AIM:To integrate results from different studies in examining the effectiveness of music in reducing the procedure time and the amount of sedation used during colonoscopic procedure. METHODS: An electronic search in va...AIM:To integrate results from different studies in examining the effectiveness of music in reducing the procedure time and the amount of sedation used during colonoscopic procedure. METHODS: An electronic search in various databases was performed to identify related articles. Study quality was evaluated by the Jadad’s scale. The random effect model was used to pool the effect from individual trials and the Cohen Q-statistic was used to determine heterogeneity. Egger’s regression was used to detect publication bias. RESULTS: Eight studies with 722 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. The combined mean difference for the time taken for the colonoscopy procedure between the music and control groups was -2.84 with 95% CI (-5.61 to -0.08), implying a short time for the music group. The combined mean difference for the use of sedation was -0.46 with 95%CI (-0.91 to -0.01), showing a significant reduction in the use of sedation in the music group. Heterogeneity was observed in both analyses but no publication bias was detected. CONCLUSION: Listening to music is effective in reducing procedure time and amount of sedation during colonoscopy and should be promoted.展开更多
A filter algorithm based on cochlear mechanics and neuron filter mechanism is proposed from the view point of vibration.It helps to solve the problem that the non-linear amplification is rarely considered in studying ...A filter algorithm based on cochlear mechanics and neuron filter mechanism is proposed from the view point of vibration.It helps to solve the problem that the non-linear amplification is rarely considered in studying the auditory filters.A cochlear mechanical transduction model is built to illustrate the audio signals processing procedure in cochlea,and then the neuron filter mechanism is modeled to indirectly obtain the outputs with the cochlear properties of frequency tuning and non-linear amplification.The mathematic description of the proposed algorithm is derived by the two models.The parameter space,the parameter selection rules and the error correction of the proposed algorithm are discussed.The unit impulse responses in the time domain and the frequency domain are simulated and compared to probe into the characteristics of the proposed algorithm.Then a 24-channel filter bank is built based on the proposed algorithm and applied to the enhancements of the audio signals.The experiments and comparisons verify that,the proposed algorithm can effectively divide the audio signals into different frequencies,significantly enhance the high frequency parts,and provide positive impacts on the performance of speech enhancement in different noise environments,especially for the babble noise and the volvo noise.展开更多
For the structural-acoustic radiation optimization problem under external loading,acoustic radiation power was considered to be an objective function in the optimization method. The finite element method(FEM) and boun...For the structural-acoustic radiation optimization problem under external loading,acoustic radiation power was considered to be an objective function in the optimization method. The finite element method(FEM) and boundary element method(BEM) were adopted in numerical calculations,and structural response and the acoustic response were assumed to be de-coupled in the analysis. A genetic algorithm was used as the strategy in optimization. In order to build the relational expression of the pressure objective function and the power objective function,the enveloping surface model was used to evaluate pressure in the acoustic domain. By taking the stiffened panel structural-acoustic optimization problem as an example,the acoustic power and field pressure after optimized was compared. Optimization results prove that this method is reasonable and effective.展开更多
Bird song is used for mate attraction and is important for establishing reproductive isolation. Current research highlights performance constraints on song production that may be influenced by variation in bill morpho...Bird song is used for mate attraction and is important for establishing reproductive isolation. Current research highlights performance constraints on song production that may be influenced by variation in bill morphology. Darwin's finches are a model system for studying the relationship between morphology and song performance, with previous studies suggesting that lower vocal performance is correlated with larger bill size. Here, we tested for a relationship between bill morphology and vocal performance in Darwin's Small Tree Finch (Camarhynchus parvulus) on Floreana Island. We found no evidence of a correlation between bill morphology and vocal performance. This finding is in agreement with prior study of the Small Tree Finch, but contrasts a greater body of work addressing song in Darwin's Finches. We discussed our findings in the context of ecological divergence, and ecological variation across species.展开更多
