bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Failure of cAMP agonists to activate rescued ΔF508 CFTR in CFBE41o–airway epithelial monolayers
Authors: Bebok Zsuzsa , Collawn James F. , Wakefield John , Parker William , Li Yao , Varga Karoly , Sorscher Eric J. , Clancy J. P.
Published: October 2005

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a cyclic AMP‐regulated chloride channel. Mutations in theCFTRgene result in cystic fibrosis (CF). The most common mutation, ΔF508, results in endoplasmic reticulum‐associated degradation (ERAD) of CFTR. ΔF508 CFTR has been described as a temperature‐sensitive mutation that can be rescued following growth at 27°C. In order to study the processing and function of wild‐type and rescued ΔF508 CFTR at the cell surface under non‐polarized and polarized conditions, we developed stable cell lines expressing ΔF508 or wild‐type CFTR. CFBE41o–is a human airway epithelial cell line capable of forming high resistance, polarized monolayers when cultured on permeable supports, while HeLa cells are normally grown under non‐polarizing conditions. Immunoprecipitation, cell surface biotinylation, immunofluorescence, and functional assays confirmed the presence of ΔF508 CFTR at the cell surface in both cell lines after incubating the cells for 48 h at 27°C. However, stimulators of wild‐type CFTR such as forskolin, β2‐adrenergic or A2B‐adenosine receptor agonists failed to activate rescued ΔF508 CFTR in CFBE41o–monolayers. Rescued ΔF508 CFTR could be stimulated with genistein independent of pretreatment with cAMP signalling agonists. Interestingly, rescued ΔF508 CFTR in HeLa cells could be efficiently stimulated with either forskolin or genistein to promote Cl–transport. These results indicate that ΔF508 CFTR, when rescued in CFBE41o–human airway epithelial cells, is poorly responsive to signalling pathways known to regulate wild‐type CFTR. Furthermore, the differences in rescue and activation of ΔF508 CFTR in the two cell lines suggest that cell‐type specific differences in ΔF508 CFTR processing are likely to complicate efforts to identify potentiators and/or correctors of the ΔF508 defect.
Different neuronal populations of the rat median preoptic nucleus express c‐fos during sleep and in response to hypertonic saline or angiotensin‐II
Authors: Gvilia I. , Angara C. , McGinty D. , Szymusiak R.
Published: October 2005

The median preoptic nucleus (MnPN) of the hypothalamus contains sleep‐active neurones, and sleep‐related Fos‐immunoreactivity (IR) in this nucleus is primarily expressed in GABAergic cells. The MnPN also contains cells responsive to hypertonic saline and to angiotensin‐II (Ang‐II). To clarify functional relationships between MnPN neurones involved in the regulation of sleep and body fluid homeostasis, we examined c‐fos expression in the MnPN after administration of hypertonic saline and Ang‐II in both spontaneously sleeping and sleep‐deprived rats. Systemic administration of hypertonic saline and intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of Ang‐II increased Fos‐IR in both spontaneously sleeping and sleep‐deprived rats, compared to control animals. To determine if the population of MnPN neurones activated in response to osmotic and hormonal stimuli is similar to or different from neurones activated during sleep, we quantified Fos‐IR in MnPN GABAergic neurones in spontaneously sleeping hypertonic saline‐ and Ang‐II‐treated rats versus respective control rats. Fos‐IR evoked by these treatments occurred primarily (80–85%) in non‐GABAergic neurones. Findings of the present study provide evidence that separate populations of MnPN neurones are involved in the regulation of sleep and body fluid homeostasis.
Stability of
Second-Order Asymmetric Linear Mechanical Systems With Application to Robot
Grasping
Authors: Shapiro Amir
Published: October 2005

This technical correspondence presents a surprisingly simple analytical criterion for the stability of general second-order asymmetric linear systems. The criterion is based on the fact that if a symmetric system is stable, adding a small amount of asymmetry would not cause instability. We compute analytically an upper bound on the allowed asymmetry such that the overall linear system is stable. This stability criterion is then applied to robot grasping arrangements which, due to physical effects at the contacts, are asymmetric mechanical systems. We present an application of the stability criterion to a 2D grasp arrangement.
Influence of speaking rate on the upper lip, lower lip, and jaw peak velocity sequencing during bilabial closing movements
Authors: De Nil Luc F. , Abbs James H.
Published: October 2005

Upper lip, lower lip, and jaw movements were recorded in five adult speakers for repealed sequences of the utterance [bæ] at different speech rates. The results failed to confirm several earlier reports of an invariant upper lip, lower lip, jaw peak velocity sequencing pattern for bilabial closures. While the earlier reported sequence was the most frequent, a wide variety of different sequences was also commonly observed. In addition, significant intersubject differences in sequencing were found. The present results thus do not support the earlier hypothesis that oral closure gestures reflect aspects of a centrally generated pattern of motor output during speech.
A hybrid numerical/analytic technique for the computation of wave fields in stratified media based on the Hankel transform
Authors: Mook Douglas R. , Frisk George V. , Oppenheim Alan V.
Published: October 2005

