Suitability of the Binaural Interaction Component for Interaural Electrode Pairing of Bilateral Cochlear Implants.

PubMed

Hu, Hongmei; Kollmeier, Birger; Dietz, Mathias

2016-01-01

Although bilateral cochlear implants (BiCIs) have succeeded in improving the spatial hearing performance of bilateral CI users, the overall performance is still not comparable with normal hearing listeners. Limited success can be partially caused by an interaural mismatch of the place-of-stimulation in each cochlea. Pairing matched interaural CI electrodes and stimulating them with the same frequency band is expected to facilitate binaural functions such as binaural fusion, localization, or spatial release from masking. It has been shown in animal experiments that the magnitude of the binaural interaction component (BIC) derived from the wave-eV decreases for increasing interaural place of stimulation mismatch. This motivated the investigation of the suitability of an electroencephalography-based objective electrode-frequency fitting procedure based on the BIC for BiCI users. A 61 channel monaural and binaural electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (eABR) recording was performed in 7 MED-EL BiCI subjects so far. These BiCI subjects were directly stimulated at 60% dynamic range with 19.9 pulses per second via a research platform provided by the University of Innsbruck (RIB II). The BIC was derived for several interaural electrode pairs by subtracting the response from binaural stimulation from their summed monaural responses. The BIC based pairing results are compared with two psychoacoustic pairing methods: interaural pulse time difference sensitivity and interaural pitch matching. The results for all three methods analyzed as a function of probe electrode allow for determining a matched pair in more than half of the subjects, with a typical accuracy of ± 1 electrode. This includes evidence for statistically significant tuning of the BIC as a function of probe electrode in human subjects. However, results across the three conditions were sometimes not consistent. These discrepancies will be discussed in the light of pitch plasticity versus less plastic brainstem processing.

Analysis of masking effects on speech intelligibility with respect to moving sound stimulus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chiung Yao

2004-05-01

The purpose of this study is to compare the disturbed degree of speech by an immovable noise source and an apparent moving one (AMN). In the study of the sound localization, we found that source-directional sensitivity (SDS) well associates with the magnitude of interaural cross correlation (IACC). Ando et al. [Y. Ando, S. H. Kang, and H. Nagamatsu, J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn. (E) 8, 183-190 (1987)] reported that potential correlation between left and right inferior colliculus at auditory path in the brain is in harmony with the correlation function of amplitude input into two ear-canal entrances. We assume that the degree of disturbance under the apparent moving noisy source is probably different from that being installed in front of us within a constant distance in a free field (no reflection). Then, we found there is a different influence on speech intelligibility between a moving and a fixed source generated by 1/3-octave narrow-band noise with the center frequency 2 kHz. However, the reasons for the moving speed and the masking effects on speech intelligibility were uncertain.

Interaural time discrimination of envelopes carried on high-frequency tones as a function of level and interaural carrier mismatch

PubMed Central

Blanks, Deidra A.; Buss, Emily; Grose, John H.; Fitzpatrick, Douglas C.; Hall, Joseph W.

2009-01-01

Objectives The present study investigated interaural time discrimination for binaurally mismatched carrier frequencies in listeners with normal hearing. One goal of the investigation was to gain insights into binaural hearing in patients with bilateral cochlear implants, where the coding of interaural time differences may be limited by mismatches in the neural populations receiving stimulation on each side. Design Temporal envelopes were manipulated to present low frequency timing cues to high frequency auditory channels. Carrier frequencies near 4 kHz were amplitude modulated at 128 Hz via multiplication with a half-wave rectified sinusoid, and that modulation was either in-phase across ears or delayed to one ear. Detection thresholds for non-zero interaural time differences were measured for a range of stimulus levels and a range of carrier frequency mismatches. Data were also collected under conditions designed to limit cues based on stimulus spectral spread, including masking and truncation of sidebands associated with modulation. Results Listeners with normal hearing can detect interaural time differences in the face of substantial mismatches in carrier frequency across ears. Conclusions The processing of interaural time differences in listeners with normal hearing is likely based on spread of excitation into binaurally matched auditory channels. Sensitivity to interaural time differences in listeners with cochlear implants may depend upon spread of current that results in the stimulation of neural populations that share common tonotopic space bilaterally. PMID:18596646

A Comparison of Two Objective Measures of Binaural Processing: The Interaural Phase Modulation Following Response and the Binaural Interaction Component.

PubMed

Haywood, Nicholas R; Undurraga, Jaime A; Marquardt, Torsten; McAlpine, David

2015-12-30

There has been continued interest in clinical objective measures of binaural processing. One commonly proposed measure is the binaural interaction component (BIC), which is obtained typically by recording auditory brainstem responses (ABRs)-the BIC reflects the difference between the binaural ABR and the sum of the monaural ABRs (i.e., binaural - (left + right)). We have recently developed an alternative, direct measure of sensitivity to interaural time differences, namely, a following response to modulations in interaural phase difference (the interaural phase modulation following response; IPM-FR). To obtain this measure, an ongoing diotically amplitude-modulated signal is presented, and the interaural phase difference of the carrier is switched periodically at minima in the modulation cycle. Such periodic modulations to interaural phase difference can evoke a steady state following response. BIC and IPM-FR measurements were compared from 10 normal-hearing subjects using a 16-channel electroencephalographic system. Both ABRs and IPM-FRs were observed most clearly from similar electrode locations-differential recordings taken from electrodes near the ear (e.g., mastoid) in reference to a vertex electrode (Cz). Although all subjects displayed clear ABRs, the BIC was not reliably observed. In contrast, the IPM-FR typically elicited a robust and significant response. In addition, the IPM-FR measure required a considerably shorter recording session. As the IPM-FR magnitude varied with interaural phase difference modulation depth, it could potentially serve as a correlate of perceptual salience. Overall, the IPM-FR appears a more suitable clinical measure than the BIC. © The Author(s) 2015.

Post interaural neural net-based vowel recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jouny, Ismail I.

2001-10-01

Interaural head related transfer functions are used to process speech signatures prior to neural net based recognition. Data representing the head related transfer function of a dummy has been collected at MIT and made available on the Internet. This data is used to pre-process vowel signatures to mimic the effects of human ear on speech perception. Signatures representing various vowels of the English language are then presented to a multi-layer perceptron trained using the back propagation algorithm for recognition purposes. The focus in this paper is to assess the effects of human interaural system on vowel recognition performance particularly when using a classification system that mimics the human brain such as a neural net.

Neural tuning matches frequency-dependent time differences between the ears

PubMed Central

Benichoux, Victor; Fontaine, Bertrand; Franken, Tom P; Karino, Shotaro; Joris, Philip X; Brette, Romain

2015-01-01

The time it takes a sound to travel from source to ear differs between the ears and creates an interaural delay. It varies systematically with spatial direction and is generally modeled as a pure time delay, independent of frequency. In acoustical recordings, we found that interaural delay varies with frequency at a fine scale. In physiological recordings of midbrain neurons sensitive to interaural delay, we found that preferred delay also varies with sound frequency. Similar observations reported earlier were not incorporated in a functional framework. We find that the frequency dependence of acoustical and physiological interaural delays are matched in key respects. This suggests that binaural neurons are tuned to acoustical features of ecological environments, rather than to fixed interaural delays. Using recordings from the nerve and brainstem we show that this tuning may emerge from neurons detecting coincidences between input fibers that are mistuned in frequency. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06072.001 PMID:25915620

Auditory cortical neurons are sensitive to static and continuously changing interaural phase cues.

PubMed

Reale, R A; Brugge, J F

1990-10-01

1. The interaural-phase-difference (IPD) sensitivity of single neurons in the primary auditory (AI) cortex of the anesthetized cat was studied at stimulus frequencies ranging from 120 to 2,500 Hz. Best frequencies of the 43 AI cells sensitive to IPD ranged from 190 to 2,400 Hz. 2. A static IPD was produced when a pair of low-frequency tone bursts, differing from one another only in starting phase, were presented dichotically. The resulting IPD-sensitivity curves, which plot the number of discharges evoked by the binaural signal as a function of IPD, were deeply modulated circular functions. IPD functions were analyzed for their mean vector length (r) and mean interaural phase (phi). Phase sensitivity was relatively independent of best frequency (BF) but highly dependent on stimulus frequency. Regardless of BF or stimulus frequency within the excitatory response area the majority of cells fired maximally when the ipsilateral tone lagged the contralateral signal and fired least when this interaural-phase relationship was reversed. 3. Sensitivity to continuously changing IPD was studied by delivering to the two ears 3-s tones that differed slightly in frequency, resulting in a binaural beat. Approximately 26% of the cells that showed a sensitivity to static changes in IPD also showed a sensitivity to dynamically changing IPD created by this binaural tonal combination. The discharges were highly periodic and tightly synchronized to a particular phase of the binaural beat cycle. High synchrony can be attributed to the fact that cortical neurons typically respond to an excitatory stimulus with but a single spike that is often precisely timed to stimulus onset. A period histogram, binned on the binaural beat frequency (fb), produced an equivalent IPD-sensitivity function for dynamically changing interaural phase. For neurons sensitive to both static and continuously changing interaural phase there was good correspondence between their static (phi s) and dynamic (phi d) mean interaural phases. 4. All cells responding to a dynamically changing stimulus exhibited a linear relationship between mean interaural phase and beat frequency. Most cells responded equally well to binaural beats regardless of the initial direction of phase change. For a fixed duration stimulus, and at relatively low fb, the number of spikes evoked increased with increasing fb, reflecting the increasing number of effective stimulus cycles. At higher fb, AI neurons were unable to follow the rate at which the most effective phase repeated itself during the 3 s of stimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Functional relevance of acoustic tracheal design in directional hearing in crickets.

PubMed

Schmidt, Arne K D; Römer, Heiner

2016-10-15

Internally coupled ears (ICEs) allow small animals to reliably determine the direction of a sound source. ICEs are found in a variety of taxa, but crickets have evolved the most complex arrangement of coupled ears: an acoustic tracheal system composed of a large cross-body trachea that connects two entry points for sound in the thorax with the leg trachea of both ears. The key structure that allows for the tuned directionality of the ear is a tracheal inflation (acoustic vesicle) in the midline of the cross-body trachea holding a thin membrane (septum). Crickets are known to display a wide variety of acoustic tracheal morphologies, most importantly with respect to the presence of a single or double acoustic vesicle. However, the functional relevance of this variation is still not known. In this study, we investigated the peripheral directionality of three co-occurring, closely related cricket species of the subfamily Gryllinae. No support could be found for the hypothesis that a double vesicle should be regarded as an evolutionary innovation to (1) increase interaural directional cues, (2) increase the selectivity of the directional filter or (3) provide a better match between directional and sensitivity tuning. Nonetheless, by manipulating the double acoustic vesicle in the rainforest cricket Paroecanthus podagrosus, selectively eliminating the sound-transmitting pathways, we revealed that these pathways contribute almost equally to the total amount of interaural intensity differences, emphasizing their functional relevance in the system. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Comparison of Interaural Electrode Pairing Methods for Bilateral Cochlear Implants

PubMed Central

Dietz, Mathias

2015-01-01

In patients with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs), pairing matched interaural electrodes and stimulating them with the same frequency band is expected to facilitate binaural functions such as binaural fusion, localization, and spatial release from masking. Because clinical procedures typically do not include patient-specific interaural electrode pairing, it remains the case that each electrode is allocated to a generic frequency range, based simply on the electrode number. Two psychoacoustic techniques for determining interaurally paired electrodes have been demonstrated in several studies: interaural pitch comparison and interaural time difference (ITD) sensitivity. However, these two methods are rarely, if ever, compared directly. A third, more objective method is to assess the amplitude of the binaural interaction component (BIC) derived from electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses for different electrode pairings; a method has been demonstrated to be a potential candidate for bilateral CI users. Here, we tested all three measures in the same eight CI users. We found good correspondence between the electrode pair producing the largest BIC and the electrode pair producing the maximum ITD sensitivity. The correspondence between the pairs producing the largest BIC and the pitch-matched electrode pairs was considerably weaker, supporting the previously proposed hypothesis that whilst place pitch might adapt over time to accommodate mismatched inputs, sensitivity to ITDs does not adapt to the same degree. PMID:26631108

Perception and psychological evaluation for visual and auditory environment based on the correlation mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Kenji

2002-06-01

In this dissertation, the correlation mechanism in modeling the process in the visual perception is introduced. It has been well described that the correlation mechanism is effective for describing subjective attributes in auditory perception. The main result is that it is possible to apply the correlation mechanism to the process in temporal vision and spatial vision, as well as in audition. (1) The psychophysical experiment was performed on subjective flicker rates for complex waveforms. A remarkable result is that the phenomenon of missing fundamental is found in temporal vision as analogous to the auditory pitch perception. This implies the existence of correlation mechanism in visual system. (2) For spatial vision, the autocorrelation analysis provides useful measures for describing three primary perceptual properties of visual texture: contrast, coarseness, and regularity. Another experiment showed that the degree of regularity is a salient cue for texture preference judgment. (3) In addition, the autocorrelation function (ACF) and inter-aural cross-correlation function (IACF) were applied for analysis of the temporal and spatial properties of environmental noise. It was confirmed that the acoustical properties of aircraft noise and traffic noise are well described. These analyses provided useful parameters extracted from the ACF and IACF in assessing the subjective annoyance for noise. Thesis advisor: Yoichi Ando Copies of this thesis written in English can be obtained from Junko Atagi, 6813 Mosonou, Saijo-cho, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-0024, Japan. E-mail address: atagi\\@urban.ne.jp.

Response of cat inferior colliculus neurons to binaural beat stimuli: possible mechanisms for sound localization.

PubMed

Kuwada, S; Yin, T C; Wickesberg, R E

1979-11-02

The interaural phase sensitivity of neurons was studied through the use of binaural beat stimuli. The response of most cells was phase-locked to the beat frequency, which provides a possible neural correlate to the human sensation of binaural beats. In addition, this stimulus allowed the direction and rate of interaural phase change to be varied. Some neurons in our sample responded selectively to manipulations of these two variables, which suggests a sensitivity to direction or speed of movement.

Generic HRTFs May be Good Enough in Virtual Reality. Improving Source Localization through Cross-Modal Plasticity.

PubMed

Berger, Christopher C; Gonzalez-Franco, Mar; Tajadura-Jiménez, Ana; Florencio, Dinei; Zhang, Zhengyou

2018-01-01

Auditory spatial localization in humans is performed using a combination of interaural time differences, interaural level differences, as well as spectral cues provided by the geometry of the ear. To render spatialized sounds within a virtual reality (VR) headset, either individualized or generic Head Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) are usually employed. The former require arduous calibrations, but enable accurate auditory source localization, which may lead to a heightened sense of presence within VR. The latter obviate the need for individualized calibrations, but result in less accurate auditory source localization. Previous research on auditory source localization in the real world suggests that our representation of acoustic space is highly plastic. In light of these findings, we investigated whether auditory source localization could be improved for users of generic HRTFs via cross-modal learning. The results show that pairing a dynamic auditory stimulus, with a spatio-temporally aligned visual counterpart, enabled users of generic HRTFs to improve subsequent auditory source localization. Exposure to the auditory stimulus alone or to asynchronous audiovisual stimuli did not improve auditory source localization. These findings have important implications for human perception as well as the development of VR systems as they indicate that generic HRTFs may be enough to enable good auditory source localization in VR.

Speech-on-speech masking in a front-back dimension and analysis of binaural parameters in rooms using MLS methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aaronson, Neil L.

This dissertation deals with questions important to the problem of human sound source localization in rooms, starting with perceptual studies and moving on to physical measurements made in rooms. In Chapter 1, a perceptual study is performed relevant to a specific phenomenon the effect of speech reflections occurring in the front-back dimension and the ability of humans to segregate that from unreflected speech. Distracters were presented from the same source as the target speech, a loudspeaker directly in front of the listener, and also from a loudspeaker directly behind the listener, delayed relative to the front loudspeaker. Steps were taken to minimize the contributions of binaural difference cues. For all delays within +/-32 ms, a release from informational masking of about 2 dB occurred. This suggested that human listeners are able to segregate speech sources based on spatial cues, even with minimal binaural cues. In moving on to physical measurements in rooms, a method was sought for simultaneous measurement of room characteristics such as impulse response (IR) and reverberation time (RT60), and binaural parameters such as interaural time difference (ITD), interaural level difference (ILD), and the interaural cross-correlation function and coherence. Chapter 2 involves investigations into the usefulness of maximum length sequences (MLS) for these purposes. Comparisons to random telegraph noise (RTN) show that MLS performs better in the measurement of stationary and room transfer functions, IR, and RT60 by an order of magnitude in RMS percent error, even after Wiener filtering and exponential time-domain filtering have improved the accuracy of RTN measurements. Measurements were taken in real rooms in an effort to understand how the reverberant characteristics of rooms affect binaural parameters important to sound source localization. Chapter 3 deals with interaural coherence, a parameter important for localization and perception of auditory source width. MLS were used to measure waveform and envelope coherences in two rooms for various source distances and 0° azimuth through a head-and-torso simulator (KEMAR). A relationship is sought that relates these two types of coherence, since envelope coherence, while an important quantity, is generally less accessible than waveform coherence. A power law relationship is shown to exist between the two that works well within and across bands, for any source distance, and is robust to reverberant conditions of the room. Measurements of ITD, ILD, and coherence in rooms give insight into the way rooms affect these parameters, and in turn, the ability of listeners to localize sounds in rooms. Such measurements, along with room properties, are made and analyzed using MLS methods in Chapter 4. It was found that the pinnae cause incoherence for sound sources incident between 30° and 90°. In human listeners, this does not seem to adversely affect performance in lateralization experiments. The cause of poor coherence in rooms was studied as part of Chapter 4 as well. It was found that rooms affect coherence by introducing variance into the ITD spectra within the bands in which it is measured. A mathematical model to predict the interaural coherence within a band given the standard deviation of the ITD spectrum and the center frequency of the band gives an exponential relationship. This is found to work well in predicting measured coherence given ITD spectrum variance. The pinnae seem to affect the ITD spectrum in a similar way at incident sound angles for which coherence is poor in an anechoic environment.

Localization of a Speech Target in Nondirectional and Directional Noise as a Function of Sensation Level

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

a listener uses to interpret the auditory environment is interaural difference cues. Interaural difference cues are perceived binaurally , and they...signal in noise is not enough for accurate localization performance. Instead, it appears that both audibility and binaural signal processing of both...be interpreted differently among researchers. 4. Conclusions Accurately processed and interpreted binaural and monaural spatial cues enable a

Interaural time sensitivity of high-frequency neurons in the inferior colliculus.

PubMed

Yin, T C; Kuwada, S; Sujaku, Y

1984-11-01

Recent psychoacoustic experiments have shown that interaural time differences provide adequate cues for lateralizing high-frequency sounds, provided the stimuli are complex and not pure tones. We present here physiological evidence in support of these findings. Neurons of high best frequency in the cat inferior colliculus respond to interaural phase differences of amplitude modulated waveforms, and this response depends upon preservation of phase information of the modulating signal. Interaural phase differences were introduced in two ways: by interaural delays of the entire waveform and by binaural beats in which there was an interaural frequency difference in the modulating waveform. Results obtained with these two methods are similar. Our results show that high-frequency cells can respond to interaural time differences of amplitude modulated signals and that they do so by a sensitivity to interaural phase differences of the modulating waveform.

Binaural interaction in low-frequency neurons in inferior colliculus of the cat. II. Effects of changing rate and direction of interaural phase.

PubMed

Yin, T C; Kuwada, S

1983-10-01

We used the binaural beat stimulus to study the interaural phase sensitivity of inferior colliculus (IC) neurons in the cat. The binaural beat, produced by delivering tones of slightly different frequencies to the two ears, generates continuous and graded changes in interaural phase. Over 90% of the cells that exhibit a sensitivity to changes in the interaural delay also show a sensitivity to interaural phase disparities with the binaural beat. Cells respond with a burst of impulses with each complete cycle of the beat frequency. The period histogram obtained by binning the poststimulus time histogram on the beat frequency gives a measure of the interaural phase sensitivity of the cell. In general, there is good correspondence in the shapes of the period histograms generated from binaural beats and the interaural phase curves derived from interaural delays and in the mean interaural phase angle calculated from them. The magnitude of the beat frequency determines the rate of change of interaural phase and the sign determines the direction of phase change. While most cells respond in a phase-locked manner up to beat frequencies of 10 Hz, there are some cells tht will phase lock up to 80 Hz. Beat frequency and mean interaural phase angle are linearly related for most cells. Most cells respond equally in the two directions of phase change and with different rates of change, at least up to 10 Hz. However, some IC cells exhibit marked sensitivity to the speed of phase change, either responding more vigorously at low beat frequencies or at high beat frequencies. In addition, other cells demonstrate a clear directional sensitivity. The cells that show sensitivity to the direction and speed of phase changes would be expected to demonstrate a sensitivity to moving sound sources in the free field. Changes in the mean interaural phase of the binaural beat period histograms are used to determine the effects of changes in average and interaural intensity on the phase sensitivity of the cells. The effects of both forms of intensity variation are continuously distributed. The binaural beat offers a number of advantages for studying the interaural phase sensitivity of binaural cells. The dynamic characteristics of the interaural phase can be varied so that the speed and direction of phase change are under direct control. The data can be obtained in a much more efficient manner, as the binaural beat is about 10 times faster in terms of data collection than the interaural delay.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2005-04-01

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

Envelope contributions to the representation of interaural time difference in the forebrain of barn owls.

PubMed

Tellers, Philipp; Lehmann, Jessica; Führ, Hartmut; Wagner, Hermann

2017-09-01

Birds and mammals use the interaural time difference (ITD) for azimuthal sound localization. While barn owls can use the ITD of the stimulus carrier frequency over nearly their entire hearing range, mammals have to utilize the ITD of the stimulus envelope to extend the upper frequency limit of ITD-based sound localization. ITD is computed and processed in a dedicated neural circuit that consists of two pathways. In the barn owl, ITD representation is more complex in the forebrain than in the midbrain pathway because of the combination of two inputs that represent different ITDs. We speculated that one of the two inputs includes an envelope contribution. To estimate the envelope contribution, we recorded ITD response functions for correlated and anticorrelated noise stimuli in the barn owl's auditory arcopallium. Our findings indicate that barn owls, like mammals, represent both carrier and envelope ITDs of overlapping frequency ranges, supporting the hypothesis that carrier and envelope ITD-based localization are complementary beyond a mere extension of the upper frequency limit. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The results presented in this study show for the first time that the barn owl is able to extract and represent the interaural time difference (ITD) information conveyed by the envelope of a broadband acoustic signal. Like mammals, the barn owl extracts the ITD of the envelope and the carrier of a signal from the same frequency range. These results are of general interest, since they reinforce a trend found in neural signal processing across different species. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Lateralization of the Huggins pitch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Peter Xinya; Hartmann, William M.

2004-05-01

The lateralization of the Huggins pitch (HP) was measured using a direct estimation method. The background noise was initially N0 or Nπ, and then the laterality of the entire stimulus was varied with a frequency-independent interaural delay, ranging from -1 to +1 ms. Two versions of the HP boundary region were used, stepped phase and linear phase. When presented in isolation, without the broadband background, the stepped boundary can be lateralized on its own but the linear boundary cannot. Nevertheless, the lateralizations of both forms of HP were found to be almost identical functions both of the interaural delay and of the boundary frequency over a two-octave range. In a third experiment, the same listeners lateralized sine tones in quiet as a function of interaural delay. Good agreement was found between lateralizations of the HP and of the corresponding sine tones. The lateralization judgments depended on the boundary frequency according to the expected hyperbolic law except when the frequency-independent delay was zero. For the latter case, the dependence on boundary frequency was much slower than hyperbolic. [Work supported by the NIDCD grant DC 00181.

Transient Auditory Storage of Acoustic Details Is Associated with Release of Speech from Informational Masking in Reverberant Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Ying; Huang, Qiang; Chen, Xun; Wu, Xihong; Li, Liang

2009-01-01

Perceptual integration of the sound directly emanating from the source with reflections needs both temporal storage and correlation computation of acoustic details. We examined whether the temporal storage is frequency dependent and associated with speech unmasking. In Experiment 1, a break in correlation (BIC) between interaurally correlated…

Development of the sound localization cues in cats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tollin, Daniel J.

2004-05-01

Cats are a common model for developmental studies of the psychophysical and physiological mechanisms of sound localization. Yet, there are few studies on the development of the acoustical cues to location in cats. The magnitude of the three main cues, interaural differences in time (ITDs) and level (ILDs), and monaural spectral shape cues, vary with location in adults. However, the increasing interaural distance associated with a growing head and pinnae during development will result in cues that change continuously until maturation is complete. Here, we report measurements, in cats aged 1 week to adulthood, of the physical dimensions of the head and pinnae and the localization cues, computed from measurements of directional transfer functions. At 1 week, ILD depended little on azimuth for frequencies <6-7 kHz, maximum ITD was 175 μs, and for sources varying in elevation, a prominent spectral notch was located at higher frequencies than in the older cats. As cats develop, the spectral cues and the frequencies at which ILDs become substantial (>10 dB) shift to lower frequencies, and the maximum ITD increases to nearly 370 μs. Changes in the cues are correlated with the increasing size of the head and pinnae. [Work supported by NIDCD DC05122.

Diagnostic System Based on the Human AUDITORY-BRAIN Model for Measuring Environmental NOISE—AN Application to Railway Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

SAKAI, H.; HOTEHAMA, T.; ANDO, Y.; PRODI, N.; POMPOLI, R.

2002-02-01

Measurements of railway noise were conducted by use of a diagnostic system of regional environmental noise. The system is based on the model of the human auditory-brain system. The model consists of the interplay of autocorrelators and an interaural crosscorrelator acting on the pressure signals arriving at the ear entrances, and takes into account the specialization of left and right human cerebral hemispheres. Different kinds of railway noise were measured through binaural microphones of a dummy head. To characterize the railway noise, physical factors, extracted from the autocorrelation functions (ACF) and interaural crosscorrelation function (IACF) of binaural signals, were used. The factors extracted from ACF were (1) energy represented at the origin of the delay, Φ (0), (2) effective duration of the envelope of the normalized ACF, τe, (3) the delay time of the first peak, τ1, and (4) its amplitude,ø1 . The factors extracted from IACF were (5) IACC, (6) interaural delay time at which the IACC is defined, τIACC, and (7) width of the IACF at the τIACC,WIACC . The factor Φ (0) can be represented as a geometrical mean of energies at both ears as listening level, LL.

Magnetoencephalographic responses in relation to temporal and spatial factors of sound fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soeta, Yoshiharu; Nakagawa, Seiji; Tonoike, Mitsuo; Hotehama, Takuya; Ando, Yoichi

2004-05-01

To establish the guidelines based on brain functions for designing sound fields such as a concert hall and an opera house, the activities of the human brain to the temporal and spatial factors of the sound field have been investigated using magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG is a noninvasive technique for investigating neuronal activity in human brain. First of all, the auditory evoked responses in change of the magnitude of the interaural cross-correlation (IACC) were analyzed. IACC is one of the spatial factors, which has great influence on the degree of subjective preference and diffuseness for sound fields. The results indicated that the peak amplitude of N1m, which was found over the left and right temporal lobes around 100 ms after the stimulus onset, decreased with increasing the IACC. Second, the responses corresponding to subjective preference for one of the typical temporal factors, i.e., the initial delay gap between a direct sound and the first reflection, were investigated. The results showed that the effective duration of the autocorrelation function of MEG between 8 and 13 Hz became longer during presentations of a preferred stimulus. These results indicate that the brain may be relaxed, and repeat a similar temporal rhythm under preferred sound fields.

Sound-localization experiments with barn owls in virtual space: influence of broadband interaural level different on head-turning behavior.

PubMed

Poganiatz, I; Wagner, H

2001-04-01

Interaural level differences play an important role for elevational sound localization in barn owls. The changes of this cue with sound location are complex and frequency dependent. We exploited the opportunities offered by the virtual space technique to investigate the behavioral relevance of the overall interaural level difference by fixing this parameter in virtual stimuli to a constant value or introducing additional broadband level differences to normal virtual stimuli. Frequency-specific monaural cues in the stimuli were not manipulated. We observed an influence of the broadband interaural level differences on elevational, but not on azimuthal sound localization. Since results obtained with our manipulations explained only part of the variance in elevational turning angle, we conclude that frequency-specific cues are also important. The behavioral consequences of changes of the overall interaural level difference in a virtual sound depended on the combined interaural time difference contained in the stimulus, indicating an indirect influence of temporal cues on elevational sound localization as well. Thus, elevational sound localization is influenced by a combination of many spatial cues including frequency-dependent and temporal features.

Assessing the Role of Place and Timing Cues in Coding Frequency and Amplitude Modulation as a Function of Age.

PubMed

Whiteford, Kelly L; Kreft, Heather A; Oxenham, Andrew J

2017-08-01

Natural sounds can be characterized by their fluctuations in amplitude and frequency. Ageing may affect sensitivity to some forms of fluctuations more than others. The present study used individual differences across a wide age range (20-79 years) to test the hypothesis that slow-rate, low-carrier frequency modulation (FM) is coded by phase-locked auditory-nerve responses to temporal fine structure (TFS), whereas fast-rate FM is coded via rate-place (tonotopic) cues, based on amplitude modulation (AM) of the temporal envelope after cochlear filtering. Using a low (500 Hz) carrier frequency, diotic FM and AM detection thresholds were measured at slow (1 Hz) and fast (20 Hz) rates in 85 listeners. Frequency selectivity and TFS coding were assessed using forward masking patterns and interaural phase disparity tasks (slow dichotic FM), respectively. Comparable interaural level disparity tasks (slow and fast dichotic AM and fast dichotic FM) were measured to control for effects of binaural processing not specifically related to TFS coding. Thresholds in FM and AM tasks were correlated, even across tasks thought to use separate peripheral codes. Age was correlated with slow and fast FM thresholds in both diotic and dichotic conditions. The relationship between age and AM thresholds was generally not significant. Once accounting for AM sensitivity, only diotic slow-rate FM thresholds remained significantly correlated with age. Overall, results indicate stronger effects of age on FM than AM. However, because of similar effects for both slow and fast FM when not accounting for AM sensitivity, the effects cannot be unambiguously ascribed to TFS coding.

Localization and interaural time difference (ITD) thresholds for cochlear implant recipients with preserved acoustic hearing in the implanted ear

PubMed Central

Gifford, René H.; Grantham, D. Wesley; Sheffield, Sterling W.; Davis, Timothy J.; Dwyer, Robert; Dorman, Michael F.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate horizontal plane localization and interaural time difference (ITD) thresholds for 14 adult cochlear implant recipients with hearing preservation in the implanted ear. Localization to broadband noise was assessed in an anechoic chamber with a 33-loudspeaker array extending from −90 to +90°. Three listening conditions were tested including bilateral hearing aids, bimodal (implant + contralateral hearing aid) and best aided (implant + bilateral hearing aids). ITD thresholds were assessed, under headphones, for low-frequency stimuli including a 250-Hz tone and bandpass noise (100–900 Hz). Localization, in overall rms error, was significantly poorer in the bimodal condition (mean: 60.2°) as compared to both bilateral hearing aids (mean: 46.1°) and the best-aided condition (mean: 43.4°). ITD thresholds were assessed for the same 14 adult implant recipients as well as 5 normal-hearing adults. ITD thresholds were highly variable across the implant recipients ranging from the range of normal to ITDs not present in real-world listening environments (range: 43 to over 1600 μs). ITD thresholds were significantly correlated with localization, the degree of interaural asymmetry in low-frequency hearing, and the degree of hearing preservation related benefit in the speech reception threshold (SRT). These data suggest that implant recipients with hearing preservation in the implanted ear have access to binaural cues and that the sensitivity to ITDs is significantly correlated with localization and degree of preserved hearing in the implanted ear. PMID:24607490

Localization and interaural time difference (ITD) thresholds for cochlear implant recipients with preserved acoustic hearing in the implanted ear.

PubMed

Gifford, René H; Grantham, D Wesley; Sheffield, Sterling W; Davis, Timothy J; Dwyer, Robert; Dorman, Michael F

2014-06-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate horizontal plane localization and interaural time difference (ITD) thresholds for 14 adult cochlear implant recipients with hearing preservation in the implanted ear. Localization to broadband noise was assessed in an anechoic chamber with a 33-loudspeaker array extending from -90 to +90°. Three listening conditions were tested including bilateral hearing aids, bimodal (implant + contralateral hearing aid) and best aided (implant + bilateral hearing aids). ITD thresholds were assessed, under headphones, for low-frequency stimuli including a 250-Hz tone and bandpass noise (100-900 Hz). Localization, in overall rms error, was significantly poorer in the bimodal condition (mean: 60.2°) as compared to both bilateral hearing aids (mean: 46.1°) and the best-aided condition (mean: 43.4°). ITD thresholds were assessed for the same 14 adult implant recipients as well as 5 normal-hearing adults. ITD thresholds were highly variable across the implant recipients ranging from the range of normal to ITDs not present in real-world listening environments (range: 43 to over 1600 μs). ITD thresholds were significantly correlated with localization, the degree of interaural asymmetry in low-frequency hearing, and the degree of hearing preservation related benefit in the speech reception threshold (SRT). These data suggest that implant recipients with hearing preservation in the implanted ear have access to binaural cues and that the sensitivity to ITDs is significantly correlated with localization and degree of preserved hearing in the implanted ear. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Perception of Interaural Phase Differences With Envelope and Fine Structure Coding Strategies in Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Arndt, Susan; Aschendorff, Antje; Laszig, Roland; Wesarg, Thomas

2016-01-01

The ability to detect a target signal masked by noise is improved in normal-hearing listeners when interaural phase differences (IPDs) between the ear signals exist either in the masker or in the signal. To improve binaural hearing in bilaterally implanted cochlear implant (BiCI) users, a coding strategy providing the best possible access to IPD is highly desirable. In this study, we compared two coding strategies in BiCI users provided with CI systems from MED-EL (Innsbruck, Austria). The CI systems were bilaterally programmed either with the fine structure processing strategy FS4 or with the constant rate strategy high definition continuous interleaved sampling (HDCIS). Familiarization periods between 6 and 12 weeks were considered. The effect of IPD was measured in two types of experiments: (a) IPD detection thresholds with tonal signals addressing mainly one apical interaural electrode pair and (b) with speech in noise in terms of binaural speech intelligibility level differences (BILD) addressing multiple electrodes bilaterally. The results in (a) showed improved IPD detection thresholds with FS4 compared with HDCIS in four out of the seven BiCI users. In contrast, 12 BiCI users in (b) showed similar BILD with FS4 (0.6 ± 1.9 dB) and HDCIS (0.5 ± 2.0 dB). However, no correlation between results in (a) and (b) both obtained with FS4 was found. In conclusion, the degree of IPD sensitivity determined on an apical interaural electrode pair was not an indicator for BILD based on bilateral multielectrode stimulation. PMID:27659487

Perception of Interaural Phase Differences With Envelope and Fine Structure Coding Strategies in Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Zirn, Stefan; Arndt, Susan; Aschendorff, Antje; Laszig, Roland; Wesarg, Thomas

2016-09-22

The ability to detect a target signal masked by noise is improved in normal-hearing listeners when interaural phase differences (IPDs) between the ear signals exist either in the masker or in the signal. To improve binaural hearing in bilaterally implanted cochlear implant (BiCI) users, a coding strategy providing the best possible access to IPD is highly desirable. In this study, we compared two coding strategies in BiCI users provided with CI systems from MED-EL (Innsbruck, Austria). The CI systems were bilaterally programmed either with the fine structure processing strategy FS4 or with the constant rate strategy high definition continuous interleaved sampling (HDCIS). Familiarization periods between 6 and 12 weeks were considered. The effect of IPD was measured in two types of experiments: (a) IPD detection thresholds with tonal signals addressing mainly one apical interaural electrode pair and (b) with speech in noise in terms of binaural speech intelligibility level differences (BILD) addressing multiple electrodes bilaterally. The results in (a) showed improved IPD detection thresholds with FS4 compared with HDCIS in four out of the seven BiCI users. In contrast, 12 BiCI users in (b) showed similar BILD with FS4 (0.6 ± 1.9 dB) and HDCIS (0.5 ± 2.0 dB). However, no correlation between results in (a) and (b) both obtained with FS4 was found. In conclusion, the degree of IPD sensitivity determined on an apical interaural electrode pair was not an indicator for BILD based on bilateral multielectrode stimulation. © The Author(s) 2016.

Perception of Binaural Cues Develops in Children Who Are Deaf through Bilateral Cochlear Implantation

PubMed Central

Gordon, Karen A.; Deighton, Michael R.; Abbasalipour, Parvaneh; Papsin, Blake C.

2014-01-01

There are significant challenges to restoring binaural hearing to children who have been deaf from an early age. The uncoordinated and poor temporal information available from cochlear implants distorts perception of interaural timing differences normally important for sound localization and listening in noise. Moreover, binaural development can be compromised by bilateral and unilateral auditory deprivation. Here, we studied perception of both interaural level and timing differences in 79 children/adolescents using bilateral cochlear implants and 16 peers with normal hearing. They were asked on which side of their head they heard unilaterally or bilaterally presented click- or electrical pulse- trains. Interaural level cues were identified by most participants including adolescents with long periods of unilateral cochlear implant use and little bilateral implant experience. Interaural timing cues were not detected by new bilateral adolescent users, consistent with previous evidence. Evidence of binaural timing detection was, for the first time, found in children who had much longer implant experience but it was marked by poorer than normal sensitivity and abnormally strong dependence on current level differences between implants. In addition, children with prior unilateral implant use showed a higher proportion of responses to their first implanted sides than children implanted simultaneously. These data indicate that there are functional repercussions of developing binaural hearing through bilateral cochlear implants, particularly when provided sequentially; nonetheless, children have an opportunity to use these devices to hear better in noise and gain spatial hearing. PMID:25531107

How sensitivity to ongoing interaural temporal disparities is affected by manipulations of temporal features of the envelopes of high-frequency stimuli

PubMed Central

Bernstein, Leslie R.; Trahiotis, Constantine

2009-01-01

This study addressed how manipulating certain aspects of the envelopes of high-frequency stimuli affects sensitivity to envelope-based interaural temporal disparities (ITDs). Listener’s threshold ITDs were measured using an adaptive two-alternative paradigm employing “raised-sine” stimuli [John, M. S., et al. (2002). Ear Hear. 23, 106–117] which permit independent variation in their modulation frequency, modulation depth, and modulation exponent. Threshold ITDs were measured while manipulating modulation exponent for stimuli having modulation frequencies between 32 and 256 Hz. The results indicated that graded increases in the exponent led to graded decreases in envelope-based threshold ITDs. Threshold ITDs were also measured while parametrically varying modulation exponent and modulation depth. Overall, threshold ITDs decreased with increases in the modulation depth. Unexpectedly, increases in the exponent of the raised-sine led to especially large decreases in threshold ITD when the modulation depth was low. An interaural correlation-based model was generally able to capture changes in threshold ITD stemming from changes in the exponent, depth of modulation, and frequency of modulation of the raised-sine stimuli. The model (and several variations of it), however, could not account for the unexpected interaction between the value of raised-sine exponent and its modulation depth. PMID:19425666

Failure of the precedence effect with a noise-band vocoder

PubMed Central

Seeber, Bernhard U.; Hafter, Ervin R.

2011-01-01

The precedence effect (PE) describes the ability to localize a direct, leading sound correctly when its delayed copy (lag) is present, though not separately audible. The relative contribution of binaural cues in the temporal fine structure (TFS) of lead–lag signals was compared to that of interaural level differences (ILDs) and interaural time differences (ITDs) carried in the envelope. In a localization dominance paradigm participants indicated the spatial location of lead–lag stimuli processed with a binaural noise-band vocoder whose noise carriers introduced random TFS. The PE appeared for noise bursts of 10 ms duration, indicating dominance of envelope information. However, for three test words the PE often failed even at short lead–lag delays, producing two images, one toward the lead and one toward the lag. When interaural correlation in the carrier was increased, the images appeared more centered, but often remained split. Although previous studies suggest dominance of TFS cues, no image is lateralized in accord with the ITD in the TFS. An interpretation in the context of auditory scene analysis is proposed: By replacing the TFS with that of noise the auditory system loses the ability to fuse lead and lag into one object, and thus to show the PE. PMID:21428515

Computation of interaural time difference in the owl's coincidence detector neurons.

PubMed

Funabiki, Kazuo; Ashida, Go; Konishi, Masakazu

2011-10-26

Both the mammalian and avian auditory systems localize sound sources by computing the interaural time difference (ITD) with submillisecond accuracy. The neural circuits for this computation in birds consist of axonal delay lines and coincidence detector neurons. Here, we report the first in vivo intracellular recordings from coincidence detectors in the nucleus laminaris of barn owls. Binaural tonal stimuli induced sustained depolarizations (DC) and oscillating potentials whose waveforms reflected the stimulus. The amplitude of this sound analog potential (SAP) varied with ITD, whereas DC potentials did not. The amplitude of the SAP was correlated with firing rate in a linear fashion. Spike shape, synaptic noise, the amplitude of SAP, and responsiveness to current pulses differed between cells at different frequencies, suggesting an optimization strategy for sensing sound signals in neurons tuned to different frequencies.

Cervical Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials: Norms and Protocols

PubMed Central

Isaradisaikul, Suwicha; Navacharoen, Niramon; Hanprasertpong, Charuk; Kangsanarak, Jaran

2012-01-01

Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing is a vestibular function test used for evaluating saccular and inferior vestibular nerve function. Parameters of VEMP testing include VEMP threshold, latencies of p1 and n1, and p1-n1 interamplitude. Less commonly used parameters were p1-n1 interlatency, interaural difference of p1 and n1 latency, and interaural amplitude difference (IAD) ratio. This paper recommends using air-conducted 500 Hz tone burst auditory stimulation presented monoaurally via an inserted ear phone while the subject is turning his head to the contralateral side in the sitting position and recording the responses from the ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle. Normative values of VEMP responses in 50 normal audiovestibular volunteers were presented. VEMP testing protocols and normative values in other literature were reviewed and compared. The study is beneficial to clinicians as a reference guide to set up VEMP testing and interpretation of the VEMP responses. PMID:22577386

Binaural sluggishness in the perception of tone sequences and speech in noise.

PubMed

Culling, J F; Colburn, H S

2000-01-01

The binaural system is well-known for its sluggish response to changes in the interaural parameters to which it is sensitive. Theories of binaural unmasking have suggested that detection of signals in noise is mediated by detection of differences in interaural correlation. If these theories are correct, improvements in the intelligibility of speech in favorable binaural conditions is most likely mediated by spectro-temporal variations in interaural correlation of the stimulus which mirror the spectro-temporal amplitude modulations of the speech. However, binaural sluggishness should limit the temporal resolution of the representation of speech recovered by this means. The present study tested this prediction in two ways. First, listeners' masked discrimination thresholds for ascending vs descending pure-tone arpeggios were measured as a function of rate of frequency change in the NoSo and NoSpi binaural configurations. Three-tone arpeggios were presented repeatedly and continuously for 1.6 s, masked by a 1.6-s burst of noise. In a two-interval task, listeners determined the interval in which the arpeggios were ascending. The results showed a binaural advantage of 12-14 dB for NoSpi at 3.3 arpeggios per s (arp/s), which reduced to 3-5 dB at 10.4 arp/s. This outcome confirmed that the discrimination of spectro-temporal patterns in noise is susceptible to the effects of binaural sluggishness. Second, listeners' masked speech-reception thresholds were measured in speech-shaped noise using speech which was 1, 1.5, and 2 times the original articulation rate. The articulation rate was increased using a phase-vocoder technique which increased all the modulation frequencies in the speech without altering its pitch. Speech-reception thresholds were, on average, 5.2 dB lower for the NoSpi than for the NoSo configuration, at the original articulation rate. This binaural masking release was reduced to 2.8 dB when the articulation rate was doubled, but the most notable effect was a 6-8 dB increase in thresholds with articulation rate for both configurations. These results suggest that higher modulation frequencies in masked signals cannot be temporally resolved by the binaural system, but that the useful modulation frequencies in speech are sufficiently low (<5 Hz) that they are invulnerable to the effects of binaural sluggishness, even at elevated articulation rates.

Using ILD or ITD Cues for Sound Source Localization and Speech Understanding in a Complex Listening Environment by Listeners With Bilateral and With Hearing-Preservation Cochlear Implants.

PubMed

Loiselle, Louise H; Dorman, Michael F; Yost, William A; Cook, Sarah J; Gifford, Rene H

2016-08-01

To assess the role of interaural time differences and interaural level differences in (a) sound-source localization, and (b) speech understanding in a cocktail party listening environment for listeners with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) and for listeners with hearing-preservation CIs. Eleven bilateral listeners with MED-EL (Durham, NC) CIs and 8 listeners with hearing-preservation CIs with symmetrical low frequency, acoustic hearing using the MED-EL or Cochlear device were evaluated using 2 tests designed to task binaural hearing, localization, and a simulated cocktail party. Access to interaural cues for localization was constrained by the use of low-pass, high-pass, and wideband noise stimuli. Sound-source localization accuracy for listeners with bilateral CIs in response to the high-pass noise stimulus and sound-source localization accuracy for the listeners with hearing-preservation CIs in response to the low-pass noise stimulus did not differ significantly. Speech understanding in a cocktail party listening environment improved for all listeners when interaural cues, either interaural time difference or interaural level difference, were available. The findings of the current study indicate that similar degrees of benefit to sound-source localization and speech understanding in complex listening environments are possible with 2 very different rehabilitation strategies: the provision of bilateral CIs and the preservation of hearing.

The Effect of Microphone Placement on Interaural Level Differences and Sound Localization Across the Horizontal Plane in Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Jones, Heath G; Kan, Alan; Litovsky, Ruth Y

2016-01-01

This study examined the effect of microphone placement on the interaural level differences (ILDs) available to bilateral cochlear implant (BiCI) users, and the subsequent effects on horizontal-plane sound localization. Virtual acoustic stimuli for sound localization testing were created individually for eight BiCI users by making acoustic transfer function measurements for microphones placed in the ear (ITE), behind the ear (BTE), and on the shoulders (SHD). The ILDs across source locations were calculated for each placement to analyze their effect on sound localization performance. Sound localization was tested using a repeated-measures, within-participant design for the three microphone placements. The ITE microphone placement provided significantly larger ILDs compared to BTE and SHD placements, which correlated with overall localization errors. However, differences in localization errors across the microphone conditions were small. The BTE microphones worn by many BiCI users in everyday life do not capture the full range of acoustic ILDs available, and also reduce the change in cue magnitudes for sound sources across the horizontal plane. Acute testing with an ITE placement reduced sound localization errors along the horizontal plane compared to the other placements in some patients. Larger improvements may be observed if patients had more experience with the new ILD cues provided by an ITE placement.

Aging effects on the Binaural Interaction Component of the Auditory Brainstem Response in the Mongolian Gerbil: Effects of Interaural Time and Level Differences

PubMed Central

Laumen, Geneviève; Tollin, Daniel J.; Beutelmann, Rainer; Klump, Georg M.

2016-01-01

The effect of interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) on wave 4 of the binaural and summed monaural auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) as well as on the DN1 component of the binaural interaction component (BIC) of the ABR in young and old Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) was investigated. Measurements were made at a fixed sound pressure level (SPL) and a fixed level above visually detected ABR threshold to compensate for individual hearing threshold differences. In both stimulation modes (fixed SPL and fixed level above visually detected ABR threshold) an effect of ITD on the latency and the amplitude of wave 4 as well as of the BIC was observed. With increasing absolute ITD values BIC latencies were increased and amplitudes were decreased. ILD had a much smaller effect on these measures. Old animals showed a reduced amplitude of the DN1 component. This difference was due to a smaller wave 4 in the summed monaural ABRs of old animals compared to young animals whereas wave 4 in the binaural-evoked ABR showed no age-related difference. In old animals the small amplitude of the DN1 component was correlated with small binaural-evoked wave 1 and wave 3 amplitudes. This suggests that the reduced peripheral input affects central binaural processing which is reflected in the BIC. PMID:27173973

Acoustic and perceptual effects of magnifying interaural difference cues in a simulated "binaural" hearing aid.

PubMed

de Taillez, Tobias; Grimm, Giso; Kollmeier, Birger; Neher, Tobias

2018-06-01

To investigate the influence of an algorithm designed to enhance or magnify interaural difference cues on speech signals in noisy, spatially complex conditions using both technical and perceptual measurements. To also investigate the combination of interaural magnification (IM), monaural microphone directionality (DIR), and binaural coherence-based noise reduction (BC). Speech-in-noise stimuli were generated using virtual acoustics. A computational model of binaural hearing was used to analyse the spatial effects of IM. Predicted speech quality changes and signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) improvements were also considered. Additionally, a listening test was carried out to assess speech intelligibility and quality. Listeners aged 65-79 years with and without sensorineural hearing loss (N = 10 each). IM increased the horizontal separation of concurrent directional sound sources without introducing any major artefacts. In situations with diffuse noise, however, the interaural difference cues were distorted. Preprocessing the binaural input signals with DIR reduced distortion. IM influenced neither speech intelligibility nor speech quality. The IM algorithm tested here failed to improve speech perception in noise, probably because of the dispersion and inconsistent magnification of interaural difference cues in complex environments.

Localizing nearby sound sources in a classroom: Binaural room impulse responses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G.; Kopco, Norbert; Martin, Tara J.

2005-05-01

Binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) were measured in a classroom for sources at different azimuths and distances (up to 1 m) relative to a manikin located in four positions in a classroom. When the listener is far from all walls, reverberant energy distorts signal magnitude and phase independently at each frequency, altering monaural spectral cues, interaural phase differences, and interaural level differences. For the tested conditions, systematic distortion (comb-filtering) from an early intense reflection is only evident when a listener is very close to a wall, and then only in the ear facing the wall. Especially for a nearby source, interaural cues grow less reliable with increasing source laterality and monaural spectral cues are less reliable in the ear farther from the sound source. Reverberation reduces the magnitude of interaural level differences at all frequencies; however, the direct-sound interaural time difference can still be recovered from the BRIRs measured in these experiments. Results suggest that bias and variability in sound localization behavior may vary systematically with listener location in a room as well as source location relative to the listener, even for nearby sources where there is relatively little reverberant energy. .

Localizing nearby sound sources in a classroom: binaural room impulse responses.

PubMed

Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G; Kopco, Norbert; Martin, Tara J

2005-05-01

Binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) were measured in a classroom for sources at different azimuths and distances (up to 1 m) relative to a manikin located in four positions in a classroom. When the listener is far from all walls, reverberant energy distorts signal magnitude and phase independently at each frequency, altering monaural spectral cues, interaural phase differences, and interaural level differences. For the tested conditions, systematic distortion (comb-filtering) from an early intense reflection is only evident when a listener is very close to a wall, and then only in the ear facing the wall. Especially for a nearby source, interaural cues grow less reliable with increasing source laterality and monaural spectral cues are less reliable in the ear farther from the sound source. Reverberation reduces the magnitude of interaural level differences at all frequencies; however, the direct-sound interaural time difference can still be recovered from the BRIRs measured in these experiments. Results suggest that bias and variability in sound localization behavior may vary systematically with listener location in a room as well as source location relative to the listener, even for nearby sources where there is relatively little reverberant energy.

Correlation Factors Describing Primary and Spatial Sensations of Sound Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ANDO, Y.

2002-11-01

The theory of subjective preference of the sound field in a concert hall is established based on the model of human auditory-brain system. The model consists of the autocorrelation function (ACF) mechanism and the interaural crosscorrelation function (IACF) mechanism for signals arriving at two ear entrances, and the specialization of human cerebral hemispheres. This theory can be developed to describe primary sensations such as pitch or missing fundamental, loudness, timbre and, in addition, duration sensation which is introduced here as a fourth. These four primary sensations may be formulated by the temporal factors extracted from the ACF associated with the left hemisphere and, spatial sensations such as localization in the horizontal plane, apparent source width and subjective diffuseness are described by the spatial factors extracted from the IACF associated with the right hemisphere. Any important subjective responses of sound fields may be described by both temporal and spatial factors.

Primitive Auditory Memory Is Correlated with Spatial Unmasking That Is Based on Direct-Reflection Integration

PubMed Central

Li, Huahui; Kong, Lingzhi; Wu, Xihong; Li, Liang

2013-01-01

In reverberant rooms with multiple-people talking, spatial separation between speech sources improves recognition of attended speech, even though both the head-shadowing and interaural-interaction unmasking cues are limited by numerous reflections. It is the perceptual integration between the direct wave and its reflections that bridges the direct-reflection temporal gaps and results in the spatial unmasking under reverberant conditions. This study further investigated (1) the temporal dynamic of the direct-reflection-integration-based spatial unmasking as a function of the reflection delay, and (2) whether this temporal dynamic is correlated with the listeners’ auditory ability to temporally retain raw acoustic signals (i.e., the fast decaying primitive auditory memory, PAM). The results showed that recognition of the target speech against the speech-masker background is a descending exponential function of the delay of the simulated target reflection. In addition, the temporal extent of PAM is frequency dependent and markedly longer than that for perceptual fusion. More importantly, the temporal dynamic of the speech-recognition function is significantly correlated with the temporal extent of the PAM of low-frequency raw signals. Thus, we propose that a chain process, which links the earlier-stage PAM with the later-stage correlation computation, perceptual integration, and attention facilitation, plays a role in spatially unmasking target speech under reverberant conditions. PMID:23658664

The relation between working memory capacity and auditory lateralization in children with auditory processing disorders.

PubMed

Moossavi, Abdollah; Mehrkian, Saiedeh; Lotfi, Yones; Faghihzadeh, Soghrat; sajedi, Hamed

2014-11-01

Auditory processing disorder (APD) describes a complex and heterogeneous disorder characterized by poor speech perception, especially in noisy environments. APD may be responsible for a range of sensory processing deficits associated with learning difficulties. There is no general consensus about the nature of APD and how the disorder should be assessed or managed. This study assessed the effect of cognition abilities (working memory capacity) on sound lateralization in children with auditory processing disorders, in order to determine how "auditory cognition" interacts with APD. The participants in this cross-sectional comparative study were 20 typically developing and 17 children with a diagnosed auditory processing disorder (9-11 years old). Sound lateralization abilities investigated using inter-aural time (ITD) differences and inter-aural intensity (IID) differences with two stimuli (high pass and low pass noise) in nine perceived positions. Working memory capacity was evaluated using the non-word repetition, and forward and backward digits span tasks. Linear regression was employed to measure the degree of association between working memory capacity and localization tests between the two groups. Children in the APD group had consistently lower scores than typically developing subjects in lateralization and working memory capacity measures. The results showed working memory capacity had significantly negative correlation with ITD errors especially with high pass noise stimulus but not with IID errors in APD children. The study highlights the impact of working memory capacity on auditory lateralization. The finding of this research indicates that the extent to which working memory influences auditory processing depend on the type of auditory processing and the nature of stimulus/listening situation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Neural Substrate for Binaural Masking Level Differences in the Auditory Cortex

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Heather J.; Krumbholz, Katrin; Palmer, Alan R.

2015-01-01

The binaural masking level difference (BMLD) is a phenomenon whereby a signal that is identical at each ear (S0), masked by a noise that is identical at each ear (N0), can be made 12–15 dB more detectable by inverting the waveform of either the tone or noise at one ear (Sπ, Nπ). Single-cell responses to BMLD stimuli were measured in the primary auditory cortex of urethane-anesthetized guinea pigs. Firing rate was measured as a function of signal level of a 500 Hz pure tone masked by low-passed white noise. Responses were similar to those reported in the inferior colliculus. At low signal levels, the response was dominated by the masker. At higher signal levels, firing rate either increased or decreased. Detection thresholds for each neuron were determined using signal detection theory. Few neurons yielded measurable detection thresholds for all stimulus conditions, with a wide range in thresholds. However, across the entire population, the lowest thresholds were consistent with human psychophysical BMLDs. As in the inferior colliculus, the shape of the firing-rate versus signal-level functions depended on the neurons' selectivity for interaural time difference. Our results suggest that, in cortex, BMLD signals are detected from increases or decreases in the firing rate, consistent with predictions of cross-correlation models of binaural processing and that the psychophysical detection threshold is based on the lowest neural thresholds across the population. PMID:25568115

Characteristics of train noise in above-ground and underground stations with side and island platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimokura, Ryota; Soeta, Yoshiharu

2011-04-01

Railway stations can be principally classified by their locations, i.e., above-ground or underground stations, and by their platform styles, i.e., side or island platforms. However, the effect of the architectural elements on the train noise in stations is not well understood. The aim of the present study is to determine the different acoustical characteristics of the train noise for each station style. The train noise was evaluated by (1) the A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure level ( LAeq), (2) the amplitude of the maximum peak of the interaural cross-correlation function (IACC), (3) the delay time ( τ1) and amplitude ( ϕ1) of the first maximum peak of the autocorrelation function. The IACC, τ1 and ϕ1 are related to the subjective diffuseness, pitch and pitch strength, respectively. Regarding the locations, the LAeq in the underground stations was 6.4 dB higher than that in the above-ground stations, and the pitch in the underground stations was higher and stronger. Regarding the platform styles, the LAeq on the side platforms was 3.3 dB higher than on the island platforms of the above-ground stations. For the underground stations, the LAeq on the island platforms was 3.3 dB higher than that on the side platforms when a train entered the station. The IACC on the island platforms of the above-ground stations was higher than that in the other stations.

Evidence for cue-independent spatial representation in the human auditory cortex during active listening.

PubMed

Higgins, Nathan C; McLaughlin, Susan A; Rinne, Teemu; Stecker, G Christopher

2017-09-05

Few auditory functions are as important or as universal as the capacity for auditory spatial awareness (e.g., sound localization). That ability relies on sensitivity to acoustical cues-particularly interaural time and level differences (ITD and ILD)-that correlate with sound-source locations. Under nonspatial listening conditions, cortical sensitivity to ITD and ILD takes the form of broad contralaterally dominated response functions. It is unknown, however, whether that sensitivity reflects representations of the specific physical cues or a higher-order representation of auditory space (i.e., integrated cue processing), nor is it known whether responses to spatial cues are modulated by active spatial listening. To investigate, sensitivity to parametrically varied ITD or ILD cues was measured using fMRI during spatial and nonspatial listening tasks. Task type varied across blocks where targets were presented in one of three dimensions: auditory location, pitch, or visual brightness. Task effects were localized primarily to lateral posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) and modulated binaural-cue response functions differently in the two hemispheres. Active spatial listening (location tasks) enhanced both contralateral and ipsilateral responses in the right hemisphere but maintained or enhanced contralateral dominance in the left hemisphere. Two observations suggest integrated processing of ITD and ILD. First, overlapping regions in medial pSTG exhibited significant sensitivity to both cues. Second, successful classification of multivoxel patterns was observed for both cue types and-critically-for cross-cue classification. Together, these results suggest a higher-order representation of auditory space in the human auditory cortex that at least partly integrates the specific underlying cues.

Evidence for cue-independent spatial representation in the human auditory cortex during active listening

PubMed Central

McLaughlin, Susan A.; Rinne, Teemu; Stecker, G. Christopher

2017-01-01

Few auditory functions are as important or as universal as the capacity for auditory spatial awareness (e.g., sound localization). That ability relies on sensitivity to acoustical cues—particularly interaural time and level differences (ITD and ILD)—that correlate with sound-source locations. Under nonspatial listening conditions, cortical sensitivity to ITD and ILD takes the form of broad contralaterally dominated response functions. It is unknown, however, whether that sensitivity reflects representations of the specific physical cues or a higher-order representation of auditory space (i.e., integrated cue processing), nor is it known whether responses to spatial cues are modulated by active spatial listening. To investigate, sensitivity to parametrically varied ITD or ILD cues was measured using fMRI during spatial and nonspatial listening tasks. Task type varied across blocks where targets were presented in one of three dimensions: auditory location, pitch, or visual brightness. Task effects were localized primarily to lateral posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) and modulated binaural-cue response functions differently in the two hemispheres. Active spatial listening (location tasks) enhanced both contralateral and ipsilateral responses in the right hemisphere but maintained or enhanced contralateral dominance in the left hemisphere. Two observations suggest integrated processing of ITD and ILD. First, overlapping regions in medial pSTG exhibited significant sensitivity to both cues. Second, successful classification of multivoxel patterns was observed for both cue types and—critically—for cross-cue classification. Together, these results suggest a higher-order representation of auditory space in the human auditory cortex that at least partly integrates the specific underlying cues. PMID:28827357

Predicting binaural responses from monaural responses in the gerbil medial superior olive

PubMed Central

Plauška, Andrius; Borst, J. Gerard

2016-01-01

Accurate sound source localization of low-frequency sounds in the horizontal plane depends critically on the comparison of arrival times at both ears. A specialized brainstem circuit containing the principal neurons of the medial superior olive (MSO) is dedicated to this comparison. MSO neurons are innervated by segregated inputs from both ears. The coincident arrival of excitatory inputs from both ears is thought to trigger action potentials, with differences in internal delays creating a unique sensitivity to interaural time differences (ITDs) for each cell. How the inputs from both ears are integrated by the MSO neurons is still debated. Using juxtacellular recordings, we tested to what extent MSO neurons from anesthetized Mongolian gerbils function as simple cross-correlators of their bilateral inputs. From the measured subthreshold responses to monaural wideband stimuli we predicted the rate-ITD functions obtained from the same MSO neuron, which have a damped oscillatory shape. The rate of the oscillations and the position of the peaks and troughs were accurately predicted. The amplitude ratio between dominant and secondary peaks of the rate-ITD function, captured in the width of its envelope, was not always exactly reproduced. This minor imperfection pointed to the methodological limitation of using a linear representation of the monaural inputs, which disregards any temporal sharpening occurring in the cochlear nucleus. The successful prediction of the major aspects of rate-ITD curves supports a simple scheme in which the ITD sensitivity of MSO neurons is realized by the coincidence detection of excitatory monaural inputs. PMID:27009164

Interaural intensity difference limen.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1967-05-01

The ability to judge the direction (the azimuth) of a sound source and to discriminate it from others is often essential to flyers. A major factor in the judgment process is the interaural intensity difference that the pilot can perceive. Three kinds...

Correlation between bithermal caloric test results and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in normal subjects.

PubMed

Andrade, Isabel Vaamonde Sanchez; Santos-Perez, Sofia; Diz, Pilar Gayoso; Caballero, Torcuato Labella; Soto-Varela, Andrés

2013-05-01

Bithermal caloric testing and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) are both diagnostic tools for the study of the vestibular system. The first tests the horizontal semicircular canal and the second evaluates the saccule and lower vestibular nerve. The results of these two tests can therefore be expected to be correlated. The aim of this study was to compare bithermal caloric test results with VEMP records in normal subjects to verify whether they are correlated. A prospective study was conducted in 60 healthy subjects (30 men and 30 women) who underwent otoscopy, pure tone audiometry, bithermal caloric testing and VEMPs. From the caloric test, we assessed the presence of possible vestibular hypofunction, whether there was directional preponderance and reflectivity of each ear (all based on both slow phase velocity and nystagmus frequency). The analysed VEMPs variables were: p1 and n1 latency, corrected amplitude, interaural p1 latency difference and p1 interaural amplitude asymmetry. We compared the reflectivity, hypofunction and directional preponderance of the caloric tests with the corrected amplitudes and amplitude asymmetries of the VEMPs. No correlations were found in the different comparisons between bithermal caloric testing results and VEMPs except for a weak correlation (p = 0.039) when comparing preponderance based on the number of nystagmus in the caloric test and amplitude asymmetry with 99 dB tone burst in the VEMPs test. The results indicate that the two diagnostic tests are not comparable, so one of them cannot replace the other, but the use of both increases diagnostic success in some conditions.

Neural correlates of binaural masking level difference in the inferior colliculus of the barn owl (Tyto alba).

PubMed

Asadollahi, Ali; Endler, Frank; Nelken, Israel; Wagner, Hermann

2010-08-01

Humans and animals are able to detect signals in noisy environments. Detection improves when the noise and the signal have different interaural phase relationships. The resulting improvement in detection threshold is called the binaural masking level difference. We investigated neural mechanisms underlying the release from masking in the inferior colliculus of barn owls in low-frequency and high-frequency neurons. A tone (signal) was presented either with the same interaural time difference as the noise (masker) or at a 180 degrees phase shift as compared with the interaural time difference of the noise. The changes in firing rates induced by the addition of a signal of increasing level while masker level was kept constant was well predicted by the relative responses to the masker and signal alone. In many cases, the response at the highest signal levels was dominated by the response to the signal alone, in spite of a significant response to the masker at low signal levels, suggesting the presence of occlusion. Detection thresholds and binaural masking level differences were widely distributed. The amount of release from masking increased with increasing masker level. Narrowly tuned neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus had detection thresholds that were lower than or similar to those of broadly tuned neurons in the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus. Broadly tuned neurons exhibited higher masking level differences than narrowband neurons. These data suggest that detection has different spectral requirements from localization.

Aging effects on the binaural interaction component of the auditory brainstem response in the Mongolian gerbil: Effects of interaural time and level differences.

PubMed

Laumen, Geneviève; Tollin, Daniel J; Beutelmann, Rainer; Klump, Georg M

2016-07-01

The effect of interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) on wave 4 of the binaural and summed monaural auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) as well as on the DN1 component of the binaural interaction component (BIC) of the ABR in young and old Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) was investigated. Measurements were made at a fixed sound pressure level (SPL) and a fixed level above visually detected ABR threshold to compensate for individual hearing threshold differences. In both stimulation modes (fixed SPL and fixed level above visually detected ABR threshold) an effect of ITD on the latency and the amplitude of wave 4 as well as of the BIC was observed. With increasing absolute ITD values BIC latencies were increased and amplitudes were decreased. ILD had a much smaller effect on these measures. Old animals showed a reduced amplitude of the DN1 component. This difference was due to a smaller wave 4 in the summed monaural ABRs of old animals compared to young animals whereas wave 4 in the binaural-evoked ABR showed no age-related difference. In old animals the small amplitude of the DN1 component was correlated with small binaural-evoked wave 1 and wave 3 amplitudes. This suggests that the reduced peripheral input affects central binaural processing which is reflected in the BIC. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Binaural unmasking of multi-channel stimuli in bilateral cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Van Deun, Lieselot; van Wieringen, Astrid; Francart, Tom; Büchner, Andreas; Lenarz, Thomas; Wouters, Jan

2011-10-01

Previous work suggests that bilateral cochlear implant users are sensitive to interaural cues if experimental speech processors are used to preserve accurate interaural information in the electrical stimulation pattern. Binaural unmasking occurs in adults and children when an interaural delay is applied to the envelope of a high-rate pulse train. Nevertheless, for speech perception, binaural unmasking benefits have not been demonstrated consistently, even with coordinated stimulation at both ears. The present study aimed at bridging the gap between basic psychophysical performance on binaural signal detection tasks on the one hand and binaural perception of speech in noise on the other hand. Therefore, binaural signal detection was expanded to multi-channel stimulation and biologically relevant interaural delays. A harmonic complex, consisting of three sinusoids (125, 250, and 375 Hz), was added to three 125-Hz-wide noise bands centered on the sinusoids. When an interaural delay of 700 μs was introduced, an average BMLD of 3 dB was established. Outcomes are promising in view of real-life benefits. Future research should investigate the generalization of the observed benefits for signal detection to speech perception in everyday listening situations and determine the importance of coordination of bilateral speech processors and accentuation of envelope cues.

Lateralization of noise-burst trains based on onset and ongoing interaural delays.

PubMed

Freyman, Richard L; Balakrishnan, Uma; Zurek, Patrick M

2010-07-01

The lateralization of 250-ms trains of brief noise bursts was measured using an acoustic pointing technique. Stimuli were designed to assess the contribution of the interaural time delay (ITD) of the onset binaural burst relative to that of the ITDs in the ongoing part of the train. Lateralization was measured by listeners' adjustments of the ITD of a pointer stimulus, a 50-ms burst of noise, to match the lateral position of the target train. Results confirmed previous reports of lateralization dominance by the onset burst under conditions in which the train is composed of frozen tokens and the ongoing part contains multiple ambiguous interaural delays. In contrast, lateralization of ongoing trains in which fresh noise tokens were used for each set of two alternating (left-leading/right-leading) binaural pairs followed the ITD of the first pair in each set, regardless of the ITD of the onset burst of the entire stimulus and even when the onset burst was removed by gradual gating. This clear lateralization of a long-duration stimulus with ambiguous interaural delay cues suggests precedence mechanisms that involve not only the interaural cues at the beginning of a sound, but also the pattern of cues within an ongoing sound.

Neural coding of sound envelope in reverberant environments.

PubMed

Slama, Michaël C C; Delgutte, Bertrand

2015-03-11

Speech reception depends critically on temporal modulations in the amplitude envelope of the speech signal. Reverberation encountered in everyday environments can substantially attenuate these modulations. To assess the effect of reverberation on the neural coding of amplitude envelope, we recorded from single units in the inferior colliculus (IC) of unanesthetized rabbit using sinusoidally amplitude modulated (AM) broadband noise stimuli presented in simulated anechoic and reverberant environments. Although reverberation degraded both rate and temporal coding of AM in IC neurons, in most neurons, the degradation in temporal coding was smaller than the AM attenuation in the stimulus. This compensation could largely be accounted for by the compressive shape of the modulation input-output function (MIOF), which describes the nonlinear transformation of modulation depth from acoustic stimuli into neural responses. Additionally, in a subset of neurons, the temporal coding of AM was better for reverberant stimuli than for anechoic stimuli having the same modulation depth at the ear. Using hybrid anechoic stimuli that selectively possess certain properties of reverberant sounds, we show that this reverberant advantage is not caused by envelope distortion, static interaural decorrelation, or spectral coloration. Overall, our results suggest that the auditory system may possess dual mechanisms that make the coding of amplitude envelope relatively robust in reverberation: one general mechanism operating for all stimuli with small modulation depths, and another mechanism dependent on very specific properties of reverberant stimuli, possibly the periodic fluctuations in interaural correlation at the modulation frequency. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/354452-17$15.00/0.

Growth in Head Size during Infancy: Implications for Sound Localization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clifton, Rachel K.; And Others

1988-01-01

Compared head circumference and interaural distance in infants between birth and 22 weeks of age and in a small sample of preschool children and adults. Calculated changes in interaural time differences according to age. Found a large shift in distance. (SKC)

Investigations in mechanisms and strategies to enhance hearing with cochlear implants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Churchill, Tyler H.

Cochlear implants (CIs) produce hearing sensations by stimulating the auditory nerve (AN) with current pulses whose amplitudes are modulated by filtered acoustic temporal envelopes. While this technology has provided hearing for multitudinous CI recipients, even bilaterally-implanted listeners have more difficulty understanding speech in noise and localizing sounds than normal hearing (NH) listeners. Three studies reported here have explored ways to improve electric hearing abilities. Vocoders are often used to simulate CIs for NH listeners. Study 1 was a psychoacoustic vocoder study examining the effects of harmonic carrier phase dispersion and simulated CI current spread on speech intelligibility in noise. Results showed that simulated current spread was detrimental to speech understanding and that speech vocoded with carriers whose components' starting phases were equal was the least intelligible. Cross-correlogram analyses of AN model simulations confirmed that carrier component phase dispersion resulted in better neural envelope representation. Localization abilities rely on binaural processing mechanisms in the brainstem and mid-brain that are not fully understood. In Study 2, several potential mechanisms were evaluated based on the ability of metrics extracted from stereo AN simulations to predict azimuthal locations. Results suggest that unique across-frequency patterns of binaural cross-correlation may provide a strong cue set for lateralization and that interaural level differences alone cannot explain NH sensitivity to lateral position. While it is known that many bilateral CI users are sensitive to interaural time differences (ITDs) in low-rate pulsatile stimulation, most contemporary CI processing strategies use high-rate, constant-rate pulse trains. In Study 3, we examined the effects of pulse rate and pulse timing on ITD discrimination, ITD lateralization, and speech recognition by bilateral CI listeners. Results showed that listeners were able to use low-rate pulse timing cues presented redundantly on multiple electrodes for ITD discrimination and lateralization of speech stimuli even when mixed with high rates on other electrodes. These results have contributed to a better understanding of those aspects of the auditory system that support speech understanding and binaural hearing, suggested vocoder parameters that may simulate aspects of electric hearing, and shown that redundant, low-rate pulse timing supports improved spatial hearing for bilateral CI listeners.

Cortical Measures of Binaural Processing Predict Spatial Release from Masking Performance

PubMed Central

Papesh, Melissa A.; Folmer, Robert L.; Gallun, Frederick J.

