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The goal of this study was to use the finite element (FE) method to compare and study the differences between bionic shoes (BS) and normal shoes (NS) forefoot strike patterns when running. In addition, we separated the forefoot area when forefoot running as a way to create a small and independent area of instability. An adult male of Chinese descent was recruited for this investigation (age: 26 years old; body height: 185 cm; body mass: 82 kg) (forefoot strike patterns). We analyzed forefoot running under two different conditions through FE analysis, and used bone stress distribution feature classification and recognition for further analysis. The metatarsal stress values in forefoot strike patterns with BS were less than with NS. Additionally, the bone stress classification of features and the recognition accuracy rate of metatarsal (MT) 2, MT3 and MT5 were higher than other foot bones in the first 5%, 10%, 20% and 50% of nodes. BS forefoot running helped reduce the probability of occurrence of metatarsal stress fractures. In addition, the findings further revealed that BS may have important implications for the prevention of hallux valgus, which may be more effective in adolescent children. Finally, this study presents a post-processing method for FE results, which is of great significance for further understanding and exploration of FE results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although creatine supplementation is well-known to increase exercise performance in acute high-intensity exercises, its role in aerobic performance based on VO2max is more controversial. Thus, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of creatine supplementation on VO2max. PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and ScienceDirect were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting VO2max in creatine supplementation and placebo groups before and after supplementation. We computed a random-effects meta-analysis on VO2max at baseline, within groups following supplementation, on changes on VO2max between groups, and after supplementation between groups. Sensitivity analyses and meta-regression were conducted. We included 19 RCTs for a total of 424 individuals (mean age 30 years old, 82% men). VO2max did not differ at baseline between groups (creatine and placebo). Participants in both groups were engaged in exercise interventions in most studies (80%). Using changes in VO2max, VO2max increased in both groups but increased less after creatine supplementation than placebo (effect size [ES] = −0.32, 95%CI = −0.51 to −0.12, p = 0.002). Comparisons after creatine supplementation confirmed a lower VO2max in the creatine group compared to the placebo group (ES= −0.20, 95%CI = −0.39 to −0.001, p = 0.049). Meta-analysis after exclusion from meta-funnel resulted in similar outcomes in a subgroup of young and healthy participants. Meta-regressions on characteristics of supplementation, physical training, or sociodemographic were not statistically significant. Creatine supplementation has a negative effect on VO2max, regardless of the characteristics of training, supplementation, or population characteristics. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.2008864. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: COVID-19 lockdown measures have been sources of both potential stress and possible psychological and addiction complications. A lack of activity and isolation during lockdown are among the factors thought to be behind the growth in the use of psychoactive substances and worsening addictive behaviors. Previous studies on the pandemic have attested to an increase in alcohol consumption during lockdowns. Likewise, data suggest there has also been a rise in the use of cannabis, although it is unclear how this is affected by external factors. Our study used quantitative data collected from an international population to evaluate changes in cannabis consumption during the lockdown period between March and October, 2020. We also compared users and non-users of the drug in relation to: (1) socio-demographic differences, (2) emotional experiences, and (3) the information available and the degree of approval of lockdown measures. Methods: An online self-report questionnaire concerning the lockdown was widely disseminated around the globe. Data was collected on sociodemographics and how the rules imposed had influenced the use of cannabis and concerns about health, the economic impact of the measures and the approach taken by government(s). Results: One hundred eighty two respondents consumed cannabis before the lockdown vs. 199 thereafter. The mean cannabis consumption fell from 13 joints per week pre-lockdown to 9.75 after it (p < 0.001). Forty-nine respondents stopped using cannabis at all and 66 admitted to starting to do so. The cannabis users were: less satisfied with government measures; less worried about their health; more concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and their career; and more frightened of becoming infected in public areas. The risk factors for cannabis use were: age (OR = 0.96); concern for physical health (OR = 0.98); tobacco (OR = 1.1) and alcohol consumption during lockdown (OR = 1.1); the pre-lockdown anger level (OR = 1.01); and feelings of boredom during the restrictions (OR = 1.1). Conclusion: In a specific sub-population, the COVID-19 lockdown brought about either an end to the consumption of cannabis or new use of the drug. The main risk factors for cannabis use were: a lower age, co-addictions and high levels of emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this pilot study were to explore the temperature changes of the paw pads in healthy cats before and after a 6-min walking test (6MWT), and to further compare the accuracy of the point and line region of interest (ROI) selection methods of the thermal imaging. Five healthy intact cats were recruited and trained to run on the treadmill, and to keep still during the standing phase on a glass panel when capturing thermographic imaging data. The paw pad temperature was recorded using a thermal camera and then analysed using both the point and line ROI before and after the 6MWT. The symmetry index (SI) between the limbs (left and right) was further calculated. Compared to the baseline, there were significant increases in the paw pad temperature of the forelimbs (point of left P < 0.001, point of right P = 0.048, point of average P = 0.002, line of left P < 0.001, line of right P = 0.007, line of average P < 0.001), hindlimbs (point of left P < 0.001, point of right P < 0.001, point of average P < 0.001, line of left P < 0.001, line of right P < 0.001, line of average P < 0.001), and average value after the 6MWT both using the point and line ROI selection methods. However, there is no temperature difference between the point and line ROI either before or after the 6MWT. In addition, no difference in the SI was found between the baseline and post-test or between the point and line ROI. These results preliminarily indicated that a 6WMT and thermal imaging could be a good combination for further