bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting self-reported hearing problems using suprathreshold auditory processing and cognitive measures
Authors: Koerner Tess K. , Garcia Karen , Charney Lauren , Corbett Conner , Lelo de Larrea-Mancera Sebastian , Stecker G. Christopher , Seitz Aaron , Gallun Frederick J.
Published: July 2024

Measures typically included in standard audiometric test batteries often fail to correlate with self-reported auditory complaints. This is especially common for patients with normal- or near-normal-hearing sensitivity, like those who are aging or have a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This discrepancy likely stems from the use of measures that are not sensitive to auditory or cognitive processing deficits underlying patient complaints, which limits effective clinical assessment and management. Recent work has focused on making common laboratory-based measures more clinically accessible using a tablet-based app called PART. The goal of the current study was to identify PART measures that better reflect patient complaints. Data was collected from adults with (n = 37) or without (n = 36) a history of TBI that were matched in age and hearing sensitivity. Regression modeling was used to determine relationships between self-reported auditory difficulties and measures of auditory processing and cognition, including spectrotemporal modulation detection, frequency modulation detection, spatial release from masking, and the Auditory Visual Divided Attention Task (AVDAT). Items from the Concussion Symptom Subtype Inventory were used to measure self-reported auditory complaints. Results contribute to a better understanding of processing difficulties that underly auditory complaints in those with and without TBI.
A comparative analysis of damping models for the vibratory properties of a bent beam
Authors: Ginsberg Jerry H.
Published: July 2024

Much of Eric Unger's career was devoted to the study of dissipation mechanisms. This paper will explore the effect of various ways that damping effects have been incorporated in the solution of equations of motion. The analytical model of an L-shaped beam, cantilvered at one end and loaded at its free end by a force that is transverse to the plane of the bent beam, is the basis for the study. Equations of motion that account for coupling of flexure and torsion are created by merging the Ritz series method and the method of Lagrange multipliers. Energy is dissipated by a dashpot transversely mounted at the corner. An “exact” solution of the equations of motion using state-space modal analysis provides the reference for approximate methods including proportional damping, modal decoupling, and structural damping. Impulse response and complex frequency response at various levels of damping will be addressed.
Physics-informed neural network-based predictions of ocean acoustic pressure fields
Authors: Park Yongsung , Yoon Seunghyun , Gerstoft Peter , Seong Woojae
Published: July 2024

Physics-informed neural network (PINN) trains the network using sampled data and encodes the underlying physical laws governing the dataset, such as partial differential equations (PDEs). A trained PINN can predict data at locations beyond the sampled data positions. The ocean acoustic pressure field satisfies PDEs, Helmholtz equations. We present a method utilizing PINN for predicting the underwater acoustic pressure field. Our approach trains the network by fitting sampled data, embedding PDEs, and enforcing pressure-release surface boundary conditions. We demonstrate our approach under various scenarios. By incorporating PDE information into a neural network, our method captures more accurate solutions than purely data-driven methods. This approach helps enhance the information content of sampled data when dealing with a limited amount of data.
Ocean sound speed field reconstruction with graph regularized deep matrix factorization
Authors: Zhao Hangfang , Xia Zhenrong , Shi Xuegang
Published: July 2024

To reconstruct the ocean sound speed field (SSF), a matrix in horizontal could be formed by gridding the sea area, where some sparse entries were filled by the observation sound speed profiles (SSPs). The reconstruction of the SSF can be modeled as a matrix completion problem, using limited and noisy observation values to reconstruct the entire matrix. Furthermore, the spatial correlation of the SSF could be modeled by graph space model, utilizing with the low-rank property of the SSF matrix, the problem of graph regularization low-rank matrix completion was developed. The observed average SSPs in six cross section were estimated from the four underwater acoustic tomography moorings, and nine local SSPs were obtained from pressure inverted echo sounders (PIESs) inversion. By combining the method of deep matrix factorization and the graph regularization, the Graph Regularized Deep Matrix Factorization (GRDMF) method was proposed. The simulation results showed that the GRDMF performs better than the spatial interpolation algorithm in SSF reconstruction. Considering the application scenarios of deep-sea acoustic tomography, an average constraint (AC) item was designed additionally, and then a customized algorithm named GRDMF-AC is proposed. Finally, data of the experiment at the South China Sea in 2021 is processed to verify GRDMF-AC, the results showed that the reconstructed SSF captures mesoscale eddy in the experiment.
Development of a new acoustic prediction tool by integration of life cycle assessment
Authors: Bader Eddin Mohamad , Ménard Sylvain , LARATTE Bertrand
Published: July 2024

