3,648 research outputs found
Adaptive gait changes due to spectacle magnification and dioptric blur in older people
YesPurpose. A recent study suggested that updated spectacles could increase falls rate in older people. We hypothesized that this may be due to changes in spectacle magnification and this study assessed the effects of spectacle magnification on adaptive gait.
Methods. Adaptive gait and visual function was measured in 10 older adults (mean age 77.1 Âż 4.3 years) with the participantsÂż optimal refractive correction and when blurred with +1.00DS, +2.00DS, -1.00DS and -2.00DS lenses. Adaptive gait measurements for the lead and trail foot included foot position before the step, toe clearance of the step edge and foot position on the step. Vision measurements included visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and stereoacuity.
Results. The blur lenses led to equal decrements in visual acuity and stereoacuity for the +1.00DS and -1.00DS and the +2.00DS and -2.00DS lenses. However, they had very different effects on adaptive gait compared to the optimal correction: Positive blur lenses led to an increased distance of the feet from the step, increased vertical toe clearance and reduced distance of the lead heel position on the step. Negative lenses led to the opposite of these changes.
Conclusion. The adaptive gait changes did not mirror the effects of blur on vision, but were driven by the magnification changes of the lenses. Steps appear closer and larger with positive lenses and further away and smaller with negative ones. Magnification likely explains the mobility problems some older adults have with updated spectacles and after cataract surgery.Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Optician
BioGeomancer: Automated Georeferencing to Map the World's Biodiversity Data
The BioGeomancer Project provides a toolkit to georeference data and specimens collected for natural history collections, a crucial task if the potential of these specimens is to be fully realized
The relationship between reductions in knee loading and immediate pain response whilst wearing lateral wedged insoles in knee osteoarthritis.
Studies of lateral wedge insoles (LWIs) in medial knee osteoarthritis (OA) have shown reductions in the average external knee adduction moment (EKAM) but no lessening of knee pain. Some treated patients actually experience increases in the EKAM which could explain the overall absence of pain response. We examined whether, in patients with painful medial OA, reductions in the EKAM were associated with lessening of knee pain. Each patient underwent gait analysis whilst walking in a control shoe and two LWIâs. We evaluated the relationship between change in EKAM and change in knee pain using Spearman Rank Correlation coefficients and tested whether dichotomising patients into biomechanical responders (decreased EKAM) and non-responders (increased EKAM) would identify those with reductions in knee pain. In 70 patients studied, the EKAM was reduced in both LWIs vs. control shoe (-5.21% and -6.29% for typical and supported wedges, respectively). The change in EKAM using LWIs was not significantly associated with the direction of knee pain change. Further, 54% were biomechanical responders, but these persons did not have more knee pain reduction than non-responders. Whilst LWIs reduce EKAM, there is no clearcut relationship between change in medial load when wearing LWIs and corresponding change in knee pain
Decline in health-related quality of life and foot and ankle patient reported outcomes measures in patients with haemophilia and ankle haemarthropathy
Background: Haemophilia is an X-linked recessive genetic disorder characterised by bleeding within soft tissue and joints. The ankle is disproportionally affected by haemarthropathy when compared to the elbows and knees; reported as the most affected joints in patients with haemophilia. Despite advances in treatment, patients still report ongoing pain and disability, however, the impact has not been evaluated, nor has the effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) or foot and ankle patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). The primary aim of this study was to establish the impact of ankle haemarthropathy in patients with severe and moderate haemophilia A and B. Secondly to identify the clinical outcomes associated with a decline in HRQoL and foot and ankle PROMs. Methods: A cross-sectional multi-centre questionnaire study was conducted across 18 haemophilia centres in England, Scotland and Wales with a recruitment target of 245 participants. The HAEMO-QoL-A and Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFQ) (foot and ankle) with total and domain scores measured impact on HRQOL and foot and ankle outcomes. Demographics, clinical characteristics, ankle haemophilia joint health scores, multi-joint haemarthropathy and