bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A real-time underwater soundscape classification system
Authors: Mirzaei Hotkani Mojgan , Martin S. B. , Bousquet Jean-François
Published: April 2023

The study of underwater soundscapes, pioneered by Dr. Jeff Nystuen, includes information about geophonic, biological, and anthropogenic processes, many of which have distinct spectral characteristics. The contributors to the underwater ambient sound field can be quantified and classified using knowledge of these spectra. Long-term acoustic data recordings from a wide variety of depths and locations with high sampling frequencies have been analyzed to develop a robust soundscape classification algorithm based on Dr. Nystuen’s methods. Each one-minute of data has been evaluated to classify the soundscape into wind, rainfall, drizzle, heavy shipping, light shipping, other vessel activity, and biological phenomena. The power spectral density (PSD) level at twelve frequencies in the range of 0.03–30 kHz, as well as the spectral slope for the frequency range between 8 and 15kHz and kurtosis are used for the passive classification algorithm. After classification, the wind speed was quantified as a cubic function of PSD at 6 kHz and recording depth. The wind speed estimated from the acoustics compared very well to satellite data for speeds lower than 15 m/s. The classification algorithms are being embedded on a processor using Xilinx’s Zynq System-on-Chip that produces a 32-kHz hybrid millidecade spectrum in real-time on a logarithmic scale.
Sonification of ocean data in art-science
Authors: Malloy Colin
Published: April 2023

ArtScience is a burgeoning field that promotes bi-directional collaboration between scientists and artists. Artists learn from scientists to inform the creation of new works based on scientific ideas and data. Scientists learn from artists to explore data in new ways and learn new ways of communicating. In 2022, Colin Malloy was the artist in residence for Ocean Networks Canada and created many new musical works based on ocean data. He explored many ways of sonifying ocean data using novel mappings in multiple original solo electroacoustic percussion compositions. Some mappings were more direct—such as using data for wavetables—while others were less so—such as probabilistic trigger mappings based using datasets as probability distributions. This paper presents his methods for sonifying ocean data used for sound production in these musical compositions.
Fast noise mapping: A machine learning approach for predicting traffic noise indicators
Authors: Botteldooren Dick
Published: April 2023

Noise mapping has become a popular tool for assessing the impact of traffic noise on human health and wellbeing. Usually, models for estimating exposure of a population rely on a (standardized) simplification of the noise emission and propagation. Mapping is simplified by considering only the equivalent noise level since it removes all temporal information from the source prediction, the propagation, but unfortunately also from the impact assessment. Yet, it is known that noise events can play an important role in, e.g., sleep disturbance and temporal information are essential in the evaluation of outdoor soundscapes. Models for calculating spectro-temporal levels with a one-second resolution have been proposed, but these quickly become too slow for large scale exposure assessment. Here, a convolutional neural network (CNN) based on environmental characteristics is proposed as a fast alternative. The CNN-model is trained on thousands of detailed physical simulations with varying propagation conditions and traffic intensities on the surrounding roads. To increase the understanding of this machine learning model, Shapley values are used. They show the importance of different features in calculating indicators, e.g., loud events are mainly explained by close-by traffic, L50 by high intensity roads, also at larger distances.
Crosstalk analysis of comb detection for measuring shear wave propagation
Authors: Lee Hyungkyi , Holmes Philip M. , Greenleaf James , Urban Matthew W.
Published: April 2023

Applications, such as shear wave elastography and Doppler imaging, require high frame rates. Plane wave compounding (PWC) is widely used for these applications. Comb detection was proposed to combine the high frame rate of PWC and the high signal quality of focused beam scanning. Comb detection transmits multiple focused beams simultaneously to increase the frame rate. These comb beams are scanned laterally to cover the whole region-of-interest. The simultaneous multiple transmission of focused beams causes crosstalk between neighboring beams. Transmit crosstalk is related to the pressure field of transmit beams, and receive crosstalk is determined by the beam profile of receive beamforming. In this study, we varied f-number (F/N) and apodization window and measured their effects on crosstalk based on the pressure field and an arterial wall simulation using Field II. For transmit design, transmit apodization with a Hamming window significantly reduced crosstalk compared to a rectangular window and transmit F/N had little impact on the crosstalk. Regarding receive beamforming, a Hamming window led to lower crosstalk than the rectangular window and F/N from 1 to 5 suppressed crosstalk to below 30 dB. The effects of crosstalk in shear wave motion data from phantom experiments were also analyzed. Comb detection showed less motion artifact than PWC in phantom experiments.
Update on the Department of Energy Leadership Computing Facilities
Authors: Muehleisen Ralph T.
Published: April 2023

