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Recently, researchers have studied innovative beam structures in a quest to maximize the energy conversion capability of piezoelectric (PZT) transducers coupled with the shims. A T-shaped beam is one of the structural elements used for harvester design owing to its exceptional geometrical advantage. While a number of research papers have reported its performance characteristics, its potential for harnessing the vibration energy at much lower resonance frequency and damping has not been explored. This paper presents non-conventional T-shaped beam harvesters, namely, the Uniform Tapered T-shaped Beam (UTB) and the Reversed Tapered T-shaped Beam (RTB), with the purpose of enhancing the T-shaped beam functionality. A performance analysis between the UTB, RTB and a conventional T-shaped beam (CTB) harvester of equal mass was conducted, where experimental results show that the RTB harvester has a lower fundamental resonance frequency of 12.3% and 28.3% when compared to the CTB and UTB, respectively. Also, a maximum terminal voltage of 82.8 V and an output peak power of 4.6 mW were produced by the RTB harvester when the PZT patch was placed near its clamped end. In addition, we investigated the effect of the anchor position of the beams on their energy harvesting performance using a finite element analysis (FEA) tool. The numerical results show that the position of the anchor has a considerable effect on the overall characteristics of the configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have underscored the close relationship between the auditory and vibrotactile modality. For instance, in the peripheral structures of both modalities, afferent nerve fibers synchronize their activity to the external sensory stimulus, thereby providing a temporal code linked to pitch processing. The Frequency Following Response is a neurological measure that captures this phase locking activity in response to auditory stimuli. In our study, we investigated whether this neural signal is influenced by the simultaneous presentation of a vibrotactile stimulus. Accordingly, our findings revealed a significant increase in phase locking to the fundamental frequency of a speech stimulus, while no such effects were observed at harmonic frequencies. Since phase locking to the fundamental frequency has been associated with pitch perceptual capabilities, our results suggests that audio-tactile stimulation might improve pitch perception in human subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A human laryngeal model, incorporating all the cartilages and the intrinsic muscles, was reconstructed based on MRI data. The vocal fold was represented as a multilayer structure with detailed inner components. The activation levels of the thyroarytenoid (TA) and cricothyroid (CT) muscles were systematically varied from zero to full activation allowing for the analysis of their interaction and influence on vocal fold dynamics and glottal flow. The finite element method was employed to calculate the vocal fold dynamics, while the one-dimensional Bernoulli equation was utilized to calculate the glottal flow. The analysis was focused on the muscle influence on the fundamental frequency (fo). We found that while CT and TA activation increased the fo in most of the conditions, TA activation resulted in a frequency drop when it was moderately activated. We show that this frequency drop was associated with the sudden increase of the vertical motion when the vibration transited from involving the whole tissue to mainly in the cover layer. The transition of the vibration pattern was caused by the increased body-cover stiffness ratio that resulted from TA activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are associated with severe and persistent juvenile offending. CU traits are also associated with dampened emotional arousal, which suggests that fundamental frequency (f0), a measure of vocally-encoded emotional arousal, may serve as an accessible psychophysiological marker of CU traits in youth. This study investigated the associations between f0 range measured during an emotionally evocative task, CU traits, and emotion dysregulation in a mixed-gender sample of 168 justice-involved youth. For boys, after controlling for covariates, wider f0 range—indicating greater emotional arousal—was negatively associated with CU traits and positively associated with emotion dysregulation. For girls, no significant associations with f0 range emerged; however, CU traits were positively associated with emotion dysregulation. Findings suggest that f0 range may serve as a valid indicator of CU traits in JJ-involved boys, and that detained boys and girls with high CU traits are characterized by different profiles of emotion dysregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the challenges faced by second language (L2) learners in lexical tone perception is crucial for effective language acquisition. This study investigates the impact of exaggerated acoustic properties on facilitating Mandarin tone learning for English speakers. Using synthesized tone stimuli, we systematically manipulated pitch contours through three key modifications: expanding the fundamental frequency (F0), increasing F0 (female voice), and extending the overall duration. Our objectives were to assess the influence of F0 expansion, higher F0, longer duration, and varied syllables on Mandarin tone learning and generalization. Participants engaged in a non-adaptive trial-by-trial tone identification task. Mixed-effects logistic regression modeling was used to analyze accuracy across learning phases, acoustic factors, and tones. Findings reveal improvements in accuracy from training to testing and generalization phases, indicating the effectiveness of perceptual training to tone perception for adult English speakers. Tone 1 emerged as the easiest to perceive, while Tone 3 posed the most challenge, consistent with established hierarchies of tonal acquisition difficulty. Analysis of acoustic factors highlighted tone-specific effects. Expanded F0 was beneficial for the identification of Tone 2 and Tone 3 but posed challenges for Tone 1 and Tone 4. Additionally, longer durations also exhibited varied effects across tones, aiding in the identification of Tone 3 and Tone 4 but hindering Tone 1 identification. The higher F0 was advantageous for Tone 2 but disadvantageous for Tone 3. Furthermore, the syllable ma facilitated the identification of Tone 1 and Tone 2 but not for Tone 3 and Tone 4. