Impact...

 

State's environmental history explored

By Marilyn Breiter

The Natural Heritage of Indiana is the first ever popular survey of the natural heritage and environmental problems of the state. Maps, drawings, diagrams and nearly 500 four-color photographs by the state's best nature photographers are included, as well as 58 essays by Indiana's leading scholars and practitioners.

Relating how the land has been altered by people, the contributors discuss how to protect what remains and propose alternative futures. While the book is a celebration and recognition of natural wonders and beauty, it is also a record of pillage, misuse and ignorance as well as a call to arms for those who would preserve Indiana's environment. Marion T. Jackson, the editor, is professor of ecology at Indiana State University and former chairman of the Indiana chapter, The Nature Conservancy. The survey is published in association with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Academy of Science.

EIA may be more common among exercisers

The incidence of exercise-induced asthma (EIA) among fitness buffs may be higher than previously believed, according to information to be reported at the American Lung Association/American Thoracic Society International Conference by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM). The meeting is in Chicago today (April 24) through Wednesday (April 29).

Chronic asthma affects 4 to 7 percent of the general population, and 80 percent of these individuals have exercise-induced asthma. But, earlier studies of EIA in athletes showed that 11 percent of Americans who participated in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games experienced EIA. A more recent study at IUSM of elite figure skaters showed that 43 of the 124 tested (36 percent) had EIA.

Edward Mannix led researchers at the school, in conjunction with the National Institute for Fitness and Sport in Indianapolis. They hypothesized that non-athlete members of a training facility who exercise regularly would display a higher incidence of EIA than the population at large. Tests were performed on 39 volunteers who exercise regularly. The volunteers, 21 women and 18 men with an average age of 33, were caused to hyperventilate, thus recreating the physical effects of a strenuous workout. Of those participating, 14 individuals (36 percent) tested positive for EIA, leading researchers to conclude that exercise-induced asthma might have a higher prevalence than previously estimated.

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