bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Native bubble nuclei for acoustic cavitation in 3D cell cultures
Authors: Rawnaque Ferdousi Sabera , Simon Julianna C.
Published: July 2024

The safety of biomedical ultrasound largely relies on controlling cavitation bubbles in vivo; however, bubble nuclei in biological tissues remain unexplored compared to water. No previous studies have observed where bubble nuclei form in tissues at a microscopic level or how the variation in tissue biomechanical properties can impact the presence of bubble nuclei for acoustic cavitation. In this study, we evaluated whether bubble nuclei form intracellularly or extracellularly in rat epithelial hepatoma (McA-RH7777) and musculoskeletal myoblast (L6) cell lines (n = 5 each), cultured in 3D using Matrigel™ scaffolds. A 3.68 MHz focused ultrasound transducer with f# = 1 was used to induce low-density cavitation using varying pulse lengths (10 to 100 μs) with pressures ranging up to p+ = 29 and p−  = 12 MPa. The spatial location of the bubbles was monitored microscopically using high-speed photography at 20 000 fps. Despite significant radiation force on the cell scaffold, preliminary results show that acoustic cavitation bubbles (r = 20 μm approx.) preferentially form extracellularly near the cell membranes. This result suggests that the hydrophobicity in the amphipathic cell membrane may contribute to bubble nuclei formation. Future work includes investigating the distribution of bubble nuclei in healthy versus cancerous cell cultures. [Work supported by NSF CAREER 1943937.]
Generalization of deep learning models for hepatic steatosis grading using B-mode ultrasound images
Authors: Vianna Pedro , Qi Yue , Chassé Michael , Wolf Guy , Belilovsky Eugene , Tang An , Cloutier Guy
Published: July 2024

Grayscale ultrasound remains a key modality for screening of hepatic steatosis due to its non-invasiveness and availability. While neural networks have shown promise in this field, their main drawback lies in their inability to generalize to diverse real-world settings. Variations in equipment, acquisition parameters, or population significantly affect model performance. Test-time adaptation, an unsupervised domain adaptation technique, overcomes these limitations by adjusting trained models during inference. Our retrospective study used two datasets collected in separate populations, with different scanners and protocols. We propose an adaptation method, using test-time batch normalization to selectively adjust BatchNorm layers based on test data for predicting steatosis grades. Comparing the non-adapted and adapted models, the mean absolute error (± standard deviation) in grading four severities of steatosis decreased from 0.92 ± 0.21 to 0.64 ± 0.22 . Specifically, for detection of steatosis the area under the curve increased from 0.76 ± 0.05 to 0.95 ± 0.02 when using the adapted model. Adapted models show promising results in improving performance compared to base models when testing data differ significantly from training data. Results suggest that the proposed method effectively addresses domain shift in diagnosing fatty liver using ultrasound images, reducing risks associated with deploying trained models.
Reconstructing the source condition for focused shear wave beams in soft elastic media
Authors: Archer Branch T. , Chao Yu-Hsuan , Cormack John M. , Kim Kang , Spratt Kyle S. , Hamilton Mark F.
Published: July 2024

Shear waves are employed in medical ultrasound imaging because they reveal variations in viscoelastic properties of soft tissue. Focused shear waves produced by a longitudinally vibrating piston at several hundred hertz are investigated here experimentally in soft tissue phantoms and using an analytical model for shear wave beam generation and propagation. Experiments employed a spherically concave piston shaped to focus the shear wave beam at a depth of 4 cm in a soft tissue phantom. Analytical modeling of this data provided a good fit, but required treating the focal length and piston diameter as adjustable parameters. The largest source of error in the modeling is suspected to be that the source condition is assumed to exhibit zero displacement surrounding the piston, whereas the actual condition in the source plane is a traction-free surface surrounding the piston. Here, in order to elucidate the actual source condition, numerical back propagation of field measurements is employed. Simulations show that the shear source condition can be accurately recovered with information related only to the shear wave, i.e., without compressional wave information. Back propagation of measured beams is discussed in the context of more accurately modeling the source condition for future device optimization.
Single and multiple scattering quantitative ultrasound methods in muscle
Authors: Geithner Haley , Muller Marie , Saul Katherine
Published: July 2024

Increased intramuscular fat—or fatty infiltration (FI)—often develops as a consequence of various musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders. FI is an important factor for the assessment and intervention of surgical candidacy. Therefore, there is a need for an accessible, non-invasive quantitative, and objective evaluation of FI in muscle. We can exploit the complexity of ultrasound wave propagation in heterogeneous media to extract quantitative features of the fat distribution in muscle. From finite-difference time-domain simulations conducted with maps created from magnetic resonance imaging scans of healthy and injured shoulders, we acquire radiofrequency (RF) ultrasound data. Single and multiple scattering (SS and MS) components of the RF data are separated by using singular value decomposition and eigenvalue thresholding. Spectral and envelope quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameters are computed from the SS component. MS-based QUS parameters are obtained by extracting the diffusion constant and tracking the SS intensity decay rate. We investigate the relationship between SS and MS-based QUS parameters and an increasing FI, because more FI will lead to more multiple scattering and modified ultrasonic signatures.
Programmable topological insulators based on a reconfigurable electroacoustic material platform
Authors: Leamy Michael
Published: July 2024

