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Background: Offloading treatment is crucial to heal diabetes‐related foot ulcers (DFU). This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of offloading interventions for people with DFU. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane databases, and trials registries for all studies relating to offloading interventions in people with DFU to address 14 clinical question comparisons. Outcomes included ulcers healed, plantar pressure, weight‐bearing activity, adherence, new lesions, falls, infections, amputations, quality of life, costs, cost‐effectiveness, balance, and sustained healing. Included controlled studies were independently assessed for risk of bias and had key data extracted. Meta‐analyses were performed when outcome data from studies could be pooled. Evidence statements were developed using the GRADE approach when outcome data existed. Results: From 19,923 studies screened, 194 eligible studies were identified (47 controlled, 147 non‐controlled), 35 meta‐analyses performed, and 128 evidence statements developed. We found non‐removable offloading devices likely increase ulcers healed compared to removable offloading devices (risk ratio [RR] 1.24, 95% CI 1.09–1.41; N = 14, n = 1083), and may increase adherence, cost‐effectiveness and decrease infections, but may increase new lesions. Removable knee‐high offloading devices may make little difference to ulcers healed compared to removable ankle‐high offloading devices (RR 1.00, 0.86–1.16; N = 6, n = 439), but may decrease plantar pressure and adherence. Any offloading device may increase ulcers healed (RR 1.39, 0.89–2.18; N = 5, n = 235) and cost‐effectiveness compared to therapeutic footwear and may decrease plantar pressure and infections. Digital flexor tenotomies with offloading devices likely increase ulcers healed (RR 2.43, 1.05–5.59; N = 1, n = 16) and sustained healing compared to devices alone, and may decrease plantar pressure and infections, but may increase new transfer lesions. Achilles tendon lengthening with offloading devices likely increase ulcers healed (RR 1.10, 0.97–1.27; N = 1, n = 64) and sustained healing compared to devices alone, but likely increase new heel ulcers. Conclusions: Non‐removable offloading devices are likely superior to all other offloading interventions to heal most plantar DFU. Digital flexor tenotomies and Achilles tendon lengthening in combination with offloading devices are likely superior for some specific plantar DFU locations. Otherwise, any offloading device is probably superior to therapeutic footwear and other non‐surgical offloading interventions to heal most plantar DFU. However, all these interventions have low‐to‐moderate certainty of evidence supporting their outcomes and more high‐quality trials are needed to improve our certainty for the effectiveness of most offloading interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Offloading mechanical tissue stress is arguably the most important of multiple interventions needed to heal diabetes‐related foot ulcers. This is the 2023 International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) evidence‐based guideline on offloading interventions to promote healing of foot ulcers in persons with diabetes. It serves as an update of the 2019 IWGDF guideline. Materials and Methods: We followed the GRADE approach by devising clinical questions and important outcomes in the PICO (Patient‐Intervention‐Control‐Outcome) format, undertaking a systematic review and meta‐analyses, developing summary of judgement tables and writing recommendations and rationales for each question. Each recommendation is based on the evidence found in the systematic review, expert opinion where evidence was not available, and a careful weighing of GRADE summary of judgement items including desirable and undesirable effects, certainty of evidence, patient values, resources required, cost effectiveness, equity, feasibility, and acceptability. Results: For healing a neuropathic plantar forefoot or midfoot ulcer in a person with diabetes, use a non‐removable knee‐high offloading device as the first‐choice offloading intervention. If contraindications or patient intolerance to non‐removable offloading exist, consider using a removable knee‐high or ankle‐high offloading device as the second‐choice offloading intervention. If no offloading devices are available, consider using appropriately fitting footwear combined with felted foam as the third‐choice offloading intervention. If such a non‐surgical offloading treatment fails to heal a plantar forefoot ulcer, consider an Achilles tendon lengthening, metatarsal head resection, joint arthroplasty, or metatarsal osteotomy. For healing a neuropathic plantar or apex lesser digit ulcer secondary to flexibile toe deformity, use digital flexor tendon tenotomy. For healing rearfoot, non‐plantar or ulcers complicated with infection or ischaemia, further