RESUMEN La contaminación por neblina, caracterizada principalmente por la baja visibilidad, es uno de los principales problemas ambientales a los que se enfrenta China en la actualidad. El pronóstico exacto de la neblina es útil para la aplicación de medidas preventivas orientadas a controlar emisiones de contaminantes atmosféricos y aliviar la contaminación por neblina. Sin embargo, no es fácil predecir con precisión los acontecimientos de baja visibilidad causados por neblina, lo cual requiere no sólo un pronóstico riguroso de los factores meteorológicos, sino también una actualización detallada y en tiempo real de los inventarios de emisiones de las fuentes. Con el fin de obtener una herramienta de predicción fiable, se estudian varios métodos populares de aprendizaje automático, como la máquina vectorial de apoyo (SVM, por su sigla en inglés), el k-vecino más próximo, el bosque aleatorio y varios métodos de aprendizaje profundo. A partir de los principales factores que influyen en la visibilidad, se analizan las relaciones entre velocidad y dirección del viento, temperatura, humedad y visibilidad. El método de aprendizaje automático se utiliza para entrenamiento y pronóstico. La precisión de estos métodos para pronosticar la visibilidad se verifica mediante varios parámetros (error de raíz cuadrada media, error absoluto medio y error porcentual absoluto medio). Los resultados muestran que: 1) entre todos los parámetros meteorológicos, la velocidad del viento puede reflejar mejor la variación de la visibilidad; 2) el rendimiento de las redes neuronales recurrentes de memoria a largo-corto plazo (LSTM RNN) y el método de unidades recurrentes cerradas (GRU) en la predicción de visibilidad a corto plazo (es decir, 1, 3 y 6 h) es casi igual; 3) el método clásico de aprendizaje automático (SVM) funciona bien para el pronóstico de visibilidad a medio y largo plazo, y 4) el método de aprendizaje automático también tiene cierto grado de precisión en el pronóstico, incluso en un periodo de tiempo más largo (p. ej., 72 h).

ABSTRACT Haze pollution, mainly characterized by low visibility, is one of the main environmental problems currently faced by China. Accurate haze forecasts facilitate the implementation of preventive measures to control the emission of air pollutants and thereby mitigate haze pollution. However, it is not easy to accurately predict low visibility events induced by haze, which requires not only accurate prediction for weather elements, but also refined and real-time updated source emission inventory. In order to obtain reliable forecasting tools, this paper studies the usability of several popular machine learning methods, such as support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbor, and random forest, as well as several deep learning methods, on visibility forecasting. Starting from the main factors related to visibility, the relationships between wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity, and visibility are discussed. Training and forecasting were performed using the machine learning methods. The accuracy of these methods in visibility forecasting was confirmed through several parameters (i.e., root-mean-square error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error). The results show that: (1) among all meteorological parameters, wind speed was the best at reflecting the visibility change patterns; (2) long short-term memory recurrent neural networks (LSTM RNN), and gated recurrent unit (GRU) methods perform almost equally well on short-term visibility forecasts (i.e., 1, 3, and 6 h); (3) a classical machine learning method (i.e., the SVM) performs well in mid- and long-term visibility forecasts; (4) machine learning methods also have a certain degree of forecast accuracy even for long time periods (e.g., 7 2h).

