THE INFLUENCE OF HEEL HEIGHT ON ANKLE KINEMATICS DURING STANDING, WALKING, JOGGING AND SIDESTEPPING IN CHILDREN

The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of heel-forefoot height on ankle kinematics during locomotion in children. Measurements were taken by a motion capture system and a force plate on five children. They were asked to perform standing, walking, jogging and sidestepping in barefoot, low heel, standard heel and high heel shoe conditions. Results showed that rearfoot plantarflexion angle was different from shoe rake during standing. There was more ankle plantarflexion as heel height increased during walking, jogging and sidestepping. Ankle inversion velocity increased with shod condition but not significantly. High heel height will affect ankle kinematics during locomotion, which may increase the risk of foot problems. Children and their parents should choose footwear with caution

EFFECT OF FOOTWEAR ON LOWER LIMB KINEMATICS IN CHILDREN DURING SIDESTEP

Wearing shoes has been shown to affect children’s gait and neuromuscular development. This study aims to evaluate the effect of supportive shoes and flexible shoes on children’s lower limb kinematics during sidestep. Fourteen children aged 6 to 13 years, with no foot deformity were recruited. A motion analysis system and a force plate were used for motion capture. Compared to jogging, sidestep has increased sagittal plane motion and a different frontal plane movement pattern. The supportive shoes allowed smaller midfoot sagittal range of motion (ROM) and higher peak knee flexion whereas flexible shoes showed increased motion in the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ), midfoot and hip with increased ankle eversion velocity and knee less internally rotated. Conventional supportive school shoes allowed less motion in healthy children’s feet, thus affecting negatively on long term lower limb functional development

Synthesis of cholesterol-reducing sterol esters by enzymatic catalysis in bio-based solvents or solvent-free

Enzymatic synthesis of a β-sitosterol ester in bio-based solvents was compared with conventional solvents. Limonene and p-cymene gave higher initial reaction rates than n-hexane, and comparable conversions after 24 hours (∼75%). Importantly, a solvent-free system yielded the highest conversion (88%)

Prospectus, May 6, 1992

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1992/1013/thumbnail.jp

Public policies, law and bioethics: : a framework for producing public health policy across the European Union

Unlike the duties of clinicians to patients, professional standards for ethical practice are not well defined in public health. This is mainly due to public health practice having to reconcile tensions between public and private interest(s). This involves at times being paternalistic, while recognising the importance of privacy and autonomy, and at the same time balancing the interests of some against those of others. The Public Health specialist operates at the macro level, frequently having to infer the wishes and needs of individuals that make up a population and may have to make decisions where the interests of people conflict. This is problematic when devising policy for small populations; however, it becomes even more difficult when there is responsibility for many communities or nation states. Under the Treaty on European Union, the European Commission was given a competence in public health. Different cultures will give different moral weight to protecting individual interests versus action for collective benefit. However, even subtle differences in moral preferences may cause problems in deriving public health policy within the European Union. Understanding the extent to which different communities perceive issues such as social cohesion by facilitating cultural dialogues will be vital if European institutions are to work towards new forms of citizenship. The aim of EuroPHEN was to derive a framework for producing common approaches to public health policy across Europe. Little work has been done on integrating ethical analysis with empirical research, especially on trade-offs between private and public interests. The disciplines of philosophy and public policy have been weakly connected. Much of the thinking on public health ethics has hitherto been conducted in the United States of America, and an ethical framework for public health within Europe would need to reflect the greater respect for values such as solidarity and integrity which are more highly valued in Europe. Towards this aim EuroPHEN compared the organisation of public health structures and public policy responses to selected public health problems in Member States to examine how public policy in different countries weighs competing claims of private and public interest. Ethical analysis was performed of tensions between the private and public interest in the context of various ethical theories, principles and traditions. During autumn 2003, 96 focus groups were held across 16 European Union Member States exploring public attitudes and values to public versus private interests. The groups were constructed to allow examination of differences in attitudes between countries and demographic groups (age, gender, smoking status, educational level and parental and marital status). Focus group participants discussed issues such as attitudes to community; funding of public services; rights and responsibilities of citizens; rules and regulations; compulsory car seat belts; policies to reduce tobacco consumption; Not-In-My-Back-Yard arguments; banning of smacking of children; legalising cannabis and parental choice with regards to immunisation. This project proposes a preliminary framework and stresses that a European policy of Public Health will have to adopt a complex, pluralistic and dynamic goal structure, capable of accommodating variations in what specific goals should be prioritised in the specific socio-economic settings of individual countries

Effect of thong style flip-flops on children’s barefoot walking and jogging kinematics

BACKGROUND: Thong style flip-flops are a popular form of footwear for children. Health professionals relate the wearing of thongs to foot pathology and deformity despite the lack of quantitative evidence to support or refute the benefits or disadvantages of children wearing thongs. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of thong footwear on children’s barefoot three dimensional foot kinematics during walking and jogging. METHODS: Thirteen healthy children (age 10.3 ± 1.6 SD years) were recruited from the metropolitan area of Sydney Australia following a national press release. Kinematic data were recorded at 200 Hz using a 14 camera motion analysis system (Cortex, Motion Analysis Corporation, Santa Rosa, USA) and simultaneous ground reaction force were measured using a force platform (Model 9281B, Kistler, Winterthur, Switzerland). A three-segment foot model was used to describe three dimensional ankle, midfoot and one dimensional hallux kinematics during the stance sub-phases of contact, midstance and propulsion. RESULTS: Thongs resulted in increased ankle dorsiflexion during contact (by 10.9°, p; = 0.005 walk and by 8.1°, p; = 0.005 jog); increased midfoot plantarflexion during midstance (by 5.0°, p; = 0.037 jog) and propulsion (by 6.7°, p; = 0.044 walk and by 5.4°, p;= 0.020 jog); increased midfoot inversion during contact (by 3.8°, p;= 0.042 jog) and reduced hallux dorsiflexion during walking 10% prior to heel strike (by 6.5°, p; = 0.005) at heel strike (by 4.9°, p; = 0.031) and 10% post toe-off (by 10.7°, p; = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Ankle dorsiflexion during the contact phase of walking and jogging, combined with reduced hallux dorsiflexion during walking, suggests a mechanism to retain the thong during weight acceptance. Greater midfoot plantarflexion throughout midstance while walking and throughout midstance and propulsion while jogging may indicate a gripping action to sustain the thong during stance. While these compensations exist, the overall findings suggest that foot motion whilst wearing thongs may be more replicable of barefoot motion than originally thought