Search

A recent study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society examines the impact of global warming on typhoons in the East China Sea. The study focuses on the case of Typhoon Hinnamnor, which struck South Korea in September 2022. The researchers found that the unusually warm surface water in the East China Sea contributed to the intensification of the typhoon. Using observational data and climate model simulations, they determined that human activities have made such warm water conditions at least five times more likely. The study suggests that as global warming continues, typhoons in the region may become stronger, but it does not establish whether they will become more or less frequent. [Extracted from the article]

This study proposes a new approach to defining and analyzing the urbanization effects of temperature over South Korea. While the conventional method of distinguishing between urban and rural stations relies on population criteria, this study has developed an approach to differentiate between urban and rural stations by considering the proportion of natural environments and artificial objects surrounding each station. The long-term temperature changes exhibit a statistically more significant relationship with the proportion of artificial objects compared to the population size, and the new method provides a clearer distinction between urban and rural stations. In addition, based on the categorized stations, an urbanization contribution index (UCI) is calculated to quantitatively compare temperature changes between urban and rural stations. As a result, it is confirmed that the method based on the ratio of artificial features better captures the urbanization effect of temperature compared to the population-based method. In particular, the urbanization effect is found to be more pronounced during nighttime, with the largest difference between urban and rural stations observed in the daily minimum temperature. The new method effectively captures the thermal attributes of urban and rural stations, with a stronger emphasis on nocturnal differentiations. This study emphasizes the importance of considering the surrounding environments rather than population alone to accurately understand the urbanization effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-lab incubation experiments were conducted to identify the passivation effect of corn vinasse biochar, which was prepared at different temperatures, on heavy metal Pb in paddy soil of the Pb-Zn mining area. The results showed that after 30 days of biochar amended to the soil, the soil pH and organic carbon content increased by 2.72%-8.47% and 27.79%- 65.26%, respectively. The CO32- and OH- contained in corn vinasse biochar could react with Pb and generate carbonate and hydroxide of Pb. In comparison with the treatment control, the bioavailable fractions of Pb were reduced by 26.6%, 23.30%, 26.95%, and 35.33%, respectively, in biochar-amended treatments. Exchangeable fractions of Pb decreased by 21.50%, 21.33%, 22.58%, and 22.58% for the treatment 3% (300°C), 6% (300°C), 3% (600°C), and 6% (300°C) corn vinasse biochar, respectively, compared with the treatment control. As a whole, corn vinasse biochar could effectively promote the transformation of Pb in soil from the exchangeable fractions into the Fe-Mn oxide-bound fractions and residue fractions, with a significant passivation effect for Pb in soil and more effective passivation by high-temperature preparation and increased dosage of biochar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elemental mercury (Hg0) release characteristics from the Hg-contaminated soil applied with Humic acid fertilizer (HAF) in the greenhouse were identified. The adsorption features of mercuric ion (Hg2+) on HAF under different reaction times and pH were investigated to elucidate the influencing mechanism of HAF on soil Hg0 release. Besides, the microstructure of HAF loading with Hg2+ was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron micrograph-energy dispersive spectrometry-EDS). The results showed that with the increasing HAF dosage, soil oxidation-reduction potential (Eh), and organic matter (SOM) content, as well as the decreasing soil pH, the soil Hg0 release fluxes showed a decreasing tendency. The soil pH, Eh, SOM, and total Hg content are the key factors that can affect the soil Hg0 release fluxes. The interior air temperature, light intensity, soil moisture, and soil temperature have little impact on soil Hg0 release fluxes when the greenhouse soil is applied with HAF. The HAF can immobilize Hg2+ and reduce its activity by surface precipitation and specific adsorption, then affecting the soil Hg0 release fluxes. The results of this study provide a basis for the application of HAF to reduce soil Hg0 release fluxes in the greenhouse of Hg-contaminated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given their conditions to reside in and intensify longer over warm oceans, tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific (WNP) present a stronger lifetime maximum intensity during El Niño than during La Niña. By using observational data, we found that the anomalously cool sea surface temperature (SST)s in the basin act as effective barriers against intense TCs approaching East Asia during El Niño, weakening their destructiveness at landfall. Based on our high-resolution pseudo-global-warming simulations, the basin-wide 2K SST warming within the WNP basin can, however, shatter this cool SST barrier, exposing East Asia to more destructive TCs during El Niño, compared to those during La Niña. Considering that the 2K warmer WNP will likely occur in the mid-21st century under a high emission scenario and in the late 21st century under a moderate emission scenario, our findings support that more aggressive efforts of global warming mitigation are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amending the definition of energy land, this paper calculates and analyzes China's energy ecological footprint, energy biocapacity, energy ecological deficit or surplus, energy ecological footprint efficiency, and energy ecological footprint index based on the carbon cycle. Meanwhile, this paper applies the ARIMA model to predict China's energy ecological footprint. The results show that the per capita energy ecological footprint continues to rise and the per capita energy biocapacity continues to decline. In 2010, the growth of China's energy ecological footprint exceeds energy biocapacity for the first time and becomes an unsustainable state. Energy ecological footprint efficiency continues to increase and is in an ecological deficit and economically developed zone after 2010. From a structural point of view, China's energy ecological footprint mainly consists of row coal, coke, and crude oil consumption. The main reason for the increase in energy ecological footprint is the rapid increase in row coal and crude oil consumption while energy efficiency can mitigate this impact. From 2020 to 2030, China's energy ecological footprint will increase from 1.2207 to 1.3573 ha/cap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to provide new insights into the mitogenomic data of the intertidal coastal ecosystem species Capitulum mitella from China. The mitochondrial genome of C. mitella was sequenced and compared with other available sequences in the NCBI database to improve the current knowledge of its basic genomics data for future phylogenetic studies. The complete mitogenome of C. mitella from China was 14 915 bp long and encoded 37 genes, including 13 PCGs, two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and a control region. A detailed comparison was made with the five available complete mitogenomes of C. mitella. Phylogenetic analyses based on neighbor-joining (NJ) trees were carried out, with 12 species from five families chosen. The results showed that all C. mitella was in the same clade. Additionally, sliding window analyses estimated the sequence diversity for each independent PCG, and genetic distances based on the whole genome were estimated. The research presented here provides essential genomic data for the species of C. mitella and can help future investigations on its phylogenetic history and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and accurate detection of pathogenic microorganism is critical for food safety. Salmonella is one of the common causes of food poisoning. In the present work, polyclonal antibody against the recombinant PagN protein was prepared, and coupled with carboxylated magnetic beads to form immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) for capturing Salmonella, which was then combined with qPCR technology which used the specific primers of invA gene to accurately quantify the number of colonies, thus establishing the IMBs-qPCR method for detection of Salmonella. 