A pilot randomised controlled trial on the effectiveness of infant massage on the acceptance, commitment and awareness of influence in parents of babies with Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The emotional state of parents of babies with Down syndrome affects their babies' development and their parent-child bonding. The aim for this study was to conduct a pilot randomised controlled evaluation of the effect of infant massage on parents of babies with Down syndrome. METHODS: This pilot study compared two groups (intervention and control), each with 16 parents of babies with Down syndrome. Indices of acceptance, engagement and awareness of influence were measured at two different time points (pre-test and after 5 weeks) using the 'This Is My Baby' Interview. The allocation of families to each group was randomised. The experimental group performed infant massage, applied by the parents, for 5 weeks, every day for at least 10 min. The massage protocol was based on the methodology created by Vimala McClure. Parents in the control group received the intervention after completion of the study. RESULTS: The indices of acceptance, commitment and awareness of influence improved in the experimental group and in the control group. The 2 × 2 mixed-model analysis of variance indicates a statistically significant group-by-time interaction for all indices (P < 0.001), which was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The application of infant massage, by parents to their babies, improves the rates of acceptance, commitment and awareness of influence of parents of babies with Down syndrome in the short term.

Obstacles to compassion-giving among nursing and midwifery managers: an international study.

AIM: To explore nursing and midwifery managers' views regarding obstacles to compassion-giving across country cultures. BACKGROUND: The benefit of compassionate leadership is being advocated, but despite the fact that health care is invariably conducted within culturally diverse workplaces, the interconnection of culture, compassion and leadership is rarely addressed. Furthermore, evidence on how cultural factors hinder the expression of compassion among nursing and midwifery managers is lacking. METHODS: Cross-sectional, exploratory, international online survey involving 1 217 participants from 17 countries. Managers' responses on open-ended questions related to barriers for providing compassion were entered and thematically analysed through NVivo. RESULTS: Three key themes related to compassion-giving obstacles emerged across countries: 1. related to the managers' personal characteristics and experiences; 2. system-related; and 3. staff-related. CONCLUSIONS: Obstacles to compassion-giving among managers vary across countries. An understanding of the variations across countries and cultures of what impedes compassion to flourish in health care is important. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE AND POLICY: Nursing mangers should wisely use their power by adopting leadership styles that promote culturally competent and compassionate workplaces with respect for human rights. Policymakers should identify training and mentoring needs to enable the development of managers' practical wisdom. Appropriate national and international policies should facilitate the establishment of standards and guidelines for compassionate leadership, in the face of distorted organizational cultures and system-related obstacles to compassion-giving.

Bioactivity and Bioavailability of the Major Metabolites of Crocus sativus L. Flower.

Crocus sativus L. has been cultivated throughout history to obtain its flowers, whose dried stigmas give rise to the spice known as saffron. Crocetin esters, picrocrocin, and safranal are the main metabolites of this spice, which possess a great bioactivity, although the mechanisms of action and its bioavailability are still to be solved. The rest of the flower is composed by style, tepals, and stamens that have other compounds, such as kaempferol and delphinidin, which have an important antioxidant capacity, and these can be applied in foods, phytopharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The aim of this work was to provide an updated and critical review of the research on the main compounds of Crocus sativus L. flower, including the adequate analytical methods for their identification and quantification, with a focus on their bioactivity and bioavailability.

Vine-Shoot Tannins: Effect of Post-pruning Storage and Toasting Treatment.

For the first time vine-shoot tannin composition was carried out by means of HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. Two vine-shoot cultivars (Airén and Cencibel) with different post-pruning storage times were submitted to a toasting process and assayed. There were no traces of gallotannins nor ellagitannins, but a high proanthocyanidin content and a mean degree of polymerization (mDP) close to 3 were characterized. The higher concentration of proanthocyanidins corresponded to Airén after 6 months post-pruning storage and at 3 months for Cencibel. Procyanidins were the most abundant fraction (70-95%), which decreased with storage, and especially significant was the contribution of B1, B2, and B4 dimers. Prodelphinidins were also found (8-24%), increasing their % with storage time. Toasting produced a considerable reduction of proanthocyanidin content and a loss of a monomer mDP unit, suggesting that if used as oenological tannins, then they may be more bitter and less astringent when compared with the nontoasted vine-shoot samples.

The impacts of temperature, alcoholic degree and amino acids content on biogenic amines and their precursor amino acids content in red wine.

