The Effects of Patellofemoral Taping on Patellofemoral Joint Alignment and Contact Area

Purpose/Hypothesis: It is widely accepted that patellofemoral pain (PFP) is the result of excessive stress between the retro-patellar surface and the femoral trochlea. Elevated patellofemoral joint (PFJ) stress may be associated with a reduction in PFJ contact area resulting from patellar malalignment (e.g., lateral displacement, lateral tilt, or patellar alta and/or quadriceps imbalance). McConnell and Kinesio taping techniques are commonly used to address PFP and improve PFJ alignment. It has been theorized that PFJ taping can alter the PFJ alignment which may increase the patella’s contact area within the femoral trochlea, thereby resulting in a reduction in PFP. To date, the effects of these 2 taping approaches on PFJ contact area and PFJ alignment have not yet been studied thoroughly. The primary purpose of this study was to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the effects of patellofemoral taping techniques on PFJ alignment and contact area in persons with PFP at 3 knee joint angles (0°, 20°, and 40°). Number of Subjects: Fourteen female subjects with retropatellar pain and PFJ malalignment participated (age: 27.86 ± 5.95 years; weight: 72.15 ± 19.27 kg; height: 1.67 ± .08 m). Methods: Each subject underwent a pre-taping magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan session and 2 MRI scan sessions after the application of the 2 taping techniques aiming to correct lateral patellar displacement. Subjects were asked to report their pain using an 11- point numeric rating scale (NRS) while stepping down from a 23-cm step, before and after tape was administered. During each scan session, subjects were loaded with 25% of body weight on their involved/more symptomatic leg at 0°, 20°, and 40° of knee flexion. The outcome measures included patellar lateral displacement (bisect-offset (BSO) index), patellar mediolateral tilt (patellar tilt angle (PTA)), patellar position (Insall-Salvati ratio (ISR)), PFJ contact area, and NRS. PFJ alignment/contact area was compared among the 3 conditions (No tape, Kinesio, and McConnell) at 3 knee angles using a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Pain NRS was compared among the 3 conditions using Friedman test and post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: The results of the two-way ANOVAs revealed that neither McConnell nor Kinesio taping had significant effects on BSO index (p = 0.488), PTA (p = 0.558), ISR (p = 0.778), and contact area (p = 0.358) across the 3 knee flexion angles. Knee flexion angle had a significant effect on BSO index (p = 0.001) and contact area (p \u3c 0.001). The Friedman test revealed a significant difference in pain level among the 3 conditions. The post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank tests further demonstrated that there was a reduction in NRS during step-down test after the application of the Kinesio Taping technique (p=.007). Conclusions: In a weight-bearing condition, our results did not support the premise that applications of PFJ taping using a medial correction technique can alter the PFJ contact area or alignment of the patella. The reduction in pain, following the application of the Kinesio Taping technique performed in this study supports the previous literature on the use of Kinesio Taping techniques for pain management, although the underlying mechanism for the reduction of pain is unclear

Civic Meanings Reconsidered: A Response to “Civic Meanings: Understanding the Constellations of Democratic and Civic Beliefs of Educators”

In this response, we argue for the importance of understanding teachers\u27 and administrators\u27 beliefs about civic education, as well as how those beliefs may influence teachers\u27 practices. We commend the authors for examining the beliefs of principals and school board members—groups rarely surveyed—but question how their beliefs may affect the teaching and learning of citizenship in schools

Titanate nanowire, titanate nanowire scaffold, and processes of making same

This invention relates to a synthetic nanostructure. In one embodiment, the synthetic nanostructure has a top region substantially comprising titanate nanowires, a middle region substantially comprising titanate nanoparticles and titanate nanowires, and a bottom region substantially comprising titanium. Some of the titanate nanowires of the top region are extending into the middle region, the middle region is between the top region and the bottom region, and some of the titanate nanowires of the top region are substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface of the titanium substrate. At least some of the titanate nanowires in the top region form 3D macroporous scaffolds with interconnected macropores

