Click chemistry is a very powerful tool, in the drug discovery, because it is very efficient in the creation of compound libraries through combinatorial methodology. However, the 1,2,3-triazole ring itself is not a commonly used pharmacophore and has rarely been found in marketed drugs, demonstrating that there are still some limitations during the use of 1,2,3-triazole in the molecules of drug candidates. Hopefully, in the next decade, we will witness the emergence of 1,2,3-triazole-bearing drugs on the market as this click reaction is used more and more widely in the drug discovery.

The authors have carried out scientific investigations of salt lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since 1956 and collected 550 hydrochemical data from various types of salt lakes. On that basis, combined with the tectonic characteristics of the plateau, the hydrochemical characteristics of the salt lakes of the plateau are discussed. The salinity of the lakes of the plateau is closely related to the natural environment of lake evolution, especially the climatic conditions. According to the available data and interpretation of satellite images, the salinity of the lakes of the plateau has a general trend of decreasing from north and northwest to south and southeast, broadly showing synchronous variations with the annual precipitation and aridity (annual evaporation/annual precipitation) of the modern plateau. The pH values of the plateau salt lakes are related to both hydrochemical types and salinities of the lake waters, i.e., the pH values tend to decrease from the carbonate type ? sodium sulfate subtype ? magnesium sulfate subtype ? chloride type; on the other hand, a negative correlation is observed between the pH and salinities of the lakes. Geoscientists and biological limnologists generally use main ions in salt lakes as the basis for the hydrochemical classification of salt lakes. The common ions in salt lakes are Ca 2? , Mg 2? , Na ? , K ? , Cl -SO 4 2-, CO 3 2-, and HCO 3 -. In this paper, the KurnakovValyashko classification is used to divide the salt lakes into the chloride type, magnesium sulfate subtype, sodium sulfate subtype and carbonate type, and then according to different total alkalinities (K C = Na 2 CO 3 ? NaHCO 3 /total salt 9 100%) and different saline mineral assemblages, the carbonate type is further divided into three subtypes, namely, strong carbonate subtype, moderate carbonate subtype and weak carbonate subtypes. According to the aforesaid hydrochemical classifications, a complete and meticulous hydrochemical classification of the salt lakes of the plateau has been made and then a clear understanding of the characteristics of N-S hydrochemical zoning and E-W hydrochemical differentiation has been obtained. The plateau is divided into four zones and one area. There is a genetic association between certain saline minerals and specific salt lake hydrochemical types: the representative mineral assemblages of the carbonate type of salt lake is borax (tincalconite) and borax-zabuyelite (L 2 CO 3 ) and alkali carbonate-mirabilite; the representative mineral assemblages of the sodium sulfate subtype are mirabilite (thenardite)-halite and magnesium borate (kurnakovite, inderite etc.)-ulexite-mirabilite; the representative mineral assemblages of the magnesium sulfate subtype are magnesium sulfate (epsomite, bloedite)-halite, magnesium borate-mirabilite, and mirabilite-schoenitehalite, as well as large amount of gypsum; The representative mineral assemblages of the chloride type are carnallite-bischofite-halite and carnallite-halite, with antarcticite in a few individual salt lakes. The above-m...

Antitumor-analgesic peptide (AGAP) is a novel recombinant polypeptide. The primary study showed that AGAP 1.0 mg/kg exhibited strong analgesic and antitumor effects. The tail vein administration of AGAP potently reduced pain behaviors in mice induced by intraplantar injection of formalin or intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid, without affecting basal pain perception. To further assess the mechanisms of AGAP, the effects of AGAP on sodium channels were assessed using the whole-cell patch clamp recordings in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. The results showed that AGAP (3–1000 nM) inhibited the sodium currents in small-diameter DRG neurons in a dose-dependent manner. 1000 nM AGAP could inhibit the current density-voltage relationship curve of sodium channels in a voltage-dependent manner and negatively shift the activation curves. 1000 nM AGAP could reduce the tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) sodium currents by 42.8% in small-diameter DRG neurons. Further analysis revealed that AGAP potently inhibited NaV1.8 currents by 59.4%, and negatively shifted the activation and inactivation kinetics. 1000 nM AGAP also reduced the NaV1.9 currents by 33.7%, but had no significant effect on activation and inactivation kinetics. Thus, our results demonstrated that submicromolar concentrations of AGAP inhibited TTX-R sodium channel in rat small-diameter DRG neurons. It is concluded that these new results may better explain, at least in part, the analgesic properties of this polypeptide.

