BACKGROUND: Prosthetic gait increases demands on stability. Some variability measures can be used to investigate the stability of movement for prosthetic feet. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the prosthetic foot on ground reaction force variability for transtibial amputee gait. STUDY DESIGN: Comparative analysis. METHODS: Eleven male unilateral transtibial amputees participated in this study. Each subject walked at self-selected speed with both conventional (SACH) and energy storing (Sureflex) feet. Time and ground reaction force variables and their coefficients of variation were calculated for each foot type and limb. RESULTS: Mediolateral force variables had high variability for all conditions. The Sureflex had a larger variability than the SACH foot for the braking peak (p < 0.05), which may have been caused by gait instability after the heel strike. There were significant differences between intact and prosthetic limbs in total loading (force impulses) with the SACH foot (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The prosthetic foot and alignment issues related to the foot influence GRF variability. During the braking phase the SACH foot is characterized by higher variability in mediolateral direction and Sureflex by higher variability in anterior-posterior direction. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Differences in variability in ground reaction force variables can represent a person's stability. Observing variability can contribute to better understanding of critical events in gait cycle with the use of various prosthetic feet.
- MeSH
- Amputees MeSH
- Biomechanical Phenomena MeSH
- Gait physiology MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Heel physiology MeSH
- Movement physiology MeSH
- Postural Balance physiology MeSH
- Prosthesis Design MeSH
- Tibia surgery MeSH
- Artificial Limbs MeSH
- Weight-Bearing physiology MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Comparative Study MeSH
High-intensity intermittent performance in soccer is widely assessed using the yo-yo intermittent recovery level 2 test (YYIR2). This test is usually associated with aerobic-anaerobic performance. However, less is known about the direct or indirect contributions of abilities, including the anaerobic component. This study aims to propose a three-level model of factors contributing to YYIR2 performance, based on the investigation of relationships with aerobic endurance, repeated-sprint ability (RSA), and the linear and change-of-direction speed and power variables. Eighteen soccer players performed the YYIR2, with a 20-m shuttle run test (20mSR), an RSA test with change-of-direction, 5-m and 20-m sprints, and a 505 test, countermovement jump, squat jump, and drop jump. The results showed a significant relationship between the YYIR2 distance and the 20mSR distance (r = 0.721, p = 0.001), as well as with the RSA test mean time (r = -0.594, p = 0.009). In the second level, the 20mSR distance performance was not associated with any of the speed and power variables. However, the RSA test mean time correlated with the 5-m sprint (r = 0.587, p = 0.010), 20-m sprint (r = 0.702, p = 0.001), and 505 test (r = 0.585 p = 0.011) performance. In the third level, the 20-m sprint time was related to the squat jump (r = -0.577 p = 0.012) and countermovement jump (r = -0.768 p < 0.001) heights. In addition to aerobic endurance, this study highlights the importance of the anaerobic component in YYIR2 performance. More specifically, aerobic endurance (52%) and RSA (36%) are the main determinants of YYIR2 performance. Subsequently, the RSA performance is determined by the linear (34-49%) and change-of-direction speed (35%), while the explosive power of lower limbs contributes to sprinting performance (33-59%). Coaches should focus on the development of these abilities to improve the high-intensity intermittent performance of soccer players.
Rationed nursing care is a significant problem in healthcare facilities worldwide. Awareness of contributing factors to rationed care might support the development and implementation of strategies for reducing this phenomenon from clinical practice. The study examined the association between selected hospital, unit, and staff variables and the prevalence of rationed nursing care. Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected between December 2017 and July 2018 from 895 registered nurses in seven acute care hospitals in the Slovak Republic was performed. Data were collected using the questionnaire Perceived Implicit Rationing of Nursing and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics in the statistical program SPSS 25.0. Statistically significant associations were found between rationed nursing care and unit type, education, shift type, nurses' experience in the current unit, overtime hours, missed shifts, intention to leave the position, perceived staff adequacy, quality of patient care, and job satisfaction. Differences in rating rationed nursing care, quality of patient care, and job satisfaction were identified based on hospital type. Together with top hospital management, nurse managers should develop targeted interventions focusing on mitigating rationed nursing care from the clinical practice with a focus placed on university hospitals. Quality and safe care might be ensured through constant monitoring of the quality of patient care and job satisfaction of nurses as these factors significantly predicted the estimates of rationed nursing care.
- MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Nursing Staff, Hospital * MeSH
- Job Satisfaction MeSH
- Health Care Rationing * MeSH
- Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
- Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Slovakia MeSH
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate hospital, unit and staff variables as the correlates of missed nursing care (MNC) in Czech hospitals. BACKGROUND: There is a considerable variability in patterns of MNC across different hospital, unit and staff characteristics. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The STROBE guidelines for reporting observational studies were followed for reporting of the research study. METHODS: A sample of 513 nurses working in nine acute care hospitals was recruited. MNC activities were measured with the MISSCARE Survey. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and univariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Type of unit was confirmed as a significant predictor of MNC. Staff characteristics (nurses' work position, level of education and perceived adequacy of unit staff) and hospital variables did not contribute significantly to MNC. CONCLUSIONS: The study replicated the patterns of MNC across different conceptual approaches. MNC was influenced by work environment characteristics rather than individual staff variables. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this research showed that missed nursing care is influenced by work environment characteristics rather than individual staff variables.
- MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Hospitals MeSH
- Nursing Care * MeSH
- Nursing Staff, Hospital * MeSH
- Workplace MeSH
- Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
- Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
BACKGROUND: The current generation of neonatal ventilators enables periodic storage of set, measured, and calculated ventilatory parameters. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and identify the ventilatory, demographic, and clinical pre-extubation variables that are significant for estimating extubation readiness. METHODS: Eligible subjects included premature infants <33 weeks of gestation weaned from mechanical ventilation (MV) lasting >24 h. A total of 16 relevant ventilator variables, each calculated from 288 data points over 24 h, together with eight demographic and three clinical pre-extubation variables, were used to create the generalized linear model (GLM) for a binary outcome and the Cox proportional hazards model for time-to-event analysis. The achievement of a 120-h period without reintubation was defined as a successful extubation attempt (EA) within the binary outcome. RESULTS: We evaluated 149 EAs in 81 infants with a median (interquartile range) gestational age of 25+2 (24+3-26+1) weeks. Of this, 90 EAs (60%) were successful while 59 (40%) failed. GLM identified dynamic compliance per kilogram, percentage of spontaneous minute ventilation, and postmenstrual age as significant independent positive variables. Conversely, dynamic compliance variability emerged as a significant independent negative variable for extubation success. This model enabled the creation of a probability estimator for extubation success with a good proportion of sensitivity and specificity (80% and 73% for a cut-off of 60%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Ventilator variables reflecting lung mechanical properties and the ability to spontaneously breathe during MV contribute to better prediction of extubation readiness in extremely premature infants with chronic lung disease.
- MeSH
- Airway Extubation * MeSH
- Gestational Age MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Ventilators, Mechanical MeSH
- Infant, Extremely Premature * MeSH
- Infant, Newborn MeSH
- Ventilator Weaning * methods MeSH
- Retrospective Studies MeSH
- Respiration, Artificial * methods MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Infant, Newborn MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Observational Study MeSH
Background and Purpose: T2DM is the most common cause of end- stage liver diseases, and different mechanisms contribute to diabetic hepatopathy's wide spectrum presentation. In this study, we aimed to identify abnormalities in liver function tests (LFTs) for a group of Iraqi T2DM patients, determine their prevalence, and investigate the influence of some independent co-variables (duration of DM, HbA1c, BMI, age, and gender). Methods: This case-control study enrolled 43 T2DM patients alongside 40 healthy, age- and sex- matched non-diabetic subjects. After overnight fasting, blood was collected, and fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA1c, and serum LFTs (AST, ALT, ALP, total proteins, albumin, and bilirubin) were measured in addition to serum lipids.Results: T2DM patients exhibited significantly higher FPG, HbA1c, AST, and ALT mean values than the controls. Serum aminotransferases were increased in 30% of patients. Serum albumin and total bilirubin (TSB) decreased in 18.6 and 37.2% respectively. Diabetics with HbA1c>7.0% had significantly higher AST, ALT, ALP, and STP values and lower serum albumin and TSB. The logistic regression analysis revealed that duration, BMI, HbA1c, and age are independent co-variables significantly linked to increased ALT activity. Conclusions: LFTs (mainly aminotransferases) are altered in DM. The duration of diabetes, the age of the patient, BMI, and glycemic control influence this change. We recommend monitoring LFTs in DM and maintaining good glycemic control.
