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D Atchison

Publications and source records attributed to D Atchison.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Descriptors of corneal shape.

With the advent of videokeratoscopy and similar technology, we are now provided with more information about corneal contour than ever before. One of the common problems in this area is which parameters should be used to quantify the corneal shape. From the time of Helmholtz, the ellipse has been used as a first-order approximation for the normal corneal profile, and in the optometric literature one or another of the conic shape parameters p, Q, or e have been used to describe the general shape of the corneal surface. The purpose of this technical note is to clarify the relationships between these various descriptors of corneal shape.

Cornea↗
PubMed1996

Visual and vestibular components of motion sickness.

BACKGROUND: The relative importance of visual and vestibular information in the etiology of motion sickness (MS) is not well understood, but these factors can be manipulated by inducing Coriolis and pseudo-Coriolis effects in experimental subjects. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that visual and vestibular information are equivalent in producing MS. The experiments reported here aim, in part, to examine the relative influence of Coriolis and pseudo-Coriolis effects in inducing MS. METHODS: We induced MS symptoms by combinations of whole body rotation and tilt, and environment rotation and tilt, in 22 volunteer subjects. Subjects participated in all of the experiments with at least 2 d between each experiment to dissipate after-effects. We recorded MS signs and symptoms when only visual stimulation was applied, when only vestibular stimulation was applied, and when both visual and vestibular stimulation were applied under specific conditions of whole body and environmental tilt. RESULTS: Visual stimuli produced more symptoms of MS than vestibular stimuli when only visual or vestibular stimuli were used (ANOVA F = 7.94, df = 1, 21 p = 0.01), but there was no significant difference in MS production when combined visual and vestibular stimulation were used to produce the Coriolis effect or pseudo-Coriolis effect (ANOVA: F = 0.40, df = 1, 21 p = 0.53). This was further confirmed by examination of the order in which the symptoms occurred and the lack of a correlation between previous experience and visually induced MS. CONCLUSIONS: Visual information is more important than vestibular input in causing MS when these stimuli are presented in isolation. In conditions where both visual and vestibular information are present, cross-coupling appears to occur between the pseudo-Coriolis effect and the Coriolis effect, as these two conditions are not significantly different in producing MS symptoms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

NASA's Space Life Sciences Training Program.

The Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) is an intensive, six-week training program held every summer since 1985 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). A major goal of the SLSTP is to develop a cadre of qualified scientists and engineers to support future space life sciences and engineering challenges. Hand-picked, undergraduate college students participate in lectures, laboratory sessions, facility tours, and special projects: including work on actual Space Shuttle flight experiments and baseline data collection. At NASA Headquarters (HQ), the SLSTP is jointly sponsored by the Life Sciences Division and the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs: it has been very successful in attracting minority students and women to the fields of space science and engineering. In honor of the International Space Year (ISY), 17 international students participated in this summer's program. An SLSTP Symposium was held in Washington D.C., just prior to the World Space Congress. The Symposium attracted over 150 SLSTP graduates for a day of scientific discussions and briefings concerning educational and employment opportunities within NASA and the aerospace community. Future plans for the SLSTP include expansion to the Johnson Space Center in 1995.

Biological Science Disciplines↗
PubMed1994

VDT screen reflections and accommodation response.

Reflections in computer screens are imaged behind the screen and therefore potentially create a conflicting cue to appropriate accommodation response to the plane of screen. We investigated the effect of screen reflections on accommodation response by producing reflections (1.33 D accommodation demand) surrounding and overlying the fixation point (2 D accommodation demand) in the screen. We have found little evidence that reflections in visual display terminal screens can influence the accuracy of the users' accommodation responses under normal binocular viewing conditions. The accuracy of the accommodation response was not significantly influenced by the position of the reflections, the presence of surrounding text (peripheral cues), or the subjects' dark focus level. The variability of accommodation response did not significantly change under the various test conditions. However, accommodation errors were apparent to a small degree (< 0.25 D) under some monocular viewing conditions in the presence of screen reflections.

Accommodation, Ocular↗
PubMed1993

Calibration of the Canon Autoref R-1 for continuous measurement of accommodation.

The Canon Autoref R-1 is an infrared optometer which allows free-space viewing. Pugh and Winn described hardware modifications necessary to convert the Autoref R-1 from an instrument capable of taking single static measurements of the eye's accommodative (refractive) status to an instrument capable of continuous measurement of the accommodative status of the eye. We describe two methods of calibrating the Autoref R-1 for continuous measurement of accommodation for any individual eye. The assumptions and sources of error underlying these calibration techniques are discussed. We also describe further hardware modifications to simplify signal acquisition from the Autoref R-1.

Accommodation, Ocular↗
PubMed1991

Improved blood flow during prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation with 30% duty cycle in infant pigs.

BACKGROUND: Sustained compression is recommended to maximize myocardial and cerebral blood flow during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in adults and children. We compared myocardial and cerebral perfusion during CPR in three groups of 2-week-old anesthetized swine using compression rates and duty cycles (duration of compression/total cycle time) of 100 per minute, 60%; 100 per minute, 30%; and 150 per minute, 30%. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ventricular fibrillation was induced and CPR was begun immediately with a sternal pneumatic compressor. Epinephrine was continuously infused during CPR. Microsphere-determined blood flow and arterial and sagittal sinus blood gas measurements were made before cardiac arrest was induced and after 5, 10, 20, 35, and 50 minutes of CPR. At 5 minutes of CPR, ventricular and cerebral blood flows were greater than 25 ml.min-1 x 100 g-1 and were not significantly different between groups. When CPR was prolonged, however, myocardial and cerebral blood flows were significantly higher with the 30% duty cycle than with the 60% duty cycle. By 35 minutes, all myocardial regions had less than 5 ml.min-1 x 100 g-1 flow with the 60% duty cycle. In contrast, CPR with the 30% duty cycle at either compression rate provided more than 25 ml.min-1 x 100 g-1 to all ventricular regions for 50 minutes. By 20 minutes, most brain regions received 50% less flow with the 60% duty cycle compared with animals undergoing CPR with the 30% duty cycle (p less than 0.05). Cerebral oxygen uptake was better preserved with the 30% duty cycle. Chest deformation from loss of recoil was greater with the 60% duty cycle compared with the 30% duty cycle. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the shorter duty cycle provides markedly superior myocardial and cerebral perfusion during 50 minutes of CPR in this infant swine model. These data do not support recommendations for prolonged compression at rates of 100 per minute during CPR in infants and children.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Age-related effects of compression rate and duration in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The effects of various compression rate and duration combinations on chest geometry and cerebral perfusion pressure during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were studied in immature swine. Pentobarbital-anesthetized 2- and 8-wk-old piglets received CPR after ventricular fibrillation. At compression rates of 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 150/min, duty cycle (compression duration/total cycle time) was increased from 10 to 80% by 10% increments. Mean aortic and sagittal sinus pressures, pulsatile displacement, and deformity of the anterior chest wall were measured. Increasing duty cycle increased cerebral perfusion pressure until chest relaxation time was compromised. Inadequate chest recoil, development of static chest deformation, and limitation of pulsatile chest wall movement occurred in both age groups when relaxation time was very short (150-200 ms in 2-wk-old piglets, 250-300 ms in 8-wk-old piglets). These changes in chest geometry correlated with deterioration of cerebral perfusion pressure only in 8-wk-old piglets. In the younger group, perfusion pressures plateaued but did not deteriorate. These data emphasize the importance of duty cycle in generating cerebral perfusion pressure and indicate that younger animals can tolerate high compression rates except at extremely long duty cycles.

Aging↗