bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acoustic phonetic study of phonemes and tonemes of spoken Punjabi language
Authors: Agrawal Shyam S. , Bansal Shweta , Sharan Shambhu , Singh Amritpal
Published: May 2016

Punjabi language is one of the important languages among 22 official languages in India. It is spoken by about 105 million people in India. The present paper describes a study and results of detailed acoustic analysis of vowels, consonantal phonemes and tonemes as spoken by the speakers of Malwai dialect of Punjabi language. A database of 1500 words containing all the phonemes and tonemes, selected from a text corpus of 300, 000 words were used for the study. These words were recorded and segmented by using signal processing tools to analyze the samples of speech. Fundamental frequency, first three formants, and bandwidths for nasal and non-nasal vowels were measured. For the study of consonants, duration of sub-phonemic segments such as occlusion, burst, and VOT have been computed and compared. Special features of tonemes have been studied and compared with non-tonal phonemic segments. Tones are fully phonemic and words with similar spellings are distinguished by varying tones- low, mid, and high and corresponding accent marks. It has been observed that intonation plays a significant role in the discrimination of phonemes and tonemes. These results can be used to create PLS and phonetic dictionary of Punjabi speech.
Pronunciation change in SENĆOŦEN: A acoustic study of /k, kw, kw’, q, q’, qw qw’/ across generations of speakers
Authors: Bird Sonya
Published: May 2016

This paper presents an acoustic study of /k, kw, kw’, q, q’, qw qw’/ in SENĆOŦEN, a dialect of North Straits Salish. The “K series”—as these sounds are collectively called—are of particular concern among speakers, the perception being that both the uvular ~ velar and the plain ~ ejective contrasts may be disappearing. To understand how these contrasts are currently being realized, 12 speakers (3 speakers x 4 generations) were recorded pronouncing 20 isolated words (7 consonants x 2–3 words). Based on auditory impression and preliminary acoustic analysis (PLACE: spectral composition of bursts/frication; formant transitions into adjacent vowels; VOICING: VOT; jitter; shimmer; amplitude rise time), the velar ~ uvular contrast is indeed less consistent among younger speakers than among their elders; there is also a lot of variability in the plain ~ ejective contrast, among all speakers. In addition, the plain ~ ejective contrast interacts with the velar ~ uvular contrast for some speakers: /k kw/ and /q qw/ are merged and relatively fronted ([k kw]); /kw’/ and /qw’/ are merged and relatively backed ([qw’]). These realizations likely reflect a combination articulatory/aerodynamic considerations and orthographic influences (e.g., /kw’/ = ‘Q’; /qw/ = ‘Ḱ’).
Consonantal timing in Eastern Armenian
Authors: Hovakimyan Knar
Published: May 2016

Eastern Armenian is an under-documented language, particularly in the field of phonetics. The language treats onset and coda consonant clusters asymmetrically, breaking up onset clusters with a vowel, but not coda clusters. This study focuses on consonantal timing in word-initial and word-final consonant sequences in Armenian. Five speakers were recorded reading 50 pairs of words with representative consonant clusters and equivalent words without clusters. Results indicate that singleton consonants behave differently than complex consonants depending on their location within a word. Namely, the vowel-adjacent consonant in a complex coda is longer in duration than an equivalent singleton consonant, whereas in onsets the duration of consonants is stable regardless of whether or not there is a preceding consonant. This corresponds to a greater degree of overlap in codas than in onsets. This asymmetrical treatment is motivated by the need to preserve phonetic cues for distinguishing consonants. The 30-consonant inventory is greatly limited by neutralizations in coda position, but all consonantal contrasts are maintained in onset clusters. Since there are more consonants to be distinguished in onset position, stronger cues are required to identify them and so less overlap is tolerated.
Acoustic analysis of Punjabi stress and tone (Doabi dialect)
Authors: Nara Kiranpreet
Published: May 2016

An acoustic experiment was conducted to study the stress and tone systems of Punjabi, an under-documented Indo-Aryan language. Tone and stress are linked because tone associates with the stressed syllable (Bailey, 1914; Wells and Roach, 1980; Baart, 2003). The experiment was used determine the acoustic cues of stress and the tonal contours of the three Punjabi tones: default, rising, and falling. Five native speakers read a list of 85 words five times. Measurements of duration, intensity, f0 were made in Praatand analyzed in SPSS. The Mixed Models analysis of normalized intensity and duration revealed that the acoustic cue of stress is the duration of the rhyme. A similar finding for Hindi, a closely related language, is reported in Nair et al. (2001). As for tone, the default tone has the smallest f0 range and the falling tone has the largest f0 range. Falling tone is realized entirely on the stressed syllable whereas for the rising tone, the phenomenon of peak delay is observed unless tone occurs on a word-final syllable. Peak delay is also observed in Mandarin (Xu, 2001). This work offers an in-depth understanding of the phonological aspects of the stress and tone systems of Punjabi.
Manner-specific tongue shape differences in the production of Kannada coronal consonants
Authors: Kochetov Alexei , Sreedevi N.
Published: May 2016

