[Population dynamics of Artemisia scoparia in heterogeneous habitats in the desert steppe]. / è’æ¼ è‰åŽŸå¼‚è´¨ç”Ÿå¢ƒä¸‹çŒªæ¯›è’¿ç§ç¾¤åŠ¨æ€.

To understand the intra- and inter-annual population dynamics of Artemisia scoparia in the desert steppe, we set up three treatments, i.e., increasing the precipitation by 30%, reducing the precipitation by 30%, and the control (CK) in each soil habitat of aeolian sandy soil, sierozem soil, and bedrock weathered sedimentary soil. We drew up the dynamic life table to produce population survival and death curves and analyzed the population dynamics of A. scoparia in different habitats. Results showed that the survival curve of A. scoparia was approached to Deevey-1type. The survival rate was high in the early growth stage and tended to be relatively stable. The mortality rate maintained at a low level, but rose fast at the end of the growth stage. The individual survival number of A. scoparia in all habitats fluctuated at the early stage and declined at the later stage. The mortality rates of A. scoparia in habitats of both aeolian sandy soil and sierozem soil fluctuated greatly. There was no significant difference in the effects of increased and decreased precipitation treatments on the mortality rate of A. scoparia. Soil types had significant effects on all parameters, including the plant height, crown width, density, cover, and biomass of A. scoparia. Precipitation treatments had significant impacts on plant height, crown width and coverage of A. scoparia, and had no significant effect on plant density and biomass. The interactions between soil type and precipitation treatments had only a significant impact on plant height and crown width. The plasticity index of biomass in the habitat of bedrock weathered sedimentary soil was significantly higher than that in habitats of aeolian sandy soil and sierozem soil, while the plasticity index of plant coverage in the habitats of both sierozem soil and bedrock weathered sedimentary soil were significantly higher than that in the habitat of aeolian sandy soil. The density plasticity index of increased precipitation treatment was significantly higher than those of CK and the decreased precipitation treatments. The plasticity index of plant height and crown width were higher than other parameters, indicating that A. scoparia could respond to habitat changes by giving priority to these two parameters under different habitat pressures.

Systems Pharmacology and Microbiome Dissection of Shen Ling Bai Zhu San Reveal Multiscale Treatment Strategy for IBD.

Generally, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be caused by psychology, genes, environment, and gut microbiota. Therefore, IBD therapy should be improved to utilize multiple strategies. Shen Ling Bai Zhu San (SLBZS) adheres to the aim of combating complex diseases from an integrative and holistic perspective, which is effective for IBD therapy. Herein, a systems pharmacology and microbiota approach was developed for these molecular mechanisms exemplified by SLBZS. First, by systematic absorption-distribution-metabolism-excretion (ADME) analysis, potential active compounds and their corresponding direct targets were retrieved. Then, the network relationships among the active compounds, targets, and disease were built to deduce the pharmacological actions of the drug. Finally, an "IBD pathway" consisting of several regulatory modules was proposed to dissect the therapeutic effects of SLBZS. In addition, the effects of SLBZS on gut microbiota were evaluated through analysis of the V3-V4 region and multivariate statistical methods. SLBZS significantly shifted the gut microbiota structure in a rat model. Taken together, we found that SLBZS has multidimensionality in the regulation of IBD-related physiological processes, which provides new sights into herbal medicine for the treatment of IBD.

[Temporal and spatial variations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the typical reaches of Qinhuai River].

The year-round concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were monitored from June 2010 to May 2011 in the typical reaches of the Qinhuai River. The spatial and temporal variations in TN and TP concentrations and the pollution status of the river water were investigated using typical statistics analysis. Results showed that the river water was seriously polluted in terms of TN and TP, and that the concentrations of both TN and TP showed high spatial and temporal variations. The average TN concentrations of the river water in the traditionally managed agricultural area, intensively managed agricultural area, and urban area were 1.80, 3.97 and 9.25 mg L(-1), respectively; The corresponding average TP concentrations were 0.03, 0.11 and 0.50 mg L(-1), respectively, showing similar spatial patterns with those of TN. The spatial variations in TN and TP concentrations in river water indicated that the urban area and intensively managed agricultural area, rather than the traditionally managed agricultural area, were the major sources for TN and TP in the river water. The average TN concentrations of river water during the wet season and dry season were 1.89 and 4.58 mg x L(-1), respectively; and the corresponding average TP concentrations were 0.11 and 0.14 mg x L(-1), respectively. The temporal variations indicated that the pollution status of the river water was more serious during the dry season than that during the wet season. Assessment results of eutrophication indicated that the majority of Qinhuai River reaches were in the stage of eutrophication, thus deserving immediate controlling measures.