A survey to investigate the association of pain, foot disability and quality of life with corns

Background Corns are a common foot problem affecting a large proportion of the population. This study describes the characteristics of corns experienced by 201 participants taking part in a randomised controlled trial to investigate associations between demographic and corn parameters on pain, foot related disability and quality of life (QoL). Methods Pain from the main (index) corn was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS); foot related disability was assessed with the Foot Disability Questionnaire (now known as the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index) and quality of life was recorded with the EQ-5D questionnaire. The effect of demographic and corn parameters on the pain and quality of life outcomes was assessed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods. The effect of the same factors on a linear combination of the foot-related disability outcome measures was assessed using multivariate ANOVA methods. Pain was also tested for its mediating properties on the causal pathway between the independent variables and quality of life. Results The mean pain score was 5.29 points on a 10 cm VAS, with females reporting substantively higher pain levels than males. Age affected foot-related disability, with lower levels on all domains of the MFPDI reported in older participants; each year of advancing age was associated with falls of: 0.009 points on the Concern about Appearance (CA) domain; 0.047 points on the Functional Limitation (FL) domain and 0.048 points on the Pain Intensity (PI) domain. Sex and corn type also affected disability, with higher scores reported by females and participants with plantar corns. Conclusions The effect of pain was shown to mediate the relationship between sex and foot-related disability. The presence of plantar corns has a more detrimental effect on QoL than dorsal/inter-digital corns

Immediate and short-term effects of short- and long-duration isometric contractions in patellar tendinopathy

Objectives: Isometric muscle contractions are used in the management of patellar tendinopathy to manage pain and improve function. Little is known about whether long- or short-duration contractions are optimal to improve pain. This study examined the immediate and short-term (4 weeks) effects of long- and short-duration isometric contraction on patellar tendon pain, and tendon adaptation. Design: Repeated measures within groups. Setting: Clinical primary care. Patients: Participants (n = 16, males) with patellar tendinopathy. Intervention: Short-duration (24 sets of 10 seconds) or long-duration (6 sets of 40 seconds) isometric knee extension loading (85% maximal voluntary contraction), for 4 weeks. Main Outcome Measure: Immediate change in pain with single-leg decline squat (SLDS) and hop, as well as change in pain and tendon adaptation [within-session anterior–posterior (AP) strain] were assessed over 4 weeks. Results: Pain was significantly reduced after isometric loading on both SLDS (P < 0.01) and hop tests (P < 0.01). Pain and quadriceps function improved over the 4 weeks (P < 0.05). There was significant AP strain at each measurement occasion (P < 0.01). Although transverse strain increased across the training period from ∼14% to 22%, this was not significant (P = 0.08). Conclusions: This is the first study to show that short-duration isometric contractions are as effective as longer duration contractions for relieving patellar tendon pain when total time under tension is equalized. This finding provides clinicians with greater options in prescription of isometric loading and may be particularly useful among patients who do not tolerate longer duration contractions. The trend for tendon adaptation over the short 4-week study period warrants further investigation

Investigation of mechanical losses of thin silicon flexures at low temperatures

The investigation of the mechanical loss of different silicon flexures in a temperature region from 5 to 300 K is presented. The flexures have been prepared by different fabrication techniques. A lowest mechanical loss of $3\times10^{-8}$ was observed for a 130 $\mu$m thick flexure at around 10 K. While the mechanical loss follows the thermoelastic predictions down to 50 K a difference can be observed at lower temperatures for different surface treatments. This surface loss will be limiting for all applications using silicon based oscillators at low temperatures. The extraction of a surface loss parameter using different results from our measurements and other references is presented. We focused on structures that are relevant for gravitational wave detectors. The surface loss parameter $\alpha_s$ = 0.5 pm was obtained. This reveals that the surface loss of silicon is significantly lower than the surface loss of fused silica.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