Recently, environmental awareness has been the key driver for using renewable materials that have low environmental impact and fulfill constructional requirements, such as timber. Despite the advantages of wood as a building material, it has a lower subjective quality of sound insulation. To fulfill the sound insulation requirements, it is, therefore, unavoidable to complement based-wooden assemblies with additional element(s). However, identifying the acoustic performance is costly and time-consuming. Therefore, developing an accurate prediction tool is vital. Since wood-based structures have been developed to consider the environmental aspects, the environmental performance of buildings should be integrated into the acoustic design. This paper aims to develop an acoustic design methodology for wooden structures using artificial neural network approach by integration of life cycle assessment (LCA). Various Lab-based measurements are used to develop the acoustic prediction tool. Then, a LCA study is conducted on the test assemblies. This paper initially found that wooded assemblies generally increase the environmental impacts to achieve better acoustic insulation. Moreover, different assemblies can meet the sound insulation requirements. Therefore, designers should cognize of environmental and acoustic trade-off by selecting assemblies that consider both aspects.
Plane wave approaches with dual-frequency arrays for superharmonic contrast imaging
Authors: Yang Jing , Cherin Emmanuel , Yin Jianhua , Dayton Paul A. , Foster F. Stuart , Demore Christine
Published: July 2024

Superharmonic imaging (SpHI) using dual-frequency probes enables high-contrast microvasculature imaging by taking advantage of higher order harmonics of the broadband nonlinear response from microbubble (MB) contrast agents. We previously introduced a DF probe with a low-frequency (LF, 2 MHz; 32 elements) array behind a high-frequency (HF, 21 MHz; 256 elements) array and demonstrated SpHI with conventional walking-aperture approaches which limit acquisition rates. In this work, ultrafast imaging is investigated to overcome this challenge. We demonstrate SpHI with plane waves and coherent compounding in vitro and in vivo while evaluating acquisition frame rates. LF plane waves were implemented on VevoF2 systems (FUJIFILM Visualsonics, Toronto) with beam steering enabled by element-specific delays (9 angles between ±10°, step: 2.5°). All SpHI images showed almost complete suppression of tissue clutter to the background noise level. A 2.5 dB contrast improvement was found in vitro with coherent compounding . Tumor perfusion and fine vascular structures were visualized in vivo. SpHI acquisition frame rate reached 3.5 kHz at 0° and 396 Hz with 9 angles, ∼40 times that of walking-aperture approaches. These results demonstrate plane wave imaging approaches can increase SpHI frame rates while maintaining a high image contrast for visualizing vasculature, enabling SpHI for fast flow imaging.
A comparative study of the emotional characteristics of violin and erhu musical excerpts: Influence of playing techniques and instrument
Authors: SONG Wenyi , ZHOU Ziya , HUANG Zeyu , Horner Andrew B.
Published: July 2024

This study investigates the emotional characteristics of the violin and erhu in multiple musical excerpts. Participants assessed 52 musical excerpts played by both instruments using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) scale. Pairwise comparisons explored the impact of playing techniques (Vibrato, Portamento, and Trill) and instrument on emotional perception. Fifty-eight participants evaluated four versions of 13 musical pieces. Significant agreement was found between the emotion categories and Valence-Arousal (VA) ratings. Ambiguity between calmness and sadness emerged, with VA tending to classify ambiguous excerpts as sad. Playing techniques enhanced the energetic qualities of both instruments. The violin consistently evoked more positive and energetic perceptions compared to the erhu, which were further enhanced when playing techniques such as vibrato were employed. Although erhu with playing techniques tended to be more negative, it still elicited greater energy and positivity than erhu without techniques. Valence-Arousal means were used to determine the emotional qualities of the 13 musical pieces. A subsequent pairwise comparison involving 33 participants revealed that versions with playing techniques had stronger emotional impact than those without techniques. Furthermore, emotional impact was higher when the piece was originally composed for the instrument being played, which was manifest in higher Bradley–Terry–Luce (BTL) values.
Nonlinear bone conducted hearing
Authors: Thompson Charles , Farhadi Nia Masoumeh , Aoki Emi , Norceide Flore , Tran Vinh T. , Chandra Kavitha
Published: July 2024

Air conduction (AC) is the typical mode of hearing used by humans. AC process follows a defined path starting at the ear canal, middle ear to the cochlea, and finally to the sensory organs of hearing. The highest frequency we can hear using AC is approximately 20 kHz. Bone conduction (BC) may offer a high-bandwidth alternative to AC, where the highest frequency is 100 KHz. BC utilizes direct stimulation of the skull, which will then vibrate the cochlea and its structures. In this presentation, nonlinear mechanisms in bone-conducted hearing is examined. Nonlinear conduction that may be used to demodulate an ultrasonic signal to yield an audible signal supplying the cochlea is of particular interest.
Mode-informed complex-valued neural processes for matched field processing
Authors: Liu Yining , Hu Runze , Chen Desheng , Xu Lijun
Published: July 2024

