Facile access to chiral -1,2-diol derivatives Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of α-alkoxy-β-ketoesters.

The iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of α-alkoxy-β-ketoesters dynamic kinetic resolution has been achieved with high efficiency and enantioselectivity. This strategy allows for the synthesis of differentiated -1,2-diol derivatives in high yields, exhibiting excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivity (up to 99% yield, 99% ee, and 99 : 1 dr). Additionally, high turnover number (TON) experiments (up to 1000 TON) and gram-scale synthesis of a key fragment of the potential drug Tesaglitazar were successfully performed, highlighting the protocol's potential for broader applications.

Design and Synthesis of Sulfur-Containing Tetradentate Ligands for Ir-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Ketones.

Developing highly active and enantioselective ligands for the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones has consistently attracted significant attention from scientists. A series of novel tetradentate sulfur-containing ligands, termed as f-thiophamidol, were successfully designed and synthesized which exhibited excellent performance in the asymmetric hydrogenation of simple ketones (up to 99% yield, 99% ee) and α-substituted β-keto sulfonamides (up to 99% yield, 99% ee, 99:1 dr). The subsequent successful gram-scale experiments with high TON demonstrated the immense potential application value of this system in synthesizing drug molecules.

CaAl-Layered Double Hydroxides-Modified Biochar Composites Mitigate the Toxic Effects of Cu and Pb in Soil on Pea Seedlings.

Compound contamination of soil with heavy metals copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) triggered by mining development has become a serious problem. To solve this problem, in this paper, corncob kernel, which is widely available and inexpensive, was used as the raw material of biochar and modified by loading CaAl-layered double hydroxides to synthesize biochar-loaded CaAl-layered double hydroxide composites (CaAl-LDH/BC). After soil remediation experiments, either BC or CaAl-LDH/BC can increase soil pH, and the available phosphorus content and available potassium content in soil.

Acupuncture as Add-on Therapy to SSRIs Can Improve Outcomes of Treatment for Anxious Depression: Subgroup Analysis of the AcuSDep Trial.

Purpose: Anxious depression (AD) is a common, distinct depression subtype. This exploratory subgroup analysis aimed to explore the effects of acupuncture as an add-on therapy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for patients with AD or non-anxious depression (NAD).

Patients And Methods: Four hundred and sixty-five patients with moderate-to-severe depression from the AcuSDep pragmatic trial were included in analysis.

Unravelling the removal mechanisms of trivalent arsenic by sulfidated nanoscale zero-valent iron: The crucial role of reactive oxygen species and the multiple effects of citric acid.

The remediation of arsenic-contaminated groundwater by sulfidated nanoscale zero-valent iron (S-nZVI) has raised considerable attention. However, the role of trivalent arsenic (As(III)) oxidation by S-nZVI in oxic conditions (S-nZVI/O) remains controversial, and the comprehensive effect of citric acid (CA) prevalent in groundwater on As(III) removal by S-nZVI remains unclear. Herein, the mechanisms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and multiple effects of CA on As(III) removal by S-nZVI/O were systematically explored.

Marine biomaterials in biomedical nano/micro-systems.

Marine resources in unique marine environments provide abundant, cost-effective natural biomaterials with distinct structures, compositions, and biological activities compared to terrestrial species. These marine-derived raw materials, including polysaccharides, natural protein components, fatty acids, and marine minerals, etc., have shown great potential in preparing, stabilizing, or modifying multifunctional nano-/micro-systems and are widely applied in drug delivery, theragnostic, tissue engineering, etc.

Ru-Catalyzed Asymmetric Reductive Amination of Aryl-Trifluoromethyl Ketones for Synthesis of Primary α-(Trifluoromethyl)arylmethylamines.

The ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric reductive amination of aryl-trifluoromethyl ketones affording high value primary α-(trifluoromethyl)arylmethylamines using cheap NHOAc as the nitrogen source and H as the reductant is reported. This user-friendly and simple catalytic method tolerates various aromatic functions with electron-withdrawing or -donating substituents at the para- or meta-positions and as well challenging heteroaromatic functions, yielding primary α-(trifluoromethyl)arylmethylamines with excellent chemoselectivities, enantioselectivities, and useful yields (80-97% ee, 51-92% isolated yields). Finally, scalable and concise synthesis of key drug intermediates using this methodology is presented.

Engineered Toll-like Receptor Nanoagonist Binding to Extracellular Matrix Elicits Safe and Robust Antitumor Immunity.

Cancer immunotherapy, such as the Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonist including CpG oligodeoxynucleotide, has shown potency in clinical settings. However, it is still confronted with multiple challenges, which include the limited efficacy and severe adverse events caused by the rapid clearance and systemic diffusion of CpG. Here we report an improved CpG-based immunotherapy approach composed of a synthetic extracellular matrix (ECM)-anchored DNA/peptide hybrid nanoagonist (EaCpG) (1) a tailor designed DNA template that encodes tetramer CpG and additional short DNA moieties, (2) generation of elongated multimeric CpG through rolling circle amplification (RCA), (3) self-assembly of densely packaged CpG particles composed of tandem CpG building blocks and magnesium pyrophosphate, and (4) incorporation of multiple copies of ECM binding peptide through hybridization to short DNA moieties.

A Zinc Finger Motif in the P1 N Terminus, Highly Conserved in a Subset of Potyviruses, Is Associated with the Host Range and Fitness of Telosma Mosaic Virus.

P1 is the first protein translated from the genomes of most viruses in the family , and it contains a C-terminal serine-protease domain that -cleaves the junction between P1 and HCPro in most cases. Intriguingly, P1 is the most divergent among all mature viral factors, and its roles during viral infection are still far from understood. In this study, we found that telosma mosaic virus (TelMV, genus ) in passion fruit, unlike TelMV isolates present in other hosts, has two stretches at the P1 N terminus, named N1 and N2, with N1 harboring a Zn finger motif.

QTL Detection for Rice Grain Length and Fine Mapping of a Novel Locus qGL6.1.

Background: Grain length (GL) that is directly associated with appearance quality is a key target of selection in rice breeding. Although abundant quantitative trait locus (QTL) associated with GL have been identified, it was still relatively weak to identify QTL for GL from japonica genetic background, as the shortage of japonica germplasms with long grains. We performed QTLs analysis for GL using a recombinant inbred lines (RILs) population derived from the cross between japonica variety GY8 (short grains) and LX1 (long grains) in four environments.

Gold Nanostar@Polyaniline Theranostic Agent with High Photothermal Conversion Efficiency for Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Anticancer Phototherapy at a Low Dosage.

Due to the strong and tunable photothermal effect, metallic nanoparticles are of enormous interest in light-activated biomedical applications, such as photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and photothermal therapy (PTT). However, the photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of existing metallic photothermal agents is still unsatisfactory. Herein, we develop an efficient photothermal theranostic agent based on a gold nanostar@polyaniline core-shell nanocomposite with high PCE for PAI-guided PTT at a low dosage.

High expression of NDRG3 in osteoarthritis patients.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA), as a common disease, seriously affects the quality of life of the victims, but its pathogenesis remains unclear. It has been confirmed that hypoxia-induced factor (HIF)-mediated hypoxia response plays an important role in the development and progression of OA. As a member of the N-myc downstream regulatory gene families, NDRG3 has been reported to independently regulate the hypoxic response of tumour cells, but the relationship between NDRG3 and OA development has not been reported so far.

Determination of the key parameters of VOCs emitted from multi-layer leather furniture using a region traversal approach.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from indoor materials and products are one of the main factors affecting air quality and human health. Compared with building materials and wooden furniture, leather furniture has a more complex internal structure and uneven emission surfaces. The market share of leather furniture is relatively high, while investigation on this kind of furniture is relatively rare.

Predicting the emissions of VOCs/SVOCs in source and sink materials: Development of analytical model and determination of the key parameters.

The emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) from indoor materials pose an adverse effect on people's health. In this study, a new analytical model was developed to simulate the emission behaviors for both VOCs and SVOCs under ventilated conditions. Based on this model, we further introduced a hybrid optimization method to accurately determine the key parameters in the model: the initial emittable concentration, the diffusion coefficient, the material/air partition coefficient, and the chamber surface/air partition coefficient (for SVOCs).

Three-dimensional printed hydroxyapatite bone tissue engineering scaffold with antibacterial and osteogenic ability.

The development of an effective scaffold for bone defect repair is an urgent clinical need. However, it is challenging to design a scaffold with efficient osteoinduction and antimicrobial activity for regeneration of bone defect. In this study, we successfully prepared a hydroxyapatite (HA) porous scaffold with a surface-specific binding of peptides during osteoinduction and antimicrobial activity using a three-dimensional (3D) printing technology.

Body Composition and Metabolic Improvement in Patients Followed Up by a Multidisciplinary Team for Obesity in China.

Background: This study evaluated the effectiveness of the multidisciplinary team (including a specialist, a dietitian, a physical exercise trainer, a surgeon for bariatric surgery, an acupuncturist, and several health educators) for obesity management and the body composition change and improvements in metabolic biomarkers during a 2-year follow-up.

Materials And Methods: A total of 119 patients participated in the multidisciplinary team for obesity. Patients were followed up at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 18 months, and 2 years after their first visit.

Directional homing of glycosylation-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for bone defect repair.

Background: One of the greatest challenges for tissue-engineered bone is the low survival rate of locally grafted cells. The cell homing technology can effectively increase the number of these grafted cells, therefore, enhancing the repair of bone defects. Here we explore the effect of fucosylation modification on the directional homing of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and their ability to repair bone defects.

Nanomedicine Strategies for Anti-Inflammatory Treatment of Noninfectious Arthritis.

Noninfectious arthritis (NIA) comprises a class of chronic and progressive inflammatory disorders that require early-stage management to prevent disease progression. The most common forms include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and gouty arthritis. Current treatments involve nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and glucocorticoids to alleviate clinical symptoms, although regular use of these can result in a high risk of chronic kidney disease and heart failure, as well as severe adverse gastrointestinal effects.

Transcriptional reprogramming caused by cold acclimation in Meloidogyne incognita eggs.

Background: Egg hatching in Meloidogyne incognita is a highly regulated developmental event and is strictly correlated with temperature. It has been demonstrated that exposure of M. incognita eggs to low temperature seriously affects their embryonic development.

An Individualized Intra-Articular Stabilization Device Designed Based on 3D Printing Technology for Traumatic Instability of the Ulnohumeral Joint.

We aimed to design an individualized intra-articular stabilization device based on 3D printing technology and investigate the clinical effects of this device for treating traumatic instability of the ulnohumeral joint. This study enrolled nine patients with traumatic instability of the ulnohumeral joint (age: 47.2 ± 1.

A Review on Antimicrobial Coatings for Biomaterial Implants and Medical Devices.

Biomaterial implants and medical devices have been utilized extensively in medical treatment with the development of modern medicine, especially in orthopaedics and stomatology. Along with their applications, biomaterial-associated infections (BAIs) have grown to be one of the main postoperative complications. Antimicrobial coating strategies have been reported to effectively inhibit bacterial adhesion and proliferation on implant surface, extending their lifespan.

Effect of buried vs. exposed Kirschner wire osteosynthesis on phalangeal, metacarpal and distal radial fractures: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: During Kirschner wire osteosynthesis for phalangeal, metacarpal and distal radial fractures, a key clinical decision is whether to leave a Kirschner wire exposed or bury it beneath the skin. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical effect of buried and exposed Kirschner wire osteosynthesis on phalangeal, metacarpal and distal radial fractures.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases were searched and clinical trials that evaluated buried and exposed Kirschner wire osteosynthesis for phalangeal, metacarpal and distal radial fractures were identified.