NASA Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports

A method is presented for determining absolute intracranial pressure (ICP) in a patient. Skull expansion is monitored
while changes in ICP are induced. The patient’s blood pressure is measured when skull expansion is approximately zero. The
measured blood pressure is indicative of a reference ICP value. Subsequently, the method causes a known change in ICP and
measured the change in skull expansion associated therewith. The absolute ICP is a function of the reference ICP value, the
known change in ICP and its associated change in skull expansion; and a measured change in skull expansion.
Author
Medical Equipment; Pressure Measurement; Intracranial Pressure; Skull; Nonintrusive Measurement
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BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Includes psychological factors; individual and group behavior; crew training and evaluation; and psychiatric research.
20040111195 Institute for Nutrition and Food Research TNO, Zeist, Netherlands
The Effectiveness of Interventions: Which Factors Determine the Success of an Intervention on Nutrition, Physical
Activity or Worksite Health Promotion
opdeWeegh, M. J.; vanDusseldorp, M.; March 2004; 49 pp.; In Dutch
Contract(s)/Grant(s): A03/KL/109; TNO Proj. 22090/01.02
Report No.(s): TD-2004-0265; V5688/02; Copyright; Avail: Other Sources
To optimize the effectiveness of an intervention it is essential to have insight into the factors that enhance the success of
an intervention. A literature study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in the field of nutrition,
physical activity and worksite health promotion. Specific attention was paid to determinants of behavior that offer possibilities
for interventions and the Transtheoretical Model. The Transtheoretical Model offers a theoretical framework for interventions
aimed at behavioral change. It gives insight into what stages a person moves through when evolving from unhealthy to healthy
behavior and what important determinants of behaviour and processes of change are. Effective interventions on physical
activity or nutrition behaviour have some similar characteristics: they are explicitly aimed at promotion of behavioral change,
tailored and personal, make use of environmental interventions and are aimed at continuity. Specific effective interventions
to increase physical activity are: point-of-decision prompts to encourage stair use, community-wide campaigns and individual
programs for behavioral change. Effective worksite health promotion interventions are characterized by: a gradually
systematic approach with clear structure, active participation of employees, clear support of management, incorporation of the
policy on working conditions and absence in the company policy, and a multi track policy: activities are aimed at both the
individual and the working environment.
Author
Psychological Factors; Health; Nutrition; Personnel
20040111306 NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Human Response to Sonic Booms: Recent NASA Research
Shepherd, Kevin P.; Brown, Sherilyn A.; Leatherwood, Jack D.; McCurdy, David A.; Sullivan, Brenda M.; [1995]; 4 pp.; In
English; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A01, Hardcopy
The proposed development of a second-generation supersonic commercial transport has resulted in renewed sonic boom
research. Aircraft configurations are being designed to reduce the impact of sonic booms by generating sonic boom signatures
which have specific shapes other than N-waves and which may be more acceptable to the public. In an effort to provide
guidance to aircraft designers and to aid in the establishment of sonic boom impact criteria, a program to study human
response to sonic booms was formulated. It consists of three components: (a) laboratory studies using a sonic boom simulator
to assess response to individual sonic booms having a range of pressure-time signatures, (b) an in-home simulation system to
investigate response to daily combinations of individual boom amplitudes and their frequency of occurrence, and (c) response
to sonic booms in communities that are routinely exposed to supersonic aircraft operations.
Author
Aircraft Configurations; Human Reactions; Shapes; Sonic Booms; Supersonic Aircraft; Supersonic Transports; Man Machine
Systems
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