Series Of Flights Research Articles

Airborne observations of regional variation in fluorescent aerosol across the United States

AbstractAirborne observations of fluorescent aerosol were made aboard an airship during CloudLab, a series of flights that took place in September and October of 2013 and covered a wideband of longitude across the continental U.S. between Florida and California and between 28 and 37 N latitudes. Sampling occurred from near the surface to 1000 m above the ground. A Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS‐4) measured average concentrations of supermicron fluorescent particles aloft (1 µm to 10 µm), revealing number concentrations ranging from 2.1 ± 0.8 to 8.7 ± 2.2 × 104 particles m−3 and representing up to 24% of total supermicron particle number. We observed distinct variations in size distributions and fluorescent characteristics in different regions, and attribute these to geographically diverse bioaerosol. Fluorescent aerosol detected in the east is largely consistent with mold spores observed in a laboratory setting, while a shift to larger sizes associated with different fluorescent patterns is observed in the west. Fluorescent bioaerosol loadings in the desert west were as high as those near the Gulf of Mexico, suggesting that bioaerosol is a substantial component of supermicron aerosol both in humid and arid environments. The observations are compared to model fungal and bacterial loading predictions, and good agreement in both particle size and concentrations is observed in the east. In the west, the model underestimated observed concentrations by a factor between 2 and 4 and the prescribed particle sizes are smaller than the observed fluorescent aerosol. A classification scheme for use with WIBS data is also presented.

Traces of Feathers: Multiplicity, Intersubjectivity, and Transcendence in Cecilia Paredes’ Flight Series

Traces of Feathers: Multiplicity, Intersubjectivity, and Transcendence in Cecilia Paredes’ Flight Series

Flight Dynamics Analyses of a Propeller-Driven Airplane (I): Aerodynamic and Inertial Modeling of the Propeller

This paper focuses on aerodynamic and inertial modeling of the propeller for its applications in flight dynamics analyses of a propeller-driven airplane. Unsteady aerodynamic and inertial loads generated by the propeller are formulated using the blade element method, where the local velocity and acceleration vectors for each blade element are obtained from exact kinematic relations for general maneuvering conditions. Vortex theory is applied to obtain the flow velocities induced by the propeller wake, which are used in the computation of the aerodynamic forces and moments generated by the propeller and other aerodynamic surfaces. The vortex lattice method is adopted to obtain the induced velocity over the wing and empennage components and the related influence coefficients are computed, taking into account the propeller induced velocities by tracing the wake trajectory trailing from each of the propeller blades. Aerodynamic forces and moments of the fuselage and other aerodynamic surfaces are computed by using the wind tunnel database and applying strip theory to incorporate viscous flow effects. The propeller models proposed in this paper are applied to predict isolated propeller performances under steady flight conditions. Trimmed level forward and turn flights are analyzed to investigate the effects of the propeller on the flight characteristics of a propeller-driven light-sports airplane. Flight test results for a series of maneuvering flights using a scaled model are employed to run the flight dynamic analysis program for the proposed propeller models. The simulations are compared with the flight test results to validate the usefulness of the approach. The resultant good correlations between the two data sets shows the propeller models proposed in this paper can predict flight characteristics with good accuracy.

Flight Dynamics Analyses of a Propeller-Driven Airplane (II): Building a High-Fidelity Mathematical Model and Applications

This paper is the second in a series and aims to build a high-fidelity mathematical model for a propeller-driven airplane using the propeller's aerodynamics and inertial models, as developed in the first paper. It focuses on aerodynamic models for the fuselage, the main wing, and the stabilizers under the influence of the wake trailed from the propeller. For this, application of the vortex lattice method is proposed to reflect the propeller's wake effect on those aerodynamic surfaces. By considering the maneuvering flight states and the flow field generated by the propeller wake, the induced velocity at any point on the aerodynamic surfaces can be computed for general flight conditions. Thus, strip theory is well suited to predict the distribution of air loads over wing components and the viscous flow effect can be duly considered using the 2D aerodynamic coefficients for the airfoils used in each wing. These approaches are implemented in building a high-fidelity mathematical model for a propeller-driven airplane. Flight dynamic analysis modules for the trim, linearization, and simulation analyses were developed using the proposed techniques. The flight test results for a series of maneuvering flights with a scaled model were used for comparison with those obtained using the flight dynamics analysis modules to validate the usefulness of the present approaches. The resulting good correlations between the two data sets demonstrate that the flight characteristics of the propeller-driven airplane can be analyzed effectively through the integrated framework with the propeller and airframe aerodynamic models proposed in this study.

