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Tibetan Plateau (TP) snow cover is featured by sub‐seasonal changes, affecting weather and climate in surrounding and downstream areas. Previous studies emphasize the effect of background atmospheric circulation on rapid changes of TP snow cover as a whole. However, spatial discrepant changes of snow cover over the TP with complex topography and uneven snowfall remain unaddressed. Our research indicates that snow cover fraction dominates the rapid changes of surface albedo across the TP, and snow depth also significantly influences surface albedo changes through modulating snow albedo in central and eastern TP with shallow snow. However, the excessive snow amount and empirical snow cover fraction schemes introduce spatially divergent biases of surface albedo changes in simulations. Our research highlights the instant response of TP surface albedo to both snow coverage and depth in snow season, and provides a promising perspective for improving TP snow and surface albedo simulations. Plain Language Summary: Tibetan Plateau (TP) snow cover is characterized not only by obvious seasonal changes, but also by rapid sub‐seasonal changes, which has a significant impact on the weather and climate of the downstream areas by affecting the surface albedo over the TP. Previous studies have generally concluded that the background atmospheric circulation dominates rapid changes of overall TP snow cover. However, rapid changes of snow cover exhibit spatial discrepancies over the TP with complex topography and uneven snowfall. Our study finds that snow coverage and depth both contribute to rapid changes of surface albedo and energy budget over the TP, which further lead to rapid changes of snow cover. However, current numerical models tend to overestimate the snow and fail to simulate spatial different changes of snow coverage and depth, leading to spatially divergent simulation biases in surface albedo, surface energy balance and local atmospheric circulation over the TP. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the snow parameterization in models to enhance the intra‐seasonal simulation of snow cover and surface albedo over the TP. Key Points: Observed surface albedo over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has significant weekly scale fluctuations during winterSnow cover fraction and snow depth jointly dominate observed rapid changes of surface albedo over the TPExcessive snow amount and empirical snow cover fraction schemes lead to spatially divergent bias of surface albedo change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the highest land in the world and has a very complex topography. However, the influence of topography on TP snow cover simulations has not been adequately addressed in most land surface models. The analysis of satellite observations indicates that snow cover fraction (SCF) simulation biases increase with the topography complexity, and this increasing trend slows down when the standard deviation of topography is greater than 200 m. The result also shows that using the SCF schemes without consideration of topography leads to a consistent overestimation in winter. To account for the topographic effects, we introduce a modified topographic factor to the SCF schemes. Then we conduct regional simulations using the Simplified Simple Biosphere Model version 3 (SSiB3) and evaluate the results at the location of observation sites to reduce the uncertainty induced by forcing data. Compared with the default SCF scheme, the mean winter SCF bias is reduced from 3.83% to −0.10%. The optimization of SCF simulations further improves the winter surface albedo and land surface temperature (LST) simulations. The winter surface albedo bias over the TP is reduced from 0.020 to 0.007, with a maximum reduction by −0.133. The winter LST bias is reduced from −3.33 to −3.04 K, with a maximum reduction by 3.60 K. This study highlights the importance of topographic effects in simulating snow cover distribution and land surface energy budget for reducing the "cold bias" in winter climate simulations over the TP. Plain Language Summary: The Tibetan Plateau (TP) has a very complex topography, which greatly influences the snow cover distribution in winter. However, the influence of topography on snow cover simulations has not been adequately addressed in most land surface models. Based on the satellite data, we find that ignoring topography leads to a significant overestimation of the simulated snow cover distribution over the TP in winter, and the overestimation increases with the topographic complexity until the terrain complexity reaches a certain level. By applying this relationship, the winter snow cover distribution simulations are greatly improved over the TP, and this improvement further leads to the improvement of land surface energy budget simulations in winter. Taking the topographic effect on snow cover distribution into account contributes to reducing the "cold bias" in winter climate simulations over the TP. Key Points: The complex topography over the Tibetan Plateau greatly influences the snow cover distribution in winterUsing the snow cover fraction (SCF) schemes without topography leads to a consistent positive bias of SCF simulations in winterBy adding a topographic factor, the simulations of winter SCF and surface albedo are significantly improved [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the throughput performance of an incremental virtual full-duplex non-orthogonal multiple access (I-VFD-NOMA) communication system, where two energy harvesting (EH) enabled near users are willing to forward message for far user using decode-and-forward (DF) protocol. If the direct link between the source and the far user exists, I-VFD-NOMA scheme is used to save the channel resources. If the direct link between the source and the far user does not exist, I-VFD-NOMA can not be used and only VFD-NOMA can be used. With this structure, The analytical expressions of the system throughput considering imperfect successive interference cancellation (I-SIC) and selection combining (SC) are derived when the direct link exists or not. With the aim of maximizing the throughput, the expression for the optimal power splitting factor at near users is also derived when the direct link does not exist. All theoretical results are validated by numerical simulations which demonstrate that the proposed I-VFD-NOMA scheme is superior to existing NOMA systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oceanic absorption of heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions has resulted in warming of the dark ocean (>200 m) that contains a large refractory DOM (RDOM) pool. However, changes in microbially mediated production and degradation dynamics for RDOM components in response to warming of dark marginal basins remain unclear. Herein, we integrated data from the dark South China, Mediterranean and Japan Seas (temperature range: 0.09–15.1°C) to demonstrate that in situ production efficiency of two ubiquitous humic‐like fluorophores increased at higher dark ocean temperature, whereas chromophores at a wavelength of 325 nm (aCDOM(325)) changed from production to degradation at higher temperature. Increased oxygen consumption and a reduction of labile substrates in future warmer dark ocean environments may initiate the final degradation of some semi‐refractory components, thereby increasing the recalcitrance of RDOM, but decreasing the DOM inventory in dark basins and creating a positive feedback to rising atmospheric CO2. Plain Language Summary: Marine refractory dissolved organic matter (RDOM) in the dark ocean is primarily formed during heterotrophic degradation of labile organic matter, which has a pronounced sensitivity to temperature variation. Since the 1960s, the global dark ocean has exhibited an accelerated warming with a discernable temperature increase. Thus, determining the importance of temperature on microbial regulation of the oceanic RDOM pool is of great significance. This study utilized the ocean interior of the marginal South China, Mediterranean and Japan Seas as natural basin‐scale enclosed incubators along with optical DOM characterization methods to reveal a production‐degradation reaction series for RDOM components. A decrease in the DOM inventory by enhanced microbial mineralization (producing CO2) in a warmer dark ocean may create a positive feedback in response to global climate change. Key Points: Faster turnover for optical components of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was observed in dark marginal basins than in the open oceanIn situ production efficiency of two ubiquitous humic‐like fluorophores increased at higher dark ocean temperaturesAn increase of DOM recalcitrance and decrease of the bulk dissolved organic carbon pool may occur due to a future warming of dark basins [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oceanic absorption of heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions has resulted in warming of the dark ocean (>200 m) that contains a large refractory DOM (RDOM) pool. However, changes in microbially mediated production and degradation dynamics for RDOM components in response to warming of dark marginal basins remain unclear. Herein, we integrated data from the dark South China, Mediterranean and Japan Seas (temperature range: 0.09–15.1°C) to demonstrate that in situ production efficiency of two ubiquitous humic‐like fluorophores increased at higher dark ocean temperature, whereas chromophores at a wavelength of 325 nm (aCDOM(325)) changed from production to degradation at higher temperature. Increased oxygen consumption and a reduction of labile substrates in future warmer dark ocean environments may initiate the final degradation of some semi‐refractory components, thereby increasing the recalcitrance of RDOM, but decreasing the DOM inventory in dark basins and creating a positive feedback to rising atmospheric CO2. Plain Language Summary: Marine refractory dissolved organic matter (RDOM) in the dark ocean is primarily formed during heterotrophic degradation of labile organic matter, which has a pronounced sensitivity to temperature variation. Since the 