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Bats actively modulate membrane compliance to control camber and reduce drag (2022)
Journal Article
Cheney, J., Rehm, J., Swartz, S., & Breuer, K. (in press). Bats actively modulate membrane compliance to control camber and reduce drag. Journal of Experimental Biology, https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243974

Bat wing skin is exceptionally compliant and cambers significantly during flight. Plagiopatagiales proprii, arrays of small muscles embedded in the armwing membrane, are activated during flight and are hypothesized to modulate membrane tension. We ex... Read More about Bats actively modulate membrane compliance to control camber and reduce drag.

Limb work and joint work minimization reveal an energetic benefit to the elbows-back, knees-forward limb design in parasagittal quadrupeds (2020)
Journal Article
Usherwood, J. R., & Granatosky, M. C. (2020). Limb work and joint work minimization reveal an energetic benefit to the elbows-back, knees-forward limb design in parasagittal quadrupeds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1940), 20201517. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1517

Quadrupedal animal locomotion is energetically costly. We explore two forms of mechanical work that may be relevant in imposing these physiological demands. Limb work, due to the forces and velocities between the stance foot and the centre of mass, c... Read More about Limb work and joint work minimization reveal an energetic benefit to the elbows-back, knees-forward limb design in parasagittal quadrupeds.

Dual neutralisation of IL-17F and IL-17A with bimekizumab blocks inflammation-driven osteogenic differentiation of human periosteal cells (2020)
Journal Article
Shah, M., Maroof, A., Gikas, P., Mittal, G., Keen, R., Baeten, D., …Roberts, S. J. (2020). Dual neutralisation of IL-17F and IL-17A with bimekizumab blocks inflammation-driven osteogenic differentiation of human periosteal cells. RMD Open, 6(2), e001306. https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001306

Objectives Interleukin (IL)-17 signalling has been shown to be a key regulator of disease in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with several IL-17 blockers currently clinically approved. Despite this, the role of IL-17 in bone pathology is poorly understo... Read More about Dual neutralisation of IL-17F and IL-17A with bimekizumab blocks inflammation-driven osteogenic differentiation of human periosteal cells.

Lasting organ-level bone mechanoadaptation is unrelated to local strain (2020)
Journal Article
Javaheri, B., Razi, H., Gohin, S., Wylie, S., Chang, Y. M., Salmon, P., …Pitsillides, A. A. (2020). Lasting organ-level bone mechanoadaptation is unrelated to local strain. Science Advances, 6(10), https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax8301

Bones adapt to mechanical forces according to strict principles predicting straight shape. Most bones are, however, paradoxically curved. To solve this paradox, we used computed tomography–based, four-dimensional imaging methods and computational ana... Read More about Lasting organ-level bone mechanoadaptation is unrelated to local strain.

Divergent evolution of terrestrial locomotor abilities in extant Crocodylia (2019)
Journal Article
Hutchinson, J. R., Felkler, D., Houston, K., Chang, Y. M., Brueggen, J., Kledzik, D., & Vliet, K. A. (2019). Divergent evolution of terrestrial locomotor abilities in extant Crocodylia. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55768-6

Extant Crocodylia are exceptional because they employ almost the full range of quadrupedal footfall patterns (“gaits”) used by mammals; including asymmetrical gaits such as galloping and bounding. Perhaps this capacity evolved in stem Crocodylomorpha... Read More about Divergent evolution of terrestrial locomotor abilities in extant Crocodylia.

Aging and Mechanoadaptive Responsiveness of Bone (2019)
Journal Article
Javaheri, B., & Pitsillides, A. A. (2019). Aging and Mechanoadaptive Responsiveness of Bone. Current Osteoporosis Reports, 17(6), 560-569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-019-00553-7

Osteoporosis is an age-related disorder characterized by bone loss and increased fracture susceptibility. Whether this is due to reduced loading in less active elderly individuals or inherent modifications in bone cells is uncertain. We suppose that... Read More about Aging and Mechanoadaptive Responsiveness of Bone.

