Endoglin Is Essential for the Maintenance of Self-Renewal and Chemoresistance in Renal Cancer Stem Cells.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a deadly malignancy due to its tendency to metastasize and resistance to chemotherapy. Stem-like tumor cells often confer these aggressive behaviors. We discovered an endoglin (CD105)-expressing subpopulation in human RCC xenografts and patient samples with a greater capability to form spheres in vitro and tumors in mice at low dilutions than parental cells. Knockdown of CD105 by short hairpin RNA and CRISPR/cas9 reduced stemness markers and sphere-formation ability while accelerating senescence in vitro. Importantly, downregulation of CD105 significantly decreased the tumorigenicity and gemcitabine resistance. This loss of stem-like properties can be rescued by CDA, MYC, or NANOG, and CDA might act as a demethylase maintaining MYC and NANOG. In this study, we showed that Endoglin (CD105) expression not only demarcates a cancer stem cell subpopulation but also confers self-renewal ability and contributes to chemoresistance in RCC

Upregulation of MIAT Regulates LOXL2 Expression by Competitively Binding MiR-29c in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background/Aims: MIAT is a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) involved in cell proliferation and the development of tumor. However, the exact effects and molecular mechanisms of MIAT in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) progression are still unknown. Methods: We screened the lncRNAs’ profile of ccRCC in The Cancer Genome Atlas database, and then examined the expression levels of lncRNA MIAT in 45 paired ccRCC tissue specimens and in cell lines by q-RT-PCR. MTS, colony formation, EdU, and Transwell assays were performed to examine the effect of MIAT on proliferation and metastasis of ccRCC. Western blot and luciferase assays were performed to determine whether MIAT can regulate Loxl2 expression by competitively binding miR-29c in ccRCC. Results: MIAT was up-regulated in ccRCC tissues and cell lines. High MIAT expression correlated with worse clinicopathological features and shorter survival rate. Functional assays showed that knockdown of MIAT inhibited renal cancer cell proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Luciferase and western blot assays further confirmed that miR-29c binds with MIAT. Additionally, the correlation of miR-29c with MIAT and Loxl2 was further verified in patients' samples. Conclusion: Our data indicated that MIAT might be an oncogenic lncRNA that promoted proliferation and metastasis of ccRCC, and could be a potential therapeutic target in human ccRCC

The Knee of the Cosmic Hydrogen and Helium Spectrum below 1 PeV Measured by ARGO-YBJ and a Cherenkov Telescope of LHAASO

The measurement of cosmic ray energy spectra, in particular for individual species, is an essential approach in finding their origin. Locating the "knees" of the spectra is an important part of the approach and has yet to be achieved. Here we report a measurement of the mixed Hydrogen and Helium spectrum using the combination of the ARGO-YBJ experiment and of a prototype Cherenkov telescope for the LHAASO experiment. A knee feature at 640+/-87 TeV, with a clear steepening of the spectrum, is observed. This gives fundamental inputs to galactic cosmic ray acceleration models

Soil organic carbon mineralization and sequestration and its microbial influencing mechanisms under the driving of water erosion and vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau

