Vowel Intelligibility in Classical Singing

Vowel intelligibility during singing is an important aspect of communication during performance. The intelligibility of isolated vowels sung by Western classically trained singers has been found to be relatively low, in fact, decreasing as pitch rises, and it is lower for women than for men. The lack of contextual cues significantly deteriorates vowel intelligibility. It was postulated in this study that the reduced intelligibility of isolated sung vowels may be partly from the vowels used by the singers in their daily vocalises. More specifically, if classically trained singers sang only a few American English vowels during their vocalises, their intelligibility for American English vowels would be less than for those classically trained singers who usually vocalize on most American English vowels. In this study, there were 21 subjects (15 women, 6 men), all Western classically trained performers as well as teachers of classical singing. They sang 11 words containing 11 different American English vowels, singing on two pitches a musical fifth apart. Subjects were divided into two groups, those who normally vocalize on 4, 5, or 6 vowels, and those who sing all 11 vowels during their daily vocalises. The sung words were cropped to isolate the vowels, and listening tapes were created. Two listening groups, four singing teachers and five speech-language pathologists, were asked to identify the vowels intended by the singers. Results suggest that singing fewer vowels during daily vocalises does not decrease intelligibility compared with singing the 11 American English vowels. Also, in general, vowel intelligibility was lower with the higher pitch, and vowels sung by the women were less intelligible than those sung by the men. Identification accuracy was about the same for the singing teacher listeners and the speech-language pathologist listeners except for the lower pitch, where the singing teachers were more accurate.     

用正四棱锥形阵对声目标定位研究

文章结合声阵列在智能雷系统中的应用，提出了用立体五元声阵列对声目标进行定位，将智能雷中用于预警的传感器也参与到定位阵列中来，这样就在不增加传感器的条件下实现了市体阵列对声目标的定位。文章推导了定位公式和误差公式，并对结果进行仿真分析，与平面阵相比取得了较好的效果。不但提高了精度还降低了声阵列的盲区。     

应力对La0.83Sr0.17MnO3薄膜输运性能的影响

采用溶胶-凝胶方法在Si(111)上制备了LSMO(x=0.17)薄膜.研究了块体材料和不同厚度薄膜R -T曲线、红外光谱和X射线衍射.结果表明，LSMO薄膜属于正交晶体结构，薄膜取向与膜厚度 有关，当膜厚度为450nm或680nm时，主要取向〈200〉，而膜厚度为900nm时取向为〈020〉 ：根据离子对相互作用能和谐振子模型，得到了红外吸收与Mn—O—Mn键长和键角关系式，6 00cm^-1附近红外吸收与晶格常数b的变化有关；块体与薄膜的金属—绝缘体转变 温度(T_MI)存在较大差别，薄膜转变温度显著低于块体，并与厚度有一定关系. 认为是LSMO薄膜中的应力诱导了晶格常数变化，引起键角改变及JT效应是转变温度变化的主 要原因. 关键词： 单晶硅 晶格常数 金属—绝缘体转变温度 应力诱导     

Equality and inequality constrained optimization algorithms with convergent stepsizes

In this paper, we consider two algorithms for nonlinear equality and inequality constrained optimization. Both algorithms utilize stepsize strategies based on differentiable penalty functions and quadratic programming subproblems. The essential difference between the algorithms is in the stepsize strategies used. The objective function in the quadratic subproblem includes a linear term that is dependent on the penalty functions. The quadratic objective function utilizes an approximate Hessian of the Lagrangian augmented by the penalty functions. In this approximation, it is possible to ignore the second-derivative terms arising from the constraints in the penalty functions.The penalty parameter is determined using a strategy, slightly different for each algorithm, that ensures boundedness as well as a descent property. In particular, the boundedness follows as the strategy is always satisfied for finite values of the parameter.These properties are utilized to establish global convergence and the condition under which unit stepsizes are achieved. There is also a compatibility between the quadratic objective function and the stepsize strategy to ensure the consistency of the properties for unit steps and subsequent convergence rates.This research was funded by SERC and ESRC research contracts. The author is grateful to Professors Laurence Dixon and David Mayne for their comments. The numerical results in the paper were obtained using a program written by Mr. Robin Becker.     

气密性碳涂覆光纤筛选强度与电阻关系研究

通过实验分析确立了把光纤电阻作为衡量气密性碳涂覆光纤通过２％应变筛选的过渡标准。要拉制２％应变筛选的碳涂覆光纤，其电阻值应小于３０ｋΩ／ｃｍ。     

Interval parameter perturbation method for evaluating the bounds on natural frequencies of structures with interval parameters

For structural parameters with uncertainties, interval mathematics can, in the case where the probabilistic distribution density of uncertain variables is unavailable, deal with the influence of uncertainties in structural parameters on the response of structures. In order to evaluate the region containing natural frequencies of structures with interval parameters, the interval parameter perturbation method is presented in this paper. The advantage of the present method is its computational efficiency in evaluating the region containing natural frequencies. A numerical example is used to illustrate the efficiency of the method proposed. The project is supported by National Youth Natural Science Foundation of China and National Outstanding Youth Science Foundation of China.     

Acoustic wavefront imaging

We introduce a new class of experiments which provide graphic insights into the propagation of acoustic waves in anisotropic media. Simply stated, we have devised a means of observing the expanding acoustic wavefront from a point disturbance in a solid. The data may be viewed as a movie or a series of snapshots. The observed wavefronts represent the group-velocity surfaces of acoustic waves, which reflect the basic elastic anisotropy of the solid. The technique has been applied to coherent acoustic waves with frequencies in the megahertz range (at ambient temperatures) and to incoherent heat pulses in the hundred-gigahertz range (at liquid-helium temperatures). In this article, we first provide a pedagogical introduction to wave propagation in elastically anisotropic media, reviewing some early methods for visualizing acoustic waves. Next, we describe the “acoustic wavefront imaging” method and give representative results in crystals and composite materials. Finally, we show how this method relates to recent advances in phonon imaging and internal diffraction of ultrasound.     

钛合金（TC-6）二阶和三阶弹性常数

 用脉冲回波重叠法测量了钛合金（TC-6）的二阶、三阶弹性常数。实验中发现dμ/dp<0（p<0.17 GPa）,dμ/dp>0（p>0.17 GPa）。     

付里叶变换红外光谱仪的操作参数对光谱的影响

本文以二苯基甲酮的ＫＢｒ压片为标样，在Ｂｒｕｋｅｒ ＩＦＳ １２０ＨＲ付里叶变换红外光谱仪上系统考察了该仪器折一些重要操作参数（光源光栏、切趾函数、扫描速度）对光谱质量（信噪比，分辨率）的影响。从而获得了测样时的优化操作条件。     

反相液体色谱中饱和醇保留行为的研究 Ⅰ.低碳醇保留行为与溶质分子结构的关系

本文从吸附-疏溶剂理论出发,根据热力学平衡观点,导出了一定固定相和流动相时,描述溶质保留行为与其分子结构关系的理论模型,并用之预测了饱和醇的保留值,获满意结果。从而表明本模型不但能用于同系物,而且亦可用于同分异构体及立体异构体保留行为的预测。