Long non-coding RNA LINC01224 promotes progression and cisplatin resistance in non-small lung cancer by sponging miR-2467.

Copious evidence reveals that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) exert great regulatory functions in various human cancers. LINC01224 is a novel lncRNA, identified as a cancer regulator of HCC. However, the underlying mechanisms and clinical significance of LINC01224 in other types of cancers need further researches to explore. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the biological role of LINC01224 in NSCLC progression. Presently, LINNC01224 expression was elevated and miR-2467 expression was down-regulated in NSCLC, compared with standard control. Then we described the reciprocal correlation between LINC01224 and miR 2467. Afterward, the dual-luciferase reporter assay, RIP assay and RNA pull-down assay validated the base-pair interaction between LINC01224 and miR-2467. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that the silence of LINC01224 inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in NSCLC and enhanced cisplatin (CDDP) sensitivity in vitro. Besides, rescue assays verified that miR-2467 inhibitor could reverse the effects on cell biological activities and CDDP resistance caused by knockdown of LINC01224. Finally, in vivo experiments implicated that knockdown of LINC01224 could inhibit NSCLC tumor growth. To sum up, LINC01224 can promote tumor progression and CDDP resistance in NSCLC via sponging miR-2467, suggesting a promising therapeutic target for better diagnosis and prognosis of NSCLC patients.

Spatial heterogeneity and driving factors of land use change in the middle and upper reaches of Ganjiang River, southern China.

The middle and upper reaches of Ganjiang River is an important functional area for soil and water conservation in the southeastern hills of China. It is important to analyze the land use change and their driving forces at different spatial and temporal scales to maintain and optimize the local ecological functions. We analyzed the land use structure and land use dynamics in the middle and upper reaches of Ganjiang River from 1980-2018 based on 1 km spatial resolution land use data, and analyzed the spatial heterogeneity and driving factors of land use change using principal component analysis (PCA), ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). From 1980-2018, the main land use types in the study area were forests (proportion 69.4%-71%) and cultivated land (proportion 20.8%-20.9%). Land use dynamic degree of build-up land and unused land were larger, and the comprehensive land use dynamic degree gradually increased, especially in 2010-2018. The GWR model had a better fitting effect on the analysis of land use change drivers, which was better in 98.6% of the area. Among the influencing factors of the spatial heterogeneity of land use change in the study area, the natural environment factors were the most obvious, with a restrictive role. The socio-economic factors were the secondary in importance, with a promoting role. The comprehensive influence of natural and social factors were weak and complex.

Optical Properties of Thomson Scattering Diagnostics Lower Window Glass under Laser Irradiation.

Tokamak diagnostic window glass is an indispensable optical medium in fusion research. The transmittance of the device affects the optical performance and accuracy of the diagnostic system. Especially, the window glass serves as the entrance of the light source while performing the sealing function for the active diagnosis method represented by Thomson scattering diagnostics. In this work, we studied the influence of the laser irradiation and tokamak discharge on the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) Thomson scattering diagnostic borosilicate glass window. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman scattering, we found that carbon-based impurities in the device aggravated the film damage due to laser irradiation, reducing the performance of the coating of the glass. Besides, the laser and the various rays of tokamak discharge generated many point defects in the glass, increasing the light absorption of the glass. These two factors caused the glass transmittance to drop significantly (from 99.99% to 77.62%). In addition, the long-term laser irradiation primarily reduced the transmittance, while environmental rays had a minor impact on the same. This work provides valuable insights into the selection and effective use of glass in optics-based diagnostics.

A new dump system design for stray light reduction of Thomson scattering diagnostic system on EAST.

Thomson scattering (TS) diagnostic is an important diagnostic for measuring electron temperature and density during plasma discharge. However, the measurement of Thomson scattering signal is disturbed by the stray light easily. The stray light sources in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) TS diagnostic system were analyzed by a simulation model of the diagnostic system, and simulation results show that the dump system is the primary stray light source. Based on the optics theory and the simulation analysis, a novel dump system including an improved beam trap was proposed and installed. The measurement results indicate that the new dump system can reduce more than 60% of the stray light for the diagnostic system, and the influence of stray light on the error of measured density decreases.