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Selective inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) isoforms α and β with small-molecule inhibitors can result in distinct biological effects on anticancer chemotherapy. However, many existing PI3K inhibitors have moderate or high promiscuity and cross-reactivity between the 2 kinase isoforms. Here, a quantitative structure-selectivity relationship-based statistical modeling scheme was used to characterize the relative contribution of independent kinase residues to inhibitor selectivity and to predict the selectivity and specificity for existing PI3K inhibitors. It is found that the residue type and distribution of kinase's active site play an important role in inhibitor selectivity, while rest of the kinase may contribute to the selectivity through long-range chemical interactions and indirect allosteric effect. The selectivity is also determined by the configuration difference between PI3Kα and PI3Kβ kinase domains. Larger inhibitor compounds have lower binding potency to PI3Kβ than PI3Kα and thus possess higher selectivity for PI3Kα over PI3Kβ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been established as an attractive target for lung cancer therapy. However, an acquired EGFR T790M gatekeeper mutation is frequently observed in patients treated with first-line anticancer agents such as gefitinib and erlotinib to cause drug resistance, largely limiting the application of small-molecule kinase inhibitors in EGFR-targeted chemotherapy. Previously, the reversible pan-kinase inhibitor staurosporine and its several analogs such as Gö6976 and K252a have been reported to selectively inhibit the EGFR T790M mutant (EGFRT790M) over wild-type kinase (EGFRWT), suggesting that the staurosporine scaffold is potentially to develop the wild-type sparing reversible inhibitors of EGFRT790M. Here, we systematically evaluated the inhibitor response of 28 staurosporine scaffold-based compounds to EGFR T790M mutation at structural, energetic, and molecular levels by using an integrated in silico-in vitro analog-sensitive (AS) kinase technology. With the strategy, we were able to identify 4 novel wild-type sparing inhibitors UCN-01, UCN-02, AFN941, and SB-218078 with high or moderate selectivity of 30-, 45-, 5-, and 8-fold for EGFRT790M over EGFRWT, respectively, which are comparable with or even better than that of the parent compound staurosporine (24-fold). Molecular modeling and structural analysis revealed that van der Waals contacts and hydrophobic forces can form between the side chain of mutated residue Met790 and the pyrrolidinone moiety of inhibitor ligand UCN-02, which may simultaneously improve the favorable interaction energy between the kinase and inhibitor, and reduce the unfavorable desolvation penalty upon the kinase-inhibitor binding. A hydroxyl group of UCN-02 additional to staurosporine locates at the pyrrolidinone moiety, which can largely alter the electronic distribution of pyrrolidinone moiety and thus promote the intermolecular interaction with Met790 residue. This can well explain the measured higher selectivity of UCN-02 than staurosporine for mutant over wild-type kinase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrestrial water storage (TWS) in high mountain areas contributes large runoff volumes to nearby lowlands during the low-flow season when streamflow is critical to downstream water supplies. The potential for TWS from GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites to provide long-lead streamflow forecasting in adjacent lowlands during the low-flow season was assessed using the upper Yellow River as a case study. Two linear models were trained for forecasting monthly streamflow with and without TWS anomaly (TWSA) from 2002 to 2016. Results show that the model based on streamflow and TWSA is superior to the model based on streamflow alone at up to a five-month lead-time. The inclusion of TWSA reduced errors in streamflow forecasts by 25% to 50%, with 3–5-month lead-times, which represents the role of terrestrial hydrologic memory in streamflow changes during the low-flow season. This study underscores the high potential of streamflow forecasting using GRACE data with long lead-times that should improve water management in mountainous water towers and downstream areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe water stress in China has been widely reported but its time-evolution and spatial patterns are rarely assessed. In this study, we illustrate the spatial and temporal characteristics of water stress in China for the historical (1971-2010) and the future (2021-2050) periods using multimodel simulations. Three water stress indices (WSIs), i.e., the ratios of water withdrawal to locally generated runoff (WSIR), to natural streamflow (WSIQ), and to natural streamflow minus upstream consumptive water withdrawal (WSIC), are used for the assessment. At the basin level, WSIR estimates generally match the reported data and indicate severe water stress in most northern basins during the historical period. At grid cell level, the WSIs show distinct spatial patterns wherein WSIR (WSIQ) overestimate (underestimate) water stress compared to WSIC. Based on the WSIC estimates, 365 million people (one-third of the total population) was under severe water stress every year during the historical period, while WSIR and WSIQ suggest 600 and 335 million people, respectively. It indicates that different estimations of water availability can affect water stress assessment greatly. The future projections of WSIC suggest that ~500 million people (one-third of the total) will be affected by severe water stress every year. Future severe water stress will expand to nearly 40% of the total areas of China because of stiffened competitive water uses, especially in the southern basins with abundant water availability and historically little water stress. This study emphasizes the necessity of considering explicit upstream and downstream relations with respect to both water availability and water use in water stress assessment and calls more attention to the increasing water stress in China in the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth elements raised a lot of attention in many specialized applications. In this contribution, rare earth-containing corrosion inhibitors, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP)-La, Ce and Pr are successfully synthesized and added as active fillers into epoxy coatings for the anti-corrosion of steel materials. In the immersion (NaCl aq. for 180 h) experiment, the EIS results show that low frequencies impedance (|Z| 0.01 Hz) of the coatings follow the order of EP/H-Ce > EP/H-La > EP/H-Pr > EP blank. The |Z| 0.01 Hz of EPH-Ce is found to be 106.60 Ω at 180 h with almost little change with immersion time. Similarly, the results of Tafel polarization experiments show that the HEDP-Ce-containing coating has the highest corrosion potential (−0.16 V) and the lowest corrosion current density (0.01 μA). The difference in anti-corrosion property is discussed and explained by the inherent properties of rare earth element, including electron configuration, solubility product and redox property. • La, Ce and Pr-containing corrosion inhibitors are synthesized and investigated systematically. • Rare earth-containing corrosion inhibitors play very active role in epoxy coatings to prevent corrosion of steel. • Ce shows higher anti-corrosion performances than La and Pr in wide range of pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We investigated the nonlinearity of runoff response to global mean temperature (GMT) change in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) climate models at the river basin scale globally. Results show that changes in long‐term mean annual runoff are nonlinear with GMT rise over most extended subtropical basins, suggesting that estimation of future runoff change derived from the linear scaling relations would be biased. As for the interannual variability, nonlinearities are apparent mainly in central and western Asia, southern and western Africa, most of Europe, and Australia when GMT increases beyond 1.5°C. This suggests that impacts of climate change under 1.5°C GMT rise on runoff variability should not be simply scaled from that under a 2°C warming world. Our results highlight the contrasting response of areal runoff to GMT rise across global major river basins and reveal the threshold of GMT increment at which the nonlinear runoff response is projected to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grey water footprint refers to the volume of water that is required to assimilate polluted water. It reflects the intensity of water pollution caused by water use for human activities. This study aims to address some major shortcomings associated with grey water footprint accounting in the literature and discuss several ways towards its improvement. Global maize production is used for illustration. The study specifically tackles three issues: the appropriate water quality standards for grey water footprint assessment; grey water footprint for multiple pollutants; and the influence of spatial resolution of the assessment on the level of grey water stress. A biophysical crop model is applied to quantify nitrogen and phosphorus losses to water in maize production on a global scale with a 0.5-degree spatial resolution. The study shows that the grey water footprint calculation is highly sensitive to the water standards applied. The results also suggest that the grey water footprint relating to nitrogen and phosphorus pollution caused by maize production alone has already exceeded their local water availability in many parts of the world. Grey water stress shows a more critical situation at the grid level than at the watershed level for maize cultivation because the former represents the local concentration whereas the latter gives the average situation of the whole watershed. This study highlights the need for standardizing the setting of water quality standards for a consistent grey water footprint assessment taking into consideration the diverse aquatic ecosystems and ambient water quality requirements across regions, as well as the presence of multiple pollutants in water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Freshwater ecoregion is currently widely used by biologists, conservators and resource managers. Most of ecoregion delineations are developed at the basin scale and are not fully adapted in a practical manner because operational water resources management is primarily conducted by political administrative departments. In this study, an ecoregion delineation framework was proposed to classify three-level ecoregions in Jinan City with geographic information systems and cluster analysis. The first level ecoregion was composed of three watersheds (a part of the Yellow River, Xiaoqing River and Tuhaimajia River) plus the urban area, which was primarily determined on the basis of the city administrative divisions and river watersheds. The classification of the second level ecoregion is primarily based on the spatial heterogeneity of land use. The third level ecoregion was delineated for each second level ecoregion by using the cluster analysis on water quality. At the same time, administrative boundaries were used to rectify the boundaries of each ecoregion in this study to facilitate the administration of each ecoregion. Furthermore, ecological health assessment (IBI) based on fish communities were employed to validate the freshwater ecoregion. The results demonstrated that 73.3% of ecoregions were in line with the distribution of fish IBI, indicating that the freshwater ecoregions are acceptable for future water resources management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of woody plant leafing in response to regional-scale temperature variation using ground-based phenology is usually limited by the sparse coverage and missing data of ground observation. In this study, a station-based multispecies method was proposed to generate spatiotemporal variation of woody plant leafing date using ground observations from the Chinese Phenological Observation Network during 1974-1996. The results show that the leafing date had slightly insignificant advance (−0.56 day decade), and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) index could explain 36 % variance of the spring leafing date anomaly. The leafing date had been substantially delayed (4 days) when AO shifted from an extreme high index state (2) in 1989-1990 to a relatively low state (0.1) in 1991-1996. The canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was used to demonstrate the temporal evolutions and spatial structures of interannual variations of the spring temperature and leafing date anomalies. The three CCA spatial patterns of leafing date anomaly are similar to those of spring temperature anomaly. The first spatial pattern shows ubiquitous warming, which is consistent with the ubiquitous advance in leafing date across the study area. The second and third spatial patterns present the regional differences featured by advanced (delayed) leafing associated with high (low) temperature. The results suggest that the spring leafing date