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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]

Prosodic details offer valuable insight into the phonology of languages, but prosodically-grounded analysis alone does not reveal the whole picture. Benjamin Macaulay's prosodic study into Rukai provides valuable insights into the syllable structure of the language, but phonological alternations, particularly the alternation of glides and fricatives, as well as the historical source of glides, suggests that glides still form an important part of Rukai's phonology. Rather than doing away wtih glides, as Macaulay suggests, this study proposes a compromise position that acknowledges the utility of Macaulay's prosodic analysis in many cases but keeps the glides [j] and [w] as part of the phonology of Rukai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To assess whether impaired vestibular perception of self‐motion is a risk factor for unsteadiness and falls in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and methods: 113 participants (65–75 years old) with T2D underwent tests of roll and pitch discrimination, postural stability (Berg Balance Scale, Modified Romberg Test, and quantitative posturography), clinical examination and blood chemistry analyses. Falls 1‐year after enrolment were self‐reported. We performed cluster analysis based on the values of the vestibular motion thresholds, and logistic stepwise regression to compare the clinical‐biochemical parameters between clusters. Results: We identified two clusters (VC1 n = 65 and VC2 n = 48 participants). VC2 had significantly (p < 0.001) higher (poorer) thresholds than VC1: mean pitch threshold 1.62°/s (95% CI 1.48–1.78) in VC2 and 0.91°/s (95% CI 0.84–0.98) in VC1, mean roll threshold 1.34°/s (95% CI 1.21–1.48) in VC2 and 0.69°/s (95% CI 0.64–0.74) in VC1. Diabetes duration was significantly (p = 0.024) longer in VC2 (11.96 years, 95% CI 9.23–14.68) than in VC1 (8.37 years, 95% CI 6.85–9.88). Glycaemic control was significantly (p = 0.014) poorer in VC2 (mean HbA1c 6.74%, 95% CI 6.47–7.06) than in VC1 (mean HbA1c 6.34%, 95% CI 6.16–6.53). VC2 had a significantly higher incidence of postural instability than VC1, with a higher risk of failing the Modified Romberg Test C4 (RR = 1.57, χ2 = 5.33, p = 0.021), reporting falls during follow‐up (RR = 11.48, χ2 = 9.40, p = 0.002), and greater postural sway in the medio‐lateral direction (p < 0.025). Conclusions: Assessing vestibular motion thresholds identifies individuals with T2D at risk of postural instability due to altered motion perception and guides vestibular rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, the wind-up delivery is considered a more biomechanically advantageous pitching motion compared to the stretch. Recently, some pitchers have shifted to pitching exclusively from the stretch regardless of the game situation. The goal of this study was to compare temporal, kinematic and kinetic variables between the wind-up and stretch deliveries. Professional pitchers (n = 52, 189.1 ± 4.8 cm, 92.8 ± 8.4 kg) threw fastballs evaluated by 3D-motion capture (480 Hz) from both the wind-up and stretch deliveries. Within a pitcher, there was no significant difference in ball velocity between the two deliveries (p = 0.15). The stretch delivery was significantly quicker to ball release at toe off 2 (p < 0.001) (the last frame the pitcher’s foot contacts the ground before progressing to maximum knee height) and maximum knee height (p < 0.001). The majority of differences occurred prior to foot contact. The wind-up delivery produced greater maximum shoulder external rotation (p < 0.001) and lead knee flexion at ball release (p < 0.001). Pitching from the stretch incurred greater shoulder superior force (p < 0.001). It remains unknown if this is clinically significant as pooled means show only a 2% difference. Therefore, pitching a fastball from either the wind-up or stretch delivery provides comparable mechanics and throwing arm load with likely comparable risk of injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies reported mixed findings on autistic individuals' pitch perception relative to neurotypical (NT) individuals. We investigated whether this may be partly due to individual differences in cognitive abilities by comparing their performance on various pitch perception tasks on a large sample (n = 164) of autistic and NT children and adults. Our findings revealed that: (i) autistic individuals either showed similar or worse performance than NT individuals on the pitch tasks; (ii) cognitive abilities were associated with some pitch task performance; and (iii) cognitive abilities modulated the relationship between autism diagnosis and pitch perception on some tasks. Our findings highlight the importance of taking an individual differences approach to understand the strengths and weaknesses of pitch processing in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to replicate previous English-language musician advantage studies in Mandarin-speaking musicians and nonmusicians. Segregation of competing speech, melodic pitch perception, and spectro-temporal pattern perception were measured in normal-hearing native Mandarin-speaking musicians and nonmusicians. Speech recognition thresholds were measured in the presence of two-talker masker speech. The masker sex was either the same as or different from the target; target and masker speech were either co-located or spatially separated. Melodic pitch perception was tested using a melodic contour identification task. Spectro-temporal resolution was measured using a modified spectral ripple detection task. We hypothesized that, given musician advantages in pitch perception, musician effects would be larger when the target and masker sex was the same than when different. For all tests, performance was significantly better for musicians than for nonmusicians. Contrary to our expectation, larger musician effects were observed for segregation of competing speech when the target and masker sex was different. The results show that musician effects observed for non-tonal language speakers extend to tonal language speakers. The data also suggest that musician effects may depend on the difficulty of the listening task and may be reduced when listening tasks are too easy or too difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of performance intonation and musicians' own statements suggest that classical string instrumentalists often deviate in their intonation from equal temperament for expressive purposes. However, it is not clear to what extent corresponding perceptual preferences for intonational deviations might rely on listeners' instrumental expertise or such contextual aspects as the metrical placement of tones. We investigated higher-education music students' perceptual preferences for melodic intonation of local leading tones in unaccompanied classical violin performances. Recordings of 12 excerpts were manipulated in the size of ascending semitones (110, 90, or 70 cents) leading to tones that were more stable in the tonal context. Groups of violin students and music education students listened to pairs of excerpts differing only in the size of semitones and chose the intonation variant that they preferred. In the comparison between 90- and 110-cent semitones, violin students showed a stronger group consensus for preferring 90 cents. However, greater instrumental expertise did not result in a stronger overall preference for the sharpest 70-cent variant. Instead, the violin students showed an expertise-related connection between intonation preference and meter, which was not observed for the music education students. In particular, the violin students more often preferred 70-cent intonation (i.e., the sharpest leading tones) in metrically unaccented than in accented positions. In effect, this is to prefer an expressive intonation that colors the music while not challenging the harmonic structure at metrically salient tones. It is argued that understanding expressive intonation in musical performance requires consideration of the metrical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing manifold symbolic, iconic, and indexical signs – whether linguistic or extralinguistic – along with their polysemic and multimodular features, edusemiotics is an integrative and interdisciplinary conceptual framework that surmounts learning processes where learners find significance and meaning under the assumed responsibility of English language teachers for the provision of such a participative environment. Allowing for the salience of intonation despite its intricate nature, thus its inevitable underrepresentation in course books and teaching practices, this article intends to propose a novel means of intonation instruction as well as its components (i.e., stress, pitch, and juncture) for English language teacher education (henceforth ELTE) contexts within the edusemiotic framework. Promoting the importance of edusemiotic teaching of intonation, this article further aims to add to our understanding of how signs and sign systems can be benefitted in ELTE settings and their potential exploitation across various other disciplines. It concludes with suggestions for future research on more practical aspects of edusemiotic tools and learner and teacher attitudes toward integrating them within the teaching program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article explores the criteria used to ascertain whether or not, and how, ancient Chinese bronze bells might form sets of musical instruments, thus clarifying their original intended use by ancient musicians. The focus is on ten bells unearthed from Changsha city in Hunan province in China, which date to the twelfth century BCE. A range of diverse relationships between these bells provide valuable insights that can be explored. Debate is ongoing among music historians regarding the nature of the bells. Some argue that the ten bells do not constitute a set of musical instruments because their designs and acoustic properties lack sufficient similarity and correlation. Conversely, another group of historians suggests that nine of the ten bells could indeed be seen as a set, but with the tenth bell being an outlier due to its distinct design. The third group of historians contends that the ten bells should be considered a musical set because of their organized sequence of consecutive semi-tones, while the design differences of the bells are less significant and can be overlooked if we focus on their musical functions. In this study, we scrutinize the assumptions made by these music historians, including their definitions of design similarity and the sequence of progressive pitches. Further previously overlooked criteria, such as the geographical proximity of these ten bells and others found in neighboring areas, and the incremental changes in the bell sizes, are also considered. Through the use of these criteria we aim to explore a wide range of relationships between ancient Chinese bells and to reassess what other new evidence the bells may offer to the study of ancient Chinese musical concepts. The concept of the chromatic scale discovered by ancient Chinese musicians was embodied on the casting of bronze bells.

This article presents the quantitative findings from a comparative study of request for confirmation (RfC) sequences in British English (BE) and American English (AE). The study is part of a large-scale cross-linguistic research project on RfCs in ten languages. RfCs put forward a proposition about which the speaker claims some knowledge but for which they seek (dis)confirmation from an informed co-participant. The article examines linguistic resources for building RfCs and their responses in the two English varieties. RfCs are analyzed with regard to their syntactic design, polarity, modulation, inference marking, connectives, question tags, and the prosodic design of confirmables and potential question tags. Responses to RfCs are analyzed with regard to response type, the use, type and position of response tokens, (non-)minimal responses in turns with a response token, response prefacing, and repeat responses. BE and AE are found to resemble each other closely in most categories. A major exception is their prosodic design, however. Specifically, the preference for the final pitch pattern of RfCs differs markedly in the two varieties: BE shows a strong preference for final falling pitch; AE shows a preference for final rising pitch. This suggests that the two varieties have routinized distinct intonation patterns for expressing epistemic (un)certainty in RfCs.

