Search

This study investigated the effect of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) formula fertilization on cadmium (Cd) accumulation in P. notoginseng. Field investigations as well as formulated N and K fertilizers application experiments were conducted. Field investigations showed that Cd accumulation decreased PNS content in the main roots of P. notoginseng, while PNS content was promoted by soil available potassium (AK) and K in the main roots. The Cd content in P. notoginseng and the bioavailable Cd content in the soil decreased with the increasing of total K (TK) and AK in the soil. The increase of soil pH, total organic matter (TOM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) values can reduce the bioavailable Cd content in soil, thus reducing the Cd accumulation in P. notoginseng. Under current fertilization in P. notoginseng cultivation, decreased N fertilization can alleviate the deterioration of soil physical and chemical properties. Under identical N fertilization, increasing K fertilization promoted the PNS accumulation (0.3–38.3%), also improved soil physical and chemical properties. Formulated N and K fertilizers application (1:2) experiments showed that reducing application of N and increasing K fertilization could reduce the bioavailable Cd content in soil, and the Cd content also decreased by 0.5–69.6% in P. notoginseng. Abbreviation: PNS: P. notoginseng saponins; F(EXC): Exchangeable fraction; F(Carb): Bound to carbonates fraction; F(Fe-MnOX): Bound to iron and manganese oxides fraction; F(OM): Bound to organic matter fraction; F(RES): Residual fraction; AK: Available potassium; TK: Total potassium; CEC: Cation exchange capacity; TOM: Total organic matter [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We deploy a time-dependent Born–Oppenheimer approximation approach for numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) by reducing the wavefunction dimensionality to nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom, and apply it to a one-dimensional model of H2 +. Based upon our three distinct error evaluation schemes, we quantitatively compare the wavefunctions and HHG spectra which are computed by the present approximation method, with those obtained by fully solving the TDSE. The similarities of both the wavefunctions and the HHG spectra justify that our approach is feasibly precise for medium laser intensity. It is also anticipated that this approximation can be adopted for other polyatomic molecules with a dimensionality reduction and computational simplification in calculating the time-dependent wavefunctions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Artemisia annua L. is the main source of artemisinin, an antimalarial drug. High diversity of morphological characteristics and artemisinin contents of A. annua has affected the stable production of artemisinin while efficient discrimination method of A. annua strains is not available. The complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of 38 A. annua strains were assembled and analyzed in this study. Phylogenetic analysis of Artemisia species showed that distinct intraspecific divergence occurred in A. annua strains. A total of 38 A. annua strains were divided into two distinct lineages, one lineage containing widely-distributed strains and the other lineage only containing strains from northern China. The A. annua cp genomes ranged from 150, 953 to 150, 974 bp and contained 131 genes, and no presence or absence variation of genes was observed. The IRs and SC junctions were located in rps 19 and ycf 1, respectively, without IR contraction observed. Rich sequence polymorphisms were observed among A. annua strains, and a total of 60 polymorphic sites representing 14 haplotypes were identified which unfolding the cpDNA heteroplasmy of A. annua . In conclusion, this study provided valuable resource for A. annua strains identification and provided new insights into the evolutionary characteristics of A. annua ., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ding, Pan, Shi, Zhao, Bao, Zhong, Dai, Chen, Gong, Zhang, Qiu, Liao and Huang.)

Background: Ursolic acid (UA) is an antitumor component derived from Chinese herbal medicine; this study is to observe the effects of UA on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in gastric cancer., Methods: (1) In vitro experiments: 25 μ mol/L and 50 μ mol/L UA were applied to BGC-823, AGS, MGC-803, and HGC-27 cells; MTT staining, Transwell assay, and flow cytometry were used to assess cell proliferation, cell migration, and apoptosis, respectively. Western blot was performed to detect the expressions of N-Cadherin, Vimentin, Snail, Twist, Axl, p-Axl, IKK, p-IKK, NF- κ B, and p-NF- κ B. (2) In vivo experiments: Ten BALB/c-nu mice were used to establish gastric cancer xenograft model. Five were orally given UA for 4 weeks and five were given normal saline. Expressions of N-Cadherin and Snail were examined by immunohistochemical assay; expressions of N-Cadherin, Snail, Twist, Axl, p-Axl, IKK, and p-IKK were detected by Western blot., Results: (1) UA inhibited cell proliferation in BGC-823 and HGC-27 cells in dose-dependent manners. (2) UA inhibited cell migration in BGC-823, AGS, and MGC-803 cells while inducing apoptosis in BGC-823 cells. (3) UA significantly decreased the expressions of N-Cadherin, Vimentin, Snail, Twist p-Axl, p-IKK α / β , and p-NF- κ B in BGC-823 and MGC-803 cells. (4) UA distinctly decreased the expressions of N-Cadherin, Snail, p-Axl, and p-IKK α / β in gastric cancer xenograft model rats., Conclusion: UA can effectively inhibit the proliferation and migration and induce apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. The antitumor effect of UA is conducted by EMT inhibition, which may be associated with the regulation of Axl/NF- κ B signaling pathway.