Construction and performance of a new catheter-tip oxygen electrode

A membrane-covered catheter-tip oxygen-electrode system is described, which gives a linear response in the P_o2 range of 0–350 mm Hg. The system is highly stable, free from drift and mechanically safe for application in man. This is accomplished by using a screw cap for fastening the membrane holder, thus preventing the loss of parts and making the electrolyte chamber really fluidtight. Insulation of the platinum wire with glass precludes the possibility of fluid-bridge contact with the silver anode beyond the measuring site at the tip.     

Relating cell and tissue mechanics: Implications and applications

The Differential Adhesion Hypothesis (DAH) posits that differences in adhesion provide the driving force for morphogenetic processes. A manifestation of differential adhesion is tissue liquidity and a measure for it is tissue surface tension. In terms of this property, DAH correctly predicts global developmental tissue patterns. However, it provides little information on how these patterns arise from the movement and shape changes of cells. We provide strong qualitative and quantitative support for tissue liquidity both in true developmental context and in vitro assays. We follow the movement and characteristic shape changes of individual cells in the course of specific tissue rearrangements leading to liquid-like configurations. Finally, we relate the measurable tissue-liquid properties to molecular entities, whose direct determination under realistic three-dimensional culture conditions is not possible. Our findings confirm the usefulness of tissue liquidity and provide the scientific underpinning for a novel tissue engineering technology. Developmental Dynamics 237:2438-2449, 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Vasopressin induced rhythmic activity in rat basilar artery

The effects of vasopressin on membrane potential and tension were studied in isolated segments of basilar arteries from the University of Iowa colonies of normotensive inbred Kyoto-Wistar rats (WKY) and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SP-SHR). In the presence of vasopressin (0.01–0.3 IU/ml), basilar arteries from WKY, but not from SP-SHR, developed rhythmic contractions. These contractions were recorded in 13 of 14 WKY basilar arteries, were unaffected by pretreatment with 6-hydroxydopamine, and were characterized by 20–100 dyne oscillations in tension, occurring 1–3 cycles/min, and superimposed on the vasopressin-induced contraction (averaging 60 dynes at 0.01 IU/ml or 160 dynes at 0.3 IU/ml). However, resting membrane potentials were not different in SP-SHR vs. WKY at 37°C, and both strains showed about the same (11 mV) depolarization by 0.1 IU/ml of vasopressin. The rhythmic contractions were enhanced by K⁺-free solution, and abolished in the presence of high K⁺ solution (30 mM), suggesting that active Na⁺−K⁺ transport may be involved in modulating the rhythmic activity. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the vasopressin-induced rhythmic contractions in WKY basilar arteries are at least partly dependent on a reduced activity of electrogenic Na⁺−K⁺ active transport in WKY as compared to SP-SHR. This research was supported by Grant Nos. HL14388 and HL16328 from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Rusch is the recipient of Postdoctoral Fellowship HL06907.     

Changes in blood lactate and respiratory gas exchange measures in sports with discontinuous load profiles

This study compares two different sport events (orienteering = OTC; tennis = TEC) with discontinuous load profiles and different activity/recovery patterns by means of blood lactate (LA), heart rate (HR), and respiratory gas exchange measures (RGME) determined via a portable respiratory system. During the TEC, 20 tennis-ranked male subjects [age: 26.0 (3.7) years; height: 181.0 (5.7) cm; weight: 73.2 (6.8) kg; maximal oxygen consumption (V˙O₂max): 57.3 (5.1) ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹] played ten matches of 50 min. During the OTC, 11 male members of the Austrian National Team [age: 23.5 (3.9) years; height: 183.6 (6.8) cm; weight: 72.4 (3.9) kg; V˙O₂max: 67.9 (3.8) ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹] performed a simulated OTC (six sections; average length: 10.090 m). In both studies data from the maximal treadmill tests (TT) were used as reference values for the comparison of energy expenditure of OTC and TEC. During TEC, the average V˙O₂ was considerably lower [29.1 (5.6) ml^·kg^−1·min⁻¹] or 51.1 (10.9)% of VO₂max and 64.8.0 (13.3)% of V˙O₂ determined at the individual anaerobic threshold (IAT) on the TT. The short high-intensity periods (activity/recovery = 1/6) did not result in higher LA levels [average LA of games: 2.07 (0.9) mmol·l⁻¹]. The highest average V˙O₂ value for a whole game was 47.8 ml·kg^−1·min⁻¹ and may provide a reference for energy demands required to sustain high-intensity periods of tennis predominately via aerobic mechanism of energy delivery. During OTC, we found an average V˙O₂ of 56.4 (4.5) ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ or 83.0 (3.8)% of V˙O₂max and 94.6 (5.2)% of V˙O₂ at IAT. In contrast to TEC, LA were relatively high [5.16 (1.5) mmol·l⁻¹) although the average V˙O₂ was significantly lower than V˙O₂ at IAT. Our data suggest that portable RGEM provides valuable information concerning the energy expenditure in sports that cannot be interpreted from LA or HR measures alone. Portable RGEM systems provide valuable assessment of under- or over-estimation of requirements of sports and assist in the optimization and interpretation of training in athletes. Electronic Publication     

