We reconstructed a phylogenetic tree of Chinese vascular plants (Tracheophyta) using sequences of the chloroplast genes atpB, matK, ndhF, and rbcL and mitochondrial matR. We produced a matrix comprising 6098 species and including 13 695 DNA sequences, of which 1803 were newly generated. Our taxonomic sampling spanned 3114 genera representing 323 families of Chinese vascular plants, covering more than 93% of all genera known from China. The comprehensive large phylogeny supports most relationships among and within families recognized by recent molecular phylogenetic studies for lycophytes, ferns (monilophytes), gymnosperms, and angiosperms. For angiosperms, most families in Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV are supported as monophyletic, except for a paraphyletic Dipterocarpaceae and Santalaceae. The infrafamilial relationships of several large families and monophyly of some large genera are well supported by our dense taxonomic sampling. Our results showed that two species of Eberhardtia are sister to a clade formed by all other taxa of Sapotaceae, except Sarcosperma. We have made our phylogeny of Chinese vascular plants publically available for the creation of subtrees via SoTree (http://www.darwintree.cn/flora/index.shtml), an automated phylogeny assembly tool for ecologists.

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We demonstrate instrumentation and methods to enable fluorescence-detected photothermal infrared (F-PTIR) microscopy and then demonstrate the utility of F-PTIR to characterize the composition within phase-separated domains of model amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) induced by water sorption. In F-PTIR, temperature-dependent changes in fluorescence quantum efficiency are shown to sensitively report on highly localized absorption of mid-infrared radiation. The spatial resolution with which infrared spectroscopy can be performed is dictated by fluorescence microscopy, rather than the infrared wavelength. Intrinsic ultraviolet autofluorescence of tryptophan and protein microparticles enabled label-free F-PTIR microscopy. Following proof of concept F-PTIR demonstration on model systems of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and silica gel, F-PTIR enabled the characterization of chemical composition within inhomogeneous ritonavir/polyvinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate (PVPVA) amorphous dispersions. Phase separation is implicated in the observation of critical behaviors in ASD dissolution kinetics, with the results of F-PTIR supporting the formation of phase-separated drug-rich domains upon water sorption in spin-cast films.

Please cite this article as: Dirks, J-H., Li, M., Kabla, A., Federle, W., In vivo dynamics of the internal fibrous structure in smooth adhesive pads of insects, Acta Biomaterialia (2012), doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2012.04.008 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. In vivo dynamics of the internal fibrous structure in smooth adhesive pads of insects AbstractMany insects with smooth adhesive pads can rapidly enlarge their contact area by centripetal pulls on the legs, allowing them to cope with sudden mechanical perturbations such as gusts of wind or raindrops. The short time scale of this reaction excludes any neuromuscular control; it is thus more likely to be caused by mechanical properties of the pad's specialised cuticle. This soft cuticle contains numerous branched fibrils oriented almost perpendicularly to the surface. Assuming a fixed volume of the water-filled cuticle, we hypothesized that pulls could decrease the fibril angle, thereby helping the contact area to expand laterally and longitudinally.Three-dimensional fluorescence microscopy on the cuticle of smooth stick insect pads confirmed that pulls significantly decreased the fibril angle. The fibril angle variation appeared insufficient to explain the observed increase in contact area. Direct strain measurements in the contact zone demonstrate that pulls not only expand the cuticle laterally (indicating a negative Poisson' s ratio of the pad's cuticle), but also add new contact area at the pad' s perimeter.

Gnetum is a small, unique group of Gnetophyta with a controversial phylogenetic position. Gnetum parvifolium is an important Chinese traditional medicinal plant, which is rich in bioactive compounds such as flavonoids and stilbenoids. These compounds provide significant medicinal effects, mostly as antioxidant, anticancer, and antibacterial agents. However, the mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis and regulation of these compounds in G. parvifolium are still unknown. In this study, we found that flavonoids and stilbene compounds accumulated at different levels in various tissues of G. parvifolium. We further obtained and analyzed massive sequence information from pooled samples of G. parvifolium by transcriptome sequencing, which generated 94,816 unigenes with an average length of 724 bp. Functional annotation of all these unigenes revealed that many of them were associated with several important secondary metabolism pathways including flavonoids and stilbenoids. In particular, several candidate unigenes (PAL-, C4H-, 4CL-, and STS-like genes) involved in stilbenoids biosynthesis were highly expressed in leaves and mature fruits. Furthermore, high temperature and UV-C strongly induced the expression of these genes and enhanced stilbene production (i.e., resveratrol and piceatannol) in leaves of young seedlings. Our present transcriptomic and biochemical data on secondary metabolites in G. parvifolium should encourage further investigation on evolution, ecology, functional genomics, and breeding of this plant with strong pharmaceutical potential.