Physiological and biochemical mechanisms of drought regulating the size and color of heartwood in Dalbergia odorifera.

Drought has been found to affect the size and color of precious heartwood of Dalbergia odorifera, but the mechanism remains unclear. For this purpose, we performed the measurement of heartwood size, color, and flavonoid content and composition in a 15-year-old mixed plantation of D. odorifera and Santalum album that had been subjected to two levels of rainfall exclusion and control treatments for seven years, and carbon isotope labeling and anatomical observation in 2-year-old potted D.

Salty treatment increased bioactive compounds accumulation during agarwood development in Aquilaria sinensis trees.

To compare the bioactive compounds in agarwood induced by different methods in Aquilaria sinensis(Lour.) Gilg trees, a two dimensional thin layer chromatograph(2D-TLC) combined with effect directive analysis(EDA) was developed. Three antioxidants were found by 2D-TLC-DPPH and further identified as 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones(PECs) with LC-MS/MS.

Urogenital tract and rectal microbiota composition and its influence on reproductive outcomes in infertile patients.

Introduction: Microbiota in the human body are closely related to human diseases. Female urogenital tract and rectal microbes have been considered as important factors affecting female pregnancy, but the mechanism is unknown.

Methods: Cervical, vaginal, urethral, and rectal swabs were collected from 22 infertile patients and 10 controls, and follicular fluid was extracted from 22 infertile patients.

Microbiological composition of follicular fluid in patients undergoing IVF and its association with infertility.

Problem: In recent years, the incidence of female infertility has risen sharply, which is affected by many factors. It was recognized that female reproductive tract microbes play a role in the process of female conception. If the reproductive tract microbes could solve a certain proportion of infertility, it would certainly reduce the pain and economic burden of many patients.

Effects of Drought and Host on the Growth of Seedlings in Pot Culture.

is a semi parasitic plant and its growth is often restricted due to a lack of a host or water during plantation establishment. In this study, the effects of water and the host on the growth of seedlings were studied in pot culture. The results showed that the net photosynthetic rate and height of seedlings decreased significantly under drought stress.

Effects of various artificial agarwood-induction techniques on the metabolome of Aquilaria sinensis.

Background: Agarwood is a highly sought-after resinous wood for uses in medicine, incense, and perfume production. To overcome challenges associated with agarwood production in Aquilaria sinensis, several artificial agarwood-induction treatments have been developed. However, the effects of these techniques on the metabolome of the treated wood samples are unknown.

A complete mitochondrial genome for fragrant Chinese rosewood (Dalbergia odorifera, Fabaceae) with comparative analyses of genome structure and intergenomic sequence transfers.

Background: Dalbergia odorifera is an economically and culturally important species in the Fabaceae because of the high-quality lumber and traditional Chinese medicines made from this plant, however, overexploitation has increased the scarcity of D. odorifera. Given the rarity and the multiple uses of this species, it is important to expand the genomic resources for utilizing in applications such as tracking illegal logging, determining effective population size of wild stands, delineating pedigrees in marker assisted breeding programs, and resolving gene networks in functional genomics studies.

Complete chloroplast genome sequence of (Salicaceae).

is a large evergreen tree species belonging to Salicaceae family, and its wood is tough, fine-grained, which makes it a good source of commercial use for building construction and furniture manufacturing. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of based on next generation sequencing and used these data to assess genomic resources. The size of the chloroplast genome was 157,852 bp, including a large single-copy region (85,888 bp), a small single-copy region (16,592 bp), and a pair of inverted repeats regions (27,686 bp).

Characterization of the chloroplast genome of Lain, a rosewood species from southeast China.

is a rosewood species in Southwest China with high wood and medicinal value. To clarify genetic background of , we sequenced chloroplast genome by Illumina Hiseq and PacBio Sequel. The whole genome was 148,437 bp in length, containing a large single copy region (77,723 bp), a small single copy region (18,462 bp) and a pair of inverted repeats regions (26,126 bp).

The chromosome-level draft genome of Dalbergia odorifera.

Background: Dalbergia odorifera T. Chen (Fabaceae) is an International Union for Conservation of Nature red-listed tree. This tree is of high medicinal and commercial value owing to its officinal, insect-proof, durable heartwood.

Comparative Analyses of Five Complete Chloroplast Genomes from the Genus (Fabacaeae).

is a genus of trees mainly distributed in tropical Asia, Africa, and South America. Some species of are rosewood tree species, having important economic value for timber, and for some species, medicinal value as well. Up to now, information about this genus with regard to the genomic characteristics of the chloroplasts has been limited.

Fabrication of doxorubicin-gated mesoporous polydopamine nanoplatforms for multimode imaging-guided synergistic chemophotothermal therapy of tumors.

A versatile theranostic agent that integrated with therapeutic and diagnostic functions is extremely essential for cancer theranostic. Herein, a multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform (PFP@MPDA-DOX) based on perfluoropentane (PFP) encapsulated mesoporous polydopamine (MPDA) is elaborately designed, followed by gating of drug doxorubicin (DOX) for preventing cargo leaking. The MPDA with pH-responsive biodegradation behavior was served as nanocarrier, which also endows the nanoplatform with a large cavity for PFP filling.

Estrogen receptor β suppresses inflammation and the progression of prostate cancer.

Previous studies demonstrated that estrogen receptor β (ERβ) signaling alleviates systemic inflammation in animal models, and suggested that ERβ‑selective agonists may deactivate microglia and suppress T cell activity via downregulation of nuclear factor κ‑light‑chain‑enhancer of activated B cells (NF‑κB). In the present study, the role of ERβ in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‑induced inflammation and association with NF‑κB activity were investigated in PC‑3 and DU145 prostate cancer cell lines. Cells were treated with LPS to induce inflammation, and ELISA was performed to determine the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor‑α (TNF‑α), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP‑1), interleukin (IL)‑1β and IL‑6.

PSCArs2294008 T polymorphism increases the risk of bladder cancer in Bai, Dai, and Han ethnicity in China and a potential mechanism.

The aim of this study is to make a comparative evaluation on association of PSCArs2294008 C/T polymorphism with the risk of bladder cancer in Bai, Dai, and Han people in China. A potential mechanism of the T allele risk was also investigated. T allele increased the occurring risk of bladder cancer in Han (OR 1.

miR-203 Suppresses Bladder Cancer Cell Growth and Targets Twist1.

miR-203 is an epigenetically silenced tumor-suppressive microRNA in tumors. This study was designed to investigate the effects of miR-203 on the proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of bladder cancer (BCa) cells. The expression levels of miR-203 in BCa tissues, normal adjacent tissues, and BCa cell lines were detected.

The environment, not space, dominantly structures the landscape patterns of the richness and composition of the tropical understory vegetation.

The mechanisms driving the spatial patterns of species richness and composition are essential to the understanding of biodiversity. Numerous studies separately identify the contributions of the environment (niche process) and space (neutral process) to the species richness or composition at different scales, but few studies have investigated the contributions of both types of processes in the two types of data at the landscape scale. In this study, we partitioned the spatial variations in all, exotic and native understory plant species richness and composition constrained by environmental variables and space in 134 plots that were spread across 10 counties in Hainan Island in southern China.

Water use by fast-growing Eucalyptus urophylla plantations in southern China.

Tree growth, water use, climate and soil water conditions were monitored over 12 months in two 3-4-year-old Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake plantations on the Leizhou Peninsula of southern China.