Conversion of a head-mounted microphone signal intocalibrated SPL units

A method is reviewed for conversion of a microphone signal into calibrated Sound Pressure Level (SPL) units. The method follows American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for S1.4 SPL meters and requires an accurate SPL meter and an accurate calibration sound source for conversion. Accuracy and validation data from test signals and human phonation are provided. The results indicate that under typical speech conditions, an absolute accuracy of plus or minus 1.6 dB (type I SPL meter) can be obtained with a miniature head-mounted microphone.     

Approximations of open quotient and speed quotient from glottal airflow and egg waveforms : Effects of measurement criteria and sound pressure level

Noninvasive measures of vocal fold activity are useful for describingnormal and disordered voice production. Measures of open and speed quotient from glottal airflow and electroglottographic (EGG) waveforms have been used to describe timing events associated with vocal fold vibration. To date, there has been little consistency in the measurement criteria used to calculate quotient values. In this study, criteria of 20% and 50% were applied to the AC amplitude of glottal airflow and inverted EGG waveforms for measurement of open quotient. Criteria of 20%, 50%, and 80%, and a midslope criterion that segmented the waveform between 20% and 80% of the waveform amplitude, were used for the calculation of speed quotient. Subjects produced waveforms at sound pressure levels (SPL) of 70, 75, 80 and 85 dB. Results indicated that approximations of open quotient obtained from the glottal airflow waveform significantly decreased using both the 20% and 50% criteria as SPL increased from 80 to 85 dB. No significant changes were found in open quotient from the EGG waveform as a function of SPL. Results of speed quotient measures from the glottal airflow and EGG waveforms showed a generally increasing trend as SPL increased, although the differences were not statistically significant. The data suggest that the signal type, measurement criterion and SPL must be considered in interpreting quotient measures.     

Improving motion estimation by accounting for local image distortion

Cardiac elastography is a useful diagnostic technique for detection of heart function abnormalities, based on analysis of echocardiograms. The analysis of the regional heart motion allows assessing the extent of myocardial ischemia and infarction. In this paper, a new two-stage algorithm for cardiac motion estimation is proposed, where the data is taken from a sequence of 2D echocardiograms. The method combines the advantages of block-matching and optical flow techniques. The first stage employs a standard block-matching algorithm (sum of absolute differences) to provide a displacement estimate with accuracy of up to one pixel. At the second stage, this estimate is corrected by estimating the parameters of a local image transform within a test window. The parameters of the image transform are estimated in the least-square sense. In order to account for typical heart motions, like contraction/expansion, translation and rotation, a local affine model is assumed within the test window. The accuracy of the new algorithm is evaluated using a sequence of 500 grayscale B-mode images, which are generated as distorted, but known copies of an original ROI, taken from a real echocardiogram. The accuracy of the motion estimation is expressed in terms of errors: maximum absolute error, root-mean-square error, average error and standard deviation. The errors of the proposed algorithm are compared with these of the known block-matching technique with cross-correlation and interpolation in the sub-pixel space. Statistical analysis of the errors shows that the proposed algorithm provides more accurate estimates of the heart motion than the cross-correlation technique with interpolation in the sub-pixel space.     

Thresholding in correlation analyses of magnetic resonance functional neuroimaging

The definition of objective and effective thresholds in MRI of human brain function is a crucial step in the analysis of paradigm-related activations. This paper introduces a user-independent and robust procedure that calculates statistical parametric maps based on correlation coefficients. Thresholds are introduced as p values and defined with respect to the physiologic noise distribution of the individual maps. Experimental examples from the human visual and motor system rely on dynamic acquisitions of gradient-echo echo-planar images (2.0 T, TR = 2000 ms, 96 × 128 matrix) with blood oxygenation level-dependent contrast. The results demonstrate the disadvantages of thresholding with fixed correlation coefficients. In contrast, taking the individual noise into account allows for a derivation of p values and a reliable identification of highly significant activation centers. An adequate delineation of the spatial extent of activation may be achieved by adding directly neighboring pixels provided their correlation coefficients comply with a second lower p value threshold.     

