Laying hens suffer from osteoporosis during their laying period, which causes bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. This study evaluated the changes of mechanical properties of their bones during the laying period (from 18 to 77 wk) by using nano-indentation, atomic force microscope, X-Ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Results indicated that the crystallite sizes of bioapatite in femur decreased significantly from 34.45 to 29.26 nm during aging from 18 to 49 wk. Then, the value increased to 37.79 nm at 77 wk. Despite the abundance in bone (usually >50 wt.%), bioapatite mineral content showed no continuous enhancement during aging. The fibrils demonstrated more regular and organized structure during the laying period. Meanwhile the elastic moduli (E) and hardness (H) of femur increased from 10.84 to 18.39 GPa and 43.79 to 97.21 Vickers respectively during this period. The changes in mechanical properties are hence tightly related to the structure of bone (composed of both collagen and mineral), rather than directly related to the mineralogical properties of bone bioapatite. This study addressed the importance of the interaction between collagen and bioapatite mineral during the laying period of hens by microscopic, physicochemical, and mechanical analysis.

中文翻译：

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生物磷灰石矿物和原纤维结构对产蛋期鸡骨力学性能的影响。

蛋鸡在产蛋期间患有骨质疏松症，导致骨骼脆性和易骨折。本研究通过纳米压痕、原子力显微镜、X 射线衍射和拉曼光谱等方法评估了它们在产蛋期（18 至 77 周）骨骼力学性能的变化。结果表明，在 18 至 49 周的老化过程中，股骨中生物磷灰石的微晶尺寸从 34.45 到 29.26 nm 显着降低。然后，该值在 77 周时增加到 37.79 nm。尽管骨骼中含量丰富（通常 > 50 wt.%），但生物磷灰石矿物质含量在老化过程中并未显示出持续增加。在产蛋期间，原纤维表现出更规则和有组织的结构。同时股骨的弹性模量（E）和硬度（H）从10.84增加到18.39 GPa，从43.79增加到97。在此期间分别有21个维克斯。因此，机械性能的变化与骨的结构（由胶原蛋白和矿物质组成）密切相关，而不是与骨生物磷灰石的矿物学性质直接相关。本研究通过微观、物理化学和机械分析，探讨了母鸡产蛋期间胶原蛋白和生物磷灰石矿物相互作用的重要性。