Farmland transfer contract performance and green production technology adoption among farmers: evidence from a survey of four provinces in China.

The popularization and use of green production technology is the key to promoting the sustainable development of agriculture. Exploring the path of promoting farmers' adoption of green production technology has important theoretical and practical significance for promoting the green transformation of agriculture and realizing the high-quality development of agriculture. This study examined the impact of contract performance on the adoption of green production technology in the farmland transfer market based on the characteristics of green production technology.

Changes in the composition of the fecal metabolome and gut microbiota contribute to intervertebral disk degeneration in a rabbit model.

Purpose: Lower back pain (LBP), mainly caused by intervertebral disk (IVD) degeneration (IDD), is widely prevalent worldwide and is a serious socioeconomic burden. Numerous factors may trigger this degenerative process, and microbial dysbiosis has recently been implicated as one of the likely causes. However, the exact relationship between IDD and the microbiome remains obscure.

Alendronate-Anionic Clay Nanohybrid for Enhanced Osteogenic Proliferation and Differentiation.

Background: Alendronate (AL), a drug for inhibiting osteoclast-mediated bone-resorption, was intercalated into an inorganic drug delivery nanovehicle, layered double hydroxide (LDH), to form a new nanohybrid, AL-LDH, with 1:1 heterostructure along the crystallographic C-axis. Based on the intercalation reaction strategy, the present AL-LDH drug delivery system (DDS) was realized with an enhanced drug efficacy of AL, which was confirmed by the improved proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of osteoblast-like cells (MG63).

Methods: The AL-LDH nanohybrid was synthesized by conventional ion-exchange reaction and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor promotes tumor metastasis through an interaction with laminin receptor in hepatocellular carcinomas.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has complex functions in tumor metastasis, but little is known about the roles of PEDF and its receptors in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we found that high expression of PEDF is associated with shorter overall survival in HCC patients. Forced expression of PEDF enhanced HCC cell aggressive behavior in vitro and in vivo, whereas silencing PEDF expression reduced migration and invasion.

Dysfunction of IKZF1/MYC/MDIG axis contributes to liver cancer progression through regulating H3K9me3/p21 activity.

MDIG is known to be overexpressed in many types of human cancers and has demonstrated predictive power in the prognosis of cancer, although the functions and mechanisms of MDIG in liver cancer, especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), are still unknown. In this study, we report that MDIG and MYC were negatively regulated by IKZF1. MDIG overexpression substantially promoted HCC cell proliferation, cell migration and spreading, whereas knockdown of MDIG would reverse above-mentioned effect.

Downregulation of FOXP1 Inhibits Cell Proliferation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inducing G1/S Phase Cell Cycle Arrest.

Forkhead box P1 (FOXP1) belongs to a family of winged-helix transcription factors that are involved in the processes of cellular proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, and longevity. FOXP1 can affect cell proliferation and migratory ability in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vitro. However, little is known about the mechanism of FOXP1 in the proliferation of HCC cells.

The suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) inhibits tumor metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and its incidence continues to increase. However, the mechanism underlying the development and progression of HCC remains unknown. The suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) is a member of the SOCS family and influences the carcinogenesis of multiple types of tumors, but the biological roles of SOCS2 in HCC remain unclear.

The transcription factor FOXN3 inhibits cell proliferation by downregulating E2F5 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and the mechanisms underlying the development of HCC remain to be elucidated. Forkhead box N3 (FOXN3) is an important member of the FOX family of transcription factors that plays an essential role in several cancers but has not been investigated in HCC. In this study, we demonstrate that FOXN3 is downregulated in human primary HCC tissues compared with their matched adjacent liver tissues.

Serum DLK1 is a potential prognostic biomarker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most prevalent cancer and the third most frequent cause of cancer-related death in developing countries, especially in East Asia and South Africa, and the identification of new biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis is needed. Delta-like 1 homologue (Drosophila) (DLK1) is expressed in malignancies and promotes cancer cell stemness and tumourigenicity, which makes this molecule a potential target for therapies directed against cancer stem/progenitor cells. Here, we aimed to assess the predictive value of DLK1 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HCC.

Orosomucoid 2 inhibits tumor metastasis and is upregulated by CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β in hepatocellular carcinomas.

Cancer metastasis is a complex process, and the incidence of metastasis is influenced by many biological factors. Orosomucoid 2 (ORM2) is an important glycoprotein that is mainly biosynthesized and secreted by hepatocytes. As an acute-phase protein, ORM2 likely plays important roles in anti-inflammation, immunomodulation and drug delivery.

Effect of the HBV whole-X gene on the expression of hepatocellular carcinoma associated proteins.

Background: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) pre-X gene resides upstream of the HBV X gene, and together they form the HBV whole-X gene. Although it has been evident that the HBV whole-X protein is involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, its biological role and molecular mechanism remain largely unknown.

Methods: In this study, we subcloned the HBV whole-X gene and constructed a HBV whole-X expressing vector.