T. Aidan Cockburn, 1912--1981: a memorial

This study explores age-related thinning of cortical bone in an area of the femur that is becoming of increasing clinical interest. It is based on measurements of medial-lateral and posterior-anterior radiographs of the proximal one-third of the right femur, below the greater trochanter. The study population consisted of 458 skeletons from the Terry collection and included approximately equal numbers of blacks and whites, males and females, aged 20 to 98 years. Cortical thicknesses were measured at 11 levels, beginning with a line drawn perpendicular to the linea aspera at the level of the inferior border of the greater trochanter. The four quadrants (medial, lateral, anterior, posterior) differed in amount of change with age. In general, except for the relatively thick medial cortex, intertrochanteric levels showed less change than subtrochanteric levels. It is postulated that this is because the greatest remodeling activity takes place in trabecular rather than cortical bone in the intertrochanteric region. The anterior and posterior cortex showed the most regular and greatest amount of thinning with age. In males at lower levels, there was little or no loss in either medial or lateral cortex, but females showed considerable loss after the sixth decade. It is suggested that a stress-related “maintenance” factor retards cortical thinning in these quadrants. A review of the literature suggests that age-related cortical loss in the femur may have been accelerated in archaeological population, compared with modern groups.     

Cortical bone loss with age in three native American populations

Age-related thinning of cortical bone was investigated in archaeological populations of Eskimos, Pueblos, and Arikaras. Medial-lateral cortical thickness was measured on radiographs of humerus and femur, and thickness of the anterior femoral cortex was measured directly on samples taken for histologic study. Maximum length of the bones was used to calculate indices of relative cortical thickness, in order to minimize differences due to body size and build. Bone loss in the humerus begins before middle age in all three populations and, except for Eskimo males, the same is true of the anterior femoral cortex. In general, overall female loss of cortical bone amounts to two or three times that of the males, and in the case of the humerus and the anterior cortex of the femur, this difference is evident by middle age. The weight-bearing femoral medial-lateral cortex shows less sexual difference but has the greatest number of statistically significant differences between populations and the greatest contrast between populations in pattern of loss with age. It appears that of the cortical regions studied this is the area upon which environmental factors have the greatest effect, whereas areas more subject to tensile stress, the humerus and anterior femoral cortex, are less affected by these factors.     

Non-destructive assessment of human ribs mechanical properties using quantitative ultrasound

Advanced finite element models of the thorax have been developed to study, for example, the effects of car crashes. While there is a need for material properties to parameterize such models, specific properties are largely missing. Non-destructive techniques applicable in vivo would, therefore, be of interest to support further development of thorax models. The only non-destructive technique available today to derive rib bone properties would be based on quantitative computed tomography that measures bone mineral density. However, this approach is limited by the radiation dose. Bidirectional ultrasound axial transmission was developed on long bones ex vivo and used to assess in vivo health status of the radius. However, it is currently unknown if the ribs are good candidates for such a measurement. Therefore, the goal of this study is to evaluate the relationship between ex vivo ultrasonic measurements (axial transmission) and the mechanical properties of human ribs to determine if the mechanical properties of the ribs can be quantified non-destructively. The results show statistically significant relationships between the ultrasonic measurements and mechanical properties of the ribs. These results are promising with respect to a non-destructive and non-ionizing assessment of rib mechanical properties.     

Histologic examination of age of the First African Baptist Church adults

This study applies a recently formulated method of histologic estimation of age at death to samples of anterior femoral cortex taken from adult skeletons from the First African Baptist Church cemetery and compares the results with macroscopic age estimates made by J.L. Angel and J.O. Kelley. Of the 65 samples taken, 44 were sufficiently well preserved to produce readable thin sections, although most were so fragile that they had to be embedded before sectioning. In most cases the histologic ages agreed with the macroscopic age estimations within the standard error of the estimate of the histologic method. Most cases of disagreement could be attributed to poor preservation. Despite differences between individual gross and microscopic age estimates, the two methods proved to be significantly correlated and produced the same overall demographic picture of a population whose female members were likely to die at earlier ages than the males.     

Cortical bone measurements in Turner's syndrome.

Cortical bone width measurements taken at midshaft on the second metacarpal were obtained from 156 hand X-rays of 80 karyotypically documented individuals with Turner's syndrome age 1 to 25 years. Total shaft width, medullary width, cortical width and percent cortical area were grouped by bone age and compared with normal female standards. Total width was significantly and increasingly below normal; medullary width was not consistently different from normal; cortical width was significantly lower from normal from age 14 onward, although it did rise at age 17 (adult bone age); percent cortical area was significantly below normal at ages 14 and 15, but was normal by adulthood. Values for percent cortical area did not indicate severe or widespread osteoporosis. Within the Turners sample cortical bone measurement were not significantly decreased in the presence of the XO sex chromosome constitution compared with other sex chromosome variants. Nor were the measurements decreased in the presence of positive metacarpal sign or a combination of typical Turner stigmata (web neck, low posterior hairline, shield chest). There was evidence that cortical width and percent cortical area increased significantly following estrogen treatment or spontaneous menarche.     