A hybrid numerical/analytic technique for computing the field due to a monochromatic point source in a horizontally stratified medium was developed. This procedure is extremely accurate for all ranges. It is particularly appropriate when the field is composed of few dominant modes and a significant contribution from the continuous spectrum. This is the case for long-range propagation in the deep ocean when the source and receiver are near the bottom and there is a low speed layer at the water-bottom interface. The method is based upon a numerical evaluation of the Sommerfeld integral, which is in the form of a Hankel transform. Both computational speed and high accuracy are obtained by treating the singularities in the kernel of the Sommerfeld integral with a new technique that allows the singular portions to be handled analytically but which keeps the remaining portion of the integral well behaved numerically. The treatment of these singularities was motivated by a study of the effects of aliasing in the Hankel transform. Both speed and accuracy in the calculation of the Hankel transform are obtained by applying a new fast (N * log N) Hankel transform algorithm that requires its input on a square root grid. This grid is more suitable for representation of the kernel of the Sommerfeld integral than more conventional linear grids. The algorithm has significant speed advantages over quadrature and adaptive integration techniques.
A technique for generating synthetic acoustic fields in shallow water
Authors: Wengrovitz Michael S. , Frisk George V.
Published: October 2005

A numerical scheme for generating both the trapped mode and continuum portions of acoustic fields for a horizontally stratified ocean and bottom is presented. The technique is based on the fact that the branch line integral corresponding to the continuum portion of the field can be performed by Hankel transforming a modified Green's function. The modified Green's function is obtained by removing the pole contributions from the actual Green's function. The continuum portion is then added to the trapped mode portion to form the total synthetic field. The technique has the advantage that it is fast, accurate, and can be used for a more general geoacoustic model than the Pekeris waveguide. Synthetic results for several examples are presented and discussed.
Detection and intensity discrimination of sinusoids
Authors: Green David M. , Hanna Thomas E. , Gierke Suzanne M. von
Published: October 2005

Detectability of a 100-ms 1000-Hz sinusoid was measured in quiet and in broadband noise having a spectral level of 20 dB SPL. Intensity discrimination of an in-phase increment was studied for standards that were −9, −6, −3, 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 dB relative to threshold. When discrimination thresholds were plotted in terms of signal amplitude versus standard level, all subjects showed nonmonotonic functions (negative masking). Smallest thresholds occurred when the standard was just detectable. These discrimination thresholds were about 10 dB lower than detection thresholds. Psychometric functions were measured for simple detection (no standard) and for intensity discrimination with a standard at threshold. For intensity discrimination, d′ was proportional to signal amplitude. For simple detection, d′ was proportional to signal amplitude to the fourth power. The results in noise agreed well with those in quiet, although there was a tendency to obtain more “negative masking” in quiet and psychometric functions for detection were slightly steeper in quiet. [Work supported by NSF.]
Discrimination of formant amplitude-change: Psychophysical change and phonemic change
Authors: Gengel Roy W. , Hieronymus James L.
Published: October 2005

Early results on synthetic-vowel formant amplitude discrimination by Flanagan [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 27, 1223–1225 (1955); J. Speech Hear. Disord. 22, 205–212 (1957)] indicated that ΔI for overall vowel level was about ± 1.5 dB, but that ΔI for F2 was about ± 4 dB. The latter result was for F2 ≃ − 12dB re: F1 for the “comparison” vowel. Subjects made a same-different judgment which may have affected the interpretation of these results. Here we report ΔI for several “comparison” vowels which differ in amplitude relations among F1, F2, and F3. In addition, we report on perception of extreme shifts in formant amplitude, Implications for computer recognition of speech will be discussed.
Temporal organization of interarticulator muscle activity in American-English monosyllables
Authors: Gentil Michele , Gay Thomas
Published: October 2005

The activity patterns of various muscles were investigated during speech production for the purpose of determining the muscular coordination of the labial, lingual, and mandibular systems in relation to anticipatory coarticulation effects. Intramuscular wire electrodes were placed in three muscles of the lips (upper and lower lip), three muscles of the tongue, and one muscle of the jaw. The activity of these muscles was recorded along with the acoustic signal from one adult American-English speaking subject. A number of CVC syllables, where C = /p − b − w − t − d − s − z/ and V = /i − a/, were produced at two different speaking rates (conversational and fast). Results indicated anticipatory coarticulatory effects and constant intermuscular activity patterns across the two speech rates. [Research supported by N.I.H. Grant NS-10424.]
Acoustic characteristics of children's elicited word revisions
Authors: Paul-Brown Diane , Yeni-Komshian Grace H.
Published: October 2005

