From the Chief Editor’s Desk

Our decades old Journal, the Indian Journal of Aerospace Medicine is in the midst of getting indexed with various indexing agencies. While it is a proud moment for me to take over as the new Editor-in-Chief, it also brings an extra load of responsibility to accomplish the task of indexing of IJASM.

In this issue of the IJASM, a bouquet of contemporary research in the field of aerospace medicine is put together by the Editorial Team. This edition is a unique blend of research work from the most experienced and senior Aerospace Medicine Specialists to a plethora of articles from young researchers. The Institute of Aerospace Medicine, the hub of Aerospace Medicine research in the Country, believes in supporting young researchers in an academically stimulating environment thereby promoting a high degree of independent work. As an Editorial Board, we have tried to encourage the young researchers in publishing their hard work and piece of scientific research in the current issue.

An article by a young scientist offers the suggestion that the distinction between ALOC and G-LOC may not offer any advantage, while having a host of disadvantages as brought out by the author well supported with data and statistics. A first-year resident brings out that the propensity to have G-LOC is unrelated to age, gender, height, weight and a host of other factors that have been linked to ‘low +Gz tolerance’. This study has been done on a fairly large sample size and questions the traditionally accepted view on low +Gz tolerance. Another young scientist presents the way to determine whether a case of motion-sickness is likely to respond to motion sickness desensitization therapy. This is the first instance where the author has been able to provide a 95% fit on the ROC curve, showing almost nil false positives.

Machine Learning is the latest arena of research. The algorithms identifying and incorporating natural patterns in the data aid in better decision making. In this issue, we bring before you how this tool could be used for optimizing sizing schedules of aircrew helmets. The issue also presents another piece of great research on assessment of fatigue during simulated exercise, the experience, shared by one of the most experienced specialists in the Aerospace Medicine Fraternity.

All this and more in this issue of IJASM. Welcome aboard and happy reading. We look forward to your comments and critique.

Jai Hind!