Foot kinematics in patients with two patterns of pathological plantar hyperkeratosis

Background: The Root paradigm of foot function continues to underpin the majority of clinical foot biomechanics practice and foot orthotic therapy. There are great number of assumptions in this popular paradigm, most of which have not been thoroughly tested. One component supposes that patterns of plantar pressure and associated hyperkeratosis lesions should be associated with distinct rearfoot, mid foot, first metatarsal and hallux kinematic patterns. Our aim was to investigate the extent to which this was true. Methods: Twenty-seven subjects with planter pathological hyperkeratosis were recruited into one of two groups. Group 1 displayed pathological plantar hyperkeratosis only under metatarsal heads 2, 3 and 4 (n = 14). Group 2 displayed pathological plantar hyperkeratosis only under the 1st and 5th metatarsal heads (n = 13). Foot kinematics were measured using reflective markers on the leg, heel, midfoot, first metatarsal and hallux. Results: The kinematic data failed to identify distinct differences between these two groups of subjects, however there were several subtle (generally <3°) differences in kinematic data between these groups. Group 1 displayed a less everted heel, a less abducted heel and a more plantarflexed heel compared to group 2, which is contrary to the Root paradigm. Conclusions: There was some evidence of small differences between planter pathological hyperkeratosis groups. Nevertheless, there was too much similarity between the kinematic data displayed in each group to classify them as distinct foot types as the current clinical paradigm proposes

Microbial dynamics in a High Arctic glacier forefield: A combined field, laboratory, and modelling approach

Modelling the development of soils in glacier forefields is necessary in order to assess how microbial and geochemical processes interact and shape soil development in response to glacier retreat. Furthermore, such models can help us predict microbial growth and the fate of Arctic soils in an increasingly ice-free future. Here, for the first time, we combined field sampling with laboratory analyses and numerical modelling to investigate microbial community dynamics in oligotrophic proglacial soils in Svalbard. We measured low bacterial growth rates and growth efficiencies (relative to estimates from Alpine glacier forefields) and high sensitivity of bacterial growth rates to soil temperature (relative to temperate soils). We used these laboratory measurements to inform parameter values in a new numerical model and significantly refined predictions of microbial and biogeochemical dynamics of soil development over a period of roughly 120 years. The model predicted the observed accumulation of autotrophic and heterotrophic biomass. Genomic data indicated that initial microbial communities were dominated by bacteria derived from the glacial environment, whereas older soils hosted a mixed community of autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria. This finding was simulated by the numerical model, which showed that active microbial communities play key roles in fixing and recycling carbon and nutrients. We also demonstrated the role of allochthonous carbon and microbial necromass in sustaining a pool of organic material, despite high heterotrophic activity in older soils. This combined field, laboratory, and modelling approach demonstrates the value of integrated model-data studies to understand and quantify the functioning of the microbial community in an emerging High Arctic soil ecosystem

A Self-Reference False Memory Effect in the DRM Paradigm: Evidence from Eastern and Western Samples

It is well established that processing information in relation to oneself (i.e., selfreferencing) leads to better memory for that information than processing that same information in relation to others (i.e., other-referencing). However, it is unknown whether self-referencing also leads to more false memories than other-referencing. In the current two experiments with European and East Asian samples, we presented participants the Deese-Roediger/McDermott (DRM) lists together with their own name or other people’s name (i.e., “Trump” in Experiment 1 and “Li Ming” in Experiment 2). We found consistent results across the two experiments; that is, in the self-reference condition, participants had higher true and false memory rates compared to those in the other-reference condition. Moreover, we found that selfreferencing did not exhibit superior mnemonic advantage in terms of net accuracy compared to other-referencing and neutral conditions. These findings are discussed in terms of theoretical frameworks such as spreading activation theories and the fuzzytrace theory. We propose that our results reflect the adaptive nature of memory in the sense that cognitive processes that increase mnemonic efficiency may also increase susceptibility to associative false memories

Peer influence in network markets: a theoretical and empirical analysis

Network externalities spur the growth of networks and the adoption of network goods in two ways. First, they make it more attractive to join a network the larger its installed base. Second, they create incentives for network members to actively recruit new members. Despite indications that the latter "peer effect" can be more important for network growth than the installed-base effect, it has so far been largely ignored in the literature. We address this gap using game-theoretical models. When all early adopters can band together to exert peer influence-an assumption that fits, e.g., the case of firms supporting a technical standard-we find that the peer effect induces additional growth of the network by a factor. When, in contrast, individuals exert peer influence in small groups of size n, the increase in network size is by an additive constant-which, for small networks, can amount to a large relative increase. The difference between small, local, personal networks and large, global, anonymous networks arises endogenously from our analysis. Fundamentally, the first type of networks is "tie-reinforcing," the other, "tie-creating". We use survey data from users of the Internet services, Skype and eBay, to illustrate the main logic of our theoretical results. As predicted by the model, we find that the peer effect matters strongly for the network of Skype users-which effectively consists of numerous small sub-networks-but not for that of eBay users. Since many network goods give rise to small, local networks

