scholarly journals The mechanical power output of the pectoralis muscle of cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus): the in vivo muscle length trajectory and activity patterns and their implications for power modulation

2010 ◽  
Vol 213 (16) ◽  
pp. 2770-2780 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Morris ◽  
G. N. Askew
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Pectoralis Muscle ◽  
Power Modulation ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Nymphicus Hollandicus

In vivo pectoralis muscle force-length behavior during level flight in pigeons (Columba livia)

1998 ◽  
Vol 201 (24) ◽  
pp. 3293-3307 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Biewener ◽  
W. R. Corning ◽  
B. W. Tobalske
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Length Change ◽  
Pectoralis Muscle ◽  
Fascicle Length ◽  
Force Development ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Muscle Shortening

For the first time, we report in vivo measurements of pectoralis muscle length change obtained using sonomicrometry combined with measurements of its force development via deltopectoral crest strain recordings of a bird in free flight. These measurements allow us to characterize the contractile behavior and mechanical power output of the pectoralis under dynamic conditions of slow level flight in pigeons Columba livia. Our recordings confirm that the pigeon pectoralis generates in vivo work loops that begin with the rapid development of force as the muscle is being stretched or remains nearly isometric near the end of the upstroke. The pectoralis then shortens by a total of 32 % of its resting length during the downstroke,generating an average of 10.33.6 J kg-1 muscle (mean s.d.) of work per cycle for the anterior and posterior sites recorded among the five animals. In contrast to previous kinematic estimates of muscle length change relative to force development, the sonomicrometry measurements of fascicle length change show that force declines during muscle shortening. Simultaneous measurements of fascicle length change at anterior and posterior sites within the same muscle show significant (P<0.001, three of four animals) differences in fractional length (strain) change that averaged 1912 %, despite exhibiting similar work loop shape. Length changes at both anterior and posterior sites were nearly synchronous and had an asymmetrical pattern, with shortening occupying 63 % of the cycle. This nearly 2:1 phase ratio of shortening to lengthening probably favors the ability of the muscle to do work. Mean muscle shortening velocity was 5.381.33 and 4.881.27 lengths s-1 at the anterior and posterior sites respectively. Length excursions of the muscle were more variable at the end of the downstroke (maximum shortening), particularly when the birds landed,compared with highly uniform length excursions at the end of the upstroke(maximum lengthening). When averaged for the muscle as a whole, our in vivo work measurements yield a mass-specific net mechanical power output of 70. 2 W kg-1 for the muscle when the birds flew at 5-6 m s-1, with a wingbeat frequency of 8.7 Hz. This is 38 % greater than the value that we obtained previously for wild-type pigeons, but still 24-50 % less than that predicted by theory.

Power output by an asynchronous flight muscle from a beetle

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (17) ◽  
pp. 2667-2689 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.K. Josephson ◽  
J.G. Malamud ◽  
D.R. Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Muscle Temperature ◽  
Work Output ◽  
Stroke Frequency ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Wing Stroke

