation. Thus, the kon and koff rates of the components in the Sln1 osmosensor determine proper signaling dynamics and osmoadaptation.

  1. Tools and methods for evaluating and refining alternative futures for coastal ecosystem management—the Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrd, Kristin B.; Kreitler, Jason R.; Labiosa, William B.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model (PSEPM) is a decision-support tool that uses scenarios to evaluate where, when, and to what extent future population growth, urban growth, and shoreline development may threaten the Puget Sound nearshore environment. This tool was designed to be used iteratively in a workshop setting in which experts, stakeholders, and decisionmakers discuss consequences to the Puget Sound nearshore within an alternative-futures framework. The PSEPM presents three possible futures of the nearshore by analyzing three growth scenarios developed out to 2060: Status Quo—continuation of current trends; Managed Growth—adoption of an aggressive set of land-use management policies; and Unconstrained Growth—relaxation of land-use restrictions. The PSEPM focuses on nearshore environments associated with barrier and bluff-backed beaches—the most dominant shoreforms in Puget Sound—which represent 50 percent of Puget Sound shorelines by length. This report provides detailed methodologies for development of three submodels within the PSEPM—the Shellfish Pollution Model, the Beach Armoring Index, and the Recreation Visits Model. Results from the PSEPM identify where and when future changes to nearshore ecosystems and ecosystem services will likely occur within the three growth scenarios. Model outputs include maps that highlight shoreline sections where nearshore resources may be at greater risk from upland land-use changes. The background discussed in this report serves to document and supplement model results displayed on the PSEPM Web site located at http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/pugetSound/.

  2. The Aesthetic Experience of Sound

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Breinbjerg, Morten

    2005-01-01

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

  3. Principles of underwater sound

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Urick, Robert J

    1983-01-01

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

  4. Sounding the field: recent works in sound studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boon, Tim

    2015-09-01

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

  5. Sound Clocks and Sonic Relativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todd, Scott L.; Menicucci, Nicolas C.

    2017-10-01

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

  6. Non-Wovens as Sound Reducers

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2018-04-01

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

  7. Sounds of Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurnett, D. A.

    2005-12-01

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

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

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordahl, Rolf; Turchet, Luca; Serafin, Stefania

    2011-01-01

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

  9. The Design of Operational Amplifier for Low Voltage and Low Current Sound Energy Harvesting System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Liew Hui; Rahim, Rosemizi Bin Abd; Isa, Muzamir; Idris Syed Hassan, Syed; Ismail, Baharuddin Bin

    2018-03-01

    The objective of this paper is to design a combination of an operational amplifier (op-amp) with a rectifier used in an alternate current (ac) to direct current (dc) power conversion. The op-amp was designed to specifically work at low voltage and low current for a sound energy harvesting system. The goal of the op-amp design with adjustable gain was to control output voltage based on the objectives of the experiment conducted. The op-amp was designed for minimum power dissipation performance, with the means of increasing the output current when receiving a large amount of load. The harvesting circuits which designed further improved the power output efficiency by shortening the fully charged time needed by a supercapacitor bank. It can fulfil the long-time power demands for low power device. Typically, a small amount of energy sources were converted to electricity and stored in the supercapacitor bank, which was built by 10 pieces of capacitors with 0.22 F each, arranged in parallel connection. The highest capacitance was chosen based on the characteristic that have the longest discharging time to support the applications of a supercapacitor bank. Testing results show that the op-amp can boost the low input ac voltage (∼3.89 V) to high output dc voltage (5.0 V) with output current of 30 mA and stored the electrical energy in a big supercapacitor bank having a total of 2.2 F, effectively. The measured results agree well with the calculated results.

  10. Rising tides, rising gates: The complex ecogeomorphic response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise and human interventions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandi, Steven G.; Rodríguez, José F.; Saintilan, Neil; Riccardi, Gerardo; Saco, Patricia M.

    2018-04-01

    Coastal wetlands are vulnerable to submergence due to sea-level rise, as shown by predictions of up to 80% of global wetland loss by the end of the century. Coastal wetlands with mixed mangrove-saltmarsh vegetation are particularly vulnerable because sea-level rise can promote mangrove encroachment on saltmarsh, reducing overall wetland biodiversity. Here we use an ecogeomorphic framework that incorporates hydrodynamic effects, mangrove-saltmarsh dynamics, and soil accretion processes to assess the effects of control structures on wetland evolution. Migration and accretion patterns of mangrove and saltmarsh are heavily dependent on topography and control structures. We find that current management practices that incorporate a fixed gate for the control of mangrove encroachment are useful initially, but soon become ineffective due to sea-level rise. Raising the gate, to counteract the effects of sea level rise and promote suitable hydrodynamic conditions, excludes mangrove and maintains saltmarsh over the entire simulation period of 100 years

  11. 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).

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hermundur Sigmundsson

    2017-09-01

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

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Geangu

    2015-04-01

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

  14. 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...

  15. Fourth sound in relativistic superfluidity theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1995-01-01

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

  16. The science of sound recording

    CERN Document Server

    Kadis, Jay

    2012-01-01

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

  17. Nuclear sound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wambach, J.

    1991-01-01

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

  18. Some observations on stray magnetic fields and power outputs from short-wave diathermy equipment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lau, R.W.M.; Dunscombe, P.B.

    1984-04-01

    Recent years have seen increasing interest in the possible hazards arising from the use of nonionizing electromagnetic radiation. Relatively large and potentially hazardous fields are to be found in the vicinity of short-wave and microwave equipment used in physiotherapy departments to produce therapeutic temperature rises. This note reports the results of measurements of the stray magnetic field and power output of a conventional short-wave diathermy unit when applied to tissue-equivalent phantoms. The dependence of these quantities on the variables, i.e. power setting of the unit, capacitor plate size, phantom size and phantom-capacitor plate separation, are discussed.

  19. Governmentally amplified output volatility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funashima, Yoshito

    2016-11-01

    Predominant government behavior is decomposed by frequency into several periodic components: updating cycles of infrastructure, Kuznets cycles, fiscal policy over business cycles, and election cycles. Little is known, however, about the theoretical impact of such cyclical behavior in public finance on output fluctuations. Based on a standard neoclassical growth model, this study intends to examine the frequency at which public investment cycles are relevant to output fluctuations. We find an inverted U-shaped relationship between output volatility and length of cycle in public investment. This implies that periodic behavior in public investment at a certain frequency range can cause aggravated output resonance. Moreover, we present an empirical analysis to test the theoretical implication, using the U.S. data in the period from 1968 to 2015. The empirical results suggest that such resonance phenomena change from low to high frequency.

  20. Auditory-motor mapping training as an intervention to facilitate speech output in non-verbal children with autism: a proof of concept study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Y Wan

    Full Text Available Although up to 25% of children with autism are non-verbal, there are very few interventions that can reliably produce significant improvements in speech output. Recently, a novel intervention called Auditory-Motor Mapping Training (AMMT has been developed, which aims to promote speech production directly by training the association between sounds and articulatory actions using intonation and bimanual motor activities. AMMT capitalizes on the inherent musical strengths of children with autism, and offers activities that they intrinsically enjoy. It also engages and potentially stimulates a network of brain regions that may be dysfunctional in autism. Here, we report an initial efficacy study to provide 'proof of concept' for AMMT. Six non-verbal children with autism participated. Prior to treatment, the children had no intelligible words. They each received 40 individual sessions of AMMT 5 times per week, over an 8-week period. Probe assessments were conducted periodically during baseline, therapy, and follow-up sessions. After therapy, all children showed significant improvements in their ability to articulate words and phrases, with generalization to items that were not practiced during therapy sessions. Because these children had no or minimal vocal output prior to treatment, the acquisition of speech sounds and word approximations through AMMT represents a critical step in expressive language development in children with autism.

  1. 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.

  2. Digitizing a sound archive

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cone, Louise

    2017-01-01

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

  3. Enhancement of anodic biofilm formation and current output in microbial fuel cells by composite modification of stainless steel electrodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Yuxiang; Feng, Huajun; Shen, Dongsheng; Li, Na; Guo, Kun; Zhou, Yuyang; Xu, Jing; Chen, Wei; Jia, Yufeng; Huang, Bin

    2017-02-01

    In this paper, we first systematically investigate the current output performance of stainless steel electrodes (SS) modified by carbon coating (CC), polyaniline coating (PANI), neutral red grafting (NR), surface hydrophilization (SDBS), and heat treatment (HEAT). The maximum current density of 13.0 A m-2 is obtained on CC electrode (3.0 A m-2 of the untreated anode). Such high performance should be attributed to its large effective surface area, which is 2.3 times that of the unmodified electrode. Compared with SS electrode, about 3-fold increase in current output is achieved with PANI. Functionalization with hydrophilic group and electron medium result in the current output rising to 1.5-2 fold, through enhancing bioadhesive and electron transport rate, respectively. CC modification is the best choice of single modification for SS electrode in this study. However, this modification is not perfect because of its poor hydrophilicity. So CC electrode is modified by SDBS for further enhancing the current output to 16 A m-2. These results could provide guidance for the choice of suitable single modification on SS electrodes and a new method for the perfection of electrode performance through composite modification.

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jelatis, G.J.

    1983-01-01

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

  5. Predictive Brain Mechanisms in Sound-to-Meaning Mapping during Speech Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyu, Bingjiang; Ge, Jianqiao; Niu, Zhendong; Tan, Li Hai; Gao, Jia-Hong

    2016-10-19

    Spoken language comprehension relies not only on the identification of individual words, but also on the expectations arising from contextual information. A distributed frontotemporal network is known to facilitate the mapping of speech sounds onto their corresponding meanings. However, how prior expectations influence this efficient mapping at the neuroanatomical level, especially in terms of individual words, remains unclear. Using fMRI, we addressed this question in the framework of the dual-stream model by scanning native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, a language highly dependent on context. We found that, within the ventral pathway, the violated expectations elicited stronger activations in the left anterior superior temporal gyrus and the ventral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for the phonological-semantic prediction of spoken words. Functional connectivity analysis showed that expectations were mediated by both top-down modulation from the left ventral IFG to the anterior temporal regions and enhanced cross-stream integration through strengthened connections between different subregions of the left IFG. By further investigating the dynamic causality within the dual-stream model, we elucidated how the human brain accomplishes sound-to-meaning mapping for words in a predictive manner. In daily communication via spoken language, one of the core processes is understanding the words being used. Effortless and efficient information exchange via speech relies not only on the identification of individual spoken words, but also on the contextual information giving rise to expected meanings. Despite the accumulating evidence for the bottom-up perception of auditory input, it is still not fully understood how the top-down modulation is achieved in the extensive frontotemporal cortical network. Here, we provide a comprehensive description of the neural substrates underlying sound-to-meaning mapping and demonstrate how the dual-stream model functions in the modulation of

  6. Influence of duration and rate of pulse rise of the applied voltage on ozone concentration in the barrier glow discharge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krasnyj, V.V.; Klosovski, A.V.; Knysh, A.S.; Shvets, O.M.; Taran, V.S.; Tereshin, V.I.

    2005-01-01

    The barrier glow discharge between two planar electrodes, covered with dielectric, is studied under high-voltage pulsed power supply. Wide applications of such type of discharges, in particular, for ozone production, stimulated a number of investigations in this direction. In this work we investigated the dependence of ozone concentration on the duration and the rate of pulse rise of the applied voltage. The thyristor converter circuit with the shortening of input pulses on the base of the saturable throttle was used for the realization of this task. The output pulses with amplitude up to 15 kV, repetition frequency of 1 kHz, pulse duration of 0.3 μs (or 7 μs) and the rate of pulse rise of 0.1 μs were generated with this scheme. Measurements of the ozone concentration produced in the air mixture have shown that its value increased by factor two with variation of the rate of pulse rise from 0.5 μs to 0.1 μs (for pulse duration of 7 μs). The dependence of the ozone concentration on the variation of air mixture pressure in the discharge gap of reactor was investigated also. It was shown proportional increase of the output concentration of ozone with increasing the pressure value. Spectroscopic measurements carried out in the ultraviolet spectrum made it possible to analyze changing the concentration of ozone and nitric components. (author)

  7. A novel compact low impedance Marx generator with quasi-rectangular pulse output

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hongwei; Jiang, Ping; Yuan, Jianqiang; Wang, Lingyun; Ma, Xun; Xie, Weiping

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, a novel low impedance compact Marx generator with near-square pulse output based on the Fourier theory is developed. Compared with the traditional Marx generator, capacitors with different capacity have been used. It can generate a high-voltage quasi-rectangular pulse with a width of 100 ns at low impedance load, and it also has high energy density and power density. The generator consists of 16 modules. Each module comprises an integrative single-ended plastic case capacitor with a nominal value of 54 nF, four ceramic capacitors with a nominal value of 1.5 nF, a gas switch, a charging inductor, a grounding inductor, and insulators which provide mechanical support for all elements. In the module, different discharge periods from different capacitors add to the main circuit to form a quasi-rectangular pulse. The design process of the generator is analyzed, and the test results are provided here. The generator achieved pulse output with a rise time of 32 ns, pulse width of 120 ns, flat-topped width (95%-95%) of 50 ns, voltage of 550 kV, and power of 20 GW.

  8. Sound propagation in cities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

    2009-01-01

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

  9. Hamiltonian Algorithm Sound Synthesis

    OpenAIRE

    大矢, 健一

    2013-01-01

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

  10. Exploring Noise: Sound Pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rillo, Thomas J.

    1979-01-01

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

  11. Photoacoustic Sounds from Meteors.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2015-03-01

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

  12. Urban Sound Interfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Breinbjerg, Morten

    2012-01-01

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

  13. Detecting anthropogenic footprints in sea level rise: the role of complex colored noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dangendorf, Sönke; Marcos, Marta; Müller, Alfred; Zorita, Eduardo; Jensen, Jürgen

    2015-04-01

    While there is scientific consensus that global mean sea level (MSL) is rising since the late 19th century, it remains unclear how much of this rise is due to natural variability or anthropogenic forcing. Uncovering the anthropogenic contribution requires profound knowledge about the persistence of natural MSL variations. This is challenging, since observational time series represent the superposition of various processes with different spectral properties. Here we statistically estimate the upper bounds of naturally forced centennial MSL trends on the basis of two separate components: a slowly varying volumetric (mass and density changes) and a more rapidly changing atmospheric component. Resting on a combination of spectral analyses of tide gauge records, ocean reanalysis data and numerical Monte-Carlo experiments, we find that in records where transient atmospheric processes dominate, the persistence of natural volumetric changes is underestimated. If each component is assessed separately, natural centennial trends are locally up to ~0.5 mm/yr larger than in case of an integrated assessment. This implies that external trends in MSL rise related to anthropogenic forcing might be generally overestimated. By applying our approach to the outputs of a centennial ocean reanalysis (SODA), we estimate maximum natural trends in the order of 1 mm/yr for the global average. This value is larger than previous estimates, but consistent with recent paleo evidence from periods in which the anthropogenic contribution was absent. Comparing our estimate to the observed 20th century MSL rise of 1.7 mm/yr suggests a minimum external contribution of at least 0.7 mm/yr. We conclude that an accurate detection of anthropogenic footprints in MSL rise requires a more careful assessment of the persistence of intrinsic natural variability.

