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Background. To demonstrate the clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug- (NSAID-) induced diaphragm disease (DD). Methods. A literature search between January 1973 and August 2015 was undertaken. The clinical data of patients with NSAID-induced DD were recorded and analyzed. Results. 159 patients were included. The ratio of male to female was 1 : 2.3; the mean age was 65±11 years. The most common clinical manifestations were gastrointestinal bleeding and obstruction. 121 (84%) patients took traditional NSAIDs. The durations of NSAIDs use ranged from 2 to 300 months. A majority (59.7%) of DD were seen in the small bowel, were seen secondly in the colon (30.2%), and were mainly located in the ileum (57.9%) and right colon (91.7%), respectively. 80% of patients had multiple diaphragms. 41.5% of small bowel DD were diagnosed preoperatively by capsule endoscopy and/or double-balloon enteroscopy, 52.1% at laparotomy. Nearly 75% of patients underwent surgery, endoscopic balloon dilation was performed in 22 patients, and NSAIDs were withdrawn in 53 patients. Conclusions. NSAID-induced DD is relatively rare. The small bowel is most commonly involved. Preoperative diagnosis of small bowel DD is relatively difficult. Discontinuation of the NSAIDs is recommended, surgical resection is the main treatment presently, and endoscopic balloon dilation should be considered as an alternative therapy.

This study compared proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine H2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) for prevention of low-dose aspirin (LDA)-related gastrointestinal (GI) erosion, ulcer and bleeding. Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and WanFang Data were searched from the date of their establishment to December 31, 2013. Randomized controlled trials comparing PPIs and H2RAs for prevention of GI injury associated with low-dose aspirin (LDA) were collected. Two reviewers independently abstracted studies and patient characteristics and appraised study quality using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. We included nine RCTs involving 1047 patients. The meta-analysis showed that PPIs were superior to H2RAs for prevention of LDA-associated GI erosion/ulcer [odds ratio (OR=0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16-0.50] and bleeding (OR=0.28, 95% CI: 0.14-0.59). In conclusion, PPIs were superior to H2RAs for prevention of LDA-related GI erosion/ulcer and bleeding. Higher quality, large, multicenter RCTs are needed to demonstrate the preventive effect of the two acid-suppressive drugs.

In the title complex, bis{μ-1-[(1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)methyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole}disilver(I) dinitrate, [Ag2(C10H9N5)2](NO3)2, the AgI ion is nearly linearly coordinated [N—Ag—N angle is 155.72 (14)°] by two 1-[(1H-benzimidazole-1-yl)methyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole (bmt) ligands. In addition, two bmt ligands link two AgI ions, forming a dinuclear unit with an Ag...Ag distance of 5.0179 (15) Å. The whole complex is generated by an inversion centre. The dinuclear units and the NO3− counter-ions are connected by N—H...O hydrogen bonds and weak Ag...O interactions [2.831 (5), 2.887 (5) and 2.908 (5) Å], leading to a three-dimensional structure.

In the title complex, [Zn(SO4)(C9H8N6)(H2O)4]·2H2O, the ZnII ion is six-coordinated by one N atom from a 1-[(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-1-yl)methyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole ligand and five O atoms from one monodentate sulfate anion and four water molecules in a distorted octahedral geometry. The sulfate tetrahedron is rotationally disordered over two positions in a 0.618 (19):0.382 (19) ratio. In the crystal, adjacent molecules are linked through O—H...O and O—H...N hydrogen bonds involving the cation, the anion, and the coordinated and uncoordinated water molecules into a three-dimensional network.

Rationale: Ginger pulp is the dried rhizome scraped off the skin which originates from Zingiber officinale Rosc., a Zingiberaceae plant. Ginger peel is the dried rhizome skin of Zingiber officinale Rosc. (Zingiberaceae). The present work aims to investigate the different chemical constituents that are related to the medicinal properties of the ginger pulp and ginger peel. Methods: A rapid ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/ESI-QTOF/MS) method was developed for qualitative analysis of the constituents in different polarity extracted fractions of the pulp and peel of ginger rhizomes. Results: A total of 83 compounds were identified from the pulp and peel of ginger rhizomes, including 36 diarylheptanoids, 25 gingerols and 22 other compounds. Nine of these were new compounds. In total, 46, 27, 65 and 51 compounds were identified from the crude extract, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol fractions of the ginger pulp, respectively, and 60, 30, 70 and 62 compounds were identified from the crude extract, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol fractions of the ginger peel, respectively. Each identified compound is marked on the corresponding chromatogram. Conclusions: The integrated method is sensitive and reliable for searching the different chemical constituents from different polarity extracted fractions of the ginger pulp and ginger peel. This work may provide a significant contribution to research into the medicinal properties of the ginger pulp and ginger peel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cephalotaxine is attractive due to the promising antitumor activity of several of its derivatives and its unique structural features. A highly efficient formal synthesis of cephalotaxine using the [2,3]-Stevens rearrangement-acid lactonization sequence as a key transformation from readily available (3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)acetic acid, methyl prolinate, and allyl bromide is described.