The production of consonants of the same place but different manner of articulation can involve certain adjustments in the posture of the tongue shape. This can be due to requirements for specific gestures (e.g., lowering the tongue sides for laterals) or constraints on coordination of different gestures (e.g., the tongue-palate constriction and the velum lowering for nasals). This study used ultrasound imaging to examine sagittal tongue shape differences in the production of Kannada (Dravidian) laterals, nasals, and stops of two places of articulation—alveolar/dental and retroflex. Words with these consonants (as geminates) were produced multiple times by five female and five male native speakers of Kannada. The analysis of tongue shapes revealed a lower tongue body/blade for laterals than stops, but only in retroflexes. The opposite was observed for /l/ vs. /t/, likely reflecting the alveolar vs. dental constriction differences. The nasals were produced with a significantly more advanced tongue body than the corresponding laterals and stops. The tongue fronting for nasals can serve to accommodate the velum lowering as part of these consonants' gestural coordination. The magnitude of this effect is further modulated by the consonant’s degree of articulatory resistance, which is greater for retroflexes than alveolars/dentals.
Prevoicing differences in Southern English: Gender and ethnicity effects
Authors: Herd Wendy , Torrence Devan , Cariño Joy
Published: May 2016

Differences in the way VOT is used across languages to maintain stop voicing contrasts have been well-documented, but less research has been focused on VOT variation within voicing categories. For example, native English speakers are generally reported to produce word-initial voiced stops with short positive VOTs, but within category gender and ethnicity differences have been reported in one preliminary study, with male speakers prevoicing stops more than female speakers and with African American speakers prevoicing stops more than Caucasian American speakers (Ryalls, Zipprer, and Baldauff, 1997). For the current study, native speakers of English from Mississippi were recorded reading three repetitions of a pseudo-randomized list of words designed to investigate the effects of gender and ethnicity on the prevoicing of word-initial voiced stops. Participants self-identified their gender and ethnicity in a language background survey completed after recordings. Significant ethnicity, but not gender, differences were found. Strikingly, African American speakers produced voiced stops with prevoicing approximately 90% of the time, while just 35% of the voiced stops produced by European American speakers were prevoiced. These findings strongly suggest that dialectal differences play a role in within category variation in the VOTs of word-initial voiced stops.
Arabic as an under-documented language: Distinctions between neighboring Arabic dialects
Authors: Rosenhouse Judith K.
Published: May 2016

This paper focuses on Arabic dialects from Israel and Jordan, which belong to the Levant Arabic dialects group. Levant dialects, as part of Arabic, are rather well studied. However, studies still usually consider them following the language situation in the area before the end of World War I (1918). Then, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and the area of (current) Israel and Jordan came to be under the British mandate rule. Later, each of them won independence as separate states. These processes widened inter-dialect linguistic differences, but modern communication media and devices, and increased literacy, have drawn various dialects closer to one another. These processes have added new linguistic features, which have in various cases completely integrated in the borrowing dialects. As a result, these features cannot be distinctive dialect markers any more. Such developments are mostly under-documented. Phonetic features of vowels and consonants in some Israeli and Jordanian Arabic dialects will demonstrate this phenomenon of under-documentation. In this context, we also discuss the forensic linguistics field of dialect identification and verification of asylum seekers' mother tongue. Our conclusions suggest that these undocumented changes require new investigations.
Event-related cortical potentials occurring prior to speech initiation
Authors: Smith Silas , Ambris Maira , Haller Serena , Yonovitz Al
Published: May 2016

Real time brain electrical potentials were obtained in subjects prior to the initiation of speech in a potential clinical paradigm using a single vertex electrode. The purpose of this research was to establish a real-time event related brain electrical potential system. Research in this area in the past has used a great number of facial and lip EMG electrodes. The marking point for determining the pre-event time epoch has been an EMG source. The data are typically acquired off-line and later averaged. This research uses a vocal signal as the marking point and displays in real time the event-related potential. The sample rate (25, 600 samples/s) permitted an analysis of both slow negative waves and faster neurogenic signals. Results indicated reliable waveform morphology within and between subjects.
Nasal coarticulation in normal infants: A physiological analysis
Authors: Eshghi Marziye , Zajac David J.
Published: May 2016

There are conflicting views regarding coarticulation in speech of children. Kent (1983) suggested that children’s speech is more “segmental” while Nittrouer et al. (1989) proposed that speech of young children has “syllabic organization” with syllables being units of speech production. According to Nittrouer et al. (1989), children may demonstrate more coarticulation than adults. The purpose of this study was to examine nasal coarticulation in the speech of infants over time. Nasal ram pressure (NRP) and audio signals were obtained from ten typically developing infants (five males and five females) at 12, 14, and 18 months of age. Six subjects produced 39 nasal syllables (either NV, VN, NVN, or VNV) at 12 months of age. Six subjects produced 62 nasal syllables at 14 months of age and eight subjects produced 95 nasal syllables at 18 months of age. Results revealed positive NRP at the midpoint of only 20% of vowels either preceding or following nasal consonants at 12 months of age. Positive NRP, however, was present during 62% and 77% of vowels produced at 14 and 18 months of age, respectively. Findings provide evidence for the development of nasal coarticulation over time from a more “segmental” to a “syllabic” level. {Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1R01DE022566-01A1.]
Muscular structure of the human tongue from magnetic resonance image volumes
Authors: Stone Maureen , Woo Jonghye , Lee Junghoon , Poole Tera , Seagraves Amy , Chung Michael , Kim Eric , Murano Emi Z. , Prince Jerry L. , Blemker Silvia S.
Published: May 2016

