Sound Recording Device Research Articles

Design and Implementation of an Underwater Sound Recording Device

To monitor the underwater sound and pressure waves generated by anthropogenic activities such as underwater blasting and pile driving, an autonomous system was designed to record underwater acoustic signals. The underwater sound recording device (USR) allows for connections of two hydrophones or other dynamic pressure sensors, filters high frequency noise out of the collected signals, has a gain that can be independently set for each sensor, and allows for 2 h of data collection. Two versions of the USR were created: a submersible model deployable to a maximum depth of 300 m, and a watertight but not fully submersible model. Tests were performed on the USR in the laboratory using a data acquisition system to send single-frequency sinusoidal voltages directly to each component. These tests verified that the device operates as designed and performs as well as larger commercially available data acquisition systems, which are not suited for field use. On average, the designed gain values differed from the actual measured gain values by about 0.35 dB. A prototype of the device was used in a case study to measure blast pressures while investigating the effect of underwater rock blasting on juvenile Chinook salmon and rainbow trout. In the case study, maximum positive pressure from the blast was found to be significantly correlated with frequency of injury for individual fish. The case study also demonstrated that the device withstood operation in harsh environments, making it a valuable tool for collecting field measurements.

Night‐to‐night variation in snoring sound severity: one night studies are not reliable

To quantify the night-to-night variation in snoring severity; to compare this with inter-subject variation in snoring intensity: to compare multinight mean snoring scores with self-reported subjective scores. Prospective observational study. Subjects were recorded during sleep at their own homes. Twenty patients with socially disruptive snoring awaiting surgery. Over four consecutive nights using a solid-state sound recording device, the mean, standard deviation and intra-class correlation coefficient were calculated for (a) the loudest 1% of sound, (b) snore frequency and (c) total snore duration. Results were correlated with Snoring Symptom Inventory scores assessed immediately prior to these recordings. Overall mean and intrasubject standard deviation for the loudest 1% of sound was 65.0 (+/-4.1) dB, for snore frequency was 245 (+/-104) per hour and for total snore duration was 4.3% (+/-2.1). Intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.78, 0.74 and 0.67, respectively, suggesting only moderate reliability of these outcome measures. No significant correlation was found between objective and subjective scores for either endpoint. Natural night-to-night variation in snoring severity represents a significant proportion of overall snoring variance, thus one night studies of snoring are not reliable. The random error associated with one-night studies exceeds the expected effect size of snoring interventions and so multi-night studies of at least four nights are recommended to reduce the error. However, even multi-night objective measurements correlate poorly with subjective scores of snoring.

Paroles de Réfugiés et de Justes by Annik Flaud, Gérard Bollon

offering many new techniques in this regard. He admired Charles Meunier and Marius Michel for their innovative designs, often based on older methods. Uzanne however saw the possibilities of industrial development in typography. He also helped to foster a revival of the woodcut, and felt that photography could play a role in the woodcut to depict Parisian cityscapes. During this time bibliophiles formed associations of book collectors. The most important was the Société des Bibliophiles François, who deliberately chose the Old French adjective to describe their admiration for the past. Baron Pichon founded the Society in 1821 and remained its president for sixty years. At the same time, the Amis des Livres, people of average wealth, collected industrially produced but attractive luxury books. These groups often met at lavish dinners, and even their menus became collectors’ items. Finally, Uzanne himself founded the Société des Bibliophiles Contemporains, to emphasize the necessity of originality through technology. Avant-garde literary and artistic reviews also participated in the bibliophile movement, adding their voice against commercialism and mass-marketing. Silverman also studies the role of women in the book market. Women were considered the enemies and destroyers of books, and most bibliophiles found an inherent contradiction between “women” and “bibliophiles.” Women, though literate, were expected to read only books for domesticity or entertainment. Book collecting was regarded as strictly masculine. Thus books became a feminine symbol, with sexual connotations. Few women worked in librairies, but did perform unskilled tasks there. However, Silverman notes, male superiority in the book world began to face new challenges with the education of women and the emergence of the femme nouvelle. Silverman ends her study with an analysis of Uzanne’s La Fin des livres (1895), in which he, borrowing from other authors, predicts the use of the telephone to convey images, and portable sound-recording devices, called storyographes. Books would have no future development, except for commercial purposes. Uzanne did not foresee the disappearance of libraries, and many of his visions have come to pass in digital and computerized information technology. Silverman includes ample black and white illustrations in her book to accompany and clarify the text. There are also portraits and sketches of the important people cited in the book. The author has researched her topic thoroughly, as evidenced by over forty pages of notes. She has translated all French quotations accurately in the text, and gives the original in a note. The bibliography is impressive , with many manuscripts, letters, and primary sources. While the reader may occasionally be overwhelmed by names, references, and a sometimes dense style, The New Bibliopolis presents a worthy socio-cultural study embodied in the world of books. Chestnut Hill College (PA) Mary Helen Kashuba FLAUD, ANNIK, et GÉRARD BOLLON. Paroles de Réfugiés et de Justes. Le Cheylard: Dolmazon, 2009. ISBN 978-2-911584-28-2. Pp. 148. 22 a. Cet ouvrage présente un ensemble de témoignages retraçant l’hébergement clandestin de fugitifs, en majorité juifs et réfugiés espagnols, durant la Seconde 180 FRENCH REVIEW 84.1 Guerre mondiale, dans la région du Chambon-sur-Lignon, située au sud de l’Auvergne. La majorité des essais sont écrits par les survivants juifs de cette période, dont beaucoup s’expriment ici pour la première fois. L’itinéraire de ces familles menacées d’extermination est souvent le même, comme on le lit dans l’avant-propos: un couple et ses enfants frappent à la porte d’une petite ferme isolée. La fermière, inquiète certainement, finit par ouvrir les deux battants de sa cuisine et garde ainsi les fugitifs, qu’ils soient antinazis, juifs, polonais, espagnols, autrichiens, allemands, tchèques, russes ou “terroristes recherchés”. (8) Chacun de ces témoignages directs exerce sur le lecteur un pouvoir que n’auront jamais les analyses d’historiens. Au fil des récits, on réalise l’héroïsme quotidien de la population, au mépris des énormes risques encourus. Le Chambon-surLignon est une région de “parpaillots”, terme qui désigne (péjorativement) les protestants dès le dix-septième siècle, et...

