bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Allocation of attention to real-time visual speech feedback in a digital mirror
Authors: Casserly Elizabeth D. , Ballenger David E.
Published: November 2017

The role of sensory feedback in speech motor control is typically investigated by observing the behavioral and/or neurological response to experimental feedback perturbation. The function of feedback and its use in typical control is therefore inferred from responses under atypical conditions. The present study avoided perturbation, using eye tracking and a digital mirror (continuous video relay from a webcam) to examine how speakers attend to real-time visual feedback across normal speech and non-speech tasks. Fixation locations and durations were recorded during a period of rest prior to task onset (no-task condition), a recitation of the ABC’s, a re-telling of a popular children’s story (Goldilocks and the Three Bears), and parallel clear speech versions of the latter two tasks. Analysis of gaze showed that participants overall seemed to avoid fixating on their self-image, and that avoidance increased during speech tasks compared to non-speech “rest.” Across the two content areas (ABC’s vs. storytelling), participants’ self-gaze was concentrated more heavily on speech-relevant areas during storytelling, and no differences in gaze were observed between casual and clear speech. These data suggest an increased role for sensory feedback during complex linguistic tasks, as well as indicating an overall aversion towards realistic visual self-feedback.
Tracking developmental changes in articulatory strategy during childhood
Authors: Sorensen Tanner , Toutios Asterios , Goldstein Louis , Narayanan Shrikanth S.
Published: November 2017

During development, children learn how to coordinate movements of the speech articulators in order to optimally achieve motor goals. It has been shown that variability in these coordinative patterns, or articulatory strategies, decreases over the course of childhood before ultimately stabilizing at adult-like levels. For example, the jaw becomes more tightly coordinated with the tongue and lips. Recent advances in real-time magnetic resonance imaging (rt-MRI) and analysis provide a means to characterize such articulatory strategies by quantifying how much the jaw, tongue, lips, velum, and pharynx contribute to constrictions of the vocal tract during speech. The articulators are segmented in reconstructed rt-MRI and constriction degrees are measured as the linear distance between opposing structures (e.g., tongue and palate). Change in constriction degree over time is decomposed into articulator contributions to characterize articulatory strategy. In this pilot study, we obtain quantitative biomarkers of articulatory strategies from a 10-year-old participant and compare them against those of 8 healthy adult participants. The study quantifies the difference between child and adult articulatory strategies in terms of how much each articulator contributes to constrictions of the vocal tract during speech and indicates how the articulator movements are coordinated with each other in time.
Production of stop consonants in 3-to-6-year-old Mandarin-speaking children
Authors: Yang Jing
Published: November 2017

The present study compared the temporal measurements of stop consonants in 29 3-to-6-year-old Mandarin-speaking children and 12 Mandarin-speaking adults. Each participant produced 18 Mandarin disyllabic words which contained six stops /p, pʰ, t, tʰ, k, kʰ/ each followed by three vowels /a, i, u/, respectively. All stop consonants were located at the word-initial position in the first syllable. The temporal measurements of VOT, overall burst duration, average duration per burst, the number of burst and VOT-lag duration were obtained. The results showed that Mandarin-speaking children in this age range produced all six stops, especially aspirated stops, with longer VOT means than the adults. The older children produced even longer VOTs than the younger children, which evidenced the overshooting pattern of VOT values in children. Although adult-like short-lag VOTs for unaspirated stops were achieved in all children, the long-lag VOTs for aspirated stops were widespread in the younger group and gradually developed to a concentrated distribution in the older children. Further examination of the burst and VOT-lag revealed that these children tended to produce shorter average duration per burst and longer VOT-lag than the adults for both unaspirated and aspirated stops. These results indicate that children in this age range may not have developed adult-like laryngeal-oral timing pattern and airflow control for stop production.
Tongue position as an articulatory property of voicing in Brazilian Portuguese and Thai
Authors: Ahn Suzy
Published: November 2017

Articulatory adjustments are often necessary to ensure that closure voicing will be present in stops (Rothenberg 1968). One common adjustment is to enlarge the supralaryngeal cavity volume via tongue root advancement (Westbury 1983). This study uses ultrasound to examine tongue positioning during Brazilian Portuguese and Thai stops. Portuguese has a two-way laryngeal contrast: voiced and voiceless (unaspirated), and Thai has a three-way contrast: voiced, voiceless unaspirated, and voiceless aspirated. Eight native speakers of each language recorded phrase-initial stops followed by /a/. Results show a clear distinction in tongue position between voiced and voiceless unaspirated stops in both languages. Tongue root is more advanced for voiced compared to voiceless unaspirated in alveolar and velar stops. For labial stops, Thai speakers lower the tongue front (which is another cavity enlargement maneuver) whereas Portuguese speakers advance their tongue root for voiced stops. The results suggest that speakers of both languages employ tongue positioning for voicing during closure. How the tongue position is operationalized may be language-specific as long as voiced stops have a larger cavity volume. On the other hand, the role of tongue position for aspiration is less clear since in Thai, alveolar stops and velar stops show the opposite pattern when voiceless unaspirated and aspirated stops are compared.
Characteristics of saliva swallowing in the reading of prepared texts
Authors: Kakita Kuniko , Hiki Shizuo
Published: November 2017

