Risk assessment of knee joint injury induced by simplified 24-action Taiji Quan wild horse mane splitting practice / 中国康复理论与实践

ObjectiveTo investigate the injury risk of simplified 24-action Taiji Quan wild horse mane splitting practice at different postures with mechanical analysis. MethodsThe mechanical model of the action of Taiji Quan wild horse mane splitting was establishied, and then the coordinates, velocity, acceleration and horizontal angle of thigh and lower leg were determined by image analysis. The force arm of quadriceps femoris was detected by X-ray, and the quadriceps femoris tension, femoral tibial joint force and patellofemoral joint pressure of wild horse mane splitting practice with different postures were compared. ResultsCompared with the high posture, the coordination and velocity decreased, the average angle of knee joint decreased from 128° to 115° at the low posture; and the knee moment, the quadriceps femoris tension, femoral tibial joint force and patellofemoral joint pressure significantly increased (F > 37.187, P < 0.001). ConclusionWhen practicing Taiji Quan wild horse mane splitting, the risk of knee injury at the low posture is higher than that at high posture.

Tissue preservation and cell culture of Przewalskii´s horse (Equus przewalskii): an endangered species / Preservação de tecidos e cultura de células do cavalo de Przewalski (Equus przewalskii): uma espécie em extinção

The Przewalskii´s horse or Mongolian wild horse (Equus przewalskii, Poljakov, 1881) is presently the only species of wild horse in existence. Originally from Asia, it is, classified as in extremely high risk of extinction which puts the species in the seriously threatened category. The aim of this work was the preservation of tissues and the development of cell cultures from tissue samples obtained from a Przewalskii´s horse after its death. Biopsies of skin, skeletal and cardiac muscle, and ear cartilage were removed from a recently dead horse, added to Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS) and refrigerated until processing. Some of the samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen and the other was grown as explants to generate fibroblast cell monolayers. The cell cultures obtained, were subsequently propagated with low passages, and frozen in liquid nitrogen, thus avoiding genetic and phenotypic alterations. The tissues and cell cultures were thawed to ascertain their viability by checking its progressive grow in a flask. It was not possible to obtain cultures from cardiac muscle. A bank of tissues and cells from the single Przewalskii´s horse that existed in Uruguay was generated, and can be used for scientific purposes and for the conservation of the species in the future