Subcutaneous Ports for Chronic Nerve Cuff and Intramuscular Electrode Stimulation in Animal Models

2020 ◽  
pp. 019459982096009
Author(s):  
James T. Heaton ◽  
James B. Kobler ◽  
Mark P. Ottensmeyer ◽  
Robert H. Petrillo ◽  
Monica A. Tynan ◽  
...  

Objective Tracking recovery after nerve injury may require many intermittent assessments over long periods, preferably with non- or minimally invasive methods. We developed subcutaneous electrical connection ports (ECPs) for repeated connection to nerve cuff or intramuscular electrodes via transdermal needles and evaluated them during studies of laryngeal reinnervation. Study Design Animal experiment. Setting Laboratory. Methods ECPs were designed and 3-dimensionally printed for connection to bipolar electrodes with biocompatible polymers. Dual compartments filled with conductive silicone capped with nonconductive silicone were used to make the connections between electrode leads and transdermally inserted needles. Ten dogs (19-29 kg) were implanted with 22 ECPs. In 7 dogs, 11 electrodes were placed on recurrent laryngeal nerves proximal to transection and suture repair to track laryngeal reinnervation. In 6 dogs, 8 spinal accessory nerve cuff electrodes were used to stimulate neck muscle contraction. In 2 dogs, 3 electrodes were implanted in the thyroarytenoid muscle. Stimulation thresholds, electromyography, and videolaryngoscopic imaging were obtained in 156 tests over survival periods up to 32 months. Stimulation data provided information about ECP performance. Results ECPs added negligible resistance to electrodes (mean ± SD, 2.14 ± 0.9 Ω). Despite some electrode leads breaking distally, ECPs were reliable and well tolerated at implant sites and enabled periodic assessment of nerve and muscle function over the time course of laryngeal reinnervation. Histology showed ECP encapsulation as thin layers of connective tissue and minimal acute inflammation. Conclusion Custom ECPs are easily fabricated and cause little tissue reaction over months to years of subcutaneous implantation, facilitating long-term physiologic studies.

2001 ◽  
Vol 312 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S Carp ◽  
Xiang-Yang Chen ◽  
Hesham Sheikh ◽  
Jonathan R Wolpaw

Author(s):  
K. T. Tokuyasu

During the past investigations of immunoferritin localization of intracellular antigens in ultrathin frozen sections, we found that the degree of negative staining required to delineate u1trastructural details was often too dense for the recognition of ferritin particles. The quality of positive staining of ultrathin frozen sections, on the other hand, has generally been far inferior to that attainable in conventional plastic embedded sections, particularly in the definition of membranes. As we discussed before, a main cause of this difficulty seemed to be the vulnerability of frozen sections to the damaging effects of air-water surface tension at the time of drying of the sections.Indeed, we found that the quality of positive staining is greatly improved when positively stained frozen sections are protected against the effects of surface tension by embedding them in thin layers of mechanically stable materials at the time of drying (unpublished).


Author(s):  
K.W. Lee ◽  
R.H. Meints ◽  
D. Kuczmarski ◽  
J.L. Van Etten

The physiological, biochemical, and ultrastructural aspects of the symbiotic relationship between the Chlorella-like algae and the hydra have been intensively investigated. Reciprocal cross-transfer of the Chlorellalike algae between different strains of green hydra provide a system for the study of cell recognition. However, our attempts to culture the algae free of the host hydra of the Florida strain, Hydra viridis, have been consistently unsuccessful. We were, therefore, prompted to examine the isolated algae at the ultrastructural level on a time course.


