Relationship between Water Use and per Capita Income with Environmental Kuznets Curve of Developing Countries: A Case Study in Jiangsu Province, China

The relationship between economic growth and environmental variation is an important issue of sustainable development for human beings, especially in developing countries. However, developing countries usually use the standards of developed countries when dealing with environmental issues, which makes the relationship exhibit different characteristics than it does in developed countries. In order to realize a balance relationship between water use and income per capita in developing countries, a multivariable environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) simulation model based on the grey absolute correlation method was modified to improve the description of the balance relationship between water use and per capita income in the Jiangsu Province of China from 2005 to 2017. The results showed that the industrial and agricultural water uses first increased and then decreased, which agreed with an inverted “U” characteristic. The industrial water use was in the declining stage of the inverted “U” characteristic, while the agricultural water use was in a transition phase of the inverted “U” characteristic. However, the domestic water use showed an increasing trend, and it is difficult to estimate whether it showed an inverted “U” characteristic. Simultaneously, different watershed partitions in Jiangsu Province presented different EKC characteristics. In the three different watershed zoning regions of Jiangsu Province, the total water use of the Tai Lake Basin and the Yangtze River Basin exhibited the typical inverted “U” characteristic, while the Huai River Basin was just in the increasing stage. Moreover, the improved multivariable EKC model was suitable to describe the inverted U-shaped variation characteristics of water use, and the developed model outperformed the univariate EKC model in the study area. Based on the characteristics of the EKC, policy ideas for enhancing the coordination among water resources, the economy, and the ecological environment were proposed in order to achieve sustainable development

The Noncoding RNA Expression Profile and the Effect of lncRNA AK126698 on Cisplatin Resistance in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cell

<div><p>Background</p><p>The efficacy of cisplatin-based chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer is limited by the acquired drug resistance. Identification the RNAs related to the cisplatin resistance may help to improve clinical response rates.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Microarray expression profiling of mRNAs, lncRNA and miRNA was undertaken in A549 cells and cisplatin resistant A549/CDDP cells. Differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs, verified by realtime RT-PCR, were subjected to pathway analysis. Expression of NKD2 and β-catenin was assessed by realtime RT-PCR and western blot analysis. The effect of lncRNA AK126698 on cisplatin induced apoptosis was investigated by annexin-V/PI flow cytometry.</p><p>Results</p><p>In total, 1471 mRNAs, 1380 lncRNAs and 25 miRNAs differentially expressed in A549/CDDP and A549 cells. Among them, 8 mRNAs, 8 lncRNAs and 5 miRNAs differentially expressed in gene chip analysis were validated. High-enrichment pathway analysis identified that some classical pathways participated in proliferation, differentiation, avoidance of apoptosis, and drug metabolism were differently expressed in these cells lines. Gene co-expression network identified many genes like FN1, CTSB, EGFR, and NKD2; lncRNAs including BX648420, ENST00000366408, and AK126698; and miRNAs such as miR-26a and let-7i potentially played a key role in cisplatin resistance. Among which, the canonical Wnt pathway was investigated because it was demonstrated to be targeted by both lncRNAs and miRNAs including lncRNA AK126698. Knockdown lncRNA AK126698 not only greatly decreased NKD2 which can negatively regulate Wnt/β-catenin signaling but also increased the accumulation and nuclear translocation of β-catenin, and significantly depressed apoptosis rate induced by cisplatin in A549 cells.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Cisplatin resistance in non-small-cell lung cancer cells may relate to the changes in noncoding RNAs. Among these, AK126698 appears to confer cisplatin resistance by targeting the Wnt pathway.</p></div

Validation of microarray data by realtime RT-PCR.

<p>The relative amount of each mRNA (A) and lncRNA (B) was normalized to 18S rRNA, and each miRNA (C) was normalized to U6 snRNA. Data in histograms are means±SD, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001 compared with A549 (t test).</p

The RNA expression profiles and ciapatin resistance of A549 and A549/CDDP cells.