This study examines the nature of saliva swallowing during speech production. Speakers read two contrasting types of texts, a “paragraph” and a “list.” The “paragraph” was a Japanese version of “The North Wind and the Sun,” consisting of four sub-paragraphs. The “list” was a simple repetition of quasi-identical short sentences, without any paragraph construction. Simultaneous recordings of speech sounds (via microphone), swallow sounds (via laryngeal contact microphone), and respiratory movements of the thorax and abdomen (via respiratory belt transducers) were obtained and analyzed, especially in relation to sentence-final pauses. Preliminary results indicate that (1) swallowing tends to occur roughly in the middle of a pause and is followed by inspiration for the upcoming utterance, (2) inspiration is generally deeper when preceded by swallowing, (3) swallowing adds approximately one second to a pause, and (4) in paragraph reading, swallowing is more likely to occur during a pause between two sub-paragraphs, i.e., at a topic transition, whereas in list reading, swallowing reflects speakers' physiological needs more directly.
Simulation of passive source localization in near-Arctic conditions using frequency-difference matched field processing
Authors: Geroski David J. , Dowling David R.
Published: November 2017

Matched Field Processing (MFP) is a well-known technique for passive source localization in complex acoustic environments. It involves correlating array-recorded acoustic fields with replica fields calculated using a model of the acoustic environment, and works well is known environments. However, acoustic signals often depend on unknown environmental details which are not included in the replica-field calculations. The severity of this mismatch increases with frequency and source-array range, and it can cause MFP to fail in the signal band at relevant ranges in the arctic ocean. A proposed remedy to this problem is to utilize the frequency-difference autoproduct of the measured acoustic field instead of the acoustic field itself, and to perform the replica calculations at the difference frequency. The simulated performance of frequency difference MFP is shown for a generic near-Arctic environment at signal frequencies of 200 to 300 Hz, and ranges of 30 to 300 km. Here, mismatch between in the acoustic and replica field is modeled by imposing a range-dependent altimetry and surface sound speed profile to simulate surface ice, and by random time delays applied to each ray-path between the source and each receiver to simulate refractive index fluctuations in the ocean. [Sponsored by ONR.]
Passive acoustic localization and tracking using synthetic data for the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Aguda Britt J. , Bienvenu Kirk D. , Sciacca Bradley J. , Veillon Joshua , Austin SydniCherise O. , Ioup Juliette W.
Published: November 2017

Passive acoustic localization and tracking of marine mammals shows potential for future acoustic monitoring efforts. The Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center—Gulf Ecological Monitoring and Modeling (LADC-GEMM) project collected underwater acoustic data in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 2015 using Environmental Acoustic Recording Systems (EARS) buoys, returning to sites previously surveyed by LADC. The localization and tracking method developed for the EARS hydrophones uses Monte-Carlo based simulations based on this data. Synthetic whale clicks at random times along a sinusoidal path were propagated to the EARS receivers and the location of the synthetic source was tracked. Several whale clicks in a series determine the most probable path of the animal. The localization/tracking method and relative localization are adaptable for variables such as site location, mooring locations, number of moorings, depth, etc. Localization of two synthetic moving whales in three-dimensional space will be demonstrated. [This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Data are publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information & Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) at https://data.gulfresearchinitiative.org.]
Future deployment corrections for passive acoustic localization and tracking using real data for the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Bienvenu Kirk D. , Aguda Britt J. , Sciacca Bradley J. , Veillon Joshua , Austin SydniCherise O. , Ioup Juliette W.
Published: November 2017

The Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center–Gulf Ecological Monitoring and Modeling (LADC-GEMM) project collected underwater acoustic data in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 2015 using Environmental Acoustic Recording Systems (EARS) buoys. A localization and tracking method developed for the EARS hydrophones uses Monte-Carlo based simulations based on these data but was only tested using synthetic whale clicks at random times along a sinusoidal path. The location of the synthetic source was tracked. Real data obtained in 2015 could not be used by the method developed due to excessive clock drift between moorings with no way to correct the phase differences. It will be shown, using the geometry of the site and acoustic theory, how a simple, low powered, periodic acoustic ping can aid in correcting the phase difference of the clocks after significant time has passed. [This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Data are publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information & Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) at https://data.gulfresearchinitiative.org.]
An improved target detection and azimuth angle estimation method using a single acoustic vector sensor
Authors: Ma Lin , Zhao Anbang , Hui Juan , Zeng Caigao , Bi Xuejie
Published: November 2017

