Statistical analyses of electromyographic activity in spasmodic dysphonic and normal control subjects

Heterogeneity in the quality and task sensitivity of vocal symptoms in the spasmodic dysphonia (SD) population contributes to controversy as to whether this is a single disorder or two disorders with different etiologies (neurogenic versus psychogenic). Perceptual and acoustic assessments of vocal symptoms are inadequate to resolve this controversy. However, myoelectric events are intimately proximal to the source of vocal disruption and may be informative. The present report employs statistical modeling of quantitative amplitude measures of electromyographic activity recorded from thyroarytenoid to examine neuromotor bases of vocal symptoms in SD. Consideration of perceptual ratings of the quality and task sensitivity of vocal symptoms in the context of statistical models provides support for the conclusion that the range of vocal symptoms identified as SD represents a single, neurogenic disorder.     

快速傅里叶变换与线性调频Z变换联合算法在光纤法布里-珀罗传感器解调中的应用

将快速傅里叶变换(FFT)与线性调频Z变换(CZT)联合变换的方法应用到法布里-珀罗(F-P)腔传感器的解调中,从理论上分析了该方法的解调原理及误差.模拟计算得出,该联合算法解调出的腔长的相对误差达到0.01%,腔长的最大绝对误差小于0.05 μm.在对测量范围为O～3 MPa的F-P腔微机电系统(MEMS)压力传感器进行的解调试验中,该算法可以辨别0.01 MPa的压力,腔长与压力数据的拟合度为0.99316,测量压力与实际压力的标准偏差小于0.005 MPa.实验结果表明,FFT与CZT联合解调的方法可以在较少计算量的基础上达到较高的精度,满足实际需求.     

High-resolution optical correlation imaging in a scattering medium

An optical correlation setup is used to image transparent objects through scattering media, and 10-mum longitudinal and 2.5-mum transverse resolution are achieved. Spectral-bandwidth sampling of the light source is made possible by a tunable dye laser and leads to signal enhancement as a result of sampling interferogram filtering. An optical system allows observation of sample slices without the need for a translation stage.     

Exact solutions of the generalized Lane–Emden equations of the first and second kind

In this paper we discuss the integrability of the generalized Lane–Emden equations of the first and second kinds. We carry out their Noether symmetry classification. Various cases for the arbitrary functions in the equations are obtained for which the equations have Noether point symmetries. First integrals of such cases are obtained and also reduction to quadrature of the corresponding Lane–Emden equations are presented. New cases are found.     

Crack Tip Opening Angle as a Fracture Resistance Parameter to Describe Ductile Crack Extension and Arrest in Steel Pipes under Service Pressure

The angle between two element sides representing the crack tip is defined as the crack tip opening angle (CTOA). Its critical value is used as a criterion of fracture resistance for characterizing stable tearing in thin metallic materials. Various methods are used for determination of the CTOA. Optical microscopy is one of the most common methods as well as fitting of experimental load-displacement diagrams by the finite element method (DIC). Additionally, analytical analysis using the experimental load-displacement curve method (SSM) derived from the plastic hinge model of deflection in three-point bending of a ductile specimen is applied. This approach assumes a constant rotation centre distance. Values of CTOA for API 5L X65 pipe steel found by three methods—DIC, CNM, and SSM—are given. Values of CTOA given by these three methods are similar and close to 20°. A discussion on the different parameters used to characterize the fracture resistance of running cracks in a pipe under service pressure is presented. The energy of fracture at impact determined by Charpy or drop-weight tear test (DWTT) tests and the critical J energy parameter are considered as well as the yield locus after damage, cohesive zone energy, and CTOA is another approach. One notes that CTOA is assumed to be constant during stable crack extension and decreases linearly with crack length during the instable and primary phase. A numerical technique to describe a ductile running crack using the node release technique and using CTOA as the fracture resistance criterion is presented. This method is compared with three different two-curve methods (TCMs): the Battelle, high strength line pipe (HLP), and HLP-Sumitomo methods. The Batelle TCM, as the oldest method, based on Charpy energy, gives a strongly conservative prediction. Predictions by the CTOA method are close to those obtained by the HLP-Sumitomo one.     