Topological insulators (TIs), exhibiting topologically protected edge and interface waves, have recently emerged in phononic systems. Reconfigurabilty is essential for enabling TI-based applications. One potential means for achieving reconfigurability employs shunted piezoelectric (PZT) disks in which a unit cell’s mechanical impedance is altered using negative capacitance circuits. Dynamic reconfigurability and programmability of such material platforms can then be obtained through simple on/off switching. In this vein, we propose and experimentally verify an electroacoustic TI which exhibits programmable topologically protected edge states useful for acoustic multiplexers, demultiplexers, and transistors. This reconfigurable structure is composed of an elastic hexagonal lattice whose unit cell contains two shunted PZT disks, each connected to a negative capacitance circuit by an on/off switch. Closing one or the other circuit results in the breaking of mirror symmetry and yields mechanical behavior analogous to the quantum valley Hall effect. By interfacing two topologically distinct materials, a domain wall is introduced exhibiting a localized interface state topologically protected from backscattering at defects and sharp edges. Through the use of programmable time-division, in which domain walls appear and disappear in time, we demonstrate multiplexing and demultiplexing. We also demonstrate an acoustic transistor using the same programmable platform, before closing with a discussion on future research directions.
Meta-earplugs: Innovative concepts for alleviating the occlusion effect
Authors: Carillo Kévin , Saint-Gaudens Hugo , Sgard Franck , Dazel Olivier , Doutres Olivier
Published: July 2024

Passive earplugs are commonly used to reduce workers' exposure to excessively high noise levels. Yet, they are associated with various discomforts of diverse origins (e.g., acoustic, physical, functional, or psychological). The occlusion effect, characterized by an increased perception of physiological sounds transmitted through bone conduction to the cochlea, presents a challenge, leading to acoustic discomfort, especially at low frequencies (0.1 to 1 kHz) and for shallow or moderate insertion depths of the earplug. Building upon acoustic meta-material principles, this study presents “meta-earplug” concepts designed to alleviate the occlusion effect. The approach focuses on reducing the input impedance of the earplug medial surface either to the characteristic impedance of air, using broadband perfect absorption, or to the acoustic impedance of the open ear canal, resulting in a zero objective occlusion effect. For these purposes, the proposed meta-earplug concepts are made of Helmholtz resonators arranged in parallel or series. Transfer matrix models are used in an optimization process to refine the geometry of the meta-earplugs. Although meta-earplug concepts involving multiple Helmholtz resonators have been preliminarily assessed using an artificial ear, a meta-earplug featuring a single resonator has undergone testing with human participants. The evaluation encompasses both objective measurements and subjective assessments.
Improvement of the sound absorption performance of sandwich panel using inhomogeneous micro-perforations
Authors: Laly Zacharie , Mechefske Chris , Ghinet Sebastian , Kone Tenon Charly , Atalla Noureddine , Ashrafi Behnam
Published: July 2024

Sandwich structures are widely used in several fields because of their mechanical performance with low weight. In this paper, a sandwich panel made of a core and a top and a back panel is investigated using the finite element method. The core consists of 33 hexagonal cells and each cell is connected to a micro-perforation. To improve the sound absorption, inhomogeneous micro-perforations are considered within the top panel. It is shown that with homogenous micro-perforations made of the same diameter, the sound absorption coefficient presents only one resonant peak. When 2, 3, and 6 different sets of micro-perforation diameters are considered, the sound absorption coefficient presents, respectively, 2, 3, and 6 resonance peaks where the surface impedance is close to that of the air. When each micro-perforation diameter is different resulting in inhomogeneous distribution of micro-perforations within the top panel, the sound absorption frequency band is widened and the absorption coefficient value increases while without micro-perforations the absorption coefficient of the sandwich panel is zero over the entire frequency range. The studied structure can offer high mechanical stiffness and good sound absorption performance.
Protection exhibited by hearing protection devices using test fixtures under extended shock tube exposure ranges
Authors: Argo Theodore F. , Reeser Kiersten , Podolski Alexandria , Brunstad Nicholas , Cozza Santino , Rule Gregory T.
Published: July 2024