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of acoustic properties in L2 tone perception and have implications for the design of effective training programs for second language acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Behavioral parent training (BPT) is the standard of care for early onset behavior disorders (BDs), however, not all families benefit. Emotion regulation (ER) is one potential mechanism underlying BPT outcomes, yet there are challenges in capturing intra- and interpersonal aspects of emotion regulation within parent–child interactions that are central to BPT. This study examined how vocally encoded emotional arousal unfolds during parent–child interactions and how parents and children influence each other's arousal (Aim 1), the links between these emotion dynamics, child behavior, and parenting at baseline (Aim 2), and BPT outcome (Aim 3). Method: Families of children with BDs (N = 45) completed two interaction tasks and measures of parenting and child behavior. Parent–child dynamics of vocal fundamental frequency (f0) were modeled using actor–partner interdependence models (APIMs) and coupled linear oscillators (CLOs). Results: When considering relative levels of f0 from one talk turn to the next (APIMs), parents and children showed intrapersonal regulation and synchronizing reactivity to each other's f0. When considering the shape of oscillations (CLOs), parents and children showed intrapersonal regulation but no reactivity. Intrapersonal regulation of f0 during the interaction was slowed for parents with more maladaptive parenting and children with more behavior problems at baseline. Conclusions: This preliminary characterization of f0 in families presenting for BPT provides insights into the emotion dynamics potentially underlying parenting behavior and child behavior. What is the public health significance of this article?: This study showed that parents and children with behavior disorders influence each other's emotional arousal reflected in the pitch of their voices during interactions, which holds promise for refining more personalized treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of structural health monitoring (SHM) faces a fundamental challenge related to accessibility. While analytical and empirical models and laboratory tests can provide engineers with an estimate of a structures expected behavior under various loads, measurements of actual buildings require the installation and maintenance of sensors to collect observations. This is costly in terms of power and resources. MyShake, the free seismology smartphone app, aims to advance SHM by leveraging the presence of accelerometers in all smartphones and the wide usage of smartphones globally. MyShake records acceleration waveforms during earthquakes. Because phones are most typically located in buildings, a waveform recorded by MyShake contains response information from the structure in which the phone is located. This represents a free, potentially ubiquitous method of conducting critical structural measurements. In this work, we present preliminary findings that demonstrate the efficacy of smartphones for extracting the fundamental frequency of buildings, benchmarked against traditional accelerometers in a shake table test. Additionally, we present seven proof-of-concept examples of data collected by anonymous and privately owned smartphones running the MyShake app in real buildings, and assess the fundamental frequencies we measure. In all cases, the measured fundamental frequency is found to be reasonable and within an expected range in comparison with several commonly used empirical equations. For one irregularly shaped building, three separate measurements made over the course of four months fall within 7% of each other, validating the accuracy of MyShake measurements and illustrating how repeat observations can improve the robustness of the structural health catalog we aim to build.

Previous research has found that higher-pitched female voices elicit jealousy among women. However, it is unknown whether jealousy towards higher-pitched female voices is driven by perceptions of the rival's mating strategy or by beliefs about the speaker's attractiveness to one's romantic partner. In addition, the degree to which higher-pitched female voices elicit jealousy could be associated with variation in trait jealousy among women listeners. Here, I manipulated women's voices to be higher or lower in pitch, and tested whether variation in jealousy towards female voices was more strongly associated with perceptions of mate poaching, beliefs about the speaker's attractiveness to listeners' romantic partner, or with individual differences in trait jealousy. I replicated findings that higher voice pitch elicits more jealousy from women, which was positively associated with perceptions of mate poaching. I found no evidence of an association between trait jealousy and any voice-based perception. The findings suggest that perceptions of a target's proclivity to mate poach better explain the jealousy-inducing nature of higher-pitched female voices than do beliefs about the speaker's attractiveness to one's romantic partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aspect of resonant vibrations due to pedestrian movement is of great significance in engineering practice. Therefore, understanding the variations in the natural frequency of bridge structures under varying positions of additional mass is of particular interest. This paper presents a procedure for the straightforward determination of the natural frequencies of a beam pedestrian bridge for various positions of pedestrians or a service vehicle based on derived analytical solutions. The calculation takes into account the inertial effects of the additional load mass, modeled as either uniformly distributed or concentrated. The importance of additional load mass effects on the fundamental frequency of a beam pedestrian bridge and its dynamic response to a moving pedestrian load is demonstrated on a bridge example. The proposed solutions are also applicable to other girder system structures with uniform mass and stiffness along their span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human voice is an important signal that, if analyzed cautiously, will reveal various disorders and diseases of the human body. Vocal profiling is emerging as a new technique for assessment of voice disorders. This work has focused mainly on vocal tract acoustic measurements to detect voice disorders, especially dysphonia. Dysphonia is a communication disorder that, if not detected at an early stage, may lead to serious complications like laryngeal cancer thus affecting health and quality of life. The voice recordings of 52 subjects (26 dysphonic and 26 healthy) were taken from Saarbrucken Voice Database, 28 live samples (14 dysphonic and 14 healthy) were recorded using CSL 4500 tool and 169 subjects (111 dysphonic and 58 healthy) were taken from VOICED Database. These voice samples were used to extract five acoustic parameters: fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, pitch, and formants. The results obtained had an accuracy of around 85% which confirms the potentiality of these fundamental parameters in the successful detection of dysphonia as well as other voice disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voice interventions for transgender individuals can address several speech and voice parameters – fundamental frequency, resonance, intonation, rhythm, and intensity. In this study, we focus on fundamental voice frequency and build on existing research to test one technique that has been shown in a preliminary study to effectively adjust fundamental voice frequency in line with clients' goals. More specifically, we employed an adaptation of melodic intonation therapy (MIT) to assess whether it can raise trans women's average fundamental frequency to a significant degree. Eleven trans women participated in two one-to-one therapy sessions, four weeks apart. Results pointed to a statistically significant rise in both their singing and speaking fundamental frequencies following the adapted MIT therapy sessions. Participants were also successful in imitating upward fundamental frequency contours when singing and in producing them independently in the speech modality. Longitudinal studies are warranted to determine whether the observed positive results translate into long-term benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Since new evidence regarding the impact of Wendler glottoplasty (WG) on the voice in transgender women became available in the literature in recent years, we aimed to perform an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the actual safety and efficacy of WG in the process of vocal feminization. