Research on the influence of indoor thermal environment and activity levels on thermal comfort in protective clothing.

With the outbreak of infectious diseases such as Corona Virus Disease 2019, medical staff work intensively in isolated plots, medical disposable protective clothing (MDPC) has poor air condition and humidity permeability, which seriously reduces the thermal comfort of medical staff. In this paper, the effect of indoor thermal environment and activity levels on thermal comfort inside MDPC was studied by experiment. Five parts of the body were measured inside MDPC and the appropriate movements were chosen to simulate different levels of labor intensity. Meanwhile, physiological parameters and subjective thermal sensation were statistically analyzed. The results showed the influence range of different indoor temperatures on the temperature and humidity inside MDPC was about 1 °C and 10 %, respectively; it indicated that the environment inside MDPC could be improved by reducing indoor temperature, that is, a cross intelligent adjustment mode was proposed. The effect of labor intensity on the temperature inside MDPC was significantly less than that of humidity. Within 20 min, the humidity changes under moderate and heavy labor intensity were even more than 10 %, and the subjective discomfort threshold of the subjects increased by nearly 50 %. Furthermore, the maximum benefit could be obtained by concentrating cooling on back, forehead, chest and upper arm. Theoretical models of working time, labor intensity, and temperature and humidity inside MDPC under different indoor temperatures and different parts were given. In addition, acceptable regions inside MDPC which were approximately parallelogram in the enthalpy-humidity chart. These conclusions could be a reference for future thermal comfort inside MDPC research.

SIX1 induced HULC modulates neuropathic pain and Schwann cell oxidative stress after sciatic nerve injury.

Neuropathic pain is a severe and debilitating condition caused by damage to the peripheral nerve or central nervous system. Although several mechanisms have been identified, the underlying pathophysiology of neuropathic pain is still not fully understood. Unfortunately, few effective therapies are available for this condition. Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate the underlying mechanisms of neuropathic pain to develop more effective treatments. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently gained attention due to their potential to modulate protein expression through various mechanisms. LncRNAs have been implicated in many diseases, including neuropathic pain. This study aimed to identify a novel lncRNA involved in neuropathic pain progression. The lncRNA microarray analysis showed that lncRNA Upregulated in Liver Cancer (HULC) was significantly upregulated in spinal cord tissue of sciatic nerve injury (SNI) rats. Further experiments confirmed that HULC promoted neuropathic pain progression and aggravated H2O2-induced Schwann cell injury. Mechanistically, Sine Oculis Homeobox 1 (SIX1) regulated the transcriptional expression of HULC, and both SIX1 and HULC were involved in neuropathic pain and Schwann cell injury. The results of our research indicate the existence of a previously unknown SIX1/HULC axis that plays a significant role in the development and progression of neuropathic pain, shedding light on the complex mechanisms that underlie this debilitating condition. These findings offer novel insights into the molecular pathways involved in neuropathic pain. This study underscores the potential of targeting lncRNAs as a viable approach to alleviate the suffering of patients with neuropathic pain.

The Influence of Occupational Therapy on College Students' Home Physical Exercise Behavior and Mental Health Status under the Artificial Intelligence Technology.

The core of occupational therapy is to help patients with mental illness recover their social work, give play to their self-worth, obtain financial resources, and improve their self-confidence. Occupational therapy can help patients relieve symptoms and restore social function, reduce disease recurrence, and improve the reemployment rate and the overall health level of patients. In order to deeply excavate the inner connection between the mental health status and physical exercise status of college students, the physical exercise behavior of college students during home isolation is studied. First, the "physical exercise behavior questionnaire" and "symptom self-assessment scale" were used to investigate the physical exercise behavior and mental health status of college students. Second, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, independent sample t-test, and variance analysis were carried out on the survey results using mathematical statistics methods and big data technology. The survey results show high reliability, and the Cronbach's α coefficients were all greater than 0.9. There was a positive correlation between physical exercise methods and mental health in general, and the difference in the degree of exercise is significantly different from the mental health of students (p < 0.05). With the increase of exercise intensity, the score of "symptom self-assessment scale" first decreased and then increased, and the exercise intensity of medium and high intensity showed the best psychological state. And the correlation dimension of depression was the highest. This indicated that the students who liked family physical exercise were less likely to suffer from depression. In addition, depression was the most relevant dimension with self demand physical exercise, and interpersonal sensitivity was the most relevant dimension with social expansion physical exercise. The conclusion shows that the more active the students participate in family physical exercise, the healthier their mental state is. Occupational therapy has obvious curative effect on depression, which can improve patients' negative symptoms, their living ability, and social function. Meanwhile, analyzing data through big data technology reduces human workload and improves data processing efficiency and accuracy. The scheme proposed here provides some ideas for the application of big data technology in occupational therapy.

