Can subjective comfort be used as a measure of plantar pressure in football boots?

Comfort has been shown to be the most desired football boot feature by players. Previous studies have shown discomfort to be related to increased plantar pressures for running shoes which, in some foot regions, has been suggested to be a causative factor in overuse injuries. This study examined the correlation between subjective comfort data and objective plantar pressure for football boots during football-specific drills. Eight male university football players were tested. Plantar pressure data were collected during four football-specific movements for each of three different football boots. The global and local peak pressures based on a nine-sectioned foot map were compared to subjective comfort measures recorded using a visual analogue scale for global discomfort and a discomfort foot map for local discomfort. A weak (r_s = ?0.126) yet significant (P < 0.05) correlation was shown between the peak plantar pressure experienced and the visual analogue scale rated comfort. The model only significantly predicted (P > 0.001) the outcome for two (medial and lateral forefoot) of the nine foot regions. Subjective comfort data is therefore not a reliable measure of increased plantar pressures for any foot region. The use of plantar pressure measures is therefore needed to optimise injury prevention when designing studded footwear.     

Patterns of physical activity and overweight among 7-13-year-old Russian children: a 7-year nationally representative monitoring study

This is a repeated cross-sectional study of overweight and physical activity (PA) and inactivity patterns of successive samples of 7-13-year-old Russian children who were surveyed six times between 1995 and 2002 as part of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. This analysis focused on moderate/vigorous (MOD/VIG) PA (e.g., active commuting to school, during school MOD/VIG PA as part of physical education classes, and/or before/after school MOD/VIG PA) and inactivity patterns (e.g, television viewing habits) obtained through parent proxy-reports of 3,507 boys (M age = 10.1 years, SD = 2.0; body mass index = 17.5 kg/m2, SD = 3.0) and 3,273 girls (M age = 10.1 years, SD = 2.0; body mass index = 17.2 kg/m2, SD = 3.0). Time spent in MOD/VIG PA appears to be on the rise, while the proportion of those actively commuting to school is decreasing, especially among girls.     

Using an action learning set (ALS) to support the nurse and allied health professional consultant role

Advanced clinical practice roles are now an integral feature of many healthcare services and have been adopted in a diversity of areas. However, mentoring of these roles is not well documented in the literature and formal mechanisms of support are limited. An action learning set (ALS) was developed to provide support for consultants currently in post. The purpose was to facilitate clinicians in developing and meeting the demands of these posts by providing peer supervision, identifying strategies for leading service developments, providing a focus for problem solving and reflection. The ALS meets bi-monthly and is externally facilitated with the option to attend individual sessions with the facilitator. Participants also completed questionnaires measuring coping skills and stress, which were fed back in the individual sessions, providing opportunity for further opportunities for reflection. Initial evaluation was conducted formally using a structured questionnaire and reflective accounts, and provided evidence of the value of the ALS and an indication of how the criteria for success were being met, with greatest achievement reported in the area of work–life balance. The evaluation demonstrates the ongoing value of this ALS and the effectiveness of this method of supporting senior clinical staff.     

Newman's Objection

This paper is a review of work on Newman's objection to epistemicstructural realism (ESR). In Section 2, a brief statement ofESR is provided. In Section 3, Newman's objection and its recentvariants are outlined. In Section 4, two responses that arguethat the objection can be evaded by abandoning the Ramsey-sentenceapproach to ESR are considered. In Section 5, three responsesthat have been put forward specifically to rescue the Ramsey-sentenceapproach to ESR from the modern versions of the objection arediscussed. Finally, in Section 6, three responses are consideredthat are neutral with respect to one's approach to ESR and allargue (in different ways) that the objection can be evaded byintroducing the notion that some relations/structures are privilegedover others. It is concluded that none of these suggestionsis an adequate response to Newman's objection, which thereforeremains a serious problem for ESRists.

1. Introduction
2. EpistemicStructural Realism

   2.1 Ramsey-sentences and ESR

   2.2WESR andSESR

3. The Objection

   3.1 Newman's version

   3.2 Demopoulosand Friedman'sand Ketland's versions

4. Replies that Abandonthe Ramsey-Sentence Approach to ESR

   4.1Redhead's reply

   4.2French and Ladyman's reply

5. Replies Designed to Rescue theRamsey-Sentence Approach

   5.1Zahar's reply

   5.2 Cruse's reply

   5.3 Melia and Saatsi's reply

6. Replies that Argue thatSome Structures/Relations are Privileged

   6.1 A Carnapian reply

   6.2 Votsis' reply

   6.3 The Merrill/Lewis/Psillosreply

7. Summary

     

Skin friction related behaviour of artificial turf systems

The occurrence of skin friction related injuries is an issue for artificial turf sports pitches and remains a barrier to their acceptance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current industry standard Securisport® Sports Surface Tester that measures skin surface related frictional behaviour of artificial turf. Little research has been published about the device and its efficacy, despite its widespread use as a standard FIFA test instrument. To achieve a range of frictional behaviours, several “third generation” (3G) carpet and infill combinations were investigated; friction time profiles throughout the Securisport rotations were assessed in combination with independent measurements of skin roughness before and after friction testing via 3D surface scanning. The results indicated that carpets without infill had greatest friction (coefficients of friction 0.97–1.20) while those completely filled with sand or rubber had similar and lower values independent of carpet type (coefficient of friction (COF) ≈0.57). Surface roughness of a silicone skin (s-skin) decreased after friction testing, with the largest change on sand infilled surfaces, indicating an “abrasive” polishing effect. The combined data show that the s-skin is damaged in a surface-specific manner, thus the Securisport COF values appear to be a poor measure of the potential for skin abrasion. It is proposed that the change in s-skin roughness improves assessment of the potential for skin damage when players slide on artificial turf.