Background: This study aimed to compare the effects of applying a vibrating foam roller before resistance exercise versus after resistance exercise on changes in serum muscle damage markers, muscle stiffness, and range of motion. This study also aimed to provide foundational data for optimizing the timing of vibrating foam roller application to enhance recovery after resistance exercise in practical settings. Methods: Twelve healthy adult males were recruited as participants. Each participant was subjected to three interventions in a random order with a washout period of at least 5 days: vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise, vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise, and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Blood creatine kinase, knee flexion range of motion, and muscle stiffness were measured before, immediately after, 24 hours after, and 48 hours after exercise and foam rolling protocols. Results: Creatine kinase levels in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise were significantly lower than those in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Muscle stiffness was significantly lower immediately and 24 hours post-exercise in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise than in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Knee flexion range of motion was significantly lower in resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling than in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Conclusions The application of vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise was more effective than that before exercise in decreasing muscle damage markers, reducing muscle stiffness, and improving the range of motion.

Background: This study aimed to compare the effects of applying a vibrating foam roller before resistance exercise versus after resistance exercise on changes in serum muscle damage markers, muscle stiffness, and range of motion. This study also aimed to provide foundational data for optimizing the timing of vibrating foam roller application to enhance recovery after resistance exercise in practical settings. Methods: Twelve healthy adult males were recruited as participants. Each participant was subjected to three interventions in a random order with a washout period of at least 5 days: vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise, vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise, and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Blood creatine kinase, knee flexion range of motion, and muscle stiffness were measured before, immediately after, 24 hours after, and 48 hours after exercise and foam rolling protocols. Results: Creatine kinase levels in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise were significantly lower than those in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Muscle stiffness was significantly lower immediately and 24 hours post-exercise in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise than in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Knee flexion range of motion was significantly lower in resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling than in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Conclusions The application of vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise was more effective than that before exercise in decreasing muscle damage markers, reducing muscle stiffness, and improving the range of motion.

Background: This study aimed to compare the effects of applying a vibrating foam roller before resistance exercise versus after resistance exercise on changes in serum muscle damage markers, muscle stiffness, and range of motion. This study also aimed to provide foundational data for optimizing the timing of vibrating foam roller application to enhance recovery after resistance exercise in practical settings. Methods: Twelve healthy adult males were recruited as participants. Each participant was subjected to three interventions in a random order with a washout period of at least 5 days: vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise, vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise, and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Blood creatine kinase, knee flexion range of motion, and muscle stiffness were measured before, immediately after, 24 hours after, and 48 hours after exercise and foam rolling protocols. Results: Creatine kinase levels in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise were significantly lower than those in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Muscle stiffness was significantly lower immediately and 24 hours post-exercise in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise than in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Knee flexion range of motion was significantly lower in resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling than in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Conclusions The application of vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise was more effective than that before exercise in decreasing muscle damage markers, reducing muscle stiffness, and improving the range of motion.

Background: This study aimed to compare the effects of applying a vibrating foam roller before resistance exercise versus after resistance exercise on changes in serum muscle damage markers, muscle stiffness, and range of motion. This study also aimed to provide foundational data for optimizing the timing of vibrating foam roller application to enhance recovery after resistance exercise in practical settings. Methods: Twelve healthy adult males were recruited as participants. Each participant was subjected to three interventions in a random order with a washout period of at least 5 days: vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise, vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise, and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Blood creatine kinase, knee flexion range of motion, and muscle stiffness were measured before, immediately after, 24 hours after, and 48 hours after exercise and foam rolling protocols. Results: Creatine kinase levels in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise were significantly lower than those in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Muscle stiffness was significantly lower immediately and 24 hours post-exercise in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise than in vibration foam rolling before resistance exercise and resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling. Knee flexion range of motion was significantly lower in resistance exercise without vibration foam rolling than in vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise. Conclusions The application of vibration foam rolling after resistance exercise was more effective than that before exercise in decreasing muscle damage markers, reducing muscle stiffness, and improving the range of motion.

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of flexible flatfeet on the accuracy of knee joint motions in closed and open kinetic chain tasks. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy participants were recruited for this study. The subjects were divided into two groups using a navicular drop (ND) test: flexible flatfoot group (n=12, male: 6, aged 22.00±2.22 years) and age-matched control group (n=12, males: 6, aged 22.17±1.53 years). The accuracy of knee motion was measured quantitatively by tracing through the flexion and extension motion of the knee joints in the closed kinetic chain and the open kinetic chain. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the accuracy index between the groups in closed kinetic chain task, but there was no significant difference in the open kinetic chain task. In addition, there was a significant difference in the accuracy index between the closed kinetic chain and the open kinetic chain task in the flexible flatfoot group. In addition, a significant negative correlation was observed between the ND and accuracy index in the closed kinematic chain task, but there was no significant relationship between the ND and accuracy index in the open kinematic chain task. CONCLUSION: Flexible flatfeet can affect the accuracy of the adjacent joints, such as the knee joint in the closed kinematic chain.
Flatfoot ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Knee ; Male

