The Role of Urban Morphology Design on Enhancing Physical Activities and Public Health

Along with environmental pollutions, urban planning has been connected to public health. The research indicates that the quality of built environments plays an important role in reducing mental disorders and overall health. The structure and shape of the city are considered as one of the factors influencing happiness and health in urban communities and the type of the daily activities of citizens. The aim of this study was to promote physical activity in the main structure of the city via urban design in a way that the main form and morphology of the city can encourage citizens to move around and have physical activity within the city. Functional, physical, cultural- social, and perceptual-visual features are regarded as the most important and effective criteria in increasing physical activities in urban spaces based on literature review. The environmental quality of urban spaces and their role in the physical activities of citizens in urban spaces were assessed by using the questionnaire tool and analytical network process (ANP) of structural equation modeling. Further, the space syntax method was utilized to evaluate the role of the spatial integration of urban spaces on improving physical activities. Based on the results, the consideration of functional diversity, spatial flexibility and integration, security, and the aesthetic and visual quality of urban spaces plays an important role in improving the physical health of citizens in urban spaces. Further, more physical activities, including motivation for walking and consequently, the sense of public health and happiness, were observed in the streets having higher linkage and space syntax indexes with their surrounding texture

Engaging in social interaction: relationships between the accessibility of path structure and intensity of passive social interaction in urban parks

Purpose – Functioning as space connectors, path structures in urban parks may rarely present social interaction opportunities, although centralized activity spaces are available. This paper investigated the interrelationships between the visual and physical accessibility attributes of path structure and their impacts on passive social interaction intensity across urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. Design/methodology/approach – The concept of social interaction has been studied elsewhere in social cohesion, social affiliation and sense of communication. Still, it has not been studied in the context of urban park design. This study employed mixed methods using an adaptive and unique combination of qualitative and quantitative data collections to analyze urban parks with a bit of visual vegetation barrier. The experiential landscape method was applied to determine visual accessibility by interpreting experiential landscape maps. The space syntax method based on quantitative analysis is considered to measure physical accessibilities and vigorous activities along the designated paths by conducting integration analysis and gate observation. The data were crossed-analyzed using a Geographic Information System (GIS) classification technique, correlation analysis and Microsoft combo-charts to generate the relationship between patterns of activities and their accessibilities. Findings – The results suggested that designated paths with higher accessibility attributes, impressively more elevated than other tracks, could influence the intensity of passive social interactions. The findings supported the understanding that activity nodes and active areas adjoining designated routes could make accessibility attribute areas more critical. These findings verify that visually enriching the spaces along the path structure toward activities is a pivotal contributor to urban planners and designers to enhance the paths’ local integration (LI) and visual accessibility to predict more passive eye contact among park visitors. Research limitations/implications – The proposed interrelationship among variables in this study has limitations because of not considering other qualitative methods and techniques like cognitive maps and interview simultaneously. These techniques could discover why some paths generate more passive eye contact among park users (Mohammadi Tahroodi, 2018). Practical implications – Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 emphasizes Kuala Lumpur’s unique image as a tropical garden city via preserving and developing the iconic historical urban parks in the city center (CHKL, 2004, pp. 3–3). The latest Draft Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040 has outlined the strategy to achieve a conducive, good-quality neighborhood that encourages social interaction. The findings could assist urban planners and designers better public parks by considering accessibility and permeability aspects of design. This research endorses the appropriateness of interrelationship between accessibility attributes of path structure and social interaction in urban design research, which local urban designers have not fully considered until now. Evaluating the visual convenience of designated paths and assessing LI of the axial lines constructing each designated route of urban parks during the primary stage could enable urban designers to estimate to what extent the paths are accessible and respond to passive social interaction. Then they could enrich with salient landmarks, views and activity nodes to make them attractive. The considerable number of designated paths connections, specifically while they shape the sides of activity nodes, could increase the connectivity and integration of spaces within the parks. These patterns of positioning the activity nodes make the designated routes more legible and provide ease of movement. As a result, it will give urban park users more information about the activities. Allowing people to use the paths will increase people’s presence and, subsequently, passive social interaction. One way is to locate accessible lands that provide social activities at direct visual access paths within urban parks for legibility. Social implications – The socially responsive urban design enhances the quality of life and provides life satisfaction, happiness and society’s overall health. Being in urban social parks in any passive and active situations has psychological benefits. It facilitates relief and rests from a stressful modern lifestyle that significantly impacts their mental health and well-being. The framework applied in this research integrates the social, spatial and physical aspects of parks design. With this regard, principles and indicators facilitate physically and socially attractive urban parks for Kuala Lumpur city center and applicable to similar contexts elsewhere. Originality/value – The concept of social interaction has been studied elsewhere in social cohesion, social affiliation and sense of communication. Still, it has not been studied in the context of urban park design. This study employed mixed methods using an adaptive and unique combination of qualitative and quantitative data collections to analyze urban parks with a bit of visual vegetation barrier