The basalar muscle of the beetle Cotinus mutabilis is a large, fibrillar flight muscle composed of approximately 90 fibers. The paired basalars together make up approximately one-third of the mass of the power muscles of flight. Changes in twitch force with changing stimulus intensity indicated that a basalar muscle is innervated by at least five excitatory axons and at least one inhibitory axon. The muscle is an asynchronous muscle; during normal oscillatory operation there is not a 1:1 relationship between muscle action potentials and contractions. During tethered flight, the wing-stroke frequency was approximately 80 Hz, and the action potential frequency in individual motor units was approximately 20 Hz. As in other asynchronous muscles that have been examined, the basalar is characterized by high passive tension, low tetanic force and long twitch duration. Mechanical power output from the basalar muscle during imposed, sinusoidal strain was measured by the work-loop technique. Work output varied with strain amplitude, strain frequency, the muscle length upon which the strain was superimposed, muscle temperature and stimulation frequency. When other variables were at optimal values, the optimal strain for work per cycle was approximately 5%, the optimal frequency for work per cycle approximately 50 Hz and the optimal frequency for mechanical power output 60–80 Hz. Optimal strain decreased with increasing cycle frequency and increased with muscle temperature. The curve relating work output and strain was narrow. At frequencies approximating those of flight, the width of the work versus strain curve, measured at half-maximal work, was 5% of the resting muscle length. The optimal muscle length for work output was shorter than that at which twitch and tetanic tension were maximal. Optimal muscle length decreased with increasing strain. The curve relating work output and muscle length, like that for work versus strain, was narrow, with a half-width of approximately 3 % at the normal flight frequency. Increasing the frequency with which the muscle was stimulated increased power output up to a plateau, reached at approximately 100 Hz stimulation frequency (at 35 degrees C). The low lift generated by animals during tethered flight is consistent with the low frequency of muscle action potentials in motor units of the wing muscles. The optimal oscillatory frequency for work per cycle increased with muscle temperature over the temperature range tested (25–40 degrees C). When cycle frequency was held constant, the work per cycle rose to an optimum with increasing temperature and then declined. We propose that there is a temperature optimum for work output because increasing temperature increases the shortening velocity of the muscle, which increases the rate of positive work output during shortening, but also decreases the durations of the stretch activation and shortening deactivation that underlie positive work output, the effect of temperature on shortening velocity being dominant at lower temperatures and the effect of temperature on the time course of activation and deactivation being dominant at higher temperatures. The average wing-stroke frequency during free flight was 94 Hz, and the thoracic temperature was 35 degrees C. The mechanical power output at the measured values of wing-stroke frequency and thoracic temperature during flight, and at optimal muscle length and strain, averaged 127 W kg(−1)muscle, with a maximum value of 200 W kg(−1). The power output from this asynchronous flight muscle was approximately twice that measured with similar techniques from synchronous flight muscle of insects, supporting the hypothesis that asynchronous operation has been favored by evolution in flight systems of different insect groups because it allows greater power output at the high contraction frequencies of flight.

The mechanical power output of the pectoralis muscle of blue-breasted quail (Coturnix chinensis): thein vivolength cycle and its implications for muscle performance

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (21) ◽  
pp. 3587-3600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham N. Askew ◽  
Richard L. Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Muscle Performance ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Pectoralis Muscle ◽  
Shortening Velocity ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Strain Trajectory ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Net Power Output

SUMMARYSonomicrometry and electromyographic (EMG) recordings were made for the pectoralis muscle of blue-breasted quail (Coturnix chinensis) during take-off and horizontal flight. In both modes of flight, the pectoralis strain trajectory was asymmetrical, with 70 % of the total cycle time spent shortening. EMG activity was found to start just before mid-upstroke and continued into the downstroke. The wingbeat frequency was 23 Hz, and the total strain was 23 % of the mean resting length.Bundles of fibres were dissected from the pectoralis and subjected in vitro to the in vivo length and activity patterns, whilst measuring force. The net power output was only 80 W kg–1 because of a large artefact in the force record during lengthening. For more realistic estimates of the pectoralis power output, we ignored the power absorbed by the muscle bundles during lengthening. The net power output during shortening averaged over the entire cycle was approximately 350 W kg–1, and in several preparations over 400 W kg–1. Sawtooth cycles were also examined for comparison with the simulation cycles, which were identical in all respects apart from the velocity profile. The power output during these cycles was found to be 14 % lower than during the in vivo strain trajectory. This difference was due to a higher velocity of stretch, which resulted in greater activation and higher power output throughout the later part of shortening, and the increase in shortening velocity towards the end of shortening, which facilitated deactivation.The muscle was found to operate at a mean length shorter than the plateau of the length/force relationship, which resulted in the isometric stress measured at the mean resting length being lower than is typically reported for striated muscle.

CONTRACTILE PROPERTIES OF A HIGH-FREQUENCY MUSCLE FROM A CRUSTACEAN - MECHANICAL POWER OUTPUT

1994 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 295-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Josephson ◽  
D Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Carcinus Maenas ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Abductor Muscle ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Loop Technique ◽  
Number Of Cycles ◽  
Work Loop

The mechanical power output during oscillatory contraction was determined for the flagellum abductor muscle of the crab Carcinus maenas using the work loop technique. Measurements were made at 10 Hz, which is the normal operating frequency of the muscle. The temperature was 15 °C. Increasing the number of stimuli per cycle (given at an interstimulus interval of 3.3 ms) decreased the number of cycles required to reach a work plateau and increased the work per cycle at the plateau to a maximum at 4­5 stimuli per cycle. The maximum mechanical power output was 9.7 W kg-1 muscle (about 26 W kg-1 myofibril). The optimum strain for work output (5.7 %) was close to the estimated muscle strain in vivo (5.2 %).