  14. 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...

  15. 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...

  16. 21 CFR 876.4590 - Interlocking urethral sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

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

  17. Poetry Pages. Sound Effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fina, Allan de

    1992-01-01

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

  18. Mobile sound: media art in hybrid spaces

    OpenAIRE

    Behrendt, Frauke

    2010-01-01

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

  19. 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.

  20. Film sound in preservation and presentation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Campanini, S.

    2014-01-01

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

  1. 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

  2. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  4. Ionospheric Irregularities at Mars Probed by MARSIS Topside Sounding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, Y.; Gurnett, D. A.; Kopf, A. J.; Halekas, J. S.; Ruhunusiri, S.

    2018-01-01

    The upper ionosphere of Mars contains a variety of perturbations driven by solar wind forcing from above and upward propagating atmospheric waves from below. Here we explore the global distribution and variability of ionospheric irregularities around the exobase at Mars by analyzing topside sounding data from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on board Mars Express. As irregular structure gives rise to off-vertical echoes with excess propagation time, the diffuseness of ionospheric echo traces can be used as a diagnostic tool for perturbed reflection surfaces. The observed properties of diffuse echoes above unmagnetized regions suggest that ionospheric irregularities with horizontal wavelengths of tens to hundreds of kilometers are particularly enhanced in the winter hemisphere and at high solar zenith angles. Given the known inverse dependence of neutral gravity wave amplitudes on the background atmospheric temperature, the ionospheric irregularities probed by MARSIS are most likely associated with plasma perturbations driven by atmospheric gravity waves. Though extreme events with unusually diffuse echoes are more frequently observed for high solar wind dynamic pressures during some time intervals, the vast majority of the diffuse echo events are unaffected by varying solar wind conditions, implying limited influence of solar wind forcing on the generation of ionospheric irregularities. Combination of remote and in situ measurements of ionospheric irregularities would offer the opportunity for a better understanding of the ionospheric dynamics at Mars.

  5. Breaking the Sound Barrier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Tom; Boehringer, Kim

    2007-01-01

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

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. Sounds in one-dimensional superfluid helium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1989-01-01

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

  9. Conditioned sounds enhance visual processing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabrizio Leo

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

  10. Robust segmentation and retrieval of environmental sounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wichern, Gordon

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

  11. Active control of sound transmission through a rectangular panel using point-force actuators and piezoelectric film sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanada, Akira; Higashiyama, Kouji; Tanaka, Nobuo

    2015-01-01

    This study deals with the active control of sound transmission through a rectangular panel, based on single input, single output feedforward vibration control using point-force actuators and piezoelectric film sensors. It focuses on the phenomenon in which the sound power transmitted through a finite-sized panel drops significantly at some frequencies just below the resonance frequencies of the panel in the low-frequency range as a result of modal coupling cancellation. In a previous study, it was shown that when point-force actuators are located on nodal lines for the frequency at which this phenomenon occurs, a force equivalent to the incident sound wave can act on the panel. In this study, a practical method for sensing volume velocity using a small number of piezoelectric film strips is investigated. It is found that two quadratically shaped piezoelectric film strips, attached at the same nodal lines as those where the actuators were placed, can sense the volume velocity approximately in the low-frequency range. Results of simulations show that combining the proposed actuation method and the sensing method can achieve a practical control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency range. Finally, experiments are carried out to demonstrate the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

  12. Sound-Symbolism Boosts Novel Word Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockwood, Gwilym; Dingemanse, Mark; Hagoort, Peter

    2016-01-01

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

  13. 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.

  14. Underwater Sound Propagation from Marine Pile Driving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyff, James A

    2016-01-01

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

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

    CERN Document Server

    Deymier, Pierre

    2017-01-01

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

  16. Diffuse sound field: challenges and misconceptions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeong, Cheol-Ho

    2016-01-01

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

  17. Knowledge about Sounds – Context-Specific Meaning Differently Activates Cortical Hemispheres, Auditory Cortical Fields and Layers in House Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana B. Geissler

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Activation of the auditory cortex (AC by a given sound pattern is plastic, depending, in largely unknown ways, on the physiological state and the behavioral context of the receiving animal and on the receiver's experience with the sounds. Such plasticity can be inferred when house mouse mothers respond maternally to pup ultrasounds right after parturition and naïve females have to learn to respond. Here we use c-FOS immunocytochemistry to quantify highly activated neurons in the AC fields and layers of seven groups of mothers and naïve females who have different knowledge about and are differently motivated to respond to acoustic models of pup ultrasounds of different behavioral significance. Profiles of FOS-positive cells in the AC primary fields (AI, AAF, the ultrasonic field (UF, the secondary field (AII, and the dorsoposterior field (DP suggest that activation reflects in AI, AAF, and UF the integration of sound properties with animal state-dependent factors, in the higher-order field AII the news value of a given sound in the behavioral context, and in the higher-order field DP the level of maternal motivation and, by left-hemisphere activation advantage, the recognition of the meaning of sounds in the given context. Anesthesia reduced activation in all fields, especially in cortical layers 2/3. Thus, plasticity in the AC is field-specific preparing different output of AC fields in the process of perception, recognition and responding to communication sounds. Further, the activation profiles of the auditory cortical fields suggest the differentiation between brains hormonally primed to know (mothers and brains which acquired knowledge via implicit learning (naïve females. In this way, auditory cortical activation discriminates between instinctive (mothers and learned (naïve females cognition.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. Directional sound radiation from substation transformers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maybee, N.

    2009-01-01

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

  1. Analysis of an inverter-supplied multi-winding transformer with a full-wave rectifier at the output

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klopcic, Beno; Dolinar, Drago; Stumberger, Gorazd

    2008-01-01

    This paper deals with the magnetic analysis of an inverter-supplied multi-winding transformer frequently used in resistance spot welding applications. The basic structure of the analyzed system consists of an inverter, a single-phase transformer with two secondary windings and a full-wave rectifier mounted at the output of the transformer, which assure a very short rise time of the welding current. The disturbing current spikes often appear in the transformer's primary in the steady-state operation, which can activate the over-current protection switch-off of the system. The results of numerical analysis performed on the nonlinear model of the discussed system have shown that very strong magnetic saturation of the transformer's iron core, caused by the interaction among the different ohmic resistances of secondary windings and different characteristics of the output rectifier diodes, provokes unwanted current spikes. Magnetic saturation could be efficiently eliminated using very simple passive method proposed in this paper. All findings are confirmed by systematic analysis numerically and experimentally

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

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

    2014-01-01

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

  3. Neuroplasticity beyond sounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reybrouck, Mark; Brattico, Elvira

    2015-01-01

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

  4. Cardiac output measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreja Möller Petrun

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, developments in the measuring of cardiac output and other haemodynamic variables are focused on the so-called minimally invasive methods. The aim of these methods is to simplify the management of high-risk and haemodynamically unstable patients. Due to the need of invasive approach and the possibility of serious complications the use of pulmonary artery catheter has decreased. This article describes the methods for measuring cardiac output, which are based on volume measurement (Fick method, indicator dilution method, pulse wave analysis, Doppler effect, and electrical bioimpedance.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Moth hearing and sound communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nakano, Ryo; Takanashi, Takuma; Surlykke, Annemarie

    2015-01-01

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

  8. Probabilistic Output Analysis by Program Manipulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rosendahl, Mads; Kirkeby, Maja Hanne

    2015-01-01

    The aim of a probabilistic output analysis is to derive a probability distribution of possible output values for a program from a probability distribution of its input. We present a method for performing static output analysis, based on program transformation techniques. It generates a probability...

  9. 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:

  10. Beacons of Sound

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knakkergaard, Martin

    2018-01-01

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

  11. Sound & The Senses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schulze, Holger

    2012-01-01

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

  12. Deterministic Approach to Detect Heart Sound Irregularities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Mengko

    2017-07-01

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

  13. Sound For Animation And Virtual Reality

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    1995-01-01

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

  14. Inverter communications using output signal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Patrick L.

    2017-02-07

    Technologies for communicating information from an inverter configured for the conversion of direct current (DC) power generated from an alternative source to alternating current (AC) power are disclosed. The technologies include determining information to be transmitted from the inverter over a power line cable connected to the inverter and controlling the operation of an output converter of the inverter as a function of the information to be transmitted to cause the output converter to generate an output waveform having the information modulated thereon.

  15. Integration of TMVA Output into Jupyter notebooks

    CERN Document Server

    Saliji, Albulena

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this report is to describe the work that I have been doing during these past eight weeks as a Summer Student at CERN. The task which was assigned to me had to do with the integration of TMVA Output into Jupyter notebooks. In order to integrate the TMVA Output into the Jupyter notebook, first, improvement of the TMVA Output in the terminal was required. Once the output was improved, it needed to be transformed into HTML output and at the end it would be possible to integrate that output into the Jupyter notebook.

  16. Audio-visual interactions in product sound design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Özcan, E.; Van Egmond, R.

    2010-01-01

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

  17. 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

  18. 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.

  19. 7 CFR 29.6036 - Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

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

  20. World Input-Output Network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Cerina

    Full Text Available Production systems, traditionally analyzed as almost independent national systems, are increasingly connected on a global scale. Only recently becoming available, the World Input-Output Database (WIOD is one of the first efforts to construct the global multi-regional input-output (GMRIO tables. By viewing the world input-output system as an interdependent network where the nodes are the individual industries in different economies and the edges are the monetary goods flows between industries, we analyze respectively the global, regional, and local network properties of the so-called world input-output network (WION and document its evolution over time. At global level, we find that the industries are highly but asymmetrically connected, which implies that micro shocks can lead to macro fluctuations. At regional level, we find that the world production is still operated nationally or at most regionally as the communities detected are either individual economies or geographically well defined regions. Finally, at local level, for each industry we compare the network-based measures with the traditional methods of backward linkages. We find that the network-based measures such as PageRank centrality and community coreness measure can give valuable insights into identifying the key industries.

  1. Misconceptions About Sound Among Engineering Students

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2012-12-01

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

  2. Infra-sound cancellation and mitigation in wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2018-03-01

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

  3. Evaluative conditioning induces changes in sound valence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna C. Bolders

    2012-04-01

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

  4. Neuroanatomic organization of sound memory in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2006-11-01

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

  5. Sound Equipment Fabrication and Values in Nigerian Theatre ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

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

  6. Thinking The City Through Sound

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kreutzfeldt, Jacob

    2011-01-01

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

  7. 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

  8. Fourth sound of holographic superfluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yarom, Amos

    2009-01-01

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

  9. SEA LEVEL RISE AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON COASTAL URBAN AREA: A CASE OF ETI-OSA, NIGERIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayodele Michael AGBOOLA

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the spatial extent of coastal urban development and its potential sensitivity to sea-level rise. The main aim of the study is to critically examine the extent of growth in Eti-Osa over time, and the potential impacts of sea leve rise. Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+ imageries of years 2000 and 2015 were used to evaluate the different land use type identified. Post-classification change detection method was used to evaluate the output of the maximum likelihood supervised classification analysis done. This was also used to estimate the changes induces through urban development on the environment which accounts for the biodiversity loss. ASTER GDEM 2 imagery of 2011 was used to generate the elevation data used for the inundation analysis. Thus, both Land use map of Eti-Osa in 2015 and the down scaled Sea-level rise scenarios (at 0.5 to 15 meters were used for the inundation mapping. Results obtained from this research affirms that indeed EtiOsa has been subjected to gross urban expansion giving room for diverse forms of environmental degradation among which are huge replacement of natural land cover with built-up, reclamation of wetlands and sand filling of water bodies. This basically illustrates growth but also the risk that accompanies the advent of excessive alteration of natural ecosystem as Sea-level rise projections imply in this research.

  10. 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.

  11. High Output Piezo/Triboelectric Hybrid Generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Woo-Suk; Kang, Min-Gyu; Moon, Hi Gyu; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Yoon, Seok-Jin; Wang, Zhong-Lin; Kim, Sang-Woo; Kang, Chong-Yun

    2015-03-01

    Recently, piezoelectric and triboelectric energy harvesting devices have been developed to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. Especially, it is well known that triboelectric nanogenerators have a simple structure and a high output voltage. However, whereas nanostructures improve the output of triboelectric generators, its fabrication process is still complicated and unfavorable in term of the large scale and long-time durability of the device. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid generator which does not use nanostructure but generates much higher output power by a small mechanical force and integrates piezoelectric generator into triboelectric generator, derived from the simultaneous use of piezoelectric and triboelectric mechanisms in one press-and-release cycle. This hybrid generator combines high piezoelectric output current and triboelectric output voltage, which produces peak output voltage of ~370 V, current density of ~12 μA.cm-2, and average power density of ~4.44 mW.cm-2. The output power successfully lit up 600 LED bulbs by the application of a 0.2 N mechanical force and it charged a 10 μF capacitor to 10 V in 25 s. Beyond energy harvesting, this work will provide new opportunities for developing a small, built-in power source in self-powered electronics such as mobile electronics.

  12. High Output Piezo/Triboelectric Hybrid Generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Woo-Suk; Kang, Min-Gyu; Moon, Hi Gyu; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Yoon, Seok-Jin; Wang, Zhong-Lin; Kim, Sang-Woo; Kang, Chong-Yun

    2015-01-01

    Recently, piezoelectric and triboelectric energy harvesting devices have been developed to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. Especially, it is well known that triboelectric nanogenerators have a simple structure and a high output voltage. However, whereas nanostructures improve the output of triboelectric generators, its fabrication process is still complicated and unfavorable in term of the large scale and long-time durability of the device. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid generator which does not use nanostructure but generates much higher output power by a small mechanical force and integrates piezoelectric generator into triboelectric generator, derived from the simultaneous use of piezoelectric and triboelectric mechanisms in one press-and-release cycle. This hybrid generator combines high piezoelectric output current and triboelectric output voltage, which produces peak output voltage of ~370 V, current density of ~12 μA·cm−2, and average power density of ~4.44 mW·cm−2. The output power successfully lit up 600 LED bulbs by the application of a 0.2 N mechanical force and it charged a 10 μF capacitor to 10 V in 25 s. Beyond energy harvesting, this work will provide new opportunities for developing a small, built-in power source in self-powered electronics such as mobile electronics. PMID:25791299

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. PULSAR.MAKING VISIBLE THE SOUND OF STARS

    OpenAIRE

    Lega, Ferran

    2015-01-01

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

  16. 7 CFR 29.2298 - Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

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

  17. Cognitive Control of Involuntary Distraction by Deviant Sounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmentier, Fabrice B. R.; Hebrero, Maria

    2013-01-01

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

  18. Plume rise from multiple sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Briggs, G.A.

    1975-01-01

    A simple enhancement factor for plume rise from multiple sources is proposed and tested against plume-rise observations. For bent-over buoyant plumes, this results in the recommendation that multiple-source rise be calculated as [(N + S)/(1 + S)]/sup 1/3/ times the single-source rise, Δh 1 , where N is the number of sources and S = 6 (total width of source configuration/N/sup 1/3/ Δh 1 )/sup 3/2/. For calm conditions a crude but simple method is suggested for predicting the height of plume merger and subsequent behavior which is based on the geometry and velocity variations of a single buoyant plume. Finally, it is suggested that large clusters of buoyant sources might occasionally give rise to concentrated vortices either within the source configuration or just downwind of it

  19. 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.

