Single white fibres and small bundles (two to three) of red fibres were isolated from the trunk muscle of Pacific Blue Marlin (50-121 kg body weight). Fibres were chemically skinned with 1% Brij. Maximum Ca2+-activated force production (Po) was 57 kN m-2 for red fibres and 176 kN m-2 for white fibres at 25 degrees C. The force-velocity (P-V) characteristics of these fibres were determined at 15...

This study investigated for the first time maximum force production, shortening velocity (Vmax) and power output in permeabilised single muscle fibres at 12°C from lion, Panthera leo (Linnaeus 1758), and caracal, Caracal caracal (Schreber 1776), and compared the values with those from human cyclists. Additionally, the use and validation of previously frozen tissue for contractile experiments is...

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)and pitch-based carbon fibres are widely used as a reinforcement in composite materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastics, carbon fibre reinforced ceramics, carbon-carbon composites and carbon fibre reinforced metals, because of their high specific strength and modulus. Such composites have become a dominant material in the aerospace, automotive and sporting goods ...

1. The thermal dependence of passive electrical properties was determined for twitch fibres from the white region of the iliofibularis (IF) muscle of Anolis cristatellus (15-35 degrees C) and Sceloporus occidentalis (15-40 degrees C), and for twitch fibres from the white (15-45 degrees C) and red (15-40 degrees C) regions of the IF of Dipsosaurus dorsalis. These species differ in thermal ecolog...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Environmental exposures to chrysotile and tremolite from the soil cause pleural plaques and mesothelioma in northeast Corsica. Goats grazing in the contaminated areas inhale asbestos fibres. We used this natural animal model to study whether these exposures actually result in increased fibre burdens in the lungs and parietal pleura. METHODS Ten goats from areas with asbest...

1. The number of muscle fibres innervated by individual motor neurones (motor unit size) was measured in lumbrical muscles of rats aged 0--28 days, during the period of elimination of polyneuronal innervation. Motor unit sizes were determined from twitch tension measurements combined with muscle fibre counts made from histological sections of the muscles. 2. The relative tensions contributed by...

1. Using conventional microelectrode techniques for the intracellular recordings of the membrane potential, the effects of labetalol were studied on cardiac Purkinje, atrial and ventricular muscle fibres of the dog. 2. Labetalol (1-10 microM) reduced, in a concentration-dependent manner, the action potential amplitude (APA) and the maximum rate of rise of the action potential (Vmax) in Purkinje...

The incidence of hyper-contracted giant fibres in pig postmortem skeletal muscle is closely related to poor meat quality in terms of pale, soft, and exudative pork. Detection of a predisposition to develop giant fibres in live pigs could help to predict pork quality and to exclude affected pigs from genetic selection. The abundance and proportion of giant fibres in longissimus muscle were highe...

The surface chemical analysis and bulk analysis were conducted for fibres regenerated from waste garments and treated with iodine solution. The aim was to assess the fibre accessibility by the iodine solution and ascertain the location of the reagent within the fibres. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the fibres regenerated from indigo dyed waste denim garments (Re...

The main modelling methods devoted to microstrutured air-silica optical fibres (MOFs) are presented and discussed. Then, the specific propagation properties of MOFs are studied in detail. Characteristics measured on fibres manufactured in our laboratory or reported in the literature are analysed. A large number of potential and demonstrated applications are presented and the obtained performanc...