bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Informed consent for whole blood donation
Authors: Grainger Brian , Flanagan Peter
Published: November 2019

Background and objectives

It is recognized that blood transfusion services have an ethical duty to obtain informed consent from their voluntary, non‐remunerated donors. This right was most recently affirmed by the 2017 revision of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Code of Ethics. However, the constituent elements necessary to adequately inform such consent have not been definitively established.

Materials and methods

This review evaluates the historical background to informed consent in medicine and as it has been applied to blood donation. The question of what information should be disclosed is then considered with regard to existing statutory requirements in both the United States and EU as well guidance from relevant international organizations. The emerging ethical issues around repurposing of donated blood for sale as recovered plasma and use in research are included in this analysis.

Results

A reasonable basis is found in the literature to advocate that valid informed consent of blood donors should encompass: the donation process itself and potential adverse effects, the need for pre‐donation transfusion‐transmissible infection (TTI) screening, potential non‐transfusion uses of derived products, requirements to obtain and store personal information, the consequences that non‐disclosure of such information may have for both the donor and the recipient and reassurance as to the confidentiality of this information.

Conclusion

Informed consent is a key component of the duty of care between a blood service and its donor. We identify essential elements that should be present for such consent to be considered valid.
Higher-dimensional foliated Mori theory
Authors: Spicer Calum
Published: November 2019

We develop some foundational results in a higher-dimensional foliated Mori theory, and show how these results can be used to prove a structure theorem for the Kleiman–Mori cone of curves in terms of the numerical properties of $K_{{\mathcal{F}}}$ for rank 2 foliations on threefolds. We also make progress toward realizing a minimal model program (MMP) for rank 2 foliations on threefolds.
A Framework to Assess Human Performance in Normal and Emergency Situations
Authors: Ahmed Salman , Onan Demirel H.
Published: November 2019

Human error is one of the primary reasons for accidents in complex industries like aviation, nuclear power plant management, and health care. Physical and cognitive workload, flawed information processing, and poor decision making are some of the reasons that make humans vulnerable to error and lead to failures and accidents. In many accidents and failures, oftentimes, vulnerabilities that are embedded in the system, in the form of design deficiencies and poor human factors, lead to latent or catastrophic failures, but the last link is a human operator who gets blamed or worse, injured. This paper introduces an early design human performance assessment framework to identify what type of digital prototyping methodologies are appropriate to detect the deviation of the operator's performance due to an emergency condition. Fire in a civilian aircraft cockpit was introduced as a performance shaping factor (PSF). Ergonomics performance was evaluated using two prototyping strategies: (1) a computational prototyping framework includes digital human modeling (DHM) and computer-aided design; and (2) a novel mixed prototyping framework includes motion capture, DHM, and virtual reality. Results showed that the mixed prototyping framework can simulate emergency scenarios with increased realism and also has the potential to incorporate subjective aspects of ergonomics outcomes, overcoming the underlying lack of design knowledge in conventional early design methodologies.
Statistical Determination of the Experimental Channels Clogging Rates in Mini- and Microchannel Heat Exchangers
Authors: Rybiński Witold , Mikielewicz Jarosław
Published: November 2019

This paper presents a new statistical, nondestructive method for determination of the experimental channels clogging rate in a mini- or microchannel heat exchanger. Channels clogging may be caused by inaccurate fabrication of the heat exchanger or by fouling of microchannels during exploitation. The theoretical model, used in this method, predicts a significant increase of the pressure drop as the number of clogged microchannels increases. However, the exchanger’s heat transfer rate decreases moderately. It may partly be caused by the additional heat transfer in metal walls, bypassing the inactive, clogged microchannels. The presented method was tested on the prototype of a microchannel heat exchanger. The experimental values of the pressure drop of the hot and cold water flows are 2–5 times higher than the values predicted for clean microchannels. The experimental values for the pressure drop and heat transfer are in good agreement with the values calculated by the use of the theoretical model. The presented statistical method gives two channels clogging rates (for the “hot” and “cold” channels) obtained during normal exploitation without cutting (destroying) the heat exchanger.
A New Integrated Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion-Based Trigeneration System for Sustainable Communities
Authors: Hasan A. , Dincer I.
Published: November 2019

