Striking Pattern Research Articles

Effects of different contact angles during forefoot running on the stresses of the foot bones: a finite element simulation study.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the changes in foot at different sole-ground contact angles during forefoot running. This study tried to help forefoot runners better control and improve their technical movements by comparing different sole-ground contact angles. Methods: A male participant of Chinese ethnicity was enlisted for the present study, with a recorded age of 25years, a height of 183cm, and a body weight of 80kg. This study focused on forefoot strike patterns through FE analysis. Results: It can be seen that the peak von Mises stress of M1-5 (Metatarsal) of a (Contact angle: 9.54) is greater than that of b (Contact angle: 7.58) and c (Contact angle: 5.62) in the three cases. On the contrary, the peak von Mises stress of MC (Medial Cuneiform), IC (Intermediate Cuneiform), LC (Lateral Cuneiform), C (Cuboid), N (Navicular), T (Tarsal) in three different cases is opposite, and the peak von Mises stress of c is greater than that of a and b. The peak von Mises stress of b is between a and c. Conclusion: This study found that a reduced sole-ground contact angle may reduce metatarsal stress fractures. Further, a small sole-ground contact angle may not increase ankle joint injury risk during forefoot running. Hence, given the specialized nature of the running shoes designed for forefoot runners, it is plausible that this study may offer novel insights to guide their athletic pursuits.

Stereotyping through Humour in Animated Movies: A Multimodal Analysis

Stereotyping pervades across cultures and is carried out through several ways including media, social practices, and behaviours. Animated movies are one of the popular modes wherein humour acts as an effective discourse vehicle to represent and negotiate certain stereotypical tags associated with race, gender, and social class. There are contending claims about whether animated movies have been purged off the prevalent stereotypical biases, but the contention remains unsubstantiated. Therefore, this study aimed at examining the humour genre of animated movies with a view to figuring out whether the stereotyping associated with race has either been eliminated or reduced with the passage of time. Four popular animated movies, namely, Shrek (2001), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Zootopia (2016) and Moana (2016) were analysed using textual analysis. The data collection was based on the General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH) presented by Attardo (2001) with some extensions proposed by Tsakona (2013). The notions of Script Opposition and Target Knowledge Resources (KR's) of GTVH have been treated as the selection criteria of humour incidences. Those humour incidences which portray positive or negative aspects of established beliefs have been analysed. The study identified verbal and non-verbal modes of humour employed in the selected animated movies, communicating certain positive and negative stereotypes. Results suggested that multimodal humour served to perpetuate as well as fade and neutralise negative and positive facets of existing tags associated with white, black, and Polynesian races. The analysis suggested mixed stereotypes, however, the striking pattern observed in the data analysis over the period manifested a considerable progress in promoting positive stereotypes of race particularly black and Polynesians. 
 Key terms: , , , , , , Zootopia, Moana.

Assessing the effects of foot strike patterns and shoe types on the control of leg length and orientation in running

This research investigates the stabilization of leg length and orientation during the landing phase of running, examining the effects of different footwear and foot strike patterns. Analyzing kinematic data from twenty male long-distance runners, both rearfoot and forefoot strikers, we utilized the Uncontrolled Manifold approach to assess stability. Findings reveal that both leg length and orientation are indeed stabilized during landing, challenging the hypothesis that rearfoot strikers exhibit less variance in deviations than forefoot strikers, and that increased footwear assistance would reduce these deviations. Surprisingly, footwear with a lower minimalist index enhanced post-landing stability, suggesting that cushioning contributes to both force dissipation and leg length stability. The study indicates that both foot strike patterns are capable of effectively reducing task-relevant variance, with no inherent restriction on flexibility for rearfoot strikers. However, there is an indication of potential reliance on footwear for stability. These insights advance our understanding of the biomechanics of running, highlighting the role of footwear in stabilizing leg length and orientation, which has significant implications for running efficiency and injury prevention.