Meteorological Influences on Trace Gas Transport along the North Atlantic Coast during ICARTT 2004

An analysis of coastal meteorological mechanisms facilitating the transit pollution plumes emitted from sources in the Northeastern U.S. was based on observations from the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) 2004 field campaign. Particular attention was given to the relation of these plumes to coastal transport patterns in lower tropospheric layers throughout the Gulf of Maine (GOM), and their contribution to large-scale pollution outflow from the North American continent. Using measurements obtained during a series of flights of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WP-3D and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) DC-8, a unique quasi-Lagrangian case study was conducted for a freshly emitted plume emanating from the New York City source region in late July 2004. The development of this plume stemmed from the accumulation of boundary layer pollutants within a coastal residual layer, where weak synoptic conditions allowed for its advection into the marine troposphere and transport by a mean southwesterly flow. Upon entering the GOM, analysis showed that the plume layer vertical structure evolved into an internal boundary layer form, with signatures of steep vertical gradients in temperature, moisture and wind speed often resulting in periodic turbulence. This structure remained well-defined during the plume study, allowing for the detachment of the plume layer from the surface and minimal plume-sea surface exchange. In contrast, shear driven turbulence within the plume layer facilitated lateral mixing with other low-level plumes during its transit. This turbulence was periodic and further contributed to the high spatial variability in trace gas mixing ratios. Further influences of the turbulent mixing were observed in the impact of the plume inland as observed by the Atmospheric Investigation, Regional Modeling, Analysis and Prediction (AIRMAP) air quality network. This impact was seen as extreme elevations of surface ozone and CO levels, equaling the highest observed that summer.

Particle Filtering-Based System Degradation Prediction Applied to Jet Engines


 
 
 This paper investigates a real-time fault detection and degradation prediction scheme for dynamical systems such as jet engines, based on Regularized Particle Filtering (RPF). Particle Filtering is a prognosis method for the prediction of state degradation and remaining useful life (RUL) due to its demonstrated performance in handling non-linear and non-Gaussian situations. RPF overcomes the problem of sample impoverishment among particles over the resampling process. Based on measured data from hybrid sensing and nonlinear models, which link system parameters and degradation state to the measurement, RPF has been applied to establishing a framework for both state and parameter estimation, to achieve prognosis at the component level. In addition, a modified system evolution model is proposed to track both exponential and transient types of system performance degradation. The developed method is evaluated using simulated data created with C- MAPSS, which contains measured parameters associated with engine degradation under nominal and varied fault types (fan, compressor and turbine) during a series of flights. The developed system-parameter estimation method is found effective in state estimation and degradation prediction in jet engines.
 
 

Standing ballistocardiography measurements in microgravity.

The performance and practicality of a scale-based ballistocardiogram (BCG) system for hemodynamic monitoring of astronauts on extended space missions was demonstrated. The system consists of a modified electronic weighing scale fitted with foot bindings to mechanically couple the subject to the scale. This system was tested on a recent series of parabolic flights in which scale-based and accelerometry-based free-floating BCG of 10 subjects was measured in microgravity. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the scale-based BCG was, on average, a factor of 2.1 (6.3 dB) higher than the free-floating method, suggesting that the tethered scale approach might be more robust in terms of signal quality. Additionally, this approach enables practical BCG-based hemodynamic monitoring in fractional-g environments, and on small space vehicles such as NASA's upcoming Orion capsule. The scale-based results in microgravity were also compared to ground measurements (1 g), where there was an average 38.7 ms RJ interval reduction from ground to microgravity environments that is consistent across 9 of 10 subjects. This phenomenon is likely due to the transient increase in venous return, and consequent decrease in pre-ejection period, experienced during the microgravity time intervals.

