Retraction: 8-bromo-7-methoxychrysin targets NF-κB and FoxM1 to inhibit lung cancer stem cells induced by pro-inflammatory factors.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.7150/jca.30143.].

Value of shear wave elastography in the diagnosis and evaluation of cervical cancer.

The aim of the present study was to explore the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) in the differential diagnosis of cervical disease and to evaluate the infiltration of cervical cancer. A total of 40 inpatients with cervical cancer, 40 inpatients with cervical benign lesion and 40 healthy volunteers encountered between October 2014 and January 2017 were enrolled. All patients and volunteers underwent conventional ultrasound (US) and SWE examinations. The malignancy and the size (including long, tranverse and anteroposterior diameter) of the lesion were assessed on US. The elastic score, strain ratio, shear wave speed (SWS) and the size of lesions were determined on SWE. Infiltration of the uterus and vaginal vault were also evaluated on US and SWE. The SWS values of cervical cancers, cervical benign lesions and normal cervixes groups were compared. The results suggested that the optimal cut-off elasticity score for predicting cervical cancers was 3 points. The strain ratio between the cervical cancers and the cervical benign lesions exhibited a significant difference (P<0.01). The mean value of SWS for cervical cancers was significantly higher than that of cervical benign lesions and normal cervix (P<0.05). Regarding the lesion size and volume, SWE and pathological measurements were larger than those determined by US (P<0.05 for each). The lesion volume on SWE and pathological measurements exhibited no significant difference (P>0.05). Compared to the pathological diagnosis of focal infiltration of uterus and vaginal vault, the diagnostic accuracy of SWE was higher than that of US. In conclusion, SWE may be used to differentiate between cervical benign lesions and cervical cancers. The elastic score, strain ratio and SWS of cervical cancers were higher than those of cervical benign lesions. Furthermore, SWE is able to evaluate the infiltration of cervical cancer.

Evaluation of ecosystem service value of the grape industry at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, Ningxia, China.

Using statistical data from Statistics Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Grape Industry Development Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and National Bureau of Statistics, ecosystem service value of grape industry at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain in Ningxia was evaluated from eight facets, i.e., food production, carbon fixation and oxygen release, air purification, soil conservation, water-holding, water conservation and efficiency, eco-tourism, and ecological poverty alleviation. The results showed that: 1) ecosystem service value of the grape industry was 3.6 billion (RMB), with direct benefit of 2.2 billion and the ecological benefit of 1.4 billion. Ecological benefit accounted for 38.85% of the total ecosystem service value. 2) The service value of the grape industry was in the order of ecological poverty alleviation> eco-tourism> carbon fixation and oxygen release> water conservation and efficiency > air purification > soil conservation> water-holding. 3) Among the ecological benefits, the value of ecological poverty alleviation was the highe-st, accounting for 64.39%; the value of ecotourism was the second, accounting for 24.47%. The results indicated the necessity of assessing ecosystem service value of the grape industry, which could enable people to realize the direct economic benefits as well as the ecological benefits. This study had important reference value for comprehensively guiding the healthy and sustainable deve-lopment of the grape industry.

8-bromo-7-methoxychrysin targets NF-κB and FoxM1 to inhibit lung cancer stem cells induced by pro-inflammatory factors.

We have previously reported that 8-bromo-7-methoxychrysin (BrMC), a novel synthetic derivative of chrysin, was demonstrated anti-tumor activities against several human cancers, including lung cancer. Interaction between inflammation and cancer stem cell are recently increasingly recognized in tumorigenesis and progression. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether BrMC inhibits lung cancer stemness of H460 cells induced by inflammatory factors (TGF-ß combined with TNF-α) and its potential mechanism. Our results showed that BrMC inhibited lung cancer stemness, as validated by enhanced self-renewal ability, higher in vitro tumorigenicity, and increased expression of CD133, CD44, Bmi1 and Oct4 in H460 cells administered TNF-α after prolonged induction by TGF-ß, in a concentration-dependent manner. Both NF-κB inhibition by SN50 and FoxM1 suppression by thiostrepton (THI) prompted the inhibition of BrMC on lung CSCs. Conversely, overexpression of NF-κBp65 significantly antagonized the above effects of BrMC. Meanwhile, overexpression of FoxM1 also significantly compromised BrMC function on suppression of FoxM1 and NF-κBp65 as well as stemness of lung CSCs. Our results suggest that activation of NF-κB and FoxM1 by cytokines facilitate the acquisition CSCs phenotype, and compromise the chemical inhibition, which may represent an effective therapeutic target for treatment of human lung cancer. Moreover, BrMC may be a potential promising candidate for targeting NF-κB/ FoxM1 to prevent the tumorigenesis under inflammatory microenvironment.

