Shoreline ecology program for Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Part 3: Biology

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

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

1995-12-31

This study describes the biological results of a comprehensive shoreline ecology program designed to assess ecological recovery in Prince William Sound following the Exxon Valdez oil spill on march 24, 1989. The program is an application of the ``Sediment Quality Triad`` approach, combining chemical, toxicological, and biological measurements. The study was designed so that results could be extrapolated to the entire spill zone in Prince William Sound. The spill affected four major shoreline habitat types in Prince William Sound: pebble/gravel, boulder/cobble, sheltered bedrock, and exposed bedrock. The study design had two components: (1) one-time stratified random sampling at 64 sitesmore » representing four habitats and four oiling levels (including unoiled reference sites) and (2) periodic sampling at 12 nonrandomly chosen sites that included some of the most heavily oiled locations in the sound. Biological communities on rock surfaces and in intertidal and shallow subtidal sediments were analyzed for differences resulting from to oiling in each of 16 habitat/tide zone combinations. Statistical methods included univariate analyses of individual species abundances and community parameter variables (total abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity), and multivariate correspondence analysis of community structure. 58 refs., 13 figs., 9 tabs.« less

Cross cultural translation and adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Hearing Implant Sound Quality Index Questionnaire - (HISQUI19).

PubMed

Caporali, Priscila Faissola; Caporali, Sueli Aparecida; Bucuvic, Érika Cristina; Vieira, Sheila de Souza; Santos, Zeila Maria; Chiari, Brasília Maria

2016-01-01

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument Hearing Implant Sound Quality Index (HISQUI19), and characterization of the target population and auditory performance in Cochlear Implant (CI) users through the application of a synthesis version of this tool. Evaluations of conceptual, item, semantic and operational equivalences were performed. The synthesis version was applied as a pre-test to 33 individuals, whose final results characterized the final sample and performance of the questionnaire. The results were analyzed statistically. The final translation (FT) was back-translated and compared with the original version, revealing a minimum difference between items. The changes observed between the FT and the synthesis version were characterized by the application of simplified vocabulary used on a daily basis. For the pre-test, the average score of the interviewees was 90.2, and a high level of reliability was achieved (0.83). The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the HISQUI19 questionnaire showed suitability for conceptual, item, semantic and operational equivalences. For the sample characterization, the sound quality was classified as good with better performance for the categories of location and distinction of sound/voices.

Analysis of impact/impulse noise for predicting noise induced hearing loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vipperman, Jeffrey S.; Prince, Mary M.; Flamm, Angela M.

2003-04-01

Studies indicate that the statistical properties and temporal structure of the sound signal are important in determining the extent of hearing hazard. As part of a pilot study to examine hearing conservation program effectiveness, NIOSH collected noise samples of impact noise sources in an automobile stamping plant, focusing on jobs with peak sound levels (Lpk) of greater than 120 dB. Digital tape recordings of sounds were collected using a Type I Precision Sound Level Meter and microphone connected to a DAT tape recorder. The events were archived and processed as .wav files to extract single events of interest on CD-R media and CD audio media. A preliminary analysis of sample wavelet files was conducted to characterize each event using metrics such as the number of impulses per unit time, the repetition rate or temporal pattern of these impulses, index of peakedness, crest factor, kurtosis, coefficient of kurtosis, rise time, fall time, and peak time. The spectrum, duration, and inverse of duration for each waveform were also computed. Finally, the data were evaluated with the Auditory Hazard Assessment Algorithm (AHAAH). Improvements to data collection for a future study examining different strategies for evaluating industrial noise exposure will be discussed.

Ultrasound analysis of tongue contour for the sound [j] in adults and children.

PubMed

Barberena, Luciana da Silva; Simoni, Simone Nicolini de; Souza, Rosalina Correa Sobrinho de; Moraes, Denis Altieri de Oliveira; Berti, Larissa Cristina; Keske-Soares, Márcia

2017-12-11

Analyze and compare the mean tongue contours and articulatory gestures in the production of the sound [j] in adults and children with typical and atypical speech development. The children with atypical development presented speech sound disorders. The diagnosis was determined by speech assessments. The study sample was composed of 90 individuals divided into three groups: 30 adults with typical speech development aged 19-44 years (AT), 30 children with typical speech development (CT), and 30 children with speech sound disorders, named as atypical in this study, aged four years to eight years and eleven months (CA). Ultrasonography assessment of tongue movements was performed for all groups. Mean tongue contours were compared between three groups in different vocalic contexts following the sound [j]. The maximum elevation of the tongue tip was considered for delimitation of gestures using the Articulate Assistant Advanced (AAA) software and images in sagittal plane/Mode B. The points that intercepted the language curves were analyzed by the statistical tool R. The graphs of tongue contours were obtained adopting a 95% confidence interval. After that, the regions with significant statistical differences (p<0.05) between the CT and CA groups were obtained. The mean tongue contours demonstrated the gesture for the sound [j] in the comparison between typical and atypical children. For the semivowel [j], there is an articulatory gesture of tongue and dorsum towards the center of ​​the hard palate, with significant differences observed between the children. The results showed differences between the groups of children regarding the ability to refine articulatory gestures.

The Shock and Vibration Digest, Volume 14, Number 2, February 1982

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-01

figurations. 75 4J DUCTS 82-424 (Also see No. 346) Coupling Lou Factors for Statistical Energy Analysis of Sound Transnission at Rectangular...waves, Sound waves, Wave props- tures by means of statistical energy analysis (SEA) coupling gation loss factors for the structure-borne sound...multilayered panels are discussed. Statistical energy analysis (SEA) has proved to be a promising Experimental results of stiffened panels, damping tape

Comparison of the Effects of Benson Muscle Relaxation and Nature Sounds on the Fatigue in Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Seifi, Leila; Najafi Ghezeljeh, Tahereh; Haghani, Hamid

This study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effects of Benson muscle relaxation and nature sounds on fatigue in patients with heart failure. Fatigue and exercise intolerance as prevalent symptoms experienced by patients with heart failure can cause the loss of independence in the activities of daily living. It can also damage self-care and increase dependence to others, which subsequently can reduce the quality of life. This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in an urban area of Iran in 2016. Samples were consisted of 105 hospitalized patients with heart failure chosen using a convenience sampling method. They were assigned to relaxation, nature sounds, and control groups using a randomized block design. In addition to routine care, the Benson muscle relaxation and nature sounds groups received interventions in mornings and evenings twice a day for 20 minutes within 3 consecutive days. A 9-item questionnaire was used to collect data regarding fatigue before and after the interventions. Relaxation and nature sounds reduced fatigue in patients with heart failure in comparison to the control group. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the interventions. Benson muscle relaxation and nature sounds are alternative methods for the reduction of fatigue in patients with heart failure. They are inexpensive and easy to be administered and upon patients' preferences can be used by nurses along with routine nursing interventions.

The Shock and Vibration Digest. Volume 15, Number 7

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

systems noise -- for tant analytical tool, the statistical energy analysis example, from a specific metal, chain driven, con- method, has been the subject...34Experimental Determination of Vibration Parameters Re- ~~~quired in the Statistical Energy Analysis Meth- .,i. 31. Dubowsky, S. and Morris, T.L., "An...34Coupling Loss Factors for 55. Upton, R., "Sound Intensity -. A Powerful New Statistical Energy Analysis of Sound Trans- Measurement Tool," S/V, Sound

The social vocalization repertoire of east Australian migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

PubMed

Dunlop, Rebecca A; Noad, Michael J; Cato, Douglas H; Stokes, Dale

2007-11-01

Although the songs of humpback whales have been extensively studied, other vocalizations and percussive sounds, referred to as "social sounds," have received little attention. This study presents the social vocalization repertoire of migrating east Australian humpback whales from a sample of 660 sounds recorded from 61 groups of varying composition, over three years. The social vocalization repertoire of humpback whales was much larger than previously described with a total of 34 separate call types classified aurally and by spectrographic analysis as well as statistically. Of these, 21 call types were the same as units of the song current at the time of recording but used individually instead of as part of the song sequence, while the other 13 calls were stable over the three years of the study and were not part of the song. This study provides a catalog of sounds that can be used as a basis for future studies. It is an essential first step in determining the function, contextual use and cultural transmission of humpback social vocalizations.

Application of the Extreme Value Distribution to Estimate the Uncertainty of Peak Sound Pressure Levels at the Workplace.

PubMed

Lenzuni, Paolo

2015-07-01

The purpose of this article is to develop a method for the statistical inference of the maximum peak sound pressure level and of the associated uncertainty. Both quantities are requested by the EU directive 2003/10/EC for a complete and solid assessment of the noise exposure at the workplace. Based on the characteristics of the sound pressure waveform, it is hypothesized that the distribution of the measured peak sound pressure levels follows the extreme value distribution. The maximum peak level is estimated as the largest member of a finite population following this probability distribution. The associated uncertainty is also discussed, taking into account not only the contribution due to the incomplete sampling but also the contribution due to the finite precision of the instrumentation. The largest of the set of measured peak levels underestimates the maximum peak sound pressure level. The underestimate can be as large as 4 dB if the number of measurements is limited to 3-4, which is common practice in occupational noise assessment. The extended uncertainty is also quite large (~2.5 dB), with a weak dependence on the sampling details. Following the procedure outlined in this article, a reliable comparison between the peak sound pressure levels measured in a workplace and the EU directive action limits is possible. Non-compliance can occur even when the largest of the set of measured peak levels is several dB below such limits. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

An introduction to medical statistics for health care professionals: Hypothesis tests and estimation.

PubMed

Thomas, Elaine

2005-01-01

This article is the second in a series of three that will give health care professionals (HCPs) a sound introduction to medical statistics (Thomas, 2004). The objective of research is to find out about the population at large. However, it is generally not possible to study the whole of the population and research questions are addressed in an appropriate study sample. The next crucial step is then to use the information from the sample of individuals to make statements about the wider population of like individuals. This procedure of drawing conclusions about the population, based on study data, is known as inferential statistics. The findings from the study give us the best estimate of what is true for the relevant population, given the sample is representative of the population. It is important to consider how accurate this best estimate is, based on a single sample, when compared to the unknown population figure. Any difference between the observed sample result and the population characteristic is termed the sampling error. This article will cover the two main forms of statistical inference (hypothesis tests and estimation) along with issues that need to be addressed when considering the implications of the study results. Copyright (c) 2005 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-10-01

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

Statistical properties of Chinese phonemic networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Shuiyuan; Liu, Haitao; Xu, Chunshan

2011-04-01

The study of properties of speech sound systems is of great significance in understanding the human cognitive mechanism and the working principles of speech sound systems. Some properties of speech sound systems, such as the listener-oriented feature and the talker-oriented feature, have been unveiled with the statistical study of phonemes in human languages and the research of the interrelations between human articulatory gestures and the corresponding acoustic parameters. With all the phonemes of speech sound systems treated as a coherent whole, our research, which focuses on the dynamic properties of speech sound systems in operation, investigates some statistical parameters of Chinese phoneme networks based on real text and dictionaries. The findings are as follows: phonemic networks have high connectivity degrees and short average distances; the degrees obey normal distribution and the weighted degrees obey power law distribution; vowels enjoy higher priority than consonants in the actual operation of speech sound systems; the phonemic networks have high robustness against targeted attacks and random errors. In addition, for investigating the structural properties of a speech sound system, a statistical study of dictionaries is conducted, which shows the higher frequency of shorter words and syllables and the tendency that the longer a word is, the shorter the syllables composing it are. From these structural properties and dynamic properties one can derive the following conclusion: the static structure of a speech sound system tends to promote communication efficiency and save articulation effort while the dynamic operation of this system gives preference to reliable transmission and easy recognition. In short, a speech sound system is an effective, efficient and reliable communication system optimized in many aspects.

Is Statistical Learning Constrained by Lower Level Perceptual Organization?

PubMed Central

Emberson, Lauren L.; Liu, Ran; Zevin, Jason D.

2013-01-01

In order for statistical information to aid in complex developmental processes such as language acquisition, learning from higher-order statistics (e.g. across successive syllables in a speech stream to support segmentation) must be possible while perceptual abilities (e.g. speech categorization) are still developing. The current study examines how perceptual organization interacts with statistical learning. Adult participants were presented with multiple exemplars from novel, complex sound categories designed to reflect some of the spectral complexity and variability of speech. These categories were organized into sequential pairs and presented such that higher-order statistics, defined based on sound categories, could support stream segmentation. Perceptual similarity judgments and multi-dimensional scaling revealed that participants only perceived three perceptual clusters of sounds and thus did not distinguish the four experimenter-defined categories, creating a tension between lower level perceptual organization and higher-order statistical information. We examined whether the resulting pattern of learning is more consistent with statistical learning being “bottom-up,” constrained by the lower levels of organization, or “top-down,” such that higher-order statistical information of the stimulus stream takes priority over the perceptual organization, and perhaps influences perceptual organization. We consistently find evidence that learning is constrained by perceptual organization. Moreover, participants generalize their learning to novel sounds that occupy a similar perceptual space, suggesting that statistical learning occurs based on regions of or clusters in perceptual space. Overall, these results reveal a constraint on learning of sound sequences, such that statistical information is determined based on lower level organization. These findings have important implications for the role of statistical learning in language acquisition. PMID:23618755

Modeling the sound transmission between rooms coupled through partition walls by using a diffusion model.

PubMed

Billon, Alexis; Foy, Cédric; Picaut, Judicaël; Valeau, Vincent; Sakout, Anas

2008-06-01

In this paper, a modification of the diffusion model for room acoustics is proposed to account for sound transmission between two rooms, a source room and an adjacent room, which are coupled through a partition wall. A system of two diffusion equations, one for each room, together with a set of two boundary conditions, one for the partition wall and one for the other walls of a room, is obtained and numerically solved. The modified diffusion model is validated by numerical comparisons with the statistical theory for several coupled-room configurations by varying the coupling area surface, the absorption coefficient of each room, and the volume of the adjacent room. An experimental comparison is also carried out for two coupled classrooms. The modified diffusion model results agree very well with both the statistical theory and the experimental data. The diffusion model can then be used as an alternative to the statistical theory, especially when the statistical theory is not applicable, that is, when the reverberant sound field is not diffuse. Moreover, the diffusion model allows the prediction of the spatial distribution of sound energy within each coupled room, while the statistical theory gives only one sound level for each room.

Performance of active feedforward control systems in non-ideal, synthesized diffuse sound fields.

PubMed

Misol, Malte; Bloch, Christian; Monner, Hans Peter; Sinapius, Michael

2014-04-01

The acoustic performance of passive or active panel structures is usually tested in sound transmission loss facilities. A reverberant sending room, equipped with one or a number of independent sound sources, is used to generate a diffuse sound field excitation which acts as a disturbance source on the structure under investigation. The spatial correlation and coherence of such a synthesized non-ideal diffuse-sound-field excitation, however, might deviate significantly from the ideal case. This has consequences for the operation of an active feedforward control system which heavily relies on the acquisition of coherent disturbance source information. This work, therefore, evaluates the spatial correlation and coherence of ideal and non-ideal diffuse sound fields and considers the implications on the performance of a feedforward control system. The system under consideration is an aircraft-typical double panel system, equipped with an active sidewall panel (lining), which is realized in a transmission loss facility. Experimental results for different numbers of sound sources in the reverberation room are compared to simulation results of a comparable generic double panel system excited by an ideal diffuse sound field. It is shown that the number of statistically independent noise sources acting on the primary structure of the double panel system depends not only on the type of diffuse sound field but also on the sample lengths of the processed signals. The experimental results show that the number of reference sensors required for a defined control performance exhibits an inverse relationship to control filter length.

Methods for estimating aboveground biomass and its components for Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine trees

Treesearch

K.P. Poudel; H. Temesgen

2016-01-01

Estimating aboveground biomass and its components requires sound statistical formulation and evaluation. Using data collected from 55 destructively sampled trees in different parts of Oregon, we evaluated the performance of three groups of methods to estimate total aboveground biomass and (or) its components based on the bias and root mean squared error (RMSE) that...

Validity of the SAT® for Predicting First-Year Grades: 2012 SAT Validity Sample. Statistical Report 2015 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beard, Jonathan; Marini, Jessica P.

2015-01-01

The continued accumulation of validity evidence for the intended uses of educational assessment scores is critical to ensure that inferences made using the scores are sound. To that end, the College Board has continued to collect college outcome data to evaluate the relationship between SAT® scores and college success. This report provides updated…

Annual Report: 2010-2011 Storm Season Sampling For NON-DRY DOCK STORMWATER MONITORING FOR PUGET SOUND NAVAL SHIPYARD, BREMERTON, WA

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

Brandenberger, Jill M.; Metallo, David; Johnston, Robert K.

2012-09-01

This interim report summarizes the stormwater monitoring conducted for non-dry dock outfalls in both the confined industrial area and the residential areas of Naval Base Kitsap within the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (referred to as the Shipyard). This includes the collection, analyses, and descriptive statistics for stormwater sampling conducted from November 2010 through April 2011. Seven stormwater basins within the Shipyard were sampled during at least three storm events to characterize non-dry dock stormwater discharges at selected stormwater drains located within the facility. This serves as the Phase I component of the project and Phase II is planned for themore » 2011-2012 storm season. These data will assist the Navy, USEPA, Ecology and other stakeholders in understanding the nature and condition of stormwater discharges from the Shipyard and inform the permitting process for new outfall discharges. The data from Phase I was compiled with current stormwater data available from the Shipyard, Sinclair/Dyes Inlet watershed, and Puget Sound in order to support technical investigations for the Draft NPDES permit. The permit would require storm event sampling at selected stormwater drains located within the Shipyard. However, the data must be considered on multiple scales to truly understand potential impairments to beneficial uses within Sinclair and Dyes Inlets.« less

Entropy in sound and vibration: towards a new paradigm.

PubMed

Le Bot, A

2017-01-01

This paper describes a discussion on the method and the status of a statistical theory of sound and vibration, called statistical energy analysis (SEA). SEA is a simple theory of sound and vibration in elastic structures that applies when the vibrational energy is diffusely distributed. We show that SEA is a thermodynamical theory of sound and vibration, based on a law of exchange of energy analogous to the Clausius principle. We further investigate the notion of entropy in this context and discuss its meaning. We show that entropy is a measure of information lost in the passage from the classical theory of sound and vibration and SEA, its thermodynamical counterpart.

Nonclassical acoustics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kentzer, C. P.

1976-01-01

A statistical approach to sound propagation is considered in situations where, due to the presence of large gradients of properties of the medium, the classical (deterministic) treatment of wave motion is inadequate. Mathematical methods for wave motions not restricted to small wavelengths (analogous to known methods of quantum mechanics) are used to formulate a wave theory of sound in nonuniform flows. Nonlinear transport equations for field probabilities are derived for the limiting case of noninteracting sound waves and it is postulated that such transport equations, appropriately generalized, may be used to predict the statistical behavior of sound in arbitrary flows.

Sound Symbolism in the Languages of Australia

PubMed Central

Haynie, Hannah; Bowern, Claire; LaPalombara, Hannah

2014-01-01

The notion that linguistic forms and meanings are related only by convention and not by any direct relationship between sounds and semantic concepts is a foundational principle of modern linguistics. Though the principle generally holds across the lexicon, systematic exceptions have been identified. These “sound symbolic” forms have been identified in lexical items and linguistic processes in many individual languages. This paper examines sound symbolism in the languages of Australia. We conduct a statistical investigation of the evidence for several common patterns of sound symbolism, using data from a sample of 120 languages. The patterns examined here include the association of meanings denoting “smallness” or “nearness” with front vowels or palatal consonants, and the association of meanings denoting “largeness” or “distance” with back vowels or velar consonants. Our results provide evidence for the expected associations of vowels and consonants with meanings of “smallness” and “proximity” in Australian languages. However, the patterns uncovered in this region are more complicated than predicted. Several sound-meaning relationships are only significant for segments in prominent positions in the word, and the prevailing mapping between vowel quality and magnitude meaning cannot be characterized by a simple link between gradients of magnitude and vowel F2, contrary to the claims of previous studies. PMID:24752356

A model for simulating random atmospheres as a function of latitude, season, and time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, J. W.

1977-01-01

An empirical stochastic computer model was developed with the capability of generating random thermodynamic profiles of the atmosphere below an altitude of 99 km which are characteristic of any given season, latitude, and time of day. Samples of temperature, density, and pressure profiles generated by the model are statistically similar to measured profiles in a data base of over 6000 rocket and high-altitude atmospheric soundings; that is, means and standard deviations of modeled profiles and their vertical gradients are in close agreement with data. Model-generated samples can be used for Monte Carlo simulations of aircraft or spacecraft trajectories to predict or account for the effects on a vehicle's performance of atmospheric variability. Other potential uses for the model are in simulating pollutant dispersion patterns, variations in sound propagation, and other phenomena which are dependent on atmospheric properties, and in developing data-reduction software for satellite monitoring systems.

Entropy in sound and vibration: towards a new paradigm

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This paper describes a discussion on the method and the status of a statistical theory of sound and vibration, called statistical energy analysis (SEA). SEA is a simple theory of sound and vibration in elastic structures that applies when the vibrational energy is diffusely distributed. We show that SEA is a thermodynamical theory of sound and vibration, based on a law of exchange of energy analogous to the Clausius principle. We further investigate the notion of entropy in this context and discuss its meaning. We show that entropy is a measure of information lost in the passage from the classical theory of sound and vibration and SEA, its thermodynamical counterpart. PMID:28265190

Analysis of Statistical Methods Currently used in Toxicology Journals

PubMed Central

Na, Jihye; Yang, Hyeri

2014-01-01

Statistical methods are frequently used in toxicology, yet it is not clear whether the methods employed by the studies are used consistently and conducted based on sound statistical grounds. The purpose of this paper is to describe statistical methods used in top toxicology journals. More specifically, we sampled 30 papers published in 2014 from Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Archives of Toxicology, and Toxicological Science and described methodologies used to provide descriptive and inferential statistics. One hundred thirteen endpoints were observed in those 30 papers, and most studies had sample size less than 10, with the median and the mode being 6 and 3 & 6, respectively. Mean (105/113, 93%) was dominantly used to measure central tendency, and standard error of the mean (64/113, 57%) and standard deviation (39/113, 34%) were used to measure dispersion, while few studies provide justifications regarding why the methods being selected. Inferential statistics were frequently conducted (93/113, 82%), with one-way ANOVA being most popular (52/93, 56%), yet few studies conducted either normality or equal variance test. These results suggest that more consistent and appropriate use of statistical method is necessary which may enhance the role of toxicology in public health. PMID:25343012

Analysis of Statistical Methods Currently used in Toxicology Journals.

PubMed

Na, Jihye; Yang, Hyeri; Bae, SeungJin; Lim, Kyung-Min

2014-09-01

Statistical methods are frequently used in toxicology, yet it is not clear whether the methods employed by the studies are used consistently and conducted based on sound statistical grounds. The purpose of this paper is to describe statistical methods used in top toxicology journals. More specifically, we sampled 30 papers published in 2014 from Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Archives of Toxicology, and Toxicological Science and described methodologies used to provide descriptive and inferential statistics. One hundred thirteen endpoints were observed in those 30 papers, and most studies had sample size less than 10, with the median and the mode being 6 and 3 & 6, respectively. Mean (105/113, 93%) was dominantly used to measure central tendency, and standard error of the mean (64/113, 57%) and standard deviation (39/113, 34%) were used to measure dispersion, while few studies provide justifications regarding why the methods being selected. Inferential statistics were frequently conducted (93/113, 82%), with one-way ANOVA being most popular (52/93, 56%), yet few studies conducted either normality or equal variance test. These results suggest that more consistent and appropriate use of statistical method is necessary which may enhance the role of toxicology in public health.

Prediction of transmission loss through an aircraft sidewall using statistical energy analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ming, Ruisen; Sun, Jincai

1989-06-01

The transmission loss of randomly incident sound through an aircraft sidewall is investigated using statistical energy analysis. Formulas are also obtained for the simple calculation of sound transmission loss through single- and double-leaf panels. Both resonant and nonresonant sound transmissions can be easily calculated using the formulas. The formulas are used to predict sound transmission losses through a Y-7 propeller airplane panel. The panel measures 2.56 m x 1.38 m and has two windows. The agreement between predicted and measured values through most of the frequency ranges tested is quite good.

Common sole larvae survive high levels of pile-driving sound in controlled exposure experiments.

PubMed

Bolle, Loes J; de Jong, Christ A F; Bierman, Stijn M; van Beek, Pieter J G; van Keeken, Olvin A; Wessels, Peter W; van Damme, Cindy J G; Winter, Hendrik V; de Haan, Dick; Dekeling, René P A

2012-01-01

In view of the rapid extension of offshore wind farms, there is an urgent need to improve our knowledge on possible adverse effects of underwater sound generated by pile-driving. Mortality and injuries have been observed in fish exposed to loud impulse sounds, but knowledge on the sound levels at which (sub-)lethal effects occur is limited for juvenile and adult fish, and virtually non-existent for fish eggs and larvae. A device was developed in which fish larvae can be exposed to underwater sound. It consists of a rigid-walled cylindrical chamber driven by an electro-dynamical sound projector. Samples of up to 100 larvae can be exposed simultaneously to a homogeneously distributed sound pressure and particle velocity field. Recorded pile-driving sounds could be reproduced accurately in the frequency range between 50 and 1000 Hz, at zero to peak pressure levels up to 210 dB re 1µPa(2) (zero to peak pressures up to 32 kPa) and single pulse sound exposure levels up to 186 dB re 1µPa(2)s. The device was used to examine lethal effects of sound exposure in common sole (Solea solea) larvae. Different developmental stages were exposed to various levels and durations of pile-driving sound. The highest cumulative sound exposure level applied was 206 dB re 1µPa(2)s, which corresponds to 100 strikes at a distance of 100 m from a typical North Sea pile-driving site. The results showed no statistically significant differences in mortality between exposure and control groups at sound exposure levels which were well above the US interim criteria for non-auditory tissue damage in fish. Although our findings cannot be extrapolated to fish larvae in general, as interspecific differences in vulnerability to sound exposure may occur, they do indicate that previous assumptions and criteria may need to be revised.

Common Sole Larvae Survive High Levels of Pile-Driving Sound in Controlled Exposure Experiments

PubMed Central

Bolle, Loes J.; de Jong, Christ A. F.; Bierman, Stijn M.; van Beek, Pieter J. G.; van Keeken, Olvin A.; Wessels, Peter W.; van Damme, Cindy J. G.; Winter, Hendrik V.; de Haan, Dick; Dekeling, René P. A.

2012-01-01

In view of the rapid extension of offshore wind farms, there is an urgent need to improve our knowledge on possible adverse effects of underwater sound generated by pile-driving. Mortality and injuries have been observed in fish exposed to loud impulse sounds, but knowledge on the sound levels at which (sub-)lethal effects occur is limited for juvenile and adult fish, and virtually non-existent for fish eggs and larvae. A device was developed in which fish larvae can be exposed to underwater sound. It consists of a rigid-walled cylindrical chamber driven by an electro-dynamical sound projector. Samples of up to 100 larvae can be exposed simultaneously to a homogeneously distributed sound pressure and particle velocity field. Recorded pile-driving sounds could be reproduced accurately in the frequency range between 50 and 1000 Hz, at zero to peak pressure levels up to 210 dB re 1µPa2 (zero to peak pressures up to 32 kPa) and single pulse sound exposure levels up to 186 dB re 1µPa2s. The device was used to examine lethal effects of sound exposure in common sole (Solea solea) larvae. Different developmental stages were exposed to various levels and durations of pile-driving sound. The highest cumulative sound exposure level applied was 206 dB re 1µPa2s, which corresponds to 100 strikes at a distance of 100 m from a typical North Sea pile-driving site. The results showed no statistically significant differences in mortality between exposure and control groups at sound exposure levels which were well above the US interim criteria for non-auditory tissue damage in fish. Although our findings cannot be extrapolated to fish larvae in general, as interspecific differences in vulnerability to sound exposure may occur, they do indicate that previous assumptions and criteria may need to be revised. PMID:22431996

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE USING THE STATISTICAL ENERGY ANALYSIS METHOD CONCERNING THE BLASTING NOISE REDUCTION BY THE SOUND INSULATION DOOR USED IN TUNNEL CONSTRUCTIONS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishida, Shigeki; Mori, Atsuo; Shinji, Masato

The main method to reduce the blasting charge noise which occurs in a tunnel under construction is to install the sound insulation door in the tunnel. However, the numerical analysis technique to predict the accurate effect of the transmission loss in the sound insulation door is not established. In this study, we measured the blasting charge noise and the vibration of the sound insulation door in the tunnel with the blasting charge, and performed analysis and modified acoustic feature. In addition, we reproduced the noise reduction effect of the sound insulation door by statistical energy analysis method and confirmed that numerical simulation is possible by this procedure.

Summary statistics in auditory perception.

PubMed

McDermott, Josh H; Schemitsch, Michael; Simoncelli, Eero P

2013-04-01

Sensory signals are transduced at high resolution, but their structure must be stored in a more compact format. Here we provide evidence that the auditory system summarizes the temporal details of sounds using time-averaged statistics. We measured discrimination of 'sound textures' that were characterized by particular statistical properties, as normally result from the superposition of many acoustic features in auditory scenes. When listeners discriminated examples of different textures, performance improved with excerpt duration. In contrast, when listeners discriminated different examples of the same texture, performance declined with duration, a paradoxical result given that the information available for discrimination grows with duration. These results indicate that once these sounds are of moderate length, the brain's representation is limited to time-averaged statistics, which, for different examples of the same texture, converge to the same values with increasing duration. Such statistical representations produce good categorical discrimination, but limit the ability to discern temporal detail.

Surprise responses in the human brain demonstrate statistical learning under high concurrent cognitive demand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrido, Marta Isabel; Teng, Chee Leong James; Taylor, Jeremy Alexander; Rowe, Elise Genevieve; Mattingley, Jason Brett

2016-06-01

The ability to learn about regularities in the environment and to make predictions about future events is fundamental for adaptive behaviour. We have previously shown that people can implicitly encode statistical regularities and detect violations therein, as reflected in neuronal responses to unpredictable events that carry a unique prediction error signature. In the real world, however, learning about regularities will often occur in the context of competing cognitive demands. Here we asked whether learning of statistical regularities is modulated by concurrent cognitive load. We compared electroencephalographic metrics associated with responses to pure-tone sounds with frequencies sampled from narrow or wide Gaussian distributions. We showed that outliers evoked a larger response than those in the centre of the stimulus distribution (i.e., an effect of surprise) and that this difference was greater for physically identical outliers in the narrow than in the broad distribution. These results demonstrate an early neurophysiological marker of the brain's ability to implicitly encode complex statistical structure in the environment. Moreover, we manipulated concurrent cognitive load by having participants perform a visual working memory task while listening to these streams of sounds. We again observed greater prediction error responses in the narrower distribution under both low and high cognitive load. Furthermore, there was no reliable reduction in prediction error magnitude under high-relative to low-cognitive load. Our findings suggest that statistical learning is not a capacity limited process, and that it proceeds automatically even when cognitive resources are taxed by concurrent demands.

Towards sound epistemological foundations of statistical methods for high-dimensional biology.

PubMed

Mehta, Tapan; Tanik, Murat; Allison, David B

2004-09-01

A sound epistemological foundation for biological inquiry comes, in part, from application of valid statistical procedures. This tenet is widely appreciated by scientists studying the new realm of high-dimensional biology, or 'omic' research, which involves multiplicity at unprecedented scales. Many papers aimed at the high-dimensional biology community describe the development or application of statistical techniques. The validity of many of these is questionable, and a shared understanding about the epistemological foundations of the statistical methods themselves seems to be lacking. Here we offer a framework in which the epistemological foundation of proposed statistical methods can be evaluated.

Statistical classification of drug incidents due to look-alike sound-alike mix-ups.

PubMed

Wong, Zoie Shui Yee

2016-06-01

It has been recognised that medication names that look or sound similar are a cause of medication errors. This study builds statistical classifiers for identifying medication incidents due to look-alike sound-alike mix-ups. A total of 227 patient safety incident advisories related to medication were obtained from the Canadian Patient Safety Institute's Global Patient Safety Alerts system. Eight feature selection strategies based on frequent terms, frequent drug terms and constituent terms were performed. Statistical text classifiers based on logistic regression, support vector machines with linear, polynomial, radial-basis and sigmoid kernels and decision tree were trained and tested. The models developed achieved an average accuracy of above 0.8 across all the model settings. The receiver operating characteristic curves indicated the classifiers performed reasonably well. The results obtained in this study suggest that statistical text classification can be a feasible method for identifying medication incidents due to look-alike sound-alike mix-ups based on a database of advisories from Global Patient Safety Alerts. © The Author(s) 2014.

Biased relevance filtering in the auditory system: A test of confidence-weighted first-impressions.

PubMed

Mullens, D; Winkler, I; Damaso, K; Heathcote, A; Whitson, L; Provost, A; Todd, J

2016-03-01

Although first-impressions are known to impact decision-making and to have prolonged effects on reasoning, it is less well known that the same type of rapidly formed assumptions can explain biases in automatic relevance filtering outside of deliberate behavior. This paper features two studies in which participants have been asked to ignore sequences of sound while focusing attention on a silent movie. The sequences consisted of blocks, each with a high-probability repetition interrupted by rare acoustic deviations (i.e., a sound of different pitch or duration). The probabilities of the two different sounds alternated across the concatenated blocks within the sequence (i.e., short-to-long and long-to-short). The sound probabilities are rapidly and automatically learned for each block and a perceptual inference is formed predicting the most likely characteristics of the upcoming sound. Deviations elicit a prediction-error signal known as mismatch negativity (MMN). Computational models of MMN generally assume that its elicitation is governed by transition statistics that define what sound attributes are most likely to follow the current sound. MMN amplitude reflects prediction confidence, which is derived from the stability of the current transition statistics. However, our prior research showed that MMN amplitude is modulated by a strong first-impression bias that outweighs transition statistics. Here we test the hypothesis that this bias can be attributed to assumptions about predictable vs. unpredictable nature of each tone within the first encountered context, which is weighted by the stability of that context. The results of Study 1 show that this bias is initially prevented if there is no 1:1 mapping between sound attributes and probability, but it returns once the auditory system determines which properties provide the highest predictive value. The results of Study 2 show that confidence in the first-impression bias drops if assumptions about the temporal stability of the transition-statistics are violated. Both studies provide compelling evidence that the auditory system extrapolates patterns on multiple timescales to adjust its response to prediction-errors, while profoundly distorting the effects of transition-statistics by the assumptions formed on the basis of first-impressions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Toxicity of sediment pore water in Puget Sound (Washington, USA): a review of spatial status and temporal trends

USGS Publications Warehouse

Long, Edward R.; Carr, R. Scott; Biedenbach, James M.; Weakland, Sandra; Partridge, Valerie; Dutch, Margaret

2013-01-01

Data from toxicity tests of the pore water extracted from Puget Sound sediments were compiled from surveys conducted from 1997 to 2009. Tests were performed on 664 samples collected throughout all of the eight monitoring regions in the Sound, an area encompassing 2,294.1 km2. Tests were performed with the gametes of the Pacific purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, to measure percent fertilization success as an indicator of relative sediment quality. Data were evaluated to determine the incidence, degree of response, geographic patterns, spatial extent, and temporal changes in toxicity. This is the first survey of this kind and magnitude in Puget Sound. In the initial round of surveys of the eight regions, 40 of 381 samples were toxic for an incidence of 10.5 %. Stations classified as toxic represented an estimated total of 107.1 km2, equivalent to 4.7 % of the total area. Percent sea urchin fertilization ranged from >100 % of the nontoxic, negative controls to 0 %. Toxicity was most prevalent and pervasive in the industrialized harbors and lowest in the deep basins. Conditions were intermediate in deep-water passages, urban bays, and rural bays. A second round of testing in four regions and three selected urban bays was completed 5–10 years following the first round. The incidence and spatial extent of toxicity decreased in two of the regions and two of the bays and increased in the other two regions and the third bay; however, only the latter change was statistically significant. Both the incidence and spatial extent of toxicity were lower in the Sound than in most other US estuaries and marine bays.

Efficient Coding and Statistically Optimal Weighting of Covariance among Acoustic Attributes in Novel Sounds

PubMed Central

Stilp, Christian E.; Kluender, Keith R.

2012-01-01

To the extent that sensorineural systems are efficient, redundancy should be extracted to optimize transmission of information, but perceptual evidence for this has been limited. Stilp and colleagues recently reported efficient coding of robust correlation (r = .97) among complex acoustic attributes (attack/decay, spectral shape) in novel sounds. Discrimination of sounds orthogonal to the correlation was initially inferior but later comparable to that of sounds obeying the correlation. These effects were attenuated for less-correlated stimuli (r = .54) for reasons that are unclear. Here, statistical properties of correlation among acoustic attributes essential for perceptual organization are investigated. Overall, simple strength of the principal correlation is inadequate to predict listener performance. Initial superiority of discrimination for statistically consistent sound pairs was relatively insensitive to decreased physical acoustic/psychoacoustic range of evidence supporting the correlation, and to more frequent presentations of the same orthogonal test pairs. However, increased range supporting an orthogonal dimension has substantial effects upon perceptual organization. Connectionist simulations and Eigenvalues from closed-form calculations of principal components analysis (PCA) reveal that perceptual organization is near-optimally weighted to shared versus unshared covariance in experienced sound distributions. Implications of reduced perceptual dimensionality for speech perception and plausible neural substrates are discussed. PMID:22292057

Distinct Gamma-Band Components Reflect the Short-Term Memory Maintenance of Different Sound Lateralization Angles

PubMed Central

Heidegger, Tonio; Wibral, Michael; Altmann, Christian F.; Lutzenberger, Werner

2008-01-01

Oscillatory activity in human electro- or magnetoencephalogram has been related to cortical stimulus representations and their modulation by cognitive processes. Whereas previous work has focused on gamma-band activity (GBA) during attention or maintenance of representations, there is little evidence for GBA reflecting individual stimulus representations. The present study aimed at identifying stimulus-specific GBA components during auditory spatial short-term memory. A total of 28 adults were assigned to 1 of 2 groups who were presented with only right- or left-lateralized sounds, respectively. In each group, 2 sample stimuli were used which differed in their lateralization angles (15° or 45°) with respect to the midsagittal plane. Statistical probability mapping served to identify spectral amplitude differences between 15° versus 45° stimuli. Distinct GBA components were found for each sample stimulus in different sensors over parieto-occipital cortex contralateral to the side of stimulation peaking during the middle 200–300 ms of the delay phase. The differentiation between “preferred” and “nonpreferred” stimuli during the final 100 ms of the delay phase correlated with task performance. These findings suggest that the observed GBA components reflect the activity of distinct networks tuned to spatial sound features which contribute to the maintenance of task-relevant information in short-term memory. PMID:18252742

Non-Wovens as Sound Reducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2018-04-01

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

Comparisons between physics-based, engineering, and statistical learning models for outdoor sound propagation.

PubMed

Hart, Carl R; Reznicek, Nathan J; Wilson, D Keith; Pettit, Chris L; Nykaza, Edward T

2016-05-01

Many outdoor sound propagation models exist, ranging from highly complex physics-based simulations to simplified engineering calculations, and more recently, highly flexible statistical learning methods. Several engineering and statistical learning models are evaluated by using a particular physics-based model, namely, a Crank-Nicholson parabolic equation (CNPE), as a benchmark. Narrowband transmission loss values predicted with the CNPE, based upon a simulated data set of meteorological, boundary, and source conditions, act as simulated observations. In the simulated data set sound propagation conditions span from downward refracting to upward refracting, for acoustically hard and soft boundaries, and low frequencies. Engineering models used in the comparisons include the ISO 9613-2 method, Harmonoise, and Nord2000 propagation models. Statistical learning methods used in the comparisons include bagged decision tree regression, random forest regression, boosting regression, and artificial neural network models. Computed skill scores are relative to sound propagation in a homogeneous atmosphere over a rigid ground. Overall skill scores for the engineering noise models are 0.6%, -7.1%, and 83.8% for the ISO 9613-2, Harmonoise, and Nord2000 models, respectively. Overall skill scores for the statistical learning models are 99.5%, 99.5%, 99.6%, and 99.6% for bagged decision tree, random forest, boosting, and artificial neural network regression models, respectively.

An evaluation of talker localization based on direction of arrival estimation and statistical sound source identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishiura, Takanobu; Nakamura, Satoshi

2002-11-01

It is very important to capture distant-talking speech for a hands-free speech interface with high quality. A microphone array is an ideal candidate for this purpose. However, this approach requires localizing the target talker. Conventional talker localization algorithms in multiple sound source environments not only have difficulty localizing the multiple sound sources accurately, but also have difficulty localizing the target talker among known multiple sound source positions. To cope with these problems, we propose a new talker localization algorithm consisting of two algorithms. One is DOA (direction of arrival) estimation algorithm for multiple sound source localization based on CSP (cross-power spectrum phase) coefficient addition method. The other is statistical sound source identification algorithm based on GMM (Gaussian mixture model) for localizing the target talker position among localized multiple sound sources. In this paper, we particularly focus on the talker localization performance based on the combination of these two algorithms with a microphone array. We conducted evaluation experiments in real noisy reverberant environments. As a result, we confirmed that multiple sound signals can be identified accurately between ''speech'' or ''non-speech'' by the proposed algorithm. [Work supported by ATR, and MEXT of Japan.

Statistics of natural binaural sounds.

PubMed

Młynarski, Wiktor; Jost, Jürgen

2014-01-01

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

Statistics of Natural Binaural Sounds

PubMed Central

Młynarski, Wiktor; Jost, Jürgen

2014-01-01

Binaural sound localization is usually considered a discrimination task, where interaural phase (IPD) and level (ILD) disparities at narrowly tuned frequency channels are utilized to identify a position of a sound source. In natural conditions however, binaural circuits are exposed to a stimulation by sound waves originating from multiple, often moving and overlapping sources. Therefore statistics of binaural cues depend on acoustic properties and the spatial configuration of the environment. Distribution of cues encountered naturally and their dependence on physical properties of an auditory scene have not been studied before. In the present work we analyzed statistics of naturally encountered binaural sounds. We performed binaural recordings of three auditory scenes with varying spatial configuration and analyzed empirical cue distributions from each scene. We have found that certain properties such as the spread of IPD distributions as well as an overall shape of ILD distributions do not vary strongly between different auditory scenes. Moreover, we found that ILD distributions vary much weaker across frequency channels and IPDs often attain much higher values, than can be predicted from head filtering properties. In order to understand the complexity of the binaural hearing task in the natural environment, sound waveforms were analyzed by performing Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Properties of learned basis functions indicate that in natural conditions soundwaves in each ear are predominantly generated by independent sources. This implies that the real-world sound localization must rely on mechanisms more complex than a mere cue extraction. PMID:25285658

Evaluation of the Effect of Noise on the Rate of Errors and Speed of Work by the Ergonomic Test of Two-Hand Co-Ordination

PubMed Central

Habibi, Ehsanollah; Dehghan, Habibollah; Dehkordy, Sina Eshraghy; Maracy, Mohammad Reza

2013-01-01

Background: Among the most important and effective factors affecting the efficiency of the human workforce are accuracy, promptness, and ability. In the context of promoting levels and quality of productivity, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exposure to noise on the rate of errors, speed of work, and capability in performing manual activities. Methods: This experimental study was conducted on 96 students (52 female and 44 male) of the Isfahan Medical Science University with the average and standard deviations of age, height, and weight of 22.81 (3.04) years, 171.67 (8.51) cm, and 65.05 (13.13) kg, respectively. Sampling was conducted with a randomized block design. Along with controlling for intervening factors, a combination of sound pressure levels [65 dB (A), 85 dB (A), and 95 dB (A)] and exposure times (0, 20, and 40) were used for evaluation of precision and speed of action of the participants, in the ergonomic test of two-hand coordination. Data was analyzed by SPSS18 software using a descriptive and analytical statistical method by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) repeated measures. Results: The results of this study showed that increasing sound pressure level from 65 to 95 dB in network ‘A’ increased the speed of work (P < 0.05). Increase in the exposure time (0 to 40 min of exposure) and gender showed no significant differences statistically in speed of work (P > 0.05). Male participants got annoyed from the noise more than females. Also, increase in sound pressure level increased the rate of error (P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results of this research, increasing the sound pressure level decreased efficiency and increased the errors and in exposure to sounds less than 85 dB in the beginning, the efficiency decreased initially and then increased in a mild slope. PMID:23930164

Interpretation of correlations in clinical research.

PubMed

Hung, Man; Bounsanga, Jerry; Voss, Maren Wright

2017-11-01

Critically analyzing research is a key skill in evidence-based practice and requires knowledge of research methods, results interpretation, and applications, all of which rely on a foundation based in statistics. Evidence-based practice makes high demands on trained medical professionals to interpret an ever-expanding array of research evidence. As clinical training emphasizes medical care rather than statistics, it is useful to review the basics of statistical methods and what they mean for interpreting clinical studies. We reviewed the basic concepts of correlational associations, violations of normality, unobserved variable bias, sample size, and alpha inflation. The foundations of causal inference were discussed and sound statistical analyses were examined. We discuss four ways in which correlational analysis is misused, including causal inference overreach, over-reliance on significance, alpha inflation, and sample size bias. Recent published studies in the medical field provide evidence of causal assertion overreach drawn from correlational findings. The findings present a primer on the assumptions and nature of correlational methods of analysis and urge clinicians to exercise appropriate caution as they critically analyze the evidence before them and evaluate evidence that supports practice. Critically analyzing new evidence requires statistical knowledge in addition to clinical knowledge. Studies can overstate relationships, expressing causal assertions when only correlational evidence is available. Failure to account for the effect of sample size in the analyses tends to overstate the importance of predictive variables. It is important not to overemphasize the statistical significance without consideration of effect size and whether differences could be considered clinically meaningful.

The contribution of molecular relaxation in nitrogen to the absorption of sound in the atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuckerwar, A. J.; Meredith, R. W.

1980-01-01

Results and statistical analysis are presented for sound absorption in N2-H2O binary mixtures at room temperature. Experimental procedure, temperature effects, and preliminary results are presented for sound absorption in N2-H2O binary mixtures at elevated temperatures.

Using simulation to interpret experimental data in terms of protein conformational ensembles.

PubMed

Allison, Jane R

2017-04-01

In their biological environment, proteins are dynamic molecules, necessitating an ensemble structural description. Molecular dynamics simulations and solution-state experiments provide complimentary information in the form of atomically detailed coordinates and averaged or distributions of structural properties or related quantities. Recently, increases in the temporal and spatial scale of conformational sampling and comparison of the more diverse conformational ensembles thus generated have revealed the importance of sampling rare events. Excitingly, new methods based on maximum entropy and Bayesian inference are promising to provide a statistically sound mechanism for combining experimental data with molecular dynamics simulations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Second harmonic sound field after insertion of a biological tissue sample

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Dong; Gong, Xiu-Fen; Zhang, Bo

2002-01-01

Second harmonic sound field after inserting a biological tissue sample is investigated by theory and experiment. The sample is inserted perpendicular to the sound axis, whose acoustical properties are different from those of surrounding medium (distilled water). By using the superposition of Gaussian beams and the KZK equation in quasilinear and parabolic approximations, the second harmonic field after insertion of the sample can be derived analytically and expressed as a linear combination of self- and cross-interaction of the Gaussian beams. Egg white, egg yolk, porcine liver, and porcine fat are used as the samples and inserted in the sound field radiated from a 2 MHz uniformly excited focusing source. Axial normalized sound pressure curves of the second harmonic wave before and after inserting the sample are measured and compared with the theoretical results calculated with 10 items of Gaussian beam functions.

Evaluating a linearized Euler equations model for strong turbulence effects on sound propagation.

PubMed

Ehrhardt, Loïc; Cheinet, Sylvain; Juvé, Daniel; Blanc-Benon, Philippe

2013-04-01

Sound propagation outdoors is strongly affected by atmospheric turbulence. Under strongly perturbed conditions or long propagation paths, the sound fluctuations reach their asymptotic behavior, e.g., the intensity variance progressively saturates. The present study evaluates the ability of a numerical propagation model based on the finite-difference time-domain solving of the linearized Euler equations in quantitatively reproducing the wave statistics under strong and saturated intensity fluctuations. It is the continuation of a previous study where weak intensity fluctuations were considered. The numerical propagation model is presented and tested with two-dimensional harmonic sound propagation over long paths and strong atmospheric perturbations. The results are compared to quantitative theoretical or numerical predictions available on the wave statistics, including the log-amplitude variance and the probability density functions of the complex acoustic pressure. The match is excellent for the evaluated source frequencies and all sound fluctuations strengths. Hence, this model captures these many aspects of strong atmospheric turbulence effects on sound propagation. Finally, the model results for the intensity probability density function are compared with a standard fit by a generalized gamma function.

Nondestructive evaluation of hydrogel mechanical properties using ultrasound

PubMed Central

Walker, Jason M.; Myers, Ashley M.; Schluchter, Mark D.; Goldberg, Victor M.; Caplan, Arnold I.; Berilla, Jim A.; Mansour, Joseph M.; Welter, Jean F.

2012-01-01

The feasibility of using ultrasound technology as a noninvasive, nondestructive method for evaluating the mechanical properties of engineered weight-bearing tissues was evaluated. A fixture was designed to accurately and reproducibly position the ultrasound transducer normal to the test sample surface. Agarose hydrogels were used as phantoms for cartilage to explore the feasibility of establishing correlations between ultrasound measurements and commonly used mechanical tissue assessments. The hydrogels were fabricated in 1–10% concentrations with a 2–10 mm thickness. For each concentration and thickness, six samples were created, for a total of 216 gel samples. Speed of sound was determined from the time difference between peak reflections and the known height of each sample. Modulus was computed from the speed of sound using elastic and poroelastic models. All ultrasonic measurements were made using a 15 MHz ultrasound transducer. The elastic modulus was also determined for each sample from a mechanical unconfined compression test. Analytical comparison and statistical analysis of ultrasound and mechanical testing data was carried out. A correlation between estimates of compressive modulus from ultrasonic and mechanical measurements was found, but the correlation depended on the model used to estimate the modulus from ultrasonic measurements. A stronger correlation with mechanical measurements was found using the poroelastic rather than the elastic model. Results from this preliminary testing will be used to guide further studies of native and engineered cartilage. PMID:21773854

Analysis of adventitious lung sounds originating from pulmonary tuberculosis.

PubMed

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

2013-01-01

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

Early lexical and phonological acquisition and its relationships.

PubMed

Wiethan, Fernanda Marafiga; Nóro, Letícia Arruda; Mota, Helena Bolli

2014-01-01

Verifying likely relationships between lexical and phonological development of children aged between 1 year to 1 year, 11 months and 29 days, who were enrolled in public kindergarten schools of Santa Maria (RS). The sample consisted of 18 children of both genders, with typical language development and aged between 1 year to 1 year, 11 months and 29 days, separated in three age subgroups. Visual recordings of spontaneous speech of each child were collected and then lexical analysis regarding the types of the said lexical items and phonological assessment were performed. The number of sounds acquired and partially acquired were counted together, and the 19 sounds and two all phones of Brazilian Portuguese were considered. To the statistical analysis, the tests of Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon were used, with significance level of prelace_LT0.05. When compared the means relating to the acquired sounds and mean of the acquired and partially acquired sounds percentages, there was difference between the first and the second age subgroup, and between the first and the third subgroup. In the comparison of the said lexical items means among the age subgroups, there was difference between the first and the second subgroup, and between the first and the third subgroup again. In the comparison between the said lexical items and acquired and partially acquired sounds in each age subgroup, there was difference only in the age subgroup of 1 year and 8 months to 1 year, 11 months and 29 days, in which the sounds highlighted. The phonological and lexical domains develop as a growing process and influence each other. The Phonology has a little advantage.

Detection methods for non-Gaussian gravitational wave stochastic backgrounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drasco, Steve; Flanagan, Éanna É.

2003-04-01

A gravitational wave stochastic background can be produced by a collection of independent gravitational wave events. There are two classes of such backgrounds, one for which the ratio of the average time between events to the average duration of an event is small (i.e., many events are on at once), and one for which the ratio is large. In the first case the signal is continuous, sounds something like a constant hiss, and has a Gaussian probability distribution. In the second case, the discontinuous or intermittent signal sounds something like popcorn popping, and is described by a non-Gaussian probability distribution. In this paper we address the issue of finding an optimal detection method for such a non-Gaussian background. As a first step, we examine the idealized situation in which the event durations are short compared to the detector sampling time, so that the time structure of the events cannot be resolved, and we assume white, Gaussian noise in two collocated, aligned detectors. For this situation we derive an appropriate version of the maximum likelihood detection statistic. We compare the performance of this statistic to that of the standard cross-correlation statistic both analytically and with Monte Carlo simulations. In general the maximum likelihood statistic performs better than the cross-correlation statistic when the stochastic background is sufficiently non-Gaussian, resulting in a gain factor in the minimum gravitational-wave energy density necessary for detection. This gain factor ranges roughly between 1 and 3, depending on the duty cycle of the background, for realistic observing times and signal strengths for both ground and space based detectors. The computational cost of the statistic, although significantly greater than that of the cross-correlation statistic, is not unreasonable. Before the statistic can be used in practice with real detector data, further work is required to generalize our analysis to accommodate separated, misaligned detectors with realistic, colored, non-Gaussian noise.

University student depression inventory (USDI): confirmatory factor analysis and review of psychometric properties.

PubMed

Romaniuk, Madeline; Khawaja, Nigar G

2013-09-25

The 30-item USDI is a self-report measure that assesses depressive symptoms among university students. It consists of three correlated three factors: lethargy, cognitive-emotional and academic motivation. The current research used confirmatory factor analysis to asses construct validity and determine whether the original factor structure would be replicated in a different sample. Psychometric properties were also examined. Participants were 1148 students (mean age 22.84 years, SD=6.85) across all faculties from a large Australian metropolitan university. Students completed a questionnaire comprising of the USDI, the depression anxiety stress scale (DASS) and Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS). The three correlated factor model was shown to be an acceptable fit to the data, indicating sound construct validity. Internal consistency of the scale was also demonstrated to be sound, with high Cronbach alpha values. Temporal stability of the scale was also shown to be strong through test-retest analysis. Finally, concurrent and discriminant validity was examined with correlations between the USDI and DASS subscales as well as the LSS, with sound results further supporting the construct validity of the scale. Cut-off points were also developed to aid total score interpretation. Response rates are unclear. In addition, the representativeness of the sample could be improved potentially through targeted recruitment (i.e. reviewing the online sample statistics during data collection, examining the representativeness trends and addressing particular faculties within the university that were underrepresented). The USDI provides a valid and reliable method of assessing depressive symptoms found among university students. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sound wood residue left after experimental cuttings in old-growth redwood

Treesearch

Kenneth N. Boe

1967-01-01

An estimate was made of the sound wood logging residue remaining after three different experimental cuttings on the Redwood Experimental Forest, north coastal California. The statistics on volume, size, and soundness classes are indicators of what to expect where similar volumes are harvested. The information can be useful to those planning use of logging residues,...

Two-dimensional adaptation in the auditory forebrain

PubMed Central

Nagel, Katherine I.; Doupe, Allison J.

2011-01-01

Sensory neurons exhibit two universal properties: sensitivity to multiple stimulus dimensions, and adaptation to stimulus statistics. How adaptation affects encoding along primary dimensions is well characterized for most sensory pathways, but if and how it affects secondary dimensions is less clear. We studied these effects for neurons in the avian equivalent of primary auditory cortex, responding to temporally modulated sounds. We showed that the firing rate of single neurons in field L was affected by at least two components of the time-varying sound log-amplitude. When overall sound amplitude was low, neural responses were based on nonlinear combinations of the mean log-amplitude and its rate of change (first time differential). At high mean sound amplitude, the two relevant stimulus features became the first and second time derivatives of the sound log-amplitude. Thus a strikingly systematic relationship between dimensions was conserved across changes in stimulus intensity, whereby one of the relevant dimensions approximated the time differential of the other dimension. In contrast to stimulus mean, increases in stimulus variance did not change relevant dimensions, but selectively increased the contribution of the second dimension to neural firing, illustrating a new adaptive behavior enabled by multidimensional encoding. Finally, we demonstrated theoretically that inclusion of time differentials as additional stimulus features, as seen so prominently in the single-neuron responses studied here, is a useful strategy for encoding naturalistic stimuli, because it can lower the necessary sampling rate while maintaining the robustness of stimulus reconstruction to correlated noise. PMID:21753019

Acoustics of snoring and automatic snore sound detection in children.

PubMed

Çavuşoğlu, M; Poets, C F; Urschitz, M S

2017-10-31

Acoustic analyses of snoring sounds have been used to objectively assess snoring and applied in various clinical problems for adult patients. Such studies require highly automatized tools to analyze the sound recordings of the whole night's sleep, in order to extract clinically relevant snore- related statistics. The existing techniques and software used for adults are not efficiently applicable to snoring sounds in children, basically because of different acoustic signal properties. In this paper, we present a broad range of acoustic characteristics of snoring sounds in children (N  =  38) in comparison to adult (N  =  30) patients. Acoustic characteristics of the signals were calculated, including frequency domain representations, spectrogram-based characteristics, spectral envelope analysis, formant structures and loudness of the snoring sounds. We observed significant differences in spectral features, formant structures and loudness of the snoring signals of children compared to adults that may arise from the diversity of the upper airway anatomy as the principal determinant of the snore sound generation mechanism. Furthermore, based on the specific audio features of snoring children, we proposed a novel algorithm for the automatic detection of snoring sounds from ambient acoustic data specifically in a pediatric population. The respiratory sounds were recorded using a pair of microphones and a multi-channel data acquisition system simultaneously with full-night polysomnography during sleep. Brief sound chunks of 0.5 s were classified as either belonging to a snoring event or not with a multi-layer perceptron, which was trained in a supervised fashion using stochastic gradient descent on a large hand-labeled dataset using frequency domain features. The method proposed here has been used to extract snore-related statistics that can be calculated from the detected snore episodes for the whole night's sleep, including number of snore episodes (total snoring time), ratio of snore to whole sleep time, variation of snoring rate, regularity of snoring episodes in time and amplitude and snore loudness. These statistics will ultimately serve as a clinical tool providing information for the objective evaluation of snoring for several clinical applications.

Integration of Marine Mammal Movement and Behavior into the Effects of Sound on the Marine Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-30

capability to emulate the dive and movement behavior of marine mammals provides a significant advantage to modeling environmental impact than do historic...approaches used in Navy environmental assessments (EA) and impact statements (EIS). Many previous methods have been statistical or pseudo-statistical...Siderius. 2011. Comparison of methods used for computing the impact of sound on the marine environment, Marine Environmental Research, 71:342-350. [published

The effect of different posts on fracture strength of roots with vertical fracture and re-attached fragments.

PubMed

Ozcopur, B; Akman, S; Eskitascioglu, G; Belli, S

2010-08-01

The aim of this in vitro study was to test the effect of different post systems on fracture strength of roots with re-attached fragments. Root canals of eighty extracted single-rooted human teeth were instrumented (ProFile) and randomly divided into two groups. The roots in the first group were vertically cracked, and the fragments were re-attached using Super Bond C&B (Sun Medical, Tokya, Japan). The roots in the second group were kept sound. Obturation of the roots was performed with MetaSEAL (Sun Medical) and gutta-percha. Post spaces were prepared, and the roots were restored with one of the followings: UniCore (Ultradent), Everstick (Stick Tech), Ribbond (Ribbond), ParaPost (Coltene/Whaledent) (n = 10). Four mm high build-ups were created (Clearfil DC Bond Core; Kuraray, Tokyo, Japan). Compressive loading of the samples was performed after 24 h (1 mm min(-1)). Mean load necessary to fracture each sample was recorded (Newton) and statistically analysed (One-way anova, t-tests). ParaPost showed the highest fracture strength among the roots with re-attached fragments (P < 0.05). UniCore and ParaPost systems showed similar fracture strength in the sound roots (P > 0.05). Re-attached fragments significantly reduced the fracture strength of roots in UniCore group (P = 0.000). Ribbond post showed mostly repairable fractures. Metal post (ParaPost) showed the highest fracture strength in the roots with re-attached fragments; however, fracture pattern was 41% non-repairable. Re-attached fragments significantly reduced the fracture strength of the roots in UniCore group. Prefabricated posts showed similar fracture strength in the sound roots. Customized post systems EverStick and Ribbond showed mostly repairable failure after loading in sound roots or roots with re-attached fragments.