Did you ever say to yourself “Boy I wished I had a bigger computer.” Do you have a modeling problem that could benefit from “really” high performance computing but do not know how to get it? Are you trying to create big models but find that cloud computing is the wrong answer but that a large high-performance computer might be the right answer? The Department of Energy (DOE) Leadership Computing Facilities (LCF) are a set of the highest performance publicly accessible computing facilities in the US. ALCF current has Frontier (#1), Summit (#5), and Perlmutter (#8) among the top 10 in the Top500 HPC list. A two exascale floating point computer, Aurora at Argonne National Laboratory, is set to come online as part of LCF in the next year. This presentation will update the previous introductory presentation on the DOE LCF and explain how researchers and industry can gain access and training to use these incredible facilities.
Reflecting on reflections: A case study of disappointment in student writing assignments
Authors: Buck John R.
Published: April 2023

Several authors and instructors find that reflection essays and other similar journaling exercises help students to self-identify strengths and weaknesses in their understanding of class material. Even better, some students begin developing metacognitive skills identifying higher level strengths and patterns in their study habits. For several semesters, I required students in my undergraduate linear systems classes to submit a short 200–300 word reflection essay with each homework assignment identifying which topics on the assignment they had mastered, and which topics they still found confusing, and why. A vast majority of the submitted essays were disappointing laundry lists: “Problem 1 was about linearity, Problem 2 was about convolution…,” completely devoid of any thoughtful self-reflection. I found students’ resistance to engage meaningfully in this practice especially frustrating because my own pedagogical development benefitted from a consistent writing practice. This talk will also brainstorm some potential directions or approaches for future iterations of this activity in my classes.
Visual identification of flanking paths through sound-isolating wall assemblies
Authors: Underwood Samuel H. , Wang Lily M.
Published: April 2023

The sound isolation performance of wall and floor/ceiling assemblies in the field continue to be inhibited by flanking paths, which may be difficult to identify and remedy. When multiple paths are present, ranking the relative impacts of each path—both the obvious and the obscure—poses a daunting challenge for practitioners. This paper presents a case study of multiple wall assemblies wherein flanking paths were visually identified with camera-based acoustic mapping technology. Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC) ratings measured in the field are compared to published laboratory test ratings and software-modeled performance. Where possible, post-remediation measurements of ASTC rating are reported. Results from this case study highlight the advantages of camera-based visualization and the importance of mitigating flanking paths throughout design and construction.
Modeling support to acoustic sensing at the surface of Mars
Authors: Jacob Xavier , Chide Baptiste , Maurice Sylvestre , Bertrand Tanguy
Published: April 2023

Acoustic propagation in the atmosphere of Mars is the subject of renewed interest since the presence of microphones on the surface of the red planet. The analysis of the recordings collected by the SuperCam microphone of the NASA Perseverance rover has already shown that the acoustic properties of Mars atmosphere do fit the existing models, and so far, the meteorological data have been available. On this basis, classical atmospheric propagation models have been adapted, including the effects of ground, temperature gradient, wind, and turbulence. A sensitivity study is presented, using two configurations that correspond to the main actual sources and propagation paths experienced on Mars : one similar to the point-like pulsed source that is generated by the expansion of the plasma of the LIBS technique, and the other analogue to the tonal low frequency noise emission of the ingenuity drone. Modeling results show to what extend this two configurations can be use to assess ground or atmospheric properties.
Voice cue sensitivity in children with cochlear implants and with hearing aids
Authors: Rachman Laura , Babaoğlu Gizem , Nagels Leanne , Ertürk Pınar , Yazgan Başak , Vickers Debi , Hendriks Petra , Sennaroğlu Gonca , Gaudrain Etienne , Başkent Deniz
Published: April 2023

Voice cues, such as fundamental frequency (F0) and vocal-tract length (VTL), allow listeners to distinguish speakers, which can facilitate speech perception in challenging listening conditions. Children with typical hearing continue to develop their sensitivity to F0 and VTL differences throughout childhood, but this is not as clear for children with hearing loss. In prelingually deaf implanted children with cochlear implants (CIs), reduced spectrotemporal details may cause a delay or even a plateau in the development of voice cue sensitivity, while neuroplasticity may compensate for these factors. For children with hearing aids, it is unclear how voice cue perception could be affected by combined factors of neuroplasticity, physiological aspects of hearing loss, and compensatory front-end processing of hearing aids. Here, we will present recent work on F0 and VTL sensitivity in children with CIs and with hearing aids (4–18 years). Our results show a large variability in both CI and hearing-aided children, with some children performing at the level of age-matched normal-hearing children, while others performing lower. Both groups show trends for development as a function of age, but these seem to differ for F0 and VTL. Potential factors that may be contributing to these results will be discussed during the presentation.
Age and cognitive status as predictors of emotional prosody identification by children and adults with normal hearing or cochlear implants
Authors: Chatterjee Monita
Published: April 2023

