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Didymocarpus subpalmatinervis W.T.Wang was shown to be conspecific with Petrocodon lithophilus Y.M.Shui, W.H.Chen & Mich.Möller, by checking original literature, examining specimens, tracing specimen collecting history, and conducting field surveys. The results show morphological characteristics and geographical distribution overlaps between these two species. The transfer of Didymocarpus subpalmatinervis to Petrocodon as a new combination with Petrocodon subpalmatinervis (W.T.Wang) F.Wen & Z.L.Li is proposed here, and P. lithophilus is synonymized with P. subpalmatinervis. Color photographs and essential information are also provided, including a detailed comparison of description, distribution, habitat, and the proposed IUCN conservation status.

The construction of community elderly care facilities (CECF) is pivotal for promoting healthy aging and “aging in place” for older people. This study focuses on the low utilization rates of community elderly care facilities in the Dongcheng and Xicheng Districts, core areas of Beijing. The explainable machine learning method is used to analyze data across three dimensions: the elderly’s individual attributes, characteristics of the community elderly care station (CECS), and features of the built environment around CECS and subdistrict, to identify the important factors that influence the usage frequency of overall CECS and its different functional spaces, and also the correlation between factors and usage frequency of CECS. It shows that the most important factors are the features of CSCF, including the degree of space acceptance and satisfaction with services provided, which influence the usage frequency of nine functional spaces (R2 ≥ 0.68) and overall (R2 = 0.56). In addition, older people’s individual factors, such as age and physical condition, significantly influence the usage of specific spaces such as rehabilitation therapy rooms and assistive bathing rooms. The influence of built environment characteristics is relatively low, with factors such as the density of bus stations and housing prices within the subdistrict and the mean distance from CECF to the nearest subway stations being more important. These findings provide a reference for the construction of indoor environments, management of service quality, and optimal site selection for future community elderly care facilities.

(1) Background: Bifidobacterium plays a pivotal role within the gut microbiota, significantly affecting host health through its abundance and composition in the intestine. Factors such as age, gender, and living environment exert considerable influence on the gut microbiota, yet scant attention has been directed towards understanding the specific effects of these factors on the Bifidobacterium population. Therefore, this study focused on 98 adult fecal samples to conduct absolute and relative quantitative analyses of bifidobacteria. (2) Methods: Using droplet digital PCR and the PacBio Sequel II sequencing platform, this study sought to determine the influence of various factors, including living environment, age, and BMI, on the absolute content and biodiversity of intestinal bifidobacteria. (3) Results: Quantitative results indicated that the bifidobacteria content in the intestinal tract ranged from 106 to 109 CFU/g. Notably, the number of bifidobacteria in the intestinal tract of the school population surpassed that of the off-campus population significantly (p = 0.003). Additionally, the group of young people exhibited a significantly higher count of bifidobacteria than the middle-aged and elderly groups (p = 0.041). The normal-weight group displayed a significantly higher bifidobacteria count than the obese group (p = 0.027). Further analysis of the relative abundance of bifidobacteria under different influencing factors revealed that the living environment emerged as the primary factor affecting the intestinal bifidobacteria structure (p = 0.046, R2 = 2.411). Moreover, the diversity of bifidobacteria in the intestinal tract of college students surpassed that in the out-of-school population (p = 0.034). This was characterized by a notable increase in 11 strains, including B. longum, B. bifidum, and B. pseudolongum, in the intestinal tract of college students, forming a more intricate intestinal bifidobacteria interaction network. (4) Conclusions: In summary, this study elucidated the principal factors affecting intestinal bifidobacteria and delineated their characteristics of intestinal bifidobacteria in diverse populations. By enriching the theory surrounding gut microbiota and health, this study provides essential data support for further investigations into the intricate dynamics of the gut microbiota.