1960s, the global dark ocean has exhibited an accelerated warming with a discernable temperature increase. Thus, determining the importance of temperature on microbial regulation of the oceanic RDOM pool is of great significance. This study utilized the ocean interior of the marginal South China, Mediterranean and Japan Seas as natural basin‐scale enclosed incubators along with optical DOM characterization methods to reveal a production‐degradation reaction series for RDOM components. A decrease in the DOM inventory by enhanced microbial mineralization (producing CO2) in a warmer dark ocean may create a positive feedback in response to global climate change. Key Points: Faster turnover for optical components of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was observed in dark marginal basins than in the open oceanIn situ production efficiency of two ubiquitous humic‐like fluorophores increased at higher dark ocean temperaturesAn increase of DOM recalcitrance and decrease of the bulk dissolved organic carbon pool may occur due to a future warming of dark basins [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates physical layer security analysis of cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) communication system. A virtual full-duplex (VFD) relaying scheme with an untrusted amplify-and-forward (AF) half-duplex (HD) relay and a trusted decode-and-forward (DF) HD relay is used in this system to improve the spectral efficiency. In order to prevent the untrusted relay from eavesdropping, a simple and practical cooperative jamming scheme is designed to confuse the untrusted relay. The exact expressions of effective secrecy throughput (EST) for NOMA users and approximate expression of EST for non-NOMA user are derived. All theoretical results are validated by numerical simulations which demonstrate that the proposed VFD-NOMA scheme is superior to existing HD-NOMA scheme in cooperative system and jamming plays an important role for obtaining acceptable EST. In addition, simulation results shows that the best secrecy performance highly depends on the system parameters such as transmit powers and jamming signal power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is several decades into large-scale afforestation programs to help address significant ecological and environmental degradation, with further afforestation planned for the future. However, the biophysical impact of afforestation on local surface temperature remains poorly understood, particularly in midlatitude regions where the importance of the radiative effect driven by albedo and the nonradiative effect driven by energy partitioning is uncertain. To examine this issue, we investigated the local impact of afforestation by comparing adjacent forest and open land pixels using satellite observations between 2001 and 2012. We attributed local surface temperature change between adjacent forest and open land to radiative and nonradiative effects over China based on the Intrinsic Biophysical Mechanism (IBM) method. Our results reveal that forest causes warming of 0.23°C (±0.21°C) through the radiative effect and cooling of −0.74°C (±0.50°C) through the nonradiative effect on local surface temperature compared with open land. The nonradiative effect explains about 79% (±16%) of local surface temperature change between adjacent forest and open land. The contribution of the nonradiative effect varies with forest and open land types. The largest cooling is achieved by replacing grasslands or rain-fed croplands with evergreen tree types. Conversely, converting irrigated croplands to deciduous broadleaf forest leads to warming. This provides new guidance on afforestation strategies, including how these should be informed by local conditions to avoid amplifying climate-related warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Loess Plateau of China has witnessed a remarkable greening trend due to vegetation restoration in recent decades. However, the precipitation response to greening remains unclear, and the hydrological effect of greening is controversial. Here, we revisited biophysical effects of greening on precipitation over the plateau during 2002–2015 using the state‐of‐the‐art water vapor tracer embedded in a regional coupled model. We find that greening can promote the growing season precipitation (0.45 mm·day−1), with 15% and 85% of the precipitation increment resulting from increases in the local evapotranspiration and the water vapor inflow from outside the plateau, respectively. As a consequence, the enhanced precipitation can compensate for the terrestrial water loss driven by the increased evapotranspiration, leading to a slight increase in the water yield. This study highlights the dominant role of the nonlocal effect in precipitation responses to greening in this region. Plain Language Summary: In recent decades, the Loess Plateau of China has shown a significant greening trend due to vegetation restoration. In the meantime, greening tends to accelerate the terrestrial water loss via the enhanced evapotranspiration, leading to a decline in the terrestrial water storage. However, such an impact remains controversial because of large uncertainties in precipitation responses to greening. It remains unclear whether the precipitation response can alleviate or aggravate the surface water deficit due to the enhanced evapotranspiration following greening. In this study, we examine impacts of greening on precipitation over the plateau during 2002–2015 using a water vapor tracer embedded in a regional coupled model. The results show that greening can enhance precipitation, which can compensate for evapotranspiration‐driven water loss and consequently increase the water yield in the growing season. 85% of the precipitation increment results from the enhanced water vapor inflow outside the plateau due to responses of large‐scale circulations to greening. The water vapor originating from the enhanced evapotranspiration within the plateau only accounts for 15% of the precipitation increment. This study provides new insight into precipitation responses to greening and the mechanism over the plateau using water vapor tracing. Key Points: Biophysical impacts of greening on precipitation over the Loess Plateau are investigated based on WRF‐WVTGreening can promote the growing season precipitation, which can compensate for the evapotranspiration‐driven terrestrial water lossThe enhanced precipitation mainly results from enhanced water vapor inflow outside the plateau due to responses of circulations to greening [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new parameter optimization method was used to investigate the expansion of conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) in a land surface model (LSM) using long-term enhanced field observations at Tongyu station in Jilin Province, China, combined with a sophisticated LSM (common land model, CoLM). Tongyu station is a reference site of the international Coordinated Energy and Water Cycle Observations Project (CEOP) that has studied semiarid regions that have undergone desertification, salination, and degradation since late 1960s. In this study, three key land-surface parameters, namely, soil color, proportion of sand or clay in soil, and leaf-area index were chosen as parameters to be optimized. Our study comprised three experiments: First, a single-parameter optimization was performed, while the second and third experiments performed triple- and six-parameter optimizations, respectively. Notable improvements in simulating sensible heat flux (SH), latent heat flux (LH), soil temperature (TS), and moisture (MS) at shallow layers were achieved using the optimized parameters. The multiple-parameter optimization experiments performed better than the single-parameter experminent. All results demonstrate that the CNOP method can be used to optimize expanded parameters in an LSM. Moreover, clear mathematical meaning, simple design structure, and rapid computability give this method great potential for further application to parameter optimization in LSMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The onset of Rayleigh–Marangoni convection in a vertical annulus heated from below is investigated using linear stability analysis. The results of the present study also show the pattern transitions as a function of scaled gap width and aspect ratio. It is concluded that Marangoni convection can change the fluid pattern in an otherwise pure Rayleigh problem. It is also concluded that the gap width cannot significantly change the Marangoni effect as it is essentially the depth of liquid and Biot number that play a dominant role. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent studies suggest that hypolimnetic respiration may be responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deep reservoirs. Currently, quantitative evaluation of aerobic vs. anaerobic processes and priming (enhanced processing of organic matter due to the addition of labile carbon) in regulating GHG production and emissions across the reservoir‐downstream continuum remains largely unknown. High‐resolution, annual time‐series observations in a large, subtropical reservoir (Shuikou) experiencing seasonal hypoxia in southeast China indicate that aerobic hypolimnetic CO2 production dominated in most periods of the stratified spring/summer with higher rates at higher temperatures. In addition, anaerobic production of hypolimnetic CO2 occurred in the late stratified spring/summer period, which stimulated hypolimnetic production of CH4 and N2O. Incubation experiments showed that priming in spring enhanced both aerobic and anaerobic production of excess GHGs. A late spring flood event generated the highest daily efflux of CO2 through the flushing of GHG‐enriched hypolimnion waters. Turbine degassing contributed 59%, 93%, and 63% of annual CO2, CH4, and N2O effluxes, respectively. Moreover, annual downstream GHG emissions were similar to those in the transition/lacustrine zone of the Shuikou reservoir. Diurnal variation observations revealed net CO2 emissions even during algal bloom seasons. The reservoir‐downstream river continuum was a year‐round source of GHGs (218.5 ± 18.9 Gg CO2‐equivalent yr−1; CO2 