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ABSTRACT. Ocean ambient noise is a crucial habitat feature for marine animals because it represents the lower threshold of their acoustically active space. Ambient noise is affected by noise from [...]

The article thanks journal peer reviewers from 2017 for the journals "Journal of the Acoustical Society of America" ("JASA") and "JASA Express Letters" ("JASA-EL").

Listeners can judge the overall loudness of time-varying sounds quite easily, i.e., assign a single value that represents the loudness of the entire sound. This holds even if the duration is long and the judgment includes memory effects. Different metrics for calculating overall loudness have been developed. They agree that overall loudness is higher than the mean of loudness over time. Percentiles like the N5, the loudness being exceeded 5% of the time, are adopted by ISO 532-1. In the present study the concept of an energy mean known from level measurements (ISO 1996-1) was applied to the loudness domain. This equivalent continuous loudness level, LLP, was compared to the N5 using a set of real-world sounds that was orthogonal between the two metrics over a wide dynamic range of 30 phon. Cross-modality matching with line length was used in three experiments with a focus on either the overall judgment of loudness, continuous judgment while a sound was played, or both. The LLP showed considerably higher correlations with overall judgments than N5. Comparing continuous instantaneous judgment with calculated instantaneous loudness suggests that the participants might have focused on the sounds’ prominent portions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unified framework is proposed for analysis and synthesis of two-dimensional spatial sound field in reverberant environments. In the sound field analysis (SFA) phase, an unbaffled 24-element circular microphone array is utilized to encode the sound field based on the plane-wave decomposition. Depending on the sparsity of the sound sources, the SFA stage can be implemented in two manners. For sparse-source scenarios, a one-stage algorithm based on compressive sensing algorithm is utilized. Alternatively, a two-stage algorithm can be used, where the minimum power distortionless response beamformer is used to localize the sources and Tikhonov regularization algorithm is used to extract the source amplitudes. In the sound field synthesis (SFS), a 32-element rectangular loudspeaker array is employed to decode the target sound field using pressure matching technique. To establish the room response model, as required in the pressure matching step of the SFS phase, an SFA technique for nonsparse-source scenarios is utilized. Choice of regularization parameters is vital to the reproduced sound field. In the SFS phase, three SFS approaches are compared in terms of localization performance and voice reproduction quality. Experimental results obtained in a reverberant room are presented and reveal that an accurate room response model is vital to immersive rendering of the reproduced sound field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic signal production is affected by allometric relationships, by which the larger the animal, the lower its call frequency. In this paper, three evolutionary acoustic hypotheses were tested: the Signal-to-Noise Ratio Hypothesis (SNRH), in which evolution maximizes call ranges by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio; the Stimulus Threshold Hypothesis (STH), in which evolution maximizes the range of a specific signal threshold; and the Body Size Hypothesis (BSH), in which the emission of long wavelengths is enabled by body size. Three spectral metrics were measured, Dominant Frequency (FDOM), Minimum Fundamental Frequencies (FFMIN), and Maximum Fundamental Frequencies (FFMAX) of Neotropical Parrots, New World Doves, Woodcreepers, Tinamous, and Thrushes. A Ranged Major Axis (RMA) regression showed that body mass is significantly correlated with all of the spectral parameters in Parrots, Doves, and Woodcreepers, but only with the fundamental frequencies of Tinamous. The FDOM of Parrots corroborated the SNRH. The FFMIN of Woodcreepers and Tinamous corroborated the SNRH and BSH. The FFMAX of Parrots corroborated the STH and BSH. Those acoustic hypotheses could shed light on the evolutionary processes involved in avian communication, although results indicate that these depend on the taxa and spectral parameters considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most derivations of acoustic wave equations involve ensuring that causality is satisfied. Here, the consequences of also requiring that the medium should be passive are explored. This is a stricter criterion than causality for a linear system and implies that there are restrictions on the relaxation modulus and its first few derivatives. The viscous and relaxation models of acoustics satisfy passivity and have restrictions on not only a few, but all derivatives of the relaxation modulus. These models are described as a system of springs and dampers with positive parameters and belong to the important class of completely monotone systems. It is shown here that the attenuation as a function of frequency for such media has to increase slower than a linear function. Likewise, the phase velocity has to increase monotonically. This gives criteria on which one may judge whether a proposed wave equation is passive or not, as illustrated by comparing two different versions of the viscous wave equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The waveguide invariant β is typically discussed in terms of either a range-independent environment or a range-dependent environment under the adiabatic approximation, with few studies considering the effects of mode coupling. In this work, how internal solitary waves (ISWs) affect the waveguide invariant is investigated, and it is shown that mode-coupling effects introduce many additional components in the acoustic interference intensity. It is found that the striation slope and value of β for these additional components are determined not only by the acoustic modal dispersion, but are also dependent on the position where the mode coupling