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Abstract Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although the dysregulation of BARX1 expression has been shown to be associated with malignant cancers, including NSCLC, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we identified BARX1 as a common differentially expressed gene in lung squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Importantly, we uncovered a novel mechanism behind the regulation of BARX1, in which ZFP36 interacted with 3’UTR of BARX1 mRNA to mediate its destabilization. Loss of ZFP36 led to the upregulation of BARX1, which further promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. In addition, the knockdown of BARX1 inhibited tumorigenicity in mouse xenograft. We demonstrated that BARX1 promoted the malignant phenotypes by transactivating a set of master oncogenes involved in the cell cycle, DNA synthesis and metastasis. Overall, our study provides insights into the mechanism of BARX1 actions in NSCLC and aids a better understanding of NSCLC pathogenesis.

Conventional spectrophotometric methods were unable to accurately detect urea concentrations below 100 μg/L. A modified spectrophotometric method was developed to determine the trace urea in the ultrapure water (UPW) production process of the semiconductor manufacturing industry. This method was optimized based on the dosage of chemical agents, length of the optical path, and mode of the water bath. Metal ions were added to promote the stability of the chromogenic system. A calibration graph was observed with ideal linearity in the range of 0.8–100 μg/L. The detection and quantification limits of urea were 0.24 and 0.80 μg/L, respectively. The distribution of urea in raw water for the UPW production process was observed and the urea in tap water was 10–20 μg/L. The urea of municipal reclaimed water was 24–40 μg/L, which was twice that of industrial reclaimed water at 10–18 μg/L. The total removal rate of urea by the UPW production process was 50–70%. Reverse osmosis membranes played a critical role in the removal of urea (over 30%). The urea in the final UPW produced from tap water was approximately 4.1 μg/L, which creates a potential risk of excessive total organic carbon. HIGHLIGHTS A spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace urea during ultrapure production process was first established.; Stability of the absorbance in the color reaction was increased by doping metal ions.; The urea concentration of municipal reclaimed water was twice that of industrial reclaimed water.; The urea removal efficiencies in each unit of the ultrapure water production process were explored.;

In this study, micro-oxygen was integrated into a rusty scrap iron (RSI)-loaded anaerobic digester. Under an optimal RSI dosage of 20 g/L, increasing O2 levels were added stepwise in seven stages in a semi-continuous experiment. Results showed the average methane yield was 306 mL/g COD (chemical oxygen demand), and the hydrogen sulphide (H2S) concentration was 1933 ppmv with RSI addition. O2 addition induced the microbial oxidation of sulphide by stimulating sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and chemical corrosion of iron, which promoted the generation of FeS and Fe2S3. In the 6th phase of the semi-continuous test, deep desulfurization was achieved without negatively impacting system performance. Average methane yield was 301.1 mL/g COD, and H2S concentration was 75 ppmv. Sulfur mass balance was described, with 84.0%, 11.90% and 0.21% of sulfur present in solid, liquid and gaseous phases, respectively. The Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis revealed that RSI addition could enrich the diversity of hydrogenotrophic methanogens and iron-reducing bacteria to benefit methanogenesis and organic mineralization, and impoverish the methanotroph (Methylocella silvestris) to reduce the consumption of methane. Micro-oxygen supplementation could enhance the diversity of iron-oxidizing bacteria arising from the improvement of Fe(II) release rate and enrich the sulphur-oxidising bacteria to achieved desulfurization. These results demonstrated that RSI addition in combination with micro-oxygenation represents a promising method for simultaneously controlling biogas H2S concentration and improving digestion performance.