Ecological-Based Mining:A Coal-Water-Thermal Collaborative Paradigm in Ecologically Fragile Areas in Western China

A substantial reduction in groundwater level,exacerbated by coal mining activities,is intensifying water scarcity in western China’s ecologically fragile coal mining areas.China’s national strategic goal of achieving a carbon peak and carbon neutrality has made eco-friendly mining that prioritizes the protection and efficient use of water resources essential.Based on the resource characteristics of mine water and heat hazards,an intensive coal-water-thermal collaborative co-mining paradigm for the duration of the mining process is proposed.An integrated system for the production,supply,and storage of mining companion resources is achieved through technologies such as roof water inrush prevention and control,hydrothermal quality improvement,and deep-injection geological storage.An active preventive and control system achieved by adjusting the mining technology and a passive system centered on multiobjective drainage and grouting treatment are suggested,in accordance with the original geological characteristics and dynamic process of water inrush.By implementing advanced multi-objective drainage,specifically designed to address the“skylight-type”water inrush mode in the Yulin mining area of Shaanxi Province,a substantial reduction of 50%in water drillings and inflow was achieved,leading to stabilized water conditions that effectively ensure subsequent safe coal mining.An integrated-energy complementary model that incorporates the clean production concept of heat utilization is also proposed.The findings indicate a potential saving of 8419 t of standard coal by using water and air heat as an alternative heating source for the Xiaojihan coalmine,resulting in an impressive energy conservation of 50.2%and a notable 24.2%reduction in carbon emissions.The ultra-deep sustained water injection of 100 m^(3)·h^(-1)in a single well would not rupture the formation or cause water leakage,and 7.87×10^(5)t of mine water could be effectively stored in the Liujiagou Formation,presenting a viable method for mine-water management in the Ordos Basin and providing insights for green and low-carbon mining.

Sustainable Development of Agriculture in Northwestern Ecologically Fragile Desert Oasis——A case study of Guazhou County of Gansu Province

Guazhou County of Gansu Province is a typical ecological fragile area lying in the transition area of desert and oasis.The development of its agricultural economy is highly dependent on natural resources and environment.Contradiction of resources characterized agriculture and the fragile ecological environment has become one of the main barriers to log the impact of local agriculture to achieve sustainable development.Aiming at fragile ecological environment and limiting factors of agricultural sustainable development,thoughts and countermeasures of realizing agricultural sustainable development have been proposed.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Ecological Quality in Typical Karst Ecologically Fragile Areas Based on Remote Sensing Ecological Indexes

Fast and effective remote sensing monitoring is an important means for analyzing the spatio-temporal changes in ecological quality in fragile karst regions.This study focuses on Guanling Autonomous County,a national-level demonstration county for comprehensive desertification control.Based on Landsat TM/OLI remote sensing image data from 2005,2010,2015,and 2020,remote sensing ecological indices were used to analyze the spatio-temporal changes in ecological quality in Guanling Autonomous County from 2005 to 2020.The results show that:①the variance contribution rates of the first principal component for the four periods were 66.31%,71.59%,63.18%,and 75.24%,indicating that PC1 integrated most of the characteristics of the four indices,making the RSEI suitable for evaluating ecological quality in karst mountain areas;②the remote sensing ecological index grades have been increasing year by year,with an overall trend of improving ecological quality.The area of higher-grade ecological quality has increased spatially,while fragmented patches have gradually decreased,becoming more concentrated in the low-altitude areas in the northwest and east,and there is a trend of expansion towards higher-altitude areas;③the ecological environment quality in most areas has improved,with the improvement in RSEI spatio-temporal variation becoming more noticeable with increasing slope.Areas of higher-grade quality appeared in 2010,and the range of higher-grade quality expanded with increasing slope.

