Effects of Combined Stretching and Clenbuterol on Disuse Atrophy in Rat Soleus Muscle

Background and Purpose: Clinically, disuse muscle atrophy is often seen among patients who are severely debilited and are on prolonged bed rest. Common physical therapy interventions are not successful in preventing disuse muscle atrophy early in the medical treatment of critically ill patients. In situations such as this, the use of a β₂-adrenergic agonist such as clenbuterol (Cb) may be of benefit in preventing atrophy. Also, recent studies have suggested that stretching is possible in preventing disuse muscle atrophy and the decline in muscle strength. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Cb medication combined with stretching (ST) on rat soleus muscle (SOL) during the progression of disuse muscle atrophy. Subjects: Thirty-five male Wistar rats were used in this study. Methods: The rats were divided into five groups: control (CON), hindlimb-unweighting (HU) only, HU+ST, HU+Cb medication, and HU+ST+Cb groups. The right SOL in stretching groups was maintained a stretched position for one hour daily by passively dorsiflexing the ankle joint under non-anesthesia. The experimental period was 2 weeks. Results: In the ST group, peak twitch tension per cross-sectional area in soleus muscle was significantly larger than in the Cb group, while there was no significant difference between the CON and ST groups. The conversion of type I to type II fibers that was observed in the Cb group was not recognized in the combined ST and Cb group. Discussion and Conclusion: Distinct effect of combined stretching and Cb medication was not recognized statistically. The results indicate that Cb affects muscle morphological characteristics while stretching affects contractile properties. These data suggest that a combined ST and Cb intervention considered the type-specificity of muscle fiber may be need more consideration for preventing disuse muscle atrophy and the decline in muscle strength.     

Effect of Immobilization on Insoluble Collagen Concentration and Type I and Type III Collagen Isoforms of Rat Soleus Muscle

Immobilization is often associated with decreased muscle elasticity. This condition is known as muscle contracture; however, the mechanism remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanism governing muscle contracture in rat soleus muscle by identifying changes in ankle joint mobility, insoluble collagen concentration and type I and type III collagen isoforms following 1- and 3-week immobilizations. Following a 1-week immobilization, range of motion (ROM) of dorsiflexion declined to 90% of the control value; additionally, ROM dropped to 67.5% of the control value after a 3-week immobilization. This finding suggested that ankle joint mobility decreases in conjunction with extended periods of immobilization. Insoluble collagen concentration in soleus muscles, which was unchanged after 1 week of immobilization, increased 3 weeks after immobilization. These results may be indicative of collagen fibers with strong intermolecular cross-links contained in the muscle was made increased relatively by 3 weeks of immobilization. Therefore, the change in intermolecular cross-links may be significant in terms of progress of muscle contracture with longer periods of immobilization. On the other hand, the ratio of type III to type I collagen isoforms in muscular tissue increased following a 1-week immobilization; moreover, this ratio remained constant after 3 weeks of immobilization. These data suggested that muscle immobilization may induce type III collagen isoform expression. The increase in the ratio of type III to type I collagen isoforms do not change in parallel with the increase in the limitation in ROM; however, this phenomenon probably is not closely related to the progress of muscle contracture. The change of collagen isoform in immobilized muscle may be involved in the mechanism governing the progression of muscle fibrosis.     

Risks of Muscle Atrophy in Patients with Malignant Lymphoma after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation

Objective: Muscle atrophy is associated with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT)-related outcomes in patients with malignant lymphoma (ML). However, the impact of ASCT on muscle mass remains unclear in patients with ML. The aims of this study were to investigate changes in muscle mass and risk profiles for muscle atrophy after ASCT. Method: We enrolled 40 patients with refractory ML (age 58 [20-74] years, female/male 16/24, body mass index (BMI) 21.1 kg/m² [17.1-29.6]). Psoas muscle mass was assessed using the psoas muscle index (PMI) before and after ASCT. Statistical analysis used: Independent factors associated with a severe decrease rate of change in PMI were evaluated by decision-tree analysis, respectively. Results: PMI was significantly decreased after ASCT (4.61 vs. 4.55 cm²/m²; P=0.0425). According to the decision-tree analysis, the regimen was selected as the initial split. The rates of change in PMI were −5.57% and −3.97% for patients administered MCEC and LEED, respectively. In patients who were administered LEED, the second branching factor was BMI. In patients with BMI < 20.3 kg/m², the rate of change in PMI was −7.16%. On the other hand, the rate of change in PMI was 4.05% for patients with BMI ≥ 20.3 kg/m². Conclusion: We demonstrated that muscle mass decreased after ASCT in patients with ML. Patients who received MCEC and patients with low BMI were at risk for a decrease in muscle mass.     

单轴拉伸对Nafion 结构及性能的影响

²H NMR 和PFG-NMR 用于研究拉伸过程中Nafion 结构的改变以及对溶剂分子运动性质的影响．²H 谱表明单轴拉伸Nafion 膜在拉伸比率较低情况下（L < 5）,通道排列取向程度随着拉伸比率变大而增大,同时扩散实验表明水分子的运动能力也得到增强,表明取向化的通道网络有助于增强材料取向方向质子的导电能力,可以用于提高质子膜材料性能．在取向达到最大值后（L≥5）继续拉伸,膜内水分子的移动能力相比略有降低．溶胀实验表明取向膜的溶胀行为呈各向异性,拉伸作用致使膜内通道沿拉伸方向取向排列,通道的取向效应使得其在垂直拉伸方向（Y）和膜厚度方向（Z）溶胀更为显著．拉伸Nafion 膜对甲醇的吸附能力随着拉伸比率的增加而增强,同时甲醇的扩散数据显示,甲醇的运动能力在该通道网络中也随着拉伸比率的变大而不断增强,甲醇燃料在该类质子膜内的渗透效
应得以增强,不利于其在直接甲醇燃料电池中的应用．     

The Effect of Reloading on Disuse Muscle Atrophy: Time Course of Hypertrophy and Regeneration Focusing on the Myofiber Cross-sectional Area and Myonuclear Change

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of reloading on atrophied muscle and the time course of hypertrophy and regeneration. Forty-nine male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to groups for hindlimb suspension (HS), hindlimb suspension and reloading (R), or control (C0). Rats in the HS group were suspended for 14 days. Rats in the R group were randomly divided into five subgroups for different post-hindlimb-suspension recovery times. Briefly, each subgroup was suspended for 14 days and given 1 day of reloading (R1), 3 days of reloading (R3), 7 days of reloading (R7), 10 days of reloading (R10), or 14 days of reloading (R14). Myonuclear numbers were significantly decreased in the groups with hindlimb suspension and 1 day and 3 days of reloading compared with that in the control group. We focused on the processes of change of mean myofiber cross-sectional area and myonuclear domain size; the degrees of increase of both indexes were limited until 3 days of reloading, and significantly increased after 7 days of reloading. An important finding of the current study was that the processes of muscle hypertrophy and regeneration did not show uniform change. In addition, there were differences in the ratio of increase among the stages of hypertrophy and regeneration. Therefore, consideration of the duration and method of physiotherapeutic intervention for atrophied muscle on the basis of the process of hypertrophy and regeneration is needed to provide more effective physiotherapy.     

