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MicroRNAs have been identified as key players in the development and progression of osteosarcoma, which is the most common primary malignancy of bone. Sequencing-based miR-omic and quantitative real-time PCR analyses suggested that the expression of miR-193a-3p and miR-193a-5p was decreased by DNA methylation at their promoter region in a highly metastatic osteosarcoma cell line (MG63.2) relative to their expression in the less metastatic MG63 cell line. Further wound-healing and invasion assays demonstrated that both miR-193a-3p and miR-193a-5p suppressed osteosarcoma cell migration and invasion. Moreover, introducing miR-193a-3p and miR-193a-5p mimics into MG63.2 cells or antagomiRs into MG63 cells confirmed their critical roles in osteosarcoma metastasis. Additionally, bioinformatics prediction along with biochemical assay results clearly suggested that the secretory small GTPase Rab27B and serine racemase (SRR) were direct targets of miR-193a-3p and miR-193a-5p, respectively. These two targets are indeed involved in the miR-193a-3p- and miR-193a-5p-induced suppression of osteosarcoma cell migration and invasion. MiR-193a-3p and miR-193a-5p play important roles in osteosarcoma metastasis through down-regulation of the Rab27B and SRR genes and therefore may serve as useful biomarkers for the diagnosis of osteosarcoma and as potential candidates for the treatment of metastatic osteosarcoma.

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Land use/cover change (LUCC) in the Bohai Rim coastal zone has accelerated as a result of rampant economic development, which has directly caused many negative effects on ecosystem functions and services. Based on multi-temporal land use data (2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015), the benefit transfer method was used to assess the ecosystem service value (ESV) of the Bohai Rim coastal zone, and the impact of LUCC on ecosystem services was studied. Multi-scenario simulations for 2025 were conducted using the future land use simulation model. The result of the analysis showed that during the period from 2000 to 2015, the total ESV lost was 22.09 billion yuan, representing a decrease of 3.80%. The spatial distribution of the ESV showed a certain regularity, with obvious characteristics of a land-sea gradient change. As the distance from the coastline increased, the ESV per unit area gradually declined. Compared with those in 2015, the total ESVs of the socioeconomic development scenario and the business-as-usual scenario in 2025 showed a declining trend, while they increased under the ecological protection priority scenario. Under the ecological protection priority scenario, regulating services and support services increased significantly, but those declined dramatically under the socioeconomic development scenario. The patterns of LUCC are the main reasons for the decrease in ESV. This research provides a theoretical basis and support for the development and utilization of coastal space and the improvement of "ecologicaleconomic-social" benefits; additionally, the results provide support for scientific decision-making services for the sustainable use of resources in the coastal zone and for the sustainable management of ecosystems.

The urban land surface has a significant impact on local urban heat island effects and air quality.In addition, it influences the atmospheric conditions and air quality in the downwind cities. In this study, the impact of Shanghai urban land surface forcing on weather conditions and air quality over Kunshan was investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with a multilayer urban canopy model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality model. Two simulations were conducted to identify the impact of upstream effects with and without upstream urban land surfaces in control and sensitivity experiments. The results show that the near-surface temperature and boundary layer height over Kunshan increased significantly with the appearance of the upstream urban land surface. Horizontal transport of O 3 and its precursors, from Shanghai to Kunshan, are suppressed in the lower boundary layer but are strengthened in the upper boundary layer because of strong urban heat island circulation. As a result, O 3 chemical production is decreased in the lower boundary layer of Kunshan but is increased in the upper boundary layer. On average, daytime O 3 concentrations over Kunshan are decreased by approximately 2 ppbv in the lower boundary layer but are increased by as much as 40 ppbv in the upper air.

Based on multi-temporal topographic maps, remote sensing images and field surveys covering the entire coastal zone of mainland China, the coastlines of six periods since the early 1940s were extracted. Coastline changes over the last 70 years were then analyzed in terms of coastline structure, coastline fractals, coastline change rates, land-sea patterns, and bay areas. The results showed that mainland coastline structure changed dramatically, and due to the significant coastline artificialization mainly driven by sea reclamation and coastal engineering, the remaining natural coastline merely accounts for less than one third at present. Coastline fractal dimension represented an overall spatial pattern of "north < entirety < south"; however, the discrepancy between the north and south coast was apparently narrowed due to dramatic coastline artificialization of northern China which in turn altered the whole pattern. Patterns and processes of land-sea interchange along the mainland coast were complex and varied spatially and temporally, with over 68% advancing toward sea and 22% retreating toward land. The net growth of land area was nearly 14.2 ×10 3 km 2 with an average growth rate of 202.82 km 2 a  ; and coast retreat was characterized by area decrease of 93 bays with a magnitude of 10.1 ×10 3 km 2 and an average shrinking rate up to 18.19% or an average shrinking speed up to 144.20 km 2 a  , among which the total area of Bohai shrunk by 7.06%, with an average annual loss amounting to 82 km 2 . The dramatic coastline changes along mainland China have brought about kinds of challenges to the coastal environment, therefore the integrated management, effective environment protection and sustainable utilization of coastlines is urgent.