Matched field processing (MFP) is a key technique for passive underwater source localization, estimating the source position by matching array measurements with acoustic model replicas. Its effectiveness relies on matching environmental parameters with the actual oceanic environment, but performance declines with environmental mismatches and lower signal-to-noise ratios. This paper proposes a novel approach that integrates neural networks (NNs) and complex Gaussian processes with modal depth functions for acoustic field reconstruction that is more accurate and efficient compared to Gaussian process regression. A meta-learning strategy is used to optimize parameters of the NN. The reconstructed data are denoised and interpolated, generating densely populated acoustic fields at virtual arrays, which are then used as data in MFP. Replicas are also computed at the virtual receivers. This mode-informed complex-valued neural processes enhance MFP performance, particularly in low SNR and mismatched environments. It captures the propagation properties of underwater acoustic fields more comprehensively, showing superior localization performance in both simulated and real-world data from the SWellEx-96 Event S5 environment.
Methods for managing soundscape quality: Evidence from Denali National Park and Preserve
Authors: Ferguson Lauren A. , Newman Peter , McKenna Megan F. , Betchkal Davyd H. , Miller Zach , Keller Rose , Fristrup Kurt , Taff Derrick
Published: July 2024

The purpose of the United States national park system is to preserve resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. At Denali National Park (DENA), high levels of air tour traffic and air transportation present challenges to preserving wilderness character. Accordingly, the park attached high priority to measuring visitor impressions of soundscape quality. Visitors in four distinct settings rated the acceptability of five randomly chosen recordings of aircraft noise. We used a cumulative link mixed model to fit visitor’s response to acoustic and nonacoustic factors. The negative effects of increased noise were moderated for visitors who were interested in taking an air tour. To be conservative, we examined visitors uninterested in an air tour and found the probability of rating aircraft noise as unacceptable at 54 dB LAeq, 30 s or higher was 26%. For context, noise above 55dB is incompatible with outdoor, rural activities. Visitor response predictions were joined to a spatial model of aircraft noise propagation to create a map depicting the acceptability of aircraft noise in DENA’s frontcountry area. The map can be used to forecast the range of soundscape conditions park visitors are exposed to, inform hiking recommendations for visitors, and evaluate park management zones.
Understanding variability in coral reef soundscapes to enable tool development and early warnings of ecosystem change
Authors: Mooney T. Aran , Jarriel Sierra , Formel Nathan , Aoki Nadége , McCammon Seth A. , Apprill Amy , Mann David , Girdhar Yogesh
Published: July 2024

Coral reefs harbor some of the highest biodiversity on Earth. Their rich soundscape is vital to inhabiting animals and can provide a means of tracking community health. Reefs are facing immense climate stressors and are declining rapidly. Passive acoustic monitoring can provide a powerful, scalable tool for stakeholders, but these data are not evaluated on actionably relevant timescales. Here we present results from a long-term (10-years) acoustic and ecosystem study of multiple coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Acoustic measurements (including snap rates, sound levels in low-frequency fish, and high-frequency shrimp bands) were made in-tandem with traditional, diver-based benthic and fish visual surveys. These key baseline data over multiple spatial and temporal scales provide a means of examining how soundscape changes are driven by climate-related stressors, and an important testbed for developing new analyses and tools. Here, we show how physical changes (temperature, light, coral disease) can influence the cue rates of snapping shrimp and fish, and apply novel tools including real-time recorders and underwater robots listening for biodiversity. These initial steps were then implemented into a novel rapid acoustic assessment, a key step toward providing actionable information to stakeholders monitoring for habitat change and weighing resource management.
Angular dependence of acoustic scattering statistics for rocky outcrops
Authors: Darling Lindsey , Olson Derek , Geilhufe Marc
Published: July 2024

The use of automated detection algorithms in undersea remote sensing and target detection allows for decreased timelines and risk to human assets. However, understanding the performance of these systems requires a thorough understanding of the physical processes that affect the acoustic scattering statistics of the sonar image. Many studies have reported on the scattering statistics of the seafloor generally, and recent work has quantified the dependence of scintillation index on range for sandy seafloors. To date, no studies have examined the angular dependence of acoustic scattering statistics for rocky bottoms, which have more complex spatial texture. This paper analyzes synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) images of rocky outcrops imaged near Bergen Norway to quantify the grazing angle dependency of scattering statistics for rocky seafloors. Outcrops are categorized by texture and analyzed using scintillation index and relative scattering strength with respect to both true grazing angle and a flat seafloor assumption. Comparisons between results utilizing calibrated (beampattern removed) and non-calibrated images will be presented to display the complexity of the grazing angle dependence of scattering statistics for rocky seafloors. SAS imagery provided by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment. [Funding provided by the Office of Naval Research]
Computational optimization of trailing-edge designs to reduce airfoil self-noise
Authors: Amirsalari Behzad , Rocha Joana
Published: July 2024

