[Research progress in chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, and clinical application of Curcuma wenyujin and prediction of its quality markers].

Curcuma wenyujin, as one of the eight Daodi-herbs in Zhejiang province, is widely used. It has the effects of eliminating stasis and dissipating mass, moving Qi and activating blood, and clearing heart and relieving depression. Modern studies have shown that it has anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, anti-thrombus and liver-protecting effects and mainly contains sesquiterpenoids, monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, and curcumins. This paper reviews the research progress in the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of C. wenyujin in the last decade, discusses the modern clinical applications combined with the traditional efficacy, and predicts its quality markers(Q-markers) from plant consanguinity, medicinal properties, efficacy, processing and measurability of chemical components based on the theory of Q-markers, so as to provide a reference for the establishment of a scientific quality evaluation system and the research and application of this herb in the future.

[EPCs-exos combined with tanshinone â ¡_A protect vascular endothelium cells from oxidative damage via PI3K/Akt pathway].

This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanism of tanshinone Ⅱ_(A )(TaⅡ_A) combined with endothelial progenitor cells-derived exosomes(EPCs-exos) in protecting the aortic vascular endothelial cells(AVECs) from oxidative damage via the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt) pathway. The AVECs induced by 1-palmitoyl-2-(5'-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine(POVPC) were randomly divided into model, TaⅡ_A, EPCs-exos, and TaⅡ_A+EPCs-exos groups, and the normal cells were taken as the control group. The cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) was used to examine the cell proliferation. The lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) cytotoxicity assay kit, Matrigel assay, DCFH-DA fluorescent probe, and laser confocal microscopy were employed to examine the LDH release, tube-forming ability, cellular reactive oxygen species(ROS) level, and endothelial cell skeleton morphology, respectively. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the expression of interleukin(IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR) and Western blot were employed to determine the mRNA and protein levels, respectively, of PI3K and Akt. Compared with the control group, the model group showed decreased cell proliferation and tube-forming ability, increased LDH release, elevated ROS level, obvious cytoskeletal disruption, increased expression of IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, and down-regulated mRNA and protein levels of PI3K and Akt. Compared with the model group, TaⅡ_A or EPCs-exos alone increased the cell proliferation and tube-forming ability, reduced LDH release, lowered the ROS level, repaired the damaged skeleton, decreased the expression of IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, and up-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of PI3K and Akt. TaⅡ_A+EPCs-exos outperformed TaⅡ_A or EPCs-exos alone in regulating the above indexes. The results demonstrated that TaⅡ_A and EPCs-exos exerted a protective effect on POVPC-induced AVECs by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway, and the combination of the two had stronger therapeutic effect.

Factors Associated with the Magnitude Of acUpuncture treatment effectS (FAMOUS): a meta-epidemiological study of acupuncture randomised controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors and assess to what extent they impact the magnitude of the treatment effect of acupuncture therapies across therapeutic areas. DATA SOURCE: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and China Biology Medicine disc, between 2015 and 2019. STUDY SELECTION: The inclusion criteria were trials with a total number of randomised patients larger than 100, at least one patient-important outcome and one of two sets of comparisons. DATA ANALYSIS: The potential independent variables were identified by reviewing relevant literature and consulting with experts. We conducted meta-regression analyses with standardised mean difference (SMD) as effect estimate for the dependent variable. The analyses included univariable meta-regression and multivariable meta-regression using a three-level robust mixed model. RESULTS: 1304 effect estimates from 584 acupuncture randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were analysed. The multivariable analyses contained 15 independent variables . In the multivariable analysis, the following produced larger treatment effects of large magnitude (>0.4): quality of life (difference of adjusted SMDs 0.51, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.77), or pain (0.48, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.69), or function (0.41, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.61) vs major events. The following produced larger treatment effects of moderate magnitude (0.2-0.4): single-centred vs multicentred RCTs (0.38, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.66); penetration acupuncture vs non-penetration types of acupuncture (0.34, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.53); non-pain symptoms vs major events (0.32, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.52). The following produced larger treatment effects of small magnitude (<0.2): high vs low frequency treatment sessions (0.19, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.35); pain vs non-pain symptoms (0.16, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.27); unreported vs reported funding (0.12, 95% CI 0 to 0.25). CONCLUSION: Patients, clinicians and policy-makers should consider penetrating over non-penetrating acupuncture and more frequent treatment sessions when feasible and acceptable. When designing future acupuncture RCTs, trialists should consider factors that impact acupuncture treatment effects.