The aim was to study how factors such as temperature, alcoholic degree, and amino acids supplementation are able to influence the content of tyramine, histamine, 2-phenylethylamine, tryptamine and their precursor amino acids in winemaking process. Biogenic amines and amino acids were quantified at the beginning, middle and end of alcoholic fermentation, and at the end of malolactic fermentation. In general, samples produced with amino acid supplementation did not show the highest concentrations of biogenic amines, except for histamine, which content increased with the addition of the four amino acids. The synthesis of tyramine was mainly affected by the temperature and alcoholic degree, the formation of phenylethylamine was largely influenced by alcoholic degree, and tryptamine synthesis principally depended on temperature. Interestingly, there was interaction between these three factors for the biogenic amines studied. In conclusion, winemaking conditions should be established depending on the biogenic amine which synthesis is required to be controlled.

Moscatel vine-shoot extracts as a grapevine biostimulant to enhance wine quality.

Non-aromatic vine-shoot extracts (Airén) has been recently proposed as "viticultural biostimulants" when applied to grapevine. In this paper, the application of extracts from non-toasted (MVS) and toasted (MVSToasted) vine-shoots from the well-known aromatic variety such Moscatel were applied on Airén grapevine leaves, observing an increased for grape yield and wines with a lower alcohol degree. All wines at the end of the alcoholic fermentation were characterized by their fruity and floral descriptors, especially MVS wines; and 4 months later, MSV and MVSToasted wines surprised by their higher spicy notes, which correspond with the highest OAVs values for compounds such as norisoprenoids (ß-damascenone), vanillin derivatives (vanillin, acetovanillone) and volatile phenols (guaiacol, syringol), compared to control wine. Wine phenolic composition was affected positively over all by MVS in case of phenolic acids. These results confirm that Moscatel vine-shoot extracts foliar application into Airén non-aromatic grapevines produce an interesting enhance on wine quality.

Accumulation of guaiacol glycoconjugates in fruit, leaves and shoots of Vitis vinifera cv. Monastrell following foliar applications of guaiacol or oak extract to grapevines.

Previous studies have shown that volatile compounds present within a vineyard during the growing season can be absorbed by grapevines, assimilated within grapes, and then released during fermentation to influence the final aroma of wine. For example, the accumulation of volatile phenols in glycoconjugate forms following grapevine exposure to bushfire smoke, and their subsequent release during winemaking. This study investigated the accumulation of guaiacol glycoconjugates in the fruit, shoots and leaves of Monastrell grapevines following foliar applications (at veraison) of either an aqueous solution of guaiacol or an aqueous oak extract. Fruit, shoot and leaf samples were then collected at 3 time points between veraison and maturity, and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, to quantify guaiacol and its glycoconjugates, respectively. Guaiacol glycoconjugates were observed in fruit and leaves in particular, demonstrating glycosylation occurred after grapevine treatment; however, different glycoconjugate profiles were apparent.

Effect of toasting on non-volatile and volatile vine-shoots low molecular weight phenolic compounds.

Low molecular weight phenolic compounds (LMWPC), including non-volatile and volatile, of Airén and Moscatel vine-shoot cultivars waste submitted to different toasting conditions (light, 180°/15min; medium, 180°/30min; high 180°/45min) were studied in order to exploit them with oenological purposes. The LMWPC differences were mainly due to the toasting times rather than vine-shoot variety. In non-volatile LMWPC fraction, flavanols and almost all phenolic acids decreased by toasting. The presence of trans-resveratrol has a special relevance at light toasting: 14 times more concentrated in Airén and 6 times in Moscatel vine-shoots, than their respective non-toasted samples. The volatile LMWPC showed a significant increment with toasting, being vanillin the one with the highest difference respect to non-toasted samples at high conditions: more than 15 times in Airén and 11 in Moscatel. Although toasting reduced some LMWPC, particular characteristics of these vine-shoots must be taken into account when considering its future use.

Vine-shoot waste aqueous extract applied as foliar fertilizer to grapevines: Effect on amino acids and fermentative volatile content.

The aim of this work was to study the influence of foliar applications of different wood aqueous extracts on the amino acid content of musts and wines from Airén variety; and to study their relationship with the volatile compounds formed during alcoholic fermentation. For this purpose, the foliar treatments proposed were a vine-shoot aqueous extract applied in one and two times, and an oak extract which was only applied once. Results obtained show the potential of Airén vine-shoot waste aqueous extracts to be used as foliar fertilizer, enhancing the wine amino acid content especially when they were applied once. Similar results were observed with the aqueous oak extract. Regarding wine fermentative volatile compounds, there is a close relationship between musts and their wines amino acid content allowing us to discuss about the role of proline during the alcoholic fermentation and the generation of certain volatiles.