A study was conducted to determine whether five-year old children and adults modify the timing of vowel and consonant production after a listener indicates that their word production is unclear. Subjects were asked to repeat words contrasting in initial or final consonant voicing (back, pack, cab, and cap), and to respond either to specific requests for revision focused on initial or final sound segments, or to a general revision request. Productions of target words were also obtained before any revision requests were posed. Results, based on oscillographic measurements, revealed that both groups of subjects: (a) preserved original work duration in all revision conditions, but altered temporal aspects of component phonemes; (b) generally shortened vowel duration but lengthened the duration of final consonant closure; and (c) maintained the same VOT distributions. Results indicate that young children are in fact responsive to adult requests for clarification, even at the phonetic level. Results also suggest that five-year olds can modify temporal parameters of their speech as a revision strategy.
Perception of the rhythm of English and of nonspeech analogs
Authors: Bell Alan , Fowler Carol
Published: October 2005

The results of Lehiste (1973, 1977) and of Donoran and Darwin (1979) suggest that English speech rhythm is perceived as isochronous, and that this percept is special to speech. Results of two experiments do not support these claims. In both experiments subjects tapped to the beat of LPC resynthesized sentences containing four stressed syllables, or to the beat of analogs of the sentences. In experiment I, which followed the Donovan and Darwin paradigm, the average responses were more nearly even than the interstress intervals of the sentences; on the other hand, more than half of the subjects responded with a rhythm that matched the sentence rhythm more closely than an isochronous one. In experiment II, subjects tapped to one of four versions of the sentence stimuli: (1) LPC resyntbesis; (2) LPC resynthesis with formant bandwidths broadened to 1000 Hz; or sine wave synthesis, either (3) cued as speech or (4) cued as nonspeech. If there is a perceptual effect specific to speech, subjects hearing the speech-cued sine wave versions would tap more evenly than the subjects hearing the nonspeech-cued versions. The opposite effect was in fact found. [Supported in part by NIH.]
An overview: Effects of environmental variables on measurement of vehicle noise
Authors: Groening James A. , Saha Pranab
Published: October 2005

It is important to be able to accurately measure the sound caused by vehicles. Regulators must do so to fairly determine if a vehicle complies with vehicle noise regulations. Vehicle manufacturers must do so to cost-effectively design vehicles. Measured noise, using standard tests, has long been suspected of being influenced by air and road surface temperature, humidity, wind speed, and direction. Several researchers have reported results of experiments designed to quantify these effects. The authors participated in one such project, sponsored by the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, regarding truck-tractor noise. This paper will present a review of this work and compare the results to other reported results and will hypothesize reasons for similarities and differences. Gaps in data will also be discussed and research needed to resolve the uncertainties will be noted.
Analyzing mixed excitation for speech
Authors: Allen George D. , Jamieson Leah H.
Published: October 2005

Much past research has been devoted to deciding, for any given speech segment, whether it is “voiced” or “voiceless.” In reality, however, speech often combines both glottal and supraglottal excitation, so that such a binary classification can be essentially invalid. We have begun a study of speech produced with mixed excitation with the two major goals of (1) determining the best analytic tools for this type of analysis and (2) examining a variety of real and modeled speech signals for their excitation characteristics. Initial research strategies and preliminary results will be discussed. [Research supported by NSA.]
The nearfield of fluid-loaded plates in the presence of structural discontinuities
Authors: Feit D. , Liu Y. N.
Published: October 2005

A problem that is basic to our understanding of the structural acoustics of submerged structures is that of a point or line driven fluid-loaded elastic plate. It has caught the attention of a number of investigators over the last two decades. The farfield radiation properties of such plates is well understood. The nearfield, because of its analytical intractibility, has been more elusive. This presentation reviews and presents some recent numerical evaluations of the plate transfer admittances and nearfield pressure patterns. Characteristic features of the admittance are dependent on the ratio of the drive frequency to the coincidence frequency. Below coincidence, the response consists of a fluid-modified flexural wave and a spatially decaying acoustic component. Above coincidence, fluid loading introduces a radiation loss component into the response. The nearfield pressures below coincidence show evidence of an interference pattern between the acoustic wave launched at the drive point and the exponentially decaying pressure field generated by the modified flexural wave. Isobar pressure contours for the case of a flexural wave scattered by a structural discontinuity will also be shown.
The dynamically shifted oscillator
Authors: Hartmann W. M.
Published: October 2005

The dynamically shifted oscillator is a nonlinear system described by a differential equation of motion which includes a Hooke's law restoring force plus a stiffness force which depends only upon the sign of the displacement. The natural frequency of the oscillator is a function of the displacement amplitude; for positive stiffness it increases as the amplitude decreases. Because of the special nature of the nonlinearity it is possible to find an exact expression for the displacement waveform as a function of time. In the limits of zero Hookian force or zero stiffness, the waveform becomes, respectively, a cosine wave or a parabola wave. Conservation of energy leads to an integral equation which can be solved to find an exact expression for the amplitude-dependent frequency. If the model equation is extended to include damping then the model predicts the time dependence of the frequency. The latter is compared with the measured time-dependent frequencies of two systems to which the dynamically shifted oscillator theory can be applied, the spring doorstop and the two-point librator.
Nonlinear regeneration in reed instruments with variable up- and down-stream air column impedances
Authors: Hoekje P. L. , Benade A. H.
Published: October 2005