Hearing protection devices (HPDs) are used in a variety of environments to mitigate the risk of hearing injury, particularly in environments with pervasive impulsive noise. Evaluation of HPD performance for these conditions can be performed with acoustic test fixtures to ensure human subjects are not exposed to injurious levels of noise. Impulse Peak Insertion Loss (IPIL) and Impulse Spectral Insertion Loss (ISIL), as defined in ASA/ANSI S12.42, are used to quantify and compare performance of HPDs in exposure environments created by different impulsive sources. To simulate a range of exposures relevant across industries, multiple shock tubes were used to generate waveforms with A-durations ranging from 0.1 to 6.0 ms and peak pressures ranging from 130 to 183 dB. Protection provided by each device varied depending on the source conditions with passive and active devices producing fundamentally different responses depending on source characteristics. Ultimately, evaluation of devices under a variety of impulsive noise conditions allows for a more representative evaluation of HPD performance, bridging the gap between standard testing protocols and real-world acoustic environments, thus enabling better informed HPD selection.
Design and evaluation of a noise dosimeter integrated into an ear-muff hearing protector
Authors: Smalt Christopher J. , Brooks Chris , Yuan Eric , Clavier Odile
Published: July 2024

In impulse-noise environments, such as during weapons training, it can be difficult to characterize an individual’s true cumulative exposure, and consequently their risk of hearing loss. Direct measurements of sound pressure in the ear canal underneath hearing protection are ideal for assessing the protected noise exposure because the effects of distance, orientation, protection, etc., are automatically included in the measurement. However, these types of measurements are not commonly collected outside the laboratory. In this research, we develop and evaluate a portable a noise dosimeter that is integrated into a commonly used muff-based hearing protector (3M™ PELTOR™ ComTac™ V). The design of the device aims to simultaneously measure both the external and the under-the-muff sound pressures in a portable, wearable form-factor. First, we demonstrate that the modifications do not affect the hearing protector attenuation using an acoustic test fixture and a fit-check system across 10 refits (p = 0.14). Next, we show through testing with a shock-tube and acoustic test fixture that it is possible to obtain valid pressure measurements through this system. Finally, we report on initial field testing during weapons training. Future application of this technology can be used to develop damage risk criteria based on in-ear measurements that will provide for more accurate individualized risk assessment.
Large-chamber reciprocity calibration for microbarometers
Authors: Smith Chad M. , Gabrielson Thomas B. , Merchant B. J.
Published: July 2024

The Penn State Applied Research Laboratory (PSU) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have implemented a reciprocity-based primary calibration technique in SNL’s infrasound calibration chamber. The goal in this work is primary calibration of microbarometers from 0.01 to 10.0 Hz. The National Center for Physical Acoustics at the University of Mississippi designed and built the chamber, which SNL has modified and currently operates. This chamber incorporates two moving coil loudspeakers capable of operating in receive and transmit mode. PSU developed the calibration technique and the required electronics to take advantage of these two reciprocal loudspeakers, while SNL installed this hardware and made the required test measurements. Because the chamber is large (1400 l), the chamber volume dominates the acoustical admittance thereby reducing the dependence of the calibration on the physical characteristics of the loudspeakers and reducing calibration uncertainty. However, laboratory tests have found increased uncertainty at very low frequencies ( < 0.05 Hz). This is due to reduced loudspeaker response and increasing noise within the chamber at these frequencies. This talk will discuss the large-chamber reciprocity method, important considerations for reducing uncertainty in this implementation, and limitations of this method.
Infrasound source localization and correlation with seismic sources
Authors: Kim Keehoon
Published: July 2024

Infrasound is widely used as a geophysical monitoring tool to detect and locate events of interest. Direct infrasound from atmospheric pressure disturbances can propagate long distances, allowing for reliable source localization. Infrasound can also be generated by underground sources which generally produce seismic waves in the solid Earth. Atmospheric pressures are coupled with ground motions induced by underground explosions or earthquakes and propagate in the atmosphere as infrasound. This ground-coupled infrasound can be used to locate the sources of atmospheric pressure disturbances and complement seismic observation to improve seismic source locations. It is well known that near-surface seismic sources are highly correlated with the infrasound source locations, but the correlation variance depending on source depths has not been explored extensively. In this study, we compare seismic and infrasound source locations of underground events detected by local and regional network in Utah, USA. Infrasound source locations are determined by back-azimuths and travel times on infrasound arrays and compared with seismic event catalogs. This systematic comparison for many seismic events will help us to understand statistical properties of seismic and acoustic source correlation.
Assessing perceptual performance of non-native English speakers
Authors: Gordon-Salant Sandra
Published: July 2024