2017-01-01

Binaural sensitivity is an important contributor to the ability to understand speech in adverse acoustical environments such as restaurants and other social gatherings. The ability to accurately report on binaural percepts is not commonly measured, however, as extensive training is required before reliable measures can be obtained. Here, we investigated the use of auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) as a rapid physiological indicator of detection of interaural phase differences (IPDs) by assessing cortical responses to 180° IPDs embedded in amplitude-modulated carrier tones. We predicted that decrements in encoding of IPDs would be evident in middle age, with further declines found with advancing age and hearing loss. Thus, participants in experiment #1 were young to middle-aged adults with relatively good hearing thresholds while participants in experiment #2 were older individuals with typical age-related hearing loss. Results revealed that while many of the participants in experiment #1 could encode IPDs in stimuli up to 1,000 Hz, few of the participants in experiment #2 had discernable responses to stimuli above 750 Hz. These results are consistent with previous studies that have found that aging and hearing loss impose frequency limits on the ability to encode interaural phase information present in the fine structure of auditory stimuli. We further hypothesized that AEP measures of binaural sensitivity would be predictive of participants' ability to benefit from spatial separation between sound sources, a phenomenon known as spatial release from masking (SRM) which depends upon binaural cues. Results indicate that not only were objective IPD measures well correlated with and predictive of behavioral SRM measures in both experiments, but that they provided much stronger predictive value than age or hearing loss. Overall, the present work shows that objective measures of the encoding of interaural phase information can be readily obtained using commonly available AEP equipment, allowing accurate determination of the degree to which binaural sensitivity has been reduced in individual listeners due to aging and/or hearing loss. In fact, objective AEP measures of interaural phase encoding are actually better predictors of SRM in speech-in-speech conditions than are age, hearing loss, or the combination of age and hearing loss. PMID:28377706

Cortical Measures of Binaural Processing Predict Spatial Release from Masking Performance.

PubMed

Papesh, Melissa A; Folmer, Robert L; Gallun, Frederick J

2017-01-01

Binaural sensitivity is an important contributor to the ability to understand speech in adverse acoustical environments such as restaurants and other social gatherings. The ability to accurately report on binaural percepts is not commonly measured, however, as extensive training is required before reliable measures can be obtained. Here, we investigated the use of auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) as a rapid physiological indicator of detection of interaural phase differences (IPDs) by assessing cortical responses to 180° IPDs embedded in amplitude-modulated carrier tones. We predicted that decrements in encoding of IPDs would be evident in middle age, with further declines found with advancing age and hearing loss. Thus, participants in experiment #1 were young to middle-aged adults with relatively good hearing thresholds while participants in experiment #2 were older individuals with typical age-related hearing loss. Results revealed that while many of the participants in experiment #1 could encode IPDs in stimuli up to 1,000 Hz, few of the participants in experiment #2 had discernable responses to stimuli above 750 Hz. These results are consistent with previous studies that have found that aging and hearing loss impose frequency limits on the ability to encode interaural phase information present in the fine structure of auditory stimuli. We further hypothesized that AEP measures of binaural sensitivity would be predictive of participants' ability to benefit from spatial separation between sound sources, a phenomenon known as spatial release from masking (SRM) which depends upon binaural cues. Results indicate that not only were objective IPD measures well correlated with and predictive of behavioral SRM measures in both experiments, but that they provided much stronger predictive value than age or hearing loss. Overall, the present work shows that objective measures of the encoding of interaural phase information can be readily obtained using commonly available AEP equipment, allowing accurate determination of the degree to which binaural sensitivity has been reduced in individual listeners due to aging and/or hearing loss. In fact, objective AEP measures of interaural phase encoding are actually better predictors of SRM in speech-in-speech conditions than are age, hearing loss, or the combination of age and hearing loss.

Binaural Release from Masking for a Speech Sound in Infants, Preschoolers, and Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nozza, Robert J.

1988-01-01

Binaural masked thresholds for a speech sound (/ba/) were estimated under two interaural phase conditions in three age groups (infants, preschoolers, adults). Differences as a function of both age and condition and effects of reducing intensity for adults were significant in indicating possible developmental binaural hearing changes, especially…

Interaural level differences do not suffice for restoring spatial release from masking in simulated cochlear implant listening.

PubMed

Ihlefeld, Antje; Litovsky, Ruth Y

2012-01-01

Spatial release from masking refers to a benefit for speech understanding. It occurs when a target talker and a masker talker are spatially separated. In those cases, speech intelligibility for target speech is typically higher than when both talkers are at the same location. In cochlear implant listeners, spatial release from masking is much reduced or absent compared with normal hearing listeners. Perhaps this reduced spatial release occurs because cochlear implant listeners cannot effectively attend to spatial cues. Three experiments examined factors that may interfere with deploying spatial attention to a target talker masked by another talker. To simulate cochlear implant listening, stimuli were vocoded with two unique features. First, we used 50-Hz low-pass filtered speech envelopes and noise carriers, strongly reducing the possibility of temporal pitch cues; second, co-modulation was imposed on target and masker utterances to enhance perceptual fusion between the two sources. Stimuli were presented over headphones. Experiments 1 and 2 presented high-fidelity spatial cues with unprocessed and vocoded speech. Experiment 3 maintained faithful long-term average interaural level differences but presented scrambled interaural time differences with vocoded speech. Results show a robust spatial release from masking in Experiments 1 and 2, and a greatly reduced spatial release in Experiment 3. Faithful long-term average interaural level differences were insufficient for producing spatial release from masking. This suggests that appropriate interaural time differences are necessary for restoring spatial release from masking, at least for a situation where there are few viable alternative segregation cues.

Tympanometric findings in superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome.

PubMed

Castellucci, A; Brandolini, C; Piras, G; Modugno, G C

2013-04-01

The diagnostic role of audio-impedancemetry in superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD) disease is well known. In particular, since the first reports, the presence of evoked acoustic reflexes has represented a determining instrumental exhibit in differential diagnosis with other middle ear pathologies that are responsible for a mild-low frequencies air-bone gap (ABG). Even though high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) completed by parasagittal reformatted images still represents the diagnostic gold standard, several instrumental tests can support a suspect of labyrinthine capsule dehiscence when "suggestive" symptoms occur. Objective and subjective audiometry often represents the starting point of the diagnostic course aimed at investigating the cause responsible for the so-called "intra-labyrinthine conductive hearing loss". The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of tympanometry, in particular of the inter-aural asymmetry ratio in peak compliance as a function of different mild-low frequencies ABG on the affected side, in the diagnostic work-up in patients with unilateral SSCD. The working hypothesis is that an increase in admittance of the "inner-middle ear" conduction system due to a "third mobile window" could be detected by tympanometry. A retrospective review of the clinical records of 45 patients with unilateral dehiscence selected from a pool of 140 subjects diagnosed with SSCD at our institution from 2003 to 2011 was performed. Values of ABG amplitude on the dehiscent side and tympanometric measurements of both ears were collected for each patient in the study group (n = 45). An asymmetry between tympanometric peak compliance of the involved side and that of the contralateral side was investigated by calculating the inter-aural difference and the asymmetry ratio of compliance at the eardrum. A statistically significant correlation (p = 0.015 by Fisher's test) between an asymmetry ratio ≥ 14% in favour of the pathologic ear and an ABG > 20 dB nHL on the same side was found. When "evocative" symptoms of SSCD associated with important ABG occur, the inter-aural difference in tympanometric peak compliance at the eardrum in favour of the "suspected" side could suggest an intra-labyrinthine origin for the asymmetry. Tympanometry would thus prove to be a useful instrument in clinical-instrumental diagnosis of SSCD in detection of cases associated with alterations of inner ear impedance.

Interaural delay sensitivity and the classification of low best-frequency binaural responses in the inferior colliculus of the guinea pig.

PubMed

McAlpine, D; Jiang, D; Palmer, A R

1996-08-01

Monaural and binaural response properties of single units in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the guinea pig were investigated. Neurones were classified according to the effect of monaural stimulation of either ear alone and the effect of binaural stimulation. The majority (309/334) of IC units were excited (E) by stimulation of the contralateral ear, of which 41% (127/309) were also excited by monaural ipsilateral stimulation (EE), and the remainder (182/309) were unresponsive to monaural ipsilateral stimulation (EO). For units with best frequencies (BF) up to 3 kHz, similar proportions of EE and EO units were observed. Above 3 kHz, however, significantly more EO than EE units were observed. Units were also classified as either facilitated (F), suppressed (S), or unaffected (O) by binaural stimulation. More EO than EE units were suppressed or unaffected by binaural stimulation, and more EE than EO units were facilitated. There were more EO/S units above 1.5 kHz than below. Binaural beats were used to examine the interaural delay sensitivity of low-BF (BF < 1.5 kHz) units. The distributions of preferred interaural phases and, by extension, interaural delays, resembled those seen in other species, and those obtained using static interaural delays in the IC of the guinea pig. Units with best phase (BP) angles closer to zero generally showed binaural facilitation, whilst those with larger BPs generally showed binaural suppression. The classification of units based upon binaural stimulation with BF tones was consistent with their interaural-delay sensitivity. Characteristic delays (CD) were examined for 96 low-BF units. A clear relationship between BF and CD was observed. CDs of units with very low BFs (< 200 Hz) were long and positive, becoming progressively shorter as BF increased until, for units with BFs between 400 and 800 Hz, the majority of CDs were negative. Above 800 Hz, both positive and negative CDs were observed. A relationship between CD and characteristic phase (CP) was also observed, with CPs increasing in value as CDs became more negative. These results demonstrate that binaural processing in the guinea pig at low frequencies is similar to that reported in all other species studied. However, the dependence of CD on BF would suggest that the delay line system that sets up the interaural-delay sensitivity in the lower brainstem varies across frequency as well as within each frequency band.

Spatial cue reliability drives frequency tuning in the barn Owl's midbrain

PubMed Central

Cazettes, Fanny; Fischer, Brian J; Pena, Jose L

2014-01-01

The robust representation of the environment from unreliable sensory cues is vital for the efficient function of the brain. However, how the neural processing captures the most reliable cues is unknown. The interaural time difference (ITD) is the primary cue to localize sound in horizontal space. ITD is encoded in the firing rate of neurons that detect interaural phase difference (IPD). Due to the filtering effect of the head, IPD for a given location varies depending on the environmental context. We found that, in barn owls, at each location there is a frequency range where the head filtering yields the most reliable IPDs across contexts. Remarkably, the frequency tuning of space-specific neurons in the owl's midbrain varies with their preferred sound location, matching the range that carries the most reliable IPD. Thus, frequency tuning in the owl's space-specific neurons reflects a higher-order feature of the code that captures cue reliability. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04854.001 PMID:25531067

Principal cells of the brainstem's interaural sound level detector are temporal differentiators rather than integrators.

PubMed

Franken, Tom P; Joris, Philip X; Smith, Philip H

2018-06-14

The brainstem's lateral superior olive (LSO) is thought to be crucial for localizing high-frequency sounds by coding interaural sound level differences (ILD). Its neurons weigh contralateral inhibition against ipsilateral excitation, making their firing rate a function of the azimuthal position of a sound source. Since the very first in vivo recordings, LSO principal neurons have been reported to give sustained and temporally integrating 'chopper' responses to sustained sounds. Neurons with transient responses were observed but largely ignored and even considered a sign of pathology. Using the Mongolian gerbil as a model system, we have obtained the first in vivo patch clamp recordings from labeled LSO neurons and find that principal LSO neurons, the most numerous projection neurons of this nucleus, only respond at sound onset and show fast membrane features suggesting an importance for timing. These results provide a new framework to interpret previously puzzling features of this circuit. © 2018, Franken et al.

The use of dwell time cross-correlation functions to study single-ion channel gating kinetics.

PubMed Central

Ball, F G; Kerry, C J; Ramsey, R L; Sansom, M S; Usherwood, P N

1988-01-01

The derivation of cross-correlation functions from single-channel dwell (open and closed) times is described. Simulation of single-channel data for simple gating models, alongside theoretical treatment, is used to demonstrate the relationship of cross-correlation functions to underlying gating mechanisms. It is shown that time irreversibility of gating kinetics may be revealed in cross-correlation functions. Application of cross-correlation function analysis to data derived from the locust muscle glutamate receptor-channel provides evidence for multiple gateway states and time reversibility of gating. A model for the gating of this channel is used to show the effect of omission of brief channel events on cross-correlation functions. PMID:2462924

An Auditory Illusion of Proximity of the Source Induced by Sonic Crystals

PubMed Central

Spiousas, Ignacio; Etchemendy, Pablo E.; Vergara, Ramiro O.; Calcagno, Esteban R.; Eguia, Manuel C.

2015-01-01

In this work we report an illusion of proximity of a sound source created by a sonic crystal placed between the source and a listener. This effect seems, at first, paradoxical to naïve listeners since the sonic crystal is an obstacle formed by almost densely packed cylindrical scatterers. Even when the singular acoustical properties of these periodic composite materials have been studied extensively (including band gaps, deaf bands, negative refraction, and birrefringence), the possible perceptual effects remain unexplored. The illusion reported here is studied through acoustical measurements and a psychophysical experiment. The results of the acoustical measurements showed that, for a certain frequency range and region in space where the focusing phenomenon takes place, the sonic crystal induces substantial increases in binaural intensity, direct-to-reverberant energy ratio and interaural cross-correlation values, all cues involved in the auditory perception of distance. Consistently, the results of the psychophysical experiment revealed that the presence of the sonic crystal between the sound source and the listener produces a significant reduction of the perceived relative distance to the sound source. PMID:26222281

Effects of sound source location and direction on acoustic parameters in Japanese churches.

PubMed

Soeta, Yoshiharu; Ito, Ken; Shimokura, Ryota; Sato, Shin-ichi; Ohsawa, Tomohiro; Ando, Yoichi

2012-02-01

In 1965, the Catholic Church liturgy changed to allow priests to face the congregation. Whereas Church tradition, teaching, and participation have been much discussed with respect to priest orientation at Mass, the acoustical changes in this regard have not yet been examined scientifically. To discuss acoustic desired within churches, it is necessary to know the acoustical characteristics appropriate for each phase of the liturgy. In this study, acoustic measurements were taken at various source locations and directions using both old and new liturgies performed in Japanese churches. A directional loudspeaker was used as the source to provide vocal and organ acoustic fields, and impulse responses were measured. Various acoustical parameters such as reverberation time and early decay time were analyzed. The speech transmission index was higher for the new Catholic liturgy, suggesting that the change in liturgy has improved speech intelligibility. Moreover, the interaural cross-correlation coefficient and early lateral energy fraction were higher and lower, respectively, suggesting that the change in liturgy has made the apparent source width smaller. © 2012 Acoustical Society of America

An Auditory Illusion of Proximity of the Source Induced by Sonic Crystals.

PubMed

Spiousas, Ignacio; Etchemendy, Pablo E; Vergara, Ramiro O; Calcagno, Esteban R; Eguia, Manuel C

2015-01-01

In this work we report an illusion of proximity of a sound source created by a sonic crystal placed between the source and a listener. This effect seems, at first, paradoxical to naïve listeners since the sonic crystal is an obstacle formed by almost densely packed cylindrical scatterers. Even when the singular acoustical properties of these periodic composite materials have been studied extensively (including band gaps, deaf bands, negative refraction, and birrefringence), the possible perceptual effects remain unexplored. The illusion reported here is studied through acoustical measurements and a psychophysical experiment. The results of the acoustical measurements showed that, for a certain frequency range and region in space where the focusing phenomenon takes place, the sonic crystal induces substantial increases in binaural intensity, direct-to-reverberant energy ratio and interaural cross-correlation values, all cues involved in the auditory perception of distance. Consistently, the results of the psychophysical experiment revealed that the presence of the sonic crystal between the sound source and the listener produces a significant reduction of the perceived relative distance to the sound source.

On the temporal window of auditory-brain system in connection with subjective responses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mouri, Kiminori

2003-08-01

The human auditory-brain system processes information extracted from autocorrelation function (ACF) of the source signal and interaural cross correlation function (IACF) of binaural sound signals which are associated with the left and right cerebral hemispheres, respectively. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the desirable temporal window (2T: integration interval) for ACF and IACF mechanisms. For the ACF mechanism, the visual change of Φ(0), i.e., the power of ACF, was associated with the change of loudness, and it is shown that the recommended temporal window is given as about 30(τe)min [s]. The value of (τe)min is the minimum value of effective duration of the running ACF of the source signal. It is worth noticing from the experiment of EEG that the most preferred delay time of the first reflection sound is determined by the piece indicating (τe)min in the source signal. For the IACF mechanism, the temporal window is determined as below: The measured range of τIACC corresponding to subjective angle for the moving image sound depends on the temporal window. Here, the moving image was simulated by the use of two loudspeakers located at +/-20° in the horizontal plane, reproducing amplitude modulated band-limited noise alternatively. It is found that the temporal window has a wide range of values from 0.03 to 1 [s] for the modulation frequency below 0.2 Hz. Thesis advisor: Yoichi Ando Copies of this thesis written in English can be obtained from Kiminori Mouri, 5-3-3-1110 Harayama-dai, Sakai city, Osaka 590-0132, Japan. E-mail address: km529756@aol.com

Using ILD or ITD Cues for Sound Source Localization and Speech Understanding in a Complex Listening Environment by Listeners with Bilateral and with Hearing-Preservation Cochlear Implants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loiselle, Louise H.; Dorman, Michael F.; Yost, William A.; Cook, Sarah J.; Gifford, Rene H.

2016-01-01

Purpose: To assess the role of interaural time differences and interaural level differences in (a) sound-source localization, and (b) speech understanding in a cocktail party listening environment for listeners with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) and for listeners with hearing-preservation CIs. Methods: Eleven bilateral listeners with MED-EL…

The sensitivity of hearing-impaired adults to acoustic attributes in simulated rooms

PubMed Central

Whitmer, William M.; McShefferty, David; Akeroyd, Michael A.

2016-01-01

In previous studies we have shown that older hearing-impaired individuals are relatively insensitive to changes in the apparent width of broadband noises when those width changes were based on differences in interaural coherence [W. Whitmer, B. Seeber and M. Akeroyd, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132, 369-379 (2012)]. This insensitivity has been linked to senescent difficulties in resolving binaural fine-structure differences. It is therefore possible that interaural coherence, despite its widespread use, may not be the best acoustic surrogate of spatial perception for the aged and impaired. To test this, we simulated the room impulse responses for various acoustic scenarios with differing coherence and lateral (energy) fraction attributes using room modelling software (ODEON). Bilaterally impaired adult participants were asked to sketch the perceived size of speech tokens and musical excerpts that were convolved with these impulse responses and presented to them in a sound-dampened enclosure through a 24-loudspeaker array. Participants’ binaural acuity was also measured using an interaural phase discrimination task. Corroborating our previous findings, the results showed less sensitivity to interaural coherence in the auditory source width judgments of older hearing-impaired individuals, indicating that alternate acoustic measurements in the design of spaces for the elderly may be necessary. PMID:27213028

Anatomical limits on interaural time differences: an ecological perspective

PubMed Central

Hartmann, William M.; Macaulay, Eric J.

2013-01-01

Human listeners, and other animals too, use interaural time differences (ITD) to localize sounds. If the sounds are pure tones, a simple frequency factor relates the ITD to the interaural phase difference (IPD), for which there are known iso-IPD boundaries, 90°, 180°… defining regions of spatial perception. In this article, iso-IPD boundaries for humans are translated into azimuths using a spherical head model (SHM), and the calculations are checked by free-field measurements. The translated boundaries provide quantitative tests of an ecological interpretation for the dramatic onset of ITD insensitivity at high frequencies. According to this interpretation, the insensitivity serves as a defense against misinformation and can be attributed to limits on binaural processing in the brainstem. Calculations show that the ecological explanation passes the tests only if the binaural brainstem properties evolved or developed consistent with heads that are 50% smaller than current adult heads. Measurements on more realistic head shapes relax that requirement only slightly. The problem posed by the discrepancy between the current head size and a smaller, ideal head size was apparently solved by the evolution or development of central processes that discount large IPDs in favor of interaural level differences. The latter become more important with increasing head size. PMID:24592209

The sensitivity of hearing-impaired adults to acoustic attributes in simulated rooms.

PubMed

Whitmer, William M; McShefferty, David; Akeroyd, Michael A

2013-06-02

In previous studies we have shown that older hearing-impaired individuals are relatively insensitive to changes in the apparent width of broadband noises when those width changes were based on differences in interaural coherence [W. Whitmer, B. Seeber and M. Akeroyd, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132, 369-379 (2012)]. This insensitivity has been linked to senescent difficulties in resolving binaural fine-structure differences. It is therefore possible that interaural coherence, despite its widespread use, may not be the best acoustic surrogate of spatial perception for the aged and impaired. To test this, we simulated the room impulse responses for various acoustic scenarios with differing coherence and lateral (energy) fraction attributes using room modelling software (ODEON). Bilaterally impaired adult participants were asked to sketch the perceived size of speech tokens and musical excerpts that were convolved with these impulse responses and presented to them in a sound-dampened enclosure through a 24-loudspeaker array. Participants' binaural acuity was also measured using an interaural phase discrimination task. Corroborating our previous findings, the results showed less sensitivity to interaural coherence in the auditory source width judgments of older hearing-impaired individuals, indicating that alternate acoustic measurements in the design of spaces for the elderly may be necessary.

Hearing in three dimensions: Sound localization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wightman, Frederic L.; Kistler, Doris J.

1990-01-01

The ability to localize a source of sound in space is a fundamental component of the three dimensional character of the sound of audio. For over a century scientists have been trying to understand the physical and psychological processes and physiological mechanisms that subserve sound localization. This research has shown that important information about sound source position is provided by interaural differences in time of arrival, interaural differences in intensity and direction-dependent filtering provided by the pinnae. Progress has been slow, primarily because experiments on localization are technically demanding. Control of stimulus parameters and quantification of the subjective experience are quite difficult problems. Recent advances, such as the ability to simulate a three dimensional sound field over headphones, seem to offer potential for rapid progress. Research using the new techniques has already produced new information. It now seems that interaural time differences are a much more salient and dominant localization cue than previously believed.

Monaural and binaural response properties of neurons in the inferior colliculus of the rabbit: effects of sodium pentobarbital.

PubMed

Kuwada, S; Batra, R; Stanford, T R

1989-02-01

1. We studied the effects of sodium pentobarbital on 22 neurons in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the rabbit. We recorded changes in the sensitivity of these neurons to monaural stimulation and to ongoing interaural time differences (ITDs). Monaural stimuli were tone bursts at or near the neuron's best frequency. The ITD was varied by delivering tones that differed by 1 Hz to the two ears, resulting in a 1-Hz binaural beat. 2. We assessed a neuron's ITD sensitivity by calculating three measures from the responses to binaural beats: composite delay, characteristic delay (CD), and characteristic phase (CP). To obtain the composite delay, we first derived period histograms by averaging, showing the response at each stimulating frequency over one period of the beat frequency. Second, the period histograms were replotted as a function of their equivalent interaural delay and then averaged together to yield the composite delay curve. Last, we calculated the composite peak or trough delay by fitting a parabola to the peak or trough of this composite curve. The composite delay curve represents the average response to all frequencies within the neuron's responsive range, and the peak reflects the interaural delay that produces the maximum response. The CD and CP were estimated from a weighted fit of a regression line to the plot of the mean interaural phase of the response versus the stimulating frequency. The slope and phase intercept of this regression line yielded estimates of CD and CP, respectively. These two quantities are thought to reflect the mechanism of ITD sensitivity, which involves the convergence of phase-locked inputs on a binaural cell. The CD estimates the difference in the time required for the two inputs to travel from either ear to this cell, whereas the CP reflects the interaural phase difference of the inputs at this cell. 3. Injections of sodium pentobarbital at subsurgical dosages (less than 25 mg/kg) almost invariably altered the neuron's response rate, response latency, response pattern, and spontaneous activity. Most of these changes were predictable and consistent with an enhancement of inhibitory influences. For example, if the earliest response was inhibitory, later excitation was usually reduced and latency increased. If the earliest response was excitatory, the level of this excitation was unaltered or slightly enhanced, and changes in latency were minimal. 4. The neuron's response pattern also changed in a predictable way. For example, a response with an inhibitory pause could either change to a response with a longer pause or to a response with an onset only.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The effect of device use after sequential bilateral cochlear implantation in children: An electrophysiological approach.

PubMed

Sparreboom, Marloes; Beynon, Andy J; Snik, Ad F M; Mylanus, Emmanuel A M

2016-07-01

In many studies evaluating the effect of sequential bilateral cochlear implantation in congenitally deaf children, device use is not taken into account. In this study, however, device use was analyzed in relation to auditory brainstem maturation and speech recognition, which were measured in children with early-onset deafness, 5-6 years after bilateral cochlear implantation. We hypothesized that auditory brainstem maturation is mostly functionally driven by auditory stimulation and is therefore influenced by device use and not mainly by inter-implant delay. Twenty-one children participated and had inter-implant delays between 1.2 and 7.2 years. The electrically-evoked auditory brainstem response was measured for both implants separately. The difference in interaural wave V latency and speech recognition between both implants were used in the analyses. Device use was measured with a Likert scale. Results showed that the less the second device is used, the larger the difference in interaural wave V latencies is, which consequently leads to larger differences in interaural speech recognition. In children with early-onset deafness, after various periods of unilateral deprivation, full-time device use can lead to similar auditory brainstem responses and speech recognition between both ears. Therefore, device use should be considered as a relevant factor contributing to outcomes after sequential bilateral cochlear implantation. These results are indicative for a longer window between implantations in children with early-onset deafness to obtain symmetrical auditory pathway maturation than is mentioned in the literature. Results, however, must be interpreted as preliminary findings as actual device use with data logging was not yet available at the time of the study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrophysiological and psychophysical asymmetries in sensitivity to interaural correlation gaps and implications for binaural integration time.

PubMed

Lüddemann, Helge; Kollmeier, Birger; Riedel, Helmut

2016-02-01

Brief deviations of interaural correlation (IAC) can provide valuable cues for detection, segregation and localization of acoustic signals. This study investigated the processing of such "binaural gaps" in continuously running noise (100-2000 Hz), in comparison to silent "monaural gaps", by measuring late auditory evoked potentials (LAEPs) and perceptual thresholds with novel, iteratively optimized stimuli. Mean perceptual binaural gap duration thresholds exhibited a major asymmetry: they were substantially shorter for uncorrelated gaps in correlated and anticorrelated reference noise (1.75 ms and 4.1 ms) than for correlated and anticorrelated gaps in uncorrelated reference noise (26.5 ms and 39.0 ms). The thresholds also showed a minor asymmetry: they were shorter in the positive than in the negative IAC range. The mean behavioral threshold for monaural gaps was 5.5 ms. For all five gap types, the amplitude of LAEP components N1 and P2 increased linearly with the logarithm of gap duration. While perceptual and electrophysiological thresholds matched for monaural gaps, LAEP thresholds were about twice as long as perceptual thresholds for uncorrelated gaps, but half as long for correlated and anticorrelated gaps. Nevertheless, LAEP thresholds showed the same asymmetries as perceptual thresholds. For gap durations below 30 ms, LAEPs were dominated by the processing of the leading edge of a gap. For longer gap durations, in contrast, both the leading and the lagging edge of a gap contributed to the evoked response. Formulae for the equivalent rectangular duration (ERD) of the binaural system's temporal window were derived for three common window shapes. The psychophysical ERD was 68 ms for diotic and about 40 ms for anti- and uncorrelated noise. After a nonlinear Z-transform of the stimulus IAC prior to temporal integration, ERDs were about 10 ms for reference correlations of ±1 and 80 ms for uncorrelated reference. Hence, a physiologically motivated peripheral nonlinearity changed the rank order of ERDs across experimental conditions in a plausible manner. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interaural Level Difference Dependent Gain Control and Synaptic Scaling Underlying Binaural Computation

PubMed Central

Xiong, Xiaorui R.; Liang, Feixue; Li, Haifu; Mesik, Lukas; Zhang, Ke K.; Polley, Daniel B.; Tao, Huizhong W.; Xiao, Zhongju; Zhang, Li I.

2013-01-01

Binaural integration in the central nucleus of inferior colliculus (ICC) plays a critical role in sound localization. However, its arithmetic nature and underlying synaptic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we showed in mouse ICC neurons that the contralateral dominance is created by a “push-pull”-like mechanism, with contralaterally dominant excitation and more bilaterally balanced inhibition. Importantly, binaural spiking response is generated apparently from an ipsilaterally-mediated scaling of contralateral response, leaving frequency tuning unchanged. This scaling effect is attributed to a divisive attenuation of contralaterally-evoked synaptic excitation onto ICC neurons with their inhibition largely unaffected. Thus, a gain control mediates the linear transformation from monaural to binaural spike responses. The gain value is modulated by interaural level difference (ILD) primarily through scaling excitation to different levels. The ILD-dependent synaptic scaling and gain adjustment allow ICC neurons to dynamically encode interaural sound localization cues while maintaining an invariant representation of other independent sound attributes. PMID:23972599

PyCCF: Python Cross Correlation Function for reverberation mapping studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Mouyuan; Grier, C. J.; Peterson, B. M.

2018-05-01

PyCCF emulates a Fortran program written by B. Peterson for use with reverberation mapping. The code cross correlates two light curves that are unevenly sampled using linear interpolation and measures the peak and centroid of the cross-correlation function. In addition, it is possible to run Monto Carlo iterations using flux randomization and random subset selection (RSS) to produce cross-correlation centroid distributions to estimate the uncertainties in the cross correlation results.

A Binaural CI Research Platform for Oticon Medical SP/XP Implants Enabling ITD/ILD and Variable Rate Processing

PubMed Central

Adiloğlu, K.; Herzke, T.

2015-01-01

We present the first portable, binaural, real-time research platform compatible with Oticon Medical SP and XP generation cochlear implants. The platform consists of (a) a pair of behind-the-ear devices, each containing front and rear calibrated microphones, (b) a four-channel USB analog-to-digital converter, (c) real-time PC-based sound processing software called the Master Hearing Aid, and (d) USB-connected hardware and output coils capable of driving two implants simultaneously. The platform is capable of processing signals from the four microphones simultaneously and producing synchronized binaural cochlear implant outputs that drive two (bilaterally implanted) SP or XP implants. Both audio signal preprocessing algorithms (such as binaural beamforming) and novel binaural stimulation strategies (within the implant limitations) can be programmed by researchers. When the whole research platform is combined with Oticon Medical SP implants, interaural electrode timing can be controlled on individual electrodes to within ±1 µs and interaural electrode energy differences can be controlled to within ±2%. Hence, this new platform is particularly well suited to performing experiments related to interaural time differences in combination with interaural level differences in real-time. The platform also supports instantaneously variable stimulation rates and thereby enables investigations such as the effect of changing the stimulation rate on pitch perception. Because the processing can be changed on the fly, researchers can use this platform to study perceptual changes resulting from different processing strategies acutely. PMID:26721923

A Binaural CI Research Platform for Oticon Medical SP/XP Implants Enabling ITD/ILD and Variable Rate Processing.

PubMed

Backus, B; Adiloğlu, K; Herzke, T

2015-12-30

We present the first portable, binaural, real-time research platform compatible with Oticon Medical SP and XP generation cochlear implants. The platform consists of (a) a pair of behind-the-ear devices, each containing front and rear calibrated microphones, (b) a four-channel USB analog-to-digital converter, (c) real-time PC-based sound processing software called the Master Hearing Aid, and (d) USB-connected hardware and output coils capable of driving two implants simultaneously. The platform is capable of processing signals from the four microphones simultaneously and producing synchronized binaural cochlear implant outputs that drive two (bilaterally implanted) SP or XP implants. Both audio signal preprocessing algorithms (such as binaural beamforming) and novel binaural stimulation strategies (within the implant limitations) can be programmed by researchers. When the whole research platform is combined with Oticon Medical SP implants, interaural electrode timing can be controlled on individual electrodes to within ±1 µs and interaural electrode energy differences can be controlled to within ±2%. Hence, this new platform is particularly well suited to performing experiments related to interaural time differences in combination with interaural level differences in real-time. The platform also supports instantaneously variable stimulation rates and thereby enables investigations such as the effect of changing the stimulation rate on pitch perception. Because the processing can be changed on the fly, researchers can use this platform to study perceptual changes resulting from different processing strategies acutely. © The Author(s) 2015.

Characteristics of stereo reproduction with parametric loudspeakers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoki, Shigeaki; Toba, Masayoshi; Tsujita, Norihisa

2012-05-01

A parametric loudspeaker utilizes nonlinearity of a medium and is known as a super-directivity loudspeaker. The parametric loudspeaker is one of the prominent applications of nonlinear ultrasonics. So far, the applications have been limited monaural reproduction sound system for public address in museum, station and street etc. In this paper, we discussed characteristics of stereo reproduction with two parametric loudspeakers by comparing with those with two ordinary dynamic loudspeakers. In subjective tests, three typical listening positions were selected to investigate the possibility of correct sound localization in a wide listening area. The binaural information was ILD (Interaural Level Difference) or ITD (Interaural Time Delay). The parametric loudspeaker was an equilateral hexagon. The inner and outer diameters were 99 and 112 mm, respectively. Signals were 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 4 kHz pure tones and pink noise. Three young males listened to test signals 10 times in each listening condition. Subjective test results showed that listeners at the three typical listening positions perceived correct sound localization of all signals using the parametric loudspeakers. It was almost similar to those using the ordinary dynamic loudspeakers, however, except for the case of sinusoidal waves with ITD. It was determined the parametric loudspeaker could exclude the contradiction between the binaural information ILD and ITD that occurred in stereo reproduction with ordinary dynamic loudspeakers because the super directivity of parametric loudspeaker suppressed the cross talk components.

Spatial orientation of optokinetic nystagmus and ocular pursuit during orbital space flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Steven T.; Cohen, Bernard; Raphan, Theodore; Berthoz, Alain; Clement, Gilles

2005-01-01

On Earth, eye velocity of horizontal optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) orients to gravito-inertial acceleration (GIA), the sum of linear accelerations acting on the head and body. We determined whether adaptation to micro-gravity altered this orientation and whether ocular pursuit exhibited similar properties. Eye movements of four astronauts were recorded with three-dimensional video-oculography. Optokinetic stimuli were stripes moving horizontally, vertically, and obliquely at 30 degrees/s. Ocular pursuit was produced by a spot moving horizontally or vertically at 20 degrees/s. Subjects were either stationary or were centrifuged during OKN with 1 or 0.5 g of interaural or dorsoventral centripetal linear acceleration. Average eye position during OKN (the beating field) moved into the quick-phase direction by 10 degrees during lateral and upward field movement in all conditions. The beating field did not shift up during downward OKN on Earth, but there was a strong upward movement of the beating field (9 degrees) during downward OKN in the absence of gravity; this likely represents an adaptation to the lack of a vertical 1-g bias in-flight. The horizontal OKN velocity axis tilted 9 degrees in the roll plane toward the GIA during interaural centrifugation, both on Earth and in space. During oblique OKN, the velocity vector tilted towards the GIA in the roll plane when there was a disparity between the direction of stripe motion and the GIA, but not when the two were aligned. In contrast, dorsoventral acceleration tilted the horizontal OKN velocity vector 6 degrees in pitch away from the GIA. Roll tilts of the horizontal OKN velocity vector toward the GIA during interaural centrifugation are consistent with the orientation properties of velocity storage, but pitch tilts away from the GIA when centrifuged while supine are not. We speculate that visual suppression during OKN may have caused the velocity vector to tilt away from the GIA during dorsoventral centrifugation. Vertical OKN and ocular pursuit did not exhibit orientation toward the GIA in any condition. Static full-body roll tilts and centrifugation generating an equivalent interaural acceleration produced the same tilts in the horizontal OKN velocity before and after flight. Thus, the magnitude of tilt in OKN velocity was dependent on the magnitude of interaural linear acceleration, rather than the tilt of the GIA with regard to the head. These results favor a 'filter' model of spatial orientation in which orienting eye movements are proportional to the magnitude of low frequency interaural linear acceleration, rather than models that postulate an internal representation of gravity as the basis for spatial orientation.

Individual Differences Reveal Correlates of Hidden Hearing Deficits

PubMed Central

Masud, Salwa; Mehraei, Golbarg; Verhulst, Sarah; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G.

2015-01-01

Clinical audiometry has long focused on determining the detection thresholds for pure tones, which depend on intact cochlear mechanics and hair cell function. Yet many listeners with normal hearing thresholds complain of communication difficulties, and the causes for such problems are not well understood. Here, we explore whether normal-hearing listeners exhibit such suprathreshold deficits, affecting the fidelity with which subcortical areas encode the temporal structure of clearly audible sound. Using an array of measures, we evaluated a cohort of young adults with thresholds in the normal range to assess both cochlear mechanical function and temporal coding of suprathreshold sounds. Listeners differed widely in both electrophysiological and behavioral measures of temporal coding fidelity. These measures correlated significantly with each other. Conversely, these differences were unrelated to the modest variation in otoacoustic emissions, cochlear tuning, or the residual differences in hearing threshold present in our cohort. Electroencephalography revealed that listeners with poor subcortical encoding had poor cortical sensitivity to changes in interaural time differences, which are critical for localizing sound sources and analyzing complex scenes. These listeners also performed poorly when asked to direct selective attention to one of two competing speech streams, a task that mimics the challenges of many everyday listening environments. Together with previous animal and computational models, our results suggest that hidden hearing deficits, likely originating at the level of the cochlear nerve, are part of “normal hearing.” PMID:25653371

Binaural beats at high frequencies.

PubMed

McFadden, D; Pasanen, E G

1975-10-24

Binaural beats have long been believed to be audible only at low frequencies, but an interaction reminiscent of a binaural beat can sometimes be heard when different two-tone complexes of high frequency are presented to the two ears. The primary requirement is that the frequency separation in the complex at one ear be slightly different from that in the other--that is, that there be a small interaural difference in the envelope periodicities. This finding is in accord with other recent demonstrations that the auditory system is not deaf to interaural time differences at high frequencies.

Azimuthal sound localization in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris): I. Physical binaural cues.

PubMed

Klump, G M; Larsen, O N

1992-02-01

The physical measurements reported here test whether the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) evaluates the azimuth direction of a sound source with a peripheral auditory system composed of two acoustically coupled pressure-difference receivers (1) or of two decoupled pressure receivers (2). A directional pattern of sound intensity in the free-field was measured at the entrance of the auditory meatus using a probe microphone, and at the tympanum using laser vibrometry. The maximum differences in the sound-pressure level measured with the microphone between various speaker positions and the frontal speaker position were 2.4 dB at 1 and 2 kHz, 7.3 dB at 4 kHz, 9.2 dB at 6 kHz, and 10.9 dB at 8 kHz. The directional amplitude pattern measured by laser vibrometry did not differ from that measured with the microphone. Neither did the directional pattern of travel times to the ear. Measurements of the amplitude and phase transfer function of the starling's interaural pathway using a closed sound system were in accord with the results of the free-field measurements. In conclusion, although some sound transmission via the interaural canal occurred, the present experiments support the hypothesis 2 above that the starling's peripheral auditory system is best described as consisting of two functionally decoupled pressure receivers.

Spatio-temporal coordination among functional residues in protein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Sutapa; Ghosh, Mahua; Chakrabarti, J.

2017-01-01

The microscopic basis of communication among the functional sites in bio-macromolecules is a fundamental challenge in uncovering their functions. We study the communication through temporal cross-correlation among the binding sites. We illustrate via Molecular Dynamics simulations the properties of the temporal cross-correlation between the dihedrals of a small protein, ubiquitin which participates in protein degradation in eukaryotes. We show that the dihedral angles of the residues possess non-trivial temporal cross-correlations with asymmetry with respect to exchange of the dihedrals, having peaks at low frequencies with time scales in nano-seconds and an algebraic tail with a universal exponent for large frequencies. We show the existence of path for temporally correlated degrees of freedom among the functional residues. We explain the qualitative features of the cross-correlations through a general mathematical model. The generality of our analysis suggests that temporal cross-correlation functions may provide convenient theoretical framework to understand bio-molecular functions on microscopic basis.

Using Evoked Potentials to Match Interaural Electrode Pairs with Bilateral Cochlear Implants

PubMed Central

Delgutte, Bertrand

2007-01-01

Bilateral cochlear implantation seeks to restore the advantages of binaural hearing to the profoundly deaf by providing binaural cues normally important for accurate sound localization and speech reception in noise. Psychophysical observations suggest that a key issue for the implementation of a successful binaural prosthesis is the ability to match the cochlear positions of stimulation channels in each ear. We used a cat model of bilateral cochlear implants with eight-electrode arrays implanted in each cochlea to develop and test a noninvasive method based on evoked potentials for matching interaural electrodes. The arrays allowed the cochlear location of stimulation to be independently varied in each ear. The binaural interaction component (BIC) of the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR) was used as an assay of binaural processing. BIC amplitude peaked for interaural electrode pairs at the same relative cochlear position and dropped with increasing cochlear separation in either direction. To test the hypothesis that BIC amplitude peaks when electrodes from the two sides activate maximally overlapping neural populations, we measured multiunit neural activity along the tonotopic gradient of the inferior colliculus (IC) with 16-channel recording probes and determined the spatial pattern of IC activation for each stimulating electrode. We found that the interaural electrode pairings that produced the best aligned IC activation patterns were also those that yielded maximum BIC amplitude. These results suggest that EABR measurements may provide a method for assigning frequency–channel mappings in bilateral implant recipients, such as pediatric patients, for which psychophysical measures of pitch ranking or binaural fusion are unavailable. PMID:17225976

Using evoked potentials to match interaural electrode pairs with bilateral cochlear implants.

PubMed

Smith, Zachary M; Delgutte, Bertrand

2007-03-01

Bilateral cochlear implantation seeks to restore the advantages of binaural hearing to the profoundly deaf by providing binaural cues normally important for accurate sound localization and speech reception in noise. Psychophysical observations suggest that a key issue for the implementation of a successful binaural prosthesis is the ability to match the cochlear positions of stimulation channels in each ear. We used a cat model of bilateral cochlear implants with eight-electrode arrays implanted in each cochlea to develop and test a noninvasive method based on evoked potentials for matching interaural electrodes. The arrays allowed the cochlear location of stimulation to be independently varied in each ear. The binaural interaction component (BIC) of the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR) was used as an assay of binaural processing. BIC amplitude peaked for interaural electrode pairs at the same relative cochlear position and dropped with increasing cochlear separation in either direction. To test the hypothesis that BIC amplitude peaks when electrodes from the two sides activate maximally overlapping neural populations, we measured multiunit neural activity along the tonotopic gradient of the inferior colliculus (IC) with 16-channel recording probes and determined the spatial pattern of IC activation for each stimulating electrode. We found that the interaural electrode pairings that produced the best aligned IC activation patterns were also those that yielded maximum BIC amplitude. These results suggest that EABR measurements may provide a method for assigning frequency-channel mappings in bilateral implant recipients, such as pediatric patients, for which psychophysical measures of pitch ranking or binaural fusion are unavailable.

Bounds on the cross-correlation functions of state m-sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodcock, C. F.; Davies, Phillip A.; Shaar, Ahmed A.

1987-03-01

Lower and upper bounds on the peaks of the periodic Hamming cross-correlation function for state m-sequences, which are often used in frequency-hopped spread-spectrum systems, are derived. The state position mapped (SPM) sequences of the state m-sequences are described. The use of SPM sequences for OR-channel code division multiplexing is studied. The relation between the Hamming cross-correlation function and the correlation function of SPM sequence is examined. Numerical results which support the theoretical data are presented.

Observer weighting strategies in interaural time-difference discrimination and monaural level discrimination for a multi-tone complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dye, Raymond H.; Stellmack, Mark A.; Jurcin, Noah F.

2005-05-01

Two experiments measured listeners' abilities to weight information from different components in a complex of 553, 753, and 953 Hz. The goal was to determine whether or not the ability to adjust perceptual weights generalized across tasks. Weights were measured by binary logistic regression between stimulus values that were sampled from Gaussian distributions and listeners' responses. The first task was interaural time discrimination in which listeners judged the laterality of the target component. The second task was monaural level discrimination in which listeners indicated whether the level of the target component decreased or increased across two intervals. For both experiments, each of the three components served as the target. Ten listeners participated in both experiments. The results showed that those individuals who adjusted perceptual weights in the interaural time experiment could also do so in the monaural level discrimination task. The fact that the same individuals appeared to be analytic in both tasks is an indication that the weights measure the ability to attend to a particular region of the spectrum while ignoring other spectral regions. .

Localization of sound in rooms. V. Binaural coherence and human sensitivity to interaural time differences in noise

PubMed Central

Rakerd, Brad; Hartmann, William M.

2010-01-01

Binaural recordings of noise in rooms were used to determine the relationship between binaural coherence and the effectiveness of the interaural time difference (ITD) as a cue for human sound localization. Experiments showed a strong, monotonic relationship between the coherence and a listener’s ability to discriminate values of ITD. The relationship was found to be independent of other, widely varying acoustical properties of the rooms. However, the relationship varied dramatically with noise band center frequency. The ability to discriminate small ITD changes was greatest for a mid-frequency band. To achieve sensitivity comparable to mid-band, the binaural coherence had to be much larger at high frequency, where waveform ITD cues are imperceptible, and also at low frequency, where the binaural coherence in a room is necessarily large. Rivalry experiments with opposing interaural level differences (ILDs) found that the trading ratio between ITD and ILD increasingly favored the ILD as coherence decreased, suggesting that the perceptual weight of the ITD is decreased by increased reflections in rooms. PMID:21110600

Models of the electrically stimulated binaural system: A review.

PubMed

Dietz, Mathias

2016-01-01

In an increasing number of countries, the standard treatment for deaf individuals is moving toward the implantation of two cochlear implants. Today's device technology and fitting procedure, however, appears as if the two implants would serve two independent ears and brains. Many experimental studies have demonstrated that after careful matching and balancing of left and right stimulation in controlled laboratory studies most patients have almost normal sensitivity to interaural level differences and some sensitivity to interaural time differences (ITDs). Mechanisms underlying the limited ITD sensitivity are still poorly understood and many different aspects may contribute. Recent pioneering computational approaches identified some of the functional implications the electric input imposes on the neural brainstem circuits. Simultaneously these studies have raised new questions and certainly demonstrated that further refinement of the model stages is necessary. They join the experimental study's conclusions that binaural device technology, binaural fitting, specific speech coding strategies, and binaural signal processing algorithms are obviously missing components to maximize the benefit of bilateral implantation. Within this review, the existing models of the electrically stimulated binaural system are explained, compared, and discussed from a viewpoint of a "CI device with auditory system" and from that of neurophysiological research.

The acoustical bright spot and mislocalization of tones by human listeners.

PubMed

Macaulay, Eric J; Hartmann, William M; Rakerd, Brad

2010-03-01

Listeners attempted to localize 1500-Hz sine tones presented in free field from a loudspeaker array, spanning azimuths from 0 degrees (straight ahead) to 90 degrees (extreme right). During this task, the tone levels and phases were measured in the listeners' ear canals. Because of the acoustical bright spot, measured interaural level differences (ILD) were non-monotonic functions of azimuth with a maximum near 55 degrees . In a source-identification task, listeners' localization decisions closely tracked the non-monotonic ILD, and thus became inaccurate at large azimuths. When listeners received training and feedback, their accuracy improved only slightly. In an azimuth-discrimination task, listeners decided whether a first sound was to the left or to the right of a second. The discrimination results also reflected the confusion caused by the non-monotonic ILD, and they could be predicted approximately by a listener's identification results. When the sine tones were amplitude modulated or replaced by narrow bands of noise, interaural time difference (ITD) cues greatly reduced the confusion for most listeners, but not for all. Recognizing the important role of the bright spot requires a reevaluation of the transition between the low-frequency region for localization (mainly ITD) and the high-frequency region (mainly ILD).

Cross-section fluctuations in chaotic scattering systems.

PubMed

Ericson, Torleif E O; Dietz, Barbara; Richter, Achim

2016-10-01

Exact analytical expressions for the cross-section correlation functions of chaotic scattering systems have hitherto been derived only under special conditions. The objective of the present article is to provide expressions that are applicable beyond these restrictions. The derivation is based on a statistical model of Breit-Wigner type for chaotic scattering amplitudes which has been shown to describe the exact analytical results for the scattering (S)-matrix correlation functions accurately. Our results are given in the energy and in the time representations and apply in the whole range from isolated to overlapping resonances. The S-matrix contributions to the cross-section correlations are obtained in terms of explicit irreducible and reducible correlation functions. Consequently, the model can be used for a detailed exploration of the key features of the cross-section correlations and the underlying physical mechanisms. In the region of isolated resonances, the cross-section correlations contain a dominant contribution from the self-correlation term. For narrow states the self-correlations originate predominantly from widely spaced states with exceptionally large partial width. In the asymptotic region of well-overlapping resonances, the cross-section autocorrelation functions are given in terms of the S-matrix autocorrelation functions. For inelastic correlations, in particular, the Ericson fluctuations rapidly dominate in that region. Agreement with known analytical and experimental results is excellent.

Dangers and uses of cross-correlation in analyzing time series in perception, performance, movement, and neuroscience: The importance of constructing transfer function autoregressive models.

PubMed

Dean, Roger T; Dunsmuir, William T M

2016-06-01

Many articles on perception, performance, psychophysiology, and neuroscience seek to relate pairs of time series through assessments of their cross-correlations. Most such series are individually autocorrelated: they do not comprise independent values. Given this situation, an unfounded reliance is often placed on cross-correlation as an indicator of relationships (e.g., referent vs. response, leading vs. following). Such cross-correlations can indicate spurious relationships, because of autocorrelation. Given these dangers, we here simulated how and why such spurious conclusions can arise, to provide an approach to resolving them. We show that when multiple pairs of series are aggregated in several different ways for a cross-correlation analysis, problems remain. Finally, even a genuine cross-correlation function does not answer key motivating questions, such as whether there are likely causal relationships between the series. Thus, we illustrate how to obtain a transfer function describing such relationships, informed by any genuine cross-correlations. We illustrate the confounds and the meaningful transfer functions by two concrete examples, one each in perception and performance, together with key elements of the R software code needed. The approach involves autocorrelation functions, the establishment of stationarity, prewhitening, the determination of cross-correlation functions, the assessment of Granger causality, and autoregressive model development. Autocorrelation also limits the interpretability of other measures of possible relationships between pairs of time series, such as mutual information. We emphasize that further complexity may be required as the appropriate analysis is pursued fully, and that causal intervention experiments will likely also be needed.

Joint multifractal analysis based on the partition function approach: analytical analysis, numerical simulation and empirical application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Wen-Jie; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Gu, Gao-Feng; Xiong, Xiong; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2015-10-01

Many complex systems generate multifractal time series which are long-range cross-correlated. Numerous methods have been proposed to characterize the multifractal nature of these long-range cross correlations. However, several important issues about these methods are not well understood and most methods consider only one moment order. We study the joint multifractal analysis based on partition function with two moment orders, which was initially invented to investigate fluid fields, and derive analytically several important properties. We apply the method numerically to binomial measures with multifractal cross correlations and bivariate fractional Brownian motions without multifractal cross correlations. For binomial multifractal measures, the explicit expressions of mass function, singularity strength and multifractal spectrum of the cross correlations are derived, which agree excellently with the numerical results. We also apply the method to stock market indexes and unveil intriguing multifractality in the cross correlations of index volatilities.

Preferred Compression Speed for Speech and Music and Its Relationship to Sensitivity to Temporal Fine Structure.

PubMed

Moore, Brian C J; Sęk, Aleksander

2016-09-07

Multichannel amplitude compression is widely used in hearing aids. The preferred compression speed varies across individuals. Moore (2008) suggested that reduced sensitivity to temporal fine structure (TFS) may be associated with preference for slow compression. This idea was tested using a simulated hearing aid. It was also assessed whether preferences for compression speed depend on the type of stimulus: speech or music. Twenty-two hearing-impaired subjects were tested, and the stimulated hearing aid was fitted individually using the CAM2A method. On each trial, a given segment of speech or music was presented twice. One segment was processed with fast compression and the other with slow compression, and the order was balanced across trials. The subject indicated which segment was preferred and by how much. On average, slow compression was preferred over fast compression, more so for music, but there were distinct individual differences, which were highly correlated for speech and music. Sensitivity to TFS was assessed using the difference limen for frequency at 2000 Hz and by two measures of sensitivity to interaural phase at low frequencies. The results for the difference limens for frequency, but not the measures of sensitivity to interaural phase, supported the suggestion that preference for compression speed is affected by sensitivity to TFS. © The Author(s) 2016.

Separating non-diffuse component from ambient seismic noise cross-correlation in southern California­­

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Beroza, G. C.; Nakata, N.

2017-12-01

Cross-correlation of fully diffuse wavefields provides Green's function between receivers, although the ambient noise field in the real world contains both diffuse and non-diffuse fields. The non-diffuse field potentially degrades the correlation functions. We attempt to blindly separate the diffuse and the non-diffuse components from cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise and analyze the potential bias caused by the non-diffuse components. We compute the 9-component noise cross-correlations for 17 stations in southern California. For the Rayleigh wave components, we assume that the cross-correlation of multiply scattered waves (diffuse component) is independent from the cross-correlation of ocean microseismic quasi-point source responses (non-diffuse component), and the cross-correlation function of ambient seismic data is the sum of both components. Thus we can blindly separate the non-diffuse component due to physical point sources and the more diffuse component due to cross-correlation of multiply scattered noise based on their statistical independence. We also perform beamforming over different frequency bands for the cross-correlations before and after the separation, and we find that the decomposed Rayleigh wave represents more coherent features among all Rayleigh wave polarization cross-correlation components. We show that after separating the non-diffuse component, the Frequency-Time Analysis results are less ambiguous. In addition, we estimate the bias in phase velocity on the raw cross-correlation data due to the non-diffuse component. We also apply this technique to a few borehole stations in Groningen, the Netherlands, to demonstrate its applicability in different instrument/geology settings.

Individual differences reveal correlates of hidden hearing deficits.

PubMed

Bharadwaj, Hari M; Masud, Salwa; Mehraei, Golbarg; Verhulst, Sarah; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G

2015-02-04

Clinical audiometry has long focused on determining the detection thresholds for pure tones, which depend on intact cochlear mechanics and hair cell function. Yet many listeners with normal hearing thresholds complain of communication difficulties, and the causes for such problems are not well understood. Here, we explore whether normal-hearing listeners exhibit such suprathreshold deficits, affecting the fidelity with which subcortical areas encode the temporal structure of clearly audible sound. Using an array of measures, we evaluated a cohort of young adults with thresholds in the normal range to assess both cochlear mechanical function and temporal coding of suprathreshold sounds. Listeners differed widely in both electrophysiological and behavioral measures of temporal coding fidelity. These measures correlated significantly with each other. Conversely, these differences were unrelated to the modest variation in otoacoustic emissions, cochlear tuning, or the residual differences in hearing threshold present in our cohort. Electroencephalography revealed that listeners with poor subcortical encoding had poor cortical sensitivity to changes in interaural time differences, which are critical for localizing sound sources and analyzing complex scenes. These listeners also performed poorly when asked to direct selective attention to one of two competing speech streams, a task that mimics the challenges of many everyday listening environments. Together with previous animal and computational models, our results suggest that hidden hearing deficits, likely originating at the level of the cochlear nerve, are part of "normal hearing." Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/352161-12$15.00/0.

Interaural asymmetry of hearing loss, Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) disabilities, and handicap.

PubMed

Noble, William; Gatehouse, Stuart

2004-02-01

A series of comparative analyses is presented between a group with relatively similar degrees of hearing loss in each ear (n = 103: symmetry group) and one with dissimilar losses (n = 50: asymmetry group). Asymmetry was defined as an interaural difference of more than 10dB in hearing levels averaged over 0.5. 1, 2 and 4kHz. Comparison was focused on self-rated disabilities as reflected in responses on the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ). The connections between SSQ ratings and a global self-rating of handicap were also observed. The interrelationships among SSQ items for the two groups were analysed to determine how the SSQ behaves when applied to groups in whom binaural hearing is more (asymmetry) versus less compromised. As expected, spatial hearing is severely disabled in the group with asymmetry; this group is generally more disabled than the symmetry group across all SSQ domains. In the linkages with handicap, spatial hearing, especially in dynamic settings, was strongly represented in the asymmetry group, while all aspects of hearing were moderately to strongly represented in the symmetry group. Item intercorrelations showed that speech hearing is a relatively autonomous function for the symmetry group, whereas it is enmeshed with segregation, clarity and naturalness factors for the asymmetry group. Spatial functions were more independent of others in the asymmetry group. The SSQ shows promise in the assessment of outcomes in the case of bilateral versus unilateral amplification and/or implantation.

Binaural sensitivity changes between cortical on and off responses

PubMed Central

Dahmen, Johannes C.; King, Andrew J.; Schnupp, Jan W. H.

2011-01-01

Neurons exhibiting on and off responses with different frequency tuning have previously been described in the primary auditory cortex (A1) of anesthetized and awake animals, but it is unknown whether other tuning properties, including sensitivity to binaural localization cues, also differ between on and off responses. We measured the sensitivity of A1 neurons in anesthetized ferrets to 1) interaural level differences (ILDs), using unmodulated broadband noise with varying ILDs and average binaural levels, and 2) interaural time delays (ITDs), using sinusoidally amplitude-modulated broadband noise with varying envelope ITDs. We also assessed fine-structure ITD sensitivity and frequency tuning, using pure-tone stimuli. Neurons most commonly responded to stimulus onset only, but purely off responses and on-off responses were also recorded. Of the units exhibiting significant binaural sensitivity nearly one-quarter showed binaural sensitivity in both on and off responses, but in almost all (∼97%) of these units the binaural tuning of the on responses differed significantly from that seen in the off responses. Moreover, averaged, normalized ILD and ITD tuning curves calculated from all units showing significant sensitivity to binaural cues indicated that on and off responses displayed different sensitivity patterns across the population. A principal component analysis of ITD response functions suggested a continuous cortical distribution of binaural sensitivity, rather than discrete response classes. Rather than reflecting a release from inhibition without any functional significance, we propose that binaural off responses may be important to cortical encoding of sound-source location. PMID:21562191

Detection of Interaural Time Differences in the Alligator

PubMed Central

Carr, Catherine E.; Soares, Daphne; Smolders, Jean; Simon, Jonathan Z.

2011-01-01

The auditory systems of birds and mammals use timing information from each ear to detect interaural time difference (ITD). To determine whether the Jeffress-type algorithms that underlie sensitivity to ITD in birds are an evolutionarily stable strategy, we recorded from the auditory nuclei of crocodilians, who are the sister group to the birds. In alligators, precisely timed spikes in the first-order nucleus magnocellularis (NM) encode the timing of sounds, and NM neurons project to neurons in the nucleus laminaris (NL) that detect interaural time differences. In vivo recordings from NL neurons show that the arrival time of phase-locked spikes differs between the ipsilateral and contralateral inputs. When this disparity is nullified by their best ITD, the neurons respond maximally. Thus NL neurons act as coincidence detectors. A biologically detailed model of NL with alligator parameters discriminated ITDs up to 1 kHz. The range of best ITDs represented in NL was much larger than in birds, however, and extended from 0 to 1000 μs contralateral, with a median ITD of 450 μs. Thus, crocodilians and birds employ similar algorithms for ITD detection, although crocodilians have larger heads. PMID:19553438

Intelligibility of speech in a virtual 3-D environment.

PubMed

MacDonald, Justin A; Balakrishnan, J D; Orosz, Michael D; Karplus, Walter J

2002-01-01

In a simulated air traffic control task, improvement in the detection of auditory warnings when using virtual 3-D audio depended on the spatial configuration of the sounds. Performance improved substantially when two of four sources were placed to the left and the remaining two were placed to the right of the participant. Surprisingly, little or no benefits were observed for configurations involving the elevation or transverse (front/back) dimensions of virtual space, suggesting that position on the interaural (left/right) axis is the crucial factor to consider in auditory display design. The relative importance of interaural spacing effects was corroborated in a second, free-field (real space) experiment. Two additional experiments showed that (a) positioning signals to the side of the listener is superior to placing them in front even when two sounds are presented in the same location, and (b) the optimal distance on the interaural axis varies with the amplitude of the sounds. These results are well predicted by the behavior of an ideal observer under the different display conditions. This suggests that guidelines for auditory display design that allow for effective perception of speech information can be developed from an analysis of the physical sound patterns.

Tympanic-response transition in ICE: Dependence upon the interaural cavity's shape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Hemmen, J. Leo

More than half of the terrestrial vertebrates have internally coupled ears (ICE), where an interaural cavity of some shape acoustically couples the eardrums. Hence what the animal's auditory system perceives is not the outside stimulus but the superposition of outside and internal pressure on the two eardrums, resulting in so-called internal time and level difference, iTD and iLD, which are keys to sound localization. For a cylindrical shape, it is known that on the frequency axis two domains with appreciably increased iTD and iLD values occur, segregated by the eardrum's fundamental frequency. Here we analyze the case where, as in nature, two or more canals couple the eardrums so that, by opening one of the canals, the animal can switch from coupled to two independent ears. We analyze the iTD/iLD transition and its dependence upon the interaural cavity's size and shape. As compared to a single connection, the iTD performance is preserved to a large extent. Nonetheless, the price to pay for freedom of choice is a reduced frequency range with high-iTD plateau. Work done in collaboration with A.P. Vedurmudi; partially supported by BCCN-Munich.

Spectrotemporal weighting of binaural cues: Effects of a diotic interferer on discrimination of dynamic interaural differences

PubMed Central

Bibee, Jacqueline M.; Stecker, G. Christopher

2016-01-01

Spatial judgments are often dominated by low-frequency binaural cues and onset cues when binaural cues vary across the spectrum and duration, respectively, of a brief sound. This study combined these dimensions to assess the spectrotemporal weighting of binaural information. Listeners discriminated target interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) carried by the onset, offset, or full duration of a 4-kHz Gabor click train with a 2-ms period in the presence or absence of a diotic 500-Hz interferer tone. ITD and ILD thresholds were significantly elevated by the interferer in all conditions and by a similar amount to previous reports for static cues. Binaural interference was dramatically greater for ITD targets lacking onset cues compared to onset and full-duration conditions. Binaural interference for ILD targets was similar across dynamic-cue conditions. These effects mirror the baseline discriminability of dynamic ITD and ILD cues [Stecker and Brown. (2010). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 3092–3103], consistent with stronger interference for less-robust/higher-variance cues. The results support the view that binaural cue integration occurs simultaneously across multiple variance-weighted dimensions, including time and frequency. PMID:27794286

Sound localization in common vampire bats: Acuity and use of the binaural time cue by a small mammal

PubMed Central

Heffner, Rickye S.; Koay, Gimseong; Heffner, Henry E.

2015-01-01

Passive sound-localization acuity and the ability to use binaural time and intensity cues were determined for the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus). The bats were tested using a conditioned suppression/avoidance procedure in which they drank defibrinated blood from a spout in the presence of sounds from their right, but stopped drinking (i.e., broke contact with the spout) whenever a sound came from their left, thereby avoiding a mild shock. The mean minimum audible angle for three bats for a 100-ms noise burst was 13.1°—within the range of thresholds for other bats and near the mean for mammals. Common vampire bats readily localized pure tones of 20 kHz and higher, indicating they could use interaural intensity-differences. They could also localize pure tones of 5 kHz and lower, thereby demonstrating the use of interaural time-differences, despite their very small maximum interaural distance of 60 μs. A comparison of the use of locus cues among mammals suggests several implications for the evolution of sound localization and its underlying anatomical and physiological mechanisms. PMID:25618037

Spectrotemporal weighting of binaural cues: Effects of a diotic interferer on discrimination of dynamic interaural differences.

PubMed

Bibee, Jacqueline M; Stecker, G Christopher

2016-10-01

Spatial judgments are often dominated by low-frequency binaural cues and onset cues when binaural cues vary across the spectrum and duration, respectively, of a brief sound. This study combined these dimensions to assess the spectrotemporal weighting of binaural information. Listeners discriminated target interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) carried by the onset, offset, or full duration of a 4-kHz Gabor click train with a 2-ms period in the presence or absence of a diotic 500-Hz interferer tone. ITD and ILD thresholds were significantly elevated by the interferer in all conditions and by a similar amount to previous reports for static cues. Binaural interference was dramatically greater for ITD targets lacking onset cues compared to onset and full-duration conditions. Binaural interference for ILD targets was similar across dynamic-cue conditions. These effects mirror the baseline discriminability of dynamic ITD and ILD cues [Stecker and Brown. (2010). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 3092-3103], consistent with stronger interference for less-robust/higher-variance cues. The results support the view that binaural cue integration occurs simultaneously across multiple variance-weighted dimensions, including time and frequency.

Fly-ear inspired acoustic sensors for gunshot localization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Haijun; Currano, Luke; Gee, Danny; Yang, Benjamin; Yu, Miao

2009-05-01

The supersensitive ears of the parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea have inspired researchers to develop bio-inspired directional microphone for sound localization. Although the fly ear is optimized for localizing the narrow-band calling song of crickets at 5 kHz, experiments and simulation have shown that it can amplify directional cues for a wide frequency range. In this article, a theoretical investigation is presented to study the use of fly-ear inspired directional microphones for gunshot localization. Using an equivalent 2-DOF model of the fly ear, the time responses of the fly ear structure to a typical shock wave are obtained and the associated time delay is estimated by using cross-correlation. Both near-field and far-field scenarios are considered. The simulation shows that the fly ear can greatly amplify the time delay by ~20 times, which indicates that with an interaural distance of only 1.2 mm the fly ear is able to generate a time delay comparable to that obtained by a conventional microphone pair with a separation as large as 24 mm. Since the parameters of the fly ear structure can also be tuned for muzzle blast and other impulse stimulus, fly-ear inspired acoustic sensors offers great potential for developing portable gunshot localization systems.

Visualization of synchronization of the uterine contraction signals: running cross-correlation and wavelet running cross-correlation methods.

PubMed

Oczeretko, Edward; Swiatecka, Jolanta; Kitlas, Agnieszka; Laudanski, Tadeusz; Pierzynski, Piotr

2006-01-01

In physiological research, we often study multivariate data sets, containing two or more simultaneously recorded time series. The aim of this paper is to present the cross-correlation and the wavelet cross-correlation methods to assess synchronization between contractions in different topographic regions of the uterus. From a medical point of view, it is important to identify time delays between contractions, which may be of potential diagnostic significance in various pathologies. The cross-correlation was computed in a moving window with a width corresponding to approximately two or three contractions. As a result, the running cross-correlation function was obtained. The propagation% parameter assessed from this function allows quantitative description of synchronization in bivariate time series. In general, the uterine contraction signals are very complicated. Wavelet transforms provide insight into the structure of the time series at various frequencies (scales). To show the changes of the propagation% parameter along scales, a wavelet running cross-correlation was used. At first, the continuous wavelet transforms as the uterine contraction signals were received and afterwards, a running cross-correlation analysis was conducted for each pair of transformed time series. The findings show that running functions are very useful in the analysis of uterine contractions.

Spatial hearing in Cope’s gray treefrog: II. Frequency-dependent directionality in the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibrations

PubMed Central

Lee, Norman; Schrode, Katrina M.; Johns, Anastasia R.; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jakob; Bee, Mark A.

2014-01-01

Anuran ears function as pressure difference receivers, and the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibrations are inherently directional, varying with sound incident angle. We quantified the nature of this directionality for Cope’s gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. We presented subjects with pure tones, advertisement calls, and frequency-modulated sweeps to examine the influence of frequency, signal level, lung inflation, and sex on ear directionality. Interaural differences in the amplitude of tympanum vibrations were 1–4 dB greater than sound pressure differences adjacent to the two tympana, while interaural differences in the phase of tympanum vibration were similar to or smaller than those in sound phase. Directionality in the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibration were highly dependent on sound frequency, and directionality in amplitude varied slightly with signal level. Directionality in the amplitude and phase of tone- and call-evoked responses did not differ between sexes. Lung inflation strongly affected tympanum directionality over a narrow frequency range that, in females, included call frequencies. This study provides a foundation for further work on the biomechanics and neural mechanisms of spatial hearing in H. chrysoscelis, and lends valuable perspective to behavioral studies on the use of spatial information by this species and other frogs. PMID:24504183

Spatial hearing in Cope's gray treefrog: II. Frequency-dependent directionality in the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibrations.

PubMed

Caldwell, Michael S; Lee, Norman; Schrode, Katrina M; Johns, Anastasia R; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jakob; Bee, Mark A

2014-04-01

Anuran ears function as pressure difference receivers, and the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibrations are inherently directional, varying with sound incident angle. We quantified the nature of this directionality for Cope's gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. We presented subjects with pure tones, advertisement calls, and frequency-modulated sweeps to examine the influence of frequency, signal level, lung inflation, and sex on ear directionality. Interaural differences in the amplitude of tympanum vibrations were 1-4 dB greater than sound pressure differences adjacent to the two tympana, while interaural differences in the phase of tympanum vibration were similar to or smaller than those in sound phase. Directionality in the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibration were highly dependent on sound frequency, and directionality in amplitude varied slightly with signal level. Directionality in the amplitude and phase of tone- and call-evoked responses did not differ between sexes. Lung inflation strongly affected tympanum directionality over a narrow frequency range that, in females, included call frequencies. This study provides a foundation for further work on the biomechanics and neural mechanisms of spatial hearing in H. chrysoscelis, and lends valuable perspective to behavioral studies on the use of spatial information by this species and other frogs.

The acoustical bright spot and mislocalization of tones by human listeners

PubMed Central

Macaulay, Eric J.; Hartmann, William M.; Rakerd, Brad

2010-01-01

Listeners attempted to localize 1500-Hz sine tones presented in free field from a loudspeaker array, spanning azimuths from 0° (straight ahead) to 90° (extreme right). During this task, the tone levels and phases were measured in the listeners’ ear canals. Because of the acoustical bright spot, measured interaural level differences (ILD) were non-monotonic functions of azimuth with a maximum near 55°. In a source-identification task, listeners’ localization decisions closely tracked the non-monotonic ILD, and thus became inaccurate at large azimuths. When listeners received training and feedback, their accuracy improved only slightly. In an azimuth-discrimination task, listeners decided whether a first sound was to the left or to the right of a second. The discrimination results also reflected the confusion caused by the non-monotonic ILD, and they could be predicted approximately by a listener’s identification results. When the sine tones were amplitude modulated or replaced by narrow bands of noise, interaural time difference (ITD) cues greatly reduced the confusion for most listeners, but not for all. Recognizing the important role of the bright spot requires a reevaluation of the transition between the low-frequency region for localization (mainly ITD) and the high-frequency region (mainly ILD). PMID:20329844

Monaural and binaural contributions to interaural-level-difference sensitivity in human auditory cortex.

PubMed

Stecker, G Christopher; McLaughlin, Susan A; Higgins, Nathan C

2015-10-15

Whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in human auditory cortex (AC) to sounds with intensity varying independently in the left and right ears. Echoplanar images were acquired at 3 Tesla with sparse image acquisition once per 12-second block of sound stimulation. Combinations of binaural intensity and stimulus presentation rate were varied between blocks, and selected to allow measurement of response-intensity functions in three configurations: monaural 55-85 dB SPL, binaural 55-85 dB SPL with intensity equal in both ears, and binaural with average binaural level of 70 dB SPL and interaural level differences (ILD) ranging ±30 dB (i.e., favoring the left or right ear). Comparison of response functions equated for contralateral intensity revealed that BOLD-response magnitudes (1) generally increased with contralateral intensity, consistent with positive drive of the BOLD response by the contralateral ear, (2) were larger for contralateral monaural stimulation than for binaural stimulation, consistent with negative effects (e.g., inhibition) of ipsilateral input, which were strongest in the left hemisphere, and (3) also increased with ipsilateral intensity when contralateral input was weak, consistent with additional, positive, effects of ipsilateral stimulation. Hemispheric asymmetries in the spatial extent and overall magnitude of BOLD responses were generally consistent with previous studies demonstrating greater bilaterality of responses in the right hemisphere and stricter contralaterality in the left hemisphere. Finally, comparison of responses to fast (40/s) and slow (5/s) stimulus presentation rates revealed significant rate-dependent adaptation of the BOLD response that varied across ILD values. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Response Properties of Neighboring Neurons in the Auditory Midbrain for Pure-Tone Stimulation: A Tetrode Study

PubMed Central

Seshagiri, Chandran V.; Delgutte, Bertrand

2007-01-01

The complex anatomical structure of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC), the principal auditory nucleus in the midbrain, may provide the basis for functional organization of auditory information. To investigate this organization, we used tetrodes to record from neighboring neurons in the ICC of anesthetized cats and studied the similarity and difference among the responses of these neurons to pure-tone stimuli using widely used physiological characterizations. Consistent with the tonotopic arrangement of neurons in the ICC and reports of a threshold map, we found a high degree of correlation in the best frequencies (BFs) of neighboring neurons, which were mostly <3 kHz in our sample, and the pure-tone thresholds among neighboring neurons. However, width of frequency tuning, shapes of the frequency response areas, and temporal discharge patterns showed little or no correlation among neighboring neurons. Because the BF and threshold are measured at levels near the threshold and the characteristic frequency (CF), neighboring neurons may receive similar primary inputs tuned to their CF; however, at higher levels, additional inputs from other frequency channels may be recruited, introducing greater variability in the responses. There was also no correlation among neighboring neurons' sensitivity to interaural time differences (ITD) measured with binaural beats. However, the characteristic phases (CPs) of neighboring neurons revealed a significant correlation. Because the CP is related to the neural mechanisms generating the ITD sensitivity, this result is consistent with segregation of inputs to the ICC from the lateral and medial superior olives. PMID:17671101

Response properties of neighboring neurons in the auditory midbrain for pure-tone stimulation: a tetrode study.