In everyday communication, prosody (i.e., the tone and manner of speaking) conveys primary information about a talker’s intended emotion. Across the lifespan, emotional prosody identification shows age effects (i.e., development in children and aging in adults) in listeners with normal acoustic hearing as well as in listeners with cochlear implants. Cognitive resources are likely harnessed in the process of mapping acoustic cues to the correct emotion, particularly when the acoustic cues to prosody are degraded as in cochlear implants. We are investigating the dual effects of age and cognition on identification of emotional prosody by school-age child and adult participants with normal hearing or cochlear implants. In school-age children with normal hearing, we observe improved performance with age. In children with cochlear implants, hearing age (years of experience with the device, also correlated with chronological age) is also a significant predictor, along with an additional, interactive effect of nonverbal cognition. In adults with normal hearing, we observe negative effects of age together with a positive effect of working memory for both clean and degraded (cochlear implant simulated) speech. These findings have implications for the processes underlying emotion perception across the lifespan in individuals with normal hearing and with cochlear implants.
Multi-fidelity surrogate modeling for structural acoustics applications
Authors: Bonomo Anthony L.
Published: April 2023

Recently, surrogate modeling methods have been explored for structural acoustics applications. These often involve evaluation of an “expensive” high-fidelity computational model to obtain training data. However, in many applications, models of varying fidelity and computational cost are available. In such situations, one can leverage multi-fidelity surrogate modeling, where the training data from models of varying fidelity are combined and simultaneously used to produce a surrogate model. A particularly popular class of multi-fidelity surrogate modeling techniques is known as co-Kriging, where simulation output from both “expensive” and “cheap” computational models are correlated and a correction process is obtained that maps between the results of these models of varying fidelity. This talk will review co-Kriging and demonstrate its utility on a canonical structural acoustics problem. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]
Discerning race and gender linguistic cues from the acoustic signal
Authors: Ahaneku Bryan , Weissler Rachel Elizabeth
Published: April 2023

There are multiple factors that contribute to how humans perceive social cues from the speech signal, specifically, cues relating to gender and race. This project sought to find what attributes of the speech signal allow humans to differentiate between speakers across different genders and varieties of American English. To answer this question, 2719 recordings of cis-men and cis women’s voices, speaking in AAE (African-American English) and SdAE (Standardized American English) were analyzed. Machine learning methods were applied through WEBMaus, as opposed to Praat, MFA, and FAVE Align, to investigate the relationship between formants and the target variable (gender/English variety). The selection of formants as the focus of study was based upon pre-existing research affirming formants as a source of differentiation between men/women, and AAE/SdAE. Results of this study showed that formants have a minimal impact on perceiving social cues in speech according to WEBMaus. This research encourages further inquiry into other attributes of the speech signal, such as pitch or intensity, for discerning race and gender in the acoustic signal.
Rhotics in the Salvador, Bahia, dialect of Brazilian Portuguese
Authors: Jagiella Francis
Published: April 2023

Brazilian Portuguese has two rhotic phonemes: the alveolar flap /ɾ/ and another variable phoneme historically identified as the long version of the rhotic. Across publications, this phoneme has been identified as a velar, uvular, or glottal fricative, or as an alveolar trill or approximant. These phones vary within and across dialects. Deletion, especially word-finally, is also common. This paper examines a poorly documented variety, known for deletion of the rhotic, spoken in Salvador. Thirty-five participants read predetermined stimuli of isolated tokens and sentences (total rhotic phones = 5192). Acoustic and auditory analyses indicate the range of possible surface forms of the rhotic phoneme is more variable than previously cited, with the additional surface forms of palatal and velar fricatives as well as the uvular trill being common and a variety of additional, less common surface forms. When followed by a vowel, word-final rhotics are often neutralized with flaps. Among the possible surface forms, however, the glottal fricatives dominate. While deletion is most common word-finally, it occurs in all environments where the phoneme is found. Exploration of variation across speakers and its connection to demographic variation in the speakers is ongoing and will be reported.
Using automatic acoustic analysis to reveal disruptions to speech articulation in individuals at risk for psychosis
Authors: Hitczenko Kasia , Segal Yael , Keshet Joseph , Mittal Vijay , Goldrick Matthew
Published: April 2023

Individuals who are experiencing attenuated psychosis symptoms (placing them at clinical high risk for developing psychosis) exhibit disruptions to cortico-cerebellar circuits that manifest as difficulties in motor control of the face and limbs. These motor dysfunctions are predictive of the onset and progression of psychosis, making them a potential biomarker for this devastating disease. We examine whether these motor abnormalities disrupt speech production, leading to greater variability in speech acoustics. Clinical high risk (CHR) individuals and matched healthy control (HC) individuals produced diadochokinetic speech (rapid, repeated syllable production, e.g., papapa…, pataka…) and read aloud a paragraph. Consonant and vowel onsets and offsets were automatically segmented from diadochokinetic speech using a deep-learning model trained on human annotators. Read speech was automatically segmented at the word level using forced alignment. Vowel segmentation from read speech was based on forced aligner output; stop consonant onset/offsets were segmented by a deep-learning model. The segmentations from each task were then used to estimate speech rate, voice onset time (VOT), vowel durations and formant trajectories. CHR individuals produced more variable VOTs and exhibited greater speech rate variability than HC individuals in both tasks. This suggests that speech acoustics may provide a window into disruptions in this at-risk population.
Evidence for raw acoustics as the target of phonetic imitation
Authors: Hauser Ivy , Graham Emily , Zhang Xinwen
Published: April 2023