水力侵蚀（简称侵蚀）与侵蚀劣地植被恢复（简称植被恢复）是土壤碳库的重要驱动因子，能够显著影响土壤碳库的封存与流失。在过去几十年，国内外学者针对侵蚀与植被恢复过程土壤有机碳库的动态变化进行了广泛探讨，但有关侵蚀与植被恢复环境土壤有机碳动态的微生物作用机制仍缺乏深入了解。因而，进一步研究黄土高原侵蚀与植被恢复环境微生物主导的有机碳矿化与固定潜力及其与土壤生物、非生物因子间的内在联系，对于揭示土壤侵蚀在全球碳循环中的角色定位以及探明微生物在土壤碳循环中所起的作用都具有重要意义。本研究选取黄土高原典型坝控小流域-桥子沟流域为研究对象，应用定量PCR、高通量测序与13C稳定同位素标记等分析技术，研究了侵蚀与植被恢复体系微生物主导的有机碳矿化与固定潜力及其影响机制。主要结论如下： （1）阐明了坡面侵蚀与沉积环境土壤有机碳矿化的微生物作用机制。研究结果表明侵蚀区（坡上、坡中）细菌丰度显著高于沉积区（坡下），而细菌物种多样性与群落组成并无明显差异。此外，沉积区土壤有机碳矿化速率为19.02 mg CO2-C kg-1 d-1，分别是坡上与坡下侵蚀区的1.26和1.07倍；有机碳矿化比呈现出坡中（0.082 g CO2-C g-1 SOC）&gt;坡上（0.070 g CO2-C g-1 SOC）&gt;坡下（0.064 g CO2-C g-1 SOC）的变化规律。侵蚀诱导土壤团聚体的破裂虽增加了侵蚀区土壤有机碳被微生物矿化分解的风险，但表层土壤活性有机碳的大量流失导致其可供微生物分解的有机碳量减少，其CO2释放速率也相应降低。多元逐步回归分析结果表明碱解氮是土壤有机碳矿化的主要解释变量（60.2%）。相对细菌丰度与物种多样性，活性有机质是侵蚀坡面土壤有机碳矿化的主要调控因子。侵蚀坡面细菌丰度与有机碳矿化速率的空间分布异质性否定了土壤有机碳矿化微生物控制学说。研究结果表明土壤微生物对有机碳矿化表现出明显的功能冗余特征，侵蚀诱导微生物丰度与物种多样性的适度改变不会对土壤有机碳矿化产生显著影响。 （2）揭示了流域沟蚀作用下自养细菌群落与微生物固碳潜力的变化特征。 &nbsp;&nbsp;研究发现坡耕地自养细菌丰度与物种多样性指数分别是淤地坝的1.70和1.10倍，沟蚀诱导养分贫瘠土壤的沉积显著降低了淤地坝总自养细菌丰度与物种多样性，而以大气CO2为专一碳源的专性自养菌相对丰度却得到显著提升，如硫杆菌（Thiobacillus）。此外，淤地坝微生物固碳速率为5.002 Mg C km-2 yr-1，是对应坡耕地的4.67倍；微生物固碳速率与有机碳含量，多数兼性自养菌相对丰度，总自养微生物丰度与物种多样性指数存在显著负相关关系，而与多数专性自养菌相对丰度显著正相关。因而，专性自养菌可能是微生物固碳的主要贡献者。逐步回归分析结果表明，可溶性有机碳是土壤微生物固碳速率的主要解释变量（72.0%），流域侵蚀通过影响活性有机碳的空间分布可有效改变自养微生物群落结构，如兼性自养菌与专性自养菌的占比，进而影响侵蚀与沉积环境土壤微生物固碳潜力。 （3）揭示了侵蚀劣地植被恢复过程土壤微生物与有机碳矿化速率间的内在联系。研究结果表明植被恢复区土壤细菌丰度（1.47 &times; 107 copies g-1）显著低于坡耕地（8.39 &times; 108 copies g-1），而植被恢复区土壤真菌:细菌比是侵蚀区的7.68倍，侵蚀劣地植被恢复过程土壤微生物由细菌为主导的群落向以真菌为主导的群落演变。此外，植被恢复区土壤有机碳矿化速率是侵蚀区的1.29倍，土壤碳矿化比则表现出相反的变化趋势，侵蚀劣地植被恢复虽降低了土壤有机碳被微生物矿化的风险，但植被恢复区活性有机质含量的增高显著提升了土壤CO2释放速率。多元统计分析结果表明，可溶性有机碳是土壤有机碳矿化的主要解释变量（68.5%），侵蚀劣地植被恢复过程土壤活性有机质含量的高低在一定程度上调控着土壤CO2释放速率的快慢。研究指出土壤微生物是有机碳矿化的主要承担者而非关键调控者。 （4）阐明了自养细菌群落与微生物固碳潜力对侵蚀劣地植被恢复的响应特征。研究结果表明侵蚀劣地植被恢复32年，植物碎屑与根系分泌物的大量输入虽有助于土壤碳、氮库的提升，但小冠花植物巨大的蒸腾损耗显著降低了土壤水分含量。植被恢复过程土壤有效水分的降低抑制了自养微生物的快速生长与增殖，致使植被恢复区土壤自养细菌丰度与物种多样性显著低于侵蚀劣地。此外，侵蚀劣地土壤微生物固碳速率为1.114 Mg C km-2 yr-1，是植被恢复区的1.748倍。主成分分析结果表明，微生物固碳速率与土壤水分、自养细菌丰度与物种多样性呈正向耦合关系，而与土壤碳、氮养分呈负向耦合关系。干旱半干旱区植被恢复诱导土壤水分的降低是微生物固碳潜力的主要限制因素，且其主要通过改变自养细菌群落来实现。 总的来说，侵蚀与植被恢复环境土壤有机碳矿化主要受有机质自身质量所调控，微生物对土壤有机碳矿化特征表现出明显的功能冗余，微生物是土壤有机碳矿化的主要&ldquo;承担者&rdquo;而非关键&ldquo;调控者&rdquo;。此外，微生物固碳速率与专性自养微生物相对丰度显著正相关，专性自养菌可能是土壤微生物固碳的主要&ldquo;贡献者&rdquo;。植被恢复诱导土壤水分的降低抑制了自养菌群的快速增殖，尤其是兼性自养菌，且进一步降低了微生物固碳潜力。该研究改变了微生物丰度决定土壤有机碳矿化速率的传统观念，证实了微生物在土壤有机碳矿化中的功能冗余与固碳中的关键贡献，为侵蚀与植被恢复体系土壤有机碳动态模拟与研究提供了新的思路。</p