Developmental Regulation of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Response to Multifactorial, Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries during Immaturity

Introduction: A striking pattern in young children after severe TBI is when the entire cortical ribbon displays tissue damage: hemispheric hypodensity (HH). HH is often a result of abusive head trauma (AHT). We previously reported a model of HH in a gyrencephalic species where a combination of injuries consisting of (1) cortical impact, (2) midline shift, (3) subdural hematoma/subarachnoid hemorrhage, (4) traumatic seizures, and (5) brief apnea and hypoventilation resulted in extensive, hypoxic-ischemic-type injury. Importantly, this mechanism closely resembles that seen in children, with relative sparing of the contralateral cortex, thus ruling out a pure asphyxia mechanism. In this model, piglets of similar developmental stage to human toddlers (postnatal day 30, PND30) have extensive hypoxic-ischemic damage to the cortical ribbon with sparing of the contralateral hemisphere and deep gray matter areas. However, piglets of similar developmental stage to human infants (postnatal day 7, PND7) have less hypoxic-ischemic damage that is notably bilateral and patchy. We therefore sought to discover whether the extensive tissue damage observed in PND30 was due to a greater upregulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Materials and Methods: In PND7 or PND30 piglets receiving AHT injuries (cortical impact, midline shift, subdural hematoma/subarachnoid hemorrhage, traumatic seizures, and brief apnea and hypoventilation) or a sham injury, the pattern of albumin extravasation and MMP-9 upregulation throughout the brain was determined via immunohistochemistry, brain tissue adjacent to the cortical impact where the tissue damage spreads was collected for Western blots, and the gelatinase activity was determined over time in peripheral plasma. EEG was recorded, and piglets survived up to 24 h after injury administration. Results: The pattern of albumin extravasation, indicating vasogenic edema, as well as increase in MMP-9, were both present at the same areas of hypoxic-ischemic tissue damage. Evidence from immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and zymogens demonstrate that MMP-2, -3, or -9 are constitutively expressed during immaturity and are not different between developmental stages; however, active forms are upregulated in PND30 but not PND7 after in response to AHT model injuries. Furthermore, peripheral active MMP-9 was downregulated after model injuries in PND7. Conclusions: This differential response to AHT model injuries might confer protection to the PND7 brain. Additionally, we find that immature gyrencephalic species have a greater baseline and array of MMPs than previously demonstrated in rodent species. Treatment with an oral or intravenous broad-spectrum matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor might reduce the extensive spread of injury in PND30, but the exposure to metalloproteinase inhibitors must be acute as to not interfere with the homeostatic role of matrix metalloproteinases in normal postnatal brain development and plasticity as well as post-injury synaptogenesis and tissue repair.

Flow-induced periodic chiral structures in an achiral nematic liquid crystal

Supramolecular chirality typically originates from either chiral molecular building blocks or external chiral stimuli. Generating chirality in achiral systems in the absence of a chiral input, however, is non-trivial and necessitates spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking. Achiral nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals have been reported to break mirror symmetry under strong surface or geometric constraints. Here we describe a previously unrecognised mechanism for creating chiral structures by subjecting the material to a pressure-driven flow in a microfluidic cell. The chirality arises from a periodic double-twist configuration of the liquid crystal and manifests as a striking stripe pattern. We show that the mirror symmetry breaking is triggered at regions of flow-induced biaxial-splay configurations of the director field, which are unstable to small perturbations and evolve into lower energy structures. The simplicity of this unique pathway to mirror symmetry breaking can shed light on the requirements for forming macroscopic chiral structures.