anomaly is spatiotemporally coherent with the regional-scale temperature variations. Although we focus here on woody plant leafing in a historical period in temperate eastern China, our station-based multispecies method may be applicable to analysis of the ground-based phenology in response to regional-scale climatic variation in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Radiative cooling is proposed to mitigate heat stress in cultivated plants. • A biodegradable mulch shows excellent cooling and moisturizing properties. • Cooling mulch reduces soil temperature and moisture evaporation by half. • Plant grows better due to proper leaf temperature and enhanced photosynthesis. • Cooling mulch substantially mitigates global agricultural water scarcity. Global warming intensifies heat stress, posing substantial challenges to cultivated plants and agricultural yield production. The high solar absorptance of soil results in elevated temperatures, pushing plants beyond their ideal growth range. Additionally, this rise in soil temperature accelerates soil moisture evaporation, further aggravating existing water scarcity issues. Common cooling solutions tends to consume significant amounts of water or offer limited cooling capacities. In response, a radiative cooling and moisturizing film composed of biodegradable ethyl-cellulose was developed. With a solar reflectance of 97% and a thermal emissivity of 0.93, this film provides efficient zero-energy cooling for soil surfaces. Field tests have demonstrated that compared to commercial cooling mulch, the radiative cooling film significantly reduces soil temperature and moisture evaporation by 50% and 60%, respectively. Furthermore, it boosts plant growth by 30% by moderating leaf temperatures and augmenting the exposure to reflected sunlight, crucial for photosynthesis on hot days. Global heat-water simulations reveal that the film increases soil moisture preservation by over 80% and alleviates agricultural water scarcity by over 60% in arid regions during hot seasons. This work offers a practical and sustainable solution to mitigate heat stress and promote resilient cultivation practices in the context of global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effects of water withdrawal and water availability to water scarcity were separated. • Increased water withdrawal intensified water scarcity for 57.5% of global population. • Decreased water withdrawal mitigated water scarcity for several developed countries. • Water availability dominated water scarcity change for 4.8% of global population. Water scarcity has become a major issue to sustainable development. It can be estimated by available fresh water resources and human water withdrawal, which are affected by both climate change and human activities. However, the key drivers for the changes in water scarcity at global scale remain unclear due to large uncertainties in the estimations of the contributions from changes in water withdrawal and water availability. By using a newly reconstructed water withdrawal dataset and multi-model simulations of water availability, this study assessed global water scarcity evolution during 1971–2010 at half degree resolution and monthly time scale by applying the water stress index (WSI). Results showed that WSI increased in areas with 61.1% of global population during 1971–2010, and the increase in water withdrawal (especially agricultural sector) was the key driving factor for areas with 57.5% of global population. Specifically, growing water withdrawal led to increased water scarcity for areas with 21% of global population in spite of rising water availability resulted from climate change, such as in southeastern China, Southeast Asia, southern India, and Central Africa. In contrast, water scarcity mitigated over some developed areas including parts of USA, Europe and Japan with 8.8% of global population, which resulted from decreased human water withdrawal (especially industrial sector) and increased water availability. This study reveals the synergistic or contrary effects of changes in water withdrawal and water availability on the changes in water scarcity over the globe, and provides useful information for regional water planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global water models (GWMs) simulate the terrestrial water cycle on the global scale and are used to assess the impacts of climate change on freshwater systems. GWMs are developed within different modelling frameworks and consider different underlying hydrological processes, leading to varied model structures. Furthermore, the equations used to describe various processes take different forms and are generally accessible only from within the individual model codes. These factors have hindered a holistic and detailed understanding of how different models operate, yet such an understanding is crucial for explaining the results of model evaluation studies, understanding inter-model differences in their simulations, and identifying areas for future model development. This study provides a comprehensive overview of how 16 state-of-the-art GWMs are designed. We analyse water storage compartments, water flows, and human water use sectors included in models that provide simulations for the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project phase 2b (ISIMIP2b). We develop a standard writing style for the model equations to enhance model intercomparison, improvement, and communication. In this study, WaterGAP2 used the highest number of water storage compartments, 11, and CWatM used 10 compartments. Six models used six compartments, while four models (DBH, JULES-W1, Mac-PDM.20, and VIC) used the lowest number, three compartments. WaterGAP2 simulates five human water use sectors, while four models (CLM4.5, CLM5.0, LPJmL, and MPI-HM) simulate only water for the irrigation sector. We conclude that, even though hydrological processes are often based on similar equations for various processes, in the end these equations have been adjusted or models have used different values for specific parameters or specific variables. The similarities and differences found among the models analysed in this study are expected to enable us to reduce the uncertainty in multi-model ensembles, improve existing hydrological processes, and integrate new processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global water models (GWMs) simulate the terrestrial water cycle, on the global scale, and are used to assess the impacts of climate change on freshwater systems. GWMs are developed within different modeling frameworks and consider different underlying