The Relationship between Plantar Fascia Thickness, Metatarsophalangeal Joint Position and Gender

Ultrasound is a widely used diagnostic tool for patients with plantar fasciitis. It provides an inexpensive and noninvasive method for quantifying the plantar fascia with accuracy levels comparable to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, some researchers have criticized the lack of standardization in the ultrasound measurement process for plantar fascia thickness as it calls into question the validity of the final measures. One critical component lacking any standardization during the procedure is metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint position as ultrasound examiners often extend the toe position during the process. This variation has made it difficult to understand the etiology of plantar fasciitis and to identify risk factors, such as gender. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the influence of MTP joint extension position on plantar fascia thickness in healthy participants and those with unilateral plantar fasciitis, as well make gender comparisons while controlling for MTP joint position. The plantar fascia thickness of forty participants (20 with unilateral plantar fasciitis and 20 control) was measured via ultrasound three times at three different MTP joint positions: 1) at rest, 2) 30 of extension from the plantar surface, and 3) maximal extension possible. The plantar fascia became significantly thinner as MTP joint extension increased in both the plantar fasciitis group (p\u3c0.001) and the control group (p\u3c0.001). When comparing gender differences, males in the plantar fasciitis group had a significantly thicker plantar fascia when compared to female counterparts (P=0.048). However, no significant differences were observed between healthy males and females. The results from the study highlight the need to standardize the position of the MTP joints during measurement of plantar fascia thickness. As well, healthy males and females first begin with very similar plantar fascia thickness levels. However, as the onset of plantar fasciitis develops, males tend to exhibit thicker plantar fasciae than their female counterparts

Baireness of Ck(X)C_k(X) for ordered XX

summary:We show that if $X$ is a subspace of a linearly ordered space, then $C_k(X)$ is a Baire space if and only if $C_k(X)$ is Choquet iff $X$ has the Moving Off Property

Planet Hunters. VI: An Independent Characterization of KOI-351 and Several Long Period Planet Candidates from the Kepler Archival Data

We report the discovery of 14 new transiting planet candidates in the Kepler field from the Planet Hunters citizen science program. None of these candidates overlapped with Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) at the time of submission. We report the discovery of one more addition to the six planet candidate system around KOI-351, making it the only seven planet candidate system from Kepler. Additionally, KOI-351 bears some resemblance to our own solar system, with the inner five planets ranging from Earth to mini-Neptune radii and the outer planets being gas giants; however, this system is very compact, with all seven planet candidates orbiting $\lesssim 1$ AU from their host star. A Hill stability test and an orbital integration of the system shows that the system is stable. Furthermore, we significantly add to the population of long period transiting planets; periods range from 124-904 days, eight of them more than one Earth year long. Seven of these 14 candidates reside in their host star's habitable zone.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, Accepted to AJ (in press) (updated title from original astro-ph submission

DRD1 signaling modulates TrkB turnover and BDNF sensitivity in direct pathway striatal medium spiny neurons

Disturbed motor control is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). Cortico-striatal synapses play a central role in motor learning and adaption, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from cortico-striatal afferents modulates their plasticity via TrkB in striatal medium spiny projection neurons (SPNs). We studied the role of dopamine in modulating the sensitivity of direct pathway SPNs (dSPNs) to BDNF in cultures of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-enriched D1-expressing SPNs and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated rats. DRD1 activation causes enhanced TrkB translocation to the cell surface and increased sensitivity for BDNF. In contrast, dopamine depletion in cultured dSPN neurons, 6-OHDA-treated rats, and postmortem brain of patients with PD reduces BDNF responsiveness and causes formation of intracellular TrkB clusters. These clusters associate with sortilin related VPS10 domain containing receptor 2 (SORCS-2) in multivesicular-like structures, which apparently protects them from lysosomal degradation. Thus, impaired TrkB processing might contribute to disturbed motor function in PD.This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) project 424778381 (TRR295, A05, A06, and A01), project SE697/7-1, and project 218894895 (INST93/761-1FUGG). R.L.M.was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung. V.P. and C.S.were supported by GRK2581 (P6) SPHINGOINF of the DFG.Work in the lab of R.M. was supported by grant PID2019-111693RB-100 from MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, AND-PD (grant 84800),Next Generation EU/PRTR (MICIN/CSIC/PTI+NeuroAging), and CIBERNED, Instituto de Salud Carlos III. The graphical abstract was created with BioRender.com. We thank Drs.James Surmeier, Moses Chao, and Esther Asan for critical comments and suggestions

Outcome of hematopoietic cell transplantation for DNA double-strand break repair disorders