About 20% of the U.S. population, many of whom are foreign born, speaks a language other than English in the home. Non-native English speakers are known to have difficulty understanding spoken English, especially in noise. For this reason, they are often excluded from psychophysical perceptual experiments. However, the perceptual abilities of these individuals are important to characterize, particularly because solutions to their unique communication difficulties are important to establish. This presentation will review perceptual data from a series of experiments that examined speech recognition in degraded listening conditions and psychophysical performance on basic auditory processing tasks. Listeners in all experiments included young adults with normal hearing whose native language was either English or Spanish. Some of the experiments also included older adults with normal hearing or hearing impairment who learned English as a second language. The results show that non-native speakers of English have considerable difficulty on all complex speech recognition tasks, which is exacerbated with advanced age. Additionally, non-native speakers of English do not perform as well as native speakers of English on some basic psychoacoustic measures. These results have implications for evaluating performance of non-native speakers in the lab and in the clinical setting.
Relationship between intelligibility, naturalness, and listening effort of source-separated speech
Authors: Dousti Behdad , Goldhor Richard , Dugan Sarah , MacAuslan Joel , Boyce Suzanne
Published: July 2024

Various signal processing techniques have been proposed for separating a speech signal from an acoustic environment that includes other sound sources. One important measure of success of a source separation method is the intelligibility of the extracted speech signal, determined as the fraction of intended words correctly recognized. However, even for extracted signals with similar intelligibility, listeners may experience different reactions to the result. Speech samples extracted by different techniques may differ in the degree to which they sound pleasant or natural to a listener, and/or the degree of cognitive effort required to understand them. We present results of an experiment in which listeners were presented with context-free spondees recorded in a noisy environment and subsequently processed in various ways to enhance the speech and suppress the noise. Listeners transcribed the speech and also judged the “naturalness” and “listening effort” of the speech. Intentionally, stimulus intelligibility varied widely—as did naturalness and effort. We present and discuss the measured relationship among intelligibility, perceived naturalness, and reported listening effort.
Variability and influence of fisheries acoustic echogram annotations on machine learning applications
Authors: Lee Wu-Jung , Staneva Valentina , Tuguinay Caesar
Published: July 2024

High-frequency echosounders are the workhorse in fisheries and marine ecological surveys. Due to the inherent complexity of biological aggregations and ambiguity in interpreting echoes from species of similar size and anatomical compositions, echogram annotation typically requires combining spectral information referencing scattering physics, biological ground-truth from nearby net-trawls, and empirical school morphology of specific fish species. Here, we investigate the variability of echogram annotations and its influence on machine learning applications using data from the biennial Pacific hake acoustic-trawl survey. Compared to many other fish species, hake tend to possess less defined school boundaries with variable acoustic features and often form mixed-species aggregations in the mesopelagic. Nonnegative matrix factorization and hierarchical clustering of volume backscattering strength (Sv) distributions across the 18, 38, and 120 kHz channels revealed a spectrum of annotation region types that reflect differences in morphological and acoustic features as well as differences in annotator style. This variability likely contributes to the observed variable segmentation behavior of deep learning models trained using this dataset. These results highlight the importance of considering the diversity of echogram annotation, its connection to scattering physics and the underlying aggregation composition, and the incorporation of such information in developing machine learning models.
Physics-anchored masked autoencoder for efficient sonogram simulation
Authors: Choi Jongkwon , Kim Geunhwan , Choo Youngmin , Hong wooyoung , Lee Keunhwa
Published: July 2024

We present a technique for efficiently creating sonogram such as LOFAR and DEMON, by combining physical acoustic modeling and data-driven method of masked autoencoder. This technique involves two stages. First, in the given the ocean environment, the physical model accurately calculates a restricted portion of entire sonogram image. Next, the data-driven model based on masked autoencoder creates an image of remaining region. By employing an iterative decoding structure and controlling the weight of the physical loss term, the reconstruction accuracy of masked autoencoder is improved. The results are compared with those of a pure physical model, a hybrid model with original masked autoencoder, and a hybrid model with traditional PCA technique. We will discuss the practicality of the proposed technique in terms of accuracy and calculation performance, as well as the applicablity of real data using Deepship dataset. [Work supported by the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT) grant funded by the Korea government (Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)) (No. KRIT-CT-22-052, Physics-guided Intelligent Sonar Signal Detection Research Laboratory).]
Comparison of reverberation times and average absorption coefficients in classrooms, based on in situ measurements versus calculated from material databases as during design
Authors: Kumar Sanjay , Wang Lily M.
Published: July 2024

Reverberation time (RT) is an acoustic descriptor used widely by acousticians for characterizing indoor acoustic environments, as specified in standards such as ANSI S12.60 “Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools”. It is often calculated in the design phase for simple spaces by applying equations like Sabine’s or Eyring’s, requiring information on room dimensions and the surface areas and acoustic absorption coefficients across frequency of room materials. In this project, measured RTs from a recent survey of over 200 K-12 classrooms are compared against the RTs predicted across speech frequency octave bands using Sabine’s and Eyring’s equations. Agreement between predicted and measured values varies based on the octave band and material selection. The working group currently revising ANSI S12.60 is considering providing guidance on the desired average absorption coefficient in classrooms, rather than reverberation time, so this study also compares the average absorption coefficients for the classrooms. The coefficients are back-calculated from the measured RTs using Sabine’s and Eyring’s equations, and compared against those calculated from surface dimensions and commonly available material absorption coefficients.
Five years of data collection, student theses, and disseminating information soundscape studies in the Gulf of Tribugá, Colombia
Authors: Seger Kerri D. , Perazio Christina E. , Farias Curtidor Nohelia , Huertas-Amaya L. V. , Rey-Baquero Maria P. , Norena Daniel , Palanca Mar , Brown Astarte , Ramirez Caycedo Valentina , Botero-Acosta Natalia
Published: July 2024

