Catecholamine Training Effects from Exercise Programs: A Bridge to Exercise-Temperament Relationships

Three studies were conducted to test whether a catecholamine training effect results from a long-term aerobic exercise program. Study 1 showed significant increases in urinary adrenaline and noradrenaline following moderate mental stress/challenge for male aerobics subjects after a semester of training. Control groups of nonexercisers and continuously in-condition marathoners showed no comparable pre- to post semester catecholamine increases. Male and female Aerobics subjects were contrasted with nonexercisers across a semester in Study 2; the hypothesis was confirmed that postsemester increases in catecholamines occurred only following an episode of mental challenges/stress, and not following base-rate-rest conditions. Under conditions of more active challenge than in Studies 1 and 2, women subjects in Study 3 provided directional but nonsignificant support for the Study 2 findings. The results are discussed in the context of literature on the relationship of catecholamine availability during challenge/ stress to temperament and on the relationship of aerobic training to temperament. At a theoretical level, the question is discussed of increased catecholamine availability being a likely mediator in the exercise program to temperament relationship

THE EFFECT OF THE SOCIAL SETTING ON NONVERBAL EXCHANGE BEHAVIORS: A FUNCTIONAL APPROACH

Two studies were designed to test the effects of different social settings on nonverbal exchange patterns. It was expected that the functional demands of task and socio-emotional settings would cause a difference in behavioral exchange patterns. In study 1, pairs of subjects were observed while working on a story construction task (task setting) or while waiting for the study to begin (socio-emotional setting). It was predicted that subjects would engage in more eye gaze and verbal contact in the task vs. the socio-emotional setting. It was also expected that compensatory exchanges (more looking and speaking at a far vs. a close distance) would occur in the task setting, while reciprocal exchanges (more looking and speaking at a close vs. a far distance) would occur in the socio-emotional setting. Results supported the prediction that more looking and speaking would occur in the task vs. the socio-emotional setting. Also, reciprocal exchanges were found in the socio-emotional setting as predicted, but only for mixed sex subject pairings. Compensation was not found to occur in either setting. This finding led to a re-examination of research on nonverbal exchange processes. It was concluded that a social-control factor may be responsible for the compensation-task setting relationship observed in previous studies. Study 2 was designed to extend the findings of Study 1 by including the subject\u27s proximity behavior and sociability level. It was predicted that along with eye gaze and verbal contact, the subject\u27s proximity in relation to a confederate would be greater in the task vs. the socio-emotional setting. It was also expected that subject sociability would affect behavior exchange patterns, but only in the socio-emotional setting. Results supported the prediction that looking, speaking, and proximity would be greater in the task vs. the socio-emotional setting. However, subject sociability did not affect behavior exchanges in either setting. In general, the two studies support the hypothesis that the function and form of nonverbal behavior exchanges depend on the demands of the social setting. These findings extend an understanding of nonverbal exchange patterns, and emphasize the importance of the social settings in which they occur

The Relationship of Temperament to Tolerance of Cold and Heat: Beyond “Cold Hands-Warm Heart”

Thermal regulation and peripheral arousal in episodes of emotion are dependent upon similar autonomic and hormonal processes. Thermal-tolerance measure were developed and validated in order to indirectly assess adrenergic (cold tolerance) and cholinergic (heat tolerance) responsivity. We hypothesized that cold tolerance would correlate with reduced emotionality (largely fear and anxiety) and depression, and with increased stimulus seeking and dispositions toward activity; those hypotheses were confirmed. Tentatively advanced hypotheses that heat tolerance would correlate with reduced depression and emotional states were not confirmed, but heat tolerance was positively associated with activity and (weakly) with some of the same dimensions of temperament that correlated with cold tolerance. Concepts of synergistic rather than oppositional relationships of adrenergic and cholinergic systems are discussed. The roles of autonomic strength and responsitivity in positive temperament dispositions and in coping with stress and challenge are discussed, and a theoretical system is sketched that is derived from these and related findings

Man and boy : Montgomery Clift as a queer star in Wild River

Montgomery Clift has been underexplored by film scholars, who have mostly focused on his early career. This article uses queer theory to examine Clift's later work, focusing on Wild River (dir. Elia Kazan, 1960); it argues that in this film Clift's narrative role, performance, and star persona radically challenge normative masculinity and heterosexuality.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Tracheomalacia, complication after removal of bilateral endothoracic diffuse goiter

Introduction: In surgery of the thyroid gland, mortality is null in some series, so morbidity is the surgeon's greatest concern. Objective: To present the clinical evolution of a patient with total thyroidectomy due to bilateral endothoracic goiter. Clinical case: This patient underwent total thyroidectomy due to bilateral endothoracic goiter, technically difficult, negative freeze biopsy of malignancy, colloid goiter. Visualized recurrent nerves. Due to the size of the gland and how complex the extraction was, it was decided to transfer the patient to the intubated and ventilated recovery room to proceed with the recovery of spontaneous ventilation and extubation in a longer period. She was extubated the first time it failed. She was re-intubated and it occurred on a second occasion after being re-operated due to a possible hematoma of the wound. In the preoperative CT scan, a large thyroid gland with bilateral endothoracic prolongation and high stenosis of the trachea was observed. Conclusion: Complications of airway obstruction after thyroidectomy are not frequent. Generally, after a total or partial thyroidectomy, it is a matter of recovering the patient in the operating room, in order to perform, after extubation, a laryngoscopy to rule out paralysis of the vocal cords. Tracheomalacia as a complication after thyroidectomy is not frequent, so it is warned that failure to diagnose and treat the patient quickly could have a fatal outcome.</span

Congestive Heart Failure is a Systemic Illness: A Role for Minerals and Micronutrients

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a clinical syndrome that features a failing heart together with signs and symptoms arising from renal retention of salt and water, mediated by attendant neurohormonal activation, and which prominently includes the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. More than this cardiorenal perspective, CHF is accompanied by a systemic illness whose features include an altered redox state in diverse tissues and blood, an immunostimulatory state with proinflammatory cytokines and activated lymphocytes and monocytes, and a wasting of tissues that includes muscle and bone. Based on experimental studies of aldosteronism and clinical findings in patients with CHF, there is an emerging body of evidence that secondary hyperparathyroidism is a covariant of CHF. The aldosteronism of CHF predisposes patients to secondary hyperparathyroidism because of a chronic increase in Ca2+ and Mg2+ losses in urine and feces, with a fall in their serum ionized levels and consequent secretion of parathyroid hormone. Secondary hyperparathyroidism accounts for bone resorption and contributes to a fall in bone strength that can lead to nontraumatic fractures.The long-term use of a loop diuretic with its attendant urinary wasting of Ca2+ and Mg2+ further predisposes patients to secondary hyperparathyroidism and attendant bone loss. Aberrations in minerals and micronutrient homeostasis that includes Ca2+, Mg2+, vitamin D, zinc and selenium appear to be an integral component of pathophysiologic expressions of CHF that contributes to its systemic and progressive nature. This broader perspective of CHF, which focuses on the importance of secondary hyperparathyroidism and minerals and micronutrients, raises the prospect that dietary supplements could prove remedial in combination with the current standard of care