Cyclostratigraphy of Lower Permian alkaline lacustrine deposits in the Mahu Sag, Junggar basin and its stratigraphic implication

The Lower Permian Fengcheng Formation of the Mahu Sag is one of the most potentially petroliferous sequences in China, and its unique alkaline lacustrine deposits provide important information on the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment of the early Permian. However, because of the complexity of the heterogeneous lithology and sedimentary facies in lacustrine deposits, the lateral correlation of lithofacies becomes challenging. Using cyclostratigraphy, we conducted a detailed astronomical cycle analysis of the Lower Permian Fengcheng Formation in the northern Mahu Sag, established an astronomical time scale, and constructed an isochronous sedimentary framework by collating the cycles of the different wells. Nine 405-kyr long-eccentricity cycles in the Fengcheng Formation were identified, and absolute astronomical time scales were established with the anchored point at ∼300 Ma in the Lower member of the Fengcheng Formation. Based on the identification of lithofacies, the spatio-temporal variation in the lithofacies within the Fengcheng Formation was reconstructed. The astronomical time scale has proven to be reliable, and the lithofacies distribution within the isochronal framework is effective for investigating the spatial variation of lithofacies in alkaline lacustrine deposits. Favorable dolomitic mudstones developed in the central and transitional zones, corresponding to the three long-eccentricity cycles in the middle member of the Fengcheng Formation. Tuffaceous mudstones with high potential mainly developed in the lower member of the Fengcheng Formation in the marginal zone of the Mahu Sag. This study demonstrates an approach that can be used to study lithofacies in lacustrine deposits

SP1-Induced Upregulation of lncRNA LINC00659 Promotes Tumour Progression in Gastric Cancer by Regulating miR-370/AQP3 Axis

Growing evidence demonstrates that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in various human tumors. LncRNA LINC00659 (LINC00659) is a newly identified lncRNA and its roles in tumors remain largely unclear. In this study, we elucidated the potential functions and molecular mechanisms of LINC00659 on the biological behaviors of gastric cancer (GC), and also explored its clinical significance. We firstly demonstrated that LINC00659 levels were distinctly up-regulated in both GC specimens and cells using bioinformatics analysis and RT-PCR. The results of ChIP assays and luciferase reporter assays confirmed that upregulation of LINC00659 was activated by SP1 in GC. Clinical assays revealed that higher levels of LINC00659 were associated with TNM stage, lymphatic metastasis, and poorer prognosis. Moreover, LINC00659 was confirmed to be an independent prognostic marker for the patients with GC using multivariate assays. Lost-of-function assays indicated that knockdown of LINC00659 suppressed the proliferation, metastasis, and EMT progress of GC cells in vitro. Mechanistic investigation indicated that LINC00659 served as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-370, thereby resulting in the upregulation of leading to the depression of its endogenous target gene AQP3. Overall, our present study revealed that the LINC00659/miR-370/AQP3 axis contributes to GC progression, which may provide clues for the exploration of cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets for GC

Deformation of confined liquid interfaces by inhomogeneous electric fields and localized particle forces

Hypothesis: Oil-water interfaces that are created by confining a certain amount of oil in a square shaped pixel (∼200 x 200 μm2 with a height of ∼10 μm) topped by a layer of water, have a curvature that depends on the amount of oil that happens to be present in the confining area. Under the application of an electric field normal to the interface, the interface will deform due to inhomogeneities in the electric field. These inhomogeneities are expected to arise from the initial curvature of the meniscus, from fringe fields that emerge at the confining pixel walls and, if applicable, from interfacially adsorbed particles. Modeling and Experiments: We model the shape of the confined oil-water interface invoking capillarity and electrostatics. Furthermore, we measure the initial curvature by tracking the position of interfacially adsorbed particles depending on sample tilt. Findings: We found that the pixels exhibited meniscus curvature radii ranging from 0.6-7 mm. The corresponding model based minimum oil film thicknesses range between 0.7 and 9 μm. Furthermore, the model shows that the initial meniscus curvature can increase up to 76 percent relative to the initial curvature by the electric field before the oil film becomes unstable. The pixel wall and particles are shown to have minimal impact on the interface deformation

Effects of Blanching Followed by Spray Drying on Volatile Flavor Compounds in Sweet Corn

