Origami-inspired highly stretchable and breathable 3D wearable sensors for in-situ and online monitoring of plant growth and microclimate.

The emerging wearable plant sensors demonstrate the capability of in-situ measurement of physiological and micro-environmental information of plants. However, the stretchability and breathability of current wearable plant sensors are restricted mainly due to their 2D planar structures, which interfere with plant growth and development. Here, origami-inspired 3D wearable sensors have been developed for plant growth and microclimate monitoring. Unlike 2D counterparts, the 3D sensors demonstrate theoretically infinitely high stretchability and breathability derived from the structure rather than the material. They are adjusted to 100% and 111.55 mg cm-2·h-1 in the optimized design. In addition to stretchability and breathability, the structural parameters are also used to control the strain distribution of the 3D sensors to enhance sensitivity and minimize interference. After integrating with corresponding sensing materials, electrodes, data acquisition and transmission circuits, and a mobile App, a miniaturized sensing system is produced with the capability of in-situ and online monitoring of plant elongation and microclimate. As a demonstration, the 3D sensors are worn on pumpkin leaves, which can accurately monitor the leaf elongation and microclimate with negligible hindrance to plant growth. Finally, the effects of the microclimate on the plant growth is resolved by analyzing the monitored data. This study would significantly promote the development of wearable plant sensors and their applications in the fields of plant phenomics, plant-environment interface, and smart agriculture.

Identification and prognostic analysis of ferroptosis­related gene HSPA5 to predict the progression of lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death driven by excessive lipid peroxidation, is implicated in the development and therapeutic responses of cancer. However, the role of ferroptosis-related gene profiles in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains largely unknown. The present study aimed to identify the prognostic roles of ferroptosis-related genes in LSCC. Sequencing data from the Cancer Genome Atlas were analyzed and ferroptosis-related gene expression between tumor and para-tumor tissue was identified. The prognostic role of these genes was also assessed using Kaplan-Meier analyses and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model analyses. Immunological correlation, tumor stemness, drug sensitivity and the transcriptional differences of heat shock protein (HSP)A5 in LSCC were also analyzed. Thereafter, the expression of HSPA5 in 100 patients with metastatic LSCC was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the clinical significance of these markers with different risk factors was assessed. Of the 22 ferroptosis-related genes, the expression of HSPA5, HSPB1, glutathione peroxidase 4, Fanconi anemia complementation group D2, CDGSH iron sulfur domain 1, farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1, nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 2, solute carrier (SLC)1A5, ribosomal protein L8, nuclear receptor coactivator 4, transferrin receptor and SLC7A11 was significantly increased in LSCC compared with adjacent tissues. However, only high expression of HSPA5 was able to predict progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-free survival in LSCC. Although HSPA5 was also significantly elevated in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, HSPA5 expression did not predict the prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Of note, a higher expression of HSPA5 was related to higher responses to chemotherapy but not to immunotherapy. In addition, HSPA5 expression was positively correlated with 'ferroptosis', 'cellular responses to hypoxia', 'tumor proliferation signature', 'G2M checkpoint', 'MYC targets' and 'TGFB'. IHC analysis also demonstrated that a high expression of HSPA5 in patients with metastatic LSCC in the study cohort was associated with shorter PFS and overall survival. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the expression of the ferroptosis-related gene HSPA5 may be a negative prognostic marker for LSCC.

Tracking transformation behavior of soluble to insoluble components in liquid egg yolk under heat treatment and the intervention effect of xylitol.

The heat sensitivity of egg yolk limits its application, and xylitol can improve its thermal stability. The soluble and insoluble components of egg yolk and egg yolk containing xylitol treated at different temperatures were explored from the aspects of thermal instability behavior characterization and structure property. Magnetic resonance imaging and low field nuclear magnetic resonance showed that increased temperature induced liberation and transfer of hydrogen protons. Meanwhile, the apparent viscosity of soluble components increased, while that of insoluble components decreased. Microstructure showed that heat treatment induced aggregation and lipid transfer. SDS-PAGE showed that heat treatment induced aggregation and transformation of γ-livetin and apo-LDL. The change in crystal structure, Raman spectroscopy, and 3D fluorescence spectra showed that heat treatment resulted in the unfolding of yolk proteins, especially plasma proteins. Xylitol could alleviate transformation of components by stabilizing protein structure, alleviating the damage in protein integrity and elevation in aggregation size.

