MicroRNA-192 targeting retinoblastoma 1 inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells

microRNAs play an important roles in cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. They can function either as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. We found that the overexpression of miR-192 inhibited cell proliferation in A549, H460 and 95D cells, and inhibited tumorigenesis in a nude mouse model. Both caspase-7 and the PARP protein were activated by the overexpression of miR-192, thus suggesting that miR-192 induces cell apoptosis through the caspase pathway. Further studies showed that retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) is a direct target of miR-192. Over-expression of miR-192 decreased RB1 mRNA and protein levels and repressed RB1-3′-UTR reporter activity. Knockdown of RB1 using siRNA resulted in a similar cell morphology as that observed for overexpression of miR-192. Additionally, RB1-siRNA treatment inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Analysis of miRNA expression in clinical samples showed that miR-192 is significantly downregulated in lung cancer tissues compared to adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that miR-192 is a tumor suppressor that can target the RB1 gene to inhibit cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, miR-192 was expressed at low levels in lung cancer samples, indicating that it might be a promising therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Land Utilization, Landscape Pattern, and Ecological Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis of Discrimination and Overlap from Suining, China

The rapid urbanization in recent decades has highlighted the impact of rural land utilization, which further affects the spatial structure and efficiency of rural ecosystems. Optimizing the structure of urban green infrastructure is an effective way to alleviate the fragmentation of rural landscapes, coordinate the relationship between rural development and ecosystem services, and ensure sustainable rural development. The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear direction for the optimization of construction for the sustainable development of rural green infrastructure (RGI). This study provides a new method for RGI identification and analysis by taking Suining County, a typical rural area on the North China Plain, as an example. Morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) was used to distinguish different space scenery elements in RGI and combine them with land utilization elements, so as to obtain two types of overlapping degree data in each village and town. We further combined the overlapping degree data with ecological efficiency indicators to evaluate the spatial structure construction priorities of different land use components in the RGI system. The results show that the MSPA and ecological efficiency analysis method proposed in this paper are conducive to qualitative and quantitative analysis of the relationship between land use type, spatial structure, and ecological efficiency in the RGI system and are suitable for the construction of a green infrastructure network. This method can be used to better understand the spatial distribution and priority of green infrastructure networks to achieve sustainable rural development on the North China Plain

Tropical teleconnection impacts on Antarctic climate changes

Over the modern satellite era, substantial climatic changes have been observed in the Antarctic, including atmospheric and oceanic warming, ice sheet thinning and a general Antarctic-wide expansion of sea ice, followed by a more recent rapid loss. Although these changes, featuring strong zonal asymmetry, are partially influenced by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and stratospheric ozone depletion, tropical–polar teleconnections are believed to have a role through Rossby wave dynamics. In this Review, we synthesize understanding of tropical teleconnections to the Southern Hemisphere extratropics arising from the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, focusing on the mechanisms and long-term climatic impacts. These teleconnections have contributed to observed Antarctic and Southern Ocean changes, including regional rapid surface warming, pre-2015 sea ice expansion and its sudden reduction thereafter, changes in ocean heat content and accelerated thinning of most of the Antarctic ice sheet. However, due to limited observations and inherent model biases, uncertainties remain in understanding and assessing the importance of these teleconnections versus those arising from greenhouse gases, ozone recovery and internal variability. Sustained pan-Antarctic efforts towards long-term observations, and more realistic dynamics and parameterizations in high-resolution climate models, offer opportunities to reduce these uncertainties

Dynamic Concentrated Solar Building Skin Design Based on Multiobjective Optimization

Building skin can provide comprehensive functions of energy production, daylighting, and shading with an integrated transmissive solar-concentrating panel. In this study, Rhino Grasshopper parametric modeling, Ladybug tool performance simulation, and Octopus multiobjective optimization platforms are used to carry out experimental research. This study establishes the optimal relationship between the conflicting objectives of light environment creation and energy production efficiency of solar-concentrating skin by controlling three variables, namely the size of the solar-concentrating module, the rotation angle, and the number of modules, aiming to design the optimal solution and build a multiobjective optimization technology framework for the solar-concentrating skin of an office space. A comparison and analysis of the scenarios indicate a dynamic concentrating skin that can effectively reduce the daylight glare probability (DGP) by 70% and increase the useful daylight illuminance (UDI) by 10%, while achieving energy production. The correlation between the variables and the performance indices of the solar-concentrating skin was obtained as angle > width > length > amount, and the optimal design interval for each parameter variable. This study reveals the laws of how parameter changes affect individual indicators, which can provide ideas for the design of dynamic concentrating skins and building integration, methods for improving the balanced design of indoor light environments and building capacity, and a technical framework for multiobjective optimization processes