The majority of foot deformities are related to arch collapse or instability,especially the longitudinal arch.Although the relationship between the plantar fascia and arch height has been previously investigated,the s...The majority of foot deformities are related to arch collapse or instability,especially the longitudinal arch.Although the relationship between the plantar fascia and arch height has been previously investigated,the stress distribution remains unclear.The aim of this study was to explore the role of the plantar ligaments in foot arch biomechanics.We constructed a geometrical detailed three-dimensional (3-D) finite element (FE) model of the human foot and ankle from computer tomography images.The model comprised the majority of joints in the foot as well as bone segments,major ligaments,and plantar soft tissue.Release of the plantar fascia and other ligaments was simulated to evaluate the corresponding biomechanical effects on load distribution of the bony and ligamentous structures.These intrinsic ligaments of the foot arch were sectioned to simulate different pathologic situations of injury to the plantar ligaments,and to explore bone segment displacement and stress distribution.The validity of the 3-D FE model was verified by comparing results with experimentally measured data via the displacement and von Mise stress of each bone segment.Plantar fascia release decreased arch height,but did not cause total collapse of the foot arch.The longitudinal foot arch was lost when all the four major plantar ligaments were sectioned simultaneously.Plantar fascia release was compromised by increased strain applied to the plantar ligaments and intensified stress in the midfoot and metatarsal bones.Load redistribution among the centralized metatarsal bones and focal stress relief at the calcaneal insertion were predicted.The 3-D FE model indicated that plantar fascia release may provide relief of focal stress and associated heel pain.However,these operative procedures may pose a risk to arch stability and clinically may produce dorsolateral midfoot pain.The initial strategy for treating plantar fasciitis should be non-operative.展开更多
Path length calculation is a frequent requirement in studies related to graph theoretic problems such as genetics. Standard method to calculate average path length （APL） of a graph requires traversing all nodes in t...Path length calculation is a frequent requirement in studies related to graph theoretic problems such as genetics. Standard method to calculate average path length （APL） of a graph requires traversing all nodes in the graph repeatedly, which is computationally expensive for graphs containing large number of nodes. We propose a novel method to calculate APL for graphs commonly required in the studies of genetics. The proposed method is computationally less expensive and less time-consuming compared to standard method.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 30801163)
文摘The majority of foot deformities are related to arch collapse or instability,especially the longitudinal arch.Although the relationship between the plantar fascia and arch height has been previously investigated,the stress distribution remains unclear.The aim of this study was to explore the role of the plantar ligaments in foot arch biomechanics.We constructed a geometrical detailed three-dimensional (3-D) finite element (FE) model of the human foot and ankle from computer tomography images.The model comprised the majority of joints in the foot as well as bone segments,major ligaments,and plantar soft tissue.Release of the plantar fascia and other ligaments was simulated to evaluate the corresponding biomechanical effects on load distribution of the bony and ligamentous structures.These intrinsic ligaments of the foot arch were sectioned to simulate different pathologic situations of injury to the plantar ligaments,and to explore bone segment displacement and stress distribution.The validity of the 3-D FE model was verified by comparing results with experimentally measured data via the displacement and von Mise stress of each bone segment.Plantar fascia release decreased arch height,but did not cause total collapse of the foot arch.The longitudinal foot arch was lost when all the four major plantar ligaments were sectioned simultaneously.Plantar fascia release was compromised by increased strain applied to the plantar ligaments and intensified stress in the midfoot and metatarsal bones.Load redistribution among the centralized metatarsal bones and focal stress relief at the calcaneal insertion were predicted.The 3-D FE model indicated that plantar fascia release may provide relief of focal stress and associated heel pain.However,these operative procedures may pose a risk to arch stability and clinically may produce dorsolateral midfoot pain.The initial strategy for treating plantar fasciitis should be non-operative.
文摘Path length calculation is a frequent requirement in studies related to graph theoretic problems such as genetics. Standard method to calculate average path length （APL） of a graph requires traversing all nodes in the graph repeatedly, which is computationally expensive for graphs containing large number of nodes. We propose a novel method to calculate APL for graphs commonly required in the studies of genetics. The proposed method is computationally less expensive and less time-consuming compared to standard method.
