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Abstract Chemotherapy is an important therapuetic strategy for colorectal cancer (CRC), but chemoresistance severely affects its efficacy, and the underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Increasing evidence suggests that lipid peroxidation imbalance-mediated ferroptosis is closely associated with chemoresistance. Hence, targeting ferroptosis pathways or modulating the tolerance to oxidative stress might be an effective strategy to reverse tumor chemoresistance. HtrA serine protease 1 (HTRA1) was screened out as a CRC progression- and chemoresistance-related gene. It is highly expressed in CRC cells and negatively correlated with the prognosis of CRC patients. Gain- and loss-of-function analyses demonstrated a stimulatory role of HTRA1 on the proliferation of CRC cells. The enrichment analysis of HTRA1-interacting proteins indicated the involvement of ferroptosis in the HTRA1-mediated chemoresistance. Moreover, electron microscope analysis, as well as the ROS and MDA levels in CRC cells also confirmed the effect of HTRA1 on ferroptosis. We also verified that HTRA1 could interact with SLC7A11 through its Kazal structural domain and up-regulate the expression of SLC7A11, which in turn inhibited the ferroptosis and leaded to the chemoresistance of CRC cells to 5-FU/L-OHP. Hence, we propose that HTRA1 may be a potential therapeutic target and a prognostic indicator in CRC.

Abstract Background Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR‐T) therapy has substantially revolutionized the clinical outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies, but the cancer‐intrinsic mechanisms underlying resistance to CAR‐T cells remain yet to be fully understood. This study aims to explore the molecular determinants of cancer cell sensitivity to CAR‐T cell‐mediated killing and to provide a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and potential modulation to improve clinical efficacy. Methods The human whole‐genome CRISPR/Cas9‐based knockout screening was conducted to identify key genes that enable cancer cells to evade CD19 CAR‐T‐cell‐mediated killing. The in vitro cytotoxicity assays and evaluation of tumor tissue and bone marrow specimens were further conducted to confirm the role of the key genes in cancer cell susceptibility to CAR‐T cells. In addition, the specific mechanisms influencing CAR‐T cell‐mediated cancer clearance were elucidated in mouse and cellular models. Results The CRISPR/Cas9‐based knockout screening showed that the enrichment of autophagy‐related genes (ATG3, BECN1, and RB1CC1) provided protection of cancer cells from CD19 CAR‐T cell‐mediated cytotoxicity. These findings were further validated by in vitro cytotoxicity assays in cells with genetic and pharmacological inhibition of autophagy. Notably, higher expression of the three autophagy‐related proteins in tumor samples was correlated with poorer responsiveness and worse survival in patients with relapsed/refractory B‐cell lymphoma after CD19 CAR‐T therapy. Bulk RNA sequencing analysis of bone marrow samples from B‐cell leukemia patients also suggested the clinical relevance of autophagy to the therapeutic response and relapse after CD19 CAR‐T cell therapy. Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy and knockout of RB1CC1 could dramatically sensitize tumor cells to CD19 CAR‐T cell‐mediated killing in mouse models of both B‐cell leukemia and lymphoma. Moreover, our study revealed that cancer‐intrinsic autophagy mediates evasion of CAR‐T cells via the TNF‐α‐TNFR1 axis‐mediated apoptosis and STAT1/IRF1‐induced chemokine signaling activation. Conclusions These findings confirm that autophagy signaling in B‐cell malignancies is essential for the effective cytotoxic function of CAR‐T cells and thereby pave the way for the development of autophagy‐targeting strategies to improve the clinical efficacy of CAR‐T cell immunotherapy.

Abstract Shiitake mushrooms are a fungal food that has been recorded in Chinese medicine to nourish the blood and qi. Lentinan (lLNT) is an active substance extracted from shiitake mushrooms with powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor functions. Inflammatory diseases and cancers are the leading causes of death worldwide, posing a serious threat to human life and health and posing enormous challenges to global health systems. There is still a lack of effective treatments for inflammatory diseases and cancer. LNT has been approved as an adjunct to chemotherapy in China and Japan. Studies have shown that LNT plays an important role in the treatment of inflammatory diseases as well as oncological diseases. Moreover, clinical experiments have confirmed that LNT combined with chemotherapy drugs has a significant effect in improving the prognosis of patients, enhancing their immune function and reducing the side effects of chemotherapy in lung cancer, colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. However, the relevant mechanism of action of the LNT signaling pathway in inflammatory diseases and cancer. Therefore, this article reviews the mechanism and clinical research of LNT in inflammatory diseases and tumor diseases in recent years.

