Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is not independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease event : a cohort study

There are no consistent results between previous studies for an independent association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. To determine if there is an independent association between NAFLD and CVD events. In the present study, valid outcome data of 4808 subjects were available for phase 2 of our cohort study. These subjects had been followed up for seven years from phase 1, beginning in 2009-2010 to phase 2 during 2016-2017. Simple and multiple Cox proportional models were used to determine the association between NAFLD in the primary phase of the cohort and subsequent fatal and non-fatal CVD events during follow-up. The incidence of non-fatal CVD events in males with NAFLD was significantly higher ( = 0.004) than in males without NAFLD. A positive association was demonstrated between NAFLD and non-fatal CVD events in males (Hazard ratio = 1.606; 95%CI: 1.166-2.212; = 0.004) by the simple Cox proportional hazard model, but no independent association was detected between these in the multiple Cox models. No independent association was detected between NAFLD and CVD. It is likely that diabetes mellitus and age may be the principle mediators in this regard. [Abstract copyright: ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Signal transduction pathway mutations in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers : a systematic review and meta-analysis

The present study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of the signaling pathways mutation rate in the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancers in a systematic review and meta-analysis study. The study was performed based on the PRISMA criteria. Random models by confidence interval (CI: 95%) were used to calculate the pooled estimate of prevalence via Metaprop command. The pooled prevalence indices of signal transduction pathway mutations in gastric cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer were 5% (95% CI: 3–8%), 12% (95% CI: 8–18%), 17% (95% CI: 14–20%), and 20% (95% CI: 5–41%), respectively. Also, the mutation rates for Wnt pathway and MAPK pathway were calculated to be 23% (95% CI, 14–33%) and 20% (95% CI, 17–24%), respectively. Moreover, the most popular genes were APC (in Wnt pathway), KRAS (in MAPK pathway) and PIK3CA (in PI3K pathway) in the colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and gastric cancer while they were beta-catenin and CTNNB1 in liver cancer. The most altered pathway was Wnt pathway followed by the MAPK pathway. In addition, pancreatic cancer was found to be higher under the pressure of mutation compared with others based on pooled prevalence analysis. Finally, APC mutations in colorectal cancer, KRAS in gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer were mostly associated gene alterations

Efficient and selective microwave-assisted O-methylation of phenolic compounds using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)

In this study, an efficient method for O-methylation of phenolic compound using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) as a new alkylating agent under microwave irradiation was developed. Ethanol was selected as a green reaction media to accomplish this protocol under environmentallybenign conditions. Less than half hour time is needed to obtain good to excellent yields of products at temperature of about 120°C. Using this procedure, phenolic compounds could be converted to the corresponding aryl methyl derivatives quickly. The results indicated that different phenolic compounds bearing both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups are O-methylated effectively using TMAOH under microwave irradiation. This novel protocol has many improvements in view point of reaction yields, selectivity and conditions compared to previous studies. Trimethylamine and water were the side products of O-methylation reaction which can be recovered easily from the product mixture. This methodology showed high selectivity for O-methylation and no C-methylated products were observed

Nickel-Catalyzed One-Pot Deoxygenation and Reductive Homocoupling of Phenols via C–O Activation Using TCT Reagent

A new method for C–O bond activation of phenolic compounds has been achieved using 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine to utilize in one-pot Ni-catalyzed deoxygenation and reductive homocoupling reactions. With this simple method, phenolic compounds were converted to their corresponding arenes or biaryl compounds under mild conditions. The introduced methodology has a broad scope and demonstrates good functional group compatibility

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Synthesis of Benzoxazoles Using Acceptorless Dehydrogenative Coupling Reaction of Primary Alcohols with 2‑Aminophenol under Heterogeneous Conditions