In order to improve the Mandarin vowel pronunciation quality assessment, a nox/el formant feature was proposed and applied to formant classification for Chinese Mandarin vowel pronunciation quality evaluation. Formant...In order to improve the Mandarin vowel pronunciation quality assessment, a nox/el formant feature was proposed and applied to formant classification for Chinese Mandarin vowel pronunciation quality evaluation. Formant candidates of each frame were plotted on the time-frequency plane to form a bitmap, and its Gabor feature was extracted to represent the formant trajectory. The feature was then classified by using GMM model and the classification posterior probability was mapped to pronunciation quality grade. The experiments of comparing the Gabor transformation based formant trajectory feature with several other kinds of traditionally used features show that with this method, a human-machine scoring correlation coefficient (CC) of 0.842 can be achieved, which is better than the result of 0.832 by traditional speech recognition techniques. At the same time, considering that the long-term information of formant classification and the short-term information of speech recognition technique are complementary to each other, it is investigated to combine their results with linear or nonlinear methods to further improve the evaluation performance. As a result, experiments on PSK show that the best CC of 0.913, which is very close to the correlation of inter-human rating of 0.94, is gotten by using neural network.展开更多
This paper reports results of the authors’ studies on the virtual design method used in the development of low noise intake system of I.C. engine. The resulting high pass-by noise at level above the legislative targe...This paper reports results of the authors’ studies on the virtual design method used in the development of low noise intake system of I.C. engine. The resulting high pass-by noise at level above the legislative target at full throttle when engine speed was around 5200 r/min necessitated a BEM-aided redesign task, following the typical process of design and development of an intake system. During the initial design, based on the acoustic theory and the requirements (1. The air flux of the redesigned should equal to or exceed the value of the original flux; 2. The filtering area must not be degraded), and considering the constraint of space in the engine compartment, total volume and rough internal dimensions were determined. During the detailed design, the exact internal dimensions of the air cleaner were determined, and an effective method was applied to improve the acoustic performance at low frequency. The predicted sound power of the intake system indicated that the objective of reducing the overall engine noise by minimizing intake system noise was achieved.展开更多
This paper investigates the differences between vowels [i] and [ I] pronounced by Chinese English speakers and American English speakers. Seven people consisting of two natives and five Chinese have read a list of sen...This paper investigates the differences between vowels [i] and [ I] pronounced by Chinese English speakers and American English speakers. Seven people consisting of two natives and five Chinese have read a list of sentences and their voices were recorded. A software program is used to analyze their voices. In spectrograms generated by Praat, the connection between formant values and articulation features is used to investigate how native speakers pronounce these two vowels and what the differences are between native speakers and Chinese speakers. Through this investigation, it is discovered that Chinese speakers have lower tongue position in [i] and their tongues are more forward in [I], thus making it hard to differentiate these two vowels. Moreover, the length of [i] is much shorter than those in American pronunciation, suggesting that Chinese speakers differentiate [i] and [I] largely by length. However, the comparison of Chinese speakers and native speakers proved otherwise.展开更多
The aim of the article is to present results of research that was performed with 97 Polish students of the second and third year of English Philology. The purpose of the research is to examine how conscious manipulati...The aim of the article is to present results of research that was performed with 97 Polish students of the second and third year of English Philology. The purpose of the research is to examine how conscious manipulation of facial expressions aids acquisition of foreign vowels by learners, regardless of their native language and the culture they have been brought up in. Taking advantage of achievements derived from such disciplines as psychology of emotions and phonetics depicted as a physical process, an attempt is made to find a tool that improves teaching/learning of foreign vowels, that is to say, an effort is put in search of a useful method to make the phonetic process faster and more accurate. Teachers of English are encouraged to put the method, which is described in detail in the paper, into practice with their own mother languages and to share opinions about the method with colleagues. Similarly, it is believed that it can be applied to courses of other languages than just English. Teachers of those languages are encouraged to try to use it, too.展开更多
