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OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have revealed the important role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in regulating the progression of tumorigenesis. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a prevalent tumor in the world. This study aims to identify the specific mechanism of lncRNA CASC2 in alleviating the progression of OSCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: CASC2 expression in OSCC cell lines and 40 paired OSCC samples were detected by quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Moreover, in vitro functions of CASC2 in regulating the cellular behaviors of OSCC cells were identified by performing transwell assay, wound healing assay and proliferation assay. The underlying mechanism of CASC2 in mediating the progression of OSCC was explored by qRT-PCR and Western blot. RESULTS: CASC2 expression was remarkably downregulated in OSCC tissues compared with that in adjacent normal samples. Moreover, proliferation, invasion and migration were inhibited in OSCC cells overexpressing CASC2. CASC2 overexpression in OSCC cells downregulated CDK1 at both mRNA and protein levels in vitro. Besides, the expression of CDK1 in OSCC tissues was negatively correlated to the expression of CASC2. CONCLUSIONS: CASC2 suppresses the migration, invasion and proliferation of OSCC cells through downregulating CDK1, which may offer a new therapeutic intervention for OSCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Athetis lepigone (Möschler) is a new agronomic pest which has caused serious damages to summer maize in China. In order to effectively monitor it, it is necessary to carry-out a worldwide investigation on its potential geographical distribution. In this study, we give two ecological niche models, Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), to predict the potential geographical distribution of A. lepigone. The results indicate that the suitable areas for A. lepigone are mainly in China (Beijing, Tianjin, central and southern Hebei, northern Jiangsu, Shandong, most of Henan, northern Anhui, central and southern Shanxi, central and southern Shaanxi, small parts of north-west in Hubei, eastern Gansu, parts of Ningxia, western of Xinjiang and Dandong, and Liaoning) and other Asian countries (South Korea, North Korea and Japan). Parts of Europe (south-western Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, parts of Austria, western Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, northern Italy, Denmark, western Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, southern Finland and Sweden) are also highly suitable for A. lepigone. In addition, in the states of the USA including Michigan, New York, Chicago, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana are also favourable for its occurrence although till now no reports about of this species has been recorded. A jackknife test in MaxEnt showed that the mean temperature of the driest quarter was the most important environmental variable affecting the distribution of this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary cellulase addition on improving the nutritive value of Chlorella for juvenile crucian carp Carassius auratus (initial body weight: 2.99 ± 0.02 g, mean ± SEM). Five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets were formulated to contain 0.0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 g kg−1 cellulase, respectively. Each experimental diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups with 25 juvenile fish per fibreglass tank for 8 weeks. The results showed that weight gain, specific growth rate, feed intake and the trypsin activity in the anterior intestine increased with increasing dietary cellulase to 1.5 g kg−1 and then declined with further addition. However, the mRNA expression levels of Mrf4 and Myf5, the apparent digestibility coefficients for dry matter, protein, energy and the majority of amino acids, and the activity of lipase in the anterior intestine were highest in fish fed the 1.0 g kg−1 cellulase diet, and then tended to decline with further cellulase supplementation. In conclusion, the optimal dietary cellulase supplementation level was 1.0-1.5 g kg−1, which can improve growth performance, digestive activities and nutrient digestibility in crucian carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is extremely challenging to measure first-order rate coefficients for soil nitrate transformation processes directly, either in the laboratory or in the field. In this study, an improved inverse method was proposed to optimize the first-order rate coefficients by considering the intermediate changing processes of the integrated functions. A numerical experiment was designed to test the accuracy of the method in optimizing the coefficients. Comparisons between the optimized and theoretical results indicated that all the relative errors were within 10%. Data collected from a field experiment were used to validate the optimization procedure and to demonstrate its applications in practice. Using the established model and the estimated values by the inverse method, the simulated sourcesink term (SST) distributions of September 2-12, 2007, were in good agreement, with the root mean squared error (RMSE) between them being as low as 0.00021 mg cm-3 d-1. Based on the established nitrate transformation model, the distributions of soil water content and nitrate concentration during September 2-12, 2007, were simulated, and compared well with the measured profiles, with the RMSE of 0.023 cm³ cm-3 and 0.017 mg cm-3, respectively. The improved inverse method should be useful for optimizing the firstorder rate coefficients for nitrate transformation, establishing the nitrate transformation model, and simulating the nitrate transport in the soil-plant system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]