Pollution patterns in the upper troposphere over Europe and Asia observed by CARIBIC

Between May 2005 and March 2008 the CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container) observatory was deployed to make atmospheric observations on 42 flights between Frankfurt, Germany and Manila, the Philippines. This nearly 3 year flight series provides information about atmospheric composition in the upper troposphere over Europe and Asia during all seasons and was used to investigate seasonal and regional differences in trace gas distributions and the influence of long range transport and local convection on composition. The flight route was separated into three different regions having characteristic differences in transport and composition; these were Europe and Western Asia (5°E–60°E), Central Asia (60°E–100°E) and Southeast Asia (100°E–125°E). The region over Europe and Western Asia was strongly influenced by air masses from North America, while the region over Southeast Asia was mostly influenced by local emissions, particularly from biomass/biofuel burning as indicated by high levels of acetonitrile and carbon monoxide. Air masses over Central Asia were found to be influenced by both recent convection from the Indian subcontinent and mid-range transport from Europe, Western Asia and the Middle East. Elevated levels of propane and other non-methane hydrocarbons, both with and without concomitant elevations in other trace gases (i.e. carbon monoxide, acetonitrile) was a persistent feature over Central Asia in all seasons except summer, and were particularly prominent in fall. Influences on composition over Central Asia were investigated in detail for a case study from a series of flights in October 2006, where elevated levels of pollutants were found to be the result of convective transport of both biomass/biofuel burning and urban emissions from South Asia and fossil fuel related emissions from Eastern Europe.

0113 Occupational risk factors for endometriosis among flight attendants

ObjectivesPrevious studies suggest that flight attendants could have a higher risk for endometriosis than women in other occupations. Our objectives were to compare the rate of endometriosis among flight attendants...

Methyl chloride in the upper troposphere observed by the CARIBIC passenger aircraft observatory: Large‐scale distributions and Asian summer monsoon outflow

AbstractWe present spatial and temporal variations of methyl chloride (CH3Cl) in the upper troposphere (UT) observed mainly by the Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container (CARIBIC) passenger aircraft for the years 2005–2011. The CH3Cl mixing ratio in the UT over Europe was higher than that observed at a European surface baseline station throughout the year, indicative of a persistent positive vertical gradient at Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes. A series of flights over Africa and South Asia show that CH3Cl mixing ratios increase toward tropical latitudes, and the observed UT CH3Cl level over these two regions and the Atlantic was higher than that measured at remote surface sites. Strong emissions of CH3Cl in the tropics combined with meridional air transport through the UT may explain such vertical and latitudinal gradients. Comparisons with carbon monoxide (CO) data indicate that noncombustion sources in the tropics dominantly contribute to forming the latitudinal gradient of CH3Cl in the UT. We also observed elevated mixing ratios of CH3Cl and CO in air influenced by biomass burning in South America and Africa, and the enhancement ratios derived for CH3Cl to CO in those regions agree with previous observations. In contrast, correlations indicate a high CH3Cl to CO ratio of 2.9 ± 0.5 ppt ppb−1 in the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone and domestic biofuel emissions in South Asia are inferred to be responsible. We estimated the CH3Cl emission in South Asia to be 134 ± 23 Gg Cl yr−1, which is higher than a previous estimate due to the higher CH3Cl to CO ratio observed in this study.

The data processor of the EUSO-Balloon experiment

The JEM-EUSO instrument is a wide-angle refractive telescope in near-ultraviolet wavelength region being proposed for attachment to the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) onboard International Space Station (ISS). The main scientific goal of the mission is the study of Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR) above 5 × 1019 eV. The instrument consists of high transmittance optical Fresnel lenses with a diameter of 2.5 m, a focal surface covered by ∼ 5000 Multi Anode Photo Multiplier Tubes of 64 pixels, front-end readout, trigger and system electronics.The EUSO-Balloon experiment is a pathfinder mission in which a telescope of smaller dimension than the one designed for the ISS will be mounted onboard a stratospheric balloon. The main objective of this pathfinder mission, planned for 2014, is to perform a full scale end-to-end test of all the key technologies and instrumentation of JEM-EUSO detectors and to prove the global detection chain. Furthermore, EUSO-Balloon will measure the atmospheric and terrestrial UV background components, in different observational modes, fundamental for the development of the simulations. Through a series of stratospheric balloon flights performed by the French Space Agency CNES, EUSO-Balloon also has the potential to detect Extensive Air Showers from above, paving the way for any future large scale, space-based EECR observatory.In this paper we will present the Data Processor (DP) of EUSO-Balloon, which is the component of the Electronics System which performs the data management and the instrument control. More in detail, the DP controls the front-end electronics, performs the 2nd level trigger filtering, tags events with arrival time and payload position through a GPS system, manages the Mass Memory for data storage, measures live and dead time of the telescope, provides signals for time synchronization of the event, performs housekeeping monitor, and handles the interface to the telemetry system. The DP has to operate at high altitude in unpressurized environment, and this represents a technological challenge for heat dissipation. We will describe the main components of the system, the state-of-the-art and the results of the tests carried out.