Cross-talk between skeletal muscle and placenta during pregnancy: Possible effects of exercise training

Dear Editor-in-ChiefDuring pregnancy, regular physical activity contributes to the health of the mother and fetus, which is due to the effect of exercise on the mother's physiological regulation, growth, and optimal function of the fetal placenta. But the mechanism of this effect is unknown. Recently, studies have shown that exercise can connect multiple tissues through the tissue secretomes. Muscle tissue secreting myokine can affect distant tissues such as the liver, adipose tissue, brain, skin, and even the placenta. However, other tissues can also affect muscle tissue. The human placenta as multifunctional organ releases large amounts of hormones, cytokines, placental proteins, non-coding RNAs, as well as extracellular vesicles into the mother's bloodstream (Adam et al., 2017). Exosomes are nanometer-sized extracellular vesicles produced by the endosomal pathway and packed with tissue-specific molecules. Because these nanoparticles can selectively target specific cells and transmit their contents to receptor cells, they form an integral pathway from cell-to-cell communication (Valadi et al., 2007). For example, exosomes secreted from the placenta reduce insulin sensitivity in muscle tissue and improve glucose metabolism in skeletal muscles during pregnancy (Nair et al., 2018). Since exercise itself is effective in improving insulin sensitivity, especially during pregnancy, it seems that one of the mechanisms involved could be the regulation of placental exosome secretion and its effect on muscle tissue, which has not been studied so far.Evidence suggests that skeletal muscle during exercise by secreting endocrine factors such as myokines affect liver, adipose tissue, and placenta during pregnancy. Moreover, myokines can improve glucose and fat metabolism in mother’s body (Laurens, Bergouignan, & Moro, 2020).  So far, more than 600 myokines have been identified, the most important of which is irisin. This factor is secreted from muscle tissue and can affect the metabolism of other tissues, including white adipose tissue. It has also been reported that the level of this myokine can increase during pregnancy. The vital involvement of irisin in various key metabolic pathways increases attention to considering the effects of this myokine during pregnancy. Maternal circulating levels of irisin were measured in the range of 5-50 nM (Seven et al., 2019). In pregnant women during normal pregnancy, this factor is significantly higher than irisin levels in non-pregnant women. The potential role of circulation irisin on placenta is currently unknown. Since muscle contraction and exercise cause a significant increase in irisin expression (Sousa, Improta-Caria, & Souza, 2021), it seems that exercise during pregnancy with an increase in irisin also affects the placenta, which needs further investigation.Recently, it was observed that maternal exercise stimulates the expression of myokine and adipokine apelin in addition to adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in human placenta. The new "exerkine" apelin appears to play a regulatory role in response to exercise during pregnancy in metabolic health (such as energy metabolism, fluid homeostasis, blood pressure, etc.) and fetal muscle development (Son et al., 2020). Furthermore, Bhattacharjee et al. in a current human study showed that regularly physically active women during pregnancy have a significantly increased placental expression of the myokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its VEGF receptor-1 compared to inactive women (Bhattacharjee et al., 2021). Further research is needed to assess the cross-talk between apelin and VEGF and the placenta in more details.Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is also a key regulator of endocrine and paracrine glucose and lipid metabolism, which is secreted from muscle tissue and can affect other tissues, including the placenta. FGF21 appears to affect the placenta through FGFRs and co-receptor β-klotho (Sun, Sherrier, & Li, 2021). Therefore, according to the evidence, it seems that the study of cross-talk subtypes of the endocrine family of FGFs (FGF19, FGF21, FGF23) and especially FGF21 with klotho protein along with the intervention of physical activity is a new topic to identify the mechanism. The effects of exercise on the human placenta need to be examined more closely (Bhattacharjee, Mohammad, & Adamo, 2021)