Background: Rare DNA breakage repair disorders predispose to infection and lymphoreticular malignancies. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is curative, but coadministered chemotherapy or radiotherapy is damaging because of systemic radiosensitivity. We collected HCT outcome data for Nijmegen breakage syndrome, DNA ligase IV deficiency, Cernunnos-XRCC4-like factor (Cernunnos-XLF) deficiency, and ataxia-telangiectasia (AT). Methods: Data from 38 centers worldwide, including indication, donor, conditioning regimen, graft-versus-host disease, and outcome, were analyzed. Conditioning was classified as myeloablative conditioning (MAC) if it contained radiotherapy or alkylators and reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) if no alkylators and/or 150 mg/m(2) fludarabine or less and 40 mg/kg cyclophosphamide or less were used. Results: Fifty-five new, 14 updated, and 18 previously published patients were analyzed. Median age at HCT was 48 months (range, 1.5-552 months). Twenty-nine patients underwent transplantation for infection, 21 had malignancy, 13 had bone marrow failure, 13 received pre-emptive transplantation, 5 had multiple indications, and 6 had no information. Twenty-two received MAC, 59 received RIC, and 4 were infused; information was unavailable for 2 patients. Seventy-three of 77 patients with DNA ligase IV deficiency, Cernunnos-XLF deficiency, or Nijmegen breakage syndrome received conditioning. Survival was 53 (69%) of 77 and was worse for those receiving MAC than for those receiving RIC (P=.006). Most deaths occurred early after transplantation, suggesting poor tolerance of conditioning. Survival in patients with AT was 25%. Forty-one (49%) of 83 patients experienced acute GvHD, which was less frequent in those receiving RIC compared with those receiving MAC (26/56 [46%] vs 12/21 [57%], P=.45). Median follow-up was 35 months (range, 2-168 months). No secondary malignancies were reported during 15 years of follow-up. Growth and developmental delay remained after HCT; immune-mediated complications resolved. Conclusion: RIC HCT resolves DNA repair disorder associated immunodeficiency. Long-term follow-up is required for secondary malignancy surveillance. Routine HCT for AT is not recommended.Peer reviewe

Imaging of bronchial pathology in antibody deficiency: Data from the European Chest CT Group

Studies of chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with primary antibody deficiency syndromes (ADS) suggest a broad range of bronchial pathology. However, there are as yet no multicentre studies to assess the variety of bronchial pathology in this patient group. One of the underlying reasons is the lack of a consensus methodology, a prerequisite to jointly document chest CT findings. We aimed to establish an international platform for the evaluation of bronchial pathology as assessed by chest CT and to describe the range of bronchial pathologies in patients with antibody deficiency. Ffteen immunodeficiency centres from 9 countries evaluated chest CT scans of patients with ADS using a predefined list of potential findings including an extent score for bronchiectasis. Data of 282 patients with ADS were collected. Patients with common variable immunodeficiency disorders (CVID) comprised the largest subgroup (232 patients, 82.3%). Eighty percent of CVID patients had radiological evidence of bronchial pathology including bronchiectasis in 61%, bronchial wall thickening in 44% and mucus plugging in 29%. Bronchiectasis was detected in 44% of CVID patients aged less than 20 years. Cough was a better predictor for bronchiectasis than spirometry values. Delay of diagnosis as well as duration of disease correlated positively with presence of bronchiectasis. The use of consensus diagnostic criteria and a pre-defined list of bronchial pathologies allows for comparison of chest CT data in multicentre studies. Our data suggest a high prevalence of bronchial pathology in CVID due to late diagnosis or duration of disease

A terrestrial planet candidate in a temperate orbit around Proxima Centauri

At a distance of 1.295 parsecs, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri (α Centauri C, GL 551, HIP 70890 or simply Proxima) is the Sun’s closest stellar neighbour and one of the best-studied low-mass stars. It has an effective temperature of only around 3,050 kelvin, a luminosity of 0.15 per cent of that of the Sun, a measured radius of 14 per cent of the radius of the Sun and a mass of about 12 per cent of the mass of the Sun. Although Proxima is considered a moderately active star, its rotation period is about 83 days and its quiescent activity levels and X-ray luminosity are comparable to those of the Sun. Here we report observations that reveal the presence of a small planet with a minimum mass of about 1.3 Earth masses orbiting Proxima with a period of approximately 11.2 days at a semi-major-axis distance of around 0.05 astronomical units. Its equilibrium temperature is within the range where water could be liquid on its surface

Maternal outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 severity among pregnant women.

Pregnant women may be at higher risk of severe complications associated with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which may lead to obstetrical complications. We performed a case control study comparing pregnant women with severe coronavirus disease 19 (cases) to pregnant women with a milder form (controls) enrolled in the COVI-Preg international registry cohort between March 24 and July 26, 2020. Risk factors for severity, obstetrical and immediate neonatal outcomes were assessed. A total of 926 pregnant women with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 were included, among which 92 (9.9%) presented with severe COVID-19 disease. Risk factors for severe maternal outcomes were pulmonary comorbidities [aOR 4.3, 95% CI 1.9-9.5], hypertensive disorders [aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.0-7.0] and diabetes [aOR2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.5]. Pregnant women with severe maternal outcomes were at higher risk of caesarean section [70.7% (n = 53/75)], preterm delivery [62.7% (n = 32/51)] and newborns requiring admission to the neonatal intensive care unit [41.3% (n = 31/75)]. In this study, several risk factors for developing severe complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant women were identified including pulmonary comorbidities, hypertensive disorders and diabetes. Obstetrical and neonatal outcomes appear to be influenced by the severity of maternal disease