Defence Research Agency

About: Defence Research Agency is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Synthetic aperture radar & Radar. The organization has 1211 authors who have published 1109 publications receiving 31542 citations.

Fighter pilots’ heart rate, heart rate variation and performance during instrument approaches

Abstract: Fighter pilots' heart rate (HR), heart rate variation (HRV) and performance during instrument approaches were examined. The subjects were required to fly instrument approaches in a high-fidelity simulator under various levels of task demand. The task demand was manipulated by increasing the load on the subjects by reducing the range at which they commenced the approach. HR and the time domain components of HRV were used as measures of pilot mental workload (PMWL). The findings of this study indicate that HR and HRV are sensitive to varying task demands. HR and HRV were able to distinguish the level of PMWL after which the subjects were no longer able to cope with the increasing task demands and their instrument landing system performance fell to a sub-standard level. The major finding was the HR/HRV's ability to differentiate the sub-standard performance approaches from the high-performance approaches. Practitioner Summary: This paper examined if HR and HRV were sensitive to varying task demands in a fighter aviation environment and if these measures were related to variations in pilot's performance.

Premature Chromosome Condensation (PCC) Assay for Dose Assessment in Mass Casualty Accidents

Abstract: The study was undertaken to establish a dose calibration curve for a practical PCC ring assay and to apply it in a simulated mass casualty accident. The PCC assay was validated against the conventional dicentric assay. A linear relationship was established for PCC rings after (60)Co gamma irradiation with doses up to 20 Gy. In the simulated accident experiment, 62 blood samples were analyzed with both the PCC ring assay and the conventional dicentric assay, applying a triage approach. Samples received various uniform and non-uniform (10-40% partial-body) irradiations up to doses of 13 Gy. The results indicated that both assays yielded good dose estimates for the whole-body exposure scenario, although in the lower-dose range (0-6 Gy) dicentric scoring resulted in more accurate whole-body estimates, whereas PCC rings were better in the high-dose range (>6 Gy). Neither assay was successful in identifying partial-body exposures, most likely due to the low numbers of cells scored in the triage mode. In conclusion, the study confirmed that the PCC ring assay is suitable for use as a biodosimeter after whole-body exposure to high doses of radiation. However, there are limitations for its use in the triage of people exposed to high, partial-body doses.