Raman spectroscopy links differentiating osteoblast matrix signatures to pro-angiogenic potential (2019)
Journal Article
Sharma, A., Goring, A., Staines, K. A., Emery, R., Pitsillides, A. A., Oreffo, R. O. C., …Clarkin, C. E. (2019). Raman spectroscopy links differentiating osteoblast matrix signatures to pro-angiogenic potential. Matrix Biology, 5, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mbplus.2019.100018

Mineralization of bone is achieved by the sequential maturation of the immature amorphous calcium phase to mature hydroxyapatite and is central to the process of bone development and repair. To study normal and dysregulated mineralization in vitro, s... Read More about Raman spectroscopy links differentiating osteoblast matrix signatures to pro-angiogenic potential.

Ontogenetic scaling of pelvic limb muscles, tendons and locomotor economy in the Ostrich (Struthio camelus) (2019)
Journal Article
Channon, S. B., Young, I. S., Cordner, B., & Swann, N. (2019). Ontogenetic scaling of pelvic limb muscles, tendons and locomotor economy in the Ostrich (Struthio camelus). Journal of Experimental Biology, https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.182741

In rapidly growing animals there are numerous selective pressures and developmental constraints underpinning the ontogenetic development of muscle-tendon morphology and mechanical properties. Muscle force generating capacity, tendon stiffness, elasti... Read More about Ontogenetic scaling of pelvic limb muscles, tendons and locomotor economy in the Ostrich (Struthio camelus).

Ground reaction forces of overground galloping in ridden Thoroughbred racehorses (2019)
Journal Article
Self Davies, Z. T., Spence, A. J., & Wilson, A. M. (2019). Ground reaction forces of overground galloping in ridden Thoroughbred racehorses. Journal of Experimental Biology, https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.204107

The horse has evolved to gallop economically at high speed. Limb force increases with speed but direct measures of limb ground reaction forces (GRFs) at gallop are sparse. This study reports GRFs for multiple limbs, using force plates, across seven T... Read More about Ground reaction forces of overground galloping in ridden Thoroughbred racehorses.

Dchs1-Fat4 regulation of osteogenic differentiation in mouse (2019)
Journal Article
Crespo-Enriquez, I., Hodgson, T., Zakaria, S., Cadoni, E., Shah, M., Allen, S., …Francis-West, P. (2019). Dchs1-Fat4 regulation of osteogenic differentiation in mouse. Development, 146, https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.176776

In human, mutations of the protocadherins FAT4 and DCHS1 result in Van Maldergem syndrome, which is characterised, in part, by craniofacial abnormalities. Here, we analyse the role of Dchs1-Fat4 signalling during osteoblast differentiation in mouse.... Read More about Dchs1-Fat4 regulation of osteogenic differentiation in mouse.

What is the level of dystrophin expression required for effective therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy? (2019)
Journal Article
Wells, D. J. (2019). What is the level of dystrophin expression required for effective therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy?. Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility, 40(2), 141-150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-019-09535-9

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal X-linked muscle wasting disease. The disease is due to mutations in the DMD gene that encodes for a large intracellular protein called dystrophin. Dystrophin plays a critical role in linking the internal c... Read More about What is the level of dystrophin expression required for effective therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy?.

Regulation of the bone vascular network is sexually dimorphic (2019)
Journal Article
Goring, A., Sharma, A., Javaheri, B., Smith, R. C., Kanczler, J. M., Boyde, A., …Clarkin, C. E. (2019). Regulation of the bone vascular network is sexually dimorphic. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3825

Osteoblast (OB) lineage cells are an important source of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is critical for bone growth and repair. During bone development, pubertal differences in males and females exist, but little is known about whet... Read More about Regulation of the bone vascular network is sexually dimorphic.

Differing calcification processes in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells and osteoblasts (2019)
Journal Article
Patel, J. J., Bourne, L. E., Davies, B. K., Arnett, T. R., MacRae, V. E., Wheeler-Jones, C. P. D., & Orriss, I. R. (2019). Differing calcification processes in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells and osteoblasts. Experimental Cell Research, 380(1), 100-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexcr.2019.04.020

Arterial medial calcification (AMC) is the deposition of calcium phosphate mineral, often as hydroxyapatite, in the medial layer of the arteries. AMC shares some similarities to skeletal mineralisation and has been associated with the transdifferenti... Read More about Differing calcification processes in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells and osteoblasts.