The human tongue has a complex architecture, consistent with its complex roles in eating, speaking, and breathing. Tongue muscle architecture has been depicted in drawings and photographs, but not quantified volumetrically. This study aims to fill that gap by measuring the muscle architecture of the tongue for 14 people captured in high-resolution 3D MRI volumes. The results show the structure, relationships, and variability among the muscles, as well as the effects of age, gender, and weight on muscle volume. Since the tongue consists of partially interdigitated muscles, we consider the muscle volumes in two ways. The functional muscle volume encompasses the region of the tongue served by the muscle. The structural volume halves the volume of the muscle in regions where it interdigitates with other muscles. Results show similarity of scaling across subjects, and speculates on functional effects of the anatomical structure.
An electromagnetic articulometer study of tongue and lip troughs
Authors: Shadle Christine H. , Nam Hosung , Katsika Argyro , Tiede Mark , Whalen D H
Published: May 2016

Troughs, which are a discontinuity in anticipatory coarticulation (Perkell 1968), have been shown to occur in the tongue body in /ipi/ and lips in /usu/. An electromagnetic articulometer (EMA) study of a single subject reported previously showed that intraoral pressure during the consonant could not be solely responsible for the downwards tongue body movement observed during the labial consonants (/p, b, m, f, v/); results supported the hypothesis of a secondary tongue gesture during the consonant. Lip troughs during /s/ in rounded contexts were more ambiguous, possibly because of inconsistencies in corpus design. Six new subjects have been recorded using a WAVE EMA system and a revised corpus. Tongue trough magnitudes decreased in the order /f, v/ > /p, b/ > /m/, serving to disprove the aerodynamic hypothesis; they were deeper for long than short consonants (e.g., [iffi] > [ifi]), and converged to the same point in asymmetric vowel contexts. The same type of convergence during the consonant was observed for lip aperture during V1C(C)V2 combinations, where C = {/s, ʃ/}. These recent results thus support both tongue and lip troughs being caused by secondary gestures of consonants. [Work supported by NIH NIDCD-DC-02717.]
Interaction between aspiration and tonal pitch in Weihai Chinese
Authors: Deng Jie , Fulop Sean A.
Published: May 2016

This paper considers the questions of whether, how, and by what mechanism the aspiration of voiceless stops in the syllable onset affects the pitch (F0) of lexical tone in a tone language. The literature on this topic is at odds with itself. Lai et al. [“The raising effect of aspirated prevocalic consonants on F0 in Taiwanese,” Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on East Asian Linguistics (2009)] review the history of conflicting results, with some studies reporting F0 lowering after aspirated stops, and some reporting F0 raising. Here is provided another battery of findings from another tonal dialect, Weihai Chinese. Using data from seven monodialectal female speakers, no effect of aspiration is found on tonal F0 following bilabial or alveolar stops, but a strong significant lowering effect was observed following the velar aspirated stops. A second issue addressed here has had almost nothing published about it, viz., what is the converse effect of the lexical tone pitch upon the aspiration time (VOT) of the onset stops. It was found that, in general, high-beginning tones correlated with shorter voice onset times in all stop onsets.
The role of f0 on acquisition of a phonological contrast in Korean stop system
Authors: Son Gayeon
Published: May 2016

A number of studies have investigated the role of Voice Onset Time (VOT) on acquisition of stop voicing contrast. Korean stop contrasts (lax, tense, and aspirated), however, cannot be differentiated only by VOT since they are all pulmonic egressive voiceless stops. For this three-way distinction, another acoustic parameter, f0, critically operates. The present study explores how f0 is perceptually acquired and phonetically operates for Korean stop contrast over age. In order to reveal the relationship between f0 developmental patterns and age, a quantitative acoustic model dealt with word-initial stop productions by 60 Korean young children aged 20 months to 47 months. The results showed that f0 perceptual acquisition patterns are closely related to children’s articulatory distinction especially between lax and aspirated stops. In the case of aspirated stops, phonetic accuracy depends on the perceptual thresholds in f0, and the significant phonetic differentiation between lax and aspirated stops was found at age over 32 months. However, f0 of tense stops is not significantly distinguished from the other two stop categories in production. These findings suggest that acquisition of f0 plays a crucial role in the formation of phonemic categories for lax and aspirated stops and this process significantly affects articulatory distinction.
The physiological underpinnings of vowel height and voice quality
Authors: Panfili Laura
Published: May 2016

This study examines the distribution of creaky voice across vowel heights and discusses the physiological mechanisms that may influence this distribution and its methodological implications. The data for this study come from eight dyads from the ATAROS Corpus of audio-recorded conversations between Pacific Northwest English speakers (Freeman 2015). Stressed vowels in content words were tagged for phonation type based on auditory judgments. A chi square test of independence (α = 0.01) found a significant relationship between vowel height and creak (χ2(1, N = 2459) = 83.58, p < 0.001), such that low vowels were more likely to be creaky than high vowels. This effect may be due to the same physiological mechanisms as Intrinsic Fundamental Frequency (IF0). Though the exact mechanism behind IF0 is unclear, various hypotheses have suggested that the tongue position required for high vowels pulls on the larynx, increasing tension, decreasing mass, and resulting in a higher F0 (Ladefoged 1964, Lehiste 1970). These laryngeal settings would also disfavor creaky voicing, perhaps explaining the distribution of creaky voice and vowel height. Future studies of phonation should consider vowel height in their methodologies.
Representations of electromagnetic articulography data for tongue shaping and vocal tract configuration
Authors: Lee Sungbok , Byrd Dani , Narayanan Shrikanth
Published: May 2016

