Small Noncoding RNAs in Knee Osteoarthritis: The Role of MicroRNAs and tRNA-Derived Fragments

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative knee joint disease that results from the breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone, affecting about 3.3% of the world’s population. As OA is a multifactorial disease, the underlying pathological process is closely associated with genetic changes in articular cartilage and bone. Many studies have focused on the role of small noncoding RNAs in OA and identified numbers of microRNAs that play important roles in regulating bone and cartilage homeostasis. The connection between other types of small noncoding RNAs, especially tRNA-derived fragments and knee osteoarthritis is still elusive. The observation that there is limited information about small RNAs different than miRNAs in knee OA was very surprising to us, especially given the fact that tRNA fragments are known to participate in a plethora of human diseases and a portion of them are even more abundant than miRNAs. Inspired by these findings, in this review we have summarized the possible involvement of microRNAs and tRNA-derived fragments in the pathology of knee osteoarthritis.     

配置500 MPa纵筋钢筋混凝土框架顶层端节点抗震性能试验研究

按照《混凝土结构设计规范》(GB 50010—2010)设计了6个配置500 MPa纵筋的钢筋混凝土框架顶层端节点,并进行了低周反复加载抗震性能试验,验证了规范规定的抗震措施对配置500 MPa钢筋的顶层端节点的有效性,分析了配置500 MPa级钢筋的顶层端节点的受力特点、节点区的破坏形态以及节点的综合抗震性能,并与受力条件基本相同的配置HRB335级纵筋节点的受力性能进行了对比,对采用不同延性指标评价配置不同强度钢筋节点的延性性能差异进行了讨论。     

Design and control of a planar bipedal robot ERNIE with parallel knee compliance

This paper presents the development of the planar bipedal robot ERNIE as well as numerical and experimental studies of the influence of parallel knee joint compliance on the energetic efficiency of walking in ERNIE. ERNIE has 5 links—a torso, two femurs and two tibias—and is configured to walk on a treadmill so that it can walk indefinitely in a confined space. Springs can be attached across the knee joints in parallel with the knee actuators. The hybrid zero dynamics framework serves as the basis for control of ERNIE’s walking. In the investigation of the effects of compliance on the energetic efficiency of walking, four cases were studied: one without springs and three with springs of different stiffnesses and preloads. It was found that for low-speed walking, the addition of soft springs may be used to increase energetic efficiency, while stiffer springs decrease the energetic efficiency. For high-speed walking, the addition of either soft or stiff springs increases the energetic efficiency of walking, while stiffer springs improve the energetic efficiency more than do softer springs. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

虚拟膝关节手术中的实时大范围形变方法

虚拟膝关节手术过程中要求对膝关节3D几何模型进行实时的大范围形变,而形变的特点,包括总体轮廓、细节保持、实时性、平滑性以及拓扑性等都影响到它的真实感。针对膝关节3D模型得到了一种新的形变方法,根据模型的横截面构建出模型的骨架,并利用柱坐标的变换来实现大范围形变,使形变能保持良好的局部细节特征,算法能满足虚拟手术的实时性和真实感的要求。该方法也能推广应用于其他类似的关节弯曲运动的实时变形。     

虚拟膝关节镜手术中保持单元质量的体网格形变方法

在虚拟膝关节手术中,需要对膝关节进行大范围形变的实时模拟。本文针对四面体网格的膝关节模型,提出了采用LSD度量建立形变能量,然后将带约束的最优化问题转化为不带约束的最优化问题,最后通过带Armijo线性查找的非精确牛顿法求解最优化问题。在求解过程中,通过预估未知点的位置,减少迭代步数,提高了算法的效率。这种方法具有较好的保体积性,同时保证形变后的四面体网格不出现体元翻转和退化。该方法也能推广应用于其它类似的关节弯曲运动的变形中。     

Biologically inspired design of a parallel actuated humanoid robot

This paper presents the comparison for the role of bi-articular and mono-articular actuators in human and bipedal robot legs, in particular the hip and knee joint, for driving the design of a humanoid robot with inspirations from the biological system. The various constraints driving the design of both systems are also compared. Additional factors particular to robotic system are identified and incorporated in the design process. To do this, a dynamic simulation is used to determine loading conditions and the forces and power produced by each actuator under various arrangements. It is shown that while the design principles of humans and humanoids are similar, other constraints ensure that robots are still merely inspired by humans, and not direct copies. A simple design methodology that captures the complexity and constraints of such a system in this paper is proposed. Finally, a full-size humanoid robot that demonstrates the newfound principle is highlighted.     