Exploration of Eco-economic Development in Ecological Fragile Region——A Case Study on Wuqi County in Shaanxi Province

[Objective] The aim was to explore eco-economy in ecological fragile region with Wuqi County in Shaanxi Province as an example. [Method] Eco-economy development and major environmental problems in Wuqi County in Shaanxi Province were researched based on local social and economic conditions, population of impoverished people and environment vulnerability. [Result] The areas with vulnerable environment and backward economy should establish a virtuous circle between economy and environment and a sustainable model of economic development. [Conclusion] It is significant to change the severe situation of environment deterioration and to promote ecological civilization.

Structural Analysis of Peptides of PSⅡ Light-harvesting Complexes in Siphonous Green Algae, Codium fragile

Peptide composition and arrangement of 4 major light-harvesting complexes LHCP 1-3 and LHCP 3′ isolated from siphonous green algae (Codium fragile (Sur.) Hariot.) were investigated. LHCP 1 showed five main peptides, 34.4, 31.5, 29.5, 28.2 and 26.5 kD in SDS-PAGE, the 34.4 and 31.5 kD peptides were never found in higher plants. LHCP 3 contained the other four kinds of LHCP 1 peptides except 34.4 kD, while LHCP 3′ consisted of only 28.2 and 26.5 kD peptides. We found that 34.4, 28.2 and 26.5 kD peptides were easy to decompose from LHCP 1 when subjected to SDS-PAGE without pretreatment. They might be located at the exterior of LHCP 1, while the 31.5 and 29.5 kD peptides were at the central part. The 28.2 and 26.5 kD peptides often occurred in CPa, the center complex of PSⅡ. They are possibly the LHCⅡ peptides tightly associated with CCⅡ. According to the results described above, a peptide map of LHCP 1 was sketched.

Expression of fragile histidine triad in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and its relation with cell proliferation and apoptosis

AIM: To evaluate the expression of fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene protein, product of a candidate tumor suppressor, and to investigate the relationship between FHIT, cell apoptosis and proliferation, and pathological features of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Forty-seven HCC and ten normal liver specimens were collected during surgical operation between 2001 and 2003. FHIT and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression were detected by immunohistochemistry, and apoptotic level was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay on the tissue sections. RESULTS: All normal liver tissues showed a strong expression of FHIT, whereas 28 of 47 (59.6%) carcinomas showed a significant loss or absence of FHIT expression (P= 0.001). The proportion of reduced FHIT expression in those carcinomas at stages Ⅲ-Ⅳ (70.6%) and in those with extrahepatic metastasis (86.7%) showed an increasing trend compared with those at stages HI (30.8%, P= 0.013) and those without metastasis (46.9%, P = 0.010) respectively. Apoptotic incidence in advanced TNM stage carcinoma and those with positive FHIT expression was higher than that in early stage carcinoma (P=0.030) and in those with negative FHIT expression (P=0.044) respectively. The proliferating potential of hepatocellular carcinoma was associated with FHIT expression (P= 0.016) and the aggressive feature (P = 0.019). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that the survival time of these 47 patients correlated with TNM stage, FHIT expression and metastasis. CONCLUSION: There is marked loss or absence of FHIT expression, as well as abnormal apoptosis-prdiferation balance in HCC. FHIT may play an important role in carcinogenesis and development of HCC.

Fragile X syndrome and epilepsy

Fragile X syndrome （FXS） is one of the most prevalent mental retardations. It is mainly caused by the loss of fragile X mental retardation protein （FMRP）. FMRP is an RNA binding protein and can regulate the translation of its binding RNA, thus regulate several signaling pathways. Many FXS patients show high susceptibility to epilepsy. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder which is characterized by the recurrent appearance of spontaneous seizures due to neuronal hyperactivity in the brain. Both the abnormal activation of several signaling pathway and morphological abnormality that are caused by the loss of FMRP can lead to a high susceptibility to epilepsy. Combining with the research progresses on both FXS and epilepsy, we outlined the possible mechanisms of high susceptibility to epilepsy in FXS and tried to give a prospect on the future research on the mechanism of epilepsy that happened in other mental retardations.

