High Altitude Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Respiratory infections cause significant mortality in developing countries but are frequently undiagnosed. Reasons for this are unclear. We observed 1,081 outpatient consultations with patients less than five years of age in Tanzania. In... more

Respiratory infections cause significant mortality in developing countries but are frequently undiagnosed. Reasons for this are unclear. We observed 1,081 outpatient consultations with patients less than five years of age in Tanzania. In 554 patients with cough or difficulty breathing, the absolute percentages examined were 5% for respiratory rate counted, 14% chest exposed, and 25% stethoscope used. Decisions to conduct particular examinations did appear to follow clinical logic, with odds ratios of 4.28 for counting respiratory rate (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.75-10.47), 2.57 for exposing the chest (95% CI=1.67-3.95), and 18.91 for using a stethoscope (95% CI=9.52-37.57) in patients with cough or difficulty breathing. Non-clinical variables, including salary level, were also associated with examinations, and history taking was more common among clinicians originating outside the hospital area. Although respiratory examinations are relatively more common in those with cough or ...

ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS (AMS) is a syndrome encoun- tered by travelers to high altitude who ascend too high too fast (7, 19). Symptoms include headache, nausea, malaise, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping. AMS has been well described for... more

ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS (AMS) is a syndrome encoun- tered by travelers to high altitude who ascend too high too fast (7, 19). Symptoms include headache, nausea, malaise, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping. AMS has been well described for several hundred years, but the pathophysiology is unresolved. Surprisingly, the role of exercise in the pathogenesis of AMS has not been systematically studied. Our personal observations, an- ecdotal reports by others (5, 13, 16), and one prelimi- nary study (4) suggest that overexertion, independent of prior physical condition (11), may be related to the development of AMS. This notion is supported by the finding that the incidence of AMS is lower when subjects passively ascend to high altitude (as in an altitude chamber or by helicopter ascent on mountains) or actively ascend, but slowly (7), compared with active and rapid ascent (14). However, because passive trans- port to high altitude can occur within minutes, and climbing to the same altitude...

Abstract. Chemical and biological sedimentary records of a high alpine lake were used to reconstruct palaeoecological conditions and compared with two centuries of instrumental temperature measure-ments. Air temperature determined the... more

Abstract. Chemical and biological sedimentary records of a high alpine lake were used to reconstruct palaeoecological conditions and compared with two centuries of instrumental temperature measure-ments. Air temperature determined the lake water pH throughout the past 200 ...

The infrared AOTF spectrometer is a part of the SPICAM experiment onboard the Mars-Express ESA mission. The instrument has a capability of solar occultations and operates in the spectral range of 1–1.7 μm with a spectral resolution of... more

The infrared AOTF spectrometer is a part of the SPICAM experiment onboard the Mars-Express ESA mission. The instrument has a capability of solar occultations and operates in the spectral range of 1–1.7 μm with a spectral resolution of ∼3.5 cm−1. We report results from 24 orbits obtained during MY28 at Ls 130°–160°, and the latitude range of 40°–55° N. For

Somma-Vesuvius is a composite volcano on the southern margin of the Campanian Plain which has been active during the last 39 ka BP and which poses a hazard and risk for the main population center situated around its base. The fieldwork... more

