Acoustical Society of America
139th Meeting Press Luncheon News Release
ACOUSTICS PRESS LUNCHEON
AND LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
Melville, New York, May 18, 2000
In a week and a half, researchers will present some of the
latest findings in the science of sound at the 139th Meeting of the
Acoustical Society of America (ASA), which takes place from May 30-June 3 in
Atlanta. A press luncheon at the meeting will feature four speakers
describing some of the most exciting talks. The luncheon will take place on
Wednesday, May 31 at 11:30 AM in the Tower Room 1207 at the Westin Peachtree
Plaza Hotel in Atlanta. The list of speakers and their topics can be found
below. Those wishing to attend should fill out the reply form at the end of
the release or contact Ben Stein (301-209-3091,
bstein@aip.org). Please note: The press luncheon will be held on a
Wednesday and NOT a Tuesday, as
was incorrectly noted in some versions of the previous meeting news release.
In addition, a wealth of information on the meeting is available online.
At the ASA World Wide Press Room ( www.acoustics.org ), you can find lay
language versions of a dozen meeting papers and a searchable database of all
abstracts for the meeting. Some examples of lay-language papers are listed
at the end of this message.
PRESS LUNCHEON SPEAKERS AND TOPICS
139th Acoustical Society of America Meeting
Tower Room 1207
Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel
Atlanta May 31, 2000
11:30 AM-1:30 PM
DOES NICOTINE AFFECT HEARING?
- Ashley Harkrider
- University of Tennessee-Kentucky
- (865-974-1810, aharkrid@utk.edu )
- Nicotine appears to improve the travel of sound through the auditory
system, while at the same time reducing the auditory system's response to
repetitive, distracting
sound. These are the conclusions of a new, exploratory study on 20
nonsmokers with normal hearing. Previous studies in humans have suggested
that nicotine has an effect on the auditory pathway, but most were done with
smokers in which potentially complex withdrawal symptoms during the study
were hard to separate. In addition, it was difficult to know if the effects
were due to nicotine or the many other compounds associated with smoking.
Now, Ashley Harkrider of the University of Tennessee and Craig Champlin of
the University of Texas studied the response of 20 normal-hearing nonsmokers
who received nicotine through the skin. Attaching electrodes to the scalp,
they determined electrical activity at several points in the auditory system
in response to sound. These measurements indicated that nicotine in these
nonsmokers appeared to affect the transmission of information in the
midbrain and cortex. These areas are believed to involve processing of
auditory information related to alertness to changes in the environment and
also to the screening of sensory input. (Paper 4pPP7 at the meeting)
Lay language paper of this talk at http://www.acoustics.org/139th/harkride.htm
ACOUSTICS OF POLITICAL CONVENTIONS
- Jack Randorff
- Texas-based acoustical consultant
- (806-829-2176)
- One of the most challenging settings for a sound engineer is coming up this
summer, as the Republicans and Democrats host their national political
conventions. Speech in these noisy environments must be intelligible both
to the delegates on the floor and to a national television audience.
Discussing his experiences with the 1992 Republican Convention in the
Houston Astrodome, the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego, and
the plans for this summer's Republican National Convention in Philadelphia,
Texas-based acoustical consultant Jack Randorff (806-829-2176) will discuss
how best to manage these unruly sonic environments. It turns out that
techniques introduced by acoustics pioneer Wallace Clement Sabine in the
1890s are still proving to be effective. (2pAA3)
DELIVERING DRUGS WITH IMPLODING BUBBLES
- Evan Unger
- University of Arizona and ImaRx Therapeutics in Tucson
- (520-770-1259, eunger@imarx.com )
- One of the major pursuits in medicine is to deliver drugs to specific,
targeted areas of the body. This approach could greatly improve treatment
of many diseases, including cancer, and this can reduce undesirable side
effects. In a promising avenue towards this goal, Evan Unger of the
University of Arizona and Imarx Therapeutics in Tucson has developed tiny
micron-sized bubbles that carry drugs and genes into cells. Irradiated by
ultrasound, these bubbles can implode next to a cell, temporarily disrupting
the cell membrane and enabling a desired drug or gene to enter the cell.
Unger will discuss the results of studies using specific genes and drugs
including those related to
the anticancer drug interleukin-2. For traditional applications of
therapeutic ultrasound like breaking kidney stones, the microbubbles may
also enable use of lower power levels (2aBB1).
DETECTING LAND MINES
- Waymond Scott
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- (404-894-3048, waymond.scott@ee.gatech.edu )
- Landmines are responsible for an estimated 26,000 injuries and deaths per
year. Detectors for landmines have been developed extensively over the last
50 years, but they traditonally fail under unfavorable conditions. For
example, they often have a tough time distinguishing actual landmines from
other buried clutter. Employing sound waves along with electromagnetic
waves, Waymond Scott of Georgia Tech and his colleagues have developed a
system that can distinguish landmines from buried rocks and sticks. Such a
technique may reduce time-consuming false alarms in current landmine
searches. (4pPA4).
Lay language paper on this talk at http://www.acoustics.org/139th/larson.htm
SOME EXAMPLE PAPERS
REPLY FORM
Please return the REPLY FORM if you are
interested in attending the meeting or receiving a meeting program.
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