Comparative analyses of femoral subchondral bone density in primates

这个项目分析了博物馆收藏的不同的灵长类肢体骨骼样本中膝关节和髋关节的骨密度模式与运动功能之间的关系。该项目应用了一种方法，即通过关节表面的计算机断层扫描测量和空间映射骨密度分布，该方法已得到实验验证，可用于确定不同个体在关节姿势和关节负荷条件方面的习惯性差异。这个项目的智力优势是，它将分析骨密度模式，以(1)区分特定物种灵长类动物使用的习惯性运动行为，(2)评估体重对关节姿势影响的生物力学模型，以及(3)评估关节形态的种内差异水平。从这个项目得到的数据将被用来解释现存灵长类和灭绝的亚化石狐猴关节载荷和位置行为的变化。更广泛的影响包括创建一个可公开访问的数据库，该数据库可用于评估未来灵长类肢体的形式-功能关系假说。最后，该项目将允许本科生和研究生，包括来自代表性不足的少数民族的学生，有机会参与研究灵长类动物的骨骼形态、运动功能和关节负荷之间的关系的研究项目，并为体质人类学科学做出贡献。

This project analyzes the relationships between patterns of bone density at the knee and hip joints, and locomotor function in a diverse sample of primate limb bones housed in museum collections. The project applies a methodology, the computed-tomographic measurement and spatial mapping of bone density distributions across joint surfaces, that has been experimentally validated and which can be used to identify habitual differences in joint posture and joint loading conditions in different individuals. The intellectual merits of this project are that it will analyze patterns of bone density to (1) distinguish the habitual locomotor behaviors used by particular species of primates, (2) evaluate biomechanical models for the effects of body mass on joint postures, and (3) assess levels of intraspecific variation in joint morphology. The data derived from this project will be used to interpret variation in joint loading and positional behavior in extant primates and extinct subfossil lemurs. Broader impacts include the creation of a publicly accessible database that can be used to evaluate future hypotheses of form-function relationships in primate lower extremities. Finally, this project will allow undergraduate and graduate students, including students from under-represented minorities, the opportunity to participate in research projects that investigate the relationships between bony form, locomotor function and joint loading in primates, and to contribute to the science of physical anthropology.