Abstract Electrochemical conversion of nitrate to ammonia offers an efficient approach to reducing nitrate pollutants and a potential technology for low-temperature and low-pressure ammonia synthesis. However, the process is limited by multiple competing reactions and NO3 − adsorption on cathode surfaces. Here, we report a Fe/Cu diatomic catalyst on holey nitrogen-doped graphene which exhibits high catalytic activities and selectivity for ammonia production. The catalyst enables a maximum ammonia Faradaic efficiency of 92.51% (−0.3 V(RHE)) and a high NH3 yield rate of 1.08 mmol h−1 mg−1 (at − 0.5 V(RHE)). Computational and theoretical analysis reveals that a relatively strong interaction between NO3 − and Fe/Cu promotes the adsorption and discharge of NO3 − anions. Nitrogen-oxygen bonds are also shown to be weakened due to the existence of hetero-atomic dual sites which lowers the overall reaction barriers. The dual-site and hetero-atom strategy in this work provides a flexible design for further catalyst development and expands the electrocatalytic techniques for nitrate reduction and ammonia synthesis.

Background: Cytokines modulate the glioma tumor microenvironment, influencing occurrence, progression, and treatment response. Strategic cytokine application may improve glioma immunotherapy outcomes. Gliomas remain refractory to standard therapeutic modalities, but immunotherapy shows promise given the integral immunomodulatory roles of cytokines. However, systematic evaluation of cytokine glioma immunotherapy research is absent. Bibliometric mapping of the research landscape, recognition of impactful contributions, and elucidation of evolutive trajectories and hot topics has yet to occur, potentially guiding future efforts. Here, we analyzed the structure, evolution, trends, and hotspots of the cytokine glioma immunotherapy research field, subsequently focusing on avenues for future investigation.Methods: This investigation conducted comprehensive bibliometric analyses on a corpus of 1529 English-language publications, from 1 January 2000, to 4 October 2023, extracted from the Web of Science database. The study employed tools including Microsoft Excel, Origin, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the Bibliometrix R package, to systematically assess trends in publication, contributions from various countries, institutions, authors, and journals, as well as to examine literature co-citation and keyword distributions within the domain of cytokines for glioma immunotherapy. The application of these methodologies facilitated a detailed exploration of the hotspots, the underlying knowledge structure, and the developments in the field of cytokines for glioma immunotherapy.Results: This bibliometric analysis revealed an exponential growth in annual publications, with the United States, China, and Germany as top contributors. Reviews constituted 17% and research articles 83% of total publications. Analysis of keywords like “interleukin-13,” “TGF-beta,” and “dendritic cells” indicated progression from foundational cytokine therapies to sophisticated understanding of the tumor microenvironment and immune dynamics. Key research avenues encompassed the tumor microenvironment, epidermal growth factor receptor, clinical trials, and interleukin pathways. This comprehensive quantitative mapping of the glioma immunotherapy cytokine literature provides valuable insights to advance future research and therapeutic development.Conclusion: This study has identified remaining knowledge gaps regarding the role of cytokines in glioma immunotherapy. Future research will likely focus on the tumor microenvironment, cancer vaccines, epidermal growth factor receptor, and interleukin-13 receptor alpha 2. Glioma immunotherapy development will continue through investigations into resistance mechanisms, microglia and macrophage biology, and interactions within the complex tumor microenvironment.

Payments for ecosystem services programs (PESPs) are increasingly being adopted globally to enhance sustainability outcomes. There are also hundreds of studies yearly on various aspects of PESPs, but research on their contributions to sustainability of communities and the ecosystems they depend upon at the global scale are rare. Our global review explores twelve key characteristics of PESPs at three different phases (inputs – implementation – outputs and outcomes) and their relationship types of these characteristics to sustainability outcomes. To do so, we review 376 peer-review journal articles on PESPs, and test three hypotheses related to these relationships. Our findings confirm that the relationships between each of these characteristics and sustainability outcomes are bidirectional and/or multidirectional to some extent and can be positive, negative or both, depending on specific cases and research methods used to study these relationships. The findings also disclose that separating one characteristic as the primary causal factor in any relationship or outcome is not easy as relevant characteristics are linked in a complex network. Thereby, determining key characteristics of PESPs that drive relationships for the sake of sustainability is important. Through analyzing relationships between PESP characteristics, this study offers a series of suggestions to further aid the contributions of PESPs’ contributions to sustainability in the future.