Novel Weighting Method for Evaluating Forest Soil Fertility Index: A Structural Equation Model.

Understanding nutrient quantity and quality in forest soils is important for sustainable management of forest resources and maintaining forest ecosystem services. In this study, six soil nutrient indicators, including soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) were measured in five different aged stands of Chinese fir forests in subtropical China. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed based on these soil nutrients indicators in order to better evaluate the soil fertility index (SFI) in these studied forests. The results show that soil nutrient contents changed with the soil depth in different age groups. The SOM decreased in a specific order: over mature > mature > near mature > middle > young stands. The TN content of the soil gradually decreased with increased soil depth throughout all age groups. The SEM indicated that the TN had the highest weight of 0.4154, while the TP had the lowest weight at 0.1991 for estimating the SFI. The weights of other indicators (AN, SOM, AP, and AK) ranged 0.2138−0.3855 in our study. The established SEM satisfied the fitness reference values and was able to accurately describe the forest soil nutrient status through the SFI. The overall SFI values were significantly higher in over mature stands than in young-aged stands and in topsoil than in deeper soil in all examined forests. Soil TN, AP, and AK were the most important nutrient indicators to the evaluation of the SFI in the study sites. The results confirmed that the SEM was suitable to estimate the weights of the SFI and better describe the soil nutrient status in forests. Our research provides an innovative approach to assess a soil nutrient status and soil fertility and provides a scientific basis for accurate implementation of soil nutrient assessment in forest ecosystems.

Free fatty acids stabilize integrin ß1via S-nitrosylation to promote monocyte-endothelial adhesion.

Hyperlipidemia characterized by high blood levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) is important for the progression of inflammatory cardiovascular diseases. Integrin ß1 is a transmembrane receptor that drives various cellular functions, including differentiation, migration, and phagocytosis. However, the underlying mechanisms modifying integrin ß1 protein and activity in mediating monocyte/macrophage adhesion to endothelium remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that integrin ß1 protein underwent S-nitrosylation in response to nitrosative stress in macrophages. To examine the effect of elevated levels of FFA on the modulation of integrin ß1 expression, we treated the macrophages with a combination of oleic acid and palmitic acid (2:1) and found that FFA activated inducible nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide and increased the integrin ß1 protein level without altering the mRNA level. FFA promoted integrin ß1 S-nitrosylation via inducible nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide and prevented its degradation by decreasing binding to E3 ubiquitin ligase c-Cbl. Furthermore, we found that increased integrin α4ß1 heterodimerization resulted in monocyte/macrophage adhesion to endothelium. In conclusion, these results provided novel evidence that FFA-stimulated N--O stabilizes integrin ß1via S-nitrosylation, favoring integrin α4ß1 ligation to promote vascular inflammation.

Mechanistic insights into the improved properties of mayonnaise from the changes in protein structures of enzymatic modification-treated egg yolk.

Heat treatment is an important step in mayonnaise production but can affect the quality of mayonnaise because thermal treatment can accelerate oil droplet coalescence. To resolve this issue, in this study, enzymatically modified egg yolks were applied to produce mayonnaise. Egg yolk hydrolyzed with 0.2% neutral protease could effectively produce mayonnaise with superior heat stability, and this effect was attributed to enzymatic modifications that increased the degree of amino acid ionization, the overall hydrophilicity and the ability to adsorb proteins. Moreover, electrophoresis and FT-IR results showed that the enzymatically modified egg yolk proteins had a smaller molecular weight and more flexible structure, which could also favor the improved properties. The study elucidated why mayonnaise prepared by enzymatic modification-treated egg yolk has better thermal stability.

