Articles of Interest from Aviation, Aerospace and Environmental Medicine Volume 77, Number 8, August 2006

Abstracts:
Microgravity Effects on Fine Motor Skills: Tying Surgical Knots During Parabolic Flight Azhar; Russ; Vladimir; William; Merrell, Ronald C.
The health provider on a space exploration mission cannot evacuate a patient to Earth. Contingency plans for medical intervention must be designed for autonomy. This study measured the effect of microgravity on performance of fine motor skills such as basic surgical tasks. Conclusion: Specific metrics of surgical task performance are essential in developing education modules for providers of medical care during exploration-class missions.
Ventilatory Effects of Prolonged Hyperoxia at Pressures of 1.5-3.0 ATA Gelfand, Lambertsen, Christian J.; James M.
It was hypothesized that long-duration exposures to toxic levels of hyperoxia would have effects on respiratory control function or activity. Methods: Ventilatory parameters of human subjects breathing spontaneously at rest were measured before, during, and after hyperoxia in a study of organ systems' tolerance to toxic O2 exposures at 1.5 ATA (17.7 h), 2.0 ATA (9.3 h), 2.5 ATA (5.7 h) and 3.0 ATA (3.5 h). Hyperoxia has concurrent toxic and physiological effects on respiratory control; degrees depend on O2 dose (exposure pressure and duration).
Rotation Velocity Change and Motion Sickness in an Optokinetic Drum Bubka, Bonato, Burrmey, Mycewicz
Stationary subjects who view the interior of an optokinetic drum often experience motion sickness (MS) symptoms, perhaps because visual and vestibular sensory inputs are in conflict. It was predicted that intermittently changing drum rotation velocity would cause an increase in sensory conflict, and subsequently lead to more MS. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis that a conflict between sensed and expected effects of self-motion alone can lead to MS. Changing rotation velocity increases sensory conflict that in turn leads to more MS.