occurs. This can lead to a very complicated acoustic interference pattern and result in multiple peaks in the distribution of β. The sensitivity of β to the parameters of ISWs, such as amplitude, horizontal scale, and position, is analyzed. It is found that although all parameters can affect the energy of the peaks, only the position of the internal wave has an obvious impact on the peak values. This indicates that the peak values of β can be utilized for monitoring the position of the internal wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spherical microphone array has proved effective in reconstructing an enclosed sound field by a superposition of spherical wave functions in Fourier domain. It allows successful reconstructions surrounding the array, but the accuracy will be degraded at a distance. In order to extend the effective reconstruction to the entire cavity, a plane-wave basis in space domain is used owing to its non-decaying propagating characteristic and compared with the conventional spherical wave function method in a low frequency sound field within a cylindrical cavity. The sensitivity to measurement noise, the effects of the numbers of plane waves, and measurement positions are discussed. Simulations show that under the same measurement conditions, the plane wave function method is superior in terms of reconstruction accuracy and data processing efficiency, that is, the entire sound field imaging can be achieved by only one time calculation instead of translations of local sets of coefficients with respect to every measurement position into a global one. An experiment was conducted inside an aircraft cabin mock-up for validation. Additionally, this method provides an alternative possibility to recover the coefficients of high order spherical wave functions in a global coordinate system without coordinate translations with respect to local origins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared psychoacoustic reverberance parameters to each other, as well as to reverberation time (RT) and early decay time (EDT) under various acoustic conditions. The psychoacoustic parameters were loudness-based RT (TN), loudness-based EDT [EDTN; Lee, Cabrera, and Martens, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 131, 1194–1205 (2012a)], and parameter for reverberance [PREV; van Dorp Schuitman, de Vries, and Lindau., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 133, 1572–1585 (2013)]. For the comparisons, a wide range of sound pressure levels (SPLs) from 20 dB to 100 dB and RTs from 0.5 s to 5.0 s were evaluated, and two sets of subjective data from the previous studies were used for the cross-validation and comparison. Results of the comparisons show that the psychoacoustic reverberance parameters provided better matches to reverberance than RT and EDT; however, the performance of these psychoacoustic reverberance parameters varied with the SPL range, the type of audio sample, and the reverberation conditions. This study reveals that PREV is the most relevant for estimating a relative change in reverberance between samples when the SPL range is small, while EDTN is useful in estimating the absolute reverberance. This study also suggests the use of PREV and EDTN for speech and music samples, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report is an addendum to a previous report by Burns [(2009). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125, 3166–3176] that measured spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) in 18 subjects, whose ages at the time of initial measurement ranged from 6 to 42 yr, for follow-up periods of up to 19.5 yr. The major finding of that report was that the frequencies of all SOAEs, in all subjects, declined over time, with an average decline of 0.25% per year. In this report seven SOAEs in the oldest subject were measured for an additional 13.7 yr, for a total follow-up of 33 yr, to age 75. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been little research on the acoustic correlates of emotional expression in the singing voice. In this study, two pertinent questions are addressed: How does a singer’s emotional interpretation of a musical piece affect acoustic parameters in the sung vocalizations? Are these patterns specific enough to allow statistical discrimination of the intended expressive targets? Eight professional opera singers were asked to sing the musical scale upwards and downwards (using meaningless content) to express different emotions, as if on stage. The studio recordings were acoustically analyzed with a standard set of parameters. The results show robust vocal signatures for the emotions studied. Overall, there is a major contrast between sadness and tenderness on the one hand, and anger, joy, and pride on the other. This is based on low vs high levels on the components of loudness, vocal dynamics, high perturbation variation, and a tendency for high low-frequency energy. This pattern can be explained by the high power and arousal characteristics of the emotions with high levels on these components. A multiple discriminant analysis yields classification accuracy greatly exceeding chance level, confirming the reliability of the acoustic patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical computations of the Navier-Stokes equations governing acoustic propagation are performed to investigate infrasound propagation in the troposphere and into acoustic shadow zones. An existing nonlinear finite-difference, time-domain (FDTD) solver that constrains input sound speed models to be axisymmetric is expanded to allow for advection and rigid, stair-step topography. The FDTD solver permits realistic computations along a given azimuth. It is applied to several environmental models to examine the effects of nonlinearity, topography, advection, and two-dimensional (2D) variations in wind and sound speeds on the penetration of infrasound into shadow zones. Synthesized waveforms are compared to a recording of a rocket motor fuel elimination event at the Utah Test and Training Range. Results show good agreement in the amplitude, duration, and spectra of synthesized and recorded waveforms for propagation through 2D atmospheric models whether or not