This summary is about an editorial titled "The musical brain, volume II" published in Frontiers in Neuroscience. The editorial discusses the complex interactions between music and the human brain, exploring various neural circuits and networks involved in sensory perception, attention, learning, memory, emotion, aesthetics, and motor skills related to music. It highlights the growing interest in studying the representation of music in the brain and presents a research topic that covers a range of neuroscience and psychoacoustics topics related to music perception and sound. The editorial also mentions the exploration of the healing potential of music and includes brief introductions to seven contributions in the research topic. Additionally, the summary briefly describes three articles related to the perception and processing of music, which contribute to our understanding of various aspects of music perception and processing. [Extracted from the article]

Entrepreneurs pitching new ideas are hard-pressed to frame their message in the most compelling way to win the attention and support of relevant audiences. But could a simple shift in framing sanction the success or failure of their communication efforts? Drawing on recent scholarship on the recognition of novel ideas and language, we compare the effectiveness of two framing approaches to idea pitching: abstract vs. concrete framing. We suggest that the best framing strategy to rally audience support depends on the novelty of the idea. Two controlled experiments where we investigate the combined impact of an idea's degree of novelty and the abstractness level (why vs. how) of the framing strategy used to pitch it on the idea's evaluation by members of a lay audience (e.g. crowdfunders, students, or other non-professional evaluators) confirm our intuition. The findings indicate that radical ideas are significantly more likely to elicit favourable evaluation from lay audience members when those ideas are framed in concrete 'How' terms; whereas incremental ideas fare better when framed in abstract 'Why' terms. By focusing on the framing strategies that entrepreneurs can use to communicate their new ideas, our study contributes to the growing research on the role of language in shaping the recognition of novelty. More generally, it provides entrepreneurs with actionable insights that they can leverage to attract attention and support from a general (lay) audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: This study's objective was to investigate the influence of increased scan speed and pitch on image quality and nodule volumetry in patients who underwent ultra-low-dose chest computed tomography (CT). Material and Methods: One hundred and two patients who had lung nodules were included in this study. Standard-speed, standard-pitch (SSSP) ultra-low-dose CT and high-speed, high-pitch (HSHP) ultra-low-dose CT were obtained for all patients. Image noise was measured as the standard deviation of attenuation. One hundred and sixty-three nodules were identified and classified according to location, volume, and nodule type. Volume measurement of detected pulmonary nodules was compared according to nodule location, volume, and nodule type. Motion artifacts at the right middle lobe, the lingular segment, and both lower lobes near the lung bases were evaluated. Subjective image quality analysis was also performed. Results: The HSHP CT scan demonstrated decreased motion artifacts at the left upper lobe lingular segment and left lower lobe compared to the SSSP CT scan (p < 0.001). The image noise was higher and the radiation dose was lower in the HSHP scan (p < 0.001). According to the nodule type, the absolute relative volume difference was significantly higher in ground glass opacity nodules compared with those of part-solid and solid nodules (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study results suggest that HSHP ultra-low-dose chest CT scans provide decreased motion artifacts and lower radiation doses compared to SSSP ultra-low-dose chest CT. However, lung nodule volumetry should be performed with caution for ground glass opacity nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the criteria used to ascertain whether or not, and how, ancient Chinese bronze bells might form sets of musical instruments, thus clarifying their original intended use by ancient musicians. The focus is on ten bells unearthed from Changsha city in Hunan province in China, which date to the twelfth century BCE. A range of diverse relationships between these bells provide valuable insights that can be explored. Debate is ongoing among music historians regarding the nature of the bells. Some argue that the ten bells do not constitute a set of musical instruments because their designs and acoustic properties lack sufficient similarity and correlation. Conversely, another group of historians suggests that nine of the ten bells could indeed be seen as a set, but with the tenth bell being an outlier due to its distinct design. The third group of historians contends that the ten bells should be considered a musical set because of their organized sequence of consecutive semi-tones, while the design differences of the bells are less significant and can be overlooked if we focus on their musical functions. In this study, we scrutinize the assumptions made by these music historians, including their definitions of design similarity and the sequence of progressive pitches. Further previously overlooked criteria, such as the geographical proximity of these ten bells and others found in neighboring areas, and the incremental changes in the bell sizes, are also considered. Through the use of these criteria we aim to explore a wide range of relationships between ancient Chinese bells and to reassess what other new evidence the bells may offer to the study of ancient Chinese musical