bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Porous Alumina Assisted by Resorcinol–Formaldehyde Gel
Authors: Chantam Pamornrat , Pavarajarn Varong
Published: July 2012

Porous alumina with interconnected structure is synthesized by a simple approach assisted by a polycondensation of resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) mixture. The results show significant increase in surface area because of the porous network of the RF gel and the effectiveness of the RF gel in retarding growth of alumina grains during calcination. The product obtained has the surface area of 68 m2/g even after the calcination at 1200°C to convert it to α‐alumina, whereas the surface area of the product prepared without the RF gel is only 10 m2/g. Nevertheless, the process is not direct templating technique since the interaction between the precursor of alumina, i.e., aluminum acetylacetonate (Al(acac)3), and the RF mixture occurs and alters the gel structure. The formation of alumina clusters via the sol‐gel process takes place as the network of RF gel is progressively formed.
What is pain? A phenomenological approach to understanding
Authors: Nay Rhonda , Fetherstonhaugh Deirdre
Published: July 2012

nay r. & fetherstonhaugh d. (2012) What is pain? A phenomenological approach to understanding. International Journal of Older People Nursing7, 233–239  doi: 10.1111/j.1748‐3743.2012.00329.x

Pain is an individual experience. This paper presents four phenomenological accounts of pain which describe: the pain at the time of the experience; the meaning the pain had at the time of the experience (reflection in); and the meaning of the experience looking back on it (reflection upon). Specifically, the accounts describe pain that is emotional, cognitive and physical (acute and chronic). By exploring the essence of pain using very personal accounts, we encourage nurses to reflect on how their own understanding of pain and individual responses to pain can impact on how they in turn recognise, assess and manage pain in older people and especially those living with dementia. Paper 1 highlights the under‐assessment of pain in older people with dementia. By confronting readers with this paper’s phenomenological approach, it is hoped that they will be challenged to address this situation.
Pain and dementia – an application to practice: an example
Authors: Wall Sharon , White Tom
Published: July 2012

wall s. & white t. (2012) Pain and dementia – an application to practice: an example. International Journal of Older People Nursing7, 227–232  doi: 10.1111/j.1748‐3743.2012.00330.x

There are fundamental clinical implications around assessment and evaluation of pain as well as management strategies for pain that have the potential of impacting and improving client outcomes. It is these principles that have been used to develop a training module on pain and dementia with widespread application to a range of settings. This study serves to provide an overview of this process as it translates evidence of pain in people living with dementia to practice for clinicians working in the field.
Pain and dementia: an overview of the literature
Authors: McAuliffe Linda , Brown Donna , Fetherstonhaugh Deirdre
Published: July 2012

mcauliffe l., brown d. & fetherstonhaugh d. (2012) Pain and dementia: an overview of the literature. International Journal of Older People Nursing7, 219–226  doi: 10.1111/j.1748‐3743.2012.00331.x

This paper discusses how pain and its undertreatment impacts upon older people with dementia. It outlines how the contributing factors to the underassessment of pain are numerous and includes dementia‐related factors (such as loss of communication ability) and health professional–related factors (such as inappropriate or non‐application of a pain‐assessment tool and deficit knowledge regarding pain mechanisms and/or dementia). Pharmacological and non‐pharmacological treatment options for pain are noted as important but are not the focus of this paper.
Red Schoolhouse, Burning Cross: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and Educational Reform
Authors: Laats Adam
Published: July 2012

On a hot afternoon in July 1923, former Dallas dentist and national Ku Klux Klan leader Hiram Evans took the podium at the first annual national meeting of the revived organization. By the time of this meeting, the Klan had again become infamous for its reputation of intolerance and vigilante violence. It had also become enormously popular among native-born white Protestants. In states such as Indiana and Colorado, the Klan briefly seized control of state and local politics. In spite of vigorous and scathing attacks from liberals and minority groups, between three and six million native-born Protestant white men rushed to join the secret order. At least another half-million women joined the Women of the Ku Klux Klan. Some even claimed that President Warren Harding took the membership oath in a secret White House ceremony. The appeal of the organization has been explained by historians as evidence of a variety of cultural trends, including worries over lax Prohibition enforcement, desires to enforce white racial dominance, fears caused by increasing immigration rates and labor unrest, and anxiety about changing cultural mores. While each of these issues was part of the revived Klan's allure, the shrewd “Imperial Wizard” chose another topic to electrify his audience. “The greatest duty of America today,” Evans thundered, “is to build up our educational system.”
The addition of temozolomide does not change the pattern of progression of glioblastoma multiforme post‐radiotherapy
Authors: Gunjur Ashray , Bressel Mathias , Ryan Gail
Published: July 2012

Introduction

To determine whether the pattern of progressive disease (PD) for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients has changed with the introduction of the current standard of care protocol – postoperative conformal radiotherapy to a dose of 60 Gray in 30 fractions with concurrent low‐dose (75–100 mg/m2) temozolomide, followed by six cycles of adjuvant high‐dose (150–200 mg/m2) temozolomide – as compared with radiotherapy alone.

