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Introduction: Current guidelines recommend prophylactic treatment of hemophilia B with the missing coagulation factor IX, either with standard half-life or extended half-life products. Extended half-life products have half-lives three to six times longer than the former, allowing a reduction in the number of weekly injections and therefore, potentially impacting on treatment adherence and quality of life. Albutrepenonacog alfa is an extended half-life fusion protein of coagulation factor IX with recombinant human albumin, indicated for both on-demand and prophylactic treatment for bleeding in patients with hemophilia B of all ages. Areas covered: The authors review the clinical and pharmacokinetic characteristics of albutrepenonacog alfa, as well as the available information regarding trough levels and real-world evidence. Given the availability of other factor IX products in the market, indirect comparisons of clinical and pharmacokinetic characteristics are presented. Expert opinion: The authors exhibit their expert opinion on which patient profiles are candidates for prophylactic treatment with albutrepenonacog alfa, and on the management of patients in terms of dosing, regimens of administration and protocols for switching the treatment.

WOS: 000380137500017 PubMed: 27146949 The aim of this study was the optimisation of a multi-analyte method for the analysis of primary aromatic amines ( PAAs) from napkins in order to support official controls and food safety. We developed a UHPLC- MS/ MS method for the simultaneous determination of 36 toxicologically relevant PAAs for paper and board. Good regression coefficients of the calibration curves in a range of 0.992- 0.999 and reproducibilities in a range of 2.3- 15% were obtained. Limits of detections ( LODs) were in the range of 0.03-1.4 mu g l(-1) and recoveries were in a range of 21-110% for all the amines. A total of 93 coloured paper napkin samples from different European countries were bought and extracted with water to determine the PAAs. The results showed that 42 of 93 samples contained at least one PAA. More than half of the detected PAAs are considered as toxic, carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer ( IARC), or are classified as such in the European Union legislation on chemicals. Summed concentrations of PAAs in seven samples were higher than 10 mu g l(-1), the limit of summed PAA in the European Union plastic food contact material regulation. Also, eight PAAs, classified as Category 1A and 1B carcinogen in the European Union legislation of chemicals, were detected at concentrations higher than 2 mu g l(-1), exceeding the limit proposed by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany. Aniline ( n = 14) was most frequently present in higher concentrations followed by o-toluidine, o-anisidine, 2,4-dimethylaniline and 4-aminoazobenzene. Red, orange, yellow and multicoloured paper napkins contained the highest concentrations of total PAAs (> 10 mu g l(-1)). Although the European Union has not harmonised the legislation of paper and board materials and, thus, there is no specific migration limit for PAAs from paper napkins, the present study showed that coloured paper napkins can contain toxic and carcinogenic PAAs at concentrations that are relevant for monitoring.

Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent.) was one of the most widely distributed crop species in prehistoric Oceania, occurring from continental East Asia to the Polynesian islands. Its broad distribution is largely due to human-mediated dispersal during colonization of the islands of Near and Remote Oceania. We explore the potential for analyses of genetic variation in paper mulberry and the value of such data for the development of a new commensal model species for reconstructing patterns of human mobility in Oceania. We introduce and discuss paper mulberry as another commensal species and outline key features for its contribution to the understanding of human migration and post-colonization interaction. Here, we describe some of the extant B. papyrifera populations in Remote Oceania and Taiwan that were sampled for initial studies. We argue that the unique characteristics of this species and its importance in ancient Pacific island societies may provide the opportunity to collect valuable gen...

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID) which may have a major impact on a patient's life, especially when the disease is moderate to severe. There is evidence that treatment of psoriasis during the first years is conservative and frequently based on topical agents which rarely clear lesions. Treatment with systemic agents including biologics is often undertaken only when topical agents have proved unsuitable, even in patients with moderate to severe disease. However, there is evidence that in other IMIDs (rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease), targeted systemic treatment given early in the treatment pathway may improve long-term patient outcomes. We hypothesize that a patient-centered therapeutic approach, undertaken early in the psoriasis treatment pathway ("early intervention") with the goal of complete clearance, may improve control of cutaneous symptoms and may also modify disease course and burden. Critical points to address when designing an early intervention study would include: the definition of psoriasis disease activity; patient selection; intervention selection; and dosing strategies.

Dye removal from effluents is a major problem for most textile industries. At present, wastewater treatments are currently based on physico-chemical methods which are expensive, energy inefficient and of limited versatility. The aim of this work was to find a low-cost and efficient method for dye removal. To do this, we designed a combined system based on the immobilization of the ligninolytic white-rot fungus Peniophora laxitexta (BAFC 4687) on mixed supports consisting of two polyurethane foam discs and a middle layer of diverse lignocellulosic substrates: soybean hulls, wheat straw or cellulose spent casings. As a corticioid fungus, P. laxitexta was able to completely colonize the supports developing a compact and tight structure that maintained the integrity of the system after several dye removal cycles. The immobilized fungus removed between 30% and 50% of the azoic dye Xylidine and more than 50% of the anthraquinonic dye RBBR in three successive cycles, and near 90% of the triphenylmethane Malachite Green in 10 repeated cycles without any loss of efficiency. Our analysis showed that the removal of the dyes was due to the combined effect of adsorption to the supports and enzymatic decolorization by soluble laccases and enzymes associated with the mycelium. Additionally, we showed that the presence of Malachite Green induced the expression of a new laccase isoform with high decolorization capacity. Based on these results, we propose that this inoculated laminar biocarrier could be effectively used for dye removal in textile wastewater. Fil: Majul, Leonardo Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular; Argentina Fil: Wirth, Sonia Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Levin, Laura Noemí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; Argentina