Local blood flow and metabolism of the tongue before and during panting in the dog

Summary The effects of hyperthermia on blood flow and oxygen consumption of the tongue were investigated in anesthetized dogs. For comparison, blood flow through the skin and deep muscle of the hind leg was also measured in some animals. Increasing blood temperature revealed a biphasic response of lingual blood flow. At 41°C blood temperature respiratory frequency was twice that of control and there was a reduction of lingual blood flow, while resistance of the lingual bed was increased significantly. The arterio-venous oxygen difference (AVDO₂) of lingual blood was markedly increased at this level and the of the tongue was like-wise significantly greater than control. At 41.9°C, the steep increase of respiratory frequency was accompanied by a marked fall in lingual resistance as evidenced by a four-fold increase of lingual blood flow. The systemic AVDO₂ rose at this temperature, while the lingual AVDO₂ fell dramatically. There was no further increase of lingual . At both temperature levels the blood flow through the skin did not change substantially, while the deep muscle blood flow slightly increased. The mean arterial pressure showed a progressive fall during hyperthermia. It is assumed that the decrease of lingual blood flow at elevated blood temperature without panting is due to a redistribution of cardiac output to areas other than the tongue. The increase of lingual blood flow without an additional increase of lingual during panting may be explained solely as a mechanism for heat dissipation. The fact that the decrease of lingual resistance was demonstrated in immobilized animals concomitant with high frequency phrenic burst activity suggests that the decrease of lingual resistance and panting may be induced by a common central integrating mechanism.     

Physiological effects of dynamic work on a bicycle ergometer combined with different types of static contraction

Summary The effects on heart rate, oxygen uptake, and pulmonary ventilation of muscular exercises, including both dynamic contractions, either simple or combined, were studied in 4 male subjects, aged 21 to 23 years. The dynamic work consisted in cycling on an ergometric bicycle at three power levels: 40, 80, and 100 W. The static work consisted in pushing against, pulling and holding with the arms a 6, 9, 12, or 18 kg load. The physiological effects are expressed as cardiac cost (HR), oxygen cost (VO₂) and ventilation cost (V). The physiological cost of the combined work increases according to the cycling power and to the isometric load developed. A statistical analysis shows that the costs of combined work are not different from the sum of the costs of the static and dynamic contractions measured separately. Thus, the physiological responses to the combinations investigated are of an additive type.     

Advection and Diffusion of Substances in Biological Tissues With Complex Vascular Networks

For highly diffusive solutes the kinetics of blood–tissue exchange is only poorly represented by a model consisting of sets of independent parallel capillary–tissue units. We constructed a more realistic multicapillary network model conforming statistically to morphometric data. Flows through the tortuous paths in the network were calculated based on constant resistance per unit length throughout the network and the resulting advective intracapillary velocity field was used as a framework for describing the extravascular diffusion of a substance for which there is no barrier or permeability limitation. Simulated impulse responses from the system, analogous to tracer water outflow dilution curves, showed flow-limited behavior over a range of flows from about 2 to 5 ml min^–1 g^–1, as is observed for water in the heart in vivo. The present model serves as a reference standard against which to evaluate computationally simpler, less physically realistic models. The simulated outflow curves from the network model, like experimental water curves, were matched to outflow curves from the commonly used axially distributed models only by setting the capillary wall permeability–surface area (PS) to a value so artifactually low that it is incompatible with the experimental observations that transport is flow limited. However, simple axially distributed models with appropriately high PSs will fit water outflow dilution curves if axial diffusion coefficients are set at high enough values to account for enhanced dispersion due to the complex geometry of the capillary network. Without incorporating this enhanced dispersion, when applied to experimental curves over a range of flows, the simpler models give a false inference that there is recruitment of capillary surface area with increasing flow. Thus distributed models must account for diffusional as well as permeation processes to provide physiologically appropriate parameter estimates. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC00: 8719-j, 8710+e     

