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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) participate in the process of plant secondary metabolism and thus affect the production of secondary metabolites. However, it is not clear whether and how AMF affect the growth and secondary metabolites of Polygonum cuspidatum, a medicinal plant rich in resveratrol and polygonin, under different phosphorus (P) levels. This study was performed to analyze the effects of Glomus mosseae on the growth, leaf gas exchange, P concentration, active ingredient concentrations, and expressions of associated genes of P. cuspidatum under P-deficient (0 mol/L P) and P-sufficient (0.2 mol/L P) conditions. The root mycorrhizal colonization rate of inoculated plants was 62.53–73.18%. G. mosseae improved shoot and root biomass as well as leaf P levels to some extent, but the improvement was more prominent under P-sufficient than P-deficient conditions. The fungal colonization also significantly increased leaf photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and intercellular CO2 concentration, which was more prominent under P-deficient rather than P-sufficient conditions. P addition promoted the concentration of active medicinal components in leaves, especially in uninoculated plants. G. mosseae distinctly raised leaf chrysophanol, emodin, polydatin, and resveratrol concentrations, which was more prominent under P-deficient conditions. However, physcion was raised by G. mosseae only under P-sufficient conditions. AMF and P addition up-regulated expressions of PcCRS1, along with the up-regulation of PcRS11 by P addition and PcRS11 and PcSTS by AMF under P-sufficient conditions. It is concluded that an adequate P fertilizer and AMF facilitate the production of active medicinal components in P. cuspidatum, associated with expressions of associated genes such as PcCRS1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc. is a major raw material for the extraction of drugs such as resveratrol, while the over-exploitation of P. cuspidatum decreases the yield and drug components. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of inoculation with root endophytic fungi Funneliformis mosseae and Piriformospora indica singly or in combination in biomass production, physiological activities (e.g., chlorophyll, soluble protein, and gas exchange) and main medicinal ingredients of P. cuspidatum, accompanied by the expression levels of associated genes in resveratrol biosynthesis. Single and co-inoculation with P. indica significantly improved shoot and root biomass production, and single and co-inoculation with F. mosseae and P. indica, especially single P. indica, significantly promoted leaf chlorophyll and soluble-protein concentrations and improved leaf gas exchange, including photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and intercellular CO2 concentration. The application of endophytic fungi increased resveratrol and polydatin concentrations, while it affected chrysophanol, emodin, and physcion concentrations in a complex manner. In addition, F. mosseae inoculation and co-inoculation induced the expression of PcCRS1, PcRS11, PcRS, and PcSTS, and only single F. mosseae and P. indica inoculation up-regulated the expression of PcCHS1 and PcCHS2. It was concluded that endophytic fungi accelerated biomass production, leaf physiological activity, and resveratrol accumulation in P. cuspidatum, which was associated with the up-regulation of related gene expression in resveratrol biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc is an important industrial crop because it contains a large amount of medicinal secondary metabolites (such as polydatin, resveratrol, chrysophanol, and emodin). However, it is unclear whether root endophytic fungi increase the content of secondary metabolites in the plant. This study aimed to analyze the effects of Funneliformis mosseae (Fm) and Piriformospora indica (Pi) alone or in combination on plant growth, root morphology, thirteen sugars concentrations, and six secondary metabolites (physcion, chrysophanol, emodin, aloe-emodin, polydatin, and resveratrol) concentrations of P. cuspidatum. After 11 weeks of the fungal inoculation, the roots could be colonized by Fm and Pi single or in combination, along with the higher root colonization frequency of Fm > Pi > Fm + Pi in the descending order. In addition, Fm and Pi improved plant growth performance (plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, and shoot and root biomass) and root morphology (average diameter, maximum diameter, total length, area, and volume) to varying degrees, depending on fungal inoculations, in which Pi displayed a relatively better effect on plant growth. Single Fm and Pi inoculation significantly increased three disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, and trehalose) accumulation, while dual inoculum (Fm + Pi) only elevated sucrose concentrations. Most monosaccharides concentrations, such as D-arabinose, D-galactose, D-sorbitol, D-fructose, glucose, and L-rhamnose were not altered or inhibited by the endophytic fungi, except the increase in L-fucose and inositol. All fungal treatments significantly increased root chrysophanol and resveratrol concentrations, while decreased aloe-emodin concentrations. In addition, single Pi and dual Fm + Pi increased emodin concentrations, and single Fm and dual Fm + Pi elevated physcion and polydatin concentrations. It was concluded that Fm and Pi