Nonlinear elasticity of biological basement membrane revealed by rapid inflation and deflation

Basement membrane (BM) is a thin layer of extracellular matrix that surrounds most animal tissues, serving as a physical barrier while allowing nutrient exchange. Although they have important roles in tissue structural integrity, physical properties of BMs remain largely uncharacterized, which limits our understanding of their mechanical functions. Here, we perform pressure-controlled inflation and deflation to directly measure the nonlinear mechanics of BMs in situ. We show that the BMs behave as a permeable, hyperelastic material whose mechanical properties and permeability can be measured in a model-independent manner. Furthermore, we find that BMs exhibit a remarkable nonlinear stiffening behavior, in contrast to the reconstituted Matrigel. This nonlinear stiffening behavior helps the BMs to avoid the snap-through instability (or structural softening) widely observed during the inflation of most elastomeric balloons and thus maintain sufficient confining stress to the enclosed tissues during their growth.

Basement membrane (BM) is a thin layer of fibrous matrix separating cells from the connecting tissues, which functions as a physical barrier and widely exists across multicellular organisms (1). The BM is typically composed of laminins, collagen IV, nidogens, and proteoglycans; laminin and collagen IV are the major components that constitute networks forming the structure of the BM, and nidogen and proteoglycans are associated with the laminin and collagen IV networks. As a physical barrier, the structural and mechanical properties of BM are important in the organization and morphogenesis of tissues and organs as well as in the maintenance of adult functions (2); abnormal BM has been associated with a variety of diseases such as cancer (3). For example, in metastasis, cancer cells must invade through BMs to escape from the primary tumor—a process that causes 90% of cancer-related death (4). Indeed, breaks in BMs can be observed in malignant tumors (5). Thus, mechanical properties of the BM are considered to play important roles in regulating cancer cell invasion (6, 7). Furthermore, as a physical barrier differentiating different parts of tissues, BMs are required to be permeable to small molecules to allow exchange of water and nutrients; the permeability of BM is thus one of the essential kinetic parameters regulating biomolecule exchange and activities of internal cells (8, 9). Given the importance of BMs as a semipermeable barrier maintaining tissue structural integrity, however, their permeability and mechanical properties remain largely unknown, mainly due to the lack of direct measurement methods, especially in situ. This limits our understanding of the physical role of BMs in various physiological and pathological processes such as tumor development and angiogenesis.Determining the mechanical properties of intact BMs in situ is challenging because of their irregular shape, small thickness, and tight connection to the cells inside. Due to these limitations, conventional mechanical tests such as tensile, compression, and bending tests are difficult to be applied to characterize the mechanical behavior of the BM in situ. Instead, previous measurements had been carried out on fragmented BMs isolated from various tissues (e.g., via atomic force microscopy [AFM] indentation) and found that the BM stiffness ranges from ∼kPa to ∼MPa (10–17). In addition, a constitutive relationship is required to extract the material parameters such as elastic modulus and permeability from these experimental measurements. However, like most biological tissues, a reliable constitutive model for the BM is not yet available, causing additional difficulties in obtaining its mechanical parameters from most traditional experiments.In this work, we demonstrate an in situ method to simultaneously measure both the elastic properties and permeability of intact BM in breast cancer spheroid by recording the deflation process of an inflated BM filled with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) by microinjection without requiring complex sample preparation and post-data processing. During the deflation of the BM, its elastic retraction generates a pressure difference to drive the liquid flow through the membrane; the liquid flux can be calculated from the reduction of the intact BM diameter. With the BM thickness measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we can determine the shear modulus, permeability, and diffusivity of the intact BM. Moreover, we find from our measurements that the elasticity of BM is highly nonlinear with a strong strain-stiffening effect. Furthermore, we discuss the possible impact of the strain-stiffening effects of BM on its functions.     

Bottle‐feeding an infant feeding modality: An integrative literature review

Bottle‐feeding is an infant feeding modality that has been in existence since ancient times, and currently, a significant number of infants are being fed via a bottle with either breastmilk or formula. Although research on bottle‐feeding has continued, it exists in fragmented, often small studies that focus on singular aspects of feeding an infant using a bottle, with limited information on the bottle‐feeding act. Systems theory was the approach used to define the act of bottle‐feeding and identify the parts within this act. Health databases were searched using MeSH terms. A summary of the studies are included. The findings of this review revealed that healthy term bottle‐feeding infants use similar tongue and jaw movements, can create suction and sequentially use teat compression to obtain milk, with minimal differences in oxygen saturation and SSB patterns, when compared with breastfeeding infants. Bottle and teat characteristics were revealed to affect infant feeding and milk intake. An infant's milk intake during feeding was shown to have a strong association with the interaction between the infant and parent/caregiver. With the issue of who controls the feed, mother or infant, likely to affect an infant's ability to self‐regulate their milk intake. Redefining bottle‐feeding as a holistic system identifies the interrelationship of the various parts which will improve the understanding of the reciprocal nature of infant feeding. To optimize bottle‐feeding outcomes, further research is required on parents' and health professionals' knowledge and understanding of the parts within the act of bottle‐feeding.     

