Magnetoencephalographic responses correspond to individual annoyance of bandpass noise

The relation between human brain responses to an individual's annoyance of bandpass noise was investigated using magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurements and analysis by autocorrelation function (ACF) and cross-correlation function (CCF). Pure tone and bandpass noises with a centre frequency of 1000 Hz were used as source signals. The sound pressure level was constant at 74 dBA and the duration of the stimulus was 2.0 s. The scale values of annoyance for each subject were obtained by paired-comparison tests. In MEG measurements, the combination of a reference stimulus (pure tone) and test stimuli (bandpass noise) was alternately presented 30 times at a constant 2 s interstimulus interval. The results show that the effective duration of the ACF, τ_e, of MEG in the 8-13 Hz range, which represent repetitive features within the signal itself, became shorter during the presentation of an annoying stimulus. Also, the maximum value of the CCF, |φ(τ)|_max, became smaller. The shorter τ_e and smaller |φ(τ)|_max indicate that a wider area of the brain is unstable for longer with annoying auditory stimuli.     

SUBJECTIVE PREFERENCE FOR SOUND SOURCES LOCATED ON THE STAGE AND IN THE ORCHESTRA PIT OF AN OPERA HOUSE

The present study investigates whether the subjective preference theory can be applied to the sound field in an opera house. Paired-comparison tests were conducted to obtain scale values of subjective preference. As the source locations of the music on the stage and in the orchestra pit were moved, listeners were asked to give their acoustical preference. The acoustical factors at each listening position were obtained from the interaural cross-correlation function and binaural impulse responses measured at each listening position. The relationship between the scale values of subjective preference and orthogonal acoustical factors (LL, IACC, τ_IACC, Δt₁ for the pit source, Δt₁ for the stage, T_sub for the pit source, and T_sub for the stage source) was determined by using factor analysis, which shows that the preference theory is applicable. Total scores obtained from factor analysis and measured scale values are in good agreement.     

A STUDY OF THE BLENDING OF VOCAL MUSIC WITH THE SOUND FIELD BY DIFFERENT SINGING STYLES

The initial time delay Δt₁ between the direct sound and the first reflection and the subsequent reverberation time T_sub are usually fixed within a given space. Thus, concert halls do not have ideal conditions for all forms of music. It has been shown that the most preferred conditions for both listeners and performers are determined by the minimum value of the effective duration of the running autocorrelation function (ACF) of sound signals, (τ_e)_min. To determine the suitability of vocal music for a given sound field, (τ_e)_min of vocal music was analyzed, after recording five solo singers (tenor) in an anechoic room. The results showed that (τ_e)_min of the ACF of a voice source, which is closely related to the two temporal factors of the sound field, varies with singing style. A significant finding is that the values of (τ_e)_min of sound signals forfalsetto and medium falsetto are significantly longer than that for operatic singing.     

DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM BASED ON THE HUMAN AUDITORY-BRAIN MODEL FOR MEASURING ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE—AN APPLICATION TO RAILWAY NOISE

Measurements of railway noise were conducted by use of a diagnostic system of regional environmental noise. The system is based on the model of the human auditory-brain system. The model consists of the interplay of autocorrelators and an interaural crosscorrelator acting on the pressure signals arriving at the ear entrances, and takes into account the specialization of left and right human cerebral hemispheres. Different kinds of railway noise were measured through binaural microphones of a dummy head. To characterize the railway noise, physical factors, extracted from the autocorrelation functions (ACF) and interaural crosscorrelation function (IACF) of binaural signals, were used. The factors extracted from ACF were (1) energy represented at the origin of the delay, Φ (0), (2) effective duration of the envelope of the normalized ACF, τe, (3) the delay time of the first peak, τ₁, and (4) its amplitude,ø₁ . The factors extracted from IACF were (5) IACC, (6) interaural delay time at which the IACC is defined, τ_IACC, and (7) width of the IACF at the τ_IACC,W_IACC . The factor Φ (0) can be represented as a geometrical mean of energies at both ears as listening level, LL.     