A rasch analysis of the Manchester foot pain and disability index

© 2009 Muller and Roddy; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Development of Genome-wide Simple Sequence Repeat Markers Using Whole-genome Shotgun Sequences of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers with a high degree of polymorphism contribute to the molecular dissection of agriculturally important traits in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). We designed 5599 non-redundant SSR markers, including regions flanking the SSRs, in whole-genome shotgun sequences of sorghum line ATx623. (AT/TA)n repeats constituted 26.1% of all SSRs, followed by (AG/TC)n at 20.5%, (AC/TG)n at 13.7% and (CG/GC)n at 11.8%. The chromosomal locations of 5012 SSR markers were determined by comparing the locations identified by means of electronic PCR with the predicted positions of 34 008 gene loci. Most SSR markers had a similar distribution to the gene loci. Among 970 markers validated by fragment analysis, 67.8% (658 of 970) markers successfully provided PCR amplification in sorghum line BTx623, with a mean polymorphism rate of 45.1% (297 of 658) for all SSR loci in combinations of 11 sorghum lines and one sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf) line. The product of 5012 and 0.678 suggests that ∼3400 SSR markers could be used to detect SSR polymorphisms and that more than 1500 (45.1% of 3400) markers could reveal SSR polymorphisms in combinations of Sorghum lines

Enrichment of antioxidant capacity and vitamin E in pita made from barley

This study aimed to enhance total antioxidant and vitamin E content of pita bread, by replacing 50% of the standard baker's flour with flours milled from covered (WI2585 and Harrington) or hulless (Finniss) barley genotypes, previously shown to have high antioxidant and vitamin E levels at harvest. Pita breads were made from either 100% baker's flour (control) or 50% malt flour, whole-grain flour, or flour from barley grains pearled at 10%, 15%, and 20% grain weight. Antioxidant capacity and vitamin E content of flours and pitas were determined by their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The physical and sensory properties of the pitas were also assessed. All pitas made from either whole grain or pearled barley flour had a higher antioxidant capacity and most also had higher vitamin E content than standard pita. The antioxidant and vitamin E levels were reduced in pearled compared to whole grains, however the extent of that reduction varied among genotypes. The greatest antioxidant and vitamin E levels were found in pita made from malt flour or Finniss whole grain flour. Furthermore, sensory analysis suggested these pitas were acceptable to consumers and retained similar physical and sensory properties to those in the control pita.Thi Thu Dung Do, Beverly Muhlhausler, Amanda Box and Amanda J. Abl

Author correction : a global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

Correction to: Scientific Data https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0344-7, published online 08 January 202

Efficacy of intra-articular hyaluronan (Synvisc®) for the treatment of osteoarthritis affecting the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot (hallux limitus): study protocol for a randomised placebo controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ) of the foot, termed <it>hallux limitus</it>, is common and painful. Numerous non-surgical interventions have been proposed for this disorder, however there is limited evidence for their efficacy. Intra-articular injections of hyaluronan have shown beneficial effects in case-series and clinical trials for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. However, no study has evaluated the efficacy of this form of treatment using a randomised placebo controlled trial. This article describes the design of a randomised placebo controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of intra-articular hyaluronan (Synvisc^®) to reduce pain and improve function in people with hallux limitus.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One hundred and fifty community-dwelling men and women aged 18 years and over with hallux limitus (who satisfy inclusion and exclusion criteria) will be recruited.</p> <p>Participants will be randomised, using a computer-generated random number sequence, to receive a single intra-articular injection of up to 1 ml hyaluronan (Synvisc^®) or sterile saline (placebo) into the first MPJ. The injections will be performed by an interventional radiologist using fluoroscopy to ensure accurate deposition of the hyaluronan in the joint. Participants will be given the option of a second and final intra-articular injection (of Synvisc^®or sterile saline according to the treatment group they are in) either 1 or 3 months post-treatment if there is no improvement in pain and the participant has not experienced severe adverse effects after the first injection. The primary outcome measures will be the pain and function subscales of the Foot Health Status Questionnaire. The secondary outcome measures will be pain at the first MPJ (during walking and at rest), stiffness at the first MPJ, passive non-weightbearing dorsiflexion of the first MPJ, plantar flexion strength of the toe-flexors of the hallux, global satisfaction with the treatment, health-related quality of life (assessed using the Short-Form-36 version two questionnaire), magnitude of symptom change, use of pain-relieving medication and changes in dynamic plantar pressure distribution (maximum force and peak pressure) during walking. Data will be collected at baseline, then 1, 3 and 6 months post-treatment. Data will be analysed using the intention to treat principle.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study is the first randomised placebo controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of intra-articular hyaluronan (Synvisc^®) for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the first MPJ (hallux limitus). The study has been pragmatically designed to ensure that the study findings can be implemented into clinical practice if this form of treatment is found to be an effective treatment strategy.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12607000654459</p

Author correction : a global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

Correction to: Scientific Data https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0344-7, published online 08 January 202