Evapotranspiration of an oasis-desert transition zone in the middle stream of Heihe River, Northwest China

As a main component in water balance, evapotranspiration is of great importance for water saving and irrigation-measure making, especially in arid or semiarid regions. Although studies of evapotranspiration have been conducted for a long time, studies concentrated on oasis-desert transition zone are very limited. On the basis of the meteorological data and other parameters（e.g. leaf area index（LAI）） of an oasis-desert transition zone in the middle stream of Heihe River from 2005 to 2011, this paper calculated both reference（ET0） and actual evapotranspiration（ETc） using FAO56 Penman-Monteith and Penman-Monteith models, respectively. In combination with pan evaporation（Ep） measured by E601 pan evaporator, four aspects were analyzed：（1） ET0 was firstly verified by Ep;（2） Characteristics of ET0 and ETc were compared, while the influencing factors were also analyzed;（3） Since meteorological data are often unavailable for estimating ET0 through FAO56 Penman-Monteith model in this region, pan evaporation coefficient（Kp） is very important when using observed Ep to predict ET0. Under this circumstance, an empirical formula of Kp was put forward for this region;（4） Crop coefficient（Kc）, an important index to reflect evapotranspiration, was also analyzed. Results show that mean annual values of ET0 and ETc were 840 and 221 mm, respectively. On the daily bases, ET0 and ETc were 2.3 and 0.6 mm/d, respectively. The annual tendency of ET0 and ETc was very similar, but their amplitude was obviously different. The differences among ET0 and ETc were mainly attributed to the different meteorological variables and leaf area index. The calculated Kc was about 0.25 and showed little variation during the growing season, indicating that available water（e.g. precipitation and irrigation） of about 221 mm/a was required to keep the water balance in this region. The results provide an comprehensive analysis of evapotranspiration for an oasis-desert transition zone in the middle stream of Heihe River, which was seldom reported before.

Impact of soil conditions on the physiological characteristics of maize plants in an arid region, Northwest China

Overuse of irrigation water to ensure the crop yield of maize plants has caused serious water shortage problems in the middle reach of Heihe River, China. Thus, further research on the physiological characteristics, i.e., photosynthetic rate and leaf transpiration rate, are urgently needed to develop an efficient irrigation management system. In this paper, we selected two common soil textures （sandy loam, sand） and three one-time irrigation volumes （60 mm, 20 mm, 0 mm） in order to analyze the impact of soil conditions on the physiological characteristics of maize plants. Physiological and meteorological factors, soil water content and plant growing parameters were synchronously monitored on Jun. 30, Jul. 25 and Aug. 27 of 2012. The results indicate that sandy loam is better than sand for the growth of maize plants and single irrigation may provide limited influence on the physiological characteristics. Thus, increasing irrigation times and decreasing one-time volume is suggested for an efficient irrigation system.

电石渣湿法脱硫过程亚硫酸钙强制氧化及杂质影响规律

电石渣主要成分为氢氧化钙,可以代替石灰石进行湿法烟气脱硫,但是电石渣的碱性较强,脱硫产物亚硫酸钙颗粒细小,可能会影响其氧化结晶过程。系统考察了不同工艺条件对亚硫酸钙氧化及硫酸钙结晶过程中粒径、氧化速度、含水率及微观形貌的影响规律,并得到优化的工艺条件:亚硫酸钙浓度为5 g/L,曝气量为400 mL/min,初始pH为5.5,反应温度为40℃,反应时间为4 h;在最优条件下得到了粒度大、含水率低、纯度高和形貌均匀的脱硫石膏(主要为二水硫酸钙)产品,有利于其后续的资源化利用。电石渣在酸性条件下各元素浸出的先后顺序为Na>Ca>Mg>Si>Fe>Al;在上述最佳反应条件下考察了Na,Mg,Si,Fe,Al等杂质对亚硫酸钙的氧化过程及硫酸钙结晶的影响,结果表明,Mg,Si,Fe对亚硫酸钙氧化速率有明显促进作用,而Al,Na抑制亚硫酸钙氧化;同时添加杂质Si对硫酸钙结晶几乎无影响,添加杂质Mg,Fe,Na对硫酸钙结晶影响较小,而添加杂质Al对硫酸钙结晶有明显不利影响。本研究以电石渣基亚硫酸钙为原料,开展了亚硫酸钙氧化与二水硫酸钙结晶研究,为工业实际电石渣脱硫的强制氧化过程提供理论指导。

