Functional capacity at rehabilitation discharge predicts physical activity characteristics twenty-four weeks later for people with total knee arthroplasty: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the association between performance-based and patient-reported functional capacity at the conclusion of 12-week rehabilitation with average daily step counts and peak walking cadence 38 weeks following total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Design: Secondary analysis of an RCT.

Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Optimizing Total Knee Arthroplasty Rehabilitation With Telehealth Physical Activity Behavior Change Intervention: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: Conventional total knee arthroplasty (TKA) rehabilitation has little impact on sedentary lifestyles that have negative long-term health consequences. The purpose of this trial was to determine the effect of telehealth-based physical activity behavior change intervention on physical activity and functional outcomes following TKA.

Methods: This study was a 2-arm, parallel randomized controlled superiority trial at a regional Veterans Affairs medical center.

Major adverse foot events and functional mobility deficits associated with diabetic neuropathy and nephropathy.

Aim: The purpose is to determine the risk ratios (RR) for both major adverse foot events (MAFEs) and the presence of moderate and severe functional mobility deficits in participants with diabetic peripheral neuropathy across the stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: We studied 284 participants with diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, and CKD. MAFEs including foot fracture, ulcerations, Charcot neuropathic arthropathy (CN), osteomyelitis, and minor foot amputations were collected from foot x-ray reports in the medical records of 152 participants; functional mobility deficits were assessed in 132 participants using the modified physical performance test (mPPT).

Global Cognition, Gender, and Level of Education Predict Dual-Task Gait Speed Variability Metrics in Older Adults.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine if demographic variables and measures of cognitive function, functional mobility, self-reported balance self-efficacy, and self-reported physical activity can predict gait speed variability during single-task walking (STGSCV), during cognitive-motor dual-tasking (DTGSCV), and dual-task effect on gait speed variability (DTEGSCV) in older adults.

Methods: In 62 older adults, demographics were recorded and cognitive function (including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA), functional mobility, balance self-efficacy (Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale, ABC), and self-reported physical activity (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, PASE) were assessed. Three linear regression models were used to determine whether the functional mobility tests, PASE score, ABC score, and tests of cognitive function predicted gait speed variability outcomes (STGSCV, DTGSCV, DTEGSCV), with demographics included as covariates.

Real-world data capture of daily limb loading using force-sensing insoles: Feasibility and lessons learned.

Force-sensing insoles are wearable technology that offer an innovative way to measure loading outside of laboratory settings. Few studies, however, have utilized insoles to measure daily loading in real-world settings. This is an ancillary study of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of weight loss alone, weight loss plus weighted vest, or weight loss plus resistance training on bone health in older adults.

Prematriculation Predictors of Academic Difficulties During the First Year of a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

Purpose: To analyze the ability of pre-matriculation metrics to predict difficulties during the first year of a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program with a pass-fail grading system.

Methods: Undergraduate cumulative, science, and pre-requisite grade point averages (GPAs) and verbal and quantitative Graduate Record Examination (GRE) percentiles were collected during the admissions process of 190 students in an accredited DPT program at a southeastern US private university between 2019-2021. Students were dichotomized to groups with and without academic difficulties in coursework and a first-year comprehensive assessment (CA).

Maximal daily stepping cadence partially explains functional capacity of individuals with end-stage knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Individuals with end-stage knee osteoarthritis (OA) walk at a lower intensity (ie, slower step cadence) contributing to worse physical function. Previous literature reports daily step counts and sedentary time, with little information regarding stepping bouts or cadence. Determining relationships between daily higher stepping cadence duration and clinical outcomes can move the field toward optimal daily stepping prescription.

Offloading of Diabetic Neuropathic Plantar Ulcers: Secondary Analysis of Step Activity and Ulcer Healing.