A Handbook of Sound and Vibration Parameters

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-09-18

fixed in space. (Reference 1.) no motion atay node Static Divergence: (See Divergence.) Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA): Statistical energy analysis is...parameters of the circuits come from statistics of the vibrational characteristics of the structure. Statistical energy analysis is uniquely successful

Statistical characteristic in time-domain of direct current corona-generated audible noise from conductor in corona cage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xuebao; Cui, Xiang; Lu, Tiebing; Ma, Wenzuo; Bian, Xingming; Wang, Donglai; Hiziroglu, Huseyin

2016-03-01

The corona-generated audible noise (AN) has become one of decisive factors in the design of high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines. The AN from transmission lines can be attributed to sound pressure pulses which are generated by the multiple corona sources formed on the conductor, i.e., transmission lines. In this paper, a detailed time-domain characteristics of the sound pressure pulses, which are generated by the DC corona discharges formed over the surfaces of a stranded conductors, are investigated systematically in a laboratory settings using a corona cage structure. The amplitude of sound pressure pulse and its time intervals are extracted by observing a direct correlation between corona current pulses and corona-generated sound pressure pulses. Based on the statistical characteristics, a stochastic model is presented for simulating the sound pressure pulses due to DC corona discharges occurring on conductors. The proposed stochastic model is validated by comparing the calculated and measured A-weighted sound pressure level (SPL). The proposed model is then used to analyze the influence of the pulse amplitudes and pulse rate on the SPL. Furthermore, a mathematical relationship is found between the SPL and conductor diameter, electric field, and radial distance.

Repertoire and classification of non-song calls in Southeast Alaskan humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

PubMed

Fournet, Michelle E; Szabo, Andy; Mellinger, David K

2015-01-01

On low-latitude breeding grounds, humpback whales produce complex and highly stereotyped songs as well as a range of non-song sounds associated with breeding behaviors. While on their Southeast Alaskan foraging grounds, humpback whales produce a range of previously unclassified non-song vocalizations. This study investigates the vocal repertoire of Southeast Alaskan humpback whales from a sample of 299 non-song vocalizations collected over a 3-month period on foraging grounds in Frederick Sound, Southeast Alaska. Three classification systems were used, including aural spectrogram analysis, statistical cluster analysis, and discriminant function analysis, to describe and classify vocalizations. A hierarchical acoustic structure was identified; vocalizations were classified into 16 individual call types nested within four vocal classes. The combined classification method shows promise for identifying variability in call stereotypy between vocal groupings and is recommended for future classification of broad vocal repertoires.

Replacing the Orchestra? – The Discernibility of Sample Library and Live Orchestra Sounds

PubMed Central

Wolf, Anna; Platz, Friedrich; Mons, Jan

2016-01-01

Recently, musical sounds from pre-recorded orchestra sample libraries (OSL) have become indispensable in music production for the stage or popular charts. Surprisingly, it is unknown whether human listeners can identify sounds as stemming from real orchestras or OSLs. Thus, an internet-based experiment was conducted to investigate whether a classic orchestral work, produced with sounds from a state-of-the-art OSL, could be reliably discerned from a live orchestra recording of the piece. It could be shown that the entire sample of listeners (N = 602) on average identified the correct sound source at 72.5%. This rate slightly exceeded Alan Turing's well-known upper threshold of 70% for a convincing, simulated performance. However, while sound experts tended to correctly identify the sound source, participants with lower listening expertise, who resembled the majority of music consumers, only achieved 68.6%. As non-expert listeners in the experiment were virtually unable to tell the real-life and OSL sounds apart, it is assumed that OSLs will become more common in music production for economic reasons. PMID:27382932

Statistical properties of kinetic and total energy densities in reverberant spaces.

PubMed

Jacobsen, Finn; Molares, Alfonso Rodríguez

2010-04-01

Many acoustical measurements, e.g., measurement of sound power and transmission loss, rely on determining the total sound energy in a reverberation room. The total energy is usually approximated by measuring the mean-square pressure (i.e., the potential energy density) at a number of discrete positions. The idea of measuring the total energy density instead of the potential energy density on the assumption that the former quantity varies less with position than the latter goes back to the 1930s. However, the phenomenon was not analyzed until the late 1970s and then only for the region of high modal overlap, and this analysis has never been published. Moreover, until fairly recently, measurement of the total sound energy density required an elaborate experimental arrangement based on finite-difference approximations using at least four amplitude and phase matched pressure microphones. With the advent of a three-dimensional particle velocity transducer, it has become somewhat easier to measure total rather than only potential energy density in a sound field. This paper examines the ensemble statistics of kinetic and total sound energy densities in reverberant enclosures theoretically, experimentally, and numerically.

A simple formula for insertion loss prediction of large acoustical enclosures using statistical energy analysis method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyun-Sil; Kim, Jae-Seung; Lee, Seong-Hyun; Seo, Yun-Ho

2014-12-01

Insertion loss prediction of large acoustical enclosures using Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) method is presented. The SEA model consists of three elements: sound field inside the enclosure, vibration energy of the enclosure panel, and sound field outside the enclosure. It is assumed that the space surrounding the enclosure is sufficiently large so that there is no energy flow from the outside to the wall panel or to air cavity inside the enclosure. The comparison of the predicted insertion loss to the measured data for typical large acoustical enclosures shows good agreements. It is found that if the critical frequency of the wall panel falls above the frequency region of interest, insertion loss is dominated by the sound transmission loss of the wall panel and averaged sound absorption coefficient inside the enclosure. However, if the critical frequency of the wall panel falls into the frequency region of interest, acoustic power from the sound radiation by the wall panel must be added to the acoustic power from transmission through the panel.

The emotional symbolism of two English e-sounds: /i/ as in "cheap" is pleasant and /I/ as in "chip" active.

PubMed

Whissell, Cynthia

2003-02-01

This article aligns the symbolism of the long (/i/) and short (/I/) e sounds in English with the two dimensions of emotional space-Pleasantness and Activation. On the basis of this alignment, the four quadrants of emotional space are labelled Cheerful (high /i/, high /I/), Cheerless (low /i/, low /I/), Tough (low /i/, high /I/), and Tender (high /i/, low /I/). In four phases, data from over 50 samples (mainly, poetry, song lyrics, and names) were plotted and compared in terms of their use of the two e sounds. Significant and meaningful differences among samples were discovered in all phases. The placement of samples in quadrants was additionally informative. Data samples including many long e sounds (/i/) tended to be more Pleasant and those including many short e sounds (/I/) tended to be more Active.

Sample-based engine noise synthesis using an enhanced pitch-synchronous overlap-and-add method.

PubMed

Jagla, Jan; Maillard, Julien; Martin, Nadine

2012-11-01

An algorithm for the real time synthesis of internal combustion engine noise is presented. Through the analysis of a recorded engine noise signal of continuously varying engine speed, a dataset of sound samples is extracted allowing the real time synthesis of the noise induced by arbitrary evolutions of engine speed. The sound samples are extracted from a recording spanning the entire engine speed range. Each sample is delimitated such as to contain the sound emitted during one cycle of the engine plus the necessary overlap to ensure smooth transitions during the synthesis. The proposed approach, an extension of the PSOLA method introduced for speech processing, takes advantage of the specific periodicity of engine noise signals to locate the extraction instants of the sound samples. During the synthesis stage, the sound samples corresponding to the target engine speed evolution are concatenated with an overlap and add algorithm. It is shown that this method produces high quality audio restitution with a low computational load. It is therefore well suited for real time applications.

Behavioral relevance of gamma-band activity for short-term memory-based auditory decision-making.

PubMed

Kaiser, Jochen; Heidegger, Tonio; Lutzenberger, Werner

2008-06-01

Oscillatory activity in the gamma-band range has been established as a correlate of cognitive processes, including perception, attention and memory. Only a few studies, however, have provided evidence for an association between gamma-band activity (GBA) and measures of behavioral performance. Here we focused on the comparison between sample and test stimuli S1 and S2 during an auditory spatial short-term memory task. Applying statistical probability mapping to magnetoencephalographic recordings from 28 human subjects, we identified GBA components distinguishing nonidentical from identical S1-S2 pairs. This activity was found at frequencies between 65 and 90 Hz and was localized over posterior cortical regions contralateral to the hemifield in which the stimuli were presented. The 10 best task performers showed higher amplitudes of this GBA component than the 10 worst performers. This group difference was most pronounced between about 150 and 300 ms after stimulus onset. Apparently the decision about whether test stimuli matched the stored representation of previously presented sample sounds relied partly on the oscillatory activation of networks representing differences between both stimuli. This result could be replicated by reanalyzing the combined data from two previous studies assessing short-term memory for sound duration and sound lateralization, respectively. Similarly to our main study, GBA amplitudes to nonmatching vs. matching S1-S2 pairs were higher in good performers than poor performers. The present findings demonstrate the behavioral relevance of GBA.

Western classical music development: a statistical analysis of composers similarity, differentiation and evolution.

PubMed

Georges, Patrick

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a statistical analysis that captures similarities and differences between classical music composers with the eventual aim to understand why particular composers 'sound' different even if their 'lineages' (influences network) are similar or why they 'sound' alike if their 'lineages' are different. In order to do this we use statistical methods and measures of association or similarity (based on presence/absence of traits such as specific 'ecological' characteristics and personal musical influences) that have been developed in biosystematics, scientometrics, and bibliographic coupling. This paper also represents a first step towards a more ambitious goal of developing an evolutionary model of Western classical music.

Impacts of Industrial Wind Turbine Noise on Sleep Quality: Results From a Field Study of Rural Residents in Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

Lane, James D; Bigelow, Philip L; Majowicz, Shannon E; McColl, R Stephen

2016-07-01

The objectives of this study were to determine whether grid-connected industrial wind turbines (IWTs) are a risk factor for poor sleep quality, and if IWT noise is associated with sleep parameters in rural Ontarians. A daily sleep diary and actigraphy-derived measures of sleep were obtained from 12 participants from an IWT community and 10 participants from a comparison community with no wind power installations. The equivalent and maximum sound pressure levels within the bedroom were also assessed. No statistically significant differences were observed between IWT residents and non-IWT residents for any of the parameters measured in this study. Actigraphy and sleep diaries are feasible tools to understand the impact of IWTs on the quality of sleep for nearby residents. Further studies with larger sample sizes should be conducted to determine whether the lack of statistical significance observed here is a result of sample size, or reflects a true lack of association.

A statistical theory for sound radiation and reflection from a duct

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cho, Y. C.

1979-01-01

A new analytical method is introduced for the study of the sound radiation and reflection from the open end of a duct. The sound is thought of as an aggregation of the quasiparticles-phonons. The motion of the latter is described in terms of the statistical distribution, which is derived from the classical wave theory. The results are in good agreement with the solutions obtained using the Wiener-Hopf technique when the latter is applicable, but the new method is simple and provides straightforward physical interpretation of the problem. Furthermore, it is applicable to a problem involving a duct in which modes are difficult to determine or cannot be defined at all, whereas the Wiener-Hopf technique is not.

The impact of extended voice use on the acoustic characteristics of phonation after training and performance of actors from the La MaMa Experimental Theater club.

PubMed

Ferrone, Carol; Galgano, Jessica; Ramig, Lorraine Olson

2011-05-01

To test the hypothesis that extensive use of La MaMa vocal technique may result in symptoms of vocal abuse, an evaluation of the acoustic and perceptual characteristics of voice for eight performers from the Great Jones Repertory Company of the La MaMa Experimental Theater was conducted. This vocal technique includes wide ranges of frequency from 46 to 2003 Hz and vocal intensity that is sustained at 90-108 dB sound pressure level with a mouth-to-microphone distance of 30 cm for 3-4 hours per performance. The actors rehearsed for 4 hours per day, 5 days per week for 14 weeks before the series of performances. Thirty-nine performances were presented in 6 weeks. Three pretraining, three posttraining, and two postperformance series data collection sessions were carried out for each performer. Speech samples were gathered using the CSL 4500 and analyzed using Real-Time Pitch program and Multidimensional Voice Program. Acoustic analysis was performed on 48 tokens of sustained vowel phonation for each subject. Statistical analysis was performed using the Friedman test of related samples. Perceptual analysis included professional listeners rating voice quality in pretraining, posttraining, and postperformance samples of the Rainbow Passage and sample lines from the plays. The majority of professional listeners (11/12) judged that this technique would result in symptoms of vocal abuse; however, acoustic data revealed statistically stable or improved measurements for all subjects in most dependent acoustic variables when compared with both posttraining and postperformance trials. These findings add support to the notion that a technique that may be perceived as vocally abusive, generating 90-100 dB sound pressure level and sustained over 6 weeks of performances, actually resulted in improved vocal strength and flexibility. Copyright © 2011 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Novel Acoustic Sensor Approach to Classify Seeds Based on Sound Absorption Spectra

PubMed Central

Gasso-Tortajada, Vicent; Ward, Alastair J.; Mansur, Hasib; Brøchner, Torben; Sørensen, Claus G.; Green, Ole

2010-01-01

A non-destructive and novel in situ acoustic sensor approach based on the sound absorption spectra was developed for identifying and classifying different seed types. The absorption coefficient spectra were determined by using the impedance tube measurement method. Subsequently, a multivariate statistical analysis, i.e., principal component analysis (PCA), was performed as a way to generate a classification of the seeds based on the soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) method. The results show that the sound absorption coefficient spectra of different seed types present characteristic patterns which are highly dependent on seed size and shape. In general, seed particle size and sphericity were inversely related with the absorption coefficient. PCA presented reliable grouping capabilities within the diverse seed types, since the 95% of the total spectral variance was described by the first two principal components. Furthermore, the SIMCA classification model based on the absorption spectra achieved optimal results as 100% of the evaluation samples were correctly classified. This study contains the initial structuring of an innovative method that will present new possibilities in agriculture and industry for classifying and determining physical properties of seeds and other materials. PMID:22163455

Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Using Sound Speed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2002-05-01

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

Articulation rate and its relationship to disfluency type, duration, and temperament in preschool children who stutter.

PubMed

Tumanova, Victoria; Zebrowski, Patricia M; Throneburg, Rebecca N; Kulak Kayikci, Mavis E

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between articulation rate, frequency and duration of disfluencies of different types, and temperament in preschool children who stutter (CWS). In spontaneous speech samples from 19 CWS (mean age=3:9; years:months), we measured articulation rate, the frequency and duration of (a) sound prolongations; (b) sound-syllable repetitions; (c) single syllable whole word repetitions; and (d) clusters. Temperament was assessed with the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (Rothbart et al., 2001). There was a significant negative correlation between articulation rate and average duration of sound prolongations (p<0.01), and between articulation rate and frequency of stuttering-like disfluencies (SLDs) (p<0.05). No other relationships proved statistically significant. Results do not support models of stuttering development that implicate particular characteristics of temperament as proximal contributors to stuttering; however, this is likely due to the fact that current methods, including the ones used in the present study, do not allow for the identification of a functional relationship between temperament and speech production. Findings do indicate that for some CWS, relatively longer sound prolongations co-occur with relatively slower speech rate, which suggests that sound prolongations, across a range of durations, may represent a distinct type of SLD, not just in their obvious perceptual characteristics, but in their potential influence on overall speech production at multiple levels. Readers will be able to describe the relationship between stuttering-like disfluencies, articulation rate and temperament in children who stutter, and discuss different measurements of articulation rate. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Timber resource statistics for the Puget Sound area, Washington.

Treesearch

Patricia M. Bassett; Daniel D. Oswald

1982-01-01

This report summarizes a 1979 timber resource inventory of eight counties in the Puget Sound area of Washington: Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom. Detailed tables of forest area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and harvest are presented.

Preliminary timber resource statistics for the Puget Sound area, Washington.

Treesearch

Colin D. MacLean; Janet L. Ohmann; Patricia M. Bassett

1991-01-01

This report summarizes a 1989 timber resource inventory of eight counties in the Puget Sound region of Washington: Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Skagit, San Juan, Snohomish, and Whatcom. Detailed tables of forest area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and harvest are presented.

Characterization of Sheep Wool as a Sustainable Material for Acoustic Applications

PubMed Central

Uris, Antonio; Candelas, Pilar

2017-01-01

In recent years, natural materials are becoming a valid alternative to traditional sound absorbers due to reduced production costs and environmental protection. This paper reports the acoustical characterization of sheep wool. Measurements on normal incidence and diffuse-incidence sound absorption coefficients of different samples are reported. The airflow resistance has also been measured. The results prove that sheep wool has a comparable sound absorption performance to that of mineral wool or recycled polyurethane foam. An empirical model is used to calculate the sound absorption of sheep wool samples. A reasonable agreement on the acoustic absorption of all sheep wool samples is obtained. PMID:29112133

Characterization of Sheep Wool as a Sustainable Material for Acoustic Applications.

PubMed

Del Rey, Romina; Uris, Antonio; Alba, Jesús; Candelas, Pilar

2017-11-07

In recent years, natural materials are becoming a valid alternative to traditional sound absorbers due to reduced production costs and environmental protection. This paper reports the acoustical characterization of sheep wool. Measurements on normal incidence and diffuse-incidence sound absorption coefficients of different samples are reported. The airflow resistance has also been measured. The results prove that sheep wool has a comparable sound absorption performance to that of mineral wool or recycled polyurethane foam. An empirical model is used to calculate the sound absorption of sheep wool samples. A reasonable agreement on the acoustic absorption of all sheep wool samples is obtained.

Statistical characteristic in time-domain of direct current corona-generated audible noise from conductor in corona cage

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

Li, Xuebao, E-mail: lxb08357x@ncepu.edu.cn; Cui, Xiang, E-mail: x.cui@ncepu.edu.cn; Ma, Wenzuo

The corona-generated audible noise (AN) has become one of decisive factors in the design of high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines. The AN from transmission lines can be attributed to sound pressure pulses which are generated by the multiple corona sources formed on the conductor, i.e., transmission lines. In this paper, a detailed time-domain characteristics of the sound pressure pulses, which are generated by the DC corona discharges formed over the surfaces of a stranded conductors, are investigated systematically in a laboratory settings using a corona cage structure. The amplitude of sound pressure pulse and its time intervals aremore » extracted by observing a direct correlation between corona current pulses and corona-generated sound pressure pulses. Based on the statistical characteristics, a stochastic model is presented for simulating the sound pressure pulses due to DC corona discharges occurring on conductors. The proposed stochastic model is validated by comparing the calculated and measured A-weighted sound pressure level (SPL). The proposed model is then used to analyze the influence of the pulse amplitudes and pulse rate on the SPL. Furthermore, a mathematical relationship is found between the SPL and conductor diameter, electric field, and radial distance.« less

A Comparison of Two Phonological Awareness Techniques between Samples of Preschool Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maslanka, Phyllis; Joseph, Laurice M.

2002-01-01

Examines the differential effects of sound boxes and sound sort phonological awareness instructional techniques on preschoolers' phonological awareness performance. Finds that children in the sound box group significantly outperformed children in the sound sort group on isolating medial sounds and segmenting phonemes. Reveals that preschool…

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xianfeng; Meng, Yao; Huang, Riming

2017-10-01

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

Perceptual statistical learning over one week in child speech production.

PubMed

Richtsmeier, Peter T; Goffman, Lisa

2017-07-01

What cognitive mechanisms account for the trajectory of speech sound development, in particular, gradually increasing accuracy during childhood? An intriguing potential contributor is statistical learning, a type of learning that has been studied frequently in infant perception but less often in child speech production. To assess the relevance of statistical learning to developing speech accuracy, we carried out a statistical learning experiment with four- and five-year-olds in which statistical learning was examined over one week. Children were familiarized with and tested on word-medial consonant sequences in novel words. There was only modest evidence for statistical learning, primarily in the first few productions of the first session. This initial learning effect nevertheless aligns with previous statistical learning research. Furthermore, the overall learning effect was similar to an estimate of weekly accuracy growth based on normative studies. The results implicate other important factors in speech sound development, particularly learning via production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sound transmission loss of composite sandwich panels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ran

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

Are the Literacy Difficulties That Characterize Developmental Dyslexia Associated with a Failure to Integrate Letters and Speech Sounds?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nash, Hannah M.; Gooch, Debbie; Hulme, Charles; Mahajan, Yatin; McArthur, Genevieve; Steinmetzger, Kurt; Snowling, Margaret J.

2017-01-01

The "automatic letter-sound integration hypothesis" (Blomert, [Blomert, L., 2011]) proposes that dyslexia results from a failure to fully integrate letters and speech sounds into automated audio-visual objects. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of English-speaking children with dyslexic difficulties (N = 13) and samples of…

Psychoacoustical evaluation of natural and urban sounds in soundscapes.

PubMed

Yang, Ming; Kang, Jian

2013-07-01

Among various sounds in the environment, natural sounds, such as water sounds and birdsongs, have proven to be highly preferred by humans, but the reasons for these preferences have not been thoroughly researched. This paper explores differences between various natural and urban environmental sounds from the viewpoint of objective measures, especially psychoacoustical parameters. The sound samples used in this study include the recordings of single sound source categories of water, wind, birdsongs, and urban sounds including street music, mechanical sounds, and traffic noise. The samples are analyzed with a number of existing psychoacoustical parameter algorithmic models. Based on hierarchical cluster and principal components analyses of the calculated results, a series of differences has been shown among different sound types in terms of key psychoacoustical parameters. While different sound categories cannot be identified using any single acoustical and psychoacoustical parameter, identification can be made with a group of parameters, as analyzed with artificial neural networks and discriminant functions in this paper. For artificial neural networks, correlations between network predictions and targets using the average and standard deviation data of psychoacoustical parameters as inputs are above 0.95 for the three natural sound categories and above 0.90 for the urban sound category. For sound identification/classification, key parameters are fluctuation strength, loudness, and sharpness.

NASA Rat Acoustic Tolerance Test 1994-1995: 8 kHz, 16 kHz, 32 kHz Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mele, Gary D.; Holley, Daniel C.; Naidu, Sujata

1996-01-01

Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to chronic applied sound (74 to 79 dB, SPL) with octave band center frequencies of either 8, 16 or 32 kHz for up to 60 days. Control cages had ambient sound levels of about 62 dB (SPL). Groups of rats (test vs. control; N=9 per group) were euthanized after 0. 5. 14, 30, and 60 days. On each euthanasia day, objective evaluation of their physiology and behavior was performed using a Stress Assessment Battery (SAB) of measures. In addition, rat hearing was assessed using the brain stem auditory evoked potential (BAER) method after 60 days of exposure. No statistically significant differences in mean daily food use could be attributed to the presence of the applied test sound. Test rats used 5% more water than control rats. In the 8 kHz and 32 kHz tests this amount was statistically significant(P less than .05). This is a minor difference of questionable physiological significance. However, it may be an indication of a small reaction to the constant applied sound. Across all test frequencies, day 5 test rats had 6% larger spleens than control rats. No other body or organ weight differences were found to be statistically significant with respect to the application of sound. This spleen effect may be a transient adaptive process related to adaptation to the constant applied noise. No significant test effect on differential white blood cell counts could be demonstrated. One group demonstrated a low eosinophil count (16 kHz experiment, day 14 test group). However this was highly suspect. Across all test frequencies studied, day 5 test rats had 17% fewer total leukocytes than day 5 control rats. Sound exposed test rats exhibited 44% lower plasma corticosterone concentrations than did control rats. Note that the plasma corticosterone concentration was lower in the sound exposed test animals than the control animals in every instance (frequency exposure and number of days exposed).

Toward blind removal of unwanted sound from orchestrated music

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Soo-Young; Chun, Joohwan

2000-11-01

The problem addressed in this paper is to removing unwanted sounds from music sound. The sound to be removed could be disturbance such as cough. We shall present some preliminary results on this problem using statistical properties of signals. Our approach consists of three steps. We first estimate the fundamental frequencies and partials given noise-corrupted music sound. This gives us the autoregressive (AR) model of the music sound. Then we filter the noise-corrupted sound using the AR parameters. The filtered signal is then subtracted from the original noise-corrupted signal to get the disturbance. Finally, the obtained disturbance is used a reference signal to eliminate the disturbance from the noise- corrupted music signal. Above three steps are carried out in a recursive manner using a sliding window or an infinitely growing window with an appropriate forgetting factor.

Texture Classification by Texton: Statistical versus Binary

PubMed Central

Guo, Zhenhua; Zhang, Zhongcheng; Li, Xiu; Li, Qin; You, Jane

2014-01-01

Using statistical textons for texture classification has shown great success recently. The maximal response 8 (Statistical_MR8), image patch (Statistical_Joint) and locally invariant fractal (Statistical_Fractal) are typical statistical texton algorithms and state-of-the-art texture classification methods. However, there are two limitations when using these methods. First, it needs a training stage to build a texton library, thus the recognition accuracy will be highly depended on the training samples; second, during feature extraction, local feature is assigned to a texton by searching for the nearest texton in the whole library, which is time consuming when the library size is big and the dimension of feature is high. To address the above two issues, in this paper, three binary texton counterpart methods were proposed, Binary_MR8, Binary_Joint, and Binary_Fractal. These methods do not require any training step but encode local feature into binary representation directly. The experimental results on the CUReT, UIUC and KTH-TIPS databases show that binary texton could get sound results with fast feature extraction, especially when the image size is not big and the quality of image is not poor. PMID:24520346

Aquatic Acoustic Metrics Interface

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

2012-12-18

Fishes and marine mammals may suffer a range of potential effects from exposure to intense underwater sound generated by anthropogenic activities such as pile driving, shipping, sonars, and underwater blasting. Several underwater sound recording (USR) devices have been built to acquire samples of the underwater sound generated by anthropogenic activities. Software becomes indispensable for processing and analyzing the audio files recorded by these USRs. The new Aquatic Acoustic Metrics Interface Utility Software (AAMI) is specifically designed for analysis of underwater sound recordings to provide data in metrics that facilitate evaluation of the potential impacts of the sound on aquatic animals.more » In addition to the basic functions, such as loading and editing audio files recorded by USRs and batch processing of sound files, the software utilizes recording system calibration data to compute important parameters in physical units. The software also facilitates comparison of the noise sound sample metrics with biological measures such as audiograms of the sensitivity of aquatic animals to the sound, integrating various components into a single analytical frame.« less

SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF DIVERSE SOUNDS ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY.

PubMed

Nozaki, Haruka; Uetake, Teruo; Shimoda, Masahiro

2015-12-01

With the goal of facilitating the creation of relaxing sound environments in stressful places, such as offices, we examined differences in the heart rate fluctuations of men and women induced by different sounds. Twenty-three healthy students (13 males and 10 females) aged between 18 and 23 listened to seven different sounds while we collected electrocardiogram data. We extracted the high frequency component (HF) and low frequency component (LF) of the signals using the wavelet method, and calculated LF/HF. We found no statistically significant differences between males and females in the frequency distribution of a no change group, increased group, and decreased group for any sound. However, certain sounds had somewhat similar patterns for men and women for all three groups. Additionally, the pairs of experimental sounds with highly similar effects on individuals were different for men and women.

Generalized correlation integral vectors: A distance concept for chaotic dynamical systems

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

Haario, Heikki, E-mail: heikki.haario@lut.fi; Kalachev, Leonid, E-mail: KalachevL@mso.umt.edu; Hakkarainen, Janne

2015-06-15

Several concepts of fractal dimension have been developed to characterise properties of attractors of chaotic dynamical systems. Numerical approximations of them must be calculated by finite samples of simulated trajectories. In principle, the quantities should not depend on the choice of the trajectory, as long as it provides properly distributed samples of the underlying attractor. In practice, however, the trajectories are sensitive with respect to varying initial values, small changes of the model parameters, to the choice of a solver, numeric tolerances, etc. The purpose of this paper is to present a statistically sound approach to quantify this variability. Wemore » modify the concept of correlation integral to produce a vector that summarises the variability at all selected scales. The distribution of this stochastic vector can be estimated, and it provides a statistical distance concept between trajectories. Here, we demonstrate the use of the distance for the purpose of estimating model parameters of a chaotic dynamic model. The methodology is illustrated using computational examples for the Lorenz 63 and Lorenz 95 systems, together with a framework for Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to produce posterior distributions of model parameters.« less

Application of GPS radio occultation to the assessment of temperature profile retrievals from microwave and infrared sounders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feltz, M.; Knuteson, R.; Ackerman, S.; Revercomb, H.

2014-05-01

Comparisons of satellite temperature profile products from GPS radio occultation (RO) and hyperspectral infrared (IR)/microwave (MW) sounders are made using a previously developed matchup technique. The profile matchup technique matches GPS RO and IR/MW sounder profiles temporally, within 1 h, and spatially, taking into account the unique RO profile geometry and theoretical spatial resolution by calculating a ray-path averaged sounder profile. The comparisons use the GPS RO dry temperature product. Sounder minus GPS RO differences are computed and used to calculate bias and RMS profile statistics, which are created for global and 30° latitude zones for selected time periods. These statistics are created from various combinations of temperature profile data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere & Climate (COSMIC) network, Global Navigation Satellite System Receiver for Atmospheric Sounding (GRAS) instrument, and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)/Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI)/AMSU, and Crosstrack Infrared Sounder (CrIS)/Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) sounding systems. By overlaying combinations of these matchup statistics for similar time and space domains, comparisons of different sounders' products, sounder product versions, and GPS RO products can be made. The COSMIC GPS RO network has the spatial coverage, time continuity, and stability to provide a common reference for comparison of the sounder profile products. The results of this study demonstrate that GPS RO has potential to act as a common temperature reference and can help facilitate inter-comparison of sounding retrieval methods and also highlight differences among sensor product versions.

Application of GPS radio occultation to the assessment of temperature profile retrievals from microwave and infrared sounders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feltz, M.; Knuteson, R.; Ackerman, S.; Revercomb, H.

2014-11-01

Comparisons of satellite temperature profile products from GPS radio occultation (RO) and hyperspectral infrared (IR)/microwave (MW) sounders are made using a previously developed matchup technique. The profile matchup technique matches GPS RO and IR/MW sounder profiles temporally, within 1 h, and spatially, taking into account the unique RO profile geometry and theoretical spatial resolution by calculating a ray-path averaged sounder profile. The comparisons use the GPS RO dry temperature product. Sounder minus GPS RO differences are computed and used to calculate bias and rms profile statistics, which are created for global and 30° latitude zones for selected time periods. These statistics are created from various combinations of temperature profile data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere & Climate (COSMIC) network, Global Navigation Satellite System Receiver for Atmospheric Sounding (GRAS) instrument, and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)/Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI)/AMSU, and Crosstrack Infrared Sounder (CrIS)/Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) sounding systems. By overlaying combinations of these matchup statistics for similar time and space domains, comparisons of different sounders' products, sounder product versions, and GPS RO products can be made. The COSMIC GPS RO network has the spatial coverage, time continuity, and stability to provide a common reference for comparison of the sounder profile products. The results of this study demonstrate that GPS RO has potential to act as a common temperature reference and can help facilitate inter-comparison of sounding retrieval methods and also highlight differences among sensor product versions.

Improving road safety and residential quality of life : evaluating the automated wayside horn system.

PubMed

Lucke, Roy E; Raub, Richard A; Thunder, Thomas E

2004-01-01

The automated wayside horn system is designed to replace the train horn as a means of alerting motorists to danger and thus enhancing safety at highway-rail grade crossings. Furthermore, the wayside horn directionality is such that the warning sound is broadcast over a smaller sector than the train horn, thereby reducing residential noise. This article examines the results of an evaluation comparing train horns with wayside horns in the village of Mundelein, Illinois, USA. The study derived from previous work in Gering, Nebraska, and Ames, Iowa.During the 3 months covering the 'before' (train horn) period and through to 'after' (wayside horn), more than 19 500 crossing gate closures were recorded on videotape at three crossings. Analysis showed motorist violation of level-crossing laws decreased 68%, from an average rate of 3.53 per 100 gate closings when train horns were in use to 1.12 per 100 with the wayside horn. The decrease was statistically significant. Of equal importance was the decrease in residential noise. Sound measurements taken in a sample of residential yards showed a decrease in sound levels by more than 10 decibels (dB) at most locations. When plotted as sound contours, decreases in the area of coverage ranged from 85% at the 90dB level to 65% at the 70dB level.However, there are two issues with the use of wayside horns that need to be resolved. First, and most important, is that the wayside horn starts sounding when the warning lights begin to flash. This startles motorists, and some stop on the rail tracks. A second issue is the frequent unwarranted activation of the system, which encourages people to ignore the gate.

Using Statistical Analysis Software to Advance Nitro Plasticizer Wettability

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

Shear, Trevor Allan

Statistical analysis in science is an extremely powerful tool that is often underutilized. Additionally, it is frequently the case that data is misinterpreted or not used to its fullest extent. Utilizing the advanced software JMP®, many aspects of experimental design and data analysis can be evaluated and improved. This overview will detail the features of JMP® and how they were used to advance a project, resulting in time and cost savings, as well as the collection of scientifically sound data. The project analyzed in this report addresses the inability of a nitro plasticizer to coat a gold coated quartz crystalmore » sensor used in a quartz crystal microbalance. Through the use of the JMP® software, the wettability of the nitro plasticizer was increased by over 200% using an atmospheric plasma pen, ensuring good sample preparation and reliable results.« less

Statistical mechanics of self-driven Carnot cycles.

PubMed

Smith, E

1999-10-01

The spontaneous generation and finite-amplitude saturation of sound, in a traveling-wave thermoacoustic engine, are derived as properties of a second-order phase transition. It has previously been argued that this dynamical phase transition, called "onset," has an equivalent equilibrium representation, but the saturation mechanism and scaling were not computed. In this work, the sound modes implementing the engine cycle are coarse-grained and statistically averaged, in a partition function derived from microscopic dynamics on criteria of scale invariance. Self-amplification performed by the engine cycle is introduced through higher-order modal interactions. Stationary points and fluctuations of the resulting phenomenological Lagrangian are analyzed and related to background dynamical currents. The scaling of the stable sound amplitude near the critical point is derived and shown to arise universally from the interaction of finite-temperature disorder, with the order induced by self-amplification.

Additive hazards regression and partial likelihood estimation for ecological monitoring data across space.

PubMed

Lin, Feng-Chang; Zhu, Jun

2012-01-01

We develop continuous-time models for the analysis of environmental or ecological monitoring data such that subjects are observed at multiple monitoring time points across space. Of particular interest are additive hazards regression models where the baseline hazard function can take on flexible forms. We consider time-varying covariates and take into account spatial dependence via autoregression in space and time. We develop statistical inference for the regression coefficients via partial likelihood. Asymptotic properties, including consistency and asymptotic normality, are established for parameter estimates under suitable regularity conditions. Feasible algorithms utilizing existing statistical software packages are developed for computation. We also consider a simpler additive hazards model with homogeneous baseline hazard and develop hypothesis testing for homogeneity. A simulation study demonstrates that the statistical inference using partial likelihood has sound finite-sample properties and offers a viable alternative to maximum likelihood estimation. For illustration, we analyze data from an ecological study that monitors bark beetle colonization of red pines in a plantation of Wisconsin.

Comparison of sound speed measurements on two different ultrasound tomography devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sak, Mark; Duric, Neb; Littrup, Peter; Bey-Knight, Lisa; Sherman, Mark; Gierach, Gretchen; Malyarenko, Antonina

2014-03-01

Ultrasound tomography (UST) employs sound waves to produce three-dimensional images of breast tissue and precisely measures the attenuation of sound speed secondary to breast tissue composition. High breast density is a strong breast cancer risk factor and sound speed is directly proportional to breast density. UST provides a quantitative measure of breast density based on three-dimensional imaging without compression, thereby overcoming the shortcomings of many other imaging modalities. The quantitative nature of the UST breast density measures are tied to an external standard, so sound speed measurement in breast tissue should be independent of specific hardware. The work presented here compares breast sound speed measurement obtained with two different UST devices. The Computerized Ultrasound Risk Evaluation (CURE) system located at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan was recently replaced with the SoftVue ultrasound tomographic device. Ongoing clinical trials have used images generated from both sets of hardware, so maintaining consistency in sound speed measurements is important. During an overlap period when both systems were in the same exam room, a total of 12 patients had one or both of their breasts imaged on both systems on the same day. There were 22 sound speed scans analyzed from each system and the average breast sound speeds were compared. Images were either reconstructed using saved raw data (for both CURE and SoftVue) or were created during the image acquisition (saved in DICOM format for SoftVue scans only). The sound speed measurements from each system were strongly and positively correlated with each other. The average difference in sound speed between the two sets of data was on the order of 1-2 m/s and this result was not statistically significant. The only sets of images that showed a statistical difference were the DICOM images created during the SoftVue scan compared to the SoftVue images reconstructed from the raw data. However, the discrepancy between the sound speed values could be easily handled by uniformly increasing the DICOM sound speed by approximately 0.5 m/s. These results suggest that there is no fundamental difference in sound speed measurement for the two systems and support combining data generated with these instruments in future studies.

Noise in contemporary neonatal intensive care.

PubMed

Williams, Amber L; van Drongelen, Wim; Lasky, Robert E

2007-05-01

Weekly sound surveys (n = 63) were collected, using 5 s sampling intervals, for two modern neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Median weekly equivalent sound pressure levels (LEQ) for NICU A ranged from 61 to 63 dB (A weighted), depending on the level of care. NICU B L(EQ) measurements ranged from 55 to 60 dB (A weighted). NICU B was recently built with a focus on sound abatement, explaining much of the difference between the two NICUs. Sound levels exceeded 45 dB (A weighted), recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 70% of the time for all levels of care. Hourly L(EQ)s below 50 dB (A weighted) and hourly L10s below 55 dB (A weighted), recommended by the Sound Study Group (SSG) of the National Resource Center, were also exceeded in more than 70% of recorded samples. A third SSG recommendation, that the 1 s L(MAX), should not exceed 70 dB (A weighted), was exceeded relatively infrequently (< 11% of the time). Peak impulse measurements exceeded 90 dB for 6.3% of 5 s samples recorded from NICU A and 2.8% of NICU B samples. Twenty-four h periodicities in sound levels as a function of regular staff activities were apparent, but short-term variability was considerable.

Outlier Responses Reflect Sensitivity to Statistical Structure in the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Garrido, Marta I.

2013-01-01

We constantly look for patterns in the environment that allow us to learn its key regularities. These regularities are fundamental in enabling us to make predictions about what is likely to happen next. The physiological study of regularity extraction has focused primarily on repetitive sequence-based rules within the sensory environment, or on stimulus-outcome associations in the context of reward-based decision-making. Here we ask whether we implicitly encode non-sequential stochastic regularities, and detect violations therein. We addressed this question using a novel experimental design and both behavioural and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) metrics associated with responses to pure-tone sounds with frequencies sampled from a Gaussian distribution. We observed that sounds in the tail of the distribution evoked a larger response than those that fell at the centre. This response resembled the mismatch negativity (MMN) evoked by surprising or unlikely events in traditional oddball paradigms. Crucially, responses to physically identical outliers were greater when the distribution was narrower. These results show that humans implicitly keep track of the uncertainty induced by apparently random distributions of sensory events. Source reconstruction suggested that the statistical-context-sensitive responses arose in a temporo-parietal network, areas that have been associated with attention orientation to unexpected events. Our results demonstrate a very early neurophysiological marker of the brain's ability to implicitly encode complex statistical structure in the environment. We suggest that this sensitivity provides a computational basis for our ability to make perceptual inferences in noisy environments and to make decisions in an uncertain world. PMID:23555230

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

Recently construction of subsea tunnel has been increased globally. For safe construction of subsea tunnel, identifying the geological structure including fault at design and construction stage is more than important. Then unlike the tunnel in land, it's very difficult to obtain the data on geological structure because of the limit in geological survey. This study is intended to challenge such difficulties in a way of developing the technology to identify the geological structure of seabed automatically by using echo sounding data. When investigation a potential site for a deep subsea tunnel, there is the technical and economical limit with borehole of geophysical investigation. On the contrary, echo sounding data is easily obtainable while information reliability is higher comparing to above approaches. This study is aimed at developing the algorithm that identifies the large scale of geological structure of seabed using geostatic approach. This study is based on theory of structural geology that topographic features indicate geological structure. Basic concept of algorithm is outlined as follows; (1) convert the seabed topography to the grid data using echo sounding data, (2) apply the moving window in optimal size to the grid data, (3) estimate the spatial statistics of the grid data in the window area, (4) set the percentile standard of spatial statistics, (5) display the values satisfying the standard on the map, (6) visualize the geological structure on the map. The important elements in this study include optimal size of moving window, kinds of optimal spatial statistics and determination of optimal percentile standard. To determine such optimal elements, a numerous simulations were implemented. Eventually, user program based on R was developed using optimal analysis algorithm. The user program was designed to identify the variations of various spatial statistics. It leads to easy analysis of geological structure depending on variation of spatial statistics by arranging to easily designate the type of spatial statistics and percentile standard. This research was supported by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Korean government. (Project Number: 13 Construction Research T01)

Selective and Efficient Neural Coding of Communication Signals Depends on Early Acoustic and Social Environment

PubMed Central

Amin, Noopur; Gastpar, Michael; Theunissen, Frédéric E.

2013-01-01

Previous research has shown that postnatal exposure to simple, synthetic sounds can affect the sound representation in the auditory cortex as reflected by changes in the tonotopic map or other relatively simple tuning properties, such as AM tuning. However, their functional implications for neural processing in the generation of ethologically-based perception remain unexplored. Here we examined the effects of noise-rearing and social isolation on the neural processing of communication sounds such as species-specific song, in the primary auditory cortex analog of adult zebra finches. Our electrophysiological recordings reveal that neural tuning to simple frequency-based synthetic sounds is initially established in all the laminae independent of patterned acoustic experience; however, we provide the first evidence that early exposure to patterned sound statistics, such as those found in native sounds, is required for the subsequent emergence of neural selectivity for complex vocalizations and for shaping neural spiking precision in superficial and deep cortical laminae, and for creating efficient neural representations of song and a less redundant ensemble code in all the laminae. Our study also provides the first causal evidence for ‘sparse coding’, such that when the statistics of the stimuli were changed during rearing, as in noise-rearing, that the sparse or optimal representation for species-specific vocalizations disappeared. Taken together, these results imply that a layer-specific differential development of the auditory cortex requires patterned acoustic input, and a specialized and robust sensory representation of complex communication sounds in the auditory cortex requires a rich acoustic and social environment. PMID:23630587

Design-based stereology: Planning, volumetry and sampling are crucial steps for a successful study.

PubMed

Tschanz, Stefan; Schneider, Jan Philipp; Knudsen, Lars

2014-01-01

Quantitative data obtained by means of design-based stereology can add valuable information to studies performed on a diversity of organs, in particular when correlated to functional/physiological and biochemical data. Design-based stereology is based on a sound statistical background and can be used to generate accurate data which are in line with principles of good laboratory practice. In addition, by adjusting the study design an appropriate precision can be achieved to find relevant differences between groups. For the success of the stereological assessment detailed planning is necessary. In this review we focus on common pitfalls encountered during stereological assessment. An exemplary workflow is included, and based on authentic examples, we illustrate a number of sampling principles which can be implemented to obtain properly sampled tissue blocks for various purposes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Learning Midlevel Auditory Codes from Natural Sound Statistics.

PubMed

Młynarski, Wiktor; McDermott, Josh H

2018-03-01

Interaction with the world requires an organism to transform sensory signals into representations in which behaviorally meaningful properties of the environment are made explicit. These representations are derived through cascades of neuronal processing stages in which neurons at each stage recode the output of preceding stages. Explanations of sensory coding may thus involve understanding how low-level patterns are combined into more complex structures. To gain insight into such midlevel representations for sound, we designed a hierarchical generative model of natural sounds that learns combinations of spectrotemporal features from natural stimulus statistics. In the first layer, the model forms a sparse convolutional code of spectrograms using a dictionary of learned spectrotemporal kernels. To generalize from specific kernel activation patterns, the second layer encodes patterns of time-varying magnitude of multiple first-layer coefficients. When trained on corpora of speech and environmental sounds, some second-layer units learned to group similar spectrotemporal features. Others instantiate opponency between distinct sets of features. Such groupings might be instantiated by neurons in the auditory cortex, providing a hypothesis for midlevel neuronal computation.

Texture-dependent effects of pseudo-chewing sound on perceived food texture and evoked feelings in response to nursing care foods.

PubMed

Endo, Hiroshi; Ino, Shuichi; Fujisaki, Waka

2017-09-01

Because chewing sounds influence perceived food textures, unpleasant textures of texture-modified diets might be improved by chewing sound modulation. Additionally, since inhomogeneous food properties increase perceived sensory intensity, the effects of chewing sound modulation might depend on inhomogeneity. This study examined the influences of texture inhomogeneity on the effects of chewing sound modulation. Three kinds of nursing care foods in two food process types (minced-/puréed-like foods for inhomogeneous/homogeneous texture respectively) were used as sample foods. A pseudo-chewing sound presentation system, using electromyogram signals, was used to modulate chewing sounds. Thirty healthy elderly participants participated in the experiment. In two conditions with and without the pseudo-chewing sound, participants rated the taste, texture, and evoked feelings in response to sample foods. The results showed that inhomogeneity strongly influenced the perception of food texture. Regarding the effects of the pseudo-chewing sound, taste was less influenced, the perceived food texture tended to change in the minced-like foods, and evoked feelings changed in both food process types. Though there were some food-dependent differences in the effects of the pseudo-chewing sound, the presentation of the pseudo-chewing sounds was more effective in foods with an inhomogeneous texture. In addition, it was shown that the pseudo-chewing sound might have positively influenced feelings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Open ear hearing aids in tinnitus therapy: An efficacy comparison with sound generators.

PubMed

Parazzini, Marta; Del Bo, Luca; Jastreboff, Margaret; Tognola, Gabriella; Ravazzani, Paolo

2011-08-01

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) with sound generators or with open ear hearing aids in the rehabilitation of tinnitus for a group of subjects who, according to Jastreboff categories, can be treated with both approaches to sound therapy (borderline of Category 1 and 2). This study was a prospective data collection with a parallel-group design which entailed that each subject was randomly assigned to one of the two treatments group: half of the subjects were fitted binaurally with sound generators, and the other half with open ear hearing aids. Both groups received the same educational counselling sessions. Ninety-one subjects passed the screening criteria and were enrolled into the study. Structured interviews, with a variety of measures evaluated through the use of visual-analog scales and the tinnitus handicap inventory self-administered questionnaire, were performed before the therapy and at 3, 6, and 12 months during the therapy. Data showed a highly significant improvement in both tinnitus treatments starting from the first three months and up to one year of therapy, with a progressive and statistically significant decrease in the disability every three months. TRT was equally effective with sound generator or open ear hearing aids: they gave basically identical, statistically indistinguishable results.

Equations for normal-mode statistics of sound scattering by a rough elastic boundary in an underwater waveguide, including backscattering.

PubMed

Morozov, Andrey K; Colosi, John A

2017-09-01

Underwater sound scattering by a rough sea surface, ice, or a rough elastic bottom is studied. The study includes both the scattering from the rough boundary and the elastic effects in the solid layer. A coupled mode matrix is approximated by a linear function of one random perturbation parameter such as the ice-thickness or a perturbation of the surface position. A full two-way coupled mode solution is used to derive the stochastic differential equation for the second order statistics in a Markov approximation.

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolf, Gail Marie

2016-01-01

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

Aquatic Acoustic Metrics Interface Utility for Underwater Sound Monitoring and Analysis

PubMed Central

Ren, Huiying; Halvorsen, Michele B.; Deng, Zhiqun Daniel; Carlson, Thomas J.

2012-01-01

Fishes and marine mammals may suffer a range of potential effects from exposure to intense underwater sound generated by anthropogenic activities such as pile driving, shipping, sonars, and underwater blasting. Several underwater sound recording (USR) devices have been built to acquire samples of the underwater sound generated by anthropogenic activities. Software becomes indispensable for processing and analyzing the audio files recorded by these USRs. In this paper, we provide a detailed description of a new software package, the Aquatic Acoustic Metrics Interface (AAMI), specifically designed for analysis of underwater sound recordings to provide data in metrics that facilitate evaluation of the potential impacts of the sound on aquatic animals. In addition to the basic functions, such as loading and editing audio files recorded by USRs and batch processing of sound files, the software utilizes recording system calibration data to compute important parameters in physical units. The software also facilitates comparison of the noise sound sample metrics with biological measures such as audiograms of the sensitivity of aquatic animals to the sound, integrating various components into a single analytical frame. The features of the AAMI software are discussed, and several case studies are presented to illustrate its functionality. PMID:22969353

Bone measurements of infants with hyperbilirubinemia by quantitative ultrasound: the influence of phototherapy.

PubMed

Arıkan, Fatma İnci; Kara, Semra; Bilgin, Hüseyin; Özkan, Fatma; Bilge, Yıldız Dallar

2017-07-01

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the possible effects of phototherapy on bone status of term infants evaluated by measurement of tibial bone speed of sound (SOS). The phototherapy group (n = 30) consisted of children who had undergone phototherapy for at least 24 h and the control group (n = 30) comprised children who had not received phototherapy. Blood samples were obtained from all infants for serum calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone and vitamin D concentrations. The left tibial quantitative ultrasound (QUS) measurements were performed using a commercial device. There was no statistically significant difference between phototherapy-exposed and nonexposed infants in terms of Ca, P, ALP, PTH and vitamin D levels. Comparison of bone SOS between the phototherapy-exposed and control group revealed no statistically difference. Also, no significant difference in Z-score for SOS was observed between those with or without exposure. The data of our study indicate that phototherapy treatment has no impact on bone status in the hyperbilirubinemic infants. Although there is no statistically significant evidence of an excess risk of bone damage following phototherapy, studies with larger sample sizes and longer duration of follow-up are needed to gain a better understanding of its effects.

DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING OF A MULTIDIMENSIONAL INSTRUMENT OF PERCEIVED DISCRIMINATION AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE JACKSON HEART STUDY

PubMed Central

Sims, Mario; Wyatt, Sharon B.; Gutierrez, Mary Lou; Taylor, Herman A.; Williams, David R.

2009-01-01

Objective Assessing the discrimination-health disparities hypothesis requires psychometrically sound, multidimensional measures of discrimination. Among the available discrimination measures, few are multidimensional and none have adequate psychometric testing in a large, African American sample. We report the development and psychometric testing of the multidimensional Jackson Heart Study Discrimination (JHSDIS) Instrument. Methods A multidimensional measure assessing the occurrence, frequency, attribution, and coping responses to perceived everyday and lifetime discrimination; lifetime burden of discrimination; and effect of skin color was developed and tested in the 5302-member cohort of the Jackson Heart Study. Internal consistency was calculated by using Cronbach α. coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis established the dimensions, and intercorrelation coefficients assessed the discriminant validity of the instrument. Setting Tri-county area of the Jackson, MS metropolitan statistical area. Results The JHSDIS was psychometrically sound (overall α=.78, .84 and .77, respectively, for the everyday and lifetime subscales). Confirmatory factor analysis yielded 11 factors, which confirmed the a priori dimensions represented. Conclusions The JHSDIS combined three scales into a single multidimensional instrument with good psychometric properties in a large sample of African Americans. This analysis lays the foundation for using this instrument in research that will examine the association between perceived discrimination and CVD among African Americans. PMID:19341164

Sound velocity of tantalum under shock compression in the 18–142 GPa range

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

Xi, Feng, E-mail: xifeng@caep.cn; Jin, Ke; Cai, Lingcang, E-mail: cai-lingcang@aliyun.com

2015-05-14

Dynamic compression experiments of tantalum (Ta) within a shock pressure range from 18–142 GPa were conducted driven by explosive, a two-stage light gas gun, and a powder gun, respectively. The time-resolved Ta/LiF (lithium fluoride) interface velocity profiles were recorded with a displacement interferometer system for any reflector. Sound velocities of Ta were obtained from the peak state time duration measurements with the step-sample technique and the direct-reverse impact technique. The uncertainty of measured sound velocities were analyzed carefully, which suggests that the symmetrical impact method with step-samples is more accurate for sound velocity measurement, and the most important parameter in thismore » type experiment is the accurate sample/window particle velocity profile, especially the accurate peak state time duration. From these carefully analyzed sound velocity data, no evidence of a phase transition was found up to the shock melting pressure of Ta.« less

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

PubMed Central

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

2012-01-01

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

Evaluation of damping loss factor of flat laminates by sound transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parrinello, A.; Ghiringhelli, G. L.

2018-06-01

A novel approach to investigate and evaluate the damping loss factor of a planar multilayered structure is presented. A statistical analysis reveals the connection between the damping properties of the structure and the transmission of sound through the thickness of its laterally infinite counterpart. The obtained expression for the panel loss factor involves all the derivatives of the transmission and reflection coefficients of the layered structure with respect each layer damping. The properties of the fluid for which the sound transmission is evaluated are chosen to fulfil the hypotheses on the basis of the statistical formulation. A transfer matrix approach is used to compute the required transmission and reflection coefficients, making it possible to deal with structures having arbitrary stratifications of different layers and also granting high efficiency in a wide frequency range. Comparison with alternative formulations and measurements demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Plane-wave decomposition by spherical-convolution microphone array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafaely, Boaz; Park, Munhum

2004-05-01

Reverberant sound fields are widely studied, as they have a significant influence on the acoustic performance of enclosures in a variety of applications. For example, the intelligibility of speech in lecture rooms, the quality of music in auditoria, the noise level in offices, and the production of 3D sound in living rooms are all affected by the enclosed sound field. These sound fields are typically studied through frequency response measurements or statistical measures such as reverberation time, which do not provide detailed spatial information. The aim of the work presented in this seminar is the detailed analysis of reverberant sound fields. A measurement and analysis system based on acoustic theory and signal processing, designed around a spherical microphone array, is presented. Detailed analysis is achieved by decomposition of the sound field into waves, using spherical Fourier transform and spherical convolution. The presentation will include theoretical review, simulation studies, and initial experimental results.

Study on sound-speed dispersion in a sandy sediment at frequency ranges of 0.5-3 kHz and 90-170 kHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Sheng-qi; Liu, Bao-hua; Yu, Kai-ben; Kan, Guang-ming; Yang, Zhi-guo

2017-03-01

In order to study the properties of sound-speed dispersion in a sandy sediment, the sound speed was measured both at high frequency (90-170 kHz) and low frequency (0.5-3 kHz) in laboratory environments. At high frequency, a sampling measurement was conducted with boiled and uncooked sand samples collected from the bottom of a large water tank. The sound speed was directly obtained through transmission measurement using single source and single hydrophone. At low frequency, an in situ measurement was conducted in the water tank, where the sandy sediment had been homogeneously paved at the bottom for a long time. The sound speed was indirectly inverted according to the traveling time of signals received by three buried hydrophones in the sandy sediment and the geometry in experiment. The results show that the mean sound speed is approximate 1710-1713 m/s with a weak positive gradient in the sand sample after being boiled (as a method to eliminate bubbles as much as possible) at high frequency, which agrees well with the predictions of Biot theory, the effective density fluid model (EDFM) and Buckingham's theory. However, the sound speed in the uncooked sandy sediment obviously decreases (about 80%) both at high frequency and low frequency due to plenty of bubbles in existence. And the sound-speed dispersion performs a weak negative gradient at high frequency. Finally, a water-unsaturated Biot model is presented for trying to explain the decrease of sound speed in the sandy sediment with plenty of bubbles.

Assessment and evaluation of noise controls on roof bolting equipment and a method for predicting sound pressure levels in underground coal mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matetic, Rudy J.

Over-exposure to noise remains a widespread and serious health hazard in the U.S. mining industries despite 25 years of regulation. Every day, 80% of the nation's miners go to work in an environment where the time weighted average (TWA) noise level exceeds 85 dBA and more than 25% of the miners are exposed to a TWA noise level that exceeds 90 dBA, the permissible exposure limit (PEL). Additionally, MSHA coal noise sample data collected from 2000 to 2002 show that 65% of the equipment whose operators exceeded 100% noise dosage comprise only seven different types of machines; auger miners, bulldozers, continuous miners, front end loaders, roof bolters, shuttle cars (electric), and trucks. In addition, the MSHA data indicate that the roof bolter is third among all the equipment and second among equipment in underground coal whose operators exceed 100% dosage. A research program was implemented to: (1) determine, characterize and to measure sound power levels radiated by a roof bolting machine during differing drilling configurations (thrust, rotational speed, penetration rate, etc.) and utilizing differing types of drilling methods in high compressive strength rock media (>20,000 psi). The research approach characterized the sound power level results from laboratory testing and provided the mining industry with empirical data relative to utilizing differing noise control technologies (drilling configurations and types of drilling methods) in reducing sound power level emissions on a roof bolting machine; (2) distinguish and correlate the empirical data into one, statistically valid, equation, in which, provided the mining industry with a tool to predict overall sound power levels of a roof bolting machine given any type of drilling configuration and drilling method utilized in industry; (3) provided the mining industry with several approaches to predict or determine sound pressure levels in an underground coal mine utilizing laboratory test results from a roof bolting machine and (4) described a method for determining an operators' noise dosage of a roof bolting machine utilizing predicted or determined sound pressure levels.

Structure of the Bacterial Community in Different Stages of Early Childhood Caries.

PubMed

Ximenes, Marcos; Armas, Rafael Dutra de; Triches, Thaisa Cezária; Cardoso, Mariane; Vieira, Ricardo de Souza

2018-01-15

To characterise in vivo the structure of bacterial communities in decayed and sound primary teeth. Samples of biofilms were collected from three groups of patients with complete and exclusively primary dentition (n = 45): G1: sound teeth (n = 15); G2: enamel lesion (n = 15); G3: dentin lesion (n = 15). DNA was extracted (CTAB 2%) from the biofilm, the partial 16S rRNA gene was amplified with Bacteria Universal Primers (BA338fGC - UN518r) and subjected to DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis). Multidimensional scaling and ANOSIM (analysis of similarity) were employed to determine the structure of the bacterial communities. The amplicon richness was determined by averaging amplicons, with the differences between treatments determined with ANOVA, while means were compared using Tukey's test (p < 0.05). Compared to sound teeth, a greater variety of bacterial communities was found in decayed teeth. Despite the differences between the bacterial communities of sound teeth and decayed teeth, the Venn diagram showed that the samples had 38 amplicons in common. Greater amplicon richness was observed in samples of decayed teeth (enamel: 20.5 ± 2.7; dentin: 20.1 ± 2.8) compared with the sound samples (12.0 ± 4.3) (p <0.05), indicating enhanced growth for specific groups of bacteria on decayed teeth. Although there is less bacterial diversity on sound than ECC-decayed teeth, the bacterial communities are very similar.

