Community responses to road traffic noise in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam is a developing country in southeast Asia, and its environment has been seriously affected by industrialization and urbanization. In large cities like Hanoi (northern Vietnam) and Ho Chi Minh City (southern Vietnam), noise emission from road traffic has been found to be a serious concern among general public. In 2005 and 2007, two large-scale socio-acoustic surveys of community response to road traffic noise were conducted to investigate human reactions to road traffic noise in these cities; the sample sizes were 1503 people in Hanoi and 1471 in Ho Chi Minh City. The noise exposure levels (L_den) were 70–83 dB in Hanoi and 75–83 dB in Ho Chi Minh City. Noise annoyance was estimated using standardized annoyance scales. For both cities, dose–response relationships were established between L_den and the percentage of highly annoyed respondents. Compared to annoyance responses of European people, Vietnamese were less annoyed by road traffic noise by about 5 dB. Hanoi respondents seemed to be more annoyed by noise than Ho Chi Minh City respondents. Conversation and sleep disturbances were not as serious as expected in either city. Furthermore, window orientation in the home was found to affect activity disturbances.     

Characteristics of road traffic noise in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Noise pollution due to road traffic is a major global concern because of its negative impact on the quality of life in communities everywhere. In Vietnam, traffic noise has become an increasingly noticeable and serious problem in large cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. To gain more insight into the characteristics of this noise, intensive noise measurements were conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in September 2005 and September 2007, respectively. A comprehensive dataset of noise was obtained that included 24-h noise measurements as well as short-term noise recordings. The volume of traffic was also quantified by reproducing video camera recordings. Noise datasets from both cities were then compared with a dataset of Japanese traffic noise obtained in Kumamoto. The results showed that the traffic noise in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City was characterized by relatively high noise exposure levels due to the large number of motorbikes and frequent horn sounds. The sound of horns contributed a definite impact of 0-4 dB on noise exposure in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where noise levels decreased with the absence of horn sounds. Our results also showed differences in the characteristic traffic noise of Vietnam and Japan.     

Comparison of models to predict annoyance from combined noise in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi

Seven models were compared in terms of the ability to predict the annoyance due to the combination of aircraft and road traffic noises on the basis of data collected around airports in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam. The 24-h average sound levels L_Aeq,24h and unweighted means of annoyance scores for aircraft, road traffic, and combined noise were used to solve the regression equations for the seven models. The results indicate that road traffic noise exposure and annoyance were more than those of aircraft noise at almost all sites in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Among the considered models, the dominant source model yielded the highest coefficients of determination, with R² values of 0.82 and 0.90 for surveys in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, respectively. These results suggest that the dominant source model is the most useful model in the vicinity of those airports in Vietnam where road traffic noise is more dominant than aircraft noise. This is convenient for situations in which dose-response curves are established separately for different noise sources.     

Interactive simulation of aircraft noise in aural and visual virtual environments

This paper describes a novel aircraft noise simulation technique developed at RWTH Aachen University, which makes use of aircraft noise auralization and 3D visualization to make aircraft noise both heard and seen in immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environments. This technique is intended to be used to increase the residents’ acceptance of aircraft noise by presenting noise changes in a more directly relatable form, and also aid in understanding what contributes to the residents’ subjective annoyance via psychoacoustic surveys. This paper describes the technique as well as some of its initial applications. The reasoning behind the development of such a technique is that the issue of aircraft noise experienced by residents in airport vicinities is one of subjective annoyance. Any efforts at noise abatement have been conventionally presented to residents in terms of noise level reductions in conventional metrics such as A-weighted level or equivalent sound level L_eq. This conventional approach however proves insufficient in increasing aircraft noise acceptance due to two main reasons – firstly, the residents have only a rudimentary understanding of changes in decibel and secondly, the conventional metrics do not fully capture what the residents actually find annoying i.e. characteristics of aircraft noise they find least acceptable. In order to allow least resistance to air-traffic expansion, the acceptance of aircraft noise has to be increased, for which such a new approach to noise assessment is required.     

A standardised test environment to compare aircraft noise calculation programs

A new standardised test environment for aircraft noise calculation programs is presented. By means of this test environment different programs for aircraft noise calculation can be compared systematically. For this purpose a complete data set was developed, containing all relevant information needed to perform unambiguous aircraft noise calculations in the vicinity of an artificial airport. The input data is provided in a generic, non-program-specific form in order to be applicable to programs based on different calculation methods and data structures. In addition to the input data, guidelines on the file format of the results of calculations performed with different programs are specified to facilitate direct comparisons. The test environment and its data structure are outlined and examples of calculations according to this scheme are presented.     

Combining a theoretical approach and practical considerations for establishing aircraft noise charge schemes

This research has developed a systematic aircraft noise charge scheme, based on noise social costs, with a view to its application in Taiwan. The paper starts with a brief review of current structures and applications of noise charges, a market-based measure, in mitigating aircraft noise worldwide. The evaluation of aircraft noise social cost is an attempt at putting noise nuisance into monetary terms. The total and average noise social cost per flight at one airport is clearly different from another, depending mainly on the size of the noise contour and the number of residents affected. This research estimates the average noise social costs at various airports, using nine Taiwanese airports as case studies. Depending on the marginal impact of a flight and the mixture of aircraft types at each airport, the noise social cost per landing and take-off is then estimated for different aircraft types. The results of this study can inform airport, airline and local administration policies for taking environmental concerns into account when setting up noise charges, revising noise insulation schemes, and developing strategies for airport expansion and airline operations.     

