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Abstract Moisture content of rock/coal can change its mechanical properties and absorption capacities, which can directly affect gas diffusivity, change the stress distribution and hence cause significant impacts on the overall gas or coal extraction process. Observation of the water penetration process and water distribution in the coal matrix will be beneficial for the understanding of the fluid-solid coupling mechanism in hydraulic fracturing, aquifer cracking and coal seam infusion. However, the observation of water penetration process and the determination of water distribution mode were hard to be non-destructively achieved as coal is a non-uniform, inhomogeneous and un-transparent material. µ-CT imaging, which is based on variation of X-ray attenuation related to the density and atomic composition of the scanned objects, enables a four-dimensional (spatial-temporal) visualise of the heterogeneous and anisotropic coal samples. The primary aim of this paper is extending the application of µ-CT imaging to explore the moisture penetration and distribution within coal samples during water infusion process, which has been reported by very little literature. The working principle and procedures of CT imaging was firstly introduced. Then, the determination equation of moisture distribution based on density profile was established. The CT determined moisture content has been compared with weighting method for verification. The paper has demonstrated that µ-CT can be used for non-destructively imaging the moisture distribution within coal samples.

IntroductionThe genus Sanicula L. is a taxonomically complicated taxa within Apiaceae, as its high variability in morphology. Although taxonomists have performed several taxonomic revisions for this genus, the interspecific relationships and species boundaries have not been satisfactorily resolved, especially for those endemic to China. This study mainly focused on S. giraldii var. ovicalycina, S. tienmuensis var. pauciflora, and S. orthacantha var. stolonifera and also described two new members of the genus.MethodsWe newly sequenced sixteen plastomes from nine Sanicula species. Combined with eleven plastomes previously reported by us and one plastome downloaded, we performed a comprehensively plastid phylogenomics analysis of 21 Sanicula taxa. Results and DiscussionThe comparative results showed that 21 Sanicula plastomes in their structure and features were highly conserved and further justified that two new species were indeed members of Sanicula. Nevertheless, eleven mutation hotspot regions were still identified. Phylogenetic analyses based on plastome data and the ITS sequences strongly supported that these three varieties were clearly distant from three type varieties. The results implied that these three varieties should be considered as three independent species, which were further justified by their multiple morphological characters. Therefore, revising these three varieties into three independent species was reasonable and convincing. Moreover, we also identified and described two new Sanicula species (S. hanyuanensis and S. langaoensis) from Sichuan and Shanxi, China, respectively. Based on their distinct morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analysis, two new species were included in Sanicula. In summary, our study impelled the revisions of Sanicula members and improved the taxonomic system of the genus.

BackgroundIruplinalkib is a second-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with efficacy in patients with ALK-positive crizotinib-resistant advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is independently developed by a Chinese pharmaceutical company. This study examined the cost-effectiveness of iruplinalkib versus alectinib in the Chinese healthcare setting.MethodsA partitioned survival model was developed to project the economic and health outcomes. Efficacy was derived using unanchored matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC). Cost and utility values were obtained from the literature and experts’ opinions. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were carried out to evaluate the model’s robustness.ResultsTreatment with iruplinalkib versus alectinib resulted in a gain of 0.843 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) with incremental costs of $20,493.27, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $24,313.95/QALY. Parameters related to relative efficacy and drug costs were the main drivers of the model outcomes. From the PSA, iruplinalkib had a 90% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $37,863.56/QALY.ConclusionCompared to alectinib, iruplinalkib is a cost-effective therapy for patients with ALK-positive crizotinib-resistant advanced NSCLC.

Soluble sugars, as an indispensable source of energy, play crucial roles in plant growth and development. However, to date, scant information about the sucrose metabolism-related gene families is available in kiwifruit (Actinidia rufa Planch). Here, we systematically identified the members of various gene families encoding crucial enzymes or transporters involved in sucrose metabolism, re-analyzed their expression patterns under different fruit development stages, and determined the regulatory mechanism involving key transcription factors. A total of sixty-two genes from six gene families (thirty-one ArINVs, two ArSPPs, four ArSPSs, nine ArSUSs, six ArSUCs/SUTs, and ten ArSWEETs) were identified in the A. rufa genome. The characterization of these members, including gene structure, motifs, conserved domains, and cis-acting elements, were analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these gene families could be categorized into six distinct subgroups. These six gene families have undergone strong purifying selection during domestication. In addition, expression analysis of the 62 genes indicated that differential expression patterns are highly regulated by developmental processes. Specifically, we identified 11 transcription factors that were rigorously correlated (r > 0.98) with key gene expression profiles. This represents a comprehensive analysis of the genes involved in sucrose metabolism in kiwifruit, which provides useful information for further functional analysis of these genes.