One of the main solutions to climate change is to harness energy from renewable and clean resources. A novel ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) system is proposed for the production of methanol; cooling and power is developed and energetically analyzed. In this proposed trigeneration system, a two-stage Rankine cycle that operates on the inherent temperature difference along the depth of the ocean is used for power production, along with an electrolytic cation exchange membrane (ECEM) reactor for carbon dioxide and hydrogen production to feed the methanol production system. The carbon dioxide is sourced from the deep cold seawater, where the concentrations are found to be the highest. The proposed system performance is modeled and simulated on the Aspen Plus, where the performance of the proposed system is assessed under various operating conditions. The results of this study shows that the maximum net power output of the cycle is found to be 51.5 GW, with a fixed rate of district cooling of 69.0 GW. The maximum methanol production rate was found to be 1.36 kg/s at the power input of 51.5 GW. The system is tested under three different operation cases, to fully assess its viability. It should be noted that in all three cases district cooling is included as a product of the system. Case 1: ECEM reactor operates at its current efficiency with fuel production, Case 2: ECEM reactor operates at proton exchange membrane (PEM) efficiency, and Case 3: Only power was produced with no fuel. The maximum overall energy efficiency of the cycle was found to be 8.0, 8.6, and 7.3% for Cases 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
Designing the quietest room in the world
Authors: Lilly Jerry G.
Published: November 2019

In 2015, the Guinness Book of World Records identified the anechoic chamber in Microsoft’s Building 87 in Redmond, WA as the quietest room in the world with an overall A-weighted background noise level of -21 dB. This presentation discusses the original design criteria for the room, the process of evaluating the acoustic characteristics of the proposed site, and steps that were taken to achieve the ultimate goal. The instrumentation that was used to measure the background noise level will also be discussed.
Exact FFT-based identification of autoregressive (AR) model
Authors: Ando Shigeru
Published: November 2019

In this study, we extend the weighted integral method (WIM) based on differential equation modeling and finite duration observation [IEEE Trans. SP 57, 9 (2009); Inverse Problems 26, 015011 (2010); and JASA 134(4) (2013)] to a discrete WIM with difference equation (DE) modeling and finite length sampled data sequence, and obtain a novel theory and algorithm for short-time signal analysis and spectral estimation.The discrete WIM is composed of three steps: (1) provide the DE (AR model) with unknown coefficients which is satisfied in finite observation interval. (2) Weighted sum the DE with orthogonal sequences (FFT) to obtain algebraic equations (AEs) among the weighted sums in the interval (discrete Fourier coefficients). A mathematical technique is introduced to maintain circulantness of the time shifts. (3) Solve simultaneously a sufficient number of AEs with least squares criterion to obtain the unknowns exactly when the driving term is absent, or to obtain the ones minimizing the driving power when it is present.This approach will be important both in theoretical aspects and in practical usage for resolution-enhanced time-frequency analysis in multi-harmonics and multi-resonance mixture conditions. We compare the performance with other methods and CRLB, and show several experiments using speech and music signals.
Comparison of two spectral-based techniques for estimating the attenuation coefficient from human cervix
Authors: Xu Ziyang , Han Aiguo , Simpson Douglas G. , O'Brien, W. D. , McFarlin Barbara L.
Published: November 2019

This study uses in vivo radiofrequency ultrasound data acquired from human cervices to compare two commonly used spectral-based techniques for estimating the ultrasonic attenuation coefficient (AC): the spectral difference (SD) and the spectral log difference (SLD) techniques. The AC is a fundamental quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameter useful for tissue characterization to improve diagnostics, e.g., cervix characterization to predict preterm birth. The selection of appropriate AC techniques is a critical step for QUS tissue characterization. The advantages and disadvantages of various AC estimation techniques have been studied using physical phantoms and computational simulations. However, the heterogeneous nature of real tissue cannot be fully simulated with phantoms and computations. In this study, the SD and SLD techniques were evaluated using human cervices from 214 pregnant women (enrollment still ongoing). Each participant underwent 1-2 cervical QUS exams during each visit. In each exam, 10 acquisitions of radiofrequency ultrasound and one acquisition of a physical phantom were made using a Siemens MC9-4 transvaginal ultrasound transducer (center frequency: 5.25 MHz) with a Siemens S2000 ultrasound system. Preliminary analysis yielded correlated AC estimates (Pearson’s r = 0.66; <0.001) between the two AC techniques and better precision (e.g., inter-sonographer reproducibility) with the SLD technique. [No. R01HD089935.]
Age difference of speech intelligibility while wearing hearing protective devices in noisy environment
Authors: Hibino Hiroyuki , Nagano Chikage , Hoshuyama Natsuko , Hashimoto Kahori , Fukuzawa Kimie , Mori Kimiyo , Inoue Jinro , Horie Seichi
Published: November 2019

