Acoustic Patterns Research Articles

Correlation between personality traits and acoustic patterns in the speech of spanish speaking individuals in the river plate

The background of this study is presented in three sections: a) Motivation Theories and their relationship with brain structures, b) Psychometric studies of Primary Personality Factors (PPF) and c) The role of brain structures in the production of prosodic aspects of language. Its objective is to evaluate the combination of parameters and acoustic characteristics found in the speech of normal individuals (n = 23), previously grouped according to a psychometric study of their personality in order to sort out Primary Personality Factors (PPF) and improve our knowledge on Human Temperaments. Acoustic parameters under study were: fundamental frequency (F0), total maximum energy and total duration, normal constituents of prosodic information. A three-syllable same phrase was analyzed in all the cases. The subject´s emissions were registered on a Sony (WM – 6 × 320) recorder and the phrase studied for each individual (N = 22) was processed with the Anagraf speech acoustic analysis program. The acoustic characteristics more useful to discriminate between PPF groups are: a) F0 rank and b) energy differences between stressed syllables and those not stressed. Acoustic studies can complement psychometric ones in order to differentiate each PPF group.

Free-ranging livestock changes the acoustic properties of summer soundscapes in a Northeast Asian temperate forest

If not properly managed, free-range livestock grazing could be a great threat to forest ecosystems by causing heterogeneous and unpredictable changes in forest structure, functions, and biodiversity. Understanding these changes is important for informing land management decisions compatible with long-term biodiversity conservation. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) of biodiversity may provide integrative indices for assessing grazing effects. However, little is known about the responses of soundscape characteristics to forest grazing, especially in temperate forests. Here, we use bioacoustics to assess the impact of continuous livestock grazing on acoustic indices at the landscape scale in Northeast China. We compared the acoustic complex index (ACI), acoustic diversity index (ADI), acoustic evenness index (AEI), bioacoustic index (BIO), total acoustic entropy (H), and normalized difference soundscape index (NDSI) between 16 cattle-grazed forest plots and 36 ungrazed forest plots for different time scales (24 h diel cycles, dawn, day, dusk and night). We collected and analysed over 7000 h of recordings from 52 sites. Our results showed that the six acoustic indices exhibited distinct diel patterns in both forest habitats. Moreover, several indices, except for the ADI and AEI, significantly responded to grazing over 24 h diel cycles, but with contrasting patterns; compared to grazed forests, ungrazed forests had much more bioacoustics activity measured by significantly higher ACI and NDSI values and significantly lower BIO and H values. Livestock grazing was a key driver of diel acoustic patterns, resulting in the loss of nocturnal and dawn soundscapes. Our results indicate that intensive/excessive livestock grazing has a significant negative impact on soundscape quality in human-dominated temperate forest areas, which is likely triggered by shifts in faunal assemblages. Livestock, for example, may reduce the occupancy of sika deer (Cervus nippon), resulting in fewer sika deer vocalizations in grazed forests. Cattle lowing and the intensive sounds of cattle bells may also mask biological vocalizations. We argue that multiple acoustic indices are required to adequately account for the complex responses of soundscapes to large-scale livestock grazing. For forest management, we propose employing PAM to quantify the acoustic communities of the landscape from a new perspective, thereby fostering evidence-based forest management at the local scale to reconcile the livestock sector with ecosystem conservation.

Perceptual learning of random acoustic patterns: Impact of temporal regularity and attention.