How to walk to reduce footstep noise in multi-story residential buildings

Loud footsteps from upstairs cause disturbance to downstairs neighbours in multi-story residential buildings. In this experiment, we examined how participants walk when asked to walk quietly and evaluated the efficiency of their quiet walking patterns. Changes in vertical impact loading rates during the early stance phase, walking speed, and lower limb muscle activity when asked to walk quietly were evaluated from twenty-six young participants. Study data show that participants who struck the ground with the rearfoot reduced the impact loading rate by 44.6% with 29.3% slower walking speed than normal walking. Those who struck with the fore- or mid-foot reduced the impact loading by 69.2% with a 23.4% decrease in speed. Quiet walking with the non-rearfoot strike pattern reduced the impact loading by 48.7%, even when asked to walk as fast as normal walking. The results support the non-rearfoot strike pattern as an efficient walking strategy for lowering footstep impact. Practitioner summary: Data of this study show that voluntary gait alteration, such as adopting a non-rearfoot strike pattern, can reduce footstep impact. The study results propose that implementing such changes could be beneficial in addressing floor noise issues of multi-story residential buildings. Abbreviations: RFS: Rearfoot strike; NRFS: non-rearfoot strike; COP: Center of pressure; NW: Normal walking; QWs: Quiet walking at a preferred slower speed; QWn: Quiet walking at the speed of normal walking; EMG: Electromyography; BW: Body weight; iNEMG: integrated normalized EMG.

Agreement between 2D Visual- and 3D Motion Capture-based Assessment of Foot Strike Pattern.

Foot strike patterns during running are typically categorized into two types: non-rearfoot strike (NRFS) and rearfoot strike (RFS), or as three distinct types: forefoot strike (FFS), midfoot strike (MFS), and RFS, based on which part of the foot lands first. Various methods, including two-dimensional (2D) visual-based methods and three-dimensional (3D) motion capture-based methods utilizing parameters such as the strike index (SI) or strike angle (SA), have been employed to assess these patterns. However, the consistency between the results obtained from each method remains debatable. The purpose of this study was to examine the agreement for assessing foot strike patterns into two (NRFS and RFS) or three types (FFS, MFS, and RFS) between 2D visual- and 3D motion capture-based methods. The authors hypothesized that using two description types (NRFS and RFS) would have high inter-method reliability; however, using three description types (FFS, MFS and RFS) would have lower inter-method reliability because of the difficulty in distinguishing between FFS and MFS. Controlled Laboratory Study. Overall, 162 foot strikes from four healthy runners with various foot strike patterns were analyzed. Running kinematics and kinetics were recorded using a 3D motion capture system with a force platform. Each foot strike was filmed at 240 fps from the sagittal perspective. The visual, SI, and SA methods were used, and the kappa values for each method were calculated. An assessment of the two types of foot strike: NRFS and RFS, revealed almost perfect kappa values (κ = 0.89-0.95) among the visual, SI, and SA methods. In contrast, an assessment of the three types: FFS, MFS, and RFS, revealed relatively low kappa values (κ = 0.58-0.71). Kappa values within the NRFS category, which includes MFS and FFS, ranged from fair to slight (κ = 0.08-0.33). Previous laboratory findings that categorized foot strike patterns into two distinct types may be applied in observational studies, clinical practice, and training situations. Level 2.

CG (Cloud-To-Ground) Lightning Strike Distribution Patterns In Bandar Lampung and South Lampung in 2022

This study aims to identify patterns in the distribution of CG-type lightning strikes in the regions of Bandar Lampung and South Lampung during the year 2022. This study employs quantitative descriptive research methods. The data for this study was collected from the BMKG office of North Lampung Class III Geophysical Station, located in Lampung Province. The data includes latitude, longitude, and CG-type lightning data for 2022. The sensor was positioned at coordinates 4.83° S latitude and 104.87° E longitude, with an elevation of 60 meters. It utilized the Boltek Lightning Detection System for lightning detection. The analysis indicated that the patterns of CG-type lightning strikes in Lampung Province in 2022 varied every month. This variation can be attributed to the specific topographic conditions of different areas. The Bandar Lampung and South Lampung areas experienced a significant number of lightning strikes in the year 2022. In Bandar Lampung, there were 28,502 lightning strikes, including CG+ and CG- lightning. Meanwhile, the South Lampung area recorded more lightning strikes, totaling 191,353 occurrences. The high frequency of lightning strikes in the South Lampung region can be attributed to its topography, close to Panjang and Bakauheni Harbors. These areas have many coastal regions that contribute to cloud formation, thereby increasing the likelihood of lightning. Cumulonimbus clouds are formed through the evaporation of water from sources, such as the sea, lakes, or rivers, in line with the established theory of cloud formation. Additional research is required to analyze weather data about parameters that specifically impact the frequency of lightning strikes in different regions.

