Tensile Tests of Collagen Fibers Obtained from the Rabbit Patellar Tendon

Tensile properties of collagen fibers of approximately 1 m in diameter were determined using a newly developed micro tensile test system for cells and fine fibrous biological tissues. The test system consists of a thermostatic test chamber, an inverted microscope, micromanipulators, a direct drive linear actuator, a cantilever-type load cell, and a video dimension analyzer (VDA). The fibers were isolated with a mechanical method from collagen fascicles (approximately 300 m in diameter) cut out from the rabbit patellar tendon. The ends of each fiber were attached to the tips of a pair of glass microtubes (15 to 20 m in outer diameter) using a cyanoacrylate adhesive. One of the microtubes was attached to the load cell; the other one was connected to the linear actuator which was utilized to stretch the fiber. Load applied to the fiber was measured with the load cell, while its elongation was determined with the VDA using the images of the edges of the adhesive as markers. Tangent modulus, tensile strength, and strain at failure of the tested fibers were 54.3± 25.1 MPa, 8.5± 2.6 MPa, and 21.6± 3.0%, respectively. These values were much different from those of collagen fascicles (300 m in diameter) cut out from the rabbit patellar tendon and also from those of the bulk patellar tendon (Trans. ASME, J. Biomech. Eng. 121, 124–294, 1999); for example, tensile strength and strain at failure of the fibers were approximately 50 and 200% of those of the fascicles, respectively. These results suggest that the mechanical interactions between fibers and between fibers and ground substances contribute much to the mechanical properties of collagen fascicles and bulk tendons.     

桡侧腕屈与腕长伸肌腱部分转位修复手部关节脱位应用解剖

目的 :为桡侧腕屈与腕长伸肌腱部分转位修复桡尺远侧及第 1腕掌关节脱位提供解剖学基础。方法 :3 0侧成人上肢标本 ,分别对桡侧腕屈肌腱、桡侧腕长伸肌腱进行形态学测量。结果 :桡侧腕长伸肌腱性部长 ( 17.8± 2 .6)cm ,肌腱的上、中、下段宽分别为 ( 13 .7± 3 .1)、( 5 .6± 1.1)和 ( 4 .6± 0 .5 7)mm肌腱的上、中、下段厚分别为 ( 1.5± 0 .5 )、( 2 .0± 0 .3 )和 ( 2 .4± 0 .3 )mm。桡侧腕屈肌腱性部长 ( 14 .3± 1.1)cm ,肌腱的上、中、下段宽分别为 ( 9.11.4)、( 5 .5± 0 .9)和 ( 4 .0± 0 .4) ,肌腱的上、中、下段厚分别为 ( 2 .4± 0 .6)、( 2 .2± 0 .4)和 ( 2 .6± 0 .5 )mm。结论 :采用桡侧腕屈肌腱和桡侧腕长伸肌腱部分转位 ,有足够的长度和强度 ,适用于桡尺远侧关节或第 1腕掌关节脱位的修复 ,临床应用获得良好效果     

Dynamometer for rat plantar flexor musclesin vivo

A dynamometer is designed and fabricated to measure the force output during static and dynamic muscle actions of the plantar flexor muscles of anaesthetised rats in vivo. The design is based on a computer-controlled DC servomotor capable of angular velocities in excess of 17.5 rad s⁻¹. The system controls the range of motion, angular velocity and electrical stimulation of the muscles, while monitoring the force output at the plantar surface of the foot. The force output is measured by a piezo-electric load cell that is rated at 5 kg capacity. Angular velocity and position are measured by a DC tachometer and potentiometer, respectively. All measurement devices are linear (r²=0.9998). The design minimises inertial loading during high-speed angular motions, with a variation in force output of less than 0.2%. The dynamometer proves to be an accurate and reliable system for quantifying static and dynamic forces of rat plantar flexor muscles in vivo.     

The Psychological Significance of Task-Induced Tonic Changes in Somatic and Autonomic Activity

Two experiments tested the view that task-induced autonomic-somatic gradient parallelism does exist and that the steeper the physiological gradients, over the course of a task, the more involved the subject and the greater the effort. Thirty-three male subjects performed easy and difficult versions of a continuous reaction time task. In both experiments the difficult task prompted steeper electromyographic (EMG) activity gradients than did the easy version. Scores on heart rate (HR) and skin conductance did not show clear gradients. However, task-dependent effort was positively related to the magnitude of the initial HR acceleration and to the steepness of the EMG gradient. The autonomic-somatic coupling hypothesis of Obrist did not explain the results. Instead, evidence for ventilatory-somatic parallelism was found.     