Responsiveness of the EQ-5D in breast cancer patients in their first year after treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background/aim</p> <p>The EQ-5D is a generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measure that is used for the purpose of economic evaluations of health interventions. Therefore, it has to be responsive to meaningful changes in health in the patient population under investigation. The aim of this study was to investigate the responsiveness of the EQ-5D in breast cancer patients in their first year after treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subscale global health of the disease-specific HRQoL measure EORTC QLQ-C30 was used as a reference instrument to determine meaningful changes in health and identify subgroups of patients: patients reporting a moderate-large deterioration, small deterioration, a small improvement, moderate-large improvement, or no change in health status. Responsiveness was evaluated by calculating standardized response means (SRMs) in the five subgroups of patients and performing analysis of variance procedures. The two HRQoL measures were filled out two weeks and one year after finalizing curative treatment for breast cancer (n = 192).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The EQ-5D was able to capture both improvements and deteriorations in HRQoL. SRMs of the EQ VAS and EQ-5D Index were close to zero in the subgroup reporting no change and increased and decreased adequately in the subgroups reporting small and moderate changes. Additional analysis of variance procedures showed that the EQ-5D was able to differentiate between subgroups of patients with no change and moderate-large deterioration or improvement in health.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The EQ-5D seems an appropriate measure for the purpose of economic evaluations of health intervention in breast cancer patients after treatment.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN74071417.</p

ADAM17-Mediated Processing of TNF-α Expressed by Antiviral Effector CD8+ T Cells Is Required for Severe T-Cell-Mediated Lung Injury

Influenza infection in humans evokes a potent CD8+ T-cell response, which is important for clearance of the virus but may also exacerbate pulmonary pathology. We have previously shown in mice that CD8+ T-cell expression of TNF-a is required for severe and lethal lung injury following recognition of an influenza antigen expressed by alveolar epithelial cells. Since TNF-a is first expressed as a transmembrane protein that is then proteolytically processed to release a soluble form, we sought to characterize the role of TNF-a processing in CD8+ T-cell-mediated injury. In this study we observed that inhibition of ADAM17-mediated processing of TNF-a by CD8+ T cells significantly attenuated the diffuse alveolar damage that occurs after T-cell transfer, resulting in enhanced survival. This was due in part to diminished chemokine expression, as TNF-aprocessing was required for lung epithelial cell expression of CXCL2 and the subsequent inflammatory infiltration. We confirmed the importance of CXCL2 expression in acute lung injury by transferring influenza-specific CD8+ T cells into transgenic mice lacking CXCR2. These mice exhibited reduced airway infiltration, attenuated lung injury, and enhanced survival. Theses studies describe a critical role for TNF-a processing by CD8+ T cells in the initiation and severity of acute lung injury, which may have important implications for limiting immunopathology during influenza infection and other human infectious or inflammatory diseases

Leukocyte ADAM17 Regulates Acute Pulmonary Inflammation

The transmembrane protease ADAM17 regulates the release and density of various leukocyte cell surface proteins that modulate inflammation, including L-selectin, TNF-α, and IL-6R. At this time, its in vivo substrates and role in pulmonary inflammation have not been directly examined. Using conditional ADAM17 knock-out mice, we investigated leukocyte ADAM17 in acute lung inflammation. Alveolar TNF-α levels were significantly reduced (>95%) in ADAM17-null mice following LPS administration, as was the shedding of L-selectin, a neutrophil-expressed adhesion molecule. Alveolar IL-6R levels, however, were reduced by only ≈25% in ADAM17-null mice, indicating that ADAM17 is not its primary sheddase in our model. Neutrophil infiltration into the alveolar compartment is a key event in the pathophysiology of acute airway inflammation. Following LPS inhalation, alveolar neutrophil levels and lung inflammation in ADAM17-null mice were overall reduced when compared to control mice. Interestingly, however, neutrophil recruitment to the alveolar compartment occurred earlier in ADAM17-null mice after exposure to LPS. This decrease in alveolar neutrophil recruitment in ADAM17-null mice was accompanied by significantly diminished alveolar levels of the neutrophil-tropic chemokines CXCL1 and CXCL5. Altogether, our study suggests that leukocyte ADAM17 promotes inflammation in the lung, and thus this sheddase may be a potential target in the design of pharmacologic therapies for acute lung injury

Proportionate vs disproportionate distribution of wealth of two individuals in a tempered Paretian ensemble

We study the distribution P(\omega) of the random variable \omega = x_1/(x_1 + x_2), where x_1 and x_2 are the wealths of two individuals selected at random from the same tempered Paretian ensemble characterized by the distribution \Psi(x) \sim \phi(x)/x^{1 + \alpha}, where \alpha > 0 is the Pareto index and $\phi(x)$ is the cut-off function. We consider two forms of \phi(x): a bounded function \phi(x) = 1 for L \leq x \leq H, and zero otherwise, and a smooth exponential function \phi(x) = \exp(-L/x - x/H). In both cases \Psi(x) has moments of arbitrary order. We show that, for \alpha > 1, P(\omega) always has a unimodal form and is peaked at \omega = 1/2, so that most probably x_1 \approx x_2. For 0 < \alpha < 1 we observe a more complicated behavior which depends on the value of \delta = L/H. In particular, for \delta < \delta_c - a certain threshold value - P(\omega) has a three-modal (for a bounded \phi(x)) and a bimodal M-shape (for an exponential \phi(x)) form which signifies that in such ensembles the wealths x_1 and x_2 are disproportionately different.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Physica