BACKGROUND This study aimed to measure the serum soluble tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) and interleukin-17A (IL-17A) levels in hypertensive patients with/without asymptomatic organ damage (AOD), as well as to determine the relationship between the serum sTWEAK and IL17-A levels, and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), proteinuria, retinopathy, and the left vent...

Screening for alcohol and other drug (AOD) use followed by brief intervention (SBI) represents a useful tool for health professionals, since most people who are in the early stages of substance-related problems receive no guidance before developing significant consequences. In order to disseminate the techniques of SBI among Brazilian health professionals, the National Secretary on Drug Policy ...

BACKGROUND The use of alcohol and other drugs (AODs) in the workplace has a major impact on the health and productivity of the workforce globally. Yet information on this issue is limited in South Africa (SA). OBJECTIVE To describe the nature and extent of AOD problems in selected workplace settings in SA. METHODS Secondary data analysis was conducted on a large dataset compiled by an Emplo...

This study explores performance requirements for the retrieval of the atmospheric aerosol optical depth (AOD) by airborne optical remote sensing instruments. Independent of any retrieval techniques, the calculated AOD retrieval requirements are compared with the expected performance parameters of the upcoming hyperspectral sensor APEX at the reference wavelength of 550nm. The AOD accuracy requi...

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to better characterize the young patient with aortic dissection (AoD). BACKGROUND Aortic dissection is unusual in young patients, and frequently associated with unusual presentations. METHODS Data were collected on 951 patients diagnosed with AoD between January 1996 and November 2001. Two categories of patients, <40 years and >or=40 years, were compare...

In this paper, we propose an efficient beam tracking method for mobility scenario in mmWave-band communications. When the position of the mobile changes in mobility scenario, the base-station needs to perform beam training frequently to track the time-varying channel, thereby spending significant resources for training beams. In order to reduce the training overhead, we propose a new beam train...

The atmospheric aerosol optical depth (AOD) weighted over the solar spectrum is equal to the monochromatic AOD at a certain wavelength. This key wavelength is ~0.7 mum, which is only slightly influenced by air mass and aerosol content. On the basis of this result, simple relations are proposed to predict monochromatic AOD from pyrheliometric data and vice versa. The accuracy achieved is close t...

Financing, payment, and organization and management of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services are closely intertwined and together determine whether people have access to treatment, how the treatment system is designed, and the quality and cost of treatment services. Since the 1960s, changes in these arrangements have driven changes in the delivery of AOD treatment, and recent developm...

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use is common among adolescents, and its consequences pose important public health problems. Consequently, it is essential to understand the numerous factors that place adolescents at risk for AOD use. These factors include psychological and psychiatric influences (e.g., comorbid psychiatric disorders) as well as peer, environmental, and family factors. The impact o...