This paper presents an investigation and optimization of Trailing Edge (TE) design to reduce airfoil self-noise using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The case for study is a NACA0012 airfoil with a chord length (C) of 0.2286 m, a varying Angle of Attack (AoA) between 0° and 15°, and free stream velocity between 35 and 70 m/s. The flow domain consists of a c-type domain with a length and height of 18C and 9C, respectively. The parametric mesh maintains a structured mesh on the entire domain for different designs and TE shapes. Simulations employ a hybrid Stress-Blended Embedded Large-Eddy Simulations (SB-ELES) model to calculate the flow properties. Different turbulence models are tested to address their performance in determining pressure fluctuations. A correlation length also accounts for spanwise effects in the Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) acoustic analogy approach to forecasting the far-field noise. Furthermore, multi-objective optimization is employed to determine the optimum airfoil TE configuration for different flow velocities and AoAs. The optimum designs generate the lowest Sound Pressure Level (SPL) without significantly sacrificing the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil within specified parameters.
Exploring soundscape methods and interventions in the Urban Soundscape of 3 cities
Authors: Siebein Gary W. , Siebein Keely M. , Roa Marylin , Siebein Jr. Gary , Ospina Nicolas , Gold Martin
Published: July 2024

Vital mixed-use urban communities in the United States struggle to achieve balances among citizens moving back into cities, commercial activities, and entertainment venues that many people find desirable in live, learn, work, and play environments. Dynamic documentation, analysis, design, codes, and enforcement activities are required to achieve this balance in rapidly evolving, sustainable cities. Active engagement of the acoustical communities and the full range of stakeholders in each case were essential in understanding and addressing the issues. Multiple meetings with parties individually and in groups provided ways for all to understand the points-of-view of others as a building block to achieve consensus. Simple, but sophisticated, measurement and modeling of the soundscape were necessary elements of the methods used. Case studies in 3 large cities are presented of needs, issues, methods, analysis, and proposed solutions to a wide variety of acoustical issues encountered in the cities. Reflections on soundscape theory posed by the case studies and possible adjustments to theory are discussed.
Gender-expansive listeners invite us to reconsider voice categorization as a simple matter of pitch and timbre
Authors: Marchand Knight Jay
Published: July 2024

Past literature has focused on pitch and timbre cues as the main determinants of the voice of an actor (a speaker or a singer). But in real life, judges rely on non-auditory cues such as the actor’s facial features, height, body size and shape. Resisting these visual biases could provide more accurate assessment of a voice but requires a stronger dissociation between auditory attributes and physical appearance, an ability hypothetically acquired by gender-expansive participants. In three online studies, we examine Faching (allocating voices into traditional categories). In study 1, 166 participants (85 cis, 81 gender-expansive) rated 144 audio (A) samples from 18 different actors (3 from each major Fach category, excluding countertenor) along a slider labeled low/dark to high/bright. Participants then guessed the voice types of the same actors in silent videos (V), before rating them in AV combinations. The cis group exhibited 30% more visual bias than the gender-expansive group. To further understand how gender-expansive participants obtain this benefit, we manipulated the fundamental frequency (in study 2) or the vocal tract length (in study 3) by ± 3 semitones from the original stimuli. Preliminary findings suggest that the two groups differ in the face of timbre but not pitch manipulations.
Beamforming applications of the frequency-difference acoustic autoproduct
Authors: Douglass Alexander S. , Song Heechun , Dowling David R.
Published: July 2024

Frequency-difference beamforming (Abadi et al., 2012, JASA, 132, 3018–3029) is an array signal processing technique that overcomes the limitations of the spatial Nyquist criterion by utilizing the acoustic autoproduct to shift the processing to below-band frequencies. This is accomplished using a quadratic product of complex signal amplitudes at different frequencies, resulting in wave propagation information at the out-of-band difference-frequency. The resulting field is capable of mitigating many of the in-band challenges often associated with high frequency acoustic signal processing, including sparse receiver arrays and features of the physical environment that are on a scale significant for the in-band wavelength. This presentation uses both laboratory and ocean-based experiments to demonstrate capabilities of the method. The mitigation of sparse array aliasing effects on beamforming (caused by elements that are spaced by many wavelengths) in both a laboratory water tank and an ocean environment utilizing data collected during the KAM11 experiment are considered. Additionally, the method is used to localize a high frequency source in the presence of strong, random scatterers in a water tank experiment. [Work sponsored by NAVSEA and ONR.]
Acoustics of two Hindu temples in southern India
Authors: Aswathanarayana Shashank , Boren Braxton
Published: July 2024