Petrocodon Hance is one of the famous ornamental flowers, but most of them are assessed as extremely dangerous (CR), or at least above vulnerable (VU) due to climate turbulence and strong interference of human activities. To reconstruct the temporal and spatial changes of the potential suitable areas of Petrocodon since the last interglacial period, and explore the response of the suitable areas to environmental changes, which provided theoretical guidance for the origin of Petrocodon, the study of geographical differentiation, the conservation of unique germplasm resources in China, and the development and utilization of gardens. In this paper, combined with 120 distribution records and 17 environmental variables, the optimal MaxEnt model and geographic information technology (ArcGIS) were used to simulate the suitable areas and distribution pattern of Petrocodon in China and Indo-China Peninsula. Based on stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, redundancy analysis and Monte-Carlo test, the dominant variables affecting the current geographical distribution of Petrocodon were evaluated. The results were as follows: (1) The prediction accuracy of the optimized MaxEnt model was high, and the AUC value was greater than 0.96. The potential suitable areas of Petrocodon for the present distribution are continuous from Southwest China to North Vietnam, scattered in central and southern China and blocky in North Myanmar, of which the South Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in China was the most suitable. (2) The environmental variables which restrict the geographical distribution of Petrocodon included precipitation of the driest month (bio14), precipitation of the warmest quarter (bio18), precipitation of the wettest quarter (bio16), SD of the temperature seasonality (bio4), min temperature of the coldest month (bio6) and altitude (alt). (3) Under the climate change scenario, the expansion and contraction areas of the suitable habitat of Petrocodon were located in the north and northeast of the current potential distribution area, which were sensitive areas susceptible to climate change. During the last interglacial period, the suitable area of Petrocodon expanded on a large scale, but there was almost no suitable distribution area of Petrocodon in the dry and cold environment during the last glacial maximum. After that, with the aggravation of climate warming, the suitable habitats of Petrocodon increased rapidly to high latitudes, while the suitable habitat in low latitudes decreased. (4) The centroid position of the suitable area for Petrocodon migrated northwards from Yongfu County, Guangxi (110.10° E, 24.69° N) to Chengbu County, Hunan (110.29° E, 26.05° N). To sum up, global warming has a positive impact on the potential distribution area of Petrocodon, but extreme warming will cause the suitable habitat of Petrocodon to shrink, and the niche of Petrocodon will narrow. Southwest China to North Vietnam, which has the advantage of mature karst landform, may be its main refuge.

There are a lot of endemic and narrowly distributed species in Gesneriaceae in China’s higher plants, 805 known species (including infraspecies, the same below), belong to 45 genera, before December 31st, 2021, and mainly found from Southwest toward South China. Apart from a few species, most species in China are specifically turned the certain micro-habitats so that they are easily influenced becoming endangered status by the own and external factors. For better understanding the endangered risks of known species of Gesneriaceae in China, we re-assessed the IUCN red list categories of China’s Gesneriaceae taxa, then calculated and analyzed the data based on consulting relevant literature, collecting the endangered data of new reported taxa in recent years, and coupling with detailed field investigations for Gesneriaceae in China. At the same time, relied on Gesneriad Committee of China Wild Plant Conservation Association, National Gesneriaceae Germplasm Resources Bank of GXIB and Gesneriad Conservation Center of China, we first created and formulated a new mode for the conservation of China’s Gesneriaceae plants, which executed simultaneously new taxa discoveries and formal publications, assessments of the taxon’s endangered status, immediately launching conservation programs and new horticultural variety cultivations. Analysis results demonstrate that it is necessary to enhance the attention degree of protection of Gesneriaceae biodiversity by relevant government departments. Thus, we suggest: (1) To further strengthen the understanding for the urgency of protection of China's Gesneriaceae germplasm resource; (2) To conduct series of researches about rescuing conservation, ex & in-situ conservation, re-introduction in similar habitats and development for those groups in CR & EN categories; (3) To promote the development of breeding of new horticultural varieties of Gesneriaceae. All are the important base and essential precondition of Gesneriaceae biodiversity conservation.

