Kosmicheskaia biologiia i aviakosmicheskaia meditsina最新文献

Methods of skin and eye protection from solar UV-radiation are described. Data concerning UV-ray absorption by different types of clothing as well as various ointments, including new agents, are presented. When considering possibilities of eye protection from UV-radiation, characteristics of different filters are discussed, Soviet-made sun-glasses are listed, and eye protection drugs are indicated. In this context, approaches to eye protection of pilots and cosmonauts are outlined.

The effect of a short-term exposure to UV-irradiation (applied for 7 hours at doses of 100-250 kJ/m2) on various cultured plants (cereals, legumes, vegetables, forage plants) was studied. It was a field study in which artificial UV-sources (280-380 nm) were used. UV-sensitivity was measured in terms of yield changes of the above cultures. After UV-irradiation the yield of most of them, e.g., potatoes, vetch, clover, peas, horse-beans, barley (with respect to seed productivity) decreased. The sensitivity of cabbage and barley (biomass, forage) was moderate. Cereals (wheat, ryegrass, oat) proved to be resistant, i.e., their productivity remained unchanged.

The effect of chronic UV-B-irradiation on the nitrogen-fixing ability of soil was studied in a field experiment. In the study, LER-40 lamps were used as a source of additional UV-B-irradiation with respect to natural illumination (the irradiation level = 0.34, 0.49 and 0.77 W/m2). Nitrogen-fixation was measured by gas chromatography. The experimental results were treated by bifactorial analysis of variance. It was found that chronic UV-B-irradiation affected the nitrogen-fixing ability of soil during the observation period (June-August). At soil UV-B-irradiation of 0.34 and 0.49 W/m2 the nitrogen-fixation intensity increased by 17 and 9%, respectively, and at soil UV-B-irradiation of 0.77 W/m2 it decreased by 13%, when compared to untreated controls.

In order to select the method of water regeneration from air moisture condensate in a manned enclosed environment, the procedure of water decontamination from ethylene glycol was investigated. The process developed at t 20-22 degrees C and the following concentrations of C2H6O2 = 0.0125-0.5 mole/l, H2O2 = 1-5 mole/l, and catalyst = 1.7-50% wt. In the presence of 6.67 g/l of homogeneous catalyst FeSO4.7H2O, destructive oxidation of ethylene glycol to yield CO2 in the system 0.1 M C2H6O2 + 1M H2O2 proceeded effectively. However, the iron concentration in the decontaminated water exceeded significantly the maximally allowable concentration of iron in potable water as well as in industrial and non-industrial sewage. Heterogeneous MnO- and PbO-based catalysts provided no more than 20% ethylene glycol oxidation. Siderite, a natural mineral containing 33% wt. Fe2+, proved a more effective catalyst of ethylene glycol oxidation. When ethylene glycol and hydrogen peroxide were used at ratios of 1:30 and 1:80 with 5% wt. siderite, the degree of C2H6O2 to CO2 conversion was 99.2% and 99.8, respectively.

The hyperbaric effect on the contractile function of the left ventricle of the heart was examined in 16 test subjects by means of polycardiography. In a compressed air atmosphere (P = 0.5 MPa for 30 min), systolic time intervals varied. In a hyperbaric normoxic (N2 - O2) atmosphere, the changes were less expressed. In a medical oxygen atmosphere at a normal barometric pressure, the adverse effect on the left ventricle contractile function was least pronounced. It is concluded that hyperbaria, increased gas density, and hyperoxia produce a pathogenic effect on the heart; during short-term exposure increased gas density has the strongest effect.

Experiments were performed on isolated perfused hearts of rats of the middle and old age. The animals were irradiated with 60Co gamma-rays at a dose of 1 Gy and a dose rate of 2.7 x 10(-4) Gy/s. This exposure enhanced pacemaking activity and attenuated contractile activity of rat hearts. The biomechanical changes were most distinct in adult rats. It can be assumed that the mechanisms responsible for heart contraction and relaxation as well as for their self-regulation are more resistant to ionizing radiation in old-aged animals. Post-radiation changes of neurohormonal regulation show different age-related features. In adult rats, the exposure caused only a decline of the chronotropic response to stimulation of beta-adrenoreceptors whereas in old animals it produced a decline of inotropic and coronary responses. It is postulated that mechanisms underlying adrenergic effects at the level of the receptor apparatus of coronary vessels and cardiomyocytes experience greater changes in old-aged animals exposed to irradiation.

This paper discusses theoretical aspects of aviation psychophysiology, specifically the problem of image control of objective actions of a pilot. The general concept representing a system of psychic control of pilot's actions is an image of the flight. Its structural components include: an image of spatial position, an image of an instrumental panel, and the feeling of an aircraft. It is shown that these three information-cognitive components are insufficient to use the flight image for controlling objective actions. It is important to supplement it with object-activity components. Using the flight image concept and experimental observations, a model of controlling objective actions of a pilot is discussed. Components of the model form a closed self-regulating system with direct and feedback control loops. It is underlined that the knowledge of functional patterns of mental images of a pilot is required not only to explain his actions at work but also to solve problems of designing his professional activities and to develop means and methods of his training.

This paper presents the results of evaluating blood morphology (counts of red blood cells, hemoglobin, reticulocytes, platelets, leukocytes and their forms), hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin content and concentration, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in 9 test subjects during a 370-day head-down tilt study. It was demonstrated that blood morphology variations in 9 test subjects remained within normal variations throughout the entire period of observation, including the baseline, head-down tilt, and rehabilitation periods. There were the following exceptions. In the baseline period, a single episode of MCV increase and MCH decrease was recorded. In the course of head-down tilt, monocytosis, lymphocytosis, thrombocytopenia, basophilia, and lowered MCH were occasionally observed. MCV was slightly increased during several measurements. As compared to the norm, hematocrit increased or decreased. After exposure, there was a single episode of a decrease of erythrocyte count and hemoglobin, hematocrit, an increase of MCV and basophil count, and three episodes of monocytosis. These blood changes during 370-day head-down tilt should be viewed as a result of a combined effect of adverse factors accompanying hypokinesia, particularly reduced infection resistance.

On the basis of medical monitoring of the flying personnel, their body weight variations as a function of age and disease were studied (trauma complications, malformations, refraction, color perception, obesity without concomitant diseases were ignored). The subjects were subdivided into two groups with respect to the age when the first chronic disease was detected. It was demonstrated that the airmen who remained healthy for a long period of time had body weight values close to the group mean and age-related body weight gain within normal limits. The subjects who fell ill when younger than 28 years had a high body weight and those who fell ill at the age of 28-32 years had a low body weight which increased drastically at the age of 30-35 years.