Transatlantic Flight Research Articles

The ‘X‐Rated X‐Ray’: Reconciling Fairness, Privacy, and Security

Commercial airline flights have been targeted in the events of September 11, later by Richard Reid in December 2001, and more recently in the terrorist plot foiled by British investigators involving an estimated 10 transatlantic flights. Since September 11, 2001, the screening of airline travelers has been redefined in light of its threat to homeland security. Global events have fueled the momentum of policies designed to strengthen homeland security. Some policies, which have the intended goal of protecting individuals and the larger community from harm, may produce unintended negative consequences. A question remains as to what expectation of privacy society is willing to accept as reasonable for travelers on commercial airlines. In particular, X‐ray screening using backscatter technology is one technique which has been used to screen airline travelers for weapons and contraband in a number of major US airports. The legal, social, and ethical considerations of airport screening are discussed in the context of homeland security.

Passenger evaluation of the optimum balance between fresh air supply and humidity from 7-h exposures in a simulated aircraft cabin

A 21-seat section of an aircraft cabin with realistic pollution sources was built inside a climate chamber capable of providing fresh outside air at very low humidity. Maintaining a constant 200 l/s rate of total air supply, i.e. recirculated and make-up air, to the cabin, experiments simulating 7-h transatlantic flights were carried out at four rates of fresh outside air supply--1.4, 3.3, 4.7, and 9.4 l/s per person (3, 7, 10, and 20 cfm/person)--resulting in humidity levels, ranging from 7% to 28% relative humidity (RH). Four groups of 16-18 subjects acted as passengers and crew and were each exposed to the four simulated flight conditions. During each flight the subjects completed questionnaires three times to provide subjective ratings of air quality and of symptoms commonly experienced during flight. Physiological tests of eye, nose, and skin function were administered twice. Analysis of the subjective assessments showed that increasing RH in the aircraft cabin to 28% RH by reducing outside flow to 1.4 l/s per person did not reduce the intensity of the symptoms that are typical of the aircraft cabin environment. On the contrary, it intensified complaints of headache, dizziness, and claustrophobia, due to the increased level of contaminants. The investigation shows that increasing aircraft cabin humidity by decreasing the ventilation flow rate of fresh outside air would not decrease reports of discomfort made by cabin occupants.

Mentors, influences and role models

The responsibility of research supervisors to act as mentors is a common theme today. But mentoring takes many forms and should not be separated from acting as role models for those around us. The importance of this influence recently became more apparent to me, when Jack Gorski—my first postdoctoral supervisor—died. I wrote to Jack in 1972, to ask if I could work in his laboratory at the University of Wisconsin. He replied that he thought my CV was fine, but was concerned that I did not know him or what it would be like to work in his laboratory. This was in the days when transatlantic flights were a major expense for a young biologist, so Jack gave me a list of his former postdoctoral researchers and suggested that I contact them to ask about their experiences; their glowing reports convinced me to join his group. Jack did not mentor in a formal sense, he was simply himself: decent, caring, driven by science rather than by ego, and taking care of those in his laboratory at all …

Case 3—2006 Cardiac Arrest at 30,000 Feet

APPROXIMATELY 2 BILLION passengers travel on commercial airlines each year. This high passenger volume is associated with an increasing incidence of in-flight medical events, which is estimated to be as high as 1 in-flight medical event per 14,000 passengers worldwide. 1 Gendreau M.A. DeJohn C. Responding to medical events during commercial flights. N Engl J Med. 2002; 346: 1067-1073 Crossref PubMed Scopus (147) Google Scholar In this case conference, the authors present a case of cardiopulmonary arrest during a transatlantic flight and discuss the medical and medicolegal considerations of providing medical care to passengers during commercial airline flight. Addendum to Cardiac Arrest at 30,000 FeetJournal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular AnesthesiaVol. 20Issue 4PreviewWe read with interest the case conference by Kahn et al1 in the June issue of the Journal. The incidence of in-flight medical events is estimated to be as high as 1 event per 14,000 passengers worldwide,2 and with millions of passengers traveling on commercial airlines each year, it is not unusual for medical personnel to be called to act in an in-flight emergency. We offer 2 additional cases of medical crises during domestic flights and discuss the medical considerations involved. Full-Text PDF