[Effects of shading and plant density on ear development and plant productivity of spring maize in Northeast China]. / é®é˜´å’Œç§æ¤å¯†åº¦å¯¹ä¸œåŒ—æ˜¥çŽ‰ç±³ç©—éƒ¨å‘è‚²å’Œæ¤æ ªç”Ÿäº§åŠ›çš„å½±å“.

It is important to investigate the effects of shading on maize ear characteristics and yield, which can provide references to variety breeding and agronomic technique improvement for coping with climate change and dense planting. An experiment was carried out with two varieties (compact type hybrid ZD909, flat type hybrid ND4) and two planting densities (45000 and 90000 plants·hm-2) at Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province. Two treatments were conducted for each variety and planting density, including shading (with a shading degree of 65% from small bell mouth stage to mature stage) and no shading treatment (CK). The results showed that shading affected maize ear development significantly. Shading delayed maize anthesis and silking stages, especially prolonging the length of anthesis-silking interval by 3-15 days compared with the CK. Moreover, shading decreased dry matter accumulation of spring maize significantly, leading to more than 50% (50.8%-87.0%) of reduction in grain yield. The negative effects of shading on ear characteristics and yield of spring maize with dense planting was greater than that with sparse planting. The variety with a dense plant type achieved fewer effects on ear characteristics and grain yield than the variety with a sparse plant type under shading and dense planting. The variety with a dense plant type had strong adaptability to ecological environment change and the consistency in density-tolerance and shade-tolerance.

[Carbon footprints of major staple grain crops production in three provinces of Northeast China during 2004-2013.] / 2004­2013年东北三省主要粮食作物生产碳足迹.

Northeast China is one of the most important farming regions in China, due to its great contribution to national food security. Crop production is a main source of carbon emission. To assess the differences in carbon footprints of major grain crop production will benefit the achievement of low carbon agriculture. Therefore, this study calculated the regional carbon foot prints of rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) production in Northeast China du-ring 2004-2013 using the provincial statistical data, including crop yield, sown area and production inputs. The results showed that the highest area-scale carbon footprint was found in rice production, with the average value of (2463±56) kg CE·hm-2, while the second was found in maize production during 2004-2013. The sharpest rise occurred in maize production, from 1164 kg CE·hm-2 in 2004 to 1768 kg CE·hm-2 in 2013, with the average rate of 67 kg CE·hm-2·a-1. The application of chemical fertilizer contributed to the carbon footprint largely, accounting for 45%, 90% and 83% for rice, maize and soybean, respectively. Moreover, the contribution of electricity for irrigation in rice production ranged from 29% to 42%, which was larger than that in maize and soybean production. The carbon footprints were significantly different among the three provinces of Northeast China. The highest yield-scaled carbon footprints for three crops were found in Jilin Province, while the lowest area-scaled carbon footprints found in Heilongjiang Province. Given to the large transfer of rural labor from agricultural to non-agricultural sections and the development of mechanization, diesel and other mechanical inputs would increase rapidly in the future. Therefore, improving ferti-lizer utilization, mechanical and irrigation efficiencies in crop production would be the main approaches to promoting low-carbon agriculture in Northeast China.

[Effects of tillage patterns on photosynthetic and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of maize in rainfed area of Northeast China].

In 2010-2011, a field experiment was conducted in Northeast China to evaluate the effects of different tillage patterns on the temperature and moisture in topsoil layer and the leaf photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence of maize. The effects of tillage patterns on the soil temperature and moisture mainly manifested at sowing-jointing stage. In treatments flat planting with ridging at early jointing stage (PL) and flat planting without ridging (PP), the soil moisture content at the depth of 0-40 cm was significantly higher than that in treatment ridge planting (LL), with the increment being 5.6% and 5.2%, 4.6% and 7.3%, and 3.9% and 4.8% at emergency, seedling, and jointing stages, respectively. The minimum temperature at the soil depth 5 cm at seedling stage in PL and PP was 1.4 and 1.3 degrees C higher than that in LL, respectively. Due to the improvement of soil water and thermal conditions, the leaf photosynthetic rate (Pn) and transpiration rate (Tr) at jointing stage in PL and PP were significantly higher than those in LL, whereas the PS II potential activity (Fv/Fo) and PS II maximal photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) had no significant differences among the treatments, indicating that the stomatal factors such as stomata conductivity and stomata limitation were the main factors inducing the photosynthesis differences among the treatments. Furthermore, the Pn and Tr at grain filling stage in LL and PL were higher than those in PP, mainly due to the high water-logging risk in PP in strong rainfall season. Consequently, treatment PL could promote maize photosynthesis through improving soil water and thermal conditions, and further, increase maize grain yield.