Subjective diffuseness of music signals convolved with binaural impulse responses

The spatial impression of sound in a hall can be quantified using sound field factors such as the interaural cross-correlation coefficient (IACC) calculated from binaural impulse response (BIR), henceforth denoted by IACC_IR. The subjective diffuseness for the listener is a spatial attribute which depends on factors associated both with the source signal and with the actual sound field, and is quantified using the IACC of the signal received by the listener, henceforth denoted by IACC_SR. Therefore, the subjective diffuseness in a given hall may change with the music. The aims of this study are to estimate the IACC_SR from the IACC_IR and the factors, which is obtained from autocorrelation function (ACF) of music signal, and to evaluate the subjective diffuseness by these factors. First, the relationship between the IACC_IR and IACC_SR was investigated. Second, subjective diffuseness was measured by a psycho-acoustical experiment. As a result, the IACC_SR could be estimated from the IACC_IR of the BIR and the effective duration (τ_e) from the ACF of music signal. It was found that the effects of BIRs on subjective diffuseness could be evaluated by IACC_IR for almost all subjects, while the effects of music signals could be evaluated by the τ_e and the width of the peak at τ=0 (W_?(0)) of the ACF.     

Growth of fullerene on Ag and hydrogen-passivated Si substrates: Effect of electron beam exposure on growth modes

We have used Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) to investigate the effect of electron beam exposure on growth modes of fullerene (C₆₀) on substrates like Ag and hydrogen-passivated Si(1 1 1). The electron beam comprises of 3.4 keV electrons, which are used in the AES study. To investigate the effect, Auger signal (AS) vs. deposition time (t) measurements were conducted in a sequential mode, i.e., alternating deposition of C₆₀ and analysis using the electron beam. Duration of AES data collection after each deposition was the duration of exposure to electron beam in this experiment. For the growth study of C₆₀ on Ag, three AS-t plots were recorded for three different durations of exposure to electron beam. Changes in the AS-t plot, depending on the duration of exposure to the electron beam, reflect the electron beam-induced damage. Electron beam-induced damages of C₆₀ produce carbon materials of different densities and consequently transmission coefficient (α) of Auger electron through this material changes. In order to fit the AES (AS vs. t) data a model has been used which simultaneously provides the growth mode and the transmission coefficient. Observation of an increasing transmission coefficient with the increasing duration of exposure to the electron beam from α=0.34 to 0.60 indicates the change of the nature of the carbon material due to the partial damage of C₆₀.     

The elliptical dimension of space-time atmospheric stratification of passive admixtures using lidar data

State-of-the-art airborne lidar data of passive scalars have shown that the spatial stratification of the atmosphere is scaling: the vertical extent (Δz) of structures is typically ≈Δx^H_z where Δx is the horizontal extent and H_z is a stratification exponent. Assuming horizontal isotropy, the volumes of the structures therefore vary as ΔxΔxΔx^H_z=Δx^D_s where the “elliptical dimension” D_s characterizes the rate at which the volumes of typical non-intermittent structures vary with scale. Work on vertical cross-sections has shown that 2+H_z=2.55±0.02 (close to the theoretical prediction 23/9).In this paper we extend these (x, z) analyses to (z, t). In the absence of overall advection, the lifetime Δt of a structure of size Δx varies as Δx^H_t with H_t=2/3 so that the overall space-time dimension is D_st=29/9=3.22…. However, horizontal and vertical advection lead to new exponents: we argue that the temporal stratification exponent H_t≈1 or ≈0.7 depending on the relative importance of horizontal versus vertical advection velocities. We empirically test these space-time predictions using vertical-time (z, t) cross-sections using passive scalar surrogates (aerosol backscatter ratios from lidar) at ∼3 m resolution in the vertical, 0.5-30 s in time and spanning 3-4 orders of magnitude in scale as well as new analyses of vertical (x, z) cross-sections (spanning over 3 orders of magnitude in both x, z directions). In order to test the theory for density fluctuations at arbitrary displacements in (Δz, Δt) and (Δx, Δz) spaces, we developed and applied a new Anisotropic Scaling Analysis Technique (ASAT) based on nonlinear coordinate transformations. Applying this and other analyses to data spanning more than 3 orders of magnitude of space-time scales we determined the anisotropic scaling of space-time finding the empirical value D_st=3.13±0.16. The analyses also show that both cirrus clouds and aerosols had very similar space-time scaling properties. We point out that this model is compatible with (nonlinear) “turbulence” waves, hence potentially explaining the observed atmospheric structures.     

