Transcultural adaptation and validation of a French version of the Prosthetic Limb Users Survey of Mobility 12-item Short-Form (PLUS-M/FC-12) in active amputees.

The PLUS-M 12-item Short-Form is a self-questionnaire that assesses the perceived capacity of lower limb amputees (LLAs) to perform a number of daily-life activities. Its psychometric properties are excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]>0.9, fast administration and scoring, normative data available), and it can be used in clinical practice or for research purposes. We aimed to develop a French version of this questionnaire and to assess its psychometric properties. We followed international recommendations for translation and cross-cultural validation of questionnaires. In total, 52 LLAs (age 53±16, 40 males, 28/12/12 transtibial/Gritti-Stokes/transfemoral, 20/28/4 ischemic/traumatic/other) participated. Criterion and construct validities were assessed with the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) between the PLUS-M 12-item Short-Form and other constructs (Prosthetic-Profile-of-the-Amputee-Locomotor Capabilities Index, Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale, 2-min walking test and Timed Up and Go test), internal consistency with the Cronbach α and reliability with the ICC in 46 individuals who completed the questionnaire twice in a 7-day interval. The mean (SD) PLUS-M 12-item Short-Form T-score was 56.1 (7.8; range 40.3 to 71.4). Construct and criterion validity, internal consistency and reliability ranged from low to excellent (r=0.43 to 0.84, P<10 <sup>-2</sup> to 0.002; Cronbach α=0.90, ICC=0.89 [0.81-0.94]). We found no floor or ceiling effect. The French version of the PLUS-M 12-item Short-Form has good to excellent psychometric properties, comparable to those of the original version. Its use could definitely be proposed for both clinical and research purposes, once its validation is completed by assessing other psychometric qualities, especially sensitivity to change

Travelers With Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Cured Without Systemic Therapy

Guidelines recommend wound care and/or local therapy as first-line treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis. An analysis of a referral treatment program in 135 travelers showed that this approach was feasible in 62% of patients, with positive outcome in 83% of evaluable patient

Effect of pollination treatments on reproductive organ abortion rates, yield and crossing rates in 2 lines of spring faba bean (Vicia faba L var equina Steudel)

The effects of 5 pollination treatments on reproductive organ abortion rates, fruiting rate, yield components and crossing were studied in a self-pollinating (D-27) and a non self-pollinating (D-23) line of faba bean. The experimental design consisted of a completely randomized block with 3 replications, 5 treatments and 2 varieties per treatment. Pollination treatments were as follows: 1) cages with honeybees (Apis mellifera L) (a small hive consisting of 5 frames of honeybees per cage), 2) cages with bumblebees (2 queens of Bombus lapidarius L per cage), 3) cages without insects (self-pollination), 4) cages without insects but hand pollinated (= tripped), 5) outside standard open pollination. Cages used in this experiment were 3 × 3 × 2 m (L × W × H) and made of 2-mm mesh cloth. Two rows of 10 plants for each of the 2 lines were sown in each cage. Observations were conducted on insect foraging behaviour, abortion rate of reproductive organs (nodes, flowers and pods) for 5 plants per line, per treatment and per block. In all cages with honeybees, flower abortions at the bottom of the plants were significantly higher than at the top (38% and 13% at the bottom versus 13% and 5% at the top for D-27 lines and D-23 line respectively), indicating possible "over visitation" due to overpopulation (bees/plant) of honeybees per cage. Line D-27 showed a greater susceptibility to flower abortion than line D-23. When compared to selfing, entomophilous pollination (honeybees or bumblebees) had no significant effect on flower abortion, pod set and yield components for line D-27. Self-pollination was thus considered predominant in this genotype. This genotype also seemed to possess good capacities for compensation when exposed to various environmental conditions. In contrast, entomophilous pollination appeared necessary for line D-23. In the absence of bees, the abortion rate of yound pods ( 2 cm long; 28% vs 4 and 7%, P = 0.01 but less than 4 cm long). Absolute abortion rate was higher under selfing conditions when compared to insect pollination (86% vs 41 and 39%, P = 0.001). With self-pollination there was a significant restriction of the pod setting rate (8.6 vs 69.4 and 80.2, P = 0.001), the number of seeds per pod (2.25 vs 2.83 and 3.12, P = 0.001) and the yield (5.7 vs 31.1 and 33.5, P = 0.001). Nevertheless, fructification for this line under self-pollination (ie without insects or tripping) was 23% of that with insects. The outcrossing rate of line D-27 by line D-23 was = 10% in treatments 1 or 2 and 5% in treatment 5

Monitoring of Gait Quality in Patients With Chronic Pain of Lower Limbs.

Severe injuries of lower extremities often lead to chronic pain and reduced walking abilities. We postulated that measuring free-living gait can provide further information about walking ability in complement to clinical evaluations. We sought to validate a method that characterizes free gaits with a wearable sensor. Over one week, 81 healthy controls (HC) and 66 chronic lower limb pain patients (CLLPP) hospitalized for multidisciplinary rehabilitation wore a simple accelerometer (Actigraph). In the acceleration signals, steady 1-min walks detected numbered 7,835 (5,085 in CLLPP and 2,750 in HC). Five gait quality measures were assessed: movement intensity, cadence, stride regularity, and short-term and long-term local dynamic stability. Gait quality variables differed significantly between CLLPP and HC (4%-26%). Intraclass correlation coefficients revealed moderate to high repeatability (0.71-0.91), which suggests that seven days of measurement are sufficient to assess average gait patterns. Regression analyses showed significant association (R(2) = 0.44) between the gait quality variables and a clinical evaluation of walking ability, i.e., the 6-min walk test. Overall, the results show that the method is easy to implement, valid (high concurrent validity), and reliable to assess walking abilities ecologically

Efficiency of pollinating treatments on 2 lines of spring faba bean (Vicia faba L var equina Steudel) with different levels of self-fertility and using 3 species of Bombus (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The objective was to compare the pollinating efficiency of Bombus lapidarius, B pascuorum and B hortorum with 3 types of treatments (hand tripping, self pollination and open pollination). This study was conducted under insect-proof cages 3 × 3 × 3 m on 2 faba bean lines, one with high self-fertility (D-27) and the other with low self-fertility (D-23). Another objective of the study was to further evaluate if self-fertility might increase the reliability of yield in faba bean. The cages with bumble bees contained 2 queens each, and the experimental design was a randomized complete block with 3 replications, 6 pollination treatments and 2 lines per treatment. Data were recorded on reproductive organs (flowers and pods) by node, on abortion rates, pod setting rates and seed yield components. Treatments did not affect flower production, the self-fertile line D-27 yielding ≈ 50% more flowers than the line D-23 with low self-fertility. But the abortion rates were significantly higher in the self-fertile line D-27 than in D-23. The self-fertile line was not affected by the various conditions of pollination. On the contrary, the line with low self-fertility was very susceptible to treatments and to the different species of bumble bees. Under self pollination, the low self-fertile line produced significantly less pods than with insects. On the contrary self-fertility enabled line D-27 to produce as many seeds under self-pollination as with bumble bees. Despite its higher abortion rate, the self-fertile line D-27 had a greater productivity than that of D-23 for practically all the treatments. We concluded that the non self-fertile line has a definite need of pollinating insects to significantly increase its pod setting and seed yield. The fact that the yield from the self-fertile line was completely independent of insect activity indicates that self fertility was an effective means of making faba bean yield more consistent and reliable, but this mechanism did not increase yield

Influence of sensory neuropeptides on human cutaneous wound healing process

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