BACKGROUND Many adult patients with secundum-type atrial septal defects (ASDs) are able to have these defects fixed percutaneously. Traditionally, this has involved an assessment of ASD size, geometry and atrial septal margins by transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) prior to percutaneous closure. This is a semi-invasive technique, and all of the information obtained could potentially be obta...

BACKGROUND Children walking on their toes instead of with a typical gait, without evidence of an underlying medical condition, are defined as idiopathic toe-walkers. The prevalence of idiopathic toe-walking is unknown. METHODS A cross-sectional prevalence study of 5.5-year-old children (n = 1436) living in Blekinge County, Sweden, was performed at the regular 5.5-year visit to the local child...

This paper addresses the extention of humanoid's action capability by attatching toe joints. E ectiveness of toe joints is discussed in three aspects. One is utilizing it to speed up the walking, another is using it to enable a humanoid to go up heigher steps, and the other is using it to whole-body action in which knees are contacting to the ground. Feet with toe joints are developed for Human...

Relief from external pressure and repetitive stress is a main concept in treating diabetic neuropathic ulcers. Ulcers on the tip of the big toe may be caused by abnormal extension of the big toe, which can be diagnosed only by observing the patient during barefoot walking. A flexor pad underneath the big toe eliminates the phenomenon, but in case of rigidity of the toe, extremely roomy toe boxe...

With this document, we update the recommendations for transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging. The document focusses on the areas of interventional TOE, in particular transcatheter aortic, mitral, and left atrial appendage interventions, as well as on the role of TOE in infective endocarditis, adult congenital heart disease, and aortic disease.

BACKGROUND: Children walking on their toes instead of with a typical gait, without evidence of an underlying medical condition, are defined as idiopathic toe-walkers. The prevalence of idiopathic toe-walking is unknown. METHODS: A cross-sectional prevalence study of 5.5-year-old children (n = 1436) living in Blekinge County, Sweden, was performed at the regular 5.5-year visit to the local child...

BACKGROUND A model of toe-to-finger transplantation has been used in studying peripheral nerve regeneration and central reorganization. It was found that recovery of sensory perception depends not only on peripheral reinnervation but also on central integrative mechanisms. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to investigate functional changes of the brain and somatotopic representation of the transplanted t...

Toe-tipping is a commonly used procedure for mark-recapture studies of frogs, although it has been criticised for its potential influence on frog behaviour, site fidelity and mortality. We compared 24 h return rates of newly toe-tipped frogs to those previously toe-tipped and found no evidence of a stress response reflected by avoidance behaviour for 3 species: Litoria genimaculata, L. rheocola...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the toe function of elderly people and the association with the dynamic balance ability for the developing effective fall-prevention measures. [Subjects and Methods] Seventy-eight participants in a community health service were included in this cross-sectional study. The Timed Up and Go Test and Four Square Step Test were used to test dynamic b...

[Purpose] Physical development, foot morphology, and toe contact of children aged 3 to 5 years were assessed in order to investigate the relationships between body and foot morphology and the incidence of the condition known as "floating toe". [Subjects] A total of 198 children, aged 3 to 5 years old, participated in this study. [Methods] Height and weight were measured for body morphology, and...