Effects of long-term spaceflight on mechanical properties of muscles in humans

2001 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lambertz ◽  
Chantal Pérot ◽  
Rustem Kaspranski ◽  
Francis Goubel
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Joint Stiffness ◽  
Adaptive Mechanism ◽  
Shortening Velocity ◽  
Neural Drive ◽  
Isometric Torque ◽  
Musculotendinous Stiffness ◽  
Elastic Characteristics

The effects of long-term spaceflight (90–180 days) on the contractile and elastic characteristics of the human plantarflexor muscles were studied in 14 cosmonauts before and 2–3 days after landing. Despite countermeasures practiced aboard, spaceflight was found to induce a decrease in maximal isometric torque (17%), whereas an index of maximal shortening velocity was found to increase (31%). In addition, maximal muscle activation evaluated during isokinetic tests decreased by 39%. Changes in musculotendinous stiffness and whole joint stiffness were characterized by means of quick-release movements and sinusoidal perturbations. Musculotendinous stiffness was found to be increased by 25%. Whole joint stiffness decreased under passive conditions (21%), whereas whole joint stiffness under active conditions remained unchanged after spaceflight (−1%). This invariance suggests an adaptive mechanism to counterbalance the decrease in stiffness of passive structures by an increased active stiffness. Changes in neural drive could participate in this equilibrium.

Changes in Muscle Activity in Response to Different Impact Forces Affect Soft Tissue Compartment Mechanical Properties

2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A. Boyer ◽  
Benno M. Nigg
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Joint Stiffness ◽  
Heel Strike ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Tissue Compartment ◽  
Tissue Compartments ◽  
The Impact

Electromyographic (EMG) activity is associated with several tasks prior to landing in walking and running including positioning the leg, developing joint stiffness and possibly control of soft tissue compartment vibrations. The concept of muscle tuning suggests one reason for changes in muscle activity pattern in response to small changes in impact conditions, if the frequency content of the impact is close to the natural frequency of the soft tissue compartments, is to minimize the magnitude of soft tissue compartment vibrations. The mechanical properties of the soft tissue compartments depend in part on muscle activations and thus it was hypothesized that changes in the muscle activation pattern associated with different impact conditions would result in a change in the acceleration transmissibility to the soft tissue compartments. A pendulum apparatus was used to systematically administer impacts to the heel of shod male participants. Wall reaction forces, EMG of selected leg muscles, soft tissue compartment and shoe heel cup accelerations were quantified for two different impact conditions. The transmissibility of the impact acceleration to the soft tissue compartments was determined for each subject/soft tissue compartment/shoe combination. For this controlled impact situation it was shown that changes in the damping properties of the soft tissue compartments were related to changes in the EMG intensity and/or mean frequency of related muscles in response to a change in the impact interface conditions. These results provide support for the muscle tuning idea—that one reason for the changes in muscle activity in response to small changes in the impact conditions may be to minimize vibrations of the soft tissue compartments that are initiated at heel-strike.

Mechanical properties of rat soleus after long-term spinal cord transection

2002 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 1487-1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Talmadge ◽  
Roland R. Roy ◽  
Vincent J. Caiozzo ◽  
V. Reggie Edgerton
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Fatigue Resistance ◽  
Spinal Cord Transection ◽  
Shortening Velocity ◽  
Tetanic Force ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Time To Peak ◽  
Force Velocity

The effects of a complete spinal cord transection (ST) on the mechanical properties of the rat soleus were assessed 3 and 6 mo post-ST and compared with age-matched controls. Maximal tetanic force was reduced by ∼44 and ∼25% at 3 and 6 mo post-ST, respectively. Similarly, maximum twitch force was reduced by ∼29% in 3-mo and ∼17% in 6-mo ST rats. ST resulted in faster twitch properties as evidenced by shorter time to peak tension (∼45%) and half-relaxation time (∼55%) at both time points. Maximum shortening velocity was significantly increased in ST rats whether measured by extrapolation from the force-velocity curve (approximately twofold at both time points) or by slack-test measurements (over twofold at both time points). A significant reduction in fatigue resistance of the soleus was observed at 3 (∼25%) and 6 mo (∼45%) post-ST. For the majority of the speed-related properties, no significant differences were detected between 3- and 6-mo ST rats. However, the fatigue resistance of the soleus was significantly lower in 6- vs. 3-mo ST rats. These data suggest that, between 3 and 6 mo post-ST, force-related properties tended to recover, speed-related properties plateaued, and fatigue-related properties continued to decline. Thus some specific functional properties of the rat soleus related to contractile force, speed, and fatigue adapted independently after ST.

