The adsorption isotherms of nisin to three food contact surfaces, stainless steel, polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), and rubber at 8, 25, 40, and 60 degrees C, were calculated. For all surfaces, the increase in temperature led to a decrease in the affinity between nisin and the surface. The rubber adsorbed a higher amount of nisin (0.697 microg/cm2) in comparison with PET (0.665 microg/cm2) and stainless steel (0.396 microg/cm2). Adsorption of nisin to the stainless steel surface described L-2 type curves for all temperatures assayed. However, for PET and rubber surfaces, the isotherms were L-2 type (at 40 and 60 degrees C) and L-4 type curves (at 8 and 25 degrees C). Nisin retained its antibacterial activity once adsorbed to the food contact surfaces and was able to inhibit the growth of Enterococcus hirae CECT 279 on Rothe agar medium. The attachment of three Listeria monocytogenes strains to the three surfaces was found to be dependent on the surface, the strain, and the initial bacterial suspension in contact with the surface. The adsorption of Nisaplin on surfaces reduced the attachment of all L. monocytogenes strains tested. The effect of PET-based bioactive packaging in food was very encouraging. When applied to a food system, nisin-adsorbed PET bottles reduced significantly (P < 0.05) the levels of the total aerobic plate counts in skim milk by approximately 1.4 log units after 24 days of refrigerated storage (4 degrees C), thus extending its shelf life.

Patient: Male, 36Final Diagnosis: Levamisole-induced vasculopathySymptoms: Purpuric skin lesionsMedication: LevamisoleClinical Procedure: —Specialty: Internal MedicineObjective:Unusual clinical courseBackground:Levamisole has been detected in seized cocaine samples and a levamisole-induced vasculopathy (LIV) has been described, mainly focused on skin.Case Report: A 36-year-old Caucasian man with history of antibodies to hepatitis C infection (negative hepatitis C virus RNA and negative HIV serology), smoking, and intravenous use of cocaine and brown heroin, presented to the hospital with purpuric skin lesions on extremities and earlobes. One month before the current presentation, a skin punch biopsy of one of these lesions was performed, showing histopathologic findings suggestive of mixed cryoglobulinemia. Laboratory testing revealed leukopenia, renal failure, and nephrotic syndrome. Antimyeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (MPO-ANCA) were positive. The previous skin punch biopsy was revised and demonstrated pathologic findings consistent with leukocytoclastic vasculitis. An analysis of a cocaine sample for personal use, provided by the patient, was performed using mass spectrometry-gas chromatography and levamisole was detected. Three boluses of intravenous methylprednisolone were administered, followed by oral prednisone 1 mg/Kg per day. Skin lesions and renal function improved.Conclusions:To our knowledge, this is the first report of nephrotic syndrome induced by levamisole-adulterated cocaine, proven by cocaine sample toxicology. Lack of renal biopsy is a limitation of this report.

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Alcohol is the most frequently abused 'addictive substance' that causes serious social problems throughout the world; thus alcoholism is of particular interest in clinical and forensic medicine. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a marker of recent alcohol consumption that detects alcohol use reliably over a definite time period. The present paper describes a new method for the determination of EtG in urine. It was based both on microwave assisted extraction (MAE) to extract the analyte from urine samples, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify and quantify the EtG in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The method was applied to 33 urine samples from alcohol users, obtaining positive results in all cases. It was fully validated including a linear range (0.1-100 microg ml(-1)) and the main precision parameters. In summary, the use of microwave assisted extraction turned out to be a substantially simpler, faster and more sensitive procedure than any other conventional sample preparations.

The long-term physical stability of surfactant-stabilized (Span 80 and Tween 20) concentrated water-in-mineral oil (W/O) emulsions in the presence of an electrolyte (NaCl) was studied. Pulse field gradient NMR and rheology (bulk and interfacial) were used to probe the response at the macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular levels, rendering a multiscale approach. The results show that: (1) Emulsions prepared with NaCl exhibit higher values of the elastic shear modulus ( G > G) even after ∼20 days. (2) The stabilization effect of salt against the coarsening of droplets is not due to the differences in droplet size (and thus G') or the energy incorporated through emulsification. (3) NaCl relaxes the liquid-liquid interface via a salting-in effect, which results in a lower interfacial shear elasticity ( G < G) and a higher resistance to coarsening events because of the changes in the adsorption density of the layer.