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In the context of global food crisis, applying the phytohormone-brassinosteroids (BRs) in combination with the fungicide-pyraclostrobin (Pyr) was beneficial for plant quality and productivity in several field trials. However, in addition to the benefits of disease control due to the innate fungicidal activity of Pyr, it remains to be understood whether the coapplication of BL+ Pyr exerts additional growth-promoting effects. For this purpose, the effects of BL treatment, Pyr treatment, and BL+ Pyr treatment in Arabidopsis thaliana were compared. The results showed that the yield increased at a rate of 25.6% in the BL+Pyr group and 9.7% in the BL group, but no significant change was observed in the Pyr group. Furthermore, the BL+Pyr treatment increased the fresh weight of both the leaves and the inflorescences. In contrast, the Pyr and BL treatments only increased the fresh weight of leaves and inflorescences, respectively. Additionally, the BL + Pyr treatment increased the Pn, Gs, Tr, Vc, max, Jmax, VTPU, ETR, Fv’/Fm’, ΦPSII, Rd, AYE and Rubisco enzyme activity by 26%, 38%, 40%, 16%, 19%, 15%, 9%, 10%, 17%, 179%, 18% and 32%, respectively. While, these paraments did not change significantly by the BL or Pyr treatments. Treatment with BL + Pyr and Pyr, rather than BL, improved the chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents by upregulating genes related to chlorophyll biosynthesis and downregulating genes related to chlorophyll degradation. Additionally, according to transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis, the BL+ Pyr treatment outperformed the individual BL or Pyr treatments in activating the transcription of genes involved in photosynthesis and increasing sugar accumulation. Our results first validated that the combined usage of BL and Pyr exerted striking synergistic effects on enhancing plant biomass and yield by increasing photosynthetic efficiency. These results might provide new understanding for the agricultural effects by the co-application of BL and Pyr, and it might stimulate the efforts to develop new environment-friendly replacement for Pyr to minimize the ecotoxicology of Pyr.

Chromium (III) is currently used in leather manufacture worldwide and the attention has been centered on the alleged environmental impact of chromium in leather waste. The effects of liquid-solid ratio, pH, contact time, rotational speed and temperature on the leachability of chromium from leather waste and the eco-toxicity were evaluated to investigate the ecological impact under environmental conditions. The characterization of leachate included the determination of total Cr and total organics (TOC), analysis of UV-visible absorption spectra, as well as the toxicity test with Photobacterium phosphoreum. The liquid-solid ratio, extractant pH, contact time and temperature significantly affected the leachability of chromium and toxicity of the leachate, whereas rotational speed slightly affected the leaching behavior when beyond 100 RPM. The toxicity of the leachate was related to both the amount of released substance which was mainly affected by contact time and liquid-solid ratio, and the species which was mainly affected by temperature and extractant pH. Finally, three samples from different tannery corresponding to leather waste were leached and characterized by total Cr, TOC and toxicity test under the environmental conditions of liquid-solid ratio 20:1(mL/g), pH 7.0, contact time 8 hours, rotational speed 100 RPM and temperature 25°C. These results contributed to the risk assessment of stacking field and waste management of chrome-containing leather.

Four typical automobile manufacturing enterprises in Zhejiang Province were selected to determine the main production and emission links of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in this industry by analyzing their production processes and the main raw and auxiliary materials used. Two of them were monitored on the spot, and the producing coefficients and emission coefficients of the VOCs discharged from the automobile manufacturing industry in Zhejiang Province were calculated. Then, the production and emission of VOCs in this industry in 2017 in Zhejiang Province were estimated. The results show that the main production and emission links of VOCs in the automobile manufacturing industry in Zhejiang Province are coating processes. Only a few of the automobile manufacturers in Zhejiang Province can deal with the paint exhaust gas effectively at present; in addition to coatings, solvent-based cleaning agents are also one of the main sources of VOCs in this industry. The VOC producing coefficients of the automobile manufacturing industry in Zhejiang Province are 0.20 t·t

Red phosphorus (RP) and the coated RP with melamine formaldehyde resin (MFcP) were foamed with isocyanates to prepare polyurethane foam (PUF). The cell size of PUF/RP became uneven and more spherical, and the cell struts became thicker. The cells of PUF/MFcP were much more uniform in size and more spherical in shape. Addition of flame retardants increased the densities, compressive strength and thermal conductivity of the foams, but decreased the blind hole percents. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) tests exhibited that decomposition of both PUF/RP and PUF/MFcP took place at lower temperatures than that of neat PUF. However, the maximum decomposition temperature (Tmax) for PUF was increased from 300 °C to ca. 340 °C when RP or MFcP was added. Load of RP or MFcP with 80 pphp or higher increased the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of PUF to higher than 25% and pass UL-94 V-0 grade. In the cone calorimetry tests (CC), It indicated that PUF/MFcP100 released much less heat and smoke than PUF/RP100 and PUF. The smoke release of PUF/MFcP100 was reduced by almost 75% than that of PUF/RP100. The toxic gas release of PUF/MFcP100 was reduced more than 50% than that of PUF/RP100. The smoke emission of PUF increased significantly after addition of RP comparing with that addition of MFcP greatly relief the situation. The corresponding mechanism was proposed.

Recently, ionic actuator as a kind of artificial muscle has attracted great attentions according to their remarkable strain under low-voltage stimulation. Here, we investigated a biocompatible ionic polymer actuator, which consists of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) film as the double electrode layer and an electrolyte layer equipped with a chitosan polymer skeleton. As a result, we found it presented various electromechanical properties under the preparation factors of the different additive glycerol (0mL, 2mL, 4mL). The actuators with 2mL glycerol behaved a longer life bending (65 times), which was obviously surpassed by the others. Also, based on strain and stress testing, Young's modulus of the electrolyte presented a decreasing trend. In fact, the improvement was mainly due to the weakened inter-molecular hydrogen and the rotation molecular of the electrolyte film. Results show the additive inside the electrolyte is very effective to improve the performance of artificial muscle.