Direct melt/solid polycondensation of lactic acid (LA) was carried out to obtain high molecular weight poly(lactic acid) (PLA) by a process using various catalysts in the first-step melt polycondensation, and followed solid polycondensation by using p-toulenesulfonic acid monohydrate (TSA) as the catalyst in the second step. Effects of various catalysts and reaction temperature on the molecular weight and crystallinity of resulting PLA polymers were examined. It was shown that SnCl2·2H2O/TSA, SnCl2·2H2O/succinic anhydride, and SnCl2·2H2O/maleic anhydride binary catalysts should be effective binary catalysts to obtain high molecular weight PLA of more than 1.2 × 105. A conventional melt spinning method was used to spin PLA fibers, which displayed tensile strength of (382.76 ± 1.41) MPa and tensile modulus of (4.36 ± 0.07) GPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafine polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers, as a precursor of carbon nanofibers, with diameters in the range of 220–760 nm were obtained by electrospinning of PAN solution using N, N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) as solvent. Morphology of the nanofibers for varying concentration and applied voltage was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The thermal properties and structural changes during the oxidative stabilization process were primarily investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy. The nanofiber diameters increase as the applied voltage is increased and they also increase with an increase in the concentration of the polymer solution. It was also concluded that the electrospun fibers displayed a very sharp exothermic peak at 297.34 °C. A transition temperature observed by FT-IR and Raman was approximately 300 °C, which was closely consistent with the results of DSC and TGA studies. It was also found that oxidative stabilization in air was accompanied by a change in color of nanofibers webs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PMMAIPAN core/shell microspheres were synthesised by polymerising methyl methacrylate (MMA) or acrylonitrile(AN) at 75 °C for 5 h in a soapless emulsion system, using ammonium persulfate (APS) as a radical initiator. It has been shown that in the first-stage reaction the initiator APS significantly accelerated the reaction rate. However, when the APS concentration reached 0.9% (based on the amount of the monomers), this tendency lessened. In the second-stage core/shell reaction, the effect of initiator on reaction rate was not so pronounced. Transmission electron microscope (TEM), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to characterise the structure and properties of seeded PMMA core and/or PMMA/PAN core/shell polymers. The core/shell morphology was clearly displayed and the diameter of the core is ca. 350 nm whereas the shell thickness was ca. 100 nm. Both the PMMA core and the PMMA/PAN core/ shell polymers had weak and strong endothermic peaks when heated in the range of 340-390 °C, but the latter showed a characteristic exothermic peak which corresponded with the crosslinking reaction of polyacrylonitrile macromolecules at ca. 600 °C. A mixture was obtained by blending the core/shell polymers with high density polyethylene, then spinning to form composite fibres, which were thermally stabilised in air at 180 °C for 1 h and carbonised in nitrogen at 1000 °C to obtain nanometre-sized carbon fibres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design, fabrication and performance of narrow-band rugate minus filters are investigated in this paper. A method of fabricating graded-index coatings by rapidly alternating deposition of low (SiO2) and high (Al2O3) refractive index materials is presented to fabricate a rugate structure. The narrow-band rugate minus filter design and fabrication approaches are discussed in detail. The experimental results, including transmittance spectrum, surface damage test and damage morphology investigated with a scanning electron microscope, demonstrate the high performance of the as-fabricated spatial filter and confirm the feasibility of the fabrication method for narrow-band rugate minus filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the preventive effect and safety of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in low-dose aspirin (LDA)-associated gastrointestinal (GI) ulcers and bleeding., Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register from inception to December 2013, and checked conference abstracts of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of PPIs in reducing adverse GI events (hemorrhage, ulcer, perforation, or obstruction) in patients taking LDA. The preventive effects of PPIs were compared with the control group [taking placebo, a cytoprotective agent, or an H2 receptor antagonist (H2RA)] in LDA-associated upper GI injuries. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software., Results: We evaluated 8780 participants in 10 RCTs. The meta-analysis showed that PPIs decreased the risk of LDA-associated upper GI ulcers (OR = 0.16; 95%CI: 0.12-0.23) and bleeding (OR = 0.27; 95%CI: 0.16-0.43) compared with control. For patients treated with dual anti-platelet therapy of LDA and clopidogrel, PPIs were able to prevent the LDA-associated GI bleeding (OR = 0.36; 95%CI: 0.15-0.87) without increasing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (OR = 1.00; 95%CI: 0.76-1.31). PPIs were superior to H2RA in prevention of LDA-associated GI ulcers (OR = 0.12; 95%CI: 0.02-0.65) and bleeding (OR = 0.32; 95%CI: 0.13-0.79)., Conclusion: PPIs are effective in preventing LDA-associated upper GI ulcers and bleeding. Concomitant use of PPI, LDA and clopidogrel did not increase the risk of MACE.