topography, advection, or nonlinearity is explicitly included. However, infrasound propagation through a one-dimensional, range-averaged, atmospheric model yields waveforms with lower amplitudes and frequencies, suggesting that small-scale atmospheric variability causes significant scatter within the troposphere, leading to enhanced infrasound penetration into shadow zones. Thus, unresolved fine-scale atmospheric dynamics are not required to explain infrasound propagation into shadow zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simulation that is perceptually indistinguishable from the corresponding real sound field could be termed authentic. Using binaural technology, such a simulation would theoretically be achieved by reconstructing the sound pressure at a listener’s ears. However, inevitable errors in the measurement, rendering, and reproduction introduce audible degradations, as it has been demonstrated in previous studies for anechoic environments and static binaural simulations (fixed head orientation). The current study investigated the authenticity of individual dynamic binaural simulations for three different acoustic environments (anechoic, dry, wet) using a highly sensitive listening test design. The results show that about half of the participants failed to reliably detect any differences for a speech stimulus, whereas all participants were able to do so for pulsed pink noise. Higher detection rates were observed in the anechoic condition, compared to the reverberant spaces, while the source position had no significant effect. It is concluded that the authenticity mainly depends on how comprehensive the spectral cues are provided by the audio content, and the amount of reverberation, whereas the source position plays a minor role. This is confirmed by a broad qualitative evaluation, suggesting that remaining differences mainly affect the tone color rather than the spatial, temporal or dynamical qualities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound transmission and resulting airway wall vibration in a complex multiscale viscoelastic model of the subglottal bronchial tree was calculated using a modified one-dimensional (1D) branching acoustic waveguide approach. This is an extension of previous work to enable use of complex airway trees that are partially derived from subject-specific medical images, without the need for self-similarity in the geometric structure. The approach was validated numerically for simplified airway geometries, as well as experimentally by comparison to previous studies. A comprehensive conducting airway tree with about 60 000 branches was then modified to create fibrotic, bronchoconstrictive, and pulmonary infiltrate conditions. The fibrotic case—systemic increase in soft tissue stiffness—increased the Helmholtz resonance frequency due to the increased acoustic impedance. Bronchoconstriction, with geometric changes in small conducting airways, decreased acoustic energy transmission to the peripheral airways due in part to the increased impedance mismatch between airway orders. Pulmonary infiltrate significantly altered the local acoustic field in the affected lobe. Calculation of acoustic differences between healthy versus pathologic cases can be used to enhance the understanding of vibro-acoustic changes correlated to pathology, and potentially provide improved tools for the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases that uniquely alter the acoustics of the airways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A corpus of recordings of deaf speech is introduced. Adults who were pre- or post-lingually deafened as well as those with normal hearing read standardized speech passages totaling 11 h of .wav recordings. Preliminary acoustic analyses are included to provide a glimpse of the kinds of analyses that can be conducted with this corpus of recordings. Long term average speech spectra as well as spectral moment analyses provide considerable insight into differences observed in the speech of talkers judged to have low, medium, or high speech intelligibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines acoustic features of speech production in speakers of Mandarin with Parkinson's disease (PD) and relates them to intelligibility outcomes. Data from 11 participants with PD and 7 controls are compared on several acoustic measures. In speakers with PD, the strength of association between these measures and intelligibility is investigated. Speakers with PD exhibited significant differences in fundamental frequency, pitch variation, vowel space, and rate relative to controls. However, in contrast to the English studies, speech rate was consistently slow and most strongly correlated with intelligibility. Thus, acoustic cues that strongly influence intelligibility in PD may vary cross-linguistically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear self-refraction of acoustic pulsed beams, which include shock fronts, is studied. The medium of sound propagation is a gas where thermodynamically non-equilibrium processes take place, such as exothermic chemical reaction or excitation of vibrational degrees of a molecule's freedom. Comparative analysis of the features of sound propagation over gases where pure nonlinear attenuation of the shock wave occurs, and gases with non-equilibrium and equilibrium processes, is performed. PACS Nos.: 43.25, 43.35.Fj. Nous etudions l'auto-refraction non lineaire d'un faisceau acoustique pulse qui inclut une onde de choc. Le milieu de propagation du son est un gaz dans lequel se produisent des transformations thermodynamiquement hors d'equilibre, comme des reactions chimiques exothermiques ou l'excitation des degres de liberte vibrationnels des molecules. Nous completons avec une analyse comparative des caracteristiques de propagation du son dans des gaz ou l'onde de choc est soumise a une pure attenuation non lineaire et dans des gaz ou on trouve des transformations hors d'equilibre et a l'equilibre. [Traduit par la Redaction], 1. Introduction There are different kinds of self-action of sound, which have been observed in experiments, among them nonlinear self-action and inertial types of self-action. The first kind reflects the [...]