Summary: Computational pathology for gigapixel whole-slide images (WSIs) at slide level is helpful in disease diagnosis and remains challenging. We propose a context-aware approach termed WSI inspection via transformer (WIT) for slide-level classification via holistically modeling dependencies among patches on WSI. WIT automatically learns feature representation of WSI by aggregating features of all image patches. We evaluate classification performance of WIT and state-of-the-art baseline method. WIT achieved an accuracy of 82.1% (95% CI, 80.7%–83.3%) in the detection of 32 cancer types on the TCGA dataset, 0.918 (0.910–0.925) in diagnosis of cancer on the CPTAC dataset, and 0.882 (0.87–0.890) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer from needle biopsy slide, outperforming the baseline by 31.6%, 5.4%, and 9.3%, respectively. WIT can pinpoint the WSI regions that are most influential for its decision. WIT represents a new paradigm for computational pathology, facilitating the development of digital pathology tools.

Once challenged by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the human host immune system triggers a dynamic process against infection. We constructed a mathematical model to describe host innate and adaptive immune response to viral challenge. Based on the dynamic properties of viral load and immune response, we classified the resulting dynamics into four modes, reflecting increasing severity of COVID-19 disease. We found the numerical product of immune system's ability to clear the virus and to kill the infected cells, namely immune efficacy, to be predictive of disease severity. We also investigated vaccine-induced protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results suggested that immune efficacy based on memory T cells and neutralizing antibody titers could be used to predict population vaccine protection rates. Finally, we analyzed infection dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants within the construct of our mathematical model. Overall, our results provide a systematic framework for understanding the dynamics of host response upon challenge by SARS-CoV-2 infection, and this framework can be used to predict vaccine protection and perform clinical diagnosis.

Abstract Background T cell receptor (TCR)-T cells possess similar effector function, but milder and more durable signal activation compared with chimeric antigen receptor-T cells. TCR-T cell therapy is another active field of cellular immunotherapy for cancer. Methods We previously developed a human anti-CD19 antibody (ET190L1) and generated novel CD19-specific γ/δ TCR-T cells, ET019003, by fusing the Fab fragment of ET190L1 with γ/δ TCR constant chain plus adding an ET190L1-scFv/CD28 co-stimulatory molecule. ET019003 cells were tested in preclinical studies followed by a phase 1 clinical trial. Results ET019003 cells produced less cytokines but retained comparable antitumor potency than ET190L1-CAR-T cells in vivo and in vitro. In the first-in-human trial, eight patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL were treated. CRS of grade 1 was observed in three (37.5%) patients; ICANS of grade 3 was noted in one (12.5%) patient. Elevation of serum cytokines after ET019003 infusion was almost modest. With a median follow-up of 34 (range 6–38) months, seven (87.5%) patients attained clinical responses and six (75%) achieved complete responses (CR). OS, PFS and DOR at 3 years were 75.0%, 62.5%, and 71.4%, respectively. Notably, patient 1 with primary CNS lymphoma did not experience CRS or ICANS and got an ongoing CR for over 3 years after infusion, with detectable ET019003 cells in CSF. ET019003 showed striking in vivo expansion and persisted in 50% of patients at 12 months. Three patients received a second infusion, one for consolidation therapy after CR and two for salvage therapy after disease progression, but no response was observed. ET019003 expansion was striking in the first infusion, but poor in the second infusion. Conclusions CD19-specific γ/δ TCR-T cells, ET019003, had a good safety profile and could induce rapid responses and durable CR in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL, even primary CNS lymphoma, presenting a novel and potent therapeutic option for these patients. Trial registration: NCT04014894.

BackgroundCeramic tiles are popular because of their various forms, and they are often used to decorate the environment. However, few studies have applied objective methods to explore the implicit preference and visual attention of people toward ceramic tile features. Using event-related potential technology can provide neurophysiological evidence for the study and applications of tiles.Materials and methodsThis study explored the influence of pattern, lightness, and color system factors of ceramic tiles on the preferences of people using a combination of subjective questionnaires and event-related potential (ERP) technology. Twelve different conditions of tiles (2 × 3 × 2) were used as stimuli. EEG data were collected from 20 participants while they watched the stimuli. Subjective preference scores and average ERPs were analyzed using analysis of variance and correlation analysis.Results(1) Pattern, lightness, and color system factors significantly affected the subjective preference scores for tiles; the unpatterned tiles, light-toned tiles, and warm-colored tiles received higher preference scores. (2) The preferences of people for different features of tiles moderated ERP amplitudes. (3) The light-toned tiles with a high preference score caused a greater N100 amplitude than the medium-toned and dark-toned tiles; and the patterned tiles and warm-colored tiles with low preference scores induced greater P200 and N200 amplitudes.DiscussionIn the early stage of visual processing, light-toned tiles attracted more attention, possibly because of the positive emotional effects related to the preference. The greater P200 and N200 elicited by the patterned and neutral-colored tiles in the middle stage of visual processing indicates that patterned and neutral-colored tiles attracted more attention. This may be due to negativity bias, where more attention is allocated to negative stimuli that people strongly dislike. From the perspective of cognitive processes, the results indicate that the lightness of ceramic tiles is the factor that people first detect, and the visual processing of pattern and color system factors of ceramic tiles belong to a higher level of visual processing. This study provides a new perspective and relevant information for assessing the visual characteristics of tiles for environmental designers and marketers involved in the ceramic tiles industry.

