Jaw osteosarcoma and pregnancy: a rare coexistence

Osteosarcoma of the jaw represents less than 1% of all head and neck malignancies. This malignancy in pregnant women occurs in one per 1000 deliveries. We report a case of a 29-year-old woman, in the 33rd week of gestation, who presented with an expansive tumor destroying the maxillary alveolar bone, histologically composed of pleomorphic, round, spindle, or epithelioid cells and osteoid/chondroid matrix. Upon final diagnosis of osteosarcoma, the lesion was excised. To the best of our knowledge, only 10 cases of jaw osteosarcoma in pregnant women have been reported to date in the English language literature. The use of ancillary examinations, malignancy diagnosis, and cancer treatment can be challenging during pregnancy. Knowledge about jaw osteosarcoma in pregnancy can increase healthcare providers’ awareness, avoid delays and misdiagnosis and potentially improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Performance and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens Reared on two Different Litter Materials and at two Stocking Densities

1. This study evaluated the performance and meat quality of broiler chickens reared on two litter materials and at two stocking densities.2. The chicks were allotted in a completely randomised design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two litter materials (wood shavings or rice straw) and two stocking densities (24 or 30 kg/m²), with six replicates per treatment. Broiler performance, carcase yield, prime cuts, blood plasma proteins, the enzymes alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, edible viscera, immune organs, intestine weight and length, abdominal fat, breast meat colour, pH, weight loss by defrosting, weight loss by cooking and shear force were evaluated.3. The density of 24 kg/m² positively influenced feed consumption and weight gain. The type of litter had a positive influence on feed conversion, with a lower value for birds raised on wood shavings.4. Breast production was improved in birds reared at a density of 24 kg/m² when compared to birds reared at a density of 30 kg/m². The rice straw bedding negatively affected abdominal fat (resulting in higher percentages) when compared to birds reared on wood shavings.5. The types of litter affected the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase in birds raised on wood shavings, although these values were not increased to the point of influence on the physiological functions of broilers.6. The colour of the breast meat, pH, temperature, weight loss after thawing or cooking, shear force, cholesterol, triglycerides, albumin, total proteins, glucose or alanine aminotransferase content were not influenced by the stocking densities or bedding.7. The use of wood shavings as poultry bedding at a stocking density of 24 kg/m²resulted in the best performance for broiler chickens at 42 days of age.

Antimycobacterial brominated metabolites from two species of marine sponges

A screening of 500 crude extracts of marine invertebrates against the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv yielded MeOH extracts of the sponges Aplysina cauliformis and Pachychalina sp. with significant activity. Further bioassay-guided fractionation of both crude extracts led to the isolation of four bromine-containing metabolites. The known (+)-fistularin-3 (1) and 11-deoxyfistularin-3 (2), and the new compound 2-(3-amino-2,4-dibromo-6-hydroxyphenyl)acetic acid (3) were isolated from the sponge A. cauliformis, while the new bromotyrosine-derived 3-(3,5-dibromo-4-methoxyphenyl)-2-methoxy- N-methylpropan-1-ammonium (4) was isolated from Pachychalina sp. Compound 4 exhibited weak antimycobacterial activity while compounds 1-3 displayed activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, with MICs of 7.1, 7.3 and 49 microM, respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 also exhibited low cytotoxicity against J744 macrophages, indicating that both 1 and 2 are interesting leads for the development of new anti-tuberculosis agents.

Stereochemical heterogeneity in Verongid sponge metabolites. Absolute stereochemistry of (+)-fistularin-3 and (+)-11-epi-fistularin-3 by microscale LCMS-Marfey's analysis

The absolute configurations of fistularin-3, 11-epi-fistularin-3, and a related bis-oxazolidinone were determined by microscale hydrolysis followed by derivatization with 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl-5-l-alaninamide. Samples of fistularin-3 from Verongid marine sponges collected in the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Baía de Todos os Santos (Brazil), and the Key Largo, Florida (USA) varied in configuration at C11, a phenomenon that may be attributed to the involvement of stereochemically promiscuous hydroxylase enzymes. Variability in C11 configuration in fistularin-3 samples may have been overlooked in previously reported encounters due to the similarity of spectroscopic properties of fistularin-3 and 11-epi-fistularin-3 and their coelution under chromatographic conditions. Stereochemical heterogeneity at C11 in fistularin-3 samples suggests a possibility of a native biotransformation of suitable precursor in Verongid sponges by their associated microbial flora.