concepts. The concept of the chromatic scale discovered by ancient Chinese musicians was embodied on the casting of bronze bells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cost‐effective synthesis of high‐performance hard carbons (HCs) is a key step of sodium‐ion batteries toward practical applications. Considering the rich resource of low‐value aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., pitch), there is tremendous interesting in its conversion into value‐added HCs. Unfortunately, it still lacks an efficient way for the synthesis, in addition to the time‐consuming oxygen contamination of the carbon framework. Herein, a universal strategy is reported that enables the efficient synthesis of HCs from pitch by modulating hydrogen transfer using metal chlorides. CuCl2 is selected as the model modulator and the effect of different metal chlorides (FeCl3, AlCl3, ZnCl2, and MgCl2) are further explored. Based on material characterizations and density functional theory calculation employing 1‐methylnaphthalene as the model molecule, it shows that the hydrogen capture and chlorination reactions mediated by CuCl2 and FeCl3 are thermodynamically favored, which promote the crosslinking of pitch to form HCs. After optimization, the derived HC exhibits superior performance of reversible capacity of 304.8 mAh g−1 and a high initial Columbic efficiency of 88.4%. These discoveries provide new insights into the synthesis of HCs from aromatic hydrocarbons, facilitating their utilization in electrochemical energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) / Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) structural colored films with good flexibility and humidity sensitive were prepared by using the evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The influence of PEG's molecular weight and content on the change of structural color, toughening and humidity-sensitive of CNC films were systematically investigated through optical properties, morphologies, mechanical properties, and humidity responsiveness. Optical measurement results showed that the structural color and the maximum reflected light wavelength (λmax) of CNC films were red-shifted by adding PEG. The higher the PEG molecular weight and content, the more obvious the red-shift was. Morphology characterization demonstrated the red-shift was attributed to the increasing pitch of the chiral nematic phase structure. Mechanical results showed that adding PEG significantly improved the toughness of CNC films, the higher the PEG molecular weight and content, the higher toughening effect. The toughness enhancement can be attributed to PEG being soft and having good interaction with CNCs, can be regarded as an energy dissipating binding phase which increased the energy dissipation during CNCs movement. Humidity responsiveness showed that the humidity sensitivity of CNC film was improved with PEG concentration increasing, but was independence of PEG molecular weight. Furthermore, the rheological behavior and thixotropy recovery were studied to explain the influence of PEG on the self-assembly behavior of CNCs in suspension. This study provides a foundation for regulation of CNC structural colored films with good toughness and humidity-sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intonation is an instrument for structuring discourse and emphasizing different types of information. In German, for example, pitch is used to highlight focus, while in Vietnamese, different pitch contours distinguish lexical tones. As of yet, the interplay between intonation and lexical tone in relation to information structure has not been sufficiently investigated across languages. Vietnamese has six lexical tones and is particularly interesting for investigating the influence of different intonation strategies on the realization of tones. Here, we present a production study with 70 Northern Vietnamese speakers. The participants read six sentences under two conditions. In each sentence, a word occurring in the final position of the sentence and carrying one of the six tones was pronounced in two different discourse contexts. Acoustic analyses of the intonation contours showed that Vietnamese speakers realized the words with significant differences in pitch at the onset. Yet, the strategies for raising or lowering the pitch varied depending on the tone. Our results show the use of prosodic cues in a complex tone system across a large number of speakers. In addition, the study can serve as a starting point for educational programs that include training on intonation patterns in specific contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most individuals, regardless of formal musical training, have long-term absolute pitch memory (APM) for familiar musical recordings, though with varying levels of accuracy. The present study followed up on recent evidence suggesting an association between singing accuracy and APM (Halpern & Pfordresher, 2022, Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 84(1), 260–269), as well as tonal short-term memory (STM) and APM (Van Hedger et al., 2018, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 71(4), 879–891). Participants from three research sites (n = 108) completed a battery of tasks including APM, tonal STM, singing accuracy, and self-reported auditory imagery. Both tonal STM and singing accuracy predicted APM, replicating prior results. Tonal STM also predicted singing accuracy, music training, and auditory imagery. Further tests suggested that the association between APM and singing accuracy was fully mediated by tonal STM. This pattern comports well with models of vocal pitch matching that include STM for pitch as a mechanism for sensorimotor translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the perception of loudness in response to changes in fundamental frequency (F0) in spoken sounds, as