recommendations have been outlined. All recommendations have been summarised in an offloading clinical pathway to help facilitate the implementation of this guideline into clinical practice. Conclusion: These offloading guideline recommendations should help healthcare professionals provide the best care and outcomes for persons with diabetes‐related foot ulcers and reduce the person's risk of infection, hospitalisation and amputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fit of fire boots is a crucial factor in the safety and performance of firefighters on the hostile fireground. Firefighters have reported that ill-fitting fire boots restrict their lower body movement and sometimes cause very dangerous situations by falling off behind the wearer. By using computed tomography, this study demonstrates the potential to quantify and visualize the fit of fire boots, which previously relied on subjective feedback from the wearers. The high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) models of two fire boot products allowed a detailed observation and measurement of the internal space of the boots. Also, the boot's internal dimension was compared to the foot measurement of local firefighters, showing the significant differences between the two boots. Lastly, simulation wrapping the 3D scanned foot with the boot revealed large void spaces around the toe box and ankle, as well as the narrower ball width of the boot than the foot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic injuries due to unintentional slips and falls are prevalent in healthcare and nursing facilities. According to reports, around 26% of all the nonfatal slips, trips, and falls cases were observed in the nursing care facilities. Slipping generally occurs due to a sudden reduction in the friction at footwear-floor junction, presence of contaminants during walking, quality of flooring, etc. While several studies have conducted pilot tests to understand the slip risk of different types of footwear, specialized footwear worn by nurses have not been studied till date. In this work, 50 shoe designs worn by nurses were selected to test their traction performances. A biofidelic and portable slip testing device was employed to test the friction of footwear over common locations in a hospital i.e., ward corridor, ICU entry, and nurse station. Through rigorous tests, shoe replacement threshold of 6 months has been identified, which could significantly reduce these accidents. Softer shoes having shore hardness less than 53 A showed high traction over dry floorings (R2 = 0.86). Furthermore, a novel method to estimate the worn region size was employed. The worn-out region sizes of radius more than 5 mm showed drastic reduction in the footwear traction performance across slippery floorings. The novel findings from this study are anticipated to guide the hospital management and nurses in selecting appropriate footwear, determining replacement thresholds, and selecting safer floorings for different slipping scenarios to reduce fatal and non-fatal slipping cases related to hospital staff and nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most western legal systems, only the fact-finder (judge or jury) is entrusted to make the ultimate decision in a criminal case. A forensic expert can help the fact-finder by opining on the weight of the forensic evidence given the hypotheses relevant to the case, but is not qualified to give an opinion about the ultimate question(s). When the question is reduced to two simple hypotheses, a Bayes Factor can express the expert’s opinion about the extent to which the forensic evidence favours each hypothesis. This paper addresses the situation in which one or both of the hypotheses are composite, that is, embrace more than one possibility. It offers an interval of Bayes Factors, and shows that the proposed interval includes those values, and only those values, of the Bayes Factor supported by possible beliefs of the fact-finder. Shoe prints, tool marks and DNA are discussed in this light if the hypotheses used in the Bayes Factor are composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The zero-velocity update (ZUPT) method has become a popular approach to estimate foot kinematics from foot worn inertial measurement units (IMUs) during walking and running. However, the accuracy of the ZUPT method for stride parameters at sprinting speeds remains unknown, specifically when using sensors with characteristics well suited for sprinting (i.e., high accelerometer and gyroscope ranges and sampling rates). Seventeen participants performed 80-meter track sprints while wearing a Blue Trident IMeasureU IMU. Two cameras, at 20 and 70 meters from the start, were used to validate the ZUPT method on a stride-by-stride and on a cumulative distance basis. In particular, the validity of the ZUPT method was assessed for: (1) estimating a single stride length attained near the end of an 80m sprint (i.e., stride at 70m); (2) estimating cumulative distance from ∼20 to ∼70 m; and (3) estimating total distance traveled for an 80-meter track sprint. Individual stride length errors at the 70-meter mark were within -6% to 3%, with a bias of -0.27%. Cumulative distance errors were within -4 to 2%, with biases ranging from -0.85 to -1.22%. The results of this study demonstrate the ZUPT method provides accurate estimates of stride length and cumulative distance traveled for sprinting speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine if adolescents with patellofemoral pain exhibit different biomechanical characteristics to asymptomatic adolescents during walking and running. Methods: Twenty‐eight adolescents with patellofemoral pain (16 male, 12 female, mean [SD] age: 14.3 [1.7] years) and 24 asymptomatic adolescents (13 male, 11 female, mean [SD] age: 14.1 [1.6] years) participated. Participants walked and ran on an instrumented treadmill in a standardized athletic shoe. Continuous hip, knee, and ankle joint angles and moments, and frontal plane pelvic motion were compared between groups using one‐dimensional statistical parametric mapping independent t‐tests (alpha <0.05). Cadence and stride length were compared between groups using independent t‐tests. Results: During walking, adolescents with patellofemoral pain had a higher hip extension moment at 7%–8% of the gait cycle (p = 0.04) and walked with a shorter stride length (mean difference [95% confidence interval] = −0.07 [−0.1, −0.01] m). There were no other differences between groups during walking. During running, adolescents with patellofemoral pain had greater knee flexion than asymptomatic adolescents at 35%–40% of the gait cycle (p = 0.04) and ran with a higher cadence (mean difference [95% confidence interval] = 5.8 [2.0, 9.5] steps/min). There were no other statistically significant differences between groups during running. Conclusions: Adolescents with patellofemoral pain demonstrate few biomechanical differences to asymptomatic adolescents during walking and running. The identified differences are likely of limited clinical importance. Biomechanical alterations which have been previously associated with patellofemoral pain in adults, may not need to be the target of management of adolescent patellofemoral pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the effects of footwear type on joint stiffness have previously been investigated, researchers did not consider foot flexibility. Thus, the present investigation aimed to determine the interaction effects of footwear type, static navicular drop and dynamic ankle pronation on dynamic joint stiffness in running. Does the footwear types in interaction with the foot posture affect the stiffness of the joints of the lower limb? Forty-seven male individuals participated in this study. Firstly, they were divided into the high navicular, low navicular, and normal navicular drop. Secondly, they were divided into the high dynamic ankle pronation, low dynamic ankle pronation, and normal dynamic ankle pronation groups. Participants performed three running trials at 3 ± 0.2 m/s at minimalist footwear, conventional footwear, and barefoot conditions. We collected the ground reaction forces and three-dimensional kinematic data and calculated joint stiffness over the stance phase. There was no significant main effect of navicular drop or dynamic ankle pronation on dynamic joint stiffness for the ankle, knee, and hip (p > 0.05). However, footwear type significantly affected dynamic joint stiffness. The pairwise comparison revealed that the ankle and hip dynamic joint stiffness magnitudes in the conventional footwear condition were greater than in the barefoot and minimalist footwear conditions (p 0.001). In contrast, the knee dynamic joint stiffness magnitude in the conventional footwear condition was lesser than in barefoot and minimalist footwear conditions (p 0.001). The navicular drop or dynamic ankle pronation did not influence lower limb joint stiffness, and there was no significant interaction between navicular drop or dynamic ankle pronation and footwear on lower limb dynamic joint stiffness. However, conventional footwear increased the ankle and hip dynamic joint stiffness while reducing knee dynamic joint stiffness, leading to changes in transfer energy, which could have implications for relative injury risk. • Joints stiffness change to regulate the transfer of energy through the joints. • Minimal running increases the load on the ankle and reduces it on the knee and hip. • Navicular drop did not influence lower limb joint stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce an algorithmic approach designed to compare similar shoeprint images, with automated alignment. Our method employs the Iterative Closest Points (ICP) algorithm to attain optimal alignment, further enhancing precision through phase‐only correlation. Utilizing diverse metrics to quantify