Judging Statutes: Interpretive Regimes

Theories of statutory interpretation abound. Scholars, judges and commentators have long puzzled over the best method to locate the meaning of a statute and to this end have proposed a range of approaches that rely on various forms of evidence, including statutory text, legislative intent, agency interpretations, cultural norms, and judicial precedent. These theories do not merely offer competing modes of analysis: they also highlight competition among and between federal actors for control over the law-making process. In this Symposium essay, we do not defend an interpretive approach; many others have done that. Nor do we seek to develop a novel understanding of statutory interpretation; others have done that as well. Rather our goal is something more modest: to provide a descriptive mapping of statutory interpretation in the business context - specifically, in disputes over the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code. To that end, we analyze every tax ase decided by the Supreme Court since Congress adopted the modern tax law, with an eye for identifying the various rationales deployed by the justices, as well as the some commonly held-beliefs about trends in statutory interpretation over time

Cosmological Deuterium Production in Non-Standard Scenarios

It is widely believed that the cosmic baryon density may be obtained by inferring deuterium abundances in low-metallicity quasar absorption line systems. The implicit assumptions which enter this argument are critically assessed. In particular, the production of deuterium in non-standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis scenarios, the putative production of deuterium in astrophysical environments, and the possible destruction of deuterium via non-standard chemical evolution are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, article based on a talk presented at "Deuterium in the Universe", Meudon, June 2001, to be published in Planetary and Space Scienc

The Deuterium Abundance in the z=0.7 absorber towards QSO PG1718+4807

We report a further analysis of the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen (D/H) using HST spectra of the z=0.701 Lyman limit system towards the QSO PG1718+481. Initial analyses of this absorber found it gave a high D/H value, 1.8 - 3.1 \times 10^{-4} (Webb et al. 1998), inconsistent with several higher redshift measurements. It is thus important to critically examine this measurement. By analysing the velocity widths of the DI, HI and metal lines present in this system, Kirkman et al. (2001) report that the additional absorption in the blue wing of the lya line can not be DI, with a confidence level of 98%. Here we present a more detailed analysis, taking into account possible wavelength shifts between the three sets of HST spectra used in the analysis. We find that the constraints on this system are not as strong as those claimed by Kirkman et al. The discrepancy between the parameters of the blue wing absorption and the parameters expected for DI is marginally worse than 1 sigma. Tytler et al.(1999) commented on the first analysis of Webb et al.(1997,1998), reporting the presence of a contaminating lower redshift Lyman limit system, with log[N(HI)] = 16.7 at z=0.602, which biases the N(HI) estimate for the main system. Here we show that this absorber actually has log[N(HI)] < 14.6 and does not impact on the estimate of N(HI) in the system of interest at z = 0.701. The purpose of the present paper is to highlight important aspects of the analysis which were not explored in previous studies, and hence help refine the methods used in future analyses of D/H in quasar spectra.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted by MNRA

The Synaptic Vesicle SNARE Neuronal Synaptobrevin Promotes Endolysosomal Degradations and Prevents Neurodegeneration

Soluble NSF attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are the core proteins in membrane fusion. The neuron-specific synaptic v-SNARE n-syb (neuronal Synaptobrevin) plays a key role during synaptic vesicle exocytosis. In this paper, we report that loss of n-syb caused slow neurodegeneration independent of its role in neurotransmitter release in adult Drosophila melanogaster photoreceptor neurons. In addition to synaptic vesicles, n-Syb localized to endosomal vesicles. Loss of n-syb lead to endosomal accumulations, transmembrane protein degradation defects, and a secondary increase in autophagy. Our evidence suggests a primary defect of impaired delivery of vesicles that contain degradation proteins, including the acidification-activated Cathepsin proteases and the neuron-specific proton pump and V0 adenosine triphosphatase component V100. Overexpressing V100 partially rescued n-syb–dependent degeneration through an acidification-independent endosomal sorting mechanism. Collectively, these findings reveal a role for n-Syb in a neuron-specific sort-and-degrade mechanism that protects neurons from degeneration. Our findings further shed light on which intraneuronal compartments exhibit increased or decreased neurotoxicity