Zu kreativen Ausdrucksformen im deutschsprachigen öffentlichen Raum

“Linguistic landscape research is a relatively young sociolinguistic subdiscipline”, stated Peter Backhaus in 2007. The research field of Linguistic Landscape, also referred to as LL, deals with the language visible in public space. The aim of the article is to prove this on the basis of the collected corpus that the city is not only a place of oral communication, but also a space where people communicate by means of the written word. Moreover, the texts present in public space are a confirmation of the creativity of the users of the German language, which is illustrated by the corpus obtained with the help of the Linguistic Landscape research. This creativity is reflected in the formation of linguistic forms, which are formed using the familiar rules of German word formation. These word formations are striking, surprising or thought-provoking due to their peculiarity, thus arousing the interest of the readers/viewers. They are linguistic neologisms and at the same time they prove that there is a need in society for increasingly striking communication patterns, whereby words/word-forming morphemes are combined in unusual, hitherto unexplored ways. As a result, the information communicated undoubtedly attracts more attention from the recipients.

A 3-year observation on analyzing cloud-to-ground lightning in Peninsular Malaysia using graph theory

Malaysia has a high amount of lightning events due to its geographical location and tropical climate, leading to substantial destruction of electrical systems and human injuries. Despite numerous studies connecting lightning activity with environmental factors, few had explored the multi-year correlation between strike patterns and times. The present study proposed a new approach employing graph theory to express Cloud-to-Ground Lightning (CGL) strike data. Using data mapping and vertex matrices, this technique visualizes CGL behavior, offering insights into lightning characteristics. The relationship between the CGL strike data across three years (2013, 2014, and 2015) was studied by using simple matching coefficient technique. Results indicate a robust positive correlation between directed graphs created across these years, suggesting consistent CGL strike behaviors in certain regions at Malaysia. The proposed method, in the form of directed edges, reduces the complexity of computation hence making it a promising integration to existing lightning prediction systems.

The primacy of temporal dynamics in driving spatial self-organization of soil iron redox patterns.

This study investigates mechanisms that generate regularly spaced iron-rich bands in upland soils. These striking features appear in soils worldwide, but beyond a generalized association with changing redox, their genesis is yet to be explained. Upland soils exhibit significant redox fluctuations driven by rainfall, groundwater changes, or irrigation. Pattern formation in such systems provides an opportunity to investigate the temporal aspects of spatial self-organization, which have been heretofore understudied. By comparing multiple alternative mechanisms, we found that regular iron banding in upland soils is explained by coupling two sets of scale-dependent feedbacks, the general principle of Turing morphogenesis. First, clay dispersion and coagulation in iron redox fluctuations amplify soil Fe(III) aggregation and crystal growth to a level that negatively affects root growth. Second, the activation of this negative root response to highly crystalline Fe(III) leads to the formation of rhythmic iron bands. In forming iron bands, environmental variability plays a critical role. It creates alternating anoxic and oxic conditions for required pattern-forming processes to occur in distinctly separated times and determines durations of anoxic and oxic episodes, thereby controlling relative rates of processes accompanying oxidation and reduction reactions. As Turing morphogenesis requires ratios of certain process rates to be within a specific range, environmental variability thus modifies the likelihood that pattern formation will occur. Projected changes of climatic regime could significantly alter many spatially self-organized systems, as well as the ecological functioning associated with the striking patterns they present. This temporal dimension of pattern formation merits close attention in the future.