Background: To address the public’s fear of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), understanding the clinical features of the disease is essential. However, research on the clinical features of COVID-19, including illness duration and post-acute COVID-19, in Korean pediatric patients has been limited. Therefore, this study investigated the clinical features of COVID-19 based on the medical records of pediatric patients with a history of COVID-19 who visited a single center. Methods: In total, 311 patients were included in this study. The presence and duration of 19 symptoms were examined. Additionally, clinical features were investigated by dividing the patients into different age ranges. Patients aged 6 and above were further categorized according to the presence of asthma, while adolescent patients were divided into vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Results: Fever and cough were the most common symptoms. The mean illness duration was 2–4 days. Only 3.5% of the patients were asymptomatic. Post-acute COVID-19 was observed in 13.2% of the patients. The incidence of most symptoms tended to increase with age. Post-acute COVID-19 was observed more frequently in patients with asthma than in those without asthma. Vaccinated patients experienced less fever, vomiting, and fatigue than unvaccinated patients. Conclusions Our data suggest that most patients had mild disease lasting less than a week, and the clinical course may differ depending on the presence of asthma. The findings also indicate that vaccination may alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19 in breakthrough infections.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCLs) are a group CD30-positive mature T-cell lymphomas, an uncommon subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphomas, characterized by diverse clinical and genetic features. Among the types of ALCL, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-negative ALCL, though typically involves the lymph nodes, can infrequently invade other tissues. When soft tissue involvement occurs, it may mimic the clinical presentation of infectious diseases, leading to potential misdiagnosis. Therefore, a histological examination is necessary to differentiate between ALK-negative ALCL and similar phenotypes associated with infectious conditions. This paper reports a case of ALCL, initially misdiagnosed as an infection.

Background/Aims: Although the incidence and mortality of tuberculosis are decreasing in South Korea, the number of applications for financial assistance with the cost of tuberculosis treatment made by individuals from vulnerable groups was 3.8 times higher in 2019 compared to 2017 (Tuberculosis Relief Belt Project, 2019). Methods: We analyzed the data of patients who received financial aid for tuberculosis treatment (in the period 2014-2018) from the Tuberculosis Relief Belt Project, which was designed to assist vulnerable groups. This study analyzed 137 subjects, and the independent variables included patient factors (age, gender, nationality, tuberculosis type, number of comorbidities, and place of residence) and treatment type (outpatient or inpatient). The dependent variable was the treatment outcome. Results: The likelihood of treatment success was significantly lower for patients with one (odds ratio [OR] 0.202), two (OR 0.147), or three or more (OR 0.070) comorbidities compared to those with no comorbidities. This was also the case for patients living alone (OR 0.097), and for those classified as homeless (OR 0.053). Korean patients (OR 8.512) had a significantly higher probability of a successful treatment outcome than foreigners. Conclusions Appropriate community-based management of individuals with tuberculosis from vulnerable groups, including foreigners, people with comorbidities, people living alone, and people with an unstable residential situation or homeless status, is important.

The dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton plays a pivotal role in the process of cell division, the transportation of organelles, vesicle trafficking and cell movement. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) hijacks the actin dynamics network during the viral entry and migration of the pre-integration complex (PIC) into the nucleus. Actin dynamics linked to HIV-1 has emerged as a potent therapeutic target against HIV infection. Although some inhibitors have been intensely analyzed with regard to HIV-1 infection, their effects are sometimes disputed and the exact mechanisms for actin dynamics in HIV infection have not been well elucidated. In this study, the small molecules regulating HIV-1 infection from diverse inhibitors of the actin dynamic network were screened. Two compounds, including Chaetoglobosin A and CK-548, were observed to specifically bar the viral infection, while the cytochalasin family, 187-1, N-WASP inhibitor, Rho GTPase family inhibitors (EHop-016, CID44216842, and ML-141) and LIMK inhibitor (LIM domain kinase inhibitor) increased the viral infection without cytotoxicity within a range of ~ µM. However, previously known inhibitory compounds of HIV-1 infection, such as Latrunculin A, Jasplakinolide, Wiskostatin and Swinholide A, exhibited either an inhibitory effect on HIV-1 infection combined with severe cytotoxicity or showed no effects. Our data indicate that Chaetoglobosin A and CK-548 have considerable potential for development as new therapeutic drugs for the treatment of HIV infection. In addition, the newly identified roles of Cytochalasins and some inhibitors of Rho GTPase and LIMK may provide fundamental knowledge for understanding the complicated actin dynamic pathway when infected by HIV-1. Remarkably, the newly defined action modes of the inhibitors may be helpful in developing potent anti-HIV drugs that target the actin network, which are required for HIV infection.
Actin Cytoskeleton ; Actins ; Anti-HIV Agents ; Cell Division ; Cell Movement ; Cytochalasins ; GTP Phosphohydrolases ; HIV Infections ; HIV-1 ; Humans ; Organelles ; Phosphotransferases ; Transportation