Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) indicates several neurodevelopmental impairments which may end in impairments in motor or physical activities. Daily physical activity involvement was investigated in a total of 83 children (52 boys and 31 girls) with ASD aged 6–15 years. Results indicated that only 10 (12%) of children with ASD were physically active. Children were predominantly engaged in solitary play rather than social play activities. Gender, family income, and household structure were found to be associated with activity scores. Financial burden and lack of opportunities were noted as the leading barriers to physical activities. In conclusion, findings indicated a low rate of physical activity participation in children with ASD that is closely associated with sociodemographic variables.

Context:There is an increasing interest to detect how exercise affects depression symptoms. Although recent findings confirm the positive effect of exercise on depression, there is no clear guideline regarding advice on exercise for patients with depression. The following review aims at presenting the contemporary literature regarding the nature of depression, exercise, the underlying mechanisms and the management of an exercise program in individuals with depression.Evidence Acquisition:We searched electronic databases including Cochrane Library, PubMed, ISI web of knowledge and PsychInfo (from January 2000 to October 2014). We reviewed the systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and large-scale randomized control trials on effects of exercise on depression.Results:Recent evidence has emerged on characteristics of effective exercise programs and those patients with depression that will most benefit from the exercise programs. However due to the methodological weaknesses and inconsistencies of studies, conclusions must be made with caution.Conclusions:We have provided a number of recommendations for clinicians and researchers who plan to use exercise protocols in depression.

Thymus species, and in particular Thymus fedtschenkoi, is commonly used as a medicinal herb to treat common colds and respiratory infections as well as a food flavor and preservative in Iran. Using hydrodistillation, we herein extracted the essential oil of aerial parts (i.e., stem, leaf, and flower) of the plant (collected from Khoy) and studied their chemical composition via GC and GC‐MS, along with their corresponding antibacterial properties. We showed that, while there was a substantial difference in the chemical composition of the extract from different segments of plant, they exhibited similar, yet significant antibacterial effects against gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria, as indicated by the disk method, minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests. This highlights the importance of T. fedtschenkoi plant and its essential oil in traditional medicine to treat various bacterial infections and justify its widespread application as a food flavor and preservative. Practical applications The significance of aromatic plants in the pharmaceutical and food industries propelled the scientific community to systematically investigate the essential oil, extracted from those plants and their biological functions. Thymus fedtschenkoi is one of those aromatic plants and has been well‐known for its biological characteristics including treating common colds and respiratory infections and is also being used as an additive and flavor in some traditional foods and herbal teas in Iran. Herein, we extracted the essential oil from T. fedtschenkoi, studied its chemical composition and antibacterial functions in order to justify its application in pharmaceutical and food industries. The significant antibacterial activities of essential oil extracted from T. fedtschenkoi along with the growing use of this plant by the local people strongly suggest the need for the large‐scale cultivation of this plant in rangelands area.

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A growing body of evidence initially suggested that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) might be more susceptible to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Moreover, it was speculated that patients with MS treated with immunosuppressive drugs might be at risk to develop a severe diseases course after infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV2). However, the recently published data have shown that MS patients do not have a higher risk for severe COVID-19. Although there is no indication that patients with MS and immunomodulatory/immunosuppressive therapy are generally at a higher risk of severe COVID-19, it is currently being emphasized that the hazards of poorly treated MS may outweigh the putative COVID-19 dangers. In this review, we discuss the challenges and considerations for MS patients in the COVID-19 pandemic.