  20. Musical Sounds, Motor Resonance, and Detectable Agency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacques Launay

    2015-09-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2015-08-01

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

  2. 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...

  3. 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.

  4. Final project memorandum: sea-level rise modeling handbook: resource guide for resource managers, engineers, and scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doyle, Thomas W.

    2015-01-01

    Coastal wetlands of the Southeastern United States are undergoing retreat and migration from increasing tidal inundation and saltwater intrusion attributed to climate variability and sea-level rise. Much of the literature describing potential sea-level rise projections and modeling predictions are found in peer-reviewed academic journals or government technical reports largely suited to reading by other Ph.D. scientists who are more familiar or engaged in the climate change debate. Various sea-level rise and coastal wetland models have been developed and applied of different designs and scales of spatial and temporal complexity for predicting habitat and environmental change that have not heretofore been synthesized to aid natural resource managers of their utility and limitations. Training sessions were conducted with Federal land managers with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserves as well as state partners and nongovernmental organizations across the northern Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas to educate and to evaluate user needs and understanding of concepts, data, and modeling tools for projecting sea-level rise and its impact on coastal habitats and wildlife. As a result, this handbook was constructed from these training and feedback sessions with coastal managers and biologists of published decision-support tools and simulation models for sea-level rise and climate change assessments. A simplified tabular context was developed listing the various kinds of decision-support tools and ecological models along with criteria to distinguish the source, scale, and quality of information input and geographic data sets, physical and biological constraints and relationships, datum characteristics of water and land elevation components, utility options for setting sea-level rise and climate change scenarios, and ease or difficulty of storing, displaying, or interpreting model output. The handbook is designed

  5. Sea level rise in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel and impacts of a Severn Barrage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmadian, Reza; Olbert, Agnieszka I.; Hartnett, Michael; Falconer, Roger A.

    2014-05-01

    Many research projects in recent years have focused on marine renewable energy devices and structures due to the growing interest in marine renewable energy. These devices and structures have very different life spans. Schemes such as the Severn Barrage in the UK, as originally proposed by the Severn Tidal Power Group (STPG), would be the largest tidal renewable energy generation project in the world and would be operational for well over a century if built. Due to the long working life of some of these marine renewable energy schemes, it is important to study the impacts of climate change on such schemes, and particularly sea level rise. This study focuses on investigating the impacts of sea level rise due to climate change on the largest macro-tidal estuary in the UK, namely the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel, and the alterations of the impacts and the performance of the Severn Barrage as a result of climate change. A hierarchy of computer models was implemented to identify the more localised impacts of climate change in the region of the study. Moreover, the potential benefits of the barrage on reducing flood risk, as well as the impact of climate change and the barrage on intertidal mudflats were investigated. The model predictions showed that the barrage would reduce flood risk due to the sea level rise. Furthermore, annual power output and the initial reduction in flood risk of the barrage would not be affected by sea level rise.

  6. Analysis of Output Levels of an MP3 Player: Effects of Earphone Type, Music Genre, and Listening Duration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Hyunyong; Lee, Seungwan; Koo, Miseung; Kim, Jinsook

    2018-02-26

    To prevent noise induced hearing losses caused by listening to music with personal listening devices for young adults, this study was aimed to measure output levels of an MP3 and to identify preferred listening levels (PLLs) depending on earphone types, music genres, and listening durations. Twenty-two normal hearing young adults (mean=18.82, standard deviation=0.57) participated. Each participant was asked to select his or her most PLLs when listened to Korean ballade or dance music with an earbud or an over-the-ear earphone for 30 or 60 minutes. One side of earphone was connected to the participant's better ear and the other side was connected to a sound level meter via a 2 or 6 cc-couplers. Depending on earphone types, music genres, and listening durations, loudness A-weighted equivalent (LAeq) and loudness maximum time-weighted with A-frequency sound levels in dBA were measured. Neither main nor interaction effects of the PLLs among the three factors were significant. Overall output levels of earbuds were about 10-12 dBA greater than those of over-the-ear earphones. The PLLs were 1.73 dBA greater for earbuds than over-the-ear earphones. The average PLL for ballad was higher than for dance music. The PLLs at LAeq for both music genres were the greatest at 0.5 kHz followed by 1, 0.25, 2, 4, 0.125, 8 kHz in the order. The PLLs were not different significantly when listening to Korean ballad or dance music as functions of earphone types, music genres, and listening durations. However, over-the-ear earphones seemed to be more suitable to prevent noise induce hearing loss when listening to music, showing lower PLLs, possibly due to isolation from the background noise by covering ears.

  7. Power-output regularization in global sound equalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stefanakis, Nick; Sarris, J.; Cambourakis, G.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of equalization in room acoustics is to compensate for the undesired modification that an enclosure introduces to signals such as audio or speech. In this work, equalization in a large part of the volume of a room is addressed. The multiple point method is employed with an acoustic...

  8. Light aircraft sound transmission studies - Noise reduction model

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    1987-01-01

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

  9. THE SOUND OF CINEMA: TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poznin Vitaly F.

    2017-12-01

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

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

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

    2013-01-01

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

  11. 7 CFR 29.2550 - Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

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

  12. 7 CFR 29.3546 - Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

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

  13. 7 CFR 29.1058 - Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

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

  14. 7 CFR 29.3056 - Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

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

  15. Sound Settlements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2013-01-01

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

  16. Numerical simulations of a sounding rocket in ionospheric plasma: Effects of magnetic field on the wake formation and rocket potential

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darian, D.; Marholm, S.; Paulsson, J. J. P.; Miyake, Y.; Usui, H.; Mortensen, M.; Miloch, W. J.

    2017-09-01

    The charging of a sounding rocket in subsonic and supersonic plasma flows with external magnetic field is studied with numerical particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. A weakly magnetized plasma regime is considered that corresponds to the ionospheric F2 layer, with electrons being strongly magnetized, while the magnetization of ions is weak. It is demonstrated that the magnetic field orientation influences the floating potential of the rocket and that with increasing angle between the rocket axis and the magnetic field direction the rocket potential becomes less negative. External magnetic field gives rise to asymmetric wake downstream of the rocket. The simulated wake in the potential and density may extend as far as 30 electron Debye lengths; thus, it is important to account for these plasma perturbations when analyzing in situ measurements. A qualitative agreement between simulation results and the actual measurements with a sounding rocket is also shown.

  17. Improving Sound Systems by Electrical Means

    OpenAIRE

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

    2015-01-01

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

  18. Juvenile Pacific Salmon in Puget Sound

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Fresh, Kurt L

    2006-01-01

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

  19. 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.

  20. The Early Years: Becoming Attuned to Sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashbrook, Peggy

    2014-01-01

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

  1. 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…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2011-11-01

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

  3. The Textile Form of Sound

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendixen, Cecilie

    2010-01-01

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

  4. Measuring the 'complexity' of sound

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

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

  5. Constraints on decay of environmental sound memory in adult rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakai, Masashi

    2006-11-27

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

  6. Game Sound from Behind the Sofa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garner, Tom Alexander

    2013-01-01

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

  7. 33 CFR 67.20-10 - Sound signal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

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

  8. Perception of environmental sounds by experienced cochlear implant patients

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2011-01-01

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

  9. Regional approaches in high-rise construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iconopisceva, O. G.; Proskurin, G. A.

    2018-03-01

    The evolutionary process of high-rise construction is in the article focus. The aim of the study was to create a retrospective matrix reflecting the tasks of the study such as: structuring the most iconic high-rise objects within historic boundaries. The study is based on contemporary experience of high-rise construction in different countries. The main directions and regional specifics in the field of high-rise construction as well as factors influencing the further evolution process are analyzed. The main changes in architectural stylistics, form-building, constructive solutions that focus on the principles of energy efficiency and bio positivity of "sustainable buildings", as well as the search for a new typology are noted. The most universal constructive methods and solutions that turned out to be particularly popular are generalized. The new typology of high-rises and individual approach to urban context are noted. The results of the study as a graphical scheme made it possible to represent the whole high-rise evolution. The new spatial forms of high-rises lead them to new role within the urban environments. Futuristic hyperscalable concepts take the autonomous urban space functions itself and demonstrate us how high-rises can replace multifunctional urban fabric, developing it inside their shells.

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Radicke, Marcus

    2009-12-18

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-11-01

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

  12. Soil Structure Interaction Effect on High Rise and Low Rise Buildings

    OpenAIRE

    Divya Pathak; PAresh H. SHAH

    2000-01-01

    Effect of supporting soil on the response of structure has been analyzed in the present study. A low rise (G+ 5 storey) and a high rise (G+12 storey) building has been taken for the analysis. For both type of buildings, the response of building with and without consideration of soil structure interaction effect has been compared.Without interaction case is the case in which ends of the structure are assumed to be fixed while in interaction case, structure is assumed to be...

  13. 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

  14. Snapping shrimp sound production patterns on Caribbean coral reefs: relationships with celestial cycles and environmental variables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lillis, Ashlee; Mooney, T. Aran

    2018-06-01

    The rich acoustic environment of coral reefs, including the sounds of a variety of fish and invertebrates, is a reflection of the structural complexity and biological diversity of these habitats. Emerging interest in applying passive acoustic monitoring and soundscape analysis to measure coral reef habitat characteristics and track ecological patterns is hindered by a poor understanding of the most common and abundant sound producers on reefs—the snapping shrimp. Here, we sought to address several basic biophysical drivers of reef sound by investigating acoustic activity patterns of snapping shrimp populations on two adjacent coral reefs using a detailed snap detection analysis routine to a high-resolution 2.5-month acoustic dataset from the US Virgin Islands. The reefs exhibited strong diel and lunar periodicity in snap rates and clear spatial differences in snapping levels. Snap rates peaked at dawn and dusk and were higher overall during daytime versus nighttime, a seldom-reported pattern in earlier descriptions of diel snapping shrimp acoustic activity. Small differences between the sites in snap rate rhythms were detected and illustrate how analyses of specific soundscape elements might reveal subtle between-reef variation. Snap rates were highly correlated with environmental variables, including water temperature and light, and were found to be sensitive to changes in oceanographic forcing. This study further establishes snapping shrimp as key players in the coral reef chorus and provides evidence that their acoustic output reflects a combination of environmental conditions, celestial influences, and spatial habitat variation. Effective application of passive acoustic monitoring in coral reef habitats using snap rates or snapping-influenced acoustic metrics will require a mechanistic understanding of the underlying spatial and temporal variation in snapping shrimp sound production across multiple scales.

  15. Designing a Sound Reducing Wall

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2015-01-01

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

  16. Interactively Evolving Compositional Sound Synthesis Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2015-01-01

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

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van den Berg, G.P.

    2006-01-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amrani, D.

    2013-01-01

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

  19. Oil output's changing fortunes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eldridge, D.

    1994-01-01

    The Petroleum Economist, previously the Petroleum Press Service, has been making annual surveys of output levels of petroleum in all the oil-producing countries since its founding in 1934. This article documents trends and changes in the major oil-producing countries output from 1934 until the present. This analysis is linked with the political and historical events accompanying these changes, notably the growth of Middle Eastern oil production, the North Sea finds and most recently, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. (UK)

  20. Bubbles That Change the Speed of Sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planinsic, Gorazd; Etkina, Eugenia

    2012-01-01

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

  1. DIST/AVC Out-Put Definition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, Gene L.

    The first stage of development of a management information system for DIST/AVC (Division of Instructional Technology/Audio-Visual Center) is the definition of out-put units. Some constraints on the definition of output units are: 1) they should reflect goals of the organization, 2) they should reflect organizational structure and procedures, and…

  2. Neuromimetic Sound Representation for Percept Detection and Manipulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chi Taishih

    2005-01-01

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

  3. Assessment and improvement of sound quality in cochlear implant users.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-06-01

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

  4. 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.

  5. A recognition method research based on the heart sound texture map

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huizhong Cheng

    2016-06-01

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

  6. Theoretical analysis of magnetic sensor output voltage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Haishun; Dun Chaochao; Dou Linming; Yang Weiming

    2011-01-01

    The output voltage is an important parameter to determine the stress state in magnetic stress measurement, the relationship between the output voltage and the difference in the principal stresses was investigated by a comprehensive application of magnetic circuit theory, magnetization theory, stress analysis as well as the law of electromagnetic induction, and a corresponding quantitative equation was derived. It is drawn that the output voltage is proportional to the difference in the principal stresses, and related to the angle between the principal stress and the direction of the sensor. This investigation provides a theoretical basis for the principle stresses measurement by output voltage. - Research highlights: → A comprehensive investigation of magnetic stress signal. → Derived a quantitative equation about output voltage and the principal stresses. → The output voltage is proportional to the difference of the principal stresses. → Provide a theoretical basis for the principle stresses measurement.

  7. Sea-level rise modeling handbook: Resource guide for coastal land managers, engineers, and scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doyle, Thomas W.; Chivoiu, Bogdan; Enwright, Nicholas M.

    2015-08-24

    ; utility options for setting sea-level rise and climate change scenarios; and ease or difficulty of storing, displaying, or interpreting model output. Coastal land managers, engineers, and scientists can benefit from this synthesis of tools and models that have been developed for projecting causes and consequences of sea-level change on the landscape and seascape.

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

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Paiuk, G.

    2018-01-01

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

  9. A virtual auditory environment for investigating the auditory signal processing of realistic sounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Favrot, Sylvain Emmanuel; Buchholz, Jörg

    2008-01-01

    In the present study, a novel multichannel loudspeaker-based virtual auditory environment (VAE) is introduced. The VAE aims at providing a versatile research environment for investigating the auditory signal processing in real environments, i.e., considering multiple sound sources and room...... reverberation. The environment is based on the ODEON room acoustic simulation software to render the acoustical scene. ODEON outputs are processed using a combination of different order Ambisonic techniques to calculate multichannel room impulse responses (mRIR). Auralization is then obtained by the convolution...... the VAE development, special care was taken in order to achieve a realistic auditory percept and to avoid “artifacts” such as unnatural coloration. The performance of the VAE has been evaluated and optimized on a 29 loudspeaker setup using both objective and subjective measurement techniques....

