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Catalpa bungei is a precious timber species distributed in North China where drought often occurs. To clarify adaptive responses of C. bungei to partial- and full- root-zone drought under the influence of nitrogen forms, a two-factor experiment was conducted in which well-watered (WW), partial root-zone drought in horizontal direction (H-PRD) and in vertical direction (V-PRD), and full root-zone drought (FRD) were combined with nitrate-nitrogen (NN) and ammonium-nitrogen (AN) treatments. C. bungei responded to FRD by sharply closing stomata, decreasing gas exchange rate and increasing leaf instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi). Under FRD condition, the growth of seedlings was severely inhibited and the effect of N forms was covered up by the drastic drought effect. In comparison, stomata conductance and gas exchanges were moderately inhibited by PRDs. WUEi in V-PRD treatment was superior to H-PRD due to the active stomata regulation resulting from a higher ABA level and active transcription of genes in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway under V-PRD. Under both PRDs and FRD, nitrate benefited antioxidant defense, stomata regulation and leaf WUEi. Under V-PRD, WUEi in nitrate treatment was superior to that in ammonium treatment due to active stomata regulation by signaling network of nitric oxide (NO), Ca2+ and ABA. Under FRD, WUEi was higher in nitrate treatment due to the favoring photosynthetic efficiency resulting from active NO signal and antioxidant defense. The interactive effect of water and N forms was significant on wood xylem development. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) largely contributes to stress tolerance and xylem development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Objectively measured differences in physical activity (PA) and sleep have been documented among people with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to non-arthritic controls. However, it is not clear whether OA and RA subgroups also differ on these indexes or the extent to which distinct arthritis subgroups versus controls can be accurately identified on the basis of objective PA and sleep indexes compared to self-report responses on questionnaires. This study addressed these gaps.Methods: This case-control study comprised Chinese adults with OA (N = 40) or RA (N = 40) diagnoses based on physician assessments as well as a control group of adults without chronic pain (N = 40). All participants wore a Sensewear Armband (SWA) for consecutive 7 days and completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form-Chinese as well as Pittsburgh Sleep Diary to obtain objective and subjective PA and sleep data, respectively.Results: There were no differences between the three groups on any self-report indexes of PA or sleep. Conversely, OA and RA subgroups displayed significantly lower PA levels and more sleep problems than controls did on a majority of SWA indexes, though arthritis subgroups were not differentiated from one another on these measures. Logistic regression analyses indicated four non-multicollinear SWA indexes (i.e., steps, active energy expenditure, vigorous activity, time awake after sleep onset) correctly identified the subgroup membership of 75.0-82.5% of participants with RA or OA while classification accuracy results were attenuated for controls.Conclusions: Where possible, objective measures should be used to assess PA and sleep of adults with OA and RA while particular self-report PA questionnaires should be used sparingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Monoclonal antibodies targeting programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) signaling currently approved for defective mismatch repair (dMMR)/microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) tumors must be delivered by intravenous infusion. Envafolimab, a humanized single-domain anti-PD-L1 antibody fused to an Fc fragment, represents a potential advance because it can be conveniently administered subcutaneously. Methods: This open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of envafolimab in patients with previously treated advanced dMMR/MSI-H tumors from 25 clinical sites across China. Adults with histologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic malignant dMMR/MSI-H solid tumors received weekly 150 mg subcutaneous envafolimab injections in a 28-day treatment cycle. The primary efficacy endpoint was the objective response rate (assessed by a blinded independent review committee). Secondary efficacy outcomes were disease control rate, duration of response, progression-free survival, and overall survival. Results: One hundred and three patients (65 with colorectal cancer, 18 with gastric cancer, and 20 with other solid tumors) were enrolled. Median follow-up was 11.5 months. The objective response rate was 42.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 33.0–52.8), and the disease control rate was 66.0% (95% CI 56.0–75.1). Median duration of response was not reached; the duration of response rate at 12 months was 92.2% (95% CI 77.5–97.4). Median progression-free survival was 11.1 months (95% CI 5.5 to not evaluable). Overall survival at 12 months was 74.6% (95% CI 64.7–82.1). Sixteen patients (16%) had at least one grade 3 or 4 related treatment-emergent adverse event. No grade 5 treatment-emergent adverse events related to envafolimab were reported. Injection site reactions, all grade 1–2, were reported in nine patients (9%), but there were no infusion reactions. Eight patients (8%) had grade 3 or 4 immune-related adverse events. Conclusions: This is the first pivotal phase 2 study to examine the efficacy and safety of a single-domain immune checkpoint antibody in the treatment of cancer. Envafolimab was effective and had acceptable safety in the treatment of previously treated advanced dMMR/MSI-H solid tumors. As the first single-domain PD-L1-targeting antibody administered by rapid subcutaneous injection, envafolimab has the potential to be a significant advance in the treatment of cancer. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03667170. Registered 10 September 2018—Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03667170. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]