Fear Conditioning Deficits in Children and Adolescents with Psychopathic Traits: a Study in a Clinical Population

Deficits in fear conditioning related to psychopathy have been widely studied in adults. However, evidence in children and adolescents is scarce and inconsistent. This research aimed to expand knowledge about fear conditioning in psychopathy and its dimensions in child and early adolescent clinical populations. Participants were 45 boys (outpatients) aged 6–14 years (M = 10.59, SD = 2.04). They were assessed with the parents’ and teachers’ versions of the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI). A fear conditioning paradigm (Neumann et al., in Biological Psychology, 79(3), 337–342, 2008) for children and adolescents was used. Conditioned stimuli (CS+ and CS-) were geometric shapes and the unconditioned stimulus (US) was an unpleasant sound of metal scraping on slate (83 dB). Difference scores (CS+ minus CS-) in skin conductance responses (SCR) and self-reported cognitive and affective measures were considered as indices of fear conditioning. Results showed that: a) deficits in fear conditioning were related to some psychopathy dimensions but not to psychopathy as a unitary construct; b) the Impulsivity-Need for Stimulation dimension was a predictor of impaired fear conditioning at a cognitive level; c) the interaction of Callous-Unemotional and Impulsivity-Need for Stimulation dimensions was a significant predictor of impaired electrodermal fear conditioning; d) by contrast, the Grandiose-Deceitful dimension, was marginally associated with a greater electrodermal fear conditioning. In conclusion, psychopathy dimensions and their interactions, but not psychopathy as a whole, predicted deficits in fear conditioning as measured by SCR and cognitive indices. These findings confirm the notion that psychopathic traits are associated with deficits in fear conditioning in child and adolescent clinical populations and provide support for a multidimensional approach to youth psychopathy.

FLAUT: A mutual sensitivity improvement through matched pipe, cavity and thin plate resonance

Electrostatic transducers promises a great potential in alternative to piezoelectric transducer based on certain advantages such as inherently wide bandwidth and good acoustic matching to air due to the membrane’s low acoustics impedance. There are two basic designs that are popular among electrostatic ultrasonic transducer developer – rigid backplate and micromachine backplate. This paper presents a methodology for improving the sensitivity of an air-coupled ultrasonic transducer by coupling the resonating thin plate, cavity and pipe in a single cell. The proposed device is termed Fluidically Amplified Ultrasonic Transducer (FLAUT) for an air-coupled application. Investigation of the concept of matched thin plate, cavity and pipe, of which the individual geometry is expected to mutually enhance one another. Analytical modelling is utilized to the matched thin plate, cavity and pipe. The analytical modelling identifies the required geometry for the FLAUT based on the matched operating resonant frequency of 25 kHz. At the end of the paper the prototype of FLAUT is presented where the device was fabricated using additive manufacturing process (3-D printing) which consist of a 50 µm Kapton thin film over a micro stereolithography designed backplate. Here aluminum is coated as the electrode utilizing the thermal evaporation process for both the Kapton film and the backplate. A laser interferometer is utilized to measure FLAUT thin plate displacement which indicates the device is running at 25 kHz fundamental mode. A 30 dB difference is also observed between the deformation velocity of the cavity active region and its surrounding.

A Study on the Characteristics of Fishery Resources Distribution in Coastal Waters of Yeongil Bay Using Acoustic Survey

In this study, the identification of dominant fish species in the East Sea was conducted using the dB-difference method. The survey was conducted using the two frequencies of 38 and 120 kHz in transect 6 of the southern part of the East Sea. Information on fish species was identified using fishing gear and e-DNA, and the dominant target fish species were selected and analyzed as cod, anchovy, common squid, and herring. The dB-difference range for each fish species was set to −0.86 dB < ∆MVBS 38–120 kHz < 0.82 dB for cod and to the range of 2.66 dB < ∆MVBS 38–120 kHz < 2.84 dB for anchovy. The dB-difference of the common squid was set to −0.36 dB < ∆MVBS 38–120 kHz < 1.25 dB and to the range of 0.88 dB < ∆MVBS 38–120 kHz < 2.28 dB for herring; the fish species were then identified in the echograms. When comparing the results of swimming depths by fish species and previous studies, cod was detected mainly at the bottom of the sea, and anchovy and common squid were detected mainly at a depth of 50 m. Herring was detected to be mainly distributed in water depths from 50 to 150 m.