In 2018, the Ports, Humpbacks, y Sound In Colombia (PHySIC) Project began to record soundscapes in the Gulf of Tribugá, Northern Colombian Pacific, for the first time. This was of interest to local conservation groups who were against building a megaport in the native mangrove habitat that provides livelihoods for the people of Chocó. Five years later, no port has been built, documentaries about the ecosystem have won awards, before-after/control-impact studies have been done on fish and humpback whale acoustic behavior, delphinid call catalogs have been assembled, propagation modeling has mapped acoustic connectivity, and a new vocalization category for humpback whales has been discovered. The work has been executed through internships, and undergraduate and masters theses at various universities. This project has a variety of data-to-information challenges: storing data for access across various countries, navigating data analysis and dissemination in two languages, transferring knowledge as students graduate, and tailoring results for general conservation groups and policymaking audiences. To celebrate the colleagueship and academic successes of the first five years of PHySIC, this talk will describe the list of discoveries and studies done in the Gulf of Tribugá, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in the summer of 2023.
Investigation of duty cycles for measuring activity in passive acoustic bat monitoring
Authors: Krishna Aditya , Lee Wu-Jung
Published: July 2024

Echolocating bats are important bioindicators that can be monitored effectively using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) techniques. In PAM, duty-cycle-based temporal subsampling is often used to collect data at ON/OFF intervals to circumvent the limitations of recorder battery and storage capacity to enable long-term monitoring. However, potential bias introduced by temporal subsampling has not been systematically investigated for bat monitoring. Here, we use continuous audio recordings from the Union Bay Natural Area in Seattle in Summer 2022 to simulate the effects of temporal subsampling using different duty cycle parameters. We detected bat calls automatically using a deep learning model [Aodha et al., 2022, BioRxiv] and calculated three metrics as proxy for bat activity: number of calls, Activity Index (AI), and Bout Time Percentage (BTP). We found that although the number of calls and AI are more readily computable using the detected calls, BTP is likely a more accurate measure that relies less on the performance of automated call detection methods. In addition, reduced sampling for only a portion of the night (e.g., 4 hrs) was generally inadequate for capturing bat activity. Our results suggest that considering species-specific acoustic characteristics is crucial for reducing sampling bias for PAM of bats.
Ultrasparse ultrasonic synthetic aperture beamforming via passive sensing
Authors: Lanza di Scalea Francesco , Huang Chengyang , Hosseinzadeh Ali
Published: July 2024

This presentation will describe the implementation of a passive ultrasonic sensing technique to achieve ultrasparse-transmission Synthetic Aperture Focusing (SAF) with Full Matrix Capture (FMC) capabilities. SAF ultrasonic arrays with sparse transmissions have been employed in both medical and industrial NDT imaging to increase imaging speed and simplify multiplexer hardware by reducing the number of high-voltage output channels, at the expense of a reduced beamforming matrix. A technique based on passive reconstruction of the ultrasonic Impulse Response Function (IRF) between two receivers will be demonstrated to create a “virtual” FMC capture while keeping a minimum number of physical transmitters, hence an ultrasparse-transmit array with full synthetic focusing capabilities. Several key steps of this passive beamforming approach will be discussed from both a theoretical and an experimental standpoint. The technique will be demonstrated for the imaging of drilled holes in an aluminum block using a linear, 64-element transducer array and only 1–4 physical transmitters. While the results presented have direct application to NDT imaging of solids, many of the aspects can be potentially applied to ultrafast imaging in the medical field, as well as to seismic interferometry for the health monitoring of civil structures.
Three-dimensional coherence beamforming using row-column arrays and matrix arrays
Authors: Hansen-Shearer Joseph Thomas T. , Toulemonde Matthieu , Riemer Kai , Huang Biao , Tonko Johanna , Yan Jipeng , Lerendegui Marcelo , Qingyuan Tan , Dunsby Christopher , Tang Meng-Xing , Weinberg Peter
Published: July 2024