Flexible silicone foams (SiFs) are high-performance but flammable materials that emit dense smoke in a fire. Two type of low-cost, eco-friendly nanocoatings, i.e., chitosan (CH)/ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and CH/montmorillonite (MMT), were fabricated on SiFs through a layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. With seven bilayers (BL) of CH/APP coatings, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) increases from 20.2% to 23.8%, the peak heat release rate (pHRR) decreases by 27.6%, and the total smoke production (TSP) decreases 42%. Further deposition of CH/APP, however, partly damaged the fire resistance. In contrast, fire hazard and smoke release of CH/MMT coated SiFs were monotonously reduced. Every 7 BL of coating leads to ca. 12% reduction of TSP. Moreover, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to follow the pyrolysis of the coated foams, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) were applied to analyze the char residues systematically.

Droplets on hydrophobic coating surfaces tend to roll off, which can reduce water volume for icing, help relieve the icing degree of insulators, and improve the electrical performance of iced insulators. Hydrophobic coating is considered as a potentially effective anti-icing method for insulators. Artificial icing and flashover tests for LXP-70 insulator strings coated with four types of silicone acrylate resin (SAR) hydrophobic coatings were conducted in an artificial climate chamber. Bare insulator strings were arranged as the control group. Ice morphology, ice density, growth of ice weight, and AC flashover voltage among different insulator strings were investigated under non-energized and energized conditions. The effects of different SAR coatings on icing performance mentioned above and AC flashover voltage were discussed. Test results indicate that the hydrophobic features of coatings significantly affected the morphology of ice layers of glass insulators with SAR coatings, that is, the stronger the hydrophobicity of the coatings was, the more granular the ice layer became. Ice density was lower on the insulator surface with SAR coatings than that on the insulator surface without coatings. SAR coatings with a contact angle (CA) more than 130° could significantly reduce the ice weight of glass insulators and increase their flashover voltages in the initial stage of the icing process. Coated insulator strings with a CA of 110° showed poorer anti-icing and flashover performances than the bare insulator string.

Figure S3. Electrophysiological examination. (a) Representative CMAP oscillograms of each group at week 12 after cell transplantation. (b) The amplitude ratio of CMAP in the intermittent dASCs group (73.52 ± 4.06%) was significantly lower (p

Figure S1. Schematic diagram of the TranswellÂŽ system. DRGs were seeded in the lower chambers of the system, which included six 24-mm diameter, 0.4-Îźm pore polyester membrane inserts in a six-well plate. The uASCs, dASCs, and SCs were seeded in the upper inserts of the TranswellÂŽ system. (PDF 533 kb)

Figure S2. Relative mRNA expression levels of neurotrophins in each group of cells. There were no significant differences in NGF (a), BDNF (b), and CNTF (c) mRNA expression levels between intermittent dASCs and sustaining dASCs 7d groups, but all were significantly higher (p

According to the problem of large friction resistance exists between the sealing ring and the cylinder block when the piston cylinder works, the drag reduction technology of bionic concave surface was applied in the sealing ring. By building a drag reduction motion model of sealing ring with concave surface of triangular arrangement, the effect of drag reduction performance decided by concave diameter and piston velocity was studied with the method of numerical simulation. The results show that: when the piston velocity is fixed, the maximum drag reduction rate can be achieved with the concave diameter is 1.5mm, and the maximum drag reduction rate is 15.72%. Meanwhile when the diameter of the concave is fixed, the drag reduction rate increased gradually with the increase of initial speed, the drag reducing effect is best at the speed of 0.6m/s. In the process of piston movement, lubricating oil in concave shakes, and makes the lubricating oil flow to the inside wall of cylinder, which play the role of lubrication, so as to achieve the effect of reducing friction and increasing the movement speed of piston.

According to the problem of bionic shark gill jet can reduce friction on shark surface, a model of bionic jet surface was established based on shark surface was analyzed by measurements, and its numerical simulation was processed by using RNG k-ε turbulence model. The results show that: the gill jet can reduce frictional resistance on shark surface, and the best drag reduction can be got when the speed of main field is 5m/s, furthermore the maximum drag reduction rate can be up to 17.15%. The pressure of jet hole upstream is reduced which due to the barrier to the facing fluid by the jet, so that the pressure resistance of jet surface is reduced as well. Besides, jet fluid is blocked in the boundary layer by mainstream fluid, which caused the fluid velocity of jet hole downstream is reduced, the thickness of boundary layer is increased, and the normal velocity gradient of wall is reduced, so as to achieve the effect of drag reduction.

According to the problem of drag reduction on bionic jet surface, a rectangular jet surface model which is similar to shark branchial shape was built, and numerical simulation was processed by using SST k-ω turbulence model, moreover, influence of jet hole size on the drag reduction performance of jet surface was studied. The results show that: the effect of flow length of rectangular jet hole on the drag reduction is remarkable, with the increase of flow length, fluid friction resistance of the jet surface decreases, the maximum drag reduction rate was 14.38%, and the results of numerical simulation was verified by carrying out experiments. The jet fluid decreases the sweep on the wall of mainstream high speed fluid, which increases the thickness of jet surface boundary layer, thereby reducing the surface friction of the jet hole downstream.

This work presents some Siconi process applications in 28nm technology node and beyond fabrication steps, such as STI/ILD gap-fill trench profile modification, fin or AA oxide recess (adjustment of fin or AA height) and dummy gate ox removal in 20nm planar structure. Morphological results indicate that Siconi process can reduce trench gap-fill challenge in STI/ILD process, and it can achieve perfectly filled trenches, better AA or Fin/STI oxide height control. Morphological and electrical results also indicate that Siconi clean for dummy oxide removal can reduce CESL/HARP loss, which benefits in MG height control and HKMG material residue elimination after metal gate CMP, without EOT penalty.

Peptides/proteins aggregation can give rise to pathological conditions of many human diseases. Small partially ordered oligomers formed in the early stage of aggregation, rather than mature fibrils, are thought to be the main toxicity agent for the living cell. Thus, understanding the pathway and the underlying physical mechanism in the early stage of aggregation is very important for prevention and treatment of these protein functional diseases. Herein we use all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study the aggregation of four NFGAIL hexapeptides (NFGAIL peptide is a core segment of human islet amyloid polypeptide and exhibits similar aggregation kinetics as the full-length polypeptide). We observe that the peptide monomers in water mainly adopt non-structural coil configurations; the four peptides which are randomly placed in water aggregate spontaneously to partially ordered oligomer (β-sheets) through dimerization or trimerization, with the dimerization predominated. Both parallel and anti-parallel β-sheets are observed. The hydrophobic interactions drive the initial peptides associations, and the subsequent conformational fluctuations promote the formation of more hydrogen bonds between the dangling hydrogen sites in the main chains of peptides.