Perceptual learning is a powerful mechanism to enhance perceptual abilities and to form robust memory representations of previously unfamiliar sounds. Memory formation through repeated exposure takes place even for random and complex acoustic patterns devoid of semantic content. The current study sought to scrutinise how perceptual learning of random acoustic patterns is shaped by two potential modulators: temporal regularity of pattern repetition and listeners' attention. To this end, we adapted an established implicit learning paradigm and presented short acoustic sequences that could contain embedded repetitions of a certain sound segment (i.e., pattern) or not. During each experimental block, one repeating pattern recurred across multiple trials, whereas the other patterns were presented in only one trial. During the presentation of sound sequences that contained either temporally regular or jittered within-trial pattern repetitions, participants' attention was directed either towards or away from the auditory stimulation. Overall, we found a memory-related modulation of the event-related potential (ERP) and an increase in inter-trial phase coherence for patterns that recurred across multiple trials (compared to non-recurring patterns), accompanied by a performance increase in a (within-trial) repetition detection task when listeners attended the sounds. Remarkably, we show a memory-related ERP effect even for the first pattern occurrence per sequence when participants attended the sounds, but not when they were engaged in a visual distractor task. These findings suggest that learning of unfamiliar sound patterns is robust against temporal irregularity and inattention, but attention facilitates access to established memory representations upon first occurrence within a sequence.

DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF CONTRAST-ENHANCED ULTRASOUND TO DIFFERENTIATE BENIGN AND MALIGNANT BREAST LESIONS

Cancer of the breast is caused by a cluster of abnormal breast cells that continue to divide and spread throughout the breast. These cells eventually aggregate as a lump in the affected breast. If the cancerous tumor is not treated, the cancer cells may spread to other areas of the body through a process known as metastasis. A metastasis may develop in the lymph nodes located in the axilla or those located above the scapula. In addition, cancer cells have the ability to colonize the bones, lungs, liver, skin, and even the space directly under the skin. Cancer of the breast tissue is a malignancy that can start from either the ductal or lobule epithelium of the breast. Breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer in women. The ability of ultrasonography to identify cystic masses is one of the technology's many strengths. According to BIRADS, the American College of Radiology has also developed a standardized language for the reading and reporting of ultrasounds, which is quite similar to the language used for mammography. Shape of the mass, borders, orientation, kind of posterior acoustic, lesion boundaries, and echo pattern were the characteristics that were described. CEUS is an imaging technology that evaluates breast lesions by analyzing their qualitative qualities as well as their quantitative aspects. The detection of lymphatic channels and sentinel lymph nodes can be done using this method, and it is practical and effective.

UAS‐Based Observations of Infrasound Directionality at Stromboli Volcano, Italy

AbstractInfrasound (low frequency sound waves) can be used to monitor and characterize volcanic eruptions. However, infrasound sensors are usually placed on the ground, thus providing a limited sampling of the acoustic radiation pattern that can bias source size estimates. We present observations of explosive eruptions from a novel uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)‐based infrasound sensor platform that was strategically hovered near the active vents of Stromboli volcano, Italy. We captured eruption infrasound from short‐duration explosions and jetting events. While potential vertical directionality was inconclusive for the short‐duration explosion, we find that jetting events exhibit vertical sound directionality that was observed with a UAS close to vertical. This directionality would not have been observed using only traditional deployments of ground‐based infrasound sensors, but is consistent with jet noise theory. This proof‐of‐concept study provides unique information that can improve our ability to characterize and quantify the directionality of volcanic eruptions and their associated hazards.

Failure mechanisms and acoustic emission pattern recognition of all-CFRP cylindrical honeycomb sandwich shell under three-point bending

The winding-based method is used for fabricating all carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) cylindrical honeycomb sandwich shell. The theoretical model of multi-failure modes of the cylindrical honeycomb sandwich shell is established under three-point bending. The multiple failure mechanisms of the honeycomb sandwich shell under three-point bending are revealed by the established three-dimensional failure mechanism map. The theoretical prediction of multi-failure modes is verified by experiments and finite element method. The acoustic emission (AE) technology is implemented to detect the evolution rule of internal damage of honeycomb sandwich shell. The damage patterns of the acoustic emission signals with different failure modes are identified by the unsupervised k-means clustering algorithm. The meso-damage mechanisms are also disclosed by the digital microscope. It was found that high peak frequency of the AE signals represents the face-core debonding failure. Finally, the optimal geometric design of the honeycomb sandwich shell under the bending load was carried out. The damage characteristics from mesoscale damage to macroscale failure provide a crucial foundation for discriminating multiple damage failure modes of structures.