<p>Cells were treated with increasing concentrations of cisplatin (0.5 mg/L to 128 mg/L). 48 hours later, cell viability was measured by MTS (A). Heat maps show lncRNA (B), mRNA (C) and miRNAs (D) profiles that differentiate A549/CDDP from A549. Each sample was assayed in triplicate. Both down-regulated (green) and up-regulated (red) RNAs were identified in A549.</p

Signaling pathways of differentially expressed RNAs.

<p>Signaling pathways of differentially expressed upregulated mRNAs (A) and downregulated mRNAs (B). Western blot analysis of MAPK pathway (C) and Cell cycle pathway (D) levels in A549 cells and A549/CDDP cells. P-p44/42 MAPK, phosphor-p44/42 MAPK; P-SAPK/JNK, phosphor-SAPK/JNK; P-cdc2, phosphor-cdc2; P-Rb, phosphor-Rb; P-chk2, phosphor-chk2; P-p53, phosphor-p53. Signaling pathways on the intersection between differently expressed mRNAs and predicted target genes from differently expressed upregulated mRNAs (E) and downregulated mRNAs (F). Pathway analysis was predominantly based on the KEGG database. P-values <0.05 using the two-sided Fisher’s exact test were classed as being statistically significant. The vertical axis represents the pathway category and the horizontal axis represents the -log10 (p value) of these significant pathways.</p

Effects of AK126698 on Wnt pathway and cell apoptosis.

<p>Silencing of AK126698 by siRNA in A549 cells and altered NKD2 mRNA expression in AK126698 knockdown A549 cells (A). Western blot analysis of β-catenin and phospho-β-catenin levels in AK126698 knockdown A549 cells (B). Apoptosis evaluated by flow cytometry in AK126698 knockdown A549 cells (C). Values are means±SD and obtained from three independent experiments. *P<0.05, ***P<0.001 compared with A549 and negative control. NC: A549 treated with siRNA negative control; AK126698 siRNA-424, A549 treated with siRNA AK126698-424; AK126698 siRNA-291, A549 treated with siRNA AK126698-291; P-β-catenin, phospho-β-catenin.</p

LncRNA-miRNA-mRNA-Network.

<p>LncRNA-miRNA-mRNA-Network of A549 (A) and A549/CDDP (B). Blue represents down regulation and orange represents up regulation. Box nodes represent microRNA, circle nodes represent mRNA, and hexagon nodes represent lncRNA. Black edges describe the possible relationship between lncRNA and mRNA, green edges describe the inhibitive effect of microRNA on mRNA, and red edges represent the relationship between mRNA and mRNA.</p

Transfer of multiple loci of donor's genes to induce recipient tolerance in organ transplantation

Donor organ rejection remains a significant problem. The present study aimed to assess whether transferring a donor's major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes to the recipient could mitigate rejection in organ transplantation. Seven loci of MHC genes from donor mice were amplified and ligated into vectors; the vectors either contained one K locus, seven loci or were empty (control). The vectors were subsequently injected into the thymus of recipients (in heterotransplants, recipient rats received the vector containing one K locus), following which donor mouse hearts were transplanted. Following the transplantation of allograft and heterograft, electrocardiosignals were viable for a significantly longer duration in recipient mice and rats receiving the donor histocompatibility-2 complex (H-2)d genes compared with those in controls, and in mice that received seven vectors compared with those receiving one vector. Mixed lymphocyte cultures containing cells from these recipients proliferated significantly less compared with mixed lymphocyte cultures containing controls. Also, hearts from H-2d genes-treated recipients demonstrated less lymphocyte infiltration and necrosis compared with the control recipient. The present study concluded that allograft and heterograft rejection may be mitigated by introducing the donor's MHC into the recipient; transferring seven loci has been demonstrated to be more effective than transferring one locus