contributed 91%). However, the loss of oxygen also leads to increased production and storage of recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon (RDOC). Thus, identifying mechanisms controlling both GHG emissions and RDOC production is crucial to constrain the carbon neutrality issue of hydroelectric reservoirs in the context of climate change mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan Plateau vortex (TPV) is a major rain-producing system over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in summer. The vertical structure of TPV is critical in understanding the generation and development of TPV. In this paper, the ERA-Interim reanalysis data and an objective TPV detection and vertical tracing method are used to investigate the vertical structure of TPV in boreal summer (June–August). Most TPVs are shallow, with only 1/5 of them can reach 400 hPa. Among the TPVs that move off the TP, more than half are deep vortices. The tilting direction of TPV is related to its baroclinic structure. In general, TPVs tilt to the direction of the cold air from low to high isobaric levels, and the tilting direction depends on the relative positions of the warm pool and the cold air intruding into TPV. Deep TPVs inside the TP and those moving off the TP have different vertical structures. On the plateau, TPVs have convergence at the low levels (400–500 hPa) and divergence at the high levels (above 400 hPa), which can cause updrafts in the vortex and a tropical cyclone-like structure. For the TPVs moving off the TP, the updrafts are significantly weak due to the relatively low low-level convergence and the relatively low high-level divergence. These TPVs almost have positive vertical vorticity and present an extratropical cyclone-like structure. The vertical thickness of TPV is important in determining whether the TPV could move off the TP. The results show that the deep TPVs are more likely to move out than the shallow ones. Therefore, the vertical structure is a better predictor on the movement of TPV than its other properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) products from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 (GOME‐2) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO‐2) are used to investigate the responses of vegetation growth to the 2019 heat wave in Australia. Both satellite SIF data sets are more sensitive to water and heat stress than is the greenness‐based vegetation index (enhanced vegetation index). Moreover, the OCO‐2 SIF observations show a more significant reduction and earlier response to the heat stress than does GOME‐2 SIF, indicating that the two satellite SIF data sets differ in how they monitor the drought and heat wave event due to the different timing of observations. Eddy covariance measurements confirm the different responses of dryland vegetation to the 2019 heat wave at a subdaily time scale. The differences in the timing of the satellite SIF products can be used to assess different elements of the impact of heat and water stress on Australian dryland ecosystems. Plain Language Summary: An extreme heat wave occurred across Australia during the summer of 2019, and the high air temperatures and low precipitation affected the vegetation. We used two satellite solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) data sets to investigate the response of vegetation growth to the extremely high temperatures in Australia. Vegetation growth was reduced during the 2019 summer, but SIF measurements allowed us to separate the impact of the heat wave on the vegetation in the morning and in the afternoon. Our work illustrates how the timing of satellite observations provides different information on how dryland vegetation responds to heat waves in Australia. Key Points: The impact of the 2019 heat wave on Australian dryland ecosystems is examinedSolar‐induced fluorescence (SIF) shows stronger reductions to heat and water stress than does vegetation indexSIF observed at noon responds to the heat stress earlier than does that measured in the morning in Australia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) products from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 (GOME‐2) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO‐2) are used to investigate the responses of vegetation growth to the 2019 heat wave in Australia. Both satellite SIF data sets are more sensitive to water and heat stress than is the greenness‐based vegetation index (enhanced vegetation index). Moreover, the OCO‐2 SIF observations show a more significant reduction and earlier response to the heat stress than does GOME‐2 SIF, indicating that the two satellite SIF data sets differ in how they monitor the drought and heat wave event due to the different timing of observations. Eddy covariance measurements confirm the different responses of dryland vegetation to the 2019 heat wave at a subdaily time scale. The differences in the timing of the satellite SIF products can be used to assess different elements of the impact of heat and water stress on Australian dryland ecosystems. Plain Language Summary: An extreme heat wave occurred across Australia during the summer of 2019, and the high air temperatures and low precipitation affected the vegetation. We used two satellite solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) data sets to investigate the response of vegetation growth to the extremely high temperatures in Australia. Vegetation growth was reduced during the 2019 summer, but SIF measurements allowed us to separate the impact of the heat wave on the vegetation in the morning and in the afternoon. Our work illustrates how the timing of satellite observations provides different information on how dryland vegetation responds to heat waves in Australia. Key Points: The impact of the 2019 heat wave on Australian dryland ecosystems is examinedSolar‐induced fluorescence (SIF) shows stronger reductions to heat and water stress than does vegetation indexSIF observed at noon responds to the heat stress earlier than does that measured in the morning in Australia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scaled boundary finite element method is developed for the analysis of hydrodynamic pressures acting on arch dam faces with a reservoir of irregular geometry. Water compressibility and reservoir boundary absorption are considered simultaneously. The reservoir is idealized as composed of finite and infinite subdomains. Governing equations for evaluating hydrodynamic pressures of finite fluid domain have been established and the solution procedures are presented. In addition, the boundary conditions at the interface between finite and infinite subdomains are decided. Numerical examples validate the present method with high accuracy and show that the fairly irregular geometry of a reservoir has an important influence on the hydrodynamic pressures acting on the arch dam face. Frequency response functions of the hydrodynamic pressures in the stream and cross-stream directions are evidently influenced by reservoir geometry, while hydrodynamic pressures in the vertical direction are relatively less influenced. Another feature of the frequency response function of hydrodynamic pressures is that the amplitude of resonant peaks is affected much more by reservoir geometry as compared to the resonant frequency. Besides, peak value of hydrodynamic pressures in the arch direction and cantilever direction is also significantly influenced by reservoir geometry. Based on these facts, it can be concluded that the effect of reservoir geometry on hydrodynamic pressure should be considered for seismic design of arch dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) rhizosphere microorganisms can significantly increase the absorption area and improve the efficiency of rhizospheric nutrient uptake. However, there has been little research on blueberry rhizosphere microorganisms, especially those that can complement root function deficiency. In this study, we analyzed the rhizosphere fungi of 'O'Neal,' 'Sharpblue,' and 'Premier' blueberry cultivars and found that 'Premier' blueberries showed strong growth potential and relatively high root regulation ability. The dominant symbiotic fungus Sistotrema was correlated with the strong growth of 'Premier' and was directionally screened and isolated based on conserved gene structures and COG function analysis. This fungus was reinoculated onto the roots of 'Gulfcoast' and 'Star' blueberry cultivars. Sistotrema promoted the growth of blueberries and improved their ability to resist stress and grow under adverse conditions, as indicated by maintained or increased chlorophyll content under such conditions. Further analyses showed that Sistotrema has certain functional characteristics such as the ability to dissolve iron in its insoluble form and then release it, to fix nitrogen, and to inhibit nitrification in soil. Thus, it effectively doubled the soil nitrogen content and increased the soluble iron content in soil by 50%. This investigation indicates sistotrema inoculation as an approach to increase blueberry stress tolerance and complete their root nutrition deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HBV-integrated local genomic alterations reveal multicentric independent occurrences of multifocal HCC As such, the HBV-integrated local haplotype would be specific to each tumour clone and could discriminate between the IM and MO.[2] IM implies that all tumour cells develop from the first cancer cell, thus having at least one shared HBV integration event. Dear Editor, We sampled two different HCC tumours from a patient with HBV infection and found different HBV integration events, suggesting multicentric occurrence (MO) rather than intrahepatic metastasis (IM). So we sequenced one more tumour sample (T2) from another lesion of this patient and finally obtained short and long-read sequencing data from T1 and T2. [Extracted from the article]