Electromagnetic articulography (EMA) measurements of the movements of articulator flesh points have predominantly been used to investigate kinematics of individual points and/or coordinative phasing between them. Such limited use of EMA data is in fact wasteful of information. In this preliminary report we introduce two representations of EMA data: one is a representation of lingual configuration derived from three individual flesh points on the tongue, and the other is a representation of the vocal tract configuration information based on a lower-dimensional representation of Euclidean distances between EMA articulatory points. The motivation is to maximize the use of information in the original EMA data and measurements in a way that allows for the representation of tongue shaping and vocal tract configuration, thereby maximizing the use of information available from EMA and basic EMA measurements. Implications of such representations and their patterning will be discussed in the light of speech production dynamics as functions of speech rate and categorical emotions expressed in speech. [Work supported by NIH DC03172 and NSF IIS-1116076.]
Prosodic strengthening at the edges of prosodic domains in sighted and blind speakers
Authors: Menard Lucie , Trudeau-Fisette Pamela , Maysounave Melinda
Published: May 2016

Recent studies have shown that when producing isolated vowels, congenitally blind speakers produce smaller displacements of the lips (visible articulators), compared with their sighted peers. To investigate the role of visual experience on articulatory gestures used to produce salient speech contrasts, the production of vowels at the edges of low-level prosodic domains and high-level prosodic domains (in which gestures are reported to be strengthened) was studied in adult speakers of Quebec French. Ten sighted and ten congenitally blind participants were recorded during the production of the vowels /i/, /y/, /u/, /a/ in initial and final positions of two prosodic domains: word and intonational phrase. Synchronous acoustic and articulatory data were recorded using the Carstens AG500 Electromagnetic Articulograph system. Formant measures as well as displacements of the lips and tongue were analyzed. The results revealed that speakers produced larger ranges of lip and tongue movements at the edges of higher prosodic domains than at the edges of lower ones. Formant spaces and durational data are presented. The use of visible (lip and jaw) and invisible (tongue) articulators to implement the prosodic structure is discussed
Bearing estimation using a single moving acoustic vector sensor
Authors: Sullivan Edmund
Published: May 2016

It is well known that a single moving pressure sensor can be used to estimate the bearing to a pure tone source if the source frequency is known a priori. It can also be shown, from the analysis of the relevant Grammian, that even if the source frequency and bearing are jointly estimated, say with a Kalman filter, it cannot be done, i.e., at least two sensors are necessary. However, if a PV sensor is used, additional measurements are provided, thereby allowing the estimation to be done. Although additional measurements are provided, there is still only a single physical sensor. Thus, even for small moving undersea vehicle, with its small amount of real estate, bearing measurements can be made. An example using simulated data is given.
Estimating blood pressures based on directly measured heart sounds
Authors: Chen Lingguang , Wu Sean F. , Xu Yong , Lyman William D. , Kapur Gaurav
Published: May 2016

The current standard technique for blood pressure determination is to use cuff/stethoscope, which is not suited for infants or children. Even for adults this approach yields 60% accuracy with respect to intra-arterial blood pressure measurements. Moreover, it does not allow for a continuous monitoring of blood pressures over the course of 24 h and even days. In this paper, a new methodology is developed that will enable one to estimate systolic and diastolic blood pressures based on the heart sounds measured directly from a human body. To this end, we must extract and separate the aortic, pulmonic, mitral, and tricuspid sounds that are involved in the first and second hear sounds, respectively, from the directly measured signals. Since many parameters such as the locations from which heart sounds are originated, and speed at which heart sounds travel inside a human body are unknown a priori, it is impossible to develop an analytic model to determine the blood pressure. Hence, an empirical model is developed to estimate blood pressures based on the data measured by two sensors. Preliminary clinical tests show that the methodology can separate heart sounds and estimated systolic and diastolic blood pressures correlate well with the benchmark data.
Joint beamforming and spectral enhancement for robust automatic speech recognition in reverberant environments
Authors: Asmare Fanuel Melak , Xiong Feifei , Bode Mathias , Mayer Bernard , Goetze Stefan
Published: May 2016

This work evaluates multi-microphone beamforming techniques and single-microphone spectral enhancement strategies to alleviate the reverberation effect for robust automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems in different reverberant environments characterized by different reverberation times T60 and direct-to- reverberation ratios (DRRs). The systems under test consist of minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformers in combination with minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimators. For the later, reliable late reverberation spectral variance (LRSV) estimation employing a generalized model of the room impulse response (RIR) is crucial. Based on the generalized RIR model which separates the direct path from the remaining RIR, two different frequency resolutions in the short time Fourier transform (STFT) domain are evaluated, referred to as short- and long-term, to effectively estimate the direct signal. Regarding to the fusion between the MVDR beamformer and the MMSE estimator, the LRSV estimator can operate either on the multi-channel observed speech signals or on the single-channel beamformer output. By this, in this contribution, four different combination system architectures are evaluated and analyzed with a focus on optimal ASR performance w.r.t. word error rate (WER).
Time-domain cross-correlation using a normal mode formulation in shallow water
Authors: Niu Haiqiang , Gerstoft Peter
Published: May 2016

Cross-correlation of ambient noise fields can yield temporal peaks, from which the travel time of acoustic paths between the sensors can be estimated. A good approximation of the time arrival structure of the actual Green’s function is obtained if the noise field is isotropic. However, this condition is rarely satisfied in the ocean environment. For instance, ship noise is a common discrete source. Typically, the existence of discrete sources can affect the ambient noise cross-correlation. This paper presents a time-domain normal mode formulation of cross-correlation function for a single point source in a shallow water environment. The relation between cross-correlation function and time-domain Green’s function is investigated for the point source by using time-domain normal mode formulations. The cross-correlation of the same modes yields two-point Green’s function provided that the point source is in the end-fire direction, while the cross-correlation of the modes with different indexes represents a range-dependent component.
Passive characterization of underwater sound channel using ray-based blind deconvolution algorithm
Authors: Byun Sung-Hoon , Sabra Karim G.
Published: May 2016

