Team Effectiveness and Person-Environment Adaptation in an Analog Lunar Habitat.

Maintaining psychologically adaptive relationships among team members operating in an isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environment for an extended period continues to be a challenge, with relevance for long-duration missions to the Moon and beyond. Two male architects were studied who lived and worked over a 60-d period in a polar ICE environment in a lunar analog habitat they designed and helped construct. Psychological measures were completed at different points of the mission, including a post-mission debriefing interview.

Individual Attributes, Values, and Goals of an All-Military Women Antarctic Expedition.

While participation of women in the military has increased, research on performance of female teams engaged in arduous physical activity in isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments remains sparse. A team of six British military women completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire-Brief Form, Triarchic Psychopathy Measure, and Personal Values Questionnaire (PVQ) prior to embarking on an expedition that traversed the Antarctic continent. Questionnaires were completed weekly on the ice; repeat of the PVQ and individual semistructured debriefing interviews were carried out within 9 d post-expedition.

Nutritional composition, antioxidant activity and isolation of scopoletin from Senecio nutans: support of ancestral and new uses.

Continuing with our study characterising Senecio nutans Sch. Bip., we have isolated and identified a simple coumarin, scopoletin, that could be relevant for the biological properties of the species related with the ancestral medical uses.

Individual Traits, Personal Values, and Conflict Resolution in an Isolated, Confined, Extreme Environment.

Background: The study of personality traits, personal values, and the emergence of conflicts within groups performing in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment (ICE) may provide insights helpful for the composition and support of space crews for long duration missions.

Methods: Studied pre/post and over the 2-yr period of the investigation were 10 Danish military personnel deployed to stations in Greenland on a 26-mo staggered rotation. Subjects completed the NEO PI-R, Triarchic Psychopathy Measure, and Portrait Values Questionnaire, and participated in structured interviews.

Intraoperative temperature regulation in children using a liquid-warming garment.

Purpose: Children undergoing operative intervention while induced under general anesthesia are at risk for experiencing a significant decrease in core body temperature that can lead to adverse systemic effects. Given that the head contributes an estimated 18% of a child's body surface area, we theorized that a liquid-warming garment applied to the head could control a pediatric patient's core body temperature during surgical procedures.

Methods: Patients undergoing elective, non-cranial, general surgical procedures were enrolled in the study.

Fearless Temperament and Overconfidence in an Unsuccessful Special Forces Polar Expedition.

Background: Assessment of the influence of personality and decision processes on the performance of two-person expedition teams has application for the composition of small teams for planetary exploration and potentially responding to off-nominal situations.

Case Report: We studied a two-man Special Forces team with a goal of reaching the North Pole in the shortest amount of time. Both subjects had high scores on measures of leadership/dominance, fearlessness, and achievement, and low scores on harm avoidance (high risk-taking).

The psychological process of reintegration following a nine month/260 day solo sailboat circumnavigation of the globe.

The focus of this case report is on the psychological reintegration process following the achievement of a highly challenging long-duration and solitary endeavor. The participant was a 29 year old male who successfully circumnavigated the globe during a 260 day solo sailing expedition. We assessed the psychological aftermath in terms of stability and change in personality characteristics and personal beliefs prior to, and at 180 and 360 days after the completion of the journey.

Effects of sex and gender on adaptation to space: behavioral health.

This article is part of a larger body of work entitled, "The Impact of Sex and Gender on Adaptation to Space." It was developed in response to a recommendation from the 2011 National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey, "Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences for a New Era," which emphasized the need to fully understand sex and gender differences. In this article, our workgroup-consisting of expert scientists and clinicians from academia and the private sector-investigated and summarized the current body of published and unpublished human research performed to date related to sex- and gender-based differences in behavioral adaptations to human spaceflight.

Relationship of locus of control, psychological distress, and trauma exposure in groups impacted by intense political conflict in Egypt.

Introduction: Social and political instability have become common situations in many parts of the world. Exposure to different types of traumatic circumstances may differentially affect psychological status.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the relationship between personal perceptions of control over the events happening in one's life and psychological distress in two groups who experienced physical trauma but differed as to whether the trauma was a result of political upheaval and violence.

Surveying the ashes: experience from the 2007 Peloponnese wildfires six months after the disaster.

Introduction: Major disasters disrupt the infrastructure of communities and have lasting psychological, economic, and environmental effects on the affected areas. The psychological status and community effects of the devastating 2007 wildfires on the Peloponnese Peninsula of Greece were assessed six months following the disaster.

Methods: Adult inhabitants, 18-65 years of age, living in villages affected by the wildfires were selected randomly and compared with a demographically similar group living in neighboring villages that were unaffected by the fires.

Helicobacter pylori HopE and HopV porins present scarce expression among clinical isolates.

Aim: To evaluate how widely Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) HopE and HopV porins are expressed among Chilean isolates and how seroprevalent they are among infected patients in Chile.

Methods: H.

Visual analog scales for assessment of thermal perception in different environments.