Airborne Laser Absorption Spectrometer Measurements of Atmospheric CO2 Column Mole Fractions: Source and Sink Detection and Environmental Impacts on Retrievals

Abstract This paper provides atmospheric CO2 column abundance measurement results from a summer 2011 series of flights of a 2.05-μm laser absorption spectrometer on the NASA DC-8 research aircraft. The integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) method is used for the CO2 column mole fraction retrievals. This instrument and the data analysis methodology developed to achieve retrievals over complex terrain and variable atmospheric conditions provide insight into the capabilities of the IPDA method for both airborne measurements and future global-scale CO2 measurements from low-Earth orbit pertinent to the proposed NASA Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) mission. Demonstrated in this paper is the capability to measure CO2 drawdown caused by crop activity during a midday flight over the U.S. upper Midwest area. In addition, an example is provided of high spatial resolution measurements of CO2 plumes from individual stack clusters of the Four Corners Power Plant in northwestern New Mexico. Complex terrain, the spectral properties of the aboveground scatterers, and potential cloud contamination are factors that complicate the column abundance retrieval. The impacts of these factors and various means of minimizing these influences in the retrievals are discussed.

The Dispersion of Silver Iodide Particles from Ground-Based Generators over Complex Terrain. Part I: Observations with Acoustic Ice Nucleus Counters

AbstractPart I of this paper presents the results from a series of plume-tracing flights over the Medicine Bow and Sierra Madre Ranges in south-central Wyoming. These flights, conducted during February and early March of 2011, were part of the Wyoming Weather Modification Pilot Project. Effective targeting of ground-based silver iodide plumes to supercooled clouds has long been a problem for winter orographic cloud-seeding projects. Surface-based ice nucleus (IN) measurements made at a fixed location near the Medicine Bow Range target area had confirmed the effective transport of IN plumes in many cases, but not all. Airborne plume tracing, undertaken to further illuminate the processes involved, provided additional insight into the plume behavior while providing physical measurements that were later compared with large-eddy-simulation modeling (Part II). It was found that the plumes were most often encountered along the flight paths set out in the experimental designs and, in the absence of convection, appear to be mostly confined to the lowest 600 m above the highest terrain. All passes above 600 m above ground level revealed IN concentrations greater than background levels, however. An estimate of IN flux measured over the Medicine Bow Range was approximately 85% of that produced by the five ground-based IN generators active at the time.

A balloon-borne prototype for demonstrating the concept of JEM-EUSO

EUSO-BALLOON has been conceived as a pathfinder for JEM-EUSO, a mission concept for a space-borne wide-field telescope monitoring the Earth’s nighttime atmosphere with the objective of recording the ultraviolet light from tracks initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Through a series of stratospheric balloon flights performed by the French Space Agency CNES, EUSO-BALLOON will serve as a test-bench for the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. EUSO-BALLOON shall perform an end-to-end test of all subsystems and components, and prove the global detection chain while improving our knowledge of the atmospheric and terrestrial ultraviolet background. The balloon-instrument also has the potential to detect for the first time UV-light generated by atmospheric air-shower from above, marking a milestone in the development of UHECR science, and paving the way for any future large scale, space-based ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatory.

