[Biogeochemical Characteristics in Shengli Site of Lijiang River Under the High Resolution Monitoring].

This study was done to understand the diel variation and factors influencing the hydrochemistry of the Lijing River in different seasons. This is a typical medium river located at Guilin City in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, SW China. The Shengli site was selected for this study. Two-day monitoring work with a high resolution rate logger and high frequency sampling at 2 hour intervals was conducted at the Shengli site of the Lijiang River in summer and autumn separately. Physical and hydrogeochemical parameters including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), water temperature (T), electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), isotopes, and other chemical parameters were examined. The results show that:① the physical and hydrochemical parameters[T, pH, DO, SIC, EC, p (CO2)] and major ions (HCO3-, Ca2+) at the Shengli site displayed regular diel variation during monitoring. The data for T, pH, DO, and SIC increased in daylight and decreased at night, while the data for Ca2+, HCO3-, EC, and p (CO2) decreased in daylight and increased at night. ② The diurnal changes of nutrient elements (SO42-, NO3-, Cl-, Na+, Mg2+, and K+) at the Shengli site were mainly controlled by photosynthesis and respiration of aquatic plants, and showed the trend of decrease in daylight and increase at night. Due to the influence of a flood in mid-August 2017, the amount of diurnal variation in the nutrient element levels in summer was less than that in autumn. ③ The δ13CDIC increased in daylight and decreased at night both in summer and autumn, reflecting the influences of photosynthesis and precipitation. Under the influence of different root systems, soil microbial respiration intensity, and seasonal variation of river hydrological factors, the δ13CDIC in summer was generally lighter than that in autumn, with average values of -10.08‰ and -8.90‰, respectively. ④ The daily average fixation amount of karst carbon sink caused by aquatic plants was calculated to be 2.12 mmol·L-1 and 0.94 mmol·L-1 for Autumn and Summer, respectively. To sum up, there is a higher efficiency of karst carbon sink caused by aquatic plants in Autumn than that in Summer.

[Dynamic Variations and Sources of Nitrate During Dry Season in the Lijiang River].

Dynamic variations and sources of nitrate during dry season in the Lijiang River were analyzed using the nitrate concentrations and 15 N and 18 O isotope techniques, from the samples obtained from 13 sections in the Lijiang River from September 28, 2016 to December 28, 2016. Results show that the nitrate concentrations range from 0.46 to 18.48 mg·L-1, with an average of 6.18 mg·L-1, and that the nitrate levels are low during the dry season. Nitrate concentrations in the Lijiang River increase slowly from September to December, mainly being influenced by rainfall, runoff, and human activity. Nitrate concentrations in the Lijiang River from upstream to downstream show a trend of "increase-decrease-increase." Nitrate in the Lijiang River during the dry season mainly originates from organic nitrogen in soil, human and animal feces, sewage (largely living sewage), human and animal waste, and tourism. In order to better protect the water quality of the Lijiang River, the urban sewage pipe network must be expanded, in addition to building small sewage treatment facilities and strengthening tourism management and environmental awareness.

Abnormal alterations of miR-1 and miR-214 are associated with clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with PDAC.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating malignant disease with a poor prognosis. PDAC is known to be difficult to diagnose at an early stage and to exhibit poor recurrence-free prognosis, but there is also a lack of effective treatment and limited knowledge of its biological characteristics. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement for an improved understanding of the cellular or molecular properties associated with PDAC, and to explore novel avenues for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. In the present study, the microRNA (miRNA/miR) profiles of sera and tumor samples from patients with PDAC and healthy controls were investigated by miRNA microarray, and the potential role of miR-1 expression in PDAC was determined. A total of 43 patients attending the clinic diagnosed with PDAC at Changzhi City People's Hospital were invited to participate. Blood and surgical tumor samples were obtained for analysis by miRNA microarray and the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The surgical tumor tissue was additionally used to determine miRNAs status by in situ hybridization (ISH). The results of microarray revealed that: i) 27 miRNAs in the sera and 23 miRNAs in the tumor tissues obtained from patients with PDAC were different compared with their matched controls; ii) miR-1, miR-10b and miR-214 were significantly altered in the PDAC group, either in the sera or tumor tissue samples. Results from the RT-qPCR, which detected the levels of miRNAs in patients with PDAC, confirmed those obtained from the miRNA microarray. In particular, the results of the present study revealed that decreased miR-1 and increased miR-214 in the PDAC tissues were associated with the clinicopathological features and survival rates of patients with PDAC. The results of the present study indicated that miRNAs serve an important role in PDAC carcinogenic progression and supplied useful markers, including miR-1, miR-214 and miR-10b, for determining PDAC prognosis using noninvasive methods.

