ALBERT

Description: Personal cooling systems are used to alleviate symptoms of multiple sclerosis and to prevent increased core temperature during daily activities. The objective of this study was to determine the thermal and physiologic responses of patients with multiple sclerosis to short-term maximal head and neck cooling. A Life Support Systems, Inc. Mark VII portable cooling system and a liquid cooling helmet were used to cool the head and neck regions of 24 female and 26 male patients with multiple sclerosis in this study. The subjects, seated in an upright position at normal room temperature (approximately 22 degrees C), were cooled for 30 min by the liquid cooling garment, which was operated at its maximum cooling capacity. Oral, right, and left ear temperatures and cooling system parameters were logged manually every 5 min. Forearm, calf, chest, and rectal temperatures, heart rate, and respiration rate were recorded continuously on a U.F.I., Inc. Biolog ambulatory monitor. This protocol was performed during the winter and summer to investigate the seasonal differences in the way patients with multiple sclerosis respond to head and neck cooling. No significant differences were found between the male and female subject group's mean rectal or oral temperature responses during any phase of the experiment. The mean oral temperature decreased significantly (P 〈 0.05) for both groups approximately 0.3 degrees C after 30 min of cooling and continued to decrease further (approximately 0.1-0.2 degrees C) for a period of approximately 15 min after removal of the cooling helmet. The mean rectal temperatures decreased significantly (P 〈 0.05) in both male and female subjects in the winter studies (approximately 0.2-0.3 degrees C) and for the male subjects during the summer test (approximately 0.2 degrees C). However, the rectal temperature of the female subjects did not change significantly during any phase of the summer test. These data indicate that head and neck cooling may, in general, be used to reduce the oral and body temperatures of both male and female patients with multiple sclerosis by the approximate amount needed for symptomatic relief as shown by other researchers. However, thermal response of patients with multiple sclerosis may be affected by gender and seasonal factors, which should be considered in the use of liquid cooling therapy.

Description: The North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array became operational in November 2001 as a principal component of a severe weather test bed to infuse new science and technology into the short-term forecasting of severe and hazardous weather, principally within nearby National Weather Service forecast offices. Since the installation of the LMA, it has measured the total lightning activity of a large number of severe weather events, including three supercell tornado outbreaks, two supercell hailstorm events, and numerous microburst-producing storms and ordinary non-severe thunderstorms. The key components of evolving storm morphology examined are the time rate-of-change (temporal trending) of storm convective and precipitation characteristics that can be diagnosed in real-time using NEXRAD WSR-88D Doppler radar (echo growth and decay, precipitation structures and velocity features, outflow boundaries), LMA (total lightning flash rate and its trend) and National Lightning Detection Network (cloud-to- ground lightning, its polarity and trends). For example, in a transitional season supercell tornado outbreak, peak total flash rates for typical supercells in Tennessee reached 70-100/min, and increases in the total flash rate occurred during storm intensification as much as 20-25 min prior to at least some of the tornadoes. The most intense total flash rate measured during this outbreak (over 800 flashes/min) occurred in a storm in Alabama. In the case of a severe summertime pulse thunderstorm in North Alabama, the peak total flash rate reached 300/min, with a strong increase in total lightning evident some 9 min before damaging winds were observed at the surface. In this paper we provide a sampling of LMA observations and products during severe weather events to illustrate the capability of the system, and discuss the prospects for improving the short-term forecasting of convective weather using total lightning data.

Description: The two Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) are flight vehicles with unique measurement capabilities. The primary goal of the RSRA is direct measurement of rotor forces and moments in flight. This is accomplished through a rotor force and moment measurement system comprised of load cells and/or hydro-pneumatic isolator units which are integral to the aircraft structure. Due to structural flexibility, the aircraft must undergo a physical calibration. A static calibration of the first RSRA has been completed, and data analysis has progressed through determination of a linear calibration algorithm. Design, development, and operation of the RSRA rotor force and moment measurement system and the Static Calibration Facility are described, and results of the calibration are presented.

Description: The collocation of a National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office with atmospheric scientists from NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama has afforded a unique opportunity for science sharing and technology transfer. Specifically, the NWS office in Huntsville has interacted closely with research scientists within the SPORT (Short-term Prediction and Research and Transition) Center at MSFC. One significant technology transfer that has reaped dividends is the transition of unique NASA EOS polar orbiting datasets into NWS field operations. NWS forecasters primarily rely on the AWIPS (Advanced Weather Information and Processing System) decision support system for their day to day forecast and warning decision making. Unfortunately, the transition of data from operational polar orbiters or low inclination orbiting satellites into AWIPS has been relatively slow due to a variety of reasons. The ability to integrate these high resolution NASA datasets into operations has yielded several benefits. The MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectrometer ) instrument flying on the Aqua and Terra satellites provides a broad spectrum of multispectral observations at resolutions as fine as 250m. Forecasters routinely utilize these datasets to locate fine lines, boundaries, smoke plumes, locations of fog or haze fields, and other mesoscale features. In addition, these important datasets have been transitioned to other WFOs for a variety of local uses. For instance, WFO Great Falls Montana utilizes the MODIS snow cover product for hydrologic planning purposes while several coastal offices utilize the output from the MODIS and AMSR-E instruments to supplement observations in the data sparse regions of the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. In the short term, these datasets have benefited local WFOs in a variety of ways. In the longer term, the process by which these unique datasets were successfully transitioned to operations will benefit the planning and implementation of products and datasets derived from both NPP and NPOESS. This presentation will provide a brief overview of current WFO usage of satellite data, the transition of datasets between SPORT and the N W S , and lessons learned for future transition efforts.

Description: This paper describes a successful research and operational collaboration between NASA scientists and NWS forecasters to improve severe stor m warnings using real-time data from a regional VHF total lightning mapping array (LMA). Key objectives of our research using LMA data ar e: a) Identification of intensifying and weakening storms using the time rate-of-change of total flash rate; b) Improved severe storm poten tial situational awareness; c) Evaluation of the potential of total f lash rate trend to improve severe storm probability of detection (POD ) and lead time; and d) Validation of mesoscale model forecasts of th understorm initiation. The LMA data are distributed for ingest and di splay in the WFO AWIPS decision support system, and archived at each WFO for case studies, event playbacks, and assessments using the NWS Warning Event Simulator. The Huntsville WFO has upgraded severe thund erstorm warnings to verified tornado warnings and avoided a false ala rm on a severe storm through the added information on storm growth, intensification, and decay that can be deduced from the magnitude and temporal trend of total flash rates. We present detailed case studies of the observed relationships between lightning activity and tornadi c storm development as determined by radar reflectivity and velocity fields, and thunderstorms forecast by the Weather Research and Foreca st (WRF) model. From these collaborative studies, forecasters can eva luate the added value of total lightning data within the forecast and warning decision-making process (http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/sport) .