PubMed

Seshagiri, Chandran V; Delgutte, Bertrand

2007-10-01

The complex anatomical structure of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC), the principal auditory nucleus in the midbrain, may provide the basis for functional organization of auditory information. To investigate this organization, we used tetrodes to record from neighboring neurons in the ICC of anesthetized cats and studied the similarity and difference among the responses of these neurons to pure-tone stimuli using widely used physiological characterizations. Consistent with the tonotopic arrangement of neurons in the ICC and reports of a threshold map, we found a high degree of correlation in the best frequencies (BFs) of neighboring neurons, which were mostly <3 kHz in our sample, and the pure-tone thresholds among neighboring neurons. However, width of frequency tuning, shapes of the frequency response areas, and temporal discharge patterns showed little or no correlation among neighboring neurons. Because the BF and threshold are measured at levels near the threshold and the characteristic frequency (CF), neighboring neurons may receive similar primary inputs tuned to their CF; however, at higher levels, additional inputs from other frequency channels may be recruited, introducing greater variability in the responses. There was also no correlation among neighboring neurons' sensitivity to interaural time differences (ITD) measured with binaural beats. However, the characteristic phases (CPs) of neighboring neurons revealed a significant correlation. Because the CP is related to the neural mechanisms generating the ITD sensitivity, this result is consistent with segregation of inputs to the ICC from the lateral and medial superior olives.

Threshold of the precedence effect in noise

PubMed Central

Freyman, Richard L.; Griffin, Amanda M.; Zurek, Patrick M.

2014-01-01

Three effects that show a temporal asymmetry in the influence of interaural cues were studied through the addition of masking noise: (1) The transient precedence effect—the perceptual dominance of a leading transient over a similar lagging transient; (2) the ongoing precedence effect—lead dominance with lead and lag components that extend in time; and (3) the onset capture effect—determination by an onset transient of the lateral position of an otherwise ambiguous extended trailing sound. These three effects were evoked with noise-burst stimuli and were compared in the presence of masking noise. Using a diotic noise masker, detection thresholds for stimuli with lead/lag interaural delays of 0/500 μs were compared to those with 500/0 μs delays. None of the three effects showed a masking difference between those conditions, suggesting that none of the effects is operative at masked threshold. A task requiring the discrimination between stimuli with 500/0 and 0/500 μs interaural delays was used to determine the threshold for each effect in noise. The results showed similar thresholds in noise (10–13 dB SL) for the transient and ongoing precedence effects, but a much higher threshold (33 dB SL) for onset capture of an ambiguous trailing sound. PMID:24815272

Behavioral manifestations of audiometrically-defined "slight" or "hidden" hearing loss revealed by measures of binaural detection.

PubMed

Bernstein, Leslie R; Trahiotis, Constantine

2016-11-01

This study assessed whether audiometrically-defined "slight" or "hidden" hearing losses might be associated with degradations in binaural processing as measured in binaural detection experiments employing interaurally delayed signals and maskers. Thirty-one listeners participated, all having no greater than slight hearing losses (i.e., no thresholds greater than 25 dB HL). Across the 31 listeners and consistent with the findings of Bernstein and Trahiotis [(2015). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 138, EL474-EL479] binaural detection thresholds at 500 Hz and 4 kHz increased with increasing magnitude of interaural delay, suggesting a loss of precision of coding with magnitude of interaural delay. Binaural detection thresholds were consistently found to be elevated for listeners whose absolute thresholds at 4 kHz exceeded 7.5 dB HL. No such elevations were observed in conditions having no binaural cues available to aid detection (i.e., "monaural" conditions). Partitioning and analyses of the data revealed that those elevated thresholds (1) were more attributable to hearing level than to age and (2) result from increased levels of internal noise. The data suggest that listeners whose high-frequency monaural hearing status would be classified audiometrically as being normal or "slight loss" may exhibit substantial and perceptually meaningful losses of binaural processing.

The opponent channel population code of sound location is an efficient representation of natural binaural sounds.

PubMed

Młynarski, Wiktor

2015-05-01

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.

Extraction of Inter-Aural Time Differences Using a Spiking Neuron Network Model of the Medial Superior Olive.

PubMed

Encke, Jörg; Hemmert, Werner

2018-01-01

The mammalian auditory system is able to extract temporal and spectral features from sound signals at the two ears. One important cue for localization of low-frequency sound sources in the horizontal plane are inter-aural time differences (ITDs) which are first analyzed in the medial superior olive (MSO) in the brainstem. Neural recordings of ITD tuning curves at various stages along the auditory pathway suggest that ITDs in the mammalian brainstem are not represented in form of a Jeffress-type place code. An alternative is the hemispheric opponent-channel code, according to which ITDs are encoded as the difference in the responses of the MSO nuclei in the two hemispheres. In this study, we present a physiologically-plausible, spiking neuron network model of the mammalian MSO circuit and apply two different methods of extracting ITDs from arbitrary sound signals. The network model is driven by a functional model of the auditory periphery and physiological models of the cochlear nucleus and the MSO. Using a linear opponent-channel decoder, we show that the network is able to detect changes in ITD with a precision down to 10 μs and that the sensitivity of the decoder depends on the slope of the ITD-rate functions. A second approach uses an artificial neuronal network to predict ITDs directly from the spiking output of the MSO and ANF model. Using this predictor, we show that the MSO-network is able to reliably encode static and time-dependent ITDs over a large frequency range, also for complex signals like speech.

Reduced temporal processing in older, normal-hearing listeners evident from electrophysiological responses to shifts in interaural time difference.

PubMed

Ozmeral, Erol J; Eddins, David A; Eddins, Ann C

2016-12-01

Previous electrophysiological studies of interaural time difference (ITD) processing have demonstrated that ITDs are represented by a nontopographic population rate code. Rather than narrow tuning to ITDs, neural channels have broad tuning to ITDs in either the left or right auditory hemifield, and the relative activity between the channels determines the perceived lateralization of the sound. With advancing age, spatial perception weakens and poor temporal processing contributes to declining spatial acuity. At present, it is unclear whether age-related temporal processing deficits are due to poor inhibitory controls in the auditory system or degraded neural synchrony at the periphery. Cortical processing of spatial cues based on a hemifield code are susceptible to potential age-related physiological changes. We consider two distinct predictions of age-related changes to ITD sensitivity: declines in inhibitory mechanisms would lead to increased excitation and medial shifts to rate-azimuth functions, whereas a general reduction in neural synchrony would lead to reduced excitation and shallower slopes in the rate-azimuth function. The current study tested these possibilities by measuring an evoked response to ITD shifts in a narrow-band noise. Results were more in line with the latter outcome, both from measured latencies and amplitudes of the global field potentials and source-localized waveforms in the left and right auditory cortices. The measured responses for older listeners also tended to have reduced asymmetric distribution of activity in response to ITD shifts, which is consistent with other sensory and cognitive processing models of aging. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Transformation of binaural response properties in the ascending auditory pathway: influence of time-varying interaural phase disparity.

PubMed

Spitzer, M W; Semple, M N

1998-12-01

Transformation of binaural response properties in the ascending auditory pathway: influence of time-varying interaural phase disparity. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 3062-3076, 1998. Previous studies demonstrated that tuning of inferior colliculus (IC) neurons to interaural phase disparity (IPD) is often profoundly influenced by temporal variation of IPD, which simulates the binaural cue produced by a moving sound source. To determine whether sensitivity to simulated motion arises in IC or at an earlier stage of binaural processing we compared responses in IC with those of two major IPD-sensitive neuronal classes in the superior olivary complex (SOC), neurons whose discharges were phase locked (PL) to tonal stimuli and those that were nonphase locked (NPL). Time-varying IPD stimuli consisted of binaural beats, generated by presenting tones of slightly different frequencies to the two ears, and interaural phase modulation (IPM), generated by presenting a pure tone to one ear and a phase modulated tone to the other. IC neurons and NPL-SOC neurons were more sharply tuned to time-varying than to static IPD, whereas PL-SOC neurons were essentially uninfluenced by the mode of stimulus presentation. Preferred IPD was generally similar in responses to static and time-varying IPD for all unit populations. A few IC neurons were highly influenced by the direction and rate of simulated motion, but the major effect for most IC neurons and all SOC neurons was a linear shift of preferred IPD at high rates-attributable to response latency. Most IC and NPL-SOC neurons were strongly influenced by IPM stimuli simulating motion through restricted ranges of azimuth; simulated motion through partially overlapping azimuthal ranges elicited discharge profiles that were highly discontiguous, indicating that the response associated with a particular IPD is dependent on preceding portions of the stimulus. In contrast, PL-SOC responses tracked instantaneous IPD throughout the trajectory of simulated motion, resulting in highly contiguous discharge profiles for overlapping stimuli. This finding indicates that responses of PL-SOC units to time-varying IPD reflect only instantaneous IPD with no additional influence of dynamic stimulus attributes. Thus the neuronal representation of auditory spatial information undergoes a major transformation as interaural delay is initially processed in the SOC and subsequently reprocessed in IC. The finding that motion sensitivity in IC emerges from motion-insensitive input suggests that information about change of position is crucial to spatial processing at higher levels of the auditory system.

A novel coefficient for detecting and quantifying asymmetry of California electricity market based on asymmetric detrended cross-correlation analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Fang

2016-06-01

In order to detect and quantify asymmetry of two time series, a novel cross-correlation coefficient is proposed based on recent asymmetric detrended cross-correlation analysis (A-DXA), which we called A-DXA coefficient. The A-DXA coefficient, as an important extension of DXA coefficient ρDXA, contains two directional asymmetric cross-correlated indexes, describing upwards and downwards asymmetric cross-correlations, respectively. By using the information of directional covariance function of two time series and directional variance function of each series itself instead of power-law between the covariance function and time scale, the proposed A-DXA coefficient can well detect asymmetry between the two series no matter whether the cross-correlation is significant or not. By means of the proposed A-DXA coefficient conducted over the asymmetry for California electricity market, we found that the asymmetry between the prices and loads is not significant for daily average data in 1999 yr market (before electricity crisis) but extremely significant for those in 2000 yr market (during the crisis). To further uncover the difference of asymmetry between the years 1999 and 2000, a modified H statistic (MH) and ΔMH statistic are proposed. One of the present contributions is that the high MH values calculated for hourly data exist in majority months in 2000 market. Another important conclusion is that the cross-correlation with downwards dominates over the whole 1999 yr in contrast to the cross-correlation with upwards dominates over the 2000 yr.

Effect of in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section on proton-proton momentum correlation in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ting-Ting; Ma, Yu-Gang; Zhang, Chun-Jian; Zhang, Zheng-Qiao

2018-03-01

The proton-proton momentum correlation function from different rapidity regions is systematically investigated for the Au + Au collisions at different impact parameters and different energies from 400 A MeV to 1500 A MeV in the framework of the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model complemented by the Lednický-Lyuboshitz analytical method. In particular, the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross-section dependence of the correlation function is brought into focus, while the impact parameter and energy dependence of the momentum correlation function are also explored. The sizes of the emission source are extracted by fitting the momentum correlation functions using the Gaussian source method. We find that the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section obviously influences the proton-proton momentum correlation function, which is from the whole-rapidity or projectile or target rapidity region at smaller impact parameters, but there is no effect on the mid-rapidity proton-proton momentum correlation function, which indicates that the emission mechanism differs between projectile or target rapidity and mid-rapidity protons.

Neural coding of time-varying interaural time differences and time-varying amplitude in the inferior colliculus

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Binaural cues occurring in natural environments are frequently time varying, either from the motion of a sound source or through interactions between the cues produced by multiple sources. Yet, a broad understanding of how the auditory system processes dynamic binaural cues is still lacking. In the current study, we directly compared neural responses in the inferior colliculus (IC) of unanesthetized rabbits to broadband noise with time-varying interaural time differences (ITD) with responses to noise with sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM) over a wide range of modulation frequencies. On the basis of prior research, we hypothesized that the IC, one of the first stages to exhibit tuning of firing rate to modulation frequency, might use a common mechanism to encode time-varying information in general. Instead, we found weaker temporal coding for dynamic ITD compared with amplitude modulation and stronger effects of adaptation for amplitude modulation. The differences in temporal coding of dynamic ITD compared with SAM at the single-neuron level could be a neural correlate of “binaural sluggishness,” the inability to perceive fluctuations in time-varying binaural cues at high modulation frequencies, for which a physiological explanation has so far remained elusive. At ITD-variation frequencies of 64 Hz and above, where a temporal code was less effective, noise with a dynamic ITD could still be distinguished from noise with a constant ITD through differences in average firing rate in many neurons, suggesting a frequency-dependent tradeoff between rate and temporal coding of time-varying binaural information. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Humans use time-varying binaural cues to parse auditory scenes comprising multiple sound sources and reverberation. However, the neural mechanisms for doing so are poorly understood. Our results demonstrate a potential neural correlate for the reduced detectability of fluctuations in time-varying binaural information at high speeds, as occurs in reverberation. The results also suggest that the neural mechanisms for processing time-varying binaural and monaural cues are largely distinct. PMID:28381487

Coincidence detection in the medial superior olive: mechanistic implications of an analysis of input spiking patterns

PubMed Central

Franken, Tom P.; Bremen, Peter; Joris, Philip X.

2014-01-01

Coincidence detection by binaural neurons in the medial superior olive underlies sensitivity to interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural correlation (ρ). It is unclear whether this process is akin to a counting of individual coinciding spikes, or rather to a correlation of membrane potential waveforms resulting from converging inputs from each side. We analyzed spike trains of axons of the cat trapezoid body (TB) and auditory nerve (AN) in a binaural coincidence scheme. ITD was studied by delaying “ipsi-” vs. “contralateral” inputs; ρ was studied by using responses to different noises. We varied the number of inputs; the monaural and binaural threshold and the coincidence window duration. We examined physiological plausibility of output “spike trains” by comparing their rate and tuning to ITD and ρ to those of binaural cells. We found that multiple inputs are required to obtain a plausible output spike rate. In contrast to previous suggestions, monaural threshold almost invariably needed to exceed binaural threshold. Elevation of the binaural threshold to values larger than 2 spikes caused a drastic decrease in rate for a short coincidence window. Longer coincidence windows allowed a lower number of inputs and higher binaural thresholds, but decreased the depth of modulation. Compared to AN fibers, TB fibers allowed higher output spike rates for a low number of inputs, but also generated more monaural coincidences. We conclude that, within the parameter space explored, the temporal patterns of monaural fibers require convergence of multiple inputs to achieve physiological binaural spike rates; that monaural coincidences have to be suppressed relative to binaural ones; and that the neuron has to be sensitive to single binaural coincidences of spikes, for a number of excitatory inputs per side of 10 or less. These findings suggest that the fundamental operation in the mammalian binaural circuit is coincidence counting of single binaural input spikes. PMID:24822037

An Overview of the Major Phenomena of the Localization of Sound Sources by Normal-Hearing, Hearing-Impaired, and Aided Listeners

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Localizing a sound source requires the auditory system to determine its direction and its distance. In general, hearing-impaired listeners do less well in experiments measuring localization performance than normal-hearing listeners, and hearing aids often exacerbate matters. This article summarizes the major experimental effects in direction (and its underlying cues of interaural time differences and interaural level differences) and distance for normal-hearing, hearing-impaired, and aided listeners. Front/back errors and the importance of self-motion are noted. The influence of vision on the localization of real-world sounds is emphasized, such as through the ventriloquist effect or the intriguing link between spatial hearing and visual attention. PMID:25492094

Maps of interaural delay in the owl's nucleus laminaris

PubMed Central

Shah, Sahil; McColgan, Thomas; Ashida, Go; Kuokkanen, Paula T.; Brill, Sandra; Kempter, Richard; Wagner, Hermann

2015-01-01

Axons from the nucleus magnocellularis form a presynaptic map of interaural time differences (ITDs) in the nucleus laminaris (NL). These inputs generate a field potential that varies systematically with recording position and can be used to measure the map of ITDs. In the barn owl, the representation of best ITD shifts with mediolateral position in NL, so as to form continuous, smoothly overlapping maps of ITD with iso-ITD contours that are not parallel to the NL border. Frontal space (0°) is, however, represented throughout and thus overrepresented with respect to the periphery. Measurements of presynaptic conduction delay, combined with a model of delay line conduction velocity, reveal that conduction delays can account for the mediolateral shifts in the map of ITD. PMID:26224776

Effectiveness of focused source generation methods with consideration of interaural time and level difference.

PubMed

Zheng, Jianwen; Lu, Jing; Chen, Kai

2013-07-01

Several methods have been proposed for the generation of the focused source, usually a virtual monopole source positioned in between the loudspeaker array and the listener. The problem of pre-echoes of the common analytical methods has been noticed, and the most concise method to cope with this problem is the angular weight method. In this paper, the interaural time and level difference, which are well related to the localization cues of human auditory systems, will be used to further investigate the effectiveness of the focused source generation methods. It is demonstrated that the combination of angular weight method and the numerical pressure matching method has comparatively better performance in a given reconstructed area.

Imaging subsurface hydrothermal structure using a dense geophone array in Yellowstone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, S. M.; Lin, F. C.; Farrell, J.; Smith, R. B.

2016-12-01

The recent development of ambient noise cross-correlation and the availability of large N seismic arrays allow for the study of detailed shallow crustal structure. In this study, we apply multi-component noise cross-correlation to explore shallow hydrothermal structure near Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park using a temporary geophone array. The array was composed of 133 three-component 5-Hz geophones and was deployed for two weeks during November 2015. The average station spacing is 50 meters and the full aperture of the array is around 1 km with good azimuthal and spatial coverage. The Upper Geyser Basin, where Old Faithful is located, has the largest concentration of geysers in the world. This unique active hydrothermal environment and hence the extremely inhomogeneous noise source distribution makes the construction of empirical Green's functions difficult based on the traditional noise cross-correlation method. In this presentation, we show examples of the constructed cross-correlation functions and demonstrate their spatial and temporal relationships with known hydrothermal activity. We also demonstrate how useful seismic signals can be extracted from these cross-correlation functions and used for subsurface imaging. In particular, we will discuss the existence of a recharge cavity beneath Old Faithful revealed by the noise cross-correlations. In addition, we also investigated the temporal structure variation based on time-lapse noise cross-correlations and these preliminary results will also be discussed.

The effect of different cochlear implant microphones on acoustic hearing individuals’ binaural benefits for speech perception in noise

PubMed Central

Aronoff, Justin M.; Freed, Daniel J.; Fisher, Laurel M.; Pal, Ivan; Soli, Sigfrid D.

2011-01-01

Objectives Cochlear implant microphones differ in placement, frequency response, and other characteristics such as whether they are directional. Although normal hearing individuals are often used as controls in studies examining cochlear implant users’ binaural benefits, the considerable differences across cochlear implant microphones make such comparisons potentially misleading. The goal of this study was to examine binaural benefits for speech perception in noise for normal hearing individuals using stimuli processed by head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) based on the different cochlear implant microphones. Design HRTFs were created for different cochlear implant microphones and used to test participants on the Hearing in Noise Test. Experiment 1 tested cochlear implant users and normal hearing individuals with HRTF-processed stimuli and with sound field testing to determine whether the HRTFs adequately simulated sound field testing. Experiment 2 determined the measurement error and performance-intensity function for the Hearing in Noise Test with normal hearing individuals listening to stimuli processed with the various HRTFs. Experiment 3 compared normal hearing listeners’ performance across HRTFs to determine how the HRTFs affected performance. Experiment 4 evaluated binaural benefits for normal hearing listeners using the various HRTFs, including ones that were modified to investigate the contributions of interaural time and level cues. Results The results indicated that the HRTFs adequately simulated sound field testing for the Hearing in Noise Test. They also demonstrated that the test-retest reliability and performance-intensity function were consistent across HRTFs, and that the measurement error for the test was 1.3 dB, with a change in signal-to-noise ratio of 1 dB reflecting a 10% change in intelligibility. There were significant differences in performance when using the various HRTFs, with particularly good thresholds for the HRTF based on the directional microphone when the speech and masker were spatially separated, emphasizing the importance of measuring binaural benefits separately for each HRTF. Evaluation of binaural benefits indicated that binaural squelch and spatial release from masking were found for all HRTFs and binaural summation was found for all but one HRTF, although binaural summation was less robust than the other types of binaural benefits. Additionally, the results indicated that neither interaural time nor level cues dominated binaural benefits for the normal hearing participants. Conclusions This study provides a means to measure the degree to which cochlear implant microphones affect acoustic hearing with respect to speech perception in noise. It also provides measures that can be used to evaluate the independent contributions of interaural time and level cues. These measures provide tools that can aid researchers in understanding and improving binaural benefits in acoustic hearing individuals listening via cochlear implant microphones. PMID:21412155

Representation of Dynamic Interaural Phase Difference in Auditory Cortex of Awake Rhesus Macaques

PubMed Central

Scott, Brian H.; Malone, Brian J.; Semple, Malcolm N.

2009-01-01

Neurons in auditory cortex of awake primates are selective for the spatial location of a sound source, yet the neural representation of the binaural cues that underlie this tuning remains undefined. We examined this representation in 283 single neurons across the low-frequency auditory core in alert macaques, trained to discriminate binaural cues for sound azimuth. In response to binaural beat stimuli, which mimic acoustic motion by modulating the relative phase of a tone at the two ears, these neurons robustly modulate their discharge rate in response to this directional cue. In accordance with prior studies, the preferred interaural phase difference (IPD) of these neurons typically corresponds to azimuthal locations contralateral to the recorded hemisphere. Whereas binaural beats evoke only transient discharges in anesthetized cortex, neurons in awake cortex respond throughout the IPD cycle. In this regard, responses are consistent with observations at earlier stations of the auditory pathway. Discharge rate is a band-pass function of the frequency of IPD modulation in most neurons (73%), but both discharge rate and temporal synchrony are independent of the direction of phase modulation. When subjected to a receiver operator characteristic analysis, the responses of individual neurons are insufficient to account for the perceptual acuity of these macaques in an IPD discrimination task, suggesting the need for neural pooling at the cortical level. PMID:19164111

Representation of dynamic interaural phase difference in auditory cortex of awake rhesus macaques.

PubMed

Scott, Brian H; Malone, Brian J; Semple, Malcolm N

2009-04-01

Neurons in auditory cortex of awake primates are selective for the spatial location of a sound source, yet the neural representation of the binaural cues that underlie this tuning remains undefined. We examined this representation in 283 single neurons across the low-frequency auditory core in alert macaques, trained to discriminate binaural cues for sound azimuth. In response to binaural beat stimuli, which mimic acoustic motion by modulating the relative phase of a tone at the two ears, these neurons robustly modulate their discharge rate in response to this directional cue. In accordance with prior studies, the preferred interaural phase difference (IPD) of these neurons typically corresponds to azimuthal locations contralateral to the recorded hemisphere. Whereas binaural beats evoke only transient discharges in anesthetized cortex, neurons in awake cortex respond throughout the IPD cycle. In this regard, responses are consistent with observations at earlier stations of the auditory pathway. Discharge rate is a band-pass function of the frequency of IPD modulation in most neurons (73%), but both discharge rate and temporal synchrony are independent of the direction of phase modulation. When subjected to a receiver operator characteristic analysis, the responses of individual neurons are insufficient to account for the perceptual acuity of these macaques in an IPD discrimination task, suggesting the need for neural pooling at the cortical level.

Underwater localization of pure tones by harbor seals (Phoca vitulina).

PubMed

Bodson, Anaïs; Miersch, Lars; Dehnhardt, Guido

2007-10-01

The underwater sound localization acuity of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) was measured in the horizontal plane. Minimum audible angles (MAAs) of pure tones were determined as a function of frequency from 0.2 to 16 kHz for two seals. Testing was conducted in a 10-m-diam underwater half circle using a right/left psychophysical procedure. The results indicate that for both harbor seals, MAAs were large at high frequencies (13.5 degrees and 17.4 degrees at 16 kHz), transitional at intermediate frequencies (9.6 degrees and 10.1 degrees at 4 kHz), and particularly small at low frequencies (3.2 degrees and 3.1 degrees at 0.2 kHz). Harbor seals seem to be able to utilize both binaural cues, interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural intensity differences (IIDs), but a significant decrease in the sound localization acuity with increasing frequency suggests that IID cues may not be as robust as ITD cues under water. These results suggest that the harbor seal can be regarded as a low-frequency specialist. Additionally, to obtain a MAA more representative of the species, the horizontal underwater MAA of six adult harbor seals was measured at 2 kHz under identical conditions. The MAAs of the six animals ranged from 8.8 degrees to 11.7 degrees , resulting in a mean MAA of 10.3 degrees .

A novel coefficient for detecting and quantifying asymmetry of California electricity market based on asymmetric detrended cross-correlation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fang

2016-06-01

In order to detect and quantify asymmetry of two time series, a novel cross-correlation coefficient is proposed based on recent asymmetric detrended cross-correlation analysis (A-DXA), which we called A-DXA coefficient. The A-DXA coefficient, as an important extension of DXA coefficient ρ D X A , contains two directional asymmetric cross-correlated indexes, describing upwards and downwards asymmetric cross-correlations, respectively. By using the information of directional covariance function of two time series and directional variance function of each series itself instead of power-law between the covariance function and time scale, the proposed A-DXA coefficient can well detect asymmetry between the two series no matter whether the cross-correlation is significant or not. By means of the proposed A-DXA coefficient conducted over the asymmetry for California electricity market, we found that the asymmetry between the prices and loads is not significant for daily average data in 1999 yr market (before electricity crisis) but extremely significant for those in 2000 yr market (during the crisis). To further uncover the difference of asymmetry between the years 1999 and 2000, a modified H statistic (MH) and ΔMH statistic are proposed. One of the present contributions is that the high MH values calculated for hourly data exist in majority months in 2000 market. Another important conclusion is that the cross-correlation with downwards dominates over the whole 1999 yr in contrast to the cross-correlation with upwards dominates over the 2000 yr.

Core Noise Diagnostics of Turbofan Engine Noise Using Correlation and Coherence Functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miles, Jeffrey H.

2009-01-01

Cross-correlation and coherence functions are used to look for periodic acoustic components in turbofan engine combustor time histories, to investigate direct and indirect combustion noise source separation based on signal propagation time delays, and to provide information on combustor acoustics. Using the cross-correlation function, time delays were identified in all cases, clearly indicating the combustor is the source of the noise. In addition, unfiltered and low-pass filtered at 400 Hz signals had a cross-correlation time delay near 90 ms, while the low-pass filtered at less than 400 Hz signals had a cross-correlation time delay longer than 90 ms. Low-pass filtering at frequencies less than 400 Hz partially removes the direct combustion noise signals. The remainder includes the indirect combustion noise signal, which travels more slowly because of the dependence on the entropy convection velocity in the combustor. Source separation of direct and indirect combustion noise is demonstrated by proper use of low-pass filters with the cross-correlation function for a range of operating conditions. The results may lead to a better idea about the acoustics in the combustor and may help develop and validate improved reduced-order physics-based methods for predicting direct and indirect combustion noise.

Linear summation in the barn owl's brainstem underlies responses to interaural time differences.

PubMed

Kuokkanen, Paula T; Ashida, Go; Carr, Catherine E; Wagner, Hermann; Kempter, Richard

2013-07-01

The neurophonic potential is a synchronized frequency-following extracellular field potential that can be recorded in the nucleus laminaris (NL) in the brainstem of the barn owl. Putative generators of the neurophonic are the afferent axons from the nucleus magnocellularis, synapses onto NL neurons, and spikes of NL neurons. The outputs of NL, i.e., action potentials of NL neurons, are only weakly represented in the neurophonic. Instead, the inputs to NL, i.e., afferent axons and their synaptic potentials, are the predominant origin of the neurophonic (Kuokkanen PT, Wagner H, Ashida G, Carr CE, Kempter R. J Neurophysiol 104: 2274-2290, 2010). Thus in NL the monaural inputs from the two brain sides converge and create a binaural neurophonic. If these monaural inputs contribute independently to the extracellular field, the response to binaural stimulation can be predicted from the sum of the responses to ipsi- and contralateral stimulation. We found that a linear summation model explains the dependence of the responses on interaural time difference as measured experimentally with binaural stimulation. The fit between model predictions and data was excellent, even without taking into account the nonlinear responses of NL coincidence detector neurons, although their firing rate and synchrony strongly depend on the interaural time difference. These results are consistent with the view that the afferent axons and their synaptic potentials in NL are the primary origin of the neurophonic.

Evaluation of a method for enhancing interaural level differences at low frequencies.

PubMed

Moore, Brian C J; Kolarik, Andrew; Stone, Michael A; Lee, Young-Woo

2016-10-01

A method (called binaural enhancement) for enhancing interaural level differences at low frequencies, based on estimates of interaural time differences, was developed and evaluated. Five conditions were compared, all using simulated hearing-aid processing: (1) Linear amplification with frequency-response shaping; (2) binaural enhancement combined with linear amplification and frequency-response shaping; (3) slow-acting four-channel amplitude compression with independent compression at the two ears (AGC4CH); (4) binaural enhancement combined with four-channel compression (BE-AGC4CH); and (5) four-channel compression but with the compression gains synchronized across ears. Ten hearing-impaired listeners were tested, and gains and compression ratios for each listener were set to match targets prescribed by the CAM2 fitting method. Stimuli were presented via headphones, using virtualization methods to simulate listening in a moderately reverberant room. The intelligibility of speech at ±60° azimuth in the presence of competing speech on the opposite side of the head at ±60° azimuth was not affected by the binaural enhancement processing. Sound localization was significantly better for condition BE-AGC4CH than for condition AGC4CH for a sentence, but not for broadband noise, lowpass noise, or lowpass amplitude-modulated noise. The results suggest that the binaural enhancement processing can improve localization for sounds with distinct envelope fluctuations.

Modelling of human low frequency sound localization acuity demonstrates dominance of spatial variation of interaural time difference and suggests uniform just-noticeable differences in interaural time difference.

PubMed

Smith, Rosanna C G; Price, Stephen R

2014-01-01

Sound source localization is critical to animal survival and for identification of auditory objects. We investigated the acuity with which humans localize low frequency, pure tone sounds using timing differences between the ears. These small differences in time, known as interaural time differences or ITDs, are identified in a manner that allows localization acuity of around 1° at the midline. Acuity, a relative measure of localization ability, displays a non-linear variation as sound sources are positioned more laterally. All species studied localize sounds best at the midline and progressively worse as the sound is located out towards the side. To understand why sound localization displays this variation with azimuthal angle, we took a first-principles, systemic, analytical approach to model localization acuity. We calculated how ITDs vary with sound frequency, head size and sound source location for humans. This allowed us to model ITD variation for previously published experimental acuity data and determine the distribution of just-noticeable differences in ITD. Our results suggest that the best-fit model is one whereby just-noticeable differences in ITDs are identified with uniform or close to uniform sensitivity across the physiological range. We discuss how our results have several implications for neural ITD processing in different species as well as development of the auditory system.

Binaural sensitivity in children who use bilateral cochlear implants.

PubMed

Ehlers, Erica; Goupell, Matthew J; Zheng, Yi; Godar, Shelly P; Litovsky, Ruth Y

2017-06-01

Children who are deaf and receive bilateral cochlear implants (BiCIs) perform better on spatial hearing tasks using bilateral rather than unilateral inputs; however, they underperform relative to normal-hearing (NH) peers. This gap in performance is multi-factorial, including the inability of speech processors to reliably deliver binaural cues. Although much is known regarding binaural sensitivity of adults with BiCIs, less is known about how the development of binaural sensitivity in children with BiCIs compared to NH children. Sixteen children (ages 9-17 years) were tested using synchronized research processors. Interaural time differences and interaural level differences (ITDs and ILDs, respectively) were presented to pairs of pitch-matched electrodes. Stimuli were 300-ms, 100-pulses-per-second, constant-amplitude pulse trains. In the first and second experiments, discrimination of interaural cues (either ITDs or ILDs) was measured using a two-interval left/right task. In the third experiment, subjects reported the perceived intracranial position of ITDs and ILDs in a lateralization task. All children demonstrated sensitivity to ILDs, possibly due to monaural level cues. Children who were born deaf had weak or absent sensitivity to ITDs; in contrast, ITD sensitivity was noted in children with previous exposure to acoustic hearing. Therefore, factors such as auditory deprivation, in particular, lack of early exposure to consistent timing differences between the ears, may delay the maturation of binaural circuits and cause insensitivity to binaural differences.

Detecting Near-Earth Objects Using Cross-Correlation with a Point Spread Function

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

greater than .001 seconds [Goodman, 2000]. Cross-Correlation Cross-Correlation measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between...real(ifft2(fftshift(otf_long)))); %normalize point spread funtion 55 if (Corner == 1) psf_source = makeshift(psf*source_img(ccd_x/2,ccd_y/2

Spectral composition of concurrent noise affects neuronal sensitivity to interaural time differences of tones in the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus.

PubMed

Siveke, Ida; Leibold, Christian; Grothe, Benedikt

2007-11-01

We are regularly exposed to several concurrent sounds, producing a mixture of binaural cues. The neuronal mechanisms underlying the localization of concurrent sounds are not well understood. The major binaural cues for localizing low-frequency sounds in the horizontal plane are interaural time differences (ITDs). Auditory brain stem neurons encode ITDs by firing maximally in response to "favorable" ITDs and weakly or not at all in response to "unfavorable" ITDs. We recorded from ITD-sensitive neurons in the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (DNLL) while presenting pure tones at different ITDs embedded in noise. We found that increasing levels of concurrent white noise suppressed the maximal response rate to tones with favorable ITDs and slightly enhanced the response rate to tones with unfavorable ITDs. Nevertheless, most of the neurons maintained ITD sensitivity to tones even for noise intensities equal to that of the tone. Using concurrent noise with a spectral composition in which the neuron's excitatory frequencies are omitted reduced the maximal response similar to that obtained with concurrent white noise. This finding indicates that the decrease of the maximal rate is mediated by suppressive cross-frequency interactions, which we also observed during monaural stimulation with additional white noise. In contrast, the enhancement of the firing rate to tones at unfavorable ITD might be due to early binaural interactions (e.g., at the level of the superior olive). A simple simulation corroborates this interpretation. Taken together, these findings suggest that the spectral composition of a concurrent sound strongly influences the spatial processing of ITD-sensitive DNLL neurons.

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

PubMed Central

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

Cross-correlation between EMG and center of gravity during quiet stance: theory and simulations.

PubMed

Kohn, André Fabio

2005-11-01

Several signal processing tools have been employed in the experimental study of the postural control system in humans. Among them, the cross-correlation function has been used to analyze the time relationship between signals such as the electromyogram and the horizontal projection of the center of gravity. The common finding is that the electromyogram precedes the biomechanical signal, a result that has been interpreted in different ways, for example, the existence of feedforward control or the preponderance of a velocity feedback. It is shown here, analytically and by simulation, that the cross-correlation function is dependent in a complicated way on system parameters and on noise spectra. Results similar to those found experimentally, e.g., electromyogram preceding the biomechanical signal may be obtained in a postural control model without any feedforward control and without any velocity feedback. Therefore, correct interpretations of experimentally obtained cross-correlation functions may require additional information about the system. The results extend to other biomedical applications where two signals from a closed loop system are cross-correlated.

Detection and localization of sounds: Virtual tones and virtual reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Peter Xinya

Modern physiologically based binaural models employ internal delay lines in the pathways from left and right peripheries to central processing nuclei. Various models apply the delay lines differently, and give different predictions for the detection of dichotic pitches, wherein listeners hear a virtual tone in the noise background. Two dichotic pitch stimuli (Huggins pitch and binaural coherence edge pitch) with low boundary frequencies were used to test the predictions by two different models. The results from five experiments show that the relative dichotic pitch strengths support the equalization-cancellation model and disfavor the central activity pattern (CAP) model. The CAP model makes predictions for the lateralization of Huggins pitch based on interaural time differences (ITD). By measuring human lateralization for Huggins pitches with two different types of phase boundaries (linear-phase and stepped phase), and by comparing with lateralization of sine-tones, it was shown that the lateralization of Huggins pitch stimuli is similar to that of the corresponding sine-tones, and the lateralizations of Huggins pitch stimuli with the two different boundaries were even more similar to one another. The results agreed roughly with the CAP model predictions. Agreement was significantly improved by incorporating individualized scale factors and offsets into the model, and was further unproved with a model including compression at large ITDs. Furthermore, ambiguous stimuli, with an interaural phase difference of 180 degrees, were consistently lateralized on the left or right based on individual asymmetries---which introduces the concept of "earedness". Interaural phase difference (IPD) and interaural time difference (ITD) are two different forms of temporal cues. With varying frequency, an auditory system based on IPD or ITD gives different quantitative predictions on lateralization. A lateralization experiment with sine tones tested whether human auditory system is an IPD-meter or an ITD-meter. Listeners estimated the lateral positions of 50 sine tones with IPDs ranging from -150° to +150° and with different frequencies, all in the range where signal fine structure supports lateralization. The estimates indicated that listeners lateralize sine tones on the basis of ITD and not IPD. In order to distinguish between sound sources in front and in back, listeners use spectral cues caused by the diffraction by pinna, head, neck and torso. To study this effect, the VRX technique was developed based on transaural technology. The technique was successful in presenting desired spectra into listeners' ears with high accuracy up to 16 kHz. When presented with real source and simulated virtual signal, listeners in an anechoic room could not distinguish between them. Eleven experiments on discrimination between front and back sources were carried out in an anechoic room. The results show several findings. First, the results support a multiple band comparison model, and disfavor a necessary band(s) model. Second, it was found that preserving the spectral dips was more important than preserving the spectral peaks for successful front/back discrimination. Moreover, it was confirmed that neither monaural cues nor interaural spectral level difference cues were adequate for front/back discrimination. Furthermore, listeners' performance did not deteriorate when presented with sharpened spectra. Finally, when presented with an interaural delay less than 200 mus, listeners could succeed to discriminate front from back, although the image was pulled to the side, which suggests that the localizations in azimuthal plane and in sagittal plane are independent within certain limits.

Perceptual consequences of disrupted auditory nerve activity.

PubMed

Zeng, Fan-Gang; Kong, Ying-Yee; Michalewski, Henry J; Starr, Arnold

2005-06-01

Perceptual consequences of disrupted auditory nerve activity were systematically studied in 21 subjects who had been clinically diagnosed with auditory neuropathy (AN), a recently defined disorder characterized by normal outer hair cell function but disrupted auditory nerve function. Neurological and electrophysical evidence suggests that disrupted auditory nerve activity is due to desynchronized or reduced neural activity or both. Psychophysical measures showed that the disrupted neural activity has minimal effects on intensity-related perception, such as loudness discrimination, pitch discrimination at high frequencies, and sound localization using interaural level differences. In contrast, the disrupted neural activity significantly impairs timing related perception, such as pitch discrimination at low frequencies, temporal integration, gap detection, temporal modulation detection, backward and forward masking, signal detection in noise, binaural beats, and sound localization using interaural time differences. These perceptual consequences are the opposite of what is typically observed in cochlear-impaired subjects who have impaired intensity perception but relatively normal temporal processing after taking their impaired intensity perception into account. These differences in perceptual consequences between auditory neuropathy and cochlear damage suggest the use of different neural codes in auditory perception: a suboptimal spike count code for intensity processing, a synchronized spike code for temporal processing, and a duplex code for frequency processing. We also proposed two underlying physiological models based on desynchronized and reduced discharge in the auditory nerve to successfully account for the observed neurological and behavioral data. These methods and measures cannot differentiate between these two AN models, but future studies using electric stimulation of the auditory nerve via a cochlear implant might. These results not only show the unique contribution of neural synchrony to sensory perception but also provide guidance for translational research in terms of better diagnosis and management of human communication disorders.

The across frequency independence of equalization of interaural time delay in the equalization-cancellation model of binaural unmasking.

PubMed

Akeroyd, Michael A

2004-08-01

The equalization stage in the equalization-cancellation model of binaural unmasking compensates for the interaural time delay (ITD) of a masking noise by introducing an opposite, internal delay [N. I. Durlach, in Foundations of Modern Auditory Theory, Vol. II., edited by J. V. Tobias (Academic, New York, 1972)]. Culling and Summerfield [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 98, 785-797 (1995)] developed a multi-channel version of this model in which equalization was "free" to use the optimal delay in each channel. Two experiments were conducted to test if equalization was indeed free or if it was "restricted" to the same delay in all channels. One experiment measured binaural detection thresholds, using an adaptive procedure, for 1-, 5-, or 17-component tones against a broadband masking noise, in three binaural configurations (N0S180, N180S0, and N90S270). The thresholds for the 1-component stimuli were used to normalize the levels of each of the 5- and 17-component stimuli so that they were equally detectable. If equalization was restricted, then, for the 5- and 17-component stimuli, the N90S270 and N180S0 configurations would yield a greater threshold than the N0S180 configurations. No such difference was found. A subsequent experiment measured binaural detection thresholds, via psychometric functions, for a 2-component complex tone in the same three binaural configurations. Again, no differential effect of configuration was observed. An analytic model of the detection of a complex tone showed that the results were more consistent with free equalization than restricted equalization, although the size of the differences was found to depend on the shape of the psychometric function for detection.

The acoustical cues to sound location in the Guinea pig (cavia porcellus)

PubMed Central

Greene, Nathanial T; Anbuhl, Kelsey L; Williams, Whitney; Tollin, Daniel J.

2014-01-01

There are three main acoustical cues to sound location, each attributable to space-and frequency-dependent filtering of the propagating sound waves by the outer ears, head, and torso: Interaural differences in time (ITD) and level (ILD) as well as monaural spectral shape cues. While the guinea pig has been a common model for studying the anatomy, physiology, and behavior of binaural and spatial hearing, extensive measurements of their available acoustical cues are lacking. Here, these cues were determined from directional transfer functions (DTFs), the directional components of the head-related transfer functions, for eleven adult guinea pigs. In the frontal hemisphere, monaural spectral notches were present for frequencies from ~10 to 20 kHz; in general, the notch frequency increased with increasing sound source elevation and in azimuth toward the contralateral ear. The maximum ITDs calculated from low-pass filtered (2 kHz cutoff frequency) DTFs were ~250 µs, whereas the maximum ITD measured with low frequency tone pips was over 320 µs. A spherical head model underestimates ITD magnitude under normal conditions, but closely approximates values when the pinnae were removed. Interaural level differences (ILDs) strongly depended on location and frequency; maximum ILDs were < 10 dB for frequencies < 4 kHz and were as large as 40 dB for frequencies > 10 kHz. Removal of the pinna reduced the depth and sharpness of spectral notches, altered the acoustical axis, and reduced the acoustical gain, ITDs, and ILDs; however, spectral shape features and acoustical gain were not completely eliminated, suggesting a substantial contribution of the head and torso in altering the sounds present at the tympanic membrane. PMID:25051197

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

PubMed Central

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

Temporal cross-correlation asymmetry and departure from equilibrium in a bistable chemical system.

PubMed

Bianca, C; Lemarchand, A

2014-06-14

This paper aims at determining sustained reaction fluxes in a nonlinear chemical system driven in a nonequilibrium steady state. The method relies on the computation of cross-correlation functions for the internal fluctuations of chemical species concentrations. By employing Langevin-type equations, we derive approximate analytical formulas for the cross-correlation functions associated with nonlinear dynamics. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the chemical master equation are performed in order to check the validity of the Langevin equations for a bistable chemical system. The two approaches are found in excellent agreement, except for critical parameter values where the bifurcation between monostability and bistability occurs. From the theoretical point of view, the results imply that the behavior of cross-correlation functions cannot be exploited to measure sustained reaction fluxes in a specific nonlinear system without the prior knowledge of the associated chemical mechanism and the rate constants.

An Ultra-Wideband Cross-Correlation Radiometer for Mesoscopic Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toonen, Ryan; Haselby, Cyrus; Qin, Hua; Eriksson, Mark; Blick, Robert

2007-03-01

We have designed, built and tested a cross-correlation radiometer for detecting statistical order in the quantum fluctuations of mesoscopic experiments at sub-Kelvin temperatures. Our system utilizes a fully analog front-end--operating over the X- and Ku-bands (8 to 18 GHz)--for computing the cross-correlation function. Digital signal processing techniques are used to provide robustness against instrumentation drifts and offsets. The economized version of our instrument can measure, with sufficient correlation efficiency, noise signals having power levels as low as 10 fW. We show that, if desired, we can improve this performance by including cryogenic preamplifiers which boost the signal-to-noise ratio near the signal source. By adding a few extra components, we can measure both the real and imaginary parts of the cross-correlation function--improving the overall signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of sqrt[2]. We demonstrate the utility of our cross-correlator with noise power measurements from a quantum point contact.

Cross-Correlation Asymmetries and Causal Relationships between Stock and Market Risk

PubMed Central

Borysov, Stanislav S.; Balatsky, Alexander V.

2014-01-01

We study historical correlations and lead-lag relationships between individual stock risk (volatility of daily stock returns) and market risk (volatility of daily returns of a market-representative portfolio) in the US stock market. We consider the cross-correlation functions averaged over all stocks, using 71 stock prices from the Standard & Poor's 500 index for 1994–2013. We focus on the behavior of the cross-correlations at the times of financial crises with significant jumps of market volatility. The observed historical dynamics showed that the dependence between the risks was almost linear during the US stock market downturn of 2002 and after the US housing bubble in 2007, remaining at that level until 2013. Moreover, the averaged cross-correlation function often had an asymmetric shape with respect to zero lag in the periods of high correlation. We develop the analysis by the application of the linear response formalism to study underlying causal relations. The calculated response functions suggest the presence of characteristic regimes near financial crashes, when the volatility of an individual stock follows the market volatility and vice versa. PMID:25162697

Cross-correlation asymmetries and causal relationships between stock and market risk.

PubMed

Borysov, Stanislav S; Balatsky, Alexander V

2014-01-01

We study historical correlations and lead-lag relationships between individual stock risk (volatility of daily stock returns) and market risk (volatility of daily returns of a market-representative portfolio) in the US stock market. We consider the cross-correlation functions averaged over all stocks, using 71 stock prices from the Standard & Poor's 500 index for 1994-2013. We focus on the behavior of the cross-correlations at the times of financial crises with significant jumps of market volatility. The observed historical dynamics showed that the dependence between the risks was almost linear during the US stock market downturn of 2002 and after the US housing bubble in 2007, remaining at that level until 2013. Moreover, the averaged cross-correlation function often had an asymmetric shape with respect to zero lag in the periods of high correlation. We develop the analysis by the application of the linear response formalism to study underlying causal relations. The calculated response functions suggest the presence of characteristic regimes near financial crashes, when the volatility of an individual stock follows the market volatility and vice versa.

Monitoring volcanic activity using correlation patterns between infrasound and ground motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichihara, M.; Takeo, M.; Yokoo, A.; Oikawa, J.; Ohminato, T.

2012-02-01

This paper presents a simple method to distinguish infrasonic signals from wind noise using a cross-correlation function of signals from a microphone and a collocated seismometer. The method makes use of a particular feature of the cross-correlation function of vertical ground motion generated by infrasound, and the infrasound itself. Contribution of wind noise to the correlation function is effectively suppressed by separating the microphone and the seismometer by several meters because the correlation length of wind noise is much shorter than wavelengths of infrasound. The method is applied to data from two recent eruptions of Asama and Shinmoe-dake volcanoes, Japan, and demonstrates that the method effectively detects not only the main eruptions, but also minor activity generating weak infrasound hardly visible in the wave traces. In addition, the correlation function gives more information about volcanic activity than infrasound alone, because it reflects both features of incident infrasonic and seismic waves. Therefore, a graphical presentation of temporal variation in the cross-correlation function enables one to see qualitative changes of eruptive activity at a glance. This method is particularly useful when available sensors are limited, and will extend the utility of a single microphone and seismometer in monitoring volcanic activity.

Neural Correlates and Mechanisms of Spatial Release From Masking: Single-Unit and Population Responses in the Inferior Colliculus

PubMed Central

Lane, Courtney C.; Delgutte, Bertrand

2007-01-01

Spatial release from masking (SRM), a factor in listening in noisy environments, is the improvement in auditory signal detection obtained when a signal is separated in space from a masker. To study the neural mechanisms of SRM, we recorded from single units in the inferior colliculus (IC) of barbiturate-anesthetized cats, focusing on low-frequency neurons sensitive to interaural time differences. The stimulus was a broadband chirp train with a 40-Hz repetition rate in continuous broadband noise, and the unit responses were measured for several signal and masker (virtual) locations. Masked thresholds (the lowest signal-to-noise ratio, SNR, for which the signal could be detected for 75% of the stimulus presentations) changed systematically with signal and masker location. Single-unit thresholds did not necessarily improve with signal and masker separation; instead, they tended to reflect the units’ azimuth preference. Both how the signal was detected (through a rate increase or decrease) and how the noise masked the signal response (suppressive or excitatory masking) changed with signal and masker azimuth, consistent with a cross-correlator model of binaural processing. However, additional processing, perhaps related to the signal’s amplitude modulation rate, appeared to influence the units’ responses. The population masked thresholds (the most sensitive unit’s threshold at each signal and masker location) did improve with signal and masker separation as a result of the variety of azimuth preferences in our unit sample. The population thresholds were similar to human behavioral thresholds in both SNR value and shape, indicating that these units may provide a neural substrate for low-frequency SRM. PMID:15857966

Quantitative evaluation of cross correlation between two finite-length time series with applications to single-molecule FRET.

PubMed

Hanson, Jeffery A; Yang, Haw

2008-11-06

The statistical properties of the cross correlation between two time series has been studied. An analytical expression for the cross correlation function's variance has been derived. On the basis of these results, a statistically robust method has been proposed to detect the existence and determine the direction of cross correlation between two time series. The proposed method has been characterized by computer simulations. Applications to single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy are discussed. The results may also find immediate applications in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and its variants.

Determination of Relevant Neuron–Neuron Connections for Neural Prosthetics Using Time-Delayed Mutual Information: Tutorial and Preliminary Results

PubMed Central

Taghva, Alexander; Song, Dong; Hampson, Robert E.; Deadwyler, Sam A.; Berger, Theodore W.

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND Identification of functional dependence among neurons is a necessary component in both the rational design of neural prostheses as well as in the characterization of network physiology. The objective of this article is to provide a tutorial for neurosurgeons regarding information theory, specifically time-delayed mutual information, and to compare time-delayed mutual information, an information theoretic quantity based on statistical dependence, with cross-correlation, a commonly used metric for this task in a preliminary analysis of rat hippocampal neurons. METHODS Spike trains were recorded from rats performing delayed nonmatch-to-sample task using an array of electrodes surgically implanted into the hippocampus of each hemisphere of the brain. In addition, spike train simulations of positively correlated neurons, negatively correlated neurons, and neurons correlated by nonlinear functions were generated. These were evaluated by time-delayed mutual information (MI) and cross-correlation. RESULTS Application of time-delayed MI to experimental data indicated the optimal bin size for information capture in the CA3-CA1 system was 40 ms, which may provide some insight into the spatiotemporal nature of encoding in the rat hippocampus. On simulated data, time-delayed MI showed peak values at appropriate time lags in positively correlated, negatively correlated, and complexly correlated data. Cross-correlation showed peak and troughs with positively correlated and negatively correlated data, but failed to capture some higher order correlations. CONCLUSIONS Comparison of time-delayed MI to cross-correlation in identification of functionally dependent neurons indicates that the methods are not equivalent. Time-delayed MI appeared to capture some interactions between CA3-CA1 neurons at physiologically plausible time delays missed by cross-correlation. It should be considered as a method for identification of functional dependence between neurons and may be useful in the development of neural prosthetics. PMID:22120279

Determination of relevant neuron-neuron connections for neural prosthetics using time-delayed mutual information: tutorial and preliminary results.

PubMed

Taghva, Alexander; Song, Dong; Hampson, Robert E; Deadwyler, Sam A; Berger, Theodore W

2012-12-01

Identification of functional dependence among neurons is a necessary component in both the rational design of neural prostheses as well as in the characterization of network physiology. The objective of this article is to provide a tutorial for neurosurgeons regarding information theory, specifically time-delayed mutual information, and to compare time-delayed mutual information, an information theoretic quantity based on statistical dependence, with cross-correlation, a commonly used metric for this task in a preliminary analysis of rat hippocampal neurons. Spike trains were recorded from rats performing delayed nonmatch-to-sample task using an array of electrodes surgically implanted into the hippocampus of each hemisphere of the brain. In addition, spike train simulations of positively correlated neurons, negatively correlated neurons, and neurons correlated by nonlinear functions were generated. These were evaluated by time-delayed mutual information (MI) and cross-correlation. Application of time-delayed MI to experimental data indicated the optimal bin size for information capture in the CA3-CA1 system was 40 ms, which may provide some insight into the spatiotemporal nature of encoding in the rat hippocampus. On simulated data, time-delayed MI showed peak values at appropriate time lags in positively correlated, negatively correlated, and complexly correlated data. Cross-correlation showed peak and troughs with positively correlated and negatively correlated data, but failed to capture some higher order correlations. Comparison of time-delayed MI to cross-correlation in identification of functionally dependent neurons indicates that the methods are not equivalent. Time-delayed MI appeared to capture some interactions between CA3-CA1 neurons at physiologically plausible time delays missed by cross-correlation. It should be considered as a method for identification of functional dependence between neurons and may be useful in the development of neural prosthetics. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial separation benefit for unaided and aided listening

PubMed Central

Ahlstrom, Jayne B.; Horwitz, Amy R.; Dubno, Judy R.

2013-01-01

Consonant recognition in noise was measured at a fixed signal-to-noise ratio as a function of low-pass-cutoff frequency and noise location in older adults fit with bilateral hearing aids. To quantify age-related differences, spatial benefit was assessed in younger and older adults with normal hearing. Spatial benefit was similar for all groups suggesting that older adults used interaural difference cues to improve speech recognition in noise equivalently to younger adults. Although amplification was sufficient to increase high-frequency audibility with spatial separation, hearing-aid benefit was minimal, suggesting that factors beyond simple audibility may be responsible for limited hearing-aid benefit. PMID:24121648

Retrieving robust noise-based seismic velocity changes from sparse data sets: synthetic tests and application to Klyuchevskoy volcanic group (Kamchatka)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez-García, C.; Brenguier, F.; Boué, P.; Shapiro, N. M.; Droznin, D. V.; Droznina, S. Ya; Senyukov, S. L.; Gordeev, E. I.

2018-05-01

Continuous noise-based monitoring of seismic velocity changes provides insights into volcanic unrest, earthquake mechanisms and fluid injection in the sub-surface. The standard monitoring approach relies on measuring travel time changes of late coda arrivals between daily and reference noise cross-correlations, usually chosen as stacks of daily cross-correlations. The main assumption of this method is that the shape of the noise correlations does not change over time or, in other terms, that the ambient-noise sources are stationary through time. These conditions are not fulfilled when a strong episodic source of noise, such as a volcanic tremor for example, perturbs the reconstructed Green's function. In this paper we propose a general formulation for retrieving continuous time series of noise-based seismic velocity changes without the requirement of any arbitrary reference cross-correlation function. Instead, we measure the changes between all possible pairs of daily cross-correlations and invert them using different smoothing parameters to obtain the final velocity change curve. We perform synthetic tests in order to establish a general framework for future applications of this technique. In particular, we study the reliability of velocity change measurements versus the stability of noise cross-correlation functions. We apply this approach to a complex dataset of noise cross-correlations at Klyuchevskoy volcanic group (Kamchatka), hampered by loss of data and the presence of highly non-stationary seismic tremors.

The effect of stimulus intensity on the right ear advantage in dichotic listening.

PubMed

Hugdahl, Kenneth; Westerhausen, René; Alho, Kimmo; Medvedev, Svyatoslav; Hämäläinen, Heikki

2008-01-24

The dichotic listening test is non-invasive behavioural technique to study brain lateralization and it has been shown, that its results can be systematically modulated by varying stimulation properties (bottom-up effects) or attentional instructions (top-down effects) of the testing procedure. The goal of the present study was to further investigate the bottom-up modulation, by examining the effect of differences in the right or left ear stimulus intensity on the ear advantage. For this purpose, interaural intensity difference were gradually varied in steps of 3 dB from -21 dB in favour of the left ear to +21 dB in favour of the right ear, also including a no difference baseline condition. Thirty-three right-handed adult participants with normal hearing acuity were tested. The dichotic listening paradigm was based on consonant-vowel stimuli pairs. Only pairs with the same voicing (voice or non-voiced) of the consonant sound were used. The results showed: (a) a significant right ear advantage (REA) for interaural intensity differences from 21 to -3 dB, (b) no ear advantage (NEA) for the -6 dB difference, and (c) a significant left ear advantage (LEA) for differences form -9 to -21 dB. It is concluded that the right ear advantage in dichotic listening to CV syllables withstands an interaural intensity difference of -9 dB before yielding to a significant left ear advantage. This finding could have implications for theories of auditory laterality and hemispheric asymmetry for phonological processing.

Reliability of Interaural Time Difference-Based Localization Training in Elderly Individuals with Speech-in-Noise Perception Disorder.

PubMed

Delphi, Maryam; Lotfi, M-Yones; Moossavi, Abdollah; Bakhshi, Enayatollah; Banimostafa, Maryam

2017-09-01

Previous studies have shown that interaural-time-difference (ITD) training can improve localization ability. Surprisingly little is, however, known about localization training vis-à-vis speech perception in noise based on interaural time difference in the envelope (ITD ENV). We sought to investigate the reliability of an ITD ENV-based training program in speech-in-noise perception among elderly individuals with normal hearing and speech-in-noise disorder. The present interventional study was performed during 2016. Sixteen elderly men between 55 and 65 years of age with the clinical diagnosis of normal hearing up to 2000 Hz and speech-in-noise perception disorder participated in this study. The training localization program was based on changes in ITD ENV. In order to evaluate the reliability of the training program, we performed speech-in-noise tests before the training program, immediately afterward, and then at 2 months' follow-up. The reliability of the training program was analyzed using the Friedman test and the SPSS software. Significant statistical differences were shown in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 3 time points (P=0.001). The results also indicated no difference in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 2 time points of immediately after the training program and 2 months' follow-up (P=0.212). The present study showed the reliability of an ITD ENV-based localization training in elderly individuals with speech-in-noise perception disorder.

Correlated hydrogen bonding fluctuations and vibrational cross peaks in N-methyl acetamide: simulation based on a complete electrostatic density functional theory map.

PubMed

Hayashi, Tomoyuki; Mukamel, Shaul

2006-11-21

The coherent nonlinear response of the entire amide line shapes of N-methyl acetamide to three infrared pulses is simulated using an electrostatic density functional theory map. Positive and negative cross peaks contain signatures of correlations between the fundamentals and the combination state. The amide I-A and I-III cross-peak line shapes indicate positive correlation and anticorrelation of frequency fluctuations, respectively. These can be ascribed to correlated hydrogen bonding at C[double bond]O and N-H sites. The amide I frequency is negatively correlated with the hydrogen bond on carbonyl C[double bond]O, whereas the amide A and III are negatively and positively correlated, respectively, with the hydrogen bond on amide N-H.

Effects of Various Architectural Parameters on Six Room Acoustical Measures in Auditoria.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiang, Wei-Hwa

The effects of architectural parameters on six room acoustical measures were investigated by means of correlation analyses, factor analyses and multiple regression analyses based on data taken in twenty halls. Architectural parameters were used to estimate acoustical measures taken at individual locations within each room as well as the averages and standard deviations of all measured values in the rooms. The six acoustical measures were Early Decay Time (EDT10), Clarity Index (C80), Overall Level (G), Bass Ratio based on Early Decay Time (BR(EDT)), Treble Ratio based on Early Decay Time (TR(EDT)), and Early Inter-aural Cross Correlation (IACC80). A comprehensive method of quantifying various architectural characteristics of rooms was developed to define a large number of architectural parameters that were hypothesized to effect the acoustical measurements made in the rooms. This study quantitatively confirmed many of the principles used in the design of concert halls and auditoria. Three groups of room architectural parameters such as the parameters associated with the depth of diffusing surfaces were significantly correlated with the hall standard deviations of most of the acoustical measures. Significant differences of statistical relations among architectural parameters and receiver specific acoustical measures were found between a group of music halls and a group of lecture halls. For example, architectural parameters such as the relative distance from the receiver to the overhead ceiling increased the percentage of the variance of acoustical measures that was explained by Barron's revised theory from approximately 70% to 80% only when data were taken in the group of music halls. This study revealed the major architectural parameters which have strong relations with individual acoustical measures forming the basis for a more quantitative method for advancing the theoretical design of concert halls and other auditoria. The results of this study provide designers the information to predict acoustical measures in buildings at very early stages of the design process without using computer models or scale models.

Statistical properties of cross-correlation in the Korean stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, G.; Eom, C.; Wang, F.; Jung, W.-S.; Stanley, H. E.; Kim, S.

2011-01-01

We investigate the statistical properties of the cross-correlation matrix between individual stocks traded in the Korean stock market using the random matrix theory (RMT) and observe how these affect the portfolio weights in the Markowitz portfolio theory. We find that the distribution of the cross-correlation matrix is positively skewed and changes over time. We find that the eigenvalue distribution of original cross-correlation matrix deviates from the eigenvalues predicted by the RMT, and the largest eigenvalue is 52 times larger than the maximum value among the eigenvalues predicted by the RMT. The β_{473} coefficient, which reflect the largest eigenvalue property, is 0.8, while one of the eigenvalues in the RMT is approximately zero. Notably, we show that the entropy function E(σ) with the portfolio risk σ for the original and filtered cross-correlation matrices are consistent with a power-law function, E( σ) σ^{-γ}, with the exponent γ 2.92 and those for Asian currency crisis decreases significantly.

Ocean acoustic interferometry.

PubMed

Brooks, Laura A; Gerstoft, Peter

2007-06-01

Ocean acoustic interferometry refers to an approach whereby signals recorded from a line of sources are used to infer the Green's function between two receivers. An approximation of the time domain Green's function is obtained by summing, over all source positions (stacking), the cross-correlations between the receivers. Within this paper a stationary phase argument is used to describe the relationship between the stacked cross-correlations from a line of vertical sources, located in the same vertical plane as two receivers, and the Green's function between the receivers. Theory and simulations demonstrate the approach and are in agreement with those of a modal based approach presented by others. Results indicate that the stacked cross-correlations can be directly related to the shaded Green's function, so long as the modal continuum of any sediment layers is negligible.

Loud Music Exposure and Cochlear Synaptopathy in Young Adults: Isolated Auditory Brainstem Response Effects but No Perceptual Consequences.

PubMed

Grose, John H; Buss, Emily; Hall, Joseph W

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that listeners with frequent exposure to loud music exhibit deficits in suprathreshold auditory performance consistent with cochlear synaptopathy. Young adults with normal audiograms were recruited who either did ( n = 31) or did not ( n = 30) have a history of frequent attendance at loud music venues where the typical sound levels could be expected to result in temporary threshold shifts. A test battery was administered that comprised three sets of procedures: (a) electrophysiological tests including distortion product otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem responses, envelope following responses, and the acoustic change complex evoked by an interaural phase inversion; (b) psychoacoustic tests including temporal modulation detection, spectral modulation detection, and sensitivity to interaural phase; and (c) speech tests including filtered phoneme recognition and speech-in-noise recognition. The results demonstrated that a history of loud music exposure can lead to a profile of peripheral auditory function that is consistent with an interpretation of cochlear synaptopathy in humans, namely, modestly abnormal auditory brainstem response Wave I/Wave V ratios in the presence of normal distortion product otoacoustic emissions and normal audiometric thresholds. However, there were no other electrophysiological, psychophysical, or speech perception effects. The absence of any behavioral effects in suprathreshold sound processing indicated that, even if cochlear synaptopathy is a valid pathophysiological condition in humans, its perceptual sequelae are either too diffuse or too inconsequential to permit a simple differential diagnosis of hidden hearing loss.

Photon scattering cross sections of H2 and He measured with synchrotron radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ice, G. E.

1977-01-01

Total (elastic + inelastic) differential photon scattering cross sections have been measured for H2 gas and He, using an X-ray beam. Absolute measured cross sections agree with theory within the probable errors. Relative cross sections (normalized to theory at large S) agree to better than one percent with theoretical values calculated from wave functions that include the effect of electron-electron Coulomb correlation, but the data deviate significantly from theoretical independent-particle (e.g., Hartree-Fock) results. The ratios of measured absolute He cross sections to those of H2, at any given S, also agree to better than one percent with theoretical He-to-H2 cross-section ratios computed from correlated wave functions. It appears that photon scattering constitutes a very promising tool for probing electron correlation in light atoms and molecules.

Image correlation microscopy for uniform illumination.

PubMed

Gaborski, T R; Sealander, M N; Ehrenberg, M; Waugh, R E; McGrath, J L

2010-01-01

Image cross-correlation microscopy is a technique that quantifies the motion of fluorescent features in an image by measuring the temporal autocorrelation function decay in a time-lapse image sequence. Image cross-correlation microscopy has traditionally employed laser-scanning microscopes because the technique emerged as an extension of laser-based fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. In this work, we show that image correlation can also be used to measure fluorescence dynamics in uniform illumination or wide-field imaging systems and we call our new approach uniform illumination image correlation microscopy. Wide-field microscopy is not only a simpler, less expensive imaging modality, but it offers the capability of greater temporal resolution over laser-scanning systems. In traditional laser-scanning image cross-correlation microscopy, lateral mobility is calculated from the temporal de-correlation of an image, where the characteristic length is the illuminating laser beam width. In wide-field microscopy, the diffusion length is defined by the feature size using the spatial autocorrelation function. Correlation function decay in time occurs as an object diffuses from its original position. We show that theoretical and simulated comparisons between Gaussian and uniform features indicate the temporal autocorrelation function depends strongly on particle size and not particle shape. In this report, we establish the relationships between the spatial autocorrelation function feature size, temporal autocorrelation function characteristic time and the diffusion coefficient for uniform illumination image correlation microscopy using analytical, Monte Carlo and experimental validation with particle tracking algorithms. Additionally, we demonstrate uniform illumination image correlation microscopy analysis of adhesion molecule domain aggregation and diffusion on the surface of human neutrophils.

Objective measures of binaural masking level differences and comodulation masking release based on late auditory evoked potentials.

PubMed

Epp, Bastian; Yasin, Ifat; Verhey, Jesko L

2013-12-01

The audibility of important sounds is often hampered due to the presence of other masking sounds. The present study investigates if a correlate of the audibility of a tone masked by noise is found in late auditory evoked potentials measured from human listeners. The audibility of the target sound at a fixed physical intensity is varied by introducing auditory cues of (i) interaural target signal phase disparity and (ii) coherent masker level fluctuations in different frequency regions. In agreement with previous studies, psychoacoustical experiments showed that both stimulus manipulations result in a masking release (i: binaural masking level difference; ii: comodulation masking release) compared to a condition where those cues are not present. Late auditory evoked potentials (N1, P2) were recorded for the stimuli at a constant masker level, but different signal levels within the same set of listeners who participated in the psychoacoustical experiment. The data indicate differences in N1 and P2 between stimuli with and without interaural phase disparities. However, differences for stimuli with and without coherent masker modulation were only found for P2, i.e., only P2 is sensitive to the increase in audibility, irrespective of the cue that caused the masking release. The amplitude of P2 is consistent with the psychoacoustical finding of an addition of the masking releases when both cues are present. Even though it cannot be concluded where along the auditory pathway the audibility is represented, the P2 component of auditory evoked potentials is a candidate for an objective measure of audibility in the human auditory system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Properties of the Magnitude Terms of Orthogonal Scaling Functions.

PubMed

Tay, Peter C; Havlicek, Joseph P; Acton, Scott T; Hossack, John A

2010-09-01

The spectrum of the convolution of two continuous functions can be determined as the continuous Fourier transform of the cross-correlation function. The same can be said about the spectrum of the convolution of two infinite discrete sequences, which can be determined as the discrete time Fourier transform of the cross-correlation function of the two sequences. In current digital signal processing, the spectrum of the contiuous Fourier transform and the discrete time Fourier transform are approximately determined by numerical integration or by densely taking the discrete Fourier transform. It has been shown that all three transforms share many analogous properties. In this paper we will show another useful property of determining the spectrum terms of the convolution of two finite length sequences by determining the discrete Fourier transform of the modified cross-correlation function. In addition, two properties of the magnitude terms of orthogonal wavelet scaling functions are developed. These properties are used as constraints for an exhaustive search to determine an robust lower bound on conjoint localization of orthogonal scaling functions.

Analyzing the Cross-Correlation Between Onshore and Offshore RMB Exchange Rates Based on Multifractal Detrended Cross-Correlation Analysis (MF-DCCA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Chi; Zhou, Yingying; Wang, Gangjin; Yan, Xinguo

We use the multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) method to explore the multifractal behavior of the cross-correlation between exchange rates of onshore RMB (CNY) and offshore RMB (CNH) against US dollar (USD). The empirical data are daily prices of CNY/USD and CNH/USD from May 1, 2012 to February 29, 2016. The results demonstrate that: (i) the cross-correlation between CNY/USD and CNH/USD is persistent and its fluctuation is smaller when the order of fluctuation function is negative than that when the order is positive; (ii) the multifractal behavior of the cross-correlation between CNY/USD and CNH/USD is significant during the sample period; (iii) the dynamic Hurst exponents obtained by the rolling windows analysis show that the cross-correlation is stable when the global economic situation is good and volatile in bad situation; and (iv) the non-normal distribution of original data has a greater effect on the multifractality of the cross-correlation between CNY/USD and CNH/USD than the temporary correlation.

Relation Between Cochlear Mechanics and Performance of Temporal Fine Structure-Based Tasks.

PubMed

Otsuka, Sho; Furukawa, Shigeto; Yamagishi, Shimpei; Hirota, Koich; Kashino, Makio

2016-12-01

This study examined whether the mechanical characteristics of the cochlea could influence individual variation in the ability to use temporal fine structure (TFS) information. Cochlear mechanical functioning was evaluated by swept-tone evoked otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), which are thought to comprise linear reflection by micromechanical impedance perturbations, such as spatial variations in the number or geometry of outer hair cells, on the basilar membrane (BM). Low-rate (2 Hz) frequency modulation detection limens (FMDLs) were measured for carrier frequency of 1000 Hz and interaural phase difference (IPD) thresholds as indices of TFS sensitivity and high-rate (16 Hz) FMDLs and amplitude modulation detection limens (AMDLs) as indices of sensitivity to non-TFS cues. Significant correlations were found among low-rate FMDLs, low-rate AMDLs, and IPD thresholds (R = 0.47-0.59). A principal component analysis was used to show a common factor that could account for 81.1, 74.1, and 62.9 % of the variance in low-rate FMDLs, low-rate AMDLs, and IPD thresholds, respectively. An OAE feature, specifically a characteristic dip around 2-2.5 kHz in OAE spectra, showed a significant correlation with the common factor (R = 0.54). High-rate FMDLs and AMDLs were correlated with each other (R = 0.56) but not with the other measures. The results can be interpreted as indicating that (1) the low-rate AMDLs, as well as the IPD thresholds and low-rate FMDLs, depend on the use of TFS information coded in neural phase locking and (2) the use of TFS information is influenced by a particular aspect of cochlear mechanics, such as mechanical irregularity along the BM.

Binaural processing of speech in light aircraft.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1972-09-01

Laboratory studies have shown that the human binaural auditory system can extract signals from noise more effectively when the signals (or the noise) are presented in one of several interaurally disparate configurations. Questions arise as to whether...

Sound source localization inspired by the ears of the Ormia ochracea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuntzman, Michael L.; Hall, Neal A.

2014-07-01

The parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea has the remarkable ability to locate crickets using audible sound. This ability is, in fact, remarkable as the fly's hearing mechanism spans only 1.5 mm which is 50× smaller than the wavelength of sound emitted by the cricket. The hearing mechanism is, for all practical purposes, a point in space with no significant interaural time or level differences to draw from. It has been discovered that evolution has empowered the fly with a hearing mechanism that utilizes multiple vibration modes to amplify interaural time and level differences. Here, we present a fully integrated, man-made mimic of the Ormia's hearing mechanism capable of replicating the remarkable sound localization ability of the special fly. A silicon-micromachined prototype is presented which uses multiple piezoelectric sensing ports to simultaneously transduce two orthogonal vibration modes of the sensing structure, thereby enabling simultaneous measurement of sound pressure and pressure gradient.