Eye state recognition method for drivers with glasses

Eye state recognition is a key step in fatigue detection method. However, factors such as occlusion of different types of glasses and changes in lighting conditions may have some impact on eye state recognition. In order to solve these problems, a driver\u27s eye state recognition method based on deep learning is proposed. Firstly, the driver\u27s face images are acquired using an infrared acquisition device. Secondly the multi-task cascaded convolution neural networks are used to detect the face bounding box and feature points of the driver\u27s face image, and then the eye regions are extracted. Finally the Convolution Neural Network (CNN) is adopted to identify the open and closed state of the eyes. Experimental result shows that the proposed method can accurately identify the state of eyes and help to calculate the fatigue parameters of drivers

The mineralization and sequestration of organic carbon in relation to agricultural soil erosion

The coupling of soil erosion (especially interrill erosion by water) and the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural landscapes has been widely studied over the past two decades. To date, however, the role of soil erosion in global C cycle remains a topic of debate. Numerous questions remain to be addressed before determining the C sink/source effect of soil erosion, especially for the mineralization and sequestration of eroded SOC upon erosion, transport and deposition. In this review, we provide a comprehensive cross-disciplinary review on SOC mineralization and sequestration at sites of erosion, along the transport pathway and at depositional sites. The current state of knowledge on the impacts of erosion-induced soil aggregate breakdown and formation, removal of SOC from eroding sites and deep burial of SOC at depositional sites on the mineralization and sequestration of SOC are presented. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the conceptual relations between soil biological properties (microbial abundance, species diversity, community composition and enzyme activity) and the mineralization and sequestration of SOC in eroded agricultural landscapes, which are often overlooked by previous research and reviews. The comprehensive understanding of physical, chemical and biological mechanisms affecting the mineralization and sequestration of eroded SOC provides important insights to balance the global carbon budget and finally holds the answer on the carbon sink/source controversy.</p

Soil erosion-related dynamics of soil bacterial communities and microbial respiration