天然色素的超声提取研究

本文主要研究利用超声波提取叶绿素。并且对超声提取法和单纯浸泡法作了比较,同时,分析了叶绿素提取效率对时间的依赖性。实验结果显示,用超声来提取绿色植物中的叶绿素,可以增大提取率,缩短提取时间。     

The cellular transducer in damage-stimulated bone remodelling: a theoretical investigation using fracture mechanics

This paper reports on some theoretical work which used fracture mechanics concepts to draw conclusions about the nature of the so-called 'cellular transducer': the means by which bone cells detect the presence of damage and thus initiate remodelling and adaptation activities. Using analytical and numerical methods, we estimated the strains and displacements around cracks of the typical size, shape and orientation that normally occur in compact bone. We predicted that it is not possible for osteocytes or their processes to be fractured as a result of direct tensile strains, because the strains generated are much less than the expected failure strains of cellular material. We proposed a new failure mechanism by which osteocyte processes spanning the crack are cut by shearing motions between the crack faces. We predicted that failures of this type can occur. Failures begin to occur if crack lengths become greater than normal (100 microm), so this could act as a signal to initiate repair processes for individual cracks. Very large numbers of cell processes (greater than 1000) will fail if the crack length and/or applied stress reach dangerous levels (300 microm and 60 Mpa, respectively) at which point bone deposition may be required to prevent stress fractures. Similar results also occurred if we proposed a different mechanism of damage detection, involving cells' ability to detect the high levels of strain that occur near crack tips. This work, though based on theoretical mechanics considerations, suggests some biological experiments which might confirm our findings.     

A comparison of methods for measuring cortical bone thickness

Repeated measures of periosteal and endosteal widths of the left second metacarpal from two samples of radiographs were made independently with either a dial caliper or an electronic digitizer connected to a microcomputer. In addition, periosteal and endosteal bone widths of a common sample of radiographs were measured with dial calipers and the electronic digitizer. Dial calipers and an electronic digitizer are both very reliable, but intraobserver errors produced with the use of the digitizer are significantly less than those produced with the use of dial calipers. However, measurements made with the electronic digitizer are systematically larger than corresponding widths measured with dial calipers, but this difference is very small.     

Micromechanical modeling of elastic properties of cortical bone accounting for anisotropy of dense tissue

The paper analyzes the connection between microstructure of the osteonal cortical bone and its overall elastic properties. The existing models either neglect anisotropy of the dense tissue or simplify cortical bone microstructure (accounting for Haversian canals only). These simplifications (related mostly to insufficient mathematical apparatus) complicate quantitative analysis of the effect of microstructural changes – produced by age, microgravity, or some diseases – on the overall mechanical performance of cortical bone. The present analysis fills this gap; it accounts for anisotropy of the dense tissue and uses realistic model of the porous microstructure. The approach is based on recent results of Sevostianov et al. (2005) and Saadat et al. (2012) on inhomogeneities in a transversely-isotropic material. Bone?s microstructure is modeled according to books of Martin and Burr (1989), Currey (2002), and Fung (1993) and includes four main families of pores. The calculated elastic constants for porous cortical bone are in agreement with available experimental data. The influence of each of the pore types on the overall moduli is examined.     

Modelling the effects of different fracture geometries and healing stages on ultrasound signal loss across a long bone fracture

The effect on the signal amplitude of ultrasonic waves propagating along cortical bone plates was modelled using a 2D Finite Difference code. Different healing stages, represented by modified fracture geometries were introduced to the plate model. A simple transverse and oblique fracture filled with water was introduced to simulate the inflammatory stage. Subsequently, a symmetric external callus surrounding a transverse fracture was modelled to represent an advanced stage of healing. In comparison to the baseline (intact plate) data, a large net loss in signal amplitude was produced for the simple transverse and oblique cases. Changing the geometry to an external callus with different mechanical properties caused the net loss in signal amplitude to reduce significantly. This relative change in signal amplitude as the geometry and mechanical properties of the fracture site change could potentially be used to monitor the healing process.     

树鼩的骨元和骨细胞穴微观结构超微影像的定性比较

近年来,由于树鼩与灵长类动物的亲缘关系,它们引起了人类发展和疾病研究的兴趣。在这项对树鼩,鼠,狗,狒狒和人类的骨骼超微形态的比较研究中,我们定性分析了骨骼的微观结构和形态,以评估树鼩对人类的亲近程度。在3只成年雄性树鼩 (滇西亚种) (Tupaia belangeri chinensis）的股骨中,使用荧光素异硫氰酸盐样品制备和染色共聚焦成像研究了皮质骨的骨元结构,并使用酸蚀刻SEM观察了骨细胞穴的形态。总体而言,树鼩中骨样形成物的密度和结构以及骨细胞穴的形态更像鼠, 与人类,狗和狒狒都明显不同。这些发现表明,尽管树鼩在系统发育上比鼠更接近人类,但它们的骨骼超微形态仍与鼠接近。这是除狗和狒狒之外,第一次对树鼩的骨元和骨细胞穴进行超微影像的研究。这个比较研究的结果丰富了我们对早期灵长类动物骨骼发育,适应性和进化的理解。未来有必要进行进一步的定量比较研究来表征树鼩骨骼的微观形态。     