Evidence mapping and overview of systematic reviews of the effects of acupuncture therapies.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a route map regarding systematic reviews (SRs) of acupuncture therapies that will meet two goals: (1) to identify areas in which more or better evidence is required and (2) to identify acupuncture applications that, although proven effective, remain underused in practice, and thus warrant more effective knowledge dissemination. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included SRs that conducted meta-analyses (MAs) of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for this overview. INFORMATION SOURCES: We searched for SRs without language restrictions from January 2015 to November 2020 in four Chinese electronic databases and Epistemonikos database. And we also searched for newly published RCTs that were eligible for selected best SRs in PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase and four Chinese electronic databases from its lasted search dates to November 2020. SYNTHESIS OF RESULTS: We reanalysed the selected MAs if new primary studies were added. We used random-effect model to calculate the overall effect. RESULTS: Our search identified 120 SRs published in the last 5 years addressing acupuncture therapies across 12 therapeutic areas and 77 diseases and conditions. The SRs included 205 outcomes and involved 138 995 participants from 1402 RCTs. We constructed 77 evidence matrices, including 120 SRs and their included RCTs in the Epistemonikos database. Seventy-seven SRs represented the effect estimate of acupuncture therapies. Finally, we system summarised the areas of possible underutilisation of acupuncture therapies (high or moderate certainty evidence of large or moderate effects), and the areas of warranting additional investigation of acupuncture therapies (low or very low certainty evidence of moderate or large effects). CONCLUSION: The evidence maps and overview of SRs on acupuncture therapies identified both therapies with substantial benefits that may require more assertive evidence dissemination and promising acupuncture therapies that require further investigation.

Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping for Common Scab Resistance in a Tetraploid Potato Full-Sib Population.

Despite the negative impact of common scab (Streptomyces spp.) on the potato industry, little is known about the genetic architecture of resistance to this bacterial disease in the crop. We evaluated a mapping population (∼150 full sibs) derived from a cross between two tetraploid potatoes ('Atlantic' × B1829-5) in three environments (MN11, PA11, ME12) under natural common scab pressure. Three measures to common scab reaction, namely percentage of scabby tubers and disease area and lesion indices, were found to be highly correlated (>0.76). Because of the large environmental effect, heritability values were zero for all three traits in MN11, but moderate to high in PA11 and ME12 (∼0.44 to 0.79). We identified a single quantitative trait locus (QTL) for lesion index in PA11, ME12, and joint analyses on linkage group 3, explaining ∼22 to 30% of the total variation. The identification of QTL haplotypes and candidate genes contributing to disease resistance can support genomics-assisted breeding approaches in the crop.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license.

The recombination landscape and multiple QTL mapping in a Solanum tuberosum cv. 'Atlantic'-derived F1 population.

There are many challenges involved with the genetic analyses of autopolyploid species, such as the tetraploid potato, Solanum tuberosum (2n = 4x = 48). The development of new analytical methods has made it valuable to re-analyze an F1 population (n = 156) derived from a cross involving 'Atlantic', a widely grown chipping variety in the USA. A fully integrated genetic map with 4285 single nucleotide polymorphisms, spanning 1630 cM, was constructed with MAPpoly software. We observed that bivalent configurations were the most abundant ones (51.0~72.4% depending on parent and linkage group), though multivalent configurations were also observed (2.2~39.2%). Seven traits were evaluated over four years (2006-8 and 2014) and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was carried out using QTLpoly software. Based on a multiple-QTL model approach, we detected 21 QTL for 15 out of 27 trait-year combination phenotypes. A hotspot on linkage group 5 was identified with co-located QTL for maturity, plant yield, specific gravity, and internal heat necrosis resistance evaluated over different years. Additional QTL for specific gravity and dry matter were detected with maturity-corrected phenotypes. Among the genes around QTL peaks, we found those on chromosome 5 that have been previously implicated in maturity (StCDF1) and tuber formation (POTH1). These analyses have the potential to provide insights into the biology and breeding of tetraploid potato and other autopolyploid species.

Assembly of whole-chromosome pseudomolecules for polyploid plant genomes using outbred mapping populations.

