Search

Subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests distributed in montane zones of southern China experience seasonal droughts and winter frost. Previously, studies have recognized that xylem anatomy is a determinant of its vulnerability to embolism caused by drought and freezing events. We hypothesized that there is a coordination of xylem resistance to freeze-thaw and drought-induced embolism for the subtropical montane evergreen broadleaved tree species because they are influenced by common xylem structural traits (e.g., vessel diameter). We examined the branch xylem anatomy, resistance to drought-induced embolism (P 50 ), and the percent loss of branch hydraulic conductivity after a severe winter frost (PLC winter ) for 15 evergreen broadleaved tree species in a montane forest in South China. Our results showed that P 50 of the studied species ranged from -2.81 to -5.13 MPa, which was not associated with most xylem anatomical properties except for the axial parenchyma-to-vessel connectivity. These tree species differed substantially in PLC winter , ranging from 0% to 76.41%. PLC winter was positively related to vessel diameter and negatively related to vessel density, vessel group index, and vessel-to-vessel connectivity, but no coordination with P 50 . This study suggests that hydraulic adaptation to frost is important to determine the distributional limit of subtropical montane evergreen woody angiosperms., (© 2024 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Forests, the largest terrestrial carbon sinks, play an important role in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. Although forest attributes and environmental factors have been shown to impact aboveground biomass, their influence on biomass stocks in species-rich forests in southern China, a biodiversity hotspot, has rarely been investigated. In this study, we characterized the effects of environmental factors, forest structure, and species diversity on aboveground biomass stocks of 30 plots (1 ha each) in natural forests located within seven nature reserves distributed across subtropical and marginal tropical zones in Guangxi, China. Our results indicate that forest aboveground biomass stocks in this region are lower than those in mature tropical and subtropical forests in other regions. Furthermore, we found that aboveground biomass was positively correlated with stand age, mean annual precipitation, elevation, structural attributes and species richness, although not with species evenness. When we compared stands with the same basal area, we found that aboveground biomass stock was higher in communities with a higher coefficient of variation of diameter at breast height. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining forest structural diversity and species richness to promote aboveground biomass accumulation and reveal the potential impacts of precipitation changes resulting from climate warming on the ecosystem services of subtropical and northern tropical forests in China. Notably, many natural forests in southern China are not fully stocked. Therefore, their continued growth will increase their carbon storage over time., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.)

Ferns are primitive vascular plants with diverse morphologies and structures. Plant anatomical traits and their linkages can reflect adaptation to the environment; however, these remain are still poorly understood in ferns. The main objective of this study was to explore whether there was structural coordination among and within organs in fern species. We measured 16 hydraulically related anatomical traits of pinnae, petioles, and roots of 24 representative fern species from the tropical and subtropical forest understory and analyzed trait correlation networks. In addition, we examined phylogenetic signals for the anatomical traits and analyzed co-evolutionary relationships. These results indicated that stomatal density and all petiole anatomical traits exhibited significant phylogenetic signals. Evolutionary correlations were observed between the tracheid diameter and wall thickness of the petiole and between the water transport capacity of the petiole and stomatal density. Conversely, anatomical traits of roots (e.g., root diameter) showed no phylogenetic signals and were not significantly correlated with those of the pinnae and petioles, indicating a lack of structural coordination between the below- and above-ground organs. Unlike angiosperms, vein density is unrelated to stomatal density or pinna thickness in ferns. As root diameter decreased, the cortex-to-stele diameter ratio decreased significantly (enhanced water absorption) in angiosperms but remained unchanged in ferns. These differences lead to different responses of ferns to climate change and improve our knowledge of the water adaptation strategies of ferns., (© 2024 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Tropical karst habitats are characterized by limited and patchy soil, large rocky outcrops and porous substrates, resulting in high habitat heterogeneity and soil moisture fluctuations. Xylem hydraulic efficiency and safety can determine the drought adaptation and spatial distribution of woody plants growing in karst environments. In this study, we measured sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks), vulnerability to embolism, wood density, saturated water content, and vessel and pit anatomical characteristics in the branch stems of 12 evergreen tree species in a tropical karst seasonal rainforest in southwestern China. We aimed to characterize the effects of structural characteristics on hydraulic efficiency and safety. Our results showed that there was no significant correlation between Ks and hydraulic safety across the tropical karst woody species. Ks was correlated with hydraulic vessel diameter (r = 0.80, P < 0.05) and vessel density (r = -0.60, P < 0.05), while the stem water potential at 50 and 88% loss of hydraulic conductivity (P50 and P88) were both significantly correlated with wood density (P < 0.05) and saturated water content (P = 0.052 and P < 0.05, respectively). High stem water storage capacity was associated with low cavitation resistance possibly because of its buffering the moisture fluctuations in karst environments. However, both Ks and P50/P88 were decoupled from the anatomical traits of pit and pit membranes. This may explain the lack of tradeoff between hydraulic safety and efficiency in tropical karst evergreen tree species. Our results suggest that diverse hydraulic trait combination may facilitate species coexistence in karst environments with high spatial heterogeneity., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

The concentration and sorption behavior of 237 Np on the bottom sediments of water bodies in the Far East region of Russia (Lake Khanka and Peter the Great Bay) were studied for the first time. The 237 Np concentrations vary from 1.06 × 10 -6 to 4.43 × 10 -5 mBq g -1 in the bottom sediments of Lake Khanka and from 1.05 × 10 -4 to 2.52 × 10 -3 mBq g -1 for Amur Bay. The experiment on the adsorption of Np on marine and lake sediment showed that it is sorbed through complexation with silicates (albite, leucite). The Np sorption isotherm on marine sediments is described by the Langmuir equation; the distribution coefficients (Kd) of Np vary from 57 to 588 mL g -1 . For lake sediments, the isotherm is described by the Henry equation; the Kd value reaches 935 mL g -1 ., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Kuzmenkova Natalia reports financial support was provided by Russian Science Foundation. Hou Xiaolin reports financial support was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China. Co-author is an assocaited editor in Journal of Environmental radioactivity., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To explore the expression of microRNA-3162-3p in different clinical stages of childhood primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and its significance., Methods: Ninety-six children with ITP were enrolled and divided into new diagnosis group ( n =40), persistent group ( n =30) and chronic group ( n =26) according to the course of disease. 80 healthy children were selected as the control group. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) of ITP children and healthy children were isolated and cultured, and the expression of microRNA-3162-3p in PBMNC of subjects was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The contents of IL-17, IL-23, IL-10 and TGF-β in PBMNC of subjects were determined by ELISA. The correlation between microRNA-3162-3p and platelet count, IL-17, IL-23, IL-10 and TGF-β was analyzed., Results: Compared with the control group, the expression of microRNA-3162-3p and IL-10 in PBMNC and platelet count of ITP children were significantly decreased（ P < 0.05）, while IL-17, IL-23 and TGF-β were significantly increased ( P < 0.05). With the prolongation of the disease course, the expressions of microRNA-3162-3p and IL-10 in PBMNC and platelet count were significantly decreased（ P < 0.05）, while the expressions of IL-17, IL-23 and TGF-β were significantly increased ( P < 0.05). The expression of microRNA-3162-3p in PBMNC was positively correlated with platelet count and IL-10 ( r =0.716, 0.667), and negatively correlated with IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β ( r =-0.540, -0.641, -0.560)., Conclusion: MicroRNA-3162-3p expression is significantly reduced in PBMNC of children with ITP, and is involved in the regulation of Th17/Treg imbalance, which can be used as a potential therapeutic target of ITP.

