Deficit of Motor Skill Acquisition on the Upper Limb Ipsilesional to the Injured Hemisphere in Individuals with Stroke.

BACKGROUND Movement deficits in limbs ipsilesional to the damaged hemisphere in individuals with stroke have been established through various motor tasks. Nevertheless, there has been little evidence regarding hindrance of motor skill acquisition on the ipsilesional limb in patients with stroke. Therefore, we attempted to demonstrate whether the characteristics of ipsilesional deficits involved motor learning insufficiency in stroke survivors with unilateral brain damage. MATERIAL AND METHODS Thirty-six participants (18 patients with stroke and 18 normal individuals) were recruited. Patients with stroke performed a visuo-spatial tracking task in the upper limb ipsilesional to the injured hemisphere, and normal participants did the same task with the upper limb matched for the same side. The participants were required to track a target sine wave as accurately as possible while the wave was displayed on the computer screen for 15 seconds. An accuracy index was calculated for each of the trials. RESULTS We found that motor skill learning improved in both stroke and normal groups with repetitive practice. However, the normal group exhibited greater motor skill acquisition than in comparison the stroke group for motor skill improvement. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in time effects and time x group interactions. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide evidence that individuals with stroke might have difficulty in performing visuo-spatial movements and acquiring motor skills with the ipsilateral upper limb. Improvement of ipsilesional limb function increases self-care activity in daily life. Therefore, we recommend that clinicians adopt remedial strategies for ipsilesional limbs.

Effects of insoles contact on static balance.

[Purpose] This study examined the effect of the degree of the contact area between the insoles and soles on static balance. [Subjects and Methods] Thirteen healthy male and female adults voluntarily participated. All of the subjects wore three different types of insoles (no orthotic insole, partial contact, full contact) in the present experiment. The subjects were instructed to place both feet parallel to each other and maintain static balance for 30 seconds. Center of pressure parameters (range, total distance, and mean velocity) were analyzed. [Results] The results show that the anteroposterior range and mediolateral (ML) total distance and velocity decreased when orthotic insoles with partial contact or full contact were used in comparison to when a flat insole (no orthotic insole) was used. Also, the ML range and total distance were lower with full contact than in the other two conditions. These results indicate that static balance improves as the degree of contact between the soles and insoles increases. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggests that using insoles with increased sole contact area would improve static balance ability.

In vitro single-vessel enzymatic synthesis of novel Resvera-A glucosides.

An in vitro enzymatic glycosylation system is developed for the efficient synthesis of glucosides of 3,5-dihydroxy-N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) benzamide (resvera-A), a chemically synthesized molecule resembling resveratrol in structure. Resvera-A is a pharamacophore-based designed molecule that exhibits anti-oxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. In this study, an alternative cost-effective uridine diphosphate (UDP) recycling system was established to produce UDP-α-D-glucose through a two-step enzyme-catalyzed reaction using easily available cheap sources. This UDP-α-D-glucose biosynthesis system was combined with a glycosyltransferase (YjiC, from Bacillus licheniformis)-catalyzed reaction for the synthesis of glucoside derivatives of resvera-A. The side product of the glycosylation reaction, UDP, was used as a precursor for the biosynthesis of UDP-α-D-glucose, which is used by YjiC for glycosylation, thus recycling UDP. As a result, two novel molecules, resvera-A 3-O-α-D-glucoside (42.33 mg, 2.10 mM, 0.84 mg/mL) and resvera-A 4'-O-α-D-glucoside (99.38 mg, 4.87 mM, 1.98 mg/mL), were synthesized within 4 h from 50 mL preparative scale reaction using only 0.1 mM of UDP-α-D-glucose, 100 folds lower concentration than the concentration of resvera-A (10 mM) used. Structures of both products were elucidated using liquid chromatography, mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis.

Enzymatic synthesis of lactosylated and sialylated derivatives of epothilone A.

Epothilone A is a derivative of 16-membered polyketide natural product, which has comparable chemotherapeutic effect like taxol. Introduction of sialic acids to these chemotherapeutic agents could generate interesting therapeutic glycoconjugates with significant effects in clinical studies. Since, most of the organisms biosynthesize sialic acids in their cell surface, they are key mediators in cellular events (cell-cell recognition, cell-matrix interactions). Interaction between such therapeutic sugar parts and cellular polysaccharides could generate interesting result in drugs like epothilone A. Based on this hypothesis, epothilone A glucoside (epothilone A 6-O-ß-D-glucoside) was further decorated by conjugating enzymatically galactose followed by sialic acids to generate epothilone A 7-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl, 4'-O-α-D-galactoside i.e., lactosyl epothilone A (lac epoA) and two sialosides of epothilone A namely epothilone A 7-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl, 4'-O-α-D-galactopyranosyl 3″-O-α-N-acetyl neuraminic acid and epothilone A 7-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl, 4'-O-α-D-galactopyranosyl 6″-O-α-N-acetylneuraminic acid i.e., 3'sialyllactosyl epothilone A: 3'SL-epoA, and 6'sialyllactosyl epothilone A: 6'SL-epoA, respectively. These synthesized analogs were spectroscopically analyzed and elucidated, and biologically validated using HUVEC and HCT116 cancer cell lines.

