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In addressing the challenges posed by the implications of climate change, understanding the phenological variations of woody plants has become a pivotal research topic. This research centers on the phenological shifts of woody plants and their connections with climatic factors in the southern and northern regions of the Nanling Mountains, which serve as the boundary between the north subtropical climate zone and the south subtropical climate zone in South China. The data were gathered through extensive manual observations conducted at four plant phenology observation stations (Ganxian, Foshan, Guilin, and Changsha) spanning different periods from 1963 to 2008. The study scrutinized four widely distributed woody plant species in the research area, specifically C. mollissima, P. fortunei, M. azedarach, and M. grandiflora. The analytical methods utilized were linear trend estimation and Pearson correlation coefficient analyses. The principal findings were as follows: (i) over the past several decades, the phenological stages of woody plants in the southern region consistently preceded those in the northern region with variations ranging from 2 to 38 days; (ii) an advancing trend of 0.1 to 2 days per decade was discerned in the phenological stages of all woody plants in the southern region; (iii) within the same geographic region, distinct species exhibited varying sensitivities to climatic factors, and M. azedarach demonstrated a particularly high sensitivity to climate fluctuations affecting phenological stages; and (iv) different climatic factors exerted distinct influences on individual plant species. Notably, temperature emerged as the primary driver of phenological changes, which was supported by a significant negative correlation between the phenological stages of the studied plants and spring temperatures. This study contributes to our understanding of the effects of climate change on plant phenology and offers valuable insights to guide ecological conservation and management strategies within the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been considered as important alternative therapeutics because of their significant medicinal benefits in specific diseases. Chinese herb formula is characterized by a vast molecule that differs in routine medicines. Due to TCMs chemical complexity, proper quality control has been a great challenge. Choosing the appropriate method to identify and qualify these compounds is an important work to ensure its safety, efficacy and quality control. Thus, this study aimed at providing novel information on high-resolution LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometer (UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MSn) based identification of Bu Shen Yi Sui capsule (BSYSC), which is used in treating multiple sclerosis as a kind of TCMs. Under the proposed chromatographic conditions, 80 chemical components classified as anthraquinone, phenolic acid and phenylethanoid glycosides were separated and identified from BSYSC. Coupled with the high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) method, eight of them were regarded as marker compounds for the quantitative evaluation of BSYSC. The identification and quantification with precision of UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MSn and UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS could facilitate essential data for further pharmacokinetic studies of BSYSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new type of textile composites with broad application prospects, it is essential to study the prediction method of the mechanical properties of 2.5 D woven composites (2.5DWC). Currently, the most popular prediction method is to use a representative volume cell (RVC) for numerical simulation, so the reasonableness of RVC determines the prediction accuracy. However, many practical factors are ignored in the traditional periodic unit-cell model (UCM), such as the weft-layer-number (WLN), resulting in low prediction accuracy; while the full-cell model (FCM) in which the surface extrusion effect (SEE) and WLN are considered has the problems of complex modeling and high computational cost. To solve these problems, a triple-cell model (TCM) system is proposed, which includes four RVCs that are applicable to different WLNs, each of which is composed of different sub-cells (surface-cell, transition-cell, and inner-cell) which are categorized according to the characteristics of the actual weft yarn cross-section. Based on the progressive damage method, the stiffness, strength, and damage behavior of 2.5DWC with different WLNs are predicted, and the TCM prediction results are compared with the results of the experiment, the UCM, and the FCM. Compared with the experimental results, the prediction accuracy of the TCM is more than 8% higher than that of the UCM, and the difference between the prediction results of the TCM and FCM is less than 5%. Therefore, the proposed TCM system has the characteristics of high prediction accuracy, relatively simple modeling, and the applicability of any WLN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the early effectiveness and influence on cartilage of local injection of multimodal drug cocktail (MDC) during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR)., Methods: Between February 2022 and August 2023, patients undergone arthroscopic ACLR using autologous hamstring tendons were selected as the study subjects. Among them, 90 patients met the selection criteria and were randomly divided into 3 groups ( n =30) according to the different injection drugs after ligament reconstruction. There was no significant difference in baseline data such as gender, age, body mass index, surgical side, disease duration, preoperative thigh circumference, and preoperative levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-1, matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3), MMP-13, and aggrecan (ACAN) in synovial fluid between groups ( P >0.05). After the ligament reconstruction during operation, corresponding MDC (consisting of ropivacaine, tranexamic acid, and betamethasone in group A, and ropivacaine, betamethasone, and saline in group B) or saline (group C) were injected into the joint and tendon site, respectively. The length of hospital stay, postoperative tramadol injection volume, incidence of complications, degree of knee joint swelling and range of motion, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, Lyshlom score, and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score were recorded and compared between groups. The T2 * values in different cartilage regions were detected by MRI examination and the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1, MMP-3, MMP-13, and ACAN in synovial fluid were detected by ELISA method., Results: The patients in group A, B, and C were followed up (12.53±3.24), (13.14±2.87), and (12.82±3.32) months, respectively. All incisions healed by first intention. Compared with group C, group A and group B had shorter length of hospital stay, less tramadol injection volume, and lower incidence of complications, showing significant differences ( P <0.05); there was no significant difference between group A and group B ( P >0.05). The degree of knee swelling in group A was significantly less than that in group B and group C ( P <0.05), but there was no significant difference between group B and group C ( P >0.05). At 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after operation, VAS scores of group A and group B were significantly lower than those of group C ( P <0.05); at 72 hours after operation, there was no significant difference among the three groups ( P >0.05). At 3 days, 14 days, and 1 month after operation, the range of motion of knee joint in group A were significantly better than those in group C ( P <0.05), and there was no significant difference between the other groups ( P >0.05). At 1 month after operation, the IKDC score of group A and group B was significantly higher than that of group C ( P <0.05); there was no significant difference among the three groups at other time points ( P >0.05). There was no significant difference in Lyshlom score and HSS score among the three groups at each time point ( P >0.05). At 14 days after operation, the levels of IL-1 and IL-6 in the synovial fluid in groups A and B were significantly lower than those in group C ( P <0.05). There was no significant difference in the levels of TNF-α, MMP-3, MMP-13, and ACAN between groups A and B ( P >0.05). At 1 month after operation, there was no significant difference in the above indicators among the three groups ( P >0.05). At 3, 6, and 12 months after operation, there was no significant difference in the T2 * values of different cartilage regions among the three groups ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: Injecting MDC (ropivacaine, tranexamic acid, betamethasone) into the joint and tendon site during ACLR can achieve good early effectiveness without significant impact on cartilage.