Two novel N -rich triazine-based COFs with the well-designed abundant active-nitrogen sites and ultralight weight nature, manipulating the as-prepared materials as the excellent adsorbent for La(III) with high capacity and selectivity via the complexation interaction mechanism. [Display omitted] • Two less-precious nitrogen-rich COFs are designed and fabricated via a facile method. • Isotherm and kinetic study of two COFs for adsorption of La(III) is comparatively reported. • Mechanism reveals adsorption of La(III) occurs via complexation interaction. • Higher affinity to light REEs endows COFs with giant potential in further REE separation. • Regenerated adsorbent is repeatedly used for 5 times with less than 4.5% degradation. The development of stable and inexpensive adsorbents for La(III) recovery from wastewater is of great importance for rare earth industries. In this work, two novel N -rich covalent organic frameworks (COFs) synthesized via a one-step solvothermal method were termed as COF-PA-CC and COF-ML-CC, and employed as the adsorbents for removal of rare earth (RE) ions from aqueous solution. The structures and properties of COFs were characterized with X-ray diffractometer, total reflection infrared spectrometer, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption instrument and thermogravimetric analyzer. The results revealed that COF-PA-CC composed of nanowires with the average length of 500 nm, whereas COF-ML-CC displayed the spherical morphology with the diameter of 100 ∼ 300 nm. Specific surface areas of COF-PA-CC and COF-ML-CC were calculated to be 82.13 and 191.08 m2/g, respectively. The adsorption process of La(III) was well-fitted with pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, exhibiting the high adsorption capacities of 150.88 and 168.19 mg/g for COF-PA-CC and COF-ML-CC after 120 min. Moreover, the influences of pH, temperature, different RE ions on adsorption performances were comprehensively tested, yielding an optimal adsorption condition (pH = 5.5, 65 °C and 120 min) and a better affinity for some light RE ions. Importantly, the fabricated COFs possess the excellent reusability after five adsorption-regeneration cycles, remaining 97.84 % and 95.51 % of initial capacities for COF-PA-CC and COF-ML-CC, respectively. The adsorption mechanism revealed that the complexation interaction between La(III) and the unoccupied N sites of N -rich COFs was recommended to interpret the remarkable adsorption performance of La(III) on the basis of the characterization analysis after the adsorption with elemental mapping, EDS and XPS. Consequently, these low-cost and robust COFs with abundant active N sites supplied a promising strategy for the recovery of RE ions from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme precipitation events (EPEs) often bring disastrous consequences, such as floods, urban waterlogging and landslides. Understanding the effects of weather systems on EPEs can help improve the accuracy of weather forecasts. The Tibetan Plateau vortex (TPV) is a mesoscale weather system that is active near the surface of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Though the crucial role of TPVs on the TP precipitation has been widely known, the influence of TPVs on EPEs is not yet clear. In this study, the quantitative impacts of TPVs on the EPEs over the TP and its surrounding areas are investigated based on the TPV datasets from the ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and four precipitation datasets from the ERA5, NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC), Integrated Multi-satllitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission (IMERG) and in-situ rain gauges. The results show that the TPVs have remarkable positive contribution to the EPEs over the TP and its adjacent regions for all four precipitation datasets. The TPVs induce more than half of the daily EPEs over the central TP, while the number of days influenced by TPVs only accounts for <20% of the total days over this region. A higher frequency of EPEs is identified over the central TP, and a higher ratio of the TPVs tends to be associated with EPEs after they move out of the TP. The EPEs tend to occur near the center and the southeastern quadrant of TPVs. For the TPVs associated with EPEs (EPE-TPVs) and those having no relation to EPEs (NEPE-TPVs), the structure of TPVs and related large-scale circulation are significantly different at the upper- and lower-level of the troposphere. The EPE-TPVs tend to be larger, stronger, thicker, and move farther than the NEPE-TPVs. The TPVs inducing EPEs usually consist of some specific synoptic components, including the southwest monsoon current along the southern side of TPVs, the shear line near the surface of the TP, and the South Asia high in the upper-troposphere. EPE-TPVs related atmospheric circulations and the climatology of circulations are analyzed in detail to provide a better understanding for forecast service. • The contributions of Tibetan Plateau vortices (TPVs) to extreme precipitation events (EPEs) over the Tibetan Plateau and its vicinity are consistent by using different precipitation datasets. • The TPVs contribute to more EPEs with more intense EPEs threshold. • The TPVs associated with EPEs (EPE-TPVs) are relatively larger, stronger, thicker and longer-lived than those having no connection to EPEs (NEPE-TPVs). • The South Asian high is under the western (eastern) mode for EPE-TPVs (NEPE-TPVs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) on tropospheric temperatures are investigated in this study using the fully coupled Community Earth System Model. Two simulations are performed using potential and current vegetation cover. The results show that LULCC can induce detectable changes in the tropospheric air temperature. Although the influence of LULCC on tropospheric temperature is weak, a significant influence can still be found below 300 hPa in summer over land. Compared to the global-mean temperature change, LULCC-induced changes in the regional-mean air temperature can be 2-3 times larger in the middle-upper troposphere and approximately 8 times larger in the lower troposphere. In East Asia and South Asia, LULCC is shown to produce significant decreases (0.2° to 0.4°C) in air temperature in the middle-upper troposphere in spring and autumn due to the largest decrease in the latent heat release from precipitation. In Europe and North America, the most significant tropospheric cooling occurs in summer, which can be attributed to the significant decrease in the absorbed solar radiation and sensible heat flux during this season. In addition to local effects, LULCC also induces nonlocal responses in the tropospheric air temperature that are characterized by significant decreases over the leeward sides of LULCC regions, which include East Asia-western North Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea-North Africa, North America-Atlantic Ocean, and North America-eastern Pacific. Cooling in the leeward sides of LULCC regions is primarily caused by an enhanced cold advection induced by LULCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of vegetation dynamics simulations in offline land surface models (LSMs) largely depends on the quality and spatial resolution of meteorological forcing data. In this study, the Princeton Global Meteorological Forcing Data (PMFD) and the high spatial resolution and upscaled China Meteorological Forcing Data (CMFD) were used to drive the Simplified Simple Biosphere model version 4/Top-down Representation of Interactive Foliage and Flora Including Dynamics (SSiB4/TRIFFID) and investigate how meteorological forcing datasets with different spatial resolutions affect simulations over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a region with complex topography and sparse observations. By comparing the monthly Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Gross Primary Production (GPP) against observations, we found that SSiB4/TRIFFID driven by upscaled CMFD improved the performance in simulating the spatial distributions of LAI and GPP over the TP, reducing RMSEs by 24.3% and 20.5%, respectively. The multi-year averaged GPP decreased from 364.68 gC m–2 yr–1 to 241.21 gC m–2 yr–1 with the percentage bias dropping from 50.2% to –1.7%. When using the high spatial resolution CMFD, the RMSEs of the spatial distributions of LAI and GPP simulations were further reduced by 7.5% and 9.5%, respectively. This study highlights the importance of more realistic and high-resolution forcing data in simulating vegetation growth and carbon exchange between the atmosphere and biosphere over the TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the seepage failure mechanism of roadway filling medium consisting of cohesive soil under complex hydrogeological conditions, a large-scale triaxial stress-seepage test system was utilized to investigate the influence of kaolin content and seepage loading rate on the seepage characteristics of filling medium. Through the analysis on the variation rules of sand loss and particle size distribution, the seepage characteristics and whole process of seepage instability of filling medium were explored in depth. It is concluded that (1) The seepage instability process of filling medium can be categorized into three stages: the initiation loss of fine clay, the accelerating loss of soil, and the stable status of soil loss. (2) The seepage failure process rate is proportional to the seepage loading rate and inversely proportional to the content of kaolin. (3) The kaolin and sand content of remaining mixture presented initial>bottom>middle>top status. The research results have guidance value for exploring the instability evolution mechanism of filling medium in deep roadway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the similarity theory of the atmospheric surface layer and the mass conservation principle, a new scheme using a variational method is developed to estimate the surface momentum and sensible and latent heat fluxes. In this scheme, the mass conservation is introduced into the cost function as a weak physical constraint, which leads to an overdetermined system. For the variational method with mass conservation constraint, only the conventional meteorological observational data are taken into account. Data collected in the Yellow River Source Region Climate and Environment Observation and Research Station at Maqu, China, during 11-25 August 2010 are used to test this new scheme. Results