Decreased fragile histidine triad expression in colorectal cancer and its association with apoptosis inhibition

AIM： To detect the expression of fragile histidine triad （FHIT） in normal colorectal tissue, colorectal adenoma and colorectal cancer （CRC） tissue, and to analyze its relationship with the clinicopathological features of CRC, and apoptosis-associatecl proteins （Bcl-2, Bax, survivin） and apoptosis in colorectal cancer. METHODS： FHIT mRNA analysis was performed by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） assay. Tissue microarray （TMA） was established to detect the expression of FHIT, Bcl-2, Bax and survivin genes in 80 CRC tissue specimens, 16 colorectal adenoma tissue specimens and 16 hemorrhoid （PPH） tissue specimens during the same period of time as the control. Citrate-microwave-SP was used as immunohistochemical method. The relationship between clinicopathological factors, such as differentiation grades and 5-year survival rate was observed. TUNEL assay was used to detect the apoptosis index in 80 CRC tissue specimens. RESULTS： Ten out of 26 （38.5%） CRC tissue specimens expressed aberrant FHIT transcripts, none of the aberrant FHIT transcripts was observed in the matchednormal tissue and colorectal adenoma tissue by nested RT-PCR assay. The positive rate of FHIT gene expression in normal colorectal tissue, colorectal adenoma and carcinoma tissue was 93.75%, 68.75% and 46.25%, respectively. Clinicopathological analysis of patients showed that the decreased FHIT gene expression was not associated with age, sex, serum CEA levels, tumor site and size, histological classification. However, the expression of FHIT was correlated with differentiation grades, pathological stages, lymph node metastases and 5-year survival rate after operation. The positive rate of apoptosis-associated proteins （Bax, Bcl-2 and survivin） in CRC tissue was 72.50%, 51.25% and 77.50%, respectively. The expression of these apoptosisassociated proteins in CRC tissue was correlated with the expression of FHIT. The mean apoptosis index in FHIT negative tumors was significantly lower than that in FHIT- positive tumors （5.41 ± 0.23 vs 0.56 ± 0.10, P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： The FHIT gene plays an important role in the regulation of apoptosis and decreased FHIT expression plays a key role in the initiation and progression of colorectal carcinoma.

Effect of fragile histidine triad gene transduction on proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

AIM:To evaluate the inhibitory effects of human fragile histidine triad(FHIT) gene on cell proliferation and apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma line Hep3B in vitro. METHODS:A recombinant pcDNA3.1(+) /FHIT including the functional region of FHIT gene was constructed and transferred into human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro. mRNA and protein expression of the FHIT gene in the transfected cells was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot,respectively. The effect of FHIT on proliferation was detected by MTT assay. Changes in cell cycle and apoptosis were assayed by flow cytometry. Five mice received subcutaneous transplantation of Hep3B-FHIT;5 mice received subcutaneous transplantation of normal Hep3B and Hep3B-C as controls. The body weight of nude mice and tumor growth were measured. RESULTS:RT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that the expression level of FHIT-mRNA and FHIT protein was higher in Hep3B cells after infection withpcDNA3.1(+) /FHIT. The growth of Hep3B cells treated with pcDNA3.1(+) /FHIT was significantly inhibited. The pcDNA3.1(+) /FHIT-transfected Hep3B cells showed a significantly higher cell rate at G0-G1 phase and increased apoptosis in comparison with controls(P < 0.05) . The growth of transplanted tumor was inhibited markedly by FHIT. Tumors arising from the Hep3B-FHIT cells occurred much later than those arising from the Hep3B and Hep3B-C cells. The growth of Hep3B-FHIT cells was slow and the tumor volume was low. CONCLUSION:Transduction of FHIT gene inhibits the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells and induces cell apoptosis in vivo and in vitro.