New Developments in the Objective Assessment of Cough

A variety of different methods are available for measuring cough. In clinical practice and most clinical trials subjective reporting of cough is relied upon, using scoring systems or visual analog scores (VAS). Although these measures give an indication of patients' perceptions of the severity of the symptom, they may be unreliable because they are influenced by other factors such as mood, vigilance, and expectations. An objective measure of cough would therefore be a valuable tool. In the last decade advances in computer technology and the availability of portable digital sound recording devices have resulted in a resurgence of interest in developing ambulatory systems for recording cough. The ultimate goal is an automated detection system of use in the wide variety of conditions that cause cough. Multidisciplinary teams of researchers around the world are applying techniques such as neural networks, voice recognition models, and other signal processing techniques to this problem. The main challenge is achieving high sensitivity with good discrimination of noncough signals. For cough sound detection, this is confounded by both the variability of the acoustics of cough sounds within and between individuals and the amount and variety of speech sounds that must be discriminated. Significant progress is being made and it is likely that accurate automated objective monitoring systems will be available in the near future. These systems have the potential to change the way cough is measured in clinical practice and clinical trials, allowing a better understanding of the effect of existing and novel treatments on this troublesome symptom.

Use of an implanted sound recording device (Bioacoustic Probe) to document the acoustic environment of a blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)

Gaps in our knowledge of basic fish have provided impetus for development of novel ecology to detect and quantify hard to observe behaviors such as spawning, schooling and feeding. The acoustic envi- ronment is one source of potentially useful information about these behaviors. We implanted an acoustic recording tag (Bioacoustic Probe) into the gut cavity of a blacktip reef shark to determine whether an implanted tag could success- fully record external and internal sounds. The tag successfully recorded reef fish vocalizations, boat engine noise, the sound of the shark feeding and unidentified rhythmic sounds that may derive from shark tail beats. Technical challenges remain, but sound recording tags have the potential to provide novel insights into shark and fish ecology.

Early Musical Impressions from Both Sides of the Loudspeaker

Ametaphoric image of the loudspeaker and its sides sums up the spatio-temporal ruptures that started shaping aural perception in the late 19th century: on one side, the listener; on the other, sound events conveyed by phonographic products, radio and various sound-recording devices. Diverse practices as well as samples of theoretical and aesthetic thinking from the early 20th century illustrate how new media have affected the musical imagination and listening in general.

Acoustic space reproduction method, sound recording device, and sound recording medium

A system for reproducing a sound field simulating a real acousting space includes a sound collecting device, a sound recording device and a sound reproducing device. The sound collecting device includes first and second collection systems, the first collection system having non-directional microphones at respective corners of a cube defining a hypothetical three-dimensional space in the real acoustic space and the second collection system having directional microphones of the same number as the non-directional microphones concentrically within the three-dimensional space with directivity of each of the directional microphones being set in the direction of one of the non-directional microphones with which the directional microphone constitutes a pair. Collected sounds by the first and second collection systems of the sound collection device are mixed with each other and recorded on a recording medium by the sound recording device, and further provided on the sound reproducing device. The sound reproducing device has plural loudspeakers of the same number as the non-directional microphones in positions corresponding to the non-directional microphones in the three-dimensional space, and reproduces the collected sounds from the loudspeakers.

Microwave Bumping: Quantifying Explosions in Foods During Microwave Heating

ABSTRACTAn apparatus was developed to quantify the degree of bumping due to the explosion of food particulates during microwave heating. The apparatus consisted of a sound recording device, a digital storage oscilloscope, and an electric filter. Degree of bumping for a product was defined by integration of the magnitude of an explosion over time of bumping. The sound spectrum of explosion was analyzed by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. Frequency of bumping was usually in the range 1.6 kHz to 8 kHz. The character of microwave bumping varied according to localized microwave superheating effects, product formulations, and prior heat treatment of the food.

