Current sustained delivery strategies for the design of local neurotrophic factors in treatment of neurological disorders

Although therapeutic potential of neurotrophic factors(NTFs)has been well recognized for over two decades,attempts to translate that potential to the clinic have been disappointing,largely due to significant obstacles in delivery,including inadequate protein dose/kinetics released at target sites.Considerable efforts have been made to improve the therapeutic performance of NTFs.This articles reviews recent developments in localized delivery systems of NTFs for the neurological disorders treatments with a main focus on sustained delivery strategies.Different non-covalent binding approaches have been employed to immobilize proteins in hydrogels,microspheres,electrospun nanofibers,and their combined systems,which serve as depots for sustained local release of NTFs.The challenges associated with current NTFs delivery systems and how these systems can be applied to neurological diseases and disorders have been discussed in the review.In conclusion,optimal delivery systems for NTFs will be needed for reliable and meaningful clinical benefits;ideally,delivering a time and dose-controlled release of bioactive multiNTFs at different individual optimal kinetics to achieve multi-functions in target tissues is significant preferred.

乳酸及降钙素原对一氧化碳中毒后迟发性脑病的预测价值

目的探讨检测血乳酸、降钙素原和联合检测对急性一氧化碳中毒后迟发性脑病(DEACMP)的预测价值。方法随机抽取我院在急诊科收住院的ACMP患者70例,随访3个月,以其中发生DEACMP患者10例为DEACMP组,其余60例为非DEACMP组,随机抽取同期笔者医院40例健康体检者为对照组。对患者立即行动脉血Lac和血清PCT检测,并计算Lac和PCT诊断DEACMP的灵敏度、特异度。结果DEACMP组血Lac和PCT检测值均明显高于非DEACMP和对照组,差异有统计学意义(采用秩和检验,P<0.05);检测异常率亦明显高于非DEACMP组及对照组,差异有统计学意义(采用χ2检验,P<0.05)。Lac和PCT升高预测DEACMP的敏感度均为90.0%,特异度分别为50.0%和65.0%,准确性分别为55.7%和68.6%。联合检测时若其中1个指标为阳性时即预测DEACMP发病,则联合检测的敏感度为100.0%,特异度为41.7%,阳性预测值为21.7%,阴性预测值为100.0%,准确性为71.4%。结论DEACMP患者早期动脉血Lac和PCT均明显升高,PCT诊断价值优于Lac,联合检测较单项指标检测对DEACMP发病预测价值更理想。

Quantitative analysis of irrigation water productivity in the middle reaches of Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

With the growing shortage of surface water resources,it is of great significance for improving the irrigation water productivity(IWP)to ensure the water and food security.The contribution of the driving factors of the IWP and the rational regulation of the input factors of agricultural production is required.In this paper,118 and 80 sampling points were selected in Pingchuan and Liaoquan irrigation districts(PLID,the spacing of sampling point is approximately 1 km)and the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin(MHRB,the spacing of sampling point is approximately 10 km),respectively.Soil characteristics and management measures near the sampling points were obtained.Results showed that the average value of the IWP in MHRB was 1.67 kg/m3,with a moderate heterogeneity in the space.The main driving factors of IWP were irrigation,fertilization and planting density.On the PLID,the contribution rates of soil factors and management measures to IWP were 20.6%and 35.2%,respectively,and the contribution of soil factors to IWP increased to 43.8%in the MHRB,while the contribution rate of management measures decreased to 24.8%.It shows that in a small irrigation districts,from the perspective of farmers,the improvement of IWP should be mainly controlled by management measures,while in the large area of watershed scale,the spatial differences in soil factors also need to be considered by the government management departments,when they want to increase IWP through regulating management measures.

Determination of Parameters of Time-delayed Embedding Algorithm Using Koopman Operator-based Model Predictive Frequency Control

Power systems around the world have been registering a degenerating inertial response in view of the growth of inverter-based resources along with the withdrawal of conventional coal units.Therefore,there is a need for swift frequency support and its control,preferably by means of power electronic-interfaced storage devices,owing to their beneficial capabilities.Despite being particularly efficient,pragmatically,the traditional model-based non-linear control techniques are not highly popular in power system control design,primarily due to the complications faced in obtaining accurately suitable models for certain power system components.Lately,the modelfree Koopman operator-based model predictive control(KMPC)has proven to be highly conducive for data-driven non-linear control design.The principle behind KMPC is to change the coordinates in a manner to get an approximately linear model,which can then be controlled using a linear model predictive control.In this study,we employed time-delayed embedding of measurements to reconstruct a new set of preferable coordinates,thereby suggesting an approach for finding the optimal number of time lags and the embedding dimensions which are the key parameters of this algorithm.The efficacy of this KMPC framework is established by adopting a decentralized frequency control problem through a decoupled synchronous machine system,which we proposed for both the Kundur two-area system as well as the IEEE 39-bus test system.

PLANT DENSITY,IRRIGATION AND NITROGEN MANAGEMENT:THREE MAJOR PRACTICES IN CLOSING YIELD GAPS FOR AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY IN NORTH-WEST CHINA

Agriculture faces the dual challenges of food security and environmental sustainability.Here,we investigate current maize production at the field scale,analyze the yield gaps and impacting factors,and recommend measures for sustainably closing yield gaps.An experiment was conducted on a 3.9-ha maize seed production field in arid north-west China,managed with border and drip irrigation,respectively,in 2015 and 2016.The relative yield reached 70%in both years.However,drip irrigation saved 227 mm irrigation water during a drier growing season compared with traditional border irrigation,accounting for 44%of the maize evapotranspiration(ET).Yield variability under drip irrigation was12.1%,lower than the 18.8%under border irrigation.Boundary line analysis indicates that a relative yield increase of 8%to 10%might be obtained by optimizing the yield-limiting factors.Plant density and soil available water content and available nitrogen were the three major factors involved.In conclusion,closing yield gaps with agricultural sustainability may be realized by optimizing agronomic,irrigation and fertilizer management,using water-saving irrigation methods and using site-specific management.

LINKING CROP WATER PRODUCTIVITY TO SOIL PHYSICAL,CHEMICAL AND MICROBIAL PROPERTIES

Agriculture uses a large proportion of global and regional water resources.Due to the rapid increase of population in the world,the increasing competition for water resources has led to an urgent need in increasing crop water productivity for agricultural sustainability.As the medium for crop growth,soils and their properties are important in affecting crop water productivity.This review examines the effects of soil physical,chemical,and microbial properties on crop water productivity and the quantitative relationships between them.A comprehensive view of these relationships may provide important insights for soil and water management in arable land for agriculture in the future.