Hearing conservation of elderly workers is important to keep their quality of life and to prevent occupational accidents. We performed this study to measure the age difference of hearing acuity in noisy environment. Subjects were total of 16 elderly (45 years old or more) and 21 healthy young people (35 years old or less). The two-syllable speech intelligibility with/without earplugs, with/without exposure to pink noises at 80 dB(A), 85 dB(A), and 90 dB(A) were measured in an anechoic room. For both age groups, the differences between the speech level required for 90% intelligibility and the noise level were nearly constant when the subjects wore ear plugs in noisy environment. Wearing ear plugs will be beneficial not only to protect hearing acuity but also to converse easily while wearing earplugs. However, special attention must be paid to talk loudly while wearing earplugs considering the Lombard effect.
Design of acoustic metaclusters for the sound control using optimization and deep learning
Authors: Amirkulova Feruza , Pornaras Don Robert L. , Wang Wei-Ching
Published: November 2019

We demonstrate a novel method to model finite metaclusters that can steer the energy of an incident wave preferentially toward a given direction. This is accomplished by solving an inverse multiple scattering problem for selecting a desired energy distribution of scattered waves. One can steer the incident energy toward a desired direction using a 2-D configuration of metacluster with finite number of fluid cylinders embedded in a homogeneous fluid medium. For a faster implementation of the method, we approximate the problem to small cylindrical particle limit which corresponds to low frequency scattering. The required mechanical properties of fluid scatterers are defined by T-matrix components obtained by solving linear system of equations. A major challenge in implementing our computational model and applying to design of metaclusters devices is ensuring that the scatterers remain manufacturable using available conventional materials with positive values of mechanical properties. Metaclusters are designed by minimizing the relative error between a given and computed scattering patterns and using advanced optimization algorithms and deep learning.
Coupling strategies for the simulation of noise level distribution in the ocean
Authors: Cristini Paul , Sabatini Roberto , Noel Claire , Marchetti Simon , Temmos Jean-Marc
Published: November 2019

Many different types of sources of noise are now present in the ocean which all contribute to the increase of noise level and have to be addressed. As a consequence, the accurate numerical simulation of acoustic wave propagation in the ocean is very important in order to be able to predict the distribution of noise level generated by all types of sources which will help to assess their impact on marine life. Many acoustic propagation models are available. Under some assumptions, they all are able to propagate the sound field over long distances. Nevertheless, the underlying hypothesis behind these models often leads to some lack of accuracy. This is the price to pay to be able to propagate over long distances with a reasonable computational cost. On the other hand, accurate numerical modeling requires a computational burden which can be heavy and not always realistic. We present a tool which aims at being a compromise between accuracy and feasibility for the generation of acoustics maps of noise distribution in the ocean where we choose to evaluate the sound field in the vicinity of the source by means of an accurate numerical method such as the finite spectral-element method and to couple the results provided by this numerical method to more classical numerical models like ray tracing or the parabolic equation method.
Rational design of flow phantoms for evaluation of new Doppler ultrasound techniques
Authors: Chee Adrian J. , Yiu Billy Y. , Ho Chung Kit , Yu Alfred C.
Published: November 2019

With various advances in Doppler ultrasound technology such as high-frame-rate flow imaging and vector flow estimation, there is a growing need to devise appropriate phantoms that can holistically assess the accuracy of the derived flow estimates. Straight-tube models simply cannot serve this purpose, nor can spinning discs that simulate tissue motion instead of flow dynamics. In this presentation, we shall highlight a series of innovations in devising flow phantoms that can foster meticulous performance evaluation of new Doppler ultrasound techniques. First to be discussed is the design of a novel wall-less spiral phantom with omnidirectional flow (i.e., from 0 to 360 deg). With a three-loop spiral geometry with 4 mm lumen diameter and 5 mm pitch, this phantom was developed using a combination of computer-aided design, 3-D printing of vessel core, and lost-core casting with polyvinyl alcohol cryogel. It is useful for testing the performance of flow vector estimators. The design of anatomically realistic flow phantoms will also be described, and a representative example based on patient-specific aneurysm geometry will be highlighted. In addition, methodological innovations in developing walled arterial phantoms will be presented. Their application will be demonstrated in the context of testing new vascular imaging techniques that simultaneously track wall motion and blood flow.
An anthropomorphic prostatic urinary tract phantom for Doppler-based assessment of voiding dysfunction
Authors: Ishii Takuro , Ho Chung Kit , Nahas Hassan , Yiu Billy Y. , Chee Adrian J. , Yu Alfred C.
Published: November 2019