Somma-Vesuvius is a composite volcano on the southern margin of the Campanian Plain which has been active during the last 39 ka BP and which poses a hazard and risk for the main population center situated around its base. The fieldwork and data analysis on which this report is based are related to the eight Plinian eruptions that have occurred in the last 25 ka. For six of these eruptions, the fallout products were dispersed to the east–northeast, whereas deposits from the 25 ka Codola and AD 79 eruptions were dispersed in a south-easterly direction. During the AD 79 eruption, in particular, the dispersal axis migrated from the east–southeast to south–southeast. New high level wind data collected at the weather stations of the Aereonautica Militare data centres at Pratica di Mare (Rome) and Brindisi have been compiled to characterize the prevailing wind condition in the Somma-Vesuvius region. The common north-easterly dispersal directions of the Plinian eruptions are consistent with the distribution of ash by high-altitude winds from October to June. In contrast, the south-easterly trend of the AD 79 products appears to be anomalous, because the eruption is conventionally believed to have occurred on the 24th of August, when its southeast dispersive trend falls in a transitional period from the Summer to Autumnal wind regimes. In fact, the AD 79 tephra dispersive direction towards the southeast is not in agreement with the June–August high-altitude wind directions that are toward the west. This poses serious doubt about the date of the eruption and the mismatch raises the hypothesis that the eruption occurred in the Autumnal climatic period, when high-altitude winds were also blowing towards the southeast. New archaeological findings presented in this study definitively place the date of eruption in the Autumn, in good agreement with the prevailing high-altitude wind directions above Somma-Vesuvius.Moreover, wind data and past eruptive behaviour indicate that a future subplinian–Plinian eruption at Somma-Vesuvius has a good chance to occur when winds are blowing toward the eastern sectors (northeast–southeast), in the Autumnal–Winter period, and only a slightest chance in Summer, when winds are blowing toward the west, depositing ash fallout on the Neapolitan community.

Keeping an exact calendar was important to schedule Delphic festivals. The proper day for a prophecy involved a meticulous calculation, which was carried out by learned priests and ancient philosophers. The month of Bysios on average is... more

Keeping an exact calendar was important to schedule Delphic festivals. The proper day for a prophecy involved a meticulous calculation, which was carried out by learned priests and ancient philosophers. The month of Bysios on average is February, but in reality it could be any 30-day interval between January and March. Bysios starts with a New Moon, but the beginning of the month is not easily pinpointed and thus Bysios and the 7 th day for giving an oracle cannot be identified according to the Gregorian calendar. The celestial motions of Lyra and Cygnus with regards to sunrise and sunset are related to the Delphi temple‘s orientation and the high altitude of steep cliffs of the Faidriades in front of it. Light from the rising Sun shines at the back of the temple where the statue of the god is located, while the appearance and disappearance of Lyra and Cygnus, two of Apollo‘s favorite constellations in the Delphic sky, mark the period of absence of the god to the Hyperboreans. This ...

... Anjana Bhatia • Saroj Arora • Bikram Singh • Gurveen Kaur • Avinash Nagpal ... More popularly known as ''Ratanjot'' in the... more

... Anjana Bhatia • Saroj Arora • Bikram Singh • Gurveen Kaur • Avinash Nagpal ... More popularly known as ''Ratanjot'' in the northwestern Himalayas, the extract from roots has been used as a dark maroon natural colorant in syrups, tonics, ointments and hair dyes and also for ...

Invasive species often exhibit geographical variations in life history traits that may allow them to successfully invade different environments. We investigated geographical variation in body size and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) of... more

Invasive species often exhibit geographical variations in life history traits that may allow them to successfully invade different environments. We investigated geographical variation in body size and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) of invasive bullfrogs in southwestern China, by sampling two breeding populations (descendants of a single source population) inhabiting sites at low (1,412 m, Shiping) and high (2,692 m, Luguhu) altitudes. Both populations exhibited significant SSD, with females larger than males. At high altitude, mean body size of both sexes and the degree of SSD were significantly reduced; the reduction in mean body size with increasing altitude was more pronounced in females, although not significantly so. Female bullfrogs also showed a significant decrease in average age at high altitude that may be a major factor related to this pattern; average age of male bullfrogs did not vary significantly with altitude. Growth rate of both sexes was also lower at high altitude. Our results provide the first evidence that introduced bullfrog’s exhibit geographical variation in morphology in invaded areas in response to different environments, likely due to changes in climate. Additional research is required to determine the mechanism of this variation (i.e., physiological or developmental plasticity, mortality rate, selective pressure) and most importantly, to evaluate the potential for variation in the impacts of introduced bullfrogs on native ecosystems in China.