Vol 44, No 7 (2018)

Inesa Benediktovna Kozlovskaya is the head of a branch of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Honored Scientist and Engineer of the Russian Federation, a specialist in gravitational physiology, a participant in biomedical investigations during the spaceflights of the orbital stations Salyut-7, Mir, and ISS, as well as the flights of Bion biosatellites. She is one of the developers of the system of counter measures against unfavorable changes in the body in manned flights. She founded the school of the gravitational physiology of movements. Her scientific achievements are awarded with Russian and international prizes and awards. The editorial board of the journal sincerely congratulates Prof. Kozlovskaya on her ninetieth birthday and wishes her well-doing and many more years of active life.

Theoretical definitions of psychological stability of an individual are examined with the emphasis on the main components of this complex characteristic. The focus is laid on the aspects of adaptation in a team, in particular, the effect of psychological stability on the preferred styles of interpersonal interactions in isolation and confinement. We outline a three-stage psychological stability analysis at the cognitive, physiological, and behavior levels and describe the suite of tests used at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in the experiments with simulation of some spaceflight factors (2011–2016) to collect objective data on the strength and dynamics of personal psychological stability and its relevance to successful interaction within an isolated group.

This paper presents the results of studying the psychophysiological and morphofunctional state of the visual analyzer of eight male subjects after being exposed to 11-day-long dynamic light-emitting diode illumination under hermetic chamber conditions. A comprehensive eye examination did not reveal any significant effect of the short-term (not more than 11 days) exposure to artificial LED light; however, the psychophysiological characteristics of the visual analyzer function were impaired. Loss of relative accommodation and the narrowing of peripheral visual fields for green and blue may be due to asthenopia (visual fatigue) developing in closed space. Electrophysiological investigations have revealed a P100 bifurcation, which indicates changes in the morphology of the pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials (VEPs). This phenomenon may be representative of a temporal discord of visual channels or a change in their temporal characteristics caused by specific artificial illumination conditions.

The paper deals with the diagnosis and development of core skills of air traffic (AT) controllers based on a professiogram analysis of their work. The aim was to assess how professional skills are related to experience and to explore the opportunities of purposeful training of these skills. The study was conducted with the participation of air traffic (AT) controllers who were graduates of an ATC school aged 22–25 years and had no experience and eleven first-class operators aged 31–37 years with eight to ten years of experience. The professiogram analysis of work was carried out using a specially crafted skill tests battery followed by training (ten sessions during ten school days) for inexperienced air traffic controllers, which was tied up to regular refresher training. The study pinpointed the core skills that were improved significantly by the special training and proved the possibility of their development using a training cycle during planned teaching.

Peripheral hemodynamics was studied in the upper extremities of human subjects during a 5-day exposure in microgravity modeled by “dry” immersion (DI). The object of investigation was skin adjacent to the nail bed of the fourth finger and forearm skin. Microcirculation was measured using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) and computer capillaroscopy (CCS). In addition, peripheral hemodynamics was assessed in subjects donned in a Penguin axial-loading suit (PLS). The subjects were divided into two groups: with (G-2) and without (G-1) PLS. The results are the following: PLS leveled down all changes in the microcirculatory bloodstream (MCB) of the upper extremities. By the end of DI, some subjects in G-1 were found to have a more intensive tissue perfusion and increased number of capillaries, and exaggerated activity of passive mechanism of blood flow modulation Ас (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.05).

The subjects were 19 young powerlifters aged from 18 to 30 years. Strength training, namely, the jerk in the supine position, was performed either breathing in the usual way or holding breath simultaneously with straining. Ophthalmoscopy, laser scanning ophthalmoscopy, and intraocular pressure measurements using a pneumatic tonometer were conducted before, during, and after training. After jerks, intraocular pressure elevation was observed in all subjects; in three subjects, the ophthalmic tone overpassed normal values. The ophthalmic tone was fitness-dependent and lower in well-trained subjects. Ophthalmoscopy of physically unfit subjects showed an increase in retinal vein diameters, disappearance of spontaneous venous pulsation in the optic disk in four subjects, and exaggerated hyperemia of the optic papilla. The incentive for the investigation was documented unfavorable changes in the human visual organ in long-duration space missions.

The investigation of the bone system and body composition in the participants of the Mars-500 experiment (prior to and on completion of the experiment) employed dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) using a HOLOGIC Delphy osteodensitometer according to the protocol used in examination of cosmonauts. The bone density of lumber vertebrae and femoral proximal epiphysis, as well as the body composition were measured. Statistically significant changes in the mineral density of lumber vertebrae were found in three subjects and displayed different trends from +2.6 to –2.4%. At the same time, in the femoral proximal epiphysis, including in the cervical region, the mineral density after the experiment was significantly lower in all participants. Four subjects exhibited an increase (by 5–9%) in the mineralization of the skull bones, as in some cosmonauts after flights. All participants were characterized by loss of adipose tissue mass (from 2 to 7 kg; in one subject, 20 kg, by a factor of three). Changes in lean mass (by 1–3 kg) were often negative and in the limbs might be associated with preferences for a certain type of physical activity. It is shown that prolonged stay in a confined space can lead to a decrease in mineralization of individual parts of the skeleton. Unlike real spaceflights and long-duration experiments with hypokinesia carried out earlier at the Institute for Biomedical Problems, no clinically significant loss of mineral density (osteoporosis, osteopenia) was observed in the Mars-500 experiment, which may be due to the lack of microgravity effects.

In recent years expert communities have been debating actively issues of assessing civil pilots’ working conditions with the focus on labor intensity. Objectivity of the assessment of flight and cabin crews job sites can be improved using the evidence of links between a job hazard class determined by labor intensity and objective physiological changes or a long-term decline of occupational health and longevity gathered in aerospace medicine, labor and industrial ecology medicine. The authors give a summary of their recommendation for revision of the labor safety regulations.