Effect of conduction band nonprabolicity on the Rashba spin splitting of AlGaN/GaN QWs

By using the perturbation expansion method and self-consistent iterative method, we evaluate the effect of the conduction band nonprabolicity on the wave vector (k_t) dependent Rashba coefficient (α) and nonlinear Rashba spin splitting (ΔE) in the Al_0.5Ga_0.5N/GaN quantum well (QW). The effective mass (energy) under the first order approximation m_t1 (E_k1) is in proximity to the iterative result m_tp (E_kp) and m_t1>m_tp, E_k1<E_kp, showing the higher order contributions to m_t (E_k) are small. The sign of the nonparabolic correction to E_k is just opposite to that of the correction to m_t. The increase of α and ΔE due to the conduction band nonparabolicity reaches about 3% at k_t=1 nm⁻¹. Around the left heterointerface, the probability density is high and E_k0>E_kp>E_k1, so α₀<α_p<α₁, ΔE₀<ΔE_p<ΔE₁. With increasing k_t, α decreases, and ΔE increases slowly. For small k_t, α₀ (ΔE₀), α₁ (ΔE₁) and α_p (ΔE_p) are nearly the same. While for large k_t, the difference between α₀ and α₁ (α_p) increases rapidly, but the difference between ΔE₀ and ΔE₁ (ΔE_p) increases slowly.     

DISSIMILARITY JUDGMENTS IN RELATION TO TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL FACTORS FOR THE SOUND FIELD IN AN EXISTING HALL

In relation to the temporal and spatial factors of sound fields, dissimilarity judgments for different source locations on a stage were performed. This study is based on the model of the auditory-brain system, which consists of the autocorrelation and crosscorrelation mechanisms for sound signals arriving at two ears and the specialization of human cerebral hemispheres. There are three temporal factors (τ₁,φ₁ and τ_e) extracted from the autocorrelation function and four spatial factors (LL,IACC,τ_IACC and W_IACC) from the interaural crosscorrelation function of binaural signals. In addition to these temporal and spatial factors, the orthogonal factors of the subjective preference for sound field (Δt₁ and T_sub) were taken into account. The psychological distance between sound fields of different source locations on the stage were calculated by using these temporal, spatial and orthogonal factors of sound fields. Using these distances and their linear combination, dissimilarity can be calculated. Results of multivariable analysis show that the calculated scale values of dissimilarity agree well with the measured scale values.     

On the possible coexistence of itinerant-electron antiferromagnetism with the itinerant-electron ferromagnetism

It is shown that in an electron gas with coexisting charge density wave and spin density wave a spontaneous magnetization can occur. In the first paramagnetic region (T,T_t;Δ_s = Δ_t = 0) the spin susceptibility is independent of temperature (Pauli paramagnetism). In the second paramagnetic region (T_K<T<T_t,Δ_t≠0;Δ_s=0) the total susceptibility of the spin density wave is enhanced by a temperature dependent paramagnetic susceptibility with a Curie type law. This reflects the instability of the system to the formation of a charge density wave or to ferromagnetism. At sufficiently low temperatures (T～T_K) the spin susceptibility is anomalous great a fact which cannot be explained with the standard Fedders-Martin theory. Experimental results for pure chromium are in good agreement with our predictions.     