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane were searched for English-language articles published until July 4, 2023. Studies were found eligible if they evaluated the impact of WG on the acoustic-aerodynamic measures and quality of voice in transgender women. Results: Twenty-three studies were identified. After exclusion of three studies due to incomplete data, 20 studies including 656 patients were included in the meta-analysis. After WG, there was a significant increase of fundamental frequency, speaking fundamental frequency, and lower limit of the frequency range (p < 0.001). Concurrently, a significant reduction of frequency range and maximum phonation time was observed (p < 0.001). No significant differences were found between the pre- and postoperative values regarding the Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, and Strain scale score (p = 0.339). The overall score in the Trans Woman Voice Questionnaire (TWVQ) significantly improved after WG (p < 0.001). Conclusions: WG is an effective voice feminization method in transgender women, associated with a high procedural success and low risk of postoperative complications. Significantly improved TWVQ score after surgery suggests its positive impact on the voice-related quality of life. Postoperative decrease of maximum phonation time and frequency range does not seem to significantly impact the effectiveness of voice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global pollinator decline urgently requires effective methods to assess their trends, distribution and behaviour. Passive acoustics is a non-invasive and cost-efficient monitoring tool increasingly employed for monitoring animal communities. However, insect sounds remain highly unexplored, hindering the application of this technique for pollinators. To overcome this shortfall and support future developments, we recorded and characterized wingbeat sounds of a variety of Iberian domestic and wild bees and tested their relationship with taxonomic, morphological, behavioural and environmental traits at inter- and intra-specific levels. Using directional microphones and machine learning, we shed light on the acoustic signature of bee wingbeat sounds and their potential to be used for species identification and monitoring. Our results revealed that frequency of wingbeat sounds is negatively related with body size and environmental temperature (between-species analysis), while it is positively related with experimentally induced stress conditions (within-individual analysis). We also found a characteristic acoustic signature in the European honeybee that supported automated classification of this bee from a pool of wild bees, paving the way for passive acoustic monitoring of pollinators. Overall, these findings confirm that insect sounds during flight activity can provide insights on individual and species traits, and hence suggest novel and promising applications for this endangered animal group. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging functional material, shape memory alloy (SMA) exhibits remarkable mechanical properties and finds diverse applications across industries. This paper presents a topology optimization framework based on the bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO) method for designing SMA structures, which maximizes structural stiffness under multiple constraints of specified volume fraction, displacement, and fundamental frequency. A phenomenological constitutive model is utilized to simulate the mechanical behavior of SMA accurately. The unit virtual load method is employed to determine sensitivities. Several optimized SMA beam structures and simply-supported cube structures are designed under different thermal-mechanical loads, and their displacement, mean compliance, and fundamental frequency are evaluated throughout the optimization process. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework successfully customizes the SMA topology structure with adjustable displacement and fundamental frequency, and the optimized schemes exhibit more considerable deformation and more uniform mechanical properties than their initial counterparts. The proposed framework has higher computational efficiency than the traditional SIMP-based SMA topology optimization design method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of speech prosody on perceived transformational leadership within a business context. Previous works have mainly concentrated on political preference or leadership; however, the business scenario is rather limited. Notably, a few studies have pointed to the subscale of transformational leadership, yet there is scant research to examine the full-dimensions of transformational leadership. Utilizing a large sample of 122 speakers and 122 evaluators, OpenSMILE was employed to extract the prosodic features, and Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis was used to analyze the data. With the SMO regression as the machine learning algorithm, the results indicated that fundamental frequency, speech intensity, and voicing probability influence various dimensions, including inspirational motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Fundamental frequency emerges as a pivotal predictor of highlighting the importance of conveying leadership qualities across multiple subscales of transformational leadership. The findings also suggested practical implications for further leadership development by vocal cues. Nevertheless, limitations include the predominantly student sample and the specific context, warranting further research on diverse populations and backgrounds. Future research could explore cross-cultural variations in leadership perceptions and extend analyses to transactional leadership. Overall, this research enriches our understanding of speech prosody in shaping perceptions of leadership and provides insights into the aspects of theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Southeast University (English Edition) is the property of Journal of Southeast University Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Numerous studies have underscored the close relationship between the auditory and vibrotactile modality. For instance, in the peripheral structures of both modalities, afferent nerve fibers synchronize their activity to the external sensory stimulus, thereby providing a temporal code linked to pitch processing. The Frequency Following Response is a neurological measure that captures this phase locking activity in response to auditory stimuli. In our study, we investigated whether this neural signal is influenced by the simultaneous presentation of a vibrotactile stimulus. Accordingly, our findings revealed a significant increase in phase locking to the fundamental frequency of a speech stimulus, while no such effects were observed at harmonic frequencies. Since phase locking to the fundamental frequency has been associated with pitch perceptual capabilities, our results suggests that audio-tactile stimulation might improve pitch perception in human subjects.