Phonetic imitation (also called convergence or accommodation) occurs when talkers alter their production towards speech they hear, even in lab settings without explicit instruction to imitate. Though general evidence for imitation is robust, much of the existing work does not distinguish between convergence towards a linguistic target versus convergence towards an acoustic target. This study presents a direct test case of these hypotheses through spontaneous imitation of the English alveolar sibilant /s/ in a delayed shadowing task. Participants first produced /s/-initial words, then were exposed to model speech with either enhanced or reduced spectral mean (SM) on /s/, and finally produced /s/-initial words again post-exposure. The model talker had higher than average baseline SM, so raw acoustic values were higher than those of most participants. All participants exposed to the enhanced stimuli raised SM, converging towards both the raw acoustics of the model talker and the linguistic pattern of enhancement. However, participants exposed to the reduced stimuli also raised SM. This diverged from the linguistic pattern of reduction but converged towards the raw acoustics of the model talker, whose SM was still higher than participants' even when reduced. These results suggest raw acoustics can be the target of phonetic imitation. Possible interactions with phonological contrast, implications for the perception-production link, and methodological considerations for future imitation studies are discussed.
Modelling the intensity difference of Spanish alveolar taps with finite mixture models
Authors: Perry Scott J. , Kelley Matthew C. , Tucker Benjamin V.
Published: April 2023

The production of stops has been documented to vary considerably in several languages. The difference between the minimum intensity during the consonant and the maximum intensity of the surrounding vowels is an acoustic correlate of taps, whose realizations include plosives, approximants, and deletions. We investigated how lexical, phonetic, and predictability-related factors are associated with changes in the intensity difference of Spanish taps. We conducted an acoustic analysis using a force-aligned corpus of conversational Spanish, with ten percent of tokens hand-corrected to evaluate performance. Model checking with generalized linear models indicated that one distribution could not adequately account for the observed data. As such, we analyzed variation in intensity difference using finite mixture models comprising two skew-normal distributions, which provided a substantially better fit. The results of our modelling approach require a more nuanced interpretation than standard linear models. Our model indicates that Spanish tap production is a complex system where some variables, like frequency, are related to categorical shifts between two potential realizations, and other variables are related to gradient intensity changes within each potential realization of the tap. We also find that articulatory factors like speech rate are responsible for larger intensity changes than lexical properties like frequency.
Towards improving automatic speech recognition for underrepresented dialects with data augmentation
Authors: Bakst Sarah , Yilmaz Emre , Castan Diego
Published: April 2023

Speech technology harnessing information from a speaker's voice promises to enhance security and assist in everyday tasks. Automated speech recognition (ASR) converts spoken words into text, facilitating interaction with electronic devices. ASR is also increasingly used in education in programs that assess students' learning through interaction with computers. However, ASR may not work equally well for underrepresented accent groups. Multiple studies over the last several years (e.g., Tatman 2017, Koenecke et al., 2020) have shown that ASR performs particularly poorly on African American English (AAE). This performance drop is likely due to imbalances in accent representation in training data. Here, we assess vocal tract length adjustment as a data augmentation method for increasing representation of AAE speech in the training data, with the aim of improving ASR performance on AAE. We compare this data augmentation method to standard data augmentation methods (e.g., environmental).
Ship noise quantification of fisheries vessels on the Great Lakes
Authors: Senczyszyn Steven , Barnard Andrew , Kocher Erik , Evans Thomas M. , Rudstam Lars G. , Sethi Suresh A. , Wells Susan E. , Koproski Scott R. , Hanson S. D. , Warner David M. , Turschak Benjamin , Yule Daniel L. , Farha Steven A. , O'Brien Timothy P. , McDonnell Kevin N. , Watkins James M. , Dufour Mark R. , Dieter Patricia M. , Roberts James J. , Esselman Peter
Published: April 2023

Prey fish abundances in the Great Lakes are a driver for several agencies’ commitments to the Council of Lake Committees to support fisheries management. These management decisions have profound economic and social impacts within the Great Lakes region. Fisheries estimates done by echosounders or trawling may be biased due to the propagated noise from large fisheries vessels. In the first two years of a four-year collaborative study, crewed fisheries vessels and uncrewed Saildrone vessels were used to compare abundance estimates between “loud” and “quiet” vessels. To quantify the effects of ship noise on prey fish abundance estimates, a mobile ship noise measurement system was designed and deployed to measure radiated acoustic signatures of several ships in the Great Lakes. This talk will discuss the deployment of a mobile underwater acoustic test range and show results of ship noise measurements from the first two years of the program. In addition, plans for future data generation, analysis, and comparison between crewed and autonomous systems will be discussed and an overview of the effects of ship noise on fish avoidance will be discussed in the proceeding talk.
Performance study of ocean acoustic tomography methods in the upper-ocean environment using autonomous platforms
Authors: Ollivier Etienne , Sabra Karim G. , Touret Richard X. , McKinley Matthew , Durofchalk Nicholas
Published: April 2023