Methods

For GBM patients commencing combined modality treatment between October 2005 and August 2009, the MRI scan confirming progression (if any) was co‐registered with the original planning CT scan, and progression site(s) marked. Coverage of the composite progression volume (PDvol) by the original 95% prescription isodose volume was obtained from dose‐volume histogram (DVH) data, and assigned as ‘central’, ‘in field’, ‘marginal’ and ‘out of field’, corresponding to >95%, >80%, 20–80% and <20% coverage.

Results

Of 68 consecutive patients identified, 54 (79.4%) had documented PD. Of the 47 (87%) evaluable patients, 43 (91%) had in field progression with 36 (77%) of these being central. Of the remaining four cases, three (6%) had marginal progression, and only one patient (2%) had out of field progression. Median overall and progression‐free survival were 11.6 and 6.6 months, respectively.

Conclusion

The pattern of progression in our GBM patients does not appear to have been altered by the addition of temozolomide. The overwhelming majority of first PD occurred within the original radiotherapy planning target volume, as is the case in patients treated with radiotherapy alone. Major changes to radiotherapy volumes are not indicated, with alternative strategies required to improve outcomes.
Promoting ValueAs Such
Authors: Williams Evan G.
Published: July 2012

Without needing to commit to any specific claims about what states of affairs have most agent‐neutral value, we can nevertheless predict that states of affairs which are relatively valuable are also relatively likely to occur—on the grounds that, all else equal, at least some other agents are likely to recognize the value of those states of affairs, pursue them because they are valuable, and successfully bring them about as a consequence of that pursuit. This gives us a way to promote valueas such, rather than promoting it under some more tendentious description. We can predict that actions which help other people—or our own future selves—to recognize valuable states of affairs, actions which motivate them to pursue whatever states of affairs they believe to be valuable, or actions which help them succeed at their pursuits will, all else equal, have positive consequences. So we have apro tantoreason to take such actions, and the subjective justification of that reason is independent of other moral claims.
Knowledge, Justification and Normative Coincidence1
Authors: Smith Martin
Published: July 2012

Say that two goals are normatively coincident just in case one cannot aim for one goal without automatically aiming for the other. While knowledge and justification are distinct epistemic goals, with distinct achievement conditions, this paper begins from the suggestion that they are nevertheless normatively coincident—aiming for knowledge and aiming for justification are one and the same activity. A number of surprising consequences follow from this—both specific consequences about how we can ascribe knowledge and justification in lottery cases and more general consequences about the nature of justification and the relationship between justification and evidential probability. Many of these consequences turn out to be at variance with conventional, prevailing views.
A Sketch of a Theory of Moral Blameworthiness*
Authors: Graham Peter A.
Published: July 2012

In this paper I sketch an account of moral blame and blameworthiness. I begin by clarifying what I take blame to be and explaining how blameworthiness is to be analyzed in terms of it. I then consider different accounts of the conditions of blameworthiness and, in the end, settle on one according to which a person is blameworthy for φ‐ing just in case, in φ‐ing, she violates one of a particular class of moral requirements governing the attitudes we bear, and our mental orientation, toward people and other objects of significant moral worth. These requirements embody the moral stricture that we accord to these others a sufficient level of respect, one that their moral worth demands. This is a familiar theme which has its roots in P. F. Strawson’s pioneering views on moral responsibility. My development of it leads me to the conclusion that acting wrongly is not a condition of blameworthiness: violating a moral requirement to perform, or refrain from performing, an action is neither necessary nor sufficient for being blameworthy. All we are ever blameworthy for, I will argue, are certain aspects of our mental bearing toward others. We can be said to be blameworthy for our actions only derivatively, in the sense that those actions are the natural manifestations of the things for which we are strictly speaking blameworthy.
Anticandidal activity and biocompatibility of a rechargeable antifungal denture material
Authors: Villar CC , Lin AL , Cao Z , Zhao X‐R , Wu L‐A , Chen S , Sun Y , Yeh C‐K
Published: July 2012

Objectives

Candida‐associated denture stomatitis is a recurrent and debilitating oral mucosal disease. Development of anticandidal denture materials represents a promising strategy to manage this condition. We have previously shown that miconazole incorporated in methacrylic acid (MAA) copolymerized diurethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) denture materials has long‐term anticandidal activity. In this study, we examined the ability of culture medium conditioned with drug‐free‐ or miconazole‐MAA‐UDMA discs to prevent Candida infection in an in vitro oral epithelial cell/Candida albicans coculture system.

Materials and Methods

Candida albicans (C. albicans)‐induced OKF6/TERT‐2 cell damage was quantified by the release of lactate dehydrogenase from epithelial cells, cytokine production was quantified using protein cytokine arrays, and the expression of C. albicans genes was measured by RT‐qPCR.