Objectives The study's aim is to calculate the parameters for retrograde insertion points for fixed superior pubic ramus fractures. Methods From the pubic symphysis, diameter and length of the screw were measured, as well as the angle between the screw axis and the 3 planes. Results When the diameter was fixed at 4.5 mm, the maximum lengths were 125 mm and 119 mm. Conclusions When the fracture occurs in Zone I, the penetration point could be selected in the pubic symphysis pubis angle to ensure that medial fracture fragments have sufficient screw channel length.

A number of limitations associated with the use of hollow nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) require further discussion. Most importantly, the functional recovery outcomes after the placement of hollow NGCs are poor even after the successful bridging of peripheral nerve injuries. However, nerve regeneration scaffolds built using electric spinning have several advantages that may improve functional recovery. Thus, the present study summarizes recent developments in this area, including the key cells that are combined with the scaffold and associated with nerve regeneration, the structure and configuration of the electrospinning design (which determines the performance of the electrospinning scaffold), the materials the electrospinning fibers are composed of, and the methods used to control the morphology of a single fiber. Additionally, this study also discusses the processes underlying peripheral nerve regeneration. The primary goals of the present review were to evaluate and consolidate the findings of studies that used scaffolding biomaterials built by electrospinning used for peripheral nerve regeneration support. It is amazing that the field of peripheral nerve regeneration continues to consistently produce such a wide variety of innovative techniques and novel types of equipment, because the introduction of every new process creates an opportunity for advances in materials for nerve repair.

To compare emu necrotic femoral head micro structure repaired in two different methods.Fifteen adult emus were divided into 3 groups (all n=5), and the right femoral head was selected to research. The first group was the control group; in the second group, femoral head necrosis was made by cryogen with liquid nitrogen; and in the third group, femoral head necrosis was made by local pure ethanol injection. Right femurs were taken for micro CT examination,then femoral head micro structures were compared among these three groups.No infection or unexpected death was found in all groups. Compared with normal group, necrotic femoral heads in cryogen group showed that bone mineral density significantly reduced after repaire (P=0.015), trabecular space significantly reduced (P=0.001), bone volume fraction significantly enlarged (P=0.036), bone surface/volume fraction (P=0.032) and trabecular numbers (P=0.002) significantly enlarged; trabecular thickness showed no significant difference (P=0.060). Compared with control group, necrotic femoral heads in ethanol group showed that bone mineral density significantly enlarged after repaire (P=0.001), trabecular thickness (P=0.003) and bone surface/volume fraction (P=0.022) significantly enlarged, trabecular space (P=0.001) and bone volume fraction (P=0.001) significantly reduced; the trabecular numbers showed no significant difference (P=0.143). Compared with ethanol group, necrotic femoral heads in cryogen group showed significant lower bone mineral density after repair (P=0.001), significantly lower bone volume fraction (P=0.001), significantly lower trabecular thickness (P=0.001), significantly higher bone surface/volume fraction (P=0.022) and higher trabecular numbers (P=0.003); the trabecular space showed no significant difference (P=0.398).Different repair methods make reconstructed femoral head weight bearing area have different bone structure and bone mineral density, along with different bone trabecular quality.

Due to the high cellulose content of cotton (88.0-96.5%), the flame retardation of cotton fabrics can be achieved via an approach for the flame retardation of cellulose. In this work, a facile water-based flame retardant coating was deposited on cotton fabrics by a 'simplified' layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. The novel coating solution was based on a mild reaction between ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI), and the reaction mechanism was studied. TGA results showed that the char residues of coated fabrics were remarkably increased. The fabric with only 5wt% coating showed self-extinguishing in the horizontal flame test, and the peak heat release rate (pHRR) in cone calorimeter test decreased by 51%. Furthermore, this coating overcame a general drawback of flame-retardant LbL assembly which was easily washed away. Therefore, the simplified LbL method provides a fast, low-cost, eco-friendly and wash-durable flame-retardant finishing for the cellulose-rich cotton fabrics.

Plasma processes are widely used in the manufacturing of very large scale integration (VLSl) devices for dry etching and dielectric film deposition. Damage due to plasma becomes inevitable and can potentially break the gate dielectric bonds to increase gate dielectric leakage current, which would give rise to transistor threshold voltage shift and device failure. In our 40nm device data, there was a gate oxide leakage failure dominantly in wafer center. It was found that this failure is related to SiCN Cu interconnect cap film deposition. The purpose of this work was to investigate its failure mechanism. In the current study, SiCN films were deposited with two different types of commercial tools. The SiCN film surface charge results showed that the charge value in wafer center was obviously higher than that in wafer edge. The plasma density measurement result also showed that plasma density in the chamber center is higher than that of wafer edge. Plasma induced damage (PID) test data showed that the deposition initial step, or the NH3 pretreatment stage, was not the key factor for the device damage, but the main step of SiCN film deposition played the important role in the device damage. By adjusting the main deposition step, the film surface charge value and the charge uniformity were much improved, which led to a solution to the wafer central PID issue at 40nm device.

Based on the cases of public places in foreign and domestic cities, the paper probes into the essential content of some public place from its external form to propose the evaluating standards for suitability. By this, the paper concludes that complexity, diversity and inclusiveness are three key factors and easy accessibility, comfortable physical environment, completed facilities, sufficient greens and well organized space are all beneficial aspects in the transformation from merely aesthetics concern to practical arrangements in urban design. Finally, the paper points out that the existing ecological tendency will create a long-lasting city image which will give new explanation about suitability of the public place.

The purpose of the present study is to test whether chemically extracted acellular nerve segments can be used to repair the sciatic nerve gap. Fifteen canines were divided into acellular nerve allografting group (ANG, six canines), autografting group (AG, six canines), and fresh nerve allografting group (FNG, three canines). The sciatic nerves on the right side of the animals were exposed, and 5-cm-long segments of the nerves were removed from the midthigh level and replaced by the three types of grafts. At 6 months after grafting, all animals in the ANG and AG had similar patterns of right posterior limb gait cycle and right ankle movements. Moreover, the animals in the ANG and AG had similar nerve regeneration, with dense regeneration fibers in the distal tibial nerves and obvious motor end plates in the target muscle. But in FNG, the area surrounding the graft was scarred as the result of inflammation, and there was a brown central area where there was little nerve regeneration. All of the above shows that chemical acellular nerve allografting can be used to repair a gap as long as 5 cm in the continuity of the sciatic nerve in canines and has similar effects to autografting.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a type of common and refractory disease in the orthopedic clinic that is primarily caused by a partial obstruction of the blood supply to the femoral head, resulting in a series of pathological processes. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) comprise a mixture of various stem cells in myeloid tissue with multipotential differentiation capacity. They can differentiate into bone cells under specific conditions and can be used to treat ONFH through cell transplantation. This review summarizes research on MSCs in the field of ONFH in recent years, reveals the inner characteristics of MSCs, describes their potential to treat osteonecrosis disease, and analyzes the existing challenges of using MSCs in clinical applications.