In this paper, an improved underwater acoustic target detection and azimuth angle estimation method using a single acoustic vector sensor (AVS) is proposed based on time-reversal and convolution theory. The proposed method can be applied in the active and the passive sonar detection system. According to the conventional detection and estimation method based on complex acoustic intensity measurement, the mathematical and physical model of this proposed method is described in detail. Computer modelling and simulation is applied to demonstrate the proposed method’s effectiveness. In order to further verify the practical application performance of the proposed method, the research group carried out the open lake experiments. The computer simulation and open lake experiments results indicate that this method can realize the azimuth angle estimation with high precision by using only a single AVS. Compared with these conventional methods, the proposed method achieves better detection and estimation performance.
Research on passive detection parameter measurement technology based on single vector sensor
Authors: Hui Juan
Published: November 2017

Passive detection as a major function of the sonar system, over the years has been the work of waterborne workers to solve the problem. This paper mainly talks about the measurement technology of passive detection parameters based on single vector sensor. The problem of low frequency line spectrum signal extracted from ship radiated noise is studied, and the azimuth sequence and frequency sequence are obtained by estimating and analyzing the low frequency line spectrum signal. Ship radiated noise contains a lot of target information, so the extraction of the line noise of the ship's radiated noise is of great significance in the measurement of passive detection parameters. The radiation noise of the ship is a broadband spectrum modulated by the spectral signal envelope. The average azimuth and complex intensifier are used to estimate and analyze the target azimuth, and the estimated angle is statistically processed by histogram and weighted histogram. For the frequency estimation technique, the adaptive frequency estimator based on the adaptive notch filter and the adaptive LMS (Least Mean Square) algorithm is chosen to study the target signal frequency. Through the simulation experiment, the azimuth estimation technique and the adaptive frequency estimation technique are feasible. By estimating the azimuth sequence and frequency sequence of the target radiation signal, the relevant information of the target can be obtained, so it is of great significance in the research of underwater acoustic detection technology.
Automated passive acoustic detection, classification, localization, and tracking methods applied to recorded data from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii
Authors: Martin Stephen W. , Matsuyama Brian , Helble Tyler A. , Martin Cameron R. , Henderson E. E. , Alongi Gabriela C.
Published: November 2017

Automated methods will be reviewed for performing passive acoustic detection, classification, localization, and tracking of some marine mammal species and man-made sources. The methods have been applied to recorded hydrophone data from a large aperture seafloor array at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii, with some of the methods currently implemented in a real-time system at PMRF. The process consists of custom software both in C + + and Matlab in a 3 or 4-step process. Automated detections of various sounds in specific frequency bands are first performed. In some cases, a classification stage is also performed. The third stage involves model-based localization of the detections or classifications. The fourth stage converts the localizations into individual source tracks. Source tracks are currently generated for fin, sei, Bryde’s, humpback, and sperm whales and mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS) transmissions. Performing this process on marine mammals allows information regarding the movement patterns of the whales while calling, as well as information on the species’ calls (e.g., call rate, frequencies, durations, estimated source levels). By performing similar processes on man-made sources, it is possible to determine some marine mammal responses from proximity of Navy vessels and mid-frequency active sonar sources.
In situ measurements of sediment sound speed and attenuation at the Seabed Characterization Experiment site in the frequency band of 0.5–10 kHz
Authors: Yang Jie
Published: November 2017

The Seabed Characterization Experiment, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, was carried out 5 March–10 April, 2017 (SCE17) on the New England Mud Patch, approximately 100 km south of Martha’s Vineyard. The main SCE17 experimental site covers an area of 15 km x 30 km with water depths of 75–80 m. The Sediment Acoustic-speed Measurement System (SAMS) is designed to measure sediment sound speed and attenuation simultaneously over the surficial 3 m of sediments. SAMS consists of ten fixed sources and one receiver which is driven into the seabed. The ten sources combined covers a frequency band of 0.5-10 kHz. During SCE17, SAMS was successfully deployed at 18 sites, which were chosen to measure sediment sound speed and attenuation in both the surficial mud layer and the sandy basement to support modeling effort. In addition, all 18 sites have co-located gravity and/or piston cores that were collected during the two survey cruises in 2015 and 2016. In this talk, a summary of SAMS operation during SCE17 is presented, as well as the preliminary results of sediment sound speed and attenuation and their spatial variation in the frequency band of 0.5–10 kHz. [Work supported by ONR.]
Surface wave effects on bottom geoacoustic inversions
Authors: Lin Ying-Tsong , Duda Timothy F. , Newhall Arthur , Gawarkiewicz Glen
Published: November 2017