Lithium chloride ameliorates learning and memory ability and inhibits glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta activity in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome

In the present study,Fmr1 knockout mice （KO mice） were used as the model for fragile X syndrome.The results of step-through and step-down tests demonstrated that Fmr1 KO mice had shorter latencies and more error counts,indicating a learning and memory disorder.After treatment with 30,60,90,120,or 200 mg/kg lithium chloride,the learning and memory abilities of the Fmr1 KO mice were significantly ameliorated,in particular,the 200 mg/kg lithium chloride treatment had the most significant effect.Western blot analysis showed that lithium chloride significantly enhanced the expression of phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta,an inactive form of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta,in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the Fmr1 KO mice.These results indicated that lithium chloride improved learning and memory in the Fmr1 KO mice,possibly by inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta activity.

STUDY ON METHOD OF QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF FRAGILE ENVIRONMENT

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Aberrant crypt focus and fragile histidine triad protein in sporadic colorectal carcinoma

AIM:To characterize aberrant crypt focus (ACF) in adjoining mucosa in sporadic colorectal carcinoma and to evaluate fragile histidine triad (Fhit) protein and Ki67. METHODS:ACF was identified grossly and classified histologically in 75 resected specimens. ACF was typed into hyperplastic ACF (HACF) and dysplastic ACF (DACF). Sections of ACF, carcinoma and normal colonic mucosa as control were studied for Fhit and Ki67 expressions by immunohistochemistry and were grouped according to staining intensity and the number of positive stained cells observed in different histological groups. Comparison was done between the different groups by Pearson's χ 2 test and γ test for the ordinal data. P value < 0.05 was considered as significant.RESULTS:Age range was 40 to 86 years in males (mean = 43.36) and 45 to 70 years in females (mean = 56). HACF was identified in all cases studied in the non-tumorous colonic mucosa; ACF was observed as non-contiguous scattered foci, which supports the hypothesis of acquisition of single focus monoclonality by colonic epithelial cells in tumor generation. Twenty-four (32%) had DACF and were observed as closure to carcinoma foci. Intensity of Fhit expression:(1) HACF 40% exhibited strong intensity, similar to normal, moderate in 36% and weak in 24%; (2) DACF strong in 25%, moderate in 37.5% and weak in 37.5%; and (3) carcinoma negative in 16%, strong in 43% and moderate and weak in 28.5% each. Significant difference was observed in intensity of the Fhit protein expressions by HACF and DACF (P < 0.05). Tumor in older patients showed a stronger Fhit intensity compared to younger patients (P = 0.036). Vegetarian diet intake and nonsmokers showed stronger Fhit intensities. Advanced stage tumor, non-vegetarian diet and younger age was associated with loss of Fhit protein. Ki67 positivity was an extended crypt pattern in HACF and DACF showed extension up to the neck region of the crypts and surface epithelium. Carcinomas showed a marked increase in Ki67 expression (P < 0.05). Fhit protein had an inverse association with Ki67 expression. CONCLUSION:Weaker Fhit intensity was associated with smoking, non-vegetarian diet intake and increasing Ki67 expression. Loss of Fhit protein expression is possibly influenced by environmental factors like smoking and non-vegetarian diet intake.

Fragile histidine triad gene alterations are not essential for hepatocellular carcinoma development in South Korea