Direct assessment of urinary flow dynamics during voiding is challenging to perform in vivo. New Doppler ultrasound techniques are being developed for this purpose, but their performance needs to be systematically evaluated using phantoms. Here, we present a new design protocol to fabricate a urinary tract phantom with realistic anatomical, mechanical and urodynamic properties. In this protocol, computer-aided design of the urethra geometry was first drafted and it was physically built using 3-D printing. Subsequently, the flexible urinary tract tube was fabricated from polyvinyl alcohol cryogel (Young’s modulus: 26.6 kPa), while an agar–gelatin mixture (Young's modulus: 17.4 kPa) forms the surrounding tissue mimic. Finally, the urethra phantom was connected to a flow circuit that simulates voiding. Deformable phantoms were devised for a normal urethra and a diseased urethra with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) obstruction. The phantoms’ morphologies were measured with ultrasound imaging and their flow profiles were assessed using Doppler ultrasound. During voiding, short-axis lumen diameter at the obstruction of the BPH-featured phantom was significantly smaller (0.91 vs 2.49 mm) while the maximum flow velocity was higher (59.3 vs 22.7 cm/s) compared to those of the normal urethra. These fabricated phantoms were effective in simulating urethra deformation resulting from urine passage and may promote the development of new Doppler-based urodynamic measurement techniques.
A tone tutor for training student musicians
Authors: Ruch Gerry , Kachian Chris
Published: November 2019

We present a real time tool for guitar students to practice the production of good tone. Empirically, according to an informal survey of guitar teachers, warm tones are generally preferable to bright tones. Our tool quantifies the tone by determining the fundamental frequency of the note and examining the harmonics. A note with many strong harmonics well above the fundamental sounds bright while a note with only harmonics near the fundamental sounds warm. We have built a smartphone app that calculates the harmonic average of an incoming signal and presents the resulting measurement in real time. This app can be used by a music student during solo practice sessions between lessons to develop good tone on their instrument.
The natural variability of spruce soundboards: Perceptual differences in the in the tonal quality of acoustic guitars
Authors: Merchel Sebastian , Altinsoy M. Ercan , Olson David
Published: November 2019

The wood of the spruce tree (Picea spp.) has been valued for centuries as an ideal soundboard for stringed instruments, due to its material acoustic properties. There is large variability in these properties between individual trees of the same species, and even within an individual log. It stands to reason that this variability would produce audible differences in sound quality in otherwise identical musical instruments. Further, there may be a specific combination of material properties of the soundboard that would result in optimal sound quality for a given design, as measured by expert listeners. Nine steel string guitars of the same model were produced by the Taylor Guitar Company, with strict control of all production parameters. The guitars varied only in two parameters: the density and the Young's modulus of the soundboard and bracewood. A short music sequence was used for pairwise comparisons in a double-blind listening test. The results suggest that, for this particular model (the Taylor 814ce Grand Auditorium), low density and Young's modulus of the soundboard and bracewood have a positive impact on overall preference. More generally, these results underscore the importance of integrating a given design with the physical characteristics of the component wood.
Community noise exposure and annoyance: A multilevel description
Authors: Wilson D. K.
Published: November 2019

An overview is provided of multilevel modeling of community noise annoyance. By multilevel, it is meant that noise exposure and noise tolerance vary on the community level, and among individuals within the communities. Although these assumptions are rather simple, they lead to a rigorous statistical model with characteristics consistent with noise survey data. Regression analyses with a multilevel, generalized linear model (GLM) enable the model parameters and their variations at the community and individual levels to be distinguished and quantified. Based on a meta-analysis of transportation noise, the community-level and individual-level noise tolerance variances are both evident, although the individual-level variance is stronger. The significance of community-level variance is consistent with the recently introduced concept of community tolerance level (CTL). Although the multilevel model describes and quantifies the community-level variations, it does not by itself explain why communities differ, or how to account for these differences in regulations. Future research should address the relationships between community tolerance variations and factors such as soundscape disturbance and attitude toward the most prominent noise sources.
Multi-frequency sparse Bayesian learning with noise models
Authors: Gemba Kay L. , Nannuru Santosh , Gerstoft Peter
Published: November 2019

Ed Sullivan’s legacy includes significant contributions to the field of signal processing. Inspired by his Bayesian approach, we present results for a method coined Sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) to estimate source parameters. Previously, SBL has been applied to the matched field processing application [K. L. Gemba, S. Nannuru, and P. Gerstoft, “Robust ocean acoustic localization with sparse Bayesian learning,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Signal Process. 13(1), 49–60 (2019)]. This multi-source scenario required adaptive and robust processing, and included a non-stationary noise model. The adaptive SBL algorithm models the complex source amplitudes as random quantities, providing a degree of robustness to amplitude and phase errors. Further, its formulation is flexible and can accommodate advanced noise models. We consider the application of different noise models in simulations and experimental data and compare SBL performance to traditional processing.
Potential impact of mid-frequency active sonar on whales from passive acoustic monitoring data
Authors: Solsona Berga Alba , Trickey Jennifer S. , Rice Ally , Širović Ana , Roch Marie A. , Paxton Charles G. , Oedekoven Cornelia S. , Wiggins Sean M. , Hildebrand John , Thomas Len , Baumann-Pickering Simone
Published: November 2019