Digital dissection of the pelvis and hindlimb of the red-legged running frog, Phlyctimantis maculatus, using Diffusible Iodine Contrast Enhanced computed microtomography (DICE µCT) (2019)
Journal Article
Collings, A. J., & Richards, C. T. (2019). Digital dissection of the pelvis and hindlimb of the red-legged running frog, Phlyctimantis maculatus, using Diffusible Iodine Contrast Enhanced computed microtomography (DICE µCT). PeerJ, 7, e7003. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7003

The current study applies both traditional and Diffusible Iodine Contrast Enhanced computed microtomography (DICE µCT) techniques to reveal the musculoskeletal anatomy of Phlyctimantis maculatus. DICE µCT has emerged as a powerful tool to visualise i... Read More about Digital dissection of the pelvis and hindlimb of the red-legged running frog, Phlyctimantis maculatus, using Diffusible Iodine Contrast Enhanced computed microtomography (DICE µCT).

Ontogenetic changes in the body plan of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Mussaurus patagonicus reveal shifts of locomotor stance during growth (2019)
Journal Article
Otero, A., Cuff, A. R., Allen, V., Sumner-Rooney, L., Pol, D., & Hutchinson, J. R. (2019). Ontogenetic changes in the body plan of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Mussaurus patagonicus reveal shifts of locomotor stance during growth. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44037-1

Ontogenetic information is crucial to understand life histories and represents a true challenge in dinosaurs due to the scarcity of growth series available. Mussaurus patagonicus was a sauropodomorph dinosaur close to the origin of Sauropoda known fr... Read More about Ontogenetic changes in the body plan of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Mussaurus patagonicus reveal shifts of locomotor stance during growth.

Foot pressure distribution in White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) during walking (2019)
Journal Article
Panagiotopoulou, O., Pataky, T. C., & Hutchinson, J. R. (2019). Foot pressure distribution in White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) during walking. PeerJ, 7, e6881. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6881

White rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) are odd-toed ungulates that belong to the group Perissodactyla. Being second only to elephants in terms of large body mass amongst extant tetrapods, rhinoceroses make fascinating subjects for the study of how... Read More about Foot pressure distribution in White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) during walking.

The impact of pelvic lateral rotation on hindlimb kinematics and stride length in the red-legged running frog, Kassina maculata (2019)
Journal Article
Collings, A. J., Porro, L. B., Hill, C., & Richards, C. T. (2019). The impact of pelvic lateral rotation on hindlimb kinematics and stride length in the red-legged running frog, Kassina maculata. Royal Society Open Science, 6, 190060. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190060

Some frog species, such as Kassina maculata (red-legged running frog), use an asynchronous walking/running gait as their primary locomotor mode. Prior comparative anatomy work has suggested that lateral rotation of the pelvis improves walking perform... Read More about The impact of pelvic lateral rotation on hindlimb kinematics and stride length in the red-legged running frog, Kassina maculata.

Evolutionary parallelisms of pectoral and pelvic network-anatomy from fins to limbs (2019)
Journal Article
Esteve-Altava, B., Pierce, S. E., Molnar, J. L., Johnston, P., Diogo, R., & Hutchinson, J. R. (2019). Evolutionary parallelisms of pectoral and pelvic network-anatomy from fins to limbs. Science Advances, 5(5), https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau7459

Lobe-fins transformed into limbs during the Devonian period, facilitating the water-to-land transition in tetrapods. We traced the evolution of well-articulated skeletons across the fins-to-limbs transition, using a network-based approach to quantify... Read More about Evolutionary parallelisms of pectoral and pelvic network-anatomy from fins to limbs.

The architecture of cancellous bone in the hindlimb of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes), with implications for stance and gait (2019)
Journal Article
Bishop, P. J., Scofield, R. P., & Hocknull, S. A. (2019). The architecture of cancellous bone in the hindlimb of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes), with implications for stance and gait. https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2019.1594380

The extinct, flightless moa of New Zealand included some of the largest birds to have existed and possessed many distinguishing pelvic and hindlimb osteological features. These features may have influenced stance and gait in moa compared with extant... Read More about The architecture of cancellous bone in the hindlimb of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes), with implications for stance and gait.