The effect of high-frequency acoustic wave vibration pattern on HKUST’s multi-level pore structure

The physical properties of materials are critical to their functionality, and the ability to control these properties using external forces is a significant challenge. In this study, we investigate the effect of three high frequency acoustic wave vibration patterns on the structure and morphology of MOF particles. Our results indicate that while regular vibration patterns generated by SAW can alter particle morphology, hybrid waves and Lamb waves with irregular vibration patterns can synthesise MOF crystals with multi-level pores. The vibration pattern of acoustic waves is shown to be a critical factor in controlling the particle morphology process. These results provide new insights into the precise control of crystal structure and the theory of crystallisation by particle attachment (CPA).

Sound-Speed Modifying Acoustic Metasurfaces for Acoustic Holography.

Acoustic metasurfaces offer unique capabilities to steer and direct acoustic fields, though these are generally composed of complex 3D structures, complicating their fabrication and applicability to higher frequencies. Here, an ultrathin metasurface approach is demonstrated,whereinplanarized micropillars in a discretized phase arrayareutilized. This subwavelength metasurface is easily produced via a single-step etching process and is suitable for megahertz-scale applications. The flexibility of this approach is further demonstrated in the production of complex acoustic patterns via acoustic holography. This metasurface approach, with models used to predict their behavior, has broad potential in applications where robust, high-frequency acoustic manipulation is required, including microfluidics, cell/tissue engineering, and medical ultrasound.

Categorizing Shallow Marine Soundscapes Using Explained Clusters

Natural marine soundscapes are being threatened by increasing anthropic noise, particularly in shallow coastal waters. To preserve and monitor these soundscapes, understanding them is essential. Here, we propose a new method for semi-supervised categorization of shallow marine soundscapes, with further interpretation of these categories according to concurrent environmental conditions. The proposed methodology uses a nonlinear mapping of short-term spectrograms to a two-dimensional space, followed by a density-based clustering algorithm to identify similar sound environments. A random forest classifier, based on additional environmental data, is used to predict their occurrence. Finally, explainable machine learning tools provide insight into the ecological explanation of the clusters. This methodology was tested in the Belgian part of the North Sea, and resulted in clearly identifiable categories of soundscapes that could be explained by spatial and temporal environmental parameters, such as distance to the shore, bathymetry, tide or season. Classifying soundscapes facilitates their identification, which can be useful for policy making or conservation programs. Soundscape categorization, as proposed in this work, could be used to monitor acoustic trends and patterns in space and time that might provide useful indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem functionality change.

Learning to pause: Fidelity of and biases in the developmental acquisition of gaps in the communicative signals of a songbird.

The temporal organization of sounds used in social contexts can provide information about signal function and evoke varying responses in listeners (receivers). For example, music is a universal and learned human behavior that is characterized by different rhythms and tempos that can evoke disparate responses in listeners. Similarly, birdsong is a social behavior in songbirds that is learned during critical periods in development and used to evoke physiological and behavioral responses in receivers. Recent investigations have begun to reveal the breadth of universal patterns in birdsong and their similarities to common patterns in speech and music, but relatively little is known about the degree to which biological predispositions and developmental experiences interact to shape the temporal patterning of birdsong. Here, we investigated how biological predispositions modulate the acquisition and production of an important temporal feature of birdsong, namely the duration of silent pauses ("gaps") between vocal elements ("syllables"). Through analyses of semi-naturally raised and experimentally tutored zebra finches, we observed that juvenile zebra finches imitate the durations of the silent gaps in their tutor's song. Further, when juveniles were experimentally tutored with stimuli containing a wide range of gap durations, we observed biases in the prevalence and stereotypy of gap durations. Together, these studies demonstrate how biological predispositions and developmental experiences differently affect distinct temporal features of birdsong and highlight similarities in developmental plasticity across birdsong, speech, and music. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The temporal organization of learned acoustic patterns can be similar across human cultures and across species, suggesting biological predispositions in acquisition. We studied how biological predispositions and developmental experiences affect an important temporal feature of birdsong, namely the duration of silent intervals between vocal elements ("gaps"). Semi-naturally and experimentally tutored zebra finches imitated the durations of gaps in their tutor's song and displayed some biases in the learning and production of gap durations and ingap variability. These findings in the zebra finch provide parallels with the acquisition of temporal features of speech and music in humans.