A feedback oscillator, consisting of an active device with transconductance A, and a damped resonator of impedance Z, is operated at constant amplitude by an external driver. The oscillation runs at an energy “profit” or “loss” if ZA is above or below breakeven (ZA = 1). The rate of energy gain or loss, as a function of ZA, is largest in the feedback regions just above or below the energy breakeven value. In the nonlinear regenerative oscillations of reed wind instruments, energy is transferred via heterodyne effects between several frequencies. In this case, Z is dominated by the sum of the input impedances of the air columns upstream and downstream of the reed. At each component frequency, the energy balance is describable in terms of the single frequency oscillator. If (ZA)n is below breakeven at the frequency of the nth spectral component, and the magnitude Of Zn is decreased, the energy balance at this frequency causes less of a drain on the overall oscillation; if (ZA)n above breakeven, and the magnitude of Zn is increased, there is less energy production at this frequency. Finally, the effect on the spectral component of the pressure signal on one side of the reed at the frequency of the nth partial, when the input impedance is varied on the opposite side of the reed, can only be large when (ZA)n is near breakeven. Experimental evidence will be presented. Musical implications will be summarized. [Work supported by NSF.]
The sound field of a Gaussian transducer
Authors: Du Gonghuan , Breazeale M. A.
Published: October 2005

The advantages of a Gaussian amplitude distribution at the surface of a transducer are similar to the advantages of a Gaussian amplitude distribution in a light beam: the diffraction pattern is both simpler to measure and simpler to calculate. Further, the simplification remains when one considers nonlinear terms in the wave equation. If one can achieve a truly Gaussian amplitude distribution, then comparison of experimental data with theoretical calculation also is facilitated. Previously we used electrical fringing to produce a one-dimensional Gaussian amplitude distribution for schlieren photography. Now, we have used an electrical fringing to produce a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution in an ultrasonic beam. The sidelobes are undetectable, and the maxima and minima in the Fresnel region have disappeared. Design and testing of the transducer are discussed. Both advantages and limitations are delineated. The mathematical description of the sound field is discussed. Analytical expressions are given for the amplitude in the nearfield (Fresnel?) as well as in the farfield (Fraunhofer?). In both cases the distribution is described by a Gaussian function. [Research supported in part by ONR.]
Evaluation of the overall sound field properties for a finite amplitude sound beam
Authors: Ginsberg J. H.
Published: October 2005

The nonlinear King integral [J. H. Ginsberg, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. (to be published)] provides a general algorithm for finite amplitude axisymmetric waves radiating from a harmonically vibrating transducer. The derivation of that result was based on asymptotic analyses of the transverse wavenumber spectrum near the axis for almost planar modes and far off axis. The validity of the analysis is confirmed here by a change of variables that yields an overall measure of the associated error. Previous evaluations using the nonlinear King integral provided temporal and frequency spectrum predictions at selected locations, primarily on axis. The present paper reports on an extensive mapping of the field for a moderately high frequency in terms of amplitude and relative phase lags for the fundamental and several higher harmonics. This mapping is cross-referenced to waveform displays that show the changing nature of the asymmetrical distortion process associated with transition from the nearfield to the farfield. [Work supported by ONR, Code 425-UA.]
Reflection of finite amplitude sound beams from pressure release surfaces
Authors: Hamilton Mark F. , Tjøtta Jacqueline Naze , Tjøtta Sigve
Published: October 2005

A recently described numerical procedure for solving Kuznetsov's nonlinear paraxial wave equation [S. I. Aanonsen, M. F. Hamilton, J. Naze Tjøtta, and S. Tjøtta, 10th ISNA, Kobe (1984)] is used to model finite amplitude sound beams reflected at normal incidence from both finite and infinite pressure release surfaces. The entire wave field is assumed to be progressive, with reflection simulated by multiplication of each harmonic amplitude by an appropriate coefficient. Although reflection from an infinite pressure release surface reduces finite amplitude losses incurred by the fundamental, it is shown that at some distance from the reflector even the harmonics attain higher axial levels than would occur without reflection. Following reflection from a finite surface, all spectral components exhibit a second nearfield structure characterized by the size of the reflector and the frequency of the component. As a result the axial levels of all components are ultimately higher than after reflection from an infinite surface. The present results may explain observations by Muir et al. [T. G. Muir, L. L. Mellenbruch, and J. C. Lockwood, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 62, 271–276 (1977)]. Also considered are cases of weakly curved reflectors. [Support of MFH by F. V. Hunt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.]
Real-time passive localization and spectrum analysis of transient underwater sounds using a field portable computer-based system
Authors: Ellison William T. , Clark Christopher W. , Beeman Kim
Published: October 2005

