Power output and columbic efficiencies from biofilms of Geobacter sulfurreducens comparable to mixed community microbial fuel cells

It has been previously noted that mixed communities typically produce more power in microbial fuel cells than pure cultures. If true, this has important implications for the design of microbial fuel cells and for studying the process of electron transfer on anode biofilms. To further evaluate this, Geobacter sulfurreducens was grown with acetate as fuel in a continuous flow 'ministack' system in which the carbon cloth anode and cathode were positioned in close proximity, and the cation-selective membrane surface area was maximized in order to overcome some of the electrochemical limitations that were inherent in fuel cells previously employed for the study of pure cultures. Reducing the size of the anode in order to eliminate cathode limitation resulted in maximum current and power densities per m(2) of anode surface of 4.56 A m(-2) and 1.88 W m(-2) respectively. Electron recovery as current from acetate oxidation was c. 100% when oxygen diffusion into the system was minimized. This performance is comparable to the highest levels previously reported for mixed communities in similar microbial fuel cells and slightly higher than the power output of an anaerobic sludge inoculum in the same ministack system. Minimizing the volume of the anode chamber yielded a volumetric power density of 2.15 kW m(-3), which is the highest power density per volume yet reported for a microbial fuel cell. Geobacter sulfurreducens formed relatively uniform biofilms 3-18 mum thick on the carbon cloth anodes. When graphite sticks served as the anode, the current density (3.10 A m(-2)) was somewhat less than with the carbon cloth anodes, but the biofilms were thicker (c. 50 mum) with a more complex pillar and channel structure. These results suggest that the previously observed disparity in power production in pure and mixed culture microbial fuel cell systems can be attributed more to differences in the fuel cell designs than to any inherent superior capability of mixed cultures to produce more power than pure cultures.     

A glucose fuel cell for implantable brain-machine interfaces

We have developed an implantable fuel cell that generates power through glucose oxidation, producing 3.4 μW cm(-2) steady-state power and up to 180 μW cm(-2) peak power. The fuel cell is manufactured using a novel approach, employing semiconductor fabrication techniques, and is therefore well suited for manufacture together with integrated circuits on a single silicon wafer. Thus, it can help enable implantable microelectronic systems with long-lifetime power sources that harvest energy from their surrounds. The fuel reactions are mediated by robust, solid state catalysts. Glucose is oxidized at the nanostructured surface of an activated platinum anode. Oxygen is reduced to water at the surface of a self-assembled network of single-walled carbon nanotubes, embedded in a Nafion film that forms the cathode and is exposed to the biological environment. The catalytic electrodes are separated by a Nafion membrane. The availability of fuel cell reactants, oxygen and glucose, only as a mixture in the physiologic environment, has traditionally posed a design challenge: Net current production requires oxidation and reduction to occur separately and selectively at the anode and cathode, respectively, to prevent electrochemical short circuits. Our fuel cell is configured in a half-open geometry that shields the anode while exposing the cathode, resulting in an oxygen gradient that strongly favors oxygen reduction at the cathode. Glucose reaches the shielded anode by diffusing through the nanotube mesh, which does not catalyze glucose oxidation, and the Nafion layers, which are permeable to small neutral and cationic species. We demonstrate computationally that the natural recirculation of cerebrospinal fluid around the human brain theoretically permits glucose energy harvesting at a rate on the order of at least 1 mW with no adverse physiologic effects. Low-power brain-machine interfaces can thus potentially benefit from having their implanted units powered or recharged by glucose fuel cells.     

The endocrine response and substrate utilization during exercise in children and adolescents.

Adolescence is a time of rapid growth caused by significant changes in hormone levels. For many, it is also a time of increased physical activity and sport that places a large demand on energy reserves. Exercise is known to cause perturbations in endocrine and metabolic systems in children and adolescents, yet careful characterization of these responses is only now being conducted. It does not appear that prepubertal youth have a different muscle composition than adults. However, these youth do have a lower anaerobic capacity and a greater reliance on aerobic metabolism during activity. Prepubertal adolescents may have an immature glucose regulatory system that influences glycemic regulation at the onset of moderate exercise. During heavy exercise, muscle and blood lactate levels are lower in children than in adults and there is a greater reliance on fat as fuel. The exercise intensity that causes maximal fat oxidation rate and the relative rate of fat oxidation decreases as adolescents develop through puberty. The mechanism for the attenuated lipid utilization with the advancement of puberty, and the impact that this may have on body composition, are unknown. Surprisingly, prepubertal adolescents have relatively high rates of exogenous glucose oxidation, perhaps because of their smaller endogenous carbohydrate reserves. Further study is needed to determine the optimal exogenous carbohydrate feeding regimen for peak performance in adolescence. Studies are also needed to determine whether physical activity, at an intensity targeted to maximize fat oxidation, help to lower body adiposity in overweight youth.     

