Fig. 4.

Dynamics of two-dimensional collagen fiber remodeling in infarcted regions. A and B: collagen deposition in the I-infarct group (A) and T-infarct group (B). Each image from left to right shows PSR-stained sections viewed under circularly polarized light (original images), the corresponding images processed by Continuity software (short colored lines indicate the automatically recognized fiber orientation in a grid with 20 × 20 pixels in dimension), and the circular distribution of collagen fibers derived from the corresponding images that calculated by Continuity and NCSS software, respectively. C and D: histological comparisons of the proportion of collagen fibers with different birefringence (scar maturation index). E: comparisons of the collagen volume fraction in fibrotic scars of the infarct segment. F and G: comparisons of von Wiese concentration (κ) derived from circular statistics of collagen fibers. In the box and whisker plots, the boxes extend from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile, with a line at the median. The whiskers extend above and below the box to show the 5th–95th percentiles of values, and “+” within the box-whisker plot indicates the mean. *P < 0.05 vs. the I-infarct group at the same time point; **P < 0.01 vs. the I-infarct group at the same time point.