A New Bi-Functional Derivative of Polyethylene Glycol as Molecular Carrier for Eugenol and Ibuprofen

Eugenol (EU) and ibuprofene (IBU) were covalently bound to a bi-functionalized PEG, used as molecular carrier of drugs and the release kinetics of the two bioactive molecules was studied in vitro in buffer solution at pH 7.4, in simulated gastric fluid and in mouse plasma. The hydrolysis studies showed a specific cleavage dependent on the pH of the medium and by the presence of proteolytic enzymes in mouse plasma. Studies in vitro on the release of the parent drug from this double prodrug in various media, indicate that the adduct may be sufficiently stable to pass intact the gastrointestinal tract and release into the circulation EU and IBU. Many advantages may be achieved by the synthesis of the prodrug EU-PEG-IBU related to synergistic analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, to the reduction of the adverse reactions and the improvement of the chemical-physical properties of the parent drugs

Mycochemical study of polysaccharides from the edible mushroom Cortinarius caperatus (Gypsy mushroom)

Among basidiomycete molecules, cell wall polysaccharides have been recognized as a major class of bioactive constituents. [1] They are safe molecules and they have a wide spectrum of biological activities, such as immunostimulatory and antioxidant, therefore they possess a prominent role in health benefits coming from mushroom consumption. These properties make mushroom polysaccharides potential candidates for nutraceutical applications and bioactive ingredients production. [2] Fractionation of the hot aqueous extract of Cortinarius caperatus led to isolation of two fractions characterized by spectroscopic analyses (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, DEPT, 1H-1H COSY, DQCOSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC and HMQC), mass spectrometry (EI-MS, ESI-MS), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), chemical reactions of hydrolysis and derivatization followed by GC and HPLC analyses. [3] This mycochemical study revealed a water-soluble fraction characterized as a \u3b2-(1\uf0e06)-D-glucan, whose presence inside C. caperatus has never, to the best of our knowledge, been reported before. Moreover, a water insoluble fraction purified has been characterized as a branched \uf061, (1\u21926) glucan which structure is assumed to be: [\u21926)-\u3b2-D-Glcp(1\u21926)]4-\u3b1-D-Glcp(1\u21924)-\u3b2-D-Glcp(1\u2192 6 \u2191 1 \u3b1-D-Glcp The antioxidant activity of the soluble polysaccharide fraction has been evaluated as radical-scavenging activity with the DPPH test, the \u3b2-(1\uf0e06)-D-glucan showed significative antioxidant activity

New Triterpenes from the Fungus Gloeophyllum odoratum

Two new triterpene acids (1, 2), together with a complex mixture of lecithins (3), were isolated from the fungus Gloeophyllum odoratum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. The extract of Gloeophyllum odoratum considerably inhibited thrombin (72% at a concentration of 120 g/mL); the less polar fraction of the methanolic extract from the mushroom exhibited interesting activity (47% at a concentration of 120 g/mL) against thrombin. Compounds 1 and 2 were responsible for this activity

Opis svojstava ekstra djevičanskog maslinovog ulja dobivenog iz raznih kultivara

The determination of some minor components of extra virgin olive oil, and in particular of the polyphenolic fraction of pigments and fragrances, can contribute to the characterization of the monovarietal productions: the quali-quantitative assessment of these substances can in fact contribute to the valorisation of typicalities and, at the same time, consent to the optimisation of the operational techniques during the processing and the eventual blending. The analytical techniques, applied here for the characterisation of extra virgin olive oil of Abruzzo and Istria, have highlighted that chemical composition can enhance the valorisation of these typical products. Nevertheless, further sampling program is needed to evidence typical composition profile that might be used as “origin markers”.Određivarije nekih manjih komponenata ekstra djevičanskog maslinovog ulja, naročito polifenolne frakcije pigmemta i mirisa, može doprinijeti svojstvima monovarijetetnih proizvoda: kvalitativna i kvalitativna procjena tih supstancija može zapravo doprinijeti valorizaciji tipičnosti te, istodobno omogućiti optimizaciju operativnih tehnika za vrijeme prerade i miješanja. Analitičke tehnike, ovdje primijenjene za opis svojstava ekstra djevičanskog maslinovog ulja iz Abruzza i Istre pokazuju da kemijski sastav može popraviti vrijednost ovih tipičnih proizvoda. Ipak, potreban je dodatni program uzorkovanja da se dokaže tipični profil sas¬tava, što se može upotrijebiti kao "oznaka podrijetla"

Opis svojstava ekstra djevičanskog maslinovog ulja dobivenog iz raznih kultivara

The determination of some minor components of extra virgin olive oil, and in particular of the polyphenolic fraction of pigments and fragrances, can contribute to the characterization of the monovarietal productions: the quali-quantitative assessment of these substances can in fact contribute to the valorisation of typicalities and, at the same time, consent to the optimisation of the operational techniques during the processing and the eventual blending. The analytical techniques, applied here for the characterisation of extra virgin olive oil of Abruzzo and Istria, have highlighted that chemical composition can enhance the valorisation of these typical products. Nevertheless, further sampling program is needed to evidence typical composition profile that might be used as “origin markers”.Određivarije nekih manjih komponenata ekstra djevičanskog maslinovog ulja, naročito polifenolne frakcije pigmemta i mirisa, može doprinijeti svojstvima monovarijetetnih proizvoda: kvalitativna i kvalitativna procjena tih supstancija može zapravo doprinijeti valorizaciji tipičnosti te, istodobno omogućiti optimizaciju operativnih tehnika za vrijeme prerade i miješanja. Analitičke tehnike, ovdje primijenjene za opis svojstava ekstra djevičanskog maslinovog ulja iz Abruzza i Istre pokazuju da kemijski sastav može popraviti vrijednost ovih tipičnih proizvoda. Ipak, potreban je dodatni program uzorkovanja da se dokaže tipični profil sas¬tava, što se može upotrijebiti kao "oznaka podrijetla"