indicate that this scheme is more reliable and accurate than both the flux-profile method and the variational method without mass conservation constraint. In addition, the effect of the weights in the cost function is examined. Sensitivity tests show that the fluxes estimated by the proposed scheme are insensitive to the stability functions explored in the cost function and measurement errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human brucellosis is caused by Brucella species and remains a major burden in both human and domesticated animal populations, especially in Inner Mongolia, China. The aims of this study were to analyze the spatiotemporal trends in human brucellosis in Inner Mongolia during 2010 to 2015, to explore the factors affecting the incidence of brucellosis. The results showed that the annual incidence was 29.68–77.67 per 100,000, and peaked from March to June. The majority of human brucellosis was male farmers and herdsmen, aged 40–59 years. The high-risk areas were mainly Xilin Gol League and Hulunbeier City. The incidence of human brucellosis in Inner Mongolia decreased during 2010 to 2015, although the middle and eastern regions were still high-risk areas. The regions with larger number of sheep and cattle, lower GDP per capita, less number of hospital beds, higher wind speed, lower mean temperature more likely to become high-risk areas of human brucellosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An online coupled regional climate-chemistry-aerosol model was utilized to investigate the dust direct radiative feedbacks on dust deflation, transport and meteorological elements in March 2010, when a severe dust storm originated from the Gobi desert near the China–Mongolia border swept across most areas of East Asia during the period of 19–22 March. The predicted meteorology and aerosol concentration agree generally well with observations, and it clearly shows that the predictions of both dust concentration and meteorological elements with dust radiative feedback are closer to observation than that without feedback, suggesting the superiority of on-line coupled model in chemical and climate predictions. The direct radiative forcing by dust aerosol caused significant reductions in ground temperature and wind speed in dust deflation region, with maximums up to −7 °C and −4.0 m s−1, respectively. The reduced wind speed and increased atmospheric stability resulted in smaller dust emission and weakened vertical diffusion, and consequently less dust aerosol in upper levels transported further downwind. While the shortwave radiative forcing dominated over longwave forcing in the daytime, leading to decreases of surface air temperature and wind speed, in the nighttime, the warming effect of longwave forcing dominated, causing increases of air temperature and wind speed up to 1 °C and 1 m s−1, respectively, in the dust deflation region. The variation of meteorology during the dust storm period at a rural site (Yuzhong) downwind of the Gobi desert exhibited an evident decrease in surface air temperature due to the dust radiative forcing. In terms of monthly mean, the dust radiative forcing caused a surface cooling of −0.6 to −1.0 °C over wide areas from west China to northern parts of east China and the Korean peninsula, with maximums in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and portions of northeast China. Concurrently, precipitation decreased by 0.1–0.6 mm day−1 in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and large areas of north China, and alternating bands of increasing and decreasing precipitation (∼1 mm day−1) occurred in south China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) was characterized during five basin-scale investigations (either after storms or in droughts) in Jiulong River, China that is affected by the Asian Monsoon, tropical storms and anthropogenic activities. Dissolved organic carbon concentration, DOM absorption and fluorescence (excitation-emission matrix spectra, EEMs) were measured. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) of EEMs identified three humic-like and two protein-like fluorescent components. DOM concentration was highest at two polluted stations in droughts while lowest in pristine headwaters (station N1). DOM concentration increased most evidently after storms in May, 2009, indicating effective flushing of DOM from land to the river close to the onset of flood season. The protein-like fraction in PARAFAC results decreased after storms in May and June, 2009, highlighting changes in DOM composition and thus its environmental role. Dam constructions likely increased the residence time of DOM in river, making the inflow of DOM during storms have more implications for the riverine (in comparison with estuarine) biogeochemical processes. The effect of storm in August, 2008 after intense DOM flushing during several preceding storms, was not evident. A severe dinoflagellate algal bloom occurred during the extreme drought in the lower watershed, which increased DOM concentration and the protein-like fraction at impacted stations. Different DOM compositions during and after algal bloom were discriminated using the two protein-like components. This study demonstrates the importance of hydrologic regimes and anthropogenic activities on freshwater DOM and its environmental role, which has implications for a number of other rivers that share similar characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The fluorescent component ratio (I T : I C) P is effective for tracing anthropogenic POM. • Resuspended POM in the turbidity maximum zone was dominated by refractory POM. • The turbidity maximum zone in spring removed most of the riverine labile POM. • Labile POM export in summer contributes to deoxygenation processes in shelf area. • Refractory POM export predominantly occurs in the high runoff summer period. Base-extracted particulate organic matter (BEPOM) collected in low (spring) and high (summer) runoff seasons in the Changjiang Estuary and adjacent nearshore/offshore shelf areas was examined using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) identified two humic-like (C1p and C2p) biologically-refractory components and two protein-like (C3p and C4p) bioreactive components. Absorption coefficient a 350p, C1p and C2p of BEPOM showed strong positive correlations with particulate organic carbon (POC), and were generally higher in spring than in summer. C4p correlated positively with Chl a , and was higher in summer than in spring. In the inner estuary, an anthropogenic POM signal from the highly polluted Huangpu River was effectively identified by the fluorescent component ratio (I T : I C) P. In the nearshore area during spring, resuspension within the well-developed turbidity maximum zone (TMZ) supplied large amounts of refractory POM into the water column. POM fractions from an autochthonous source (i.e., algal bloom) were dominant in the offshore area during the summer. A multivariate regression model inferred that POM export fluxes from the Changjiang River during spring had a higher percentage of labile POM fractions, which were subsequently retained by the TMZ. However, these labile fractions were discharged into the offshore shelf area contributing to hypoxia in the summer. The summer high runoff season also transported large amounts of refractory POM that was subsequently buried in the sediment. This study highlights the utilization of optical analyses to trace pollution sources and reveal POM fate and transport dynamics allowing better assessment of its ecological consequences in estuaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we constructed the ferroptosis-related genes diagnostic and prognostic models. We analyzed the relationship between ferroptosis and tumor mutational burden in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Eighty-four ferroptosis-related genes were analyzed by Cox regression and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method. Seven genes (SLC7A11, ACSL3, ACACA, SLC1A5, G6PD, ACSL6, and VDAC2) were used to construct models. The reliability of the model was verified by using the data from the ICGC database. Differential genes in high and low-risk groups revealed enrichment of many immune features by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. The degree of ferroptosis was negatively correlated with tumor mutational burden (i.e., the higher the degree of ferroptosis, the lower the tumor mutational burden). The tumor mutational burden was negatively correlated with survival. We also found that ALB, TP53, and DOCK2 may be a bridge between ferroptosis and tumor mutational burden. The reported models and the relationship with tumor mutational burden indicate new possibilities for individualized treatment of HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-occurrence of droughts and heatwaves can have significant impacts on many socioeconomic and environmental systems. Groundwater has the potential to moderate the impact of droughts and heatwaves by moistening the soil and enabling vegetation to maintain higher evaporation, thereby cooling the canopy. We use the Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange (CABLE) land surface model, coupled to a groundwater scheme, to examine how groundwater influences ecosystems under conditions of co-occurring droughts and heatwaves. We focus specifically on south-east Australia for the period 2000–2019, when two significant droughts and multiple extreme heatwave events occurred. We found groundwater plays an important role in helping vegetation maintain transpiration, particularly in the first 1–2 years of a multi-year drought. Groundwater impedes gravity-driven drainage and moistens the root zone via capillary rise. These mechanisms reduced forest canopy temperatures by up to 5 ∘ C during individual heatwaves, particularly where the water table depth is shallow. The role of groundwater diminishes as the drought lengthens beyond 2 years and soil water reserves are depleted. Further, the lack of deep roots or stomatal closure caused by high vapour pressure deficit or high temperatures can reduce the additional transpiration induced by groundwater. The capacity of groundwater to