Underwater sound propagation in the ocean can suffer from the scattering, focusing and defocusing effects caused by surface gravity waves. These effects can in fact also influence bottom geoacoustic inversions, which use sound pressure field measurements in the water column to estimate/infer acoustic properties of the seafloor and/or seabed. In our study presented in the paper, analytical, numerical and experimental approaches are taken to investigate how surface gravity waves can affect bottom geoacoustic inversions (the dependencies on acoustic frequency, surface wave spectrum and directivity, and acoustic waveguide parameters.) The analytical approach is based on acoustic mode theory, and the numerical approach is utilizing both the parabolic-equation (PE) model and the ray model. Experimental data were collected from the Seabed Characterization 2017 experiment conducted on the New England shelf in March and April, 2017. During the experiment, several storms passed through the experimental area, and broadband sound transmissions (500 to 1000 Hz) from fixed sources to fixed receivers have shown significant acoustic effects of surface wind waves. These sound transmissions were at 160 dB source level and had two scheduling window types, one with rapidly repeated sampling and one with less-frequent sampling for a long duration. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]
Speech recognition in reverberation and background chatter
Authors: Battaglia Paul
Published: November 2017

The subjective impression of acoustical comfort, as shown by previous surveys of restaurant patrons, can be achieved within a narrow range of reverberation time. These surveys also indicated that acoustical comfort is relatively unrelated to the level of background noise. In order to more fully understand the relative effects of reverberation time and noise levels, an experiment was conducted by undergraduate architecture students for speech intelligibility, not acoustical comfort, in a test space where reverberation times and levels of background chatter could be varied. The resulting data suggest that there is a threshold level of reverberation time for speech intelligibility when signal-to-noise ratios are very low, and even negative in value. This finding has consequences for the acoustical design of restaurants where the sounds of social activity are welcomed, but where background chatter should not overwhelm the ability to discern and understand nearby speech.
Sounds delicious: A crossmodal perspective on restaurant atmospherics and acoustical design
Authors: Keller Steve , Spence Charles
Published: November 2017

Recent advances in crossmodal science have demonstrated that our perception of the world around us is an amalgam of sensory experiences. Nowhere is this more evident than in the emerging discipline of Gastrophysics: the new science of eating, which blends gastronomy (the “art of the table”) with psychophysics (the relationship between physical stimuli and mental phenomena). Examining restaurant atmospherics and acoustical design through the lens of crossmodalism and gastrophysics, it soon becomes clear that, when it comes to the pleasures of the table (i.e., of eating and drinking), what we put into our ears (i.e., what we hear) can be just as important as what we put into our mouths. This presentation highlights the latest research into the ways that sound and its application in restaurants can create expectations, shape perceptions, and influence the behavior of patrons. From sonic seasonings and sensplorations, to sound systems and acoustical treatments, we will explore how sonic environments will continue to play an increasingly important role in the dining experience.
Quantifying the acoustic environment for restaurant consultation
Authors: Dubin Justin T. , Willard Eli
Published: November 2017

This talk presents a case study in which methodology for the diagnosis and treatment of poor restaurant acoustics is discussed. The subject of this case study is Uchi, an upscale Japanese restaurant in Austin, Texas. While revered for their excellent cuisine, Uchi’s reputation is marred by its excessively loud dining room at peak business hours. The discussion details how the restaurant’s acoustical quality was evaluated through strategic integrated impulse response measurements, along with finite element and analytical models. The measurements and models provide strong evidence of acoustical problems such as room modes, focusing gain, and excessive reverberance. Once diagnosed, improvement criteria are defined using well-established metrics for restaurants, such as “acoustic capacity” and “preferred signal-to-noise ratios.” Treatment options are assessed based on their potential effectiveness as well as their feasibility to be implemented by restaurant management.
Bone repair and ultrasound stimulation: An insight into the interaction of LIPUS with the bone callus through a multiscale computational study
Authors: Baron Cécile , Guivier-Curien Carine , Nguyen Vu-Hieu , Naili Salah
Published: November 2017

In the 1950s, the effect of ultrasound stimulation on bone healing has been discovered. Nowadays, Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Stimulation (LIPUS) is admitted to influence the mechanotransduction of bone. Nevertheless, despite a growing literature—cell cultures, animal models, and clinical studies—the underlying physical and biological mechanisms of LIPUS on bone healing are still misunderstood. Inspired from previous studies on the mechanotransduction induced by physiological loading, this work focuses on the effect of LIPUS on the osteocytes. These bone cells are thought to be the principal mechanosensors of bone. They are ubiquitous inside the bone matrix, immersed in the lacuno-canalicular network (LCN) filled with interstitial fluid (IF). The goal is to relate the ultrasound stimulation applied at the tissue scale, to the biological response at the cell scale. To tackle this question, two finite element models were implemented in the commercial software Comsol Multiphysics. The tissue-scale model considers an anisotropic poroelastic matrix to evaluate the IF pressure gradient induced by LIPUS into the LCN. Then, in the cell-scale model, the IF shear stress magnitude and the induced drag forces applied on osteocyte process are calculated and compared with levels of cell activation recorded in literature.
Ultrasonic bandgaps and interlaminar interface echoes of composite laminates: Analysis and experiments
Authors: Biwa Shiro , Ishii Yosuke
Published: November 2017

