基于MRI的绝经后女性腰椎退行性病变程度与骨质疏松的相关性研究

本研究探讨基于磁共振成像(MRI)的绝经后女性腰椎退行性病变程度与骨质疏松的关系。选取经骨密度检查确诊的骨质疏松绝经后女性患者50例为骨质疏松组、非骨质疏松症绝经后妇女50例作为对照组,两组妇女均接受MRI检查。结果显示,骨质疏松组的L1/L2、L2/L3、L3/L4、L4/L5、L1~S1椎间盘Pfirrmann分级评分均高于对照组,差异均具有统计学意义(P<0.05);骨质疏松组患者的腰椎L1/L2、L2/L3、L3/L4、L4/L5、L1~S1之间的BMD与椎间盘Pfirrmann分级评分呈显著的正相关关系(P<0.05);多元线性回归模型结果显示:绝经时间、年龄、腰椎BMD值与患者椎间盘Pfirrmann分级评分呈显著的正相关关系(P<0.05)。绝经后女性采用MRI检查评估的腰椎退行性病变程度Pfirrmann分级评分与骨质疏松程度有关,同时与患者的年龄、绝经时间长度有关。     

Multiple‐Level Porous Polymer Monoliths with Interconnected Cellular Topology Prepared by Combining Hard Sphere and Emulsion Templating for Use in Bone Tissue Engineering

A combination of hard sphere and high internal phase emulsion templating gives a platform for synthesizing hierarchically porous polymers with a unique topology exhibiting interconnected spherical features on multiple levels. Polymeric spheres are fused by thermal sintering to create a 3D monolithic structure while an emulsion with a high proportion of internal phase and monomers in the continuous phase is added to the voids of the previously constructed monolith. Following polymerization of the emulsion and dissolution of the templating structure, a down‐replicating topology is created with a primary level of pores as a result of fused spheres of the 3D monolithic structure, a secondary level of pores resulting from the emulsion's internal phase, and a tertiary level of interconnecting channels. Thiol‐ene chemistry with divinyladipate and pentaerythritol tetrakis(3‐mercaptopropionate) is used to demonstrate the preparation of a crosslinked polyester with overall porosity close to 90%. Due to multilevel porosity, such materials are interesting for applications in bone tissue engineering, possibly simulating the native sponge like bone structure. Their potential to promote ossteointegration is tested using human bone derived osteoblasts. Material–cell interactions are evaluated and they reveal growth and proliferation of osteoblasts both on surface and in the bulk of the scaffold.     

固体力学跨尺度计算若干问题研究

本文展示了固体力学领域跨尺度计算的若干问题和研究概况。（1）建立位错动力学与有限元耦合DDD-FEM的计算模型,实现了能够基于纳米尺度离散位错运动机制计算分析连续介质有限变形晶体塑性问题,提出微纳尺度（200 nm~10 μm）晶体塑性流动应力解析公式,结合试验数据揭示了在无应变梯度下强度和变形的尺寸效应;（2）建立具有微相分离结构的纳米尺度粗粒化分子动力学模型CG-MD,计算获得聚脲材料在时域和频域下的存储模量和损耗模量,通过动态加载分析的DMA试验和超声波试验的数据验证,解决了连续介质尺度下微相分离高分子共聚物的设计难题;（3）通过数据驱动关联高分辨率的微米尺度CT影像和临床低分辨率的毫米尺度CT影像的特征值,建立了围关节松质骨小梁的等效模量和结构张量,为骨组织增材制造点阵结构设计和实现个性化骨缺损重建奠定了基础。     

拉曼光谱在骨组织研究中的应用

拉曼光谱具有快速、无损、能同时提供无机和有机成分信息,包括矿物晶格和胶原蛋白二级结构信息等特点,在骨组织研究中有着重要应用。本文结合本课题组工作,对骨组织的光谱背景处理、拉曼光谱在骨的力学性能、骨科疾病、成像研究以及活体检测等方面的应用进行了综述。     

Biological Activity of an Injectable Biphasic Calcium Phosphate/PMMA Bone Cement for Induced Osteogensis in Rabbit Model

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement is widely used in repair of vertebral fracture because of its good biomechanical properties and fast curing. However, the bioinertness of PMMA cement may cause interfacial loosening, fatigue, fracture, and ultimate failure. In this study, biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) is introduced into PMMA cement to prepare an injectable composite bone cement (BCP_x/PMMA) and the content of BCP is optimized to achieve appropriate rate of absorption that matches the bone regeneration. The compressive strength of BCP_x/PMMA bone cement is found to comply with the International Standardization Organization standard 5833, and can promote biomineralization as well as adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of Sprague‐Dawley rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. Furthermore, in vivo test performed on a rabbit radius defect model demonstrates that the presence of BCP can significantly improve the osteogenic efficacy of PMMA cement. Therefore, it is anticipated that BCP_x/PMMA bone cement, as a promising injectable biomaterial, is of great potential in bone tissue regeneration.     