Significance of detecting the levels of miR-29a, survivin and interferon gamma release assay in patients with lung cancer and tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: When lung cancer is combined with concurrent tuberculosis (TB), it increases the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment, leading to missed and/or misdiagnosed cases. OBJECTIVES: To provide reference markers for the clinical diagnosis of patients with lung cancer complicated by active pulmonary TB (APT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The concentration of survivin in diseased tissue, and miR-29a and IGRAs interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in serum were evaluated in 25 patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) complicated by APT, 32 patients with NSCLC and 30 patients with APT. RESULTS: The expression of miR-29a in serum of patients with APT was higher than in patients with NSCLC complicated by APT (least significant difference (LSD)-t = 4.724, p < 0.001), and the NSCLC group (LSD-t = 6.619, p < 0.001). Furthermore, patients with NSCLC complicated by APT had higher miR-29a concentration than the NSCLC group. The rate of positive survivin expression in NSCLC (χ2 = 23.418, p < 0.001) and NSCLC combined with APT group (χ2 = 17.160, p < 0.001) was significantly higher than in patients with APT. The concentration of IFN-γ in serum of the NSCLC complicated by APT group (LSD-t = 2.912, p = 0.004) and the APT group (LSD-t = 4.452, p < 0.001) was higher than in the NSCLC group. The level of IFN-γ in serum of the NSCLC complicated by APT group were higher than in the APT group, but there was no statistical difference. CONCLUSIONS: The levels of MiR-29a, Survivin and IFN-γ was helpful for differential diagnosis of lung cancer and tuberculosis.

The endocytic pathway of Pt nanoclusters and their induced apoptosis of A549 and A549/Cis cells through c-Myc/p53 and Bcl-2/caspase-3 signaling pathways.

In recent years, multifunctional platinum nanoclusters (Pt-NCs) as new Pt-based anti-cancer drugs exhibit a promising therapeutic efficiency for several cancer diseases, especially for human pulmonary carcinoma. However, the endocytosis behaviors (like uptake pathway, etc.) and induced apoptosis mechanism of Pt-NCs for drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), are still inconclusive. In this research, we explored the endocytic pathway of Pt-NCs in both typical NSCLC A549 cells and cisplatin-resistant A549/Cis cells through qualitative confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) measurement and quantitative flow cytometry (FCM) and inductive coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis, by the means of introducing the specific inhibitors which impede the classical ways of endocytosis. It was found that Pt-NCs dominatingly entered A549 cells via caveolin-mediated endocytosis as well as A549/Cis cells through micropinocytosis approach. Pt-NCs possessed an excellent inhibitory effect on the cell proliferation, migration and invasion, which the cell activity of A549 cells reduced to 14% and that of A549/Cis cells went down about four fifths. Moreover, Pt-NCs treatment increased caspase-3 protein levels and downregulated the expression of c-Myc and Bcl-2, proving the Pt-NCs-induced apoptosis of NSCLC cells was related to c-Myc/p53 and Bcl-2/caspase-3 signal pathways. These results demonstrate the explicit uptake pathway and apoptotic signaling pathway of Pt-NCs for NSCLC, which provides an in-depth and reasonable theoretical basis for the development of new Pt-NCs-based chemotherapeutics in future clinical practice.

Distinguishable Targeting of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Using Hyaluronan Functionalized Platinum Nanoclusters and Their Inhibition Behaviors of Proliferation, Invasion, Migration.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and most cancer patients receiving conventional chemotherapy suffer from severe side effects due to the non-selective effects of chemotherapeutic drugs on normal cells. Targeted nanomaterials can obtain excellent accumulation at the tumor site through their active or passive targeting mechanisms, thereby reducing the toxicity of the drugs in various ways. In this study, hyaluronic acid (HA) which could specifically bind to CD44 on the surface of tumor cells, was used to modify amine-caged platinum nanoclusters (Pt NCs-NH2 ) to obtain targeting HA-Pt NCs-NH2 . Based on the differential expression of CD44 on the surface of three lung cells (non-small cell lung cancer cell H1299, small cell lung cancer cell H446, and embryonic lung fibroblast HFL1), HA-Pt NCs-NH2 can differentially enter the three cells and achieve their targeting of non-small cell lung cancer cell (NSCLC) cells. Pt NCs significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells and induced their apoptosis in comparison of classical cisplatin and carboplatin, showing a bright future in early diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC.