Indole oxidation enhances electricity production in an E. coli-catalyzed microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) generate electricity from the oxidation of dissolved organic matter. A variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli, produce a large quantity of indole, which functions as an extracellular signal molecule. This work explored the role of indole in a mediatorless E. coli catalyzed MFC. Although the presence of indole alone did not affect power generation, indole oxidation by the indole-oxidizing enzyme toluene-o-monooxygenase (TOM) enhanced power density by 9-fold. Open circuit voltage and polarization curve showed that indole oxidation by TOM produced a maximum power density of 5.4 mW/m² at 1,000 ohm. Cyclic voltammetric results suggested that indole oxidation resulted in the production of redox compounds. This study provides a novel means of enhancing power generation in E. coli-catalyzed MFCs.     

Thermodynamics of the Corn-Ethanol Biofuel Cycle

This article defines sustainability and sustainable cyclic processes, and quantifies the degree of non-renewability of a major biofuel: ethanol produced from industrially grown corn. It demonstrates that more fossil energy is used to produce ethanol from corn than the ethanol's calorific value. Analysis of the carbon cycle shows that all leftovers from ethanol production must be returned back to the fields to limit the irreversible mining of soil humus. Thus, production of ethanol from whole plants is unsustainable. In 2004, ethanol production from corn will generate 8 million tons of incremental CO₂, over and above the amount of CO₂ generated by burning gasoline with 115% of the calorific value of this ethanol. It next calculates the cumulative exergy (available free energy) consumed in corn farming and ethanol production, and estimates the minimum amount of work necessary to restore the key non-renewable resources consumed by the industrial corn-ethanol cycle. This amount of work is compared with the maximum useful work obtained from the industrial corn-ethanol cycle. It appears that if the corn-ethanol exergy is used to power a car engine, the minimum restoration work is about 6 times the maximum useful work from the cycle. This ratio drops down to 2 if an ideal fuel cell is used to process the ethanol. The article estimates the U.S. taxpayer subsidies of the industrial corn-ethanol cycle at $3.8 billion in 2004. The parallel subsidies by the environment are estimated at $1.8 billion in 2004. The latter estimate will increase manifold when the restoration costs of aquifers, streams, and rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico are also included. Finally, the article estimates that (per year and unit area) the inefficient solar cells produce ～ 100 times more electricity than corn ethanol. There is a need for more reliance on sunlight, the only source of renewable energy on the earth.     

Biochemical fuel cells. Demonstration of an obligatory pathway involving an external circuit for the enzymatically catalyzed aerobic oxidation of glucose.

An in vitro biochemical fuel cell based upon the enzymatically catalyzed aerobic oxidation of glucose is described. The anodic half-reaction employs an electron transfer sequence consisting of the glucose oxidase reductive half-reaction and dichloroindophenol. The cathodic half-reaction involves reduction of molecular oxygen. A high Faradic efficiency for the intact cell approaching 100% has been experimentally demonstrated. The steady state current is exponentially related to the concentration of the terminal electron transfer species in the anodic chamber. The behavior is consistent with application of the Nernst relationship to define the cell potential and a simple resistance circuit. The discharge profile of the cell after complete oxidation of the primary fuel, glucose, can be modeled as a capacitor discharging through a resistor.     