桡侧腕短伸肌腱部分移位修复第一腕掌关节脱位的应用解剖与手术设计

目的:为桡侧腕短伸肌腱部分移位修复第一腕掌关节脱位提供解剖学依据。方法:30侧成人上肢标本,将桡侧腕短伸肌腱分为上、中、下3部分,进行形态学测量。结果:桡侧腕短伸肌腱长度为(15.3±1.9)cm(10～22.5cm),其宽度:上段为(15.4±5.2)mm(5.3～23.8mm),中段(10.0±3.0)mm(4.2～18.5mm),下段(5.5±0.6)mm(3.7～9.6mm);厚度:上段为(0.6±0.3)mm(0.1～1.4mm),中段为(1.8±0.7)mm(0.7～3.0mm),下段为(2.1±1.2)mm(0.8～3.1mm)。结论:桡侧腕短伸肌腱部分转位有足够的长度以修复第一腕掌关节脱位。     

显微外科技术治疗周围神经嵌压症

目的 :为探讨显微外科技术治疗周围神经嵌压症的疗效。方法 :采用显微外科技术对各部位周围神经嵌压症 2 5例进行神经内外松解术。结果 :2 5例周围神经嵌压症患者术后症状、体征及肌电图检查均较术前明显改善 ,疗效满意。结论 :显微外科技术是治疗周围神经嵌压症的一种有效方法。     

Inhibition of Smad3 promotes the healing of rotator cuff injury in a rat model

To investigate the effect of inhibiting transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β1)/Smad2/3 signaling on rotator cuff (RC) healing. A bilateral supraspinatus tendon detachment‐repair model of Sprague‐Dawley (SD) rats was utilized. A total of 120 SD rats were randomly assigned to six groups and each group received the subacromial injection of normal saline, empty vectors, or lentiviral vectors containing small interfering RNA against TGF‐β1, Smad2, Smad3 at the bone‐tendon junction. Biomechanical and histological analyses were performed to evaluate bone‐tendon junction healing quality at 8 weeks after repair. Histologically, scar healing was found in all surgical groups. Animals with inhibited Smad3 exhibited better bone‐tendon junction structures with higher density, parallel orientation, and collagen fiber continuity than other surgical group animals. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the protein expression level of collagen I in animals with inhibited Smad3 was more prominent compared with all other surgical groups. Biomechanically, Animals with inhibited Smad3 showed better results in the maximum load at 4, 6, and 8 weeks after surgery compared with other surgical groups. Besides, C3H10T1/2 (Smad3?) cells increased TT‐D6 cell migration and tendon‐associated genes expression (scleraxis, tenascin C, collagen I) in coculture system. We conclude that inhibition of Smad3 promotes RC tendon healing in the rat supraspinatus model.     

Simultaneous bilateral versus unilateral tibial tubercle fractures

PurposeTibial tubercle/tuberosity fractures are rare injuries in young patients accounting for less than one percent of physeal fractures. Bilateral simultaneous fractures are even rarer, with only a few case reports in literature. The purpose of our study was to describe the largest case series of bilateral simultaneous tibial tuberosity avulsion fractures and compare it with unilateral fractures. We also wanted to compare our bilateral fractures case series with all the cases reported in the last 65 years.MethodsIRB approved retrospective study involving patients under age 18 years with tibial tuberosity avulsion fractures. Bilateral simultaneous fractures were compared to a unilateral group including demographic data, mechanism of injury, clinical exam findings, complication rates, and outcomes including return to function. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney and Fisher Exact tests to compare the different groups.Results138 patients (131 males, 7 females) from a tertiary children’s hospital between 2012 and 2019 with tibial tuberosity avulsion fractures were included. 11 bilateral simultaneous fractures (BL Group) were identified and compared to age matched cohort from the 127 unilateral fracture patients (UL group). There was no significant difference found in BMI, height, weight, age, sex, mechanism of injury, return to functional range of motion, and return to sports between the groups. 7/11 (63%) of the patients in the BL group who sustained simultaneous fractures had to be home bound and could not attend school for an average of 8.3 weeks. There was a higher rate of complications in the BL group (63.3%) compared to the UL group (21.1%), which was statistically significant. The most common complications in the bilateral group were hardware removal and wound dehiscence.ConclusionThis first case series comparing unilateral versus bilateral simultaneous tibial tuberosity avulsion fractures suggests that the final outcomes of the two groups are similar, however it shows a significantly higher complication rate and hardware removal rate in the BL group. This study is also the first to highlight the significant initial morbidity in the BL fracture group with issues with regards to early mobility and loss of school-days. Keeping in mind the profound initial impact the bilateral injury poses to the patient; surgeons can possibly plan for rigid fixation for early mobilization to better prepare bilateral fracture patients for the early post-operative recovery process.