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Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of foot and heel pain in adults. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) have each been described as effective treatments for plantar fasciitis; however, the combined use has not been adequately described. This report characterizes successful return to sport in two runners with plantar fasciitis who were treated with ESWT combined with PRP. Patient-reported outcomes were measured using the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM). A 69-year-old female had 8 months of pain refractory to physical therapy (PT). A 73-year-old male presented with recent onset of 3 weeks of symptoms. Both runners had exam findings of plantar fasciitis and MRI confirmation. Each elected to complete ESWT along with PT using a foot core program and met functional improvements for both sport and ADL subscales of FAAM after initial ESWT treatment. However, each runner had worsening pain when attempting to run and both elected to proceed with a single leukocyte-poor PRP injection combined with ESWT. This allowed for successful return to running. Both cases highlight how combined ESWT and PRP with a foot core PT progression may be effective in managing plantar fasciitis in running athletes.Key Words: Regenerative Medicine, Running, Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT), Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM)

Copyright of Journal of Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

This article explores the impact of different types of mycorrhizal symbiosis on the chemical composition of roots and leaves in temperate woody species. The study found that plants associated with ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi had slower decomposition rates and exhibited chemical traits that suppress decomposition compared to plants associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. The study also suggests that mycorrhizal associations can influence plant defense responses and the abundance of defense-related phenolic compounds. Another study conducted at the University of Minnesota found that different plant-fungus combinations had significant effects on plant growth and chemical composition. However, the results may not be generalizable to other environmental settings. Another study found that mycorrhizal colonization generally improved plant growth and increased nitrogen content, but the effects on lignin and condensed tannins varied depending on the plant species and type of mycorrhizal fungi. The study also found that mycorrhizal colonization had different effects on lignin molecular composition in gymnosperms and angiosperms. Overall, mycorrhizal colonization can influence the chemical traits and lignin composition of plants, but more research is needed to understand the ecological implications. [Extracted from the article]

Fine root lifespan is a critical trait associated with contrasting root strategies of resource acquisition and protection. Yet, its position within the multidimensional "root economics space" synthesizing global root economics strategies is largely uncertain, and it is rarely represented in frameworks integrating plant trait variations. Here, we compiled the most comprehensive dataset of absorptive median root lifespan (MRL) data including 98 observations from 79 woody species using (mini-) rhizotrons across 40 sites and linked MRL to other plant traits to address questions of the regulators of MRL at large spatial scales. We demonstrate that MRL not only decreases with plant investment in root nitrogen (associated with more metabolically active tissues) but also increases with construction of larger diameter roots which is often associated with greater plant reliance on mycorrhizal symbionts. Although theories linking organ structure and function suggest that root traits should play a role in modulating MRL, we found no correlation between root traits associated with structural defense (root tissue density and specific root length) and MRL. Moreover, fine root and leaf lifespan were globally unrelated, except among evergreen species, suggesting contrasting evolutionary selection between leaves and roots facing contrasting environmental influences above vs. belowground. At large geographic scales, MRL was typically longer at sites with lower mean annual temperature and higher mean annual precipitation. Overall, this synthesis uncovered several key ecophysiological covariates and environmental drivers of MRL, highlighting broad avenues for accurate parametrization of global biogeochemical models and the understanding of ecosystem response to global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Root respiration is essential for nutrient acquisition. The respiration rate of absorptive roots theoretically relates to the economics of carbon‐nutrient exchange, but its empirical role remains largely unexplored in the trait space defining nutrient uptake strategies. 2. Here, we measured the respiration rates of the distal, non‐woody, absorptive roots of 252 woody and herbaceous species from subtropical and temperate climate zones, including both arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungal hosts. 3. We found a consistent and positive correlation between root respiration rate and specific root length (root length per dry weight), irrespective of growth form, mycorrhizal type and climate zone. Root respiration rate was also positively, but less strongly and less frequently correlated with root nitrogen concentration. Root morphology strongly explained the fast‐slow gradient of root respiration in the root economics space. 4. By quantifying the ratio of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal DNA copy number and root tissue DNA copy number using qPCR, we found that the morphology‐driven gradient did not explain the full variation in fungal collaboration; thick roots were consistently well colonised, but medium and thin roots displayed a wide range of colonisation intensity. 5. Synthesis: These results advance our understanding of the fundamental trait relationships that underpin the root economics space. Our study also provides a physiological linkage to the frequently measured root morphological traits and relates the root economics space to root‐derived carbon‐nutrient cycling processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English schools have traditionally been institutions with high levels of homophobia. This is attributed to the need that heterosexual boys have to maintain a heteromasculine identity. However, by drawing on 44 in-depth interviews and 12 months of participant observation across three sixth forms, I detail the ways in which homophobia holds little cultural sway with the heterosexual male students in these settings. Here, the majority of students intellectualise pro-gay attitudes, maintain friendships with openly gay students and are physically tactile with each other. Homophobic discourse is rarely heard and it is even stigmatised in two of the settings. Homosexually-themed language that I call "gay discourse" replaces it. This discourse maintains socio-negative effect, but it is also used by openly gay students to bond with their heterosexual peers. Accordingly, this research shows that cultural homophobia maintains less significance than has been documented in previous studies.

