MiR-375 frequently downregulated in gastric cancer inhibits cell proliferation by targeting JAK2

Emerging evidence has shown the association of aberrantly expressed microRNAs （miRNAs） with tumor development and progression. However, little is known about the potential role of miRNAs in gastric carcinogenesis. Here, we performed miRNA microarray to screen miRNAs differentially expressed in the paired gastric cancer and their adjacent nontumor tissues and found that miR-375 was greatly downregulated in gastric cancer tissues. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis verified that miR-375 expression was significantly decreased in more than 90% of primary gastric cancers compared with their nontumor counterparts from patients undergoing gastric resection. Overexpression of miR-375 significantly inhibited gastric cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Forced expression of miR-375 in gastric cancer cells significantly reduced the protein level of Janus kinase 2 （JAK2） and repressed the activity of a luciferase reporter carrying the 3＇-untranslated region of JAK2, which was abolished by mutation of the predicted miR-375-binding site, indicating that JAK2 may be a miR-375 target gene. Either inhibition of JAK2 activity by AG490 or silencing of JAK2 by RNAi suppressed gastric cancer cell proliferation resembling that of miR-375 overexpression. Moreover, ectopic expression of JAK2 can partially reverse the inhibition of cell proliferation caused by miR-375. Finally, we found a significant inverse correlation between miR-375 expression and JAK2 protein level in gastric cancer. Thus, these data suggest that miR-375 may function as a tumor suppressor to regulate gastric cancer cell proliferation potentially by targeting the JAK2 oncogene, implicating a role of miR-375 in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer.

Expression of strain tensor in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates

Based on an analysis of connotation and extension of the concept of the orthogonal curvilinear coordinates, we have deduced a platform of strain tensor expression of Cartesian coordinates, which turns out to be a function of Lame coefficient and unit vector. By using transform matrix between Cartesian coordinates and orthogonal eurvilinear coordinates, we have deduced a mathematical expression for correcting displacement vector differential in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates, and given a general expression of strain tensor in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates.

Air pollution characteristics and their relationship with emissions and meteorology in the Yangtze River Delta region during 2014–2016

With rapid economic growth and urbanization, the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) region in China has experienced serious air pollution challenges. In this study, we analyzed the air pollution characteristics and their relationship with emissions and meteorology in the YRD region during 2014–2016. In recent years, the concentrations of all air pollutants, except O3,decreased. Spatially, the PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and CO concentrations were higher in the northern YRD region, and NO2 and O3 were higher in the central YRD region. Based on the number of non-attainment days(i.e., days with air quality index greater than 100), PM2.5 was the largest contributor to air pollution in the YRD region, followed by O3, PM10, and NO2.However, particulate matter pollution has declined gradually, while O3 pollution worsened.Meteorological conditions mainly influenced day-to-day variations in pollutant concentrations. PM2.5 concentration was inversely related to wind speed, while O3 concentration was positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with relative humidity.The air quality improvement in recent years was mainly attributed to emission reductions.During 2014–2016, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NOx, CO, NH3, and volatile organic compound(VOC)emissions in the YRD region were reduced by 26.3%, 29.2%, 32.4%, 8.1%, 15.9%, 4.5%, and0.3%, respectively. Regional transport also contributed to the air pollution. During regional haze periods, pollutants from North China and East China aggravated the pollution in the YRD region. Our findings suggest that emission reduction and regional joint prevention and control helped to improve the air quality in the YRD region.

Origins of black carbon from anthropogenic emissions and open biomass burning transported to Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

Black carbon(BC) has importance regarding aerosol composition, radiative balance, and human exposure. This study adopted a backward-trajectory approach to quantify the origins of BC from anthropogenic emissions(BCAn) and open biomass burning(BCBB) transported to Xishuangbanna in 2017. Haze months, between haze and clean months, and clean months in Xishuangbanna were defined according to daily PM_(2.5)concentrations of >75, 35–75, and<35 μg/m^(3), respectively. Results showed that the transport efficiency density(TED) of BC transported to Xishuangbanna was controlled by the prevailing winds in different seasons.The yearly contributions to the effective emission intensity of BCAnand BCBBtransported to Xishuangbanna were 52% and 48%, respectively. However, when haze occurred in Xishuangbanna, the average BCAnand BCBBcontributions were 23% and 77%, respectively. This suggests that open biomass burning(BB) becomes the dominant source in haze months. Myanmar, India, and Laos were the dominant source regions of BC transported to Xishuangbanna during haze months, accounting for 59%, 18%, and 13% of the total, respectively. Furthermore, India was identified as the most important source regions of BCAntransported to Xishuangbanna in haze months, accounting for 14%. The two countries making the greatest contributions to BCBBtransported to Xishuangbanna were Myanmar and Laos in haze months, accounting for 55% and 13%, respectively. BC emissions from Xishuangbanna had minimal effects on the results of the present study. It is suggested that open BB in Myanmar and Laos, and anthropogenic emissions in India were responsible for poor air quality in Xishuangbanna.

Influence of High Relative Humidity on Secondary Organic Carbon: Observations at a Background Site in East China

To investigate the impacts of relative humidity(RH) on secondary organic aerosol(SOA) concentrations and chemical reactions, the carbonaceous aerosol components [i.e., organic carbon(OC) and element carbon(EC)] were quantified in daily PM2.5 samples collected at a background site in East China during summer 2015. Based on the method of EC-tracer, the concentration of secondary organic carbon(SOC) demonstrated an obvious negative relationship with RH higher than 60%. Moreover, the ratio of SOC/EC also exhibited obvious decreasing trends with increasing RH, indicating negative effects for chemical production of SOA under high RH conditions. Due to high RH,photochemistry was weakened, gaseous oxidant concentrations was lowered(e.g., significantly decreased O3 levels),and the production rates of SOA were relatively low. On the other hand, because of more water uptake under higher RH conditions, the aerosol droplet acidity was reduced and enhancement of SOA formation by acidity was accordingly absent. In addition, high RH also plays an important role in changing viscosity of pre-existing aerosol coatings,which can affect reactive uptake yield of SOA. Overall, the results from this study imply that SOA production may be more associated with photochemical processes, while aqueous-phase chemistry is not very important for some SOA formation in a moist ambient environment. In the ambient atmosphere, oxidant concentrations, reaction rates,airborne species, etc., are highly variable. How do these factors affect SOA yields under given ambient environment warrants further detailed investigations.