Metamorphosis may be defined as postembryonic developmental changes in non-reproductive structures of an organism. Such changes anticipate changes in the organism's environment (Frieden, 1961). Metamorphosis of amphibian larvae is dependent on the thyroid hormone in the circulating body fluid, and the normal sequence of metamorphosis has been correlated with a progressive increase in the concentration of thyroxine in the blood (Barch, 1953; Moore, 1964). While the rate of oxygen uptake in developing tadpoles has been well studied and documented, only a single reference on carbon dioxide release could be found. Belehradek and Huxley (1927) noted that carbon dioxide output increased immediately after the feeding of thyroid to frog tadpoles, but that during the ensuing induced metamorphosis, the carbon dioxide production diminished, finally reaching 60% of the original larval value. No references on carbon dioxide release during spontaneous metamorphosis could be found. In normal, aerobic respiration, the relative amounts of oxygen consumed and carbon dioxide released changed characteristically with the chemical nature of the metabolized substrate. An RQ of 1.0, 0.8, and 0.7 indicate metabolism of pure carbohydrate, lipid, and protein, respectively. Thus, the RQ provides some information about the nature of the transformations in progress (Witschi, 1956; Brown, 1964). The dietary change from herbivore to carnivore which occurs toward the end of anuran metamorphosis would be expected to result in a change in the ratio of oxygen consumed to CO2 produced. This study was undertaken with the intention of gaining an insight into the nature of the metabolic reactions in metamorphosing Hyla regilla tadpoles by determining the RQ at various stages of development.

No description available.

The objective of this project was to investigate and determine the association between hospitalizations of respiratory diseases with one another and with isolations of viral infections in five age groups. Weekly data on all hospitalizations in Ontario, Canada, from week 14 of 2001 to week 13 of 2003 were obtained for 5 age groups (under 2 years, 2 to 4 years, 5 to 15 years, 16 to 49 years and over 50 years inclusive) for respiratory diseases including, asthma, respiratory tract infection (RTI) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)1. Furthermore, data for viral infections including influenza virus type A and type B (Flu AB) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isolations were also obtained from Health Canada for the same weekly time periods. In order to test for independence and determine a relationship, if any, between hospitalizations of respiratory diseases with one another and with isolations of viral infections, structural time series models were developed for all age groups of the respiratory diseases and explanatory variables were modeled accordingly against the hospital admission counts for the respiratory diseases. These explanatory variables include, other respiratory diseases, viral infections, and lagged values of the dependent variable. Neither FLU AB nor RSV showed a significant relationship with asthma patients of all ages. Weekly RSV peaks coincided with RTI patients under 2 years and RTI peaks in patients 5 to 15 years preceded FLU AB peaks. A relationship between all three respiratory diseases, asthma RTI and COPD, was discovered for all age groups. Peaks of asthma coincided with various transformations of RTI peaks for the five age groups and peaks of COPD coincided with both the untransformed asthma and RTI peaks in patients over 50. For all other relationships, the null hypothesis of independence was accepted. These findings suggest that there is a strong association between respiratory diseases and that children and adults with respiratory diseases respond differently to viral infections. 1 Only data for patients over 50 years was obtained for COPD. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No description available.

Background: Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is a respiratory disorder involving an upper chest breathing pattern and respiratory symptoms that cannot be attributed to a medical diagnosis. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to describe patients with DB and investigate clinical outcomes after physiotherapy treatment. Methods: Study I was descriptive and comparative, that included 25 patients with DB and 25 age- and sex-matched patients with asthma. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety, depression, sense of coherence, influence on daily life due to breathing problems, respiratory symptoms, emergency room visits and asthma medication were investigated. Study II, a 5-year follow-up study based on the same sample as study I (22 patients with DB, 23 patients with asthma), studied treatment outcomes after information and breathing retraining. Study III was descriptive and correlational (20 healthy subjects), investigating whether the Respiratory Movement Measuring Instrument (RMMI) can discriminate between different breathing patterns in varying body positions. Study III also studied correlations between respiratory movements and breathing volumes (12 healthy subjects). Study IV was a single-subject AB design with follow-ups. Self-registered patient-specific respiratory symptoms and respiratory-related activity limitations and breathing pattern (measured with the RMMI) were evaluated after an intervention consisting of information and breathing retraining in five patients with DB. Results: Patients with DB had lower HRQoL (SF-36): vitality (mean 47 vs. 62), social functioning (70 vs. 94) and role emotional (64 vs. 94) (p<0.05) than patients with asthma. The DB group had a higher prevalence of anxiety (56% vs. 24%) and experienced more breathing problems than the asthma group. Patients with DB had made several emergency room visits and had been treated with asthma medication. At the 5-year follow-up, patients with DB showed improved HRQoL (SF-36): physical function 77 to 87 (p=0.04), decreased breathing problems and emergency room visits, and they were not treated with asthma medication. The RMMI can differentiate between different breathing patterns in different body positions. Strong correlations between respiratory movements and breathing volumes were observed (rs 0.86-1.00). The results in study IV indicate that patients with DB benefit from information and breathing retraining regarding decreased respiratory symptoms and activity limitations and improved breathing pattern.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1969.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1997. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1969.