Objective: Although it is well-known that offloading devices facilitate healing in people with diabetes and neuropathic plantar ulcers, little is known about how step activity affects healing. The purposes of this study were to compare: (1) healing outcomes (time to healing, percentage of ulcers healed); (2) healing rates by ulcer location; and (3) step activity (daily step count, daily peak mean cadence) among patients using either total contact casts (TCCs) or removable cast walker boots (RCWs).

Methods: The study included 55 participants (TCC, 29; RCW, 26) with diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, and a Wagner grade 1 or 2 neuropathic plantar ulcer.

The effect of exercise, physical activity, stepping characteristics, and loading on diabetic foot ulcer healing: a systematic review.

The aim of this review was to investigate the effect of exercise, physical activity, stepping characteristics, and loading on DFU healing. A systematic review using proprietary software and a PRISMA 2020 checklist was performed by searching MEDLINE, ProQuest, Scopus, CINAHL, Ovid, and the Cochrane Library for eligible articles from 1960 to December 2020. The primary outcome was time to wound closure.

Including cognitive assessments with functional testing predicts capabilities relevant to everyday walking in older adults.

Background: Dual-task (DT) testing reflects real-world walking demands in older adults but is not always feasible to perform in clinic. Whether clinical measures that predict single-task (ST) performance also predict DT performance or dual-task effects (DTEs) has not been fully explored.

Research Question: What are the relationships between cognitive performance, functional mobility, and self-reported physical activity and balance confidence and ST and DT Gait Speed and Cognitive Reaction Time, as well as DTEs on Gait Speed (DTE) and Cognitive Reaction Time (DTE), in older adults?

Methods: Sixty-two older adults (71.

Feasibility of repeated session error-augmentation gait training for people with nontraumatic transtibial amputation.

Background: Spatiotemporal gait asymmetries are a persistent problem for people with non-traumatic lower-limb amputation. To date, there is limited knowledge of multi-session gait training interventions targeting step length symmetry after non-traumatic amputation.

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of an eight-session, treadmill-based error-augmentation gait training (EAT) protocol to improve spatiotemporal gait asymmetry in people with non-traumatic transtibial amputation (TTA).

Clinical utility of the Trendelenburg Test in people with multiple sclerosis.

Background: The clinical utility of the Trendelenburg Test remains unknown in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: To measure (1) intra-rater reliability, (2) agreement of goniometer-assessed Trendelenburg pelvis-on-femur angle (POF) with motion capture, and (3) concurrent validity of Trendelenburg POF and hip abduction strength with POF during walking and step negotiation.

Methods: Trendelenburg POF was measured in 20 people with MS using goniometry and motion analysis.

Error-Manipulation Gait Training for Veterans With Nontraumatic Lower Limb Amputation: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

Objective: he purpose of this study will be to determine the efficacy of error-manipulation gait training (error-augmentation or error-correction) to improve step length symmetry and secondary health outcomes in veterans with unilateral nontraumatic transtibial amputation (TTA).

Methods: This will be a 3-arm, parallel, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial, with baseline, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up assessments in a VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. Participants are 54 US military veterans ranging in age from 50 to 85 years with a unilateral transtibial nontraumatic amputation.

The Validity of the Single-Leg Heel Raise Test in People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The single-leg heel raise test is a common clinical assessment; however, little is known about its validity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study investigated the validity of the single-leg heel raise test in a group of people with MS and a healthy control group (CTL). Twenty-one people with MS (49 ± 12 years, Expanded Disability Status Scale 1.

Movement compensations during a step ascent task are associated with stair climbing performance in people with multiple sclerosis.

Background: The biomechanical mechanisms underlying stair climbing limitations are poorly understood in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Research Questions: Are trunk and pelvis motion and lower extremity joint moments during step ascent different between MS and control groups? Are step ascent biomechanics and stair climbing performance associated in people with MS?

Methods: 20 people with MS (49 ± 12 years, EDSS range: 1.5-5.

Patterns of Sitting, Standing, and Stepping After Lower Limb Amputation.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe sitting, standing, and stepping patterns for people with lower limb amputation (LLA) and to compare sitting, standing, and stepping between people with dysvascular LLA and people with traumatic LLA.