  10. Sound exposure measurements using hearing-aid technology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  11. Output, renewable energy consumption and trade in Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ben Aïssa, Mohamed Safouane; Ben Jebli, Mehdi; Ben Youssef, Slim

    2014-01-01

    We use panel cointegration techniques to examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption, trade and output in a sample of 11 African countries covering the period 1980–2008. The results from panel error correction model reveal that there is evidence of a bidirectional causality between output and exports and between output and imports in both the short and long-run. However, in the short-run, there is no evidence of causality between output and renewable energy consumption and between trade (exports or imports) and renewable energy consumption. Also, in the long-run, there is no causality running from output or trade to renewable energy. In the long-run, our estimations show that renewable energy consumption and trade have a statistically significant and positive impact on output. Our energy policy recommendations are that national authorities should design appropriate fiscal incentives to encourage the use of renewable energies, create more regional economic integration for renewable energy technologies, and encourage trade openness because of its positive impact on technology transfer and on output. - Highlights: • We examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption, trade and output in African countries. • There is a bidirectional causality between output and trade in both the short and long-run. • In the short-run, there is no causality between renewable energy consumption and trade or output. • In the long-run, renewable energy consumption and trade have a statistically significant positive impact on output. • African authorities should encourage trade openness because of its positive impact on technology transfer and on output

  12. Sound stabilizes locomotor-respiratory coupling and reduces energy cost.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles P Hoffmann

    Full Text Available A natural synchronization between locomotor and respiratory systems is known to exist for various species and various forms of locomotion. This Locomotor-Respiratory Coupling (LRC is fundamental for the energy transfer between the two subsystems during long duration exercise and originates from mechanical and neurological interactions. Different methodologies have been used to compute LRC, giving rise to various and often diverging results in terms of synchronization, (de-stabilization via information, and associated energy cost. In this article, the theory of nonlinear-coupled oscillators was adopted to characterize LRC, through the model of the sine circle map, and tested it in the context of cycling. Our specific focus was the sound-induced stabilization of LRC and its associated change in energy consumption. In our experimental study, participants were instructed during a cycling exercise to synchronize either their respiration or their pedaling rate with an external auditory stimulus whose rhythm corresponded to their individual preferential breathing or cycling frequencies. Results showed a significant reduction in energy expenditure with auditory stimulation, accompanied by a stabilization of LRC. The sound-induced effect was asymmetrical, with a better stabilizing influence of the metronome on the locomotor system than on the respiratory system. A modification of the respiratory frequency was indeed observed when participants cycled in synchrony with the tone, leading to a transition toward more stable frequency ratios as predicted by the sine circle map. In addition to the classical mechanical and neurological origins of LRC, here we demonstrated using the sine circle map model that information plays an important modulatory role of the synchronization, and has global energetic consequences.

  13. Scintillation camera with improved output means

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lange, K.; Wiesen, E.J.; Woronowicz, E.M.

    1978-01-01

    In a scintillation camera system, the output pulse signals from an array of photomultiplier tubes are coupled to the inputs of individual preamplifiers. The preamplifier output signals are coupled to circuitry for computing the x and y coordinates of the scintillations. A cathode ray oscilloscope is used to form an image corresponding with the pattern in which radiation is emitted by a body. Means for improving the uniformity and resolution of the scintillations are provided. The means comprise biasing means coupled to the outputs of selected preamplifiers so that output signals below a predetermined amplitude are not suppressed and signals falling within increasing ranges of amplitudes are increasingly suppressed. In effect, the biasing means make the preamplifiers non-linear for selected signal levels

  14. 33 CFR 167.1700 - In Prince William Sound: General.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

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

  15. First and second sound in He films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1986-01-01

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

  16. Lexical and perceptual grounding of a sound ontology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lobanova, Anna; Spenader, Jennifer; Valkenier, Bea; Matousek,; Mautner, P

    2007-01-01

    Sound ontologies need to incorporate source unidentifiable sounds in an adequate and consistent manner. Computational lexical resources like WordNet have either inserted these descriptions into conceptual categories, or make no attempt to organize the terms for these sounds. This work attempts to

  17. 33 CFR 334.412 - Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, Harvey Point and adjacent waters, NC; restricted area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, Harvey Point and adjacent waters, NC; restricted area. 334.412 Section 334.412 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA...

  18. Evaluating Coastal Landscape Response to Sea-Level Rise in the Northeastern United States - Approach and Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lentz, Erika E.; Stippa, Sawyer R.; Thieler, E. Robert; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Gesch, Dean B.; Horton, Radley M.

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey is examining effects of future sea-level rise on the coastal landscape from Maine to Virginia by producing spatially explicit, probabilistic predictions using sea-level projections, vertical land movement rates (due to isostacy), elevation data, and land-cover data. Sea-level-rise scenarios used as model inputs are generated by using multiple sources of information, including Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models following representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5 in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. A Bayesian network is used to develop a predictive coastal response model that integrates the sea-level, elevation, and land-cover data with assigned probabilities that account for interactions with coastal geomorphology as well as the corresponding ecological and societal systems it supports. The effects of sea-level rise are presented as (1) level of landscape submergence and (2) coastal response type characterized as either static (that is, inundation) or dynamic (that is, landform or landscape change). Results are produced at a spatial scale of 30 meters for four decades (the 2020s, 2030s, 2050s, and 2080s). The probabilistic predictions can be applied to landscape management decisions based on sea-level-rise effects as well as on assessments of the prediction uncertainty and need for improved data or fundamental understanding. This report describes the methods used to produce predictions, including information on input datasets; the modeling approach; model outputs; data-quality-control procedures; and information on how to access the data and metadata online.

  19. Evaluating coastal landscape response to sea-level rise in the northeastern United States: approach and methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lentz, Erika E.; Stippa, Sawyer R.; Thieler, E. Robert; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Gesch, Dean B.; Horton, Radley M.

    2014-02-13

    The U.S. Geological Survey is examining effects of future sea-level rise on the coastal landscape from Maine to Virginia by producing spatially explicit, probabilistic predictions using sea-level projections, vertical land movement rates (due to isostacy), elevation data, and land-cover data. Sea-level-rise scenarios used as model inputs are generated by using multiple sources of information, including Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models following representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5 in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. A Bayesian network is used to develop a predictive coastal response model that integrates the sea-level, elevation, and land-cover data with assigned probabilities that account for interactions with coastal geomorphology as well as the corresponding ecological and societal systems it supports. The effects of sea-level rise are presented as (1) level of landscape submergence and (2) coastal response type characterized as either static (that is, inundation) or dynamic (that is, landform or landscape change). Results are produced at a spatial scale of 30 meters for four decades (the 2020s, 2030s, 2050s, and 2080s). The probabilistic predictions can be applied to landscape management decisions based on sea-level-rise effects as well as on assessments of the prediction uncertainty and need for improved data or fundamental understanding. This report describes the methods used to produce predictions, including information on input datasets; the modeling approach; model outputs; data-quality-control procedures; and information on how to access the data and metadata online.

  20. HiRISE: The People's Camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEwen, A. S.; Eliason, E.; Gulick, V. C.; Spinoza, Y.; Beyer, R. A.; HiRISE Team

    2010-12-01

    The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, orbiting Mars since 2006 on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), has returned more than 17,000 large images with scales as small as 25 cm/pixel. From it’s beginning, the HiRISE team has followed “The People’s Camera” concept, with rapid release of useful images, explanations, and tools, and facilitating public image suggestions. The camera includes 14 CCDs, each read out into 2 data channels, so compressed images are returned from MRO as 28 long (up to 120,000 line) images that are 1024 pixels wide (or binned 2x2 to 512 pixels, etc.). This raw data is very difficult to use, especially for the public. At the HiRISE operations center the raw data are calibrated and processed into a series of B&W and color products, including browse images and JPEG2000-compressed images and tools to make it easy for everyone to explore these enormous images (see http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/). Automated pipelines do all of this processing, so we can keep up with the high data rate; images go directly to the format of the Planetary Data System (PDS). After students visually check each image product for errors, they are fully released just 1 month after receipt; captioned images (written by science team members) may be released sooner. These processed HiRISE images have been incorporated into tools such as Google Mars and World Wide Telescope for even greater accessibility. 51 Digital Terrain Models derived from HiRISE stereo pairs have been released, resulting in some spectacular flyover movies produced by members of the public and viewed up to 50,000 times according to YouTube. Public targeting began in 2007 via NASA Quest (http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/HiRISE/quest/) and more than 200 images have been acquired, mostly by students and educators. At the beginning of 2010 we released HiWish (http://www.uahirise.org/hiwish/), opening HiRISE targeting to anyone in the world with Internet access, and already more

  1. Sound response of superheated drop bubble detectors to neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Size; Chen Zhe; Liu Chao; Ni Bangfa; Zhang Guiying; Zhao Changfa; Xiao Caijin; Liu Cunxiong; Nie Peng; Guan Yongjing

    2012-01-01

    The sound response of the bubble detectors to neutrons by using 252 Cf neutron source was described. Sound signals were filtered by sound card and PC. The short-time signal energy. FFT spectrum, power spectrum, and decay time constant were got to determine the authenticity of sound signal for bubbles. (authors)

  2. The Opponent Channel Population Code of Sound Location Is an Efficient Representation of Natural Binaural Sounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Młynarski, Wiktor

    2015-01-01

    In mammalian auditory cortex, sound source position is represented by a population of broadly tuned neurons whose firing is modulated by sounds located at all positions surrounding the animal. Peaks of their tuning curves are concentrated at lateral position, while their slopes are steepest at the interaural midline, allowing for the maximum localization accuracy in that area. These experimental observations contradict initial assumptions that the auditory space is represented as a topographic cortical map. It has been suggested that a “panoramic” code has evolved to match specific demands of the sound localization task. This work provides evidence suggesting that properties of spatial auditory neurons identified experimentally follow from a general design principle- learning a sparse, efficient representation of natural stimuli. Natural binaural sounds were recorded and served as input to a hierarchical sparse-coding model. In the first layer, left and right ear sounds were separately encoded by a population of complex-valued basis functions which separated phase and amplitude. Both parameters are known to carry information relevant for spatial hearing. Monaural input converged in the second layer, which learned a joint representation of amplitude and interaural phase difference. Spatial selectivity of each second-layer unit was measured by exposing the model to natural sound sources recorded at different positions. Obtained tuning curves match well tuning characteristics of neurons in the mammalian auditory cortex. This study connects neuronal coding of the auditory space with natural stimulus statistics and generates new experimental predictions. Moreover, results presented here suggest that cortical regions with seemingly different functions may implement the same computational strategy-efficient coding. PMID:25996373

  3. Effects of spectral complexity and sound duration on automatic complex-sound pitch processing in humans - a mismatch negativity study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tervaniemi, M; Schröger, E; Saher, M; Näätänen, R

    2000-08-18

    The pitch of a spectrally rich sound is known to be more easily perceived than that of a sinusoidal tone. The present study compared the importance of spectral complexity and sound duration in facilitated pitch discrimination. The mismatch negativity (MMN), which reflects automatic neural discrimination, was recorded to a 2. 5% pitch change in pure tones with only one sinusoidal frequency component (500 Hz) and in spectrally rich tones with three (500-1500 Hz) and five (500-2500 Hz) harmonic partials. During the recordings, subjects concentrated on watching a silent movie. In separate blocks, stimuli were of 100 and 250 ms in duration. The MMN amplitude was enhanced with both spectrally rich sounds when compared with pure tones. The prolonged sound duration did not significantly enhance the MMN. This suggests that increased spectral rather than temporal information facilitates pitch processing of spectrally rich sounds.

  4. 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.

  5. Performance analysis of an IMU-augmented GNSS tracking system on board the MAIUS-1 sounding rocket

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Benjamin; Grillenberger, Andreas; Markgraf, Markus

    2018-05-01

    Satellite navigation receivers are adequate tracking sensors for range safety of both orbital launch vehicles and suborbital sounding rockets. Due to high accuracy and its low system complexity, satellite navigation is seen as well-suited supplement or replacement of conventional tracking systems like radar. Having the well-known shortcomings of satellite navigation like deliberate or unintentional interferences in mind, it is proposed to augment the satellite navigation receiver by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to enhance continuity and availability of localization. The augmented receiver is thus enabled to output at least an inertial position solution in case of signal outages. In a previous study, it was shown by means of simulation using the example of Ariane 5 that the performance of a low-grade microelectromechanical IMU is sufficient to bridge expected outages of some ten seconds, and still meeting the range safety requirements in effect. In this publication, these theoretical findings shall be substantiated by real flight data that were recorded on MAIUS-1, a sounding rocket launched from Esrange, Sweden, in early 2017. The analysis reveals that the chosen representative of a microelectromechanical IMU is suitable to bridge outages of up to thirty seconds.

  6. Integrated Human Factors Design Guidelines for Sound Interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul; Cha, Woo Chang

    2004-05-01

    Digital MMI, such as CRT, LCD etc., has been used increasingly in the design of main control room of the Korean standard nuclear power plants following the YGN units 3 and 4. The utilization of digital MMI may introduce various kind of sound interface into the control room design. In this project, for five top-level guideline items, including Sound Formats, Alarms, Sound Controls, Communications, and Environments, a total of 147 detail guidelines were developed and a database system for these guidelines was developed. The integrated human factors design guidelines for sound interface and the database system developed in this project will be useful for the design of sound interface of digital MMI in Korean NPPs

  7. Integrated Human Factors Design Guidelines for Sound Interface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, Woo Chang [Kumoh National Univ. of Technology, Gumi (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-05-15

    Digital MMI, such as CRT, LCD etc., has been used increasingly in the design of main control room of the Korean standard nuclear power plants following the YGN units 3 and 4. The utilization of digital MMI may introduce various kind of sound interface into the control room design. In this project, for five top-level guideline items, including Sound Formats, Alarms, Sound Controls, Communications, and Environments, a total of 147 detail guidelines were developed and a database system for these guidelines was developed. The integrated human factors design guidelines for sound interface and the database system developed in this project will be useful for the design of sound interface of digital MMI in Korean NPPs.

  8. ISEE : An Intuitive Sound Editing Environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vertegaal, R.P.H.; Bonis, E.