An intersectional analysis of long COVID prevalence

BackgroundLong COVID symptoms – which include brain fog, depression, and fatigue – are mild at best and debilitating at worst. Some U.S. health surveys have found that women, lower income individuals, and those with less education are overrepresented among adults with long COVID, but these studies do not address intersectionality. To fill this gap, we conduct an intersectional analysis of the prevalence and outcomes of long COVID in the U.S. We posit that disparities in long COVID have less to do with the virus itself and more to do with social determinants of health, especially those associated with occupational segregation and the gendered division of household work.MethodsWe use 10 rounds of Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data collected between June 2022 and March 2023 to perform an intersectional analysis using a battery of descriptive statistics that evaluate (1) the prevalence of long COVID and (2) the interference of long COVID symptoms with day-to-day activities. We also use the HPS data to estimate a set of multivariate logistic regressions that relate the odds of having long COVID and activity limitations due to long COVID to a set of individual characteristics as well as intersections by sex, race/ethnicity, education, and sexual orientation and gender identity.ResultsFindings indicate that women, some people of color, sexual and gender minorities, and people without college degrees are more likely to have long COVID and to have activity limitations from long COVID. Women have considerably higher odds of developing long COVID compared to men, a disparity exacerbated by having less education. Intersectional analysis by gender, race, ethnicity, and education reveals a striking step-like pattern: college-educated men have the lowest prevalence of long COVID while women without college educations have the highest prevalence. Daily activity limitations are more evenly distributed across demographics, but a different step-like pattern is present: fewer women with degrees have activity limitations while limitations are more widespread among men without degrees. Regression results confirm the negative association of long COVID with being a woman, less educated, Hispanic, and a sexual and gender minority, while results for the intersectional effects are more nuanced.ConclusionsResults point to systematic disparities in health, highlighting the urgent need for policies that increase access to quality healthcare, strengthen the social safety net, and reduce economic precarity.

The Influence of General and Local Muscle Fatigue on Kinematics and Plantar Pressure Distribution during Running: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Fatigue has the potential to alter how impact forces are absorbed during running, heightening the risk of injury. Conflicting findings exist regarding alterations in both kinematics and plantar pressure. Thus, this systematic review and subsequent meta-analysis were conducted to investigate the impact of general and localized muscle fatigue on kinematics and plantar pressure distribution during running. Initial searches were executed on 30 November 2021 and updated on 29 April 2023, encompassing PubMed, The Cochrane Library, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science without imposing any restrictions on publication dates or employing additional filters. Our PECOS criteria included cross-sectional studies on healthy adults during their treadmill running to mainly evaluate local muscle fatigue, plantar pressure distribution, biomechanics of running (kinematics, kinetics, and EMG results), and temporospatial parameters. The literature search identified 6626 records, with 4626 studies removed for titles and abstract screening. Two hundred and one articles were selected for full-text screening, and 20 studies were included in qualitative data synthesis. The pooled analysis showed a non-significant decrease in maximum pressure under the right forefoot's metatarsus, which was more than the left rearfoot after local muscle fatigue at a velocity of 15 km/h (p-values = 0.48 and 0.62). The results were homogeneous and showed that local muscle fatigue did not significantly affect the right forefoot's stride frequency and length (p-values = 0.75 and 0.38). Strength training for the foot muscles, mainly focusing on the dorsiflexors, is recommended to prevent running-related injuries. Utilizing a standardized knee and ankle joint muscle fatigue assessment protocol is advised. Future experiments should focus on various shoes for running and varying foot strike patterns for injury prevention.

Evaluation of skin cancer screening in Germany - Spatiotemporal associations between skin cancer screening and skin cancer mortality based on ambulatory claims data.

There are regional differences in skin cancer screening uptake in Germany. So far, it is unclear whether a high uptake of screening services leads to a reduction in mortality. This article presents study results on the investigation of spatiotemporal associations between skin cancer screening and mortality. The methods used are discussed regarding their suitability. The basis is ambulatory claims data on the utilization of early skin cancer detection as well as data on skin cancer mortality from the cause-of-death statistics of the years 2011-2015 at county level in Germany. In addition to a descriptive evaluation, spatiotemporal cluster analyses and regression models were used to investigate the relationship between the uptake of early detection and mortality. In addition to age, adjustments were also made for other selected socio-economic and socio-graphical variables. The descriptive results show striking spatial patterns of skin cancer screening and mortality. Cluster analyses identified regions with significantly higher and lower cases of early detection and skin cancer mortality. The spatiotemporal regression analyses show no clear association. Only early detection by a dermatologist, adjusted for age, shows an association with mortality. No clear association between early skin cancer detection and mortality can be derived from the results. However, the study design used with a spatiotemporal cluster and regression analysis has shown that these methods allow in-depth statements about the relationship between early skin cancer detection and mortality.

