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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1986)
Wednesday, October 1, 1986AThe Battalion/Page 3 State and Local A&M researchers link hormone body control of blood volume By Molly Fisher Reporter Two Texas A&M University med al scientists who are researching a ecently discovered hormone called iNF can explain why swimming can lusethe urge to urinate. ANF, which stands for atrial na- biretic factor, is produced in the ria of the heart and then secreted ito the bloodstream. It was discov- ed by a Canadian scientist in 1981. It is believed the heart reacts to hanges in blood volume by produc- jig ANF, which tells the kidneys to crete salt and water. The greater e amount of pressure on the heart [alls, the greater amount of ANF is Iroduced. “When you are in a pool, blood is ished from your limbs toward £mi chest,” physiologist Dr. Bruce enjamin said. “The blood then puts pressure on ur heart, making it think you have omuch blood volume,” he said. "It acts by making you have the urge to urinate.” Benjamin and Dr. Thomas Peter- n are researching the importance of ANF at normal levels found in the Benjamin said most recent re arch has been aimed at the effects NF has on the body in either very igh or low amounts. [ratification mount to • Reagan ican dream e and mow r lives prow daily basis, By Sandee Smith Reporter Republican lieutenant governor andidate David Davidson said uesday night at the local Republi- an headquarters that the way to bal- ncethe state budget is to review the icedsof Texas. Davidson, a 47-year-old Austin usinessman and graduate of Trin- :yUniversity, has been campaigning titleonafcl S a ‘ nst ^ ov - Hobby for the tomic ands ig the tamjf" .Produce I d the disi we prescii ty instead (’ the needsd tetimes frs net lines fe Depress! Placebo Gen tg fromdnf s, we ant. Theydf tie. But if tf nee with glected )rce rate n reduced te peoples, lad nd social tii those v, married t# ,ave divoid se to the li> ountry is changes, the underlf )rts peopleii lems. [ht values want to s» •n’t, Wert ften we can't ■onment, to /hite | y high.\» acts an nestion tight values: Writers Cmf a senior tent and Id invoke I cet wise, trn for ok inside earing nymnso es the riglit or’s intent, number of Dr. Bruce Benjamin “Our interest with ANF is based on the normal function of the hor mone, and with this understanding we can then see how it applies to other areas,” he said. The work of Peterson and Benja min has possible applications in the areas of hypertension, congestive heart failure and other sodium heart- related diseases. Peterson said, "Other researchers have information from patients with heart failure or other conditions where the kidneys aren’t excreting enough salt and water, which indi cates that these people have in creased levels of ANF. Dr. Thomas Peterson “These high levels of ANF should trigger the kidney to dump excess body fluid, but why this doesn’t oc cur in these patients isn’t under stood,” he said. Benjamin said, “ANF definitely has a role as a therapeutic agent. It can help hypertensive patients by decreasing their blood pressure. But we want to know if its normal circu lating concentration does anything important, or if it is too low to be of important measure.” One theory on how the heart helps control blood volume is that the production and secretion of ANF works together with “stretch” receptors in the heart, Peterson ex plained. The stretch receptors can detect when the blood volume of the body has been stretched beyond normal limits, and then they will cause the kidneys to increase excretion of salt and water, Peterson said. The researchers are trying to find out how much the kidneys are react ing to the stretch receptors and how much they are reacting to the ANF. Peterson and Benjamin said they are concerned with how ANF works to control blood volume and how ANF communicates with the kidney. The two scientists are experiment ing with dogs and monkeys. One ex periment involves the removal, from several dogs, of the part of the heart that produces ANF and then the in crease of the dog’s salt intake. The result should have been an increase in blood volume in a direct relationship to salt intake, but none was shown, Benjamin said. Along with various studies done with the effects of ANF on dogs and monkeys, one study the two scien tists have done involves putting ani mals on different salt diets, he said. This allows the researchers to see how a high, low and normal sodium diet changes the production of ANF. Resources institute to open 21st state water conference By Bob Grube Staff Writer The Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M will sponsor its 21st Water for Texas Conference at Rudder Tower Thursday and Friday. This year’s conference theme is “Urban Water Resources