Predicting Interfacial Loads between the Prosthetic Socket and the Residual Limb for Below-Knee Amputees – A Case Study

Abstract:  In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) was deployed as a tool to determine the internal loads between the residual limb and prosthetic socket for below-knee amputees. This was achieved by using simulated load data to validate the ANN and captured clinical load data to predict the internal loads at the residual limb–socket interface. Load/pressure was applied to 16 regions of the socket, using loading pads in conjunction with a load applicator, and surface strains were collected using 15 strain gauge rosettes. A super-position program was utilised to generate training and testing patterns from the original load/strain data collected. Using this data, a back-propagation ANN, developed at the University of the West of England, was trained. The input to the trained network was the surface strains and the output the internal loads/pressure. The system was validated and the mean square error (MSE) of the system was found to be 8.8% for 1000 training patterns and 8.9% for 50 testing patterns, which was deemed an acceptable error. Finally, the validated system was used to predict pressure-sensitive/-tolerant regions at the limb–socket interface with great success.     

Accurate bone registration in knee MR images

Changes of the cartilage morphology over time can tell the progression of osteoarthritis (OA) and show particular promise for evaluating the efficacy of disease-modifying OA drugs. Hence, cartilage matching is required prior to cartilage morphology comparison. An accurate cartilage matching allows one to ensure longitudinal focal and local changes of cartilage morphology due to OA. The method described in this article meets this need. The proposed method consists of three steps. First, the knee femur surfaces are aligned, using the principal axes transformation to correct for different knee joint positions and orientations in the magnetic resonance (MR) scanner. Second, we present a global registration algorithm based on Lipschitz optimization theory for accurately identifying the corresponding points of the knee femur surface. Third, the rigid transformation of the knee femur surface registration is applied to the cartilage surface. Our registration algorithm is efficient and robust, and its performance is evaluated on MR images of pig knees.     

Testosterone Reduces Knee Passive Range of Motion and Expression of Relaxin Receptor Isoforms via 5α-Dihydrotestosterone and Androgen Receptor Binding

Ovarian steroids such as estrogen and progesterone have been reported to influence knee laxity. The effect of testosterone, however, remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of testosterone on the knee range of motion (ROM) and the molecular mechanisms that might involve changes in the expression of relaxin receptor isoforms, Rxfp1 and Rxfp2 in the patella tendon and lateral collateral ligament of the female rat knee. Ovariectomized adult female Wistar rats received three days treatment with peanut oil (control), testosterone (125 and 250 μg/kg) and testosterone (125 and 250 μg/kg) plus flutamide, an androgen receptor blocker or finasteride, a 5α-reductase inhibitor. Duplicate groups received similar treatment however in the presence of relaxin (25 ng/kg). A day after the last drug injection, knee passive ROM was measured by using a digital miniature goniometer. Both tendon and ligament were harvested and then analysed for protein and mRNA expression for Rxfp1 and Rxfp2 respectively. Knee passive ROM, Rxfp1 and Rxfp2 expression were significantly reduced following treatment with testosterone. Flutamide or finasteride administration antagonized the testosterone effect. Concomitant administration of testosterone and relaxin did not result in a significant change in knee ROM as compared to testosterone only treatment; however this was significantly increased following flutamide or finasteride addition. Testosterone effect on knee passive ROM is likely mediated via dihydro-testosterone (DHT), and involves downregulation of Rxfp1 and Rxfp2 expression, which may provide the mechanism underlying testosterone-induced decrease in female knee laxity.     

On the influence of shape and material used for the femoral component pegs in knee prostheses for reducing the problem of aseptic loosening

The integration of materials selection and design are essential to the success of new product development, especially when applied to biomedical devices. The knee prosthesis, like any other implant, is a product that still lacks satisfactory design solutions for solving the problem of aseptic loosening. Stress shielding is one of the main causes of aseptic loosening that is intimately related to the overall design of the knee prosthesis. The design of the location pegs in the femoral component of the knee prosthesis is seen to have a critical effect on the stress shielding. In this study, therefore, different combinations of location peg geometries and material designs were assessed using finite element analyses in conjunction with a design of experiments procedure. The materials considered were Co–Cr alloy (as reference material) and functionally graded material (FGM) for the main body of the femoral component, and various porous materials for the pegs (as promising new materials). The performance outputs (responses) were stress levels in the femoral bone to assess the stress shielding effect, and stress levels in the pegs to assess adequate peg strength. The result revealed conflicts in satisfying the design objectives. Therefore, a multi-objective optimization was carried out to find the optimal geometries of the pegs for the femoral component. Based on the findings of the optimization process, a set of candidate designs was generated and a multi-criteria decision making approach used to obtain the final ranking of candidate designs. The ranking order demonstrated the superiority of using a FGM femoral component with porous material pegs of conical geometry. By comparing the results with the standard Co–Cr design, it was shown that the new design of pegs can significantly increase the magnitude of stresses seen at the distal femur; hence reduce the stress shielding effect, without over compromising on the strength of the pegs.