Multifunctional materials with a coexistence of proton conduction properties, single-molecule magnet (SMM) behaviors and magneto-optical Faraday effects have rarely been reported. Herein, a new pair of Cu(II)-Dy(III) enantiomers, [DyCu 2 ( RR/SS -H 2 L) 2 (H 2 O) 4 (NO 3 ) 2 ]·(NO 3 )·(H 2 O) ( R - 1 and S - 1 ) (H 4 L = [ RR / SS ] -N,N'-bis [3-hydroxysalicylidene] -1,2-cyclohexanediamine), has been designed and prepared using homochiral Schiff-base ligands. R - 1 and S - 1 contain linear Cu(II)-Dy(III)-Cu(II) trinuclear units and possess 1D stacking channels within their supramolecular networks. R - 1 and S - 1 display chiral optical activity and strong magneto-optical Faraday effects. Moreover, R - 1 shows a zero-field SMM behavior. In addition, R - 1 demonstrates humidity- and temperature-dependent proton conductivity with optimal values of 1.34 × 10 -4 S·cm -1 under 50 °C and 98% relative humidity (RH), which is related to a 1D extended H-bonded chain constructed by water molecules, nitrate and phenol groups of the RR -H 2 L ligand.

Climate change has resulted in an increase in drought severity in the species-rich tropical and subtropical forests of southern China. Exploring the spatiotemporal relationship between drought-tolerance trait and tree abundance provides a means to elucidate the impact of droughts on community assembly and dynamics. In this study, we measured the leaf turgor loss point (πtlp) for 399 tree species from three tropical forest plots and three subtropical forest plots. The plot area was 1 ha and tree abundance was calculated as total basal area per hectare according to the nearest community census data. The first aim of this study was to explore πtlp abundance relationships in the six plots across a range of precipitation seasonality. Additionally, three of the six plots (two tropical forests and one subtropical forest) had consecutive community censuses data (12-22 years) and the mortality ratios and abundance year slope of tree species were analyzed. The second aim was to examine whether πtlp is a predictor of tree mortality and abundance changes. Our results showed that tree species with lower (more negative) πtlp were more abundant in the tropical forests with relative high seasonality. However, πtlp was not related to tree abundance in the subtropical forests with low seasonality. Moreover, πtlp was not a good predictor of tree mortality and abundance changes in both humid and dry forests. This study reveals the restricted role of πtlp in predicting the response of forests to increasing droughts under climate change., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Karst forests are habitats in which access to soil water can be challenging for plants. Therefore, safe and efficient xylem water transport and large internal water storage may benefit tree growth. In this study, we selected 22 tree species from a primary subtropical karst forest in southern China and measured their xylem anatomical traits, saturated water content (SWC), hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and embolism resistance (P50). Additionally, we monitored growth of diameter at breast height (DBH) in 440 individual trees of various sizes over three consecutive years. Our objective was to analyze the relationships between xylem structure, hydraulic efficiency, safety, water storage and growth of karst tree species. The results showed significant differences in structure but not in hydraulic traits between deciduous and evergreen species. Larger vessel diameter, paratracheal parenchyma and higher SWC were correlated with higher Ks. Embolism resistance was not correlated with the studied anatomical traits, and no tradeoff with Ks was observed. In small trees (5-15 cm DBH), diameter growth rate (DGR) was independent of hydraulic traits. In large trees (>15 cm DBH), higher Ks and more negative P50 accounted for higher DGR. From lower to greater embolism resistance, the size-growth relationship shifted from growth deceleration to acceleration with increasing tree size in eight of the 22 species. Our study highlights the vital contributions of xylem hydraulic efficiency and safety to growth rate and dynamics in karst tree species; therefore, we strongly recommend their integration into trait-based forest dynamic models., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

A new Dy-based complex, [Dy 2 (phen) 4 (PAA) 4 ](ClO 4 ) 2 ( 1 ), was obtained by using 4-hydroxyphenyl acetate (HPAA) as a ligand and 1,10-phenanthroline as an auxiliary ligand. Complex 1 shows a dinuclear structure and a 2D supramolecular layer constructed by π-π stacking interactions. The complex displays a characteristic Dy(III) emission. Moreover, magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed that 1 exhibits a single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior. In addition, it also shows a proton conductivity of 1.08 × 10 -5 S cm -1 under 353 K and 100% relative humidity conditions, which is mainly assigned to H-bonded networks formed by the undeprotonated and uncoordinated phenolic groups of HPAA ligands and guest water molecules. Remarkably, 1 is the first example of a dinuclear complex showing photoluminescence, SMM behavior, and proton conduction.

Background and Aims: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the functional traits of leaves (leaflets) of cycads. The aim of this study was to clarify the functional divergence between the earlier origin Cycadaceae and the later differentiated Zamiaceae, and the differences in trait associations between cycads and angiosperms., Methods: We selected 20 Cycadaceae species and 21 Zamiaceae species from the same cycad garden in South China, and measured their leaf structure, economic traits, mechanical resistance (Fp) and leaf water potential at the turgor loss point (πtlp). In addition, we compiled a dataset of geographical distribution along with climatic variables for these cycad species, and some leaf traits of tropical-sub-tropical angiosperm woody species from the literature for comparison., Key Results: The results showed significantly contrasting leaf trait syndromes between the two families, with Zamiaceae species exhibiting thicker leaves, higher carbon investments and greater Fp than Cycadaceae species. Leaf thickness (LT) and πtlp were correlated with mean climatic variables in their native distribution ranges, indicating their evolutionary adaptation to environmental conditions. Compared with the leaves of angiosperms, the cycad leaves were thicker and tougher, and more tolerant to desiccation. Greater Fp was associated with a higher structural investment in both angiosperms and cycads; however, cycads showed lower Fp at a given leaf mass per area or LT than angiosperms. Enhancement of Fp led to more negative πtlp in angiosperms, but the opposite trend was observed in cycads., Conclusions: Our results reveal that variations in leaf traits of cycads are mainly influenced by taxonomy and the environment of their native range. We also demonstrate similar leaf functional associations in terms of economics, but different relationships with regard to mechanics and drought tolerance between cycads and angiosperms. This study expands our understanding of the ecological strategies and likely responses of cycads to future climate change., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Titanium alloys have now become the first choice of tubing material used in the harsh oil- and gas-exploitation environment, while the interaction of force and medium is a serious threat to the safety and reliability of titanium alloy in service. In this paper, different stresses were applied to TC4 titanium alloy by four-point bending stress fixture, and the corrosion behavior of TC4 titanium alloy was studied by high-temperature and high-pressure simulation experiments and electrochemical techniques, and the microscopic morphologies and chemical composition of the surface film layer on the specimen were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), to reveal the corrosion-resistance mechanism of TC4 titanium alloy under different stress-loading conditions. The results showed that the pits appeared on the specimens loaded with elastic stress, but the degree of pitting corrosion was still lighter, and the surface film layer showed n-type semiconductor properties with cation selective permeability. While the pits on the specimens loaded with plastic stress were deeper and wider in size, and the semiconductor type of the surface film layer changed to p-type, it was easier for anions such as Cl - and CO 3 2- to adsorb on, destroy, and pass through the protective film and then to contact with the matrix, resulting in a decrease in corrosion resistance of TC4 titanium alloy.