Heteroepitaxial growth of thin InAs layers on GaAs(1 0 0) misoriented substrates: A structural and morphological comparison

Thin InAs epilayers were grown on GaAs(1 0 0) substrates exactly oriented and misoriented toward [1 1 1]A direction by atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. InAs growth was monitored by in situ spectral reflectivity. Structural quality of InAs layers were studied by using high-resolution X-ray diffraction. No crystallographic tilting of the layers with respect to any kind of these substrates was found for all thicknesses. This result is discussed in terms of In-rich growth environment. InAs layers grown on 2° misoriented substrate provide an improved crystalline quality. Surface roughness of InAs layers depend on layer thickness and substrate misorientation.     

Phase transitions,ferroelectric behavior and second-order nonlinear optics of a new mixed sodium dihydrogen phosphate–arsenate

Aiming at the development of new proton conducting solids, recent studies of the NaH₂PO₄·H₂O–NaH₂AsO₄·H₂O system have lead to the synthesis of a new compound NaH₂(PO₄)_0.48(AsO₄)_0.52·H₂O (NDAP). Calorimetric studies have confirmed the presence of four reversible phase transitions (abbreviated by PhT), at 257/270 (PhT, IV), 261/290 (PhT, III), 267/301 (PhT, II) and 317/317.5 K (PhT, I) (for cooling/heating processes, respectively). It is shown that the III and IV phase transitions are of a first order type, with a “order-disorder and displacive” character, accompanied by specific dielectric anomalies. The behavior of the dielectric constant ε′_r and of tan δ shows that, at 272 K, the (PhT, IV) could be ferroelectric–paraelectric. As for the (PhT, III) at 296 K, it leads to a superionic–protonic phase; a jump in the conductivity is associated to this transition with an unusual high value of conductivity 1.07×10^?4 Ω^?1 cm^?1 and a low activation energy 0.39 eV (Kh. Jarraya et al.). Quandratic nonlinear (NLO) properties of NDAP powder was confirmed efficiency of the grown crystal by the Kurtz and Perry second harmonic generation (SHG) technique.     

dc and ac characterizations of electrical conducting nanoporous carbon structures based on resorcinol-formaldehyde

Structural, electrical and morphological properties of electrical conducting nanoporous carbon structures, prepared at different pyrolysis temperatures by sol–gel method, were investigated. The effect of the measurement temperature on the electrical properties of the obtained sample pyrolysed at 675 °C was studied. The imaginary and real parts of the sample impedance versus frequency, in the range of 40 Hz–100 MHz, are investigated. The Nyquist diagrams were used to identify an equivalent circuit and the fundamental parameters of the circuit are determined at different temperatures with the aim to study the contributions of the grains and boundary grains to the conductivity.     

Dual-channel spectral subtraction algorithms based speech enhancement dedicated to a bilateral cochlear implant

In this paper, two speech enhancement algorithms (SEAs) based on spectral subtraction (SS) principle have been evaluated for bilateral cochlear implant (BCI) users. Specifically, dual-channel noise power spectral estimation algorithm using power spectral densities (PSD) and cross power spectral density (CPSD) of the observed signals was studied. The enhanced speech signals were obtained using either Dual Channel Non Linear Spectral Subtraction ‘DC-NLSS’ or Dual-Channel Multi-Band Spectral Subtraction ‘DC-MBSS’ algorithms. For performance evaluation, some objective speech assessment tests relying on Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) score and speech Itakura-Saito (IS) distortion measurement were performed to fix the optimal number of frequency band needed in DC-MBSS algorithm. In order to evaluate the speech intelligibility, subjective listening tests were assessed with 50 normal hearing listeners using a specific BCI simulator and with three deafened BCI patients. Experimental results, obtained using French Lafon database corrupted by an additive babble noise at different Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNR), showed that DC-MBSS algorithm improves speech understanding better than DC-NLSS algorithm for single and multiple interfering noise sources.     

Measuring the similarity between trajectories using clustering techniques

A clustering method has been developed to group signals that display similar dynamic behavior. The procedure involves using the method of time delay embedding to construct a trajectory in state space from a time series. Certain features that characterize the geometry of the trajectory have been defined. These features were subjected to a series of statistical tests to determine their usefulness in a hierarchical clustering analysis. The latter is aimed at finding groups of similar trajectories. The trajectory-based clustering algorithm has been applied to simulated data, which included both stochastic data generated by a linear AR model, and nonlinear data generated by a Duffing oscillator. The results show that the algorithm works reliably in both cases.