foot mechanics

Developing hybrid hydrogel dressings with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, angiogenetic, and antibiofilm activities with higher bone tissue penetrability to accelerate diabetic wound healing and prevent diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO) is highly desirable in managing diabetic wounds. Herein, the glycopeptide teicoplanin is used for the first time as a green reductant to chemically reduce graphene oxide (GO). The resulting teicoplanin-decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is incorporated into a mixture of silk proteins (SP) and crosslinked with genipin to yield a physicochemically crosslinked rGO-SP hybrid hydrogel...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to cross-sectionally investigate how static balance changes throughout the aging process in older women aged from their early sixties to their late eighties. METHODS: Forty-six older women (aged 62-89 years) were requested to stand barefoot and quietly on a force platform for 30 s with their eyes either open or closed. During the trials, the position of the center of foot pressure (CoP) and the acceleration of the body's center of mass (ACC) were measured...

OBJECTIVE: Low vagal tone is common in osteoarthritis (OA) comorbidities and results in greater peripheral inflammation. Characterizing vagal tone's role in OA pathogenesis may offer insights into OA's influences beyond the articular joint. We hypothesized that low vagal tone would accelerate onset of OA-related gait changes and worsen joint damage in a rat knee OA model. METHODS: Knee OA was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats by transecting the medial collateral ligament and medial meniscus...

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on activation of silent information regulator 1 (Sirt1)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α)/mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) pathway in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) rats with peripheral neuropathy (DPN) , so as to explore its possible mechanisms underlying improvement of DPN. METHODS: Thirty male SD rats were randomly divided into blank control group ( n =8) and DPN model group ( n =22) which were further divided into model group ( n =8) and EA group ( n =8) after successful modeling...

The effects of a 12-week gait retraining program on the adaptation of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) and muscle-tendon unit (MTU) were investigated. 26 runners with a rearfoot strike pattern (RFS) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: gait retraining (GR) or control group (CON). MG ultrasound images, marker positions, and ground reaction forces (GRF) were collected twice during 9 km/h of treadmill running before and after the intervention. Ankle kinetics and the MG and MTU behavior and dynamics were quantified...

The plantar aponeurosis (PA) is an elastic longitudinal band that contributes to the generation of a propulsive force in the push-off phase during walking and running through the windlass mechanism. However, the dynamic behavior of the PA remains unclear owing to the lack of direct measurement of the strain it generates. Therefore, this study aimed to visualize and quantify the PA behavior during two distinct foot postures: (i) neutral posture and (ii) windlass posture with midtarsal joint plantarflexion and metatarsophalangeal joint dorsiflexion, using computed tomography scans...

Foam dressing (FD) and micropower vacuum dressing (MVD) have been applied in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). However, research about the mode of action on the efficacy of the two dressings is extremely rare. This study proposed to explore the mechanism involved in diabetic wound healing under FD or MVD treatment. Macroscopical study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of FD and MVD on wound healing in a rat model of DFU. Morphological analysis in the wound skin tissue was conducted by hematoxylin and eosin staining...

Environmental stressors such as salinity fluctuations can significantly impact the ecological dynamics of mussel beds. The present study evaluated the influence of hyposalinity stress on the detachment and survival of attached mussels by simulating a mussel farming model in a laboratory setting. Byssus production and mechanical properties of thread in response to varying salinity levels were assessed, and histological sections of the mussel foot were analyzed to identify the changes in the byssus secretory gland area...

INTRODUCTION: The remarkable diversity observed in the structure and development of the molluscan nervous system raises intriguing questions regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurogenesis in Mollusca . The expression of SoxB family transcription factors plays a pivotal role in neuronal development, thereby offering valuable insights into the strategies of neurogenesis. METHODS: In this study, we conducted gene expression analysis focusing on SoxB-family transcription factors during early neurogenesis in the gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis ...

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic foot infection (DFI) is one of the complications of diabetes mellitus. Clindamycin (CLY) is one of the antibiotics recommended to treat DFI, but CLY given orally and intravenously still causes many side effects. METHODS: In this study, we encapsulated CLY in a bacteria sensitive microparticle system (MP-CLY) using polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer. MP-CLY was then delivered in a separable effervescent microarray patch (MP-CLY-SEMAP), which has the ability to separate between the needle layer and separable layer due to the formation of air bubbles when interacting with interstitial fluid in the skin...

