Gastric adenocarcinoma in the excluded stomach 18 years after bariatric surgery: a case report.

Gastric cancer (GC) ranks fourth in overall cancer mortality. Bariatric surgical procedures, especially the gastric bypass surgery (GBS), raise a concern about the risk of GC in the excluded stomach (ES). Diagnosis of GC in the ES is challenging due to anatomical changes and impossibility of endoscopic access to the ES. There are few reports of GC after GBS, and it occurs more in the gastric stump than in the ES. We report a case of a 54-year-old female with GC in the ES 18 years after GBS. The increasing number of GBS and the aggressiveness of the GC show how relevant this case is to emphasize the need to consider this diagnosis in patients who develop upper abdominal symptoms, anemia or weight loss.

Increasing carbon, nutrient and trace metal accumulation driven by development in a mangrove estuary in south Asia.

Mangrove forests sequester organic carbon, nutrients and toxic metals sorbed to fine sediment, and thus restrict the mobility of pollutants through estuarine environments. However, mangrove removal and environmental degradation caused by industrial activity and urban growth can impact the ability of mangrove communities to provide these critical ecosystem services. Here, we use sediment profiles from an impacted tropical estuary in southwest India to provide a c. 70-year record of carbon, nutrient and trace metal burial in the context of rapid urban development and the systemic removal of mangrove communities. Our results show that carbon and nutrient accumulation rates increase sharply during the 1990's in accordance with the high rates of deforestation. Nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation rates increased fourfold and twofold, respectively, during the same period. Organic carbon accumulation was fivefold higher than the global average during this period, reflecting intense deforestation during the last three decades. The enrichment of Hg, Zn, Pb, Mo, Ni, Cu and Mn demonstrate clear anthropogenic impact starting in the 1950's and peaking in 1990. Mercury, the trace metal with the highest enrichment factor, increased sevenfold in the most recent sediments due to increased fossil fuel emissions, untreated water and incineration of medical waste and/or fertilizers used in aquaculture. Organic carbon isotope (δ13C) and C:N molar ratios indicate shifts to more terrestrial-derived source of organic matter in the most recent sediments reflecting growing deforestation of which may be prevalent in southeast Asia due to increasing development. This study emphasizes the critical role played by mangrove ecosystems in attenuating anthropogenically-derived pollutants, including carbon sequestration, and reveals the long-term consequences of mangrove deforestation in the context of rapidly developing economies.

Assessment of the temporal retention of mercury and nutrient records within the mangrove sediments of a highly impacted estuary.

Mangrove ecosystems are dynamic and biodiverse environments with the capacity to sequester more organic carbon per unit area, per time, than terrestrial forests, yet are among one of the most heavily degraded ecosystems on Earth. Here, we quantify trace metal, nutrient and carbon accumulation rates in a tropical mangrove environment in northeast Brazil, a region that has been rapidly developed over the past seven decades. Carbon accumulation rate results show modest or no increase since the 1950's, when major development occurred in the region. Organic carbon isotope (δ13C) and C:N molar ratios indicate that the OM is primarily derived from autochthonous C3 plant sources. However, the most recent sediments revealed changes from terrestrial to alga-derived source of OM, which is consistent with the increase of total nitrogen, δ15N and total phosphorous content in the last seven decades, suggesting anthropogenic impact. Furthermore, the Hg enrichment factor (EF) in mangrove sediments is shown to have increased 13-fold since the 1960's, highlighting the ability of tropical mangrove systems in trap filtering pollutants from proximal urban development.

Mangrove carbon and nutrient accumulation shifts driven by rapid development in a tropical estuarine system, northeast Brazil.

Mangrove environments are important for maintaining biodiversity and carbon cycling. However, these systems are being degraded at alarming rates around the world, particularly in rapidly developing regions. Here, we examine a sediment profile from a mangrove forest near a large port complex at Suape, northeast Brazil, in order to assess the impact of rapid urbanization and industrialization. We find that total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) accumulation rates have increased in the estuary since the 1980's, directly related to rapid urban development. The TN and heavy δ15N values in the sediment column suggest increasing anthropogenic influences. In contrast, heavy metal fluxes did not increase during these transitions. The increase in TOC and TN accumulation rates during the past four decades highlight the significant role mangrove areas play as sinks for anthropogenically enhanced nutrients in poorly-understood tropical areas.

Geochemical background indicators within a tropical estuarine system influenced by a port-industrial complex.

This study aims to determine the background values for metals in the Suape estuarine system, Brazil, and to identify contamination caused by anthropogenic sources. Two cores were sampled. Sedimentation rates and metal content were analysed. The Al-normalized method was used to infer the background values, and to identify anthropic influences, the enrichment and contamination factors and the geoaccumulation index were employed. The results revealed an Mn, Ni, Zn, Ga, Pb, Sr, Ti, Mg, V and Fe content (mg kg-1) of 101.8, 5.7, 24.4, 8.3, 14.5, 41.9, 2744.6, 4581, 14.9 and ~ 1% respectively. After the installation of the Suape port, an increase in metal contents and in fluxes were recorded. Increases in Zn, Ga, V and Pb are supported by the indexes showing moderate contamination, enrichment and suggest an area moderately polluted. The other studied metals do not reflect an anthropogenic impact, with low values of contamination, enrichment factors and geoaccumulation indexes.

Umbelliferone (7-hydroxycoumarin): A non-toxic antidiarrheal and antiulcerogenic coumarin.

Gastrointestinal diseases are very common problems; available treatments are very limited and come with a range of side effects. Coumarins are an extensive class of phenolic compounds that can be found in plants, fungi and bacteria. The 7-hydroxycoumarin, also known as umbelliferone (UMB), is a compound that comes from coumarin and has been showing biological activities in other studies. As of this scenario, the present study was designed to evaluate the acute oral toxicity, mutagenic, antidiarrheal, anti-bacterial, and antiulcerogenic effects, and antioxidant capacity of UMB. An investigation was conducted through the hippocratic screening method and through histopathological analysis in animals to evaluate the effects of acute oral administration of a dose of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg of UMB. A micronucleus test on peripheral blood of Swiss mice, which were orally treated with three doses (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg), was conducted to evaluate mutagenic activities. The antiulcerogenic activity was accomplished through the ethanol-induced damage method. Antidiarrheal activities were tested for inducing diarrhea with castor oil and evaluating intestinal transit duration; additionally, the antimicrobial effect against some enteropathogenic bacteria was analyzed. Finally, the antioxidant capability was determined by the capacity of the UMB sample to kidnap the stable radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. Of the evaluated doses, signs of toxicity after acute administration of the compound were not observed. UMB presented antiulcerogenic activity (100 and 200 mg/kg), which was explained because of its antioxidant capacity. A gastro protective effect was similar to the positive control, and the UMB was able to significantly reduce intestinal transit, and also diarrheal symptoms. Furthermore, UMB had an anti-bacterial effect with minimum inhibitory concentration fluctuating between 62.5 and 1000 µg/mL. Based on these findings, we can suggest that UMB has important biological activities in vivo and in vitro and is not toxic under the evaluated circumstances, which demonstrates its large potential for pharmacological use.