This presentation describes the development of a system that provides real-time determination of the location and spectra of transient underwater sounds. The system is computer-based and field-portable. Sound source location is determined by time-arrival-difference analysis on sounds detected at a long baseline array of three or more hydrophones. The arrival-time differences are calculated from digital cross-correlation analysis of each possible pair of the received pressure time histories. Signal spectra are determined from a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. The system was field tested off Point Barrow, Alaska during the Spring 1984 bowhead whale migration as an adjunct to an ongoing visual census effort conducted annually by the North Slope Borough. During this period sounds were received at an array of three sonobouys and transmitted to a nearby field camp for recording and processing. The localization and spectrum analyses were applied successfully to a wide variety of transient sounds including those of bowhead whales, beluga whales, bearded seals, and a variety of ice noises. [This research was supported by the North Slope Borough, Alaska.]
Perception of the English [s-z] contrast by American, French, Swedish, and Finnish listeners
Authors: Flege J. E. , Hillenbrand James
Published: October 2005

The 25 stimuli in a “peace” to “peas” continuum in which fricative and vowel duration varied were presented for forced-choice judgments to two groups of English subjects and to groups of French, Swedish, and Finnish subjects differing in English-language experience. Subjects in all eight groups showed a sharp increase in [z] judgments as vowel duration increased in five 50-ms steps. Decreasing fricative duration in five 50-ms steps also increased [z] judgments, but to a lesser extent than variations in vowel duration. The fricative effect was greater for Chicago than Birmingham subjects; it was the same for native speakers of English and French. Varying fricative duration did not affect the labeling of Swedes or Finns, even those who had lived for more than 12 mo. in an English-speaking country. These perceptual differences appear to stem from phonological differences between the subjects' native languages. They suggest that subjects can easily use vowel duration in a novel phonetic task, but that sensitivity to the temporal properties of word-final fricatives must be acquired early in speech acquisition.
Context effects and trading relations in perception of the [d]-[q] distinction: The role of specific language experience
Authors: Mann Virginia A. , Kiritani Shigeru , Suzuki Hiroshi , Mochizuki-Sudo Michiki
Published: October 2005

The category boundary along a [da]-[ga] continuum can be influenced by the presence of a preceding consonant: [s] or [∫] [V. A. Mann and B. H. Repp, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 69, 548–558 (1981)], [l] or [r] [V, A. Mann, Percept. Psychophys. 28, 407–412 (1980)]. The influences include: (1) Trading relations due to whether the fricative or liquid was originally produced before [d] or [g], and (2) context effects due to the place of articulation of the fricative or liquid. They are taken as the reflection of listeners' sensitivity to the acoustic consequences of coarticulation during speech production. The present study repeated Mann and Repp's and Mann's studies, but compared native speakers of English with native speakers of Japanese. The materials were FCV and VCCV hybrid stimuli, where F = natural [s] or [∫], VC = natural [al] or [ar], and CV = stimuli along a synthetic [da]-[ga] continuum. Liteners first labeled the CVs, and later labeled the fricatives and VC syllables. Despite the fact that Japanese, unlike English, contains neither consonant clusters nor the [l]-[r] distinction, the extent of context effects and trading relations was the same for all subjects. Even those subjects who were unable to label [al] and [ar] were sensitive to the contrasting effects of [l] and [r]. The implication is that perceptual sensitivity to the consequences of coarticulation may be independent of specific language experience. [Work supported by the Fulbright Commission, NICHD and BRS.]
Intra-phonemic perception of a synthetic /r/-/l/ series by musicians and nonmusicians
Authors: Chandler Ann E. , Strange Winifred
Published: October 2005

In previous categorical perception studies of synthetic series underlying consonant contrasts, wide individual differences have been noted in subjects' ability to discriminate within-phoneme-category acoustic differences. This study explored the relationship between speech discrimination ability and musical training/experience. Twenty very experienced musicians (ten left handed, ten right handed) and 20 musically naive listeners performed three tasks on a synthetic /rak/-/lak/ speech series: two-choice identification, open-set identification, and two-step and three-step oddity discrimination. Fifteen of the 40 subjects (nine musicians and six nonmusicians) could reliably categorize the ten stimuli into three or four “phoneme” categories. Overall, discrimination performance was better for musicians than nonmusicians, and indicated that discrimination was better than predicted even from open-set identification. Results are discussed in terms of correlations among linguistic and nonlinguistic auditory perceptual capacities. [Work supported by NIMH.]
Perception of sine wave analogs of stop consonant place information
Authors: Ralston James V. , Sawusch James R.
Published: October 2005

Identification and discrimination procedures were used with nonspeech stimuli to investigate a possible auditory basis for categorical perception of place of articulation. One sinewave series consisted of linear frequency transitions (varying in onset frequency) followed by a steady-state portion. A second series was produced by combining each of the stimuli from the first series with a second tone (a rising initial transition followed by a steady state). The stimuli were modeled after the second and third formants of a stop consonant series varying in place of articulation. Subjects reliably sorted the one-tone-component series into three categories corresponding roughly to rising, flat, and falling transitions. The local maxima of subjects' discrimination functions fell near the labeling category boundaries. With the inclusion of the second tone, subjects reliably sorted the continuum into two, rather than three, categories. Further, a single discrimination maximum, located in the vicinity of the category boundary, was found for the two-component stimuli. The results suggest that auditory categories may underlie the perception of an analogous stop place series and that information is not extracted independently for each transition. Rather, the pattern of formant transitions seems to be the critical information that underlies the stop-place categories. [Work supported by NINCDS.]
A high time-resolution pitch detector
Authors: Usa Satoshi , Mano Atsushi , Ozawa Shinji
Published: October 2005

