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.

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.

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.

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.

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]

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.