Behavioral response studies of tagged whales have documented an adverse reaction to mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS). The relationship between MFAS and the acoustic behavior of whales is complex and requires accounting for natural variability in species presence. We examine the acoustic response of Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) and blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) from long-term acoustic recordings at three sites in Southern California waters from 2009 to 2015. Presence and absence were marked in 1-min bins for all signal types. Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to model relationships between species acoustic detection and temporal and sonar covariates while accounting for residual temporal autocorrelation. Both species showed considerable temporal variability in calling. Modeling at one site showed decreased detections of beaked whale echolocation clicks when sonar signals had higher received levels at the recorders and when the proportion of bins containing sonar increased. On cessation of sonar signals, beaked whale detection increased over periods of up to about a week. Analyses of blue whale response and a comparison of multiple sites will also be presented. This work represents substantial progress in our understanding of the impact of MFAS on cetaceans, which is crucial for effective context-dependent management of anthropogenic activities.
BowNet: Dilated convolutional neural network for ultrasound tongue contour extraction
Authors: Mozaffari M. Hamed , Sankoff David , Lee Won-Sook
Published: November 2019

One usage of medical ultrasound imaging is to visualize and characterize human tongue shape and motion during a real-time speech to study healthy or impaired speech production. Due to the low-contrast characteristic and noisy nature of ultrasound images, it might require expertise for non-expert users to recognize tongue gestures in applications such as visual training of a second language. Several end-to-end deep learning segmentation methods provide promising alternatives with higher accuracy and robustness results and without any intervention. Employing the power of the graphics processing unit with state-of-the-art deep neural network models makes it feasible to have new fully automatic, accurate, and robust segmentation methods with the capability of real-time performance. This paper presents a new novel deep neural network for tongue contour extraction, BowNet, benefits from exploitation capability of dilated convolution by effectively expanding the receptive field without losing resolution to extract clear tongue contours. Also, efficient abstract context exploration is carried out by down-sampling layers to achieve segmentation results with high resolution and relevancy. Two versions, BowNet and wBowNet, are studied qualitatively and quantitatively over datasets from two different ultrasound machines. Our experiment disclosed the outstanding performances of the proposed models in terms of accuracy and robustness in comparison with similar sized models.
On an improvement of the old voice by the reflection of the amplified voice
Authors: Bae Seonggeon , Bae Myungjin
Published: November 2019

When people get older, they lose their energy and get tired of everything. At this time, the voice utterance ages and gradually changes to bass, and the sounding frequency of the first resonance frequency decreases with age. Voice phonation is produced by the release of pressure from the lungs through the vocal folds, causing resonance in the vocal tract. In this study, we proposed a new method to improve the aging of vocal organs with their voices using the voice utterance characteristics. We have to hear the vocal organs of the experimenter as usual loudness over a cup that contains the sound recorded voice, the voice-aging properties were measured in one-minute increments. In this study, the average sound pressure level when the aging voice removal was restored to + 6.2dB spectrum of the high-frequency range is improved to the average size + 13.7dB. And the experimenter showed regained the confidence of the utterance to think that his voice clarity improvement over the ages.
A feasibility study on using external microphone measurements for reconstructing in vivo interskeletal forces
Authors: McChristian Brandon , Shepard W. S.
Published: November 2019

While there is much interest in the measurement of forces within the skeleton during human movement, the need for in vivo sensors makes measuring these forces challenging. This study investigates the feasibility of using a non-invasive external measurement technique utilizing microphones on the surface of human skin to enable characterization of impulse forces propagating through bone structures. The challenge lies in the ability to measure pressure waves that propagate through complex human tissue. A simplified anatomical model of a human leg is examined with a hollow metal bar representative of a simplified bone structure and a coupled homogeneous ballistic gel to represent the muscular and integumentary systems. In the experimental tests, an impulse force was applied to the bar with an impact hammer, and surface-mounted microphones were used to measure the signal generated on the surface of the ballistics gel. Feasibility of this measurement technique for inferring forces will be determined by examining the quality of the measured acoustic signal resulting from coupled vibrations of the bar and gel structure. An objective of the study is to ensure that the measured acoustic signal has sufficient quality to be useable in reconstructing the impulse forces acting on bones via inverse methods.
Impact of scatterer motion on the correlation of pulse-echo ultrasound signals
Authors: Hyun Dongwoon , Dahl Jeremy J.
Published: November 2019

