Field Measurement of Cotton Seedling Evapotranspiration

Information on cotton evapotranspiration (ET) during the seedling growth stage and under field conditions is scarce because ET is a difficult parameter to measure. Our objective was to use weighable lysimeters to measure daily values of cotton seedling ET. We designed and built plastic weighable micro-lysimeters (ML) that were 0.35 m deep with a soil volume of 6300 cm3. The soil core was obtained in-situ by pushing the ML well casing into the soil using a commercial soil sampler. The soil core was weighed with tension and compression type load-cells, where a change in mass of 18 g·d-1 was equivalent to a water evaporation of 1 mm·d-1. We compared load-cell measurements of changes in mass to values measured with a portable field scale by linear regression analysis, and the slope was equal to 1, indicating no statistical difference (P = 0.05) between the two measurements. We measured and compared seedling height, root length and leaf area of cotton plants in the ML with cotton plants in the surrounding area and this comparison showed that the ML used was suitable to measure cotton seedling ET for the first 30 days after seed emergence. The root mean squared error for crop height was 0.09 cm, for leaf area index (LAI) was 0.03 m2·m-2 and 6.5 cm for root length. Also, soil temperature at a 0.1 m depth was statistically (P = 0.05) the same in and outside the ML’s. For two planting dates, we measured daily values of soil water evaporation (E) and cotton seedling ET. The day following an irrigation event, E was ~ 9 mm d-1 and quickly declined the following days. Results showed that ML’s provide an accurate tool to measure water losses from the soil and cotton plants with a LAI of ≤0.2.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) as a Novel Therapeutic Option for nCOVID-19—A Review

The novel Coronavirus Disease (nCOVID-19) is a highly contagious viral infection which emerged as “Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology” at Hubei province of Wuhan city in China. The health authorities provided a considerable empirical evidence after this outbreak and it was notified that the causative virus, named Novel Coronavirus (subsequently SARS-CoV-2) is the culprit for progressively exerting grim effects not only on individual patients but also on the International public health, with high mutational tendencies. WHO declared nCOVID-19 as a Pandemic on 11th March 2020. The spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 plays a pivotal role in the entry of virus into the cell and it further interacts with ACE-II receptors which are widely distributed on the human cell surface especially on alveolar type II cells (AT-2) and endothelium. The mortality in nCOVID-19 patients is usually preceded by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) because of the cytokine storm. Advanced molecular biology and regenerative sciences renders a breakthrough in the treatment of severely ill nCOVID-19 patients with Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs). Autologous or allogenic MSCs attenuate cytokine storm, improvise lung compliance, regulate inflammatory response, maintain functional alveoli microenvironment, promote endogenous regeneration and repair with no or minimal side effects. MSCs are naturally resistant to this novel Coronavirus. Even though it is corroborated with evidences from current clinical trials and pilot study, we emphasize the need for conducting more clinical trials with ethical consideration to prove the efficacy and safety of MSCs in combating nCOVID-19 infection and its complications.

Sorghum as Dry Land Feedstock for Fuel Ethanol Production

Dry land crops such as sorghums （grain sorghum, promising feedstocks for fuel ethanol production. The major issue sweet sorghum and forage sorghum） have been identified as for using the sweet sorghum as feedstock is its stability at room temperature. At room temperature, the sweet sorghum juice could lose from 40% to 50% of its fermentable sugars from 7 to 14 days No significant sugar content and profile changes were observed in juice stored at refrigerator temperature in two weeks. Ethanol fermentation efficiencies of fresh and frozen juice were high （-93%）. Concentrated juice （≥25% sugar） had significantly lower efficiencies and large amounts of fructose left in finished beer; however, winery yeast strains and novel fermentation techniques may solve these problems. The ethanol yield from sorghum grain increased as starch content increased. No linear relationship between starch content and fermentation efficiency was found. Key factors affecting the ethanol fermentation efficiency of sorghum include starches and protein digestibility, amylose-lipid complexes, tannin content, and mash viscosity. Life cycle analysis showed a positive net energy value （NEV） = 25 500 Btu/gal ethanol. Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction （XRD） were used to determine changes in the structure and chemical composition of sorghum biomasses. Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment was effective in removing the hemicellulose from biomasses and exposing the cellulose for enzymatic hydrolysis. Forage sorghum lignin had a lower syringyl/guaiacyl ratio and its pretreated biomass was easier to hydrolyze. Up to 72% hexose yield and 94% pentose yield were obtained by using a modified steam explosion with 2% sulfuric acid at 140℃ for 30 min and enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulase.

A novel role of LncRNA in regulating tumor metabolism and angiogenesis under hypoxia

Tumor cells are characterized by metabolic reprogram-ming,a step that is necessary to support their high demand for energy and nutrients[1,2].Furthermore,once metastatic tumor cells are seeded,tumor microen-vironment remodeling is immediately initiated,leading to the formation of more suitable conditions for growth.Tumor cells secrete several types of growth factors,cytokines,and chemokines to induce angiogenesis and tumor-associated immune cell recruitment,all of which can promote proliferation and metastasis,as well as trig-ger immune tolerance and drug resistance[3].Exploring the synergistic effect between metabolic reprogramming and microenvironment remodeling will likely facili-tate the discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.