Detection of envelope modulation and direction of arrival estimation of multiple noise sources with an acoustic vector sensor.

The Detection of Envelope Modulation on Noise (DEMON) is an algorithm that is commonly applied to hydrophone data for the detection and classification of underwater noise produced by a ship. This algorithm utilizes modulation analysis to determine the frequencies that modulate the broadband cavitation noise produced by marine vessel propellers. In this paper, a DEMON demodulator for acoustic vector sensors (AVSs) that are directional hydrophones capable of acquiring both the acoustic pressure and the components of the particle velocity vector is defined.

Interoperability Among Unmanned Maritime Vehicles: Review and First In-field Experimentation.

Complex maritime missions, both above and below the surface, have traditionally been carried out by manned surface ships and submarines equipped with advanced sensor systems. Unmanned Maritime Vehicles (UMVs) are increasingly demonstrating their potential for improving existing naval capabilities due to their rapid deployability, easy scalability, and high reconfigurability, offering a reduction in both operational time and cost. In addition, they mitigate the risk to personnel by leaving the man far-from-the-risk but in-the-loop of decision making.

Mental health and coping strategies in families of children and young adults with muscular dystrophies.

Background: Living with a progressive disease as muscular dystrophy (MD) can be challenging for the patient and the entire family from both emotional and practical point of view. We aimed to extend our previously published data about mental health in patients with MDs, also investigating coping profiles of both themselves and their parents. Furthermore, we wanted to verify whether psychological adaptation of patients can be predicted by coping strategies, taking also into account physical impairment, cognitive level and socioeconomic status.

Tracking of multiple surface vessels based on passive acoustic underwater arrays.

This paper introduces an approach to localize and track an unknown number of non-cooperative surface vessels based on passive acoustic sensing of their noise radiated underwater. Time-Difference of Arrival (TDOA) measurements are extracted from pairs of hydrophones, and a recently introduced Bayesian framework for multi-object tracking is employed to detect and track vessels from TDOA measurements. Results based on data from a three-dimensional compact hydrophone array towed by an autonomous vehicle confirm that non-cooperative surface vessels can be detected and tracked.

Behavioral and cognitive effects of docosahexaenoic acid in drug-naïve children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) dietary supplementation on behavior and cognition in school-aged, drug-naïve children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A total of 50 participants with ADHD aged 7 to 14 were enrolled in a 6-month randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial and received either DHA or placebo. The primary outcome measure was the change in the ADHD rating scale IV Parent Version-Investigator (ADHD-RS-IV) after 4 and 6 months.

The Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Developmental Psychopathology: A Systematic Review on Early Psychosis, Autism, and ADHD.

In this systematic review, we will consider and debate studies that have explored the effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in three major, and somehow related, developmental psychiatric disorders: Autism, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity disorder and Psychosis. The impact of ω-3 PUFAs on clinical symptoms and, if possible, brain trajectory in children and adolescents suffering from these illnesses will be reviewed and discussed, considering the biological plausibility of the effects of omega-3 fatty acids, together with their potential perspectives in the field. Heterogeneity in study designs will be discussed in the light of differences in results and interpretation of studies carried out so far.

Assessing mental health in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Emotional, behavioural and neurodevelopmental profile in an Italian clinical sample.

Objective: To evaluate through a comprehensive protocol, the psychopathological profile of DMD boys. The primary aim of this observational study was to describe the emotional and behavioural profile and the neurodevelopmental problems of Italian boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD); the secondary aim was to explore the relation between psychopathological profile and DMD genotype.

Method: 47 DMD boys, aged 2-18, were included in the study and assessed through structured and validated tools including Wechsler scales or Griffiths for cognitive ability, Child Behavior Check List (CBCL), Youth Self Report (YSR) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for emotional and behavioural features.

The potential relevance of docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid to the etiopathogenesis of childhood neuropsychiatric disorders.

Over the last 15 years, considerable interest has been given to the potential role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) for understanding pathogenesis and treatment of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. This review aims to systematically investigate the scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis on the omega-3 PUFAs deficit as a risk factor shared by different pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders. Medline PubMed database was searched for studies examining blood docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) status in children with neuropsychiatric disorders.

Latent classes of emotional and behavioural problems in epidemiological and referred samples and their relations to DSM-IV diagnoses.

Researchers' interest have recently moved toward the identification of recurrent psychopathological profiles characterized by concurrent elevations on different behavioural and emotional traits. This new strategy turned to be useful in terms of diagnosis and outcome prediction. We used a person-centred statistical approach to examine whether different groups could be identified in a referred sample and in a general-population sample of children and adolescents, and we investigated their relation to DSM-IV diagnoses.

Effect of family structure and TPH2 G-703T on the stability of dysregulation profile throughout adolescence.

Background: Two different polymorphisms (TPH2 G-703T and 5-HTTLPR) involved in the serotonergic pathway have been reported to play a role, both alone and in interaction with the environment, in early and adult emotion regulation. As most of these studies are cross-sectional, we know little about the impact of these polymorphisms over time, particularly during adolescence.

Methods: Because we were interested in the effects of these polymorphisms and environment (i.

Experimental demonstration of a high-frequency forward scattering acoustic barrier in a dynamic coastal environment.

Detecting a target by measuring its forward scattered field is of interest for harbor surveillance because target strength levels are generally higher in the forward direction than in the backward direction for simple geometries. An acoustic barrier based on forward scattering was demonstrated in a nearly range-independent shallow water environment. The experimental location was characterized by high reverberation, low temporal signal coherence, and, as a result, few stable multipath arrivals due to the fluctuating sea surface.

Benchmark problems for acoustic scattering from elastic objects in the free field and near the seafloor.

Results from a workshop organized in 2006 to assess the state of the art in target scatter modeling are presented. The problem set includes free-field scenarios as well as scattering from targets that are proud, half-buried, or fully buried in the sediment. The targets are spheres and cylinders, of size O(1 m), which are insonified by incident plane waves in the low-frequency band 0.

Tank measurements of scattering from a resin-filled fiberglass spherical shell with internal flaws.

This paper presents results of acoustic inversion and structural health monitoring achieved by means of low to midfrequency elastic scattering analysis of simple, curved objects, insonified in a water tank. Acoustic elastic scattering measurements were conducted between 15 and 100 kHz on a 60-mm-radius fiberglass spherical shell, filled with a low-shear-speed epoxy resin. Preliminary measurements were conducted also on the void shell before filling, and on a solid sphere of the same material as the filler.

Computing the far field scattered or radiated by objects inside layered fluid media using approximate Green's functions.

A numerically efficient technique is presented for computing the field radiated or scattered from three-dimensional objects embedded within layered acoustic media. The distance between the receivers and the object of interest is supposed to be large compared to the acoustic wavelength. The method requires the pressure and normal particle displacement on the surface of the object or on an arbitrary circumscribing surface, as an input, together with a knowledge of the layered medium Green's functions.

A computationally efficient finite element model with perfectly matched layers applied to scattering from axially symmetric objects.

A frequency-domain finite-element (FE) technique for computing the radiation and scattering from axially symmetric fluid-loaded structures subject to a nonsymmetric forcing field is presented. The Berenger perfectly matched layer (PML), applied directly at the fluid-structure interface, makes it possible to emulate the Sommerfeld radiation condition using FE meshes of minimal size. For those cases where the acoustic field is computed over a band of frequencies, the meshing process is simplified by the use of a wavelength-dependent rescaling of the PML coordinates.