Bioactive Dehydrotyrosyl and Dehydrodopyl Compounds of Marine Origin

The amino acid, tyrosine, and its hydroxylated product, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa), plays an important role in the biogenesis of a number of potentially important bioactive molecules in marine organisms. Interestingly, several of these tyrosyl and dopa-containing compounds possess dehydro groups in their side chains. Examples span the range from simple dehydrotyrosine and dehydrodopamines to complex metabolic products, including peptides and polycyclic alkaloids. Based on structural information, these compounds can be subdivided into five categories: (a) Simple dehydrotyrosine and dehydrotyramine containing molecules; (b) simple dehydrodopa derivatives; (c) peptidyl dehydrotyrosine and dehydrodopa derivatives; (d) multiple dehydrodopa containing compounds; and (e) polycyclic condensed dehydrodopa derivatives. These molecules possess a wide range of biological activities that include (but are not limited to) antitumor activity, antibiotic activity, cytotoxicity, antioxidant activity, multidrug resistance reversal, cell division inhibition, immunomodulatory activity, HIV-integrase inhibition, anti-viral, and anti-feeding (or feeding deterrent) activity. This review summarizes the structure, distribution, possible biosynthetic origin, and biological activity, of the five categories of dehydrotyrosine and dehydrodopa containing compounds

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Photoluminescent Polymer Aerogels with R, G and B Emission

In this work, three new polymer aerogels based on 2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate (HEMA) complexes with Eu(III), Tb(III) and La(III) are prepared and investigated. The polymer aerogels present strong photoluminescence with emissions located in the red, green and blue regions of the visible spectrum. Depending on the water content used during the preparation path, the consistency of the photoluminescent aerogels varies from rigid, regularly shaped monoliths to a flexible, fibrous material with very low density. The morpho-structural investigation was performed by FT-IR, XPS and SEM. Thermal behavior was also evaluated, while steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, absolute PLQY and lifetime were used for the investigation of their luminescent properties. The impressive photoluminescent emission located in the red, green and blue areas of the visible spectrum is preserved irrespective of the selected porosity. Their photo-emissive properties, tunable porosity and the convenience of the preparation path could be some arguments for applications as photonic conversion mediums in special-purpose optoelectronic devices or sensors