Ray-based blind deconvolution (RBD) algorithm is a blind channel estimation method, which can estimate both the channel impulse response and the original signal broadcast from an unknown source. It is based on high-frequency ray assumption and requires only the elementary information of array geometry and sound speed at the array position. Its capability of estimating the channel in a passive manner can be used to infer the sound channel characteristics from a source of opportunity such as passing surface ship whose positioning information is available from geo-referencing systems like the Automatic Identification System. Recently, we applied the RBD algorithm to the shipping noise data recorded on vertical line arrays at multiple locations in shallow water and confirmed its applicability for channel estimation and performing environmental inversion. This presentation shows the channel impulse responses estimated from a variety of source-receiver geometry and discusses the characteristics of sound propagation as well as the environmental property such as bottom loss which can be observed using the RBD algorithm.
Detecting ice noise in Arctic ambient noise recorded on a drifting vertical line array
Authors: Reeves Emma , Gerstoft Peter , Worcester Peter , Dzieciuch Matthew
Published: May 2016

From April to September 2013, a 600-m Distributed Vertical Line Array (DVLA) with 22 hydrophones drifted from the North Pole toward the Fram Strait. The DVLA recorded low-frequency ambient noise (1953.125 Hz sampling) for 108 minutes six days per week. Spectral analysis of the ambient noise data indicates the presence of acoustic transients, which include airgun and drilling sources as well as ice shear-induced broadband events and FM tones. Similar ice shear signatures in the Beaufort Sea were highly correlated with environmental variables leading to rifting [Kinda et al., J.Acoust. Soc. Am. 138, 2034–2045 (2015)], demonstrating the potential of acoustics to monitor rapid sea ice processes and pack ice breakup. Motivated by this study, a wavelet-based audio fingerprinting method is applied for identifying ice noise in the drifting DVLA data. The algorithm blindly groups spectral signatures, allowing the categorization of previously unrecognized signatures. The size of each category at points along the drift path is presented as a local, seasonally dependent estimate of the presence of ice noise.
An adaptive signal tools design inspired by marine mammals calls
Authors: Cang Siyuan , Sheng Xueli
Published: May 2016

As the main wisdom animal in the ocean, the marine mammals like dolphins and whales has got excellent capabilities for complex ocean environments through millions of years of evolution. They physically look simple, but are able to do lots of fantastic jobs, such as echolocation, preying, and even communication among populations of marine mammals. This paper proposes a method of designing an active sonar waveform inspired by the marine mammals calls. Two math models of marine mammal sound signal are adopted, one AR model, the other piecewise linear chirp model. The time-frequency structures, ambiguity function and Q function will be analyzed. As the simulation results shown, it has a good range and velocity resolution under environment with reverberation. In the end, a concept named Marine Mammal Signal Tools (MMST) is presented. The signal generating from MMST can be adaptive to varied ocean environments. In the sense, it can be extensively used and plays more significant roles in the modern sonar.
Self-organization of river channels as a critical filter on climate signals
Authors: Phillips Colin B. , Jerolmack Douglas J.
Published: May 2016

Filtering out the effect of large floods

Large floods should seemingly influence the depth and width of rivers. Phillips and Jerolmack, however, suggest that the self-organization of bedrock river channels blunts the impact of extreme rainfall events. River channel geometries from a wide range of course-grained rivers across the United States show that larger floods have very limited additional impact on channel geometry. River channel sculpting does increase as flood size increases, but the effect is most pronounced for moderate floods. This relationship may explain the long-term stability of rivers across shifts in climate.

Science
, this issue p.
694
Femtosecond structural dynamics drives the trans/cis isomerization in photoactive yellow protein
Authors: Pande Kanupriya , Hutchison Christopher D. M. , Groenhof Gerrit , Aquila Andy , Robinson Josef S. , Tenboer Jason , Basu Shibom , Boutet Sébastien , DePonte Daniel P. , Liang Mengning , White Thomas A. , Zatsepin Nadia A. , Yefanov Oleksandr , Morozov Dmitry , Oberthuer Dominik , Gati Cornelius , Subramanian Ganesh , James Daniel , Zhao Yun , Koralek Jake , Brayshaw Jennifer , Kupitz Christopher , Conrad Chelsie , Roy-Chowdhury Shatabdi , Coe Jesse D. , Metz Markus , Xavier Paulraj Lourdu , Grant Thomas D. , Koglin Jason E. , Ketawala Gihan , Fromme Raimund , Šrajer Vukica , Henning Robert , Spence John C. H. , Ourmazd Abbas , Schwander Peter , Weierstall Uwe , Frank Matthias , Fromme Petra , Barty Anton , Chapman Henry N. , Moffat Keith , van Thor Jasper J. , Schmidt Marius
Published: May 2016

Visualizing a response to light

Many biological processes depend on detecting and responding to light. The response is often mediated by a structural change in a protein that begins when absorption of a photon causes isomerization of a chromophore bound to the protein. Pande
et al.
used x-ray pulses emitted by a free electron laser source to conduct time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography in the time range of 100 fs to 3 ms. This allowed for the real-time tracking of the trans-cis isomerization of the chromophore in photoactive yellow protein and the associated structural changes in the protein.