Improved Optics in Monolithic Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells with a Nanocrystalline Silicon Recombination Junction

Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells are increasingly recognized as promi­sing candidates for next‐generation photovoltaics with performance beyond the single‐junction limit at potentially low production costs. Current designs for monolithic tandems rely on transparent conductive oxides as an intermediate recombination layer, which lead to optical losses and reduced shunt resistance. An improved recombination junction based on nanocrystalline silicon layers to mitigate these losses is demonstrated. When employed in monolithic perovskite/silicon heterojunction tandem cells with a planar front side, this junction is found to increase the bottom cell photocurrent by more than 1 mA cm^?2. In combination with a cesium‐based perovskite top cell, this leads to tandem cell power‐conversion efficiencies of up to 22.7% obtained from J–V measurements and steady‐state efficiencies of up to 22.0% during maximum power point tracking. Thanks to its low lateral conductivity, the nanocrystalline silicon recombination junction enables upscaling of monolithic perovskite/silicon heterojunction tandem cells, resulting in a 12.96 cm² monolithic tandem cell with a steady‐state efficiency of 18%.     

A low power DC/DC booster circuit designed for microbial fuel cells

A DC/DC booster circuit was fabricated and tested for use with microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to increase the typical operational voltage (100–300 mV) to a maximum power of >3 V. In steady state, the low power DC/DC voltage booster circuit was sustainable, i.e., powered by the MFCs alone, but required an external power source to start (but not needed to maintain) the oscillator. The operating principle and function of each part of the circuit is described. A procedure for determining the optimal set of values for each component in the circuit was established. The performance of the circuit was demonstrated using three Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 based MFCs connected in parallel. The power consumption of the booster circuit was less than 20 μW, which was less than the output from the three MFCs. After the output capacitor was charged to 5 V, the booster circuit can be powered by the MFCs alone. Under normal operation, the MFCs were able to power the booster circuit and a light emitting diode.     

Electricity generation from wastewaters with starch as carbon source using a mediatorless microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cells represent a new method for producing electricity from the oxidation of organic matter. A mediatorless microbial fuel cell was developed using Escherichia coli as the active bacterial component with synthetic wastewater of potato extract as the energy source. The two-chamber fuel cell, with a relation of volume between anode and cathode chamber of 8:1, was operated in batch mode. The response was similar to that obtained when glucose was used as the carbon source. The performance characteristics of the fuel cell were evaluated with two different anode and cathode shapes, platinised titanium strip or mesh; the highest maximum power density (502mWm(-2)) was achieved in the microbial fuel cell with mesh electrodes. In addition to electricity generation, the MFC exhibited efficient treatment of wastewater so that significant reduction of initial oxygen demand of wastewater by 61% was observed. These results demonstrate that potato starch can be used for power generation in a mediatorless microbial fuel cell with high removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand.     

A mediated glucose/oxygen enzymatic fuel cell based on printed carbon inks containing aldose dehydrogenase and laccase as anode and cathode

Enzyme electrodes show great potential for many applications, as biosensors and more recently as anodes and cathodes in biocatalytic fuel cells for power generation. Enzymes have advantages over metal catalysts, as they provide high specificity and reaction rates, while operating under mild conditions. Here we report on studies related to development of mass-producible, completely enzymatic printed glucose/oxygen biofuel cells. The cells are based on filter paper coated with conducting carbon inks containing mediators and laccase, for reduction of oxygen, or aldose dehydrogenase, for oxidation of glucose. Mediator performance in these printed formats is compared to relative rate constants for the enzyme-mediator reaction in solution, for a range of anode and cathode mediators. The power output and stability of fuels cells using an acidophilic laccase isolated from Trametes hirsuta is greater, at pH 5, than that for cells based on Melanocarpus albomyces laccase, that shows optimal activity closer to neutral pH, at pH 6. Highest power output, although of limited stability, was observed for ThL/ABTS cathodes, providing a maximum power density of 3.5 μWcm(-2) at 0.34 V, when coupled to an ALDH glucose anode mediated by an osmium complex. The stability of cell voltage above a threshold of 200 mV under a moderate 75 kΩ load is used to benchmark printed fuel cell performance. Highest stability was obtained for a printed fuel cell using osmium complexes as mediators of glucose oxidation by aldose dehydrogenase, and oxygen reduction by T. hirsuta laccase, maintaining cell voltage above 200 mV for 137 h at pH 5. These results provide promising directions for further development of mass-producible, completely enzymatic, printed biofuel cells.     

