America’s Veterans Deserve High Quality Anesthesia Care

During Congressional testimony today, the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) urged the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system to provide the same anesthesia care and services to our veterans as is in place in healthcare systems in 49 states. AANA President-Elect Jan Setnor, MSN, CRNA, Col. (Ret), USAFR, NC, in testimony before the House VA Committee Subcommittee on Health, defended Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists’ (CRNAs’) ability to deliver high-quality anesthesia care to all populations, including the complex needs of our nation’s veterans, as a result of their specialized and detailed anesthesia training.

American Heart Association’s ASA adopts Spanish-language R.A.P.I.D.O. acronym for stroke awareness created by UTHealth Houston

R.Á.P.I.D.O., a culturally relevant acronym created under the leadership of Jennifer Beauchamp, PhD, RN, at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston to raise awareness of stroke signs in the Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latino community and save lives, has been adopted by the American Stroke Association (ASA), the organization announced today.

Vocal Tract Size, Shape Dictate Speech Sounds

In JASA, researchers explore how anatomical variations in a speaker’s vocal tract affect speech production. Using MRI, the team recorded the shape of the vocal tract for 41 speakers as the subjects produced a series of representative speech sounds. They averaged these shapes to establish a sound-independent model of the vocal tract. Then they used statistical analysis to extract the main variations between speakers. A handful of factors explained nearly 90% of the differences between speakers.

Mount Sinai Mobile Interventional Stroke Team Travels to Patients, Resulting in Faster Treatment and Better Outcomes

Study finds stroke patients are nearly twice as likely to be functionally independent if treated by a specialized team that travels to them to perform surgical clot removal

American Society of Anesthesiologists Welcomes Masimo as Industry Supporter

The American Society of Anesthesiologists today announced Masimo, a maker of innovative, noninvasive patient monitoring technologies, as an ASA Industry Supporter for the ninth year, supporting the work of the Society and physician anesthesiologists to improve patient safety and reduce reliance on opioids during or following surgical procedures.

American Society of Anesthesiologists Strongly Encourages all Health Care Personnel to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Amid the new surge of COVID-19 cases across the U.S., the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and eight professional societies associated with the specialty, are strongly encouraging the nation’s health care workers and all eligible Americans to get fully vaccinated with one of the COVID-19 vaccines. ASA and the associated societies remind the public that widespread vaccination is the most effective way to reduce illness and death.

American Society of Anesthesiologists Honors Claude Brunson, M.D., FASA, with 2021 Bertram W. Coffer, M.D., Excellence in Government Award

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced Claude Brunson, M.D., FASA, executive director of the Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA), received the 2021 Bertram W. Coffer, M.D., Excellence in Government award in recognition of his tireless leadership in protecting patient safety in Mississippi.

American Society of Anesthesiologists Honors Congresswoman Anna Eshoo with 2021 Excellence in Government Award

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18) received the 2021 Excellence in Government award in recognition of her outstanding leadership in health care. ASA commends Rep. Eshoo’s resolute work on behalf of patients and physicians to ensure access to high-quality health care and for the knowledge and highly effective leadership she brings to Congress.

Save-the-Date: Acoustics in Focus, June 8-10, Offers New Presentation Options

The Acoustical Society of America will hold its 180th meeting June 8-10. To ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, and ASA staff, the June meeting, “Acoustics in Focus,” will be hosted entirely online with new features to ensure an exciting experience for attendees. Reporters are invited to attend the meeting at no cost and participate in a series of virtual press conferences featuring a selection of newsworthy research.

AIP CEO, Others Sign Pledge to Reaffirm Inclusion, Diversity Efforts in Workplace

The executive leadership of the American Institute of Physics and seven of its Member Societies have joined more than 1,500 other leaders in signing the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge, recommitting their organizations to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The pledge, currently signed by CEOs across 85 industries, was created by CEO Action for Racial Equality, a fellowship to advance racial equity through public policy.

Save-the-Date: Virtual Scientific Meeting on Sound, Dec. 7-11

The Acoustical Society of America will hold its 179th meeting Dec. 7-11. To ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, and ASA staff, the December meeting, “Acoustics Virtually Everywhere,” will be hosted entirely online. The conference brings together interdisciplinary groups of scientists spanning physics, medicine, music, psychology, architecture, and engineering to discuss their latest research — including research related to COVID-19.