The effects of finger extension on shoulder muscle activity.

[Purpose] This study aims to examine the effects of the extension of the fingers (distal upper limb) on the activity of the shoulder muscles (proximal upper limb). [Subjects and Methods] This study involved 14 healthy male adults with no musculoskeletal disorder or pain related to the shoulders and hands. The subjects in a sitting posture abducted the angle of the shoulder joints at 60° and had their palms in the front direction. Electromyography (EMG) was comparatively analyzed to look at the activities of the infraspinatus (IS) and rhomboid major (RM) when the fingers were extended and relaxed. [Results] The activity of the IS was statistically significantly higher when the fingers were extended than when they were relaxed. [Conclusion] According to the result of this study, finger extension is considered to affect the muscles for connected shoulder joint stability.

Antiangiogenic activity of herboxidiene via downregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α.

Antiangiogenesis is now thought of as one of the most important approaches for anticancer therapy. In this study, we determined the antiangiogenic property of herboxidiene, a polyketide natural product. Herboxidiene effectively inhibited the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) at concentrations not exhibiting cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the natural product significantly suppressed vascular endothelial growth factor-induced invasion and tube formation in HUVECs as well as neovascularization of the chorioallantoic membrane in developing chick embryos. We also identified an association between the antiangiogenic activity of herboxidiene and the downregulation of both the phosphorylation of VEGF receptor 2 (KDR/Flk-1) and the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α at the transcriptional level. These results suggest that herboxidiene functions as a potential antiangiogenic agent and may be applicable for anticancer therapy by targeting tumor angiogenesis.

Effects of stabilization exercises with a Swiss ball on neck-shoulder pain and mobility of adults with prolonged exposure to VDTs.

[Purpose] This study compared the effects on neck-shoulder pain and mobility of strengthening exercises for the neck flexors and scapular retractors performed on a Swiss ball and a mat. [Subjects] Twenty student volunteers were the subjects. [Methods] The students were randomly assigned to two groups: Mat group (n=10), and Swiss ball group (n=10). At pre-test, post-test, and 1-week follow-up pain was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS), the pain pressure threshold (PPT) of the shoulder was measured with an algometer, and neck mobility was measured with a Zebris. [Results] The data analysis revealed that there was a significant decrease in pain and significant increase in neck flexion in both groups, and the Swiss ball group showed better results. [Conclusion] Strengthening the neck flexors and scapular retractors for stabilization of the neck using exercises on a Swiss ball was more effective at reducing the pain and stabilizing the neck than mat exercises.

Effects of external focus of attention on balance: a short review.

[Purpose] The present study reviewed studies that examined the effects of attentional focus on balance. [Methods] Keywords such as "attentional", "focus", and "balance" were used to find relevant research papers in PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed). Forty-five papers were found, and 18 of them were used for this study, excluding review papers and papers irrelevant to the topic of this study. [Results] Among the papers used for the review, the number of papers in which external focus produced effective outcomes was 15 (83.3%). The number of papers in which both external and internal focus produced effective outcomes was 2 (11.1%). The number of paper in which no instruction about attentional focus was effective was 1 (5.5%), and the number of papers in which internal focus was effective was zero. [Conclusion] This short review suggests clinical implications about how physical therapists can use attentional focus for balance rehabilitation of patients. Instructions about external focus of attention can generally be useful as a method to improve posture and balance control. Furthermore, the present reviews indicates that external focus of attention would be more useful in a rehabilitation stage in which the difficulty level of balance performance is gradually increased.

Enzymatic Biosynthesis of Novel Resveratrol Glucoside and Glycoside Derivatives.

A UDP glucosyltransferase from Bacillus licheniformis was overexpressed, purified, and incubated with nucleotide diphosphate (NDP) d- and l-sugars to produce glucose, galactose, 2-deoxyglucose, viosamine, rhamnose, and fucose sugar-conjugated resveratrol glycosides. Significantly higher (90%) bioconversion of resveratrol was achieved with α-d-glucose as the sugar donor to produce four different glucosides of resveratrol: resveratrol 3-O-ß-d-glucoside, resveratrol 4'-O-ß-d-glucoside, resveratrol 3,5-O-ß-d-diglucoside, and resveratrol 3,5,4'-O-ß-d-triglucoside. The conversion rates and numbers of products formed were found to vary with the other NDP sugar donors. Resveratrol 3-O-ß-d-2-deoxyglucoside and resveratrol 3,5-O-ß-d-di-2-deoxyglucoside were found to be produced using TDP-2-deoxyglucose as a donor; however, the monoglycosides resveratrol 4'-O-ß-d-galactoside, resveratrol 4'-O-ß-d-viosaminoside, resveratrol 3-O-ß-l-rhamnoside, and resveratrol 3-O-ß-l-fucoside were produced from the respective sugar donors. Altogether, 10 diverse glycoside derivatives of the medically important resveratrol were generated, demonstrating the capacity of YjiC to produce structurally diverse resveratrol glycosides.