Ancient trans-Atlantic flight explains locust biogeography: molecular phylogenetics ofSchistocerca

The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) has been an important agricultural pest at least since biblical times. Although the ecology, physiology and behaviour of this insect species have been well characterized, its biogeographical origins and evolutionary history are more obscure. Schistocerca gregaria occurs throughout Africa, the Middle East and Western Asia, but all other species in the genus Schistocerca are found in the New World. Because S. gregaria has the capacity for extreme long-distance movement associated with swarming behaviour, dispersal may have played an important role in determining current distribution patterns. Some authors have argued that S. gregaria is the product of an eastward trans-Atlantic dispersal from North America to Africa; others consider it more likely that the New World taxa are the product of westward dispersal from Africa. Here, we present a mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of Schistocerca species that supports the monophyly of New World species (including the Galapagos endemic Halmenus) relative to S. gregaria. In concert with observed patterns of molecular divergence, and in contrast to previous morphological studies, our analysis indicates a single trans-Atlantic flight from Africa to South America, followed by extensive speciation and ecological divergence in the New World.

A nephrotic child with deep vein thrombosis after a long-haul flight

Sirs, The media has periodically highlighted traveller’s thrombosis, particularly where fatalities have arisen [1]. Several studies recognise the risk factors and incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after a long-haul flight in the adult population [2, 3]. No cases have been described affecting children. In the case we describe here, a child with the additional risk factors of factor V Leiden deficiency and nephrotic syndrome developed a DVT on return from a transatlantic flight. We report the case of a 13-year-old Caucasian girl diagnosed with biopsy-proven focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), who responded to steroids and was in remission and steroid free for 2 years subsequently. Routine urine monitoring was not maintained thereafter and only instituted when clinically indicated. She flew across the Atlantic for a vacation and 2 weeks after her return presented with pain in her left groin. Clinical examination revealed a swollen left calf, which on Doppler ultrasound confirmed a DVT. Urinalysis showed 2+ protein (265 mg/mmol, nephrotic range). Blood biochemistry confirmed a low serum albumin of 19 g/l. There was no evidence of peripheral oedema, but the patient was clearly in relapse of her nephrotic syndrome secondary to FSGS. A history of DVT was noted in the maternal grandfather, secondary to immobilisation. A thrombophilia screen revealed factor V Leiden deficiency. Treatment, on confirmation of the DVT, was low molecular weight heparin, elastic stockings and steroids to treat the nephrotic syndrome, with remission achieved within 2 weeks. Following resolution of her clinical symptoms, she was converted to warfarin. Long-haul flights generate a risk for DVT because of the environment. Combining this with an unrecognised thrombosis risk as well as nephrotic syndrome can only have compounded and significantly increased this risk in our patient. Appreciating that factor V Leiden deficiency is seen in 3% of the population [4], it is perhaps not unreasonable to undertake a thrombophilia screen in all patients that present with nephrotic syndrome. This would aid in immediate management as well as in future relapses and allow for targeted advice. We would consider it good practice to advise all patients with a history of nephrotic syndrome to maintain monitoring of their urine for evidence of relapse prior, during and on return from a long-haul journey. This would also apply to those that have apparently been disease-free for a considerable time and are no longer routinely monitoring their urine. Additionally, the advice would also include the wearing of knee-high stockings, adequate mobility and hydration during a flight [5]. Patients would also be made vigilant of symptoms of a DVT on return. Our patient, now well and off warfarin, will in future inject low molecular weight heparin in the departure lounge before all future flights as well as maintain monitoring for proteinuria.

