Synthesis and characterization of a (+)-catechin and L-(+)-ascorbic acid cocrystal as a new functional ingredient for tea drinks.

Tea (Camellia Sinensis) is one of the most popular drink, consumed as infusion or bottled ready to drink beverages. Although tea leaves contain many antioxidants compounds, after processing they can drastically decrease, sometimes up to a full degradation, as in the case of catechin, a very healthy flavan-3-ol. In this context, the synthesis of a cocrystal between (+)-catechin and L-(+)-ascorbic acid, was proved to be a useful strategy to make a new ingredient able to ameliorate the antioxidant profile of both infusions and bottled teas. The obtained cocrystal showed a three-fold higher solubility than (+)catechin and its formation was elucidated unambiguously by FT-IR, thermal (DSC) and diffraction (PXRD) analyses. Antioxidant characteristics of the samples were evaluated by colorimetric assays. As expected, infusions showed much better antioxidant features than ready-to-use lemon and peach teas. The same trend was confirmed after the addition of the cocrystal at two concentration levels. In particular, supplementation at concentration of 2 mg mL-1 improved the bottled tea antioxidant values to the level showed by the not-added infusion tea.

Corrigendum to "Synthesis and characterization of a (+)-catechin and L-(+)-ascorbic acid cocrystal as a new functional ingredient for tea drinks" [Heliyon 5 (8) (August 2019) e02291].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02291.].

Gastric metastasis from cervix carcer: a case report.

Gastric metastasis by solid tumor cancer is a rare event. Concomitant metastases to other organs are frequent, so that this condition is often associated to a poor prognosis. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia are the most common presenting symptoms. We present the case of a 81 years old women previously treated for cervix carcinoma showing later a stomach metastasis. The patient is alive and disease free 39 months after salvage gastrectomy. A radical surgery in selected patients could be useful for symptom palliation and prolonged survival.

Infective endocarditis in children: clinical analyses and evaluation of two diagnostic criteria.

A new diagnostic schema for infective endocarditis (IE), the Duke criteria, has been compared with the previously published criteria of von Reyn in adult patients. This study was designed to analyze the clinical characteristics of a group of pediatric patients with IE and to compare the diagnostic efficiency of both sets of criteria. We reviewed retrospectively the clinical records of 38 patients, 22 with predisposing heart disease (Subgroup A) and 16 with no known cardiologic abnormality (Subgroup B). Ventricular septal defect was the most frequent preexisting heart disease (31.8%) and central venous catheters were the most frequent predisposing factor (68.7%). Comparison of the clinical features between subgroups (A vs. B) showed differences only for the presence of a new regurgitant murmur (9% vs. 44%, P < 0.05) and a hemoglobin value < or = 10 g/dl (50% vs. 94%, P < 0.05). The most frequent microorganisms isolated were viridans streptococci (36%) in Subgroup A and Staphylococcus aureus (50%) in Subgroup B. Of the 6 pathologically confirmed cases all would have been classified as clinically definite by the Duke criteria, as compared with 2 of 6 being defined as probable and one being rejected by von Reyn criteria. Of the 32 cases clinically defined 19 (59%) were classified as definite by the Duke criteria, and 11 (34%) were probable by the von Reyn criteria (difference 25%, P < 0.01). Although no case of IE was rejected by Duke criteria, 8 (25%) were rejected by von Reyn criteria (difference 25%, P < 0.01), with all 8 classified as possible by Duke criteria. We conclude that the Duke criteria were superior to the von Reyn criteria for the diagnosis of pediatric IE, including more cases as definite and significantly fewer cases as rejected.

Intraprostatic fiducial markers: a potential application for ultrasound-guided radiotherapy in prostate cancer.

We report on a two-phase test performed to assess the ability of the ultrasound-based B-mode acquisition and targeting (BAT) trans-abdominal system to identify non-dedicated fiducial markers implanted into the prostate gland for subsequent image-guided radiotherapy.Although further investigation is warranted in order to identify the optimal echogenic marker and to define its potential use for image-guided radiotherapy in prostate cancer patients, we demonstrate the feasibility of the BAT system for the visualization of non-ultrasound-dedicated markers.

Side effects and complications associated with third molar surgery.

A retrospective analysis of complications and side effects associated with surgery for 1000 mandibular and 500 maxillary impacted third molars was performed. The analysis included 614 patients with impacted mandibular third molars and 274 with impacted maxillary third molars who were treated in a 5-year timeframe from 1987 to 1992. The incidence of intraoperative complications and side effects of mandibular third molar surgery was 1.1% and 4% for maxillary third molar surgery whereas postoperative complications were 4.3% and 1.2%, respectively.

[Preparation and activity of metal complexes with heteroatomic organic ligands. Preliminary note]. / Studio sulla preparazione e l'attività di complessi di metalli con leganti organici eteroatomici. Nota preliminare.

Various coordination compounds were prepared between transition metals (in particular copper, zinc, silver and cobalt) and benzotriazole 5-methylbenzotriazole, 2-methylbenzotriazole and 2-methylbenzimidazole. Compounds of this type present a significant herbicidal capacity both on monocotyledons and dicotyledons and some of them also present an antimicrobic activity. The method of preparation, the principal chemical characteristics and the analyses to determine the formulae are reported. It was observed that metal can coordinate with benzotriazole and its derivatives either as a neutral molecule (BTAH) or as a deprotonated anion (BTA-), or as a combination of both (BTAH and BTA-).

Digital phonoarthrometry of temporomandibular joint sounds: a preliminary report.

A new technique is presented for recording and evaluating the dysfunctional TMJ sounds on an objective basis. The physical implications related to TMJ phonoarthrometry (PAM) are discussed and three cases are presented. The phonoarthrography and the digital phonoarthrometry presented in this paper can be a useful harmless diagnostic tool. Differential diagnosis of TMJ pathology is possible on the basis of an acoustical analysis and it is hoped that future investigation will confirm these observations.

