Applied sciences

Archives of Acoustics

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Archives of Acoustics | 2015 | vol. 40 | No 3

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Abstract

Acoustic properties of ultrasound (US) contrast agent microbubbles (MB) highly influence sonoporation efficiency and intracellular drug and gene delivery. In this study we propose an acoustic method to monitor passive and excited MBs in a real time. MB monitoring system consisted of two separate transducers. The first transducer delivered over an interval of 1 s US pulses (1 MHz, 1% duty cycle, 100 Hz repetition frequency) with stepwise increased peak negative pressure (PNP), while the second one continuously monitored acoustic response of SonoVue MBs. Pulse echo signals were processed according to the substitution method to calculate attenuation coefficient spectra and loss of amplitude. During US exposure at 50–100 kPa PNP we observed a temporal increase in loss of amplitude which coincided with the US delivery. Transient increase in loss of amplitude vanished at higher PNP values. At higher PNP values loss of amplitude decreased during the US exposure indicating MB sonodestruction. Analysis of transient attenuation spectra revealed that attenuation coefficient was maximal at 1.5 MHz frequency which is consistent with resonance frequency of SonoVue MB. The method allows evaluation of the of resonance frequency of MB, onset and kinetics of MB sonodestruction.
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Authors and Affiliations

Rytis Jurkonis
Nerijus Lamanauskas
Saulius Šatkauskas
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Abstract

Breast cancer screening is based on X-ray mammography, while ultrasound is considered a complementary technique with improved detection in dense tissue. However, breast cancer screening requires a technique that provides repeatable results at the inspection interval which cannot be achieved with manual breast exploration. During the last years there have appeared several approaches to overcome this limitation by means of automated ultrasonic tomography performed with motorized probes or with a large set of array transducers. This work addresses these problems by considering a quite simple and low-cost arrangement, formed with a ring of conventional medical-grade array probes which are multiplexed to the electronics to build Full Angle Spatially Compounded (FASC) images. The work analyzes the performance of such arrangement in terms of resolution and isotropy, showing by numerical modelling and experimentally that it provides high resolution and homogeneity in the whole imaged region. The implementation of this technique would provide more than one circular FASC per second and a whole breast volume image in 1–2 minutes with conventional technology, a process fast enough to be clinically useful. Moreover, the automated technique is repeatable and can be used by the clinician to perform immediately the diagnosis without requiring additional data processing.
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Authors and Affiliations

Luis Medina
Jorge Camacho
Carlos Fritsch
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Abstract

There has been considerable research done on multi-chamber mufflers used in the elimination of industrial venting noise. However, most research has been restricted to lower frequencies using the plane wave theory. This has led to underestimating acoustical performances at higher frequencies. Additionally, because of the space-constrained problem in most plants, the need for optimization of a compact muffler seems obvious. Therefore, a muffler composed of multiple rectangular fin-shaped chambers is proposed. Based on the eigenfunction theory, a four-pole matrix used to evaluate the acoustic performance of mufflers will be deduced. A numerical case for eliminating pure tones using a three-fin-chamber muffler will also be examined. To delineate the best acoustical performance of a space-constrained muffler, a numerical assessment using the Differential Evolution (DE) method is adopted. Before the DE operation for pure tone elimination can be carried out, the accuracy of the mathematical model must be checked using experimental data. The results reveal that the broadband noise has been efficiently reduced using the three-fin-chamber muffler. Consequently, a successful approach in eliminating a pure tone using optimally shaped three-fin-chamber mufflers and a differential evolution method within a constrained space has been demonstrated.
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Authors and Affiliations

Min-Chie Chiu
Ying-Chun Chang
Ho-Chih Cheng
Wei-Ting Tai
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Abstract

This paper focuses on testing the monitoring system of the Direct Current motor. This system gives the possibility of diagnosing various types of failures by means of analysis of acoustic signals. The applied method is based on a study of acoustic signals generated by the DC motor. A study plan of the DC motor’s acoustic signal was proposed. Studies were conducted for a faultless DC motor and Direct Current motor with 3 shorted rotor coils. Coiflet wavelet transform and K-Nnearest neighbor classifier with Euclidean distance were used to identify the incipient fault. This approach keeps the motor operating in acceptable condition for a long time and is also inexpensive.
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Authors and Affiliations