Estimated neutron dose to embryo and foetus during commercial flight

A study has been carried out to assess the radiation exposure from cosmic-ray neutrons to the embryo and foetus of pregnant aircrew and air travellers in consideration of the radiation exposure from cosmic-ray neutrons to the embryo and foetus. A Monte Carlo analysis was performed to determine the equivalent dose from neutrons to the brain and body of an embryo at 8 weeks and to the foetus at the 3, 6 and 9 month periods. Neutron fluence-to-absorbed dose conversion coefficients for the foetal brain and for the entire foetal body (isotropic irradiation geometry) have been determined at the four developmental stages. The equivalent dose rate to the foetus during commercial flights has been further evaluated considering the fluence-to-absorbed dose conversion coefficients, a neutron spectrum measured at an altitude of 11.3 km and an ICRP-92 radiation-weighting factor for neutrons. This study indicates that the foetus can exceed the annual dose limit of 1 mSv for the general public after, for example, 15 round trips on commercial trans-Atlantic flights.

René Descartes and the Forensic Scientist

The modern world provides us with many technological advances such as high-speed computers, transatlantic flights and tiny cell phones (which are constantly being lost, crushed or dropped down moni...

Spontaneous otogenic pneumocephalus managed with the middle fossa approach

Objectives: Otogenic pneumocephalus is an uncommon entity usually caused by otologic surgery, trauma, tumor, or infection. Spontaneous pneumocephalus caused by barotrauma is extremely rare. We surveyed the literature and describe a case report of otogenic pneumocephalus from barotrauma managed with a middle fossa craniotomy. Methods: A literature review was performed by querying MEDLINE from 1966 to the present by querying the MeSH heading “Pneumocephalus” and filtering the results for cases involving the ear or mastoid. Case report: A 60-year-old man had onset of hearing loss, aural fullness with a “gurgling” sensation, and roaring tinnitus in the right ear following a transatlantic flight. Symptoms persisted for 3 months. The patient underwent CT and MRI scanning, which revealed air in the ventricular system, a right temporal lobe cyst, and a thinned tegmen. A clear middle ear effusion, air-bone gap of 30 dB, and a left superior homonymous quadrantanopsia were present. The patient underwent an exploratory middle fossa craniotomy. Results: At surgery, the middle fossa floor demonstrated multiple bony defects and there were several small holes in the dura. A multilayered repair of this area was undertaken using temporalis fascia, bone chips, synthetic dura, and fibrin glue. The literature review revealed 3 similar cases in the neurotologic literature. Conclusion: Spontaneous otogenic pneumocephalus remains an uncommon finding. Anatomic defects in the floor of the middle cranial fossa contribute to the development of this rare entity. Neurotologic consultation should be obtained. In selected instances, middle fossa craniotomy and repair of the dural and bony defects may be required.

The Star’s Image, Victimization and Celebrity Culture

Today we live in a celebrity culture, in which images of stars, people who are famous for being famous, are circulated and consumed as a daily practice by people across the world. This article explores the cultural reception of celebrity victimization, relating this to the twinned processes of globalization and commodification. The arguments made are illustrated through an analysis of the case of Charles Lindbergh, whose infant son was murdered during the inter-war years. Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight of 1927 was a global media-event in which the new mobilities of persons and images were highly condensed. Mediated visibility launched him into unprecedented acclaim, yet his fame unfolded in part as a negative status, as a kind of victimization. Analysis of this case permits a study of the relationships between images, celebrity and victimization.

European airlines conduct after September 11

The paper analyses the reorganisation that European carriers have implemented after September 11 in the transatlantic flights. We model carriers’ conduct as a mixture of short- and long-term goals, where the weights depend on firm-specific variables (adjustment costs, financial situation) and subjective expectations on the crisis duration. Data provide some support to our conjectures that high adjustment costs induce low flexibility and a focus on the long-term; and that a bad financial situation shifts the carries attention to short-term. Finally, the analysis of the composition of short- and long-term reaction provides some insights into the carriers’ perspectives of the crisis duration.

