血水草的生药鉴定

本文对血水草Eomecon chionathe的生药性状、显微组织结构等方面进行了研究,为血水草的生药鉴定提供了依据。     

ZTA和Al2O3正畸托槽的研究

目的 分别评价ZTA(ZrO2增韧Al2O3)和Al2O3陶瓷的性能,探索一种适合制备正畸托槽的陶瓷材料.方法 选用ZrO2(3mol%Y2O3)和α-Al2O3粉体作为原料,利用热压铸成型工艺制备陶瓷托槽,在1600 ℃下烧结.将制得样品进行各方面的性能测试.结果 采用纯Al2O3制备的托槽抗弯强度远远低于ZTA复合陶瓷.结论 牙科正畸托槽可以选用具有较高抗弯强度的ZTA复合陶瓷作为原料.     

Aging resistant ZTA composite for dental applications: Microstructural,optical and mechanical characterization

ObjectiveTo synthesize a zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) composite with 70% alumina reinforced by 30% zirconia for dental applications and to characterize its microstructure and optical properties for comparison with the isolated counterpart materials and a first-generation 3Y-TZP.MethodsDisc-shaped specimens were divided in four groups (n = 70/material): (1) 3YSB-E (first generation 3Y-TZP), (2) Zpex (second generation 3Y-TZP), (3) alumina, and (4) ZTA-Zpex 70/30. After synthesis, ceramic powders were pressed, and green-body samples sintered following a predetermined protocol. Specimens were polished to obtain a mirror surface finish. Apparent density was measured by Archimedes principle. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the crystalline content and microstructure. Reflectance tests were performed to determine the contrast-ratio (CR) and translucency-parameter (TP). Mechanical properties were assessed by biaxial flexural strength (BFS) test. All analyses were conducted before and after artificial aging (20 h, 134 °C, 2.2 bar). Optical parameters were evaluated through repeated-measures analysis of variance and Tukey tests (p < 0.05). BFS data were analyzed using Weibull statistics (95% CI).ResultsHigh density values (95–99%) were found for all ceramic materials and SEM images exhibited a dense microstructure. While XRD patterns revealed the preservation of crystalline content in the ZTA composite, an increase in the monoclinic peak was observed for pure zirconias after aging. Significantly higher CR and lower TP values were observed for the ZTA composite, followed by alumina, 3YSB-E, and Zpex. The highest characteristic stress was recorded for 3YSB-E, followed by intermediate values between ZTA and Zpex, and the lowest for alumina. Aging affected the optical and mechanical properties of both zirconias, while remained stable for ZTA composite and alumina.SignificanceThe synthesis of experimental 70−30% ZTA composite was successful and its relevance for dental applications relies on its higher masking ability, aging resistance, and strength similar to zirconia.     

Effects of risedronate on trabecular microstructure and biomechanical properties in ovariectomized rat tibia

We determined the effect of risedronate on the trabecular microstructure of ovariectomized rat tibiae, using micro-computed tomography, in order to investigate how changes in microstructure contribute to biomechanical properties. Fifty 18-week-old rats underwent sham operation (n=10) or ovariectomy (OVX) (n=40). The OVX rats were further divided into four groups (n=10 for each group) and treated with risedronate at doses of 0, 0.1, 0.5 or 2.5 mg/kg for 9 months. OVX caused deterioration of three-dimensional trabecular microstructure, notably structure model index (SMI) and connectivity density, while treatment of OVX rats with risedronate at 0.5 and 2.5 mg/kg improved those deleterious microstructural changes. Biomechanical property, as assessed by finite element analysis (FEA), correlated significantly with trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV), and the correlation further increased substantially when microstructural parameters were added, especially SMI and connectivity density, with risedronate therapy. Thus, it is suggested that, in addition to increasing bone mass, risedronate improves biomechanical property by maintaining a plate-like structure as well as connectivity of trabeculae.     

骨组织工程支架及生物材料研究

组织工程的出现为人类治疗骨缺损提供了一种新的选择，在骨组织工程中，支架扮演着十分重要的角色。本文就骨组织工程用支架材料的性能要求，设计要点及其发展现状作出一简要介绍。     

Contrast-to-noise ratio analysis of microscopic diffusion anisotropy indices in q-space trajectory imaging