- MeSH
- Blood Chemical Analysis * statistics & numerical data MeSH
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 * blood MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Glycated Hemoglobin analysis MeSH
- Liver Function Tests statistics & numerical data MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Transaminases blood MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Clinical Study MeSH
AIM: To explore the relationship between visuospatial memory, weak central coherence, and eating disorder (ED) symptoms in anorexia nervosa (AN) inpatients. SAMPLE: 31 female AN inpatients. METHODS: Rey complex figure test (RCFT) was used to assess both visuospatial memory and central coherence. RCFT consisted of copy and recall trials. ED symptoms were assessed by The Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and The Clinical and Research Inventory for Eating Disorders (CR-EAT). RESULTS: We found a statistically significant negative correlation between recall accuracy and the total EDE-Q score. Furthermore, recall accuracy and recall central coherence significantly negatively correlate with several EDE-Q and CR-EAT scales. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may contribute to a better understanding of cognitive impairments specifically in ED, and to refining interventions aiming at their improvement.
- MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Anorexia Nervosa diagnosis psychology MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
- Personality Inventory MeSH
- Memory * MeSH
- Body Image * MeSH
- Self Concept MeSH
- Severity of Illness Index * MeSH
- Sense of Coherence * MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
Common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID) is the most common form of primary antibody immunodeficiency. Due to low antibody levels, CVID patients receive intravenous or subcutaneous immunoglobulin replacement therapy as treatment. CVID is associated with the chronic activation of granulocytes, including an increased percentage of low-density neutrophils (LDNs). In this study, we examined changes in the percentage of LDNs and the expression of their surface markers in 25 patients with CVID and 27 healthy donors (HD) after in vitro stimulation of whole blood using IVIg. An oxidative burst assay was used to assess the functionality of LDNs. CVID patients had increased both relative and absolute LDN counts with a higher proportion of mLDNs compared to iLDNs, distinguished based on the expression of CD10 and CD16. Immature LDNs in the CVID and HD groups had significantly reduced oxidative burst capacity compared to mature LDNs. Interestingly we observed reduced oxidative burst capacity, reduced expression of CD10 after stimulation of WB, and higher expression of PD-L1 in mature LDNs in CVID patients compared to HD cells. Our data indicate that that the functional characteristics of LDNs are closely linked to their developmental stage. The observed reduction in oxidative burst capacity in mLDNs in CVID patients could contribute to an increased susceptibility to recurrent bacterial infections among CVID patients.
- MeSH
- Common Variable Immunodeficiency * MeSH
- Phenotype MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Neutrophils * MeSH
- Flow Cytometry MeSH
- Respiratory Burst MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
BACKGROUND: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is an antibody deficiency with an equal sex distribution and a high variability in clinical presentation. The main features include respiratory tract infections and their associated complications, enteropathy, autoimmunity, and lymphoproliferative disorders. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the clinical presentation, association between clinical features, and differences and effects of immunoglobulin treatment in Europe. METHODS: Data on 2212 patients with CVID from 28 medical centers contributing to the European Society for Immunodeficiencies Database were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Early disease onset (<10 years) was very frequent in our cohort (33.7%), especially in male subjects (39.8%). Male subjects with early-onset CVID were more prone to pneumonia and less prone to other complications suggesting a distinct disease entity. The diagnostic delay of CVID ranges between 4 and 5 years in many countries and is particularly high in subjects with early-onset CVID. Enteropathy, autoimmunity, granulomas, and splenomegaly formed a set of interrelated features, whereas bronchiectasis was not associated with any other clinical feature. Patient survival in this cohort was associated with age at onset and age at diagnosis only. There were different treatment strategies in Europe, with considerable differences in immunoglobulin dosing, ranging from 130 up to 750 mg/kg/mo. Patients with very low trough levels of less than 4 g/L had poor clinical outcomes, whereas higher trough levels were associated with a reduced frequency of serious bacterial infections. CONCLUSION: Patients with CVID are being managed differently throughout Europe, affecting various outcome measures. Clinically, CVID is a truly variable antibody deficiency syndrome.
- MeSH
- Survival Analysis MeSH
- Autoimmunity MeSH
- Common Variable Immunodeficiency complications drug therapy immunology mortality MeSH
- Bronchiectasis pathology MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Immunoglobulins, Intravenous therapeutic use MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Lymphoproliferative Disorders complications drug therapy immunology mortality MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Delayed Diagnosis MeSH
- Pneumonia complications drug therapy immunology mortality MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Retrospective Studies MeSH
- Splenomegaly pathology MeSH
- Age of Onset MeSH
- Check Tag
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Multicenter Study MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Europe MeSH
