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The European land carbon uptake has been heavily impacted by several recent severe droughts, yet quantitative estimates of carbon uptake anomalies are uncertain. Atmospheric CO2 inverse models (AIMs) provide observation‐based estimates of the large‐scale carbon flux dynamics, but how well they capture drought impacts on the terrestrial carbon uptake is poorly known. Here we assessed the capacity of state‐of‐the‐art AIMs in monitoring drought impacts on the European carbon uptake over 2001–2015 using observations of environmental variability and vegetation function and made comparisons with bottom‐up estimates of carbon uptake anomalies. We found that global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations give divergent estimates of drought impacts. Regional inversions assimilating denser CO2 observations over Europe demonstrated some improved consistency, with all inversions capturing a reduction in carbon uptake during the 2012 drought. However, they failed to capture the reduction caused by the 2015 drought. Finally, we found that a set of inversions that assimilated satellite XCO2 or assimilated environmental variables plus surface CO2 observations better captured carbon uptake anomalies induced by both the 2012 and 2015 droughts. In addition, the recent Orbiting Carbon Observatory—2 XCO2 inversions showed good potential in capturing drought impacts, with better performances for larger‐scale droughts like the 2018 drought. These results suggest that surface CO2 observations may still be too sparse to fully capture the impact of drought on the carbon cycle at subcontinental scales over Europe, and satellite XCO2 and ancillary environmental data can be used to improve observational constraints in atmospheric inversion systems. Plain Language Summary: Atmospheric CO2 inverse models (AIMs) are useful tools for quantifying the response of large‐scale carbon uptake to climate extremes, but their capacity for monitoring drought impacts, particularly at regional scales, is not fully explored. In this study, we assessed the capacity of state‐of‐the‐art AIMs for monitoring drought impacts on the European land carbon uptake over 2001–2015 using a large array of observational and model data sets. We found: (a) global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations face a great challenge in monitoring drought impacts on the European carbon uptake; (b) Regional inversions assimilated denser CO2 observations over Europe, for the EUROCOM project, demonstrated some improved consistency but are still deficient, showing divergent estimates in interannual variability of carbon uptake for most years; and (c) A set of inversion systems that assimilated satellite XCO2 or assimilated environmental variables plus surface CO2 observations better captured annual and seasonal anomalies caused by droughts. Our study demonstrates that surface CO2 observations may still be too sparse to fully capture the impact of drought on the carbon cycle at subcontinental scales over Europe, whereby satellite XCO2 and ancillary environmental data can offer observational constraints for improving the estimates. Key Points: Global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations give divergent estimates of drought impacts on the European carbon uptakeRegional inversions assimilating denser CO2 observations over Europe demonstrate some improved consistency but are still deficientThe inversions assimilating satellite XCO2 or environmental variables in addition to surface CO2 largely improve the estimates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: B The Cover Feature b shows an abstract "bat", one side is the I cinchona i alkaloid skeleton, and another side is the oxazoline dominant skeleton, which are combined to form a series of novel chiral ligands. In addition, in the right middle of the feature is the steric configuration of the transition state, which is formed by the combination of metal ligand complexes and substrates. B The Cover Feature b shows an abstract "bat", one side is the I cinchona i alkaloid skeleton, and another side is the oxazoline dominant skeleton, which are combined to form a series of novel chiral ligands.

• Understanding global patterns of nutrient concentrations and ratios is necessary. • A comparison of lake nutrients between Europe and China was performed. • Nutrient concentrations in lakes in China were much higher than those in Europe. • Lake N/P ratio was impacted by different environmental stressors in two regions. • A set of spatially flexible policies for water quality controls will be necessary. Global anthropogenic flows of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have exceeded planetary boundaries with significant implications for pollution of the freshwater resources in the world. Understanding the global patterns and drivers of N and P concentrations and their ratios in the lakes could help design more effective management and remediation strategies to mitigate the impacts of eutrophication. While a suite of drivers are associated with the sources of nutrients, their transport and internal processes that control concentrations of N and P in the lakes, much less is known about the relative importance of different drivers in explaining spatial variations of lake nutrients and ratios. In this study, we compared N and P concentrations and their ratios in the lakes across China and Europe and examined the differences of dominant environmental and social drivers on lake nutrients. Our comparison showed that total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were much higher in the lakes in China compared to those in Europe (i.e., TN: 1.13 mg/L in China vs. 0.64 mg/L in Europe; TP: 35.83 μg/L in China vs. 19.38 μg/L in Europe, the median value). However, lake N/P ratios for both regions were not statistically different. Concentrations of TN and TP showed decoupling in both regions, with the majority of lakes having high N/P mass ratios when evaluated by the commonly accepted threshold of 23 (i.e., 61% in China and 68% in Europe), indicating that phytoplankton are more P limited relative to N. Agricultural activity in the lake catchment is an important predictor for both nutrient concentrations and their ratio in Europe. This reflects successful investments in infrastructure and policy prescriptions in addressing point sources of pollution. In comparison, lake depth and water residence time are important in the decoupling of N and P concentrations in China. The regional difference between the dominant drivers can provide important insights into development of effective water pollution control measures. It is necessary for policy makers and water resource managers to be aware of large-scale imbalance of nutrients in lake due to the potential environmental consequences. A set of spatially flexible policies for water quality controls would be beneficial for sustaining the ecological integrity and future health of lakes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projecting the burden of pancreatic cancer over time provides essential information to effectively plan measures for its management and prevention. Here, we obtained data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study between 1990 and 2019, to model how pancreatic cancer will affect the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) plus the United Kingdom (the pre-Brexit EU-28) until 2039 by conducting the Bayesian age-period-cohort analysis. The number of new pancreatic cancer cases in the EU-28 was 59 000 in 1990, 109 000 in 2019 and projected to be 147 000 in 2039. This corresponded to 60 000, 109 000 and 155 000 for deaths, and a loss of 1.3 million, 2.0 million and 2.7 million for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), respectively. The most pronounced increase of the crude incidence rate was observed and projected to be in the population older than 80 years. The age-standardized rate (ASR) of incidence, however, increased from 8.6 to 10.1 per 100 000 person-years during 1990-2019 but was projected to remain stable during 2019-2039. At the same time, our models only predicted a mild increase in the ASR of mortality until 2039. The fraction of pancreatic cancer mortality attributable to tobacco consumption decreased during 1990-2019, but we found upward trends for the attributable fractions for high fasting plasma glucose and high body mass index. In conclusion, a substantial increase in counts of incidence, mortality and DALYs lost of pancreatic cancer in the EU-28 is projected over the next two decades, which indicates the need for future health policies and interventions., (© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.)