Author(s):  
P. Maupin-Szamier ◽  
T. D. Pollard

We have studied the destruction of rabbit muscle actin filaments by osmium tetroxide (OSO4) to develop methods which will preserve the structure of actin filaments during preparation for transmission electron microscopy.Negatively stained F-actin, which appears as smooth, gently curved filaments in control samples (Fig. 1a), acquire an angular, distorted profile and break into progressively shorter pieces after exposure to OSO4 (Fig. 1b,c). We followed the time course of the reaction with viscometry since it is a simple, quantitative method to assess filament integrity. The difference in rates of decay in viscosity of polymerized actin solutions after the addition of four concentrations of OSO4 is illustrated in Fig. 2. Viscometry indicated that the rate of actin filament destruction is also dependent upon temperature, buffer type, buffer concentration, and pH, and requires the continued presence of OSO4. The conditions most favorable to filament preservation are fixation in a low concentration of OSO4 for a short time at 0°C in 100mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0.


Author(s):  
G.E. Visscher ◽  
R. L. Robison ◽  
G. J. Argentieri

The use of various bioerodable polymers as drug delivery systems has gained considerable interest in recent years. Among some of the shapes used as delivery systems are films, rods and microcapsules. The work presented here will deal with the techniques we have utilized for the analysis of the tissue reaction to and actual biodegradation of injectable microcapsules. This work has utilized light microscopic (LM), transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopic techniques. The design of our studies has utilized methodology that would; 1. best characterize the actual degradation process without artifacts introduced by fixation procedures and 2. allow for reproducible results.In our studies, the gastrocnemius muscle of the rat was chosen as the injection site. Prior to the injection of microcapsules the skin above the sites was shaved and tattooed for later recognition and recovery. 1.0 cc syringes were loaded with the desired quantity of microcapsules and the vehicle (0.5% hydroxypropylmethycellulose) drawn up. The syringes were agitated to suspend the microcapsules in the injection vehicle.


Author(s):  
S.J. Splinter ◽  
J. Bruley ◽  
P.E. Batson ◽  
D.A. Smith ◽  
R. Rosenberg

It has long been known that the addition of Cu to Al interconnects improves the resistance to electromigration failure. It is generally accepted that this improvement is the result of Cu segregation to Al grain boundaries. The exact mechanism by which segregated Cu increases service lifetime is not understood, although it has been suggested that the formation of thin layers of θ-CuA12 (or some metastable substoichiometric precursor, θ’ or θ”) at the boundaries may be necessary. This paper reports measurements of the local electronic structure of Cu atoms segregated to Al grain boundaries using spatially resolved EELS in a UHV STEM. It is shown that segregated Cu exists in a chemical environment similar to that of Cu atoms in bulk θ-phase precipitates.Films of 100 nm thickness and nominal composition Al-2.5wt%Cu were deposited by sputtering from alloy targets onto NaCl substrates. The samples were solution heat treated at 748K for 30 min and aged at 523K for 4 h to promote equilibrium grain boundary segregation. EELS measurements were made using a Gatan 666 PEELS spectrometer interfaced to a VG HB501 STEM operating at 100 keV. The probe size was estimated to be 1 nm FWHM. Grain boundaries with the narrowest projected width were chosen for analysis. EDX measurements of Cu segregation were made using a VG HB603 STEM.


Author(s):  
Nancy R. Wallace ◽  
Craig C. Freudenrich ◽  
Karl Wilbur ◽  
Peter Ingram ◽  
Ann LeFurgey

The morphology of balanomorph barnacles during metamorphosis from the cyprid larval stage to the juvenile has been examined by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The free-swimming cyprid attaches to a substrate, rotates 90° in the vertical plane, molts, and assumes the adult shape. The resulting metamorph is clad in soft cuticle and has an adult-like appearance with a mantle cavity, thorax with cirri, and incipient shell plates. At some time during the development from cyprid to juvenile, the barnacle begins to mineralize its shell, but it is not known whether calcification occurs before, during, or after ecdysis. To examine this issue, electron probe x-ray microanalysis (EPXMA) was used to detect calcium in cyprids and juveniles at various times during metamorphosis.Laboratory-raised, free-swimming cyprid larvae were allowed to settle on plastic coverslips in culture dishes of seawater. The cyprids were observed with a dissecting microscope, cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen-cooled liquid propane at various times (0-24 h) during metamorphosis, freeze dried, rotary carbon-coated, and examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). EPXMA dot maps were obtained in parallel for qualitative assessment of calcium and other elements in the carapace, wall, and opercular plates.