Formation of a steady state in the radiolysis of ferrimyoglobin in aqueous solution

The interaction of radiation-generated · OH radicals with ferrimyoglobin in deaerated aqueous solution at neutral pH has been quantitatively studied. Changes in the visible absorption spectrum have been analyzed on the basis of composition changes of the ferri, deoxy, and ferriperoxide forms of the metalloprotein. A postirradiation thermal process must be considered in order to evaluate the radical-induced composition changes. Initially, ·OH induces reduction of ferrimyoglobin to the deoxy form with a G value (molecular yield/100 eV of absorbed energy) in the zero-dose limit of 1.4 (±0.2). Radiation-generated H₂O₂ reacts with the ferrimyoglobin substrate to produce ferrimyoglobin peroxide with a G value of 0.7 (±0.1) in the zero-dose limit. At doses of >1 krad μm^?1 of myoglobin present, the composition of the three myoglobin derivatives reaches a radiolysis steady state. In this moderate-dose plateau region, this composition is 44% ferri, 18% deoxy, and 38% ferri peroxide. The · OH-induced hemoprotein radicals that do not initiate 1-eq redox conversions undergo reactions that generate dimer and other globin-modified material.     

On the Active Surface State of Nickel‐Ceria Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anodes During Methane Electrooxidation

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have grown in recognition as a viable technology able to convert chemical energy directly into electricity, with higher efficiencies than conventional thermal engines. Direct feeding of the SOFCs anode with hydrocarbons from fossil or renewable sources, appears more attractive compared to the use of hydrogen as a fuel. The addition of mixed oxide‐ion/electron conductors, like gadolinium‐doped ceria (GDC), to commonly used nickel‐based anodes is a well–known strategy that significantly enhances the performance of the SOFCs. Here we provide in situ experimental evidence of the active surface oxidation state and composition of Ni/GDC anodes during methane electroxidation using realistic solid oxide electrode assemblies. Ambient pressure X‐ray photoelectron and near edge X‐ray absorption fine structure spectroscopies (APPES and NEXAFS respectively) combined with on line electrical and gas phase measurements, were used to directly associate the surface state and the electrocatalytic performance of Ni/GDC anodes working at intermediate temperatures (700°C). A reduced anode surface (Ce³⁺ and Ni), with an optimum Ni to Ce surface composition, were found to be the most favorable configuration for maximum cell currents. Experimental results are rationalized on the basis of first principles calculations, proposing a detailed mechanism of the cell function.     

A cross-bridge model that is able to explain mechanical and energetic properties of shortening muscle.

The responses of muscle to steady and stepwise shortening are simulated with a model in which actin-myosin cross-bridges cycle through two pathways distinct for the attachment-detachment kinetics and for the proportion of energy converted into work. Small step releases and steady shortening at low velocity (high load) favor the cycle implying approximately 5 nm sliding per cross-bridge interaction and approximately 100/s detachment-reattachment process; large step releases and steady shortening at high velocity (low load) favor the cycle implying approximately 10 nm sliding per cross-bridge interaction and approximately 20/s detachment-reattachment process. The model satisfactorily predicts specific mechanical properties of frog skeletal muscle, such as the rate of regeneration of the working stroke as measured by double-step release experiments and the transition to steady state during multiple step releases (staircase shortening). The rate of energy liberation under different mechanical conditions is correctly reproduced by the model. During steady shortening, the relation of energy liberation rate versus shortening speed attains a maximum (approximately 6 times the isometric rate) for shortening velocities lower than half the maximum velocity of shortening and declines for higher velocities. In addition, the model provides a clue for explaining how, in different muscle types, the higher the isometric maintenance heat, the higher the power output during steady shortening.     

Cell cycle commitment of rat muscle satellite cells

Satellite cells of adult muscle are quiescent myogenic stem cells that can be induced to enter the cell cycle by an extract of crushed muscle (Bischoff, R. 1986. Dev. Biol. 115:140-147). Here, evidence is presented that the extract acts transiently to commit cells to enter the cell cycle. Satellite cells associated with both live and killed rat myofibers in culture were briefly exposed to muscle extract and the increase in cell number was determined at 48 h in vitro, before the onset of fusion. An 8-12-h exposure to extract with killed, but not live, myofibers was sufficient to produce maximum proliferation of satellite cells. Continuous exposure for over 40 h was needed to sustain proliferation of satellite cells on live myofibers. The role of serum factors was also studied. Neither serum nor muscle extract alone was able to induce proliferation of satellite cells. In the presence of muscle extract, however, satellite cell proliferation was directly proportional to the concentration of serum in the medium. These results suggest that mitogens released from crushed muscle produce long-lasting effects that commit quiescent satellite cells to divide, whereas serum factors are needed to maintain progression through the cell cycle. Contact with a viable myofiber modulates the response of satellite cells to growth factors.     

