Effect of green tea extract on enteric viruses and its application as natural sanitizer.

In this work, the effect of green tea extract (GTE) was assessed against murine norovirus (MNV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) at different temperatures, exposure times and pH conditions. Initially, GTE at 0.5 and 5 mg/ml were individually mixed with each virus at 5 log TCID50/ml and incubated 2 h at 37 °C at different pHs (from 5.5 to 8.5). GTE affected both viruses depending on pH with higher reductions observed in alkaline conditions. Secondly, different concentrations of GTE (0.5 and 5 mg/ml) were mixed with viral suspensions and incubated for 2 or 16 h at 4, 25 and 37 °C at pH 7.2. A concentration-, temperature- and exposure time-dependent response was showed by GTE in suspension tests, where complete inactivation was achieved after overnight exposure at 37 °C for both viruses and also at 25 °C for HAV. In addition, antiviral effect of GTE proved efficient in the surface disinfection tests since 1.5 log reduction and complete inactivation were recorded for MNV and HAV on stainless steel and glass surfaces treated with 10 mg/ml GTE for 30 min, analyzed in accordance with ISO 13697:2001. GTE was also evaluated as a natural disinfectant of produce, showing 10 mg/ml GTE reduced MNV and HAV titers in lettuce and spinach by more than 1.5 log after 30 min treatment. The results show a potential of GTE as natural disinfectant able to limit enteric viral (cross-)contaminations conveyed by food and food-contact surfaces.

Cell kinetics and tumor-associated antigen expression in human mammary carcinomas.

Twenty-six primary breast carcinomas were studied to evaluate cell proliferation as assessed by thymidine labeling index (TLI), and antigenic phenotype, as defined by immunohistochemistry using eight monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). The majority of tumors had low TLI values. Reactivity to MAbs B72.3, CC49, CC83 (anti TAG 72), COL-12 (anti CEA) and MOv2 (against a tumor-associated mucoprotein) was restricted to less than 50% of the tumors studied, while MAbs B1.1 (anti CEA), MBrl and MBr8 (to tumor-associated carbohydrates) reacted with greater than 50% of the cases. Correlations between expression of TAAs and proliferative activity showed that the tumors could be divided into three groups, two characterized by either high proliferative activity and absence of antigenic expression or low proliferative activity and strong antigenic expression, and the third showing no relation between these two biological features. We defined two antigenic phenotypes associated with specific cellular kinetics: one characterized by negative immunoreaction with MAbs, CC49, CC83 and COL-12 and high proliferative activity; the other characterized by intense immunoreactivity with these antibodies and low proliferative activity. The data suggest that cell proliferation and antigenic phenotype may define biologic subsets of breast carcinomas.

[Current state of noninvasive vascular diagnosis in Spain]. / Estado actual del diagnóstico vascular no invasivo en España.

OBJECTIVE: Noninvasive vascular diagnosis has become routine in radiology departments in Spain. This article aims to communicate the results of a survey sent to a large number of Spanish hospitals to obtain information about the following aspects of noninvasive vascular diagnosis: who performs it and how, in what conditions it is performed, what problems there are in relation to these techniques, and what the training is like. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In October 2008, we sent a questionnaire to 93 hospitals with training programs in diagnostic imaging and to 45 hospitals without training programs. The questionnaire solicited information about the hospital and its technological and human resources, the organization of the diagnostic imaging department, the performance of different noninvasive vascular examinations, and the respondents' opinions about problems related to these techniques and about the state of training programs. RESULTS: A total of 43 (46%) of the 93 teaching hospitals and 9 (20%) of the non-teaching hospitals responded to the survey. This article uses multiple tables and figures to communicate the responses obtained in the survey. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the survey provide a view of the current state of noninvasive vascular diagnosis in teaching hospitals in Spain in concrete figures. We hope that these data will stimulate diagnostic imaging departments to protect these techniques and to actively promote training in noninvasive vascular diagnosis.

[Multislice CT angiography in the study of aneurysm of the abdominal aorta: comparison of three different volumes of contrast agent]. / Angio-tomografía computarizada multidetector en el estudio del aneurisma de aorta abdominal. Comparación de tres volúmenes de contraste diferentes.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively and quantitatively compare the use of different volumes of contrast in 16-slice CT angiography for the study of aneurysms of the abdominal aorta before and/or after treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From November 2005 to March 2006, we included 63 consecutive patients referred for CT angiography for aneurysm of the abdominal aorta or for post-treatment follow-up. Each patient was randomly assigned to one of three groups: group A was administered 100 mL of contrast agent, group B 80 mL, and group C 60 mL. In all cases, contrast was administered with 40 mL of physiological serum at a rate of 4 ml/s. A 16-detector CT scanner was used. In the last 61 patients, attenuation was measured in different locations using circular ROIs. Hounsfield units were recorded in the first slice (initial contrast), in the last slice (final contrast), at their maximum value, and also at one-second intervals. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences in the Hounsfield units recorded in the first slice, in the last slice, or in the maximum values were found between the different groups. Mean values were above 200 in 58 of 61 patients. Weight and body mass index (BMI) were negatively correlated with aortoiliac attenuation. CONCLUSION: Using a 16-detector CT scanner enables the volume of contrast for studies of aneurysms of the abdominal aorta to be reduced considerably; however, 60 mL might not be sufficient for patients with high weight or BMI.

Avaliação do ritmo cardíaco em cães da raça Boxer saudáveis pela eletrocardiografia contínua ( Holter ) / Evaluation of the cardiac rhythm in healthy dogs of the Boxer breed using ambulatorial electrocardiography ( Holter )

The cardiac rhythm in a 24-hour period of 12 dogs of the Boxer breed, clinically healthy, males and females, of different ages was evaluated. No differences between males and females in the minimum, medium and maximum cardiac rates were observed (P>0.05). The females showed larger number of ventricular premature complex than the males. The major disorder in the cardiac rhythm was the ventricular premature complex. Several dogs showed the R over T phenomenon. Episodes of ventricular bigeminy and trigeminy were also observed.