Monaural room acoustic parameters from music and speech

This paper compares two methods for extracting room acoustic parameters from reverberated speech and music. An approach which uses statistical machine learning, previously developed for speech, is extended to work with music. For speech, reverberation time estimations are within a perceptual difference limen of the true value. For music, virtually all early decay time estimations are within a difference limen of the true value. The estimation accuracy is not good enough in other cases due to differences between the simulated data set used to develop the empirical model and real rooms. The second method carries out a maximum likelihood estimation on decay phases at the end of notes or speech utterances. This paper extends the method to estimate parameters relating to the balance of early and late energies in the impulse response. For reverberation time and speech, the method provides estimations which are within the perceptual difference limen of the true value. For other parameters such as clarity, the estimations are not sufficiently accurate due to the natural reverberance of the excitation signals. Speech is a better test signal than music because of the greater periods of silence in the signal, although music is needed for low frequency measurement.     

Modulation of discharge parameters caused by acoustic wave

The propagation of acoustic waves in a partially ionized plasma in an external electric field is studied theoretically. It is assumed that an acoustic wave propagating through ionized gas causes only perturbations in ion gas. The problem is studied in the hydrodynamic approach and the basic equation is solved by means of Laplace transformation. It was found that waves can propagate in plasma also at other frequencies and wave numbers except the wave with the frequency and wave number of the neutral sound wave. Relations are derived for the density of the perturbation current and the intensity of modulated light irradiated from the plasma and the possible mechanism of the interaction of an acoustic wave with a discharge is taken into account. The necessity of further theoretical and experimental investigation is shown in conclusion.The author is much indebted to Prof. J. Kracík, Dr. Sc., for his valuable remarks and stimulating discussions.     

Bioacoustic spatial perception by humans: a controlled laboratory measurement of spatial resolution without distal cues

The angular spatial resolution of a wide-angle air sonar using a continuous transmission frequency-modulated radiation, with the output coupled binaurally to the auditory system of a user, was measured under restrained controlled conditions. This was done to determine the effect of adding a narrow central field of view of 9 deg to a wide-angle sonar. The target objects were three equidistant vertical rods initially spaced apart by 10 deg. This was varied down to a spacing of 4 deg. Ten nonvisual subjects achieved an angular resolution of 6 deg. Four of these ten subjects continued learning to achieve an unexpected spatial resolution of 4 deg within the 9 deg central field. A mean error of approximately 1 deg in direction accuracy was achieved. It is inferred that the unique variations in the octave band ultrasonic echoes within the narrow field, and the invariance of the on-axis echo as one's head is turned, enables this angular resolution and accuracy to be achieved within the wide binaural field of view of 50 deg. This ability to resolve specula objects within a narrow angular resolution element of 9 deg is linked to the bat's ability to seemingly resolve object glints within a distal resolution element of less than 2 wavelengths.     

Subjective evaluation of intraocular lenses by visual acuity measurement using adaptive optics

We present a new method for subjectively evaluating intraocular lenses (IOLs) without implantation surgery. To illustrate the method, three types of single-piece IOL (equispherical monofocal, rotational symmetric aspheric monofocal, and diffractive bifocal) were assembled into a model eye and evaluated using an ocular adaptive optics system by a single subject. To separate the spherical aberration of the crystalline lens, the subject's corneal topography and wavefront aberrations were measured and modeled. Three levels of Zernike spherical aberration were generated and superposed on the IOLs and the subject's eye. The corrected distance visual acuity was measured by psychophysical visual procedure.     

Estimation of the relaxation parameters of a cholesteric liquid by the parameters of acoustic streaming

The possibility of determining the relaxation time of cholesteric liquid crystals with a large helix pitch from the parameters of acoustic streaming is demonstrated experimentally.     

Study on variation of thermal image by infrared radiometer influenced by fluctuations of environmental factors

The infrared radiometer (IR) displays the radiation temperature distribution. Frequently, thermal images on a CRT display fluctuate and those radiation temperatures cannot be measured correctly. Therefore, we are frequently faced with the difficult problem of evaluating the detection limits on surface and internal flaws in construction and underground structures, and so on. Those difficulties are considered to be due to fluctuations of the meteorological and environmental factors, mainly influenced by solar radiation, wind velocity, atmospheric temperature, and so on. Our experimental study clarifies the relation between variations of the thermal images on the CRT of IR display and the environmental factors using an analysis of power spectral density.     