Comparative lipidomics profiling of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus intermedius.

Strongylocentrotus intermedius is an edible sea urchin and well-known for its nutritional value, such as a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). We carried out an untargeted lipidomics via high-resolution ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) to highlight the features of the lipids profile of sea urchin gonad, which allowed for a more detailed interpretation of the accumulation of PUFAs with different abundances among sea urchins. For the first time, lipidomics profiling of lipid abundances in S. intermedius was demonstrated. We detected 11 PUFAs in sea urchin gonads, which represented >54.13% of the total fatty acid content. A total of 1552 lipid molecular species belonging to 36 lipid classes were identified. Lipidomics profiles data were analyzed using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model and distinguished the PUFA abundances in both sexes of sea urchins. The significant differences in lipid molecules were highlighted and the major lipid classes identified were phosphatidylcholine (PC [19 species]) among females and triglycerides (TG [11 species]) among males. PC (42: 11) may be used as a potential marker for distinguishing high levels of PUFAs in sea urchin individuals, which as the result of the high level of PC (42:11). These data enrich the lipid profile library of aquatic products and provide a more reliable and refined biomarkers for the further research on fatty acid synthesis and metabolism in aquatic animals.

Comparison of the Detection Rates of Different Diagnostic Methods for Primary Peripheral Lung Cancer.

Objective: The present study aims to compare the detection rates of different diagnostic methods for primary peripheral lung cancer (PPLC). Methods: The detection rate and patient information were collected from a total of 359 cases of PPLC or a suspected diagnosis of lung cancer; among these, 186 cases were simultaneously treated with fibreoptic bronchoscopy, brush inspection and flush inspection, and 173 cases underwent a computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous lung biopsy (PNB). The positive detection rates of the different methods were compared. Results: In the detection of peripheral lesions (diameter of <5 cm), the CT-PNB had the significantly highest detection rate, followed by the combined basic method (fibreoptic bronchoscopy + brushing + flushing). The independent use of the three basic sampling methods showed a significantly lower detection rate compared with the combined use. Conclusion: In the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer, the CT-PNB had the best detection rate; hence, it could be used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of such lesions.

Procyanidin B2 mitigates endothelial endoplasmic reticulum stress through a PPARδ-Dependent mechanism.

Hyperglycemia-induced endothelial endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is implicated in the pathophysiology of diabetes and its vascular complications. Procyanidins are enriched in many plant foods and have been demonstrated to exert several beneficial effects on diabetes, cardiovascular and other metabolic diseases. In the present study, we investigated the effect of procyanidin B2 (PCB2), the most widely distributed natural procyanidin, on ER stress evoked by high glucose in endothelial cells (ECs) and the underlying mechanisms. We showed that PCB2 mitigated the high glucose-activated ER stress pathways (PERK, IRE1α and ATF6) in human vascular ECs. In addition, we found that PCB2 attenuated endothelial ER stress via the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ). We demonstrated that PCB2 directly bound to and activated PPARδ. Conversely, GSK0660, a selective PPARδ antagonist, attenuated the suppressive effect of PCB2 on the ER stress signal pathway. Functionally, PCB2 ameliorated the high glucose-impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation in mouse aortas. The protective effect of PCB2 on vasodilation was abolished in the aortas pretreated with GSK0660 or those from the EC-specific PPARδ knockout mice. Moreover, the protective effects of PCB2 on ER stress and endothelial dysfunction required the inter-dependent actions of PPARδ and AMPK. Collectively, we demonstrated that PCB2 mitigated ER stress and ameliorated vasodilation via a PPARδ-mediated mechanism beyond its classic action as a scavenger of free radicals. These findings further highlighted the novel roles of procyanidins in intervening the ER stress and metabolic disorders related to endothelial dysfunction.

