Search

In regional land-use planning, many different demands for often-limited land resources must be weighed against each other. Analysis of the benefits of different land-use types is of great significance in land-use design. However, a good evaluation methodology does not exist. To facilitate a comparative analysis of land-use benefits, this paper presents an evaluation system consisting of four steps: (1) Connotation dissection to determine the land-use benefits, (2) construction of a land-use benefit classification system to summarize a limited number of land-use benefit types by an inductive method, (3) land-use benefit valuation, which includes a biophysical model, direct and indirect market valuations, and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity value conversion method, and (4) case analysis of the evaluation results according to local conditions. Empirical results from a case study of Mentougou District, Beijing, China, show that (i) the evaluation results of land-use benefit groups provides information on each land-use type and the spatial distribution of land-use benefits in Mentougou District, (ii) the topography of Mentougou District has an important influence on economic and ecological land-use benefits, and (iii) there is a synergistic effect of economic and social land-use benefits.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a high mortality disease. We studied the function and mechanism of long non-coding RNA prostate cancer-associated transcript 6 (lncRNA PCAT6) on cell proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GC cells. CCK-8, flow cytometry and colony formation assay were respectively used to detect the cell viability, apoptosis and colony formation. PCAT6 and miR-15a expression were changed by cell transfection. Moreover, the level of Cyclin D1, p53, Bax, Cleaved caspase-3 and relate-proteins of EMT and cell pathways were investigated by Western blot. Besides, the level of miR-15a and PCAT6 was tested by RT-qPCR. Besides, the target relation between miR-15a and PCAT6 were tested by luciferase assay. PCAT6 was highly expressed in GC cells and tissues. Silencing of PCAT6 restrained the relate-proteins of cell proliferation and EMT. Furthermore, PCAT6 reversely regulated miR-15a and miR-15a inhibitor reversed the efficacy of sh-PCAT6 in cell proliferation and EMT. PCAT6 restrained the relate-proteins of RB/E2F and Wnt/β-catenin pathways and miR-15a reverse this progress. Finally, PCAT6 was a target of miR-15a. Silencing of lncRNA PCAT6 restrained proliferation and EMT of GC cells by targeting miR-15a via RB/E2F and Wnt/β-catenin pathways.

Background: Vegetation heat-stress assessment in the reclamation areas of coal gangue dumps is of great significance in controlling spontaneous combustion. Methods: The study simulated the heat-stress environment of a coal gangue dump reclamation area through a temperature gradient experiment. We collected leaf spectrum and water content data on alfalfa plants commonly planted in such areas. We then obtained the optimal spectral features of appropriate leaf water content indicators through time series analysis, correlation analysis, and least absolute shrinkage operator (lasso) regression analysis. A spectral feature-based long short-term memory (SF-LSTM) model is proposed to estimate alfalfa's heat stress level. Results: Comparing three leaf water content indicators, we found that the live fuel moisture content (LFMC) varies significantly with time and has high regularity. Correlation analysis of the raw spectrum, first-derivative spectrum, vegetation indexes and leaf water content data shows that LFMC and spectral data were the most strongly correlated. Combined with lasso regression analysis, the optimal spectral features were the first-derivative spectral value at 1661 nm (abbreviated as FDS (1661)), RVI (1525, 1771), DVI (1412, 740) and NDVI (1447,1803). When the classification strategies were divided into three categories and the time sequence length of the spectral features was set to five consecutive monitoring dates, the SF-LSTM model had the highest accuracy in estimating the heat stress level in alfalfa. The accuracy of the training set was > 95% and the accuracy of the verification set was about 90%. Conclusion: The results provide an important theoretical basis and technical support for vegetation heat-stress assessment in coal gangue dump reclamation areas.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Circular RNA circHIAT1 has been proved to play an antitumor role. We aimed to explore the function and mechanism of circHIAT1 in GC. MKN28 and MKN45 cells were transfected with PLCDH-circHIAT1, miR-21 mimic, and relative control. Cell viability and apoptosis were examined through Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry, respectively. CircHIAT1 expression and other relative factors were tested through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis, respectively. Our findings demonstrated that circHIAT1 was lowly expressed in GC tissues. After transfection with PLCDH-circHIAT1 in MKN28 and MKN45 cells, cell viability was decreased, while the expression levels of p53 and p21 were raised, as well as apoptosis. Besides this, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process was inhibited by PLCDH-circHIAT1 transfection. Mechanistically, miR-21 expression was upregulated in GC tissues and could be negatively regulated by circHIAT1. Further experiments showed that the addition of miR-21 mimic reversed the growth inhibition effects of circHIAT1 overexpression. Moreover, circHIAT1 inhibited the activation of phosphatase and tensin homolog/phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B and extracellular signal-regulated kinase signal pathways via downregulating miR-21. CircHIAT1 functioned as a tumor inhibitor in GC cells through downregulating miR-21, and could be a novel target for GC treatment.