At first theoretically analyzes dialectical relation among management model transformation, improving environment protection effect and boosting industrial upgrading, then discusses the significance of building service-oriented environment management model from nationality, necessity and feasibility, points out that service-oriented environment management modelshould be built under the principle of strict environment governance, win-win result between environment and development can be got only if the balance between governance and service is kept and environment management model is scientifically innovated. At last, according to China’s reality, some strategies are given on building China’s service-oriented environment management model from ideology, superstructure, hardware improving, software perfection and treatment of special circumstances.

To establish a new animal model of osteonecrosis of the femoral head by local ethanol injection in emu.Eight milliliter ethanol was injected slowly to the operated femoral head with customized probe in twenty adult male emus. Postoperatively, hip magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 1, 4, 8, 12 weeks. After emus were sacrificed, the femurs were collected for micro-computed tomography and histological analysis.No emu demonstrated signs of infection or died unexpectedly. Magnetic resonance imaging examination showed broad edema at proximal femur at 1(th) week, and the edema decreased with time, till local edema at femoral head at the 12(th) week. Histological images showed human-like osteonecrotic changes with active bone repair. There were significant differences in trabecular structure and bone mineral density between the operated and intact femoral heads. No collapse was found 6 months after the operation.This emu model of femoral head osteonecrosis by local ethanol injection can progress to early stage osteonecrosis. The different repair methods may have certain correlation with the results of osteonecrosis of the femoral heads.

To determine if combined therapy consisting of NEL-like type 1 gene (NELL-1) and zoledronate can prevent the collapse of the femoral head and stimulate the new bone formation in an animal model of osteonecrosis.Ischemic osteonecrosis was surgically induced in 24 SD rats, whicih were equally randomly divided into three groups: combination group, treated with both NELL-1 and zoledronate; sham operation group; and placebo group, treated with normal saline solution. The animals were killed 5 weeks after surgery. Radiography, MicroCT, histology, and immunohistochemistry were performed to analyze the results.Morphologically, the femoral head was at good shape in the combination group, while mildly flattened femoral head was seen in the placebo group. No heterotopic ossifications were observed in each group. MicroCT assessment showed significantly higher total and bone mineral volume in the combination group than in the placebo group (P0.01), whereas no such significant difference was found when compared with the sham operation group(P0.05). Histological assessment showed more active osteoblast activity and reduced osteoclast activity in the combination group compared with placebo group.A combination of NELL-1 and zoledronate can decrease the femoral head deformity while stimulating bone formation in a traumatic rat osteonecrois model, showing a potential to reverse the osteonecrosis.

Poly{2-methacryloyl-3-[ω-methoxyoligo(oxyethylene)]propanesulfonate lithium} (PMMOEPLi), a new kind of polymer salt intended for “inorganic salt-polymer salt” hybrid systems, was synthesized. This polymer salt has high flexibility and high polarity. Upon addition of PMMOEPLi to LiClO3 based electrolytes, ionic conductivities as high as 10−3 S/cm were obtained at ambient temperature. In the electrolyte studied Li+ dominates the conductivity, making this material a good candidate for application in lithium rechargeable batteries.

Cartilage repair is a challenging research area because of the limited healing capacity of adult articular cartilage. We had previously developed a natural, human cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM)-derived scaffold for in vivo cartilage tissue engineering in nude mice. However, before these scaffolds can be used in clinical applications in vivo, the in vitro effects should be further explored.We produced cartilage in vitro using a natural cartilage ECM-derived scaffold. The scaffolds were fabricated by combining a decellularization procedure with a freeze-drying technique and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), histological staining, cytotoxicity assay, biochemical and biomechanical analysis. After being chondrogenically induced, the induction results of BMSCs were analyzed by histology and Immunohisto-chemistry. The attachment and viability assessment of the cells on scaffolds were analyzed using SEM and LIVE/DEAD staining. Cell-scaffold constructs cultured in vitro for 1 week and 3 weeks were analyzed using histological and immunohistochemical methods.SEM and micro-CT revealed a 3-D interconnected porous structure. The majority of the cartilage ECM was found in the scaffold following the removal of cellular debris, and stained positive for safranin O and collagen II. Viability staining indicated no cytotoxic effects of the scaffold. Biochemical analysis showed that collagen content was (708.2-44.7) µg/mg, with GAG (254.7 ± 25.9) µg/mg. Mechanical testing showed the compression moduli (E) were (1.226 ± 0.288) and (0.052 ± 0.007) MPa in dry and wet conditions, respectively. Isolated canine bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) were induced down a chondrogenic pathway, labeled with PKH26, and seeded onto the scaffold. Immunofluorescent staining of the cell-scaffold constructs indicated that chondrocyte-like cells were derived from seeded BMSCs and excreted ECM. The cell-scaffold constructs contained pink, smooth and translucent cartilage-like tissue after 3 weeks of culture. We observed evenly distributed cartilage ECM proteoglycans and collagen type II around seeded BMSCs on the surface and inside the pores throughout the scaffold.This study suggests that a cartilage ECM scaffold holds much promise for in vitro cartilage tissue engineering.

The copolymer (PAAAB) of acrylic acid (AA) and N -acryloyl- p -aminobenzoic acid (AAB) was prepared by polymeric reaction. The fluorescence properties of the Eu 3+ -PAAAB complex were investigated. The fluorescence intensity of Eu 3+ in the Eu 3+ -PAAAB complex is strongest when the Eu 3+ content in the system is 8.0 wt.%, and exhibits concentration quenching with a further increase in Eu 3+ content. the fluorescence properties of the bimetallic complexes Eu 3+ -copolymer-M (M = Sr 2+ , Co 2+ , Tb 3+ , Gd 3+ , Nd 3+ , Dy 3+ , Er 3+ ) were also investigated in detail. Energy transfer occurs between the ions of the systems, i.e. from Gd 3+ or Tb 3+ to Eu 3+ and from Eu 3+ to Sr 2+ , Co 2+ , Nd 3+ , Dy 3+ or Er 3+ . The fluorescence are increased significantly in Eu 3+ -copolymer-Gd 3+ and Eu 3+ -copolymer-Tb 3+ systems and decreased in the other bimetallic systems.

