A Probe Technique for Determining the Thermal Conductivity of Tissue

1972 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Cooper ◽  
G. J. Trezek

A small needle-like probe has been developed for the determination of the thermal conductivity of either in-vitro or in-vivo tissue. This probe consists of a copper cylinder having a diameter of 1.5 mm and a length of 22.5 mm. Constantan and copper leads are attached to the center and top of the cylinder, respectively, and as a consequence the probe acts as a thermocouple. The distinguishing characteristic of this probe is that when it is suddenly embedded into a medium at a different temperature, the duration of its temperature–time response is such that it can be related to the thermal properties of the medium. This is accomplished by a match with an analytically determined response curve which accounts for metabolic heat generation, blood flow, and conductive effects. By nondimensionalizing the governing equations for the probe–tissue system, three nondimensional groups for time, temperature, and blood flow emerge. The results of a parametric study of these effects are presented in tabular form. Initially, the probe technique was used to determine the thermal conductivity of a 1 percent agar–water mixture and the results were within 5 percent of water. Subsequently, experimental thermal-conductivity data were obtained on the following in-vitro human organs: liver, kidney, heart, spleen, whole brain, brain gray matter, and brain white matter. In addition, density, specific-heat, and water-content measurements were also obtained on these organs. In-vivo conductivity data have recently been obtained for canine liver with and without blood flow. These data indicate that the in-vivo value without blood flow is approximately the same as the in-vitro value after the organ had been removed and refrigerated for 24 hr. Blood flow, if not considered, resulted in apparent conductivities which were 15 to 25 percent higher than that of the tissue.

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S198-S198
Author(s):  
Joseph R Meno ◽  
Thien-son K Nguyen ◽  
Elise M Jensen ◽  
G Alexander West ◽  
Leonid Groysman ◽  
...  

Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yedan Liu ◽  
Shaoxun Wang ◽  
Ya Guo ◽  
Huawei Zhang ◽  
Richard Roman ◽  
...  

Diabetes is the primary pathological factor attributed to Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Previous studies demonstrated that hyperglycemia promoted oxidative stress in the cerebral vasculature. Cerebrovascular pericytes contribute to maintaining blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity and regulating cerebral blood flow (CBF). However, whether hyperglycemia diminishes the contractile capability of pericytes, impairs CBF autoregulation and increases BBB permeability are unclear. In the present study, we examined the role of pericytes in cerebrovascular function and cognition in diabetes using cell culture in vitro , isolated penetrating arterioles ex vivo and CBF autoregulation in vivo . Reactive oxygen species were elevated in high glucose (HG, 30 mM) treated vs. normal glucose (NG, 5.5 mM) treated pericytes. Further, mitochondrial superoxide production was increased in HG-treated vs. NG-treated group (13.24 ± 1.01 arbitrary unit (a.u.)/30min vs. 6.98 ± 0.36 a.u./30min). Mitochondrial respiration decreased in HG-treated vs. NG-treated pericytes (3718 ± 185.9 pmol/min/mg, n=10 vs. 4742 ± 284.5 pmol/min/mg, n=10) as measured by a Seahorse XFe24 analyzer. HG-treated pericytes displayed fragmented mitochondria in association with increased fission protein (DRP1) and decreased fusion protein (OPA1) expression. HG-treated pericytes displayed lower contractile capability than NG-treated cells (20.23 ± 7.15% vs. 29.46 ± 9.41%). The myogenic response was impaired in penetrating arterioles isolated from diabetic rats in comparison with non-diabetic rats. Autoregulation of CBF measured by a laser Doppler flowmeter was impaired in diabetic rats compared with non-diabetic rats. Diabetic rats exhibited greater BBB leakage than control rats. The cognitive function was examined using an eight-arm water maze. Diabetic rats took longer time to escape than the non-diabetic rats indicating learning and memory deficits. In conclusion, hyperglycemia induces pericyte dysfunction by altering mitochondrial dynamics and diminishing contractile capability, which promotes BBB leakage, decreases CBF autoregulation and contributes to diabetes-related dementia.


2011 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle J. McCullough ◽  
Robert T. Davis ◽  
James M. Dominguez ◽  
John N. Stabley ◽  
Christian S. Bruells ◽  
...  