Diffusion anisotropy in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is commonly quantified with normalized diffusion anisotropy indices (DAIs). Most often, the fractional anisotropy (FA) is used, but several alternative DAIs have been introduced in attempts to maximize the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in diffusion anisotropy maps. Examples include the scaled relative anisotropy (sRA), the gamma variate anisotropy index (GV), the surface anisotropy (UA_surf), and the lattice index (LI). With the advent of multidimensional diffusion encoding it became possible to determine the presence of microscopic diffusion anisotropy in a voxel, which is theoretically independent of orientation coherence. In accordance with DTI, the microscopic anisotropy is typically quantified by the microscopic fractional anisotropy (μFA).In this work, in addition to the μFA, the four microscopic diffusion anisotropy indices (μDAIs) μsRA, μGV, μUA_surf, and μLI are defined in analogy to the respective DAIs by means of the average diffusion tensor and the covariance tensor. Simulations with three representative distributions of microscopic diffusion tensors revealed distinct CNR differences when differentiating between isotropic and microscopically anisotropic diffusion. q-Space trajectory imaging (QTI) was employed to acquire brain in-vivo maps of all indices. For this purpose, a 15 min protocol featuring linear, planar, and spherical tensor encoding was used. The resulting maps were of good quality and exhibited different contrasts, e.g. between gray and white matter. This indicates that it may be beneficial to use more than one μDAI in future investigational studies.     

Mitigation of hypertrophic scar contraction via an elastomeric biodegradable scaffold

Hypertrophic scar (HSc) occurs in 40–70% of patients treated for third degree burn injuries. Current burn therapies rely upon the use of bioengineered skin equivalents (BSEs), which assist in wound healing but do not prevent HSc contraction. HSc contraction leads to formation of a fixed, inelastic skin deformity. We propose that BSEs should maintain their architecture in the wound bed throughout the remodeling phase of repair to prevent HSc contraction. In this work we study a degradable, elastomeric, randomly oriented, electrospun micro-fibrous scaffold fabricated from the copolymer poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL). PLCL scaffolds displayed appropriate elastomeric and tensile characteristics for implantation beneath a human skin graft. In vitro analysis using human dermal fibroblasts demonstrated that PLCL scaffolds decreased myofibroblast formation as compared to an in vitro HSc contraction model. Using a validated immune-competent murine HSc contraction model, we found that HSc contraction was significantly greater in animals treated with standard of care, Integra, as compared to those treated with collagen coated-PLCL (ccPLCL) scaffolds. Finally, wounds treated with ccPLCL were significantly less stiff than control wounds at d30 in vivo. Together, these data suggest that scaffolds which persist throughout the remodeling phase of repair may represent a clinically translatable method to prevent HSc contraction.     

Controlled surface topography regulates collective 3D migration by epithelial–mesenchymal composite embryonic tissues

Cells in tissues encounter a range of physical cues as they migrate. Probing single cell and collective migratory responses to physically defined three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments and the factors that modulate those responses are critical to understanding how tissue migration is regulated during development, regeneration, and cancer. One key physical factor that regulates cell migration is topography. Most studies on surface topography and cell mechanics have been carried out with single migratory cells, yet little is known about the spreading and motility response of 3D complex multi-cellular tissues to topographical cues. Here, we examine the response to complex topographical cues of microsurgically isolated tissue explants composed of epithelial and mesenchymal cell layers from naturally 3D organized embryos of the aquatic frog Xenopus laevis. We control topography using fabricated micropost arrays (MPAs) and investigate the collective 3D migration of these multi-cellular systems in these MPAs. We find that the topography regulates both collective and individual cell migration and that dense MPAs reduce but do not eliminate tissue spreading. By modulating cell size through the cell cycle inhibitor Mitomycin C or the spacing of the MPAs we uncover how 3D topographical cues disrupt collective cell migration. We find surface topography can direct both single cell motility and tissue spreading, altering tissue-scale processes that enable efficient conversion of single cell motility into collective movement.     

Pore size distribution of bioresorbable films using a 3-D diffusion NMR method

Pore size distribution (PSD) within porous biomaterials is an important microstructural feature for assessing their biocompatibility, longevity and drug release kinetics. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is the most common method used to obtain the PSD of soft biomaterials. The method is highly invasive and user dependent, since it requires fracturing of the sample and then considers only the small portion that the user had acquired in the image. In the current study we present a novel nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method as an alternative method for estimation of PSD in soft porous materials. This noninvasive 3-D diffusion NMR method considers the entire volume of the specimen and eliminates the user’s need to choose a specific field of view. Moreover, NMR does not involve exposure to ionizing radiation and can potentially have preclinical and clinical uses. The method was applied on four porous 50/50 poly(dl-lactic-co-glycolic acid) bioresorbable films with different porosities, which were created using the freeze-drying of inverted emulsions technique. We show that the proposed NMR method is able to address the main limitations associated with SEM-based PSD estimations by being non-destructive, depicting the full volume of the specimens and not being dependent on the magnification factor. Upon comparison, both methods yielded a similar PSD in the smaller pore size range (1–25 μm), while the NMR-based method provided additional information on the larger pores (25–50 μm).