[Sources of Organic Carbon in the Surface Water of Lijiang River].

This study selected a larger typical karst basin, that of Lijiang River, as the research subject and studied the sources of organic carbon in the Lijiang basin in July, August, and September in 2016 by an isotope tracer method, a correlational analysis method, and endmember mixture model, using a stable isotope of carbon and the organic carbon to nitrogen ratio. The results showed the following. ① The spatial distribution characteristics of DIC concentration were as follows: karst area> karst and non-karst mixed area> non-karst area. The content of DIC downstream was higher than upstream. The spatial distribution of DIC concentration was mainly controlled by the distribution of carbonate rocks in the Lijiang basin. ② DOC was the main part of TOC in the Lijiang basin. TOC was mainly derived from the primary productivity of aquatic organisms. The spatial distribution characteristics of autochthonous organic carbon content were as follows: karst area> karst and non-karst mixed area> non-karst area, which may be related to more lush aquatic plants in the karst area than in the non-karst area and the carbonic anhydrase activity in the karst area being higher than in the non-karst area. The content of autochthonous organic carbon in the TOC ranged from 1.02 to 5.14 mg·L-1, with an average of 2.54 mg·L-1. There was no significant spatial difference of the proportion of autochthonous organic carbon in the TOC; it ranged from 51.68% to 85.99%, with an average of 73.07%. ③ The POC concentration, the content of autochthonous organic carbon in the POC, and the proportion of autochthonous organic carbon in the POC had no significant spatial differences. The main source of POC was allochthonous organic carbon, and the content of autochthonous organic carbon in the POC ranged from 0.01 to 0.16 mg·L-1, with an average of 0.05 mg·L-1. The proportion of autochthonous organic carbon in the POC ranged from 3.69% to 41.94%, with an average of 17.31%. ④ The spatial distribution of the content of DOC and autochthonous organic carbon in the DOC are as follows: karst area>karst and non-karst mixed area>non-karst area. DOC mainly came from the primary productivity of aquatic organisms. The content of autochthonous organic carbon of the DOC ranged from 0.97 to 5.10 mg·L-1, with an average of 2.48 mg·L-1. The spatial distribution of the proportion of autochthonous organic carbon in the DOC had no obvious difference and ranged from 54.43% to 94.69%, with an average of 79.51%. Studying the influence of aquatic photosynthetic organisms on organic carbon in rivers can provide basis for scientific problem solution of the stability of karst carbon sinks.

[Impact of Human Activities on Water-Rock Interactions in Surface Water of Lijiang River].

The influence of human activities on karst surface water quality has received increasing attention. To explore the impact of human activities on water-rock interactions in karst surface water, water samples were collected from July to November in 2016 in the Lijiang River, which is dominated by human activities. The samples were analyzed for the hydrochemistryand the characteristics of δ13CDIC. The results show that:①The Lijiang River is mainly characterized by HCO3-Ca chemical composition.. The SO42- and NO3- concentrations are inferior to HCO3- concentrations in the anion composition; besides, the concentrations of SO42- and NO3- in the river between Guilin and Yangshuo are higher than in the other sampling sites, caused by tourism and urban development. ②Equivalent ratios of[Ca2++Mg2+]/[HCO3-] are between 1.01 and 1.51 and the equivalent ratios of[Ca2++Mg2+]/[SO42-+NO3-+HCO3-] are between 0.85 and 1.12, indicating that the sulfuric acid and nitric acid have participated in the water-rock interaction. ③The proportions of carbonic acid dissolving carbonate rocks range from 32.10%-98.01% with an average of 75.89%. The proportions of sulfuric acid and nitric acid dissolving carbonate rocks vary from 1.99%-67.90% with an average of 24.11%. The proportions of sulfuric acid and nitric acid dissolving carbonate rocks in the rainy period with an average of 24.31% is higher than in the brief rain period with an average of 23.88%. In addition, the proportions of sulfuric acid and nitric acid dissolving carbonate rocks present a fluctuated increasing trend from upstream to downstream and the maximum strength and the minimum strength of the sulfuric and nitric acid dissolving carbonate rocks occur in Lingchuan and Huajiang, respectively. ④ HCO3- mainly originated from the carbonate rocks dissolved by carbonic acid, with an average of 83.58%, followed by the carbonate rocks dissolved by sulfuric acid and nitric acid, with an average of 14.24%. The contribution of carbonic acid weathering silicate rocks is the smallest with an average of 2.18%. ⑤ δ13CDIC of the Lijiang River ranges from -11.95‰--7.61‰; the calculated δ13CDIC-rock using the mixture endmember model ranges from -14.24‰--7.23‰. δ13CDIC is close to δ13CDIC-rock in the rainy period and δ13CDIC is significantly higher than δ13CDIC-rock in the brief rain period. The difference between δ13CDIC and δ13CDIC-rock is caused by the influence of aquatic photosynthetic organisms.