I know what you did last winter: Bowhead whale anomalous winter acoustic occurrence patterns in the Beaufort Sea, 2018–2020

Global warming is affecting the Arctic at a faster pace than the rest of the world, causing an urgent need to monitor ecosystems to detect possible climate-related changes. To this end, five passive acoustic datasets were recorded in the southern Amundsen Gulf (eastern Beaufort Sea) from September 2018 to September 2020 and analyzed for Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort (BCB) bowhead whale calls using a combination of automated and manual detections. Results indicate a large variation in bowhead occurrence patterns between the two years. For 2018–2019, we obtained the first evidence of bowheads overwintering in what is typically their summer foraging ground. Examination of the following year’s recordings sheds light on whether this interruption in bowhead annual migration was an anomaly or part of an ongoing phenological shift due to climate change. Time series of remotely sensed sea ice concentration at the study area were considered over the last seven years in interpreting differences in migratory behavior of the whales. Statistical quantification of seasonal patterns and habitat preferences of bowheads, based on the 2018–2019 acoustic data, are presented to provide context to BCB bowhead ecology. Passive acoustic monitoring is an indispensable tool in discerning whale responses to a changing ocean in the Arctic.

Acoustic properties of subtypes of creaky voice

“Creaky voice” is a term that covers multiple kinds of voicing, and there is no single defining acoustic property shared by all subtypes of creaky voice. Here we explore the distinct characteristics of each subtype. We identify three main properties of creaky voice: low f0, irregular f0, and constricted glottis (as shown by electroglottography). Prototypical creaky voice has all of these properties; other subtypes are characterized by different subsets of properties. We will describe, with reference to previous literature, multiply-pulsed creak (a special case of irregular f0, along with low f0), open-glottis creak (low and often irregular f0, but unconstricted glottis), vocal fry (low but regular f0, constricted glottis), and creak with such irregular pulsing that no f0 can be recovered. Building on our previous work [Keating et al. 2015 Proc. ICPhS], we show how various acoustic measures pattern for each subtype. Results from parametric speech synthesis provide support for our acoustic observations.

Development of an algorithm for characterizing speech production patterns as context-based Cue Production Profiles

A given word or sound can take on a wide range of acoustic forms in conversational speech, and these patterns of variation are systematic with context. This substantial variability poses a problem for modeling human speech perception, but it can also be highly informative if it can be measured quantitatively; surface phonetic patterns can be used to characterize different speakers, dialects, speaking styles and speech disorders, as well as context-driven variation within a speaker. Adopting the view that individual acoustic cues provide a useful vocabulary for describing these variation patterns, we are developing an algorithm for tabulating the range of acoustic cue production patterns for each phoneme, in a corpus of recorded speech, with the potential for extension to words and phrases. This algorithm will enable the determination of key factors that govern systematic speech variation, including segmental, prosodic and lexical contexts, which can be used to create a profile for a speaker or defined population of speakers, i.e., a Cue Production Profile.

The status of lexical stress in understudied Kabyle Tamazight-Berber: “Acoustic evidence from Kabyle dominant speakers.”

Until now, the classification of the prosodic systems of some languages (including Berber languages) is not conclusive and open to alternative interpretations. The question is: are these languages better classified as lacking stress or more controlled and systematic studies of these languages are needed? This study asks three main questions: (1) Is there lexical stress in Kabyle?, (2) what are the acoustic properties that manifest stress (if it turned out “it exists”)? and (3) which syllable in the word is prominent? Results from a closely controlled acoustic production study of 6 male Kabyle-native speakers, showed some evidence of lexical prominence in root words, which was manifested by intensity, duration (for vowel /æ/), and vowel quality (higher and more peripheral prominent syllable for /æ/ vowels). Louder, and higher and more peripheral vowels were observed in initial syllables while longer vowels (/æ/) were found in penultimate syllables. Surprisingly, based on the present data we did not see strong evidence of F0 being a meaningful correlate; however, we observed acoustic patterns consistent with an enhancement of the initial syllable corresponding to the focus condition, which led us to suggest that the pitch results looked like an intonational pitch accent that is location-sensitive. Implications and further work are discussed in the paper.

