Running-specific prostheses reduce lower-limb muscle activity compared to daily-use prostheses in people with unilateral transtibial amputations

People with unilateral transtibial amputation (TTA) have biomechanical differences between the amputated and intact legs and compared to people without TTA during running. Additional biomechanical differences emerge between running with running-specific (RSPs) and daily-use prostheses (DUPs), but the associated underlying muscle activity is unclear. We collected surface electromyography from the biceps femoris long head, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and gastrocnemius as well as body kinematics and ground reaction forces in six people with and six people without TTA. We compared stance phase muscle activity and peak activation timing in people with and without TTA and between people using RSPs compared to DUPs during running at 3.5 m/s. Peak amputated leg hamstring activity occurred 34% (RSP) and 31% (DUP) earlier in stance phase compared to the intact leg. Peak amputated leg rectus femoris activity of people wearing DUPs occurred 8% and 9% later in stance phase than the intact leg of people wearing DUPs and amputated leg of people wearing RSPs, respectively. People with TTA had 45% (DUP) and 61% (RSP) smaller peak amputated leg knee extension moments compared to people without TTA, consistent with observations of quadriceps muscle activity. Using RSPs decreased overall muscle activity compared to DUPs.     

Design and analysis of orthogonally compliant features for local contact pressure relief in transtibial prostheses

A very attractive advantage of manufacturing prosthetic sockets using solid freeform fabrication is the freedom to introduce design solutions that would be difficult to implement using traditional manufacturing techniques. Such is the case with compliant features embedded in amputee prosthetic sockets to relieve contact pressure at the residual limb-socket interface. The purpose of this study was to present a framework for designing compliant features to be incorporated into transtibial sockets and manufacturing prototypes using selective laser sintering (SLS) and Duraform material. The design process included identifying optimal compliant features using topology optimization algorithms and integrating these features within the geometry of the socket model. Using this process, a compliant feature consisting of spiral beams and a supporting external structure was identified. To assess its effectiveness in reducing residual limb-socket interface pressure, a case study was conducted using SLS manufactured prototypes to quantify the difference in interface pressure while a patient walked at his self-selected pace with one noncompliant and two different compliant sockets. The pressure measurements were performed using thin pressure transducers located at the distal tibia and fibula head. The measurements revealed that the socket with the greatest compliance reduced the average and peak pressure by 22% and 45% at the anterior side distal tibia, respectively, and 19% and 23% at the lateral side of the fibula head, respectively. These results indicate that the integration of compliant features within the socket structure is an effective way to reduce potentially harmful contact pressure and increase patient comfort.     

Mechanical properties of foods used in experimental studies of primate masticatory function

In vivo studies of jaw-muscle behavior have been integral factors in the development of our current understanding of the primate masticatory apparatus. However, even though it has been shown that food textures and mechanical properties influence jaw-muscle activity during mastication, very little effort has been made to quantify the relationship between the elicited masticatory responses of the subject and the mechanical properties of the foods that are eaten. Recent work on human mastication highlights the importance of two mechanical properties-toughness and elastic modulus (i.e., stiffness)-for food breakdown during mastication. Here we provide data on the toughness and elastic modulus of the majority of foods used in experimental studies of the nonhuman primate masticatory apparatus. Food toughness ranges from approximately 56.97 Jm(-2) (apple pulp) to 4355.45 Jm(-2) (prune pit). The elastic modulus of the experimental foods ranges from 0.07 MPa for gummy bears to 346 MPa for popcorn kernels. These data can help researchers studying primate mastication select among several potential foods with broadly similar mechanical properties. Moreover, they provide a framework for understanding how jaw-muscle activity varies with food mechanical properties in these studies.     

A general model for estimating lower extremity inertial properties of individuals with transtibial amputation

Lower extremity joint moment magnitudes during swing are dependent on the inertial properties of the prosthesis and residual limb of individuals with transtibial amputation (TTA). Often, intact limb inertial properties (INTACT) are used for prosthetic limb values in an inverse dynamics model even though these values overestimate the amputated limb’s inertial properties. The purpose of this study was to use subject-specific (SPECIFIC) measures of prosthesis inertial properties to generate a general model (GENERAL) for estimating TTA prosthesis inertial properties. Subject-specific mass, center of mass, and moment of inertia were determined for the shank and foot segments of the prosthesis (n = 11) using an oscillation technique and reaction board. The GENERAL model was derived from the means of the SPECIFIC model. Mass and segment lengths are required GENERAL model inputs. Comparisons of segment inertial properties and joint moments during walking were made using three inertial models (unique sample; n = 9): (1) SPECIFIC, (2) GENERAL, and (3) INTACT. Prosthetic shank inertial properties were significantly smaller with the SPECIFIC and GENERAL model than the INTACT model, but the SPECIFIC and GENERAL model did not statistically differ. Peak knee and hip joint moments during swing were significantly smaller for the SPECIFIC and GENERAL model compared with the INTACT model and were not significantly different between SPECIFIC and GENERAL models. When subject-specific measures are unavailable, using the GENERAL model produces a better estimate of prosthetic side inertial properties resulting in more accurate joint moment measurements for individuals with TTA than the INTACT model.     

