PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of healthy persons performing a plank exercise with hip abduction and use of sling on trunk muscle activity. METHODS: Twenty-three subjects participated in this study. Muscle activities of the multifidus, rectus abdominis, external oblique and internal oblique were assessed with electromyography (EMG) while the subjects performed 6 various types of plank exercises in random order. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in multifidus and internal oblique on the supported side and the multifidus, external oblique, and internal oblique on the elevated side (p<0.05), and differences in plank methods were significantly higher in the multifidus, rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique of the supported side and the rectus abdominis, external oblique and internal oblique on the elevated side (p<0.05). In addition, post-hoc analysis of the various plank methods showed that muscle activity was significantly higher during the general plank exercise compared with the knee-supported-in-sling plank exercises (p<0.05), and was significantly higher with the ankle-supported-in-sling plank exercises compared with the general plank exercise. CONCLUSION: There was greater trunk muscle activity with plank exercises performed with the ankle-supported-in-sling and hip abduction plank exercises compared with the general or knee-supported-in-sling plank exercises. Through this study, various plank exercises have been discovered that can be selected at different intensities for core muscle training purposes based on trunk muscle strength.
Adult* ; Electromyography ; Exercise* ; Hip* ; Humans ; Muscle Strength ; Paraspinal Muscles ; Rectus Abdominis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin are drugs used to treat malaria. These drugs suppress inflammatory reactions. The aim of this study was to examine the anti-intima hyperplasia effect of a novel drug-eluting stent with artemisinin or dihydroartemisinin in a porcine coronary restenosis model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pigs were randomized into four groups; in the first, the coronary arteries (20 pigs, a total of 40 coronary arteries, with 10 coronary arteries in each group) was implanted with bare metal stents (BMS, n=10); the second group was given polymer-coated stents (PCS, n=10); the third group was treated with artemisinin-eluting stents (AES, n=10); and the fourth group was given dihydroartemisinin-eluting stents (DAES, n=10). Histopathologic analysis was performed 28 days after stenting. RESULTS: The injury and fibrin scores among the four groups were not significantly different. However, the internal elastic lamina, lumen area, and neointima area were significantly different. Moreover, the percent area of stenosis (46.2±18.66% in BMS vs. 89.4±10.92% in PCS vs. 83.3±17.07% in AES vs. 36.7±11.20% in DAES, p<0.0001) and inflammation score (1.0 [range: 1.0-1.0] vs. 3.0 [range: 2.25-3.0] vs. 3.0 [range: 1.0-3.0] vs. 2.0 [range: 1.75-3.0] in BMS, PCS, AES, and DAES, respectively; p<0.001) were markedly decreased in the DAES group compared to the PCS group. CONCLUSION: DES, which uses a natural substance, dihydroartemisinin, showed a neointima and inflammatory suppressive effect in a porcine coronary restenosis model.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Restenosis* ; Coronary Vessels ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Fibrin ; Hyperplasia ; Inflammation ; Malaria ; Neointima ; Stents* ; Swine

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) is a positive-sense singlestranded RNA (+ssRNA) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The viral genome encodes twelve genes for viral replication and infection. The third open reading frame is the spike (S) gene that encodes for the spike glycoprotein interacting with specific cell surface receptor – angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) – on the host cell membrane. Most recent studies identified a single point mutation in S gene. A single point mutation in S gene leading to an amino acid substitution at codon 614 from an aspartic acid 614 into glycine (D614G) resulted in greater infectivity compared to the wild type SARS-CoV2. We were interested in investigating the mutation region of S gene of SARS-CoV2 from Korean COVID-19 patients. New mutation sites were found in the critical receptor binding domain (RBD) of S gene, which is adjacent to the aforementioned D614G mutation residue. This specific sequence data demonstrated the active progression of SARS-CoV2 by mutations in the RBD of S gene.The sequence information of new mutations is critical to the development of recombinant SARS-CoV2 spike antigens, which may be required to improve and advance the strategy against a wide range of possible SARS-CoV2 mutations.