Despite advances in sequencing technologies, assembly of complex plant genomes remains elusive due to polyploidy and high repeat content. Here we report PolyGembler for grouping and ordering contigs into pseudomolecules by genetic linkage analysis. Our approach also provides an accurate method with which to detect and fix assembly errors. Using simulated data, we demonstrate that our approach is of high accuracy and outperforms three existing state-of-the-art genetic mapping tools. Particularly, our approach is more robust to the presence of missing genotype data and genotyping errors. We used our method to construct pseudomolecules for allotetraploid lawn grass utilizing PacBio long reads in combination with restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, and for diploid Ipomoea trifida and autotetraploid potato utilizing contigs assembled from Illumina reads in combination with genotype data generated by single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays and genotyping by sequencing, respectively. We resolved 13 assembly errors for a published I. trifida genome assembly and anchored eight unplaced scaffolds in the published potato genome.

Catalpol­mediated microRNA­34a suppresses autophagy and malignancy by regulating SIRT1 in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common digestive tract tumors worldwide. Catalpol exerts inhibitory effects on the progression of several cancer types by regulating microRNAs (miRs). However, the precise role and carcinostatic mechanism of catalpol on CRC cells are poorly understood which limits the application of catalpol treatment. In the present study, miR­34a and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression levels were detected in CRC tissues and CRC cell lines by RT­qPCR. Computational software analysis, luciferase assays and western blotting were used to demonstrate the downstream target of miR­34a in CRC cells. Effects of catalpol on cell viability, apoptosis, autophagic flux and the miR­34a/SIRT1 axis in the CRC cells were assessed by CCK­8 assay, flow cytometry, electron microscopy and western blotting, respectively. Whether the miR­34a/SIRT1 axis participated in catalpol­mediated autophagy and apoptosis was investigated. The effects of catalpol on the miR­34a/SIRT1 axis and malignant behavior were evaluated in a rat model of azoxymethane (AOM)­induced CRC. It was revealed that miR­34a expression levels were significantly decreased while SIRT1 was overexpressed in most of the CRC tissues and all the CRC cell lines. Clinically, a low level of miR­34a was correlated with poor clinicopathological characteristics in CRC patients. Catalpol reduced cell viability, suppressed autophagy, promoted apoptosis, and regulated the expression of SIRT1 by inducing miR­34a in vitro and in vivo. The autophagy­inhibiting effect of catalpol may be a mechanism to promote apoptosis of CRC cells. miR­34a mimic transfection resulted in autophagy­suppressive activity similar to that of catalpol, while the miR­34a inhibitor attenuated the antiautophagic effects of catalpol. In conclusion, miR­34a is involved in regulating catalpol­mediated autophagy and malignant behavior by directly inhibiting SIRT1 in CRC.

[Umbilical therapy combined with moxibustion for autumn diarrhea in children].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy differences between moxibustion combined with umbilical therapy and oral administration of montmorillonite powder (smecta) on diarrhea symptoms in children of different ages. METHODS: A total of 120 children were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 60 cases in each group. In the observation group, the children aged under 3 years old were treated with moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8), Zhongwan (CV 12) and Tianshu (ST 25), and each acupoint was treated for less than 3 min, and the total treatment duration was no more than 10 min; the children aged between 3 to 7 years old were treated with moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8), Zhongwan (CV 12), Tianshu (ST 25), Guanyuan (CV 4), Zusanli (ST 36), Pishu (BL 20), Shenshu (BL 23) and Dachangshu (BL 25), each acupoint was treated for less than 3 min, and the total treatment duration was no more than 20 min. After moxibustion, traditional Chinese medicine patch (clove, cinnamon, rhizoma zingiberis, fructus evodiae, hawthorn, rhizoma atractylodis) was applied at Shenque (CV 8). For the children under 1 year old, the medical bag with 30 g powder was heated to 50 ℃ and used for about 30 min; for children over 1 year old, 2-5 g powder was mixed with vinegar and used for 4-8 h each time. The treatment was given once a day, three times as a course of treatment, and a total of one course of treatment was given. The children in the control group were treated with oral administration of montmorillonite powder, 3 g per day for children under 1 year old, 3-6 g per day for children aged 1-2 years old and 6-9 g per day for children over 2 years old. The montmorillonite powder was taken three times a day for 3 days. The diarrhea symptom scores before and after treatment were observed and the clinical efficacy was evaluated. From the first treatment, the recovery cases and recovery time in the two groups were recorded, the recovery cases and recovery time in acute and chronic stages were compared between different age groups. The recurrence was observed 3 months after treatment. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the diarrhea symptom score after treatment was decreased in the observation group (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference before and after treatment in the control group (P>0.05). After treatment, the score of diarrhea symptoms in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 95.0% (57/60) in the observation group, which was superior to 76.7% (46/60) in the control group (P<0.05). The recovery cases of acute stage aged ≤ 1 year old and 5-7 years old, and chronic stage of different age stages in the observation group was insignificantly higher than that in the control group (P>0.05). The recovery time of different age stages and average recovery time in the observation group were shorter than those in the control group (P<0.05). The recovery time of children in acute stage>1 year old and ≤5 years old and average recovery time in the observation group were shorter than those in the control group (P<0.05), while the average recovery time of children in chronic stage in the observation group was shorter than that in the control group (P<0.05). Three months after treatment, the recurrence rate was 0% (0/36) in acute phase and 4.8% (1/21) in chronic phase in the observation group, which were superior to 9.7% (3/31) in acute phase and 46.7% (7/15) in chronic phase in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The umbilical therapy combined with moxibustion could improve the symptoms of diarrhea and shorten the recovery time in children of different ages with autumn diarrhea, which have better efficacy than montmorillonite powder.