well as the influence of linguistic background on this perceptual process. The results revealed that participants perceived changes in F0 to have accompanying changes in loudness, with a trend of lower F0 sounds being perceived as louder than higher F0 sounds. This finding contrasts with previous studies on pure tones, where increases in frequency typically led to increases in loudness. Furthermore, the study examined differences between two distinct groups of participants: Chinese-speaking and English-speaking individuals. It was observed that English-speaking participants exhibited a greater sensitivity to minor intensity changes compared to Chinese-speaking participants. This discrepancy in sensitivity suggests that linguistic background may play a significant role in shaping the perception of loudness in spoken sound. The study's findings contribute to our understanding of how F0 variations are perceived in terms of loudness, and highlight the potential impact of language experience on this perceptual process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impregnation was conducted to decrease the pores formed during the carbonization process after manufacturing carbon blocks using needle cokes and coal tar pitch. This was carried out in the order of heating, subjecting to vacuum, and compression, and changes in mechanical and electrical properties before and after impregnation were analyzed with impregnation temperature and compression time as variables. The impregnation temperatures were 150, 200, and 250 °C, and compression times were 30, 60, and 90 min. The optimal impregnation temperature was 200 °C, resulting in a 12.5% increase in bulk density and a 26.0% decrease in porosity after impregnation of the carbon blocks. The optimal compression time was 60 min, leading to a 14.3% increase in bulk density and a 24.0% decrease in porosity after impregnation. Under the selected optimal conditions, after three impregnation cycles, the bulk density increased by 33.8% compared to the initial state (0 cycles 1.259 g/cm3 → 3 cycles 1.685 g/cm3), and porosity decreased by 56.8% (0 cycles 39.1% → 3 cycles 16.9%). According to the performance evaluation of carbon blocks, electrical resistivity decreased by 52.0% (72.5 μΩm → 34.8 μΩm) and flexural strength increased by 368.3% (6.0 MPa → 28.1 MPa). The substantial increase in flexural strength was attributed to the reduction in porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the performance of an inline dimpled-based absorber plate solar air heater (IDPSAH) is studied in relation to pitch, a system parameter, and air flow rate (Mair), an operating parameter. In this regard, two alternative IDPSAH with pitch ratios 0.88 and 1.33 have been experimentally evaluated on alternative days by altering the Mair from 0.010 to 0.053 kg s-1 (Proportional Re range: 1971.66–11,113.24) and the result are compared with flat plate solar air heater (FPSAH). For performance evaluation and comparative research, various parameters have been studied, including air temperature difference, efficiencies (ηinst, ηeff, ηdaily), global heat loss coefficient, heat removal factor, collector efficiency, top loss, area averaged Nusselt number (Nuavg), and friction factor (favg), among others. The effective efficiency reaches its maximum at a particular Mair and then begins to decline, but the instantaneous and daily efficiency of IDPSAH and FPSAH increases continuously. Due to a decrease top loss, the efficiency of IDPSAH is higher than FPSAH. The instantaneous efficiency of IDPSAH at pitch ratio 0.88 is 1.13–1.53 times greater than the instantaneous efficiency of IDPSAH at pitch ratio 1.33 and it is 1.21–1.86 times higher than FPSAH. With an increase in Re, the favg value decreases; while, the Nuavg of both the FPSAH and IDPSAH increases. In comparison with IDPSAH with pitch ratio 1.33, the Nuavg of IDPSAH at pitch ratio 0.88 is 1.23–1.41 times higher, and it is 1.68–2.12 times higher than FPSAH. In comparison with IDPSAH at pitch ratio 1.33 and FPSAH, the favg of IDPSAH at pitch ratio 0.88 is higher. However, there is a significant enhancement in overall performance of IDPSAH than the FPSAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum alloy and copper used in lithiumion batteries have low absorption and high reflectivity, so it is difficult to obtain stable joint strength when laser welding is applied. In order to overcome problems, this study has applied multi-seam weld to increase joint area of welded joints. AA1050-H18 and C11020P sheets with a thickness of 0.5 mm were welded by 2-kW fiber laser welding. The effect of the welding parameters of pitch (0, 1, 4, 8 mm) on weldability in welded joints has been investigated. As the pitch of multi-weld seam increased, the tensile-shear load tended to increase. The maximum tensileshear load in the multi seam weld of pitch 8 mm was 1.25 kN, which was about 108% compared to the single weld seam 0.6 kN. In addition, the minimum electrical resistance was 77 μΩ at the pitch of 8 mm, which decreased by approximately 49% compared to 115 μΩ of single seam welding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A speech emotion recognition (SER) model for noisy environments is proposed, by using four band-pass filtered speech waveforms as the model input instead of the simplified input features such as MFCC (Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients). The four waveforms retain the entire information of the original noisy speech while the simplified features keep only partial information of the noisy speech. The information reduction at the model input may cause the accuracy degradation under noisy environments. A normalized loss function is used for training to maintain the high-frequency details of the original noisy speech waveform. A multi-decoder Wave-U-Net model is used to perform the denoising operation and