Factors influencing the formation of histaminol, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, and tryptophol in wine: Temperature, alcoholic degree, and amino acids concentration.

The validation of a HPLC-PDA-MS/MS chromatographic method for the quali/quantitative characterization of histaminol, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, and tryptophol in wine has been described and discussed. Four standards showed a good linearity with high correlation coefficient values (over 0.9989) and LOD and LOQ were 0.001-0.015 mg/L and 0.004-0.045 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, this study reported how factors such as temperature, alcoholic degree, and amino acids concentration are able to influence the formation of these four alcohols in Monastrell wines. The quantification values of these alcohols has been detected both at the half and end of alcoholic fermentation, and at the end of malolactic fermentation. In relation to interactions between factors, several significant variations emerged (p ⩽ 0.001). The impact of amino acids supplementation in Monastrell must it has been demonstrated, mainly in regards to histaminol and tryptophol.

Accumulation of Glycoconjugates of 3-Methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic Acid in Fruits, Leaves, and Shoots of Vitis vinifera cv. Monastrell following Foliar Applications of Oak Extract or Oak Lactone.

Grapevines are capable of absorbing volatile compounds present in the vineyard during the growing season, and in some cases, volatiles have been found to accumulate in fruits or leaves in glycoconjugate forms, that is, with one or more sugar moieties attached. The presence of oak lactone in wine is usually attributable to oak maturation, but oak lactone has been detected in wines made with fruit from grapevines treated with oak extract or oak lactone. This study investigated the accumulation of glycoconjugates of 3-methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic acid (i.e., the ring-opened form of oak lactone) in the fruits, leaves, and shoots of Monastrell grapevines following foliar application of either oak extract or oak lactone at approximately 7 days postveraison. Fruits, leaves, and shoots were collected at three different time points, including at maturity. The oak lactone content of fruit was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, with declining concentrations observed in fruit from grapevines treated with oak lactone with ripening. The concentrations of a ß-d-glucopyranoside of 3-methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic acid in fruits, leaves, and shoots was determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, with the highest oak lactone glucoside levels observed in leaves of grapevines treated with oak lactone. A glucose-glucose disaccharide was also tentatively identified. These results demonstrate both ring-opening and glycosylation of oak lactone occurred after experimental treatments were imposed.

Vine-shoot waste aqueous extracts for re-use in agriculture obtained by different extraction techniques: phenolic, volatile, and mineral compounds.

Vine-shoots are an important waste in all viticulture areas that should be re-used with innovative applications. The aim of this work was to produce Airén waste vine-shoot aqueous extracts by four solid-liquid extraction techniques such as conventional solid-liquid extraction (CSLE), solid-liquid dynamic extraction (SLDE-Naviglio), microwave extraction (ME), and pressurized solvent extraction (PSE). Their chemical composition was studied in terms of phenolic, volatile, and mineral compounds. The highest concentrated extracts corresponded to CSLE and SLDE-Naviglio, independent of the conditions tested. The CSLE extracts had the highest flavanols, phenolic acids, and stilbenes contents. The volatile composition, quantified for first time in this work, shows that furanic compounds were the most abundant. All extracts showed an interesting mineral content, which may be assimilated by plants. These results show the agricultural potential of Airén vine-shoot waste aqueous extracts to be used as grape biostimulants and/or foliar fertilizer.

Glycosidic aroma precursors of Syrah and Chardonnay grapes after an oak extract application to the grapevines.

Syrah and Chardonnay grapevines were treated with an oak extract in order to determine the effect on glycosidic aroma precursors. Grapevines were treated at three different timings of the veraison (treatment 1, 2 and 3). Aglycons were obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis, and these were identified and quantified by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results suggest that after the applications the majority of compounds from the oak extract were assimilated and stored as glycosidic forms in both cultivars. Also, other compounds not present in the extract were affected, with a different behaviour observed depending on the timing of application and the variety. In general, C6 compounds, alcohols, terpenes, phenols and C13-norisoprenoids in Syrah showed a decrease and in Chardonnay an increase. Thus, this study proved a change in the glycosidic aroma profile in grapes after the oak application, so these treated grapes could produce wines with different aromatic quality.