Redox-sensitive prodrug nanoassemblies based on linoleic acid-modified docetaxel to resist breast cancers

Prodrug nanoassemblies, which can refrain from large excipients, achieve higher drug loading and control drug release, have been placed as the priority in drug delivery system. Reasoning that glutathione(GSH) and reactive oxygen species(ROS) are highly upgraded in tumor tissues which makes them attractive targets for drug delivery system, we designed and synthetized a novel prodrug which utilized mono thioether bond as a linker to bridge linoleic acid(LA) and docetaxel(DTX). This mono thioether-linked conjugates(DTX-S-LA) could self-assemble into nanoparticles without the aid of much excipients. The mono thioether endowed the nanoparticles redox sensitivity resulting in specific release at the tumor tissue. Our studies demonstrated that the nanoassemblies had uniform particle size, high stability and fast release behavior. DTX-S-LA nanoassemblies outperformed DTX solution in pharmacokinetic profiles for it had longer circulation time and higher area under curve(AUC). Compared with DTX solution, the redox dual-responsive nanoassemblies had comparable cytotoxic activity. Besides, the antitumor efficacy was evaluated in mice bearing 4 T1 xenograft. It turned out this nanoassemblies couldenhance anticancer efficacy by increasing the dose because of higher tolerance. Overall, these results indicated that the redox sensitivity nanoassemblies may have a great potential to cancer therapy.

Preclinical efficacy against acute myeloid leukaemia of SH1573, a novel mutant IDH2 inhibitor approved for clinical trials in China

Acute myeloid leukaemia(AML) is the most common form of acute leukaemia in adults,with increasing incidence with age and a generally poor prognosis.Almost 20% of AML patients express mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 2(mIDH2),which leads to the accumulation of the carcinogenic metabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate(2-HG),resulting in poor prognosis.Thus,global institutions have been working to develop mIDH2 inhibitors.SH1573 is a novel mIDH2 inhibitor that we independently designed and synthesised.We have conducted a comprehensive study on its pharmacodynamics,pharmacokinetics and safety.First,SH1573 exhibited a strong selective inhibition of mIDH2 R140 Q protein,which could effectively reduce the production of 2-HG in cell lines,serum and tumors of an animal model.It could also promote the differentiation of mutant AML cell lines and granulocytes in PDX models.Then,it was confirmed that SH1573 possessed characteristics of high bioavailability,good metabolic stability and wide tissue distribution.Finally,toxicological data showed that SH1573 had no effects on the respiratory system,cardiovascular system and nervous system,and was genetically safe.This research successfully promoted the approval of SH1573 for clinical trials(CTR20200247).All experiments demonstrated that,as a potential drug against mIDH2 R140 Q acute myeloid leukaemia,SH1573 was effective and safe.

Water balance and migration for maize in an oasis farmland of northwest China

Water balance and migration characteristics are vital to the establishment of an efficient irrigation management system. Based on the observed data including microclimate and growing parameters of maize from 2009 to 2012, actual evapotranspiration during the growth period was estimated by a combination of the FAO-56 crop coefficient approach and the Penman–Monteith model; the changes in soil water storage were estimated through the monitored water content at different depths from 0 to 3 m;the water content monitoring zone was divided into three sub-zones according to the water-balance characteristics of different soil layers and water monitoring data. On these bases, in combination of water-balance model, three aspects were analyzed: water-balance characteristics at different growth stages; water-balance characteristics in the three different sub-zones; and water-migration characteristics of ten sunny days following irrigation. These analyses revealed severe deep leakage under present irrigation management, which could be remedied by limiting onetime irrigation practices and increasing irrigation frequency. Additionally, some practical suggestions are provided for different growing stages.

TRIP13:A promising cancer immunotherapy target

The tumor microenvironment(TME)facilitates tumor development through intricate intercellular signaling,thereby supporting tumor growth and suppressing the immune response.Thyroid hormone receptor interactor 13(TRIP13),an AAA+ATPase,modulates the conformation of client macromolecules,consequently influencing cellular signaling pathways.TRIP13 has been implicated in processes such as proliferation,invasion,migration,and metastasis during tumor progression.Recent studies have revealed that TRIP13 also plays a role in immune response suppression within the TME.Thus,inhibiting these functions of TRIP13 could potentially enhance immune responses and improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition.This review summarizes the recent research progress of TRIP13 and discusses the potential of targeting TRIP13 to improve immune‐based therapies for patients with cancer.