Acoustically important aspects of Hindu worship include chants, bells, conch-shells, and gongs. Conch-shells and gongs are used at various times during puja rituals (Prasad and Rajavel, 2013), throughout which texts from the Vedas and other Sanskrit scriptures are chanted. These Vedic chants have phonetic characteristics such as pitch, duration, emphasis, and uniformity (Beck, 1995; Prasad, 2013). Traditional methods of acoustic characterization (e.g., for churches) are based on time domain characteristics like reverberation time and clarity. We term this as, “time domain soundscape of worship.” This is vastly different from Hindu worship which involves extensive use of bells, conch-shells, and gongs in puja rituals, all of which produce unique sonic characteristics making frequency of sound very crucial which we term, “frequency domain soundscape of worship.” Beck (1995, 2006, 2012) has explored the sonic aspects of Hindu tradition as they relate to the religion and drawn comparisons with religious practices in other cultures where pertinent. However, a comprehensive acoustic analysis of temples and the characteristics of these sounds within temples is yet to be done. In this paper, we analyze the impulse responses and decay curves measured at the Virupaksha and Vijaya Vittala temples in Southern India.
Onboard sound emission measurements of unmanned aerial vehicles for psychoacoustic experiments
Authors: Jaeggi Jonas , Meister Jonas , Pieren Reto
Published: July 2024

With the prospect of small UAVs being more commonly used for tasks like surveillance or parcel transport within inhabited areas, demand for noise regulations arises. The noise assessment of UAV operations can be investigated through laboratory listening experiments using auralized sound stimuli. Sound recordings of source signals for dynamic flight operations have to be performed outdoors where measurements with stationary microphones impose uncertainties in backpropagation and suffer from bad signal-to-noise ratio due to the weak source and the presence of ambient sounds. To overcome these difficulties, this contribution presents an approach for acquiring UAV source signals using onboard microphones. A lightweight setup for time synchronous recordings of sound using MEMS microphones, the UAV position and the rotational speed of each rotor was developed and applied to two quadcopters of 0.9 and 6.3 kg mass. Source directivity and propagation effects were added to the source signals to obtain clean sound pressure signals at virtual listener positions. The resulting stimuli were successfully used in a listening experiment on short-term noise annoyance.
Sound from unmanned aerial vehicles in ambient acoustic environments: Influences of context, vehicle characteristics and flight operations on human perception and response
Authors: Lotinga Michael J. , Green Marc C. , Torija Martinez Antonio J.
Published: July 2024

The potential opportunities for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to offer wide societal benefits are accompanied by risks of introducing novel sources of community noise impact. Accordingly, it is important to develop a greater understanding of the subjective perception and response to UAV sound. Suitable evidence-based strategies for managing the potential risks to public health and wellbeing can then be devised in the form of flight path optimisation tools, to support initial technology deployment efforts. The ‘REFMAP’ project aims to develop these tools, which will include a component enabling noise constraints to be considered. In support of this objective, a laboratory listening experiment has been undertaken to study psychoacoustic aspects of UAV sound exposure. The experiment design incorporated influences of contextual auditory and soundscape factors, by embedding spatially rendered UAV sound events within ambisonic recordings of urban acoustic environments. The UAV renderings comprised varying flight operations and numbers of flight events. The experiment was focussed on determining both perceptual noticeability and affective responses to UAV sound, including noise annoyance. Initial results from the experimental data analysis are discussed, in the context of future planned work within the REFMAP research project.
Modeling resonant ultrasound of synthetic polycrystalline microstructures produced by Dream3D
Authors: Kube Christopher M.
Published: July 2024

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) is established for determining elastic constants of homogeneous solids. Often applied to polycrystalline materials like metals, RUS presumes homogeneity based on the microstructure's scale. This presumption is challenged with large grain sizes and higher-order modes, complicating homogeneity testing in real samples due to the need for 3D metallurgical analysis. An alternative is RUS modeling on digitized synthetic microstructures. This presentation investigates the RUS variational model with Rayleigh-Ritz solutions on microstructures created using Dream3D. It starts with a proof for solutions that minimize the Lagrangian in heterogeneous solids. Subsequently, Rayleigh-Ritz volume integrals are numerically evaluated for synthetic polycrystalline microstructures, as spatial heterogeneity precludes analytical solutions. No homogeneity assumption is made. The 3D integrals, requiring advanced GPU processing for a detailed mesh, lead to forward model results. These will be compared against common homogenization schemes, highlighting new insights when using RUS for material characterization of polycrystalline materials.
Inverse problems in resonant ultrasound spectroscopy based on spectra perturbation
Authors: Sedlak Petr , Seiner Hanus , Janovska Michaela
Published: July 2024

