A cross sectional pilot study utilising STrain Analysis and Mapping of the Plantar Surface (STAMPS) to measure plantar load characteristics within a healthy population.

Background: No in-shoe systems, measuring both components of plantar load (plantar pressure and shear stress) are available for use in patients with diabetes. The STAMPS (STrain Analysis and Mapping of the Plantar Surface) system utilises digital image correlation (DIC) to determine the strain sustained by a deformable insole, providing a more complete understanding of plantar shear load at the foot-surface interface.

Research Questions: What is the normal range and pattern of strain at the foot-surface interface within a healthy population as measured by the STAMPS system? Is STAMPS a valid tool to measure the effects of plantar load?

Methods: A cross-sectional study of healthy participants was undertaken.

Mechanical characteristics of diabetic and non-diabetic plantar skin.

Diabetic foot ulceration is linked to high amputation and mortality rates, with the substantial associated annual spend on the at-risk diabetic foot reflecting the intensive time and labour involved in treatment. Assessing plantar interactions and developing improved understanding of the formation pathways of diabetic ulceration is important to orthotic interventions and patient outcomes. Plantar skin surrogates which emulate the mechanical and tribological characteristics can help improve physical models of ulceration, reduce reliance on cadaveric use and inform more complex computational modelling approaches.

Evaluating the use of a novel low-cost measurement insole to characterise plantar foot strain during gait loading regimes.

Under plantar loading regimes, it is accepted that both pressure and shear strain biomechanically contribute to formation and deterioration of diabetic foot ulceration (DFU). Plantar foot strain characteristics in the at-risk diabetic foot are little researched due to lack of measurement devices. Plantar pressure comparatively, is widely quantified and used in the characterisation of diabetic foot ulceration risk, with a range of clinically implemented pressure measurement devices on the market.

STrain Analysis and Mapping of the Plantar Surface (STAMPS): A novel technique of plantar load analysis during gait.

Diabetic foot ulceration is driven by peripheral neuropathy, resulting in abnormal foot biomechanics and elevated plantar load. Plantar load comprises normal pressure and tangential shear stress. Currently, there are no in-shoe devices measuring both components of plantar load.

The Nutritional Quality of Food Provision at UK Government-Funded Holiday Clubs: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Energy and Nutrient Content.

A large proportion of children are at risk of food insecurity during school holidays in the UK. The government-funded Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme provides free holiday clubs offering at least one healthy meal/day to eligible children and adolescents. This study aims at evaluating the nutritional quality of food provision at HAF holiday clubs, particularly hot/cold and vegetarian/non-vegetarian meals.

A plantar surface shear strain methodology utilising Digital Image Correlation.

The increase in the global diabetic population is leading to an increase in associated complications such as diabetic foot ulceration (DFU), associated amputations, morbidity, which substantial treatment costs. Early identification of DFU risk is therefore of great benefit. International guidelines recommend off-loading is the most important intervention for healing and prevention of DFU, with current research focused on pressure measurement techniques.

Using consensus methods to prioritize modifiable risk factors for development of manifestations of frailty in hospitalized older adults.

Aim: The aim of the study was to reach consensus on modifiable risk factors for a novel system of care to address Manifestations of Frailty in hospitalized older adults.

Design: Consensus study.

Method: A modified nominal group technique, incorporating expert group face-to-face interaction, review of existing evidence and pre/post-meeting questionnaire completion was undertaken November 2019-February 2020.

Home environmental assessments and modification delivered by occupational therapists to reduce falls in people aged 65 years and over: the OTIS RCT.

Background: Falls and fall-related fractures are highly prevalent among older people and are a major contributor to morbidity and costs to individuals and society. Only one small pilot trial has evaluated the effectiveness of a home hazard assessment and environmental modification in the UK. This trial reported a reduction in falls as a secondary outcome, and no economic evaluation was undertaken.

A global horizon scan of the future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on urban ecosystems.

Technology is transforming societies worldwide. A major innovation is the emergence of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), which have the potential to revolutionize cities for both people and nature. Nonetheless, the opportunities and challenges associated with RAS for urban ecosystems have yet to be considered systematically.

Can occupational therapist-led home environmental assessment prevent falls in older people? A modified cohort randomised controlled trial protocol.

Introduction: Falls and fall-related injuries are a serious cause of morbidity and cost to society. Environmental hazards are implicated as a major contributor to falls among older people. A recent Cochrane review found an environmental assessment, undertaken by an occupational therapist, to be an effective approach to reducing falls.

Nitric oxide levels in wound fluid may reflect the healing trajectory.

We analyzed nitric oxide metabolites (nitrate and nitrite, NOx) and other biomarkers in human wound fluids and correlated these markers with wound healing status (progressing or worsening) based on patient's wound history. Samples were collected pre- and postcleansing from patients with wounds of various etiologies and analyzed for NOx, matrix metalloproteinase activity, and elastase activity. A laboratory method was developed to analyze NOx which can detect at least 5 μM in samples as small as 10 μL.

Problem based review: the patient with 'palpitations'.

Palpitations, or the sensation of a rapid or heavy heartbeat, are a common symptom in both primary and secondary care settings. Here we use a common presentation of palpitations to explore the best ways to assess and treat patients who present in this way. We hope that by using a structured approach to our assessment we will reduce the use of the 'scattergun' approach to diagnosis, thus preventing unnecessary investigation and hospital stay.

Three outbreaks of foodborne botulism caused by unsafe home canning of vegetables--Ohio and Washington, 2008 and 2009.

