Matriptase-2 regulates iron homeostasis primarily by setting the basal levels of hepatic hepcidin expression through a nonproteolytic mechanism.

Matriptase-2 (MT2), encoded by TMPRSS6, is a membrane-anchored serine protease. It plays a key role in iron homeostasis by suppressing the iron-regulatory hormone, hepcidin. Lack of functional MT2 results in an inappropriately high hepcidin and iron-refractory iron-deficiency anemia. Mt2 cleaves multiple components of the hepcidin-induction pathway in vitro. It is inhibited by the membrane-anchored serine protease inhibitor, Hai-2. Earlier in vivo studies show that Mt2 can suppress hepcidin expression independently of its proteolytic activity. In this study, our data indicate that hepatic Mt2 was a limiting factor in suppressing hepcidin. Studies in Tmprss6-/- mice revealed that increases in dietary iron to ∼0.5% were sufficient to overcome the high hepcidin barrier and to correct iron-deficiency anemia. Interestingly, the increased iron in Tmprss6-/- mice was able to further upregulate hepcidin expression to a similar magnitude as in wild-type mice. These results suggest that a lack of Mt2 does not impact the iron induction of hepcidin. Additional studies of wild-type Mt2 and the proteolytic-dead form, fMt2S762A, indicated that the function of Mt2 is to lower the basal levels of hepcidin expression in a manner that primarily relies on its nonproteolytic role. This idea is supported by the studies in mice with the hepatocyte-specific ablation of Hai-2, which showed a marginal impact on iron homeostasis and no significant effects on iron regulation of hepcidin. Together, these observations suggest that the function of Mt2 is to set the basal levels of hepcidin expression and that this process is primarily accomplished through a nonproteolytic mechanism.

Defect engineering of metal-oxide interface for proximity of photooxidation and photoreduction.

Close proximity between different catalytic sites is crucial for accelerating or even enabling many important catalytic reactions. Photooxidation and photoreduction in photocatalysis are generally separated from each other, which arises from the hole-electron separation on photocatalyst surface. Here, we show with widely studied photocatalyst Pt/[Formula: see text] as a model, that concentrating abundant oxygen vacancies only at the metal-oxide interface can locate hole-driven oxidation sites in proximity to electron-driven reduction sites for triggering unusual reactions. Solar hydrogen production from aqueous-phase alcohols, whose hydrogen yield per photon is theoretically limited below 0.5 through conventional reactions, achieves an ultrahigh hydrogen yield per photon of 1.28 through the unusual reactions. We demonstrated that such defect engineering enables hole-driven CO oxidation at the Pt-[Formula: see text] interface to occur, which opens up room-temperature alcohol decomposition on Pt nanoparticles to [Formula: see text] and adsorbed CO, accompanying with electron-driven proton reduction on Pt to [Formula: see text].

Visible-Light Driven Overall Conversion of CO2 and H2O to CH4 and O2 on 3D-SiC@2D-MoS2 Heterostructure.

A marigold-like SiC@MoS2 nanoflower with a unique Z-scheme structure efficiently achieves the overall conversion of gas phase CO2 with H2O (CO2 (g) + 2H2O (g) = CH4 + 2O2) without any sacrificial reagents under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation. The CH4 and O2 evolution are 323 and 621 µL·g-1·h-1, and stable throughout 5 cycle reactions of total 40 h. This work demonstrates a breakthrough in artificial photosynthesis with the Z-scheme 1D heterojunction constructed by combining 2D semiconductor and 3D semiconductor based on the transfer balance of photogenerated electron and hole.

Degradation and Mineralization of Carbamazepine Using an Electro-Fenton Reaction Catalyzed by Magnetite Nanoparticles Fixed on an Electrocatalytic Carbon Fiber Textile Cathode.

Pharmaceutical wastes are considered to be important pollutants even at low concentrations. In this regard, carbamazepine has received significant attention due to its negative effect on both ecosystem and human health. However, the need for acidic conditions severely hinders the use of conventional Fenton reagent reactions for the control and elimination of carbamazepine in wastewater effluents and drinking water influents. Herein, we report of the synthesis and use of flexible bifunctional nanoelectrocatalytic textile materials, Fe3O4-NP@CNF, for the effective degradation and complete mineralization of carbamazepine in water. The nonwoven porous structure of the composite binder-free Fe3O4-NP@CNF textile is used to generate H2O2 on the carbon nanofiber (CNF) substrate by O2 reduction. In addition, ·OH radical is generated on the surface of the bonded Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) at low applied potentials (-0.345 V). The Fe3O4-NPs are covalently bonded to the CNF textile support with a high degree of dispersion throughout the fiber matrix. The dispersion of the nanosized catalysts results in a higher catalytic reactivity than existing electro-Fenton systems. For example, the newly synthesized Fe3O4-NPs system uses an Fe loading that is 2 orders of magnitude less than existing electro-Fenton systems, coupled with a current efficiency that is higher than electrolysis using a boron-doped diamond electrode. Our test results show that this process can remove carbamazepine with high pseudo-first-order rate constants (e.g., 6.85 h-1) and minimal energy consumption (0.239 kW·h/g carbamazepine). This combination leads to an efficient and sustainable electro-Fenton process.