The effects of blanching followed by spray drying on volatile flavor compounds in sweet corn were investigated. The volatile flavor compounds in fresh, blanched and spray-dried sweet corn were analyzed by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The qualitative analysis was carried out by comparison of the spectra for the chromatogram peaks with those in the NIST14 database library and comparison of retention index (RI), and the quantitative analysis by an internal standard method. Gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) was used to analyze the composition of odor-active compounds and overall flavor profiles. The results showed that a total of 58 volatile flavor compounds were detected in fresh, blanched and spray-dried samples. Blanching and spray drying had significant effects on the types and contents of volatile flavor compounds in sweet corn. After blanching treatment, the contents of ketones, aromatic compounds, terpenes and aldehydes were decreased, and the total content of volatile flavor compounds decreased by 36.60%. After spray drying, the total content of volatile flavor compounds was increased by 19.21 and 30.30 times compared with those of fresh and blanched sweet corn, respectively. Among them, the contents of aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and heterocyclic compounds were increased, and new substances such as dimethyl thioether and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline were detected. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the decreases in the contents of 2-nonenal (E), 3-ethyl-2-methyl-1, 3-hexadiene, octanal and D-limonene were closely related to blanching, while the increases in the contents of dimethyl thioether, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 2-methylpropanal, 3-methylbutanal, 2-methylbutanal 2-methyl-(E)-2-butenal compounds were highly correlated with spray drying. Thirty-three odor-active compounds were detected by GC-O, 10 of which had odor intensity value (OIV) equal to or larger than 3. Flavor profile analysis showed that the intensity of fruity aroma was the highest in fresh sweet corn, followed by floral, nutty and green aroma. After blanching treatment, the overall aroma intensity was decreased and in particular, the grassy aroma intensity was decreased significantly. After spray drying, the overall aroma intensity was significantly increased, the intensity of nutty and green aroma was significantly enhanced, and a strong barbecue aroma appeared

A Prospective Randomized Study of the Radiotherapy Volume for Limited-stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Preliminary Report

Background and objective Controversies exists with regard to target volumes as far as thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) is concerned in the multimodality treatment for limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LSCLC). The aim of this study is to prospectively compare the local control rate, toxicity profiles, and overall survival (OS) between patients received different target volumes irradiation after induction chemotherapy. Methods LSCLC patients received 2 cycles of etoposide and cisplatin (EP) induction chemotherapy and were randomly assigned to receive TRT to either the post- or pre-chemotherapy tumor extent (GTV-T) as study arm and control arm, CTV-N included the positive nodal drainage area for both arms. One to 2 weeks after induction chemotherapy, 45 Gy/30 Fx/19 d TRT was administered concurrently with the third cycle of EP regimen. After that, additional 3 cycles of EP consolidation were administered. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) was administered to patients with a complete response. Results Thirty-seven and 40 patients were randomly assigned to study arm and control arm. The local recurrence rates were 32.4% and 28.2% respectively (P=0.80); the isolated nodal failure (INF) rate were 3.0% and 2.6% respectively (P=0.91); all INF sites were in the ipsilateral supraclavicular fossa. Medastinal N3 disease was the risk factor for INF (P=0.02, OR=14.13, 95%CI: 1.47-136.13). During radiotherapy, grade I, II weight loss was observed in 29.4%, 5.9% and 56.4%, 7.7% patients respectively (P=0.04). Grade 0-I and II-III late pulmonary injury was developed in 97.1%, 2.9% and 86.4%, 15.4% patients respectively (P=0.07). Median survival time was 22.1 months and 26.9 months respectively. The 1 to 3-year OS were 77.9%, 44.4%, 37.3% and 75.8%, 56.3%, 41.7% respectively (P=0.79). Conclusion The preliminary results of this study indicate that irradiant the post-chemotherapy tumor extent (GTV-T) and positive nodal drainage area did not decrease local control and overall survival while radiation toxicity was reduced. But the current sample size has not met designed requirements, and further investigation is warranted before final conclusions could be drawn

Substrate interaction inhibits γ-secretase production of amyloid-β peptides

Combining NMR, mass spectrometry, AlphaLISA and cell assays, we discovered a compound C1 that binds C-terminal juxtamembrane lysines at the transmembrane domain of the amyloid precursor protein (APPTM) and inhibits γ-secretase production of amyloid-β with μM IC50. Our work suggests that targeting APPTM is a novel and viable strategy in AD drug discovery.This work was supported by a grant from the Warren Alpert Foundation (to C. W.), the NIH grant R21-NS109926 (to C. W.), NIH grants R01-AG008200 and RF1-NS047229 (to N. K. R.), and the NIH grant R35-GM127040 (to Y. Z.)Peer reviewe