On the Benefit of Larynx-Microphone Field Recordings for the Documentation and Analysis of Polyphonic Vocal Music

In a previous study Scherbaum et al. (2015) have demonstrated that recordings of body vibrations during singing contain all the essential information of a singer ́s voice regarding pitch, intonation, and voice intensity, but are practically unaffected by the voices of other singers (except for extreme situations). This allows the recording of the contribution of each singer while they are singing together. Because of these characteristics, Scherbaum et al. (2015) proposed the utilization of body vibrations recorded as an additional source of information for the documentation and analysis of traditional polyphonic vocal music. Questions remained, however, regarding the applicability of this approach under field recording conditions and if it indeed provides useful information not obtainable by other means. These questions were at the focus of an exploratory field trip to Upper Svaneti/Georgia during the summer of 2015. Here I report on selected results of the analysis of recordings (larynx microphone and audio) of 20 Svan songs sung by two different trios in Lakhushdi and Ushguli in Svaneti/Georgia recorded during this pilot stud

A Graph-Theoretical Approach to the Harmonic Analysis of Georgian Vocal Polyphonic Music

The present paper proposes a computational approach to the comparative analysis and visualization of the harmonic structure of three-voiced vocal music. The dataset which has been used in this study is the same as in Scherbaum et al. (2015), a corpus of polyphonic songs from Svaneti (Akhobadze, 1957). Similar to the earlier work, a song is treated as a discrete temporal process in which harmonic or melodic states change according to unknown rules which are implicitely contained in the song itself. In contrast to the prior study, however, there are no assumptions regarding their probabilistic or deterministic nature

Ground-motion prediction equations for southern Spain and southern Norway obtained using the composite model perspective

In this paper, two sets of earthquake ground-motion relations to estimate peak ground and response spectral acceleration are developed for sites in southern Spain and in southern Norway using a recently published composite approach. For this purpose seven empirical ground-motion relations developed from recorded strong-motion data from different parts of the world were employed. The different relations were first adjusted based on a number of transformations to convert the differing choices of independent parameters to a single one. After these transformations, which include the scatter introduced, were performed, the equations were modified to account for differences between the host and the target regions using the stochastic method to compute the host-to-target conversion factors. Finally functions were fitted to the derived ground-motion estimates to obtain sets of seven individual equations for use in probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for southern Spain and southern Norway. The relations are compared with local ones published for the two regions. The composite methodology calls for the setting up of independent logic trees for the median values and for the sigma values, in order to properly separate epistemic and aleatory uncertainties after the corrections and the conversions

Joint versus separate inpatient rehabilitation treatment for patients with alcohol use disorder or drug use disorder : an observational study

Background: In many national treatment systems, patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and those with drug use disorders (DUD) are treated separately, while other systems provide joint treatment for both kinds of substance use disorders (SUDs). Regarding long-term rehabilitation treatment of DUD and AUD patients, there is however a lack of empirical studies on the comparison between a separate versus joint treatment modality. Methods: Data were gathered from 2 rehabilitation units located in small towns from the same German region. One unit provided treatment to a mixed group of AUD and DUD patients, while the other unit treated the 2 groups separately. Staffing, funding, and treatment programs were otherwise similar between facilities. Data were gathered from standardized routine documentation and standardized interviews. In order to understand correlates of premature treatment termination, a logistic regression analysis was performed, with treatment modality and type of SUD as main predictors, and a range of patient characteristics as covariates. Results: Patients (N=319) were diagnosed with AUD (48%), DUD (34%), or AUD plus DUD (18%). Patients in joint treatment showed a higher prevalence of lapses during treatment than those in separate treatment (26% versus 12%; p=0.009), but there was no significant difference in the prevalence of premature terminations (38% versus 44%, p=0.26). Treatment modality and interaction between modality and type of SUD was not significantly associated with premature termination. Joint treatment completers showed higher satisfaction with treatment than separate treatment completers ( p<0.001). Conclusion: We found no evidence here for a difference between treatment modalities in terms of premature termination rate. Satisfaction level was higher in those who completed joint treatment compared to separate treatment.Peer reviewe

The Deformation Area Difference (DAD) method for condition assessment of reinforced structures

The investigation and condition assessment of bridges have a very high priority in the construction industry today. Particularly, due to the fact that many bridge structures are getting old and partly reach the end of their useful life, the control and condition assessment of bridge structures have become very important and essential. The present research work introduces an efficient new method for condition assessment called the Deformation Area Difference (DAD) Method. This new method represents an attractive alternative to visual inspection and long-term monitoring. In this paper, the new method with its theoretical background is presented and explained by means of a laboratory experiment and some additional theoretical calculation examples. The experimental investigations have been realised on a reinforced concrete beam, which has been gradually loaded until failure. For each load step, the stiffness reduction and the apparent cracking have been monitored. High-precision measurements such as close-range photogrammetry, digital levelling and displacement sensors have been used for the determination of the deflection curve. The DAD method has been applied to identify the area of the crack pattern of the laboratory experiment. Furthermore, the method is discussed with regard to the load level and the precision of the deformation measurements. On the basis of the laboratory experiment, the applicability of the DAD method for damage detection could be proven. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the method with regard to the damage degree, the static system, the damage position and the impact of temperature variation were analysed

The challenge of defining upper bounds on earthquake ground motions

Recent studies to assess very long-term seismic hazard in the United States and in Europe have brought the issue of upper limits on earthquake ground motions into the arena of problems requiring attention from the engineering seismological community. Few engineering projects are considered sufficiently critical to warrant the use of annual frequencies of exceedance so low that ground-motion estimates may become unphysical if limiting factors are not considered, but for nuclear waste repositories, for example, the issue is of great importance. The definition of upper bounds on earthquake ground motions also presents an exciting challenge for researchers in the area of seismic hazard assessment. This paper looks briefly at historical work on maximum values of ground-motion amplitudes before illustrating why this is an important issue for hazard assessments at very long return periods. The paper then discusses the factors that control the extreme values of motion, both in terms of generating higher amplitude bedrock motions and of limiting the values of motion at the ground surface. Possible channels of research that could be explored in the quest to define maximum possible ground motions are also discussed