Early Intervention and Favorable Biologic Effects of Personalized Neoantigen Vaccines on the Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Smoldering Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia

Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is an incurable low-grade B-cell lymphoma, characterized by the presence of clonal tumor cells infiltrating the bone marrow. Despite a cumulative risk of progression, there is no approved therapy for patients in the asymptomatic phase. We conducted a first-in-human clinical trial of a novel individualized therapeutic DNA idiotype neoantigen vaccine as an early intervention in nine patients with untreated asymptomatic LPL. The vaccine platform encoded the autologous LPL-derived Ig single chain variable fragment fused to human chemokine CCL20 (macrophage inflammatory protein-3, MIP-3a), which was designed to trigger T-cell immunity by targeting delivery of the expressed fusion protein to antigen presenting cells. The vaccine was well tolerated with no dose limiting toxicities. One patient achieved a minor response, and all remaining patients experienced stable disease, with median time to disease progression of 61+ months, which compares favorably to median time to progression of 3.9 years in published series. Direct interrogation of the tumor microenvironment by single-cell transcriptome analysis revealed explanations for lack of more robust objective clinical responses. Comparing paired pre- and post- vaccine bone marrow samples, we observed a striking dichotomous pattern of significantly reduced numbers of clonal tumor cells, identified by their unique BCR sequences, and downregulation of genes involved in signaling pathways critical for B-cell survival among the mature B cells subpopulation post-vaccine in the majority of patients, but no change in clonally related plasma cell-like clusters of any patient (Figure 1). Downregulation of HLA molecule expression suggested intrinsic resistance by tumor plasma cell subpopulations and cell-cell interaction analyses predicted paradoxical upregulation of IGF signaling post vaccine by plasma cell, but not mature B-cell subpopulations, suggesting a potential mechanism of acquired resistance. Vaccine therapy induced dynamic changes in bone marrow T-cells, including upregulation of signaling pathways involved in T-cell activation, expansion of T-cell clonotypes (Figure 2), increased T-cell clonal diversity, and functional tumor idiotype-specific cytokine production, with little change in co-inhibitory pathways or Treg. Vaccine therapy also globally altered cell-cell communication networks across various bone marrow cell types. CellChat analysis inferred significant downregulation of signaling pathways post-vaccine that likely directly promote growth of LPL cells, such as APRIL and IL-6 which are known to promote B- or plasma cell survival. Other pathways were reduced post-vaccine, such as RESISTIN, which has a known role in supporting proliferation of solid cancers. A role for RESISTIN in supporting LPL has not been previously inferred, but it has been reported to induce multidrug resistance in multiple myeloma. Bioinformatic analysis also identified a predominant role for myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment as a source of vaccine-induced, downregulated pro-tumoral signaling to LPL cells. The pathways affected were primarily associated with monocytic, rather than granulocytic or dendritic cell subpopulations, particularly non-classical CD14 -CD16 + monocytes, and to a lesser extent classical CD14 +CD16 - monocytes . Recent reports indicate that an increased pro-inflammatory myeloid signature is an early step in the development of LPL and in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. Taken together, these results suggest that this prototype neoantigen vaccine favorably perturbed the tumor immune microenvironment, resulting in reduction of clonal tumor mature B-cell, but not plasma cell subpopulations. Future functional studies of the pathways affected are needed to confirm mechanisms of resistance elucidated and to design combination strategies to circumvent them. Such strategies could include adding IFN gamma or epigenetic drugs, designed to increase HLA molecule expression on plasma cell-like LPL subpopulations and combining neoantigen vaccines with agents that specifically target plasma cells or pathways known to promote their growth, such as IGF-1 receptor inhibitors. Finally, our data suggest that combinations of these vaccines with myeloid cell checkpoint blockade may be worthwhile.

Can the Entire Function of the Foot Be Concentrated in the Forefoot Area during the Running Stance Phase? A Finite Element Study of Different Shoe Soles.

