BACKGROUND The validity of blood pressure (BP)-measuring tools at very high altitudes is uncertain. Therefore, the objective of this review was to examine the degree of agreement of BP-measuring devices in Tibet. METHODS We conducted electronic searches in Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane Library, Global Health Library and the ISI Web of Science. Randomised and observational studies were con...

Chronic living at altitudes of ∼2,500 m causes consistent hematological acclimatization in most, but not all, groups of athletes; however, responses of erythropoietin (EPO) and red cell mass to a given altitude show substantial individual variability. We hypothesized that athletes living at higher altitudes would experience greater improvements in sea level performance, secondary to greater hem...

Human exposures to ionizing radiation have been vastly altered by developing technology in the last century. This has been most obvious in the development of radiation generating devices and the utilization of nuclear energy. But even air travel has had its impact on human exposure. Human exposure increases with advancing aircraft technology as a result of the higher operating altitudes reducin...

WL iLLiAM B. BULL AND ALAN F. Cooper (1) identify as marine terrace remnants 18 "notches" or steps at altitudes up to 1700 m on the ridge crests southeast of the Alpine fault, New Zealand. They infer late Quatemary uplift rates on this upthrown side of the fault at three study areas. Their conclusions are based on (i) morphology ofthe steps, which are said to resemble eroded marine cliffs and s...

As part of the study on the Mantaro river basin’s (central Andes of Perú) current vulnerability to climate change, the temporal and spatial characteristics of frosts were analysed. These characteristics included intensity, frequency, duration, frost-free periods, area distribution and historical trends. Maps of frost risk were determined for the entire river basin, by means of mathematical algo...

Decreasing temperature and increasing precipitation along altitude gradients are typical mountain climate in subtropical China. In such a climate regime, identifying the patterns of the C stable isotope composition (δ(13)C) in plants and soils and their relations to the context of climate change is essential. In this study, the patterns of δ(13)C variation were investigated for tree leaves, lit...

Thyroid hormones play an important role in cell growth and differentiation and regulation of oxygen consumption and thermogenesis. The effect of altitude and vitamin supplementation on thyroid hormone levels in animals or humans performing acute exhaustive exercise have not been investigated before. Therefore, we thought to test whether exhaustive exercise-induced stress with antioxidant supple...

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of pneumonia and severe pneumonia among children living at high altitudes in Pakistan. METHODS A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in which 99 female government health workers in Punial and Ishkoman valleys (Ghizer district, Northern Areas of Pakistan) enrolled children at home, conducted home visits every 2 weeks and actively referred sick children ...