Metabolomics analysis of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) in different geographical origins using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS.

The sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) has become increasingly important aquaculture with the rapid expansion of farming in China and its commercial popularity in Asia. Price varies significantly among sea cucumber species, and since visual differentiation is difficult, food fraud is likely to occur. In this study, we report an analysis of body wall metabolites of the sea cucumber (A. japonicus) from different geographical origins in Dalian, Pikou, Jinzhou and Rushan using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). The metabolites of sea cumbers of the different geographical origins were assessed using orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and analysed using KEGG metabolic pathway analysis. The OPLS-DA clearly discriminated the body wall metabolites of sea cucumbers from the four regions. The differential metabolites mainly included amino acids and lipids. The KEGG metabolic pathway analysis showed that lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and protein metabolism were closely related to geographical origin. These results can be used to discriminate the geographical origins of A. japonicus.

LncRNA SNHG16 Promotes the Progression of Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Mediating miR-877-5p/FOXP4 Axis.

OBJECTIVE: Laryngeal cancer is a common malignant tumor in the ENT, of which laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) accounts for more than 90% of laryngeal cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate the regulatory mechanism of lncRNA SNHG16 in LSCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to measure mRNA expression. Cell Counting Kit (CCK-8), Transwell and luciferase reporter assays, flow cytometric analysis and Western blot analysis were used to investigate the function of lncRNA SNHG16 in LSCC. RESULTS: SNHG16 expression was increased in LSCC tissues and cells. The abnormal expression of SNHG16 was associated with clinical stage and lymph node metastasis in LSCC patients. In addition, knockdown of SNHG16 restrained cell proliferation, migration and invasion in LSCC. More importantly, SNHG16 acted as a competitive endogenous RNA in LSCC and regulated FOXP4 expression by making miR-877-5p sponge. Further, SNHG16 promoted LSCC progression by interacting with miR-877-5p and FOXP4. CONCLUSION: LncRNA SNHG16 promotes the progression of LSCC by sponging miR-877-5p and upregulating FOXP4.

Erratum: MicroRNA-152 suppresses cisplatin resistance in A549 cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.10834.].

An effervescence tablet-assisted microextraction based on the solidification of deep eutectic solvents for the determination of strobilurin fungicides in water, juice, wine, and vinegar samples by HPLC.

In this study, a simple, efficient, and green effervescence tablet-assisted microextraction method based on the solidification of deep eutectic solvent (ETA-ME-SDES) was developed to determine picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, and trifloxystrobin in water, juice, wine, and vinegar samples by HPLC. An eco-friendly, hydrophobic, deep eutectic solvent (DES, acting as the extraction solvent) was synthesized by thymol and octanoic acid in the molar ratio of 1:5. The extraction solvent dispersed in sample solutions with the assistance of pH adjustment and effervescence reaction, and was collected after solidification in an ice bath. Several essential conditions, including the type and the volume of DESs, the amount of ammonia hydroxide, and the components of effervescence tablets were optimized. The limits of detection ranged from 0.15 to 0.38 µg L-1. Extraction recovery ranged from 77.4 to 106.9%. The proposed method was successful in determining the amount of strobilurin fungicides in water, juice, wine, and vinegar samples.

MicroRNA-152 suppresses cisplatin resistance in A549 cells.