The overall outcomes for patients with advanced liver cancer are far from satisfactory, and the development of more effective therapeutic strategies for liver cancer is required. Sulforhodamine blue and colony formation assays were performed to detect the proliferation of liver certain cancer cells, including HepG2 and Hep3B. Western blotting was also preformed to detect the expression of indicated proteins, including cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation kinase 1A (DYRK1A), PARP-1/2, GAPDH, myeloid cell leukemia-1, phosphorylated-AKT (Ser473), caspase-3, α-tubulin and AKT. PI staining was used to detect cell death. In the present study, DYRK1A knockdown significantly enhanced the anti-liver cancer effect of regorafenib in vitro . Furthermore, DYRK1A inhibitor harmine together with regorafenib provided synergistic anti-liver cancer activity by suppressing cell proliferation. In addition, harmine significantly enhanced regorafenib-induced cell death in liver cancer cells. It has been reported that AKT signaling is activated in regorafenib-resistant cancer cells and plays a crucial role in the regulation of cellular sensitivity to regorafenib. In the present study, AKT was activated in regorafenib-treated cells, and harmine could suppress the activation of AKT and reinforce the anti-cancer effects of regorafenib via regulating AKT in liver cancer cells. These data indicated that harmine enhanced the anti-cancer effects of regorafenib on suppressing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in liver cancer cells via regulating the activation of AKT, and harmine plus regorafenib may be a potential therapeutic regimen for treating patients with liver cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Chen et al.)

The working environment for tubing in oil and gas fields is becoming more and more serious due to the exploration of unconventional oil and gas resources, leading to the increasing need for a protective internal coating to be used in tubing. Therefore, a new mica-graphene/epoxy composite coating with different graphene contents (0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0 wt.%) was prepared to improve the tubing resistance to a corrosive medium, an autoclave was used to simulate the working environment, and an electrochemical workstation assisted by three-electrodes was used to study the electrochemical characteristics of the coating. The results showed that the addition of a certain amount of graphene into the mica/epoxy coating significantly improved the corrosion resistance of the composite coating, and when the graphene content increased, the corrosion resistance of the mica/epoxy coating first increased and then decreased when the corrosion current density of a 35 wt.% 800 # mica/epoxy coating with a 0.7 wt.% graphene content was the lowest (7.11 × 10 -1 3 A·cm -2 ), the corrosion potential was the highest (292 mV), the polarization resistance was the largest (3.463 × 10 9 Ω·cm 2 ), and the corrosion resistance was improved by 89.3% compared to the coating without graphene. Furthermore, the adhesion of the coating with 0.7 wt.% graphene was also the largest (8.81 MPa, increased by 3.4%) and had the smallest diffusion coefficient (1.566 × 10 7 cm 2 ·s -1 , decreased by 76.1%), and the thermal stability improved by 18.6%. Finally, the corrosion resistance mechanism of the composite coating with different graphene contents at different soaking times was revealed based on the electrochemistry and morphology characteristics other than water absorption and contact angle.

Four complexes from lanthanides, 3-pyridylacetate, and 1,10-phenanthroline, formulated as [Ln 2 (3-PAA) 2 (μ-Cl) 2 (phen) 4 ](ClO 4 ) 2 [Ln = Gd( 1 ), Dy( 2 ), Eu( 3 ), Tb( 4 ), 3-PAA = 3-pyridylacetic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline], were obtained. The four compounds were characterized by IR spectra, thermogravimetric analyses, powder X-ray diffraction, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1 - 4 are isomorphous, and they have a dinuclear structure. Magnetic studies reveal that 1 shows the magnetocaloric effect with -Δ S m max = 19.03 J kg -1 K -1 at 2 K for Δ H = 5 T, and 2 displays a field-induced single-molecule magnet with U eff = 19.02 K. The photoluminescent spectra of 3 and 4 exhibit strong characteristic emission, which demonstrate that the ligand-to-Eu III /Tb III energy transfer is efficient., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Aims: The NOD-like receptor (NLR) family, caspase recruitment (CARD) domain containing 5 (NLRC5) was dysregulated in endometrial cancer (EC). However, the potential regulatory mechanisms of NLRC5 in EC remained unclear. We aimed to explore whether NLRC5 could regulate the programmed cell death protein ligand 1 (PD-L1) in EC. We also investigated the related molecular which led to the inactivation of NLRC5 in EC. Methods: The expressions of NLRC5 and PD-L1 in endometrium tissue microarray were detected by immunohistochemistry. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to detect the expression correlation between NLRC5 and PD-L1. Immunofluorescence staining, western blotting, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the role of NLRC5 in PD-L1 in EC cell lines. The somatic mutation in EC patients was detected by whole-exome sequencing (WGS). Results: NLRC5 was downregulated in the endometrium of EC patients when compared to those in the normal endometrium. The level of PD-L1 in the endometrium of EC patients was higher when compared to those in the normal endometrium. There was a negative expression correlation between NLRC5 and PD-L1. NLRC5 could promote the expression of PD-L1 in EC cell lines. The mutations of ANKRD20A2, C2orf42, ADGRB3, AVPR2, GOLGA6C, and IPPK may lead to the downregulation of NLRC5 in EC patients. Conclusion: NLRC5 could inhibit the activation of PD-L1 in EC. Mutations of ANKRD20A2, C2orf42, ADGRB3, AVPR2, GOLGA6C, and IPPK may lead to the downregulation of NLRC5 in EC patients. Future study should investigate the mechanism of NLRC5 in PD-L1, as well as the mechanism of ANKRD20A2, C2orf42, ADGRB3, AVPR2, GOLGA6C, and IPPK in NLRC5.

Objective: To observe the expression of plasma microRNA (miR)-146a and miR-223 in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), so as to analyze the relationship between the two factors and the prognosis of children with ALL., Methods: 100 children with ALL treated in the hospital from January 2015 to December 2017 were selected, according to the standard of Chinese Children's Leukemia Group (CCLG)-ALL-2008 program, the children were performed standardized treatment in our hospital according to different risk degree, the follow-up results were obtained, the follow-up time was ≥36 months, and the follow-up time was till to March 2021, the recurrence and mortality of the children were used as prognostic indicators; the baseline data of the children at admission were inquired and recorded, the plasma miR-146a and miR-223 levels were analyzed at admission, and their correlation with the prognosis of children with ALL was analyzed., Results: During the follow-up period, 4 cases of children died while 18 cases recurred, which means 22(22.00%) children showed the poor prognosis; the plasma miR-146a level of the children in poor prognosis group at admission was higher than those in good prognosis group, while the plasma miR-223 level was lower than those in good prognosis group, the differences showed statistically significantly (P<0.05); the results of regression analysis showed that the over expression of plasma miR-146a and low expression of plasma miR-223 at admission might be associated with poor prognosis in ALL children, and might be a risk factor for poor prognosis in children (P<0.05); the ROC curve showed that the AUC of plasma miR-146a and miR-223 at admission alone or in combination showed the predictive value for the risk of poor prognosis in children with ALL(AUC >0.80); the results of correlation test showed that there was a negative correlation of plasma miR-146a with miR-223 levels at admission (r=-0.239, P=0.016)., Conclusion: Plasma miR-146a is overexpressed and miR-223 is low-expressed in children with ALL, the abnormal expression of the two factors is related to the prognosis of children with ALL.