Much advancement in 3D ultrasound imaging has been achieved in recent years, allowing for its implementation in many research capacities. Translation of 3D imaging to a clinical setting has been hindered by small fields of view, expensive equipment and poor image quality. For ultrafast imaging, these challenges are accentuated by the need for a small number of transmission events. The row-column array is an emerging technology which can produce large field-of-view 3D ultrasound images, however, they can produce major artefacts when operated at high frame rates. Here we present some techniques which have been developed to improve the image quality and reduce the artifact level of row-column arrays by exploiting the incoherence of the transmission schemes. Presented will be the Row-Column specific Frame Multiply and Sum beamforming along with a technique for implementing Acoustic Sub-Aperture Processing which improves signal-to-noise ratio whilst also increasing the effective frame rate. Additional coherence-based algorithms, which have previously been developed for 2D imaging, are implemented and presented here for 3D imaging using a matrix array probe. All of the above algorithms have been optimised for super-resolution but should improve all types of 3D ultrasound imaging.
On the elements of an excellent research paper
Authors: Yu Alfred
Published: July 2024

Journal publications play a key role in the dissemination of research findings in the biomedical acoustics community. However, authors are often unsure of how to write a paper that will be considered as excellent by their peers, because the notion of excellence is arguably subjective and ill-defined. To demystify such an issue, this presentation will discuss four major elements (novelty, significance, rigor, writing quality) that are often found in excellent journal papers in biomedical ultrasound. Since 2022, these four elements have been adopted as the peer review criteria by the flagship ultrasonics journal of the IEEE press. Multi-day writing workshops with interactive, hands-on tutorials have been designed to engage prospective authors on how to plan and prepare journal manuscripts with the four elements of excellence. Reviewer training workshops have also been offered to inform journal reviewers about these evaluation criteria and expectations. Through these initiatives, we aim to establish a quality-driven publishing emphasis within the biomedical acoustics community. Achieving so will have long-term benefits on the reputation and growth of this research field.
Systematic literature review in five steps
Authors: Arvanitis Costas
Published: July 2024

A systematic review requires a considerable amount of time and resources. But if conducted properly it gives the opportunity to (i) summarize the current state of the art, (ii) identify the next questions that need to be answered to move one’s field forward, (iii) Inform one’s own research, (iv) support effective writing, and (v) receive recognition from your peers. This presentation will discuss the following five steps for conducting effective systematic literature review: (i) frame the question for the review; (ii) identify relevant work; (iii) assess the quality of studies; (iv) summarize the evidence; and (v) interpret the findings. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagram and checklist will be presented. A case study related to the estimation of cavitation thresholds during microbubble-enhanced focused ultrasound targeted drug delivery in the brain from a recent review paper by the author (Schoen et al., Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2022) will be discussed.
Writing for a “different” audience
Authors: Setzer Kat , Dent Micheal , Popper Arthur N.
Published: July 2024

Written communication is a critical part of scholarship. However, scholarly writing is often incomprehensible to a broad audience, though we know that broader communication has great value in helping non-experts understand and support science. To bring acoustics to a larger audience, ASA publishes Acoustics Today (AT) to communicate the breadth of the field to members and to the public. To be successful, AT articles must be written so that they are scholarly, but also readable, understandable, and engaging to a college freshman, a newspaper reporter, a regulator, a funder, or one’s bosses. Thus, a challenge for those of us working on AT is to help authors understand how to mold their ideas and material to our audience. Most authors find writing for AT a challenge since it is so different from their normal writing. As a result, we may go through many iterations of an article to help authors reach our audience. However, the reward is not only a well-written article that authors can share with colleagues in other disciplines, their bosses, and their parents, but many report that they have a new understanding of communicating with a wider audience.
How to write a peer-polished proposal in 15 weeks
Authors: Holland Christy K.
Published: July 2024

Creating a meticulously crafted proposal requires a strategic approach and systematic planning. An overview of a semester-long graduate course on how to write successful NIH grant applications will be provided. Particular emphasis is given to developing proposals for the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/fellowships/F31) or to disease-based foundations. The writing process involves drafting components in several key phases. The initial four weeks focus on understanding the proposal requirements, identifying the target audience, organizing a brilliant biosketch and remarkable resources and environment pages, and establishing a clear hypothesis and specific aims. An extensive literature review is conducted in the subsequent two weeks to contextualize the proposal, identify a gap in knowledge, and stress the significance and innovation of the proposed work. Weeks 7 and 8 are devoted to the development of a robust research approach and methodology, including data collection, analysis techniques, expected outcomes, potential challenges, and alternative approaches. The review process, refinement and enhancement take center stage for the remaining weeks. Peer review and feedback mechanisms are incorporated to iteratively improve each proposal's coherence, logic, and persuasiveness. This systematic 15-week timeline emphasizes iterative refinement through peer input, ensuring a polished proposal ready for submission.
Empowering research: The role of writing accountability groups
Authors: Al Rifai Nour , Smith Eric , Tap Danielle N. , Wess Yolanda Y. , Haworth Kevin J.
Published: July 2024