Science
, this issue p.
725
HIV-1 therapy with monoclonal antibody 3BNC117 elicits host immune responses against HIV-1
Authors: Schoofs Till , Klein Florian , Braunschweig Malte , Kreider Edward F. , Feldmann Anna , Nogueira Lilian , Oliveira Thiago , Lorenzi Julio C. C. , Parrish Erica H. , Learn Gerald H. , West Anthony P. , Bjorkman Pamela J. , Schlesinger Sarah J. , Seaman Michael S. , Czartoski Julie , McElrath M. Juliana , Pfeifer Nico , Hahn Beatrice H. , Caskey Marina , Nussenzweig Michel C.
Published: May 2016

Insights into antibody therapy for HIV-1

Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy, HIV-1-infected individuals still harbor latent virus. Thus, other therapeutic strategies are needed. A single injection of a broad and potent monoclonal antibody targeting the HIV-1 envelope protein reduced viral loads in HIV-1-infected individuals, albeit only transiently. Lu
et al.
now report that antibody treatment not only blocked free virus from infecting new cells, it also accelerated the clearance of infected cells. Furthermore, Schoofs
et al.
demonstrate that therapeutic antibody treatment enhanced infected individuals' humoral response against the virus. Thus, neutralizing antibodies may be a promising therapy for HIV-1 because of their potential to reduce the viral reservoir.

Science
, this issue pp.
1001
and
997
Submillisecond organic synthesis: Outpacing Fries rearrangement through microfluidic rapid mixing
Authors: Kim Heejin , Min Kyoung-Ik , Inoue Keita , Im Do Jin , Kim Dong-Pyo , Yoshida Jun-ichi
Published: May 2016

Rapid mixing to race past rearrangement

Chemistry relies on encounters between reactive partners. Sometimes one of the partners changes shape during the wait, spoiling the desired outcome. Kim
et al.
designed a microfluidic device to keep such botched encounters from happening. The device operates at low temperatures to keep individual reactants from isomerizing. It also achieves fast flow rates to maximize encounters between reactants on a microsecond time scale. The authors showcase the device by achieving bimolecular carbon-carbon coupling before one of the reagents can undergo a Fries rearrangement that would shift a neighboring group to the coupling site.

Science
, this issue p.
691
Slow slip near the trench at the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand
Authors: Wallace Laura M. , Webb Spahr C. , Ito Yoshihiro , Mochizuki Kimihiro , Hino Ryota , Henrys Stuart , Schwartz Susan Y. , Sheehan Anne F.
Published: May 2016

Applying pressure to plate tectonics

The full range of deformation behavior of subduction zone faults that are responsible for great earthquakes and tsunamis is now clearer. Wallace
et al.
observed the heave of the ocean floor near the Hikurangi trench, off the east coast of New Zealand, with a network of absolute pressure gauges (see the Perspective by Tréhu). The gauges sit on the ocean floor and detect changes in pressure generated from slow-slip deformation events. Detailed geodetic observation of deformation events will finally clarify the role that such aseismic events play at major plate boundaries.

Science
, this issue p.
701
; see also p.
654
Ten‐minute chat
Authors: Duncanson Graham
Published: May 2016

To celebrate 50 years as a practising vet, Graham Duncanson is planning to cycle from his home in Norfolk to Cape Town, South Africa – a journey of around 10,000 miles. He also plans to raise money for AWF and would be happy for cyclists to join him for part of the trip.
Predicting the behaviour of storage cells in early Condeep structures
Authors: Helmy Amr I.I. , Collins Michael P.
Published: May 2016

RASP, also now called VecTor6, is a nonlinear finite element program for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures that uses 3-dimensional stress–strain relation of cracked concrete based on the modified compression field theory. RASP was used to predict the behavior of a 3-dimensional 1:13 scale model of a typical upper dome-cell wall junction of a storage cell in an early Condeep structure. It predicted a flexure-shear failure at the top of the cell wall when it was subjected to a pressure differential equivalent to 129–134 m head of water. Yet, there was deviation between the theoretical and the observed response of the model since the analysis ignored the detrimental effect of water pressure in the cracks. Before applying the results of the pressure test on the scale model to the prototype structure the size effect in shear was examined. It was concluded that because the failure was triggered by flexural yielding the size effect in shear was not significant for this case.
Self-gravitating skyrmions
Authors: Ayón-Beato Eloy , Canfora Fabrizio , Zanelli Jorge
Published: May 2016

A self-gravitating Skyrmion is an analytic and globally regular solution of the Einstein–Skyrme system with nonvanishing topological charge. The spacetime is the direct product [Formula: see text] and the Skyrmion is the self-gravitating generalization of the static hedgehog solution of Manton and Ruback. This solution can be promoted to a dynamical one in which the spacetime is a cosmology of the Bianchi type-IX and, through an analytic continuation, it can also be turned into a transversable asymptotically AdS Lorentzian wormhole. The stress–energy of this wormhole satisfies physically realistic energy conditions and the only “exotic matter” required by it is a negative cosmological constant.
RIDING WITH THE FOUR HORSEMEN AND THE MULTIVARIATE NORMAL TEMPERED STABLE MODEL
Authors: BIANCHI MICHELE LEONARDO , TASSINARI GIAN LUCA , FABOZZI FRANK J.
Published: May 2016