Background and Aims: Leaf biomechanical resistance protects leaves from biotic and abiotic damage. Previous studies have revealed that enhancing leaf biomechanical resistance is costly for plant species and leads to an increase in leaf drought tolerance. We thus predicted that there is a functional correlation between leaf hydraulic safety and biomechanical characteristics., Methods: We measured leaf morphological and anatomical traits, pressure-volume parameters, maximum leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf-max), leaf water potential at 50 % loss of hydraulic conductance (P50leaf), leaf hydraulic safety margin (SMleaf), and leaf force to tear (Ft) and punch (Fp) of 30 co-occurring woody species in a sub-tropical evergreen broadleaved forest. Linear regression analysis was performed to examine the relationships between biomechanical resistance and other leaf hydraulic traits., Key Results: We found that higher Ft and Fp values were significantly associated with a lower (more negative) P50leaf and a larger SMleaf, thereby confirming the correlation between leaf biomechanical resistance and hydraulic safety. However, leaf biomechanical resistance showed no correlation with Kleaf-max, although it was significantly and negatively correlated with leaf outside-xylem hydraulic conductance. In addition, we also found that there was a significant correlation between biomechanical resistance and the modulus of elasticity by excluding an outlier., Conclusions: The findings of this study reveal leaf biomechanical-hydraulic safety correlation in sub-tropical woody species., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an aggressive malignancy with extremely skewed ethnic and geographic distributions. Increasing evidence indicates that targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME) represents a promising therapeutic approach in NPC, highlighting an urgent need to deepen the understanding of the complex NPC TME. Here, we generated single-cell transcriptome profiles for 7581 malignant cells and 40,285 immune cells from fifteen primary NPC tumors and one normal sample. We revealed malignant signatures capturing intratumoral transcriptional heterogeneity and predicting aggressiveness of malignant cells. Diverse immune cell subtypes were identified, including novel subtypes such as CLEC9A + dendritic cells (DCs). We further revealed transcriptional regulators underlying immune cell diversity, and cell-cell interaction analyses highlighted promising immunotherapeutic targets in NPC. Moreover, we established the immune subtype-specific signatures, and demonstrated that the signatures of macrophages, plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), CLEC9A + DCs, natural killer (NK) cells, and plasma cells were significantly associated with improved survival outcomes in NPC. Taken together, our findings represent a unique resource providing in-depth insights into the cellular heterogeneity of NPC TME and highlight potential biomarkers for anticancer treatment and risk stratification, laying a new foundation for precision therapies in NPC.

Leaf hydraulic conductance and the vulnerability to water deficits have profound effects on plant distribution and mortality. In this study, we compiled a leaf hydraulic trait dataset with 311 species-at-site combinations from biomes worldwide. These traits included maximum leaf hydraulic conductance ( K leaf ), water potential at 50% loss of K leaf (P50 leaf ), and minimum leaf water potential ( Ψ min ). Leaf hydraulic safety margin (HSM leaf ) was calculated as the difference between Ψ min and P50 leaf . Our results indicated that 70% of the studied species had a narrow HSM leaf (less than 1 MPa), which was consistent with the global pattern of stem hydraulic safety margin. There was a positive relationship between HSM leaf and aridity index (the ratio of mean annual precipitation to potential evapotranspiration), as species from humid sites tended to have larger HSM leaf . We found a significant relationship between K leaf and P50 leaf across global angiosperm woody species and within each of the different plant groups. This global analysis of leaf hydraulic traits improves our understanding of plant hydraulic response to environmental change.

Objective: China adopted an unprecedented province-scale quarantine since January 23rd 2020, after the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) broke out in Wuhan in December 2019. Responding to the challenge of limited testing capacity, large-scale (>20 000 tests per day) standardized and fully-automated laboratory (Huo-Yan) was built as an ad-hoc measure. There is so far no empirical data or mathematical model to reveal the impact of the testing capacity improvement since quarantine. Methods: Based on the suspected case data released by the Health Commission of Hubei Province and the daily testing data of Huo-Yan Laboratory, the impact of detection capabilities on the realization of "clearing" and "clearing the day" of supected cases was simulated by establishing a novel non-linear and competitive compartments differential model. Results: Without the establishment of Huo-Yan, the suspected cases would increase by 47% to 33 700, the corresponding cost of quarantine would be doubled, the turning point of the increment of suspected cases and the achievement of "daily settlement" (all newly discovered suspected cases are diagnosed according to the nucleic acid testing result) would be delayed for a whole week and 11 days. If the Huo-Yan Laboratory could ran at its full capacity, the number of suspected cases could start to decrease at least a week earlier, the peak of suspected cases would be reduced by at least 44%, and the quarantine cost could be reduced by more than 72%. Ideally, if a daily testing capacity of 10 500 tests was achieved immediately after the Hubei lockdown, "daily settlement" for all suspected cases could be achieved. Conclusions: Large-scale, standardized clinical testing platform, with nucleic acid testing, high-throughput sequencing, and immunoprotein assessment capabilities, need to be implemented simultaneously in order to maximize the effect of quarantine and minimize the duration and cost of the quarantine. Such infrastructure, for both common times and emergencies, is of great significance for the early prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Background & Aims: The presence of multifocal tumors, developed either from intrahepatic metastasis (IM) or multicentric occurrence (MO), is a distinct feature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Immunogenomic characterization of multifocal HCC is important for understanding immune escape in different lesions and developing immunotherapy., Methods: We combined whole-exome/transcriptome sequencing, multiplex immunostaining, immunopeptidomes, T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing and bioinformatic analyses of 47 tumors from 15 patients with HCC and multifocal lesions., Results: IM and MO demonstrated distinct clonal architecture, mutational spectrum and genetic susceptibility. The immune microenvironment also displayed spatiotemporal heterogeneity, such as less T cell and more M2 macrophage infiltration in IM and higher expression of inhibitory immune checkpoints in MO. Similar to mutational profiles, shared neoantigens and TCR repertoires among tumors from the same patients were abundant in IM but scarce in MO. Combining neoantigen prediction and immunopeptidomes identified T cell-specific neoepitopes and achieved a high verification rate in vitro. Immunoediting mainly occurred in MO but not IM, due to the relatively low immune infiltration. Loss of heterozygosity of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, identified in 17% of multifocal HCC, hampered the ability of major histocompatibility complex to present neoantigens, especially in IM. An integrated analysis of Immunoscore, immunoediting, TCR clonality and HLA loss of heterozygosity in each tumor could stratify patients into 2 groups based on whether they have a high or low risk of recurrence (p = 0.038)., Conclusion: Our study comprehensively characterized the genetic structure, neoepitope landscape, T cell profile and immunoediting status that collectively shape tumor evolution and could be used to optimize personalized immunotherapies for multifocal HCC., Lay Summary: Immunogenomic features of multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are important for understanding immune-escape mechanisms and developing more effective immunotherapy. Herein, comprehensive immunogenomic characterization showed that diverse genomic structures within multifocal HCC would leave footprints on the immune landscape. Only a few tumors were under the control of immunosurveillance, while others evaded the immune system through multiple mechanisms that led to poor prognosis. Our study revealed heterogeneous immunogenomic landscapes and immune-constrained tumor evolution, the understanding of which could be used to optimize personalized immunotherapies for multifocal HCC., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest that pertain to this work. Please refer to the accompanying ICMJE disclosure forms for further details., (Copyright © 2019 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We perceive objects as permanent and stable despite frequent occlusions and eye movements, but their representation in the visual cortex is neither permanent nor stable. Feature selective cells respond only as long as objects are visible, and their responses depend on eye position. We explored the hypothesis that the system maintains object pointers that provide permanence and stability. Pointers should send facilitatory signals to the feature cells of an object, and these signals should persist across temporary occlusions and remap to compensate for image displacements caused by saccades. Here, we searched for such signals in monkey areas V2 and V4 (Macaca mulatta). We developed a new paradigm in which a monkey freely inspects an array of objects in search for reward while some of the objects are being occluded temporarily by opaque drifting strips. Two types of objects were used to manipulate attention. The results were as follows. 1 ) Eye movements indicated a robust representation of location and type of the occluded objects; 2 ) in neurons of V4, but not V2, occluded objects produced elevated activity relative to blank condition; 3 ) the elevation of activity was reduced for objects that had been fixated immediately before the current fixation ('inhibition of return'); and 4 ) when attended, or when the target of a saccade, visible objects produced enhanced responses in V4, but occluded objects produced no modulation. Although results 1-3 confirm the hypothesis, the absence of modulation under occlusion is not consistent. Further experiments are needed to resolve this discrepancy. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The way we perceive objects as permanent contrasts with the short-lived responses of visual cortical neurons. A theory postulates pointers that give objects continuity, predicting a class of neurons that respond not only to visual objects but also when an occluded object moves into their receptive field. Here, we tested this theory with a novel paradigm in which a monkey freely scans an array of objects while some of them are transiently occluded.