不同轴向伸长率下兔股动、静脉的顺应性变化

研究轴向应变对血管顺应性的影响 ,明确能否通过调节吻合张力建立顺应性一致的静脉移植修复动脉缺损模型。取一段做完轴向拉伸实验的血管 (兔股动、静脉分别为 13、12条 ) ,测量不同伸长率下的压力—容积曲线 ,换算为压力—标准容积曲线 ,用幂函数 P=M1 × [еM2 ( v- v0 ) - 1]进行拟合 ,用多项式 M=a1 λ5+a2 λ4 +a3λ3+aλ2 +a5λ+a6 拟合 M- λ数据。由 P=M1 × [еM2 ( v- v0 ) - 1]得出在动脉平均压 (11.78KPa)下血管顺应性 dv/ dp=1/ (M1 ×M2 +11.78M2 )。由张力 T与伸长率 λ的单值对应关系建立起 T与顺应性 dv/ dp的单值对应关系 ,发现在张力 1.19g时 ,在动脉平均压下 ,动静脉的顺应性一致 ,为 0 .0 31,其所对应的动静脉伸长率为 :1.6 7及 1.32     

实验高压电烧伤深筋膜微循环动态变化及意义

目的研究肢体高压电烧伤后深筋膜微循环变化规律。方法将28只家兔随机分成实验组与对照组。实验组家兔的右下肢采用1万伏额定电压 ,77mA电流及通电5s的方法制作单侧后肢电烧伤模型 ,对照组采用假电的方法制作单侧后肢假电烧伤模型 ,两组均采用“滴水开窗法”制作左侧下肢远端深筋膜微循环观测窗 ,并采用WX -9B型多部位微循环显微仪及其图像处理系统在通电前、通电后即刻、通电后30min、2、4、6h观测微动脉、毛细血管、后微静脉、微静脉的形态、流态、管周状态。结果肢体高压电烧伤后 ,微血管形态在30min内可观测到显著性变化 (P<0.05) ,表现为血管密度减小 ,微动脉、毛细血管、微静脉收缩 ,后微静脉扩张 ,微动脉、毛细血管均在6min以后变得不清以致模糊(P<0.05)、后微静脉、微静脉分别在2h、30min以后变得不清(P<0.05)。微血管内的流态以白微栓的变化可见规律性 ,即白微栓在电后2h开始出现 ,4h迅速达高峰 ,6h又有快速下降的趋势。微静脉和后微静脉在通电30min后有渗出(P<0.05) ,只有后微静脉在通电后2h有出血(P<0.05)。结论电烧伤后存在全身性反应 ,其在肢端深筋膜微循环的表现是一个阶段性加重的过程 :第一阶段电烧伤后30min内为缺血型微循环障碍 ,第二阶段微循环障碍包含两个方面 :其一是微血管的出血     

Non-linear cardiac output dynamics during ramp-incremental cycle ergometry

Published literature asserts that cardiac output (=O₂×1/C_(a-v)O₂) increases as a linear function of oxygen uptake with a slope of approximately 5–6 during constant work rate exercise. However, we have previously demonstrated that C_(a-v)O₂ has a linear relationship as a function of O₂ during progressively increasing work rate incremental exercise. Therefore, we hypothesized that may indeed have a non-linear relationship with respect to O₂ during incremental, non-steady state exercise. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed five maximal progressive work rate exercise studies in healthy human subjects. was determined every minute during exercise using measured breath-by-breath O₂, and arterial and pulmonary artery measurements of PO₂, hemoglobin saturation, and content. was plotted as a function of O₂ and the linear and non-linear (first order exponential and hyperbolic) fits determined for each subject. Tests for linearity were performed by assessing the significance of the quadratic terms added to the linear relation using least squares estimation in linear regression. Linearity was inadequate in all cases (group P<0.0001). We conclude that cardiac output is a non-linear function of O₂ during ramp-incremental exercise; the pattern of non-linearity suggests that while the kinetics of are faster than those of O₂ they progressively slow as work rate (and O₂) increases.