Tissue level microstructure and mechanical properties of the femoral head in the proximal femur of fracture patients

This study aims to investigate the regional variations of trabecular morphological parameters and mechanical parameters of the femoral head,as well as to determine the relationship between trabecular morphological and mechanical parameters.Seven femoral heads from patients with fractured proximal femur were scanned using a micro-CT system.Each femoral head was divided into 12 sub-regions according to the trabecular orientation.One 125 mm^3 trabecular cubic model was reconstructed from each sub-region.A total of 81 trabecular models were reconstructed,except three destroyed sub-regions from two femoral heads during the surgery.Trabecular morphological parameters,i.e.trabecular separation（Tb.Sp）,trabecular thickness（Tb.Th）,specific bone surface（BS/B V）,bone volume fraction（BV/TV）,structural model index（SMI）,and degree of anisotropy（DA） were measured.Micro-finite element analyses were performed for each cube to obtain the apparent Young＇s modulus and tissue level von Mises stress distribution under 1%compressive strain along three orthogonal directions,respectively.Results revealed significant regional variations in the morphological parameters（P〈0.05）.Young＇s moduli along the trabecular orientation were significantly higher than those along the other two directions.In general,trabecular mechanical properties in the medial region were lower than those in the lateral region.Trabecular mechanical parameters along the trabecular orientation were significantly correlated with BS/BV,BV/TV,Tb.Th,and DA.In this study,regional variations of microstructural features and mechanical properties in the femoral head of patients with proximal femur fracture were thoroughly investigated at the tissue level.The results of this study will help to elucidate the mechanism of femoral head fracture for reducing fracture risk and developing treatment strategies for the elderly.

Mechanisms of selective head cooling for resuscitating damaged neurons during post-ischemic reperfusion

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and the mechanism of application of selective head cooling on neuronal morphological damage during postischemic reperfusion in a rabbit model.Methods 168 New Zealand rabbits were randomized into three groups. Group Ⅰ [n=24, (38±0.5)℃, non-ischemic control]; Group Ⅱ [n=72, (38±0.5)℃, normothermic reperfusion]; Group Ⅲ [n=72, (28±0.5)℃, selective head cooling, initiated at the beginning of reperfusion). Animals in three subgroups (n=24, each) of Group Ⅱ and Group Ⅲ had reperfused lasting for 30, 180 and 360 min respectively. Using computerized image analysis technique on morphological changes of nucleus, the degree of neuronal damage in 12 regions were differentiated into type A (normal), type B (mild damaged), type C (severely damaged) and type D (necrotic). Fourteen biochemical parameters in brain tissues were measured.[KH*2/5D]Results As compared with Group Ⅰ, the counts of type A neuron decreased progressively, and those of type B, C and D increased significantly in Group Ⅱ during reperfusion (P【0.01). In Group Ⅱ, vasoactive intestinal peptide, b-endorphine, prostacyclin, T 3 and Na +, K +-ATPase were correlated with the changes of type A; b-endorphine and thromboxane with type B; glucose and vasopressin with type C; Na +, K +-ATPase, glutamic acid, T 3 and vasoactive intestinal peptide with type D (P【0.05). As compared with Group Ⅱ, the counts of type A increased, and those of type C and D significantly decreased in Group Ⅲ (P【0.01). In Group Ⅲ, Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ -ATPase were correlated with the changes of type A, C and D (P【0.01). Conclusion Selective head cooling for sex hours during postischemic reperfusion does improve neuronal morphological outcomes in terms of morphological changes.

A Preliminary Study on the Evaluation of Human Sperm Head Morphology with a Domestic Digital Holographic Image System

The head of sperm was imaged with domestic digital holographic microscopy(DHM),and then the quantitative three-dimensional size information of normal sperm and teratozoospermic sperm was compared and analyzed.DHM sperm imaging and repeated quantitative evaluation were used to determine the morphology of the sperm head in two patients with teratozoospermia and four volunteers with normal semen parameters.Sixty and 139 sperm of teratozoospermia patients and normal people were photographed by digital hologram,respectively.The differences in head height and width were compared and statistically analyzed.The sperm head height of the teratozoospermia group was 3.06±1.66μm,which was significantly lower than that of the normal sperm group(4.54±1.60μm,p<0.01),but there was no significant difference in the head width between the two groups.Compared with the traditional two-dimensional optical microscope observation method,the DHM system can provide three-dimensional quantitative information for the sperm head and thus may help in the comprehensive clinical evaluation of the sperm head structure.