Anthropometric measurements are important in a wide range of areas, from athlete selection to performance analysis and medical exercise applications. With its portable and cost-effective structure, Microsoft Kinect offers significant advantages in measuring human movements and provides valuable data in the fields of sports science and medicine. The aim of this study is to compare certain anthropometric measurements of adolescent female weightlifters in the U-15 age category with Kinect V2 and traditional methods. Twelve athletes who won medals in international weightlifting championships were included in the study. Anthropometric evaluations of each athlete were performed using Kinect V2 and the traditional method. Differences between measurements were analyzed with Bland–Altman plots and Pearson correlation coefficients. Kinect was found to exhibit less variability and higher coherency in measurements of humerus, forearm, trochanter-tibiale laterale, tibial lengths, and shoulder width. It has been observed that the traditional method provides more coherence results in hand length measurements. Kinect was found to exhibit less variability and higher coherency in measurements of forearm, trochanter-tibiale laterale, tibial lengths, and shoulder width, indicating its potential as a reliable tool for these parameters. Notably, Kinect demonstrated high reliability for tibial length (ICC 0.918) and moderate reliability for trochanter-tibiale laterale (ICC 0.737), showing its effectiveness in these measurements. Additionally, Kinect exhibited lower variation and higher coherency in most measurements compared to manual methods, supporting its consistency and repeatability in anthropometric assessments. These results indicate that Kinect may be a suitable tool for some measurements but that traditional methods may be preferable for hand length measurements. These findings suggest that Kinect can be used effectively for certain anthropometric measurements in sports and medical science. Graphical Abstract

Within the sporting scope, the relative age effects refer to the possible advantages of participation and performance of athletes born in the first months of the year of selection in relation to others within the same age groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative age effects by comparing athletes in different body weight categories in the Under 15 (U-15) and youth age group athletes (males and females) in weightlifting. By using retrospective competition data from the Turkish Weightlifting Federation database, a total of 954 Olympic-style weightlifters (U15 and Youth age groups), 605 males and 349 females), who competed in the Turkish Weightlifting Championships between 2018 and 2019, were included in this study. The data on the birthdates of the athletes were divided into four quarters. The athletes were divided into three subset weight classes. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test. In males, the relative age effects were determined in lightweight athletes in the under 15 age group (χ²(3)= 10.00, p< .05), in lightweight athletes in the youth age group (χ²(3)= 10.83, p< .05), in middleweight category (χ²(3)= 14.09, p< .01) and heavyweight category (χ²(3)= 12.96, p< .01). However, relative age effects were not present in the female under 15 age group (p>.05). It can be stated that weightlifting athletes, under 15 age and youth age groups (except youth females), born in the first quarter of the year have a higher chance of success in athletic performance.

Microsoft Kinect is an increasingly common tool for low-cost and portable measurement of human movements. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential reliability and reproducibility of Microsoft Kinect Azure in the sit-and-reach test conducted under standardized test conditions in a controlled training environment with elite female weightlifters. The sit-and-reach test was performed with Microsoft Kinect Azure and manual methods and also the reliability and validity were analyzed by comparing the wrist, elbow, shoulder and trunk joint angle measurements with the digital goniometer. Twenty-one healthy female weightlifter athletes who won medals in international championships were included in the study. Sit-and-reach testing was performed using Microsoft Kinect Azure and manual methods in accordance with the standards of the American College of Sports Medicine. The flexion range of motions of each athlete’s wrist, elbow, shoulder and trunk joint angles were measured with a digital goniometer and Microsoft Kinect Azure. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS 25.0 and Python 3.9.12 software. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables, and differences between Kinect and manual methods were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. Linear relationships between measurements were analyzed with Spearman correlation coefficients. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient was calculated for the concordance analysis and presented with Bland-Altman plots. The level of significance was accepted as p < 0.05. The findings suggest that Kinect Azure may provide good reproducibility and agreement with manual goniometric measurements for joint angles under the specific structured conditions tested. For parameters such as the elbow, shoulder, wrist, trunk angles and distance traveled, high ICC values (> 0.90) indicated strong consistency between the methods. Kinect Azure may serve as a reliable alternative to manual measurement methods under standardized testing conditions. Further studies are recommended to examine its generalizability to other populations and test environments.

