Two out of one: revising the diversity of the epiphytic fern genus Scleroglossum (Polypodiaceae, Grammitidoideae) in southern China.

Our understanding of the flora of China has greatly improved during the last 100 years but effective management of the rich biodiversity and unique natural resources requires resolving the taxonomic limitations of existing treatments. Here, we focus on the epiphytic genus Scleroglossum with special emphasis on the occurrences in Hainan and Yunnan of mainland China. By combining fieldwork, herbarium studies, and DNA barcoding we test the hypothesis that this genus is represented by more than one species in China. Our integrative results show the Yunnan accessions are distinct from those in Hainan in both phenotypic and genotypic variation. The Yunnan accessions belong to S. pusillum, whereas the Hainan accessions represent a distinct species displaying the morphological characteristics of S. sulcatum. Genotypic evidence suggests the occurrence of cryptic diversity among accessions with the morphology of S. sulcatum. In summary, the study contributes to the crucial assessment of the plant diversity in Yunnan and illustrates the importance of integrating collection efforts and DNA barcoding approaches to enable effective assessment of the epiphytic diversity of Yunnan.

Osteocalcin Levels in Male Idiopathic Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism: Relationship With the Testosterone Secretion and Metabolic Profiles.

Idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) patients are characterized by the absence of puberty and varying degrees of deteriorated metabolic conditions. Osteocalcin (OC) could regulate testosterone secretion and energy metabolism, but it remains unknown whether such an effect exists in IHH patients. Our study is aimed to examine the relationship between serum OC levels with testosterone and its responsiveness to gonadotropin stimulation and metabolic profiles in male IHH patients. A total of 99 male patients aged 18-37 years and diagnosed with IHH were enrolled in the current study, and the relationships between OC and testicular volume, baseline total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), and peak TT (Tmax) levels after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation, gonadotropin responsiveness index (GRI), which is calculated by dividing Tmax by testicular volume, as well as metabolic profiles, such as 2-h post-challenge glucose (2hPG) and fat percentage (fat%), were analyzed. The results showed that OC had an independent negative relationship with testicular volume (r = -0.253, P = 0.012) and a positive association with Tmax (r = 0.262, P = 0.014) after adjusting for confounders. In addition, OC was a major determinant of GRI (adjusted R 2 for the model = 0.164, P = 0.012), fat% (adjusted R 2 for the model = 0.100, P = 0.004), and 2hPG (adjusted R 2 for the model = 0.054, P = 0.013) in IHH patients. In conclusion, OC is associated with testosterone secretion upon gonadotropin stimulation, glucose metabolism, and fat mass variations in IHH. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02310074).