It is the traditional belief that sound transmission from water to the air is very weak due to a large contrast between air and water impedances. Recently, the enhanced sound transmission and anomalous transparency of...It is the traditional belief that sound transmission from water to the air is very weak due to a large contrast between air and water impedances. Recently, the enhanced sound transmission and anomalous transparency of air-water interface have been introduced. Anomalous transparency of air-water interface states that the sound generated by a submerged shallow depth monopole point source localized at depths less than 1/10 sound wavelength, can be transmitted into the air with omni-directional pattern. The generated sound has 35 times higher power compared to the classical ray theory prediction. In this paper, sound transmission through air-water interface for a localized underwater shallow depth source is examined. To accomplish this, two-phase coupled Helmholtz wave equations in two-phase media of air-water are solved by the commercial finite element based COMSOL Multiphysics software. Ratios of pressure amplitudes of different sound sources in two different underwater and air coordinates are computed and analyzed against non-dimensional ratio of the source depth (D) to the sound wavelength (λ). The obtained results are compared with the experimental data and good agreement is displayed.展开更多
The economic and financial sustainability of regional press companies is extremely relevant for the dynamism of this important sector in promoting pluralism of ideas and decentralization of information. In this contex...The economic and financial sustainability of regional press companies is extremely relevant for the dynamism of this important sector in promoting pluralism of ideas and decentralization of information. In this context, the work presented here intends, on one hand, to analyze the importance of the press support system in Macao for its economic and financial sustainability and, on the other hand, to try to understand how they contribute to promoting information pluralism with Portuguese speaking community in a Chinese territory--with special regime. With this purpose, three methodologies were implemented, namely: (1) review of literature and documentary research--reports, articles in the press, scientific articles and academic books related to the topic; (2) analysis of contents of interviews of privileged informants-directors and editors of newspapers addressed to the Portuguese community in the Macao region; and (3) analysis of the impact of support from the Macao Regional Government based on the principles of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) model.展开更多
In this paper, we conduct research on the novel pattern of soft music creation based on high-pitched melody element and aesthetic point of view. Music is the music creation, music is a kind of creation and it is not a...In this paper, we conduct research on the novel pattern of soft music creation based on high-pitched melody element and aesthetic point of view. Music is the music creation, music is a kind of creation and it is not a simple thing, because music is an expression of human thoughts and feelings which reflect the social life of an art. Music creation and other artistic creation need perceptual and rational psychological elements such as the creation principle of participation. This involves the music creation that the relationship between the perceptual thinking and rational thinking. Our research proposed the novel paradigm of art creation which will obtain significant meaning.展开更多
文摘AIM:To integrate results from different studies in examining the effectiveness of music in reducing the procedure time and the amount of sedation used during colonoscopic procedure. METHODS: An electronic search in various databases was performed to identify related articles. Study quality was evaluated by the Jadad’s scale. The random effect model was used to pool the effect from individual trials and the Cohen Q-statistic was used to determine heterogeneity. Egger’s regression was used to detect publication bias. RESULTS: Eight studies with 722 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. The combined mean difference for the time taken for the colonoscopy procedure between the music and control groups was -2.84 with 95% CI (-5.61 to -0.08), implying a short time for the music group. The combined mean difference for the use of sedation was -0.46 with 95%CI (-0.91 to -0.01), showing a significant reduction in the use of sedation in the music group. Heterogeneity was observed in both analyses but no publication bias was detected. CONCLUSION: Listening to music is effective in reducing procedure time and amount of sedation during colonoscopy and should be promoted.
