The relationship between financial strain, perceived stress, psychological symptoms, and academic and social integration in undergraduate students.

OBJECTIVE: Financial strain may directly or indirectly (i.e., through perceived stress) impact students' psychological symptoms and academic and social integration, yet few studies have tested these relationships. The authors explored the mediating effect of perceived stress on the relationship between financial strain and 2 important outcomes: psychological symptomology and academic and social integration. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 157 undergraduate students. Data were collected from December 2013 to March 2014. METHODS: Cross-sectional data collection conducted using online survey software. RESULTS: It was found that perceived stress mediated the relationship between financial strain and (a) psychological symptomology and (b) academic and social integration. Both models included first-generation status as a covariate. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that perceived stress is an important intervention target for reducing psychological symptoms and improving academic and social integration for undergraduate students. Implications for university health centers and mental health professionals include incorporating a public health model to minimize stress risk.

Midtarsal joint locking: new perspectives on an old paradigm.

We investigated the existence of a midtarsal joint locking mechanism using cadaveric simulations of normal gait. Previous descriptions of this phenomenon led us to hypothesize that non-coupled rotations of the calcaneocuboid and talonavicular (i.e., midtarsal) joints and cubonavicular and talocalcaneal joints occur at heel strike and during weight acceptance, after which joint rotations cease with all bone-to-bone orientations remaining constant during the latter portions of stance phase. Three-dimensional kinematics of the talus, calcaneus, cuboid, and navicular were recorded along with muscle and ground reaction forces. Finite helical axis parameters and joint angles of directly articulating bones were subsequently derived and examined. During weight acceptance, the midtarsal joints everted with obvious changes in the relative orientation of their helical axes. The relative non-parallel orientation of these axes then remained constant until late in stance when these joints inverted and dorsiflexed toward their original pre-stance orientation. The cubonavicular and talocalcaneal joints demonstrated complimentary behavior. Contrary to our hypothesis, the midtarsal joints remained compliant during foot flat and even more so during push-off, despite divergent joint axes. Joint rotations were present after weight acceptance, thereby challenging the concept that midtarsal joint locking produces a rigid lever during push-off. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 32:110-115, 2014.

Segmental motion of forefoot and hindfoot as a diagnostic tool.

Segmental motions derived from non-invasive motion analysis are being used to investigate the intrinsic functional behavior of the foot and ankle in health and disease. The goal of this research was to examine the ability of a generic segmented model of the foot to capture and differentiate changes in internal skeletal kinematics due to neuromuscular disease and/or trauma. A robotic apparatus that reproduces the kinematics and kinetics of gait in cadaver lower extremities was employed to produce motion under normal and aberrant neuromuscular activation patterns of tibialis posterior and/or tibialis anterior. Stance phase simulations were conducted on 10 donor limbs while recording three-dimensional kinematic trajectories of (1) skin-mounted markers used clinically to construct segmented foot models, and (2) bone-mounted marker clusters to capture actual internal bone motion as the gold standard for comparison. The models constructed from external marker data were able to differentiate the kinematic behaviors elicited by different neuromuscular conditions in a manner similar to that using the bone-derived data. Measurable differences between internal and externally measured kinematics were small, variable and random across the three axes of rotation and neuromuscular conditions, with a tendency toward more differences noted during early and late stance. Albeit slightly different, three-dimensional motion profiles of the hindfoot and forefoot segments correlated well with internal skeletal motion under all neuromuscular conditions, thereby confirming the utility of measuring segmental motions as a valid means of clinical assessment.

Teaching for social justice and social action.

Social justice education involves promoting critical awareness of social inequalities and developing skills that work against these inequalities. This article describes a general theoretical framework for social justice education, describes general strategies for facilitating students' social justice awareness and engagement, identifies challenges to social education, and highlights articles in the special issue that address these themes.

An objective evaluation of a segmented foot model.

Segmented foot and ankle models divide the foot into multiple segments in order to obtain more meaningful information about its functional behavior in health and disease. The goal of this research was to objectively evaluate the fidelity of a generalized three-segment foot and ankle model defined using externally mounted markers. An established apparatus that reproduces the kinematics and kinetics of gait in cadaver lower extremities was used to independently examine the validity of the rigid body assumption and the magnitude of soft tissue artifact induced by skin-mounted markers. Stance phase simulations were conducted on ten donated limbs while recording the three-dimensional kinematic trajectories of skin-mounted and then bone-mounted marker constructs. Segment kinematics were compared to underlying bone kinematics to examine the rigid body assumption. Virtual markers were calculated from the bone mounted marker set and then compared to the skin-mounted markers to examine soft tissue artifact. The shank and hindfoot segments behaved as rigid bodies. The forefoot segment violated the rigid body assumption, as evidenced by significant differences between motions of the first metatarsal and the forefoot segment, and relative motion between the first and fifth metatarsals. Motion vectors of the external skin markers relative to their virtual counterparts were no more than 3mm in each direction, and 3-7 mm overall. Artifactual marker motion had mild affects on inter-segmental kinematics. Despite errors, the segmented model appeared to perform reasonably well overall. The data presented here enable more informed interpretations of clinical findings using the segmented model approach.

Direct, mediated, moderated, and cumulative relations between neighborhood characteristics and adolescent outcomes.

Using data from the 1990 Survey of Children and Parents, we explored direct and indirect associations between neighborhood conditions and adolescents' well-being. Analyses of data from 348 parents and their 14- to 17-year-old children indicated that neighborhood characteristics were directly related to adolescent outcomes (i.e., psychological adjustment and school problems). Second, parenting behaviors and peer characteristics significantly mediated this association. Third, the relative adaptiveness of parenting behaviors and peer attributes was contingent on neighborhood characteristics. Finally, neighborhood, parenting, and peer variables each had a unique contribution to adolescent outcomes; thus, stress across these domains was additive and posed cumulative risk for adolescents' well-being.