The present study aimed to investigate the association between microRNA-152 and cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer. A549 and cisplatin-resistant A549 cells (A549/cis) were maintained in vitro. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to analyze differences in microRNA-152 levels between A549 and A549/cis cells, and changes in Bcl-2 and NF-κB expression levels were analyzed via RT-qPCR and western blot analyses. MicroRNA-152 was overexpressed in A549/cis cells via transfection of a microRNA-152 mimic. Upon treating transfected or untransfected A549/cis cells with 2 µg/l cisplatin for 24 h, a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, morphological analysis and flow cytometry analysis were performed to evaluate the effect of microRNA-152 on the inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, changes in Bcl-2 and NF-κB expression levels in microRNA-152-overexpressing A549/cis cells were also analyzed. MicroRNA-152 was significantly downregulated and Bcl-2 and NF-κB were significantly upregulated in A549/cis cells (P<0.05). MicroRNA-152 upregulation enhanced the inhibitory effect of cisplatin on A549/cis cells. These results suggest that microRNA-152 downregulates Bcl-2 and NF-κB. MicroRNA-152 downregulation may induce cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer cells, whereas microRNA-152 upregulation may improve cisplatin sensitivity among A549/cis cells via downregulation of Bcl-2 and NF-κB.

Evaporation-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic droplets for the determination of triazole fungicides in water samples by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A simple, rapid, and effective analytical procedure for determining three triazole fungicides (myclobutanil, epoxiconazole, and tebuconazole) in water samples is developed by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection after evaporation-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic droplets. The extraction procedure involves the sequential addition of the extraction solvent 1-dodecanol (low density), volatile solvent dichloromethane (high density), and calcium oxide to the aqueous sample (the latter reacting exothermically). The CaO reaction can promote the volatilization of the dichloromethane which disperses the 1-dodecanol as fine droplets in the aqueous sample due to the bubbles generated. Therefore, a dispersive solvent is not required. Then, the floating 1-dodecanol is solidified using an ice bath for easy separation from the sample. The variables (the volumes of extraction and volatile solvents, amounts of calcium oxide and sodium chloride, pH values, and extraction time) in the extraction procedure are further optimized. Under optimized conditions, the linearity ranges are 0.05-5 µg mL-1 with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The limits of detection and quantification are 0.0051-0.0090 µg mL-1 and 0.0169-0.0299 µg mL-1, respectively. The recoveries of myclobutanil, epoxiconazole, and tebuconazole in tap, reservoir, and river water range between 77.6% and 104.4% with relative standard deviations ranging from 0.6% to 7.8%. Hence, the method was reliable for analysis of myclobutanil, epoxiconazole, and tebuconazole in water samples.

Versatile Pt NCs-based chemotherapeutic agents significantly induce the apoptosis of cisplatin-resistant non-small cell lung cancer.

Recently, the incidence of lung cancer is generally rising along with air pollution and smoking, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for nearly 85% among all lung cancer diagnoses. With the development of chemotherapy, the drug resistance rate of common platinum-based chemotherapeutic drugs (like cisplatin) is gradually increased, which seriously affects the chemotherapy efficiency and survival rate of patients. In this study, polyethylenimine caged platinum nanoclusters (PEI-caged Pt NCs) were proposed as a new chemotherapeutic agent to apply in the treatment of NSCLC, choosing the classical cisplatin-resistant A549/DDP cells and normal A549 cells as targets. It was found that our Pt NCs-based chemotherapeutic drugs showed its preferable therapeutic effect in cisplatin-resistant NSCLC through the results of confocal microscopic images, cell counting kit-8 test, cell apoptosis assay and western blot. Most importantly, in the cisplatin-resistance A549/DDP cells, this kind of agents could enter the nucleus obviously, and emerged a superior inhibitory and apoptotic effects than A549 via activating p53 protein and the related signaling pathways. Comparing with the traditional chemotherapy drugs, these Pt NCs-based chemotherapeutic agents exhibit great potential and advantages in the treatment and diagnosis of NSCLC regardless of the therapeutic effect or toxic side effects, especially the drug resistance.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Heliocidaris crassispina (A. Agassiz, 1864).

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Heliocidaris crassispina was determined on Illumina HiSeq platform. The genome was 15,678 bp in size and contains 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and 1 control region (96 bp). The composition of A + T in H. crassispina mtDNA was 59.11%. Except ND6 and 5 tRNAs, the others are on the H-strand. The phylogenetic relationship of 11 species of sea urchins was analyzed using the neighbour-joining method by software MEGA 7.0. H. crassispina was most closely related to Pseudocentrotus depressus.