Dynamic pedobarography for children: use of the center of pressure progression.

Background: Although pedobarography has been widely used in quantitative clinical gait analysis for children, the collection, processing, analysis, and interpretation of the data vary widely. In most cases in children, foot dysfunction during gait is primarily a consequence of skeletal segmental malalignment, which can be characterized by the location and duration of the center of pressure progression (COPP) relative to the foot. This study determines the validity and reliability of a technique using the COPP and establishes a normative database for the COPP in children.

Cell penetrating agents based on a polyproline helix scaffold.

Cell penetrating agents were designed and synthesized that introduce cationic and hydrophobic moieties along the backbone of a polyproline helix (PPII) in an amphiphilic manner. The CD profile has the features that are expected for a PPII helix, demonstrating that the addition of these groups had little effect on the backbone structure. Dramatic increases in uptake were found with MCF-7 cells when up to six guanidinium groups were positioned on the polyproline helix, whereas only modest increases in cellular uptake were observed with the amine-containing polyproline compounds as compared to their flexible counterparts.