A very high time-resolution pitch detector is proposed. Pitch periods can be very exactly obtained from each pitch. In the frequency domain, the magnitude of second harmonic of voiced speech is 10 dB larger than the fundamental magnitude at most. Therefore the fundamental component is made into the strongest one through a 20-dB/oct FIR low-pass filter. Pitch periods can be obtained from the time interval of filtered voice peaks. The fundamental peaks of the time domain waveform are separated from other false peaks by the dynamic threshold which is defined by the moving average of filtered and half-rectified voice. This method is very useful for analysis and/or processing which need exact pitch periods. In addition, since this method does not have an analysis time window, it has high performance for both high and low pitch speaker.
Flexible speech synthesis using a single chip system
Authors: Reimer Jay B.
Published: October 2005

Speech system design has been limited in the past by power consumption considerations, data format versus system interface trade-offs, and general system complexity in multi-chip systems. A CMOS speech synthesizer/ROM/processor, recently designed, solves these problems. The device consists of an 8-bit speech processor, 8K bytes of ROM, LPC-10 lattice filter, and a pulse width modulating D/A. The general purpose data I/O port is designed consistent with TTL interface requirements and may be directly interfaced to four- and eight-bit microprocessors and also used directly with a key matrix. Since the chip has an onboard ROM, it provides a single chip system for many speech applications. The programmability of the speech processor in the device makes it sufficiently flexible to process various speech data formats to achieve specific synthesis requirements.
Effect of turbulent boundary layer flow on acoustic intensity measurements
Authors: Lauchle Gerald C.
Published: October 2005

This paper is based on one given at a previous Acoustical Society Meeting [G. C. Lauchle, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Suppl. 1 75, S53 (1984)]. Comments raised during this presentation prompted the author to rework the analysis on intensity measurements. The conclusions are different from those stated previously; namely, acoustic intensity measurements are affected only slightly by the presence of a turbulent boundary layer flow. The analysis shows that if Δx > Λ, the intensity estimate should be unbiased. Here Δx is the probe separation in the streamwise direction and Λ is the streamwise correlation length of the pressure-producing motions of the turbulent layer. It is pointed out also that Λ is inversely proportional to frequency, so a bias can exist in low-frequency measurements. [Work supported by NAVSEA.]
Active and nonlinear preprocessing in hearing
Authors: Zwicker Eberhard
Published: October 2005

The human hearing system shows both high sensitivity and fine frequency resolution. Its sensitivity to nonlinear distortion contrasts with its own large distortions. Although a receiver, the ear also produces sound, albeit faint. Peripheral preprocessing seems to be responsible for most of these effects. A mixture of linear and nonlinear preprocessing elements, however, prevents a complete description of the system's behavior. Nevertheless, the following simplifying comparison may be helpful: Former feedback radio receivers were used most effectively by turning the feedback knob so that ringing just failed to occur. At that point, the receiver was most sensitive and had its best frequency selectivity. Feedback, however, was a capricious tool; frequent ringing was annoying. To avoid ringing, our hearing system seems to use nonlinearities at very low levels, so that ringing (emissions) can occur only at inaudible amplitudes. Consequently, sensitivity and frequency selectivity are only high at low levels. Moreover, nonlinearity acts within one channel only, although the ear uses many channels along the basilar membrane. The relations among psychoacoustical data, data from emissions, and models are described and discussed.
Synthesis of fundamental frequency contours of a Japanese sentence using the junction rule of the phrase component
Authors: Okada Masahiro , Ozawa Shinji
Published: October 2005

A simple rule is proposed to generate fundamental frequency (F0) contours for a standard Japanese sentence. This rule has two steps. In step 1, we generate the F0 contours of Japanese words. We decompose the F0 contours of Japanese words into phrase components and accent components in this model. Phrase components are gradually decreasing ones by utterance and are simply approximated on the logarithmic scale. Accent components are local humps, and are obtained by simple smoothing of a square wave on the logarithmic scale. Next, we regard the Japanese sentence as a junction of words through this model, so the F0 contour of the sentence is generated by a new junction rule in step 2. Junction types are classified into four types according to accent types. It is important to decide the F0 of the beginning of each word. This frequency is a raised up one compared with that of the previous word's end and is decided by the difference between the beginning frequency of the sentence and the frequency of each word's end. By using this method, we can generate F0 contours more simply. Perceptual tests are done using synthesized speech, and very natural intonations are obtained.
Describing families of 12-tone temperaments
Authors: Hall Donald E.
Published: October 2005

