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Abstract Background We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of blonanserin and risperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia and to provide reliable pharmacotherapeutic evidence for in the clinical treatment of schizophrenia. Methods We systematically searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases for head-to-head randomized controlled trials that compared blonanserin with risperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia. We extracted the following data: author, year, country, diagnostic criteria, sample size, course of treatment, dosage and outcomes. Our main endpoint was the changes in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores. Meta-analysis of the included data was conducted by RevMan 5.3 software. We used the GRADE criteria to evaluate the certainty of the evidence. Results A total of 411 studies were initially; 8 trials were eligible and were included in our analysis (N = 1386 participants). Regarding efficacy, there was no difference in changes in the PANSS total scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). In terms of safety, compared to risperidone, the incidence of serum prolactin increases and weight gain in the blonanserin group was lower (P

Phenotypic plasticity affords invasive plant species the ability to colonize a wide range of habitats, but physiological plasticity of their stems is seldom recognized. Investigation of the stem plasticity of invasive plant species could lead to a better understanding of their invasiveness. We performed pot experiments involving defoliation treatments and isolated culture experiments to determine whether the invasive species Mikania micrantha exhibits greater plasticity in the stems than do three non-invasive species that co-occur in southern China and then explored the mechanism underlying the modification of its stem photosynthesis. Our results showed that the stems of M. micrantha exhibited higher plasticity in terms of either net or gross photosynthetic rate in response to the defoliation treatment. These effects were positively related to an increased stem elongation rate. The enhancement of stem photosynthesis in M. micrantha resulted from the comprehensive action involving increases in the Chl a/b ratio, D1 protein and stomatal aperture, changes in chloroplast morphology and a decrease in anthocyanins. Increased plasticity of stem photosynthesis may improve the survival of M. micrantha under harsh conditions and allow it to rapidly recover from defoliation injuries. Our results highlight that phenotypic plasticity promotes the invasion success of alien plant invaders.

Mature subtropical forests can resist the invasion of Mikania micrantha, a notorious exotic invasive plant, but the underlying mechanism for this resistance is still debated. In this study, we explored whether allelochemicals produced by the dominant species in a subtropical forest were sufficient to inhibit the invasion of M. micrantha. Allelopathic effects of three tree species (Syzygium rehderianum, Cryptocarya concinna and C. chinensis) on the germination and vegetative growth of M. micrantha were investigated. The results showed that aqueous extracts from the leaves of all tree species had allelopathic inhibitory effects on M. micrantha seed germination at a concentration of 5% aqueous extract. Variations were observed in the allelopathic effects of the tree species on germination rate (GR), germination energy (GE) and radicle length (RL), but all the tree species had the same synthetic allelopathic effect (SE). Reduced height, biomass, Chlorophyll (Chl a/b), Carotenoid/Chlorophyll (Car/Chl), antioxidant capacity, nonphotochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ) and increased specific leaf area (SLA) were observed in M. micrantha planted with the tree species. The allelopathic potential of the tree species on M. micrantha in a vegetative growth stage was weak. Our results indicated allelopathy alone was not sufficient to inhibit the invasion of exotic plants in subtropical forests, but the combination of allelopathy and shading may be sufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]