0.2 mg IMBs could specifically concentrate Salmonella, with the stable capturing efficiency of 80%, corresponding to the concentrations of 10² - 105 CFU/mL. The minimum detection limit concentration was 101 CFU/mL. The method was applied for detection and enumeration of Salmonella in pork and milk samples, and the capture efficiency of 77.38 and 80.92% were obtained. In summary, the IMBs-qPCR method established herein could effectively detect Salmonella with good specificity and sensitivity. The whole detection time was less than 9 h, which laid a foundation for development of a rapid detection kit for foodborne pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector of China continues to make excessive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals, severely contaminating agricultural non-point source and concealing product quality and safety risks. Consequently, the key to promoting the green development of agriculture is determining how to facilitate farmers in their transition to green production. Based on micro-survey data, this paper empirically explored the impact of information literacy on farmers' willingness to transform to green production; the mechanism of the effect was analyzed through an ordered logit model (Ologit model) and a mediating effects model, where the mediating effects were examined using the theory of protection motivation. The findings indicated that farmers' willingness to transition to green production was significantly influenced by information literacy and its dimensions; farming households were more likely to transition to green production if they were aware of their information demands and had the abilities to use information; protection motivation played a partial mediating role between farmers' information literacy and willingness to transform green production; and the mediating effect of coping assement was stronger. This paper offers new research and theoretical perspectives for the study of farmers' green production, as well as policy recommendations for the government's willingness to promote green production in terms of information literacy education, environmental protection publicity, skills, and methods training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the catastrophic damage caused by the extratropical transitioned North Atlantic hurricane Sandy (2012), the decaying stage of a tropical cyclone (TC) have received more attention. TC undergoing extratropical transition (ET) in mid-latitudes may become hazardous with torrential rain and violent wind over a vast area. In this study, a decision tree analysis was applied to evaluate the relative importance of TC parameters such as intensity category, entry location, and distance from coastlines, in determining damage occurrence. All 123 landfalling TCs in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) during 1979–2015 were analyzed. The results reveal that intense TCs (severe tropical storms and typhoons) incur damages regardless of entry location and distance from coastlines. TCs with tropical storm intensity are expected to incur damages only when they approach the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Weak TC with maximum wind speeds smaller than 17 m s−1 does not have the potential to incur damages unless the TC was undergoing extratropical transition (ET) during landfall in Korea. ET storms that make a landfall approaching 1.22° (~130 km) to the coastline cause substantial damages especially in the west coast and capital area of Korea. The present results suggest that accurate forecasting that also considers ET, and not only intensity and track, is essential for successful disaster risk mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have reported a significant negative correlation between the tropical cyclone (TC) frequency affecting South Korea (KOR TC frequency) and the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), which is accompanied by the weak negative correlation between the TC intensity when TCs enter Korean coastal seas (KOR TC intensity) and PDO. However, the weak negative relationship between KOR TC intensity and PDO contradicts results from other related studies regarding the relationship between TC activity in the western North Pacific and PDO. Thus, we reexamined the PDO relationships with both KOR TC frequency and intensity and their mechanisms. Although a negative correlation between KOR TC frequency and PDO was consistently found, in contrast to previous studies, we found a significant positive correlation between KOR TC intensity and PDO. According to our analyses, during the negative phase, anomalous southeasterly winds over the Korean Peninsula and the northwestward shift in the mean TC genesis location favor the increase in KOR TC frequency. The northwestward mean TC genesis location migrates, which shortens the time spent over the warm ocean, weakening the lifetime maximum intensity and, consequently, the KOR TC intensity. We confirmed that our result is robust by performing various sensitivity tests examining the best track data, analysis period, TC season, and KOR TC definition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated spatial variations in rainfall accompanying tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) from June to October over 1998–2019 according to phases of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The rainfall characteristics of TCs include rainfall strength (RS) in the core region, total rainfall area (RA), and total rainfall volume (RV), all of which were calculated from satellite precipitation data. Spatial variation in mean RS presents a west–east dipole pattern (i.e., increases in the west of 125°E and decreases in the east during La Niña, and vice versa during El Niño) similar to that of maximum wind speed (Vmax), indicating a close relationship between them. On the other hand, both of mean RA and RV homogeneously increase during La Niña over the entire basin while they decrease during El Niño. The environmental conditions around TCs, including sea surface temperature, total column water, and divergence in the upper and lower troposphere during La Niña appear generally favorable for precipitation, while those during El Niño are unfavorable. Using multivariable regression models, we quantified the contributions of Vmax and environmental conditions to the variations in TC rainfall. Overall results suggest that the variation in RS according to ENSO are mainly related to Vmax, while those of RA and RV are strongly controlled by environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal nitrogen halides (TMNHs) are environmentally friendly and widely studied van der Waals two-dimension (2D) materials. However, there are still few 2D TMNHs with magnetic properties that have been synthesized, which greatly limits the further applications of them in spintronics and valleytronics. Here, we substitute Hf atoms by magnetic elements V and Cr in β-type TMNHs Hf2N2Cl2, which evolved into ferromagnetic half-metals and ferrovalley semiconductors MHfN2Cl2 (M = V, Cr). Meanwhile, the valley splitting (VS) properties and magnetic properties can be effectively regulated by modulating the strong correlation effect of transition metals and applying biaxial strain. VS in VHfN2Cl2 increases linearly with the increasing strain and the U value; however, VS is robust to the strain and decreases linearly with the increasing U value in CrHfN2Cl2, and the maximum VS reaches to 175 and 62 meV for the two monolayers. CrHfN2Cl2 remains robustly ferromagnetic under different strain and U values, while there is magnetic phase transition in VHfN2Cl2 from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic, accompanied by a half-metal-to-semiconductor transition. The Curie temperatures of VHfN2Cl2 and CrHfN2Cl2 can be increased by a maximum of 2.5 and 2.36 times under modulation. This opens different ideas for the study of bimetallic TMNHs in spintronics and valleytronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are important for promoting the growth and stress tolerance of plants. They are widely involved in plant growth regulation and responses to hormones and environmental factors. However, knowledge of the functions of the LEA gene in ginseng species remains limited. In this study, a Panax ginseng LEA gene (PgLEA) expression vector was constructed, and stable transgenic Arabidopsis lines were established. The PgLEA protein was classified in the LEA-2 subgroup. Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR analysis showed that the expression of PgLEA increased under 300 mM NaCl or 10 % (m/v) polyethylene glycol treatments. Under salt and osmotic stresses, overexpression of PgLEA in transgenic Arabidopsis plants improved germination rate, root length, and survival rate compared to wild-type plants. In response to drought or salt stress, transgenic plants increased proline accumulation, decreased malonaldehyde content and ion leakage. Furthermore, the transgenic plants exhibited significantly increased activity of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, and reduced accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide. Moreover, overexpression of PgLEA affected the expression of genes related to salt/drought stress. Taken together, PgLEA is a positive regulator of drought and salinity stress, and positively functioned in pleiotropic effects through regulating osmotic balance, reactive oxygen species scavenging and inducing transcription of stress-related genes. PgLEA may enable ginseng plants to adapt to adverse environments. The data presented herein imply that PgLEA may be useful for breeding new stress-tolerant ginseng cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The parametric hurricane rainfall model (PHRaM), firstly introduced in 2007, has been widely used to forecast and quantify tropical-cyclone-induced rainfall (TC rainfall). The PHRaM is much more computationally efficient than global climate models, but PHRaM cannot be effectively utilized in the context of climate change because it does not have any parameters to capture the increase of tropospheric water vapor under the warming world. This study develops a new model that incorporates tropospheric water vapor to the PHRaM framework, named as the PHRaM with moisture (PHRaMM). The PHRaMM is trained to best fit the TC rainfall over the western North Pacific (WNP) unlike the PHRaM trained with the TCs over the continental US. The PHRaMM reliably simulates radial profile of TC rainfall and spatial distribution of accumulated rainfall during landfall in the present climate with the better prediction skills than existing statistical and operational numerical models. Using the PHRaMM, we evaluated the impacts of TC intensity and environmental moisture increase on TC rainfall change in a future climate. An increased TC intensity causes TC rainfall to increase in the inner-core region but to decrease in the outer region, whereas an increased environmental moisture causes the TC rainfall to increase over the entire TC area. According to the both effects of increased TC intensity and environmental moisture, the PHRaMM projected that the WNP TC rainfall could increase by 4.61–8.51% in the inner-core region and by 17.96–20.91% over the entire TC area under the 2-K warming scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two leading modes in boreal spring precipitation over the western North Pacific (WNP). The first leading mode is a dipole pattern between the southern China and Southeast Asia, which have been previously investigated. The second leading mode is a tripole pattern, which this study focused on. The pattern shows that the positive cores are located in the midlatitudes and the tropical WNP, respectively, whereas the negative one extends from the subtropics to the South China Sea. The mode of tripole pattern is predominantly responsible for the actual spring precipitation variation in the subtropics (r = − 0.93). On the other hand, the precipitation variations in the midlatitudes, the tropical WNP, and the South China Sea are not well explained as much as that in the subtropics. The tripole-pattern-related circulation resembles the positive phase of North Pacific Oscillation, possibly associated with the El Niño Modoki and the positive phase of Arctic Oscillation. The circulation corresponds to the northward shift of the WNP subtropical high, which contributes to the precipitation increase and decrease in the midlatitudes and subtropics, respectively. Meanwhile, the weakened Walker circulation in tropical western Pacific accounts for the decreased and the increased precipitation in the South China Sea and the tropical WNP, respectively. The opposite is true for the circulations related to the La Niña Modoki and negative phase of Arctic Oscillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While radiomics analysis has been applied for localized cancer disease, its application to the metastatic setting involves a non-exhaustive lesion subsampling strategy which may sidestep the intrapatient tumoral heterogeneity, hindering the reproducibility and the therapeutic response performance. Our aim was to evaluate if radiomics features can capture intertumoral intrapatient heterogeneity, and the impact of tumor subsampling on the computed heterogeneity. To this end, We delineated and extracted radiomics features of all visible tumors from single acquisition pre-treatment computed tomography of patients with metastatic lung cancer (cohort L) and confirmed our results on a larger cohort of patients with metastatic melanoma (cohort M). To quantify the captured heterogeneity, the absolute coefficient of variation (CV) of each radiomics index was calculated at the patient-level and a sensitivity analysis was performed using only a subset of all extracted features robust to the segmentation step. The extent of information loss by six commonly used tumor sampling strategies was then assessed. A total of 602 lesions were segmented from 43 patients (median age 57, 4.9% female). All robust radiomics indexes exhibited at least 20% of variation with significant heterogeneity both in heavily and oligo metastasized patients, and also at the organ level. None of the segmentation subsampling strategies were able to recover the true tumoral heterogeneity obtained by exhaustive tumor sampling. Image-based inter-tumor intra-patient heterogeneity can be successfully grasped by radiomics analyses. Failing to take into account this kind of heterogeneity will lead to inconsistent predictive algorithms. Guidelines to standardize the tumor sampling step and/or AI-driven tools to alleviate the segmentation effort are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevators are highly susceptible to safety incidents in the event of leveling failures, so the ability to monitor related failures must be strengthened. This paper proposed a new elevator leveling failures monitoring device and method in which elevator signals are obtained from the elevator CAN bus interface, transmitted to a remote monitoring platform via NB-IoT, and stored in our private data center. The leveling sensor sensing signal, the door signal, the car call signal, the target floor signal, and the running signal are obtained by analyzing the data extracted from the elevator. Logical analysis could be used to determine the elevator's running status and leveling-related failures. The device and method could identify and also predict leveling-related failures and have advantages in terms of universality, accuracy, and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the systematic surface temperature biases over the Arctic Ocean in the eight Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) models (BCC-CSM1-1, CESM1-CAM5-1-FV2, GFDL-CM3, GISS-E2-H, IPSL-CM5A-LR, MIROC-ESM-CHEM, MIP-EMS-LR, and NorESM1-M) and investigates the quantitative attribution of feedback processes that are responsible. In general, the cold biases are predominant over the entire Arctic Ocean in the CMIP5 models. These systematic temperature biases are decomposed into the biases by physical and dynamical processes, based upon the Climate Feedback-Responses Analysis Method (CFRAM). The multi-model ensemble mean shows that dynamical processes are more important in the Pacific sector of the Arctic, while physical ones are more important in the Atlantic sector, although this feature is not consistently found in all models. Dynamical processes involve surface heat fluxes, and frictional, turbulent, convective, horizontal heat transports, etc., which cannot be decomposed further by the method used. In contrast, the physical processes can be further decomposed into cloud, water vapor, and albedo feedbacks. According to our results, most of the physical processes are attributable to the albedo feedback in all models. Cold (warm) biases due to the albedo feedback almost correspond to the positive (negative) biases of sea ice concentration. Hence, our results suggest that for better simulation of the Arctic surface temperature, it tells us which part of the model processes we should efficiently