Search

Approximately 20% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients are first diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) because they develop symptoms at an advanced stage. Despite advancements in treatment, patients with metastatic disease still experience inferior survival rates. Our objective is to investigate the association between long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and prognosis and to explore their role in mCRC. In this study, we find that elevated expression of PCAT6 is independently linked to unfavourable survival outcomes in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data, and this finding is further confirmed in CRC samples obtained from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Cell lines and xenograft mouse models are used to examine the impact of PCAT6 on tumor metastasis. Knockdown of PCAT6 is observed to impede the metastatic phenotype of CRC, as evidenced by functional assays, demonstrating the suppression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness. Our findings show the significance of PCAT6 in mCRC and its potential use as a prognostic biomarker.

Carbon intensity, a critical indicator for assessing the efficacy of carbon dioxide emissions reduction, plays a crucial role in achieving the “double carbon” target. Exploring the primary drivers influencing carbon intensity in heavy industry is essential for informed decision-making. Different from the traditional linear models, spatial autoregressive threshold panel (SARTP) model can simultaneously capture the possible existed spatial spillover effect of response and nonlinear threshold effects of regressors. Based on 2005–2020 panel data, we use the SARTP model to investigate the drivers of carbon intensity in heavy industry of China. The empirical results reveal that the carbon intensity in heavy industry has a significant positive spatial spillover effect. Notably, the drivers exhibit distinct characteristics across three regimes (regimes I, II, and III) based on different levels of economic development -- low, median, and high. Concretely, (1) 1% increase of carbon intensity in adjacent provinces results in 0.158% increase in the observing province. (2) There are positive impacts of advanced industrial structure, technological progress and environmental regulation under regime I. However, these impacts turn negative, and their influence strengthens with ascension of economic development level under regimes II and III. (3) The elasticity coefficient of economic development is significantly negative in regimes I and II, while positive in regime III. (4) As economic development levels rise, the positive contributions of energy structure and urbanization to carbon intensity gradually weaken. (5) Energy efficiency has almost the same significant positive marginal contribution to carbon intensity under all three regimes. (6) The openness degree has a noticeable negative effect on carbon intensity under regime II and significantly positive effect under regime III. In light of these findings, local governments are advised to formulate tailored policies and measures according to their economic development levels. Cooperation among regions is emphasized as a crucial strategy to effectively reduce carbon intensity in the heavy industry sector.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fractional CO2 laser combined with 308-nm excimer laser for the treatment of stable vitiligo. Methods: A total of 118 patients of stable vitiligo were enrolled in this trial. Patients were assigned into the treatment group (n=59, 328 lesions) and control group (n=59, 319 lesions) using a random digital table method. The treatment group was treated with fractional CO2 laser combined with 308-nm excimer laser, while the control group was treated with 308-nm excimer laser alone. Efficacy and adverse reactions were evaluated after 3 months of consecutive treatments. Results: After the treatments, the total effective rates were higher in the treatment group than that in the control group (89.94% vs. 84.64%, χ2=6.59, P=0.014). The rate of the adverse reactions did not differ between the two groups (23.34% vs. 22.15%, χ2=1.29, P=0.088). Conclusion: 308-nm excimer laser combined with fractional CO2 laser is safe and effective for patients with stable vitiligo.

The cultivated land green utilization efficiency (CLGUE) is closely related to high-quality agricultural development (HAD), but the evolutionary characteristics of the relationship between HAD and CLGUE have received little study. In the context of the rural revitalization strategy and high-quality development in China, it is important to ensure food security and cultivated land system security through coordinating HAD and CLGUE. In this study, 31 Chinese provinces were used as the research object, and the entropy weight TOPSIS model and SBM-Undesirable model were used to measure HAD and CLGUE, respectively. In addition, the coupling coordination degree model and the geographical analysis model were used to investigate the development of coordination degree concerning HAD and CLGUE from both geographical and temporal perspectives. The following findings are the result of this study. Firstly, both China’s overall HAD and CLGUE exhibited an upward tendency, with average annual growth rates of 4.35% and 4.08%, respectively. Secondly, there was a volatility upward trend shown by the level of coordination degree regarding HAD and CLGUE in China. Additionally, the coordination degree showed significant spatial-temporal disparities across the 31 provinces due to the variance in the natural endowment of agricultural development resources. Lastly, the coordination degree concerning HAD and CLGUE throughout China showed obvious patterns of spatial agglomeration at the provincial level. However, the geographical aggregation and dispersion of the provinces with high or low coordination levels have diminished somewhat. Furthermore, there was a conversion from hot spot aggregation regions in MGPAs to cold spot aggregation regions in GPMBAs. The conclusions of the present study enrich the theoretical literature on the relationship between HAD and CLGUE, and provide an empirical reference for the policy maker of the developing pathway of “high HAD and high CLGUE”.

Eco-efficiency of arable land utilization (EALU) emphasizes efficient coordination between land use systems and ecosystems. It is therefore of great significance for agricultural sustainability based on the systematic assessment of EALU. This study took carbon emissions and non-point source pollution resulting from arable land utilization into the measurement system of EALU, and a super-SBM model, kernel density estimation and Tobit regression model were used to analyze regional differences and influencing factors of EALU for 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019. The results showed that there was an upward trend in EALU in China from 0.4393 in 2000 to 0.8929 in 2019, with an average annual growth rate of 4.01%. At the regional level, the EALU of three categories of grain functional areas generally maintains an increasing trend, with the highest average value of EALU in main grain marketing areas (MGMAs), followed by grain producing and marketing balance areas (GPMBAs) and main grain producing areas (MGPAs). There are obvious differences in EALU among provinces, and the number of provinces with high eco-efficiency has increased significantly, showing a spatial distribution pattern of “block” clustering. In terms of dynamic evolution, kernel density curves reflect the evolution of EALU in China and grain functional areas with different degrees of polarization characteristics. The results of Tobit regression show that natural conditions, financial support for agriculture, science and technology inputs, level of industrialization, agricultural mechanization, and the living standards of farmers are significant factors resulting in regional disparities of EALU. Therefore, this study proposes the implementation of differentiated arable land use/agricultural management strategies to improve the sustainable utilization of arable land.

This article presents an experimental investigation into the damping characteristics of a linear damper with a newly designed oil groove. The damping performance of the damper is tested in four different viscosity grades by the sweep frequency method. And a test bench is used to move the damper for a several kilometers to examine the damping maintenance. The experimental results show that a higher oil viscosity leads to a higher damping capacity of the linear damper, and the increase in the oil viscosity will improve the damping maintenance of the damper. The newly designed oil groove efficiently improved the damping capacity of the linear damper; a proper oil selection will further optimize the effect of the oil groove via minimizing the oil leakage.