Exogenous ABA promotes resistance to Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) in rice seedlings.

BACKGROUND: Over the course of evolution, plants have developed various sophisticated defense mechanisms to resist pests and diseases. The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) has an important role in the growth and development of plants and confers tolerance to selected abiotic stressors, such as drought. Previous studies have shown that ABA promotes the deposit of callose in response to piercing/sucking insect pests. The English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae Fabricius, causes huge losses in rice and is especially harmful to rice seedlings. RESULTS: Exogenous ABA promoted growth and reduced the feeding behavior of S. avenae nymphs in rice. Our results suggested that enhanced trichome density and increased expression of related genes may be associated with rice resistance to aphids. An analysis of volatiles revealed the production of seven compounds associated with pest resistance. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that ABA reduces aphid feeding in rice. Our findings provide a basis for understanding ABA-mediated defense responses in rice and provide insights on more environmentally-friendly approaches to control. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Cardiac Arrest-Associated Coagulopathy Could Predict 30-day Mortality: A Retrospective Study from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV Database.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrest (CA) can activate the coagulation system. Some coagulation-related indicators are associated with clinical outcomes. Early evaluation of patients with cardiac arrest-associated coagulopathy (CAAC) not only predicts clinical outcomes, but also allows for timely clinical intervention to prevent disseminated intravascular coagulation. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether CAAC predicts 30-day cumulative mortality. METHODS: From the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database, we conducted a retrospective cohort study from 2008 to 2019. Based on international normalized ratio (INR) value and platelet count, we diagnosed CAAC cases and made the following stratification of severity: mild CAAC was defined as 1.4 > INR≧1.2 and 100,000/µL < platelet count≦150,000/µL; moderate CAAC was defined with either 1.6 > INR≧1.4 or 80,000/µL < platelet count≦100,000/µL; severe CAAC was defined as an INR≧1.6 and platelet count≦80,000/µL. RESULTS: A total of 1485 patients were included. Crude survival analysis showed that patients with CAAC had higher mortality risk than those without CAAC (33.0% vs 52.0%, P < 0.001). Unadjusted survival analysis showed an incremental increase in the risk of mortality as the severity of CAAC increased. After adjusting confounders (prehospital characteristics and hospitalization characteristics), CAAC was independently associated with 30-day mortality (hazard rate [HR] 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41-2.25; P < 0.001); moderate CAAC (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.09-2.10; P = 0.027) and severe CAAC (HR 2.22, 95% CI 1.64-2.97; P < 0.001) were independently associated with 30-day mortality. CONCLUSION: The presence of CAAC identifies a group of CA at higher risk for mortality, and there is an incremental increase in risk of mortality as the severity of CAAC increases. However, the results of this study should be further verified by multicenter study.

Tuning Ionic Liquid-Based Catalysts for CO2 Conversion into Quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) are two kinds of strategies to reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, which is emitted from the burning of fossil fuels and leads to the greenhouse effect. With the unique properties of ionic liquids (ILs), such as low vapor pressures, tunable structures, high solubilities, and high thermal and chemical stabilities, they could be used as solvents and catalysts for CO2 capture and conversion into value-added chemicals. In this critical review, we mainly focus our attention on the tuning IL-based catalysts for CO2 conversion into quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones from o-aminobenzonitriles during this decade (2012~2022). Due to the importance of basicity and nucleophilicity of catalysts, kinds of ILs with basic anions such as [OH], carboxylates, aprotic heterocyclic anions, etc., for conversion CO2 and o-aminobenzonitriles into quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones via different catalytic mechanisms, including amino preferential activation, CO2 preferential activation, and simultaneous amino and CO2 activation, are investigated systematically. Finally, future directions and prospects for CO2 conversion by IL-based catalysts are outlined. This review is benefit for academic researchers to obtain an overall understanding of the synthesis of quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones from CO2 and o-aminobenzonitriles by IL-based catalysts. This work will also open a door to develop novel IL-based catalysts for the conversion of other acid gases such as SO2 and H2S.

Toxic epidermal necrolysis with systemic lupus erythematosus: case report and review of the literature.

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) are potentially fatal mucocutaneous diseases characterized by extensive necrosis and exfoliation of the epidermis. TEN and SJS are most often caused by various kinds of drugs. Other risk factors for SJS/TEN include pneumonia infection, HIV infection, genetic factors, underlying immune diseases, and tumors. SJS and TEN were first identified in 1922, but at present, a widely recognized view is that SJS and TEN represent phases in the continuous progress of the same disease. SJS/TEN has a very high mortality, but is rare, and cases of SJS/TEN combined with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are even less common. Occasionally, acute cutaneous manifestations of SLE and SJS/TEN can be phenotypically similar, both causing extensive epidermal necrosis. In this paper, we present a recent case of a 32-year-old female SLE patient with a drug-induced (the health product, astaxanthin) TEN/SJS. To provide context to this case, we have reviewed relevant case studies published in English, accessed via PubMed databases. The search covers all published case studies from 1988 to 2019. We collected a total of 30 cases in the literature, and analyzed their characteristics from the aspects of gender, suspicious medication history, and treatment in order to expand clinicians' approach to diagnosis and treatment.

Separation of the Azeotropic Mixture Methanol and Toluene Using Extractive Distillation: Entrainer Determination, Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium Measurement, and Modeling.

For separating the azeotropic mixture methanol and toluene, an extractive distillation is applied with butyl propanoate, triethylamine, and butyl butanoate as the extractive solvents, which were screened by relative volatility, selectivity, and the x-y curve. The vapor-liquid equilibrium data of the binary and ternary systems for (toluene + butyl propanoate), (toluene + triethylamine), (toluene + butyl butanoate), and (methanol + toluene + butyl butanoate) were determined. The reliability for the experimental vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data was assessed with the van Ness method. The measured data was fitted by the UNIQUAC, Wilson, and NRTL models, and the correlated results were consistent with the determined VLE data. In addition, the COSMO-UNIFAC model was used to predict the VLE data for comparison.