Adapted Portuguese folk dance intervention for subacute rehabilitation post-stroke: study protocol.

Dance can be an innovative, well-accepted, and effective therapy for stroke survivors. The present protocol aims to assess the feasibility of adapted Portuguese folk dance as a post stroke rehabilitative activity. We will use a mixed-methods pilot study convenience sampling to recruit 16 stroke survivors with mild-moderate lower limb paresis from a rehabilitation center in Lisbon and Tagus Valley. In addition to usual care, participants will attend 3 days per week 1-h dance exercise for 8 weeks. The dance style used for this intervention will be an adaptation of the Portuguese folk dance. Assessment will be conducted before and immediately after the program intervention. Acceptability will be assessed by four key domains (enrollment, retention, satisfaction, and recommendation to others). Safety will be assessed based on the number and type of adverse events. Feasibility will be assessed based on balance performance and functional mobility. Quantitative data will be analyzed through descriptive statistics for sample characterization, followed by inferential statistics to evaluate differences in the balance recovery and functional mobility scores between the initial and final assessment. Qualitative data will be analyzed using an inductive process of content analysis. The Portuguese folk dance program has the potential to improve balance outcomes and functional mobility. Our results will help validate Portuguese folk dance as a tool for rehabilitation settings for stroke survivors. The potential of our program to enhance balance outcomes and functional mobility among stroke survivors bears implications for aging and public health initiatives. Positive results from this study could pave the way for integrating dance-based rehabilitative activities into standard stroke rehabilitation protocols, catering to older stroke survivors' specific needs and preferences.

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench: Chemical Characterization and Bioactivity of Its Extracts and Fractions.

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench is widely known for its medicinal properties, being one of the most used medicinal plants for its immunostimulant properties. Nevertheless, there is still scarce information on its cytotoxic activity. Thus, this study aims at evaluating the cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activity of several aqueous and organic extracts of the aerial parts of this plant and chemically characterizing the obtained extracts. The analysis was performed by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. Fifteen compounds were identified; of these, seven were phenolic acids and eight were flavonoids. Non-polar compounds were evaluated by GC/MS, with a total of sixty-four compounds identified, and the most abundant groups were the sterols, fatty acids and long-chain hydrocarbons. The highest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by the dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and acetone extracts. Dichloromethane and n-hexane extracts showed the highest cytotoxic activity. Therefore, they were fractionated, and the obtained fractions were also assessed for their cytotoxicity. Notwithstanding, the cytotoxicity of the extracts was superior to that of the obtained fractions, evidencing a possible synergistic effect of different compounds in the whole extracts.

Yangambin and Epi-yangambin Isomers: New Purification Method from Ocotea fasciculata and First Cytotoxic Aspects Focusing on In Vivo Safety.

Ocotea fasciculata presents yangambin (YAN) and its isomer epi-yangambin (EPI-YAN) as major lignans, which are employed as the plant markers for quality control purposes and as potential pharmacological compounds. However, a gap between the pure isomers and safety and efficacy protocols is faced by the scientific community. In this context, this work aimed to report (i) a new and advantageous purifying process in a semi-preparative scale for YAN and EPI-YAN isolation from Ocotea fasciculata, and (ii) an in vitro cytotoxicity study to estimate, for the first time, the LD50 values of the isolated epimers, as well as the influence of albumin concentration in cell culture medium. The best condition for epimers isolation was achieved in normal-phase liquid chromatography. The lignan fraction (LF), previously obtained from the plant ethanolic extract, was purified yielding 17% and 29% of YAN and EPI-YAN, respectively. The in vitro study demonstrated that YAN and EPI-YAN were safe, and only at the highest concentration studied, a decrease on cell viability was observed. The estimated LD50 value was higher than 1612 mg/kg for both epimers. The LF, on the other hand, demonstrated an estimated LD50 of 422 mg/kg. Lignan cytotoxicity studies also evidenced that the higher cell viability was related to the higher concentration of fetal bovine serum as a source of albumin in medium. This is the first time the LD50 and safety of the isolated epimers were estimated, opening up great perspectives of success in in vivo studies.

Evaluation of reduced susceptibility to quaternary ammonium compounds and bisbiguanides in clinical isolates and laboratory-generated mutants of Staphylococcus aureus.

