Effects of knee flexion on the structural properties of the rabbit femur-anterior cruciate ligament-tibia complex (FATC)

Many studies have been conducted to determine the biomechanical properties of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The method of holding the femur-ACL-tibia complex (FATC) test specimen, the strain rate applied, the angle of knee flexion and the direction of the applied loads have an important effect on the outcome. It is felt that the tensile properties and strength of the ligament should be measured by applying the tensile force along the axis of the ligament. A versatile clamp was designed to accomplish this purpose. Fifty-seven rabbit knee specimens were tested at angles of flexion of 0 degrees, 30 degrees or 90 degrees. In addition, a comparative study of 25 pairs of rabbit legs were performed, whereby loading was either along the ligament or along the tibial axis. Cyclic hysteresis, ultimate load, energy absorbed, and stiffness were determined. The ultimate load values for the FATC decreased with increased knee flexion for those loaded along the tibial axis, while no such change was detected for FATC tested along the ligament axis. Other structural properties measured followed similar trends. It is concluded that the structural properties of the rabbit FATC change minimally with knee flexion (from 0 to 90 degrees) when loaded along the ligament axis, but decrease significantly with knee flexion when loaded along the axis of the tibia. Therefore, the data obtained in this field of study can be compared only if the direction of loading with respect to the ACL is similar.     

A simple device to measure root growth rates

The construction and use of a simple auxanometer is described. With this instrument students can readily and accurately measure root growth rates of intact seedlings. Typical time course data are presented for the effect of ethylene and indole acetic acid on pea root growth.     

A new guide and 2 new cruciate ligament anchors for securing prosthetic cruciate ligaments to the femur

A new drilling device for the correct localization of drilling holes has been developed for the fixation of cruciate ligament prostheses. We describe how the device is employed under surgical operating conditions. Its accuracy in application is demonstrated in a cadaver knee. The device has also been used clinically with success. Two new anchors for the fixation of the ligaments are proposed.     

A device to measure in situ lotic benthic metabolism

A method is described to measure in situ lotic benthic community metabolism partitioned into autotrophic, heterotrophic, bacterial and inorganic components of oxidation.     

A new method to measure foot contact

A new method to measure foot contact is described. It consists of a pressure sensitive transducer attached to one end of a flexible silicone rubber tube. A reliable indicator of foot contact is obtained with the tube glued to the outer perimeter of the sole of a shoe.     

A new device for measuring the viscoelastic properties of hydrated matrix gels

Determinations of the viscoelastic properties of extracellular matrices (ECMs) are becoming increasingly important for accurate predictive modeling of biological systems. Since the interactions of the cells with the ECM and surrounding fluid (e.g., blood, media) each affect cell behavior; it is advantageous to evaluate the ECM's material properties in the presence of the hydrating fluid. Conventional rheometry methods evaluate the bulk material properties of gel materials while displacing the hydrating liquid film. Such systems are therefore nonideal for testing materials such as ECMs, whose properties change with dehydration. The new patent pending, piezoelectrically actuated linear rheometer is designed to eliminate this problem. It uses a single cantilever to apply an oscillating load to the gel and to sense the gel's deflection. Composed of two thin film piezopolymer layers, the cantilever uses one layer as the actuator, and the second piezopolymer layer to measure the lateral movement of its attached probe. The viscoelastic nature of the ECM adds stiffness and damping to the system, resulting in the attenuation and phase shift of the sensor's output voltage. From these parameters, the ECM's shear storage and loss moduli are then determined. Initial tests on the BioMatrix I and type I collagen ECMs reveal that the first prototype of the piezoelectrically actuated linear rheometer is capable of accurately determining the trend and order of magnitude of an ECM's viscoelastic properties. In this paper, details of the rheometer's design and operating principles are described.     

A simple and convenient device to measure permeability of vitelline membranes

• 1.1. A simple device was built enabling permeability measurements of three vitelline membranes simultaneously. The preparation of membranes resulted in a relatively low percentage of loss (about 10%).
• 2.2. The device is efficient, labour-saving, and constructed of inexpensive materials. Accurate and highly reproducible results were obtained.

     

A new assay to measure RNA N-glycosidase activity

We have developed a convenient procedure to measure the activity of Ricin A-chain and other enzymes with RNA N-glycosidase activity. The method is based on the use of a tritiated oligoribonucleotide as a substrate. The enzymatic activity is directly determined by measuring the release of adenine from the substrate. This method should prove useful in the study of the molecular mechanism of action of Ricin A and other RNA N-glycosidases.     