Common Configurations of Real-Ear Aided Response Targets Prescribed by NAL-NL2 for Older Adults With Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss

Purpose This study investigates common real-ear aided response (REAR) configurations prescribed by the NAL-NL2 algorithm for older adults with hearing loss. Method A data set that is representative of the older adult U.S. population with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss was constructed from the audiometric data of 934 adults (aged 55–85 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey years 1999–2012. Two clustering approaches were implemented to generate common REAR configurations for eight frequencies (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz) at three input levels (55, 65, and 75 dB SPL). (a) In the REAR-based clustering approach, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey audiograms were first converted to REAR targets and then clustered to generate common REAR configurations. (b) In the audiogram-based clustering approach, the audiograms were first clustered into common hearing loss profiles and then converted to REAR configurations. The trade-off between the number of available REAR configurations and the percentage of the U.S. population whose hearing loss could be fit by at least one of them (i.e., percent coverage) was evaluated. Hearing loss fit was defined as less than ± 5-dB difference between an individual's REAR targets and those of the clustered REAR configuration. Results Percent coverage increases with the number of available REAR configurations, with four configurations resulting in 75% population coverage. Overall, REAR-based clustering yielded 5 percentage points better coverage on average compared to audiogram-based clustering. Conclusions The common REAR configurations can be used for programming the gain frequency responses in preconfigured over-the-counter hearing aids and provide clinically appropriate amplification settings for older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss.

Damping Determination by Half-Power Bandwidth Method for a Slightly Damped Rectangular Steel Plate in the Mid-Frequency Range

This paper presents a novel methodology for measuring the Damping Loss Factor (DLF) of a slightly damped plate in the mid-frequency range (400-1000 Hz) by the Half Power Bandwidth Method (HPBM). A steel flat plate of 650 x 550 x 2 mm was considered as the test case, which was excited by both a shaker and an impact hammer to quantify the effect of the excitation type for slightly damped plate. Since the HPBM is based on extracting the damping data from the modal resonance peaks, working with the correct Frequency Response Functions (FRF) was found to be a crucial factor. Therefore, the effects of coherence and resolution of the sampling frequency were examined in detail in the measurements. The obtained DLF results were statistically analysed and then applied in SEA simulations. Comparison of the simulation and experimental results showed that the method of extracting the DLF data from the measurements can have as much as 10 dB influence on the simulation results. The best results, with only 2 dB difference between measurement and simulation, were obtained when the statistical expected value of the data was used as the input in the SEA simulations.

Density Estimation of Antarctic Krill in the South Shetland Island (Subarea 48.1) Using dB-Difference Method

This study is aimed to estimate the density of Antarctic krill that inhabit in the area around South Shetland Island by using a dB-difference method. An acoustic survey was conducted from 13 to 24 April in 2016 in the sea of South Shetland. Acoustic data on frequency 38 and 120 kHz were collected. The Antarctic krill echo was extracted for the SV120-38 kHz range of 0.4–14.3 dB, which was obtained by applying the size of the collected Antarctic krill in this study (25–60 mm). The mean Antarctic krill density across the survey area was 33.65 g m−2 (CV = 45.97%).

