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The addition of Ni3+ ions causes a change in the electron distribution of surrounding ions, which further lead to the decreased diffusion energy barrier and increased adsorption energy of Na+ ions. The above factors make P2-Na 0.67 Mn 0.45 Ni2+ 0.12 Ni3+ 0.10 Co 0.33 O 2 (Ni-R1) get a higher and stable specific capacity of 114 mA h/g in the voltage range of 2.0–4.25 V, with a capacity retention ration of 80% after 1000 cycles. It provides a new idea for development of a practical sodium ion battery. [Display omitted] For transition metal oxide materials, high Ni content is an effective method to obtain a high specific capacity. However, the theoretical capacity is determined due to the certain amount of variable charges of transition metal ions. The increased capacity in specific voltage window may attribute to the easier transport of alkali ions, instead of more active elements. Borrowing the theory of Ni-rich materials in LIB, excess Ni elements were added into P2-type layered oxide material to form the Jahn-Teller active Ni3+ ions. About 25%-61% Ni3+ ions can effectively promote de-/intercalation of Na+ ions due to the decreased diffusion energy barrier and increased adsorption energy of Na+. The preferred "Ni-rich" material Na 0.67 Mn 0.45 Ni 0.22 Co 0.33 O 2 (Ni-R1) shows a reversible specific capacity of 114 mA h g−1 in the voltage range of 2.0–4.25 V. In addition, it shows an excellent cycle stability, the capacity retention ration is 80% after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A g−1. The in-depth study proves that, Jahn-Teller active Ni3+ ions can effectively regulate the valence electron distribution of surrounding ions in synthesis stage. However, it will promote Jahn-Teller distortion when the Ni3+ content is increased to 74%, which makes the rate performance deteriorate dramatically. The present work provides a simple and efficient way to increase the capacity in suitable voltage range for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary fiber is an important component of healthy eating patterns. Although American ginseng (Panax quiquefolium L.) is often used to improve body immunity, less attention has been paid to American ginseng dietary fiber (AGDF) in this regard. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of AGDF on intestinal mucosal barrier injury induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX) in immunosuppressed mice and the underlying mechanism. The results showed that AGDF could increase immune organ index and enhance immunity of immunosuppressed mice, such as DTH response, lymphocyte transformation and proliferation and NK effector cell activity. At the same time, AGDF could restore the proportion of CD4+/CD8+ T lymphocytes induced by CTX to different extents, and promote the secretion of immunoglobulin IgG. More importantly, AGDF could up-regulate the contents of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-1β in serum and intestine of immunosuppressed mice, promote the secretion of cytokines and regulate the homeostasis balance between Th1/Th2 cytokines. It also upregulated the expression of tight junction proteins occludin, claudin-1 and ZO-1, and alleviated the degree of CTX-induced damage to the intestinal mucosal barrier. Meanwhile, AGDF could reduce intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis by activating TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, improving the phosphorylation of JNK and p38 signaling molecules, which may be the potential mechanism by which AGDF ameliorates intestinal mucosal injury in immunosuppressed mice. Therefore, AGDF may be used as a dietary supplement to prevent and treat intestinal mucosal barrier injury caused by CTX. • American ginseng-dietary fiber (AGDF) enhances immunity in immunosuppressed mice. • AGDF positively affected lymphocyte phenotype in immunosuppressed mice. • AGDF regulated the balance between Th1/Th2 cytokines. • AGDF ameliorated intestinal mucosal barrier injury in immunosuppressed mice. • AGDF can regulate immune function by up-regulating TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ginseng-SDF was associated with the growth performance improvement in rats. • Ginseng-SDF affected the serum antioxidant status and immune factor levels. • Ginseng-SDF had positive effects on the SCFA levels and cecal microflora. • Some microfloras were correlated with physiological indexes such as SCFA levels. As an important component of ginseng, the in vivo benefits of ginseng water-soluble dietary fiber (ginseng-SDF) have not been fully revealed. To explore these benefits, healthy rats were given ginseng-SDF (200, 400, and 800 mg/kg body weight/day) by gavage for 15 days. The results showed that ginseng-SDF significantly improved the rats' growth performance and serum antioxidant status. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1 and IGF-2) and immunoglobulin (IgA, IgM, and IgG) levels in the ginseng-SDF groups were increased. High-dose ginseng-SDF significantly increased the cecal butyric acid proportion compared with the K group. Ginseng-SDF increased the abundance of Firmicutes and promoted the proliferation of probiotics such as Lactobacillus , and cellulose decomposers such as Ruminococcus and Clostridium in cecal microflora. These altered microflora were correlated with growth performance, antioxidant status and immunoglobulin indexes. The above results suggested that ginseng-SDF might have positive effects on growth, oxidative-immune levels and cecal health in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, an aqueous ionic liquid based ultrasonic assisted extraction (ILUAE) method for the extraction of the four acetophenones, namely 4-hydroxyacetophenone (1), 2,5-dihydroxyacetophenone (2), baishouwubenzophenone (3) and 2,4-dihydroxyacetophenone (4) from the Chinese medicinal plant Cynanchum bungei was developed. Three kinds of aqueous l-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids with different anion and alkyl chain were investigated. The results indicated that ionic liquids (ILs) showed remarkable effects on the extraction efficiency of acetophenones. In addition, the ILUAE, including several ultrasonic parameters, such as the ILs concentration, solvent to solid ratio, power, particle size, temperature, and extraction time have been optimized. Under these optimal conditions (e.g., with 0.6M [C4MIM]BF4, solvent to solid ratio of 35:1, power of 175W, particle size of 60–80 mesh, temperature of 25°C and time of 50min), this approach gained the highest extraction yields of four acetophenones 286.15, 21.65, 632.58 and 205.38μg/g, respectively. The proposed approach has been evaluated by comparison with the conventional heat-reflux extraction (HRE) and regular UAE. The results indicated that ILUAE is an alternative method for extracting acetophenones from C. bungei. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Four acetophenones, baishouwubenzophenone (1), 4-hydroxyacetophenone (2), 2,4-dihydroxyacetophenone (3) and 2,5-dihydroxyacetophenone (4), were successfully isolated and purified from the Chinese medicinal plant Cynanchum bungei Decne. by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using a pair of two solvent system, one consisting of light petroleum–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (2:5:3:3, v/v) and another of light petroleum–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (2:4:3:3, v/v). A total of 62.3mg (1), 18.9mg (2), 15.0mg (3) and 4.5mg (4) were purified from the n-butanol extract (600mg) of crude sample of C. bungei Decne. in one-step separation within 5h, each at over 96% purity as determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Their structures were identified by Mass Spectrometer (MS), Nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR and 13C NMR). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was used to extract paeonol from Cynanchum paniculatum (Bge.) Kitag. The extraction conditions including pressure, temperature, time and sample particle size were optimized with an orthogonal test. Under the optimized conditions of 15MPa, 55°C, 1.5h and a sample particle size of 40–60 mesh, the process was repeated 10 times, and the extract was then collected. The yield of the crude extract from preparative SFE was 6.02%, which contained paeonol 72.02%. Paeonol of crude extract obtained by SFE, Ultrasonic Extraction (UE), Microwave-Assisted (MA), Steam Distillation (SD) and Soxhlet Extraction (SE) were further analyzed by HPLC-PDA to compare the extraction methods, and SFE is considered as the optimum one among the five processes. The SFE extract obtained was then purified successfully by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with a two-phase solvent system composed of petroleum ether–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (2:6:3:4, v/v) in one-step separation. From 2.42g of the crude extract, 1.07g of paeonol was obtained at 99.4% purity as determined by HPLC-PDA. These results indicate that SFE and HSCCC are very powerful techniques for the extraction and purification of paeonol from C. paniculatum. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) have attracted much attention in the field of electrochemical energy storage due to their high energy density and low cost. However, the 'shuttle effect' of sulfur cathode, resulting in the poor cyclic performance of batteries, is a big barrier for the development of LSBs. To overcome this critical drawback, herein, a matrix of well-designed double carbon shells-encapsulated metallic Mo 2 C nanoparticles (Mo 2 C/C@C) is facilely achieved as an efficient sulfur host for high-performance LSBs. During the electrochemical process, the embedded polar and metallic Mo 2 C nanoparticles could effectively retard polysulfide migration. While for the carbon layers, they can not only act as conductive matrix but also promote the restriction for all sulfur species and maintain the structural stability simultaneously. Specially, the inner carbon layer is mainly for encapsulation and the outside one for surface-modification. As a result, such well-designed Mo 2 C/C@C–S cathode could effectively adsorb soluble polysulfides both from chemical and physical aspects, and well confines them inside the porous structure of Mo 2 C/C@C, thus achieving a high reversible capacity and superior cycling performance. Double carbon shells embedded with metallic and polar Mo 2 C nanoparticles (Mo 2 C/C@C) have been synthesized as efficient sulfur host materials for Li–S batteries. The obtained robust host materials greatly enhance the conductive of the electroactive sulfur and confine polysulfides to mitigate their dissolution effectively as well. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ascomycota and Basidiomycota are the dominant phyla in Panax ginseng -growing soil. • Changes induced by all treatments on soil fungal communities are evaluated. • Adding different leaf litter alters the composition of fungal community. • Basidiomycota were negatively affected by total nitrogen. • Some active biomarkers may be involved in the decomposition of different leaf litters. Soil fungi communities play a vital role in the plant-soil ecosystem and affect plant growth and health, but the underlying mechanism controlling soil fungi communities in understory wild ginseng soil is still unknown. To study that mechanism, a pot culture experiment adding different leaf litters based on a completely randomized design was carried out. The results indicated that 1990 operational taxonomic units were obtained from eighteen samples. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, the two dominant phyla, accounted for 84.57% of the total valid reads at the phylum level. The observed species and Chao 1 index in treatment E were significantly lower than those in the other treatments, although no significant differences were found among the Shannon index of all treatments (p > 0.05). Different types of leaf litter significantly changed the fungal community composition; specifically, Ascomycota was higher in broad leaf litter treatments (A, C, D and E) than in the coniferous leaf litter treatment (B), but Basidiomycota showed the opposite trend, indicating that Ascomycota and Basidiomycota could be used to identify the species of coniferous and broad leaves. The active biomarker fungal (Bmf), 36 different phylotypes, were identified by a linear discriminant analysis effect size algorithm in all treatments, and some Bmf may participate in the decomposition of different tree litters. Additionally, the changes in fungal community diversity and composition were closely related to the changes in soil microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus in all treatment soils. Overall, our study indicated that leaf litter changed the soil fungal community structure, and some Bmf were directly involved in leaf litter decomposition. Bmf is more indicative and helpful for distinguishing leaf species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Rusty root is a widespread problem in ginseng production, which can reduce ginseng quality and root price. The formation of rusty root is a complex process caused by multiple factors, primarily soil physicochemical factors and microorganisms. However, the precise roles played by these factors in the development of this disease remain unclear, especially the role of microorganisms. Deciphering the structure of the rhizosphere microbial communities will provide a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of rusty root disease. Rhizosphere microbial communities from five ginseng fields with different rusty root grades and indices were characterized by MiSeq sequencing. The pattern of beta diversity indicated that rusty root disease might be positively correlated with bacterial community structure, but not with fungal community structure. Rusty root may be caused by excessive Fe (II) oxidation and Fe (III) deposition accompanied by aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn), in which nitrate-dependent Fe (II)-oxidizing bacteria, including Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Nitrospirae, play a driving role. Moreover, the accumulation of iron (Fe), Al, and Mn could enhance growth and weak invasion of some fungi, thus exacerbating the rust symptoms. However, no correlation was found between the relative abundance of the genus Ilyonectria and rusty root grade or index (P > 0.05); suggesting that Ilyonectria species may not be essential for rusty root disease. Thus, the oxidation and deposition of rhizosphere Fe, Al, and Mn facilitated by nitrate-dependent Fe (II)-oxidizing bacteria might be key factors contributing to rusty root disease. Further studies on the inhibition of Fe, Al, and Mn transformation and accumulation, and application of iron/nitrogen-cycling related bacteria in ginseng soil might elucidate effective methods for preventing rusty root. Highlights • Rusty root could be a physiological disorder but not an infectious disease. • Rusty root may be caused by Fe (II) oxidation and deposition. • Nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidizing bacteria play a driving role in rusty root. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ascomycota and Basidiomycota had the same change trend in ginseng soils of all ages. • Soil harmful microbes predominate as culture time increased in ginseng. • Enhanced synergy of pathogenic bacteria with the extension of cultivation time. • Decreased amino acid synthesis and physiological metabolism in aged ginseng soils. • Soil pH was a driver of microbial community structure in cultivated ginseng soil. Changes in the microbial community are considered important factors affecting the yield and quality of ginseng cultivated in farmland, while the characteristics of the change in the microbial community of the soil before and after cultivation of ginseng in farmland are not well understood. Here, we aimed to fill this research gap by comparing the differences in soil nutrients and microbial communities between continuously cultivated ginseng soils for 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year-old ginseng soils and corresponding uncultivated ginseng soils. The soil properties (pH, total soil organic carbon (TOC) content and total nitrogen (TN) content) of aged ginseng soil (3- and 5-year-old) were significantly reduced compared with those of the control soil after ginseng was cultivated in farmland. With the exception of 2-year-old ginseng, soil bacterial richness and diversity were higher in different ages of cultivated ginseng soils than in the control soil, while fungal diversity decreased in aged ginseng soil and increased in young ginseng soil (1- and 2-year-old). Ascomycota and Basidiomycota showed a consistent increasing/decreasing trend in cultivated ginseng soils of all ages compared to the control. In addition, ginseng cultivation resulted in a substantial decrease in the complexity of soil bacterial networks but a slight decrease in the complexity of fungal networks. The results from the linear discriminant size effect (LEfSe) analysis showed that beneficial microorganisms were biomarkers of the young ginseng soil, including Nitrosospira , Cephalotrichum and Humicola , while harmful microorganisms were biomarkers of aged ginseng, such as Plectosphaerella , Cladosporium and Alternaria. PICRUSt2 analysis revealed that the increase in the incidence of ginseng disease with continuous cultivation time may be related to the decreases in amino acid synthesis and physiological metabolism and the increase in fungal saprophytes. Soil pH was the most common and best predictor of bacterial and fungal community structure, followed by TOC and ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 +-N) contents. Meanwhile, the decreased of soil pH, TOC and AK may be the driving factors for the growth of ginseng soil pathogens. Overall, this study revealed the changing ginseng rhizosphere soil microbial community at different continuous cultivation times, provided a theoretical basis for ginseng cultivation, and promoted the development of medicinal plants such as ginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium fulvic acid (BSFA) and potassium humate (KHM), as organic fertilizers, can improve soil structure, increase soil nutrient levels and prevent plant diseases. However, knowledge is limited regarding how BSFA and KHM influence soil microbial communities and the interrelationships between community members associated with Panax ginseng. Soil pH and nutrient content increased significantly as a result of the addition of BSFA and KHM. The pH, NH 4 +-N, NO 3 −-N, AP and AK increased by 1.72 %–5.55 %, 70.09 %–108.39 %, 35.38 %–216.20 %, 1.21 %–14.19 % and 3.40 %–5.94 %, respectively, in the BSFA and KHM treatments. The soil nutrient increase may be related to Micrococcaceae and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The structure of the microbial community also changed radically from that of the control group, and Chloroflexi (2.69 %–3.15 %), Actinobacteria (4.33 %–7.53 %) and Acidobacteria (9.44 %–11.62 %) were the dominant microorganisms at the phylum level in bacteria. In contrast, the dominant fungi at the phylum level were Ascomycota (77.39 %–78.08 %), Glomeromycota (0.36 %–2.68), Olpidiomycota (0.02 %–3.78 %) and Basidiomycota (0.80 %–1.17 %). Fusarium oxysporum and Ascomycota were biomarkers for BSFA and KHM, which may be related to pathogenic bacteria. Network analysis revealed that the association among members of the soil microbial community was more positive than negative following application of KHM, and more positive (62.5 %) than negative (37.5 %) correlations were observed between bacteria, whereas the fungal community exhibited more positive (97.3 %) than negative (2.7 %) correlations. PICRUST predicted the microbial function of adding KHM and BSFA to the soil, and these pathways mainly belong to the degradation and metabolism of organic matter, saprophytic organisms and plant pathogens. In summary, our study demonstrated that the addition of BSFA and KHM increased the nutrients in the ginseng soil and reshaped the microbial function in soils, providing a theoretical foundation for soil improvement and biological control of ginseng diseases. However, due to the limitations of greenhouse cultivation, additional long-term experiments on farmland with different climate changes are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]