The Response of African Americans to Lindbergh's Flight to Paris

On May 21, 1927, at 10:24 p.m., Charles Lindbergh gently touched down on French soil, the first person to fly the Atlantic alone. Immediately, the world had a new hero — mobbed wherever he went, the recipient of thousands of letters and poems, the inspiration for popular as well as classical music. But what, exactly, Lindbergh meant to his generation and subsequent generations has remained a source of interest and controversy. In “The Meaning of Lindbergh's Flight” (1958), for example, John W. Ward argued that Lindbergh revealed a deep tension in the American public: “Was the flight the achievement of a heroic, solitary, unaided individual or did the flight represent the triumph of the machine, the success of an industrially organized society?” Twenty-two years later, Laurence Goldstein, in “Lindbergh in 1927: The Response of Poets to the Poem of Fact” (1980), was less certain how to know the significance of Lindbergh's transatlantic flight. But he did argue that Lindbergh's problematic relationship to the “idealizing tendency of popular discourse” was itself a way to understand his complex response to his times and his achievement. More recently, Susan M. Gray, in Charles Lindbergh and the American Dilemma: The Conflict of Technology and Human Values (1988), argued that Lindbergh is best understood as a case study of a larger American issue, the “dialectical tension between technology and human values.” Not only did Lindbergh reveal the complex tensions noted by Ward and Goldstein, but, more fundamentally, he revealed the dialectical imagination characteristic of American thinking since the early 19th century.

Who is to blame?

I have been a cardiologist for more than 20 years and find that the practice of cardiology may have become routine. The massive burden of ischaemic heart disease sometimes obscures the clinical and epidemiological traps that lay in our paths once in a while. The 47-year-old consultant of our neonatology department experienced vague chest sensations accompanied by cough. Palpating his pulse he noticed extrasystoles. During a transatlantic flight 1 month later, after a short moment of discomfort in the right shoulder he experienced some lightheadedness and blurred vision when he went to the lavatory. He returned immediately to his seat where he collapsed and had a seizure, which was were noticed by a fellow passenger. Shortly thereafter, all the symptoms ceased and he fully recovered. He left the plane independently and was admitted to our department. His ECG was normal, except for first-degree atrioventricular block. He was observed on our cardiology ward, where no significant bradyarrhythmias were seen. A 24 h Holter recording did not show any abnormalities, except for persistent firstdegree atrioventricular block. Left heart catheterisation and coronary angiography were normal. Invasive electrophysiology testing revealed a prolonged sinus node recovery time, an atrioventricular node refractory period of over 400 msec (normal less than 300 msec) and the occurrence of Wenckebach block at a paced heart rate of 110 beats per minute. A DDD pacemaker was inserted and the patient did not experience recurrent syncope.

The United Kingdom's contributions to the development of aeronautics. Part 3. The development of the streamlined monoplane (the 1920s-1 940s)

The second part of this survey closed a little after the termination of the First World War. By then the utility of the aeroplane as an instrument of warfare had been amply demonstrated. Moreover, something of its future potential in civil use had been indicated by such British achievements as the first transatlantic flight by Alcock and Brown in 1919, albeit in a Vickers Vimy biplane of otherwise limited performance. It was also at this time that the new aerodynamic ideas of Kutta, Zhukovskii and Prandtl reached Britain. All such thinking pointed inevitably to the greater speed, efficiency and economy to be expected of the streamlined monoplane.

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy after a trans-Atlantic airplane journey

PURPOSE: To report a case of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy after a trans-Atlantic airplane journey. DESIGN: An observational case report. METHODS: A 48-year-old healthy man presented with severe visual loss in his left eye within 12 hours after a 15-hour-long trans-Atlantic airplane flight. The patient underwent slit-lamp examination, funduscopy, fluorescein angiography, automated perimetry, and various blood examinations. RESULTS: Visual acuity was LE: 20/30, and a mild left eye relative afferent pupillary defect was noted. Funduscopic evaluation revealed an edematous optic disk in the left eye with a para-diskal retinal hemorrhage. Fluorescein angiography revealed a leaking optic disk, and perimetry showed an inferior hemi-field scotoma. Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy was diagnosed. CONCLUSION: Prolonged airplane travel may compromise vision either by a thromboembolic mechanism caused by prolonged immobilization or by a vasospasm mechanism induced by the low oxygen pressure during the flight.