The poor surface performance of titanium alloys substantially limits their application in many fields, such as the petrochemical industry. To overcome this weakness, the Cu and Ni double layers were deposited on the surface of TC4 alloy by the electroplating method, and the isothermal diffusion process was performed at 700 °C to enhance the binding ability between Cu and Ni layers. The isothermal diffusion behavior and microstructure of the coating were systematically analyzed, and tribological property and corrosion resistance of the coating were also evaluated to reveal the influence of isothermal diffusion on the surface performance. It was shown that multiple diffusion layers appeared on the Cu/Ni and Ni/Ti interface, and that Ni x Ti y and Cu x Ti y phases were formed in the coating with the increase of diffusion time. More importantly, Kirkendall diffusion occurred when the diffusion time increased, which led to the formation of continuous microvoids and cracks in the diffusion layer, weakening the surface performance of the Cu/Ni coatings. This paper unveils the relationship between the microstructure of the Cu/Ni coatings and isothermal diffusion behavior, providing guidelines in preparing high performance surface coatings.

Karst and non-karst forests occur in the same region in south-west China, but the soil water and mineral nutrients availability are different between the forests. Our hypothesis was that the leaves of karst trees would be better adapted to dry, nutrient-poor conditions than those of trees in a nearby non-karst forest. We compared the gas exchange, anatomical characteristics and mineral nutrient concentrations in leaves from 21 tree species in a tropical karst forest and 19 species in a nearby non-karst forest in south-west China. We found that the leaves of karst trees had higher P concentrations, photosynthetic capacity and water use efficiency, and greater adaxial and abaxial epidermis thickness than leaves of non-karst forest trees. Evergreen and deciduous trees differed more significantly in leaf functional traits in the karst forest than in the non-karst forest. The leaf palisade:spongy mesophyll thickness ratio was positively correlated with stomatal conductance and negatively correlated with photosynthetic water use efficiency in the karst forest but not in the non-karst forest. Our findings indicate that karst forest trees are more conservative in water use, whereas soil P deficiency could be a major limiting factor for the growth of non-karst forest trees.

As a global biodiversity hotspot, the subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest (SEBF) in southern China is strongly influenced by the humid monsoon climate, with distinct hot-wet and cool-dry seasons. However, the hydraulic strategies of this forest are not well understood. Branch and leaf hydraulic safety margins (HSMbranch and HSMleaf, respectively), as well as seasonal changes in predawn and midday leaf water potential (Ψpd and Ψmd), stomatal conductance (Gs), leaf to sapwood area ratio (AL/AS) and turgor loss point (Ψtlp), were examined for woody species in a mature SEBF. For comparison, we compiled these traits of tropical dry forests (TDFs) and Mediterranean-type woodlands (MWs) from the literature because they experience a hot-dry season. We found that on average, SEBF showed larger HSMbranch and HSMleaf than TDF and MW. During the dry season, TDF and MW species displayed a significant decrease in Ψpd and Ψmd. However, SEBF species showed a slight decrease in Ψpd but an increase in Ψmd. Similar to TDF and MW species, Gs was substantially lower in the dry season for SEBF species, but this might be primarily because of the low atmospheric temperature (low vapor pressure deficit). On the other hand, AL/AS and Ψtlp were not significant different between seasons for any SEBF species. Most SEBF species had leaves that were more resistant to cavitation than branches. Additionally, species with stronger leaf-to-branch vulnerability segmentation tended to have smaller HSMleaf but larger HSMbranch. Our results suggest that SEBF is at low hydraulic risk under the current climate., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Tree trunks not only provide physical support for canopy leaves but also supply and store water for transpiration. However, the relationships between trunk hydraulic properties and canopy leaf physiology in tropical trees are not well-understood. In this study we concurrently measured morning and midday canopy leaf photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (g s ), and leaf water potentials (Ψ L ) in 40 tropical trees representing 14 species at the beginning of the rainy season in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. We also measured trunk sapwood capacitance (C), wood density, and sap flux density to assess their association with canopy leaf physiology. Among the 14 studied species, only three and four species did not show a significant midday reduction in A and g s respectively. The diurnally maximum A and g s were significantly positively related to sapwood hydraulic capacitance, maximum sap flux density (midday), and sap flux density at 11:00. Those species with lower wood density and higher C showed a lower reduction in Ψ L at midday, whereas, species with high C, and large values of maximum sap flux density also showed high carbon assimilation at midday. Our results provide new insights into the close coordination between canopy physiology and trunk sapwood hydraulic properties in tropical trees., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Background: Cell-free DNA (cf-DNA)-based liquid biopsy is emerging as a revolutionary new method in individualized cancer treatment and prognosis monitoring, although detecting early-stage cancers using cf-DNA remains challenging, partially because of the undefined biological background of cf-DNA., Materials and Methods: We investigated somatic mutations in the cf-DNA of 259 cancer-free individuals with a median age of 47 years using an endogenous barcoding duplex method with an ultralow base error rate (2 × 10-7) and compared the variant allele frequencies (VAFs) of these mutations between the cf-DNA and the corresponding blood cell DNA., Results: Sixty percent (155/259) of the samples showed at least one nonsynonymous mutation on either of two similar target panels covering 508 and 559 cancer-related genes. For individuals older than 50 years of age, the positive rate increased to 76%. Most cf-DNA mutations were also present at similar VAFs in the paired blood cell DNA. The most frequently mutated genes were driver genes of hematologic malignancies, including DNMT3A, TET2, AXSL1, and JAK2. However, the other 58.4% (192/329) of the mutations were likely 'passenger mutations' of clonal hematopoiesis, including mutations in NOTCH2, FAT3, EXT2, ERBB4, and ARID2, which are driver genes of solid tumors., Conclusion: Hematopoietic clone-derived mutations, including 'driver mutations' and 'passenger mutations', are prevalent in the cf-DNA of both healthy individuals and cancer patients and may be a potential source of false positives in the liquid biopsy. Our results also suggest the ineffectiveness for distinguishing clonal hematopoietic mutations of low VAF (≤0.1%) from tumor-derived mutations using conventional next-generation sequencing of blood cell DNA. However, an error correction model with an ultralow error rate and high coverage depth is required for blood cell DNA sequencing, which is difficult and costly to achieve with current technologies., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Leaf turgor loss point (πtlp) indicates the capacity of a plant to maintain cell turgor pressure during dehydration, which has been proven to be strongly predictive of the plant response to drought. In this study, we compiled a data set of πtlp for 1752 woody plant individuals belonging to 389 species from nine major woody biomes in China, along with reduced sample size of hydraulic and leaf carbon economics data. We aimed to investigate the variation of πtlp across biomes varying in water availability. We also tested two hypotheses: (i) πtlp predicts leaf hydraulic safety margins and (ii) it is correlated with leaf carbon economics traits. Our results showed that there was a positive relationship between πtlp and aridity index: biomes from humid regions had less negative values than those from arid regions. This supports the idea that πtlp may reflect drought tolerance at the scale of woody biomes. As expected, πtlp was significantly positively correlated with leaf hydraulic safety margins that varied significantly across biomes, indicating that this trait may be useful in modelling changes of forest components in response to increasing drought. Moreover, πtlp was correlated with a suite of coordinated hydraulic and economics traits; therefore, it can be used to predict the position of a given species along the 'fast-slow' whole-plant economics spectrum. This study expands our understanding of the biological significance of πtlp not only in drought tolerance, but also in the plant economics spectrum.

