A machine learning based speech enhancement method is proposed to improve the intelligibility of whispered speech. A binary mask estimated by a two-class support vector machine (SVM) classifier is used to synthesize...A machine learning based speech enhancement method is proposed to improve the intelligibility of whispered speech. A binary mask estimated by a two-class support vector machine (SVM) classifier is used to synthesize the enhanced whisper. A novel noise robust feature called Gammatone feature cosine coefficients (GFCCs) extracted by an auditory periphery model is derived and used for the binary mask estimation. The intelligibility performance of the proposed method is evaluated and compared with the traditional speech enhancement methods. Objective and subjective evaluation results indicate that the proposed method can effectively improve the intelligibility of whispered speech which is contaminated by noise. Compared with the power subtract algorithm and the log-MMSE algorithm, both of which do not improve the intelligibility in lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments, the proposed method has good performance in improving the intelligibility of noisy whisper. Additionally, the intelligibility of the enhanced whispered speech using the proposed method also outperforms that of the corresponding unprocessed noisy whispered speech.展开更多
AIM: To determine the value of bowel sounds analysis using an electronic stethoscope to support a clinical diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. METHODS: Subjects were patients who presented with a diagnosis of possibl...AIM: To determine the value of bowel sounds analysis using an electronic stethoscope to support a clinical diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. METHODS: Subjects were patients who presented with a diagnosis of possible intestinal obstruction based on symptoms, signs, and radiological findings. A 3MTH Littmann Model 4100 electronic stethoscope was used in this study. With the patients lying supine, six 8-second recordings of bowel sounds were taken from each patient from the lower abdomen. The recordings were analysed for sound duration, soundto-sound interval, dominant frequency, and peak frequency. Clinical and radiological data were reviewed and the patients were classified as having either acute, subacute, or no bowel obstruction. Comparison of bowel sound characteristics was made between these subgroups of patients. In the presence of an obstruction, the site of obstruction was identified and bowel calibre was also measured to correlate with bowel sounds. RESULTS: A total of 71 patients were studied during the period July 2009 to January 2011. Forty patientshad acute bowel obstruction (27 small bowel obstruction and 13 large bowel obstruction), 11 had subacute bowel obstruction (eight in the small bowel and three in large bowel) and 20 had no bowel obstruction (diagnoses of other conditions were made). Twenty-five patients received surgical intervention (35.2%) during the same admission for acute abdominal conditions. A total of 426 recordings were made and 420 recordings were used for analysis. There was no significant difference in sound-to-sound interval, dominant frequency, and peak frequency among patients with acute bowel obstruction, subacute bowel obstruction, and no bowel obstruction. In acute large bowel obstruction, the sound duration was significantly longer (median 0.81 s vs 0.55 s, P = 0.021) and the dominant frequency was significantly higher (median 440 Hz vs 288 Hz, P = 0.003) when compared to acute small bowel obstruction. No significant difference was seen between acute large bowel obstruction and large bowel pseudoobstruction. For patients with small bowel obstruction, the sound-to-sound interval was significantly longer in those who subsequently underwent surgery compared with those treated non-operatively (median 1.29 s vs 0.63 s, P < 0.001). There was no correlation between bowel calibre and bowel sound characteristics in both acute small bowel obstruction and acute large bowel obstruction. CONCLUSION: Auscultation of bowel sounds is nonspecific for diagnosing bowel obstruction. Differences in sound characteristics between large bowel and small bowel obstruction may help determine the likely site of obstruction.展开更多
In marine engine exhaust silencing systems, the presence of exhaust gas flow influences the sound propagation inside the systems and the acoustic attenuation performance of silencers. In order to investigate the effec...In marine engine exhaust silencing systems, the presence of exhaust gas flow influences the sound propagation inside the systems and the acoustic attenuation performance of silencers. In order to investigate the effects of three-dimensional gas flow and acoustic damping on the acoustic attenuation characteristics of marine engine exhaust silencers, a dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) was developed. The acoustic governing equation in three-dimensional potential flow was derived first, and then the DRBEM numerical procedure is given. Compared to the conventional boundary element method (CBEM), the DRBEM considers the second order terms of flow Mach number in the acoustic governing equation, so it is suitable for the cases with higher Mach number subsonic flow. For complex exhaust silencers, it is difficult to apply the single-domain boundary element method, so a substructure approach based on the dual reciprocity boundary element method is presented. The experiments for measuring transmission loss of silencers are conducted, and the experimental setup and measurements are explained. The transmission loss of a single expansion chamber silencer with extended inlet and outlet were predicted by DRBEM and compared with the measurements. The good agreements between predictions and measurements are observed, which demonstrated that the derived acoustic governing equation and the DRBEM numerical procedure in the present study are correct.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