A computational framework combined with the commercial finite element software Abaqus and Bayesian optimization algorithm is proposed. The proposed computational framework leverages the Gaussian process based-probabilistic capability in Bayesian optimization as a surrogate model for minimizing the computational cost of objective function evaluations in the finite element analysis. The optimization problem in this work is to enhance the maximum fundamental frequency of the composite laminates, which is one of the critical parameters in the design for composite structures. The optimization of stacking sequence selection is investigated and validated by the results obtained from literatures. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed Bayesian optimization computational framework in maximizing the fundamental frequency of composite laminates are demonstrated by comparing the optimized results from different optimization techniques through a series of cases including the 8-layer rectangular plates with 11 different boundary conditions and the 10 to 20-layer trapezoidal plates with the same boundary condition. The proposed framework developed in this work has highly potential as an engineering tool to address a broader range of structural optimization in vibration problems.

Background The acquisition and development of prosodic aspects of vocal intonation are of special interest within the larger context of language acquisition. Method The present study explored the developmental trajectories of infant prosodic abilities from 4 to 16 months of life with an intensive time points assessment. Several aspects were considered: an acoustic analysis of infant vocal productions with specific software, the analyses of all the prosodic variables associated with the fundamental frequency (F0 mean, F0 range, and F0 final contours), the individual variability and the complexity of the vocal productions of the infants. Results The multi-level analysis evidenced specific prosodic developmental trajectories that differ for the different kind of vocal productions since the first months of life. Conclusions The findings suggest that in the second half of the first year of life infants show an intonational repertoire that may help manage interactions with their caregiver and that individual variability has to be taken in consideration when assessing infants’ prosody.

A growing body of research demonstrates that humans can accurately perceive the emotional states of animals solely by listening to their calls, highlighting shared evolutionary ancestry. Yet, the cognitive and perceptual mechanisms underlying heterospecific emotion perception have remained open to investigation. One hypothesis is that humans rely on simple acoustic heuristics to make such judgments, for example, perceiving higher-pitched calls as reflecting heightened emotional arousal (the "pitch rule"). This could lead to accurate judgments of emotion since in most mammals, as in humans, vocal fundamental frequency (the acoustic determinant of the pitch percept) does objectively correlate with emotional arousal. In the present study, we used digital pitch manipulation to create pairs of animal calls that were perceptually identical except for pitch, and we measured human perceptions of the caller's emotional arousal using an online survey. Calls of six phylogenetically diverse species were included as stimuli. Participants attributed slightly but statistically significantly higher arousal to higher-pitched versions of the same calls. Variation in application of the pitch rule across species was not well explained by familiarity, and prior experience with cats did not significantly predict sensitivity to pitch in cat vocalizations. Cross-species variation also did not align with phylogenetic distance from humans, or the hypothetical usefulness of pitch for making accurate judgments. Thus, the pitch rule may be a "mammalomorphic" heuristic leading to accurate emotion judgments in some taxa and call types and erroneous judgments in others, depending in part on phylogenetic distance and the mechanisms of call production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fundamental lateral mode frequency of a spacecraft is determined experimentally by performing a base excited vibration testing. For the above vibration testing, the spacecraft is mounted on the slip table of the shaker system. It is shown in this work that even if the test fixture is quite stiff, the fundamental lateral mode of the spacecraft can be influenced by the slip table system. The frequency obtained in the test is lower than the base fixed frequency. In this mode, even though the test fixture does not undergo bending, the slip table undergoes bending resulting in rotation of the test fixture. The stiffness of the bearing and the bending stiffness of the slip table are the causes of reduction in stiffness. A mathematical model that represents this behavior is developed for two typical shaker-slip table systems, one having a capacity of about 150 kN force and the other about 300 kN force. It is seen that the test system can cause a drop of about 3 Hz for a 3000 kg class of spacecraft, while using 150 kN shaker system. This is quite significant as their frequencies are in the range of 12–15 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Computational Mechanics / Jisuan Lixue Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Computational Mechanics Editorial Office, Dalian University of Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This systematic review aims to assess the impact of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) on various frequency-following response (FFR) parameters. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases up to January 2023. Studies evaluating FFRs in patients with SNHL and normal hearing controls were included. Results: Sixteen case–control studies were included, revealing variability in acquisition parameters. In the time domain, patients with SNHL exhibited prolonged latencies. The specific waves that were prolonged differed across studies. There was no consensus regarding wave amplitude in the time domain. In the frequency domain, focusing on studies that elicited FFRs with stimuli of 170 ms or longer, participants with SNHL displayed a significantly smaller fundamental frequency (F0). Results regarding changes in the temporal fine structure (TFS) were inconsistent. Conclusion: Patients with SNHL may require more time for processing (speech) stimuli, reflected in prolonged latencies. However, the exact timing of this delay remains unclear. Additionally, when presenting longer stimuli (≥ 170 ms), patients with SNHL show difficulties tracking the F0 of (speech) stimuli. No definite conclusions could be drawn on changes in wave amplitude in the time domain and the TFS in the frequency domain. Patient characteristics, acquisition parameters, and FFR outcome parameters differed greatly across studies. Future studies should be performed in larger and carefully matched subject groups, using longer stimuli presented at the same intensity in dB HL for both groups, or at a carefully determined maximum comfortable loudness level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-induced vibration is an important serviceability issue of modern structural designs, especially for light long-span structures. The common heel-drop impact is usually considered in evaluating the vibration of cold-formed steel (CFS) floors. This paper proposes a simplified equation for determining the peak accelerations under transient impacts, based on the Duhamel integral. The analytical results were validated with a comparison with the results from the heel-drop test results on a CFS floor of 3 900mm × 5 600mm (at both construction and completion stages). The dynamic responses of the floor, including peak acceleration, maximum transient vibration value (MTVV), and crest factor (a ratio of MTVV-to-peak acceleration) were analyzed in detail. The natural frequencies of the floor were obtained from the FFT and FRF analysis of heel-drop and hammering test results. The investigated on-site composite CFS floor with concrete topping was found to have a high fundamental frequency: 17Hz at the construction stage and 21Hz at the completion stage. In determining the fundamental frequency of the CFS floor, the hammering was thought to be more effective than the heel-drop owing to the phenomenon of human-structure interaction (HSI). Moreover, finite element analyses were performed to study the effects of profiled steel sheeting type (Types 28-100-800, 21-180-900, and 14-80-640) and concrete thickness (40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100mm). With the SCSC condition (two opposite edges clamped and the other two edges simply-supported), the peak acceleration decreased by 50% when the concrete thickness increased from 40mm to 100mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fundamental frequency (f o) is the most perceptually salient vocal acoustic parameter, yet little is known about how its perceptual influence varies across societies. We examined how f o affects key social perceptions and how socioecological variables modulate these effects in 2,647 adult listeners sampled from 44 locations across 22 nations. Low male f o increased men's perceptions of formidability and prestige, especially in societies with higher homicide rates and greater relational mobility in which male intrasexual competition may be more intense and rapid identification of high-status competitors may be exigent. High female f o increased women's perceptions of flirtatiousness where relational mobility was lower and threats to mating relationships may be greater. These results indicate that the influence of f o on social perceptions depends on socioecological variables, including those related to competition for status and mates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seismic site effect which is controlled by local geological conditions is a key parameter of seismic hazards analysis. This paper presents an observational study of microtremor data to investigate the dynamic characteristics of soil in the Chiang Mai basin (Chiang Mai and Lumphun province), Northern Thailand. The Chiang Mai basin was formed on terrace sediments and alluvium sediments. The horizontal vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) analyses of ambient noise data at 101 sites in the basin were analyzed for an average smoothed HVSR curve to estimate the amplification factor and fundamental resonance frequency of each observation point. We also evaluated the shear wave velocity using the HVSR inversion technique based on the diffuse field assumption. Tests undertaken include a comparison of the HVSR of a significant earthquake that was detected at stations in the basin and a nearby bedrock site. The results indicate that the resonance frequency ranges between 0.15 - 0.4 Hz at sites having large thicknesses of soft sediments. The lowest resonance frequencies occur in the center of the basin, whereas higher resonance frequencies were observed in the areas of the shallowest bedrock in the west and east of the basin. It can be inferred that the western margin of the Chiang Mai basin is a steep slope, while the eastern margin of the basin is a lowangle west-dipping basement. The amplification factor ranges between 3 - 5 times, in the middle of the basin. Most of the Chiang Mai basin area is classified as site D soil (stiff soil) relative to alluvium sediments, and a region of class C soil (very dense soil) conforms to the terrace sediments located on the eastern edge of the basin. The soil classification is based on shear wave velocity (Vs30) determined by HVSR inversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of voice recordings in both research and industry practice has increased dramatically in recent years—from diagnosing a COVID-19 infection based on patients' self-recorded voice samples to predicting customer emotions during a service center call. Crowdsourced audio data collection in participants' natural environment using their own recording device has opened up new avenues for researchers and practitioners to conduct research at scale across a broad range of disciplines. The current research examines whether fundamental properties of the human voice are reliably and validly captured through common consumer-grade audio-recording devices in current medical, behavioral science, business, and computer science research. Specifically, this work provides evidence from a tightly controlled laboratory experiment analyzing 1800 voice samples and subsequent simulations that recording devices with high proximity to a speaker (such as a headset or a lavalier microphone) lead to inflated measures of amplitude compared to a benchmark studio-quality microphone while recording devices with lower proximity to a speaker (such as a laptop or a smartphone in front of the speaker) systematically reduce measures of amplitude and can lead to