Increasing applications of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) in aerospace industry highlight the importance of nondestructive methods to characterize their mechanical properties as well as defect concentrations. In CFRP laminate structures, thin resin layers, typically of a few micron thickness, are present between plies. Their spatially periodic nature causes bandgaps for ultrasonic waves having wavelengths comparable to the ply thickness. Features of the reflection and transmission spectra of ultrasonic waves including such bandgaps can be utilized for nondestructive characterization of CFRP laminates. In particular, the oscillatory frequency dependence of the reflection or transmission spectra of ultrasonic waves near the band gaps can be used to identify the equivalent stiffnesses of interlaminar interfaces. These interfacial stiffnesses contain rich information of the mechanical soundness of the interlaminar interfaces which are otherwise difficult to evaluate with traditional ultrasonic methods working in relatively low frequencies. The evidence of ultrasonic bandgaps of CFRP laminates can also be observed as long-standing signals following the surface echo in the temporal reflection waveforms of CFRP laminates (interlaminar interface echoes). In this presentation, the physical phenomena behind the ultrasonic bandgaps and interlaminar interface echoes of CFRP laminates are discussed together with their applications to nondestructive characterization of these materials.
Simulation of wave propagation in polycrystalline materials
Authors: Sha Gaofeng , Van Pamel Anton , Huang Ming , Rokhlin Stanislav I. , Lowe Michael J.
Published: November 2017

The propagation and scattering of elastic waves within heterogeneous materials is of wide interest in seismology, medical ultrasound, and non-destructive evaluation. Accurate models of the behavior of the waves are important for the development of methods to characterize the materials using this information, as well as for the development of methods pursuing other information about the materials for which the attenuation and scattering are a nuisance to be minimized. Until recently, the leading models have been limited to analytical methods based on low-order scattering assumptions. However, it has now become possible to perform accurate three-dimensional Finite Element simulations, using spatial representation at grain scale, in significant sample volumes of large numbers of grains. Recent work by the authors has demonstrated that this approach can deliver attenuation and wave speed predictions that are good enough to enable evaluations of the features and approximations of the analytical models. Current work is addressing the use of this approach, in combination with analytical models, to investigate the physical phenomena of the scattering attenuation and wave speed dispersion, including the influences of materials symmetries and degree of anisotropy, and the effects of metal forming such as grain elongation.
Ultrasound measurement of texture in bulk polycrystalline materials
Authors: Lan Bo , Lowe Michael J. , Britton T. B. , Dunne Fionn P.
Published: November 2017

Manufacturing of metal components often results in significant texture, that is, to say, preferred orientations of their polycrystals. Since each crystal can be strongly anisotropic, this can give the component orientation-dependent material properties, affecting stiffness, thermal expansion, strength, and fatigue and creep resistance. So, it is important to be able to measure texture, especially for high-value safety-critical components. Typically, the Orientation Distribution Function (ODF) of the crystals can be measured on exposed surfaces using EBSD, or in thin samples using neutron diffraction. But both are expensive, and until recently there has not been a means to measure ODFs internally in bulk materials. However, the authors have recently developed a method to determine internal texture from measurements of wave speeds at selected angles through the volume of the material. This is based on a convolution of wave speeds in a single crystal with the ODF, giving the resultant polycrystal wave speed angular function. The principles of the method have been established and validated for single phase hexagonal and cubic materials. Ongoing work is investigating the use of multiple wave modes (shear and compressional) to identify further information; the extraction of volume fraction and texture of two-phase materials; and the pursuit of further refinement of the texture results by improved knowledge of the single crystal properties.
Impact of sol-gel transition on the acoustic properties of complex model foods: Application to agar/gelatin gels and emulsion filled gels
Authors: Mantelet Mathieu , Panouillé Maud , Boué François , Restagno Frédéric , Souchon Isabelle , Mathieu Vincent
Published: November 2017

Quantitative Ultrasound techniques are good candidates for the in situ and real-time mechanical characterization of tongue-food-palate system, and thus to improve the understanding of the determinants of texture perception of food. Different model foods (consisting in gels and emulsion filled gels composed of agar and/or gelatin) have been designed for their contrasting properties in terms of texture perceptions. Prior to the feasibility study of a Quantitative Ultrasound method to monitor their mechanical breakdown during a compression, the aim of this study is to determine the respective roles of structure and mechanical properties of the different model foods in the variations of ultrasonic wave properties. Ultrasonic velocity, reflectivity, and attenuation were monitored during the sol-gel transition (from 50°C to 20°C) at 1 MHz in pulse-echo mode, and were confronted to visco-elastic moduli and mass density measurements. The results put in evidence the role of biopolymer concentration (independently from Young’s and shear moduli) on the variations of velocity and reflectivity, resulting from joint variations of mass density and bulk modulus. Moreover, the ultrasonic attenuation was confirmed to depend on molecular relaxation phenomena of water, which are important in high-concentration gelatin samples.
An overview of ANSI/ASA S3.7-2016: Method for measurement and calibration of earphones
Authors: Struck Christopher J.
Published: November 2017

