PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED BIOMECHANICS ON THE RACE WALKERS: IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE WITH A PLANTAR ORTHOSIS

When race walking it is essential to attain and maintain for a period of time the maximal speed with minimal expenditure of energy, in observance of the prescribed standards. To achieve this end, optimizing the physical carriage is indispensable. This may be done in two ways: I) by reducing those force component hat ace employed along directions of application that do no concur with the sense of progression, since they interfere with and disperse part of the energy; and 2) by increasing the vectorial components that have the same direction as the forward movement. The aim of our work was to verify the modifications that are induced by the use of plantar orthoses , as reflected by parameters of biomechanical performance on the race walker: Under standard reference conditions, we studied the kinematics and ground reaction of 10 highly-trained Athletes. With reference to report that confirmed previous study by us and other authors, we verified the modifications induced by the applications of special dynamic plantar orthoses. The ground reaction appeared to be optimized by the use of these orthoses through the following mechanisms: 1) a diminution of the sagittal force components that are opposed to the direction of movemen6 2) a diminution of the transverse edgewise components that are not useful to the progression, and 3) an increase in the reclamation of useful elastic energy stored by the functional unit, the 'musculo-skeletal footwear system”

Role of endothelin-1 in the migration of human olfactory gonadotropin-releasing hormone-secreting neuroblasts

FNC-B4 neuroblasts that express both neuronal and olfactory markers have been established and cloned. These cells express GnRH and both the endothelin-1 (ET-1) gene and protein and respond in a migratory manner to GnRH in a dose-dependent manner. Previous research has shown that FNC-B4 cells produce and respond to ET-1 by regulating the secretion of GnRH through endothelin type A receptors and by stimulating their proliferation through endothelin type B (ETB) receptors. In this study, we found that FNC-B4 cells are able to migrate in response to ET-1 through the involvement of ETB receptors. Combined immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses showed that ET-1 triggered actin cytoskeletal remodeling and a dose-dependent increase in migration (up to 6-fold). Whereas the ETB receptor antagonist (B-BQ788) blunted the ET-1-induced effects, the ETA receptor antagonist (A-BQ123) did not. Moreover, we observed that FNC-B4 cells were independently and selectively stimulated by ET-1 and GnRH. We suggest that ET-1, through ETB receptor activation, may be required to maintain an adequate proliferative stem cell pool in the developing olfactory epithelium and the subsequent commitment to GnRH neuronal migratory pattern. The coordinate interaction between ET receptors and GnRH receptor participates in the fully expressed GnRH-secreting neuron phenotype

Il lembo di rotazione romboide nel trattamento chirurgico radicale delle fistole sacrococcigee: note di tecnica

Gli Autori descrivono la tecnica plastico/ricostruttiva mediante lembo romboide di rotazione cutaneo/sottocutaneo prefasciale dopo asportazione radicale di fistole sacrococcigee. Tale tecnica, che può essere effettuata in regime di day hospital o di overnight, preferibilmente in anestesia spinale, è di semplice esecuzione e deve comunque essere riservata a lesioni ampie o recidive

Polymorphisms in the hANP (human atrial natriuretic peptide) gene, albuminuria, and hypertension

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) jointly affects kidney function and blood pressure homeostasis and is a candidate susceptibility gene for both essential hypertension and kidney disease. We evaluated the relation between the ScaI and BstXI polymorphisms of the human ANP (hANP) gene, hypertension, and albuminuria in a clinical cohort of 1033 subjects, including type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, nondiabetic subjects with essential hypertension, and nondiabetic normotensive control subjects. Microalbuminuria was present in 15%, 29%, and 2%, respectively, of type 1 diabetic, type 2 diabetic, and nondiabetic patients. Macroalbuminuria was present in 9% of type 1 diabetics, 21% of type 2 diabetics, and 31% of nondiabetics. Prevalence of hypertension was 31%, 58%, and 61% in normoalbuminuric, microalbuminuric, and macroalbuminuric subjects, respectively (P<0.0001). Genotype distributions were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all 4 patient subgroups. The frequency of the ScaI mutated allele (A(1)) was significantly lower in hypertensive than in control subjects (11% versus 19%, P=0.018) and in patients with macroalbuminuria (5%) as compared with normoalbuminuric subjects (16%; P<0.0001). In a nominal logistic model adjusting for gender, age, obesity, diabetes, micro/macroalbuminuria, and hypertension, the A(1) allele was independently associated with macroalbuminuria (odds ratio, 0.57; confidence interval, 1.39 to 3.59; P=0.003) but not with hypertension. In the same model, the frequency of the BstXI mutated allele (T(708)) was increased in the presence of microalbuminuria (odds ratio, 2.25; confidence interval, 1.39 to 3.59; P<0.001). We conclude that the mutated genotypes of the ScaI polymorphism are negatively associated with overt nephropathy, whereas the mutated genotypes of BstXI polymorphism are positively associated with microalbuminuria. hANP gene variants may exert a protective effect against the development and progression of kidney damage in diabetes