Sound-field measurement with moving microphones

PubMed Central

Katzberg, Fabrice; Mazur, Radoslaw; Maass, Marco; Koch, Philipp; Mertins, Alfred

2017-01-01

Closed-room scenarios are characterized by reverberation, which decreases the performance of applications such as hands-free teleconferencing and multichannel sound reproduction. However, exact knowledge of the sound field inside a volume of interest enables the compensation of room effects and allows for a performance improvement within a wide range of applications. The sampling of sound fields involves the measurement of spatially dependent room impulse responses, where the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem applies in the temporal and spatial domains. The spatial measurement often requires a huge number of sampling points and entails other difficulties, such as the need for exact calibration of a large number of microphones. In this paper, a method for measuring sound fields using moving microphones is presented. The number of microphones is customizable, allowing for a tradeoff between hardware effort and measurement time. The goal is to reconstruct room impulse responses on a regular grid from data acquired with microphones between grid positions, in general. For this, the sound field at equidistant positions is related to the measurements taken along the microphone trajectories via spatial interpolation. The benefits of using perfect sequences for excitation, a multigrid recovery, and the prospects for reconstruction by compressed sensing are presented. PMID:28599533

The Clinical Ethnographic Interview: A user-friendly guide to the cultural formulation of distress and help seeking

PubMed Central

Arnault, Denise Saint; Shimabukuro, Shizuka

2013-01-01

Transcultural nursing, psychiatry, and medical anthropology have theorized that practitioners and researchers need more flexible instruments to gather culturally relevant illness experience, meaning, and help seeking. The state of the science is sufficiently developed to allow standardized yet ethnographically sound protocols for assessment. However, vigorous calls for culturally adapted assessment models have yielded little real change in routine practice. This paper describes the conversion of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV, Appendix I Outline for Cultural Formulation into a user-friendly Clinical Ethnographic Interview (CEI), and provides clinical examples of its use in a sample of highly distressed Japanese women. PMID:22194348

The Content of Statistical Requirements for Authors in Biomedical Research Journals

PubMed Central

Liu, Tian-Yi; Cai, Si-Yu; Nie, Xiao-Lu; Lyu, Ya-Qi; Peng, Xiao-Xia; Feng, Guo-Shuang

2016-01-01

Background: Robust statistical designing, sound statistical analysis, and standardized presentation are important to enhance the quality and transparency of biomedical research. This systematic review was conducted to summarize the statistical reporting requirements introduced by biomedical research journals with an impact factor of 10 or above so that researchers are able to give statistical issues’ serious considerations not only at the stage of data analysis but also at the stage of methodological design. Methods: Detailed statistical instructions for authors were downloaded from the homepage of each of the included journals or obtained from the editors directly via email. Then, we described the types and numbers of statistical guidelines introduced by different press groups. Items of statistical reporting guideline as well as particular requirements were summarized in frequency, which were grouped into design, method of analysis, and presentation, respectively. Finally, updated statistical guidelines and particular requirements for improvement were summed up. Results: Totally, 21 of 23 press groups introduced at least one statistical guideline. More than half of press groups can update their statistical instruction for authors gradually relative to issues of new statistical reporting guidelines. In addition, 16 press groups, covering 44 journals, address particular statistical requirements. The most of the particular requirements focused on the performance of statistical analysis and transparency in statistical reporting, including “address issues relevant to research design, including participant flow diagram, eligibility criteria, and sample size estimation,” and “statistical methods and the reasons.” Conclusions: Statistical requirements for authors are becoming increasingly perfected. Statistical requirements for authors remind researchers that they should make sufficient consideration not only in regards to statistical methods during the research design, but also standardized statistical reporting, which would be beneficial in providing stronger evidence and making a greater critical appraisal of evidence more accessible. PMID:27748343

The Content of Statistical Requirements for Authors in Biomedical Research Journals.

PubMed

Liu, Tian-Yi; Cai, Si-Yu; Nie, Xiao-Lu; Lyu, Ya-Qi; Peng, Xiao-Xia; Feng, Guo-Shuang

2016-10-20

Robust statistical designing, sound statistical analysis, and standardized presentation are important to enhance the quality and transparency of biomedical research. This systematic review was conducted to summarize the statistical reporting requirements introduced by biomedical research journals with an impact factor of 10 or above so that researchers are able to give statistical issues' serious considerations not only at the stage of data analysis but also at the stage of methodological design. Detailed statistical instructions for authors were downloaded from the homepage of each of the included journals or obtained from the editors directly via email. Then, we described the types and numbers of statistical guidelines introduced by different press groups. Items of statistical reporting guideline as well as particular requirements were summarized in frequency, which were grouped into design, method of analysis, and presentation, respectively. Finally, updated statistical guidelines and particular requirements for improvement were summed up. Totally, 21 of 23 press groups introduced at least one statistical guideline. More than half of press groups can update their statistical instruction for authors gradually relative to issues of new statistical reporting guidelines. In addition, 16 press groups, covering 44 journals, address particular statistical requirements. The most of the particular requirements focused on the performance of statistical analysis and transparency in statistical reporting, including "address issues relevant to research design, including participant flow diagram, eligibility criteria, and sample size estimation," and "statistical methods and the reasons." Statistical requirements for authors are becoming increasingly perfected. Statistical requirements for authors remind researchers that they should make sufficient consideration not only in regards to statistical methods during the research design, but also standardized statistical reporting, which would be beneficial in providing stronger evidence and making a greater critical appraisal of evidence more accessible.

Improving the dependability of research in personality and social psychology: recommendations for research and educational practice.

PubMed

Funder, David C; Levine, John M; Mackie, Diane M; Morf, Carolyn C; Sansone, Carol; Vazire, Simine; West, Stephen G

2014-02-01

In this article, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Task Force on Publication and Research Practices offers a brief statistical primer and recommendations for improving the dependability of research. Recommendations for research practice include (a) describing and addressing the choice of N (sample size) and consequent issues of statistical power, (b) reporting effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), (c) avoiding "questionable research practices" that can inflate the probability of Type I error, (d) making available research materials necessary to replicate reported results, (e) adhering to SPSP's data sharing policy, (f) encouraging publication of high-quality replication studies, and (g) maintaining flexibility and openness to alternative standards and methods. Recommendations for educational practice include (a) encouraging a culture of "getting it right," (b) teaching and encouraging transparency of data reporting, (c) improving methodological instruction, and (d) modeling sound science and supporting junior researchers who seek to "get it right."

Mechanical Impact Testing: A Statistical Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engel, Carl D.; Herald, Stephen D.; Davis, S. Eddie

2005-01-01

In the decades since the 1950s, when NASA first developed mechanical impact testing of materials, researchers have continued efforts to gain a better understanding of the chemical, mechanical, and thermodynamic nature of the phenomenon. The impact mechanism is a real combustion ignition mechanism that needs understanding in the design of an oxygen system. The use of test data from this test method has been questioned due to lack of a clear method of application of the data and variability found between tests, material batches, and facilities. This effort explores a large database that has accumulated over a number of years and explores its overall nature. Moreover, testing was performed to determine the statistical nature of the test procedure to help establish sample size guidelines for material characterization. The current method of determining a pass/fail criterion based on either light emission or sound report or material charring is questioned.

Source Separation of Heartbeat Sounds for Effective E-Auscultation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-03-01

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

On P values and effect modification.

PubMed

Mayer, Martin

2017-12-01

A crucial element of evidence-based healthcare is the sound understanding and use of statistics. As part of instilling sound statistical knowledge and practice, it seems useful to highlight instances of unsound statistical reasoning or practice, not merely in captious or vitriolic spirit, but rather, to use such error as a springboard for edification by giving tangibility to the concepts at hand and highlighting the importance of avoiding such error. This article aims to provide an instructive overview of two key statistical concepts: effect modification and P values. A recent article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on side effects related to statin therapy offers a notable example of errors in understanding effect modification and P values, and although not so critical as to entirely invalidate the article, the errors still demand considerable scrutiny and correction. In doing so, this article serves as an instructive overview of the statistical concepts of effect modification and P values. Judicious handling of statistics is imperative to avoid muddying their utility. This article contributes to the body of literature aiming to improve the use of statistics, which in turn will help facilitate evidence appraisal, synthesis, translation, and application.

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

PubMed

Yamada, Tomomi; Kuwano, Sonoko; Ebisu, Shigeyuki; Hayashi, Mikako

2016-01-01

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

Downlink Probability Density Functions for EOS-McMurdo Sound

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christopher, P.; Jackson, A. H.

1996-01-01

The visibility times and communication link dynamics for the Earth Observations Satellite (EOS)-McMurdo Sound direct downlinks have been studied. The 16 day EOS periodicity may be shown with the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS) and the entire 16 day period should be simulated for representative link statistics. We desire many attributes of the downlink, however, and a faster orbital determination method is desirable. We use the method of osculating elements for speed and accuracy in simulating the EOS orbit. The accuracy of the method of osculating elements is demonstrated by closely reproducing the observed 16 day Landsat periodicity. An autocorrelation function method is used to show the correlation spike at 16 days. The entire 16 day record of passes over McMurdo Sound is then used to generate statistics for innage time, outage time, elevation angle, antenna angle rates, and propagation loss. The levation angle probability density function is compared with 1967 analytic approximation which has been used for medium to high altitude satellites. One practical result of this comparison is seen to be the rare occurrence of zenith passes. The new result is functionally different than the earlier result, with a heavy emphasis on low elevation angles. EOS is one of a large class of sun synchronous satellites which may be downlinked to McMurdo Sound. We examine delay statistics for an entire group of sun synchronous satellites ranging from 400 km to 1000 km altitude. Outage probability density function results are presented three dimensionally.

Algorithm Development for a Real-Time Military Noise Monitor

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-24

Duration ESLM Enhanced Sound Level Meter ERDC-CERL Engineer Research and Development Center/Construction Engineering Research Laboratory FFT...Fast Fourier Transform FTIG Fort Indiantown Gap Kurt Kurtosis LD Larson Davis Leq Equivalent Sound Level L8eq 8-hr Equivalent...Sound Level Lpk Peak Sound Level m Spectral Slope MCBCL Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Neg Number of negative samples NI National

Sound absorption characteristics of tree bark and forest floor

Treesearch

G. Reethof; O. H. McDaniel; G. M. Heisler

1977-01-01

Results of basic research on absorption of sound by tree bark and forest floors are presented. Amount of sound absorption by tree bark was determined by laboratory experiments with bark samples in a standing-wave tube. A modified portable standing-wave tube was used to measure absorption of sound by forest floors with different moisture contents, with and without leaf...

Acoustic properties of a short-finned pilot whale head with insight into temperature influence on tissues' sound velocity.

PubMed

Dong, Jianchen; Song, Zhongchang; Li, Songhai; Gong, Zining; Li, Kuan; Zhang, Peijun; Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Meng

2017-10-01

Acoustic properties of odontocete head tissues, including sound velocity, density, and acoustic impedance, are important parameters to understand dynamics of its echolocation. In this paper, acoustic properties of head tissues from a freshly dead short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) were reconstructed using computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound. The animal's forehead soft tissues were cut into 188 ordered samples. Sound velocity, density, and acoustic impedance of each sample were either directly measured or calculated by formula, and Hounsfield Unit values (HUs) were obtained from CT scanning. According to relationships between HUs and sound velocity, HUs and density, as well as HUs and acoustic impedance, distributions of acoustic properties in the head were reconstructed. The inner core in the melon with low-sound velocity and low-density is an evidence for its potential function of sound focusing. The increase in acoustic impedance of forehead tissues from inner core to outer layer may be important for the acoustic impedance matching between the outer layer tissue and seawater. In addition, temperature dependence of sound velocity in soft tissues was also examined. The results provide a guide to the simulation of the sound emission of the short-finned pilot whale.

Cascaded Amplitude Modulations in Sound Texture Perception

PubMed Central

McWalter, Richard; Dau, Torsten

2017-01-01

Sound textures, such as crackling fire or chirping crickets, represent a broad class of sounds defined by their homogeneous temporal structure. It has been suggested that the perception of texture is mediated by time-averaged summary statistics measured from early auditory representations. In this study, we investigated the perception of sound textures that contain rhythmic structure, specifically second-order amplitude modulations that arise from the interaction of different modulation rates, previously described as “beating” in the envelope-frequency domain. We developed an auditory texture model that utilizes a cascade of modulation filterbanks that capture the structure of simple rhythmic patterns. The model was examined in a series of psychophysical listening experiments using synthetic sound textures—stimuli generated using time-averaged statistics measured from real-world textures. In a texture identification task, our results indicated that second-order amplitude modulation sensitivity enhanced recognition. Next, we examined the contribution of the second-order modulation analysis in a preference task, where the proposed auditory texture model was preferred over a range of model deviants that lacked second-order modulation rate sensitivity. Lastly, the discriminability of textures that included second-order amplitude modulations appeared to be perceived using a time-averaging process. Overall, our results demonstrate that the inclusion of second-order modulation analysis generates improvements in the perceived quality of synthetic textures compared to the first-order modulation analysis considered in previous approaches. PMID:28955191

Evaluation of noise pollution level in the operating rooms of hospitals: A study in Iran.

PubMed

Giv, Masoumeh Dorri; Sani, Karim Ghazikhanlou; Alizadeh, Majid; Valinejadi, Ali; Majdabadi, Hesamedin Askari

2017-06-01

Noise pollution in the operating rooms is one of the remaining challenges. Both patients and physicians are exposed to different sound levels during the operative cases, many of which can last for hours. This study aims to evaluate the noise pollution in the operating rooms during different surgical procedures. In this cross-sectional study, sound level in the operating rooms of Hamadan University-affiliated hospitals (totally 10) in Iran during different surgical procedures was measured using B&K sound meter. The gathered data were compared with national and international standards. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA, t -test, and Pearson's correlation test. Noise pollution level at majority of surgical procedures is higher than national and international documented standards. The highest level of noise pollution is related to orthopedic procedures, and the lowest one related to laparoscopic and heart surgery procedures. The highest and lowest registered sound level during the operation was 93 and 55 dB, respectively. Sound level generated by equipments (69 ± 4.1 dB), trolley movement (66 ± 2.3 dB), and personnel conversations (64 ± 3.9 dB) are the main sources of noise. The noise pollution of operating rooms are higher than available standards. The procedure needs to be corrected for achieving the proper conditions.

Cascaded Amplitude Modulations in Sound Texture Perception.

PubMed

McWalter, Richard; Dau, Torsten

2017-01-01

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

Robust Fixed-Structure Control

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-10-30

Deterministic Foundation for Statistical Energy Analysis ," J. Sound Vibr., to appear. 1.96 D. S. Bernstein and S. P. Bhat, "Lyapunov Stability, Semistability...S. Bernstein, "Power Flow, Energy Balance, and Statistical Energy Analysis for Large Scale, Interconnected Systems," Proc. Amer. Contr. Conf., pp

Subwavelength structure for sound absorption from graphene oxide-doped polyvinylpyrrolidone nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qamoshi, Khadijeh; Rasuli, Reza

2016-09-01

We study the sound absorption of the reinforced polyvinylpyrrolidone nanofibers with graphene oxide. It is shown that reinforced nanofibers can acquire impedance-matched surface to airborne sound at special frequencies. To obtain such surface, nanofibers were spun with polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer that was doped by graphene oxide with concentrations of 0, 6 and 12 wt%. It was found that fibers without graphene oxide were spun continuously and randomly, whereas by doping with graphene oxide, the mode of fibers is changed and some nodes form on the fibers coating. The sound absorption coefficient was measured by an impedance tube based on 105341-1 ISO standard. Measurements in the frequency range from 700 to 1600 Hz show that use of graphene oxide as a reinforcing phase increases sound absorption coefficient of the samples at a frequency ~1500 Hz up to ~40 %. Angular eigenfrequency and dissipation coefficient of the samples were obtained by impedance measurement for the prepared samples. Results show that doping the polymer with graphene oxide causes an increase in the angular eigenfrequency and the dissipation coefficient.

Thermodynamics of ideal quantum gas with fractional statistics in D dimensions.

PubMed

Potter, Geoffrey G; Müller, Gerhard; Karbach, Michael

2007-06-01

We present exact and explicit results for the thermodynamic properties (isochores, isotherms, isobars, response functions, velocity of sound) of a quantum gas in dimensions D > or = 1 and with fractional exclusion statistics 0 < or = g < or =1 connecting bosons (g=0) and fermions (g=1) . In D=1 the results are equivalent to those of the Calogero-Sutherland model. Emphasis is given to the crossover between bosonlike and fermionlike features, caused by aspects of the statistical interaction that mimic long-range attraction and short-range repulsion. A phase transition along the isobar occurs at a nonzero temperature in all dimensions. The T dependence of the velocity of sound is in simple relation to isochores and isobars. The effects of soft container walls are accounted for rigorously for the case of a pure power-law potential.

Digital Audio Sampling for Film and Video.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanton, Michael J.

Digital audio sampling is explained, and some of its implications in digital sound applications are discussed. Digital sound equipment is rapidly replacing analog recording devices as the state-of-the-art in audio technology. The philosophy of digital recording involves doing away with the continuously variable analog waveforms and turning the…

The effect of different drinks on tooth color after home bleaching

PubMed Central

Karadas, Muhammet; Seven, Nilgun

2014-01-01

Objective: This study evaluated the influence of coffee, tea, cola, and red wine staining on the color of teeth after home bleaching. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 samples were obtained from 45 sound maxillary central incisors. The home bleaching procedure was performed using 10% carbamide peroxide gel applied to the sample surface for a period of 6 h each day, for 14 days. After bleaching, baseline color measurements were taken, and the samples were immersed in four staining solutions (coffee, tea, cola, and red wine) or artificial saliva (n = 9). Following 15 min and 6 h of immersion on the first day and next day, respectively, the samples were washed with distilled water for 10 s. After 15 min, 6 h, 1 week, and 1 month immersions, the color values of each sample were remeasured and the color change values (∆E) were calculated. Color change analysis was performed using a spectrophotometer. The results were analyzed using analysis of variance and Tukey's honestly significant difference test (P <0.05). Results: Of all the staining solutions, the lowest ∆E values were observed with coffee staining versus artificial saliva (control group), for all time intervals evaluated after whitening. Although no statistically differences were observed between the coffee and control group at all the time points evaluated, there were statistically significant differences between the red wine, cola, and tea solutions. Conclusion: Following tooth whitening, patients should avoid drinks that cause tooth staining, particularly red wine, tea and cola. PMID:24966778

Positive affect, negative affect, and physiological hyperarousal among referred and nonreferred youths.

PubMed

Laurent, Jeff; Joiner, Thomas E; Catanzaro, Salvatore J

2011-12-01

The Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS-C) and the Physiological Hyperarousal Scale for Children (PH-C) seem ideal measures for school mental health screenings, because they are theory based, psychometrically sound, and brief. This study provides descriptive information and preliminary cutoff scores in an effort to increase the practical utility of the measures. Scores on the PANAS-C Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) scales and the PH-C were compared for a general sample of schoolchildren (n = 226), a group of students referred for special education services (n = 83), and youths on an inpatient psychiatric unit (n = 37). Expected patterns of scores emerged for the general school and referred school samples, although only scores on the PH-C were statistically significantly different. Differences in scores between the general school and inpatient samples were significant for all 3 scales. Differences in scores between the referred school and inpatient samples were significant for the NA scale and the PH-C but not for the PA scale. In addition, we used traditional self-report measures to form groups of normal, anxious, depressed, and mixed anxious and depressed youths. Again, predicted general patterns of PA, NA and PH scores were supported, although statistical differences were not always evident. In particular, scores on the PH-C for the anxious and depressed groups were inconsistent with predictions. Possible reasons related to sample and scale issues are discussed. Finally, preliminary cutoff scores were proposed for the PANAS-C scales and the PH-C.

Comparison between audio-only and audiovisual biofeedback for regulating patients' respiration during four-dimensional radiotherapy.

PubMed

Yu, Jesang; Choi, Ji Hoon; Ma, Sun Young; Jeung, Tae Sig; Lim, Sangwook

2015-09-01

To compare audio-only biofeedback to conventional audiovisual biofeedback for regulating patients' respiration during four-dimensional radiotherapy, limiting damage to healthy surrounding tissues caused by organ movement. Six healthy volunteers were assisted by audiovisual or audio-only biofeedback systems to regulate their respirations. Volunteers breathed through a mask developed for this study by following computer-generated guiding curves displayed on a screen, combined with instructional sounds. They then performed breathing following instructional sounds only. The guiding signals and the volunteers' respiratory signals were logged at 20 samples per second. The standard deviations between the guiding and respiratory curves for the audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback systems were 21.55% and 23.19%, respectively; the average correlation coefficients were 0.9778 and 0.9756, respectively. The regularities between audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback for six volunteers' respirations were same statistically from the paired t-test. The difference between the audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback methods was not significant. Audio-only biofeedback has many advantages, as patients do not require a mask and can quickly adapt to this method in the clinic.

LQAS: User Beware.

PubMed

Rhoda, Dale A; Fernandez, Soledad A; Fitch, David J; Lemeshow, Stanley

2010-02-01

Researchers around the world are using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) techniques to assess public health parameters and evaluate program outcomes. In this paper, we report that there are actually two methods being called LQAS in the world today, and that one of them is badly flawed. This paper reviews fundamental LQAS design principles, and compares and contrasts the two LQAS methods. We raise four concerns with the simply-written, freely-downloadable training materials associated with the second method. The first method is founded on sound statistical principles and is carefully designed to protect the vulnerable populations that it studies. The language used in the training materials for the second method is simple, but not at all clear, so the second method sounds very much like the first. On close inspection, however, the second method is found to promote study designs that are biased in favor of finding programmatic or intervention success, and therefore biased against the interests of the population being studied. We outline several recommendations, and issue a call for a new high standard of clarity and face validity for those who design, conduct, and report LQAS studies.

Contextual Variability and Exemplar Strength in Phonotactic Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denby, Thomas; Schecter, Jeffrey; Arn, Sean; Dimov, Svetlin; Goldrick, Matthew

2018-01-01

Phonotactics--constraints on the position and combination of speech sounds within syllables--are subject to statistical differences that gradiently affect speaker and listener behavior (e.g., Vitevitch & Luce, 1999). What statistical properties drive the acquisition of such constraints? Because they are naturally highly correlated, previous…

Statistical learning in reading: variability in irrelevant letters helps children learn phonics skills.

PubMed

Apfelbaum, Keith S; Hazeltine, Eliot; McMurray, Bob

2013-07-01

Early reading abilities are widely considered to derive in part from statistical learning of regularities between letters and sounds. Although there is substantial evidence from laboratory work to support this, how it occurs in the classroom setting has not been extensively explored; there are few investigations of how statistics among letters and sounds influence how children actually learn to read or what principles of statistical learning may improve learning. We examined 2 conflicting principles that may apply to learning grapheme-phoneme-correspondence (GPC) regularities for vowels: (a) variability in irrelevant units may help children derive invariant relationships and (b) similarity between words may force children to use a deeper analysis of lexical structure. We trained 224 first-grade students on a small set of GPC regularities for vowels, embedded in words with either high or low consonant similarity, and tested their generalization to novel tasks and words. Variability offered a consistent benefit over similarity for trained and new words in both trained and new tasks.

Dynamic Encoding of Speech Sequence Probability in Human Temporal Cortex

PubMed Central

Leonard, Matthew K.; Bouchard, Kristofer E.; Tang, Claire

2015-01-01

Sensory processing involves identification of stimulus features, but also integration with the surrounding sensory and cognitive context. Previous work in animals and humans has shown fine-scale sensitivity to context in the form of learned knowledge about the statistics of the sensory environment, including relative probabilities of discrete units in a stream of sequential auditory input. These statistics are a defining characteristic of one of the most important sequential signals humans encounter: speech. For speech, extensive exposure to a language tunes listeners to the statistics of sound sequences. To address how speech sequence statistics are neurally encoded, we used high-resolution direct cortical recordings from human lateral superior temporal cortex as subjects listened to words and nonwords with varying transition probabilities between sound segments. In addition to their sensitivity to acoustic features (including contextual features, such as coarticulation), we found that neural responses dynamically encoded the language-level probability of both preceding and upcoming speech sounds. Transition probability first negatively modulated neural responses, followed by positive modulation of neural responses, consistent with coordinated predictive and retrospective recognition processes, respectively. Furthermore, transition probability encoding was different for real English words compared with nonwords, providing evidence for online interactions with high-order linguistic knowledge. These results demonstrate that sensory processing of deeply learned stimuli involves integrating physical stimulus features with their contextual sequential structure. Despite not being consciously aware of phoneme sequence statistics, listeners use this information to process spoken input and to link low-level acoustic representations with linguistic information about word identity and meaning. PMID:25948269

Operating a Geiger Müller tube using a PC sound card

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azooz, A. A.

2009-01-01

In this paper, a simple MATLAB-based PC program that enables the computer to function as a replacement for the electronic scalar-counter system associated with a Geiger-Müller (GM) tube is described. The program utilizes the ability of MATLAB to acquire data directly from the computer sound card. The signal from the GM tube is applied to the computer sound card via the line in port. All standard GM experiments, pulse shape and statistical analysis experiments can be carried out using this system. A new visual demonstration of dead time effects is also presented.

Features of the energy structure of acoustic fields in the ocean with two-dimensional random inhomogeneities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulin, O. E.; Yaroshchuk, I. O.

2017-03-01

The paper is devoted to the analytic study and numerical simulation of mid-frequency acoustic signal propagation in a two-dimensional inhomogeneous random shallow-water medium. The study was carried out by the cross section method (local modes). We present original theoretical estimates for the behavior of the average acoustic field intensity and show that at different distances, the features of propagation loss behavior are determined by the intensity of fluctuations and their horizontal scale and depend on the initial regular parameters, such as the emission frequency and size of sound losses in the bottom. We establish analytically that for the considered waveguide and sound frequency parameters, mode coupling effect has a local character and weakly influences the statistics. We establish that the specific form of the spatial spectrum of sound velocity inhomogeneities for the statistical patterns of the field intensity is insignificant during observations in the range of shallow-water distances of practical interest.

Investigation of the Statistics of Pure Tone Sound Power Injection from Low Frequency, Finite Sized Sources in a Reverberant Room

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Wayne Farrior

1973-01-01

The effect of finite source size on the power statistics in a reverberant room for pure tone excitation was investigated. Theoretical results indicate that the standard deviation of low frequency, pure tone finite sources is always less than that predicted by point source theory and considerably less when the source dimension approaches one-half an acoustic wavelength or greater. A supporting experimental study was conducted utilizing an eight inch loudspeaker and a 30 inch loudspeaker at eleven source positions. The resulting standard deviation of sound power output of the smaller speaker is in excellent agreement with both the derived finite source theory and existing point source theory, if the theoretical data is adjusted to account for experimental incomplete spatial averaging. However, the standard deviation of sound power output of the larger speaker is measurably lower than point source theory indicates, but is in good agreement with the finite source theory.

A Time-of-Flight Method to Measure the Speed of Sound Using a Stereo Sound Card

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carvalho, Carlos C.; dos Santos, J. M. B. Lopes; Marques, M. B.

2008-01-01

Most homes in developed countries have a sophisticated data acquisition board, namely the PC sound board. Designed to be able to reproduce CD-quality stereo sound, it must have a sampling rate of at least 44 kHz and have very accurate timing between the two stereo channels. With a very simple adaptation of a pair of regular PC microphones, a…

Bayesian Statistics and Uncertainty Quantification for Safety Boundary Analysis in Complex Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

He, Yuning; Davies, Misty Dawn

2014-01-01

The analysis of a safety-critical system often requires detailed knowledge of safe regions and their highdimensional non-linear boundaries. We present a statistical approach to iteratively detect and characterize the boundaries, which are provided as parameterized shape candidates. Using methods from uncertainty quantification and active learning, we incrementally construct a statistical model from only few simulation runs and obtain statistically sound estimates of the shape parameters for safety boundaries.

Acoustic Properties of Polyurethane Composition Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes and Silicon Oxide Nano-powder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orfali, Wasim A.

This article demonstrates the acoustic properties of added small amount of carbon-nanotube and siliconoxide nano powder (S-type, P-Type) to the host material polyurethane composition. By adding CNT and/or nano-silica in the form of powder at different concentrations up to 2% within the PU composition to improve the sound absorption were investigated in the frequency range up to 1600 Hz. Sound transmission loss measurement of the samples were determined using large impedance tube. The tests showed that addition of 0.2 wt.% Silicon Oxide Nano-powder and 0.35 wt.% carbon nanotube to polyurethane composition improved sound transmissions loss (Sound Absorption) up to 80 dB than that of pure polyurethane foam sample.

Communicating with Investigators about Financial Compensation for Statistical Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ittenbach, Richard F.; DeAngelis, Francis W.; Altaye, Mekibib

2013-01-01

Communicating with investigators about financial compensation in the area of statistical collaboration represents an important but often underemphasized component of biomedical research. The more complex the area, the greater the need for sound and effective communication strategies. Ittenbach and DeAngelis (2012) recently compared two…

Teaching MBA Statistics Online: A Pedagogically Sound Process Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grandzol, John R.

2004-01-01

Delivering MBA statistics in the online environment presents significant challenges to education and students alike because of varying student preparedness levels, complexity of content, difficulty in assessing learning outcomes, and faculty availability and technological expertise. In this article, the author suggests a process model that…

2 × 2 Tables: a note on Campbell's recommendation.

PubMed

Busing, F M T A; Weaver, B; Dubois, S

2016-04-15

For 2 × 2 tables, Egon Pearson's N - 1 chi-squared statistic is theoretically more sound than Karl Pearson's chi-squared statistic, and provides more accurate p values. Moreover, Egon Pearson's N - 1 chi-squared statistic is equal to the Mantel-Haenszel chi-squared statistic for a single 2 × 2 table, and as such, is often available in statistical software packages like SPSS, SAS, Stata, or R, which facilitates compliance with Ian Campbell's recommendations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ARTICULATION OF SPEECH SOUNDS OF SERBIAN LANGUAGE IN CHILDREN AGED SIX TO EIGHT.

PubMed

Mihajlović, Biljana; Cvjetićanin, Bojana; Veselinović, Mila; Škrbić, Renata; Mitrović, Slobodan M

2015-01-01

Phonetic and phonological system of the healthy members of one linguistic community is fully formed around 8 yedrs of age. The auditory and articulatory habits are established with age and tend to be more difficult to be upgraded and completed later. The research was done as a cross-sectional study, conducted at the preschool institution "Radosno detinjstvo" and primary school "Branko Radičević" in Novi Sad. It included 66 children of both genders, aged 6 to 8. The quality of articulation was determined according to the Global Articulation Test by working with each child individually. In each individual vowel, plosive, nasal, lateral and fricative, the quality of articulation was statistically significantly better in the first graders compared to the preschool children (p<0.01). In each affricate, except for the sound /ć/, the quality of articulation was statistically significantly better in the first graders than in the preschool children (p<0.01). The quality of articulation of all speech sounds was statistically significantly better in the first graders than in the preschool children (p<0.01). The most common disorder of articulation is distortion, while only substitution and substitution associated with distortion are less common. Omission does not occur in children from 6 to 8 years of age. Girls have slightly better quality of articulation. The articulatory disorders are more common in preschool children than in children who are in the first grade of primary school. The most commonly mispronounced sounds belong to the group of affricates and fricatives.

Effect of 10% sodium ascorbate on the calcium: Phosphorus ratio of enamel bleached with 35% hydrogen peroxide: an in vitro quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray analysis.

PubMed

Poorni, Saravanan; Kumar, R Anil; Shankar, P; Indira, Rajamani; Ramachandran, S

2010-10-01

The study assessed quantitatively the calcium and phosphorous loss from the enamel surface following bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide and reversal with 10% sodium ascorbate using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Eight non-carious, freshly extracted human permanent maxillary central incisors without any visible defects were used. Each specimen was bleached with 35% hydrogen peroxide activated by light and reversed with sodium ascorbate antioxidant gel. The calcium and phosphorous content in weight percent of sound, bleached and reversed enamel was acquired using EDAX. The Ca/P ratio was calculated from the obtained data. One-way ANOVA followed by Post Hoc Tukey test was used for comparing the Ca/P ratio of sound, bleached and reversed enamel. All the samples subjected to bleaching using 35% hydrogen peroxide showed a statistically significant decrease in the Ca/P ratio as compared with samples in which no bleaching procedure was performed (P-value < 0.01). The striking finding was that there was a significant increase in the Ca/P ratio on application of sodium ascorbate antioxidant gel when compared with the bleached enamel (P-value < 0.01). The authors concluded that 35% hydrogen peroxide causes a significant decrease in the Ca/P ratio. This decrease in the Ca/P ratio can be restored by the application of 10% sodium ascorbate antioxidant gel.

Respondent-Driven Sampling: An Assessment of Current Methodology.

PubMed

Gile, Krista J; Handcock, Mark S

2010-08-01

Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) employs a variant of a link-tracing network sampling strategy to collect data from hard-to-reach populations. By tracing the links in the underlying social network, the process exploits the social structure to expand the sample and reduce its dependence on the initial (convenience) sample.The current estimators of population averages make strong assumptions in order to treat the data as a probability sample. We evaluate three critical sensitivities of the estimators: to bias induced by the initial sample, to uncontrollable features of respondent behavior, and to the without-replacement structure of sampling.Our analysis indicates: (1) that the convenience sample of seeds can induce bias, and the number of sample waves typically used in RDS is likely insufficient for the type of nodal mixing required to obtain the reputed asymptotic unbiasedness; (2) that preferential referral behavior by respondents leads to bias; (3) that when a substantial fraction of the target population is sampled the current estimators can have substantial bias.This paper sounds a cautionary note for the users of RDS. While current RDS methodology is powerful and clever, the favorable statistical properties claimed for the current estimates are shown to be heavily dependent on often unrealistic assumptions. We recommend ways to improve the methodology.

Effect of bleaching gel in Ca, P and Zn content in tooth enamel evaluated by μ-EDXRF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godinho, J.; Silveira, J.; Mata, A.; Carvalho, M. L.; Pessanha, S.

2014-10-01

The purpose of this in vitro study is to assess whether the elemental content of P, Ca and Zn in tooth enamel is altered when bleaching the teeth with bleaching gel. In order to perform this evaluation, sound vestibular surfaces of six anterior healthy teeth, extracted for periodontal or orthodontic reasons were used. Cuts were made in order to obtain 8 × 2 mm samples. Samples were then treated with the bleaching product (Opalescence PF 10%) accordingly to manufacturer instructions and stocked in artificial saliva between each application. The elemental content of each sample, before and after treatment was obtained by a portable micro Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (μ-EDXRF), making use of a polycapillary optic to obtain a focal spot of 100 μm for Fe-Kα. Quantitative calculations were obtained by WinAXIL compare mode method, using four standard reference materials. The obtained results show that no significant statistic differences were observed for the studied elements.

Statistical Analysis for Subjective and Objective Evaluations of Dental Drill Sounds

PubMed Central

Yamada, Tomomi; Kuwano, Sonoko; Ebisu, Shigeyuki; Hayashi, Mikako

2016-01-01

The sound produced by a dental air turbine handpiece (dental drill) can markedly influence the sound environment in a dental clinic. Indeed, many patients report that the sound of a dental drill elicits an unpleasant feeling. Although several manufacturers have attempted to reduce the sound pressure levels produced by dental drills during idling based on ISO 14457, the sound emitted by such drills under active drilling conditions may negatively influence the dental clinic sound environment. The physical metrics related to the unpleasant impressions associated with dental drill sounds have not been determined. In the present study, psychological measurements of dental drill sounds were conducted with the aim of facilitating improvement of the sound environment at dental clinics. Specifically, we examined the impressions elicited by the sounds of 12 types of dental drills in idling and drilling conditions using a semantic differential. The analysis revealed that the impressions of dental drill sounds varied considerably between idling and drilling conditions and among the examined drills. This finding suggests that measuring the sound of a dental drill in idling conditions alone may be insufficient for evaluating the effects of the sound. We related the results of the psychological evaluations to those of measurements of the physical metrics of equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure levels (LAeq) and sharpness. Factor analysis indicated that impressions of the dental drill sounds consisted of two factors: “metallic and unpleasant” and “powerful”. LAeq had a strong relationship with “powerful impression”, calculated sharpness was positively related to “metallic impression”, and “unpleasant impression” was predicted by the combination of both LAeq and calculated sharpness. The present analyses indicate that, in addition to a reduction in sound pressure level, refining the frequency components of dental drill sounds is important for creating a comfortable sound environment in dental clinics. PMID:27462903

Combining soundscape analysis with in situ observations and oceanographic data for future ecosystem evaluation techniques.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freeman, S. E.; Freeman, L. A.

2016-02-01

Coral reef ecosystems face many anthropogenic threats. There are urgent requirements for improved monitoring and management. Conventional assessment methods using SCUBA are costly and prone to bias and under-sampling. Here, three approaches to understanding coral reef ecology are combined to aid the goal of enhanced passive monitoring in the future: statistical analysis of oceanographic habitats, remote cameras for nocturnal surveys of benthic fauna, and soundscape analysis in the context of oceanographic setting and ecological metrics collected in-situ. Hawaiian reefs from Kure Atoll to the island of Hawaii, an area spanning two oceanographic habitats, are assessed. Multivariate analysis of acoustic, remote camera, and in-situ observational data showed significant differences in more than 20 percent of ecological and acoustic variables when grouped by oceanic regime, suggesting that large-scale oceanography substantially influences local ecological states and associated soundscapes. Acoustic variables further delineated sites by island, suggesting local conditions influence the soundscape to a greater degree. While the number of invertebrates (with an emphasis on crustaceans and echinoderms) imaged using remote cameras correlated with a number of acoustic metrics, an increasingly higher correlation between invertebrate density and spectral level was observed as acoustic bands increased in frequency from 2 to 20 kHz. In turn, correlation was also observed between the number of predatory fish and sound levels above 2 kHz, suggesting a connection between the number of invertebrates, sound levels at higher frequencies, and the presence of their predators. Comparisons between sound recordings and diversity indices calculated from observational and remote camera data indicate that greater diversity in fishes and benthic invertebrates is associated with a larger change in sound levels between day and night. Interdisciplinary analyses provide a novel view to underwater ecology, and can reveal new quantitative metrics that may be more efficiently sampled. These techniques may be used to detect subtle yet important shifts in ecosystem function, critical for effective marine resource management in the face of environmental changes that occur over multi-year timescales.

Risk-based Methodology for Validation of Pharmaceutical Batch Processes.

PubMed

Wiles, Frederick

2013-01-01

In January 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published new process validation guidance for pharmaceutical processes. The new guidance debunks the long-held industry notion that three consecutive validation batches or runs are all that are required to demonstrate that a process is operating in a validated state. Instead, the new guidance now emphasizes that the level of monitoring and testing performed during process performance qualification (PPQ) studies must be sufficient to demonstrate statistical confidence both within and between batches. In some cases, three qualification runs may not be enough. Nearly two years after the guidance was first published, little has been written defining a statistical methodology for determining the number of samples and qualification runs required to satisfy Stage 2 requirements of the new guidance. This article proposes using a combination of risk assessment, control charting, and capability statistics to define the monitoring and testing scheme required to show that a pharmaceutical batch process is operating in a validated state. In this methodology, an assessment of process risk is performed through application of a process failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis (PFMECA). The output of PFMECA is used to select appropriate levels of statistical confidence and coverage which, in turn, are used in capability calculations to determine when significant Stage 2 (PPQ) milestones have been met. The achievement of Stage 2 milestones signals the release of batches for commercial distribution and the reduction of monitoring and testing to commercial production levels. Individuals, moving range, and range/sigma charts are used in conjunction with capability statistics to demonstrate that the commercial process is operating in a state of statistical control. The new process validation guidance published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January of 2011 indicates that the number of process validation batches or runs required to demonstrate that a pharmaceutical process is operating in a validated state should be based on sound statistical principles. The old rule of "three consecutive batches and you're done" is no longer sufficient. The guidance, however, does not provide any specific methodology for determining the number of runs required, and little has been published to augment this shortcoming. The paper titled "Risk-based Methodology for Validation of Pharmaceutical Batch Processes" describes a statistically sound methodology for determining when a statistically valid number of validation runs has been acquired based on risk assessment and calculation of process capability.

[Application of the computer-based respiratory sound analysis system based on Mel-frequency cepstral coefficient and dynamic time warping in healthy children].

PubMed

Yan, W Y; Li, L; Yang, Y G; Lin, X L; Wu, J Z

2016-08-01

We designed a computer-based respiratory sound analysis system to identify pediatric normal lung sound. To verify the validity of the computer-based respiratory sound analysis system. First we downloaded the standard lung sounds from the network database (website: http: //www.easyauscultation.com/lung-sounds-reference-guide) and recorded 3 samples of abnormal loud sound (rhonchi, wheeze and crackles) from three patients of The Department of Pediatrics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University. We regarded such lung sounds as"reference lung sounds". The"test lung sounds"were recorded from 29 children form Kindergarten of Xiamen University. we recorded lung sound by portable electronic stethoscope and valid lung sounds were selected by manual identification. We introduced Mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) to extract lung sound features and dynamic time warping (DTW) for signal classification. We had 39 standard lung sounds, recorded 58 test lung sounds. This computer-based respiratory sound analysis system was carried out in 58 lung sound recognition, correct identification of 52 times, error identification 6 times. Accuracy was 89.7%. Based on MFCC and DTW, our computer-based respiratory sound analysis system can effectively identify healthy lung sounds of children (accuracy can reach 89.7%), fully embodies the reliability of the lung sounds analysis system.

External Threat Risk Assessment Algorithm (ExTRAA)

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

Powell, Troy C.

Two risk assessment algorithms and philosophies have been augmented and combined to form a new algorit hm, the External Threat Risk Assessment Algorithm (ExTRAA), that allows for effective and statistically sound analysis of external threat sources in relation to individual attack methods . In addition to the attack method use probability and the attack method employment consequence, t he concept of defining threat sources is added to the risk assessment process. Sample data is tabulated and depicted in radar plots and bar graphs for algorithm demonstration purposes. The largest success of ExTRAA is its ability to visualize the kind ofmore » r isk posed in a given situation using the radar plot method.« less

The Apollo 16 regolith - A petrographically-constrained chemical mixing model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kempa, M. J.; Papike, J. J.; White, C.

1980-01-01

A mixing model for Apollo 16 regolith samples has been developed, which differs from other A-16 mixing models in that it is both petrographically constrained and statistically sound. The model was developed using three components representative of rock types present at the A-16 site, plus a representative mare basalt. A linear least-squares fitting program employing the chi-squared test and sum of components was used to determine goodness of fit. Results for surface soils indicate that either there are no significant differences between Cayley and Descartes material at the A-16 site or, if differences do exist, they have been obscured by meteoritic reworking and mixing of the lithologies.

Limiting hazardous noise exposure from noisy toys: simple, sticky solutions.

PubMed

Weinreich, Heather M; Jabbour, Noel; Levine, Samuel; Yueh, Bevan

2013-09-01

To assess noise levels of toys from the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA) 2010 Noisy Toys List and evaluate the change in noise of these toys after covering the speakers with tape or glue. One Group Pretest-Posttest Design. SHA 2010 Toys List (n = 18) toys were tested at distances of 0 and 25 cm from sound source in a soundproof booth using a digital sound-level meter. The dBA level of sound produced by toy was obtained. Toys with speakers (n = 16) were tested before and after altering speakers with plastic packing tape or nontoxic glue. Mean noise level for non-taped toys at 0 and 25 cm was 107.6 dBA (SD ± 8.5) and 82.5 dBA (SD ± 8.8), respectively. With tape, there was a statistically significant decrease in noise level at 0 and 25 cm: 84.2 dBA and 68.2 dBA (P <0.001). With glue, there was a statistically significant decrease in noise level at 0 cm and 25 cm: 79.7 dBA and 66.4 dBA (P <0.001). Both tape and glue significantly decreased the noise level produced by the toys. However, there was no significant difference between tape or glue. Overall, altering the toy can significantly decrease the sound a child may experience when playing with toys. However, some toys, even after altering, still produce sound levels that may be considered dangerous. Copyright © 2013 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

[Difference in time of bowel sounds and passing of gas in abdominal hysterectomy patients having San-Yin-Jia (SP-6) acupressure].

PubMed

Chang, Soon Bok; Kim, Young Ran; Yoon, Mi Hee; Shim, Joung Un; Ko, Eun Hui; Kim, Min Ok

2004-12-01

The purpose of this study was to compare differences in the time when bowel sounds were heard and gas was passed in women who had an abdominal hysterectomy and were treated for 5 minutes (experimental group A) or 10 minutes (experimental group B) with San-Yin-Jiao (SP-6) acupressure. The design of this study was a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized post test only design. The participants included 142 women, 39 in experimental group A, 30 in experimental group B, and 73 in the control group. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire which included items on general characteristics and a self report of time when gas was passed. Differences for the three groups as to time when bowel sounds were heard and gas was passed were analyzed using ANOVA. The time when bowel sounds were heard was statistically significantly shorter in both experimental groups compared to the control group(F=10.29, p=.000). The time when gas was passed was statistically significantly shorter in experimental group B(10 min) compared to the control group(F=4.68, p=.011). It could be concluded that SP-6 acupressure of 10 minutes was effective in shortening the time until bowel sounds were heard and gas was passed for women who had had an abdominal hysterectomy. Replication of the study with a larger number of participants is necessary in order to be able to generalize the results.

Multivariate analysis of behavioural response experiments in humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

PubMed

Dunlop, Rebecca A; Noad, Michael J; Cato, Douglas H; Kniest, Eric; Miller, Patrick J O; Smith, Joshua N; Stokes, M Dale

2013-03-01

The behavioural response study (BRS) is an experimental design used by field biologists to determine the function and/or behavioural effects of conspecific, heterospecific or anthropogenic stimuli. When carrying out these studies in marine mammals it is difficult to make basic observations and achieve sufficient samples sizes because of the high cost and logistical difficulties. Rarely are other factors such as social context or the physical environment considered in the analysis because of these difficulties. This paper presents results of a BRS carried out in humpback whales to test the response of groups to one recording of conspecific social sounds and an artificially generated tone stimulus. Experiments were carried out in September/October 2004 and 2008 during the humpback whale southward migration along the east coast of Australia. In total, 13 'tone' experiments, 15 'social sound' experiments (using one recording of social sounds) and three silent controls were carried out over two field seasons. The results (using a mixed model statistical analysis) suggested that humpback whales responded differently to the two stimuli, measured by changes in course travelled and dive behaviour. Although the response to 'tones' was consistent, in that groups moved offshore and surfaced more often (suggesting an aversion to the stimulus), the response to 'social sounds' was highly variable and dependent upon the composition of the social group. The change in course and dive behaviour in response to 'tones' was found to be related to proximity to the source, the received signal level and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This study demonstrates that the behavioural responses of marine mammals to acoustic stimuli are complex. In order to tease out such multifaceted interactions, the number of replicates and factors measured must be sufficient for multivariate analysis.

A descriptive study of noise in the neonatal intensive care unit: ambient levels and perceptions of contributing factors.

PubMed

Darcy, Ashley E; Hancock, Lauren E; Ware, Emily J

2008-10-01

To examine the baseline acoustic environment in several mid-Atlantic region neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and investigate the perceived factors contributing to noise levels in these NICUs. Quantitative data were collected from 3 urban, mid-Atlantic level IIIB and level IIIC NICUs. Qualitative data were collected via interview from 2 RNs employed in each of the study NICUs. This was an exploratory descriptive study utilizing a mixed-methods approach. A quantitative method was used for sound-level data collection, and a qualitative method was utilized during interviews with nurses to examine perceptions of factors contributing to noise. Ambient sound levels, measured in decibels, were taken at 5-minute intervals over a 2-hour period during both day and night shifts in a central location at each NICU. In addition, nurses were interviewed using a standardized interview questionnaire, and these interviews were then reviewed to determine themes regarding perceived factors contributing to sound levels. Hourly mean sound levels in each NICU ranged from 53.9 dB to 60.6 dB, with no statistically significant difference between noise levels recorded on day shift versus night shift, and no statistically significant difference among sites. Qualitative data showed that nurses' believed day shift to be louder than night shift and many perceived their own NICU as "pretty quiet." Key contributing factors to increased sound levels were stated as monitors or alarms, performing invasive procedures, presence of family, nurses or doctors giving report or rounds, and ringing phones. Noise levels were found to be above the American Academy of Pediatrics-recommended 45-dB level and often louder than the 50-dB level, which should not be exceeded more than 10% of the time. The recommended impulse maximum of 65 dB was also exceeded. Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for hospitals include sound levels no louder than 35 dB on night shift; this standard was also violated. Elevated sound levels need to be addressed in individual NICUs around the country. Further exploratory studies, as well as research regarding effective methods of decreasing sound levels in the NICU environment, are necessary. NICUs can implement behavioral and structural changes that can decrease the sound levels in the NICU environment and decrease the potential for exposure of patients to the harmful physiological effects of increased sound levels.

A descriptive study of noise in the neonatal intensive care unit. Ambient levels and perceptions of contributing factors.

PubMed

Darcy, Ashley E; Hancock, Lauren E; Ware, Emily J

2008-06-01

To examine the baseline acoustic environment in several mid-Atlantic region neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and investigate the perceived factors contributing to noise levels in these NICUs. Quantitative data were collected from 3 urban, mid-Atlantic level IIIB and level IIIC NICUs. Qualitative data were collected via interview from 2 RNs employed in each of the study NICUs. This was an exploratory descriptive study utilizing a mixed-methods approach. A quantitative method was used for sound-level data collection, and a qualitative method was utilized during interviews with nurses to examine perceptions of factors contributing to noise. Ambient sound levels, measured in decibels, were taken at 5-minute intervals over a 2-hour period during both day and night shifts in a central location at each NICU. In addition, nurses were interviewed using a standardized interview questionnaire, and these interviews were then reviewed to determine themes regarding perceived factors contributing to sound levels. Hourly mean sound levels in each NICU ranged from 53.9 dB to 60.6 dB, with no statistically significant difference between noise levels recorded on day shift versus night shift, and no statistically significant difference among sites. Qualitative data showed that nurses' believed day shift to be louder than night shift and many perceived their own NICU as "pretty quiet." Key contributing factors to increased sound levels were stated as monitors or alarms, performing invasive procedures, presence of family, nurses or doctors giving report or rounds, and ringing phones. Noise levels were found to be above the American Academy of Pediatrics--recommended 45-dB level and often louder than the 50-dB level, which should not be exceeded more than 10% of the time. The recommended impulse maximum of 65 dB was also exceeded. Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for hospitals include sound levels no louder than 35 dB on night shift; this standard was also violated. Elevated sound levels need to be addressed in individual NICUs around the country. Further exploratory studies, as well as research regarding effective methods of decreasing sound levels in the NICU environment, are necessary. NICUs can implement behavioral and structural changes that can decrease the sound levels in the NICU environment and decrease the potential for exposure of patients to the harmful physiological effects of increased sound levels.

Spatial statistics of hydrography and water chemistry in a eutrophic boreal lake based on sounding and water samples.

PubMed

Leppäranta, Matti; Lewis, John E; Heini, Anniina; Arvola, Lauri

2018-06-04

Spatial variability, an essential characteristic of lake ecosystems, has often been neglected in field research and monitoring. In this study, we apply spatial statistical methods for the key physics and chemistry variables and chlorophyll a over eight sampling dates in two consecutive years in a large (area 103 km 2 ) eutrophic boreal lake in southern Finland. In the four summer sampling dates, the water body was vertically and horizontally heterogenic except with color and DOC, in the two winter ice-covered dates DO was vertically stratified, while in the two autumn dates, no significant spatial differences in any of the measured variables were found. Chlorophyll a concentration was one order of magnitude lower under the ice cover than in open water. The Moran statistic for spatial correlation was significant for chlorophyll a and NO 2 +NO 3 -N in all summer situations and for dissolved oxygen and pH in three cases. In summer, the mass centers of the chemicals were within 1.5 km from the geometric center of the lake, and the 2nd moment radius ranged in 3.7-4.1 km respective to 3.9 km for the homogeneous situation. The lateral length scales of the studied variables were 1.5-2.5 km, about 1 km longer in the surface layer. The detected spatial "noise" strongly suggests that besides vertical variation also the horizontal variation in eutrophic lakes, in particular, should be considered when the ecosystems are monitored.

Structurally Sound Statistics Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Stephanie A.; Bostic, Jonathan D.

2016-01-01

The Common Core's Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) call for all K-grade 12 students to develop expertise in the processes and proficiencies of doing mathematics. However, the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) as a whole addresses students' learning of not only mathematics but also statistics. This situation…

Tests of Statistical Significance Made Sound

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haig, Brian D.

2017-01-01

This article considers the nature and place of tests of statistical significance (ToSS) in science, with particular reference to psychology. Despite the enormous amount of attention given to this topic, psychology's understanding of ToSS remains deficient. The major problem stems from a widespread and uncritical acceptance of null hypothesis…

Experimental and Computational Analysis of Modes in a Partially Constrained Plate

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-03-01

way to quantify a structure. One technique utilizing an energy method is the Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA). The SEA process involves regarding...B.R. Mace. “ Statistical Energy Analysis of Two Edge- Coupled Rectangular Plates: Ensemble Averages,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, 193(4): 793-822

Impulse Response Operators for Structural Complexes

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-12

systems of the complex. The statistical energy analysis (SEA) is one such a device [ 13, 14]. The rendering of SEA from equation (21) and/or (25) lies...Propagation.] 13. L. Cremer, M. Heckl, and E.E. Ungar 1973 Structure-Borne Sound (Springer Verlag). 14. R. H. Lyon 1975 Statistical Energy Analysis of

A randomized trial of nature scenery and sounds versus urban scenery and sounds to reduce pain in adults undergoing bone marrow aspirate and biopsy.

PubMed

Lechtzin, Noah; Busse, Anne M; Smith, Michael T; Grossman, Stuart; Nesbit, Suzanne; Diette, Gregory B

2010-09-01

Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy (BMAB) is painful when performed with only local anesthetic. Our objective was to determine whether viewing nature scenes and listening to nature sounds can reduce pain during BMAB. This was a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Adult patients undergoing outpatient BMAB with only local anesthetic were assigned to use either a nature scene with accompanying nature sounds, city scene with city sounds, or standard care. The primary outcome was a visual analog scale (0-10) of pain. Prespecified secondary analyses included categorizing pain as mild and moderate to severe and using multiple logistic regression to adjust for potential confounding variables. One hundred and twenty (120) subjects were enrolled: 44 in the Nature arm, 39 in the City arm, and 37 in the Standard Care arm. The mean pain scores, which were the primary outcome, were not significantly different between the three arms. A higher proportion in the Standard Care arm had moderate-to-severe pain (pain rating ≥4) than in the Nature arm (78.4% versus 60.5%), though this was not statistically significant (p = 0.097). This difference was statistically significant after adjusting for differences in the operators who performed the procedures (odds ratio = 3.71, p = 0.02). We confirmed earlier findings showing that BMAB is poorly tolerated. While mean pain scores were not significantly different between the study arms, secondary analyses suggest that viewing a nature scene while listening to nature sounds is a safe, inexpensive method that may reduce pain during BMAB. This approach should be considered to alleviate pain during invasive procedures.

Mezozooplankton Beneath the Summer Sea Ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: Abundance, Species Composition, and DMSP content

EPA Science Inventory

The Ross Sea Phaeocystis antarctica bloom contributes to a summer increase in under-ice planton biomass in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Due to difficulties of under-ice sampling, information on the mesozooplankton in McMurdo Sound is limited. We measured the abundance of mesooopl...

Measurement of Sound Speed in Thread

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Shigemi; Shibata, Yasuhiro; Ichiki, Akira; Miyazaki, Akiho

2006-05-01

By employing thin wires, human hairs and threads, the measurement of sound speed in a thread whose diameter is smaller than 0.2 mm has been attempted. Preparing two cylindrical ceramic transducers with a 300 kHz resonance frequency, a perforated glass bead to be knotted by a sample thread is bonded to the center of the end surface of each transducer. After connecting these transducers with a sample thread, a receiving transducer is attached at a ceiling so as to hang another transmitting transducer with the thread. A glass bead is bonded to another end surface of the transmitting transducer so that tension, varied with a hanged plumb, can be applied to the sample thread. The time delay of the received signal relative to the transmitting pulse is measured while gradually shortening the thread. Sound speed is determined by the proportionality of time delay with thread length. Although the measured values for metallic wires are somewhat different from the values derived from the density and Young’s modulus cited in references, they are reproducible. The sound speed for human hairs of over twenty samples, which varies between 2000 and 2500 m/s, seems to depend on hair quality. Sound speed in a cotton thread is found to approach a constant value under large tension. An advanced measurement system available for uncut threads is also presented, where semi cylindrical transducers pinch the thread.

Sampling the sound field in auditoria using large natural-scale array measurements.

PubMed

Witew, Ingo B; Vorländer, Michael; Xiang, Ning

2017-03-01

Suitable data for spatial wave field analyses in concert halls need to satisfy the sampling theorem and hence requires densely spaced measurement positions over extended regions. The described measurement apparatus is capable of automatically sampling the sound field in auditoria over a surface of 5.30 m × 8.00 m to any appointed resolutions. In addition to discussing design features, a case study based on measured impulse responses is presented. The experimental data allow wave field animations demonstrating how sound propagating at grazing incidence over theater seating is scattered from rows of chairs (seat-dip effect). The visualized data of reflections and scattering from an auditorium's boundaries give insights and opportunities for advanced analyses.

Applications of non-parametric statistics and analysis of variance on sample variances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, R. H.

1981-01-01

Nonparametric methods that are available for NASA-type applications are discussed. An attempt will be made here to survey what can be used, to attempt recommendations as to when each would be applicable, and to compare the methods, when possible, with the usual normal-theory procedures that are avavilable for the Gaussion analog. It is important here to point out the hypotheses that are being tested, the assumptions that are being made, and limitations of the nonparametric procedures. The appropriateness of doing analysis of variance on sample variances are also discussed and studied. This procedure is followed in several NASA simulation projects. On the surface this would appear to be reasonably sound procedure. However, difficulties involved center around the normality problem and the basic homogeneous variance assumption that is mase in usual analysis of variance problems. These difficulties discussed and guidelines given for using the methods.

Sound Processing Features for Speaker-Dependent and Phrase-Independent Emotion Recognition in Berlin Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anagnostopoulos, Christos Nikolaos; Vovoli, Eftichia

An emotion recognition framework based on sound processing could improve services in human-computer interaction. Various quantitative speech features obtained from sound processing of acting speech were tested, as to whether they are sufficient or not to discriminate between seven emotions. Multilayered perceptrons were trained to classify gender and emotions on the basis of a 24-input vector, which provide information about the prosody of the speaker over the entire sentence using statistics of sound features. Several experiments were performed and the results were presented analytically. Emotion recognition was successful when speakers and utterances were “known” to the classifier. However, severe misclassifications occurred during the utterance-independent framework. At least, the proposed feature vector achieved promising results for utterance-independent recognition of high- and low-arousal emotions.

Effect of the three-dimensional microstructure on the sound absorption of foams: A parametric study.

PubMed

Chevillotte, Fabien; Perrot, Camille

2017-08-01

The purpose of this work is to systematically study the effect of the throat and the pore sizes on the sound absorbing properties of open-cell foams. The three-dimensional idealized unit cell used in this work enables to mimic the acoustical macro-behavior of a large class of cellular solid foams. This study is carried out for a normal incidence and also for a diffuse field excitation, with a relatively large range of sample thicknesses. The transport and sound absorbing properties are numerically studied as a function of the throat size, the pore size, and the sample thickness. The resulting diagrams show the ranges of the specific throat sizes and pore sizes where the sound absorption grading is maximized due to the pore morphology as a function of the sample thickness, and how it correlates with the corresponding transport parameters. These charts demonstrate, together with typical examples, how the morphological characteristics of foam could be modified in order to increase the visco-thermal dissipation effects.

Blind separation of incoherent and spatially disjoint sound sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Bin; Antoni, Jérôme; Pereira, Antonio; Kellermann, Walter

2016-11-01

Blind separation of sound sources aims at reconstructing the individual sources which contribute to the overall radiation of an acoustical field. The challenge is to reach this goal using distant measurements when all sources are operating concurrently. The working assumption is usually that the sources of interest are incoherent - i.e. statistically orthogonal - so that their separation can be approached by decorrelating a set of simultaneous measurements, which amounts to diagonalizing the cross-spectral matrix. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is traditionally used to this end. This paper reports two new findings in this context. First, a sufficient condition is established under which "virtual" sources returned by PCA coincide with true sources; it stipulates that the sources of interest should be not only incoherent but also spatially orthogonal. A particular case of this instance is met by spatially disjoint sources - i.e. with non-overlapping support sets. Second, based on this finding, a criterion that enforces both statistical and spatial orthogonality is proposed to blindly separate incoherent sound sources which radiate from disjoint domains. This criterion can be easily incorporated into acoustic imaging algorithms such as beamforming or acoustical holography to identify sound sources of different origins. The proposed methodology is validated on laboratory experiments. In particular, the separation of aeroacoustic sources is demonstrated in a wind tunnel.

Under the hood of statistical learning: A statistical MMN reflects the magnitude of transitional probabilities in auditory sequences.