An overview of the recent revision of “ANSI/ASA S3.7-2016 Method for Measurement and Calibration of Earphones” is given. Guidance for the selection of the appropriate coupler or ear simulator for a given earphone and application is provided. The various clauses within the standard describing measurements of calibrated frequency response, input-output linearity, electrical impedance, and non-linear distortion are presented. The method in the standard for dealing with issues related to positioning and test repeatability when using a head and torso simulator is described. The different standard coupling configurations for insert earphones and receivers are detailed. Intermodulation and difference frequency distortion test methods and their use to overcome the bandwidth limitations of the measurement system are also described. A method for measuring and quantifying left-right balance in a stereo headphone is also presented.
Introduction to S12.70 speech privacy in healthcare
Authors: Good Kenneth W. , Reuter Eric L.
Published: November 2017

The Privacy Rule within HIPAA requires that personal identifiable information be kept private. Reasonable safeguards must be taken for electronic, paper, and oral (speech) communications. The S12.70 standard provides a means to design, operate, and enforce to this requirement. We will explore the background and practical application of this standard.
Acoustical measurements with mobile devices and the challenge of standards compliance
Authors: Faber Benjamin
Published: November 2017

With more attention being brought to the use of mobile devices for acoustical measurements, questions of measurement quality and standards compliance continue to be raised. What kinds of acoustical measurements are realistic with a mobile device? Can a smartphone or tablet be used as a properly qualified sound level meter? If not, under what conditions might it be appropriate to rely on a mobile measurement solution? For the purposes of this presentation, the IEC 61672 standard for sound level meters will be discussed with respect to mobile measurement apps and devices.
A primary method for the complex calibration of a hydrophone from 1 Hz to 2 kHz
Authors: Slater William H. , Crocker Steven E. , Baker Steven R.
Published: November 2017

Primary calibrations of hydrophones at frequencies less than about 1 kHz are typically performed in a coupler reciprocity chamber (“coupler“); a closed test chamber where time harmonic oscillations in pressure can be achieved and the reciprocity conditions required for a primary calibration can be realized. The closed and controlled environment in the coupler allows for the performance of primary calibrations over the temperature and hydrostatic pressure range found in the ocean. The coupler reciprocity system employed by the United States, in service since the 1960s, provides only the magnitude of the pressure sensitivity and not the phase. Recent work has demonstrated a method for the primary calibration of both the magnitude and phase of the complex sensitivity for a hydrophone at frequencies ranging from 1 Hz to 2 kHz. The combined expanded uncertainties of the magnitude and phase of the complex sensitivity at 1 Hz were 0.1 dB re 1V/μPa and ±1°, respectively.
Signal analysis of New Orleans jazz clarinet sounds
Authors: Veillon Joshua , Ioup Juliette W. , White Michael
Published: November 2017

Many have noted the remarkable variety in clarinet tones produced by one player as compared to another, for example, in New Orleans jazz performances. To understand and interpret these differences, they are often described qualitatively in musical terms. These descriptions have potentially loose interpretations from one musician to another. The research presented here is an attempt to quantify such differences using acoustical signal processing techniques including Fourier transform analysis, power spectral analysis, spectrograms or time-frequency plots, and energy dependence on frequency. Variables such as recording equipment, instrument design, and performance techniques of individual artists will be considered. Examples from historical and contemporary recordings will be discussed and used to demonstrate conclusions.
Development process of the grand piano duplex scale
Authors: Plath Niko , Preller Katharina
Published: November 2017

Acoustical investigations of the earliest examples of implemented duplex schematics allow to shed light on the question of how much of the piano development in the late 19th century was still a trial and error approach or already a methodical process based on empirical findings. Further, it is investigated if the intended effect was instantly perceivable, or if it was first a theoretical concept, which was later refined to enhance a certain tonal character. For a modern grand piano, the influence of the duplex schematic on the vibroacoustic behavior and the aural impression is extensively covered by Öberg and Askenfelt. By performing measurements on several pianos from the late eighteen hundreds, most prominently the so-called Helmholtz piano, a Steinway grand presented as a gift to von Helmholtz in appreciation of the impact of his work on the company’s piano development, it is possible to retrace development procedures in the workshop in that specific time period. Design parameters from the respective pianos are obtained, e.g., string length ratios, angles from main string to front duplex, boundary conditions, and string diameters. Acoustical measurements, as proposed by Öberg and Askenfelt, are performed to examine if these constructive changes have any significant effect on the generated sound and to allow a comparative analysis of both historical and contemporary instruments.
The acoustics of Fundação Iberê Camargo's parking lot
Authors: Gossweiler Peter Francis C.
Published: November 2017