Effects of Muscle Fatigue and Recovery on Complexity of Surface Electromyography of Biceps Brachii

This study aimed to investigate the degree of regularity of surface electromyography (sEMG) signals during muscle fatigue during dynamic contractions and muscle recovery after cupping therapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study assessing both muscle fatigue and muscle recovery using a nonlinear method. Twelve healthy participants were recruited to perform biceps curls at 75% of the 10 repetitions maximum under four conditions: immediately and 24 h after cupping therapy (−300 mmHg pressure), as well as after sham control (no negative pressure). Cupping therapy or sham control was assigned to each participant according to a pre-determined counter-balanced order and applied to the participant’s biceps brachii for 5 min. The degree of regularity of the sEMG signal during the first, second, and last 10 repetitions (Reps) of biceps curls was quantified using a modified sample entropy (E_ms) algorithm. When exercise was performed immediately or 24 h after sham control, E_ms of the sEMG signal showed a significant decrease from the first to second 10 Reps; when exercise was performed immediately after cupping therapy, E_ms also showed a significant decrease from the first to second 10 Reps but its relative change was significantly smaller compared to the condition of exercise immediately after sham control. When exercise was performed 24 h after cupping therapy, E_ms did not show a significant decrease, while its relative change was significantly smaller compared to the condition of exercise 24 h after sham control. These results indicated that the degree of regularity of sEMG signals quantified by E_ms is capable of assessing muscle fatigue and the effect of cupping therapy. Moreover, this measure seems to be more sensitive to muscle fatigue and could yield more consistent results compared to the traditional linear measures.     

高压与加热协同处理对牛肌肉中蛋白酶活性的影响

在不同温度(20～60℃)和压力(0.1～600 MPa)下处理20 min,对牛肌肉中蛋白酶活性的影响进行了研究.结果显示:室温下,随着处理压力的增加,酶的活力显著下降,而压力达400 MPa及以上时,酶的活力则没有明显变化,同时在pH值为3和7.5时酶的活性几乎完全丧失.200 MPa以下的压力处理使肌肉中游离氨基...     

Influence of body posture and lung volume on subglottal pressure control during singing

The role of different breathing muscles during singing was investigated by synchronously recording EMG, pressure, and sound signals, using lung volume and gravity as experimental parameters. Surface EMG signals from the external and internal intercostals, the diaphragm, and the abdominal oblique muscles were recorded, while two singer subjects performed various singing tasks associated with rapid and precise changes of subglottal pressure. Esophageal and gastric pressures were measured by pressure transducers, and lung volume by means of impedance plethysmography. The results show that the breathing system efficiently compensates for drastic differences in the mechanics of the breathing apparatus, caused by differences in lung volume and gravity induced by changes of body posture.     

液相对流对定向凝固胞/枝晶间距的影响

采用类金属透明模型合金丁二腈-1.8 wt%丙酮(SCN-1.8 wt%Ace)合金, 研究了平行于生长界面前沿的液相对流对定向凝固胞/枝晶生长行为及胞/枝晶间距的影响. 对于胞晶生长, 在液相对流作用下, 其尖端将会出现分岔, 使得胞晶间距减小, 并且液相对流流速越大, 胞晶尖端分岔越明显, 胞晶组织越细小, 胞晶间距越小. 至于枝晶生长, 其生长行为与胞晶不同. 当抽拉速度较小时, 液相对流作用下枝晶两侧三次臂的生长速度将会超过枝晶尖端生长速度, 形成新的枝晶列, 使得枝晶一次间距减小, 并且液相对流流速越大枝晶一次间距越小; 当抽拉速度较大时, 液相对流作用下迎流侧二次臂生长发达,且会抑制上游枝晶生长, 使得枝晶一次间距增大, 并且液相对流越强枝晶一次间距越大. 关键词： 定向凝固 胞晶间距 枝晶间距 液相对流     

稳态磁场对血流、骨骼和疼痛的影响

将磁场作为一种干预手段应用于医疗健康领域,俗称“磁疗”,在过去的几千年人类历史中曾有过多次的争论与起伏。由于结果不一和机制不清等多方面原因,“磁疗”目前作为一个整体还未被广泛接受。然而,近年来不仅有利用脉冲磁场的经颅磁刺激被批准应用于临床,并且有越来越多的实验证据显示,基于稳态磁场的健康干预也有着良好的应用前景。文章主要围绕稳态磁场对血流、骨骼和疼痛三方面的影响,总结其研究现状并分析其局限与困境,期待不同学科背景的研究者能够涉足此领域,进行更规范化、系统化的深入研究,在明确其机制的前提下对磁场参数进行优化,从而可以早日科学地、有效地将稳态磁场作为一种干预或辅助手段应用于医疗健康领域。     