Results

Candida albicans had limited growth with altered expression levels of secreted aspartyl proteinase‐2 and ‐5 in culture medium conditioned by miconazole‐MAA‐UDMA discs. Significantly, the ability of C. albicans to induce oral epithelial cell damage and trigger epithelial proinflammatory cytokine production was also inhibited by miconazole disc conditioned media.

Conclusion

Miconazole released from MAA‐UDMA denture materials effectively prevents the development of candidal infection in an in vitro oral epithelial system. Further characterization of this drug‐rechargeable denture material is warranted.
The efficiency of ultrasonic systems in the case of piezoceramic transducers supplied with rectangular signal
Authors: Liviu Odobescu G.
Published: July 2012

The paper presents a method for the rise efficiency of ultrasonic systems—in the range 20–100 kHz—supplied by rectangular generators. The rise efficiency is important because of high power, which is working, and for optimal and reliable use of ultrasound systems. The ultrasonic systems constituted from ultrasonic piezoceramic transducers and acoustics chain (transmission, adaptation, amplifying of ultrasound vibration) are supplied from electronic generators, which works in commutation. The commutation-working regime assures a very high efficiency for an electronic generator, but generates a very large spectrum of frequency. The theoretical and experimental analysis of generated spectrum accomplished in this paper leads to very useful conclusions in order to choose an adequate matching dipole between generator and charge. Also, this analysis permits the determination of efficiency for whole ultrasonic system and it found some possibilities for it raising. This study is accomplished by the calculation programs: the efficiency as a function of harmonics, with and without matching dipole; the efficiency as a function of the acoustic charge, with matching dipole, for fundamental frequency; the input impedance of a piezoceramic transducer as a function of acoustic charge; and the total impedance of a piezoceramic transducer with matching dipole as a function of n harmonics.
Active increase of sound transmission loss of partitions based on utilizing EMFi panel actuators
Authors: Nykanen Hannu , Antila Marko , Uosukainen Seppo , Lekkala Jukka
Published: July 2012

Active noise control (ANC) has been a promising method for noise control and also for other applications such as active increase of absorption and active increase of sound transmission loss of partitions. However, only a few applications have been commercially attractive. At the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) a method to manufacture thin, flat acoustic sensors and actuators (flat microphones and loudspeakers) utilizing ElectroMechanical Film (EMFi) technology has been developed. Flat sensors and actuators can be implemented in ANC applications, where large surfaces should be covered with sensors or anti-sound producing elements. EMFi sensors and actuators are typically 4- to 10-mm-thick elements. They can also be collocated, forming an advanced sensor–actuator combination. Results of research focusing on the use of EMFi technology to increase the sound transmission loss of partitions by active means are presented. By active means the sound transmission loss of the partitions against broadband noise could be increased up to 10 dB in the frequency range 100–350 Hz. Results are new and of great importance, because new ANC technology is being developed. The commercial production of EMFi panel actuators will start in the middle of the year 2000.
Robust active control of a vibrating plate
Authors: Prajna Stephen , Kaiser Oliver , Pietrzko Stanislaw , Morari Manfred
Published: July 2012

This paper addresses several aspects of designing robust controllers for active control of vibration in a plate with piezo actuators and acceleration sensors. The discussion ranges over identification of the plant, design and implementation of controllers, and evaluation of their robustness and performance. All the concepts are tested on an experimental setup. Robustness issues are prominent, since in practice the plant differs from models obtained through identification, and moreover changes in ambient conditions induce variation over time in the plant’s characteristics such as modal frequencies and damping ratios. Consequently, a controller designed for a nominal plant model may yield a poor performance or even result in an unstable system if robustness issues are not considered properly. Several H∞ controllers are compared here. Besides using the usual multiplicative and additive uncertainty models, controllers are also designed using the eigenvalue perturbation approach. It is found that controllers designed using this approach are more robust than those obtained using conventional methods. Furthermore, the performance does not degrade severely (which usually occurs due to the robustness performance tradeoff). Hence, it is concluded that the approach is suitable for active vibration control of a plate or similar plants. a)Previously with Fac. Mathematical Sciences, Univ. Twente, The Netherlands.
Pump station noise and vibration in a residential development
Authors: Towers David A.
Published: July 2012

This paper presents a case study of noise and vibration from a water-supply pump station containing four 3600-rpm pump units located within a large housing development. Residents near the pump station complained about the disturbing noise and vibration that they feared could damage their homes. Subsequent measurements demonstrated that vibrations at the nearest homes posed no danger in terms of even minor cosmetic damage, and were in fact below the average threshold of human perception. However, the measurements clearly indicated floor vibrations at a frequency of 60 Hz, corresponding to the pump rotation speed, that varied periodically with time at a rate that depended on the number of pumps operating simultaneously. Furthermore, the floor vibrations were found to correlate directly with ‘‘ground-borne noise’’ at a frequency of 60 Hz. At the closest home, this tonal and time-varying noise was loud enough to be disturbing to the residents in some cases. It was concluded that this condition resulted from the rigid mounting of the pumps combined with efficient vibration propagation through rocky ground to the slab foundation of the home. Thus, vibration isolation of the pump units was recommended to eliminate the ground-borne noise problem.
Strategies to evaluate aircraft routing plans at Newark International Airport
Authors: Dresnack Robert , Zimmer Ithan , Wilson Charles
Published: July 2012