Through listening to the audio of a video recording of the acoustics of Fundação Iberê Camargo’s parking lot, we propose the writing of a text. From this dependence on reliving past issues and reinterpreting them by a device such as this recording, we evoke the symptom of the void. To that end, we dialogue with Yves Klein's statement of le vide (1961), which proposes to feel and understand simultaneously the possibility of filling the space with our presence and absence, with the wooden doll's head Mechanischer Kopf (1920) by Raoul Hausmann, who, by dependence on multiple devices coupled to it, no longer exercises thinking and with Lygia Clark's Organic Line (1954), which makes us think that art is in the real world, just as the real world is in art. These relationships lead us to an organization of space for something beyond emptiness and our presence.
Bacterial suspensions under acoustic confinement and the impact on biofilm formation
Authors: Gutiérrez Salomé
Published: November 2017

Active matter exhibit plenty intriguing non equilibrium properties while in confinement. Optical and magnetic confinement had helped in the evaluation of rich collective behaviour of active entities. Self-propelled particles in aqueous suspensions can be trapped with acoustic fields generated by acoustic resonators usually at frequencies in the megaHertz. In this work, we give a step forward in the field of confined active matter reporting for the first time experiments of Escherichia coli suspensions in acoustic levitation. In particular the implementation of an acoustic levitation technique to manipulate in a contact-less and controlled way the dynamics of the active suspension. The aggregation of living bacteria is monitored as a function of time, where different phases are clearly distinguished. Upon the removal of the acoustic signal, bacteria rapidly disaggregate induced by their own swimming. However, if the levitation time increases, a stable aggregate, that resemble a biofilm, remains even after the withdraw of the acoustic confinement.
Fluid dynamical and acoustical fields in the vicinity of small objects reacting to radiation forces and torques
Authors: Pierce Allan D. , Thompson Charles , Denis Max
Published: November 2017

The venerable and extensive literature on the theory of acoustic radiation forces and torques on small embedded particles is briefly reviewed, assessed, and criticized. This paper adopts a approach that first concentrates on determining the near field of a non-stationary embedded particle for the case when ka<<1. The near field is the region where r<1/k. The philosophy of matched asymptotic expansions is adopted and the near field is assumed to consist of (1) an oscillating incident wave, (2) an oscillating reaction wave that goes to zero at large r/a, (3) an oscillating incompressible field that is associated with viscosity, also going to zero at large r/a, and (4) a quasi-static field that is also associated with viscosity. The latter results in part from a perturbation expansion to take into account non-linear effects of the fluid dynamical equations. The far-field scattered wave results from asymptotic matching to the near-field. The near-field reaction field separates into monopole and dipole portions where the orientation of the dipole is related the detailed natures of incident wave and particle. Forces are obtained by integration of stresses over the surface of the body or over a surface slightly outside the particle. In appropriate limits, the predicted forces agree with results of King (1934) and Gorkov (1962).
Investigation on a novel photoacoustofluidic effect
Authors: Dumy Gabriel P. , Hoyos Mauricio , Aider Jean-Luc
Published: November 2017

Acoustic manipulation of micro-objects (particles, cells, and bacteria) can be achieved using ultrasonic standing waves in a fluidic or microfluidic resonator. By matching resonator dimensions and acoustic field frequency, it is possible to use acoustic radiation force (ARF) to gather the particles in the pressure nodal (or anti-nodal) plane, creating one or several aggregates. In standard operating conditions, they can be maintained as long as needed in acoustic levitation at this equilibrium position. In this study, we present a new unexpected phenomenon. After creating a large aggregate of light-absorbing particles, we show that it is possible to force the complete breakup of the aggregate when we enlighten it with an electromagnetic wave of adequate wavelength and intensity. If the particles remain in acoustic levitation, they are quickly rejected and propelled away from the aggregate leading to its fast destruction. We show that this phenomenon strongly depends on both the amplitude of the ultrasonic field and the intensity of the lighting. Various experiments with different types of particles and concentrations are used to discuss the possible explanations of the phenomenon. Moreover, investigations showed that this phenomenon applies to biological compounds such as red blood cells and stem cells, suggesting potential biomedical applications.
Acoustical deformability of giant unilamellar vesicles
Authors: Tian Liangfei , Silva Glauber T. , Drinkwater Bruce W.
Published: November 2017