In RUS, the fit between the experimental resonant spectrum and the result of the inversion procedure is usually worse than the inaccuracy of the experimental measurement of the resonant frequencies. Thus, it can be problematic to extract any valuable information from slight perturbation of experimental spectra, where the experimental frequency shift falls well below the accuracy of this fit. However, the inverse procedure can be reformulated and instead of fitting the resonant frequencies itself, it can be based on the direct fitting of the frequency perturbations. In this contribution, we show two examples of the use of this approach (i) quantitative RUS evaluation of the elasticity of micrometric and submicrometric surface layers from frequency differences measured before and after layer deposition [1] and (ii) in situ characterization of the thermal degradation of the bonding layer in a bimetallic system [2]. [1] Thomasová M. et al. Young's moduli of sputter-deposited NiTi films determined by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy: Austenite, R-phase, and martensite (2015) Scripta Materialia, 101, pp. 24–27. [2] Janovská M. et al Characterization of bonding quality of a cold-sprayed deposit by laser resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (2020) Ultrasonics, 106, art. no. 106140.
Museum Acoustics: Classification and auralization of design approaches
Authors: Bem Milena J. , Huang Mincong , Brooks Vic , Chabot Samuel , Braasch Jonas
Published: July 2024

Architecture defines various aspects of museum spaces. Despite often being considered secondary importance by some deciders and designers, the acoustic environment significantly shapes the interpretation of exhibitions and human-building interactions. Focusing on enhancing museum acoustics, this study builds upon previous research that developed a methodology for simulating and evaluating museum soundscapes through psychophysical experiments in immersive environments, showing that participants preferred congruent soundscapes over generic noise maskers [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 154, A257]. Expanding on these previous investigations, our current research involves cataloging and classifying design approaches currently used within museum contexts—architectural elements, acoustic characteristics, spatial distribution, exhibition strategies, multimodal approaches, etc. Subsequently, we present an auralization method for these museum spaces using the ray tracing method developed for collaborative virtual reality systems [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 143, 1824]. This method is used within the CRAIVE-Lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to facilitate tangible analysis, enriching our understanding of these solutions to support future design efforts by guiding architects and acousticians to optimize the museum experience. It offers significant insights into current practices, emerging trends, or notable innovations, thereby promoting more experiential design approaches to shaping the acoustic impacts of the museum environment.
Time-domain simulation of a recorder using the model of a jet allowed to deflect overall
Authors: Adachi Seiji
Published: July 2024

A sound production model of the flute-like instrument which allows the jet to deflect overall has been proposed recently. The overall deflection is introduced to satisfy flow consistency at the instrument's window (embouchure hole or mouth), i.e., the condition that the volume velocity swept by the oscillating jet should be equal to that through the window. The full oscillation of the jet is the sum of the deflection and the oscillation caused by fluid dynamical sinuous instability. This model can correctly reproduce the reflection function of a recorder's head as seen from the resonator. The next question is whether the model can predict the sound level of the flute-like instrument correctly. To answer the question, the model was first formulated in the time domain. In this formulation, measures were taken to prevent the oscillation from drifting. Using the time-domain model, physical modeling simulation of a recorder was performed to obtain sound levels produced for various blowing pressures. Artificial blowing experiments with a real instrument are in progress to compare the simulation results with the actual sound levels.
Micro-electromechanical systems sensor characterization for acoustic prognostic health management
Authors: Willet Ruth , Reichard Karl
Published: July 2024

Prognostic Health Management (PHM) is the process used to optimize machinery use by detecting faults and predicting failures and a machine’s remaining useful life. PHM is especially important to electro-mechanical systems in order to maximize a system’s availability and effective operation. The use of Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometers and microphones for PHM analysis is beneficial because it enables non-destructive acoustic testing with reduced cost, reduced size, and more efficient vehicle integration with other electronics than current methods. This research quantitatively studies a variety of MEMS sensors to understand how they measure acoustic data in a lab setting and on a truck with a diesel engine compared to piezoelectric accelerometers and condenser microphones. Diesel engines are common in many vehicles and hybrid-electric power systems, so the results will be applicable to a variety of situations. By applying signal processing techniques and PHM condition indicators to the data, standardized metrics can be developed to determine the best sensor for different PHM analyses.
Effect of reverberation and informational masking on speech perception by adolescents and young adults with cochlear implants
Authors: Peng Z. Ellen , Mollison Abbie A.
Published: July 2024

Children with severe to profound hearing loss fitted with cochlear implants (CIs) can develop speech with degraded auditory inputs. Little is known about how speech perception by CI users who developed speech through electrical hearing is affected by realistic reverberation—a source of additional degradation in acoustic inputs to the CI speech processor. Moreover, how these young CI users handle competing maskers with high informational masking, such as two-talker babble, in speech-in-noise perception is not well characterized. Both reverberation and competing maskers are relevant factors in everyday classroom listening scenarios. In this work, we studied a cohort of adolescents and young adults with early fitting of CIs. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were measured in five types of maskers: speech-shaped noise (SSN), SSN modulated by a speech envelope, two-talker babble in English and in French, and time-reversed two-talker English babble. SRTs from each masker type were repeated in an anechoic condition and two reverberation conditions mimicking a classroom meeting classroom acoustics standard versus a lecture hall. When compared with a group of age-matched normal-hearing listeners, young CI users showed steeper increase of masked SRTs by increasing reverberation but comparable release from informational masking. [Work supported by the Hearing Health Foundation.]
Building the acoustics program at Brigham Young University
Authors: Sommerfeldt Scott D.
Published: July 2024