Mechanical properties of actin

We used a cone and plate rheometer to evaluate the mechanical properties of actin over a wide range of oscillation frequencies and shear rates. Remarkably, both filamentous and nonfilamentous actin behaved as viscoelastic solids in both oscillatory and shear type experiments, providing that they were given ample time to equilibrate. Actin was purified by gel filtration from rabbit skeletal muscle and Acanthamoeba. Nonfilamentous actin in 2 different buffers had similar properties. In a low ionic strength buffer the absence of filaments was confirmed by electron microscopy, ultracentrifugation, and the fluorescence of pyrene-labeled actin. In 0.6 M KI, actin was monomeric by gel filtration. Filamentous actin had similar properties in 2 mM MgCl2 with either 50 mM KC1 or 500 mM KC1. Under all 4 of these conditions, actin required about 1000 min at 25 degrees C for the rheological properties to equilibrate. Under conditions where the oscillation of the rheometer did not affect the mechanical properties, all of the actin preparations had dynamic viscosities that were inverse functions of the frequency and dynamic elasticites that leveled off at low frequencies as expected for viscoelastic solids. For filamentous actin, the values of these parameters were about 2 times higher than for nonfilamentous actin. In shear experiments, both filamentous and nonfilamentous actin exhibited shear rate-dependent yield stresses. When filamentous and nonfilamentous actin structures were disrupted by transient shearing, the dynamic elasticity recovered to 90% in 30 min. Ovalbumin in the low ionic strength buffer also behaved as a viscoelastic material with elasticity and viscosity about 10 times lower than nonfilamentous actin, while cytochrome c behaved as a Newtonian fluid with a viscosity of 0.02 poise.     

Mechanical properties of brain tissue in tension

This paper contains experimental results of in vitro, uniaxial tension of swine brain tissue in finite deformation as well as proposes a new hyper-viscoelastic constitutive model for the brain tissue. The experimental results obtained for two loading velocities, corresponding to strain rates of 0.64 and 0.64 x 10(-2)s(-1), are presented. We believe that these are the first ever experiments of this kind. The applied strain rates were similar to those applied in our previous study, focused on explaining brain tissue properties in compression. The stress-strain curves are convex downward for all extension rates. The tissue response stiffened as the loading speed increased, indicating a strong stress-strain rate dependence. Swine brain tissue was found to be considerably softer in extension than in compression. Previously proposed in the literature brain tissue constitutive models, developed based on experimental data collected in compression are shown to be inadequate to explain tissue behaviour in tension. A new, non-linear, viscoelastic model based on the generalisation of the Ogden strain energy hyper-elastic constitutive equation is proposed. The new model accounts well for brain tissue deformation behaviour in both tension and compression (natural strain in <-0.3,0.2>) for strain rates ranging over five orders of magnitude.     

Mechanical properties of DNA-like polymers

The molecular structure of the DNA double helix has been known for 60 years, but we remain surprisingly ignorant of the balance of forces that determine its mechanical properties. The DNA double helix is among the stiffest of all biopolymers, but neither theory nor experiment has provided a coherent understanding of the relative roles of attractive base stacking forces and repulsive electrostatic forces creating this stiffness. To gain insight, we have created a family of double-helical DNA-like polymers where one of the four normal bases is replaced with various cationic, anionic or neutral analogs. We apply DNA ligase-catalyzed cyclization kinetics experiments to measure the bending and twisting flexibilities of these polymers under low salt conditions. Interestingly, we show that these modifications alter DNA bending stiffness by only 20%, but have much stronger (5-fold) effects on twist flexibility. We suggest that rather than modifying DNA stiffness through a mechanism easily interpretable as electrostatic, the more dominant effect of neutral and charged base modifications is their ability to drive transitions to helical conformations different from canonical B-form DNA.     

Mechanical properties of cranial sutures

Many bones in mammalian skulls are linked together by cranial sutures, connective tissue joints that are morphologically variable and show different levels of interdigitation among and within species. The goal of this investigation was to determine whether sections of skull with cranial sutures have different mechanical properties than adjacent sections without sutures, and if these properties are enhanced with increased interdigitation. To test these hypotheses, bending strength and impact energy absorption were measured for samples of goat (Capra hircus) cranial bone without sutures and with sutures of different degrees of interdigitation. Bending strength was measured under both dynamic (9.7 mm displacement s-1) and relatively static (0.8 mm s-1) conditions, and at either speed, increased sutural interdigitation provided increased strength during three-point bending. However, except for very highly interdigitated sutures loaded slowly, sutures were not as strong in bending as bone. In contrast, sutures absorbed from 16% to 100% more energy per unit volume during impact loading than did bone. This five-fold increase in energy absorption by the sutures was significantly correlated with increased sutural interdigitation.     