Acoustic properties of vocal emotions in American English and Mandarin Chinese

Previous studies have indicated that different vocal emotions in American English and Mandarin Chinese have distinct acoustic profiles, but the acoustic profiles of vocal emotions have not been established for each language. This experiment analyzes recorded sentences produced in five emotions by 10 native English speakers and 10 native Mandarin Chinese speakers from a novel emotional speech database (Zhou et al., 2021). To better understand the acoustic characteristics of the emotional utterances in both languages, this study used the feature extraction toolkit openSMILE to extract 6373 features (Schuller et al., 2016). Principal component analysis was applied to the extracted features for feature selection. Linear mixed-effects regression models were performed to determine the effect of emotions on the selected features. Bayesian multinomial logistic regression models were performed to examine the effects of acoustic features on emotions. The results suggested that American English and Mandarin Chinese exhibit different acoustic patterns of vocal emotions, but some features, particularly pitch-related features, are used by both languages to express vocal emotions. However, pitch variation may be more restricted in the vocal emotions of Mandarin Chinese relative to American English.

Deep Machine Learning for Path Length Characterization Using Acoustic Diffraction

Many fields now perform non-destructive testing using acoustic signals for the detection of objects or features of interest. This detection requires the decision of an experienced technician, which varies from technician to technician. This evaluation becomes even more challenging as the object decreases in size. In this paper, we assess the use of both traditional signal-processing machine learning algorithms, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), as well as Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures to approximate acoustic anomalies with an eye toward micro-scale applications such as application to biofilms. The probing signal is generated using a continuous sound wave emitted at controlled frequencies of 1 and 5 MHz through metallic specimens of varying heights each containing an anomaly in the form of a hole. Data are collected as the transmitted signal is sampled at several locations as the wave travels through the specimen. We have developed both a CNN and an LSTM architecture for frequency-domain feature detection and approximation. The CNN models, one for phase and one for amplitude data, take short-distance Fourier transforms (SDFTs) representing the change in the signal over multiple observation points as input. The LSTM model takes the change in phase or amplitude points at each lateral location as a comma-separated value (CSV) input. The models analyze the frequency and spatial changes experienced by each specimen and produce an estimation of the acoustic path length of the anomaly in radians. The models are evaluated using mean-square error and the R-square statistic. All models perform with a fairly high R-square score, the amplitude CNN and LSTM models achieving upwards of a 99% fit and the phase CNN achieving a 97% fit on average for the predicted values. With the performance of these models, we demonstrate that utilizing the transfer function phase and amplitude data to analyze acoustic diffraction patterns leads to the ability to extract, with great precision, features in the input signal that describe the nature of the anomaly.

Hearing is believing: Lexically guided perceptual learning is graded to reflect the quantity of evidence in speech input

There is wide variability in the acoustic patterns that are produced for a given linguistic message, including variability that is conditioned on who is speaking. Listeners solve this lack of invariance problem, at least in part, by dynamically modifying the mapping to speech sounds in response to structured variation in the input. Here we test a primary tenet of the ideal adapter framework of speech adaptation, which posits that perceptual learning reflects the incremental updating of cue-sound mappings to incorporate observed evidence with prior beliefs. Our investigation draws on the influential lexically guided perceptual learning paradigm. During an exposure phase, listeners heard a talker who produced fricative energy ambiguous between /ʃ/ and /s/. Lexical context differentially biased interpretation of the ambiguity as either /s/ or /ʃ/, and, across two behavioral experiments (n = 500), we manipulated the quantity of evidence and the consistency of evidence that was provided during exposure. Following exposure, listeners categorized tokens from an ashi – asi continuum to assess learning. The ideal adapter framework was formalized through computational simulations, which predicted that learning would be graded to reflect the quantity, but not the consistency, of the exposure input. These predictions were upheld in human listeners; the magnitude of the learning effect monotonically increased given exposure to four, 10, or 20 critical productions, and there was no evidence that learning differed given consistent versus inconsistent exposure. These results (1) provide support for a primary tenet of the ideal adapter framework, (2) establish quantity of evidence as a key determinant of adaptation in human listeners, and (3) provide critical evidence that lexically guided perceptual learning is not a binary outcome. In doing so, the current work provides foundational knowledge to support theoretical advances that consider perceptual learning as a graded outcome that is tightly linked to input statistics in the speech stream.