Productive writing is a challenge for researchers balancing multiple roles. Writing Accountability Groups (WAGs) can increase productivity by providing dedicated writing time. Patterned after a validated structure established by Kimberly Skarupski, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine), the University of Cincinnati Department of Internal Medicine initiated four 10-week-long WAGs. Weekly virtual one-hour writing sessions were organized by staff with protected time and included an emphasis on principles of time management. Two WAGs were for junior faculty and two for residents/postdoctoral fellows, with 3–6 participants each. Attendance was approximately 80%, and 18 of 20 participants continued for the entire 10-week period. 14 of 20 participants completed a post-WAG survey. 85% reported improved time management skills. Additionally, most participants felt the WAG provided communal support and accountability. Rigorous writing project completion tracking is a future goal. Motivated by the experience, one postdoctoral fellow participant established a laboratory-based WAG. The participants included one faculty member, two postdocs, one Ph.D. student, two research staff, and ten undergraduate students. WAG participation was 50 ± 17 % over 44 weeks. In summary, similar to the experience of Skarupski, the UC WAGs facilitated consistent focus on writing, fostered a sense of community, and provided accountability.
Impedance phase-dependent correction factor for a tonehole model
Authors: Prairie Michael
Published: July 2024

The upper and lower end corrections of an open tonehole in a woodwind instrument are often accommodated by adding them to the physical thickness of the wall to create an effective thickness used in calculating the impedance of the tonehole. A rough estimate of the correction often used is 1.5 time the tonehole radius (1.5b), while other more rigorous treatments yield values in this vicinity. These values are usually independent of frequency or are constrained to a range of geometric tonehole and bore dimensions. The data from this study showed a strong and significant frequency dependency that produced a large range of correction values between about 0.5b and 1.5b. This variation correlated with the phase of the impedance of the highest open tonehole, and generally increased with increasing sounding frequency. This paper will discuss the conditions under which the measurements were made and how the correction factors were obtained, and will propose how the observed frequency dependence can be incorporated into the correction factor through the phases of the impedances of the open toneholes.
Some observations on the sound powers of flute combination tones produced by singing while playing
Authors: Saenger Katherine L.
Published: July 2024

"Singing while playing” is an extended flute technique that can produce weak, but audible, combination tones that are heard along with the note being sounded on the flute and the note that the player is singing or humming. The present work was motivated by an interest in obtaining a quantitative understanding of the factors determining the sound powers of these combination tones in hopes of making them louder and/or more audible. The tones under study were produced in a conventional flute powered by an artificial blower apparatus whose pressure/flow could be modulated at audio frequencies (by a speaker connected to the gasline) to mimic player singing. While quantitative results were elusive, one takeaway finding was clear: The combination tones are loudest when they have a frequency that aligns with one of the flute's passive resonances, a situation which can be facilitated with the use of forked fingerings that preserve the strength and position of the resonance used for the sounded flute note while shifting the positions of the unused resonances so that one of them better coincides with the frequency of the desired combination tone.
Use-case study for a smaller German community and beyond, with realistic traffic scenario and three alternative vertiport locations
Authors: Bauer Michael W.
Published: July 2024

Future individual air traffic will be based on air vehicles, such as drones and air-taxis. While drones, e.g., for delivery of goods may be processed decentralized, passenger air-taxis will be operated at vertiports in city centers, e.g., connected to big rail hubs, close to civil airports, but also in smaller communities in the vicinity of larger cities. Here, air-taxi noise—mainly take-off and approach—can impact residential areas inside the community but also in its neighborhood. In cooperation with a midsized community near to Munich/Germany, three potential vertiport locations in the community’s area are investigated under the aspect of noise and potentially related noise annoyance. To create a use-case with results, transferable to similar situations, realistic numbers for daily air-taxi movements between the use-case vertiport and five neighbor cities are included. These connections imply two different types of air-taxis: one tilt-wing eVTOL for the ranges up to 75 miles, and one multicopter aircraft serving on distances up to 30 miles. The UAM noise use-case study is performed for all three vertiport positions, optimized flight paths, and different flight profiles. The results regarding community noise, but also for en-route noise between the neighboring vertiports, are discussed in this paper.
Soundscape, attention and cognitive load
Authors: Lee Adrian K. C.
Published: July 2024

The cocktail party problem was first coined by E Colin Cherry in 1953 and it describes the archetypal challenge of listening in a complex soundscape (e.g., multiple talkers conversing vying for your attention in a crowded restaurant). In the past two decades, the field of psychoacoustics has steadily marched towards understanding how we listen in these naturalistic environments. Many studies have focused on studying the psychological and physiological aspects of auditory scene analysis and object-based attention as well as how these processes differ in typical listeners from others with listening difficulties. In recent years, there has also been a burgeoning interest in understanding how cognitive load and listening effort affect our ease of listening in different situational contexts (e.g., talking while driving). In this talk, a brief survey of modern psychoacoustic experimental approaches will be presented in the hope to spur new collaborative research ideas with those who study soundscape.
Richard Raspet's contributions to our understanding of low-frequency wind noise
Authors: Webster Jeremy
Published: July 2024