Introduction: Subjective thermal perception in stable and dynamic environments has been measured primarily by categorical rating scales. At present, there is an increasing use of visual analog scales (VAS) to assess whole body and body region thermal perceptions in laboratory and other thermal environments.

Discussion: The rationale behind the use of VAS is that individuals are more accurate in conveying their subjective experience if they are not forced to make ratings according to numbers or categories.

Personality influences on a two-man Arctic expedition, impact on spouse, and the return home.

Introduction: Two men engaged in a kayak/sled Arctic expedition and their wives were evaluated. This report focuses on personality factors and decisions on the ice, psychosocial effects on those left behind, and the family re-integration process.

Method: Pre-expedition measures included the Multidimensional Personality Inventory (MPQ) and the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (PAIR).

Redirection of biological heat from head to hands to support finger comfort in the cold.

Introduction: Maintaining hand comfort in the cold while sustaining optimal performance is still a challenge. There has been little research on the efficacy of transporting biological heat from the head to the hands to stabilize finger comfort, although there are notable temperature differences between these two areas in the cold.

Method: A tubing bypass between the head and the hands was designed as an independent component in a liquid cooling/warming garment (LCWG).

Finger heat flux/temperature as an indicator of thermal imbalance with application for extravehicular activity.

The designation of a simple, non-invasive, and highly precise method to monitor the thermal status of astronauts is important to enhance safety during extravehicular activities (EVA) and onboard emergencies. Finger temperature (Tfing), finger heat flux, and indices of core temperature (Tc) [rectal (Tre), ear canal (Tec)] were assessed in 3 studies involving different patterns of heat removal/insertion from/to the body by a multi-compartment liquid cooling/warming garment (LCWG). Under both uniform and nonuniform temperature conditions on the body surface, Tfing and finger heat flux were highly correlated with garment heat flux, and also highly correlated with each other.

Men and women in space.

The influence of gender on the social context in which work performance takes place is considered. Women in single and mixed-gender polar expedition groups reported concern for the welfare of a teammate as a significant stressor. All-male teams exhibited higher levels of competitiveness and a lesser tendency to talk about their feelings.

Comparison of different cooling regimes within a shortened liquid cooling/warming garment on physiological and psychological comfort during exercise.

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of different cooling regime intensities to maintain physiological and subjective comfort during physical exertion levels comparable to that engaged in during extravehicular activities (EVA) in space. We studied eight subjects (six males, two females) donned in our newly developed physiologically based shortened liquid cooling/warming garment (SLCWG). Rigorous (condition 1) and mild (condition 2) water temperature cooling regimes were compared at physical exertion levels comparable to that performed during EVA to ascertain the effectiveness of a lesser intensity of cooling in maintaining thermal comfort, thus reducing energy consumption in the portable life support system.

Overview of the psychosocial impact of disasters.

The psychosocial sequelae can be intense and of long duration in the aftermath of natural and technological disasters, as well as terrorist attacks. Post-traumatic stress symptoms and full syndrome disorder, depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, and excessive alcohol use have been demonstrated consistently, particularly following large-scale disasters. This paper examines the psychological research conducted at various intervals after extensive natural disasters, the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl technological accidents, and recent terrorist events in the United States.

Enhancing circulation to lower limbs during head-down tilt by warming upper body and thighs.

Background: Long-duration spaceflight results in deconditioning of the cardiovascular system, loss of fluid volume, bone demineralization, and atrophy of skeletal muscles, particularly affecting the lower limbs. We hypothesized that it is possible to improve blood circulation to the lower extremities in simulated microgravity by forcing the blood to deliver heat to the feet through heating parts of the upper body and thighs.

Methods: In Study 1, seven men and four women were assessed in an environmental chamber with head-down tilt (HDT) at 14 degrees, wearing a newly developed shortened multi-compartment liquid cooling/warming garment (SLCWG) with local tubing networks covering parts of the head, torso, thigh, arms, and hands, with fingers, lower leg, and feet exposed.

Women and couples in isolated extreme environments: applications for long-duration missions.

Expedition teams provide a number of analogs relevant to crew selection for long-duration space missions. Three groups were studied that varied in team composition. Group 1 was a two woman international dyad that traversed the Antarctic continent in 97 days.

A 1-year, three-couple expedition as a crew analog for a Mars mission.

This study assessed the intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning of a three-couple expedition group that included a 2 1/2-year-old child which was ice-locked on a boat in the High Arctic during a major portion of the expedition. Personality assessment indicated that team members were generally well adjusted, scoring relatively higher on well-being and achievement and relatively lower on stress reactivity. Weekly mood ratings showed that the group exhibited significantly higher positive than negative affect.

Conscientiousness and work performance while suffering from acute mountain sickness: a case report.

A 52-yr-old male scientist who participated in a geophysical survey in Antarctica from a field camp located at 3538 m (11,600 ft) experienced specific symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS) by Mission Day 9, and full syndrome AMS by Mission Day 12. He was treated at the field camp and evacuated to sea level on the next available flight (Mission Day 15). The concerns of this highly conscientious individual that initial signs of illness, such as fatigue with exertion, could be misinterpreted by others as poor work performance are described.