[Retracted] MicroRNA­19b promotes the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting the PTEN/AKT signaling pathway.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.3892/ol.2018.8695.].

[Investigating the Pollutants of Marine Shipping Emissions Along the East China Sea by Combining in-situ Measurements and Automatic Identification System].

Marine shipping emissions have important impacts on air quality and climate. This type of anthropogenic emission remains largely unclear due to complex vessel types and activities. A coastal site near the Ningbo-Zhoushan port along the East China Sea was selected for this study, representing one of the hotspot regions globally with the most intensive shipping activities, in combination with vessels for both domestic and international transportation. Long-term temporal variations in key gaseous and particulate pollutants were obtained at the site using in-situ measurements, and the vessel speed associated with each classified vessel type was obtained according to the automatic identification system (AIS). In combination of backward trajectories, we were able to identify the periods predominated by the surrounding vessel emissions (in warm seasons, dominated by vessels in full operation or idle mode) or influenced by continental outflow (in cold season). We found that emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and black carbon (BC) aerosol were highly correlated with high-speed vessels, whereas carbon monoxide (CO) was likely related to lower operation speed. The total particulate matter (PM) was not directly linked to vessel activities. The enhancement factor in operation mode compared to that in idle mode was approximately 1-4 for most pollutants. This direct ambient observation of the emissions from a range of mixed vessel types may provide a basis for evaluating the shipping emission inventory.

[Variation Characteristics and Potential Sources of the Mt. Haituo Aerosol Chemical Composition in Different Pollution Processes During Winter in Beijing, China].

In order to investigate the chemical composition and source apportionment of aerosols during winter in the Beijing-Tianjin-Heibei region, the particular matter (PM) and aerosol chemical composition at Mt. Haituo were observed by using a GRIMM 180, a single-particle soot photometer (SP2), and a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) from December 28, 2020 to February 3, 2021. Combining these observations with meteorological data and the HYSPLIT model, we calculated the potential source contribution factor (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) and analyzed the temporal evolution and potential sources apportionment of PM and aerosol chemical composition under different pollution processes. The results showed that the dust storm process mainly affected PM10 and PM2.5 in Mt. Haituo during the winter and had a small impact on PM1; by contrast, haze pollution mainly affected PM1. Chemical components of aerosol accounted for 85.0% and 73.4% of PM1 on clean and haze days, respectively, but only 47.4% of PM1 in dust storm processes. NO3- was the chemical component with the largest mass concentration in haze, accounting for 25.2% of PM1; black carbon (BC) had the largest mass concentration on clean and dust storm days, accounting for 24.1% and 12.8% of PM1, respectively. The median diameters of BC were 209.7, 207.5, and 204.7 nm on clean, dust storm, and haze days, respectively. Dp/Dc was 2.15 in haze pollution, which was 1.38 and 1.39 times that on dust storm and clean days, respectively. Diurnal variations in PM and aerosol chemical components were different during the different processes. PM10 and PM2.5had high mass concentrations at night and low mass concentrations during the daytime on clean and dust storm days and had a unimodal distribution with a peak at 14:00 in haze. Diurnal variations in chemical composition had a unimodal distribution on clean days and a bimodal distribution on dust storm and haze days. The chemical compositions of the BC coating layer were different under different processes. The coating layers of BC were mainly NH4NO3, (NH4)2SO4, and organic matter on the clean, dust storm, and haze days, respectively. The distribution of potential sources of PM1 and its chemical components were different under different processes. The high-value area of the potential sources was mainly concentrated in the Beijing-Baoding-Shijiazhuang-Yangquan area in the southwestern portion of the site during dust storms and was mainly concentrated in Yanqing, Huailai, and Changping in the areas around the site during haze.

MicroRNA-19b promotes the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting the PTEN/AKT signaling pathway.

