Are old running shoes detrimental to your feet? A pedobarographic study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Footwear characteristics have been implicated in fatigue and foot pain. The recommended time for changing running shoes is every 500 miles. The aim of our study was to assess and compare plantar peak pressures and pressure time integrals in new and old running shoes.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>This was a prospective study involving 11 healthy female volunteers with no previous foot and ankle problems. New running shoes were provided to the participants. Plantar pressures were measured using the Novel Pedar system while walking with new and participants' personal old running shoes. Plantar pressures were measured in nine areas of the feet. Demographic data, age of old running shoes, Body Mass Index (BMI), peak pressures and pressure-time integral were acquired. The right and left feet were selected at random and assessed separately. Statistical analysis was done using the paired t test to compare measurements between old and new running shoes.</p> <p>The mean peak pressures were higher in new running shoes (330.5 ± 79.6 kiloPascals kPa) when compared to used old running shoes (304 ± 58.1 kPa) (p = 0.01). The pressure-time integral was significantly higher in the new running shoes (110 ± 28.3 kPa s) compared to used old running shoes (100.7 ± 24.0 kPa s) (p = 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Plantar pressure measurements in general were higher in new running shoes. This could be due to the lack of flexibility in new running shoes. The risk of injury to the foot and ankle would appear to be higher if running shoes are changed frequently. We recommend breaking into new running shoes slowly using them for mild physical activity.</p

First Steps Towards a Runtime Analysis When Starting with a Good Solution

International audienc

Genetic variation for tuber mineral concentrations in accessions of the Commonwealth Potato Collection

The variation in tuber mineral concentrations amongst accessions of wild tuber-bearing Solanum species in the Commonwealth Potato Collection (CPC) was evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Selected CPC accessions, representing the eco-geographical distribution of wild potatoes, were grown to maturity in peat-based compost under controlled conditions. Tubers from five plants of each accession were harvested, bulked and their mineral composition analysed. Among the germplasm investigated, there was a greater range in tuber concentrations of some elements of nutritional significance to both plants and animals, such as (Ca, Fe and Zn; 6.7, 3.6, and 4.5-fold respectively) than others, such as (K, P and S; all <3-fold). Significant positive correlations were found between mean altitude of the species' range and tuber P, K, Cu and Mg concentrations. The amount of diversity observed in the CPC collection indicates the existence of wide differences in tuber mineral accumulation among different potato accessions. This might be useful in breeding for nutritional improvement of potato tubers

Prevalence and Characterization of Motile Salmonella in Commercial Layer Poultry Farms in Bangladesh

Salmonella is a globally widespread food-borne pathogen having major impact on public health. All motile serovars of Salmonella enterica of poultry origin are zoonotic, and contaminated meat and raw eggs are an important source to human infections. Information on the prevalence of Salmonella at farm/holding level, and the zoonotic serovars circulating in layer poultry in the South and South-East Asian countries including Bangladesh, where small-scale commercial farms are predominant, is limited. To investigate the prevalence of Salmonella at layer farm level, and to identify the prevalent serovars we conducted a cross-sectional survey by randomly selecting 500 commercial layer poultry farms in Bangladesh. Faecal samples from the selected farms were collected following standard procedure, and examined for the presence of Salmonella using conventional bacteriological procedures. Thirty isolates were randomly selected, from the ninety obtained from the survey, for serotyping and characterized further by plasmid profiling and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results of the survey showed that the prevalence of motile Salmonella at layer farm level was 18% (95% confidence interval 15–21%), and Salmonella Kentucky was identified to be the only serovar circulating in the study population. Plasmid analysis of the S. Kentucky and non-serotyped isolates revealed two distinct profiles with a variation of two different sizes (2.7 and 4.8 kb). PFGE of the 30 S. Kentucky and 30 non-serotyped isolates showed that all of them were clonally related because only one genotype and three subtypes were determined based on the variation in two or three bands. This is also the first report on the presence of any specific serovar of Salmonella enterica in poultry in Bangladesh