The MICs and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) for the biocides benzalkonium chloride and chlorhexidine were determined against 1,602 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. Both compounds showed unimodal MIC and MBC distributions (2 and 4 or 8 mg/liter, respectively) with no apparent subpopulation with reduced susceptibility. To investigate further, all isolates were screened for qac genes, and 39 of these also had the promoter region of the NorA multidrug-resistant (MDR) efflux pump sequenced. The presence of qacA, qacB, qacC, and qacG genes increased the mode MIC, but not MBC, to benzalkonium chloride, while only qacA and qacB increased the chlorhexidine mode MIC. Isolates with a wild-type norA promoter or mutations in the norA promoter had similar biocide MIC distributions; notably, not all clinical isolates with norA mutations were resistant to fluoroquinolones. In vitro efflux mutants could be readily selected with ethidium bromide and acriflavine. Multiple passages were necessary to select mutants with biocides, but these mutants showed phenotypes comparable to those of mutants selected by dyes. All mutants showed changes in the promoter region of norA, but these were distinct from this region of the clinical isolates. Still, none of the in vitro mutants displayed fitness defects in a killing assay in Galleria mellonella larvae. In conclusion, our data provide an in-depth comparative overview on efflux in S. aureus mutants and clinical isolates, showing also that plasmid-encoded efflux pumps did not affect bactericidal activity of biocides. In addition, current in vitro tests appear not to be suitable for predicting levels of resistance that are clinically relevant.

A simple method for the determination of bioactive antioxidants in virgin olive oils.

BACKGROUND: The importance of olive polyphenols as bioactive compounds has grown in recent years as a result of intensive research on their anticancer, antiatherosclerotic and antihypertensive activities. However, there is currently no official method for determining the content of polyphenols in olive oils because of the technical difficulties in their determination. Here a simple method for the analysis of extra virgin olive oil o-diphenols by visible spectrometry is proposed and compared with the traditional method of solid phase extraction followed by colorimetric determination using sodium molybdate or Folin-Ciocalteu reagent or by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis using UV detection. This new approach to determining total o-diphenolic compounds exploits the oxidation of o-diphenols to quinones in a basic medium. RESULTS: Preliminary results showed a better correlation between the total o-diphenol determination by HPLC and by the proposed method (R(2) = 0.9229) than between the total o-diphenol determination by HPLC and by the molybdate colorimetric method (R(2) = 0.8689). A good correlation was also observed between the total phenolic content determined by HPLC and by the proposed method (R(2) = 0.8196), but this correlation was a little lower than the one obtained between the HPLC method and the Folin-Ciocalteu method (R(2) = 0.8752). CONCLUSION: The proposed method involves very little sample manipulation, requires inexpensive reagents and can be performed in less than 40 min for several samples at the same time, using olive oil samples of only 1-2 g.

Regional lymphomatoid papulosis in a child--treatment with a UVB phototherapy handpiece.

Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is a rare skin lymphoproliferative disorder that has been reported only rarely in children. It is included in the World Health Organization classification of cutaneous lymphomas. We report a case of LyP in a 13-year-old Caucasian girl who presented with a 6-month history of recurrent papular lesions on the left upper arm. Histopathologic examination showed a diffuse cellular infiltration of small and medium-sized T lymphocytes CD30+ in the superficial dermis. Treatment was started using a UVB phototherapy handpiece (twice weekly), with resolution of the lesions after 6 weeks of treatment. There was a relapse after 9 months with a good response after six more sessions of treatment. The patient is in good health without lesions after 12 months of follow-up.

Letter: Association of targeted intense pulse light system UVA1-UVB and fluticasone in the treatment of vitiligo: Prospective study of 10 patients.

Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder treated frequently with PUVA and narrowband UVB phototherapy. These total body treatments are associated with side-effects in the lesional or nonlesional skin. A prospective study using a novel multiwavelength targeted Intense Pulse Light System UVA1-UVB in association with fluticasone cream was undertaken. Of the ten patients who participated in the study, only eight completed it. Four patients had grade 1 improvement (1-25%); one had grade 3 (51-75%); two had worsening of the lesions after sun exposure; one had no skin repigmentation.