Mechanical testing of articular cartilage yields highly variable results, posing challenges for tissue characterization. Many factors cause variability, one is sample geometry. Using in-situ phase-contrast enhanced synchrotron micro-tomographs of cartilage samples while tested in unconfined compression (stress relaxation) our group found high variability in the mechanical response. Since all samples originated from a single bovine knee, they were assumed to share mechanical properties. Microscale tomography images showed geometric irregularities in samples that were not accounted for in the often assumed intended cylindrical shape. We aimed to determine the influence of sample shape on mechanical response in unconfined compression and how sample geometry affects identified mechanical properties. Using a parametric FE model incorporating geometric irregularities in a Design of Experiments approach, results were analysed with 2-way ANOVA. Furthermore, a material parameter fitting was done with multiple segmented sample-specific finite element models simultaneously to assess the influence of sample geometry on material parameters. Results revealed that the average inclined sample surface (4°) caused a 15 % decrease in reaction forces compared to the intended cylinder. Fitting multiple sample-specific geometries simultaneously altered material parameters between -70 to +159 % compared to the average model. Strikingly, initial fibril stiffness and permeability increased by 137 % and 159 %, while the root-mean-square error of the fit was reduced by ∼2/3 compared to using parameters from a cylindrical shape model. In conclusion, minor variability in sample geometry affects property characterization and can account for some of the inter-sample variability in the mechanical data for cartilage.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112323 | DOI Listing |
Cancers (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Medical and Surgical Specialities, Radiological Sciences and Public Health (DSMC), University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
Successful surgical outcomes in head and neck cancer depend on the accurate identification of resection margins. Effective communication between surgeons and pathologists is critical, but is often jeopardised by challenges in sampling and orienting anatomically complex specimens. This pilot study aims to evaluate the use of 3D scanning of surgical specimens as a tool to improve communication and optimise the pathology sampling process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Geology, College of Applied and Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Coal is a critical energy resource for global industries, and its extraction from open-pit mines requires effective slope stability management to ensure safe and efficient operations. This study evaluates the slope stability of the Tolay open-pit coal mine in Ethiopia, located in the Jimma zone, where geological conditions, including basalt, mudstone, and weathered soil layers, influence slope behaviour. The primary objective was to assess slope stability and recommend optimization strategies for safer mining.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCalcif Tissue Int
January 2025
Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, (FADEUP), Rua Dr. Plácido Costa 91, 4200-450, Porto, Portugal.
Swimming is a popular sport with several health benefits, but its effects on bone quality are controversial possibly due to distinct effects on different anatomical regions. Our aim was to investigate the effect of 8-month swimming on bone growth, mass, geometry, trabecular microarchitecture and osteocyte density of the lumbar vertebrae, femur and tibia of male rats. Wistar rat models were assigned to either a swimming (n = 10; 2h/d, 5 d/week) or a physically active control group (n = 10) for 8 months, after which they were sacrificed and their lumbar vertebrae, femur and tibia assessed for bone mass, cortical geometry, trabecular microarchitecture and osteocyte density through µ-CT and histology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnal Chim Acta
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Jilin Province Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Chemical Power, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, Jilin, China; School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, Anhui, China. Electronic address:
Background: Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a kind of scanning probe technology that enables the obtainment of surface morphology and electrochemical information by recording changes in Faraday current triggered by the movement of probe.
Results: In this work, flexible disk ultramicroelectrode (UME) with highly repeatable geometry are fabricated through a simple and universal strategy that involves vacuum pulling the glass capillaries inserted with platinum wire (gold wire, carbon fiber, etc.), followed by a rapidly heated sealing and polishing process.
J Neural Eng
January 2025
Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Universidad Nacional de San Martin Escuela de Ciencia Y Tecnologia, 25 de Mayo y Francia, San Martín, Buenos Aires, 1650, ARGENTINA.
Objective Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI) and other neuroimaging techniques are routinely used in medical diagnosis, cognitive neuroscience or recently in brain decoding. They produce three- or four-dimensional scans reflecting the geometry of brain tissue or activity, which is highly correlated temporally and spatially. While there exist numerous theoretically guided methods for analyzing correlations in one-dimensional data, they often cannot be readily generalized to the multidimensional geometrically embedded setting.
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