With advancing age, there is a reduction in exercise tolerance, resulting, in part, from a perturbed ability to match O2 delivery to uptake within skeletal muscle. In the spinotrapezius muscle (which is not recruited during incline treadmill running) of aged rats, we tested the hypotheses that exercise training will 1) improve the matching of O2 delivery to O2 uptake, evidenced through improved microvascular Po2 (PmO2), at rest and throughout the contractions transient; and 2) enhance endothelium-dependent vasodilation in first-order arterioles. Young (Y, ∼6 mo) and aged (O, >24 mo) Fischer 344 rats were assigned to control sedentary (YSED; n = 16, and OSED; n = 15) or exercise-trained (YET; n = 14, and OET; n = 13) groups. Spinotrapezius blood flow (via radiolabeled microspheres) was measured at rest and during exercise. Phosphorescence quenching was used to quantify PmO2 in vivo at rest and across the rest-to-twitch contraction (1 Hz, 5 min) transition in the spinotrapezius muscle. In a follow-up study, vasomotor responses to endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine) and -independent (sodium nitroprusside) stimuli were investigated in vitro. Blood flow to the spinotrapezius did not increase above resting values during exercise in either young or aged groups. Exercise training increased the precontraction baseline PmO2 (OET 37.5 ± 3.9 vs. OSED 24.7 ± 3.6 Torr, P < 0.05); the end-contracting PmO2 and the time-delay before PmO2 fell in the aged group but did not affect these values in the young. Exercise training improved maximal vasodilation in aged rats to acetylcholine (OET 62 ± 16 vs. OSED 27 ± 16%) and to sodium nitroprusside in both young and aged rats. Endurance training of aged rats enhances the PmO2 in a nonrecruited skeletal muscle and is associated with improved vascular smooth muscle function. These data support the notion that improvements in vascular function with exercise training are not isolated to the recruited muscle.


1986 ◽  
Vol 251 (5) ◽  
pp. R851-R858
Author(s):  
S. J. Wickler ◽  
B. A. Horwitz ◽  
J. S. Stern

The Zucker obese rat is characterized by decreased capacity for diet-induced and for nonshivering thermogenesis. This decrease is due, in large part, to reduced thermogenesis in depots of brown adipose tissue, a major source of heat production in rats. Adrenalectomy retards the weight gain observed in the obese rats and also normalizes brown fat guanosine 5'-diphosphate (GDP) binding, an in vitro measure of brown fat thermogenic capacity. This study examined the effect of adrenalectomy on brown fat blood flow, an in vivo measure of the tissue's function, and on norepinephrine-induced O2 consumption (NST) of 11-wk-old obese (fa/fa) and lean (Fa/?) rats. Adrenalectomy had little effect on weight gain, NST, or norepinephrine-stimulated blood flow to brown fat in lean rats. However, adrenalectomy produced profound changes in the obese animals, preventing the weight gain normally occurring in the obese rats and normalizing both NST capacity and norepinephrine-stimulated blood flow to brown fat. These findings provide further support for the importance of brown fat thermogenesis and glucocorticoids in modulating the obesity of the Zucker rat.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-xing Fei ◽  
Tian-hong Zhang ◽  
Jing Zhao ◽  
He Ren ◽  
Ya-nan Du ◽  
...  

Objective To investigate the effect of hypothermia on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nimodipine in rabbits using in vivo and in vitro methods. Methods Five healthy New Zealand rabbits received a single dose of nimodipine (0.5 mg/kg) intravenously under normothermic and hypothermic conditions. Doppler ultrasound was used to monitor cerebral blood flow, vascular resistance, and heart rate. In vitro evaluations of protein binding, hepatocyte uptake and intrinsic clearance of liver microsomes at different temperatures were also conducted. Results Plasma concentrations of nimodipine were significantly higher in hypothermia than in normothermia. Nimodipine improved cerebral blood flow under both conditions, but had a longer effective duration during the hypothermic period. Low temperature decreased the intrinsic clearance of liver microsomes, with no change in protein binding or hepatocyte uptake of nimodipine. Conclusion Nimodipine is eliminated at a slower rate during hypothermia than during normothermia, mainly due to the decreased activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes. This results in elevated system exposure with little enhancement in pharmacological effect.


2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 168-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Edvinsson ◽  
Peter J. Goadsby ◽  
Rolf Uddman

Amylin and adrenomedullin are two peptides structurally related to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). We studied the occurrence of amylin in trigeminal ganglia and cerebral blood vessels of the cat with immunocytochemistry and evaluated the role of amylin and adrenomedullin in the cerebral circulation by in vitro and in vivo pharmacology. Immunocytochemistry revealed that numerous nerve cell bodies in the trigeminal ganglion contained CGRP immunoreactivity (-ir); some of these also expressed amylin-ir but none adrenomedullin-ir. There were numerous nerve fibres surrounding cerebral blood vessels that contained CGRP-ir. Occasional fibres contained amylin-ir while we observed no adrenomedullin-ir in the vessel walls. With RT-PCR and Real-Time�PCR we revealed the presence of mRNA for calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLRL) and receptor-activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs) in cat cerebral arteries. In vitro studies revealed that amylin, adrenomedullin, and CGRP relaxed ring segments of the cat middle cerebral artery. CGRP and amylin caused concentration-dependent relaxations at low concentrations of PGF2a-precontracted segment (with or without endothelium) whereas only at high concentration did adrenomedullin cause relaxation. CGRP8-37 blocked the CGRP and amylin induced relaxations in a parallel fashion. In vivo studies of amylin, adrenomedullin, and CGRP showed a brisk reproducible increase in local cerebral blood flow as examined using laser Doppler flowmetry applied to the cerebral cortex of the a-chloralose�anesthetized cat. The responses to amylin and CGRP were blocked by CGRP8-37. The studies suggest that there is a functional sub-set of amylin-containing trigeminal neurons which probably act via CGRP receptors.


