Comparative Analysis of 3-D Trabecular Bone Architecture: Applications to Locomotor Reconstruction in Fossil Primates

3-D 小梁骨结构的比较分析：在化石灵长类动物运动重建中的应用

• 批准号: 0617097
• 负责人: Alan Walker
• 金额: $ 16.51万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-08-01 至 2010-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0617097&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Comparative; Analysis; Trabecular; Bone; Architecture

The principal goal of this project is to measure important features of trabecular bone -- the spongy tissue found inside the ends of the long bone of the skeleton. The investigators want to measure the variation of trabecular bone structure across primates in relation to body mass and locomotion and to determine the mechanical consequences of that variation using computational models. Trabecular bone, which is made up of a complex interconnected network of rods and plates, has received a significant amount of attention in studies of aging and bone loss due to osteoporosis, but comparatively little attention from physical anthropologists and comparative anatomists. Many factors such as behavior, body size, sex, genetics, and development may play important roles in determining the structure of trabecular bone in adult animals. This project will investigate some of these factors by looking at three important questions: (1) how does trabecular structure vary within and between primate species and what is the relationship of this variation to body size and sex? (2) does trabecular bone structure reflect locomotor behaviors and differential limb usage during locomotion (e.g., in leaping or arm swinging)? and (3) how do the elastic properties of trabecular bone vary across body size, locomotor mode, and limb element?High-resolution x-ray computed tomography will be used to collect data from the humerus and femur for a diverse sample of living and recently extinct primates ranging in size from mouse lemur to gorilla. Bone features such as volume, thickness, number, shape, interconnectedness, and orientation will be analyzed. Micromechanical finite element models will be used to calculate the elastic properties of the volumes by simulating experimental compression tests. Using the bone architectural properties and elastic constants, the relationships among body mass, bone structure and the calculated mechanical properties will be analyzed.The intellectual merits of this project include producing a better understanding of the role of physiological and behavioral factors on bone structure. It will not only broaden understanding of bone biology and bone structural variation, but will also produce the comparative data necessary to reconstruct the paleobiology of extinct primates.This project also represents a cross-disciplinary international collaboration between physical anthropologists at Penn State University and a biomechanical engineer at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands in which the varied expertise of the researchers will be used to answer questions about bone biology that have relevance to primate anatomy, functional morphology, bone biology, and human health. The broader impacts of the project include the production of a large comparative dataset that will be implemented into the anthropological curriculum and used to train undergraduate and graduate students in physical anthropology. Copies of the CT data also will be given to the curators of the lending museums to be archived for use by other scientists and potentially to be used for interactive computer-based museum exhibits. The results of this project will certainly have implications for understanding human skeletal disorders such as osteoporosis.

该项目的主要目标是测量小梁骨的重要特征 - 骨骼长骨的末端发现的海绵状组织。 研究人员希望测量灵长类动物跨体重和运动的小梁骨结构的变化，并使用计算模型来确定该变异的机械后果。 小梁骨是由棒和板的复杂互连网络组成的，在骨质疏松症引起的衰老和骨质流失的研究中，受到了很大的关注，但物理人类学家和比较解剖学家的关注相对较少。 许多因素，例如行为，身体大小，性别，遗传学和发育，可能在确定成年动物的小梁骨结构中起重要作用。 该项目将通过查看三个重要问题来调查其中一些因素：（1）小梁结构在灵长类动物物种之间和之间如何变化以及这种变异与身体大小和性别的关系是什么？ （2）小梁骨结构是否反映了运动过程中的运动行为和差异肢体使用（例如，在跳跃或手臂摆动中）？ （3）小梁骨的弹性特性如何在体型，运动模式和肢体元素上变化？高分辨率X射线计算机断层扫描将用于从肱骨和股骨中收集数据，以供多种生活样本和最近灭绝的灵长类动物样本，这些灵长类动物的大小范围从小鼠柠檬酸到Gorilla。 将分析骨骼特征，例如体积，厚度，数字，形状，互连性和方向。 微机械有限元模型将通过模拟实验压缩测试来计算体积的弹性特性。 将使用骨结构特性和弹性常数，将分析体重，骨骼结构和计算出的机械性能之间的关系。该项目的智力优点包括对生理和行为因素在骨结构中的作用有更好的了解。 It will not only broaden understanding of bone biology and bone structural variation, but will also produce the comparative data necessary to reconstruct the paleobiology of extinct primates.This project also represents a cross-disciplinary international collaboration between physical anthropologists at Penn State University and a biomechanical engineer at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands in which the varied expertise of the researchers will be used to answer questions about bone biology that have relevance to灵长类动物解剖学，功能形态，骨骼生物学和人类健康。 该项目的更广泛影响包括生产大型比较数据集，该数据集将用于人类学课程中，并用于培训身体人类学的本科生和研究生。 CT数据的副本还将提供给贷款博物馆的策展人，以供其他科学家使用，并有可能用于基于交互式计算机的博物馆展览。 该项目的结果肯定会对理解人类骨骼疾病（如骨质疏松症）具有影响。