Large Deformation Diffeomorphic Metric Mapping And Fast-Multipole Boundary Element Method Provide New Insights For Binaural Acoustics

This paper describes how Large Deformation Diffeomorphic Metric Mapping (LDDMM) can be coupled with a Fast Multipole (FM) Boundary Element Method (BEM) to investigate the relationship between morphological changes in the head, torso, and outer ears and their acoustic filtering (described by Head Related Transfer Functions, HRTFs). The LDDMM technique provides the ability to study and implement morphological changes in ear, head and torso shapes. The FM-BEM technique provides numerical simulations of the acoustic properties of an individual's head, torso, and outer ears. This paper describes the first application of LDDMM to the study of the relationship between a listener's morphology and a listener's HRTFs. To demonstrate some of the new capabilities provided by the coupling of these powerful tools, we examine the classical question of what it means to ``listen through another individual's outer ears.'' This work utilizes the data provided by the Sydney York Morphological and Acoustic Recordings of Ears (SYMARE) database.Comment: Submitted as a conference paper to IEEE ICASSP 201

Kernal principal component analysis of the ear morphology

This paper describes features in the ear shape that change across a population of ears and explores the corresponding changes in ear acoustics. The statistical analysis conducted over the space of ear shapes uses a kernel principal component analysis (KPCA). Further, it utilizes the framework of large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping and the vector space that is constructed over the space of initial momentums, which describes the diffeomorphic transformations from the reference template ear shape. The population of ear shapes examined by the KPCA are 124 left and right ear shapes from the SYMARE database that were rigidly aligned to the template (population average) ear. In the work presented here we show the morphological variations captured by the first two kernel principal components, and also show the acoustic transfer functions of the ears which are computed using fast multipole boundary element method simulations

Reflection and transmission of high-frequency acoustic, electromagnetic and elastic waves at a distinguished class of irregular, curved boundaries

Reflection and transmission phenomena associated with high-frequency linear wave incidence on irregular boundaries between adjacent acoustic or electromagnetic media, or upon the irregular free surface of a semi-infinite elastic solid, are studied in two dimensions. Here, an ‘irregular’ boundary is one for which small-scale undulations of an arbitrary profile are superimposed upon an underlying, smooth curve (which also has an arbitrary profile), with the length scale of the perturbation being prescribed in terms of a certain inverse power of the large wave-number of the incoming wave field. Whether or not the incident field has planar or cylindrical wave-fronts, the associated phase in both cases is linear in the wave-number, but the presence of the boundary irregularity implies the necessity of extra terms, involving fractional powers of the wave-number in the phase of the reflected and transmitted fields. It turns out that there is a unique perturbation scaling for which precisely one extra term in the phase is needed and hence for which a description in terms of a Friedlander–Keller ray expansion in the form as originally presented is appropriate, and these define a ‘distinguished’ class of perturbed boundaries and are the subject of the current paper

H₃P⋯AgI:Generation by laser-ablation and characterization by rotational spectroscopy and: Ab initio calculations

The new compound H(3)P···AgI has been synthesized in the gas phase by means of the reaction of laser-ablated silver metal with a pulse of gas consisting of a dilute mixture of ICF(3) and PH(3) in argon. Ground-state rotational spectra were detected and assigned for the two isotopologues H(3)P···(107)AgI and H(3)P···(109)AgI in their natural abundance by means of a chirped-pulse, Fourier-transform, microwave spectrometer. Both isotopologues exhibit rotational spectra of the symmetric-top type, analysis of which led to accurate values of the rotational constant B (0), the quartic centrifugal distortion constants D (J) and D (JK), and the iodine nuclear quadrupole coupling constant χ (aa)(I) = eQq (aa). Ab initio calculations at the explicitly-correlated level of theory CCSD(T)(F12*)/aug-cc-pVDZ confirmed that the atoms P···Ag–I lie on the C (3) axis in that order. The experimental rotational constants were interpreted to give the bond lengths r (0)(P···Ag) = 2.3488(20) Å and r (0)(Ag–I) = 2.5483(1) Å, in good agreement with the equilibrium lengths of 2.3387 Å and 2.5537 Å, respectively, obtained in the ab initio calculations. Measures of the strength of the interaction of PH(3) and AgI (the dissociation energy D (e) for the process H(3)P···AgI = H(3)P + AgI and the intermolecular stretching force constant F (P···Ag)) are presented and are interpreted to show that the order of binding strength is H(3)P···HI < H(3)P···ICl < H(3)P···AgI for these metal-bonded molecules and their halogen-bonded and hydrogen-bonded analogues