The influence of sensation of orientation on urban park visitation

A sensation of orientation is a sense that provides way-finding ability and seamless experience of urban spaces including public parks. This paper examines the relationship between the sensation of orientation attributes and urban park visitation pattern. The sampling areas of the study are the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa (TTT) and the Perdana Botanical Garden (PBG), located in the city center of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The study applied photo questionnaires survey involving 330 park users to determine the extent of place engagement in Activity Nodes (ANs), familiarity with legible elements, and the purpose of visiting the parks. Statistical-graphical analysis verifies that social activity is the primary purpose of visiting the parks, which is highly related to the extent of familiarity with Activity Nodes (ANs) and place engagement. The findings inform the importance of legible elements and social activities in designing urban parks to increase place attraction and to encourage park visitation

Exercise training and muscle-cartilage cross-talk: A potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis

Dear Editor-in-ChiefOsteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive disease and up to now, no effective cure has been found for these diseases. OA was characterized by destruction of articular cartilage (extracellular matrix). As we age, chondrocytes show less response to growth factors, also, there is an increase abnormal accumulation of advanced glycation products (AGEs), mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. As a result, cartilage homeostasis is impaired and ECM becomes more vulnerable to injury, leading to the onset of OA (Abramoff & Caldera, 2020). Chondrocytes are the only cell type present in articular cartilage that are solely responsible for circulating and maintaining the matrix. Exercise training with increased mechanical stress can affect the extracellular matrix in the joints. However, exercise apart from mechanical stress can also indirectly affect cartilage metabolism by increasing muscle contraction and the expansion of some myokines, which is a potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis.A variety of growth factors and cytokines are actively secreted by muscle tissue. Thus, muscle can act as an endocrine and paracrine organ. Secretoms are secreted not only through muscle tissue but also from other tissues and affect other organs of the body. Adipokines include adiponectin, leptin, resistin, chemerin, IL-6, and TNF-α playing an important role not only during inflammation but also in the metabolic regulation of joint cells including cartilage, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and mesenchymal stem cells (Xie & Chen, 2019). Muscle tissue also affects cartilage metabolism with its myokines.    FNDC5 is an important exercise myokine for slowing down age-related diseases, such as sarcopenia, osteoporosis, obesity, and neurodegeneration. Loss of FDNC5 has been shown to be associated with chondrocyte aging in the development of OA in humans and mice. Myokine maintains chondrocyte activity by preserving the metabolism and biology of the mitochondrial TCA cycle to protect against inflammation-induced aging. Myokine maintains chondrocyte survival and ECM synthesis by suppressing the cartilaginous inhibitory factor Wnt3a to control autophagy programs and apoptosis (Chen et al., 2020). Recently, it has been discovered that Sox9 was expressed in MTJ, tendon, and bone progenitor cells at E13 and in bone at E16. The expression of Sox9 in muscle precursor cells is also being studied. It is hypothesized that an increase in this factor of muscle tissue after exercise can also affect cartilage metabolism because it is stated that decreased Sox9 expression in connective tissues, tendons and bones is associated with cartilage hypoplasia (Nagakura et al., 2020). These hypotheses elucidated that the role of Sox9 secreted by muscle tissue can also play an important role in the development and healing of joint and cartilage, requiring animal and human studies

Genotyping tool for salmonid gill pox virus (SGPV) obtained from farmed and wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Poxviruses are common viruses found in vertebrate species. In 2006, the first poxvirus associated with salmon, salmonid gill poxvirus (SGPV), was identified during an outbreak of gill disease at a smolt production site in northern Norway and at two marine farms in western Norway. Poxviruses had previously been detected in ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) and koi carp (Cyprinus carpio). In all three fish species, poxviruses are associated with gill disease. It has not been possible to culture SGPV from Norway, and little is known about its virulence. However, the association between SGPV and gill disease in salmon has shown the need for molecular tools to identify reservoirs and transmission routes. Sequencing the genome of a second isolate of SGPV has made it possible to compare variable regions between two strains of the virus, showing the presence of a large number of variable regions that exhibit both variable numbers of tandem repeats and intra-ORF variation. We present eight regions that are suitable for distinguishing strains of SGPV and determining their phylogenetic relationship, and these were used to compare SGPV isolates obtained from both farmed and wild salmon in fresh and sea water. The prevalence of the virus was found to be higher in wild salmon in rivers than in returning wild salmon collected from traps in Norwegian fjords. Genotyping based on the eight selected variable regions, suggests the presence of geographically distinct isolates in freshwater among both farmed and wild salmon, while SGPV from marine farms shows high local diversity and a wide geographical distribution of similar strains of the virus.publishedVersio