Determination of the best carrier frequency based on the system and environmental parameters in underwater acoustic systems

One of the most challenging features of underwater acoustic (UWA) channel in comparison with its terrestrial radio frequency counterpart is highly frequency-dependent path loss. Thus, utilizing efficient carrier frequencies in UWA systems can considerably reduce the path loss. In this context, this paper presents an approximate formula for determining the best carrier frequency based on both the system and environmental parameters. To achieve this goal, this research first addresses a simple algorithm including general steps for tuning the parameters of Francois and Garrison (FG) formula in the frequency range of 10 to 100 kHz based on the appropriate experimental data which can be acquired from any interest region. Second, for a more accurate modeling of path loss, this paper considers the loss due to the reflections of sound from both the rough surface and bottom of the sea by employing the ray theory. Third, this study presents a general algorithm for modification of the power spectral density (PSD) of ambient noise based on Wenz formula in the frequency range of 10 to 100 kHz and the required experimental measurements which can be simply collected from any interest channel. Moreover, it is mathematically demonstrated that the ambient noise in the frequency range of 10 to 100 kHz, can be generally approximated with a strict sense stationary (SSS) colored normal stochastic process which is ergodic not only in mean and covariance but also in distribution. Finally, an approximate formula for the best carrier frequency is derived by maximizing the sound to noise intensity ratio (SNR). To verify the validity of simplifications and approximations utilized in this study and to assess the performance of our proposed algorithms and formulas, experimental results obtained in the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) are compared with the original, simplified, and modified models under different scenarios.     

Different ocular dominance map formation influenced by orientation preference columns in visual cortices

In animal experiments, the observed orientation preference and ocular dominance columns in the visual cortex of the brain show various pattern types. Here, we show that the different visual map formations in various species are due to the crossover behavior in anisotropic systems composed of orientational and scalar components such as easy-plane Heisenberg models. We predict the transition boundary between different pattern types with the anisotropy as a main bifurcation parameter, which is consistent with experimental observations.     

Correlational analysis of acoustic cues for the discrimination of auditory motion.

The sound of a source moving in a straight path and passing directly in front of the listener on the azimuthal plane was synthesized over headphones to include three dynamic cues for motion: Doppler effect, overall intensity, and interaural time difference. Discriminability of a change in displacement, velocity, and acceleration of this source was measured using a standard two-interval, forced-choice procedure. In each case, the relative reliance or weight given to the three acoustic cues was estimated from correlations of the listener's response with small independent pertubations imposed on cues from trial to trial. Group estimates of threshold agreed well with results from past studies, while the obtained pattern of weights depended on the individual, starting velocity, and discrimination task. For the discrimination of displacement at moderate velocity (10 m/s), responses were most highly correlated with intensity or interaural time difference. For the discrimination of velocity and, to a lesser extent, acceleration, responses were most highly correlated with Doppler effect. At higher velocity (50 m/s) responses in all discrimination tasks were most strongly correlated with Doppler effect with few exceptions. Randomizing source spectrum or roving distance of the source from trial to trial did not significantly affect the pattern of results. The results suggest that motion perception is mutable, and not in all cases based on a single invariant acoustic cue.     

Optimization of the parameters of an acoustic delay line by applying a rear acoustic load to a piezoelectric transducer

The operation of a microwave piezoelectric transducer whose piezoelectric element is connected through a number of intermediate layers with two acoustic loads is investigated. One of the loads is the medium in which the transducer excites elastic waves, and the other (the rear load) serves for the formation of the transducer’s characteristics. On the basis of the previous numerical analysis of the transfer coefficients for the direct and inverse transformations, the frequency dependences of the transformation efficiency and the standing-wave ratios in the transmission line (the direct transformation) and in the sound duct (the inverse transformation) are calculated. The theoretical curves that illustrate the effect of the rear load on the characteristics of a specific multilayer transducer operating in the decimetric wave range with a matching LC circuit are discussed.     

Methods of estimating the acoustic parameters of ground

A method for determining the dynamic and dissipative characteristics of the ground (velocities and attenuation coefficients of elastic waves) in urban environments is presented. The knowledge of these characteristics is necessary for estimating and monitoring environmental conditions in the presence of intense sources of sound and vibration. Such problems arise in connection with prediction of vibration levels produced on the ground surface by underground and surface sources (transportation, construction machinery, etc.). With allowance for the specific features of solving direct problems of elastic wave field calculation, inverse problems of the tomography of ground are formulated and methods of their solution are described. Several algorithmic realizations based on multiply solving the direct problem and also on expanding the total field in generalized spectral components are considered. The latter approach makes it possible to simplify the estimation of parameters by applying the minimization of the residual functional. The basis functions used for approximating the experimental data are chosen in the form of Jacobi polynomials.     