hydrological processes, leading to varied model structures. Furthermore, the equations used to describe various processes take different forms and are generally accessible only from within the individual model codes. These factors have hindered a holistic and detailed understanding of how different models operate, yet such an understanding is crucial for explaining the results of model evaluation studies, understanding inter-model differences in their simulations, and identifying areas for future model development. This study provides a comprehensive overview of how state-of-the-art GWMs are designed. We analyze water storage compartments, water flows, and human water use sectors included in 16 GWMs that provide simulations for the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project phase 2b (ISIMIP2b). We develop a standard writing style for the model equations to further enhance model improvement, intercomparison, and communication. In this study, WaterGAP2 used the highest number of water storage compartments, 11, and CWatM used 10 compartments. Seven models used six compartments, while three models (JULES-W1, Mac-PDM.20, and VIC) used the lowest number, three compartments. WaterGAP2 simulates five human water use sectors, while four models (CLM4.5, CLM5.0, LPJmL, and MPI-HM) simulate only water used by humans for the irrigation sector. We conclude that even though hydrologic processes are often based on similar equations, in the end, these equations have been adjusted or have used different values for specific parameters or specific variables. Our results highlight that the predictive uncertainty of GWMs can be reduced through improvements of the existing hydrologic processes, implementation of new processes in the models, and high-quality input data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed how climate change may impact the canopy hydrology of individual Pinus eldarica, Pinus brutia, and Cupressus arizonica trees planted in arid and semi-arid climates in Iran. Precipitation that reaches the forest floor as throughfall (TF) represents a significant portion of individual precipitation events (Pg). We used a nondimensional relative sensitivity coefficient to examine the sensitivity of TF to changes in Pg. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) HadGEM2-ES product was used under two emission scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6 and 8.5) to project yearly precipitation and Pg for the measurement sites from 2020–50. There was a strong linear relationship between TF and Pg at all sites [TF = 0.6 (Pg) − 0.2; R2 = 0.9]. The arid P. eldarica trees showed the highest sensitivity coefficient (5.3) compared with semi-arid C. arizonica trees (1.6). The sensitivity coefficient approximately doubled for individual P. eldarica and C. arizonica trees in the arid climate relative to P. brutia and C. arizonica trees in the semi-arid climate. This suggests that TF under trees in the arid climate were more affected by changing Pg than in the semi-arid climate. Pinus eldarica trees planted in the dry climate exhibited the largest sensitivity coefficient differences (3.4) between small and large Pg. Changes in precipitation and increased smaller storm frequency are expected for arid and semi-arid regions. To buffer expected shifts in storm size due to climate change, it may be suitable to incorporate TF sensitivity when selecting trees for landscaping and urban greening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought affects many aspects of society and its impact is global. To this end, rendering recurrent drought occurrences is a key research focus. Recently, in addition to existing knowledge, progress in scientific advancements regarding drought have been observed on a regional and global scale. Here, we reviewed and outlined current and emerging scientific developments in drought, focusing on progress made in recent years. In the human‐modified world, the anthropogenic effects on drought were dominant and drought‐frequency showed a prominent increase. In this study, we have identified the development of drought concepts, types, and indices, and their indicators were developed as sector‐specific, comprehensive, and oriented towards multiple scales. Anthropogenic changes have enhanced hydrological processes and affected the development of drought. Urbanization, deforestation, and related human activities have aggravated drought. Climate change has had an exacerbating role in drought, which is expected to increase during the 21st century. Human communities, in particular, are undertaking activities that cause droughts; suffering from and coping with their impact. In addition, the direct and indirect effects of drought need reconsideration. As such, the health impact of droughts is a concern in drought‐vulnerable societies and its burden on public health is largely unknown. The need for drought recovery to aid in effective ecosystem functioning in the aftermath of the drought and the development of mitigation measures to alleviate recurrent drought is critical. Enhanced drought monitoring and management options are required under existing environmental and socio‐economic setups in the 21st century. This article is characterized under:Science of Water > Water ExtremesEngineering Water > Planning WaterWater and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation dynamics are sensitive to climate change and human activities, as vegetation interacts with the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The Yarlung Zangbo River (YZR) basin, with the vulnerable ecological environment, has experienced a series of natural disasters since the new millennium. Therefore, in this study, the vegetation dynamic variations and their associated responses to environmental changes in the YZR basin were investigated based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) data from 2000 to 2016. Results showed that (1) the YZR basin showed an obvious vegetation greening process with a significant increase of the growing season NDVI (Zc = 2.31, p < 0.05), which was mainly attributed to the wide greening tendency of the downstream region that accounted for over 50% area of the YZR basin. (2) Regions with significant greening accounted for 25.4% of the basin and were mainly concentrated in the Nyang River and Parlung Tsangpo River sub-basins. On the contrary, the browning regions accounted for <25% of the basin and were mostly distributed in the urbanized cities of the midstream, implying a significant influence of human activities on vegetation greening. (3) The elevation dependency of the vegetation in the YZR