Transcriptional regulations of pollen tube reception are associated with the fertility of the ginger species .

and are economically valuable species in the genus . While is sexually active, adopts clonal propagation, although it has the potential for sexual reproduction. It is unclear so far at which step during the sexual reproduction of inhibition occurs, and what are the regulatory mechanisms underlying this inhibition.

Cytochemical and comparative transcriptome analyses elucidate the formation and ecological adaptation of three types of pollen coat in Zingiberaceae.

Background: The pollen ornate surface of flowering plants has long fascinated and puzzled evolutionary biologists for their variety. Each pollen grain is contained within a pollen wall consisting of intine and exine, over which the lipoid pollen coat lies. The cytology and molecular biology of the development of the intine and exine components of the pollen wall are relatively well characterised.

Population genetic structure and connectivity of a riparian selfing herb Caulokaempferia coenobialis at a fine-scale geographic level in subtropical monsoon forest.

Background: Rivers and streams facilitate movement of individuals and their genes across the landscape and are generally recognized as dispersal corridors for riparian plants. Nevertheless, some authors have reported directly contrasting results, which may be attributed to a complex mixture of factors, such as the mating system and dispersal mechanisms of propagules (seed and pollen), that make it difficult to predict the genetic diversity and population structure of riparian species. Here, we investigated a riparian self-fertilizing herb Caulokaempferia coenobialis, which does not use anemochory or zoochory for seed dispersal; such studies could contribute to an improved understanding of the effect of rivers or streams on population genetic diversity and structure in riparian plants.

Genetic differentiation between two varieties of (Gesneriaceae) in sympatric and allopatric regions.

The pattern of genetic differentiation between diverging species receives much attention as one of the key observable features of speciation. It has often been suggested that introgression between closely related species occurs commonly where their distributions overlap, leading to their becoming more morphologically and genetically similar, but there are a few opposite results. However, most of these studies have been carried out with animals and separate species; few have looked at intraspecific cases, especially in plants.

Source Tracking and Risk Assessment of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in Surface Waters of Qingdao, China, with Emphasis on Influence of Animal Farming in Rural Areas.

The occurrence and potential sources of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in surface waters from a large coastal city Qingdao, North China, were investigated. Forty-five compounds were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results showed that 28 compounds of PPCPs were detected.

The important role of connexin 43 in subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced cerebral vasospasm.

Background: Gap junctions are involved in the development of cerebral vasospasm (CVS) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). However, the specific roles and regulatory functions of related connexin isoforms remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of connexin 43 (Cx43) in CVS and determine whether Cx43 alterations are modulated via the protein kinase C (PKC) signaling transduction pathway.

Comparative studies on population genetic structure of two closely related selfing and outcrossing Zingiber species in Hainan Island.

How mating system impacts the genetic diversity of plants has long fascinated and puzzled evolutionary biologists. Numerous studies have shown that self-fertilising plants have less genetic diversity at both the population and species levels than outcrossers. However, the phylogenetic relationships between species and correlated ecological traits have not been accounted for in these previous studies.

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in Surface Waters from the Inner City of Beijing, China: Influence of Hospitals and Reclaimed Water Irrigation.

Surface waters from five districts in the inner city of Beijing were collected for analysis of 43 target compounds of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) to understand the spatial distribution patterns of different groups of PPCPs in the central urban area of a metropolitan city characterized by many hospitals and public parks. The total concentrations of PPCPs showed large spatial variability, ranging from 71.1 to 2400 ng/L.

Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Water from the Yangtze River and Its Tributaries at the Dividing Point Between the Middle and Lower Reaches.

The Yangtze River drainage basins are China's most important economic development zones and also the locations of several large-scale fluorine chemical industries. In order to reveal the contribution from the tributaries at the dividing point between the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River with respect to perfluorinated substances (PFASs), 17 PFAS compounds in surface water, groundwater, and tap water samples were analyzed in the tributary system of the Jiujiang section of the Yangtze River. The total concentrations of PFASs in the surface waters ranged from 7.

The Extent of the Impact of a Fluorochemical Industrial Park in Eastern China on Adjacent Rural Areas.

High levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were observed in rural areas near a fluorochemical industrial park (FCIP) in the Yangtze River Delta region. The concentrations of total PFAS (∑PFASs) in soil, surface water, groundwater, and rainwater were in the range of 0.6-64.

Perfluoroalkyl acids in surface waters and tapwater in the Qiantang River watershed-Influences from paper, textile, and leather industries.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are widely used as multi-purpose surfactants or water/oil repellents. In order to understand the contamination level and compositional profiles of PFAAs in aqueous environment in textile, leather, and paper making industrial areas, surface waters and tap waters were collected along the watershed of the Qiantang River where China's largest textile, leather, and paper making industrial bases are located. For comparison, surface water and tapwater samples were also collected in Hangzhou and its adjacent areas.

Current Contamination Status of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Tapwater from 17 Cities in the Eastern China and Their Correlations with Surface Waters.

The contamination status of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were investigated in 64 tapwater samples collected from 17 cities and 45 surface water samples from adjacent areas in the eastern China. The total PFAS concentrations in tapwater ranged from 1.4 to 175 ng/L; relatively higher PFAS levels were observed in samples collected from the Yangtze River Delta region, which was similar to the geographical distribution pattern of PFAS levels observed in rivers and lakes.

Perfluorinated compounds in soil, surface water, and groundwater from rural areas in eastern China.