scholarly journals Mechanical Properties of Cement-Treated Soil Mixed with Cellulose Nanofibre

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 6425
Author(s):  
Hidenori Takahashi ◽  
Shinya Omori ◽  
Hideyuki Asada ◽  
Hirofumi Fukawa ◽  
Yusuke Gotoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Flexural Strength ◽  
Geotechnical Engineering ◽  
Strength Development ◽  
Soft Ground ◽  
Wood Cellulose ◽  
Treated Soil ◽  
Made In ◽  
Cement Treatment

Cellulose nanofibre (CNF), a material composed of ultrafine fibres of wood cellulose fibrillated to nano-order level, is expected to be widely used because of its excellent properties. However, in the field of geotechnical engineering, almost no progress has been made in the development of techniques for using CNFs. The authors have focused on the use of CNF as an additive in cement treatment for soft ground, where cement is added to solidify the ground, because CNF can reduce the problems associated with cement-treated soil. This paper presents the results of a study on the method of mixing CNF, the strength and its variation obtained by adding CNF, and the change in permeability. CNF had the effect of mixing the cement evenly and reducing the variation in the strength of the treated soil. The CNF mixture increased the strength at the initial age but reduced the strength development in the long term. The addition of CNF also increased the flexural strength, although it hardly changed the permeability.

Comparison of single and multiple joint muscle functions and neural drive of trained athletes and untrained individuals

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Kale Mehmet
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Electromechanical Delay ◽  
Neural Drive ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Explosive Force ◽  
Biarticular Muscle ◽  
Voluntary Contractions ◽  
Maximum Voluntary Force

BACKGROUND: There is insufficient knowledge about the rate of force development (RFD) characteristics over both single and multiple joint movements and the electromechanical delay (EMD) values obtained in athletes and untrained individuals. OBJECTIVE: To compare single and multiple joint functions and the neural drive of trained athletes and untrained individuals. METHODS: Eight trained athletes and 10 untrained individuals voluntarily participated to the study. The neuromuscular performance was assessed during explosive and maximum voluntary isometric contractions during leg press and knee extension related to single and multiple joint. Explosive force and surface electromyography of eight superficial lower limb muscles were measured in five 50-ms time windows from their onset, and normalized to peak force and electromyography activity at maximum voluntary force, respectively. The EMD was determined from explosive voluntary contractions (EVC’s). RESULTS: The results showed that there were significant differences in absolute forces during knee extension maximum voluntary force and EVC’s (p< 0.01) while trained athletes achieved greater relative forces than untrained individuals of EVC at all five time points (p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The differences in explosive performance between trained athletes and untrained individuals in both movements may be explained by different levels of muscle activation within groups, attributed to variation in biarticular muscle function over both activities.

scholarly journals High-strength and fibrous capsule–resistant zwitterionic elastomers

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. eabc5442
Author(s):  
Dianyu Dong ◽  
Caroline Tsao ◽  
Hsiang-Chieh Hung ◽  
Fanglian Yao ◽  
Chenjue Tang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Mechanical Strength ◽  
High Strength ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
Fibrous Capsule ◽  
High Mechanical Strength ◽  
Capsule Formation ◽  
Locking Mechanism ◽  
Fibrous Capsule Formation

The high mechanical strength and long-term resistance to the fibrous capsule formation are two major challenges for implantable materials. Unfortunately, these two distinct properties do not come together and instead compromise each other. Here, we report a unique class of materials by integrating two weak zwitterionic hydrogels into an elastomer-like high-strength pure zwitterionic hydrogel via a “swelling” and “locking” mechanism. These zwitterionic-elastomeric-networked (ZEN) hydrogels are further shown to efficaciously resist the fibrous capsule formation upon implantation in mice for up to 1 year. Such materials with both high mechanical properties and long-term fibrous capsule resistance have never been achieved before. This work not only demonstrates a class of durable and fibrous capsule–resistant materials but also provides design principles for zwitterionic elastomeric hydrogels.

scholarly journals Effect of Photoinitiator on Precursory Stability and Curing Depth of Thiol-Ene Clickable Gelatin

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1877
Author(s):  
Kai-Hung Yang ◽  
Gabriella Lindberg ◽  
Bram Soliman ◽  
Khoon Lim ◽  
Tim Woodfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Visible Light ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Swelling Ratio ◽  
Sodium Persulfate ◽  
Photo Polymerization ◽  
Gelation Kinetics ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Over Time