Nationalism, Sentiment, and Economics: Relations Between Ireland and Irish America in the Postwar Years

Ireland is a country whose sons and daughters hold her dearly above all, and it is evident in your great country as in others, that their love does not wither because the soil beneath their feet is foreign soil. St Patrick planted more than the shamrock when he came to Ireland--he planted in the hearts and minds of her people a spiritual fire that nothing can extinguish--a fire which still burns brightly in the hearts and minds of Irish men and women and those of Irish descent the world over. St. Patrick's Day greetings from the Taoiseach, John A. Costello, to the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Hawaii, March 1957 (1) DESPITE many assertions to the contrary, Mary Robinson was not the first Irish leader to reach out to the Irish diaspora. (2) W.T. Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, broadcast a St. Patrick's Day message to the United States in March 1926, several years before King George V began his annual Christmas broadcasts to the British Empire. (3) Cosgrave's first live broadcast in March 1931 seems to have attracted a large audience, judging by the many letters and postcards that he received from listeners throughout the United States and Canada. (4) de Valera continued the tradition of sending St. Patrick's Day greetings to the United States until 1938, when he relinquished the honor to Ireland's first President, Douglas Hyde. This is not the only evidence that independent Ireland kept in touch with the American Irish. During the late 1930s de Valera and Eoin MacNeill explored the possibility of establishing Irish cultural centers throughout the United States, so that Irish Americans and other Americans might learn something about our past and present, but the plan was abandoned at the outbreak of World War II. (5) In February 1946 de Valera entertained four Irish-American prelates--Spellman of New York, Mooney of Detroit, Stritch of Chicago, and Glennon of St. Louis--in Killarney, when they visited Ireland en route to Rome, where they were consecrated as cardinals. The party included James Farley, who had served as Post-Master General in Franklin Roosevelt's cabinet, and Fr. Robert Gannon, the President of Fordham University. (6) Visits to the United States by leading Irish politicians became more common in the 1950, with the introduction of regular trans-Atlantic flights; in 1956 John A. Costello became the first Irish head of government to spend St. Patrick's Day in the United States, inaugurating a pattern that many later Taoisigh have followed. In the morning he presented shamrocks to President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the White House, before flying to New York to preside at the St. Patrick's Day parade; that evening he was guest of honor at the annual dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Philadelphia. (7) Yet, despite evidence of regular contact between the Dublin government and Irish America, there is some validity in the belief that independent Ireland failed to keep in contact with the wider Irish community. This distancing seems to have happened during the 1950s and the 1960s because of changes in the Irish community in the United States, and in political and economic policies in Ireland. This essay concentrates on the perspective of the Irish government. (8) Mass emigration from Ireland to the United States came to a halt in 1929, following the Wall Street crash. By the late 1930 Britain had become the dominant destination for Irish emigrants, and by 1950 there were more people of Irish birth living in Britain than in the United States. Between 1951 and 1961 more than 400,000 men and women are believed to have emigrated from Ireland, but only 62,400 went to the United States. During this period, Irish immigrants filled less than 50 percent of the annual quota of 17,853 U.S. visas earmarked for Ireland in every year except 1957 and 1958, when a recession in Britain created greater interest in other destinations and the numbers emigrating to the United States increased to 9,124 and 10,383, respectively. …