PubMed

Koelsch, Stefan; Busch, Tobias; Jentschke, Sebastian; Rohrmeier, Martin

2016-02-02

Within the framework of statistical learning, many behavioural studies investigated the processing of unpredicted events. However, surprisingly few neurophysiological studies are available on this topic, and no statistical learning experiment has investigated electroencephalographic (EEG) correlates of processing events with different transition probabilities. We carried out an EEG study with a novel variant of the established statistical learning paradigm. Timbres were presented in isochronous sequences of triplets. The first two sounds of all triplets were equiprobable, while the third sound occurred with either low (10%), intermediate (30%), or high (60%) probability. Thus, the occurrence probability of the third item of each triplet (given the first two items) was varied. Compared to high-probability triplet endings, endings with low and intermediate probability elicited an early anterior negativity that had an onset around 100 ms and was maximal at around 180 ms. This effect was larger for events with low than for events with intermediate probability. Our results reveal that, when predictions are based on statistical learning, events that do not match a prediction evoke an early anterior negativity, with the amplitude of this mismatch response being inversely related to the probability of such events. Thus, we report a statistical mismatch negativity (sMMN) that reflects statistical learning of transitional probability distributions that go beyond auditory sensory memory capabilities.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-09-01

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

The statistical analysis of global climate change studies

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

Hardin, J.W.

1992-01-01

The focus of this work is to contribute to the enhancement of the relationship between climatologists and statisticians. The analysis of global change data has been underway for many years by atmospheric scientists. Much of this analysis includes a heavy reliance on statistics and statistical inference. Some specific climatological analyses are presented and the dependence on statistics is documented before the analysis is undertaken. The first problem presented involves the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and its application to global climate models. This problem has a sound theoretical niche in the literature of both climate modeling and physics, but a statistical analysis inmore » which the data is obtained from the model to show graphically the relationship has not been undertaken. It is under this motivation that the author presents this problem. A second problem concerning the standard errors in estimating global temperatures is purely statistical in nature although very little materials exists for sampling on such a frame. This problem not only has climatological and statistical ramifications, but political ones as well. It is planned to use these results in a further analysis of global warming using actual data collected on the earth. In order to simplify the analysis of these problems, the development of a computer program, MISHA, is presented. This interactive program contains many of the routines, functions, graphics, and map projections needed by the climatologist in order to effectively enter the arena of data visualization.« less

Biomarkers to Assess Possible Biological Effects on Reproductive Potential, Immune Function, and Energetic Fitness of Bottlenose Dolphins Exposed to Sounds Consistent with Naval Sonars

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-30

Reproductive Potential, Immune Function, and Energetic Fitness of Bottlenose Dolphins Exposed to Sounds Consistent with Naval Sonars Dana L. Wetzel...biomarkers to examine whether significant sublethal responses to sonar-type sounds occur in bottlenose dolphins exposed to such sounds. The...investigate samples collected from trained dolphins before exposure to simulated mid-frequency sonar signals, immediately after exposure, and one week post

A Sound Therapy-Based Intervention to Expand the Auditory Dynamic Range for Loudness among Persons with Sensorineural Hearing Losses: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

PubMed Central

Formby, Craig; Hawley, Monica L.; Sherlock, LaGuinn P.; Gold, Susan; Payne, JoAnne; Brooks, Rebecca; Parton, Jason M.; Juneau, Roger; Desporte, Edward J.; Siegle, Gregory R.

2015-01-01

The primary aim of this research was to evaluate the validity, efficacy, and generalization of principles underlying a sound therapy–based treatment for promoting expansion of the auditory dynamic range (DR) for loudness. The basic sound therapy principles, originally devised for treatment of hyperacusis among patients with tinnitus, were evaluated in this study in a target sample of unsuccessfully fit and/or problematic prospective hearing aid users with diminished DRs (owing to their elevated audiometric thresholds and reduced sound tolerance). Secondary aims included: (1) delineation of the treatment contributions from the counseling and sound therapy components to the full-treatment protocol and, in turn, the isolated treatment effects from each of these individual components to intervention success; and (2) characterization of the respective dynamics for full, partial, and control treatments. Thirty-six participants with bilateral sensorineural hearing losses and reduced DRs, which affected their actual or perceived ability to use hearing aids, were enrolled in and completed a placebo-controlled (for sound therapy) randomized clinical trial. The 2 × 2 factorial trial design was implemented with or without various assignments of counseling and sound therapy. Specifically, participants were assigned randomly to one of four treatment groups (nine participants per group), including: (1) group 1—full treatment achieved with scripted counseling plus sound therapy implemented with binaural sound generators; (2) group 2—partial treatment achieved with counseling and placebo sound generators (PSGs); (3) group 3—partial treatment achieved with binaural sound generators alone; and (4) group 4—a neutral control treatment implemented with the PSGs alone. Repeated measurements of categorical loudness judgments served as the primary outcome measure. The full-treatment categorical-loudness judgments for group 1, measured at treatment termination, were significantly greater than the corresponding pretreatment judgments measured at baseline at 500, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz. Moreover, increases in their “uncomfortably loud” judgments (∼12 dB over the range from 500 to 4,000 Hz) were superior to those measured for either of the partial-treatment groups 2 and 3 or for control group 4. Efficacy, assessed by treatment-related criterion increases ≥ 10 dB for judgments of uncomfortable loudness, was superior for full treatment (82% efficacy) compared with that for either of the partial treatments (25% and 40% for counseling combined with the placebo sound therapy and sound therapy alone, respectively) or for the control treatment (50%). The majority of the group 1 participants achieved their criterion improvements within 3 months of beginning treatment. The treatment effect from sound therapy was much greater than that for counseling, which was statistically indistinguishable in most of our analyses from the control treatment. The basic principles underlying the full-treatment protocol are valid and have general applicability for expanding the DR among individuals with sensorineural hearing losses, who may often report aided loudness problems. The positive full-treatment effects were superior to those achieved for either counseling or sound therapy in virtual or actual isolation, respectively; however, the delivery of both components in the full-treatment approach was essential for an optimum treatment outcome. PMID:27516711

A Sound Therapy-Based Intervention to Expand the Auditory Dynamic Range for Loudness among Persons with Sensorineural Hearing Losses: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Formby, Craig; Hawley, Monica L; Sherlock, LaGuinn P; Gold, Susan; Payne, JoAnne; Brooks, Rebecca; Parton, Jason M; Juneau, Roger; Desporte, Edward J; Siegle, Gregory R

2015-05-01

The primary aim of this research was to evaluate the validity, efficacy, and generalization of principles underlying a sound therapy-based treatment for promoting expansion of the auditory dynamic range (DR) for loudness. The basic sound therapy principles, originally devised for treatment of hyperacusis among patients with tinnitus, were evaluated in this study in a target sample of unsuccessfully fit and/or problematic prospective hearing aid users with diminished DRs (owing to their elevated audiometric thresholds and reduced sound tolerance). Secondary aims included: (1) delineation of the treatment contributions from the counseling and sound therapy components to the full-treatment protocol and, in turn, the isolated treatment effects from each of these individual components to intervention success; and (2) characterization of the respective dynamics for full, partial, and control treatments. Thirty-six participants with bilateral sensorineural hearing losses and reduced DRs, which affected their actual or perceived ability to use hearing aids, were enrolled in and completed a placebo-controlled (for sound therapy) randomized clinical trial. The 2 × 2 factorial trial design was implemented with or without various assignments of counseling and sound therapy. Specifically, participants were assigned randomly to one of four treatment groups (nine participants per group), including: (1) group 1-full treatment achieved with scripted counseling plus sound therapy implemented with binaural sound generators; (2) group 2-partial treatment achieved with counseling and placebo sound generators (PSGs); (3) group 3-partial treatment achieved with binaural sound generators alone; and (4) group 4-a neutral control treatment implemented with the PSGs alone. Repeated measurements of categorical loudness judgments served as the primary outcome measure. The full-treatment categorical-loudness judgments for group 1, measured at treatment termination, were significantly greater than the corresponding pretreatment judgments measured at baseline at 500, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz. Moreover, increases in their "uncomfortably loud" judgments (∼12 dB over the range from 500 to 4,000 Hz) were superior to those measured for either of the partial-treatment groups 2 and 3 or for control group 4. Efficacy, assessed by treatment-related criterion increases ≥ 10 dB for judgments of uncomfortable loudness, was superior for full treatment (82% efficacy) compared with that for either of the partial treatments (25% and 40% for counseling combined with the placebo sound therapy and sound therapy alone, respectively) or for the control treatment (50%). The majority of the group 1 participants achieved their criterion improvements within 3 months of beginning treatment. The treatment effect from sound therapy was much greater than that for counseling, which was statistically indistinguishable in most of our analyses from the control treatment. The basic principles underlying the full-treatment protocol are valid and have general applicability for expanding the DR among individuals with sensorineural hearing losses, who may often report aided loudness problems. The positive full-treatment effects were superior to those achieved for either counseling or sound therapy in virtual or actual isolation, respectively; however, the delivery of both components in the full-treatment approach was essential for an optimum treatment outcome.

Wind turbine sound pressure level calculations at dwellings.

PubMed

Keith, Stephen E; Feder, Katya; Voicescu, Sonia A; Soukhovtsev, Victor; Denning, Allison; Tsang, Jason; Broner, Norm; Leroux, Tony; Richarz, Werner; van den Berg, Frits

2016-03-01

This paper provides calculations of outdoor sound pressure levels (SPLs) at dwellings for 10 wind turbine models, to support Health Canada's Community Noise and Health Study. Manufacturer supplied and measured wind turbine sound power levels were used to calculate outdoor SPL at 1238 dwellings using ISO [(1996). ISO 9613-2-Acoustics] and a Swedish noise propagation method. Both methods yielded statistically equivalent results. The A- and C-weighted results were highly correlated over the 1238 dwellings (Pearson's linear correlation coefficient r > 0.8). Calculated wind turbine SPLs were compared to ambient SPLs from other sources, estimated using guidance documents from the United States and Alberta, Canada.

On cortical coding of vocal communication sounds in primates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaoqin

2000-10-01

Understanding how the brain processes vocal communication sounds is one of the most challenging problems in neuroscience. Our understanding of how the cortex accomplishes this unique task should greatly facilitate our understanding of cortical mechanisms in general. Perception of species-specific communication sounds is an important aspect of the auditory behavior of many animal species and is crucial for their social interactions, reproductive success, and survival. The principles of neural representations of these behaviorally important sounds in the cerebral cortex have direct implications for the neural mechanisms underlying human speech perception. Our progress in this area has been relatively slow, compared with our understanding of other auditory functions such as echolocation and sound localization. This article discusses previous and current studies in this field, with emphasis on nonhuman primates, and proposes a conceptual platform to further our exploration of this frontier. It is argued that the prerequisite condition for understanding cortical mechanisms underlying communication sound perception and production is an appropriate animal model. Three issues are central to this work: (i) neural encoding of statistical structure of communication sounds, (ii) the role of behavioral relevance in shaping cortical representations, and (iii) sensory-motor interactions between vocal production and perception systems.

Monkeys Match and Tally Quantities across Senses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Kerry E.; MacLean, Evan L.; Brannon, Elizabeth M.

2008-01-01

We report here that monkeys can actively match the number of sounds they hear to the number of shapes they see and present the first evidence that monkeys sum over sounds and sights. In Experiment 1, two monkeys were trained to choose a simultaneous array of 1-9 squares that numerically matched a sample sequence of shapes or sounds. Monkeys…

Prospective cohort study on noise levels in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit.

PubMed

Garcia Guerra, Gonzalo; Joffe, Ari R; Sheppard, Cathy; Pugh, Jodie; Moez, Elham Khodayari; Dinu, Irina A; Jou, Hsing; Hartling, Lisa; Vohra, Sunita

2018-04-01

To describe noise levels in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, and to determine the relationship between sound levels and patient sedation requirements. Prospective observational study at a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU). Sound levels were measured continuously in slow A weighted decibels dB(A) with a sound level meter SoundEarPro® during a 4-week period. Sedation requirement was assessed using the number of intermittent (PRNs) doses given per hour. Analysis was conducted with autoregressive moving average models and the Granger test for causality. 39 children were included in the study. The average (SD) sound level in the open area was 59.4 (2.5) dB(A) with a statistically significant but clinically unimportant difference between day/night hours (60.1 vs. 58.6; p-value < 0.001). There was no significant difference between sound levels in the open area/single room (59.4 vs. 60.8, p-value = 0.108). Peak noise levels were > 90 dB. There was a significant association between average (p-value = 0.030) and peak sound levels (p-value = 0.006), and number of sedation PRNs. Sound levels were above the recommended values with no differences between day/night or open area/single room. High sound levels were significantly associated with sedation requirements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

75 FR 11862 - Endangered Species; File No. 14759

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-12

... Fear) and estuaries (Albemarle Sound) using non-lethal sampling methods combining hydroacoustic surveys..., Neuse, Cape Fear river systems and Albemarle Sound, and up to 20 shortnose sturgeon from the Roanoke...

Experimental investigation of sound absorption properties of perforated date palm fibers panel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elwaleed, A. K.; Nikabdullah, N.; Nor, M. J. M.; Tahir, M. F. M.; Zulkifli, R.

2013-06-01

This paper presents the sound absorption properties of a natural waste of date palm fiber perforated panel. A single layer of the date palm fibers was tested in this study for its sound absorption properties. The experimental measurements were carried out using impedance tube at the acoustic lab, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The experiment was conducted for the panel without air gap, with air gap and with perforated plate facing. Three air gap thicknesses of 10 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm were used between the date palm fiber sample and the rigid backing of the impedance tube. The results showed that when facing the palm date fiber sample with perforated plate the sound absorption coefficient improved at the higher and lower frequency ranges. This increase in sound absorption coincided with reduction in medium frequency absorption. However, this could be improved by using different densities or perforated plate with the date palm fiber panel.

Resilience Scale-25 Spanish version: validation and assessment in eating disorders.

PubMed

Las Hayas, Carlota; Calvete, Esther; Gómez del Barrio, Andrés; Beato, Luís; Muñoz, Pedro; Padierna, Jesús Ángel

2014-08-01

To validate into Spanish the Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale - 25 (RS-25), assess and compare the scores on the scale among women from the general population, eating disorder (ED) patients and recovered ED patients. This is a cross-sectional study. ED participants were invited to participate by their respective therapists. The sample from the general population was gathered via an open online survey. Participants (N general population=279; N ED patients=124; and N recovered ED patients=45) completed the RS-25, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-BREF and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Mean age of participants ranged from 28.87 to 30.42years old. Statistical analysis included a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis and ANOVA. The two-factor model of the RS-25 produced excellent fit indexes. Measurement invariance across samples was generally supported. The ANOVA found statistically significant differences in the RS-25 mean scores between the ED patients (Mean=103.13, SD=31.32) and the recovered ED participants (Mean=138.42, SD=22.26) and between the ED patients and the general population participants (Mean=136.63, SD=19.56). The Spanish version of the RS-25 is a psychometrically sound measurement tool in samples of ED patients. Resilience is lower in people diagnosed with ED than in recovered individuals and the general population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of multiple-frequency, active and passive acoustics as surrogates for bedload transport

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wood, Molly S.; Fosness, Ryan L.; Pachman, Gregory; Lorang, Mark; Tonolla, Diego

2015-01-01

The use of multiple-frequency, active acoustics through deployment of acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) shows potential for estimating bedload in selected grain size categories. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of Montana (UM), evaluated the use of multiple-frequency, active and passive acoustics as surrogates for bedload transport during a pilot study on the Kootenai River, Idaho, May 17-18, 2012. Four ADCPs with frequencies ranging from 600 to 2000 kHz were used to measure apparent moving bed velocities at 20 stations across the river in conjunction with physical bedload samples. Additionally, UM scientists measured the sound frequencies of moving particles with two hydrophones, considered passive acoustics, along longitudinal transects in the study reach. Some patterns emerged in the preliminary analysis which show promise for future studies. Statistically significant relations were successfully developed between apparent moving bed velocities measured by ADCPs with frequencies 1000 and 1200 kHz and bedload in 0.5 to 2.0 mm grain size categories. The 600 kHz ADCP seemed somewhat sensitive to the movement of gravel bedload in the size range 8.0 to 31.5 mm, but the relation was not statistically significant. The passive hydrophone surveys corroborated the sample results and could be used to map spatial variability in bedload transport and to select a measurement cross-section with moving bedload for active acoustic surveys and physical samples.

Steps toward quantitative infrasound propagation modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waxler, Roger; Assink, Jelle; Lalande, Jean-Marie; Velea, Doru

2016-04-01

Realistic propagation modeling requires propagation models capable of incorporating the relevant physical phenomena as well as sufficiently accurate atmospheric specifications. The wind speed and temperature gradients in the atmosphere provide multiple ducts in which low frequency sound, infrasound, can propagate efficiently. The winds in the atmosphere are quite variable, both temporally and spatially, causing the sound ducts to fluctuate. For ground to ground propagation the ducts can be borderline in that small perturbations can create or destroy a duct. In such cases the signal propagation is very sensitive to fluctuations in the wind, often producing highly dispersed signals. The accuracy of atmospheric specifications is constantly improving as sounding technology develops. There is, however, a disconnect between sound propagation and atmospheric specification in that atmospheric specifications are necessarily statistical in nature while sound propagates through a particular atmospheric state. In addition infrasonic signals can travel to great altitudes, on the order of 120 km, before refracting back to earth. At such altitudes the atmosphere becomes quite rare causing sound propagation to become highly non-linear and attenuating. Approaches to these problems will be presented.

Pulse-echo sound speed estimation using second order speckle statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosado-Mendez, Ivan M.; Nam, Kibo; Madsen, Ernest L.; Hall, Timothy J.; Zagzebski, James A.

2012-10-01

This work presents a phantom-based evaluation of a method for estimating soft-tissue speeds of sound using pulse-echo data. The method is based on the improvement of image sharpness as the sound speed value assumed during beamforming is systematically matched to the tissue sound speed. The novelty of this work is the quantitative assessment of image sharpness by measuring the resolution cell size from the autocovariance matrix for echo signals from a random distribution of scatterers thus eliminating the need of strong reflectors. Envelope data were obtained from a fatty-tissue mimicking (FTM) phantom (sound speed = 1452 m/s) and a nonfatty-tissue mimicking (NFTM) phantom (1544 m/s) scanned with a linear array transducer on a clinical ultrasound system. Dependence on pulse characteristics was tested by varying the pulse frequency and amplitude. On average, sound speed estimation errors were -0.7% for the FTM phantom and -1.1% for the NFTM phantom. In general, no significant difference was found among errors from different pulse frequencies and amplitudes. The method is currently being optimized for the differentiation of diffuse liver diseases.

The Shock and Vibration Digest, Volume 17, Number 8

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-08-01

ate, transmit, and radiate audible sound. dures are based on acoustic power flow, statistical energy analysis (SEA), and modal methods [22-283. A...modified partition area. features of the acoustic field. I.--1 85-1642 Statistical Energy Analysis , Structural Reso- nances, and Beam Networks BUILDING...energy methods, Structural resonance L.J. Lee Heriot-Watt Univ., Chambers St., Edinburgh The statistical energy analysis method is EHI 1HX, Scotland

The Shock and Vibration Digest. Volume 14, Number 12

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

to evaluate the uses of statistical energy analysis for determining sound transmission performance. Coupling loss factors were mea- sured and compared...measurements for the artificial (Also see No. 2623) cracks in mild-steel test pieces. 82-2676 Ihprovement of the Method of Statistical Energy Analysis for...eters, using a large number of free-response time histories In the application of the statistical energy analysis theory simultaneously in one analysis

Abundance and distribution of Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. vulnificus following a major freshwater intrusion into the Mississippi Sound.

PubMed

Griffitt, Kimberly J; Grimes, D Jay

2013-04-01

In response to a major influx of freshwater to the Mississippi Sound following the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, water samples were collected from three sites along the Mississippi shoreline to assess the impact of altered salinity on three pathogenic Vibrio species. Salinity readings across the affected area during the 2011 sample period ranged from 1.4 to 12.9 ppt (mean = 7.0) and for the 2012 sample period from 14.1 to 23.6 ppt (mean = 19.8). Analyses of the data collected in 2011 showed a reduction in densities of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus with a concurrent increase of Vibrio cholerae numbers, with V. cholerae becoming the only Vibrio detected once salinity readings dropped to 6 ppt. Follow-up samples taken in 2012 after recovery of the salinity in the sound showed that the relative densities of the three pathogenic vibrios had reverted back to normal levels. This study shows that although the spillway was open but a few weeks and the effects were therefore time limited, the Mississippi River water had a profound, if temporary, effect on Vibrio ecology in the Mississippi Sound.

Sound absorption of a new oblique-section acoustic metamaterial with nested resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Nansha; Hou, Hong; Zhang, Yanni; Wu, Jiu Hui

2018-02-01

This study designs and investigates high-efficiency sound absorption of new oblique-section nested resonators. Impedance tube experiment results show that different combinations of oblique-section nest resonators have tunable low-frequency bandwidth characteristics. The sound absorption mechanism is due to air friction losses in the slotted region and the sample structure resonance. The acousto-electric analogy model demonstrates that the sound absorption peak and bandwidth can be modulated over an even wider frequency range by changing the geometric size and combinations of structures. The proposed structure can be easily fabricated and used in low-frequency sound absorption applications.

VARIATION OF KOC IN SURFACE SEDIMENTS FROM NARRAGANSETT BAY AND LONG ISLAND SOUND: ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF OTHER PARTICULATE CHARACTERISTICS

EPA Science Inventory

In the first part of this investigation, we examined whether differences in the Kocs of three nonpolar organic chemicals (Lindane, fluoranthene, tetrachlorinated biphenyl (PCB)) from five sites along the New England coast were statistically significant. Although no statistical di...

Statistical Significance and Effect Size: Two Sides of a Coin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fan, Xitao

This paper suggests that statistical significance testing and effect size are two sides of the same coin; they complement each other, but do not substitute for one another. Good research practice requires that both should be taken into consideration to make sound quantitative decisions. A Monte Carlo simulation experiment was conducted, and a…

Statistical Reasoning over Lunch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selmer, Sarah J.; Bolyard, Johnna J.; Rye, James A.

2011-01-01

Students in the 21st century are exposed daily to a staggering amount of numerically infused media. In this era of abundant numeric data, students must be able to engage in sound statistical reasoning when making life decisions after exposure to varied information. The context of nutrition can be used to engage upper elementary and middle school…

Quantization noise in digital speech. M.S. Thesis- Houston Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, O. L.

1972-01-01

The amount of quantization noise generated in a digital-to-analog converter is dependent on the number of bits or quantization levels used to digitize the analog signal in the analog-to-digital converter. The minimum number of quantization levels and the minimum sample rate were derived for a digital voice channel. A sample rate of 6000 samples per second and lowpass filters with a 3 db cutoff of 2400 Hz are required for 100 percent sentence intelligibility. Consonant sounds are the first speech components to be degraded by quantization noise. A compression amplifier can be used to increase the weighting of the consonant sound amplitudes in the analog-to-digital converter. An expansion network must be installed at the output of the digital-to-analog converter to restore the original weighting of the consonant sounds. This technique results in 100 percent sentence intelligibility for a sample rate of 5000 samples per second, eight quantization levels, and lowpass filters with a 3 db cutoff of 2000 Hz.

CellTree: an R/bioconductor package to infer the hierarchical structure of cell populations from single-cell RNA-seq data.

PubMed

duVerle, David A; Yotsukura, Sohiya; Nomura, Seitaro; Aburatani, Hiroyuki; Tsuda, Koji

2016-09-13

Single-cell RNA sequencing is fast becoming one the standard method for gene expression measurement, providing unique insights into cellular processes. A number of methods, based on general dimensionality reduction techniques, have been suggested to help infer and visualise the underlying structure of cell populations from single-cell expression levels, yet their models generally lack proper biological grounding and struggle at identifying complex differentiation paths. Here we introduce cellTree: an R/Bioconductor package that uses a novel statistical approach, based on document analysis techniques, to produce tree structures outlining the hierarchical relationship between single-cell samples, while identifying latent groups of genes that can provide biological insights. With cellTree, we provide experimentalists with an easy-to-use tool, based on statistically and biologically-sound algorithms, to efficiently explore and visualise single-cell RNA data. The cellTree package is publicly available in the online Bionconductor repository at: http://bioconductor.org/packages/cellTree/ .

[Music therapy and regional anesthesia in orthopedic surgery].

PubMed

Rupérez Ruiz, Ma Pilar; De San José, Isabel; Hermoso Montoya, Anna; Ferreira Valencia, Teresa; Gómez Sanz, Amelia; López Gutiérrez, Anna

2014-06-01

To evaluate the sedative effects, intra-operation, of music therapy in orthopedic surgery patients with locoregional anesthesia in the Hospital Clínic i Provincial of Barcelona. Prospective comparative study on a random sample of 110 patients undergoing or not music therapy. The degree of anxiety was assessed with the Questionnaire STAIC. The application of the music was done with a MP3 player and headphones. The collected data were analyzed with Excel. For the statistical analysis we used the SPSS-18 software and Chi-square test to test the hypothesis of whether there was relationship between the level of peace and music therapy. After the analysis, the results of Chi-square were in the group of no sedation with/without music Chi2 = 2.01, P = 0.35. The statistical significance level was p < 0.05. No relationship was found between hearing music or not and the patient's comfort level. Most patients recommend listening to music in the operating room despite the sounds around do not bother them.

19 CFR 201.21 - Availability of specific records.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., graphs, notes, charts, tabulations, data analysis, statistical or information accumulations, records of meetings and conversations, film impressions, magnetic tapes, and sound or mechanical reproductions; the...

3D Sound Techniques for Sound Source Elevation in a Loudspeaker Listening Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Yong Guk; Jo, Sungdong; Kim, Hong Kook; Jang, Sei-Jin; Lee, Seok-Pil

In this paper, we propose several 3D sound techniques for sound source elevation in stereo loudspeaker listening environments. The proposed method integrates a head-related transfer function (HRTF) for sound positioning and early reflection for adding reverberant circumstance. In addition, spectral notch filtering and directional band boosting techniques are also included for increasing elevation perception capability. In order to evaluate the elevation performance of the proposed method, subjective listening tests are conducted using several kinds of sound sources such as white noise, sound effects, speech, and music samples. It is shown from the tests that the degrees of perceived elevation by the proposed method are around the 17º to 21º when the stereo loudspeakers are located on the horizontal plane.

Statistical approach for selection of biologically informative genes.

PubMed

Das, Samarendra; Rai, Anil; Mishra, D C; Rai, Shesh N

2018-05-20

Selection of informative genes from high dimensional gene expression data has emerged as an important research area in genomics. Many gene selection techniques have been proposed so far are either based on relevancy or redundancy measure. Further, the performance of these techniques has been adjudged through post selection classification accuracy computed through a classifier using the selected genes. This performance metric may be statistically sound but may not be biologically relevant. A statistical approach, i.e. Boot-MRMR, was proposed based on a composite measure of maximum relevance and minimum redundancy, which is both statistically sound and biologically relevant for informative gene selection. For comparative evaluation of the proposed approach, we developed two biological sufficient criteria, i.e. Gene Set Enrichment with QTL (GSEQ) and biological similarity score based on Gene Ontology (GO). Further, a systematic and rigorous evaluation of the proposed technique with 12 existing gene selection techniques was carried out using five gene expression datasets. This evaluation was based on a broad spectrum of statistically sound (e.g. subject classification) and biological relevant (based on QTL and GO) criteria under a multiple criteria decision-making framework. The performance analysis showed that the proposed technique selects informative genes which are more biologically relevant. The proposed technique is also found to be quite competitive with the existing techniques with respect to subject classification and computational time. Our results also showed that under the multiple criteria decision-making setup, the proposed technique is best for informative gene selection over the available alternatives. Based on the proposed approach, an R Package, i.e. BootMRMR has been developed and available at https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/BootMRMR. This study will provide a practical guide to select statistical techniques for selecting informative genes from high dimensional expression data for breeding and system biology studies. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Low complexity lossless compression of underwater sound recordings.

PubMed

Johnson, Mark; Partan, Jim; Hurst, Tom

2013-03-01

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

Computerised lung sound monitoring to assess effectiveness of chest physiotherapy and secretion removal: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Ntoumenopoulos, G; Glickman, Y

2012-09-01

To explore the feasibility of computerised lung sound monitoring to evaluate secretion removal in intubated and mechanically ventilated adult patients. Before and after observational investigation. Intensive care unit. Fifteen intubated and mechanically ventilated adult patients receiving chest physiotherapy. Chest physiotherapy included combinations of standard closed airway suctioning, saline lavage, postural drainage, chest wall vibrations, manual-assisted cough and/or lung hyperinflation, dependent upon clinical indications. Lung sound amplitude at peak inspiration was assessed using computerised lung sound monitoring. Measurements were performed immediately before and after chest physiotherapy. Data are reported as mean [standard deviation (SD)], mean difference and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Significance testing was not performed due to the small sample size and the exploratory nature of the study. Fifteen patients were included in the study [11 males, four females, mean age 65 (SD 14) years]. The mean total lung sound amplitude at peak inspiration decreased two-fold from 38 (SD 59) units before treatment to 17 (SD 19) units after treatment (mean difference 22, 95% CI of difference -3 to 46). The mean total lung sound amplitude from the lungs of patients with a large amount of secretions (n=9) was over four times 'louder' than the lungs of patients with a moderate or small amount of secretions (n=6) [56 (SD 72) units vs 12 (13) units, respectively; mean difference -44, 95% CI of difference -100 to 11]. The mean total lung sound amplitude decreased in the group of 'loud' right and left lungs (n=15) from 37 (SD 36) units before treatment to 15 (SD 13) units after treatment (mean difference 22, 95% CI of difference 6 to 38). Computerised lung sound monitoring in this small group of patients demonstrated a two-fold decrease in lung sound amplitude following chest physiotherapy. Subgroup analysis also demonstrated decreasing trends in lung sound amplitude in the group of 'loud' lungs following chest physiotherapy. Due to the small sample size and large SDs with high variability in the lung sound amplitude measurements, significance testing was not reported. Further investigation is needed in a larger sample of patients with more accurate measurement of sputum wet weight in order to distinguish between secretion-related effects and changes due to other factors such as airflow rate and pattern. Copyright © 2012 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Correlation Between Resting Testosterone/Cortisol Ratio and Sound-Induced Vasoconstriction at Fingertip in Men

PubMed Central

Ooishi, Yuuki

2018-01-01

A sound-induced sympathetic tone has been used as an index for orienting responses to auditory stimuli. The resting testosterone/cortisol ratio is a biomarker of social aggression that drives an approaching behavior in response to environmental stimuli, and a higher testosterone level and a lower cortisol level can facilitate the sympathetic response to environmental stimuli. Therefore, it is possible that the testosterone/cortisol ratio is correlated with the sound-induced sympathetic tone. The current study investigated the relationship between the resting testosterone/cortisol ratio and vasoconstriction induced by listening to sound stimuli. Twenty healthy males aged 29.0 ± 0.53 years (mean ± S.E.M) participated in the study. They came to the laboratory for 3 days and listened to one of three types of sound stimuli for 1 min on each day. Saliva samples were collected for an analysis of salivary testosterone and cortisol levels on the day of each experiment. After the collecting the saliva sample, we measured the blood volume pulse (BVP) amplitude at a fingertip. Since vasoconstriction is mediated by the activation of the sympathetic nerves, the strength of the reduction in BVP amplitude at a fingertip was called the BVP response (finger BVPR). No difference was observed between the sound-induced finger BVPR for the three types of sound stimuli (p = 0.779). The correlation coefficient between the sound-induced finger BVPR and the salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio within participants was significantly different from no correlation (p = 0.011) and there was a trend toward a significance in the correlation between the sound-induced finger BVPR and the salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio between participants (r = 0.39, p = 0.088). These results suggest that the testosterone/cortisol ratio affects the difference in the sound-evoked sympathetic response. PMID:29559922

Correlation Between Resting Testosterone/Cortisol Ratio and Sound-Induced Vasoconstriction at Fingertip in Men.

PubMed

Ooishi, Yuuki

2018-01-01

A sound-induced sympathetic tone has been used as an index for orienting responses to auditory stimuli. The resting testosterone/cortisol ratio is a biomarker of social aggression that drives an approaching behavior in response to environmental stimuli, and a higher testosterone level and a lower cortisol level can facilitate the sympathetic response to environmental stimuli. Therefore, it is possible that the testosterone/cortisol ratio is correlated with the sound-induced sympathetic tone. The current study investigated the relationship between the resting testosterone/cortisol ratio and vasoconstriction induced by listening to sound stimuli. Twenty healthy males aged 29.0 ± 0.53 years (mean ± S.E.M) participated in the study. They came to the laboratory for 3 days and listened to one of three types of sound stimuli for 1 min on each day. Saliva samples were collected for an analysis of salivary testosterone and cortisol levels on the day of each experiment. After the collecting the saliva sample, we measured the blood volume pulse (BVP) amplitude at a fingertip. Since vasoconstriction is mediated by the activation of the sympathetic nerves, the strength of the reduction in BVP amplitude at a fingertip was called the BVP response (finger BVPR). No difference was observed between the sound-induced finger BVPR for the three types of sound stimuli ( p = 0.779). The correlation coefficient between the sound-induced finger BVPR and the salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio within participants was significantly different from no correlation ( p = 0.011) and there was a trend toward a significance in the correlation between the sound-induced finger BVPR and the salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio between participants ( r = 0.39, p = 0.088). These results suggest that the testosterone/cortisol ratio affects the difference in the sound-evoked sympathetic response.

Absorption of sound by tree bark

Treesearch

G. Reethof; L. D. Frank; O. H. McDaniel

1976-01-01

Laboratory tests were conducted with a standing wave tube to measure the acoustic absorption of normally incident sound by the bark of six species of trees. Twelve bark samples, 10 cm in diameter, were tested. Sound of seven frequencies between 400 and 1600 Hz was used in the measurements. Absorption was generally about 5 percent; it exceeded 10 percent for only three...

Speech Abilities in Preschool Children with Speech Sound Disorder with and without Co-Occurring Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macrae, Toby; Tyler, Ann A.

2014-01-01

Purpose: The authors compared preschool children with co-occurring speech sound disorder (SSD) and language impairment (LI) to children with SSD only in their numbers and types of speech sound errors. Method: In this post hoc quasi-experimental study, independent samples t tests were used to compare the groups in the standard score from different…

Distribution of Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus in watersheds of Puget Sound Based on smolt monitoring data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayes, Michael C.; Hays, Richard; Rubin, Stephen P.; Chase, Dorothy M.; Hallock, Molly; Cook-Tabor, Carrie; Luzier, Christina W.; Moser, Mary L.

2013-01-01

Lamprey populations are in decline worldwide and the status of Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) is a topic of current interest. They and other lamprey species cycle nutrients and serve as prey in riverine ecosystems. To determine the current distribution of Pacific lamprey in major watersheds flowing into Puget Sound, Washington, we sampled lamprey captured during salmonid smolt monitoring that occurred from late winter to mid-summer. We found Pacific lamprey in 12 of 18 watersheds and they were most common in southern Puget Sound watersheds and in watersheds draining western Puget Sound (Hood Canal). Two additional species, western brook lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni) and river lamprey (L. ayresii) were more common in eastern Puget Sound watersheds. Few Pacific lamprey macrophthalmia were found, suggesting that the majority of juveniles migrated seaward during other time periods. In addition, “dwarf” adult Pacific lamprey (< 300 mm) were observed in several watersheds and may represent an alternate life history for some Puget Sound populations. Based on genetic data, the use of visual techniques to identify lamprey ammocoetes as Entosphenus or Lampetra was successful for 97% (34 of 35) of the samples we evaluated.

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

O`Clair, C.E.; Short, J.W.; Rice, S.D.

To determine the distribution of oil in subtidal sediments after the Exxon Valdez oil spill we sampled sediments at six depths (0, 3, 6, 20, 40 and 100 m) at 53 locations in Prince William Sound and the northern Gulf of Alaska from 1989 to 1991. Results are based on 1278 sediment samples analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In 1989, the oil concentration was greatest in the Sound at 0 m. Outside the Sound, Exxon Valdez oil occurred at Chugach Bay, Hallo Bay, Katmai Bay, and Windy Bay in 1989. Hydrocarbons often matched Exxon Valdez oil less closely, oil wasmore » more patchily distributed, and the oil concentration decreased in sediments after 1989.« less

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2010-11-01

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

Development of Composite Materials with High Passive Damping Properties

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-15

frequency response function analysis. Sound transmission through sandwich panels was studied using the statistical energy analysis (SEA). Modal density...2.2.3 Finite element models 14 2.2.4 Statistical energy analysis method 15 CHAPTER 3 ANALYSIS OF DAMPING IN SANDWICH MATERIALS. 24 3.1 Equation of...sheets and the core. 2.2.4 Statistical energy analysis method Finite element models are generally only efficient for problems at low and middle frequencies

Development of the Low-cost Analog-to-Digital Converter (for nuclear physics experiments) with PC sound card

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugihara, Kenkoh

2009-10-01

A low-cost ADC (Analogue-to-Digital Converter) with shaping embedded for undergraduate physics laboratory is developed using a home made circuit and a PC sound card. Even though an ADC is needed as an essential part of an experimental set up, commercially available ones are very expensive and are scarce for undergraduate laboratory experiments. The system that is developed from the present work is designed for a gamma-ray spectroscopy laboratory with NaI(Tl) counters, but not limited. For this purpose, the system performance is set to sampling rate of 1-kHz with 10-bit resolution using a typical PC sound card with 41-kHz or higher sampling rate and 16-bit resolution ADC with an addition of a shaping circuit. Details of the system and the status of development will be presented. Ping circuit and PC soundcard as typical PC sound card has 41.1kHz or heiger sampling rate and 16bit resolution ADCs. In the conference details of the system and the status of development will be presented.

Comparison between audio-only and audiovisual biofeedback for regulating patients' respiration during four-dimensional radiotherapy

PubMed Central

Yu, Jesang; Choi, Ji Hoon; Ma, Sun Young; Jeung, Tae Sig

2015-01-01

Purpose To compare audio-only biofeedback to conventional audiovisual biofeedback for regulating patients' respiration during four-dimensional radiotherapy, limiting damage to healthy surrounding tissues caused by organ movement. Materials and Methods Six healthy volunteers were assisted by audiovisual or audio-only biofeedback systems to regulate their respirations. Volunteers breathed through a mask developed for this study by following computer-generated guiding curves displayed on a screen, combined with instructional sounds. They then performed breathing following instructional sounds only. The guiding signals and the volunteers' respiratory signals were logged at 20 samples per second. Results The standard deviations between the guiding and respiratory curves for the audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback systems were 21.55% and 23.19%, respectively; the average correlation coefficients were 0.9778 and 0.9756, respectively. The regularities between audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback for six volunteers' respirations were same statistically from the paired t-test. Conclusion The difference between the audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback methods was not significant. Audio-only biofeedback has many advantages, as patients do not require a mask and can quickly adapt to this method in the clinic. PMID:26484309

Microleakage of stainless steel crowns placed on intact and extensively destroyed primary first molars: an in vitro study.

PubMed

Seraj, Bahman; Shahrabi, Mahdi; Motahari, Pouria; Ahmadi, Rahil; Ghadimi, Sara; Mosharafian, Shahram; Mohammadi, Kaveh; Javad Kharazifard, Mohammad

2011-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of residual tooth structure on the microleakage of stainless steel crowns cemented with glass ionomer on primary maxillary and mandibular first molars. Thirty extracted primary molars were divided into 2 groups: group 1 included intact teeth; and group 2 included extensively carious samples. Each tooth received standard preparation, and each crown was luted with G-CEM on its specific specimen. Teeth were loaded vertically and transferred to distilled water. After thermocycling and immersing in methylene blue solution, the teeth were sectioned and examined microscopically for microleakage. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. All specimens (intact and damaged teeth) had microleakage, although most of these presented only minimum microleakage. No statistically significant differences were found in the microleakage of sound and extensively carious teeth on either the buccal (P=.62) or lingual (P=.65) side. Buccal (P=.73) and lingual (P=.63) surfaces showed similar microleakage scores in primary maxillary and mandibular molars. There was no significant difference in the microleakage of sound or extensively carious teeth and primary maxillary or mandibular first molars.

Suppression effect of otoacoustic emissions in term and preterm infants.

PubMed

Jesus, Natália Oliveira de; Angrisani, Rosanna Giaffredo; Maruta, Elaine Colombo; Azevedo, Marisa Frasson de

2016-01-01

This research aims at verifying the occurrence and magnitude of suppression effect of otoacoustic emissions evoked by transient stimulus in term and preterm infants, setting a benchmark for clinical use. The study sample consisted of 40 infants, with a rage of age from five days to four months, without any risk indicators for hearing loss and otoacoustic emissions present at birth: the 20 term and 20 preterm infants spent more than five days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Linear click was presented at 65 dB Sound Pressure Level, in blocks of 15 seconds without noise, and with contralateral noise at 60 dB Sound Pressure Level. The reduced response in the presence of noise indicates positive suppression effect. Mean values of suppression were established and the comparison between the groups was analyzed statistically. Suppression occurred in 100% of the children and did not vary as a function of ear side and between the groups. All children presented suppression regardless of the group. The average suppression obtained on the total population was 0.85 dB. The minimum recommended criterion for clinical use was a reduction of 0.20 dB in the overall response.

Spatial Statistics of Deep-Water Ambient Noise; Dispersion Relations for Sound Waves and Shear Waves

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

propagation in very fine-grained sediments (silt and clay ). OBJECTIVES 1) The scientific objective of the deep-water ambient noise research is to...forces in silts and clays and the role they play in controlling wave speeds and attenuations. On a 2 quantum mechanical level, these forces are... clays . APPROACH 1) Deep-water ambient noise Three deep-diving, autonomous instrument platforms, known as Deep Sound I, II, & III, have been

Sound level exposure of high-risk infants in different environmental conditions.

PubMed

Byers, Jacqueline F; Waugh, W Randolph; Lowman, Linda B

2006-01-01

To provide descriptive information about the sound levels to which high-risk infants are exposed in various actual environmental conditions in the NICU, including the impact of physical renovation on sound levels, and to assess the contributions of various types of equipment, alarms, and activities to sound levels in simulated conditions in the NICU. Descriptive and comparative design. Convenience sample of 134 infants at a southeastern quarternary children's hospital. A-weighted decibel (dBA) sound levels under various actual and simulated environmental conditions. The renovated NICU was, on average, 4-6 dBA quieter across all environmental conditions than a comparable nonrenovated room, representing a significant sound level reduction. Sound levels remained above consensus recommendations despite physical redesign and staff training. Respiratory therapy equipment, alarms, staff talking, and infant fussiness contributed to higher sound levels. Evidence-based sound-reducing strategies are proposed. Findings were used to plan environment management as part of a developmental, family-centered care, performance improvement program and in new NICU planning.

Pain Perception: Computerized versus Traditional Local Anesthesia in Pediatric Patients.

PubMed

Mittal, M; Kumar, A; Srivastava, D; Sharma, P; Sharma, S

2015-01-01

Local anesthetic injection is one of the most anxiety- provoking procedure for both children and adult patients in dentistry. A computerized system for slow delivery of local anesthetic has been developed as a possible solution to reduce the pain related to the local anesthetic injection. The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare pain perception rates in pediatric patients with computerized system and traditional methods, both objectively and subjectively. It was a randomized controlled study in one hundred children aged 8-12 years in healthy physical and mental state, assessed as being cooperative, requiring extraction of maxillary primary molars. Children were divided into two groups by random sampling - Group A received buccal and palatal infiltration injection using Wand, while Group B received buccal and palatal infiltration using traditional syringe. Visual Analog scale (VAS) was used for subjective evaluation of pain perception by patient. Sound, Eye, Motor (SEM) scale was used as an objective method where sound, eye and motor reactions of patient were observed and heart rate measurement using pulse oximeter was used as the physiological parameter for objective evaluation. Patients experienced significantly less pain of injection with the computerized method during palatal infiltration, while less pain was not statistically significant during buccal infiltration. Heart rate increased during both buccal and palatal infiltration in traditional and computerized local anesthesia, but difference between traditional and computerized method was not statistically significant. It was concluded that pain perception was significantly more during traditional palatal infiltration injection as compared to computerized palatal infiltration, while there was no difference in pain perception during buccal infiltration in both the groups.

Investigation of magnetic transitions through ultrasonic measurements in double-layered CMR manganite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, Y. S.; Vishnuvardhan Reddy, C.

2014-03-01

A polycrystalline, double-layered, colossal magnetoresistive manganite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 is synthesized by sol-gel process and its magnetic and ultrasonic properties were investigated in the temperature range 80-300 K. The sample has Curie temperature at 124 K, where the sample exhibits a transition from paramagnetic insulator to ferromagnetic metallic state. The longitudinal sound velocity measurements show a significant hardening of sound velocity below TC, which may be attributed to the coupling between ferromagnetic spins and longitudinal acoustic phonons. The magnetization and ultrasonic studies reveal the presence of secondary transition at ≈ 260 K in this sample. The present sound velocity measurement results confirm the reliability of ultrasonic investigations as an independent tool to probe magnetic transitions in manganites.

Parent-administered computer-assisted tutoring targeting letter-sound knowledge: Evaluation via multiple-baseline across three preschool students.

PubMed

DuBois, Matthew R; Volpe, Robert J; Burns, Matthew K; Hoffman, Jessica A

2016-12-01

Knowledge of letters sounds has been identified as a primary objective of preschool instruction and intervention. Despite this designation, large disparities exist in the number of letter sounds children know at school entry. Enhancing caregivers' ability to teach their preschool-aged children letter sounds may represent an effective practice for reducing this variability and ensuring that more children are prepared to experience early school success. This study used a non-concurrent multiple-baseline-across-participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of caregivers (N=3) delivering a computer-assisted tutoring program (Tutoring Buddy) targeting letter sound knowledge to their preschool-aged children. Visual analyses and effect size estimates derived from Percentage of All Non-Overlapping Data (PAND) statistics indicated consistent results for letter sound acquisition, as 6weeks of intervention yielded large effects for letter sound knowledge (LSK) across all three children. Large effect sizes were also found for letter sound fluency (LSF) and nonsense word fluency (NWF) for two children. All three caregivers rated the intervention as highly usable and were able to administer it with high levels of fidelity. Taken together, the results of the present study found Tutoring Buddy to be an effective, simple, and usable way for the caregivers to support their children's literacy development. Copyright © 2016 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactive Sound Propagation using Precomputation and Statistical Approximations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antani, Lakulish

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

The Efficacy of a Brief Nature Sound Intervention on Muscle Tension, Pulse Rate, and Self-Reported Stress: Nature Contact Micro-Break in an Office or Waiting Room.

PubMed

Largo-Wight, Erin; O'Hara, Brian K; Chen, W William

2016-10-01

There is a growing recognition that environmental design impacts health and well-being. Nature contact is a design feature or exposure that is especially important in public health and healthcare. To date, there are limited findings on the impact of nature sounds. This experimental study was designed to examine the effect of nature sounds on physiological and psychological stress. Participants were randomized into one of three groups-silence (n = 9), nature sound (n = 17), and classical music (n = 14)-and listened to the assigned sound for 15 min in an office or waiting room-like environment. Pre- and postdata were collected including muscle tension (electromyogram), pulse rate, and self-reported stress. With the exception of pulse rate, there were no statistical differences in baseline or demographics among groups. A paired t-test by group showed a decrease in muscle tension, pulse rate, and self-reported stress in the nature group and no significant differences in the control or the classical music groups. The significant reduction in muscle tension occurred at least by 7 min of listening to the nature sound. This study highlights the potential benefit of even very brief (less than 7 min) exposure to nature sounds. Brief nature sound "booster breaks" are a promising area for future research with important practical implications. © The Author(s) 2016.

Applying cybernetic technology to diagnose human pulmonary sounds.

PubMed

Chen, Mei-Yung; Chou, Cheng-Han

2014-06-01

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

Frog sound identification using extended k-nearest neighbor classifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukahar, Nordiana; Affendi Rosdi, Bakhtiar; Athiar Ramli, Dzati; Jaafar, Haryati

2017-09-01

Frog sound identification based on the vocalization becomes important for biological research and environmental monitoring. As a result, different types of feature extractions and classifiers have been employed to evaluate the accuracy of frog sound identification. This paper presents a frog sound identification with Extended k-Nearest Neighbor (EKNN) classifier. The EKNN classifier integrates the nearest neighbors and mutual sharing of neighborhood concepts, with the aims of improving the classification performance. It makes a prediction based on who are the nearest neighbors of the testing sample and who consider the testing sample as their nearest neighbors. In order to evaluate the classification performance in frog sound identification, the EKNN classifier is compared with competing classifier, k -Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Fuzzy k -Nearest Neighbor (FKNN) k - General Nearest Neighbor (KGNN)and Mutual k -Nearest Neighbor (MKNN) on the recorded sounds of 15 frog species obtained in Malaysia forest. The recorded sounds have been segmented using Short Time Energy and Short Time Average Zero Crossing Rate (STE+STAZCR), sinusoidal modeling (SM), manual and the combination of Energy (E) and Zero Crossing Rate (ZCR) (E+ZCR) while the features are extracted by Mel Frequency Cepstrum Coefficient (MFCC). The experimental results have shown that the EKNCN classifier exhibits the best performance in terms of accuracy compared to the competing classifiers, KNN, FKNN, GKNN and MKNN for all cases.

Correspondence between sound propagation in discrete and continuous random media with application to forest acoustics.

PubMed

Ostashev, Vladimir E; Wilson, D Keith; Muhlestein, Michael B; Attenborough, Keith

2018-02-01

Although sound propagation in a forest is important in several applications, there are currently no rigorous yet computationally tractable prediction methods. Due to the complexity of sound scattering in a forest, it is natural to formulate the problem stochastically. In this paper, it is demonstrated that the equations for the statistical moments of the sound field propagating in a forest have the same form as those for sound propagation in a turbulent atmosphere if the scattering properties of the two media are expressed in terms of the differential scattering and total cross sections. Using the existing theories for sound propagation in a turbulent atmosphere, this analogy enables the derivation of several results for predicting forest acoustics. In particular, the second-moment parabolic equation is formulated for the spatial correlation function of the sound field propagating above an impedance ground in a forest with micrometeorology. Effective numerical techniques for solving this equation have been developed in atmospheric acoustics. In another example, formulas are obtained that describe the effect of a forest on the interference between the direct and ground-reflected waves. The formulated correspondence between wave propagation in discrete and continuous random media can also be used in other fields of physics.

Enhancement of acoustical performance of hollow tube sound absorber

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

Putra, Azma, E-mail: azma.putra@utem.edu.my; Khair, Fazlin Abd, E-mail: fazlinabdkhair@student.utem.edu.my; Nor, Mohd Jailani Mohd, E-mail: jai@utem.edu.my

This paper presents acoustical performance of hollow structures utilizing the recycled lollipop sticks as acoustic absorbers. The hollow cross section of the structures is arranged facing the sound incidence. The effects of different length of the sticks and air gap on the acoustical performance are studied. The absorption coefficient was measured using impedance tube method. Here it is found that improvement on the sound absorption performance is achieved by introducing natural kapok fiber inserted into the void between the hollow structures. Results reveal that by inserting the kapok fibers, both the absorption bandwidth and the absorption coefficient increase. For testmore » sample backed by a rigid surface, best performance of sound absorption is obtained for fibers inserted at the front and back sides of the absorber. And for the case of test sample with air gap, this is achieved for fibers introduced only at the back side of the absorber.« less

Enhancement of acoustical performance of hollow tube sound absorber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putra, Azma; Khair, Fazlin Abd; Nor, Mohd Jailani Mohd

2016-03-01

This paper presents acoustical performance of hollow structures utilizing the recycled lollipop sticks as acoustic absorbers. The hollow cross section of the structures is arranged facing the sound incidence. The effects of different length of the sticks and air gap on the acoustical performance are studied. The absorption coefficient was measured using impedance tube method. Here it is found that improvement on the sound absorption performance is achieved by introducing natural kapok fiber inserted into the void between the hollow structures. Results reveal that by inserting the kapok fibers, both the absorption bandwidth and the absorption coefficient increase. For test sample backed by a rigid surface, best performance of sound absorption is obtained for fibers inserted at the front and back sides of the absorber. And for the case of test sample with air gap, this is achieved for fibers introduced only at the back side of the absorber.

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

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

This intervention study investigated the growth of letter sound reading and growth of consonant–vowel–consonant (CVC) word decoding abilities for a representative sample of 41 US children in preschool settings. Specifically, the study evaluated the effectiveness of a 3-step letter-sound teaching intervention in teaching pre-school children to decode, or read, single letters. The study compared a control group, which received the preschool’s standard letter-sound instruction, to an intervention group which received a 3-step letter-sound instruction intervention. The children’s growth in letter-sound reading and CVC word decoding abilities were assessed at baseline and 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. When compared to the control group, the growth of letter-sound reading ability was slightly higher for the intervention group. The rate of increase in letter-sound reading was significantly faster for the intervention group. In both groups, too few children learned to decode any CVC words to allow for analysis. Results of this study support the use of the intervention strategy in preschools for teaching children print-to-sound processing. PMID:26839494

Highly efficient isolation of waterborne sound by an air-sealed meta-screen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Xiaoxue; Qiu, Chunyin; Wen, Xinhua; Peng, Shasha; Ke, Manzhu; Liu, Zhengyou

2017-05-01

Underwater sound isolation has been a long-standing fundamental issue in industry and military fields. Starting from a simple theoretical model, here an air-sealed meta-screen is proposed to overcome this problem. Comparing with the sample without filling air, the effective impedance of the air-sealed one is greatly reduced and strikingly mismatch with water, accompanying another merit of low sound speed. Deeply suppressed sound transmission (˜50 dB) through such a meta-screen is observed experimentally over a wide range of ultrasonic frequencies and incident angles.

Confidence limits and sample size for determining nonhost status of fruits and vegetables to tephritid fruit flies as a quarantine measure.

PubMed

Follett, Peter A; Hennessey, Michael K

2007-04-01

Quarantine measures including treatments are applied to exported fruit and vegetable commodities to control regulatory fruit fly pests and to reduce the likelihood of their introduction into new areas. Nonhost status can be an effective measure used to achieve quarantine security. As with quarantine treatments, nonhost status can stand alone as a measure if there is high efficacy and statistical confidence. The numbers of insects or fruit tested during investigation of nonhost status will determine the level of statistical confidence. If the level of confidence of nonhost status is not high, then additional measures may be required to achieve quarantine security as part of a systems approach. Certain countries require that either 99.99 or 99.9968% mortality, as a measure of efficacy, at the 95% confidence level, be achieved by a quarantine treatment to meet quarantine security. This article outlines how the level of confidence in nonhost status can be quantified so that its equivalency to traditional quarantine treatments may be demonstrated. Incorporating sample size and confidence levels into host status testing protocols along with efficacy will lead to greater consistency by regulatory decision-makers in interpreting results and, therefore, to more technically sound decisions on host status.

Abundance of Vibrio cholerae, V. vulnificus, and V. parahaemolyticus in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) from Long Island sound.

PubMed

Jones, Jessica L; Lüdeke, Catharina H M; Bowers, John C; DeRosia-Banick, Kristin; Carey, David H; Hastback, William

2014-12-01

Vibriosis is a leading cause of seafood-associated morbidity and mortality in the United States. Typically associated with consumption of raw or undercooked oysters, vibriosis associated with clam consumption is increasingly being reported. However, little is known about the prevalence of Vibrio spp. in clams. The objective of this study was to compare the levels of Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in oysters and clams harvested concurrently from Long Island Sound (LIS). Most probable number (MPN)-real-time PCR methods were used for enumeration of total V. cholerae, V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus, and pathogenic (tdh(+) and/or trh(+)) V. parahaemolyticus. V. cholerae was detected in 8.8% and 3.3% of oyster (n = 68) and clam (n = 30) samples, with levels up to 1.48 and 0.48 log MPN/g in oysters and clams, respectively. V. vulnificus was detected in 97% and 90% of oyster and clam samples, with median levels of 0.97 and -0.08 log MPN/g, respectively. V. parahaemolyticus was detected in all samples, with median levels of 1.88 and 1.07 log MPN/g for oysters and clams, respectively. The differences between V. vulnificus and total and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus levels in the two shellfish species were statistically significant (P < 0.001). These data indicate that V. vulnificus and total and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus are more prevalent and are present at higher levels in oysters than in hard clams. Additionally, the data suggest differences in vibrio populations between shellfish harvested from different growing area waters within LIS. These results can be used to evaluate and refine illness mitigation strategies employed by risk managers and shellfish control authorities. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Sound radiation from randomly vibrating beams of finite circular cross section

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutterlin, M. W.; Pierce, A. D.

1976-01-01

The radiation of sound from vibrating cylindrical beams is analyzed based on the frequency of the beam vibrations and the physical characteristics of the beam and its surroundings. A statistical analysis of random beam vibrations allows this result to be independent of the boundary conditions at the ends of the beam. The acoustic power radiated by the beam can be determined from a knowledge of the frequency band vibration data without a knowledge of the individual modal vibration amplitudes. A practical example of the usefulness of this technique is provided by the application of the theoretical calculations to the prediction of the octave band acoustic power output of the picking sticks of an automatic textile loom. Calculations are made of the expected octave band sound pressure levels based on measured acceleration data. These theoretical levels are subsequently compared with actual sound pressure level measurements of loom noise.

Geographic patterns of fishes and jellyfish in Puget Sound surface waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rice, Casimir A.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Greene, Correigh M.; Karr, James R.

2012-01-01

We explored patterns of small pelagic fish assemblages and biomass of gelatinous zooplankton (jellyfish) in surface waters across four oceanographic subbasins of greater Puget Sound. Our study is the first to collect data documenting biomass of small pelagic fishes and jellyfish throughout Puget Sound; sampling was conducted opportunistically as part of a juvenile salmon survey of daytime monthly surface trawls at 52 sites during May–August 2003. Biomass composition differed spatially and temporally, but spatial differences were more distinct. Fish dominated in the two northern basins of Puget Sound, whereas jellyfish dominated in the two southern basins. Absolute and relative abundance of jellyfish, hatchery Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, and chum salmon O. keta decreased with increasing latitude, whereas the absolute and relative abundance of most fish species and the average fish species richness increased with latitude. The abiotic factors with the strongest relationship to biomass composition were latitude, water clarity, and sampling date. Further study is needed to understand the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the taxonomic composition we observed in Puget Sound surface waters, especially as they relate to natural and anthropogenic influences.

Modeling Signal-to-Noise Ratio of Otoacoustic Emissions in Workers Exposed to Different Industrial Noise Levels

PubMed Central

Nassiri, Parvin; Zare, Sajad; Monazzam, Mohammad R.; Pourbakht, Akram; Azam, Kamal; Golmohammadi, Taghi

2016-01-01

Introduction: Noise is considered as the most common cause of harmful physical effects in the workplace. A sound that is generated from within the inner ear is known as an otoacoustic emission (OAE). Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) assess evoked emission and hearing capacity. The aim of this study was to assess the signal-to-noise ratio in different frequencies and at different times of the shift work in workers exposed to various levels of noise. It was also aimed to provide a statistical model for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of OAEs in different frequencies based on the two variables of sound pressure level (SPL) and exposure time. Materials and Methods: This case–control study was conducted on 45 workers during autumn 2014. The workers were divided into three groups based on the level of noise exposure. The SNR was measured in frequencies of 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz in both ears, and in three different time intervals during the shift work. According to the inclusion criterion, SNR of 6 dB or greater was included in the study. The analysis was performed using repeated measurements of analysis of variance, spearman correlation coefficient, and paired samples t-test. Results: The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the three exposed groups in terms of the mean values of SNR (P > 0.05). Only in signal pressure levels of 88 dBA with an interval time of 10:30–11:00 AM, there was a statistically significant difference between the right and left ears with the mean SNR values of 3000 frequency (P = 0.038). The SPL had a significant effect on the SNR in both the right and left ears (P = 0.023, P = 0.041). The effect of the duration of measurement on the SNR was statistically significant in both the right and left ears (P = 0.027, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that after noise exposure during the shift, SNR of OAEs reduced from the beginning to the end of the shift. PMID:27991472

Exposure and materiality of the secondary room and its impact on the impulse response of coupled-volume concert halls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermann, Michael; Johnson, Marty

2005-06-01

How does sound decay when one room is partially exposed to another (acoustically coupled)? More specifically, this research aims to quantify how operational and design decisions impact sound fields in the design of concert halls with acoustical coupling. By adding a second room to a concert hall, and designing doors to control the sonic transparency between the two rooms, designers can create a new, coupled acoustic. Concert halls use coupling to achieve a variable, longer, and distinct reverberant quality for their musicians and listeners. For this study a coupled-volume shoebox concert hall is conceived with a fixed geometric volume, form, and primary-room sound absorption. Aperture size and secondary-room sound absorption levels are established as variables. Statistical analysis of sound decay in this simulated hall suggests a highly sensitive relationship between the double-sloped condition and (1) architectural composition, as defined by the aperture size exposing the chamber and (2) materiality, as defined by the sound absorptance in the coupled volume. The theoretical, mathematical predictions are compared with coupled-volume concert hall field measurements and guidelines are suggested for future designs of coupled-volume concert halls.