基金Project(17KJB510029)supported by the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions,ChinaProject(GXL2017004)supported by the Scientific Research Foundation of Nanjing Forestry University,China+3 种基金Project(202102210132)supported by the Important Project of Science and Technology of Henan Province,ChinaProject(B2019-51)supported by the Scientific Research Foundation of Henan Polytechnic University,ChinaProject(51521003)supported by the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(KQTD2016112515134654)supported by Shenzhen Science and Technology Program,China。
文摘A filter algorithm based on cochlear mechanics and neuron filter mechanism is proposed from the view point of vibration.It helps to solve the problem that the non-linear amplification is rarely considered in studying the auditory filters.A cochlear mechanical transduction model is built to illustrate the audio signals processing procedure in cochlea,and then the neuron filter mechanism is modeled to indirectly obtain the outputs with the cochlear properties of frequency tuning and non-linear amplification.The mathematic description of the proposed algorithm is derived by the two models.The parameter space,the parameter selection rules and the error correction of the proposed algorithm are discussed.The unit impulse responses in the time domain and the frequency domain are simulated and compared to probe into the characteristics of the proposed algorithm.Then a 24-channel filter bank is built based on the proposed algorithm and applied to the enhancements of the audio signals.The experiments and comparisons verify that,the proposed algorithm can effectively divide the audio signals into different frequencies,significantly enhance the high frequency parts,and provide positive impacts on the performance of speech enhancement in different noise environments,especially for the babble noise and the volvo noise.
文摘For the structural-acoustic radiation optimization problem under external loading,acoustic radiation power was considered to be an objective function in the optimization method. The finite element method(FEM) and boundary element method(BEM) were adopted in numerical calculations,and structural response and the acoustic response were assumed to be de-coupled in the analysis. A genetic algorithm was used as the strategy in optimization. In order to build the relational expression of the pressure objective function and the power objective function,the enveloping surface model was used to evaluate pressure in the acoustic domain. By taking the stiffened panel structural-acoustic optimization problem as an example,the acoustic power and field pressure after optimized was compared. Optimization results prove that this method is reasonable and effective.
基金funded by Flinders University (Research Establishment Grant to SK, Overseas Field Trip Grant to RC), Conservation International and the American Bird Conservancy with awards to SK,and the Australian Federation of University Women SA with a Barbara Crase Bursary to RC
文摘Bird song is used for mate attraction and is important for establishing reproductive isolation. Current research highlights performance constraints on song production that may be influenced by variation in bill morphology. Darwin's finches are a model system for studying the relationship between morphology and song performance, with previous studies suggesting that lower vocal performance is correlated with larger bill size. Here, we tested for a relationship between bill morphology and vocal performance in Darwin's Small Tree Finch (Camarhynchus parvulus) on Floreana Island. We found no evidence of a correlation between bill morphology and vocal performance. This finding is in agreement with prior study of the Small Tree Finch, but contrasts a greater body of work addressing song in Darwin's Finches. We discussed our findings in the context of ecological divergence, and ecological variation across species.
基金Project(61062011)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(2010GXNSFA013128)supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province,China
文摘In order to improve the Mandarin vowel pronunciation quality assessment, a nox/el formant feature was proposed and applied to formant classification for Chinese Mandarin vowel pronunciation quality evaluation. Formant candidates of each frame were plotted on the time-frequency plane to form a bitmap, and its Gabor feature was extracted to represent the formant trajectory. The feature was then classified by using GMM model and the classification posterior probability was mapped to pronunciation quality grade. The experiments of comparing the Gabor transformation based formant trajectory feature with several other kinds of traditionally used features show that with this method, a human-machine scoring correlation coefficient (CC) of 0.842 can be achieved, which is better than the result of 0.832 by traditional speech recognition techniques. At the same time, considering that the long-term information of formant classification and the short-term information of speech recognition technique are complementary to each other, it is investigated to combine their results with linear or nonlinear methods to further improve the evaluation performance. As a result, experiments on PSK show that the best CC of 0.913, which is very close to the correlation of inter-human rating of 0.94, is gotten by using neural network.
文摘This paper reports results of the authors’ studies on the virtual design method used in the development of low noise intake system of I.C. engine. The resulting high pass-by noise at level above the legislative target at full throttle when engine speed was around 5200 r/min necessitated a BEM-aided redesign task, following the typical process of design and development of an intake system. During the initial design, based on the acoustic theory and the requirements (1. The air flux of the redesigned should equal to or exceed the value of the original flux; 2. The filtering area must not be degraded), and considering the constraint of space in the engine compartment, total volume and rough internal dimensions were determined. During the detailed design, the exact internal dimensions of the air cleaner were determined, and an effective method was applied to improve the acoustic performance at low frequency. The predicted sound power of the intake system indicated that the objective of reducing the overall engine noise by minimizing intake system noise was achieved.