2006 ◽  
Vol 91 (9) ◽  
pp. 3633-3638 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hickey ◽  
G. Krikun ◽  
P. Kodaman ◽  
Frederick Schatz ◽  
C. Carati ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: Because of their safety and efficacy, long-term progestin-only contraceptives (LTPOCs) are well-suited for women with restricted access to health care. However, abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) causes half of all users to discontinue therapy within 12 months. Endometria of LTPOC-treated patients display aberrant angiogenesis with abnormally enlarged, thin-walled, fragile blood vessels, inflammation, and focal hemorrhage. In this study, similar effects were observed with a new third-generation implantable LTPOC. Objective: We hypothesized that LTPOC reduces uterine and endometrial blood flow, leading to hypoxia/reperfusion, which triggers the generation of reactive oxygen species. The latter induce aberrant angiogenesis, causing AUB. Design: Endometrial perfusion was measured by laser-Doppler fluxmetry in women requesting LTPOCs. Endometrial biopsies were obtained for in vivo and in vitro experiments. Setting: The study was conducted in the Yale University School of Medicine and Family-Planning Center in Western Australia. Patients: Seven women 18 yr or older requesting implantable LTPOCs were recruited in Western Australia. Intervention: Women received etonorgestrel implants. Main Outcome: LTPOC treatment resulted in reduced endometrial perfusion and increased endometrial oxidative damage. Conclusions: We propose that LTPOCs result in hypoxia reperfusion, which leads to aberrant angiogenesis resulting in AUB.


1999 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 919-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Henriksson

Techniques in human skeletal muscle research are by necessity predominantly 'descriptive'.Microdialysis has raised high expectations that it could meet the demand for a method that allows 'mechanistic' investigations to be performed in human skeletal muscle. In the present review, some views are given on how well the initial expectations on the use of the microdialysis technique in skeletal muscle have been fulfilled, and the areas in which additional work is needed in order to validate microdialysis as an important metabolic technique in this tissue. The microdialysis catheter has been equated to an artificial blood vessel, which is introduced into the tissue. By means of this 'vessel' the concentrations of compounds in the interstitial space can be monitored. The concentration of substances in the collected samples is dependent on the rate of perfusate flow. When perfusate flow is slow enough to allow complete equilibration between interstitial and perfusate fluids, the concentration in the perfusate is maximal and identical to the interstitial concentration. Microdialysis data may be influenced by changes in blood flow, especially in instances where the tissue diffusivity limits the recovery in vivo, i.e. when recovery in vitro is 100 %, whereas the recovery in vivo is less than 100 %. Microdialysis data indicate that a significant arterial-interstitial glucose concentration gradient exists in skeletal muscle but not in adipose tissue at rest. While the concentrations of glucose and lactate in the dialysate from skeletal muscle are close to the expected values, the glycerol values obtained for muscle are still puzzling. Ethanol added to the perfusate will be cleared by the tissue at a rate that is determined by the nutritive blood flow (the microdialysis ethanol technique). It is concluded that microdialysis of skeletal muscle has become an important technique for mechanistic studies in human metabolism and nutrition.


1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 777-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
B M Sharga ◽  
G D Lyon

Antimicrobial substances were produced by Bacillus subtilis BS 107 in a defined medium and isolated from culture filtrate by precipitation at pH 2.5. Active fractions were extracted in ethyl acetate, acetone, and 80% ethanol and purified by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) on silica gel plates developed with an ethanol-water mixture (2:1, v/v). In each case, a band with a Rf of 0.75 formed an inhibitory zone when the TLC plates were placed in contact with agar seeded with test cultures of the Erwinia spp. The antibiotic was released into the culture medium during early stages of growth of Bacillus subtilis BS 107 but higher amounts were released in older cultures. The antibiotic was resistant to the action of nucleases, proteases, and lipase. It was stable when autoclaved twice for 35 min at 2 atm (1 atm = 101.325 kPa) in acidic, neutral, and alkaline solutions. It remained active over the pH range of 1-14 during 1 month of observation and exhibited no loss of antimicrobial activity when stored at 4°C for over 1 year. Bacillus subtilis BS 107 showed activity in vitro and in vivo against Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica and Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, the causal agents of potato blackleg and tuber soft rot. The application of an antagonist or its antibiotic to cut potato tissues prevented or reduced symptoms of the diseases. The antibiotic was active in vitro against a broad spectrum of bacterial and fungal species.Key words: antagonist, Bacillus subtilis BS 107, Erwinia carotovora, potato.


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