JNDS of interaural time delay (ITD) of selected frequency bands in speech and music signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aliphas, Avner; Colburn, H. Steven; Ghitza, Oded

2002-05-01

JNDS of interaural time delay (ITD) of selected frequency bands in the presence of other frequency bands have been reported for noiseband stimuli [Zurek (1985); Trahiotis and Bernstein (1990)]. Similar measurements will be reported for speech and music signals. When stimuli are synthesized with bandpass/band-stop operations, performance with complex stimuli are similar to noisebands (JNDS in tens or hundreds of microseconds); however, the resulting waveforms, when viewed through a model of the auditory periphery, show distortions (irregularities in phase and level) at the boundaries of the target band of frequencies. An alternate synthesis method based upon group-delay filtering operations does not show these distortions and is being used for the current measurements. Preliminary measurements indicate that when music stimuli are created using the new techniques, JNDS of ITDs are increased significantly compared to previous studies, with values on the order of milliseconds.

Interaural attenuation for Sennheiser HDA 200 circumaural earphones.

PubMed

Brännström, K Jonas; Lantz, Johannes

2010-06-01

Interaural attenuation (IA) was evaluated for pure tones (frequency range 125 to 16000 Hz) using Sennheiser HDA 200 circumaural earphones and Telephonics TDH-39P earphones in nine unilaterally deaf subjects. Audiometry was conducted in 1-dB steps using the manual ascending technique in accordance with ISO 8253-1. For all subjects and for all tested frequencies, the lowest IA value for HDA 200 was 42 dB. The present IA values for TDH-39P earphones closely resemble previously reported data. The findings show that the HDA 200 earphones provide more IA than the TDH-39P, especially at lower frequencies (

Binaural enhancement for bilateral cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Brown, Christopher A

2014-01-01

Bilateral cochlear implant (BCI) users receive limited binaural cues and, thus, show little improvement to speech intelligibility from spatial cues. The feasibility of a method for enhancing the binaural cues available to BCI users is investigated. This involved extending interaural differences of levels, which typically are restricted to high frequencies, into the low-frequency region. Speech intelligibility was measured in BCI users listening over headphones and with direct stimulation, with a target talker presented to one side of the head in the presence of a masker talker on the other side. Spatial separation was achieved by applying either naturally occurring binaural cues or enhanced cues. In this listening configuration, BCI patients showed greater speech intelligibility with the enhanced binaural cues than with naturally occurring binaural cues. In some situations, it is possible for BCI users to achieve greater speech intelligibility when binaural cues are enhanced by applying interaural differences of levels in the low-frequency region.

Time-Varying Distortions of Binaural Information by Bilateral Hearing Aids

PubMed Central

Rodriguez, Francisco A.; Portnuff, Cory D. F.; Goupell, Matthew J.; Tollin, Daniel J.

2016-01-01

In patients with bilateral hearing loss, the use of two hearing aids (HAs) offers the potential to restore the benefits of binaural hearing, including sound source localization and segregation. However, existing evidence suggests that bilateral HA users’ access to binaural information, namely interaural time and level differences (ITDs and ILDs), can be compromised by device processing. Our objective was to characterize the nature and magnitude of binaural distortions caused by modern digital behind-the-ear HAs using a variety of stimuli and HA program settings. Of particular interest was a common frequency-lowering algorithm known as nonlinear frequency compression, which has not previously been assessed for its effects on binaural information. A binaural beamforming algorithm was also assessed. Wide dynamic range compression was enabled in all programs. HAs were placed on a binaural manikin, and stimuli were presented from an arc of loudspeakers inside an anechoic chamber. Stimuli were broadband noise bursts, 10-Hz sinusoidally amplitude-modulated noise bursts, or consonant–vowel–consonant speech tokens. Binaural information was analyzed in terms of ITDs, ILDs, and interaural coherence, both for whole stimuli and in a time-varying sense (i.e., within a running temporal window) across four different frequency bands (1, 2, 4, and 6 kHz). Key findings were: (a) Nonlinear frequency compression caused distortions of high-frequency envelope ITDs and significantly reduced interaural coherence. (b) For modulated stimuli, all programs caused time-varying distortion of ILDs. (c) HAs altered the relationship between ITDs and ILDs, introducing large ITD–ILD conflicts in some cases. Potential perceptual consequences of measured distortions are discussed. PMID:27698258

Structural Changes and Lack of HCN1 Channels in the Binaural Auditory Brainstem of the Naked Mole-Rat (Heterocephalus glaber).

PubMed

Gessele, Nikodemus; Garcia-Pino, Elisabet; Omerbašić, Damir; Park, Thomas J; Koch, Ursula

2016-01-01

Naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) live in large eu-social, underground colonies in narrow burrows and are exposed to a large repertoire of communication signals but negligible binaural sound localization cues, such as interaural time and intensity differences. We therefore asked whether monaural and binaural auditory brainstem nuclei in the naked mole-rat are differentially adjusted to this acoustic environment. Using antibody stainings against excitatory and inhibitory presynaptic structures, namely the vesicular glutamate transporter VGluT1 and the glycine transporter GlyT2 we identified all major auditory brainstem nuclei except the superior paraolivary nucleus in these animals. Naked mole-rats possess a well structured medial superior olive, with a similar synaptic arrangement to interaural-time-difference encoding animals. The neighboring lateral superior olive, which analyzes interaural intensity differences, is large and elongated, whereas the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body, which provides the contralateral inhibitory input to these binaural nuclei, is reduced in size. In contrast, the cochlear nucleus, the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus and the inferior colliculus are not considerably different when compared to other rodent species. Most interestingly, binaural auditory brainstem nuclei lack the membrane-bound hyperpolarization-activated channel HCN1, a voltage-gated ion channel that greatly contributes to the fast integration times in binaural nuclei of the superior olivary complex in other species. This suggests substantially lengthened membrane time constants and thus prolonged temporal integration of inputs in binaural auditory brainstem neurons and might be linked to the severely degenerated sound localization abilities in these animals.

Four-choice sound localization abilities of two Florida manatees, Trichechus manatus latirostris.

PubMed

Colbert, Debborah E; Gaspard, Joseph C; Reep, Roger; Mann, David A; Bauer, Gordon B

2009-07-01

The absolute sound localization abilities of two Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) were measured using a four-choice discrimination paradigm, with test locations positioned at 45 deg., 90 deg., 270 deg. and 315 deg. angles relative to subjects facing 0 deg. Three broadband signals were tested at four durations (200, 500, 1000, 3000 ms), including a stimulus that spanned a wide range of frequencies (0.2-20 kHz), one stimulus that was restricted to frequencies with wavelengths shorter than their interaural time distances (6-20 kHz) and one that was limited to those with wavelengths longer than their interaural time distances (0.2-2 kHz). Two 3000 ms tonal signals were tested, including a 4 kHz stimulus, which is the midpoint of the 2.5-5.9 kHz fundamental frequency range of manatee vocalizations and a 16 kHz stimulus, which is in the range of manatee best-hearing sensitivity. Percentage correct within the broadband conditions ranged from 79% to 93% for Subject 1 and from 51% to 93% for Subject 2. Both performed above chance with the tonal signals but had much lower accuracy than with broadband signals, with Subject 1 at 44% and 33% and Subject 2 at 49% and 32% at the 4 kHz and 16 kHz conditions, respectively. These results demonstrate that manatees are able to localize frequency bands with wavelengths that are both shorter and longer than their interaural time distances and suggest that they have the ability to localize both manatee vocalizations and recreational boat engine noises.

Influence of the noise sources motion on the estimated Green's functions from ambient noise cross-correlations.

PubMed

Sabra, Karim G

2010-06-01

It has been demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that an estimate of the Green's function between two receivers can be obtained by cross-correlating acoustic (or elastic) ambient noise recorded at these two receivers. Coherent wavefronts emerge from the noise cross-correlation time function due to the accumulated contributions over time from noise sources whose propagation path pass through both receivers. Previous theoretical studies of the performance of this passive imaging technique have assumed that no relative motion between noise sources and receivers occurs. In this article, the influence of noise sources motion (e.g., aircraft or ship) on this passive imaging technique was investigated theoretically in free space, using a stationary phase approximation, for stationary receivers. The theoretical results were extended to more complex environments, in the high-frequency regime, using first-order expansions of the Green's function. Although sources motion typically degrades the performance of wideband coherent processing schemes, such as time-delay beamforming, it was found that the Green's function estimated from ambient noise cross-correlations are not expected to be significantly affected by the Doppler effect, even for supersonic sources. Numerical Monte-Carlo simulations were conducted to confirm these theoretical predictions for both cases of subsonic and supersonic moving sources.

Functional inverted Wishart for Bayesian multivariate spatial modeling with application to regional climatology model data.

PubMed

Duan, L L; Szczesniak, R D; Wang, X

2017-11-01

Modern environmental and climatological studies produce multiple outcomes at high spatial resolutions. Multivariate spatial modeling is an established means to quantify cross-correlation among outcomes. However, existing models typically suffer from poor computational efficiency and lack the flexibility to simultaneously estimate auto- and cross-covariance structures. In this article, we undertake a novel construction of covariance by utilizing spectral convolution and by imposing an inverted Wishart prior on the cross-correlation structure. The cross-correlation structure with this functional inverted Wishart prior flexibly accommodates not only positive but also weak or negative associations among outcomes while preserving spatial resolution. Furthermore, the proposed model is computationally efficient and produces easily interpretable results, including the individual autocovariances and full cross-correlation matrices, as well as a partial cross-correlation matrix reflecting the outcome correlation after excluding the effects caused by spatial convolution. The model is examined using simulated data sets under different scenarios. It is also applied to the data from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program, examining long-term associations between surface outcomes for air temperature, pressure, humidity, and radiation, on the land area of the North American West Coast. Results and predictive performance are compared with findings from approaches using convolution only or coregionalization.

A method for the estimation of the significance of cross-correlations in unevenly sampled red-noise time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Max-Moerbeck, W.; Richards, J. L.; Hovatta, T.; Pavlidou, V.; Pearson, T. J.; Readhead, A. C. S.

2014-11-01

We present a practical implementation of a Monte Carlo method to estimate the significance of cross-correlations in unevenly sampled time series of data, whose statistical properties are modelled with a simple power-law power spectral density. This implementation builds on published methods; we introduce a number of improvements in the normalization of the cross-correlation function estimate and a bootstrap method for estimating the significance of the cross-correlations. A closely related matter is the estimation of a model for the light curves, which is critical for the significance estimates. We present a graphical and quantitative demonstration that uses simulations to show how common it is to get high cross-correlations for unrelated light curves with steep power spectral densities. This demonstration highlights the dangers of interpreting them as signs of a physical connection. We show that by using interpolation and the Hanning sampling window function we are able to reduce the effects of red-noise leakage and to recover steep simple power-law power spectral densities. We also introduce the use of a Neyman construction for the estimation of the errors in the power-law index of the power spectral density. This method provides a consistent way to estimate the significance of cross-correlations in unevenly sampled time series of data.

Functional inverted Wishart for Bayesian multivariate spatial modeling with application to regional climatology model data

PubMed Central

Duan, L. L.; Szczesniak, R. D.; Wang, X.

2018-01-01

Modern environmental and climatological studies produce multiple outcomes at high spatial resolutions. Multivariate spatial modeling is an established means to quantify cross-correlation among outcomes. However, existing models typically suffer from poor computational efficiency and lack the flexibility to simultaneously estimate auto- and cross-covariance structures. In this article, we undertake a novel construction of covariance by utilizing spectral convolution and by imposing an inverted Wishart prior on the cross-correlation structure. The cross-correlation structure with this functional inverted Wishart prior flexibly accommodates not only positive but also weak or negative associations among outcomes while preserving spatial resolution. Furthermore, the proposed model is computationally efficient and produces easily interpretable results, including the individual autocovariances and full cross-correlation matrices, as well as a partial cross-correlation matrix reflecting the outcome correlation after excluding the effects caused by spatial convolution. The model is examined using simulated data sets under different scenarios. It is also applied to the data from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program, examining long-term associations between surface outcomes for air temperature, pressure, humidity, and radiation, on the land area of the North American West Coast. Results and predictive performance are compared with findings from approaches using convolution only or coregionalization. PMID:29576735

Stress during simulated emergency transportation in a rescue helicopter: cross-correlation between stress hormones, vital functions and subjective well-being.

PubMed

Witzel, K; Elzer, M; Koch, Horst J

2009-06-01

Vital functions and stress hormone levels during simulated emergency helicopter transport in healthy volunteers. Twenty-three volunteers were subjected to a simulated 15 minute rescue helicopter transport. We determined vital functions, ACTH, cortisol and prolactin during the flight and filled in a standardized questionnaire before and after the flight. Data were analysed descriptively, by means of cross tabulation, Spearman rank correlation and cross-correlation technique. During take-off we recorded a significant increase of vital parameters such as heart rate. Prolactin concentration rose slightly after the start. Maximum cortisol and ACTH levels were found before take-off and then they decreased gradually. As expected, ACTH and cortisol cross-correlated significantly without any relevant time lag. Test items showed a feeling of fear and concern before take off. After the flight the volunteers reported having less stress than expected. Particularly, diastolic blood pressure and prolactin levels were markedly associated with questionnaire items such as behaviour of the staff or nausea. Heart rate significantly correlated with anxiety scores. Helicopter transportation induced a marked stress reaction in healthy volunteers, which speaks in favour of smooth transports in modern helicopters and adequate behaviour towards the patient of the staff.

The Relationship between Central Auditory Processing, Language, and Cognition in Children Being Evaluated for Central Auditory Processing Disorder.

PubMed

Brenneman, Lauren; Cash, Elizabeth; Chermak, Gail D; Guenette, Linda; Masters, Gay; Musiek, Frank E; Brown, Mallory; Ceruti, Julianne; Fitzegerald, Krista; Geissler, Kristin; Gonzalez, Jennifer; Weihing, Jeffrey

2017-09-01

Pediatric central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is frequently comorbid with other childhood disorders. However, few studies have examined the relationship between commonly used CAPD, language, and cognition tests within the same sample. The present study examined the relationship between diagnostic CAPD tests and "gold standard" measures of language and cognitive ability, the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). A retrospective study. Twenty-seven patients referred for CAPD testing who scored average or better on the CELF and low average or better on the WISC were initially included. Seven children who scored below the CELF and/or WISC inclusion criteria were then added to the dataset for a second analysis, yielding a sample size of 34. Participants were administered a CAPD battery that included at least the following three CAPD tests: Frequency Patterns (FP), Dichotic Digits (DD), and Competing Sentences (CS). In addition, they were administered the CELF and WISC. Relationships between scores on CAPD, language (CELF), and cognition (WISC) tests were examined using correlation analysis. DD and FP showed significant correlations with Full Scale Intelligence Quotient, and the DD left ear and the DD interaural difference measures both showed significant correlations with working memory. However, ∼80% or more of the variance in these CAPD tests was unexplained by language and cognition measures. Language and cognition measures were more strongly correlated with each other than were the CAPD tests with any CELF or WISC scale. Additional correlations with the CAPD tests were revealed when patients who scored in the mild-moderate deficit range on the CELF and/or in the borderline low intellectual functioning range on the WISC were included in the analysis. While both the DD and FP tests showed significant correlations with one or more cognition measures, the majority of the variance in these CAPD measures went unexplained by cognition. Unlike DD and FP, the CS test was not correlated with cognition. Additionally, language measures were not significantly correlated with any of the CAPD tests. Our findings emphasize that the outcomes and interpretation of results vary as a function of the subject inclusion criteria that are applied for the CELF and WISC. Including participants with poorer cognition and/or language scores increased the number of significant correlations observed. For this reason, it is important that studies investigating the relationship between CAPD and other domains or disorders report the specific inclusion criteria used for all tests. American Academy of Audiology

Studies in astronomical time series analysis. III - Fourier transforms, autocorrelation functions, and cross-correlation functions of unevenly spaced data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scargle, Jeffrey D.

1989-01-01

This paper develops techniques to evaluate the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), the autocorrelation function (ACF), and the cross-correlation function (CCF) of time series which are not evenly sampled. The series may consist of quantized point data (e.g., yes/no processes such as photon arrival). The DFT, which can be inverted to recover the original data and the sampling, is used to compute correlation functions by means of a procedure which is effectively, but not explicitly, an interpolation. The CCF can be computed for two time series not even sampled at the same set of times. Techniques for removing the distortion of the correlation functions caused by the sampling, determining the value of a constant component to the data, and treating unequally weighted data are also discussed. FORTRAN code for the Fourier transform algorithm and numerical examples of the techniques are given.

Detecting and Quantifying Topography in Neural Maps

PubMed Central

Yarrow, Stuart; Razak, Khaleel A.; Seitz, Aaron R.; Seriès, Peggy

2014-01-01

Topographic maps are an often-encountered feature in the brains of many species, yet there are no standard, objective procedures for quantifying topography. Topographic maps are typically identified and described subjectively, but in cases where the scale of the map is close to the resolution limit of the measurement technique, identifying the presence of a topographic map can be a challenging subjective task. In such cases, an objective topography detection test would be advantageous. To address these issues, we assessed seven measures (Pearson distance correlation, Spearman distance correlation, Zrehen's measure, topographic product, topological correlation, path length and wiring length) by quantifying topography in three classes of cortical map model: linear, orientation-like, and clusters. We found that all but one of these measures were effective at detecting statistically significant topography even in weakly-ordered maps, based on simulated noisy measurements of neuronal selectivity and sparse sampling of the maps. We demonstrate the practical applicability of these measures by using them to examine the arrangement of spatial cue selectivity in pallid bat A1. This analysis shows that significantly topographic arrangements of interaural intensity difference and azimuth selectivity exist at the scale of individual binaural clusters. PMID:24505279

Frequency-phase analysis of resting-state functional MRI

PubMed Central

Goelman, Gadi; Dan, Rotem; Růžička, Filip; Bezdicek, Ondrej; Růžička, Evžen; Roth, Jan; Vymazal, Josef; Jech, Robert

2017-01-01

We describe an analysis method that characterizes the correlation between coupled time-series functions by their frequencies and phases. It provides a unified framework for simultaneous assessment of frequency and latency of a coupled time-series. The analysis is demonstrated on resting-state functional MRI data of 34 healthy subjects. Interactions between fMRI time-series are represented by cross-correlation (with time-lag) functions. A general linear model is used on the cross-correlation functions to obtain the frequencies and phase-differences of the original time-series. We define symmetric, antisymmetric and asymmetric cross-correlation functions that correspond respectively to in-phase, 90° out-of-phase and any phase difference between a pair of time-series, where the last two were never introduced before. Seed maps of the motor system were calculated to demonstrate the strength and capabilities of the analysis. Unique types of functional connections, their dominant frequencies and phase-differences have been identified. The relation between phase-differences and time-delays is shown. The phase-differences are speculated to inform transfer-time and/or to reflect a difference in the hemodynamic response between regions that are modulated by neurotransmitters concentration. The analysis can be used with any coupled functions in many disciplines including electrophysiology, EEG or MEG in neuroscience. PMID:28272522

Two-dimensional turbulence cross-correlation functions in the edge of NSTX

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zweben, S. J.; Stotler, D. P.; Scotti, F.

The 2D radial vs. poloidal cross-correlation functions of edge plasma turbulence were measured near the outer midplane using a gas puff imaging (GPI) diagnostic on NSTX. These correlation functions were evaluated at radii r = 0 cm, ±3 cm, and ±6 cm from the separatrix and poloidal locations p = 0 cm and ±7.5 cm from the GPI poloidal center line for 20 different shots. The ellipticity ε and tilt angle φ of the positive cross-correlation regions and the minimum negative cross-correlation “cmin” and total negative over positive values “neg/pos” were evaluated for each of these cases. The average resultsmore » over this dataset were ε = 2.2 ± 0.9, φ = 87° ± 34° (i.e., poloidally oriented), cmin =-0.30 ± 0.15, and neg/pos = 0.25 ± 0.24. Thus, there was a significant variation in these correlation results within this database, with dependences on the location within the image, the magnetic geometry, and the plasma parameters. In conclusion, possible causes for this variation are discussed, including the misalignment of the GPI view with the local B field line, the magnetic shear of field lines at the edge, the poloidal flow shear of the turbulence, blob-hole correlations, and the neutral density 'shadowing' effect in GPI.« less

Two-dimensional turbulence cross-correlation functions in the edge of NSTX

DOE PAGES

Zweben, S. J.; Stotler, D. P.; Scotti, F.; ...

2017-09-26

The 2D radial vs. poloidal cross-correlation functions of edge plasma turbulence were measured near the outer midplane using a gas puff imaging (GPI) diagnostic on NSTX. These correlation functions were evaluated at radii r = 0 cm, ±3 cm, and ±6 cm from the separatrix and poloidal locations p = 0 cm and ±7.5 cm from the GPI poloidal center line for 20 different shots. The ellipticity ε and tilt angle φ of the positive cross-correlation regions and the minimum negative cross-correlation “cmin” and total negative over positive values “neg/pos” were evaluated for each of these cases. The average resultsmore » over this dataset were ε = 2.2 ± 0.9, φ = 87° ± 34° (i.e., poloidally oriented), cmin =-0.30 ± 0.15, and neg/pos = 0.25 ± 0.24. Thus, there was a significant variation in these correlation results within this database, with dependences on the location within the image, the magnetic geometry, and the plasma parameters. In conclusion, possible causes for this variation are discussed, including the misalignment of the GPI view with the local B field line, the magnetic shear of field lines at the edge, the poloidal flow shear of the turbulence, blob-hole correlations, and the neutral density 'shadowing' effect in GPI.« less

Maturation profile of inferior olivary neurons expressing ionotropic glutamate receptors in rats: role in coding linear accelerations.

PubMed

Li, Chuan; Han, Lei; Ma, Chun-Wai; Lai, Suk-King; Lai, Chun-Hong; Shum, Daisy Kwok Yan; Chan, Ying-Shing

2013-07-01

Using sinusoidal oscillations of linear acceleration along both the horizontal and vertical planes to stimulate otolith organs in the inner ear, we charted the postnatal time at which responsive neurons in the rat inferior olive (IO) first showed Fos expression, an indicator of neuronal recruitment into the otolith circuit. Neurons in subnucleus dorsomedial cell column (DMCC) were activated by vertical stimulation as early as P9 and by horizontal (interaural) stimulation as early as P11. By P13, neurons in the β subnucleus of IO (IOβ) became responsive to horizontal stimulation along the interaural and antero-posterior directions. By P21, neurons in the rostral IOβ became also responsive to vertical stimulation, but those in the caudal IOβ remained responsive only to horizontal stimulation. Nearly all functionally activated neurons in DMCC and IOβ were immunopositive for the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor and the GluR2/3 subunit of the AMPA receptor. In situ hybridization studies further indicated abundant mRNA signals of the glutamate receptor subunits by the end of the second postnatal week. This is reinforced by whole-cell patch-clamp data in which glutamate receptor-mediated miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents of rostral IOβ neurons showed postnatal increase in amplitude, reaching the adult level by P14. Further, these neurons exhibited subthreshold oscillations in membrane potential as from P14. Taken together, our results support that ionotropic glutamate receptors in the IO enable postnatal coding of gravity-related information and that the rostral IOβ is the only IO subnucleus that encodes spatial orientations in 3-D.

Sensitivity to Envelope Interaural Time Differences at High Modulation Rates

PubMed Central

Bleeck, Stefan; McAlpine, David

2015-01-01

Sensitivity to interaural time differences (ITDs) conveyed in the temporal fine structure of low-frequency tones and the modulated envelopes of high-frequency sounds are considered comparable, particularly for envelopes shaped to transmit similar fidelity of temporal information normally present for low-frequency sounds. Nevertheless, discrimination performance for envelope modulation rates above a few hundred Hertz is reported to be poor—to the point of discrimination thresholds being unattainable—compared with the much higher (>1,000 Hz) limit for low-frequency ITD sensitivity, suggesting the presence of a low-pass filter in the envelope domain. Further, performance for identical modulation rates appears to decline with increasing carrier frequency, supporting the view that the low-pass characteristics observed for envelope ITD processing is carrier-frequency dependent. Here, we assessed listeners’ sensitivity to ITDs conveyed in pure tones and in the modulated envelopes of high-frequency tones. ITD discrimination for the modulated high-frequency tones was measured as a function of both modulation rate and carrier frequency. Some well-trained listeners appear able to discriminate ITDs extremely well, even at modulation rates well beyond 500 Hz, for 4-kHz carriers. For one listener, thresholds were even obtained for a modulation rate of 800 Hz. The highest modulation rate for which thresholds could be obtained declined with increasing carrier frequency for all listeners. At 10 kHz, the highest modulation rate at which thresholds could be obtained was 600 Hz. The upper limit of sensitivity to ITDs conveyed in the envelope of high-frequency modulated sounds appears to be higher than previously considered. PMID:26721926

Effect of background noise on neuronal coding of interaural level difference cues in rat inferior colliculus

PubMed Central

Mokri, Yasamin; Worland, Kate; Ford, Mark; Rajan, Ramesh

2015-01-01

Humans can accurately localize sounds even in unfavourable signal-to-noise conditions. To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this, we studied the effect of background wide-band noise on neural sensitivity to variations in interaural level difference (ILD), the predominant cue for sound localization in azimuth for high-frequency sounds, at the characteristic frequency of cells in rat inferior colliculus (IC). Binaural noise at high levels generally resulted in suppression of responses (55.8%), but at lower levels resulted in enhancement (34.8%) as well as suppression (30.3%). When recording conditions permitted, we then examined if any binaural noise effects were related to selective noise effects at each of the two ears, which we interpreted in light of well-known differences in input type (excitation and inhibition) from each ear shaping particular forms of ILD sensitivity in the IC. At high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), in most ILD functions (41%), the effect of background noise appeared to be due to effects on inputs from both ears, while for a large percentage (35.8%) appeared to be accounted for by effects on excitatory input. However, as SNR decreased, change in excitation became the dominant contributor to the change due to binaural background noise (63.6%). These novel findings shed light on the IC neural mechanisms for sound localization in the presence of continuous background noise. They also suggest that some effects of background noise on encoding of sound location reported to be emergent in upstream auditory areas can also be observed at the level of the midbrain. PMID:25865218

CCFpams: Atmospheric stellar parameters from cross-correlation functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malavolta, Luca; Lovis, Christophe; Pepe, Francesco; Sneden, Christopher; Udry, Stephane

2017-07-01

CCFpams allows the measurement of stellar temperature, metallicity and gravity within a few seconds and in a completely automated fashion. Rather than performing comparisons with spectral libraries, the technique is based on the determination of several cross-correlation functions (CCFs) obtained by including spectral features with different sensitivity to the photospheric parameters. Literature stellar parameters of high signal-to-noise (SNR) and high-resolution HARPS spectra of FGK Main Sequence stars are used to calibrate the stellar parameters as a function of CCF areas.

Phase Time and Envelope Time in Time-Distance Analysis and Acoustic Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chou, Dean-Yi; Duvall, Thomas L.; Sun, Ming-Tsung; Chang, Hsiang-Kuang; Jimenez, Antonio; Rabello-Soares, Maria Cristina; Ai, Guoxiang; Wang, Gwo-Ping; Goode Philip; Marquette, William;

Shot noise cross-correlation functions and cross spectra - Implications for models of QPO X-ray sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shibazaki, N.; Elsner, R. F.; Bussard, R. W.; Ebisuzaki, T.; Weisskopf, M. C.

1988-01-01

The cross-correlation functions (CCFs) and cross spectra expected for quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) shot noise models are calculated under various assumptions, and the results are compared to observations. Effects due to possible coherence of the QPO oscillations are included. General formulas for the cross spectrum, the cross-phase spectrum, and the time-delay spectrum for QPO shot models are calculated and discussed. It is shown that the CCFs, cross spectra, and power spectra observed for Cyg X-e2 imply that the spectrum of the shots evolves with time, with important implications for the interpretation of these functions as well as of observed average energy spectra. The possible origins for the observed hard lags are discussed, and some physical difficulties for the Comptonization model are described. Classes of physical models for QPO sources are briefly addressed, and it is concluded that models involving shot formation at the surface of neutron stars are favored by observation.

Cross-correlation between the 170 GHz survey map and the COBE differential microwave radiometer first-year maps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ganga, Ken; Cheng, ED; Meyer, Stephan; Page, Lyman

1993-01-01

This letter describes results of a cross-correlation between the 170 GHz partial-sky survey, made with a 3.8 deg beam balloon-borne instrument, and the COBE DMR 'Fit Technique' reduced galaxy all-sky map with a beam of 7 deg. The strong correlation between the data sets implies that the observed structure is consistent with thermal variations in a 2.7 K emitter. A chi-square analysis applied to the correlation function rules out the assumption that there is no structure in either of the two maps. A second test shows that if the DMR map has structure but the 170 GHz map does not, the probability of obtaining the observed correlation is small. Further analyses support the assumption that both maps have structure and that the 170 GHz-DMR cross-correlation is consistent with the analogous DMR correlation function. Maps containing various combinations of noise and Harrison-Zel'dovich power spectra are simulated and correlated to reinforce the result. The correlation provides compelling evidence that both instruments have observed fluctuations consistent with anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background.

Time-Distance Helioseismology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duvall, Thomas L., Jr.

2010-01-01

Time-distance helioseismology is a method of ambient noise imaging using the solar oscillations. The basic realization that led to time-distance helioseismology was that the temporal cross correlation of the signals at two 'surface' (or photospheric) locations should show a feature at the time lag corresponding to the subsurface travel time between the locations. The temporal cross correlation, as a function of the location separation, is the Fourier transform of the spatio-temporal power spectrum of the solar oscillations, a commonly used function in helioseismology. It is therefore likely the characteristic ridge structure of the correlation function had been seen before without appreciation of its significance. Travel times are measured from the cross correlations. The times are sensitive to a number of important subsurface solar phenomena. These include sound speed variations, flows, and magnetic fields. There has been much interesting progress in the 17 years since the first paper on this subject (Duvall et al., Nature, 1993, 362, 430-432). This progress will be reviewed in this paper.

Commercial counterboard for 10 ns software correlator for photon and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

PubMed

Molteni, Matteo; Ferri, Fabio

2016-11-01

A 10 ns time resolution, multi-tau software correlator, capable of computing simultaneous autocorrelation (A-A, B-B) and cross (A-B) correlation functions at count rates up to ∼10 MHz, with no data loss, has been developed in LabVIEW and C++ by using the National Instrument timer/counterboard (NI PCIe-6612) and a fast Personal Computer (PC) (Intel Core i7-4790 Processor 3.60 GHz ). The correlator works by using two algorithms: for large lag times (τ ≳ 1 μs), a classical time-mode scheme, based on the measure of the number of pulses per time interval, is used; differently, for τ ≲ 1 μs a photon-mode (PM) scheme is adopted and the correlation function is retrieved from the sequence of the photon arrival times. Single auto- and cross-correlation functions can be processed online in full real time up to count rates of ∼1.8 MHz and ∼1.2 MHz, respectively. Two autocorrelation (A-A, B-B) and a cross correlation (A-B) functions can be simultaneously processed in full real time only up to count rates of ∼750 kHz. At higher count rates, the online processing takes place in a delayed modality, but with no data loss. When tested with simulated correlation data and latex spheres solutions, the overall performances of the correlator appear to be comparable with those of commercial hardware correlators, but with several nontrivial advantages related to its flexibility, low cost, and easy adaptability to future developments of PC and data acquisition technology.

Commercial counterboard for 10 ns software correlator for photon and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molteni, Matteo; Ferri, Fabio

2016-11-01

A 10 ns time resolution, multi-tau software correlator, capable of computing simultaneous autocorrelation (A-A, B-B) and cross (A-B) correlation functions at count rates up to ˜10 MHz, with no data loss, has been developed in LabVIEW and C++ by using the National Instrument timer/counterboard (NI PCIe-6612) and a fast Personal Computer (PC) (Intel Core i7-4790 Processor 3.60 GHz ). The correlator works by using two algorithms: for large lag times (τ ≳ 1 μs), a classical time-mode scheme, based on the measure of the number of pulses per time interval, is used; differently, for τ ≲ 1 μs a photon-mode (PM) scheme is adopted and the correlation function is retrieved from the sequence of the photon arrival times. Single auto- and cross-correlation functions can be processed online in full real time up to count rates of ˜1.8 MHz and ˜1.2 MHz, respectively. Two autocorrelation (A-A, B-B) and a cross correlation (A-B) functions can be simultaneously processed in full real time only up to count rates of ˜750 kHz. At higher count rates, the online processing takes place in a delayed modality, but with no data loss. When tested with simulated correlation data and latex spheres solutions, the overall performances of the correlator appear to be comparable with those of commercial hardware correlators, but with several nontrivial advantages related to its flexibility, low cost, and easy adaptability to future developments of PC and data acquisition technology.

Improvement of correlation-based centroiding methods for point source Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xuxu; Li, Xinyang; wang, Caixia

2018-03-01

This paper proposes an efficient approach to decrease the computational costs of correlation-based centroiding methods used for point source Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors. Four typical similarity functions have been compared, i.e. the absolute difference function (ADF), ADF square (ADF2), square difference function (SDF), and cross-correlation function (CCF) using the Gaussian spot model. By combining them with fast search algorithms, such as three-step search (TSS), two-dimensional logarithmic search (TDL), cross search (CS), and orthogonal search (OS), computational costs can be reduced drastically without affecting the accuracy of centroid detection. Specifically, OS reduces calculation consumption by 90%. A comprehensive simulation indicates that CCF exhibits a better performance than other functions under various light-level conditions. Besides, the effectiveness of fast search algorithms has been verified.

Blind people are more sensitive than sighted people to binaural sound-location cues, particularly inter-aural level differences.

PubMed

Nilsson, Mats E; Schenkman, Bo N

2016-02-01

Blind people use auditory information to locate sound sources and sound-reflecting objects (echolocation). Sound source localization benefits from the hearing system's ability to suppress distracting sound reflections, whereas echolocation would benefit from "unsuppressing" these reflections. To clarify how these potentially conflicting aspects of spatial hearing interact in blind versus sighted listeners, we measured discrimination thresholds for two binaural location cues: inter-aural level differences (ILDs) and inter-aural time differences (ITDs). The ILDs or ITDs were present in single clicks, in the leading component of click pairs, or in the lagging component of click pairs, exploiting processes related to both sound source localization and echolocation. We tested 23 blind (mean age = 54 y), 23 sighted-age-matched (mean age = 54 y), and 42 sighted-young (mean age = 26 y) listeners. The results suggested greater ILD sensitivity for blind than for sighted listeners. The blind group's superiority was particularly evident for ILD-lag-click discrimination, suggesting not only enhanced ILD sensitivity in general but also increased ability to unsuppress lagging clicks. This may be related to the blind person's experience of localizing reflected sounds, for which ILDs may be more efficient than ITDs. On the ITD-discrimination tasks, the blind listeners performed better than the sighted age-matched listeners, but not better than the sighted young listeners. ITD sensitivity declines with age, and the equal performance of the blind listeners compared to a group of substantially younger listeners is consistent with the notion that blind people's experience may offset age-related decline in ITD sensitivity. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Time-Varying Distortions of Binaural Information by Bilateral Hearing Aids: Effects of Nonlinear Frequency Compression.

PubMed

Brown, Andrew D; Rodriguez, Francisco A; Portnuff, Cory D F; Goupell, Matthew J; Tollin, Daniel J

2016-10-03

In patients with bilateral hearing loss, the use of two hearing aids (HAs) offers the potential to restore the benefits of binaural hearing, including sound source localization and segregation. However, existing evidence suggests that bilateral HA users' access to binaural information, namely interaural time and level differences (ITDs and ILDs), can be compromised by device processing. Our objective was to characterize the nature and magnitude of binaural distortions caused by modern digital behind-the-ear HAs using a variety of stimuli and HA program settings. Of particular interest was a common frequency-lowering algorithm known as nonlinear frequency compression, which has not previously been assessed for its effects on binaural information. A binaural beamforming algorithm was also assessed. Wide dynamic range compression was enabled in all programs. HAs were placed on a binaural manikin, and stimuli were presented from an arc of loudspeakers inside an anechoic chamber. Stimuli were broadband noise bursts, 10-Hz sinusoidally amplitude-modulated noise bursts, or consonant-vowel-consonant speech tokens. Binaural information was analyzed in terms of ITDs, ILDs, and interaural coherence, both for whole stimuli and in a time-varying sense (i.e., within a running temporal window) across four different frequency bands (1, 2, 4, and 6 kHz). Key findings were: (a) Nonlinear frequency compression caused distortions of high-frequency envelope ITDs and significantly reduced interaural coherence. (b) For modulated stimuli, all programs caused time-varying distortion of ILDs. (c) HAs altered the relationship between ITDs and ILDs, introducing large ITD-ILD conflicts in some cases. Potential perceptual consequences of measured distortions are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

Predicting the Overall Spatial Quality of Automotive Audio Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koya, Daisuke

The spatial quality of automotive audio systems is often compromised due to their unideal listening environments. Automotive audio systems need to be developed quickly due to industry demands. A suitable perceptual model could evaluate the spatial quality of automotive audio systems with similar reliability to formal listening tests but take less time. Such a model is developed in this research project by adapting an existing model of spatial quality for automotive audio use. The requirements for the adaptation were investigated in a literature review. A perceptual model called QESTRAL was reviewed, which predicts the overall spatial quality of domestic multichannel audio systems. It was determined that automotive audio systems are likely to be impaired in terms of the spatial attributes that were not considered in developing the QESTRAL model, but metrics are available that might predict these attributes. To establish whether the QESTRAL model in its current form can accurately predict the overall spatial quality of automotive audio systems, MUSHRA listening tests using headphone auralisation with head tracking were conducted to collect results to be compared against predictions by the model. Based on guideline criteria, the model in its current form could not accurately predict the overall spatial quality of automotive audio systems. To improve prediction performance, the QESTRAL model was recalibrated and modified using existing metrics of the model, those that were proposed from the literature review, and newly developed metrics. The most important metrics for predicting the overall spatial quality of automotive audio systems included those that were interaural cross-correlation (IACC) based, relate to localisation of the frontal audio scene, and account for the perceived scene width in front of the listener. Modifying the model for automotive audio systems did not invalidate its use for domestic audio systems. The resulting model predicts the overall spatial quality of 2- and 5-channel automotive audio systems with a cross-validation performance of R. 2 = 0.85 and root-mean-squareerror (RMSE) = 11.03%.

Theory of acoustic design of opera house and a design proposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ando, Yoichi

2004-05-01

First of all, the theory of subjective preference for sound fields based on the model of auditory-brain system is briefly mentioned. It consists of the temporal factors and spatial factors associated with the left and right cerebral hemispheres, respectively. The temporal criteria are the initial time delay gap between the direct sound and the first Reflection (Dt1) and the subsequent reverberation time (Tsub). These preferred conditions are related to the minimum value of effective duration of the running autocorrelation function of source signals (te)min. The spatial criteria are binaural listening level (LL) and the IACC, which may be extracted from the interaural crosscorrelation function. In the opera house, there are two different kind of sound sources, i.e., the vocal source of relatively short values of (te)min in the stage and the orchestra music of long values of (te)min in the pit. For these sources, a proposal is made here.

Comments on "Killer whale (Orcinus orca) behavioral audiograms" [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 141, 2387-2398 (2017)].

PubMed

Heffner, Henry E; Heffner, Rickye S

2018-01-01

Branstetter and his colleagues present the audiograms of eight killer whales and provide a comprehensive review of previous killer whale audiograms. In their paper, they say that the present authors have reported a relationship between size and high-frequency hearing but that echolocating cetaceans might be a special case. The purpose of these comments is to clarify that the relationship of a species' high-frequency hearing is not to its size (mass) but to its "functional interaural distance" (a measure of the availability of sound-localization cues). Moreover, it has previously been noted that echolocating animals, cetaceans as well as bats, have extended their high-frequency hearing somewhat beyond the frequencies used by comparable non-echolocators for passive localization.

Statistical tests for power-law cross-correlated processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podobnik, Boris; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Zhou, Wei-Xing; Stanley, H. Eugene

2011-12-01

For stationary time series, the cross-covariance and the cross-correlation as functions of time lag n serve to quantify the similarity of two time series. The latter measure is also used to assess whether the cross-correlations are statistically significant. For nonstationary time series, the analogous measures are detrended cross-correlations analysis (DCCA) and the recently proposed detrended cross-correlation coefficient, ρDCCA(T,n), where T is the total length of the time series and n the window size. For ρDCCA(T,n), we numerically calculated the Cauchy inequality -1≤ρDCCA(T,n)≤1. Here we derive -1≤ρDCCA(T,n)≤1 for a standard variance-covariance approach and for a detrending approach. For overlapping windows, we find the range of ρDCCA within which the cross-correlations become statistically significant. For overlapping windows we numerically determine—and for nonoverlapping windows we derive—that the standard deviation of ρDCCA(T,n) tends with increasing T to 1/T. Using ρDCCA(T,n) we show that the Chinese financial market's tendency to follow the U.S. market is extremely weak. We also propose an additional statistical test that can be used to quantify the existence of cross-correlations between two power-law correlated time series.

When can Empirical Green Functions be computed from Noise Cross-Correlations? Hints from different Geographical and Tectonic environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matos, Catarina; Silveira, Graça; Custódio, Susana; Domingues, Ana; Dias, Nuno; Fonseca, João F. B.; Matias, Luís; Krueger, Frank; Carrilho, Fernando

2014-05-01

Noise cross-correlations are now widely used to extract Green functions between station pairs. But, do all the cross-correlations routinely computed produce successful Green Functions? What is the relationship between noise recorded in a couple of stations and the cross-correlation between them? During the last decade, we have been involved in the deployment of several temporary dense broadband (BB) networks within the scope of both national projects and international collaborations. From 2000 to 2002, a pool of 8 BB stations continuously operated in the Azores in the scope of the Memorandum of Understanding COSEA (COordinated Seismic Experiment in the Azores). Thanks to the Project WILAS (West Iberia Lithosphere and Astenosphere Structure, PTDC/CTE-GIX/097946/2008) we temporarily increased the number of BB deployed in mainland Portugal to more than 50 (permanent + temporary) during the period 2010 - 2012. In 2011/12 a temporary pool of 12 seismometers continuously recorded BB data in the Madeira archipelago, as part of the DOCTAR (Deep Ocean Test Array Experiment) project. Project CV-PLUME (Investigation on the geometry and deep signature of the Cape Verde mantle plume, PTDC/CTE-GIN/64330/2006) covered the archipelago of Cape Verde, North Atlantic, with 40 temporary BB stations in 2007/08. Project MOZART (Mozambique African Rift Tomography, PTDC/CTE-GIX/103249/2008), covered Mozambique, East Africa, with 30 temporary BB stations in the period 2011 - 2013. These networks, located in very distinct geographical and tectonic environments, offer an interesting opportunity to study seasonal and spatial variations of noise sources and their impact on Empirical Green functions computed from noise cross-correlation. Seismic noise recorded at different seismic stations is evaluated by computation of the probability density functions of power spectral density (PSD) of continuous data. To assess seasonal variations of ambient noise sources in frequency content, time-series of PSD at different frequency bands have been computed. The influence of the spatial and seasonal variation is evaluated by analysis of the one-day length cross-correlations, stacked with a 30-day moving window and with an overlap of 30 days. To inspect the effects of frequency content variations, 30-day cross-correlograms have also been computed at different frequency bands. This work is supported by project QuakeLoc-PT (PTDC/GEO-FIQ/3522/2012) and a contribution to project AQUAREL (PTDC/CTE-GIX/116819/2010).

Complex Correlation Kohn-T Method of Calculating Total and Elastic Cross Sections. Part 1; Electron-Hydrogen Elastic Scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhatia, A. K.; Temkin, A.; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

We report on the first part of a study of electron-hydrogen scattering, using a method which allows for the ab initio calculation of total and elastic cross sections at higher energies. In its general form the method uses complex 'radial' correlation functions, in a (Kohn) T-matrix formalism. The titled method, abbreviated Complex Correlation Kohn T (CCKT) method, is reviewed, in the context of electron-hydrogen scattering, including the derivation of the equation for the (complex) scattering function, and the extraction of the scattering information from the latter. The calculation reported here is restricted to S-waves in the elastic region, where the correlation functions can be taken, without loss of generality, to be real. Phase shifts are calculated using Hylleraas-type correlation functions with up to 95 terms. Results are rigorous lower bounds; they are in general agreement with those of Schwartz, but they are more accurate and outside his error bounds at a couple of energies,

Architectural acoustics and the heritage of theater architecture in Andalusia (Acustica arquitectonica y patrimonio teatral en Andalucia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leon, Angel Luis

2003-11-01

This thesis reports on the study of the acoustic properties of 18 theaters belonging to the Andalusian historical and architectural heritage. These theaters have undergone recent renovations to modernize and equip them appropriately. Coincident with this work, evaluations and qualification assessments with regard to their acoustic properties have been carried out for the individual theaters and for the group as a whole. Data measurements for this purpose consisted of acoustic measurements in situ, both before the renovation and after the renovation. These results have been compared with computer simulations of sound fields. Variables and parameters considered include the following: reverberation time, rapid speech transition index, back-ground noise, definition, clarity, strength, lateral efficiency, interaural cross-correlation coefficient, volume/seat ratio, volume/audience-area ratio. Based on the measurements and analysis, general conclusions are given in regard to the acoustic performance of theaters whose typology and size are comparable to those that were used in this study (between 800 and 8000 cubic meters). It is noted that these properties are comparable to those of the majority of European theaters. The results and conclusions are presented so that they should be of interest to architectural acoustics practitioners and to architects who are involved in the planning of renovation projects for theaters Thesis advisors: Juan J. Sendra and Jaime Navarro Copies of this thesis written in Spanish may be obtained by contacting the author, Angel L. Leon, E.T.S. de Arquitectura de Sevilla, Dpto. de Construcciones Arquitectonicas I, Av. Reina Mercedes, 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain. E-mail address: leonr@us.es

Optical correlation techniques in fluid dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schätzel, K.; Schulz-Dubois, E. O.; Vehrenkamp, R.

1981-04-01

Three flow measurement techniques make use of fast digital correlators. The most widely spread is photon correlation velocimetry using crossed laser beams, and detecting Doppler shifted light scattered by small particles in the flow. Depending on the processing of the photon correlation output, this technique yields mean velocity, turbulence level, and even the detailed probability distribution of one velocity component. An improved data processing scheme is demonstrated on laminar vortex flow in a curved channel. In the second method, rate correlation based upon threshold crossings of a high pass filtered laser Doppler signal can be used to obtain velocity correlation functions. The most powerful set-up developed in our laboratory uses a phase locked loop type tracker and a multibit correlator to analyze time-dependent Taylor vortex flow. With two optical systems and trackers, cross-correlation functions reveal phase relations between different vortices. The last method makes use of refractive index fluctuations (eg in two phase flows) instead of scattering particles. Interferometry with bidirectional counting, and digital correlation and probability analysis, constitutes a new quantitative technique related to classical Schlieren methods. Measurements on a mixing flow of heated and cold air contribute new ideas to the theory of turbulent random phase screens.

Associated relaxation time and the correlation function for a tumor cell growth system subjected to color noises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Can-Jun; Wei, Qun; Mei, Dong-Cheng

2008-03-01

The associated relaxation time T and the normalized correlation function C(s) for a tumor cell growth system subjected to color noises are investigated. Using the Novikov theorem and Fox approach, the steady probability distribution is obtained. Based on them, the expressions of T and C(s) are derived by means of projection operator method, in which the effects of the memory kernels of the correlation function are taken into account. Performing the numerical computations, it is found: (1) With the cross-correlation intensity |λ|, the additive noise intensity α and the multiplicative noise self-correlation time τ increasing, the tumor cell numbers can be restrained; And the cross-correlation time τ, the multiplicative noise intensity D can induce the tumor cell numbers increasing; However, the additive noise self-correlation time τ cannot affect the tumor cell numbers; The relaxation time T is a stochastic resonant phenomenon, and the distribution curves exhibit a single-maximum structure with D increasing. (2) The cross-correlation strength λ weakens the related activity between two states of the tumor cell numbers at different time, and enhances the stability of the tumor cell growth system in the steady state; On the contrast, τ and τ enhance the related activity between two states at different time; However, τ has no effect on the related activity between two states at different time.

Online approximation of the multichannel Wiener filter with preservation of interaural level difference for binaural hearing-aids.

PubMed

Marques do Carmo, Diego; Costa, Márcio Holsbach

2018-04-01

This work presents an online approximation method for the multichannel Wiener filter (MWF) noise reduction technique with preservation of the noise interaural level difference (ILD) for binaural hearing-aids. The steepest descent method is applied to a previously proposed MWF-ILD cost function to both approximate the optimal linear estimator of the desired speech and keep the subjective perception of the original acoustic scenario. The computational cost of the resulting algorithm is estimated in terms of multiply and accumulate operations, whose number can be controlled by setting the number of iterations at each time frame. Simulation results for the particular case of one speech and one-directional noise source show that the proposed method increases the signal-to-noise ratio SNR of the originally acquired speech by up to 16.9 dB in the assessed scenarios. As compared to the online implementation of the conventional MWF technique, the proposed technique provides a reduction of up to 7 dB in the noise ILD error at the price of a reduction of up 3 dB in the output SNR. Subjective experiments with volunteers complement these objective measures with psychoacoustic results, which corroborate the expected spatial preservation of the original acoustic scenario. The proposed method allows practical online implementation of the MWF-ILD noise reduction technique under constrained computational resources. Predicted SNR improvements from 12 dB to 16.9 dB can be obtained in application-specific integrated circuits for hearing-aids and state-of-the-art digital signal processors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptation in sound localization processing induced by interaural time difference in amplitude envelope at high frequencies.

PubMed

Kawashima, Takayuki; Sato, Takao

2012-01-01

When a second sound follows a long first sound, its location appears to be perceived away from the first one (the localization/lateralization aftereffect). This aftereffect has often been considered to reflect an efficient neural coding of sound locations in the auditory system. To understand determinants of the localization aftereffect, the current study examined whether it is induced by an interaural temporal difference (ITD) in the amplitude envelope of high frequency transposed tones (over 2 kHz), which is known to function as a sound localization cue. In Experiment 1, participants were required to adjust the position of a pointer to the perceived location of test stimuli before and after adaptation. Test and adapter stimuli were amplitude modulated (AM) sounds presented at high frequencies and their positional differences were manipulated solely by the envelope ITD. Results showed that the adapter's ITD systematically affected the perceived position of test sounds to the directions expected from the localization/lateralization aftereffect when the adapter was presented at ±600 µs ITD; a corresponding significant effect was not observed for a 0 µs ITD adapter. In Experiment 2, the observed adapter effect was confirmed using a forced-choice task. It was also found that adaptation to the AM sounds at high frequencies did not significantly change the perceived position of pure-tone test stimuli in the low frequency region (128 and 256 Hz). The findings in the current study indicate that ITD in the envelope at high frequencies induces the localization aftereffect. This suggests that ITD in the high frequency region is involved in adaptive plasticity of auditory localization processing.

Complex Correlation Calculation of e-H Total Cross Sections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhatia, A. K.; Temkin, A.; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Calculation of e-H total and elastic partial wave cross sections is being carried out using the complex correlation variational T-matrix method. In this preliminary study, elastic partial wave phase shifts are calculated with the correlation functions which are confined to be real. In that case the method reduces to the conventional optical potential approach with projection operators. The number of terms in the Hylleraas-type wave function for the S phase shifts is 95 while for the S it is 56, except for k=0.8 where it is 84. Our results, which are rigorous lower bounds, are given. They are seen to be in general agreement with those of Schwartz, but they are of 0 greater accuracy and outside of his error limits for k=0.3 and 0.4 for S. The main aim of this approach' is the application to higher energy scattering. By virtue of the complex correlation functions, the T matrix is not unitary so that elastic and total scattering cross sections are independent of each other. Our results will be compared specifically with those of Bray and Stelbovics.

Complex Correlation Calculation of e(-) - H Total Cross Sections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhatia, A. K.; Temkin, A.; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Calculation of e(-) - H total and elastic partial wave cross sections is being carried out using the complex correlation variational T-matrix method. In this preliminary study, elastic partial wave phase shifts are calculated with the correlation functions which are confined to be real. In that case the method reduces to the conventional optical potential approach with 2 projection operators. The number of terms in the Hylleraas-type wave function for the S-1 phase shifts is 95 while for the S-3 it is 56, except for k = 0.8 where it is 84. Our results, which are rigorous lower bounds, are seen to be in general agreement with those of Schwartz, but they are of greater accuracy and outside of his error limits for k = 0.3 and 0.4 for S-1. The main aim of this approach is the application to higher energy scattering. By virtue of the complex correlation functions, the T-matrix is not unitary so that elastic and total scattering cross sections are independent of each other. Our results will be compared specifically with those of Bray and Stelbovics.

Masking Level Difference Response Norms from Learning Disabled Individuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waryas, Paul A.; Battin, R. Ray

1985-01-01

The study presents normative data on Masking Level Difference (an improvement of the auditory processing of interaural time/intensity differences between signals and masking noises) for 90 learning disabled persons (4-35 years old). It was concluded that the MLD may quickly screen for auditory processing problems. (CL)

The Balance of Excitatory and Inhibitory Synaptic Inputs for Coding Sound Location

PubMed Central

Ono, Munenori

2014-01-01

The localization of high-frequency sounds in the horizontal plane uses an interaural-level difference (ILD) cue, yet little is known about the synaptic mechanisms that underlie processing this cue in the inferior colliculus (IC) of mouse. Here, we study the synaptic currents that process ILD in vivo and use stimuli in which ILD varies around a constant average binaural level (ABL) to approximate sounds on the horizontal plane. Monaural stimulation in either ear produced EPSCs and IPSCs in most neurons. The temporal properties of monaural responses were well matched, suggesting connected functional zones with matched inputs. The EPSCs had three patterns in response to ABL stimuli, preference for the sound field with the highest level stimulus: (1) contralateral; (2) bilateral highly lateralized; or (3) at the center near 0 ILD. EPSCs and IPSCs were well correlated except in center-preferred neurons. Summation of the monaural EPSCs predicted the binaural excitatory response but less well than the summation of monaural IPSCs. Binaural EPSCs often showed a nonlinearity that strengthened the response to specific ILDs. Extracellular spike and intracellular current recordings from the same neuron showed that the ILD tuning of the spikes was sharper than that of the EPSCs. Thus, in the IC, balanced excitatory and inhibitory inputs may be a general feature of synaptic coding for many types of sound processing. PMID:24599475

Spatial selectivity and binaural responses in the inferior colliculus of the great horned owl.

PubMed

Volman, S F; Konishi, M

1989-09-01

In this study we have investigated the processing of auditory cues for sound localization in the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus). Previous studies have shown that the barn owl, whose ears are asymmetrically oriented in the vertical plane, has a 2-dimensional, topographic representation of auditory space in the external division of the inferior colliculus (ICx). As in the barn owl, the great horned owl's ICx is anatomically distinct and projects to the optic tectum. Neurons in ICx respond over only a small range of azimuths (mean = 32 degrees), and azimuth is topographically mapped. In contrast to the barn owl, the great horned owl has bilaterally symmetrical ears and its receptive fields are not restricted in elevation. The binaural cues available for sound localization were measured both with cochlear microphonic recordings and with a microphone attached to a probe tube in the auditory canal. Interaural time disparity (ITD) varied monotonically with azimuth. Interaural intensity differences (IID) also changed with azimuth, but the largest IIDs were less than 15 dB, and the variation was not monotonic. Neither ITD nor IID varied systematically with changes in the vertical position of a sound source. We used dichotic stimulation to determine the sensitivity of ICx neurons to these binaural cues. Best ITD of ICx units was topographically mapped and strongly correlated with receptive-field azimuth. The width of ITD tuning curves, measured at 50% of the maximum response, averaged 72 microseconds. All ICx neurons responded only to binaural stimulation and had nonmonotonic IID tuning curves. Best IID was weakly, but significantly, correlated with best ITD (r = 0.39, p less than 0.05). The IID tuning curves, however, were broad (mean 50% width = 24 dB), and 67% of the units had best IIDs within 5 dB of 0 dB IID. ITD tuning was sensitive to variations in IID in the direction opposite to that expected for time-intensity trading, but the magnitude of this effect was only 1.5 microseconds/dB IID. We conclude that, in the great horned owl, the spatial selectivity of ICx neurons arises primarily from their ITD tuning. Except for the absence of elevation selectivity and the narrow range of best IIDs, ICx in the great horned owl appears to be organized much the same as in the barn owl.

Antenna systems for base station diversity in urban small and micro cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eggers, Patrick C. F.; Toftgard, Jorn; Oprea, Alex M.

1993-09-01

This paper describes cross-correlation properties for compact urban base station antenna configurations, nearly all resulting in very low envelope cross-correlation coefficients of about 0.1 to 0.3. A focus is set on polarization diversity systems for their potential in improving link quality when hand-held terminals are involved. An expression is given for the correlation function of compound space and polarization diversity systems. Dispersion and envelope dynamic statistics are presented for the measured environments. For microcell applications, it is found that systems such as GSM having a bandwidth of 200 MHz or less can use narrowband cross-correlation analysis directly.

Effects of cross-correlated noises on the relaxation time of the bistable system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Chong-Wei; Mei, Dong-Cheng

2003-11-01

The stationary correlation function and the associated relaxation time for a general system driven by cross-correlated white noises are derived, by virtue of a Stratonovich-like ansatz. The effects of correlated noises on the relaxation time of a bistable kinetic model coupled to an additive and a multiplicative white noises are studied. It is proved that for small fluctuations the relaxation time Tc as a function of lambda (the correlated intensity between noises) exhibits very different behaviours for alphaD (alpha and D, respectively, stand for the intensities of additive and multiplicative noises). When alpha>D, Tc increases with increasing lambda. But when alpha

A technique for plasma velocity-space cross-correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattingly, Sean; Skiff, Fred

2018-05-01

An advance in experimental plasma diagnostics is presented and used to make the first measurement of a plasma velocity-space cross-correlation matrix. The velocity space correlation function can detect collective fluctuations of plasmas through a localized measurement. An empirical decomposition, singular value decomposition, is applied to this Hermitian matrix in order to obtain the plasma fluctuation eigenmode structure on the ion distribution function. A basic theory is introduced and compared to the modes obtained by the experiment. A full characterization of these modes is left for future work, but an outline of this endeavor is provided. Finally, the requirements for this experimental technique in other plasma regimes are discussed.

Spike-frequency adaptation in the inferior colliculus.

PubMed

Ingham, Neil J; McAlpine, David

2004-02-01

We investigated spike-frequency adaptation of neurons sensitive to interaural phase disparities (IPDs) in the inferior colliculus (IC) of urethane-anesthetized guinea pigs using a stimulus paradigm designed to exclude the influence of adaptation below the level of binaural integration. The IPD-step stimulus consists of a binaural 3,000-ms tone, in which the first 1,000 ms is held at a neuron's least favorable ("worst") IPD, adapting out monaural components, before being stepped rapidly to a neuron's most favorable ("best") IPD for 300 ms. After some variable interval (1-1,000 ms), IPD is again stepped to the best IPD for 300 ms, before being returned to a neuron's worst IPD for the remainder of the stimulus. Exponential decay functions fitted to the response to best-IPD steps revealed an average adaptation time constant of 52.9 +/- 26.4 ms. Recovery from adaptation to best IPD steps showed an average time constant of 225.5 +/- 210.2 ms. Recovery time constants were not correlated with adaptation time constants. During the recovery period, adaptation to a 2nd best-IPD step followed similar kinetics to adaptation during the 1st best-IPD step. The mean adaptation time constant at stimulus onset (at worst IPD) was 34.8 +/- 19.7 ms, similar to the 38.4 +/- 22.1 ms recorded to contralateral stimulation alone. Individual time constants after stimulus onset were correlated with each other but not with time constants during the best-IPD step. We conclude that such binaurally derived measures of adaptation reflect processes that occur above the level of exclusively monaural pathways, and subsequent to the site of primary binaural interaction.

Timed function tests, motor function measure, and quantitative thigh muscle MRI in ambulant children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A cross-sectional analysis.

PubMed

Schmidt, Simone; Hafner, Patricia; Klein, Andrea; Rubino-Nacht, Daniela; Gocheva, Vanya; Schroeder, Jonas; Naduvilekoot Devasia, Arjith; Zuesli, Stephanie; Bernert, Guenther; Laugel, Vincent; Bloetzer, Clemens; Steinlin, Maja; Capone, Andrea; Gloor, Monika; Tobler, Patrick; Haas, Tanja; Bieri, Oliver; Zumbrunn, Thomas; Fischer, Dirk; Bonati, Ulrike

2018-01-01

The development of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy has put a focus on defining outcome measures most sensitive to capture treatment effects. This cross-sectional analysis investigates the relation between validated clinical assessments such as the 6-minute walk test, motor function measure and quantitative muscle MRI of thigh muscles in ambulant Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, aged 6.5 to 10.8 years (mean 8.2, SD 1.1). Quantitative muscle MRI included the mean fat fraction using a 2-point Dixon technique, and transverse relaxation time (T2) measurements. All clinical assessments were highly significantly inter-correlated with p < 0.001. The strongest correlation with the motor function measure and its D1-subscore was shown by the 6-minute walk test. Clinical assessments showed no correlation with age. Importantly, quantitative muscle MRI values significantly correlated with all clinical assessments with the extensors showing the strongest correlation. In contrast to the clinical assessments, quantitative muscle MRI values were highly significantly correlated with age. In conclusion, the motor function measure and timed function tests measure disease severity in a highly comparable fashion and all tests correlated with quantitative muscle MRI values quantifying fatty muscle degeneration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Open-Ended Recursive Approach for the Calculation of Multiphoton Absorption Matrix Elements

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

We present an implementation of single residues for response functions to arbitrary order using a recursive approach. Explicit expressions in terms of density-matrix-based response theory for the single residues of the linear, quadratic, cubic, and quartic response functions are also presented. These residues correspond to one-, two-, three- and four-photon transition matrix elements. The newly developed code is used to calculate the one-, two-, three- and four-photon absorption cross sections of para-nitroaniline and para-nitroaminostilbene, making this the first treatment of four-photon absorption in the framework of response theory. We find that the calculated multiphoton absorption cross sections are not very sensitive to the size of the basis set as long as a reasonably large basis set with diffuse functions is used. The choice of exchange–correlation functional, however, significantly affects the calculated cross sections of both charge-transfer transitions and other transitions, in particular, for the larger para-nitroaminostilbene molecule. We therefore recommend the use of a range-separated exchange–correlation functional in combination with the augmented correlation-consistent double-ζ basis set aug-cc-pVDZ for the calculation of multiphoton absorption properties. PMID:25821415

Three-dimensional organization of otolith-ocular reflexes in rhesus monkeys. I. Linear acceleration responses during off-vertical axis rotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Angelaki, D. E.; Hess, B. J.

1996-01-01

1. The dynamic properties of otolith-ocular reflexes elicited by sinusoidal linear acceleration along the three cardinal head axes were studied during off-vertical axis rotations in rhesus monkeys. As the head rotates in space at constant velocity about an off-vertical axis, otolith-ocular reflexes are elicited in response to the sinusoidally varying linear acceleration (gravity) components along the interaural, nasooccipital, or vertical head axis. Because the frequency of these sinusoidal stimuli is proportional to the velocity of rotation, rotation at low and moderately fast speeds allows the study of the mid-and low-frequency dynamics of these otolith-ocular reflexes. 2. Animals were rotated in complete darkness in the yaw, pitch, and roll planes at velocities ranging between 7.4 and 184 degrees/s. Accordingly, otolith-ocular reflexes (manifested as sinusoidal modulations in eye position and/or slow-phase eye velocity) were quantitatively studied for stimulus frequencies ranging between 0.02 and 0.51 Hz. During yaw and roll rotation, torsional, vertical, and horizontal slow-phase eye velocity was sinusoidally modulated as a function of head position. The amplitudes of these responses were symmetric for rotations in opposite directions. In contrast, mainly vertical slow-phase eye velocity was modulated during pitch rotation. This modulation was asymmetric for rotations in opposite direction. 3. Each of these response components in a given rotation plane could be associated with an otolith-ocular response vector whose sensitivity, temporal phase, and spatial orientation were estimated on the basis of the amplitude and phase of sinusoidal modulations during both directions of rotation. Based on this analysis, which was performed either for slow-phase eye velocity alone or for total eye excursion (including both slow and fast eye movements), two distinct response patterns were observed: 1) response vectors with pronounced dynamics and spatial/temporal properties that could be characterized as the low-frequency range of "translational" otolith-ocular reflexes; and 2) response vectors associated with an eye position modulation in phase with head position ("tilt" otolith-ocular reflexes). 4. The responses associated with two otolith-ocular vectors with pronounced dynamics consisted of horizontal eye movements evoked as a function of gravity along the interaural axis and vertical eye movements elicited as a function of gravity along the vertical head axis. Both responses were characterized by a slow-phase eye velocity sensitivity that increased three- to five-fold and large phase changes of approximately 100-180 degrees between 0.02 and 0.51 Hz. These dynamic properties could suggest nontraditional temporal processing in utriculoocular and sacculoocular pathways, possibly involving spatiotemporal otolith-ocular interactions. 5. The two otolith-ocular vectors associated with eye position responses in phase with head position (tilt otolith-ocular reflexes) consisted of torsional eye movements in response to gravity along the interaural axis, and vertical eye movements in response to gravity along the nasooccipital head axis. These otolith-ocular responses did not result from an otolithic effect on slow eye movements alone. Particularly at high frequencies (i.e., high speed rotations), saccades were responsible for most of the modulation of torsional and vertical eye position, which was relatively large (on average +/- 8-10 degrees/g) and remained independent of frequency. Such reflex dynamics can be simulated by a direct coupling of primary otolith afferent inputs to the oculomotor plant. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED).

Quantifying spatial scaling patterns and their local and regional correlates in headwater streams: Implications for resilience

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gothe, Emma; Sandin, Leonard; Allen, Craig R.; Angeler, David G.

2014-01-01

The distribution of functional traits within and across spatiotemporal scales has been used to quantify and infer the relative resilience across ecosystems. We use explicit spatial modeling to evaluate within- and cross-scale redundancy in headwater streams, an ecosystem type with a hierarchical and dendritic network structure. We assessed the cross-scale distribution of functional feeding groups of benthic invertebrates in Swedish headwater streams during two seasons. We evaluated functional metrics, i.e., Shannon diversity, richness, and evenness, and the degree of redundancy within and across modeled spatial scales for individual feeding groups. We also estimated the correlates of environmental versus spatial factors of both functional composition and the taxonomic composition of functional groups for each spatial scale identified. Measures of functional diversity and within-scale redundancy of functions were similar during both seasons, but both within- and cross-scale redundancy were low. This apparent low redundancy was partly attributable to a few dominant taxa explaining the spatial models. However, rare taxa with stochastic spatial distributions might provide additional information and should therefore be considered explicitly for complementing future resilience assessments. Otherwise, resilience may be underestimated. Finally, both environmental and spatial factors correlated with the scale-specific functional and taxonomic composition. This finding suggests that resilience in stream networks emerges as a function of not only local conditions but also regional factors such as habitat connectivity and invertebrate dispersal.

A Cross-Correlational Analysis between Electroencephalographic and End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Signals: Methodological Issues in the Presence of Missing Data and Real Data Results

PubMed Central

Morelli, Maria Sole; Giannoni, Alberto; Passino, Claudio; Landini, Luigi; Emdin, Michele; Vanello, Nicola

2016-01-01

Electroencephalographic (EEG) irreducible artifacts are common and the removal of corrupted segments from the analysis may be required. The present study aims at exploring the effects of different EEG Missing Data Segment (MDS) distributions on cross-correlation analysis, involving EEG and physiological signals. The reliability of cross-correlation analysis both at single subject and at group level as a function of missing data statistics was evaluated using dedicated simulations. Moreover, a Bayesian-based approach for combining the single subject results at group level by considering each subject’s reliability was introduced. Starting from the above considerations, the cross-correlation function between EEG Global Field Power (GFP) in delta band and end-tidal CO2 (PETCO2) during rest and voluntary breath-hold was evaluated in six healthy subjects. The analysis of simulated data results at single subject level revealed a worsening of precision and accuracy in the cross-correlation analysis in the presence of MDS. At the group level, a large improvement in the results’ reliability with respect to single subject analysis was observed. The proposed Bayesian approach showed a slight improvement with respect to simple average results. Real data results were discussed in light of the simulated data tests and of the current physiological findings. PMID:27809243

Optical stereo video signal processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Craig, G. D. (Inventor)

1985-01-01

An otpical video signal processor is described which produces a two-dimensional cross-correlation in real time of images received by a stereo camera system. The optical image of each camera is projected on respective liquid crystal light valves. The images on the liquid crystal valves modulate light produced by an extended light source. This modulated light output becomes the two-dimensional cross-correlation when focused onto a video detector and is a function of the range of a target with respect to the stereo camera. Alternate embodiments utilize the two-dimensional cross-correlation to determine target movement and target identification.

Development of Attentional Control of Verbal Auditory Perception from Middle to Late Childhood: Comparisons to Healthy Aging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Passow, Susanne; Müller, Maike; Westerhausen, René; Hugdahl, Kenneth; Wartenburger, Isabell; Heekeren, Hauke R.; Lindenberger, Ulman; Li, Shu-Chen

2013-01-01

Multitalker situations confront listeners with a plethora of competing auditory inputs, and hence require selective attention to relevant information, especially when the perceptual saliency of distracting inputs is high. This study augmented the classical forced-attention dichotic listening paradigm by adding an interaural intensity manipulation…

Sound Localization with an Army Helmet Worn in Combination with an In-Ear Advanced Communications System

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

minimize onset transients. Broadband noise allows the observer access to both binaural cues (interaural differences in time of arrival and intensity) and...in the health sciences. 3’ ed. New York: Wiley; 1983. 18. Carmichel EL, Harris FP, Stoiy BH. Effects of binaural electronic hearing protectors on

Brief report: atypical neuromagnetic responses to illusory auditory pitch in children with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Brock, Jon; Bzishvili, Samantha; Reid, Melanie; Hautus, Michael; Johnson, Blake W

2013-11-01

Atypical auditory perception is a widely recognised but poorly understood feature of autism. In the current study, we used magnetoencephalography to measure the brain responses of 10 autistic children as they listened passively to dichotic pitch stimuli, in which an illusory tone is generated by sub-millisecond inter-aural timing differences in white noise. Relative to control stimuli that contain no inter-aural timing differences, dichotic pitch stimuli typically elicit an object related negativity (ORN) response, associated with the perceptual segregation of the tone and the carrier noise into distinct auditory objects. Autistic children failed to demonstrate an ORN, suggesting a failure of segregation; however, comparison with the ORNs of age-matched typically developing controls narrowly failed to attain significance. More striking, the autistic children demonstrated a significant differential response to the pitch stimulus, peaking at around 50 ms. This was not present in the control group, nor has it been found in other groups tested using similar stimuli. This response may be a neural signature of atypical processing of pitch in at least some autistic individuals.

Active localization of virtual sounds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loomis, Jack M.; Hebert, C.; Cicinelli, J. G.

1991-01-01

We describe a virtual sound display built around a 12 MHz 80286 microcomputer and special purpose analog hardware. The display implements most of the primary cues for sound localization in the ear-level plane. Static information about direction is conveyed by interaural time differences and, for frequencies above 1800 Hz, by head sound shadow (interaural intensity differences) and pinna sound shadow. Static information about distance is conveyed by variation in sound pressure (first power law) for all frequencies, by additional attenuation in the higher frequencies (simulating atmospheric absorption), and by the proportion of direct to reverberant sound. When the user actively locomotes, the changing angular position of the source occasioned by head rotations provides further information about direction and the changing angular velocity produced by head translations (motion parallax) provides further information about distance. Judging both from informal observations by users and from objective data obtained in an experiment on homing to virtual and real sounds, we conclude that simple displays such as this are effective in creating the perception of external sounds to which subjects can home with accuracy and ease.

Effects of interaural time differences in fine structure and envelope on lateral discrimination in electric hearing.

PubMed

Majdak, Piotr; Laback, Bernhard; Baumgartner, Wolf-Dieter

2006-10-01

Bilateral cochlear implant (CI) listeners currently use stimulation strategies which encode interaural time differences (ITD) in the temporal envelope but which do not transmit ITD in the fine structure, due to the constant phase in the electric pulse train. To determine the utility of encoding ITD in the fine structure, ITD-based lateralization was investigated with four CI listeners and four normal hearing (NH) subjects listening to a simulation of electric stimulation. Lateralization discrimination was tested at different pulse rates for various combinations of independently controlled fine structure ITD and envelope ITD. Results for electric hearing show that the fine structure ITD had the strongest impact on lateralization at lower pulse rates, with significant effects for pulse rates up to 800 pulses per second. At higher pulse rates, lateralization discrimination depended solely on the envelope ITD. The data suggest that bilateral CI listeners benefit from transmitting fine structure ITD at lower pulse rates. However, there were strong interindividual differences: the better performing CI listeners performed comparably to the NH listeners.