basin was significant, showing that the vegetation of the low-altitude regions was better than that of the high-altitude regions. The greening rate exhibited a significantly more complicated relationship with the elevation, which increased with elevated altitude (above 3500 m) and decreased with elevated altitude (below 3500 m). (4) Significantly positive correlations between the growing season NDVI and surface air temperature were detected, which were mainly distributed in the snow-dominated sub-basins, indicating that glaciers and snow melting processes induced by global warming play an important role in vegetation growth. Although basin-wide non-significant negative correlations were found between precipitation and growing season NDVI, positive influences of precipitation on vegetation greening occurred in the arid and semi-arid upstream region. These findings could provide important information for ecological environment protection in the YZR basin and other high mountain regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Africa (EA) has been the primary focus for various drought studies in recent years. However, a comprehensive analysis of droughts, including their evolution, complexity, social implications and people's vulnerability is currently lacking. Hence, there is a pressing need for an overview of drought studies in EA. Here, we present a state-of-the-art review of the causes and impacts of, and resilience to droughts in EA. Studies reveal that droughts tend to be more frequent, longer and more severe in the boreal spring and summer in EA, as the overall precipitation and water storage abruptly decline. A decrease in drought frequency is observed during the boreal autumn season (October–November). As these studies have only been analysed within the context of sparse and short-term regional climate data with very complex spatial and seasonal climate patterns, they are subject to uncertainties. The main causes for the changing pattern of droughts include climate variabilities and anthropogenic effects. Droughts have extensive impacts on human beings, environment, water resources and agriculture. Environmental rehabilitation involving the development of ecosystem services, biodiversity enhancement and soil and water conservation is found to be a suitable strategy to adapt to drought conditions. A better understanding of the causes and impacts of droughts, participatory management and community level actions are essential for building resilience to drought. Strong citizens–government–stakeholder cooperation is also valuable in monitoring and managing drought. The knowledge and insights gained from this review will help the countries in EA to build a drought-resilient society and will form a basis of information for other regions outside of EA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study presents a novel application of machine learning to deliver optimised, multi-model combinations (MMCs) of Global Hydrological Model (GHM) simulations. We exemplify the approach using runoff simulations from five GHMs across 40 large global catchments. The benchmarked, median performance gain of the MMC solutions is 45% compared to the best performing GHM and exceeds 100% when compared to the ensemble mean (EM). The performance gain offered by MMC suggests that future multi-model applications consider reporting MMCs, alongside the EM and intermodal range, to provide end-users of GHM ensembles with a better contextualised estimate of runoff. Importantly, the study highlights the difficulty of interpreting complex, non-linear MMC solutions in physical terms. This indicates that a pragmatic approach to future MMC studies based on machine learning methods is required, in which the allowable solution complexity is carefully constrained. Highlights • We present the first use of machine learning-based model combination applied to a global hydrological model ensemble. • The multi-model combination (MMC) performs in most cases better than any individual input model and the ensemble mean. • MMC is not always able to out-perform model combination based on multiple linear regression. • The physical interpretation of the MMC solutions is limited by the complexity of their non-linear weighting schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) showed different spatial changes during 1979–2016, with an increasing trend over the northern Tibetan Plateau (NTP) and a slightly negative trend over the southern Tibetan Plateau (STP). The changes in precipitation moisture sources over the NTP and STP are investigated using the improved Water Accounting Model with an atmospheric reanalysis as well as observational precipitation and evaporation data. The results show the region in the northwest (region NW), ranging from the TP to Europe dominated by the westerlies, provides 38.9% of precipitation moisture for the NTP, and the region in the southeast (region SE), ranging from the TP to the Indian Ocean and Indochina dominated by the Asian monsoons, provides 51.4% of precipitation moisture for the STP. For the precipitation increase over the NTP, the SE and TP are the main contributors, contributing around 35.8% and 51.7% of the increase, respectively. The contributions from the SE and TP to the STP are, however, minor and insignificant. Meanwhile, the NW shows a negative trend of −4.2 ± 2.9 mm yr−1 decade−1 (significant at the 0.01 level), which contributes to the negative precipitation trend over the STP. Results during the wet season indicate that moisture sources from the areas dominated by the Asian monsoons have contributed more precipitated moisture for the NTP, but not for the STP. Further analysis reveals that precipitated moisture originating from the Indian subcontinent has increased for the NTP while it has decreased for the STP during 1979–2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study addresses if inter-basin water transfer transmit or buffer water scarcity. • This is a first national analysis of inter-basin water transfer and supply chain nexus. • Water transfer infrastructure increasingly supports supply chains of China. • Water transfer overall reduced virtual scarce water embedded in supply chains of China. • Changing water scarcity exposure due to water transfer showed spatial heterogeneity. Inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) infrastructure has been expanding to deliver water across China to meet water demands in populated and industrial areas. Water scarcity may threaten the ability to produce and distribute goods through supply chains. Yet, it is not clear if IBWTs transmit or buffer water scarcity throughout