The polyacrylic acid derivative, the copolymer (PABAM) of acrylic acid (AA) and p-benzoic acid acrylamide (BAM) were prepared by polymeric reaction. The coordinate structure of the polymer–Eu3+ complexes was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The fluorescence intensity of the PABAM–Eu3+ complex was enhanced because of introduction of a BAM unit in the polyacrylic acid and reached a maximum when the mole ratio of AA to BAM was about 1 : 1. The ternary complexes of Eu3+–polymer–1,10-phenanthroline (PRL), or 2,2-bipyridine (BPD) were synthesized. The polymers used were PABAM and polyacrylic acid (PAA). The fluorescence intensity of the polymer–Eu3+ complexes was increased by 5∼21 times owing to the introduction of PRL and BPD.

To observe the effect and mechanism of zoledronate on prevention of collapse in an animal model of osteonecrosis.Ischemic osteonecrosis was surgically induced in 16 SD rats (which were further divided into zoledronate group and placebo group); another 8 rats were used as sham surgery group (n=8). The animals were killed 5 weeks after surgery. Radiographic, Micro-CT, histological, and immunohistochemical assessments were performed.Radiographic assessment showed better preservation of the femoral head shape in the zoledronate group than in the placebo group but not significantly different from the sham surgery group. Micro-CT assessment showed higher total volume, bone volume, and total mineralized content in the zoledronate group(all P0.05). Compared with the placebo group, the zoledronate group had reduced osteoclast and osteoblast activity, as confirmed by histological examinations.Zoledronate can decrease the femoral head deformity by reducing the osteoclast activity while suppressing new bone and vessels formation in a rat model of traumatic osteonecrosis, and therefore may delay the collapse of femoral head.

Osteonecrosis is a common disease, mainly affecting femoral head. Good animal models are helpful in research on the pathologic mechanism of osteonecrosis and the exploration of effective treatment. Although it is relatively easy to establish animal models of early osteonecrosis of femoral head using various approaches, it is difficult to develop an animal model that mimics the full range of osteonecrosis of femoral head. In this paper, we reviewed the current researches on experimental animal models of osteonecrosis, with an attempt to provide evidences for choosing the appropriate animal models and find the way of future development.

Osteochondral lesion repair is a challenging area of orthopedic surgery. Here we aimed to develop an extracellular matrix-derived, integrated, biphasic scaffold and to investigate the regeneration potential of the scaffold loaded with chondrogenically-induced bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in the repair of a large, high-load-bearing, osteochondral defect in a canine model.The biphasic scaffolds were fabricated by combining a decellularization procedure with a freeze-drying technique and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Osteochondral constructs were fabricated in vitro using chondrogenically-induced BMSCs and a biphasic scaffold, then assessed by SEM for cell attachment. Osteochondral defects (4.2 mm (diameter) × 6 mm (depth)) were created in canine femoral condyles and treated with a construct of the biphasic scaffold/chondrogenically-induced BMSCs or with a cell-free scaffold (control group). The repaired defects were evaluated for gross morphology and by histological, biochemical, biomechanical and micro-CT analyses at 3 and 6 months post-implantation.The osteochondral defects of the experimental group showed better repair than those of the control group. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the macroscopic and histologic grading scores of the experimental group were always higher than those of the control group, and that the scores for the experimental group at 6 months were significantly higher than those at 3 months. The cartilage stiffness in the experimental group (6 months) was (6.95 ± 0.79) N/mm, 70.77% of normal cartilage; osteochondral bone stiffness in the experimental group was (158.16± 24.30) N/mm, 74.95% of normal tissue; glycosaminoglycan content of tissue-engineered neocartilage was (218 ± 21.6) µg/mg (dry weight), 84.82% of native cartilage. Micro-CT analysis of the subchondral bone showed mature trabecular bone regularly formed at 3 and 6 months, with no significant difference between the experimental and control groups.The extracellular matrix-derived, integrated, biphasic scaffold shows potential for the repair of large, high-load-bearing osteochondral defects.

To investigate the phenotypic, molecular and biological characteristics of adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) differentiated alonely a Schwann cells (SCs) lineage and to provide a new cells' seed source for nerve tissue engineering or cell therapy.Cultured ADSCs were isolated from SD rats and the undifferentiated ADSCs were confirmed by detection of MSC-specific cell-surface markers. The ADSCs were differentiated along a glial cell lineage using an established cocktail of growth factors. Following differention, we used immunofluorescene staining and RT-PCR to evaluate the characteristics of differentiated WJMSCs.ADSCs were successfully isolated from the rats' fat tissue. The isolated ADSCs expressed CD29, CD90 but not CD34, CD44 nor CD45. Osteogenic differentiation was detected by Alizarin red staining and adipogenic differentiation was comfirmed by Oil-red O staining. ADSCs treated with a mixture of glial growth factors adopted a spindle-like morphology similar to Schwann cells. Immunocytochemical staining and RT-PCR analysis revealed that the treated cells expressed the glial markers S100, P75 and glial fibrillary acidic protein indicative of differentiation.ADSCs can be differentiated into cells that are Schwann-like in terms of morphologic features and phenotype and could be suitable Schwann-cell substitutes for nerve repair in clinical applications.