focus on improving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the regional characteristics of heat extremes (hot days and tropical nights) in the Honam area of South Korea during the recent 23 years (1997–2019) by using weather station data. The results based on the binary classifications of stations, that is, inland versus coastal and urban versus rural, show hot days in inland regions are climatologically more frequent, and present higher interannual variability and more evident increasing trend than coastal regions. On the other hand, inland regions are exposed to less active tropical nights. The thermal characteristics associated with the oceanic (or continental) climate at which the station is located are responsible for the inland–coastal dependency of frequencies in hot days and tropical nights. The noticeable discrimination between urban and rural stations, categorized by population, appears only in tropical night occurrences, while hot days are independent of urban–rural contrast. In urban stations, tropical night occurrences are climatologically higher, interannually more active, and recently more frequent. Regarding the urban heat island, the additional nocturnal heat leads to the urban concentrated activity of tropical nights. Our analyses suggest that for accurate forecasts of hot days and tropical nights, different regional environments must be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-propulsion of a deforming sphere through an unbounded inviscid fluid is investigated analytically. Its motion is only induced by the coupling of its radial alteration, centroid shift, and rotation of the internal masses without vortex shedding and external forces. The Lagrange equations are used to describe such self-motion since the fluid-body system is conservative. Then the expressions for translational and rotational velocities of the deforming body are obtained in algebraic forms. Several cases show that some typical moving patterns of the sphere would be obtained as long as its radius variation and internal mass shift are properly coupled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the perinatal outcomes of pregnancies complicated by chorioamniotic separation (CAS) vs septostomy following fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP) for twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies with TTTS that underwent FLP at one of two university‐affiliated tertiary medical centers between January 2012 and December 2020. CAS and septostomy were diagnosed either during the procedure or by ultrasonography within 24–48 h after FLP. Data on procedure and postprocedure parameters, pregnancy outcomes and survival were collected from the patients' electronic medical records. Pregnancies were stratified according to the presence of CAS, septostomy or neither. Patients diagnosed with both CAS and septostomy were analyzed separately. Results: Of the 522 women included in the cohort, 38 (7.3%) were diagnosed with CAS, 68 (13.0%) with septostomy and 23 (4.4%) with both CAS and septostomy. The remaining 393 (75.3%) women comprised the control group. Groups did not differ in demographic characteristics. The septostomy group had a lower rate of selective fetal growth restriction than did the CAS and control groups (24.2% vs 36.8% vs 42.7%, respectively; P = 0.017). Moreover, intertwin size discordance was lower in the septostomy group (15.1% vs 23.4% in the CAS group and 25.5% in the control group; P = 0.001). Median gestational age at FLP was significantly lower in the CAS group (19.3 weeks vs 20.4 weeks in controls and 20.9 weeks in the septostomy group; P = 0.049). The rate of delivery prior to 34 weeks was significantly higher in the CAS group (89.2%), followed by the septostomy group (80.9%), compared with the control group (69.0%) (P = 0.006). A secondary analysis demonstrated that patients with both CAS and septostomy presented the highest rates of delivery prior to 34 weeks (100%) and 32 weeks (68.2%). Conclusions: CAS and septostomy following laser surgery for TTTS are independently associated with higher rates of preterm delivery. The presence of these two findings in the same patient enhances the risk of prematurity. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latitude of lifetime maximum intensity (LMI) location (ϕLMI) of Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) is related to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) with a significant negative correlation for 1948–2018. We objectively classify TC tracks into four patterns, to evaluate the effects of variations in dominant track patterns (track ϕLMI) and intra‐pattern ϕLMI (pure ϕLMI) on the total ϕLMI variation. During the warm phases of AMO, the prevailed south‐origin track patterns and equatorward pure ϕLMI shifts have almost equally contributed to the equatorward migration of the total ϕLMI. The negative anomaly of potential intensity in the subtropics is responsible for the equatorward shift of pure ϕLMI. Moreover, weak vertical wind shear in the tropics increases the south‐origin track patterns. These environmental conditions are associated with the east‐strong and west‐weak relative sea surface temperature warming during the warm phases that causes anomalous upward and downward motions in the eastern and western Atlantic, respectively. Plain Language Summary: The location where tropical cyclone (TC) attains their lifetime maximum intensity is an important factor to determine the magnitude of its societal impact. Considering the land‐sea distribution in the Atlantic, poleward migration of the location means that the TC can grow longer until it closer to the land. Besides, the location of lifetime maximum intensity is generally better observed than any other development stage. For these reasons, many previous studies investigated its long‐term variation. According to some studies, in the North Atlantic, the location has shifted toward the equator for a recent decade, which appeared to be a part of the multidecadal variability known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Here, we also found that the location significantly varies by multidecadal time scales, which is well attributable to the AMO. In addition, we revealed that the migration of the location is equally controlled by the track pattern and the in‐track‐pattern location change, all of which are well explained by the large‐scale circulation related with the AMO. Our finding can be helpful to foresee near‐future variation of the location of tropical cyclones lifetime maximum intensity. Key Points: The negative correlation between the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) and latitudinal variation of Atlantic tropical cyclone lifetime maximum intensity (LMI) is reaffirmedEffects of variations in dominant track patterns and intra‐pattern LMI location are almost equally importantBoth variations of track patterns and intra‐pattern LMI location are attributable to the AMO‐related environments [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enthusiasm for predicting the properties of valley materials continues to grow due to the much attention of valley degrees of freedom. In this Letter, a two-dimensional ferromagnetic half-metal 1T-FeCl2 with super-exchange interactions and high Curie temperature is used to construct ferrovalley heterostructures under the means of magnetic proximity effects. The valley polarization up to 47.6 meV can be achieved in the HfNX (X = Cl, Br, I)/FeCl2. Meanwhile, we modulate the valley polarization by changing the interlayer spacing, applying biaxial strain, and changing the magnetization directions. Surprisingly, we find that the super-exchange interactions of the 1T-FeCl2 lead to particular robustness of the valley polarization, so the valley signals in this structure are nonvolatile. Finally, the Berry curvature demonstrates that the HfNI/FeCl2 is capable of achieving the anomalous valley Hall effect. The controllability and the robustness of the valley polarization in HfNX/FeCl2 heterostructure are expected to overcome the volatility of the valley signals, which will be of great help for future applications in spintronics and valleytronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study investigated the dose‐effect of manganese (Mn) addition on wheat straw (WS) decomposition, and explored the potential mechanisms of Mn involved in the acceleration of WS decomposition in regards to the soil microbial communities and enzyme activities. Methods and Results: A 180‐day incubation experiment was performed to examine the decomposition of WS under four Mn levels, that is, 0, 0.25, 1 and 2 mg g−1. The effects of microbial communities and enzyme activities were evaluated using control (0 mg g−1) and Mn (0.25 mg g−1) treatments. Our results revealed that Mn (0.25 mg g−1) addition significantly increased WS decomposition, and enhanced the release of carbon and nitrogen. Optimal Mn addition (0.25 mg g−1) also caused significant increases in the activity of neutral xylanase (NEX), laccase (Lac), manganese peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP) within the incubation period. Mn (0.25 mg g−1) addition also enriched some operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that, in turn, had the potential ability to decompose crop straw, such as secreting lignocellulolytic enzymes. Conclusions: Mn (0.25 mg g−1) could promote WS decomposition through enrichment of the microbial species involved in biomass decomposition, which enhanced the lignocellulose‐degrading enzyme activity. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provides evidence for Mn to promote WS biodegradation after Mn application, opening new windows to improve the utilization efficiency of crop residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Bunch bagging is a grapevine canopy management strategy to protect bunches from light, heat stress and disease pressure. The aim of this study was to unveil the effects of timing and duration of bunch bagging on grape volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at the transcriptomic and metabolic levels. Methods and Results: Seven bunch bagging treatments of varying timing and duration were implemented with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Regardless of timing and duration, bagging significantly reduced nerol, benzaldehyde, benzeneacetaldehyde and p‐cymene, and increased the concentration of phenol and 3,5‐dimethylbenzaldehyde. The decrease of nerol by bagging was associated with the down‐regulation of the gene encoding glycosyltransferase14 at veraison. Bagging and re‐exposing bunches at the preharvest stage inhibited and benefited the accumulation of C6 alcohols. Furthermore, we infer that the higher concentration of total benzenoids in all bagged berries was due to the down‐regulated expression of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis genes. The concentration of the dominant norisoprenoid, β‐damascenone, was not impacted by bunch bagging from veraison to harvest and was increased by bagging from veraison to post‐veraison. All other treatments, however, reduced this compound, which was due to a lower concentration of β‐carotene and lutein, and the down‐regulation of VviCCD4a and VviCCD4b. Conclusions: Both timing and duration of bunch bagging can affect biosynthesis and accumulation of VOCs. Significance of the Study: Insights from this study provide new knowledge on bunch bagging, as well as information regarding the sensitivity of VOCs to light and the timing of light exposure during grape ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent global climate change affects the living conditions of many plant and animal species on Earth. Capparis spinosa L. is a perennial xerophytic shrub with significant adaptability to arid environments and a candidate species for the prevention of soil erosion. However, its reference genome or large-scale full-length cDNA sequences are still lacking. Here, we applied a combination of second and third-generation sequencing technologies to sequence the full-length transcriptome in Capparis spinosa L. In total, 14.96 GB of clean reads were generated, including 828,518 reads of insert (ROI) and 370,258 full-length non-chimeric (FLNC) reads. We reported 216,240 consensus isoforms by transcript clustering analysis. After removing redundant reads, we identified 191,599 non-redundant isoforms of which 171,893 were coding isoforms. Through second-generation sequencing (SGS), we obtained 434 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from samples collected under different temperatures for further analysis. Among these DEGs, we found 29 transcription factors belonging to seven different TF families in which CsMYB28 and CsMYB73 were up-regulated as the temperature rose. Overall, this is the first study to perform SMRT sequencing of full-length transcriptome of Capparis spinosa L. Our results will contribute to increasing interest for Capparis spinosa L as a candidate crop for future environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are important for promoting the growth and stress tolerance of plants. They are widely involved in plant growth regulation and responses to hormones and environmental factors. However, knowledge of the functions of the LEA gene in ginseng species remains limited. In this study, a Panax ginseng LEA gene (PgLEA) expression vector was constructed, and stable transgenic Arabidopsis lines were established. The PgLEA protein was classified in the LEA-2 subgroup. Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR analysis showed that the expression of PgLEA increased under 300 mM NaCl or 10 % (m/v) polyethylene glycol treatments. Under salt and osmotic stresses, overexpression of PgLEA in transgenic Arabidopsis plants improved germination rate, root length, and survival rate compared to wild-type plants. In response to drought or salt stress, transgenic plants increased proline accumulation, decreased malonaldehyde content and ion leakage. Furthermore, the transgenic plants exhibited significantly increased activity of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, and reduced accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide. Moreover, overexpression of PgLEA affected the expression of genes related to salt/drought stress. Taken together, PgLEA is a positive regulator of drought and salinity stress, and positively functioned in pleiotropic effects through regulating osmotic balance, reactive oxygen species scavenging and inducing transcription of stress-related genes. PgLEA may enable ginseng plants to adapt to adverse environments. The data presented herein imply that PgLEA may be useful for breeding new stress-tolerant ginseng cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the relationship between tropical cyclones (TCs) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) over the western North Pacific (WNP) during 1982–2018, focusing on an area surrounding the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The frequency of TCs passing through this area (TCm) in the negative PDO phase was approximately 50% higher than that in the positive phase in September. Higher TC track density was observed around the Korean Peninsula and Japan in the negative PDO phase because the large‐scale environments were favorable for TC activity. However, TCm and PDO were not related in August because the location of WNP subtropical high was not significantly different. In addition, large‐scale environments, which were associated with TC activity, provided more favorable conditions in September than in August. Plain Language Summary: Tropical cyclones (TCs) are destructive natural hazards in Far East Asia due to strong winds, storm surges, and heavy precipitation, which could lead to considerable casualties and property damage. The relationship between TCs and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) was examined over the western North Pacific (WNP) during 1982–2018. We focused on an analysis area from 30–45°N and 120–150°E, which included the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The frequency of TCs passing through the analysis area (TCm) and PDO had a negative correlation in September. In the negative PDO phase, large‐scale environments, including sea‐surface temperature, vertical wind shear, and steering winds, were favorable for TC activity in the mid‐latitudes. Large‐scale environments in the positive phase showed the opposite trend. However, TCm and PDO were not related in August because the difference in WNP subtropical high was insignificant. Furthermore, the anomalies of large‐scale environments (e.g., vertical wind shear and steering wind) over the mid‐latitudes were not significant in August compared to those in September. Key Points: A negative correlation exists between the frequency of TCs affecting the Far East Asia and Pacific Decadal Oscillation in SeptemberTC activity around the Korean Peninsula and Japan could be influenced by large‐scale environmental conditionsThe different effects of PDO in August and September could be because of the expansion of the western North Pacific subtropical high [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motion of a spherical droplet through a fluid driven by gravity is revisited theoretically. Analytical expressions