鳀鱼(Engraulis japonicus)目标强度的模型法研究

采用声散射理论和目标强度近似模型评估法对黄海鲤鱼（Engraulis japonicus）的声散射特征和目标强度进行了数值计算与评估研究。散射模型由鱼鳔模型和鱼体模型两个部分构成，其中鱼鳔采用充满气体的椭球体模型，鳔除外的鱼体采用充满液体的椭球体模型。理论数值计算所需参数取自全长12．6cm的鲤鱼个体，其鱼鳔尺寸利用X光照片测得。平均目标强度利用模型算得的不同角度下的声散射强度与鲲鱼倾角分布函数的卷积计算，其中倾角（度）的分布函数设为N（-3．9，12．8^2）。结果显示，鲲鱼对声波的散射具有明显指向性；在38kHz和120kHz工作频率下，鲲鱼的最大背向目标强度分别为-41．2dB和-39．5dB，有效平均目标强度分别为-48．0dB和-51．5dB，与实测结果吻合较好。另外还对鲲鱼的反向散射指向性特征、目标强度的频率特征以及鱼鳔对鲲鱼整体目标强度的贡献等进行了分析与讨论。以上研究表明，模型法作为现场测定研究方法的重要补充和认知鱼类声学散射特性的有效途径，可在我国鱼类目标强度的研究中发挥重要作用。     

基于蚁群算法的二维最大熵分割算法

由于二维最大熵分割法不仅考虑了像素的灰度信息,而且还充分利用了像素的空间邻域信息,因此能够取得较好的分割效果.但是,该方法的计算量巨大,不利于红外图像的快速处理.蚁群算法于20世纪90年代初提出,是受到蚁群集体行为的启发而提出的一种基于种群的模拟进化算法,属于随机搜索算法.该算法已经成功应用于旅行商等离散问题.将蚁群算法应用于二维最大熵法,提出了基于蚁群算法的二维最大熵分割算法.与传统的穷尽搜索法相比,求解速度提高了60倍左右.仿真实验表明,该方法快速、简单、有效.     

图像平场校正方法的扩展应用研究

对于图像阵列探测器而言,由于各像元响应的不一致使得所获图像中各像元灰度存在差异（响应的非均性现象）,而图像的平场校正可以非常有效地消除图像中各像元响应的不一致性.如果将图像背景或光路中影响成像的一些因素在一定程度上看作是图像探测器的响应,认为它是响应非均匀的组成部分,根据平场校正的原理对其进行处理,则可以获得较好的效果.     

颤振对TDICCD相机像质的影响分析

为了分析卫星颤振对TDICCD相机像质的影响,给出了低频正弦颤振引起的相机像移,重点分析了滚动、俯仰、偏航三个方向的颤振对相机成像质量的影响.通过对两种卫星颤振动力学仿真数据的计算,具体研究了颤振对相机像质的影响程度.结果表明,TDICCD相机对卫星颤振幅值要求较高,且随TDI积分级数的增加,颤振的影响尤为突出,必须加以限制.     

一种线性相位反演波前测量方法的实验研究

 描述了基于线性相位反演算法的波前传感器的基本组成结构。在实验室内搭建了相应的演示验证实验装置，对该种新型波前测量方法的特性进行了实验研究。实验计算结果表明：这种根据入射全孔径远场光斑强度分布直接反演出入射波前相位的线性相位反演新方法原理是可行的。只需实时测量一幅焦平面图像，根据焦平面上光强分布的微小变化量与入射孔径面上的相位分布的微小变化量之间存在的近似线性关系，就可以用模式复原的原理复原出入射波前相位。传感器对于离焦，像散等像差模式都可以进行较为准确的测量，误差率都小于1。对称系统像差中存在少量的非对称像差对复原结果的准确性影响不大。