Circ-0000979 promotes the development of gastric carcinoma by sponging miR-136 and modulating SP1 mRNA expression level

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a new class of non-coding RNAs that play pivotal biological roles in several types of cancer cells. However, the role of circ0000979 in gastric cancer (GC) has never been explored. Therefore, the current study aims to examine the functional effects of circ-0000979 in GC development and progression. The expression level of circ-0000979 was validated using qRT-PCR analysis. We found that circ-0000979 is significantly upregulated in GC samples. Using AGS and HGC27 GC cell line, we examined the biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of circ0000979 in GC in vitro and in vivo by knocking down circ-0000979. We found that circ-0000979 is subcellularly localized in the cytoplasm of GC cells. Functionally, silencing circ-0000979 leads to a significant reduction in GC cell proliferation and migration. In vivo assays showed that circ-0000979 knockdown markedly reduced GC tumor growth. CircRNA interactome predicted miR-136 as circ0000979 targeting miRNA, while starbase prediction result showed that miR-136 targeted the 3’UTR region of SP1 mRNA. Taken together, our results demonstrated that circ-0000979, as a carcinogenic circRNA, promotes the progression of GC by regulating the miR-136/SP1 pathway. Circ-0000979 is a potential RNA-based therapeutic target for GC treatment

Mapping regional and nested flow systems in the karst aquifers of Jinan spring using hydrochemical and isotope data

This study enhances the understanding of the evolution of water transport in karst water flow systems. This paper explores the karst water flow system from a hydrogeochemical perspective. It has been discovered that in the recharge area, the hydrochemical effect of karst water is primarily influenced by dissolution and filtration. In the fault zone and concentrated discharge area, it is primarily influenced by mixing. In the geothermal area, the dominant factors are dissolution, precipitation, and dolomitization. From the southern to the northern area, the hydrochemical type of karst water gradually changes from HCO3-Ca type to SO4·Cl-Ca·Na type. Atmospheric precipitation is the primary recharge source of karst water, with a recharge elevation range of 181–1,495 m. According to geological drilling statistics, the groundwater transport depth transits from the shallow transport in the south to the deep transport in the north, with a depth range of 3,000–3,500 m, and using isotope data to obtain the groundwater retention time range is 6–27,000 years. The groundwater transport mode is divided into three levels: open-shallow transport karst cold water phreatic flow, semi-open-medium-deep transport karst cold water confined flow, and weak open-deep transport geothermal water confined water flow. HIGHLIGHTS This study has revealed the hydrochemical evolution and transport patterns of karst water in the Jinan spring area.; The transport mode of the karst water flow system in the monoclinic structure of the Jinan spring area has been classified.

Study on Heterogeneity of Pore Throats at Different Scales and Its Influence on Seepage Capacity in Different Types of Tight Carbonate Reservoirs

The carbonate reservoirs in the middle Sichuan area have undergone complicated tectonics, resulting in various types of reservoir space, large secondary changes, and multiple complexities. Taking the tight carbonate gas reservoir of the Deng-4 member in this area as an example, based on casting thin sections, scanning electron microscopy, and high-pressure mercury injection experiments, the reservoir space and microstructural characteristics of the micropore throats were studied, and the influence of the microscale heterogeneity in different types of reservoirs on the seepage capacity was analyzed by applying fractal theory. The results showed that the reservoir space in the tight carbonate rock of the Deng-4 member in the study area could be divided into 3 types: pore-hole-fracture, pore-hole, and pore types. The distribution characteristics of the pore throat diameter were multimode wide type, double-mode high and low asymmetrical type, and single-mode concentrated type. The fractal dimension and seepage capability of the pore throat increased successively in sizes from less than 0.1 μm to 0.1~1.0 μm and greater than 1.0 μm. On the one hand, the development of karst caves and fractures controlled the percolation ability of tight carbonate reservoirs; on the other hand, it enhanced the heterogeneity of the micropore throat structure. However, the development degree of dissolved pores and microfractures has a weak contribution to the connectivity and seepage capacity of the reservoir space. Acidification, fracturing, and other measures can be adopted to enhance the connectivity between pores to improve the productivity of the gas reservoir. This study provides a scientific basis for the efficient exploration and development of tight carbonate reservoirs

Copious Irrigation Versus Suction Alone During Laparoscopic Appendectomy for Complicated Appendicitis in Adults

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether copious irrigation of peritoneal cavity during laparoscopic appendectomy for complicated appendicitis effectively reduces the incidence of postoperative complications and improves the postoperative recovery in adults compared with suction alone. Methods: In this prospective randomized trial, adult patients with complicated appendicitis were randomized to “irrigation and suction”(IS) group or “suction only”(SO) group. All surgery was performed with a standardized 3-port laparoscopic approach. The IS group received peritoneal irrigation with a minimum of 2000 mL sterile normal saline. The study primary outcomes included wound infection and postoperative intra-abdominal abscess. The study secondary outcomes included duration of operation, first anal exsufflation time, duration of hospital stay and hospital charges. Chi-squared and t-tests were used to analyze the study data. Results: Between January 2015 and June 2016, a total of 260 patients with complicated appendicitis were enrolled in the study. The peritoneal irrigation resulted in a longer operation time (51.6 ± 16.1 vs. 41.5 ± 15.2 min, p <0.001). There was no significant difference in the rate of wound infection between the two groups. However, the patients who received irrigation had a lower postoperative intra-abdominal abscess rate (3.1% vs. 9.2%, p = 0.039), earlier anal exsufflation (25.2 ± 16.5 vs. 30.7 ± 18.1 hr, p = 0.011), shorter hospital stay (10.2 ± 2.5 vs. 12.5 ± 2.8 days, p <0.001) and lower hospital charges (¥14,592 ± 2,251 vs. 16,674 ± 2,163, p <0.001) compared to those received suction alone. Conclusions: The study findings revealed that copious irrigation of peritoneal cavity during laparoscopic appendectomy could decrease the incidence of postoperative intra-abdominal abscess in adult patients with complicated appendicitis. These patients also had faster postoperative recovery and lower hospital charges

The Development of a Hybrid Wavelet-ARIMA-LSTM Model for Precipitation Amounts and Drought Analysis

Investigation of quantitative predictions of precipitation amounts and forecasts of drought events are conducive to facilitating early drought warnings. However, there has been limited research into or modern statistical analyses of precipitation and drought over Northeast China, one of the most important grain production regions. Therefore, a case study at three meteorological sites which represent three different climate types was explored, and we used time series analysis of monthly precipitation and the grey theory methods for annual precipitation during 1967&ndash;2017. Wavelet transformation (WT), autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and long short-term memory (LSTM) methods were utilized to depict the time series, and a new hybrid model wavelet-ARIMA-LSTM (W-AL) of monthly precipitation time series was developed. In addition, GM (1, 1) and DGM (1, 1) of the China Z-Index (CZI) based on annual precipitation were introduced to forecast drought events, because grey system theory specializes in a small sample and results in poor information. The results revealed that (1) W-AL exhibited higher prediction accuracy in monthly precipitation forecasting than ARIMA and LSTM; (2) CZI values calculated through annual precipitation suggested that more slight drought events occurred in Changchun while moderate drought occurred more frequently in Linjiang and Qian Gorlos; (3) GM (1, 1) performed better than DGM (1, 1) in drought event forecasting