Abstract. The aim of the present study was to determine whether serum miR-499 may be used as a biomarker for early detection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study was designed as an initial screening phase and a subsequent validation phase. In the screening phase, we analyzed serum levels of miR-499 in a subset of 40 patients with stage I (n=20) and stage IV (n=20) NSCLC. In the validation phase, miR-499 expression levels in serum (n=514) and tissue (n=136) from NSCLC patients were detected in a large and independent cohort of 514 patients. miR-499 in the screening phase was found to be significantly elevated in the serum of stage I NSCLC patients compared with that in stage IV NSCLC patients (P<0.001). Validation analysis showed that serum miR-499 levels were robust in differentiating NSCLC patients from control subjects [area under the curve (AUC)=0.906; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.879 to 0.929). Serum miR-499 levels were significantly lower in stage III and IV patients compared with those with stage I (both P<0.001) or II (both P<0.001). Low serum miR-499 levels were associated with shorter overall survival and served as an independent prognostic biomarker in NSCLC patients [hazard ratio (HR)=1.63; 95% CI=1.33-2.0; P<0.0001). In addition, low serum levels of miR-499 indicated a poor disease-free survival in stage I-II NSCLC patients. Serum miR-499 may prove to be a promising biomarker for early detection and prognosis prediction of NSCLC.
The disturbance of highway construction upon surrounding vulnerable ecosystems is a common threat in the Longitudinal Range Gorge Region of southwestern China. We evaluated the disturbance of highway on plant species richness and diversity and soil nutrients from adjacent to the highway to 300 m upslope and 100 m downslope in forests and grasslands by setting 12 belt transects in forests and grasslands (six belt transects and six control belt transects, respectively). The results showed that there were some significant variances in belt transects with respective control belt transects for species richness and diversity in both forests and grasslands. Species richness and diversity of trees were lower within a 50-m distance from the highway and more noticeable on the downslope portion. Species richness and diversity of shrubs and herbs appeared higher near highway edge. Both species richness and diversity of herbs were similar in forests. In addition, exotic species, such as Eupatorium adenophorum, were further from the road and more widely dispersed in grasslands. Soil nutrients except total potassium (TK) were lower in the downslope area adjacent to highway edge and showed a significant increase with increasing distance from the highway in both forests and grasslands. This indicates that grasslands acted as microhabitats for exotic species and are more easily to be invaded than forests, especially if disturbed. Once destroyed, plant species and soil nutrients will require a significant amount of time to be restored to control levels. This work illustrates that the effects extend considerably to distances upslope and downslope from the construction site. Given that these changes occurred relatively quickly, the study suggests that the environmental "footprint" grows far beyond the road and adjacent zone of disruption.
The number of road engineering and construction projects that create rock slopes has been increasing year by year, instigating a series of geologic hazards and ecosystem destruction such as landslides, mudflows, and so on. The ecosystems are thus in an urgent need for recovery and reconstruction. However, ecological restoration processes of rock slopes are more challenging compared to those of clay slopes because rock slopes are highly heterogeneous and do not provide favorable soil conditions for plant growth, especially due to the lack of nutrient accumulation and lower heat and moisture capacity [1]. Thus, rock slopes present complex and varied ecosystems that do not support plant growth.Pol. J. Environ. Stud. Vol. 27, No. 6 (2018), 2821-2832
AbstractWe investigated substrate material and the effects of different fertilizers and water levels as variable factors for slope restoration. A field rainfall monitoring experiment was carried out to explore morphological changes in Amorpha fruticosa L., the water-holding capacity of its leaves under different water and nutrient gradients, and the nutrient losses from the substrate. The results showed that nutrient loss by runoff was significantly affected by fertilizer use and they increased with the increased application of fertilizers. The concentration of nitrogen in runoff was insignificant, the concentration of phosphorus was increased, and the runoff concentration of potassium was decreased after increasing water-retaining agent levels in the substrate. The concentration of nutrients in runoff from rainfall generally followed a trend of slight fluctuations, then a rise, and finally a decrease. The addition of F2 fertilizer produced the lowest nitrogen losses from substrate material and reduced the leaf area where the addition of phosphate fertilizer had a significant effect on crown diameter. At greater content of the water-retaining agent, the water in substrate material increased, resulting in increased water absorption by the plants and increased relative water content of leaves. Ultimately, W3F4 was the most favorable combination of water-retaining agent and fertilizer concentration for plant growth, which may be related to runoff losses. This combination provides optimal conditions under which the plant can maintain a perfect balance of nutrients and thus improve plant growth indices.
An efficient and repeatable protocol for generating transgenic Elymus breviaristatus plants was first established by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation: calli of Elymus breviaristatus were induced from mature seeds, and proliferated on callus induction and maintenance medium containing kinetin 0.05 mg/l and 2, 4-D 8.0 mg/l under dim-light condition (10-20 mmol/m 2 s,16 h light) at 268C. The calli produced were used for transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, EHA105, which carries the binary vector pCAMBIA 1304-ppip, coding for the Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes insecticidal protein gene (ppip) and hygromycin phosphotransferase II gene (hptII). The calli transformed were selected and grown in the presence of 60 mg/l hygromycin. Approximately 90 transgenic plants were produced, and transformation frequency of the calli reached 10.52%. The presence of ppip gene in the genomic DNA of regenerated plants was detected by means of PCR and Southern-blot analysis, and the expression of the transgenes was verified by reverse transcription-PCR. Approximately 90% of the tested plants appeared to have only one or two copies of the T-DNA inserts. Verification of anti-grasshoppers activity shows the mortality of grasshoppers reached 16.73%. These results indicated that Agrobacteriummediated transformation in our condition was effective for transferring foreign genes into Elymus breviaristatus.
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