2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (22) ◽  
pp. 3521-3532
Author(s):  
Eric Soubeyrand ◽  
Megan Kelly ◽  
Shea A. Keene ◽  
Ann C. Bernert ◽  
Scott Latimer ◽  
...  

Plants have evolved the ability to derive the benzenoid moiety of the respiratory cofactor and antioxidant, ubiquinone (coenzyme Q), either from the β-oxidative metabolism of p-coumarate or from the peroxidative cleavage of kaempferol. Here, isotopic feeding assays, gene co-expression analysis and reverse genetics identified Arabidopsis 4-COUMARATE-COA LIGASE 8 (4-CL8; At5g38120) as a contributor to the β-oxidation of p-coumarate for ubiquinone biosynthesis. The enzyme is part of the same clade (V) of acyl-activating enzymes than At4g19010, a p-coumarate CoA ligase known to play a central role in the conversion of p-coumarate into 4-hydroxybenzoate. A 4-cl8 T-DNA knockout displayed a 20% decrease in ubiquinone content compared with wild-type plants, while 4-CL8 overexpression boosted ubiquinone content up to 150% of the control level. Similarly, the isotopic enrichment of ubiquinone's ring was decreased by 28% in the 4-cl8 knockout as compared with wild-type controls when Phe-[Ring-13C6] was fed to the plants. This metabolic blockage could be bypassed via the exogenous supply of 4-hydroxybenzoate, the product of p-coumarate β-oxidation. Arabidopsis 4-CL8 displays a canonical peroxisomal targeting sequence type 1, and confocal microscopy experiments using fused fluorescent reporters demonstrated that this enzyme is imported into peroxisomes. Time course feeding assays using Phe-[Ring-13C6] in a series of Arabidopsis single and double knockouts blocked in the β-oxidative metabolism of p-coumarate (4-cl8; at4g19010; at4g19010 × 4-cl8), flavonol biosynthesis (flavanone-3-hydroxylase), or both (at4g19010 × flavanone-3-hydroxylase) indicated that continuous high light treatments (500 µE m−2 s−1; 24 h) markedly stimulated the de novo biosynthesis of ubiquinone independently of kaempferol catabolism.


2008 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 147-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Schaber ◽  
Edda Klipp

Volume is a highly regulated property of cells, because it critically affects intracellular concentration. In the present chapter, we focus on the short-term volume regulation in yeast as a consequence of a shift in extracellular osmotic conditions. We review a basic thermodynamic framework to model volume and solute flows. In addition, we try to select a model for turgor, which is an important hydrodynamic property, especially in walled cells. Finally, we demonstrate the validity of the presented approach by fitting the dynamic model to a time course of volume change upon osmotic shock in yeast.


1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Formby ◽  
B. Albritton ◽  
I. M. Rivera

We describe preliminary attempts to fit a mathematical function to the slow-component eye velocity (SCV) over the time course of caloric-induced nystagmus. Initially, we consider a Weibull equation with three parameters. These parameters are estimated by a least-squares procedure to fit digitized SCV data. We present examples of SCV data and fitted curves to show how adjustments in the parameters of the model affect the fitted curve. The best fitting parameters are presented for curves fit to 120 warm caloric responses. The fitting parameters and the efficacy of the fitted curves are compared before and after the SCV data were smoothed to reduce response variability. We also consider a more flexible four-parameter Weibull equation that, for 98% of the smoothed caloric responses, yields fits that describe the data more precisely than a line through the mean. Finally, we consider advantages and problems in fitting the Weibull function to caloric data.


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