miR-526b-3p inhibits lung cancer cisplatin-resistance and metastasis by inhibiting STAT3-promoted PD-L1.

Chemotherapy remains the primary treatment of advanced solid cancer, including lung cancer. However, as first-line treatment, cisplatin-based therapy is restricted by the frequent development of drug resistance. Increasing data showed that the programmed cell death protein ligand 1 (PD-L1) plays a vital role in regulating cisplatin resistance.

Lung computed tomography image segmentation based on U-Net network fused with dilated convolution.

Purpose: In order to solve the problem of accurate and effective segmentation of the patient's lung computed tomography (CT) images, so as to improve the efficiency of treating lung cancer.

Method: We propose a U-Net network (DC-U-Net) fused with dilated convolution, and compare the results of segmented lung CT with DC-U-Net, Otsu and region growth. We use Intersection over Union (IOU), Dice coefficient, Precision and Recall to evaluate the performance of the three algorithms.

Esophageal cancer detection based on classification of gastrointestinal CT images using improved Faster RCNN.

Purpose: Esophageal cancer is a common malignant tumor in life, which seriously affects human health. In order to reduce the work intensity of doctors and improve detection accuracy, we proposed esophageal cancer detection using deep learning. The characteristics of deep learning: association and structure, activity and experience, essence and variation, migration and application, value and evaluation.

Performance and mechanism of Cr(VI) removal by zero-valent iron loaded onto expanded graphite.

Zero-valent iron (ZVI) was loaded on expanded graphite (EG) to produce a composite material (EG-ZVI) for efficient removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). EG and EG-ZVI were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. EG-ZVI had a high specific surface area and contained sub-micron sized particles of zero-valent iron.

Construction of 3,6-anhydrohexosides via intramolecular cyclization of triflates and its application to the synthesis of natural product isolated from leaves of Sauropus rostratus.

A novel synthetic approach to construct various 3,6-anhydrohexosides via an intramolecular cyclization of corresponding triflates is described. The nucleophilic attack from C3 p-methoxybenzylated hydroxyl to C6 trifluoromethanesulfonate on triflate structures triggered the cyclization reaction to provide 3,6-anhydrohexosides in excellent yields, making the strategy more efficient with respect to the reported protocols. By applying this methodology, a concise first total synthesis of natural product isolated from leaves of Sauropus rostratus was accomplished.

[Isolation and degradation characteristics of acetochlor-degrading strain A-3].

The strain A-3 which could use acetochlor as the sole nitrogen source was isolated from soils contaminated with acetochlor and the sludge of pesticide factory by enrichment culture. The strain was identified as Ensifer adhaerens according to the results of morphology, physiology,and the phylogenetical analyses of 16S rRNA sequence. It was observed that the degradation rate of acetochlor by strain A-3 was 33.

[Survey of arsenic concentrations in Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) and preliminary risk assessment of As in CHMs on human health].

Characteristics and concentrations of As in Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHMs) from Hebei province (including samples collected from fields and from medicine markets) were investigated, and the ADI (allowable daily intake) standard value from FAO/WHO was used for preliminary assessment of As risk on human health. The results showed that the average of As concentrations in different roots which were used as medicines, ranged from 0.14 mg/kg to 0.

[Arsenic speciation in edible plants: a review].

Arsenic (As) is a ubiquitous chemical element in environment, and the increasingly serious As pollution is highly concerned all over the world. China has been considered as one of the countries and regions with serious As pollution in the world by the World Health Organization (WHO). Recent studies indicated that food is one of the major contributors of As in human diets.

Characterization of PAHs contamination in soils from metropolitan region of Northern China.

The present study characterized the distribution, sources as well as carcinogenic potency of PAHs in surface soil from metropolitan region of northern China. The total PAHs in topsoil ranged from 322.6 to 23244.

[Identification of pyrene degrading strains and the degrading characteristics research].

Three bacterial strains J1, J2, J3 which could use pyrene as the sole carbon and energy sources were isolated from soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by enrichment culture. The strains were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Flavobacterium mizutaii, Brevibacillus parabrevis according to the results of morphology, physiology and the phylogenetical analyses of 16S rDNA sequence. It was observed that the three strains could use pyrene at the concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 500, 1 000 mg/L and after 7 days culture the concentrations of microorganisms in the liquid medium were the highest.

Concentrations and bioaccessibility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in wastewater-irrigated soil using in vitro gastrointestinal test.

Background, Aim, And Scope: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental contaminants and contribute to the pollution of soil environment. Soil ingestion is of increasing concern for assessing health risk from PAH-contaminated soils because soil ingestion is one of the potentially important pathways of exposure to environmental pollutants, particularly relevant for children playing at contaminated sites due to their hand-to-mouth activities. In vitro gastro-intestinal tests imitate the human digestive tract, based on the physiology of humans, generally more simple, less time-consuming, and especially more reproducible than animal tests.

Arsenic accumulation by the aquatic fern Azolla: comparison of arsenate uptake, speciation and efflux by A. caroliniana and A. filiculoides.