Man agement,” and the issues of water supply management, water de mand management and water quality management will be cov ered. The conference features 17 speakers from across the country, including Texas A&M President Frank E. Vandiver, state of Cali fornia Water Consultant Harvey Banks and Myron Knudson from the Environmental Protection Agency in Dallas. Conference registration begins Thursday on the second floor of Rudder Tower at 7:30 a.m, and continues until noon. A banquet will be held at the College Station Hilton on Thurs day at 7 p.m., and a luncheon will be held at the Memorial Student Center at noon on Friday. The $40 charge for faculty cov ers the luncheon, banquet tickets and a copy of the proceedings. Students will be admitted free with a current A&M ID. TIowever, students must pur chase tickets for the luncheon and banquet separately. Luncheon tickets are $8 and banquet tickets are $15. Those planning to attend the luncheon or banquet should in form the institute as soon as pos sible for a reservation. For more information, call the institute at 845-8571. Correction An article in The Battalion Monday incorrectly stated that voter registration cards are avail able at local post offices. Actually, the cards are avail able from the office of the county tax assessor-collector. The story also said the cards are available from the registrar’s office. However, the reference was to the Brazos County voter registrar’s office. Cards are not available at the campus registrar’s office. The Battalion regrets the er- andidate: Texas must review needs to balance budget past 10 months and focusing on his solutions to the state’s budget prob lems. Davidson said the financial prob lems are due to increased state spending and too many upper man agement employees. “Over the last 12 years, state spending has increased by 400 per cent,” he said. “Inflation is responsi ble for only 133 percent of that in crease.” During that time, he said, the state’s population rose by only 30 percent. Davidson said 69 percent of the state’s budget is committed to pro jects before the legislators get to it, leaving less for them to work with. Most of the budget that is out of the control of the legislature in cludes money for education, mental health and retardation, highways and the prison system. “The legislature needs to get con trol of the budget before it can make the needed changes in spending,” Davidson said. “The present divi sions in the budget were made in the days when state money was plenti ful.” Davidson said one key difference between the two candidates is that he is in favor of a constitutional ban on state income taxes while Hobby is against the ban. “I don’t believe in increasing tax es,” Davidson says. “I believe in liv ing with what we’ve got. “During the 14 years Hobby has been in power, a layer of fat has de veloped in the state agencies. The fat can be reduced without losing public services.” According to Davidson, New York and California have fewer state em ployees per capita than Texas. “This is an unnecessary excess,” Davidson says. “There are people occupying offices in Austin who don’t provide any services to the people of this state.” Davidson said the state must keep from spending faster than it collects revenues. “By exercising stewardship and good management techniques, the state could grow over the next few years without additional taxes,” Da vidson said. FREE Sneak Preview C)jl0 r High Life® UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENT couSts Danny has a dream of turning a wreck into a rock and roll hotel. But the town, the cops and the odds are against him. So, he’s getting some help from the oddest team he can find. His friends. % ! «0 C $s It’s What You Need to Succeed 'Ji+r\tr%y <•'»’ * H+sk*****. *+**.,/?*•* y tp*^fyu***> >M ~ i f A Uk i Ap ft. An* S’/fi* ‘ti -f /tdrrz* 1. lirW Urn, ««•.-**« ‘icw.V«*'Hnfwx** *Tl*«6j* of ft}( < *■*■ d w * ^ A> act* - . • r. % °4f0 y yl.£t *!*&**<■ Thursday, October 2,1986 Rudder Auditorium 7:30 p.m. PRIZES • RAFFLES Limited Seating. Be There Early! PRIZES • RAFFLES “Playing for Keeps” opens in theatres nationwide on October 3rd. Don’t miss the wildest 150 rodeo in The Tbxas Prison Rodeo is back and it’s bigger and better than ever. Every Sunday in October some of the toughest cowboys and wildest stock in Tfexas get-it-on in the dirt. This is real rodeo so hair-raising that only convict cowboys would dare try it. We also have the biggest line-up of musical stars in the rodeo’s history. Next Sunday we’ll present the 1985 Country Music Association Entertainer of the year, Ricky Skaggs. Tickets are $7 and $8 and available at all Ticketron locations. All proceeds go toward prisoner rehabilitation programs. Don’t miss the 55th Tbxas Prison Rodeo. Every Sunday in October, behind the walls in Huntsville.