promoted the growth of P. cuspidatum , and the combination of Fm and Pi was more conducive to the production of some secondary metabolites than single inoculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc is an important industrial crop because it contains a large amount of medicinal secondary metabolites (such as polydatin, resveratrol, chrysophanol, and emodin). However, it is unclear whether root endophytic fungi increase the content of secondary metabolites in the plant. This study aimed to analyze the effects of Funneliformis mosseae (Fm) and Piriformospora indica (Pi) alone or in combination on plant growth, root morphology, thirteen sugars concentrations, and six secondary metabolites (physcion, chrysophanol, emodin, aloe-emodin, polydatin, and resveratrol) concentrations of P. cuspidatum. After 11 weeks of the fungal inoculation, the roots could be colonized by Fm and Pi single or in combination, along with the higher root colonization frequency of Fm > Pi > Fm + Pi in the descending order. In addition, Fm and Pi improved plant growth performance (plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, and shoot and root biomass) and root morphology (average diameter, maximum diameter, total length, area, and volume) to varying degrees, depending on fungal inoculations, in which Pi displayed a relatively better effect on plant growth. Single Fm and Pi inoculation significantly increased three disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, and trehalose) accumulation, while dual inoculum (Fm + Pi) only elevated sucrose concentrations. Most monosaccharides concentrations, such as D-arabinose, D-galactose, D-sorbitol, D-fructose, glucose, and L-rhamnose were not altered or inhibited by the endophytic fungi, except the increase in L-fucose and inositol. All fungal treatments significantly increased root chrysophanol and resveratrol concentrations, while decreased aloe-emodin concentrations. In addition, single Pi and dual Fm + Pi increased emodin concentrations, and single Fm and dual Fm + Pi elevated physcion and polydatin concentrations. It was concluded that Fm and Pi promoted the growth of P. cuspidatum , and the combination of Fm and Pi was more conducive to the production of some secondary metabolites than single inoculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effective therapeutic strategies to address intestinal complications after radiation exposure are currently lacking. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which display the ability to repair the injured intestine, have been considered as delivery vehicles for repair genes. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effect of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-gene-modified MSCs on radiation-induced intestinal injury (RIII). Methods: Female 6- to 8-week-old mice were radiated locally at the abdomen with a single 13-Gy dose of radiation and then treated with saline control, Ad-HGF or Ad-Null-modified MSCs therapy. The transient engraftment of human MSCs was detected via real-time PCR and immunostaining. The therapeutic effects of non- and HGF-modified MSCs were evaluated via FACS to determine the lymphocyte immunophenotypes; via ELISA to measure cytokine expression; via immunostaining to determine tight junction protein expression; via PCNA staining to examine intestinal epithelial cell proliferation; and via TUNEL staining to detect intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis. Results: The histopathological recovery of the radiation-injured intestine was significantly enhanced following non- or HGF-modified MSCs treatment. Importantly, the radiation-induced immunophenotypic disorders of the mesenteric lymph nodes and Peyer’s patches were attenuated in both MSCs-treated groups. Treatment with HGF-modified MSCs reduced the expression and secretion of inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), increased the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and the tight junction protein ZO-1, and promoted the proliferation and reduced the apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells. Conclusions: Treatment of RIII with HGF-gene-modified MSCs reduces local inflammation and promotes the recovery of small intestinal histopathology in a mouse model. These findings might provide an effective therapeutic strategy for RIII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affective computing techniques have become increasingly important as advanced education technologies. By applying these techniques to education, this work designs and evaluates a novel Affective Tutoring System for the Digital Arts (ATSDAs). By semantically analysing a text with ontological references, the emotions induced by a text when input by a user are identified. Inference of emotions is accomplished using OMCSNet and WordNet, two engines commonly used in computational linguistics research. The proposed system has a visual agent that provides text feedback based on inferred emotions from textual analysis. The proposed system has a conscientious design flow that includes concept modelling, prototype design, expert-based evaluation (which consists of a cognitive walkthrough and heuristic evaluation), final system design and a series of evaluations from a learner's perspective. The System Usability Scale (SUS) evaluation results show that this system achieves positive usability and learners enjoy interacting with the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]