Accurate knowledge of the spatial and temporal evolution of the three-dimensional ocean sound speed profile (SSP) is crucial for underwater source localization. Ocean acoustic tomography (OAT) methods aim at reconstructing SSPs variations based on acoustic measurements between multiple source-receiver pairs (e.g., eigenrays arrival times). This study investigates the estimation of range-dependent SSPs using a classical model-based OAT method (i.e., ray-based ocean acoustic tomography), for various configurations of source and receiver configurations using autonomous platforms in a highly-dynamic upper ocean environment. A regional oceanographic simulation of the De Soto Canyon circulation in the Gulf of Mexico is used to construct 3D sound speed variations spanning a month long which exhibits significant sub-mesoscale variability. Two main aspects affecting OAT performance in the presence of high 3D SSPs variability are investigated: (1) The influence of the input acoustic data (i.e., source-receivers configuration and platform motion, arrival-times accuracy...) and (2) the actual implementation of the OAT scheme (i.e., selection of complexity reduction basis, linearized forward model assumptions as well as the use of iterative solvers) on SSPs estimations errors. Practical implications for the design of OAT experiments in the dynamic upper ocean will be discussed. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]
Brain MR elastography: Stiffness and beyond
Authors: Yin Ziying
Published: April 2023

Brain MR elastography (MRE) is becoming a powerful tool in the investigation of neurophysiological and neuropathological states. In brain MRE, quantitative measures of brain mechanical properties can be assessed noninvasively by analyzing the induced brain motion in response to extrinsic or intrinsic excitation, providing unique clues to the mechanical rigidity, viscosity, friction, and connectivity of brain tissues. Changes in brain elasticity and viscosity are associated with inflammation, demyelination, and neurodegeneration during the onset and progression of many brain diseases. Beyond shear stiffness and modulus, MRE contains rich information that can be derived to enhance the characterization of disease-related structural changes, especially in intracranial tumors and traumatic brain injury, which will be the focus here. MRE-based slip interface imaging (SII) utilizes shear strain mapping to qualitatively assess the degree of adhesiveness of intracranial tumors. Together with tumor consistency, MRE offers a unique opportunity for improving preoperative planning before tumor resection as well as predicting patient outcomes. Analysis of head dynamics induced by non-impact dynamic loading from MRE measures the mechanical dampening and isolation capability of the skull-brain interface and changes in those features in sub-concussive repetitive head impacts, which could provide imaging biomarkers to facilitate risk management for future brain injury.
Limitations of the Caputo time-fractional wave equation when applied to shear waves in pig liver
Authors: McGough Robert J. , Urban Matthew W.
Published: April 2023

When applied to compressional waves, the Caputo time-fractional wave equation describes power law attenuation in soft tissue. However, when applied to shear waves, the Caputo wave equation produces some unexpected behavior. To demonstrate examples of the time-domain waveforms generated by this fractional calculus model, the Caputo wave equation is numerically evaluated for multiple orders of the time-fractional derivative between 0 and 1, for an extended range of values for the relaxation time, and for a fixed value of the shear wave speed extracted from ex vivo pig liver. The computed waveforms are then compared to the measured shear wave particle velocities obtained from ex vivo pig liver. These comparisons reveal that the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the positive component of the main shear wave particle velocity waveform measured in pig liver is at least an order of magnitude greater than the FWHM obtained from the Caputo wave equation for all parameter combinations evaluated. These preliminary results indicate that the Caputo wave equation produces time-domain waveforms that are inconsistent with measured shear wave data in pig liver and that further efforts are required to establish more effective fractional calculus models for shear waves in soft tissue.
Ultrasound elastography evaluation of age-related muscle atrophy: An ex vivo study
Authors: Musa Bushira , An Justin , Mahmoud Wagdy , Denis Max
Published: April 2023

In this work, the feasibility of ultrasound elastography to evaluate age-related muscle atrophy is investigated. Ultrasound elastography is used to assess muscle stiffness alterations of bovine shoulder samples during aging treatment. Of particular interest is to investigate the decrease in muscle stiffness due to two potential reasons: (1) decrease in collagen fibers; and (2) mechanical breakdown of the muscle fascia (the soft tissue component of connective tissue surrounding muscle). Two methods of aging treatments are employed: (i) chemical treatment, and (ii) percussion treatment. Areas of the bovine shoulder samples studied, were the triceps brachii and infraspinatus. The chemically treated bovine samples demonstrated significant alterations in muscle stiffness under ultrasound in comparison to percussive treatment. The significance of these results will be discussed.
Passive acoustic mapping within the cranial vault during microbubble-mediated ultrasound brain therapy
Authors: Jones Ryan M. , McMahon Dallan , Deng Lulu , O'Reilly Meaghan , Hynynen Kullervo
Published: April 2023