The imbalance between supply and demand of Artemia cysts in China and around the world is increasing now. Salt lakes in Tibet may contribute to the solution of the problem. In Northern Tibet there are 26 saline lakes whose salinity and temperature may support Artemia survival at an altitude of 4 000-5 100 m. We found Artemia in 15 of these lakes. The saline lakes with Artemia populations mainly belong to the shallow basin lakes, and the majority of these lakes are small in area. The total area of lakes without Artemia is more than 1 000 km 2 . Lake Dangxiong Co (Co means lake in Tibet) was chosen for the intentional introduction of Artemia sinica . In 2004, 850 g of A . sinica cysts, originating from Qinghai, were introduced in the lake. Surveys in 2006-2014 showed that the average abundance of Artemia adults in the lake gradually increased from 20 ind./m 3 in 2006 to 1950 ind./m 3 in 2013. We assume that two subpopulations of A . sinica , separated by depth, may exist in the lake. The new Artemia population caused an increase in the number of species of phytoplankton and heterotrophic protozoa with a decrease of their total abundance. Water transparency also increased. Dominance in phytoplankton passed from cyanobacteria to diatoms. Changes occurred not only in the lake ecosystem; the number of water birds using the lakes also dramatically increased. Preliminary calculations showed that is it possible to harvest at least about 150 t cysts per year from the lake as well as 3.2 thousand tons of frozen or 350 t of dried biomass of adult Artemia .

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Lamiaceae), one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese herbs, is widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease in clinical practice. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B, C36H30O16, FW=718.62) is the main water-soluble active ingredient of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, which performs prophylactic and therapeutic activities against neurodegenerative diseases. So far, numerous studies have proved that multiple factors and mechanisms are involved in the pathological process of neurodegenerative diseases, including amyloid β (Aβ) aggregation and fibril formation, hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, neuroinflammation, oxidative-stress damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuron apoptosis. This study is aimed at reviewing experimental studies and describing the possible mechanisms of Sal B on neurodegenerative diseases.

In May and July 2001, the biological and ecological features of 22 salt lakes in northern Tibet , China, were investigated.Their salinity ranged from 1 to 390 g l )1 . One hundred and thirty two samples were collected. Ninty five taxa of phytoplankton and 42 taxa of zooplankton were recorded. The dominant cation was sodium, with magnesium generally sub-dominant; CO 2À 3 was the dominant anion in low salinity, chloride was the dominant anion with increasing salinity. Major species were Gloeothece linearis, Oscillatoria tenuis, Chroococcus minutus (blue-green algae); Navicula spp, Cymbella pusilla, Diatoma elongatum (diatoms); Dunaliella salina, Chlorella vulgaris and Ulothrix tenerrima (green algae). Major zooplankton included: Vorticella campanula, Epistylis daphniae (Protista); Keratella quadrata, Brachionus plicatilis (Rotifera); Artemia spp. (Anostraca); Daphniopsis tibetana (Cladocera); Cletocamptus dertersi and Cyclops vicinus (Copepoda). Ten species were recorded in hypersaline waters; apart from those metioned above, they included Cyclidium spp., Litonotus fasciola, Euplotes terricola, Strombilidium viride, Brachionus variabilis, Colurella adriatica, Keratella cochlearis, Colurella adriatica, and Cyclops sp. Seven taxa of benthic macroinvertebrates are recorded, represented by Cypris sp. (Ostracoda), Gammarus sp. (Amphipoda), Radix sp. and Hippeutis sp. (Mollusca); chiroonomids Tendipus group salinarius (Diptera), Nematoda, Trochophora and Ephrdra sp. At present, there are fishes only in Bangong Co., and no fishes recorded in other salt lakes. The total number of plankton species has a significantly negative correlation with the salinity, and decreased with increasing altitude, but not significant.

To gain more insight into protein structure–function relationships that govern biomineralization is an exciting and challenging task.

Lithium resources support the development of high‐technology industries. China has abundant lithium resources which are mainly distributed in Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan and Jiangxi. Salt lakes in China have significant lithium reserves, but lithium is mainly produced from hard rock lithium deposits because the extraction from salt lakes requires further improvements. The hard rock lithium deposits mainly occur in granitic pegmatite in the Altay region of Xinjiang and the Jiajika deposit in western Sichuan Province; they mainly formed in the Mesozoic and occurred in a relatively stable stage during orogenic processes. On the basis of the information from 151 lithium deposits or spots, 14 lithium metallogenic series were identified, and granitic pegmatite, granite, and sedimentary types were considered to be the main prediction types of lithium resources. Twelve lithium mineralization belts were divided and a series of maps showing the lithium metallogenetic regularity in China were drawn. We conclude that the hard rock and brine type of lithium resources possibly have a similar lithium source related to magmatism. The metallogenic features of the lithium in China were related with the distinct history of tectonic‐magmatic activity in China. This study benefits the assessment of, and prospecting for, lithium resources in China.