Background and objective The expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a biomarker for immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is routinely detected in clinical pathology department. However, the spatial heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression in intrapulmonary tumors and extrapulmonary metastases is still a challenge for the clinical testing. This study aims to explore the differences of PD-L1 expression in test samples obtaining from different sites of NSCLC. This study may contribute to the detection strategy of PD-L1 in patients with advanced lung cancer. Methods One hundred and thirty-one cases of consecutively detected PD-L1 (22c3 assay, Dako) staining in metastatic NSCLC and 972 cases of non-paired intrapulmonary NSCLC were collected. The discrepancies of tumor proportion score (TPS) of PD-L1 expression in intrapulmonary samples and extrapulmonary metastatic samples of different sites were compared. Results The positive expression rate of PD-L1 in extrapulmonary metastatic NSCLC (TPS ≥ 1%) was 61.83%, and the TPS was significantly higher than that in intrapulmonary tumors (P=0.03). The PD-L1 scores of the specimens obtained from different sites were significantly different (P=0.007). The positive rates of PD-L1 in liver and adrenal metastases were 85.71% and 77.78% respectively, and their TPS were significantly higher than that of the intrapulmonary samples (P

Abstract Background Tumor immune cell infiltration is important in the prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to develop a prognostic classification based on the tumor immunoscore. Methods Patients with KRAS‐mutant invasive non‐mucinous lung adenocarcinoma who underwent radical surgery were enrolled in the study. Histologic grading was assessed according to the recommendations of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) and CD8 expression was detected using immunohistochemistry. The number of CD8+ tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) per high‐power field was assessed. A classification based on histological grade and CD8+ TIL level was established (Grading‐Immunoscore type): low‐to‐medium grade with high or low infiltration (type A); high‐grade, high‐infiltration (type B); and high‐grade, low‐infiltration (type C). Results A total of 112 patients participated. In the multivariable analysis, histological grading and level of CD8+ TILs were independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS) (p

Abstract Wet meadows provide opportunities to decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) released into the atmosphere by increasing the soil organic carbon (SOC) stored in wetland systems. Although wet meadows serve as the most important and stable C sinks, there has been very few investigations on the seasonal distributions of SOC fractions in high-altitude wet meadows. Here, we studied the effects of four vegetation degradation levels, non-degraded (ND), lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD), and heavily degraded (HD), on the measured vertical and seasonal changes of SOC and its different fractions. Among these vegetation degradation levels, 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil depths in ND plots had significantly higher SOC contents than the other degradation levels had throughout the year. This is attributed to the relatively greater inputs of aboveground plant litter and richer fine-root biomass in ND plots. Particulate organic carbon (POC) and light fraction organic carbon (LFOC) showed similar vertical and seasonal variations in autumn, reaching a minimum. Moreover, microbial biomass (MBC) and easily oxidizable organic carbon (EOC) contents were highest in summer and the smallest in winter, while dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content was highest in spring and lowest in summer, and were mainly concentrated in the 0–20 cm layer. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that soil properties and aboveground biomass were significantly related to different SOC fractions. The results indicate that vegetation degradation reduces the accumulation of total SOC and its different fractions, which may reduce carbon sink capacity and soil quality of alpine wet meadows, and increase atmospheric environmental pressure. In addition, vegetation biomass and soil characteristics play a key role in the formation and transformation of soil carbon. These results strengthen our understanding of soil C dynamics, specifically related to the different C fractions as affected by vegetation degradation levels and soil depth, in wet meadow systems.

The determinants underlying the heterogeneity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain to be elucidated. To systemically analyze the immunopathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we built a multicompartment mathematical model based on immunological principles and typical COVID-19-related characteristics. This model integrated the trafficking of immune cells and cytokines among the secondary lymphoid organs, peripheral blood and lungs. Our results suggested that early-stage lymphopenia was related to lymphocyte chemotaxis, while prolonged lymphopenia in critically ill patients was associated with myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Furthermore, our model predicted that insufficient SARS-CoV-2-specific naïve T/B cell pools and ineffective activation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) would cause delayed immunity activation, resulting in elevated viral load, low immunoglobulin level, etc. Overall, we provided a comprehensive view of the dynamics of host immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection that enabled us to understand COVID-19 heterogeneity from systemic perspective.