Thermodynamic properties of Rb2ZnCl4 associated with three phase transitions

Transitions were observed by heat capacity measurements at 74.6 K, 195.2 K, and 303 K. They are a soft mode transition (ΔH_t = 30 J mol^?1, ΔS_t = 0.42 J K^?1 mol^?1), a first-order commensurate-incommensurate transition (ΔH_t = 6.2 J mol^?1ΔS_t = 0.032 J K^?1 mol^?1), and a second-order incommensurate-normal transition, respectively.     

Development of nanocrystalline Mn-Zn ferrites for high frequency transformer applications

Microwave-Hydrothermal (M-H) method has been successfully used for the synthesis of nanocrystalline Mn-Zn ferrites which are used for high-frequency applications. As synthesized powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanopowders were annealed at 600 °C/20 min using the microwave sintering method. The frequency dependence of dielectric constant (ε′) was measured in the range of 10 Hz-1.3 GHz and initial permeability (μ_i) was measured in the range of 10 Hz-1 MHz. The total power loss (P_t) was measured on the annealed samples at 100 kHz and 200 mT condition. Conductor-embedded-ferrite transformers were fabricated and output power (P_o), efficiency (η) and temperature rise (ΔT) were measured at sinusoidal voltage of 25 V at 1 MHz. The transformer efficiency (η) was found to be high and surface rise of temperature (ΔT) is very low.     

基于低温超导量子干涉器件的脑 听觉激励磁场探测

本文利用磁屏蔽室和二阶轴向梯度计抑制环境磁场噪声, 建立了单通道脑磁探测系统, 并对不用声音频率下脑听觉激励磁场N100m响应进行了初步探测.结果显示, 1000 Hz音频和100 ms持续声音激励下, N100m峰值的典型强度约为0.4 pT.在低的声音频率激励下, N100m峰出现延时, 100 Hz 和1000 Hz之间的延时差别达到25 ms.相比于1 kHz特定频率的声音激励, 1—4 kHz 随机变频下的N100m峰幅度增强, 出现了数毫秒的延时.本研究为下一步利用软件梯度计进行多通道脑磁系统和听觉机理研究奠定了一定的基础.     

Electrochemical investigation of the surface energy: Effect of the HF concentration on electroless silver deposition onto p-Si (1 1 1)

Electroless silver deposition onto p-silicon (1 1 1) from 0.005 mol l⁻¹ AgNO₃ solutions with different HF concentration was investigated by using an electrochemical direct current polarization method and open circuit potential-time (Ocp-t) technique. The fact that three-dimensional (3D) growth of silver onto silicon is favored with increasing the HF concentration was ascribed to the drop of the surface energy and approved by electrochemical direct current polarization, Ocp-t technique and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The drop slope of open-circuit potential, K_{−ΔE(OCP)/t}, was educed from the mixed-potential theory. K_{−ΔE(OCP)/t} as well as the deposition rate determined by an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), increased with the HF concentration, yet was not a linear function. Results were explained by the stress generation and relaxation mechanisms.     

Electrochromic and electrochemical properties of amorphous porous nickel hydroxide thin films

Nickel hydroxide films were prepared using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. The amorphous nature of the films was confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements showed that the films exhibited nickel hydroxide nature. The porosity of the films was studied using optical measurements. The electrochromic properties of the porous nickel hydroxide layers were investigated, using cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, in situ transmittance, UV-vis spectroscopy, and impedance spectroscopy. The change in the optical density (ΔOD) was found to be 0.79 for the as-deposited nickel hydroxide films, whereas it is 0.53 and 0.50 for the films annealed at 150 °C and 200 °C, respectively. The in situ transmittance and chronoamperometry curves revealed that the annealed films had a very fast colouration (t_c < 290 ms) and decolouration (t_b < 130 ms). The measured colouration efficiencies range between 30 and 40 cm²/C. The impedance measurements revealed the faster colouration and good electrochromic properties for the annealed nickel hydroxide films.     

