[Circular RNA-Encoded Proteins in Gastrointestinal Cancer:A Review].

Circular RNAs(CircRNAs)are a class of non-coding RNAs with a covalently closed-loop structure,high stability,and tissue specificity,with the production mechanisms different from linear RNAs.Recent studies have discovered that some CircRNAs can encode proteins via cap-independent translation mechanisms such as internal ribosome entry site,N6-methyladenosine,and rolling loop translation.The encoded proteins regulate homologous linear proteins or downstream signaling pathways via protein bait or other mechanisms,thereby exerting biological functions.Studies have shown that CircRNAs play a role in various diseases,especially in tumor progression,proliferation,invasion,and metastasis and immune regulation.Therefore,by elucidating the expression and roles of proteins encoded by CircRNAs in tumorigenesis and development,this paper is expected to provide new tumor markers and potential targets for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Antidepressant-like effects of Z-ligustilide on chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression in rats.

Depression is a significant public health issue and its neuropathogenesis is associated with the dysfunction of progesterone and allopregnanolone biosynthesis. Z-ligustilide (LIG), one of the main components of the herb Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (AS), is reported to have antidepressant activities. The present study aimed to evaluate the antidepressant-like effects of LIG via behavioral tests and to measure the levels of progesterone and allopregnanolone in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. The results demonstrated that LIG (20 and 40 mg/kg) exerted antidepressant-like effects, confirmed by increased mobility, locomotion, rearing frequency and preference to sucrose. Furthermore, the levels of progesterone and allopregnanolone in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were markedly increased following treatment with LIG (20 and 40 mg/kg), indicating that both neurosteroids could serve a significant role in the antidepressant-like effects of LIG.

[Community structure of zooplankton in adjacent area of Changjiang Estuary, China in 2016.] / 2016年夏季长江口邻近海域浮游动物群落结构.

Based on the data of zooplankton samples from 27 stations in the offshore area of Changjiang Estuary in August 2016, we analyzed the community structure and diversity of zooplankton and examined the relationship between zooplankton community structure and environmental factors. A total of 108 species of zooplankton belonging to 12 groups in six phyla, together with 15 types of pelagic larvae and fish eggs were identified. The main groups were copepods, thaliacea, chaetognaths, cladocladus and medusae, with the average abundance being 273.9, 115.0, 67.1, 63.6 and 61.1 ind·m-3. The most dominant group of zooplankton was copepods (48 species), accounting for 44.4% of the total zooplankton abundance. Medusae ranked second with a total of 12 species, accounting for 11.1% of the total zooplankton abundance. Furthermore, the absolute dominant group was copepods, with the highest contribution to the zooplankton community (20.3%). According to the clustering results of environmental factors, the area could be divided into Changjiang diluted water and offshore water mass. The results of analysis of similarities showed that the difference of zooplankton community between the two regions was significant (the average diffe-rence was 4%), and the contribution to the difference was 20.3%, 18.0%, 14.1%, 13.4%, and 11.8% for copepod, thaliacea, cladocera, chaetognaths, and medusae, respectively.

Overexpression of microRNA-612 Restrains the Growth, Invasion, and Tumorigenesis of Melanoma Cells by Targeting Espin.

microRNA (miR)-612 shows anticancer activity in several types of cancers, yet its function in melanoma is still unclear. This study was undertaken to investigate the expression of miR-612 and its biological relevance in melanoma cell growth, invasion, and tumorigenesis. The expression and prognostic significance of miR-612 in melanoma were examined. The effects of miR-612 overexpression on cell proliferation, colony formation, tumorigenesis, and invasion were determined. Rescue experiments were conducted to identify the functional target gene(s) of miR-612. miR-612 was significantly downregulated in melanoma tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Low miR-612 expression was significantly associated with melanoma thickness, lymph node metastasis, and shorter overall, and disease-free survival of patients. Overexpression of miR-612 significantly decreased cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasion of SK-MEL-28 and A375 melanoma cells. In vivo tumorigenic studies confirmed that miR-612 overexpression retarded the growth of A375 xenograft tumors, which was coupled with a decline in the percentage of Ki-67-positive proliferating cells. Mechanistically, miR-612 targeted Espin in melanoma cells. Overexpression of Espin counteracted the suppressive effects of miR-612 on melanoma cell proliferation, invasion, and tumorigenesis. A significant inverse correlation (r = -0.376, P = 0.018) was observed between miR-612 and Espin protein expression in melanoma tissues. In addition, overexpression of miR-612 and knockdown of Espin significantly increased the sensitivity of melanoma cells to doxorubicin. Collectively, miR-612 suppresses the aggressive phenotype of melanoma cells through downregulation of Espin. Delivery of miR-612 may represent a novel therapeutic strategy against melanoma.

Experimental proposal for performing nonlocal measurement of a product observable.

Due to the restrictions on quantum measurement imposed by relativistic causality, it is not easy to perform a nonlocal measurement on spacelike separated systems instantaneously. Here we design an experiment in an optical system to perform the nonlocal measurement of a product observable on a two-qubit system, where a maximally-entangled two-qubit state, acting as an ancillary meter, and three identical Kerr media are used to couple the system under consideration and the target meter. It is shown that the nonlocal measurement of the product observable, σzA⊗σzB, which has two degenerate eigenvalues, could be implemented in a deterministic way without violating relativistic causality.

Tracing the trajectory of photons through Fourier spectrum.

By slightly vibrating the mirrors in an interferometer at different frequencies, the photons' trajectory information is stored in the light beam. To read out this information, we record the centroid location of the intensity distribution of output beam and Fourier analyze its time evolution. It is shown that every vibrating mirror contributes a peak in the Fourier spectrum. In other words, we can reveal the trajectory of the photons by figuring out the vibrating mirrors which ever interact with the light beam based on the Fourier spectrum. This techniques is not limited by the vibration amplitude of the mirrors.

Biomimetic semisynthesis of arglabin from parthenolide.

The semisynthesis of arglabin, an anticancer drug in clinical application, is developed from abundant natural product parthenolide via three steps. Each step in this sequence is highly stereoselective, and the substrate-dependent stereoselectivity in the epoxidation step can be explained by computational calculations. The success of chemical semisynthesis of arglabin suggests that the biosynthesis of arglabin might proceed in a similar pathway.