Fracture mechanics of circular discs with a V-notch subjected to wedging

ObjectiveA method proposed for determining the fracture toughness (FT) of dental materials involves a ‘roller’ wedging open a V-notch in a cylindrical specimen. There are a number of problems with the design of this test and its mechanical analysis, and thus with the validity of the results obtained, were it to be used. Firstly, friction is ignored in calculating the horizontal wedging force. Secondly, the test specimen does not make use of a pre-crack at the notch tip. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of these factors on the FT calculated.MethodsAn analytical solution for the mode-I stress intensity factor (K_I) of the compact tension specimen, which bears some similarities, is taken to be applicable. The mechanics of the specimen has been reanalysed, with a finite-element study of the resultant stresses, and compared with the compact-tension test.ResultsThe assumed analytical solution can provide accurate estimates for K_I for the V notched specimen. However, the apparent agreement is due to the fortuitous combination of an overestimated horizontal wedging force and an underestimated stress singularity at the crack tip. In any case, ignoring friction will lead to an overestimate of FT.SignificanceIt is concluded that the test as presented is invalid.     

细胞力学在皮肤科的研究进展

【摘要】 细胞力学是一门新兴的交叉学科，以研究细胞的力学特性与细胞生命活动以及组织、器官、机体生理过程的关系为主。通过对力学信号的感受和响应机制，细胞参与皮肤、骨、眼等多器官组织的生理活动以及疾病的发生发展，包括皮肤组织再生、重建、适应性变化和多种皮肤病的发病，因此成为近年皮肤病研究的热点。本文综述近年来细胞力学的基础研究和其在瘢痕、压疮、白癜风、皮肤肿瘤、毛发疾病等方面的研究和应用进展，为皮肤病治疗提供可能的方法和策略。     

人体颞下颌关节盘拉伸力学特性研究

通过对４具新鲜尸体的５个颞颌关节盘共８０个试件进行不同应变水平下的应力松弛试验和等应变速度下的拉伸破坏试验，测定了关节盘的横向拉伸力学性质，用拟线性粘弹性理论和二相理论对实验结果进行分析并建立了组织的本构方程。结果表明：关节盘的生理二相区在５％应变内；盘前带的横向拉伸强度、拉伸模量和破坏能量大于中间带和后带，中、后带差异不大；盘的应力松弛程度较低，初始应力松弛率在８％～１５％左右。同时证明，在较低应变下可以用获取的本构方程模拟关节盘的流变学特性     

Analysis of interfacial fracture in dental restorations

Objectives

To provide a brief summary of the background theory of interfacial fracture mechanics and develop an analytical framework that identifies the critical factors for the analysis of the initiation and propagation of adhesion failure in composite restorations.

Methods

A conceptual framework utilizing interfacial fracture mechanics and Toya's solution for a partially delaminated circular inclusion in an elastic matrix, which can be applied (with caution) to approximate polymer curing induced cracking about composite resins for class 1 cavity restorations.

Results

The findings indicate that: (1) most traditional shear tests are not appropriate for the analysis of the interfacial failure initiation; (2) material properties of the restorative and tooth material have a strong influence on the energy realize rate; (3) there is a strong size effect; and (4) interfacial failure once initiated is characterized by unstable propagation along the interface almost completely encircling the composite.

Significance

The work is important for the analysis of the reliability of composite class I restorations and provides an adequate interpretation of recent adhesion debonding experimental results utilizing tubular geometry of specimens. The approach clearly identifies the critical parameters including; curing strain, material modulii, size and interfacial strain energy release rate for reliable development of advanced restorative materials.     

常规通气方式和小潮气量（VT）通气方式对腹腔间室综合征（ACS）患者机械通气效果比较

目的 探讨常规通气方式和小潮气量（VT）通气方式对腹腔间室综合征（ACS）患者机械通气效果。方法 选取本院2015 年11 月至2019 年11 月收治的80 例ACS 患者,随机分为两组,对照组40 例患者采用常规通气方式,试验组40 例患者采用小VT 通气方式,比较两组血气指标、呼吸力学变化及并发症发生率。结果 试验组PaCO2、A-aDO2、R、PIP 指标均显著低于对照组,PaO2、PaO2/FiO2、C、Pmean 指标均显著高于对照组,试验组并发症总发生率（4.00%）显著低于对照组（22.50%）,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论 小VT 通气方式可有效改善ACS 患者通气、换气功能,促进肺部气体交换,降低并发症发生率,值得借鉴。