Activity of upper-limb muscles during therapeutic climbing: a cross-sectional comparison between fractured and healthy individuals.

Background: Therapeutic climbing (TC) is an emerging physical therapy with demonstrated benefits for musculoskeletal rehabilitation, but its impact on upper-limb muscle activity remains unclear. Existing research predominantly focuses on healthy individuals, leaving muscle recruitment strategies in patients with upper-limb injuries largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate upper-limb muscle activity in patients with unilateral upper-limb injuries and healthy individuals across six TC exercises.

Machine learning based finite element analysis for personalized prediction of pressure injury risk in patients with spinal cord injury.

Background And Objective: Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), are prone to pressure injury (PI) in the soft tissues of buttocks. Early prediction of PI holds the potential to reduce the occurrence and progression of PI. This study proposes a machine learning model to predict soft tissue stress/strain and evaluate PI risk in SCI patients.

Mechanical impact of regional structural deterioration and tissue-level compensation on proximal femur trabecular bone.

Introduction: Osteoporosis-induced changes in bone structure and composition significantly reduce bone strength, particularly in the human proximal femur. This study examines how these changes affect the mechanical performance of trabecular bone to enhance diagnosis, prevention, and treatment strategies.

Methods: A proximal femur sample was scanned using micro-CT at 40 μm resolution.

Grassland degraded patchiness reduces microbial necromass content but increases contribution to soil organic carbon accumulation.

Plant and microbially derived carbon (C) are the two major sources of soil organic carbon (SOC), and their ratio impacts SOC composition, accumulation, stability, and turnover. The contributions of and the key factors defining the plant and microbial C in SOC with grassland patches are not well known. Here, we aim to address this issue by analyzing lignin phenols, amino sugars, glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP), enzyme activities, particulate organic carbon (POC), and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC).

A biomechanical evaluation of firefighters' musculoskeletal loads when carrying self-contained breathing apparatus in walking and running.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal loading data are needed to design ergonomic intervention for firefighters. This study aimed to quantify the firefighters' musculoskeletal loads during self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) carriage and evaluate the effectiveness of shoulder strap length variation for the prevention of SCBA-related injuries.

Method: Twelve firefighters (height: 174.

Hybrid lithium tantalite-silicon integrated photonics platform for electro-optic modulation.

Integrated electro-optic modulators are key components in photonic integrated circuits. Silicon photonic technology is considered to be promising for large-scale and low-cost integration. However, silicon does not exhibit any Pockels effect, and the electro-optic modulator based on free-carrier dispersion suffers from challenges such as high-power consumption, limited bandwidth, and large optical propagation loss.

Afforestation increased the microbial necromass carbon accumulation in deep soil on the Loess Plateau.

Microbial necromass carbon (MNC) is a stable part of SOC that makes up most of the C pool in land ecosystem. However, the contribution of MNC to SOC accumulation during afforestation is still unclear, particularly in the deep soil. Based on the collection and biomarker analysis of the forest succession sequence and soil profiles with significant depth on the Loess Plateau located China, we study the vertical distribution characteristics and control of MNC.

Bovine pericardium leaflet damage during transcatheter aortic valve crimping: a study of the mechanisms.

Leaflet damage has been documented to occur while deploying a transcatheter aortic valve (TAV) due to mechanical loads during the crimping procedures. In this study, the impact of compressive stress on folded leaflets was measured to investigate the mechanism of traumatic leaflet tissue damage. Numerical simulation of TAV crimping procedure was adapted to calculate stress magnitude and distribution of leaflets.

Microstructural and mechanical evaluations of region segmentation methods in classifications of osteonecrosis.

Measuring the location of necrotic lesions is necessary to diagnosis of osteonecrosis. Different region segmentation methods of the femoral head were proposed to quantitatively measure necrotic lesions including Japanese Investigation Committee for Avascular Necrosis (JIC) classification and China-Japan Friendship Hospital (CJFH) classification. Biomechanical methods could bring important information to evaluate the reasonability of these classifications.

Idealized conductance: A new method to evaluate stiffness of trabecular bone.

Stiffness is an important parameter to evaluate the condition of trabecular bone in biomechanical and clinical research. Microstructural parameters are commonly used to evaluate stiffness, but the accuracy needs to be improved. In this study, the electrical conductance of trabecular bone was calculated based on an idealized condition: trabeculae were electrically conductive and isotropy, other constituents in the trabecular bone were not considered in the simulation.

Numerical simulation of haemodynamics and low-density lipoprotein transport in the rabbit aorta and their correlation with atherosclerotic plaque thickness.

Two mechanisms of shear stress and mass transport have been recognized to play an important role in the development of localized atherosclerosis. However, their relationship and roles in atherogenesis are still obscure. It is necessary to investigate quantitatively the correlation among low-density lipoproteins (LDL) transport, haemodynamic parameters and plaque thickness.

Effects of different fluid shear stress patterns on the in vitro degradation of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) acid membranes.

The applications of poly (lactide-co-glycolide) acid (PLGA) for coating or fabricating polymeric biodegradable stents (BDSs) have drawn more attention. The fluid shear stress has been proved to affect the in vitro degradation process of PLGA membranes. During the maintenance, BDSs could be suffered different patterns of fluid shear stress, but the effect of these different patterns on the whole degradation process is unclear.

Hydrolytic Amino Acids Employed as a Novel Organic Nitrogen Source for the Preparation of PGPF-Containing Bio-Organic Fertilizer for Plant Growth Promotion and Characterization of Substance Transformation during BOF Production.

Opportunity costs seriously limit the large-scale production of bio-organic fertilizers (BOFs) both in China and internationally. This study addresses the utilization of amino acids resulting from the acidic hydrolysis of pig corpses as organic nitrogen sources to increase the density of TrichodermaharzianumT-E5 (a typical plant growth-promoting fungi, PGPF). This results in a novel, economical, highly efficient and environmentally friendly BOF product.

Biomechanism of impact resistance in the woodpecker's head and its application.

The woodpecker does not suffer head/eye impact injuries while drumming on a tree trunk with high acceleration (more than 1000×g) and high frequency. The mechanism that protects the woodpecker's head has aroused the interest of ornithologists, biologists and scientists in the areas of mechanical engineering, material science and electronics engineering. This article reviews the literature on the biomechanisms and materials responsible for protecting the woodpecker from head impact injury and their applications in engineering and human protection.