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A circuit was designed for integrating respiratory flow signals over time to produce volume signals. The circuit involves a simple integrator and three compensation subcircuits which control integrator drift caused by ambient temperature changes, flow signal base-line errors, and random signal errors. A functional unit built according to the circuit design requires initial adjustment, but no further adjustment before or during sustained use. Integration errors are typically less than 1%. The only flow signal requirements are that they be bidirectional and within the human physiological frequency range.

Six essential hypertensive (resting mean arterial pressure, MAP greater than 110 mmHg) and eight normotensive (resting MAP less than 95 mmHg) men, aged 30-58 yr, were tested during 1 h of dynamic leg exercise in the heat. Environmental conditions were fixed at 38 degrees C dry-bulb temperature and 28 degrees C wet-bulb temperature; exercise intensity was preset to approximate 40% of each subject's maximal aerobic capacity (actual range 38-43%). Forearm blood flow (FBF) was measured by impedance plethysmography. The intergroup difference in arterial pressure was maintained but not increased or decreased during exercise in the heat. FBF increased in both groups, but the increase was significantly less for the hypertensive subjects. FBF showed a significant linear correlation (different from 0) with core temperature in seven of eight control subjects but in none of the hypertensive subjects. The magnitude of FBF increase was inversely proportional to resting MAP (r = -0.89). It was concluded that essential hypertensive subjects respond to exercise in the heat with a diminished FBF response related to an alteration in control relative to central (core temperature) influences. This may be due to an imbalance between thermal and nonthermal (baroreflex) mechanisms controlling cutaneous blood flow.

Seven lean and five obese boys, aged 9-12 yr, exercised in four environments: 21.1, 26.7, 29.4, and 32.2 degrees C Teff. Subjects walked on a treadmill at 4.8 km/h, 5% grade for three 20-min exercise bouts separated by 5-min rest periods. Rectal temperature (Tre), skin temperature (Tsk), heart rate (HR), sweat rate, and oxygen uptake (VO2) were measured periodically throughout the session. Lean boys had lower Tre and HR than obese boys in each of the environments. Increases in Tre were significantly greater for the obese at 26.7 and 29.4 degrees C Teff. No significant differences in Tsk and sweat rate (g-m-2-h-1) were observed between lean and obese boys. Obese boys had significantly lower oxygen consumptions per kg but worked at a significantly higher percentage of VO2max than lean boys when performing submaximal work. Responses of the obese boys to exercise in the heat were similar to those of heavy prepubertal girls studied previously, except that the boys were more tolerant of exercise at 32.2 degrees C Teff than the girls. Lean boys had lower HR than lean girls in each environment, but lower Tre only at 32.2 degrees C Teff.

Five obese (% body fat greater than or equal to 27%) and five relatively lean (% body fat less than 20%) men performed upright exercise on a cycle ergometer at intensities of 30, 50, and 70% of their maximal aerobic power [VO2max (ml X kg fat-free wt-1 X min-1)] in both a thermoneutral [dry bulb temperature (Tdb) = 22 degrees C, wet bulb temperature (Twb) = 14 degrees C] and a hot (Tdb = 38 degrees C, Twb = 20 degrees C) ambient environment. Cardiac output (Q) was measured by CO2 rebreathing and forearm blood flow (FBF) was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography. Esophageal temperature (Tes) was measured by a thermocouple placed in the esophagus at approximately heart level, and mean skin temperature (Tsk) was calculated from the average of thermocouple readings from six skin sites. When the exercise intensity was normalized for metabolic body mass by dividing by fat-free weight, Q was similar between lean and obese at all exercise intensities and in both ambient environments. No differences between the two groups were found in Tes and Tsk under all conditions. The obese had significantly lower FBF compared with the lean during the higher exercise intensities in the hot ambient environment. In both ambient environments, the slope of the FBF-Tes relationship was significantly less in the obese group. It was concluded that body composition may alter the balance between the two opposing sets of cutaneous vascular reflexes (baroreceptor-induced vasoconstriction and thermoregulatory vasodilation) that regulate the competition for blood flow between the skin and working muscle during exercise in the heat.

Fourteen healthy men (aged 20-30 yr) consumed two isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets in the sequence of a 4-day meat diet (MD) followed by a 7-day meal-free diet (MFD). Urinary 3-methylhistidine (3MH) excretion during the MD (513 +/- 21 mumol . day-1, mean +/- SE) was significantly higher (P less than 0.01) than day 3 of the MFD (230 +/- 10 mumol . day-1), after which the mean daily 3MH output was constant with a mean coefficient of variation of 4.5%. There was no change in fat-free body mass (FFBM) determined by densitometry at the start (62.3 +/- 1.8 kg) and the end (62.2 +/- 1.9 kg) of the 11-day dietary period. Mean muscle mass (MM) calculated from measurements of total-body potassium and nitrogen was 23.4 +/- 1.3 kg. Endogenous 3MH excretion was related more closely to MM (r = 0.91, P less than 0.001) than to FFBM measured by densitometry (r = 0.81, P less than 0.001). Only a low correlation coefficient (r = 0.33, P less than 0.05) was observed between 3MH and the nonmuscle component of FFBM. Urinary creatinine output also was correlated significantly with 3MH (r = 0.87; P less than 0.001) and MM (r = 0.79; P less than 0.01). It is concluded that because endogenous 3MH is significantly related to MM in man, it can be used as a marker to study in vivo total-body muscle protein degradation provided that the necessary dietary restrictions are observed.

Eight healthy young men (ages 19–35), four older men (ages 38–42), three obese subjects (two women and one man, ages 20–34) were individually exposed on one or more occasions to 10 C (50 F) air in the Metabolic Chamber for periods of 2–4 hr. A minimal amount of clothing was worn: the males wore shorts and the females wore halters and shorts. Air movement was routinely less than 50 ft/min and relative humidity 50% or less. Body fatness among the subjects ranged from 13 to 45% of body weight. The metabolic response to cold determined from Vo2 and Vco2 was significantly and inversely related to per cent body fat according to the regression equation: kcal/(m2·hr) = 65.2 – 0.520 (% fat) ± 0.115. Total body insulation after 2 hr of exposure was significantly and directly related to per cent body fat and inversely related to the metabolic response. Despite these significant relationships, wide individual differences were observed in the metabolic response to cold between pairs of subjects of like age, previous history of cold exposure, and body fatness.