In this paper, an approach was applied for separation and identification of oligosaccharides in Morinda officinalis How by Ultra performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) with collision energy. The separation was carried out on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH Amide C₁₈(2.1mm×100 mm，1.7 μm) with gradient elution using acetonitrile(A) and water(B) containing 0.1% ammonia as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.2 mL·min⁻¹. The column temperature was maintained at 40 °C. The information of accurate mass and characteristic fragment ion were acquired by MSE in ESI negative mode in low and high collision energy. The chemical structures and formula of oligosaccharides were obtained and identified by the software of UNIFI and Masslynx 4.1 based on the accurate mass, fragment ions, neutral losses, mass error, reference substance, isotope information, the intensity of fragments, and retention time. A total of 19 inulin oligosaccharide structures were identified including D(+)-sucrose, 1-kestose, nystose, 1F-fructofuranosyl nystose and other inulin oligosaccharides (DP 5-18). This research provided important information about the inulin oligosaccharides in M. officinalis. The results would provide scientific basis for innovative utilization of M. officinalis., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

In southwestern China, tropical karst forests (KF) and non-karst rain forests (NKF) have different species composition and forest structure owing to contrasting soil water availability, but with a few species that occur in both forests. Plant hydraulic traits are important for understanding the species' distribution patterns in these two forest types, but related studies are rare. In this study, we investigated hydraulic conductivity, vulnerability to drought-induced cavitation and wood anatomy of 23 abundant and typical woody species from a KF and a neighboring NKF, as well as two Bauhinia liana species common to both forests. We found that the KF species tended to have higher sapwood density, smaller vessel diameter, lower specific hydraulic conductivity (ks) and leaf to sapwood area ratio, and were more resistant to cavitation than NKF species. Across the 23 species distinctly occurring in either KF or NKF, there was a significant tradeoff between hydraulic efficiency and safety, which might be an underlying mechanism for distributions of these species across the two forests. Interestingly, by possessing rather large and long vessels, the two Bauhinia liana species had extremely high ks but were also high resistance to cavitation (escaping hydraulic tradeoff). This might be partially due to their distinctly dimorphic vessels, but contribute to their wide occurrence in both forests., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

This study was to identify the chemical constituents of Schisandra propinqua, one herbal medicine of Yi nationality in China by using ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MSE). Acetonitrile- water containing 0.1% formic acid was used as the mobile phase for gradient elution. Data were collected under ESI negative mode and ESI positive mode, and then screened and verified by the software of UNIFI and Masslynx4.1. Based on the accurate mass, fragment ions, neutral losses, mass error, retention time, reference substance, isotope information, the intensity of fragments, as well as the previous reports, the known compounds were validated and identified. The chemical structures of the unknown components were identified according to exact molecular weight, MS fragment, chromatographic retention behavior, and characteristic fragments of known congener compounds. A total of 68 chemical components were identified from S. propinqua, including 3 flavonoids, 10 flavanols, 34 lignans compounds (including 20 dibenzocyclooctene lignans), 4 triterpenoids, 17 organic acid and other compounds. 37 compounds of them were found in S. propinqua for the first time, and one potential compound needed to be identified., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

This study aimed to distinguish the rhizomes of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis (Franch) Hand Mazz (PPY) and Paris veitnamensis (Takht.) H. Li (PV) using metabolomics-based ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-fligh mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF MS). First, the UHPLC/Q-TOF MS approach was optimized for metabolite profiling. Then, the MS data were processed using UNIFI™ combined with an in-house library to automatically characterize the metabolites. Based on the exact mass information, the fragmentation characteristics, and the retention time of compounds, and the fragmentation mechanism and retention behavior of steroidal glycosides in the references, the structures identified by UNIFI were further verified. Overall, 146 metabolites, including 42 potential new compounds, were identified or tentatively identified. Pattern recognition analysis of the PPY and PV MS data revealed that they were clearly separated, and 15 potential biomarkers for differentiating between them were selected. These biomarkers were subsequently used to successfully predict the genus of PPY and PV samples. These results indicated that metabolite profiling by UHPLC/Q-TOF MS is an effective, robust approach for determining the characteristic biomarkers that differentiate between TCM species with multiple botanical origins., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Through planting regionalization the scientific basis for planting area of high-quality medicinal materials was predicted. Through interview investigation and field survey, the distribution information of Corni Fructus in China was collected,and 89 sampling point from 14 producing areas were collected. Climate and topography of Corni Fructus were analyzed, the ecological adaptability of study was conducted based on ArcGIS and Maxent. Different suitability grade at potential areas and regionalization map were formulated. There are nine ecological factors affecting the growth of Corni Fructus, for example precipitation in November and March and vegetation type. The results showed that the most suitable habitats are Henan, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Hubei, Sichuan, Anhui, Hunan and Shandong province. Using the spatial analysis method,the study not only illustrates the most suitable for the surroundings of Corni Fructus,but also provides a scientific reference for wild resource tending, introduction and cultivation, and artificial planting base and directing production layout., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Cordyceps sinensis is a Chinese unique precious herbal material, its genuine producing areas covering Naqu, Changdu in Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Yushu in Qinghai province and other regions. In recent 10 years, C. sinensis resources is decreasing as a result of the blindly and excessively perennial dug. How to rationally protect, develop and utilize of the valuable resources of C. sinensis has been referred to an important field of research on C. sinensis. The ecological environment and climate change trend of Qinghai Tibet plateau happens prior to other regions, which means that the distribution and evolution of C. sinensis are more obvious and intense than those of the other populations. Based on RS (remote sensing)/GIS(geographic information system) technology, this paper utilized the relationship between the snowline elevation, the average temperature, precipitation and sunshine hours in harvest period (April and may) of C. sinensis and the actual production of C. sinensis to establish a weighted geometric mean model. The model's prediction accuracy can reach 82.16% at least in forecasting C. sinensis year yield in Naqu area in every early June. This study can provide basic datum and information for supporting the C. sinensis industry healthful, sustainable development., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

The research on distribution and quality suitability division of Desmodium styracifolium were formulated by Maxent and ArcGIS model based on the content of schaftoside and polysaccharide of D. styracifolium and its field research in the south and southwest areas of China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan), and the most suitable habitats of distribution suitability and quality suitability were screened. The distribution suitability results indicated that average air temperature in April,mean temperature of coldest quarter, soil type, coldness index were found as the four dominant factors contributing to the plant distribution. The quality suitability results indicated that: ①Polysaccharide content and precipitation in April show significant positive correlation;Schaftoside content and mean temperature of April, mean temperature of coldest quarter show significant negative correlation. Schaftoside content shows significant negative correlation with the precipitation in October and November and the sunshine duration in April and May, while there is a significant positive correlation between schaftoside content and precipitation in April and temperature seasonality standard deviation, and a highly significant positive correlation was found between schaftoside content and precipitation in February and March. ②The quality zoning map was drawn depend on general content of polysaccharide and schaftoside as the index of quality. And this research provides scientific location basis for the production regionalization, cultivation bases selection and directive breeding of D. styracifolium., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

