Publications by authors named "Ana C Fonseca"

Actinomycetota are unrivalled producers of bioactive natural products, with strains living in association with macroalgae representing a prolific-yet largely unexplored-source of specialised chemicals. In this work, we have investigated the bioactive potential of Actinomycetota from macroalgae through culture-dependent and -independent approaches. A bioprospecting pipeline was applied to a collection of 380 actinobacterial strains, recovered from two macroalgae species collected in the Portuguese northern shore-Codium tomentosum and Chondrus crispus-in order to explore their ability to produce antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer and lipid-reducing compounds.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cervical artery dissection (CeAD) is a leading cause of ischemic strokes in young adults, and this study explored the effects of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) on patients with CeAD and stroke symptoms.
  • Analyzed data from the STOP-CAD study, it found that IVT significantly improved functional independence after 90 days in patients without increasing the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage.
  • The results suggest that IVT is a beneficial treatment for eligible patients with CeAD, aligning with current medical guidelines on its use.
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Background: Incidence of cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CIS) in young adults is increasing. Early left atrial (LA) myopathy might be 1 of the underlying mechanisms, but this has only been scarcely explored.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between increased LA stiffness and CIS in young adults.

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Background: The underlying risk factors for young-onset cryptogenic ischaemic stroke (CIS) remain unclear. This multicentre study aimed to explore the association between heavy alcohol consumption and CIS with subgroup analyses stratified by sex and age.

Methods: Altogether, 540 patients aged 18-49 years (median age 41; 47.

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The transition from fossil fuels is in part limited by our inability to store energy at different scales. Batteries are therefore in high demand, and we need them to store more energy, be more reliable, durable and have less social and environmental impact. Silica-poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite aerogels doped with sodium perchlorate were synthesized as novel electrolytes for potential application in solid-state sodium batteries.

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Objectives: The cerebral vessels may be affected in primary systemic vasculitis (PSV), but little is known about cerebrovascular events (CVEs) in this population. This study aimed to determine the frequency of CVEs at the time of diagnosis of PSV, to identify factors associated with CVEs in PSV, and to explore features and outcomes of stroke in patients with PSV.

Methods: Data from adults newly diagnosed with PSV within the Diagnostic and Classification Criteria in VASculitis (DCVAS) study were analysed.

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Background: Small, randomized trials of patients with cervical artery dissection showed conflicting results regarding optimal stroke prevention strategies. We aimed to compare outcomes in patients with cervical artery dissection treated with antiplatelets versus anticoagulation.

Methods: This is a multicenter observational retrospective international study (16 countries, 63 sites) that included patients with cervical artery dissection without major trauma.

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Accurately predicting functional outcomes in stroke patients remains challenging yet clinically relevant. While brain CTs provide prognostic information, their practical value for outcome prediction is unclear. We analyzed a multi-center cohort of 743 ischemic stroke patients (<72 h onset), including their admission brain NCCT and CTA scans as well as their clinical data.

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Purpose Of Review: To review the evidence regarding stroke and recent myocardial infarction (MI), reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular thrombus (LVT), and wall motion abnormalities (WMA).

Recent Findings: The risk of ischemic stroke associated with acute MI has been greatly reduced with reperfusion treatments that improved myocardium salvage. Acute ischemic stroke is an uncommon complication of diagnostic coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention.

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Background: The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) does not equitably assess stroke severity in the two cerebral hemispheres. By attributing a maximum of two points for neglect and seven for language, it undervalues right hemisphere deficits. We aimed to investigate if NIHSS equally predicts right hemisphere lesion volumes in patients with and without neglect, and if a modification of the neglect scoring rules could increase its predictive capacity.