文摘This paper investigates the differences between vowels [i] and [ I] pronounced by Chinese English speakers and American English speakers. Seven people consisting of two natives and five Chinese have read a list of sentences and their voices were recorded. A software program is used to analyze their voices. In spectrograms generated by Praat, the connection between formant values and articulation features is used to investigate how native speakers pronounce these two vowels and what the differences are between native speakers and Chinese speakers. Through this investigation, it is discovered that Chinese speakers have lower tongue position in [i] and their tongues are more forward in [I], thus making it hard to differentiate these two vowels. Moreover, the length of [i] is much shorter than those in American pronunciation, suggesting that Chinese speakers differentiate [i] and [I] largely by length. However, the comparison of Chinese speakers and native speakers proved otherwise.
文摘The aim of the article is to present results of research that was performed with 97 Polish students of the second and third year of English Philology. The purpose of the research is to examine how conscious manipulation of facial expressions aids acquisition of foreign vowels by learners, regardless of their native language and the culture they have been brought up in. Taking advantage of achievements derived from such disciplines as psychology of emotions and phonetics depicted as a physical process, an attempt is made to find a tool that improves teaching/learning of foreign vowels, that is to say, an effort is put in search of a useful method to make the phonetic process faster and more accurate. Teachers of English are encouraged to put the method, which is described in detail in the paper, into practice with their own mother languages and to share opinions about the method with colleagues. Similarly, it is believed that it can be applied to courses of other languages than just English. Teachers of those languages are encouraged to try to use it, too.
文摘It is the traditional belief that sound transmission from water to the air is very weak due to a large contrast between air and water impedances. Recently, the enhanced sound transmission and anomalous transparency of air-water interface have been introduced. Anomalous transparency of air-water interface states that the sound generated by a submerged shallow depth monopole point source localized at depths less than 1/10 sound wavelength, can be transmitted into the air with omni-directional pattern. The generated sound has 35 times higher power compared to the classical ray theory prediction. In this paper, sound transmission through air-water interface for a localized underwater shallow depth source is examined. To accomplish this, two-phase coupled Helmholtz wave equations in two-phase media of air-water are solved by the commercial finite element based COMSOL Multiphysics software. Ratios of pressure amplitudes of different sound sources in two different underwater and air coordinates are computed and analyzed against non-dimensional ratio of the source depth (D) to the sound wavelength (λ). The obtained results are compared with the experimental data and good agreement is displayed.
文摘The economic and financial sustainability of regional press companies is extremely relevant for the dynamism of this important sector in promoting pluralism of ideas and decentralization of information. In this context, the work presented here intends, on one hand, to analyze the importance of the press support system in Macao for its economic and financial sustainability and, on the other hand, to try to understand how they contribute to promoting information pluralism with Portuguese speaking community in a Chinese territory--with special regime. With this purpose, three methodologies were implemented, namely: (1) review of literature and documentary research--reports, articles in the press, scientific articles and academic books related to the topic; (2) analysis of contents of interviews of privileged informants-directors and editors of newspapers addressed to the Portuguese community in the Macao region; and (3) analysis of the impact of support from the Macao Regional Government based on the principles of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) model.
文摘In this paper, we conduct research on the novel pattern of soft music creation based on high-pitched melody element and aesthetic point of view. Music is the music creation, music is a kind of creation and it is not a simple thing, because music is an expression of human thoughts and feelings which reflect the social life of an art. Music creation and other artistic creation need perceptual and rational psychological elements such as the creation principle of participation. This involves the music creation that the relationship between the perceptual thinking and rational thinking. Our research proposed the novel paradigm of art creation which will obtain significant meaning.