Straw mulching for enhanced water use efficiency and economic returns from soybean fields in the Loess Plateau China.

Water shortages threaten agricultural sustainability in the semi-arid areas of the Loess Plateau. Judicious mulching management can improve water conservation practices to alleviate this issue while increasing crop productivity. We investigated the effect of straw strip mulching and film mulching on soil water consumption, temperature, growth, grain yield, and economic income of soybean [Glycine max(Linn.) Merr.] from 2017 to 2018 in Qingyang on the semi-arid Loess Plateau in China using four treatments: (a) alternating ridges and furrows with ridges mulched with white polyethylene film (PMP), (b) alternating flat and bare land with only the plat mulched by white polyethylene film (PMF), (c) alternating strips mulched with maize (Zea mays L.) straw (SM), and (d) traditional land planting without mulching (CK). The mulching treatments (PMP, PMF, and SM) increased soil water consumption and soil water use efficiency. The SM, PMF, and PMP treatments had 12.3-12.5, 16.8-22.1, and 23.2-24.2 mm higher soil water consumption (0-120 cm depth) than CK, most of which occurred in the 60-120 cm soil layer. Compared with CK, PMP and PMF significantly increased soil temperature by 1.30-1.31 °C and 0.76-1.00 °C, soybean grain yield by 38.6-39.0 % and 38.8-44.2 %, and water use efficiency (WUE) by 27.7-32.8 % and 30.8-37.5 %, respectively, while SM significantly decreased soil temperature by 0.96-1.15 °C, and increased grain yield by 21.8-25.4 % and WUE by 16.9-21.9 %. PMP and PMF did not significantly change soil water consumption, WUE, or grain yield. The SM treatment increased net income by 501.3-691.7 and 1914.5-2244.9 CNY ha-1 relative to PMP and CK, respectively, but PMF and SM did not significantly differ. Therefore, the SM system could help increase grain yields and economic returns in dryland soybean production, avoiding the adverse effects of the increasingly popular plastic mulching approach.

Overexpression of TSPAN8 Promotes Tumor Cell Viability and Proliferation in Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Overexpression of TSPAN8 has been involved in several epithelial cancers and TSPAN8 can form a complex with a variety of proteins to participate in several import cellular functions. However, the effects of TSPAN8 in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, the authors determined the expression of TSPAN in several NSCLC cell lines (95C, A549, H1299, and 95D) and human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells. Furthermore, the authors investigated the biological function of TSPAN8 in NSCLC cell lines using gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays, as well as the underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: TSPAN8 was found to be overexpressed in NSCLC cells compared with normal HBE cells, of which the expression in H1299 is the highest and, in 95C, it is relatively lowest. Functional assays indicated that knockdown of TSPAN8 in H1299 remarkably reduced cell viability and proliferation, while overexpression of TSPAN8 in 95C dramatically enhanced cell viability and proliferation. In addition, TSPAN8 knockdown led to G1 phase arrest and apoptosis by downregulating CDK2, CDK4, and Cyclin D1 and upregulating Bax and PARP. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence that TSPAN8 may contribute to the pathogenesis of lung cancer by promoting cell viability and proliferation. TSPAN8 silencing may provide a potential therapeutic intervention for the treatment of NSCLC.