Annoyance response to mixed transportation noise in Hong Kong

To better understand mixed transportation noise-annoyance response, a study was undertaken in Hong Kong to (1) unravel factors affecting annoyance response to mixed transportation noise; (2) contrast noise-annoyance relationships between road traffic and railway noise dominant situations; and (3) explain the differences, if any, between the two using structural equation modelling from the data collected in a social survey. Results of this study show that annoyance is largely determined by noise disturbance and perceived noisiness. Personal noise sensitivity, attitudes towards different means of transport and perceived quality of the living environment are secondary contributing factors. When road traffic noise dominates, annoyance is primarily determined by noise disturbance caused by the peaks of railway noise events; when railway noise dominates, peaks of train events can induce annoyance response directly without causing disturbance. Policy implications of such results on how to minimize noise-annoyance response are discussed in the paper.     

非高斯噪声激励下含周期信号FitzHugh-Nagumo系统的响应特征

研究了非高斯噪声激励下含周期信号的FHN模型的动力学行为. 通过计算神经元的平均响应时间、观察神经元的共振活化和噪声增强稳定现象,分析了非高斯噪声对神经元动力学行为的影响. 发现通过改变非高斯噪声的相关时间可以有效地改变共振活化和噪声增强稳定现象. 观察到在强相关噪声下不同强度的非高斯噪声抑制了神经元的噪声增强稳定现象而共振活化现象几乎不变,也就是非高斯噪声有效地增强了神经响应的效率. 观察了平均响应时间与非高斯噪声参数q之间的关系,当q为一个有限的小于1的值时,平均响应时间取得最小值. 最后表明在一定条件下,非高斯噪声出现重尺度现象,即非高斯噪声产生的效果可以由高斯白噪声来估计. 关键词： FHN神经系统 非高斯噪声 平均响应时间 共振活化现象     

加性和乘性泊松白噪声联合激励下光滑非连续振子的随机响应

利用广义胞映射方法,研究了加性和乘性泊松白噪声联合作用下SD振子(smooth and discontinuous oscillator)的随机响应问题.基于图分析算法,获得确定SD振子的吸引子、吸引域、域边界、鞍和不变流形等全局特性.基于矩阵分析算法,计算了SD振子在泊松白噪声激励下的瞬态和稳态响应.结果表明:随机响应的概率密度函数演化方向和确定情况下的不稳定流形形状之间存在密切联系.蒙特卡罗模拟结果表明,所使用的方法是有效且准确的.     

Shot noise in the hybrid triple-quantum-dot interferometer coupled to superconductor and normal terminals

The shot noise of a hybrid triple-quantum-dot (TQD) interferometer has been investigated by employing the nonequilibrium Green's function method, and the general shot noise formula has been derived. The oscillation behaviors of transmission coefficients and shot noise versus the Aharonov–Bohm phase ?   exhibit asymmetric Fano resonance structure and blockade effect. Sub-Poissonian and super-Poissonian behaviors of shot noise appear in different regimes of terminal bias e_Vγ$e{V}_{\gamma }$ contributed by the Andreev reflection, and correlation of Andreev tunneling with the normal electron transport. The inverse resonance and resonance structures emerge in the shot noise and Fano factor with respect to one of the gate voltages in different regimes of e_Vγ$e{V}_{\gamma }$. The asymmetric structure can be enhanced by modifying the energy levels and gate biases of the TQD. The self-correlation and cross-correlation of current components contribute to the enhancement and suppression of shot noise.     

Stochastic resonance in bistable systems with nonlinear dissipation and multiplicative noise: A microscopic approach

We have studied the stochastic resonance (SR) of bistable systems coupled to a bath with a nonlinear system–bath interaction, by using the microscopic, generalized Caldeira–Leggett (CL) model. The adopted CL model yields the non-Markovian Langevin equation with nonlinear dissipation and state-dependent (multiplicative) diffusion which preserve the fluctuation–dissipation relation (FDR). Results of our simulations are given as follows: (1) the spectral power amplification (SPA) exhibits SR not only for a$a$ and b$b$ but also for τ$\tau$ while the stationary probability distribution function is independent of them where a$a$ and b$b$ denote magnitudes of multiplicative and additive noises, respectively, and τ$\tau$ expresses the relaxation time of Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) colored noise; (2) the SPA for coexisting additive and multiplicative noises has a single-peak but two-peak structure as functions of a$a$, b$b$ and/or τ$\tau$. Results (1) and (2) are qualitatively different from previous ones obtained by phenomenological Langevin models where the FDR is not held or indefinite. These show an importance of the FDR in a study on SR of open bistable systems.     

