Half-Century Ammonia Emissions From Agricultural Systems in Southern Asia: Magnitude, Spatiotemporal Patterns, and Implications for Human Health.

Much concern has been raised about the increasing threat to air quality and human health due to ammonia (NH3) emissions from agricultural systems, which is associated with the enrichment of reactive nitrogen (N) in southern Asia (SA), home of more than 60% the world's population (i.e., the people of West, central, East, South, and Southeast Asia). Southern Asia consumed more than half of the global synthetic N fertilizer and was the dominant region for livestock waste production since 2004. Excessive N application could lead to a rapid increase of NH3 in the atmosphere, resulting in severe air and water pollution in this region. However, there is still a lack of accurate estimates of NH3 emissions from agricultural systems. In this study, we simulated the agricultural NH3 fluxes in SA by coupling the Bidirectional NH3 exchange module (Bi-NH3) from the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model with the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model. Our results indicated that NH3 emissions were 21.3 ± 3.9 Tg N yr-1 from SA agricultural systems with a rapidly increasing rate of ~0.3 Tg N yr-2 during 1961-2014. Among the emission sources, 10.8 Tg N yr-1 was released from synthetic N fertilizer use, and 10.4 ± 3.9 Tg N yr-1 was released from manure production in 2014. Ammonia emissions from China and India together accounted for 64% of the total amount in SA during 2000-2014. Our results imply that the increased NH3 emissions associated with high N inputs to croplands would likely be a significant threat to the environment and human health unless mitigation efforts are applied to reduce these emissions.

A multicentre, randomized, single-blind comparison of topical clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 5% once-daily gel versus clindamycin 1% twice-daily gel in the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris in Chinese patients.

BACKGROUND: Acne vulgaris affects up to 54% of Chinese adolescents. Combination therapy has become the recommended standard of care for acne. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of clindamycin (1%) and benzoyl peroxide (5%) (CDP/BPO) gel once daily vs. clindamycin (1%) (CDP) monotherapy gel twice daily in Chinese patients with mild to moderate acne. METHODS: 1020 patients (aged 12-45 years) with mild to moderate acne were randomized (1 : 1); 1016 patients were treated with CDP/BPO (n = 500) or CDP (n = 516) for a 12-week treatment period. Efficacy assessments were performed at baseline, and at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12; and primarily included change in total lesion count (inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions), and proportion of patients with a minimum 2-grade improvement in Investigator's Static Global Assessment (ISGA) score. Patient safety and local tolerability were also evaluated. RESULTS: Patients in CDP/BPO group showed a greater per cent reduction in total lesion count compared with patients in CDP group at week 12 (delta = -0.05; 95% CI = -0.09, -0.02; P = 0.003); statistically significant reduction in lesion count was noted as early as week 1 and continued through week 12. A greater proportion of patients in CDP/BPO group showed a ≥2-grade improvement in ISGA score at week 12 compared with CDP group (30.2% vs. 22.7%; P = 0.018). Overall, the incidence of adverse events (AEs) was higher in the CDP/BPO group (14.4%) than in the CDP group (7.9%); the most commonly reported events were generally related to application site reactions (erythema, pruritus and swelling). Incidence of drug-related AEs was 8.6% in CDP/BPO group and 1.2% in CDP group. Both groups showed trends towards reduction in investigator and subject rated local tolerability scores. CONCLUSION: CDP/BPO gel demonstrated superior efficacy over CDP gel along with acceptable safety and tolerability in Chinese patients with mild to moderate acne. GOV NUMBER: NCT01915732.

CARD9 mutation linked to Corynespora cassiicola infection in a Chinese patient.

Corynespora cassiicola is a plant pathogen associated with leaf-spotting disease. The fungus has been found on diverse substrates: leaves, stems and roots of plants; nematode cysts and human skin. It rarely causes human infections. Here we report one case of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis caused by C. cassiicola with prominent tissue necrosis in a woman. All of her clinical features pointed towards a genetic linkage. Hence, whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were performed on this patient. One mutation of CARD9 was detected.

HLA-B*13:01 and the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Dapsone is used in the treatment of infections and inflammatory diseases. The dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, which is associated with a reported mortality of 9.9%, develops in about 0.5 to 3.6% of persons treated with the drug. Currently, no tests are available to predict the risk of the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome. METHODS: We performed a genomewide association study involving 872 participants who had received dapsone as part of multidrug therapy for leprosy (39 participants with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome and 833 controls), using log-additive tests of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and imputed HLA molecules. For a replication analysis, we genotyped 24 SNPs in an additional 31 participants with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome and 1089 controls and performed next-generation sequencing for HLA-B and HLA-C typing at four-digit resolution in an independent series of 37 participants with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome and 201 controls. RESULTS: Genomewide association analysis showed that SNP rs2844573, located between the HLA-B and MICA loci, was significantly associated with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome among patients with leprosy (odds ratio, 6.18; P=3.84×10(-13)). HLA-B*13:01 was confirmed to be a risk factor for the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome (odds ratio, 20.53; P=6.84×10(-25)). The presence of HLA-B*13:01 had a sensitivity of 85.5% and a specificity of 85.7% as a predictor of the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, and its absence was associated with a reduction in risk by a factor of 7 (from 1.4% to 0.2%). HLA-B*13:01 is present in about 2 to 20% of Chinese persons, 1.5% of Japanese persons, 1 to 12% of Indians, and 2 to 4% of Southeast Asians but is largely absent in Europeans and Africans. CONCLUSIONS: HLA-B*13:01 was associated with the development of the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome among patients with leprosy. (Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others.).

