The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of trumpet playing upon the heart. A Holter monitor was used to record electrocardiograms (ECGs) to examine the heart's response during musical performances and practice sessions.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Psychological and physiological effects of nitrous oxide resemble those of eight other drug categories. Lipid solubility or hydrate microcrystal theories correlate behavioral measures with measurable parameters of the molecule N20. N20, a spindle poison, halts mitosis in metaphase, producing widespread physiological consequences. N20 affects the microtubules of the spindle in a number of specific ways. Microtubules are utilized in other parts of eukaryotic cells, in a wide variety of functions. In neurons, microtubules build and maintain dendritic sensory processes. Since microtubules are built of two dissimilar proteins, constantly assemble and disassemble, and maintain a more negative interior potential, they would be responsive to changes in summed post-synaptic dendritic potential. Microtubules respond to N20 with a loss of communication between subcellular components, and between cells. Chromosomes, proteins, and ATP are no longer transported efficiently. Such fundamental changes might explain nitrous oxide's effects in "potentiating" other drugs, and upon perception and memory.

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No description available.

No description available.

The presence of an increased accumulation of intraabdominal fat (IAF) has been linked to dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperglycemia, which precede the development of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD). It has been shown that IAF begins depostition during childhood. Human studies suggest that regular endurance exercise, that does not necessarily produce an increase in aerobic capacity, can effectively reduce IAF accumulation during these early years. In contrast to human research, studies using animal models of human disease typically employ extremely large volumes of exercise with the intent to maximize aerobic capacity. The present study examined whether half the amount of endurance training, that was previously reported to induce cardiac hypertrophy and approximately double the aerobic capacity of skeletal muscle in rats, would reduce the growth-related accumulation of IAF in growing female rats. Twenty-two 4-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to a running experimental or a non-running control group. The runners exercised on a treadmill 5 days/week for 60 min/day at a speed of 27m/min and up a 15% grade for 10 weeks. After 10 weeks, the parametrial, omental and mesenteric IAF depots and the heart were excised and weighed. Compared with non-runners, the runners had a significantly lower mean parametrial fat mass (2.22 g vs. 3.13 g, p=0.05) and a higher mean heart weight (0.97 g vs. 0.90 g, p=0.05) at the end of 10 weeks. In addition, the lower mean parametrial fat mass in the runners vs. the non-runners (2.19 g vs. 3.19 g, p=0.02) remained significant even after adjusting for the greater heart weights of the runners. One-half the amount of exercise, that was previously reported to induce cardiac hypertrophy and approximately double the aerobic capacity of skeletal muscle in rats, yielded an 8% greater heart weight and a 29% lower parametrial IAF mass, on average, in growing female rats. In addition, the effects of treadmill running on reducing parametrial fat accumulation were independent of the effects of running on increasing heart weight. Thus, future studies examining the effects of exercise on IAF and other health-related metabolic outcomes in rats may consider using lower-dose endurance training protocols that are not designed to maximize improvements in aerobic capacity. / Graduation date: 2002

Reported here is an investigation to determine if azinphos-methyl (AZM), an organophosphate insecticide, adducts to hemoglobin, and if so, whether the hemoglobin adduct could be used as a quantitative marker of occupational AZM exposure. We hypothesized that AZM, or a metabolite of AZM, binds to hemoglobin in erythrocytes forming an adducted protein. We administered radiolabled AZM to rats and found a stable, dose-dependent association of radioactivity with hemoglobin. The decline in hemoglobin-associated radioactivity followed the expected kinetics of erythrocyte turnover in rats. We examined hemoglobin isolated from these rats by high-pressure liquid chromatography, liquid scintillation counting, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. These analyses provided evidence of AZM or an AZM metabolite binding to one of the beta proteins of hemoglobin. In vitro incubation of AZM with hemoglobin in a liver microsome system indicated an AZM adduct to heme. Further research is necessary to fully characterize the adduct and determine whether this biomarker will be useful for monitoring human exposure to AZM. / Graduation date: 2000

Graduation date: 1998

Graduation date: 1995