The children's emotional speech recognition by adults: Cross-cultural study on Russian and Tamil language.

The current study investigated the features of cross-cultural recognition of four basic emotions "joy-neutral (calm state)-sad-anger" in the spontaneous and acting speech of Indian and Russian children aged 8-12 years across Russian and Tamil languages. The research tasks were to examine the ability of Russian and Indian experts to recognize the state of Russian and Indian children by their speech, determine the acoustic features of correctly recognized speech samples, and specify the influence of the expert's language on the cross-cultural recognition of the emotional states of children. The study includes a perceptual auditory study by listeners and instrumental spectrographic analysis of child speech. Different accuracy and agreement between Russian and Indian experts were shown in recognizing the emotional states of Indian and Russian children by their speech, with more accurate recognition of the emotional state of children in their native language, in acting speech vs spontaneous speech. Both groups of experts recognize the state of anger via acting speech with the high agreement. The difference between the groups of experts was in the definition of joy, sadness, and neutral states depending on the test material with a different agreement. Speech signals with emphasized differences in acoustic patterns were more accurately classified by experts as belonging to emotions of different activation. The data showed that, despite the universality of basic emotions, on the one hand, the cultural environment affects their expression and perception, on the other hand, there are universal non-linguistic acoustic features of the voice that allow us to identify emotions via speech.

Impact of self-excited cavitating waterjet feeder pipe on acoustic and erosion patterns

The impact of the feeder pipe geometry on the dominant frequencies and erosion patterns induced by self-excited cavitating waterjets, SECJ, is studied using laboratory experiments. Complementary inspection of the bulk flow in the feeder sections is illustrated using averaged governing equations. The experimental results indicate that the feeder pipe length, L2, affects the acoustic characteristics of the waterjets. As an acoustic reflector, the length of feeder pipes induces distinct transmission losses, resulting in resonant intensity changes and reflectivity. The relatively larger section of the feeder section with respect to the upstream fitting led to the formation of a large-scale recirculation pattern due to a sharp shear layer from the incoming flow. This recirculation bubble may cover the entire or a fraction of the feeder extent depending on L2. Overall, the work offers insight into the design of required pipe system parameters to modulate peak resonance.

Sonar investigation of the old Nubian Villages in the bottom topography of Nasser Lake, Egypt

Underwater sonar survey using Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Single beam Echo-sounder (SBES) was used for the investigation of the old Nubian archaeological villages buried within the bottom topography of Nasser Lake. The research objective involved emphasizing the efficiency of marine geophysical techniques in the detection of the submerged old Nubian Villages in Nasser Lake behind the High Dam, the study also aimed to study riverbed topography and determining the old course of the Nile River in the area. The resulted bathymetric maps showed that the two former banks of the Nile River in the study area were characterized by two distinct natures, while the shoreline has retreated with different extents starting from 250 m at the southern regions up to 3 km in the northern parts. The high-resolution sonar images of the bottom uncovered distinctive acoustic patterns according to difference in the returned backscatter strength. Submerged Nubian houses were detected along some areas of the eastern bank, which were found either standing over elevated rocky cliffs or built on multiple tiered levels. Precise target measurements were applied on the detected houses and different dimensions were obtained, which suggest that these houses were built according to the availability of suitable land to construct such dwellings.