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The relationships between heart rate (HR) and several parameters of somatic activity were evaluated in human subjects when shuck avoidance was made contingent on either increases or decreases in HR. In order to depict any influence of the contingency specific 10 HR, somatic activity was controlled to varying degrees by instructions and the use of non‐contingent control groups. When increases in HR were reinforced, the contingency we found to influence somatic activity but an effect specific to HR was also observed. When decreases in HR were reinforced, there was no evidence that HR were influenced independently of somatic activity. The result are discussed with respect to several current issues.

Urinary oxalate was determined in an ambulatory setting in 107 patients with an increased intestinal calcium absorption rate in whom stones formed, 34 patients with normal calcium absorption in whom stones formed and 34 control subjects without stones. Urinary oxalate excretion was not significantly different when the diet was changed from a random to a calcium-restricted diet. Moreover, urinary oxalate was not higher during summer months when intestinal calcium absorption may have been stimulated. Diet history disclosed that many patients with an increased calcium absorption rate had been on a moderate oxalate-restricted diet, often as part of a calcium-restricted regimen for the control of hypercalciuria. The results indicate that renal oxalate excretion in an ambulatory setting is not critically dependent on the state of calcium absorption and intake, and that the imposition of a low calcium dietary regimen in patients with an increased calcium absorption and in whom stones form does not necessarily augment oxalate excretion.