Physical Exercise of Primary and Middle School Students From the Perspective of Educational Psychology and Parents' Entrepreneurship Education.

The study aims to help primary and secondary school students develop a good habit of physical exercise by exploring the current situation of physical exercise of primary and secondary school students and analyzing the factors affecting their physical exercise. Then, intervention strategies are figured out for different groups of students and help them develop a good habit of physical exercise. From the perspective of educational psychology and parents' entrepreneurship education, the research on the physical exercise of primary and secondary school students is conducted by a questionnaire survey, mathematical statistics and literature review. A total of 280 students from five schools in Tianjin are selected as the research subjects, and the current situation of students' physical exercise in these five schools is investigated. The results show that 40.5% of boys and 39.4% of girls can take physical exercise more than three times a week; 48.9% of the students do physical exercise for more than 30 mins each time; the students who usually take regular exercise at school account for 82.1%. The physical exercise that students always do is running, badminton and table tennis, which rank the top three among the sports they do. The students usually play basketball, volleyball, and football, and they rarely do the sports like swimming, Wushu, and aerobics. This result is closely related to the characteristics and places of primary and middle school students. The survey shows that the physical exercise awareness of most primary and secondary school students is correct; most students can participate in physical exercise, but few students can do it regularly; parents' support, parents' habits of doing exercise, and family's spending on physical exercise have a significant impact on developing students' habits of doing physical exercise. Based on the above, it is concluded that the primary and secondary stage is very important for students. Physical education teachers should follow the principle of teaching different students with different methods, enrich teaching materials, and improve teaching quality. The study provides a reference for the reform of PE to guide primary and middle school students to participate in sports activities, improving students' physical quality.

The Motor Function Evaluation of College Students' Physical Activity State From the Perspective of Educational Psychology.

College students have taken part in less and less physical activities as a result of the common static lifestyle in recent years, lowering the level of motor function. This phenomenon has been a source of concern for schools and the government, and it is necessary to take corresponding measures to change it. The general motor function level of Chinese college students is explored first based on artificial intelligence and the human-computer interaction technology. The Physical Activity Questionnaire for College Students is compiled by referring to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and 561 students from colleges in Tianjin province are assessed based on the functional movement screen (FMS). Spearman correlation and multivariate regression analysis (MRA) are used to analyze the correlation between the motor function and physical activity status. In terms of lunch break frequency, the proportion of students having one to two lunch breaks in a week is the highest (54.15%); in terms of the frequency of doing moderate physical exercise, the proportion of students doing moderate physical exercise for 1-2 days in a week is the highest (50.61%); in terms of the frequency of doing heavy physical exercise, the proportion of students doing heavy exercise for 1-2 days in a week is the highest (47.26%); in terms of the sedentary time, the proportion of students with sedentary time more than 5 h in a day is the highest (40.61%); in terms of eye use time, the proportion of students with 8-10 h eye use time in a day is the highest (43.61%). Besides, in terms of the FMS score, the proportion of students with 13-15 FMS is the highest (48.46%). The hurdle step (21.03%), straight knee lift (22.52%), and body rotation stability (18.31%) have a relatively low proportion among the three-point items. There is a positive correlation between motor function score with the time of moderate exercise and the time of heavy exercise (P < 0.05). College students generally have insufficient rest time, long eye use time, and long sitting time, leading to a low level of motor function, manifested by an asymmetry between both sides of the body and poor trunk stability. It is recommended to add hurdling steps, straight knee lifts, and body rotation stability tests to college physical education courses.

Effects of an Intervention Program on Lower Extremity Biomechanics in Stop-Jump and Side-Cutting Tasks.