WOS: 000474177700001, Removal of COD, and several toxic heavy metals (Cu2+ and Ni2+) from CNC (metalworking fluid) wastewater was investigated using electrocoagulation method (EC) with Fe and Al electrodes. The interaction effects of the current density, reaction time and initial pH were analyzed and were correlated to assess the removal efficiencies for COD, copper, and nickel. Coefficient of determination (R-2) and adjusted R-2 was found to be higher than 96.81% and 92.77; 99.01% and 89.94 for all responses at Fe and Al electrodes, respectively. Removal efficiencies were determined to be 95.72%, 96.03%, 95.22% and 97.11%, 98.51%, 92.49% for COD, copper and nickel at iron and aluminum electrodes, respectively under optimum operating conditions. The operational cost of the EC process for COD, copper, and nickel removal, were found to be 2.54, 3.36, 2.50 euro/m(3) for iron electrode and 7.16, 8.95, 8.50 euro/m(3) for aluminum electrode at optimum conditions, respectively. The results provide that The EC process seems to be an effective treatment method for removing COD and several trace heavy metals from the CNC machine (metalworking fluid) wastewater.

Sustainability-focused research networks and communities of practice have emerged as a key response and strategy to build capacity and knowledge to support transformation towards more sustainable, just and equitable futures. This paper synthesises insights from the development of a community of practice on social-ecological systems (SES) research in southern Africa over the past decade, linked to the international Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS). This community consists of a network of researchers who carry out place-based SES research in the southern African region. They interact through various cross-cutting working groups and also host a variety of public colloquia and student and practitioner training events. Known as the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS), its core objectives are to: (1) derive new approaches and empirical insights on SES dynamics in the southern African context; (2) have a tangible impact by mainstreaming knowledge into policy and practice; and (3) grow the community of practice engaged in SES research and governance, including researchers, students and practitioners. This paper reflects on experiences in building the SAPECS community, with the aim of supporting the development of similar networks elsewhere in the world, particularly in the Global South.

AKTAS, Fatih/0000-0002-2031-298X; Guduk, Elif/0000-0002-9724-0566 WOS: 000469025700004 Laccases (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductases, [EC1.10.3.2] are mostly known as members of the blue multicopper oxidase family that are used in very different industrial applications: textile, pulp and paper, food, cosmetics industries, bioremediation process, biosensor, biofuel and organic synthesis. Stability against the extreme conditions is an important property and it makes laccase suitable for several industrial processes. Laccase should have salt resistance to be used in textile dye degradation because the textile wastewaters include dyes with high concentrations of salts, especially NaCl. Bacterial laccases are preferable to be used for bioremediation process due to their high stability to extremely salt contaminated and alkalophilic environment. Bacillus subtilis LP2 was identified as a source of alkali-tolerant, salt resistant laccase. Laccase showed activity over a wide pH (4-10) and temperature (30-80 degrees C) range. Maximum laccase activity was observed as 140.4U/mg (umol/min*mg) at pH 8 and 50 degrees C with the substrate guaiacol. Stability of laccase was determined as 60% and 20% after incubation of the enzyme for different time intervals of 20 and 40min at 50 degrees C and pH 8. SDS (10mM) and EDTA (5mM) decreased laccase activity from 100% to 0% and 56%, respectively. Despite the other inhibitors, NaCI increased the activity of laccase to 167% at 500mM concentration. Laccase from Bacillus subtilis LP2 barely showed the activity on the substrates vanillin and L-tyrosine. These results clearly show that laccase from Bacillus subtilis LP2 has high potential to be used for several applications in textile industry. KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, Republic of Turkey); DAMAR Chemical Industry and Foreign Trade Inc. This work was supported financially by the KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, Republic of Turkey) and DAMAR Chemical Industry and Foreign Trade Inc.

The paper focussed on a step-by-step structural modification of a cycloheptathiophene-3-carboxamide derivative recently identified by us as reverse transcriptase (RT)-associated ribonuclease H (RNase H) inhibitor. In particular, its conversion to a 2-aryl-cycloheptathienoozaxinone derivative and the successive thorough exploration of both 2-aromatic and cycloheptathieno moieties led to identify oxazinone-based compounds as new anti-RNase H chemotypes. The presence of the catechol moiety at the C-2 position of the scaffold emerged as critical to achieve potent anti-RNase H activity, which also encompassed anti-RNA dependent DNA polymerase (RDDP) activity for the tricyclic derivatives. Benzothienooxazinone derivative 22 resulted the most potent dual inhibitor exhibiting IC50s of 0.53 and 2.90 μM against the RNase H and RDDP functions. Mutagenesis and docking studies suggested that compound 22 binds two allosteric pockets within the RT, one located between the RNase H active site and the primer grip region and the other close to the DNA polymerase catalytic centre., Graphical Abstract