Richard Raspet's research in wind noise spanned three decades and took the acoustics community from a rudimentary understanding of how low-frequency wind noise is generated in pressure sensors to a firm theoretical understanding derived from first principles in fluid dynamics. This talk will present a technical overview of his work starting with early quantitative studies, progressing through the development of the theoretical framework for wind noise studies, and finishing with a summary of research including wind noise at the ground surface, wind noise under tree canopies, wind fences, and wind induced seismic noise.
Towards a rapid-distortion theory model of turbulent flow for wind noise within an impermeable windscreen
Authors: Ochi Gordon M. , Hart Carl R.
Published: July 2024

Current models for the wind noise reduction (WNR) of microphone windscreens in atmospheric turbulence generally work under the assumption of a homogeneous surface pressure averaging theorem. Under this theorem, the surface pressures should average in such a way that the noise spectrum at low wavenumbers relative to the windscreen dimension should approach that of an unscreened microphone. Contrasting this, experiments have actually observed a significant WNR at these wavenumbers. In this work, we examine a Rapid Distortion Theory model for linking turbulent distortion to the unsteady pressure received inside the windscreen. The theoretical background and underlying assumptions of Rapid Distortion Theory are examined in detail [R. Zamponi, et al., J. Fluid Mech. 915:A27 (2021)], then results for the case of an impermeable cylinder are presented. Future work on the project involving both theoretical development and experimental verification are then discussed.
Lack of racial diversity in language science journals
Authors: Tobin Olivia , Bassuk Paras B. , Chiu Samantha , Kutlu Ethan
Published: July 2024

Numerous studies and reports have pointed out the lack of diversity in scientific spaces (Liu et al., 2023; Singh et al., 2023) which has a direct impact on shaping our research practices, questions, and scientific pursuits in general (Kutlu and Hayes-Harb, 2023). While the lack of diversity in science has been documented widely, there is no report on the diversity of editorial board members of language science journals, who play an integral role in diversifying science. This ongoing study aims to document to what extent language science journals engage with diversity and how diversity is represented in these spaces. To achieve this goal, we looked at 100 language journals and their editorial board members list. We hand-coded the editorial board members’ perceived gender and race. We used multiple sources to check our coding (e.g., Wikipedia, websites, videos). Our preliminary findings suggest that while there is gender balance in editorial spaces, there was a significant lack of racial representation in editorial space (i.e., more White scholars in editorial spaces). Our next step is to collect archival data on editorial board members, document systematic inequalities, and provide suggestions for how racial diversity can be increased in editorial spaces.
Study of defect mode characteristics in acoustic metamaterials
Authors: Ramakrishnan Vinod , Matlack Kathryn
Published: July 2024

The development of novel material architectures incorporating unconventional geometric designs (e.g., microstructural instabilities, multi-length scale geometries), or adaptive constituent elements (e.g., piezo electrics) has created a powerful tool to design metamaterials for efficient dispersion manipulation and precise control of acoustic waves. Various aspects of the acoustic dispersion (e.g., wave speed, damping ratio, band gap position and widths) have been investigated with a primary focus on wave characteristics in the acoustic pass bands, promoting their utility in applications, e.g., wave guiding, energy harvesting. However, recent studies on topological waves, truncation and bandgap resonances have highlighted potential benefits of leveraging acoustic waves in the bandgap, e.g., signal propagation, passive flow control. Motivated by this, we explore the dispersion behavior of finite mass-spring-damper acoustic metamaterial models with material defects. The eigen analysis reveals a (defect) resonance in the acoustic band gap, producing a highly localized defect mode. The dependence of this resonance frequency, the degree of localization and phase response of the eigenmode, on the defect parameters are explored. Subsequently, the potential utility of these defect modes in flow control applications is also explored and presented.
Perception of age, gender, and talker height from children’s vowels
Authors: Assmann Peter F. , Thomas Abbey L. , Barreda Santiago
Published: July 2024

In his 1989 review of vowel perception [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 85, 2088–2113], Terry Nearey observed that the acoustic properties of vowels vary substantially across talkers due to differences in talker size. Taller speakers tend to have lower formant frequencies and lower fundamental frequencies than shorter speakers, and listeners appear to take these relationships into account in vowel identification. In this talk, we follow up some of the questions raised in that paper, reviewing recent findings on the perception of age, gender, and talker height in children’s voices. Children exhibit substantial age-related changes in fundamental and formant frequencies due to growth of the larynx and vocal tract, presenting an interesting opportunity to explore the perceptual consequences of these changes. Listeners’ perceptual judgments of age and gender reveal complex interdependencies, consistent with the idea that these indexical attributes are jointly estimated, in a manner that reflects their shared dependence on acoustic parameters related to perceived talker height.