The history of acoustics at Brigham Young University dates well back into the first half of the twentieth century. Nonetheless, at the end of the twentieth century the program was on the verge of dying off. The author was hired in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at that time, in the hopes of revitalizing the acoustics program. Various steps were taken at opportune times to continuously rebuild the program to where it has become well known again – both nationally and internationally. The acoustics program is characterized by both a very strong undergraduate program in acoustics, as well as a thriving graduate program that has produced over 70 graduate theses and dissertations and even more undergraduate theses and capstone papers. This presentation will overview the growth and development of the acoustics program since 1995, highlighting lessons learned that may be useful for others looking to develop or strengthen their programs.
Cross laminated timber geometry and joinery implications on low-frequency sound transmission: FEA and Laser Doppler Vibrometry studies
Authors: Méndez Echenagucia Tomás I. , Piacsek Andrew A. , Roozen Nicolaas B.
Published: July 2024

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) slabs are becoming more widespread in North American construction in large part because of the environmental advantage of lower embodied carbon when compared to concrete and steel slabs. This advantage is significantly reduced by the use of high embodied carbon layers in the mass timber floor assemblies, such as concrete or gypsum screeds, that are used to reduce the direct sound transmission. This paper presents a study on the potential to reduce low-frequency sound transmission in cross-laminated timber floors by means of geometric stiffness. A laser doppler vibrometry (LDV) experiment on two different geometries is presented. One sample has a flat geometry, the other has a folded plate design. The folded plate sample is built with the same CLT panels used on the flat one, but is made out of 12 custom parts assembled into a domical shape. Both samples were installed on a 6 × 7 foot glulam frame, subjected to shaker excitations in the low frequencies on their top side, and the vibration on their bottom sides measured with the LDV. The resulting data is used to calibrate an FEA model, and subsequently study the sound transmission implications of the sample’s boundary conditions and joinery.
2D boundary-condition-free nonlinear inversion technique applied to optical shear vibration induced microelastography
Authors: Van Houten Elijah E. W. , Ghazavi Sajad , Fle Guillaume , Nair Hari s. , Chayer Boris , Goswami Ruchi , Girardo Salvatore , Guck Jochen , Cloutier Guy
Published: July 2024

Optical microelastography (OME) has emerged as a new technique for quantifying cellular mechanical properties. However, accurately reconstructing viscoelastic properties at the microscale level from noisy 2D displacement fields remains a challenge. This study introduces a 2D boundary-condition-free nonlinear inversion (2D-NoBC-NLI) approach, addressing challenges of interpreting noisy data and deducing full-field 3D displacements from 2D measurements. OME requires vibrating the cell and mapping the shear modulus based on wave-induced displacements within the cell. The shear modulus distribution is recovered via a coupled adjoint field NLI reconstruction to allow 2D-NoBC-NLI. Validation was conducted through numerical simulations at 36 kHz on a homogeneous sphere of 75 μm diameter and an assigned viscoelastic modulus, G*, of 800 + i150 Pa. The same reconstruction approach was also applied to experimental data obtained from polyacrylamide (PAAm) microbeads of the same diameter. Results demonstrated relative differences from true simulated values of 0.7% and 45% for storage and loss moduli, respectively, with a coefficient of variation under 1% for homogeneous regions. When applying this method to PAAm microbeads, viscoelastic reconstructions showed the potential of OME under experimental conditions. These findings highlight the accuracy of 2D-No BC-NLI reconstruction in OME for precise microscale characterization and mapping of the viscoelastic cell structure.
Sensitivity to speech-relevant features in hallucination-prone individuals
Authors: Erb Julia , Figueiredo Patrícia , Pinheiro Ana P.
Published: July 2024

As hallucinations occur in the absence of an external stimulus, they constitute an intriguing model for how percepts are generated and for how perception can fail. This study explores whether hallucination proneness is linked to an altered perception of speech-related acoustic features. Involving 320 healthy adults with varying predispositions for hallucinations, participants evaluated ambiguous sound textures for their speech-likeness. Psychophysical reverse correlation revealed that higher hallucination proneness was associated with reduced weighting of speech-typical low-frequency acoustic energy. Temporal modulation discrimination capabilities were unrelated to hallucination proneness in a subset of 41 participants. Confidence judgments in individual trials were influenced by both acoustic evidence and individual hallucination proneness and schizotypy scores. Overall, these findings suggest that hallucination-prone individuals exhibit qualitative and quantitative changes in their perception of speech-relevant modulations, supporting the notion of altered perceptual priors and differential weighting of sensory evidence.
Racialization and sentence intelligibility in older adults with hearing impairment
Authors: Munson Benjamin , Lyons Tatiana , Winn Matthew B. , Nelson Peggy , Schutt Enengy , Tripp Alayo
Published: July 2024