Rapid in vitro screening for the location-dependent effects of unnatural amino acids on protein expression and activity.

The incorporation of unnatural amino acids (uAA) can introduce novel functional groups into proteins site-specifically, with important applications in basic sciences and protein engineering. However, uAA incorporation can impact protein expression and functional activity depending on its location within the protein-a process that is not yet completely understood and difficult to predict. Therefore, practical applications often necessitate a time-consuming optimization of uAA location by individual gene cloning, expressions, purification, and evaluations for each location tested. To address this limitation, we introduce a streamlined and versatile in vitro system to rapidly express and screen uAA-containing proteins without cumbersome cell culturing or purification procedures. We utilized this technology to simultaneously screen 24 different t4-lysozyme mutants with different uAA incorporation sites in a matter of hours, compared to weeks-long workflow of conventional methods. Screening data offered a mechanistic explanation to some effects of uAA incorporation on expression and activity. Despite these insights, rational prediction of such effects remained challenging, further confirming the value of a rapid screening approach. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2412-2417. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Asymmetric additions to dienes catalysed by a dithiophosphoric acid.

Chiral Brønsted acids (proton donors) have been shown to facilitate a broad range of asymmetric chemical transformations under catalytic conditions without requiring additional toxic or expensive metals. Although the catalysts developed thus far are remarkably effective at activating polarized functional groups, it is not clear whether organic Brønsted acids can be used to catalyse highly enantioselective transformations of unactivated carbon-carbon multiple bonds. This deficiency persists despite the fact that racemic acid-catalysed 'Markovnikov' additions to alkenes are well known chemical transformations. Here we show that chiral dithiophosphoric acids can catalyse the intramolecular hydroamination and hydroarylation of dienes and allenes to generate heterocyclic products in exceptional yield and enantiomeric excess. We present a mechanistic hypothesis that involves the addition of the acid catalyst to the diene, followed by nucleophilic displacement of the resulting dithiophosphate intermediate; we also report mass spectroscopic and deuterium labelling studies in support of the proposed mechanism. The catalysts and concepts revealed in this study should prove applicable to other asymmetric functionalizations of unsaturated systems.

Synthesis, characterization and enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity of graphene supported TiO2 nanocrystals with coexposed {001} and {101} facets.

It is known that the combination of TiO2 and graphene and the control of TiO2 crystal facets are both effective routes to improve the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. Here, we report the synthesis and the photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance of graphene supported TiO2 nanocrystals with coexposed {001} and {101} facets (G/TiO2-001/101). The combination of TiO2 and graphene enhanced the crystallinity of TiO2 single nanocrystals and obviously improved their dispersion on graphene. The "surface heterojunction" formed by the coexposed {001} and {101} facets can promote the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes toward different facets and the supports of graphene can further enhance the separation through accelerated electron migration from TiO2 to graphene. The G/TiO2-001/101 exhibited high photocatalytic CO2-reduction activity with a maximum CO yield reaching 70.8 µmol g(-1) h(-1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the composites can be attributed to their high surface area, good dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles, and effective separation of excited charges due to the synergy of graphene supports and the co-exposure of {001} and {101} facets.

Production of renewable fuels by the photohydrogenation of CO2: effect of the Cu species loaded onto TiO2 photocatalysts.

The efficient gas phase photocatalytic hydrogenation of CO2 into a desirable renewable fuel was achieved using a Cu-loaded TiO2 photocatalyst system. Enhancing the amount of Ti(3+) relative to Ti(4+) in a Cu-loaded TiO2 photocatalyst provided an excellent opportunity to promote the photohydrogenation of CO2. The coexistence of Cu and Cu(+) species during the photoreaction was shown to efficiently enhance the photocatalytic activity by prolonging the lifetime of the electrons. To achieve the best photoactivity, the Cu species must be maintained at an appropriately low concentration (≤1 wt%). The highest CH4 yield obtained was 28.72 µmol g(-1). This approach opens a feasible route not only to store hydrogen by converting it into a desirable renewable fuel, but also to reduce the amount of the greenhouse gas CO2 in the atmosphere.