An acoustic standing wave is used to trap and deform giant unilamellar vesicles with a diameter ranging from 10 to 50 μm. The giant unilamellar vesicles are prepared in glucose solution with a bi-layer of DOPC membrane with approximately 10 nm-thickness. They are suspended in a 4 cm2-chamber of an acoustofluidic device. The density of the vesicles is about 98% of the external solution density. The device operates with a single-frequency at 6 MHz producing a standing wave of 250 μm-wavelength, which is much larger than the vesicles' radii. To explain the observed deformability, we propose an acoustic deformation model as follows. The radiation stress, caused by the interaction of the standing wave and a vesicle, is obtained in the long-wavelength limit. Using the deformation theory of thin spherical shells, we show that the aspect ratio of a deformed vesicle is 1 + 2δ, where δ is inversely proportional to Young's modulus and directly proportional to the density contrast between the vesicle and the solution. Our preliminary observations and theoretical results give an aspect ratio of the same order of magnitude, δ<1/2. Additionally, predictions of our model agree with the results for the deformation of an osmotically swollen red blood cell reported by Mishra et al. [Biomicrofluidics 8, 034109 (2014)]. In this case, the relative error is smaller than 6%. [Work partially supported by Newton Advanced Fellowship (NA160200), The Royal Society, UK.]
Sensitivity of pure tone versus speech-in-noise hearing screening
Authors: Feth Lawrence L. , Hoglund Evelyn M. , Roup Christina M. , Campbell Kaitlin
Published: November 2017

Adults classified as having normal hearing using conventional pure tone hearing screening often report hearing difficulties especially for situations requiring listening for speech or music in a background of noise. The purpose of this project is to compare the sensitivity of a pure tone hearing screener with a Spoken Digits in Noise test. In the first comparison, 20 young adults with normal hearing thresholds documented by a full audiometric test were asked to simulate a conductive hearing loss using an ear plug inserted into one ear. Both screeners were used to detect the simulated conductive hearing loss. In the second comparison, participants with documented mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss were tested with both screeners. Order of testing with the screeners was counter-balanced, and the degree of hearing loss was categorized into 15 dB intervals based on their three-frequency (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) averages and labeled Normal, Slight, Mild, or Moderate. A decision theory analysis was used to indicate the sensitivity of the two screening procedures. [Work supported by a grant from NIDCD.]
A study on auditory sensitivity and behavioral cognition changes before and after drinking in psychological acoustics
Authors: Bae Seonggeon , Bae Myungjin
Published: November 2017

In general, an auditory sensitivity after drinking is becoming insensitive and a perception of behavior becomes very poor. This can be explained by the characteristics of body changes due to alcohol absorption, and this study analyzed and studied these characteristics. This study provides the necessary bases for psychoacoustics and brain cognitive science by obtaining a measured data through cognitive testing of the characteristics of body changes before and after drinking. We analyzed the post-drinking changes in brain waves and performed psychoacoustic analysis of these characteristics.
Evaluation of reproduction fidelity of acoustic characteristics of auscultation sounds by recordings included in various publicly available databases
Authors: Nowak Karolina M. , Nowak Lukasz
Published: November 2017

Various databases of auscultation sounds recordings are available for teaching purposes for physicians. The sounds included in these databases were recorded using different equipment, and—in some cases—generated artificially. Thus, an important question arises regarding the differences in acoustic parameters between the recordings of bioacoustic signals obtained using different techniques and hardware, and the sounds heard by a physician during an actual patient auscultation through a typical acoustic stethoscope. The acoustic stethoscopes are the most widespread diagnostic devices and are far more popular in clinical practice than the electronic ones. The present study introduces the results of an analysis of acoustic characteristics of sounds included in various databases, compared to the parameters of sounds recorded with a microphone placed in an earpiece of an acoustic stethoscope. It is shown that the differences in time- and frequency characteristics are large enough to question the legitimacy of using various databases for teaching purposes. An alternative method and setup for recording bioacousic signals that could be used for developing auscultation skills is introduced.
Relationships among musical training and pitch matching in children and adults
Authors: Weaver Aurora J. , DiGiovanni Jeffrey J. , Ries Dennis
Published: November 2017

This experiment attempted to determine if individuals with extensive musical training’s pitch perception and memory were more resistant to degradation (e.g., time and interference) than that of individuals with limited musical training. It is known that musical training influences cortical sound processing through learning-based processes, but also at the preattentive level within the brainstem. Pitch memory abilities were investigated in 66 participants with no known hearing, attention, or cognitive impairment. Participants were placed into subgroups based on age (young children, older children, and adults) and their self-reported musical training experience. Two experiments measuring auditory perception and memory skills for pitch were collected, the pitch pattern span (PPS; Weaver, DiGiovanni, & Ries, 2015) and a pitch matching retention task based on Ross, Olsen, and Gore’s procedure (2003). We found that individuals with greater musical training exhibited enhanced pitch perception and memory processes and smaller standard deviation across pitch matches. Unexpectedly, based on the paradigm, the young children demonstrated significantly sharper (higher) constant error across pitch matches than the older participants. These and additional findings will be discussed with reference to task parameters which attempted to remove the typically required knowledge of musical nomenclature in pitch matching tasks