This study investigates As accumulation and tolerance of the aquatic fern Azolla. Fifty strains of Azolla showed a large variation in As accumulation. The highest- and lowest-accumulating ferns among the 50 strains were chosen for further investigations.

[Application of two stage subsurface constructed wetland technology in cold area of northeast China].

Base on the two stage subsurface constructed wetland system running at the suburb of Siping city in Jilin province, the applicability and characteristics of the two stage system which had especial active media and measurements of isolation for temperature protection were studied and the advantages of the two stage system in the pollution removal were analyzed. The results showed that, the choice of especial active media and the measurements of isolation for temperature protection of the system made the two stage subsurface constructed wetland run efficiently in cold area and the system had very stable effects of the COD, BOD5, SS, NH4(+) -N and TP removal. In the whole process, the concentration of COD, BOD5 and SS in the outflow was about 16.

Oxidative stress and DNA damages induced by cadmium accumulation.

Experimental evidence shows that cadmium (Cd) could induce oxidative stress and then causes DNA damage in animal cells, however, whether such effect exists in plants is still unclear. In the present study, Vicia faba plants was exposed to 5 and 10 mg/L Cd for 4 d to investigate the distribution of Cd in plant, the metal effects on the cell lipids, antioxidative enzymes and DNA damages in leaves. Cd induced an increase in Cd concentrations in plants.

Increase of multi-metal tolerance of three leguminous plants by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization.

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae on the growth and metal uptake of three leguminous plants (Sesbania rostrata, Sesbania cannabina, Medicago sativa) grown in multi-metal contaminated soil. AMF colonization increased the growth of the legumes, indicating that AMF colonization increased the plant's resistance to heavy metals. It also significantly stimulated the formation of root nodules and increased the N and P uptake of all of the tested leguminous plants, which might be one of the tolerance mechanisms conferred by AMF.

[Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the toxicity of chlorothalonil on upland rice (Oryzal sativa L.)].

Upland rice was selected as a host plant in a greenhouse-pot-culture experiment to investigate the effects of chlorothalonil and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the growth and oxidative damage under chlorothalonil stress. The plants were grown with three concentrations of chlorothalonil (0, 50 and 100 mg x kg(-1) soil). The results suggested that chlorothalonil inhibited the growth of upland rice and reduced dry weight of upland rice shoot from 2.

Wheat phytotoxicity from arsenic and cadmium separately and together in solution culture and in a calcareous soil.

The toxicity of two toxic elements, arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) (individually or in combination) on root elongation of wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum, L.) were investigated both in hydroponics and in soils freshly spiked with the toxic elements. Median effective concentration (EC(50)) and non-observed effect concentration (NOEC) were used to investigate the toxic thresholds and potencies of the two elements.

Effects of Glomus mosseae on the toxicity of heavy metals to Vicia faba.

A glasshouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate effects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae on the growth of Vicia faba and toxicity induced by heavy metals (HMs) (Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) in a field soil contaminated by a mixture of these metals. There was also uninoculation treatment (NM) simultaneously. Mycorrhizal (GM) plants hav e significantlyincreased growth and tolerance to toxicity induced by heavy metals compared with NM plants.

Effects of exposure time and co-existing organic compounds on uptake of atrazine from nutrient solution by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.).

Root uptake of atrazine (ATR) by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.) from nutrient solution was investigated with exposure periods of 48, 96, and 240h. A similar ATR uptake was carried out with two co-existing organic compounds (o-chlorophenol (CP) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP)) with 48h exposure.

[DNA damages and apoptosis induced by cd in the leaves of horsebean Vicia faba].

DNA damages and programmed cell death in leaves of Vicia faba induced by Cd were studied with methods including alkaline/alkaline, alkaline/neutral, neutral/neutral comet assay and DAPI staining. Types of DNA damages induced by Cd were different detected by three types of comet assay. Single strand breakage and alkali labile sites were detected in the leaves of Vicia faba with 5 mg x L(-1) Cd treatment by alkaline/alkaline comet assay.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can alleviate the adverse effects of chlorothalonil on Oryza sativa L.

A glasshouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the fungicide chlorothalonil on the growth of upland rice, in the absence or presence of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae (NM and GM treatments). The plants were grown with three concentrations of chlorothalonil (0, 50 and 100 mg kg(-1) soil). Mycorrhizal colonization decreased significantly with increasing chlorothalonil concentrations.

Interaction between cadmium and atrazine during uptake by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.).

The uptake of atrazine by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.) through plant roots from nutrient solution was investigated in the presence and absence of Cd2+ over an exposure period of four weeks. It was found that both atrazine and Cd2+ were toxic to rice seedlings.

[Isolation and degrading characters of pendimethalin degrading bacteria].

Microbial degradation of pendimethalin and the effects of culture conditions in vitro are studied. Twenty-nine strains are isolated by enrichment from soil and sludge. 3 strains can degrade more than 80% of pendimethalin of 100 mg x L(-l) in 3 days in culture fluid.