American Society of Anesthesiologists Named a Best and Brightest Company to Work For® in the Nation, Fourth Year in a Row

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced it has been selected as a 2020 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in the Nation. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Society has received the designation. The honor identifies companies that display a commitment to excellence in operations and employee enrichment that lead to increased productivity and financial performance.

Kick Off International Year of Sound with U.S. Opening Ceremony at American Center for Physics on Feb. 13

The International Year of Sound (IYS 2020) is a global initiative to highlight the importance of sound-related sciences and technologies, and the U.S. opening ceremony will be held Thursday, Feb. 13, at the American Center for Physics. Sponsored by the Acoustical Society of America and its Washington, DC Regional Chapter, the ceremony will have presentations about sound-related issues as well as a public showing of a film highlighting how scientists are reducing the impact of noise pollution on the natural world.

Move Over Jules Verne — Scientists Deploy Ocean Floats to Peer into Earth’s Interior

The release of more than 50 floating sensors, called Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers (MERMAIDs), is increasing the number of seismic stations around the planet. Scientists will use them to clarify the picture of the massive mantel plume in the lower mantel lying below the South Pacific Ocean. This effort will also establish one of the most comprehensive overviews of seismic activity across the globe. Frederik Simons will discuss this international effort during the marine seismoacoustics session of the 178th ASA Meeting.

Stormquakes: Powerful Storms Cause Seafloor Tremors

Stormquakes are a recently discovered phenomenon characterized by seismic activity originating at the ocean floor due to powerful storms. Heavy storms, like hurricanes or nor’easters, can create seismic waves as large as magnitude 3.5 quakes. These tremors caused by the effects of storms on the seafloor are what researchers call stormquakes. Catherine de Groot-Hedlin, who was part of the group that first observed stormquakes, will discuss their properties and meteorological significance at the 178th ASA Meeting.

Fish Scattering Sound Waves Has Impact on Aquaculture

Fisheries acoustics have been studied for over 40 years to assess biomass and optimize aquaculture applications, and researchers in France have examined the phenomenon of how fish scatter acoustic waves in a dense school of fish contained in an open-sea cage. They developed an approach to help overcome issues encountered in aquaculture relating to the evaluation of the total biomass of dense schools of fish. They will discuss their work at the 178th ASA Meeting.

Finding Meaning in ‘Rick and Morty,’ One Burp at a Time

One of the first things viewers of “Rick and Morty” might notice about Rick is his penchant for punctuating his speech with burps. Brooke Kidner has analyzed the frequency and acoustics of belching while speaking, and by zeroing in on the specific pitches and sound qualities of a midspeech burp, aims to find what latent linguistic meaning might be found in the little-studied gastrointestinal grumbles. Kidner will present her findings at the 178th ASA Meeting.

Deployable Human-Scale Immersive Virtual Environments?

Combined with networks of sensors and controllers, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Collaborative Research Augmented Immersive Virtual Environment Laboratory Lab provides its users new modes of interactions between humans and virtual worlds, with experiences ranging from the familiar to the otherwise remote or downright imaginary.

National Park Service Scientists: Does Aircraft Noise Make Birds More Vocal?

National Park Service scientists analyzed nearly 1 million 10-second audio recording samples from national parks across the country and discovered a small increase in bird sound detection when an aircraft sound is also detected. During the 178th ASA Meeting, Kurt Fristrup will present the findings and how human responses to noise might be studied.

ASA, CDC Plan Revamp of Sound-Related Wikipedia Pages for International Year of Sound 2020

As harmful effects of noise are becoming more widely known, popular internet websites are increasingly being used as resources of information. For the International Year of Sound 2020 (#IYS2020), the Acoustical Society of America and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the CDC, took the lead in designing the online event Wiki4YearOfSound2020. The event will facilitate the improvement of Wikipedia content in topics related to acoustics, communication, music, noise and soundscapes.

Ultrasound Techniques Give Warning Signs of Preterm Births

Ultrasound can be used to examine cervix tissue and improve diagnostics, which is essential for predicting preterm births, and ultrasound data is used to compare two techniques for evaluating changes in cervical tissue throughout pregnancy. Researchers are looking at ultrasonic attenuation coefficients that can help scientists characterize cervical changes throughout pregnancy and in preparation for birth before other symptoms, such as contractions or dilation, occur. They will discuss their work at the 178th ASA Meeting.