moderate both water and heat stress on ecosystems during simultaneous droughts and heatwaves is not represented in most global climate models, suggesting that model projections may overestimate the risk of these events in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) is characterized by the production of berries that are smaller than most common fruits, and the underlying mechanisms of fruit size in blueberry remain elusive. V. corymbosum 'O'Neal' and 'Bluerain' are commercial southern highbush blueberry cultivars with large- and small-size fruits, respectively, which mature 'O'Neal' fruits are 1 ~ 2-fold heavier than those of 'Bluerain'. In this study, the ontogenetical patterns of 'O'Neal' and 'Bluerain' hypanthia and fruits were compared, and comparative transcriptomic analysis was performed during early fruit development. Results: V. corymbosum 'O'Neal' and 'Bluerain' hypanthia and fruits exhibited intricate temporal and spatial cell proliferation and expansion patterns. Cell division before anthesis and cell expansion after fertilization were the major restricting factors, and outer mesocarp was the key tissue affecting fruit size variation among blueberry genotypes. Comparative transcriptomic and annotation analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed that the plant hormone signal transduction pathway was enriched, and that jasmonate-related TIFYs genes might be the key components orchestrating other phytohormones and influencing fruit size during early blueberry fruit development. Conclusions: These results provided detailed ontogenetic evidence for determining blueberry fruit size, and revealed the important roles of phytohormone signal transductions involving in early fruit development. The TIFY genes could be useful as markers for large-size fruit selection in the current breeding programs of blueberry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-occurrence of droughts and heatwaves can have significant impacts on many socioeconomic and environmental systems. Groundwater has the potential to moderate the impact of droughts and heatwaves by moistening the soil and enabling vegetation to maintain higher evaporation, thereby cooling the canopy. We use the Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange (CABLE) land surface model, coupled to a groundwater scheme, to examine how groundwater influences ecosystems under conditions of co-occurring droughts and heatwaves. We focus specifically on South East Australia for the period 2000-2019 when two significant droughts and multiple extreme heatwave events occurred. We found groundwater plays an important role in helping vegetation maintain transpiration, particularly in the first 1-2 years of a multi-year drought. Groundwater impedes gravity-driven drainage and moistens the root zone via capillary rise. These mechanisms reduced forest canopy temperatures by up to 5 °C during individual heatwaves, particularly where the water table depth is shallow. The role of groundwater diminishes as the drought lengthens beyond 2 years and soil water reserves are depleted. Further, the lack of deep roots or stomatal closure caused by high vapour pressure deficit or high temperatures can reduce the additional transpiration induced by groundwater. The capacity of groundwater to moderate both water and heat stress on ecosystems during simultaneous droughts and heatwaves is not represented in most global climate models, suggesting model projections may overestimate the risk of these events in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An evaluation of a model's overall performance in simulating multiple fields is fundamental to model intercomparison and development. A multivariable integrated evaluation (MVIE) method was proposed previously based on a vector field evaluation (VFE) diagram, which can provide quantitative and comprehensive evaluation on multiple fields. In this study, we make further improvements to this method from the following aspects. (1) We take area weighting into account in the definition of statistics in the VFE diagram and MVIE method, which is particularly important for a global evaluation. (2) We consider the combination of multiple scalar fields and vector fields against multiple scalar fields alone in the previous MVIE method. (3) A multivariable integrated skill score (MISS) is proposed as a flexible index to measure a model's ability to simulate multiple fields. Compared with the multivariable integrated evaluation index (MIEI) proposed in the previous study, MISS is a normalized index that can adjust the relative importance of different aspects of model performance. (4) A simple-to-use and straightforward tool, the Multivariable Integrated Evaluation Tool (MVIETool version 1.0), is developed to facilitate an intercomparison of the performance of various models. Users can use the tool coded either with the open-source NCAR Command Language (NCL) or Python3 to calculate the MVIE statistics and plotting. With the support of this tool, one can easily evaluate model performance in terms of each individual variable and/or multiple variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, we perform the first dynamic downscaling of Community Earth System Model (CESM) Low‐Warming simulations to examine hot extreme changes over China in response to stabilized 1.5°C and 2°C global warming. WRF projects more intense and frequent hot extremes due to global warming, which are qualitatively consistent with CESM. However, WRF and CESM significantly differ in magnitudes of hot extreme changes. Compared to CESM, WRF indicates larger increases in hot extremes over Tibetan Plateau but smaller increases over other regions. Such differences between WRF and CESM are mainly caused by divergent projections of shortwave radiation changes. WRF also suggests fewer benefits achieved from the additional 0.5°C warming constraint than CESM. This study demonstrates the climate risks might be inadequately informed by global climate models and it is necessary to reevaluate impacts of 1.5°C and 2°C global warming on regional climate based on regional climate models. Plain Language Summary: Regional climate models (RCMs) are generally more superior than global climate models (GCMs) in climate modeling and projection at regional scales. Using a RCM, we examine the future hot extreme changes over China in response to the global warming being stabilized at 1.5°C and 2°C level by the end of the 21st century. We also compare the result from the RCM with that from a GCM. The RCM and GCM both indicate China will suffer from more intense and frequent hot extreme events due to the 1.5°C and 2°C warming. However, the magnitudes of hot extreme changes are significantly different between the two models. Specifically, the RCM indicates higher risks of hot extremes over Tibetan Plateau and lower risks over other regions than the GCM. Compared to the GCM, the RCM also indicates that fewer benefits can be achieved from the additional 0.5°C warming. Key Points: Impacts of stabilized 1.5°C and 2°C global warming on hot extremes over China are examined based on dynamic downscalingDynamic downscaling can significantly modify the projection of hot extreme changes in response to the 1.5°C and 2°C warmingThe downscaling induced differences in hot extremes changes are mainly attributed to the modification of shortwave radiation changes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoplankton are major contributors of labile dissolved organic matter to marine euphotic zone ecosystems. Viral‐mediated phytoplankton lysis releases a considerable amount of bioavailable cellular contents and facilitates localized heterotrophic bacterial growth. The rapid turnover times of this labile organic matter renders it difficult to trace their transformation within natural environments. In the present study, we used a model phototroph‐heterotroph coculture system to investigate the organic molecular variation during cyanophage‐induced Synechococcus lysis and post‐lysis periods using fluorescence spectroscopy and ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry analyses. Approximately 80% of the Synechococcus lysates were respired to carbon dioxide within 2 days coupled to rapid regeneration of inorganic nutrients. Five fluorescent dissolved organic matter components were detected in the incubations including four humic‐like and one protein‐like components, and their abundances varied markedly with the succession of the viral lysis process. Viral lysis promoted the transformation of Synechococcus biomass to dissolved organic matter, and heterotrophic bacterial metabolism facilitated the transformation of organic molecules from relatively high (avg. ~ 430 Da) to low (avg. ~ 360 Da) molecular weight, corresponding to variation in their bioavailability. The Synechococcus‐derived organic matter was highly enriched in N‐containing organic molecules. Identified metabolites within the cultures primarily comprised amino acids or oligopeptides and other low‐molecular‐weight organic acids, carbohydrates, nucleotides, lipids, biogenic amines, and porphyrins. Among these, oligopeptides, nucleotides, and lipid compounds significantly increased with viral lysis. These results provide insight into biogeochemical cycling mediated by viral shunts in oceans, thus deepening our understanding of microbial food webs at the molecular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to analyze the involvement of hub genes in hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: Four series were used in this study: GSE45267, GSE84402, and GSE101685 from GPL570 platform in the Gene Expression Omnibus and the other from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The gene audition was completed using R software and Venn diagrams. The outcome, Gene Ontology enrichment, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes preliminary analyses of differentially expressed genes were performed using the R software. A string image was obtained using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes. The protein–protein interaction network was examined using Cytoscape software. The corrplot package was used to analyze the correlation of genes. Human Protein Atlas was used