In early 1998, the authors were retained by the New Jersey Department of the Treasury to identify a clear set of principles, tools, resources, and methodologies that could be used to evaluate effectively all aspects of an airport routing plan. The project was initiated at the urging of citizens who had argued for ten years that ocean routing of aircraft at Newark International Airport would substantially reduce associated noise impacts in the subject area. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Continental Airlines, the major carrier at Newark, were steadfast in their belief that developing an ocean routing plan would create additional flight delays at the airport. Newark Airport has already experienced the greatest delays of any airport in the United States 9 out of the last 12 years. The plan, they further argued, would increase noise in communities in proximity to the ocean. The authors met with the various stakeholders, reviewed their positions and their consultant’s reports, developed independent research, and published a final report in January 1999. The report presented 14 findings and associated recommendations that are the focus of this paper.
Assessing the community impact of aircraft noise
Authors: Wilson Charles E. , Dresnack Robert , Zimmer Ithan
Published: July 2012

Environmental impact statements and reports are often required for proposed airport improvements and aircraft routing changes. Direct monetary costs and benefits are usually addressed. But the social cost of noise impact is seldom expressed in monetary form. Cost/benefit ratios are of questionable value when noise impact is not evaluated. As a result, policy decisions and resource allocation may be used on incomplete data. Even when noise data are provided in environmental impact statements, laymen may find the data difficult to interpret. A method is suggested for assessing noise impact in monetary form. A procedure for interpreting day-night sound level contours in terms of probable speech interference is also proposed. Impacts on real estate values and other social costs of noise were estimated in one area. The results suggested that annual ‘‘losses’’ due to aircraft noise are significant in cost/benefit analysis. It was observed that air travel and air freight enjoy substantial direct and indirect subsidies including direct appropriations, airport payments in lieu of tax and rent, and tax-free bonds. Inclusion of social cost estimates in environmental impact statements provides a basis for allocation of direct and indirect subsidies, and allocation of funds for noise mitigation.
Capelin TS: Effect of individual fish variability
Authors: Simard Yvan , Horne John K. , Lavoie Diane , McQuinn Ian
Published: July 2012

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) is an important forage fish in northern latitudes. The effect of the individual biological variability on the target strength (TS) at various acoustic frequencies was investigated from a sample collected in the St. Lawrence estuary. The geometric properties of the fish and its swimbladder were measured from radiographs obtained from 45 anesthetized fish, from 12- to 16-cm total length. The data were input to a backscattering model exploring the effect of fish shape on TS as a function of acoustic frequency, length, and tilt angle. The swimbladder had similar cross sections in both lateral and dorsal views. It represented 5.5% (s.d. 1.1%) of lateral body cross section and 8.2% (s.d. 1.8%) of the dorsal body cross section. The swimbladder cross section was related to the fish total length but the variation around the mean for a given length was ±40%. This large variability is equivalent to the change in cross section between tilt angles of 0 and 90 deg for an average fish. The variability in shape parameters is paralleled with changes in the modeled backscatter patterns. The TS versus frequency relation exhibits substantial peaks and troughs, notably in the range of acoustic frequencies commonly used in fisheries acoustics (∼38–200 kHz).
Some problems and solutions for the measurement of fish target strength: A study case with Atlantic redfish (Sebastes spp.)
Authors: Gauthier Stéphane , Rose George A.
Published: July 2012

Potential biases in the measurement of redfish target strength (TS) were examined by comparing ex situ and in situ approaches. Ex situ experiments were conducted on individuals after developing a method to maintain live fish in good condition. The main problem with the manipulation of these species was the inflation and distortion of the swimbladder. To minimize this bias, fish were kept in sea cages after acclimation at depth and TS was measured in a camera-monitored apparatus set in proximity to the capture site. A series of in situ acoustic-trawl experiments was conducted on several aggregations of redfish in Newfoundland waters. TS were collected using a hull-mounted EK500 split-beam transducer and a deep-tow dual-beam system. The dual-beam transducer was calibrated at different depths to test if change in pressure and/or temperature affected its sensitivity. This system was used to measure aggregations of fish under different transducer depth. The data indicated that biases in in situ TS estimates increased with the range of observation, the density of fish, and the presence of multiple targets formed by the clustering of smaller organisms. Depending on the nature of the bias, TS can be over- or underestimated by as much as 6 dB.
On HVAC duct acoustical end reflection
Authors: Mouratidis Emanuel , Peppin Richard J.
Published: July 2012