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Introduction: Carotid webs (CaWs) are increasingly recognized as a cause of cryptogenic acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Due to the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke associated with CaW, it is important to identify them. Although several studies report digital subtraction angiography and computerized tomography angiography (CTA) to be better at diagnosing CaW than Doppler ultrasound (DUS), it remains to be defined which is the best radiological method to diagnose CaW.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The hair follicle (HF) contains multipotent stem cells and traditional hair repair methods like drugs and transplants have limitations, leading to exploration of advanced nanotechnology for HF regeneration.
  • - Recent research has identified wound-induced hair neogenesis (WIHN) as a promising mechanism for hair follicle regeneration, expanding the understanding beyond embryonic development.
  • - The review discusses various nanotechnology strategies for targeted hair regeneration, covering areas such as hair cycle modulation, progenitor cell stimulation, and the potential regulatory challenges in developing these technologies.
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Purpose: Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) are often complicated by vasospasm and ischemia. Monitoring with transcranial color-coded Doppler (TCCD) could be useful, but its role is not established. We studied the incidence of ultrasonographic vasospasm (uVSP) in PRES/RCVS and its relationship with ischemic lesions and clinical outcome.

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The treatment of burn wounds remains a clinical challenge due to the need for repeated dressings changes. Therefore, the development of a dressing system that can be atraumatically removed from the wound bed can be considered a breakthrough and improve treatment times. In this work, the development of an injectable, fast-gelling hydrogel is proposed that can change its mechanical properties when exposed to visible light.

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Introduction: The recommended cardiac rhythm evaluation to determine the etiology of ischemic stroke (IS) is similar in all patients regardless of their age and includes an electrocardiogram and at least a 24-hour heart rhythm monitoring. However, it is known that the main causes of IS vary according to patients' age. There is a higher preponderance of arterial dissections and patent foramen ovale in younger patients, while atrial fibrillation (AF) is more common in older patients.

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Intracranial and extracranial large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA) are a main cause of ischemic stroke. Biomarkers may aid in the diagnosis of LAA and help to stratify patients' risk of stroke. We performed a narrative review of the literature, mainly published in the last five years, with the aim of identifying biomarkers associated either with intracranial or extracranial LAA in humans.

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This study investigates the osteogenic differentiation of umbilical-cord-derived human mesenchymal stromal cells (hUC-MSCs) on biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffolds derived from cuttlefish bone doped with metal ions and coated with polymers. First, the cytocompatibility of the undoped and ion-doped (Sr, Mg and/or Zn) BCP scaffolds was evaluated for 72 h using Live/Dead staining and viability assays. From these tests, the most promising composition was found to be the BCP scaffold doped with strontium (Sr), magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) (BCP-6Sr2Mg2Zn).

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Recently, highly stretchable and tough hydrogels that are photodegradable on-demand have been reported. Unfortunately, the preparation procedure is complex due to the hydrophobic nature of the photocrosslinkers. Herein, a simple method is reported to prepare photodegradable double-network (DN) hydrogels that exhibit high stretchability, toughness, and biocompatibility.

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Giant intracranial aneurysms (GIA) are rare and manifest primarily through subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), cerebral ischemia, or progressive symptoms of mass effect. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) can be used to monitor cerebral vasospasm after treatment of intracranial aneurysm allowing the adjustment of therapeutics and avoiding complications. The authors present a clinical case of a patient with a ruptured intracranial giant aneurysm in which TCD was essential to monitor vasospasm and intracranial hypertension (IH).

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Poly(2,5-furandicarboxylate)s incorporating aliphatic moieties represent a promising family of polyesters, typically entirely based on renewable resources and with tailored properties, notably degradability. This study aims to go beyond by developing poly(isosorbide 2,5-furandicarboxylate--dodecanedioate) copolyesters derived from isosorbide (Is), 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), and 1,12-dodecanedioic acid (DDA), and studying their degradation under environmental conditions, often overlooked, namely seawater conditions. These novel polyesters have been characterized in-depth using ATR-FTIR, H, and C NMR and XRD spectroscopies and thermal analysis (TGA and DSC).

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Background And Purpose: Incongruent beliefs about self-localization in space markedly disturb patients' behavior. Spatial delusions, or reduplicative paramnesias, are characterized by a firm conviction of place reduplication, transformation, or mislocation. Evidence suggests they are frequent after right hemisphere lesions, but comprehensive information about their clinical features is lacking.

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Introduction: Time perception comprises the subjective experience of passing of time and of the duration of an event. Although already described in some neurological and psychiatric conditions, there is a paucity of details regarding this neurocognitive change in stroke patients. We aimed to describe time perception dysfunction in stroke patient.

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