Aim: Today, the COVID-19 pandemic, which causes deaths in 224 countries around the world, continues to show its effect all over the world. However, unfortunately, there are few studies that determine the effect of natural products derived from plants on COVID-19. However, as it is known, the source of most drugs is plants and medicinal aromatic plants have been used frequently for therapeutic purposes since the existence of humanity. The aim of this study is to investigate the cytotoxic effects of six medicinal plants such as Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.), Laurel (Lauris nobilis), Buckwheat (Lavandula stoechas) and Zahter (Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata) and their antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro conditions. Material and Method: This study was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, plants were collected and extracts were obtained. At the beginning of the second stage, cytotoxic effects on vero cells at non-cytotoxic broad-spectrum concentrations against SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture of six medicinal plants were investigated. In this step, the concentration of six ethnobotanically important medicinal plants that were not cytotoxic to SARS-CoV-2 was determined. In the continuation of the second stage, the plants were evaluated for the determination of viral replication inhibition and their antiviral effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2. In this step, in vitro antiviral effects of plants against SARS-CoV-2 were determined at a concentration that did not show cytotoxic effects.. Results: The concentration of six plants used in the study without cytotoxic effects was determined.. Among the plants examined, it was determined that the only plant that was effective against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro conditions was the licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra). The licorice plant was found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro at the 2nd dilution (1:4) after the initial concentration. Conclusion: According to the findings obtained from our study, it was determined that the licorice plant was effective against the SARS-CoV-2 in vitro conditions. Supported by further studies, it can be thought that our findings may contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, Antiviral Efficacy, Plant Extract, Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.), Laurel (Lauris nobilis), Buckwheat (Lavandula stoechas), Zahter (Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata).

The importance of anthropometric measurements for monitoring the physical development of athletes and optimizing training programs is well known. Considering the limitations of traditional methods in terms of accuracy and consistency, the aim of this study is to investigate the potential of Kinect V2 as an alternative. This study wasperformed on 12 youth female weightlifters who won medals in the Youth European Weightlifting Championship. Humerus length, forearm length, hand length, trochanter-tibiale laterale length, tibial length and shoulder width measurements were performed with both Kinect V2 and manual methods. Statistical differences between groups were evaluated using the Mann–Whitney U test. The consistencies of the measurement methods were analyzed with Bland-Altman plots, correlations were determined with Pearson correlation coefficients, and reliability were evaluated with Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) values. Kinect V2 provided accuracy and consistency comparable to manual methods in measurements of humerus (ICC = 0.532), forearm (ICC = 0.600), and hand length (ICC = 0.760). While medium-level concordance was observed in trochanter-tibiale lateral length measurements (ICC = 0.749), high-level concordance and reliability were found in tibial length (ICC = 0.914) and shoulder width (ICC = 0.869) measurements. There were significant differences between the results of humerus length, forearm length and trochanter-tibiale laterale length obtained with both measurement methods. Therefore, measurements of these parameters require significant care. Findings of this study suggest that Kinect V2 can be a reliable tool for rapid and practical anthropometric assessments in sports settings, but highlight the importance of careful calibration and adjustments for specific measurements. Future studies should examine the use of this device more comprehensively across different sports and populations. Anthropometric measurements are important for monitoring the physical development of athletes and optimizing their training programs. Considering the limitations of traditional methods in terms of accuracy and consistency. Kinect analyzes the movements of athletes during sports education and training processes, making it possible to organize training programs according to individual needs. Kinect V2, which has a high potential for use, especially in medical exercise and clinical applications, also finds a wide range of applications in sports sciences. In this study, a comparative analysis of certain lower and upper extremity anthropometric measurements such as humerus length, forearm length, hand length, trochanter-tibiale laterale length, tibial length and shoulder width of female weightlifting athletes in the youth age category were performed using Kinect V2 and manual methods.