Multipole array sonic logging tools have widely been employed in Chinese oilfields in recent years. We have developed a software package for rock mechanical analysis with multipole array sonic logs. This advanced data...Multipole array sonic logging tools have widely been employed in Chinese oilfields in recent years. We have developed a software package for rock mechanical analysis with multipole array sonic logs. This advanced data processing method and software have been applied to the Tahe oilfield in Northern West China to provide guidance to acid hydraulic fracturing design and evaluation. In this paper, we present the field examples of such data processing and applications to demonstrate the validity and advantages of our method and software package.展开更多
The Triassic reservoir in the Jinan area of Tarim Oilfield consists largely of interbedded sand and shale. Because of the large overlap between sandstone and shale impedance, it is difficult to distinguish sandstone f...The Triassic reservoir in the Jinan area of Tarim Oilfield consists largely of interbedded sand and shale. Because of the large overlap between sandstone and shale impedance, it is difficult to distinguish sandstone from shale by acoustic impedance alone. Compared to acoustic impedance, elastic impedance contains more lithologic and physical information of the reservoir. Based on meticulous well-tie calibration, elastic impedance data volumes for 10°, 20°, and 30° emergence angles are obtained using pre-stack elastic impedance inversion. A non-linear statistical relationship between elastic impedance and shale content is set up by a PNN neural network. The non-linear mapping relationship is used to predict the reservoir shale content from elastic impedance, which will depict and predict the reservoir oil-bearing sands.展开更多
A novel spatial domain method--soft morphology filter is presented for reducing the periodic noise in image processing. The simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in comparison...A novel spatial domain method--soft morphology filter is presented for reducing the periodic noise in image processing. The simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in comparison with a frequency domain method and other spatial domain filters.展开更多
Micro arc oxidation(MAO) and electrophoretic deposition(EPD) process are employed to fabricate a dense coating on magnesium alloy to protect it from corrosion in engineering application. The EPD film changes the dampi...Micro arc oxidation(MAO) and electrophoretic deposition(EPD) process are employed to fabricate a dense coating on magnesium alloy to protect it from corrosion in engineering application. The EPD film changes the damping characteristic of magnesium alloy, and both the MAO and EPD process change the bending stiffness of samples being treated. Damping loss factor(DLF) test and sound transmission experiments were carried out for AZ31 B magnesium alloy with coating fabricated by MAO and EPD processes. The results indicate that DLF is improved in frequency range from 0-850 Hz. Bending stiffness of the samples is improved with MAO and EPD treatment. As a result, the sound transmission loss(LST) is improved in the stiffness control stage of the sound transmission verse frequency curve. To the samples by electrophoresis process, the LST is improved in frequency range from 2500-3200 Hz, because the damping loss factor is improved with EPD process. The results are useful for the surface treatment to enhance the damping loss factor, LST and widespread application of magnesium alloy while improving the corrosion resistance.展开更多
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.61231002,61273266,51075068,60872073,60975017, 61003131)the Ph.D.Programs Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China(No.20110092130004)+1 种基金the Science Foundation for Young Talents in the Educational Committee of Anhui Province(No. 2010SQRL018)the 211 Project of Anhui University(No.2009QN027B)
文摘A machine learning based speech enhancement method is proposed to improve the intelligibility of whispered speech. A binary mask estimated by a two-class support vector machine (SVM) classifier is used to synthesize the enhanced whisper. A novel noise robust feature called Gammatone feature cosine coefficients (GFCCs) extracted by an auditory periphery model is derived and used for the binary mask estimation. The intelligibility performance of the proposed method is evaluated and compared with the traditional speech enhancement methods. Objective and subjective evaluation results indicate that the proposed method can effectively improve the intelligibility of whispered speech which is contaminated by noise. Compared with the power subtract algorithm and the log-MMSE algorithm, both of which do not improve the intelligibility in lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments, the proposed method has good performance in improving the intelligibility of noisy whisper. Additionally, the intelligibility of the enhanced whispered speech using the proposed method also outperforms that of the corresponding unprocessed noisy whispered speech.