Impaired Statistical Learning in Developmental Dyslexia

PubMed Central

Thiessen, Erik D.; Holt, Lori L.

2015-01-01

Purpose Developmental dyslexia (DD) is commonly thought to arise from phonological impairments. However, an emerging perspective is that a more general procedural learning deficit, not specific to phonological processing, may underlie DD. The current study examined if individuals with DD are capable of extracting statistical regularities across sequences of passively experienced speech and nonspeech sounds. Such statistical learning is believed to be domain-general, to draw upon procedural learning systems, and to relate to language outcomes. Method DD and control groups were familiarized with a continuous stream of syllables or sine-wave tones, the ordering of which was defined by high or low transitional probabilities across adjacent stimulus pairs. Participants subsequently judged two 3-stimulus test items with either high or low statistical coherence as being the most similar to the sounds heard during familiarization. Results As with control participants, the DD group was sensitive to the transitional probability structure of the familiarization materials as evidenced by above-chance performance. However, the performance of participants with DD was significantly poorer than controls across linguistic and nonlinguistic stimuli. In addition, reading-related measures were significantly correlated with statistical learning performance of both speech and nonspeech material. Conclusion Results are discussed in light of procedural learning impairments among participants with DD. PMID:25860795

Water quality monitoring and data collection in the Mississippi sound

USGS Publications Warehouse

Runner, Michael S.; Creswell, R.

2002-01-01

The United States Geological Survey and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources are collecting data on the quality of the water in the Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico, and streamflow data for its tributaries. The U.S. Geological Survey is collecting continuous water-level data, continuous and discrete water-temperature data, continuous and discrete specific-conductance data, as well as chloride and salinity samples at two locations in the Mississippi Sound and three Corps of Engineers tidal gages. Continuous-discharge data are also being collected at two additional stations on tributaries. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources collects water samples at 169 locations in the Gulf of Mexico. Between 1800 and 2000 samples are collected annually which are analyzed for turbidity and fecal coliform bacteria. The continuous data are made available real-time through the internet and are being used in conjunction with streamflow data, weather data, and sampling data for the monitoring and management of the oyster reefs, the shrimp fishery and other marine species and their habitats.

Metagenomic profiling of microbial composition and antibiotic resistance determinants in Puget Sound.

PubMed

Port, Jesse A; Wallace, James C; Griffith, William C; Faustman, Elaine M

2012-01-01

Human-health relevant impacts on marine ecosystems are increasing on both spatial and temporal scales. Traditional indicators for environmental health monitoring and microbial risk assessment have relied primarily on single species analyses and have provided only limited spatial and temporal information. More high-throughput, broad-scale approaches to evaluate these impacts are therefore needed to provide a platform for informing public health. This study uses shotgun metagenomics to survey the taxonomic composition and antibiotic resistance determinant content of surface water bacterial communities in the Puget Sound estuary. Metagenomic DNA was collected at six sites in Puget Sound in addition to one wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that discharges into the Sound and pyrosequenced. A total of ~550 Mbp (1.4 million reads) were obtained, 22 Mbp of which could be assembled into contigs. While the taxonomic and resistance determinant profiles across the open Sound samples were similar, unique signatures were identified when comparing these profiles across the open Sound, a nearshore marina and WWTP effluent. The open Sound was dominated by α-Proteobacteria (in particular Rhodobacterales sp.), γ-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes while the marina and effluent had increased abundances of Actinobacteria, β-Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. There was a significant increase in the antibiotic resistance gene signal from the open Sound to marina to WWTP effluent, suggestive of a potential link to human impacts. Mobile genetic elements associated with environmental and pathogenic bacteria were also differentially abundant across the samples. This study is the first comparative metagenomic survey of Puget Sound and provides baseline data for further assessments of community composition and antibiotic resistance determinants in the environment using next generation sequencing technologies. In addition, these genomic signals of potential human impact can be used to guide initial public health monitoring as well as more targeted and functionally-based investigations.

Pure detection of the acoustic spin pumping in Pt/YIG/PZT structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchida, Ken-ichi; Qiu, Zhiyong; Kikkawa, Takashi; Saitoh, Eiji

2014-11-01

The acoustic spin pumping (ASP) stands for the generation of a spin voltage from sound waves in a ferromagnet/paramagnet junction. In this letter, we propose and demonstrate a method for pure detection of the ASP, which enables the separation of sound-wave-driven spin currents from the spin Seebeck effect due to the heating of a sample caused by a sound-wave injection. Our demonstration using a Pt/YIG/PZT sample shows that the ASP signal in this structure measured by a conventional method is considerably offset by the heating signal and that the pure ASP signal is one order of magnitude greater than that reported in the previous study.

Incorporating Midbrain Adaptation to Mean Sound Level Improves Models of Auditory Cortical Processing

PubMed Central

Schoppe, Oliver; King, Andrew J.; Schnupp, Jan W.H.; Harper, Nicol S.

2016-01-01

Adaptation to stimulus statistics, such as the mean level and contrast of recently heard sounds, has been demonstrated at various levels of the auditory pathway. It allows the nervous system to operate over the wide range of intensities and contrasts found in the natural world. Yet current standard models of the response properties of auditory neurons do not incorporate such adaptation. Here we present a model of neural responses in the ferret auditory cortex (the IC Adaptation model), which takes into account adaptation to mean sound level at a lower level of processing: the inferior colliculus (IC). The model performs high-pass filtering with frequency-dependent time constants on the sound spectrogram, followed by half-wave rectification, and passes the output to a standard linear–nonlinear (LN) model. We find that the IC Adaptation model consistently predicts cortical responses better than the standard LN model for a range of synthetic and natural stimuli. The IC Adaptation model introduces no extra free parameters, so it improves predictions without sacrificing parsimony. Furthermore, the time constants of adaptation in the IC appear to be matched to the statistics of natural sounds, suggesting that neurons in the auditory midbrain predict the mean level of future sounds and adapt their responses appropriately. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT An ability to accurately predict how sensory neurons respond to novel stimuli is critical if we are to fully characterize their response properties. Attempts to model these responses have had a distinguished history, but it has proven difficult to improve their predictive power significantly beyond that of simple, mostly linear receptive field models. Here we show that auditory cortex receptive field models benefit from a nonlinear preprocessing stage that replicates known adaptation properties of the auditory midbrain. This improves their predictive power across a wide range of stimuli but keeps model complexity low as it introduces no new free parameters. Incorporating the adaptive coding properties of neurons will likely improve receptive field models in other sensory modalities too. PMID:26758822

Contaminant loading to Puget Sound from two marinas. Puget Sound estuary program. Final report, June 1988-October 1988

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

Crecelius, E.A.; Fortman, T.J.; Kiesser, S.L.

1989-07-01

Concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn, PAH's, TBT and FC bacteria were measured in surface sediment, sediment-trap, and water-column samples at two marinas in Puget Sound during summer of 1988. Levels of contaminants inside the marinas were compared with levels outside. TBT had greatest elevation in marina sediments compared to reference sediments. Few of sediments exceeded Puget Sound AET sediment quality values but most did exceed PSDDA screening levels for in-water disposal of dredged sediment. All marinas estimated to contribute less than one percent of total mass loading of Cu, Pb and Zn to main basin of Puget Sound. Contribution ofmore » TBT may be much more significant if antifouling paints are the major source for Puget Sound.« less

[Relations between extraction of wisdom teeth and temporomandibular disorders: a case/control study].

PubMed

Duval, Florian; Leroux, Agathe; Bertaud, Valérie; Meary, Fleur; Le Padellec, Clément; Refuveille, Laura; Lemaire, Arnaud; Sorel, Olivier; Chauvel-Lebret, Dominique

2015-09-01

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of extraction of third molars on the occurrence of temporo-mandibular disorders (TMD). A review of the literature and a case-control study have been conducted. The case-control study compares the frequency of extraction of third molars between the sample with TMD (case) and the sample without TMD (control). The proportion of patients who had undergone extractions of wisdom teeth was higher in the case group than in the control group. The difference was statistically significant when patients had undergone extraction of all four wisdom teeth or when the extraction of four wisdom teeth underwent in one sitting or under general anesthesia. The study of patients in case sample shows that all signs of TMD were more common in patients who had undergone extractions in several sessions and under local anesthesia. The temporomandibular joint sounds are significantly more frequent with local anesthesia. In the case group, 85 to 92% of patients have parafunctions and 5 to 11% have malocclusion. This demonstrates the multifactorial etiology of temporomandibular disorders. © EDP Sciences, SFODF, 2015.

Sound-burst Generator for Measuring Coal Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hadden, W. J. J.; Mills, J. M.; Pierce, A. D.

1982-01-01

Acoustical properties of coal can be measured accurately and with relative ease with aid of digital two-channel sine-wave sound generator. Generator is expected to provide information for development of acoustic devices for measuring thickness of coal in longwall mining. In echo-cancellation measurements, sound bursts are sent to coal sample from opposite directions. Transmitted and reflected amplitudes and phases are measured by transducers to determine coal properties.

Fast mean and variance computation of the diffuse sound transmission through finite-sized thick and layered wall and floor systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decraene, Carolina; Dijckmans, Arne; Reynders, Edwin P. B.

2018-05-01

A method is developed for computing the mean and variance of the diffuse field sound transmission loss of finite-sized layered wall and floor systems that consist of solid, fluid and/or poroelastic layers. This is achieved by coupling a transfer matrix model of the wall or floor to statistical energy analysis subsystem models of the adjacent room volumes. The modal behavior of the wall is approximately accounted for by projecting the wall displacement onto a set of sinusoidal lateral basis functions. This hybrid modal transfer matrix-statistical energy analysis method is validated on multiple wall systems: a thin steel plate, a polymethyl methacrylate panel, a thick brick wall, a sandwich panel, a double-leaf wall with poro-elastic material in the cavity, and a double glazing. The predictions are compared with experimental data and with results obtained using alternative prediction methods such as the transfer matrix method with spatial windowing, the hybrid wave based-transfer matrix method, and the hybrid finite element-statistical energy analysis method. These comparisons confirm the prediction accuracy of the proposed method and the computational efficiency against the conventional hybrid finite element-statistical energy analysis method.

Diel patterns in underwater sounds produced by beluga whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins at John G. Shedd Aquarium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brickman, Jon; Tanchez, Erin; Thomas, Jeanette

2005-09-01

Diel patterns in underwater sounds from five beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and five Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) housed at John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL were studied. Underwater sounds were sampled systematically over 24-h periods by using a battery-operated cassette recorder and an Ithaco 605C hydrophone controlled by a digital timer, which activated every hour and then shut off after 2.5 min. Belugas had 14 sounds and Pacific white-sided dolphins produced 5 sounds. For each species, the use of some sounds was correlated with other sounds. The diel pattern for both species was similar and mostly affected by the presence of humans. Sounds gradually increased after the staff and visitors arrived, peaked during the midday, gradually decreased as closing of the aquarium approached, and was minimal overnight. These data can help identify the best time of day to make recordings and perhaps could be used to examine social, reproductive, or health changes in these captive cetaceans.

Evaluation of a regional monitoring program's statistical power to detect temporal trends in forest health indicators

USGS Publications Warehouse

Perles, Stephanie J.; Wagner, Tyler; Irwin, Brian J.; Manning, Douglas R.; Callahan, Kristina K.; Marshall, Matthew R.

2014-01-01

Forests are socioeconomically and ecologically important ecosystems that are exposed to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors. As such, monitoring forest condition and detecting temporal changes therein remain critical to sound public and private forestland management. The National Parks Service’s Vital Signs monitoring program collects information on many forest health indicators, including species richness, cover by exotics, browse pressure, and forest regeneration. We applied a mixed-model approach to partition variability in data for 30 forest health indicators collected from several national parks in the eastern United States. We then used the estimated variance components in a simulation model to evaluate trend detection capabilities for each indicator. We investigated the extent to which the following factors affected ability to detect trends: (a) sample design: using simple panel versus connected panel design, (b) effect size: increasing trend magnitude, (c) sample size: varying the number of plots sampled each year, and (d) stratified sampling: post-stratifying plots into vegetation domains. Statistical power varied among indicators; however, indicators that measured the proportion of a total yielded higher power when compared to indicators that measured absolute or average values. In addition, the total variability for an indicator appeared to influence power to detect temporal trends more than how total variance was partitioned among spatial and temporal sources. Based on these analyses and the monitoring objectives of theVital Signs program, the current sampling design is likely overly intensive for detecting a 5 % trend·year−1 for all indicators and is appropriate for detecting a 1 % trend·year−1 in most indicators.

Sound Velocities of Iron-Nickel and Iron-Nickel-Silicon Alloys at High Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, R. A.; Jackson, J. M.; Sturhahn, W.; Zhao, J.; Murphy, C. A.

2014-12-01

Seismological and cosmochemical studies suggest Earth's core is primarily composed of iron with ~5 to 10 wt% nickel and some light elements [e.g. 1]. To date, the concentration of nickel and the amount and identity of light elements remain poorly constrained due in part to the difficulty of conducting experimental measurements at core conditions. The vibrational properties of a variety iron alloys paired with seismic observations can help better constrain the composition of the core. We directly measured the partial phonon density of states of bcc- and hcp-structured Fe0.9Ni0.1 and Fe0.85Ni0.1Si0.05 at high pressures. The samples were compressed using a panoramic diamond anvil cell. A subset of the experiments were conducted using neon as a pressure transmitting medium. Measurements of high statistical quality were performed with nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (NRIXS) at sector 3-ID-B of the Advanced Photon Source [2, 3, 4]. The unit cell volume of each sample was determined at each compression point with in-situ x-ray diffraction at sector 3-ID-B before and after each NRIXS measurement. The Debye, compressional, and shear sound velocities were determined from the low energy region of the partial phonon density of states paired with the volume measurements. We will present partial phonon density of states and sound velocities for Fe0.9Ni0.1 and Fe0.85Ni0.1Si0.05 at high-pressure and compare with those of pure iron. References: [1] McDonough, W.F. (2004): Compositional Model for the Earth's Core. Elsevier Ltd., Oxford. [2] Murphy, C.A., J.M. Jackson, W. Sturhahn, and B. Chen (2011): Melting and thermal pressure of hcp-Fe from the phonon density of states, Phys. Earth Planet. Int., doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2011.07.001. [3] Murphy, C.A., J.M. Jackson, W. Sturhahn, and B. Chen (2011): Grüneisen parameter of hcp-Fe to 171 GPa, Geophys. Res. Lett., doi:10.1029/2011GL049531. [4] Murphy, C.A., J.M. Jackson, and W. Sturhahn (2013): Experimental constraints on the thermodynamics and sound velocities of hcp-Fe to core pressures, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1002/jgrb.50166.

Creep rupture of fiber bundles: A molecular dynamics investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linga, G.; Ballone, P.; Hansen, Alex

2015-08-01

The creep deformation and eventual breaking of polymeric samples under a constant tensile load F is investigated by molecular dynamics based on a particle representation of the fiber bundle model. The results of the virtual testing of fibrous samples consisting of 40 000 particles arranged on Nc=400 chains reproduce characteristic stages seen in the experimental investigations of creep in polymeric materials. A logarithmic plot of the bundle lifetime τ versus load F displays a marked curvature, ruling out a simple power-law dependence of τ on F . A power law τ ˜F-4 , however, is recovered at high load. We discuss the role of reversible bond breaking and formation on the eventual fate of the sample and simulate a different type of creep testing, imposing a constant stress rate on the sample up to its breaking point. Our simulations, relying on a coarse-grained representation of the polymer structure, introduce new features into the standard fiber bundle model, such as real-time dynamics, inertia, and entropy, and open the way to more detailed models, aiming at material science aspects of polymeric fibers, investigated within a sound statistical mechanics framework.

Ultrasound transmission measurements for tensile strength evaluation of tablets.

PubMed

Simonaho, Simo-Pekka; Takala, T Aleksi; Kuosmanen, Marko; Ketolainen, Jarkko

2011-05-16

Ultrasound transmission measurements were performed to evaluate the tensile strength of tablets. Tablets consisting of one ingredient were compressed from dibasic calcium phosphate dehydrate, two grades of microcrystalline cellulose and two grades of lactose monohydrate powders. From each powder, tablets with five different tensile strengths were directly compressed. Ultrasound transmission measurements were conducted on every tablet at frequencies of 2.25 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz and the speed of sound was calculated from the acquired waveforms. The tensile strength of the tablets was determined using a diametrical mechanical testing machine and compared to the calculated speed of sound values. It was found that the speed of sound increased with the tensile strength for the tested excipients. There was a good correlation between the speed of sound and tensile strength. Moreover, based on the statistical tests, the groups with different tensile strengths can be differentiated from each other by measuring the speed of sound. Thus, the ultrasound transmission measurement technique is a potentially useful method for non-destructive and fast evaluation of the tensile strength of tablets. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of localisation to auditory stimulation in post-comatose states: use the patient’s own name

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background At present, there is no consensus on how to clinically assess localisation to sound in patients recovering from coma. We here studied auditory localisation using the patient’s own name as compared to a meaningless sound (i.e., ringing bell). Methods Eighty-six post-comatose patients diagnosed with a vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome or a minimally conscious state were prospectively included. Localisation of auditory stimulation (i.e., head or eyes orientation toward the sound) was assessed using the patient’s own name as compared to a ringing bell. Statistical analyses used binomial testing with bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Results 37 (43%) out of the 86 studied patients showed localisation to auditory stimulation. More patients (n=34, 40%) oriented the head or eyes to their own name as compared to sound (n=20, 23%; p<0.001). Conclusions When assessing auditory function in disorders of consciousness, using the patient’s own name is here shown to be more suitable to elicit a response as compared to neutral sound. PMID:23506054

Detection and Classification of Motor Vehicle Noise in a Forested Landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Casey L.; Reed, Sarah E.; Dietz, Matthew S.; Fristrup, Kurt M.

2013-11-01

Noise emanating from human activity has become a common addition to natural soundscapes and has the potential to harm wildlife and erode human enjoyment of nature. In particular, motor vehicles traveling along roads and trails produce high levels of both chronic and intermittent noise, eliciting varied responses from a wide range of animal species. Anthropogenic noise is especially conspicuous in natural areas where ambient background sound levels are low. In this article, we present an acoustic method to detect and analyze motor vehicle noise. Our approach uses inexpensive consumer products to record sound, sound analysis software to automatically detect sound events within continuous recordings and measure their acoustic properties, and statistical classification methods to categorize sound events. We describe an application of this approach to detect motor vehicle noise on paved, gravel, and natural-surface roads, and off-road vehicle trails in 36 sites distributed throughout a national forest in the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA. These low-cost, unobtrusive methods can be used by scientists and managers to detect anthropogenic noise events for many potential applications, including ecological research, transportation and recreation planning, and natural resource management.

Average ozone vertical distribution at Sodankyla based on the 1988-1991 ozone sounding data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kyro, Esko; Rummukainen, Markku; Taalas, Petteri; Supperi, Ari

1994-01-01

The study presents the statistical analysis of ozone sonde data obtained at Sodankyla (67.4 deg N, 26.6 deg E) from the beginning of the sounding program on March 1988 to the end of December 1991. The Sodankyla sounding data offers the longest continuous record of the ozone vertical distribution in the European Arctic. In this paper, we present the average ozone partial pressures within each 1 km column obtained for different seasons during the almost four year long period. We believe that the data represented here are useful as an interim reference ozone atmosphere, especially considering the fact that northern Scandinavia has become a popular campaign site for the big international ozone experiments.

Azadinium Species Detection in Puget Sound, Washington State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, K. J.; Trainer, V. L.; Adams, N. G.

2017-12-01

Species of the genus Azadinium, including A. spinosum, A. obesum, and A. poporum, were first detected in Puget Sound, Washington State, in 2014. Azadinium spinosum and A. poporum are known to produce azaspiracids (AZAs), toxins that can cause a syndrome in humans known as azaspiracid shellfish poisoning. Symptoms following the ingestion of shellfish contaminated with AZAs include chills, headaches, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. In our study conducted in summer 2017, seawater samples collected weekly at <8 sites and monthly at <31 sites in Puget Sound, were used to determine the presence, abundance, and distribution of Azadinium. Deoxyribose nucleic acid was extracted from filtered seawater samples, quantified, analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays. Species-specific probes were used for the detection of A. poporum, A. obesum, and A. spinosum. If none of the three species were detected, the Amphidomataceae assay was used to determine whether other Azadinium species belonging to this family were present. Most samples were below the limit of detection for all three Azadinium species, however several samples had concentrations of cells that were detectable but below the limit of quantification. Concentrations of Azadinium poporum ranging from 5-76 cells/L were consistently detected at Quartermaster Harbor, Quilcene, and Sequim Bay, WA. Although Azadinium spp. were present only in low quantities during the period of our study, we demonstrated the effectiveness of routine analysis of seawater samples using specific qPCR assays to provide an early warning for potentially toxic Azadinium in Puget Sound.

The Relationship Between Crackle Characteristics and Airway Morphology in COPD.

PubMed

Bennett, Surussawadi; Bruton, Anne; Barney, Anna; Havelock, Tom; Bennett, Michael

2015-03-01

Crackles in COPD are believed to be generated by the re-opening of collapsed airways, which result from chronic inflammation, secretions, and loss of cartilaginous support through inflammation. However, it is unclear whether crackle characteristics can be used to identify COPD. This is the first study to examine the relationship between specific added lung sounds (crackles) and measurements of conductive airways and emphysema score obtained from high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in vivo in humans. A predictive relationship might permit the use of lung sounds as a biomarker for COPD. A convenience sample of 26 subjects was recruited into the study and consisted of 9 healthy non-smokers, 9 healthy smokers, and 8 subjects with mild or moderate COPD. Lung sound data were recorded using a digital stethoscope connected to a laptop computer. Airway diameter, emphysema score, and percentage of wall area were measured from HRCT scans. The analysis showed that there were no statistically significant differences in crackle characteristics (the number of crackles per breathing cycle and crackle 2-cycle duration) between the 3 subject groups. Both crackle 2-cycle duration and crackle number showed some significant correlation with airway parameters at some branch generations, but due to the large number of correlations performed, these were consistent with chance findings. Although there were some significant correlations between crackle characteristics and measurements of the conductive airways and emphysema score, the possibility that these correlations have occurred by chance cannot be ruled out. Therefore, this study provides no conclusive evidence that crackle characteristics are related to HRCT variables in COPD. Copyright © 2015 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Snoring significance in patients undergoing home sleep studies.

PubMed

Hunsaker, Darrell H; Riffenburgh, Robert H

2006-05-01

To analyze the impact of snoring, independent of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome on patients referred for home sleep studies and to report a new technology for the reporting of snoring, using sophisticated sound collection and noise-canceling technology. A retrospective statistical review of consecutive anonymous data compiled from questionnaires and digital data of snoring loudness and duration measured at the upper lip during unattended home sleep studies in 4,860 patients referred for snoring and sleep-disturbed breathing. A strong relationship exists between a history of snoring and complaints of daytime sleepiness (80%), obesity (73%), and chronic fatigue (78%) (all yield P<0.001). By contrast, only 42% to 48% of patients without these symptoms complain of snoring. In 3 multiple-regression analyses, the percent of time snoring, average loudness, and peak loudness are all significantly predicted by the apnea hypopnea index (all P<0.003), body mass index (all P<0.001), and age (P=0.014). Daytime sleepiness was strongly predicted by percent time snoring (P=0.014), weakly by average loudness (P=0.046), and not at all by peak loudness (P=0.303). By using a pair of microphones placed at the upper lip, one that samples breath sounds and the other ambient sound and artifact noise, the NovaSOM QSG measures snoring while canceling ambient noise. The clinical impact of snoring on the patient as well as the bed partner, independent of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, is an unrecognized factor in sleep-disturbed breathing. Measurable criteria to define snoring are suggested. Snoring loudness is not measured in most laboratory Polysomnograms. B-3b.

The effects of environmental variability and spatial sampling on the three-dimensional inversion problem.

PubMed

Bender, Christopher M; Ballard, Megan S; Wilson, Preston S

2014-06-01

The overall goal of this work is to quantify the effects of environmental variability and spatial sampling on the accuracy and uncertainty of estimates of the three-dimensional ocean sound-speed field. In this work, ocean sound speed estimates are obtained with acoustic data measured by a sparse autonomous observing system using a perturbative inversion scheme [Rajan, Lynch, and Frisk, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 82, 998-1017 (1987)]. The vertical and horizontal resolution of the solution depends on the bandwidth of acoustic data and on the quantity of sources and receivers, respectively. Thus, for a simple, range-independent ocean sound speed profile, a single source-receiver pair is sufficient to estimate the water-column sound-speed field. On the other hand, an environment with significant variability may not be fully characterized by a large number of sources and receivers, resulting in uncertainty in the solution. This work explores the interrelated effects of environmental variability and spatial sampling on the accuracy and uncertainty of the inversion solution though a set of case studies. Synthetic data representative of the ocean variability on the New Jersey shelf are used.

Design and evaluation of a parametric model for cardiac sounds.

PubMed

Ibarra-Hernández, Roilhi F; Alonso-Arévalo, Miguel A; Cruz-Gutiérrez, Alejandro; Licona-Chávez, Ana L; Villarreal-Reyes, Salvador

2017-10-01

Heart sound analysis plays an important role in the auscultative diagnosis process to detect the presence of cardiovascular diseases. In this paper we propose a novel parametric heart sound model that accurately represents normal and pathological cardiac audio signals, also known as phonocardiograms (PCG). The proposed model considers that the PCG signal is formed by the sum of two parts: one of them is deterministic and the other one is stochastic. The first part contains most of the acoustic energy. This part is modeled by the Matching Pursuit (MP) algorithm, which performs an analysis-synthesis procedure to represent the PCG signal as a linear combination of elementary waveforms. The second part, also called residual, is obtained after subtracting the deterministic signal from the original heart sound recording and can be accurately represented as an autoregressive process using the Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) technique. We evaluate the proposed heart sound model by performing subjective and objective tests using signals corresponding to different pathological cardiac sounds. The results of the objective evaluation show an average Percentage of Root-Mean-Square Difference of approximately 5% between the original heart sound and the reconstructed signal. For the subjective test we conducted a formal methodology for perceptual evaluation of audio quality with the assistance of medical experts. Statistical results of the subjective evaluation show that our model provides a highly accurate approximation of real heart sound signals. We are not aware of any previous heart sound model rigorously evaluated as our proposal. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the Relationship between Energy Density and Net Power (Intensity) in Coupled One-Dimensional Dynamic Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

equation of the statistical energy analysis (SEA) using the procedure indicated in equation (13) [8, 9]. Similarly, one may state the quantities (. (X-)) and...CONGRESS ON ACOUSTICS, July 24-31 1986, Toronto, Canada, Paper D6-1. 5. CUSCHIERI, J.M., Power flow as a compliment to statistical energy analysis and...34Random response of identical one-dimensional subsystems", Journal of Sound and Vibration, 1980, Vol. 70, p. 343-353. 8. LYON, R.H., Statistical Energy Analysis of

Proceedings of the NASTRAN (Tradename) Users’ Colloquium (17th) Held in San Antonio, Texas on 24-28 April 1989

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

statistical energy analysis , the finite clement method, and the power flow method. Experimental solutions are the most common in the literature. The authors of...to the added weights and inertias of the transducers attached to an experimental structure. Statistical energy analysis (SEA) is a computational method...Analysis and Diagnosis," Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 115, No. 3, pp. 405-422 (1987). 8. Lyon, R.L., Statistical Energy Analysis of Dynamical Systems

Genetics of Hearing Loss

MedlinePlus

... Hearing Loss Homepage Basics Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Genetics of Hearing Loss Screening & Diagnosis Types of Hearing Loss About Sound Treatment & Intervention Services Learning Language Bacterial Meningitis Studies Data & Statistics EHDI Annual Data 2016 2015 2014 2013 ...

Hearing Loss in Children

MedlinePlus

... Hearing Loss Homepage Basics Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Genetics of Hearing Loss Screening & Diagnosis Types of Hearing Loss About Sound Treatment & Intervention Services Learning Language Bacterial Meningitis Studies Data & Statistics EHDI Annual Data 2016 2015 2014 2013 ...

Sensor system for heart sound biomonitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maple, Jarrad L.; Hall, Leonard T.; Agzarian, John; Abbott, Derek

1999-09-01

Heart sounds can be utilized more efficiently by medical doctors when they are displayed visually, rather than through a conventional stethoscope. A system whereby a digital stethoscope interfaces directly to a PC will be directly along with signal processing algorithms, adopted. The sensor is based on a noise cancellation microphone, with a 450 Hz bandwidth and is sampled at 2250 samples/sec with 12-bit resolution. Further to this, we discuss for comparison a piezo-based sensor with a 1 kHz bandwidth. A major problem is that the recording of the heart sound into these devices is subject to unwanted background noise which can override the heart sound and results in a poor visual representation. This noise originates from various sources such as skin contact with the stethoscope diaphragm, lung sounds, and other surrounding sounds such as speech. Furthermore we demonstrate a solution using 'wavelet denoising'. The wavelet transform is used because of the similarity between the shape of wavelets and the time-domain shape of a heartbeat sound. Thus coding of the waveform into the wavelet domain is achieved with relatively few wavelet coefficients, in contrast to the many Fourier components that would result from conventional decomposition. We show that the background noise can be dramatically reduced by a thresholding operation in the wavelet domain. The principle is that the background noise codes into many small broadband wavelet coefficients that can be removed without significant degradation of the signal of interest.

Attentional and Contextual Priors in Sound Perception.

PubMed

Wolmetz, Michael; Elhilali, Mounya

2016-01-01

Behavioral and neural studies of selective attention have consistently demonstrated that explicit attentional cues to particular perceptual features profoundly alter perception and performance. The statistics of the sensory environment can also provide cues about what perceptual features to expect, but the extent to which these more implicit contextual cues impact perception and performance, as well as their relationship to explicit attentional cues, is not well understood. In this study, the explicit cues, or attentional prior probabilities, and the implicit cues, or contextual prior probabilities, associated with different acoustic frequencies in a detection task were simultaneously manipulated. Both attentional and contextual priors had similarly large but independent impacts on sound detectability, with evidence that listeners tracked and used contextual priors for a variety of sound classes (pure tones, harmonic complexes, and vowels). Further analyses showed that listeners updated their contextual priors rapidly and optimally, given the changing acoustic frequency statistics inherent in the paradigm. A Bayesian Observer model accounted for both attentional and contextual adaptations found with listeners. These results bolster the interpretation of perception as Bayesian inference, and suggest that some effects attributed to selective attention may be a special case of contextual prior integration along a feature axis.

Attentional and Contextual Priors in Sound Perception

PubMed Central

Wolmetz, Michael; Elhilali, Mounya

2016-01-01

Behavioral and neural studies of selective attention have consistently demonstrated that explicit attentional cues to particular perceptual features profoundly alter perception and performance. The statistics of the sensory environment can also provide cues about what perceptual features to expect, but the extent to which these more implicit contextual cues impact perception and performance, as well as their relationship to explicit attentional cues, is not well understood. In this study, the explicit cues, or attentional prior probabilities, and the implicit cues, or contextual prior probabilities, associated with different acoustic frequencies in a detection task were simultaneously manipulated. Both attentional and contextual priors had similarly large but independent impacts on sound detectability, with evidence that listeners tracked and used contextual priors for a variety of sound classes (pure tones, harmonic complexes, and vowels). Further analyses showed that listeners updated their contextual priors rapidly and optimally, given the changing acoustic frequency statistics inherent in the paradigm. A Bayesian Observer model accounted for both attentional and contextual adaptations found with listeners. These results bolster the interpretation of perception as Bayesian inference, and suggest that some effects attributed to selective attention may be a special case of contextual prior integration along a feature axis. PMID:26882228

Rising tones and rustling noises: Metaphors in gestural depictions of sounds

PubMed Central

Scurto, Hugo; Françoise, Jules; Bevilacqua, Frédéric; Houix, Olivier; Susini, Patrick

2017-01-01

Communicating an auditory experience with words is a difficult task and, in consequence, people often rely on imitative non-verbal vocalizations and gestures. This work explored the combination of such vocalizations and gestures to communicate auditory sensations and representations elicited by non-vocal everyday sounds. Whereas our previous studies have analyzed vocal imitations, the present research focused on gestural depictions of sounds. To this end, two studies investigated the combination of gestures and non-verbal vocalizations. A first, observational study examined a set of vocal and gestural imitations of recordings of sounds representative of a typical everyday environment (ecological sounds) with manual annotations. A second, experimental study used non-ecological sounds whose parameters had been specifically designed to elicit the behaviors highlighted in the observational study, and used quantitative measures and inferential statistics. The results showed that these depicting gestures are based on systematic analogies between a referent sound, as interpreted by a receiver, and the visual aspects of the gestures: auditory-visual metaphors. The results also suggested a different role for vocalizations and gestures. Whereas the vocalizations reproduce all features of the referent sounds as faithfully as vocally possible, the gestures focus on one salient feature with metaphors based on auditory-visual correspondences. Both studies highlighted two metaphors consistently shared across participants: the spatial metaphor of pitch (mapping different pitches to different positions on the vertical dimension), and the rustling metaphor of random fluctuations (rapidly shaking of hands and fingers). We interpret these metaphors as the result of two kinds of representations elicited by sounds: auditory sensations (pitch and loudness) mapped to spatial position, and causal representations of the sound sources (e.g. rain drops, rustling leaves) pantomimed and embodied by the participants’ gestures. PMID:28750071

Using speed of sound imaging to characterize breast density

PubMed Central

Sak, Mark; Duric, Neb; Littrup, Peter; Bey-Knight, Lisa; Ali, Haythem; Vallieres, Patricia; Sherman, Mark E.; Gierach, Gretchen L.

2017-01-01

A population of 165 women with negative mammographic screens also received an ultrasound tomography (UST) exam at the Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) in Detroit, MI. Standard statistical techniques were employed to measure the associations between the various mammographic and UST related density measures and various participant characteristics such as age, weight and height. The Mammographic percent density (MPD) was found to have similar strength associations with UST mean sound speed (Spearman coefficient, rs = 0.722, p < 0.001) and UST median sound speed (rs = 0.737, p < 0.001). Both were stronger than the associations between MPD with two separate measures of UST percent density, a k-means (rs = 0.568, p < 0.001) or a threshold (rs = 0.715, p < 0.001) measure. Segmentation of the UST sound speed images into dense and non-dense volumes showed weak to moderate associations with the mammographically equivalent measures. Relationships were found to be inversely and weakly associated between age and the UST mean sound speed (rs = −0.239, p = 0.002), UST median sound speed (rs = −0.226, p= 0.004) and MPD (rs = −0.204, p= 0.008). Relationships were found to be inversely and moderately associated between BMI and the UST mean sound speed (rs = −0.429, p < 0.001), UST median sound speed (rs = −0.447, p < 0.001) and MPD (rs = −0.489, p < 0.001). The results confirm and strengthen findings presented in previous work indicating that UST sound speed imaging yields viable markers of breast density in a manner consistent with mammography, the current clinical standard. These results lay the groundwork for further studies to assess the role of sound speed imaging in risk prediction. PMID:27692872

VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) simulation experiment for a severe storm environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chesters, D.; Uccellini, L. W.; Mostek, A.

1981-01-01

Radiance fields were simulated for prethunderstorm environments in Oklahoma to demonstrate three points: (1) significant moisture gradients can be seen directly in images of the VISSIR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) channels; (2) temperature and moisture profiles can be retrieved from VAS radiances with sufficient accuracy to be useful for mesoscale analysis of a severe storm environment; and (3) the quality of VAS mesoscale soundings improves with conditioning by local weather statistics. The results represent the optimum retrievability of mesoscale information from VAS radiance without the use of ancillary data. The simulations suggest that VAS data will yield the best soundings when a human being classifies the scene, picks relatively clear areas for retrieval, and applies a "local" statistical data base to resolve the ambiguities of satellite observations in favor of the most probable atmospheric structure.

Nonlinear frequency compression: effects on sound quality ratings of speech and music.

PubMed

Parsa, Vijay; Scollie, Susan; Glista, Danielle; Seelisch, Andreas

2013-03-01

Frequency lowering technologies offer an alternative amplification solution for severe to profound high frequency hearing losses. While frequency lowering technologies may improve audibility of high frequency sounds, the very nature of this processing can affect the perceived sound quality. This article reports the results from two studies that investigated the impact of a nonlinear frequency compression (NFC) algorithm on perceived sound quality. In the first study, the cutoff frequency and compression ratio parameters of the NFC algorithm were varied, and their effect on the speech quality was measured subjectively with 12 normal hearing adults, 12 normal hearing children, 13 hearing impaired adults, and 9 hearing impaired children. In the second study, 12 normal hearing and 8 hearing impaired adult listeners rated the quality of speech in quiet, speech in noise, and music after processing with a different set of NFC parameters. Results showed that the cutoff frequency parameter had more impact on sound quality ratings than the compression ratio, and that the hearing impaired adults were more tolerant to increased frequency compression than normal hearing adults. No statistically significant differences were found in the sound quality ratings of speech-in-noise and music stimuli processed through various NFC settings by hearing impaired listeners. These findings suggest that there may be an acceptable range of NFC settings for hearing impaired individuals where sound quality is not adversely affected. These results may assist an Audiologist in clinical NFC hearing aid fittings for achieving a balance between high frequency audibility and sound quality.

Instrument Modeling and Synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horner, Andrew B.; Beauchamp, James W.

During the 1970s and 1980s, before synthesizers based on direct sampling of musical sounds became popular, replicating musical instruments using frequency modulation (FM) or wavetable synthesis was one of the “holy grails” of music synthesis. Synthesizers such as the Yamaha DX7 allowed users great flexibility in mixing and matching sounds, but were notoriously difficult to coerce into producing sounds like those of a given instrument. Instrument design wizards practiced the mysteries of FM instrument design.

Direct study of minor extra-virgin olive oil components without any sample modification. 1H NMR multisupression experiment: A powerful tool.

PubMed

Ruiz-Aracama, Ainhoa; Goicoechea, Encarnación; Guillén, María D

2017-08-01

Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( 1 H NMR) was employed to study monovarietal commercial Spanish extra-virgin olive oils (EVOO) (Arbequina, Arroniz, Cornicabra, Hojiblanca and Picual). Each sample was analyzed by a standard pulse and by an experiment suppressing the main lipid signals, enabling the detection of signals of minor components. The aim was to determine the possibilities of both 1 H NMR approaches to characterize EVOO composition, focusing on acyl groups, squalene, sterols, triterpene acids/esters, fatty alcohols, wax esters and phenols (lignans, tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal, oleacein, oleokoronal, oleomissional, ligstrodials and oleuropeindials), and to determine hydrolysis and oxidation levels. The signal assignments (in deuterated chloroform) are thoroughly described, identifying for the first time those of the protons of esters of phytol and of geranylgeraniol. Correct signal assignment is fundamental for obtaining sound results when interpreting statistical data from metabolomic studies of EVOO composition and adulteration, making it possible to differentiate and classify oils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bond strength and interfacial morphology of orthodontic brackets bonded to eroded enamel treated with calcium silicate-sodium phosphate salts or resin infiltration.

PubMed

Costenoble, Aline; Vennat, Elsa; Attal, Jean-Pierre; Dursun, Elisabeth

2016-11-01

 To investigate the shear bond strength (SBS) of orthodontic brackets bonded to eroded enamel treated with preventive approaches and to examine the enamel/bracket interfaces.  Ninety-one brackets were bonded to seven groups of enamel samples: sound; eroded; eroded+treated with calcium silicate-sodium phosphate salts (CSP); eroded+infiltrated by ICON ® ; eroded+infiltrated by ICON ® and brackets bonded with 1-month delay; eroded+infiltrated by an experimental resin; and eroded+infiltrated by an experimental resin and brackets bonded with 1-month delay. For each group, 12 samples were tested in SBS and bond failure was assessed with the adhesive remnant index (ARI); one sample was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).  Samples treated with CSP or infiltration showed no significant differences in SBS values with sound samples. Infiltrated samples followed by a delayed bonding showed lower SBS values. All of the values remained acceptable. The ARI scores were significantly higher for sound enamel, eroded, and treated with CSP groups than for all infiltrated samples. SEM examinations corroborated the findings.  Using CSP or resin infiltration before orthodontic bonding does not jeopardize the bonding quality. The orthodontic bonding should be performed shortly after the resin infiltration.

Amino Acid Concentrations in the Hamster Central Auditory System and Long-Term Effects of Intense Tone Exposure

PubMed Central

Godfrey, Donald A.; Kaltenbach, James A.; Chen, Kejian; Ilyas, Omer; Liu, Xiaochen; Licari, Frank; Sacks, Justin; McKnight, Darwin

2015-01-01

Exposure to intense sounds often leads to loss of hearing of environmental sounds and hearing of a monotonous tonal sound not actually present, a condition known as tinnitus. Chronic physiological effects of exposure to intense tones have been reported for animals and should be accompanied by chemical changes present at long times after the intense sound exposure. By using a microdissection mapping procedure combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we have measured concentrations of nine amino acids, including those used as neurotransmitters, in the cochlear nucleus, inferior colliculus, medial geniculate, and auditory cortex of hamsters 5 months after exposure to an intense tone, compared with control hamsters of the same age. No very large differences in amino acid concentrations were found between exposed and control hamsters. However, increases of glutamate and γ-aminobutyrate (GABA) in some parts of the inferior colliculus of exposed hamsters were statistically significant. The most consistent differences between exposed and control hamsters were higher aspartate and lower taurine concentrations in virtually all regions of exposed hamsters, which reached statistical significance in many cases. Although these amino acids are not considered likely neurotransmitters, they indirectly have roles in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, respectively. Thus, there is evidence for small, widespread, long-term increases in excitatory transmission and decreases in inhibitory transmission after a level of acoustic trauma previously shown to produce hearing loss and tinnitus. PMID:22715056

High-spatial-resolution passive microwave sounding systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Staelin, D. H.; Rosenkranz, P. W.

1994-01-01

The principal contributions of this combined theoretical and experimental effort were to advance and demonstrate new and more accurate techniques for sounding atmospheric temperature, humidity, and precipitation profiles at millimeter wavelengths, and to improve the scientific basis for such soundings. Some of these techniques are being incorporated in both research and operational systems. Specific results include: (1) development of the MIT Microwave Temperature Sounder (MTS), a 118-GHz eight-channel imaging spectrometer plus a switched-frequency spectrometer near 53 GHz, for use on the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft, (2) conduct of ER-2 MTS missions in multiple seasons and locations in combination with other instruments, mapping with unprecedented approximately 2-km lateral resolution atmospheric temperature and precipitation profiles, atmospheric transmittances (at both zenith and nadir), frontal systems, and hurricanes, (3) ground based 118-GHz 3-D spectral images of wavelike structure within clouds passing overhead, (4) development and analysis of approaches to ground- and space-based 5-mm wavelength sounding of the upper stratosphere and mesosphere, which supported the planning of improvements to operational weather satellites, (5) development of improved multidimensional and adaptive retrieval methods for atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, (6) development of combined nonlinear and statistical retrieval techniques for 183-GHz humidity profile retrievals, (7) development of nonlinear statistical retrieval techniques for precipitation cell-top altitudes, and (8) numerical analyses of the impact of remote sensing data on the accuracy of numerical weather predictions; a 68-km gridded model was used to study the spectral properties of error growth.

Tracer simulation study of potential solute movement in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kilpatrick, F.A.; Cummings, T. Ray

1972-01-01

A tracer study was conducted in Port Royal Sound to simulate the movement and ultimate pattern of concentration of a solute continuously injected into the flow. A total of 750 pounds of Rhodamine WT dye was injected by boat during a period of 24.8 hours in a line across the Colleton River. During the following 43 days, samples of water were taken at selected points in the sound, and the concentration of dye in the samples was determined by fluorometric analysis. The data obtained in the field study were used with theoretical models to compute the ultimate pattern of concentration of nonconservative and conservative solutes for a hypothetical continuous injection at the site on the Colleton River.

Pure-tone audiometry outside a sound booth using earphone attentuation, integrated noise monitoring, and automation.

PubMed

Swanepoel, De Wet; Matthysen, Cornelia; Eikelboom, Robert H; Clark, Jackie L; Hall, James W

2015-01-01

Accessibility of audiometry is hindered by the cost of sound booths and shortage of hearing health personnel. This study investigated the validity of an automated mobile diagnostic audiometer with increased attenuation and real-time noise monitoring for clinical testing outside a sound booth. Attenuation characteristics and reference ambient noise levels for the computer-based audiometer (KUDUwave) was evaluated alongside the validity of environmental noise monitoring. Clinical validity was determined by comparing air- and bone-conduction thresholds obtained inside and outside the sound booth (23 subjects). Twenty-three normal-hearing subjects (age range, 20-75 years; average age 35.5) and a sub group of 11 subjects to establish test-retest reliability. Improved passive attenuation and valid environmental noise monitoring was demonstrated. Clinically, air-conduction thresholds inside and outside the sound booth, corresponded within 5 dB or less > 90% of instances (mean absolute difference 3.3 ± 3.2 SD). Bone conduction thresholds corresponded within 5 dB or less in 80% of comparisons between test environments, with a mean absolute difference of 4.6 dB (3.7 SD). Threshold differences were not statistically significant. Mean absolute test-retest differences outside the sound booth was similar to those in the booth. Diagnostic pure-tone audiometry outside a sound booth, using automated testing, improved passive attenuation, and real-time environmental noise monitoring demonstrated reliable hearing assessments.

Polynomial Chaos Based Acoustic Uncertainty Predictions from Ocean Forecast Ensembles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dennis, S.

2016-02-01

Most significant ocean acoustic propagation occurs at tens of kilometers, at scales small compared basin and to most fine scale ocean modeling. To address the increased emphasis on uncertainty quantification, for example transmission loss (TL) probability density functions (PDF) within some radius, a polynomial chaos (PC) based method is utilized. In order to capture uncertainty in ocean modeling, Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) now includes ensembles distributed to reflect the ocean analysis statistics. Since the ensembles are included in the data assimilation for the new forecast ensembles, the acoustic modeling uses the ensemble predictions in a similar fashion for creating sound speed distribution over an acoustically relevant domain. Within an acoustic domain, singular value decomposition over the combined time-space structure of the sound speeds can be used to create Karhunen-Loève expansions of sound speed, subject to multivariate normality testing. These sound speed expansions serve as a basis for Hermite polynomial chaos expansions of derived quantities, in particular TL. The PC expansion coefficients result from so-called non-intrusive methods, involving evaluation of TL at multi-dimensional Gauss-Hermite quadrature collocation points. Traditional TL calculation from standard acoustic propagation modeling could be prohibitively time consuming at all multi-dimensional collocation points. This method employs Smolyak order and gridding methods to allow adaptive sub-sampling of the collocation points to determine only the most significant PC expansion coefficients to within a preset tolerance. Practically, the Smolyak order and grid sizes grow only polynomially in the number of Karhunen-Loève terms, alleviating the curse of dimensionality. The resulting TL PC coefficients allow the determination of TL PDF normality and its mean and standard deviation. In the non-normal case, PC Monte Carlo methods are used to rapidly establish the PDF. This work was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research

Biological Sampling and Analysis in Sinclair and Dyes Inlets, Washington: Chemical Analyses for 2007 Puget Sound Biota Study

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

Brandenberger, Jill M.; Suslick, Carolynn R.; Johnston, Robert K.

2008-10-09

Evaluating spatial and temporal trends in contaminant residues in Puget Sound fish and macroinvertebrates are the objectives of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP). In a cooperative effort between the ENVironmental inVESTment group (ENVVEST) and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, additional biota samples were collected during the 2007 PSAMP biota survey and analyzed for chemical residues and stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N). Approximately three specimens of each species collected from Sinclair Inlet, Georgia Basin, and reference locations in Puget Sound were selected for whole body chemical analysis. The muscle tissue of specimens selected formore » chemical analyses were also analyzed for δ13C and δ15N to provide information on relative trophic level and food sources. This data report summarizes the chemical residues for the 2007 PSAMP fish and macro-invertebrate samples. In addition, six Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) samples were necropsied to evaluate chemical residue of various parts of the fish (digestive tract, liver, embryo, muscle tissue), as well as, a weight proportional whole body composite (WBWC). Whole organisms were homogenized and analyzed for silver, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, mercury, 19 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, PCB homologues, percent moisture, percent lipids, δ13C, and δ15N.« less

Development of an Audio Microphone for the Mars Surveyor 98 Lander

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delory, G. T.; Luhmann, J. G.; Curtis, D. W.; Friedman, L. D.; Primbsch, J. H.; Mozer, F. S.

1998-01-01

In December 1999, the next Mars Surveyor Lander will bring the first microphone to the surface of Mars. The Mars Microphone represents a joint effort between the Planetary Society and the University of California at Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory and is riding on the lander as part of the LIDAR instrument package provided by the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. The inclusion of a microphone on the Mars Surveyor Lander represents a unique opportunity to sample for the first time the acoustic environment on the surface, including both natural and lander-generated sounds. Sounds produced by martian meteorology are among the signals to be recorded, including wind and impacts of sand particles on the instrument. Photographs from the Viking orbiters as well as Pathfinder images show evidence of small tornado-like vortices that may be acoustically detected, along with noise generated by static discharges possible during sandstorms. Lander-generated sounds that will be measured include the motion and digging of the lander arm as it gathers soil samples for analysis. Along with these scientific objectives, the Mars Microphone represents a powerful tool for public outreach by providing sound samples on the Internet recorded during the mission. The addition of audio capability to the lander brings us one step closer to a true virtual presence on the Mars surface by complementing the visual capabilities of the Mars Surveyor cameras. The Mars Microphone is contained in a 5 x 5 x 1 cm box, weighs less than 50 g, and uses 0.1 W of power during its most active times. The microphone used is a standard hearing-aid electret. The sound sampling and processing system relies on an RSC-164 speech processor chip, which performs 8-bit A/ D sampling and sound compression. An onboard flight program enables several modes for the instrument, including varying sample ranges of 5 kHz and 20 kHz, and a selectable gain setting with 64x dynamic range. The device automatically triggers on the loudest sound during a collection period for storage in an internal flash memory. Data returned by the lander consist of a compressed time-series acoustic waveform, between 2 and 10 s long, depending on the sample rate. In addition to the discrete waveform. capture, the instrument continuously records the mean power in each of six frequency bands in order to provide an average characterization of the martian acoustic environment. Once the data are retrieved from the telemetry, the compressed time series is expanded into a standard PC-compatible WAV file for analysis, which will include representation in spectral format using FFTs for quantitative characterization of the sound data. The WAV files will be used to share the data with the public via the Internet. The Mars Microphone will thus fulfill a dual role on the Mars Surveyor mission, one as a possible precursor to a more sophisticated acoustic instrument on future landers. and one as a mechanism to increase public awareness of efforts to explore and understand the martian climate and planetary history.

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

Ballachey, B.E.; Kloecker, K.A.

Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed in hair, liver and intestinal samples taken from dead sea otters (Enhydra lutris) collected in spring and summer 1989 from Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island, along the path of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Hair showed significant differences in hydrocarbon concentrations among the three locations, but few significant differences were noted for liver or intestine samples. The highest concentrations of both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were measured in hair samples from Prince William Sound. Hydrocarbon concentrations in intestine and liver samples from the three locations were generally similar and low,more » suggesting that uptake into the tissues was limited, or that hydrocarbons within the tissues had been metabolized by the time samples were collected.« less

Recognition of Frequency Modulated Whistle-Like Sounds by a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and Humans with Transformations in Amplitude, Duration and Frequency.

PubMed

Branstetter, Brian K; DeLong, Caroline M; Dziedzic, Brandon; Black, Amy; Bakhtiari, Kimberly

2016-01-01

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) use the frequency contour of whistles produced by conspecifics for individual recognition. Here we tested a bottlenose dolphin's (Tursiops truncatus) ability to recognize frequency modulated whistle-like sounds using a three alternative matching-to-sample paradigm. The dolphin was first trained to select a specific object (object A) in response to a specific sound (sound A) for a total of three object-sound associations. The sounds were then transformed by amplitude, duration, or frequency transposition while still preserving the frequency contour of each sound. For comparison purposes, 30 human participants completed an identical task with the same sounds, objects, and training procedure. The dolphin's ability to correctly match objects to sounds was robust to changes in amplitude with only a minor decrement in performance for short durations. The dolphin failed to recognize sounds that were frequency transposed by plus or minus ½ octaves. Human participants demonstrated robust recognition with all acoustic transformations. The results indicate that this dolphin's acoustic recognition of whistle-like sounds was constrained by absolute pitch. Unlike human speech, which varies considerably in average frequency, signature whistles are relatively stable in frequency, which may have selected for a whistle recognition system invariant to frequency transposition.

Recognition of Frequency Modulated Whistle-Like Sounds by a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and Humans with Transformations in Amplitude, Duration and Frequency

PubMed Central

Branstetter, Brian K.; DeLong, Caroline M.; Dziedzic, Brandon; Black, Amy; Bakhtiari, Kimberly

2016-01-01

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) use the frequency contour of whistles produced by conspecifics for individual recognition. Here we tested a bottlenose dolphin’s (Tursiops truncatus) ability to recognize frequency modulated whistle-like sounds using a three alternative matching-to-sample paradigm. The dolphin was first trained to select a specific object (object A) in response to a specific sound (sound A) for a total of three object-sound associations. The sounds were then transformed by amplitude, duration, or frequency transposition while still preserving the frequency contour of each sound. For comparison purposes, 30 human participants completed an identical task with the same sounds, objects, and training procedure. The dolphin’s ability to correctly match objects to sounds was robust to changes in amplitude with only a minor decrement in performance for short durations. The dolphin failed to recognize sounds that were frequency transposed by plus or minus ½ octaves. Human participants demonstrated robust recognition with all acoustic transformations. The results indicate that this dolphin’s acoustic recognition of whistle-like sounds was constrained by absolute pitch. Unlike human speech, which varies considerably in average frequency, signature whistles are relatively stable in frequency, which may have selected for a whistle recognition system invariant to frequency transposition. PMID:26863519

Integrating surface and borehole geophysics in ground water studies - an example using electromagnetic soundings in south Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paillet, Frederick; Hite, Laura; Carlson, Matthew

1999-01-01

Time domain surface electromagnetic soundings, borehole induction logs, and other borehole logging techniques are used to construct a realistic model for the shallow subsurface hydraulic properties of unconsolidated sediments in south Florida. Induction logs are used to calibrate surface induction soundings in units of pore water salinity by correlating water sample specific electrical conductivity with the electrical conductivity of the formation over the sampled interval for a two‐layered aquifer model. Geophysical logs are also used to show that a constant conductivity layer model is appropriate for the south Florida study. Several physically independent log measurements are used to quantify the dependence of formation electrical conductivity on such parameters as salinity, permeability, and clay mineral fraction. The combined interpretation of electromagnetic soundings and induction logs was verified by logging three validation boreholes, confirming quantitative estimates of formation conductivity and thickness in the upper model layer, and qualitative estimates of conductivity in the lower model layer.

Speech sound articulation abilities of preschool-age children who stutter.

PubMed

Clark, Chagit E; Conture, Edward G; Walden, Tedra A; Lambert, Warren E

2013-12-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between speech sound articulation and childhood stuttering in a relatively large sample of preschool-age children who do and do not stutter, using the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-2 (GFTA-2; Goldman & Fristoe, 2000). Participants included 277 preschool-age children who do (CWS; n=128, 101 males) and do not stutter (CWNS; n=149, 76 males). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were performed to assess between-group (CWS versus CWNS) differences on the GFTA-2. Additionally, within-group correlations were performed to explore the relation between CWS' speech sound articulation abilities and their stuttering frequency and severity, as well as their sound prolongation index (SPI; Schwartz & Conture, 1988). No significant differences were found between the articulation scores of preschool-age CWS and CWNS. However, there was a small gender effect for the 5-year-old age group, with girls generally exhibiting better articulation scores than boys. Additional findings indicated no relation between CWS' speech sound articulation abilities and their stuttering frequency, severity, or SPI. Findings suggest no apparent association between speech sound articulation-as measured by one standardized assessment (GFTA-2)-and childhood stuttering for this sample of preschool-age children (N=277). After reading this article, the reader will be able to: (1) discuss salient issues in the articulation literature relative to children who stutter; (2) compare/contrast the present study's methodologies and main findings to those of previous studies that investigated the association between childhood stuttering and speech sound articulation; (3) identify future research needs relative to the association between childhood stuttering and speech sound development; (4) replicate the present study's methodology to expand this body of knowledge. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transportation statistics beyond ISTEA : critical gaps and strategic responses

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-01-01

The effectiveness and efficiency of transportation relies heavily on sound information. In response to the growing information gap, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) resurrected several key data-collection programs,...

Pilot study: Exposure and materiality of the secondary room and its impact in the impulse response of coupled-volume concert halls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermann, Michael; Johnson, Marty E.

2002-05-01

What does one room sound like when it is partially exposed to another (acoustically coupled)? More specifically, this research aims to quantify how operational and design decisions impact aural impressions in the design of concert halls with acoustical coupling. By adding a second room to a concert hall, and designing doors to control the sonic transparency between the two rooms, designers can create a new, coupled acoustic. Concert halls use coupling to achieve a variable, longer, and distinct reverberant quality for their musicians and listeners. For this study, a coupled-volume shoebox concert hall was conceived with a fixed geometric volume, form, and primary-room sound absorption. Aperture size and secondary-room sound-absorption levels were established as variables. Statistical analysis of sound decay in this simulated hall suggests a highly sensitive relationship between the double-sloped condition and (1) Architectural composition, as defined by the aperture size exposing the chamber and (2) Materiality, as defined by the sound absorbance in the coupled volume. Preliminary calculations indicate that the double-sloped sound decay condition only appears when the total aperture area is less than 1.5% of the total shoebox surface area and the average absorption coefficient of the coupled volume is less than 0.07.

Statistical signal processing technique for identification of different infected sites of the diseased lungs.

PubMed

Abbas, Ali

2012-06-01

Accurate Diagnosis of lung disease depends on understanding the sounds emanating from lung and its location. Lung sounds are of significance as they supply precise and important information on the health of the respiratory system. In addition, correct interpretation of breath sounds depends on a systematic approach to auscultation; it also requires the ability to describe the location of abnormal finding in relation to bony structures and anatomic landmark lines. Lungs consist of number of lobes; each lung lobe is further subdivided into smaller segments. These segments are attached to each other. Knowledge of the position of the lung segments is useful and important during the auscultation and diagnosis of the lung diseases. Usually the medical doctors give the location of the infection a segmental position reference. Breath sounds are auscultated over the anterior chest wall surface, the lateral chest wall surfaces, and posterior chest wall surface. Adventitious sounds from different location can be detected. It is common to seek confirmation of the sound detection and its location using invasive and potentially harmful imaging diagnosis techniques like x-rays. To overcome this limitation and for fast, reliable, accurate, and inexpensive diagnose a technique is developed in this research for identifying the location of infection through a computerized auscultation system.

Clinical Assessment of the Noise Immune Stethoscope aboard a U.S. Navy Carrier

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-01

Participants rated their confidence in the use of this device to detect heart /lung sounds compared to a traditional stethoscope . A Wilcoxin rank...Figure 15. Median ratings of confidence in the use of the device to detect pathologic heart /lung sounds compared to a traditional stethoscope in...intubation versus heart /lung sounds; figure 16). To assess the ease of use compared to a traditional stethoscope , one-sample Wilcoxin signed rank tests

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics: Biological and Technological Aspects

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

Karpievitch, Yuliya V.; Polpitiya, Ashoka D.; Anderson, Gordon A.