for the translational velocity of the droplet as well as its internal and external flows coupled at their interface and described by the unsteady Stokes equations are derived combining two-point Padé and Padé-type approximants with the Laplace transform. These expressions, involving scaled complementary error functions, are fast and globally convergent to the exact solutions of the equations. The migration of the droplet depends on three non-dimensional parameters, two of which determine the flow patterns inside and outside, and the last is related to the timescale. The analytical solutions reveal that there is a diffusive shear layer of thickness O (t) on either side of the interface in the early stage. Several plots are made to compare migration velocities of the droplet for different parameter sets and changes in the flow field with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Monochorionic twins with twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) treated with fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP) are at increased risk of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI). This meta-analysis aimed to identify the prevalence of and perinatal risk factors for NDI in TTTS survivors treated with FLP.Methods: We performed a search in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and Web of Science, from inception to 13 February 2021, for studies evaluating perinatal risk factors for NDI in children diagnosed prenatally with TTTS managed by FLP. Data on severity of TTTS at the time of diagnosis, defined according to the Quintero staging system, FLP-related complications and perinatal outcomes were compared between children with a history of TTTS treated with FLP with and those without NDI, which was defined as performance on a cognitive or developmental assessment tool ≥ 2 SD below the mean or a defined motor or sensory disability. A random-effects model was used to pool the mean differences or odds ratios (OR) with the corresponding 95% CIs. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic.Results: Nine studies with a total of 1499 TTTS survivors were included. The overall incidence of NDI was 14.0% (95% CI, 9.0-18.0%). The occurrence of NDI in TTTS survivors was associated with later gestational age (GA) at FLP (mean difference, 0.94 weeks (95% CI, 0.50-1.38 weeks); P < 0.0001, I2  = 0%), earlier GA at delivery (mean difference, -1.44 weeks (95% CI, -2.28 to -0.61 weeks); P = 0.0007, I2  = 49%) and lower birth weight (mean difference, -343.26 g (95% CI, -470.59 to -215.92 g); P < 0.00001, I2  = 27%). Evaluation of different GA cut-offs showed that preterm birth before 32 weeks was associated with higher risk for NDI later in childhood (OR, 2.25 (95% CI, 1.02-4.94); P = 0.04, I2  = 35%). No statistically significant difference was found between cases with and those without NDI with respect to Quintero stage of TTTS, recipient or donor status, development of postlaser twin anemia-polycythemia sequence, recurrence of TTTS and incidence of small- for-gestational age or cotwin fetal demise.Conclusions: TTTS survivors with later GA at the time of FLP, earlier GA at delivery and lower birth weight are at higher risk of developing NDI. No significant association was found between Quintero stage of TTTS and risk of NDI. Our findings may be helpful for parental counseling and highlight the need for future studies to understand better the risk factors for NDI in TTTS survivors. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The present study is aimed to reveal the variations in epiphytic microbial composition among six whole crop corn (WCC) varieties and their contributions on ensiling characteristics and microbial composition of WCC silage. Methods and Results: Six WCC varieties (JS06, YS23, BS20, JS39, JS40 and JS26) were ensiled for 90 days. All WCC varieties were well fermented with low pH value (<4·0) and high LA (73·6–124 g kg−1 DM, dry matter) concentration. Of six varieties, JS40 had the highest LA (124 g kg−1 DM) concentration, which was supported by highest relative abundance of Lactobacillus. Pantoea was the most dominant epiphytic bacteria in all fresh WCC varieties; however, the secondary dominant genera among six WCC were absolutely difference. Lactobacillus became predominant genus in 90‐day silages except YS23. YS23 kept the more bacterial genus from fresh to 90‐day silages than other silages, meanwhile Acinetobacter and Enterobacter were the dominant bacteria in YS23 silages. Conclusions: Among six WCC varieties, JS40 silage had the highest LA. The variations in epiphytic microbiomes among fresh WCC affected terminal microbial community of 90‐day silages. There were differences in fermentation characteristics among six WCC varieties, which might be partly attributed to variations in epiphytic microbiomes among fresh WCC. Significance and Impact of the Study: The study not only enriches the research on microbial communities of plant phyllosphere but also provides theoretical basis for selecting WCC varieties and inoculants for the forage production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of the assimilation of relative humidity (RH) reproduced from dropsonde data from the Tropical cyclones‐Pacific Asian Research Campaign for Improvement of Intensity estimations/forecasts (T‐PARCII) campaign and Himawari‐8 satellite data on the simulation of Typhoon Lan (2017) were investigated herein using a weather research and forecasting model. The lateral boundary and initial conditions were obtained from Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast data. Four experiments varying from the initial vortex, assimilation of the reproduced RH (ARH), and ocean model (OCEAN, three‐dimensional Price‐Weller‐Pinkel upper‐ocean circulation model) activation were conducted for 42 h to evaluate tropical cyclone (TC) forecast performance: the GFS experiment and dynamical initialization (DI) experiments such as DI, DI‐OCEAN, and DI‐ARH‐OCEAN, respectively. All track forecast errors were less than 100 km until landfall, that is, up to 36 h. TC intensity forecasts such as the minimum sea‐level pressure and maximum surface wind speed were slightly improved in DI‐related experiments compared to the GFS experiment. The DI‐ARH‐OCEAN experiment, in particular, demonstrated improvements in both TC forecasts and convective areas. The ocean‐coupled experiments yielded significant sea surface temperature cooling in the rear‐right quadrant of TC, forming a stable boundary layer that could suppress the convective activity, particularly in the lower troposphere. These findings support that compared to the original DI method, ARH could improve initial conditions, resulting in more accurate TC forecasts. Furthermore, it may argue the necessity and urgency of regular aircraft surveillance of TCs in the western North Pacific area. Key Points: Relative humidity can be reproduced using in situ aircraft and remote‐sensing dataThe dynamical initialization method with the assimilation of reproduced relative humidity can further improve tropical cyclone forecastsThe ocean‐coupled experiment shows that the storm‐induced SST cooling can weaken tropical cyclone intensity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the unexpectedly excellent dielectric properties of amorphous thin films with compositions in the Bi–Ti–O system. Films were deposited by RF magnetron reactive co-sputtering. In the composition range of 0.5 < x < 0.7, amorphous Bi 1 − x Ti x O y exhibits excellent dielectric properties, with a high dielectric constant, 𝜀 r ∼ 53, and a dissipation factor as low as tan δ = 0.007. The corresponding maximum breakdown field reaches ∼ 1.6 MV/cm, yielding a maximum stored charge per unit area of up to 8 μ C/cm2. This work demonstrates the potential of amorphous Bi–Ti–O as a high-performance thin-film dielectric material that is compatible with high-performance integrated circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the mechanisms related to the variations in the rainfall structure of tropical cyclones (TCs) is crucial in improving forecasting systems of TC rainfall and its impact. Using satellite precipitation and reanalysis data, we examined the influence of along-track large-scale environmental conditions on inner-core rainfall strength (RS) and total rainfall area (RA) for Atlantic TCs during the TC season (July–November) from 1998 to 2019. Factor analysis revealed three major factors associated with variations in RS and RA: large-scale low and high pressure systems [factor 1 (F1)]; environmental flows, sea surface temperature, and humidity [factor 2 (F2)]; and maximum wind speed of TCs [factor 3 (F3)]. Results from our study indicate that RS increases with an increase in the inherent primary circulation of TCs (i.e., F3) but is less affected by large-scale environmental conditions (i.e., F1 and F2), whereas RA is primarily influenced by large-scale low and high pressure systems (i.e., F1) over the entire North Atlantic and partially influenced by environmental flows, sea surface temperature, humidity, and maximum wind speed (i.e., F2 and F3). A multivariable regression model based on the three factors accounted for the variations of RS and RA across the entire basin. In addition, regional distributions of mean RS and RA from the model significantly resembled those from observations. Therefore, our study suggests that large-scale environmental conditions over the North Atlantic Ocean are important predictors for TC rainfall forecasts, particularly with regard to RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) escapes growth inhibition by upregulating hexokinase 2 (HK2); however, the mechanism by which tumor cells upregulate HK2 remains unclear. Aim: We aimed to investigate the role of androgen receptor (AR) signalling in promoting HK2 expression in HCC. Methods: The expressions of AR and HK2 in HCC tissues were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Cell proliferation was determined using the CCK-8 assay, and the molecular mechanism of AR in the regulation of HK2 was evaluated by immunoblotting and luciferase assays. Results: AR expression is positively correlated with HK2 staining by an immunohistochemical analysis. The manipulation of AR expression changed HK2 expression and glycolysis. AR signaling promoted the growth of HCC by enhancing HK2-mediated glycolysis. Moreover, AR stimulated HK2 levels and glycolysis by potentiating protein kinase A/cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding (CREB) protein signaling. CREB silencing decreased HK2 expression and inhibited AR-mediated HCC glycolysis. AR affected the sensitivity of HCC cells to glycolysis inhibitors by regulating downstream phosphorylated (p)-CREB. Conclusions: These results indicate that AR at least partially induced glycolysis via p-CREB regulation of HK2 in HCC cells. Thus, this pathway should be considered for the design of novel therapeutic methods to target AR-overexpressing HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abrupt decrease in annual tropical cyclone genesis frequency (TCGF), which is statistically significant only from October to December (OND), has been noticed over the western North Pacific Ocean. However, the seasonal inhomogeneity of interdecadal changes in TCGF betweenONDand the other seasons (from January to September) and the associated mechanisms are not clearly documented. This study examines and compares the different interdecadal changes in OND and in January-September from 1979 to 2018. According to our analysis, the TCGF decrease in OND (2.2) accounts for 79% of the total decrease (2.8) in annual TCGF after 1998, whereas the TCGF in January to September remains unchanged. The key differences in large-scale environment are found from the extension of equatorial easterly wind anomalies and attendant anticyclone anomalies in the subtropics. Under similar sea surface temperature (SST) warming pattern in the tropical Indo-Pacific region (i.e., the La Niña--like SST warming), tropical precipitation is significantly enhanced over the area where its seasonal peak occurs: the tropical Indian Ocean in OND and the tropical western Pacific in January-September. Thus, the equatorial easterly wind anomalies extend westward to 1108E in OND and to 1458E in January-September. Different extension of easterly wind anomalies results in different expansion of attendant large-scale anticyclone anomaly over the subtropical western Pacific, which dominates the entire main development region inONDbut not in January-September. To summarize, the different extensions of easterly wind anomalies under similar La Niña--like SST warming are responsible for the seasonal inhomogeneity of interdecadal changes in TCGF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The myeloblastosis (MYB) transcription factors are essential for plant stress responses. They can enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, salinity, and cold) via improved physiological and biochemical responses including the accumulation of metabolites. In this study, we constructed a Panax ginseng MYB4 (PgMYB4) gene expression vector and established the stable transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana lines to study the effects of this gene on plant stress tolerance. The germination rate and seedling taproot length were greater for the PgMYB4-overexpressing plants than for the wild-type plants. Accordingly, the overexpression of PgMYB4 in Arabidopsis enhanced seedling tolerance to drought, salt, and cold conditions. Under drought stress, the relative chlorophyll content decreased less, the proline content increased more, and the water loss rate decreased more in the transgenic plants than in the wild type. The expressions of stress-related genes responsive to dehydration 19A, responsive to dehydration 22, responsive to desiccation 29A, cold-regulated 15A, cold-regulated 47, and pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase 1 were significantly upregulated in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Under high salt stress, the kinesin 1 (KIN1) expression was significantly upregulated in the transgenic plants. In response to the low temperature stress, the dehydration-responsive element binding protein 2A and KIN1 expressions increased dramatically in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Thus, PgMYB4 positively regulated the stress tolerance gene networks, which promoted the expression of anti-stress effector genes. This gene may be useful for ginseng breeding programs aiming to develop new cultivars with enhanced stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was utilized to measure the valence band offset (ΔEV) of the TiZnSnO (TZTO)/Si heterojunction. TZTO films were deposited on Si (100) substrates using magnetron sputtering at room temperature. By using the Zn 2p3/2 and Sn 3d5/2 energy levels as references, the value of ΔEV was calculated to be 2.69 ± 0.1 eV. Combining with the experimental optical energy band gap of 3.98 eV for TZTO extracted from the UV-vis transmittance spectrum, the conduction band offset (ΔEC) was deduced to be 0.17 ± 0.1 eV at the interface. Hence, the energy band alignment of the heterojunction was determined accurately, showing a type-I form. This will be beneficial for the design and application of TZTO/Si hybrid devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the performance of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) models for simulating summer heatwaves in Korea during a historical simulation period (1979–2014) using four diagnostic indices that represent the teleconnection mechanism of summer heatwaves in Korea. Four skill metrics are used for the model evaluation, namely, relative error (RE), interannual variability skill‐score (IVS), correlation coefficient (CC), and total ranking (TR) based on daily maximum temperature (TMAX) in Korea and the four diagnostic indices. The results show that the REs of CMIP5 models do not differ significantly from those of the CMIP6 models while the IVSs in the CMIP6 models are significantly improved compared with the CMIP5 models. Observations show that the heatwave circulation index (HWCI) contributes more to the interannual variability in TMAX in Korea than that of the Indian Monsoon Rainfall Index (IMRI), indicating that the teleconnection from the northwestern Pacific is more important than that from northwestern India. Interestingly, the CMIP6 models simulate this property better than the CMIP5 ensemble. The higher TR of CMIP6 models than CMIP5 supports that CMIP6 models are better overall in simulating heatwaves in Korea and the associated diagnostic indices. Key Point: Model performance of CMIP6 models is better than that of CMIP5 models in simulating heatwaves in Korea and the associated diagnostic indices [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because spring precipitation in East Asia is critical for recharging water resources after dry winters, its spatiotemporal variations and related mechanisms need in-depth research. This study analyzed a leading spatiotemporal variability of precipitation over East Asia for boreal spring (March-May) during 1979 to 2017. We found that a dipole mode dominates the anomalous spring precipitation between southern China and Southeast Asia with significant interannual