Peripheral nerve regeneration across large gaps is clinically challenging. Scaffold design plays a pivotal role in nerve tissue engineering. Recently, nanofibrous scaffolds have proven a suitable environment for cell attachment and proliferation due to similarities of their physical properties to natural extracellular matrix. Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) nanofibrous scaffolds have been investigated for vascular tissue engineering. However, no reports exist of PPC nanofibrous scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering. This study aimed to evaluate the potential role of aligned and random PPC nanofibrous scaffolds as substrates for peripheral nerve tissue and cells in nerve tissue engineering.Aligned and random PPC nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning and their chemical characterization were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) from Sprague-Dawley rats were cultured on the nanofibrous substrates for 7 days. Neurite outgrowth and Schwann-cell migration from DRG were observed and quantified using immunocytochemistry and SEM. Schwann cells derived from rat sciatic nerves were cultured in electrospun PPC scaffold-extract fluid for 24, 48, 72 hours and 7 days. The viability of Schwann cells was evaluated by 3-[4,5-dimethyl(thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl] tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.The diameter of aligned and random fibers ranged between 800 nm and 1200 nm, and the thickness of the films was approximately 10 - 20 µm. Quantification of aligned fiber films revealed approximately 90% alignment of all fibers along the longitudinal axis. However, with random fiber films, the alignment of fibers was random through all angle bins. Rat DRG explants were grown on PPC nanofiber films for up to 1 week. On the aligned fiber films, the majority of neurite outgrowth and Schwann cell migration from the DRG extended unidirectionally, parallel to the aligned fibers. However, on the random fiber films, neurite outgrowth and Schwann cell migration were randomly distributed. A comparison of cumulative neurite lengths from cultured DRGs indicated that neurites grew faster on aligned PPC films ((2537.6 ± 987.3) µm) than randomly-distributed fibers ((493.5 ± 50.6) µm). The average distance of Schwann cell migration on aligned PPC nanofibrous films ((2803.5 ± 943.6) µm) were significantly greater than those on random fibers ((625.3 ± 47.8) µm). The viability of Schwann cells cultured in aligned PPC scaffold extract fluid was not significantly different from that in the plain DMEM/F12 medium at all time points after seeding.The aligned PPC nanofibrous film, but not the randomly-oriented fibers, significantly enhanced peripheral nerve regeneration in vitro, indicating the substantial role of topographical cues in stimulating endogenous nerve repair mechanisms. Aligned PPC nanofibrous scaffolds may be a promising biomaterial for nerve regeneration.

To establish a new animal model of osteonecrosis of the femoral head(ONFH) with improved consistency and incidence of femoral head collapse for studies on the mechanism of osteonecrosis. and on the assessment of treatment effectiveness.Twenty adult male emus were used. Guide instrumentation was constructed to position the customized probe just articularly and at the proximal part of the femoral head. An alternating focal liquid nitrogen freezing and radiofrequency heating was applied. At 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks after surgery, hip magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed. Before the emus were sacrificed, barium sulfate was infused to lower extremities for microangiography. The femoral samples were scanned by micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) and evaluated histologically.No bird demonstrated signs of infection or died unexpectedly. Hip MRI showed changes massive edema at the 4th week, increasingly localized abnormal signals at the 8th'" week, and femoral head collapse at the 12'h week. Micro-CT scans and histological images at the 16th week showed human-like osteonecrotic changes with impaired local blood supply. Bone mineral density of the collapsed head was (380. 31 + 28. 12) mg/cm3 and trabecular spaces were (0. 86 ±0.32) mm; both were significantly lower than those in the control side, which were (415.75 41.28) mg/cm3 and (1. 17 ± 0. 17) mm, respectively (P0. 05). Bone volume fraction of the collapsed head was(47.28 ± 17. 14)% and trabecular thickness was (506. 17 ± 220. 58) p.m; both were significantly higher than those at control side, which were (30. 92 ± 4. 01)% and (325. 50 ±44. 53) pm, respectively (P0. 05). The microangiography at the 16th week showed that vessel volume fraction was (0. 315 ± 0. 055)% , which was significantly higher than the collapsed side [ (0. 142 ± 0. 059)% ] (P0. 05).The emu model of fem-oral head osteonecrosis was successfully established using focal alternating cooling and heating insults. The models, with improved consistency and incidence of femoral head collapse, can be used in studies on the mechanism of osteonecrosis and on the assessment of treatment effectiveness.

To develop a novel cartilage ECM-derived porous scaffold (CEDPS) and investigate the attachment, proliferation and distribution of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) cultured in vitro within the scaffolds.Cartilage microfilaments were prepared after pulverization and gradient centrifugation and prepared into suspension after acellularization treatment. The scaffolds were examined by histological staining, scanning electron microscope (SEM), biochemical and biomechanical analysis. After labeling with PKH26, the canine BMSCs were seeded onto the scaffolds. The attachment, proliferation and differentiation of cells were observed by inverted fluorescent microscope and SEM.On histology, most extracellular matrices were retained in the scaffold after the removal of cell fragments. Safranin O staining and immunofluorescence examination with collagen II antibodies provided positive results. Biochemical analysis showed that the collagen content was (708.2 ± 44.7) µg/mg, glycosaminoglycan (254.7 ± 25.9) µg/mg and DNA (0.021 ± 0.007) µg/mg. Mechanical testing showed the compression moduli (E) were (1.226 ± 0.288) and (0.052 ± 0.007) MPa under dry and wet conditions respectively. Inverted fluorescent microscope and SEM showed moderate cell adhesion, chondrocyte-like morphology and matrix synthesis around cells.The CEDPS retains most extracellular matrices after a thorough decellularization so as to possess an excellent microstructure with ideal biomechanical characteristics and a good biocompatibility. Thus it is a suitable candidate as an alternative cell-carrier for cartilage tissue engineering. Chondrogenic BMSCs and CEDPS may be used to construct cartilage-like tissue in vitro.

The projection of regenerating axons and the specificity of motor reinnervation were studied after repair of the transected rat sciatic nerve with Y-tunnelled silicone chambers. This geometry was used experimentally to face either the proximal tibial or peroneal fascicle with two distal fascicular options usually the distal peroneal and tibial fascicle. A 4 mm gap separated the proximal and distal fascicles. Four weeks after the repair, preferential motor reinnervation could be demonstrated and there were always more axons projecting towards the distal homonymous fascicle. In contrast, if the distal stumps were disconnected from the target no fascicle specific projection of axons was observed. This was true even if segments from the median and ulnar nerve were used to replace either the distal tibial or peroneal segments. It appeared as though the size and not the type of fascicle determined the number of attracted axons. The results suggest that there is no fascicle specific guidance of regenerating nerve fibers.