Reclamation suitability evaluation is the basis for determining the reuse direction of damaged land. Most scholars' studies have focused on the improvement and innovation of evaluation models and methods, while the analysis of restrictive factors is rarely involved. This paper evaluates the reclamation suitability of damaged land around Longchi coal mine by the integrated index method and the analysis of restrictive factors is carried out by the difference-product method. The result shows damaged land around the Longchi coal mine is most suitable for being reclaimed as woodland. The main restrictive factors are the degree of contamination of the soil and water and the irrigation conditions. This study provides a basis for the rational reutilization and improvement options of damaged land around Long Chi coal mine. The study also verifies that the combination of the integrated index method and the difference-product method work well for evaluating reclamation suitability and for analyzing restrictive factors in case of no prominent evaluation indexes.

Background CircMAN2B2 is a newly discovered circRNA that has been found to be an oncogene in lung cancer and glioma. The present study was designed to reveal the role of circMAN2B2 in gastric carcinoma (GC). Methods qRT‐PCR method was utilized to examine circMAN2B2 expression in GC tissues and paracancerous tissues. Next, circMAN2B2 expression in SNU‐16 and AGS cells was silenced by transfection. CCK‐8 assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometer, Transwell assay, and Western blot were conducted for testing cell phenotype changes. Further, the downstream genes and signaling were uncovered by qRT‐PCR and Western blot. Results As relative to paracancerous tissues, circMAN2B2 was high‐expressed in GC tissues. Silence of circMAN2B2 clearly declined SNU‐16 and AGS cells viability, survival, migration but enhanced apoptosis. Meanwhile, silence of circMAN2B2 induced the cleavage of caspases (−3 and −9), down‐regulation of MMPs (−2 and −9), and up‐regulation of miR‐145. The impacts of circMAN2B2 silence toward SNU‐16 and AGS cells were attenuated by miR‐145 silence. Moreover, circMAN2B2 silence deactivated PI3K, AKT while activated JNK through regulating miR‐145. Conclusion This work presented the oncogenic function of circMAN2B2 in GC cells growth and migration. CircMAN2B2 exerted its function possibly through regulating miR‐145 as well as PI3K/AKT and JNK pathways.

Background Gastric carcinoma (GC) is a familiar carcinoma and serious threat to human health. We investigated the efficacy and mechanism of circular RNA hsa_circ_0001649 on the growth, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Methods microRNA (miR)‐20a and hsa_circ_0001649 expression was investigated by RT‐qPCR and was changed by cell transfection. CCK‐8, flow cytometry, and BrdU assays were, respectively, used to investigate the efficacies of hsa_circ_0001649 and miR‐20a on cell viability, apoptosis, and proliferation. Transwell assay was used to investigate the efficacies of hsa_circ_0001649 and miR‐20a on cell migration and invasion. Moreover, the levels of cyclin D1, Bax, cleaved caspase‐3, and signal pathway‐related proteins were investigated by Western blot. Results Hsa_circ_0001649 was downregulated in GC cells and tissues. Upregulation of hsa_circ_0001649 restrained viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion, while promoted apoptosis. Furthermore, miR‐20a was negatively regulated by hsa_circ_0001649 and miR‐20a overexpression reversed the efficacy of hsa_circ_0001649 upregulation. Finally, upregulation of hsa_circ_0001649 restrained ERK and Wnt/β‐catenin pathways while miR‐20a overexpression reversed these progresses. Conclusion Upregulation of hsa_circ_0001649 restrained GC cell growth and metastasis by downregulating miR‐20a and thereby inactivated ERK and Wnt/β‐catenin pathways.