Duct end reflection (ER) is the apparent loss of sound power resulting from an abrupt change in a cross-sectional area of the duct. In most references, the magnitude of ER is only a function of frequency and duct size, because of assumed plane-wave propagation. If, between the source and duct termination, there are short duct runs, 90-deg duct bends, offset ducts, T-sections, various end diffusers, high aspect ratio cross sections, the presence of airflow, etc., the relative effects on ER are unknown. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineer’s Applications Handbook presents tables that provide the power loss due to ER. However, the assumptions used and the limitations of the table are lacking. This paper describes results of laboratory-measured changes in reverberation room sound-pressure level (SPL) created by common system variables that are associated with ER: duct length between noise source and reverb room termination, and several duct termination conditions were investigated using small diameter duct. In a controlled laboratory environment, these system conditions were found to create an apparent random variability (up to 10 dB) in the resulting SPL, for both a high impedance fan reference sound source and a low impedance loudspeaker source.
Tips for specifying active duct silencers
Authors: Wise Steve , Carme Christian , Shackleford Dwight
Published: July 2012

Low-frequency noise in buildings is receiving greater focus in new noise standards. The extraordinary performance of active duct silencers on these low frequencies provides a powerful new element for fan noise control. Acoustical consultants need to know the most appropriate applications for active duct silencers. The authors have been personally involved in the design and start-up of over 1000 active duct silencers installed in the USA and Europe to silence fans on a variety of HVAC applications. This site experience from office buildings, schools, hospitals, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, auditoria, sound test chambers, and cruise ships—both retrofit and new construction—is summarized to guide acoustical consultants in estimating the performance of active duct silencers. Fan and duct silencer system layouts are reviewed, along with performance case histories.
Progress report on I-INCE technical initiative for schoolroom acoustics
Authors: Lubman David , Sutherland Louis C. , Karibiber Zerhan
Published: July 2012

Good acoustics is an indispensable requirement for verbal learning, and therefore vital to all knowledge-based societies. The World Health Organization has identified the basic acoustical requirements for verbal learning spaces (Guidelines for Community Noise, April 1999). Some nations are well advanced in meeting these requirements while others may lack local guidelines or other resources. The worldwide acoustical design and noise control communities can help nations to achieve good schoolroom acoustics. A technical initiative for that purpose titled ‘‘Noise and Reverberation Control for Schoolrooms’’ was approved by the International-INCE General Assembly at its meeting in December 1999. The initiative is intended to be an internationally coordinated program to assist participating nations with engineering issues associated with achieving satisfactory acoustics in learning spaces. Representatives of various I-INCE member societies appointed to this Technical Study Group will be asked to submit a draft report for review by the I-INCE General Assembly within two years of their first meeting. The report is expected to provide practical guidance to school planners, designers, and code officials. The Group will first convene at the Internoise meeting at Nice, France in August 2000. This presentation highlights the results of that meeting.
Determination of insertion loss for classrooms at a high school
Authors: Greene Michael
Published: July 2012

The construction of a new freeway adjacent to an existing high school in eastern San Diego County, California, prompted the need for a rigorous analysis of the noise effects on the school. The insertion loss of structures (with windows and doors open and closed) at a high school was measured. The test setup consisted of two commercial-grade loudspeakers mounted atop a manually operated lift, associated amplifiers, pink-noise generator, a real-time noise analyzer, and sound-level meters. Noise levels were measured at equivalent distances outside and inside the rooms of interest, to derive the structure’s insertion loss. This was done at incident angles of 30, 45, 60, and 75 deg to the building facade. The resultant data from these measurements required the use of specially designed spread sheets to effectively analyze the present the results. The results of the measurements indicated that improvements to the older classrooms near the freeway would be necessary in order to meet the interior noise standard for classroom spaces.
Rating and ranking university classrooms by acoustical quality
Authors: Hodgson Murray
Published: July 2012

Nonoptimal classroom acoustical conditions affect speech perception and learning by students. The research reported here developed methods for predicting speech intelligibility in occupied classrooms. These were used to predict speech intelligibility at various positions in 280 university classrooms when 70% occupied, for two instructor voice levels. Classrooms were classified and rank ordered by acoustical quality, as determined by the classroom-average speech intelligibility. Classrooms with poor and bad acoustical quality were identified, so that they could be prioritized for acoustical renovation. The conclusion was that 90% of the 280 classrooms have good or very good acoustical quality with a typical instructor. However, 27 (10%) of the classrooms had poor quality, and one had bad quality. Most rooms were very good at the front and good or very good at the back. With a quiet female instructor, classrooms were poor or fair on average. Most were fair at the front, and fair, poor, or bad at the back. New classroom acoustical design and renovations should focus on limiting background noise from the ventilation systems. They should promote high instructor speech levels at the back of classrooms. This involves limiting the amount of sound absorption that is introduced into classrooms to control reverberation.
A resource for creating learning environments with desirable listening conditions
Authors: Glosemeyer Robin , Seep Benjamin , Coffeen Robert C.
Published: July 2012