Transport of Corilagin, Gallic Acid, and Ellagic Acid from Fructus Phyllanthi Tannin Fraction in Caco-2 Cell Monolayers.

Objective. To investigate the absorption property of the representative hydrolyzable tannin, namely corilagin, and its hydrolysates gallic acid (GA) and ellagic acid (EA) from the Fructus Phyllanthi tannin fraction (PTF) in vitro. Methods. Caco-2 cells monolayer model was established. Influences of PTF on Caco-2 cells viability were detected with MTT assay. The transport across monolayers was examined for different time points, concentrations, and secretory directions. The inhibitors of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance proteins (MRPs), organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) and sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1), and tight junction modulators were used to study the transport mechanism. LC-MS method was employed to quantify the absorption concentration. Results. The apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) values of the three compounds were below 1.0 × 10-6 cm/s. The absorption of corilagin and GA were much lower than their efflux, and the uptake of both compounds was increased in the presence of inhibitors of P-gp and MRPs. The absorption of EA was decreased in the company of OATP and SGLT1 inhibitors. Moreover, the transport of corilagin, GA, and EA was enhanced by tight junction modulators. Conclusion. These observations indicated that the three compounds in PTF were transported via passive diffusion combined with protein mediated transport. P-gp and MRPs might get involved in the transport of corilagin and GA. The absorption of EA could be attributed to OATP and SGLT1 protein.

Fructus phyllanthi tannin fraction induces apoptosis and inhibits migration and invasion of human lung squamous carcinoma cells in vitro via MAPK/MMP pathways.

AIM: Fructus phyllanthi tannin fraction (PTF) from the traditional Tibetan medicine Fructus phyllanthi has been found to inhibit lung and liver carcinoma in mice. In this study we investigated the anticancer mechanisms of PTF in human lung squamous carcinoma cells in vitro. METHODS: Human lung squamous carcinoma cell line (NCI-H1703), human large-cell lung cancer cell line (NCI-H460), human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) and human fibrosarcoma cell line (HT1080) were tested. Cell viability was detected with MTT assay. Cell migration and invasion were assessed using a wound healing assay and a transwell chemotaxis chambers assay, respectively. Cell apoptosis was analyzed with flow cytometric analysis. The levels of apoptosis-related and metastasis-related proteins were detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: PTF dose-dependently inhibited the viability of the 3 human lung cancer cells. The IC50 values of PTF in inhibition of NCI-H1703, NCI-H460, and A549 cells were 33, 203, and 94 mg/L, respectively. PTF (15, 30, and 60 mg/L) dose-dependently induced apoptosis of NCI-H1703 cells. Treatment of NCI-H1703 and HT1080 cells with PTF significantly inhibited cell migration, and reduced the number of invasive cells through Matrigel. Furthermore, PTF dose-dependently down-regulated the expression of phosphor-ERK1/2, MMP-2 and MMP-9, up-regulated the expression of phosphor-JNK, but had no significant effect on the expression of ERK1/2 or JNK. CONCLUSION: PTF induces cell apoptosis and inhibits the migration and invasion of NCI-H1703 cells by decreasing MPPs expression through regulation of the MAPK pathway.

[HPLC-fingerprint-based quality evaluation on a Tibetan medicine Phyllanthus emblica and its tannin parts].

This study is to establish the fingerprint for Phyllanthus emblica and their tannin parts from different habitats by HPLC for its quality control. The determination was carried out on a Diamonsil C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) column, with methanol-0.2% glacial acetic acid as mobile phase with gradient elution at a flow rate of 1 mL x min(-1). The temperature was maintained at 30 degrees C and the detected wavelength is 260 nm, Thirteen chromatographic peaks were extracted as the common peaks of the fingerprint of P. emblica, and eleven as the common peaks of P. emblica tannin parts, and five peaks were identified by comparing with referent samples. The fingerprints of 8 samples were compared and classified by similarity evaluation, cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The similarity degrees of eight P. emblica were between 0.763 and 0.993, while tannin parts were between 0.903 and 0.991. All the samples of P. emblica and their tannin parts were classified into 3 categories. The method was so highly reproducible, simple and reliable that it could provide basis for quality control and evaluation of P. emblica from different habitats.