A combination of directing groups and chiral anion phase-transfer catalysis for enantioselective fluorination of alkenes.

We report a catalytic enantioselective electrophilic fluorination of alkenes to form tertiary and quaternary C(sp3)-F bonds and generate ß-amino- and ß-aryl-allylic fluorides. The reaction takes advantage of the ability of chiral phosphate anions to serve as solid-liquid phase transfer catalysts and hydrogen bond with directing groups on the substrate. A variety of heterocyclic, carbocyclic, and acyclic alkenes react with good to excellent yields and high enantioselectivities. Further, we demonstrate a one-pot, tandem dihalogenation-cyclization reaction, using the same catalytic system twice in series, with an analogous electrophilic brominating reagent in the second step.

Transcriptional regulation of the Ikzf1 locus.

Ikaros is a critical regulator of lymphocyte development and homeostasis; thus, understanding its transcriptional regulation is important from both developmental and clinical perspectives. Using a mouse transgenic reporter approach, we functionally characterized a network of highly conserved cis-acting elements at the Ikzf1 locus. We attribute B-cell and myeloid but not T-cell specificity to the main Ikzf1 promoter. Although this promoter was unable to counter local chromatin silencing effects, each of the 6 highly conserved Ikzf1 intronic enhancers alleviated silencing. Working together, the Ikzf1 enhancers provided locus control region activity, allowing reporter expression in a position and copy-independent manner. Only 1 of the Ikzf1 enhancers was responsible for the progressive upregulation of Ikaros expression from hematopoietic stem cells to lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitors to T-cell precursors, which are stages of differentiation dependent on Ikaros for normal outcome. Thus, Ikzf1 is regulated by both epigenetic and transcriptional factors that target its enhancers in both redundant and specific fashions to provide an expression profile supportive of normal lymphoid lineage progression and homeostasis. Mutations in the Ikzf1 regulatory elements and their interacting factors are likely to have adverse effects on lymphopoiesis and contribute to leukemogenesis.

Effects of external light in the magnetic field-modulated photocatalytic reactions in a microfluidic chip reactor.

Photocatalytic reactions and their magnetic-field enhancement present significant potential for practical applications in green chemistry. This work presents the mutual enhancement of plasmonic photocatalytic reaction by externally applied magnetic field and plasmonic enhancement in a micro optofluidic chip reactor. The tiny gold (Au) nanoparticles of only a few atoms fixed on the surface of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles lead to mutually boosted enhancement photocatalytic reactions under an external magnetic field and plasmonic effects. The dominant factor of adding green light to the photocatalytic reaction leads to the understanding that it is a plasmonic effect. The positive results of adding ethanol alcohol (EA) in the experiments further present that it is a hot electron dominant path photocatalytic reaction that is positively enhanced by both the external magnetic field and plasmonic effects. This work offers great potential for utilizing magnetic field enhancement in plasmonic photocatalytic reactions.

Discovery and Preclinical Pharmacology of NX-2127, an Orally Bioavailable Degrader of Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase with Immunomodulatory Activity for the Treatment of Patients with B Cell Malignancies.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a member of the TEC family of kinases, is an essential effector of B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling. Chronic activation of BTK-mediated BCR signaling is a hallmark of many hematological malignancies, which makes it an attractive therapeutic target. Pharmacological inhibition of BTK enzymatic function is now a well-proven strategy for the treatment of patients with these malignancies. We report the discovery and characterization of NX-2127, a BTK degrader with concomitant immunomodulatory activity. By design, NX-2127 mediates the degradation of transcription factors IKZF1 and IKZF3 through molecular glue interactions with the cereblon E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. NX-2127 degrades common BTK resistance mutants, including BTKC481S. NX-2127 is orally bioavailable, exhibits in vivo degradation across species, and demonstrates efficacy in preclinical oncology models. NX-2127 has advanced into first-in-human clinical trials and achieves deep and sustained degradation of BTK following daily oral dosing at 100 mg.

Current Management and Volar Locking Plate Fixation with Bone Cement Augmentation for Elderly Distal Radius Fractures-An Updated Narrative Review.