The genus Rorippa belongs to the family Brassicaceae, and its members usually have high medicinal value. The genus consists of approximately 75 species and mainly grows in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring in every continent except Antarctica. The taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of Rorippa are still unsettled, largely due to complex morphological variations in Rorippa, which were caused by frequent hybridization events. Here, we sequenced four complete plastid genomes of Rorippa species by Illumina paired-end sequencing. The four new plastid genomes of Rorippa ranged in total size from 154,671 bp for R. palustris to 154,894 bp for R. sylvestris. There are 130 genes in the four plastomes, embodying 8 rRNA, 37 tRNA, and 85 protein-coding genes. Combining with six published plastid genomes, we carried on comparative and phylogenetic analyses. We found that the ten Rorippa plastid genomes were conservative in gene number and order, total size, genomic structure, codon usage, long repeat sequence, and SSR. Fourteen mutational hotspot regions could be selected as candidate DNA barcoding to distinguish Rorippa plants. The phylogenetic trees clearly identified that ten Rorippa species displayed monophyletic relationships within the tribe Cardamineae based on plastomes and nrDNA ITS sequences. However, there are significant cytonuclear discordances in the interspecific relationships within Rorippa, as well as the intergeneric relationships between Rorippa and its related genera. We inferred that the cytonuclear discordance is most likely a result of interspecific hybridization within Rorippa, as well as intergeneric hybridization with its related genera. These plastid genomes can offer precious information for studies of species authentication, evolutionary history, and the phylogeny of Rorippa.

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a major global health concern, with cancer metastasis being the main cause of patient mortality, and current CRC treatments are challenged by drug resistance. Although natural compounds, especially in foods like hawthorn proanthocyanidin extract (HPOE), have good anticancer activity, their effects on CRC metastasis remain unknown. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the impact and potential mechanisms of HPOE on the movement and infiltration of cells in the HCT116 CRC cells. Firstly, scratch-healing experiments confirmed the anti-migratory and anti-invasive capabilities of HPOE. Then, network pharmacology identified 16 possible targets, including MMP-9. Subsequently, RT-qPCR and Western blotting experiments confirmed that HPOE downregulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related factors (N-cadherin and MMP-9) and inhibited Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation. Finally, these results were experimentally validated using the Wnt pathway activator Licl and inhibitor XAV939. It was confirmed that HPOE had a certain inhibitory effect on the activation of the Wnt signaling pathway caused by the activator Licl and could enhance the inhibitory effect of the inhibitor XAV939. Our findings provide a basis for developing functional foods or dietary supplements, especially positioning HPOE as a functional food raw material for adjuvant treatment of CRC, given its ability to inhibit metastasis through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

[Objective] Exploring the driving factors and dynamic change characteristics of the coupling relationship between ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies is crucial for clarifying the mutual feedback mechanism of social-ecological systems in the context of ecological restoration. [Methods] In this study, we selected Yan’an City, a typical vegetation restoration area, as the study area, and quantified four ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, water yield, baseflow regulation, and soil conservation from 2000 to 2020. Then we used a comprehensive ecosystem services index (ESI) to characterize the coupling relationship between the four ecosystem services. Based on the Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) model, we developed a network structure, which captured the driving factors of ESI and identified the variation characteristics of ESI. [Results] The results show that: (1) The ESI of Yan’an City increased significantly from 2000 to 2020, with the high value areas of ESI expanded from the middle to the north and south of the city, and the low value areas of ESI concentrated around the town and the northern fringe area. The baseflow regulation steadily declined since 2000. (2) The combined contribution rates of precipitation, fractional vegetation cover (FVC), actual evapotranspiration, and temperature to the change of ESI were more than 70% in 2000 to 2020, in which precipitation and FVC were the dominant driving factors. (3) In the 20-year study period, the contribution rate of precipitation showed a fluctuating downward trend but the contribution rate of FVC kept rising. According to the scenarios of probabilistic inference of BBNs, increasing temperature and precipitation will aggravate the risk of loss for baseflow regulation, while the continuous vegetation restoration will also lead to the threshold effects for the optimization of ESI. [Conclusion] A long-term monitoring of vegetation restoration areas and the improvement of baseflow regulation should be the priorities for Yan’an City in order to maintain the effectiveness of vegetation restoration and to cope with climate change and human disturbances in the future.