Numerical Pain Rating Scales (NPRS) of âankle pain over the past six monthsâ were collected as a measure of chronic ankle pain. Results: A total of 243 of 250 participants provided complete data. HAEMO-QoL-A and MOXFQ (foot and ankle) total and index scores indicated worse HRQoL with total scores ranging from a mean of 35.3 to 35.8 (100 best-health) and 50.5 to 45.8 (0 best-health) respectively. NPRS (mean (SD)) ranged from 5.0 (2.6) to 5.5 (2.5), with median (IQR) ankle haemophilia joint health score of 4.5 (1 to 12.5) to 6.0 (3.0 to 10.0) indicating moderate to severe levels of ankle haemarthropathy. Ankle NPRS over six months and inhibitor status were associated with decline in outcome. Conclusions: HRQoL and foot and ankle PROMs were poor in participants with moderate to severe levels of ankle haemarthropathy. Pain was a major driver for decline in HRQoL and foot and ankle PROMs and use of NPRS has the potential to predict worsening HRQoL and PROMs at the ankle and other affected joints
Public health professionals' perceptions toward provision of health protection in England: a survey of expectations of Primary Care Trusts and Health Protection Units in the delivery of health protection
BACKGROUND: Effective health protection requires systematised responses with clear accountabilities. In England, Primary Care Trusts and the Health Protection Agency both have statutory responsibilities for health protection. A Memorandum of Understanding identifies responsibilities of both parties, but there is a potential lack of clarity about responsibility for specific health protection functions. We aimed to investigate professionals' perceptions of responsibility for different health protection functions, to inform future guidance for, and organisation of, health protection in England. METHODS: We sent a postal questionnaire to all health protection professionals in England from the following groups: (a) Directors of Public Health in Primary Care Trusts; (b) Directors of Health Protection Units within the Health Protection Agency; (c) Directors of Public Health in Strategic Health Authorities and; (d) Regional Directors of the Health Protection Agency RESULTS: The response rate exceeded 70%. Variations in perceptions of who should be, and who is, delivering health protection functions were observed within, and between, the professional groups (a)-(d). Concordance in views of which organisation should, and which does deliver was high (â„90%) for 6 of 18 health protection functions, but much lower (â€80%) for 6 other functions, including managing the implications of a case of meningitis out of hours, of landfill environmental contamination, vaccination in response to mumps outbreaks, nursing home infection control, monitoring sexually transmitted infections and immunisation training for primary care staff. The proportion of respondents reporting that they felt confident most or all of the time in the safe delivery of a health protection function was strongly correlated with the concordance (r = 0.65, P = 0.0038). CONCLUSION: Whilst we studied professionals' perceptions, rather than actual responses to incidents, our study suggests that there are important areas of health protection where consistent understanding of responsibility for delivery is lacking. There are opportunities to clarify the responsibility for health protection in England, perhaps learning from the approaches used for those health protection functions where we found consistent perceptions of accountability
Draco, a flawless dwarf galaxy
The Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph), with its apparent immense mass to
light ratio and compact size, holds many clues to the nature of the enigmatic
dark matter. Here we present deep photometric studies of this dwarf galaxy,
undertaken with the MegaCam Camera at the Canada-France-hawaii Telescope, the
Wide Field Camera at the Isaac Newton Telescope and the Wide-Field and
Planetary Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The new photometric data
cover the entirety of the galaxy, and reach i=24.5 at 50% completeness,
significantly deeper than previous panoramic studies, allowing searches for
tidal disturbances of much lower surface brightness than has been possible
before. With these improved statistics, we find no evidence for asymmetric
disturbances or tidal tails that possess more than 3% of the stars found within
the centre of the galaxy. We find that the central stellar density, as probed
by the HST data, rises into the central 0.5'. Uncertainties in the position of
the centroid of the galaxy do not allow us to determine whether the apparent
flattening of the profile interior to 0.5' is reliable or not. Draco is
therefore a flawless dwarf galaxy, featureless and apparently unaffected by
Galactic tides.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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