The goal of this study was to use the finite element (FE) method to compare and study the differences between bionic shoes (BS) and normal shoes (NS) forefoot strike patterns when running. In addition, we separated the forefoot area when forefoot running as a way to create a small and independent area of instability. An adult male of Chinese descent was recruited for this investigation (age: 26 years old; body height: 185 cm; body mass: 82 kg) (forefoot strike patterns). We analyzed forefoot running under two different conditions through FE analysis, and used bone stress distribution feature classification and recognition for further analysis. The metatarsal stress values in forefoot strike patterns with BS were less than with NS. Additionally, the bone stress classification of features and the recognition accuracy rate of metatarsal (MT) 2, MT3 and MT5 were higher than other foot bones in the first 5%, 10%, 20% and 50% of nodes. BS forefoot running helped reduce the probability of occurrence of metatarsal stress fractures. In addition, the findings further revealed that BS may have important implications for the prevention of hallux valgus, which may be more effective in adolescent children. Finally, this study presents a post-processing method for FE results, which is of great significance for further understanding and exploration of FE results.

Rearfoot Strike Run Retraining forAchilles Tendon Pain: A Two-patient Case Series.

Running-related injuries are prevalent in the military and are often related to physical fitness test training. Non-rearfoot striking while running is known to increase the risk of Achilles tendon injuries because of the high eccentric energy absorption by the elastic components of the planarflexor muscle-tendon complex. However, there is limited evidence to suggest benefits of converting runners with Achilles tendon pain to use a rearfoot strike. This is a case series of two active-duty Service members with chronic, running-related Achilles tendon pain that utilized a natural non-rearfoot strike pattern. Both patients were trained to utilize a rearfoot strike while running through the use of real-time visual feedback from wearable sensors. The trained rearfoot strike pattern was retained for over one month after the intervention, and both patients reported improvements in pain and self-reported function. This case series demonstrated the clinical utility of converting two non-rearfoot strike runners to a rearfoot strike pattern to decrease eccentric demands on the plantarflexors and reduce Achilles tendon pain while running.

Influence of foot strike patterns and cadences on patellofemoral joint stress in male runners with patellofemoral pain

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the effect of foot strike patterns and cadences in male runners with patellofemoral pain (PFP). DesignCross-sectional study. SettingBiomechanics lab. Methods20 male runners with PFP were instructed to randomly complete six running conditions (three cadence conditions in rearfoot strike pattern (RFS) or forefoot strike (FFS)) under a preferred running speed. Main outcome measuresThe primary outcomes were peak knee joint and moment, and secondary outcomes were patellofemoral joint stress. ResultsRunning with increased cadence has a lower flexion angle (P = 0.027, η2 = 0.45), lower extension moment (P = 0.011, η2 = 0.29), lower internal rotation moment (P = 0.040, η2 = 0.17), lower patellofemoral stress (P = 0.029, η2 = 0.52) than preferred cadence. FFS running performed significantly lower flexion angle (P = 0.003, η2 = 0.39), lower extension moment (P < 0.001, η2 = 0.91), lower adduction moment (P = 0.020, η2 = 0.25) lower patellofemoral stress (P < 0.001, η2 = 0.81) than RFS running for all cadence. ConclusionsPreliminary findings provide new perspectives for male runners with PFP to unload patellofemoral joint stress in managing PFP through the combination of the FFS pattern and increased cadence.

Early Plasma Levels of IL7 and IL15 Predict Response to Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy (CAR-T) in Large B-Cell Lymphoma (LBCL) Patients