    1994-01-01

    This article presents ISEE, an intuitive sound editing environment, as a general sound synthesis model based on expert auditory perception and cognition of musical instruments. It discusses the backgrounds of current synthesizer user interface design and related timbre space research. Of the three

  9. Intercepting a sound without vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vercillo, Tiziana; Tonelli, Alessia; Gori, Monica

    2017-01-01

    Visual information is extremely important to generate internal spatial representations. In the auditory modality, the absence of visual cues during early infancy does not preclude the development of some spatial strategies. However, specific spatial abilities might result impaired. In the current study, we investigated the effect of early visual deprivation on the ability to localize static and moving auditory stimuli by comparing sighted and early blind individuals’ performance in different spatial tasks. We also examined perceptual stability in the two groups of participants by matching localization accuracy in a static and a dynamic head condition that involved rotational head movements. Sighted participants accurately localized static and moving sounds. Their localization ability remained unchanged after rotational movements of the head. Conversely, blind participants showed a leftward bias during the localization of static sounds and a little bias for moving sounds. Moreover, head movements induced a significant bias in the direction of head motion during the localization of moving sounds. These results suggest that internal spatial representations might be body-centered in blind individuals and that in sighted people the availability of visual cues during early infancy may affect sensory-motor interactions. PMID:28481939

  10. WODA technical guidance on underwater sound from dredging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thomsen, F.; Borsani, F.; Clarke, D.; Jong, C. de; Wit, P. de; Goethals, F.; Holtkamp, M.; Martin, E.S.; Spadaro, P.; Raalte, G. van; Victor, G.Y.V.; Jensen, A.

    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

  11. 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.

  12. Framing sound: Using expectations to reduce environmental noise annoyance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crichton, Fiona; Dodd, George; Schmid, Gian; Petrie, Keith J

    2015-10-01

    Annoyance reactions to environmental noise, such as wind turbine sound, have public health implications given associations between annoyance and symptoms related to psychological distress. In the case of wind farms, factors contributing to noise annoyance have been theorised to include wind turbine sound characteristics, the noise sensitivity of residents, and contextual aspects, such as receiving information creating negative expectations about sound exposure. The experimental aim was to assess whether receiving positive or negative expectations about wind farm sound would differentially influence annoyance reactions during exposure to wind farm sound, and also influence associations between perceived noise sensitivity and noise annoyance. Sixty volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either negative or positive expectations about wind farm sound. Participants in the negative expectation group viewed a presentation which incorporated internet material indicating that exposure to wind turbine sound, particularly infrasound, might present a health risk. Positive expectation participants viewed a DVD which framed wind farm sound positively and included internet information about the health benefits of infrasound exposure. Participants were then simultaneously exposed to sub-audible infrasound and audible wind farm sound during two 7 min exposure sessions, during which they assessed their experience of annoyance. Positive expectation participants were significantly less annoyed than negative expectation participants, while noise sensitivity only predicted annoyance in the negative group. Findings suggest accessing negative information about sound is likely to trigger annoyance, particularly in noise sensitive people and, importantly, portraying sound positively may reduce annoyance reactions, even in noise sensitive individuals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Physiological phenotyping of dementias using emotional sounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Phillip D; Nicholas, Jennifer M; Shakespeare, Timothy J; Downey, Laura E; Golden, Hannah L; Agustus, Jennifer L; Clark, Camilla N; Mummery, Catherine J; Schott, Jonathan M; Crutch, Sebastian J; Warren, Jason D

    2015-06-01

    Emotional behavioral disturbances are hallmarks of many dementias but their pathophysiology is poorly understood. Here we addressed this issue using the paradigm of emotionally salient sounds. Pupil responses and affective valence ratings for nonverbal sounds of varying emotional salience were assessed in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) (n = 14), semantic dementia (SD) (n = 10), progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA) (n = 12), and AD (n = 10) versus healthy age-matched individuals (n = 26). Referenced to healthy individuals, overall autonomic reactivity to sound was normal in Alzheimer's disease (AD) but reduced in other syndromes. Patients with bvFTD, SD, and AD showed altered coupling between pupillary and affective behavioral responses to emotionally salient sounds. Emotional sounds are a useful model system for analyzing how dementias affect the processing of salient environmental signals, with implications for defining pathophysiological mechanisms and novel biomarker development.

  14. Sound reduction by metamaterial-based acoustic enclosure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanshan Yao

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In many practical systems, acoustic radiation control on noise sources contained within a finite volume by an acoustic enclosure is of great importance, but difficult to be accomplished at low frequencies due to the enhanced acoustic-structure interaction. In this work, we propose to use acoustic metamaterials as the enclosure to efficiently reduce sound radiation at their negative-mass frequencies. Based on a circularly-shaped metamaterial model, sound radiation properties by either central or eccentric sources are analyzed by numerical simulations for structured metamaterials. The parametric analyses demonstrate that the barrier thickness, the cavity size, the source type, and the eccentricity of the source have a profound effect on the sound reduction. It is found that increasing the thickness of the metamaterial barrier is an efficient approach to achieve large sound reduction over the negative-mass frequencies. These results are helpful in designing highly efficient acoustic enclosures for blockage of sound in low frequencies.

  15. Sound reduction by metamaterial-based acoustic enclosure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yao, Shanshan; Li, Pei; Zhou, Xiaoming; Hu, Gengkai, E-mail: hugeng@bit.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Dynamics and Control of Flight Vehicle, Ministry of Education and School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China)

    2014-12-15

    In many practical systems, acoustic radiation control on noise sources contained within a finite volume by an acoustic enclosure is of great importance, but difficult to be accomplished at low frequencies due to the enhanced acoustic-structure interaction. In this work, we propose to use acoustic metamaterials as the enclosure to efficiently reduce sound radiation at their negative-mass frequencies. Based on a circularly-shaped metamaterial model, sound radiation properties by either central or eccentric sources are analyzed by numerical simulations for structured metamaterials. The parametric analyses demonstrate that the barrier thickness, the cavity size, the source type, and the eccentricity of the source have a profound effect on the sound reduction. It is found that increasing the thickness of the metamaterial barrier is an efficient approach to achieve large sound reduction over the negative-mass frequencies. These results are helpful in designing highly efficient acoustic enclosures for blockage of sound in low frequencies.

  16. A principled relation between reading and naming in acquired and developmental anomia: Surface dyslexia following impairment in the phonological output lexicon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naama eFriedmann

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Lexical retrieval and reading aloud are often viewed as two separate processes. However, they are not completely separate--they share components.This study assessed the effect of an impairment in a shared component, the phonological output lexicon,on lexical retrieval and on reading aloud. Because the phonological output lexicon is part of the lexical route for reading, individuals with an impairment in this lexicon may be forced to read aloud via the sublexical route and therefore show a reading pattern that is typical of surface dyslexia.To examine the effect of phonological output lexicon deficit on reading, we tested the reading of 16 Hebrew-speaking individuals with phonological output lexicon anomia, 8 with acquired anomia following brain damage and 8 with developmental-anomia.We established that they had a phonological output lexicon deficit according to the types of errors and the effects on their naming in a picture naming task, and excluded other deficit loci in the lexical retrieval process according to a line of tests assessing their picture and word comprehension, word and nonword repetition, and phonological working memory.After we have established that the participants have a phonological output lexicon deficit, we tested their reading. To assess their reading and type of reading impairment, we tested their reading aloud, lexical decision, and written word comprehension.We found that all of the participants with phonological output lexicon impairment showed, in addition to anomia, also the typical surface dyslexia errors in reading aloud of irregular words,words with ambiguous conversion to phonemes,and potentiophones (words like now that, when read via the sublexical-route,can be sounded out as another word, know. Importantly, all the participants performed flawlessly on pseudohomophone lexical-decision and on homophone/potentiophone reading comprehension, indicating spared orthographic-input-lexicon and spared access to it and

  17. Specially Designed Sound-Boxes Used by Students to Perform School-Lab Sensor–Based Experiments, to Understand Sound Phenomena

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanos Parskeuopoulos

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The research presented herein investigates and records students’ perceptions relating to sound phenomena and their improvement during a specialised laboratory practice utilizing ICT and a simple experimental apparatus, especially designed for teaching. This school-lab apparatus and its operation are also described herein. A number of 71 first and second grade Vocational-school students, aged 16 to 20, participated in the research. These were divided into groups of 4-5 students, each of which worked for 6 hours in order to complete all activities assigned. Data collection was carried out through personal interviews as well as questionnaires which were distributed before and after the instructive intervention. The results shows that students’ active involvement with the simple teaching apparatus, through which the effects of sound waves are visible, helps them comprehend sound phenomena. It also altered considerably their initial misconceptions about sound propagation. The results are presented diagrammatically herein, while some important observations are made, relating to the teaching and learning of scientific concepts concerning sound.

  18. Sound for digital video

    CERN Document Server

    Holman, Tomlinson

    2013-01-01

    Achieve professional quality sound on a limited budget! Harness all new, Hollywood style audio techniques to bring your independent film and video productions to the next level.In Sound for Digital Video, Second Edition industry experts Tomlinson Holman and Arthur Baum give you the tools and knowledge to apply recent advances in audio capture, video recording, editing workflow, and mixing to your own film or video with stunning results. This fresh edition is chockfull of techniques, tricks, and workflow secrets that you can apply to your own projects from preproduction

  19. WRF Model Output

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This dataset contains WRF model output. There are three months of data: July 2012, July 2013, and January 2013. For each month, several simulations were made: A...

  20. 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

  1. Sound-symbolism boosts novel word learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lockwood, G.F.; Dingemanse, M.; Hagoort, P.

    2016-01-01

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

  2. Heart sounds: are you listening? Part 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reimer-Kent, Jocelyn

    2013-01-01

    All nurses should have an understanding of heart sounds and be proficient in cardiac auscultation. Unfortunately, this skill is not part of many nursing school curricula, nor is it necessarily a required skillfor employment. Yet, being able to listen and accurately describe heart sounds has tangible benefits to the patient, as it is an integral part of a complete cardiac assessment. In this two-part article, I will review the fundamentals of cardiac auscultation, how cardiac anatomy and physiology relate to heart sounds, and describe the various heart sounds. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned nurse, it is never too early or too late to add this important diagnostic skill to your assessment tool kit.

  3. A note on measurement of sound pressure with intensity probes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juhl, Peter; Jacobsen, Finn

    2004-01-01

    be improved under a variety of realistic sound field conditions by applying a different weighting of the two pressure signals from the probe. The improved intensity probe can measure the sound pressure more accurately at high frequencies than an ordinary sound intensity probe or an ordinary sound level meter......The effect of scattering and diffraction on measurement of sound pressure with "two-microphone" sound intensity probes is examined using an axisymmetric boundary element model of the probe. Whereas it has been shown a few years ago that the sound intensity estimated with a two-microphone probe...... is reliable up to 10 kHz when using 0.5 in. microphones in the usual face-to-face arrangement separated by a 12 mm spacer, the sound pressure measured with the same instrument will typically be underestimated at high frequencies. It is shown in this paper that the estimate of the sound pressure can...

  4. 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....

  5. Redesign lifts prep output 288%

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hamric, J

    1987-02-01

    This paper outlines the application of engineering creativity and how it brought output at an Ohio coal preparation plant up from 12,500 tpd to nearly four times that figure, 48,610 tpd. By streamlining the conveyor systems, removing surplus belt length and repositioning subplants the whole operation was able to run far more efficiently with a greater output. Various other alterations including the raw material supply and management and operating practices were also undertaken to provide a test for the achievements possible with such reorganization. The new developments have been in the following fields: fine coal cleaning, heavy media cyclones, feeders, bins, filter presses, dewatering equipment and settling tanks. Output is now limited only by the reduced demand by the Gavin power station nearby.

  6. Output Information Based Fault-Tolerant Iterative Learning Control for Dual-Rate Sampling Process with Disturbances and Output Delay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongfeng Tao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available For a class of single-input single-output (SISO dual-rate sampling processes with disturbances and output delay, this paper presents a robust fault-tolerant iterative learning control algorithm based on output information. Firstly, the dual-rate sampling process with output delay is transformed into discrete system in state-space model form with slow sampling rate without time delay by using lifting technology; then output information based fault-tolerant iterative learning control scheme is designed and the control process is turned into an equivalent two-dimensional (2D repetitive process. Moreover, based on the repetitive process stability theory, the sufficient conditions for the stability of system and the design method of robust controller are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs technique. Finally, the flow control simulations of two flow tanks in series demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

  7. CMAQ Model Output

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — CMAQ and CMAQ-VBS model output. This dataset is not publicly accessible because: Files too large. It can be accessed through the following means: via EPA's NCC tape...

  8. Pectoral sound generation in the blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohajer, Yasha; Ghahramani, Zachary; Fine, Michael L

    2015-03-01

    Catfishes produce pectoral stridulatory sounds by "jerk" movements that rub ridges on the dorsal process against the cleithrum. We recorded sound synchronized with high-speed video to investigate the hypothesis that blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus produce sounds by a slip-stick mechanism, previously described only in invertebrates. Blue catfish produce a variably paced series of sound pulses during abduction sweeps (pulsers) although some individuals (sliders) form longer duration sound units (slides) interspersed with pulses. Typical pulser sounds are evoked by short 1-2 ms movements with a rotation of 2°-3°. Jerks excite sounds that increase in amplitude after motion stops, suggesting constructive interference, which decays before the next jerk. Longer contact of the ridges produces a more steady-state sound in slides. Pulse pattern during stridulation is determined by pauses without movement: the spine moves during about 14 % of the abduction sweep in pulsers (~45 % in sliders) although movement appears continuous to the human eye. Spine rotation parameters do not predict pulse amplitude, but amplitude correlates with pause duration suggesting that force between the dorsal process and cleithrum increases with longer pauses. Sound production, stimulated by a series of rapid movements that set the pectoral girdle into resonance, is caused by a slip-stick mechanism.

  9. Ultrahromatizm as a Sound Meditation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaytseva Marina

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The article scientifically substantiates the insights on the theory and the practice of using microchromatic in modern musical art, defines compositional and expressive possibilities of microtonal system in the works of composers of XXI century. It justifies the author's interpretation of the concept of “ultrahromatizm”, as a principle of musical thinking, which is connected with the sound space conception as the space-time continuum. The paper identifies the correlation of the notions “microchromatism” and “ultrahromatizm”. If microchromosome is understood, first and for most, as the technique of dividing the sound into microparticles, ultrahromatizm is interpreted as the principle of musical and artistic consciousness, as the musical focus of consciousness on the formation of the specific model of sound meditation and understanding of the world.

  10. Problems in nonlinear acoustics: Pulsed finite amplitude sound beams, nonlinear acoustic wave propagation in a liquid layer, nonlinear effects in asymmetric cylindrical sound beams, effects of absorption on the interaction of sound beams, and parametric receiving arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Mark F.

    1990-12-01

    This report discusses five projects all of which involve basic theoretical research in nonlinear acoustics: (1) pulsed finite amplitude sound beams are studied with a recently developed time domain computer algorithm that solves the KZK nonlinear parabolic wave equation; (2) nonlinear acoustic wave propagation in a liquid layer is a study of harmonic generation and acoustic soliton information in a liquid between a rigid and a free surface; (3) nonlinear effects in asymmetric cylindrical sound beams is a study of source asymmetries and scattering of sound by sound at high intensity; (4) effects of absorption on the interaction of sound beams is a completed study of the role of absorption in second harmonic generation and scattering of sound by sound; and (5) parametric receiving arrays is a completed study of parametric reception in a reverberant environment.

