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Background: To resolve the impairments associated with spinal cord injury (SCI), such as decreased balance, patients have been recommended to undergo various therapeutic strategies, including the use of different physical exercise methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of using rebound therapy (exercise on a trampoline) on SCI individuals' static stability. Methods: Sixteen people with SCI (American Spinal Cord Association classification: A = 6, B = 6, C = 2, and D = 2) were randomly assigned to an experimental (rebound exercise) group or a control group. The rebound therapy exercise program, lasting 12 weeks, was performed by means of a modified trampoline. During the said period, the experimental group received rebound therapy exercise for 10 to 30 minutes 3 sessions a week. Standing stability parameters (ie, excursion, velocity, and path length of the center of pressure in mediolateral and anteroposterior plane) were assessed before and after the exercise intervention by Kistler force plate (50 × 60 cm). Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: Significant interactions were observed for all 6 dependent variables except excursion of the center of pressure in mediolateral and the path length of center of pressure in anteroposterior plane (P <.01). This means that the control group had no progress, whereas the experimental group made a significant improvement in terms of static stability. Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed that rebound therapy could reinforce the static stability of individuals with SCI during motionless standing. It suggests that rebound exercise is a useful sports rehabilitation method for patients with SCI and other wheelchair-bound individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical remote sensing of earth surface processes commonly relies on the red, green, blue (RGB), near-infrared (NIR) and shortwave-infrared (SWIR) electromagnetic bands. Most of the optical sensors mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles and satellites provide the RGB and NIR bands, but only a few offer SWIR output. The Red-NIR reflectance space has been widely applied for remote sensing of various land surface variables including soil moisture. The linear relationship between the Red-NIR reflectance of bare soil is established as the base and then moisture isolines are assumed perpendicular to the soil line. In this study, we show that this assumption is not consistent with the actual Red-NIR space geometry, which in many cases introduces soil moisture estimation errors. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new mathematical transformation to the original Red-NIR space followed by newly defined soil moisture isolines that are more consistent with the actual observations. This new Transformed Red-NIR (TRN) model is compared with the Conventional Red-NIR (CRN) model using data from a sugarcane field located in southwestern Iran. Twelve Land Remote-Sensing Satellite (Landsat)-8 images were acquired during the sugarcane growth season. For validation of the remotely sensed data, ground reference soil moisture was determined at 22 locations at five different depths via core sampling and oven-drying. Our results indicate that the TRN model significantly improves the accuracy of remotely sensed soil moisture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) level is a promising new diagnostic marker. The aim of the current case--control study is to investigate the correlation between the serum MMP-9 level with occurrence and progression of breast cancer. The serum MMP-9 level was investigated by gelatin zymography in 100 patients with breast cancer and 120 healthy participants. The average value of MMP-9 activity was significantly higher in patients with breast cancer than in control (P < .002), this value correlates with tumor stage (P = .005) and tumor size (P = .012). Our results suggest serum MMP-9 level is a potential diagnostic marker for predicting breast cancer occurrence and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: From asymptomatic to acute and life-threatening pulmonary infection, the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are highly variable. Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-17A are key drivers of hyper inflammation status in COVID-19, and their elevated levels are hallmarks of the infection progression. To explore whether prognosis and susceptibility to COVID-19 are linked to IL-6 rs1800795 and IL-17A rs2275913, these single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were assessed in a sample of Iranian COVID-19 patients., Methods: This study enrolled two hundred and eighty COVID-19 patients (140 non-severe and 140 severe). Genotyping for IL-6 rs1800795 and IL-17A rs2275913 was performed using tetra primer-amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (tetra-ARMS-PCR). IL-6 and IL-17A circulating levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Also, mortality predictors of COVID-19 were investigated., Results: The rs1800795 GG genotype (78/140 (55.7 %)) and G allele (205/280 (73.2 %)) were significantly associated with a positive risk of COVID-19 severe infection (OR = 2.19, 95 %CI: 1.35-3.54, P =.006 and OR = 1.79, 95 %CI: 1.25-2.56, P <.001, respectively). Also, rs1800795 GG genotype was significantly linked to disease mortality (OR = 1.95, 95 %CI: 1.06-3.61, P =.04). The rs2275913 GA genotype was protective against severe COVID-19 (OR = 0.5, 95 %CI: 0.31--0.80, P =.012). However, the present study did not reveal any significant link between rs2275913 genotypes with disease mortality. INR ≥ 1.2 (OR = 2.19, 95 %CI: 1.61-3.78, P =.007), D-dimer ≥ 565.5 ng/mL (OR = 3.12, 95 %CI: 1.27-5.68, P =.019), respiratory rate ≥ 29 (OR = 1.19, 95 %CI: 1.12-1.28, P =.001), IL-6 serum concentration ≥ 28.5 pg/mL (OR = 1.97, 95 %CI: 1.942-2.06, P =.013), and IL-6 rs1800795 GG genotype (OR = 1.95, 95 %CI: 1.06-3.61, P =.04) were predictive of COVID-19 mortality., Conclusion: The rs1800795 GG genotype and G allele were associated with disease severity, and INR, D-dimer, respiratory rate, IL-6 serum concentration, and IL-6 rs1800795 GG genotype were predictive of COVID-19 mortality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Lung carcinoma is characterized by uncontrollable division of respiratory system cells with detrimental and lethal consequences on human health. Critical roles of microRNAs (miR) are scientifically approved in biological and pathological pathways, such as the role of miR-499 (rs3746444) in lung carcinomas. Thus, in this case-control investigation, we aimed to assess the probable relationship between miR-499C/T variant and the occurrence of lung carcinoma in Iranian population for the first time., Methods: Genotype of miR-499 polymorphism was described by the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay in patients and healthy individuals. Following definite diagnosis of lung carcinoma, the blood samples were collected, and the DNA extraction was performed by Salting-Out method. Finally, data were analysed by SPSS (v. 20) and the significant level was considered p-value<0.05., Results: Statistically, the frequency of combined genotypes of CC+CT were 83.33% and 35% and TT+CT were 100% and 92% in case and control individuals, respectively. Also, individuals with genotypes of TC (OR: 3.08, CI95%: 3.03-3.17, p<0.0001), TC+CC (OR: 0.10, CI95%: 0.05-0.23, p<0.0001), CC (OR: 0, CI95%: 0.00-0.60, p=0.0214), and TC (OR: 0.07, CI95%: 0.030.15, p<0.0001) represented statistically significant (p<0.05) differences lung carcinoma than those with TT, TT, TT+TC, and TT+CC genotypes, respectively. The frequency of miR-499C (78.5%) and miR-499T (21.5%) alleles were also statistically significantly (p<0.05) difference associated with lung carcinoma in patients than controls., Conclusion: In this study, a possible relationship among miR-499C/T polymorphism and lung carcinoma was detected in Iranian population. Since this study was conducted for the first time, thus other supplementary assessments are needed for definite conclusion., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2023 Torabi M et al.)

Introduction: Polymorphisms within miRNAs binding sites are associated with miRNAs function. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between rs61764370 polymorphism within let-7 miRNA binding site in KRAS gene and the risk of lung cancer in Iranian population., Methods: This case-control study was conducted with 100 lung cancer patients and 100 healthy persons. The rs61764370 polymorphism was analyzed using PCR-RFLP technique and direct sequencing., Results: We found a significant relationship between rs61764370 (T / G) polymorphism and lung cancer risk, the GT genotype (OR: 6.25; 95% CI = 2.605-15.00; P= 0.000) and G allele (OR: 5.25; 95% CI = 2.259-12.208; P= 0.000) were significantly associated with an increased risk of lung cancer., Conclusion: According to our findings, there is a significant relationship between the KRAS rs61764370 polymorphism and lung cancer risk in Iranian population and this polymorphism may be used as a marker in detection of lung cancer in the future., (© 2020 Farokhzad N et al.)