Bioactive flavanones from Luma chequen

A bioassay-guided chemical study of a methanolic extract of fresh leaves of Luma chequen led to the isolation of lumaflavanones A (1), B (2) and C (3) whose structures are proposed on the basis of NMR spectroscopic data. The structure of lumaflavanone A was confirmed by X-ray analysis. Antifeedant (Spodoptera littoralis), brine shrimp (Artemia salina) and fungistatic (Botrytis cinerea) bioassays showed that while 3 was the most active in the first two assays the mixture of 1 and 2 was more effective as a fungistatic

Main-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas: a case report

Three distinct entities among non-inflammatory cystic lesions of the pancreas have been defined: intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), serous cystic neoplasm (SCN) and mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN). IPMN is characterized by intraductal papillary growth and thick mucus secretion: its incidence has dramatically increased since its initial description. These lesions probably can progress towards invasive carcinoma. IPMNs are symptomatic in most cases: the typical presentation is a recurrent acute pancreatitis, without evident cause, of low or moderate severity. The diagnosis is usually based upon the imaging (CT/cholangio-MRI) demonstrating a pancreatic cystic mass, involving a dilated main duct, eventually associated to some filling defects, or a normal Wirsung duct communicating with the cyst lesion. Surgical treatment is generally indicated for main duct IPMN and branch duct IPMN with suspected malignancy (tumour size ≥ 30 mm, mural nodules, dilated main pancreatic duct, or positive cytology) or prominent symptoms. Herein we present a case of IPMN of the main duct which occurred with abdominal and back pain associated with weight loss. After the diagnosis, she successfully underwent surgery and is now in a follow-up program

Sarcoidosis presenting with splenomegaly and abdominal pain: a case report

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disease of unknown aetiology characterized by proliferation of noncaseating granulomas at disease sites. It commonly affects young and middle-age adults and frequently presents with pulmonary infiltration, bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, ocular and skin lesions. The liver, spleen, lymph nodes, salivary glands, heart, nervous system, muscles, bones, and other organs may also be involved. A diagnosis of the disorder usually requires the demonstration of typical lesions in more than one organ system and exclusion of other disorder known to cause granulomatous inflammation. We present the case of a young woman with abdominal pain and weight loss. The finding of splenomegaly by abdominal ultrasound and the presence of hypercalciuria, hypercalcemia and mild renal impairment led us to include sarcoidosis in the differential diagnosis. The final diagnosis was established by demonstration of involvement of lymph nodes and lung parenchyma on CT scan, and typical histology in bioptic specimens collected from bronchial mucosa

Main-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas: a case report

Three distinct entities among non-inflammatory cystic lesions of the pancreas have been defined: intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), serous cystic neoplasm (SCN) and mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN). IPMN is characterized by intraductal papillary growth and thick mucus secretion: its incidence has dramatically increased since its initial description. These lesions probably can progress towards invasive carcinoma. IPMNs are symptomatic in most cases: the typical presentation is a recurrent acute pancreatitis, without evident cause, of low or moderate severity. The diagnosis is usually based upon the imaging (CT/cholangio-MRI) demonstrating a pancreatic cystic mass, involving a dilated main duct, eventually associated to some filling defects, or a normal Wirsung duct communicating with the cyst lesion. Surgical treatment is generally indicated for main duct IPMN and branch duct IPMN with suspected malignancy (tumour size ≥ 30 mm, mural nodules, dilated main pancreatic duct, or positive cytology) or prominent symptoms. Herein we present a case of IPMN of the main duct which occurred with abdominal and back pain associated with weight loss. After the diagnosis, she successfully underwent surgery and is now in a follow-up program