Methods: Participants with dysvascular or traumatic LLA were included if their most recent LLA was at least 1 year earlier, they were ambulating independently with a prosthesis, and they were between 45 and 88 years old. Sitting, standing, and stepping were measured using accelerometry.

An acidic polysaccharide (AGC3) isolated from North American ginseng () suspension culture as a potential immunomodulatory nutraceutical.

Polysaccharides isolated from roots are widely used as nutraceuticals due to their immunomodulatory properties. Despite their popularity, several challenges exist in isolating ginseng root polysaccharides such as batch-to-batch structural inconsistencies and bacterial endotoxin contamination. A plant tissue culture-based platform offers a potential solution to isolate natural polysaccharide fractions with consistent chemical characteristics and reduced endotoxin content.

Step length symmetry adaptation to split-belt treadmill walking after acquired non-traumatic transtibial amputation.

Background: Between-limb step length asymmetry is common following transtibial amputation (TTA) and contributes to negative health consequences. There are limited evidence-based interventions targeting reduced gait asymmetry for people with TTA. Split-belt treadmill walking with asymmetrical belt speeds has successfully reduced gait asymmetry in other patient populations.

Biobehavioral Intervention Targeting Physical Activity Behavior Change for Older Veterans after Nontraumatic Amputation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Lower-limb amputation (LLA) due to non-traumatic vascular etiology is linked to extremely low physical activity and high disability.

Objective: To test the feasibility of a biobehavioral intervention designed to promote physical activity.

Design: A randomized, single-blind feasibility trial with a crossover design.

Correlations of Single-Leg Performance Tests to Patient-Reported Outcomes After Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Objective: To determine the relationship between patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to the single-leg step-down test (SLSD) and the Y-balance anterior reach (YB-A) 6 months after primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Laboratory.

The classification of Cannabis hemp cultivars by thermal desorption direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (TD-DART-MS) with chemometrics.

Cannabis has been cultivated as a source of food, fiber, and medicine globally, so the classification of Cannabis cultivars based on their chemical fingerprints is important to standardize and control the quality of Cannabis, ensure that patients receive a full and consistent spectrum of therapeutic benefits, and promote the further implementation of Cannabis-based products in clinical uses. In this study, a high-throughput analytical method, thermal desorption direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (TD-DART-MS), was employed to classify various Cannabis hemp cultivars with multivariate analysis. Cannabis plant materials from four cultivars were analyzed directly by TD-DART-MS without solvent extraction.

Panax quinquefolius (North American ginseng) cell suspension culture as a source of bioactive polysaccharides: Immunostimulatory activity and characterization of a neutral polysaccharide AGC1.

In this study, we propose the use of a plant tissue culture-based system for the production of polysaccharides with consistent chemical characteristics and reduced endotoxin content. Polysaccharides were isolated from suspension cultures of Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng), a widely used medicinal herb. A neutral fraction, AGC1, purified by anion exchange and size exclusion chromatography, displayed immunostimulatory activity in vitro and ex vivo.

Step descent strategy is altered bilaterally despite unilateral muscle strength impairment after total knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: Muscle weakness and difficulty descending stairs are common after unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but the relationship between each is unclear. The purpose of this study was to compare lower extremity muscle strength, lower extremity support moments during step descent, and assess relationships between each.

Methods: The study included 40 subjects (20 post-TKA, 20 control).

HPLC with charged aerosol detector (CAD) as a quality control platform for analysis of carbohydrate polymers.

Objective: QC analysis of carbohydrates has been historically cumbersome due to lengthy and laborious derivatization techniques and the requirement of complimentary instrumentation. HILIC-CAD has emerged as an effective platform for direct monosaccharide composition analysis of complex carbohydrates without derivatization. Although, several neutral sugars have been separated and detected using HILIC-CAD, there has not been any report on acidic and amino sugar analysis using this method.