A new way to measure the world's protected area coverage

Protected areas are effective at stopping biodiversity loss, but their placement is constrained by the needs of people. Consequently protected areas are often biased toward areas that are unattractive for other human uses. Current reporting metrics that emphasise the total area protected do not account for this bias. To address this problem we propose that the distribution of protected areas be evaluated with an economic metric used to quantify inequality in income--the Gini coefficient. Using a modified version of this measure we discover that 73% of countries have inequitably protected their biodiversity and that common measures of protected area coverage do not adequately reveal this bias. Used in combination with total percentage protection, the Gini coefficient will improve the effectiveness of reporting on the growth of protected area coverage, paving the way for better representation of the world's biodiversity.     

A new apparatus to measure the rate of fall of seeds

1. Seed dispersal is widely recognized to be of crucial importance in the ecology of plant communities, yet characterization of dispersal capacity rarely goes beyond two categories: 'good' and 'poor' dispersers, defined on the basis of dispersule morphology.
2. We describe a new apparatus which determines the rate of fall of seeds in air by detecting their passage through two fans of laser light.
3. This apparatus is able to measure rate of fall in smaller seeds than previously published methods and reveals that there is no justification for the arbitrary division of species into two wind dispersal categories.     

一种新的基因注释语义相似度计算方法

基因本体(GO)数据库为基因提供了统一的注释,有效地解决了不同数据库描述相同基因的不一致问题。但是,根据基因注释如何比较基因的功能相似性,这个问题仍然没有得到有效解决。本文提出一种新的基因注释语义相似度计算方法,这种方法在本质上是基于基因的生物学特性,其特点在于结点的语义相似度与结点所在集合无关,只与结点在GO图的位置有关,语义相似度可被重复利用。它既考虑了基因所映射的GO结点深度,又考虑了两GO结点之间所有路径对结点语义相似度的影响。文中以酵母菌的异亮氨酸降解代谢通路和谷氨酸合成代谢通路为实验,实验结果表明这种算法能准确地计算基因注释语义相似度。     

A sensitive chemiluminescence method to measure the lipoxygenase catalyzed oxygenation of complex substrates

Oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been implicated as a patho-physiological process in early atherogenesis and 15-lipoxygenases (15-LOX) may be involved. While studying the in vitro kinetics of the 15-LOX/LDL interaction, we found that the conventional spectrophotometric assays failed in the range of substrate saturation owing to the high optical density of concentrated LDL solutions. Therefore, we developed a much more sensitive assay system which was based on peroxide induced isoluminol enhanced chemiluminescence. With this method reliable kinetic data were obtained at LDL concentrations of up to 1 mg/ml. To validate this luminometric method the kinetic parameters of 15-LOX catalyzed oxygenation of linoleic acid (K_m=3.7 μM, k_cat=17 s^?1) were determined and we observed a good agreement with previously published data obtained with a spectrophotometric assay. Moreover, we found that the kinetic constants of 15-LOX catalyzed LDL oxidation (K_m=0.64 μM, k_cat=0.15 s^?1) are quite different from those of free fatty acid oxygenation and that the cholesterol esters are preferentially oxidized during 15-LOX/LDL interaction. Vitamin E depletion does not reduce the rate of LDL oxidation and analysis of the structure of the oxygenation products suggests that the majority of the products were formed via direct LOX catalyzed oxidation of LDL ester lipids. The luminometric method described here is not restricted to the measurement of LOX catalyzed LDL oxidation, but may also be used to determine kinetic constants for the oxidation of other complex substrates such as biomembranes or liposomes.     

A new method to measure cortical growth in the developing brain

Folding of the cerebral cortex is a critical phase of brain development in higher mammals but the biomechanics of folding remain incompletely understood. During folding, the growth of the cortical surface is heterogeneous and anisotropic. We developed and applied a new technique to measure spatial and directional variations in surface growth from longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of a single animal or human subject. MRI provides high resolution 3D image volumes of the brain at different stages of development. Surface representations of the cerebral cortex are obtained by segmentation of these volumes. Estimation of local surface growth between two times requires establishment of a point-to-point correspondence ("registration") between surfaces measured at those times. Here we present a novel approach for the registration of two surfaces in which an energy function is minimized by solving a partial differential equation on a spherical surface. The energy function includes a strain-energy term due to distortion and an "error energy" term due to mismatch between surface features. This algorithm, implemented with the finite element method, brings surface features into approximate alignment while minimizing deformation in regions without explicit matching criteria. The method was validated by application to three simulated test cases and applied to characterize growth of the ferret cortex during folding. Cortical surfaces were created from MRI data acquired in vivo at 14 days, 21 days, and 28 days of life. Deformation gradient and Lagrangian strain tensors describe the kinematics of growth over this interval. These quantitative results illuminate the spatial, temporal, and directional patterns of growth during cortical folding.