Over the past 15 years, the use of passive sensor arrays combined with established beamforming algorithms to image acoustic activity during ultrasound therapies, so-called passive acoustic mapping (PAM), has been increasingly investigated for cavitation-based treatment monitoring and control purposes. Our group is interested in applications of microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy in the brain, during which the skull bone presents unique challenges for both treatment delivery and acoustic emissions monitoring. We have demonstrated that skull-specific transcranial aberration correction methods can be applied during receive beamforming to augment PAM image quality through the skull bone, borrowing techniques developed originally for transmit beam focusing. Using custom clinical-prototype transmit/receive phased arrays, we have performed 3D microbubble imaging in vivo through ex vivo human skullcaps, and have exploited the resulting spatiotemporal cavitation information for real-time exposure level calibration and offline bioeffect distribution prediction. Ultrafast processing of acoustic emissions data can uncover cavitation dynamics hidden by conventional whole-burst temporal averaging, as well as inform temporal under-sampling strategies when millisecond-long tone bursts are applied. This talk will provide a historical overview of PAM for ultrasound therapy monitoring throughout the body, followed by a summary of recent progress made in mapping cavitation activity within the cranial vault during brain applications.
Acoustic cavitation localization during histotripsy using transmit-receive capable arrays
Authors: Sukovich Jonathan R. , Hall Timothy L. , Komaiha Mahmoud , Haskell Scott , Lu Ning , Stocker Greyson , Xu Zhen
Published: April 2023

The nucleation and collapse of cavitation generated during histotripsy results in point-like emissions of shockwaves. Owing to the short duration acoustic pulses utilized during histotripsy the acoustic background from pulse reflections off intervening tissues is minimal and temporally isolated. This allows acoustic cavitation emission (ACE) shockwaves to be differentiated from the background in measured signals using simplified approaches such as peak detection and time gating, even in signals acquired using narrow bandwidth receivers such as the transmitting elements of the histotripsy array. The array elements allow acquisitions from across the array's entire aperture, which in turn allows cavitation to be localized in 3D. Here we describe multiple methods for localizing cavitation and evaluating induced tissue damage based on ACE signals measured using transmit-receive capable histotripsy arrays. The speed and accuracy of the methods were evaluated in ex vivo and in vitro experiments. Cavitation could be localized in 3D at rates >100Hz. Mean localization errors, with respect to measurements from optical images, were <2 mm (approximately the diameter of the generated bubbles). Cavitation lifespans could be assessed concurrently with the bubbles' 3D locations and correlated well with histological observations of induced damage, allowing 3D assessments of damage.
Measuring under-ice sounds in extremely remote and cold environments
Authors: Barnard Andrew , Penhale Miles , Whitaker Steven
Published: April 2023

Nearshore, shallow-water, ice-covered environments are unique and interesting places to study acoustics. However, these places also tend to be extremely remote, very cold, and dangerous places to work. This team has worked on nearshore ice-covered lakes and seas in the Houghton, MI, area and in the Utqiagvik, AK, region of the Arctic. Similarities and differences of these areas will be discussed as well as safety considerations for on-ice testing. Finally, data acquisition, sensor selection, mounting, and housings will be discussed, with data repercussions shown.
Turbulence effects on shaped booms: Propagation simulations using KZKFourier
Authors: Downs Robert , Barzach Michael , Doebler William , Parker Peter A. , Loubeau Alexandra , Lonzaga Joel B.
Published: April 2023

Upcoming X-59 aircraft flight tests as part of NASA’s Quesst Mission are expected to occur in a range of atmospheric conditions. Sensitivity of ground waveform acoustic metrics to turbulent perturbations through which booms propagate is a complicating factor in determining noise levels. A series of simulations through turbulence was executed using the KZKFourier model of Stout et al. to develop a database of results with which to expand functionality of NASA tools for estimating turbulence effects on shaped-boom ground waveforms. For 45 cases covering a seven-factor design space, multiple realizations of turbulence were generated to characterize statistical turbulence effects on levels of six acoustic metrics. Each individual simulation produced over one thousand waveforms across a virtual microphone array. Different measures were used to evaluate refinement of results with increasing number of simulations. Data suggest that mean effects and variability were most strongly influenced by propagation distance as well as velocity fluctuation intensity, and that, although local increases in acoustic metrics were common, the overall average result in all cases was a reduction in metric levels. Sensitivity of acoustic metrics varied, with mean reductions in Perceived Level occurring in the range of up to 2 dB across the 45 cases.
Gamified spatial release from masking and relationships with self-reported auditory difficulties
Authors: Koerner Tess K. , Garcia Karen , Charney Lauren , Pešić Vanja , Dean Nicole , Coco Laura , Bologna William J. , Stecker G. Christopher , Seitz Aaron , Gallun Frederick J.
Published: April 2023

Many individuals with and without hearing loss, including those with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), often report difficulties understanding speech in noise that are not well predicted by common behavioral measures. Recent work in the gamification of behavioral auditory tasks has led to the development of measures that aim to better mimic the demands of real-world auditory environments through the use of video game features that engage and motivate the user. This study examined the effects of gamification on a spatial release from masking (SRM) task in 37 adults who ranged in age, hearing sensitivity, and history of TBI. Participants completed a gamified and non-gamified version of the SRM task on an iPad using the Portable Automatic Rapid Testing (PART) application. Regression models were used to assess whether gamification had an effect on SRM and whether participant age, hearing sensitivity, or history of TBI differentially impacted results. This study was also designed to determine whether performance on the gamified SRM task was predictive of self-reported auditory difficulties that were measured using three hearing health questionnaires. Results of this work will have important implications for the development of clinically useful gamified tasks that better replicate real-world auditory environments. [R01DC018166, VA CDA1 RX003187]
Three-dimensional time-domain full-waveform inversion for ring-array-based ultrasound computed tomography
Authors: Li Fu , Villa Umberto , Duric Nebojsa , Anastasio Mark
Published: April 2023

Ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) is a promising imaging technique for breast cancer diagnosis. Full-waveform inversion (FWI)-based image reconstruction methods based on the acoustic wave equation can produce quantitatively accurate images of acoustic properties with higher spatial resolution compared to ray-based methods. One common USCT design employs a circular ring-array of elevation-focused ultrasonic transducers that can be translated orthogonally to the imaging plane to achieve volumetric scanning. Currently, slice-by-slice (SBS) reconstruction methods are often used in this setting. Such methods use a 2D wave physic model to reconstruct a cross-sectional image for each position of the ring-array and vertically stack them together to render the 3D volume. However, this approach neglects the 3D wave propagation physics and transducer’s focusing properties, leading to out-of-plane scattering artifacts and degraded spatial resolution. To address this, a 3D time-domain FWI method that utilizes measurement data acquired at multiple adjacent ring-array locations is proposed. The reconstruction method was investigated using virtual imaging studies of ring-array-based USCT that employed realistic 3D numerical breast phantoms. The results demonstrated improved spatial resolution (both in-plane and off-plane) and reduced image artifacts compared to the SBS approach. Additionally, the impact of the number of ring-array locations on image quality is assessed.
Environmental sound perception in adults with hearing loss and cochlear implants
Authors: Harris Michael S. , Luzum Nathan , Shafiro Valeriy
Published: April 2023

Perception of environmental sounds is crucial for safety, independence, and quality-of-life among adults with hearing loss. The objective of this study was (Experiment 1) to longitudinally assess environmental sound recognition (ESR) in a sample of postlingually deafened adults before and after receiving cochlear implants (CIs) and (Experiment 2) to cross-sectionally assess the ability of adults with CIs to identify safety-relevant environmental sounds. For Experiment 1, 20 postlingually deafened adults were tested with hearing aids on the Familiar Environmental Sound Test-Identification pre-CI and 6 months post-CI. A subset of 11 participants were also tested 12-months post-CI. Average ESR accuracy pre-CI (M = 63.60%) was not significantly different from ESR accuracy 6-months (M = 65.40%) or 12-months (M = 69.09%) post-CI. For Experiment 2, 21 experienced adult CI users completed an ESR test consisting of 42 common environmental sounds, 28 of which were safety-relevant, along with 14 control sounds. Overall, ESR accuracy was 57% correct for safety-relevant sounds and 55% correct for control sounds. These findings suggest mediocre ESR in postlingual adult CI users for safety-relevant and other environmental sounds. Deficits in identification of environmental sounds may put CI listeners at increased safety risks and may require specific rehabilitation to improve outcomes.
Effectiveness of a Cognitive-Motor Training Program in Reducing Attentional Cost During Walking in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Gutiérrez-Cruz Carmen , Rojas F. Javier , De la Cruz Juan Carlos , Gutiérrez-Dávila Marcos
Published: April 2023

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a combined training program (CTP) in reducing the effects of dual tasking on the temporal parameters and kinematics of gait, as compared with single-task gait. A controlled, randomized, intervention study was performed in an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group attended three weekly CTP sessions for 24 weeks. Gait pattern was evaluated prior to the baseline intervention, at 12 weeks, and at 24 weeks (Repost). The sample was composed of 22 subjects diagnosed with multiple sclerosis with an Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 0–5.5. A total of 12 patients were allocated to the intervention group and another 10 to the control group. A three-dimensional photogrammetry scanner was connected to a selective attention system designed to present a dual-task gait condition. Dual tasking had an impact on all spatiotemporal parameters of gait, and the most remarkable effect of dual tasking was on double-support time, which increased by 9% with respect to normal walking. In contrast, dual tasking had a trivial effect on single-support time. The CTP was effective in reducing the effects of dual tasking on stride length and velocity of the center of mass after Repost of training (p < .05). The CTP reduced time in double-support phase, whereas single-support time increased after Repost of intervention. The application of the CTP had no effect on the cost of the double task after 12 weeks of intervention. It is suggested to increase the application time over Repost.
Internal and Social Assets, Weight-Based Bullying, Sport, and Activity Among Female Adolescents
Authors: Espinoza Sarah M. , Martin Christie L. , Eisenberg Marla E. , Borowsky Iris W. , McMorris Barbara J. , Hooper Laura
Published: April 2023