Effect of long-term fertilization on wheat yield under different precipitation patterns.

Rational application of nitrogen and phosphorus is one of the main pathways to enhance wheat yield. The optimum dosage of nitrogen and phosphorus used in different precipitation patterns was studied using the binary quadratic regression equation, which could provide a basis for fertilization of wheat in Loess Plateau. The results showed that the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus ferti-lizer required for the maximum yield was dependent on precipitation patterns. The maximum wheat yield in normal years was 4229 kg·hm-2, with the dosage of nitrogen and phosphorus applied being 172 and 164 kg·hm-2, respectively. The maximum wheat yield in wet years was 4896 kg·hm-2, with the dosage of nitrogen fertilizer being 2% more than that in normal years, 175 kg·hm-2, and the dosage of phosphorus was about 1% less than that in normal years, 162 kg·hm-2. The application of nitrogen and phosphorus in dry years was about 16% and 5% less than that in normal years. When the dosage was more than that, wheat yield began to decline. The economic optimum fertilization differed in different precipitation patterns. The economic optimum nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization in normal years was 161 and 151 kg·hm-2, while in dry years it was 135, 143 kg·hm-2, respectively. The economic optimum fertilization in wet years was about 3% and 1% more than that in normal years, 167 and 153 kg·hm-2. The economic optimum fertilization was 6%-8% lower than optimum amount of fertilization. In actual production, it was recommended to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus by 10% in order to improve the utilization rate of fertilizer and get the maximum benefit.

Pharmacological Ascorbate Suppresses Growth of Gastric Cancer Cells with GLUT1 Overexpression and Enhances the Efficacy of Oxaliplatin Through Redox Modulation.

Rationale: The antitumor activity of high-dose ascorbate has been re-evaluated recently, but the mechanism underlying cell-specific sensitivity to ascorbate has not yet been clarified. Methods: The effects of high-dose ascorbate on gastric cancer were assessed using cancer cell lines with high and low expression of GLUT1 via flow cytometry and colony formation assays in vitro and patient-derived xenografts in vivo. Results: In this study, we demonstrated that gastric cancer cells with high GLUT1 expression were more sensitive to ascorbate treatment than cells with low GLUT1 expression. GLUT1 knockdown significantly reversed the therapeutic effects of pharmacological ascorbate, while enforced expression of GLUT1 enhanced the sensitivity to ascorbate treatment. The efficacy of pharmacological ascorbate administration in mice bearing cell line-based and patient-derived xenografts was influenced by GLUT1 protein levels. Mechanistically, ascorbate depleted intracellular glutathione, generated oxidative stress and induced DNA damage. The combination of pharmacological ascorbate with genotoxic agents, including oxaliplatin and irinotecan, synergistically inhibited gastric tumor growth in mouse models. Conclusions: The current study showed that GLUT1 expression was inversely correlated with sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to pharmacological ascorbate and suggested that GLUT1 expression in gastric cancer may serve as a marker for sensitivity to pharmacological ascorbate.

