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Trichosanthes sunhangii D.G.Zhang, Z.M.Li, Qun Liu & T.Deng, a new species of Cucurbitaceae, is described and illustrated. It was collected in Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei province, east-central China. T. sunhangii is morphologically similar to T. kirilowii Maxim. and T. rosthornii Harms, but can be easily distinguished from them by its bracts, tendrils and fruits. Phylogenetic analyses based on three DNA barcode markers (ITS, matK and rpl20-rps12) indicated that two accessions of T. sunhangii were grouped together (PP=1.00, BP=100 and LP=100) in Sect. Foliobracteola.

A new species of Acanthaceae, Strobilanthes sunhangii, is described from Mêdog County, Tibet, China. Morphologically, the new species is closely similar to S. medogensis and S. divaricata, but S. sunhangii differs in having glabrous stems, longer spikes, glabrous rachis, double curved corolla and glabrous calyx, different stamens and style.

Here we describe Oxytropis shennongjiaensis, a new species of Fabaceae from Central China (Hubei Province). Morphologically, O. shennongjiaensis is closely similar to O. sitaipaiensis, O. melanocalyx and O. kansuensis, but differs in stem characters, with less conspicuous internodes; persistent herbaceous stipules; pale yellow to white corolla; and stipitate legumes, 3–5 mm with a long beak. Phylogenetic analysis, based on the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and two chloroplast markers (trnL–F and psbA–trnH), also identified O. shennongjiaensis as a new species, which is consistent with our morphological analyses. Considering the morphological data and phylogenetic data presented here, we believe that this evidence satisfies the required diagnostic criteria to identify O. shennongjiaensis as a new species.

Cornus sunhangii, a new species from Bari, at an elevation of 1988 m, in north Medog County, Tibet, China, is described. It is morphologically similar to C. capitata , but differs in the infructescence size, the length of the peduncle, the number of trichomes. The status of C. sunhangii , which is the earliest divergent in Cornus subg. Syncarpea , was confirmed by phylogenetic analyses using four chloroplast markers ( atpB , rbcL , matK and ndhF ). It has potential economic benefits, since similar species of Cornus have been used as food, oil, wood production and ornament.

A copper complex [Cu(HPBM)(l-Phe)(H2O)]·ClO4 (1) (HPBM = 5-methyl-2-(2′-pyridyl)benzimidazole, l-Phe = l-phenylalanine anion) was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ESI–MS, HR–ESI–MS, ESR spectroscopy, and by X-ray single-crystal analysis. The binding constant of the complex with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) was determined as 7.38 (± 0.57) × 104 M−1. Further studies indicated that the complex interacts with CT-DNA through minor groove binding. The in vitro cytotoxic activities of both the free proligand and the complex against Eca-109, HeLa and A549 cancer cells and normal LO2 cells were evaluated by the MTT method. The IC50 values range from 5.7 ± 0.1 to 8.3 ± 0.6 µM. Free HPBM displays no cytotoxic activity against the selected cancer cells, with IC50 values more than 100 µM. Double staining analysis showed that the complex can induce apoptosis in Eca-109 cells. Comet assays demonstrated that the complex can damage DNA and cause apoptosis. The complex also induces an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species and a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential. The complex can also increase the intracellular Ca2+ level and induce release of cytochrome c. The cell cycle arrest was investigated by flow cytometry. The results demonstrate that the complex induces apoptosis in Eca-109 cells through DNA-binding and ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunctional pathways.

Understanding the pattern of species extinction risk is key to biodiversity conservation. Previous studies showed extinction risk correlates strongly with taxon species richness. However, there is no consistent conclusion to this hypothesis, and patterns differ among different taxonomic groups. Here, we collated lists of vascular plant and terrestrial vertebrate species information on their threatened status in Yunnan Province and performed the first systematical analysis to test the relationship between the proportion of threatened or extinct species and species richness at the family-level of the two above taxa in Yunnan Province, China. We found that extinction risk was not randomly distributed among families and the estimated extinction risk was higher among closer phylogenetic families than expected by chance. Moreover, there were significant negative correlations between extinction risk and family size in vascular plants and terrestrial vertebrates. Our results suggest that family size is a good predictor of extinction risk and extinction risk is related to evolutionary history at family-level among vascular plants and terrestrial vertebrates in Yunnan.

A complete chloroplast genome of Actinidia rubus, an endemic shrub in China, was sequenced and identified. The length of genome is 156,573 bp, and the GC content is 37.3%. This genome contains a large single copy (LSC; 88,473 bp) region, a small single copy (SSC; 20,492) region, a pair of inverted repeat (IR; 23,804) regions. A total of 113 unique genes were identified, including 78 protein-coding genes, 31 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis based on complete chloroplast genome of 10 species showed that Actintdia eriantha was sister to A. rubus.

Cornus sunhangii is a newly discovered species of Cornaceae and is endemic to Tibet, China. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of C. sunhangii is described. The length of the chloroplast genome is 157,446 bp. The genome has quadripartite structure, which includes a large single-copy (LSC) region (86,861 bp), a small single-copy (SSC) region (18,331 bp), and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (26,127 bp each). The complete chloroplast genome contains a total of 113 unique genes, of which 79 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes.

The complete chloroplast genome of Poikilospermum lanceolatum was sequenced using HiSeq4000 of Illumina. The length of this genome was 153, 454 bp, including a large single copy (LSC) region (84,202 bp), a small single copy (SSC) region (18,172 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (25,540 bp). The overall GC content of the genome of P. lanceolatum was 36.9%. The genome included 111 unique genes (78 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes). Phylogenetic analysis based on 67 protein-coding genes showed that Boehmerieae was sister to P. lanceolatum, with 100% bootstrap values.

Aluminum borate whisker with different ratios (20wt%, 30wt%, 40wt%, 50wt%, 70wt%) was added to the aluminum phosphate matrix. The composite was sintered at 750 ℃ -1400 ℃ temperature, then the dielectric constant ( e ) and the dielectric loss tangent (tan δ ) of the composite was measured. The results show that when the whisker content is the same, the dielectric constant of the sample increases with increasing of relative density, but the dielectric loss decreases with increasing of relative density. The dielectric loss of the composite is mainly caused by the relaxation polarization.