Journal of applied physiology
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A high respiratory rate associated with the use of small tidal volumes, recommended for acute lung injury (ALI), shortens time for gas diffusion in the alveoli. This may decrease CO(2) elimination. We hypothesized that a postinspiratory pause could enhance CO(2) elimination and reduce Pa(CO(2)) by reducing dead space in ALI. ⋯ During Tp20, the slope of the alveolar plateau initially fell to 65 +/- 10% of baseline value and continued to decrease. Tp20 induced a 10 +/- 3% decrease in Pa(CO(2)) at 30 min (from 55 +/- 10 to 49 +/- 9 mmHg, P < 0.001) with no significant variation in Pa(O(2)). Postinspiratory pause has a significant influence on CO(2) elimination when small tidal volumes are used during mechanical ventilation for ALI.
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Comparative Study
Corticospinal-evoked responses in lower limb muscles during voluntary contractions at varying strengths.
This study investigated corticospinal-evoked responses in lower limb muscles during voluntary contractions at varying strengths. Similar investigations have been made on upper limb muscles, where evoked responses have been shown to increase up to approximately 50% of maximal force and then decline. We elicited motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and cervicomedullary motor-evoked potentials (CMEPs) in the soleus (Sol) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles using magnetic stimulation over the motor cortex and cervicomedullary junction during voluntary plantar flexions with the torque ranging from 0 to 100% of a maximal voluntary contraction. ⋯ In both Sol and MG, MEP and CMEP amplitudes [normalized to maximal M wave (Mmax)] showed an increase, followed by a plateau, over the greater part of the contraction range with responses increasing from approximately 0.2 to approximately 6% of Mmax for Sol and from approximately 0.3 to approximately 10% of Mmax for MG. Because both MEPs and CMEPs changed in a similar manner, the observed increase and lack of decrease at high force levels are likely related to underlying changes occurring at the spinal level. The evoked responses in the Sol and MG increase over a greater range of contraction strengths than for upper limb muscles, probably due to differences in the pattern of motor unit recruitment and rate coding for these muscles and the strength of the corticospinal input.
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The present study stems from our recent demonstration (Moreau-Bussiere F, Samson N, St-Hilaire M, Reix P, Lafond JR, Nsegbe E, Praud JP. J Appl Physiol 102: 2149-2157, 2007) that a progressive increase in nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (nIPPV) leads to active glottal closure in nonsedated, newborn lambs. The aim of the study was to determine whether the mechanisms involved in this glottal narrowing during nIPPV originate from upper airway receptors and/or from bronchopulmonary receptors. ⋯ A few days later, polysomnographic recordings were performed to assess glottal muscle electromyography during step increases in nIPPV (volume control mode). Results show that active glottal narrowing does not develop when nIPPV is applied on the upper airways only, and that this narrowing is prevented by bilateral vagotomy when nIPPV is applied on intact airways. In conclusion, active glottal narrowing in response to increasing nIPPV originates from bronchopulmonary receptors.
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We characterized the passive structural and active neuromuscular control of pharyngeal collapsibility in mice and hypothesized that pharyngeal collapsibility, which is elevated by anatomic loads, is reduced by active neuromuscular responses to airflow obstruction. To address this hypothesis, we examined the dynamic control of upper airway function in the isolated upper airway of anesthetized C57BL/6J mice. Pressures were lowered downstream and upstream to the upper airway to induce inspiratory airflow limitation and critical closure of the upper airway, respectively. ⋯ We conclude that upper airway collapsibility (passive Pcrit) in the C57BL/6J mouse is similar to that in the anesthetized canine, feline, and sleeping human upper airway, and that collapsibility falls markedly under active conditions. Active EMG(GG) and Vi(max) responses dissociated at higher upstream pressure levels, suggesting a decrease in the mechanical efficiency of upper airway dilators. Our findings in mice imply that anatomic and neuromuscular factors interact dynamically to modulate upper airway function, and provide a novel approach to modeling the impact of genetic and environmental factors in inbred murine strains.
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Comparative Study
Nicotine administration and withdrawal affect survival in systemic inflammation models.
How different regimens of nicotine administration and withdrawal affect systemic inflammation is largely unknown. We studied the effects of chronic and acute nicotine administration and of nicotine withdrawal on the outcome of aseptic and septic systemic inflammation. Male C57BL/6 mice were implanted with subcutaneous osmotic pumps (to deliver nicotine) and intrabrain telemetry probes (to measure temperature). ⋯ Oppositely to acute nicotine, nicotine withdrawal increased the survival rate in sepsis from 18 to 40%. The effects on survival were not due to changes in body temperature. We conclude that acute nicotine administration and nicotine withdrawal affect survival in systemic inflammation and that these effects strongly depend on whether inflammation is aseptic or septic.