and decadal variations. The interannual dipole mode is attributable to the eastern Pacific (EP)-type El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) while the decadal dipole mode is related to the decadal variation of the central Pacific (CP)-type ENSO. In the El Niño phases of both time scales, the anticyclonic anomaly over the South China Sea and Philippines causes moisture convergence (divergence) over southern China (Southeast Asia), resulting in positive (negative) precipitation anomalies therein; the opposite occurs in the La Niña phases. The ensemble experiments using the Community Atmosphere Model version 5.1 confirmed that the tropical sea surface temperature (SST) in the EP- and CP-type ENSO can be the major drivers of the interannual and decadal dipole modes, respectively. About half of 15 climate models participating in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) showed that the El Niño phase of dipole mode will become dominant in the future. The individual models' future projections however considerably vary, implying that there is still large uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For proactive prevention of water shortage problems, it is important to understand the spatiotemporal variabilities of droughts and their development mechanisms. This study identified an interannual variation of spring drought-prone condition in each region of East Asia (EA)—northern, mid, and southern EA—for the period 1979–2015 by using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and a hierarchical clustering analysis. According to our analyses, spring drought-prone condition in the northern EA region mainly depends on local surface heating and precipitation deficit due to adiabatic compression by a high-pressure anomaly over the region during the preceding winter to spring. The high-pressure anomaly was driven by an upper-level wave train propagating from the Europe related to a positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation. For drought-prone conditions in the mid and the southern EA regions, the local precipitation deficit caused by the negative moisture advection/convergence therein acts as a primary factor. During the preceding winter, the negative moisture advection/convergence anomalies both in mid and southern EA regions were induced by anomalous low-level cyclonic circulations over the western North Pacific related to the La Niña. In spring, however, the moisture condition in the southern EA region was affected by persistent La Niña while that in the mid-EA region was by the negative phase of North Pacific Oscillation. This gap makes the main location of the negative moisture advection/convergence anomalies just slightly different, but considerably alter the region exposed to the drought-prone condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, pentablock terpolymers with methylpyrrolidinium cations were characterized and investigated as anion exchange membranes and ionomers for solid‐state alkaline fuel cells. The pentablock terpolymer (with methylpyrrolidinium cations) membranes exhibited higher fuel cell power density and durability than commercial FuMA‐Tech (with quaternary ammonium cations) membranes at 30 °C, 100% relative humidity (RH). Optimization of the catalyst ink composition (i.e., solids and solvent ratio) and fuel cell performance of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with pentablock terpolymers as both the membrane and ionomer were also investigated. Optimization of the fuel cell operating conditions corroborates with the in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results. The pentablock terpolymer MEA exhibited a maximum power density of 83.3 mW cm−2 and voltage decay rate of 0.7 mV h−1 after 100 h of operation under 40 °C, 100% RH. These results show promise for pentablock terptolymers with methylpyrrolidinium cations as a commercially attractive low‐cost alternative anion exchange membrane and ionomer for solid‐state alkaline fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermoelectric properties of Pr-doped compounds β-(Zn1-xPrx)4Sb3 (x = 0, 0.001, 0.002, 0.003) were investigated at the temperatures from 300 K to 615 K. The results indicate that Pr doping causes the resonant distortion of density of states of β-Zn4Sb3, as manifested by almost 2-fold increase of the density of state effective mass md* of β-Zn4Sb3, which results in ∼50 μV/K increase of the thermopower for the doped samples with x = 0.002 and 0.003. The thermal conductivity decreases substantially upon Pr doping. As a result, the figure of merit, ZT, of β-(Zn0.008Pr0.002)4Sb3 is ∼23% larger than that of the un-doped one and reaches 0.65 at 615 K, suggesting that Pr doping is an effective approach to raise ZT of β-Zn4Sb3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sr3(Ti0.95R0.05)2O7 (R = Ta, Nb, W) polycrystalline compounds were fabricated, and their transport and thermoelectric properties were investigated. The results indicate that at T > 300 K electrical resistivity ρ for all the doped compounds increases monotonically with temperature, and basically can be described by a relation ρ ∝ TM at T > ∼650 K, with M = 1.39, 1.66, and 1.77 for R = Ta, Nb, and W, respectively, implying that at the high temperatures the acoustic phonon scattering dominates the scattering process. Although the resistivity ρ of Sr3(Ti0.95Ta0.05)2O7 exhibits a metallic-like behavior at the temperature as low as 5 K, a transition from metallic state (dρ/dT > 0) to semiconductor-like state (dρ/dT < 0) was observed at a critical low temperature ∼41 K and ∼79 K for R = Nb and W, respectively. At T < ∼22 K, ∼57 K, and ∼80 K, a relation of σ ∝ T1/2 (here conductivity σ = 1/ρ) holds for the doped compounds with R = Nb, Ta, and W, respectively, suggesting that at the low temperatures the main transport mechanism is electron-electron interaction due to the presence of disorder induced by the dopants. The thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) for Ta-doped compound increases more steeply with increasing temperature among the three compounds and reaches 0.066 at 1000 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conyzasaponins produced by the traditional Chinese herb Conyza blinii are oleanane-type saponins with a wide range of biological activities. Here, we identified a gene, designated CbCYP716A261, encoding a β-amyrin 28-hydroxylase in conyzasaponins biosynthesis. Ten full putative CYP sequences were isolated from Conyza blinii transcript tags. The CbCYP716A261 gene product was selected as the putative β-amyrin 28‑hydroxylase by phylogenetic analysis and transcriptional activity analysis of methyl jasmonate-treated Conyza blinii. To identify the enzymatic activity, we performed enzymatic activity experiments in vitro and in vivo. The HPLC results revealed that CbCYP716A261 catalyzes the hydroxylation of β-amyrin at the C-28 position to yield oleanolic acid. Our findings provide new information about the conyzasaponin biosynthesis pathway and widen the list of isolated β-amyrin 28-hydroxylases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic clouds should be an important factor that affects the summertime sea ice. By reflecting the incoming solar radiation before it reaches the surface, the Arctic clouds may prevent the surface from absorbing tremendous solar radiation due to the reduced sea ice. This cloud effect will lead to intervene the feedback relation between the solar radiation and the sea ice change. However, few studies have quantitatively investigated the Arctic cloud effect on the ice‐albedo feedback. This study found that the Arctic clouds regulate the melting speed of sea ice in midsummer months (June to August) based on the data from multiple sources, that is, satellite, reanalysis, and climate models. During this period, the fraction of Arctic clouds with the net radiative cooling effect is almost invariable with sea ice reduction. However, despite of the steady cloud fraction in the midsummer months, the shortwave cloud radiative effect (total‐sky minus clear‐sky absorbed shortwave radiation) was found to significantly increase with the reduced sea ice concentration (0.64 W m−2%−1 in CERES, 0.73 W m−2%−1 in ERA5). This is because the clouds present more contrast of albedo with the sea ice‐free ocean than the sea ice‐covered ocean. Finally, our analyses show that the Arctic clouds are nearly halving the strength of the ice‐albedo feedback in the midsummer months. These results imply that the sea ice reduction could have been much faster in the past decades in the absence of the cloud effect found here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]