As an indispensable component in human beings, the acetylcholine system regulates multiple physiological processes not only in neuronal tissues but also in nonneuronal tissues. However, since the concept of the “Nonneuronal cholinergic system (NNCS)” has been proposed, the role of the acetylcholine system in nonneuronal tissues has received increasing attention. A growing body of research shows that the acetylcholine system also participates in modulating inflammatory responses, regulating contraction and mucus secretion of respiratory tracts, and influencing the metastasis and invasion of lung cancer. In addition, the susceptibility and severity of respiratory tract infections caused by pathogens such as Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can also correlate with the regulation of the acetylcholine system. In this review, we summarized the major roles of the acetylcholine system in respiratory diseases. Despite existing achievements in the field of the acetylcholine system, we hope that more in-depth investigations on this topic will be conducted to unearth more possible pharmaceutical applications for the treatment of diverse respiratory diseases.

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation and overlaps between PD-L1 expression and classical genomic aberrations in Chinese lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) patients.MethodsWe reviewed 428 consecutive, surgically resected cases of LADC from October 2015 to December 2016 from our center. PD-L1 expression was evaluated based on tumor proportion score (TPS). Correlation and co-occurrence of PD-L1 expression level with those of classical driver genes, such as EGFR, ALK, ROS-1, and KRAS and with clinical variables and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed.ResultsSeventy of the 428 cases (16.4%) showed TPS ≥ 1%, and 21 cases (4.9%) showed TPS ≥ 50%. PD-L1 positive expression was significantly associated with male gender, smoking, advanced TNM stage, and solid histologic subtype. Both TPS ≥ 1% and ≥ 50% were correlated with the absence of an EGFR mutation (P < 0.001) and the presence of ALK rearrangement (P = 0.024). KRAS mutation was associated with TPS ≥ 50% (P = 0.035). PD-L1 positivity commonly overlapped with the alterations of classical driver oncogenes (58.5% with TPS ≥ 1% and 42.9% with TPS ≥ 50%). Approximately three-quarters of PD-L1 positive cases co-occurred with classical therapeutic-gene aberrations in cases with stage III/IV cancer or cancer progression. LADC could be divided into four subgroups based on the expression profile of current routine biomarkers for potential therapeutic strategies.ConclusionsPD-L1 expression is not only closely correlated with classic gene alterations but also commonly overlaps with the aberrations of classical driver oncogenes in Chinese LADC patients. These findings provide a useful overview of clinical strategies that rely on the profile of routinely used molecular biomarkers.

A considerable proportion of COVID-19 survivors have residual lung lesions such as ground-glass opacity and fiber streak shadow. To determine the relationship between host immunity and residual lung lesions, we performed an extensive analysis of immune responses in convalescent patients with COVID-19 1 year after discharge.

Boreal bog plants adapted to cold and low available nutrient conditions might be strongly affected by global changes, including elevated CO2 (eCO2), warming (W), and increasing nitrogen (N) availability. Here, we examined responses of dark respiration (Rd) and net photosynthesis (Anet) in four dominant bog plants to five levels of short-term increases in both CO2 and temperature (CTI); and the effects of long-term (6 years) W and N addition on these responses. Results indicated that CTI increased Rd; meanwhile, the increase of these environmental variables decreased Anet in all these boreal bog plants. Long-term nitrogen addition simulated the increases of Rd and decreases of Anet in Trichophorum cespitosum. Long-term warming mitigated the increases of Rd in Andromeda glaucophylla and Gaylussacia bigeloviana, and the decrease of Anet in Gaylussacia bigeloviana. These findings highlight the importance of long-term warming and nitrogen addition in regulating responses of boreal bog plants to short-term CTI, suggesting the necessity to investigate the long-term effects of these environmental changes when projecting responses of boreal bog vegetation to global changes.

