Ethnobotanical research on the dying Dong cloth in Tongdao, Hunan Province

侗族人民千百年来,一直从事侗布的染制.该文对湖南通道的侗布染制进行了详细的民族植物学研究,发现侗布的染制工艺繁杂,不同的人所用的植物有较大差异.侗布染制共涉及野生及栽培植物16种,分属14科16属.这些植物都有一定的药用功效,有些植物在染布中属首次报道.侗布染制的民族植物学知识在各个村寨流失严重,需要加强挖掘和整理.     

湖南通道染制侗布的民族植物学研究

侗族人民千百年来,一直从事侗布的染制。该文对湖南通道的侗布染制进行了详细的民族植物学研究,发现侗布的染制工艺繁杂,不同的人所用的植物有较大差异。侗布染制共涉及野生及栽培植物16种,分属14科16属。这些植物都有一定的药用功效,有些植物在染布中属首次报道。侗布染制的民族植物学知识在各个村寨流失严重,需要加强挖掘和整理。     

贵州凯里药市的侗族药用植物

凯里药市最初由当地少数民族自发组织,药市中不仅有大量的苗族传统药用植物,而且侗族传统药用植物十分丰富,为了掌握该药市侗族药用植物的现状,该研究运用民族植物学和植物分类学等方法于2014—2017年对凯里药市交易的侗族药用植物进行了6次详细调查。结果表明:该药市出售的侗族药用植物种类较多,共有65科100属111种,其中以广义百合科(Liliaceae)植物(6种,5.4%)为主,其次为伞形科(Umbelliferae)、菊科(Compositae)、天南星科(Araceae)植物(各5种,各占4.5%),再次为苦苣苔科(Gesneriaceae)植物(4种,3.6%)。从植物生活型来看,草本占有绝对优势,共有88种,占79.3%;用药部位具有多样化,但全草类药材占总数的一半。该研究还对药市中侗族和苗族交易的药用植物进行了比较分析,得出凯里药市交易的侗族药材具有独特的地域性和民族性,尤以治疗风湿关节、跌打损伤等常见疾病为主,并对凯里药市的可持续发展提出了建议。     

云南思茅端午节食用药根的民族植物学调查

对多民族聚居的云南思茅市及其周边村寨在端午节期间食用药根的习俗进行了较全面的民族植物学调查。思茅各民族千百年来对药根膳食均有不同程度的喜爱,他们的药根膳食知识具有地域特色,融合了汉、傣、拉祜等原住民的医药知识。思茅端午节膳食药根的种类,计38种,分别属于22科32属。对云南思茅端午节食用药根膳食的文化基础和药根膳食的开发利用前景也进行了讨论。     

湖南江华瑶族药浴植物的民族植物学研究

瑶族民间药浴历史悠久,是重要的疾病预防和治疗手段,是我国重要的非物质文化遗产。江华瑶族自治县药浴植物丰富,药浴配伍独具当地特色。该文采用民族植物学研究方法对湖南江华瑶族自治县瑶族传统利用的药浴植物进行了调查,共收集整理了152种药浴植物,隶属于70科125属,记录了其瑶名、学名、入药部位以及功能主治等,并调查记录了部分常用药浴与产后药浴植物配伍。结果表明:(1)江华瑶族药浴植物中草本植物占明显优势,且多为全草入药,主要用于治疗风湿关节炎、跌打损伤、妇科病以及皮肤病等,常用的药浴植物多为祛风除湿的“风药”。(2)通过实地调查和访问调查发现,珍贵药浴植物种群规模因过度采挖和生境破坏而减小。(3)对比了广西、云南、湖南等地瑶族药浴植物的异同,探讨其背后的相关性和原因。作为非物质文化遗产的瑶族药浴面临诸多方面的威胁,其内部科学性仍有待探究,需进一步加强综合研究与合作,为其保护、传承和发扬提供保障。     

黔东南侗族利用植物资源的传统知识研究

用民族植物学观点和方法,分析聚居于贵州省黔东南的侗族民间在饮食习惯、常用医药、传统民居、生活用具、生产方式、民间信仰和自然崇拜等方面利用植物资源的传统知识。结果表明：该地区侗族日常生活涉及的植物约122种,在侗族人物质和精神生活中发挥着重要作用,包括食用植物、药用植物、染料植物、信仰植物、民居建筑及生活用具植物等。黔东南侗族在保护和利用植物资源方面积累了丰富的知识和经验,形成了具有特异性的民族文化,这些传统知识对植物资源的保育和开发利用具有重要的研究和参考价值。     

现代民族植物学引论

提出了“现代民族植物学”的概念,阐述了其内涵,简要介绍了研究思路和方法,并用具体事例说明了现代民族植物学的重要意义.现代民族植物学是民族植物学的一个发展阶段,是指利用现代科学技术手段(计算机科学、信息科学、分子生物学、药物化学等等)研究当地人群与植物之间的相互作用关系.以AFLP和SSR分子标记技术研究云南藏区青稞种质资源的研究为例,证明了传统文化在植物遗传多样性保护中的作用.对滇东南瑶族药浴植物荷花藤的药物化学研究,证实了其传统药浴知识的科学合理性.现代民族植物学具有广阔的发展和应用前景.     

民族植物学与壶瓶山油脂植物资源的保护及利用

应用民族植物学的方法对壶瓶山油脂植物进行了较为全面的研究,发现壶瓶山油脂植物种类丰富(281种,隶属于70科184属).油脂植物不仅是植物油脂的主要来源,还与人们的生活息息相关.根据植物的文化象征、药用功效和食用特点可以从壶瓶山油脂植物中选择性地开发具有民族特色的野菜,保健食品、民族药物.利用当地民族文化为旅游业的发展提供参考.     

滇西北纳西族传统食用植物的民族植物学研究——以丽江地区文海村为例

社会的快速发展加剧了民族传统食用植物及其民族植物学传统知识的流失.粮食危机是全世界一直以来面临的危机,而在发展中国家则更加严重,因此开展传统食用植物的民族植物学研究十分重要和迫切.纳西族是滇西北高原上的原著少数民族,在长期生活过程中积累了丰富的传统植物知识.研究采用民族植物学的原理和方法,于2012年对坐落于玉龙雪山山麓的文海纳西族村落开展了野外调查,共访谈信息报告人89人,其中关键信息报告人30人.具体采用了文献研究方法、参与式调查方法、关键人物访谈法和集体讨论法.结果表明:纳西族传统食用植物表现出物种数、采集时间、食用部位、食用类型、食用功能5个层面上的多样性.共记录到传统食用植物146种、45科、67属;与周边玉龙山植物相比,22％的科和7.4％的属至少有1种食用植物.采集时间可持续全年,春季采集的食用植物有20.44％,夏季有22.63％,秋季有48.18％,8.76％的食用植物还可在冬季采收.当地食用的植物部位有8种、食用类型有15种,66种食用植物有药用功能,可预防和治疗18种疾病.多样化的传统食用植物是纳西族抵抗食物短缺的物质基础,也蕴藏着丰富的资源.     

深圳大学校园维管植物调查研究

据调查深圳大学校园有维管植物113科、295属、411种,其中蕨类植物7科8属10种;裸子植物6科8属10种;被子植物100科279属390种.统计结果表明,校园栽种有国家重点保护植物8种,药用植物164种、食用植物32种、油脂植物26种、芳香植物16种、蜜源植物6种、有毒植物5种.在对校园植被进行调查的基础上,提供了植物学教学基础资料,对植物资源的种类和特点进行了分析,并对其保护和开发利用提出了建议.     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.