Primulina jiulianshanensis F.Wen & G.L.Xu, a new species of Gesneriaceae from Jiulianshan National Nature Reserve of Jiangxi Province, China, is described and illustrated here. Molecular evidence showed it was sister to P. wenii Jian Li & L.J.Yan, while the morphological observation found clear differences between them, petiole, both sides of leaf blades, adaxial surface of the calyx lobes, corolla inside toward the bottom, bract margins covered glandular-pubescent hairs in P. jiulianshanensis (vs. no glandular-pubescent hairs in P. wenii); lateral bracts 4–9 × ca. 2 mm, the central one 2–5 × 1–1.5 mm, adaxially glabrous but sparsely pubescent at apex (vs. lateral bracts 14–16 × 2.5–3.0 mm, the central one 10–12 × 1.3–1.6 mm, all adaxially pubescent); calyx lobes 8–11 × ca. 2 mm, each side with several brown serrate teeth at apex (vs. 14–15 × ca. 2.5 mm, margin entire); filaments and staminodes sparsely yellow glandular-puberulent (vs. white, glabrous).

Background and aim: Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignant tumor worldwide. Modified Gui-shao-liu-jun-zi decoction (mGSLJZ) is a clinically effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound in GC treatment. This study aimed to analyze main chemical substances of mGSLJZ and investigate active ingredients and molecular mechanism of mGSLJZ against GC. Experimental procedure: HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to analyze chemical substances of mGSLJZ, and potential active ingredients were screened from TCMSP. The target set of mGSLJZ for GC was obtained based on SwissTargetPrediction. The PPI network was constructed to screen out core targets. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were conducted to identify BPs, CCs, MFs and pathways. The ''active ingredient-core target-pathway'' regulatory network was constructed to obtain core substances. Subsequently, Oncomine, Proteinatlas and molecular docking were performed to validate these findings. The cell experiments were conducted to confirm the anti-GC effects of mGLSJZ. Results and conclusion: Forty-one potential active ingredients were filtered out from 120 chemical substances in mGSLJZ, including various organic acids and flavonoids. The top 10 key targets, 20 related pathways and 6 core medicinal substances were obtained based on network pharmacology analysis. Molecular docking results indicated that the core substances and key targets had good binding activities. The cell experiments validated that mGSLJZ and the core substances inhibited the proliferation in multiple GC cells and that mGLSJZ restrained the migration of GC. Meanwhile, the top 5 targets and top 2 pathways were verified. The rescue experiments demonstrated that mGSLJZ suppressed the proliferation and migration of GC through the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1 pathway.

Petrocodon wui F.Wen & R.B.Zhang (Gesneriaceae), a typically lithophyte occurring in the Danxia areas of north-western Guizhou, China, is described and illustrated as new to science. The new species shows overall similarity with P. chishuiensis Z.B.Xin, F.Wen & S.B.Zhou, which is also its sister species, based on molecular evidence. The new species can be distinguished from P. chishuiensis by the elongated rhizome, the relatively long indumentum on the peduncle, the shape, size and indumentum of calyx lobes, the location of the stamens in the corolla tube and the shape, size and indumentum of the stigma. We provide a diagnosis, detailed description, photographic images and a table with taxonomic notes to distinguish several other morphologically similar Petrocodon species.

The global problem of petroleum contamination in soils seriously threatens environmental safety and human health. Current studies have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of bioelectrokinetic and bioelectrochemical remediation of petroleum-contaminated soils due to their easy implementation, environmental benignity, and enhanced removal efficiency compared to bioremediation. This paper reviewed recent progress and development associated with bioelectrokinetic and bioelectrochemical remediation of petroleum-contaminated soils. The working principles, removal efficiencies, affecting factors, and constraints of the two technologies were thoroughly summarized and discussed. The potentials, challenges, and future perspectives were also deliberated to shed light on how to overcome the barriers and realize widespread implementation on large scales of these two technologies.