Foodborne botulism is a potentially fatal paralytic illness caused by ingestion of neurotoxin produced by the spore-forming bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Historically, home-canned vegetables have been the most common cause of botulism outbreaks in the United States. During 2008 and 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health departments in Ohio and Washington State investigated three outbreaks caused by unsafe home canning of vegetables.

Needs assessment in forensic learning disability.

This paper gives the results of a needs assessment of a group of learning-disabled forensic patients from two Strategic Health Authority areas in the north of England. The patients were found to be a heterogeneous group with wide-ranging psychiatric needs. The majority were cared for outside their geographical area of origin, either in specialist NHS facilities or the independent sector.

Genome-wide screening for complete genetic loss in prostate cancer by comparative hybridization onto cDNA microarrays.

We demonstrate that comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) onto cDNA microarrays may be used to carry out genome-wide screens for regions of genetic loss, including homozygous (complete) deletions that may represent the possible location of tumour suppressor genes in human cancer. Screening of the prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP, PC3 and DU145 allowed the mapping of specific regions where genome copy number appeared altered and led to the identification of two novel regions of complete loss at 17q21.31 (500 kb spanning STAT3) and at 10q23.

Novel p53 mutants selected in BRCA-associated tumours which dissociate transformation suppression from other wild-type p53 functions.

Inheritance of germ-line mutant alleles of BRCA1 and BRCA2 confers a markedly increased risk of breast cancer and we have previously reported a higher incidence of p53 mutations in these tumours than in grade matched sporadic tumours. We have now characterized these p53 mutants. The results of these studies identify a novel class of p53 mutants previously undescribed in human cancer yet with multiple occurrences in BRCA-associated tumours which retain a profile of p53-dependent activities in terms of transactivation, growth suppression and apoptosis induction which is close or equal to wild-type.

Spectrum of p53 gene mutations suggests a possible role for ultraviolet radiation in the pathogenesis of advanced cutaneous lymphomas.

There is evidence that the incidence of primary cutaneous lymphoma, like other forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is increasing, yet little is known of the pathogenetic events involved in this group of disorders. In this study we examine the frequency and spectrum of P53 gene mutations in a large series of primary cutaneous lymphomas, with particular emphasis on tumor stage mycosis fungoides, as it is in these cases that p53 overexpression has previously been reported. Sixty-six samples from 55 patients with primary cutaneous B cell and T cell lymphomas were analyzed for mutations in exons 5-9 of the P53 gene using polymerase chain reaction/single strand conformational polymorphism, and subsequent cloning and sequencing of genomic DNA.

p53 mutation with frequent novel condons but not a mutator phenotype in BRCA1- and BRCA2-associated breast tumours.

The status of p53 was investigated in breast tumours arising in germ-line carriers of mutant alleles of BRCA1 and BRCA2 and in a control series of sporadic breast tumours. p53 expression was detected in 20/26 (77%) BRCA1-, 10/22 (45%) BRCA2-associated and 25/72 (35%) grade-matched sporadic tumours. Analysis of p53 sequence revealed that the gene was mutant in 33/50 (66%) BRCA-associated tumours, whereas 7/20 (35%) sporadic grade-matched tumours contained p53 mutation (P<0.

A transforming p53 mutant, which binds DNA, transactivates and induces apoptosis reveals a nuclear:cytoplasmic shuttling defect.

The DG75 Burkitt lymphoma-derived human B cell line is heterozygous for p53, carrying wild type (WT) and mutant (Arg283His) alleles. The cells constitutively express high levels of both p53 proteins and also Mdm2. Arg283His transactivates the p21Waf1, Mdm2, bax, cyclin G and IGF-BP3 promoters in transient transfection assays equally as well as, if not better than WT p53.

Nuclear location and cell cycle regulation of the BRCA2 protein.

Women carrying a germ-line mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have a high risk of developing breast cancer, and loss of the wild-type allele in tumors suggests that these genes function as tumor suppressor genes. The BRCA2 gene encodes a 3418-amino acid protein with no significant sequence similarity to any known protein. To begin to elucidate the cellular role of BRCA2, we have raised antibodies to the BRCA2 protein and used these to study its subcellular localization and expression.

Molecular cloning and characterization of PTP pi, a novel receptor-like protein-tyrosine phosphatase.

Novel cDNAs encoding a receptor-like protein-tyrosine phosphatase (rPTP) have been isolated from human breast tumour cells and foetal brain. The predicted protein of approximately 160 kDa, called PTP pi, comprises an extracellular portion with a MAM (meprin-A5 antigen-PTP mu) domain, an IgG-like domain and four fibronectin III-like repeats, a hydrophobic transmembrane domain and an intracellular portion consisting of two PTP catalytic units. The predicted amino acid sequence shows high identity with those of the two homophilic binding rPTPs, PTP mu and PTP kappa.

Cefpodoxime proxetil in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections.

Patients with skin and soft tissue infections were enrolled in a study comparing 2 dosage regimens of orally administered cefpodoxime proxetil; 204 patients with mild to moderate infections received cefpodoxime proxetil 200mg twice daily and 47 patients with severe infections received 400mg twice daily. Both dosage regimens were given for 7 to 14 days. 132 of 142 (93.

Use of a three-channel electrocardiographic recorder for limited intracardiac electrocardiography during single- and double-chamber pacemaker implantation.

A technique for making unipolar intracardiac recordings with a three-channel electrocardiograph during permanent pacemaker insertion is described.