Cellulosic films obtained from the treatment of sugarcane bagasse fibers with N -methylmorpholine- N -oxide (NMMO)

Ethanol/water organosolv pulping was used to obtain sugarcane bagasse pulp that was bleached with sodium chlorite. This bleached pulp was used to obtain cellulosic films that were further evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A good film formation was observed when temperature of 74 °C and baths of distilled water were used, which after FTIR, TGA, and SEM analysis indicated no significant difference between the reaction times. The results showed this to be an interesting and promising process, combining the prerequisites for a more efficient utilization of agro-industrial residues.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), (CNPq), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Brazil; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and CEMU

Carboxymethylcellulose Obtained by Ethanol/Water Organosolv Process Under Acid Conditions

Sugar cane bagasse pulps were obtained by ethanol/water organosolv process under acid and alkaline conditions. The best condition of acid pulping for the sugarcane bagasse was 0.02 mol/L sulfuric acid at 160°C, for 1 h, whereas the best condition for alkaline pulping was 5% sodium hydroxide (base pulp) at 160°C, for 3 h. For the residual lignin removal, the acid and alkaline pulps were submitted to a chemical bleaching using sodium chlorite. Pulps under acid and alkaline conditions bleached with sodium chlorite presented viscosities of 3.6 and 7.8 mPa·s, respectively, and μ-kappa numbers of 1.1 and 2.4, respectively. The pulp under acid condition, bleached with sodium chlorite was used to obtain carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). CMC yield was 35% (pulp based), showing mass gain after the carboxymethylation reaction corresponding to 23.6% of substitution or 0.70 groups −CH2 COONa per unit of glucose residue. The infrared spectra showed the CMC characteristic bands and by the infrared technique it was possible to obtain a substitution degree (0.63), similar to the substitution degree calculated by mass gain (0.70).Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado Científico e Tecnológico (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Rivaroxaban with or without aspirin in stable cardiovascular disease

BACKGROUND: We evaluated whether rivaroxaban alone or in combination with aspirin would be more effective than aspirin alone for secondary cardiovascular prevention. METHODS: In this double-blind trial, we randomly assigned 27,395 participants with stable atherosclerotic vascular disease to receive rivaroxaban (2.5 mg twice daily) plus aspirin (100 mg once daily), rivaroxaban (5 mg twice daily), or aspirin (100 mg once daily). The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, or myocardial infarction. The study was stopped for superiority of the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group after a mean follow-up of 23 months. RESULTS: The primary outcome occurred in fewer patients in the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group than in the aspirin-alone group (379 patients [4.1%] vs. 496 patients [5.4%]; hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66 to 0.86; P<0.001; z=−4.126), but major bleeding events occurred in more patients in the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group (288 patients [3.1%] vs. 170 patients [1.9%]; hazard ratio, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.40 to 2.05; P<0.001). There was no significant difference in intracranial or fatal bleeding between these two groups. There were 313 deaths (3.4%) in the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group as compared with 378 (4.1%) in the aspirin-alone group (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.96; P=0.01; threshold P value for significance, 0.0025). The primary outcome did not occur in significantly fewer patients in the rivaroxaban-alone group than in the aspirin-alone group, but major bleeding events occurred in more patients in the rivaroxaban-alone group. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with stable atherosclerotic vascular disease, those assigned to rivaroxaban (2.5 mg twice daily) plus aspirin had better cardiovascular outcomes and more major bleeding events than those assigned to aspirin alone. Rivaroxaban (5 mg twice daily) alone did not result in better cardiovascular outcomes than aspirin alone and resulted in more major bleeding events