Environmental noise alters gastric myoelectrical activity:Effect of age

AIM: To evaluate the effect of age and acoustic stress on gastric myoelectrical activity (GMA) and autonomic nervous system function. METHODS: Twenty-one male subjects (age range 22-71 years, mean 44 years) were recruited and exposed, in random order, to three auditory stimuli (Hospital noise, conversation babble and traffic noise) after a 20-min baseline. All periods lasted 20 min and were interspersed with a 10 min of recovery. GMA was obtained using a Synectics Microdigitrapper. Autonomic nerve function was assessed by monitoring blood pressure and heart rate using an automatic recording device. RESULTS: Dominant power tended to decrease with increase of age (P < 0.05). The overall percentage of three cycle per minute (CPM) activity decreased during exposure to hospital noise (12.0%, P < 0.05), traffic noise (13.9%, P < 0.05), and conversation babble (7.1%). The subjects in the younger group (< 50 years) showed a consistent reduction in the percentage of 3 CPM activity during hospital noise (22.9%, P < 0.05), traffic noise (19.0%, P < 0.05), and conversation babble (15.5%). These observations were accompanied by a significant increase in bradygastria: hospital noise (P < 0.05) and traffic noise (P < 0.05). In contrast, the subjects over 50 years of age did not exhibit a significant decrease in 3 CPM activity. Regardless of age, noise did not alter blood pressure or heart rate. CONCLUSION: GMA changes with age. Loud noise can alter GMA, especially in younger individuals. Our data indicate that even short-term exposure to noise may alter the contractility of the stomach.

Active Control of Structurally Radiated Sound from an Elastic Cylindrical Shell

A numerical and experimental study was presented on active control of structurally radiated sound from an elastic cylindrical shell.An analytical model was developed for the active structural acoustic control (ASAC) of the cylindrical shell.Both global and local control strategies were considered.The optimal control forces corresponding to each control strategy were obtained by using the linear quadratic optimal control theory.Numerical simulations were performed to examine and analyze the control performance under different control strategies.The results show that global sound attenuation of the cylindrical shell at resonance frequencies can be achieved by using point force as the control input of the ASAC system.Better control performance can be obtained under the control strategy of minimization of the radiated sound power.However,control spillover may occur at off-resonance frequencies with the control strategy of structural kinetic energy minimization in terms of the radiated sound power.Considerable levels of global sound attenuation can also be achieved in the on-resonance cases with the local control strategy,i.e.,minimization of the mean-square velocity of finite discrete locations.An ASAC experiment using an FXLMS algorithm was implemented,agreement was observed between the numerical and experimental results,and successful attenuation of structural vibration and radiated sound was achieved.

Measuring Acoustic Wave Transit Time in Furnace Based on Active Acoustic Source Signal

Accurate measurement of transit time for acoustic wave between two sensors installed on two sides of a furnace is a key to implementing the temperature field measurement technique based on acoustical method. A new method for measuring transit time of acoustic wave based on active acoustic source signal is proposed in this paper, which includes the followings： the time when the acoustic source signal arrives at the two sensors is measured first; then, the difference of two arriving time arguments is computed, thereby we get the transit time of the acoustic wave between two sensors installed on the two sides of the furnace. Avoiding the restriction on acoustic source signal and background noise, the new method can get the transit time of acoustic wave with higher precision and stronger ability of resisting noise interference.

Experimental investigation on active acoustic flutter control

Experimenial studies on active acoustic fiutter control are carried out successfully in wind-tunnel after the theoretical study The experdrients verify the theory presented in the reference[1] and give valuable experimeotal results which predict a prondsing future of applying new techology and new ideas to the area of vibration induced by flow.

An executive review of sludge pretreatment by sonication

Ultrasonication（US）, which creates hydro-mechanical shear forces in cavitation, is an advanced technology in sludge pretreatment. However, there are many factors affecting the efficacy of cavitation and ultrasonication disintegration of sludge as a consequence.The objective of this work is to present an extensive review of evaluation approaches of sludge US pretreatment efficiency. Besides, optimization methodologies of related parameters,the differences of optimum values and the similarities of affecting trends on cavitation and sludge pretreatment efficiency were specifically pointed out, including ambient conditions,ultrasonic properties, and sludge characteristics. The research is a prerequisite for optimization of sludge US pretreatment efficiency in lab-scale and practical application. There is not-yet a comprehensive method to evaluate the efficiency of sludge US pretreatment, but some main parameters commonly used for this purpose are degree of sludge disintegration, proteins,particle size reduction, etc. Regarding US parameters, power input PUS, intensity IUS, and frequency FSseem to have significant effects. However, the magnitude of the effect of PUSand probe size in terms of IUShas not been clearly detailed. Investigating very low FSseems interesting but has not yet been taken into consideration. In addition, static pressure effect has been marginally studied only and investigation on the effect of pH prior to US process has been restricted. Their effects therefore should be varied separately and simultaneously with other related parameters, i.e. process conditions, ultrasonic properties, and sludge characteristics, to optimize sludge US pretreatment process.

Comparison of smart panels for tonal and broadband vibration and sound transmission active control

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the principal features of smart panels equipped with feed-forward and feedback systems for the control of the flexural response and sound transmission due respectively to tonal and to stochastic broadband disturbances.The smart panels are equipped with two types of actuators:first,distributed piezoelectric actuators formed either by small piezoelectric patches or large piezoelectric films bonded on the panels and second,point actuators formed by proof-mass electromagnetic transducers.Also,the panels encompass three types of sensors:first,small capacitive microphone sensors placed in front of the panels;second,distributed piezoelectric sensors formed by large piezoelectric films bonded on the panels and third point sensors formed by miniaturized accelerometers.The proposed systems implement both single-channel and multi-channel feed-forward and feedback control architectures.The study shows that,the vibration and sound radiation control performance of both feed-forward and feedback systems critically depends on the sensor-actuator configurations.

Researches on active structural acoustic control by radiation modes

Based on the radiation modes, an active control strategy is presented for sound radiation from elastic structures with an example of simply supported rectangular panel. The physical characteristics and mathematical meaning of the radiation modes are analyzed. The radiation efficiency of radiation mode falls off very rapidly with the increase of modes order at low frequency. A new control strategy is developed in which by canceling the adjoint coef- ficient of the first k radiation modes, the sound powers of the first k radiation modes is zero theoratically. The numerical calculation is made by using point force actuators as control forces.