Previous studies have shown that the perception of a talker’s racial identity affects the intelligibility of that person’s speech to younger, normal-hearing listeners (Babel & Russell, 2015; McGowan, 2015; Tripp, Lyons, & Munson, 2022). These findings show that social perception influences intelligibility. These effects are thought to reflect varied experiences interacting with racially diverse individuals, attitudes and beliefs about different racial groups, or a combination of these factors. The current experiment examines whether the strength of the influence of perceived racial identity on intelligibility is similar across different age groups and levels of hearing acuity. Participants (n = 42, including 16 normal hearing [NH] younger adults, 11 NH older adults, and 15 older adults with hearing loss) were played sentences produced by four talkers who varied in racial identity, in audio-only and audiovisual conditions, in background noise and reported what they heard. Participants also completed a measure of attitudes toward the four talkers. Analyses are ongoing, and examine (1) whether the influence of presentation modality on intelligibility varies across the four talkers, (2) whether these talker differences in audiovisual benefit vary across the three listener groups, and (3) whether attitudes toward the talkers predict intelligibility. [Funding: NIH grant R21 DC018070]
Perception of speaker identity for bilingual voices
Authors: Cho Sylvia
Published: July 2024

Voice is often described as an “auditory face”; it provides important information concerning speaker identity (e.g., age, height, sex). The acoustic properties related to voice can also vary substantially within a speaker based on one’s emotional, social, and linguistic states. Recent work suggests that biological components have the greatest impact in the acoustic variability found in voice, followed by language-specific factors and speaking style [Lee & Kreiman, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 153, A295 (2023)]. The effects of such within- vs. between-speaker acoustic variability on the perception of speaker identity, however, have not been explored. The present study therefore examines the perception of speaker identity in bilingual voices. The prediction is that acoustic variability will also affect speaker identity perception: voices will be discriminated best for between-speaker samples, while within-speaker variability will not affect perception of speaker to the same extent. To test this prediction, listeners participated in a voice discrimination task using bilingual voice data produced by Korean heritage speakers across different languages (Korean, English) and speech styles (read, extemporaneous). The data will be analyzed to measure the effects of speaker, language, and speech style on voice discrimination. The results will be reported in relevance to the relationship between bilingualism and speech style on voice quality and speaker identity.
Application of machine learning on complete vehicle data for interior vibration prediction based on transfer paths in narrowband spectrum
Authors: Maeder Marcus , Eser Martin , Marburg Steffen
Published: July 2024

Interior noise and vibration are critical quality criteria for vehicles in the automotive sector. The latter is essential in driving comfort, where many development resources are used for the design and the evaluation. As a result, testing the entire vehicle is very important to assess vibration and ride comfort. The assembly of the entire vehicle is carried out virtually using transfer functions derived either from simulations or from measurements. Since simulations of a complete vehicle are still challenging,transfer functions are usually measured with considerable effort. Therefore, limiting the necessary measurements to specific components is desirable to be efficient and to save costs. In this work, the authors use an artificial neural network to predict the interior vibration profiles of a complete vehicle based on full test drives at different speeds and road conditions. Triaxial acceleration measurements serve as the database. In addition, a criterion is proposed to select essential sensors for the learning process. The results show that if the data is handled carefully, many sensors can be discarded, and the network can predict accurate acceleration spectra for virtual sensors at various test conditions.
A general overview of methods for generating room impulse responses
Authors: Baran Mihai-Vlad , King Richard , Woszczyk Wieslaw
Published: July 2024

The utilization of room impulse responses has proven valuable for both the acoustic assessment of indoor environments and music production. Various techniques have been devised over time to capture these responses. Although algorithmic solutions have been in existence since the 1970 s for generating synthetic reverberation in real time , they continue to be computationally demanding and in general lack the accuracy in comparison to measured authentic Room Impulse Responses (RIR). In recent times, machine learning has found application in diverse fields, including acoustics, leading to the development of techniques for generating RIRs. This paper provides a general overview, of approaches and methods for generating RIRs, categorized into algorithmic and machine learning techniques, with a particular emphasis on the latter. Discussion covers the acoustical attributes of rooms relevant to perceptual testing and methodologies for comparing RIRs. An examination of disparities between captured and generated RIRs is included to better delineate the key acoustic properties characterizing a room. The paper is designed to offer a foundational literature base for those interested in RIR generation for music production purposes, with future work considerations also explored.