The effect of impaired unilateral ankle propulsion on contralateral knee joint loading.

Background: Impairments in unilateral ankle propulsion may result from restriction by an external device or pathology such as lower limb amputation. Models of gait suggest this reduction may lead to increased collisional force on the contralateral side, potentially increasing force through the knee and increasing the risk of knee pain or osteoarthritis.

Research Question: How do restrictions in unilateral ankle propulsive force affect contralateral knee joint loading in otherwise healthy individuals?

Methods: 18 individuals without impairment walked on a treadmill at 1.

Exoskeleton Training and Trans-Spinal Stimulation for Physical Activity Enhancement After Spinal Cord Injury (EXTra-SCI): An Exploratory Study.

After spinal cord injury (SCI) physical activity levels decrease drastically, leading to numerous secondary health complications. Exoskeleton-assisted walking (EAW) may be one way to improve physical activity for adults with SCI and potentially alleviate secondary health complications. The effects of EAW may be limited, however, since exoskeletons induce passive movement for users who cannot volitionally contribute to walking.

Assessing the effects of gait asymmetry: Using a split-belt treadmill walking protocol to change step length and peak knee joint contact force symmetry.

Asymmetrical gait may affect important outcomes such as knee joint contact force (KJCF). A split-belt treadmill (SBTM) can be used to provoke changes in step length symmetry (SLsym) and may produce a similar response in KJCF symmetry (KJCFsym) between limbs. The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of employing a SBTM walking paradigm to alter KJCF and KJCFsym and to determine if changes in SLsym coincided with changes in KJCFsym.

Therapeutic approaches to cholinergic deficiency in Lewy body diseases.

: Cortical cholinergic denervation resulting from degeneration of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) is a primary contributor to cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms in the Lewy body diseases Parkinson's disease (PD), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Considering the morbidity associated with cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms in these diseases, it is important to investigate all potential therapies to improve these symptoms.: The authors review the current landscape of pharmacological and surgical therapies for mitigating the cortical cholinergic deficiency in PD, PDD, and DLB.

Beyond pregnancy, women's health in inflammatory bowel disease.

Purpose Of Review: Women's health includes comprehensive physical, mental and preventive care. This section will provide an overview of some of the most common disorders that can impact the health and quality of life (QOL) of women with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).

Recent Findings: Women with IBD are at higher risk for cervical dysplasia compared to healthy controls with most cases preventable with vaccination.

Dynamic stability during split-belt walking and the relationship with step length symmetry.

Introduction: Walking instability is a contributor to falls and other undesired changes in walking performance. We investigated the effect of split-belt treadmill based perturbations on dynamic stability. Furthermore, we examined the relationships for dynamic stability and symmetry during unperturbed and perturbed walking.

Factors Influencing Functional Outcomes and Return-to-Work After Amputation: A Review of the Literature.

Purpose Amputation is a life changing event that can significantly impact an individual's physical and mental well-being. Our objective was to review literature exploring the impact of amputation upon a person's functioning and inclusion in the workplace. Methods Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched using keywords related to amputation, employment and community reintegration.

Locomotor adaptability in persons with unilateral transtibial amputation.

Background: Locomotor adaptation enables walkers to modify strategies when faced with challenging walking conditions. While a variety of neurological injuries can impair locomotor adaptability, the effect of a lower extremity amputation on adaptability is poorly understood.

Objective: Determine if locomotor adaptability is impaired in persons with unilateral transtibial amputation (TTA).

Long-term Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis-Related Cirrhosis.

Background: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a clinically aggressive variant of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is becoming an increasingly common indication for liver transplantation (LT); however, relatively little is known regarding its clinical course post-LT. The aim of the current study is to describe disease recurrence and clinical course after LT.

Methods: All surviving patients transplanted for NASH at the authors' institution had transient elastography (TE) to evaluate hepatic steatosis and fibrosis.

6-Hydroxydopamine as a tool to understand adaptive immune system-induced dopamine neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease.

Context: Neuroimmunological response is associated with neurodegeneration in the human substantia nigra (SN) in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Objective: To explore the possibility that the neurotoxin, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), could be used as a tool in mice to understand the immune response in PD.

Materials And Methods: We employed unilateral administration of 6-OHDA into the mouse SN.

A novel tri-component scheme for classifying neuronal discharge patterns.

Background: Neuronal discharge patterns can be described by three principle patterns, namely, regular, irregular, and bursty.

New Method: Available discrimination metrics, including global ISI metrics (e.g.

The effect of daily bathing with chlorhexidine on the acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and healthcare-associated bloodstream infections: results of a quasi-experimental multicenter trial.

Objective: Spread of multidrug-resistant organisms within the intensive care unit (ICU) results in substantial morbidity and mortality. Novel strategies are needed to reduce transmission. This study sought to determine if the use of daily chlorhexidine bathing would decrease the incidence of colonization and bloodstream infections (BSI) because of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) among ICU patients.

Lack of relationship between purine biosynthesis and vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus: a cautionary tale for microarray interpretation.

Previous microarray data (E. Mongodin, J. Finan, M.

Successful therapy of experimental endocarditis caused by vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with a combination of vancomycin and beta-lactam antibiotics.

VRS1 is the first isolated strain of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) found to carry the vanA gene complex previously described in Enterococcus. Under vancomycin pressure, VRS1 makes aberrant cell walls consisting of stem tetrapeptide and depsipeptide that lack the terminal D-Ala-D-Ala residues targeted by vancomycin. Previous data have suggested that this aberrant cell wall is not cross-linked by PBP2a, the enzyme responsible for cell wall transpeptidation in the presence of beta-lactam antibiotics.

Duration of colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among patients in the intensive care unit: implications for intervention.

Objectives: To determine the duration of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization or infection before entry and during hospitalization in the intensive care unit (ICU) and the characteristics of patients who tested positive for MRSA.

Design: Prospective observational cohort survey.

Setting: A combined medical and coronary care ICU with 16 single-bed rooms in a 427-bed tertiary care Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

Prevalence of the use of central venous access devices within and outside of the intensive care unit: results of a survey among hospitals in the prevention epicenter program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of central venous catheter (CVC) use among patients both within and outside the ICU setting.

Design: A 1-day prevalence survey of CVC use among adult inpatients at six medical centers participating in the Prevention Epicenter Program of the CDC. Using a standardized form, observers at each Epicenter performed a hospital-wide survey, collecting data on CVC use.

Association of erosive hand osteoarthritis with a single nucleotide polymorphism on the gene encoding interleukin-1 beta.

Objective: Certain forms of primary osteoarthritis (OA), particularly those affecting hand joints, have a genetic component. Recent studies have shown suggestive evidence that hand and knee OA are linked with the interleukin-1 (IL-1) region on human chromosome 2q. This study was undertaken to assess the association of primary OA of the hand (hand OA) with IL-1 region markers.

Staphylococcus aureus Carriage and Health Care-acquired Infection.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common nosocomial pathogens. Its propensity to establish prolonged carriage among hospitalized patients and increasing resistance to antibiotics makes control of this organism within the hospital difficult. High-level vancomycin resistance has now been reported in a single clinical isolate of S.