Three spider species of the genus Mimetus Hentz, 1832 (Araneae, Mimetidae) from China

The present paper deals with three species of the genus Mimetus from China, including M. echinatus Wang, 1990, M. lamelliformis sp. n. (male), and M. wangi sp. n. (female and male). M. lamelliformis differs from the related species M. echinatus Wang, 1990 by: cymbial tip with several slender long macrosetae; cymbium boat-shaped, length/width ratio about 3/1 in retrolateral view; vexillum about 1/2 length of cymbium in retrolateral view. M. wangi sp. n. differs from the related species M. sinicus Song & Zhu, 1993 by: the opisthosoma with a pair of distinct outgrowths in the dorsum; sperm duct nearly horizontal; spermathecae kidney shaped and contiguous. Photos of body and copulatory organs, line drawings of copulatory organs, as well as the locality map are provided

Anti-oxidant and hepatoprotective activities of total flavonoids of Indocalamus latifolius

The total flavonoids of Indocalamus latifolius were evaluated in term of their anti-oxidant and hepatoprotective activities. The results showed that in vitrohepatoprotective and anti-oxidant activities of total flavonoids at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively, were comparable to those of the known hepatoprotective drug silymarin at 100 mg/kg. These data were supplemented with histopathological studies of rat liver sections. Seven of the main flavonoid compounds purified by column chromatography using silica gel, sephadex LH-20 and develosil ODS, and determined to be vitexin, orientin, isovitexin, homoorientin, tricin, tricin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and quercetin-3-O-glucopyranoside

Transcription factor E2F7 activates PKMYT1 to partially suppress adriamycin sensitivity in gastric cancer through the MAPK signaling pathway

Background: Adriamycin resistance remains an obstacle to gastric cancer chemotherapy treatment. Objective: The objective of this study was to study the role and mechanism of transcription factor E2F7 in sensitivity to ADM chemotherapeutic agents in gastric cancer. Methods: Cell viability and cell sensitivity were assessed by CCK-8 and IC50 values of ADM were calculated. The impact of ADM on cellular proliferative capacity was assessed through colony formation assay. The binding relationship between E2F7 and PKMYT1 was then verified by dual luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. ERK1/ERK2 and p-ERK1/p-ERK2 protein expression levels were detected by western blot. Results: In both gastric cancer tissue and ADM-resistant cells, a conspicuous upregulation of E2F7 and PKMYT1 was observed. Upregulated PKMYT1 was notably enriched in the MAPK signaling pathway. Enhanced levels of E2F7 were shown to not only drive gastric cancer cell proliferation but also engender a reduction in the sensitivity of these cells to ADM. Furthermore, PKMYT1 emerged as a downstream target of E2F7. Activation of E2F7 culminated in the transcriptional upregulation of PKMYT1, and silencing E2F7 reversed the inhibitory impact of PKMYT1 overexpression on ADM sensitivity in gastric cancer cells. Conclusion: E2F7/PKMYT1 axis might promote the proliferation and partially inhibit ADM sensitivity of gastric cancer cells by activating the MAPK pathway

Spatiotemporal Coupling of Water and Fertilizer for Double-cropping Grape in Guangxi

This paper summarizes the research progress and major achievements of the coupling effect of water and fertilizer on grape cultivation in China and abroad in recent years, emphatically analyzes the application status and some problems of the coupling effect of water and fertilizer on double-cropping grape cultivation mode in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, discusses the key problems to be further resolved, and finally makes the relevant recommendations

Effects of Fractal Dimension and Soil Erodibility on Soil Quality in an Erodible Region: A Case Study from Karst Mountainous Areas

Soil aggregate stability and soil erodibility (k) are crucial indicators of soil quality that exhibit high sensitivity to changes in soil function. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the quantitative relationship between these indicators and soil quality for effective ecosystem monitoring and assessment. In this study, soil samples were collected from eight altitude gradients in a karst mountainous area; we analyzed 11 soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, and assessed soil quality using the minimum data set (MDS) method. The results revealed that soil aggregate stability, bulk density (BD), pH, and fungal community diversity exhibited a unimodal altitudinal pattern, whereas the soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and C:N ratio showed an increasing trend. Among the factors considered, SOC, BD, soil pH, mechanical composition, and fungal community diversity were found to explain the most variation in soil aggregate stability and soil erodibility (k). Principal component analysis (PCA) identified soil fungal community diversity, C:N ratio, coarse sand, and macro-aggregate (MA) content as highly weighted indicators for MDS. The integrated soil quality index (SQI) values, ranging from 0.30 to 0.62 across the eight altitude gradients, also exhibited a unimodal altitudinal pattern. The analysis indicated a significant linear relationship between the fractal dimension (D) and soil erodibility of the EPIC model (K epic) with SQI, suggesting that D and K epic can serve as alternative indicators for soil quality. These findings further enhance our understanding of the response of soil properties to altitude changes, and provide a novel method for assessing and monitoring soil quality in karst mountainous areas