Strong Clustering of Lyman Break Galaxies around Luminous Quasars at Z ˜ 4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Vergara, Cristina; Hennawi, Joseph F.; Barrientos, L. Felipe; Rix, Hans-Walter

2017-10-01

In the standard picture of structure formation, the first massive galaxies are expected to form at the highest peaks of the density field, which constitute the cores of massive proto-clusters. Luminous quasars (QSOs) at z ˜ 4 are the most strongly clustered population known, and should thus reside in massive dark matter halos surrounded by large overdensities of galaxies, implying a strong QSO-galaxy cross-correlation function. We observed six z ˜ 4 QSO fields with VLT/FORS, exploiting a novel set of narrow-band filters custom designed to select Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) in a thin redshift slice of {{Δ }}z˜ 0.3, mitigating the projection effects that have limited the sensitivity of previous searches for galaxies around z≳ 4 QSOs. We find that LBGs are strongly clustered around QSOs, and present the first measurement of the QSO-LBG cross-correlation function at z ˜ 4, on scales of 0.1≲ R≲ 9 {h}-1 {Mpc} (comoving). Assuming a power-law form for the cross-correlation function ξ ={(r/{r}0{QG})}γ , we measure {r}0{QG}={8.83}-1.51+1.39 {h}-1 {Mpc} for a fixed slope of γ =2.0. This result is in agreement with the expected cross-correlation length deduced from measurements of the QSO and LBG auto-correlation function, and assuming a deterministic bias model. We also measure a strong auto-correlation of LBGs in our QSO fields, finding {r}0{GG}={21.59}-1.69+1.72 {h}-1 {Mpc} for a fixed slope of γ =1.5, which is ˜4 times larger than the LBG auto-correlation length in blank fields, providing further evidence that QSOs reside in overdensities of LBGs. Our results qualitatively support a picture where luminous QSOs inhabit exceptionally massive ({M}{halo}> {10}12 {M}⊙ ) dark matter halos at z ˜ 4.

Six-month longitudinal associations between cognitive functioning and distress among the community-based elderly in Hong Kong: A cross-lagged panel analysis.

PubMed

Leung, Chantel Joanne; Cheng, Lewis; Yu, Junhong; Yiend, Jenny; Lee, Tatia M C

2018-07-01

Although previous studies have extensively documented the cross-sectional relationship between cognitive impairment and psychological distress, findings relating to their longitudinal associations remains mixed. The present study examines the longitudinal associations and mutual influence between cognitive functioning and psychological distress across six months among community-dwelling elderly in Hong Kong. A total of 162 older adults (40 males; M age  = 69.8 years, SD = 6.4) were administered objective and subjective measures of cognitive functioning, as well as self-reported ratings of distress, at two time points six months apart. Using structural equation modeling, we tested the cross-lagged relationships between cognitive functioning and distress. Our cross-lagged model indicated that cognitive functioning at baseline significantly predicted subsequent psychological distress. However, distress was not significantly associated with subsequent cognitive functioning. Additionally, the objective and subjective measures of cognitive functioning were not significantly correlated. These findings suggested that distress may occur as a consequence of poorer cognitive functioning in elderly, but not vice versa. The lack of correlation between objective and subjective cognitive measures suggested that the participants may not have adequate insight into their cognitive abilities. The implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Analog computation of auto and cross-correlation functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

For analysis of the data obtained from the cross beam systems it was deemed desirable to compute the auto- and cross-correlation functions by both digital and analog methods to provide a cross-check of the analysis methods and an indication as to which of the two methods would be most suitable for routine use in the analysis of such data. It is the purpose of this appendix to provide a concise description of the equipment and procedures used for the electronic analog analysis of the cross beam data. A block diagram showing the signal processing and computation set-up used for most of the analog data analysis is provided. The data obtained at the field test sites were recorded on magnetic tape using wide-band FM recording techniques. The data as recorded were band-pass filtered by electronic signal processing in the data acquisition systems.

Local Complex Potential Based Time Dependent Wave Packet Approach to Calculation of Vibrational Excitation Cross-sections in e-N2, e-H2 and e-CO Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarma, Manabendra; Singh, Raman K.; Mishra, Manoj K.

2007-12-01

Vibrational excitation cross-sections σn←m(E) in resonant e-N2, e-CO and e-H2 scattering are calculated from transition matrix elements Tn←m(E) obtained using Fourier transform of the cross correlation function <φn(R)|ψm(R,t)> where ψm(R,t); e-iHA-(R)t/ℏφm(R). Time evolution under the influence of the resonance anionic Hamiltonian HA-(A- = N2-/CO/H2-) is effected using Lanczos and fast Fourier transforms and the target (A) vibrational eigenfunctions φm(R) and φn(R) are calculated using Fourier grid Hamiltonian method applied to PE curve of the neutral target. The resulting vibrational excitation cross-section profiles provide reasonable agreement with experimental results and the cross correlation functions offer an unequivocal differentiation between the boomerang and impulse models.

Using the Cross-Correlation Function to Evaluate the Quality of Eddy-Covariance Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yongfeng; Shang, Xiaodong; Chen, Guiying; Gao, Zhiqiu; Bi, Xueyan

2015-11-01

A cross-correlation test is proposed for evaluating the quality of 30-min eddy-covariance data. Cross-correlation as a function of time lag is computed for vertical velocity paired with temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration. High quality data have a dominant peak at zero time lag and approach zero within a time lag of 20 s. Poor quality data have erratic cross-correlation functions, which indicates that the eddy flux may no longer represent the energy and mass exchange between the atmospheric surface layer and the canopy, and such data should be rejected in post-data analyses. Eddy-covariance data over grassland in July 2004 are used to evaluate the proposed test. The results show that 17, 29, and 36 % of the available data should be rejected because of poor quality measurements of sensible heat, latent heat, and CO2 fluxes, respectively. The rejected data mainly occurred on calm nights and day/night transitions when the atmospheric surface layer became stable or neutrally stratified. We found no friction velocity (u_*) threshold below which all data should be rejected, a test that many other studies have implemented for rejecting questionable data. We instead found that some data with low u_* were reliable, whereas other data with higher u_* were not. The poor quality measurements collected under less than ideal conditions were replaced by using the mean diurnal variation gap-filling method. The correction for poor quality data shifted the daily average CO2 flux by +0.34 g C m^{-2} day^{-1}. After applying the quality-control test, the eddy CO2 fluxes did not display a clear dependence on u_*. The results suggest that the cross-correlation test is a potentially valuable step in evaluating the quality of eddy-covariance data.

Planar spatial correlations, anisotropy, and specific surface area of stationary random porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berryman, James G.

1998-02-01

An earlier result of the author showed that an anisotropic spatial correlation function of a random porous medium could be used to compute the specific surface area when it is stationary as well as anisotropic by first performing a three-dimensional radial average and then taking the first derivative with respect to lag at the origin. This result generalized the earlier result for isotropic porous media of Debye et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 28, 679 (1957)]. The present article provides more detailed information about the use of spatial correlation functions for anisotropic porous media and in particular shows that, for stationary anisotropic media, the specific surface area can be related to the derivative of the two-dimensional radial average of the correlation function measured from cross sections taken through the anisotropic medium. The main concept is first illustrated using a simple pedagogical example for an anisotropic distribution of spherical voids. Then, a general derivation of formulas relating the derivative of the planar correlation functions to surface integrals is presented. When the surface normal is uniformly distributed (as is the case for any distribution of spherical voids), our formulas can be used to relate a specific surface area to easily measurable quantities from any single cross section. When the surface normal is not distributed uniformly (as would be the case for an oriented distribution of ellipsoidal voids), our results show how to obtain valid estimates of specific surface area by averaging measurements on three orthogonal cross sections. One important general observation for porous media is that the surface area from nearly flat cracks may be underestimated from measurements on orthogonal cross sections if any of the cross sections happen to lie in the plane of the cracks. This result is illustrated by taking the very small aspect ratio (penny-shaped crack) limit of an oblate spheroid, but holds for other types of flat surfaces as well.

Planar spatial correlations, anisotropy, and specific surface area of stationary random porous media

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berryman, J.G.

1998-02-01

An earlier result of the author showed that an anisotropic spatial correlation function of a random porous medium could be used to compute the specific surface area when it is stationary as well as anisotropic by first performing a three-dimensional radial average and then taking the first derivative with respect to lag at the origin. This result generalized the earlier result for isotropic porous media of Debye {ital et al.} [J. Appl. Phys. {bold 28}, 679 (1957)]. The present article provides more detailed information about the use of spatial correlation functions for anisotropic porous media and in particular shows that,more » for stationary anisotropic media, the specific surface area can be related to the derivative of the two-dimensional radial average of the correlation function measured from cross sections taken through the anisotropic medium. The main concept is first illustrated using a simple pedagogical example for an anisotropic distribution of spherical voids. Then, a general derivation of formulas relating the derivative of the planar correlation functions to surface integrals is presented. When the surface normal is uniformly distributed (as is the case for any distribution of spherical voids), our formulas can be used to relate a specific surface area to easily measurable quantities from any single cross section. When the surface normal is not distributed uniformly (as would be the case for an oriented distribution of ellipsoidal voids), our results show how to obtain valid estimates of specific surface area by averaging measurements on three orthogonal cross sections. One important general observation for porous media is that the surface area from nearly flat cracks may be underestimated from measurements on orthogonal cross sections if any of the cross sections happen to lie in the plane of the cracks. This result is illustrated by taking the very small aspect ratio (penny-shaped crack) limit of an oblate spheroid, but holds for other types of flat surfaces as well.« less

The dynamic contributions of the otolith organs to human ocular torsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merfeld, D. M.; Teiwes, W.; Clarke, A. H.; Scherer, H.; Young, L. R.

1996-01-01

We measured human ocular torsion (OT) monocularly (using video) and binocularly (using search coils) while sinusoidally accelerating (0.7 g) five human subjects along an earth-horizontal axis at five frequencies (0.35, 0.4, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 Hz). The compensatory nature of OT was investigated by changing the relative orientation of the dynamic (linear acceleration) and static (gravitational) cues. Four subject orientations were investigated: (1) Y-upright-acceleration along the interaural (y) axis while upright; (2) Y-supine-acceleration along the y-axis while supine; (3) Z-RED-acceleration along the dorsoventral (z) axis with right ear down; (4) Z-supine-acceleration along the z-axis while supine. Linear acceleration in the Y-upright, Y-supine and Z-RED orientations elicited conjugate OT. The smaller response in the Z-supine orientation appeared disconjugate. The amplitude of the response decreased and the phase lag increased with increasing frequency for each orientation. This frequency dependence does not match the frequency response of the regular or irregular afferent otolith neurons; therefore the response dynamics cannot be explained by simple peripheral mechanisms. The Y-upright responses were larger than the Y-supine responses (P < 0.05). This difference indicates that OT must be more complicated than a simple low-pass filtered response to interaural shear force, since the dynamic shear force along the interaural axis was identical in these two orientations. The Y-supine responses were, in turn, larger than the Z-RED responses (P < 0.01). Interestingly, the vector sum of the Y-supine responses plus Z-RED responses was not significantly different (P = 0.99) from the Y-upright responses. This suggests that, in this frequency range, the conjugate OT response during Y-upright stimulation might be composed of two components: (1) a response to shear force along the y-axis (as in Y-supine stimulation), and (2) a response to roll tilt of gravitoinertial force (as in Z-RED stimulation).

Upper crustal structures beneath Yogyakarta imaged by ambient seismic noise tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulfakriza, Saygin, E.; Cummins, P.; Widiyantoro, S.; Nugraha, Andri Dian

2013-09-01

Delineating the upper crustal structures beneath Yogyakarta is necessary for understanding its tectonic setting. The presence of Mt. Merapi, fault line and the alluvial deposits contributes to the complex geology of Yogyakarta. Recently, ambient seismic noise tomography can be used to image the subsurface structure. The cross correlations of ambient seismic noise of pair stations were applied to extract the Green's function. The total of 27 stations from 134 seismic stations available in MERapi Amphibious EXperiment (MERAMEX) covering Yogyakarta region were selected to conduct cross correlation. More than 500 Rayleigh waves of Green's functions could be extracted by cross-correlating available the station pairs of short-period and broad-band seismometers. The group velocities were obtained by filtering the extracted Green's function between 0.5 and 20 s. 2-D inversion was applied to the retrieved travel times. Features in the derived tomographic images correlate with the surface geology of Yogyakarta. The Merapi active volcanoes and alluvial deposit in Yogyakarta are clearly described by lower group velocities. The high velocity anomaly contrasts which are visible in the images obtained from the period range between 1 and 5 s, correspond to subsurface imprints of fault that could be the Opak Fault.

Towards a global-scale ambient noise cross-correlation data base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermert, Laura; Fichtner, Andreas; Sleeman, Reinoud

2014-05-01

We aim to obtain a global-scale data base of ambient seismic noise correlations. This database - to be made publicly available at ORFEUS - will enable us to study the distribution of microseismic and hum sources, and to perform multi-scale full waveform inversion for crustal and mantle structure. Ambient noise tomography has developed into a standard technique. According to theory, cross-correlations equal inter-station Green's functions only if the wave field is equipartitioned or the sources are isotropically distributed. In an attempt to circumvent these assumptions, we aim to investigate possibilities to directly model noise cross-correlations and invert for their sources using adjoint techniques. A data base containing correlations of 'gently' preprocessed noise, excluding preprocessing steps which are explicitly taken to reduce the influence of a non-isotropic source distribution like spectral whitening, is a key ingredient in this undertaking. Raw data are acquired from IRIS/FDSN and ORFEUS. We preprocess and correlate the time series using a tool based on the Python package Obspy which is run in parallel on a cluster of the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. Correlation is done in two ways: Besides the classical cross-correlation function, the phase cross-correlation is calculated, which is an amplitude-independent measure of waveform similarity and therefore insensitive to high-energy events. Besides linear stacks of these correlations, instantaneous phase stacks are calculated which can be applied as optional weight, enhancing coherent portions of the traces and facilitating the emergence of a meaningful signal. The _STS1 virtual network by IRIS contains about 250 globally distributed stations, several of which have been operating for more than 20 years. It is the first data collection we will use for correlations in the hum frequency range, as the STS-1 instrument response is flat in the largest part of the period range where hum is observed, up to a period of about 300 seconds. Thus they provide us with the best-suited measurements for hum.

Hanbury Brown and Twiss noise correlations in a topological superconductor beam splitter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonckheere, T.; Rech, J.; Zazunov, A.; Egger, R.; Martin, T.

2017-02-01

We study Hanbury Brown and Twiss current cross-correlations in a three-terminal junction where a central topological superconductor (TS) nanowire, bearing Majorana bound states at its ends, is connected to two normal leads. Relying on a nonperturbative Green function formalism, our calculations allow us to provide analytical expressions for the currents and their correlations at subgap voltages, while also giving exact numerical results valid for arbitrary external bias. We show that when the normal leads are biased at voltages V1 and V2 smaller than the gap, the sign of the current cross-correlations is given by -sgn(V1V2) . In particular, this leads to positive cross-correlations for opposite voltages, a behavior in stark contrast with the one of a standard superconductor, which provides direct evidence of the presence of the Majorana zero mode at the edge of the TS. We further extend our results, varying the length of the TS (leading to an overlap of the Majorana bound states) as well as its chemical potential (driving it away from half-filling), generalizing the boundary TS Green function to those cases. In the case of opposite bias voltages, sgn(V1V2)=-1 , driving the TS wire through the topological transition leads to a sign change of the current cross-correlations, providing yet another signature of the physics of the Majorana bound state.

APPLICATION OF THE CLASSICAL SELFCORRELATION FUNCTION TO DETERMINE THE SLOW NEUTRON SCATTERING CROSS-SECTION OF FREE MOLECULES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parlinski, K.

1962-06-01

A classical selfcorrelation function is found for an atom in the molecule by considering the translation of the free molecule, its rotation and oscillation. The Krieger-Nelkin formula for the differential cross section of incoherent neutron scattering by molecules is derived from the correlation. (auth)

Improvements of sound localization abilities by the facial ruff of the barn owl (Tyto alba) as demonstrated by virtual ruff removal.

PubMed

Hausmann, Laura; von Campenhausen, Mark; Endler, Frank; Singheiser, Martin; Wagner, Hermann

2009-11-05

When sound arrives at the eardrum it has already been filtered by the body, head, and outer ear. This process is mathematically described by the head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), which are characteristic for the spatial position of a sound source and for the individual ear. HRTFs in the barn owl (Tyto alba) are also shaped by the facial ruff, a specialization that alters interaural time differences (ITD), interaural intensity differences (ILD), and the frequency spectrum of the incoming sound to improve sound localization. Here we created novel stimuli to simulate the removal of the barn owl's ruff in a virtual acoustic environment, thus creating a situation similar to passive listening in other animals, and used these stimuli in behavioral tests. HRTFs were recorded from an owl before and after removal of the ruff feathers. Normal and ruff-removed conditions were created by filtering broadband noise with the HRTFs. Under normal virtual conditions, no differences in azimuthal head-turning behavior between individualized and non-individualized HRTFs were observed. The owls were able to respond differently to stimuli from the back than to stimuli from the front having the same ITD. By contrast, such a discrimination was not possible after the virtual removal of the ruff. Elevational head-turn angles were (slightly) smaller with non-individualized than with individualized HRTFs. The removal of the ruff resulted in a large decrease in elevational head-turning amplitudes. The facial ruff a) improves azimuthal sound localization by increasing the ITD range and b) improves elevational sound localization in the frontal field by introducing a shift of iso-ILD lines out of the midsagittal plane, which causes ILDs to increase with increasing stimulus elevation. The changes at the behavioral level could be related to the changes in the binaural physical parameters that occurred after the virtual removal of the ruff. These data provide new insights into the function of external hearing structures and open up the possibility to apply the results on autonomous agents, creation of virtual auditory environments for humans, or in hearing aids.

Bilateral cochlear implants in children: Effects of auditory experience and deprivation on auditory perception

PubMed Central

Litovsky, Ruth Y.; Gordon, Karen

2017-01-01

Spatial hearing skills are essential for children as they grow, learn and play. They provide critical cues for determining the locations of sources in the environment, and enable segregation of important sources, such as speech, from background maskers or interferers. Spatial hearing depends on availability of monaural cues and binaural cues. The latter result from integration of inputs arriving at the two ears from sounds that vary in location. The binaural system has exquisite mechanisms for capturing differences between the ears in both time of arrival and intensity. The major cues that are thus referred to as being vital for binaural hearing are: interaural differences in time (ITDs) and interaural differences in levels (ILDs). In children with normal hearing (NH), spatial hearing abilities are fairly well developed by age 4–5 years. In contrast, children who are deaf and hear through cochlear implants (CIs) do not have an opportunity to experience normal, binaural acoustic hearing early in life. These children may function by having to utilize auditory cues that are degraded with regard to numerous stimulus features. In recent years there has been a notable increase in the number of children receiving bilateral CIs, and evidence suggests that while having two CIs helps them function better than when listening through a single CI, they generally perform worse than their NH peers. This paper reviews some of the recent work on bilaterally implanted children. The focus is on measures of spatial hearing, including sound localization, release from masking for speech understanding in noise and binaural sensitivity using research processors. Data from behavioral and electrophysiological studies are included, with a focus on the recent work of the authors and their collaborators. The effects of auditory plasticity and deprivation on the emergence of binaural and spatial hearing are discussed along with evidence for reorganized processing from both behavioral and electrophysiological studies. The consequences of both unilateral and bilateral auditory deprivation during development suggest that the relevant set of issues is highly complex with regard to successes and the limitations experienced by children receiving bilateral cochlear implants. PMID:26828740

Pelvic floor muscle strength of women consulting at the gynecology outpatient clinics and its correlation with sexual dysfunction: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Ozdemir, Filiz Ciledag; Pehlivan, Erkan; Melekoglu, Rauf

2017-01-01

To investigate the pelvic floor muscle strength of the women andevaluateits possible correlation with sexual dysfunction. In this cross-sectional type study, stratified clusters were used for the sampling method. Index of Female Sexual Function (IFSF) worksheetwere used for questions on sexual function. The pelvic floor muscle strength of subjects was assessed byperineometer. The chi-squared test, logistic regression and Pearson's correlation analysis were used for the statistical analysis. Four hundred thirty primiparous women, mean age 38.5 participated in this study. The average pelvic floor muscle strength value was found 31.4±9.6 cm H 2 O and the average Index of Female Sexual Function (IFSF) score was found 26.5±6.9. Parity (odds ratio OR=5.546) and age 40 or higher (OR=3.484) were found correlated with pelvic floor muscle weakness (p<0.05). The factors directly correlated with sexual dysfunction were found being overweight (OR=2.105) and age 40 or higher (OR=2.451) (p<0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that there was a statistically significantlinear correlation between the muscular strength of the pelvic floor and sexual function (p=0.001). The results suggested subjects with decreased pelvic floor muscle strength value had higher frequency of sexual dysfunction.

Enhanced Excitatory Connectivity and Disturbed Sound Processing in the Auditory Brainstem of Fragile X Mice.

PubMed

Garcia-Pino, Elisabet; Gessele, Nikodemus; Koch, Ursula

2017-08-02

Hypersensitivity to sounds is one of the prevalent symptoms in individuals with Fragile X syndrome (FXS). It manifests behaviorally early during development and is often used as a landmark for treatment efficacy. However, the physiological mechanisms and circuit-level alterations underlying this aberrant behavior remain poorly understood. Using the mouse model of FXS ( Fmr1 KO ), we demonstrate that functional maturation of auditory brainstem synapses is impaired in FXS. Fmr1 KO mice showed a greatly enhanced excitatory synaptic input strength in neurons of the lateral superior olive (LSO), a prominent auditory brainstem nucleus, which integrates ipsilateral excitation and contralateral inhibition to compute interaural level differences. Conversely, the glycinergic, inhibitory input properties remained unaffected. The enhanced excitation was the result of an increased number of cochlear nucleus fibers converging onto one LSO neuron, without changing individual synapse properties. Concomitantly, immunolabeling of excitatory ending markers revealed an increase in the immunolabeled area, supporting abnormally elevated excitatory input numbers. Intrinsic firing properties were only slightly enhanced. In line with the disturbed development of LSO circuitry, auditory processing was also affected in adult Fmr1 KO mice as shown with single-unit recordings of LSO neurons. These processing deficits manifested as an increase in firing rate, a broadening of the frequency response area, and a shift in the interaural level difference function of LSO neurons. Our results suggest that this aberrant synaptic development of auditory brainstem circuits might be a major underlying cause of the auditory processing deficits in FXS. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common inheritable form of intellectual impairment, including autism. A core symptom of FXS is extreme sensitivity to loud sounds. This is one reason why individuals with FXS tend to avoid social interactions, contributing to their isolation. Here, a mouse model of FXS was used to investigate the auditory brainstem where basic sound information is first processed. Loss of the Fragile X mental retardation protein leads to excessive excitatory compared with inhibitory inputs in neurons extracting information about sound levels. Functionally, this elevated excitation results in increased firing rates, and abnormal coding of frequency and binaural sound localization cues. Imbalanced early-stage sound level processing could partially explain the auditory processing deficits in FXS. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/377403-17$15.00/0.

Instantaneous phase estimation to measure weak velocity variations: application to noise correlation on seismic data at the exploration scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corciulo, M.; Roux, P.; Campillo, M.; Dubucq, D.

2010-12-01

Passive imaging from noise cross-correlation is a consolidated analysis applied at continental and regional scale whereas its use at local scale for seismic exploration purposes is still uncertain. The development of passive imaging by cross-correlation analysis is based on the extraction of the Green’s function from seismic noise data. In a completely random field in time and space, the cross-correlation permits to retrieve the complete Green’s function whatever the complexity of the medium. At the exploration scale and at frequency above 2 Hz, the noise sources are not ideally distributed around the stations which strongly affect the extraction of the direct arrivals from the noise cross-correlation process. In order to overcome this problem, the coda waves extracted from noise correlation could be useful. Coda waves describe long and scattered paths sampling the medium in different ways such that they become sensitive to weak velocity variations without being dependent on the noise source distribution. Indeed, scatters in the medium behave as a set of secondary noise sources which randomize the spatial distribution of noise sources contributing to the coda waves in the correlation process. We developed a new technique to measure weak velocity changes based on the computation of the local phase variations (instantaneous phase variation or IPV) of the cross-correlated signals. This newly-developed technique takes advantage from the doublet and stretching techniques classically used to monitor weak velocity variation from coda waves. We apply IPV to data acquired in Northern America (Canada) on a 1-km side square seismic network laid out by 397 stations. Data used to study temporal variations are cross-correlated signals computed on 10-minutes ambient noise in the frequency band 2-5 Hz. As the data set was acquired over five days, about 660 files are processed to perform a complete temporal analysis for each stations pair. The IPV permits to estimate the phase shift all over the signal length without any assumption on the medium velocity. The instantaneous phase is computed using the Hilbert transform of the signal. For each stations pair, we measure the phase difference between successive correlation functions calculated for 10 minutes of ambient noise. We then fit the instantaneous phase shift using a first-order polynomial function. The measure of the velocity variation corresponds to the slope of this fit. Compared to other techniques, the advantage of IPV is a very fast procedure which efficiently provides the measure of velocity variation on large data sets. Both experimental results and numerical tests on synthetic signals will be presented to assess the reliability of the IPV technique, with comparison to the doublet and stretching methods.

Baryon acoustic oscillations from the complete SDSS-III Lyα-quasar cross-correlation function at z = 2.4

DOE PAGES

du Mas des Bourboux, Helion; Le Goff, Jean-Marc; Blomqvist, Michael; ...

2017-08-08

We present a measurement of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the cross-correlation of quasars with the Lyα-forest flux-transmission at a mean redshift z = 2.40. The measurement uses the complete SDSS-III data sample: 168,889 forests and 234,367 quasars from the SDSS Data Release DR12. In addition to the statistical improvement on our previous study using DR11, we have implemented numerous improvements at the analysis level allowing a more accurate measurement of this cross-correlation. We also developed the first simulations of the cross-correlation allowing us to test different aspects of our data analysis and to search for potential systematic errors inmore » the determination of the BAO peak position. We measure the two ratios D H(z = 2.40)=r d = 9.01 ± 0.36 and D M(z = 2.40)=r d = 35.7 ±1.7, where the errors include marginalization over the non-linear velocity of quasars and the metal - quasar cross-correlation contribution, among other effects. These results are within 1.8σ of the prediction of the flat-ΛCDM model describing the observed CMB anisotropies.We combine this study with the Lyα-forest auto-correlation function (Bautista et al. 2017), yielding D H(z = 2.40)=r d = 8.94 ± 0.22 and D M(z = 2.40)=r d = 36.6 ± 1.2, within 2.3σ of the same flat-ΛCDM model.« less

Baryon acoustic oscillations from the complete SDSS-III Lyα-quasar cross-correlation function at z = 2.4

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

du Mas des Bourboux, Helion; Le Goff, Jean-Marc; Blomqvist, Michael

We present a measurement of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the cross-correlation of quasars with the Lyα-forest flux-transmission at a mean redshift z = 2.40. The measurement uses the complete SDSS-III data sample: 168,889 forests and 234,367 quasars from the SDSS Data Release DR12. In addition to the statistical improvement on our previous study using DR11, we have implemented numerous improvements at the analysis level allowing a more accurate measurement of this cross-correlation. We also developed the first simulations of the cross-correlation allowing us to test different aspects of our data analysis and to search for potential systematic errors inmore » the determination of the BAO peak position. We measure the two ratios D H(z = 2.40)=r d = 9.01 ± 0.36 and D M(z = 2.40)=r d = 35.7 ±1.7, where the errors include marginalization over the non-linear velocity of quasars and the metal - quasar cross-correlation contribution, among other effects. These results are within 1.8σ of the prediction of the flat-ΛCDM model describing the observed CMB anisotropies.We combine this study with the Lyα-forest auto-correlation function (Bautista et al. 2017), yielding D H(z = 2.40)=r d = 8.94 ± 0.22 and D M(z = 2.40)=r d = 36.6 ± 1.2, within 2.3σ of the same flat-ΛCDM model.« less

Brief Report: Atypical Neuromagnetic Responses to Illusory Auditory Pitch in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brock, Jon; Bzishvili, Samantha; Reid, Melanie; Hautus, Michael; Johnson, Blake W.

2013-01-01

Atypical auditory perception is a widely recognised but poorly understood feature of autism. In the current study, we used magnetoencephalography to measure the brain responses of 10 autistic children as they listened passively to dichotic pitch stimuli, in which an illusory tone is generated by sub-millisecond inter-aural timing differences in…

Non-stationarity and cross-correlation effects in the MHD solar activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demin, S. A.; Nefedyev, Y. A.; Andreev, A. O.; Demina, N. Y.; Timashev, S. F.

2018-01-01

The analysis of turbulent processes in sunspots and pores which are self-organizing long-lived magnetic structures is a complicated and not yet solved problem. The present work focuses on studying such magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) formations on the basis of flicker-noise spectroscopy using a new method of multi-parametric analysis. The non-stationarity and cross-correlation effects taking place in solar activity dynamics are considered. The calculated maximum values of non-stationarity factor may become precursors of significant restructuring in solar magnetic activity. The introduced cross-correlation functions enable us to judge synchronization effects between the signals of various solar activity indicators registered simultaneously.

Continuous quantum measurement with independent detector cross correlations.

PubMed

Jordan, Andrew N; Büttiker, Markus

2005-11-25

We investigate the advantages of using two independent, linear detectors for continuous quantum measurement. For single-shot measurement, the detection process may be quantum limited if the detectors are twins. For weak continuous measurement, cross correlations allow a violation of the Korotkov-Averin bound for the detector's signal-to-noise ratio. The joint weak measurement of noncommuting observables is also investigated, and we find the cross correlation changes sign as a function of frequency, reflecting a crossover from incoherent relaxation to coherent, out of phase oscillations. Our results are applied to a double quantum-dot charge qubit, simultaneously measured by two quantum point contacts.

Exploring Structural Dynamics within and between Sensory and Intellectual Functioning in Old and Very Old Age: Longitudinal Evidence from the Berlin Aging Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghisletta, Paolo; Lindenberger, Ulman

2005-01-01

Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of age-heterogeneous samples have revealed correlational links between and within intellectual, sensory, and sensorimotor domains. Due to basic limitations of cross-sectional designs and a reluctance to disentangle antecedent-consequent relations in longitudinal designs, the functional significance and…

Physical and Psychological Correlates of Disability among a Cohort of Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Ray

2007-01-01

While the physical correlates of knee osteoarthritis are well documented, less well documented are aspects of psychological functioning that may affect overall health and functional status. This paper describes the findings of a cross-sectional analysis that examined the strength of the relationship between selected psychological factors and the…

Cross-correlation photothermal optical coherence tomography with high effective resolution.

PubMed

Tang, Peijun; Liu, Shaojie; Chen, Junbo; Yuan, Zhiling; Xie, Bingkai; Zhou, Jianhua; Tang, Zhilie

2017-12-01

We developed a cross-correlation photothermal optical coherence tomography (CC-PTOCT) system for photothermal imaging with high lateral and axial resolution. The CC-PTOCT system consists of a phase-sensitive OCT system, a modulated pumping laser, and a digital cross-correlator. The pumping laser was used to induce the photothermal effect in the sample, causing a slight phase modulation of the OCT signals. A spatial phase differentiation method was employed to reduce phase accumulation. The noise brought by the phase differentiation method and the strong background noise were suppressed efficiently by the cross-correlator, which was utilized to extract the photothermal signals from the modulated signals. Combining the cross-correlation technique with spatial phase differentiation can improve both lateral and axial resolution of the PTOCT imaging system. Clear photothermal images of blood capillaries of a mouse ear in vivo were successfully obtained with high lateral and axial resolution. The experimental results demonstrated that this system can enhance the effective transverse resolution, effective depth resolution, and contrast of the PTOCT image effectively, aiding the ongoing development of the accurate 3D functional imaging.

Lead-lag relationships between stock and market risk within linear response theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borysov, Stanislav; Balatsky, Alexander

2015-03-01

We study historical correlations and lead-lag relationships between individual stock risks (standard deviation of daily stock returns) and market risk (standard deviation of daily returns of a market-representative portfolio) in the US stock market. We consider the cross-correlation functions averaged over stocks, using historical stock prices from the Standard & Poor's 500 index for 1994-2013. The observed historical dynamics suggests that the dependence between the risks was almost linear during the US stock market downturn of 2002 and after the US housing bubble in 2007, remaining at that level until 2013. Moreover, the averaged cross-correlation function often had an asymmetric shape with respect to zero lag in the periods of high correlation. We develop the analysis by the application of the linear response formalism to study underlying causal relations. The calculated response functions suggest the presence of characteristic regimes near financial crashes, when individual stock risks affect market risk and vice versa. This work was supported by VR 621-2012-2983.

Alteration of frequency range for binaural beats in acute low-tone hearing loss.

PubMed

Karino, Shotaro; Yamasoba, Tatsuya; Ito, Ken; Kaga, Kimitaka

2005-01-01

The effect of acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) on the interaural frequency difference (IFD) required for perception of binaural beats (BBs) was investigated in 12 patients with unilateral ALHL and 7 patients in whom ALHL had lessened. A continuous pure tone of 30 dB sensation level at 250 Hz was presented to the contralateral, normal-hearing ear. The presence of BBs was determined by a subjective yes-no procedure as the frequency of a loudness-balanced test tone was gradually adjusted around 250 Hz in the affected ear. The frequency range in which no BBs were perceived (FRNB) was significantly wider in the patients with ALHL than in the controls, and FRNBs became narrower in the recovered ALHL group. Specifically, detection of slow BBs with a small IFD was impaired in this limited (10 s) observation period. The significant correlation between the hearing level at 250 Hz and FRNBs suggests that FRNBs represent the degree of cochlear damage caused by ALHL.

Amplitude-modulation detection by gerbils in reverberant sound fields.

PubMed

Lingner, Andrea; Kugler, Kathrin; Grothe, Benedikt; Wiegrebe, Lutz

2013-08-01

Reverberation can dramatically reduce the depth of amplitude modulations which are critical for speech intelligibility. Psychophysical experiments indicate that humans' sensitivity to amplitude modulation in reverberation is better than predicted from the acoustic modulation depth at the receiver position. Electrophysiological studies on reverberation in rabbits highlight the contribution of neurons sensitive to interaural correlation. Here, we use a prepulse-inhibition paradigm to quantify the gerbils' amplitude modulation threshold in both anechoic and reverberant virtual environments. Data show that prepulse inhibition provides a reliable method for determining the gerbils' AM sensitivity. However, we find no evidence for perceptual restoration of amplitude modulation in reverberation. Instead, the deterioration of AM sensitivity in reverberant conditions can be quantitatively explained by the reduced modulation depth at the receiver position. We suggest that the lack of perceptual restoration is related to physical properties of the gerbil's ear input signals and inner-ear processing as opposed to shortcomings of their binaural neural processing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross-correlation of instantaneous phase increments in pressure-flow fluctuations: Applications to cerebral autoregulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhi; Hu, Kun; Stanley, H. Eugene; Novak, Vera; Ivanov, Plamen Ch.

2006-03-01

We investigate the relationship between the blood flow velocities (BFV) in the middle cerebral arteries and beat-to-beat blood pressure (BP) recorded from a finger in healthy and post-stroke subjects during the quasisteady state after perturbation for four different physiologic conditions: supine rest, head-up tilt, hyperventilation, and CO2 rebreathing in upright position. To evaluate whether instantaneous BP changes in the steady state are coupled with instantaneous changes in the BFV, we compare dynamical patterns in the instantaneous phases of these signals, obtained from the Hilbert transform, as a function of time. We find that in post-stroke subjects the instantaneous phase increments of BP and BFV exhibit well-pronounced patterns that remain stable in time for all four physiologic conditions, while in healthy subjects these patterns are different, less pronounced, and more variable. We propose an approach based on the cross-correlation of the instantaneous phase increments to quantify the coupling between BP and BFV signals. We find that the maximum correlation strength is different for the two groups and for the different conditions. For healthy subjects the amplitude of the cross-correlation between the instantaneous phase increments of BP and BFV is small and attenuates within 3-5 heartbeats. In contrast, for post-stroke subjects, this amplitude is significantly larger and cross-correlations persist up to 20 heartbeats. Further, we show that the instantaneous phase increments of BP and BFV are cross-correlated even within a single heartbeat cycle. We compare the results of our approach with three complementary methods: direct BP-BFV cross-correlation, transfer function analysis, and phase synchronization analysis. Our findings provide insight into the mechanism of cerebral vascular control in healthy subjects, suggesting that this control mechanism may involve rapid adjustments (within a heartbeat) of the cerebral vessels, so that BFV remains steady in response to changes in peripheral BP.

Cross-correlation of instantaneous phase increments in pressure-flow fluctuations: applications to cerebral autoregulation.

PubMed

Chen, Zhi; Hu, Kun; Stanley, H Eugene; Novak, Vera; Ivanov, Plamen Ch

2006-03-01

We investigate the relationship between the blood flow velocities (BFV) in the middle cerebral arteries and beat-to-beat blood pressure (BP) recorded from a finger in healthy and post-stroke subjects during the quasisteady state after perturbation for four different physiologic conditions: supine rest, head-up tilt, hyperventilation, and CO2 rebreathing in upright position. To evaluate whether instantaneous BP changes in the steady state are coupled with instantaneous changes in the BFV, we compare dynamical patterns in the instantaneous phases of these signals, obtained from the Hilbert transform, as a function of time. We find that in post-stroke subjects the instantaneous phase increments of BP and BFV exhibit well-pronounced patterns that remain stable in time for all four physiologic conditions, while in healthy subjects these patterns are different, less pronounced, and more variable. We propose an approach based on the cross-correlation of the instantaneous phase increments to quantify the coupling between BP and BFV signals. We find that the maximum correlation strength is different for the two groups and for the different conditions. For healthy subjects the amplitude of the cross-correlation between the instantaneous phase increments of BP and BFV is small and attenuates within 3-5 heartbeats. In contrast, for post-stroke subjects, this amplitude is significantly larger and cross-correlations persist up to 20 heartbeats. Further, we show that the instantaneous phase increments of BP and BFV are cross-correlated even within a single heartbeat cycle. We compare the results of our approach with three complementary methods: direct BP-BFV cross-correlation, transfer function analysis, and phase synchronization analysis. Our findings provide insight into the mechanism of cerebral vascular control in healthy subjects, suggesting that this control mechanism may involve rapid adjustments (within a heartbeat) of the cerebral vessels, so that BFV remains steady in response to changes in peripheral BP.

Analysis and attenuation of artifacts caused by spatially and temporally correlated noise sources in Green's function estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, E. R.; Dou, S.; Lindsey, N.; Chang, J. P.; Biondi, B. C.; Ajo Franklin, J. B.; Wagner, A. M.; Bjella, K.; Daley, T. M.; Freifeld, B. M.; Robertson, M.; Ulrich, C.; Williams, E. F.

2016-12-01

Localized strong sources of noise in an array have been shown to cause artifacts in Green's function estimates obtained via cross-correlation. Their effect is often reduced through the use of cross-coherence. Beyond independent localized sources, temporally or spatially correlated sources of noise frequently occur in practice but violate basic assumptions of much of the theory behind ambient noise Green's function retrieval. These correlated noise sources can occur in urban environments due to transportation infrastructure, or in areas around industrial operations like pumps running at CO2 sequestration sites or oil and gas drilling sites. Better understanding of these artifacts should help us develop and justify methods for their automatic removal from Green's function estimates. We derive expected artifacts in cross-correlations from several distributions of correlated noise sources including point sources that are exact time-lagged repeats of each other and Gaussian-distributed in space and time with covariance that exponentially decays. Assuming the noise distribution stays stationary over time, the artifacts become more coherent as more ambient noise is included in the Green's function estimates. We support our results with simple computational models. We observed these artifacts in Green's function estimates from a 2015 ambient noise study in Fairbanks, AK where a trenched distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) array was deployed to collect ambient noise alongside a road with the goal of developing a permafrost thaw monitoring system. We found that joints in the road repeatedly being hit by cars travelling at roughly the speed limit led to artifacts similar to those expected when several points are time-lagged copies of each other. We also show test results of attenuating the effects of these sources during time-lapse monitoring of an active thaw test in the same location with noise detected by a 2D trenched DAS array.

A high-significance measurement of correlation between unresolved IRAS sources and optically-selected galaxy clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hincks, Adam D.; Hajian, Amir; Addison, Graeme E.

2013-05-01

We cross-correlate the 100 μm Improved Reprocessing of the IRAS Survey (IRIS) map and galaxy clusters at 0.1 < z < 0.3 in the maxBCG catalogue taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, measuring an angular cross-power spectrum over multipole moments 150 < l < 3000 at a total significance of over 40σ. The cross-spectrum, which arises from the spatial correlation between unresolved dusty galaxies that make up the cosmic infrared background (CIB) in the IRIS map and the galaxy clusters, is well-fit by a single power law with an index of -1.28±0.12, similar to the clustering of unresolved galaxies from cross-correlating far-infrared and submillimetre maps at longer wavelengths. Using a recent, phenomenological model for the spectral and clustering properties of the IRIS galaxies, we constrain the large-scale bias of the maxBCG clusters to be 2.6±1.4, consistent with existing analyses of the real-space cluster correlation function. The success of our method suggests that future CIB-optical cross-correlations using Planck and Herschel data will significantly improve our understanding of the clustering and redshift distribution of the faint CIB sources.

Cross-correlation earthquake precursors in the hydrogeochemical and geoacoustic signals for the Kamchatka peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryabinin, Gennadiy; Gavrilov, Valeriy; Polyakov, Yuriy; Timashev, Serge

2012-06-01

We propose a new type of earthquake precursor based on the analysis of correlation dynamics between geophysical signals of different nature. The precursor is found using a two-parameter cross-correlation function introduced within the framework of flicker-noise spectroscopy, a general statistical physics approach to the analysis of time series. We consider an example of cross-correlation analysis for water salinity time series, an integral characteristic of the chemical composition of groundwater, and geoacoustic emissions recorded at the G-1 borehole on the Kamchatka peninsula in the time frame from 2001 to 2003, which is characterized by a sequence of three groups of significant seismic events. We found that cross-correlation precursors took place 27, 31, and 35 days ahead of the strongest earthquakes for each group of seismic events, respectively. At the same time, precursory anomalies in the signals themselves were observed only in the geoacoustic emissions for one group of earthquakes.

A 32-channel photon counting module with embedded auto/cross-correlators for real-time parallel fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gong, S.; Labanca, I.; Rech, I.

2014-10-15

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a well-established technique to study binding interactions or the diffusion of fluorescently labeled biomolecules in vitro and in vivo. Fast FCS experiments require parallel data acquisition and analysis which can be achieved by exploiting a multi-channel Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) array and a corresponding multi-input correlator. This paper reports a 32-channel FPGA based correlator able to perform 32 auto/cross-correlations simultaneously over a lag-time ranging from 10 ns up to 150 ms. The correlator is included in a 32 × 1 SPAD array module, providing a compact and flexible instrument for high throughput FCS experiments.more » However, some inherent features of SPAD arrays, namely afterpulsing and optical crosstalk effects, may introduce distortions in the measurement of auto- and cross-correlation functions. We investigated these limitations to assess their impact on the module and evaluate possible workarounds.« less

The influences of delay time on the stability of a market model with stochastic volatility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiang-Cheng; Mei, Dong-Cheng

2013-02-01

The effects of the delay time on the stability of a market model are investigated, by using a modified Heston model with a cubic nonlinearity and cross-correlated noise sources. These results indicate that: (i) There is an optimal delay time τo which maximally enhances the stability of the stock price under strong demand elasticity of stock price, and maximally reduces the stability of the stock price under weak demand elasticity of stock price; (ii) The cross correlation coefficient of noises and the delay time play an opposite role on the stability for the case of the delay time <τo and the same role for the case of the delay time >τo. Moreover, the probability density function of the escape time of stock price returns, the probability density function of the returns and the correlation function of the returns are compared with other literatures.

Improved Characterization of Far-Regional and Near-Teleseismic Phases Observed in Central Asia

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-02

Pn/P travel-time residuals as a function of epicentral distance. To generate this figure, we retrieved International Seismic Centre (ISC) bulletins...spectral frequency-wave number methods (e.g., Capon, 1969), multiple signal characteristic ( MUSIC ; Stoica and Nehorai, 1989), cross-correlation (Tibuleac...root and cross-correlation implementations. Methods such as MUSIC do not suffer these limitations and can perform well on far-regional arrivals

The spatial unmasking of speech: evidence for within-channel processing of interaural time delay.

PubMed

Edmonds, Barrie A; Culling, John F

2005-05-01

Across-frequency processing by common interaural time delay (ITD) in spatial unmasking was investigated by measuring speech reception thresholds (SRTs) for high- and low-frequency bands of target speech presented against concurrent speech or a noise masker. Experiment 1 indicated that presenting one of these target bands with an ITD of +500 micros and the other with zero ITD (like the masker) provided some release from masking, but full binaural advantage was only measured when both target bands were given an ITD of + 500 micros. Experiment 2 showed that full binaural advantage could also be achieved when the high- and low-frequency bands were presented with ITDs of equal but opposite magnitude (+/- 500 micros). In experiment 3, the masker was also split into high- and low-frequency bands with ITDs of equal but opposite magnitude (+/-500 micros). The ITD of the low-frequency target band matched that of the high-frequency masking band and vice versa. SRTs indicated that, as long as the target and masker differed in ITD within each frequency band, full binaural advantage could be achieved. These results suggest that the mechanism underlying spatial unmasking exploits differences in ITD independently within each frequency channel.

[The significance of the interaural latency difference of VEMP].

PubMed

Wu, Ziming; Zhang, Suzhen; Ji, Fei; Zhou, Na; Guo, Weiwei; Yang, Weiyan; Han, Dongyi

2005-05-01

To investigate the significance of the interaural latency (IAL) difference of the latency of VEMP and to raise the sensitivity of the test. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) were tested in 20 healthy subjects; 13 patients with acoustic neuromaor cerebellopontile angle occupying lesions and 1 patient with multiple sclerosis. IAL differences of the wave p13,n23 and p13-n23 (abbreviatd as /delta p13/, /delta n23/ and /delta p13-n23/, respectively) were analysed to determine the normal range and the upper limit of the norm data. Four illustrative cases with the abnormality of the IAL difference were given as examples. The upper limit of the IAL of /delta p13/ was 1.13 ms; that of the /delta n23/ was 1.38 ms and that of /delta p13-n23/ was 1.54 ms. The /p13-n23/ latency between the right and left side had no significant difference (P > 0.05). /delta p13/, /delta n23/ and /delta p13-n23/, especially /delta p13/ of VEMP can suggest abnormality in the neural pathway and it may be applicable in practice.

Spatial hearing benefits demonstrated with presentation of acoustic temporal fine structure cues in bilateral cochlear implant listeners.

PubMed

Churchill, Tyler H; Kan, Alan; Goupell, Matthew J; Litovsky, Ruth Y

2014-09-01

Most contemporary cochlear implant (CI) processing strategies discard acoustic temporal fine structure (TFS) information, and this may contribute to the observed deficits in bilateral CI listeners' ability to localize sounds when compared to normal hearing listeners. Additionally, for best speech envelope representation, most contemporary speech processing strategies use high-rate carriers (≥900 Hz) that exceed the limit for interaural pulse timing to provide useful binaural information. Many bilateral CI listeners are sensitive to interaural time differences (ITDs) in low-rate (<300 Hz) constant-amplitude pulse trains. This study explored the trade-off between superior speech temporal envelope representation with high-rate carriers and binaural pulse timing sensitivity with low-rate carriers. The effects of carrier pulse rate and pulse timing on ITD discrimination, ITD lateralization, and speech recognition in quiet were examined in eight bilateral CI listeners. Stimuli consisted of speech tokens processed at different electrical stimulation rates, and pulse timings that either preserved or did not preserve acoustic TFS cues. Results showed that CI listeners were able to use low-rate pulse timing cues derived from acoustic TFS when presented redundantly on multiple electrodes for ITD discrimination and lateralization of speech stimuli.

The effect of multi-channel wide dynamic range compression, noise reduction, and the directional microphone on horizontal localization performance in hearing aid wearers.

PubMed

Keidser, Gitte; Rohrseitz, Kristin; Dillon, Harvey; Hamacher, Volkmar; Carter, Lyndal; Rass, Uwe; Convery, Elizabeth

2006-10-01

This study examined the effect that signal processing strategies used in modern hearing aids, such as multi-channel WDRC, noise reduction, and directional microphones have on interaural difference cues and horizontal localization performance relative to linear, time-invariant amplification. Twelve participants were bilaterally fitted with BTE devices. Horizontal localization testing using a 360 degrees loudspeaker array and broadband pulsed pink noise was performed two weeks, and two months, post-fitting. The effect of noise reduction was measured with a constant noise present at 80 degrees azimuth. Data were analysed independently in the left/right and front/back dimension and showed that of the three signal processing strategies, directional microphones had the most significant effect on horizontal localization performance and over time. Specifically, a cardioid microphone could decrease front/back errors over time, whereas left/right errors increased when different microphones were fitted to left and right ears. Front/back confusions were generally prominent. Objective measurements of interaural differences on KEMAR explained significant shifts in left/right errors. In conclusion, there is scope for improving the sense of localization in hearing aid users.

General ultrafast pulse measurement using the cross-correlation single-shot sonogram technique.

PubMed

Reid, Derryck T; Garduno-Mejia, Jesus

2004-03-15

The cross-correlation single-shot sonogram technique offers exact pulse measurement and real-time pulse monitoring via an intuitive time-frequency trace whose shape and orientation directly indicate the spectral chirp of an ultrashort laser pulse. We demonstrate an algorithm that solves a fundamental limitation of the cross-correlation sonogram method, namely, that the time-gating operation is implemented using a replica of the measured pulse rather than the ideal delta-function-like pulse. Using a modified principal-components generalized projections algorithm, we experimentally show accurate pulse retrieval of an asymmetric double pulse, a case that is prone to systematic error when one is using the original sonogram retrieval algorithm.

Development and evaluation of modified envelope correlation method for deep tectonic tremor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizuno, N.; Ide, S.

2017-12-01

We develop a new location method for deep tectonic tremors, as an improvement of widely used envelope correlation method, and applied it to construct a tremor catalog in western Japan. Using the cross-correlation functions as objective functions and weighting components of data by the inverse of error variances, the envelope cross-correlation method is redefined as a maximum likelihood method. This method is also capable of multiple source detection, because when several events occur almost simultaneously, they appear as local maxima of likelihood.The average of weighted cross-correlation functions, defined as ACC, is a nonlinear function whose variable is a position of deep tectonic tremor. The optimization method has two steps. First, we fix the source depth to 30 km and use a grid search with 0.2 degree intervals to find the maxima of ACC, which are candidate event locations. Then, using each of the candidate locations as initial values, we apply a gradient method to determine horizontal and vertical components of a hypocenter. Sometimes, several source locations are determined in a time window of 5 minutes. We estimate the resolution, which is defined as a distance of sources to be detected separately by the location method, is about 100 km. The validity of this estimation is confirmed by a numerical test using synthetic waveforms. Applying to continuous seismograms in western Japan for over 10 years, the new method detected 27% more tremors than a previous method, owing to the multiple detection and improvement of accuracy by appropriate weighting scheme.

Assessing the short-term clock drift of early broadband stations with burst events of the 26 s persistent and localized microseism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Jun; Ni, Sidao; Chu, Risheng; Xia, Yingjie

2018-01-01

Accurate seismometer clock plays an important role in seismological studies including earthquake location and tomography. However, some seismic stations may have clock drift larger than 1 s (e.g. GSC in 1992), especially in early days of global seismic networks. The 26 s Persistent Localized (PL) microseism event in the Gulf of Guinea sometime excites strong and coherent signals, and can be used as repeating source for assessing stability of seismometer clocks. Taking station GSC, PAS and PFO in the TERRAscope network as an example, the 26 s PL signal can be easily observed in the ambient noise cross-correlation function between these stations and a remote station OBN with interstation distance about 9700 km. The travel-time variation of this 26 s signal in the ambient noise cross-correlation function is used to infer clock error. A drastic clock error is detected during June 1992 for station GSC, but not found for station PAS and PFO. This short-term clock error is confirmed by both teleseismic and local earthquake records with a magnitude of 25 s. Averaged over the three stations, the accuracy of the ambient noise cross-correlation function method with the 26 s source is about 0.3-0.5 s. Using this PL source, the clock can be validated for historical records of sparsely distributed stations, where the usual ambient noise cross-correlation function of short-period (<20 s) ambient noise might be less effective due to its attenuation over long interstation distances. However, this method suffers from cycling problem, and should be verified by teleseismic/local P waves. Further studies are also needed to investigate whether the 26 s source moves spatially and its effects on clock drift detection.

Understanding volatility correlation behavior with a magnitude cross-correlation function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jun, Woo Cheol; Oh, Gabjin; Kim, Seunghwan

2006-06-01

We propose an approach for analyzing the basic relation between correlation properties of the original signal and its magnitude fluctuations by decomposing the original signal into its positive and negative fluctuation components. We use this relation to understand the following phenomenon found in many naturally occurring time series: the magnitude of the signal exhibits long-range correlation, whereas the original signal is short-range correlated. The applications of our approach to heart rate variability signals and high-frequency foreign exchange rates reveal that the difference between the correlation properties of the original signal and its magnitude fluctuations is induced by the time organization structure of the correlation function between the magnitude fluctuations of positive and negative components. We show that this correlation function can be described well by a stretched-exponential function and is related to the nonlinearity and the multifractal structure of the signals.

Joint statistics of strongly correlated neurons via dimensionality reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deniz, Taşkın; Rotter, Stefan

2017-06-01

The relative timing of action potentials in neurons recorded from local cortical networks often shows a non-trivial dependence, which is then quantified by cross-correlation functions. Theoretical models emphasize that such spike train correlations are an inevitable consequence of two neurons being part of the same network and sharing some synaptic input. For non-linear neuron models, however, explicit correlation functions are difficult to compute analytically, and perturbative methods work only for weak shared input. In order to treat strong correlations, we suggest here an alternative non-perturbative method. Specifically, we study the case of two leaky integrate-and-fire neurons with strong shared input. Correlation functions derived from simulated spike trains fit our theoretical predictions very accurately. Using our method, we computed the non-linear correlation transfer as well as correlation functions that are asymmetric due to inhomogeneous intrinsic parameters or unequal input.

Understanding volatility correlation behavior with a magnitude cross-correlation function.

PubMed

Jun, Woo Cheol; Oh, Gabjin; Kim, Seunghwan

2006-06-01

We propose an approach for analyzing the basic relation between correlation properties of the original signal and its magnitude fluctuations by decomposing the original signal into its positive and negative fluctuation components. We use this relation to understand the following phenomenon found in many naturally occurring time series: the magnitude of the signal exhibits long-range correlation, whereas the original signal is short-range correlated. The applications of our approach to heart rate variability signals and high-frequency foreign exchange rates reveal that the difference between the correlation properties of the original signal and its magnitude fluctuations is induced by the time organization structure of the correlation function between the magnitude fluctuations of positive and negative components. We show that this correlation function can be described well by a stretched-exponential function and is related to the nonlinearity and the multifractal structure of the signals.

Theoretical background of retrieving Green's function by cross-correlation: one-dimensional case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakahara, Hisashi

2006-06-01

Recently, an assertion has been verified experimentally and theoretically that Green's function between two receivers can be reproduced by cross-correlating the records at the receivers. In this paper, we have theoretically proved the assertion for 1-D media with the free surface by using the Thomson-Haskell matrix method. Strictly speaking, one side of the cross-correlation between records at two receivers is the convolution between Green's function and the autocorrelation function of the source wavelet. This study extends the geometry considered by Claerbout to two receivers vertically apart, and is a special case of the proof by Wapenaar et al. which dealt with 3-D arbitrary inhomogeneous media. However, a simple geometry in 1-D problems enables us to make the proof without any approximations and to better understand the physical background with more ease. That is the main advantage of this study. Though a 1-D geometry seems far from reality, it may be sufficient if an appropriate combination of receivers and earthquakes is selected. In fact, such a geometry is often seen in seismological observations by a vertical array of seismographs in the shallow subsurface. Therefore, we refer to a possibility that the proof in this paper is applied to the estimation of site amplification factors by using records of a vertical seismographic array.

Effects of cross correlation on the relaxation time of a bistable system driven by cross-correlated noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mei, Dongcheng; Xie, Chongwei; Zhang, Li

2003-11-01

We study the effects of correlations between additive and multiplicative noise on relaxation time in a bistable system driven by cross-correlated noise. Using the projection-operator method, we derived an analytic expression for the relaxation time Tc of the system, which is the function of additive (α) and multiplicative (D) noise intensities, correlation intensity λ of noise, and correlation time τ of noise. After introducing a noise intensity ratio and a dimensionless parameter R=D/α, and then performing numerical computations, we find the following: (i) For the case of R<1, the relaxation time Tc increases as R increases. (ii) For the cases of R⩾1, there is a one-peak structure on the Tc-R plot and the effects of cross-correlated noise on the relaxation time are very notable. (iii) For the case of R<1, Tc almost does not change with both λ and τ, and for the cases of R⩾1, Tc decreases as λ increases, however Tc increases as τ increases. λ and τ play opposite roles in Tc, i.e., λ enhances the fluctuation decay of dynamical variable and τ slows down the fluctuation decay of dynamical variable.

Self spectrum window method in wigner-ville distribution.

PubMed

Liu, Zhongguo; Liu, Changchun; Liu, Boqiang; Lv, Yangsheng; Lei, Yinsheng; Yu, Mengsun

2005-01-01

Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) is an important type of time-frequency analysis in biomedical signal processing. The cross-term interference in WVD has a disadvantageous influence on its application. In this research, the Self Spectrum Window (SSW) method was put forward to suppress the cross-term interference, based on the fact that the cross-term and auto-WVD- terms in integral kernel function are orthogonal. With the Self Spectrum Window (SSW) algorithm, a real auto-WVD function was used as a template to cross-correlate with the integral kernel function, and the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) spectrum of the signal was used as window function to process the WVD in time-frequency plane. The SSW method was confirmed by computer simulation with good analysis results. Satisfactory time- frequency distribution was obtained.

A pilot study examining correlates of body image among women living with SCI.

PubMed

Bassett, R L; Martin Ginis, K A; Buchholz, A C

2009-06-01

Cross-sectional pilot study. To explore correlates of body image among women with spinal cord injury (SCI), within the framework of Cash's cognitive behavioral model of body image. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Women with SCI (N=11, 64% with tetraplegia) reported their functional and appearance body image (Adult Body Satisfaction Questionnaire). A 3-day recall of leisure time physical activity (LTPA), three measures of body composition (that is, weight, waist circumference, body fat) and several demographic variables were assessed as potential correlates. Appearance satisfaction was negatively correlated with all three measures of body composition and positively correlated with years postinjury. Functional satisfaction was positively correlated with years postinjury, and negatively correlated with various LTPA variables. Functional and appearance body image may improve with time following SCI. Body composition may impact satisfaction with physical appearance for some women. The negative relationship between LTPA and functional satisfaction merits further examination, as functional dissatisfaction may motivate individuals to engage in certain types and intensities of LTPA. Correlates of body image differ between appearance and functional satisfaction. Future research should examine appearance and functional satisfaction separately among women with SCI.

A Method for the Alignment of Heterogeneous Macromolecules from Electron Microscopy

PubMed Central

Shatsky, Maxim; Hall, Richard J.; Brenner, Steven E.; Glaeser, Robert M.

2009-01-01

We propose a feature-based image alignment method for single-particle electron microscopy that is able to accommodate various similarity scoring functions while efficiently sampling the two-dimensional transformational space. We use this image alignment method to evaluate the performance of a scoring function that is based on the Mutual Information (MI) of two images rather than one that is based on the cross-correlation function. We show that alignment using MI for the scoring function has far less model-dependent bias than is found with cross-correlation based alignment. We also demonstrate that MI improves the alignment of some types of heterogeneous data, provided that the signal to noise ratio is relatively high. These results indicate, therefore, that use of MI as the scoring function is well suited for the alignment of class-averages computed from single particle images. Our method is tested on data from three model structures and one real dataset. PMID:19166941

Cognitive reserve moderates the association between functional network anti-correlations and memory in MCI.

PubMed

Franzmeier, Nicolai; Buerger, Katharina; Teipel, Stefan; Stern, Yaakov; Dichgans, Martin; Ewers, Michael

2017-02-01

Cognitive reserve (CR) shows protective effects on cognitive function in older adults. Here, we focused on the effects of CR at the functional network level. We assessed in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) whether higher CR moderates the association between low internetwork cross-talk on memory performance. In 2 independent aMCI samples (n = 76 and 93) and healthy controls (HC, n = 36), CR was assessed via years of education and intelligence (IQ). We focused on the anti-correlation between the dorsal attention network (DAN) and an anterior and posterior default mode network (DMN), assessed via sliding time window analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The DMN-DAN anti-correlation was numerically but not significantly lower in aMCI compared to HC. However, in aMCI, lower anterior DMN-DAN anti-correlation was associated with lower memory performance. This association was moderated by CR proxies, where the association between the internetwork anti-correlation and memory performance was alleviated at higher levels of education or IQ. In conclusion, lower DAN-DMN cross-talk is associated with lower memory in aMCI, where such effects are buffered by higher CR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Features of Cross-Correlation Analysis in a Data-Driven Approach for Structural Damage Assessment

PubMed Central

Camacho Navarro, Jhonatan; Ruiz, Magda; Villamizar, Rodolfo; Mujica, Luis

2018-01-01

This work discusses the advantage of using cross-correlation analysis in a data-driven approach based on principal component analysis (PCA) and piezodiagnostics to obtain successful diagnosis of events in structural health monitoring (SHM). In this sense, the identification of noisy data and outliers, as well as the management of data cleansing stages can be facilitated through the implementation of a preprocessing stage based on cross-correlation functions. Additionally, this work evidences an improvement in damage detection when the cross-correlation is included as part of the whole damage assessment approach. The proposed methodology is validated by processing data measurements from piezoelectric devices (PZT), which are used in a piezodiagnostics approach based on PCA and baseline modeling. Thus, the influence of cross-correlation analysis used in the preprocessing stage is evaluated for damage detection by means of statistical plots and self-organizing maps. Three laboratory specimens were used as test structures in order to demonstrate the validity of the methodology: (i) a carbon steel pipe section with leak and mass damage types, (ii) an aircraft wing specimen, and (iii) a blade of a commercial aircraft turbine, where damages are specified as mass-added. As the main concluding remark, the suitability of cross-correlation features combined with a PCA-based piezodiagnostic approach in order to achieve a more robust damage assessment algorithm is verified for SHM tasks. PMID:29762505

Detrended cross-correlations between returns, volatility, trading activity, and volume traded for the stock market companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rak, Rafał; Drożdż, Stanisław; Kwapień, Jarosław; Oświȩcimka, Paweł

2015-11-01

We consider a few quantities that characterize trading on a stock market in a fixed time interval: logarithmic returns, volatility, trading activity (i.e., the number of transactions), and volume traded. We search for the power-law cross-correlations among these quantities aggregated over different time units from 1 min to 10 min. Our study is based on empirical data from the American stock market consisting of tick-by-tick recordings of 31 stocks listed in Dow Jones Industrial Average during the years 2008-2011. Since all the considered quantities except the returns show strong daily patterns related to the variable trading activity in different parts of a day, which are the most evident in the autocorrelation function, we remove these patterns by detrending before we proceed further with our study. We apply the multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis with sign preserving (MFCCA) and show that the strongest power-law cross-correlations exist between trading activity and volume traded, while the weakest ones exist (or even do not exist) between the returns and the remaining quantities. We also show that the strongest cross-correlations are carried by those parts of the signals that are characterized by large and medium variance. Our observation that the most convincing power-law cross-correlations occur between trading activity and volume traded reveals the existence of strong fractal-like coupling between these quantities.

Features of Cross-Correlation Analysis in a Data-Driven Approach for Structural Damage Assessment.

PubMed

Camacho Navarro, Jhonatan; Ruiz, Magda; Villamizar, Rodolfo; Mujica, Luis; Quiroga, Jabid

2018-05-15

This work discusses the advantage of using cross-correlation analysis in a data-driven approach based on principal component analysis (PCA) and piezodiagnostics to obtain successful diagnosis of events in structural health monitoring (SHM). In this sense, the identification of noisy data and outliers, as well as the management of data cleansing stages can be facilitated through the implementation of a preprocessing stage based on cross-correlation functions. Additionally, this work evidences an improvement in damage detection when the cross-correlation is included as part of the whole damage assessment approach. The proposed methodology is validated by processing data measurements from piezoelectric devices (PZT), which are used in a piezodiagnostics approach based on PCA and baseline modeling. Thus, the influence of cross-correlation analysis used in the preprocessing stage is evaluated for damage detection by means of statistical plots and self-organizing maps. Three laboratory specimens were used as test structures in order to demonstrate the validity of the methodology: (i) a carbon steel pipe section with leak and mass damage types, (ii) an aircraft wing specimen, and (iii) a blade of a commercial aircraft turbine, where damages are specified as mass-added. As the main concluding remark, the suitability of cross-correlation features combined with a PCA-based piezodiagnostic approach in order to achieve a more robust damage assessment algorithm is verified for SHM tasks.

Anisotropy of stress correlation in two-dimensional liquids and a pseudospin model

DOE PAGES

Wu, Bin; Iwashita, Takuya; Egami, Takeshi

2015-11-04

Liquids are condensed matter in which atoms are strongly correlated in position and momentum. The atomic pair density function (PDF) is used often in describing such correlation. However, elucidation of many properties requires higher degrees of correlation than the pair correlation. For instance, viscosity depends upon the stress correlations in space and time. We examine the cross correlation between the stress correlation at the atomic level and the PDF for two-dimensional liquids. We introduce the concept of the stress-resolved pair distribution function (SRPDF) that uses the sign of atomic-level stress as a selection rule to include particles from density correlations.more » The connection between SRPDFs and stress correlation function is explained through an approximation in which the shear stress is replaced by a pseudospin. Lastly, we further assess the possibility of interpreting the long-range stress correlation as a consequence of short-range Ising-like pseudospin interactions.« less

Method for stationarity-segmentation of spike train data with application to the Pearson cross-correlation.

PubMed

Quiroga-Lombard, Claudio S; Hass, Joachim; Durstewitz, Daniel

2013-07-01

Correlations among neurons are supposed to play an important role in computation and information coding in the nervous system. Empirically, functional interactions between neurons are most commonly assessed by cross-correlation functions. Recent studies have suggested that pairwise correlations may indeed be sufficient to capture most of the information present in neural interactions. Many applications of correlation functions, however, implicitly tend to assume that the underlying processes are stationary. This assumption will usually fail for real neurons recorded in vivo since their activity during behavioral tasks is heavily influenced by stimulus-, movement-, or cognition-related processes as well as by more general processes like slow oscillations or changes in state of alertness. To address the problem of nonstationarity, we introduce a method for assessing stationarity empirically and then "slicing" spike trains into stationary segments according to the statistical definition of weak-sense stationarity. We examine pairwise Pearson cross-correlations (PCCs) under both stationary and nonstationary conditions and identify another source of covariance that can be differentiated from the covariance of the spike times and emerges as a consequence of residual nonstationarities after the slicing process: the covariance of the firing rates defined on each segment. Based on this, a correction of the PCC is introduced that accounts for the effect of segmentation. We probe these methods both on simulated data sets and on in vivo recordings from the prefrontal cortex of behaving rats. Rather than for removing nonstationarities, the present method may also be used for detecting significant events in spike trains.

The Identification and Tracking of Uterine Contractions Using Template Based Cross-Correlation.

PubMed

McDonald, Sarah C; Brooker, Graham; Phipps, Hala; Hyett, Jon

2017-09-01

The purpose of this paper is to outline a novel method of using template based cross-correlation to identify and track uterine contractions during labour. A purpose built six-channel Electromyography (EMG) device was used to collect data from consenting women during labour and birth. A range of templates were constructed for the purpose of identifying and tracking uterine activity when cross-correlated with the EMG signal. Peak finding techniques were applied on the cross-correlated result to simplify and automate the identification and tracking of contractions. The EMG data showed a unique pattern when a woman was contracting with key features of the contraction signal remaining consistent and identifiable across subjects. Contraction profiles across subjects were automatically identified using template based cross-correlation. Synthetic templates from a rectangular function with a duration of between 5 and 10 s performed best at identifying and tracking uterine activity across subjects. The successful application of this technique provides opportunity for both simple and accurate real-time analysis of contraction data while enabling investigations into the application of techniques such as machine learning which could enable automated learning from contraction data as part of real-time monitoring and post analysis.

Correlation Function Approach for Estimating Thermal Conductivity in Highly Porous Fibrous Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinez-Garcia, Jorge; Braginsky, Leonid; Shklover, Valery; Lawson, John W.

2011-01-01

Heat transport in highly porous fiber networks is analyzed via two-point correlation functions. Fibers are assumed to be long and thin to allow a large number of crossing points per fiber. The network is characterized by three parameters: the fiber aspect ratio, the porosity and the anisotropy of the structure. We show that the effective thermal conductivity of the system can be estimated from knowledge of the porosity and the correlation lengths of the correlation functions obtained from a fiber structure image. As an application, the effects of the fiber aspect ratio and the network anisotropy on the thermal conductivity is studied.

The Generation, Radiation and Prediction of Supersonic Jet Noise. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-10-01

standard, Gaussian correlation function model can yield a good noise spectrum prediction (at 900), but the corresponding axial source distributions do not...forms for the turbulence cross-correlation function. Good agreement was obtained between measured and calculated far- field noise spectra. However, the...complementary error function profile (3.63) was found to provide a good fit to the axial velocity distribution tor a wide range of Mach numbers in the Initial

Using individual differences to test the role of temporal and place cues in coding frequency modulation

PubMed Central

Whiteford, Kelly L.; Oxenham, Andrew J.

2015-01-01

The question of how frequency is coded in the peripheral auditory system remains unresolved. Previous research has suggested that slow rates of frequency modulation (FM) of a low carrier frequency may be coded via phase-locked temporal information in the auditory nerve, whereas FM at higher rates and/or high carrier frequencies may be coded via a rate-place (tonotopic) code. This hypothesis was tested in a cohort of 100 young normal-hearing listeners by comparing individual sensitivity to slow-rate (1-Hz) and fast-rate (20-Hz) FM at a carrier frequency of 500 Hz with independent measures of phase-locking (using dynamic interaural time difference, ITD, discrimination), level coding (using amplitude modulation, AM, detection), and frequency selectivity (using forward-masking patterns). All FM and AM thresholds were highly correlated with each other. However, no evidence was obtained for stronger correlations between measures thought to reflect phase-locking (e.g., slow-rate FM and ITD sensitivity), or between measures thought to reflect tonotopic coding (fast-rate FM and forward-masking patterns). The results suggest that either psychoacoustic performance in young normal-hearing listeners is not limited by peripheral coding, or that similar peripheral mechanisms limit both high- and low-rate FM coding. PMID:26627783

Using individual differences to test the role of temporal and place cues in coding frequency modulation.

PubMed

Whiteford, Kelly L; Oxenham, Andrew J

2015-11-01

The question of how frequency is coded in the peripheral auditory system remains unresolved. Previous research has suggested that slow rates of frequency modulation (FM) of a low carrier frequency may be coded via phase-locked temporal information in the auditory nerve, whereas FM at higher rates and/or high carrier frequencies may be coded via a rate-place (tonotopic) code. This hypothesis was tested in a cohort of 100 young normal-hearing listeners by comparing individual sensitivity to slow-rate (1-Hz) and fast-rate (20-Hz) FM at a carrier frequency of 500 Hz with independent measures of phase-locking (using dynamic interaural time difference, ITD, discrimination), level coding (using amplitude modulation, AM, detection), and frequency selectivity (using forward-masking patterns). All FM and AM thresholds were highly correlated with each other. However, no evidence was obtained for stronger correlations between measures thought to reflect phase-locking (e.g., slow-rate FM and ITD sensitivity), or between measures thought to reflect tonotopic coding (fast-rate FM and forward-masking patterns). The results suggest that either psychoacoustic performance in young normal-hearing listeners is not limited by peripheral coding, or that similar peripheral mechanisms limit both high- and low-rate FM coding.