To trace the pathological changes of the cultured autologous chondrocytes mass after implanted in cartilage defects and investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms of the antologous chondrocytes mass transplantation in the repair of cartilage defects.Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits of 4 to 6 month-old and weighing more than 3.0 kg (female and male was unrestricted) were randomly divided into experiment group and the control group. For 12 rabbits of experiment group, the cartilage defects were repaired with the autologous chondrocytes mass and sealed with one piece of periosteum. Firstly, cartilage tissue of 10 to 30 mg was obtained from the shoulder of the rabbits after anaesthetized by 1 mg/kg 20% sumianxin. Then, chondrocytes were isolated from the cartilage tissue with 0.2% type II collagenase digestion and were cultured in DMEM/F-12 supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 50 microg/ml ascorbic acid-2-phosphate, 0.4 mM proline, 5 microg/ml insulin and 1 mM non-essential amino acids (NEAA) in flasks in vitro. The cells were harvested until a thin film of the cells covered the bottom of the flask could be seen with naked eyes. Then the film was collected with a curled glass stick and formed a solid mass. On this time, the animal was anaesthetized again and the full-thickness cartilage square defect of 4.0 mm x 6.0 mm was fabricated in the patellar grove of distal femur, and then the cellular mass was transplanted into the defect covered by one piece of periosteum which obtained from the upper anterior of tibia and sealed with the femoral condyles. For 12 rabbits of the control group, the defects were sealed with one piece of periosteum only. The animals were sacrificed in the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 12th weeks after the operation respectively. The histologic sections were stained with safranin O-fast green, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and picric acid-Sirius red and immunostained for type II collagen and aggrecan.In the 1st week, the transplanted cells oriented to articular surface differentiated to matured hyaline chondrocytes and excrete large amount cartilage matrix. In the 3rd week, the trend was more obvious and the periosteum was union to the cell mass. In the 12th week, the defects were repaired with hyaline-like cartilage tissue, and in the 24th week, the repair tissue turned to matured hyaline cartilage. In the control group, the defects were repaired with fibrocartilage tissues.It was evidenced that the defects were repaired by the autologous chondrocytes mass transplantation. The procedure was gradual and initialed from up toward joint to down to the deep of the defect.

The shortcomings of both the single-epoch Method and the similar single-difference approach for GNSS deformation monitoring are analyzed in this paper, and the dynamic triple-difference (DTD) method, which uses single frequency carrier phase observations of two epochs tracking continuously by triple-difference, is proposed for dynamic deformation estimation of the structural monitoring with single frequency GNSS. The DTD method is characterized by non-ambiguity, smaller relative tropospheric error, the lower accuracy requirements for initial values of reference station and baseline vectors, and without applying the upper-bound restriction to the actual deformation. Thus, it can be anticipated that the DTD method has the advantages over existing methods due to focusing on the dynamic features of real-time structural monitoring. Finally, structural monitoring experiments of the third bridge of Nanjing Yangtze river are implemented to test the performance of the DTD method. It is shown that the natural frequency of the first order vertical bend of the third bridge and its corresponding signal are correctly derived from the dynamic deformation series using the DTD method with the help of both empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and Fourier spectrum analysis.

Poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) with uniform composition was synthesized from acrylic acid and acrylamide by azeotropic copolymerization. The fluorescent properties of the copolymer–Eu3+ or −Tb3+ complexes were investigated. It was found that the fluorescence intensity of the complexes is dependent on the composition of the copolymer. Fluorescence lifetime measurement indicates that Eu3+ or Tb3+ exists in the complexes in at least two coordination forms, and the difference of the nature or relative quantity of the coordination forms varies with the composition of the copolymer. The fluorescence lifetime of Eu3+ or Tb3+ in the complexes is also dependent on the composition of the copolymer. It was also found that intramacromolecular hybrid coordination of oxygen containing and nitrogen containing coordination groups makes Eu3+ or Tb3+ fluoresce more strongly than intermacromolecular hybrid coordination of the two types of coordination groups does.

To introduce a practical, economical, and time-saving method to stain (with osmic acid) the myelin sheath in normal and regenerated peripheral nerves.A total of 12 Sprague Dawley rats, weighing 250-320 g (mean equal to 276 g+/-38 g), were divided into two groups: a normal nerve group (n equal to 6) and a regenerated nerve group (n equal to 6). In the normal nerve group, the ventral and dorsal roots of L(4) to L(6) and their sciatic nerves were harvested for histological analysis. While in the regenerated nerve group, the right sciatic nerves were severed and then repaired with an epineurial microsuture method. The repaired nerves were harvested 12 weeks postoperatively. All the specimens were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and transferred to 2% osmic acid for 3-5 days. Then the specimens were kept in 75% alcohol before being embedded in paraffin. The tissues were cut into sections of 3 micromolar in thickness with a conventional microtome.Under a light microscope, myelin sheaths were clearly visible at all magnifications in both groups. They were stained in clear dark colour with a light yellow or colorless background, which provided high contrast images to allow reliable morphometric measurements. Morphological assessment was made in both normal and regenerated sciatic nerves. The ratios of the myelin area to the fibre area were 60.28%+/-7.66% in the normal nerve group and 51.67%+/-6.85% in the regenerated nerve group, respectively (P less than 0.01).Osmic acid staining is easy to perform and a very clear image for morphometrical assessment is easy to obtain. Therefore, it is a reliable technique for quantitative evaluation of nerve morphology.

To obtain large amount of differentiated chondrocytes in vitro, examine and compare the biological characterization of rabbits' articular chondrocyte cultured in different density in vitvo.From November 2001 to June 2004, articulate tissues were obtained from the joints of the adult rabbits. Chondrocytes were isolated from the cartilage tissue with type II collagenase digestion and cultured in DMEM/F-12 supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS). The chondrocytes were cultured with low density of monolayer culture and high density of confluent culture respectively. The differentiated phenotype was evaluated by histochemistry or immunohistochemistry.When chondrocytes cultured in monolayer and in low density, it proliferated rapidly during the three generations, but with the same time, dedifferentiation was also rapid. After the third passage, most of the passage cells lost the phenotype, and the proliferation also stagnated. While chondrocytes cultured in high density, dedifferentiation slowed down. And even the phenotypes of the dedifferentiated chondrocyte which were cultured in low density could reduced partly by followed high density culture.Culture chondrocytes by high density in vitro can effectively maintain the differentiated phenotype of chondrocyte. It also keeps the proliferation character as monolayer culture. The dedifferentiated chondrocyte caused by many passages could redifferentiate partly. So it is indicated that confluent culture of original or expanded chondrocytes in high density is a better culture methods than culture in low density.