Age changes in bone

Changes in bone structure as a function of age have been studied by simple inspection, x-ray imaging, stereo-photography, deep field optical microscopy, circularly polarised light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including both topographic and compositional backscattered electron (BSE) imaging modes. The study of bone as a three-dimensional object, rather than in thin sections, enables us to envisage modelling and remodelling processes in context. The study of ultra-flat block surfaces permits the acquisition of data from an effectively very thin layer in the block face, and to examine bone as a spectrum of tissue types varying in the degree of mineralisation. Particular attention has been paid in our earlier studies to the iliac crest, lumbar vertebral bodies, femoral mid-shaft, neck and head and parietal and frontal skull bones. Recently, we have compared findings from these sites with observations on the mandible. We conclude, from our new imaging data, that common generalisations about the changes in bone in ageing and osteoporosis are too simplified, and that the mandible differs sufficiently from post-cranial skeletal sites that it would be unwise to extrapolate from findings in the jaw to the circumstances elsewhere.     

Fatigue microcracks that initiate fracture are located near elevated intracortical porosity but not elevated mineralization

In vivo microcracks in cortical bone are typically observed within more highly mineralized interstitial tissue, but postmortem investigations are inherently limited to cracks that did not lead to fracture which may be misleading with respect to understanding fracture mechanisms. We hypothesized that the one fatigue microcrack which initiates fracture is located spatially adjacent to elevated intracortical porosity but not elevated mineralization. Therefore, the spatial correlation between intracortical porosity, elevated mineralization, and fatigue microdamage was investigated by combining, for the first time, sequential, nondestructive, three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) measurements of each in cortical bone specimens subjected to compressive fatigue loading followed by a tensile overload to fracture. Fatigue loading resulted in significant microdamage accumulation and compromised mechanical properties upon tensile overload compared to control specimens. The microdamage that initiated fracture upon tensile overload was able to be identified in all fatigue-loaded specimens using contrast-enhanced micro-CT and registered images. Two-point (or pair) correlation functions revealed a spatial correlation between microdamage at the fracture initiation site and intracortical porosity, but not highly mineralized tissue, confirming the hypothesis. This difference was unique to the fracture initiation site. Intracortical porosity and highly mineralized tissue exhibited a significantly lower and higher probability, respectively, of being located spatially adjacent to all sites of microdamage compared to the fracture initiation site. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that human cortical bone is tolerant of most microcracks, which are generally compartmentalized within the more highly mineralized interstitial tissue, but a single microcrack of sufficient size located in spatial proximity to intracortical porosity can compromise fracture resistance.     

The effects of stress on cortical bone thickness in rodents

The right and left femora of three groups of rodents, cold stressed, noise stressed, and heat stressed, were sectioned transversely at the most inferior point of the third trochanter. Cortical bone thickness of the proximal section for all three groups was determined by measuring an enlargement obtained with a Wild stereo microscope with a camera lucida drawing attachment. Cold stressed animals were found to have significantly thinner cortical bone than did controls, noise stressed animals did not differ from controls, and heat stressed animals had thinner cortical bone than did controls. It is concluded that stress may be responsible for the thinner cortex of cold and heat stressed animals, but that other factors may be at work and that it is not possible to tell whether different types of stress act through the same or through different mechanisms.     

Cortical bone maintenance and geometry of the tibia in prehistoric children from Nubia's Batn el Hajar

The relationship between advancing age in adults and patterns of cortical bone maintenance has been extensively documented for archaeological populations (Dewey, et al., 1969; Van Gerven et al., 1969; Perzigian, 1973). Most recently, this research has been expanded to include a more thorough consideration of the geometric properties of bone in relationship to adult age changes (Martin and Atkinsin, 1977; Ruff and Hayes, 1983). To date, however, few studies have documented subadult patterns of cortical bone maintenance in archaeological populations and none have incorporated the relationship between patterns of cortical bone loss and gain and the changing geometric properties of growing bone. Using a sample of 172 tibias from children excavated from the Medieval Christian site of Kulubnarti, located in Nubia's Batn el Hajar, the present research examines the relationship between percent cortical area, bone mineral content, and cross-sectional moments of inertia. Among these children, bone mineral content increases steadily from birth in spite of a reduction in percent cortical area during early and late childhood. It appears, therefore, that tissue quality of the bone is not adversely affected by the reduction. Furthermore, the reduction in percent cortical area in later childhood corresponds to a dramatic increase in bending strength measured by cross-sectional moments of inertia. Thus, whether this cortical reduction is due entirely or in part to either normal modeling or nutritional stress, the tissue and organ quality of the bone is not adversely affected.