biased measures of the speaker's true fundamental frequency. We further demonstrate through simulation studies that these differences can lead to biased and ultimately invalid conclusions in, for example, an emotion detection task. Finally, we outline a set of recording guidelines to ensure reliable and valid voice recordings and offer initial evidence for a machine-learning approach to bias correction in the case of distorted speech signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers a plane statically determinate truss with double lattice structure and without a lower chord. Well-known versions of this design are Fink and Bollman trusses. Two methods are used to derive the analytical relationship of the lower limit of the fundamental frequency with the number of panels in the periodic structure. It is assumed that mass of the truss is concentrated at its joints (nodes). The nodes vibrate vertically, and the number of degrees of freedom coincides with the number of nodes. The stiffness analysis of the truss is performed using the Maxwell - Mohr method. The forces in the elastic elements and the reactions of the roller and pin supports are calculated by the method of joints depending on the size of the truss and its order of periodicity. The system of linear equations is solved using the inverse matrix method. The Dunkerley method of partial frequencies is used to calculate the lower limit of the fundamental frequency. For a series of solutions obtained for trusses with different number of panels, the common term in the sequence of solution formulas is found by induction using Maple software. The solution coefficients have polynomial form in the number of panels of order not higher than the fifth. The solution is compared with an approximate version of the Dunkerley method, in which the sum of the terms corresponding to partial frequencies is calculated using the mean value theorem. The closeness of the frequency obtained by the two analytical methods to the numerical frequency spectrum solution is shown by particular examples. An approximate version of the Dunkerley method has a simpler form and an accuracy comparable to the original Dunkerley method.

Objective: Children of parents with a mental illness are at heightened risk to develop a mental illness themselves due to genetics and environmental factors. Although parenting stress (PS) is known to be associated with increased psychopathology in parents and children, there is no study investigating PS multimodally in a sample of parents with a mental illness. This study aims to compare PS of parents with and without a mental illness and further to examine the relationship between PS and psychopathology of children. Methods: Participants were parents with a mental illness and parents without a mental illness and their children aged four to sixteen years. We assessed PS multimodally using a questionnaire, parents' evaluation of children's behavior (relational schemas) and psychophysiological arousal of parents during free speech task. Results: Self-reported PS was increased, and evaluation of children's behavior was more negative and less positive in parents with a mental illness compared to parents without a mental illness. Children's psychopathology was associated with self-reported PS and relational schemas of parents. Regarding psychophysiological arousal, parents with a mental illness showed reduced reactivity in heart rate from baseline to free speech task in comparison to parents without a mental illness. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of implementing intervention programs to reduce PS for parents and children. In particular, parents with a mental illness might benefit from specific intervention programs in order to interrupt the transgenerational transmission of mental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A frequency/phase/amplitude estimator is arguably one of the most crucial components in the control and synchronization of grid-connected equipment. Such an estimator may also be useful for monitoring and protection purposes in power systems. In this paper, an open-loop (and therefore unconditionally stable) estimator for the accurate and rapid extraction of the grid voltage phase, frequency, and amplitude is presented. In designing the proposed technique, special focus is given to applications operating at a low sampling rate. Examples of such applications include high-power converters, where both switching and sampling frequencies are very low. The study concludes with a comprehensive evaluation of the proposed estimator, demonstrating its effectiveness in accurately and swiftly estimating the fundamental parameters of grid voltage under low sampling rates. It highlights the estimator's enhanced performance in scenarios of distorted grid conditions and its superiority in filtering capabilities compared to traditional methods. These findings underline the estimator's potential for broad applicability in power system monitoring, protection, and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research suggests an efficient method that is better suited for speech processing applications to retrieve the accurate fundamental frequencies from speech in noisy conditions. For this objective, a fundamental frequency extraction algorithm that is tolerant to the non-stationary changes of the amplitude and frequency of the input signal is presented. Moreover, autocorrelation function is used as a pre-processor, which uses the power spectrum of the input signal to reduce the noise characteristics of the speech signals. In order to increase the accuracy of the fundamental frequency extraction, the focus has been on maintaining the speech harmonics in their original state and suppressing the noise elements involved in the noisy speech signal. The two stages that make up the suggested fundamental frequency extraction approach are producing the autocorrelation function of the speech signal as a pre-processor and applying it with the spectral subtraction method. As per the experiment results, the proposed technique appears to be better in noisy situations than other existing state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore whether aging is an independent factor in speech perception ability and to clarify the impact mode of aging on the ability to perceive speech cues. Methods This study recruited normal-hearing youth group (n=10, average age of 24 years) and elderly group (n=15, average age of 67 years). Closed-set mandarin speech (CMS) was used to evaluate the speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) of the two group sunder four different speech perception cues (“baseline” condition, “fundamental frequency” condition, “spatial” condition, and “fundamental frequency + spatial” condition). The effect of aging on the ability to utilize fundamental frequency cues and/or spatial cues was quantitatively assessed by comparing SRTs under the four conditions. Results RM-ANOVA showed that under the conditions of “baseline”, “fundamental frequency” and “spatial”, the SRTs of the elderly group were higher (worse) than those of the young group (All P<0.05). The difference between the two groups under the condition of “fundamental frequency + space” showed no statistical significance (P>0.05). When analysis was performed with hearing threshold as a covariate, there was no significant difference in SRT between the elderly group and the young group in the “spatial” condition (P>0.05). Under the conditions of “fundamental frequency”, “spatial” and “fundamental frequency + space”, the MRs of the elderly group decreased compared with the young group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusions The speech perception ability of the elderly in complex contexts is significantly worse than that of the young people. However, when speech has both fundamental frequency and spatial cues, the elderly can still use the two cues comprehensively to achieve similar perceptual performance as young people. Excluding the effect of hearing acuity, aging significantly weakens the ability to perceive speech fundamental frequency cues, but has no significant effect on the ability to utilize spatial cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This corpus-based study examines the effect of syntactic complexity in the source language on simultaneous interpreters' cognitive load and stress. Previous studies show contrasting results regarding the source text syntax and cognitive load in interpreting, while the link between syntactic complexity and interpreters' stress remains unexplored. Our research aims to fill this gap by measuring cognitive load through filled and silent pauses, and stress through fundamental frequency. We evaluated syntactic complexity by calculating dependency distance, i.e., the number of words between syntactically dependent elements. We used PINC, the Polish Interpreting Corpus (Chmiel et al. 2022), as our dataset. We found that higher syntactic complexity in the source text increases stress and cognitive load among interpreters. Additionally, when interpreters produce complex syntax themselves, their stress increases. The study provides empirical evidence for simplification in interpreting and shows that syntactic complexity in interpreters' own output does not necessarily lead to increased cognitive load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Simple Summary: Harmonic tones are known to be more detectable in noise than inharmonic tones, providing an ecological advantage to periodic sounds, such as voiced speech and many animal vocalizations, over aperiodic sounds. Little is known about the extent to which this harmonic advantage extends to other auditory tasks beyond simple detection. Here, we tested young adults with and without musical training on the detection of harmonic and inharmonic tones in noise, as well as on other tasks that are important for auditory perception, including pitch discrimination, frequency-modulation detection, and amplitude-modulation detection. Consistent with earlier results, detection in noise was superior for harmonic over inharmonic tones, and an additional benefit beyond detection was found for pitch discrimination. However, neither amplitude- nor frequency-modulation detection was improved in harmonic conditions, beyond the predicted effects of audibility. Listeners with musical training performed better in pitch-related tasks (pitch discrimination and frequency-modulation detection), but evidence for a musician benefit of harmonicity was weak. The results show that harmonicity aids tone detection and pitch perception in noise, but that the harmonicity advantage does not extend to other important auditory domains, such as modulation detection, beyond the improvements accounted for by greater audibility in noise. Harmonic complex tones are easier to detect in noise than inharmonic complex tones, providing a potential perceptual advantage in complex auditory environments. Here, we explored whether the harmonic advantage extends to other auditory tasks that are important for navigating a noisy auditory environment, such as amplitude- and frequency-modulation detection. Sixty young normal-hearing listeners were tested, divided into two equal groups with and without musical training. Consistent with earlier studies, harmonic tones were easier to detect in noise than inharmonic tones, with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) advantage of about 2.5 dB, and the pitch discrimination of the harmonic tones was more accurate than that of inharmonic tones, even after differences in audibility were accounted for. In contrast, neither amplitude- nor frequency-modulation detection was superior with harmonic tones once differences in audibility were accounted for. Musical training was associated with better performance only in pitch-discrimination and frequency-modulation-detection tasks. The results confirm a detection and pitch-perception advantage for harmonic tones but reveal that the harmonic benefits do not extend to suprathreshold tasks that do not rely on extracting the fundamental frequency. A general theory is proposed that may account for the effects of both noise and memory on pitch-discrimination differences between harmonic and inharmonic tones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of natural zeolite as a supplementary cementitious material to improve the overall performance of concrete has been an interesting practice. However, limited research has been conducted on natural zeolite, which contains approximately 15% void space, to address the freeze–thaw (F–T) impact in a severe environment of cold regions. This study determined the resistance to freezing and thawing of nonair-entrained concrete made with up to 20% by mass natural clinoptilolite zeolite replacement of portland cement for up to 300 alternate cycles per current standards. The influence of clinoptilolite zeolite on the workability and air content of fresh mixes was measured before preparing the concrete