Analysis of Sentinel 1 Radar Data to Identify Frozing/Thawing Soils in the Area of Anadyr (Chukotka) and Belaya Gora (Yakutia)

The paper deals with the distinction between thawed and frozen soils in the upper 5 cm layer for two stations in Russia: Belaya Gora (Yakutia) 68.5° N and Anadyr (Chukotka) 64.78° N — by using Sentinel 1 C-band radar data for the period of 2014–2016 years. Determination of the frozen/thawed soil state is carried out in three ways: 1) by multi-temporal radar data on the basis of a significant in 3–5 dB difference in the backscatter coefficient σ0 in the transition of freezing/thawing soil state, 2) by finding the threshold value of σ0 at which the temperature in the upper soil layer falls below 00С, 3) by texture features for one- channel images. The graphs of the AFI (air freezing index) for the period of 2012-2018 with trends are constructed based on the archive data of air temperature for the study areas.

Identification of thawed and frozen soil state in some Siberia regions by multi-temporal Sentinel 1 radar data in 2017-2018

The paper deals with the identification of thawed/frozen soils in the topsoil layer for three stations in Siberia: Salekhard, Tiksi and Norilsk by using Sentinel 1B C-band radar data for the period of 2017-2018. Determination of the frozen/thawed soil state is carried out in three ways: 1) by multi-temporal radar data on the basis of a significant in 3-5 dB difference in the backscatter coefficient 0 in the transition of freezing/thawing soil state, 2) by finding the threshold value of 0  at which the temperature in the topsoil layer falls below 00C, 3) by texture features. The first method allows determining the period of time during which the process of freezing/thawing of the soil occurs. The second and third methods allow making local maps of frozen/thawed soils. It is shown that for the studied areas the Spearman correlation coefficient between 0  and air temperature for cross - polarization exceeds the correlation coefficient for co-polarization. The graphs of the AFI (air freezing index) for the period of 2012-2018 are constructed based on the archive data of air temperature for the study areas.

Identification of thawed and frozen soil state in some Siberia regions by multi-temporal Sentinel 1 radar data in 2017-2018

The paper deals with the identification of thawed/frozen soils in the topsoil layer for three stations in Siberia: Salekhard, Tiksi and Norilsk by using Sentinel 1B C-band radar data for the period of 2017-2018. Determination of the frozen/thawed soil state is carried out in three ways: 1) by multi-temporal radar data on the basis of a significant in 3-5 dB difference in the backscatter coefficient 0 in the transition of freezing/thawing soil state, 2) by finding the threshold value of 0 at which the temperature in the topsoil layer falls below 00C, 3) by texture features. The first method allows determining the period of time during which the process of freezing/thawing of the soil occurs. The second and third methods allow making local maps of frozen/thawed soils. It is shown that for the studied areas the Spearman correlation coefficient between 0 and air temperature for cross - polarization exceeds the correlation coefficient for co-polarization. The graphs of the AFI (air freezing index) for the period of 2012-2018 are constructed based on the archive data of air temperature for the study areas.

Acoustic Target Strength of the Endangered Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) by Ex Situ Measurements and Theoretical Calculations

The Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis, is a large anadromous and highly endangered protected species. The assessment of its breeding population in the Yangtze River is critically important for effective management and population preservation. Currently, hydroacoustic methods have been widely used to study the adult sturgeons in the river, whereas the acoustic target strength (TS) characteristics of the species have not been studied. In this study, the TS of Chinese sturgeon was carefully evaluated both by ex situ measurements and theoretical calculations. Six Chinese sturgeons (Body Length (BL): 74.0−92.6 cm) were measured by a 199 kHz split echosounder in a 10-m deep net cage. The computed tomography of a Chinese sturgeon (BL: 110.0 cm) was conducted and the Kirchhoff ray mode (KRM) method was used to estimate the theoretical TS. As a result, the mean ex situ TS range of the six specimens was from −26.9 to −31.4 dB, which was very close to the KRM estimation (~1 dB difference). Then, the KRM method was used to predict the TS of Chinese sturgeon as a function of BL in six frequencies commonly used in freshwater environments and to estimate the TS of a representative adult Chinese sturgeon (250 cm) as a function of frequency and tilt angle. This study can provide a good basis for future hydroacoustic studies on the critically endangered Chinese sturgeon.