A discussion of this recent publication on classroom acoustics by the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America which is directed towards school planners, school administrators, school faculty, governmental agencies, architects, and others who are engaged in the planning and construction of new classrooms and in the remodeling of existing classrooms. This publication is intended to be used as an aid in the understanding of the elements of desirable listening conditions in school classrooms.
A finite-element analysis of a smart foam system for passive/active noise control
Authors: Chin Cliff L. , Lee Joshua T. , Mathur Gopal P.
Published: July 2012

The smart foam noise control system is designed to reduce sound by a combination of the passive absorbing component of the poroelastic foam and the active component of the voltage-driven PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) film. The hybrid noise control methodology allows the control of noise over a wide frequency bandwidth. In this paper, the finite-element (FE) method is used to solve the PVDF-foam-structure-acoustic coupled smart foam system in a two-dimensional domain. An FE model of a two-dimensional smart foam actuator with embedded PVDF film will be presented. The effect of foam properties on acoustic impedance and absorption coefficient of the smart foam system is examined using the FE model. The program also predicts the structural vibration of the foam matrix and the acoustic pressure in a cavity when an array of smart foam actuators are driven by control input voltages which are determined by the active control algorithm.
Elimination of structure-borne noise using an insulating material made from recycled rubber
Authors: Downey Paul
Published: July 2012

A brief overview of the concept of structure-borne noise will be given from both a theoretical and practical perspective. The methods and materials used to insulate several types of structures against vibrations and the resulting structure-borne noise will be explained. A case study approach will be used to demonstrate the results of these installations. The results will be indicated in the appropriate format, including the preceding and resulting sound pressure levels. The background technical data will be presented including the spring characteristics of the materials, the natural frequency, the dynamic stiffness, and the dynamic modulus of elasticity in dependence of the load. The behavior of the materials under load and at removal of load as well as the effect of layering materials will be examined. The required calculations to permit acoustical engineers to solve structure-borne noise problems will be illustrated.
Geometric sound absorbers
Authors: Warnaka Glenn E.
Published: July 2012

Acoustic absorption is a commonly used technique for noise reduction. Most acoustically absorbent treatments use fibrous or porous materials. In general, such treatments are not rugged and have limitations in many applications. For example, fibrous and porous materials can retain pollutants present in the environment. This leads to unsanitary and unhealthy conditions and to fire and explosion hazards. This paper describes novel geometric acoustic absorbers, based on closely coupled quarter-wave resonators that provide a high level of acoustic absorption over a broad range of frequency. Because the absorbers depend on their geometry for absorption, the absorbers may be made of any material and, hence, the material may be chosen on the basis of cost, environmental resistance, ruggedness, etc. Further, the absorbers can be cleaned when required to eliminate the presence of contaminants. Cleaning can be accomplished by conventional means such as washing, vacuuming, high-pressure air, etc. Two absorbers are described, Configuration ∇ and Flat Absorber. The absorbers may take many forms and may be made compact by folding them or stacking them in various ways without affecting their absorption. In other cases, the absorbers can be made very rugged to withstand heavy use.
Broadband structural acoustic silencers
Authors: Ramamoorthy Sripriya , Grosh Karl
Published: July 2012

It has long been a goal of the noise control community to achieve broadband passive attenuation of sound propagating in waveguides. By using designs based on models of the mammalian cochlea, theoretical studies show that a structural-acoustic silencer can achieve the desired broadband transmission loss and anechoic termination is possible provided sufficient losses are present. The mammalian cochlea can be idealized as a compact rectangular duct system (2.5×0.1×0.1 cm) interacting with a strongly orthotropic plate of variable impedance (known as basilar-membrane). A coupled fluid-structure pressure-displacement wave propagates along the basilar-membrane resonating at a frequency-dependent location. In this process, the wave is attenuated with an accompanying reduction in duct pressure (nearly 100 dB over 20–20000 Hz for humans). Current research intends to imitate this aspect of cochlear behavior for reducing noise level in pipes. Possible applications include use in automotive mufflers and quieting hydraulic systems. Design of fluid/structure interaction between the orthotropic plate and duct is based on numerical modeling using the 2.5-D finite element/analytic technique. Results based on interaction of a varying thickness plate made of typical orthotropic materials like unidirectional graphite-epoxy composite, with fluids like water and oil, are presented. Comparison is made against a constant thickness plate made of the same material.
The effect of stress on F2 onsets in VCV utterances
Authors: Sarraf Ramin , Sussman Harvey M. , Lindblom Bjorn
Published: July 2012