2010-12-01

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics has become the tool of choice for identifying and quantifying the proteome of an organism. Though recent years have seen a tremendous improvement in instrument performance and the computational tools used, significant challenges remain, and there are many opportunities for statisticians to make important contributions. In the most widely used "bottom-up" approach to proteomics, complex mixtures of proteins are first subjected to enzymatic cleavage, the resulting peptide products are separated based on chemical or physical properties and analyzed using a mass spectrometer. The two fundamental challenges in the analysis of bottom-up MS-based proteomics are: (1) Identifying themore » proteins that are present in a sample, and (2) Quantifying the abundance levels of the identified proteins. Both of these challenges require knowledge of the biological and technological context that gives rise to observed data, as well as the application of sound statistical principles for estimation and inference. We present an overview of bottom-up proteomics and outline the key statistical issues that arise in protein identification and quantification.« less

Electromagnetic versus electrical coupling of personal frequency modulation (FM) receivers to cochlear implant sound processors.

PubMed

Schafer, Erin C; Romine, Denise; Musgrave, Elizabeth; Momin, Sadaf; Huynh, Christy

2013-01-01

Previous research has suggested that electrically coupled frequency modulation (FM) systems substantially improved speech-recognition performance in noise in individuals with cochlear implants (CIs). However, there is limited evidence to support the use of electromagnetically coupled (neck loop) FM receivers with contemporary CI sound processors containing telecoils. The primary goal of this study was to compare speech-recognition performance in noise and subjective ratings of adolescents and adults using one of three contemporary CI sound processors coupled to electromagnetically and electrically coupled FM receivers from Oticon. A repeated-measures design was used to compare speech-recognition performance in noise and subjective ratings without and with the FM systems across three test sessions (Experiment 1) and to compare performance at different FM-gain settings (Experiment 2). Descriptive statistics were used in Experiment 3 to describe output differences measured through a CI sound processor. Experiment 1 included nine adolescents or adults with unilateral or bilateral Advanced Bionics Harmony (n = 3), Cochlear Nucleus 5 (n = 3), and MED-EL OPUS 2 (n = 3) CI sound processors. In Experiment 2, seven of the original nine participants were tested. In Experiment 3, electroacoustic output was measured from a Nucleus 5 sound processor when coupled to the electromagnetically coupled Oticon Arc neck loop and electrically coupled Oticon R2. In Experiment 1, participants completed a field trial with each FM receiver and three test sessions that included speech-recognition performance in noise and a subjective rating scale. In Experiment 2, participants were tested in three receiver-gain conditions. Results in both experiments were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Experiment 3 involved electroacoustic-test measures to determine the monitor-earphone output of the CI alone and CI coupled to the two FM receivers. The results in Experiment 1 suggested that both FM receivers provided significantly better speech-recognition performance in noise than the CI alone; however, the electromagnetically coupled receiver provided significantly better speech-recognition performance in noise and better ratings in some situations than the electrically coupled receiver when set to the same gain. In Experiment 2, the primary analysis suggested significantly better speech-recognition performance in noise for the neck-loop versus electrically coupled receiver, but a second analysis, using the best performance across gain settings for each device, revealed no significant differences between the two FM receivers. Experiment 3 revealed monitor-earphone output differences in the Nucleus 5 sound processor for the two FM receivers when set to the +8 setting used in Experiment 1 but equal output when the electrically coupled device was set to a +16 gain setting and the electromagnetically coupled device was set to the +8 gain setting. Individuals with contemporary sound processors may show more favorable speech-recognition performance in noise electromagnetically coupled FM systems (i.e., Oticon Arc), which is most likely related to the input processing and signal processing pathway within the CI sound processor for direct input versus telecoil input. Further research is warranted to replicate these findings with a larger sample size and to develop and validate a more objective approach to fitting FM systems to CI sound processors. American Academy of Audiology.

Normalized inverse characterization of sound absorbing rigid porous media.

PubMed

Zieliński, Tomasz G

2015-06-01

This paper presents a methodology for the inverse characterization of sound absorbing rigid porous media, based on standard measurements of the surface acoustic impedance of a porous sample. The model parameters need to be normalized to have a robust identification procedure which fits the model-predicted impedance curves with the measured ones. Such a normalization provides a substitute set of dimensionless (normalized) parameters unambiguously related to the original model parameters. Moreover, two scaling frequencies are introduced, however, they are not additional parameters and for different, yet reasonable, assumptions of their values, the identification procedure should eventually lead to the same solution. The proposed identification technique uses measured and computed impedance curves for a porous sample not only in the standard configuration, that is, set to the rigid termination piston in an impedance tube, but also with air gaps of known thicknesses between the sample and the piston. Therefore, all necessary analytical formulas for sound propagation in double-layered media are provided. The methodology is illustrated by one numerical test and by two examples based on the experimental measurements of the acoustic impedance and absorption of porous ceramic samples of different thicknesses and a sample of polyurethane foam.

Neural sensitivity to statistical regularities as a fundamental biological process that underlies auditory learning: the role of musical practice.

PubMed

François, Clément; Schön, Daniele

2014-02-01

There is increasing evidence that humans and other nonhuman mammals are sensitive to the statistical structure of auditory input. Indeed, neural sensitivity to statistical regularities seems to be a fundamental biological property underlying auditory learning. In the case of speech, statistical regularities play a crucial role in the acquisition of several linguistic features, from phonotactic to more complex rules such as morphosyntactic rules. Interestingly, a similar sensitivity has been shown with non-speech streams: sequences of sounds changing in frequency or timbre can be segmented on the sole basis of conditional probabilities between adjacent sounds. We recently ran a set of cross-sectional and longitudinal experiments showing that merging music and speech information in song facilitates stream segmentation and, further, that musical practice enhances sensitivity to statistical regularities in speech at both neural and behavioral levels. Based on recent findings showing the involvement of a fronto-temporal network in speech segmentation, we defend the idea that enhanced auditory learning observed in musicians originates via at least three distinct pathways: enhanced low-level auditory processing, enhanced phono-articulatory mapping via the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus and Pre-Motor cortex and increased functional connectivity within the audio-motor network. Finally, we discuss how these data predict a beneficial use of music for optimizing speech acquisition in both normal and impaired populations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuromimetic Sound Representation for Percept Detection and Manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zotkin, Dmitry N.; Chi, Taishih; Shamma, Shihab A.; Duraiswami, Ramani

2005-12-01

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

Symptoms Experienced by Long Term Users of Mobil Phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kucer, Nermin

2007-04-01

In this study was investigated the possible effects of long term usage of mobile phone. The studied symptoms are headache, dizziness, extreme irritation, forgetfulness, neuropsychological discomfort, decrease of the reflex, clicking sound in the ears, and increase in carelessness. This survey study, using questionnaire, was conducted among randomly selected 146 university students in Kocaeli, Turkey. There is no effect on neuropsychological discomfort, increase in carelessness, headache, and clicking sound in the ears, but some statistical evidences are found that mobile phone may cause extreme irritation, decrease of the reflex, dizziness, and forgetfulness.

Validation of the French version of the yale food addiction scale: an examination of its factor structure, reliability, and construct validity in a nonclinical sample.

PubMed

Brunault, Paul; Ballon, Nicolas; Gaillard, Philippe; Réveillère, Christian; Courtois, Robert

2014-05-01

The concept of food addiction has recently been proposed by applying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, criteria for substance dependence to eating behaviour. Food addiction has received increased attention given that it may play a role in binge eating, eating disorders, and the recent increase in obesity prevalence. Currently, there is no psychometrically sound tool for assessing food addiction in French. Our study aimed to test the psychometric properties of a French version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) by establishing its factor structure and construct validity in a nonclinical population. A total of 553 participants were assessed for food addiction (French version of the YFAS) and binge eating behaviour (Bulimic Investigatory Test Edinburgh and Binge Eating Scale). We tested the scale's factor structure (factor analysis for dichotomous data based on tetrachoric correlation coefficients), internal consistency, and construct validity with measures of binge eating. Our results supported a 1-factor structure, which accounted for 54.1% of the variance. This tool had adequate reliability and high construct validity with measures of binge eating in this population, both in its diagnosis and symptom count version. A 2-factor structure explained an additional 9.1% of the variance, and could differentiate between patients with high, compared with low, levels of insight regarding addiction symptoms. In our study, we validated a psychometrically sound French version of the YFAS, both in its symptom count and diagnostic version. Future studies should validate this tool in clinical samples.

Measurement of the absorption coefficient using the sound-intensity technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atwal, M.; Bernhard, R.

1984-01-01

The possibility of using the sound intensity technique to measure the absorption coefficient of a material is investigated. This technique measures the absorption coefficient by measuring the intensity incident on the sample and the net intensity reflected by the sample. Results obtained by this technique are compared with the standard techniques of measuring the change in the reverberation time and the standing wave ratio in a tube, thereby, calculating the random incident and the normal incident adsorption coefficient.

Historical trends in the accumulation of chemicals in Puget Sound. National status and trends program for marine environmental quality: Technical memo

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

Lefkovitz, L.F.; Cullinan, V.I.; Crecelius, E.A.

The purpose of the study is to: (1) continue monitoring historical trends in the concentration of contaminants in Puget Sound sediments, and (2) quantify recent trends in the recovery of contaminated sediments. Results from this study can be compared with those obtained in the 1982 study to determine whether sediment quality is still improving and to estimate the rate of recovery. A statistically significant reduction in sediment contamination over the past 20 years would provide empirical evidence that environmental regulation has had a positive impact on the water quality in Puget Sound. Chemical trends were evaluated from six age-dated sedimentmore » cores collected from the main basin of Puget Sound. Chemical analyses included metals, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCBs and chlorinated pesticides, nutrients (total nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P)), butyl tins, and total organic carbon (TOC). Sedimentation (cm/yr) and deposition rates (g/sq cm/yr) were estimated using a steady-state Pb-210 dating technique.« less

Acoustical evaluation of carbonized and activated cotton nonwovens.

PubMed

Jiang, N; Chen, J Y; Parikh, D V

2009-12-01

An activated carbon fiber nonwoven (ACF) was manufactured from a cotton nonwoven fabric. For the ACF acoustic application, a nonwoven composite of ACF with cotton nonwoven as a base layer was developed. Also produced were the composites of the cotton nonwoven base layer with a layer of glassfiber nonwoven, and the cotton nonwoven base layer with a layer of cotton fiber nonwoven. Their noise absorption coefficients and sound transmission loss were measured using the Brüel and Kjaer impedance tube instrument. Statistical significance of the differences between the composites was tested using the method of Duncan's grouping. The study concluded that the ACF composite exhibited a greater ability to absorb normal incidence sound waves than the composites with either glassfiber or cotton fiber. The analysis of sound transmission loss revealed that the three composites still obeyed the mass law of transmission loss. The composite with the surface layer of cotton fiber nonwoven possessed a higher fabric density and therefore showed a better sound insulation than the composites with glassfiber and ACF.

The GISS sounding temperature impact test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halem, M.; Ghil, M.; Atlas, R.; Susskind, J.; Quirk, W. J.

1978-01-01

The impact of DST 5 and DST 6 satellite sounding data on mid-range forecasting was studied. The GISS temperature sounding technique, the GISS time-continuous four-dimensional assimilation procedure based on optimal statistical analysis, the GISS forecast model, and the verification techniques developed, including impact on local precipitation forecasts are described. It is found that the impact of sounding data was substantial and beneficial for the winter test period, Jan. 29 - Feb. 21. 1976. Forecasts started from initial state obtained with the aid of satellite data showed a mean improvement of about 4 points in the 48 and 772 hours Sub 1 scores as verified over North America and Europe. This corresponds to an 8 to 12 hour forecast improvement in the forecast range at 48 hours. An automated local precipitation forecast model applied to 128 cities in the United States showed on an average 15% improvement when satellite data was used for numerical forecasts. The improvement was 75% in the midwest.

Auditory event perception: the source-perception loop for posture in human gait.

PubMed

Pastore, Richard E; Flint, Jesse D; Gaston, Jeremy R; Solomon, Matthew J

2008-01-01

There is a small but growing literature on the perception of natural acoustic events, but few attempts have been made to investigate complex sounds not systematically controlled within a laboratory setting. The present study investigates listeners' ability to make judgments about the posture (upright-stooped) of the walker who generated acoustic stimuli contrasted on each trial. We use a comprehensive three-stage approach to event perception, in which we develop a solid understanding of the source event and its sound properties, as well as the relationships between these two event stages. Developing this understanding helps both to identify the limitations of common statistical procedures and to develop effective new procedures for investigating not only the two information stages above, but also the decision strategies employed by listeners in making source judgments from sound. The result is a comprehensive, ultimately logical, but not necessarily expected picture of both the source-sound-perception loop and the utility of alternative research tools.

Higher order statistical analysis of /x/ in male speech.

PubMed

Orr, M C; Lithgow, B

2005-03-01

This paper presents a study of kurtosis analysis for the sound /x/ in male speech, /x/ is the sound of the 'o' at the end of words such as 'ago'. The sound analysed for this paper came from the Australian National Database of Spoken Language, more specifically the male speaker 17. The /x/ was isolated and extracted from the database by the author in a quiet booth using standard multimedia software. A 5 millisecond window was used for the analysis as it was shown previously by the author to be the most appropriate size for speech phoneme analysis. The significance of the research presented here is shown in the results where a majority of coefficients had a platykurtic (kurtosis between 0 and 3) value as opposed to the previously held leptokurtic (kurtosis > 3) belief.

Reconsidering barriers to wind power projects: community engagement, developer transparency and place

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

Firestone, Jeremy; Hoen, Ben; Rand, Joseph

In 2016, we undertook a nationally representative wind power perceptions survey of individuals living within 8 km of over 600 projects in the United States, generating 1705 telephone, web, and mail responses. We sought information on a variety of topics, including procedural fairness and its relationship to project attitude, the foci of the present analysis. Here, we present a series of descriptive statistics and regression results, emphasizing those residents who were aware of their local project prior to construction. Sample weighting is employed to account for stratification and non-response. We find that a developer being open and transparent, a communitymore » being able to influence the outcome, and having a say in the planning process are all statistically significant predictors of a process perceived as being ‘fair,’ with an open and transparent developer having the largest effect. We also find developer transparency and ability to influence outcomes to have statistically significant relationships to a more positive attitude, with those findings holding when aesthetics, landscape, and wind turbine sound considerations are controlled for. The results indicate that jurisdictions might consider developing procedures, which ensure citizens are consulted and heard, and benchmarks or best practices for developer interaction with communities and citizens.« less

Reconsidering barriers to wind power projects: community engagement, developer transparency and place

DOE PAGES

Firestone, Jeremy; Hoen, Ben; Rand, Joseph; ...

2017-12-21

In 2016, we undertook a nationally representative wind power perceptions survey of individuals living within 8 km of over 600 projects in the United States, generating 1705 telephone, web, and mail responses. We sought information on a variety of topics, including procedural fairness and its relationship to project attitude, the foci of the present analysis. Here, we present a series of descriptive statistics and regression results, emphasizing those residents who were aware of their local project prior to construction. Sample weighting is employed to account for stratification and non-response. We find that a developer being open and transparent, a communitymore » being able to influence the outcome, and having a say in the planning process are all statistically significant predictors of a process perceived as being ‘fair,’ with an open and transparent developer having the largest effect. We also find developer transparency and ability to influence outcomes to have statistically significant relationships to a more positive attitude, with those findings holding when aesthetics, landscape, and wind turbine sound considerations are controlled for. The results indicate that jurisdictions might consider developing procedures, which ensure citizens are consulted and heard, and benchmarks or best practices for developer interaction with communities and citizens.« less

A strategy for enhancing financial performance: a study of general acute care hospitals in South Korea.

PubMed

Choi, Mankyu; Lee, Keon-Hyung

2008-01-01

In this study, the determinants of hospital profitability were evaluated using a sample of 142 hospitals that had undergone hospital standardization inspections by the South Korea Hospital Association over the 4-year period from 1998 to 2001. The measures of profitability used as dependent variables in this study were pretax return on assets, after-tax return on assets, basic earning power, pretax operating margin, and after-tax operating margin. Among those determinants, it was found that ownership type, teaching status, inventory turnover, and the average charge per adjusted inpatient day positively and statistically significantly affected all 5 of these profitability measures. However, the labor expenses per adjusted inpatient day and administrative expenses per adjusted inpatient day negatively and statistically significantly affected all 5 profitability measures. The debt ratio negatively and statistically significantly affected all 5 profitability measures, with the exception of basic earning power. None of the market factors assessed were shown to significantly affect profitability. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that the profitability of hospitals can be improved despite deteriorating external environmental conditions by facilitating the formation of sound financial structures with optimal capital supplies, optimizing the management of total assets with special emphasis placed on inventory management, and introducing efficient control of fixed costs including labor and administrative expenses.

A four-part setting on examining the anxiety-provoking capacity of the sound of dental equipment.

PubMed

Wong, Hai Ming; Mak, Cheuk Ming; Xu, Ying Feng

2011-01-01

This paper reports the results of a four-part questionnaire survey to assess the effects of the sound of dental equipment on people's perceptions and dental anxiety levels. The convenience sample for the survey comprised 230 dental students and 230 gender and age matched non-dental university students. The subjects were requested to complete the questionnaires themselves. The results show that the sound of dental equipment has a great influence on dental anxiety. Dental students, who are more familiar with the operation of this equipment, are less prone to anxiety when they hear its sound than their non-dental counterparts.

Observation of fast sound in disparate-mass gas mixtures by light scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wegdam, G. H.; Bot, Arjen; Schram, R. P. C.; Schaink, H. M.

1989-12-01

We performed light-scattering experiments on a mixture of hydrogen and argon. By varying the density of the sample, we can probe the range of reduced wave vectors in which Campa and Cohen [Phys. Rev. A 39, 4909 (1989)] predicted, in dilute disparate-mass gas mixtures, the onset of a mode supported by the light particles: the fast sound mode. The presence of the additional sound mode can be established most conveniently by analyzing ω2I(k,ω) rather than I(k,ω). Our results for the shift of fast and slow sound match the theoretical predictions very well.

Time-domain electromagnetic soundings collected in Dawson County, Nebraska, 2007-09

USGS Publications Warehouse

Payne, Jason; Teeple, Andrew

2011-01-01

Between April 2007 and November 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Central Platte Natural Resources District, collected time-domain electro-magnetic (TDEM) soundings at 14 locations in Dawson County, Nebraska. The TDEM soundings provide information pertaining to the hydrogeology at each of 23 sites at the 14 locations; 30 TDEM surface geophysical soundings were collected at the 14 locations to develop smooth and layered-earth resistivity models of the subsurface at each site. The soundings yield estimates of subsurface electrical resistivity; variations in subsurface electrical resistivity can be correlated with hydrogeologic and stratigraphic units. Results from each sounding were used to calculate resistivity to depths of approximately 90-130 meters (depending on loop size) below the land surface. Geonics Protem 47 and 57 systems, as well as the Alpha Geoscience TerraTEM, were used to collect the TDEM soundings (voltage data from which resistivity is calculated). For each sounding, voltage data were averaged and evaluated statistically before inversion (inverse modeling). Inverse modeling is the process of creating an estimate of the true distribution of subsurface resistivity from the mea-sured apparent resistivity obtained from TDEM soundings. Smooth and layered-earth models were generated for each sounding. A smooth model is a vertical delineation of calculated apparent resistivity that represents a non-unique estimate of the true resistivity. Ridge regression (Interpex Limited, 1996) was used by the inversion software in a series of iterations to create a smooth model consisting of 24-30 layers for each sounding site. Layered-earth models were then generated based on results of smooth modeling. The layered-earth models are simplified (generally 1 to 6 layers) to represent geologic units with depth. Throughout the area, the layered-earth models range from 2 to 4 layers, depending on observed inflections in the raw data and smooth model inversions. The TDEM data collected were considered good results on the basis of root mean square errors calculated after inversion modeling, comparisons with borehole geophysical logging, and repeatability.

Estimation of suspended sediment concentration from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) instrument: A case study of Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwinovantyo, Angga; Manik, Henry M.; Prartono, Tri; Susilohadi; Ilahude, Delyuzar

2017-01-01

Measurement of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is one of the parameters needed to determine the characteristics of sediment transport. However, the measurement of SSC nowadays still uses conventional technique and it has limitations; especially in temporal resolution. With advanced technology, the measurement can use hydroacoustic technology such as Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). ADCP measures the intensity of backscatter as echo intensity unit from sediment particles. The frequency of ADCP used in this study was 400 kHz. The samples were measured and collected from Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi. The highest concentration of suspended sediment was 98.89 mg L-1 and the lowest was 45.20 mg L-1. Time series data showed the tidal condition affected the SSC. From the research, we also made correction from sound signal losses effect such as spherical spreading and sound absorption to get more accurate results by eliminating these parameters in echo intensity data. Simple linear regression analysis at echo intensity measured from ADCP to direct measurement of SSC was performed to obtain the estimation of the SSC. The comparison result of estimation of SSC from ADCP measurements and SSC from laboratory analyses was insignificantly different based on t-test statistical analysis with 95% confidence interval percentage.

Say what? Coral reef sounds as indicators of community assemblages and reef conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mooney, T. A.; Kaplan, M. B.

2016-02-01

Coral reefs host some of the highest diversity of life on the planet. Unfortunately, reef health and biodiversity is declining or is threatened as a result of climate change and human influences. Tracking these changes is necessary for effective resource management, yet estimating marine biodiversity and tracking trends in ecosystem health is a challenging and expensive task, especially in many pristine reefs which are remote and difficult to access. Many fishes, mammals and invertebrates make sound. These sounds are reflective of a number of vital biological processes and are a cue for settling reef larvae. Biological sounds may be a means to quantify ecosystem health and biodiversity, however the relationship between coral reef soundscapes and the actual taxa present remains largely unknown. This study presents a comparative evaluation of the soundscape of multiple reefs, naturally differing in benthic cover and fish diversity, in the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park. Using multiple recorders per reef we characterized spacio-temporal variation in biological sound production within and among reefs. Analyses of sounds recorded over 4 summer months indicated diel trends in both fish and snapping shrimp acoustic frequency bands with crepuscular peaks at all reefs. There were small but statistically significant acoustic differences among sites on a given reef raising the possibility of potentially localized acoustic habitats. The strength of diel trends in lower, fish-frequency bands were correlated with coral cover and fish density, yet no such relationship was found with shrimp sounds suggesting that fish sounds may be of higher relevance to tracking certain coral reef conditions. These findings indicate that, in spite of considerable variability within reef soundscapes, diel trends in low-frequency sound production reflect reef community assemblages. Further, monitoring soundscapes may be an efficient means of establishing and monitoring reef conditions.

Metagenomic Profiling of Microbial Composition and Antibiotic Resistance Determinants in Puget Sound

PubMed Central

Port, Jesse A.; Wallace, James C.; Griffith, William C.; Faustman, Elaine M.

2012-01-01

Human-health relevant impacts on marine ecosystems are increasing on both spatial and temporal scales. Traditional indicators for environmental health monitoring and microbial risk assessment have relied primarily on single species analyses and have provided only limited spatial and temporal information. More high-throughput, broad-scale approaches to evaluate these impacts are therefore needed to provide a platform for informing public health. This study uses shotgun metagenomics to survey the taxonomic composition and antibiotic resistance determinant content of surface water bacterial communities in the Puget Sound estuary. Metagenomic DNA was collected at six sites in Puget Sound in addition to one wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that discharges into the Sound and pyrosequenced. A total of ∼550 Mbp (1.4 million reads) were obtained, 22 Mbp of which could be assembled into contigs. While the taxonomic and resistance determinant profiles across the open Sound samples were similar, unique signatures were identified when comparing these profiles across the open Sound, a nearshore marina and WWTP effluent. The open Sound was dominated by α-Proteobacteria (in particular Rhodobacterales sp.), γ-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes while the marina and effluent had increased abundances of Actinobacteria, β-Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. There was a significant increase in the antibiotic resistance gene signal from the open Sound to marina to WWTP effluent, suggestive of a potential link to human impacts. Mobile genetic elements associated with environmental and pathogenic bacteria were also differentially abundant across the samples. This study is the first comparative metagenomic survey of Puget Sound and provides baseline data for further assessments of community composition and antibiotic resistance determinants in the environment using next generation sequencing technologies. In addition, these genomic signals of potential human impact can be used to guide initial public health monitoring as well as more targeted and functionally-based investigations. PMID:23144718

A statistical evaluation and comparison of VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jedlovec, G. J.

1984-01-01

In order to account for the temporal and spatial discrepancies between the VAS and rawinsonde soundings, the rawinsonde data were adjusted to a common hour of release where the new observation time corresponded to the satellite scan time. Both the satellite and rawinsonde observations of the basic atmospheric parameters (T Td, and Z) were objectively analyzed to a uniform grid maintaining the same mesoscale structure in each data set. The performance of each retrieval algorithm in producing accurate and representative soundings was evaluated using statistical parameters such as the mean, standard deviation, and root mean square of the difference fields for each parameter and grid level. Horizontal structure was also qualitatively evaluated by examining atmospheric features on constant pressure surfaces. An analysis of the vertical structure of the atmosphere were also performed by looking at colocated and grid mean vertical profiles of both the satellite and rawinsonde data sets. Highlights of these results are presented.

Research on Antiphonic Characteristic of AlMg10-SiC Ultralight Composite Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, O.; Rusu, I.

2018-06-01

The paper presents the results on the absorption sound testing of an ultralight cellular composite material AlMg10-SiC, obtained by sputtering method. We have chosen this type of material because its microstructure generally comprises open cells (and relatively few semi-open cells), evenly distributed in the material, a structure that, at least theoretically, has a favorable behavior in relation to sound damping. The tests were performed on three types of samples, namely P11 – AlMg10 – 5%SiC, P12 – AlMg10 – 10%SiC şi P13 – AlMg10 – 15%SiC. The 15% SiC (P13) cellular material sample has the best sound-absorbing characteristics and the highest practical absorption degree.

Measuring word complexity in speech screening: single-word sampling to identify phonological delay/disorder in preschool children.

PubMed

Anderson, Carolyn; Cohen, Wendy

2012-01-01

Children's speech sound development is assessed by comparing speech production with the typical development of speech sounds based on a child's age and developmental profile. One widely used method of sampling is to elicit a single-word sample along with connected speech. Words produced spontaneously rather than imitated may give a more accurate indication of a child's speech development. A published word complexity measure can be used to score later-developing speech sounds and more complex word patterns. There is a need for a screening word list that is quick to administer and reliably differentiates children with typically developing speech from children with patterns of delayed/disordered speech. To identify a short word list based on word complexity that could be spontaneously named by most typically developing children aged 3;00-5;05 years. One hundred and five children aged between 3;00 and 5;05 years from three local authority nursery schools took part in the study. Items from a published speech assessment were modified and extended to include a range of phonemic targets in different word positions in 78 monosyllabic and polysyllabic words. The 78 words were ranked both by phonemic/phonetic complexity as measured by word complexity and by ease of spontaneous production. The ten most complex words (hereafter Triage 10) were named spontaneously by more than 90% of the children. There was no significant difference between the complexity measures for five identified age groups when the data were examined in 6-month groups. A qualitative analysis revealed eight children with profiles of phonological delay or disorder. When these children were considered separately, there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.005) between the mean word complexity measure of the group compared with the mean for the remaining children in all other age groups. The Triage 10 words reliably differentiated children with typically developing speech from those with delayed or disordered speech patterns. The Triage 10 words can be used as a screening tool for triage and general assessment and have the potential to monitor progress during intervention. Further testing is being undertaken to establish reliability with children referred to speech and language therapy services. © 2012 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

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.

Wave field synthesis of moving virtual sound sources with complex radiation properties.

PubMed

Ahrens, Jens; Spors, Sascha

2011-11-01

An approach to the synthesis of moving virtual sound sources with complex radiation properties in wave field synthesis is presented. The approach exploits the fact that any stationary sound source of finite spatial extent radiates spherical waves at sufficient distance. The angular dependency of the radiation properties of the source under consideration is reflected by the amplitude and phase distribution on the spherical wave fronts. The sound field emitted by a uniformly moving monopole source is derived and the far-field radiation properties of the complex virtual source under consideration are incorporated in order to derive a closed-form expression for the loudspeaker driving signal. The results are illustrated via numerical simulations of the synthesis of the sound field of a sample moving complex virtual source.

Sound velocity measurement of nuclear-ordered U2D2 solid 3He along the melting curve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomura, R.; Suzuki, M.; Yamaguchi, M.; Sasaki, Y.; Mizusaki, T.

2000-05-01

The sound velocity of a single-domain 3He crystal was measured in the nuclear-ordered low-field phase and the paramagnetic phase along the melting curve, using 10.98 MHz longitudinal sound. The temperature dependence of the sound velocity along the melting curve was explained by a nuclear spin contribution and the molar volume change along the melting curve. By comparing the measured velocity with thermodynamic quantities, we extracted the Grüneizen constant for the exchange energy. The anisotropy of the velocity in the ordered phase was investigated for three samples and was found to be smaller than 2×10 -5 in Δ v/ v. The attenuation coefficient of the sound was much smaller than 0.2 cm-1.

Sterilizing effects of high-intensity airborne sonic and ultrasonic waves.

PubMed

Pisano, M A; Boucher, M G; Alcamo, I E

1966-09-01

The lethal effects of high-intensity airborne sonic (9.9 kc/sec) and ultrasonic waves (30.4 kc/sec) on spores of Bacillus subtilis var. niger ATCC 9372 were determined. The spores, which were deposited on filter-paper strips, were exposed to sound waves for periods varying from 1 to 8 hr, at a temperature of 40 C and a relative humidity of 40%. Significant reductions in the viable counts of spores exposed to airborne sonic or ultrasonic irradiations were obtained. The antibacterial activity of airborne sound waves varied with the sound intensity level, the period of irradiation, and the distance of the sample from the sound source. At similar intensity levels, the amplitude of motion of the sound waves appeared to be a factor in acoustic sterilization.

Microtensile bond strength analysis of adhesive systems to Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG laser-treated dentin.

PubMed

Ramos, Thaysa Monteiro; Ramos-Oliveira, Thayanne Monteiro; Moretto, Simone Gonçalves; de Freitas, Patricia Moreira; Esteves-Oliveira, Marcella; de Paula Eduardo, Carlos

2014-03-01

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of different surface treatments (control, diamond bur, erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser, and erbium, chromium:yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser) on sound dentin surface morphology and on microtensile bond strength (μTBS). Sixteen dentin fragments were randomly divided into four groups (n = 4), and different surface treatments were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Ninety-six third molars were randomly divided into eight groups (n = 12) according to type of surface treatment and adhesive system: G1 = Control + Clearfil SE Bond (SE); G2 = Control + Single Bond (SB); G3 = diamond bur (DB) + SE; G4 = DB + SB, G5 = Er:YAG laser (2.94 μm, 60 mJ, 2 Hz, 0.12 W, 19.3 J/cm(2)) + SE; G6 = Er:YAG + SB, G7 = Er,Cr:YSGG laser (2.78 μm, 50 mJ, 30 Hz, 1.5 W, 4.5 J/cm(2)) + SE; and G8 = Er,Cr:YSGG + SB. Composite blocks were bonded to the samples, and after 24-h storage in distilled/deionized water (37 °C), stick-shaped samples were obtained and submitted to μTBS test. Bond strength values (in megapascal) were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey tests (α = 0.05). G1 (54.69 ± 7.8 MPa) showed the highest mean, which was statistically significantly higher than all the other groups (p < 0.05). For all treatments, SE showed higher bond strength than SB, except only for Er,Cr:YSGG treatment, in which the systems did not differ statistically from each other. Based on the irradiation parameters considered in this study, it can be concluded that Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG irradiation presented lower values than the control group; however, their association with self-etching adhesive does not have a significantly negative effect on sound dentin (μTBS values of >20 MPa).

Spectroscopy of Sound Transmission in Solid Samples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Dean J.; Peterson, Joshua P.; Fitzjarrald, Tamara J.

2013-01-01

These laboratory experiments are designed to familiarize students with concepts of spectroscopy by using sound waves. Topics covered in these experiments include the structure of nitinol alloys and polymer chain stiffness as a function of structure and temperature. Generally, substances that are stiffer or have higher symmetry at the molecular…

Minimal Pair Distinctions and Intelligibility in Preschool Children with and without Speech Sound Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge, Megan M.; Gotzke, Carrie L.

2011-01-01

Listeners' identification of young children's productions of minimally contrastive words and predictive relationships between accurately identified words and intelligibility scores obtained from a 100-word spontaneous speech sample were determined for 36 children with typically developing speech (TDS) and 36 children with speech sound disorders…

Differing Effects of Two Synthetic Phonics Programmes on Early Reading Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shapiro, Laura R.; Solity, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Background: "Synthetic phonics" is the widely accepted approach for teaching reading in English: Children are taught to sound out the letters in a word then blend these sounds together. Aims: We compared the impact of two "synthetic phonics" programmes on early reading. Sample: Children received "Letters" and…

Phonological Awareness of Young Children with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatton, Deborah D.; Erickson, Karen A.; Lee, Donna Brostek

2010-01-01

The findings from a sample of 22 young children with visual impairments and no additional disabilities suggest that potential readers of braille or dual media had better syllable-segmentation, sound-isolation, and sound-segmentation skills than potential readers of print. Potential readers of print seemed to have slightly better…

Conceptual Level of Understanding about Sound Concept: Sample of Fifth Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bostan Sarioglan, Ayberk

2016-01-01

In this study, students' conceptual change processes related to the sound concept were examined. Study group was comprises of 325 fifth grade middle school students. Three multiple-choice questions were used as the data collection tool. At the data analysis process "scientific response", "scientifically unacceptable response"…

SEDIMENT AND PLANT PHOSPHORUS IN TWO THALASSIA TESTUDINUM SEAGRASS BEDS OF SANTA ROSA SOUND, NW FLORIDA

EPA Science Inventory

We investigated phosphorus concentrations in the seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, and the supporting quartz sediments of two meadows in Santa Rosa Sound. One meadow was sampled during 2002, and the other during 2003. Triplicate sediment and biomass cores were obtained from beneath...

Preliminary Investigation of Acoustical Properties of Concrete Containing Oil Palm Shell as an Aggregate Replacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zanariah, J.; Zaiton, H.; Musli Nizam, Y.; Khairulzan, Y.; Dianah, M.; Nadirah, D.; Hanifi, O. Mohd

2018-03-01

Research has been so far focused extensively on mechanical properties of oil palm shell (OPS) concrete but less on sound properties. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate whether concrete containing OPS can be applied in the field of road noise barrier. The acoustic properties of the samples were determined by using an impedance tube connected to a sound source. The noise reduction coefficient (NRC) and weighted sound absorption coefficient (αw) which is more commonly use in the road traffic noise barrier field were calculated according to BS EN ISO 11654:1997. Compressive strengths of samples were also determined by using compressive test. The results presented that the compressive strength of the OPS composites decreased as increased in w/c wit minimum of 20.44 N/mm2 at 28 days for w/c = 0.6 but still satisfactory for structural use. The sound absorption coefficient demonstrated that they were decreased as the w/c are higher with typical curve of two peaks at 315Hz and 1000Hz. All samples were then can be classified as class E as 0.5< αw < 0.25 and should be classified as L due to favourable deviation higher than 0.25 for 250 Hz.

Transitioning from analog to digital audio recording in childhood speech sound disorders.

PubMed

Shriberg, Lawrence D; McSweeny, Jane L; Anderson, Bruce E; Campbell, Thomas F; Chial, Michael R; Green, Jordan R; Hauner, Katherina K; Moore, Christopher A; Rusiewicz, Heather L; Wilson, David L

2005-06-01

Few empirical findings or technical guidelines are available on the current transition from analog to digital audio recording in childhood speech sound disorders. Of particular concern in the present context was whether a transition from analog- to digital-based transcription and coding of prosody and voice features might require re-standardizing a reference database for research in childhood speech sound disorders. Two research transcribers with different levels of experience glossed, transcribed, and prosody-voice coded conversational speech samples from eight children with mild to severe speech disorders of unknown origin. The samples were recorded, stored, and played back using representative analog and digital audio systems. Effect sizes calculated for an array of analog versus digital comparisons ranged from negligible to medium, with a trend for participants' speech competency scores to be slightly lower for samples obtained and transcribed using the digital system. We discuss the implications of these and other findings for research and clinical practise.

Transitioning from analog to digital audio recording in childhood speech sound disorders

PubMed Central

Shriberg, Lawrence D.; McSweeny, Jane L.; Anderson, Bruce E.; Campbell, Thomas F.; Chial, Michael R.; Green, Jordan R.; Hauner, Katherina K.; Moore, Christopher A.; Rusiewicz, Heather L.; Wilson, David L.

2014-01-01

Few empirical findings or technical guidelines are available on the current transition from analog to digital audio recording in childhood speech sound disorders. Of particular concern in the present context was whether a transition from analog- to digital-based transcription and coding of prosody and voice features might require re-standardizing a reference database for research in childhood speech sound disorders. Two research transcribers with different levels of experience glossed, transcribed, and prosody-voice coded conversational speech samples from eight children with mild to severe speech disorders of unknown origin. The samples were recorded, stored, and played back using representative analog and digital audio systems. Effect sizes calculated for an array of analog versus digital comparisons ranged from negligible to medium, with a trend for participants’ speech competency scores to be slightly lower for samples obtained and transcribed using the digital system. We discuss the implications of these and other findings for research and clinical practise. PMID:16019779

Further validation of the Health Promoting Activities Scale with mothers of typically developing children.

PubMed

Bourke-Taylor, Helen; Lalor, Aislinn; Farnworth, Louise; Pallant, Julie F

2014-10-01

The Health Promoting Activities Scale (HPAS) measures the frequency that mothers participate in self-selected leisure activities that promote health and wellbeing. The scale was originally validated on mothers of school-aged children with disabilities, and the current article extends this research using a comparative sample of mothers of typically developing school-aged children. Australian mothers (N = 263) completed a questionnaire containing the HPAS, a measure of depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) and questions concerning their weight, height, sleep quality and demographics. Statistical analysis assessed the underlying structure, internal consistency and construct validity of the HPAS. Inferential statistics were utilised to investigate the construct validity. Exploratory factor analysis supported the unidimensionality of the HPAS. It showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78). Significantly lower HPAS scores were recorded for women who were obese; had elevated levels of depression, anxiety and stress; had poor quality sleep or had heavy caring commitments. The mean HPAS score in this sample (M = 32.2) was significantly higher than was previously reported for women of children with a disability (M = 21.6: P < 0.001). Further psychometric evaluation of the HPAS continues to support the HPAS as a sound instrument that measures the frequency that women participate in meaningful occupation that is associated with differences in mental health and wellbeing and other health indicators. © 2014 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Hybrid cochlear implantation: quality of life, quality of hearing, and working performance compared to patients with conventional unilateral or bilateral cochlear implantation.

PubMed

Härkönen, Kati; Kivekäs, Ilkka; Kotti, Voitto; Sivonen, Ville; Vasama, Juha-Pekka

2017-10-01

The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of hybrid cochlear implantation (hCI) on quality of life (QoL), quality of hearing (QoH), and working performance in adult patients, and to compare the long-term results of patients with hCI to those of patients with conventional unilateral cochlear implantation (CI), bilateral CI, and single-sided deafness (SSD) with CI. Sound localization accuracy and speech-in-noise test were also compared between these groups. Eight patients with high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss of unknown etiology were selected in the study. Patients with hCI had better long-term speech perception in noise than uni- or bilateral CI patients, but the difference was not statistically significant. The sound localization accuracy was equal in the hCI, bilateral CI, and SSD patients. QoH was statistically significantly better in bilateral CI patients than in the others. In hCI patients, residual hearing was preserved in all patients after the surgery. During the 3.6-year follow-up, the mean hearing threshold at 125-500 Hz decreased on average by 15 dB HL in the implanted ear. QoL and working performance improved significantly in all CI patients. Hearing outcomes with hCI are comparable to the results of bilateral CI or CI with SSD, but hearing in noise and sound localization are statistically significantly better than with unilateral CI. Interestingly, the impact of CI on QoL, QoH, and working performance was similar in all groups.

Using statistical deformable models to reconstruct vocal tract shape from magnetic resonance images.

PubMed

Vasconcelos, M J M; Rua Ventura, S M; Freitas, D R S; Tavares, J M R S

2010-10-01

The mechanisms involved in speech production are complex and have thus been subject to growing attention by the scientific community. It has been demonstrated that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful means in the understanding of the morphology of the vocal tract. Over the last few years, statistical deformable models have been successfully used to identify and characterize bones and organs in medical images and point distribution models (PDMs) have gained particular relevance. In this work, the suitability of these models has been studied to characterize and further reconstruct the shape of the vocal tract in the articulation of Portuguese European (EP) speech sounds, one of the most spoken languages worldwide, with the aid of MR images. Therefore, a PDM has been built from a set of MR images acquired during the artificially sustained articulation of 25 EP speech sounds. Following this, the capacity of this statistical model to characterize the shape deformation of the vocal tract during the production of sounds was analysed. Next, the model was used to reconstruct five EP oral vowels and the EP fricative consonants. As far as a study on speech production is concerned, this study is considered to be the first approach to characterize and reconstruct the vocal tract shape from MR images by using PDMs. In addition, the findings achieved permit one to conclude that this modelling technique compels an enhanced understanding of the dynamic speech events involved in sustained articulations based on MRI, which are of particular interest for speech rehabilitation and simulation.

Accuracy of abdominal auscultation for bowel obstruction.

PubMed

Breum, Birger Michael; Rud, Bo; Kirkegaard, Thomas; Nordentoft, Tyge

2015-09-14

To investigate the accuracy and inter-observer variation of bowel sound assessment in patients with clinically suspected bowel obstruction. Bowel sounds were recorded in patients with suspected bowel obstruction using a Littmann(®) Electronic Stethoscope. The recordings were processed to yield 25-s sound sequences in random order on PCs. Observers, recruited from doctors within the department, classified the sound sequences as either normal or pathological. The reference tests for bowel obstruction were intraoperative and endoscopic findings and clinical follow up. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each observer and compared between junior and senior doctors. Interobserver variation was measured using the Kappa statistic. Bowel sound sequences from 98 patients were assessed by 53 (33 junior and 20 senior) doctors. Laparotomy was performed in 47 patients, 35 of whom had bowel obstruction. Two patients underwent colorectal stenting due to large bowel obstruction. The median sensitivity and specificity was 0.42 (range: 0.19-0.64) and 0.78 (range: 0.35-0.98), respectively. There was no significant difference in accuracy between junior and senior doctors. The median frequency with which doctors classified bowel sounds as abnormal did not differ significantly between patients with and without bowel obstruction (26% vs 23%, P = 0.08). The 53 doctors made up 1378 unique pairs and the median Kappa value was 0.29 (range: -0.15-0.66). Accuracy and inter-observer agreement was generally low. Clinical decisions in patients with possible bowel obstruction should not be based on auscultatory assessment of bowel sounds.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-09-01

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

Brushing force of manual and sonic toothbrushes affects dental hard tissue abrasion.

PubMed

Wiegand, Annette; Burkhard, John Patrik Matthias; Eggmann, Florin; Attin, Thomas

2013-04-01

This study aimed to determine the brushing forces applied during in vivo toothbrushing with manual and sonic toothbrushes and to analyse the effect of these brushing forces on abrasion of sound and eroded enamel and dentin in vitro. Brushing forces of a manual and two sonic toothbrushes (low and high frequency mode) were measured in 27 adults before and after instruction of the respective brushing technique and statistically analysed by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). In the in vitro experiment, sound and eroded enamel and dentin specimens (each subgroup n = 12) were brushed in an automatic brushing machine with the respective brushing forces using a fluoridated toothpaste slurry. Abrasion was determined by profilometry and statistically analysed by one-way ANOVA. Average brushing force of the manual toothbrush (1.6 ± 0.3 N) was significantly higher than for the sonic toothbrushes (0.9 ± 0.2 N), which were not significantly different from each other. Brushing force prior and after instruction of the brushing technique was not significantly different. The manual toothbrush caused highest abrasion of sound and eroded dentin, but lowest on sound enamel. No significant differences were detected on eroded enamel. Brushing forces of manual and sonic toothbrushes are different and affect their abrasive capacity. Patients with severe tooth wear and exposed and/or eroded dentin surfaces should use sonic toothbrushes to reduce abrasion, while patients without tooth wear or with erosive lesions confining only to enamel do not benefit from sonic toothbrushes with regard to abrasion.

Optimum sensor placement for microphone arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabinkin, Daniel V.

Microphone arrays can be used for high-quality sound pickup in reverberant and noisy environments. Sound capture using conventional single microphone methods suffers severe degradation under these conditions. The beamforming capabilities of microphone array systems allow highly directional sound capture, providing enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when compared to single microphone performance. The overall performance of an array system is governed by its ability to locate and track sound sources and its ability to capture sound from desired spatial volumes. These abilities are strongly affected by the spatial placement of microphone sensors. A method is needed to optimize placement for a specified number of sensors in a given acoustical environment. The objective of the optimization is to obtain the greatest average system SNR for sound capture in the region of interest. A two-step sound source location method is presented. In the first step, time delay of arrival (TDOA) estimates for select microphone pairs are determined using a modified version of the Omologo-Svaizer cross-power spectrum phase expression. In the second step, the TDOA estimates are used in a least-mean-squares gradient descent search algorithm to obtain a location estimate. Statistics for TDOA estimate error as a function of microphone pair/sound source geometry and acoustic environment are gathered from a set of experiments. These statistics are used to model position estimation accuracy for a given array geometry. The effectiveness of sound source capture is also dependent on array geometry and the acoustical environment. Simple beamforming and time delay compensation (TDC) methods provide spatial selectivity but suffer performance degradation in reverberant environments. Matched filter array (MFA) processing can mitigate the effects of reverberation. The shape and gain advantage of the capture region for these techniques is described and shown to be highly influenced by the placement of array sensors. A procedure is developed to evaluate a given array configuration based on the above-mentioned metrics. Constrained placement optimizations are performed that maximize SNR for both TDC and MFA capture methods. Results are compared for various acoustic environments and various enclosure sizes. General guidelines are presented for placement strategy and bandwidth dependence, as they relate to reverberation levels, ambient noise, and enclosure geometry. An overall performance function is described based on these metrics. Performance of the microphone array system is also constrained by the design limitations of the supporting hardware. Two newly developed hardware architectures are presented that support the described algorithms. A low- cost 8-channel system with off-the-shelf componentry was designed and its performance evaluated. A massively parallel 512-channel custom-built system is in development-its capabilities and the rationale for its design are described.

Influence of thermodynamic properties of a thermo-acoustic emitter on the efficiency of thermal airborne ultrasound generation.

PubMed

Daschewski, M; Kreutzbruck, M; Prager, J

2015-12-01

In this work we experimentally verify the theoretical prediction of the recently published Energy Density Fluctuation Model (EDF-model) of thermo-acoustic sound generation. Particularly, we investigate experimentally the influence of thermal inertia of an electrically conductive film on the efficiency of thermal airborne ultrasound generation predicted by the EDF-model. Unlike widely used theories, the EDF-model predicts that the thermal inertia of the electrically conductive film is a frequency-dependent parameter. Its influence grows non-linearly with the increase of excitation frequency and reduces the efficiency of the ultrasound generation. Thus, this parameter is the major limiting factor for the efficient thermal airborne ultrasound generation in the MHz-range. To verify this theoretical prediction experimentally, five thermo-acoustic emitter samples consisting of Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO) coatings of different thicknesses (from 65 nm to 1.44 μm) on quartz glass substrates were tested for airborne ultrasound generation in a frequency range from 10 kHz to 800 kHz. For the measurement of thermally generated sound pressures a laser Doppler vibrometer combined with a 12 μm thin polyethylene foil was used as the sound pressure detector. All tested thermo-acoustic emitter samples showed a resonance-free frequency response in the entire tested frequency range. The thermal inertia of the heat producing film acts as a low-pass filter and reduces the generated sound pressure with the increasing excitation frequency and the ITO film thickness. The difference of generated sound pressure levels for samples with 65 nm and 1.44 μm thickness is in the order of about 6 dB at 50 kHz and of about 12 dB at 500 kHz. A comparison of sound pressure levels measured experimentally and those predicted by the EDF-model shows for all tested emitter samples a relative error of less than ±6%. Thus, experimental results confirm the prediction of the EDF-model and show that the model can be applied for design and optimization of thermo-acoustic airborne ultrasound emitters. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 26.11 - What records do recipients keep and report?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... as accurate data as possible about the universe of DBE and non-DBE contractors and subcontractors who... conduct a survey that will result in statistically sound estimate of the universe of DBE and non-DBE...

49 CFR 26.11 - What records do recipients keep and report?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... as accurate data as possible about the universe of DBE and non-DBE contractors and subcontractors who... conduct a survey that will result in statistically sound estimate of the universe of DBE and non-DBE...

49 CFR 26.11 - What records do recipients keep and report?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... as accurate data as possible about the universe of DBE and non-DBE contractors and subcontractors who... conduct a survey that will result in statistically sound estimate of the universe of DBE and non-DBE...

49 CFR 26.11 - What records do recipients keep and report?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... as accurate data as possible about the universe of DBE and non-DBE contractors and subcontractors who... conduct a survey that will result in statistically sound estimate of the universe of DBE and non-DBE...

Risk of Bacterial Meningitis in Children with Cochlear Implants

MedlinePlus

... Hearing Loss Homepage Basics Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Genetics of Hearing Loss Screening & Diagnosis Types of Hearing Loss About Sound Treatment & Intervention Services Learning Language Bacterial Meningitis Studies Data & Statistics EHDI Annual Data 2016 2015 2014 2013 ...

45 CFR 63.6 - Evaluation of applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... policy objectives; (2) Feasibility of the project; (3) Soundness of research design, statistical... the transmission, distribution, and delivery of health, education, or social service information, and... suitable for dissemination to groups representative of national health, education, and social service...

Measurement of the resistivity of porous materials with an alternating air-flow method.

PubMed

Dragonetti, Raffaele; Ianniello, Carmine; Romano, Rosario A

2011-02-01

Air-flow resistivity is a main parameter governing the acoustic behavior of porous materials for sound absorption. The international standard ISO 9053 specifies two different methods to measure the air-flow resistivity, namely a steady-state air-flow method and an alternating air-flow method. The latter is realized by the measurement of the sound pressure at 2 Hz in a small rigid volume closed partially by the test sample. This cavity is excited with a known volume-velocity sound source implemented often with a motor-driven piston oscillating with prescribed area and displacement magnitude. Measurements at 2 Hz require special instrumentation and care. The authors suggest an alternating air-flow method based on the ratio of sound pressures measured at frequencies higher than 2 Hz inside two cavities coupled through a conventional loudspeaker. The basic method showed that the imaginary part of the sound pressure ratio is useful for the evaluation of the air-flow resistance. Criteria are discussed about the choice of a frequency range suitable to perform simplified calculations with respect to the basic method. These criteria depend on the sample thickness, its nonacoustic parameters, and the measurement apparatus as well. The proposed measurement method was tested successfully with various types of acoustic materials.

Maps and documentation of seismic CPT soundings in the central, eastern, and western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holzer, Thomas L.; Noce, Thomas E.; Bennett, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Nine hundred twenty seven seismic cone penetration tests (CPT) in a variety of geologic deposits and geographic locations were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) primarily between 1998 and 2008 for the purpose of collecting penetration test data to evaluate the liquefaction potential of different types of surficial geologic deposits (table 1). The evaluation is described in Holzer and others (in press). This open-file report summarizes the seismic CPT and geotechnical data that were collected for the evaluation, outlines the general conditions under which the data were acquired, and briefly describes the geographic location of each study area and local geologic conditions. This report also describes the field methods used to obtain the seismic CPT data and summarizes the results of shear-wave velocities measurements at 2-m intervals in each sounding. Although the average depth of the 927 soundings was 18.5 m, we estimated a time-averaged shear-wave velocity to depths of 20 m and 30 m, VS20 and VS30, respectively, for soundings deeper than 10 m and 20 m. Soil sampling also was selectively conducted in many of the study areas at representative seismic CPT soundings. These data are described and laboratory analyses of geotechnical properties of these samples are summarized in table 2.

Reconstruction of the forehead acoustic properties in an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis), with investigation on the responses of soft tissue sound velocity to temperature.

PubMed

Song, Zhongchang; Zhang, Yu; Berggren, Per; Wei, Chong

2017-02-01

Computed tomography (CT) imaging and ultrasound experimental measurements were combined to reconstruct the acoustic properties (density, velocity, and impedance) of the head from a deceased Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis). The authors extracted 42 soft forehead tissue samples to estimate the sound velocity and density properties at room temperature, 25.0  °C. Hounsfield Units (HUs) of the samples were read from CT scans. Linear relationships between the tissues' HUs and velocity, and HUs and density were revealed through regression analyses. The distributions of the head acoustic properties at axial, coronal, and sagittal cross sections were reconstructed, suggesting that the forehead soft tissues were characterized by low-velocity in the melon, high-velocity in the muscle and connective tissues. Further, the sound velocities of melon, muscle, and connective tissue pieces were measured under different temperatures to investigate tissues' velocity response to temperature. The results demonstrated nonlinear relationships between tissues' sound velocity and temperature. This study represents a first attempt to provide general information on acoustic properties of this species. The results could provide meaningful information for understanding the species' bioacoustic characteristics and for further investigation on sound beam formation of the dolphin.

Acoustic Noise Levels of Dental Equipments and Its Association with Fear and Annoyance Levels among Patients Attending Different Dental Clinic Setups in Jaipur, India

PubMed Central

Ganta, Shravani; Nagaraj, Anup; Pareek, Sonia; Atri, Mansi; Singh, Kushpal; Sidiq, Mohsin

2014-01-01

Background: Noise is a source of pervasive occupational hazard for practicing dentists and the patients. The sources of dental sounds by various dental equipments can pose as a potential hazard to hearing system and add to the annoyance levels of the patients. The aim of the study was to analyze the noise levels from various equipments and evaluate the effect of acoustic noise stimulus on dental fear and annoyance levels among patients attending different dental clinic setups in Jaipur, India. Methodology: The sampling frame comprised of 180 patients, which included 90 patients attending 10 different private clinics and 90 patients attending a Dental College in Jaipur. The levels of Acoustic Noise Stimulus originating from different equipments were determined using a precision sound level meter/decibulometer. Dental fear among patients was measured using Dental Fear Scale (DFS). Results: Statistical analysis was performed using chi square test and unpaired t-test. The mean background noise levels were found to be maximum in the pre-clinical setup/ laboratory areas (69.23+2.20). Females and the patients attending dental college setup encountered more fear on seeing the drill as compared to the patients attending private clinics (p<0.001). Conclusion: The sources of dental sounds can pose as a potential hazard to hearing system. It was analyzed that the environment in the clinics can directly have an effect on the fear and annoyance levels of patients. Hence it is necessary control the noise from various dental equipments to reduce the fear of patients from visiting a dental clinic. PMID:24959512

The First Twenty Years (1994 2014) of Ozone Soundings from Rapa Nui (27 deg S, 109 deg W, 51 m a.s.l.)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallardo, Laura; Henriquez, Adolfo; Thompson, Anne M.; Rondanelli, Roberto; Carrasco, Jorge; Orfanoz-Cheuquelaf, Andrea; Velasquez, Patricio

2017-01-01

Ozone (O3) soundings have been performed on Easter Island or Rapa Nui (27 8S, 109 8W, 51 m a.s.l.) since 1994 as part of the Global Atmospheric Watch Programme of the World Meteorological Organization. In this work, we analyze 260 soundings compiled over the period 19942014, and make the data available for the international community. We characterize O3 profiles over this remote area of the Pacific by means of statistical analyses that consider, on the one hand, a traditional climatology that describes the data in terms of seasonal cycles based on monthly averages and, on the other hand, a process-oriented analysis based on self-organizing maps. Our analyses show the influence of both tropical and subtropical/mid-latitude air masses at Rapa Nui. The former occurs in summer and fall when convective conditions prevail, and the latter in late winter and spring when subsiding conditions are recurrent. The occurrence of stratospheric intrusions in late winter and spring in connection with deep troughs and the presence of the subtropical jet stream is also apparent in the data set. The tropospheric ozone column is in good agreement with the corresponding data derived from satellites but with a systematic overestimate of summer and fall values. There is evidence of an upward trend in ozone near the surface, which suggests the impact of local pollution. We look forward to an enhancement of the Rapa Nui observing site, given its location that offers a privileged position to observe climate change over the sparsely sampled and vast South Pacific Ocean.

The Effect of Cavity Design on Fracture Resistance and Failure Pattern in Monolithic Zirconia Partial Coverage Restorations - An In vitro Study.

PubMed

Harsha, Madhavareddy Sri; Praffulla, Mynampati; Babu, Mandava Ramesh; Leneena, Gudugunta; Krishna, Tejavath Sai; Divya, G

2017-05-01

Cavity preparations of posterior teeth have been frequently associated with decreased fracture strength of the teeth. Choosing the correct indirect restoration and the cavity design when restoring the posterior teeth i.e., premolars was difficult as it involves aesthetic, biomechanical and anatomical considerations. To evaluate the fracture resistance and failure pattern of three different cavity designs restored with monolithic zirconia. Human maxillary premolars atraumatically extracted for orthodontic reasons were chosen. A total of 40 teeth were selected and divided into four groups (n=10). Group I-Sound teeth (control with no preparation). Group II-MOD Inlay, Group III-Partial Onlay, Group IV-Complete Onlay. Restorations were fabricated with monolithic partially sintered zirconia CAD (SAGEMAX- NexxZr). All the 30 samples were cemented using Multilink Automix (Ivoclar) and subjected to fracture resistance testing using Universal Testing Machine (UTM) (Instron) with a steel ball of 3.5 mm diameter at crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/minute. Stereomicroscope was used to evaluate the modes of failure of the fractured specimen. Fracture resistance was tested using parametric one way ANOVA test, unpaired t-test and Tukey test. Fracture patterns were assessed using non-parametric Chi-square test. Group IV (Complete Onlay) presented highest fracture resistance and showed statistical significant difference. Group II (MOD Inlay) and Group III (Partial Onlay) showed significantly lower values than the Group I (Sound teeth). However, Groups I, II and III presented no significant difference from each other. Coming to the modes of failure, Group II (MOD Inlay) and Group III (Partial Onlay) presented mixed type of failures; Group IV (Complete Onlay) demonstrated 70% Type I failures. Of the three cavity designs evaluated, Complete Onlay had shown a significant increase in the fracture resistance than the Sound teeth.

Geostatistical estimation of forest biomass in interior Alaska combining Landsat-derived tree cover, sampled airborne lidar and field observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babcock, Chad; Finley, Andrew O.; Andersen, Hans-Erik; Pattison, Robert; Cook, Bruce D.; Morton, Douglas C.; Alonzo, Michael; Nelson, Ross; Gregoire, Timothy; Ene, Liviu; Gobakken, Terje; Næsset, Erik

2018-06-01

The goal of this research was to develop and examine the performance of a geostatistical coregionalization modeling approach for combining field inventory measurements, strip samples of airborne lidar and Landsat-based remote sensing data products to predict aboveground biomass (AGB) in interior Alaska's Tanana Valley. The proposed modeling strategy facilitates pixel-level mapping of AGB density predictions across the entire spatial domain. Additionally, the coregionalization framework allows for statistically sound estimation of total AGB for arbitrary areal units within the study area---a key advance to support diverse management objectives in interior Alaska. This research focuses on appropriate characterization of prediction uncertainty in the form of posterior predictive coverage intervals and standard deviations. Using the framework detailed here, it is possible to quantify estimation uncertainty for any spatial extent, ranging from pixel-level predictions of AGB density to estimates of AGB stocks for the full domain. The lidar-informed coregionalization models consistently outperformed their counterpart lidar-free models in terms of point-level predictive performance and total AGB precision. Additionally, the inclusion of Landsat-derived forest cover as a covariate further improved estimation precision in regions with lower lidar sampling intensity. Our findings also demonstrate that model-based approaches that do not explicitly account for residual spatial dependence can grossly underestimate uncertainty, resulting in falsely precise estimates of AGB. On the other hand, in a geostatistical setting, residual spatial structure can be modeled within a Bayesian hierarchical framework to obtain statistically defensible assessments of uncertainty for AGB estimates.