A unitary cause for the exclusion of Na+ and other solutes from living cells, suggested by effluxes of Na+, D-arabinose, and sucrose from normal, dying, and dead muscles

1. The effluxes of labeled Na+, D-arabinose, and sucrose from normal muscle and muscle poisoned with low concentrations of iodoacetate were studied. The procedure involved repeated loading with isotope, followed by washing of the same muscle while still normal and at different states of dying. 2. The rates of Na+ efflux in both the fast and slow fraction remained either quite constant or showed some unpredictable, minor fluctuations. This was true for both Na+ and the two sugars studied, confirming earlier conclusions that the steady levels of these solutes were not maintained by pumps. 3. In all cases studied, the efflux curves showed at least two fractions. It is the fast-exchanging fraction that steadily and consistently increased in magnitude as the muscles were dying, until finally the concentration of solute in this fraction reached and sometimes surpassed the labeled solute concentrations in the original labeled solutions in which the muscles were equilibrated. The slow fractions showed only a transient increase or none at all. These observations show that it is the fast fraction that represents solute dissolved in cell water and rate-limited by passage through the cell surface and that the partial exclusion of Na+ and the sugars have a unitary cause--a reduced solubility in the cell water which in the presence of ATP exists in the state of polarized multilayers.     

Biochemistry of exercise-induced metabolic acidosis

The development of acidosis during intense exercise has traditionally been explained by the increased production of lactic acid, causing the release of a proton and the formation of the acid salt sodium lactate. On the basis of this explanation, if the rate of lactate production is high enough, the cellular proton buffering capacity can be exceeded, resulting in a decrease in cellular pH. These biochemical events have been termed lactic acidosis. The lactic acidosis of exercise has been a classic explanation of the biochemistry of acidosis for more than 80 years. This belief has led to the interpretation that lactate production causes acidosis and, in turn, that increased lactate production is one of the several causes of muscle fatigue during intense exercise. This review presents clear evidence that there is no biochemical support for lactate production causing acidosis. Lactate production retards, not causes, acidosis. Similarly, there is a wealth of research evidence to show that acidosis is caused by reactions other than lactate production. Every time ATP is broken down to ADP and P(i), a proton is released. When the ATP demand of muscle contraction is met by mitochondrial respiration, there is no proton accumulation in the cell, as protons are used by the mitochondria for oxidative phosphorylation and to maintain the proton gradient in the intermembranous space. It is only when the exercise intensity increases beyond steady state that there is a need for greater reliance on ATP regeneration from glycolysis and the phosphagen system. The ATP that is supplied from these nonmitochondrial sources and is eventually used to fuel muscle contraction increases proton release and causes the acidosis of intense exercise. Lactate production increases under these cellular conditions to prevent pyruvate accumulation and supply the NAD(+) needed for phase 2 of glycolysis. Thus increased lactate production coincides with cellular acidosis and remains a good indirect marker for cell metabolic conditions that induce metabolic acidosis. If muscle did not produce lactate, acidosis and muscle fatigue would occur more quickly and exercise performance would be severely impaired.     

Harnessing microbially generated power on the seafloor

In many marine environments, a voltage gradient exists across the water sediment interface resulting from sedimentary microbial activity. Here we show that a fuel cell consisting of an anode embedded in marine sediment and a cathode in overlying seawater can use this voltage gradient to generate electrical power in situ. Fuel cells of this design generated sustained power in a boat basin carved into a salt marsh near Tuckerton, New Jersey, and in the Yaquina Bay Estuary near Newport, Oregon. Retrieval and analysis of the Tuckerton fuel cell indicates that power generation results from at least two anode reactions: oxidation of sediment sulfide (a by-product of microbial oxidation of sedimentary organic carbon) and oxidation of sedimentary organic carbon catalyzed by microorganisms colonizing the anode. These results demonstrate in real marine environments a new form of power generation that uses an immense, renewable energy reservoir (sedimentary organic carbon) and has near-immediate application.     

