Natural sources,refined extraction,biosynthesis,metabolism,and bioactivities of dietary polymethoxyflavones(PMFs)

Polymethoxyflavones(PMFs)are a type of uncommon dietary flavonoids,characterized by more than one methoxy group,which exist in limited plant species,like Citrus species and Kaempferia parviflora.In addition,different PMFs,such as nobiletin,sinensetin,tangeretin,and casticin,have been isolated from these natural sources.PMFs have received increasing attention due to their multiple bioactivities,such as antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,anti-cancer,metabolic regulatory,immunoregulatory,neuroprotective,and skin protective effects.These bioactivities of PMFs should be associated with the regulation of critical molecular targets and the interaction with gut microbiota.In order to provide a comprehensive and updated review of PMFs,their natural sources,refined extraction,biosynthesis,metabolism,and bioactivities are summarised and discussed,with the emphasis on the molecular mechanisms of PMFs on regulating different chronic diseases.Overall,PMFs may be promising flavonoids to the forefront of nutraceuticals for the prevention and/or treatment of certain human chronic diseases.

Measurement and Spatial Difference Analysis of Innovation-Driven Urban Development Levels in Sichuan Province

Based on the connotation and process of innovation-driven development, we have developed a comprehensive evaluation system containing 20 indicators in five aspects, including innovation factors, innovation subjects, innovation environments, innovation outputs, and development performance, to measure the levels of innovation-driven development in Sichuan province. Selecting 21 cities and prefectures in Sichuan province as research objects, we evaluated and measured the innovation-driven development levels of each city and prefecture using the entropy weight method(EWM). According to the evaluation results, the 21 cities and prefectures were divided into four categories depending on their levels of innovation-driven development: advanced-level, high-level, medium-level, and low-level. The results show that there are obvious spatial differences in terms of innovation-driven development levels among cities and prefectures in Sichuan province. Specifically, Chengdu, Mianyang, Panzhihua, and Deyang cities rank among the top four cities because of their advanced and high levels of innovation-driven development, while other cities and prefectures are at the medium and low levels. We also analyzed the innovation-driven development policies and practices of cities and prefectures in Sichuan province, to provide guidance for implementing innovation-driven development strategies in the cities and prefectures in the future.

Comparative Analysis of the Transcriptome and Metabolome in Leaves of Diploid and Tetraploid Fagopyrum tataricum

Tartary buckwheat(Fagopyrum tataricum)is a dual-purpose medicinal and food crop grown for its high contents of functional compounds and abundant nutrients.Although studies have shown the differences of total flavonoid content in Tartary buckwheat at different ploidy levels,the composition of flavonoid and its regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown.In this study,the leaf metabolome and transcriptome of diploid and tetraploid accessions of Tartary buckwheat were analyzed to gain insight into the impact of polyploidization on comparative secondary metabolite composition and molecular regulatory mechanism.Based on a widely targeted metabolomics analysis,a total of 792 metabolites were identified,including 127 flavonoids.The accumulation of 127 metabolites and expression of 3871 genes differed significantly between diploid and tetraploid Tartary buckwheat.Integrated metabolomics and transcriptome analysis revealed that chromosome doubling up-regulated the expression of upstream genes in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway to promote the accumulation of flavonoids.The present results contribute to elucidation of the molecular mechanism of phenotypic variation associated with polyploidy in Tartary buckwheat.The findings provide a reference for further studies on phenotypic traits in polyploid Tartary buckwheat,the cloning of crucial regulatory genes,and utilization of genetic engineering technologies in the breeding of Tartary buckwheat.

Study on Polyphenol Oxidase Activity and Total Phenol Content of Docynia indica

[Objectives] To study the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and total phenol content of Docynia indica .[Methods] The tender branches and petioles of the medicinal and edible plant D. indica were used as experimental materials, and the annual changes of total phenol content and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity were analyzed.[Results] pH 7.0 was the optimum value of polyphenol oxidase activity in D. indica plants;the best substrate was catechol with the concentration of 0.15 mol/L;the optimum temperature was 25 ℃.[Conclusions] The total phenol content of D. indica plants was the lowest in April, May and September of each year. The polyphenol oxidase activity of D. indica plants at flowering and fruiting stage was significantly higher than that at pre-flowering stage.

Design and Building of the New Countryside Construction Database Based on ArcSDE and SQL Server

Building the new countryside construction database plays an important role in improving the construction efficiency,and enhancing the level of major project management.On the basis of detailed analysis of features of the new countryside construction data,we give an overview of the database design based on ArcSDE and SQL Server,and elaborate the association between data classification organization,database conceptual design,logical design,spatial data,and thematic attribute data.Finally,taking the provincial new countryside demonstration zone in Yanjiang District of Sichuan Province for example,we build the new countryside construction database.

Research Advances of Anthocyanin Accumulation in Plants Tissues

The color of plants is mainly due to the rich content of chlorophylls,carotenoids,betalains,flavonoids,and other substances.Anthocyanins as an important group of flavonoids,have an important effect on the color of plant tissues,especially fruit color[1,2].In the early 1900s,a summary of Mendelian studies on pea coloration was giv­en by Weldon[3].Since then,the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway has been continuously refined,until it was first summarized in plants in detail[4].Anthocyanins are im­portant secondary metabolites in plants.

Suitable Size of Nature Reserves in Tibet,P.R.China Based on Endangerment Degree of Species

In a view of natural conditions of establishing nature reserve,an index system was prepared for quantitative assessment on status of endangered species,and thus degree of endangered species in Tibet was evaluated.Taking a sub-ecozone as basic unit,top 5 animals and 1 plant with high E as well as the number of species in each unit were enumerated;and the degree of land utilization was figured out.Afterward,we selected 6 coefficients,assigned weight,and framed formula to reckon proportion of nature reserve,thus an area of nature reserve in each sub-ecozone was obtained.In 5 schemes of weight assignment,a scheme with medium area of nature reserve was selected.All sub-ecozones were classified into 4 grades prior conservation,1 was in grade A,2 in grade B,2 in grade C,and 11 in grade D.Total planned area was approximately 365 135 km2,about 48 834 km2 smaller than the actual area of 413 969 km2,ratio of nature reserve in Tibet diminishes from 34.4% to 30.38%.Based on 3 factors of human disturbance,ratio of buffer-experimental zone in proposed nature reserve was calculated.It was demonstrated that existing size of nature reserves is excessive on the whole,and their distribution is not reasonable entirely.The size of nature reserves in 3 sub-ecozones of northern Changtang should decrease,and decrement of area is apportioned among other 13 sub-ecozones which should increase nature reserve.Heterogeneity of regional distribution of rare species in Tibet is quite obvious,so proposed area distribution of nature reserves is more scattered than the existing.