Preferred levels for background ducking to produce esthetically pleasing audio for TV with clear speech

In audio production, background ducking facilitates speech intelligibility while allowing the background to fulfill its purpose, e.g., to create ambience, set the mood, or convey semantic cues. Technical details for recommended ducking practices are not currently documented in the literature. Hence, we first analyzed common practices found in TV documentaries. Second, a listening test investigated the preferences of 22 normal-hearing participants on the Loud- ness Difference (LD) between commentary and background during ducking. Highly personal preferences were observed, highlighting the importance of object-based personalization. Sta- tistically significant difference was found between non-expert and expert listeners. On average, non-experts preferred LDs that were 4 LU higher than the ones preferred by experts. A sta- tistically significant difference was also found between Commentary over Music (CoM) and Commentary over Ambience (CoA). Based on the test results, we recommend at least 10 LU difference for CoM and at least 15 LU for CoA. Moreover, a computational method based on the Binaural Distortion-Weighted Glimpse Proportion (BiDWGP) was found to match the median preferred LD for each item with good accuracy (mean absolute error = 1.97 LU ± 2.50)

MUSTANG 3.3 Millimeter Continuum Observations of Class 0 Protostars

We present observations of six Class 0 protostars at 3.3 mm (90 GHz) using the 64-pixel MUSTANG bolometer camera on the 100-m Green Bank Telescope. The 3.3 mm photometry is analyzed along with shorter wavelength observations to derive spectral indices (S_nu ~ nu^alpha) of the measured emission. We utilize previously published dust continuum radiative transfer models to estimate the characteristic dust temperature within the central beam of our observations. We present constraints on the millimeter dust opacity index, beta, between 0.862 mm, 1.25 mm, and 3.3 mm. Beta_mm typically ranges from 1.0 to 2.4 for Class 0 sources. The relative contributions from disk emission and envelope emission are estimated at 3.3 mm. L483 is found to have negligible disk emission at 3.3 mm while L1527 is dominated by disk emission within the central beam. The beta_mm^disk <= 0.8 - 1.4 for L1527 indicates that grain growth is likely occurring in the disk. The photometry presented in this paper may be combined with future interferometric observations of Class 0 envelopes and disks.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, AJ accepted, in pres

The construction and evaluation of a word pronunciation test for grades four, five, and six

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Observational Constraints on Submillimeter Dust Opacity

Infrared extinction maps and submillimeter dust continuum maps are powerful probes of the density structure in the envelope of star-forming cores. We make a direct comparison between infrared and submillimeter dust continuum observations of the low-mass Class 0 core, B335, to constrain the ratio of submillimeter to infrared opacity (κ_(smm)/κ_(ir)) and the submillimeter opacity power-law index (κ ∝ λ–β). Using the average value of theoretical dust opacity models at 2.2 μm, we constrain the dust opacity at 850 and 450 μm. Using new dust continuum models based upon the broken power-law density structure derived from interferometric observations of B335 and the infall model derived from molecular line observations of B335, we find that the opacity ratios are ^κ_(850)_κ_(2.2) = (3.21 - 4.80)^(+0.44)_(-0.30) x 10^(-4) ^κ_(450)_κ(2.0) = (12.8-24.8)^(+2.4)_(-1.3) x 10^(-4) with a submillimeter opacity power-law index of β_(smm) = (2.18-2.58)^(+0.30)_(–0.30). The range of quoted values is determined from the uncertainty in the physical model for B335. For an average 2.2 μm opacity of 3800 ± 700 cm^2 g^(–1), we find a dust opacity at 850 and 450 μm of κ_(850) = (1.18-1.77)^9+0.36)_(–0.24) and κ_(450) = (4.72-9.13)^(+1.9)_(–0.98) cm^2 g^(–1) of dust. These opacities are from (0.65-0.97)κ^(OH5)_(850) of the widely used theoretical opacities of Ossenkopf and Henning for coagulated ice grains with thin mantles at 850 μm