Although estimates of the annual methane (CH4) flux from agriculturally managed peatlands exist, knowledge of controls over the variation of CH4 at different time-scales is limited due to the lack of high temporal-resolution data. Here we present CH4 fluxes measured from May 2014 to April 2016 using the eddy covariance technique at an abandoned peatland pasture in western Newfoundland, Canada. The goals of the study were to identify the controls on the seasonal variations in CH4 flux and to quantify the annual CH4 flux. The seasonal variation in daily CH4 flux was not strong in the two study years, however a few periods of pronounced emissions occurred in the late growing season. The daily average CH4 flux was small relative to other studies, ranging from -4.1 to 9.9 nmol m-2 s-1 in 2014-15 and from -7.1 to 12.1 nmol m-2 s-1 in 2015-16. Stepwise multiple regression was used to investigate controls on CH4 flux and this analysis found shifting controls on CH4 flux at different periods of the growing season. During the early growing season CH4 flux was closely related to carbon dioxide fixation rates, suggesting substrate availability was the main control. The peak growing season CH4 flux was principally controlled by the CH4 oxidation in 2014, where the CH4 flux decreased and increased with soil temperature at 50 cm and soil water content at 10 cm, but a contrasting temperature-CH4 relation was found in 2015. The late growing season CH4 flux was found to be regulated by the variation in water table level and air temperature in 2014. The annual CH4 emission was near zero in both study years (0.36 ± 0.30 g CH4 m-2 yr-1 in 2014-15 and 0.13 ± 0.38 g CH4 m-2 yr-1 in 2015-16), but fell within the range of CH4 emissions reported for agriculturally managed peatlands elsewhere.

Climate warming and vegetation composition change are expected to influence greenhouse gas emissions from boreal peatlands. However, the interactive effects of warming and different vegetation compositions on N2O dynamics are poorly known, although N2O is a very potent greenhouse gas. In this study, manipulated warming and vegetation composition change were conducted in a boreal peatland to investigate the effects on N2O fluxes during the growing seasons in 2015 and 2016. We did not find a significant effect of warming treatment and combination treatments of warming and vegetation composition change on N2O fluxes. However, sedge removal treatment significantly increased N2O emissions by three-fold. Compared with the treatment of shrub and sedge removal, the combined treatment of warming and shrub and sedge removal significantly increased N2O consumption by five-fold. Similar to N2O fluxes, the cumulative N2O flux increased by ~3.5 times under sedge removal treatment, but this effect was not significant. In addition, the results showed that total soil nitrogen was the main control for N2O fluxes under combinative treatments of warming and sedge/shrub removal, while soil temperature and dissolved organic carbon were the main controls for N2O release under warming combined with the removal of all vascular plants. Our results indicate that boreal peatlands have a negligible effect on N2O fluxes in the short-term under climate change, and environmental controls on N2O fluxes become increasingly important under the condition of warming and vegetation composition change.

We present the results of simultaneous optical multi-color observations of BL Lac object 0716+714 in November 2014 and February 2016. The intra-day variability (IDV) varies from 0.04 to 0.3 mags. Both achromatic and bluer-when-brighter (BWB) color behaviors were detected. A probable quasi-periodic oscillation overlapping on a significant flare was also observed. We used the interpolated cross-correlation function to calculate time lags between light curves in different bands. Variations in the B and R lagging behind that in the I band were found, which corresponds with anti-clockwise loops on the color-magnitude diagrams.

The closed chamber technique has been widely employed to detect methane emissions, despite little being known about whether the absence or presence of light will impact the flux estimation. Here, we employed a laser greenhouse gas analyzer with an opaque—transparent chamber pair to measure the methane emission rate in a boreal peatland complex. Microtopography (i.e., hummocks and hollows) in natural and drained peatlands, and plant communities (i.e., grasses and shrubs) in a pasture converted from natural peatlands, were considered to cover the local heterogeneity. Our results indicated that opaque chambers (0.58–0.78 g CH _4 m ^−2 during the growing season) measured a significantly higher (∼2–3 times) methane emission at the hummocks than transparent chambers (∼0.24 g CH _4 m ^−2 ); however, a similar phenomenon was not found at the hollows or at other measurement plots. Gross photosynthesis explained 44%–47% of the temporal variation of the ‘artificial bias’ (the difference in methane flux obtained by the opaque versus transparent chambers) at the hummocks. Additionally, both water table depth and surface soil moisture significantly explained spatial variations of methane emissions. Our study suggests that microtopography has a significant influence on the artificial bias in methane emission estimation and the artificial properties of a chamber (transparency/opacity) method can be vitally important in some cases (i.e., hummocks), and negligible in others (i.e., hollows). The observed connection between the photosynthesis process and the ‘artificial bias’ of closed chambers (opaque versus transparent) can be used to improve methane flux modeling. Separate parameterization schemes are needed for methane transportation under the presence or absence of light.

