3D Morphometric and Posture Study of Felid Scapulae Using Statistical Shape Modelling

We present a three dimensional (3D) morphometric modelling study of the scapulae of Felidae, with a focus on the correlations between forelimb postures and extracted scapular shape variations. Our shape modelling results indicate that the scapular infraspinous fossa becomes larger and relatively broader along the craniocaudal axis in larger felids. We infer that this enlargement of the scapular fossa may be a size-related specialization for postural support of the shoulder joint

A novel miniature in-line load-cell to measure in-situ tensile forces in the tibialis anterior tendon of rats.

Direct measurements of muscular forces usually require a substantial rearrangement of the biomechanical system. To circumvent this problem, various indirect techniques have been used in the past. We introduce a novel direct method, using a lightweight (~0.5 g) miniature (3 x 3 x 7 mm) in-line load-cell to measure tension in the tibialis anterior tendon of rats. A linear motor was used to produce force-profiles to assess linearity, step-response, hysteresis and frequency behavior under controlled conditions. Sensor responses to a series of rectangular force-pulses correlated linearly (R2 = 0.999) within the range of 0-20 N. The maximal relative error at full scale (20 N) was 0.07% of the average measured signal. The standard deviation of the mean response to repeated 20 N force pulses was ± 0.04% of the mean response. The step-response of the load-cell showed the behavior of a PD2T2-element in control-engineering terminology. The maximal hysteretic error was 5.4% of the full-scale signal. Sinusoidal signals were attenuated maximally (-4 dB) at 200 Hz, within a measured range of 0.01-200 Hz. When measuring muscular forces this should be of minor concern as the fusion-frequency of muscles is generally much lower. The newly developed load-cell measured tensile forces of up to 20 N, without inelastic deformation of the sensor. It qualifies for various applications in which it is of interest directly to measure forces within a particular tendon causing only minimal disturbance to the biomechanical system

Murine Axial Compression Tibial Loading Model to Study Bone Mechanobiology:Implementing the Model and Reporting Results

In vivo tibial loading in mice is increasingly used to study bone adaptation and mechanotransduction. To achieve standardized and defined experimental conditions, loading parameters and animal-related factors must be considered when performing in vivo loading studies. In this review we discuss these loading and animal-related experimental conditions, present methods to assess bone adaptation, and suggest reporting guidelines. This review originated from presentations by each of the authors at the workshop “Developing Best Practices for Mouse Models of In Vivo Loading” during the Preclinical Models Section at the Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2017. Following the meeting, the authors engaged in detailed discussions with consideration of relevant literature. The guidelines and recommendations in this review are provided to help researchers perform in vivo loading experiments in mice, and thus further our knowledge of bone adaptation and the mechanisms involved in mechanotransduction

Whole Body Mechanics of Stealthy Walking in Cats

The metabolic cost associated with locomotion represents a significant part of an animal's metabolic energy budget. Therefore understanding the ways in which animals manage the energy required for locomotion by controlling muscular effort is critical to understanding limb design and the evolution of locomotor behavior. The assumption that energetic economy is the most important target of natural selection underlies many analyses of steady animal locomotion, leading to the prediction that animals will choose gaits and postures that maximize energetic efficiency. Many quadrupedal animals, particularly those that specialize in long distance steady locomotion, do in fact reduce the muscular contribution required for walking by adopting pendulum-like center of mass movements that facilitate exchange between kinetic energy (KE) and potential energy (PE) [1]–[4]. However, animals that are not specialized for long distance steady locomotion may face a more complex set of requirements, some of which may conflict with the efficient exchange of mechanical energy. For example, the “stealthy” walking style of cats may demand slow movements performed with the center of mass close to the ground. Force plate and video data show that domestic cats (Felis catus, Linnaeus, 1758) have lower mechanical energy recovery than mammals specialized for distance. A strong negative correlation was found between mechanical energy recovery and diagonality in the footfalls and there was also a negative correlation between limb compression and diagonality of footfalls such that more crouched postures tended to have greater diagonality. These data show a previously unrecognized mechanical relationship in which crouched postures are associated with changes in footfall pattern which are in turn related to reduced mechanical energy recovery. Low energy recovery was not associated with decreased vertical oscillations of the center of mass as theoretically predicted, but rather with posture and footfall pattern on the phase relationship between potential and kinetic energy. An important implication of these results is the possibility of a tradeoff between stealthy walking and economy of locomotion. This potential tradeoff highlights the complex and conflicting pressures that may govern the locomotor choices that animals make

Exotendons for assistance of human locomotion

BACKGROUND: Powered robotic exoskeletons for assistance of human locomotion are currently under development for military and medical applications. The energy requirements for such devices are excessive, and this has become a major obstacle for practical applications. Legged locomotion in many animals, however, is very energy efficient. We propose that poly-articular elastic mechanisms are a major contributor to the economy of locomotion in such specialized animals. Consequently, it should be possible to design unpowered assistive devices that make effective use of similar mechanisms. METHODS: A passive assistive technology is presented, based on long elastic cords attached to an exoskeleton and guided by pulleys placed at the joints. A general optimization procedure is described for finding the best geometrical arrangement of such "exotendons" for assisting a specific movement. Optimality is defined either as minimal residual joint moment or as minimal residual joint power. Four specific exotendon systems with increasing complexity are considered. Representative human gait data were used to optimize each of these four systems to achieve maximal assistance for normal walking. RESULTS: The most complex exotendon system, with twelve pulleys per limb, was able to reduce the joint moments required for normal walking by 71% and joint power by 74%. A simpler system, with only three pulleys per limb, could reduce joint moments by 46% and joint power by 47%. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that unpowered passive elastic devices can substantially reduce the muscle forces and the metabolic energy needed for walking, without requiring a change in movement. When optimally designed, such devices may allow independent locomotion in patients with large deficits in muscle function

