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Figure 16 | Journal of Circadian Rhythms

Figure 16

From: Transdisciplinary unifying implications of circadian findings in the 1950s

Figure 16

Disaster can result from literally and figuratively neglecting the range of operational environmental temperatures or in biology, the "normal range". For a relatively wide range of temperatures, a piece of equipment may be safe to use, but once temperature drops below a threshold, the likelihood of problems increases. The situation that led to the Challenger disaster (middle) is compared with the non-linear elevation of cardiovascular disease risk associated with a decreased heart rate variability (gauged by the standard deviation) (right) and also with an overswinging of blood pressure (CHAT) (left), also exhibiting a nonlinear behavior. Note that the increase in morbid events follows only after a threshold is exceeded, a nonlinear behavior that may have delayed the recognition of these risks. The use of chronomics is particularly indicated in populations at a high vascular disease risk.

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