Local and systemic metastasis is the main reason for the poor survival rate of patients with ovarian cancer (OC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are short non-coding RNAs that serve critical roles in the initiation and progression of OC. The present study demonstrated that expression of miR-19b was significantly increased in OC tissues and cell lines. Analysis of clinicopathological features revealed that the increased expression of miR-19b was associated with advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage and lymphatic metastasis of OC patients. Loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that the silencing of miR-19b reduced the migration and invasion of OVCAR-3 cells; contrarily, the overexpression of miR-19b facilitated the migration and invasion of CAOV-3 cells. Furthermore, miR-19b regulated the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and the activity of the PTEN/RAC serine/threonine-protein kinase pathway in vitro. Notably, the results of dual-luciferase reporter assays indicated that PTEN was a direct downstream target of miR-19b in OC. Taken together, the results of the current study demonstrated that miR-19b serves an oncogenic role in the progression of OC, and could potentially act as a biomarker and therapeutic target for OC patients.

[Size Distribution and Mixing State of Black Carbon Aerosol in Nanjing During a Heavy Winter Pollution Event].

In December 2013,a lasting haze pollution event occurred in the Central and East regions of China.Here in this paper,using a single-particle soot photometer (SP2),we studied mass concentrations,mixing states,and size distributions of black carbon (BC) in this event.The results showed that BC mass concentration in Nanjing during the observation period was in the range of 1.01-14.05 µg·m-3 with an average of 4.39 µg·m-3,showing the characteristics of double peaks for lighter pollution,andhigh in the nighttime and low in the daytime during heavier pollution.Using the relative coating thickness (Dp/Dc) to define mixing state of black carbon,diurnal variations were higher in early morning and noon when slightly polluted,and lower during rush hour,indicating the degree of BC ageing was deeper in the morning and afternoon,with fresher particles near the ground source emissions during rush hour.The relative coating thickness did not vary greatly throughout the day when heavily polluted,which was expected to be linked to regional pollutants and it also showed Gas-solid transformation under high relative humidity.The average mass and number size distribution had single peaking with the same BC volume-equivalent diameter in different degrees of pollution,with the peak diameter at 100 nm for the number distribution when heavily polluted,at 91 nm when slightly polluted,and at 210 nm for the mass distribution regardless of the degree of pollution.We could find regional differences of BC sources by comparing the observed research worldwide.This study has very important reference value for the in-depth understanding of BC pollution in Yangtze River Delta.

EMMPRIN in gynecologic cancers: pathologic and therapeutic aspects.

The highly glycosylated transmembrane protein extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) is associated with several pathological conditions, including various types of cancers. In different gynecological malignancies, such as ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers, EMMPRIN plays significant roles in cell adhesion modulation, tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis by inducing the production of various molecules, including matrix metalloproteinases and vascular endothelial growth factor. Because of its high level of expression, EMMPRIN can possibly be used as a diagnostic marker of gynecological cancers. Recent studies have showed that targeting EMMPRIN, especially by RNA interference (RNAi) technology, has promising therapeutic potential in basic research on gynecological cancer treatments, which make a platform for the future clinical success. This review study focused on the association of EMMPRIN in gynecological cancers in the perspectives of pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapeutics.

Egg consumption is associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer: Evidence from a meta-analysis of observational studies.

BACKGROUND: The findings of epidemiologic studies on the association between egg consumption and ovarian cancer risk remain conflicting. The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate whether an association exists between egg intake and ovarian cancer risk in epidemiologic studies. METHODS: A literature search was carried out using PUBMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library Central database for all medical literature published in English-language journals up to August 2013. Before meta-analysis, between-study heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed using adequate statistical tests. Fixed-effect and random-effect models were used to estimate summary relative risks (RR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analysis were also performed. RESULTS: A total of 12 eligible studies (six case-control studies and six cohort studies) were included, involving 629,453 subjects and 3728 ovarian cancer cases. We found that high egg intake (comparing the highest with the lowest category) was associated with a significant increased risk of ovarian cancer (RR = 1.21, 95% CI [1.06, 1.38]). When we examined whether the associations differed by study type, statistically significant effect of egg intake on ovarian cancer was observed among case-control studies (RR = 1.22, 95% CI [1.03, 1.43]), but not among cohort studies (RR = 1.20, 95% CI [0.97, 1.48]). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that egg consumption may increase ovarian cancer risk. Additional studies, especially large prospective cohort studies, are warranted to confirm the findings.