Structural validity of the Finnish Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFQ) using the Rasch model

Background: The 16-item patient-reported Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFQ) with subscales of pain, social interactions, and walking/standing has been claimed for strongest scientific evidence in measuring foot and ankle complaints. This study tests the validity of the Finnish MOXFQ for orthopaedic foot and ankle population using the Rasch analysis. Methods: We translated the MOXFQ into Finnish and used that translation in our study. MOXFQ scores were obtained from 183 patients. Response category distribution, item fit, coverage, targeting, item dependency, ability to measure latent trait (unidimensionality), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), and person separation index (PSI) were analyzed. Results: Fifteen of the items had ordered response categories and/or sufficient fit statistics. The subscales provided coverage and targeting. Some residual correlation was noted. Removing one item in the pain subscale led to a unidimensional structure. Alphas and PSIs ranged between 0.68-0.90 and 0.67-0.92, respectively. Conclusions: Despite some infractions of the Rasch model, the instrument functioned well. The subscales of the MOXFQ are meaningful for assessing patient-reported complaints and outcomes in orthopaedic foot and ankle population. (C) 2020 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Chromatin accessibility is associated with CRISPR-Cas9 efficiency in the zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Abstract CRISPR-Cas9 technology is routinely applied for targeted mutagenesis in model organisms and cell lines. Recent studies indicate that the prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas9 system is affected by eukaryotic chromatin structures. Here, we show that the likelihood of successful mutagenesis correlates with transcript levels during early development in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. In an experimental setting, we found that guide RNAs differ in their onset of mutagenesis activity in vivo. Furthermore, some guide RNAs with high in vitro activity possessed poor mutagenesis activity in vivo, suggesting the presence of factors that limit the mutagenesis in vivo. Using open access datasets generated from early developmental stages of the zebrafish, and guide RNAs selected from the CRISPRz database, we provide further evidence for an association between gene expression during early development and the success of CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis in zebrafish embryos. In order to further inspect the effect of chromatin on CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, we analysed the relationship of selected chromatin features on CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis efficiency using publicly available data from zebrafish embryos. We found a correlation between chromatin openness and the efficiency of CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis. These results indicate that CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis is influenced by chromatin accessibility in zebrafish embryos