All possible temperaments of a keyboard with 12 pitch classes can be represented by points in a 12-dimensional space. Certain subsets are of special interest, such as all temperaments in which the octaves are unstretched (11-dimensional) or the “regular temperaments” (1-dimensional). It is interesting to ask what might be useful 2- or 3-parameter families that would serve to generalize the regular temperaments. Some possible choices and the analysis of their residual tuning errors will be discussed.
Laterality and language, verbal and musical
Authors: Nepomuceno Luiza de Arruda
Published: October 2005

The present work is a speculative comparison of the cerebral process of two articulate language systems which differ in nature: the verbal language and the musical one. We reviewed and summarized neuropsychological articles concerning perceptual processes in general and the processing of music in particular. These articles raised questions, among other things, as to development of lateralization of cerebral functions. These existing differences between the systems (parameters, nature of sign, etc.) did not prevent us from drawing the following conclusion: The hemispheres are specialized according to mode and not according to stimuli. In other words, the left hemisphere specializes in analytic and sequential functions whereas the right hemisphere specializes in synthetic and holistic ones. More recent studies have presented an extra parameter: the mastering of the system by the individual exerts great influence on lateralization of cerebral functions.
Methods of objectively measuring the insertion loss of HPDs, including simulation of the bone conduction pathways
Authors: Schroeter Juergen , Poesselt Chistoph
Published: October 2005

While acoustical test fixtures (ATFs) for production testing of circumaural hearing protection devices (HPDs) have been shown to be practical (see related ISO- and ASA-activities, for example), no ATF for intraaural HPDs has been standardized so far, and we are still far away from using artificial heads in type testing of HPDs. Additionally, an ideal ATF suitable for type testing of HPDs should also be eligible for measuring headphones of all kinds. This paper reviews the progress achieved in constructing ATFs by various researchers. Special emphasis is placed on the authors' own work, parts of which were presented at the 103rd and 106th meeting of the ASA: We attacked the elaborate goal of constructing an artificial head with appropriate circumaural and intra-aural flesh simulations, which included a suitable ear simulator and a cast of an average pinna. Recently we have refined the method of taking bone conduction into account by including the vibration characteristics of circumaural HPDs and by modeling the outer- and middle-ear component of bone conduction. We can now accurately predict the masking error experienced by the subjective REAT method at low frequencies due to physiological noise. Consequently, objectively measured attenuation data may be converted to predict REAT data or vice versa. The artificial head was tested on 11 circumaural and nine intraaural HPDs.
Group mean hearing threshold changes in a noise-exposed industrial population using personal hearing protectors
Authors: Savell James F. , Toothman Edwin H.
Published: October 2005

The audiometric test data of a population of 265 employees working in one facility were studied to determine group mean hearing threshold changes. The data were available covering periods of seven to 13 years. During this time period, the population was exposed to a workplace noise environment which resulted in time-weighted average (OSHA) exposures of 86 to 103 dBA. Personal hearing protection (insert type protectors) was used by mill employees throughout the time period. Essentially no change in the mean threshold hearing level was found by the analysis. Certain other hearing conservation program effectiveness indicators proposed by others were also used to evaluate this population. The results of applying these indicators generally follow the trends shown by others for effective hearing conservation programs.
Self and mutual impulse responses for modes of planar vibrators via plane-wave spectrum techniques
Authors: Stepanishen P. , Obara R. J.
Published: October 2005

A new technique for evaluating the self and mutual radiation impedances corresponding to the normal modes of a fluid loaded rectangular vibrator mounted in an infinite baffle is presented. The technique is based on the use of a time dependent angular spectrum formulation which leads to double integral representation for self and mutual impulse responses. Since the time limited impulse responses correspond to the inverse Fourier transforms of the self and mutual radiation impedances, the impedances can be readily obtained via the use of standard FFT methods. The advantages of the present approach relative to classical approaches will be presented. Numerical results will then be presented to illustrate the characteristics of the self and mutual impulse responses and radiation impedances for various mode shapes of interest. [Work supported by ONR.]
Alternate theories for the design of structures having resistance to ultra-high-excess pressure pulses
Authors: Carlisle Richard W.
Published: October 2005

The excess air pressure from a nuclear explosion may be of the order of 28 000 kg per square meter (40 pounds per square inch). This may be compared to normal roof loading, for instance 200 kg per square meter (100 pounds per square foot). This ratio happens to be around 140, but it could be much higher closer to a blast. The Department of Defense has sponsored graduate-level courses on “hardened” construction, in which the author participated. Advice was given against such construction as glass-front office buildings. An alternate construction has been envisioned by the writer, in which the excess pressure on the building would be reduced by pressure-relief ports (a patent on this has expired). It is hoped that a combination of hardened frame and yieldable front would provide an economical compromise for semi-hardened construction. This might have application to tornado resistance as well as nuclear attack.
Speaker-independent recognition of vocalic segments
Authors: Rudnicky Alexander I.
Published: October 2005

