Context: The high incidence of lower limb injuries associated with physical exercises in military conscripts suggests that fatigue may be a risk factor for injuries. Researchers have hypothesized that lower limb injuries may be related to altered ankle and knee joint position sense (JPS) due to fatigue.Objective: To evaluate if military exercises could alter JPS and to examine the possible relation of JPS to future lower extremity injuries in military service.Design: Cohort study. Setting: Laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 50 male conscripts (age ¼ 21.4 6 2.3 years, height ¼ 174.5 6 6.4 cm, mass ¼ 73.1 6 6.3 kg) from a unique military base were recruited randomly.Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants performed 8 weeks of physical activities at the beginning of a military course. In the first part of the study, we instructed participants to recognize predetermined positions before and after military exercises so we could examine the effects of military exercise on JPS. The averages of the absolute error and the variable error of 3 trials were recorded. We collected data on the frequency of lower extremity injuries over 8 weeks. Next, the participants were divided into 2 groups: injured and uninjured. Separate 2 3 2 3 2 (group-by-time-by-joint) mixed-model analyses of variance were used to determine main effects and interactions of these factors for each JPS measure. In the second part of the study, we examined whether the effects of fatigue on JPS were related to the development of injury during an 8-week training program. We calculated Hedges effect sizes for JPS changes postexercise in each group and compared change scores between groups.Results: We found group-by-time interactions for all JPS variables (F range ¼ 2.86-4.05, P , .01). All participants showed increases in JPS errors postexercise (P , .01), but the injured group had greater changes for all the variables (P , .01).Conclusions: Military conscripts who sustained lower extremity injuries during an 8-week military exercise program had greater loss of JPS acuity than conscripts who did not sustain injuries. The changes in JPS found after 1 bout of exercise may have predictive ability for future musculoskeletal injuries.Key Words: fatigue, proprioception, lower extremity, muscles Key PointsAfter an 8-week military exercise program, the loss of joint position sense (JPS) acuity was greater in injured than in uninjured conscripts. The JPS changes were greater in the ankle than in the knee joint. Greater JPS changes postexercise might increase the risk of subsequent musculoskeletal injury during basic training.

Introduction: Safe and efficacious vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), would contribute to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we examined this question that if there is an association between the incidence of side effects and the COVID-19 breakthrough infections. Material and Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted for two months from June 22 to August 22, 2021. The study method was complete enumeration and 1474 healthcare workers who were medical staff of seven hospitals in Tehran and were vaccinated with one of the AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Sputnik V, and Sinopharm vaccines. Two main questions of this questionnaire were the occurrence or non-occurrence of any side effects after receiving the vaccines and the presence or absence of COVID-19 infection after vaccination. Results: According to the results obtained, in recipients vaccinated with Sinopharm vaccine, the group that reported at least one side effects after receiving the vaccine had a significantly higher COVID-19 infection than the group reported no side effects after vaccination (P<0.001) (RR=4.55). Also in whole sample study Participants who have reported one or more side effect after COVID-19 vaccination, had 3.7 times higher risk of breakthrough infection than others (P<0.001); However Among those vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Covaxin and Sputnik vaccines, no significant difference was observed between the groups with and without side effects after vaccination in terms of later COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: It seems that participants who have reported one or more side effect after COVID-19 vaccination, had times higher risk of breakthrough infection than others.

No abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to compare four COVID-19 vaccines for their potential extensive side effects and the relationship between the side effects and age, body mass index (BMI), and history of COVID-19 infection. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to August 2021 among 1474 healthcare workers of seven selected hospitals in Tehran, Iran. All the subjects were vaccinated (91.7% received two doses and 8.3% received one dose) with one of four vaccines, Sputnik, Covaxin, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm, at least 10 days before the study. The incidence of 47 side effects was measured after vaccination. Results: Over half of the participants (59.4%; n = 876) were 20–29 years of age, with the mean and average BMI being 26.1±9.0 and 23.5±3.4, respectively; 36.0% (n = 530) were previously diagnosed with COVID-19. There was no significant relationship between age and the incidence of side effects for AstraZeneca, Sputnik, and Covaxin; however, the occurrence of side effects of Sinopharm was significantly higher (p < 0.001) among younger healthcare workers. There was no significant relationship between BMI and the incidence of side effects for all four vaccines. However, in the group with a history of COVID-19 disease, health care workers vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine showed significantly (p < 0.001) more complications. The occurrence rate of at least one adverse effect and referral to medical centers for AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Covaxin, and Sinopharm vaccines were 24.9–93.9%, 18.2–86.0%, 14.8–77.0%, and 3.5–37.2%, respectively. The highest and lowest rates were found for AstraZeneca and Sinopharm showing a significant (p < 0.001) difference. The most commonly observed side effects for the AstraZeneca vaccine included fever (64.4%), fatigue (62.5%), and muscle pain (59.9%); for Sputnik muscle pain (59.8%), fever (49.5%), and fatigue (49.5%); for Covaxin fever (49.2%), topical reaction (41.0), and fatigue (34.4%); and for Sinopharm fever (18.7%), topical reaction (17.9%), and fatigue (16.6%). Inactivated virus vaccines (Sinopharm and Covaxin) showed a lower (39.7%) occurrence rate of side effects compared to viral vector vaccines (AstraZeneca and Sputnik; 90.6%). The most likely time for the vaccines to exert side effects was the first 24 hours after vaccination. Conclusions: We found no significant relationship between age, BMI, history of COVID-19 disease, and the incidence of side effects in healthcare workers vaccinated with any of the four vaccines. All four vaccines are safe and have controlled side effects.

The heel-pad as a biological shock absorber has an important role in the initial contact phase of gait cycle dissipating the impact forces resulted in locomotion. An axisymmetric finite element model of human heel-pad has been generated and the heel-pad experimental data deduced from a published force-deflection graph of the same specimen (Iain R. Spears, Janice E. Miller-Young), Iterative identification task has been used to extract nonlinear material properties describing hyper-elastic behavior of heel-pad. The genetic algorithm was incorporated into estimation process using an interface program. Two parameters of hyper-elastic materials potential energy function represented by Mooney–Rivlin were determined by using the genetic algorithm technique to minimize the displacement error between the experimental data and the corresponding finite element results after a considerable number of iterations. The result can be used for design and construction of synthetic heel-pad and therapeutic foot wear as well as insoles, especially for diabetic patients.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most frequent degenerative central nervous system disorders affecting older adults. Dopaminergic neuron failure in the substantia nigra is a pathological sign connected with the motor shortfall of PD. Due to their low teratogenic and adverse effect potential, medicinal herbs have emerged as a promising therapy option for preventing and curing PD and other neurodegenerative disorders. However, the mechanism through which natural compounds provide neuroprotection against PD remains unknown. While testing compounds in vertebrates such as mice is prohibitively expensive and time-consuming, zebrafish (Danio rerio) may offer an appealing alternative because they are vertebrates and share many of the same characteristics as humans. Zebrafish are commonly used as animal models for studying many human diseases, and their molecular history and bioimaging properties are appropriate for the study of PD. However, a literature review indicated that only six plants, including Alpinia oxyhylla, Bacopa monnieri, Canavalia gladiate, Centella asiatica, Paeonia suffruticosa, and Stachytarpheta indica had been investigated as potential PD treatments using the zebrafish model. Only C. asiatica and B. monnieri were found to have potential anti-PD activity. In addition to reviewing the current state of research in this field, these plants' putative mechanisms of action against PD are explored, and accessible assays for investigation are made.

No abstract