有界噪声与谐和激励联合作用下Duffing-Rayleigh振子的Melnikov混沌

研究了有界噪声与谐和激励作用下的Duffing-Rayleigh振子的动力学行为.首先运用随机Melnikov过程方法得到系统出现混沌的条件,结果表明随着非线性阻尼参数的增加系统会从混沌运动到周期运动,随着Wiener过程强度参数的增加,系统由混沌进入周期的临界幅值会先递增后不变.最后,用两类数值方法即最大Lyapunov指数与Poincare截面验证了上述结果. 关键词： 有界噪声 随机Melnikov过程 混沌运动 周期运动     

Relative response of TL and component-resolved OSL to alpha and beta radiations in annealed sedimentary quartz

Knowledge of the relative luminescence response to alpha and beta radiation is very important in TL and OSL dating. In the present study the relative alpha to beta response is studied in a sedimentary quartz sample, previously fired at 900 °C for 1 h, in the dose region between 1 and 128 Gy, for both thermoluminescence (TL) and linearly modulated optically stimulated luminescence (LM – OSL). The LM – OSL measurements were performed at room temperature and at 125 °C. All OSL signals were deconvolved into their individual components. Comparison of OSL curves after alpha and beta irradiation strongly supports that quartz OSL components follow first order kinetics in both cases. In the case of TL, the relative alpha to beta response is found to be very different for each TL glow-peak, but it does not depend strongly on irradiation dose. In the case of LM – OSL measurements, it is found that the relative behaviour of the alpha to beta response is different for three distinct regions, namely the fast OSL component, the region of medium OSL component originating from the TL glow-peak at 110 °C when stimulation takes place at room temperature and finally the region of slow OSL component. Following stimulation at ambient temperature, the relative alpha to beta response of all components was not observed to depend significantly on dose, with the value of ratio being 0.03 and a tendency to decrease with increasing dose. However, in the case of measurements performed at 125 °C, the relative response of the fast components is much enhanced, and for the remaining components it increases with increasing dose. Special care must be taken to examine the relative alpha to beta response of the fast component at 125 °C which contrasts the relative response of the TL peak at ca. 325 °C. The implications for the dating of annealed quartz are also briefly discussed.     

非线性柱形涂层复合介质有效的直流-交流电响应

利用摄动展开方法, 研究了由圆柱形带涂层杂质随机嵌入基质所形成的非线性复合介质在外加 的带有不同频率和振幅的混合电场E₀ + E₁ sinωt+E₃ sin3ωt作用下有效的直流-交流电响应, 分别推导了复合介质在杂质核、涂层及基质区域的电势分布, 并在低杂质浓度下给出了复合介质有效的非线性响应及它们之间的关系. 关键词： 非线性柱形涂层复合介质 有效的非线性响应 外加交直流电场     

Radiobiological response of human hepatoma and normal liver cells exposed to carbon ions generated by Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou

Human hepatoma and normal liver cells were irradiated with ¹²C⁶⁺ ion beams (LET = 96.05 keV/μm) and γ-rays at Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). The chromatid breaks and break types were detected using the premature chromosome condensation technique. Our experimental results showed that chromatid breaks seem to have a good relation with ¹²C⁶⁺ absorbed dose and ¹²C⁶⁺ are more effective to induce chromatid breaks as compared to the γ-rays. For ¹²C⁶⁺ ion irradiation the major break was isochromatid break, while chromatid breaks were dominant for γ-ray irradiation. We also observed that the Relative Biology Effectiveness (RBE) of ¹²C⁶⁺ ion is about 2.5 times higher than that of γ-rays.     

An alternative definition of the electron propagator in the superoperator form and its relation to linear response theory in a coupled-cluster framework

In this paper it is shown that (i) there exists an alternative definition of the superoperator resolvent for calculation of difference energy satisfying linked cluster theorem for a coupled-cluster choice of the ground-state function which may even be approximate; (ii) the pole-structure of this propagator-like function in superoperator form is shown to contain information similar to that contained in the conventional propagator. (iii) It is demonstrated that suitable “Killer conditions” and completeness of the “operator manifold”—essential for understanding the pole-structure of the propagator—can be established both for an exact and an approximate ground state function in a coupled-cluster form. (iv) It is also demonstrated that difference energies calculated with these propagator-like functions are identical to those obtained from a linear response theory in a coupled-cluster form put forward recently by Mukherjeeet al and Monkhorst.     

Nanodosimetric kinetic model incorporating localized and delocalized recombination: Application to the prediction of the electron dose response of the peak 5a/5 ratio in the glow curve of LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-100)

A kinetic model combining both localized and delocalized recombination is described which is based on different filling rates as a function of irradiation electron energy of a spatially correlated trapping center/luminescent center (TC/LC) complex. Following irradiation and thermal de-trapping the locally trapped electron-hole configuration is assumed to give rise to peak 5a and the e-only configuration to peak 5 in the glow curve of LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-100). The model is capable of simulating the linear/supralinear dose response of composite peak 5, the dependence of the supralinearity on photon energy and the ratio of the intensities of peak 5a to peak 5 as a function of dose. However, this is achieved only by invoking the presence of band-tail states which allow thermally induced hopping leading to semi-localized recombination in the recombination mechanism of the e-only configuration.