Effects of Beta-Blockade on Exercise Performance at High Altitude

Summary Aims Exposure to high altitude (HA) hypoxia decreases exercise performance in healthy subjects. Although β-blockers are known to affect exercise capacity in normoxia, no data are available comparing selective and nonselective β-adrenergic blockade on exercise performance in healthy subjects acutely exposed to HA hypoxia. We compared the impact of nebivolol and carvedilol on exercise capacity in healthy subjects acutely exposed to HA hypobaric hypoxia. Methods In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 27 healthy untrained sea-level (SL) residents (15 males, age 38.3 ± 12.8 years) were randomized to placebo (n = 9), carvedilol 25 mg b.i.d. (n = 9), or nebivolol 5 mg o.d. (n = 9). Primary endpoints were measures of exercise performance evaluated by cardiopulmonary exercise testing at sea level without treatment, and after at least 3 weeks of treatment, both at SL and shortly after arrival at HA (4559 m). Results HA hypoxia significantly decreased resting and peak oxygen saturation, peak workload, VO2, and heart rate (HR) (P < 0.01). Changes from SL (no treatment) differed among treatments: (1) peak VO2 was better preserved with nebivolol (–22.5%) than with carvedilol (–37.6%) (P < 0.01); (2) peak HR decreased with carvedilol (–43.9 ± 11.9 beats/min) more than with nebivolol (–24.8 ± 13.6 beats/min) (P < 0.05); (3) peak minute ventilation (VE) decreased with carvedilol (–9.3%) and increased with nebivolol (+15.2%) (P= 0.053). Only peak VE changes independently predicted changes in peak VO2 at multivariate analysis (R= 0.62, P < 0.01). Conclusions Exercise performance is better preserved with nebivolol than with carvedilol under acute exposure to HA hypoxia in healthy subjects

Evaluation of Unowned Domestic Cat Management in the Urban Environment of Rome After 30 Years of Implementation of the No-Kill Policy (National and Regional Laws)

Law no. 281, enacted by the Italian Parliament in 1991, was the first that aimed at managing urban free-roaming cats living in colonies, without killing and/or moving them from their site. It had been anticipated by the Lazio Regional Law no. 63/1988 and subsequently refined by the Lazio Regional Law no. 34/1997. These laws introduced: (i) the cats' right to live free and safe; (ii) the compulsory neutering of cats by the Veterinary Services of the Local Health Unit; (iii) the institutionalization of cat caretakers. Within this context, this paper intends to evaluate the effects of the application of the Italian laws on management of urban free-roaming cats for the years 1988 to 2018. To this end, some indicators have been built and applied to our activity data: number of censused colonies and number of cats; number of stable colonies due to neutering; number of hygiene and sanitary notifications; number of notifications to check cat welfare; number of bites by unowned free-roaming cats; number of notifications of cat poisoning. The number of citizens' requests for institutional interventions by public veterinary services in cat colonies management and, accordingly, the detection of cat colonies yet unknown, seem to confirm the interest of people to control the cat colonies in Rome in a humanitarian way, as evidenced in our data. This fact/phenomenon should be analyzed in its multiple dimensions, also including the many changes and social unrests which have affected the human-cat relationship in the last 30 years

Crystal structure of 9-trans-p-coumaroyloxy-a-terpineol, C19H24O4

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Oleanolic acid content in Baccharis linearis and its effects on Heliothis zea larvae

The concentration of the triterpene oleanolic acid in leaves of Baccharis linearis varies at different stages of plant growth from 1.9 to 3.0 g kg-1 fr. wt. Larvae of Heliothis zea, starved with 1.4 mg of oleanolic acid per gram of diet, began to pupate before the control larvae. The survival of larvae was affected by 2.3 mg g-1 of oleanolic acid in the diet. © 1993

(25R)-Isonuatigenin, an unusual steroidal sapogenin from Vestia lycioides

(25R)-Isonuatigenin, a 5-spirosten-3β,25-diol, was isolated from aerial parts of Vestia lycioides. Its structure was elucidated mainly by 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy. A mixture of (25R)-nuatigenin and (25S)-isonuatigenin was also characterized. This is the first report on the natural occurrence of the two (25R)-isomers. © 1984