Search

Author(s): Min Zhao (corresponding author) [1]; Bing Song [1]; Jin Pu [1]; Teiji Wada [2]; Brian Reid [1]; Guangping Tai [1]; Fei Wang [3, 7]; Aihua Guo [1]; Petr Walczysko [...]

Members of the genus Hemerocallis have significant value as ornamental, edible, and medicinal plants, particularly in China, where they have been utilized for thousands of years as both a vegetable and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Hemerocallis species exhibit strict control over flowering time, with individuals flowering either diurnally or nocturnally. However, our understanding of the evolutionary history of this genus, especially concerning important horticultural traits, remains limited. In this study, sequencing and assembly efforts were conducted on 73 samples within the Hemerocallis genus. All accessions were classified into two distinct groups based on their diurnal (daylilies) or nocturnal (nightlilies) flowering habits. Comparative analysis of the chloroplast genomes from these two groups identified fifteen variant hotspot regions, including fourteen SNPs and one deletion, which hold promise for the development of molecular markers for interspecific identification. Phylogenetic trees, generated through both maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference methods using 76 shared protein-coding sequences, revealed that diurnal flowering evolved prior to nocturnal flowering. The divergence between the two groups is estimated to have occurred approximately 0.82 MYA (95% CI: 0.35-1.45 MYA). The ancestral state of Hemerocallis is hypothesized to have featured diurnal flowering with orange yellow petals. This study marks the first reconstruction of the evolutionary history and ancestral state of the genus Hemerocallis . The findings contribute significantly to our understanding of the adaptation and speciation history within the genus., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wu, Gao, Wang, Guo, Qin, Xing and Li.)

Background: There are no currently effective cognitive assessment tools for patients who have suffered stroke in the People's Republic of China. The Birmingham Cognitive Screen (BCoS) has been shown to be a promising tool for revealing patients' poststroke cognitive deficits in specific domains, which facilitates more individually designed rehabilitation in the long run. Hence we examined the reliability and validity of a Cantonese version BCoS in patients with acute ischemic stroke, in Guangzhou., Method: A total of 98 patients with acute ischemic stroke were assessed with the Cantonese version of the BCoS, and an additional 133 healthy individuals were recruited as controls. Apart from the BCoS, the patients also completed a number of external cognitive tests, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test (MoCA), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Albert's cancellation test, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, and six gesture matching tasks. Cutoff scores for failing each subtest, ie, deficits, were computed based on the performance of the controls. The validity and reliability of the Cantonese BCoS were examined, as well as interrater and test-retest reliability. We also compared the proportions of cases being classified as deficits in controlled attention, memory, character writing, and praxis, between patients with and without spoken language impairment., Results: Analyses showed high test-retest reliability and agreement across independent raters on the qualitative aspects of measurement. Significant correlations were observed between the subtests of the Cantonese BCoS and the other external cognitive tests, providing evidence for convergent validity of the Cantonese BCoS. The screen was also able to generate measures of cognitive functions that were relatively uncontaminated by the presence of aphasia., Conclusion: This study suggests good reliability and validity of the Cantonese version of the BCoS. The Cantonese BCoS is a very promising tool for the detection of cognitive problems in Cantonese speakers.