La Fibromialgia: consideraciones Generales. Revisión / Fibromyalgia: general considerations. Review

Introducción: La fibromialgia es un síndrome clínico, de etiología desconocida, que se caracteriza por la presencia de dolor crónico a nivel del sistema músculo-esquelético, con aparición difusa e incapacitante, que suele acompañarse de otros síntomas como fatiga, alteraciones del sueño, rigidez, jaquecas, colon irritable, depresión, ansiedad o parestesias en los miembros, llegándose también a describir trastornos del equilibrio. Objetivos: Realizar una descripción actualizada de los aspectos clínicos relevantes relativos a la Fibromialgia. Material y Métodos: Realizamos una búsqueda bibliográfica en las bases de datos Medline, Proquest y Scopus, utilizando los términos «fibromialgia», «manual therapy» y «osteopathy». Resultados: Estudio de revisión sistemática, retrospectivo, con una muestra de análisis bibliográfico integrado por 15 artículos (n=15) que cumplieron los criterios de selección en dos fases de análisis, lo cual supone el 4,54 % del total de artículos encontrados (n=330) y el 12 % de los artículos que cumplieron los criterios de selección (n=120) (inclusión y exclusión). La fibromialgia es una enfermedad de causa desconocida y tiene una presentación con múltiples síntomas, destacando entre ellos la aparición de dolor. Se presenta en el rango del 1% al 5% de la población. La causa podría estar en la alteración de los distintos niveles de procesamiento y modulación del dolor en el sistema nervioso central. Los criterios diagnósticos utilizados desde 1990 están siendo cuestionados. Conclusiones: El abordaje terapéutico actualmente se basa en disminuir la intensidad de los síntomas y no existe, por el momento, ningún tratamiento con una efectividad destacable por encima del resto de los utilizados, debiéndose tratar al paciente desde un equipo multidisciplinar (AU)

Introduction: Fibromyalgia is a clinical syndrome of an unknown etiology, characterized by the presence of diffuse and incapacitating chronic musculoskeletal pain that is normally accompanied by other symptoms like fatigue, sleep alterations, stiffness, severe headache, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, anxiety or paresthesia of the extremities and possible balance disorders. Objectives: To present an updated description of the relevant clinical aspects of fibromyalgia. Material and methods: We performed a literature search using Medline, ProQuest and Scopus databases, and the terms «fibromyalgia», «manual therapy» and «osteopathy». Results: A retrospective, systematic review study with a sample for literature analysis, comprising 15 articles (n=15) and satisfying the screening criteria in two phases of analysis. These 15 articles represent 4.54% of the total number of found articles (n=330), and 12% of the articles fulfilling the screening criteria (n=120) (inclusion and exclusion). Fibromyalgia is a disease of an unknown cause that manifests multiple symptoms, particularly the onset of pain. The prevalence of the disease is between 1% and 5% of the population. One possible cause could be the alteration of the various levels of pain processing and modulation in the central nervous system. The diagnostic criteria used since 1990 are being questioned. Conclusions: The treatment approach is currently based on reducing the intensity of the symptoms. At present, no one's treatment presents outstanding effectiveness with respect to the others used, and the patient, thus, requires a treatment applied by a multidisciplinary team (AU)

Analysis of red grape glycosidic aroma precursors by glycosyl glucose quantification.

A method has been developed to analyse the glycosidic aroma precursor of non aromatic red grapes in terms of glucose GG. Due to the matrix interferences, an extract free of glycosylated polyphenols (especially anthocyanins and flavonols) and free glucose has been prepared. Such interferences have been eliminated by combining the use of Oasis MCX SPE and Fehling reagent. The glycosyl aroma precursor's fraction was subjected to an acidic hydrolysis (pH 1, 100°C, 1h), where equimolecular proportions of glucose (glucose GG) were released from their respective aglycones and quantified HPLC-IR. Compared with methods that require detailed analysis of the volatile aglycones, this one is able to estimate with good reproducibility the potential aroma of grapes by the only measurement of glucose GG.

Effect of oak extract application to Verdejo grapevines on grape and wine aroma.