Abstract The paper aimed to investigate the effects of up-regulation and down-regulation of Mir-299-3p on the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cell line H1299, and to preliminarily explore the mechanism of Mir-299-3p regulating the biological behavior of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Mir-299-3p inhibitor and Mir-299-3p mimics were transfected into lung adenocarcinoma cell line H1299, and the transfection efficiency was measured by fluorescence microscopy. The successfully transfected lung adenocarcinoma cells were detected of proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis. Mir-299-3p inhibitor and Mir-299-3p mimics were used to down-regulate and up-regulate Mir-299-3p respectively. Western blot was employed to detect the expressions of STAT3, p-STAT3, caspase3, Bcl-2, Bax and MMP-9 proteins in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Small interfering RNA technology was applied to construct a cell line with low expression of PTPRD. WB was used to measure the transfection efficiency to determine whether the down-regulation of PTPRD can partially or completely reverse the proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells after the down-regulation of Mir-299-3p. It was also determined whether the down-regulation of PTPRD can partially or completely reverse the effect of Mir-299-3p down-regulation on the expressions of p-STAT3, MMP-9, Cleaved-caspase3, Bcl-2 and Bax proteins in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Down-regulation of Mir-299-3p can inhibit the proliferation and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cell H1299, promote cell apoptosis, inhibit the expression of p-STAT3 and MMP-9, promote the expressions of apoptosis-inducing proteins such as Bax and Cleaved-caspase3, and also inhibit the expression of apoptosis inhibitor protein Bcl-2. The up-regulation of Mir-299-3p worked in the opposite way. PTPRD is the direct target gene of Mir-299-3p. Mir-299-3p may directly target PTPRD to regulate the expressions of p-STAT3, MMP-9, Cleaved-caspase3, Bcl-2 and Bax proteins to affect the biological behavior of lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Abstract Pristimerin (Pri) was a kind of extraction from natural plant, and it has anti- inflammation effects in previous studies, however, it has been unclear that Pri’s effect in renal fibrosis treatment. The purpose of this research was to evaluate pristimerin (Pri) treatment effects in renal fibrosis and relative mechanisms in vivo study. Using UUO and TGF-β1 to make renal fibrosis rats and HK-2 cell fibrosis model. Evaluating renal tissues pathological and fibrosis by HE and Masson staining; measuring Scr and BUN concentrations of serum, IL-1β, TNF-α, SOD and MDA concentrations by ELISA assay in serum and supernatant. Relative gene expressions were measured by RT-qPCR assay in renal tissues and cells and relative proteins expression by WB assay. Using Double luciferase assay to analysis correlation between miRNA-145-5p and TLR4. NF-κB(p65) nuclear volume were evaluated by cellular immunofluorescence. Scr, BUN, IL-1β, TNF-α and MDA concentrations were significantly increased and SOD concentration was significantly down-regulation (P < 0.001) in Model rats group; miRNA-145-5p gene expression was significantly depressed, TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB(p65) gene expressions were significantly increased (P < 0.001, respectively); with Pri supplement, the renal pathological, masson region, Scr, BUN, IL-1β, TNF-α, SOD and MDA were significantly improved. In cell experiment, miRNA-145-5p play important role in Pri treatment of renal fibrosis by targeting TLR4. Pri could improve renal fibrosis by via regulation miRNA-145-5p to target TLR4.

Abstract Background: Phospholipase C-like 1 (PLCL1), a protein that lacks catalytic activity, has similar structures to the PLC family. The aim of this research was to find the function and underlying mechanisms of PLCL1 in fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: In this study, we first analyzed the expression of PLCL1 in the synovial tissue of RA patients and K/BxN mice by immunohistochemical staining. Then silencing or overexpressing PLCL1 in FLS before stimulating by TNF-α. The levels of IL-6, IL-1β and CXCL8 in FLS and supernatants were detected by Western Blot (WB), Real-Time Quantitative PCR and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. We used INF39 to specifically inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes, and detected the expression of NLRP3, Cleaved Caspase-1, IL-6 and IL-1β in FLS by WB. Result: When PLCL1 was silenced, the level of IL-6, IL-1β and CXCL8 were down-regulated. When PLCL1 was overexpressed, the level of IL-6, IL-1β and CXCL8 were unregulated. The previous results demonstrated that the mechanism of PLCL1 regulating inflammation in FLS was related to NLRP3 inflammasomes. INF39 could counteract the release of inflammatory cytokines caused by overexpression of PLCL1. Conclusion: Result showed that the function of PLCL1 in RA FLS might be related to the NLRP3 inflammasomes. We finally confirmed our hypothesis with the NLRP3 inhibitor INF39. Our results suggested that PLCL1 might promote the inflammatory response of RA FLS by regulating the NLRP3 inflammasomes.

SUMMARY: The information technology (IT) based "instant evaluation" is supported by IT, which allows instant evaluation of teaching phenomena based on certain evaluation criteria and provides instant feedback. In anatomy teaching, we explored and practiced the application of instant evaluation based on a platform called “Rain classroom.” We found that IT-based instant evaluation had higher practicability and better student satisfaction, which could improve teaching efficiency during class time, help students improve learning methods, and promote knowledge mastery. Additionally, instant evaluation positively impacted teachers' evaluation ability and teaching skills.