Method of recording and reproducing video and sound information using plural recording devices and plural reproducing devices

A method of recording and reproducing video and sound information using plural recording devices and plural reproducing devices is described. An original space in which video and sound information are to be recorded is divided into plural sections. A video recording device and a corresponding sound recording device are provided for each section of the original space. A reproduction space in which video and sound information are to be reproduced is divided into plural sections corresponding to the plural sections of the original space. Synchronous operation of plural video reproducing devices is performed simultaneously with synchronous operation of plural sound reproducing devices so that the picture and sound of each section of the original space are reproduced simultaneously in a corresponding section of the reproduction space. In this manner, synchronization of picture and sound is easily achieved, and the picture and sound of the original space are reproduced with high fidelity.

Video and sound recording device with automatic focusing system

There are video and sound recording devices such as movie cameras or video cameras with an automatic focusing system of the type for setting a photographic lens to a position at which an object can be sharply focused in response to the signal which is representative of a distance from the camera to the object and obtained by measuring the time interval from the time when the ultrasonic waves are transmitted at a predetermined repetition frequency to the object to the time when the echo from the object is received. Such devices have a common defect that a microphone picks up impulse-like noise generated from an ultrasonic transducer especially at the start point of ultrasonic waves. To overcome this problem, the present invention provides an audible noise elimination or suppression means or a control circuit which operates in synchronism with the ultrasonic wave transmission so that an audio signal processing system attenuates the audio output signal.

An analysis and reduction of disruptive behavior on school buses.

Thousands of children are injured or killed each year in school bus accidents. A significant number of these tragic incidents is precipitated by disruptive child behavior that distracts the drivers from their difficult task. Two experiments were conducted which addressed this problem. For both experiments an automated sound recording device (referred to as a Noise Guard) selectively responsive to frequencies above 500 Hz (i.e., unresponsive to bus drone) recorded both the duration and frequency of noise outbursts above a tolerable threshold. Additionally, an observer made in situ measurements of other disruptions including roughhousing and getting-out-of-seat. In the first experiment, following baseline measurements of these behaviors, middle-school students received feedback for noise outbursts. That is, when "Noise Guard" was activated, it in turn operated one of several lights on a panel visible to all passengers. Each day students were allowed to listen to high-appeal taped music while riding the bus and to participate in a raffle for prizes, provided the number of outbursts on the preceding day remained below a specified criterion indicated on the light panel. This intervention resulted in drastic reductions of noise outbursts with a concomitant reduction in other disruptive behaviors. Comparable results were obtained in the second experiment which eliminated the raffle from the intervention.

Cnardiovascular Sound in Health and Disease.

A scientist of the last century was reputed to have remarked that until biology records data in visual form its place in science may be questioned. Dr. McKusick's work converts the information of the honorable art of auscultation into visual form. To any physician using a stethoscope, this book will be useful. To one especially interested in diseases of the heart, its information is vital. For any teacher of physical diagnosis, it is mandatory. The major part of the book records the author's unique experience of several years of recording heart sounds by the spectral phonocardiogram. The parameters of time, pitch, and intensity are well displayed for study in this method of recording data. In addition, full references to the work of others using standard sound recording devices and illustrations of their recordings are present in the book. A most interesting and pleasantly written chapter on the history of cardiovascular

Use of a Sound Recorder in Nurses' Home Visits

N URSES WORK with people so closely and under such varied conditions that the area of interpersonal relations has a special significance for this group. Consideration of the circumstances which produce effective patient-nurse relationships has long been of concern to practitioners, administrators, and educators in the field of public health nursing. The most common methods for obtaining information about such contacts have been supervisory observations or stenographic and process recordings. Though these methods have been useful to varying degrees, each has certain drawbacks. Any method based on recall of events suffers from possible lack of accuracy and objectivity. While the stenographic transcript may overcome these objections, it fails to reveal the tone and pace of the patientnurse relationship. Reports on the use of sound recording equipment seemed to indicate that this method might overcome some of the objections to the procedures previously employed. For some time recording machines have been used in clinic situations to record interviews, and one investigator is using a sound recording device in the field to gather information for curriculum purposes. Further investigation of the use of sound recording equipment for gathering data on the content and conduct of nursing visits in the home was made during the spring of 1953 by the Public Health Service with the cooperation of the Alexandria (Va.) Health Department. Participating in the field trial in the use of this equipment were 6 public health nurses of the Alexandria Health Department, with 20 of the families they served. As a preliminary to the activity, the group of nurses met to discuss details of procedure. All of them were agreed that, in this trial, they did not want to be responsible for the operation of the recorder. They were sure that it would be impossible for them to conduct an adequate interview under such circumstances sinc6 they would be unable to concentrate on the visit content while, at the same time, they made sure that the recorder was operating satisfactorily. They also felt they would be more comfortable if the third person present during the patient-nurse contact was another nurse since they would then have a greater sense of freedom in talking with the patient. Furthermore, the nurses believed that the patients would find it easier to accept the presence of another public health nurse as, in many instances, it would not be the first time two nurses had been in the home at the same time. For these reasons a second nurse was made responsible for recordings in the field.