Spectra and Symmetry in Nuclear Pairing

We apply the algebraic Bethe ansatz technique to the nuclear pairing problem with orbit dependent coupling constants and degenerate single particle energy levels. We find the exact energies and eigenstates. We show that for a given shell, there are degeneracies between the states corresponding to less and more than half full shell. We also provide a technique to solve the equations of Bethe ansatz.Comment: 15 pages of REVTEX with 2 eps figure

Combined antiapoptotic and antioxidant approach to acute neuroprotection for stroke in hypertensive rats

We hypothesized that targeting key points in the ischemic cascade with combined neuroglobin (Ngb) overexpression and c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibition (SP600125) would offer greater neuroprotection than single treatment after in vitro hypoxia/reoxygenation and in a randomized, blinded in vivo experimental stroke study using a clinically relevant rat strain. Male spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats underwent transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) and were divided into the following groups: tMCAO; tMCAO+control GFP-expressing canine adenovirus-2, CAVGFP; tMCAO+Ngb-expressing CAV-2, CAVNgb; tMCAO+SP600125; tMCAO+CAVNgb+SP600125; or sham procedure. Rats were assessed till day 14 for neurologic outcome before infarct determination. In vitro, combined lentivirus-mediated Ngb overexpression+SP600125 significantly reduced oxidative stress and apoptosis compared with single treatment(s) after hypoxia/reoxygenation in B50 cells. In vivo, infarct volume was significantly reduced by CAVNgb, SP600125, and further by CAVNgb+SP600125. The number of Ngb-positive cells in the peri-infarct cortex and striatum was significantly increased 14 days after tMCAO in animals receiving CAVNgb. Neurologic outcome, measured using a 32-point neurologic score, significantly improved with CAVNgb+SP600125 compared with single treatments at 14 days after tMCAO. Combined Ngb overexpression with JNK inhibition reduced hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in cultured neurons and reduced infarct and improved neurologic outcome more than single therapy after in vivo experimental stroke in hypertensive rats

The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey. XI. Temperatures and Substructure of Galactic Clumps Based on 350 ?M Observations

We present 107 maps of continuum emission at 350 mu m from Galactic molecular clumps. Observed sources were mainly selected from the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) catalog, with three additional maps covering star-forming regions in the outer Galaxy. The higher resolution of the SHARC-II images (8."5 beam) compared with the 1.1 mm images from BGPS (33"beam) allowed us to identify a large population of smaller substructures within the clumps. A catalog is presented for the 1386 sources extracted from the 350 mu m maps. The color temperature distribution of clumps based on the two wavelengths has a median of 13.3 K and mean of 16.3 +/- 0.4 K, assuming an opacity law index of 1.7. For the structures with good determination of color temperatures, the mean ratio of gas temperature, determined from NH3 observations, to dust color temperature is 0.88 and the median ratio is 0.76. About half the clumps have more than 2 substructures and 22 clumps have more than 10. The fraction of the mass in dense substructures seen at 350 mu m compared to the mass of their parental clump is similar to 0.19, and the surface densities of these substructures are, on average, 2.2 times those seen in the clumps identified at 1.1 mm. For a well-characterized sample, 88 structures (31%) exceed a surface density of 0.2 g cm(-2), and 18 (6%) exceed 1.0 g cm(-2), thresholds for massive star Formation suggested by theorists.National Science Foundation through NSF grant AST-0708403NRAONSF AST-9980846, AST-0206158, AST-1109116Fulbright FellowshipASI, AgenziaSpaziale Italiana I/038/080/0, I/029/12/0national funding agency: CSA (Canada)national funding agency: NAOC (China)national funding agency: CEA (France)national funding agency: ASI (Italy)national funding agency: MCINN (Spain)national funding agency: Stockholm Observatory (Sweden)national funding agency: STFC (UK)national funding agency: NASA (USA)national funding agency: CNES (France)national funding agency: CNRS (France)Astronom