AIM: To establish the role of FHIT in the pathogenesis hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We examined genomic alterations, as well as, mRNA and protein expression patterns from the FHIT gene, in 48 surgically resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. Additionally, p53 mutations were analyzed. RESULTS: Aberrant FHIT transcripts were detected in 11 of 48 surrounding non-tumor liver tissues and 27 of 48 HCC samples (22.9% vs 56.3%, P = 0.002). No point mutations were identified within the open reading frame region of FHIT. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the FHIT locus was detected in 4 of 42 informative cases for D3S1300, and 3 of 29 informative cases for D3S1313. Reduced expression of FHIT protein (Fhit) was observed in 8 (16.7%) of 48 HCC samples, with complete loss of Fhit in only 1 case. There were no associations with abnormal transcripts, LOH, and Fhit expression. p53 mutations were identified in 9 of the 48 HCC cases. However, none of the cases displayed a G to T transversion at p53 codon 249. CONCLUSION: Aberrant FHIT transcripts were more common in HCC tissues as compared to non-cancerous liver tissues. However, Fhit expression was lost or reduced in a minor fraction of HCC tissues, while it was strongly expressed in non-cancerous liver tissues.Therefore, our study suggests that FHIT plays a role in relatively few HCC cases in South Korea.

Special issue on land reclamation in ecological fragile areas

Coal is the most important energy in China, accounting for about 60% of energy consumption, which is about half of the total coal output in the world. With the excavation of coal resources, a lot of land was damaged and serious environmental problems were produced.

Application of Matter-element Model in Soil Nutrient Evaluation of Ecological Fragile Region

On the basis of the soil environment investigation in Da＇an City, Jilin Province, China, 40 soil samples from main land use types were obtained and tested by standard method. Soil organic matter （SOM）, total N （TN）, total P （TP）, total K （TK）, available N （AN）, available P （AP） and available K （AK） were chosen as the evaluation factors. A regional soil nutrient evaluation model was developed based on the matter-element model. The results show that the soil samples with nutrient grade Ⅱ-Ⅴ respectively account for 10%, 30%, 32.5% and 27.5%, and those with grade Ⅳ and Ⅴ account for 60% in all samples. The relationship between soil nutrients and land types indicates that the nutrients of farmland are relatively good, with 41.7% of soil samples with the nutrient grade Ⅳ and Ⅴ. The nutrients of saline-alkali land and sandy land are the worst, with 100% of soil samples with the nutrient grade IV and V. And the ratios of soil samples grade IV and V in grassland and wasteland are respectively 62.5 % and 54.55%. Generally speaking, the soil nutrients status in Da＇an City is poor, 60% of soil samples are in poor and extremely poor conditions, indicating that the soil has been severely eroded. Being a relatively superior evaluation method with more accurate resuits and spatial distribution consistency, matter-element analysis is more suitable for regional soil nutrient evaluation than previous models.

Loss of fragile histidine triad protein expression in inflammatory bowel disease

AIM： To investigate the expression of fragile histidine triad （FHIT） protein in 64 patients with ulcerative colitis （UC） and Crohn＇s disease （CD）, and its relation with clinicopathological data. METHODS： Rabbit-anti-FHIT antibody was used to detect FHIT protein expression in 64 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of inflammatory bowel disease （IBD） by citrate-microwave-streptavidin （SP）-HRP immunohistochemical method. RESULTS： The positive FHIT protein expression was 22.79% ± 16.16%, 42.14% ± 16.82% in active and remittent phases of UC, 36.07% ± 19.23% in CD, and 57.05% ±8.86% in normal colon mucosa. Statistically significant differences in FHIT protein expression were observed between the active and remittent phases of UC, between the active phase of UC and normal colon mucosa, as well as between the remittent phase of UC and normal colon mucosa, and between CD and normal colon mucosa. CONCLUSION： Our results show that FHIT protein expression is completely absent or reduced in IBD, suggesting that the FHIT gene might be associated with the oncogenesis and progression of IBD, an early event from inflammatory conditions to carcinoma in IBD.

A Scheme of Fragile Watermarking Based on SVD and 2D Chaotic Mapping

This paper proposed a novel fragile watermarking scheme based on singular value decomposition (SVD) and 2D chaotic mapping. It obtains chaotic initial values from the image blocks singular value decomposition and the user’s key, then uses the chaotic mapping to get the chaotic sequence and inserts the sequence into the LSBs of the image blocks to get the watermarked image blocks. The paper reconstructed the watermarked image from all the embedded blocks. The analysis and experimental results show that the scheme is pretty fragile to tampering, and it can localize the tampering position accurately, reach 3×3 blocks.