Speaker variations produce substantial differences in vocalic spectra: Vowel templates generated from one speaker's voice will not accurately match another voice. It is possible, however, to impose transformations on the spectrum that factor out speaker differences. The current work presents two sets of experiments that examine such transformations. The first set of experiments used steady-state vowels (/i e a o u/); for ten male and ten female talkers, the results indicate that a log-ratio transformation that incorporates pitch and formants into a three-dimensional L space [log(F1/F0),log(F2/F1),log(F3/F2)] allows 93% classification accuracy. By comparison, spectral matching gives 44% accuracy. Extended vocalic segments (e.g., as in “away,” /əʏ/) have dynamically varying formant patterns. In L space, these patterns appear as tracks. The seeood set of experiments investigates a recognition technique that uses the encoded track shape as part of the representation. Speaker-independent performance on isolated words was better than that obtained through DTW matching using a spectral (reel scale) representation. All experiments were run using automatic pitch and formant trackers developed at C-MU.
Temporal energy contour in isolated word recognition
Authors: Bocchieri E. L.
Published: October 2005

An analysis of recognition errors in a speaker-independent digit recognition experiment has demonstrated that the temporal energy contour of the teat tokens is an important feature for recognition and perception. This finding supports the conclusions of other recent studies [Rabiner et al., Proc. ICASSP 17.1.1 (1984)], [Rabiner et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Suppl. 1 75, S93 (1984)]. A conventional LPC analysis with a likelihood ratio distance measure and dynamic time warping was used. This recognizer ignores the temporal energy contour. To help us understand the nature of the recognition errors, we played the test tokens through an LPG synthesizer after time alignment with the correct and with the successful (but incorrect) reference templates. Examples on tape demonstrate that the percept of either the correct or of the successful reference word can be evoked by replacing the input energy contour with the reference energy contour.
Talker identification by Cepstrum
Authors: McKendree F. S.
Published: October 2005

It is shown that the vocal tract impulse response magnitude should be less variable for a given speaker than other acoustic measures of his speech. Cepstrum analysis is used to deconvolve the vocal tract impulse response and the glottal pressure wave of each of 1850 speech segments taken from running English speech. Linear correlation coefficients derived from pairs of impulse responses are shown to differ, depending upon whether the two impulse responses were taken from the same speaker's utterances, from speakers of the same sex and/or vocal history, or from altogether different speakers. A feasible method of speaker identification which can, in principle, operate automatically is developed from this approach and tested.
Preliminary speech comprehension results with the single-channel cochlear implant
Authors: Simmons F. B. , Dent L. J. , White R. L. , Roberts L. A.
Published: October 2005

Four scala tympani implant subjects, two with multiple-electrode prostheses and two with single-electrode implants, were tested with a single-channel wearable sound processor after 0–8 months' use. A comparison between pre- and post-implant scores on the Minimal Auditory Capabilities (MAC) Test showed little difference, except that all subjects improved on the postoperative lipreading test when electrical stimulation was added (“aided” condition). Improvement was noted in aided over unaided performance on videotaped tests, including a medial consonant test, two-digit numerals test, and an open set sentence test. Subjects showed a two- to fourfold increase in speech tracking rates in the aided over the unaided condition. These baseline observations indicate that subjects quickly begin to experience improvement in face-to-face communication skills even during the first months of using a single-channel cochlear prosthesis. [Work supported by NIH.]
One versus twenty-one channels in the initial weeks of cochlear implant use
Authors: Tyler Richard S. , Otto Steven R. , Preece John P.
Published: October 2005

We tested one patient implanted with the Melbourne multichannel cochlear prosthesis during the first 3 months postimplant. Although the patient was using the device about 8–14 h/day in the 21-channel mode, during the test sessions the device was set to function as either a 21- or 1-channel processor. In the 21-channel mode, F2 is coded by electrode place, and F0 and amplitude are coded by pulse rate and amplitude. In the 1-channel mode, only the electrode with the largest dynamic range was stimulated, coding F0 and amplitude. On a recorded audiovisual test of consonant perception (/iCi/), performance was identical in both the 21- and 1-channel mode until 19 days postimplant, when results obtained with the 21-channel mode were superior.
A comparison between a 32- and a 16-channel electrotactile device
Authors: Franklin Barbra , Saunders Frank A.
Published: October 2005

A comparison was made between a 32- and a 16-channel electrotactile device. Eight normal-hearing subjects received a series of nine taped subtests through each device. There were near-perfect scores for both devices for discrimination of number of syllables and syllabic stress, and for differentiating male and female voices. The scores were relatively high for vowel discrimination for both devices, but significantly higher for the 32-channel device when the second formants were different. The scores for the consonants showed highest scores for the manner feature, followed by the voicing feature, and lowest for the place feature. These results indicate that fewer channels should be allocated in the 16-channel device to the frequencies below 1000 Hz, and additional channels should be added above 1000 Hz to optimize the acoustic feature of speech. This paper will compare speech reception through a modified 16-channel device with the present 32- and 16-channel devices. The advantage of a 16-channel over a 32-channel device is a reduction in circuit complexity, power consumption, and cost. [Work supported by SBIR/NIH.]