Carbon assimilation is reduced by stress. Under such conditions, the trade-off between growth and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) storage becomes crucial for plant survival and continued growth. However, growth and NSC responses to drought and shading in Pinus massoniana Lamb. remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of drought, shading, and combined drought and shading on leaf gas exchange parameters, stem basal diameter, plant height, biomass accumulation, and NSC concentration in 2-year old seedlings after a 2 month treatment. The results showed that (1) both drought and shading significantly reduced photosynthetic rate, increment of stem basal diameter and plant height, and biomass accumulation, while NSC concentration increased under drought but decreased under shading; (2) the combined drought-shading treatment had a stronger effect on photosynthetic rate and growth than either stress factor individually, whereas the concentration of NSC did not change significantly; and (3) drought, shading, and their combination had a lower effect on biomass than on NSC partitioning, in which case clear effects were observed. Drought increased NSC proportion in roots by 5.4%; conversely, shading increased NSC proportion in leaves by 3.7%, while the combined treatment increased NSC proportion in roots by 5.1% but decreased it in the leaves by 5.4%. These results suggest that the mechanism inhibiting P. massoniana growth is different under drought and shading conditions according to carbon partitioning. Furthermore, complex environmental stress may lead to different mechanisms of carbon partitioning compared with either dry or shaded environments. Our findings will be helpful in predicting the impact of climate change on P. massoniana growth.Non-structural carbohydrate (NSC), a carbon reserve for energy and biosynthesis, provides energy for physiological processes (e.g., metabolism, cell turgor maintenance, and embolism repair) [21,22] and plant growth [23]. Plants enriched with higher NSC concentrations can maintain metabolic functions for survival and long-term growth [22,24,25], and their resistance to stressful environments is increased [26]. Both drought and shading cause an imbalance in organic carbon supply and demand that results in a trade-off between plant growth and NSC storage [27][28][29][30][31], which in turn affects plant growth and stress tolerance [32,33]. Therefore, monitoring changes in NSC concentration should be informative for predicting trends in plant growth. However, evidence on the trade-off between plant growth and NSC storage is inconclusive, as it depends on species [34], ontogeny [27], and stress type [35]. According to the photosynthate allocation mechanism proposed by Brouwer [36], we can infer that NSC allocation to corresponding functional organs might be enhanced under stressful conditions. However, there is a dearth of evidence on the variation of NSC allocation, especially under conditions of drought and shading stress.Plant growth under field conditions is affected not only ...

Background: Several quantitative systematic reviews of Kanglaite (KLT), an herb preparation used to treat cancer and malignant pleural effusion, have been published in recent years. However, the clinical evidence reported in these studies has not been pursued further and the methodological quality of these meta-analyses remains unknown. Therefore, an overview was designed to map the evidence landscape based on the published meta-analyses on KLT in cancer treatment.Methods: Two bibliographic databases (PubMed and Embase) were searched from inception to 25 November 2021. Two independent reviewers were involved in study selection, data abstraction, and methodological quality assessment using AMSTAR 2. The principal features of publications and the clinical outcomes of efficacy and safety were synthesized narratively, and results of methodological quality were reported as frequencies and percentages with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals. The evidence map was used to visualize the overall quality. Excel 2016 and Stata 17/SE were used for data analysis.Results: Thirteen meta-analyses published in English were included for in-depth analysis. Among them, the year of publication ranged from 2008 to 2021, and the number of included patients ranged from 488 to 2,964. Regarding the cancer type, seven articles focused on non-small cell lung cancer, two on malignant pleural effusion, and four reviews on digestive system malignancies, such as hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic cancer. Almost all included meta-analyses reported that KLT as adjunctive therapy could improve various efficacy outcomes (such as disease response rates, quality of life, immune indicators) and reduce the rate of occurrence of adverse reactions, such as nausea and vomiting, leukopenia, and anemia. In terms of their methodological quality, three meta-analyses were of low quality, whereas 10 studies were critically low in quality. The methodological flaws main involved items 2 (“predesigned protocol and registration informatio’’), 3 (“rationale of study design for inclusion”), 4 (“comprehensive search strategy’’), 5 (“literature selection in duplicate’’), 7 (“list of excluded studies with reasons’’), 8 (“adequate information on included studies’’), 10 (“funding support for included primary studies’’), and 12 (“evaluation of the potential impact of risk of bias’’) based on the AMSTAR 2 tool.Conclusion: Current evidence reveals that KLT is effective and safe as an adjunctive treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, malignant pleural effusion, and digestive system malignancies (such as hepatocellular carcinoma). However, the results assessed in this overview should be further verified using well-designed and clearly reported clinical trials and meta-analyses of KLT.

Photosynthesis and the allocation of photosynthetic products are the two main factors that determine plant growth. To understand the growth and productivity of Pinus massoniana Lamb., the diurnal changes in photosynthetic rate were continuously monitored. Furthermore, the translocation and allocation of the photosynthetic products synthesized in the morning and afternoon were explored using 13C pulse labeling. The results showed that: (1) on sunny days, the diurnal variation of the net photosynthetic rate showed a “double peak” curve, with an obvious “a depression” when temperatures were highest and humidity lowest. On cloudy days, it showed an irregular “jagged” curve, which was curve consistent with the variations in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Meanwhile, the photosynthetic rate changed with the transient changes in environmental factors such as PAR, temperature, and humidity. (2) The mean value of the net photosynthetic rate in the morning was higher than in the afternoon, and the response of the net photosynthetic rate to environmental change (PAR, temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration) in the morning was greater than that in the afternoon. (3) The translocation of photosynthetic products synthesized in the afternoon was faster than that in the morning. Shortly after synthesis of photosynthetic products, the translocation of products synthesized in the morning tended toward upper organs (including current-year leaves and 1-year leaves), while the translocation of products synthesized in the afternoon decreased in the upper organs. However, after 15 days of 13C pulse labeling, the allocation of the photosynthetic products synthesized in the morning and afternoon tended to be the same. These results indicate that the differences in the photosynthetic products synthesized and the temporal differences in the translocation rates did not affect the final allocation of the photosynthetic products in the various organs of the P. massoniana. These results improve our knowledge of the functional phases of P. massoniana during the diurnal cycle.