A case report of rhino‑facial mucormycosis in a non‑diabetic patient with COVID‑19: a systematic review of literature and current update

Background: COVID-19 disease may be associated with a wide range of bacterial and fungal infections. We report a patient with COVID-19 infection who developed rhino-facial mucormycosis during treatment with corticosteroids. Case presentation: A 59-year-old non-diabetic male patient was admitted with a diagnosis of COVID-19 based on positive RT-PCR and CT of the lungs. Due to sever lung involvement, he was treated with methylprednisolone. The patient was re-admitted to hospital, due to nasal obstruction and left side facial and orbital swelling, several days after discharge. In sinus endoscopic surgery, debridement was performed and the specimens were sent to pathology and mycology laboratories. A nasal biopsy showed wide hyphae without septa. The sequenced PCR product revealed Rhizopus oryzae. Despite all medical and surgical treatment, the patient died. In addition, the characteristics of patients with COVID-19-associated mucormycosis were reviewed in 44 available literatures. In most studies, diabetes mellitus was the most common predisposing factor for mucormycosis. Conclusion: Our report highlights the need for assessing the presence of mucormycosis in patients with COVID-19 and also it shows that physicians should consider the potential for secondary invasive fungal infections in COVID 19case

A Review of Wearing a Mask and How to Correctly Wear it in Shahroud City

Background: One of the most important issues since SARS-CoV-2 was identified was the growing information on how the virus was transmitted and how to protect against it. However, many key questions have not yet been fully answered. This study aimed to investigate the correct wearing of a mask in Shahroud city. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional one conducted on 800 people in Shahroud city in a two-month interval (Aug. 22, 2020, to October 30, 2020). Data were collected using a checklist including demographic information. After being collected, the data were entered into SPSS18 and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The results indicated that out of 800 people taking part, 415 people (51.9%) were male and 385 ones (48.1%) were female. The mean participants’ age was 61.78 16±16.09; most participants in the study were born in the year 1972-1995 with 385 ones (48%). Also, concerning masks, it was found that the use of masks and the correct use of them accounted for 528 cases (66%) and 377 cases (47.1%), respectively. The most used mask was a surgical mask with 343 cases (42.9). Concerning the non-use of a mask, 132 people (16.5%) cited choking as the most important reason for not wearing a mask. Also, 681 people (85.1%) and 557 ones (69.6%) had chosen not to participate at weddings and parties, respectively. Conclusions: The results suggested that a greater percentage of participants in the study knew how to correctly wear a mask while not having a history of participating in ceremonies and parties, which is a very good issue. Keywords: Mask, Correct wearing, Shahrou

Molecular identification and evaluation of the ability to produce phospholipase and proteinase by aspergillus environmental isolates obtained from hospital

Background: One of the causes of nosocomial infections is the dispersion of Aspergillus spores in the environment. The secretion of hydrolytic enzymes is considered as a virulence factor in Aspergillus species. The aim of this study was to identify environmental Aspergillus isolates via sequencing the beta-tubulin gene and evaluating the ability to produce phospholipase and proteinase in vitro. Methods: 93 Aspergillus colonies were collected from the emergency, surgical wards, intensive care unit, and operation theatres of two teaching hospitals in Qazvin Province, Iran. The β-tubulin gene region was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, and 40 isolates were sequenced. Evaluation of proteinase and phospholipase production was performed using yeast carbon base (YCB) with bovine serum albumin and egg yolk agar medium, respectively. Findings: Based on β-tubulin sequence, Aspergillus (A.) flavus (30%), A. tuberculosis (25%), A. fumigatus (20%), A. niger (10%), A. sydowii (7.5%), A. terreus (5%), and A. nidulans (2.5%) were identified. Evaluation of extracellular enzymes showed that 82.5% of the isolates had proteinase ability with a mean proteinase of 0.73 ± 0.13, and 52.5% of the studied Aspergillus isolates had phospholipase activity with a mean of 0.81 ± 0.17. Conclusion: Our study showed that environmental strains have high proteinase production. Therefore, it seems necessary to better understand the association of virulence factors with aspergillosis infection in future studies. Keywords: Aspergillus; Tubulin; Peptide hydrolases; Phospholipas