Volatile compounds from a commercial aqueous oak extract application to white Verdejo grapevines at veraison have been studied. Treated grapes under two types of formulation (25% and 100%) have been analyzed at the optimum maturation time, and winemaking was then subsequently carried out. The volatile compounds were analyzed by stir bar sorptive extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results suggest that after the grapevine treatments, grapes store the volatiles in the form of nonvolatile precursors, and some of the volatiles are released during the winemaking process, especially six months after the alcoholic fermentation. The sensory analysis shows that wines maintain the typical aroma properties of Verdejo wines at the end of fermentation; but after six months, the wine color is greener and more astringent, and, in terms of aroma, it has wooden notes as if the wine has been aged in oak barrels.

Tratamiento de la mano hemipléjica con el sistema handmaster / Treatament of the hemiplegia hand with Handmaster system

El Handmaster es un sistema híbrido de electroestimulación funcional y ortesis del miembro superior que se ha desarrollado como tratamiento para restaurar la función de la mano afectada en la hemiplejía del accidente cerebrovascular (ACV) y del traumatismo craneoencefálico (TCE) y en la tetraplejía C5. Hemos probado su eficacia en cuatro pacientes con hemiparesia espástica secundaria a ACV y TCE. Se evaluaron diveross parámetros en la extremidad superior afecta: postura, rangos de movimiento activo y pasivo y nivel de espasticidad según la escala modificada de Ashworth. El tratamiento se inició en el hospital, formando parte de um protocolo incluido en un equipo interdisciplinario llevado a cabo entre varios hospitales, dentro del que ha formado parte nuestro hospital.Dos de estos pacientes continúan en la actualidad en trtamiento con este sistema en nuestro hospital

Irritant contact dermatitis caused by needle-like calcium oxalate crystals, raphides, in Agave tequilana among workers in tequila distilleries and agave plantations.

It was found that needle-like calcium oxalate crystals, raphides, are found abundantly in all tissues of Agave tequilana plants; thus, 1 droplet (0.03 ml) of juice pressed from leaves contains 100-150 crystals, 30-500 microm in length, sharpened at both ends. In tequila distilleries, 5/6 of the workers who handle the agave stems have experienced the characteristic irritation. In contrast, only 1/3 of workers in agave plantations who harvest agave plants, complain of the irritation. It is confirmed that all the irritation suffered in both distilleries and plantations takes place at bodily locations where the plants come into contact with the worker's skin in the course of their work.

Papel del fisioterapeuta en una asociación de Parkinson / Role of physiotherapy in a Parkinson's associations

La enfermedad de Parkinson se manifiesta básicamente por la presencia de temblor, rigidez muscular, lentificación y dificultad para iniciar el movimiento.Los medios de los que dispone la Fisioterapia son muy variados, pero generalmente, y por desgracia, los enfermos de Parkinson no suelen seguir un programa de Fisioterapia controlado en una sala adaptada para este fin.Por ello hemos dirigido nuestro trabajo hacia las posibilidades que tienen los pacientes de mejorar/mantener los síntomas de su enfermedad, beneficiándose de sesiones de Fisioterapia en aquellas asociaciones que cuenten con este programa.A continuación mostramos nuestra experiencia de trabajo como fisioterapeutas en la Asociación de Parkinson de Málaga. (AU)

Cloning of a new mouse two-P domain channel subunit and a human homologue with a unique pore structure.

Mouse KCNK6 is a new subunit belonging to the TWIK channel family. This 335-amino acid polypeptide has four transmembrane segments, two pore-forming domains, and a Ca2+-binding EF-hand motif. Expression of KCNK6 transcripts is principally observed in eyes, lung, stomach and embryo. In the eyes, immunohistochemistry reveals protein expression only in some of the retina neurons. Although KCNK6 is able to dimerize as other functional two-P domain K+ channels when it is expressed in COS-7 cells, it remains in the endoplasmic reticulum and is unable to generate ionic channel activity. Deletions, mutations, and chimera constructions suggest that KCNK6 is not an intracellular channel but rather a subunit that needs to associate with a partner, which remains to be discovered, in order to reach the plasma membrane. A closely related human KCNK7-A subunit has been cloned. KCNK7 displays an intriguing GLE sequence in its filter region instead of the G(Y/F/L)G sequence, which is considered to be the K+ channel signature. This subunit is alternatively spliced and gives rise to the shorter forms KCNK7-B and -C. None of the KCNK7 structures can generate channel activity by itself. The KCNK7 gene is situated on chromosome 11, in the q13 region, where several candidate diseases have been identified.