Via a school-based survey, we used a developmental assets framework to investigate associations of internal and social characteristics and weight-based bullying with sport and physical activity (PA) among female adolescents with high weight status (n = 4,468; Mage = 14.9 years, SDage = 1.3; body mass index ≥ 95th percentile). Participants reported ≥60 min of PA on approximately 3.0 days (SD = 2.1) in the previous week. Over one-third played organized team sports, averaging 3.5 days (SD = 1.5) per week. Weight-based bullying was common (46%) and unassociated with lower sport and PA. Results from t-tests and chi-squared tests demonstrated that adolescents who played sport (vs. those who did not) had higher internal developmental assets, better perceived health, and stronger perceptions of caring from parents, friends, and other community adults. Similarly, adolescents engaging in more PA reported higher developmental assets. In regression models adjusted for all variables and demographic characteristics, higher internal developmental assets, better perceived health, and stronger perceptions of caring from adults in the community were positively and significantly associated with increased odds of sport participation and higher PA. Findings suggest female adolescents with high weight status have internal and social assets related to their participation in PA and sport, despite experiencing weight-based bullying. Adults (e.g., coaches, parents, and healthcare professionals) should help female adolescents with high weight status participate in sport and PA and build developmental assets. Adults should also recognize the frequent weight-based bullying youth encounter and strive to mitigate it in sport and PA contexts.
Transparent organic upconversion devices displaying high-resolution, single-pixel, low-power infrared images perceived by human vision
Authors: Shih Chun-Jen , Huang Yu-Ching , Wang Tai-Yung , Yu Chang-Wei , Hsu I-Sheng , Akbar Abdul Khalik , Lin Jai-Yi , Biring Sajal , Lee Jiun-Haw , Liu Shun-Wei
Published: April 2023

Crystalline photodiodes remain the most viable infrared sensing technology of choice, yet the opacity and the limitation in pixel size reduction per se restrict their development for supporting high-resolution in situ infrared images. In this work, we propose an all-organic non-fullerene–based upconversion device that brings invisible infrared signal into human vision via exciplex cohost light-emissive system. The device reaches an infrared-to-visible upconversion efficiency of 12.56% by resolving the 940-nm infrared signal (power density of 103.8 μW cm
−2
). We tailor a semitransparent (AVT, ~60%), large-area (10.35 cm
2
), lightweight (22.91 g), single-pixel upconversion panel to visualize the infrared power density down to 0.75 μW cm
2
, inferring a bias-switching linear dynamic range approaching 80 dB. We also demonstrate the possibility of visualizing low-intensity infrared signals from the Face ID and LiDAR, which should fill the gap in the existing technology based on pixelated complementary metal-oxide semiconductors with optical lenses.
Novel Keto-Alkyl-Pyridinium Antifungal Molecules Active in Models of
In Vivo
Candida albicans Vascular Catheter Infection and
Ex Vivo
Candida auris Skin Colonization
Authors: Beattie Sarah R. , Esan Taiwo , Zarnowski Robert , Eix Emily , Nett Jeniel E. , Andes David R. , Hagen Timothy , Krysan Damian J.
Published: April 2023

New antifungal therapies are needed for both systemic, invasive infections in addition to superficial infections of mucosal and skin surfaces as well as biofilms associated with medical devices. The resistance of biofilm and biofilm-like growth phases of fungi contributes to the poor efficacy of systemic therapies to nonsystemic infections.
MoaB1 Homologs Contribute to Biofilm Formation and Motility by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli
Authors: Kaleta Matthew F. , Sauer Karin
Published: April 2023

Proteins contributing to the biogenesis of molybdenum cofactors have been characterized; however, the role of the molybdopterin biosynthetic protein B1 (MoaB1) has remained elusive, and solid evidence to support its role in biosynthesis of molybdenum cofactor is lacking. Here, we demonstrate that, in
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, MoaB1 (PA3915) contributes to biofilm-related phenotypes in a manner that does not support a role of MoaB1 in the biosynthesis of molybdenum cofactors.
Complete Genome Sequences of Evolutionary Clade C-III Strains of
Clostridioides
(
Clostridium
)
difficile
Isolated from the Environment in Western Australia
Authors: Shivaperumal Nirajmohan , Hain-Saunders Natasza M. R. , Chang Barbara J. , Riley Thomas V. , Knight Daniel R.
Published: April 2023

Clostridioides
(
Clostridium
)
difficile
in the environment is thought to contribute to
C. difficile
infection in community settings. Here, we provide complete genome assemblies for two esculin hydrolysis-negative strains of
C. difficile
that were isolated from soils in Western Australia; the strains produce white colonies on chromogenic media and belong to evolutionarily divergent clade C-III.
Obesity Is Associated with an Impaired Baseline Repertoire of Anti-Influenza Virus Antibodies
Authors: Abd Alhadi Marwa , Friedman Lilach M. , Karlsson Erik A. , Cohen-Lavi Liel , Burkovitz Anat , Schultz-Cherry Stacey , Noah Terry L. , Weir Samuel S. , Shulman Lester M. , Beck Melinda A. , Hertz Tomer
Published: April 2023

Obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection. While vaccination is the most effective strategy for preventing influenza virus infection, our previous studies showed that influenza vaccines fail to provide optimal protection in obese individuals despite reaching canonical correlates of protection.