Steven A Hecht, Matthew McCormackHologic Inc, Marlborough, MA, USABackground: The Cellient® Automated Cell Block System rapidly creates paraffin-embedded cell blocks by using vacuum filtration to deposit a layer of cells on a filter and infiltrate those cells with reagents and paraffin. This study used a “tracer” cell model to mimic low frequency abnormal cells and compare detection and representative sampling with simple sedimentation, Richard-Allan HistoGel™, and Cellient cell block techniques.Methods: Tracer cells were a cultured cell line (CaSki) fixed in methanol, prestained in solution with hematoxylin, and quantified using a hemacytometer. Tracer cells were diluted in a 10-fold dilution series ranging from 100 to 0.1 tracer/mL in a background of pooled clinical serous effusion specimens. Ten replicates of each dilution were processed using each cell block method, and the resulting blocks were cut to produce two slides from each block. The slides were deparaffinized, counterstained with eosin, cover-slipped, and screened for the presence of tracer cells. Blocks were considered to be representative of the specimen if tracer cells were detected on either of the slides. If no tracer cells were observed on either slide, the block was recut to generate a third slide. If tracer cells were seen on the third slide, the block was considered representative of the specimen.Results: Tracer cells were identified on the initial slides for 20 of 40 (50.0%) simple sedimentation, 21 of 40 (52.5%) of HistoGel, and 25 of 40 (62.5%) of Cellient cell blocks. Representative sampling of the 1 tracer/mL specimen was 10.0% for simple sedimentation and 30.0% for HistoGel and Cellient. Only Cellient showed representative sampling of the 0.1 tracer/mL specimen.Conclusion: The Cellient System blocks demonstrated representative sampling at the lowest tracer cell concentration compared with simple sedimentation and HistoGel.Keywords: Cellient®, HistoGel™, simple sedimentation, CaSki, microtomy

Mycorrhizas are widespread below‐ground symbioses formed between plant roots and soil fungi. This plant–fungal partnership impacts terrestrial ecosystems by mediating plant performance and biogeochemical processes. The influence of mycorrhizas on plant and ecosystem functioning is ultimately driven by the biological processes that regulate plant–mycorrhizal interactions. Although convergent patterns in morphological and genetic traits of mycorrhizas have been well‐documented and reflect key selection forces that shape the biology of mycorrhizas, generalizable traits of mycorrhizal‐associated root metabolome, which are more intimately linked to plant and ecosystem functioning, remain unexplored.Here, we compared mycorrhizal‐associated metabolome alterations across multiple plant–mycorrhizal fungus combinations. Specifically, we inoculated a phylogenetically diverse set of temperate tree species with either arbuscular mycorrhizal or ectomycorrhizal fungi (the two major mycorrhizal lifestyles). Using comprehensive metabolomics approaches, we then assessed the metabolome in mycorrhizal and non‐mycorrhizal roots and the corresponding leaves.Comparing across multiple plant–mycorrhizal fungus combinations, our data revealed metabolite alterations unique to mycorrhizal lifestyle as well as those common across plant–fungus combinations irrespective of lifestyles. Roots colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi accumulated different sets of carbohydrates, reflecting unique carbon allocation strategies for mycorrhizas. Arbuscular mycorrhizal roots accumulated cyclic polyols (e.g. inositols) inaccessible to their fungal partners, suggesting tight regulation of carbon partitioning. Such accumulation did not occur in ectomycorrhizal‐colonized roots, which instead accrued acyclic polyols (e.g. mannitol and arabitol) that were undetected in non‐mycorrhizal roots and likely of fungal origin. Mycorrhizas also altered specialized metabolism, featuring frequent increases in flavan‐3‐ols (e.g. catechins, gallocatechins, and their oligomers) but decreases in flavanols irrespective of mycorrhizal lifestyles, suggesting tactical reconfiguration of specialized metabolites to both facilitate and restrain the symbiont. These characteristic metabolite alterations were largely root specific and were not mirrored in leaves.Synthesis. Using multiple plant–mycorrhizal systems and metabolomics approaches, our study demonstrates that part of the metabolite alterations occurring during root–mycorrhizal interactions were relatively common across plant–mycorrhizal systems, with implications for both carbon partitioning and tissue protection strategies important for successful symbiosis. These generalizable patterns appear robust to the phylogenetic history of host plants and thus may be widespread in land plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of German Journal of Sports Medicine / Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Sportmedizin is the property of Verein zur Forderung der Sportmedizin Hannover e.V. 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.)

Fine‐root branching, vertical distribution and morphology together with root growth rate are key dimensions that determine root strategies for belowground resource acquisition. However, few studies have addressed these traits together with coordinated measures of root growth rates, limiting generalizations about how these root traits coordinate among species. We conducted a common garden experiment to examine interspecific variation and coordination among architectural and morphological traits together with vertical distribution and growth rate of fine‐roots (≤ 2 mm in diameter) across 11 temperate shrub species. Across all species, root morphological traits showed only moderate differences among the first three branching orders and changed more dramatically in higher orders. We found that thin‐rooted shrub species had greater branching intensity than thick‐rooted species. Live fine‐root density (length and mass) decreased as an exponential pattern with increasing soil depth while the density of dead fine‐roots remained relatively constant. Patterns of fine‐root growth rates were independent of morphological and architectural traits, but were negatively related to rooting depth. The different root traits and relationships observed suggest diverse strategies for soil resource acquisition among shrub species. A deep root system would be associated with a slow growth rate. In contrast, the rooting depth was largely independent of root architecture and morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]