Drought priming at seedling stage improves photosynthetic performance and yield of potato exposed to a short-term drought stress.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important food and vegetable crop worldwide. In recent years, the arid environment resulting from climate change has caused a sharp decline in potato yield. To clarify the effect of drought priming at the seedling stage on the tolerance of potato plants to drought stress during tuber expansion, we conducted a pot experiment to investigate the physiological response of the plants generated from seed potatoes of the variety 'Favorita' to varied water supply conditions: normal water supply at the seedling stage (control), normal water supply at the seedling stage and drought stress at the mid-tuber-expansion stage (non-primed), and drought priming at the seedling stage plus drought stress at the mid-tuber-expansion stage (primed). Drought priming resulted in an increase in the number of small vascular bundles in potato plants compared to non-primed plants. It also altered the shape and density of stomata, enhancing water use efficiency and reducing whole-plant transpiration. The primed plants maintained the basal stem cambium for a longer time under drought stress, which gained an extended differentiation ability to generate a greater number of small vascular bundles compared to non-primed plants. Drought priming increased the amount and rate of dry matter translocation, and so reduced the adverse effects on tubers of potato under drought stress. Therefore, drought priming at the seedling stage improved the photosynthetic performance and yield, and probably enhanced the drought tolerance of potato.

Visible-Light-Induced Desaturative ß-Alkoxyoxalylation of N-Aryl Cyclic Amines with Difluoromethyl Bromides and H2O Via a Triple Cleavage Process.

A visible-light-driven desaturative ß-alkoxyoxalyation of N-aryl cyclic amines with difluoromethyl bromides and H2O has been reported. This tandem reaction is triggered by homolysis of the C-Br bond to produce the difuoroalkyl radical, which undergoes the subsequent defluorinated ß-alkoxyoxalylation cascades to afford a wide range of ß-ketoester/ketoamides substituted enamines. The prominent feature of this reaction contains photocatalyst-free, transition-metal free, and mild conditions. The 18O labeling experiment disclosed that H2O is the oxygen source of the carbonyl unit.

Photoredox-Catalyzed Redox-Neutral Decarboxylative C-H Acylations of Coumarins with α-Keto Acid.

A novel and green photocatalytic strategy for the synthesis of C-4-acylated coumarins with α-keto acids and 3-nitrocoumarin has been developed. This operationally simple protocol works under mild reaction conditions, providing convenient access to 4-acyl coumarin derivatives. The control experimental results showed that the nitro radical produced by the cleavage of the C-N bond acts as an electron acceptor to complete the photocatalytic cycle, achieving a redox-neutral reaction.

Investigation on the synthesis of 24-(R)-hydroxycholesterol.

A facile and novel strategy has been developed for synthesis of 24-(R)-hydroxycholesterol, a key intermediate of tacalcitol, starting from 24-dehydrocholesterol in seven steps with 48.2% overall yield and high diastereomer ratio. Photocatalytic oxidation of olefins by employing inexpensive Rose Bengal as photosensitizer and air as the sole oxidant for the preparation of Δ5,25-3ß-Hydroxycholestadiene-24-one-3-acetate is the key step in this synthetic route. This developed strategy features mild conditions, satisfied total yield and excellent stereoselectivity (24-R/S = 97.7:2.3), providing a novel access to the 24-(R)-hydroxycholesterol.

Make Precision Medicine Work for Chronic Kidney Disease.

Precision medicine is based on accurate diagnosis and tailored intervention through the use of omics and clinical data together with epidemiology and environmental exposures. Precision medicine should be achieved with minimum adverse events and maximum efficacy in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In this review, the breakthroughs of omics in CKD and the application of systems biology are reviewed. The potential role of transforming growth factor-ß1 in the targeted intervention of renal fibrosis is discussed as an example of how to make precision medicine work for CKD.

Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome: literature review and distribution analysis in China.

Hantaviruses infect their reservoir hosts and humans, but the infection only causes disease in humans. In Asia and Europe (the Old World), the hantaviruses usually cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). This article summarizes the current understanding of hantavirus epidemiology, as well as the clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, renal pathology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HFRS. Moreover, the spatiotemporal distribution of HFRS was analysed based on the latest data obtained from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, for the period January 2004 to April 2015, to provide valuable information for the practical application of more effective HFRS control and prevention strategies in China.

Meta-analysis of statin therapy in maintenance dialysis patients.

The effects of statin therapy in patients on maintenance dialysis remained uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the effects of statin on major clinical outcomes. We systematically searched Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and Chinese Technological Journal of Database for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Criteria for inclusion were RCTs on statins therapy versus placebo, >3 months of follow-up. The outcomes were serum level of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (TG), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and albumin (ALB), all cardiac events, cardiovascular deaths and all-cause mortality. Twenty-one trials were identified, providing data for 8186 patients on maintenance dialysis. Statin therapy reduced LDL-C (weighted mean difference [WMD] = -0.74 mmol/L; 95%CI [-0.96, -0.52], p < 0.00001), TG (WMD = -0.36 mmol/L; 95%CI [-0.57, -0.14], p = 0.001), and hs-CRP (WMD = -3.98 mg/L; 95%CI [-5.24, -2.72], p < 0.00001), elevated HDL-C (WMD = 0.25 mmol/L; 95%CI [0.10, 0.39], p = 0.0007) and ALB (WMD = 1.70 g/L; 95%CI [0.19, 3.21], p = 0.03) significantly comparing with placebo. Statin therapy also had benefit in reducing all cardiac events (relative risk [RR] = 0.90; 95%CI [0.83, 0.97], p = 0.006), but had no effect on cardiovascular deaths (RR = 0.97; 95%CI [0.88, 1.07], p = 0.54) or all-cause mortality (RR = 0.98; 95%CI [0.93, 1.04], p = 0.49). In conclusion, statins had no impact on all-cause or cardiovascular mortality, while there was an overall significant improvement for dyslipidemia, hs-CRP, hypoalbuminemia and cardiovascular events in dialysis patients.