Review of Anemone raddeana Rhizome and its pharmacological effects.

The chemical compositions of Anemone raddeana Rhizome, a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, were reviewed, along with its bioactivity and pharmacological properties and method improvements of extracting and detecting triterpenoid saponins. A. raddeana Rhizome is used to treat neuralgia and rheumatism, and is rich in triterpenoid saponins, most of which are pentacyclic, with oleanane as the nucleus. So far, 37 triterpenoid saponins have been determined from the herb. Its reported bioactivity and pharmacological properties have been described as anticancerous, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, anticonvulsive, antihistaminic, and sedative. It has also been used for the induction of the humoral immune response and treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis. However, the herb also has hemolytic effects and can be toxic, which limits its clinical application. Further studies are needed on the pharmaceutical functions, mechanisms, and immunological responses to contribute to the herb's clinical applications.

Study on Adsorption and Sustained Release of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. Leaf Extracts on Activated Carbon.

BACKGROUND: Due to its excellent adsorption capability, activated carbon(AC) has also been employed as a drug carrier. However, applications of the AC carrier in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have been rare. We selected the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract as the drug of choice and AC as its carrier, to investigate the adsorption and sustained release behavior of the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract on the AC. METHODS: AC was employed in this study as the sustained release carrier and its capability for adsorption and sustained release of Eucommia ulmoides leaf extracts was systematically investigated. Acid or alkali modified AC was assessed for its ability to absorb and sustain release of Eucommia ulmoides leaf extracts according to a variety of adsorption/release rate and composition. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that the adsorption rate for the differently modified AC reached above 80 %, whereas the adsorption of Eucommia ulmoides leaf extracts on the AC was selective. The composition of the sustained release liquid, which was treated by the acid modified AC, was almost similar to the original extract. The acid modified AC was therefore taken as an optimal carrier that can be used for Eucommia ulmoides leaf extracts sustained release. CONCLUSION: The synchronous release and absorption of different ingredients in the active ingredient release process ensures the global and cooperative effect with sustained and less toxic advantages. The ideal synchronous release is that the absorbed component proportion is consistent with its release. The acid modified AC was therefore taken as the optimal carrier that can be used for Eucommia ulmoides leaf extracts sustained release.

Linkage map construction and QTL analysis for internal heat necrosis in autotetraploid potato.

KEY MESSAGE: A tetraploid potato population was mapped for internal heat necrosis (IHN) using the Infinium ® 8303 potato SNP array, and QTL for IHN were identified on chromosomes 1, 5, 9 and 12 that explained 28.21% of the variation for incidence and 25.3% of the variation for severity. This research represents a significant step forward in our understanding of IHN, and sets the stage for future research focused on testing the utility of these markers in additional breeding populations. Internal heat necrosis (IHN) is a significant non-pathogenic disorder of potato tubers and previous studies have identified AFLP markers linked to IHN susceptibility in the tetraploid, B2721 potato mapping population. B2721 consists of an IHN susceptible×resistant cross: Atlantic×B1829-5. We developed a next-generation SNP-based linkage map of this cross using the Infinium® 8303 SNP array and conducted additional QTL analyses of IHN susceptibility in the B2721 population. Using SNP dosage sensitive markers, linkage maps for both parents were simultaneously analyzed. The linkage map contained 3427 SNPs and totaled 1397.68 cM. QTL were detected for IHN on chromosomes 1, 5, 9, and 12 using LOD permutation thresholds and colocation of high LOD scores across multiple years. Genetic effects were modeled for each putative QTL. Markers associated with a QTL were regressed in models of effects for IHN incidence and severity for all years. In the full model, the SNP markers were shown to have significant effects for IHN (p < 0.0001), and explained 28.21% of the variation for incidence and 25.3% of the variation for severity. We were able to utilize SNP dosage information to identify and model the effects of putative QTL, and identify SNP loci associated with IHN resistance that need to be confirmed. This research represents a significant step forward in our understanding of IHN, and sets the stage for future research focused on testing the utility of these markers in additional breeding populations.