The correlation of two pulse-echo signals is an essential component of numerous medical ultrasound imaging methods, including blood flow imaging, elastography, and phase aberration correction. Here, we use an impulsional formulism to derive an expression for the correlation of two arbitrary pulse-echo signals from diffuse scatterers undergoing a bulk uniform motion. The expression is shown to coincide with prior derivations for stationary scatterers. The expression was evaluated numerically and compared against matched simulations of pulse-echo speckle signals. For delay estimation, transverse scatterer motion was found to increase estimator jitter, whereas axial motion increased jitter only for broadband apertures. Delay estimation with synthetic transmit apertures was robust to scatterer motion despite being acquired over a distributed period of time. Receive aperture coherence measurements with synthetic transmit apertures were unaffected by motions of 100 μm laterally and 10 μm transversely or smaller, but were decorrelated by larger motions. In each examined application, close agreement was observed between the theoretical predictions and the simulation measurements, with larger errors observed near the aperture where the Fresnel approximation was less valid. The presented theory provides a motion-aware characterization of the correlation of arbitrary pulse-echo ultrasound signals.
Assessment of feline chronic kidney disease (CKD) using ultrasound Diffusion Constant
Authors: Karbalaeisadegh Yasamin , Appleby Ryan , Seiler Gabriela , Muller Marie M.
Published: November 2019

The indicator of kidney function, glomerular filtration rate is time and resource intensive, and blood and urine tests are insensitive. Hence, there is a need for non-invasive and sensitive methods to identify chronic kidney disease (CKD). Contrast enhanced ultrasound was used to measure the diffusion constant which is expected to change with changes in vascularization and microbubble population. Data was obtained on 43 cats (23 controls, 10 stage 1, 10 stages 2–4) after injection of 0.05 ml of Definity contrast agent. The inter-element response matrix was acquired by transmitting 5 MHz pulses with individual elements of a transducer array (L7-4) using a Verasonics Vantage system. The incoherent contribution (Iinc) to the backscattered intensity was extracted. The diffusion constant (D) was measured using the spatial growth of Iinc over time. A significant decrease (p = 0.0021) in D was observed in cats with stages 2–4 chronic kidney disease (mean D: 1.04 mm2/μs), compared to control (mean D: 1.69 mm2/μs), and stage 1 CKD cats (mean D: 1.77 mm2/μs). Smaller kidneys and presence of structural abnormalities could result in a denser vasculature, leading to more multiple scattering by the microbubbles and consequently lower D values for stage 2-4 CKD cases.
Optimization of linear and planar array geometries for unmanned underwater vehicle acoustic imaging techniques
Authors: Harker Blaine M. , Hopper Daniel P.
Published: November 2019

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are becoming more prevalent in industrial and scientific applications. A wide range of designs is available and many platforms are highly configurable, resulting in an ever-changing acoustic profile. Changes in the UUV’s noise may affect onboard sensors and potentially disturb the environment. An acoustic source imaging process is under development to provide a detailed analysis of the UUV noise in a rapid-turnaround environment. Measurements from a hydrophone array in the geometric near field of a UUV may be input to an acoustic inverse method [e.g., generalized inverse beamforming (GINV) or statistically optimized near-field acoustical holography (SONAH)] to spatially separate noise components and ascertain their levels. However, source resolution and accuracy are highly dependent on array design. Results of a recent numerical case study are presented towards the optimization of linear and planar array geometries. The array geometry is iterated and tuned based on the resultant beamwidth, sidelobe levels, and source localization accuracy for a range of octave frequency bands and source locations. The optimization results provide insight into the critical design factors for acoustical imaging techniques, as well as a suitable array geometry for improved UUV acoustic imaging.
Hot topics in a warming ocean: How acoustical oceanography can help monitor climate change
Authors: Venegas Gabriel R.
Published: November 2019

Global CO2 concentrations are higher than they have been over the last 800 000 years (Luthi et al., 2008) and continue to rise, leading to what is thought to be the fastest increase in ocean acidity in the last 60 million years (Turley and Gattuso, 2012). The increase in greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere warms the planet and its oceans, which decreases the solubility of CO2 in the ocean and instigates a positive feedback loop. As a result, glaciers and polar icecaps are melting, extreme weather patterns are occurring, and the existence of valuable ecosystems that help offset anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are being threatened. This talk will focus on past and current developments in acoustical oceanography to help monitor climate change from below the ocean’s surface, such as acoustic tomography for measuring ocean temperature; the use of ambient noise and variation in transmission loss to estimate water column properties like ocean acidity or boundary processes like the melting of glaciers and polar icecaps; and acoustic monitoring techniques for underwater methane seeps and carbon storage/fluxes in ocean bottom sediments and seagrass meadows.
Discovering rule-based learning systems for the purpose of music analysis
Authors: Korvel Grazina , Kostek Bozena
Published: November 2019

