Air at high barometric pressures produces a narcotic effect on man. The changes which first appear at 3 atmospheres pressure are expressed in alterations of behavior, slowed mental activity, and impaired neuromuscular coordination. These effects, although previously observed, have not been attributed to the direct action of air or of the component gases, oxygen, nitrogen3 and carbon dioxide. Hi...

We developed a model to demonstrate how a hopping kangaroo breathes. Interestingly, a kangaroo uses less energy to breathe while hopping than while standing still. This occurs, in part, because rather than using muscle power to move air into and out of the lungs, air is pulled into (inspiration) and pushed out of (expiration) the lungs as the abdominal organs "flop" within the kangaroo's body. ...

[1] Tide-induced variations in subsurface air pressure, mainly between 1.0 to 2.0 kPa, are observed in coastal areas in Hong Kong. A two-dimensional model which couples the two-phase air-water flow in unsaturated and saturated zones successfully reproduces the observed air pressure under no rain conditions. The simulation reveals that significant increases in air pressure depend on the tidal ra...

INTRODUCTION A variety of cardiovascular diseases have been demonstrated to have seasonal variations with peaks in the winter and troughs in the summer. Studies regarding atrial fibrillation (AF) have had varying results and this review describes the current data regarding the seasonal variation of AF and mechanisms mediating this seasonal fluctuation. METHODS A systematic review was conducte...

Attenuated vasoconstrictor reactivity following chronic hypoxia (CH) is associated with endothelium-dependent vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cell hyperpolarization and diminished intracellular [Ca(2+)]. We tested the hypothesis that increased production of nitric oxide (NO) after CH contributes to blunted vasoconstrictor responsiveness. We found that basal NO production of mesenteric arteries fro...

Dust devils occur in arid climates on the Earth and ubiquitously on Mars, where they likely dominate the supply of atmospheric dust and influence climate. Martian dust devils have been studied with a combination of orbiting and landed spacecraft, while most studies of terrestrial dust devils have involved manned monitoring of field sites, which can be costly both in time and personnel. As an al...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between weather (barometric pressure, precipitation and temperature) and pain among individuals with osteoarthritis (OA) (n=154) at the following sites: neck, hand, shoulder, knee and foot. METHODS This prospective study evaluated men and women, aged 49-90 yr, participating in a community-based, osteoarthritis exercise study (June 1998-January 2002). Week...