to confirm the protein levels. Univariate Cox regression was used to analyze whether these genes were related to survival. UALCAN was used to confirm the effect of these genes on patient survival. Results: A total of 107 differentially expressed genes from 491 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 119 normal individuals were selected in this study. Cytoscape revealed 25 central nodes from the 107 genes. CCNB1, CDK1, CCNA2, PTTG1, and CDC20 were selected based on the cell cycle pathway. A significant correlation was found among the 6 DEGs. The transcription levels and protein levels of these genes were verified in cells and human tissue samples. The overall survival for these genes was analyzed using univariate Cox regression and UALCAN. Conclusion: CCNB1, CDK1, CDC20, PTTG1, CCNA2, and TTK were overexpressed and correlated in hepatocellular carcinoma cells and tumors. The results might help explore the prognosis and diagnostic markers of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban heat islands (UHIs) are caused by a multitude of changes induced by urbanization. However, the relative importance of biophysical and atmospheric factors in controlling the UHI intensity remains elusive. In this study, we quantify the magnitude of surface UHIs (SUHIs), or surface urban cool islands (SUCIs), and elucidate their biophysical and atmospheric drivers on the basis of observational data collected from one urban site and two rural grassland sites in and near the city of Nanjing, China. Results show that during the daytime a strong SUCI effect is observed when the short grassland site is used as the reference site whereas a moderate SUHI effect is observed when the tall grassland is used as the reference site. We find that the former is mostly caused by the lower aerodynamic resistance for convective heat transfer at the urban site and the latter is primarily caused by the higher surface resistance for evapotranspiration at the urban site. At night, SUHIs are observed when either the short or the tall grassland site is used as the reference site and are predominantly caused by the stronger release of heat storage at the urban site. In general, the magnitude of SUHI is much weaker, and even becomes SUCI during daytime, with the short grassland site being the reference site because of its larger aerodynamic resistance. The study highlights that the magnitude of SUHIs and SUCIs is mostly controlled by urban–rural differences of biophysical factors, with urban–rural differences of atmospheric conditions playing a minor role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An evaluation of a model's overall performance in simulating multiple fields is fundamental to model intercomparison and development. A multivariable integrated evaluation (MVIE) method was proposed previously based on a vector field evaluation (VFE) diagram, which can provide quantitative and comprehensive evaluation on multiple fields. In this study, we make further improvements to this method from the following aspects. (1) We take area weighting into account in the definition of statistics in the VFE diagram and MVIE method, which is particularly important for a global evaluation. (2) We consider the combination of multiple scalar fields and vector fields against multiple scalar fields alone in the previous MVIE method. (3) A multivariable integrated skill score (MISS) is proposed as a flexible index to measure a model’s ability to simulate multiple fields. Compared with the MIEI proposed in the previous study, MISS is a normalized index that can adjust the relative importance of different aspects of model performance. (4) A simple-to-use and straightforward tool, the Multivariable Integrated Evaluation Tool (MVIETool), is developed to facilitate an intercomparison of the performance of various models. The tool is coded with the open-source NCAR Command Language (NCL), which provides a calculation of MVIE statistics and plotting. With the support of this tool, one can easily evaluate model performance in terms of each individual variable and/or multiple variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015/2016 super El Niño event resulted in a positive precipitation anomaly during dry seasons in the Jiulong River watershed, southeast China. Four years (2014–2017) of high frequency, in situ humic‐like fluorescent DOM (FDOMH) data in the Jiulong Estuary were coupled with extrapolation to a freshwater end‐member FDOMH concentration and river discharge data to estimate riverine FDOMH export. The wetter El Niño dry season was followed by lower FDOMH export during the subsequent wet season. Furthermore, in the dry season after El Niño reached its strongest phase, a 90–187% increase in FDOMH export occurred. If widespread, this pattern suggests El Niño events may enhance export of FDOMH from south China rivers in dry seasons resulting in seasonal and annual shunting of the terrestrial DOM export, modulating coastal carbon cycling. This study highlights the need to incorporate climate‐driven regulation patterns on DOM transport across the land‐ocean interface. Key Points: 2015/2016 El Niño event induced a positive precipitation anomaly that increased FDOMH export during dry seasons from a subtropical watershedThe wetter El Niño dry season was followed by lower FDOMH export during the subsequent wet seasonWatershed processes buffered FDOMH export relative to the El Niño‐induced increase of precipitation/discharge [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) atmospheric forecasts and hydrological forecasts have considerable socioeconomic value. This study conducts a multimodel comparison of the Tibetan Plateau snow cover (TPSC) prediction skill using three models (ECMWF, NCEP and CMA) selected from the S2S project database to understand their performance in capturing TPSC variability during wintertime. S2S models can skillfully forecast TPSC within a lead time of 2 weeks but show limited skill beyond 3 weeks. Compared with the observational snow cover analysis, all three models tend to overestimate the area of TPSC. Another remarkable issue regarding the TPSC forecast is the increasing TPSC with forecast lead time, which further increases the systematic positive biases of TPSC in the S2S models at longer forecast lead times. All three S2S models consistently exaggerate the precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau. The exaggeration of precipitation is prominent and always exists throughout the model integration. Systematic bias of TPSC therefore occurs and accumulates with the model integration time. Such systematic biases of TPSC influence the forecasted surface air temperature in the S2S models. The surface air temperature over the Tibetan Plateau becomes colder with increasing forecast lead time in the S2S models. Numerical experiments further confirm the causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates energy harvesting based multiuser system with large-scale distributed antennas, where a large number of remote antenna units (RAUs) are evenly separated across multiple circles. An efficient wireless energy and information transmission protocol is proposed. To save the signaling and the radio frequency chains overheads, the RAU with the shortest distance towards a user equipment (UE) is employed for the downlink wireless energy transfer (WET). In the uplink phase, we analyze the probability of wireless information transmission (WIT) of UEs. Then, linear zero-forcing detection and minimum-mean-square error are used to separate the data information among all the UEs that satisfy the requirement of WIT. The asymptotic throughput for an arbitrary UE is derived in closed-form. The time fraction used for the WET is optimized through maximizing the asymptotic throughput. Numerical and simulation results are given to verify the theoretical analysis, and bring to light the time fraction planning and the RAUs deployment for the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study the cognitive decode-and-forward (DF) relaying, where a primary user (PU) communicates with an access point (AP), and in the same geographical region, a secondary source (SS) communicates to a secondary destination (SD) with assistance from a secondary relay (SR). Either SR or SD can decode the secondary data directly (DIR) or using the successive interference cancelation (SIC) technique. Based on the decoding methods of SR and SD, we proposed SR-DIR-SD-DIR, SR-DIR-SD-SIC, SR-SIC-SD-DIR, and SR-SIC-SD-SIC-based cognitive DF relaying schemes. The outage probabilities of both primary and secondary systems are analyzed for all the decoding manners. The transmit powers of SS and SR are further determined to minimize the outage probability of secondary system subject to the constraint that the outage performance loss of primary system should not exceed a certain percentage compared with the stand-alone primary network without spectrum sharing. Numerical results show that by using the SIC decoding, the outage probability of secondary system can be greatly decreased, especially when the interference from PU is strong or the transmission rate of primary data is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiative aerosols are known to influence the surface energy budget and hence the evolution of the planetary boundary layer. In this study, we develop a method to estimate the aerosol-induced reduction in the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) based on two years of ground-based measurements at a site, the Station for Observing Regional Processes of the Earth System (SORPES), at Nanjing University, China, and radiosonde data from the meteorological station of Nanjing. The observations show that increased aerosol loads lead to a mean decrease of 67.1 W m for downward shortwave radiation (DSR) and a mean increase of 19.2 W m for downward longwave radiation (DLR), as well as a mean decrease of 9.6 Wm for the surface sensible heat flux (SHF) in the daytime. The relative variations of DSR, DLR and SHF are shown as a function of the increment of column mass concentration of particulate matter (PM). High aerosol loading can significantly increase the atmospheric stability in the planetary boundary layer