Search

Osthole has been found to restore bone mass in preclinical osteoporotic models. In the present study, we investigated the effects of osthole on bone fracture repair in mice. Adult C57BL/6 mice were subjected to transverse femoral fractures and administrated orally with 20 mg/kg osthole and vehicle solvent daily from week 1 post-operation. Fracture callus were analyzed by plain radiography, micro-computed tomography, histology, molecular imaging and immunohistochemistry and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining. Results demonstrated that osthole treatment enhanced removal of cartilage and bony union during reparative stage without significant interfering on remodeling process. In vivo molecular imaging showed bone formation rate of the treatment group was almost twofold of control group at week 2 post-operation. Osthole augmented the expression of alkaline phosphatase and collagen type X in hypertrophic chondrocytes as well as expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2, osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase in osteoblastic cells, indicating it promoted mineralization of hypertrophic cartilage and woven bone growth simultaneously during endochondral healing. In summary, osthole promotes endochondral ossification via upregulation of maturation osteogenic marker genes in chondrocytes and subsequently accelerates fracture repair and bony fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous measurements by two techniques for in situ laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) detection, based on optical diffraction and acoustic measurements, were demonstrated. Pulsed Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) ablation of 25-nm-thick aluminum films on quartz was studied as a test case. The two probes gave consistent LIDT values, and were sensitive and simple to operate. For above-threshold ablation, the diffraction and acoustic signals were found to be strongly correlated, rendering them useful not just for threshold detection, but for studying ablation dynamics as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]