The effects of the functional garment on the biomechanics during the single leg drop landing.

INTRODUCTION: A functional biomechanics garment (FBG) may help to prevent injury by improved kinematics during motion such as single leg drop landing (SLDL). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the FBG on the biomechanics of SLDL. METHOD: Seventeen female university basketball players participated. Characteristics of the FBG were designed based on biomechanics during weight-loaded performance of human movement. The average values of lower limb kinematics and kinetics in the sagittal and frontal planes from 3 SLDL with and without FBG were measured and compared. RESULTS: The maximum varus angle of the knee showed a significant difference between the use of FBG (15.3 ± 15.1°) and without the use of FBG (5.9 ± 15.4°), the flexion angular displacement of the hip (with FBG, 21.5 ± 8.1°; without FBG, 24.0 ± 6.7°) between with and without FBG. The moment of the hip with FGB (1.1 ± 0.6 Nm) was significantly smaller than without FGB (1.4 ± 0.8 Nm). DISCUSSION: Regarding function of the FBG, the rigid part of the hip could counter the excessive adduction and flexion of the hip, and the elastic part of the thigh could support the varus moment when the elastic part stretched. Therefore, the subjects with FBG could control the frontal motion of the knee, which has a risk of knee injury, such as the dynamic valgus of the knee during the SLDL. CONCLUSION: Use of the FBG decreases dynamic knee valgus, which reduces risk of knee injury.

AMPK inhibitor, compound C, inhibits coronavirus replication in vitro.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in more than six million deaths by October 2022. Vaccines and antivirals for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 are now available; however, more effective antiviral drugs are required for effective treatment. Here, we report that a potent AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibitor, compound C/dorsomorphin, inhibits the replication of the human coronavirus OC43 strain (HCoV-OC43). We examined HCoV-OC43 replication in control and AMPK-knockout (KO) cells and found that the virus replication decreased in AMPK-KO cells. Next, we examined the effect of the AMPK inhibitor, compound C on coronavirus replication. Compound C treatment efficiently inhibited the replication and decreased the coronavirus-induced cytotoxicity, further inhibiting autophagy. In addition, treatment with compound C in combination with chloroquine synergistically inhibited coronavirus replication. These results suggest that compound C can be considered as a potential drug candidate for COVID-19.

The Effect of Functional Biomechanics Garment for Walking.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a functional biomechanics garment (FBG) with a lower extremity assist function. 32 healthy male participants were included in this study. Participants were divided into an FBG with taping function group (FBG group) and a compression garment group (CG group). Cadence (steps/min), step length (m), and usual walking speed (m/s) were measured as spatio-temporal data. Kinetics, kinematics data, and dynamic joint stiffness (DJS) of the lower extremity were calculated using a three-dimensional gait analysis system. The FBG group showed significantly faster walking speed (FBG, 1.54 ± 0.12 m/s; CG, 1.42 ± 0.15 m/s, p < 0.05) and reduced hip DJS in terminal stance (FBG, 0.033 ± 0.014 Nm/kg/degree; CG: 0.049 ± 0.016 Nm/kg/degree, p < 0.05) compared to the CG group. The FBG decreased hip DJS in the terminal stance and affected walking speed. The passive elastic moment generated by the high elasticity part of the hip joint front in the FBG supported the internal hip flexion moment. Therefore, our FBG has a biomechanical effect. The FBG may be useful as a tool to promote health activities.

6-Azauridine Induces Autophagy-Mediated Cell Death via a p53- and AMPK-Dependent Pathway.

6-Azauridine (6-AZA), a pyrimidine nucleoside analogue, is known to exhibit both antitumor and antiviral activities. Although 6-AZA was discovered more than 60 years ago, the cellular effects of this compound are yet to be elucidated. Here, we report that 6-AZA regulates autophagy-mediated cell death in various human cancer cells, where 6-AZA treatment activates autophagic flux through the activation of lysosomal function. Furthermore, 6-AZA exhibited cytotoxicity in all cancer cells studied, although the mechanisms of action were diverse. In H460 cells, 6-AZA treatment induced apoptosis, and the extent of the latter could be reduced by treatment with chloroquine (CQ), a lysosomal inhibitor. However, 6-AZA treatment resulted in cell cycle arrest in H1299 cells, which could not be reversed by CQ. The cytotoxicity associated with 6-AZA treatment could be linearly correlated to the degree of autophagy-mediated cell death. In addition, we demonstrated that the cytotoxic effect of 6-AZA was dependent on AMPK and p53. These results collectively indicate that autophagy-mediated cell death triggered by 6-AZA contributes to its antitumor effect.

EGCG, a green tea polyphenol, inhibits human coronavirus replication in vitro.

COVID-19 pandemic results in record high deaths in many countries. Although a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is now available, effective antiviral drugs to treat coronavirus diseases are not available yet. Recently, EGCG, a green tea polyphenol, was reported to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CL-protease, however the effect of EGCG on coronavirus replication is unknown. In this report, human coronavirus HCoV-OC43 (beta coronavirus) and HCoV-229E (alpha coronavirus) were used to examine the effect of EGCG on coronavirus. EGCG treatment decreases 3CL-protease activity of HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-229E. Moreover, EGCG treatment decreased HCoV-OC43-induced cytotoxicity. Finally, we found that EGCG treatment decreased the levels of coronavirus RNA and protein in infected cell media. These results indicate that EGCG inhibits coronavirus replication.