Fragrant rosewood (Dalbergia odorifera T.C. Chen) is a highly-valued species suffering from vulnerability due to over-development for wood and medicine. In this study, Fragrant rosewood seedlings were cultured with chitosan oligosaccharide (CO) addition at rates of 0 and 1/800 (v/v) under artificial lightings by 200-W high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps and 280-W light-emitting diode (LED) panels for a 15 h daily photoperiod and a natural illumination as the control. The LEDs were designed to emit lights in 85% of red (600–700 nm), 15% of green(500–600 nm), and 5% of blue (400–500 nm). The height of artificial lightings was elevated every five to seven days to keep the mean photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of 72–73 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ of artificial lighting at shoot-tips. Seedlings under LED lighting with CO addition had the greatest diameter growth and leaf biomass, as well as the highest nutrient utilization and evaluated quality, while those under HPS lighting had a higher stem sugar concentration but unchanged shoot growth and biomass compared to the control. In conclusion, we recommend Fragrant rosewood seedlings to be cultured with CO addition under LED lighting to efficiently promote synthetic quality and nutrient utilization.

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a highly contagious pathogen causing dreadful losses to humans and animals around the globe. As is known, immune escape is a strategy that benefits the proliferation of IAVs by antagonizing, blocking, and suppressing immune surveillance. The HA protein binds to the sialic acid (SA) receptor to enter the cytoplasm and initiate viral infection. The conserved components of the viral genome produced during replication, known as the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), are thought to be critical factors for the activation of effective innate immunity by triggering dependent signaling pathways after recognition by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), followed by a cascade of adaptive immunity. Viral infection-induced immune responses establish an antiviral state in the host to effectively inhibit virus replication and enhance viral clearance. However, IAV has evolved multiple mechanisms that allow it to synthesize and transport viral components by “playing games” with the host. At its heart, this review will describe how host and viral factors interact to facilitate the viral evasion of host immune responses.

The purpose of this study was to detect nutrient uptake and assimilation in woody plants subjected to growing media with some peat replaced by spent mushroom residue (SMR). Fragrant rosewood (Dalbergia odorifera T.C. Chen) seedlings were cultured in five types of growing media with SMR and peat in volumetric proportions of 0% (control), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. With the increase of SMR proportion, ammonium- and nitrate-nitrogen (N) concentrations declined but available phosphorus (P) concentration and electrical conductance both increased. Seedlings in the full SMR substrates showed obvious mortality. Seedlings in substrates with SMR in proportions higher than 25% showed symptoms of excessive N and P toxicities. The utilization efficiency for P was highest in the 25% SMR growing-media. Mineral N in substrates had a positive relationship with growth and biomass but not with glutamine synthetase activity. Available P was negatively related with acid phosphatase activity in both leaves and roots. Un-composted SMR can replace 25% of peat in growing media for fragrant rosewood seedlings, benefitting P uptake and assimilation.

The critical role of VEGFR2 in tumor neovascularization and progression has allowed the design of clinically beneficial therapies based on it. Here we show that BC001, a new fully human anti-VEGFR2 monoclonal antibody, inhibits VEGF-stimulated endothelial cell migration, tube formation, and effectively suppressed the transdifferentiation of cancer stem cells into endothelial cells in vitro. Since BC001 exhibited no activity against the mouse VEGFR2 and mouse based study was required to confirm its efficacy in vivo, BC101, the mouse analogue of BC001, was developed. BC101 significantly attenuated angiogenesis according to Matrigel plug assay and resulted in ~80% growth inhibition of mouse B16F10 homograft tumors relative to vehicle control. Similarly, human analogue BC001 suppressed the growth of human xenograft tumors HCT116 and BGC823. Furthermore, immunohistochemical results showed reduced expression of CD31, VEGFR2 and Ki-67, as well as increased expression of Caspase 3 in BC001-treated tumor, which indicated BC001 was able to significantly decrease microvessel density, suppress proliferation and promote apoptosis. These results demonstrate the fully human VEGFR2 monoclonal antibody BC001 can work as an effective inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo.

Valuable trees are frequently taken from their original habitat and introduced to a different location in the pursuit of better economic development. Global climate change imposes a higher probability of warm spells during chilly seasons; these may increase the threat posed by frost to newly introduced, valuable species. In this study, Dalbergia odorifera was cultured as a valuable tree species that was introduced from an original provenance in Sanya (1° N) to the northern mountains in Pingxiang (22° N), Guangzhou (23° N), Zhangpu (24° N), Xianyou (25° N), and up to the northernmost limit in Wenzhou (28° N). Seedlings of these six provenances were tested in a field study conducted in Wenzhou (control) to examine their resistance to local frost stress and to detect the driving forces related to meteorological factors in the winter–spring period of 2015–2016. The leaves sampled over seven days exhibited the typical characteristics of frost impairment. The daily maximum temperature delivered warm spells, increasing by ~7 °C. The daily minimum temperature (−4.3 to −2.0 °C) did not reach freezing point until the early spring of 2016. The controlled seedlings showed lower malondialdehyde content than those from the southern locations, and no mortality occurred. Invisible frost stress was caused by low nitrogen utilization during the earlier stages during warm spells, as well as damage to membrane integrity during the later stage when the minimum temperature suddenly declined. A warm spell was found to impose a negative driving force five days before a sudden chill, which led to frost having an impact on superoxide accumulation and electrical leakage. We conclude that the D. odorifera seedlings that dwell effectively in Wenzhou obtained stronger resistance to local frost stress than those from the southern locations. Low cell membrane integrity and high electrical leakage in leaf cells accounted for the frost damage.

The spread of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses poses serious threats to the poultry industry, wild bird ecology and human health. Circulation of H5 viruses between poultry and wild birds is a significant public health threat in China. Thus, viral migration networks in this region need to be urgently studied. Here, we conducted molecular genetic analyses of the hemagglutinin genes of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in multiple hosts from 2000 to 2018 in China. Our aim was to clarify the roles of different hosts in the evolution of H5 viruses. We used a flexible Bayesian statistical framework to simulate viral space diffusion and continuous-time Markov chains to infer the dynamic evolutionary process of spatiotemporal dissemination. Bayesian phylogeographic analysis of H5 viruses showed for the first time that H5 viruses in poultry and wild birds were present in Guangdong Province. Furthermore, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Hunan acted as the epicenters for the spread of various H5 subtypes viruses in poultry, and Henan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Inner Mongolia acted as epicenters for the spread of various H5 subtypes viruses in wild birds. Thus, H5 viruses exhibited distinct evolutionary dynamics in poultry and wild birds. Our findings extend our understanding of the transmission and spread of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses in China.