Reproductive longevity is essential for fertility and influences healthy ageing in women 1,2 , but insights into its underlying biological mechanisms and treatments to preserve it are limited. Here we identify 290 genetic determinants of ovarian ageing, assessed using normal variation in age at natural menopause (ANM) in about 200,000 women of European ancestry. These common alleles were associated with clinical extremes of ANM; women in the top 1% of genetic susceptibility have an equivalent risk of premature ovarian insufficiency to those carrying monogenic FMR1 premutations 3 . The identified loci implicate a broad range of DNA damage response (DDR) processes and include loss-of-function variants in key DDR-associated genes. Integration with experimental models demonstrates that these DDR processes act across the life-course to shape the ovarian reserve and its rate of depletion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that experimental manipulation of DDR pathways highlighted by human genetics increases fertility and extends reproductive life in mice. Causal inference analyses using the identified genetic variants indicate that extending reproductive life in women improves bone health and reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, but increases the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms that govern ovarian ageing, when they act, and how they might be targeted by therapeutic approaches to extend fertility and prevent disease., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

The gram-negative bacterium Lonsdalea populi causes an emerging poplar ( Populus × euramericana ) canker resulting in severe losses to poplar production in China and Europe. Two-component signal transduction systems play important roles in the regulation of virulence and stress responses in phytopathogenic bacteria. We identified a two-component pair (Lqp2625-Lqp2624) in L. populi , highly homologous to DcuS-DcuR of Escherichia coli . Mutants lacking DcuS or DcuR displayed normal growth while their virulence on poplar twigs was impaired. An inability to produce flagella indicated that DcuS and DcuR are involved in biofilm formation and swimming motility. Moreover, the loss of DcuS or DcuR led to increased sensitivity to oxidative stress and chloramphenicol through downregulation of genes associated with catalases and the multidrug efflux pump, suggesting that the two-component pair contributes to cellular adaptation to oxidative and antibiotic stresses. We identified key domains and putative phosphorylation sites important for virulence and stress responses. Our findings reveal the functions of DcuS-DcuR in virulence and stress responses in L. populi and provide increasing evidence that two-component systems are crucial during the infection process and stress adaptation in bacteria.

The design of "sham acupuncture" is necessary in clinical trials of acupuncture for confirming its effectiveness in the treatment of different disorders. The authors of the present paper made a comprehensive analysis on "sham acupuncture"or "placebo acupuncture" in clinical trials of acupuncture therapy in western countries from 1) the definition and background of sham acupuncture, 2) current state of acupuncture clinical trials with sham acupuncture design in different countries, 3) current situations of acupuncture clinical trials with sham acupuncture design in Germany, and 4) current state of large sample, randomized controlled clinical trials of acupuncture therapy with sham acupuncture design in other western countries. The authors of the present paper also make an analysis on the developing trends of acupuncture clinical trials with sham acupuncture design and put forward some problems existing in current acupuncture researches.

On the basis of MEDLINE and EMBASE database, through bibliometrics, the quantitative research was conducted on the published literatures on the acupuncture-moxibustion clinical trial abroad. The situation of published articles in each continent, country and institution was analyzed statistically. It was found that the number of published articles was higher in Germany, America, England, Sweden, Austria, Japan, South Korea, etc. In Europe, the clinical trial of acupuncture and moxibustion was in the tendency of more country participants, wider distribution and larger amount of research. In North America, America was the main country for the study. In Asia, Japan and South Korea played the leading role. Of those countries, some institutions in Germany America, and South Korea were on the top of the list. In future, the above-mentioned countries and institutions should be monitored specifically so as to launch the active cooperation and strategic project.

Climate warming may drive invasions by exotic plants, thereby raising concerns over the risks of invasive plants. However, little is known about how climate warming influences the growth and competitive ability of exotic plants from their home and introduced ranges. We conducted a common garden experiment with an invasive plant Centaurea maculosa and a native plant Poa pratensis, in which a mixture of sand and vermiculite was used as a neutral medium, and contrasted the total biomass, competitive effects, and competitive responses of C. maculosa populations from Europe (home range) and North America (introduced range) under two different temperatures. The warming-induced inhibitory effects on the growth of C. maculosa alone were stronger in Europe than in North America. The competitive ability of C. maculosa plants from North America was greater than that of plants from Europe under the ambient condition whereas this competitive ability followed the opposite direction under the warming condition, suggesting that warming may enable European C. maculosa to be more invasive. Across two continents, warming treatment increased the competitive advantage instead of the growth advantage of C. maculosa, suggesting that climate warming may facilitate C. maculosa invasions through altering competitive outcomes between C. maculosa and its neighbors. Additionally, the growth response of C. maculosa to warming could predict its ability to avoid being suppressed by its neighbors.