during both daytime and nighttime. Based on the statistical relationship between SHF and PM column mass concentrations, the SHF under clean atmospheric conditions (same as the background days) is derived. In this case, the derived SHF, together with observed SHF, are then used to estimate changes in the PBLH related to aerosols. Our results suggest that the PBLH decreases more rapidly with increasing aerosol loading at high aerosol loading. When the daytime mean column mass concentration of PM reaches 200 mg m, the decrease in the PBLH at 1600 LST (local standard time) is about 450 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer require careful representation of the surface heterogeneity, which involves the upscaling parameterization scheme for the heterogeneous surface parameters. In this study, the sensitivity comparisons of an effective aerodynamic parameter scheme against the area-weighted average scheme in simulating the land-atmosphere interaction over heterogeneous terrain were carried out by conducting multinested simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model at coarse and fine resolutions, for a typical sea-land breeze case in the Bohai Gulf of China. The results show that the limited-area model is sensitive to the aerodynamic parameter scheme and the effective aerodynamic parameter scheme exhibits a better performance in simulating the variables and parameters in the land-atmosphere interaction process, such as surface wind speed, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, friction velocity, and surface air temperature, among others, for short-term simulations. Particularly, the underestimation of sensible heat flux and overestimation of latent heat flux over heterogeneous terrain with area-weighted average scheme for aerodynamic parameters can be improved with the effective parameter scheme in the coastal regions, where the mean simulation error with the effective parameter scheme is about one-half of that with the average scheme for sensible heat flux and one-third for latent heat flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We demonstrate a SAM-assisted surface engineering strategy for TENG. • This method provides an efficient means to tuning surface potential and charge density. • The modified TENG exhibits improved output performance and high pressure sensitivity. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), originated from mechano-driven Maxwell's displacement current, has shown great significance in harvesting low-frequency/high-entropy mechanical energy. To improve the electrical performances of TENG, surface engineering offers a facile and economical method by introducing electron donating/withdrawing groups. Here, we demonstrate a self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-assisted surface engineering strategy on AgNWs based transparent conductive film for TENG and self-powered pressure sensor. The SAM-assisted surface engineering provides an efficient means to tuning the surface potential and charge density of the friction layer by decorating different chemical functional groups. The chemical properties of decorated SAMs and their influence on TENG outputs are systematically investigated. The modified TENG exhibits an improved output performance (including open-circuit voltage of 300 V, short-circuit current of 23 μA, peak power of 1.24 mW, and power density of 1.4 W/m2), which can be readily used to drive commercial portable electronics. Furthermore, the modified TENG can be utilized as a self-powered pressure sensor with high sensitivity (221 V·kPa−1) and constructed into a pressure sensor array (4 × 4 pixels) for trajectory tracking. This work presents a universal method to tuning the electrical performance of TENGs and extends their potential applications toward low-power-consuming, highly sensitive, and multifunctional sensory devices and systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bud dormancy is a critical biological process allowing Chinese cherry ( Prunus pseudocerasus ) to survive in winter. Due to the lake of genomic information, molecular mechanisms triggering endodormancy release in flower buds have remained unclear. Hence, we used Illumina RNA-Seq technology to carry out de novo transcriptome assembly and digital gene expression profiling of flower buds. Approximately 47 million clean reads were assembled into 50,604 sequences with an average length of 837 bp. A total of 37,650 unigene sequences were successfully annotated. 128 pathways were annotated by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and metabolic, biosynthesis of second metabolite and plant hormone signal transduction accounted for higher percentage in flower bud. In critical period of endodormancy release, 1644, significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from expression profile. DEGs related to oxidoreductase activity were especially abundant in Gene Ontology (GO) molecular function category. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis demonstrated that DEGs were involved in various metabolic processes, including phytohormone metabolism. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that levels of DEGs for abscisic acid and gibberellin biosynthesis decreased while the abundance of DEGs encoding their degradation enzymes increased and GID1 was down-regulated. Concomitant with endodormancy release, MADS-box transcription factors including P. pseudocerasus dormancy-associated MADS-box ( PpcDAM ), Agamous-like2 , and APETALA3-like genes, shown remarkably epigenetic roles. The newly generated transcriptome and gene expression profiling data provide valuable genetic information for revealing transcriptomic variation during bud dormancy in Chinese cherry. The uncovered data should be useful for future studies of bud dormancy in Prunus fruit trees lacking genomic information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jiulong River Estuary (JRE) is a typical subtropical macro-tide estuary on the southwest coast of the Taiwan Strait (TWS), which has been greatly impacted by human activities over the past 30 years. To understand nutrient dynamics and fluxes under such a heavy background of anthropogenic perturbation, eight cruises were conducted from April 2008 to April 2011, covering both wet (May to September) and dry (October to April next year) seasons. Nutrient concentrations were very high for the freshwater end-member in the upper reach of the JRE (nitrate (NO-N): 120-230 μmol L; nitrite (NON): 5-15 μmol L; ammonium (NHN): 15-170 μmol L; soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP): 1.2-3.5 μmol L; dissolved silicate (DSi): 200-340 μmol L). In dry seasons, concentrations of these nutrients were higher than in wet seasons. Nitrate was the dominant chemical species of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), with percentages of 67%-96% in wet seasons and 55%-72% in dry seasons. Distributions of NO-N and DSi against salinity were nearly constant during all cruises, and showed generally conservative mixing behaviors in the estuary (1

Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common tumors in the world. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of adenoviral transduction of human melanoma differentiation-associated gene −7 (MDA −7) gene on hepatocellular carcinoma, so as to provide a theoretical basis for gene therapy of the disease. The human MDA −7 gene was cloned into replication-defective adenovirus specific to HepG2 cells using recombinant virus technology. RT-PCR and Western blotting assays were used to determine the expression of human MDA −7 mRNA and MDA −7 protein in HepG2 cells in vitro. Induction of apoptosis by overexpression of the human MDA −7 gene was determined by flow cytometry. In-vivo efficacy of adenoviral delivery of the human MDA −7 gene was assessed in nude mice bearing HepG2 cell lines in vivo by determining inhibition of tumor growth, VEGF and CD34 expression, and microvascular density (MVD). The results showed that AdGFP/MDA −7 induced apoptosis of HepG2 cells in vitro and significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo (P < 0.05). The intratumoral MVD decreased significantly in the treated tumors (P < 0.05). We conclude the recombination adenovirus AdGFP/MDA −7 can effectively express biologically active human MDA −7, which leads to inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we analyze the ergodic capacity performance of channel state information (CSI)-assisted amplify-andforward (AF) cooperative networks with partial relay selection under outdated CSI. Assuming that channels suffer from independent but not necessarily identical Rayleigh fading, we derive an exact and closed-form expression for the ergodic capacity of this system. Furthermore, the effects of the correlation coefficient, number of relays, and path-loss exponent on the ergodic capacity are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Propose a large-scale query-based document summarization dataset. • Three models for solving the problem. • Data and experiment analysis; • Online large-scale A/B testing in real-world mobile applications. Query-based document summarization aims to extract or generate a summary of a document which directly answers or is relevant to the search query. It is an important technique that can be beneficial to a variety of applications such as search engines, document-level machine reading comprehension, and chatbots. Currently, datasets designed for query-based summarization are short in numbers and existing datasets are also limited in both scale and quality. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, there is no publicly available dataset for Chinese query-based document summarization. In this paper, we present QBSUM , a high-quality large-scale dataset consisting of 49,000+ data samples for the task of Chinese query-based document summarization. We also propose multiple unsupervised and supervised solutions to the task and demonstrate their high-speed inference and superior performance via both offline experiments and online A/B tests. The QBSUM dataset is released in order to facilitate future advancement of this research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]