RESUMEN: La "evaluación instantánea" basada en la tecnología de la información (TI) está respaldada por ésta y permite la evaluación instantánea de los fenómenos de enseñanza en función de ciertos criterios de evaluación proporcionando retroalimentación instantánea. En la enseñanza de la anatomía, exploramos y practicamos la aplicación de la evaluación instantánea basada en una plataforma llamada “Aula de lluvia” o Rain Classroom. Descubrimos que la evaluación instantánea basada en TI tenía una mayor practicidad y una mejor satisfacción de los estudiantes, lo que podría mejorar la eficiencia de la enseñanza durante el tiempo de clase, ayudar a los estudiantes a mejorar los métodos de aprendizaje y promover el dominio del conocimiento. Además, la evaluación instantánea tuvo un impacto positivo en la capacidad de evaluación y las habilidades de enseñanza de los maestros.

Abstract It has been extensively reported that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were closely associated with multiple malignancies. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects and mechanism of lncRNA POU6F2-AS1 in lung adenocarcinoma (LADC).The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets provided us the information of LADC clinical samples. High-regulation of POU6F2-AS1 was presented in LADC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues, which was correlated with poor outcome of LADC patients. Functional experiments in Calu-3 and NCI-H460 cells showed that POU6F2-AS1 significantly promoted LADC cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion and migration. Moreover, through online prediction, luciferase reporter assay and Pearson’s correlation analysis, we found that POU6F2-AS1 may act as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of miR-34c-5p and facilitated the expression of potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 4 (KCNJ4). The promoting effect of cell aggressiveness induced by POU6F2-AS1 was enhanced by KCNJ4, whilst was abrogated due to the overexpression of miR-34c-5p. Collectively, POU6F2-AS1 might function as a ceRNA through sponging miR-34c-5p to high-regulate KCNJ4 in LADC, which indicates that POU6F2-AS1 might be a promising therapeutic target with significant prognostic value for LADC treatment.

Abstract Silicon-rich silicon oxide (SRSO) film was prepared through the deposition of SiOx film by radio-frequency reactive magnetron sputtering from a Si target and the subsequent rapid thermal annealing treatment of SiOx film, and planar-type field emission cathodes based on SRSO film were fabricated. The surface morphologies and electron emission properties of the SRSO films deposited under different O2/Ar flow ratios were investigated. The experimental results show that a relatively high O2/Ar flow ratio during the deposition of SiOx film can lead to the formation of cluster structure in the SRSO film prepared, and the electron emission efficiency of SRSO film rises with the increase of electric field applied. An SRSO-film cathode fabricated under an O2/Ar flow ratio of 1:1 with a chamber pressure of 0.21 Pa has an emission current density of 65.61 μA/cm2 and a corresponding emission efficiency of 0.53% at a bias voltage of 18 V, and it exhibits relatively stable emission and fine emission uniformity.

Abstract The pericarp of Trapa natans L., an annual aquatic floating herb belonging to Lythraceae family, is used as a folk medicine in China. In this study, extracts of Trapa natans pericarp were tested both in vitro and in vivo through a high-fat diet with a single medium dosage streptozotocin injection induced type 2 diabetic mice. Different solvent extracts of Trapa natans pericarp showed α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. After four weeks administration, the ethyl acetate extract of Trapa natans pericarp (50 and 100 mg/kg b.w.) reduced fasting blood glucose level, ameliorated oral glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, improved serum lipids alterations in type 2 diabetic mice as well. Additionally, ethyl acetate extract significantly elevated the insulin receptor substrate 1 and Akt serine/threonine kinase phosphorylation compared to diabetic group. HPLC-MS and HPLC-DAD analysis showed that the ethyl acetate extract was rich in hydrolysable tannins. Results support the notion that Trapa natans pericarp extract has a potential hypoglycemic activity.