Quality assessment of clinical practice guidelines for integrative medicine in China: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of integrative medicine clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) published before 2014. METHODS: A systematic search of the scientific literature published before 2014 was conducted to select integrative medicine CPGs. Four major Chinese integrated databases and one guideline database were searched: the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Data, and the China Guideline Clearinghouse (CGC). Four reviewers independently assessed the quality of the included guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II Instrument. Overall consensus among the reviewers was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: A total of 41 guidelines published from 2003 to 2014 were included. The overall consensus among the reviewers was good [ICC: 0.928; 95% confifi dence interval (CI): 0.920 to 0.935]. The scores on the 6 AGREE domains were: 17% for scope and purpose (range: 6% to 32%), 11% for stakeholder involvement (range: 0 to 24%), 10% for rigor of development (range: 3% to 22%), 39% for clarity and presentation (range: 25% to 64%), 11% for applicability (range: 4% to 24%), and 1% for editorial independence (range: 0 to 15%). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of integrative medicine CPGs was low, the development of integrative medicine CPGs should be guided by systematic methodology. More emphasis should be placed on multi-disciplinary guideline development groups, quality of evidence, management of funding and conflfl icts of interest, and guideline updates in the process of developing integrative medicine CPGs in China.

[Study on the Fingerprint of Kingkong Zedoary Turmeric Oil].

OBJECTIVE: To study the fingerprint of Zedoary Turmeric Oil (ZTO) as the bulk drug of Kingkong Elemene for making it safe, effective, stable, and controllable. METHODS: Fingerprints were detected by gas chromatography. ß-elemene peak was regarded as reference peak (S). The relative peak area of each common peak and the relative retention time were calculated. With a total of modes for reference, the fingerprints of 10 batches of Kingkong ZTO were detected, and their similarity was calculated by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) fingerprint similarity calculation software. RESULTS: The determination method was stable and reliable. Totally 19 common characteristic peaks of Kingkong ZTO was found. The fingerprint similarity of these batches of Kingkong ZTO were not lower than 0.96. CONCLUSIONS: Gas chromatography for detecting the fingerprint of Kingkong ZTO was reliable and repeatable. The established fingerprint of Kingkong ZTO could guarantee the quality stability and safety of different product batches.

[Selenium (Se)uptake and transformation mechanisms and physiological function in plant: A review]. / æ¤ç‰©ç¡’å¸æ”¶è½¬åŒ–æœºåˆ¶åŠç”Ÿç†ä½œç”¨ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

Selenium (Se) is an essential nutrient for many organisms, including microbe, animal and human, but the Se uptake and transformation mechanisms and physiological roles in plant still are controversial until now. Se could improve the growth and tolerance of plant at an appropriate le-vel, but could be toxic at higher levels. Research concerning Se uptake and metabolism in plant were promoted by Se biofortification and Se phytoremediation induced by the issues of Se deficiency in food and Se pollution in special areas. Recently, the results of Se uptake and transformation in plant have indicated that there are significant differences of Se accumulation and physiological roles in various plants and significant influence of soil conditions on Se uptake of plant. In addition, the process of Se metabolism in Se hyperaccumulators and its regulation were revealed gradually with the studies on improvement of Se uptake in plant. According to the results of Se biofortification in crop and Se phytoremediation so far, we summarized the advances in the studies with the reference to Se distribution in environment, the detail process of Se uptake, key regulators of transformation and its physiological roles in plant. We hope this can provide a novel insight to further research upon Se in plant.

Identification of Empoasca onukii (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and Monitoring of its Populations in the Tea Plantations of South China.

Tea green leafhoppers (Empoasca spp.) are considered one of the major pests in tea plantations in Asia. They are, however, difficult to monitor due to their size and flying and jumping abilities. In this study, we clarified the identification of the leafhopper species encountered in our study plantations and examined the impacts of sampling methods in estimating population abundance and sex ratio. The natural sex ratio of eggs, nymphs, and adults of tea green leafhopper and the differences between male and female were tested. Despite previous reports that Empoasca vitis (Goethe) was the major leafhopper present in our study area, our results showed that only Empoasca onukii Matsuda was found. Variation in population size over time and bias in sex ratio depending on the sampling methods were found in our monitoring experiments. In general, adult males were more attracted to yellow sticky cards than females. We believe that because female leafhoppers should be the target in pest control, yellow sticky cards may not be the most suitable monitoring or effective control of tea green leafhopper. We demonstrate the importance of understanding the implications of sampling techniques for population estimation and sex ratio bias as well as how temporal variation may affect monitoring results. Precise monitoring should take into consideration the different life histories of male and female.