supply chains. Here we combine a national database of IBWT projects and multi-region input-output analysis to trace water transferred by IBWT and virtual scarce water (scarcity weighted water use) from IBWT sourcing basins to production sites then to end consumers. The results indicate that production and final consumption of sectoral products have been increasingly supported by IBWT infrastructure, with physically transferred water volumes doubling between 2007 and 2017. Virtual scarce water is about half of the virtual water supporting the supply chain of the nation. IBWT effectively reduced virtual scarce water supporting the supply chains of most provinces, with the exposure to water scarcity reduced by a maximum of 56.7% and 15.0% for production and final consumption, respectively. IBWT Infrastructure development can thus buffer water scarcity risk to the supply chain and should be considered in water management and sustainable development policy decisions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • SIF is an effective proxy of vegetation productivity strongly related to VPD and SM. • Accelerated vegetation greening concurred with a decrease in VPD and an increase in SM. • The respective effects of SM and VPD were disentangled by equal-width data binning. • VPD played a dominant role in vegetation productivity in China during 2001–2016. • The dominant factor of vegetation productivity has shifted from VPD to SM since 2007. Although evidence of ecosystem productivity to vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and soil moisture (SM) is abundant, their respective effects remain unclear due to tightly land-atmosphere interactions. In China, the spatial heterogeneity in eco-hydrosphere has further impeded our understanding of ecosystem productivity in response to climate change. This study aimed to assess ecosystem productivity in China during 2001 to 2016 using solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF). SIF corresponded well with gross primary productivity (GPP) and was strongly related to VPD and SM. The land-atmosphere interaction mechanism was more notable near the agro-pastoral ecotone, which was reflected in the stronger SM-VPD coupling effect on vegetation and more significant effect of VPD suppressing SIF and SM promoting SIF. We decoupled SM and VPD by equal-width binning of percentiles at a monthly scale. SIF tended to increase and decrease with increasing VPD in SM bins, accounting for 47.59% and 52.41% of the total vegetated area, respectively, whereas photosynthesis tended to increase and decrease with increasing SM in VPD bins, accounting for 62.18% and 37.82% of the total vegetated area, respectively. During 2001 to 2016, VPD and SM had a dominant effect on SIF in 52.31% and 47.69% of China, respectively, which occurred along a latitudinal gradient. However, since 2007, which was identified as the point of accelerated vegetation greening in China, the dominant factor of vegetation productivity has shifted from VPD to SM in terms of respective contributions and dominated areas. Our results emphasize an increasingly important role of SM in China, though the additive effects of VPD cannot be negligible. We conclude that the clarification of the shifting roles of SM and VPD in terrestrial ecosystem allows for more accurate prediction of vegetation productivity at a regional scale and provides greater insights into interactions between vegetation and climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relative contributions of meteorological variables to the dryness changes have been quantified in Northwest China. • Warmer temperature and drier air have resulted in significant increase of dryness in recent decades. • Dryness may further increase along with higher temperature, drier air, and higher wind speed. Northwest China has experienced a warming-wetting climate featured by increasing temperature and precipitation during the past six decades. Recent studies suggested that the climate may have shifted from wetting to drying after the 1990s if changes in energy supply were considered. However, how the change in energy supply affects the dryness remains unclear. In this study, we quantified the dryness in Northwest China based on the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) which considers the impact of potential evapotranspiration estimated by the Penman-Monteith equation on dryness during 1961–2018. Then, the contributions of changes in meteorological variables (precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and net radiation) to the dryness changes were estimated using a detrending technique. The results indicated that Northwest China experienced a wetting period (1961–1989) and then a drying period (1989–2018). During 1961–1989, increased precipitation and slowed wind were the main drivers of the wetting trend. During 1989–2018, although the increased precipitation and decline in solar radiation favored a wetting condition, warmer temperature, drier air (decrease in relative humidity), together with rebounded wind speed offset the wetting trend and resulted in significantly increasing dryness in Northwest China. The dryness would further increase if current climate trends continue in the future, which may have important implications for water management in Northwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reformulated Gash Analytical models (RGAM) applied for seven reforestations. • Models need frequent numbers of rainfall to estimate rainfall interception loss. • RGAM is advisable for predicting interception with small numbers of rain storms. • Ecohydrological parameters dramatically differs between studied stands. Modeling rainfall interception (I) is fundamental for understanding the forests' role in ecohydrological processes in local and regional scales. This research examines the Reformulated Gash Analytical Model (RGAM) applicability for estimating I in seven dissimilar plantations (Acer velutinum , Quercus castaneifolia , Pinus brutia , Picea abies , and Cupressus sempervirens L. var horizontalis) in the four reforested areas across the Hyrcanian temperate forests, northern Iran. Field measurements were performed from May-2012 to March-2014 for 167 distinct throughfall and gross rainfall observations. According to our results, the effects of inter-species variation on I value was evident, as P. abies might be the most excellent among the five frequently used tree species for planting project in temperate forests if the primary goal of plantation is to decrease erosion and surface runoff as it intercepted and evaporated more rainfall than other species. Our