Little research on perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) has been conducted in rural areas, although rural PFC sources are less complicated than in urban and industrial areas. To determine the levels and geographical distribution of 17 PFC compounds, samples of soil, surface water, and groundwater were collected from eight rural areas in eastern China. The total PFC concentrations (∑PFCs) in soils ranged from 0.

The concrete evidence of flexistyly in : pollination biology of a wild ginger on Hainan Island, China.

Flexistyly in was first reported by Takano et al., while they provided no detailed study on pollination biology and breeding system. In this study, we tested this suspicion in one species of ().

Comparison of cell proliferation, apoptosis, cellular morphology and ultrastructure between human umbilical cord and placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Research in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is mainly focused on applications for treatments of brain and spinal cord injury as well as mechanisms underlying effects of MSCs. However, due to numerous limitations, there is little information on selection of appropriate sources of MSCs for transplantation in clinical applications. Therefore, in this study we compared various properties of human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (HUCMSCs) with human placenta-derived MSCs (HPDMSCs), including cell proliferation, apoptosis, cellular morphology, ultrastructure, and their ability to secrete various growth factors (i.

Vasculogenic mimicry is a prognostic factor for postoperative survival in patients with glioblastoma.

A previous report has confirmed the existence and clinical significance of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in glioma. However, its conclusions about the negative clinical significance of VM in glioblastoma are based on a small group of patients and, thus, might be unconvincing. The aim of the present study was to reevaluate the clinical significance of VM in glioblastoma.

Potential of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells as seed cells for bone tissue engineering: preliminary study of osteoblastic differentiation and immunogenicity.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been isolated from a variety of human tissues (eg, bone marrow, peripheral blood, muscle, fat, umbilical blood, amniotic fluid, embryonic tissues, and placenta). Placenta-derived MSCs (PDMSCs) have received considerable interest because of their wide availability and absence of ethical concerns. The authors characterized the biological properties, ultrastructure, growth factor production, and osteoblastic differentiation of PDMSCs and investigated their potential as seed cells for bone tissue engineering.

Human placental decidua basalis-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into dopamine neuron-like cells with no response to long-term culture in vitro.

Human placental decidua basalis-derived mesenchymal stem cells (DBMSCs) have been identified as valuable sources for cell transplantation. In this study, we found that DBMSCs could be induced to form neural stem cells in the form of neurospheres. These neurospheres were further differentiated into dopamine neuron-like cells with a cocktail of cytokines.

[Isolation and multipotent differentiation of human decidua basalis-derived mesenchymal stem cells].

Objective: To investigate the biological features of human decidua basalis-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PDB-MSCs) in vitro and identify their capacity of multilineage differentiation.

Methods: PDB-MSCs were harvested from the decidua basalis of term placental by enzymatic digestion and density gradient centrifugation, and the growth characteristics and morphological changes of the MSCs were observed by inverted microscope. The proliferative ability of the cells was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8.

Human umbilical vein-derived dopaminergic-like cell transplantation with nerve growth factor ameliorates motor dysfunction in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.

Mesenchymal stem cells are capable of differentiating into dopaminergic-like cells, but currently no report has been available to describe the induction of human umbilical vein mesenchymal stem cells (HUVMSCs) into dopaminergic-like cells. In this study, we induced HUVMSCs in vitro into neurospheres constituted by neural stem-like cells, and further into cells bearing strong morphological, phenotypic and functional resemblances with dopaminergic-like cells. These HUVMSC-derived dopaminergic-like cells, after grafting into the brain of a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD), showed a partial therapeutic effect in terms of the behavioral improvement.

[Effect of the change in fundamental Raman scattering coefficient with the concentration on Fermi resonance in binary solution].

The Raman scattering coefficients of the fundamental v1 (992 cm(-1)) of C6 H6 and the fundamental v1 (656 cm(-1) ) of CS2 changed dramatically with relative concentration of the binary solution of CS2 and C6 H6. The Raman spectra of the binary solution with different relative concentrations were measured. The results show that both the v1 fundamentals intensities changed dramatically with the relative concentration of the solution and the fundamental v1 of C6 H6 has little effect on the Fermi resonance v1 +v6-v8.

[Construction of a mouse pDsRed2-N1-SDF-1alpha eukaryotic expression vector and its expression in mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells].

Objective: To construct the eukaryotic expression vector pDsRed2-N1-SDF-1alpha and observe its expression in the mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Method: SDF-1alpha gene sequence with XhoI, EcoRI restriction enzyme cutting site was amplified from the total RNA of mouse smooth muscle cells by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pDsRed2-N1 encoding red fluorescent protein gene, and the insertion was verified by endonuclease digestion and DNA sequencing. Mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells identified with immunofluorescence assay for vimentin expression were transfected with the constructed plasmid pDsRed2-N1-SDF-1alpha, and the expression of sdf-1alpha was detected using immunofluorescence assay.

[Lycopene and beta-carotene content in tomato analyzed by the second harmonic].

Lycopene and beta-carotene are two important nutritional components in tomato. The main Raman spectrum group of lycopene and beta-carotene abundant in tomato is identical and difficult to be distinguished through fundamental frequency. With excitation wavelength of 514.

[Solvent effects on raman spectroscopy of 1, 1,3, 3-tetramethylurea in organic solvents].

Raman spectra of 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea in 20 solvents were obtained to investigate the solute-solvent interactions and to correlate solvent properties such as the Kirkwood-Bauer-Magat (KBM)equation, the solvent acceptor number (AN)and the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER), respectively, with the Raman shifts of carbonyl group. There is little linear relation between dielectric constants and the Raman shift. These solvents were divided into two sections by the acceptor number.