  11. Methodology for designing aircraft having optimal sound signatures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sahai, A.K.; Simons, D.G.

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a methodology with which aircraft designs can be modified such that they produce optimal sound signatures on the ground. With optimal sound it is implied in this case sounds that are perceived as less annoying by residents living near airport vicinities. A novel design and

  12. The Dual-channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Experiment: Sounding Rocket EUV Observations of Local B Stars to Determine Their Potential for Supplying Intergalactic Ionizing Radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erickson, Nicholas; Green, James C.; France, Kevin; Stocke, John T.; Nell, Nicholas

    2018-06-01

    We describe the scientific motivation and technical development of the Dual-channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Experiment (DEUCE). DEUCE is a sounding rocket payload designed to obtain the first flux-calibrated spectra of two nearby B stars in the EUV 650-1150Å bandpass. This measurement will help in understanding the ionizing flux output of hot B stars, calibrating stellar models and commenting on the potential contribution of such stars to reionization. DEUCE consists of a grazing incidence Wolter II telescope, a normal incidence holographic grating, and the largest (8” x 8”) microchannel plate detector ever flown in space, covering the 650-1150Å band in medium and low resolution channels. DEUCE will launch on December 1, 2018 as NASA/CU sounding rocket mission 36.331 UG, observing Epsilon Canis Majoris, a B2 II star.

  13. An Integrated Approach to Motion and Sound

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hahn, James K; Geigel, Joe; Lee, Jong W; Gritz, Larry; Takala, Tapio; Mishra, Suneil

    1995-01-01

    Until recently, sound has been given little attention in computer graphics and related domains of computer animation and virtual environments, although sounds which are properly synchronized to motion...

  14. Output controllability of nonlinear systems with bounded control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, Rafael; D'Attellis, Carlos

    1990-01-01

    The control problem treated in this paper is the output controllability of a nonlinear system in the form: x = f(x) + g(x)u(t); y = h(x), using bounded controls. The approach to the problem consists of a modification in the system using dynamic feedback in such a way that the input/output behaviour of the closed loop matches the input/output behaviour of a completely output-controllable system with bounded controls. Sufficient conditions are also put forward on the system so that a compact set in the output space may be reached in finite time using uniformally bounded controls, and a result on output regulation in finite time with asymptotic state stabilization is obtained. (Author)

  15. Sounds in context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weed, Ethan

    A sound is never just a sound. It is becoming increasingly clear that auditory processing is best thought of not as a one-way afferent stream, but rather as an ongoing interaction between interior processes and the environment. Even the earliest stages of auditory processing in the nervous system...... time-course of contextual influence on auditory processing in three different paradigms: a simple mismatch negativity paradigm with tones of differing pitch, a multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm in which tones were embedded in a complex musical context, and a cross-modal paradigm, in which...... auditory processing of emotional speech was modulated by an accompanying visual context. I then discuss these results in terms of their implication for how we conceive of the auditory processing stream....

  16. A Monte Carlo Study on Multiple Output Stochastic Frontiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henningsen, Géraldine; Henningsen, Arne; Jensen, Uwe

    , dividing all other output quantities by the selected output quantity, and using these ratios as regressors (OD). Another approach is the stochastic ray production frontier (SR) which transforms the output quantities into their Euclidean distance as the dependent variable and their polar coordinates......In the estimation of multiple output technologies in a primal approach, the main question is how to handle the multiple outputs. Often an output distance function is used, where the classical approach is to exploit its homogeneity property by selecting one output quantity as the dependent variable...... of both specifications for the case of a Translog output distance function with respect to different common statistical problems as well as problems arising as a consequence of zero values in the output quantities. Although, our results partly show clear reactions to statistical misspecifications...

  17. Sound Synthesis of Objects Swinging through Air Using Physical Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rod Selfridge

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available A real-time physically-derived sound synthesis model is presented that replicates the sounds generated as an object swings through the air. Equations obtained from fluid dynamics are used to determine the sounds generated while exposing practical parameters for a user or game engine to vary. Listening tests reveal that for the majority of objects modelled, participants rated the sounds from our model as plausible as actual recordings. The sword sound effect performed worse than others, and it is speculated that one cause may be linked to the difference between expectations of a sound and the actual sound for a given object.

  18. Sound modes in hot nuclear matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolomietz, V. M.; Shlomo, S.

    2001-01-01

    The propagation of the isoscalar and isovector sound modes in a hot nuclear matter is considered. The approach is based on the collisional kinetic theory and takes into account the temperature and memory effects. It is shown that the sound velocity and the attenuation coefficient are significantly influenced by the Fermi surface distortion (FSD). The corresponding influence is much stronger for the isoscalar mode than for the isovector one. The memory effects cause a nonmonotonous behavior of the attenuation coefficient as a function of the relaxation time leading to a zero-to-first sound transition with increasing temperature. The mixing of both the isoscalar and the isovector sound modes in an asymmetric nuclear matter is evaluated. The condition for the bulk instability and the instability growth rate in the presence of the memory effects is studied. It is shown that both the FSD and the relaxation processes lead to a shift of the maximum of the instability growth rate to the longer-wavelength region

  19. Perceived spatial positioning of self-footstep sounds in three surround sound speaker setups for immersive virtual reality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sikström, Erik; Nilsson, Niels Christian; Nordahl, Rolf

    2013-01-01

    Are there differences in how well loudspeaker setups are able to provide a believable illusion of footstep sounds originating from the user of an immersive virtual reality? To investigate this performance in spatial positioning via loudspeakers, a comparison of the three surround sound loudspeaker...

  20. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. Rise, stagnation, and rise of Danish women's life expectancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindahl-Jacobsen, Rune; Rau, Roland; Jeune, Bernard

    2016-01-01

    Health conditions change from year to year, with a general tendency in many countries for improvement. These conditions also change from one birth cohort to another: some generations suffer more adverse events in childhood, smoke more heavily, eat poorer diets, etc., than generations born earlier...... favor forecasts that hinge on cohort differences. We use a combination of age decomposition and exchange of survival probabilities between countries to study the remarkable recent history of female life expectancy in Denmark, a saga of rising, stagnating, and now again rising lifespans. The gap between...... female life expectancy in Denmark vs. Sweden grew to 3.5 y in the period 1975-2000. When we assumed that Danish women born 1915-1945 had the same survival probabilities as Swedish women, the gap remained small and roughly constant. Hence, the lower Danish life expectancy is caused by these cohorts...

  3. Perancangan Alat Ukur Digital untuk Tinggi dan Berat Badan dengan Output Suara berbasis Arduino UNO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MUHAMMAD AFDALI

    2018-03-01

    results and data analysis, obtained that values of the average percentage of success at the height measurement was 96.80% and the weight measurement was 99.04%,respectively. While the success rate of emitting the sound information is 95%. Keywords: Digital measuring instrument, height, weight, Arduino, sound output.

  4. Objective function analysis for electric soundings (VES), transient electromagnetic soundings (TEM) and joint inversion VES/TEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bortolozo, Cassiano Antonio; Bokhonok, Oleg; Porsani, Jorge Luís; Monteiro dos Santos, Fernando Acácio; Diogo, Liliana Alcazar; Slob, Evert

    2017-11-01

    Ambiguities in geophysical inversion results are always present. How these ambiguities appear in most cases open to interpretation. It is interesting to investigate ambiguities with regard to the parameters of the models under study. Residual Function Dispersion Map (RFDM) can be used to differentiate between global ambiguities and local minima in the objective function. We apply RFDM to Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and TEM Sounding inversion results. Through topographic analysis of the objective function we evaluate the advantages and limitations of electrical sounding data compared with TEM sounding data, and the benefits of joint inversion in comparison with the individual methods. The RFDM analysis proved to be a very interesting tool for understanding the joint inversion method of VES/TEM. Also the advantage of the applicability of the RFDM analyses in real data is explored in this paper to demonstrate not only how the objective function of real data behaves but the applicability of the RFDM approach in real cases. With the analysis of the results, it is possible to understand how the joint inversion can reduce the ambiguity of the methods.

  5. Seismic and Biological Sources of Ambient Ocean Sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, Simon Eric

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

  6. Output Feedback Finite-Time Stabilization of Systems Subject to Hölder Disturbances via Continuous Fractional Sliding Modes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aldo-Jonathan Muñoz-Vázquez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The problem of designing a continuous control to guarantee finite-time tracking based on output feedback for a system subject to a Hölder disturbance has remained elusive. The main difficulty stems from the fact that such disturbance stands for a function that is continuous but not necessarily differentiable in any integer-order sense, yet it is fractional-order differentiable. This problem imposes a formidable challenge of practical interest in engineering because (i it is common that only partial access to the state is available and, then, output feedback is needed; (ii such disturbances are present in more realistic applications, suggesting a fractional-order controller; and (iii continuous robust control is a must in several control applications. Consequently, these stringent requirements demand a sound mathematical framework for designing a solution to this control problem. To estimate the full state in finite-time, a high-order sliding mode-based differentiator is considered. Then, a continuous fractional differintegral sliding mode is proposed to reject Hölder disturbances, as well as for uncertainties and unmodeled dynamics. Finally, a homogeneous closed-loop system is enforced by means of a continuous nominal control, assuring finite-time convergence. Numerical simulations are presented to show the reliability of the proposed method.

  7. 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

  8. Airborne sound insulation of new composite wall structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanova Yonka

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Protection against noise is one of the essential requirements of the European Construction Product directive. In buildings, airborne sound insulation is used to define the acoustical quality between rooms. In order to develop wall structures with optimal sound insulation, an understanding of the physical origins of sound transmission is necessary. To develop a kind of knowledge that is applicable to the improvement of real walls and room barriers is the motive behind this study. The purpose of the work is to study the sound insulation of new composite wall structure.

  9. 33 CFR 117.309 - Nassau Sound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Nassau Sound. 117.309 Section 117.309 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Florida § 117.309 Nassau Sound. The draw of the Fernandina Port...

  10. 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.

  11. 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

  12. Language Experience Affects Grouping of Musical Instrument Sounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatara, Anjali; Boll-Avetisyan, Natalie; Agus, Trevor; Höhle, Barbara; Nazzi, Thierry

    2016-01-01

    Language experience clearly affects the perception of speech, but little is known about whether these differences in perception extend to non-speech sounds. In this study, we investigated rhythmic perception of non-linguistic sounds in speakers of French and German using a grouping task, in which complexity (variability in sounds, presence of…

  13. Fast multi-output relevance vector regression

    OpenAIRE

    Ha, Youngmin

    2017-01-01

    This paper aims to decrease the time complexity of multi-output relevance vector regression from O(VM^3) to O(V^3+M^3), where V is the number of output dimensions, M is the number of basis functions, and V

  14. A unified approach for the spatial enhancement of sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Joung-Woo; Jang, Ji-Ho; Kim, Yang-Hann

    2005-09-01

    This paper aims to control the sound field spatially, so that the desired or target acoustic variable is enhanced within a zone where a listener is located. This is somewhat analogous to having manipulators that can draw sounds in any place. This also means that one can somehow see the controlled shape of sound in frequency or in real time. The former assures its practical applicability, for example, listening zone control for music. The latter provides a mean of analyzing sound field. With all these regards, a unified approach is proposed that can enhance selected acoustic variables using multiple sources. Three kinds of acoustic variables that have to do with magnitude and direction of sound field are formulated and enhanced. The first one, which has to do with the spatial control of acoustic potential energy, enables one to make a zone of loud sound over an area. Otherwise, one can control directional characteristic of sound field by controlling directional energy density, or one can enhance the magnitude and direction of sound at the same time by controlling acoustic intensity. Throughout various examples, it is shown that these acoustic variables can be controlled successfully by the proposed approach.

  15. Concepts for evaluation of sound insulation of dwellings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Birgit; Rindel, Jens Holger

    2005-01-01

    Legal sound insulation requirements have existed more than 50 years in some countries, and single-number quantities for evaluation of sound insulation have existed nearly as long time. However, the concepts have changed considerably over time from simple arithmetic averaging of frequency bands......¬ments and classification schemes revealed significant differences of concepts. The paper summarizes the history of concepts, the disadvantages of the present chaos and the benefits of consensus concerning concepts for airborne and impact sound insulation between dwellings and airborne sound insulation of facades...... with a trend towards light-weight constructions are contradictory and challenging. This calls for exchange of data and experience, implying a need for harmonized concepts, including use of spectrum adaptation terms. The paper will provide input for future discussions in EAA TC-RBA WG4: "Sound insulation...

  16. Sound Performance – Experience and Event

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holmboe, Rasmus

    . The present paper draws on examples from my ongoing PhD-project, which is connected to Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde, Denmark, where I curate a sub-programme at ACTS 2014 – a festival for performative arts. The aim is to investigate, how sound performance can be presented and represented - in real....... In itself – and as an artistic material – sound is always already process. It involves the listener in a situation that is both filled with elusive presence and one that evokes rooted memory. At the same time sound is bodily, social and historical. It propagates between individuals and objects, it creates...

  17. Focused sound: oncological therapy for transformed tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mares, C. E.; Cordova F, T.; Hernandez, A.

    2017-10-01

    The restlessness of the human being involves observing and being critical through their senses, in particular a disturbance in the environment cause vibrations that can be registered by the sense of hearing through the eardrum, if what it produces is in the frequency of the audible sound. The distinction of the sound of the other forms of energy transfer is that the waves of the same quickly involve the progressive return of displacements or vibrations of the molecules in the medium that propagates. In this work a sweep of frequencies was made from infra sound to ultrasound in plants of different types with different thicknesses and two people in order to find the resonance of each of them and compare it with the resonances registered in text, which allowed evaluate the secondary effect of sound focused on the tissue of the leaves and in particular of people. We consider that there is potential for this focused sound modality if it is at the resonance frequency of the transformed tissue as a means of oncological therapy without affecting the neighboring cells. (Author)

  18. Review of sound card photogates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gingl, Zoltan; Mingesz, Robert; Mellar, Janos; Makra, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Photogates are probably the most commonly used electronic instruments to aid experiments in the field of mechanics. Although they are offered by many manufacturers, they can be too expensive to be widely used in all classrooms, in multiple experiments or even at home experimentation. Today all computers have a sound card - an interface for analogue signals. It is possible to make very simple yet highly accurate photogates for cents, while much more sophisticated solutions are also available at a still very low cost. In our paper we show several experimentally tested ways of implementing sound card photogates in detail, and we also provide full-featured, free, open-source photogate software as a much more efficient experimentation tool than the usually used sound recording programs. Further information is provided on a dedicated web page, www.noise.physx.u-szeged.hu/edudev.

