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Abstract The present study reports an innovative finding that alumina containing water or primary alcohol catalyzes the hydrolysis or alcoholysis, respectively, of the product formed through AlCl3‐mediated Friedel‐Crafts alkylation of methyl‐substituted benzenes and CHCl3. The former and later reactions mainly provided hydroxy‐ and alkoxy‐substituted diarylmethanes, respectively, while the reference reactions without alumina provided bisarylchloromethane. This method enables the selective syntheses of diphenylmethanol derivatives with very simple procedures, without expensive reagents and apparatuses. Furthermore, the alumina used in the reaction could be recycled by washing with water and subsequent drying. From the viewpoint of material recycling, this function is very important for the development of sustainable chemical reactions.

Our hospital admitted a patient who had difficulty in coagulation even after blood replacement, and the patient had abused caffeine sodium benzoate (CSB) for more than 20 years. Hence, we aimed to explore whether CSB may cause dysfunction in vascular endothelial cells and its possible mechanism. Low, medium, and high concentrations of serum of long‐term CSB intake patients were used to treat HUVECs, with LPS as the positive control. MTT and CCK8 were performed to verify CSB's damaging effect on HUVECs. The expression of ET‐1, ICAM‐1, VCAM‐1, and E‐selectin were measured by ELISA. TUNEL assay and Matrigel tube formation assay were carried out to detect apoptosis and angiogenesis of HUVECs. Flow cytometry was applied to analyze cell cycles and expression of CD11b, PDGF, and ICAM‐1. Expression of PDGF‐BB and PCNA were examined by western blot. The activation of MAPK signaling pathway was detected by qRT‐PCR and western blot. Intracellular Ca2+ density was detected by fluorescent probes. CCK8 assay showed high concentration of CSB inhibited cell viability. Cell proliferation and angiogenesis were inhibited by CSB. ET‐1, ICAM‐1, VCAM‐1, and E‐selectin upregulated in CSB groups. CSB enhanced apoptosis of HUVECs. CD11b, ICAM‐1 increased and PDGF reduced in CSB groups. The expression level and phosphorylation level of MEK, ERK, JUN, and p38 in MAPK pathway elevated in CSB groups. The expression of PCNA and PDGF‐BB was suppressed by CSB. Intracellular Ca2+ intensity was increased by CSB. Abuse of CSB injured HUVECs and caused coagulation disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato bears the burden of eliminating hunger and supporting food security. Quantitative assessment of potato drought disaster risk can help the sustainable development of the potato industry and improve the regional disaster management capacity. This is also a major and urgent demand for food security. This study constructed a comprehensive drought condition index (CDCI) for different months of the potato growing season based on the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum (SPAC) system, quantitatively assessed potato drought disaster risk based on the four-factor theory of natural disaster risk formation, and discussed the historical and future planting environmental conditions in Inner Mongolia, China. The results showed that the non-overlap between suitable areas of agro-climatic resources and main planting areas is the main reason for the occurrence of potato drought disasters, and the "Extremely high risk area" and "High risk area" areas were concentrated in the current main planting areas, which was one of the problems encountered in the sustainable development of potato industry in Inner Mongolia. The analysis of future drought hazard changes indicates the need to pay attention not only to the possible persistence of drought hazard in Near term, but also to the possible waterlogging hazard in Mid-Long term. The different situations of land use/cover change (LUCC) in Inner Mongolia and various agricultural resources and environmental zones (AgriREZones) have confirmed the necessity of separating regions for agricultural drought risk analysis and management. The present study can be used as a reference for adjusting the layout of the potato industry and provide a basis for agricultural disaster prevention and reduction. • A comprehensive drought condition index was constructed based on the "Soil-Plant-Atmosphere" continuum. • Agricultural resources and environment zoning is conducted to facilitate site-specific research. • In the coming period, in addition to drought there is also a need to pay attention to possible waterlogging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of donor-recipient body surface area ratio on donor age and donor glomerular filtration rate in living-donor kidney transplant., Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 254 rejection-free patients who underwent their first living-donor kidney transplant at our center between April 2007 and April 2011. We performed multivariate linear regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses to determine independent associations and the cumulative effects on posttransplant graft function and outcomes in persons in China who had a living-donor kidney transplant., Results: In multivariate linear regression, donor age, donor estimated glomerular filtration rate, and donor-recipient body surface area ratio were independent predictors of 1-year graft function. Linear regression showed that correcting donor age by donor-recipient body surface area ratio increased the strength of the correlation between donor age and 1-year graft function. In the older group (donor age ≥ 45 y), the effect of donor-recipient body surface area ratio on graft function was stronger. By considering the 1-year donor estimated glomerular filtration rate in 2 groups (< 60 or ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)), the cutoff values for corrected donor age was 55 years and donor estimated glomerular filtration rate before surgery was 113 mL/min/1.73 m(2)., Conclusions: By correcting for donor-recipient body surface area ratio, donor age accurately predicted and correlated better with 1 year graft function. During preoperative evaluation donor and recipient body surface area matching may be useful.