Saving Time Saves Lives

Consider the following 3 patient stories: Reluctantly, A.B. heaved his bulk out of the air-conditioned car and into the hot, bright afternoon sun. The walk across the steaming macadam parking lot left him breathless, and his hand shook as he buried the cigarette butt into the sand on top of the shining brass receptacle guarding the entrance to the casino. His head pounded with the exertion, and he realized he forgot to take his blood pressure pill. Once he adjusted to the dimly lit interior and breathed the cool air, he caught his breath and cashed in $500 worth of chips. He quickly gravitated to the blackjack table, but in 30 minutes was cleaned out. His chest now ached with a soreness that had been waking him up at night for the last 2 weeks. As A.B. massaged his left breast, he began to feel lightheaded, and then the room went black. When C.D. heard the overhead page announcing that his flight was finally ready for boarding, he gulped down his wine and hurried out of the VIP lounge, lugging the distended briefcase over his shoulder. After showing his passport for what seemed the tenth time, he boarded the DC 10 and headed for the business section. The plane was already 2 hours late, and he was angry that he would miss his connection at Heathrow. But that seemed unimportant now as the fluttering in his chest started again. The doctor had told him it was ventricular tachycardia because of his enlarged heart and suggested a new medication, but he didn’t want to take it. The fluttering increased as the plane took off and continued through dinner. As C.D. settled back with his cognac, he looked down on the Atlantic, making out a few diamonds of light sparkling on the …

Model calculations of the impact of NOx from air traffic, lightning, and surface emissions, compared with measurements

The impact of NOx from aircraft emissions, lightning, and surface contributions on atmospheric nitrogen oxides and ozone in the North Atlantic flight corridor has been investigated with the three‐dimensional global chemistry transport model TM3 by partitioning the nitrogen oxides and ozone according to source category. The results have been compared with Pollution from Aircraft Emissions in the North Atlantic flight corridor (POLINAT 2) and Subsonic Assessment Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide Experiment (SONEX) airborne measurements in the North Atlantic flight corridor in 1997. Various cases have been investigated: measurements during a stagnant anticyclone and an almost cutoff low, both with expected high aircraft contributions, a southward bound flight with an expected strong flight corridor gradient and lightning contributions in the south, and a transatlantic flight with expected boundary layer pollution near the U.S. coast. The agreement between modeled results and measurements is reasonably good for NO and ozone. Also, the calculated impact of the three defined sources was consistent with the estimated exposure of the sampled air to these sources, obtained by specialized back trajectory model products. Model calculations indicate that aircraft contributes 55% to the mean NOx concentration and 10% to the O3 concentration in the North Atlantic flight corridor in October 1997, whereas lightning and surface emissions add 15% and 25% to the NOx concentration and 20% and 30% to the O3 concentration.

Deconstructing the Reconstruction of Capitalism

This is a big, ambitious book with an intricate, engaging, and important argument. I picked it up in Paris in January and read it on the flight home. It made me happy to be an intellectual and a scholar; happy to be able to read French; happy, for the first time I can remember, to have seven and a half hours of uninterrupted time on a transatlantic flight.

Maxillary sinus pneumocele causing orbital displacement

Pneumoceles of the maxillary sinus were first described by Noyek and Zizmorl in 1674. A 35year-old man noted right cheek pain during a trans-Atlantic flight. The pain resolved during descent but recurred intermittently during the following 6-month period. The pain was exacerbated by sneezing, and he eventually noticed a cystic mass in the canine fossa during Valsalva’s maneuver. Plain radiographs showed an extensively pneumatized maxillary antrum. A Caldwell-Luc approach was curative.l Since that original description, one sphenoid sinus and eight additional maxillary sinus pneumoceles have been reported.2-8 It is theorized that an abnormal one-way valve between the nasal cavity and the affected sinus allows chronic air trapping, an intrasinus pressure dysequilibrium, and subsequent hyperpneumatizati0n.l Wolfensberger and Herrmanng were the first to document this trapvalve hypothesis in a patient with a pneumocele. They documented elevated maxillary sinus pressure in the pneumocele compared with the uninvolved maxillary sinus during a transoral puncture using a trocar, Luer’s lock, and whole-body plethysmography. During Valsalva’s maneuver, both antral pressures increased, but only the pressure in the pneumocele remained elevated on termination of the maneuver. g CASE REPORT