RESUMO OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a expressão de Id-1 em tecidos de adenocarcinoma colorretal em humanos e investigar sua correlação com os parâmetros patológicos clínicos de câncer colorretal. MÉTODOS: Os níveis de expressão de proteína e mRNA Id-1 em 50 amostras de tecido colorretal normal e 50 amostras de tecido de adenocarcinoma colorretal foram detectados através de reação em cadeia de polimerase precedida de transcrição reversa e western blot. Além disso, a proteína Id-1 foi detectada através de imuno-histoquímica. A correlação entre a expressão de Id-1 e características clínico-patológicas foi analisada. RESULTADOS: O nível de expressão de mRNA Id-1 em tecidos de adenocarcinoma colorretal e tecidos colorretais normais foi de 0,96 ± 0,03 versus 0,20 ± 0,04, respectivamente; a diferença foi estatisticamente significativa (P= 0,011). Além disso, a expressão da proteína Id-1 foi maior em tecidos de adenocarcinoma colorretal do que em tecidos colorretais normais (0,82 ± 0,04 versus 0,31 ± 0,02, P= 0,020). Além disso, a taxa de expressão positiva de proteínas Id-1 foi maior em tecidos de adenocarcinoma colorretal do que em tecidos colorretais normais (72,00% vs. 24,00%, X2=23,431, p=0,000). A expressão de Id-1 foi correlacionada com a profundidade da invasão tumoral, estágio TNM, metástases linfonodais, invasão vascular e metástase hepática (P<0,01). Todavia, essa expressão não se correlacionou com o tamanho do tumor e graus de diferenciação (P>0,05). CONCLUSÃO: A alta expressão de Id-1 em tecidos de adenocarcinoma colorretal desempenham um importante papel no processo do câncer, e é esperado que se torne um novo indicador de monitoramento de tumores para o diagnóstico clínico, tratamento e estimativa de prognóstico.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the expression of Id-1 in human colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues and explore its correlation with the clinical pathological parameters of colorectal cancer. METHODS: The Id-1 mRNA and protein expression levels of 50 specimens of normal colorectal tissues and 50 specimens of colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues were detected using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Furthermore, Id-1 protein was detected using immunohistochemistry. The correlation between the expression of Id-1 and clinicopathologic features was analyzed. RESULTS: The mRNA expression level of Id-1 in colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues and normal colorectal tissues was 0.96 ± 0.03 vs. 0.20 ± 0.04, respectively; and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.011). Furthermore, Id-1 protein expression was higher in colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues than in normal colorectal tissues (0.82 ± 0.04 vs. 0.31 ± 0.02, P=0.020). In addition, the positive protein expression rate of Id-1 was higher in colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues than in normal colorectal tissues (72.00% vs. 24.00%, X2=23.431, P=0.000). The expression of Id-1 was correlated with the depth of tumor invasion, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, vessel invasion, and liver metastasis (P<0.01). However, this expression was not correlated with tumor size and differentiation degrees (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The high Id-1 expression in colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues play an important role in the process of cancer, and is expected to become a new tumor monitoring indicator for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis judgment.

ABSTRACT Folium Eriobotryae, the dried leaves of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica, (Thunb.) Lindl., Rosaceae), is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat cough with phlegm in China. Fallen and growing loquat leaves were tested for their effect on coughing and expectoration in mice. HPLC-ELSD and HPLC-MS analyses of aqueous and ethanol extracts of fallen or growing leaves were used to identify the chemical components responsible for this effect. Both the aqueous and ethanol extracts of growing and fallen leaves of loquat contained antitussive and expectorant activities. Moreover, an aqueous extract of growing loquat leaves with a higher flavonoid content displayed a stronger expectorant activity while the ethanol extract of fallen loquat leaves that contained a higher content of triterpenoid acids induced a stronger antitussive activity.

ABSTRACT The paracetamol-water (PA–H2O) complexes formed by hydrogen bonding interactions were investigated at the MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level. Six PA–H2O complexes possessing various types of hydrogen bonds (H–bonds) were characterized by geometries, energies, vibrational frequencies. Natural bond orbital (NBO), quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and the localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis (LMO-EDA) were performed to explore the nature of the hydrogen-bonding interactions in these complexes. The intramolecular H–bond formed between the methylene and carbonyl oxygen atom of paracetamol is retained in most of complexes. The H–bonds in PW1 and PW6 are stronger than other H–bonds, moreover, the researches show that both the hydrogen bonding interaction and structural deformation play important roles for the relative stabilities of PA–H2O complexes.

Background: D-Hydroxyphenylglycine is considered to be an important chiral molecular building-block of antibiotic reagents such as pesticides, and β-lactam antibiotics. The process of its production is catalyzed by D-hydantoinase and D-carbamoylase in a two-step enzyme reaction. How to enhance the catalytic potential of the two enzymes is valuable for industrial application. In this investigation, an Escherichia coli strain genetically engineered with D-hydantoinase was immobilized by calcium alginate with certain adjuncts to evaluate the optimal condition for the biosynthesis of D-carbamoyl-p-hydroxyphenylglycine (D-CpHPG), the compound further be converted to D-hydroxyphenylglycine (D-HPG) by carbamoylase. Results: The optimal medium to produce D-CpHPG by whole-cell immobilization was a modified Luria-Bertani (LB) added with 3.0% (W/V) alginate, 1.5% (W/V) diatomite, 0.05% (W/V) CaCl2 and 1.00 mM MnCl2.The optimized diameter of immobilized beads for the whole-cell biosynthesis here was 2.60 mm. The maximized production rates of D-CpHPG were up to 76%, and the immobilized beads could be reused for 12 batches. Conclusions: This investigation not only provides an effective procedure for biological production of D-CpHPG, but gives an insight into the whole-cell immobilization technology.

