Acerola processing waste: Convective drying with ethanol as pretreatment.

The acerola seed is an agro-industrial waste. It is a high moisture content product, rich in bioactive compounds. Drying is an alternative to make this waste available in a safe condition. The use of ethanol as a pretreatment could improve the drying process besides reducing the operation time. This study aimed to investigate the influence of ethanol pretreatment (ET) on the content of bioactive compounds, cell wall thickness, and color. The drying kinetics was studied, and the influence of external and internal resistance was discussed. The samples were immersed in ethanol for 2 min with subsequent convective drying (40 °C and 60 °C; 1 m s-1) until they reached the equilibrium condition. The ET reduced the drying time up to 36.36 %. The external and mixed control of mass transfer were identified as the governing regimes for drying this material, depending on the use of ethanol. ET led to an increase in effective diffusivity, a reduction in cell wall thickness, and preservation of the color of the dried waste. The ET positively impacted the conservation of ascorbic acid compared to untreated dried samples but was not relevant to phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and antioxidant activity. The drying process increased the bioactivity of the anthocyanins. The best condition was drying at 60 °C, pretreated with ethanol.

Process and quality parameters of convective dried yacon: Influence of ethanol treatment.

Yacon is a highly perishable tuberous root, rich in fructooligosaccharides (FOS). Convective drying preceded by ethanol treatment (ET) is an alternative for increasing shelf life in a shorter process. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of ET and temperature (50 °C and 70 °C) on quality parameters (fructan retention, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, shrinkage, color and microstructural parameters) and process parameters (drying time, drying kinetics, and energy consumption) in the convective drying of yacon slices. The ET induced structural alterations in the tissues and cells that aids in the reduction of drying time up to 28.00 %. ET resulted in an increase in effective diffusivity and leaded to noteworthy reduction in energy consumption (up to 22.72 %). The quality parameters such as color, shrinkage, and total phenolic content showed no significant differences among the treatments. The use of ethanol promoted highest preservation of antioxidant activity; however, it caused degradation of FOS. The ethanol pretreated drying at 50 °C was the better condition for lower consumption and preservation of quality parameters as total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and fructan retention, but the samples dried at 50 °C were the ones with the highest fructan retention (55.11 ± 2.19 %).

Rationale and design of the Endurant Stent Graft Natural Selection Global Postmarket Registry (ENGAGE): interim analysis at 30 days of the first 180 patients enrolled.

AIM: The Endurant Stent Graft Natural Selection Global Postmarket Registry (ENGAGE) is a long-term 1200-patient multicenter prospective study initiated to augment the knowledge base (poolable and comparable) about endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) in a real-world population implanted with a single latest-generation stent graft system (Endurant). With enrollment ongoing at 80 high-volume sites, the registry has limited inclusion/exclusion criteria or procedural specification. Technical and clinical data will be reported through 5 years. METHODS: An interim analysis was performed on investigator-reported data for the first 180 patients enrolled. These patients were asymptomatic elderly males (92.1%) with considerable comorbidities. For 47.3% of the patients, the American Society of Anesthesiologists risk class was either III or IV. The Endurant stent graft was successfully deployed in 99.4% of patients for elective treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. RESULTS: Through 30 days, the rate of all-cause mortality was 1.7% (N=3), with all 3 deaths classified as procedure-related but not device-related. The rate of secondary endovascular procedures was 1.1%, and the rate of conversion to open repair was 0.6%. At postprocedure and at 30-day follow-up, there were no type I or type III endoleaks and no instances of stent graft kinking, thrombosis, or occlusion. ENGAGE represents the largest real-world registry for any single EVAR stent graft. CONCLUSION: The interim results through 30 days of the first 180 patients enrolled are promising. Longer-term follow-up for more patients will be reported.

Complicaçöes vasculares em dependentes de drogas injetáveis / Vascular complications in infectable drug abusers

Foram revistos os prontuários de 20 pacientes atendidos pelo Serviço de Cirurgia Vascular do Hosptial Universitário da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, entre janeiro de 1986 e setembro de 1990, com complicaçöes relacionadas à dependência de drogas injetáveis. Dezesseis pacientes eram do sexo masculino, com idade entre 20 e 35 anos. O propoxifeno foi a droga mais utilizada, seguido da cocaína. os sinaos e sintomas mais encontrados foram edema, úlceras e dor nos membros inferiores. Seis pacientes tiveram diagnóstico de trombose venosa em membros inferiores, quatro de linfangite aguda de membros inferiores e seis, de síndrome pós-trombótica; cinco pacientes apresentaram oclusöes arteriais e dois deles síndrome de compartimento; um apresentou aneurisma micótico de artéria femoral comum e outro falso aneurisma de artéria femoral superficial. As complicaçöes venosas e linfáticas foram tratadas clinicamente, com antibióticos, heparinizaçäo e cuidados locais. Foram realizadas duas aneurismectomias, uma delas com revascularizaçäo, duas amputaçöes, uma fasciotomia de antebraço e uma drenagem de abascesso. Tratamento clínico foi feito em 14 pacientes. Em outros seis fez-se tratamento cirúrgico. Em dois pacientes foi feita aneureismectomia, sendo em um com restauraçäo arterial e em outro só com ligadura arterial. Um paciente foi submetido a amputaçäo de coxa e outro a amputaçäo do dedo da mäo. Em um paciente com síndrome compartimental de antebraço por isquemia aguda fez-se a faciotomia descompressiva. Drenagem de abscesso de antebraço foi feita em mais de um paciente

[Vascular complications in intravenous drug addicts]. / Complicações vasculares em dependentes de drogas injetáveis.

Twenty patients with complications of drug addiction were admitted to the Department of Vascular Surgery of the Santa Catarina University Hospital, from January 1986 to September 1990. Most of these patients were male, aged between 20 and 35 years. The most common drug used was propoxiphene, followed by cocaine. Swelling, ulcers and pain in the inferior extremities were the most common signs and symptoms. Six patients presented deep venous thrombosis, four had acute lymphangitis, all of them in the lower limbs. Five patients had acute arterial occlusions, one presented common femoral artery mycotic aneurysm and another had a false aneurysm of the superficial femoral artery. Venous and lymphatic complications were clinically treated with antibiotics, heparin and local care. Six patients were submitted to surgical procedures. One was treated by aneurysmectomy and vascular reconstruction, another with aneurysmectomy and arterial ligation. On one patient forearm fasciotomy was performed. Two amputations and one drainage of abscess were carried out.