findings showed that in terms of average-based calculation, the mean of free throughfall coefficient (p) value in evergreen needle-leaved reforestations (0.47) was lower than those calculated for deciduous broad-leaved reforestations (0.59), and vice versa for the canopy storage capacity (S ; 1.85 mm vs. 1.36 mm, respectively), and mean of the ratio of evaporation rate to the mean of rainfall intensity during saturated canopy conditions ( E ¯ / R ¯ ; 0.45 vs. 0.38, respectively). The RGAM satisfactorily estimated I for all species (except for A. velutinum stand), because the estimation error of I was lower than 15% and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency was equal to or higher than 0.87. In conclusion, using data from a short time study period to derive canopy ecohydrological parameters as well as modeling I by the RGAM is advisable in reforestation areas across the Hyrcanian temperate forests and regions with similar forest and meteorological attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To establish a reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method for rapid detection of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), four primers specific to six regions of the VP3 gene were designed; the VP3 region was selected because it is a conserved part of the IBDV genome. After amplification in an isothermal water bath for 70min, samples containing IBDV generated the expected ladder-like products while other viruses generated no product. The sensitivity and specificity of the RT-LAMP assay were evaluated by comparison with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and virus isolation. The assay was significantly more sensitive than normal gel-based RT-PCR. Because it is specific and simple, the RT-LAMP assay can be widely applied in clinical laboratories for rapid detection of IBVD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Precipitation is the most important factor for water yield during the wet season. • Vegetation is more decisive at predicting water yield during the dry season. • Vegetation greening has the potential to increase drought resilience. Water yield (WY) in the Upper Brahmaputra River (UBR) basin is important for sustaining the ecological environment in the headstream region and supplying valuable freshwater resources downstream. While recent studies indicated the presence of warming and greening trends in the region, the effects of these changes on WY are not yet understood. Here, on the basis of the Budyko framework and a random forest model, we assess the relative importance of climate and vegetation on WY changes in the UBR basin. We find that precipitation contributes to over 90% of the increase in annual WY, and is also the most important factor for WY during the wet season. During the dry season, however, vegetation, rather than precipitation, predicts the variability in WY. We suggest that vegetation may have changed the seasonality of water by storing water in the wet periods and releasing it in dry periods, which explains why WY increases significantly during the dry season. Our findings imply that vegetation greening in the UBR basin has the potential to increase drought resilience downstream, and protect food security from drought, highlighting the value of ecological restoration for water resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climatic and reservoir impacts were quantified using a hydrological-reservoir model. • Reservoir strongly alter the streamflow in the period of 2008–2016 in the LMRB. • Upstream reservoir mainly affected the streamflow of the midstream stations. • Reservoir operation has reduced the flood risk increased by climatic change. The Lancang-Mekong River Basin (LMRB) is one of the most important transboundary river basins in Asia. While climate change perturbs the streamflow and affects flood events, reservoir operation may mitigate or aggravate this impact. Therefore, quantitative assessment of the climate change impact and reservoir effect on the LMRB is a vital prerequisite for future hydropower development and environmental protection. This study aimed to estimate the variation of the streamflow and flood characteristics affected by climate change and reservoir operation within the LMRB. A reservoir module was incorporated into the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model to simulate the streamflow susceptible to the reservoirs. It was found that the reservoirs had a substantial influence on the streamflow during 2008–2016, when many reservoirs were constructed in the LMRB. The reservoirs across the Lancang River (the upper Mekong River located in China) reduced the annual average streamflow by 5% at Chiang Sean station (northern Thailand) in 2008–2016, whereas their influence became undetectable downstream of Vientiane station (northern Laos). The streamflow changes downstream of Mukdahan station at southern Laos (including the stations in Cambodia and southern Vietnam) were mainly attributed to the local reservoirs and climate change. Compared with the baseline period of 1985–2007, the upstream reservoir operation dramatically affected streamflow at the midstream stations with higher dry season streamflow (+15% to +37%), but lower wet season streamflow was less affected (−2% to −24%) in 2008–2016. Climate change increased the magnitude and frequency of the flood by up to 14% and 45%, respectively, whereas the reservoir operation reduced them by 16% and 36%, respectively. Our findings provide insights into the interaction between climate change and reservoir operation and their integrated effects on the streamflow, informing and supporting water management and hydropower development in the LMRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-model ensembles have become a standard tool for assessing global climate change impacts. Interpretation of such ensembles is complicated because each model group has a different modeling concept and framework. For example, global scale land surface, water and vegetation models have been widely applied to understand the complex hydrological cycle of the Earth and to assess associated past and future changes. Additionally to this purpose, land surface models assess energy and biogeochemical cycles while vegetation models assess vegetation and carbon cycles. Therefore, all these models differ with respect to the specific processes of the hydrological cycle included in their structure. In this study, we demonstrate how the similarities and differences between models can be better understood and illustrated by using a standard representation of the main model features. We