  19. Analysis of Sea Level Rise in Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gill, K. M.; Huang, T.; Quach, N. T.; Boening, C.

    2016-12-01

    NASA's Sea Level Change Portal provides scientists and the general public with "one-stop" source for current sea level change information and data. Sea Level Rise research is a multidisciplinary research and in order to understand its causes, scientists must be able to access different measurements and to be able to compare them. The portal includes an interactive tool, called the Data Analysis Tool (DAT), for accessing, visualizing, and analyzing observations and models relevant to the study of Sea Level Rise. Using NEXUS, an open source, big data analytic technology developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the DAT is able provide user on-the-fly data analysis on all relevant parameters. DAT is composed of three major components: A dedicated instance of OnEarth (a WMTS service), NEXUS deep data analytic platform, and the JPL Common Mapping Client (CMC) for web browser based user interface (UI). Utilizing the global imagery, a user is capable of browsing the data in a visual manner and isolate areas of interest for further study. The interfaces "Analysis" tool provides tools for area or point selection, single and/or comparative dataset selection, and a range of options, algorithms, and plotting. This analysis component utilizes the Nexus cloud computing platform to provide on-demand processing of the data within the user-selected parameters and immediate display of the results. A RESTful web API is exposed for users comfortable with other interfaces and who may want to take advantage of the cloud computing capabilities. This talk discuss how DAT enables on-the-fly sea level research. The talk will introduce the DAT with an end-to-end tour of the tool with exploration and animating of available imagery, a demonstration of comparative analysis and plotting, and how to share and export data along with images for use in publications/presentations. The session will cover what kind of data is available, what kind of analysis is possible, and what are the outputs.

  20. Verifying generalized soundness for workflow nets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hee, van K.M.; Oanea, O.I.; Sidorova, N.; Voorhoeve, M.; Virbitskaite, I.; Voronkov, A.

    2007-01-01

    We improve the decision procedure from [10] for the problem of generalized soundness of workflow nets. A workflow net is generalized sound iff every marking reachable from an initial marking with k tokens on the initial place terminates properly, i.e. it can reach a marking with k tokens on the

  1. Handbook for sound engineers

    CERN Document Server

    Ballou, Glen

    2013-01-01

    Handbook for Sound Engineers is the most comprehensive reference available for audio engineers. All audio topics are explored: if you work on anything related to audio you should not be without this book! The 4th edition of this trusted reference has been updated to reflect changes in the industry since the publication of the 3rd edition in 2002 -- including new technologies like software-based recording systems such as Pro Tools and Sound Forge; digital recording using MP3, wave files and others; mobile audio devices such as iPods and MP3 players. Over 40 topic

  2. Commissioning of output factors for uniform scanning proton beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Yuanshui; Ramirez, Eric; Mascia, Anthony; Ding Xiaoning; Okoth, Benny; Zeidan, Omar; Hsi Wen; Harris, Ben; Schreuder, Andries N.; Keole, Sameer

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Current commercial treatment planning systems are not able to accurately predict output factors and calculate monitor units for proton fields. Patient-specific field output factors are thus determined by either measurements or empirical modeling based on commissioning data. The objective of this study is to commission output factors for uniform scanning beams utilized at the ProCure proton therapy centers. Methods: Using water phantoms and a plane parallel ionization chamber, the authors first measured output factors with a fixed 10 cm diameter aperture as a function of proton range and modulation width for clinically available proton beams with ranges between 4 and 31.5 cm and modulation widths between 2 and 15 cm. The authors then measured the output factor as a function of collimated field size at various calibration depths for proton beams of various ranges and modulation widths. The authors further examined the dependence of the output factor on the scanning area (i.e., uncollimated proton field), snout position, and phantom material. An empirical model was developed to calculate the output factor for patient-specific fields and the model-predicted output factors were compared to measurements. Results: The output factor increased with proton range and field size, and decreased with modulation width. The scanning area and snout position have a small but non-negligible effect on the output factors. The predicted output factors based on the empirical modeling agreed within 2% of measurements for all prostate treatment fields and within 3% for 98.5% of all treatment fields. Conclusions: Comprehensive measurements at a large subset of available beam conditions are needed to commission output factors for proton therapy beams. The empirical modeling agrees well with the measured output factor data. This investigation indicates that it is possible to accurately predict output factors and thus eliminate or reduce time-consuming patient-specific output

  3. Offshore dredger sounds: Source levels, sound maps, and risk assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jong, C.A.F. de; Ainslie, M.A.; Heinis, F.; Janmaat, J.

    2016-01-01

    The underwater sound produced during construction of the Port of Rotterdam harbor extension (Maasvlakte 2) was measured, with emphasis on the contribution of the trailing suction hopper dredgers during their various activities: dredging, transport, and discharge of sediment. Measured source levels

  4. Evaluation of input output efficiency of oil field considering undesirable output —A case study of sandstone reservoir in Xinjiang oilfield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shuying; Wu, Xuquan; Li, Deshan; Xu, Yadong; Song, Shulin

    2017-06-01

    Based on the input and output data of sandstone reservoir in Xinjiang oilfield, the SBM-Undesirable model is used to study the technical efficiency of each block. Results show that: the model of SBM-undesirable to evaluate its efficiency and to avoid defects caused by traditional DEA model radial angle, improve the accuracy of the efficiency evaluation. by analyzing the projection of the oil blocks, we find that each block is in the negative external effects of input redundancy and output deficiency benefit and undesirable output, and there are greater differences in the production efficiency of each block; the way to improve the input-output efficiency of oilfield is to optimize the allocation of resources, reduce the undesirable output and increase the expected output.

  5. The sound symbolism bootstrapping hypothesis for language acquisition and language evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imai, Mutsumi; Kita, Sotaro

    2014-09-19

    Sound symbolism is a non-arbitrary relationship between speech sounds and meaning. We review evidence that, contrary to the traditional view in linguistics, sound symbolism is an important design feature of language, which affects online processing of language, and most importantly, language acquisition. We propose the sound symbolism bootstrapping hypothesis, claiming that (i) pre-verbal infants are sensitive to sound symbolism, due to a biologically endowed ability to map and integrate multi-modal input, (ii) sound symbolism helps infants gain referential insight for speech sounds, (iii) sound symbolism helps infants and toddlers associate speech sounds with their referents to establish a lexical representation and (iv) sound symbolism helps toddlers learn words by allowing them to focus on referents embedded in a complex scene, alleviating Quine's problem. We further explore the possibility that sound symbolism is deeply related to language evolution, drawing the parallel between historical development of language across generations and ontogenetic development within individuals. Finally, we suggest that sound symbolism bootstrapping is a part of a more general phenomenon of bootstrapping by means of iconic representations, drawing on similarities and close behavioural links between sound symbolism and speech-accompanying iconic gesture. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  6. Hybrid optoelectronic device with multiple bistable outputs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costazo-Caso, Pablo A; Jin Yiye; Gelh, Michael; Granieri, Sergio; Siahmakoun, Azad, E-mail: pcostanzo@ing.unlp.edu.are, E-mail: granieri@rose-hulma.edu, E-mail: siahmako@rose-hulma.edu [Department of Physics and Optical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5500 Wabash Avenue, Terre Haute, IN 47803 (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Optoelectronic circuits which exhibit optical and electrical bistability with hysteresis behavior are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The systems are based on semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA), bipolar junction transistors (BJT), PIN photodiodes (PD) and laser diodes externally modulated with integrated electro-absorption modulators (LD-EAM). The device operates based on two independent phenomena leading to both electrical bistability and optical bistability. The electrical bistability is due to the series connection of two p-i-n structures (SOA, BJT, PD or LD) in reverse bias. The optical bistability is consequence of the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) in the multi-quantum well (MQW) structure in the intrinsic region of the device. This effect produces the optical modulation of the transmitted light through the SOA (or reflected from the PD). Finally, because the optical transmission of the SOA (in reverse bias) and the reflected light from the PD are so small, a LD-EAM modulated by the voltage across these devices are employed to obtain a higher output optical power. Experiments show that the maximum switching frequency is in MHz range and the rise/fall times lower than 1 us. The temporal response is mainly limited by the electrical capacitance of the devices and the parasitic inductances of the connecting wires. The effects of these components can be reduced in current integration technologies.

  7. 33 CFR 110.233 - Prince William Sound, Alaska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prince William Sound, Alaska. 110... ANCHORAGES ANCHORAGE REGULATIONS Anchorage Grounds § 110.233 Prince William Sound, Alaska. (a) The anchorage grounds. In Prince William Sound, Alaska, beginning at a point at latitude 60°40′00″ N., longitude 146°40...

  8. Phonaesthemes and sound symbolism in Swedish brand names

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Åsa Abelin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the prevalence of sound symbolism in Swedish brand names. A general principle of brand name design is that effective names should be distinctive, recognizable, easy to pronounce and meaningful. Much money is invested in designing powerful brand names, where the emotional impact of the names on consumers is also relevant and it is important to avoid negative connotations. Customers prefer brand names, which say something about the product, as this reduces product uncertainty (Klink, 2001. Therefore, consumers might prefer sound symbolic names. It has been shown that people associate the sounds of the nonsense words maluma and takete with round and angular shapes, respectively. By extension, more complex shapes and textures might activate words containing certain sounds. This study focuses on semantic dimensions expected to be relevant to product names, such as mobility, consistency, texture and shape. These dimensions are related to the senses of sight, hearing and touch and are also interesting from a cognitive linguistic perspective. Cross-modal assessment and priming experiments with pictures and written words were performed and the results analysed in relation to brand name databases and to sound symbolic sound combinations in Swedish (Abelin, 1999. The results show that brand names virtually never contain pejorative, i.e. depreciatory, consonant clusters, and that certain sounds and sound combinations are overrepresented in certain content categories. Assessment tests show correlations between pictured objects and phoneme combinations in newly created words (non-words. The priming experiment shows that object images prime newly created words as expected, based on the presence of compatible consonant clusters.

  9. 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.

  10. Automatic adventitious respiratory sound analysis: A systematic review.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renard Xaviero Adhi Pramono

    Full Text Available Automatic detection or classification of adventitious sounds is useful to assist physicians in diagnosing or monitoring diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD, and pneumonia. While computerised respiratory sound analysis, specifically for the detection or classification of adventitious sounds, has recently been the focus of an increasing number of studies, a standardised approach and comparison has not been well established.To provide a review of existing algorithms for the detection or classification of adventitious respiratory sounds. This systematic review provides a complete summary of methods used in the literature to give a baseline for future works.A systematic review of English articles published between 1938 and 2016, searched using the Scopus (1938-2016 and IEEExplore (1984-2016 databases. Additional articles were further obtained by references listed in the articles found. Search terms included adventitious sound detection, adventitious sound classification, abnormal respiratory sound detection, abnormal respiratory sound classification, wheeze detection, wheeze classification, crackle detection, crackle classification, rhonchi detection, rhonchi classification, stridor detection, stridor classification, pleural rub detection, pleural rub classification, squawk detection, and squawk classification.Only articles were included that focused on adventitious sound detection or classification, based on respiratory sounds, with performance reported and sufficient information provided to be approximately repeated.Investigators extracted data about the adventitious sound type analysed, approach and level of analysis, instrumentation or data source, location of sensor, amount of data obtained, data management, features, methods, and performance achieved.A total of 77 reports from the literature were included in this review. 55 (71.43% of the studies focused on wheeze, 40 (51.95% on crackle, 9 (11.69% on stridor, 9

  11. Automatic adventitious respiratory sound analysis: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pramono, Renard Xaviero Adhi; Bowyer, Stuart; Rodriguez-Villegas, Esther

    2017-01-01

    Automatic detection or classification of adventitious sounds is useful to assist physicians in diagnosing or monitoring diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and pneumonia. While computerised respiratory sound analysis, specifically for the detection or classification of adventitious sounds, has recently been the focus of an increasing number of studies, a standardised approach and comparison has not been well established. To provide a review of existing algorithms for the detection or classification of adventitious respiratory sounds. This systematic review provides a complete summary of methods used in the literature to give a baseline for future works. A systematic review of English articles published between 1938 and 2016, searched using the Scopus (1938-2016) and IEEExplore (1984-2016) databases. Additional articles were further obtained by references listed in the articles found. Search terms included adventitious sound detection, adventitious sound classification, abnormal respiratory sound detection, abnormal respiratory sound classification, wheeze detection, wheeze classification, crackle detection, crackle classification, rhonchi detection, rhonchi classification, stridor detection, stridor classification, pleural rub detection, pleural rub classification, squawk detection, and squawk classification. Only articles were included that focused on adventitious sound detection or classification, based on respiratory sounds, with performance reported and sufficient information provided to be approximately repeated. Investigators extracted data about the adventitious sound type analysed, approach and level of analysis, instrumentation or data source, location of sensor, amount of data obtained, data management, features, methods, and performance achieved. A total of 77 reports from the literature were included in this review. 55 (71.43%) of the studies focused on wheeze, 40 (51.95%) on crackle, 9 (11.69%) on stridor, 9 (11

  12. 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.

  13. The effects of freshwater inflow, inlet conveyance and sea level rise on the salinity regime in the Loxahatchee Estuary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, G.

    2002-01-01

    The upstream migration of salt water into the historic freshwater reaches of the Loxahatchee River is the likely cause of the altered floodplain cypress forest community along the Northwest Fork and some of its tributaries. Mangroves are replacing cypress forest and areas of mixed swamp hardwoods have reacted to different degrees to the saltwater stress. A hydrodynamic/salinity model was developed to study the influence of freshwater input, tidal inlet deepening and sea level rise on the salinity regime in the estuary. Field data analysis and model simulations indicate that the salinity condition in the estuary is sensitive to the amount of freshwater input from the watershed. During dry seasons the salt front advances into areas that were historically freshwater habitats. Historic evidence indicates that the Loxahatchee estuary was periodically closed and opened to the sea. Due to the active long shore sediment transport, the tidal inlet was probably characterized by shifting sandbars through which ran a narrow and unstable channel. Inlet dredging in the past several decades has increased the hydraulic conveyance of the inlet and the tidal influence into the estuary. The sea level record from a site in south Florida indicates that the sea level has been rising at a rate of approximately 2.3-mm per year. The rise of sea level in the past century has probably raised the mean tide level by about 23 centimeters. If the sea level rise continues as predicted, it is foreseeable that the salt front will move further upstream along with the sea level rise. Field data analysis and the preliminary model output led us to believe that the advance of seawater up the estuary is the combined effect of watershed hydrological changes, inlet deepening and sea level rise. (author)

  14. Dredged Material Management in Long Island Sound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Information on Western and Central Long Island Sound Dredged Material Disposal Sites including the Dredged Material Management Plan and Regional Dredging Team. Information regarding the Eastern Long Island Sound Selected Site including public meetings.