Distal radius fractures (DRFs) are the most common among all kinds of fractures with an increase in incidence due to the rapidly expanded size of the elderly population in the past decades. Both non-surgical and surgical treatments can be applied for this common injury. Nowadays, more and more elderly patients with DRFs undergo surgical treatments to restore pre-injury activity levels faster. However, optimal treatment for geriatric DRFs is still debated, and careful evaluation and selection of patients are warranted considering clinical and functional outcomes, and complications following surgical treatments. Furthermore, osteoporosis is a predominant factor in elderly DRFs mostly deriving from a low-energy trauma, so many treatment modalities are developed to enhance better bone healing. Among various options for bone augmentation, bone cement is one of the most widely used measures. Bone cement such as calcium phosphate theoretically improves fracture stability and healing, but whether the elderly patients with DRFs can significantly benefit from surgical fixation with bone cement augmentation (BCA) remains controversial. Hence, in the present review, the latest literature regarding current concepts of management and evidence about volar locking plate fixation (VLPF) with BCA for elderly DRFs was searched in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science; out of >1000 articles, full texts of 48 and 6 articles were then examined and analyzed separately for management and VLPF with BCA for elderly DRFs. We aim to provide the readers with updates concerning the above issues.

Post-Operative Greater Tuberosity Resorption or Malreduction Is Associated with Poor Prognostic Outcomes in Patients with Proximal Humeral Fractures Treated Operatively-A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.

(1) Background: Proximal humerus fractures can be a debilitating condition if not properly treated. These fracture patterns are varied and differ in every patient. Functional outcomes may be determined by the integrity of the shoulder girdle involving the rotator cuff insertion. The post-operative resorption or malreduction of the greater tuberosity (GT) is an important factor contributing to the poor functional outcome of a patient. Thus, we intend to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationship between GT complications and clinical prognosis and outcomes. (2) Methods: A single-center retrospective comparative study was performed to evaluate the functional outcomes of patients undergoing operative fixation for this injury. A total of 387 consecutive cases treated operatively from 2019-2021 were included for analysis. (3) Results: 94 cases fulfilled our criteria for analysis. A matched-group comparison of 19 patients each was performed to compare demographics, post-operative fracture characteristics and clinical outcomes. (4) Conclusions: The resorption or malreduction of the GT contributes greatly to the prognostic outcome in patients treated with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) surgery. In our demographic study, obesity is another contributing factor affecting the parameters of post-operative reduction in proximal humerus fractures. Appropriate surgical planning and post-operative multidisciplinary care must be taken into consideration to attain a satisfactory prognostic outcome.

Impact of perioperative α1-antagonists on postoperative urinary retention in orthopaedic surgery: meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative urinary retention (POUR) is a common complication following orthopaedic surgery. Previous studies attempted to establish the preventative role of α1-antagonist in POUR in the general surgical population; however, there is still no consensus regarding its use in orthopaedic surgery due to limited evidence. METHODS: Electronic databases of Cochrane Library, Embase, MEDLINE, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched by two independent investigators from inception to 1 March 2022 to identify relevant randomized clinical trials. Two reviewers independently completed a critical appraisal of included trials by using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool version 2.0 and extracted data from included articles. Risk of POUR was summarized as risk ratio (RR) with 95 per cent confidence intervals (c.i.). Mean difference (MD) was used for meta-analysis of continuous outcomes. RESULTS: Five randomized clinical trials involving 878 patients (α1-antagonist, 434; placebo, 444) undergoing hip/knee arthroplasty and spine surgeries were included. One study was assessed as high risk of bias from the randomization process and was excluded from the final meta-analysis. There was no difference in the risk of POUR between patients taking α1-antagonist and the placebo in arthroplasty (RR, 0.64; 95 per cent c.i., 0.36 to 1.14) and in spine surgeries (RR, 1.03; 95 per cent c.i., 0.69 to 1.55). There was no difference in length of stay (MD, -0.14 days; 95 per cent c.i., -0.33 to 0.05). Use of α1-antagonist was associated with a higher risk of adverse events (RR, 1.97; 95 per cent c.i., 1.27 to 3.06), with a composite of dizziness, light-headedness, fatigue, altered mental status, and syncope being the most commonly reported symptoms. CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing spinal surgery and joint arthroplasty, routine administration of perioperative α1-antagonist does not decrease risk of POUR but does increase perioperative dizziness, light-headedness, and syncope.

The Texas Immuno-Oncology Biorepository, a statewide biospecimen collection and clinical informatics system to enable longitudinal tumor and immune profiling.

