Generating finite element models of the knee: How accurately can we determine ligament attachment sites from MRI scans?

In this study, we evaluated the intra- and inter-observer variability when determining the insertion and origin sites of knee ligaments on MRI scan images. We collected data of five observers with different backgrounds, who determined the ligament attachment sites in an MRI scan of a right knee of a 66-year-old male cadaver donor. We evaluated the intra- and inter-observer differences between the ligament attachment center points, and also determined the differences relative to a physical measurement performed on the same cadaver. The largest mean intra- and inter-observer differences were 4.30 mm (ACL origin) and 16.81 mm (superficial MCL insertion), respectively. Relative to the physical measurement, the largest intra- and inter-observer differences were 31.84 mm (superficial MCL insertion) and 23.39 mm (deep MCL insertion), respectively. The results indicate that, dependent on the location, a significant variation can occur when identifying the attachment site of the knee ligaments. This finding is of particular importance when creating computational models based on MRI data, as the variations in attachment sites may have a considerable effect on the biomechanical behavior of the human knee joint.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Generating finite element models of the knee: How accurately can we determine ligament attachment sites from MRI scans? journaltitle: Medical Engineering & Physics articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2014.02.016 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2014 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Xenohormesis: health benefits from an eon of plant stress response evolution

Xenohormesis is a biological principle that explains how environmentally stressed plants produce bioactive compounds that can confer stress resistance and survival benefits to animals that consume them. Animals can piggyback off products of plants' sophisticated stress response which has evolved as a result of their stationary lifestyle. Factors eliciting the plant stress response can judiciously be employed to maximize yield of health-promoting plant compounds. The xenohormetic plant compounds can, when ingested, improve longevity and fitness by activating the animal's cellular stress response and can be applied in drug discovery, drug production, and nutritional enhancement of diet