The effect of foot type of normal subjects on foot contact dynamics

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Reliability of plantar pressure platforms

Plantar pressure measurement is common practice in many research and clinical protocols. While the accuracy of some plantar pressure measuring devices and methods for ensuring consistency in data collection on plantar pressure measuring devices have been reported, the reliability of different devices when testing the same individuals is not known. This study calculated intra-mat, intra-manufacturer, and inter-manufacturer reliability of plantar pressure parameters as well as the number of plantar pressure trials needed to reach a stable estimate of the mean for an individual. Twenty-two healthy adults completed ten walking trials across each of two Novel emed-x® and two Tekscan MatScan® plantar pressure measuring devices in a single visit. Intraclass correlation (ICC) was used to describe the agreement between values measured by different devices. All intra-platform reliability correlations were greater than 0.70. All inter-emed-x® reliability correlations were greater than 0.70. Inter-emed-x® reliability correlations were greater than 0.70 in 31 and 52 of 56 parameters when looking at a 10-trial average and a 5-trial average, respectively. Inter-manufacturer reliability including all four devices was greater than 0.70 for 52 and 56 of 56 parameters when looking at a 10-trial average and a 5-trial average, respectively. All parameters reached a value within 90% of an unbiased estimate of the mean within five trials. Overall, reliability results are encouraging for investigators and clinicians who may have plantar pressure data sets that include data collected on different devices

Foot structure is related to foot function

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Does foot type affect foot contact dynamics?

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Multiplex primer prediction software for divergent targets

We describe a Multiplex Primer Prediction (MPP) algorithm to build multiplex compatible primer sets to amplify all members of large, diverse and unalignable sets of target sequences. The MPP algorithm is scalable to larger target sets than other available software, and it does not require a multiple sequence alignment. We applied it to questions in viral detection, and demonstrated that there are no universally conserved priming sequences among viruses and that it could require an unfeasibly large number of primers (∼3700 18-mers or ∼2000 10-mers) to generate amplicons from all sequenced viruses. We then designed primer sets separately for each viral family, and for several diverse species such as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) segments of influenza A virus, Norwalk virus, and HIV-1. We empirically demonstrated the application of the software with a multiplex set of 16 short (10 nt) primers designed to amplify the Poxviridae family to produce a specific amplicon from vaccinia virus

Self-assembly of medium-chain alkyl Monoglucosides in ammonium sulfate solutions with poly(ethylene glycol)

We study the phase behavior and microstructure of alkyl-β- monoglucosides with intermediate chain lengths (octyland nonyl-β-glucoside) in aqueous solutions containing ammonium sulfate and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). When the glucoside surfactants are mixed with PEG of molecular weight 3350 or larger, two different phase transitions are observed in the temperature range 0-100° C, with lower and upper miscibility gaps separated by a one-phase isotropic region. Isothermal titration calorimetry is used to quantify the effect of PEG on the micellization properties of the alkyl monoglucosides, whereas small-angle neutron scattering gives insight into the microstructure of the surfactant/ polymer mixtures near the liquid-liquid phase boundary. Results show that the range and the strength of the interactions in these solutions are highly affected by the presence of PEG, Solutions with nonyl-β-glucoside contain larger micelles than those with octyl-β-glucoside, and the intermicellar interactions are much stronger and longer ranged. The relevance of these findings for membrane protein crystallization is discussed. © 2007 American Chemical Society

Knee joint contact mechanics in a malaligned limb: an integrated finite element and in vitro study

Excessive joint stress, often caused by knee malalignment, contributes to osteoarthritis (OA) progression. High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is a conservative surgery that corrects lower limb malalignment to relieve damaged tissues from excessive loading. However, HTO outcome has been highly variable and the relationship between the degree of malalignment correction and knee joint contact stresses is not known. If this were known, HTO could be tailored to each patient to best restore joint stresses to normal levels. Therefore, the aim of this work is to create a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model of the knee joint to predict the effect of different malalignment corrections on knee joint contact stresses. In this study, we present the verification of our subject-specific 3D FE model

Reliability of plantar pressure platforms

Plantar pressure measurement is common practice in many research and clinical protocols. While the accuracy of some plantar pressure measuring devices and methods for ensuring consistency in data collection on plantar pressure measuring devices have been reported, the reliability of different devices when testing the same individuals is not known. This study calculated intra-mat, intra-manufacturer, and inter-manufacturer reliability of plantar pressure parameters as well as the number of plantar pressure trials needed to reach a stable estimate of the mean for an individual. Twenty-two healthy adults completed ten walking trials across each of two Novel emed-x® and two Tekscan MatScan® plantar pressure measuring devices in a single visit. Intraclass correlation (ICC) was used to describe the agreement between values measured by different devices. All intra-platform reliability correlations were greater than 0.70. All inter-emed-x® reliability correlations were greater than 0.70. Inter-emed-x® reliability correlations were greater than 0.70 in 31 and 52 of 56 parameters when looking at a 10-trial average and a 5-trial average, respectively. Inter-manufacturer reliability including all four devices was greater than 0.70 for 52 and 56 of 56 parameters when looking at a 10-trial average and a 5-trial average, respectively. All parameters reached a value within 90% of an unbiased estimate of the mean within five trials. Overall, reliability results are encouraging for investigators and clinicians who may have plantar pressure data sets that include data collected on different devices

A Spectral Analysis of Rotator Cuff Musculature Electromyographic Activity: Surface and Indwelling

Electromyography (EMG) of the shoulder girdle is commonly performed; however, EMG spectral properties of shoulder muscles have not been clearly defined. The purpose of this study was to determine the maximum power frequency, Nyquist rate, and minimum sampling rate for indwelling and surface EMG of the normal shoulder girdle musculature. EMG signals were recorded using indwelling electrodes for the rotator cuff muscles and surface electrodes for ten additional shoulder muscles in ten healthy volunteers. A fast Fourier transform was performed on the raw EMG signal collected during maximal isometric contractions to derive the power spectral density. The 95% power frequency was calculated during the ramp and plateau subphase of each contraction. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and paired t tests. Indwelling EMG signals had more than twice the frequency content of surface EMG signals (p < .001). Mean 95% power frequencies ranged from 495 to 560 Hz for indwelling electrodes and from 152 to 260 Hz for surface electrodes. Significant differences in the mean 95% power frequencies existed among muscles monitored with surface electrodes (p = .002), but not among muscles monitored with indwelling electrodes (p = .961). No significant differences in the 95% power frequencies existed among contraction subphases for any of the muscle–electrode combinations. Maximum Nyquist rate was 893 Hz for surface electrodes and 1,764 Hz for indwelling electrodes. Our results suggest that when recording EMG of shoulder muscles, the minimum sampling frequency is 1,340 Hz for surface electrodes and 2,650 Hz for indwelling electrodes. The minimum sampling recommendations are higher than the 1,000 Hz reported in many studies involving EMG of the shoulder