Optimal internal architectures of femoral bone based on relaxation by homogenization and isotropic material design

The influence of the loading conditions on the trabecular architecture of a femur is investigated by using topology optimization methods. The response of the bone to physiological loads results in changes of the internal architecture of bone, reflected by a modification of internal effective density and mechanical properties. The homogenization based optimization model is developed for predicting optimal bone density distribution, wherein bone tissue is assumed to be a composite material consisting of a mixture of material and void. The homogenization scheme treats the geometric parameters of the microstructures and their orientation as design variables and homogenizes the properties in that microstructure, which is generally anisotropic. The penalization of the optimal material density then leads to a classical optimal structure which consists of regions with bone material and regions without bone material. The IMD (Isotropic Material Design) approach is next applied to determine the optimal elasticity tensor in terms of the bulk and shear moduli for the present loading applied to the femoral bone sample. IMD is able to provide both the external shape and topology together with the optimal layout of the isotropic moduli. Both topology optimization methods appear to be complementary. Simulations of the internal bone architecture of the human proximal femur results in a density distribution pattern with good consistency with that of the real bone.     

Intramarrow injection of β-catenin-activated,but not na?ve mesenchymal stromal cells stimulates self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow

Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been implicated in the microenvironmental support of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and often co-transplanted with HSCs to facilitate recovery of ablated bone marrows. However, the precise effect of transplanted MSCs on HSC regeneration remains unclear because the kinetics of HSC self-renewal in vivo after co-transplantation has not been monitored. In this study, we examined the effects of intrafemoral injection of MSCs on HSC self-renewal in rigorous competitive repopulating unit (CRU) assays using congenic transplantation models in which stromal progenitors (CFU-F) were ablated by irradiation. Interestingly, naïve MSCs injected into femur contributed to the reconstitution of a stromal niche in the ablated bone marrows, but did not exert a stimulatory effect on the in-vivo self-renewal of co-transplanted HSCs regardless of the transplantation methods. In contrast, HSC self-renewal was four-fold higher in bone marrows intrafemorally injected with β-catenin-activated MSCs. These results reveal that naïve MSCs lack a stimulatory effect on HSC self-renewal in-vivo and that stroma must be activated during recoveries of bone marrows. Stromal targeting of wnt/β-catenin signals may be a strategy to activate such a stem cell niche for efficient regeneration of bone marrow HSCs.     

网络驱动的未识甲骨字特性及场景语义预测

甲骨学的研究具有重要的文化价值和传承意义，可以极大提高国家的文化自信。未识甲骨字的语义预测是甲骨学研究中最主要的问题，也是传统甲骨学研究中最棘手的问题。现有的计算机技术辅助研究方法无法预测未识甲骨字的语义。利用复杂网络对甲骨文进行了抽象和理解，并对未识甲骨字的场景语义进行预测。首先，以甲骨拓片为基础数据，通过建模构建甲骨字网络；其次，在甲骨字网络之上，分析未识甲骨字的重要性、信息丰富度、闭合性等特性，为预测未识甲骨字的场景语义提供理论依据；最后，根据网络特性和甲骨拓片的上下文语境预测未识甲骨字的场景语义。构建的未识甲骨字特性体系以及预测未识甲骨字的场景语义思路为破译其他未识甲骨字的语义奠定了基础，有助于推动甲骨文考释的进程。     

Fabrication of chitosan/collagen/hydroxyapatite scaffolds with encapsulated Cissus quadrangularis extract

Here, we demonstrated the fabrication of a composite scaffold (chitosan [CS], collagen [Col], and hydroxyapatite [HA]) with the incorporation of encapsulated Cissus quadrangularis (CQ) extract for tissue engineering applications. First, the crude extract of CQ loaded nanoparticles were synthesized via double emulsion technique using polycaprolactone (PCL) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as oil and aqueous phases, respectively. Both PCL (20, 40, and 80 mg/mL) and PVA (0.5%, 1%, and 3% w/v) concentrations were varied to determine the optimum concentrations for CQ‐loaded nanoparticle preparation. The CQ‐loaded PCL nanoparticles (CQ‐PCL NPs), prepared with 20 mg/mL PCL and 0.5% (w/v) PVA, exhibited the smallest size of 334.22 ± 43.21 nm with 95.54 ± 1.49% encapsulation efficiency. Then, the CQ‐PCL NPs were incorporated into the CS/Col/HA scaffolds. These scaffolds were also studied for their ultrastructure, pore sizes, chemical composition, compressive modulus, water swelling, weight loss, and biocompatibility. The results showed that the addition of CQ‐PCL NPs into the scaffolds did not dramatically alter the ultrastructure and properties of the scaffolds, compared to CS/Col/HA scaffolds alone. However, incorporation of CQ‐PCL NPs in the scaffolds improved the release profile of CQ by preventing the initial burst release and prolonging the release rate of CQ. In addition, the CQ‐PCL NPs‐loaded CS/Col/HA scaffolds supported the attachment and proliferation of MC3T3‐E1 osteoblast cells.