过渡金属原子与一氧化碳作用对C—O伸缩振动的红外和拉曼光谱强度的影响

采用杂化密度泛函方法计算了过渡金属M-CO分子的基态几何结构和谱学性质。计算结果表明C—O伸缩振动的红外强度明显比M-C和弯曲振动模的红外强度大;C—O伸缩振动有最大的拉曼散射因子,且第四周期和Cu族金属的M-CO分子的C—O伸缩振动的拉曼散射因子明显比其他过渡金属的大。     

Influence of flow on the structure and dynamics of clusters in complex plasma systems

The influence of flow with different strengths, positions, and widths on the structure and dynamics of clusters is studied by two-dimensional (2D) Langevin molecular dynamics simulations. The particles are confined by a quadratic confining potential. The horizontal position of the system centre, average inter-particle distance, and coupling parameter are calculated to characterize the effect of changing the strength, position, and width of the flow on the cluster structure. The trajectories, the velocity autocorrelation function, and the mean square displacement are obtained to further uncover the dynamic properties of the 2D dusty plasma system.     

In vitro evaluation of the impact of ultrasound scanner settings and contrast bolus volume on time-intensity curves

The objective of this study was to assess in vitro the impact of ultrasound scanner settings and contrast bolus volume on time-intensity curves formed from dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound image loops. An indicator-dilution experiment was developed with an in vitro flow phantom setup used with SonoVue contrast agent (Bracco SpA, Milan, Italy). Imaging was performed with a Philips iU22 scanner and two transducers (L9-3 linear and C5-1 curvilinear). The following ultrasound scanner settings were investigated, along with contrast bolus volume: contrast-specific nonlinear pulse sequence, gain, mechanical index, focal zone depth, acoustic pulse center frequency and bandwidth. Four parameters (rise time, mean transit time, peak intensity, and area under the curve) were derived from time-intensity curves which were obtained after pixel by pixel linearization of log-compressed data (also referred to as video data) included in a region of interest. Rise time was found to be the parameter least impacted by changes to ultrasound scanner settings and contrast bolus volume; the associated coefficient of variation varied between 0.7% and 6.9% while it varied between 0.8% and 19%, 12% and 71%, and 9.2% and 66%, for mean transit time, peak intensity, and area under the curve, respectively. The present study assessed the impact of ultrasound scanner settings and contrast bolus volume on time-intensity curve analysis. One should be aware of these issues to standardize their technique in each specific organ of interest and to achieve accurate, sensitive, and reproducible data using dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound. One way to mitigate the impact of ultrasound scanner settings in longitudinal, multi-center quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound studies may be to prohibit any adjustments to those settings throughout a given study. Further clinical studies are warranted to confirm the reproducibility and diagnostic or prognostic value of time-intensity curve parameters measurements in a particular clinical scenario of interest, for example that of cancer patients undergoing vascular targeting therapies.     

加速电压和阳极流率对离子推力器性能的影响

为了研究离子推力器输入参数对工作性能的影响,采用试验研究和理论分析的方法研究了离子推力器加速电压和阳极流率对离子推力器性能的影响.研究结果表明:一定范围内离子束流随着加速电压绝对值的减小不断减小,然后突然增大,大、小推力模式下的电子返流极限电压分别为–140 V和–115 V,放电电压、放电损耗随阳极流率减小单调增大,减速电流单调减小,通过调节阳极电流、栅间电压、工质气体流量,功率为300—4850 W下,推力为11—188 m N,比冲为1800—3567 s,效率为34%—67%,在3000 W时推力器最高效率达到67%,该转折点对推力器设计和应用有关键意义,应用要结合在轨任务剖面选择合理的工作参数区间.     