An efficient ruthenium-catalyzed acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling reaction of primary alcohols with 2-aminophenol for one-pot synthesis of benzoxazoles is introduced. The phosphine-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (PFMNPs; Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@PPh₂) as a magnetic recyclable phosphorus ligand in the presence of Ru₂Cl₄(CO)₆ was found to be an efficient heterogeneous catalytic system for promotion of the designed protocol. The reaction was carried out efficiently with a variety of substrates to give the corresponding products in moderate to good yields

Metal–Organic Framework MIL-101(Cr) as an Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst for Clean Synthesis of Benzoazoles

A metal–organic framework [MIL-101­(Cr)] was used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst in the synthesis of benzoazoles (benzimidazole, benzothiazole, and benzoxazole), and quantitative conversion of products were obtained under optimized reaction conditions. The catalyst could be simply extracted from the reaction mixture, providing an efficient and clean synthetic methodology for the synthesis of benzoazoles. The MIL-101­(Cr) catalyst could be reused without a remarkable decrease in its catalytic efficiency

Synthesis of α‑Aminonitriles with Benzimidazolic and Theophyllinic Backbones Using the Strecker Reaction

An example of the application of the Strecker reaction in the synthesis of a new class of α-aminonitriles with benzimidazole and theophylline backbones has been developed. For the synthesis of these compounds, first 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde was reacted with 1,3- and 1,5-dibromides/epibromohydrin to produce the corresponding bromo-substituted aldehydes. Then, benzimidazole/theophylline was reacted with the latter to generate the related benzimidazolic/theophyllinic aldehydes. Finally, the Strecker reactions of the synthetic benzimidazolic and theophyllinic aldehydes with different amines afforded the target products

Supported Palladium on Magnetic Nanoparticles–Starch Substrate (Pd-MNPSS): Highly Efficient Magnetic Reusable Catalyst for C–C Coupling Reactions in Water

A novel heterogeneous Pd–catalyst system (Pd-MNPSS) was developed using immobilization of Pd species (Pd^II and Pd⁰) on starch-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles. For the synthesis of Pd-MNPSS catalyst, first, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were prepared and coated with a silica layer (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂) to increase their stability and functionalization capability. The Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ particles were reacted with thionyl chloride (SOCl₂) to generate chlorosilyl groups on the surface of MNPs. Reaction of starch with chloro-functionalized MNPs leads to a magnetic reusable poly-hydroxy-functionalized substrate (MNPSS), which is highly suitable for immobilization of Pd metal on its surface. This catalyst system was designed to be applied in Pd-catalyzed organic coupling reactions in water. Finally, the Pd-MNPSS catalyst was prepared via reaction of MNPSS and Pd­(OAc)₂. After characterization of the Pd-MNPSS catalyst it was applied in the Heck and Sonogashira coupling reactions in water solvent, and excellent results were obtained. The catalyst system was separated from the reaction mixture employing an outside magnetic field. In these processes the catalyst was reusable for 5 times without remarkable decrease in its activity. The Pd-MNPSS catalyst has many advantages especially in the workup process related to our previously reported catalyst systems, Pd supported on silica–starch substrate (PNP-SSS) and Pd supported on silica–cyclodextrin substrate (PNP-SCD)

Nickel-Catalyzed Deoxycyanation of Activated Phenols via Cyanurate Intermediates with Zn(CN)₂: A Route to Aryl Nitriles

A novel, and efficient nickel-catalyzed deoxycyanation of phenolic compounds using relatively nontoxic Zn­(CN)₂ as the cyanide source was developed. The reaction of C–O bond activated phenolic compounds by 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine with Zn­(CN)₂ in the presence of a nickel precatalyst afforded the aromatic nitriles in good to excellent yields

Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Etherification of Aldehydes at Room Temperature: C–O vs C–C Bond Formation

The reaction of secondary and tertiary benzyl alcohols activated by 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (TCT) with aldehydes in the presence of NiCl₂·dmg as a precatalyst in ethylene glycol afforded ethers at room temperature. A selective C–O vs C–C bond formation was observed for the secondary and tertiary benzyl alcohols in comparison with primary ones