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- Julkunen, Petro, et al.
(author)
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Biomechanical, biochemical and structural correlations in immature and mature rabbit articular cartilage.
- 2009
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In: Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. - : Saunders Elsevier. - 1063-4584 .- 1522-9653. ; 17:12, s. 1628-1638
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The structure and composition of articular cartilage change during development and growth. These changes lead to alterations in the mechanical properties of cartilage. In the present study, biomechanical, biochemical and structural relationships of articular cartilage during growth and maturation of rabbits are investigated.DESIGN: Articular cartilage specimens from the tibial medial plateaus and femoral medial condyles of female New Zealand white rabbits were collected from seven age-groups; 0 days (n=29), 11 days (n=30), 4 weeks (n=30), 6 weeks (n=30), 3 months (n=24), 6 months (n=24) and 18 months (n=19). The samples underwent mechanical testing under creep indentation. From the mechanical response, instantaneous and equilibrium moduli were determined. Biochemical analyses of tissue collagen, hydroxylysylpyridinoline (HP) and pentosidine (PEN) cross-links in full thickness cartilage samples were conducted. Proteoglycans were investigated depth-wise from the tissue sections by measuring the optical density of Safranin-O-stained samples. Furthermore, depth-wise collagen architecture of articular cartilage was analyzed with polarized light microscopy. Finite element analyses of the samples from different age-groups were conducted to reveal tensile and compressive properties of the fibril network and the matrix of articular cartilage, respectively.RESULTS: Tissue thickness decreased from approximately 3 to approximately 0.5mm until the age of 3 months, while the instantaneous modulus increased with age prior to peak at 4-6 weeks. A lower equilibrium modulus was observed before 3-month-age, after which the equilibrium modulus continued to increase. Collagen fibril orientation angle and parallelism index were inversely related to the instantaneous modulus, tensile fibril modulus and tissue thickness. Collagen content and cross-linking were positively related to the equilibrium compressive properties of the tissue.CONCLUSIONS: During maturation, significant modulation of tissue structure, composition and mechanical properties takes place. Importantly, the present study provides insight into the mechanical, chemical and structural interactions that lead to functional properties of mature articular cartilage.
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- Koistinen, Arto P, et al.
(author)
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Short-term exercise-induced improvements in bone properties are for the most part not maintained during aging in hamsters.
- 2014
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In: Experimental Gerontology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-6815 .- 0531-5565. ; 51, s. 46-53
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Physical exercise during growth affects composition, structure and mechanical properties of bone. In this study we investigated whether the beneficial effects of exercise during the early growth phase have long-lasting effects or not. Female Syrian golden hamsters (total n=152) were used in this study. Half of the hamsters had access to running wheels during their rapid growth phase (from 1 to 3months of age). The hamsters were sacrificed at the ages of 1, 3, 12, and 15months. The diaphysis of the mineralized humerus was analyzed with microCT and subjected to three-point-bending mechanical testing. The trabecular bone in the tibial metaphysis was also analyzed with microCT. The collagen matrix of the humerus bone was studied by tensile testing after decalcification. The weight of the hamsters as well as the length of the bone and the volumetric bone mineral density (BMDvol) of the humerus was higher in the running group at the early age (3months). Moreover, the mineralized bone showed improved mechanical properties in humerus and had greater trabecular thickness in the subchondral bone of tibia in the runners. However, by the age of 12 and 15months, these differences were equalized with the sedentary group. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of decalcified humerus were higher in the runners at early stage, indicating a stronger collagen network. In tibial metaphysis, trabecular thickness was significantly higher for the runners in the old age groups (12 and 15months). Our study demonstrates that physical exercise during growth improves either directly or indirectly through weight gain bone properties of the hamsters. However, the beneficial effects were for the most part not maintained during aging.
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3. |
- Virén, Tuomas, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of ultrasound and optical coherence tomography techniques for evaluation of integrity of spontaneously repaired horse cartilage.
- 2012
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In: Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 0309-1902 .- 1464-522X. ; 36:3, s. 185-192
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to compare sensitivity of ultrasound and optical coherence tomography (OCT) techniques for the evaluation of the integrity of spontaneously repaired horse cartilage. Articular surfaces of horse intercarpal joints, featuring both intact tissue and spontaneously healed chondral or osteochondral defects, were imaged ex vivo with arthroscopic ultrasound and laboratory OCT devices. Quantitative ultrasound (integrated reflection coefficient (IRC), apparent integrated backscattering coefficient (AIB) and ultrasound roughness index (URI)) and optical parameters (optical reflection coefficient (ORC), optical roughness index (ORI) and optical backscattering (OBS)) were determined and compared with histological integrity and mechanical properties of the tissue. Spontaneously healed tissue could be quantitatively discerned from the intact tissue with ultrasound and OCT techniques. Furthermore, several significant correlations (p < 0.05) were detected between ultrasound and OCT parameters. Superior resolution of OCT provided a more accurate measurement of cartilage surface roughness, while the ultrasound backscattering from the inner structures of the cartilage matched better with the histological findings. Since the techniques were found to be complementary to each other, dual modality imaging techniques could provide a useful tool for the arthroscopic evaluation of the integrity of articular cartilage.
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