A detailed understanding of the molecular and immunological changes that occur longitudinally across tumors exposed to immune checkpoint inhibitors is a significant knowledge gap in oncology. To address this unmet need, we created a statewide biospecimen collection and clinical informatics system to enable longitudinal tumor and immune profiling and to enhance translational research. The Texas Immuno-Oncology Biorepository (TIOB) consents patients to collect, process, store, and analyze serial biospecimens of tissue, blood, urine, and stool from a diverse population of over 100,000 cancer patients treated each year across the Baylor Scott & White Health system. Here we sought to demonstrate that these samples were fit for purpose with regard to downstream multi-omic assays. Plasma, urine, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and stool samples from 11 enrolled patients were collected from various cancer types. RNA isolated from extracellular vesicles derived from plasma and urine was sufficient for transcriptomics. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells demonstrated excellent yield and viability. Ten of 11 stool samples produced RNA quality to enable microbiome characterization. Sample acquisition and processing methods are known to impact sample quality and performance. We demonstrate that consistent acquisition methodology, sample preparation, and sample storage employed by the TIOB can produce high-quality specimens, suited for employment in a wide array of multi-omic platforms, enabling comprehensive immune and molecular profiling.

Enantioselective halocyclization using reagents tailored for chiral anion phase-transfer catalysis.

A chiral anion phase-transfer system for enantioselective halogenation is described. Highly insoluble, ionic reagents were developed as electrophilic bromine and iodine sources, and application of this system to o-anilidostyrenes afforded halogenated 4H-3,1-benzoxazines with excellent yield and enantioselectivity.

Water and temperature effects on photo-selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide on Pd-loaded TiO2 photocatalyst.

Photo-selective catalytic reduction (photo-SCR) of nitric oxide (NO) was studied in the presence of water. The incipient wetness impregnation was applied to prepare 1 wt% PdO/TiO2 photocatalyst. Steady-state photoreaction was carried out in a continuous-flow photoreactor with 0.55-1.6 v% water at 30-120 degrees C under UV-light intensity of approximately 200mW/cm(2). The C3H8/NO molar ratio in the feed ranged from 0.8 - 16.8 at a volume hourly space velocity (VHSV) from 330-1090 h(-1). The result indicates that the increase of temperature has played an important role in inhibiting NO transformation to NO2 under the humid condition. Another important factor for maximizing denitrification (reduction of nitrogen oxides, DeNOx) efficiency was C3H8/NO ratio. An increase of temperature at a suitable C3H8/NO ratio can minimize NO2 formation, which can lead to high NO removal efficiency of more than 90% at a temperature of 70-100 degrees C. In addition, the mechanism of palladium transformation during photoreaction is proposed, to explain the influence of Pd on the improvement of NO removal.

Erector Spinae Plane Block is Equivalent to Tumescent Local Anesthesia for Perioperative Pain Control with Abdominal Harvest for Fat Grafting.

There is increasing evidence that lidocaine is toxic to adipocytes and their precursors, which can contribute to the variability in fat graft resorption. Erector spinae plane (ESP) block is a new technique to provide analgesia of the trunk and would avoid lidocaine at the fat graft donor site. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of ESP block versus tumescent local anesthesia (TLA). Methods: A retrospective review was performed for all patients who underwent autologous fat grafting from the abdomen at the University of New Mexico Hospital between February 2016 and March 2019. These patients received either ESP block or TLA during abdominal fat harvest. The primary endpoints were intraoperative, postoperative, and total morphine equivalents. Results: There was no difference in the mean intraoperative, postoperative, and total morphine equivalents administered between the ESP and TLA groups. Conclusions: ESP block is equivalent to TLA for analgesia when using an abdominal donor site for fat harvest. ESP block should be considered in fat-grafting cases to avoid the potential toxicity of lidocaine to the viability of adipocytes and preadipocytes.

Opioids and Chronic Pain: An Analytic Review of the Clinical Evidence.

We conducted an analytic review of the clinical scientific literature bearing on the use of opioids for treatment of chronic non-cancer pain in the United States. There is substantial, albeit not definitive, scientific evidence of the effectiveness of opioids in treating pain and of high variability in opioid dose requirements and side effects. The estimated risk of death from opioid treatment involving doses above 100 MMED is ~0.25%/year. Multiple large studies refute the concept that short-term use of opioids to treat acute pain predisposes to development of opioid use disorder. The prevalence of opioid use disorder associated with prescription opioids is likely <3%. Morbidity, mortality, and financial costs of inadequate treatment of the 18 million Americans with moderate to severe chronic pain are high. Because of the absence of comparative effectiveness studies, there are no scientific grounds for considering alternative non-pharmacologic treatments as an adequate substitute for opioid therapy but these treatments might serve to augment opioid therapy, thereby reducing dosage. There are reasons to question the ostensible risks of co-prescription of opioids and benzodiazepines. As the causes of the opioid crisis have come into focus, it has become clear that the crisis resides predominantly in the streets and that efforts to curtail it by constraining opioid treatment in the clinic are unlikely to succeed.