Neural Correlates of Cross-Cultural Adaptation: How to Improve the Training and Selection for Military Personnel Involved in Cross-Cultural Interactions

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

of this study was to better understand the culture-general skills and traits needed to conduct successful cross-cultural interactions when lacking...5  2  Study 1: Online Behavioral Study ...12  3  Study 2: Functional Neuroimaging Study .......................................................... 13  3.1

Correlation functions of warped CFT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Wei; Xu, Jianfei

2018-04-01

Warped conformal field theory (WCFT) is a two dimensional quantum field theory whose local symmetry algebra consists of a Virasoro algebra and a U(1) Kac-Moody algebra. In this paper, we study correlation functions for primary operators in WCFT. Similar to conformal symmetry, warped conformal symmetry is very constraining. The form of the two and three point functions are determined by the global warped conformal symmetry while the four point functions can be determined up to an arbitrary function of the cross ratio. The warped conformal bootstrap equation are constructed by formulating the notion of crossing symmetry. In the large central charge limit, four point functions can be decomposed into global warped conformal blocks, which can be solved exactly. Furthermore, we revisit the scattering problem in warped AdS spacetime (WAdS), and give a prescription on how to match the bulk result to a WCFT retarded Green's function. Our result is consistent with the conjectured holographic dualities between WCFT and WAdS.

Glycinergic inhibition tunes coincidence detection in the auditory brainstem

PubMed Central

Myoga, Michael H.; Lehnert, Simon; Leibold, Christian; Felmy, Felix; Grothe, Benedikt

2014-01-01

Neurons in the medial superior olive (MSO) detect microsecond differences in the arrival time of sounds between the ears (interaural time differences or ITDs), a crucial binaural cue for sound localization. Synaptic inhibition has been implicated in tuning ITD sensitivity, but the cellular mechanisms underlying its influence on coincidence detection are debated. Here we determine the impact of inhibition on coincidence detection in adult Mongolian gerbil MSO brain slices by testing precise temporal integration of measured synaptic responses using conductance-clamp. We find that inhibition dynamically shifts the peak timing of excitation, depending on its relative arrival time, which in turn modulates the timing of best coincidence detection. Inhibitory control of coincidence detection timing is consistent with the diversity of ITD functions observed in vivo and is robust under physiologically relevant conditions. Our results provide strong evidence that temporal interactions between excitation and inhibition on microsecond timescales are critical for binaural processing. PMID:24804642

Adaptation to stimulus statistics in the perception and neural representation of auditory space.

PubMed

Dahmen, Johannes C; Keating, Peter; Nodal, Fernando R; Schulz, Andreas L; King, Andrew J

2010-06-24

Sensory systems are known to adapt their coding strategies to the statistics of their environment, but little is still known about the perceptual implications of such adjustments. We investigated how auditory spatial processing adapts to stimulus statistics by presenting human listeners and anesthetized ferrets with noise sequences in which interaural level differences (ILD) rapidly fluctuated according to a Gaussian distribution. The mean of the distribution biased the perceived laterality of a subsequent stimulus, whereas the distribution's variance changed the listeners' spatial sensitivity. The responses of neurons in the inferior colliculus changed in line with these perceptual phenomena. Their ILD preference adjusted to match the stimulus distribution mean, resulting in large shifts in rate-ILD functions, while their gain adapted to the stimulus variance, producing pronounced changes in neural sensitivity. Our findings suggest that processing of auditory space is geared toward emphasizing relative spatial differences rather than the accurate representation of absolute position.

Subliminal speech perception and auditory streaming.

PubMed

Dupoux, Emmanuel; de Gardelle, Vincent; Kouider, Sid

2008-11-01

Current theories of consciousness assume a qualitative dissociation between conscious and unconscious processing: while subliminal stimuli only elicit a transient activity, supraliminal stimuli have long-lasting influences. Nevertheless, the existence of this qualitative distinction remains controversial, as past studies confounded awareness and stimulus strength (energy, duration). Here, we used a masked speech priming method in conjunction with a submillisecond interaural delay manipulation to contrast subliminal and supraliminal processing at constant prime, mask and target strength. This delay induced a perceptual streaming effect, with the prime popping out in the supraliminal condition. By manipulating the prime-target interval (ISI), we show a qualitatively distinct profile of priming longevity as a function of prime awareness. While subliminal priming disappeared after half a second, supraliminal priming was independent of ISI. This shows that the distinction between conscious and unconscious processing depends on high-level perceptual streaming factors rather than low-level features (energy, duration).

Effect of occlusion, directionality and age on horizontal localization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alworth, Lynzee Nicole

Localization acuity of a given listener is dependent upon the ability discriminate between interaural time and level disparities. Interaural time differences are encoded by low frequency information whereas interaural level differences are encoded by high frequency information. Much research has examined effects of hearing aid microphone technologies and occlusion separately and prior studies have not evaluated age as a factor in localization acuity. Open-fit hearing instruments provide new earmold technologies and varying microphone capabilities; however, these instruments have yet to be evaluated with regard to horizontal localization acuity. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of microphone configuration, type of dome in open-fit hearing instruments, and age on the horizontal localization ability of a given listener. Thirty adults participated in this study and were grouped based upon hearing sensitivity and age (young normal hearing, >50 years normal hearing, >50 hearing impaired). Each normal hearing participant completed one localization experiment (unaided/unamplified) where they listened to the stimulus "Baseball" and selected the point of origin. Hearing impaired listeners were fit with the same two receiver-in-the-ear hearing aids and same dome types, thus controlling for microphone technologies, type of dome, and fitting between trials. Hearing impaired listeners completed a total of 7 localization experiments (unaided/unamplified; open dome: omnidirectional, adaptive directional, fixed directional; micromold: omnidirectional, adaptive directional, fixed directional). Overall, results of this study indicate that age significantly affects horizontal localization ability as younger adult listeners with normal hearing made significantly fewer localization errors than older adult listeners with normal hearing. Also, results revealed a significant difference in performance between dome type; however, upon further examination was not significant. Therefore, results examining type of dome should be viewed with caution. Results examining microphone configuration and microphone configuration by dome type were not significant. Moreover, results evaluating performance relative to unaided (unamplified) were not significant. Taken together, these results suggest open-fit hearing instruments, regardless of microphone or dome type, do not degrade horizontal localization acuity within a given listener relative to their 'older aged' normal hearing counterparts in quiet environments.

Active ultrasonic cross-correlation flowmeters for mixed-phase pipe flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheen, S. H.; Raptis, A. C.

Two ultrasonic flowmeters which employ the active cross-correlation technique and use a simple clamp-on transducer arrangement are discussed. The flowmeter for solid/liquid flows was tested over a wide range of coal concentration in water and oil. The measured velocity based on the peak position of the cross-correlation function is consistently higher by about 15% than the average velocity measured by flow diversion. The origin of the difference results mainly from the flow velocity profiles and the transit-time probability distribution. The flowmeter that can measure particle velocity in a solid/gas flow requires acoustic decoupling arrangement between two sensing stations. The measured velocity is mainly associated with the particles near the wall. Performance of both flowmeters is presented.

Exploring lag times between monthly atmospheric deposition and stream chemistry in Appalachian forests using cross-correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeWalle, David R.; Boyer, Elizabeth W.; Buda, Anthony R.

2016-12-01

Forecasts of ecosystem changes due to variations in atmospheric emissions policies require a fundamental understanding of lag times between changes in chemical inputs and watershed response. Impacts of changes in atmospheric deposition in the United States have been documented using national and regional long-term environmental monitoring programs beginning several decades ago. Consequently, time series of weekly NADP atmospheric wet deposition and monthly EPA-Long Term Monitoring stream chemistry now exist for much of the Northeast which may provide insights into lag times. In this study of Appalachian forest basins, we estimated lag times for S, N and Cl by cross-correlating monthly data from four pairs of stream and deposition monitoring sites during the period from 1978 to 2012. A systems or impulse response function approach to cross-correlation was used to estimate lag times where the input deposition time series was pre-whitened using regression modeling and the stream response time series was filtered using the deposition regression model prior to cross-correlation. Cross-correlations for S were greatest at annual intervals over a relatively well-defined range of lags with the maximum correlations occurring at mean lags of 48 months. Chloride results were similar but more erratic with a mean lag of 57 months. Few high-correlation lags for N were indicated. Given the growing availability of atmospheric deposition and surface water chemistry monitoring data and our results for four Appalachian basins, further testing of cross-correlation as a method of estimating lag times on other basins appears justified.

Next-to-leading order weighted Sivers asymmetry in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering: three-gluon correlator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dai, Lingyun; Prokudin, Alexei; Kang, Zhong-Bo

2015-09-01

We study the three-gluon correlation function contribution to the Sivers asymmetry in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering. We first establish the matching between the usual twist-3 collinear factorization approach and transverse momentum dependent factorization formalism for the moderate transverse momentum region. We then derive the so-called coefficient functions used in the usual TMD evolution formalism. Finally, we perform the next-to-leading order calculation for the transverse-momentum-weighted spin-dependent differential cross section, from which we identify the QCD collinear evolution of the twist-3 Qiu-Sterman function: the off-diagonal contribution from the three-gluon correlation functions.

Multiple Point Dynamic Gas Density Measurements Using Molecular Rayleigh Scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seasholtz, Richard; Panda, Jayanta

1999-01-01

A nonintrusive technique for measuring dynamic gas density properties is described. Molecular Rayleigh scattering is used to measure the time-history of gas density simultaneously at eight spatial locations at a 50 kHz sampling rate. The data are analyzed using the Welch method of modified periodograms to reduce measurement uncertainty. Cross-correlations, power spectral density functions, cross-spectral density functions, and coherence functions may be obtained from the data. The technique is demonstrated using low speed co-flowing jets with a heated inner jet.

Correlation singularities in partially coherent electromagnetic beams.

PubMed

Raghunathan, Shreyas B; Schouten, Hugo F; Visser, Taco D

2012-10-15

We demonstrate that coherence vortices, singularities of the correlation function, generally occur in partially coherent electromagnetic beams. In successive cross sections of Gaussian Schell-model beams, their locus is found to be a closed string. These coherence singularities have implications for both interference experiments and correlation of intensity fluctuation measurements performed with such beams.

Temporal changes in shear velocity from ambient noise at New Zealand geothermal fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Civilini, F.; Savage, M. K.; Townend, J.

2016-12-01

We use ambient noise to compare shear velocity changes with geothermal production processes at the Ngatamariki and Rotokawa geothermal fields, located in the central North Island of New Zealand. We calculate shear velocity changes through an analysis of cross correlation functions of diffusive seismic wavefields between stations, which are proportional to Green's functions of the station path. Electricity production at Ngatamariki uses an 82 MW binary type power station manufactured by Ormat Technologies, which began operations in mid-2013 and is owned and operated by Mighty River Power. The "Nga Awa Purua" triple flash power plant at the Rotokawa geothermal field was established in 2010 with parnership between Mighty River Power and Tauhara North No. 2 trust and currently operates 174 MW of generation. The seismometers of both networks, deployed primarily to observe microseismicity within the field, were installed prior to well stimulation and the start of production. Although cultural noise dominates the energy spectrum, a strong natural ambient noise signal can be detected when filtering below 1 Hz. Despite similar noise settings, the signal-to-noise ratio of cross correlation stacks at Rotokawa was more than two times greater than at Ngatamariki. We use stacks of cross correlations between stations prior to the onset of production as references, and compare them with cross correlations of moving stacks in time periods of well stimulation and the onset of electricity production.

Low-Energy Elastic Electron Scattering by Atomic Oxygen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zatsarinny O.; Bartschat, K.; Tayal, S. S.

2006-01-01

The B-spline R-matrix method is employed to investigate the low-energy elastic electron scattering by atomic oxygen. Flexible non-orthogonal sets of radial functions are used to construct the target description and to represent the scattering functions. A detailed investigation regarding the dependence of the predicted partial and total cross sections on the scattering model and the accuracy of the target description is presented. The predicted angle-integrated elastic cross sections are in good agreement with experiment, whereas significant discrepancies are found in the angle-differential elastic cross sections near the forward direction. .The near-threshold results are found to strongly depend on the treatment of inner-core short-range correlation effects in the target description, as well as on a proper account of the target polarizability. A sharp increase in the elastic cross sections below 1 eV found in some earlier calculations is judged to be an artifact of an unbalanced description of correlation in the N-electron target structure and the (N+l)-electron-collision problems.

Sound source localization identification accuracy: Envelope dependencies.

PubMed

Yost, William A

2017-07-01

Sound source localization accuracy as measured in an identification procedure in a front azimuth sound field was studied for click trains, modulated noises, and a modulated tonal carrier. Sound source localization accuracy was determined as a function of the number of clicks in a 64 Hz click train and click rate for a 500 ms duration click train. The clicks were either broadband or high-pass filtered. Sound source localization accuracy was also measured for a single broadband filtered click and compared to a similar broadband filtered, short-duration noise. Sound source localization accuracy was determined as a function of sinusoidal amplitude modulation and the "transposed" process of modulation of filtered noises and a 4 kHz tone. Different rates (16 to 512 Hz) of modulation (including unmodulated conditions) were used. Providing modulation for filtered click stimuli, filtered noises, and the 4 kHz tone had, at most, a very small effect on sound source localization accuracy. These data suggest that amplitude modulation, while providing information about interaural time differences in headphone studies, does not have much influence on sound source localization accuracy in a sound field.

Measurement of the inclusive jet cross-section in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] and comparison to the inclusive jet cross-section at [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector.

PubMed

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Thoma, S; Thomas, J P; Thompson, E N; Thompson, P D; Thompson, P D; Thompson, A S; Thomsen, L A; Thomson, E; Thomson, M; Thong, W M; Thun, R P; Tian, F; Tibbetts, M J; Tic, T; Tikhomirov, V O; Tikhonov, Yu A; Timoshenko, S; Tiouchichine, E; Tipton, P; Tisserant, S; Todorov, T; Todorova-Nova, S; Toggerson, B; Tojo, J; Tokár, S; Tokushuku, K; Tollefson, K; Tomoto, M; Tompkins, L; Toms, K; Tonoyan, A; Topfel, C; Topilin, N D; Torrence, E; Torres, H; Torró Pastor, E; Toth, J; Touchard, F; Tovey, D R; Trefzger, T; Tremblet, L; Tricoli, A; Trigger, I M; Trincaz-Duvoid, S; Tripiana, M F; Triplett, N; Trischuk, W; Trocmé, B; Troncon, C; Trottier-McDonald, M; True, P; Trzebinski, M; Trzupek, A; Tsarouchas, C; Tseng, J C-L; Tsiakiris, M; Tsiareshka, P V; Tsionou, D; Tsipolitis, G; Tsiskaridze, S; Tsiskaridze, V; Tskhadadze, E G; Tsukerman, I I; Tsulaia, V; Tsung, J-W; Tsuno, S; Tsybychev, D; Tua, A; Tudorache, A; Tudorache, V; Tuggle, J M; Turala, M; Turecek, D; Turk Cakir, I; Turlay, E; Turra, R; Tuts, P M; Tykhonov, A; Tylmad, M; Tyndel, M; Uchida, K; Ueda, I; Ueno, R; Ugland, M; Uhlenbrock, M; Uhrmacher, M; Ukegawa, F; Unal, G; Undrus, A; Unel, G; Unno, Y; Urbaniec, D; Urquijo, P; Usai, G; Uslenghi, M; Vacavant, L; Vacek, V; Vachon, B; Vahsen, S; Valenta, J; Valentinetti, S; Valero, A; Valkar, S; Valladolid Gallego, E; Vallecorsa, S; Valls Ferrer, J A; Van Berg, R; Van Der Deijl, P C; van der Geer, R; van der Graaf, H; Van Der Leeuw, R; van der Poel, E; van der Ster, D; van Eldik, N; van Gemmeren, P; van Vulpen, I; Vanadia, M; Vandelli, W; Vaniachine, A; Vankov, P; Vannucci, F; Vardanyan, G; Vari, R; Varnes, E W; Varol, T; Varouchas, D; Vartapetian, A; Varvell, K E; Vassilakopoulos, V I; Vazeille, F; Vazquez Schroeder, T; Vegni, G; Veillet, J J; Veloso, F; Veness, R; Veneziano, S; Ventura, A; Ventura, D; Venturi, M; Venturi, N; Vercesi, V; Verducci, M; Verkerke, W; Vermeulen, J C; Vest, A; Vetterli, M C; Vichou, I; Vickey, T; Vickey Boeriu, O E; Viehhauser, G H A; Viel, S; Villa, M; Villaplana Perez, M; Vilucchi, E; Vincter, M G; Vinek, E; Vinogradov, V B; Virchaux, M; Virzi, J; Vitells, O; Viti, M; Vivarelli, I; Vives Vaque, F; Vlachos, S; Vladoiu, D; Vlasak, M; Vogel, A; Vokac, P; Volpi, G; Volpi, M; Volpini, G; von der Schmitt, H; von Radziewski, H; von Toerne, E; Vorobel, V; Vorwerk, V; Vos, M; Voss, R; Vossebeld, J H; Vranjes, N; Vranjes Milosavljevic, M; Vrba, V; Vreeswijk, M; Vu Anh, T; Vuillermet, R; Vukotic, I; Wagner, W; Wagner, P; Wahrmund, S; Wakabayashi, J; Walch, S; Walder, J; Walker, R; Walkowiak, W; Wall, R; Waller, P; Walsh, B; Wang, C; Wang, H; Wang, H; Wang, J; Wang, J; Wang, R; Wang, S M; Wang, T; Warburton, A; Ward, C P; Wardrope, D R; Warsinsky, M; Washbrook, A; Wasicki, C; Watanabe, I; Watkins, P M; Watson, A T; Watson, I J; Watson, M F; Watts, G; Watts, S; Waugh, A T; Waugh, B M; Weber, M S; Webster, J S; Weidberg, A R; Weigell, P; Weingarten, J; Weiser, C; Wells, P S; Wenaus, T; Wendland, D; Weng, Z; Wengler, T; Wenig, S; Wermes, N; Werner, M; 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Yorita, K; Yoshida, R; Yoshihara, K; Young, C; Young, C J S; Youssef, S; Yu, D; Yu, D R; Yu, J; Yu, J; Yuan, L; Yurkewicz, A; Zabinski, B; Zaidan, R; Zaitsev, A M; Zajacova, Z; Zanello, L; Zanzi, D; Zaytsev, A; Zeitnitz, C; Zeman, M; Zemla, A; Zendler, C; Zenin, O; Ženiš, T; Zerwas, D; Zevi Della Porta, G; Zhang, D; Zhang, H; Zhang, J; Zhang, X; Zhang, Z; Zhao, L; Zhao, Z; Zhemchugov, A; Zhong, J; Zhou, B; Zhou, N; Zhou, Y; Zhu, C G; Zhu, H; Zhu, J; Zhu, Y; Zhuang, X; Zhuravlov, V; Zibell, A; Zieminska, D; Zimin, N I; Zimmermann, R; Zimmermann, S; Zimmermann, S; Zinonos, Z; Ziolkowski, M; Zitoun, R; Živković, L; Zmouchko, V V; Zobernig, G; Zoccoli, A; Zur Nedden, M; Zutshi, V; Zwalinski, L

The inclusive jet cross-section has been measured in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] in a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of [Formula: see text] collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2011. Jets are identified using the anti- k t algorithm with two radius parameters of 0.4 and 0.6. The inclusive jet double-differential cross-section is presented as a function of the jet transverse momentum p T and jet rapidity y , covering a range of 20≤ p T <430 GeV and | y |<4.4. The ratio of the cross-section to the inclusive jet cross-section measurement at [Formula: see text], published by the ATLAS Collaboration, is calculated as a function of both transverse momentum and the dimensionless quantity [Formula: see text], in bins of jet rapidity. The systematic uncertainties on the ratios are significantly reduced due to the cancellation of correlated uncertainties in the two measurements. Results are compared to the prediction from next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations corrected for non-perturbative effects, and next-to-leading order Monte Carlo simulation. Furthermore, the ATLAS jet cross-section measurements at [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are analysed within a framework of next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations to determine parton distribution functions of the proton, taking into account the correlations between the measurements.

Next-to-leading order transverse momentum-weighted Sivers asymmetry in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering: The role of the three-gluon correlator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dai, Ling -Yun; Kang, Zhong -Bo; Prokudin, Alexei

2015-12-22

Here, we study the Sivers asymmetry in semi-inclusive hadron production in deep inelastic scattering. We concentrate on the contribution from the photon-gluon fusion channel at O(α em 2α s), where three-gluon correlation functions play a major role within the twist-3 collinear factorization formalism. We establish the correspondence between such a formalism with three-gluon correlation functions and the usual transverse momentum-dependent (TMD) factorization formalism at moderate hadron transverse momenta. We derive the coefficient functions used in the usual TMD evolution formalism related to the quark Sivers function expansion in terms of the three-gluon correlation functions. We further perform the next-to-leading ordermore » calculation for the transverse momentum-weighted spin-dependent differential cross section and identify the off-diagonal contribution from the three-gluon correlation functions to the QCD collinear evolution of the twist-3 Qiu-Sterman function.« less

Dynamic correlation effects in fully differential cross sections for 75-keV proton-impact ionization of helium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Xiaojie; Sun, Shiyan; Wang, Fujun; Jia, Xiangfu

2017-08-01

The effect of final-state dynamic correlation is investigated for helium single ionization by 75-keV proton impact analyzing fully differential cross sections (FDCS). The final state is represented by a continuum correlated wave (CCW-PT) function which accounts for the interaction between the projectile and the residual target ion (PT interaction). This continuum correlated wave function partially includes the correlation of electron-projectile and electron-target relative motion as coupling terms of the wave equation. The transition matrix is evaluated using the CCW-PT function and the Born initial state. The analytical expression of the transition matrix has been obtained. We have shown that this series is strongly convergent and analyzed the contribution of their different terms to the FDCS within the perturbation method. Illustrative computations are performed in the scattering plane and in the perpendicular plane. Both the correlation effects and the PT interaction are checked by the preset calculations. Our results are compared with absolute experimental data as well as other theoretical models. We have shown that the dynamic correlation plays an important role in the single ionization of atoms by proton impact at intermediate projectile energies, especially at large transverse momentum transfer. While overall agreement between theory and the experimental data is encouraging, detailed agreement is lacking. The need for more theoretical and experimental work is emphasized.

Passive detection and localization of fatigue cracking in aluminum plates using Green's function reconstruction from ambient noise.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Xiao, Li; Qu, Wenzhong; Lu, Ye

2017-11-01

Recent theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that a local Green's function can be retrieved from the cross-correlation of ambient noise field. This technique can be used to detect fatigue cracking in metallic structures, owing to the fact that the presence of crack can lead to a change in Green's function. This paper presents a method of structural fatigue cracking characterization method by measuring Green's function reconstruction from noise excitation and verifies the feasibility of crack detection in poor noise source distribution. Fatigue cracks usually generate nonlinear effects, in which different wave amplitudes and frequency compositions can cause different nonlinear responses. This study also undertakes analysis of the capacity of the proposed approach to identify fatigue cracking under different noise amplitudes and frequency ranges. Experimental investigations of an aluminum plate are conducted to assess the cross-correlations of received noise between sensor pairs and finally to detect the introduced fatigue crack. A damage index is proposed according to the variation between cross-correlations obtained from the pristine crack closed state and the crack opening-closure state when sufficient noise amplitude is used to generate nonlinearity. A probability distribution map of damage is calculated based on damage indices. The fatigue crack introduced in the aluminum plate is successfully identified and oriented, verifying that a fatigue crack can be detected by reconstructing Green's functions from an imperfect diffuse field in which ambient noise sources exist locally. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis/forecast experiments with a flow-dependent correlation function using FGGE data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, W. E.; Bloom, S. C.; Carus, H.; Nestler, M. S.

1986-01-01

The use of a flow-dependent correlation function to improve the accuracy of an optimum interpolation (OI) scheme is examined. The development of the correlation function for the OI analysis scheme used for numerical weather prediction is described. The scheme uses a multivariate surface analysis over the oceans to model the pressure-wind error cross-correlation and it has the ability to use an error correlation function that is flow- and geographically-dependent. A series of four-day data assimilation experiments, conducted from January 5-9, 1979, were used to investigate the effect of the different features of the OI scheme (error correlation) on forecast skill for the barotropic lows and highs. The skill of the OI was compared with that of a successive correlation method (SCM) of analysis. It is observed that the largest difference in the correlation statistics occurred in barotropic and baroclinic lows and highs. The comparison reveals that the OI forecasts were more accurate than the SCM forecasts.

A cross-correlation-based estimate of the galaxy luminosity function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Daalen, Marcel P.; White, Martin

2018-06-01

We extend existing methods for using cross-correlations to derive redshift distributions for photometric galaxies, without using photometric redshifts. The model presented in this paper simultaneously yields highly accurate and unbiased redshift distributions and, for the first time, redshift-dependent luminosity functions, using only clustering information and the apparent magnitudes of the galaxies as input. In contrast to many existing techniques for recovering unbiased redshift distributions, the output of our method is not degenerate with the galaxy bias b(z), which is achieved by modelling the shape of the luminosity bias. We successfully apply our method to a mock galaxy survey and discuss improvements to be made before applying our model to real data.

The Lyman-α power spectrum—CMB lensing convergence cross-correlation

DOE PAGES

Chiang, Chi-Ting; Slosar, Anže

2018-01-11

We investigate the three-point correlation between the Lyman-α forest and the CMB weak lensing (δ Fδ FΚ) expressed as the cross-correlation between the CMB weak lensing field and local variations in the forest power spectrum. In addition to the standard gravitational bispectrum term, we note the existence of a non-standard systematic term coming from mis-estimation of the mean flux over the finite length of Lyman-α skewers. We numerically calculate the angular cross-power spectrum and discuss its features. We integrate it into zero-lag correlation function and compare our predictions with recent results by Doux et al.. We nd that our predictionsmore » are statistically consistent with the measurement, and including the systematic term improves the agreement with the measurement. We comment on the implication of the response of the Lyman-α forest power spectrum to the long-wavelength density perturbations.« less

The Lyman-α power spectrum—CMB lensing convergence cross-correlation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chiang, Chi-Ting; Slosar, Anže

We investigate the three-point correlation between the Lyman-α forest and the CMB weak lensing (δ Fδ FΚ) expressed as the cross-correlation between the CMB weak lensing field and local variations in the forest power spectrum. In addition to the standard gravitational bispectrum term, we note the existence of a non-standard systematic term coming from mis-estimation of the mean flux over the finite length of Lyman-α skewers. We numerically calculate the angular cross-power spectrum and discuss its features. We integrate it into zero-lag correlation function and compare our predictions with recent results by Doux et al.. We nd that our predictionsmore » are statistically consistent with the measurement, and including the systematic term improves the agreement with the measurement. We comment on the implication of the response of the Lyman-α forest power spectrum to the long-wavelength density perturbations.« less

Price-volume multifractal analysis and its application in Chinese stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Ying; Zhuang, Xin-tian; Liu, Zhi-ying

2012-06-01

An empirical research on Chinese stock markets is conducted using statistical tools. First, the multifractality of stock price return series, ri(ri=ln(Pt+1)-ln(Pt)) and trading volume variation series, vi(vi=ln(Vt+1)-ln(Vt)) is confirmed using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. Furthermore, a multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis between stock price return and trading volume variation in Chinese stock markets is also conducted. It is shown that the cross relationship between them is also found to be multifractal. Second, the cross-correlation between stock price Pi and trading volume Vi is empirically studied using cross-correlation function and detrended cross-correlation analysis. It is found that both Shanghai stock market and Shenzhen stock market show pronounced long-range cross-correlations between stock price and trading volume. Third, a composite index R based on price and trading volume is introduced. Compared with stock price return series ri and trading volume variation series vi, R variation series not only remain the characteristics of original series but also demonstrate the relative correlation between stock price and trading volume. Finally, we analyze the multifractal characteristics of R variation series before and after three financial events in China (namely, Price Limits, Reform of Non-tradable Shares and financial crisis in 2008) in the whole period of sample to study the changes of stock market fluctuation and financial risk. It is found that the empirical results verified the validity of R.

Investigation of Correlation Effects in Nonlinear Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friberg, Stephen Richard

This thesis deals with intensity correlation measurement methods as they apply to the study of light generated by a parametric downconversion process. The correlation properties of light can be used to distinguish between quantum mechanical light and classical light, where quantum mechanical light is electromagnetic radiation that can be accurately described only by a theory that quantizes the field. Spontaneous parametric downconversion produces quantum mechanical light, and we investigate some of its properties. A unique aspect of downconverted light is that pairs of photons are emitted in an interval that can be made smaller than the resolving time of any photon counting apparatus. Our experiments indicate that the interval is not affected by the bandwidth of the pump laser, nor by the length of the crystal. It is apparently determined only by the bandwidth of the detection apparatus, which in our experiment implies that the photons are produced in less than 1 psec, which is much shorter than the 100 psec resolution of our detection apparatus. The normalized cross-correlation functions for spontaneous downconversion are inversely dependent on intensity, but the normalized auto-correlations are independent of intensity. Measurements of the magnitude of the cross -correlations for several different pump beam intensities confirm this relationship. One of the inequalities imposed by classical theory relates the magnitude of the auto-correlations to the magnitude of the cross-correlations. Because of the inverse intensity dependence, this inequality is violated, thereby showing the quantum mechanical nature of the downconverted light. As an application of the large cross-correlations in downconversion, we apply the process to an optical communication channel which transmits information via coincidences between two light beams. Because of the strong discrimination against background provided by this technique, the channel can operate with large amounts of background light. A demonstration experiment of this communication channel is described. A signal transmitted by intensity modulation of the downconverted light is received perfectly by a coincidence counter, but is invisible to a photon counter. Also, a new correlator has been designed and constructed to measure intensity correlation functions. It has been used to measure the correlation properties of a standing -wave, single-mode, inhomogeneously-broadened He:Ne laser as a function of detuning. Results show that detuning of the laser alters the correlation properties in a way that can not be accounted for by merely a change in the pump parameter. These effects should therefore be taken into account when measurements of the statistical properties of the light are made whenever the laser intensity is controlled by detuning.

Optical Correlation Techniques In Fluid Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schatzel, K.; Schulz-DuBois, E. O.; Vehrenkamp, R.

1981-05-01

Three flow measurement techniques make use of fast digital correlators. (1) Most widely spread is photon correlation velocimetry using crossed laser beams and detecting Doppler shifted light scattered by small particles in the flow. Depending on the processing of the photon correlogram, this technique yields mean velocity, turbulence level, or even the detailed probability distribution of one velocity component. An improved data processing scheme is demonstrated on laminar vortex flow in a curved channel. (2) Rate correlation based upon threshold crossings of a high pass filtered laser Doppler signal can he used to obtain velocity correlation functions. The most powerful setup developed in our laboratory uses a phase locked loop type tracker and a multibit correlator to analyse time-dependent Taylor vortex flow. With two optical systems and trackers, crosscorrelation functions reveal phase relations between different vortices. (3) Making use of refractive index fluctuations (e. g. in two phase flows) instead of scattering particles, interferometry with bidirectional fringe counting and digital correlation and probability analysis constitute a new quantitative technique related to classical Schlieren methods. Measurements on a mixing flow of heated and cold air contribute new ideas to the theory of turbulent random phase screens.

Impact of endobronchial coiling on segmental bronchial lumen in treated and untreated lung lobes: Correlation with changes in lung volume, clinical and pulmonary function tests.

PubMed

Kloth, C; Thaiss, W M; Hetzel, J; Ditt, H; Grosse, U; Nikolaou, K; Horger, M

2016-07-01

To assess the impact of endobronchial coiling on the segment bronchus cross-sectional area and volumes in patients with lung emphysema using quantitative chest-CT measurements. Thirty patients (female = 15; median age = 65.36 years) received chest-CT before and after endobronchial coiling for lung volume reduction (LVR) between January 2010 and December 2014. Thin-slice (0.6 mm) non-enhanced image data sets were acquired both at end-inspiration and end-expiration using helical technique and 120 kV/100-150 mAs. Clinical response was defined as an increase in the walking distance (Six-minute walk test; 6MWT) after LVR-therapy. Additionally, pulmonary function test (PFT) measurements were used for clinical correlation. In the treated segmental bronchia, the cross-sectional lumen area showed significant reduction (p < 0.05) in inspiration and tendency towards enlargement in expiration (p > 0.05). In the ipsilateral lobes, the lumina showed no significant changes. In the contralateral lung, we found tendency towards increased cross-sectional area in inspiration (p = 0.06). Volumes of the treated segments correlated with the treated segmental bronchial lumina in expiration (r = 0.80, p < 0.001). Clinical correlation with changes in 6MWT/PFT showed a significant decrease of the inspiratory volume of the treated lobe in responders only. Endobronchial coiling causes significant decrease in the cross-sectional area of treated segment bronchi in inspiration and a slight increase in expiration accompanied by a volume reduction. • Endobronchial coiling has indirect impact on cross-sectional area of treated segment bronchi • Volume changes of treated lobes correlate with changes in bronchial cross-sectional area • Coil-induced effects reflect their stabilizing and stiffening impact on lung parenchyma • Endobronchial coiling reduces bronchial collapsing compensating the loss of elasticity.

A method to enhance the use of interaural time differences for cochlear implants in reverberant environments

PubMed Central

Monaghan, Jessica J. M.; Seeber, Bernhard U.

2017-01-01

The ability of normal-hearing (NH) listeners to exploit interaural time difference (ITD) cues conveyed in the modulated envelopes of high-frequency sounds is poor compared to ITD cues transmitted in the temporal fine structure at low frequencies. Sensitivity to envelope ITDs is further degraded when envelopes become less steep, when modulation depth is reduced, and when envelopes become less similar between the ears, common factors when listening in reverberant environments. The vulnerability of envelope ITDs is particularly problematic for cochlear implant (CI) users, as they rely on information conveyed by slowly varying amplitude envelopes. Here, an approach to improve access to envelope ITDs for CIs is described in which, rather than attempting to reduce reverberation, the perceptual saliency of cues relating to the source is increased by selectively sharpening peaks in the amplitude envelope judged to contain reliable ITDs. Performance of the algorithm with room reverberation was assessed through simulating listening with bilateral CIs in headphone experiments with NH listeners. Relative to simulated standard CI processing, stimuli processed with the algorithm generated lower ITD discrimination thresholds and increased extents of laterality. Depending on parameterization, intelligibility was unchanged or somewhat reduced. The algorithm has the potential to improve spatial listening with CIs. PMID:27586742

On the ability of human listeners to distinguish between front and back.

PubMed

Zhang, Peter Xinya; Hartmann, William M

2010-02-01

In order to determine whether a sound source is in front or in back, listeners can use location-dependent spectral cues caused by diffraction from their anatomy. This capability was studied using a precise virtual reality technique (VRX) based on a transaural technology. Presented with a virtual baseline simulation accurate up to 16 kHz, listeners could not distinguish between the simulation and a real source. Experiments requiring listeners to discriminate between front and back locations were performed using controlled modifications of the baseline simulation to test hypotheses about the important spectral cues. The experiments concluded: (1) Front/back cues were not confined to any particular 1/3rd or 2/3rd octave frequency region. Often adequate cues were available in any of several disjoint frequency regions. (2) Spectral dips were more important than spectral peaks. (3) Neither monaural cues nor interaural spectral level difference cues were adequate. (4) Replacing baseline spectra by sharpened spectra had minimal effect on discrimination performance. (5) When presented with an interaural time difference less than 200 micros, which pulled the image to the side, listeners still successfully discriminated between front and back, suggesting that front/back discrimination is independent of azimuthal localization within certain limits. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the ability of human listeners to distinguish between front and back

PubMed Central

Zhang, Peter Xinya; Hartmann, William M.

2009-01-01

In order to determine whether a sound source is in front or in back, listeners can use location-dependent spectral cues caused by diffraction from their anatomy. This capability was studied using a precise virtual-reality technique (VRX) based on a transaural technology. Presented with a virtual baseline simulation accurate up to 16 kHz, listeners could not distinguish between the simulation and a real source. Experiments requiring listeners to discriminate between front and back locations were performed using controlled modifications of the baseline simulation to test hypotheses about the important spectral cues. The experiments concluded: (1) Front/back cues were not confined to any particular 1/3rd or 2/3rd octave frequency region. Often adequate cues were available in any of several disjoint frequency regions. (2) Spectral dips were more important than spectral peaks. (3) Neither monaural cues nor interaural spectral level difference cues were adequate. (4) Replacing baseline spectra by sharpened spectra had minimal effect on discrimination performance. (5) When presented with an interaural time difference less than 200 μs, which pulled the image to the side, listeners still successfully discriminated between front and back, suggesting that front/back discrimination is independent of azimuthal localization within certain limits. PMID:19900525

A circuit for detection of interaural time differences in the nucleus laminaris of turtles.

PubMed

Willis, Katie L; Carr, Catherine E

2017-11-15

The physiological hearing range of turtles is approximately 50-1000 Hz, as determined by cochlear microphonics ( Wever and Vernon, 1956a). These low frequencies can constrain sound localization, particularly in red-eared slider turtles, which are freshwater turtles with small heads and isolated middle ears. To determine if these turtles were sensitive to interaural time differences (ITDs), we investigated the connections and physiology of their auditory brainstem nuclei. Tract tracing experiments showed that cranial nerve VIII bifurcated to terminate in the first-order nucleus magnocellularis (NM) and nucleus angularis (NA), and the NM projected bilaterally to the nucleus laminaris (NL). As the NL received inputs from each side, we developed an isolated head preparation to examine responses to binaural auditory stimulation. Magnocellularis and laminaris units responded to frequencies from 100 to 600 Hz, and phase-locked reliably to the auditory stimulus. Responses from the NL were binaural, and sensitive to ITD. Measures of characteristic delay revealed best ITDs around ±200 μs, and NL neurons typically had characteristic phases close to 0, consistent with binaural excitation. Thus, turtles encode ITDs within their physiological range, and their auditory brainstem nuclei have similar connections and cell types to other reptiles. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Examination of Insert Ear Interaural Attenuation (IA)Values in Audiological Evaluations.

PubMed

Gumus, Nebi M; Gumus, Merve; Unsal, Selim; Yuksel, Mustafa; Gunduz, Mehmet

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Interaural Attenuation (IA) in frequency base in the insert earphones that are used in audiological assessments. Thirty healthy subjects between 18-65 years of age (14 female and 16 male) participated in our study. Otoscopic examination was performed on all participants. Audiological evaluations were performed using the Interacoustics AC40 clinical audiometer and ER-3A insert earphones. IA value was calculated by subtracting good ear bone conduction hearing thresholds of the worst airway hearing threshold. In our measuring for 0.125-8.0 kHz frequency were performed in our audiometry device separately for each frequency. IA amount in the results we found in 1000 Hz and below frequencies about 75-110 dB range avarage is 89±5dB, in above 1000 Hz frequencies in 50-95 dB range and avarage it is changed to 69±5dB. According to the obtained findings the quantity of melting in the transition between the ears are increasing with the insert earphones. The insert earphone should be beside supraaural earphone that is routinely used in clinics. Difficult masking applications due to the increase in the value of IA can be easily done with insert earphones.

Local and Global Spatial Organization of Interaural Level Difference and Frequency Preferences in Auditory Cortex

PubMed Central

Panniello, Mariangela; King, Andrew J; Dahmen, Johannes C; Walker, Kerry M M

2018-01-01

Abstract Despite decades of microelectrode recordings, fundamental questions remain about how auditory cortex represents sound-source location. Here, we used in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging to measure the sensitivity of layer II/III neurons in mouse primary auditory cortex (A1) to interaural level differences (ILDs), the principal spatial cue in this species. Although most ILD-sensitive neurons preferred ILDs favoring the contralateral ear, neurons with either midline or ipsilateral preferences were also present. An opponent-channel decoder accurately classified ILDs using the difference in responses between populations of neurons that preferred contralateral-ear-greater and ipsilateral-ear-greater stimuli. We also examined the spatial organization of binaural tuning properties across the imaged neurons with unprecedented resolution. Neurons driven exclusively by contralateral ear stimuli or by binaural stimulation occasionally formed local clusters, but their binaural categories and ILD preferences were not spatially organized on a more global scale. In contrast, the sound frequency preferences of most neurons within local cortical regions fell within a restricted frequency range, and a tonotopic gradient was observed across the cortical surface of individual mice. These results indicate that the representation of ILDs in mouse A1 is comparable to that of most other mammalian species, and appears to lack systematic or consistent spatial order. PMID:29136122

Binaural hearing in children using Gaussian enveloped and transposed tones.

PubMed

Ehlers, Erica; Kan, Alan; Winn, Matthew B; Stoelb, Corey; Litovsky, Ruth Y

2016-04-01

Children who use bilateral cochlear implants (BiCIs) show significantly poorer sound localization skills than their normal hearing (NH) peers. This difference has been attributed, in part, to the fact that cochlear implants (CIs) do not faithfully transmit interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs), which are known to be important cues for sound localization. Interestingly, little is known about binaural sensitivity in NH children, in particular, with stimuli that constrain acoustic cues in a manner representative of CI processing. In order to better understand and evaluate binaural hearing in children with BiCIs, the authors first undertook a study on binaural sensitivity in NH children ages 8-10, and in adults. Experiments evaluated sound discrimination and lateralization using ITD and ILD cues, for stimuli with robust envelope cues, but poor representation of temporal fine structure. Stimuli were spondaic words, Gaussian-enveloped tone pulse trains (100 pulse-per-second), and transposed tones. Results showed that discrimination thresholds in children were adult-like (15-389 μs for ITDs and 0.5-6.0 dB for ILDs). However, lateralization based on the same binaural cues showed higher variability than seen in adults. Results are discussed in the context of factors that may be responsible for poor representation of binaural cues in bilaterally implanted children.

Toward a more ecologically valid measure of speech understanding in background noise.

PubMed

Jerger, J; Greenwald, R; Wambacq, I; Seipel, A; Moncrieff, D

2000-05-01

In an attempt to develop a more ecologically valid measure of speech understanding in a background of competing speech, we constructed a quasidichotic procedure based on the monitoring of continuous speech from loudspeakers placed directly to the listener's right and left sides. The listener responded to the presence of incongruous or anomalous words imbedded within the context of two children's fairy tales. Attention was directed either to the right or to the left side in blocks of 25 utterances. Within each block, there were target (anomalous) and nontarget (nonanomalous) words. Responses to target words were analyzed separately for attend-right and attend-left conditions. Our purpose was twofold: (1) to evaluate the feasibility of such an approach for obtaining electrophysiologic performance measures in the sound field and (2) to gather normative interaural symmetry data for the new technique in young adults with normal hearing. Event-related potentials to target and nontarget words at 30 electrode sites were obtained in 20 right-handed young adults with normal hearing. Waveforms and associated topographic maps were characterized by a slight negativity in the region of 400 msec (N400) and robust positivity in the region of 900 msec (P900). Norms for interaural symmetry of the P900 event-related potential in young adults were derived.

Physiological and content considerations for a second low frequency channel for bass management, subwoofers, and low frequency enhancement (LFE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Robert E. (Robin)

2005-04-01

Perception of very low frequencies (VLF) below 125 Hz reproduced by large woofers and subwoofers (SW), encompassing 3 octaves of the 10 regarded as audible, has physiological and content aspects. Large room acoustics and vibrato add VLF fluctuations, modulating audible carrier frequencies to >1 Hz. By convention, sounds below 90 Hz produce no interaural cues useful for spatial perception or localization, therefore bass management redirects the VLF range from main channels to a single (monaural) subwoofer channel, even if to more than one subwoofer. Yet subjects claim they hear a difference between a single subwoofer channel and two (stereo bass). If recordings contain spatial VLF content, is it possible physiologically to perceive interaural time/phase difference (ITD/IPD) between 16 and 125 Hz? To what extent does this perception have a lifelike quality; to what extent is it localization? If a first approximation of localization, would binaural SWs allow a higher crossover frequency (smaller satellite speakers)? Reported research supports the Jeffress model of ITD determination in brain structures, and extending the accepted lower frequency limit of IPD. Meanwhile, uncorrelated very low frequencies exist in all tested multi-channel music and movie content. The audibility, recording, and reproduction of uncorrelated VLF are explored in theory and experiments.

Measurement of the dipole in the cross-correlation function of galaxies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaztanaga, Enrique; Bonvin, Camille; Hui, Lam, E-mail: gazta@ice.cat, E-mail: camille.bonvin@unige.ch, E-mail: lhui@astro.columbia.edu

It is usually assumed that in the linear regime the two-point correlation function of galaxies contains only a monopole, quadrupole and hexadecapole. Looking at cross-correlations between different populations of galaxies, this turns out not to be the case. In particular, the cross-correlations between a bright and a faint population of galaxies contain also a dipole. In this paper we present the first attempt to measure this dipole. We discuss the four types of effects that contribute to the dipole: relativistic distortions, evolution effect, wide-angle effect and large-angle effect. We show that the first three contributions are intrinsic anti-symmetric contributions thatmore » do not depend on the choice of angle used to measure the dipole. On the other hand the large-angle effect appears only if the angle chosen to extract the dipole breaks the symmetry of the problem. We show that the relativistic distortions, the evolution effect and the wide-angle effect are too small to be detected in the LOWz and CMASS sample of the BOSS survey. On the other hand with a specific combination of angles we are able to measure the large-angle effect with high significance. We emphasise that this large-angle dipole does not contain new physical information, since it is just a geometrical combination of the monopole and the quadrupole. However this measurement, which is in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions, validates our method for extracting the dipole from the two-point correlation function and it opens the way to the detection of relativistic effects in future surveys like e.g. DESI.« less

Simple systematization of vibrational excitation cross-section calculations for resonant electron-molecule scattering in the boomerang and impulse models.

PubMed

Sarma, Manabendra; Adhikari, S; Mishra, Manoj K

2007-01-28

Vibrational excitation (nu(f)<--nu(i)) cross-sections sigma(nu(f)<--nu(i) )(E) in resonant e-N(2) and e-H(2) scattering are calculated from transition matrix elements T(nu(f),nu(i) )(E) obtained using Fourier transform of the cross correlation function , where psi(nu(i))(R,t) approximately =e(-iH(A(2))-(R)t/h phi(nu(i))(R) with time evolution under the influence of the resonance anionic Hamiltonian H(A(2) (-))(A(2) (-)=N(2)(-)/H(2) (-)) implemented using Lanczos and fast Fourier transforms. The target (A(2)) vibrational eigenfunctions phi(nu(i))(R) and phi(nu(f))(R) are calculated using Fourier grid Hamiltonian method applied to potential energy (PE) curves of the neutral target. Application of this simple systematization to calculate vibrational structure in e-N(2) and e-H(2) scattering cross-sections provides mechanistic insights into features underlying presence/absence of structure in e-N(2) and e-H(2) scattering cross-sections. The results obtained with approximate PE curves are in reasonable agreement with experimental/calculated cross-section profiles, and cross correlation functions provide a simple demarcation between the boomerang and impulse models.

Probing dark energy with lensing magnification in photometric surveys.

PubMed

Schneider, Michael D

2014-02-14

I present an estimator for the angular cross correlation of two tracers of the cosmological large-scale structure that utilizes redshift information to isolate separate physical contributions. The estimator is derived by solving the Limber equation for a reweighting of the foreground tracer that nulls either clustering or lensing contributions to the cross correlation function. Applied to future photometric surveys, the estimator can enhance the measurement of gravitational lensing magnification effects to provide a competitive independent constraint on the dark energy equation of state.

Dynamic cross correlation studies of wave particle interactions in ULF phenomena

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcpherron, R. L.

1979-01-01

Magnetic field observations made by satellites in the earth's magnetic field reveal a wide variety of ULF waves. These waves interact with the ambient particle populations in complex ways, causing modulation of the observed particle fluxes. This modulation is found to be a function of species, pitch angle, energy and time. The characteristics of this modulation provide information concerning the wave mode and interaction process. One important characteristic of wave-particle interactions is the phase of the particle flux modulation relative to the magnetic field variations. To display this phase as a function of time a dynamic cross spectrum program has been developed. The program produces contour maps in the frequency time plane of the cross correlation coefficient between any particle flux time series and the magnetic field vector. This program has been utilized in several studies of ULF wave-particle interactions at synchronous orbit.

Partition-free theory of time-dependent current correlations in nanojunctions in response to an arbitrary time-dependent bias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridley, Michael; MacKinnon, Angus; Kantorovich, Lev

2017-04-01

Working within the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism, a formula for the two-time current correlation function is derived for the case of transport through a nanojunction in response to an arbitrary time-dependent bias. The one-particle Hamiltonian and the wide-band limit approximation are assumed, enabling us to extract all necessary Green's functions and self-energies for the system, extending the analytic work presented previously [Ridley et al., Phys. Rev. B 91, 125433 (2015), 10.1103/PhysRevB.91.125433]. We show that our expression for the two-time correlation function generalizes the Büttiker theory of shot and thermal noise on the current through a nanojunction to the time-dependent bias case including the transient regime following the switch-on. Transient terms in the correlation function arise from an initial state that does not assume (as is usually done) that the system is initially uncoupled, i.e., our approach is partition free. We show that when the bias loses its time dependence, the long-time limit of the current correlation function depends on the time difference only, as in this case an ideal steady state is reached. This enables derivation of known results for the single-frequency power spectrum and for the zero-frequency limit of this power spectrum. In addition, we present a technique which facilitates fast calculations of the transient quantum noise, valid for arbitrary temperature, time, and voltage scales. We apply this formalism to a molecular wire system for both dc and ac biases, and find a signature of the traversal time for electrons crossing the wire in the time-dependent cross-lead current correlations.

Characteristics of angular cross correlations studied by light scattering from two-dimensional microsphere films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroer, M. A.; Gutt, C.; Grübel, G.

2014-07-01

Recently the analysis of scattering patterns by angular cross-correlation analysis (CCA) was introduced to reveal the orientational order in disordered samples with special focus to future applications on x-ray free-electron laser facilities. We apply this CCA approach to ultra-small-angle light-scattering data obtained from two-dimensional monolayers of microspheres. The films were studied in addition by optical microscopy. This combined approach allows to calculate the cross-correlations of the scattering patterns, characterized by the orientational correlation function Ψl(q), as well as to obtain the real-space structure of the monolayers. We show that CCA is sensitive to the orientational order of monolayers formed by the microspheres which are not directly visible from the scattering patterns. By mixing microspheres of different radii the sizes of ordered monolayer domains is reduced. For these samples it is shown that Ψl(q) quantitatively describes the degree of hexagonal order of the two-dimensional films. The experimental CCA results are compared with calculations based on the microscopy images. Both techniques show qualitatively similar features. Differences can be attributed to the wave-front distortion of the laser beam in the experiment. This effect is discussed by investigating the effect of different wave fronts on the cross-correlation analysis results. The so-determined characteristics of the cross-correlation analysis will be also relevant for future x-ray-based studies.

Severity of Acute Infectious Mononucleosis Correlates with Cross-Reactive Influenza CD8 T-Cell Receptor Repertoires

PubMed Central

Aslan, Nuray; Watkin, Levi B.; Gil, Anna; Mishra, Rabinarayan; Clark, Fransenio G.; Welsh, Raymond M.; Ghersi, Dario; Luzuriaga, Katherine

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Fifty years after the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), it remains unclear how primary infection with this virus leads to massive CD8 T-cell expansion and acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM) in young adults. AIM can vary greatly in severity, from a mild transient influenza-like illness to a prolonged severe syndrome. We questioned whether expansion of a unique HLA-A2.01-restricted, cross-reactive CD8 T-cell response between influenza virus A-M158 (IAV-M1) and EBV BMLF1280 (EBV-BM) could modulate the immune response to EBV and play a role in determining the severity of AIM in 32 college students. Only ex vivo total IAV-M1 and IAV-M1+EBV-BM cross-reactive tetramer+ frequencies directly correlated with AIM severity and were predictive of severe disease. Expansion of specific cross-reactive memory IAV-M1 T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ repertoires correlated with levels of disease severity. There were unique profiles of qualitatively different functional responses in the cross-reactive and EBV-specific CD8 T-cell responses in each of the three groups studied, severe-AIM patients, mild-AIM patients, and seropositive persistently EBV-infected healthy donors, that may result from differences in TCR repertoire use. IAV-M1 tetramer+ cells were functionally cross-reactive in short-term cultures, were associated with the highest disease severity in AIM, and displayed enhanced production of gamma interferon, a cytokine that greatly amplifies immune responses, thus frequently contributing to induction of immunopathology. Altogether, these data link heterologous immunity via CD8 T-cell cross-reactivity to CD8 T-cell repertoire selection, function, and resultant disease severity in a common and important human infection. In particular, it highlights for the first time a direct link between the TCR repertoire with pathogenesis and the diversity of outcomes upon pathogen encounter. PMID:29208744

Photon correlation in single-photon frequency upconversion.

PubMed

Gu, Xiaorong; Huang, Kun; Pan, Haifeng; Wu, E; Zeng, Heping

2012-01-30

We experimentally investigated the intensity cross-correlation between the upconverted photons and the unconverted photons in the single-photon frequency upconversion process with multi-longitudinal mode pump and signal sources. In theoretical analysis, with this multi-longitudinal mode of both signal and pump sources system, the properties of the signal photons could also be maintained as in the single-mode frequency upconversion system. Experimentally, based on the conversion efficiency of 80.5%, the joint probability of simultaneously detecting at upconverted and unconverted photons showed an anti-correlation as a function of conversion efficiency which indicated the upconverted photons were one-to-one from the signal photons. While due to the coherent state of the signal photons, the intensity cross-correlation function g(2)(0) was shown to be equal to unity at any conversion efficiency, agreeing with the theoretical prediction. This study will benefit the high-speed wavelength-tunable quantum state translation or photonic quantum interface together with the mature frequency tuning or longitudinal mode selection techniques.

Decomposition of Proteins into Dynamic Units from Atomic Cross-Correlation Functions.

PubMed

Calligari, Paolo; Gerolin, Marco; Abergel, Daniel; Polimeno, Antonino

2017-01-10

In this article, we present a clustering method of atoms in proteins based on the analysis of the correlation times of interatomic distance correlation functions computed from MD simulations. The goal is to provide a coarse-grained description of the protein in terms of fewer elements that can be treated as dynamically independent subunits. Importantly, this domain decomposition method does not take into account structural properties of the protein. Instead, the clustering of protein residues in terms of networks of dynamically correlated domains is defined on the basis of the effective correlation times of the pair distance correlation functions. For these properties, our method stands as a complementary analysis to the customary protein decomposition in terms of quasi-rigid, structure-based domains. Results obtained for a prototypal protein structure illustrate the approach proposed.

Dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle under a uniform magnetic field.

PubMed

Vidal-Urquiza, Glenn C; Córdova-Figueroa, Ubaldo M

2017-11-01

The dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle undergoing three-dimensional Brownian motion, both translation and rotation, under the influence of a uniform magnetic field is investigated. The particle self-propels at a constant speed along its magnetic dipole moment, which reorients due to the interplay between Brownian and magnetic torques, quantified by the Langevin parameter α. In this work, the time-dependent active diffusivity and the crossover time (τ^{cross})-from ballistic to diffusive regimes-are calculated through the time-dependent correlation function of the fluctuations of the propulsion direction. The results reveal that, for any value of α, the particle undergoes a directional (or ballistic) propulsive motion at very short times (t≪τ^{cross}). In this regime, the correlation function decreases linearly with time, and the active diffusivity increases with it. It the opposite time limit (t≫τ^{cross}), the particle moves in a purely diffusive regime with a correlation function that decays asymptotically to zero and an active diffusivity that reaches a constant value equal to the long-time active diffusivity of the particle. As expected in the absence of a magnetic field (α=0), the crossover time is equal to the characteristic time scale for rotational diffusion, τ_{rot}. In the presence of a magnetic field (α>0), the correlation function, the active diffusivity, and the crossover time decrease with increasing α. The magnetic field regulates the regimes of propulsion of the particle. Here, the field reduces the period of time at which the active particle undergoes a directional motion. Consequently, the active particle rapidly reaches a diffusive regime at τ^{cross}≪τ_{rot}. In the limit of weak fields (α≪1), the crossover time decreases quadratically with α, while in the limit of strong fields (α≫1) it decays asymptotically as α^{-1}. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained by Brownian dynamics simulations.

Dynamical properties of a tumor growth system in the presence of immunization and colored cross-correlated noises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Zheng-Lin; Mei, Dong-Cheng

2010-05-01

We investigate the effects of the noise parameters and immunization strength β on the dynamical properties of a tumor growth system with both immunization and colored cross-correlated noises. The analytical expressions for the associated relaxation time TC and the normalized correlation function C(s) are derived by means of the projection operator method. The results indicate that: (i) TC as a function of the multiplicative noise intensity α shows resonance-like behavior, i.e. the curves of TC versus α exhibit a single-peak structure and its peak position changes with increasing correlation strength between noises λ, the autocorrelation time of multiplicative noise τ1, the autocorrelation time of additive noise τ2 and the cross-correlation time τ3. This behavior can be understood in terms of the noise-enhanced stability effect and the influence of the memory effects on it. (ii) The increasing λ, τ1, τ2 and the additive noise intensity D slow down the fluctuation decay of the tumor population, whereas the increasing τ3 and β speed it up. (iii) C(s) increases as λ, τ1, τ2 and β increase, while it decreases with τ3 increasing. Our study shows that the effects of some noise parameters on tumor growth can be modified due to the presence of the immunization effect.

Periodicity in the autocorrelation function as a mechanism for regularly occurring zero crossings or extreme values of a Gaussian process.

PubMed

Wilson, Lorna R M; Hopcraft, Keith I

2017-12-01

The problem of zero crossings is of great historical prevalence and promises extensive application. The challenge is to establish precisely how the autocorrelation function or power spectrum of a one-dimensional continuous random process determines the density function of the intervals between the zero crossings of that process. This paper investigates the case where periodicities are incorporated into the autocorrelation function of a smooth process. Numerical simulations, and statistics about the number of crossings in a fixed interval, reveal that in this case the zero crossings segue between a random and deterministic point process depending on the relative time scales of the periodic and nonperiodic components of the autocorrelation function. By considering the Laplace transform of the density function, we show that incorporating correlation between successive intervals is essential to obtaining accurate results for the interval variance. The same method enables prediction of the density function tail in some regions, and we suggest approaches for extending this to cover all regions. In an ever-more complex world, the potential applications for this scale of regularity in a random process are far reaching and powerful.

Periodicity in the autocorrelation function as a mechanism for regularly occurring zero crossings or extreme values of a Gaussian process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Lorna R. M.; Hopcraft, Keith I.

2017-12-01

The problem of zero crossings is of great historical prevalence and promises extensive application. The challenge is to establish precisely how the autocorrelation function or power spectrum of a one-dimensional continuous random process determines the density function of the intervals between the zero crossings of that process. This paper investigates the case where periodicities are incorporated into the autocorrelation function of a smooth process. Numerical simulations, and statistics about the number of crossings in a fixed interval, reveal that in this case the zero crossings segue between a random and deterministic point process depending on the relative time scales of the periodic and nonperiodic components of the autocorrelation function. By considering the Laplace transform of the density function, we show that incorporating correlation between successive intervals is essential to obtaining accurate results for the interval variance. The same method enables prediction of the density function tail in some regions, and we suggest approaches for extending this to cover all regions. In an ever-more complex world, the potential applications for this scale of regularity in a random process are far reaching and powerful.

Women and Power: Problems of Feminine Pollution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michaelson, Evalyn J.

The author reviews cross-cultural studies correlating women's reproductive functions with states of ritual defilement, pollution, and cultural restrictions on social behavior. Women's reproductive functions--childbirth, menstruation, and sexual intercourse--are frequently viewed as contaminating. Thus, during her menstrual period or period…

Cross-correlation of heartbeat and respiration rhythms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capurro, A.; Malta, C. P.; Diambra, L.; Contreras, P.; Migliaro, E. R.

2005-10-01

The cross-correlation function between respiration and heart beat interval series shows that during metronomized breathing the heart beat follows the respiration more closely than during spontaneous breathing. We reproduced the heart beat interval modulations during metronomized breathing using a biophysical model of the sinoatrial node excited by an input signal formed by the recorded respiration. In the case of spontaneous breathing, a good agreement with the experimental data was obtained only by using an input signal formed by the sum of the recorded respiration and a realization of correlated noise. Metronomized breathing refers to the situation where a subject breathes following the rhythm of a metronome.

(e, 2e) simple ionization of {{\\rm{H}}}_{3}^{+} by fast electron impact: use of triangular three-center continuum and bound state wave functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obeid, S.; Chuluunbaatar, O.; Joulakian, B. B.

2017-07-01

The variation of the multiply differential cross section of the (e, 2e) simple ionization of {{{H}}}3+, with the incident and ejection energy values, as well as the directions of the ejected and scattered electrons, is studied. The calculations have been performed in the frame of the perturbative first Born procedure, which has required the development of equilateral triangular three center bound and continuum state wave functions. The results explore the optimal conditions and the particularities of the triangular targets, such as the appearance of interference patterns in the variation of the four fold differential cross section (FDCS) with the scattering angle for a fixed orientation of the molecule. The comparison between the results obtained by two H3 + ground wave functions, with and without a correlation term r 12, shows that the effect of correlation on the magnitude of the triple differential cross section is not large, but it produces some modification in the structure of the FDCS.

Coherence and dimensionality of intense spatiospectral twin beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peřina, Jan

2015-07-01

Spatiospectral properties of twin beams at their transition from low to high intensities are analyzed in parametric and paraxial approximations using decomposition into paired spatial and spectral modes. Intensity auto- and cross-correlation functions are determined and compared in the spectral and temporal domains as well as the transverse wave-vector and crystal output planes. Whereas the spectral, temporal, and transverse wave-vector coherence increases with the increasing pump intensity, coherence in the crystal output plane is almost independent of the pump intensity owing to the mode structure in this plane. The corresponding auto- and cross-correlation functions approach each other for larger pump intensities. The entanglement dimensionality of a twin beam is determined with a comparison of several approaches.

Performance on Tests of Central Auditory Processing by Individuals Exposed to High-Intensity Blasts

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

percent (gap detected on at least four of the six presentations), with all longer durations receiving a score greater than 50 percent. Binaural ...Processing and Sound Localization Temporal precision of neural firing is also involved in binaural processing and localization of sound in space. The...Masking Level Difference (MLD) test evaluates the integrity of the earliest sites of binaural comparison and sensitivity to interaural phase in the

Optimizing correlation techniques for improved earthquake location

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaff, D.P.; Bokelmann, G.H.R.; Ellsworth, W.L.; Zanzerkia, E.; Waldhauser, F.; Beroza, G.C.

2004-01-01

Earthquake location using relative arrival time measurements can lead to dramatically reduced location errors and a view of fault-zone processes with unprecedented detail. There are two principal reasons why this approach reduces location errors. The first is that the use of differenced arrival times to solve for the vector separation of earthquakes removes from the earthquake location problem much of the error due to unmodeled velocity structure. The second reason, on which we focus in this article, is that waveform cross correlation can substantially reduce measurement error. While cross correlation has long been used to determine relative arrival times with subsample precision, we extend correlation measurements to less similar waveforms, and we introduce a general quantitative means to assess when correlation data provide an improvement over catalog phase picks. We apply the technique to local earthquake data from the Calaveras Fault in northern California. Tests for an example streak of 243 earthquakes demonstrate that relative arrival times with normalized cross correlation coefficients as low as ???70%, interevent separation distances as large as to 2 km, and magnitudes up to 3.5 as recorded on the Northern California Seismic Network are more precise than relative arrival times determined from catalog phase data. Also discussed are improvements made to the correlation technique itself. We find that for large time offsets, our implementation of time-domain cross correlation is often more robust and that it recovers more observations than the cross spectral approach. Longer time windows give better results than shorter ones. Finally, we explain how thresholds and empirical weighting functions may be derived to optimize the location procedure for any given region of interest, taking advantage of the respective strengths of diverse correlation and catalog phase data on different length scales.

Microchannel plate cross-talk mitigation for spatial autocorrelation measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipka, Michał; Parniak, Michał; Wasilewski, Wojciech

2018-05-01

Microchannel plates (MCP) are the basis for many spatially resolved single-particle detectors such as ICCD or I-sCMOS cameras employing image intensifiers (II), MCPs with delay-line anodes for the detection of cold gas particles or Cherenkov radiation detectors. However, the spatial characterization provided by an MCP is severely limited by cross-talk between its microchannels, rendering MCP and II ill-suited for autocorrelation measurements. Here, we present a cross-talk subtraction method experimentally exemplified for an I-sCMOS based measurement of pseudo-thermal light second-order intensity autocorrelation function at the single-photon level. The method merely requires a dark counts measurement for calibration. A reference cross-correlation measurement certifies the cross-talk subtraction. While remaining universal for MCP applications, the presented cross-talk subtraction, in particular, simplifies quantum optical setups. With the possibility of autocorrelation measurements, the signal needs no longer to be divided into two camera regions for a cross-correlation measurement, reducing the experimental setup complexity and increasing at least twofold the simultaneously employable camera sensor region.

Simplified Chinese version of the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS) for patients who underwent joint arthroplasty: cross-cultural adaptation and validation.

PubMed

Cao, Shiqi; Liu, Ning; Han, Wuxiang; Zi, Yunpeng; Peng, Fan; Li, Lexiang; Fu, Qiwei; Chen, Yi; Zheng, Weijie; Qian, Qirong

2017-01-14

The Forgotten Joint Score (FJS) is a newly developed health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire designed to evaluate the awareness after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study cross-culturally adapted and psychometrically validated a simplified Chinese version of the FJS (SC-FJS). Cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to the internationally recognized guidelines. One-hundred and fifty participants who underwent primary TKA were recruited in this study. Cronbach's α and intra-class correlations were used to determine reliability. Construct validity was analyzed by evaluating the correlations between SC-FJS and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and the short form (36) health survey (SF-36). Each of the 12 items was properly responded and correlated with the total items. SC-FJS had excellent reliability [Cronbach's α = 0.907, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.970, 95% CI 0.959-0.978). Elimination of any one item in all did not result in a value of Cronbach's α of <0.80. SC-FJS had a high correlation with symptoms (0.67, p < 0.001) and pain (0.60, p < 0.001) domains of KOOS and social functioning (0.66, p < 0.001) domain of SF-36, and it also moderately correlated with function in daily living (0.53, p < 0.001) and function in sport and recreation (0.40, p < 0.001) domains of KOOS, and physical subscale of SF-36 (0.49-0.53, p < 0.001) but had a low (r = 0.20) or not significant (p > 0.05) correlation with mental subscale of SF-36. SC-FJS demonstrated excellent acceptability, internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity, which can be recommended for patients who underwent joint arthroplasty in Mainland China.

Multi-ball and one-ball geolocation and location verification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, D. J.; Townsend, J. L.

2017-05-01

We present analysis methods that may be used to geolocate emitters using one or more moving receivers. While some of the methods we present may apply to a broader class of signals, our primary interest is locating and tracking ships from short pulsed transmissions, such as the maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS.) The AIS signal is difficult to process and track since the pulse duration is only 25 milliseconds, and the pulses may only be transmitted every six to ten seconds. Several fundamental problems are addressed, including demodulation of AIS/GMSK signals, verification of the emitter location, accurate frequency and delay estimation and identification of pulse trains from the same emitter. In particular, we present several new correlation methods, including cross-cross correlation that greatly improves correlation accuracy over conventional methods and cross- TDOA and cross-FDOA functions that make it possible to estimate time and frequency delay without the need of computing a two dimensional cross-ambiguity surface. By isolating pulses from the same emitter and accurately tracking the received signal frequency, we are able to accurately estimate the emitter location from the received Doppler characteristics.

Body Size Is a Significant Predictor of Congruency in Species Richness Patterns: A Meta-Analysis of Aquatic Studies

PubMed Central

Velghe, Katherine; Gregory-Eaves, Irene

2013-01-01

Biodiversity losses over the next century are predicted to result in alterations of ecosystem functions that are on par with other major drivers of global change. Given the seriousness of this issue, there is a need to effectively monitor global biodiversity. Because performing biodiversity censuses of all taxonomic groups is prohibitively costly, indicator groups have been studied to estimate the biodiversity of different taxonomic groups. Quantifying cross-taxon congruence is a method of evaluating the assumption that the diversity of one taxonomic group can be used to predict the diversity of another. To improve the predictive ability of cross-taxon congruence in aquatic ecosystems, we evaluated whether body size, measured as the ratio of average body length between organismal groups, is a significant predictor of their cross-taxon biodiversity congruence. To test this hypothesis, we searched the published literature and screened for studies that used species richness correlations as their metric of cross-taxon congruence. We extracted 96 correlation coefficients from 16 studies, which encompassed 784 inland water bodies. With these correlation coefficients, we conducted a categorical meta-analysis, grouping data based on the body size ratio of organisms. Our results showed that cross-taxon congruence is variable among sites and between different groups (r values ranging between −0.53 to 0.88). In addition, our quantitative meta-analysis demonstrated that organisms most similar in body size showed stronger species richness correlations than organisms which differed increasingly in size (radj 2 = 0.94, p = 0.02). We propose that future studies applying biodiversity indicators in aquatic ecosystems consider functional traits such as body size, so as to increase their success at predicting the biodiversity of taxonomic groups where cost-effective conservation tools are needed. PMID:23468903

Effects of Body Mass Index on Lung Function Index of Chinese Population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Qiao; Ye, Jun; Yang, Jian; Zhu, Changan; Sheng, Lei; Zhang, Yongliang

2018-01-01

To study the effect of body mass index (BMI) on lung function indexes in Chinese population. A cross-sectional study was performed on 10, 592 participants. The linear relationship between lung function and BMI was evaluated by multivariate linear regression analysis, and the correlation between BMI and lung function was assessed by Pearson correlation analysis. Correlation analysis showed that BMI was positively related with the decreasing of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and FEV1/FVC (P <0.05), the increasing of FVC% predicted value (FVC%pre) and FEV1% predicted value (FEV1%pre). These suggested that Chinese people can restrain the decline of lung function to prevent the occurrence and development of COPD by the control of BMI.

Exploring auditory neglect: Anatomo-clinical correlations of auditory extinction.

PubMed

Tissieres, Isabel; Crottaz-Herbette, Sonia; Clarke, Stephanie

2018-05-23

The key symptoms of auditory neglect include left extinction on tasks of dichotic and/or diotic listening and rightward shift in locating sounds. The anatomical correlates of the latter are relatively well understood, but no systematic studies have examined auditory extinction. Here, we performed a systematic study of anatomo-clinical correlates of extinction by using dichotic and/or diotic listening tasks. In total, 20 patients with right hemispheric damage (RHD) and 19 with left hemispheric damage (LHD) performed dichotic and diotic listening tasks. Either task consists of the simultaneous presentation of word pairs; in the dichotic task, 1 word is presented to each ear, and in the diotic task, each word is lateralized by means of interaural time differences and presented to one side. RHD was associated with exclusively contralesional extinction in dichotic or diotic listening, whereas in selected cases, LHD led to contra- or ipsilesional extinction. Bilateral symmetrical extinction occurred in RHD or LHD, with dichotic or diotic listening. The anatomical correlates of these extinction profiles offer an insight into the organisation of the auditory and attentional systems. First, left extinction in dichotic versus diotic listening involves different parts of the right hemisphere, which explains the double dissociation between these 2 neglect symptoms. Second, contralesional extinction in the dichotic task relies on homologous regions in either hemisphere. Third, ipsilesional extinction in dichotic listening after LHD was associated with lesions of the intrahemispheric white matter, interrupting callosal fibres outside their midsagittal or periventricular trajectory. Fourth, bilateral symmetrical extinction was associated with large parieto-fronto-temporal LHD or smaller parieto-temporal RHD, which suggests that divided attention, supported by the right hemisphere, and auditory streaming, supported by the left, likely play a critical role. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

On the effect of velocity gradients on the depth of correlation in μPIV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mustin, B.; Stoeber, B.

2016-03-01

The present work revisits the effect of velocity gradients on the depth of the measurement volume (depth of correlation) in microscopic particle image velocimetry (μPIV). General relations between the μPIV weighting functions and the local correlation function are derived from the original definition of the weighting functions. These relations are used to investigate under which circumstances the weighting functions are related to the curvature of the local correlation function. Furthermore, this work proposes a modified definition of the depth of correlation that leads to more realistic results than previous definitions for the case when flow gradients are taken into account. Dimensionless parameters suitable to describe the effect of velocity gradients on μPIV cross correlation are derived and visual interpretations of these parameters are proposed. We then investigate the effect of the dimensionless parameters on the weighting functions and the depth of correlation for different flow fields with spatially constant flow gradients and with spatially varying gradients. Finally this work demonstrates that the results and dimensionless parameters are not strictly bound to a certain model for particle image intensity distributions but are also meaningful when other models for particle images are used.