clinical practices to recognise lameness or any other gait disabilities in cats, and both the point and line ROI selection methods can be considered when analysing thermographic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has triggered an economic downturn and a rise in unemployment. As a result, global communities have had to face physical, health, psychological and socio-economical related stressors. The purpose of this study was to assess and report the impact of isolation and effect of coronavirus on selected psychological correlates associated with emotions. Following ethical approval, a mixed methods observational study was conducted using the validated COVISTRESS questionnaire. Two observational study scenarios were evaluated namely "Prior" to the COVID-19 outbreak and "Currently", i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic. 10,121 participants from 67 countries completed the COVISTRESS questionnaire. From the questionnaire responses only questions that covered the participant's occupation; sociodemographic details, isolation and impact of coronavirus were selected. Further analyses were performed on output measures that included leisure time, physical activity, sedentary time and emotions. All output measures were evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) with an intensity ranging from 0–100. Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Spearman correlational analysis were applied to the leisure time, physical activity, sedentary time and emotional feeling datasets; p = 0.05 was set as the significance level. Both males and females displayed similar output measures. The Wilcoxon signed rank test showed significant differences with respect to "Prior" COVID-19 and "Currently" for sedentary activity (Z = −40.462, p < 0.001), physical activity (Z = −30.751, p < 0.001) and all other emotional feeling output measures. A moderate correlation between "Prior" COVID-19 and "Currently" was observed among the Males (r = 0.720) in comparison to the Females (r = 0.639) for sedentary activity while weaker correlations (r < 0.253) were observed for physical activity and emotional feeling measurements, respectively. Our study reported incremental differences in the physical and psychological output measures reported, i.e., "Prior" COVID-19 and "Currently". "Prior" COVID-19 and "Currently" participants increased their sedentary habits by 2.98%, and the level of physical activity reduced by 2.42%, depression levels increased by 21.62%, anxiety levels increased by 16.71%, and stress levels increased by 21.8%. There were no correlations (r) between leisure, physical activity and sedentary action (i.e., "Prior" = −0.071; "Currently" = −0.097); no correlations (r) between leisure physical activity and emotion (i.e., −0.071 > r > 0.081) for "Prior"; and poor correlations (r) between leisure, physical activity and sedentary action (i.e., −0.078 > r > 0.167) for "Current". The correlations (r) between sedentary action and emotion for "Prior" and "Currently" were (−0.100 > r > 0.075) and (−0.040 > r > 0.041) respectively. The findings presented here indicate that the COVISTRESS project has created awareness in relation to the physical and psychological impact resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have also highlighted individual distress caused by COVID-19 and associated health consequences for the global community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the potential detrimental consequences for individuals' health and discrimination from covid-19 symptoms, the outcomes have received little attention. This study examines the relationships between having personally experienced discrimination based on the symptoms of covid-19 (during the first wave of the pandemic), mental health, and emotional responses (anger and sadness). It was predicted that covid-19 discrimination would be positively related to poor mental health and that this relationship would be mediated by the emotions of anger and sadness., Methods: The study was conducted using an online questionnaire from January to June 2020 (the Covistress network; including 44 countries). Participants were extracted from the COVISTRESS database (Ntotal = 280) with about a half declaring having been discriminated due to covid-19 symptoms (N = 135). Discriminated participants were compared to non-discriminated participants using ANOVA. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the indirect effect of emotional responses and the relationships between perceived discrimination and self-reported mental health., Results: The results indicated that individuals who experienced discrimination based on the symptoms of covid-19 had poorer mental health and experienced more anger and sadness. The relationship between covid-19 personal discrimination and mental health disappeared when the emotions of anger and sadness were statistically controlled for. The indirect effects for both anger and sadness were statistically significant., Discussion: This study suggests that the covid-19 pandemic may have generated discriminatory behaviors toward those suspected of having symptoms and that this is related to poorer mental health via anger and sadness., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Dambrun et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Although creatine supplementation is well-known to increase exercise performance in acute high-intensity exercises, its role in aerobic performance based on VO 2 max is more controversial. Thus, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of creatine supplementation on VO 2 max. PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and ScienceDirect were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting VO 2 max in creatine supplementation and placebo groups before and after supplementation. We computed a random-effects meta-analysis on VO 2 max at baseline, within groups following supplementation, on changes on VO 2 max between groups, and after supplementation between groups. Sensitivity analyses and meta-regression were conducted. We included 19 RCTs for a total of 424 individuals (mean age 30 years old, 82% men). VO 2 max did not differ at baseline between groups (creatine and placebo). Participants in both groups were engaged in exercise interventions in most studies (80%). Using changes in VO 2 max, VO 2 max increased in both groups but increased less after creatine supplementation than placebo (effect size [ES] = -0.32, 95%CI = -0.51 to -0.12, p  = 0.002). Comparisons after creatine supplementation confirmed a lower VO 2 max in the creatine group compared to the placebo group (ES= -0.20, 95%CI = -0.39 to -0.001, p  = 0.049). Meta-analysis after exclusion from meta-funnel resulted in similar outcomes in a subgroup of young and healthy participants. Meta-regressions on characteristics of supplementation, physical training, or sociodemographic were not statistically significant. Creatine supplementation has a negative effect on VO 2 max, regardless of the characteristics of training, supplementation, or population characteristics.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.2008864 .