Aviat Space Envir Md
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Feb 1976
Pulmonary function evaluation during the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz missions.
Previous experience during Apollo postflight exercise testing indicated no major changes in pulmonary function. Pulmonary function has been studied in detail following exposure to hypoxic and hyperoxic normal gravity environments, but no previous study has reported on men exposed to an environment that was both normoxic at 258 torr total pressure and at null gravity as encountered in Skylab. Forced vital capacity (FVC) was measured during the preflight and postflight periods of the Skylab 2 mission. ⋯ No major preflight-to-postflight changes were observed. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) crewmen were studied using equipment and procedures similar to those employed during Skylab 4. Postflight evaluation of the ASTP crewmen was complicated by their inadvertent exposure to nitrogen tetroxide gas fumes upon reentry.
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Nine Caucasian and 13 Bantu young men, all untrained and unacclimated to heat, were tilted head-up for 20 min before and after 4 h of exercise performed at a load of 35 W at room temperature of 23 degrees C and in heat (33.9 degrees C DB, 32.2 degrees C WB). In heat, all Bantu but only four Caucasians completed the 4 h of exposure. The change in systolic blood pressure from recumbency to orthostasis was negligible in the Bantu and adverse in the Caucasians, during pre-exercise tilting at 23 degrees C. ⋯ Seven subjects in each group fainted during heart-orthostatism, and the difference in systolic blood pressure between recumbency and orthostasis in heat was substantially more adverse in the Caucasians. High relationships were found between exercise heart rate, orthostatic heart rate, and fainting episodes. The results suggested that Bantu make better orthostatic adjestments than Caucasians.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Oct 1975
Comparative StudyAccidental hypothermia: an experimental study of inhalation rewarming.
Inhalation rewarming of hypothermic humans with heated, humidified oxygen was compared to rewarming by immersion in a hot bath. In 10 subjects cooled to approximately 35 degrees C core temperature, there was no significant difference in the amount of temperature "afterdrop" with the two rewarming procedures. ⋯ This method of core rewarming avoids the physiological hazards associated with the peripheral vasodilation which accompanies external rewarming. Moverover the simplicity of application of this method suggests its greater use in both first-aid and hospital treatment of accidental hypothermia.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Sep 1975
Aircraft-type crash injury investigation of a commuter train collision.
Until recently, the investigation of crash injuries and their causes in railroad crashes has been relatively nonexistent. Now, however, with the trend toward a more balanced transportation system, the number of railroad passengers is increasing and there is a concurrent demand for new, rebuilt, or refurbished passenger cars. ⋯ It is unlikely that these priorities will be reversed unless crash injury investigations can demonstrate a specific need for improvements in crashworthiness. In line with this objective, techniques developed in aircraft crash investigations were used to collect and evaluate crash injury and escape data from the collision of two commuter trains.