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common injuries in sport. To reduce the risk of noncontact ACL injury, it is critical to understand the effects of an intervention program on neuromuscular control-related biomechanical risk factors. HYPOTHESIS: A newly developed 4-week intervention program would significantly increase the knee flexion angle at peak impact posterior ground-reaction force and would significantly decrease the peak impact posterior and vertical ground-reaction forces in the stop-jump and side-cutting tasks, while the intervention effects would be retained after the training was completed. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: A total of 22 male and 18 female collegiate basketball and volleyball players with biomechanical characteristics associated with increased risk of ACL injury were recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group executed a program to improve landing techniques through strength and plyometric training 3 times a week for 4 weeks while participating in their regular training. The control group participated in only their regular training for 4 weeks. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data in the stop-jump and side-cutting tasks were collected at week 0 (the beginning of the study) and at the ends of weeks 4, 8, 16, and 20. Knee flexion angle and ground-reaction forces were calculated. Analyses of variance with a mixed design were performed to determine the intervention effects and the retention of intervention effects for each sex. RESULTS: Male participants in the intervention group significantly increased the knee flexion angle at peak impact posterior ground-reaction force in the stop-jump task at weeks 8, 12, and 20 when compared with that at week 0 and with the male control group ( P ≤ .002). No significant intervention effects on knee flexion angle and ground-reaction force were found in the side-cutting task for male participants. No significant interaction effects on takeoff velocities were detected in any task for male participants. No significant intervention effects on knee flexion angle and ground-reaction force were found in any task for female participants. Vertical takeoff velocity in the stop-jump task was significantly lower in the intervention group at week 20 compared with the control group ( P = .011). CONCLUSION: A 4-week intervention program significantly increased the knee flexion angle at peak impact posterior ground-reaction force of male collegiate athletes in the stop-jump task without significant effect on the performance of the task. This intervention effect was retained for at least 16 weeks after the training was completed. The intervention program, however, did not affect knee flexion angle and ground-reaction force in any task for female collegiate athletes. A reduction in vertical takeoff velocity of the stop-jump task was observed for female collegiate athletes 16 weeks after the intervention. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The intervention program with strength conditioning and plyometric exercises could modify landing biomechanics of male collegiate athletes in a stop-jump task. The intervention program may be a useful tool for preventing noncontact ACL injury for male collegiate athletes.

Effects of knee extension constraint training on knee flexion angle and peak impact ground-reaction force.

BACKGROUND: Low compliance with training programs is likely to be one of the major reasons for inconsistency of the data regarding the effectiveness of current anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention programs. Training methods that reduce training time and cost could favorably influence the effectiveness of ACL injury prevention programs. A newly designed knee extension constraint training device may serve this purpose. HYPOTHESIS: (1) Knee extension constraint training for 4 weeks would significantly increase the knee flexion angle at the time of peak impact posterior ground-reaction force and decrease peak impact ground-reaction forces during landing of a stop-jump task and a side-cutting task, and (2) the training effects would be retained 4 weeks after completion of the training program. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: Twenty-four recreational athletes were randomly assigned to group A or B. Participants in group A played sports without wearing a knee extension constraint device for 4 weeks and then played sports while wearing the device for 4 weeks, while participants in group B underwent a reversed protocol. Both groups were tested at the beginning of week 1 and at the ends of weeks 4 and 8 without wearing the device. Knee joint angles were obtained from 3-dimensional videographic data, while ground-reaction forces were measured simultaneously using force plates. Analyses of variance were performed to determine the training effects and the retention of training effects. RESULTS: Participants in group A significantly increased knee flexion angles and decreased ground-reaction forces at the end of week 8 (P ≤ .012). Participants in group B significantly increased knee flexion angles and decreased ground-reaction forces at the ends of weeks 4 and 8 (P ≤ .007). However, participants in group B decreased knee flexion angles and increased ground-reaction forces at the end of week 8 in comparison with the end of week 4 (P ≤ .009). CONCLUSION: Knee extension constraint training for 4 weeks significantly altered lower extremity movement patterns and transferred these changes in lower extremity movement patterns to stop-jump and side-cutting tasks in which ACL injuries frequently occur. Training effects were retained 4 weeks after the training was completed but were diminished in magnitude. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A knee extension constraint device may be a useful training tool in future ACL injury prevention programs to alter movement patterns without extra training time.

Time-dependent cortical activation in voluntary muscle contraction.

This study was to characterize dynamic source strength changes estimated from high-density scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) at different phases of a submaximal voluntary muscle contraction. Eight healthy volunteers performed isometric handgrip contractions of the right arm at 20% maximal intensity. Signals of the handgrip force, electromyography (EMG) from the finger flexor and extensor muscles and 64-channel EEG were acquired simultaneously. Sources of the EEG were analyzed at 19 time points across preparation, execution and sustaining phases of the handgrip. A 3-layer boundary element model (BEM) based on the MNI (Montréal Neurological Institute) brain MRI was used to overlay the sources. A distributed current density model, LORETA L1 norm method was applied to the data that had been processed by independent component analysis (ICA). Statistical analysis based on a mixed-effects polynomial regression model showed a significant and consistent time-dependent non-linear source strength change pattern in different phases of the handgrip. The source strength increased at the preparation phase, peaked at the force onset time and decreased in the sustaining phase. There was no significant difference in the changing pattern of the source strength among Brodmann's areas 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. These results show, for the first time, a high time resolution increasing-and-decreasing pattern of activation among the sensorimotor regions with the highest activity occurs at the muscle activity onset. The similarity in the source strength time courses among the cortical centers examined suggests a synchronized parallel function in controlling the motor activity.