Deep-Inelastic Inclusive ep Scattering at Low x and a Determination of alpha_s

A precise measurement of the inclusive deep-inelastic e^+p scattering cross section is reported in the kinematic range 1.5<= Q^2 <=150 GeV^2 and 3*10^(-5)<= x <=0.2. The data were recorded with the H1 detector at HERA in 1996 and 1997, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20 pb^(-1). The double differential cross section, from which the proton structure function F_2(x,Q^2) and the longitudinal structure function F_L(x,Q^2) are extracted, is measured with typically 1% statistical and 3% systematic uncertainties. The measured partial derivative (dF_2(x,Q^2)/dln Q^2)_x is observed to rise continuously towards small x for fixed Q^2. The cross section data are combined with published H1 measurements at high Q^2 for a next-to-leading order DGLAP QCD analysis.The H1 data determine the gluon momentum distribution in the range 3*10^(-4)<= x <=0.1 to within an experimental accuracy of about 3% for Q^2 =20 GeV^2. A fit of the H1 measurements and the mu p data of the BCDMS collaboration allows the strong coupling constant alpha_s and the gluon distribution to be simultaneously determined. A value of alpha _s(M_Z^2)=0.1150+-0.0017 (exp) +0.0009-0.0005 (model) is obtained in NLO, with an additional theoretical uncertainty of about +-0.005, mainly due to the uncertainty of the renormalisation scale.Comment: 68 pages, 24 figures and 18 table

The first transcriptome of Italian wall lizard, a new tool to infer about the Island Syndrome

Some insular lizards show a high degree of differentiation from their conspecific mainland populations, like Licosa island lizards, which are described as affected by Reversed Island Syndrome (RIS). In previous works, we demonstrated that some traits of RIS, as melanization, depend on a differential expression of gene encoding melanocortin receptors. To better understand the basis of syndrome, and providing raw data for future investigations, we generate the first de novo transcriptome of the Italian wall lizard. Comparing mainland and island transcriptomes, we link differences in life-traits to differential gene expression. Our results, taking together testis and brain sequences, generated 275,310 and 269,885 transcripts, 18,434 and 21,606 proteins in Gene Ontology annotation, for mainland and island respectively. Variant calling analysis identified about the same number of SNPs in island and mainland population. Instead, through a differential gene expression analysis we found some putative genes involved in syndrome more expressed in insular samples like Major Histocompatibility Complex class I, Immunoglobulins, Melanocortin 4 receptor, Neuropeptide Y and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen

The endogenous and reactive depression subtypes revisited: integrative animal and human studies implicate multiple distinct molecular mechanisms underlying major depressive disorder

Traditional diagnoses of major depressive disorder (MDD) suggested that the presence or absence of stress prior to onset results in either 'reactive' or 'endogenous' subtypes of the disorder, respectively. Several lines of research suggest that the biological underpinnings of 'reactive' or 'endogenous' subtypes may also differ, resulting in differential response to treatment. We investigated this hypothesis by comparing the gene-expression profiles of three animal models of 'reactive' and 'endogenous' depression. We then translated these findings to clinical samples using a human post-mortem mRNA study

Transcriptome Analysis of the Desert Locust Central Nervous System: Production and Annotation of a Schistocerca gregaria EST Database

) displays a fascinating type of phenotypic plasticity, designated as ‘phase polyphenism’. Depending on environmental conditions, one genome can be translated into two highly divergent phenotypes, termed the solitarious and gregarious (swarming) phase. Although many of the underlying molecular events remain elusive, the central nervous system (CNS) is expected to play a crucial role in the phase transition process. Locusts have also proven to be interesting model organisms in a physiological and neurobiological research context. However, molecular studies in locusts are hampered by the fact that genome/transcriptome sequence information available for this branch of insects is still limited. EST information is highly complementary to the existing orthopteran transcriptomic data. Since many novel transcripts encode neuronal signaling and signal transduction components, this paper includes an overview of these sequences. Furthermore, several transcripts being differentially represented in solitarious and gregarious locusts were retrieved from this EST database. The findings highlight the involvement of the CNS in the phase transition process and indicate that this novel annotated database may also add to the emerging knowledge of concomitant neuronal signaling and neuroplasticity events. EST data constitute an important new source of information that will be instrumental in further unraveling the molecular principles of phase polyphenism, in further establishing locusts as valuable research model organisms and in molecular evolutionary and comparative entomology

Integrins as therapeutic targets: lessons and opportunities.

The integrins are a large family of cell adhesion molecules that are essential for the regulation of cell growth and function. The identification of key roles for integrins in a diverse range of diseases, including cancer, infection, thrombosis and autoimmune disorders, has revealed their substantial potential as therapeutic targets. However, so far, pharmacological inhibitors for only three integrins have received marketing approval. This article discusses the structure and function of integrins, their roles in disease and the chequered history of the approved integrin antagonists. Recent advances in the understanding of integrin function, ligand interaction and signalling pathways suggest novel strategies for inhibiting integrin function that could help harness their full potential as therapeutic targets