Pectoralis muscle performance during ascending and slow level flight in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.R. Williamson ◽  
K.P. Dial ◽  
A.A. Biewener
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Anas Platyrhynchos ◽  
Muscle Performance ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Pectoralis Muscle ◽  
Level Flight ◽  
Mechanical Power Output

In vivo measurements of pectoralis muscle length change and force production were obtained using sonomicrometry and delto-pectoral bone strain recordings during ascending and slow level flight in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). These measurements provide a description of the force/length properties of the pectoralis under dynamic conditions during two discrete flight behaviors and allow an examination of the effects of differences in body size and morphology on pectoralis performance by comparing the results with those of a recent similar study of slow level flight in pigeons (Columbia livia). In the present study, the mallard pectoralis showed a distinct pattern of active lengthening during the upstroke. This probably enhances the rate of force generation and the magnitude of the force generated and, thus, the amount of work and power produced during the downstroke. The power output of the pectoralis averaged 17.0 W kg(−)(1)body mass (131 W kg(−)(1)muscle mass) during slow level flight (3 m s(−)(1)) and 23.3 W kg(−)(1)body mass (174 W kg(−)(1)muscle mass) during ascending flight. This increase in power was achieved principally via an increase in muscle strain (29 % versus 36 %), rather than an increase in peak force (107 N versus 113 N) or cycle frequency (8.4 Hz versus 8.9 Hz). Body-mass-specific power output of mallards during slow level flight (17.0 W kg(−)(1)), measured in terms of pectoralis mechanical power, was similar to that measured recently in pigeons (16.1 W kg(−)(1)). Mallards compensate for their greater body mass and proportionately smaller wing area and pectoralis muscle volume by operating with a high myofibrillar stress to elevate mechanical power output.

scholarly journals Calcium signalling indicates bilateral power balancing in the Drosophila flight muscle during manoeuvring flight

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (82) ◽  
pp. 20121050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz-Olaf Lehmann ◽  
Dimitri A. Skandalis ◽  
Ruben Berthé
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Flapping Wings ◽  
Muscle Fibres ◽  
Bilateral Control ◽  
Calcium Activation ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Power Balancing ◽  
Muscle Calcium

Manoeuvring flight in animals requires precise adjustments of mechanical power output produced by the flight musculature. In many insects such as fruit flies, power generation is most likely varied by altering stretch-activated tension, that is set by sarcoplasmic calcium levels. The muscles reside in a thoracic shell that simultaneously drives both wings during wing flapping. Using a genetically expressed muscle calcium indicator, we here demonstrate in vivo the ability of this animal to bilaterally adjust its calcium activation to the mechanical power output required to sustain aerodynamic costs during flight. Motoneuron-specific comparisons of calcium activation during lift modulation and yaw turning behaviour suggest slightly higher calcium activation for dorso-longitudinal than for dorsoventral muscle fibres, which corroborates the elevated need for muscle mechanical power during the wings’ downstroke. During turning flight, calcium activation explains only up to 54 per cent of the required changes in mechanical power, suggesting substantial power transmission between both sides of the thoracic shell. The bilateral control of muscle calcium runs counter to the hypothesis that the thorax of flies acts as a single, equally proportional source for mechanical power production for both flapping wings. Collectively, power balancing highlights the precision with which insects adjust their flight motor to changing energetic requirements during aerial steering. This potentially enhances flight efficiency and is thus of interest for the development of technical vehicles that employ bioinspired strategies of power delivery to flapping wings.

scholarly journals The Mechanical Power Output of a Crab Respiratory Muscle

1988 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
DARRELL R. STOKES ◽  
ROBERT K. JOSEPHSON
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Muscle Power ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Work Output ◽  
Hydraulic Power ◽  
Cycle Frequency ◽  
Mechanical Power Output