Three-Dimensional Geometric Analysis of Felid Limb Bone Allometry

Studies of bone allometry typically use simple measurements taken in a small number of locations per bone; often the midshaft diameter or joint surface area is compared to body mass or bone length. However, bones must fulfil multiple roles simultaneously with minimum cost to the animal while meeting the structural requirements imposed by behaviour and locomotion, and not exceeding its capacity for adaptation and repair. We use entire bone volumes from the forelimbs and hindlimbs of Felidae (cats) to investigate regional complexities in bone allometry.Computed tomographic (CT) images (16435 slices in 116 stacks) were made of 9 limb bones from each of 13 individuals of 9 feline species ranging in size from domestic cat (Felis catus) to tiger (Panthera tigris). Eleven geometric parameters were calculated for every CT slice and scaling exponents calculated at 5% increments along the entire length of each bone. Three-dimensional moments of inertia were calculated for each bone volume, and spherical radii were measured in the glenoid cavity, humeral head and femoral head. Allometry of the midshaft, moments of inertia and joint radii were determined. Allometry was highly variable and related to local bone function, with joint surfaces and muscle attachment sites generally showing stronger positive allometry than the midshaft.Examining whole bones revealed that bone allometry is strongly affected by regional variations in bone function, presumably through mechanical effects on bone modelling. Bone's phenotypic plasticity may be an advantage during rapid evolutionary divergence by allowing exploitation of the full size range that a morphotype can occupy. Felids show bone allometry rather than postural change across their size range, unlike similar-sized animals

Long necks enhance and constrain foraging capacity in aquatic vertebrates

Highly specialized diving birds display substantial dichotomy in neck length with, for example, cormorants and anhingas having extreme necks, while penguins and auks have minimized necks. We attached acceleration loggers to Imperial cormorants Phalacrocorax atriceps and Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus, both foraging in waters over the Patagonian Shelf, to examine the difference in movement between their respective heads and bodies in an attempt to explain this dichotomy. The penguins had head and body attitudes and movements that broadly concurred throughout all phases of their dives. By contrast, although the cormorants followed this pattern during the descent and ascent phases of dives, during the bottom (foraging) phase of the dive, the head angle differed widely from that of the body and its dynamism (measured using vectorial dynamic acceleration) was over four times greater. A simple model indicated that having the head on an extended neck would allow these cormorants to half the energy expenditure that they would expend if their body moved in the way their heads did. This apparently energy-saving solution is likely to lead to greater heat loss though and would seem tenable in slow-swimming species because the loss of streamlining that it engenders would make it detrimental for fast-swimming taxa such as penguins.Fil: Wilson, Rory P.. Swansea University; Reino UnidoFil: Gómez Laich, Agustina Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Sala, Juan Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Dell´Omo, Giacomo. Ornis Italica; ItaliaFil: Holton, Mark. Swansea University; Reino UnidoFil: Quintana, Flavio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentin

Are mice good models for human neuromuscular disease? Comparing muscle excursions in walking between mice and humans

The mouse is one of the most widely used animal models to study neuromuscular diseases and test new therapeutic strategies. However, findings from successful pre-clinical studies using mouse models frequently fail to translate to humans due to various factors. Differences in muscle function between the two species could be crucial but often have been overlooked. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare muscle excursions in walking between mice and humans

Locomotor changes in length and EMG activity of feline medial gastrocnemius muscle following paralysis of two synergists

The mechanism of the compensatory increase in electromyographic activity (EMG) of a cat ankle extensor during walking shortly after paralysis of its synergists is not fully understood. It is possible that due to greater ankle flexion in stance in this situation, muscle spindles are stretched to a greater extent and, thus, contribute to the EMG enhancement. However, also changes in force feedback and central drive may play a role. The aim of the present study was to investigate the short-term (1- to 2-week post-op) effects of lateral gastrocnemius (LG) and soleus (SO) denervation on muscle fascicle and muscle–tendon unit (MTU) length changes, as well as EMG activity of the intact medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle in stance during overground walking on level (0%), downslope (−50%, presumably enhancing stretch of ankle extensors in stance) and upslope (+50%, enhancing load on ankle extensors) surfaces. Fascicle length was measured directly using sonomicrometry, and MTU length was calculated from joint kinematics. For each slope condition, LG-SO denervation resulted in an increase in MTU stretch and peak stretch velocity of the intact MG in early stance. MG muscle fascicle stretch and peak stretch velocity were also higher than before denervation in downslope walking. Denervation significantly decreased the magnitude of MG fascicle shortening and peak shortening velocity during early stance in level and upslope walking. MG EMG magnitude in the swing and stance phases was substantially greater after denervation, with a relatively greater increase during stance of level and upslope walking. These results suggest that the fascicle length patterns of MG muscle are significantly altered when two of its synergists are in a state of paralysis. Further, the compensatory increase in MG EMG is likely mediated by enhanced MG length feedback during downslope walking, enhanced feedback from load-sensitive receptors during upslope walking and enhanced central drive in all walking conditions