Heavily loaded flight and limits to the maximum size of dragonflies (Anisoptera) and griffenflies (Meganisoptera)

An original hypothesis is presented that the maximum mass and size of living anisopteran dragonflies are constrained by a physiological performance limit: the wing muscle power required to permit reproductively successful males to carry heavier females in the so‐called ‘wheel position’ in flight. It is proposed that the same limit cannot have applied to all fossil Odonatoptera. As the physiology of the giant Carboniferous griffenfly Namurotypus sippeli precludes flight in the wheel position, it did not need to carry any substantial load aside from exogenous aerial prey. Based on its thorax dimensions, it is argued that Namurotypus flew with a relatively low maximum specific muscle power output in comparison with living Anisoptera. The extinction of some families of large Mesozoic Odonatoptera may have been exacerbated by competition with smaller (stem‐) Anisoptera that evolved higher specific power outputs and superior flight performance similar to living Anisoptera. To investigate the credibility of this flight‐performance size‐limit hypothesis and its consequences, an analysis of the scaling of the required flight power and available muscle power is presented using allometric relations. It is found that for living Anisoptera and fossil Odonatoptera, there are different limiting sizes, above which the required specific flight power would exceed the available muscle specific power. These limits are directly related to maximum load‐carrying capacity and the atmospheric air density at the habitual altitude. It is suggested that the largest living species of Petaluridae, Petalura ingentissima, is close to the proposed Anisoptera size limit at current near‐sea‐level air density conditions.     

Phase resetting and bifurcation in the ventricular myocardium.

With the dynamic differential equations of Beeler, G. W., and H. Reuter (1977, J. Physiol. [Lond.]. 268:177-210), we have studied the oscillatory behavior of the ventricular muscle fiber stimulated by a depolarizing applied current I app. The dynamic solutions of BR equations revealed that as I app increases, a periodic repetitive spiking mode appears above the subthreshold I app, which transforms to a periodic spiking-bursting mode of oscillations, and finally to chaos near the suprathreshold I app (i.e., near the termination of the periodic state). Phase resetting and annihilation of repetitive firing in the ventricular myocardium were demonstrated by a brief current pulse of the proper magnitude applied at the proper phase. These phenomena were further examined by a bifurcation analysis. A bifurcation diagram constructed as a function of I app revealed the existence of a stable periodic solution for a certain range of current values. Two Hopf bifurcation points exist in the solution, one just above the lower periodic limit point and the other substantially below the upper periodic limit point. Between each periodic limit point and the Hopf bifurcation, the cell exhibited the coexistence of two different stable modes of operation; the oscillatory repetitive firing state and the time-independent steady state. As in the Hodgkin-Huxley case, there was a low amplitude unstable periodic state, which separates the domain of the stable periodic state from the stable steady state. Thus, in support of the dynamic perturbation methods, the bifurcation diagram of the BR equation predicts the region where instantaneous perturbations, such as brief current pulses, can send the stable repetitive rhythmic state into the stable steady state.     

Muscular Dystrophy in mdx Mice Despite Lack of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase

Abstract: Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) is a component of the dystrophin complex in skeletal muscle. The absence of dystrophin protein in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and in mdx mouse causes a redistribution of nNOS from the plasma membrane to the cytosol in muscle cells. Aberrant nNOS activity in the cytosol can induce free radical oxidation, which is toxic to myofibers. To test the hypothesis that derangements in nNOS disposition mediate muscle damage in Duchenne dystrophy, we bred dystrophin-deficient mdx male mice and female mdx heterozygote mice that lack nNOS. We found that genetic deletion of nNOS does not itself cause detectable pathology and that removal of nNOS does not influence the extent of increased sarcolemmal permeability in dystrophin-deficient mice. Thus, histological analyses of nNOS-dystrophin double mutants show pathological changes similar to the dystrophin mutation alone. Taken together, nNOS defects alone do not produce muscular dystrophy in the mdx model.