Adam Glowacz
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Abstract

This paper is concerned with the determination of the auditory filter shape using the notched noise method with noise bands symmetrically located above and below a probe frequency of 10 kHz. Unlike in the classical experiments conducted with the use of Patterson method the levels as well as power spectrum densities of the lower and upper component bands of the notched noise masker were not the same and were set such as to produce the same amount of masking at the 10-kHz frequency. The experiment consisted of three conditions in which the following values were determined: (I) the detection threshold for a 10-kHz probe tone in the presence of a noise masker presented below the tone’s frequency; (II) the level of a noise masker presented above the 10-kHz probe tone frequency, at which the masker just masked the probe tone, (III) the detection threshold for a probe tone in the presence of a notched-noise masker. The data show a considerable amount of variability across the subjects, however, the resulting frequency characteristics of the auditory filters are consistent with those presented in the literature so that the Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidth is less than 11% of their centre frequency.
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Authors and Affiliations

Monika Kordus
Borys Kowalewski
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Abstract

The impact of musical experience on results concerning sound perception in selected auditory tasks, such as pitch discrimination, pitch-timbre categorization and pitch memorization for blind and visually impaired children and teenagers is discussed. Subjects were divided into three groups: of those with no experience of music, with small musical experience and with substantial musical experience. The blind and visually impaired subjects were investigated, while sighted persons formed reference groups. To date no study has described impact of musical experience on results of such experiments for blind and visually impaired children and teenagers. Our results suggest that blind persons with musical experience may be more sensitive to frequency differences and differences in timbre between two signals as well as may have better short-term auditory memory than blind people with no musical experience. Musical experience of visually impaired persons does not necessary lead to better performance in all conducted auditory tasks.
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Authors and Affiliations

Edyta Bogusz-Witczak
Ewa Skrodzka
Hanna Turkowska
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Abstract

The feasibility of substituting the types of wood usually employed in the making of guitars and violins was analyzed, but without comparing the properties of involved materials as it is often reported; in this work, the vibrational behavior of twelve guitars and three violins built with alternative types of woods was compared to data of classical instruments available in the literature. In the guitars here measured, the back plate and ribs were not made from traditional woods; while in the violins, only the top plate was made from an alternative type of wood. The results showed that changing the wood of back plate and ribs does not radically affect the typical mobility of a guitar; however, the expected mobility for a violin was not clearly obtained substituting the wood of the top plate. Thus it seems feasible to substitute the wood of back plate and ribs in guitars without causing dramatic changes in their performance; in contrast, a change of the wood type for top plate in violins seems inadvisable unless the design of the top plate is modified to compensate the differences between the woods.
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Authors and Affiliations

Jesús Alejandro Torres
Reydezel Torres-Martínez
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Abstract

The linear 3D piezoelasticity theory along with active damping control (ADC) strategy are applied for non-stationary vibroacoustic response suppression of a doubly fluid-loaded functionally graded piezolaminated (FGPM) composite hollow cylinder of infinite length under general time-varying excitations. The control gain parameters are identified and tuned using Genetic Algorithm (GA) with a multi-objective performance index that constrains the key elasto-acoustic system parameters and control voltage. The uncontrolled and controlled time response histories due to a pair of equal and opposite impulsive external point loads are calculated by means of Durbin’s numerical inverse Laplace transform algorithm. Numerical simulations demonstrate the superior (good) performance of the GA-optimized distributed active damping control system in effective attenuation of sound pressure transients radiated into the internal (external) acoustic space for two basic control configurations. Also, some interesting features of the transient fluid-structure interaction control problem are illustrated via proper 2D time domain images and animations of the 3D sound field. Limiting cases are considered and accuracy of the formulation is established with the aid of a commercial finite element package as well as comparisons with the current literature.
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Authors and Affiliations

Seyyed M. Hasheminejad
Vahid Rabbani
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Abstract