  15. Dissipation in vibrating superleak second sound transducers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giordano, N.

    1985-01-01

    We have performed an experimental study of the generation and detection of second sound in 4 He using vibrating superleak second sound transducers. At temperatures well below T/sub lambda/ and for low driving amplitudes, the magnitude of the generated second sound wave is proportional to the drive amplitude. However, near T/sub lambda/ and for high drive amplitudes this is no longer the case--instead, the second sound amplitude saturates. In this regime we also find that overtones of the drive frequency are generated. Our results suggest that this behavior is due to critical velocity effects in the pores of the superleak in the generator transducer. This type of measurement may prove to be a useful way in which to study critical velocity effects in confined geometries

  16. Soft computing based feature selection for environmental sound classification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shakoor, A.; May, T.M.; Van Schijndel, N.H.

    2010-01-01

    Environmental sound classification has a wide range of applications,like hearing aids, mobile communication devices, portable media players, and auditory protection devices. Sound classification systemstypically extract features from the input sound. Using too many features increases complexity

  17. Output Control Using Feedforward And Cascade Controllers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seraji, Homayoun

    1990-01-01

    Report presents theoretical study of open-loop control elements in single-input, single-output linear system. Focus on output-control (servomechanism) problem, in which objective is to find control scheme that causes output to track certain command inputs and to reject certain disturbance inputs in steady state. Report closes with brief discussion of characteristics and relative merits of feedforward, cascade, and feedback controllers and combinations thereof.

  18. 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

  19. New method to improve the accuracy of quench position measurement on a superconducting cavity by a second sound method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ZhenChao Liu

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Quench is a common phenomenon in a superconducting cavity and often limits the accelerating gradient of the cavity. Accurate location of the quench site, typically located at a material or geometrical defect, is the key to improve the cavity accelerating gradient. Here, the second sound propagation in liquid helium II is used to detect the quench location on the cavity. The technique is relatively convenient and complements the traditional temperature mapping which measures the “prequench” temperature rise on the cavity using an array of sensors. The speed of the second sound in liquid helium II is roughly 1.7  cm/ms at 2 K which is sufficiently fast to provide a millimeter-size position resolution. However, the dynamics of the quench at the cavity surface are also found to significantly affect the achievable resolution with real cavities. Here we use a dynamic quench model, based on ANSYS, to calculate the quench area and the temperature distribution on the cavity. The detection error caused by the thermal conduction in the niobium was calculated.

  20. A Two-Level Sound Classification Platform for Environmental Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stelios A. Mitilineos

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available STORM is an ongoing European research project that aims at developing an integrated platform for monitoring, protecting, and managing cultural heritage sites through technical and organizational innovation. Part of the scheduled preventive actions for the protection of cultural heritage is the development of wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs that will be used for assessing the impact of human-generated activities as well as for monitoring potentially hazardous environmental phenomena. Collected sound samples will be forwarded to a central server where they will be automatically classified in a hierarchical manner; anthropogenic and environmental activity will be monitored, and stakeholders will be alarmed in the case of potential malevolent behavior or natural phenomena like excess rainfall, fire, gale, high tides, and waves. Herein, we present an integrated platform that includes sound sample denoising using wavelets, feature extraction from sound samples, Gaussian mixture modeling of these features, and a powerful two-layer neural network for automatic classification. We contribute to previous work by extending the proposed classification platform to perform low-level classification too, i.e., classify sounds to further subclasses that include airplane, car, and pistol sounds for the anthropogenic sound class; bird, dog, and snake sounds for the biophysical sound class; and fire, waterfall, and gale for the geophysical sound class. Classification results exhibit outstanding classification accuracy in both high-level and low-level classification thus demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed approach.

  1. 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.

  2. Investigating the amplitude of interactive footstep sounds and soundscape reproduction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Turchet, Luca; Serafin, Stefania

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we study the perception of amplitude of soundscapes and interactively generated footstep sounds provided both through headphones and a surround sound system. In particular, we investigate whether there exists a value for the amplitude of soundscapes and footstep sounds which...... of soundscapes does not significantly affect the selected amplitude of footstep sounds. Similarly, the perception of the soundscapes amplitude is not significantly affected by the selected amplitude of footstep sounds....

  3. Second Sound

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 4; Issue 6. Second Sound - The Role of Elastic Waves. R Srinivasan. General Article Volume 4 Issue 6 June 1999 pp 15-19. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/004/06/0015-0019 ...

  4. Recent paleoseismicity record in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuehl, Steven A.; Miller, Eric J.; Marshall, Nicole R.; Dellapenna, Timothy M.

    2017-12-01

    Sedimentological and geochemical investigation of sediment cores collected in the deep (>400 m) central basin of Prince William Sound, along with geochemical fingerprinting of sediment source areas, are used to identify earthquake-generated sediment gravity flows. Prince William Sound receives sediment from two distinct sources: from offshore (primarily Copper River) through Hinchinbrook Inlet, and from sources within the Sound (primarily Columbia Glacier). These sources are found to have diagnostic elemental ratios indicative of provenance; Copper River Basin sediments were significantly higher in Sr/Pb and Cu/Pb, whereas Prince William Sound sediments were significantly higher in K/Ca and Rb/Sr. Within the past century, sediment gravity flows deposited within the deep central channel of Prince William Sound have robust geochemical (provenance) signatures that can be correlated with known moderate to large earthquakes in the region. Given the thick Holocene sequence in the Sound ( 200 m) and correspondingly high sedimentation rates (>1 cm year-1), this relationship suggests that sediments within the central basin of Prince William Sound may contain an extraordinary high-resolution record of paleoseismicity in the region.

  5. Steerable sound transport in a 3D acoustic network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Bai-Zhan; Jiao, Jun-Rui; Dai, Hong-Qing; Yin, Sheng-Wen; Zheng, Sheng-Jie; Liu, Ting-Ting; Chen, Ning; Yu, De-Jie

    2017-10-01

    Quasi-lossless and asymmetric sound transports, which are exceedingly desirable in various modern physical systems, are almost always based on nonlinear or angular momentum biasing effects with extremely high power levels and complex modulation schemes. A practical route for the steerable sound transport along any arbitrary acoustic pathway, especially in a three-dimensional (3D) acoustic network, can revolutionize the sound power propagation and the sound communication. Here, we design an acoustic device containing a regular-tetrahedral cavity with four cylindrical waveguides. A smaller regular-tetrahedral solid in this cavity is eccentrically emplaced to break spatial symmetry of the acoustic device. The numerical and experimental results show that the sound power flow can unimpededly transport between two waveguides away from the eccentric solid within a wide frequency range. Based on the quasi-lossless and asymmetric transport characteristic of the single acoustic device, we construct a 3D acoustic network, in which the sound power flow can flexibly propagate along arbitrary sound pathways defined by our acoustic devices with eccentrically emplaced regular-tetrahedral solids.

  6. 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.

  7. Sound level measurements using smartphone "apps": Useful or inaccurate?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel R Nast

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Many recreational activities are accompanied by loud concurrent sounds and decisions regarding the hearing hazards associated with these activities depend on accurate sound measurements. Sound level meters (SLMs are designed for this purpose, but these are technical instruments that are not typically available in recreational settings and require training to use properly. Mobile technology has made such sound level measurements more feasible for even inexperienced users. Here, we assessed the accuracy of sound level measurements made using five mobile phone applications or "apps" on an Apple iPhone 4S, one of the most widely used mobile phones. Accuracy was assessed by comparing application-based measurements to measurements made using a calibrated SLM. Whereas most apps erred by reporting higher sound levels, one application measured levels within 5 dB of a calibrated SLM across all frequencies tested.

  8. 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

  9. Tables of the velocity of sound in sea water

    CERN Document Server

    Bark, L S; Meister, N A

    1964-01-01

    Tables of the Velocity of Sound in Sea Water contains tables of the velocity of sound in sea water computed on a ""Strela-3"" high-speed electronic computer and a T-5 tabulator at the Computational Center of the Academy of Sciences. Knowledge of the precise velocity of sound in sea water is of great importance when investigating sound propagations in the ocean and when solving practical problems involving the use of hydro-acoustic devices. This book demonstrates the computations made for the velocity of sound in sea water, which can be found in two ways: by direct measurement with the aid of s

  10. Sound Exposure During Outdoor Music Festivals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tronstad, Tron V.; Gelderblom, Femke B.

    2016-01-01

    Most countries have guidelines to regulate sound exposure at concerts and music festivals. These guidelines limit the allowed sound pressure levels and the concert/festival's duration. In Norway, where there is such a guideline, it is up to the local authorities to impose the regulations. The need to prevent hearing-loss among festival participants is self-explanatory, but knowledge of the actual dose received by visitors is extremely scarce. This study looks at two Norwegian music festivals where only one was regulated by the Norwegian guideline for concert and music festivals. At each festival the sound exposure of four participants was monitored with noise dose meters. This study compared the exposures experienced at the two festivals, and tested them against the Norwegian guideline and the World Health Organization's recommendations. Sound levels during the concerts were higher at the festival not regulated by any guideline, and levels there exceeded both the national and the Worlds Health Organization's recommendations. The results also show that front-of-house measurements reliably predict participant exposure. PMID:27569410

  11. Sound exposure during outdoor music festivals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tron V Tronstad

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Most countries have guidelines to regulate sound exposure at concerts and music festivals. These guidelines limit the allowed sound pressure levels and the concert/festival’s duration. In Norway, where there is such a guideline, it is up to the local authorities to impose the regulations. The need to prevent hearing-loss among festival participants is self-explanatory, but knowledge of the actual dose received by visitors is extremely scarce. This study looks at two Norwegian music festivals where only one was regulated by the Norwegian guideline for concert and music festivals. At each festival the sound exposure of four participants was monitored with noise dose meters. This study compared the exposures experienced at the two festivals, and tested them against the Norwegian guideline and the World Health Organization’s recommendations. Sound levels during the concerts were higher at the festival not regulated by any guideline, and levels there exceeded both the national and the Worlds Health Organization’s recommendations. The results also show that front-of-house measurements reliably predict participant exposure.

  12. Second sound scattering in superfluid helium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosgen, T.

    1985-01-01

    Focusing cavities are used to study the scattering of second sound in liquid helium II. The special geometries reduce wall interference effects and allow measurements in very small test volumes. In a first experiment, a double elliptical cavity is used to focus a second sound wave onto a small wire target. A thin film bolometer measures the side scattered wave component. The agreement with a theoretical estimate is reasonable, although some problems arise from the small measurement volume and associated alignment requirements. A second cavity is based on confocal parabolas, thus enabling the use of large planar sensors. A cylindrical heater produces again a focused second sound wave. Three sensors monitor the transmitted wave component as well as the side scatter in two different directions. The side looking sensors have very high sensitivities due to their large size and resistance. Specially developed cryogenic amplifers are used to match them to the signal cables. In one case, a second auxiliary heater is used to set up a strong counterflow in the focal region. The second sound wave then scatters from the induced fluid disturbances

  13. Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasper, Justin C.; SunRISE Team

    2018-06-01

    The Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) is a NASA Heliophysics Explorer Mission of Opportunity currently in Phase A. SunRISE is a constellation of spacecraft flying in a 10-km diameter formation and operating as the first imaging radio interferometer in space. The purpose of SunRISE is to reveal critical aspects of solar energetic particle (SEP) acceleration at coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and transport into space by making the first spatially resolved observations of coherent Type II and III radio bursts produced by electrons accelerated at CMEs or released from flares. SunRISE will focus on solar Decametric-Hectometric (DH, 0.1 space before major SEP events, but cannot be seen on Earth due to ionospheric absorption. This talk will describe SunRISE objectives and implementation. Presented on behalf of the entire SunRISE team.

  14. Non-musical sound branding – a conceptualization and research overview

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Graakjær, Nicolai J.; Bonde, Anders

    2018-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of sound branding by developing a new conceptual framework and providing an overview of the research literature on non-musical sound. Design/methodology/approach Using four mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive types of non......-musical sound, the paper assesses and synthesizes 99 significant studies across various scholarly fields. Findings The overview reveals two areas in which more research may be warranted, that is, non-musical atmospherics and non-musical sonic logos. Moreover, future sound-branding research should examine...... in further detail the potentials of developed versus annexed object sounds, and mediated versus unmediated brand sounds. Research limitations/implications The paper provides important insights into critical issues that suggest directions for further research on non-musical sound branding. Practical...

  15. Rise of a cold plume

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kakuta, Michio

    1977-06-01

    The rise of smoke from the stacks of two research reactors in normal operation was measured by photogrametric method. The temperature of effluent gas is less than 20 0 C higher than that of the ambient air (heat emission of the order 10 4 cal s -1 ), and the efflux velocity divided by the wind speed is between 0.5 and 2.8 in all 16 smoke runs. The field data obtained within downwind distance of 150m are compared with those by plume rise formulas presently available. Considering the shape of bending-over plume, the Briggs' formula for 'jet' gives a reasonable explanation of the observed plume rise. (auth.)

  16. 76 FR 1130 - Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Prince William Sound Resource Advisory... conducted: The Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will be discussing and voting on...

  17. 76 FR 44893 - Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Prince William Sound Resource Advisory... District, 145 Forest Station Road, Girdwood, AK; Prince Willam Sound Community College, 303 Lowe Street...

  18. 77 FR 45331 - Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-31

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Prince William Sound Resource Advisory... Prince William Sound Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will be discussing and voting on proposals that...

  19. Dissonance: scientific paradigms underpinning the study of sound in geography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Paiva

    2018-05-01

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

  20. Introducing the Oxford Vocal (OxVoc Sounds Database: A validated set of non-acted affective sounds from human infants, adults and domestic animals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine eParsons

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Sound moves us. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our responses to genuine emotional vocalisations, be they heartfelt distress cries or raucous laughter. Here, we present perceptual ratings and a description of a freely available, large database of natural affective vocal sounds from human infants, adults and domestic animals, the Oxford Vocal (OxVoc Sounds database. This database consists of 173 non-verbal sounds expressing a range of happy, sad and neutral emotional states. Ratings are presented for the sounds on a range of dimensions from a number of independent participant samples. Perceptions related to valence, including distress, vocaliser mood, and listener mood are presented in Study 1. Perceptions of the arousal of the sound, listener motivation to respond and valence (positive, negative are presented in Study 2. Perceptions of the emotional content of the stimuli in both Study 1 and Study 2 were consistent with the predefined categories (e.g., laugh stimuli perceived as positive. While the adult vocalisations received more extreme valence ratings, rated motivation to respond to the sounds was highest for the infant sounds. The major advantages of this database are the inclusion of vocalisations from naturalistic situations, which represent genuine expressions of emotion, and the inclusion of vocalisations from animals and infants, providing comparison stimuli for use in cross-species and developmental studies. The associated website provides a detailed description of the physical properties of the each sound stimulus along with cross-category descriptions.