the Wave-U-Net output waveform is applied to an emotion classifier in this work. By this, the number of parameters is reduced to 2.8 M for inference from 4.2 M used for training. The Wave-U-Net model consists of an encoder, a 2-layer LSTM, six decoders, and skip-nets; out of the six decoders, four decoders are used for denoising four band-pass filtered waveforms, one decoder is used for denoising the pitch-related waveform, and one decoder is used to generate the emotion classifier input waveform. This work gives much less accuracy degradation than other SER works under noisy environments; compared to accuracy for the clean speech waveform, the accuracy degradation is 3.8% at 0 dB SNR in this work while it is larger than 15% in the other SER works. The accuracy degradation of this work at SNRs of 0 dB, −3 dB, and −6 dB is 3.8%, 5.2%, and 7.2%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DIFFERENT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS HAVE DIFFERENT pitch processing demands. However, correlational studies have seldom considered the role of musical instruments in music-to-language transfer. Addressing this research gap could contribute to a nuanced understanding of music-to-language transfer. To this end, we investigated whether pitched musicians had a unique musical advantage in lexical tone perception relative to unpitched musicians and nonmusicians. Specifically, we compared Cantonese pitched musicians, unpitched musicians, and nonmusicians on Thai tone discrimination and sequence recall. In the Thai tone discrimination task, the pitched musicians outperformed the unpitched musicians and the nonmusicians. Moreover, the unpitched musicians and the nonmusicians performed similarly. In the Thai tone sequence recall task, both pitched and unpitched musicians recalled level tone sequences more accurately than the nonmusicians, but the pitched musicians showed the largest musical advantage. However, the three groups recalled contour tone sequences with similar accuracy. Collectively, the pitched musicians had a unique musical advantage in lexical tone discrimination and the largest musical advantage in level tone sequence recall. From a theoretical perspective, this study offers correlational evidence for the Precision element of the OPERA hypothesis. The choice of musical instrumental may matter for musicto- language transfer in lexical tone discrimination and level tone sequence recall. [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.

Objective: To study the effect of different tube pitches on neck CTA radiation dose and image quality under automatic tube current modulation technology. Data and methods: A total of 120 patients were selected for neck CTA examination in Tinglin Hospital of Jinshan District, Shanghai from September 2022 to May 2023, including 52 males and 68 females, aged 45~86 years, with an average age of 66.76 years. According to different pitches, patients were assigned to three groups: A, B and C, with a total of 40 cases of 0.8 pitch in group A, 40 cases with 1.0 pitch in group B, and 40 cases with 1.2 pitch in group C. Univariate ANOVA test was used to compare gender, age, height, weight, and total scan duration between the three groups. CT value, SD value, SNR, CNR of the carotid artery bifurcation between the three groups and the jugular vein and sternocleidomastoid muscle in the same layer; Subjective scoring of image quality between the three groups; TDLP automatically generated by the device and calculated ED. Kappa test was used to test the consistency of subjective scores of the two physicians. Results: There were no significant differences in gender, age, height and weight between the three groups, and there was no significant difference in automatic TDLP and calculated ED. There were no significant differences in CT values at the carotid bifurcation and CT values of the same layer of sternocleidomastoid muscle, SD, SCR, CNR and SD values of the carotid artery bifurcation between the three groups, and the modified score between the three groups. Conclusion: Based on the premise of automatic tube current modulation technology, radiation dose can be effectively reduced. Even if different pitches are used, radiation dose will not increase or decrease. However, as the pitch increases, the scanning time is shorter, which can effectively reduce the interference of veins on image quality, reduce motion artifacts, and improve the image quality of neck CTA.

Numerous studies suggest that speakers of some tone languages show advantages in musical pitch processing compared to non-tone language speakers. A recent study in adults (Jasmin et al., 2021) suggests that in addition to heightened pitch sensitivity, tone language speakers weight pitch information more strongly than other auditory cues (amplitude, duration) in both linguistic and nonlinguistic settings compared to non-tone language speakers. The current study asks whether pitch upweighting is evident in early childhood. To test this, two groups of 3- to 5-year-old children—tone-language speakers (n = 48), a group previously shown to have a perceptual advantage in musical pitch tasks (Creel et al., 2018), and non-tone-language speakers (n = 48)—took part in a musical “word learning” task. Children associated two cartoon characters with two brief musical phrases differing in both musical instrument and contour. If tone language speakers weight pitch more strongly, cue conflict trials should show stronger pitch responding than for non-tone speakers. In contrast to both adult speakers’ stronger pitch weighting and child and adult pitch perception advantages, tone-language-speaking children did not show greater weighting of pitch information than non-tone-language speaking children. This suggests a slow developmental course for pitch reweighting, contrasting with apparent early emergence of pitch sensitivity.

