Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics

ISSN: 1556-5297 (print)
ISSN: 1556-5300 (online) Publication Frequency: Quarterly

About the Journal

The field of biomechanics concerns with motion, deformation, and forces in biological systems. With the explosive progress in molecular biology, genomic engineering, bioimaging, and nanotechnology, there will be an ever-increasing generation of knowledge and information concerning the mechanobiology of genes, proteins, cells, tissues, and organs. Such information will bring new diagnostic tools, new therapeutic approaches, and new knowledge on ourselves and our interactions with our environment. It becomes apparent that biomechanics focusing on molecules, cells as well as tissues and organs is an important aspect of modern biomedical sciences. The aims of this journal are to facilitate the studies of the mechanics of biomolecules (including proteins, genes, cytoskeletons, etc.), cells (and their interactions with extracellular matrix), tissues and organs, the development of relevant advanced mathematical methods, and the discovery of biological secrets. As science concerns only with relative truth, we seek ideas that are state-of-the-art, which may be controversial, but stimulate and promote new ideas, new techniques, and new applications. This journal will encourage the exchange of ideas that may be seminal, or hold promise to stimulate others to new findings.

Indexing and Abstracting

Applied Mechanics Reviews; BIOBASE (Elsevier); BIOSIS Preview-Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics); Cambridge Scientific Abstracts-Proquest; Ei Compendex / Engineering Village (Elsevier); EMBASE (Elsevier); GEOBASE (Elsevier); INSPEC (IET); Science Navigator; Scopus (Elsevier): Citescore 2018: 0.64; SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper 2018): 0.528; World Textiles and Scopus; Zentralblatt fur Mathematik; Portico, etc...