similarity, we train a random forest model to predict the empirical probability that two impressions originate from the same shoe. Experimental evaluations using high‐quality two‐dimensional shoeprints showcase our proposed algorithm's robustness in managing dissimilarities between impressions from the same shoe, outperforming existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The existing footwear ecosystem is not environmentally friendly and thus poses a threat to sustainability. In this article, our objective is to take a product‐service systems approach to propose alternative footwear consumption scenarios from a sustainability viewpoint and investigate the perspective of Indian consumers toward the proposed scenarios. To this end, we initially conducted a comprehensive literature review to explore alternative consumption scenarios in the realm of fashion products. This step led to the development of 10 alternative footwear consumption scenarios that focus on maintenance and repair, takeback, assembly, customization, personalization, advice and consultancy, rent, sequential share, swap, and functionality. Next, we adopted the focus group interview methodology to investigate the perception of Indian consumers toward the 10 alternative footwear consumption scenarios, which can inform the footwear industry's product development, marketing strategies, and sustainability initiatives. Our results indicate that while the participants found the consumption scenarios to be interesting and practical, they feel that the proposed scenarios may prove to be more feasible for comparatively expensive footwear products because of the associated logistics costs. Furthermore, the participants pointed out a few cultural as well as hygiene‐related issues that may hinder the adoption of certain alternative footwear consumption scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This manuscript aims to provide a review and synthesis of contemporary advancements in footwear, sensor technology for remote monitoring, and digital health, with a focus on improving offloading and measuring and enhancing adherence to offloading in diabetic foot care. Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted by sourcing peer‐reviewed articles, clinical studies, and technological innovations. This paper includes a review of various strategies, from specifically designed footwear, smart insoles and boots to using digital health interventions, which aim to offload plantar pressure and help prevent and manage wounds more effectively by improving the adherence to such offloading. Results: In‐house specially made footwear, sensor technologies remotely measuring pressure and weight‐bearing activity, exemplified for example, through applications like smart insoles and SmartBoot, and other digital health technologies, show promise in improving offloading and changing patient behaviour towards improving adherence to offloading and facilitating personalised care. This paper introduces the concept of gamification and emotive visual indicators as novel methods to enhance patient engagement. It further discusses the transformative role of digital health technologies in the modern era. Conclusions: The integration of technology with footwear and offloading devices offers unparallelled opportunities for improving diabetic foot disease management not only through better offloading but also through improved adherence to offloading. These advancements allow healthcare providers to personalise treatment plans more effectively, thereby promising a major improvement in patient outcomes in diabetic foot ulcer healing and prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Footwear energy storage and return is often suggested as one explanation for metabolic energy savings when running in Advanced Athletic Footwear. However, there is no common understanding of how footwear energy storage and return facilitates changes in muscle and joint kinetics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the magnitude and timing of foot, footwear and lower limb joint powers and work while running in Advanced and Traditional Athletic Footwear. Fifteen runners participated in an overground motion analysis study. Since footwear kinetics are methodologically challenging to quantify, we leveraged distal rearfoot power analyses (‘foot + footwear’ power) and evaluated changes in the magnitude and timing of foot + footwear power and lower limb joint powers. Running in Advanced Footwear resulted in greater foot + footwear work, compared to Traditional Shoes, and lower positive ankle work, potentially reducing the muscular demand on the runner. The timing of foot + footwear power varied only slightly across footwear. There are exciting innovation opportunities to manipulate the timing of footwear energy and return. This study demonstrates the research value of quantifying time-series foot + footwear power, and points industry developers towards