Subjective and objective verifications of the inverse functions of binaural room impulse responses

The binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) can be applied to 3-D sound field reconstruction, virtual reality, noise control, et al. Because the BRIRs are non-minimum phase functions, it is difficult to find the exact inverse functions of the BRIRs, especially when there are two or more sources in a reverberant space. In this work, a method was proposed to find the inverse functions of BRIRs with two sound sources in a reverberant space. The concept of time delays and the method of weighted least squares were used to find the causal, however, approximate inverse functions. The accuracy of the inverse functions was first evaluated objectively by a dummy head system. The result shows that the distortion due to crosstalk and room reverberation can be improved by 16∼18 dB. The inverse functions were also verified subjectively by 20 students. The result of subjective evaluation also shows that the inverse functions can be used successfully to reduce the crosstalk effect and the room reverberation.     

Variability of scaling parameters in non-conservative systems: Geophysical aspect

Newly obtained data on the critical dynamics of the drifting/fracturing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean were analyzed and compared with published data on the dynamic processes in the Earth’s crust. Substantial similarities were found in the scaling behavior of both geophysical systems; the most important of them is the b-value space/time variability including a pre-failure drop of this parameter. The b-value pattern of the ensemble of drifting ice floes is an analogue of the b-value distribution over areas and depths in tectonic structures. A common feature of the pre-failure state in the cryosphere and in the Earth’s crust is the increased degree of the energy conservation that manifests itself both in the sea ice consolidation prior to basin-wide ice pack fragmentations, and in involving harder geological formations in the fracture process before earthquakes, respectively. From the viewpoint of the conservative SOC concept, this relation between the system’s conservativity and the occurrence of large-scale fracture events means that the expected scale level of failure is determined by the system’s closeness to “true” SOC behavior.     

Finite size scaling for critical parameters of simple diatomic molecules

We use the finite size scaling method to study the critical points, points of non-analyticity, of the ground state energy as a function of the coupling parameters in the Hamiltonian. In this approach, the finite size corresponds to the number of elements in a complete basis set used to expand the exact eigenfunction of a given molecular Hamiltonian. To illustrate this approach, we give detailed calculations for systems of one electron and two nuclear centres, Z ⁺ e ^?Z⁺. Within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, there is no critical point, but without the approximation the system exhibits a critical point at Z = Z_c = 1.228279 when the nuclear charge, Z, varies. We show also that the dissociation occurs in a first-order phase transition and calculate the various related critical exponents. The possibility of generalizing this approach to larger molecular systems using Gaussian basis sets is discussed.     

Experimental observations of the dimensionless scaling of planar and cylindrical ion acoustic solitons

An experimental comparison of planar and cylindrical ion acoustic solitons is made through the use of dimensionless scaling parameters. The Korteweg de Vries equation is found to be insufficient to completely explain the observed data.     

The use of visual cues in the perception of non-native consonant contrasts

This study assessed the extent to which second-language learners are sensitive to phonetic information contained in visual cues when identifying a non-native phonemic contrast. In experiment 1, Spanish and Japanese learners of English were tested on their perception of a labial/ labiodental consonant contrast in audio (A), visual (V), and audio-visual (AV) modalities. Spanish students showed better performance overall, and much greater sensitivity to visual cues than Japanese students. Both learner groups achieved higher scores in the AV than in the A test condition, thus showing evidence of audio-visual benefit. Experiment 2 examined the perception of the less visually-salient /1/-/r/ contrast in Japanese and Korean learners of English. Korean learners obtained much higher scores in auditory and audio-visual conditions than in the visual condition, while Japanese learners generally performed poorly in both modalities. Neither group showed evidence of audio-visual benefit. These results show the impact of the language background of the learner and visual salience of the contrast on the use of visual cues for a non-native contrast. Significant correlations between scores in the auditory and visual conditions suggest that increasing auditory proficiency in identifying a non-native contrast is linked with an increasing proficiency in using visual cues to the contrast.     

Evaluation of the spatial resolution of passive acoustic thermal tomography

Possible spatial resolution of a passive acoustic thermal tomograph is evaluated in numerical experiments. A criterion for the evaluation of this parameter is proposed. The criterion is based on the formation of a dip between two reconstructed temperature peaks with increasing distance between the thermal sources in the region under investigation. The spatial resolution depends on the positions of a pair of temperature peaks relative to the body surface and on the algorithm used for the reconstruction of the temperature distribution. An algorithm version providing an adequate reconstruction of the heights of the distribution peaks is suggested. It takes into account a priori information on the ultrasonic absorption coefficient and also the characteristics of the heat-transfer processes and the presence of blood circulation in a human body. In the case of lateral positions of the pair of temperature peaks relative to the surface, the spatial resolution is ≈1.7 cm. The prospects for the improvement of the spatial resolution of a passive acoustic thermal tomographs are discussed.