Recent advances highlight the potential of photopolymerizable allylated gelatin (GelAGE) as a versatile hydrogel with highly tailorable properties. It is, however, unknown how different photoinitiating system affects the stability, gelation kinetics and curing depth of GelAGE. In this study, sol fraction, mass swelling ratio, mechanical properties, rheological properties, and curing depth were evaluated as a function of time with three photo-initiating systems: Irgacure 2959 (Ig2959; 320–500 nm), lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate (LAP; 320–500 nm), and ruthenium/sodium persulfate (Ru/SPS; 400–500 nm). Results demonstrated that GelAGE precursory solutions mixed with either Ig2959 or LAP remained stable over time while the Ru/SPS system enabled the onset of controllable redox polymerization without irradiation during pre-incubation. Photo-polymerization using the Ru/SPS system was significantly faster (<5 s) compared to both Ig2959 (70 s) and LAP (50 s). Plus, The Ru/SPS system was capable of polymerizing a thick construct (8.88 ± 0.94 mm), while Ig2959 (1.62 ± 0.49 mm) initiated hydrogels displayed poor penetration depth with LAP (7.38 ± 2.13 mm) in between. These results thus support the use of the visible light based Ru/SPS photo-initiator for constructs requiring rapid gelation and a good curing depth while Ig2959 or LAP can be applied for photo-polymerization of GelAGE materials requiring long-term incubation prior to application if UV is not a concern.

scholarly journals Electrospun PCL Patches with Controlled Fiber Morphology and Mechanical Performance for Skin Moisturization via Long-Term Release of Hemp Oil for Atopic Dermatitis

Membranes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Sara Metwally ◽  
Daniel P. Ura ◽  
Zuzanna J. Krysiak ◽  
Łukasz Kaniuk ◽  
Piotr K. Szewczyk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Atopic Dermatitis ◽  
Mechanical Performance ◽  
Antibacterial Properties ◽  
Skin Condition ◽  
Fiber Morphology ◽  
Suitable Material ◽  
Hemp Oil ◽  
Skin Moisture

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition, caused by wide genetic, environmental, or immunologic factors. AD is very common in children but can occur at any age. The lack of long-term treatments forces the development of new strategies for skin regeneration. Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a well-developed, tissue-compatible biomaterial showing also good mechanical properties. In our study, we designed the electrospun PCL patches with controlled architecture and topography for long-term release in time. Hemp oil shows anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, increasing also the skin moisture without clogging the pores. It can be used as an alternative cure for patients that do not respond to traditional treatments. In the study, we tested the mechanical properties of PCL fibers, and the hemp oil spreading together with the release in time measured on skin model and human skin. The PCL membranes are suitable material as patches or bandages, characterized by good mechanical properties and high permeability. Importantly, PCL patches showed release of hemp oil up to 55% within 6 h, increasing also the skin moisture up to 25%. Our results confirmed that electrospun PCL patches are great material as oil carriers indicating a high potential to be used as skin patches for AD skin treatment.

scholarly journals The Effect of Long-Term Impact of Elevated Temperature on Changes in Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of HR3C Steel

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 761-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Zieliński ◽  
M. Sroka ◽  
A. Hernas ◽  
M. Kremzer
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Elevated Temperature ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Microstructure And Mechanical Properties ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Quantitative Identification ◽  
Working Parameters ◽  
Long Term Impact

Abstract The HR3C is a new steel for pressure components used in the construction of boilers with supercritical working parameters. In the HR3C steel, due to adding Nb and N, the compounds such as MX, CrNbN and M23C6 precipitate during service at elevated temperature, resulting in changes in mechanical properties. This paper presents the results of microstructure investigations after ageing at 650, 700 and 750 °C for 5,000 h. The microstructure investigations were carried out using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The qualitative and quantitative identification of the existing precipitates was carried out using X-ray analysis of phase composition. The effect elevated temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of the examined steel was described.

Polyimide Copolymers Containing Various Levels Of The 6F Moiety For High Temperature And Microelectronic Applications

1991 ◽  
Vol 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Haider ◽  
E. Chenevey ◽  
R. H. Vora ◽  
W. Cooper ◽  
M. Glick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Electrical Properties ◽  
Oxidative Stability ◽  
Trifluoromethyl Group ◽  
Thermal And Mechanical Properties

ABSTRACTTrifluoromethyl group-containing polyimides not only show extraordinary electrical properties, but they also exhibit excellent long-term thermo-oxidative stability. Among the most thermomechanically stable structural polyimides are those from 6F dianhydride (6FDA) and 6F diamines. The effects of substituting non-fluorine containing monomers such as BTDA, mPDA and 4,4′-DADPS for the hexafluoroisopropylidene monomers on the dielectric, thermo-oxidative, thermal and mechanical properties of the copolymers were studied.

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