To explore the feasibility of repairing the articular cartilage with allo-articular chondrocytes embedded in alginate gel.Allo-articular chondrocytes were isolated from three adult New zealand rabbits. The cells were cultured in DMEM/F-12 supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Chondrocytes of 2nd - 3rd passage were harvested and were diluted to 5.0 x 10(7) cells/ml with 1.2% alginate. Then alginate gel was formed by 102 mM CaCl(2). The gels were cultured subsequently for 1 week and then transferred to the full-thickness defects in the femoral condyles of adult rabbits. In control group the defects were left untreated. The animals were sacrificed in the 3rd and 6th month after operation respectively. The specimens were decalcified with 50% formic acid. The histologic sections were stained with safranin O-fast green, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and picric acid-Sirius red and immunohisto-stained for type II collagen and aggrecan. The repairing efficiency was evaluated according to Wakitani scoring.In the experiment group all 8 defects acquired repair, 7/8 were repaired with mature hyaline cartilage tissue, and 1/8 was with fibrocartilage tissue for less cell-gel inputted. The thick of repaired tissues were closed to the normal and the tissue integrated smoothly with cartilage around the defects. Safranin O staining of the matrix acted in accordance with the normal and immunostaining for type II collagen and aggrecan showed positive. Picric acid-Sirius red staining showed that the chondrocytes lined in lines and the collagen aligned like Gothic architecture structure by polarization microscopy. There was no evidence of residue of alginate and inflammation in 3rd month specimens and no obvious deterioration at 6th month. But in control group, only a small amount of fibrous, fibrocartilage, or hyaline-like tissue was seen on the surface of the defects. Wakitani scoring showed 1.75 points for the experiment group and 7.65 for the control group.It is a promising way to repair the articular cartilage with homogeneous articular chondrocytes embedded in alginate gel.

To investigate the relationship between immunogenicity and decellularization processes of chemically acellular nerve allografts.Adult Sprague Dawley rats were used as nerve donors and adult male Wistar rats used as nerve recipient hosts. 25 mm nerve segments were excised from SD rats' sciatic nerves. The nerve segments were decellularized via an improved chemical decelluarization treatment as follows: (1) nerve segments were rinsed with cold sterile Ringer's solution; (2) stabilized by pinning the ends to a thin plastic support, and submerged in 4% Triton-100 solution 12 h; (3) soaked into 3% sodium deoxycholate for 12 h; (4) washed in distilled water for 6 h. The procedures were repeated once again. The acellular nerve allografts from SD rats were sterilized by gamma irradiation and implanted into Wistar rats subcutanously. The control group was implantation of fresh nerve allografts from SD rats. The immunogenicity of acellular nerve allograft was tested by immunohistochemical examination of the intensity of CD3(+), CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells that infiltrated the allografts. Ulnar nerve segments were obtained from forearms of dogs and decellularized according to above procedures. According as the decellularization times, The ulnar nerve segments were divided into three subgroups: in group I, group II and group III, the nerve segments were decellularized repeatedly two, three and four cycles respectively. Each ulnar nerve segment was subdivided into five portions from proximal to distal end. The degrees of decellularization, demyelination and basal lamina integrity of extracellular matrix scaffold were observed with microscope and assessed by a score system. The immunohistochemical staining of GAG was observed.The intensity of CD3(+), CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells that infiltrated the allografts was greatly lower in acellular nerves than in fresh nerves. The mild cell-mediated host-graft immunorejection in acellular nerves was observed. On the decellularization procedures, the cells were completely extracted from nerves in all groups, but the myelin sheath were partially existed, and the GAG was present in the basal membrane of myelin sheath. In the score of demyelination, there were no statistical differences between groups (P0.05). The statistical difference of basal lamina integrity scores between group I and group II, group I and group III were significant (P0.05). As increasing the times of process, the degrees of disintegrity of basal lamina was significantly enhanced.Although decellularization processes significantly reduce the cell-mediated immunorejection of acellular nerve allografts, it can induce mild immunoreaction all the same, the antigen that responsible for immunogenicity may be the residual component of GAG in myelin sheath.

Soft tissues of human and animals are composite, typically being made up of the collagen and elastin fibres with high water contents. The strain measurement in soft tissues has proven to be a difficult task. Digital Speckle Method, an optical measurement method combining with computer image processing technique, has many advantages like full-field, non-contact and high measuring accuracy. Two main techniques, the Digital Speckle Correlation Method (DSCM) and Electric Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI), have been developed and applied on many aspects. Using these two methods, the strain measurements caused by the continual deformation of soft tissues under pure tensile loading are completed and presented in this paper. Experiments are performed under the conditions of constant temperature and necessitate humidity with smart sensor. After capture a series of speckle patterns in continual time period, the displacement and strain distribution of soft tissues can be obtained by two improved techniques (Improved DSCM and Time-Sequence ESPI). Thus, the tensile modulus and Poisson ratio of soft tissues will be extracted.

To fabricate biomimetic biphasic calcium phosphate BCP ceramic scaffolds using three-dimensional (3D) gel-lamination technology and evaluated their structure with 3D parameters and related method.Series two-dimensional images of femoral head's specimen of dogs were obtained by micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT). According to these images, porous biomimetic biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) ceramic scaffolds with oriented trabecular structure were fabricated by three-dimensional (3D) gel-lamination technology. And then, the three-dimensional structure of the scaffolds were reconstructed by computer according to Micro-CT images of these scaffolds and evaluated by three-dimensional parameters. These parameters included bone volume fraction (BVF, BV/TV), bone surface/bone volume (BS/BV) ratio, trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp) and structure model index (SMI). The biomechanical properties and biocompatibility of these scaffolds were also evaluated in the study. Six scaffolds, which were combined with BMCs (bone mesenchymal cells, BMCs), were planted into the bone defect of six dogs' femoral head respectively.There was no significant difference between trabecular samples and BCP scaffolds in BV/TV, Tb.Th, Tb.N, and Tb.Pf (P0.05). The trabecular system of the scaffold, which had some orientation, represented plate-like model. With a micro-porous porosity of 62%, the average compressive modulus and ultimate strength along the axis of the scaffolds reached (464.0 +/- 36.0) MPa and (5.6 +/- 0.8) MPa respectively. The results of animal test indicated that the trabeculae of these scaffolds were covered by a layer of new bone after 10 weeks of operation.Porous BCP scaffolds have been produced with oriented microarchitectural features designed to facilitate vascular invasion and cellular attachment and with initial mechanical properties comparable to those of trabecular bone.