specimens. The water absorption, void content, and splitting tensile strength of concrete were assessed 28 days prior to F–T testing. The resistance to freezing and thawing of concretes was monitored through the dynamic modulus of elasticity based on the fundamental transverse frequency, durability factor, and mass loss of beam specimens having a size of 76 × 76 × 406 mm. The chloride ion permeability via surface resistivity of all concrete beams was examined before and after freezing and thawing. Results revealed that using zeolite could entrain (and/or entrap) a slightly higher air content but decrease the workability of concrete. The application of up to 20% clinoptilolite zeolite exhibited a slightly higher water absorption and porosity in both mortar and concrete compared to the control samples. The favorable curing environment and the pozzolanic performance of 5%–15% zeolite produced a dense matrix, leading to a higher dynamic modulus of elasticity, increased frost resistance, and minimal mass loss against freezing and thawing. Using zeolite also led to a moderate level of chloride ion penetrability after 300 F–T cycles. Based on the results, the optimum dosage of clinoptilolite zeolite with the replacement of portland cement was found to be 10% due to the satisfactory resistance to the F–T impact, maintaining the structural integrity for up to 300 cycles. The present study investigated the effect of using natural clinoptilolite zeolite as the supplementary cementitious material in the concrete against the freeze–thaw impact. Typically, the air-entraining admixture is applied to form the air voids in the concrete so that the ice crystal may occupy that void during the freezing environment to reduce the overall hydraulic pressure. However, every 1% volume of entrapped and/or entrained air can reduce the strength of concrete by up to 5%, while the maximum allowable air content is up to 5%–8% in a severe environment. Therefore, applying this strategy could significantly decrease the performance of the concrete. Since zeolite is a highly porous material, it will entrain (and/or entrap) air voids in the concrete where the ice crystal may form during the freezing environment, leading to lower hydraulic pressure. Hence, the use of air-entraining admixtures can be reduced and/or eliminated in the concrete without compromising the strength. Moreover, the pozzolanic activity of clinoptilolite zeolite will increase the strength and enhance the microstructural development, leading to the production of additional hydration reaction products along with finer pore size distribution of concrete microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of estimating the fundamental frequency of an audio signal, also known as pitch tracking, has been a long-standing research area in speech signal processing. Recently, there has been a growing interest in data-driven pitch tracking methods that leverage deep learning technologies. However, deep learning-based pitch tracking models often neglect the methodologies employed in well-established signal processing-based pitch tracking algorithms, which incorporate valuable prior knowledge. Motivated by this, we propose Neural RAPT, an interpretable neural network-based pitch tracking model that incorporates signal processing knowledge from RAPT. The proposed model consists of a front-end module and a back-end module. The front-end module adopts the U-Net structure, which inherently involves downsampling and upsampling processes similar to RAPT. To enhance the U-Net, we introduce a neural autocorrelation function (ACF) module using masked CNN, along with a normalization layer that models the sample pair-wise product in the normalized cross-correlation function (NCCF). The back-end module is based on the Transformer architecture. The model is evaluated by pitch tracking experiments on the PTDB-TUG database and noisy mixtures with the NOISEX-92 database at different SNRs. The experimental results demonstrate that incorporating algorithmic knowledge into the model design leads to improved performance. The proposed model inherits the advantages of high accuracy from traditional pitch tracking algorithms, while also benefiting from the noise robustness offered by neural network-based methods. Consequently, our model exhibits superiority over existing deep learning-based pitch tracking methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scheme of a statically determinate spatial truss is proposed. The gable cover of the structure is formed by isosceles rod triangles with supports in the form of racks on the sides. A formula is derived for the lower boundary of the structure’s first natural frequency under the assumption that its mass is concentrated in the nodes. To calculate the stiffness of the truss according to the Maxwell - Mohr formula, the forces in the rods are found by cutting out the nodes in an analytical form. The lower limit of the fundamental frequency is calculated using the Dunkerley partial frequency method. A series of solutions obtained for trusses with a different number of panels is generalized to an arbitrary order of a regular truss by induction using Maple symbolic mathematics operators. Comparison of the analytical solution with the numerical value of the first frequency of the spectrum shows good agreement between the results. The spectra of a series of regular trusses of various orders are analyzed. Two spectral constants of the problem are found, one of which is the highest frequency of truss vibrations, which does not depend on their order.

The aspect of resonant vibrations due to pedestrian movement is of great significance in engineering practice. Therefore, understanding the variations in the natural frequency of bridge structures under varying positions of additional mass is of particular interest. This paper presents a procedure for the straightforward determination of the natural frequencies of a beam pedestrian bridge for various positions of pedestrians or a service vehicle based on derived analytical solutions. The calculation takes into account the inertial effects of the additional load mass, modeled as either uniformly distributed or concentrated. The importance of additional load mass effects on the fundamental frequency of a beam pedestrian bridge and its dynamic response to a moving pedestrian load is demonstrated on a bridge example. The proposed solutions are also applicable to other girder system structures with uniform mass and stiffness along their span.