The dispersion pattern of a received signal is critical for understanding physical properties of the propagation medium. The objective of this work is to estimate accurately sediment sound speed using modal arrival times obtained from dispersion curves extracted via time-frequency analysis of acoustic signals. A particle filter is used that estimates probability density functions of modal frequencies arriving at specific times. Employing this information, probability density functions of arrival times for modal frequencies are constructed. Samples of arrival time differences are then obtained and are propagated backwards through an inverse acoustic model. As a result, probability density functions of sediment sound speed are estimated. Maximum a posteriori estimates indicate that inversion is successful. It is also demonstrated that multiple frequency processing offers an advantage over inversion at a single frequency, producing results with reduced variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical modeling of wave propagation in acoustic tubes is a subject of longstanding interest, particularly for enclosures of varying cross section, and especially when viscothermal losses due to boundary layer effects are taken into consideration. Though steady-state, or frequency domain methods, are a common avenue of approach, recursive time domain methods are an alternative, allowing for the generation of wideband responses, and offer a point of departure for more general modeling of nonlinear wave propagation. The design of time-domain methods is complicated by numerical stability considerations, and to this end, a passive representation is a useful design principle leading to simple stable and explicit numerical schemes, particularly in the case of viscothermal loss modeling. Such schemes and the accompanying energy and stability analysis are presented here. Numerical examples are presented for a variety of duct profiles, illustrating strict energy dissipation, and for comparison of computed input impedances against frequency-domain results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some studies of concert hall acoustics consider the acoustics in a hall as a single entity. Here, it is shown that the acoustics vary between different seats, and the choice of music also influences the perceived acoustics. The presented study compared the acoustics of six unoccupied concert halls with extensive listening tests, applying two different music excerpts on three different seats. Twenty eight assessors rated the halls according to the subjective preference of the assesors and individual attributes with a paired comparison method. Results show that assessors can be classified into two preference groups, which prioritize different perceptual factors. In addition, the individual attributes elicited by assessors were clustered into three latent classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a theoretical study on "seeing" through an elastic structure to uncover the root cause of sound and vibration by using nearfield acoustical holography (NAH) and normal modes expansion. This approach is of generality because vibro-acoustic responses on the surface of a vibrating structure can always be reconstructed, exactly or approximately. With these vibroacoustic responses, excitation forces acting on the structure can always be determined, analytically or numerically, given any set of boundary conditions. As an example, the explicit formulations for reconstructing time-harmonic excitation forces, including point, line and surface forces, and their arbitrary combinations acting on a rectangular thin plate in vacuum mounted on an infinite baffle are presented. The reason for choosing this example is that the analytic solutions to vibro-acoustic responses are available, and in-depth analyses of results are possible. Results demonstrate that this approach allows one to identify excitation forces based on measured acoustic pressures and reveal their characteristics such as locations, types and amplitudes, as if one could "see" excitation forces acting behind the plate based on acoustic pressure measured on the opposite side. This approach is extendable to general elastic structures, except that in such circumstance numerical results must be sought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a new approach to interactive spatial sonification of multidimensional data as a tool for spatial sound synthesis, for composing temporal--spatial musical materials, and as an auditory display for scientists to analyze multidimensional data sets in time and space. The approach applies parameter-mapping sonification and is currently implemented in an application called Cheddar, which was programmed in Max/MSP. Cheddar sonifies data in real time, where the user can modify a wide variety of temporal, spatial, and sonic parameters during the listening process, and thus more easily uncover patterns and processes in the data than when applying non-real-time, noninteractive techniques. The design draws on existing literature concerning perception and acoustics, and it applies the author's practical experience in acousmatic composition, spectromorphology, and sound semantics, while addressing accuracy, flexibility, and ease of use. Although previous sonification applications have addressed some degree of real-time control and spatialization, this approach integrates space and sound in an interactive framework. Spatial information is sonified in high-order 3-D ambisonics, where the user can interactively move the virtual listening position to reveal details easily missed from fixed or noninteractive spatial views. Sounds used as input to the sonification take advantage of the rich