The mechanical power output was measured from scaphognathite (SG = gill bailer) muscle L2B of the crab Carcinus maenas (L.). The work was determined from the area of the loop formed by plotting muscle length against force when the muscle was subjected to sinusoidal length change (strain) and phasic stimulation in the length cycle. The stimulation pattern (10 stimuli per burst, burst length = 20% of cycle length) mimicked that which has been recorded from muscle L2B in intact animals. Work output was measured at cycle frequencies ranging from 0.5 to 5 Hz. The work output at optimum strain and stimulus phase increased with increasing cycle frequency to a maximum at 2–3 Hz and declined thereafter. The maximum work per cycle was 2.7 J kg−1 (15 °C). The power output reached a maximum (8.8 W kg−1) at 4 Hz. Both optimum strain and optimum stimulus phase were relatively constant over the range of burst frequencies examined. Based on the fraction of the total SG musculature represented by muscle L2B (18%) and literature values for the oxygen consumption associated with ventilation in C. maenas and for the hydraulic power output from an SG, we estimate that at a beat frequency of 2 Hz the SG muscle is about 10% efficient in converting metabolic energy to muscle power, and about 19% efficient in converting muscle power to hydraulic power.

The efficiency of frog ventricular muscle.

1994 ◽  
Vol 197 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-164
Author(s):  
D A Syme
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Length Change ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Muscle Fibres ◽  
Cycle Frequency ◽  
Energy Equivalent ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Loop Technique ◽  
The Cost

Mechanical power and oxygen consumption (VO2) were measured simultaneously from isolated segments of trabecular muscle from the frog (Rana pipiens) ventricle. Power was measured using the work-loop technique, in which bundles of trabeculae were subjected to cyclic, sinusoidal length change and phasic stimulation. VO2 was measured using a polarographic O2 electrode. Both mechanical power and VO2 increased with increasing cycle frequency (0.4-0.9 Hz), with increasing muscle length and with increasing strain (= shortening, range 0-25% of resting length). Net efficiency, defined as the ratio of mechanical power output to the energy equivalent of the increase in VO2 above resting level, was independent of cycle frequency and increased from 8.1 to 13.0% with increasing muscle length, and from 0 to 13% with increasing strain, in the ranges examined. Delta efficiency, defined as the slope of the line relating mechanical power output to the energy equivalent of VO2, was 24-43%, similar to that reported from studies using intact hearts. The cost of increasing power output was greater if power was increased by increasing cycle frequency or muscle length than if it was increased by increasing strain. The results suggest that the observation that pressure-loading is more costly than volume-loading is inherent to these muscle fibres and that frog cardiac muscle is, if anything, less efficient than most skeletal muscles studied thus far.

scholarly journals Effect of Accommodating Elastic Bands on Mechanical Power Output during Back Squats

Sports ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takafumi Kubo ◽  
Kuniaki Hirayama ◽  
Nobuhiro Nakamura ◽  
Mitsuru Higuchi
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Muscular Force ◽  
Force Output ◽  
Elastic Band ◽  
Free Weight ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Elastic Bands ◽  
Acceleration And Deceleration

The aim of this study was to investigate whether accommodating elastic bands with barbell back squats (BSQ) increase muscular force during the deceleration subphase. Ten healthy men (mean ± standard deviation: Age: 23 ± 2 years; height: 170.5 ± 3.7 cm; mass: 66.7 ± 5.4 kg; and BSQ one repetition maximum (RM): 105 ± 23.1 kg; BSQ 1RM/body mass: 1.6 ± 0.3) were recruited for this study. The subjects performed band-resisted parallel BSQ (accommodating elastic bands each sides of barbell) with five band conditions in random order. The duration of the deceleration subphase, mean mechanical power, and the force and velocity during the acceleration and deceleration subphases were calculated. BSQ with elastic bands elicited greater mechanical power output, velocity, and force during the deceleration subphase, in contrast to that elicited with traditional free weight (p < 0.05). BSQ with elastic bands also elicited greater mechanical power output and velocity during the acceleration subphase. However, the force output during the acceleration subphase using an elastic band was lesser than that using a traditional free weight (p < 0.05). This study suggests that BSQ with elastic band elicit greater power output during the acceleration and deceleration subphases.

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