An intimate and imperial feminism: Meliscent Shephard and the regulation of prostitution in colonial India

This paper seeks to construct an antinostalgic portrait of an imperial feminist. As the representative of the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene (AMSH) in India between 1928 and 1947, Meliscent Shephard was an embodiment not only of the feminist urge to challenge patriarchal gender relations, but also of the imperialist urge to classify and fathom the world through a series of racist typologies. Despite an earlier belief that blame for the exploitation of prostitutes lay with the colonial state and economy, she later fell back on explanations based on notions of Indian society and religion. Operating in a period of heightened anticolonial nationalism, these latter views thwarted any hope of her forging successful connections with emergent Indian social reform groups. This failure to cultivate intimate relations with Indian colleagues marks a failure at the level of national and racial politics. Shephard did, however, cultivate an intimate relationship with correspondents at the AMSH in London, while her experiences of the sexual geographies of Indian cities provided a form of intimate interaction that would inspire her mission to close down tolerated brothels. As such, this paper marks an empirical engagement with the intimate frontiers at which the affective grid of colonial politics was marked out

The COVID-19 pandemic and its global effects on dental practice. An international survey

Objectives: A multicentre survey was designed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on dental practice worldwide, estimate the COVID-19 related symptoms/signs, work attitudes and behaviour and the routine use of protective measures and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Methods: A global survey using a standardized questionnaire with research groups from 36 countries was designed. The questionnaire was developed and pretested during April 2020 and contained three domains: 1) Personal data; 2) COVID-19 positive rate and symptoms/signs presumably related to the coronavirus; 3) Working conditions and PPE adopted after the outbreak. Countries’ data were grouped by the Country Positive Rate (CPR) during the survey period and by Gross-National-Income per capita. An ordinal multinomial logistic regression model was carried out with COVID-19 self-reported rate referred by dental professionals as dependent variable to assess the association with questionnaire items. Results: A total of 52,491 questionnaires were returned with a male/female ratio of 0.63. Out of the total respondents, 7,859 dental professionals (15%) reported symptoms/signs compatible with COVID-19. More than half of the sample (n = 27,818; 53%) stated to use FFP2/N95 masks, while 21,558 (41.07%) used eye protection. In the bivariate analysis, CPR and N95/FFP2 were significantly associated (OR = 1.80 95%CI = 1.60/2.82 and OR = 5.20 95%CI = 1.44/18.80, respectively), while Gross-National-Income was not statistically associated with CPR (OR = 1.09 95%CI = 0.97/1.60). The same significant associations were observed in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Oral health service provision has not been significantly affected by COVID-19, although access to routine dental care was reduced due to country-specific temporary lockdown periods. While the dental profession has been identified at high-risk, the reported rates of COVID-19 for dental professionals were not significantly different to those reported for the general population in each country. These findings may help to better plan oral health care for future pandemic events

The COVID-19 pandemic and its global effects on dental practice. An international survey

Objectives A multicentre survey was designed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on dental practice worldwide, estimate the COVID-19 related symptoms/signs, work attitudes and behaviour and the routine use of protective measures and personal protective equipment (PPE). Methods A global survey using a standardized questionnaire with research groups from 36 countries was designed. The questionnaire was developed and pretested during April 2020 and contained three domains: 1) personal data; 2) COVID-19 positive rate and symptoms/signs presumably related to the coronavirus; 3) working conditions and PPE adopted after the outbreak. Countries’ data were grouped by the country positive rate (CPR) during the survey period and by Gross-National-Income per capita. An ordinal multinomial logistic regression model was carried out with COVID-19 self-reported rate referred by dental professionals as dependent variable to assess the association with questionnaire items. Results A total of 52,491 questionnaires were returned with a male/female ratio of 0.63. Out of the total respondents, 7,859 dental professionals (15%) reported symptoms/signs compatible with COVID-19. More than half of the sample (n=27,818; 53%) stated to use FFP2/N95 masks, while 21,558 (41.07%) used eye protection. In the bivariate analysis, CPR and N95/FFP2 were significantly associated (OR=1.80 95%CI=1.60/2.82 and OR=5.20 95%CI=1.44/18.80, respectively), while Gross-National-Income was not statistically associated with CPR (OR=1.09 95%CI=0.97/1.60). The same significant associations were observed in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions Oral health service provision has not been significantly affected by COVID-19, although access to routine dental care was reduced due to country-specific temporary lockdown periods. While the dental profession has been identified at high-risk, the reported rates of COVID-19 for dental professionals were not significantly different to those reported for the general population in each country. These findings may help to better plan oral health care for future pandemic events