spectra and extramusical attributes of acoustic sources, which, although previously theorized, are investigated here in a practical context thoroughly tested alongside acoustic and psychoacoustic considerations. Furthermore, when using Cheddar, no specialized knowledge of programming, acoustics, or psychoacoustics is required. These approaches position Cheddar at the junction between science and art. With one application serving both disciplines, the patterns and processes of science are more fluently appropriated into music or sound art, and vice versa for scientific research, science public outreach, and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the first acoustic description of the vowel space of a Papuan language-Nambo, spoken in southern Papua New Guinea-based on duration and first and second formant measurements from 19 adult male and female speakers across three age groups (young, middle-aged, senior). Phonemically, Nambo has six full vowels /i, e, æ, A, o, u/ and a reduced vowel tentatively labeled /@/. Unlike the full vowels, the quality of /@/ showed great variation: seniors' and young females' realizations tended to be more open and retracted than those by young males, while middle-aged speakers' productions fell between these two variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harmonic structure of sounds is an important grouping cue in auditory scene analysis. The ability of ferrets to detect mistuned harmonics was measured using a go/no-go task paradigm. Psychometric functions plotting sensitivity as a function of degree of mistuning were used to evaluate behavioral performance using signal detection theory. The mean (± standard error of the mean) threshold for mistuning detection was 0.8 ± 0.1 Hz, with sensitivity indices and reaction times depending on the degree of mistuning. These data provide a basis for investigation of the neural basis for the perception of complex sounds in ferrets, an increasingly used animal model in auditory research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformational acoustics offers the theoretical possibility of cloaking obstacles within fluids, provided metamaterials having continuously varying bulk moduli and densities can be found or constructed. Realistically, materials with the proper, continuously varying anisotropies do not presently exist. However, discretely layered cloaks having constant material parameters within each layer may be a viable alternative in practice. The present work considers a range of cloaks, from those comprised of fluid layers that are isotropic in bulk moduli with anisotropic density (inertial cloaks) to those having anisotropic bulk moduli and isotropic density (pentamode cloaks). In this paper an analytical solution is obtained for the case of plane wave scattering from a submerged rigid cylinder covered with a multilayered cylindrical cloak composed of discrete anisotropic fluid layers. An investigation of the parameter space defining such cloaks is undertaken with the goal of minimizing the far-field scattered pressure, using layer constituent anisotropic properties (density and bulk modulus) constrained to lie within reasonable ranges relative to those of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater sound of rigid-hulled inflatable boats was recorded 142 times in total, over 3 sites: 2 in southern British Columbia, Canada, and 1 off Western Australia. Underwater sound peaked between 70 and 400 Hz, exhibiting strong tones in this frequency range related to engine and propeller rotation. Sound propagation models were applied to compute monopole source levels, with the source assumed 1m below the sea surface. Broadband source levels (10-48 000Hz) increased from 134 to 171 dB re 1 μPa @ 1m with speed from 3 to 16m/s (10-56 km/h). Source power spectral density percentile levels and 1/3 octave band levels are given for use in predictive modeling of underwater sound of these boats as part of environmental impact assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redirection of acoustic energy by 90엯 is shown to be possible in an otherwise acoustically transparent sonic crystal. An unresponsive "deaf" antisymmetric mode is excited by matching Bragg scattering with a quadrupole scatterer resonance. The dynamic effect causes normal unidirectional wave motion to strongly couple to perpendicular motion, analogous to the quasi-static Poisson effect in solids. The Poisson-like effect is demonstrated using the first flexural resonance in cylindrical shells of elastic solids. Simulations for a finite array of acrylic shells that are impedance and index matched to water show dramatic acoustic energy redirection in an otherwise acoustically transparent medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scattering around the human pinna that is captured by the Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) is a complex problem that creates uncertainties in both acoustical measurements and simulations. Within the simulation framework of Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) with axis-aligned staircase boundaries resulting from a voxelization process, the voxelization-based uncertainty propagating in the HRTF-captured sound field is quantified for one solid and two surface voxelization algorithms. Simulated results utilizing a laser-scanned mesh of Knowles Electronics Manikin for Acoustic Research (KEMAR) show that in the context of complex geometries with local topology comparable to grid spacing such as the human pinna, the voxelization-related uncertainties in simulations emerge at lower frequencies than the generally used accuracy bandwidths. Numerical simulations show that the voxelization process induces both random error and algorithm-dependent bias in the simulated HRTF spectral features. Frequencies fr below which the random error is bounded by various dB thresholds are estimated and predicted. Particular shortcomings of the used voxelization algorithms are identified and the influence of the surface impedance on the induced errors is studied. Simulations are also validated against measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on findings of several studies related to concert hall acoustics, as of April 2016. Topics include historical aspects of the acoustics like launch of the Berlin Philharmonie Hall in 1963; subjective ranking of concert halls according to their sound quality which was published in a 2003 study; and perceptional differences among assessors of concert hall acoustics.

