Analysis of the contractile properties of chemically skinned, or permeabilized, skeletal muscle fibers offers a powerful means by which to assess muscle function at the level of the single muscle cell. Single muscle fiber studies are useful in both basic science and clinical studies. For basic studies, single muscle fiber contractility measurements allow investigation of fundamental mechanisms ...

The fast skeletal IIb gene is the source of most myosin heavy chain (MyHC) in adult mouse skeletal muscle. We have examined the effects of a null mutation in the IIb MyHC gene on the growth and morphology of mouse skeletal muscle. Loss in muscle mass of several head and hindlimb muscles correlated with amounts of IIb MyHC expressed in that muscle in wild types. Decreased mass was accompanied by...

In this study, we present a quadruple immunostaining method for rapid muscle fiber typing of mice and rats using antibodies specific to the adult myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms MyHC1, 2A, 2X, and 2B, which are common marker proteins of distinct muscle fiber types. We developed rat monoclonal antibodies specific to each MyHC isoform and conjugated these four antibodies to fluorophores with d...

The silicon photonics market has grown rapidly over recent decades due to the demand for high bandwidth and data-transfer capabilities. Silicon leverage well-developed semiconductor fabrication technologies combine various photonic functionalities on same chip. Complicated integrated circuits require a mass-producible packaging strategy with broadband, coupling efficiency, fiber-array fiber-to-...

Muscle fiber atrophy and loss is a characteristic of a wide range of neuromuscular affections. Over the past years, there has been increasing evidence that apoptotic cell death mechanisms contribute to this loss. While the initiating stimuli of apoptotic muscle fiber death such as homeostatic dysregulations and oxidative stress seems to be manifold and assumedly disease-specific the up-regulati...

The surface electromyogram (EMG) comprises the sum of the electrical contributions made by the active motor units to the interference signal detected by electrodes placed on the skin overlying the muscle. Because it provides a global measure of motor unit activity, this signal is a valuable tool for assessing the level of muscle activation. The analysis of the surface EMG in the frequency domai...

The surface electromyogram (EMG) comprises the sum of the electrical contributions made by the active motor units to the interference signal detected by electrodes placed on the skin overlying the muscle. Because it provides a global measure of motor unit activity, this signal is a valuable tool for assessing the level of muscle activation. The analysis of the surface EMG in the frequency domai...

To clarify aging-related changes in the capillary network in skeletal muscle, we morphometrically examined the capillary supply to individual muscle fibers and capillary luminal size in young (3-month-old) and old (19-month-old) male Wistar rats. All morphometric parameters for capillary and muscle fiber were determined in the cross sections of the perfusion-fixed soleus (SOL) and plantaris (PL...

microelectrodes. Circ Res 39: 168-177 Allessie MA, Bonke FIM, Schopman FJG (1977) Circus movement in rabbit atrial muscle as a mechanism of tachycardia. HI. The "leading circle" concept: A new model of circus movement in cardiac tissue without the involvement of an anatomical obstacle. Circ Res 41: 9-18 Clerc L (1976) Directional differences of impulse spread in trabecular muscle from mammalian...