Introduction Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) have rapidly shifted the treatment paradigm for relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) but produce durable complete response (CR) in only 30-40% of patients. In addition, CAR-T-mediated toxicities such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) remain a major concern. To investigate the relationships of circulating cytokines and chemokines on CAR-T outcomes, we applied specialized comprehensive cytokine panels to peripheral blood samples serially collected from LBCL patients undergoing treatment with anti-CD19 CAR-T cells. Methods LBCL patients were consented to our IRB-approved study and longitudinally followed for sample collection at pre-specified timepoints: prior to lymphodepleting chemotherapy (LD chemo), day 0 (day of [and prior to] CAR-T infusion), and days 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 90. MSD R-PLEX and U-PLEX assays were used to detect 47 cytokines and chemokines in plasma; vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) levels were quantified via a VIP-specific enzyme immunoassay. Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and a LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) model were utilized to identify key cytokines contributing to critical clinical outcomes. Results Peri-CAR-T blood samples were collected from 24 LBCL patients, including one patient who received 2 infusions of an investigational allogeneic anti-CD19 product; all other patients received commercially available products, each associated with their distinct LD chemo dosing regimens. With median follow-up of 11.2 months, 54% patients achieved CR as best response, 50% experienced CRS (maximum Grade 2 in 25%), and 29% experienced ICANS (Grade ≥3 in 8%). Most cytokines demonstrated characteristic peak patterns over time that were not dependent on whether cytokines were produced by hematopoietic cells ( Table). Among most cytokines with peak values at Day 0, the mean percentage change from Pre-LD Chemo to Day 0 increased as chemo intensity increased (i.e., fludarabine dose from 25 to 30 mg/m 2, and cyclophosphamide dose from 250 to 500 mg/m 2). Notably, levels of the non-hematopoietic cytokines IL7 and IL15 were highest at day 0, reflecting effects of LD chemo. Using statistical models to filter relevant values, we developed a signature of 14 key cytokines that could be used to predict clinical response at 3 months. Half of these were stromal-produced cytokines from early timepoints: Cytokines positively correlated with CR or partial response (PR) included IL7 at Day 0 (Mann-Whitney U p&amp;lt;0.001) and Day 7 (p=0.044), and IL15 at Day 0 (p=0.016). Negatively correlated cytokines included IL4 at Day 3 (p=0.041), IL10 at Day 7 (p=0.027), CCL19 at Day 10 (p=0.017), and MIP1α at Day 14 (p=0.03). Intriguingly, several Type 1 T helper cell (Th1)-related cytokines with peaks at Day 3 or Day 7 (e.g., IL2, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL18) were not associated with response. Strong associations of timepoint-specific cytokine levels with patient outcomes are exemplified in the Figure: all patients achieving CR had IL7 levels above average on Day 0, while most patients (9/10) who failed to achieve CR had IL7 levels below average on Day 0. This same striking pattern was observed for IL15 at Day 0. Similar analyses gauged which timepoint-specific cytokines were associated with CRS and ICANS. Of 14 values associated with CRS, 13 were from Day 3 or later, likely reflecting sequelae of CRS rather than representing predictive biomarkers. Pre-LD Chemo CCL18 was the exception, positively correlated with CRS (p=0.035). Only 5 cytokine values were associated with development of ICANS, 3 from Day 10 or later; IL7 at Day 0 (p=0.011) and Day 3 (p&amp;lt;0.001) was positively correlated with ICANS . Conclusions Comprehensive cytokine profiling revealed that early measurements of several stromal-produced cytokines can predict response in LBCL patients who receive CAR-T-most notably IL7 and IL15 levels on Day 0, prior to CAR-T infusion. Conversely, few early cytokine measurements were helpful in predicting CRS and ICANS, limited to CCL18 and IL7. Analyses are ongoing to characterize associations of patient characteristics, product differences, and circulating immune cell subsets with changes in cytokine profile over time. Further studies are warranted to validate our findings in a larger data set.

Biomechanics and Injury Prevention for Barefoot/Minimalist Running

» Biomechanical studies indicate that barefoot/minimalist running coincides with a transition to an anterior foot strike, lower vertical loading rates, higher cadences, less energy absorption at the knee joint, and higher energy absorption at the ankle joint.» The clinical outcome studies indicate improvement of previous injuries and equivocal injury rates in the barefoot/minimal-style running groups.» Foot strike pattern is more important than footwear regarding injury prevention and vertical loading rate.» Minimalist footwear places higher degrees of stress on the ankle joints and an increased injury rate when abruptly transitioning to barefoot running. Runners must weigh the risks and benefits and take caution to properly strengthen their feet and safely transition to minimalist running.