footwear innovation opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate professional footwear comfort, functionality and style as well as their relationships with the foot structure among nurses. Methods: We examined 120 clinical nurses aged 40-50 years, occupationally active, wearing specific type of footwear at work for a minimum of 7 h a day, for 5 days prior to the research. The study relied on the CQ-ST podoscope for measurements of foot. Perception of footwear comfort, functionality and style scales were also used in the research. The results were analysed with the use of Mann-Whitney U-test and Spearman's rank correlation. Results: Statistically significant negative associations were found between right and left foot length and overall comfort of footwear (p = 0.045, p = 0.045) as well as between right and left foot width and arch height (p = 0.015, p = 0.028). Heel angle positively correlated with safety (p = 0.008, p = 0.050), ease of donning and doffing (p = 0.001, p = 0.004), as well as shoe style ratings (p = 0.047). Variables determining shoe comfort were positively correlated with most shoe functionality characteristics as well as with shoe style (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Tested medical footwear meets the requirements of nurses in terms of comfort, functionality and aesthetics, and the studied features of footwear can be a useful guideline for the selection of shoes for representatives of this professional group. These footwear can be an element of workwear, and even, in the case of women with transverse flat feet - an alternative to ordinary utility shoes. There is a need to consider different widths for the same length size in medical footwear designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine whether designed‐to‐be‐rigid ankle–foot orthoses and footwear combinations with individualized alignment and footwear designs (AFO‐FC/IAFD) would be more effective than designed‐to‐be‐rigid AFO with non‐individualized alignment and footwear designs (AFO‐FC/NAFD) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: Nineteen children with bilateral spastic CP were randomized to AFO‐FC/NAFD (n = 10) or AFO‐FC/IAFD (n = 9) groups. Fifteen were male, average age 6 years 11 months (range 4 years 2 months–9 years 11 months), classified in Gross Motor Function Classification System levels II (n = 15) and III (n = 4). The Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS), Gait Outcomes Assessment List (GOAL), Patient‐Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), and Orthotic and Prosthetic Users' Survey (OPUS) measures of satisfaction were collected at baseline and after 3 months' wear. Results: Compared with the AFO‐FC/NAFD group, those with AFO‐FC/IAFD demonstrated greater change in PBS total scores (mean 12.8 [standard deviation 10.5] vs 3.5 [5.8]; p = 0.03) and GOAL total scores (3.5 [5.8] vs −0.44 [5.5]; p = 0.03). There were no significant changes in OPUS or PROMIS scores. Interpretation: After 3 months, individualized orthosis alignment and footwear designs had a greater positive effect on balance and parent‐reported mobility than a non‐individualized approach. No effect was documented for the PROMIS and OPUS. Results may inform orthotic management for ambulatory children with bilateral spastic CP. What this paper adds: Balance and parent‐reported mobility increased more over time for the ankle–foot orthoses and footwear combinations with individualized alignment and footwear designs (AFO‐FC/IAFD) group.Changes in balance over time suggest a therapeutic effect of the AFO‐FC/IAFD approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There was a correlation between pollen assemblages in footwear and highland soils. • Pollen rain - footwear pollen assemblages were more similar in natural sites. • Most plants absent in the pollen rain had entomophilous pollination. • We started developing a pollen database for forensic uses in non-seasonal soils. • The efficiency of the Povilauskas 2020 protocol for footwear was confirmed. Forensic palynology is a tool in criminalistics that uses spores and pollen grains to link a certain geographical location with a crime scene. The comparison of the pollen assemblage of a crime-scene soil and that of footwear of suspects and victims proved to be very useful as judicial evidence in multiple environments with marked seasonality. However, its usefulness in non-seasonal high-altitude soils has not been experimentally evaluated to the same extent. For this reason, the present study addressed this information gap by undertaking a palynological study in areas with high crime rates in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. To do this, we carried out multiple experimental samplings in three locations with different types of soil and different degrees of urbanization. Specifically, we compared whether the vegetation present at the time of taking the reference samples, was reflected in