Computational nanometrology of line-edge roughness: noise effects, cross-line correlations and the role of etch transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Constantoudis, Vassilios; Papavieros, George; Lorusso, Gian; Rutigliani, Vito; Van Roey, Frieda; Gogolides, Evangelos

2018-03-01

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of etch transfer in two challenges of LER metrology raised by recent evolutions in lithography: the effects of SEM noise and the cross-line and edge correlations. The first comes from the ongoing scaling down of linewidths, which dictates SEM imaging with less scanning frames to reduce specimen damage and hence with more noise. During the last decade, it has been shown that image noise can be an important budget of the measured LER while systematically affects and alter the PSD curve of LER at high frequencies. A recent method for unbiased LER measurement is based on the systematic Fourier or correlation analysis to decompose the effects of noise from true LER (Fourier-Correlation filtering method). The success of the method depends on the PSD and HHCF curve. Previous experimental and model works have revealed that etch transfer affects the PSD of LER reducing its high frequency values. In this work, we estimate the noise contribution to the biased LER through PSD flat floor at high frequencies and relate it with the differences between the PSDs of lithography and etched LER. Based on this comparison, we propose an improvement of the PSD/HHCF-based method for noise-free LER measurement to include the missed high frequency real LER. The second issue is related with the increased density of lithographic patterns and the special characteristics of DSA and MP lithography patterns exhibits. In a previous work, we presented an enlarged LER characterization methodology for such patterns, which includes updated versions of the old metrics along with new metrics defined and developed to capture cross-edge and cross-line correlations. The fundamental concept has been the Line Center Roughness (LCR), the edge c-factor and the line c-factor correlation function and length quantifying the line fluctuations and the extent of cross-edge and cross-line correlations. In this work, we focus on the role of etch steps on cross-edge and line correlation metrics in SAQP data. We find that the spacer etch steps reduce edge correlations while etch steps with pattern transfer increase these. Furthermore, the density doubling and quadrupling increase edge correlations as well as cross-line correlations.

The Fine-Scale Functional Correlation of Striate Cortex in Sighted and Blind People

PubMed Central

Butt, Omar H.; Benson, Noah C.; Datta, Ritobrato

2013-01-01

To what extent are spontaneous neural signals within striate cortex organized by vision? We examined the fine-scale pattern of striate cortex correlations within and between hemispheres in rest-state BOLD fMRI data from sighted and blind people. In the sighted, we find that corticocortico correlation is well modeled as a Gaussian point-spread function across millimeters of striate cortical surface, rather than degrees of visual angle. Blindness produces a subtle change in the pattern of fine-scale striate correlations between hemispheres. Across participants blind before the age of 18, the degree of pattern alteration covaries with the strength of long-range correlation between left striate cortex and Broca's area. This suggests that early blindness exchanges local, vision-driven pattern synchrony of the striate cortices for long-range functional correlations potentially related to cross-modal representation. PMID:24107953

Cochlear implantation with hearing preservation yields significant benefit for speech recognition in complex listening environments.

PubMed

Gifford, René H; Dorman, Michael F; Skarzynski, Henryk; Lorens, Artur; Polak, Marek; Driscoll, Colin L W; Roland, Peter; Buchman, Craig A

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the benefit of having preserved acoustic hearing in the implanted ear for speech recognition in complex listening environments. The present study included a within-subjects, repeated-measures design including 21 English-speaking and 17 Polish-speaking cochlear implant (CI) recipients with preserved acoustic hearing in the implanted ear. The patients were implanted with electrodes that varied in insertion depth from 10 to 31 mm. Mean preoperative low-frequency thresholds (average of 125, 250, and 500 Hz) in the implanted ear were 39.3 and 23.4 dB HL for the English- and Polish-speaking participants, respectively. In one condition, speech perception was assessed in an eight-loudspeaker environment in which the speech signals were presented from one loudspeaker and restaurant noise was presented from all loudspeakers. In another condition, the signals were presented in a simulation of a reverberant environment with a reverberation time of 0.6 sec. The response measures included speech reception thresholds (SRTs) and percent correct sentence understanding for two test conditions: CI plus low-frequency hearing in the contralateral ear (bimodal condition) and CI plus low-frequency hearing in both ears (best-aided condition). A subset of six English-speaking listeners were also assessed on measures of interaural time difference thresholds for a 250-Hz signal. Small, but significant, improvements in performance (1.7-2.1 dB and 6-10 percentage points) were found for the best-aided condition versus the bimodal condition. Postoperative thresholds in the implanted ear were correlated with the degree of electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) benefit for speech recognition in diffuse noise. There was no reliable relationship among measures of audiometric threshold in the implanted ear nor elevation in threshold after surgery and improvement in speech understanding in reverberation. There was a significant correlation between interaural time difference threshold at 250 Hz and EAS-related benefit for the adaptive speech reception threshold. The findings of this study suggest that (1) preserved low-frequency hearing improves speech understanding for CI recipients, (2) testing in complex listening environments, in which binaural timing cues differ for signal and noise, may best demonstrate the value of having two ears with low-frequency acoustic hearing, and (3) preservation of binaural timing cues, although poorer than observed for individuals with normal hearing, is possible after unilateral cochlear implantation with hearing preservation and is associated with EAS benefit. The results of this study demonstrate significant communicative benefit for hearing preservation in the implanted ear and provide support for the expansion of CI criteria to include individuals with low-frequency thresholds in even the normal to near-normal range.

Donor impurity-related photoionization cross section in GaAs cone-like quantum dots under applied electric field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqraoun, E.; Sali, A.; Rezzouk, A.; Feddi, E.; Dujardin, F.; Mora-Ramos, M. E.; Duque, C. A.

2017-06-01

The donor impurity-related electron states in GaAs cone-like quantum dots under the influence of an externally applied static electric field are theoretically investigated. Calculations are performed within the effective mass and parabolic band approximations, using the variational procedure to include the electron-impurity correlation effects. The uncorrelated Schrödinger-like electron states are obtained in quasi-analytical form and the entire electron-impurity correlated states are used to calculate the photoionisation cross section. Results for the electron state energies and the photoionisation cross section are reported as functions of the main geometrical parameters of the cone-like structures as well as of the electric field strength.

Discontinuity of the exchange-correlation potential and the functional derivative of the noninteracting kinetic energy as the number of electrons crosses integer boundaries in Li, Be, and B.

PubMed

Morrison, Robert C

2015-01-07

Accurate densities were determined from configuration interaction wave functions for atoms and ions of Li, Be, and B with up to four electrons. Exchange-correlation potentials, Vxc(r), and functional derivatives of the noninteracting kinetic energy, δK[ρ]/δρ(r), obtained from these densities were used to examine their discontinuities as the number of electrons N increases across integer boundaries for N = 1, N = 2, and N = 3. These numerical results are consistent with conclusions that the discontinuities are characterized by a jump in the chemical potential while the shape of Vxc(r) varies continuously as an integer boundary is crossed. The discontinuity of the Vxc(r) is positive, depends on the ionization potential, electron affinity, and orbital energy differences, and the discontinuity in δK[ρ]/δρ(r) depends on the difference between the energies of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied orbitals. The noninteracting kinetic energy and the exchange correlation energy have been computed for integer and noninteger values of N between 1 and 4.

Jitter Correction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waegell, Mordecai J.; Palacios, David M.

2011-01-01

Jitter_Correct.m is a MATLAB function that automatically measures and corrects inter-frame jitter in an image sequence to a user-specified precision. In addition, the algorithm dynamically adjusts the image sample size to increase the accuracy of the measurement. The Jitter_Correct.m function takes an image sequence with unknown frame-to-frame jitter and computes the translations of each frame (column and row, in pixels) relative to a chosen reference frame with sub-pixel accuracy. The translations are measured using a Cross Correlation Fourier transformation method in which the relative phase of the two transformed images is fit to a plane. The measured translations are then used to correct the inter-frame jitter of the image sequence. The function also dynamically expands the image sample size over which the cross-correlation is measured to increase the accuracy of the measurement. This increases the robustness of the measurement to variable magnitudes of inter-frame jitter

Pyrcca: Regularized Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis in Python and Its Applications to Neuroimaging.

PubMed

Bilenko, Natalia Y; Gallant, Jack L

2016-01-01

In this article we introduce Pyrcca, an open-source Python package for performing canonical correlation analysis (CCA). CCA is a multivariate analysis method for identifying relationships between sets of variables. Pyrcca supports CCA with or without regularization, and with or without linear, polynomial, or Gaussian kernelization. We first use an abstract example to describe Pyrcca functionality. We then demonstrate how Pyrcca can be used to analyze neuroimaging data. Specifically, we use Pyrcca to implement cross-subject comparison in a natural movie functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment by finding a data-driven set of functional response patterns that are similar across individuals. We validate this cross-subject comparison method in Pyrcca by predicting responses to novel natural movies across subjects. Finally, we show how Pyrcca can reveal retinotopic organization in brain responses to natural movies without the need for an explicit model.

Pyrcca: Regularized Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis in Python and Its Applications to Neuroimaging

PubMed Central

Bilenko, Natalia Y.; Gallant, Jack L.

2016-01-01

In this article we introduce Pyrcca, an open-source Python package for performing canonical correlation analysis (CCA). CCA is a multivariate analysis method for identifying relationships between sets of variables. Pyrcca supports CCA with or without regularization, and with or without linear, polynomial, or Gaussian kernelization. We first use an abstract example to describe Pyrcca functionality. We then demonstrate how Pyrcca can be used to analyze neuroimaging data. Specifically, we use Pyrcca to implement cross-subject comparison in a natural movie functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment by finding a data-driven set of functional response patterns that are similar across individuals. We validate this cross-subject comparison method in Pyrcca by predicting responses to novel natural movies across subjects. Finally, we show how Pyrcca can reveal retinotopic organization in brain responses to natural movies without the need for an explicit model. PMID:27920675

Design considerations for a real-time ocular counterroll instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hatamian, M.; Anderson, D. J.

1983-01-01

A real-time algorithm for measuring three-dimensional movement of the human eye, especially torsional movement, is presented. As its input, the system uses images of the eyeball taken at video rate. The amount of horizontal and vertical movement is extracted using a pupil tracking technique. The torsional movement is then measured by computing the discrete cross-correlation function between the circular samples of successive images of the iris patterns and searching for the position of the peak of the function. A local least square interpolation around the peak of the cross-correlation function is used to produce nearly unbiased estimates of torsion angle with accuracy of about 3-4 arcmin. Accuracies of better than 0.03 deg are achievable in torsional measurement with SNR higher than 36 dB. Horizontal and vertical rotations of up to + or - 13 deg can occur simultaneously with torsion without introducing any appreciable error in the counterrolling measurement process.

Introduction of Total Variation Regularization into Filtered Backprojection Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raczyński, L.; Wiślicki, W.; Klimaszewski, K.; Krzemień, W.; Kowalski, P.; Shopa, R. Y.; Białas, P.; Curceanu, C.; Czerwiński, E.; Dulski, K.; Gajos, A.; Głowacz, B.; Gorgol, M.; Hiesmayr, B.; Jasińska, B.; Kisielewska-Kamińska, D.; Korcyl, G.; Kozik, T.; Krawczyk, N.; Kubicz, E.; Mohammed, M.; Pawlik-Niedźwiecka, M.; Niedźwiecki, S.; Pałka, M.; Rudy, Z.; Sharma, N. G.; Sharma, S.; Silarski, M.; Skurzok, M.; Wieczorek, A.; Zgardzińska, B.; Zieliński, M.; Moskal, P.

In this paper we extend the state-of-the-art filtered backprojection (FBP) method with application of the concept of Total Variation regularization. We compare the performance of the new algorithm with the most common form of regularizing in the FBP image reconstruction via apodizing functions. The methods are validated in terms of cross-correlation coefficient between reconstructed and real image of radioactive tracer distribution using standard Derenzo-type phantom. We demonstrate that the proposed approach results in higher cross-correlation values with respect to the standard FBP method.

Searches for correlation between UHECR events and high-energy gamma-ray Fermi-LAT data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Álvarez, Ezequiel; Cuoco, Alessandro; Mirabal, Nestor

The astrophysical sources responsible for ultra high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) continue to be one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics. We present a comprehensive search for correlations between high-energy (∼> 1 GeV) gamma-ray events from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and UHECRs (∼> 60 EeV) detected by the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatory. We perform two separate searches. First, we conduct a standard cross-correlation analysis between the arrival directions of 148 UHECRs and 360 gamma-ray sources in the Second Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL). Second, we search for a possible correlation between UHECR directions andmore » unresolved Fermi -LAT gamma-ray emission. For the latter, we use three different methods: a stacking technique with both a model-dependent and model-independent background estimate, and a cross-correlation function analysis. We also test for statistically significant excesses in gamma rays from signal regions centered on Cen A and the Telescope Array hotspot. No significant correlation is found in any of the analyses performed, except a weak (∼< 2σ) hint of signal with the correlation function method on scales ∼ 1°. Upper limits on the flux of possible power-law gamma-ray sources of UHECRs are derived.« less

Searches for correlation between UHECR events and high-energy gamma-ray Fermi-LAT data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Álvarez, Ezequiel; Cuoco, Alessandro; Mirabal, Nestor

The astrophysical sources responsible for ultra high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) continue to be one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics. Here, we present a comprehensive search for correlations between high-energy (≳ 1 GeV) gamma-ray events from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and UHECRs (≳ 60 EeV) detected by the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatory. We perform two separate searches. First, we conduct a standard cross-correlation analysis between the arrival directions of 148 UHECRs and 360 gamma-ray sources in the Second Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL). Second, we search for a possible correlation between UHECR directionsmore » and unresolved Fermi-LAT gamma-ray emission. For the latter, we use three different methods: a stacking technique with both a model-dependent and model-independent background estimate, and a cross-correlation function analysis. We also test for statistically significant excesses in gamma rays from signal regions centered on Cen A and the Telescope Array hotspot. There was no significant correlation is found in any of the analyses performed, except a weak (≲ 2σ) hint of signal with the correlation function method on scales ~ 1°. Upper limits on the flux of possible power-law gamma-ray sources of UHECRs are derived.« less

Searches for correlation between UHECR events and high-energy gamma-ray Fermi-LAT data

DOE PAGES

Álvarez, Ezequiel; Cuoco, Alessandro; Mirabal, Nestor; ...

2016-12-13

The astrophysical sources responsible for ultra high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) continue to be one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics. Here, we present a comprehensive search for correlations between high-energy (≳ 1 GeV) gamma-ray events from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and UHECRs (≳ 60 EeV) detected by the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatory. We perform two separate searches. First, we conduct a standard cross-correlation analysis between the arrival directions of 148 UHECRs and 360 gamma-ray sources in the Second Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL). Second, we search for a possible correlation between UHECR directionsmore » and unresolved Fermi-LAT gamma-ray emission. For the latter, we use three different methods: a stacking technique with both a model-dependent and model-independent background estimate, and a cross-correlation function analysis. We also test for statistically significant excesses in gamma rays from signal regions centered on Cen A and the Telescope Array hotspot. There was no significant correlation is found in any of the analyses performed, except a weak (≲ 2σ) hint of signal with the correlation function method on scales ~ 1°. Upper limits on the flux of possible power-law gamma-ray sources of UHECRs are derived.« less

High lateral resolution exploration using surface waves from noise records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chávez-García, Francisco José Yokoi, Toshiaki

2016-04-01

Determination of the shear-wave velocity structure at shallow depths is a constant necessity in engineering or environmental projects. Given the sensitivity of Rayleigh waves to shear-wave velocity, subsoil structure exploration using surface waves is frequently used. Methods such as the spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) or multi-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW) determine phase velocity dispersion from surface waves generated by an active source recorded on a line of geophones. Using MASW, it is important that the receiver array be as long as possible to increase the precision at low frequencies. However, this implies that possible lateral variations are discarded. Hayashi and Suzuki (2004) proposed a different way of stacking shot gathers to increase lateral resolution. They combined strategies used in MASW with the common mid-point (CMP) summation currently used in reflection seismology. In their common mid-point with cross-correlation method (CMPCC), they cross-correlate traces sharing CMP locations before determining phase velocity dispersion. Another recent approach to subsoil structure exploration is based on seismic interferometry. It has been shown that cross-correlation of a diffuse field, such as seismic noise, allows the estimation of the Green's Function between two receivers. Thus, a virtual-source seismic section may be constructed from the cross-correlation of seismic noise records obtained in a line of receivers. In this paper, we use the seismic interferometry method to process seismic noise records obtained in seismic refraction lines of 24 geophones, and analyse the results using CMPCC to increase the lateral resolution of the results. Cross-correlation of the noise records allows reconstructing seismic sections with virtual sources at each receiver location. The Rayleigh wave component of the Green's Functions is obtained with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Using CMPCC analysis of the virtual-source seismic lines, we are able to identify lateral variations of phase velocity inside the seismic line, and increase the lateral resolution compared with results of conventional analysis.

Slow Temporal Integration Enables Robust Neural Coding and Perception of a Cue to Sound Source Location.

PubMed

Brown, Andrew D; Tollin, Daniel J

2016-09-21

In mammals, localization of sound sources in azimuth depends on sensitivity to interaural differences in sound timing (ITD) and level (ILD). Paradoxically, while typical ILD-sensitive neurons of the auditory brainstem require millisecond synchrony of excitatory and inhibitory inputs for the encoding of ILDs, human and animal behavioral ILD sensitivity is robust to temporal stimulus degradations (e.g., interaural decorrelation due to reverberation), or, in humans, bilateral clinical device processing. Here we demonstrate that behavioral ILD sensitivity is only modestly degraded with even complete decorrelation of left- and right-ear signals, suggesting the existence of a highly integrative ILD-coding mechanism. Correspondingly, we find that a majority of auditory midbrain neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (of chinchilla) effectively encode ILDs despite complete decorrelation of left- and right-ear signals. We show that such responses can be accounted for by relatively long windows of bilateral excitatory-inhibitory interaction, which we explicitly measure using trains of narrowband clicks. Neural and behavioral data are compared with the outputs of a simple model of ILD processing with a single free parameter, the duration of excitatory-inhibitory interaction. Behavioral, neural, and modeling data collectively suggest that ILD sensitivity depends on binaural integration of excitation and inhibition within a ≳3 ms temporal window, significantly longer than observed in lower brainstem neurons. This relatively slow integration potentiates a unique role for the ILD system in spatial hearing that may be of particular importance when informative ITD cues are unavailable. In mammalian hearing, interaural differences in the timing (ITD) and level (ILD) of impinging sounds carry critical information about source location. However, natural sounds are often decorrelated between the ears by reverberation and background noise, degrading the fidelity of both ITD and ILD cues. Here we demonstrate that behavioral ILD sensitivity (in humans) and neural ILD sensitivity (in single neurons of the chinchilla auditory midbrain) remain robust under stimulus conditions that render ITD cues undetectable. This result can be explained by "slow" temporal integration arising from several-millisecond-long windows of excitatory-inhibitory interaction evident in midbrain, but not brainstem, neurons. Such integrative coding can account for the preservation of ILD sensitivity despite even extreme temporal degradations in ecological acoustic stimuli. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/369908-14$15.00/0.

Using cross correlations of turbulent flow-induced ambient vibrations to estimate the structural impulse response. Application to structural health monitoring.

PubMed

Sabra, Karim G; Winkel, Eric S; Bourgoyne, Dwayne A; Elbing, Brian R; Ceccio, Steve L; Perlin, Marc; Dowling, David R

2007-04-01

It has been demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that an estimate of the impulse response (or Green's function) between two receivers can be obtained from the cross correlation of diffuse wave fields at these two receivers in various environments and frequency ranges: ultrasonics, civil engineering, underwater acoustics, and seismology. This result provides a means for structural monitoring using ambient structure-borne noise only, without the use of active sources. This paper presents experimental results obtained from flow-induced random vibration data recorded by pairs of accelerometers mounted within a flat plate or hydrofoil in the test section of the U.S. Navy's William B. Morgan Large Cavitation Channel. The experiments were conducted at high Reynolds number (Re > 50 million) with the primary excitation source being turbulent boundary layer pressure fluctuations on the upper and lower surfaces of the plate or foil. Identical deterministic time signatures emerge from the noise cross-correlation function computed via robust and simple processing of noise measured on different days by a pair of passive sensors. These time signatures are used to determine and/or monitor the structural response of the test models from a few hundred to a few thousand Hertz.

Influence of electron correlation on the cross section and linear polarization of radiation emitted by electron-impact excitation of Ca+ and Ba+ ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhan-Bin

2018-04-01

Calculations of the electron-impact excitation (EIE) of singly charged Ca+ and Ba+ ions and subsequent de-excitation process are performed using a fully relativistic distorted wave (RDW) method. To resolve the discrepancy between previous theory and experiment, careful consideration is given to the generation of the target state wave-functions through the systematic inclusion of electron correlations. It is found that the electron correlation effects play a significant role on the cross section, while the effects on the linear polarization of the emitted radiation are relatively small. Good agreement between our result and experiment is obtained.

Fast Computation of the Two-Point Correlation Function in the Age of Big Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pellegrino, Andrew; Timlin, John

2018-01-01

We present a new code which quickly computes the two-point correlation function for large sets of astronomical data. This code combines the ease of use of Python with the speed of parallel shared libraries written in C. We include the capability to compute the auto- and cross-correlation statistics, and allow the user to calculate the three-dimensional and angular correlation functions. Additionally, the code automatically divides the user-provided sky masks into contiguous subsamples of similar size, using the HEALPix pixelization scheme, for the purpose of resampling. Errors are computed using jackknife and bootstrap resampling in a way that adds negligible extra runtime, even with many subsamples. We demonstrate comparable speed with other clustering codes, and code accuracy compared to known and analytic results.

Correlation between hypertension and cognitive function in elderly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitri, F. I.; Rambe, A. S.

2018-03-01

Hypertension and cognitive impairment are common disorders among elderly adults, and their prevalences tend to rise as the population ages. This study aimed to determine the correlation between hypertension and cognitive function in elderly. It was a cross-sectional study involving 62 elderly subjects. All subjects underwent physical and neurologic examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Indonesian Version (MoCA-INA) to assess cognitive function. This study included 62 subjects consisted of 26 males (41.9%) and 36 females (58.1%). There were 24 subjects (38.2%) with hypertension and 38 (61.3%) normal elderly subjects. The mean age was 65.71±4.49 years old. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics, total MoCA-INA scores, and scores based on cognitive domains between two groups, except for visuospatial and executive function (p=0.026). There was a significant correlation between hypertension and visuospatial and executive function (r=0.301, p=0.017). Hypertension is correlated with cognitive impairment mainly on visuospatial and executive function in elderly.

Index to FAA Office of Aviation Medicine Reports: 1961 through 1998.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

Mechanisms of action of the insecticide endrin. AD431299 63-17 Tobias, J. V: Application of a "relative" procedure to a problem in binaural beat ...selection, 90-13. ... auditory fatigue, 63-19, 65-1, 65-2. ... binaural beat perception, 63-17. ... cockpit noise intensities, 68-21, 68-25. ... ear...Communication ... ATC/pilot voice, 93-20, 95-15, 96-26, 98-17, 98-20. ... binaural beat perception, 63-17. ... earphone response, 63-7. ... interaural

Mechanisms for Adjusting Interaural Time Differences to Achieve Binaural Coincidence Detection

PubMed Central

Seidl, Armin H.; Rubel, Edwin W; Harris, David M.

2010-01-01

Understanding binaural perception requires detailed analyses of the neural circuitry responsible for the computation of interaural time differences (ITDs). In the avian brainstem, this circuit consists of internal axonal delay lines innervating an array of coincidence detector neurons that encode external ITDs. Nucleus magnocellularis (NM) neurons project to the dorsal dendritic field of the ipsilateral nucleus laminaris (NL) and to the ventral field of the contralateral NL. Contralateral-projecting axons form a delay line system along a band of NL neurons. Binaural acoustic signals in the form of phase-locked action potentials from NM cells arrive at NL and establish a topographic map of sound source location along the azimuth. These pathways are assumed to represent a circuit similar to the Jeffress model of sound localization, establishing a place code along an isofrequency contour of NL. Three-dimensional measurements of axon lengths reveal major discrepancies with the current model; the temporal offset based on conduction length alone makes encoding of physiological ITDs impossible. However, axon diameter and distances between Nodes of Ranvier also influence signal propagation times along an axon. Our measurements of these parameters reveal that diameter and internode distance can compensate for the temporal offset inferred from axon lengths alone. Together with other recent studies these unexpected results should inspire new thinking on the cellular biology, evolution and plasticity of the circuitry underlying low frequency sound localization in both birds and mammals. PMID:20053889

The Clinical Utility of Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials in the Diagnosis of Ménière’s Disease

PubMed Central

Maheu, Maxime; Alvarado-Umanzor, Jenny Marylin; Delcenserie, Audrey; Champoux, François

2017-01-01

Ménière’s disease (MD) is a condition that has been proposed over 150 years ago, which involves audiological and vestibular manifestations, such as aural fullness, tinnitus, vertigo, and fluctuating hearing thresholds. Over the past few years, many researchers have assessed different techniques to help diagnose this pathology. Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) is an electrophysiological method assessing the saccule (cVEMP) and the utricule (oVEMP). Its clinical utility in the diagnosis of multiple pathologies, such as superior canal dehiscence, has made this tool a common method used in otologic clinics. The main objective of the present review is to determine the current state of knowledge of the VEMP in the identification of MD, such as the type of stimuli, the frequency tuning, and the interaural asymmetry ratio of the cVEMP and the oVEMP. Results show that the type of stimulation, the frequency sensitivity shift and the interaural asymmetry ratio (IAR) could be useful tool to diagnose and describe the evolution of MD. It is, however, important to emphasize that further studies are needed to confirm the utility of VEMP in the identification of MD in its early stage, using either bone-conduction vibration or air-conduction stimulation, which is of clinical importance when it comes to early intervention. PMID:28861037

Interferometry correlations in central p+Pb collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bożek, Piotr; Bysiak, Sebastian

2018-01-01

We present results on interferometry correlations for pions emitted in central p+Pb collisions at √{s_{NN}}=5.02 TeV in a 3+1-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic model with initial conditions from the Glauber Monte Carlo model. The correlation function is calculated as a function of the pion pair rapidity. The extracted interferometry radii show a weak rapidity dependence, reflecting the lack of boost invariance of the pion distribution. A cross term between the out and long directions is found to be nonzero. The results obtained in the hydrodynamic model are in fair agreement with recent data of the ATLAS Collaboration.

2dFLenS and KiDS: determining source redshift distributions with cross-correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Andrew; Blake, Chris; Amon, Alexandra; Erben, Thomas; Glazebrook, Karl; Harnois-Deraps, Joachim; Heymans, Catherine; Hildebrandt, Hendrik; Joudaki, Shahab; Klaes, Dominik; Kuijken, Konrad; Lidman, Chris; Marin, Felipe A.; McFarland, John; Morrison, Christopher B.; Parkinson, David; Poole, Gregory B.; Radovich, Mario; Wolf, Christian

2017-03-01

We develop a statistical estimator to infer the redshift probability distribution of a photometric sample of galaxies from its angular cross-correlation in redshift bins with an overlapping spectroscopic sample. This estimator is a minimum-variance weighted quadratic function of the data: a quadratic estimator. This extends and modifies the methodology presented by McQuinn & White. The derived source redshift distribution is degenerate with the source galaxy bias, which must be constrained via additional assumptions. We apply this estimator to constrain source galaxy redshift distributions in the Kilo-Degree imaging survey through cross-correlation with the spectroscopic 2-degree Field Lensing Survey, presenting results first as a binned step-wise distribution in the range z < 0.8, and then building a continuous distribution using a Gaussian process model. We demonstrate the robustness of our methodology using mock catalogues constructed from N-body simulations, and comparisons with other techniques for inferring the redshift distribution.

Phylogenetic patterns and correlation of key structures for jumping: bone crests and cross-sectional areas of muscles in Leptodactylus (Anura, Leptodactylidae).

PubMed

Ponssa, María Laura; Fratani, Jéssica; Abdala, Virginia

2018-05-01

Anurans are characterized by their saltatory mode of locomotion, which is associated with a specific morphology. The coordinated action of the muscles and bones of the pelvic girdle is key to the transmission of the force of the hindlimbs to the axial skeleton during jumping. Two features are critical for optimal locomotory performance: the cross-sectional area of muscle and the bone crest attachment sites. The first character is a proxy of the force exerted by the muscle, whereas the crests are muscle attachments sites related to muscle force. The provisory relationship between these features has previously been identified and bone crest size can be used to infer the magnitude and, therefore, muscle force in fossils records. In this work, we explore the correlation between the cross-sectional area of essential muscles to the jumping mechanism (longissimus dorsi, extensor iliotibialis B, tenuissimus, puboischiofemoralis internus B, coccygeo-sacralis and coccygeo-iliacus) and the bone crests where these muscles are inserted (dorsal tubercle, dorsal crest and urostylar crest) in species of the genus Leptodactylus. This genus, along with other leptodactylids, exhibits a diversity of locomotor modes, including jumping, hopping, swimming and burrowing. We therefore analyzed the morphometric variation in the two features, cross-sectional area and bone crest area, expecting a correlation with different locomotor types. Our results showed: (i) a correlation between the urostylar crest and the cross-sectional area of the related muscles; (ii) that the bone crest surface area of urostyle and ilium and the cross-sectional area of the corresponding muscles can be utilized to infer locomotor faculties in leptodactylid frogs; and (iii) that the evolution of both characters demonstrates a general tendency from lower values in leptodactylid ancestors to higher values in the Leptodactylus genus. The results attest to the importance of the comparison of current ecological and phylogenetic analogues as they allow us to infer functionality and behavior in fossil and extant groups based on skeletal evidence. Phylogenetic patterns in character evolution and their correlation with locomotory types could imply that functional restrictions are also inherited in leptodactylid. © 2018 Anatomical Society.

Statistical Features of the Thermal Neutron Capture Cross Sections

DOE PAGES

Hussein, M. S.; Carlson, B. V.; Kerman, A. K.

2016-02-01

In this paper, we discuss the existence of huge thermal neutron capture cross sections in several nuclei. The values of the cross sections are several orders of magnitude bigger than expected at these very low energies. We lend support to the idea that this phenomenon is random in nature and is similar to what we have learned from the study of parity violation in the actinide region. The idea of statistical doorways is advanced as a unified concept in the delineation of large numbers in the nuclear world. The average number of maxima per unit mass, < n A >more » in the capture cross section is calculated and related to the underlying cross section correlation function and found to be < n A > = 3/(π√2γ A), where γ A is a characteristic mass correlation width which designates the degree of remnant coherence in the system. Finally, we trace this coherence to nucleosynthesis which produced the nuclei whose neutron capture cross sections are considered here.« less

Statistical Features of the Thermal Neutron Capture Cross Sections

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hussein, M. S.; Carlson, B. V.; Kerman, A. K.

In this paper, we discuss the existence of huge thermal neutron capture cross sections in several nuclei. The values of the cross sections are several orders of magnitude bigger than expected at these very low energies. We lend support to the idea that this phenomenon is random in nature and is similar to what we have learned from the study of parity violation in the actinide region. The idea of statistical doorways is advanced as a unified concept in the delineation of large numbers in the nuclear world. The average number of maxima per unit mass, < n A >more » in the capture cross section is calculated and related to the underlying cross section correlation function and found to be < n A > = 3/(π√2γ A), where γ A is a characteristic mass correlation width which designates the degree of remnant coherence in the system. Finally, we trace this coherence to nucleosynthesis which produced the nuclei whose neutron capture cross sections are considered here.« less

An extension of stochastic hierarchy equations of motion for the equilibrium correlation functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ke, Yaling; Zhao, Yi

2017-06-01

A traditional stochastic hierarchy equations of motion method is extended into the correlated real-time and imaginary-time propagations, in this paper, for its applications in calculating the equilibrium correlation functions. The central idea is based on a combined employment of stochastic unravelling and hierarchical techniques for the temperature-dependent and temperature-free parts of the influence functional, respectively, in the path integral formalism of the open quantum systems coupled to a harmonic bath. The feasibility and validity of the proposed method are justified in the emission spectra of homodimer compared to those obtained through the deterministic hierarchy equations of motion. Besides, it is interesting to find that the complex noises generated from a small portion of real-time and imaginary-time cross terms can be safely dropped to produce the stable and accurate position and flux correlation functions in a broad parameter regime.

Measurement of the inclusive jet cross-section in pp collisions at $$\\sqrt{s}=2.76\\ \\mbox{TeV}$$ and comparison to the inclusive jet cross-section at $$\\sqrt{s} =7\\ \\mbox{TeV}$$ using the ATLAS detector

DOE PAGES

Aad, G.; Abajyan, T.; Abbott, B.; ...

2013-08-03

The inclusive jet cross-section has been measured in proton–proton collisions atmore » $$\\sqrt{s}=2.76\\ \\mbox{TeV}$$ in a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.20 pb -1 collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2011. Jets are identified using the anti-k t algorithm with two radius parameters of 0.4 and 0.6. The inclusive jet double-differential cross-section is presented as a function of the jet transverse momentum p T and jet rapidity y, covering a range of 20 ≤ p T < 430 GeV and |y| < 4.4. The ratio of the cross-section to the inclusive jet cross-section measurement at $$\\sqrt{s} =7\\ \\mbox{TeV}$$, published by the ATLAS Collaboration, is calculated as a function of both transverse momentum and the dimensionless quantity x T = 2p T / √s, in bins of jet rapidity. The systematic uncertainties on the ratios are significantly reduced due to the cancellation of correlated uncertainties in the two measurements. Results are compared to the prediction from next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations corrected for non-perturbative effects, and next-to-leading order Monte Carlo simulation. Furthermore, the ATLAS jet cross-section measurements at $$\\sqrt{s}=2.76\\ \\mbox{TeV}$$ and $$\\sqrt{s} =7\\ \\mbox{TeV}$$ are analysed within a framework of next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations to determine parton distribution functions of the proton, taking into account the correlations between the measurements.« less

Inertial processing of vestibulo-ocular signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hess, B. J.; Angelaki, D. E.

1999-01-01

New evidence for a central resolution of gravito-inertial signals has been recently obtained by analyzing the properties of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in response to combined lateral translations and roll tilts of the head. It is found that the VOR generates robust compensatory horizontal eye movements independent of whether or not the interaural translatory acceleration component is canceled out by a gravitational acceleration component due to simultaneous roll-tilt. This response property of the VOR depends on functional semicircular canals, suggesting that the brain uses both otolith and semicircular canal signals to estimate head motion relative to inertial space. Vestibular information about dynamic head attitude relative to gravity is the basis for computing head (and body) angular velocity relative to inertial space. Available evidence suggests that the inertial vestibular system controls both head attitude and velocity with respect to a gravity-centered reference frame. The basic computational principles underlying the inertial processing of otolith and semicircular canal afferent signals are outlined.

High-redshift Luminous Red Galaxies clustering analysis in SDSS Stripe82

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikoloudakis, N.

2012-01-01

We have measured the clustering of Luminous Red Galaxies in Stripe 82 using the angular correlation function. We have selected 130000 LRGs via colour cuts in R-I:I-K with the K band data coming from UKIDSS LAS. We have used the cross-correlation technique of Newman (2008) to establish the redshift distribution of the LRGs as a function of colour cut, cross-correlating the LRGs with SDSS QSOs, DEEP2 and VVDS galaxies. We also used the AUS LRG redshift survey to establish the n(z) at z<1. We then compare the w(theta) results to the results of Sawangwit et al (2010) from 3 samples of SDSS LRGs at lower redshift to measure the dependence of clustering on redshift and LRG luminosity. We have compared the results for luminosity-matched LRG samples with simple evolutionary models, such as those expected from long-lived, passive models for LRGs and for the HOD models of Wake et al (2009) and find that the long-lived model may be a poorer fit than at lower redshifts. We find some evidence for evolution in the LRG correlation function slope in that the 2-halo term appears to flatten in slope at z>1. We present arguments that this is not caused by systematics.

Signatures of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference at microwave frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woolley, M. J.; Lang, C.; Eichler, C.; Wallraff, A.; Blais, A.

2013-10-01

Two-photon quantum interference at a beam splitter, commonly known as Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, is a fundamental demonstration of the quantum mechanical nature of electromagnetic fields and a key component of various quantum information processing protocols. The phenomenon was recently demonstrated with microwave-frequency photons by Lang et al (2013 Nature Phys. 9 345-8). This experiment employed circuit QED systems as sources of microwave photons, and was based on the measurement of second-order cross-correlation and auto-correlation functions of the microwave fields at the outputs of the beam splitter using linear detectors. Here we present the calculation of these correlation functions for the cases of inputs corresponding to: (i) trains of pulsed Gaussian or Lorentzian single microwave photons and (ii) resonant fluorescent microwave fields from continuously driven circuit QED systems. In both cases, the signature of two-photon quantum interference is a suppression of the second-order cross-correlation function for small delays. The experiment described in Lang et al (2013) was performed with trains of Lorentzian single photons, and very good agreement with experimental data is obtained. The results are relevant not only to interference experiments using circuit QED systems, but any such setup with highly controllable sources and time-resolved detection.

Change in the contractile behavior of muscle fibers in subjects with primary muscle dysfunction.

PubMed

Back, Claudio Gregório Nuernberg; Benedini-Elias, Priscila C O; Mattiello, Stela M; Sobreira, Claudia; Martinez, Edson Z; Mattiello-Sverzut, Ana Claudia

2013-01-01

The mechanical and metabolic characteristics of skeletal muscle fibers can interfere with muscle contractile performance in healthy subjects. Few studies have investigated the degree of association between muscle function and muscle fiber morphology in patients with myopathy. A biopsy was obtained from the left biceps brachii muscle of 12 subjects with myopathic disorders. The relative cross-sectional area of type 2 fibers and their subtypes was determined by the ATPase technique. Relative torque (RT) was calculated by dividing isokinetic elbow flexion peak torque (PT) values (90 and 180° s-1) by isometric PT values. Correlations were analyzed using Spearman's coefficient (r). The relative cross-sectional area of type 2b fibers was positively correlated with RT90 (r = 0.71, P = 0.009) and RT180 (r = 0.73, P = 0.007). The relative cross-sectional area of type 2a fibers showed a moderate and negative correlation with RT180 (r = -0.62, P = 0.03) and a low correlation with RT90 (r = -0.57, P = 0.05). In contrast to healthy subjects, patients with myopathy presented changes in the contractile behavior of type 2a fibers and compensatory adaptations in type 2b fibers. The results suggest that RT in combination with morphometric parameters provides data regarding muscle function in patients with myopathic disorders and can contribute to the establishment of therapeutic exercises.

A New Methodology of Spatial Cross-Correlation Analysis

PubMed Central

Chen, Yanguang

2015-01-01

Spatial correlation modeling comprises both spatial autocorrelation and spatial cross-correlation processes. The spatial autocorrelation theory has been well-developed. It is necessary to advance the method of spatial cross-correlation analysis to supplement the autocorrelation analysis. This paper presents a set of models and analytical procedures for spatial cross-correlation analysis. By analogy with Moran’s index newly expressed in a spatial quadratic form, a theoretical framework is derived for geographical cross-correlation modeling. First, two sets of spatial cross-correlation coefficients are defined, including a global spatial cross-correlation coefficient and local spatial cross-correlation coefficients. Second, a pair of scatterplots of spatial cross-correlation is proposed, and the plots can be used to visually reveal the causality behind spatial systems. Based on the global cross-correlation coefficient, Pearson’s correlation coefficient can be decomposed into two parts: direct correlation (partial correlation) and indirect correlation (spatial cross-correlation). As an example, the methodology is applied to the relationships between China’s urbanization and economic development to illustrate how to model spatial cross-correlation phenomena. This study is an introduction to developing the theory of spatial cross-correlation, and future geographical spatial analysis might benefit from these models and indexes. PMID:25993120

A new methodology of spatial cross-correlation analysis.

PubMed

Chen, Yanguang

2015-01-01

Spatial correlation modeling comprises both spatial autocorrelation and spatial cross-correlation processes. The spatial autocorrelation theory has been well-developed. It is necessary to advance the method of spatial cross-correlation analysis to supplement the autocorrelation analysis. This paper presents a set of models and analytical procedures for spatial cross-correlation analysis. By analogy with Moran's index newly expressed in a spatial quadratic form, a theoretical framework is derived for geographical cross-correlation modeling. First, two sets of spatial cross-correlation coefficients are defined, including a global spatial cross-correlation coefficient and local spatial cross-correlation coefficients. Second, a pair of scatterplots of spatial cross-correlation is proposed, and the plots can be used to visually reveal the causality behind spatial systems. Based on the global cross-correlation coefficient, Pearson's correlation coefficient can be decomposed into two parts: direct correlation (partial correlation) and indirect correlation (spatial cross-correlation). As an example, the methodology is applied to the relationships between China's urbanization and economic development to illustrate how to model spatial cross-correlation phenomena. This study is an introduction to developing the theory of spatial cross-correlation, and future geographical spatial analysis might benefit from these models and indexes.

Neuropsychological Correlates of Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Nestor, Paul G.; Kubicki, Marek; Gurrera, Ronald J.; Niznikiewicz, Margaret; Frumin, Melissa; McCarley, Robert W.; Shenton, Martha E.

2009-01-01

Patients with schizophrenia (n = 41) and healthy comparison participants (n = 46) completed neuropsychological measures of intelligence, memory, and executive function. A subset of each group also completed magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies (fractional anisotropy and cross-sectional area) of the uncinate fasciculus (UF) and cingulate bundle (CB). Patients with schizophrenia showed reduced levels of functioning across all neuropsychological measures. In addition, selective neuropsychological–DTI relationships emerged. Among patients but not controls, lower levels of declarative–episodic verbal memory correlated with reduced left UF, whereas executive function errors related to performance monitoring correlated with reduced left CB. The data suggested abnormal DTI patterns linking declarative–episodic verbal memory deficits to the left UF and executive function deficits to the left CB among patients with schizophrenia. PMID:15506830

EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth (ENERGY) project: Design and methodology of the ENERGY cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

van Stralen, Maartje M; te Velde, Saskia J; Singh, Amika S; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Martens, Marloes K; van der Sluis, Maria; Manios, Yannis; Grammatikaki, Evangelia; Chinapaw, Mai J M; Maes, Lea; Bere, Elling; Jensen, Jorgen; Moreno, Luis; Jan, Nataša; Molnár, Dénes; Moore, Helen; Brug, Johannes

2011-01-31

Obesity treatment is by large ineffective long term, and more emphasis on the prevention of excessive weight gain in childhood and adolescence is warranted. To inform energy balance related behaviour (EBRB) change interventions, insight in the potential personal, family and school environmental correlates of these behaviours is needed. Studies on such multilevel correlates of EBRB among schoolchildren in Europe are lacking. The ENERGY survey aims to (1) provide up-to-date prevalence rates of measured overweight, obesity, self-reported engagement in EBRBs, and objective accelerometer-based assessment of physical activity and sedentary behaviour and blood-sample biomarkers of metabolic function in countries in different regions of Europe, (2) to identify personal, family and school environmental correlates of these EBRBs. This paper describes the design, methodology and protocol of the survey. A school-based cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2010 in seven different European countries; Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain. The survey included measurements of anthropometrics, child, parent and school-staff questionnaires, and school observations to measure and assess outcomes (i.e. height, weight, and waist circumference), EBRBs and potential personal, family and school environmental correlates of these behaviours including the social-cultural, physical, political, and economic environmental factors. In addition, a selection of countries conducted accelerometer measurements to objectively assess physical activity and sedentary behaviour, and collected blood samples to assess several biomarkers of metabolic function. The ENERGY survey is a comprehensive cross-sectional study measuring anthropometrics and biomarkers as well as assessing a range of EBRBs and their potential correlates at the personal, family and school level, among 10-12 year old children in seven European countries. This study will result in a unique dataset, enabling cross country comparisons in overweight, obesity, risk behaviours for these conditions as well as the correlates of engagement in these risk behaviours.

Coherency of seismic noise, Green functions and site effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prieto, G. A.; Beroza, G. C.

2007-12-01

The newly rediscovered methodology of cross correlating seismic noise (or seismic coda) to retrieve the Green function takes advantage of the coherency of the signals across a set of stations. Only coherent signals are expected to emerge after stacking over a long enough time. Cross-correlation has a significant disadvantage for this purpose, in that the Green function recovered is convolved with the source-time function of the noise source. For seismic waves, this can mean that the microseism peak dominates the signal. We show how the use of the transfer function between sensors provides a better resolved Green function (after inverse Fourier transform), because the deconvolution process removes the effect of the noise source-time function. In addition, we compute the coherence of the seismic noise as a function of frequency and distance, providing information about the effective frequency band over which Green function retrieval is possible. The coherence may also be used in resolution analysis for time reversal as a constraint on the de-coherence length (the distance between sensors over which the signals become uncorrelated). We use the information from the transfer function and the coherence to examine wave propagation effects (attenuation and site effects) for closely spaced stations compared to a reference station.

Compact two-electron wave function for bond dissociation and Van der Waals interactions: a natural amplitude assessment.

PubMed

Giesbertz, Klaas J H; van Leeuwen, Robert

2014-05-14

Electron correlations in molecules can be divided in short range dynamical correlations, long range Van der Waals type interactions, and near degeneracy static correlations. In this work, we analyze for a one-dimensional model of a two-electron system how these three types of correlations can be incorporated in a simple wave function of restricted functional form consisting of an orbital product multiplied by a single correlation function f (r12) depending on the interelectronic distance r12. Since the three types of correlations mentioned lead to different signatures in terms of the natural orbital (NO) amplitudes in two-electron systems, we make an analysis of the wave function in terms of the NO amplitudes for a model system of a diatomic molecule. In our numerical implementation, we fully optimize the orbitals and the correlation function on a spatial grid without restrictions on their functional form. Due to this particular form of the wave function, we can prove that none of the amplitudes vanishes and moreover that it displays a distinct sign pattern and a series of avoided crossings as a function of the bond distance in agreement with the exact solution. This shows that the wave function ansatz correctly incorporates the long range Van der Waals interactions. We further show that the approximate wave function gives an excellent binding curve and is able to describe static correlations. We show that in order to do this the correlation function f (r12) needs to diverge for large r12 at large internuclear distances while for shorter bond distances it increases as a function of r12 to a maximum value after which it decays exponentially. We further give a physical interpretation of this behavior.

Simultaneous regularization method for the determination of radius distributions from experimental multiangle correlation functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buttgereit, R.; Roths, T.; Honerkamp, J.; Aberle, L. B.

2001-10-01

Dynamic light scattering experiments have become a powerful tool in order to investigate the dynamical properties of complex fluids. In many applications in both soft matter research and industry so-called ``real world'' systems are subject of great interest. Here, the dilution of the investigated system often cannot be changed without getting measurement artifacts, so that one often has to deal with highly concentrated and turbid media. The investigation of such systems requires techniques that suppress the influence of multiple scattering, e.g., cross correlation techniques. However, measurements at turbid as well as highly diluted media lead to data with low signal-to-noise ratio, which complicates data analysis and leads to unreliable results. In this article a multiangle regularization method is discussed, which copes with the difficulties arising from such samples and enhances enormously the quality of the estimated solution. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of this multiangle regularization method we applied it to cross correlation functions measured at highly turbid samples.

A new technique to determine the correlation between the QT interval and heart-rate for control and SIDS babies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sadeh, D.; Shannon, D. C.; Abboud, S.; Akselrod, S.; Cohen, R. J.

1987-01-01

The ability of the autonomic nervous system to alter the QT interval in response to heart rate changes is essential to cardiovascular control. An accurate way to determine the relation between QT intervals and their corresponding RR intervals is described. A computer algorithm measures the RR intervals using digital filtering and cross-correlating the QRS sections of consecutive waveforms. The QT intervals is calculated by choosing a section of, the ECG that includes the T wave and cross-correlating it with all the consecutive T waves. At least 4000 pairs of QT-RR intervals are computed for each subject and a best fit correlation function determines the relations between the QT and RR intervals. This technique enables to establish a precise correlation between RR and QT in order to distinguish between control and SIDS babies.

The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey. Measuring the growth rate of structure around cosmic voids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawken, A. J.; Granett, B. R.; Iovino, A.; Guzzo, L.; Peacock, J. A.; de la Torre, S.; Garilli, B.; Bolzonella, M.; Scodeggio, M.; Abbas, U.; Adami, C.; Bottini, D.; Cappi, A.; Cucciati, O.; Davidzon, I.; Fritz, A.; Franzetti, P.; Krywult, J.; Le Brun, V.; Le Fèvre, O.; Maccagni, D.; Małek, K.; Marulli, F.; Polletta, M.; Pollo, A.; Tasca, L. A. M.; Tojeiro, R.; Vergani, D.; Zanichelli, A.; Arnouts, S.; Bel, J.; Branchini, E.; De Lucia, G.; Ilbert, O.; Moscardini, L.; Percival, W. J.

2017-11-01

We aim to develop a novel methodology for measuring thegrowth rate of structure around cosmic voids. We identified voids in the completed VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS), using an algorithm based on searching for empty spheres. We measured the cross-correlation between the centres of voids and the complete galaxy catalogue. The cross-correlation function exhibits a clear anisotropy in both VIPERS fields (W1 and W4), which is characteristic of linear redshift space distortions. By measuring the projected cross-correlation and then de-projecting it we are able to estimate the un-distorted cross-correlation function. We propose that given a sufficiently well-measured cross-correlation function one should be able to measure the linear growth rate of structure by applying a simple linear Gaussian streaming model for the redshift space distortions (RSD). Our study of voids in 306 mock galaxy catalogues mimicking the VIPERS fields suggests that VIPERS is capable of measuring β, the ratio of the linear growth rate to the bias, with an error of around 25%. Applying our method to the VIPERS data, we find a value for the redshift space distortion parameter, β = 0.423-0.108+0.104 which, given the bias of the galaxy population we use, gives a linear growth rate of f σ8 = 0.296-0.078+0.075 at z = 0.727. These results are consistent with values observed in parallel VIPERS analyses that use standard techniques. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Cerro Paranal, Chile, using the Very Large Telescope under programs 182.A-0886 and partly 070.A-9007. Also based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at TERAPIX and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS.

Cross-Linking of a CD4-Mimetic Miniprotein with HIV-1 Env gp140 Alters Kinetics and Specificities of Antibody Responses against HIV-1 Env in Macaques

PubMed Central

Bogers, Willy M.; Yates, Nicole L.; Ferrari, Guido; Dey, Antu K.; Williams, William T.; Jaeger, Frederick H.; Wiehe, Kevin; Sawant, Sheetal; Alam, S. Munir; LaBranche, Celia C.; Montefiori, David C.; Martin, Loic; Srivastava, Indresh; Heeney, Jonathan; Barnett, Susan W.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Evaluation of the epitope specificities, locations (systemic or mucosal), and effector functions of antibodies elicited by novel HIV-1 immunogens engineered to improve exposure of specific epitopes is critical for HIV-1 vaccine development. Utilizing an array of humoral assays, we evaluated the magnitudes, epitope specificities, avidities, and functions of systemic and mucosal immune responses elicited by a vaccine regimen containing Env cross-linked to a CD4-mimetic miniprotein (gp140-M64U1) in rhesus macaques. Cross-linking of gp140 Env to M64U1 resulted in earlier increases of both the magnitude and avidity of the IgG binding response than those with Env protein alone. Notably, IgG binding responses at an early time point correlated with antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) function at the peak immunity time point, which was higher for the cross-linked Env group than for the Env group. In addition, the cross-linked Env group developed higher IgG responses against a linear epitope in the gp120 C1 region of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. These data demonstrate that structural modification of the HIV-1 envelope immunogen by cross-linking of gp140 with the CD4-mimetic M64U1 elicited an earlier increase of binding antibody responses and altered the specificity of the IgG responses, correlating with the rise of subsequent antibody-mediated antiviral functions. IMPORTANCE The development of an efficacious HIV-1 vaccine remains a global priority to prevent new cases of HIV-1 infection. Of the six HIV-1 efficacy trials to date, only one has demonstrated partial efficacy, and immune correlate analysis of that trial revealed a role for binding antibodies and antibody Fc-mediated effector functions. New HIV-1 envelope immunogens are being engineered to selectively expose the most vulnerable and conserved sites on the HIV-1 envelope, with the goal of eliciting antiviral antibodies. Evaluation of the humoral responses elicited by these novel immunogen designs in nonhuman primates is critical for understanding how to improve upon immunogen design to inform further testing in human clinical trials. Our results demonstrate that structural modifications of Env that aim to mimic the CD4-bound conformation can result in earlier antibody elicitation, altered epitope specificity, and increased antiviral function postimmunization. PMID:28490585

Relative velocity change measurement based on seismic noise analysis in exploration geophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corciulo, M.; Roux, P.; Campillo, M.; Dubuq, D.

2011-12-01

Passive monitoring techniques based on noise cross-correlation analysis are still debated in exploration geophysics even if recent studies showed impressive performance in seismology at larger scale. Time evolution of complex geological structure using noise data includes localization of noise sources and measurement of relative velocity variations. Monitoring relative velocity variations only requires the measurement of phase shifts of seismic noise cross-correlation functions computed for successive time recordings. The existing algorithms, such as the Stretching and the Doublet, classically need great efforts in terms of computation time, making them not practical when continuous dataset on dense arrays are acquired. We present here an innovative technique for passive monitoring based on the measure of the instantaneous phase of noise-correlated signals. The Instantaneous Phase Variation (IPV) technique aims at cumulating the advantages of the Stretching and Doublet methods while proposing a faster measurement of the relative velocity change. The IPV takes advantage of the Hilbert transform to compute in the time domain the phase difference between two noise correlation functions. The relative velocity variation is measured through the slope of the linear regression of the phase difference curve as a function of correlation time. The large amount of noise correlation functions, classically available at exploration scale on dense arrays, allows for a statistical analysis that further improves the precision of the estimation of the velocity change. In this work, numerical tests first aim at comparing the IPV performance to the Stretching and Doublet techniques in terms of accuracy, robustness and computation time. Then experimental results are presented using a seismic noise dataset with five days of continuous recording on 397 geophones spread on a ~1 km-squared area.

Pair correlation functions and the wavevector-dependent surface tension in a simple density functional treatment of the liquid-vapour interface.

PubMed

Parry, A O; Rascón, C; Willis, G; Evans, R

2014-09-03

We study the density-density correlation function G(r, r') in the interfacial region of a fluid (or Ising-like magnet) with short-ranged interactions using square gradient density functional theory. Adopting a simple double parabola approximation for the bulk free-energy density, we first show that the parallel Fourier transform G(z, z'; q) and local structure factor S(z; q) separate into bulk and excess contributions. We attempt to account for both contributions by deriving an interfacial Hamiltonian, characterised by a wavevector dependent surface tension σ(q), and then reconstructing density correlations from correlations in the interface position. We show that the standard crossing criterion identification of the interface, as a surface of fixed density (or magnetization), does not explain the separation of G(z, z'; q) and the form of the excess contribution. We propose an alternative definition of the interface position based on the properties of correlations between points that 'float' with the surface and show that this describes the full q and z dependence of the excess contributions to both G and S. However, neither the 'crossing-criterion' nor the new 'floating interface' definition of σ(q) are quantities directly measurable from the total structure factor S(tot)(q) which contains additional q dependence arising from the non-local relation between fluctuations in the interfacial position and local density. Since it is the total structure factor that is measured experimentally or in simulations, our results have repercussions for earlier attempts to extract and interpret σ(q).

Binaural speech processing in individuals with auditory neuropathy.

PubMed

Rance, G; Ryan, M M; Carew, P; Corben, L A; Yiu, E; Tan, J; Delatycki, M B

2012-12-13

Auditory neuropathy disrupts the neural representation of sound and may therefore impair processes contingent upon inter-aural integration. The aims of this study were to investigate binaural auditory processing in individuals with axonal (Friedreich ataxia) and demyelinating (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A) auditory neuropathy and to evaluate the relationship between the degree of auditory deficit and overall clinical severity in patients with neuropathic disorders. Twenty-three subjects with genetically confirmed Friedreich ataxia and 12 subjects with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A underwent psychophysical evaluation of basic auditory processing (intensity discrimination/temporal resolution) and binaural speech perception assessment using the Listening in Spatialized Noise test. Age, gender and hearing-level-matched controls were also tested. Speech perception in noise for individuals with auditory neuropathy was abnormal for each listening condition, but was particularly affected in circumstances where binaural processing might have improved perception through spatial segregation. Ability to use spatial cues was correlated with temporal resolution suggesting that the binaural-processing deficit was the result of disordered representation of timing cues in the left and right auditory nerves. Spatial processing was also related to overall disease severity (as measured by the Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy Score) suggesting that the degree of neural dysfunction in the auditory system accurately reflects generalized neuropathic changes. Measures of binaural speech processing show promise for application in the neurology clinic. In individuals with auditory neuropathy due to both axonal and demyelinating mechanisms the assessment provides a measure of functional hearing ability, a biomarker capable of tracking the natural history of progressive disease and a potential means of evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Joint cross-correlation analysis reveals complex, time-dependent functional relationship between cortical neurons and arm electromyograms

PubMed Central

Zhuang, Katie Z.; Lebedev, Mikhail A.

2014-01-01

Correlation between cortical activity and electromyographic (EMG) activity of limb muscles has long been a subject of neurophysiological studies, especially in terms of corticospinal connectivity. Interest in this issue has recently increased due to the development of brain-machine interfaces with output signals that mimic muscle force. For this study, three monkeys were implanted with multielectrode arrays in multiple cortical areas. One monkey performed self-timed touch pad presses, whereas the other two executed arm reaching movements. We analyzed the dynamic relationship between cortical neuronal activity and arm EMGs using a joint cross-correlation (JCC) analysis that evaluated trial-by-trial correlation as a function of time intervals within a trial. JCCs revealed transient correlations between the EMGs of multiple muscles and neural activity in motor, premotor and somatosensory cortical areas. Matching results were obtained using spike-triggered averages corrected by subtracting trial-shuffled data. Compared with spike-triggered averages, JCCs more readily revealed dynamic changes in cortico-EMG correlations. JCCs showed that correlation peaks often sharpened around movement times and broadened during delay intervals. Furthermore, JCC patterns were directionally selective for the arm-reaching task. We propose that such highly dynamic, task-dependent and distributed relationships between cortical activity and EMGs should be taken into consideration for future brain-machine interfaces that generate EMG-like signals. PMID:25210153

Degradation of Auditory Localization Performance Due to Helmet Ear Coverage: The Effects of Normal Acoustic Reverberation

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-01

Therefore, it’s safe to assume that most large errors are due to front-back confusions. Front-back confusions occur in part because the binaural ...two ear) cues that dominate sound localization do not distinguish the front and rear hemispheres. The two binaural cues relied on are interaural...121 (5), 3094–3094. Shinn-Cunningham, B. G.; Kopčo, N.; Martin, T. J. Localizing Nearby Sound Sources in a Classroom: Binaural Room Impulse

Factors Associated with ADL and IADL Dependency among Korean Centenarians: Reaching the 100-Year-Old Life Transition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hyunjee; Lee, Taeyong; Lee, Sokgoo; Kim, Keonyeop; Lee, Sungkook; Kam, Sin; Ahn, Sangnam; Cho, Jinmyoung; Ory, Marcia G.

2012-01-01

This study aims to examine the functional status of Korean centenarians, who have crossed the relatively rare but increasingly common life transition of living for a century. As functional health is one of the essential components of healthy aging, our primary objective is to identify the correlates of two aspects of functioning, activities of…

Network Characteristics of Collective Chemosensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Bo; Duclos, Guillaume; Stone, Howard A.

2013-04-01

The collective chemosensing of nonexcitable mammalian cells involves a biochemical network that features gap junction communications and heterogeneous single cell activities. To understand the integrated multicellular chemosensing, we study the calcium dynamics of micropatterned fibroblast cell colonies in response to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) stimulation. We find that the cross-correlation function between the responses of individual cells decays with topological distance as a power law for large colonies and much faster for smaller colonies. Furthermore, the strongly correlated cell pairs tend to form clusters and are more likely to exceed the percolation threshold. At a given topological distance, the cross-correlations exhibit characteristics of Poisson distributions, which allows us to estimate the unitary conductance of a single gap junction which is in good agreement with direct experimental measurements.

Functional brain imaging and the induction of traumatic recall: a cross-correlational review between neuroimaging and hypnosis.

PubMed

Vermetten, Eric; Douglas Bremner, J

2004-07-01

The behavioral and psychophysiological alterations during recall in patients with trauma disorders often resemble phenomena that are seen in hypnosis. In studies of emotional recall as well as in neuroimaging studies of hypnotic processes similar brain structures are involved: thalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex. This paper focuses on cross-correlations in traumatic recall and hypnotic responses and reviews correlations between the involvement of brain structures in traumatic recall and processes that are involved in hypnotic responsiveness. To further improve uniformity of results of brain imaging specifically for traumatic recall studies, attention is needed for standardization of hypnotic variables, isolation of the emotional process of interest (state),and assessment of trait-related differences.

Wear Detection of Drill Bit by Image-based Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sukeri, Maziyah; Zulhilmi Paiz Ismadi, Mohd; Rahim Othman, Abdul; Kamaruddin, Shahrul

2018-03-01

Image processing for computer vision function plays an essential aspect in the manufacturing industries for the tool condition monitoring. This study proposes a dependable direct measurement method to measure the tool wear using image-based analysis. Segmentation and thresholding technique were used as the means to filter and convert the colour image to binary datasets. Then, the edge detection method was applied to characterize the edge of the drill bit. By using cross-correlation method, the edges of original and worn drill bits were correlated to each other. Cross-correlation graphs were able to detect the difference of the worn edge despite small difference between the graphs. Future development will focus on quantifying the worn profile as well as enhancing the sensitivity of the technique.

Bringing the cross-correlation method up to date

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Statler, Thomas

1995-01-01

The cross-correlation (XC) method of Tonry & Davis (1979, AJ, 84, 1511) is generalized to arbitrary parametrized line profiles. In the new algorithm the correlation function itself, rather than the observed galaxy spectrum, is fitted by the model line profile: this removes much of the complication in the error analysis caused by template mismatch. Like the Fourier correlation quotient (FCQ) method of Bender (1990, A&A, 229, 441), the inferred line profiles are, up to a normalization constant, independent of template mismatch as long as there are no blended lines. The standard reduced chi(exp 2) is a good measure of the fit of the inferred velocity distribution, largely decoupled from the fit of the spectral template. The updated XC method performs as well as other recently developed methods, with the added virtue of conceptual simplicity.

An asymptotic theory for cross-correlation between auto-correlated sequences and its application on neuroimaging data.

PubMed

Zhou, Yunyi; Tao, Chenyang; Lu, Wenlian; Feng, Jianfeng

2018-04-20

Functional connectivity is among the most important tools to study brain. The correlation coefficient, between time series of different brain areas, is the most popular method to quantify functional connectivity. Correlation coefficient in practical use assumes the data to be temporally independent. However, the time series data of brain can manifest significant temporal auto-correlation. A widely applicable method is proposed for correcting temporal auto-correlation. We considered two types of time series models: (1) auto-regressive-moving-average model, (2) nonlinear dynamical system model with noisy fluctuations, and derived their respective asymptotic distributions of correlation coefficient. These two types of models are most commonly used in neuroscience studies. We show the respective asymptotic distributions share a unified expression. We have verified the validity of our method, and shown our method exhibited sufficient statistical power for detecting true correlation on numerical experiments. Employing our method on real dataset yields more robust functional network and higher classification accuracy than conventional methods. Our method robustly controls the type I error while maintaining sufficient statistical power for detecting true correlation in numerical experiments, where existing methods measuring association (linear and nonlinear) fail. In this work, we proposed a widely applicable approach for correcting the effect of temporal auto-correlation on functional connectivity. Empirical results favor the use of our method in functional network analysis. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Pathogen prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism.

PubMed

Fincher, Corey L; Thornhill, Randy; Murray, Damian R; Schaller, Mark

2008-06-07

Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour contingent upon the relative presence of pathogens in the local ecology. We focus specifically on one fundamental cultural variable: differences in individualistic versus collectivist values. We suggest that specific behavioural manifestations of collectivism (e.g. ethnocentrism, conformity) can inhibit the transmission of pathogens; and so we hypothesize that collectivism (compared with individualism) will more often characterize cultures in regions that have historically had higher prevalence of pathogens. Drawing on epidemiological data and the findings of worldwide cross-national surveys of individualism/collectivism, our results support this hypothesis: the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural indicators of collectivism and a strong negative correlation with individualism. The correlations remain significant even when controlling for potential confounding variables. These results help to explain the origin of a paradigmatic cross-cultural difference, and reveal previously undocumented consequences of pathogenic diseases on the variable nature of human societies.

Modeling CMB lensing cross correlations with CLEFT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Modi, Chirag; White, Martin; Vlah, Zvonimir, E-mail: modichirag@berkeley.edu, E-mail: mwhite@berkeley.edu, E-mail: zvlah@stanford.edu

2017-08-01

A new generation of surveys will soon map large fractions of sky to ever greater depths and their science goals can be enhanced by exploiting cross correlations between them. In this paper we study cross correlations between the lensing of the CMB and biased tracers of large-scale structure at high z . We motivate the need for more sophisticated bias models for modeling increasingly biased tracers at these redshifts and propose the use of perturbation theories, specifically Convolution Lagrangian Effective Field Theory (CLEFT). Since such signals reside at large scales and redshifts, they can be well described by perturbative approaches.more » We compare our model with the current approach of using scale independent bias coupled with fitting functions for non-linear matter power spectra, showing that the latter will not be sufficient for upcoming surveys. We illustrate our ideas by estimating σ{sub 8} from the auto- and cross-spectra of mock surveys, finding that CLEFT returns accurate and unbiased results at high z . We discuss uncertainties due to the redshift distribution of the tracers, and several avenues for future development.« less

Cross-cultural adaptation and reliability and validity of the Dutch Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE-D).

PubMed

van Ark, Mathijs; Zwerver, Johannes; Diercks, Ronald L; van den Akker-Scheek, Inge

2014-08-11

Lateral Epicondylalgia (LE) is a common injury for which no reliable and valid measure exists to determine severity in the Dutch language. The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) is the first questionnaire specifically designed for LE but in English. The aim of this study was to translate into Dutch and cross-culturally adapt the PRTEE and determine reliability and validity of the PRTEE-D (Dutch version). The PRTEE was cross-culturally adapted according to international guidelines. Participants (n = 122) were asked to fill out the PRTEE-D twice with a one week interval to assess test-retest reliability. Internal consistency of the PRTEE-D was determined by calculating Crohnbach's alphas for the questionnaire and subscales. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) were calculated for the overall PRTEE-D score, pain and function subscale and individual questions to determine test-retest reliability. Additionally, the Disabilities for the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scores were obtained from 30 patients to assess construct validity; Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated between the PRTEE-D (subscales) and DASH and VAS-pain scores. The PRTEE was successfully cross-culturally adapted into Dutch (PRTEE-D). Crohnbach's alpha for the first assessment of the PRTEE-D was 0.98; Crohnbach's alpha was 0.93 for the pain subscale and 0.97 for the function subscale. ICC for the PRTEE-D was 0.98; subscales also showed excellent ICC values (pain scale 0.97 and function scale 0.97). A significant moderate correlation exists between PRTEE-D and DASH (0.65) and PRTEE-D and VAS pain (0.68). The PRTEE was successfully cross-culturally adapted and this study showed that the PRTEE-D is reliable and valid to obtain an indication of severity of LE. An easy-to-use instrument for practitioners is now available and this facilitates comparing Dutch and international research data.

Application of the spectral-correlation method for diagnostics of cellulose paper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiesewetter, D.; Malyugin, V.; Reznik, A.; Yudin, A.; Zhuravleva, N.

2017-11-01

The spectral-correlation method was described for diagnostics of optically inhomogeneous biological objects and materials of natural origin. The interrelation between parameters of the studied objects and parameters of the cross correlation function of speckle patterns produced by scattering of coherent light at different wavelengths is shown for thickness, optical density and internal structure of the material. A detailed study was performed for cellulose electric insulating paper with different parameters.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of als Functional Rating Scale-Revised in Portuguese language.

PubMed

Guedes, Keyte; Pereira, Cecília; Pavan, Karina; Valério, Berenice Cataldo Oliveira

2010-02-01

The aim of this study is the cross-cultural, as well as to validate in Portuguese language the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale - Revised (ALSFRS-R). We performed a prospective study of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinically defined. The scale, after obtaining the final version in Portuguese, was administered in 22 individuals and three weeks after re-applied. There were no significant differences between the application and reapplication of the scale (p=0.069). The linear regression and internal consistency measured by Pearson correlation and alpha Conbrach were significant with r=0.975 e alpha=0.934. The reliability test-retest demonstrated by intraclass correlation coefficient was strong with ICC=0.975. Therefore, this version proved to be applicable, reliable and easy to be conducted in clinical practice and research.

The VLT LBG redshift survey - VI. Mapping H I in the proximity of z ˜ 3 LBGs with X-Shooter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bielby, R. M.; Shanks, T.; Crighton, N. H. M.; Bornancini, C. G.; Infante, L.; Lambas, D. G.; Minniti, D.; Morris, S. L.; Tummuangpak, P.

2017-10-01

We present an analysis of the spatial distribution and dynamics of neutral hydrogen gas around galaxies using new X-Shooter observations of z ˜ 2.5-4 quasars. Adding the X-Shooter data to our existing data set of high-resolution quasar spectroscopy, we use a total sample of 29 quasars alongside ˜1700 Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) in the redshift range 2 ≲ z ≲ 3.5. We measure the Lyα forest auto-correlation function, finding a clustering length of s0 = 0.081 ± 0.006 h-1 Mpc, and the cross-correlation function with LBGs, finding a cross-clustering length of s0 = 0.27 ± 0.14 h-1 Mpc and power-law slope γ = 1.1 ± 0.2. Our results highlight the weakly clustered nature of neutral hydrogren systems in the Lyα forest. Building on this, we make a first analysis of the dependence of the clustering on absorber strength, finding a clear preference for stronger Lyα forest absorption features to be more strongly clustered around the galaxy population, suggesting that they trace on average higher mass haloes. Using the projected and 2-D cross-correlation functions, we constrain the dynamics of Lyα forest clouds around z ˜ 3 galaxies. We find a significant detection of large-scale infall of neutral hydrogen, with a constraint on the Lyα forest infall parameter of βF = 1.02 ± 0.22.

Time Reversal Mirrors and Cross Correlation Functions in Acoustic Wave Propagation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fishman, Louis; Jonsson, B. Lars G.; de Hoop, Maarten V.

2009-03-01

In time reversal acoustics (TRA), a signal is recorded by an array of transducers, time reversed, and then retransmitted into the configuration. The retransmitted signal propagates back through the same medium and retrofocuses on the source that generated the signal. If the transducer array is a single, planar (flat) surface, then this configuration is referred to as a planar, one-sided, time reversal mirror (TRM). In signal processing, for example, in active-source seismic interferometry, the measurement of the wave field at two distinct receivers, generated by a common source, is considered. Cross correlating these two observations and integrating the result over the sources yield the cross correlation function (CCF). Adopting the TRM experiments as the basic starting point and identifying the kinematically correct correspondences, it is established that the associated CCF signal processing constructions follow in a specific, infinite recording time limit. This perspective also provides for a natural rationale for selecting the Green's function components in the TRM and CCF expressions. For a planar, one-sided, TRM experiment and the corresponding CCF signal processing construction, in a three-dimensional homogeneous medium, the exact expressions are explicitly calculated, and the connecting limiting relationship verified. Finally, the TRM and CCF results are understood in terms of the underlying, governing, two-way wave equation, its corresponding time reversal invariance (TRI) symmetry, and the absence of TRI symmetry in the associated one-way wave equations, highlighting the role played by the evanescent modal contributions.

Endogenous sex hormones and cognitive function in the elderly.

PubMed

Boss, Lisa; Kang, Duck-Hee; Bergstrom, Nancy; Leasure, J Leigh

2015-08-01

Estrogen and testosterone may influence cognitive function in the older adult, but the relationship between sex hormones and cognitive function is complex. To examine associations of sex hormones and cognitive function among older adults ≥65 years old. Using a cross-sectional research design, data were collected once from 71 elderly (mean age 86.4 years). Global cognitive function and executive function were measured with standardized instruments, and saliva samples were collected for salivary estradiol and testosterone. Estradiol was significantly and positively correlated with global cognitive function in men only (r = 0.54, p < 0.05). Testosterone was not significantly correlated with global cognitive function or executive function in either gender. Associations between sex hormones and cognitive function were mostly non-significant. However, higher estradiol was significantly correlated with better global cognitive function in men, suggesting gender-specific differences. Along with sex hormones, other comorbidity may need to be assessed together in relation to cognitive function in the elderly. Accordingly, clinicians play an important role in educating and promoting beneficial actions to preserve cognitive function.

Hexagonalization of correlation functions II: two-particle contributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleury, Thiago; Komatsu, Shota

2018-02-01

In this work, we compute one-loop planar five-point functions in N=4 super-Yang-Mills using integrability. As in the previous work, we decompose the correlation functions into hexagon form factors and glue them using the weight factors which depend on the cross-ratios. The main new ingredient in the computation, as compared to the four-point functions studied in the previous paper, is the two-particle mirror contribution. We develop techniques to evaluate it and find agreement with the perturbative results in all the cases we analyzed. In addition, we consider next-to-extremal four-point functions, which are known to be protected, and show that the sum of one-particle and two-particle contributions at one loop adds up to zero as expected. The tools developed in this work would be useful for computing higher-particle contributions which would be relevant for more complicated quantities such as higher-loop corrections and non-planar correlators.

