High level of RNF187 contributes to the progression and drug resistance of osteosarcoma.

Objectives: Ring finger protein 187 (RNF187) was recently demonstrated to be up-regulation and function as a promoter in multiple cancers. However, the roles of RNF187 in osteosarcoma (OS) are unclear. Here, we tried to reveal the clinicopathological and biological roles of RNF187 in OS. Materials and Methods: We employed the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to determine the expression of RNF187 in OS tissues and cells. Migration and invasion capacities were analyzed by wound healing and transwell assays, and colony formation and CCK8 assays were performed to investigate proliferative ability. The functional effects of RNF187 on OS drugs resistance were further determined by CCK8 and western blot assays. Then, the relationship between RNF187 expression and clinical implications was analyzed by tissue microarrays (TMAs) including 51 OS cases. Moreover, the prognostic value was also determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results: We reported that RNF187 mRNA was significantly increased in OS tissues compared to matched nontumorous tissues (3.83 ±0.79 vs. 1.70 ± 0.63), which was in line with the IHC assay in TMAs. By RNA interference and cDNA transfection, we showed high level of RNF187 increased the migration, invasion and proliferation of OS cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that elevated RNF187 expression induced OS cell drugs resistance, activated the ERK1/2 molecular and markedly enhanced the BCL-2 expression. Clinically, OS patients with high level of RNF187 was associated with Histologic differentiation (p=0.001), an advanced Enneking stage (p=0.001), response to chemotherapy (p=0.004), and metastasis (p= 0.001). Clinically, our data displayed that the RNF187 overexpression in OS samples associated with shorten overall survival (p=0.001) and high tumor recurrence (p=0.001) in postoperative OS patients. Conclusions: Our results indicate that Elevated RNF187 expression is a new adverse outcomes marker for OS patients and may be used as a new therapeutic target of OS.

[Sizes of soil macropores and related main affecting factors on a vegetated basalt slope].

The landslide on vegetated slopes caused by extreme weather has being increased steadily, and the preferential flow in soil macropores plays an important role in the landslide. By using water breakthrough curve and Poiseuille equation, this paper estimated the radius range, amount, and average volume of soil macropores on a vegetated basalt slope of Maka Mountain, Southwest China, and analyzed the distribution of the soil macropores and the main affecting factors. In the study area, the radius of soil macropores ranged from 0.3 to 1.8 mm, mainly between 0.5 and 1.2 mm. The large-radius macropores (1.4-1.8 mm) were lesser, while the small-radius macropores (< 1.4 mm) were more. With the development of soil profile, soil macropores were more in upper layers and lesser in deeper layers. The average volume of the macropores contributed 84.7% to the variance of steady effluent rate. Among the factors affecting the average volume of the large macropores, vegetations root mass had a linear relationship, with the correlation coefficient being 0.70, and soil organic matter content also had a linear relationship, with the correlation coefficient being 0.64.

[Desiccation cracking of soil body: a review].

Desiccation cracking of soil body is a complex physical process, which can affect the strength, stability, and permeability of soil body, and involve in several disciplines such as soil science, agricultural science, engineering geology, and environmental science. This paper introduced the significances of the study on the desiccation cracking of soil body, reviewed the related theoretical and applied researches and the quantitative analysis of crack morphology, and discussed the deficiencies in the research fields, research contents, and research methods. The future research directions about the desiccation cracking of soil body were pointed out.