the pollen rain. Results showed that the vast majority of the species present in the vegetation were found in the pollen rain, with the exception of some plant species with entomophilous pollination syndrome. We also show that the transfer between assemblages from pollen rain to footwear happened effectively, which helped identify their geographical origin, and unveiled a great number of useful indicator species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RACs in dust impressions were similar size/larger than their test impression mates. • RACs with positional and geometric similarity occurred between unrelated outsoles. • A minimum of 3.1% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features = 2.8 mm. • A maximum of 32% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features of any size. This study serves as Part II of an investigation into the random match frequency of randomly acquired characteristics (RAC-RMF) in footwear evidence. In Part I, RAC-RMF was estimated in a dataset of laboratory-simulated crime scene impressions deposited in blood. For Part II, a second dataset was created composed of impressions deposited in dust on paper or tile, with the latter lifted using gelatin or Mylar film. A total of 1,513 RACs were identified from more than 160 dust impressions and compared to RACs with positional similarity in test impressions from 1,299 non-mated outsoles. RACs of any size deposited in dust exhibited a 31% decrease in shoes with non-zero RAC-RMFs as compared to their mated test impressions, while those deposited in blood exhibited a 45% increase. When only considering shoes with at least one RAC deemed forensically-reliable (length ⩾ 2.8 mm), 3.1% of shoes contributing dust impressions and 3.4% of shoes contributing blood impressions exhibited relative RAC-RMFs at a value ⩾ 0.0008. Although each dataset resulted in a comparable rate for encountering non-zero RAC-RMFs, the estimate for dust was based on twice the number of RAC comparisons (154,477) than those performed when assessing blood (77,566). While these results are considered specific to the non-mated impressions and methods of analysis described herein, and continued work is required before rates can be fully understood and reported in forensic casework, this study encountered non-zero RAC-RMFs for shoes exhibiting at least one forensically-reliable RAC at a more frequent rate than any estimates previously reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RACs in blood impressions were often smaller than their test impression mates. • RACs with positional and geometric similarity occurred between unrelated outsoles. • A minimum of 3.4% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features = 2.8 mm. • A maximum of 34% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features of any size. The aim of this study was to estimate random match frequency of randomly acquired characteristics (RAC-RMF) for laboratory-simulated crime scene impressions. Part I of this investigation reports this metric using a dataset of more than 160 questioned impressions created in blood and deposited on tile. A total of 759 RACs were identified in the blood impressions and compared to RACs with positional similarity in test impressions from 1,299 unrelated outsoles. Geometric similarity was quantified using a combination of visual comparisons and mathematical modeling based on percent area overlap. Results indicated that RACs in blood impressions were typically smaller, and therefore exhibited a two-thirds increase in the number of indistinguishable pairs compared to their mated test impressions. For shoes contributing at least one RAC, relative RAC-RMF values ⩾ 0.0008 were encountered at a rate between 3.4% and 34% for the blood impressions examined in this study. Part II of this investigation provides analogous results based on dust impressions deposited on paper and tile. Although the results in Part I and Part II are specific to randomly acquired characteristics and do not translate into an impression-wide RMF estimate, this research shows that RACs in questioned impressions of the type expected in casework co-occur in position and geometry with RACs in non-mated test impressions. Since theoretical models have traditionally been the basis for estimating RAC-RMF in footwear, the overall contribution of this research to the forensic footwear community is a calibration of this estimate based on empirical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on diverse conference workshops, including discussions on political significance of iconic Filipino outfits like the butterfly-sleeved gown and pineapple shirt, a personal journey of self-love and with disabilities in the fashion discourse. Topics include the exploration of Two-Spirit identity in North America, the impact of hip-hop culture on fashion and footwear, and a virtual tour of the exhibition "Chasing the Dragon: China in the Western Imagination."