This document is a list of references and citations from various sources related to the topic of payments for ecosystem services (PES) and their impact on sustainability and livelihoods. The sources cover a range of perspectives and research studies on the subject, including case studies from different countries and regions. The document provides a comprehensive collection of scholarly articles and reports that library patrons can use to further explore the topic of PES and its implications for environmental conservation and poverty alleviation. [Extracted from the article]

Electrochemical energy storage devices are ubiquitous for personal electronics, electric vehicles, smart grids, and future clean energy demand. SCs are EES devices with excellent power density and superior cycling ability. Herein, we focused on the fabrication and DFT calculations of Na3-δ-MnO2 nanocomposite, which has layered MnO2 redox-active sites, supported on carbon cloth. MnO2 has two-dimensional diffusion channels and is not labile to structural changes during intercalation; therefore, it is considered the best substrate for intercalation. Cation pre-intercalation has proven to be an effective way of increasing inter-layered spacing, optimizing the crystal structure, and improving the relevant electrochemical behavior of asymmetric aqueous supercapacitors. We successfully established Na+ pre-intercalated δ-MnO2 nanosheets on carbon cloth via one-pot hydrothermal synthesis. As a cathode, our prepared material exhibited an extended potential window of 0–1.4 V with a remarkable specific capacitance of 546 F g−1(300 F g−1 at 50 A g−1). Moreover, when this cathode was accompanied by an N-AC anode in an asymmetric aqueous supercapacitor, it illustrated exceptional performance (64 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 1225 W kg−1) and incomparable potential window of 2.4 V and 83% capacitance retention over 10,000 cycles with a great Columbic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The incidence of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) has been increasing globally in the past few decades. PTMC does not have a distinctive morphology that results in differences in biological behavior. The aim of this study was to classify PTMCs according to the morphological features and explore the relationship with clinicopathological characteristics. Additionally, we sought to evaluate whether different variants of PTMC can be an independent predictor for lymph mode metastasis when considering other risk factors. Methods Between December 2014 and December 2015, 1041 PTMC cases undergoing surgical resection at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate the independent factors for lymph node metastasis in PTMC. Results Conventional variant PTMC (CPTMC), follicular variant PTMC (FPTMC), and encapsulated variant PTMC (EnPTMC) were major variants in PTMC, collectively accounting for 96.7% of the entire PTMC cohort.There were significant differences in clinicopathological characteristics among the three major variants. The frequency of aggressive parameters was significantly different among the three variants, including tumor size, minimal extrathyroidal extension (minimal ETE), and lymph node metastasis (all P < 0.05), being highest in CPTMC, lowest in EnPTMC, and intermediate in FPTMC. FPTMC (OR = 0.642, P = 0.003) and EnPTMC (OR = 0.540, P = 0.041) were independent protective factors for lymph node metastasis (LNM). In contrast, male gender (OR = 1.836, P = 0.000), age less than 45 years (OR = 1.457, P = 0.009), tumor size greater than 0.5 cm (OR = 1.453, P = 0.007), calcification (OR = 1.465, P = 0.016), minimal ETE (OR = 1.801, P = 0.001), and multifocality (OR = 1.721, P = 0.000) were independent risk factors for LNM. Conclusions The present study demonstrates the distinct biological behaviors of the three major PTMC variants and establishes an aggressive order of CPTMC ⪢ FPTMC > EnPTMC. It is necessary to take into consideration variant-related risks and other independent predictors for the determination of lymphadenectomy in patients with PTMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GC-1 and GC-2 are two globular clusters (GCs) in the remote halo of M81 and M82 in the M81 group discovered by Jang et al. using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. These two GCs were observed as part of the Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut (BATC) Multicolor Sky Survey using 14 intermediate-band filters covering a wavelength range of 4000-10 000 Å. We accurately determine these two clusters' ages and masses by comparing their spectral energy distributions (from 2267 to 20 000 Å, comprising photometric data in the near-ultraviolet of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, 14 BATC intermediate-band and Two Micron All Sky Survey near-infrared JHKs filters) with theoretical stellar population-synthesis models, resulting in ages of 15.50±3.20 for GC-1 and 15.10±2.70 Gyr for GC-2. The masses of GC-1 and GC-2 obtained here are 1.77-2.04 × 106 and 5.20-7.11 × 106 M⊚, respectively. In addition, the deep observations with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 on the HST are used to provide the surface brightness profiles of GC-1 and GC-2. The structural and dynamical parameters are derived from fitting the profiles to three different models; in particular, the internal velocity dispersions of GC-1 and GC-2 are derived, which can be compared with ones obtained based on spectral observations in the future. For the first time, in this paper, the rh versus MV diagram shows that GC-2 is an ultra-compact dwarf in the M81 group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object-oriented method with three integrated different classifiers was applied to classify satellite images of the forest in the Loess Plateau in China. After image segmentation, feature selection, and training sample selection, three classifiers-the support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbour algorithm, and classification and regression tree-were used for forest classification using SPOT images as the data source. Results indicated that the object-oriented method with the three classifiers effectively extracted Chinese pine forestland, Betula forestland, oak forestland, shrubland, wasteland, farmland, and roads in the study area. The main segmentation parameters of scale, colour, and shape performed best when their values were set to 100, 0.9, 0.1 in forestland and 60, 0.5, 0.5 in nonforestland, respectively. In addition, SVM was the best classifier applied to the forest classification with an overall accuracy of 78% and a kappa coefficient of 0.737. This study provides a fast and flexible approach to forest classification and lays the foundation for forest management and forest resource surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have monitored the BL Lacertae object S5 0716+714 simultaneously in the B, R and I bands on three nights in 2014 November. The average time resolution is quite high (73, 34 and 58 s for the filters B, R and I), which can help us trace the profile of the variation and search for the short inter-band time delay. Intra-day variability was about 0.1 mag on the first two nights and more than 0.3 mag on the third. A bluer-when-brighter colour behaviour was found. A clear loop path can be seen on the colour-magnitude diagram of the third night, revealing possible time delays between variations at high and low energies. It is the first time that the intra-day spectral hysteresis loop has been found so obviously in the optical band. We used the interpolated cross-correlation function method to further confirm the time delay and calculated the values of lag between light curves at different wavelengths on each night. On the third night, variations in the R and B bands are approximately 1.5 min lagging behind the I band. Such optical time delay is probably due to the interplay of different processes of electrons in the jet of the blazar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In order to change the shortage of general practitioners in primary care, China has been implementing a rural order-oriented medical student training program in 2010. Currently, the overall performance intention, performance situation and retention intention of order-oriented medical students in China still remains unclear and need to be supported by more reliable evidence. Objective To systematically evaluate the performance intention rate, actual performance rate and retention intention rate of order-oriented medical students in China and analyze its influencing factors. Methods From January to June 2022, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, PubMed and Embase databases were searched to collect literature related to service intention, performance intention and retention intention for primary care of order-oriented medical students in China with a time period from 2010 to 2021, and the language of the literature was limited to Chinese and English. Two investigators independently screened literature and extracted data independently to evaluate the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis of single-group rates was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results A total of 49 papers were included with a survey period of 2010-2020, involving 22 413 order-oriented medical students. The performance intention rate of order-oriented medical students was 62% [95%CI (55%-69%) ], the performance rate was 95% [95%CI (93%-96%) ], the retention intention rate was 16% [95%CI (13%-19%) ]. The results of subgroup analysis showed that the performance intention rate of the literature published in 2011 [90%, 95%CI (84%-96%) ] was higher than the other years (P