This study compares a superposition or vowel-to-vowel theoretical framework versus a segment-by-segment account to best account for the coarticulatory dynamics of VCV utterences. The ‘‘trough effect,’’ a deactivation of tongue musculature after the initial vowel of a symmetrical VCV sequence (e.g., /ibi/), is not readily explainable by traditional co-production (vowel-to-vowel) accounts of coarticulation. A Jossian segment-by-segment programming sequence appears to be more compatible with ‘‘deactivation’’ phenomena. One way to manipulate extent of ‘‘deactivation’’ is to impose differential degrees of syllable stress on either side of the stop consonant. Locus equations can provide an acoustic window on this question as timing differences should show up as slope/intercept variations. Emphatic stress on V1 is expected to lessen deactivation relative to weak V1 stress, and consequently greater levels of anticipatory coarticulation should occur, resulting in higher locus equation slopes. Four different stress-vowel conditions were used: weak versus emphatic stress counterbalanced over V1 and V2. There were five vowel contexts for V1 and ten vowel contexts for V2, surrounding the three voiced stop consonants /b, d, g/. Results will be reported on three speakers of American English. [Work supported by NIH.]
Articulation of word and sentence stress
Authors: Keating Patricia A. , Cho Taehong , Baroni Marco , Mattys Sven , Bernstein Lynne E. , Chaney Brian , Alwan Abeer
Published: July 2012

This paper reports on the articulation of two aspects of speech prosody: word and sentence stress. Word stress is examined in reiterant renditions of minimal pairs differing in the location of main stress (e.g., DIScharge–disCHARGE), with the contrastive stress difference manifested as differences in the location of the nuclear pitch accent. Sentence stress is examined in sets of minimal sentences differing in the presence or location of the nuclear pitch accent (e.g., so TOMMY gave Debby a song from Timmy). Three talkers read these materials while movements of the jaw and tongue (using the Carstens Articulograph) or of 20 reflective infrared markers on the face (using the Qualysis Motion Capture system) were recorded. Syllables with and without contrastive pitch accents are compared along several articulatory dimensions, including: jaw displacement and duration of movement, jaw peak opening and closing velocities, jaw peak acceleration, whole head displacement, and eyebrow displacement. These comparisons allow us to determine whether the talkers articulate the focused syllables/words differently. The three talkers were selected to differ in their overall visual speech intelligibility, as rated by expert deaf speechreaders, and therefore interspeaker differences in articulation are expected. [Work supported by NSF KDI Grant 9996088.]
Prosodic indication of syntactic structure in quasispontaneous speech
Authors: Schafer Amy J. , Warren Paul , Speer Shari R. , White S. David
Published: July 2012

This research reports sentence production and comprehension results that demonstrate that untrained speakers reliably use prosodic structures to resolve certain syntactic ambiguities in American and New Zealand English. Speakers played a board game that required them to repeatedly produce several types of syntactically ambiguous sentences as part of the game dialogue. Speakers were not informed of the ambiguities or given instructions about how to speak. F0 and durational measures of critical regions and phonological transcription (ToBI) data show that speakers produced a variety of intonational structures for each syntactic structure, but consistently produced prosodic phrasal boundaries that indicated the speaker’s intended resolution of the syntactic ambiguity. Prosodic disambiguation occurred even when nonprosodic disambiguating information was available in the discourse setting, and even when speakers were not consciously aware of the ambiguity. Follow-up forced-choice perception experiments on utterance fragments excised from the conversational context show that a separate group of naive, untrained listeners reliably chose the speaker’s intended meaning. The results indicate that prosody–syntax correspondences are pervasive in spoken sentences, and thus should be carefully addressed in psycholinguistic models. [Work supported by NIH Grants MH51768 and DC00029, NZ/USA Cooperative Science Programme Grant CSP95/01, and Marsden Fund Grant VUW604.]
Prosodic domain effects on noninitial syllables
Authors: Huffman Marie , Hataier Jennifer
Published: July 2012

Previous literature has documented strengthening of segments adjacent to prosodic domain boundaries. This strengthening might be expected to affect only the segment next to the boundary. Yet, Fougeron and Keating [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 101, 3728–3740 (1997)] found that some noninitial vowels showed strengthening in a domain-initial syllable, as did some onset consonants in final syllables. To test whether effects of prosodic domain boundaries extend beyond the domain-adjacent syllable, consonant and vowel durations were measured for the second, stressed, syllable in the place names Apollo, Atami, and Acosta, comparing utterance-, intonation phrase- and word-initial position. Results for four female and one male speaker indicate that while there is rarely any effect on the consonant, the stressed vowel in the nonboundary adjacent syllable shows domain effects in more than half of the items tested, with longer durations in higher domains, particularly in Atami. These surprising nonlocal effects suggest that: (1) the place of articulation effect may be due to simple distance from the boundary, since [t]s were usually shorter than the other consonants; and (2) domain edge strengthening may involve a change in articulatory setting, the onset of which is controlled more carefully than the offset. [Work supported by NSF SBR9600930.]
An articulatory study of prosodically conditioned V-to-V coarticulation in English
Authors: Cho Taehong
Published: July 2012