Soil erosion can dramatically change physicochemical soil properties, but little is known about the responses of bacterial communities and microbial respiration to soil erosion. In this study, three sites (upslope, mid-slope and downslope) with different erosional and depositional characteristics were selected along three transects of abandoned land in the Qiaozi watershed of the Chinese Loess Plateau to evaluate the impacts of soil erosion on bacterial communities and microbial respiration. Samples of the topsoil (0&ndash;10 cm) and subsoil (10&ndash;20 cm), classified as Calcic Cambisols, were collected from these sites. The results showed that lower bacterial abundance was observed in the topsoil of the downslope site (7.58 &times; 108 copies g-1 soil) relative to the upslope (9.32 &times; 108 copies g-1 soil) and mid-slope (8.70 &times; 108 copies g-1 soil) sites. However, no obvious change (P &gt; 0.05) in the bacterial Shannon index and community composition was observed among the sites. Runoff&nbsp;induced erosion and migration of sediment homogenized the bacterial communities along the eroded slopes. Soil microbial respiration in the topsoil of the downslope site (19.02 &plusmn; 0.25 mg CO2-C kg-1 soil d-1) was sig nificantly (P &lt; 0.05) higher than that of the upslope (15.12 &plusmn; 1.07 mg CO2-C kg-1 soil d-1) and mid-slope (17.75 &plusmn; 0.73 mg CO2-C kg-1 soil d-1) sites, indicating that the deposition of sediment and associated organic matter significantly increased the soil microbial respiration. Multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that available nitrogen was the main explanatory factor for the variation in soil microbial respiration in both the topsoil (60.2%, P = 0.009) and subsoil (80.3%, P = 0.002). Compared to the bacterial properties, the labile organic matter contributed more to the variation. Our work suggested that soil microbial respiration was primarily modulated by the quality of the organic matter.</p

Microbial CO2 assimilation is not limited by the decrease in autotrophic bacterial abundance and diversity in eroded watershed

The impacts of soil erosion on soil structure, nutrient, and microflora have been extensively studied but little is known about the responses of autotrophic bacterial community and associated carbon (C)-fixing potential to soil erosion. In this study, three abandoned croplands (ES1, ES2, and ES3) and three check dams (DS1, DS2, and DS3) in the Qiaozi watershed of Chinese Loess Plateau were selected as eroding sites and depositional sites, respectively, to evaluate the impacts of soil erosion on autotrophic bacterial community and associated C-fixing potential. Lower abundance and diversity of autotrophic bacteria were observed in nutrient-poor depositional sites compared with nutrient-rich eroding sites. However, the relative abundances of obligate autotrophic bacteria, such as Thiobacillus and Synechococcus, were significantly enhanced in depositional sites. Deposition of nutrient poor soil contributed to the growth of obligate autotrophic bacteria. The maximum microbial C-fixing rate was observed in DS1 site (5.568 &plusmn; 1.503 Mg C km-2 year-1), followed by DS3 site (5.306 &plusmn; 2.130 Mg C km-2 year-1), and the minimum was observed in ES2 site (0.839 &plusmn; 0.558 Mg C km-2 year-1). Soil deposition significantly enhanced microbial C-fixing rate. Assuming a total erosion area of 1.09 &times; 107 km2, microbial C-fixing potential in eroded landscape can range from 0.01 to 0.06 Pg C year-1. But its effect on the C pool recovery of degraded soil is limited. Dissolved organic C (DOC) was the main explanatory factor for the variation in soil microbial C-fixing rate (72.0%, P = 0.000).</p

Changes in microbial communities and respiration following the revegetation of eroded soil

It is necessary to assess the responses of microbial communities and respiration to the revegetation of eroded soils for understanding the dynamics of soil carbon (C) pools and fluxes. In this study, three typical abandoned croplands (CL1, CL2 and CL3) and three secondary grasslands planted with Coronilla varia (GL1, GL2 and GL3) on the Loess Plateau of China were selected for sampling, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing were applied to intuitively discern differences in the soil bacteria and fungi. Our results showed that bacterial abundance in the abandoned croplands was 57 times higher than that of the secondary grasslands (P &lt; 0.05), but no obvious changes (P &gt; 0.05) in fungal abundance and microbial diversity were observed after 31 years of revegetation. We observed positive responses in Actinobacteria,&nbsp;Firmicutes, Zygomycota and Ciliophora and negative responses in Bacteroidetes and Planctomycetes to revegetation. In addition, the maximum soil microbial respiration was observed in the GL3 site (20.86 &plusmn; 0.69 mg CO2-C kg-1 soil d-1) followed by the GL1 site (19.97 &plusmn; 0.65 mg CO2-C kg-1 soil d-1), so revegetation significantly improved (P &lt; 0.05) soil microbial respiration. Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) explained up to 68.5% of the variation in soil microbial respiration, which indicated that the effects of changes in microbial properties in response to revegetation on soil microbial respiration were likely to be smaller than the potential effects of changes in the quality of organic matter. Labile organic matter is the primary rate-limiting factor for soil microbial respiration.</p