Toys emitting sounds are classified as significant sources of noise found in the children environment. Impulse and continuous noise emitted by toys, used in close to the child’s ear, acting directly on the organ of hearing, can lead to serious adverse health effects. This is especially true for children under the age of three, in which the state of the hearing organ determines their intellectual development. The current level of safety of sound emitting toys intended for children in this age group is insufficient. This is confirmed by the reports from the control of market surveillance authorities. A new approach to the assessment of children’s exposure to noise generated by toys, included in EN 71-1:2011 + A2:2013 Standard, based on the permissible values applicable to the workplaces, requires further tests and verification. The paper presents the results of the research work and assesses the level of sound emitted by toys in the light of current standard requirements, carried out using the author’s methodology. Toys intended for children under the age of 3 years, commercialized on the European market by Polish manufacturers and importers were tested. The results of the tests allowed us to determine the impact of duration of the sound pressure level measurement on the final result.
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Authors and Affiliations

Beata Grynkiewicz-Bylina
Bożena Rakwic
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Abstract

The understanding the influence of biological processes on the characteristics of the signals backscattered by the sea floor is crucial in the development of the hydroacoustical benthic habitat classification techniques. The impact of the microphytobenthos photosynthesis on the acoustical backscattering properties of the Atlantic sandy sediments was previously demonstrated by Holliday et al. (2004) and Wildman and Huettel (2012). To account for the sensitivity of the hydroacoustical classification techniques to the backscattering properties of local marine sediments, it is important to understand the microphytobenthos photosynthesis impact for the Baltic Sea where the techniques are being actively developed now. This is the main motivation of the paper. In the paper the influence of the microphytobenthos photosynthesis on the characteristics of the echo signals reflected by sandy sediments in the typical Baltic temperature and the salinity conditions is discussed. The interdisciplinary multiday laboratory experiment was conducted to study the impact of benthic microalgal photosynthesis on the characteristics of the echo signal reflected by sandy sediments. Hydroacoustical data were collected under controlled constant light, temperature and salinity conditions. The oxygen content at different levels of the water column was simultaneously monitored.
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Authors and Affiliations

Natalia Górska
Ewa Kowalska-Duda
Jacek Marszal
Jan Schmidt
Zygmunt Klusek
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Abstract

Despite the growing importance of packet switching systems, there is still a shortage of thorough analyses of VoIP transmission effect on speech and speaker recognition performance. Voice over IP transmission systems use packet switching. There is no guarantee of delivery. The main disadvantage of VoIP is a packet loss which has a major impact on the performance experienced by the users of the network. There are several techniques to mask the effects of a packet loss, referred to as packet loss concealment. In this study, the effect of voice transmission over IP on automatic speaker verification system performance was investigated. The analyzed system was based on MAP-EM-GMM modelling methods. Four various speech codecs of H.323 standard were investigated with special emphasis placed on the packet loss phenomenon and various packet loss concealment techniques.
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Authors and Affiliations

Waldemar Maciejko
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Abstract

Currently used procedures in room acoustics measurements are not automated. Particularly in medium-sized and large areas they require a lot of time and intensive labour which directly translates into an increase in the measurement cost. Introduction of an automated system would increase efficiency of the measurements, and therefore could present both practical and scientific benefit. The paper presents initial feasibility study for designing a system that permits the measurement of selected acoustic parameters for any choice of three-dimensional grid of measurement points throughout the volume of the room. The system will utilize an autonomous probe attached to a blimp, and will be able to measure and analyze acoustic characteristics of the rooms. The article discusses the initial choices of the system elements, starting from the general idea, through the mechanical design and control procedures, the software that controls positioning and flying of the probe, up to the automation of the measurement procedure and its possible impact on the acoustic field.
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Authors and Affiliations

Bartłomiej Borkowski
Marek Pluta

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Author Guidelines
• Manuscripts intended for publication in Archives of Acoustics should be submitted in pdf format by an on-line procedure.
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o why the paper is submitted to ARCHIVES OF ACOUSTICS,
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o the statement that the manuscript is original, the submission has not been previously published, nor was sent to another journal for consideration,
o 3–5 names of suggested reviewers together with their affiliations, full postal and e-mail addresses; at least 3 suggested reviewers should be affiliated with other scientific institutions than the affiliations of the authors,
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