Cross-spectrum measurement of thermal-noise limited oscillators.

PubMed

Hati, A; Nelson, C W; Howe, D A

2016-03-01

Cross-spectrum analysis is a commonly used technique for the detection of phase and amplitude noise of a signal in the presence of interfering uncorrelated noise. Recently, we demonstrated that the phase-inversion (anti-correlation) effect due to amplitude noise leakage can cause complete or partial collapse of the cross-spectral function. In this paper, we discuss the newly discovered effect of anti-correlated thermal noise that originates from the common-mode power divider (splitter), an essential component in a cross-spectrum noise measurement system. We studied this effect for different power splitters and discuss its influence on the measurement of thermal-noise limited oscillators. We provide theory, simulation and experimental results. In addition, we expand this study to reveal how the presence of ferrite-isolators and amplifiers at the output ports of the power splitters can affect the oscillator noise measurements. Finally, we discuss a possible solution to overcome this problem.

Crustal wavespeed structure of North Texas and Oklahoma based on ambient noise cross-correlation functions and adjoint tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, H.

2017-12-01

Recently, seismologists observed increasing seismicity in North Texas and Oklahoma. Based on seismic observations and other geophysical measurements, some studies suggested possible links between the increasing seismicity and wastewater injection during unconventional oil and gas exploration. To better monitor seismic events and investigate their mechanisms, we need an accurate 3D crustal wavespeed model for North Texas and Oklahoma. Considering the uneven distribution of earthquakes in this region, seismic tomography with local earthquake records have difficulties to achieve good illumination. To overcome this limitation, in this study, ambient noise cross-correlation functions are used to constrain subsurface variations in wavespeeds. I use adjoint tomography to iteratively fit frequency-dependent phase differences between observed and predicted band-limited Green's functions. The spectral-element method is used to numerically calculate the band-limited Green's functions and the adjoint method is used to calculate misfit gradients with respect to wavespeeds. 25 preconditioned conjugate gradient iterations are used to update model parameters and minimize data misfits. Features in the new crustal model M25 correlates with geological units in the study region, including the Llano uplift, the Anadarko basin and the Ouachita orogenic front. In addition, these seismic anomalies correlate with gravity and magnetic observations. This new model can be used to better constrain earthquake source parameters in North Texas and Oklahoma, such as epicenter location and moment tensor solutions, which are important for investigating potential relations between seismicity and unconventional oil and gas exploration.

Do evoked potentials contribute to the functional follow-up and clinical prognosis of multiple sclerosis?

PubMed

Giffroy, Xavier; Maes, Nathalie; Albert, Adelin; Maquet, Pierre; Crielaard, Jean-Michel; Dive, Dominique

2017-03-01

The clinical variability and complexity of multiple sclerosis (MS) challenges the individual clinical course prognostication. This study aimed to find out whether multimodal evoked potentials (EP) correlate with the motor components of multiple sclerosis functional composite (MSFCm) and predict clinically relevant motor functional deterioration. One hundred MS patients were assessed at baseline (T 0 ) and about 7.5 years later (T 1 ), with visual, somatosensory and motor EP and rated on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the MSFCm, including the 9 Hole Peg Test and the Timed 25 Foot Walk (T25FW). The Spearman correlation coefficient (r S ) was used to evaluate the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between EP Z scores and clinical findings. The predictive value of baseline electrophysiological data for clinical worsening (EDSS, 9-HPT, T25FW, MSFCm) during follow-up was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Unlike longitudinal correlations, cross-sectional correlations between EP Z scores and clinical outcomes were all significant and ranged between 0.22 and 0.67 (p < 0.05). The global EP Z score was systematically predictive of EDSS and MSFCm worsening over time (all p < 0.05). EP latency was a better predictor than amplitude, although weaker than latency and amplitude aggregation in the global EP Z score. The study demonstrates that EP numerical scores can be used for motor function monitoring and outcome prediction in patients with MS.

Small-scale seismic inversion using surface waves extracted from noise cross correlation.

PubMed

Gouédard, Pierre; Roux, Philippe; Campillo, Michel

2008-03-01

Green's functions can be retrieved between receivers from the correlation of ambient seismic noise or with an appropriate set of randomly distributed sources. This principle is demonstrated in small-scale geophysics using noise sources generated by human steps during a 10-min walk in the alignment of a 14-m-long accelerometer line array. The time-domain correlation of the records yields two surface wave modes extracted from the Green's function between each pair of accelerometers. A frequency-wave-number Fourier analysis yields each mode contribution and their dispersion curve. These dispersion curves are then inverted to provide the one-dimensional shear velocity of the near surface.

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, internal consistency and validation of the Hand Function Sort (HFS©) for French speaking patients with upper limb complaints.

PubMed

Konzelmann, M; Burrus, C; Hilfiker, R; Rivier, G; Deriaz, O; Luthi, F

2015-03-01

Functional evaluation of upper limb is not only based on clinical findings but requires self-administered questionnaires to address patients' perspective. The Hand Function Sort (HFS©) was only validated in English. The aim of this study was the French cross cultural adaptation and validation of the HFS© (HFS-F). 150 patients with various upper limbs impairments were recruited in a rehabilitation center. Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were made according to international guidelines. Construct validity was estimated through correlations with Disabilities Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, SF-36 mental component summary (MCS),SF-36 physical component summary (PCS) and pain intensity. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation. Cronbach's α was 0.98, test-retest reliability was excellent at 0.921 (95 % CI 0.871-0.971) same as original HFS©. Correlations with DASH were-0.779 (95 % CI -0.847 to -0.685); with SF 36 PCS 0.452 (95 % CI 0.276-0.599); with pain -0.247 (95 % CI -0.429 to -0.041); with SF 36 MCS 0.242 (95 % CI 0.042-0.422). There were no floor or ceiling effects. The HFS-F has the same good psychometric properties as the original HFS© (internal consistency, test retest reliability, convergent validity with DASH, divergent validity with SF-36 MCS, and no floor or ceiling effects). The convergent validity with SF-36 PCS was poor; we found no correlation with pain. The HFS-F could be used with confidence in a population of working patients. Other studies are necessary to study its psychometric properties in other populations.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire: Spanish for Puerto Rico Version

PubMed Central

Mulero-Portela, Ana L.; Colón-Santaella, Carmen L.; Cruz-Gomez, Cynthia

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire to Spanish for Puerto Rico. Five steps were followed for the cross-cultural adaptation: forward translations into Spanish for Puerto Rico, synthesis of the translations, back translations into English, revision by an expert committee, and field test of the prefinal version. Psychometric characteristics of reliability and construct validity were evaluated for the final version. Internal consistency of the final version was high (Cronbach's α = 0.97) and item-to-total correlations were moderate (range from 0.44 to 0.85). Construct validity was evaluated by correlating the DASH with the scales of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Breast. Fair to moderate correlations found in this study between the DASH and most scales of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Breast support the construct validity of the Puerto Rico-Spanish DASH. The final version of the questionnaire was revised and approved by the Institute for Work and Health of Canada. Revisions to the original DASH English version are recommended. This version of the DASH is valid and reliable, and it can be used to evaluate outcomes in both clinical and research settings. PMID:19901616

Ethylene Glycol - Polyethylene Glycol (EG-PEG) Mixtures: Infrared Spectra Wavelet Cross-Correlation Analysis.

PubMed

Caccamo, Maria Teresa; Magazù, Salvatore

2017-03-01

Infrared spectra were collected on mixtures of ethylene glycol (EG) and polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG600) as a function of weight fraction from pure EG to pure PEG600. In this paper, it will be shown that while the OH vibrational contribution drastically reduces its center frequency from 3450 cm -1 to 3300 cm -1 in the weight fraction range 0-25%, the displacement of the mixture spectral features of the mixtures from ideal behavior, i.e., in the absence of interaction, shows the presence of a non-ideal mixing process. Furthermore, wavelet cross-correlation analysis of the registered pairs of spectra and of the intramolecular O-H stretching contributions reveals how the addition of a small amount of pure EG to PEG600 dramatically influences the structural properties of the polymeric matrix, owing to an increase the intermolecular connectivity. In particular, the wavelet cross-correlation parameters, evaluated between each pair of the registered data as a function of weight fraction, in a linear-logarithmic plot, reveals an inflection point for a weight fraction of about 25% of EG, which confirms that, within the three-dimensional networks of hydrogen-bonded EG-PEG600 molecules, a key role is played by EG in determining an increase in the hydrogen-bond network density.

Image classification at low light levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wernick, Miles N.; Morris, G. Michael

1986-12-01

An imaging photon-counting detector is used to achieve automatic sorting of two image classes. The classification decision is formed on the basis of the cross correlation between a photon-limited input image and a reference function stored in computer memory. Expressions for the statistical parameters of the low-light-level correlation signal are given and are verified experimentally. To obtain a correlation-based system for two-class sorting, it is necessary to construct a reference function that produces useful information for class discrimination. An expression for such a reference function is derived using maximum-likelihood decision theory. Theoretically predicted results are used to compare on the basis of performance the maximum-likelihood reference function with Fukunaga-Koontz basis vectors and average filters. For each method, good class discrimination is found to result in milliseconds from a sparse sampling of the input image.

Using cross-correlations of random wavefields for surface waves tomography and structural health monitoring.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabra, K.

2006-12-01

The random nature of noise and scattered fields tends to suggest limited utility. Indeed, seismic or acoustic fields from random sources or scatterers are often considered to be incoherent, but there is some coherence between two sensors that receive signals from the same individual source or scatterer. An estimate of the Green's function (or impulse response) between two points can be obtained from the cross-correlation of random wavefields recorded at these two points. Recent theoretical and experimental studies in ultrasonics, underwater acoustics, structural monitoring and seismology have investigated this technique in various environments and frequency ranges. These results provide a means for passive imaging using only the random wavefields, without the use of active sources. The coherent wavefronts emerge from a correlation process that accumulates contributions over time from random sources whose propagation paths pass through both receivers. Results will be presented from experiments using ambient noise cross-correlations for the following applications: 1) passive surface waves tomography from ocean microseisms and 2) structural health monitoring of marine and airborne structures embedded in turbulent flow.

Correlation dynamics and enhanced signals for the identification of serial biomolecules and DNA bases.

PubMed

Ahmed, Towfiq; Haraldsen, Jason T; Rehr, John J; Di Ventra, Massimiliano; Schuller, Ivan; Balatsky, Alexander V

2014-03-28

Nanopore-based sequencing has demonstrated a significant potential for the development of fast, accurate, and cost-efficient fingerprinting techniques for next generation molecular detection and sequencing. We propose a specific multilayered graphene-based nanopore device architecture for the recognition of single biomolecules. Molecular detection and analysis can be accomplished through the detection of transverse currents as the molecule or DNA base translocates through the nanopore. To increase the overall signal-to-noise ratio and the accuracy, we implement a new 'multi-point cross-correlation' technique for identification of DNA bases or other molecules on the single molecular level. We demonstrate that the cross-correlations between each nanopore will greatly enhance the transverse current signal for each molecule. We implement first-principles transport calculations for DNA bases surveyed across a multilayered graphene nanopore system to illustrate the advantages of the proposed geometry. A time-series analysis of the cross-correlation functions illustrates the potential of this method for enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio. This work constitutes a significant step forward in facilitating fingerprinting of single biomolecules using solid state technology.

Osmotic second virial cross-coefficient measurements for binary combination of lysozyme, ovalbumin, and α-amylase in salt solutions.

PubMed

Mehta, Chirag M; White, Edward T; Litster, James D

2013-01-01

Interactions measurement is a valuable tool to predict equilibrium phase separation of a desired protein in the presence of unwanted macromolecules. In this study, cross-interactions were measured as the osmotic second virial cross-coefficients (B23 ) for the three binary protein systems involving lysozyme, ovalbumin, and α-amylase in salt solutions (sodium chloride and ammonium sulfate). They were correlated with solubility for the binary protein mixtures. The cross-interaction behavior at different salt concentrations was interpreted by either electrostatic or hydrophobic interaction forces. At low salt concentrations, the protein surface charge dominates cross-interaction behavior as a function of pH. With added ovalbumin, the lysozyme solubility decreased linearly at low salt concentration in sodium chloride and increased at high salt concentration in ammonium sulfate. The B23 value was found to be proportional to the slope of the lysozyme solubility against ovalbumin concentration and the correlation was explained by preferential interaction theory. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

A Swedish cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Tinnitus Functional Index.

PubMed

Hoff, Maria; Kähäri, Kim

2017-04-01

The Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) is a recent self-report instrument for tinnitus with potential advantages over other existing instruments, including a demonstrated high responsiveness. The objectives of this study were to translate and cross-culturally adapt the TFI into Swedish and to investigate its validity and reliability. The development of the Swedish version (TFI-SE) followed published guidelines on cross-cultural adaptation of health questionnaires. Validity and reliability was investigated by correlating responses on the TFI-SE with other tinnitus measures [Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and visual analogue scale (VAS)] and a scale measuring anxiety and depression (HADS). Consecutively recruited tinnitus patients (n = 100) from four Swedish clinics completed the questionnaires. The mean age of the sample was 51 years (SD =17). The internal consistency of the TFI-SE was good (α = 0.95) and the test-retest reliability was high (ICC =0.93). Our results supported the eight-factor structure proposed for the original TFI, and a high correlation between the TFI-SE and the THI (r = 0.8; p < 0.01) and lower correlations between the TFI-SE and the HADS-D (r = 0.60; p < 0.01) and HADS-A (r = 0.59; p < 0.01) confirmed satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. We found that the Swedish translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the TFI is valid and reliable for use with adult tinnitus patients.

Studying flow close to an interface by total internal reflection fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy: Quantitative data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitz, R.; Yordanov, S.; Butt, H. J.; Koynov, K.; Dünweg, B.

2011-12-01

Total internal reflection fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (TIR-FCCS) has recently [S. Yordanov , Optics ExpressOPEXFF1094-408710.1364/OE.17.021149 17, 21149 (2009)] been established as an experimental method to probe hydrodynamic flows near surfaces, on length scales of tens of nanometers. Its main advantage is that fluorescence occurs only for tracer particles close to the surface, thus resulting in high sensitivity. However, the measured correlation functions provide only rather indirect information about the flow parameters of interest, such as the shear rate and the slip length. In the present paper, we show how to combine detailed and fairly realistic theoretical modeling of the phenomena by Brownian dynamics simulations with accurate measurements of the correlation functions, in order to establish a quantitative method to retrieve the flow properties from the experiments. First, Brownian dynamics is used to sample highly accurate correlation functions for a fixed set of model parameters. Second, these parameters are varied systematically by means of an importance-sampling Monte Carlo procedure in order to fit the experiments. This provides the optimum parameter values together with their statistical error bars. The approach is well suited for massively parallel computers, which allows us to do the data analysis within moderate computing times. The method is applied to flow near a hydrophilic surface, where the slip length is observed to be smaller than 10nm, and, within the limitations of the experiments and the model, indistinguishable from zero.

Cross-matching: a modified cross-correlation underlying threshold energy model and match-based depth perception

PubMed Central

Doi, Takahiro; Fujita, Ichiro

2014-01-01

Three-dimensional visual perception requires correct matching of images projected to the left and right eyes. The matching process is faced with an ambiguity: part of one eye's image can be matched to multiple parts of the other eye's image. This stereo correspondence problem is complicated for random-dot stereograms (RDSs), because dots with an identical appearance produce numerous potential matches. Despite such complexity, human subjects can perceive a coherent depth structure. A coherent solution to the correspondence problem does not exist for anticorrelated RDSs (aRDSs), in which luminance contrast is reversed in one eye. Neurons in the visual cortex reduce disparity selectivity for aRDSs progressively along the visual processing hierarchy. A disparity-energy model followed by threshold nonlinearity (threshold energy model) can account for this reduction, providing a possible mechanism for the neural matching process. However, the essential computation underlying the threshold energy model is not clear. Here, we propose that a nonlinear modification of cross-correlation, which we term “cross-matching,” represents the essence of the threshold energy model. We placed half-wave rectification within the cross-correlation of the left-eye and right-eye images. The disparity tuning derived from cross-matching was attenuated for aRDSs. We simulated a psychometric curve as a function of graded anticorrelation (graded mixture of aRDS and normal RDS); this simulated curve reproduced the match-based psychometric function observed in human near/far discrimination. The dot density was 25% for both simulation and observation. We predicted that as the dot density increased, the performance for aRDSs should decrease below chance (i.e., reversed depth), and the level of anticorrelation that nullifies depth perception should also decrease. We suggest that cross-matching serves as a simple computation underlying the match-based disparity signals in stereoscopic depth perception. PMID:25360107

High-resolution correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, D. J.

2007-09-01

In the basic correlation process a sequence of time-lag-indexed correlation coefficients are computed as the inner or dot product of segments of two signals. The time-lag(s) for which the magnitude of the correlation coefficient sequence is maximized is the estimated relative time delay of the two signals. For discrete sampled signals, the delay estimated in this manner is quantized with the same relative accuracy as the clock used in sampling the signals. In addition, the correlation coefficients are real if the input signals are real. There have been many methods proposed to estimate signal delay to more accuracy than the sample interval of the digitizer clock, with some success. These methods include interpolation of the correlation coefficients, estimation of the signal delay from the group delay function, and beam forming techniques, such as the MUSIC algorithm. For spectral estimation, techniques based on phase differentiation have been popular, but these techniques have apparently not been applied to the correlation problem . We propose a phase based delay estimation method (PBDEM) based on the phase of the correlation function that provides a significant improvement of the accuracy of time delay estimation. In the process, the standard correlation function is first calculated. A time lag error function is then calculated from the correlation phase and is used to interpolate the correlation function. The signal delay is shown to be accurately estimated as the zero crossing of the correlation phase near the index of the peak correlation magnitude. This process is nearly as fast as the conventional correlation function on which it is based. For real valued signals, a simple modification is provided, which results in the same correlation accuracy as is obtained for complex valued signals.

Dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle under a uniform magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidal-Urquiza, Glenn C.; Córdova-Figueroa, Ubaldo M.

2017-11-01

The dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle undergoing three-dimensional Brownian motion, both translation and rotation, under the influence of a uniform magnetic field is investigated. The particle self-propels at a constant speed along its magnetic dipole moment, which reorients due to the interplay between Brownian and magnetic torques, quantified by the Langevin parameter α . In this work, the time-dependent active diffusivity and the crossover time (τcross)—from ballistic to diffusive regimes—are calculated through the time-dependent correlation function of the fluctuations of the propulsion direction. The results reveal that, for any value of α , the particle undergoes a directional (or ballistic) propulsive motion at very short times (t ≪τcross ). In this regime, the correlation function decreases linearly with time, and the active diffusivity increases with it. It the opposite time limit (t ≫τcross ), the particle moves in a purely diffusive regime with a correlation function that decays asymptotically to zero and an active diffusivity that reaches a constant value equal to the long-time active diffusivity of the particle. As expected in the absence of a magnetic field (α =0 ), the crossover time is equal to the characteristic time scale for rotational diffusion, τrot. In the presence of a magnetic field (α >0 ), the correlation function, the active diffusivity, and the crossover time decrease with increasing α . The magnetic field regulates the regimes of propulsion of the particle. Here, the field reduces the period of time at which the active particle undergoes a directional motion. Consequently, the active particle rapidly reaches a diffusive regime at τcross≪τrot . In the limit of weak fields (α ≪1 ), the crossover time decreases quadratically with α , while in the limit of strong fields (α ≫1 ) it decays asymptotically as α-1. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained by Brownian dynamics simulations.

Frequency Based Design Partitioning to Achieve Higher Throughput in Digital Cross Correlator for Aperture Synthesis Passive MMW Imager.

PubMed

Asif, Muhammad; Guo, Xiangzhou; Zhang, Jing; Miao, Jungang

2018-04-17

Digital cross-correlation is central to many applications including but not limited to Digital Image Processing, Satellite Navigation and Remote Sensing. With recent advancements in digital technology, the computational demands of such applications have increased enormously. In this paper we are presenting a high throughput digital cross correlator, capable of processing 1-bit digitized stream, at the rate of up to 2 GHz, simultaneously on 64 channels i.e., approximately 4 Trillion correlation and accumulation operations per second. In order to achieve higher throughput, we have focused on frequency based partitioning of our design and tried to minimize and localize high frequency operations. This correlator is designed for a Passive Millimeter Wave Imager intended for the detection of contraband items concealed on human body. The goals are to increase the system bandwidth, achieve video rate imaging, improve sensitivity and reduce the size. Design methodology is detailed in subsequent sections, elaborating the techniques enabling high throughput. The design is verified for Xilinx Kintex UltraScale device in simulation and the implementation results are given in terms of device utilization and power consumption estimates. Our results show considerable improvements in throughput as compared to our baseline design, while the correlator successfully meets the functional requirements.

Cross-correlations between Renminbi and four major currencies in the Renminbi currency basket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Gang-Jin; Xie, Chi

2013-03-01

We investigate the cross-correlations between Renminbi (CNY) and four major currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, and KRW) in the Renminbi currency basket, i.e., the cross-correlations of CNY-USD, CNY-EUR, CNY-JPY, and CNY-KRW. Qualitatively, using a statistical test in analogy to the Ljung-Box test, we find that cross-correlations significantly exist in CNY-USD, CNY-EUR, CNY-JPY, and CNY-KRW. Quantitatively, employing the detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA) method, we find that the cross-correlations of CNY-USD, CNY-EUR, CNY-JPY, and CNY-KRW are weakly persistent. We use the DCCA cross-correlation coefficient ρ to quantify the level of cross-correlations and find the currency weight in the Renminbi currency basket is arranged in the order of USD>EUR>JPY >KRW. Using the method of rolling windows, which can capture the time-varying cross-correlation scaling exponents, we find that: (i) CNY and USD are positively cross-correlated over time, but the cross-correlations of CNY-USD are anti-persistent during the US sub-prime crisis and the European debt crisis. (ii) The cross-correlation scaling exponents of CNY-EUR have the cyclical fluctuation with a nearly two-year cycle. (iii) CNY-JPY has long-term negative cross-correlations, during the European debt crisis, but CNY and KRW are positively cross-correlated.

Oxidative stress markers, cognitive functions, and psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder: an empirical cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Aydemir, Ömer; Çubukçuoğlu, Zeynep; Erdin, Soner; Taş, Cumhur; Onur, Ece; Berk, Michael

2014-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between oxidative stress markers and cognitive functions and domains of psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder. Oxidative stress markers, cognitive functions, and domains of psychosocial functioning were evaluated in 51 patients with bipolar disorder who were in remission. Correlation analyses between these parameters were calculated with data controlled for duration of illness and number of episodes. There was no statistically significant correlation between oxidative stress markers and cognitive functions. In terms of psychosocial functioning, significant correlations were found between malondialdehyde and sense of stigmatization (r = -0.502); household activities and superoxide dismutase (r = 0.501); participation in social activities and nitric oxide (r = 0.414); hobbies and leisure time activities and total glutathione (r = -0.567), superoxide dismutase (r = 0.667), and neurotrophin 4 (r = 0.450); and taking initiative and self-sufficiency and superoxide dismutase (r = 0.597). There was no correlation between other domains of psychosocial functioning and oxidative stress markers. These results imply that oxidative stress markers do not appear to correlate clearly with cognitive impairment and reduced psychosocial functioning. However, there were some associations between selected oxidative markers and activity-oriented functional markers. This may represent a true negative association, or may be an artifact of oxidative stress being a state rather than a trait marker.

Monitoring the Groningen gas field by seismic noise interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Wen; Paulssen, Hanneke

2017-04-01

The Groningen gas field in the Netherlands is the world's 7th largest onshore gas field and has been producing from 1963. Since 2013, the year with the highest level of induced seismicity, the reservoir has been monitored by two geophone strings at reservoir level at about 3 km depth. For borehole SDM, 10 geophones with a natural frequency of 15-Hz are positioned from the top to bottom of the reservoir with a geophone spacing of 30 m. We used seismic interferometry to determine, as accurately as possible, the inter-geophone P- and S-wave velocities from ambient noise. We used 1-bit normalization and spectral whitening, together with a bandpass filter from 3 to 400 Hz. After that, for each station pair, the normalized cross-correlation was calculated for 6 seconds segments with 2/3 overlap. These segmented cross-correlations were stacked for every 1 hour, 24(hours)*33(days) segments were obtained for each station pair. The cross-correlations show both day-and-night and weekly variations reflecting fluctuations in cultural noise. The apparent P-wave travel time for each geophone pair is measured from the maximum of the vertical component cross-correlation for each of the hourly stacks. Because the distribution of these (24*33) picked travel times is not Gaussian but skewed, we used Kernel density estimations to obtain probability density functions of the travel times. The maximum likelihood travel times of all the geophone pairs was subsequently used to determine inter-geophone P-wave velocities. A good agreement was found between our estimated P velocity structure and well logging data, with difference less than 5%. The S-velocity structure was obtained from the east-component cross-correlations. They show both the direct P- and S-wave arrivals and, because of the interference, the inferred S-velocity structure is less accurate. From the 9(3x3)-component cross-correlations for all the geophone pairs, not only the direct P and S waves can be identified, but also reflected waves within the reservoir for some of the cross-correlations. It is concluded that noise interferometry can be used to determine the seismic velocity structure from deep borehole data.

Application of Cross-Correlation Greens Function Along With FDTD for Fast Computation of Envelope Correlation Coefficient Over Wideband for MIMO Antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Debdeep; Srivastava, Kumar Vaibhav

2017-02-01

In this paper, the concept of cross-correlation Green's functions (CGF) is used in conjunction with the finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique for calculation of envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) of any arbitrary MIMO antenna system over wide frequency band. Both frequency-domain (FD) and time-domain (TD) post-processing techniques are proposed for possible application with this FDTD-CGF scheme. The FDTD-CGF time-domain (FDTD-CGF-TD) scheme utilizes time-domain signal processing methods and exhibits significant reduction in ECC computation time as compared to the FDTD-CGF frequency domain (FDTD-CGF-FD) scheme, for high frequency-resolution requirements. The proposed FDTD-CGF based schemes can be applied for accurate and fast prediction of wideband ECC response, instead of the conventional scattering parameter based techniques which have several limitations. Numerical examples of the proposed FDTD-CGF techniques are provided for two-element MIMO systems involving thin-wire half-wavelength dipoles in parallel side-by-side as well as orthogonal arrangements. The results obtained from the FDTD-CGF techniques are compared with results from commercial electromagnetic solver Ansys HFSS, to verify the validity of proposed approach.

Coordination analysis of players' distribution in football using cross-correlation and vector coding techniques.

PubMed

Moura, Felipe Arruda; van Emmerik, Richard E A; Santana, Juliana Exel; Martins, Luiz Eduardo Barreto; Barros, Ricardo Machado Leite de; Cunha, Sergio Augusto

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the coordination between teams spread during football matches using cross-correlation and vector coding techniques. Using a video-based tracking system, we obtained the trajectories of 257 players during 10 matches. Team spread was calculated as functions of time. For a general coordination description, we calculated the cross-correlation between the signals. Vector coding was used to identify the coordination patterns between teams during offensive sequences that ended in shots on goal or defensive tackles. Cross-correlation showed that opponent teams have a tendency to present in-phase coordination, with a short time lag. During offensive sequences, vector coding results showed that, although in-phase coordination dominated, other patterns were observed. We verified that during the early stages, offensive sequences ending in shots on goal present greater anti-phase and attacking team phase periods, compared to sequences ending in tackles. Results suggest that the attacking team may seek to present a contrary behaviour of its opponent (or may lead the adversary behaviour) in the beginning of the attacking play, regarding to the distribution strategy, to increase the chances of a shot on goal. The techniques allowed detecting the coordination patterns between teams, providing additional information about football dynamics and players' interaction.

Physiology of primary saccular afferents of goldfish: implications for Mauthner cell response.

PubMed

Fay, R R

1995-01-01

Mauthner cells receive neurally coded information from the otolith organs in fishes, and it is most likely that initiation and directional characteristics of the C-start response depend on this input. In the goldfish, saccular afferents are sensitive to sound pressure (< -30 dB re: 1 dyne cm-2) in the most sensitive frequency range (200 to 800 Hz). This input arises from volume fluctuations of the swimbladder in response to the sound pressure waveform and is thus nondirectional. Primary afferents of the saccule, lagena, and utricle of the goldfish also respond with great sensitivity to acoustic particle motion (< 1 nanometer between 100 and 200 Hz). This input arises from the acceleration of the fish in a sound field and is inherently directional. Saccular afferents can be divided into two groups based on their tuning: one group is tuned at about 250 Hz, and the other tuned between 400 Hz and 1 kHz. All otolithic primary afferents phaselock to sinusoids throughout the frequency range of hearing (up to about 2 kHz). Based on physiological and behavioral studies on Mauthner cells, it appears that highly correlated binaural input to the M-cell, from the sacculi responding to sound pressure, may be required for a decision to respond but that the direction of the response is extracted from small deviations from a perfect interaural correlation arising from the directional response of otolith organs to acoustic particle motion.

A cross-correlation study of the Fermi-LAT γ-ray diffuse extragalactic signal

DOE PAGES

Xia, Jun -Qing; Cuoco, Alessandro; Branchini, Enzo; ...

2011-09-12

In this work, starting from 21 months of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), we derive maps of the residual isotropic γ-ray emission, a relevant fraction of which is expected to be contributed by the extragalactic diffuse γ-ray background (EGB). We search for the auto-correlation signals in the above γ-ray maps and for the cross-correlation signal with the angular distribution of different classes of objects that trace the large-scale structure of the Universe. We compute the angular two-point auto-correlation function of the residual Fermi-LAT maps at energies E > 1 GeV, E > 3 GeV and E >more » 30 GeV well above the Galactic plane and find no significant correlation signal. This is, indeed, what is expected if the EGB were contributed by BL Lacertae (BLLacs), Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs) or star-forming galaxies, since, in this case, the predicted signal is very weak. Then, we search for the Integrated Sachs–Wolfe (ISW) signature by cross-correlating the Fermi-LAT maps with the 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP7) cosmic microwave background map. We find a cross-correlation consistent with zero, even though the expected signal is larger than that of the EGB auto-correlation. Lastly, in an attempt to constrain the nature of the γ-ray background, we cross-correlate the Fermi-LAT maps with the angular distributions of objects that may contribute to the EGB: quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 (SDSS-DR6) catalogue, NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) galaxies, Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) galaxies and Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) in the SDSS catalogue. The cross-correlation is always consistent with zero, in agreement with theoretical expectations, but we find (with low statistical significance) some interesting features that may indicate that some specific classes of objects contribute to the EGB. A χ 2 analysis confirms that the correlation properties of the 21-month data do not provide strong constraints of the EGB origin. However, the results suggest that the situation will significantly improve with the 5- and 10-yr Fermi-LAT data. In future, the EGB analysis will then allow placing significant constraints on the nature of the EGB and might provide, in addition, a detection of the ISW signal.« less

The Dynamics of a Five-level (Double Λ)-type Atom Interacting with Two-mode Field in a Cross Kerr-like Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obada, A.-S. F.; Ahmed, M. M. A.; Farouk, Ahmed M.

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a new transition scheme (Double Λ) for the interaction between a five-level atom and an electromagnetic field and study its dynamics in the presence of a cross Kerr-like medium in the exact-resonance case. The wave function is derived when the atom is initially prepared in its upper most state, and the field is initially prepared in the coherent state. We studied the atomic population inversion, the coherence degree by studying the second-order correlation function, Cauchy-Schwartz inequality (CSI) and the relation with P-function. Finally, we investigate the effect of Kerr-like medium on the evolution of Husimi Q-function of the considered system.

Frequency domain analysis of errors in cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xin; Ben-Zion, Yehuda; Zigone, Dimitri

2016-12-01

We analyse random errors (variances) in cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise in the frequency domain, which differ from previous time domain methods. Extending previous theoretical results on ensemble averaged cross-spectrum, we estimate confidence interval of stacked cross-spectrum of finite amount of data at each frequency using non-overlapping windows with fixed length. The extended theory also connects amplitude and phase variances with the variance of each complex spectrum value. Analysis of synthetic stationary ambient noise is used to estimate the confidence interval of stacked cross-spectrum obtained with different length of noise data corresponding to different number of evenly spaced windows of the same duration. This method allows estimating Signal/Noise Ratio (SNR) of noise cross-correlation in the frequency domain, without specifying filter bandwidth or signal/noise windows that are needed for time domain SNR estimations. Based on synthetic ambient noise data, we also compare the probability distributions, causal part amplitude and SNR of stacked cross-spectrum function using one-bit normalization or pre-whitening with those obtained without these pre-processing steps. Natural continuous noise records contain both ambient noise and small earthquakes that are inseparable from the noise with the existing pre-processing steps. Using probability distributions of random cross-spectrum values based on the theoretical results provides an effective way to exclude such small earthquakes, and additional data segments (outliers) contaminated by signals of different statistics (e.g. rain, cultural noise), from continuous noise waveforms. This technique is applied to constrain values and uncertainties of amplitude and phase velocity of stacked noise cross-spectrum at different frequencies, using data from southern California at both regional scale (˜35 km) and dense linear array (˜20 m) across the plate-boundary faults. A block bootstrap resampling method is used to account for temporal correlation of noise cross-spectrum at low frequencies (0.05-0.2 Hz) near the ocean microseismic peaks.

Transient Deformation of Stable Continental Lithosphere by the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki Megatrust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, T. K.; Chi, D.

2015-12-01

The Korean Peninsula was dislocated laterally by 1-6cm after the 11 March 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki megathrust at a distance of ~1300 km. These lateral displacements produced apparent tensional stresses of 1-7 kPa in the crust of the peninsula, perturbing the medium. Temporal variation of seismic velocities is investigated to assess the lithospheric responses to the megatrust. The Green's function over inter-station paths are retrieved from ambient noises recorded at broadband seismic stations that are densely deployed over the peninsula. The ambient noises are bandpass-filtered between 0.03 and 0.08 Hz, and spectral whitening and one-bit normalization are applied. The fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves are retrieved by stacking the cross-correlation functions of 10-days-long ambient noises from 2010 to 2015. The traveltime changes of Rayleigh waves with respect to the reference traveltimes are calculated by comparing the stacked cross-correlation functions. The reference Rayleigh waves are calculated by stacking the cross-correlation functions for 4 to 6 months before the megathrust. The traveltime changes are normalized by the inter-station distances. Abrupt traveltime delays are observed right after the megathrust, which are particularly strong along paths subparallel to the great-circle direction to the megathrust. The peak traveltime delay reaches 0.028 s/km, which corresponds to shear velocity decrease of 8.9 %. The traveltime delays are weak along the paths deviated from the great-circle directions. The observation suggests that the transient tension stress field caused longitudinal lithospheric perturbation with preferential mineral orientation and fluid migration, decreasing the seismic velocities. The traveltime delays were recovered with rates of 0.000025 to 0.000059 s/km per day, completing the recovery in several hundred days after the megathrust.

Audiometric asymmetry and tinnitus laterality.

PubMed

Tsai, Betty S; Sweetow, Robert W; Cheung, Steven W

2012-05-01

To identify an optimal audiometric asymmetry index for predicting tinnitus laterality. Retrospective medical record review. Data from adult tinnitus patients (80 men and 44 women) were extracted for demographic, audiometric, tinnitus laterality, and related information. The main measures were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Three audiometric asymmetry indices were constructed using one, two, or three frequency elements to compute the average interaural threshold difference (aITD). Tinnitus laterality predictive performance of a particular index was assessed by increasing the cutoff or minimum magnitude of the aITD from 10 to 35 dB in 5-dB steps to determine its ROC curve. Single frequency index performance was inferior to the other two (P < .05). Double and triple frequency indices were indistinguishable (P > .05). Two adjoining frequency elements with aITD ≥ 15 dB performed optimally for predicting tinnitus laterality (sensitivity = 0.59, specificity = 0.71, and PPV = 0.76). Absolute and relative magnitudes of hearing loss in the poorer ear were uncorrelated with tinnitus distress. An optimal audiometric asymmetry index to predict tinnitus laterality is one whereby 15 dB is the minimum aITD of two adjoining frequencies, inclusive of the maximal ITD. Tinnitus laterality dependency on magnitude of interaural asymmetry may inform design and interpretation of neuroimaging studies. Monaural acoustic tinnitus therapy may be an initial consideration for asymmetric hearing loss meeting the criterion of aITD ≥ 15 dB. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

Collision cross sections of N2 by H+ impact at keV energies within time-dependent density-functional theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, W.; Gao, C.-Z.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, F. S.; Hutton, R.; Zou, Y.; Wei, B.

2018-03-01

We calculate electron capture and ionization cross sections of N2 impacted by the H+ projectile at keV energies. To this end, we employ the time-dependent density-functional theory coupled nonadiabatically to molecular dynamics. To avoid the explicit treatment of the complex density matrix in the calculation of cross sections, we propose an approximate method based on the assumption of constant ionization rate over the period of the projectile passing the absorbing boundary. Our results agree reasonably well with experimental data and semi-empirical results within the measurement uncertainties in the considered energy range. The discrepancies are mainly attributed to the inadequate description of exchange-correlation functional and the crude approximation for constant ionization rate. Although the present approach does not predict the experiments quantitatively for collision energies below 10 keV, it is still helpful to calculate total cross sections of ion-molecule collisions within a certain energy range.

Analysis of respiratory and muscle activity by means of cross information function between ventilatory and myographic signals.

PubMed

Alonso, J F; Mañanas, M A; Hoyer, D; Topor, Z L; Bruce, E N

2004-01-01

Analysis of respiratory muscle activity is a promising technique for the study of pulmonary diseases such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Evaluation of interactions between muscles is very useful in order to determine the muscular pattern during an exercise. These interactions have already been assessed by means of different linear techniques like cross-spectrum, magnitude squared coherence or cross-correlation. The aim of this work is to evaluate interactions between respiratory and myographic signals through nonlinear analysis by means of cross mutual information function (CMIF), and finding out what information can be extracted from it. Some parameters are defined and calculated from CMIF between ventilatory and myographic signals of three respiratory muscles. Finally, differences in certain parameters were obtained between OSAS patients and healthy subjects indicating different respiratory muscle couplings.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Questionnaire on lateral elbow tendinopathy for French-speaking patients.

PubMed

Kaux, Jean-François; Delvaux, François; Schaus, Jean; Demoulin, Christophe; Locquet, Médéa; Buckinx, Fanny; Beaudart, Charlotte; Dardenne, Nadia; Van Beveren, Julien; Croisier, Jean-Louis; Forthomme, Bénédicte; Bruyère, Olivier

Translation and validation of algo-functional questionnaire. The lateral elbow tendinopathy is a common injury in tennis players and physical workers. The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) Questionnaire was specifically designed to measure pain and functional limitations in patients with lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow). First developed in English, this questionnaire has since been translated into several languages. The aims of the study were to translate and cross-culturally adapt the PRTEE questionnaire into French and to evaluate the reliability and validity of this translated version of the questionnaire (PRTEE-F). The PRTEE was translated and cross-culturally adapted into French according to international guidelines. To assess the reliability and validity of the PRTEE-F, 115 participants were asked twice to fill in the PRTEE-F, and once the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Internal consistency (using Cronbach's alpha), test-retest reliability (using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change), and convergent and divergent validity (using the Spearman's correlation coefficients respectively with the DASH and with some subscales of the SF-36) were assessed. The PRTEE was translated into French without any problems. PRTEE-F showed a good test-retest reliability for the overall score (ICC 0.86) and for each item (ICC 0.8-0.96) and a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.98). The correlation analyses revealed high correlation coefficients between PRTEE-F and DASH (convergent validity) and, as expected, a low or moderate correlation with the divergent subscales of the SF-36 (discriminant validity). There was no floor or ceiling effect. The PRTEE questionnaire was successfully cross-culturally adapted into French. The PRTEE-F is reliable and valid for evaluating French-speaking patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy. Copyright © 2016 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cross-correlated and oscillatory visual responses of superficial-layer and tecto-reticular neurones in cat superior colliculus.

PubMed

Chabli, A; Guitton, D; Fortin, S; Molotchnikoff, S

2000-03-01

The present study examined, in the superior colliculus (SC) of anaesthetised cats, the functional connectivity between superficial-layer neurones (SLNs) and tectoreticular neurones (TRNs: collicular output cells). TRNs were antidromically identified by electrical stimulation of the predorsal bundle. The auto- and cross-correlation histograms of visual responses of both types of neurones were recorded and analysed. A delayed, sharp peak in cross-correlograms allowed us to verify whether SLN and TRN cells were coupled; in addition, oscillatory activities were compared to verify if rhythmic responses of SLN sites were transmitted to TRN sites. We found that oscillatory activity was rarely observed in spontaneous activity of superficial (1/74) and TRN sites (1/48). Moving light bars induced oscillation in 31% (23/74) of the superficial-layer and in 23% (11/48) of the TRN sites. The strength of the rhythmic responses was determined by specific ranges of stimulus velocity in 83% (19/23) and 64% (7/11) of oscillating SLN and TRN sites, respectively. Frequencies of oscillations ranged between 5 and 125 Hz and were confined, for 53% of the cells, to the 5-20 Hz band. Thus, the band-width of frequencies of the stimulus-related oscillations in the superior colliculus was broader than the gamma range. Analysis of cross-correlation histograms revealed a significant predominant peak with a mean delay of 2.7+/-0.9 ms in 46% (17/37) of SLN-TRN pairs. Most correlated SLN-TRN pairs (88%: 15/17) had superimposed receptive fields, suggesting they were functionally interconnected. However, individual oscillatory frequencies of correlated and oscillatory SLN and TRN cells were never the same (0/8). Together, these results suggest that the neurones in collicular superficial layer contact TRNs and, consequently, support the idea that the superficial layers contribute to collicular outputs producing eye- and head-orienting movements.

Coupling between Theta Oscillations and Cognitive Control Network during Cross-Modal Visual and Auditory Attention: Supramodal vs Modality-Specific Mechanisms.

PubMed

Wang, Wuyi; Viswanathan, Shivakumar; Lee, Taraz; Grafton, Scott T

2016-01-01

Cortical theta band oscillations (4-8 Hz) in EEG signals have been shown to be important for a variety of different cognitive control operations in visual attention paradigms. However the synchronization source of these signals as defined by fMRI BOLD activity and the extent to which theta oscillations play a role in multimodal attention remains unknown. Here we investigated the extent to which cross-modal visual and auditory attention impacts theta oscillations. Using a simultaneous EEG-fMRI paradigm, healthy human participants performed an attentional vigilance task with six cross-modal conditions using naturalistic stimuli. To assess supramodal mechanisms, modulation of theta oscillation amplitude for attention to either visual or auditory stimuli was correlated with BOLD activity by conjunction analysis. Negative correlation was localized to cortical regions associated with the default mode network and positively with ventral premotor areas. Modality-associated attention to visual stimuli was marked by a positive correlation of theta and BOLD activity in fronto-parietal area that was not observed in the auditory condition. A positive correlation of theta and BOLD activity was observed in auditory cortex, while a negative correlation of theta and BOLD activity was observed in visual cortex during auditory attention. The data support a supramodal interaction of theta activity with of DMN function, and modality-associated processes within fronto-parietal networks related to top-down theta related cognitive control in cross-modal visual attention. On the other hand, in sensory cortices there are opposing effects of theta activity during cross-modal auditory attention.

Spectral density mapping at multiple magnetic fields suitable for 13C NMR relaxation studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadeřávek, Pavel; Zapletal, Vojtěch; Fiala, Radovan; Srb, Pavel; Padrta, Petr; Přecechtělová, Jana Pavlíková; Šoltésová, Mária; Kowalewski, Jozef; Widmalm, Göran; Chmelík, Josef; Sklenář, Vladimír; Žídek, Lukáš

2016-05-01

Standard spectral density mapping protocols, well suited for the analysis of 15N relaxation rates, introduce significant systematic errors when applied to 13C relaxation data, especially if the dynamics is dominated by motions with short correlation times (small molecules, dynamic residues of macromolecules). A possibility to improve the accuracy by employing cross-correlated relaxation rates and on measurements taken at several magnetic fields has been examined. A suite of protocols for analyzing such data has been developed and their performance tested. Applicability of the proposed protocols is documented in two case studies, spectral density mapping of a uniformly labeled RNA hairpin and of a selectively labeled disaccharide exhibiting highly anisotropic tumbling. Combination of auto- and cross-correlated relaxation data acquired at three magnetic fields was applied in the former case in order to separate effects of fast motions and conformational or chemical exchange. An approach using auto-correlated relaxation rates acquired at five magnetic fields, applicable to anisotropically moving molecules, was used in the latter case. The results were compared with a more advanced analysis of data obtained by interpolation of auto-correlated relaxation rates measured at seven magnetic fields, and with the spectral density mapping of cross-correlated relaxation rates. The results showed that sufficiently accurate values of auto- and cross-correlated spectral density functions at zero and 13C frequencies can be obtained from data acquired at three magnetic fields for uniformly 13C -labeled molecules with a moderate anisotropy of the rotational diffusion tensor. Analysis of auto-correlated relaxation rates at five magnetic fields represents an alternative for molecules undergoing highly anisotropic motions.

Measuring Time-of-Flight in an Ultrasonic LPS System Using Generalized Cross-Correlation

PubMed Central

Villladangos, José Manuel; Ureña, Jesús; García, Juan Jesús; Mazo, Manuel; Hernández, Álvaro; Jiménez, Ana; Ruíz, Daniel; De Marziani, Carlos

2011-01-01

In this article, a time-of-flight detection technique in the frequency domain is described for an ultrasonic Local Positioning System (LPS) based on encoded beacons. Beacon transmissions have been synchronized and become simultaneous by means of the DS-CDMA (Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access) technique. Every beacon has been associated to a 255-bit Kasami code. The detection of signal arrival instant at the receiver, from which the distance to each beacon can be obtained, is based on the application of the Generalized Cross-Correlation (GCC), by using the cross-spectral density between the received signal and the sequence to be detected. Prior filtering to enhance the frequency components around the carrier frequency (40 kHz) has improved estimations when obtaining the correlation function maximum, which implies an improvement in distance measurement precision. Positioning has been achieved by using hyperbolic trilateration, based on the Time Differences of Arrival (TDOA) between a reference beacon and the others. PMID:22346645

Measuring time-of-flight in an ultrasonic LPS system using generalized cross-correlation.

PubMed

Villladangos, José Manuel; Ureña, Jesús; García, Juan Jesús; Mazo, Manuel; Hernández, Alvaro; Jiménez, Ana; Ruíz, Daniel; De Marziani, Carlos

2011-01-01

In this article, a time-of-flight detection technique in the frequency domain is described for an ultrasonic local positioning system (LPS) based on encoded beacons. Beacon transmissions have been synchronized and become simultaneous by means of the DS-CDMA (direct-sequence code Division multiple access) technique. Every beacon has been associated to a 255-bit Kasami code. The detection of signal arrival instant at the receiver, from which the distance to each beacon can be obtained, is based on the application of the generalized cross-correlation (GCC), by using the cross-spectral density between the received signal and the sequence to be detected. Prior filtering to enhance the frequency components around the carrier frequency (40 kHz) has improved estimations when obtaining the correlation function maximum, which implies an improvement in distance measurement precision. Positioning has been achieved by using hyperbolic trilateration, based on the time differences of arrival (TDOA) between a reference beacon and the others.

Vibrational correlation between conjugated carbonyl and diazo modes studied by single- and dual-frequency two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maekawa, Hiroaki; Sul, Soohwan; Ge, Nien-Hui

2013-08-01

We have applied infrared three-pulse photon echo and single- and dual-frequency 2D IR spectroscopy to the ester Cdbnd O and diazo Ndbnd N stretching modes in ethyl diazoacetate (EDA), and investigated their vibrational frequency fluctuations and correlation. The two modes exhibit different vibrational dynamics and 2D lineshape, which are well simulated by frequency-frequency correlation functions (FFCFs) with two decaying components. Although the FT IR spectrum shows a single Cdbnd O band, absolute magnitude 2D IR nonrephasing spectrum displays spectral signatures supporting the presence of cis and trans conformations. The cross-peak inclined toward the anti-diagonal in the dual-frequency 2D IR spectrum, indicating that the frequency fluctuations of the two modes are anticorrelated. This behavior is attributed to anticorrelated change in the bond orders when solvent and structural fluctuations causes EDA to adopt a different mixture of the two dominant resonance structures. The effects of cross FFCF on the cross-peak line shape are discussed.

The binaural masking level difference: cortical correlates persist despite severe brain stem atrophy in progressive supranuclear palsy

PubMed Central

Rowe, James B.; Ghosh, Boyd C. P.; Carlyon, Robert P.; Plack, Christopher J.; Gockel, Hedwig E.

2014-01-01

Under binaural listening conditions, the detection of target signals within background masking noise is substantially improved when the interaural phase of the target differs from that of the masker. Neural correlates of this binaural masking level difference (BMLD) have been observed in the inferior colliculus and temporal cortex, but it is not known whether degeneration of the inferior colliculus would result in a reduction of the BMLD in humans. We used magnetoencephalography to examine the BMLD in 13 healthy adults and 13 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). PSP is associated with severe atrophy of the upper brain stem, including the inferior colliculus, confirmed by voxel-based morphometry of structural MRI. Stimuli comprised in-phase sinusoidal tones presented to both ears at three levels (high, medium, and low) masked by in-phase noise, which rendered the low-level tone inaudible. Critically, the BMLD was measured using a low-level tone presented in opposite phase across ears, making it audible against the noise. The cortical waveforms from bilateral auditory sources revealed significantly larger N1m peaks for the out-of-phase low-level tone compared with the in-phase low-level tone, for both groups, indicating preservation of early cortical correlates of the BMLD in PSP. In PSP a significant delay was observed in the onset of the N1m deflection and the amplitude of the P2m was reduced, but these differences were not restricted to the BMLD condition. The results demonstrate that although PSP causes subtle auditory deficits, binaural processing can survive the presence of significant damage to the upper brain stem. PMID:25231610

The binaural masking level difference: cortical correlates persist despite severe brain stem atrophy in progressive supranuclear palsy.

PubMed

Hughes, Laura E; Rowe, James B; Ghosh, Boyd C P; Carlyon, Robert P; Plack, Christopher J; Gockel, Hedwig E

2014-12-15

Under binaural listening conditions, the detection of target signals within background masking noise is substantially improved when the interaural phase of the target differs from that of the masker. Neural correlates of this binaural masking level difference (BMLD) have been observed in the inferior colliculus and temporal cortex, but it is not known whether degeneration of the inferior colliculus would result in a reduction of the BMLD in humans. We used magnetoencephalography to examine the BMLD in 13 healthy adults and 13 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). PSP is associated with severe atrophy of the upper brain stem, including the inferior colliculus, confirmed by voxel-based morphometry of structural MRI. Stimuli comprised in-phase sinusoidal tones presented to both ears at three levels (high, medium, and low) masked by in-phase noise, which rendered the low-level tone inaudible. Critically, the BMLD was measured using a low-level tone presented in opposite phase across ears, making it audible against the noise. The cortical waveforms from bilateral auditory sources revealed significantly larger N1m peaks for the out-of-phase low-level tone compared with the in-phase low-level tone, for both groups, indicating preservation of early cortical correlates of the BMLD in PSP. In PSP a significant delay was observed in the onset of the N1m deflection and the amplitude of the P2m was reduced, but these differences were not restricted to the BMLD condition. The results demonstrate that although PSP causes subtle auditory deficits, binaural processing can survive the presence of significant damage to the upper brain stem. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

Dynamic modeling of GMA fillet welding using cross-correlation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hellinga, M.; Huissoon, J.; Kerr, H.

1996-12-31

The feasibility of employing the cross-correlation system identification technique as a dynamic modeling method for the GMAW process was examined. This approach has the advantages of modeling speed, the ability to operate in low signal to noise environments, the ease of digital implementation, and the lack of model order assumption, making it ideal in a welding application. The width of the weld pool was the parameter investigated as a function of torch travel speed. Both on-line and off-line width measurements were used to identify the impulse response. Experimental results are presented and comparisons made with both step and ramp response.

Brief communication: Landslide motion from cross correlation of UAV-derived morphological attributes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peppa, Maria V.; Mills, Jon P.; Moore, Phil; Miller, Pauline E.; Chambers, Jonathan E.

2017-12-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide observations of high spatio-temporal resolution to enable operational landslide monitoring. In this research, the construction of digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthomosaics from UAV imagery is achieved using structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetric procedures. The study examines the additional value that the morphological attribute of openness, amongst others, can provide to surface deformation analysis. Image-cross-correlation functions and DEM subtraction techniques are applied to the SfM outputs. Through the proposed integrated analysis, the automated quantification of a landslide's motion over time is demonstrated, with implications for the wider interpretation of landslide kinematics via UAV surveys.

Enhanced Vertical Perception through Head-Related Impulse Response Customization Based on Pinna Response Tuning in the Median Plane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Ki Hoon; Park, Youngjin

Human's ability to perceive elevation of a sound and distinguish whether a sound is coming from the front or rear strongly depends on the monaural spectral features of the pinnae. In order to realize an effective virtual auditory display by HRTF (head-related transfer function) customization, the pinna responses were isolated from the median HRIRs (head-related impulse responses) of 45 individual HRIRs in the CIPIC HRTF database and modeled as linear combinations of 4 or 5 basic temporal shapes (basis functions) per each elevation on the median plane by PCA (principal components analysis) in the time domain. By tuning the weight of each basis function computed for a specific height to replace the pinna response in the KEMAR HRIR at the same height with the resulting customized pinna response and listening to the filtered stimuli over headphones, 4 individuals with normal hearing sensitivity were able to create a set of HRIRs that outperformed the KEMAR HRIRs in producing vertical effects with reduced front/back ambiguity in the median plane. Since the monaural spectral features of the pinnae are almost independent of azimuthal variation of the source direction, similar vertical effects could also be generated at different azimuthal directions simply by varying the ITD (interaural time difference) according to the direction as well as the size of each individual's own head.

Cross-correlations between crude oil and agricultural commodity markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Li

2014-02-01

In this paper, we investigate cross-correlations between crude oil and agricultural commodity markets. Based on a popular statistical test proposed by Podobnik et al. (2009), we find that the linear return cross-correlations are significant at larger lag lengths and the volatility cross-correlations are highly significant at all of the lag lengths under consideration. Using a detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA), we find that the return cross-correlations are persistent for corn and soybean and anti-persistent for oat and soybean. The volatility cross-correlations are strongly persistent. Using a nonlinear cross-correlation measure, our results show that cross-correlations are relatively weak but they are significant for smaller time scales. For larger time scales, the cross-correlations are not significant. The reason may be that information transmission from crude oil market to agriculture markets can complete within a certain period of time. Finally, based on multifractal extension of DCCA, we find that the cross-correlations are multifractal and high oil prices partly contribute to food crisis during the period of 2006-mid-2008.

Nuclear effects in (anti)neutrino charge-current quasielastic scattering at MINER νA kinematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, M. V.; Antonov, A. N.; Megias, G. D.; González-Jiménez, R.; Barbaro, M. B.; Caballero, J. A.; Donnelly, T. W.; Udías, J. M.

2018-05-01

We compare the characteristics of the charged-current quasielastic (anti)neutrino scattering obtained in two different nuclear models, the phenomenological SuperScaling Approximation and the model using a realistic spectral function S(p, ɛ) that gives a scaling function in accordance with the (e, e‧ ) scattering data, with the recent data published by the MiniBooNE, MINER νA, and NOMAD collaborations. The spectral function accounts for the nucleon-nucleon (NN) correlations by using natural orbitals from the Jastrow correlation method and has a realistic energy dependence. Both models provide a good description of the MINER νA and NOMAD data without the need of an ad hoc increase of the value of the mass parameter in the axial-vector dipole form factor. The models considered in this work, based on the the impulse approximation (IA), underpredict the MiniBooNE data for the flux-averaged charged-current quasielastic {ν }μ ({\\bar{ν }}μ ){+}12\\text{C} differential cross section per nucleon and the total cross sections, although the shape of the cross sections is represented by the approaches. The discrepancy is most likely due to missing of the effects beyond the IA, e.g., those of the 2p–2h meson exchange currents that have contribution in the transverse responses.

Linear Subspace Ranking Hashing for Cross-Modal Retrieval.

PubMed

Li, Kai; Qi, Guo-Jun; Ye, Jun; Hua, Kien A

2017-09-01

Hashing has attracted a great deal of research in recent years due to its effectiveness for the retrieval and indexing of large-scale high-dimensional multimedia data. In this paper, we propose a novel ranking-based hashing framework that maps data from different modalities into a common Hamming space where the cross-modal similarity can be measured using Hamming distance. Unlike existing cross-modal hashing algorithms where the learned hash functions are binary space partitioning functions, such as the sign and threshold function, the proposed hashing scheme takes advantage of a new class of hash functions closely related to rank correlation measures which are known to be scale-invariant, numerically stable, and highly nonlinear. Specifically, we jointly learn two groups of linear subspaces, one for each modality, so that features' ranking orders in different linear subspaces maximally preserve the cross-modal similarities. We show that the ranking-based hash function has a natural probabilistic approximation which transforms the original highly discontinuous optimization problem into one that can be efficiently solved using simple gradient descent algorithms. The proposed hashing framework is also flexible in the sense that the optimization procedures are not tied up to any specific form of loss function, which is typical for existing cross-modal hashing methods, but rather we can flexibly accommodate different loss functions with minimal changes to the learning steps. We demonstrate through extensive experiments on four widely-used real-world multimodal datasets that the proposed cross-modal hashing method can achieve competitive performance against several state-of-the-arts with only moderate training and testing time.

Chinese cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Foot Function Index as tool to measure patients with foot and ankle functional limitations.

PubMed

González-Sánchez, Manuel; Ruiz-Muñoz, Maria; Li, Guang Zhi; Cuesta-Vargas, Antonio I

2018-08-01

To perform a cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Foot Function Index (FFI) questionnaire to develop the Chinese version. Three hundred and six patients with foot and ankle neuromusculoskeletal diseases participated in this observational study. Construct validity, internal consistency and criterion validity were calculated for the FFI Chinese version after the translation and transcultural adaptation process. Internal consistency ranged from 0.996 to 0.998. Test-retest analysis ranged from 0.985 to 0.994; minimal detectable change 90: 2.270; standard error of measurement: 0.973. Load distribution of the three factors had an eigenvalue greater than 1. Chi-square value was 9738.14 (p < 0.001). Correlations with the three factors were significant between Factor 1 and the other two: r = -0.634 (Factor 2) and r = -0.191 (Factor 1). Foot Function Index (Taiwan Version), Short-Form 12 (Version 2) and EuroQol-5D were used for criterion validity. Factors 1 and 2 showed significant correlation with 15/16 and 14/16 scales and subscales, respectively. Foot Function Index Chinese version psychometric characteristics were good to excellent. Chinese researchers and clinicians may use this tool for foot and ankle assessment and monitoring. Implications for rehabilitation A cross-cultural adaptation of the FFI has been done from original version to Chinese. Consistent results and satisfactory psychometric properties of the Foot Function Index Chinese version have been reported. For Chinese speaking researcher and clinician FFI-Ch could be used as a tool to assess patients with foot disease.

Resonant activation in a colored multiplicative thermal noise driven closed system.

PubMed

Ray, Somrita; Mondal, Debasish; Bag, Bidhan Chandra

2014-05-28

In this paper, we have demonstrated that resonant activation (RA) is possible even in a thermodynamically closed system where the particle experiences a random force and a spatio-temporal frictional coefficient from the thermal bath. For this stochastic process, we have observed a hallmark of RA phenomena in terms of a turnover behavior of the barrier-crossing rate as a function of noise correlation time at a fixed noise variance. Variance can be fixed either by changing temperature or damping strength as a function of noise correlation time. Our another observation is that the barrier crossing rate passes through a maximum with increase in coupling strength of the multiplicative noise. If the damping strength is appreciably large, then the maximum may disappear. Finally, we compare simulation results with the analytical calculation. It shows that there is a good agreement between analytical and numerical results.

The effect of audiovisual and binaural listening on the acceptable noise level (ANL): establishing an ANL conceptual model.

PubMed

Wu, Yu-Hsiang; Stangl, Elizabeth; Pang, Carol; Zhang, Xuyang

2014-02-01

Little is known regarding the acoustic features of a stimulus used by listeners to determine the acceptable noise level (ANL). Features suggested by previous research include speech intelligibility (noise is unacceptable when it degrades speech intelligibility to a certain degree; the intelligibility hypothesis) and loudness (noise is unacceptable when the speech-to-noise loudness ratio is poorer than a certain level; the loudness hypothesis). The purpose of the study was to investigate if speech intelligibility or loudness is the criterion feature that determines ANL. To achieve this, test conditions were chosen so that the intelligibility and loudness hypotheses would predict different results. In Experiment 1, the effect of audiovisual (AV) and binaural listening on ANL was investigated; in Experiment 2, the effect of interaural correlation (ρ) on ANL was examined. A single-blinded, repeated-measures design was used. Thirty-two and twenty-five younger adults with normal hearing participated in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. In Experiment 1, both ANL and speech recognition performance were measured using the AV version of the Connected Speech Test (CST) in three conditions: AV-binaural, auditory only (AO)-binaural, and AO-monaural. Lipreading skill was assessed using the Utley lipreading test. In Experiment 2, ANL and speech recognition performance were measured using the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) in three binaural conditions, wherein the interaural correlation of noise was varied: ρ = 1 (N(o)S(o) [a listening condition wherein both speech and noise signals are identical across two ears]), -1 (NπS(o) [a listening condition wherein speech signals are identical across two ears whereas the noise signals of two ears are 180 degrees out of phase]), and 0 (N(u)S(o) [a listening condition wherein speech signals are identical across two ears whereas noise signals are uncorrelated across ears]). The results were compared to the predictions made based on the intelligibility and loudness hypotheses. The results of the AV and AO conditions appeared to support the intelligibility hypothesis due to the significant correlation between visual benefit in ANL (AV re: AO ANL) and (1) visual benefit in CST performance (AV re: AO CST) and (2) lipreading skill. The results of the N(o)S(o), NπS(o), and N(u)S(o) conditions negated the intelligibility hypothesis because binaural processing benefit (NπS(o) re: N(o)S(o), and N(u)S(o) re: N(o)S(o)) in ANL was not correlated to that in HINT performance. Instead, the results somewhat supported the loudness hypothesis because the pattern of ANL results across the three conditions (N(o)S(o) ≈ NπS(o) ≈ N(u)S(o) ANL) was more consistent with what was predicted by the loudness hypothesis (N(o)S(o) ≈ NπS(o) < N(u)S(o) ANL) than by the intelligibility hypothesis (NπS(o) < N(u)S(o) < N(o)S(o) ANL). The results of the binaural and monaural conditions supported neither hypothesis because (1) binaural benefit (binaural re: monaural) in ANL was not correlated to that in speech recognition performance, and (2) the pattern of ANL results across conditions (binaural < monaural ANL) was not consistent with the prediction made based on previous binaural loudness summation research (binaural ≥ monaural ANL). The study suggests that listeners may use multiple acoustic features to make ANL judgments. The binaural/monaural results showing that neither hypothesis was supported further indicate that factors other than speech intelligibility and loudness, such as psychological factors, may affect ANL. The weightings of different acoustic features in ANL judgments may vary widely across individuals and listening conditions. American Academy of Audiology.

Enhanced brainstem and cortical evoked response amplitudes: single-trial covariance analysis.

PubMed

Galbraith, G C

2001-06-01

The purpose of the present study was to develop analytic procedures that improve the definition of sensory evoked response components. Such procedures could benefit all recordings but would especially benefit difficult recordings where many trials are contaminated by muscle and movement artifacts. First, cross-correlation and latency adjustment analyses were applied to the human brainstem frequency-following response and cortical auditory evoked response recorded on the same trials. Lagged cross-correlation functions were computed, for each of 17 subjects, between single-trial data and templates consisting of the sinusoid stimulus waveform for the brainstem response and the subject's own smoothed averaged evoked response P2 component for the cortical response. Trials were considered in the analysis only if the maximum correlation-squared (r2) exceeded .5 (negatively correlated trials were thus included). Identical correlation coefficients may be based on signals with quite different amplitudes, but it is possible to assess amplitude by the nonnormalized covariance function. Next, an algorithm is applied in which each trial with negative covariance is matched to a trial with similar, but positive, covariance and these matched-trial pairs are deleted. When an evoked response signal is present in the data, the majority of trials positively correlate with the template. Thus, a residual of positively correlated trials remains after matched covariance trials are deleted. When these residual trials are averaged, the resulting brainstem and cortical responses show greatly enhanced amplitudes. This result supports the utility of this analysis technique in clarifying and assessing evoked response signals.

Family Demands, Social Support and Family Functioning in Taiwanese Families Rearing Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiao, C-Y.

2014-01-01

Background: Down syndrome (DS) affects not only children but also their families. Much remains to be learned about factors that influence how families of children with DS function, especially families in non-Western populations. The purpose of this cross-sectional, correlational study was to examine how family demographics, family demands and…

Subjective evaluation and electroacoustic theoretical validation of a new approach to audio upmixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usher, John S.

Audio signal processing systems for converting two-channel (stereo) recordings to four or five channels are increasingly relevant. These audio upmixers can be used with conventional stereo sound recordings and reproduced with multichannel home theatre or automotive loudspeaker audio systems to create a more engaging and natural-sounding listening experience. This dissertation discusses existing approaches to audio upmixing for recordings of musical performances and presents specific design criteria for a system to enhance spatial sound quality. A new upmixing system is proposed and evaluated according to these criteria and a theoretical model for its behavior is validated using empirical measurements. The new system removes short-term correlated components from two electronic audio signals using a pair of adaptive filters, updated according to a frequency domain implementation of the normalized-least-means-square algorithm. The major difference of the new system with all extant audio upmixers is that unsupervised time-alignment of the input signals (typically, by up to +/-10 ms) as a function of frequency (typically, using a 1024-band equalizer) is accomplished due to the non-minimum phase adaptive filter. Two new signals are created from the weighted difference of the inputs, and are then radiated with two loudspeakers behind the listener. According to the consensus in the literature on the effect of interaural correlation on auditory image formation, the self-orthogonalizing properties of the algorithm ensure minimal distortion of the frontal source imagery and natural-sounding, enveloping reverberance (ambiance) imagery. Performance evaluation of the new upmix system was accomplished in two ways: Firstly, using empirical electroacoustic measurements which validate a theoretical model of the system; and secondly, with formal listening tests which investigated auditory spatial imagery with a graphical mapping tool and a preference experiment. Both electroacoustic and subjective methods investigated system performance with a variety of test stimuli for solo musical performances reproduced using a loudspeaker in an orchestral concert-hall and recorded using different microphone techniques. The objective and subjective evaluations combined with a comparative study with two commercial systems demonstrate that the proposed system provides a new, computationally practical, high sound quality solution to upmixing.

A radiologic correlation with the basic functional neuroanatomy of the brain.

PubMed

Bilicka, Z; Liska, M; Bluska, P; Bilicky, J

2014-01-01

Primary cortical areas for motor, sensory and sensitive functions are localized in certain areas of the brain cortex. In clinical practice, cross sectional imaging (computer tomography and magnetic resonance) is wildy used for diagnostics purpose, treatment planning and follow up of the patients. Accurate orientation in brain structures is necessary for the evaluation of radiological images. There are numerable landmark signs, which can be used for precise identification of important brain structures. In this review article, the mostly used anatomical landmarks are described and shown on the cross sectional images (magnetic resonance imaging) (Fig. 14, Ref. 25).

Optimized effective potential method and application to static RPA correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukazawa, Taro; Akai, Hisazumi

2015-03-01

The optimized effective potential (OEP) method is a promising technique for calculating the ground state properties of a system within the density functional theory. However, it is not widely used as its computational cost is rather high and, also, some ambiguity remains in the theoretical framework. In order to overcome these problems, we first introduced a method that accelerates the OEP scheme in a static RPA-level correlation functional. Second, the Krieger-Li-Iafrate (KLI) approximation is exploited to solve the OEP equation. Although seemingly too crude, this approximation did not reduce the accuracy of the description of the magnetic transition metals (Fe, Co, and Ni) examined here, the magnetic properties of which are rather sensitive to correlation effects. Finally, we reformulated the OEP method to render it applicable to the direct RPA correlation functional and other, more precise, functionals. Emphasis is placed on the following three points of the discussion: (i) level-crossing at the Fermi surface is taken into account; (ii) eigenvalue variations in a Kohn-Sham functional are correctly treated; and (iii) the resultant OEP equation is different from those reported to date.

Higher plasma CD4 lymphocyte count correlates with better cognitive function in human immunodeficiency virus-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS) patients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitri, F. I.; Rambe, A. S.; Fitri, A.

2018-03-01

Neurocognitive disorders in HIV-AIDS are still prevalent despite the use of antiretroviral therapy and seem to be under-recognized. Plasma lymphocyte CD4 count is a marker for general immunology status, but its association with cognitive function remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between plasma CD4 lymphocyte and cognitive function in HIV-AIDS patients.This was a cross-sectional study involving 48 HIV-AIDS patients. All subjects underwent physical, neurologic examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Indonesian Version (MoCA-INA) to assess cognitive function and measurement of lymphocyte CD4 counts.This study included 48 subjects consisted of 29 males (60.4%) and 19 females (39.6%). The mean age was 39.17±11.21 years old. There was a significant correlation between CD4 lymphocyte counts and MoCA-INA score (r=0.347, p=0.016).Higher plasma CD4 lymphocyte count is correlated with better cognitive function in HIV-AIDS patients.

Cross-Cultural adaptation of the General Functioning Scale of the Family

PubMed Central

Pires, Thiago; de Assis, Simone Gonçalves; Avanci, Joviana Quintes; Pesce, Renata Pires

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe the process of cross-cultural adaptation of the General Functioning Scale of the Family, a subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device, for the Brazilian population. METHODS The General Functioning Scale of the Family was translated into Portuguese and administered to 500 guardians of children in the second grade of elementary school in public schools of Sao Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. The types of equivalences investigated were: conceptual and of items, semantic, operational, and measurement. The study involved discussions with experts, translations and back-translations of the instrument, and psychometric assessment. Reliability and validity studies were carried out by internal consistency testing (Cronbach’s alpha), Guttman split-half correlation model, Pearson correlation coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis. Associations between General Functioning of the Family and variables theoretically associated with the theme (father’s or mother’s drunkenness and violence between parents) were estimated by odds ratio. RESULTS Semantic equivalence was between 90.0% and 100%. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.79 to 0.81, indicating good internal consistency of the instrument. Pearson correlation coefficient ranged between 0.303 and 0.549. Statistical association was found between the general functioning of the family score and the theoretically related variables, as well as good fit quality of the confirmatory analysis model. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate the feasibility of administering the instrument to the Brazilian population, as it is easy to understand and a good measurement of the construct of interest. PMID:27355464

Validation analysis of informant's ratings of cognitive function in African Americans and Nigerians

PubMed Central

Shen, Jianzhao; Gao, Sujuan; Unverzagt, Frederick W.; Ogunniyi, Adesola; Baiyewu, Olusegun; Gureje, Oye; Hendrie, Hugh C.; Hall, Kathleen S.

2011-01-01

SUMMARY Objectives To examine informant validity using the Community Screening Interview for Dementia (CSI ‘D’) both cross-sectionally and longitudinally in two very different cultures and to explore the effects of informants and study participants’ characteristics on the validity of informants’ reports. Methods Elderly African Americans age 65 years and older residing in Indianapolis, USA and elderly Yoruba Nigerians age 65 years and older residing in Ibadan, Nigeria were assessed on cognitive functioning using the CSI ‘D’ at baseline (1992–1993) and five-year follow-up (1997–1998). At baseline, the informant validity in both samples was evaluated against participants’ cognitive tests using Pearson correlation and regular regression models. At follow-up, informants ratings on cognitive decline were assessed against participants’ cognitive decline scores from baseline to follow-up using biserial correlation and logistic regressions. Results At baseline, informants’ reports on cognitive functioning significantly correlated with cognitive scores in both samples (Indianapolis:r = –0.43, p < 0.001; Ibadan:r = –0.47, p < 0.001). The participant–informant relationships significantly affected the informants’ reports in the two samples with different patterns (p = 0.005 for Indianapolis and p < 0.001 for Ibadan) at a given level of cognitive functioning. African Americans spouses reported more cognitive problems, while siblings reported more problems for the Yoruba Nigerians. At follow-up, informants’ ratings on cognitive decline significantly correlated with the cognitive decline scores (Indianapolis r = 0.38, p < 0.001; Ibadan r = 0.32, p < 0.001). The characteristics of study participants and informants had little impact on the informants’ ratings on cognitive decline. Conclusions Informant reports are valid in assessing the cognitive functioning of study participants both cross-sectionally and longitudinally in two very different cultures, languages and environments. PMID:16802282