Background: High rates of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and surgical reconstruction in both skeletally immature and mature populations have led to many studies investigating the size and shape of the healthy ligament. The purposes of the present study were to compile existing quantitative measurements of the geometry of the ACL, its bundles, and its insertion sites and to describe effects of common covariates such as sex and age.Methods: A search of the Web of Science was conducted for studies published from January 1, 1900, to April 11, 2018, describing length, crosssectional area, volume, orientation, and insertion sites of the ACL. Two reviewers independently screened and reviewed the articles to collect quantitative data for each parameter.Results: Quantitative data were collected from 92 articles in this systematic review. In studies of adults, reports of average ACL length, cross-sectional area, and volume ranged from 26 to 38 mm, 30 to 53 mm 2 , and 854 to 1,858 mm 3 , respectively. Reported values were commonly found to vary according to sex and skeletal maturity as well as measurement technique.Conclusions: Although the geometry of the ACL has been described widely in the literature, quantitative measurements can depend on sex, age, and measurement modality, contributing to variability between studies. As such, care must be taken to account for these factors. The present study condenses measurements describing the geometry of the ACL, its individual bundles, and its insertion sites, accounting for common covariates when possible, to provide a resource to the clinical and scientific communities.Clinical Relevance: Quantitative measures of ACL geometry are informative for developing clinical treatments such as ACL reconstruction. Age and sex can impact these parameters.
Pediatric anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are on the rise, and females experience higher ACL injury risk than males during adolescence. Studies in skeletally immature patients indicate differences in ACL size and joint laxity between males and females after the onset of adolescence. However, functional data regarding the ACL and its anteromedial and posterolateral bundles in the pediatric population remain rare. Therefore, this study uses a porcine model to investigate the sex‐specific morphology and biomechanics of the ACL and its bundles throughout skeletal growth. Hind limbs from male and female Yorkshire pigs aged early youth to late adolescence were imaged using magnetic resonance imaging to measure the size and orientation of the ACL and its bundles, then biomechanically tested under anterior‐posterior drawer using a robotic testing system. Joint laxity decreased (p < 0.001) while joint stiffness increased (p < 0.001) throughout skeletal growth in both sexes. The ACL was the primary stabilizer against anterior tibial loading, while the functional role of the anteromedial bundle increased with age (p < 0.001), with an earlier increase in males. ACL and posterolateral bundle cross‐sectional area and ACL and anteromedial bundle length were larger in males than females during adolescence (p < 0.01 for all), while ACL and bundle sagittal angle remained similar between sexes. Additionally, in situ ACL stiffness versus cross‐sectional area regressions were significant across skeletal growth (r2 = 0.75, p < 0.001 in males and r2 = 0.64, p < 0.001 in females), but not within age groups. This study has implications for age and sex‐specific surgical intervention strategies and suggests the need for human studies.
Temperature Cathode inlet RH Cell voltage Two-phase pressure drop Diagnostic tool a b s t r a c t Water management is a key area of interest in improving the performance of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells. Cell flooding and membrane dehydration are two extreme conditions arising from poor water management. Pressure drop has been recognized as a good diagnostic tool to determine the presence of liquid water in the reactant channels.Presence of liquid water in the channels increases the mass transport resistances and therefore reduces the cell performance, which is quantified by the cell voltage at a set current density. Since the two-phase pressure drop multiplier is uniquely related to the water content in the channel, it serves as a good diagnostic tool for directly predicting the cell performance. Experiments are carried out to establish the relationship between the pressure drop multiplier and cell voltage at different operating conditions. Cell temperature was varied from 30 C to 80 C and the inlet RH was varied from 0 to 95%. At the lower temperatures, a two-phase multiplier below 1.5 reduces flooding in the flow field. However, at the higher temperatures, a two-phase flow multiplier above 1.2 is preferred as it indicates the membrane remains hydrated for improved performance from the cell. The twophase pressure drop multiplier has been successfully demonstrated as a diagnostic tool to predict cell flooding and membrane dehydration.
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are increasingly common in adolescents, and injuries in this age‐group are associated with many unique challenges. Recent large animal studies suggest that the size and function of the major bundles of the ACL change differently throughout skeletal growth. To better aid clinical treatment of pediatric partial ACL tears and better predict outcomes from age‐specific treatments, there is a need to measure changes in ACL bundle size in humans during growth. As such, the objective of this study was to compare changes in the length and cross‐sectional area (CSA) of the ACL and its primary bundles in adolescent human subjects. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were analyzed to determine the visibility and integrity of the ACL and its anteromedial and posterolateral bundles. MRI scans were considered from a retrospective database of subjects ranging from 10 to 18 years of age. The ACL and its anteromedial and posterolateral bundles were segmented and reconstructed into 3D models, and length and CSA were calculated. Total ACL length and CSA were greater in males compared with females, with a statistically significant interaction between age and sex for CSA. Sex had a significant effect on the CSA of both bundles. These sex‐dependent differences emerge with moderate to large effect sizes (range: d = 0.50 to d = 1.23) beginning around 13 years of age. Along with ACL bundle structure–function relationships previously established in preclinical animal models, these findings may point toward biomechanical changes in the adolescent human ACL.
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