In this study, ecological factors, occurrence records, the essential oil components content were used to predict the potential geographical distribution and quality division of Mentha haplocalyx in China based on the MaxEnt modeling and geographic information system(GIS). The AUC of ROC curve was above 0.950,indicating that the predictive results with the maximum model were highly precise. The results showed that the main environmental factors determining the potential distribution were annual average precipitation (the contribution rate, 45.87%), mean temperature of wettest quarter (11.92%), mean temperature of warmest quarter (7.84%), average monthly precipitation of May (6.80%), standard deviation of seasonal temperature variation (4.42%), mean temperature of the coldest quarter (3.47%) and altitude (2.92%). The environmental variables in the highly potential areas were determined as annual average precipitation around [530,1 465] mm, mean temperature of wettest quarter around [24.5,29] ℃, mean temperature of the warmest quarter around [25.5,29] ℃, average monthly precipitation of May around [67,133] mm, standard deviation of temperature seasonal change around [8 333,9 643], mean temperature of the coldest quarter around [1.7,8.3] ℃ and the altitude around [0,165] mm. The best quality distribution of M. haplocalyx was mainly located in Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang and Heilongjiang. The zoning results basically coincide with the actual situation. The quality division of M. haplocalyx can be used for providing a scientific basis for selection of artificial planting base and guidance of its production., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

This paper is aimed to predict ecology suitability distribution of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix and search the main ecological factors affecting the suitability distribution. The 313 distribution information about G. macrophylla, 186 distribution information about G. straminea, 343 distribution information about G. dauricaand 131 distribution information about G. crasicaulis were collected though investigation and network sharing platform data . The ecology suitable distribution factors for production Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix was analyzed respectively by the software of ArcGIS and MaxEnt with 55 environmental factors. The result of MaxEnt prediction was very well (AUC was above 0.9). The results of predominant factors analysis showed that precipitation and altitude were all the major factors impacting the ecology suitable of Getiana Macrophylla Radix production. G. macrophylla ecology suitable region was mainly concentrated in south of Gansu, Shanxi, central of Shaanxi and east of Qinghai provinces. G. straminea ecology suitable region was mainly concentrated in southwest of Gansu, east of Qinghai, north and northwest of Sichuan, east of Xizang province. G. daurica ecology suitable region was mainly concentrated in south and southwest of Gansu, east of Qinghai, Shanxi and north of Shaanxi province. G. crasicaulis ecology suitable region was mainly concentrated in Sichuan and north of Yunnan, east of Xizang, south of Gansu and east of Qinghai province. The ecological suitability distribution result of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix was consistent with each species actual distribution. The study could provide reference for the collection and protection of wild resources, meanwhile, provide the basis for the selection of cultivation area of Gentiana Macrophylla Radix., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

The distribution information of Chinese angelica was collected by interview investigation and field survey, and 43 related environmental factors were collected, some kinds of functional chemical constituents of Angelica sinensis were analyzed. Integrated climate, topography and other related ecological factors, the habitat suitability study was conducted based on Arc geographic information system(ArcGIS),and maximum entropy model. Application of R language to establish the relationship between the effective component of Chinese angelica and enviromental factors model, using ArcGIS software space to carry out space calculation method for the quality regionalization of Chinese angelica. The results showed that 4 major ecological factors had obvious influence on ecology suitability distributions of Chinese angelica, including altitude, soil sub category, May precipitation and the warmest month of the highest temperature, et al. It is suitable for the living habits of the Chinese angelica, cold and humid climate, which is suitable for the deep area of the soil. In addition, the ecological suitability regionalization based on the effect of Chinese angelica also provides a new suitable distribution area other than the traditional distribution area, which provides a scientific basis for the reasonable introduction of Chinese angelica., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease characterized by elevated serum anti-mitochondrial Ab and lymphocyte-mediated bile duct damage. This study was designed to reveal the clonal characteristics of B lymphocyte repertoire in patients with PBC to facilitate better understanding of its pathogenesis and better management of these patients. Using high-throughput sequencing of Ig genes, we analyzed the repertoire of circulating B lymphocytes in 43 patients with PBC, and 34 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, PBC patients showed 1) a gain of 14 new clones and a loss of 8 clones; 2) a significant clonal expansion and increased relative IgM abundance, which corresponded with the elevated serum IgM level; 3) a significant reduction of clonal diversity and somatic hypermutations in class-switched sequences, which suggested a general immunocompromised status; 4) the reduction of clonal diversity and enhancement of clonal expansion were more obvious at the cirrhotic stage; and 5) treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid could increase the clonal diversity and reduce clonal expansion of the IgM repertoire, with no obvious effect on the somatic hypermutation level. Our data suggest that PBC is a complex autoimmune disease process with evidence of B lymphocyte clonal gains and losses, Ag-dependent ogligoclonal expansion, and a generally compromised immune reserve. This new insight into the pathogenesis of PBC opens up the prospect of studying disease-relevant B cells to better diagnose and treat this devastating disease., (Copyright © 2016 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Three types of lanthanide complexes based on the tetrazole-1-acetic acid ligand and the 2,2'-bipyridine coligand were prepared and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, and elemental analyses; the formulas of these complexes are [Ln2(1-tza)4(NO3)2(2,2'-bipy)2] (Ln = Sm (1), Eu (2), Gd (3), Tb (4), Dy (5)), [Dy2(1-tza)4Cl2(2,2'-bipy)2] (6), and [Yb2(1-tza)4(NO3)2(2,2'-bipy)2] (7) (1-tza = tetrazole-1-acetate and 2,2'-bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine). They are dinuclear complexes possessing similar structures but different lanthanide(III) ion coordination geometries because of the distinction of peripheral anions (such as NO3(-) and Cl(-)) and the effect of lanthanide contraction. The variable-temperature magnetic susceptibilities of 1-6 were measured. Both Dy(III) complexes (5 and 6) display field-induced single-molecule magnet behaviors. Ab initio calculations revealed that the Dy(III) complex 6 possesses a more anisotropic Dy(III) ion in comparison to that in 5. The room-temperature photoluminescence spectra of Sm(III) (1), Eu(III) (2), Tb(III) (4), and Dy(III) (5 and 6) complexes exhibit strong characteristic emissions in the visible region, whereas the Yb(III) (7) complex shows near-infrared (NIR) luminescence.

Background and Aims: Ferns are abundant in sub-tropical forests in southern China, with some species being restricted to shaded understorey of natural forests, while others are widespread in disturbed, open habitats. To explain this distribution pattern, we hypothesize that ferns that occur in disturbed forests (FDF) have a different leaf cost-benefit strategy compared with ferns that occur in natural forests (FNF), with a quicker return on carbon investment in disturbed habitats compared with old-growth forests., Methods: We chose 16 fern species from contrasting light habitats (eight FDF and eight FNF) and studied leaf functional traits, including leaf life span (LLS), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations (N and P), maximum net photosynthetic rates (A), leaf construction cost (CC) and payback time (PBT), to conduct a leaf cost-benefit analysis for the two fern groups., Key Results: The two groups, FDF and FNF, did not differ significantly in SLA, leaf N and P, and CC, but FDF had significantly higher A, greater photosynthetic nitrogen- and phosphorus-use efficiencies (PNUE and PPUE), and shorter PBT and LLS compared with FNF. Further, across the 16 fern species, LLS was significantly correlated with A, PNUE, PPUE and PBT, but not with SLA and CC., Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that leaf cost-benefit analysis contributes to understanding the distribution pattern of ferns in contrasting light habitats of sub-tropical forests: FDF employing a quick-return strategy can pre-empt resources and rapidly grow in the high-resource environment of open habitats; while a slow-return strategy in FNF allows their persistence in the shaded understorey of old-growth forests., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Through study on the correlation between atractylodis lactones ingredient content and climatic factors, we research regionalization from climatic of five main producing provinces of the country, in order to provide a scientific basis for atractylodis' conscious cultivation. By sampling from 40 origins which from five main producing provinces of the country, we use SPSS to analysis variation of atractylodis lactones ingredient content in different conditions of climatic factors and the effect of each factors. Then according to the relationship between atractylodis lactones ingredient content and climatic factors, we use ArcGIS to conduct ecological suitability regionalization based on climatic factors. The most suitable climatic condition for cultivation of atractylodis: the wettest month precipitation 220-230 mm, the warmest average temperature 25 degrees C, the average temperature of driest season 10 degrees C.

