Thermal death kinetics of fifth-instar Corcyras cephalonica (Lepidoptera: Galleriidae).

The infestation of rice moth, Corcyras cephalonica (Lepidoptera: Galleriidae), causes severe losses in postharvest walnuts. Heat has been studied as a phytosanitary treatment to replace chemical fumigation for controlling this pest. Information on kinetics for thermal mortality of C. cephalonica is needed for developing effective postharvest phytosanitary thermal treatments of walnuts. Thermal death kinetics of fifth-instar C. cephalonica were investigated at temperatures between 44°C and 50°C at a heating rate of 5°C min(-1) using a heating block system. The results showed that thermal-death curves for C. cephalonica larvae followed a 0 order of kinetic reaction. The time to reach 100% mortality decreased with increasing temperature from 150 min at 44°C to 2.5 min at 50°C. The activation energy for controlling C. cephalonica was 466-592 kJ/mol, and the z value obtained from the thermal death time curve was 3.3°C. This kinetic model prediction could be useful in designing the thermal treatment protocol for controlling C. cephalonica in walnuts.

Circular RNA circ_0000518 promotes breast cancer progression through the microRNA-1225-3p/SRY-box transcription factor 4 pathway.

This work is designed to probe the functions and mechanisms of circ_0000518 in breast cancer (BC). qRT-PCR was performed to evaluate the circ_0000518, miR-1225-3p and Sry­Related HMG box 4 (SOX4) mRNA expression in BC tissues and cells. After circ_0000518 was overexpressed in MDA-MB-468 cells, and circ_0000518 was knocked down in BT549 cells, CCK-8 test, and EdU assay were performed to measure the viability and growth of MDA-MB-468 and BT549 cells. Wound healing experiment was executed to determine the migration of BC cells. The invasion of cells was studied by the Transwell assay. Bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, qRT-PCR and Western blot were applied to predict and verify the binding sites between circ_0000518 and miR-1225-3p, miR-1225-3p and SOX4 mRNA. Pearson's correlation analysis was utilized to evaluate the correlations among circ_0000518 expression, miR-1225-3p expression, and SOX4 mRNA expression in BC specimens. It was revealed that, circ_0000518 and SOX4 mRNA expression levels were up-modulated in BC tissues, while miR-1225-3p expression was down-modulated in BC tissues than that in adjacent tissues. Circ_0000518 overexpression or inhibition of miR-1225-3p remarkably enhanced the growth, migration as well as invasion of BC cells in vitro, whereas circ_0000518 knockdown or miR-1225-3p overexpression worked oppositely. Circ_0000518 was identified as a molecular sponge of miR-1225-3p, and it can up-regulate SOX4 mRNA expression via repressing miR-1225-3p. In conclusion, circ_0000518 is oncogenic in BC and functions through miR-1225-3p/SOX4 axis.