Introduction: When it comes to the non-verbal communication of emotions, it is apparent that the human voice is one of the main ways of expressing emotion and is increasingly important in psychotherapeutic dialog. There is ample research focusing on the vocal expression of emotions. However, to date the analysis of the vocal quality of clients' in-sessional emotional experience remains largely unexplored. Moreover, there is generally a gap within the psychotherapy literature in the understanding of the vocal character of self-compassion, selfcriticism, and protective anger. Methods: In this study we investigated how clients vocally convey self-compassion, self-protection and self-criticism in Emotion Focused therapy sessions. For this purpose we investigated 12 commercially available Emotion Focused Therapy videos that employed a two chair or empty chair dialog. Praat software was used for the acoustic analysis of the most common features - pitch (known as fundamental frequency or F0) and intensity (voice amplitude, i.e., loudness). Results: Results showed that intensity was significantly higher for self-criticism and self-protection than for self-compassion. Regarding pitch the findings showed no significant differences between the three states. Discussion: More research analyzing acoustic features in a larger number of cases is required to obtain a deeper understanding of clients' vocal expression of selfcompassion, self-protection and self-criticism in Emotion Focused Therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We can grasp various features of the outside world using summary statistics efficiently. Among these statistics, variance is an index of information homogeneity or reliability. Previous research has shown that visual variance information in the context of spatial integration is encoded directly as a unique feature, and currently perceived variance can be distorted by that of the preceding stimuli. In this study, we focused on variance perception in temporal integration. We investigated whether any variance aftereffects occurred in visual size and auditory pitch. Furthermore, to examine the mechanism of cross-modal variance perception, we also investigated whether variance aftereffects occur between different modalities. Four experimental conditions (a combination of sensory modalities of adaptor and test: visual-to-visual, visual-to-auditory, auditory-to-auditory, and auditory-to-visual) were conducted. Participants observed a sequence of visual or auditory stimuli perturbed in size or pitch with certain variance and performed a variance classification task before and after the variance adaptation phase. We found that in visual size, within modality adaptation to small or large variance, resulted in a variance aftereffect, indicating that variance judgments are biased in the direction away from that of the adapting stimulus. In auditory pitch, within modality adaptation to small variance caused variance aftereffect. For cross-modal combinations, adaptation to small variance in visual size resulted in variance aftereffect. However, the effect was weak, and variance aftereffect did not occur in other conditions. These findings indicate that the variance information of sequentially presented stimuli is encoded independently in visual and auditory domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stress distribution of endodontic nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) rotary files with different pitches in bending and torsion tests using finite element analysis (FEA). Methods: Finite element models of superelastic Ni-Ti endodontic rotary instrument files with three different pitches (12, 15, and 18) were created using SolidWorks software. All endodontic files were modeled with the same length, apical diameter, and cross-sectional geometry. These models were transferred to ANSYS software for analysis. Tests to evaluate the flexibility and torsional stiffness of the files were performed using the FEA method, according to the ISO 3630-1 specification. The results obtained were calculated using the von Mises stress. Results: The stiffness and maximum stress decreased as the pitch value increased. According to the test results, the 18 pitch file system exhibited higher flexibility than the 12 pitch and 15 pitch file systems when subjected to bending. In terms of torsional resistance, the 12 pitch rotary file showed higher torsional resistance than the 15 pitch and 18 pitch endodontic files. Conclusion: Clinicians should be aware of the geometric differences in rotary files and use the appropriate file for clinical situations in addition to the manufacturer’s instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Tonic is one of the basic concepts in music. The tonic pitch is normally entrenched by the main performers, depending on their vocal range and the range of the accompanying instruments. Hence, it varies among artists as well as performances. Tonic identification is a key task to be performed since it plays an important role in solving other problems like raga recognition, tuning analysis, etc. In this paper, we review some of the latest tonic identification approaches in Indian art music. We study the performance of each method in the context of music tradition using the Indian art music dataset. We analyzed the performance of the cepstral-based method of tonic pitch estimation with and without optimal selection of frames, non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), frequency-ratio method, and group delay-based algorithm. Furthermore, we show that the modified group delay-based methods outperform the conventional tonic estimation methods. We also present a detailed error analysis of each method which will be helpful for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an auditory event‐related response reflecting the pre‐attentive detection of novel stimuli and is a biomarker of cortical dysfunction in schizophrenia (SZ). MMN to pitch (pMMN) and to duration (dMMN) deviant stimuli are impaired in chronic SZ, but it is less clear if MMN is reduced in first‐episode SZ, with inconsistent findings in scalp‐level EEG studies. Here, we investigated the neural generators of pMMN and dMMN with MEG recordings in 26 first‐episode schizophrenia spectrum (FEsz) and 26 matched healthy controls (C). We projected MEG inverse solutions into precise functionally meaningful auditory cortex areas. MEG‐derived MMN sources were in bilateral primary auditory cortex (A1) and belt areas. In A1, pMMN FEsz reduction showed a trend towards statistical significance (F(1,50) = 3.31; p =.07), and dMMN was reduced in FEsz (F(1,50) = 4.11; p =.04). Hypothesis‐driven comparisons at each hemisphere revealed dMMN reduction in FEsz occurred in the left (t(56) = 2.23; p =.03; d =.61) but not right (t(56) = 1.02; p =.31; d =.28) hemisphere, with a moderate effect size. The added precision of MEG source solution with high‐resolution MRI and parcellation of A1 may be requisite to detect the emerging pathophysiology and indicates a critical role for left hemisphere pathology at psychosis onset. However, the moderate effect size in left A1, albeit larger than reported in scalp MMN meta‐analyses, casts doubt on the clinical utility of MMN for differential diagnosis, as a majority of patients will overlap with the healthy individual's distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study proposes the new condition monitoring concept of using features in the measured rotation, or 'pitch' signal, of a crossing vehicle as an indicator of the presence of foundation scour in a bridge. The concept is explored through two-dimensional vehicle–bridge interaction modelling, with a reduction in stiffness under a pier used to represent the effects of scour. A train consisting of three 10-degree-of-freedom carriages cross the model on a profiled train track, each train varying slightly in terms of mass and velocity. An analysis of the pitch of the train carriages can clearly identify when scour is present. The concept is further tested in a scaled laboratory experiment consisting of a tractor–trailer crossing a four-span simply supported bridge on piers. The foundation support is represented by four springs under each pier, which can be replaced with springs of a reduced stiffness to mimic the effect of scour. The laboratory model also consistently shows a divergence in vehicle pitch between healthy and scoured bridge states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers found men and women are rated differently on various characteristics according to gender stereotypes (Castillo-Mayen and Montes-Bergesin in Anales de Psicologia 30(3):1044–1060, 2014. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.30.2.138981; Rice and Barth in Gender Issues 33:1–2, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-015-9143-4; Smith et al. in Sex Roles 80:159–171, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0923-7). These stereotypes impact individuals any time they enter into an interview for a position requiring them to be evaluated on a particular skill set. Another set of research has also found individuals are rated differently according to the pitch of their voice (Fasoli et al. in Arch Sex Behav 46:1261–1277, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-0962-0; Fasoli and Hegarty in Psychol Women Quart 44(2):234–255, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684319891168; Klofstad et al. in Proc Roy Soc 279:2698–2704, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.0311; O'Connor and Barclay in Evol Hum Behav 38:506–512, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.03.001; Oleszkiewicz et al. in Psychon Bull Rev 24:856-862, 2017. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-016-1146-y). This addresses the possibility that pitch of voice and gendered pronouns interact to impact the application of gender stereotypes. Two studies investigated the interaction between gendered pronouns and voice pitch on evaluations in a job interview setting. The first experiment included 68 participants recruited via email at a private Midwestern college. Gendered pronouns (he/she/the candidate) were provided for a job candidate with a gender-neutral voice pitch. There were no statistically significant differences between gendered pronoun conditions in evaluations of job candidates. The second experiment had 180 participants. Both the pitch (high, neutral, low) and gender pronouns (he, she, and the candidate) were manipulated. There were several significant main effects of perceived gender, and interactions were found between perceived gender and pitch of voice. Pitch and gendered pronouns together affected the way job candidates were evaluated. Specifically, the combination of pitch and gendered pronouns increased the application of gender stereotypes specifically related to emotionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of the violin's intricate tuning system is rich with various pitch standards, the influence of musicians, and diversity of violin craftsmanship. The violin offers a wide array of tuning techniques, and even the smallest intonation adjustment can wildly impact the violin's pitch and playability. Violinists possess an enormous capability to facilitate effective tuning in a solo and ensemble setting. The design of the instrument's body, dating as far back as the early Renaissance and extending to the modern violin, impacts timbre, resonance, and string tension. Every detail of the violin, even those that may seem inconsequential, affects its performance outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Chongqing University of Technology (Natural Science) is the property of Chongqing 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.)

Algorithms strive to capture the intricacies of our complex world, but translating qualitative aspects into quantifiable data poses a significant challenge. In our paper, we embark on a journey to unveil the hidden structure of music by exploring the interplay between our predictions and the sequence of musical events. Our ultimate goal is to gain insights into how certainty fluctuates throughout a musical piece using a three-fold approach: a listening test, reinforcement learning (RL), and graph construction. Through this approach, we seek to understand how musical expectancy affects physiological measurements, visualize the graphical structure of a composition, and analyze the accuracy of prediction accuracy across 15 musical pieces. We conducted a listening test using western classical music on 50 subjects, monitoring changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation in response to different segments of the music. We also assessed the accuracy of the RL agent in predicting notes and pitches individually and simultaneously. Our findings reveal that the average accuracy of the RL agent in note and pitch prediction is 64.17% and 22.48%, respectively, while the accuracy for simultaneous prediction is 73.84%. These results give us a glimpse into the minimum level of certainty present across any composition. To further analyze the accuracy of the RL agent, we propose novel directed graphs in our paper. Our analysis shows that the variance of the edge distributions in the graph is inversely proportional to the accuracy of the RL agent. Through this comprehensive study, we hope to shed light on the enigmatic nature of music and pave the way for future research in this fascinating field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]