Music analysis and processing aims at understanding information retrieved from music (Music Information Retrieval). For the purpose of music data mining, machine learning (ML) methods or statistical approach are employed. Their primary task is recognition of musical instrument sounds, music genre or emotion contained in music, identification of audio, assessment of audio content, etc. In terms of computational approach, music databases contain imprecise, vague and indiscernible data objects. Moreover, most of the machine learning algorithms outcomes are given as a black-box result. Also, underfitting or overfitting may occur, meaning that either the model description is not complex enough or the test set is too small or not sufficiently representative. Thus the goal is to generalize the model. To overcome some of these problems, rule-based systems may be used, e.g., based on rough set theory that shows the outcome in the form of rules interconnecting features retrieved from music. Thus, first, principles of rule-based classifiers and particularly rough sets (RS) are presented, showing their usability in the music domain. A potential of the rough set-based approach was shown in the context of music genre recognition. The results were analyzed in terms of the recognition rate and computation time efficiency.
EV sound hacking Part 1: Analyzing the Hyundai/Kia VESS
Authors: Reuter Eric L.
Published: November 2019

Current Hyundai and Kia EV models are delivered with the Virtual Engine Sound System (VESS), which produces a speed-dependent alert sound akin to a cartoon spaceship. This paper details the process of reverse engineering the VESS and associated CAN bus for the purpose of operating the device while disconnected from the car, and results of acoustical measurements. These include sound level, directivity, and speed-dependent timbre.
Dispersion curves identification and traveling wave control in a weakly coupled impedance tube
Authors: Vered Yoav , Gabai Ran , Bucher Izhak
Published: November 2019

Impedance tubes are commonly used for non-destructive measurement method of the acoustic properties of materials. Most physical models neglect the elastic nature of the tube resulting in a single mode propagation up to the cut-off frequency and are thus unable to accurately predict the propagation patterns in the case of liquid-filled tubes. An understating of the dispersion pattern in the latter case is crucial for the success of the acoustic properties estimation procedure. Furthermore, a model-based control can be implemented on the basis of the dispersion relation which is able to enhance the existing methods. This work presents a case study of an air-filled impedance tube. A novel, two-actuators phase-perturbations technique was developed to identify the tube dispersion curves and to compare to analytical models. The accurate identification of dispersion curves was utilized in a successful effort to control a single mode traveling wave ratio by employing a feedforward control algorithm. The success of the case study in the case of a weak acoustic coupling mechanism such as the air-filled impedance tube emphasizes the capabilities when considering a stronger acoustic coupling such as in the liquid-filled impedance tube.
Near shore atmospheric acoustic transmission loss: Method and measurements
Authors: Ryan Teresa J. , Turo Diego , Quintero-Rivero Julian , Judge John , Vignola Joseph F.
Published: November 2019

A model for moderate to long range outdoor propagation of sound in complex environments must account for a wide variety of parameters. Generally, the characteristics of the source, the space through which the sound propagates, and the receiver must all be considered. This larger project aims to understand atmospheric acoustic transmission loss in the littoral and riverine environments at ranges of up to approximately 3 km. In such an environment, some of the confounding factors in the propagation path include: wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity profiles, absorption, refraction, dispersion, turbulence, diffraction, dynamically changing water surface geometry, shore terrain geometry and surface impedance along the propagation path. A simple pitch-catch configuration with the source over water and the microphone arrays on shore is used to capture transmission loss information, along with concurrent meteorological measurements. In this work, the measurement system is described and preliminary results from measurements at three sites are reported. These measurements inform the concurrent effort to develop and validate an improved model for acoustic transmission loss in these scenarios.
Diagnosing wind turbine condition employing a neural network to the analysis of vibroacoustic signals
Authors: Czyzewski Andrzej
Published: November 2019

It is important from the economic point of view to detect damage early in the wind turbines before failures occur. For this purpose, a monitoring device was built that analyzes both acoustic signals acquired from the built-in non-contact acoustic intensity probe, as well as from the accelerometers, mounted on the internal devices in the nacelle. The signals collected in this way are used for long-term training of the autoencoder neural network. The appropriately trained network automatically detects deviations, signaling them to technical service. The applied methods of analysis of vibroacoustic signals and neural network training are the subject of the presented paper. In addition, the motion magnification of video is used for extracting information on vibrations of the whole wind turbine construction. Finally, spectral analysis is applied for detecting unnatural components presence meaning defects in both: visual and vibroacoustic representations. The process of reduction and construction of a wind turbine model is discussed with a particular emphasis on application to perform extensive tests of the developed methods and algorithms. [The research was subsidized by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development within the project “STEO—System for Technical and Economic Optimization of Distributed Renewable Energy Sources”, No. POIR.01.02.00-00-0357/16.]
Detection of structure anomalies in frescos: A comparison between thermography and laser Doppler vibrometry techniques
Authors: Williams Jesse P. , Marchetti Barbara , Ryan Teresa J. , Vignola Joseph F. , Turo Diego , Corvaro Francesco
Published: November 2019