From the flight of Yu.A. Gagarin to the contemporary piloted space flights and exploration missions

The first human flight to space made by Yu. A. Gagarin on April 12, 1961 was a crucial event in the history of cosmonautics that had a tremendous effect on further progress of the human civilization. Gagarin's flight had been prefaced by long and purposeful biomedical researches with the use of diverse bio-objects flown aboard rockets and artificial satellites. Data of these researches drove to the conclusion on the possibility in principle for humans to fly to space. After a series of early flights and improvements in the medical support system space missions to the Salyut and Mir station gradually extended to record durations. The foundations of this extension were laid by systemic researches in the fields of space biomedicine and allied sciences. The current ISS system of crew medical care has been successful in maintaining health and performance of cosmonauts as well as in providing the conditions for implementation of flight duties and operations with a broad variety of payloads. The ISS abounds in opportunities of realistic trial of concepts and technologies in preparation for crewed exploration missions. At the same, ground-based simulation of a mission to Mars is a venue for realization of scientific and technological experiments in space biomedicine.

Aim‐then‐shoot anemotaxis involved in the hopping approach of potato tuberworm moth Phthorimaea operculella toward a sex pheromone source

AbstractMale moths locate conspecific females by pheromone‐induced upwind flight maintained by detecting a visual flow, termed optomotor anemotaxis. Their behavioural pattern is characterized by an upwind surge in response to a pheromone stimulus and crosswind casting after odour loss, which is considered to be reset and restarted on receipt of another pheromone pulse. However, pheromone‐stimulated males of the potato tuberworm moth Phthorimaea operculella exhibit a series of short and straight intermittent flights, or hops, when moving upwind. It is unclear whether they navigate by employing the same behavioural pattern and wind detection mechanism as that used by flying moths. To analyze odour‐modulated anemotaxis in male potato tuberworm moths, a flat wind tunnel is constructed to give regular odour stimuli to an insect regardless of its location. Moths are subjected to pheromone pulses of different frequencies to test whether they show a behavioural pattern that is reset and restarted by a pheromone pulse. Moths on the ground are also subjected to crosswind shear to examine their detection of wind direction. Path analyses reveal that males surge upwind when they receive a pheromone pulse and exhibit casting by successive hops when they lose odour. This behavioural pattern appears to be similar to that of flying moths. When the direction of the airflow is switched orthogonally, males adjust their course angle accordingly when they are on the ground. It is suggested that, instead of optomotor anemotaxis, this ‘aim‐then‐shoot’ system aids the detection of wind direction, possibly by mechanosensory means.

Measurement of glomerular filtration rate during flight in a migratory bird using a single bolus injection of FITC-inulin

During migration, passerine birds typically complete a series of multi-hour flights, each followed by a period of stopover. During flight, rates of respiratory water loss are high, yet these birds show no signs of dehydration after flights. During stopover, birds become hyperphagic to replenish fat reserves, often consuming food with high water content, such as fruit. Thus migratory birds seem to face an osmoregulatory challenge; they must reduce water losses during flight but retain the ability to excrete large quantities of water while maintaining osmotic balance at stopover. Our goal was to measure glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and fractional water reabsorption (FWR) of a migratory bird in free flight, at rest, and during feeding to assess the role of the kidney in maintaining water balance during migration. We used FITC-inulin and one- and two-phase exponential decay models to first validate a technique and then measure GFR in the Swainson's thrush, a small (∼30 g) songbird. Single-phase exponential decay models and the modified slope intercept method overestimated GFR by 26% compared with two-phase exponential decay models. We found no differences in GFR among fed, resting and flying birds, but FWR was significantly higher in resting and flying birds relative to feeding birds. There was no effect of the rate of respiratory water loss on GFR or FWR in flight. These data support the idea that birds in flight do not dramatically alter GFR but rely on increased FWR to minimize excretory water losses.

Euso-Balloon: A pathfinder mission for the JEM-EUSO experiment

EUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder mission for JEM-EUSO, the near-UV telescope proposed to be installed on board the ISS in 2017. The main objective of this pathfinder mission is to perform a full scale end-to-end test of all the key technologies and instrumentation of JEM-EUSO detectors and to prove the entire detection chain. EUSO-Balloon will measure the atmospheric and terrestrial UV background components, in different observational modes, fundamental for the development of the simulations. Through a series of flights performed by the French Space Agency CNES, EUSO-Balloon also has the potential to detect Extensive Air Showers (EAS) from above. EUSO-Balloon will be mounted in an unpressurized gondola of a stratospheric balloon. We will describe the instrument and the electronic system which performs instrument control and data management in such a critical environment.