BACKGROUND: As total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) increases in popularity nationwide for the management of end-stage arthritis, it is essential to understand ways to mitigate the risk of infection. Diabetes increases the risk of infection due to compromised immunity and impaired wound-healing mechanisms. However, there is limited research on how diabetic management, inclusive of medications and glucose control, may impact infection risks post-TAA. This study aims to demonstrate the impact of diabetic management on the occurrence of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) following TAA...

BACKGROUND: Lateral ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries in indoor and court sports. Self-reports and case studies have indicated that these injuries occur via both contact and noncontact injury mechanisms typically because of excessive inversion in combination with plantarflexion and adduction of the foot. Video-based documentation of the injury mechanism exists, but the number of cases reported in the literature is limited. PURPOSE: To retrieve and systematically analyze a large number of video-recorded lateral ankle injuries from indoor and court sports, as well as describe the injury mechanism, injury motion, and injury pattern across different sports...

To improve the adaptability of soft robots to the environment and achieve reliable attachment on various surfaces such as smooth and rough, this study draws inspiration from the collaborative attachment strategy of insects, cats, and other biological claw hooks and foot pads, and designs an actuator with a bionic claw hook-suction cup hybrid structure. The rigid biomimetic pop-up claw hook linkage mechanism is combined with a flexible suction cup of a "foot pad" to achieve a synergistic adhesion effect between claw hook locking and suction cup adhesion through the deformation control of a soft pneumatic actuator...

It is unclear how animals with radial symmetry control locomotion without a brain. Using a combination of experiments, mathematical modeling, and robotics, we tested the extent to which this control emerges in sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus) from the local control of their hundreds of feet and their mechanical interactions with the body. We discovered that these animals compensate for an experimental increase in their submerged weight by recruiting more feet that synchronize in the power stroke of the locomotor cycle during their bouncing gait...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess whether variances in Achilles tendon elongation are linked to dissimilarities in the plantar pressure distribution following two different surgical approaches for an Achilles tendon rupture (ATR). METHODS: All patients who were treated with open or minimally invasive surgical repair (MIS) and were over 2 years post their ATR were eligible for inclusion. A total of 65 patients with an average age of 43 ± 11 years were included in the study...

BACKGROUND: Fosfomycin treatment of urinary tract infections is increasingly attractive due to escalating antibiotic resistance rates among urinary pathogens. Standard antibiotic susceptibility testing methods perform poorly for fosfomycin as there is poor correlation between susceptibility results and clinical outcomes in urinary pathogens other than Escherichia coli . OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the performance of fosfomycin susceptibility testing in E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to determine whether fosfomycin susceptibility is associated with molecular resistance mechanisms...

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of EV-A71 (Enterovirus A71) infection on ocular surface and its mechanism. METHODS: AG6 mice aged two to three weeks were randomly divided into control and EV-A71 infected groups. Slit-lamp observation, fluorescein staining, and phenol red thread test were used to assess symptoms of ocular surface at 4 dpi (days post infection). The pathological changes of cornea and lacrimal gland were observed by H&E staining, PAS staining, TUNEL assay, IHC staining and qRT-PCR...

INTRODUCTION: Hand foot skin reaction (HFSR) is a common dose-limiting adverse effect of multi kinase inhibitors (MKI) whose mechanism is not fully understood, and the prophylaxis is inadequate. OBJECTIVE: In this pilot study, a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of topical urea in secondary prevention of sunitinib-induced HFSR in renal cell cancer patients. METHODS: Out of 55 screened patients, 14 were randomized to receive topical urea or placebo for four weeks...

Diabetic foot ulcers are a serious complication of uncontrolled diabetes, emphasizing the need to develop wound healing strategies that are not only effective but also biocompatible, biodegradable, and safe. We aimed to create biomatrices composed of semi-interpenetrated polymer networks of collagen, polyurethane, and dextran, to enhance the wound healing process. The hydrogels were extensively characterized by various analytical techniques, including analysis of their structure, crystallinity, thermal properties, gelation process, reticulation, degradation, cell proliferation, and healing properties, among others...

As a common medicinal and edible resource in China, Coicis Semen has a long history of cultivation and medicinal use. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) clinically believes that Coicis Semen has the effect of strengthening the spleen and tonifying the lungs, clearing heat and dampness, removing pus and paralysis, and stopping diarrhea. Therefore, it is used to treat edema, foot odor, spleen deficiency, diarrhea, and other symptoms. The above effects are closely related to the active ingredients of Coicis Semen, such as esters, fatty acids, polysaccharides, proteins, as well as phenolic acids, sterols, flavonoids, lactams, triterpenes, alkaloids, and adenosine...