The acoustic effect of cryogenically treating trumpets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Jesse; Rogers, Chris

2003-10-01

The acoustic effect of cryogenically treating trumpets is investigated. Ten Vincent Bach Stradivarious B♭ trumpets are studied, half of which have been cryogenically treated. The trumpets were played by six players of varying proficiency, with sound samples being recorded directly to disk at a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. Both the steady-state and initial transient portions of the audio samples are analyzed. When comparing the average power spectra of the treated trumpets to the untreated set, no repeatable, statistically independent differences are observed in the data. Differences observed in player-to-player and trumpet-to-trumpet comparisons overshadow any differences that may have been brought on due to the cryogenic treatment. Qualitatively, players established no clear preference between the treated and untreated trumpets regarding tone and playability, and could not differentiate between the two sets of instruments. All data was collected in a double blind fashion. The treatment itself is a three step process, involving an 8 hour linear cool down period, a 10 hour period of sustained exposure to -195°C (-300°F), and a 20-25 hour period of warming back to room temperature. [Work was completed with the support of Steinway & Sons Pianos and Selmer Musical Instruments.

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

PubMed Central

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

2016-01-01

Coding of sound location in auditory cortex (AC) is only partially understood. Recent electrophysiological research suggests that neurons in mammalian auditory cortex are characterized by broad spatial tuning and a preference for the contralateral hemifield, that is, a nonuniform sampling of sound azimuth. Additionally, spatial selectivity decreases with increasing sound intensity. To accommodate these findings, it has been proposed that sound location is encoded by the integrated activity of neuronal populations with opposite hemifield tuning (“opponent channel model”). In this study, we investigated the validity of such a model in human AC with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a phase-encoding paradigm employing binaural stimuli recorded individually for each participant. In all subjects, we observed preferential fMRI responses to contralateral azimuth positions. Additionally, in most AC locations, spatial tuning was broad and not level invariant. We derived an opponent channel model of the fMRI responses by subtracting the activity of contralaterally tuned regions in bilateral planum temporale. This resulted in accurate decoding of sound azimuth location, which was unaffected by changes in sound level. Our data thus support opponent channel coding as a neural mechanism for representing acoustic azimuth in human AC. PMID:26545618

SAFT-assisted sound beam focusing using phased arrays (PA-SAFT) for non-destructive evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanekar, Paritosh; Kumar, Anish; Jayakumar, T.

2015-04-01

Focusing of sound has always been a subject of interest in ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation. An integrated approach to sound beam focusing using phased array and synthetic aperture focusing technique (PA-SAFT) has been developed in the authors' laboratory. The approach involves SAFT processing on ultrasonic B-scan image collected by a linear array transducer using a divergent sound beam. The objective is to achieve sound beam focusing using fewer elements than the ones required using conventional phased array. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated on aluminium blocks with artificial flaws and steel plate samples with embedded volumetric weld flaws, such as slag and clustered porosities. The results obtained by the PA-SAFT approach are found to be comparable to those obtained by conventional phased array and full matrix capture - total focusing method approaches.

Evaluation of the Effects of Various Sound Pressure Levels on the Level of Serum Aldosterone Concentration in Rats

PubMed Central

Nassiri, Parvin; Zare, Sajad; Monazzam, Mohammad R.; Pourbakht, Akram; Azam, Kamal; Golmohammadi, Taghi

2017-01-01

Introduction: Noise exposure may have anatomical, nonauditory, and auditory influences. Considering nonauditory impacts, noise exposure can cause alterations in the automatic nervous system, including increased pulse rates, heightened blood pressure, and abnormal secretion of hormones. The present study aimed at examining the effect of various sound pressure levels (SPLs) on the serum aldosterone level among rats. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 adult male rats with an age range of 3 to 4 months and a weight of 200 ± 50 g were randomly divided into 15 groups of three. Three groups were considered as the control groups and the rest (i.e., 12 groups) as the case groups. Rats of the case groups were exposed to SPLs of 85, 95, and 105 dBA. White noise was used as the noise to which the rats were exposed. To measure the level of rats’ serum aldosterone, 3 mL of each rat’s sample blood was directly taken from the heart of anesthetized animals by using syringes. The taken blood samples were put in labeled test tubes that contained anticoagulant Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. In the laboratory, the level of aldosterone was assessed through Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay protocol. The collected data were analyzed by the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18. Results: The results revealed that there was no significant change in the level of rats’ serum aldosterone as a result of exposure to SPLs of 65, 85, and 95 dBA. However, the level of serum aldosterone experienced a remarkable increase after exposure to the SPL of 105 dBA (P < 0.001). Thus, the SPL had a significant impact on the serum aldosterone level (P < 0.001). In contrast, the exposure time and the level of potassium in the used water did not have any measurable influence on the level of serum aldosterone (P = 0.25 and 0.39). Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that serum aldosterone can be used as a biomarker in the face of sound exposure. PMID:28816207

The Hypothesis of Apraxia of Speech in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Shriberg, Lawrence D.; Paul, Rhea; Black, Lois M.; van Santen, Jan P.

2010-01-01

In a sample of 46 children aged 4 to 7 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intelligible speech, there was no statistical support for the hypothesis of concomitant Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Perceptual and acoustic measures of participants’ speech, prosody, and voice were compared with data from 40 typically-developing children, 13 preschool children with Speech Delay, and 15 participants aged 5 to 49 years with CAS in neurogenetic disorders. Speech Delay and Speech Errors, respectively, were modestly and substantially more prevalent in participants with ASD than reported population estimates. Double dissociations in speech, prosody, and voice impairments in ASD were interpreted as consistent with a speech attunement framework, rather than with the motor speech impairments that define CAS. Key Words: apraxia, dyspraxia, motor speech disorder, speech sound disorder PMID:20972615

Subjective assessment of simulated helicopter blade-slap noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawton, B. W.

1976-01-01

The effects of several characteristics of helicopter blade slap upon human annoyance are examined. Blade slap noise was simulated by using continuous and impulsive noises characterized by five parameters: The number of sine waves in a single impulse; the frequency of the sine waves; the impulse repetition frequency; the sound pressure level (SPL) of the continuous noise; and the idealized crest factor of the impulses. Ten second samples of noise were synthesized with each of the five parameters at representative levels. The annoyance of each noise was judged by 40 human subjects. Analysis of the subjective data indicated that each of the five parameters had a statistically significant effect upon the annoyance judgments. The impulse crest factor and SPL of the continuous noise had very strong positive relationships with annoyance. The other parameters had smaller, but still significant, effects upon the annoyance judgments.

Conducting field studies for testing pesticide leaching models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Charles N.; Parrish, Rudolph S.; Brown, David S.

1990-01-01

A variety of predictive models are being applied to evaluate the transport and transformation of pesticides in the environment. These include well known models such as the Pesticide Root Zone Model (PRZM), the Risk of Unsaturated-Saturated Transport and Transformation Interactions for Chemical Concentrations Model (RUSTIC) and the Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems Model (GLEAMS). The potentially large impacts of using these models as tools for developing pesticide management strategies and regulatory decisions necessitates development of sound model validation protocols. This paper offers guidance on many of the theoretical and practical problems encountered in the design and implementation of field-scale model validation studies. Recommendations are provided for site selection and characterization, test compound selection, data needs, measurement techniques, statistical design considerations and sampling techniques. A strategy is provided for quantitatively testing models using field measurements.

Improvement of the basic knowledge of the climatology of the vertical ozone layer by enhanced balloon sounding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Attmannspacher, W.; Hartmannsgrubber, R.; Lang, P.

1984-01-01

Balloon sounding of the ozone in the Earth atmosphere was performed in order to determine the natural behavior of ozone and its recognizable deviations. The importance of ozone in the Earth atmosphere and the orographic situation of observatories and ozone sounding statistics since 1966 are explained. The physical processes governing the total amount of ozone, and the behavior of stratospheric ozone are described. Measurements in the upper stratosphere show a decrease of the ozone partial pressure above 26 km altitude since 1977. The behavior of tropospheric ozone is discussed. Data since 1977 show increasing ozone values in the troposphere, up to 50% to 70%. This increase is independent of the solar radiation intensity and the reinforced transport of stratospheric ozone into the troposphere. The increase in the troposphere cannot compensate the stratospheric decrease.

Words and possible words in early language acquisition.

PubMed

Marchetto, Erika; Bonatti, Luca L

2013-11-01

In order to acquire language, infants must extract its building blocks-words-and master the rules governing their legal combinations from speech. These two problems are not independent, however: words also have internal structure. Thus, infants must extract two kinds of information from the same speech input. They must find the actual words of their language. Furthermore, they must identify its possible words, that is, the sequences of sounds that, being morphologically well formed, could be words. Here, we show that infants' sensitivity to possible words appears to be more primitive and fundamental than their ability to find actual words. We expose 12- and 18-month-old infants to an artificial language containing a conflict between statistically coherent and structurally coherent items. We show that 18-month-olds can extract possible words when the familiarization stream contains marks of segmentation, but cannot do so when the stream is continuous. Yet, they can find actual words from a continuous stream by computing statistical relationships among syllables. By contrast, 12-month-olds can find possible words when familiarized with a segmented stream, but seem unable to extract statistically coherent items from a continuous stream that contains minimal conflicts between statistical and structural information. These results suggest that sensitivity to word structure is in place earlier than the ability to analyze distributional information. The ability to compute nontrivial statistical relationships becomes fully effective relatively late in development, when infants have already acquired a considerable amount of linguistic knowledge. Thus, mechanisms for structure extraction that do not rely on extensive sampling of the input are likely to have a much larger role in language acquisition than general-purpose statistical abilities. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Improving an Empirical Formula for the Absorption of Sound in the Sea

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

Onderwater propagatie Advanced acoustic modelling Auteur (s) ir. C.A.M van Moll Programmanummer Projectnummer dr. M.A. Ainslie V512 032.11648 ing. J...versus calculated absorption .................................................................... 9 3 Inverse theory ...45 7.1 Statistical theory

Clostridium perfringens in the Environment1

PubMed Central

Matches, Jack R.; Liston, John; Curran, Donald

1974-01-01

Clostridium perfringens was isolated from samples collected in Puget Sound in the state of Washington and areas considered as possible sources of these organisms to Puget Sound. The distribution of C. perfringens in the total Clostridium population was determined for fish gut contents and sediments collected in highly polluted and less polluted areas, sewage samples, freshwater sediments, and soils. The greatest numbers of C. perfringens were obtained from marine sediments collected near the sewage outfall at West Point. Fewer isolates were made from fish collected from less polluted stations, although the number of C. perfringens remained high in sediments from other Puget Sound stations. The proportion of C. perfringens in the total Clostridium populations varied between 56 and 71% for sewage samples and only 0.4 to 4.1% for freshwater sediments and soil samples. Only 25 C. perfringens isolates out of 137 from fish guts, or 18%, were identifiable serologically and these fell into 12 groups. C. perfringens were fed to fish and the fish were sacrificed after varying lengths of time. The number of C. perfringens increased slightly in the gut during the first 24 h and then the numbers decreased rapidly for the next 120 h. PMID:4371684

Auditory Power-Law Activation Avalanches Exhibit a Fundamental Computational Ground State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoop, Ruedi; Gomez, Florian

2016-07-01

The cochlea provides a biological information-processing paradigm that we are only beginning to understand in its full complexity. Our work reveals an interacting network of strongly nonlinear dynamical nodes, on which even a simple sound input triggers subnetworks of activated elements that follow power-law size statistics ("avalanches"). From dynamical systems theory, power-law size distributions relate to a fundamental ground state of biological information processing. Learning destroys these power laws. These results strongly modify the models of mammalian sound processing and provide a novel methodological perspective for understanding how the brain processes information.

Underwater Sound Propagation Modeling Methods for Predicting Marine Animal Exposure.

PubMed

Hamm, Craig A; McCammon, Diana F; Taillefer, Martin L

2016-01-01

The offshore exploration and production (E&P) industry requires comprehensive and accurate ocean acoustic models for determining the exposure of marine life to the high levels of sound used in seismic surveys and other E&P activities. This paper reviews the types of acoustic models most useful for predicting the propagation of undersea noise sources and describes current exposure models. The severe problems caused by model sensitivity to the uncertainty in the environment are highlighted to support the conclusion that it is vital that risk assessments include transmission loss estimates with statistical measures of confidence.

Mercury in Long Island Sound sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Varekamp, J.C.; Buchholtz ten Brink, Marilyn R.; Mecray, E.I.; Kreulen, B.

2000-01-01

Mercury (Hg) concentrations were measured in 394 surface and core samples from Long Island Sound (LIS). The surface sediment Hg concentration data show a wide spread, ranging from 600 ppb Hg in westernmost LIS. Part of the observed range is related to variations in the bottom sedimentary environments, with higher Hg concentrations in the muddy depositional areas of central and western LIS. A strong residual trend of higher Hg values to the west remains when the data are normalized to grain size. Relationships between a tracer for sewage effluents (C. perfringens) and Hg concentrations indicate that between 0-50 % of the Hg is derived from sewage sources for most samples from the western and central basins. A higher percentage of sewage-derived Hg is found in samples from the westernmost section of LIS and in some local spots near urban centers. The remainder of the Hg is carried into the Sound with contaminated sediments from the watersheds and a small fraction enters the Sound as in situ atmospheric deposition. The Hg-depth profiles of several cores have well-defined contamination profiles that extend to pre-industrial background values. These data indicate that the Hg levels in the Sound have increased by a factor of 5-6 over the last few centuries, but Hg levels in LIS sediments have declined in modern times by up to 30 %. The concentrations of C. perfringens increased exponentially in the top core sections which had declining Hg concentrations, suggesting a recent decline in Hg fluxes that are unrelated to sewage effluents. The observed spatial and historical trends show Hg fluxes to LIS from sewage effluents, contaminated sediment input from the Connecticut River, point source inputs of strongly contaminated sediment from the Housatonic River, variations in the abundance of Hg carrier phases such as TOC and Fe, and focusing of sediment-bound Hg in association with westward sediment transport within the Sound.

A clinical method for detecting bronchial reversibility using a breath sound spectrum analysis in infants.

PubMed

Enseki, Mayumi; Nukaga, Mariko; Tabata, Hideyuki; Hirai, Kota; Matsuda, Shinichi; Mochizuki, Hiroyuki

2017-05-01

Using a breath sound analyzer, we investigated clinical parameters for detecting bronchial reversibility in infants. A total of 59 infants (4-39 months, mean age 7.8 months) were included. In Study 1, the intra- and inter-observer variability was measured in 23 of 59 infants. Breath sound parameters, the frequency at 99% of the maximum frequency (F 99 ), frequency at 25%, 50%, and 75% of the power spectrum (Q 25 , Q 50 , and Q 75 ), and highest frequency of inspiratory breath sounds (HFI), and parameters obtained using the ratio of parameters, i.e. spectrum curve indices, the ratio of the third and fourth area to total area (A 3 /A T and B 4 /A T , respectively) and ratio of power and frequency at F 75 and F 50 (RPF 75 and RPF 50 ), were calculated. In Study 2, the relationship between parameters of breath sounds and age and stature were studied. In Study 3, breath sounds were studied before and after β 2 agonist inhalation. In Study 1, the data showed statistical intra- and inter-observer reliability in A 3 /A T (p=0.042 and 0.034, respectively) and RPF 50 (p=0.001 and 0.001, respectively). In Study 2, there were no significant relationships between age, height, weight, and BMI. In Study 3, A 3 /A T and RPF 50 significantly changed after β 2 agonist inhalation (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Breath sound analysis can be performed in infants, as in older children, and the spectrum curve indices are not significantly affected by age-related factors. These sound parameters may play a role in the assessment of bronchial reversibility in infants. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Measurement of respiratory acoustical signals. Comparison of sensors.

PubMed

Pasterkamp, H; Kraman, S S; DeFrain, P D; Wodicka, G R

1993-11-01

We assessed the performance of three air-coupled and four contact sensors under standardized conditions of lung sound recording. Recordings were obtained from three of the investigators at the best site on the posterior lower chest as determined by auscultation. Lung sounds were band-pass filtered between 100 and 2,000 Hz and sampled simultaneously with calibrated airflow at a rate of 10 kHz. Fourier techniques were used for power spectral analysis. Average spectra for inspiratory sounds at flows of 2 +/- 0.5 L/s were referenced against background noise at zero flow. Air-coupled and contact sensors had comparable maximum signal-to-noise ratios and gave similar values for most spectral parameters. Unexpectedly, less sensitivity (lower signal-to-noise ratio) at high frequencies was observed in the air-coupled devices. Sensor performance needs to be characterized in studies of lung sounds. We suggest that lung sound spectra should be averaged at known airflows over several breaths and that all measurements should be reported relative to sounds recorded at zero flow.

Linking sounds to meanings: infant statistical learning in a natural language.

PubMed

Hay, Jessica F; Pelucchi, Bruna; Graf Estes, Katharine; Saffran, Jenny R

2011-09-01

The processes of infant word segmentation and infant word learning have largely been studied separately. However, the ease with which potential word forms are segmented from fluent speech seems likely to influence subsequent mappings between words and their referents. To explore this process, we tested the link between the statistical coherence of sequences presented in fluent speech and infants' subsequent use of those sequences as labels for novel objects. Notably, the materials were drawn from a natural language unfamiliar to the infants (Italian). The results of three experiments suggest that there is a close relationship between the statistics of the speech stream and subsequent mapping of labels to referents. Mapping was facilitated when the labels contained high transitional probabilities in the forward and/or backward direction (Experiment 1). When no transitional probability information was available (Experiment 2), or when the internal transitional probabilities of the labels were low in both directions (Experiment 3), infants failed to link the labels to their referents. Word learning appears to be strongly influenced by infants' prior experience with the distribution of sounds that make up words in natural languages. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

a Study on the Effect of Annealing Process on Sound Velocity and Internal Friction Using the Vibrating Reed Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukhopadhyay, P. K.; Kumar, Uday; Badawi, Emad

Al has unique intrinsic characteristics, which are of interest to scientists as well as engineers. Al and its alloys are slightly paramagnetic materials. Al has very low cross section for thermal neutrons of 0.23 barn, hence Al can be used in nuclear fields as a structural material which is virtually transparent to neutrons. We report VRT as a new technique to study material problems. We also discuss, the results of sound velocity and internal friction, and resonance frequency as a function of temperature range for a pure aluminum sample under investigation. By using VRT, we found that the annealing temperature (450°C) is sufficient to remove the type of defects introduced in the materials under study. The activation energy to remove point defect for Al samples was calculated and found to be about 0.0624 eV. Also, we could easily observe that Q-1 is a function of annealing time. From these measurements of sound velocity and internal friction we can conclude that VRT is a powerful tool for detecting and probing the physical properties of the material under study. Internal friction is a microscopic property for the indication of the purity of the sample. Sound velocity depends on the state of the materials (which depends on the process of treatment).

Sidescan-sonar imagery, multibeam bathymetry, and surficial geologic interpretations of the sea floor in Rhode Island Sound, off Sakonnet Point, Rhode Island

USGS Publications Warehouse

McMullen, Katherine Y.; Poppe, Lawrence J.; Twomey, Erin R.; Danforth, William W.; Haupt, Todd A.; Crocker, James M.

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to interpret the surficial geology in estuaries and sounds along the northeastern coast of the United States. This report interprets the area covered by NOAA Survey H11320, about 72 km² of sea floor in eastern Rhode Island Sound (RIS), located about 8 km south of Sakonnet Point, Rhode Island (fig. 1). Previous work in RIS includes studies of both sea-floor processes and subsurface geologic framework. McMaster (1960) mapped surficial sediment samples in Narragansett Bay and RIS and McMaster and others (1968) conducted a seismic-reflection survey in Block Island Sound and RIS. O'Hara and Oldale (1980) collected seismic-reflection profiles, sidescan-sonar data, and vibracores in eastern RIS (fig. 2). They interpreted the geologic history, assessed sand and gravel resources, and evaluated the mining impact of these resources. McMaster's (1960) interpretation of the surficial sediment within this study area consisted of sand with several isolated areas of gravel. Several other sediment samples were previously obtained within the study area: three National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) dredge samples from 1942 consisted of sand and one National Ocean Service (NOS) sample from 1939 was rocky (fig. 2; Poppe and others, 2003). The purpose of this report is to define the sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments and interpret processes occurring on the sea floor using sidescan-sonar imagery, multibeam bathymetry, and historic seismic-reflection profiles.

45 CFR 63.6 - Evaluation of applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... policy objectives; (2) Feasibility of the project; (3) Soundness of research design, statistical... qualifications and experience, including managerial, of personnel; (8) Adequacy of facilities and other resources... demonstrate to other potential users that such methods or techniques are feasible and cost-effective; (3) That...

45 CFR 63.6 - Evaluation of applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... policy objectives; (2) Feasibility of the project; (3) Soundness of research design, statistical... qualifications and experience, including managerial, of personnel; (8) Adequacy of facilities and other resources... demonstrate to other potential users that such methods or techniques are feasible and cost-effective; (3) That...

45 CFR 63.6 - Evaluation of applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... policy objectives; (2) Feasibility of the project; (3) Soundness of research design, statistical... qualifications and experience, including managerial, of personnel; (8) Adequacy of facilities and other resources... demonstrate to other potential users that such methods or techniques are feasible and cost-effective; (3) That...

The Sounds of Silence: Harassment in the Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKerrow, Kelly

2001-01-01

Examined differences in students', parents', teachers', and administrators' perceptions of harassment in the schools and of teacher and administrator support. Results highlighted statistically significant differences among groups regarding frequency and intensity of harassment and levels of support. Gender differences were only evident among…

42 CFR 417.126 - Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... safeguarding the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship, statistics and other information with... sound operation. (6) Other matters that CMS may require. (b) Significant business transactions. Each HMO..., CMS authorizes an extension of time), the following: (1) A description of significant business...

Vocalisation sound pattern identification in young broiler chickens.

PubMed

Fontana, I; Tullo, E; Scrase, A; Butterworth, A

2016-09-01

In this study, we describe the monitoring of young broiler chicken vocalisation, with sound recorded and assessed at regular intervals throughout the life of the birds from day 1 to day 38, with a focus on the first week of life. We assess whether there are recognisable, and even predictable, vocalisation patterns based on frequency and sound spectrum analysis, which can be observed in birds at different ages and stages of growth within the relatively short life of the birds in commercial broiler production cycles. The experimental trials were carried out in a farm where the broiler where reared indoor, and audio recording procedures carried out over 38 days. The recordings were made using two microphones connected to a digital recorder, and the sonic data was collected in situations without disturbance of the animals beyond that created by the routine activities of the farmer. Digital files of 1 h duration were cut into short files of 10 min duration, and these sound recordings were analysed and labelled using audio analysis software. Analysis of these short sound files showed that the key vocalisation frequency and patterns changed in relation to increasing age and the weight of the broilers. Statistical analysis showed a significant correlation (P<0.001) between the frequency of vocalisation and the age of the birds. Based on the identification of specific frequencies of the sounds emitted, in relation to age and weight, it is proposed that there is potential for audio monitoring and comparison with 'anticipated' sound patterns to be used to evaluate the status of farmed broiler chicken.

Accuracy of abdominal auscultation for bowel obstruction

PubMed Central

Breum, Birger Michael; Rud, Bo; Kirkegaard, Thomas; Nordentoft, Tyge

2015-01-01

AIM: To investigate the accuracy and inter-observer variation of bowel sound assessment in patients with clinically suspected bowel obstruction. METHODS: Bowel sounds were recorded in patients with suspected bowel obstruction using a Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope. The recordings were processed to yield 25-s sound sequences in random order on PCs. Observers, recruited from doctors within the department, classified the sound sequences as either normal or pathological. The reference tests for bowel obstruction were intraoperative and endoscopic findings and clinical follow up. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each observer and compared between junior and senior doctors. Interobserver variation was measured using the Kappa statistic. RESULTS: Bowel sound sequences from 98 patients were assessed by 53 (33 junior and 20 senior) doctors. Laparotomy was performed in 47 patients, 35 of whom had bowel obstruction. Two patients underwent colorectal stenting due to large bowel obstruction. The median sensitivity and specificity was 0.42 (range: 0.19-0.64) and 0.78 (range: 0.35-0.98), respectively. There was no significant difference in accuracy between junior and senior doctors. The median frequency with which doctors classified bowel sounds as abnormal did not differ significantly between patients with and without bowel obstruction (26% vs 23%, P = 0.08). The 53 doctors made up 1378 unique pairs and the median Kappa value was 0.29 (range: -0.15-0.66). CONCLUSION: Accuracy and inter-observer agreement was generally low. Clinical decisions in patients with possible bowel obstruction should not be based on auscultatory assessment of bowel sounds. PMID:26379407

Characterization of Sound Radiation by Unresolved Scales of Motion in Computational Aeroacoustics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rubinstein, Robert; Zhou, Ye

1999-01-01

Evaluation of the sound sources in a high Reynolds number turbulent flow requires time-accurate resolution of an extremely large number of scales of motion. Direct numerical simulations will therefore remain infeasible for the forseeable future: although current large eddy simulation methods can resolve the largest scales of motion accurately the, they must leave some scales of motion unresolved. A priori studies show that acoustic power can be underestimated significantly if the contribution of these unresolved scales is simply neglected. In this paper, the problem of evaluating the sound radiation properties of the unresolved, subgrid-scale motions is approached in the spirit of the simplest subgrid stress models: the unresolved velocity field is treated as isotropic turbulence with statistical descriptors, evaluated from the resolved field. The theory of isotropic turbulence is applied to derive formulas for the total power and the power spectral density of the sound radiated by a filtered velocity field. These quantities are compared with the corresponding quantities for the unfiltered field for a range of filter widths and Reynolds numbers.

A vessel noise budget for Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington (USA).

PubMed

Bassett, Christopher; Polagye, Brian; Holt, Marla; Thomson, Jim

2012-12-01

One calendar year of Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship-traffic data was paired with hydrophone recordings to assess ambient noise in northern Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, WA (USA) and to quantify the contribution of vessel traffic. The study region included inland waters of the Salish Sea within a 20 km radius of the hydrophone deployment site. Spectra and hourly, daily, and monthly ambient noise statistics for unweighted broadband (0.02-30 kHz) and marine mammal, or M-weighted, sound pressure levels showed variability driven largely by vessel traffic. Over the calendar year, 1363 unique AIS transmitting vessels were recorded, with at least one AIS transmitting vessel present in the study area 90% of the time. A vessel noise budget was calculated for all vessels equipped with AIS transponders. Cargo ships were the largest contributor to the vessel noise budget, followed by tugs and passenger vessels. A simple model to predict received levels at the site based on an incoherent summation of noise from different vessels resulted in a cumulative probability density function of broadband sound pressure levels that shows good agreement with 85% of the temporal data.

The Measurement of the Oral and Nasal Sound Pressure Levels of Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Wayne M.

1975-01-01

A nasal separator was used to measure the oral and nasal components in the speech of a normal adult Australian population. Results indicated no difference in oral and nasal sound pressure levels for read versus spontaneous speech samples; however, females tended to have a higher nasal component than did males. (Author/TL)

Speech-Language Pathologists' Assessment Practices for Children with Suspected Speech Sound Disorders: Results of a National Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skahan, Sarah M.; Watson, Maggie; Lof, Gregory L.

2007-01-01

Purpose: This study examined assessment procedures used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) when assessing children suspected of having speech sound disorders (SSD). This national survey also determined the information participants obtained from clients' speech samples, evaluation of non-native English speakers, and time spent on assessment.…

78 FR 3356 - Airworthiness Directives; Various Aircraft Equipped With Wing Lift Struts

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-16

... (or similar steel with equivalent sound velocity) or at least three shim samples of same material will... procedure is used to set the sound velocity. 6. Obtain a step wedge or steel shims per item 3 of the... that the gate is triggered by the second backwall reflection of the thick section. If the digital...

3-D inversion of airborne electromagnetic data parallelized and accelerated by local mesh and adaptive soundings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Dikun; Oldenburg, Douglas W.; Haber, Eldad

2014-03-01

Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) methods are highly efficient tools for assessing the Earth's conductivity structures in a large area at low cost. However, the configuration of AEM measurements, which typically have widely distributed transmitter-receiver pairs, makes the rigorous modelling and interpretation extremely time-consuming in 3-D. Excessive overcomputing can occur when working on a large mesh covering the entire survey area and inverting all soundings in the data set. We propose two improvements. The first is to use a locally optimized mesh for each AEM sounding for the forward modelling and calculation of sensitivity. This dedicated local mesh is small with fine cells near the sounding location and coarse cells far away in accordance with EM diffusion and the geometric decay of the signals. Once the forward problem is solved on the local meshes, the sensitivity for the inversion on the global mesh is available through quick interpolation. Using local meshes for AEM forward modelling avoids unnecessary computing on fine cells on a global mesh that are far away from the sounding location. Since local meshes are highly independent, the forward modelling can be efficiently parallelized over an array of processors. The second improvement is random and dynamic down-sampling of the soundings. Each inversion iteration only uses a random subset of the soundings, and the subset is reselected for every iteration. The number of soundings in the random subset, determined by an adaptive algorithm, is tied to the degree of model regularization. This minimizes the overcomputing caused by working with redundant soundings. Our methods are compared against conventional methods and tested with a synthetic example. We also invert a field data set that was previously considered to be too large to be practically inverted in 3-D. These examples show that our methodology can dramatically reduce the processing time of 3-D inversion to a practical level without losing resolution. Any existing modelling technique can be included into our framework of mesh decoupling and adaptive sampling to accelerate large-scale 3-D EM inversions.

Prediction of sound absorption in rigid porous media with the lattice Boltzmann method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Silva, Andrey Ricardo; Mareze, Paulo; Brandão, Eric

2016-02-01

In this work, sound absorption phenomena associated with the viscous shear stress within rigid porous media is investigated with a simple isothermal lattice Boltzmann BGK model. Simulations are conducted for different macroscopic material properties such as sample thickness and porosity and the results are compared with the exact analytical solution for materials with slit-like structure in terms of acoustic impedance and sound absorption coefficient. The numerical results agree very well with the exact solution, particularly for the sound absorption coefficient. The small deviations found in the low frequency limit for the real part of the acoustic impedance are attributed to the ratio between the thicknesses of the slit and the viscous boundary layer. The results suggest that the lattice Boltzmann method can be a very compelling numerical tool for simulating viscous sound absorption phenomena in the time domain, particularly due to its computational simplicity when compared to traditional continuum based techniques.

Simulation of prenatal maternal sounds in NICU incubators: a pilot safety and feasibility study.

PubMed

Panagiotidis, John; Lahav, Amir

2010-10-01

This pilot study evaluated the safety and feasibility of an innovative audio system for transmitting maternal sounds to NICU incubators. A sample of biological sounds, consisting of voice and heartbeat, were recorded from a mother of a premature infant admitted to our unit. The maternal sounds were then played back inside an unoccupied incubator via a specialized audio system originated and compiled in our lab. We performed a series of evaluations to determine the safety and feasibility of using this system in NICU incubators. The proposed audio system was found to be safe and feasible, meeting criteria for humidity and temperature resistance, as well as for safe noise levels. Simulation of maternal sounds using this system seems achievable and applicable and received local support from medical staff. Further research and technology developments are needed to optimize the design of the NICU incubators to preserve the acoustic environment of the womb.

Frequency shifting approach towards textual transcription of heartbeat sounds.

PubMed

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

2011-10-04

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

Modern pollen deposition in Long Island Sound

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beuning, Kristina R.M.; Fransen, Lindsey; Nakityo, Berna; Mecray, Ellen L.; Buchholtz ten Brink, Marilyn R.

2000-01-01

Palynological analyses of 20 surface sediment samples collected from Long Island Sound show a pollen assemblage dominated by Carya, Betula, Pinus, Quercus, Tsuga, and Ambrosia, as is consistent with the regional vegetation. No trends in relative abundance of these pollen types occur either from west to east or associated with modern riverine inputs throughout the basin. Despite the large-scale, long-term removal of fine-grained sediment from winnowed portions of the eastern Sound, the composition of the pollen and spore component of the sedimentary matrix conforms to a basin-wide homogeneous signal. These results strongly support the use of select regional palynological boundaries as chronostratigraphic tools to provide a framework for interpretation of the late glacial and Holocene history of the Long Island Sound basin sediments.

Validation of the French Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: An Examination of Its Factor Structure, Reliability, and Construct Validity in a Nonclinical Sample

PubMed Central

Brunault, Paul; Ballon, Nicolas; Gaillard, Philippe; Réveillère, Christian; Courtois, Robert

2014-01-01

Objective: The concept of food addiction has recently been proposed by applying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, criteria for substance dependence to eating behaviour. Food addiction has received increased attention given that it may play a role in binge eating, eating disorders, and the recent increase in obesity prevalence. Currently, there is no psychometrically sound tool for assessing food addiction in French. Our study aimed to test the psychometric properties of a French version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) by establishing its factor structure and construct validity in a nonclinical population. Method: A total of 553 participants were assessed for food addiction (French version of the YFAS) and binge eating behaviour (Bulimic Investigatory Test Edinburgh and Binge Eating Scale). We tested the scale’s factor structure (factor analysis for dichotomous data based on tetrachoric correlation coefficients), internal consistency, and construct validity with measures of binge eating. Results: Our results supported a 1-factor structure, which accounted for 54.1% of the variance. This tool had adequate reliability and high construct validity with measures of binge eating in this population, both in its diagnosis and symptom count version. A 2-factor structure explained an additional 9.1% of the variance, and could differentiate between patients with high, compared with low, levels of insight regarding addiction symptoms. Conclusions: In our study, we validated a psychometrically sound French version of the YFAS, both in its symptom count and diagnostic version. Future studies should validate this tool in clinical samples. PMID:25007281

Wave chaos in a randomly inhomogeneous waveguide: spectral analysis of the finite-range evolution operator.

PubMed

Makarov, D V; Kon'kov, L E; Uleysky, M Yu; Petrov, P S

2013-01-01

The problem of sound propagation in a randomly inhomogeneous oceanic waveguide is considered. An underwater sound channel in the Sea of Japan is taken as an example. Our attention is concentrated on the domains of finite-range ray stability in phase space and their influence on wave dynamics. These domains can be found by means of the one-step Poincare map. To study manifestations of finite-range ray stability, we introduce the finite-range evolution operator (FREO) describing transformation of a wave field in the course of propagation along a finite segment of a waveguide. Carrying out statistical analysis of the FREO spectrum, we estimate the contribution of regular domains and explore their evanescence with increasing length of the segment. We utilize several methods of spectral analysis: analysis of eigenfunctions by expanding them over modes of the unperturbed waveguide, approximation of level-spacing statistics by means of the Berry-Robnik distribution, and the procedure used by A. Relano and coworkers [Relano et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 244102 (2002); Relano, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 224101 (2008)]. Comparing the results obtained with different methods, we find that the method based on the statistical analysis of FREO eigenfunctions is the most favorable for estimating the contribution of regular domains. It allows one to find directly the waveguide modes whose refraction is regular despite the random inhomogeneity. For example, it is found that near-axial sound propagation in the Sea of Japan preserves stability even over distances of hundreds of kilometers due to the presence of a shearless torus in the classical phase space. Increasing the acoustic wavelength degrades scattering, resulting in recovery of eigenfunction localization near periodic orbits of the one-step Poincaré map.

Comprehensive measures of sound exposures in cinemas using smart phones.

PubMed

Huth, Markus E; Popelka, Gerald R; Blevins, Nikolas H

2014-01-01

Sensorineural hearing loss from sound overexposure has a considerable prevalence. Identification of sound hazards is crucial, as prevention, due to a lack of definitive therapies, is the sole alternative to hearing aids. One subjectively loud, yet little studied, potential sound hazard is movie theaters. This study uses smart phones to evaluate their applicability as a widely available, validated sound pressure level (SPL) meter. Therefore, this study measures sound levels in movie theaters to determine whether sound levels exceed safe occupational noise exposure limits and whether sound levels in movie theaters differ as a function of movie, movie theater, presentation time, and seat location within the theater. Six smart phones with an SPL meter software application were calibrated with a precision SPL meter and validated as an SPL meter. Additionally, three different smart phone generations were measured in comparison to an integrating SPL meter. Two different movies, an action movie and a children's movie, were measured six times each in 10 different venues (n = 117). To maximize representativeness, movies were selected focusing on large release productions with probable high attendance. Movie theaters were selected in the San Francisco, CA, area based on whether they screened both chosen movies and to represent the largest variety of theater proprietors. Measurements were analyzed in regard to differences between theaters, location within the theater, movie, as well as presentation time and day as indirect indicator of film attendance. The smart phone measurements demonstrated high accuracy and reliability. Overall, sound levels in movie theaters do not exceed safe exposure limits by occupational standards. Sound levels vary significantly across theaters and demonstrated statistically significant higher sound levels and exposures in the action movie compared to the children's movie. Sound levels decrease with distance from the screen. However, no influence on time of day or day of the week as indirect indicator of film attendance could be found. Calibrated smart phones with an appropriate software application as used in this study can be utilized as a validated SPL meter. Because of the wide availability, smart phones in combination with the software application can provide high quantity recreational sound exposure measurements, which can facilitate the identification of potential noise hazards. Sound levels in movie theaters decrease with distance to the screen, but do not exceed safe occupational noise exposure limits. Additionally, there are significant differences in sound levels across movie theaters and movies, but not in presentation time.

Improved VAS regression soundings of mesoscale temperature structure observed during the 1982 atmospheric variability experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chesters, Dennis; Keyser, Dennis A.; Larko, David E.; Uccellini, Louis W.

1987-01-01

An Atmospheric Variability Experiment (AVE) was conducted over the central U.S. in the spring of 1982, collecting radiosonde date to verify mesoscale soundings from the VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) on the GOES satellite. Previously published VAS/AVE comparisons for the 6 March 1982 case found that the satellite retrievals scarcely detected a low level temperature inversion or a mid-tropospheric cold pool over a special mesoscale radiosonde verification network in north central Texas. The previously published regression and physical retrieval algorithms did not fully utilize VAS' sensitivity to important subsynoptic thermal features. Therefore, the 6 March 1982 case was reprocessed adding two enhancements to the VAS regression retrieval algorithm: (1) the regression matrix was determined using AVE profile data obtained in the region at asynoptic times, and (2) more optimistic signal-to-noise statistical conditioning factors were applied to the VAS temperature sounding channels. The new VAS soundings resolve more of the low level temperature inversion and mid-level cold pool. Most of the improvements stems from the utilization of asynoptic radiosonde observations at NWS sites. This case suggests that VAS regression soundings may require a ground-based asynoptic profiler network to bridge the gap between the synoptic radiosonde network and the high resolution geosynchronous satellite observations during the day.

Observations of sound-speed fluctuations in the western Philippine Sea in the spring of 2009.

PubMed

Colosi, John A; Van Uffelen, Lora J; Cornuelle, Bruce D; Dzieciuch, Matthew A; Worcester, Peter F; Dushaw, Brian D; Ramp, Steven R

2013-10-01

As an aid to understanding long-range acoustic propagation in the Philippine Sea, statistical and phenomenological descriptions of sound-speed variations were developed. Two moorings of oceanographic sensors located in the western Philippine Sea in the spring of 2009 were used to track constant potential-density surfaces (isopycnals) and constant potential-temperature surfaces (isotherms) in the depth range 120-2000 m. The vertical displacements of these surfaces are used to estimate sound-speed fluctuations from internal waves, while temperature/salinity variability along isopycnals are used to estimate sound-speed fluctuations from intrusive structure often termed spice. Frequency spectra and vertical covariance functions are used to describe the space-time scales of the displacements and spiciness. Internal-wave contributions from diurnal and semi-diurnal internal tides and the diffuse internal-wave field [related to the Garrett-Munk (GM) spectrum] are found to dominate the sound-speed variability. Spice fluctuations are weak in comparison. The internal wave and spice frequency spectra have similar form in the upper ocean but are markedly different below 170-m depth. Diffuse internal-wave mode spectra show a form similar to the GM model, while internal-tide mode spectra scale as mode number to the minus two power. Spice decorrelates rapidly with depth, with a typical correlation scale of tens of meters.

Neural correlates of auditory short-term memory in rostral superior temporal cortex

PubMed Central

Scott, Brian H.; Mishkin, Mortimer; Yin, Pingbo

2014-01-01

Summary Background Auditory short-term memory (STM) in the monkey is less robust than visual STM and may depend on a retained sensory trace, which is likely to reside in the higher-order cortical areas of the auditory ventral stream. Results We recorded from the rostral superior temporal cortex as monkeys performed serial auditory delayed-match-to-sample (DMS). A subset of neurons exhibited modulations of their firing rate during the delay between sounds, during the sensory response, or both. This distributed subpopulation carried a predominantly sensory signal modulated by the mnemonic context of the stimulus. Excitatory and suppressive effects on match responses were dissociable in their timing, and in their resistance to sounds intervening between the sample and match. Conclusions Like the monkeys’ behavioral performance, these neuronal effects differ from those reported in the same species during visual DMS, suggesting different neural mechanisms for retaining dynamic sounds and static images in STM. PMID:25456448

QUANTITATIVE NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION (QNDE) OF THE ELASTIC MODULI OF POROUS TIAL ALLOYS

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

Yeheskel, O.

2008-02-28

The elastic moduli of {gamma}-TiA1 were studied in porous samples consolidated by various techniques e.g. cold isostatic pressing (CIP), pressure-less sintering, or hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Porosity linearly affects the dynamic elastic moduli of samples. The results indicate that the sound wave velocities and the elastic moduli affected by the processing route and depend not only on the attained density but also on the consolidation temperature. In this paper we show that there is linear correlation between the shear and the longitudinal sound velocities in porous TiA1. This opens the way to use a single sound velocity as a toolmore » for quantitative non-destructive evaluation (QNDE) of porous TiA1 alloys. Here we demonstrate the applicability of an equation derived from the elastic theory and used previously for porous cubic metals.« less

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

PubMed

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

2016-07-01

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

Surface Reflectometry and Ionosphere Sounding from the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grima, C.; Blankenship, D. D.; Schroeder, D. M.; Moussessian, A.; Soderlund, K. M.; Gim, Y.; Plaut, J. J.; Greenbaum, J. S.; Lopez Garcia, E.; Campbell, B. A.; Putzig, N. E.; Patterson, G.

2015-12-01

The Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) has been selected for the scientific payload of a NASA's multiple flyby mission to explore the icy moon Europa. REASON is an active dual-frequency (9/60 MHz) instrument led by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG). It is designed to achieve multi-disciplinary measurements to investigate subsurface waters and the ice shell structure (Sounding), the surface elevation and tides (Altimetry), the surface physical properties (Reflectometry), and the ionospheric environment (Plasma/Particles). We will present the concepts behind the "Reflectometry" and "Plasma/Particles" measurements, demonstrate their efficiency with planetary analogs, and anticipate their capabilities for the exploration of Europa. We will also highlight the potential synergies with other instruments selected for the Europa mission payload.The "Reflectometry" compares the statistical behavior of the surface echo amplitudes with theoretical stochastic models to separate the reflected and scattered contributions to the signal. Once those two components are deduced they are used in a backscattering model to invert surface properties such as roughness, density, and/or impurity load. "Reflectometry" measurements will contribute to the statistical characterization of the surface over ~ 10-km-long areas with a ~ 10 m skin depth for geological investigation, near-surface brine detection, plume-deposited snow characterization, and landing site reconnaissance. The "Plasma/Particles" measurement relies on the dispersive signal delays induced by the ionospheric content integrated along the radio propagation path. Correction of this delay with existing techniques provides the total electron content below the spacecraft. "Plasma/Particles" measurements will constrain the ionosphere's shape and variability along the acquisition track and might detect transient plume-induced ionosphere when active.

Musical Sound, Instruments, and Equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Photinos, Panos

2017-12-01

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

Temporal processing and adaptation in the songbird auditory forebrain.

PubMed

Nagel, Katherine I; Doupe, Allison J

2006-09-21

Songbird auditory neurons must encode the dynamics of natural sounds at many volumes. We investigated how neural coding depends on the distribution of stimulus intensities. Using reverse-correlation, we modeled responses to amplitude-modulated sounds as the output of a linear filter and a nonlinear gain function, then asked how filters and nonlinearities depend on the stimulus mean and variance. Filter shape depended strongly on mean amplitude (volume): at low mean, most neurons integrated sound over many milliseconds, while at high mean, neurons responded more to local changes in amplitude. Increasing the variance (contrast) of amplitude modulations had less effect on filter shape but decreased the gain of firing in most cells. Both filter and gain changes occurred rapidly after a change in statistics, suggesting that they represent nonlinearities in processing. These changes may permit neurons to signal effectively over a wider dynamic range and are reminiscent of findings in other sensory systems.

Contrast Gain Control in Auditory Cortex

PubMed Central

Rabinowitz, Neil C.; Willmore, Ben D.B.; Schnupp, Jan W.H.; King, Andrew J.

2011-01-01

Summary The auditory system must represent sounds with a wide range of statistical properties. One important property is the spectrotemporal contrast in the acoustic environment: the variation in sound pressure in each frequency band, relative to the mean pressure. We show that neurons in ferret auditory cortex rescale their gain to partially compensate for the spectrotemporal contrast of recent stimulation. When contrast is low, neurons increase their gain, becoming more sensitive to small changes in the stimulus, although the effectiveness of contrast gain control is reduced at low mean levels. Gain is primarily determined by contrast near each neuron's preferred frequency, but there is also a contribution from contrast in more distant frequency bands. Neural responses are modulated by contrast over timescales of ∼100 ms. By using contrast gain control to expand or compress the representation of its inputs, the auditory system may be seeking an efficient coding of natural sounds. PMID:21689603

Determining the sources of fine-grained sediment using the Sediment Source Assessment Tool (Sed_SAT)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gorman Sanisaca, Lillian E.; Gellis, Allen C.; Lorenz, David L.

2017-07-27

A sound understanding of sources contributing to instream sediment flux in a watershed is important when developing total maximum daily load (TMDL) management strategies designed to reduce suspended sediment in streams. Sediment fingerprinting and sediment budget approaches are two techniques that, when used jointly, can qualify and quantify the major sources of sediment in a given watershed. The sediment fingerprinting approach uses trace element concentrations from samples in known potential source areas to determine a clear signature of each potential source. A mixing model is then used to determine the relative source contribution to the target suspended sediment samples.The computational steps required to apportion sediment for each target sample are quite involved and time intensive, a problem the Sediment Source Assessment Tool (Sed_SAT) addresses. Sed_SAT is a user-friendly statistical model that guides the user through the necessary steps in order to quantify the relative contributions of sediment sources in a given watershed. The model is written using the statistical software R (R Core Team, 2016b) and utilizes Microsoft Access® as a user interface but requires no prior knowledge of R or Microsoft Access® to successfully run the model successfully. Sed_SAT identifies outliers, corrects for differences in size and organic content in the source samples relative to the target samples, evaluates the conservative behavior of tracers used in fingerprinting by applying a “Bracket Test,” identifies tracers with the highest discriminatory power, and provides robust error analysis through a Monte Carlo simulation following the mixing model. Quantifying sediment source contributions using the sediment fingerprinting approach provides local, State, and Federal land management agencies with important information needed to implement effective strategies to reduce sediment. Sed_SAT is designed to assist these agencies in applying the sediment fingerprinting approach to quantify sediment sources in the sediment TMDL framework.

A sound budget for the southeastern Bering Sea: measuring wind, rainfall, shipping, and other sources of underwater sound.

PubMed

Nystuen, Jeffrey A; Moore, Sue E; Stabeno, Phyllis J

2010-07-01

Ambient sound in the ocean contains quantifiable information about the marine environment. A passive aquatic listener (PAL) was deployed at a long-term mooring site in the southeastern Bering Sea from 27 April through 28 September 2004. This was a chain mooring with lots of clanking. However, the sampling strategy of the PAL filtered through this noise and allowed the background sound field to be quantified for natural signals. Distinctive signals include the sound from wind, drizzle and rain. These sources dominate the sound budget and their intensity can be used to quantify wind speed and rainfall rate. The wind speed measurement has an accuracy of +/-0.4 m s(-1) when compared to a buoy-mounted anemometer. The rainfall rate measurement is consistent with a land-based measurement in the Aleutian chain at Cold Bay, AK (170 km south of the mooring location). Other identifiable sounds include ships and short transient tones. The PAL was designed to reject transients in the range important for quantification of wind speed and rainfall, but serendipitously recorded peaks in the sound spectrum between 200 Hz and 3 kHz. Some of these tones are consistent with whale calls, but most are apparently associated with mooring self-noise.

Graphene-on-paper sound source devices.

PubMed

Tian, He; Ren, Tian-Ling; Xie, Dan; Wang, Yu-Feng; Zhou, Chang-Jian; Feng, Ting-Ting; Fu, Di; Yang, Yi; Peng, Ping-Gang; Wang, Li-Gang; Liu, Li-Tian

2011-06-28

We demonstrate an interesting phenomenon that graphene can emit sound. The application of graphene can be expanded in the acoustic field. Graphene-on-paper sound source devices are made by patterning graphene on paper substrates. Three graphene sheet samples with the thickness of 100, 60, and 20 nm were fabricated. Sound emission from graphene is measured as a function of power, distance, angle, and frequency in the far-field. The theoretical model of air/graphene/paper/PCB board multilayer structure is established to analyze the sound directivity, frequency response, and efficiency. Measured sound pressure level (SPL) and efficiency are in good agreement with theoretical results. It is found that graphene has a significant flat frequency response in the wide ultrasound range 20-50 kHz. In addition, the thinner graphene sheets can produce higher SPL due to its lower heat capacity per unit area (HCPUA). The infrared thermal images reveal that a thermoacoustic effect is the working principle. We find that the sound performance mainly depends on the HCPUA of the conductor and the thermal properties of the substrate. The paper-based graphene sound source devices have highly reliable, flexible, no mechanical vibration, simple structure and high performance characteristics. It could open wide applications in multimedia, consumer electronics, biological, medical, and many other areas.

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

PubMed

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

2016-01-01

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

Methods and measurements in real-time air traffic control system simulation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1983-04-01

The major purpose of this work was to asses dynamic simulation of air traffic control systems as a technique for evaluating such systems in a statistically sound and objective manner. A large set of customarily used measures based on the system missi...

Risk Driven Outcome-Based Command and Control (C2) Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

shaping the risk ranking scores into more interpretable and statistically sound risk measures. Regression analysis was applied to determine what...Architecture Framework Implementation, AFCEA Coursebook 503J, February 8-11, 2000, San Diego, California. [Morgan and Henrion, 1990] M. Granger Morgan and

Installing a Practical Research Project and Interpreting Research Results

Treesearch

Kasten R. Dumroese; David L. Wenny

2003-01-01

The basic concepts of the scientific method and research process are reviewed. An example from a bareroot nursery demonstrates how a practical research project can be done at any type of nursery, meshing sound statistical principles with the limitations of busy nursery managers.

Combined VHF Dopplar radar and airborne (CV-990) measurements of atmospheric winds on the mesoscale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fairall, Christopher W.; Thomson, Dennis W.

1989-01-01

Hourly measurements of wind speed and direction obtained using two wind profiling Doppler radars during two prolonged jet stream occurrences over western Pennsylvania were analyzed. In particular, the time-variant characteristics of derived shear profiles were examined. To prevent a potential loss of structural detail and retain statistical significance, data from both radars were stratified into categories based on the location data from the Penn State radar were also compared to data from Pittsburgh radiosondes. Profiler data dropouts were studied in an attempt to determine possible reasons for the apparently reduced performance of profiling radars operating beneath a jet stream. Temperature profiles for the radar site were obtained using an interpolated temperature and dewpoint temperature sounding procedure developed at Penn State. The combination of measured wind and interpolated temperature profiles allowed Richardson number profiles to be generated for the profiler sounding volume. Both Richardson number and wind shear statistics were then examined along with pilot reports of turbulence in the vicinity of the profiler.

On the angular error of intensity vector based direction of arrival estimation in reverberant sound fields.

PubMed

Levin, Dovid; Habets, Emanuël A P; Gannot, Sharon

2010-10-01

An acoustic vector sensor provides measurements of both the pressure and particle velocity of a sound field in which it is placed. These measurements are vectorial in nature and can be used for the purpose of source localization. A straightforward approach towards determining the direction of arrival (DOA) utilizes the acoustic intensity vector, which is the product of pressure and particle velocity. The accuracy of an intensity vector based DOA estimator in the presence of noise has been analyzed previously. In this paper, the effects of reverberation upon the accuracy of such a DOA estimator are examined. It is shown that particular realizations of reverberation differ from an ideal isotropically diffuse field, and induce an estimation bias which is dependent upon the room impulse responses (RIRs). The limited knowledge available pertaining the RIRs is expressed statistically by employing the diffuse qualities of reverberation to extend Polack's statistical RIR model. Expressions for evaluating the typical bias magnitude as well as its probability distribution are derived.

Interdependent effects of sound duration and amplitude on neuronal onset response in mice inferior colliculus.

PubMed

Wang, Ningqian; Wang, Xiao; Yang, Xiaoli; Tang, Jie; Xiao, Zhongju

2014-01-16

In this study, we adopted iso-frequency pure tone bursts to investigate the interdependent effects of sound amplitude/intensity and duration on mice inferior colliculus (IC) neuronal onset responses. On the majority of the sampled neurons (n=57, 89.1%), sound amplitude and duration had effects on the neuronal response to each other by showing complex changes of the rat-intensity function/duration selectivity types and/or best amplitudes (BAs)/durations (BDs), evaluated by spike counts. These results suggested that the balance between the excitatory and inhibitory inputs set by one acoustic parameter, amplitude or duration, affected the neuronal spike counts responses to the other. Neuronal duration selectivity types were altered easily by the low-amplitude sounds while the changes of rate-intensity function types had no obvious preferred stimulus durations. However, the first spike latencies (FSLs) of the onset response neurons were relative stable to iso-amplitude sound durations and changing systematically along with the sound levels. The superimposition of FSL and duration threshold (DT) as a function of stimulus amplitude after normalization indicated that the effects of the sound levels on FSLs are considered on DT actually. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Scanning silence: mental imagery of complex sounds.

PubMed

Bunzeck, Nico; Wuestenberg, Torsten; Lutz, Kai; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Jancke, Lutz

2005-07-15

In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we investigated the neural basis of mental auditory imagery of familiar complex sounds that did not contain language or music. In the first condition (perception), the subjects watched familiar scenes and listened to the corresponding sounds that were presented simultaneously. In the second condition (imagery), the same scenes were presented silently and the subjects had to mentally imagine the appropriate sounds. During the third condition (control), the participants watched a scrambled version of the scenes without sound. To overcome the disadvantages of the stray acoustic scanner noise in auditory fMRI experiments, we applied sparse temporal sampling technique with five functional clusters that were acquired at the end of each movie presentation. Compared to the control condition, we found bilateral activations in the primary and secondary auditory cortices (including Heschl's gyrus and planum temporale) during perception of complex sounds. In contrast, the imagery condition elicited bilateral hemodynamic responses only in the secondary auditory cortex (including the planum temporale). No significant activity was observed in the primary auditory cortex. The results show that imagery and perception of complex sounds that do not contain language or music rely on overlapping neural correlates of the secondary but not primary auditory cortex.

Quantifying the effectiveness of shoreline armoring removal on coastal biota of Puget Sound.

PubMed

Lee, Timothy S; Toft, Jason D; Cordell, Jeffery R; Dethier, Megan N; Adams, Jeffrey W; Kelly, Ryan P

2018-01-01

Shoreline armoring is prevalent around the world with unprecedented human population growth and urbanization along coastal habitats. Armoring structures, such as riprap and bulkheads, that are built to prevent beach erosion and protect coastal infrastructure from storms and flooding can cause deterioration of habitats for migratory fish species, disrupt aquatic-terrestrial connectivity, and reduce overall coastal ecosystem health. Relative to armored shorelines, natural shorelines retain valuable habitats for macroinvertebrates and other coastal biota. One question is whether the impacts of armoring are reversible, allowing restoration via armoring removal and related actions of sediment nourishment and replanting of native riparian vegetation. Armoring removal is targeted as a viable option for restoring some habitat functions, but few assessments of coastal biota response exist. Here, we use opportunistic sampling of pre- and post-restoration data for five biotic measures (wrack % cover, saltmarsh % cover, number of logs, and macroinvertebrate abundance and richness) from a set of six restored sites in Puget Sound, WA, USA. This broad suite of ecosystem metrics responded strongly and positively to armor removal, and these results were evident after less than one year. Restoration responses remained positive and statistically significant across different shoreline elevations and temporal trajectories. This analysis shows that removing shoreline armoring is effective for restoration projects aimed at improving the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems, and these results may be widely applicable.

Quantifying the effectiveness of shoreline armoring removal on coastal biota of Puget Sound

PubMed Central

Toft, Jason D.; Adams, Jeffrey W.

2018-01-01

Shoreline armoring is prevalent around the world with unprecedented human population growth and urbanization along coastal habitats. Armoring structures, such as riprap and bulkheads, that are built to prevent beach erosion and protect coastal infrastructure from storms and flooding can cause deterioration of habitats for migratory fish species, disrupt aquatic–terrestrial connectivity, and reduce overall coastal ecosystem health. Relative to armored shorelines, natural shorelines retain valuable habitats for macroinvertebrates and other coastal biota. One question is whether the impacts of armoring are reversible, allowing restoration via armoring removal and related actions of sediment nourishment and replanting of native riparian vegetation. Armoring removal is targeted as a viable option for restoring some habitat functions, but few assessments of coastal biota response exist. Here, we use opportunistic sampling of pre- and post-restoration data for five biotic measures (wrack % cover, saltmarsh % cover, number of logs, and macroinvertebrate abundance and richness) from a set of six restored sites in Puget Sound, WA, USA. This broad suite of ecosystem metrics responded strongly and positively to armor removal, and these results were evident after less than one year. Restoration responses remained positive and statistically significant across different shoreline elevations and temporal trajectories. This analysis shows that removing shoreline armoring is effective for restoration projects aimed at improving the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems, and these results may be widely applicable. PMID:29492331

Frustration in the pattern formation of polysyllabic words

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayata, Kazuya

2016-12-01

A novel frustrated system is given for the analysis of (m + 1)-syllabled vocal sounds for languages with the m-vowel system, where the varieties of vowels are assumed to be m (m > 2). The necessary and sufficient condition for observing the sound frustration is that the configuration of m vowels in an m-syllabled word has a preference for the ‘repulsive’ type, in which there is no duplication of an identical vowel. For languages that meet this requirement, no (m + 1)-syllabled word can in principle select the present type because at most m different vowels are available and consequently the duplicated use of an identical vowel is inevitable. For languages showing a preference for the ‘attractive’ type, where an identical vowel aggregates in a word, there arises no such conflict. In this paper, we first elucidate for Arabic with m = 3 how to deal with the conflicting situation, where a statistical approach based on the chi-square testing is employed. In addition to the conventional three-vowel system, analyses are made also for Russian, where a polysyllabic word contains both a stressed and an indeterminate vowel. Through the statistical analyses the selection scheme for quadrisyllabic configurations is found to be strongly dependent on the parts of speech as well as the gender of nouns. In order to emphasize the relevance to the sound model of binary oppositions, analyzed results of Greek verbs are also given.

Simulation on a car interior aerodynamic noise control based on statistical energy analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xin; Wang, Dengfeng; Ma, Zhengdong

2012-09-01

How to simulate interior aerodynamic noise accurately is an important question of a car interior noise reduction. The unsteady aerodynamic pressure on body surfaces is proved to be the key effect factor of car interior aerodynamic noise control in high frequency on high speed. In this paper, a detail statistical energy analysis (SEA) model is built. And the vibra-acoustic power inputs are loaded on the model for the valid result of car interior noise analysis. The model is the solid foundation for further optimization on car interior noise control. After the most sensitive subsystems for the power contribution to car interior noise are pointed by SEA comprehensive analysis, the sound pressure level of car interior aerodynamic noise can be reduced by improving their sound and damping characteristics. The further vehicle testing results show that it is available to improve the interior acoustic performance by using detailed SEA model, which comprised by more than 80 subsystems, with the unsteady aerodynamic pressure calculation on body surfaces and the materials improvement of sound/damping properties. It is able to acquire more than 2 dB reduction on the central frequency in the spectrum over 800 Hz. The proposed optimization method can be looked as a reference of car interior aerodynamic noise control by the detail SEA model integrated unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and sensitivity analysis of acoustic contribution.