Current methods used to document and collect footwear impression evidence are destructive and lack high-resolution three-dimensional detail. This study explored the use of non-invasive three-dimensional scanning technologies to document and collect the three-dimensional characteristics of footwear impression evidence. Footwear impressions created in sand and garden soil using a sneaker and a boot (n=4) were documented and collected using a digital single-lens ref lex (DSLR) camera using the photogrammetric method, a Polyga Compact L6 structured light scanner, and an Artec Space Spider structured light scanner. The Polyga Compact L6 acted as the high-resolution baseline that most closely represented the actual footwear impressions. Point clouds and meshes were compared in CloudCompare to determine the level of intra-variability between the Artec Space Spider and photogrammetry technologies. The Artec Space Spider was the most accurate of the methods for documentation and collection for all impressions with a mean absolute distance of 0.148 mm or less. Photogrammetry had a mean absolute distance of 0.176 mm or less. It was found that three-dimensional scanning technologies are viable as a compliment for two-dimensional photographs and casting when collecting footwear impression evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Slavica Wratislaviensia is the property of Wroclaw University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper follows on from the theme of the conference Archaeological Research in Czech Silesia, thus presenting a summary of the methods and history of research on medieval and modern leather artefacts, especially in the Czech part of Silesia, and, in order to understand the entire issue, it also outlines the basic European literature, without which the principles of research cannot be properly grasped. The article is not about a synthesis of the finds published so far, but about presenting the entire issue based on them. Selected finds from Ostrava - Masaryk Square (Masarykovo náměstí) - are listed below; these finds were covered by the author in her Master's thesis, and, only now, representative samples of the finds will be published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Reti Medievali is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

IntroductionA concern expressed by the clinical community is that the constraint of motion provided by an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) may lead the user to become dependent on its stiffness, leading to learned non-use. To examine this, we hypothesized that using an experimental AFO-footwear combination (exAFO-FC) that constrains ankle motion during walking would result in reduced soleus and tibialis anterior EMG compared to free (exAFO-FC) and control (no AFO, footwear only) conditions.MethodA total of 14 healthy subjects walked at their preferred speed (1.34 ± 0.09 m·s-1) for 15 min, in three conditions, namely, control, free, and stop.ResultsDuring the stance phase of walking in the stop condition, ipsilateral soleus integrated EMG (iEMG) declined linearly, culminating in a 32.1% reduction compared to the control condition in the final 5 min interval of the protocol. In contrast, ipsilateral tibialis anterior iEMG declined in a variable fashion culminating in an 11.2% reduction compared to control in the final 5 min interval. During the swing phase, the tibialis anterior iEMG increased by 6.6% compared to the control condition during the final 5 min interval. The contralateral soleus and tibialis anterior exhibited increased iEMG in the stop condition.DiscussionAn AFO-FC functions as a biomechanical motion control device that influences the neural control system and alters the output of muscles experiencing constraints of motion.

Laces have traditionally been used to secure the foot, limit slippage, enhance fit, and prevent injury across different types of footwear. Quantitatively assessing the merits and effectiveness of laces is technically challenging due to the lack of portable instrumentation that can measure lace tension reliably. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to design and build a portable apparatus to quantify lace tension to be used on footwear in both laboratory and real-world environments. The apparatus was designed to meet three major design criteria: (i) portable, (ii) able to accommodate different types of footwear, lace materials, and lacing patterns, and (iii) able to measure lace tension while the footwear is secured on the foot. As a result of the design process, the apparatus consisted of a base, fabricated from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and a frame, made from aluminum and 3D printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). A measurement system was affixed to the frame and consisted of a lever, a non-deformable cable with a hook, a load cell, a caliper, and a microcontroller to measure the force and change in length of laces when a force was applied. The total height and weight of the apparatus was 25.5 cm and 6.35 kg, respectively. A reliability analysis was conducted using three different types of laces (waxed, non-waxed, and carbon fiber blend) and revealed a high internal consistency within lace types with alpha values of 0.95, 0.81, 0.91, respectively. The interclass reliability coefficient across lace types revealed an alpha value of 0.84. As a result of the design, build, and reliability analysis, the apparatus was able to provide reliable measurements of lace tension while satisfying the design criteria. It is envisioned that the apparatus can be used for ongoing investigations across different types of footwear and different types of laces.

In a randomized controlled cross-over study ten male runners (26.7 ± 4.9 years; recent 5-km time: 18:37 ± 1:07 min:s) performed an incremental treadmill test (ITT) and a 3-km time trial (3-km TT) on a treadmill while wearing either carbon fiber insoles with downwards curvature or insoles made of butyl rubber (control condition) in light road racing shoes (Saucony Fastwitch 9). Oxygen uptake, respiratory exchange ratio, heart rate, blood lactate concentration, stride frequency, stride length and time to exhaustion were assessed during ITT. After ITT, all runners rated their perceived exertion, perceived shoe comfort and perceived shoe performance. Running time, heart rate, blood lactate levels, stride frequency and stride length were recorded during, and shoe comfort and shoe performance after, the 3-km TT. All parameters obtained during or after the ITT did not differ between the two conditions [range: p = 0.188 to 0.948 (alpha value: 0.05); Cohen's d = 0.021 to 0.479] despite the rating of shoe comfort showing better scores for the control insoles (p = 0.001; d = −1.646). All parameters during and after the 3-km TT showed no differences (p = 0.200 to 1.000; d = 0.000 to 0.501) between both conditions except for shoe comfort showing better scores for control insoles (p = 0.017; d = −0.919). Running with carbon fiber insoles with downwards curvature did not change running performance or any submaximal or maximal physiological or biomechanical parameter and perceived exertion compared to control condition. Shoe comfort is impaired while running with carbon fiber insoles. Wearing carbon fiber insoles with downwards curvature during treadmill running is not beneficial when compared to running with control insoles.