Influence of cement flow and aggregate type on the mechanical and acoustic characteristics of porous concrete

The influence of cement flow and aggregate type on the mechanical and acoustic characteristics of porous concrete is systematically investigated in the present study. Three levels of cement flow (80%, 110%, and 140%) and five types of aggregates (normal aggregates of 8-13 mm and 13-19 mm and lightweight aggregates of 4-8 mm, 8-12 mm, and 12-19 mm) are used, and effects of the application of AE admixtures in paste were also studied. Single-layered and double-layered porous concrete specimens are fabricated to examine the effect of different layer configuration on the acoustic characteristics. For the purpose of comparison, the void ratio, compressive strength, and sound absorption coefficient of the specimens are used as evaluation parameters. Based on the findings of the study, a sound absorbing porous concrete with a maximum absorption coefficient of approximately 1.00 is developed, and the minimum absorption coefficient of the ‘double-layered porous concrete’ structure is shown to be more than 0.60 with a frequency of 400 Hz or above, considering the tolerant error.     

风沙流对高压绝缘子电位和电场分布的影响

研究风沙流对高压绝缘子电位和电场分布的影响,基于有限体积法建立绝缘子风沙气固两相流模型和风沙天气下绝缘子的风-沙-电耦合场模型,计算不同风沙天气下绝缘子表面沙尘的空间分布和沉积及其对绝缘子沿面电位和电场的影响,结果表明：风沙天气下绝缘子沿面电位和电场畸变受风速和粒径影响显著,电位的畸变幅度随风速和粒径的增加而升高,电场的畸变幅度随风速和粒径的增大而减少;风沙天气下绝缘子表面不同的沙尘空间分布和沉积导致绝缘子不同位置沿面电位和电场畸变不同.     

红外导引头高速流场及其对光线传输影响的数值模拟

研究红外光线经过高速流场时由于折射产生的瞄视误差(BSE),对于红外末制导拦截弹的命中精度有重要意义。考虑高温真实气体效应,求解热化学非平衡Navier-Stokes(N-S)方程得到导引头的流场,采用光线追迹的方法,对红外光线经过流场后到达导引头光学窗口的瞄视误差进行了计算分析,研究了光线入射角、飞行马赫数、攻角、高度及红外导引头外形对瞄视误差的影响。     

碘气流穿透深度和碘流量对COIL激光输出功率的影响

 通过采用Cl₂流量250mmol/s列管射流式氧发生器的COIL出光实验，得到了激光输出功率随碘副气流相对于氧主气流混合穿透深度的变化规律。实验结果表明，穿透深度对激光功率影响较大，存在最佳穿透深度，约为3.16mm,计算的最佳穿透深度与实验得到的最佳穿透深度基本一致。通过逐步改变供碘系统的碘气流流量，测量激光的输出功率，在实验上证实并找到了COIL的最佳碘流量值，约为4.5mmol/s，这一结果比以往文献所登载的最佳碘流量值要确切。     

Influence of high power ultrasound on Brettanomyces and lactic acid bacteria in wine in continuous flow treatment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of non-thermal technology, a high power ultrasound (HPU) in continuous flow treatment on the reduction in number of Brettanomyces yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in wine samples. Yeast cells and lactic acid bacteria were screened for their sensitivity to a high power ultrasound treatment using an ultrasonic processor (400 W, 24 kHz, 100 μm amplitude) at two different wine temperatures (30 and 40 °C). High power ultrasound treatment in continuous flow showed satisfactory reduction of Brettanomyces yeasts (89.1–99.7%) and lactic acid bacteria (71.8–99.3%). Sensory properties of wine were impaired. The results indicate a great potential for the application of HPU in continuous flow system for wine processing in terms of lower usage of SO₂ and preservatives. More attention is needed to preserve sensorial properties of wine.