Mechanical properties of pleural membrane

The pleural membrane is modeled as a planar collection of interconnected randomly oriented line elements. By assuming that the line elements follow the strain field of a continuum, a strain-energy function is formulated. From the strain-energy function, an explicit stress-strain equation for large deformations is derived. In the linear approximation of the stress-strain equation the shear modulus and the area modulus of the membrane are respectively found to be 2.4 and 2.8 times the tension at the reference state. The stress-strain equation for large deformations is used to predict the displacement field around a circular hole in pleura. Good agreement is found between these predictions and measurements made on ablated pleura from dog lungs. From these theoretical and experimental results the conclusion is drawn that the pleura has a significant role in carrying shear forces and maintaining the lung's shape.     

Mechanical properties of collagen fibrils

The formation of collagen fibers from staggered subfibrils still lacks a universally accepted model. Determining the mechanical properties of single collagen fibrils (diameter 50-200 nm) provides new insights into collagen structure. In this work, the reduced modulus of collagen was measured by nanoindentation using atomic force microscopy. For individual type 1 collagen fibrils from rat tail, the modulus was found to be in the range from 5 GPa to 11.5 GPa (in air and at room temperature). The hypothesis that collagen anisotropy is due to the subfibrils being aligned along the fibril axis is supported by nonuniform surface imprints performed by high load nanoindentation.     

Mechanical properties of cytoskeletal polymers

The mechanical properties of cytoplasm are dominated by microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments, collectively termed the cytoskeleton. This review discusses how the physical properties of these biopolymer systems are related to their molecular structures and interactions, and how remodelling of these biopolymers in vivo affects cell shape and motility.     

Mechanical properties of DNA films

The Young's dynamical modulus (E) and the DNA film logarithmic decrement (theta) at frequencies from 50 Hz to 20 kHz are measured. These values are investigated as functions of the degree of hydration and temperature. Isotherms of DNA film hydration at 25 degrees C are measured. The process of film hydration changing with temperature is studied. It is shown that the Young's modulus for wet DNA films (E = 0.02-0.025 GN m-2) strongly increases with decreasing hydration and makes E = 0.5-0.7 GN m-2. Dependence of E on hydration is of a complex character. Young's modulus of denatured DNA films is larger than that of native ones. All peculiarities of changing of E and theta of native DNA films (observed at variation of hydration) vanish in the case of denatured ones. The native and denatured DNA films isotherms are different and depend on the technique of denaturation. The Young's modulus of DNA films containing greater than 1 g H2O/g dry DNA is found to decrease with increasing temperature, undergoing a number of step-like changes accompanied by changes in the film hydration. At low water content (less than 0.3 g H2O/g dry DNA), changing of E with increasing temperature takes place smoothly. The denaturation temperature is a function of the water content.     

Mechanical properties of wheatflake components

The mechanical behaviour of breakfast wheat flake materials of different composition reconstituted as bar-shaped test pieces, to reduce the geometry and structure effects and allow better comparison of the matrix properties, is reported. The ground flakes comprised a control formulation and others in which one or more components had been subtracted. The aim was to compare the mechanical properties of pressed specimens of multiple-component systems with those published for simpler one- and two-component materials. The results on the bending modulus, E, at 20 °C fell into two groups, depending on whether sucrose (wheat:sucrose = 5.9-6.1:1) was present. Sucrose lowered the modulus but by progressively less with decreasing water content below 22% (wet weight basis, w.w.b), the difference becoming negligible at water contents of 7–10% (w.w.b). However, the energy to break samples at 7% water content (w.w.b) was greater when sucrose was subtracted from the control formulation sample.     

Zinc tolerance in populations ofDeschampsia cespitosa (Gramineae) beneath electricity pylons

Patterns of zinc tolerance were examined in eightDeschampsia cespitosa (L.)Beauv. populations from normal and zinc-contaminated soils, using solution culture methods. Zinc-tolerant populations have evolved beneath pylons, and their tolerance patterns (degree, variance, heritability) vary. Tolerance is genetically based in all of them. In contrast to the cases of other species previously reported, some within-population differences are considerable, and may be due to both heterogeneity of the soils zinc contents, various gene combinations and gene recombinations between genotypes. One control population contains many tolerant plants, an original result which is discussed.