In this paper, we study a model that captures four stylized facts about multivariate financial time series of equity returns: heavy tails, negative skew, asymmetric dependence, and volatility clustering (the four horsemen). The model is based on the multivariate normal tempered stable (MNTS) distribution, defined as the normal mean-variance mixture with a univariate tempered stable mixing distribution. To estimate the model, we propose a simple expectation–maximization maximum likelihood estimation procedure combined with the classical fast Fourier transform. The estimation algorithm is numerically reliable, and can be potentially used with a large number of assets. The method is applied to fit a five- and a 30-dimensional series of stock returns and to evaluate widely known portfolio risk measures. We analyzed the MNTS model with and without modeling the volatility clustering effect and compare the results with different models based on the multivariate normal and the multivariate generalized hyperbolic model.
NETWORK NOT UTILIZED: THE CASE OF ULTRA-ORTHODOX FEMALE MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS IN ISRAEL
Authors: MONNICKENDAM-GIVON YISCA , SCHWARTZ DAFNA , GIDRON BENJAMIN
Published: May 2016

The study examines the role of social networks in the Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel as a tool for promoting micro-entrepreneurial success. To date, research has shown that social network structure is a salient factor in the successful management of micro-businesses. We explored network size, number of strong, weak and betweenness ties of Ultra-Orthodox female micro-entrepreneurs, a distinct social-religious enclave that remains largely unexplored. Contrary to literature, our findings show that Ultra-Orthodox female micro-entrepreneurs have a narrow network in all parameters explored. Although they have a far-reaching social network, it is virtually unutilized in promoting their micro-businesses. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.
Toward Robotic Robbery on the Touch Screen
Authors: Serwadda Abdul , Phoha Vir V. , Wang Zibo , Kumar Rajesh , Shukla Diksha
Published: May 2016

Despite the tremendous amount of research fronting the use of touch gestures as a mechanism of continuous authentication on smart phones, very little research has been conducted to evaluate how these systems could behave if attacked by sophisticated adversaries. In this article, we present two Lego-driven robotic attacks on touch-based authentication: a population statistics--driven attack and a user-tailored attack. The population statistics--driven attack is based on patterns gleaned from a large population of users, whereas the user-tailored attack is launched based on samples stolen from the victim. Both attacks are launched by a Lego robot that is trained on how to swipe on the touch screen. Using seven verification algorithms and a large dataset of users, we show that the attacks cause the system’s mean false acceptance rate (FAR) to increase by up to fivefold relative to the mean FAR seen under the standard zero-effort impostor attack. The article demonstrates the threat that robots pose to touch-based authentication and provides compelling evidence as to why the zero-effort attack should cease to be used as the benchmark for touch-based authentication systems.
ОСОБЛИВОСТІ РЕМОДЕЛЮВАННЯ АРТЕРІЙ ДВАНАДЦЯТИПАЛОЇ КИШКИ ПРИ ОБТУРАЦІЙНОМУ ХОЛЕСТАЗІ
Authors: Grabchac S. O. , Tatarchuk L. V. , Hnatjuk M. S.
Published: May 2016

РЕЗЮМЕ. Морфометричними методами вивчено особливості ремоделювання артерій дванадцятипалої
кишки при обтураційному холестазі. Встановлено, що в умовах змодельованої патології виражено потовщується
стінка, звужується просвіт переважно дрібних артерій, пошкоджуються ендотеліоцити, що ускладнюється їх
дисфункцією, погіршанням кровопостачання органа, гіпоксією, дистрофічними, некробіотичними змінами
клітин і тканин, осередками інфільтрації та склерозу. Ступінь ремоделювання досліджуваних судин залежав від
тривалості обтураційного холестазу.

КЛЮЧОВІ СЛОВА: дванадцятипала кишка, артерії, ремоделювання, обтураційний холестаз.
ФАКТОРИ РИЗИКУ ЗНИЖЕННЯ ЗАХИСНИХ МЕХАНІЗМІВ ДИХАЛЬНИХ ШЛЯХІВ У ПІДЛІТКІВ
Authors: Matiukha L. F. , Tysh O. B. , Bukhanovska T. M.
Published: May 2016

РЕЗЮМЕ. У статті відображено збільшення частоти захворювань дихальних шляхів протягом одного року
у дітей підліткового віку, які перебувають під впливом тютюнового диму. Встановлено, що підлітки-курці та
пасивні курці частіше хворіють, і це залежить від ступеня навантаження підлітків тютюновим димом. Отримані
дані свідчать про необхідність розробки профілактичних заходів, спрямованих на зменшення наслідків впливу
тютюнового диму.

КЛЮЧОВІ СЛОВА: діти підліткового віку, захворюваність, захворювання дихальних шляхів, курці, пасивне
куріння.
МОЖЛИВОСТІ КОРЕКЦІЇ ДИСБІОЗУ КИШЕЧНИКА ПРИ ХРОНІЧНОМУ НЕКАЛЬКУЛЬОЗНОМУ ХОЛЕЦИСТИТІ У ХВОРИХ НА ЦУКРОВИЙ ДІАБЕТ ІІ ТИПУ
Authors: Rusyn V. I. , Sirchak Ye. S. , Opalenyk S. M.
Published: May 2016

РЕЗЮМЕ. У статті представлено комплексне обстеження та лікування 44 хворих на хронічний некалькульозний
холецистит при цукровому діабеті ІІ типу. У всіх хворих було виявлено больовий синдром з локалізацією в правому
підребер’ї, іноді – в епігастрії, ниючого характеру, з іррадіацією в поперек, праве плече та лопатку, який посилювався
після вживання жирної та смаженої їжі, а також диспептичний синдром у вигляді нудоти, відрижки повітрям,
постійного гіркого присмаку у роті, метеоризму, чергування проносів та запорів. Залежно від призначеного
лікування хворих поділили на дві клінічні групи. У І групу ввійшли 20 хворих, які в якості антибактеріальної
терапії отримували напівсинтетичний пеніцилін – ампіцилін. Хворі ІІ групи (24 хворих) отримували антимікробний
препарат з групи фторхінолонів – левофлоксацин. Усі хворі на ХНХ отримували пребіотик лактулозу. Застосування
левофлоксацину в поєднанні з лактулозою (Біофлоракс) є ефективнішим для корекції кишкового дисбіозу хворих
на ХНХ, ніж використання ампіциліну з відповідним пребіотиком.

