United States. Department of Transportation.
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
"During the investigation of aviation accidents, postmortem specimens from accident victims are submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) for toxicological analysis. The first, and perhaps most important, step in the analysis process is the initial screening of biological specimens for illicit, medically prescribed, and over-the-counter compounds that may be present and could have been the cause of...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
"The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is used by the Federal Aviation Administration to assess psychopathology in air traffic control specialist applicants after a conditional offer of employment is extended. Two groups are compared in this study on their level of Scale K, which is used as a measure of defensiveness (putting one's best foot forward - "faking good"), but which may be influenced by socioeconomic status and education....
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
"This research has two main phases. Phase 1 investigated three major questions: 1) Do video weather training products significantly affect general aviation (GA) pilot weather knowledge and flight behavior in marginal meteorological conditions? 2) How are modern Web-based weather products used during GA preflight briefing? 3) Do local Oklahoma GA pilots differ appreciably from other pilots in either weather knowledge or weather-related flight behavior?...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
"During the investigation of aviation accidents, postmortem specimens from accident victims are submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) for toxicological analysis. A case recently received by CAMI screened positive for the anticonvulsant medication carbamazepine (Tegretol) by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The carbamazepine found during the routine screening procedure was subsequently...
11) Evaluation of next-generation vision testers for aeromedical certification of aviation personnel
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2009.
Language
English
Description
"The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allows the use of a variety of vision screening devices to evaluate a pilot applicant's vision performance for medical certification purposes. This study compares human subject test scores obtained using two new vision testing instruments (Optec 5000 and Titmus i400) with those from previously approved counterparts (Optec 2000 and Titmus 2A), which have been discontinued by their manufacturers. Testing included...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2009.
Language
English
Description
"Today's aviation industry is a 24/7 operation that produces a variety of challenges for cabin crew members, including extended duty periods, highly variable schedules, and frequent time zone changes. While these operational requirements may be necessary, they are far from ideal with respect to the human body's biological rhythms for managing sleep and alertness. In fact, acute sleep loss, sustained periods of wakefulness, and circadian factors resulting...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2009.
Language
English
Description
"An assay has been developed for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based human identity testing using the Federal Bureau of Investigation's human Combined DNA Identity System (CODIS) primers. Recent forensic literature has identified difficulties using these primers due to amplicon size and the degraded nature of DNA from forensic samples. Primers termed mini Short-Tandem Repeat (STR) primers targeted to the same loci as the CODIS primers but which...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2009.
Language
English
Description
"In 2008, Congress directed the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) to conduct follow-on studies of six recommendation areas noted in an integrated report by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and CAMI regarding flight attendant fatigue. The report concluded that some degree of fatigue-related performance affects were likely under current prescriptive rules. Internationally, fatigue risk is managed almost solely through...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
"Gene expression changes resulting from conditions such as disease, environmental stimuli, and drug use can be monitored in the blood. However, a less invasive method of sample collection is of interest because of the discomfort and specialized personnel necessary for blood sampling, especially if multiple samples are being collected. Buccal mucosa (cheek swabs) are easily collected and may be an alternative sample material for biomarker testing....
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2009.
Language
English
Description
"With the prevalent use of visual interfaces and the increasing demand to display more information, information complexity in human-computer interfaces becomes a major concern for technology designers. Complex interfaces affect the effectiveness, efficiency, and even the operational safety of a system. Previously, researchers at the Federal Aviation Administration developed two questionnaires to evaluate information complexity of air traffic control...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2009.
Language
English
Description
"The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute's toxicology laboratory receives biological specimens from more than 90% of all fatal aviation accidents that occur in the United States and its territories. As a part of the routine analysis of pilot specimens, the laboratory tests all cases for the presence of marijuana (cannabis). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) reported a 1.5-fold increase...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2009.
Language
English
Description
"Biological samples from the victims of aviation accidents are submitted to the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) for toxicological evaluation. Body components of aviation accident fatalities are often scattered, disintegrated, commingled, contaminated, and/or putrefied at accident scenes. These situations may impose difficulties in victim identification and tissue matching, thereby in the toxicological analysis of authentic samples and the...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
"Aircraft can be contaminated with unwanted chemical or biological elements. For years, hydrogen peroxide has been used to disinfect equipment in the medical community. The diluted vapor form of hydrogen peroxide is being considered for use as a decontaminant/disinfectant/sanitizer of transportation vehicles aircraft, buses, subway trains, ambulances, etc. Previous work showed that STERIS Corporation's Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (VHP®) technology...
Author
Publisher
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine
Pub. Date
2010.
Language
English
Description
"Impaired performance induced by fatigue may compromise safety in commercial aviation. Given the direct role flight attendants play in passenger safety, the U.S. Congress ordered a comprehensive examination of fatigue in cabin crew, including a field study of actual flight operations. This report provides an overview of the field study results, focusing on objective measures of sleep patterns and neurocognitive performance (Psychomotor Vigilance Test,...