Abstract Background Preventing foot ulcers in people with diabetes can increase quality of life and reduce costs. Despite the availability of various interventions to prevent foot ulcers, recurrence rates remain high. We hypothesize that a multimodal treatment approach incorporating various footwear, self-management, and education interventions that matches an individual person’s needs can reduce the risk of ulcer recurrence with beneficial cost-utility. The aim of this study is to assess the effect on foot ulcer recurrence, footwear adherence, and cost-utility of an integrated personalized assistive devices approach in high-risk people with diabetes. Methods In a parallel-group multicenter randomized controlled trial, 126 adult participants with diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2, loss of protective sensation based on the presence of peripheral neuropathy, a healed plantar foot ulcer in the preceding 4 years, and possession of any type of custom-made footwear will be included. Participants will be randomly assigned to either enhanced therapy or usual care. Enhanced therapy consists of usual care and additionally a personalized treatment approach including pressure-optimized custom-made footwear, pressure-optimized custom-made footwear for indoor use, at-home daily foot temperature monitoring, and structured education, which includes motivational interviewing and personalized feedback on adherence and self-care. Participants will be followed for 12 months. Assessments include barefoot and in-shoe plantar pressure measurements; questionnaires concerning quality of life, costs, disease, and self-care knowledge; physical activity and footwear use monitoring; and clinical monitoring for foot ulcer outcomes. The study is powered for 3 primary outcomes: foot ulcer recurrence, footwear adherence, and cost-utility, the primary clinical, patient-related, and health-economic outcome respectively. Discussion This is the first study to integrate multiple interventions for ulcer prevention into a personalized state-of-the-art treatment approach and assess their combined efficacy in a randomized controlled trial in people with diabetes at high ulcer risk. Proven effectiveness, usability, and cost-utility will facilitate implementation in healthcare, improve the quality of life of high-risk people with diabetes, and reduce treatment costs. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05236660. Registered on 11 February 2022.

Purpose: To determine the effect of manipulating foot longitudinal arch motion with different-stiffness foot orthoses on running economy (RE) in runners with flat-arched feet and if changes in arch deformation and recoil were associated with changes in RE. Methods: Twenty-three recreational distance runners performed 5-minute submaximal treadmill runs at 12 km·h−1, in the following 3 conditions in a randomized order: (1) footwear only, (2) flexible orthoses (reduced arch thickness), and (3) standard orthoses. The RE (submaximal steady-state oxygen consumption [VO2submax]) and sagittal arch range of motion were compared among conditions using a repeated-measures analysis of variance and effect sizes (Cohen d). Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the association between the change in the sagittal arch range of motion and VO2submax. Results: Compared with standard orthoses, the mean VO2submax was significantly lower in both the flexible orthoses (−0.8 mL·kg−1·min−1, P <.001, d = 0.35) and footwear-only conditions (−1.2 mL·kg−1·min−1, P <.001, d = 0.49). The change in VO2submax between the flexible orthoses and footwear-only conditions was significantly positively correlated with the change in sagittal arch range of motion (r =.591, P =.005). Conclusion: Conventional foot orthoses were associated with poorer RE compared with flexible orthoses and footwear alone. Changes in arch deformation were positively correlated to changes in oxygen consumption, indicating that foot orthoses that limit arch deformation and recoil degrade RE. Foot orthoses that facilitate energy storage and release in the foot longitudinal arch may be advisable for athletes prescribed these devices for clinical purposes to maintain optimal running performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]