Identification of two novel splice mutations of the ADAR1 gene in two Chinese families with dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria.

Dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria (DSH) is a rare, autosomal dominant dermatosis, characterized by a mixture of hyperpigmented and hypopigmented macules on the dorsa of the hands and feet. The DSH locus has been mapped to chromosome 1q21, and in 2003, pathogenic mutations were identified in the ADAR1 (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA1) gene. In this study, we performed mutation detection of the ADAR1 gene in two Chinese families with DSH. PCR and direct sequencing of the ADAR1 gene were used to identify and confirm the mutations in the two families. Furthermore, we analysed the RNA transcripts by reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR. Two aberrant splice products were confirmed with RT-PCR and DNA direct sequence analysis. These novel findings further extend our understanding of the role of ADAR1 in DSH.

Isolation of egg cells and zygotes of Torenia fournieri L. and determination of their surface charge.

Egg cells of Torenia fournieri were isolated from embryo sacs 1 day after anthesis using enzymatic digestion or mechanical dissection. About 5% of the egg cells and zygotes (2-3 from 50 ovules) could be mechanically dissected within 2 h. When 0.1% cellulase and 0.1% pectinase were added to the mannitol isolation solution, about 18% of the egg cells (8-10 from 50 ovules) could be isolated within 2 h. The egg cells isolated by mechanical dissection could be used for in vitro fertilization studies without any of the potentially deleterious effects of the enzymes on the plasma membrane of egg cell. The egg cells isolated using enzymatic digestion could be used in the study of the molecular biology of female gamete because more egg cells could be isolated with this technique. Using enzymatic digestion, over 10 zygotes from 50 ovules (over 20%) were isolated from the pollinated ovules. Coupled with our successful isolation of mature sperm cells, the isolation of egg cells of T. fournieri will make in vitro fertilization possible in a dicotyledon plant.

Micromanipulation of male and female gametes ofNicotiana tabacum: I. Isolation of gametes.

The isolation of male and female gametes is a precondition for the micromanipulation of flowering plant gametes. To reflect their condition at fertilization, isolated gametes need to be physiologically mature and vigorous. Sperm cells are isolated from pollen tubes grown on cut styles using the "in vivo/in vitro" technique. Embryo sacs are isolated 2 days after anthesis using brief treatments of minimal concentrations of cell-wall-digesting enzymes on ovules of emasculated flowers. Egg cells are then mechanically separated from the embryo sac, allowing unambiguous identification of cells. Two days is usually the minimum required for the pollen tube to penetrate the ovule and effect fertilization in vivo.

Micromanipulation of male and female gametes ofNicotiana tabacum: II. Preliminary attempts for in vitro fertilization and egg cell culture.

This research is part of an attempt to establish an in vitro fertilization system in tobacco to aid in understanding mechanisms of fertilization. Fusions of isolated male and female gametes were induced in a polyethylene glycol solution. Fusion appears similar to that in maize. One nuclear division of both an unfertilized egg cell and a synergid was induced in KM8p medium with 1 mg/l 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in a microchamber culture; one cellular division of the egg cell was also induced in the same medium in solid-drop culture. The osmolality of suspension culture feeder cells was critical for the development of these cells. These results indicate that in vitro fertilization is possible in tobacco, which would be the first such system in dicots.

[Plant regeneration from hypocotyl protoplasts of Lycium barbarum L].

The hypocotyl protoplasts of Lycium barbarum L. CV. Ningji No. 1 were isolated in an enzyme mixture solution containing 1% cellulase and 1% pectinase. The protoplasts were cultured in KM 8 p liquid medium containing 0.3 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.3 mg/L BA, The first division of regenerated cells occurred 3 days after culture. The small cell clumps could be observed by naked eyes 20 days after culture. 40 days after culture, microcalli of 1-2 mm in size were transferred to MS solid differentiation medium containing 3% sugar, 0.1-0.4 mg/L BA and 0.05-0.1 mg/L NAA. About 30 days after culture on MS solid medium, the calli with shoots were transferred to 1/2 MS medium containing 0.1 mg/L BA and 0.2 mg/L IBA, from which 80% of them differentiated roots and regenerated whole plantlets.