Ключові слова : хронічний некалькульозний холецистит, цукровий діабет ІІ типу, дисбіоз кишечника, діагностика, лікування.
ДИНАМІКА ПОКАЗНИКІВ ЕНДОГЕННОЇ ІНТОКСИКАЦІЇ В ПЕРІОД ПІЗНІХ ПРОЯВІВ ТРАВМАТИЧНОЇ ХВОРОБИ ПІСЛЯ КРАНІОСКЕЛЕТНОЇ ТРАВМИ ТА ЕФЕКТИВНІСТЬ ЇХ КОРЕКЦІЇ ФІТОЗБОРОМ
Authors: Servatovych А. М. , Hudyma A. A.
Published: May 2016

РЕЗЮМЕ. В умовах моделювання краніоскелетної травми в період пізніх проявів травматичної хвороби
відмічається істотне збільшення рівня ендогенної інтоксикації, що проявляється підвищенням величини
еритроцитарного індексу інтоксикації (ЕІІ) та вмісту фракцій молекул середньої маси (МСМ) у сироватці крові. Рівень
ЕІІ істотно більший від контролю в усі терміни спостереження із помірним зниженням через 35 діб. Характерною
рисою динаміки вмісту фракцій МСМ сироватки крові є їх високий рівень через 14 діб з нормалізацією через
28 діб і повторним зростанням через 35 діб. Після застосування фітозбору відмічається істотне зниження рівня
ендотоксикозу. Величина ЕІІ досягає рівня контролю через 35 діб, а фракцій МСМ – починаючи із 28 доби.

КЛЮЧОВІ СЛОВА: краніоскелетна травма, пізній період, ендогенна інтоксикація, фітозбір.
ГІСТОЛОГІЧНЕ І ЕЛЕКТРОННО-МІКРОСКОПІЧНЕ ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ КЕРАТОКСЕНОІМПЛАНТАТА ПРИ РІЗНИХ ВИДАХ КОНСЕРВАЦІЇ
Authors: Turchyn M. V. , Volkov K. S. , Klishch I. M. , Borys R. M.
Published: May 2016

РЕЗЮМЕ. Досліджено структурну організацію компонентів інтактної рогівки свині та морфологічні структури
кріоконсервованої рогівки без кріопротектора ікріоконсервованої рогівки з кріопротектором. Встановлено, що
кріоконсервування ксенорогівки після проведення попередньої обробки в гліцерин-жовтковій суміші забезпечує
високу збереженість всіх її структурних компонентів.

КЛЮЧОВІ СЛОВА: рогівка, структура, кріоконсервування.
ОСОБЛИВОСТІ АКТИВНоСТІ ТРАНСАМІНАЗ У КРОВІ ТА ПЕЧІНЦІ ПРИ ЕКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНІЙ ПНЕВМОНІЇ В УМОВАХ ІММОБІЛІЗАЦІЙНОГО СТРЕСУ ТА ВПЛИВ НА НИХ КОРВІТИНУ
Authors: Ferents N. M.
Published: May 2016

РЕЗЮМЕ. Експериментальна пневмонія в умовах іммобілізаційного стресу супроводжується значним
зростанням показників АЛТ та АСТ в крові і печінці, а застосування корвітину привело до зниження активності
трансаміназ, що свідчить про його позитивний корегувальний вплив на ці показники.

КЛЮЧОВІ СЛОВА: експериментальна пневмонія, стрес, аланінамінотрансфераза, аспартатамінотрансфераза, корвітин.
Avaliação de território e coremática na compreensão do espaço geográfico
Authors: Gonçalves André De Freitas
Published: May 2016

Este trabalho apresenta a avaliação de território e a coremática como instrumentos teórico-metodológicos complementares no processo de análise do território. Ambos contribuem para uma melhor apreensão do espaço geográfico no período atual. Resgatam a ideia de síntese que é tão característica da Geografia. Algo simples, direto e comunicativo, mas que não prescinde do rigor teórico e metodológico. Aponta para um esforço em encontrar melhores maneiras de apresentar e representar a organização do espaço geográfico.
Discurso de atores sociais frente o uso e acesso aos bens naturais: o caso dos pescadores artesanais de Matinhos, Paraná
Authors: Costa Ana Clara Giraldi , Murata Afonso Takao
Published: May 2016

Este artigo tem como objetivo refletir como tem se dado o discurso de grupos historicamente excluídos dos processos de desenvolvimento e que atualmente passam por conflitos socioambientais devido ao uso e acesso aos bens naturais em alguns países latinoamericanos. Destaque para o caso dos pescadores artesanais do município de Matinhos, Paraná, comunidade que vem passando nos últimos anos por inúmeros conflitos de ordem ambiental, dentre eles um conflito ligado à implantação de uma Unidade de Conservação de Proteção Integral, que vem impedindo o uso e acesso consuetudinário dos recursos pesqueiros da região.