Publications by authors named "Francine Michel"
All near-equilibrium systems under linear regime evolve to stationary states in which there is constant entropy production rate. In an open chemical system that exchanges matter and energy with the exterior, we can identify both the energy and entropy flows associated with the exchange of matter and energy. This can be achieved by applying statistical mechanics (SM), which links the microscopic properties of a system to its bulk properties.
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- Human placental stem villi (PSV) exhibit contractile properties that were studied through in vitro mechanics in 40 human samples.
- Contractions were triggered using KCl and electrical stimulation, revealing a hyperbolic tension-velocity relationship which allowed for detailed analysis of myosin cross-bridge kinetics.
- Findings indicate that the rate constants for myosin attachment and detachment in human PSV are significantly lower (about 103 times) than those in mammalian striated muscles, with ATPase activity being even slower (by a factor of 105), marking the slowest contractile kinetics observed in mammalian tissues so far.
Mechanical properties of spontaneously contracting isolated nonpregnant human myometrium (NPHM) were investigated throughout the whole continuum of load from zero load up to isometry. This made it possible to assess the three-dimensional tension-velocity-length (T-V-L) relationship characterizing the level of contractility and to determine crossbridge (CB) kinetics of myosin molecular motors. Seventy-seven muscle strips were obtained from hysterectomy in 42 nonpregnant patients.
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