Current Issue - Vol.17, No.2, 2020 Most Viewed

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RESEARCH ARTICLE
A Patient-Specific Computational Fluid Dynamic Model of Middle Cerebral Artery Aneurysm Before and One Year After Surgery
Shicheng He¹, Juhui Qiu¹, Wanling Liu¹, Tieying Yin¹, Dechuan Zhang^2,*, Donghua Liao^3,4, Haijun Zhang⁵, Yuxia Yin⁵, Guixue Wang^1,*
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.17, No.2, pp. 63-74, 2020, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2020.08750
Abstract Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been widely used for studying intracranial aneurysm hemodynamics, while its use for guiding clinical strategy is still in development. In this study, CFD simulations helped inform treatment decision for a middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm case was investigated. A patient with a 10.4 × 9.8 mm aneurysm attached with a small aneurysm at the edge of the trifurcation in the left MCA was included in this study. For removing the MCA aneurysm, two scenarios were considered: Plan-A involved clipping the small aneurysm and Plan-B involved clipping the whole aneurysm. A suitable treatment plan was decided… More
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
New Concept to Non-Invasively Screen Iron Deficiency in Patients
Ali E. Dabiri^1,2,*, Erik Samwel³, Ghassan S. Kassab¹
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.17, No.2, pp. 75-83, 2020, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2020.08775
Abstract Nearly two billion people are afflicted with iron deficiency and approximately 300 million children globally have anemia. Most of those affected are unaware of their lack of iron, in part because detection of iron deficiency requires a blood test. It is becoming increasingly important to screen these individuals to reduce medical cost and avoid chronic disease conditions. There are limited settings of laboratory infrastructure for standard blood-based tests around the world to routinely accomplish this important screening test. We propose a new concept to use either human hair or nail as a screening method to detect steady state iron content… More
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
A C-GAN Denoising Algorithm in Projection Domain for Micro-CT
Lujie Chen¹, Liang Zheng¹, Maosen Lian¹, Shouhua Luo^1,*
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.17, No.2, pp. 85-92, 2020, DOI: 10.32604/mcb.2019.07386
Abstract Micro-CT provides a high-resolution 3D imaging of micro-architecture in a non-invasive way, which becomes a significant tool in biomedical research and preclinical applications. Due to the limited power of micro-focus X-ray tube, photon starving occurs and noise is inevitable for the projection images, resulting in the degradation of spatial resolution, contrast and image details. In this paper, we propose a C-GAN (Conditional Generative Adversarial Nets) denoising algorithm in projection domain for Micro-CT imaging. The noise statistic property is utilized directly and a novel variance loss is developed to suppress the blurry effects during denoising procedure. Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (C-GAN)… More
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
New Applications for Cryotherapy
Rafi Mazor^1,*, Meital Mazor², Ali E. Dabiri^2,3, Bhavesh Patel², Ghassan S. Kassab²
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.17, No.2, pp. 93-99, 2020, DOI: 10.32604/mcb.2019.08267
Abstract Cryotherapy, or more commonly known as cold therapy, is the use of low temperatures in medical treatment. The most prominent use of cryotherapy is for cryosurgery where application of very low temperatures is used to ablate diseased tissue (e.g., most commonly in dermatology). Recent research, however, shows that low temperature may modulate collagen fibers beyond the already known effects of extreme cooling on joint pain relieve and inflammation. The goal of this brief review is to outline the known effects of extreme cooling on molecular, fiber and cell physiology and to leverage these properties in various potential medical applications. Specially,… More
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
A Study on the Finite Element Model for Head Injury in Facial Collision Accident
Bin Yang^1,2,3,*, Hao Sun¹, Aiyuan Wang¹, Qun Wang²
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.17, No.1, pp. 49-62, 2020, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07534
Abstract In order to predict and evaluate injury mechanism and biomechanical response of the facial impact on head injury in a crash accident. With the combined modern medical imaging technologies, namely computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), both geometric and finite element (FE) models for human head-neck with detailed cranio-facial structure were developed. The cadaveric head impact tests were conducted to validate the headneck finite element model. The intracranial pressure, skull dynamic response and skull-brain relative displacement of the whole head-neck model were compared with experimental data. Nine typical cases of facial traffic accidents were simulated, with the individual… More
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ABSTRACT
Investigation on Energy Characteristic of RBCs Deformability: A Quantitative Analysis of Extending and Retracting Curves Based on AFM
Dong Chen¹, Xiang Wang^1,*, Fuzhou Tang², Yajin Zhao¹
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 150-150, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07071
Abstract Deformability is a fundamental property of the cells and tissues of living organisms, which is commonly detected to indicate the state of the cells. And the cell deformability usually depends on the methods that we used, which is easy to be confused. The present research is designed to explore the energy characteristic of red blood cell deformability, based on a quantitative analysis of extending-retracting curves acquired from atomic force microscopy. ATP-depleted red blood cells are prepared by treatment with free-glucose Ringer solution. Our results clearly show that the Youngs’ modulus of erythrocyte is closely depended on the concentration of intracellular… More
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Traction Force Measurements of Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells Reveal a Motor-Clutch Behavior
Petit Claudie¹, Guignandon Alain², Avril Stéphane^1,*
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, No.2, pp. 87-108, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.06415
Abstract The contractile behavior of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the aorta is an important determinant of growth, remodeling, and homeostasis. However, quantitative values of SMC basal tone have never been characterized precisely on individual SMCs. Therefore, to address this lack, we developed an in vitro technique based on Traction Force Microscopy (TFM). Aortic SMCs from a human lineage at low passages (4-7) were cultured 2 days in conditions promoting the development of their contractile apparatus and seeded on hydrogels of varying elastic modulus (1, 4, 12 and 25 kPa) with embedded fluorescent microspheres. After complete adhesion, SMCs were artificially detached… More
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Substrate Modulation of Osteoblast Adhesion Strength, Focal Adhesion Kinase Activation, and Responsiveness to Mechanical Stimuli
E. Takai¹, R. Landesberg², R.W. Katz², C.T. Hung³, X.E Guo^1,4
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 1-12, 2006, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2006.003.001
Abstract Osteoblast interactions with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are known to influence many cell functions, which may ultimately affect osseointegration of implants with the host bone tissue. Some adhesion-mediated events include activation of focal adhesion kinase, and subsequent changes in the cytoskeleton and cell morphology, which may lead to changes in adhesion strength and cell responsiveness to mechanical stimuli. In this study we examined focal adhesion kinase activation (FAK), F-actin cytoskeleton reorganization, adhesion strength, and osteoblast responsiveness to fluid shear when adhered to type I collagen (ColI), glass, poly-L-lysine (PLL), fibronectin (FN), vitronectin (VN), and serum (FBS). In general, surfaces that… More
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Regulation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Mechanical Strain
Kyle Kurpinski^1,2,3, Jennifer Park^1,2,3, Rahul G. Thakar^1,2,3, Song Li^1,2
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 21-34, 2006, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2006.003.021
Abstract Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) populate in the media of the blood vessel, and play an important role in the control of vasoactivity and the remodeling of the vessel wall. Blood vessels are constantly subjected to hemodynamic stresses, and the pulsatile nature of the blood flow results in a cyclic mechanical strain in the vessel walls. Accumulating evidence in the past two decades indicates that mechanical strain regulates vascular SMC phenotype, function and matrix remodeling. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) is a potential cell source for vascular regeneration therapy, and may be used to generate SMCs to construct tissue-engineered… More
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Mechanical Loading by Fluid Shear Stress Enhances IGF-1 Receptor Signaling in Osteoblasts in A PKC ζ -Dependent Manner
Jason W. Triplett^∗, Rita O’Riley^∗, Kristyn Tekulve^∗, Suzanne M. Norvell^∗, Fredrick M. Pavalko^†
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 13-26, 2007, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2007.004.013
Abstract Maintenance of optimal bone physiology requires the coordinated activity of osteoclasts that resorb old bone and osteoblasts that deposit new bone. Mechanical loading of bone and the resulting movement of interstitial fluid within the spaces surrounding bone cells is thought to play a key role is maintaining optimal bone mass. One way in which fluid movement may promote bone formation is by enhancing osteoblast survival. We have shown previously that application of fluid flow to osteoblasts in vitro confers a protective effect by inhibiting osteoblast apoptosis (Pavalko et al., 2003, J. Cell Physiol., 194: 194-205). To investigate the cellular mechanisms… More
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