analyze twelve models from the global water sector of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP) phase 2b: six land surface models (LSMs), five global hydrological models (GHMs) and one dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM). The majority of the models are run with a daily temporal resolution and with a spatial resolution of 0.5°. Part of these models include a reservoir scheme and water use sectors. The heuristic mappings of the models are designed to ensure the opportunity to choose a model at the initial stage of the analysis, based on the most important qualities, relationships and characteristics, which provide users with significant time saving. Therefore, the review study will provide the basis for: (i) achieving further model (inter)comparison; (ii) selecting the right model(s) output(s) for specific applications; and (iii) assessing the similarities and differences among the models. The models characteristics will be presented in three levels of complexity allowing to reach a large audience. The target audience includes the modeling community, the stakeholder community, and the general public interested in understanding large-scale models, simulating climate change and its impacts. Additionally, stakeholder insights, gathered mostly in Eastern Europe and West Africa, have been considered in the study design. Stakeholders were identified according to their need for climate-impact information provided within the ISIMIP framework and included academics, government officials, employees working in international organizations, NGOs, consultancies, and private companies. In conclusion, the presentation describes the study approach and preliminary results, with particular emphasis on the standard model diagram, differences between the models, and the stakeholder engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatiotemporal Variation of Drought and Associated Multi-Scale Response to Climate Change over the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [[1]]: 1 Li H., Liu L., Shan B.Y., Xu Z.C., Niu Q.K., Cheng L., Liu X.C., Xu Z.X. Spatiotemporal Variation of Drought and Associated Multi-Scale Response to Climate Change over the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. [Extracted from the article]

Drought is one of the most widespread and threatening natural disasters in the world, which has terrible impacts on agricultural irrigation and production, ecological environment, and socioeconomic development. As a critical ecologically fragile area located in southwest China, the Yarlung Zangbo River (YZR) basin is sensitive and vulnerable to climate change and human activities. Hence, this study focused on the YZR basin and attempted to investigate the spatiotemporal variations of drought and associated multi-scale response to climate change based on the scPDSI (self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index) and CRU (climate research unit) data. Results showed that: (1) The YZR basin has experienced an overall wetting process from 1956 to 2015, while a distinct transition period in the mid 1990s (from wet to dry) was detected by multiple statistical methods. (2) Considering the spatial variation of the scPDSI, areas showing the significantly wetting process with increasing scPDSI values were mostly located in the arid upstream and midstream regions, which accounted for over 48% area of the YZR basin, while areas exhibiting the drying tendency with decreasing scPDSI values were mainly concentrated in the humid southern part of the YZR basin, dominating the transition period from wet to dry, to which more attention should be paid. (3) By using the EEMD (ensemble empirical mode decomposition) method, the scPDSI over the YZR basin showed quasi-3-year and quasi-9-year cycles at the inter-annual scale, while quasi-15-year and quasi-56-year cycles were detected at the inter-decadal scale. The reconstructed inter-annual scale showed a better capability to represent the abrupt change characteristic of drought, which was also more influential to the original time series with a variance contribution of 55.3%, while the inter-decadal scale could be used to portray the long-term drought variation process with a relative lower variance contribution of 29.1%. (4) The multi-scale response of drought to climate change indicated that changes of precipitation (PRE) and diurnal temperature range (DTR) were the major driving factors in the drought variation at different time scales. Compared with potential evapotranspiration (PET), DTR was a much more important climate factor associated with drought variations by altering the energy balance, which is more obvious over the YZR basin distributed with extensive snow cover and glaciers. These findings could provide important implications for ecological environment protection and sustainable socioeconomic development in the YZR basin and other high mountain regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inland lakes in arid Central Asia are particularly susceptible to the impact of climate change and human activities. Ebinur Lake, the largest salt inland lake in Xinjiang, Northwest China, has experienced rapid shrinkage, with human activities identified as the primary influencing factor. However, it remains unclear how human water use in different sectors, such as irrigation, husbandry, and industry, is responsible for the long-term change and seasonal variability of the lake area under changing climate. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by developing an integrated hydrological-socioeconomic-lake model that simulates the changes in the Ebinur Lake area during the period of 1950–2020. The simulated lake area changes under different model experiments were then compared with separate the impacts of climate change and human water use of different sectors. The results indicate that climate change, irrigation, husbandry, and industry water uses have contributed +5%, −79%, −25%, and −1% of the long-term change in the lake area, respectively. Despite climate change alone increasing the lake area, the increase in human water use has resulted in the persistent decline of Ebinur Lake. Notably, husbandry water use emerges as a significant contributor to lake shrinkage, accounting for approximately one-third of the impact of irrigation. Furthermore, irrigation water use has contributed to the enhanced seasonal variability, as indicated by the difference between the maximum and minimum monthly lake area in a year. This difference has increased from 120 km2 in the 1950s to 183 km2 in the 2010s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]