29 CFR 1926.52 - Occupational noise exposure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... protective equipment as required in subpart E, shall be provided and used to reduce sound levels within the... Noise Exposures Duration per day, hours Sound level dBA slow response 8 90 6 92 4 95 3 97 2 100 11/2 102... sample computation showing an application of the formula in paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section is as...

29 CFR 1926.52 - Occupational noise exposure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... protective equipment as required in subpart E, shall be provided and used to reduce sound levels within the... Noise Exposures Duration per day, hours Sound level dBA slow response 8 90 6 92 4 95 3 97 2 100 11/2 102... sample computation showing an application of the formula in paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section is as...

Use of Clostridium perfringens as a fecal indicator to detect intertidal disposal at backcountry marine campsites in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Treesearch

Gino Graziano; Paul Twardock; Rusty Myers; Roman Dial; David Scheel

2007-01-01

Human waste disposal is a health concern in many backcountry areas. This study measured Clostridium perfringens in beach sediments of Prince William Sound, Alaska, to detect fecal contamination resulting from intertidal disposal. Analysis involved holding times that exceeded eight hours. In repeatedly sampled stored sediments, C. perfringens...

Quantitative flaw characterization with scanning laser acoustic microscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Generazio, E. R.; Roth, D. J.

1986-01-01

Surface roughness and diffraction are two factors that have been observed to affect the accuracy of flaw characterization with scanning laser acoustic microscopy. In accuracies can arise when the surface of the test sample is acoustically rough. It is shown that, in this case, Snell's law is no longer valid for determining the direction of sound propagation within the sample. The relationship between the direction of sound propagation within the sample, the apparent flaw depth, and the sample's surface roughness is investigated. Diffraction effects can mask the acoustic images of minute flaws and make it difficult to establish their size, depth, and other characteristics. It is shown that for Fraunhofer diffraction conditions the acoustic image of a subsurface defect corresponds to a two-dimensional Fourier transform. Transforms based on simulated flaws are used to infer the size and shape of the actual flaw.

Computer soundcard as an AC signal generator and oscilloscope for the physics laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinlapanuntakul, Jinda; Kijamnajsuk, Puchong; Jetjamnong, Chanthawut; Chotikaprakhan, Sutharat

2018-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop both an AC signal generator and a dual-channel oscilloscope based on standard personal computer equipped with sound card as parts of the laboratory of the fundamental physics and the introduction to electronics classes. The setup turns the computer into the two channel measured device which can provides sample rate, simultaneous sampling, frequency range, filters and others essential capabilities required to perform amplitude, phase and frequency measurements of AC signal. The AC signal also generate from the same computer sound card output simultaneously in any waveform such as sine, square, triangle, saw-toothed pulsed, swept sine and white noise etc. These can convert an inexpensive PC sound card into powerful device, which allows the students to measure physical phenomena with their own PCs either at home or at university attendance. A graphic user interface software was developed for control and analysis, including facilities for data recording, signal processing and real time measurement display. The result is expanded utility of self-learning for the students in the field of electronics both AC and DC circuits, including the sound and vibration experiments.

Synthesis and analysis of acou-physical properties of banana biocomposite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, S. P.; Bhanupriya; Nath, G.

2018-02-01

The sound absorbing materials have been developed using various natural fibres which are renewable, biodegradable, recyclable and economic in nature. After the cultivation of banana fruit as its stem which is fibrous in nature has no use, it may use in various scientific applications as like as the preparation of sound absorbing materials. The suitable and proper mixture of the epoxy resin with the banana fibre gives rise to formation of the biocomposite material which is mechanically firm and tough. The EDS and SEM analysis of the sample gives an idea about the formation of closed chain in between banana fibre and epoxy in the molecular level and porous quality. The thermal conductivity gradually decreases with the increase of particle concentration and the electrical conductivity increases in the order of 10-5 which demonstrates the insulating behaviour of the prepared sample. At the higher frequencies there is a reduction of dielectric constant due to the interfacial and orientation polarisation. The intensity of sound decreases in presence of the material and the absorption coefficient rise with increase of frequency. Thus the banana fibre biocomposite material can be used as a sound absorber which behaves as thermally and electrically insulator.

Sub-Microsecond Temperature Measurement in Liquid Water Using Laser Induced Thermal Acoustics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alderfer, David W.; Herring, G. C.; Danehy, Paul M.; Mizukaki, Toshiharu; Takayama, Kazuyoshi

2005-01-01

Using laser-induced thermal acoustics, we demonstrate non-intrusive and remote sound speed and temperature measurements over the range 10 - 45 C in liquid water. Averaged accuracy of sound speed and temperature measurements (10 s) are 0.64 m/s and 0.45 C respectively. Single-shot precisions based on one standard deviation of 100 or greater samples range from 1 m/s to 16.5 m/s and 0.3 C to 9.5 C for sound speed and temperature measurements respectively. The time resolution of each single-shot measurement was 300 nsec.

Impact of a critical care postgraduate certificate course on nurses' self-reported competence and confidence: A quasi-experimental study.

PubMed

Baxter, Rebecca; Edvardsson, David

2018-06-01

Postgraduate education is said to support the development of nurses' professional competence and confidence, essential to the delivery of safe and effective care. However, there is a shortness of empirical evidence to demonstrate an increase to nurses' self-reported confidence and competence on completion of critical care postgraduate certificate-level education. To explore the impact of a critical care postgraduate certificate course on nurses' self-reported competence and confidence. To explore the psychometric properties and performance of the Critical Care Competence and Confidence Questionnaire. A quasi-experimental pre/post-test design. A total population sample of nurses completing a critical care postgraduate certificate course at an Australian University. The Critical Care Competence and Confidence Questionnaire was developed for this study to measure nurses' self-reported competence and confidence at baseline and follow up. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to explore sample characteristics and changes between baseline and follow-up. Reliability of the questionnaire was explored using Cronbach's Alpha and item-total correlations. There was a statistically significant increase in competence and confidence between baseline and follow-up across all questionnaire domains. Satisfactory reliability estimates were found for the questionnaire. Completion of a critical care postgraduate certificate course significantly increased nurses' perceived competence and confidence. The Critical Care Competence and Confidence Questionnaire was found to be psychometrically sound for measuring nurses' self-reported competence and confidence. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanical characterization of proanthocyanidin-dentin matrix interaction

PubMed Central

Castellan, Carina Strano; Pereira, Patricia Nobrega; Grande, Rosa Helena Miranda; Bedran-Russo, Ana Karina

2010-01-01

Objectives To characterize the properties of dentin matrix treated with two proanthocyanidin rich cross-linking agents and their effect on dentin bonded interfaces. Methods Sound human molars were cut into 0.5 mm thick dentin slabs, demineralized and either treated with one of two cross-linking agents (grape seed - GSE and cocoa seed - COE extracts) or left untreated. The modulus of elasticity of demineralized dentin was assessed after 10 or 60 min and the swelling ratio after 60 min treatment. Bacterial collagenase was also used to assess resistance to enzymatic degradation of samples subjected to ultimate tensile strength. The effect of GSE or COE on the resin-dentin bond strength was evaluated after 10 or 60 min of exposure time. Data were statistically analyzed at a 95% confidence interval. Results Both cross-linkers increased the elastic modulus of demineralized dentin as exposure time increased. Swelling ratio was lower for treated samples when compared to control groups. No statistically significant changes to the UTS indicate that collagenase had no effect on dentin matrix treated with either GSE or COE. Dentin-resin bonds significantly increased following treatment with GSE regardless of the application time or adhesive system used. Significance Increased mechanical properties and stability of dentin matrix can be achieved by the use of PA-rich collagen cross-linkers most likely due to the formation of a PA-collagen complex. The short term dentin-resin bonds can be improved after 10 minutes dentin treatment. PMID:20650510

Musical Sound Quality in Cochlear Implant Users: A Comparison in Bass Frequency Perception Between Fine Structure Processing and High-Definition Continuous Interleaved Sampling Strategies.

PubMed

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

2015-01-01

Med-El cochlear implant (CI) patients are typically programmed with either the fine structure processing (FSP) or high-definition continuous interleaved sampling (HDCIS) strategy. FSP is the newer-generation strategy and aims to provide more direct encoding of fine structure information compared with HDCIS. Since fine structure information is extremely important in music listening, FSP may offer improvements in musical sound quality for CI users. Despite widespread clinical use of both strategies, few studies have assessed the possible benefits in music perception for the FSP strategy. The objective of this study is to measure the differences in musical sound quality discrimination between the FSP and HDCIS strategies. Musical sound quality discrimination was measured using a previously designed evaluation, called Cochlear Implant-MUltiple Stimulus with Hidden Reference and Anchor (CI-MUSHRA). In this evaluation, participants were required to detect sound quality differences between an unaltered real-world musical stimulus and versions of the stimulus in which various amount of bass (low) frequency information was removed via a high-pass filer. Eight CI users, currently using the FSP strategy, were enrolled in this study. In the first session, participants completed the CI-MUSHRA evaluation with their FSP strategy. Patients were then programmed with the clinical-default HDCIS strategy, which they used for 2 months to allow for acclimatization. After acclimatization, each participant returned for the second session, during which they were retested with HDCIS, and then switched back to their original FSP strategy and tested acutely. Sixteen normal-hearing (NH) controls completed a CI-MUSHRA evaluation for comparison, in which NH controls listened to music samples under normal acoustic conditions, without CI stimulation. Sensitivity to high-pass filtering more closely resembled that of NH controls when CI users were programmed with the clinical-default FSP strategy compared with performance when programmed with HDCIS (mixed-design analysis of variance, p < 0.05). The clinical-default FSP strategy offers improvements in musical sound quality discrimination for CI users with respect to bass frequency perception. This improved bass frequency discrimination may in turn support enhanced musical sound quality. This is the first study that has demonstrated objective improvements in musical sound quality discrimination with the newer-generation FSP strategy. These positive results may help guide the selection of processing strategies for Med-El CI patients. In addition, CI-MUSHRA may also provide a novel method for assessing the benefits of newer processing strategies in the future.

Photoacoustics and speed-of-sound dual mode imaging with a long depth-of-field by using annular ultrasound array.

PubMed

Ding, Qiuning; Tao, Chao; Liu, Xiaojun

2017-03-20

Speed-of-sound and optical absorption reflect the structure and function of tissues from different aspects. A dual-mode microscopy system based on a concentric annular ultrasound array is proposed to simultaneously acquire the long depth-of-field images of speed-of-sound and optical absorption of inhomogeneous samples. First, speed-of-sound is decoded from the signal delay between each element of the annular array. The measured speed-of-sound could not only be used as an image contrast, but also improve the resolution and accuracy of spatial location of photoacoustic image in inhomogeneous acoustic media. Secondly, benefitting from dynamic focusing of annular array and the measured speed-of-sound, it is achieved an advanced acoustic-resolution photoacoustic microscopy with a precise position and a long depth-of-field. The performance of the dual-mode imaging system has been experimentally examined by using a custom-made annular array. The proposed dual-mode microscopy might have the significances in monitoring the biological physiological and pathological processes.

Experimental study on the sound absorption characteristics of continuously graded phononic crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X. H.; Qu, Z. G.; He, X. C.; Lu, D. L.

2016-10-01

Novel three-dimensional (3D) continuously graded phononic crystals (CGPCs) have been designed, and fabricated by 3D printing. Each of the CGPCs is an entity instead of a combination of several other samples, and the porosity distribution of the CGPC along the incident direction is nearly linear. The sound absorption characteristics of CGPCs were experimentally investigated and compared with those of uniform phononic crystals (UPCs) and discretely stepped phononic crystals (DSPCs). Experimental results show that CGPCs demonstrate excellent sound absorption performance because of their continuously graded structures. CGPCs have higher sound absorption coefficients in the large frequency range and more sound absorption coefficient peaks in a specific frequency range than UPCs and DSPCs. In particular, the sound absorption coefficients of the CGPC with a porosity of 0.6 and thickness of 30 mm are higher than 0.56 when the frequency is 1350-6300 Hz and are all higher than 0.2 in the studied frequency range (1000-6300 Hz). CGPCs are expected to have potential application in noise control, especially in the broad frequency and low-frequency ranges.

Perceived and actual noise levels in critical care units.

PubMed

White, Brittany Lynn; Zomorodi, Meg

2017-02-01

To compare the noise levels perceived by critical care nurses in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to actual noise levels in the ICU. Following a pilot study (n=18) and revision of the survey tool, a random sample of nurses were surveyed twice in a 3-day period (n=108). Nurses perception of noise was compared to the actual sound pressure level using descriptive statistics. Nurses perceived the ICUs to be noisier than the actual values. The ICU was louder than the recommended noise level for resotrative sleep. This finding raises the question of how we can assist nurses to reduce what they perceive to be a loud environment. Future work is needed to develop interventions specifically for nurses to raise awareness of noise in the ICU and to provide them with skills to assist in noise reduction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Installing a practical research project and interpreting research results

Treesearch

R. Kasten Dumroese; David L. Weny

2002-01-01

We review the basic concepts of science and research and the scientific process. Using an example from a bareroot nursery, we show how a practical research project can be done at any type of nursery, meshing sound statistical principles with limitations of busy nursery managers.

Thinking big

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, Harry

2008-02-01

Physicists are often quick to discount social research based on qualitative techniques such as ethnography and "deep case studies" - where a researcher draws conclusions about a community based on immersion in the field - thinking that only quantitative research backed up by statistical analysis is sound. The balance is not so clear, however.

Path length entropy analysis of diastolic heart sounds.

PubMed

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

2013-09-01

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

Identifying local characteristic lengths governing sound wave properties in solid foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan Hoang, Minh; Perrot, Camille

2013-02-01

Identifying microscopic geometric properties and fluid flow through opened-cell and partially closed-cell solid structures is a challenge for material science, in particular, for the design of porous media used as sound absorbers in building and transportation industries. We revisit recent literature data to identify the local characteristic lengths dominating the transport properties and sound absorbing behavior of polyurethane foam samples by performing numerical homogenization simulations. To determine the characteristic sizes of the model, we need porosity and permeability measurements in conjunction with ligament lengths estimates from available scanning electron microscope images. We demonstrate that this description of the porous material, consistent with the critical path picture following from the percolation arguments, is widely applicable. This is an important step towards tuning sound proofing properties of complex materials.

Path Length Entropy Analysis of Diastolic Heart Sounds

PubMed Central

Griffel, B.; Zia, M. K.; Fridman, V.; Saponieri, C.; Semmlow, J. L.

2013-01-01

Early detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) using the acoustic approach, a noninvasive and cost-effective method, would greatly improve the outcome of CAD patients. To detect CAD, we analyze diastolic sounds for possible CAD murmurs. We observed diastolic sounds to exhibit 1/f structure and developed a new method, path length entropy (PLE) and a scaled version (SPLE), to characterize this structure to improve CAD detection. We compare SPLE results to Hurst exponent, Sample entropy and Multi-scale entropy for distinguishing between normal and CAD patients. SPLE achieved a sensitivity-specificity of 80%–81%, the best of the tested methods. However, PLE and SPLE are not sufficient to prove nonlinearity, and evaluation using surrogate data suggests that our cardiovascular sound recordings do not contain significant nonlinear properties. PMID:23930808

Propagation of sound in highly porous open-cell elastic foams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambert, R. F.

1983-01-01

This work presents both theoretical predictions and experimental measurements of attenuation and progressive phase constants of sound in open-cell, highly porous, elastic polyurethane foams. The foams are available commercially in graded pore sizes for which information about the static flow resistance, thermal time constant, volume porosity, dynamic structure factor, and speed of sound is known. The analysis is specialized to highly porous foams which can be efficient sound absorbers at audio frequencies. Negligible effect of internal wave coupling on attenuation and phase shift for the frequency range 16-6000 Hz was predicted and no experimentally significant effects were observed in the bulk samples studied. The agreement between predictions and measurements in bulk materials is excellent. The analysis is applicable to both the regular and compressed elastic open-cell foams.

Influence of management of variables, sampling zones and land units on LR analysis for landslide spatial prevision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greco, R.; Sorriso-Valvo, M.

2013-09-01

Several authors, according to different methodological approaches, have employed logistic Regression (LR), a multivariate statistical analysis adopted to assess the spatial probability of landslide, even though its fundamental principles have remained unaltered. This study aims at assessing the influence of some of these methodological approaches on the performance of LR, through a series of sensitivity analyses developed over a test area of about 300 km2 in Calabria (southern Italy). In particular, four types of sampling (1 - the whole study area; 2 - transects running parallel to the general slope direction of the study area with a total surface of about 1/3 of the whole study area; 3 - buffers surrounding the phenomena with a 1/1 ratio between the stable and the unstable area; 4 - buffers surrounding the phenomena with a 1/2 ratio between the stable and the unstable area), two variable coding modes (1 - grouped variables; 2 - binary variables), and two types of elementary land (1 - cells units; 2 - slope units) units have been tested. The obtained results must be considered as statistically relevant in all cases (Aroc values > 70%), thus confirming the soundness of the LR analysis which maintains high predictive capacities notwithstanding the features of input data. As for the area under investigation, the best performing methodological choices are the following: (i) transects produced the best results (0 < P(y) ≤ 93.4%; Aroc = 79.5%); (ii) as for sampling modalities, binary variables (0 < P(y) ≤ 98.3%; Aroc = 80.7%) provide better performance than ordinated variables; (iii) as for the choice of elementary land units, slope units (0 < P(y) ≤ 100%; Aroc = 84.2%) have obtained better results than cells matrix.

A comparative study of electronic stethoscopes for cardiac auscultation.

PubMed

Pinto, C; Pereira, D; Ferreira-Coimbra, J; Portugues, J; Gama, V; Coimbra, M

2017-07-01

There are several electronic stethoscopes available on the market today, with a very high potential for healthcare namely telemedicine, assisted decision and education. However, there are no recent comparatives studies published about the recording quality of auscultation sounds. In this study we aim to: a) define a ranking, according to experts opinion of 6 of the most relevant electronic stethoscopes on the market today; b) verify if there are any relations between a stethoscope's performance and the type of pathology present; c) analyze if some pathologies are more easily identified than others when using electronic auscultation. Our methodology consisted in creating two study groups: the first group included 18 cardiologists and cardiology house officers, acting as the gold standard of this work. The second included 30 medical students. Using a database of heart sounds recorded in real hospital environments, we applied questionnaires to observers from each group. The first group listened to 60 cardiac auscultations recorded by the 6 stethoscopes, and each one was asked to identify the pathological sound present: aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation or normal. The second group was asked to choose, between two auscultation recordings, using as criteria the best sound quality for the identification of pathological sounds. Results include a total of 1080 evaluations, in which 72% of cases were correctly diagnosed. A detailed breakdown of these results is presented in this paper. As conclusions, results showed that the impact of the differences between stethoscopes is very small, given that we did not find statistically significant differences between all pairs of stethoscopes. Normal sounds showed to be easier to identify than pathological sounds, but we did not find differences between stethoscopes in this identification.

Effects of Soundscape on the Environmental Restoration in Urban Natural Environments.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuan; Kang, Jian; Kang, Joe

2017-01-01

According to the attention restoration theory, directed attention is a limited physiological resource and is susceptible to fatigue by overuse. Natural environments are a healthy resource, which allows and promotes the restoration of individuals within it from their state of directed attention fatigue. This process is called the environmental restoration on individuals, and it is affected both positively and negatively by environmental factors. By considering the relationship among the three components of soundscape, that is, people, sound and the environment, this study aims to explore the effects of soundscape on the environmental restoration in urban natural environments. A field experiment was conducted with 70 participants (four groups) in an urban natural environment (Shenyang, China). Directed attention was first depleted with a 50-min 'consumption' phase, followed by a baseline measurement of attention level. Three groups then engaged in 40 min of restoration in the respective environments with similar visual surroundings but with different sounds present, after which attention levels were re-tested. The fourth group did not undergo restoration and was immediately re-tested. The difference between the two test scores, corrected for the practice effect, represents the attention restoration of individuals exposed to the respective environments. An analysis of variance was performed, demonstrating that the differences between the mean values for each group were statistically significant [sig. = 0.027 (<0.050)]. The results showed that the mean values (confidence interval of 95%) of each group are as follows: 'natural sounds group' (8.4), 'traffic sounds group' (2.4) and 'machine sounds group' (-1.8). It can be concluded that (1) urban natural environments, with natural sounds, have a positive effect on the restoration of an individuals' attention and (2) the presence of different types of sounds has significantly divergent effects on the environmental restoration.

Sound exposure changes European seabass behaviour in a large outdoor floating pen: Effects of temporal structure and a ramp-up procedure.

PubMed

Neo, Y Y; Hubert, J; Bolle, L; Winter, H V; Ten Cate, C; Slabbekoorn, H

2016-07-01

Underwater sound from human activities may affect fish behaviour negatively and threaten the stability of fish stocks. However, some fundamental understanding is still lacking for adequate impact assessments and potential mitigation strategies. For example, little is known about the potential contribution of the temporal features of sound, the efficacy of ramp-up procedures, and the generalisability of results from indoor studies to the outdoors. Using a semi-natural set-up, we exposed European seabass in an outdoor pen to four treatments: 1) continuous sound, 2) intermittent sound with a regular repetition interval, 3) irregular repetition intervals and 4) a regular repetition interval with amplitude 'ramp-up'. Upon sound exposure, the fish increased swimming speed and depth, and swam away from the sound source. The behavioural readouts were generally consistent with earlier indoor experiments, but the changes and recovery were more variable and were not significantly influenced by sound intermittency and interval regularity. In addition, the 'ramp-up' procedure elicited immediate diving response, similar to the onset of treatment without a 'ramp-up', but the fish did not swim away from the sound source as expected. Our findings suggest that while sound impact studies outdoors increase ecological and behavioural validity, the inherently higher variability also reduces resolution that may be counteracted by increasing sample size or looking into different individual coping styles. Our results also question the efficacy of 'ramp-up' in deterring marine animals, which warrants more investigation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design And Construction of an Impedance Tube for Measuring Sound Absorptivity and Transmissibility of Materials Using Transfer Function Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gowda, Haarish Kapaninaikappa

Noise is defined as unwanted sound, when perceived in excess can cause many harmful effects such as annoyance, interference with speech, and hearing loss, hence there is a need to control noise in practical situations. Noise can be controlled actively and/or passively, here we discuss the passive noise control techniques. Passive noise control involves using energy dissipating or reflecting materials such as absorbers or barriers respectively. Damping and isolating materials are also used in eliminating structure-borne noise. These materials exhibit properties such as reflection, absorption and transmission loss when incidence is by a sound source. Thus, there is a need to characterize the acoustical properties of these materials for practical use. The theoretical background of the random incident sound absorption with reverberation room and normal incident sound absorption using impedance tube are well documented. The Transfer Matrix method for measuring transmission loss and absorption coefficient using impedance tube is very attractive since it is rather inexpensive and fast. In this research, a low-cost Impedance Tube is constructed using transfer function method to measure both absorption and transmissibility of materials. Equipment and measurement instruments available in the laboratory were used in the construction of the tube, adhering to cost-effectiveness. Care has been taken for precise construction of tube to ensure better measurement results. Further various samples varying from hard non-porous to soft porous materials were tested for absorption and sound transmission loss. Absorption values were also compared with reverberation room method with the available samples further ensuring the reliability of the newly constructed tube for future measurements.

Impact of brushing force on abrasion of acid-softened and sound enamel.

PubMed

Wiegand, A; Köwing, L; Attin, T

2007-11-01

The study aimed to analyse the effects of different brushing loads on abrasion of acid-softened and sound enamel surfaces. Sound and acid-softened surfaces of each 10 human enamel samples were submitted to brushing abrasion in an automatic brushing machine at 1.5 N (A), 2.5 N (B), 3.5 N (C) or 4.5 N (D) brushing load. Prior to abrasion, demineralisation of half of each enamel surface was performed by storage in hydrochloric acid (pH 2.0) for 60s. Brushing was carried out (1000 strokes) using a manual toothbrush and toothpaste slurry in a ratio of 1:3. Enamel loss was measured after 10, 20, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 1000 brushing strokes (BS). Pre- and post-brushing values of Knoop indentation length (5 indentations each sample) were measured and mean enamel loss was calculated from the change in indentation depth. Within- and between-group comparisons were performed by ANOVA and t-test followed by Bonferroni-correction. Enamel loss of acid-softened surfaces was significantly influenced by the brushing load applied and was mostly significantly higher in group D (10-1000 BS: 225-462 nm) compared to A (10-1000 BS: 164-384), B (10-1000 BS: 175-370 nm) and C (10-1000 BS: 191-396 nm). Abrasion of acid-softened enamel was fourfold higher compared to sound surfaces. Sound enamel was significantly influenced by the brushing force at 20-200 brushing strokes only, but revealed no significant differences between groups A-D. Brushing load influences abrasion of briefly eroded enamel, but might be of minor importance for abrasion of sound enamel surfaces.

Investigation of Liner Characteristics in the NASA Langley Curved Duct Test Rig

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerhold, Carl H.; Brown, Martha C.; Watson, Willie R.; Jones, Michael G.

2007-01-01

The Curved Duct Test Rig (CDTR), which is designed to investigate propagation of sound in a duct with flow, has been developed at NASA Langley Research Center. The duct incorporates an adaptive control system to generate a tone in the duct at a specific frequency with a target Sound Pressure Level and a target mode shape. The size of the duct, the ability to isolate higher order modes, and the ability to modify the duct configuration make this rig unique among experimental duct acoustics facilities. An experiment is described in which the facility performance is evaluated by measuring the sound attenuation by a sample duct liner. The liner sample comprises one wall of the liner test section. Sound in tones from 500 to 2400 Hz, with modes that are parallel to the liner surface of order 0 to 5, and that are normal to the liner surface of order 0 to 2, can be generated incident on the liner test section. Tests are performed in which sound is generated without axial flow in the duct and with flow at a Mach number of 0.275. The attenuation of the liner is determined by comparing the sound power in a hard wall section downstream of the liner test section to the sound power in a hard wall section upstream of the liner test section. These experimentally determined attenuations are compared to numerically determined attenuations calculated by means of a finite element analysis code. The code incorporates liner impedance values educed from measured data from the NASA Langley Grazing Incidence Tube, a test rig that is used for investigating liner performance with flow and with (0,0) mode incident grazing. The analytical and experimental results compare favorably, indicating the validity of the finite element method and demonstrating that finite element prediction tools can be used together with experiment to characterize the liner attenuation.

Musical Experience Influences Statistical Learning of a Novel Language

PubMed Central

Shook, Anthony; Marian, Viorica; Bartolotti, James; Schroeder, Scott R.

2014-01-01

Musical experience may benefit learning a new language by enhancing the fidelity with which the auditory system encodes sound. In the current study, participants with varying degrees of musical experience were exposed to two statistically-defined languages consisting of auditory Morse-code sequences which varied in difficulty. We found an advantage for highly-skilled musicians, relative to less-skilled musicians, in learning novel Morse-code based words. Furthermore, in the more difficult learning condition, performance of lower-skilled musicians was mediated by their general cognitive abilities. We suggest that musical experience may lead to enhanced processing of statistical information and that musicians’ enhanced ability to learn statistical probabilities in a novel Morse-code language may extend to natural language learning. PMID:23505962

Sound stream segregation: a neuromorphic approach to solve the “cocktail party problem” in real-time

PubMed Central

Thakur, Chetan Singh; Wang, Runchun M.; Afshar, Saeed; Hamilton, Tara J.; Tapson, Jonathan C.; Shamma, Shihab A.; van Schaik, André

2015-01-01

The human auditory system has the ability to segregate complex auditory scenes into a foreground component and a background, allowing us to listen to specific speech sounds from a mixture of sounds. Selective attention plays a crucial role in this process, colloquially known as the “cocktail party effect.” It has not been possible to build a machine that can emulate this human ability in real-time. Here, we have developed a framework for the implementation of a neuromorphic sound segregation algorithm in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This algorithm is based on the principles of temporal coherence and uses an attention signal to separate a target sound stream from background noise. Temporal coherence implies that auditory features belonging to the same sound source are coherently modulated and evoke highly correlated neural response patterns. The basis for this form of sound segregation is that responses from pairs of channels that are strongly positively correlated belong to the same stream, while channels that are uncorrelated or anti-correlated belong to different streams. In our framework, we have used a neuromorphic cochlea as a frontend sound analyser to extract spatial information of the sound input, which then passes through band pass filters that extract the sound envelope at various modulation rates. Further stages include feature extraction and mask generation, which is finally used to reconstruct the targeted sound. Using sample tonal and speech mixtures, we show that our FPGA architecture is able to segregate sound sources in real-time. The accuracy of segregation is indicated by the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the segregated stream (90, 77, and 55 dB for simple tone, complex tone, and speech, respectively) as compared to the SNR of the mixture waveform (0 dB). This system may be easily extended for the segregation of complex speech signals, and may thus find various applications in electronic devices such as for sound segregation and speech recognition. PMID:26388721

Sound stream segregation: a neuromorphic approach to solve the "cocktail party problem" in real-time.

PubMed

Thakur, Chetan Singh; Wang, Runchun M; Afshar, Saeed; Hamilton, Tara J; Tapson, Jonathan C; Shamma, Shihab A; van Schaik, André

2015-01-01

The human auditory system has the ability to segregate complex auditory scenes into a foreground component and a background, allowing us to listen to specific speech sounds from a mixture of sounds. Selective attention plays a crucial role in this process, colloquially known as the "cocktail party effect." It has not been possible to build a machine that can emulate this human ability in real-time. Here, we have developed a framework for the implementation of a neuromorphic sound segregation algorithm in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This algorithm is based on the principles of temporal coherence and uses an attention signal to separate a target sound stream from background noise. Temporal coherence implies that auditory features belonging to the same sound source are coherently modulated and evoke highly correlated neural response patterns. The basis for this form of sound segregation is that responses from pairs of channels that are strongly positively correlated belong to the same stream, while channels that are uncorrelated or anti-correlated belong to different streams. In our framework, we have used a neuromorphic cochlea as a frontend sound analyser to extract spatial information of the sound input, which then passes through band pass filters that extract the sound envelope at various modulation rates. Further stages include feature extraction and mask generation, which is finally used to reconstruct the targeted sound. Using sample tonal and speech mixtures, we show that our FPGA architecture is able to segregate sound sources in real-time. The accuracy of segregation is indicated by the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the segregated stream (90, 77, and 55 dB for simple tone, complex tone, and speech, respectively) as compared to the SNR of the mixture waveform (0 dB). This system may be easily extended for the segregation of complex speech signals, and may thus find various applications in electronic devices such as for sound segregation and speech recognition.

Recent trends in paralytic shellfish toxins in Puget Sound, relationships to climate, and capacity for prediction of toxic events

Treesearch

Stephanie K. Moore; Nathan J. Mantua; Barbara M. Hickey; Vera L. Trainer

2009-01-01

Temporal and spatial trends in paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in Puget Sound shellfish and their relationships with climate are investigated using long-term monitoring data since 1957. Data are selected for trend analyses based on the sensitivity of shellfish species to PSTs and their depuration rates, and the frequency of sample collection at individual sites....

Volume equations for the Northern Research Station's Forest Inventory and Analysis Program as of 2010

Treesearch

Patrick D. Miles; Andrew D. Hill

2010-01-01

The U.S. Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program collects sample plot data on all forest ownerships across the United States. This report documents the methodology used to estimate live-tree gross, net, and sound volume for the 24 States inventoried by the Northern Research Station's (NRS) FIA unit. Sound volume is of particular interest...

Speech Sound Disorders in Preschool Children: Correspondence between Clinical Diagnosis and Teacher and Parent Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Linda J.; McLeod, Sharynne; McAllister, Lindy; McCormack, Jane

2017-01-01

This study sought to assess the level of correspondence between parent and teacher report of concern about young children's speech and specialist assessment of speech sound disorders (SSD). A sample of 157 children aged 4-5 years was recruited in preschools and long day care centres in Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). SSD was assessed…

Effects of a Brief but Intensive Remedial Computer Intervention in a Sub-Sample of Kindergartners with Early Literacy Delays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van der Kooy-Hofland, Verna A. C.; Bus, Adriana G.; Roskos, Kathleen

2012-01-01

Living Letters is an adaptive game designed to promote children's combining of how the proper name sounds with their knowledge of how the name looks. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used to experimentally test whether priming for attending to the sound-symbol relationship in the proper name can reduce the risk for developing reading…

Pervasive Sound Sensing: A Weakly Supervised Training Approach.

PubMed

Kelly, Daniel; Caulfield, Brian

2016-01-01

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

Source levels of social sounds in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

PubMed

Dunlop, Rebecca A; Cato, Douglas H; Noad, Michael J; Stokes, Dale M

2013-07-01

The source level of an animal sound is important in communication, since it affects the distance over which the sound is audible. Several measurements of source levels of whale sounds have been reported, but the accuracy of many is limited because the distance to the source and the acoustic transmission loss were estimated rather than measured. This paper presents measurements of source levels of social sounds (surface-generated and vocal sounds) of humpback whales from a sample of 998 sounds recorded from 49 migrating humpback whale groups. Sources were localized using a wide baseline five hydrophone array and transmission loss was measured for the site. Social vocalization source levels were found to range from 123 to 183 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m with a median of 158 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m. Source levels of surface-generated social sounds ("breaches" and "slaps") were narrower in range (133 to 171 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m) but slightly higher in level (median of 162 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m) compared to vocalizations. The data suggest that group composition has an effect on group vocalization source levels in that singletons and mother-calf-singing escort groups tend to vocalize at higher levels compared to other group compositions.

Hearing Tests on Mobile Devices: Evaluation of the Reference Sound Level by Means of Biological Calibration.

PubMed

Masalski, Marcin; Kipiński, Lech; Grysiński, Tomasz; Kręcicki, Tomasz

2016-05-30

Hearing tests carried out in home setting by means of mobile devices require previous calibration of the reference sound level. Mobile devices with bundled headphones create a possibility of applying the predefined level for a particular model as an alternative to calibrating each device separately. The objective of this study was to determine the reference sound level for sets composed of a mobile device and bundled headphones. Reference sound levels for Android-based mobile devices were determined using an open access mobile phone app by means of biological calibration, that is, in relation to the normal-hearing threshold. The examinations were conducted in 2 groups: an uncontrolled and a controlled one. In the uncontrolled group, the fully automated self-measurements were carried out in home conditions by 18- to 35-year-old subjects, without prior hearing problems, recruited online. Calibration was conducted as a preliminary step in preparation for further examination. In the controlled group, audiologist-assisted examinations were performed in a sound booth, on normal-hearing subjects verified through pure-tone audiometry, recruited offline from among the workers and patients of the clinic. In both the groups, the reference sound levels were determined on a subject's mobile device using the Bekesy audiometry. The reference sound levels were compared between the groups. Intramodel and intermodel analyses were carried out as well. In the uncontrolled group, 8988 calibrations were conducted on 8620 different devices representing 2040 models. In the controlled group, 158 calibrations (test and retest) were conducted on 79 devices representing 50 models. Result analysis was performed for 10 most frequently used models in both the groups. The difference in reference sound levels between uncontrolled and controlled groups was 1.50 dB (SD 4.42). The mean SD of the reference sound level determined for devices within the same model was 4.03 dB (95% CI 3.93-4.11). Statistically significant differences were found across models. Reference sound levels determined in the uncontrolled group are comparable to the values obtained in the controlled group. This validates the use of biological calibration in the uncontrolled group for determining the predefined reference sound level for new devices. Moreover, due to a relatively small deviation of the reference sound level for devices of the same model, it is feasible to conduct hearing screening on devices calibrated with the predefined reference sound level.

University of Alaska Anchorage Student Information, Summer 2000 Closing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alaska Univ., Anchorage. Office of Institutional Planning, Research, and Assessment.

This statistical document from the University of Alaska Anchorage provides charts and graphs regarding students and student activities at the six-campus institution, including Prince William Sound Community College, for summer 2000. Included is information on student headcount and student characteristics as well as credit hours at each campus.…

The Generalizability of the Youth Self-Report Syndrome Structure in 23 Societies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivanova, Masha Y.; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Rescorla, Leslie A.; Dumenci, Levent; Almqvist, Fredrik; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Broberg, Anders G.; Dobrean, Anca; Dopfner, Manfred; Erol, Nese; Forns, Maria; Hannesdottir, Helga; Kanbayashi, Yasuko; Lambert, Michael C.; Leung, Patrick; Minaei, Asghar; Mulatu, Mesfin S.; Novik, Torunn; Oh, Kyung Ja; Roussos, Alexandra; Sawyer, Michael; Simsek, Zeynep; Steinhausen, Hans- Christoph; Weintraub, Sheila; Winkler Metzke, Christa; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Zilber, Nelly; Zukauskiene, Rita; Verhulst, Frank C.

2007-01-01

As a basis for theories of psychopathology, clinical psychology and related disciplines need sound taxonomies that are generalizable across diverse populations. To test the generalizability of a statistically derived 8-syndrome taxonomic model for youth psychopathology, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed on the Youth Self-Report…

Developing and Assessing E-Learning Techniques for Teaching Forecasting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gel, Yulia R.; O'Hara Hines, R. Jeanette; Chen, He; Noguchi, Kimihiro; Schoner, Vivian

2014-01-01

In the modern business environment, managers are increasingly required to perform decision making and evaluate related risks based on quantitative information in the face of uncertainty, which in turn increases demand for business professionals with sound skills and hands-on experience with statistical data analysis. Computer-based training…

Stress Priming and Statistical Learning in Italian Nonword Reading: Evidence from Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colombo, Lucia; Deguchi, Chizuru; Boureux, Magali

2014-01-01

Italian has regular spelling-sound correspondences; however, assignment of lexical stress is unpredictable. Sensitivity to stress neighborhood information was investigated by constructing three types of three-syllabic nonwords: nonwords with word-endings characterized by a strong neighborhood of dominant stress words (dominant), nonwords with…

Condition of stream ecosystem in the US: An overview of the first national assessment

EPA Science Inventory

The Wadeable Streams Assessment (WSA) provided the first statistically sound summary of the ecological condition of streams and small rivers in the US. Information provided in the assessment filled an important gap in meeting the requirements of the US Clean Water Act. The purpos...

Ubiquitous tar balls with a California-source signature on the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kvenvolden, K.A.; Hostettler, F.D.; Carlson, P.R.; Rapp, J.B.; Threlkeld, C.N.; Warden, A.

1995-01-01

Although the shorelines of Prince William Sound still bear traces of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, most of the flattened tar balls that can be found today on these shorelines are not residues of Exxon Valdez oil. Instead, the carbon-isotopic and hydrocarbon-biomarker signatures of 61 tar ball samples, collected from shorelines throughout the northern and western parts of the sound, are all remarkably similar and have characteristics consistent with those of oil products that originated from the Monterey Formation source rocks of California. The carbon-isotopic compositions of the tar balls are all closely grouped (??13CPDB = -23.7 ?? 0.2???), within the range found in crude oils from those rocks, but are distinct from isotopic compositions of 28 samples of residues from the Exxon Valdez oil spill (??13CPDB = -29.4 ?? 0.1???). Likewise, values for selected biomarker ratios in the tar balls are all similar but distinct from values of residues from the 1989 oil spill. Carbon-isotopic and biomarker signatures generally relate the tar balls to oil products used in Alaska before ???1970 for construction and pavements. How these tar balls with such similar geochemical characteristics became so widely dispersed throughout the northern and western parts of the sound is not known with certainty, but the great 1964 Alaska earthquake was undoubtedly an important trigger, causing spills from ruptured storage facilities of California-sourced asphalt and fuel oil into Prince William Sound.

Acoustic property reconstruction of a neonate Yangtze finless porpoise's (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) head based on CT imaging.

PubMed

Wei, Chong; Wang, Zhitao; Song, Zhongchang; Wang, Kexiong; Wang, Ding; Au, Whitlow W L; Zhang, Yu

2015-01-01

The reconstruction of the acoustic properties of a neonate finless porpoise's head was performed using X-ray computed tomography (CT). The head of the deceased neonate porpoise was also segmented across the body axis and cut into slices. The averaged sound velocity and density were measured, and the Hounsfield units (HU) of the corresponding slices were obtained from computed tomography scanning. A regression analysis was employed to show the linear relationships between the Hounsfield unit and both sound velocity and density of samples. Furthermore, the CT imaging data were used to compare the HU value, sound velocity, density and acoustic characteristic impedance of the main tissues in the porpoise's head. The results showed that the linear relationships between HU and both sound velocity and density were qualitatively consistent with previous studies on Indo-pacific humpback dolphins and Cuvier's beaked whales. However, there was no significant increase of the sound velocity and acoustic impedance from the inner core to the outer layer in this neonate finless porpoise's melon.

Low-frequency noise assessment metrics -- What do we know?

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

Broner, N.

1994-12-31

The issue of sound quality in offices and other occupied spaces has been of continuing interest since the 1950s. Existing assessment methods do not adequately account for the low-frequency background sound (< 250 Hz) produced by operating heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, in particular, low-frequency rumble. This paper discusses the results of ASHRAE-sponsored research in which more than 75 HVAC noise samples were collected, normalized, and categorized in terms of sound quality. The results support previous findings that a neutral curve has a slope of approximately {minus}5 decibels (dB) per octave. There is also support for the contention thatmore » the balanced noise criterion B (NCB) curves are overly conservative in the region from 63 to 500 Hz and overly permissive below 63 Hz when compared with the room criteria (RC) curves. A modified set of room sound quality (RSQ) curves -- the room sound quality (RSQ) curves -- is proposed.« less

Dimensions Underlying the Perceived Similarity of Acoustic Environments

PubMed Central

Aletta, Francesco; Axelsson, Östen; Kang, Jian

2017-01-01

Scientific research on how people perceive or experience and/or understand the acoustic environment as a whole (i.e., soundscape) is still in development. In order to predict how people would perceive an acoustic environment, it is central to identify its underlying acoustic properties. This was the purpose of the present study. Three successive experiments were conducted. With the aid of 30 university students, the first experiment mapped the underlying dimensions of perceived similarity among 50 acoustic environments, using a visual sorting task of their spectrograms. Three dimensions were identified: (1) Distinguishable–Indistinguishable sound sources, (2) Background–Foreground sounds, and (3) Intrusive–Smooth sound sources. The second experiment was aimed to validate the results from Experiment 1 by a listening experiment. However, a majority of the 10 expert listeners involved in Experiment 2 used a qualitatively different approach than the 30 university students in Experiment 1. A third experiment was conducted in which 10 more expert listeners performed the same task as per Experiment 2, with spliced audio signals. Nevertheless, Experiment 3 provided a statistically significantly worse result than Experiment 2. These results suggest that information about the meaning of the recorded sounds could be retrieved in the spectrograms, and that the meaning of the sounds may be captured with the aid of holistic features of the acoustic environment, but such features are still unexplored and further in-depth research is needed in this field. PMID:28747894

Incorporating precision, accuracy and alternative sampling designs into a continental monitoring program for colonial waterbirds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steinkamp, Melanie J.; Peterjohn, B.G.; Keisman, J.L.

2003-01-01

A comprehensive monitoring program for colonial waterbirds in North America has never existed. At smaller geographic scales, many states and provinces conduct surveys of colonial waterbird populations. Periodic regional surveys are conducted at varying times during the breeding season using a variety of survey methods, which complicates attempts to estimate population trends for most species. The US Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has recently started to coordinate colonial waterbird monitoring efforts throughout North America. A centralized database has been developed with an Internet-based data entry and retrieval page. The extent of existing colonial waterbird surveys has been defined, allowing gaps in coverage to be identified and basic inventories completed where desirable. To enable analyses of comparable data at regional or larger geographic scales, sampling populations through statistically sound sampling designs should supersede obtaining counts at every colony. Standardized breeding season survey techniques have been agreed upon and documented in a monitoring manual. Each survey in the manual has associated with it recommendations for bias estimation, and includes specific instructions on measuring detectability. The methods proposed in the manual are for developing reliable, comparable indices of population size to establish trend information at multiple spatial and temporal scales, but they will not result in robust estimates of total population numbers.

Improving the delineation of hydrocarbon-impacted soils and water through induced polarization (IP) tomographies: a field study at an industrial waste land.

PubMed

Deceuster, John; Kaufmann, Olivier

2012-08-01

Without a good estimation of samples representativeness, the delineation of the contaminated plume extent and the evaluation of volumes of hydrocarbon-impacted soils may remain difficult. To contribute to this question, a time domain induced polarization (IP) field experiment was conducted on an industrial waste land. Boreholes were drilled to specify the local geological context. Cross-hole seismic tomographies were performed to extend borehole logs and to draw an interpreted geological cross-section. Soil samples taken during drillings were analysed in laboratory. A preliminary survey was conducted to locate the IP profile. The polarization signatures linked to the presence of clayey sediments were filtered out from the data set. Chargeability and resistivity depth soundings were computed and compared to mean concentrations of total organic products to overcome the data support issue between the geophysical models and the spot samples of soils. A logarithmic relation between chargeabilities and smoothed hydrocarbon concentrations in soils was found. Taking into account contaminant's concentration thresholds defined in local codes and regulations allows defining chargeability classes to delineate hotspots on this site. This showed that IP tomography can be an accurate screening methodology. A statistical methodology is proposed to assess the efficiency of the investigation strategy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Apparatus and method for comparing corresponding acoustic resonances in liquids

DOEpatents

Sinha, Dipen N.

1999-01-01

Apparatus and method for comparing corresponding acoustic resonances in liquids. The present invention permits the measurement of certain characteristics of liquids which affect the speed of sound therein. For example, a direct correlation between the octane rating of gasoline and the speed of sound in a gasoline sample has been experimentally observed. Therefore, changes in the speed of sound therein can be utilized as a sensitive parameter for determining changes in composition of a liquid sample. The present apparatus establishes interference patterns inside of a liquid without requiring the use of very thin, rigorously parallel ceramic discs, but rather uses readily available piezoelectric transducers attached to the outside surface of the usual container for the liquid and located on the same side thereof in the vicinity of one another. That is, various receptacle geometries may be employed, and the driving and receiving transducers may be located on the same side of the receptacle. The cell may also be constructed of any material that is inert to the liquid under investigation. A single-transducer embodiment, where the same transducer provides the excitation to the sample container and receives signals impressed therein, is also described.

Apparatus and method for comparing corresponding acoustic resonances in liquids

DOEpatents

Sinha, D.N.

1999-03-23

Apparatus and method are disclosed for comparing corresponding acoustic resonances in liquids. The present invention permits the measurement of certain characteristics of liquids which affect the speed of sound therein. For example, a direct correlation between the octane rating of gasoline and the speed of sound in a gasoline sample has been experimentally observed. Therefore, changes in the speed of sound therein can be utilized as a sensitive parameter for determining changes in composition of a liquid sample. The present apparatus establishes interference patterns inside of a liquid without requiring the use of very thin, rigorously parallel ceramic discs, but rather uses readily available piezoelectric transducers attached to the outside surface of the usual container for the liquid and located on the same side thereof in the vicinity of one another. That is, various receptacle geometries may be employed, and the driving and receiving transducers may be located on the same side of the receptacle. The cell may also be constructed of any material that is inert to the liquid under investigation. A single-transducer embodiment, where the same transducer provides the excitation to the sample container and receives signals impressed therein, is also described. 5 figs.

Toxicological and chemical screening of Antarctica sediments: Use of whole sediment toxicity tests, microtox, mutatox and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cleveland, Laverne; Little, Edward E.; Petty, Jimmie D.; Johnson, B. Thomas; Lebo, Jon A.; Orazio, Carl E.; Dionne, Jane

1997-01-01

Eight whole sediment samples from Antarctica (four from Winter Quarters Bay and four from McMurdo Sound) were toxicologically and chemically evaluated. Also, the influence of ultraviolet radiation on the toxicity and bioavailability of contaminants associated with the sediment samples was assessed. The evaluations were accomplished by use of a 10-day whole sediment test with Leptocheirus plumulosus, Microtox®, Mutatox® and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Winter Quarters Bay sediments contained about 250 ng g−1 (dry weight) total PCBs and 20 μg g−1 total PAHs. These sediments elicited toxicity in the Microtox test and avoidance and inhibited burrowing in the L. plumulosus test. The McMurdo Sound sediment samples contained only trace amounts of PCBs and no PAHs, and were less toxic in both the L. plumulosus and Microtox tests compared to the Winter Quarters Bay sediments. The sediments from McMurdo Sound apparently contained some unidentified substance which was photolytically modified to a more toxic form. The photolytic modification of sediment-associated contaminants, coupled with the polar ozone hole and increased incidence of ultraviolet radiation could significantly increase hazards to Antarctic marine life.

Steady-state and second-sound measurements of Kapitza resistance

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

Katerberg, James Alan

1980-01-01

Published steady-state (dc) and second-sound (ac) measurements of the Kapitza resistance (R K) have differed in reports of the temperature dependence of R K. The two types of measurements were also seen to conflict on the measured effects of sample damage on the magnitude of R K. To resolve these differences, measurements of R K have been made using both techniques on the same sample, during the same experimental run. Our measurements, made on copper-liquid helium interfaces from 1.1 to 2.1 K, show excellent agreement between the dc and ac results. No evidence is seen for a frequency-dependent Kapitza resistance.more » Our measurements show an increase in R K when the sample is damaged, agreeing with published ac measurements, but disagreeing with published dc measurements. The temperature dependence of R K in our measurements is approximately T -3 from 1.5 to 2.1 K, in agreement with published dc measurements. A T -4 dependence has been seen in the published ac experiments. In our experiments, a T -4 dependence is observed only when second sound is coupled from the generating cavity to the helium bath.« less

A Method for the Measurement of Acoustic Impedance and Speed of Sound in a Small Region of Bone using a Fused Quartz Rod as a Transmission Line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatakeyama, Rokuro; Yoshizawa, Masazumi; Moriya, Tadashi

2000-11-01

Precise correction for γ-ray attenuation in skull bone has been a significant problem in obtaining quantitative single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. The correction for γ-ray attenuation is approximately proportional to the density and thickness of the bone under investigation. If the acoustic impedance and the speed of sound in bone are measurable using ultrasonic techniques, then the density and thickness of the bone sample can be calculated. Whole bone usually consists of three layers, and each layer has a different ultrasonic character. Thus, the speed of sound must be measured in a small section of each layer in order to determine the overall density of whole bone. It is important to measure the attenuation constant in order to determine the appropriate level for the ultrasonic input signal. We have developed a method for measuring the acoustic impedance, speed of sound, and attenuation constant in a small region of a bone sample using a fused quartz rod as a transmission line. In the present study, we obtained the following results: impedance of compact bone; 5.30(±0.40)× 106 kg/(m2s), speed of sound; 3780± 250 m/s, and attenuation constant; 2.70± 0.50 Np/m. These results were used to obtain the densities of compact bone, spongy bone and bone marrow in a bovine bone sample and as well as the density of pig skull bone, which were found to be 1.40± 0.30 g/cm3, 1.19± 0.50 g/cm3, 0.90± 0.30 g/cm3 and 1.26± 0.30 g/cm3, respectively. Using a thin solid transmission line, the proposed method makes it possible to determine the density of a small region of a bone sample. It is expected that the proposed method, which is based on ultrasonic measurement, will be useful for application in brain SPECT.

The Benefits of Bimodal Aiding on Extended Dimensions of Speech Perception: Intelligibility, Listening Effort, and Sound Quality

PubMed Central

Chalupper, Josef

2017-01-01

The benefits of combining a cochlear implant (CI) and a hearing aid (HA) in opposite ears on speech perception were examined in 15 adult unilateral CI recipients who regularly use a contralateral HA. A within-subjects design was carried out to assess speech intelligibility testing, listening effort ratings, and a sound quality questionnaire for the conditions CI alone, CIHA together, and HA alone when applicable. The primary outcome of bimodal benefit, defined as the difference between CIHA and CI, was statistically significant for speech intelligibility in quiet as well as for intelligibility in noise across tested spatial conditions. A reduction in effort on top of intelligibility at the highest tested signal-to-noise ratio was found. Moreover, the bimodal listening situation was rated to sound more voluminous, less tinny, and less unpleasant than CI alone. Listening effort and sound quality emerged as feasible and relevant measures to demonstrate bimodal benefit across a clinically representative range of bimodal users. These extended dimensions of speech perception can shed more light on the array of benefits provided by complementing a CI with a contralateral HA. PMID:28874096

Blind estimation of reverberation time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnam, Rama; Jones, Douglas L.; Wheeler, Bruce C.; O'Brien, William D.; Lansing, Charissa R.; Feng, Albert S.

2003-11-01

The reverberation time (RT) is an important parameter for characterizing the quality of an auditory space. Sounds in reverberant environments are subject to coloration. This affects speech intelligibility and sound localization. Many state-of-the-art audio signal processing algorithms, for example in hearing-aids and telephony, are expected to have the ability to characterize the listening environment, and turn on an appropriate processing strategy accordingly. Thus, a method for characterization of room RT based on passively received microphone signals represents an important enabling technology. Current RT estimators, such as Schroeder's method, depend on a controlled sound source, and thus cannot produce an online, blind RT estimate. Here, a method for estimating RT without prior knowledge of sound sources or room geometry is presented. The diffusive tail of reverberation was modeled as an exponentially damped Gaussian white noise process. The time-constant of the decay, which provided a measure of the RT, was estimated using a maximum-likelihood procedure. The estimates were obtained continuously, and an order-statistics filter was used to extract the most likely RT from the accumulated estimates. The procedure was illustrated for connected speech. Results obtained for simulated and real room data are in good agreement with the real RT values.

Online estimation of room reverberation time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnam, Rama; Jones, Douglas L.; Wheeler, Bruce C.; Feng, Albert S.

2003-04-01

The reverberation time (RT) is an important parameter for characterizing the quality of an auditory space. Sounds in reverberant environments are subject to coloration. This affects speech intelligibility and sound localization. State-of-the-art signal processing algorithms for hearing aids are expected to have the ability to evaluate the characteristics of the listening environment and turn on an appropriate processing strategy accordingly. Thus, a method for the characterization of room RT based on passively received microphone signals represents an important enabling technology. Current RT estimators, such as Schroeder's method or regression, depend on a controlled sound source, and thus cannot produce an online, blind RT estimate. Here, we describe a method for estimating RT without prior knowledge of sound sources or room geometry. The diffusive tail of reverberation was modeled as an exponentially damped Gaussian white noise process. The time constant of the decay, which provided a measure of the RT, was estimated using a maximum-likelihood procedure. The estimates were obtained continuously, and an order-statistics filter was used to extract the most likely RT from the accumulated estimates. The procedure was illustrated for connected speech. Results obtained for simulated and real room data are in good agreement with the real RT values.

Neoprene wet-suit hood affects low-frequency underwater hearing thresholds.

PubMed

Fothergill, David M; Sims, John R; Curley, Michael D

2004-05-01

Psychophysical measures of wet-suit hood sound attenuation are needed to provide the diving community with guidance on protection from underwater sound. Underwater hearing thresholds were obtained from 15 male and 5 female recreational divers with and without a 3-mm thick wet-suit hood. Dives were conducted at a depth of 1 m in a large quiet anechoic pool. Thresholds were determined using a two-interval forced-choice procedure with a 0.71 probability of positive response at convergence. A 1-s pure tone was presented with a 20-ms rise and fall time at 100, 200, 250, 300, 400, and 500 Hz. Without a wet-suit hood, mean thresholds decreased from 99 dB re 1 microPa at 100 Hz to 85 dB at 500 Hz. Thresholds were statistically similar at 100 to 300 Hz with and without the wet-suit hood, but were significantly increased at 400 and 500 Hz with the hood (p < 0.001). In conclusion, at shallow depths, a 3-mm neoprene wet-suit hood attenuates underwater sound by approximately 10 dB for frequencies between 400 Hz and 500 Hz. At frequencies below 400 Hz, a 3-mm neoprene wet-suit hood offers no sound protection.

Effect of an acid mine drainage effluent on phytoplankton biomass and primary production at Britannia Beach, Howe Sound, British Columbia.

PubMed

Levings, C D; Varela, D E; Mehlenbacher, N M; Barry, K L; Piercey, G E; Guo, M; Harrison, P J

2005-12-01

We investigated the effect of acid mine drainage (AMD) from an abandoned copper mine at Britannia Beach (Howe Sound, BC, Canada) on primary productivity and chlorophyll a levels in the receiving waters of Howe Sound before, during, and after freshet from the Squamish River. Elevated concentrations of copper (integrated average through the water column >0.050 mgl(-1)) in nearshore waters indicated that under some conditions a small gyre near the mouth of Britannia Creek may have retained the AMD from Britannia Creek and from a 30-m deep water outfall close to shore. Regression and correlation analyses indicated that copper negatively affected primary productivity during April (pre-freshet) and November (post-freshet). Negative effects of copper on primary productivity were not supported statistically for July (freshet), possibly because of additional effects such as turbidity from the Squamish River. Depth-integrated average and surface chlorophyll a were correlated to copper concentrations in April. During this short study we demonstrated that copper concentrations from the AMD discharge can negatively affect both primary productivity and the standing stock of primary producers in Howe Sound.

Particle Engulfment and Pushing by Solidifying Interfaces LMS Mission Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juretzko, Frank R.; Catalina, Adrian V.; Stefanescu, Doru M.; Dhindaw, Brij K.; Sen, Subhayu; Curreri, Peter A.; Mullins, Jennifer

1998-01-01

Results of the directional solidification experiments on Particle Engulfment and Pushing by Solidifying Interfaces (PEP) conducted on the space shuttle Columbia are reported. The experiment was manifested as part of The Life and Microgravity Science Mission. Two pure aluminum (99.999%) 9 mm cylindrical rods, loaded with about 2 vol.% 500 microns diameter zirconia particles were melted and directionally solidified in the microgravity (micro-g) environment of the shuttle. The particles were non-reactive with the matrices within the temperature range of interest. The experiments were conducted such as to insure a planar solid/liquid interface during solidification. Two different cartridge - crucible - sample designs were used: a spring-piston and expansion void. Both resulted in sound samples. Samples were evaluated post-flight for soundness by X-ray computer tomography (XCT).

Usefulness of bowel sound auscultation: a prospective evaluation.

PubMed

Felder, Seth; Margel, David; Murrell, Zuri; Fleshner, Phillip

2014-01-01

Although the auscultation of bowel sounds is considered an essential component of an adequate physical examination, its clinical value remains largely unstudied and subjective. The aim of this study was to determine whether an accurate diagnosis of normal controls, mechanical small bowel obstruction (SBO), or postoperative ileus (POI) is possible based on bowel sound characteristics. Prospectively collected recordings of bowel sounds from patients with normal gastrointestinal motility, SBO diagnosed by computed tomography and confirmed at surgery, and POI diagnosed by clinical symptoms and a computed tomography without a transition point. Study clinicians were instructed to categorize the patient recording as normal, obstructed, ileus, or not sure. Using an electronic stethoscope, bowel sounds of healthy volunteers (n = 177), patients with SBO (n = 19), and patients with POI (n = 15) were recorded. A total of 10 recordings randomly selected from each category were replayed through speakers, with 15 of the recordings duplicated to surgical and internal medicine clinicians (n = 41) blinded to the clinical scenario. The sensitivity, positive predictive value, and intra-rater variability were determined based on the clinician's ability to properly categorize the bowel sound recording when blinded to additional clinical information. Secondary outcomes were the clinician's perceived level of expertise in interpreting bowel sounds. The overall sensitivity for normal, SBO, and POI recordings was 32%, 22%, and 22%, respectively. The positive predictive value of normal, SBO, and POI recordings was 23%, 28%, and 44%, respectively. Intra-rater reliability of duplicated recordings was 59%, 52%, and 53% for normal, SBO, and POI, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found between the surgical and internal medicine clinicians for sensitivity, positive predictive value, or intra-rater variability. Overall, 44% of clinicians reported that they rarely listened to bowel sounds, whereas 17% reported that they always listened. Auscultation of bowel sounds is not a useful clinical practice when differentiating patients with normal versus pathologic bowel sounds. The listener frequently arrives at an incorrect diagnosis. If routine abdominal auscultation is to be continued, our findings emphasize the need for improvements in training and education as well as advancements in the understanding of the objective acoustical properties of bowel sounds. Copyright © 2014 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.