Understanding the responses of the carbon-rich peatland ecosystems to past climate change is crucial for predicting peat carbon fate in the future. Here we presented a data synthesis of peatland initiation ages, area changes, and peat carbon (C) accumulation rate variations in China since the Holocene, along with total C pool estimates. The data showed different controls of peatland expansion and C accumulation in different regions. The peat C accumulation rates were 32.3 (ranging from 20.7 to 50.2) g C m-2 yr-1 in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and 14.7 (ranging from 7.4 to 36.5) g C m-2 yr-1 in the Northeast China (NEC). The peaks of peatland expansion and C accumulation in the QTP occurred in the early Holocene in response to high summer insolation and strong summer-winter climate seasonality. The rapid peatland expansion and maximum C accumulation rate in the NEC occurred in the middle-late Holocene. Peatlands scattered in the coastal and lakeside regions of China expanded rapidly at the onset of the Holocene due to large transgression, consistent with the stronger summer insolation and monsoon, and during the middle and late Holocene, as a response to the high and stable sea level and the strong summer monsoon. The carbon storage of peatlands in China was estimated as 2.17 (ranging from 1.16 to 3.18) Pg, among which 1.49 (ranging from 0.58 to 2.40) Pg was contributed by peatlands in the QTP, 0.21 (ranging from 0.11 to 0.31) Pg by those in the NEC, and 0.47 Pg by those scattered in other regions of China. Our comparison of peatlands dynamics among regions in China showed that climate and monsoon are the essential factors in determining the expansion and carbon accumulation patterns of peatlands, although their effects on peatland formation and C accumulation is complex owing to land availability in peatland basins and regional moisture conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]