Recent studies have indicated that vowels in prosodically strong positions (e.g., in stressed syllables and at edges of prosodic boundaries) are not only strongly articulated, but also resistant to coarticulation with neighboring vowels. This paper further examines vowel-to-vowel coarticulation in English by analyzing extensive articulatory data from six American English speakers, using the Electromagnetic Articulograph (EMA). It is hypothesized that vowels in prosodically strong positions are more resistant to coarticulation with their neighbors, and at the same time encroach more on their neighbors. To test this, sentences were designed so that they included /V1♯bV2/ where V1 and V2 were manipulated, resulting in /a-a/, /i-i/ (control condition) and /a-i/, /i-a/ (test condition). Vowels also varied in sentence stress (accented versus unaccented) and in the intervening boundaries (♯ = Word, ip, IP). The vertical and horizontal positions of three tongue points and jaw are examined at five different points (onset, first quarter, middle, three quarters and end) in the vowel, to assess how much of the vowel articulation is anticipated or carried over at different points of the vowel. This shows variation in degree of V-to-V coarticulation under various prosodic conditions. [Work supported by NSF doctoral research grant.]
In situ target tracking of individual krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) in the Oslo fjord
Authors: Ro/stad Anders , Kaartvedt Stein
Published: July 2012

Krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) were studied during and after their diel vertical migration to near-surface water using a Simrad EK500 echosounder with a split-beam 120-kHz hull mounted transducer. Target tracking of individual krill provided information on target strength, swimming velocity, and 3-D swimming patterns through the acoustical beam. Both prospects and limitations of the split-beam target tracking technique in behavioral studies are discussed.
Future directions in ultrasound contrast agent research
Authors: Church Charles C.
Published: July 2012

Since the introduction of Levovist® in Europe and Albunex® in the United States, interest in ultrasound contrast agents has increased enormously. This change is reflected in the ensuing rapid pace of technical development, and the depth of the discussions during this topical meeting. Before Albunex®, it was essentially impossible to convince an equipment manufacturer to devote time to the development of contrast-specific imaging modalities. After Albunex®, harmonic gray-scale imaging was in the clinic within the year, followed by harmonic color Doppler imaging, power Doppler, pulse inversion gray scale, pulse inversion Doppler, power modulation, coherent contrast imaging, and so on. The trend continues today as old techniques are improved, new techniques (e.g., subharmonic imaging) are tested and new approaches (e.g., phase-shift imaging) are conceived. Similarly, rapid advances have occurred in other areas, with models now including the details of shell viscoelasticity, in vitro studies now imaging single bubble dynamics to microsecond resolution, and specially designed microbubbles being used for targeted imaging, drug delivery, and gene therapy. Even bioeffects research has ‘‘advanced’’ with the discovery of imaging-modality-dependent contrast agent effects such as induction of premature ventricular contractions. Selected aspects of each of these areas will be discussed.
The cylindrical microphone array: A proposal for use in international standards on sound power level measurement
Authors: Nobile Matthew A. , Shaw Jennifer A. , Donald Brian
Published: July 2012

To determine the sound power level of a stationary noise source, a hypothetical measurement surface is defined which envelops the source under test. The sound pressure level is measured at selected microphone positions on this measurement surface, and the sound power level computed. A previous paper [M. A. Nobile and J. A. Shaw, Inter-Noise 99, 1535–1540] introduced the concepts of the cylindrical microphone array and cylindrical measurement surface and presented results from initial measurements. The array was suggested as a more practical alternative to the current parallelepiped or hemispherical arrays for measuring the sound power level of sound sources in hemi-anechoic chambers according to standards such as ISO 3744, or the Information Technology and Telecommunications industry test code ISO 7779. It was also suggested that for certain types of machines, such as tall, rectangular computer frames, or other equipment with similar aspect ratios, the cylindrical measurement surface may yield results that are more accurate. In this paper, the results of further experiments and measurements using the cylindrical array will be presented, along with a proposal for incorporating this new array into the international standards on sound power level measurements.
Noise radiation from a riding mower
Authors: Skinner Christian M. , Burroughs Courtney B.
Published: July 2012

Riding mowers are a significant contributor to community noise. This has prompted many countries to develop standards to reduce the noise emissions from riding mowers. This research will look at the individual noise sources involved with the riding mower; these are the engine, exhaust, cooling fan, the cutting blades, and the mowing deck housing. The relative contributions to the overall noise from each component were determined by isolating each component during outdoor measurements of the sound power levels. To investigate the mechanisms of the noise generated by the rotating mower blades, a test bed was built to hold the mowing deck and electric motor. The motor was isolated from the test bed via isolation mounts to provide a quiet source of power for the mower deck. Pressure sensors have been embedded into the leading edge of the blades and also at the grass exit to measure the disturbances as the blades and deck interact with each other. Results from these measurements are presented and discussed.