Aerosp Med Hum Perform
September 2023
In response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), travelers are typically subject to quarantine, which is often associated with poorer mental health (MH). While the protective benefits of community-based exercise are widely recognized, the degree to which this extends to the confined setting is unknown. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effect of exercise on MH in isolating or quarantining adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPilot fatigue is a significant concern in aviation, where efforts are directed at improving rosters, developing models, and improving countermeasures. Little attention has been given to in-flight detection of fatigue/drowsiness. The aims of this research were to determine whether drowsiness is an issue and explore whether infrared reflectance oculography could prove useful for continuous inflight monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAll-optical switching of magnetization has great potential for use in future ultrafast and energy efficient nanoscale magnetic storage devices. So far, research has been almost exclusively focused on rare-earth based materials, which limits device tunability and scalability. Here, we show that a perpendicularly magnetized synthetic ferrimagnet composed of two distinct transition metal ferromagnetic layers, NiPt and Co, can exhibit helicity independent magnetization switching.
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August 2021
Aerobatic flight operations involve a higher level of risk than standard flight operations. Aerobatics imposes considerable stresses on both the aircraft and the pilot. The purpose of this study was to analyze civilian aerobatic aircraft accidents in Australia, with particular emphasis on the underlying accident causes and survival outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhen an aircraft banks pilots will reflexively tilt their heads in the opposite direction, known as the optokinetic cervical reflex (OKCR). This is elicited by the appearance of the horizon and is an attempt to keep the moving horizon stable on the pilots retina to help maintain spatial orientation. The appearance of the horizon and the visual environment changes at higher altitudes and there is little research studying the effects of this.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
November 2020
Microwave and heat-assisted magnetic recordings are two competing technologies that have greatly increased the capacity of hard disk drives. The efficiency of the magnetic recording process can be further improved by employing non-collinear spin structures that combine perpendicular and in-plane magnetic anisotropy. Here, we investigate both microwave and optically excited magnetization dynamics in [Co/Pt]/NiFe exchange spring samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsulating antiferromagnets have recently emerged as efficient and robust conductors of spin current. Element-specific and phase-resolved x-ray ferromagnetic resonance has been used to probe the injection and transmission of ac spin current through thin epitaxial NiO(001) layers. The spin current is found to be mediated by coherent evanescent spin waves of GHz frequency, rather than propagating magnons of THz frequency, paving the way towards coherent control of the phase and amplitude of spin currents within an antiferromagnetic insulator at room temperature.
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September 2019
Adverse weather and poor visual cues are common elements in night-time Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operations contributing to spatial disorientation and fatal accidents. Pilots are required to make weather-related preflight risk assessments to accept or reject a flight. This study's aim was to develop predictive risk assessment tools based on historical accident data to assist the decision-making process.
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April 2019
In the United States, the proportion of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) fatal accidents remained unchanged despite an overall decreasing accident rate. Previous research showed night HEMS operations influenced fatal outcomes. Pilots with <6 yr of HEMS domain task experience (low-DTE) had a higher likelihood of a night operational accident in conditions associated with adverse weather.
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September 2018
Introduction: In the United States, between 1995 and 2013, night-time visual flight rules (VFR) Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) fatal accidents mostly encountered adverse weather, and pilots with <6 yr of HEMS experience showed higher likelihood of a night operational accident. One adverse weather indicator is cloud-ceiling likelihood indicated by temperature dew point spread (TDPS). This study investigated the relationship between TDPS and HEMS pilot years of experience.
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June 2018
Introduction: Flying a helicopter is a complex psychomotor skill requiring constant control inputs from pilots. A deterioration in psychomotor performance of a helicopter pilot may be detrimental to operational safety. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that psychomotor performance deteriorates over time during sustained operations and that the effect is more pronounced in the feet than the hands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Military helicopters are increasingly agile and capable of producing significant G forces experienced in the longitudinal (z) axis of the body in a head-to-foot direction (+Gz). Dehydration and fatigue can adversely affect a pilot's +Gz tolerance, leading to +Gz-induced symptomatology occurring at lower +Gz levels than expected. The potential for adverse consequences of +Gz exposure to affect flight safety in military helicopter operations needs to be recognized.
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June 2016
Introduction: In the United States, accident and fatality rates in helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) operations increase significantly under nighttime environmentally hazardous operational conditions. Other studies have found pilots' total flight hours unrelated to HEMS accident outcomes. Many factors affect pilots' decision making, including their experience.
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April 2016
Introduction: Flying a helicopter is a complex psychomotor skill. Fatigue is a serious threat to operational safety, particularly for sustained helicopter operations involving high levels of cognitive information processing and sustained time on task. As part of ongoing research into this issue, the object of this study was to develop a field-deployable helicopter-specific psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) for the purpose of daily performance monitoring of pilots.
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July 2015
Introduction: Helicopter flying is a complex psychomotor task requiring continuous control inputs to maintain stable flight and conduct maneuvers. Flight safety is impaired when this psychomotor performance is compromised. A comprehensive understanding of the psychomotor performance of helicopter pilots, under various operational and physiological conditions, remains to be developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAviat Space Environ Med
October 2013
Introduction: The modern ejection seat has evolved to a high standard of sophistication, significantly expanding the safe ejection envelope. Low-level ejections are at the margins of this envelope and the outcome depends on numerous factors, including aircraft attitude, airspeed, and vertical rate of descent. The purpose of this study was to analyze all published ejection injury studies, with particular emphasis on altitude at the time of ejection, to determine if low-level ejections have an overall higher fatality rate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is not known whether the mild hypoxia experienced by passengers during commercial air travel triggers hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and increases pulmonary artery pressure in flight. Insidious pulmonary hypertensive responses could endanger susceptible passengers who have cardiopulmonary disease or increased hypoxic pulmonary vascular sensitivity. Understanding these effects may improve pre-flight assessment of fitness-to-fly and reduce in-flight morbidity and mortality.
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August 2011
Introduction: Modern super agile fighter aircraft have significantly expanded maneuverability envelopes, often involving very high angles of attack (AOA) in the post-stall region. One such maneuver is the high AOA velocity vector roll. The geometry of this flight maneuver is such that during the roll there is a significant lateral C load imposed on the unrestrained head-neck complex of the pilot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAviat Space Environ Med
August 2010
Aviat Space Environ Med
August 2009
Introduction: Fighter pilots report G tolerance increases with regular exposure. Our previous work has shown that the cardiovascular system of +Gz-adapted fighter pilots responds differently to orthostatic challenges than that of non-pilots. A +Gz training effect in pilots after repetitive +Gz exposure has also been shown.
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