[Surveillance of malaria vector Anopheles in Guizhou Province from 2005 to 2019].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the density, populations and habitats of malaria vector Anopheles in Guizhou Province from 2005 to 2019, so as to provide the evidence for formulating the countermeasures to tackle the risk of local transmission of imported malaria in the province. METHODS: The malaria vector Anopheles density and populations were monitored using human bait trapping and light trapping techniques in Guizhou Province from 2005 to 2019, and all captured Anopheles was morphologically identified and counted. In addition, the distribution of Anopheles habitats was investigated. RESULTS: During the period from 2005 through 2019, the malaria vector Anopheles density increased from early June in Guizhou Province, peaked on early July and then declined, which appeared a single peak. The greatest Anopheles density was seen on early August, 2018 [57.34 mosquitoes/(person-night)], and the lowest density was found on late October, 2009 [1.29 mosquitoes/(person-night)]. The annual mean Anopheles density slowly reduced from 17.91 mosquitoes/(person-night) in 2005 to 12.34 mosquitoes/(person-night) in 2012, with a 38.02% reduction (χ2trend = 115.04, P < 0.01), while the annual mean Anopheles density showed a tendency towards a rise from 2017 to 2019 (χ2trend = 420.00, P < 0.01). The malaria vector Anopheles was captured during the period between 19 : 00 and 7 : 00 of the next day in Guizhou Province from 2017 to 2019, with the overall density appearing a tendency towards a rise followed by a decline, and the Anopheles activity was highly frequent during the period between 19 : 00 and 21 : 00. The malaria vector Anopheles was monitored for 938 times using the light trapping method in Guizhou Province from 2005 to 2019, and a total of 52 781 Anopheles mosquitoes were captured, including 49 705 An. sinensis, 804 An. minimus, 238 An. anthropophagus, and 2 034 other Anopheles mosquitoes, with a significant difference seen in the Anopheles composition (χ2 = 165.68, P < 0.01). From 2017 to 2019, a total of 24 557 Anopheles mosquitoes were captured in human housings, outdoors and livestock housings in Guizhou Province, with 67.65% captured in livestock housings and 12.01% in human housings, and there was a significant difference in the number of Anopheles mosquitoes captured from the three types of habitats (χ2 = 55.04, P < 0.01). An. sinensis, An. minimus and An. anthropophagus were captured form all three types of habitats, in which 98.07% was An. sinensis, and 0.09% was An. anthropophagus. CONCLUSIONS: The population structure of malaria vector Anopheles has changed in historically malaria-endemic areas of Guizhou Province, and An. sinensis has replaced An. minimus and An. anthropophagus to become the predominant malaria vector. The malaria vector Anopheles density has shown a tendency towards a rise in Guizhou Province during the recent years, and there have been a rise in the type and number of Anopheles mosquitoes, leading to a potential risk of local transmission of imported malaria. Long-term, persistent and extensive surveillance of malaria vectors is recommended in Guizhou Province.

Characteristics and prognostic significance of circRNA-100876 in patients with colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between circRNA-100876 and the clinicopathological parameters of patients with colorectal cancer (Cc). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was applied to detect the circRNA-100876 expression in Cc tissues and cell lines. Overall survival analysis was carried out to explore the correlation between circRNA-100876 and the prognosis of Cc patients by Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank method. Subsequently, Chi-square test was used to investigate the clinical significance of circRNA-100876 in the clinicopathological parameters of Cc patients. Moreover, the expression of circRNA-100876 was inhibited by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in loss-of-function assay. Finally, the invasion ability of Cc cells was determined by transwell assay. RESULTS: The results of this study manifested that circRNA-100876 was abnormally overexpressed in Cc tissues and cell lines, and the high expression of circRNA-100876 was clearly associated with the Clinical stage, T classification and Lymph node metastasis of Cc patients. Besides, Cc patients with high expression worsened overall survival. In addition, it was demonstrated that the inhibition of circRNA-100876 reduced the invasion ability of Cc cells. CONCLUSIONS: Acting as a tumor promoter, circRNA-100876 might be regarded as a new potential biomarker for the diagnosis and therapy of Cc.

Long non-coding RNA BCAR4 accelerates cell proliferation and suppresses cell apoptosis in gastric cancer via regulating MAPK/ERK signaling.

OBJECTIVE: As the fourth most common malignant tumor with high mortality rate, gastric cancer (GC) seriously threatens people's health and life quality worldwide. The aim of this study was to explore the functional role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) BCAR4 in GC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) assay was used to detect the expression level of lncRNA BCAR4 in GC cell lines and tissues. Subsequently, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry were recruited to investigate the role of lncRNA BCAR4 in the proliferation and apoptosis of GC cells, respectively. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression level of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in GC. Besides, tumor formation assay was applied to examine the ability of lncRNA BCAR4 in vivo. RESULTS: LncRNA BCAR4 was highly expressed in both GC tissues and cell lines. CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry results indicated that up-regulated lncRNA BCAR4 significantly promoted cell proliferation and suppressed cell apoptosis in GC. Besides, over-expression of lncRNA BCAR4 could activate the MAPK/ERK signaling pathways. Tumor xenograft formation assay demonstrated that over-expression of lncRNA BCAR4 promoted tumor formation in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: LncRNA BCAR4 was proved significantly up-regulated in GC. Over-expression of lncRNA BCAR4 promoted cell proliferation and suppressed cell apoptosis in vitro and promoted tumor formation in vivo. Besides, Western blotting revealed that lncRNA BCAR4 played an oncogenic role in GC via regulating MAPK/ERK signaling.

LncRNA MIR4435-2HG contributes into colorectal cancer development and predicts poor prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: Some studies have confirmed that long non-coding ribonucleic acids (lncRNAs) played a vital role in the pathophysiology of various diseases, especially in oncogenesis and progression of tumors. Dysexpressed lncRNAs regulate different cellular processes, including proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical significance and function of lncRNA MIR4435-2HG in colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the expression of lncRNA MIR4435-2HG. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate the overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with colorectal cancer. The cell proliferation was measured by Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The cell apoptotic rate was measured via flow cytometry method. RESULTS: LncRNA MIR4435-2HG is a novel cancer-related lncRNA that was recently found to exhibit high expression in colorectal cancer. The dysregulation of lncRNA miR4435-2HG was significantly related to the tumor size (p<0.001), lymph node metastasis (p<0.001), and tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging (p=0.022). The patients with higher expression of lncRNA miR4435-2HG showed worse prognosis than those with low expression of lncRNA miR4435-2HG group. Besides, the downregulated lncRNA miR4435-2HG expression could repress cell proliferation and enhance cell apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: LncRNA MIR4435-2HG functions as an oncogene that promotes colorectal cancer progression, and likely represents a biomarker or therapeutic target of colorectal cancer.

CMOS-compatible dual-output silicon modulator for analog signal processing.

A broadband, Mach-Zehnder-interferometer based silicon optical modulator is demonstrated, with an electrical bandwidth of 26 GHz and V(pi)L of 4 V.cm. The design of this modulator does not require epitaxial overgrowth and is therefore simpler to fabricate than previous devices with similar performance.