This paper investigates the role of acoustic and categorical information in timbre dissimilarity ratings. Using a Gammatone-filterbank-based sound transformation, we created tones that were rated as less familiar than recorded tones from orchestral instruments and that were harder to associate with an unambiguous sound source (Experiment 1). A subset of transformed tones, a set of orchestral recordings, and a mixed set were then rated on pairwise dissimilarity (Experiment 2A).We observed that recorded instrument timbres clustered into subsets that distinguished timbres according to acoustic and categorical properties. For the subset of cross-category comparisons in the mixed set, we observed asymmetries in the distribution of ratings, as well as a stark decay of inter-rater agreement. These effects were replicated in a more robust within-subjects design (Experiment 2B) and cannot be explained by acoustic factors alone. We finally introduced a novel model of timbre dissimilarity based on partial least-squares regression that compared the contributions of both acoustic and categorical timbre descriptors. The best model fit (R² = 0.88) was achieved when both types of descriptors were taken into account. These findings are interpreted as evidence for an interplay of acoustic and categorical information in timbre dissimilarity perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermal acoustic (TA) device was fabricated by laser scribing technology. Polyimide (PI) can be converted into patterned porous graphene (PG) by laser's irradiation in one step. The sound pressure level (SPL) of such TA device is related to laser power. The theoretical model of TA effect was established to analyze the relationship between the SPL and laser power. The theoretical results are in good agreement with experiment results. It was found that PG has a flat frequency response in the range of 5-20 kHz. This novel TA device has the advantages of one-step procedure, high flexibility, no mechanical vibration, low cost and so on. It can open wide applications in speakers, multimedia, medical, earphones, consumer electronics and many other aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore Rio de Janeiro's everyday urban experiences through attending to the sense of hearing. By adopting an ethnographic approach, our aim is to explore the ways in which the transformations that the city has experienced in the period that precedes the Olympic Games echo in the soundscapes of favela da Maré. In order to investigate this, we combine theoretical perspectives from the fields of sound studies and auditory culture, proposing a dialogue between cities and the senses. Our research indicates that urban sounds epitomize the joy of living, cultural richness and diversity of cities. For this reason, we suggest that the military occupation forces' arbitrary actions in Maré manifest precisely through the suppression of sounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review and discuss the challenges of adopting software-defined radio principles in underwater acoustic networks, and propose a software-defined acoustic modem prototype based on commercial off-the-shelf components. We first review current SDR-based architectures for underwater acoustic communications. Then we describe the architecture of a new software-defined acoustic modem prototype, and provide performance evaluation results in both indoor (water tank) and outdoor (lake) environments. We present three experimental testbed scenarios that demonstrate the real-time reconfigurable capabilities of the proposed prototype and show that it exhibits favorable characteristics toward spectrally efficient cognitive underwater networks, and high data rate underwater acoustic links. Finally, we discuss open research challenges for the implementation of next-generation software-defined underwater acoustic networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Measurements of mean volume backscattering strength (Sv, dB re 1 m-1) at ocean-basin scale were made using 38-kHz hull-mounted echosounders on ships of opportunity as part of Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System. The data were collected on vessels of various designs, none of which were purposely built for collecting high-quality acoustic data. A full range of weather extremes affected the quality of the data and could cause large biases in Sv. To remove first-order biases and improve processing efficiency, a sequence of new and existing data processing filters were applied in a semi-automated procedure. These filters were designed to mitigate the effects of three types of noise: impulsive (less than one ping), transient (multiple pings), and background (hours or longer). A filter was also applied to identify signals that were attenuated by air bubbles beneath the transducer. These filters were applied to data from transits across the Southwest Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans to produce quality-controlled Sv datasets that are now available from a publicly accessible repository. These filters may be relevant to other open-ocean acoustic observing endeavours, and one or more could be used to mitigate bias in data from a range of acoustic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies investigated wind noise with Behind-The-Ear (BTE) hearing aids, but not the more common mini-BTE style of device, which typically has a smaller shell and microphones located more deeply behind the pinna. The current study investigated wind-noise levels across one BTE and two mini-BTE devices, and between the front and rear omni-directional microphones within devices. Levels were measured at two wind speeds (3 and 6 m/s) and 36 wind azimuths (10° increments). The pattern of wind-noise level versus azimuth was similar across mini-BTE devices, and differed for the BTE device. However, mean levels were markedly different across mini-BTE devices, and could be higher, lower, or similar to those of the BTE device. For within-device level differences, the pattern and mean across azimuth were similar across mini-BTE devices, and differed for the BTE device. Wind noise had the potential to slightly or severely reduce speech intelligibility at 3 or 6 m/s, respectively, across all devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the adaptation process of these systems, the basic principle of operation is not changed. Based on the literature review, the question arises of whether it would be possible to control the principle of operation. At one instant it would work as a Helmholtz resonator, in the other as an expansion chamber or side branch resonator. Analytical calculations provided a positive answer, and a muffler with four active valves was designed and constructed to confirm the theoretical expectations. The properties of proposed muffler were simulated with the Finite Element Method, and the results of simulations were validated with measurements. Finally, simulations of the proposed muffler were performed, working at different operating condition. Simulations have shown that the proposed system allows the tuning of the muffler to a wide working frequency range. Such an approach to muffler design eliminates the need for additional mufflers in IC exhaust systems. Therefore, a smaller volume of the proposed muffler enables the same effect as multiple non-adaptive conventional mufflers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The effects of the chin-tuck maneuver, a technique commonly employed to compensate for dysphagia, on cervical auscultation are not fully understood. Characterizing a technique that is known to affect swallowing function is an important step on the way to developing a new instrumentation-based swallowing screening tool. Methods: In this study, we recorded data from 55 adult participants who each completed five saliva swallows in a chin-tuck position. The resulting data were processed using previously designed filtering and segmentation algorithms. We then calculated nine time-, frequency-, and time–frequency-domain features for each independent signal. Results: We found that multiple frequency- and time-domain features varied significantly between male and female subjects as well as between swallowing sounds and vibrations. However, our analysis showed that participant age did not play a significant role on the values of the extracted features. Finally, we found that various frequency features corresponding to swallowing vibrations did demonstrate statistically significant variation between the neutral and chin-tuck positions but sounds showed no changes between these two positions. Conclusion: The chin-tuck maneuver affects many facets of swallowing vibrations and sounds and its effects can be monitored via cervical auscultation. Significance: These results suggest that a subject's swallowing technique does need to be accounted for when monitoring their performance with cervical auscultation-based instrumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) have been studied for centuries as a means to model complex dynamical processes from the real world. Nevertheless, their application to sound synthesis has not yet been fully exploited. In this article we present a systematic approach to sound synthesis based on first-order complex and real ODEs. Using simple time-dependent and nonlinear terms, we illustrate the mapping between ODE coefficients and physically meaningful control parameters such as pitch, pitch bend, decay rate, and attack time. We reveal the connection between nonlinear coupling terms and frequency modulation, and we discuss the implications of this scheme in connection with nonlinear synthesis. The ability to excite a first-order complex ODE with an external input signal is also examined; stochastic or impulsive signals that are physically or synthetically produced can be presented as input to the system, offering additional synthesis possibilities, such as those found in excitation/filter synthesis and filter-based modal synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to describe, from literature review, acoustic analysis using Multi Dimensional Voice Program, reliability of their measurements and their comparison with other acoustic analysis programs; characterization of voices of different groups, and its use to assess the effects and effectiveness of different therapeutic procedures. Conducted literature that prioritized the past five years, including articles whose purpose was according to the interest of this review. The survey was conducted in the databases of Lilacs, BIREME, PubMed, Medline, SciELO and Google Scholar, using the descriptors acoustic, speech acoustics