This work will investigate two non-destructive methods of fault detection in laminate structures such as frescos. These two techniques are compared on a purpose-built laboratory prototype and on frescos in the Senate Reception Room of the U.S. Capitol Building. Thermography uses an infrared camera to map the surface temperature of an object. This technique can be used to quickly identify abnormally hot or cold regions on a surface. These abnormal regions can indicate structural defects such as fresco delamination, cracks, and inclusions. The other non-destructive technique for defect detection used in this work is laser Doppler vibrometry paired with acoustic excitation of the target surface. Over the same surface area, thermography provides a much quicker result. This work aims to evaluate potential synergy between the technologies by comparing the results of the two scans. A prototype with known defects is used to find commonality between the two methods and to understand the circumstances in which the results diverge. The prototype is a square of approximately half a meter on each side. A seven centimeter thick concrete backing layer is followed by a layer of mortared antique bricks and topped by mortar and plaster to mimic fresco.
Unbalanced pump detection using modified transfer path analysis
Authors: Arifianto Dhany , Falasifah Nihlatul
Published: November 2019

Unbalance is the term in a rotating machine that used for a mass distribution which is not rotationally symmetric. Vibration from unbalancing pump affects to other pumps located on the same single base frame due to transmissibility. However, the unbalanced vibration can disturb and give a negative impact to other pumps on the same base frame. Therefore it is important to detect unbalance pump early which transmitted through the base frame because it can save large amounts of money. The aim of this research is evaluating the modification of transfer path analysis method that applied as a detecting pump damage method compare to International Standard. In this research, Modified Transfer Path Analysis (MTPA) is equal to the operational force that found by convolution of the natural frequencies with operational acceleration. The value of natural frequencies are determined using experimental modal analysis and the value of operational acceleration is determined by measuring the acceleration when the vibration source (pump machine) is running on steady condition. ISO 13373-1 was used as the reference for damage detection on the pump system. The results show that MTPA has the same characteristics and in agreement with ISO 13373-1 in detecting unbalance pump condition for machinery condition monitoring.
Event-related cortical potentials occurring prior to speech initiation
Authors: Yonovitz Al , Smith Silas
Published: November 2019

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 and to compare the results to offline responses. 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. A number of CV stimuli were used. 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.
The role of inferior frontal gyrus in rapid conversational turn-taking
Authors: Castellucci Gregg A. , Greenlee Jeremy , Long Michael
Published: November 2019

During conversation, speaker overlap is avoided while inter-turn silence is minimized. Notably, inter-speaker gaps are typically 200 ms or less—shorter than what is required to plan single words—suggesting that considerable speech planning (SP) occurs as speakers listen to their partners’ turns. Though the psycholinguistic mechanisms of SP during turn-taking are well-studied, its neural dynamics are largely unknown. Using intracranial electrocorticography, we delineate SP-related activity from that of sensorimotor processes using questions (adapted from Bögels et al., 2015) where the critical-information (CI) required to answer is provided at a singular timepoint. Consistent with involvement in SP, we observe that the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is active immediately following CI. We also observe that IFG is preferentially active during SP but not general motor planning. Furthermore, we find that a subset of IFG planning sites are active during natural conversation while patients listen to the turns of opposing speakers. Finally, in preliminary experiments where IFG is stimulated while patients answer CI-questions, we find that IFG disruption results in significantly longer reaction times and lexical errors but not gross articulatory disruptions. In conclusion, we demonstrate that a subregion of IFG is critical for the SP processes employed during rapid conversational turn-taking.
HMM-based Bahasa Indonesia speech synthesis system with hand-segmentation and labeling
Authors: Anggrayni Elok , Arifianto Dhany , Sarwono Joko
Published: November 2019

In this paper, we compare the naturalness quality of Bahasa Indonesia speech synthesis using festvox automatic- and hand-segmentation and labeling technique to create a speech transcription. First, we developed a 1549 declarative and question sentence phonetically balanced speech corpus uttered by six male and female speakers. We selected 47, 72, 119, 450, 929, and 1379 sentences, respectively for training whilst maintaining the phonetical balance. The objective is to find the least data training for synthesized naturalness evaluation on both automatic- and hand-segmentation and labeling. The evaluation result using the Mel-cepstrum distortion method was 2.9 for hand-segmentation and labeling, 5.36 for automatic with 47 training sentences, respectively which took about 45 minutes to complete. The performance was increased by 2.46 with hand-segmentation and labeling, 4.78 for automatic, with 1379 sentences and about 9 hours of training time. The Mean Opinion Score was 3.98 (hand) and 3.04 for automatic, respectively which is about 18% performance improvement. The automatic segmentation and labeling introduced phoneme boundary errors which may suggest that the necessity to take careful consideration in segmentation and labeling.