O Objective: Many biological studies have been done to determine the activity of medicinal plants on gastrointestinal function. Since acetylcholine is the major transmitter involved in the gastrointestinal motility and there are some evidences regarding the cholinergic modulatory effect of hops extract, in the present study spasmolytic and antispasmodic action of hops(Humulus lupulus) on acetyl...

Methods Subjects are 20 healthy males. Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) of elbow flexor was measured using a strain gauge prior to exercise (MVC1). Subjects received acupuncture stimulation before the exercise on their biceps brachii. The stimulation is either deep needling (targeting muscle; mACU) or superficial needling (sACU). The exercise protocol contains 5 sets * 10 repetitions of maxi...

It has been shown that when a human muscle contracts the mean voltage of the electromyogram recorded from its surface increases with the force of the contraction (Bayer and Flechtenmacher, 1950; Inman, Ralston, Saunders, Feinstein, and Wright, 1952; Lippold, 1952). The relationship between tension and mean voltage is linear provided the contraction is isometric (Lippold, 1952). With an isotonic...

The permeability properties of the inner membrane of mung bean mitochondria were studied by osmotic swelling techniques. Rapid mitochondrial swelling was observed in isotonic ammonium phosphate, which indicated that an active phosphate/hydroxyl antiporter was present. The phosphate carrier was specifically inhibited by sulfhydryl reagents. Mitochondria did not swell in isotonic ammonium salts o...

Reducing the activating calcium concentration with skinned fibres is known to decrease isometric force and maximal shortening velocity, both of which will reduce the peak power. However, power is also a function of the curvature of the force-velocity relationship, and there is limited information on how changes in activating calcium affect this important property of muscle fibres. Force-velocit...

In single smooth muscle cells, shortening velocity slows continuously during the course of an isotonic (fixed force) contraction (Warshaw, D.M. 1987. J. Gen. Physiol. 89:771-789). To distinguish among several possible explanations for this slowing, single smooth muscle cells were isolated from the gastric muscularis of the toad (Bufo marinus) and attached to an ultrasensitive force transducer a...

The instantaneous force-velocity-length relations of the contractile elements of the cat papillary muscle have been obtained by determining the phase-plane trajectories of velocity of shortening relative to length during isotonic contractions and correcting these measurements for the series elastic extension during the isometric phase of contraction. The load-extension curve of the series elast...

Stimulation trains that exploit the catchlike property [catchlike-inducing trains (CITs)] produce greater forces and rates of rise of force than do constant-frequency trains (CFTs) during isometric contractions and isovelocity movements. This study examined the effect of CITs during isotonic contractions in healthy subjects. Knee extension was electrically elicited against a load of 10% of maxi...

The series elasticity (SE) of cat papillary muscle was measured in 6 muscles by the isotonic quick-release method, with careful correction for the compliance of the equipment. The resultant SE curve was exponential in form with an extension of 4% to 5% of initial muscle length for a preload of 0.5 g and a developed tension of 10 g; this demonstrates a stiffer SE for cardiac muscle than has prev...