文摘AIM: To determine the value of bowel sounds analysis using an electronic stethoscope to support a clinical diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. METHODS: Subjects were patients who presented with a diagnosis of possible intestinal obstruction based on symptoms, signs, and radiological findings. A 3MTH Littmann Model 4100 electronic stethoscope was used in this study. With the patients lying supine, six 8-second recordings of bowel sounds were taken from each patient from the lower abdomen. The recordings were analysed for sound duration, soundto-sound interval, dominant frequency, and peak frequency. Clinical and radiological data were reviewed and the patients were classified as having either acute, subacute, or no bowel obstruction. Comparison of bowel sound characteristics was made between these subgroups of patients. In the presence of an obstruction, the site of obstruction was identified and bowel calibre was also measured to correlate with bowel sounds. RESULTS: A total of 71 patients were studied during the period July 2009 to January 2011. Forty patientshad acute bowel obstruction (27 small bowel obstruction and 13 large bowel obstruction), 11 had subacute bowel obstruction (eight in the small bowel and three in large bowel) and 20 had no bowel obstruction (diagnoses of other conditions were made). Twenty-five patients received surgical intervention (35.2%) during the same admission for acute abdominal conditions. A total of 426 recordings were made and 420 recordings were used for analysis. There was no significant difference in sound-to-sound interval, dominant frequency, and peak frequency among patients with acute bowel obstruction, subacute bowel obstruction, and no bowel obstruction. In acute large bowel obstruction, the sound duration was significantly longer (median 0.81 s vs 0.55 s, P = 0.021) and the dominant frequency was significantly higher (median 440 Hz vs 288 Hz, P = 0.003) when compared to acute small bowel obstruction. No significant difference was seen between acute large bowel obstruction and large bowel pseudoobstruction. For patients with small bowel obstruction, the sound-to-sound interval was significantly longer in those who subsequently underwent surgery compared with those treated non-operatively (median 1.29 s vs 0.63 s, P < 0.001). There was no correlation between bowel calibre and bowel sound characteristics in both acute small bowel obstruction and acute large bowel obstruction. CONCLUSION: Auscultation of bowel sounds is nonspecific for diagnosing bowel obstruction. Differences in sound characteristics between large bowel and small bowel obstruction may help determine the likely site of obstruction.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.10474016.
文摘In marine engine exhaust silencing systems, the presence of exhaust gas flow influences the sound propagation inside the systems and the acoustic attenuation performance of silencers. In order to investigate the effects of three-dimensional gas flow and acoustic damping on the acoustic attenuation characteristics of marine engine exhaust silencers, a dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) was developed. The acoustic governing equation in three-dimensional potential flow was derived first, and then the DRBEM numerical procedure is given. Compared to the conventional boundary element method (CBEM), the DRBEM considers the second order terms of flow Mach number in the acoustic governing equation, so it is suitable for the cases with higher Mach number subsonic flow. For complex exhaust silencers, it is difficult to apply the single-domain boundary element method, so a substructure approach based on the dual reciprocity boundary element method is presented. The experiments for measuring transmission loss of silencers are conducted, and the experimental setup and measurements are explained. The transmission loss of a single expansion chamber silencer with extended inlet and outlet were predicted by DRBEM and compared with the measurements. The good agreements between predictions and measurements are observed, which demonstrated that the derived acoustic governing equation and the DRBEM numerical procedure in the present study are correct.
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.
基金This project is sponsored by Natural Science Foundation of China supported project No. 50674098.
文摘Multipole array sonic logging tools have widely been employed in Chinese oilfields in recent years. We have developed a software package for rock mechanical analysis with multipole array sonic logs. This advanced data processing method and software have been applied to the Tahe oilfield in Northern West China to provide guidance to acid hydraulic fracturing design and evaluation. In this paper, we present the field examples of such data processing and applications to demonstrate the validity and advantages of our method and software package.
文摘The Triassic reservoir in the Jinan area of Tarim Oilfield consists largely of interbedded sand and shale. Because of the large overlap between sandstone and shale impedance, it is difficult to distinguish sandstone from shale by acoustic impedance alone. Compared to acoustic impedance, elastic impedance contains more lithologic and physical information of the reservoir. Based on meticulous well-tie calibration, elastic impedance data volumes for 10°, 20°, and 30° emergence angles are obtained using pre-stack elastic impedance inversion. A non-linear statistical relationship between elastic impedance and shale content is set up by a PNN neural network. The non-linear mapping relationship is used to predict the reservoir shale content from elastic impedance, which will depict and predict the reservoir oil-bearing sands.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.60373084)
文摘A novel spatial domain method--soft morphology filter is presented for reducing the periodic noise in image processing. The simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in comparison with a frequency domain method and other spatial domain filters.
基金Project(2011BAE22B05)supported by National Technology R&D Program in the 12th Five year Plan of ChinaProject(2011DFA50900)supported by the Canada-China-USA Collaborative Research&Development ProjectProject(51071121)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Micro arc oxidation(MAO) and electrophoretic deposition(EPD) process are employed to fabricate a dense coating on magnesium alloy to protect it from corrosion in engineering application. The EPD film changes the damping characteristic of magnesium alloy, and both the MAO and EPD process change the bending stiffness of samples being treated. Damping loss factor(DLF) test and sound transmission experiments were carried out for AZ31 B magnesium alloy with coating fabricated by MAO and EPD processes. The results indicate that DLF is improved in frequency range from 0-850 Hz. Bending stiffness of the samples is improved with MAO and EPD treatment. As a result, the sound transmission loss(LST) is improved in the stiffness control stage of the sound transmission verse frequency curve. To the samples by electrophoresis process, the LST is improved in frequency range from 2500-3200 Hz, because the damping loss factor is improved with EPD process. The results are useful for the surface treatment to enhance the damping loss factor, LST and widespread application of magnesium alloy while improving the corrosion resistance.