Heliconema hainanensis sp. nov. collected from Uroconger lepturus (Richardson) (Anguilliformes: Congridae), Muraenesox cinereus (Forsskål) and Congresox talabonoides (Bleeker) (Anguilliformes: Muraenesocidae) in the South China Sea was described using light and scanning electron microscopy. The new species differs from its congeners by the following morphology: pseudolabia, the number and arrangement of caudal papillae (4 pairs of pedunculate precloacal papillae arranged in 2 groups of 2 and 2 pairs and 6 pairs of pedunculate postcloacal papillae arranged in 4 groups of 1, 2, 1 and 2 pairs), the length of spicules [left spicule 0.51-0.69 mm, right spicule 0.20-0.27 mm, spicule (right:left) ratio 1:2.20-2.69] and the morphology of the female tail tip. In addition, specimens of the new species collected from the three different hosts and specimens of an unidentified species of Heliconema collected from U. lepturus were characterised using molecular methods by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA. Analyses and comparison of the ITS sequence of H. hainanensis sp. nov. with Heliconema sp. support the validity of the new species based on morphological observations. An identification key to the species of Heliconema is also provided.

Our group established a method to culture spheres under serum-free culture condition. However, the biological characteristics and the tumorigenicity of spheres are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that sphere cells expressed high levels of the putative colorectal cancer stem cell markers CD133 and CD44. The CD133-positive rates were 13.27 ± 5.62, 52.71 ± 16.97 and 16.47 ± 2.45% in sphere cells, regular Colo205 cells and differentiated sphere cells, respectively, while the CD44-positive rates were 62.92 ± 8.38, 79.06 ± 12.10 and 47.80 ± 2.5%, respectively, and the CD133/CD44-double-positive rates were 10.77 ± 4.96, 46.89 ± 19.17 and 12.41 ± 2.27%, respectively (P < 0.05). Cancer sphere cells formed crypt-like structures in 3-D culture. Moreover, cells from cancer spheres exhibited more tumorigenicity than regular Colo205 cells in a xenograft assay. The cancer sphere cells displayed much higher oncogenicity than regular Colo205 cells to initiate neoplasms, as assayed by H&E staining, Musashi-1 staining and electron microscopy. Our findings indicated that the sphere cells were enriched with cancer stem cells (CSCs), and exhibited more proliferation capacity, more differentiation potential and especially more tumorigenicity than regular Colo205 cells in vitro and in vivo. Further isolation and characterization of these CSCs may provide new insights for novel therapeutic targets and prognostic markers.

The changes of cell ultra structure as well as Ca2+ homeostasis involved in the drought-induced maize leaf senescence was investigated. Meanwhile, many indicatives of leaf senescence including thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (MDA), electrolyte leakage (EL), and chlorophyll along with soluble proteins were also detected during the process. The Polyethylene glycol6000(PEG6000)-incubated detached leaves showed a slight increase in the MDA content and electrolyte leakage during the first 30 min of our detection, which was corresponded to an unobvious alteration of the cell ultrastructure. Other typical senescence parameters measured in whole leaf exhibited a moderate elevation as well. Thereafter, however, the EL and MDA rose to a large extent, which was correlated with a dramatic damage to the cell ultrastructure with concomitant sharp decrease in the chlorophyll and soluble proteins content. The deposits of calcium antimonite, being an indicator for Ca2+ localization, were observed in the vacuoles as well as intercellular spaces in the leaves grown under normal condition. Nevertheless, after PEG treatment, it was revealed a distinct increment of Ca2+ in the cytoplasm as well as chloroplasts and nuclei. Moreover, with long-lasting treatment of PEG to the detached leaves, the concentration of Ca2+ as described above showed a continuous increment which was consist with the remarked alteration of physiological parameters and severe damage to the ultrastructure of cells, all of which indicated the leaf senescence. Such drought-induced leaf senescence might result from a loss of the cell's capability to extrude Ca2+. All above findings give us a good insight into the important role of Ca2+ homeostasis in the process of leaf senescence accelerated by the drought stress.