Onset asynchrony in spoken menus

The menu is an important interface component, which appears unlikely to be completely superseded by modern search-based approaches. For someone who is unable to attend a screen visually, however, alternative non-visual menu formats are often problematic. A display is developed in which multiple concurrent words are presented with different amounts of onset asynchrony. The effect of different amounts of asynchrony and word length on task durations, accuracy and workload are explored. It is found that total task duration is significantly affected by both onset asynchrony and word duration. Error rates are significantly affected by both onset asynchrony, word length and their interaction, whilst subjective workload scores are only significantly affected by onset asynchrony. Overall, the results appear to suggest that the best compromise between accuracy, workload and speed may be achieved through presenting shorter or temporally-compressed words with a short inter-stimuli interval

Molecular Geometries and Other Properties of H2O⋯AgI and H3N⋯AgI as Characterised by Rotational Spectroscopy and Ab Initio Calculations

The rotational spectra of H3N⋯AgI and H2O⋯AgI have been recorded between 6.5 and 18.5 GHz by chirped-pulse Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy. The complexes were generated through laser vaporisation of a solid target of silver or silver iodide in the presence of an argon gas pulse containing a low concentration of the Lewis base. The gaseous sample subsequently undergoes supersonic expansion which results in cooling of rotational and vibrational motions such that weakly bound complexes can form within the expanding gas jet. Spectroscopic parameters have been determined for eight isotopologues of H3N⋯AgI and six isotopologues of H2O⋯AgI. Rotational constants, B0; centrifugal distortion constants, DJ, DJK or ΔJ, ΔJK; and the nuclear quadrupole coupling constants, χaa(I) and χbb(I) - χcc(I) are reported. H3N⋯AgI is shown to adopt a geometry that has C3v symmetry. The geometry of H2O⋯AgI is Cs at equilibrium but with a low barrier to inversion such that the vibrational wavefunction for the v = 0 state has C2v symmetry. Trends in the nuclear quadrupole coupling constant of the iodine nucleus, χaa(I), of L⋯AgI complexes are examined, where L is varied across the series (L = Ar, H3N, H2O, H2S, H3P, or CO). The results of experiments are reported alongside those of ab initio calculations at the CCSD(T)(F12*)/AVXZ level (X = T, Q)

Gas phase complexes of H₃N⋯CuF and H₃N⋯CuI studied by rotational spectroscopy and:Ab initio calculations: The effect of X (X = F, Cl, Br, I) in OC⋯CuX and H₃N⋯CuX

Complexes of H3N⋯CuF and H3N⋯CuI have been synthesised in the gas phase and characterized by microwave spectroscopy.</p

Study protocol: a mixed methods study to assess mental health recovery, shared decision-making and quality of life (Plan4Recovery)

BACKGROUND: Recovery in mental health care is complex, highly individual and can be facilitated by a range of professional and non-professional support. In this study we will examine how recovery from mental health problems is promoted in non-medical settings. We hypothesise a relationship between involvement in decisions about care, social support and recovery and quality of life outcomes. METHODS: We will use standardised validated instruments of involvement in decision-making, social contacts, recovery and quality of life with a random sample of people accessing non-statutory mental health social care services in Wales. We will add to this important information with detailed one to one case study interviews with people, their family members and their support workers. We will use a series of these interviews to examine how people build recovery over time to help us understand more about their involvement in decisions and the social links they build. DISCUSSION: We want to see how being involved in decisions about care and the social links people have are related to recovery and quality of life for people with experience of using mental health support services. We want to understand the different perspectives of the people involved in making recovery possible. We will use this information to guide further studies of particular types of social interventions and their use in helping recovery from mental health problems

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London