To investigate the suitable site environment for Atractylodes lancea, field trials in different niches was carried out, and the seedling growth, biomass and volatile oil components in different microhabitas was studied. The study found that the survival rate, plant height, volatile oil content of those which growing under the bamboo were significantly higher than those exposed in the open field. The survival rate understory was (76 ± 15.1) %, plant height understory was (77 ± 14. 8) cm and the summation of the four kinds of volatile oil content understory reached up to 4.09%; The same evaluation values of these indicators of the four faces in the open field respectively: survival rate is 30%, plant height was (77 ± 14.8) cm and the summation of the four kinds of volatile oil content was 2.24%. But, the yield of the understory (41 ± 22.3) g was significantly lower than those four faces in the open field (104.5 g) on the contrary. For the four open field towards, the yield of the east facing, which organic matter and other nutritional conditions were better than others, was significantly higher than those in the other facings. A. lancea was found to be an anti-poor and shading-like or growing in east facing slope herb through the correlation analysis of light, temperature, soil and leaf nutrients with seedling growth, biomass and volatile oil components. It also reminds us that the understory herb with high survival rate, low incidence, low management costs, and high medicinal ingredients, although it's production is not so high, but it can be improved by increased organic fertilizer. So the ecological planting patterns which can intercropping herbs with the forest was proposed.

Plant functional traits are closely associated with plant habitats. In this study, we investigated the interspecific variations in stem and leaf hydraulics, xylem and leaf anatomy, gas-exchange rates and leaf pressure-volume relationships among three Syzygium tree species in early, mid- and late successional tropical forests. The objective was to understand the response and adaptation of congeneric species, in terms of branch and leaf functional traits, to different environments. A consistent pattern of decline with succession was evident in leaf and sapwood specific hydraulic conductivity (ks), maximum leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf), and photosynthetic rates for the three Syzygium species. Variations of ks and Kleaf were correlated with changes in vessel anatomy (i.e. vessel density and diameter) and leaf flux-related structure (i.e. stomatal pore index and vein density) respectively. However, specific leaf area and leaf to sapwood area ratio did not significantly differ among the three species. In addition, the mid-successional species had the lowest values of leaf water potential at full turgor and turgor loss point and 50% loss of Kleaf, but the greatest value of xylem water potential at 50% loss of ks. Our results demonstrate that leaf and branch traits associated with photosynthesis and/or hydraulic conductance, rather than those associated with drought tolerance, are the key factors underlying the response and adaptation of the three Syzygium tree species along the tropical forest succession.

Objective: To study the quality suitability rank dividing of Magnolia officinalis on the basis of investigation on the correlation between the ratio of magnolol and honokiol in Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex and ecological factors, in order to provide scientific basis for its planting area of high-quality medicinal materials., Methods: Based on the samples' quality analysis of 43 sampling points of Magnolia officinalis,the relationship between the ratio of magnolol and honokiol in Magnoliae officinalis Cortex and ecological factors was analyzed by statistical analysis. The geographic information system(GIS) was applied to assess the quality suitability rank dividing of Magnolia officinalis in China., Results: There were 12 ecological factors mainly affecting the quality of Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex; The ratio of magnolol and honokiol had obvious characteristics of regional quality. Conclusion: Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex which produced in Hubei and Chongqing is dao-di herbs.

The distribution information of Lomatogonium rotatum. was collected by interview investigation and field survey, and 55 related environmental factors were collected, the habitat suitability study was conducted based on geographic information system (GIS) and maximum entropy model. The AUCs of ROC curve were both above 0.99, indicating that the predictive results with the maximum model were highly precise. The results showed that 13 major environmental factors have obvious influence on ecology suitability distributions of L. rotatum, including month average temperature of February et al., the suitable distribution areas are mainly concentrated in the east-central of Inner Mongolia, including Hexigten banner, Duolun county, Zhenglan banner et al., The zoning results basically coincide with the genuine producing areas, and further afford new suitable distribution areas, which can provide reference for L. rotatum's wild nursery and the siting of introduction and cultivation.

Through study on the correlation between Atractylodis macrocephala lactones ingredient content and topographic factors, we researched regionalization from topography of five main producing provinces of the country, in order to provide a scientific basis for A. macrocephala reasonable cultivation. By sampling from 40 origins of five main producing provinces of the country, the variation of A. macrocephala lactones ingredient content in different conditions of topographic factors and the effect of altitude, slope and aspect was analyzed by SPSS. Then according to the relationship between A. macrocephala lactones ingredient content and topographic factors, the ecological suitability regionalization was conducted by using ArcGIS based on topographic factors. It is suitable for growth of A. macrocephala in the hilly and mountainous areas of southern whose A. macrocephala lactones ingredient content is in high levels. It is unsuitable for growth of A. macrocephala in Northern plain areas, but we can cultivate A. macrocephala in the hilly and mountainous areas of Northern. The most suitable topographic condition for cultivation of A. macrocephala : altitude 200 meters above, slope 3.00-4.99 degrees.

This paper aims to summarize the achievements during the implementation process of good agricultural practice (GAP) in Chinese Materia Medica (CMM), and on basis of analyzing the existing problems of GAP, to propose further implementation of GAP in TCM growing. Since the launch of GAP in CMM growing ten years ago, it has acquired great achievements, including: (1) The promulgation of a series of measures for the administration of the GAP approval in the CMM growing; (2) The expanded planting area of CMM; (3) The increased awareness of standardized CMM growing among farmers and enterprises; (4) The establishment of GAP implementation bases for CMM growing; (5) The improvement of theory and methodology for CMM growing; (6) The development of a large group of experts and scholars in GAP approval for CMM production. The problems existing in the production include: (1) A deep understanding of GAP and its certification is still needed; (2) The distribution of the certification base is not reasonable; (3) The geo-economics effect and the backward farming practices are thought to be the bottlenecks in the standardization of CMM growing and the scale production of CMM; (4) Low comparative effectiveness limits the development of the GAP; (5) The base of breeding improved variety is blank; (6) The immature of the cultivation technique lead to the risk of production process; (7) The degradation of soil microbial and the continuous cropping obstacle restrict the sustainable development of the GAP base. To further promote the health and orderly GAP in the CMM growing, the authors propose: (1) To change the mode of production; (2) To establish a sound standard system so as to ensure quality products for fair prices; (3) To fully consider the geo-economic culture and vigorously promote the definite cultivating of traditional Chinese medicinal materials; (4) To strengthen the transformation and generalization of basic researches and achievements, in order to provide technical support for the CMM production; (5) To deepen the understanding of GAP, to vigorously promote ecological planting and precision agriculture, in order to overcome the continuous cropping obstacle. The authors think that despite the fact that we are still facing with a huge array of management and technological problems, the GAP in the CMM growing has already enjoyed widespread support and showed great potential. In the future, with people's deeper understanding of GAP and the great progress of the science and technology, the GAP will constantly be fused with the theory, methodology and technology in the modern agriculture like precision agriculture, eco-agriculture and etc.