Large-scale interplant exchange of macromolecules between soybean and dodder under nutrient stresses.

Parasitic plants and their hosts communicate through haustorial connections. Nutrient deficiency is a common stress for plants, yet little is known about whether and how host plants and parasites communicate during adaptation to such nutrient stresses. In this study, we used transcriptomics and proteomics to analyze how soybean (Glycine max) and its parasitizing dodder (Cuscuta australis) respond to nitrate and phosphate deficiency (-N and -P). After -N and -P treatment, the soybean and dodder plants exhibited substantial changes of transcriptome and proteome, although soybean plants showed very few transcriptional responses to -P and dodder did not show any transcriptional changes to either -N or -P. Importantly, large-scale interplant transport of mRNAs and proteins was detected. Although the mobile mRNAs only comprised at most 0.2% of the transcriptomes, the foreign mobile proteins could reach 6.8% of the total proteins, suggesting that proteins may be the major forms of interplant communications. Furthermore, the interplant mobility of macromolecules was specifically affected by the nutrient regimes and the transport of these macromolecules was very likely independently regulated. This study provides new insight into the communication between host plants and parasites under stress conditions.

Changes in Intestinal Flora From Chronic Renal Failure Complicated With Coronary Heart Disease and its Correlation With Arterial Stiffness Index.

Context: One common and serious cardiovascular complication of chronic renal failure (CRF) is coronary heart disease (CHD). CRF can lead to an imbalance of patients' gut microbiota, and changes in intestinal flora might heavily affect CRF's development. Objective: The study intended to investigate the changes in intestinal flora of patients with CRF complicated with CHD and their relationship with ASI to understand the association of those changes and ASI with CRF comorbid with CHD, with the goal of offering a reliable clinical basis for active prevention and treatment of CRF and CHD in the future. Design: The research team designed a prospective controlled study. Setting: The study took place at the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University in Baoding, Hebei, China. Participants: Participants were 86 patients with both CRF and CHD and 72 patients with CHD only who had been admitted to the hospital between October 2019 and January 2021. Intervention: The intervention group included participants who had received a diagnosis of CRF complicated with CHD and the control group included participants who had received a diagnosis of CHD only. Outcome Measures: The research team counted participants' intestinal flora and measured their ambulatory blood pressure and arterial stiffness index (ASI) to analyze the correlation of the ASI with the intestinal flora and the related factors impacting CHD in patients with CRF. Results: The monitoring of participants' ambulatory blood pressures showed that the intervention group's day systolic blood pressure (dSBP) and 24h SBP were significantly higher, while the group's day diastolic blood pressure (dDBP) and 24h DBP were significantly lower than those of the control group. The intervention group's levels of lactobacillus, bacteroidaceae, and bifidobacterium were significantly lower than those of the control group, and those intestinal flora were negatively correlated with ASI. The intervention group's levels of Escherichia coli and yeasts were significantly higher than those of the control group, and those intestinal flora were positively correlated with ASI. A significant relationship existed between lactobacillus and yeast and the occurrence of CHD in the CRF participants. Conclusions: Patients with both CRF and CHD have an obvious intestinal-flora imbalance, and the imbalance is strongly bound up with their ASI, which is of great reference significance for novel therapy of such patients and for the clinical application of ASI.

An analysis of the etiologies and economic indexes of inpatients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease in North China.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 5 patients in North China and to investigate the economic burden of those on hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD), as well as the associated influencing factors. Methods: General clinical information, etiological categories, and hospitalization costs for HD or PD were collected from 1,515 patients hospitalized with stage 5 CKD at the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University from 2016 to 2018. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent influencing factors affecting patients' financial burden. Results: The highest rate of DN was found in patients aged 70 years or older (27.0%) and the highest incidence of primary glomerulopathy was found in patients aged <50 years (24.3%). Age, type of dialysis, and type of health insurance were independent influences on the total financial burden of patients, and the results of multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that age [OR (95% CI): 1.009 (1.002, 1.020)] and type of dialysis [OR (95% CI): 1.746 (1.149, 2.659)] would increase the total financial burden. The type of health insurance would reduce the total financial burden [OR (95% CI): 0.222 (0.108, 0.418)]. Conclusion: Chronic kidney disease, with its complex etiology and the heavy financial burden required for treatment, remains a more serious public health problem globally, and it is therefore necessary to further improve medical coverage for dialysis patients, increase management efforts, broaden pro-poor policies and increase the accessibility of medical services in low- and middle-income areas.