and voice. The most commonly used measures are fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer and harmonic-noise ratio. The measures of tremor not have as much reliability. The most consistent measures that present a high correlation with other acoustic analysis programs are related to fundamental frequency. Several studies aim to characterize different types of voices such as those of subjects without vocal of both sexes, in order to establish normality parameter for different population groups. In addition, some studies were characterized with different voices disorders. Acoustic analysis is a resource objective and necessary in the evaluation of patients with voice disorders and especially the comparison of several uncles treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: to analyze the discriminatory power of the phonatory deviation diagram in assessing the predominant voice and intensity of vocal disorders in children. Methods: sustained vowel /ε/ recordings were obtained from 93 children. The intensity of vocal deviation and quality were analyzed using a visual analog scale. Diagram was used for acoustic analysis, combined with the evaluation of vocal signs distribution according to area, quadrant, form, and density. We carried out the proportions equality test and the chi-square test (x2) to compare the variables, and the Spearman correlation test to correlate the acoustic and auditory perception measures. Results: a correlation between quadrant classification and vocal deviation intensity was observed for all parameters analyzed. Differences statistically significant were detected among children with roughness, breathiness, strain, and instability, with regard to area, quadrant, and form. When considering the distribution of voices in the quadrants, no difference statistically significant was observed between the children with and without vocal deviation and voice quality for any parameter analyzed. Conclusion: phonatory deviation diagram was able to differentiate predominant vocal quality through quadrant distribution, although it did not discriminate between the healthy and altered voices of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interaural correlation change detection was measured in untrained normal-hearing listeners. Narrowband (10-Hz) noises were varied by center frequency (CF; 500 or 4000 Hz) and diotic level roving (absent or present). For the 500-Hz CF, 96% of listeners could achieve threshold (79.4% correct at the easiest testing level) if roving was absent, but only 36% of listeners could if level roving was present. No one could achieve threshold at the 4000-Hz CF, unlike trained listeners in the literature. The results raise questions about how individual differences affect learning and generalization of monaural and binaural cues related to interaural correlation detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of selective epithelial injury on phonation in an excised human larynx apparatus. With intact epithelium, the vocal folds exhibited a symmetrical vibration pattern with complete glottal closure during vibration. The epithelium was then enzymatically removed from one, then both vocal folds, which led to left-right asymmetric vibration and a decreased closed quotient. Although the mechanisms underlying these vibratory changes are unclear, these results demonstrate that some component of an intact surface layer may play an important role in achieving normal symmetric vibration and glottal closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, fundamentals of transferring a time reversal experiment between similar objects are discussed. The time reversal experiment consists of two steps: forward propagation, when a source excites the medium and a complex wave field is created, and back propagation, resulting in time reversal focusing. Here the procedure of performing the first step on one specimen and the second step on another is investigated. The theory of time reversal transfer is explained on an example of object shape variations. However, conclusions of the theoretical analysis are applicable universally. The feasibility of the proposed procedure is validated in experiments modeling conditions in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports on the determination of the acoustic nonlinearity parameter, B/A, from measured sound speed data, in Fluorinert FC-43 at temperatures up to 381 K and pressures up to 13.8 MPa using the thermodynamic method. Sound speed was measured using Swept Frequency Acoustic Interferometry at 11 pressures between ambient and 13.8 MPa along 6 isotherms between ambient and 381 K. Second-order least-squares polynomial fits of measured sound speeds were used to determine temperature and pressure dependence. A room temperature B/A= 11.7 was determined and this parameter was found to increase by a factor of 2.5 over the temperature/pressure range investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feasibility of using data derived replicas from ships of opportunity for implementing matched field processing is demonstrated. The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is used to provide the library coordinates for the replica library and a correlation based processing procedure is used to overcome the impediment that the replica library is constructed from sources with different spectra and will further be used to locate another source with its own unique spectral structure. The method is illustrated with simulation and then verified using acoustic data from a 2009 experiment for which AIS information was retrieved from the United States Coast Guard Navigation Center Nationwide AIS database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]