LOUDNESS OF SHARPLY (2068 dB/OCTAVE) FILTERED NOISES IN RELATION TO THE FACTORS EXTRACTED FROM THE AUTOCORRELATION FUNCTION

This study examines the loudness of bandpass noises with center frequencies of 250, 500 and 1000Hz while changing the autocorrelation function (ACF). The bandwidth of the source signal was altered with a 2068 dB/octave sharp filter to control the ACF of the source signal. The scale values of loudness were obtained using a paired-comparison method. It is shown that the loudness of the bandpass noises inside the critical band is not constant. The loudness of the pure tone is greater than that of sharply filtered noises. The loudness of the bandpass noises increases with increasing effective duration of the ACF (τ_e) of the source signal.     

Herd behavior in weight-driven information spreading models for financial market

We study two weight-driven information spreading models for financial market. In these models, we find that the activity threshold below which the ‘financial crash’ occurs can be increased by uneven distribution of information weight, compared with Eguíluz and Zimmermann model [V.M. Eguíluz, M.G. Zimmermann, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 (2000) 5659]. We also find that below the threshold the normalized return distribution, P(Z;Δt) satisfies P(Z=0;Δt)∼exp(−Δt/b) whereas P(Z=0;Δt)∼Δt^−τ above the threshold. Here Δt is the time interval where the normalized return is defined, Z(t,Δt)=Z(t+Δt)−Z(t). By approximating the relative increase of P(Z;Δt=1) for large Z as Gaussian distribution with non-zero mean, we show that the non-zero mean of the Gaussian distribution can cause such exponentially decaying behavior of P(Z=0;Δt).     

Effect of cascading of higher-lying states on a delayed 1s-2p transition after beam-foil excitation of 56 MeV hydrogen-like oxygen and fluorine

The delayed fluorescence of the soft X-ray (1s-2p) transition was observed for H-like ions (O⁷⁺ and F⁸⁺) between 1.3 ns and 20 ns decay time after beam-foil excitation. The delayed X-ray fluorescence was found to decay with at ^Δ power law time dependence. The non-exponential decay is attributed to cascading through higher lying states. We found thatΔ ₀=1.40±0.08 andΔ _F =1.44±0.02 for H-like oxygen and fluorine, respectively. Present results are in fair agreement with the previously reported exponent,Δ ₀=1.5, measured over 3 ns after excitation.     

Synthesis algorithm of a multi-channel lattice-form optical delay-line circuit

A novel synthesis algorithm for multi-channel (M?2) lattice form optical delay-line circuit is presented in this paper. This circuit offers multi-port FIR optical filter with delay time of N Δτ (Δτ: unit delay time). Synthesis algorithm is based on division of total transfer matrix into unit blocks. Developed method confirms that 1×M optical delay-line circuit offers same transmission characteristics as 1×M FIR digital filter. Band-pass flat group delay type filter is considered as an example in this paper. It is also confirmed that proposed delay-line circuit can realize 100% power transmittance.     

Relaxation processes upon photoexcitation of semiconductor CdF<Subscript>2</Subscript> by laser pulses

The microwave-cavity-based technique is used to study the processes of photoionization of electrons from donor levels to the conduction band in semiconductor CdF₂ crystals doped with Y, In, or Ga. The samples were excited by periodic pulses of Nd-laser (λ = 1.06 μm, pulse width ～10 ns) in the temperature range 6–77 K. The transient processes were detected in the absorption and dispersion modes related to variation of the imaginary and real parts of the complex permittivity ?₁ ? i?₂ induced by the light pulses. The observed signals consisted of short peak at t ～ 0, approximately 40–70 ns in length, and a long tail with a duration of ～100 ms. The short peak is likely to be related to the stay of the photoexcited carriers in the conduction band, while the long tail is associated with the processes of excitation relaxation after the electrons coming back to the donor levels of the impurity band. The weak temperature dependence of the width of the peak at t ～ 0 is explained by the tunneling mechanism of relaxation of electrons through the energy (or, probably, spatial) barrier separating the bound and free states of the carriers in the semiconductor CdF₂.