Hepatic arterial thrombosis due to Mucor species in a child following orthotopic liver transplantation.

Infection is a frequent complication in patients following liver transplantation, and mycotic etiology is the third most common cause. Thrombosis of the hepatic artery is a high-risk condition for the graft and is generally secondary to noninfectious diseases. We present a 2-year-old child who developed hepatic artery obstruction due to Mucor sp. The child did not respond to medical treatment. We conclude that a high index of suspicion and rapid diagnosis are required so that aggressive and early treatment can be initiated. To our knowledge this is the first case published with this particular association.

Preparation and activity of complexes of transition metals and thiolic heterocyclic ligands.

The study on the co-ordination chemistry of the complexes with thiolic heterocyclic ligands is based on the ion metals binding precisely to the sulphur atom. Studies were consequently carried out on the complexes with some thiolic ligands, such as: 2-imidazolidine-thione (IMT), hydantoin (ID), 2-thiohydantoin (TIOID), rhodanine (RD), 2-mercaptoimidazole (MI), 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (MMI) and 2-mercaptopyridine (MPYR), supposing that the co-ordination bond between sulphur and metal is stronger than the possible bond between nitrogen or oxygen and metal due to the minor difference in electronegativity existing between sulphur and metal compared with that existing between nitrogen or oxygen and metal. Complexes of the kind we prepared generally present relatively low constants of instability, marking a strong bond between the metal and the ligand. This would seem to be in direct correlation with the anti-bacterial and herbicidal activity. The activity of the complex in fact proves to be more marked than that of the pure ligand, and the increase appears to be in proportion to the strength of the bond between the metal and the ligand, as seen by the low values of the relative constants of instability. We may imagine that the decrease in the constants of instability corresponds to an increase in the strength of the co-ordination bond and to a parallel increase in the activity and the hypothesis is in accordance with the premised correlation between the strength of the metal-ligand bond and the biological activity.

Tratamiento de apendicitis aguda: evaluación prospectiva / Acute appendicitis treatment: prospective study

Antecedentes: la apendicitis aguda constituye una patología muy frecuente en la población pediátrica. El uso de drenaje y los esquemas antibióticos a utilizar constituyen modalidades modalidades de tratamiento sujetas a discusión. Objetivo: analizar los resultados de un protocolo terapéutico en apendicitis aguda complicada o no con peritonitis. Diseño: protocolo terapéutico prospectivo. Población: 324 pacientes consecutivos con diagnóstico presuntivo de apendicitis aguda operados durante el período comprendido entre enero de 1984 y enero de 1994. Métodos: diagnóstico clínico, laboratorio y exámenes complementarios. Esquema terapéutico antibiótico prequirúrgico: Penicilina, Aminoglucósido y Metronizadol. La hidratación por vía endovenosa, la corrección del medio interno y sonda nasogástrica de acuerdo a los requerimientos del paciente. Cirugía incisión de Mac Burney o Jalaguier y apendectomía según técnica convencional. Lavado peritoneal con solución salina tibia en los pacientes con peritonitis. Cierre de cavidad sin drenaje peritoneal. Tratamiento antibiótico postoperatorio: el mismo esquema con una duración variable en relación a si la apendicitis fuera complicada o no complicada con peritonitis. En las peritonitis se completó el tratamiento antibiótico por vía oral con sulfametaxazol-trimetoprina y metronidazol. El criterio de alta se basó en la evolución clínica favorable, ausencia de fiebre y tolerancia oral adecuada. Las piezas quirúrgicas se enviaron todas para estudio anatomopatológico. El control alejado de los pacientes se efectuó entre los 8 meses y 10 años de la cirugía. Resultados: Edad: dispersión 2-17 años. De los 301 pacientes con apendicitis aguda, 126 (41,8 por ciento) presentaron peritonitis, 83 (65,8 por ciento) de ellos fueron localizadas y 43 (34,1 por ciento) generalizadas. La media de los días de internación para los pacientes con apéndice normal fue de 36 horas y para aquellos con apendicitis no complicada de 2,5 días. Para las peritonitis localizadas se observó una media de 5 y en peritonitis generalizadas la media fue de 7,5 días. El 3,1 por ciento de los pacientes presentaron alguna complicación indeciosa menor (absceso de herida, secreción serosa en herida) sólo hubo un paciente (0,3 por ciento) que cursó con un abcdos del Dolugla...

Vigilancia epidemiológica de las infecciones intrahospitalarias: estudios sistematizados de prevalencia (1993-1994) / Epidemiological surveillance in intrahospital infections: systemic studies of prevalence (1993-1994)

A partir de la sistematización de los estudios de prevalencia en 1993, continuamos con la presentación de los datos obtenidos en 1994, en conjunto con los del peíodo anterior. Esto permite tener una visualización gráfica de los resultados obtenidos pudiéndose analizar así sus tendencias. Si bien la metodología básica de los estudios no se ha modificado, a partir de diciembre de 1993 se incorporó al análisis, un sistema subjetivo que permite estratificar el nivel de gravedad de los pacientes y relacionarlo con el riesgo de infección intrahospitalaria. Este modelo fue validado a partir de los estudios de diciembre de 1993, abril y agosto de 1994, evaluándose además su reproducibilidad. El análisis comparativo de los estudios de prevalencia, muestra la persistencia de una proporción elevada de pacientes con acceso vascular (>50 por ciento) y catéter urinario (>20 por ciento), lo que determina un riesgo incrementado de desarrollar infecciones asociadas a estos factores. La tasa de prevalencia de infecciones intrahospitalarias se mantuvo por encima del 10 por ciento...