GABAB receptor upregulates fragile X mental retardation protein expression in neurons

Aim Fragile X mental retardation protein （FMRP） is an RNA-binding protein important for the control of translation and synaptic function. The mutation or silencing of FMRP causes Fragile X syndrome （FXS） , which leads to intellectual disability and social impairment. γ-aminobutyric acid （GABA） is the major inhibitory neuro- transmitter of the mammalian central nervous system, and its metabotropic GABAB receptor has been implicated in various mental disorders. The GABAB receptor agonist baclofen has been shown to improve FXS symptoms in a mouse model and in human patients, suggesting the role of GABAB receptor on FMRP regulation. Here we investi- gated the signaling events linking the GABAB receptor and FMRP. Methods Western blot was used in this study to detect protein expression and kinase phosphorylation in cerebellar granule neurons. For key molecules in signal- ling pathway, RNAi was used in MEFs to confirm the results in neurons. Results GABAB receptor activation up- regulated cAMP response element binding protein-dependent Fmrp expression in cultured mouse cerebellar granule neurons via two distinct mechanisms： the transactivation of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor and activation of protein kinase C. In addition, a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAB receptor, CGP7930, stimulated Fmrp expression in neurons. Conclusion These results suggest a role for GABAB receptor in Fmrp regulation and a po- tential interest of GABAB receptor signaling in FXS improvement.

Methanol extract of Codium fragile inhibits tumor necrosis factor-ɑ-induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 and invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 cells by suppressing nuclear factor-κB activation

Objective:To evaluate whether the methanol extract of Codium fragile(MECF) regulates tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)-induced invasion of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells by suppressing matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9).Methods:Reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and western blot analysis were performed to analyze the expression of MMP-9 and nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB) subunits,p65 and p50,and IκB in MDA-MB-231 cells.3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay was used for cell viability.MMP-9 activity and invasion were measured by gelatin zymography and a matrigel invasion assay,respectively.NF- κB activity was measured by an electrophoretic mobility shift assay and luciferase activity.Results:MECF had no effects on cell viability up to a concentration of 100 μg/mL in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells regardless of the presence of TNF-α.MDA-MB-231 cells that were stimulated with TNF-α showed a marked increase of invasion compared to the untreated control,whereas pretreatment with MECF downregulated the TNF-α-induced invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells.Additionally,zymography,western blot analysis,and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) confirmed that MECF decreased TNF-α-induced MMP-9 expression and activity which is a key regulator for cancer invasion.According to an electrophoretic morbidity shift assay,pretreatment with MECF in MDA-MB-231 cells significantly decreased the TNF-α-induced DNA-binding activity of nuclear factor- κB(NF- κB),which is an important transcription factor for regulating cancer invasion-related genes such as MMP-9.Furthermore,treatment with MECF sustained the expression of p65 and p50 in response to TNF-α in the cytosolic compartment.The luciferase assay demonstrated that MECF attenuated TNF-α-induced NF- κB luciferase activity.Conclusion:MECF exhibited its antiinvasive capability by downregulating TNF-α-induced MMP-9 expression,resulting from the suppression of NF- κB activity in the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231.

A New Fragile Watermarking Scheme for Text Documents Authentication

Because there are different modification types of deleting characters and inserting characters in text documents, the algorithms for image authentication can not be used for text documents authentication directly. A text watermarking scheme for text document authentication is proposed in this paper. By extracting the features of character cascade together with the user secret key, the scheme combines the features of the text with the user information as a watermark which is embedded into the transformed text itself. The receivers can verify the integrity and the authentication of the text through the blind detection technique. A further research demonstrates that it can also localize the tamper, classify the type of modification, and recover part of modified text documents. The aforementioned conclusion has been proved by both our experiment results and analysis.