A Drone For Climate

On March 2, a Global Hawk drone finished a series of surveillance flights. But the remotely piloted aircraft was not monitoring terrorist activities. It was traversing high above the tropical Pacific Ocean loaded with scientific instruments and scanning for ways that changes in high-altitude humidity might affect climate. Water is a powerful greenhouse gas—more powerful than carbon dioxide, notes Andrew E. Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University. In the lowest part of the atmosphere, the troposphere, water’s effect on climate is well understood. Water molecules absorb and reemit infrared radiation, elevating temperature. As climate warms, humidity increases, amplifying the greenhouse effect. Higher in the atmosphere, in the stratosphere, water still absorbs and reemits radiation. Stratospheric water vapor also plays a role in ozone depletion. But “we don’t have a good picture of how stratospheric water vapor will evolve over the 21st century,” says Dessler, who is ...

Remapping the History of Medicine: Fifteen Years of Health and History

Health & History, 2013. 15/2 5 Remapping the History of Medicine: Fifteen Years of Health and History Naomi Rogers and John Harley Warner Commemorating the 10th anniversary of Health and History, Warwick Anderson, the journal’s first editor, traced its origins back to the summer of 1995, when the Australasian Society of the History of Medicine held its biennial conference on Norfolk Island. ‘After the Norfolk Island conference’, he recalled, ‘there was a general feeling of confidence and heft in the society, a sense of maturity that seemed to demand some flagship publication’ (vol. 10, 2008, p. 1). For our part, we recall arriving on the island after a long series of flights from North America as new parents with our five-week-old son Nathaniel, spitting out his pacifier on the airport floor, screaming in full voice as one of us gave the keynote lecture, and spitting up on the governorgeneral ’s carpet at what we like to think of as his first state reception. The journal, Anderson remarked, ‘soon became a robust toddler’, and so too our son. As much as we resist lifecycle metaphors, for us they are unavoidable as we reflect on the healthy growth of both, watching them develop their own mature voices, navigate challenges, chart a confident course, and—by intellectual, cultural, and political engagement—make a difference in the world. Two choices made in the journal’s formative years have continued to inform its distinctive historical character and sustain its inclusive scope. Forged as it was through the collaboration of practicing physicians and professional historians, the journal made a deliberate commitment to provide a forum for both constituencies, as authors and as readers. Maintaining a productive balance between the historical interests and professional concerns of these two groups has often not been easy for medical history journals, societies, or conference organisers, and all too many gave up trying. Health and History, however, remained committed to inclusivity and breadth, reaffirmed in a 2008 special issue that explored the special role of the physician-historian. Not only have its pages benefited from the vitality of interdisciplinary exchange, but also, at a time when many other medical history institutions are struggling to win doctors back to the fold, Health and History finds itself admirably poised on the forefront. 6 NAOMI ROGERS & JOHN HARLEY WARNER The second foundational choice could be seen—wrongly, we believe—to pull in the opposite direction from the first, namely, the decision to eschew ‘medicine’ in favor of ‘health’ in the journal’s name. All but one of the major Anglophone journals in the field—the exception being Nursing History Review—has inherited the narrow and now somewhat anachronistic ‘medical’ moniker—the Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Journal of the History of Medicine, Medical History, Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, and even Social History of Medicine, doubly dated by the modifier ‘social’ that celebrates a transformative but now dated historiographic moment. From the outset, Health and History claimed the more expansive territory of the history of health cultures that captures the preoccupations and purview of our shared field. The journal has been remarkably successful in recruiting contributions that explore the widest compass of medical knowledge and institutions, the experience of illness, the interactions of healers and sufferers, and the multiple meanings of disease and disability. But what strikes us most in looking through volumes from the past fifteen years is the journal’s outward vision—a connectedness that extends beyond the historiographic engagement of individual articles to a dialog with archivists, non-medical historians, museum curators, and the wider public. The special issues that have been a signal feature of the journal have provided a platform for this broader engagement. The 1999 special issue on the preservation and scholarly use of medical records, for example, grew from a 1997 University of Melbourne symposium in which one of us participated that brought together researchers in history and epidemiology with archivists and record managers, and set the template for subsequent special issues. The vitality of these collections on themes such as Maori health, deinstitutionalisation in Australia and New Zealand, health and hybridity in the Pacific region, and military medicine have derived much of their...