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Long-term environmental research networks are one approach to advancing local, regional, and global environmental science and education. A remarkable number and wide variety of environmental research networks operate around the world today. These are diverse in funding, infrastructure, motivating questions, scientific strengths, and the sciences that birthed and maintain the networks. Some networks have individual sites that were selected because they had produced invaluable long-term data, while other networks have new sites selected to span ecological gradients. However, all long-term environmental networks share two challenges. Networks must keep pace with scientific advances and interact with both the scientific community and society at large. If networks fall short of successfully addressing these challenges, they risk becoming irrelevant. The objective of this paper is to assert that the biogeosciences offer environmental research networks a number of opportunities to expand scientific impact and public engagement. We explore some of these opportunities with four networks: the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network programs (ILTERs), critical zone observatories (CZOs), Earth and ecological observatory networks (EONs), and the FLUXNET program of eddy flux sites. While these networks were founded and expanded by interdisciplinary scientists, the preponderance of expertise and funding has gravitated activities of ILTERs and EONs toward ecology and biology, CZOs toward the Earth sciences and geology, and FLUXNET toward ecophysiology and micrometeorology. Our point is not to homogenize networks, nor to diminish disciplinary science. Rather, we argue that by more fully incorporating the integration of biology and geology in long-term environmental research networks, scientists can better leverage network assets, keep pace with the ever-changing science of the environment, and engage with larger scientific and public audiences.

Objectives: Heparanase (HPSE), an endoglycosidase that cleaves heparan sulfate, regulates various biological processes related to tumor progression. We explore the prognostic value of HPSE and its relationship with immunotherapy response in patients with breast cancer, to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy and increase the survival outcomes. Methods: In the study, we explored the prognostic value of HPSE through the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. By using the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) method, we measured the infiltration levels of 24 immune cell types in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Therapeutics Response Portal (CTRP) and PRISM datasets provide the area under the dose-response curve (AUC) to measure drug sensitivity. Using nomograms, we predicted overall survival ability. In vivo studies, we investigated the relationship between HPSE and immune checkpoint proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines by immunohistochemistry of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer tumors in mice. Results: Our model demonstrated that the integrating of HPSE with the clinical stage effectively predicts patients' survival time, highlighting high HPSE expression as a prognostic risk factor for breast cancer. Then the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve [AUC of 1 year = 0.747, AUC of 3 years = 0.731] and Decision Curve Analysis (DCA) curve illustrated the satisfactory discriminative capacity of our model, emphasizing its valuable clinical applicability. Immune-related results showed that HPSE correlates strongly with immune infiltrating cells, immune-related genes, and the anti-cancer immunity cycle. In vivo studies have demonstrated that HPSE in breast cancer is associated with increased expression of immune checkpoint proteins CD274 and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and is positively correlated with the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. Meanwhile, we analyzed the 11 types of drugs that are sensitive to the HPSE gene. Conclusion: Our results show that HPSE can serve as an effective biomarker to predict the prognosis of breast cancer patients and reflect the impact of immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate whether PSGL-1 is correlated with the prognosis of cutaneous malignant melanoma. Genetic data of PSGL-1 and cutaneous malignant melanoma were extracted from genomewide association studies (GWAS) and analyzed using inverse variance weighting, MR-Egger regression, weighted median, weighted mode, and simple mode methods, and sensitivity analyses were performed on the data. Survival information of cutaneous malignant melanoma was extracted from the TCGA database, and grouped according to high and low PSGL-1 expression, survival curves were plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the Log-rank test was used to compare the difference between the two survival periods. Exploring the effects of PSGL-1 on the biological functions of A375 cells through in vitro experiments. The inverse variance weighted method analysis of PSGL-1 on cutaneous malignant melanoma resulted in OR=0.666, 95% CI (0.494-0.899), P=0.008. The median survival was 44.70 months in the PSGL-1 high expression group and 29.13 months in the PSGL-1 low expression group, P=0.000 2. PSGL-1 inhibits the migration of A375 cells in vitro. Increased PSGL-1 expression is a protective factor against cutaneous malignant melanoma and is a potential prognostic marker for cutaneous melanoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mollisols are highly fertile soils and function as significant carbon reservoirs. However, determining their ages and formation processes is challenging due to extensive pedoturbation, which undermines conventional dating methods. Here, we employed luminescence, a light‐sensitive property of minerals widely used in geological dating, to investigate and quantify soil mixing. We analyzed over 2,400 luminescence ages of individual K‐feldspar grains from a Mollisol profile in Northeast China, and for the first time, we were able to determine the intensity of pedoturbation in the Mollisol profile over the past 50,000 years. The results showed that the current pedoturbation can penetrate to a depth of approximately 80 cm, with the intensity decreasing with depth. By identifying a significant intensification in historical pedoturbation, we inferred that the paleoenvironment might be suitable for the formation of Mollisols 16,400 years before present. Plain Language Summary: Mollisols, also known as a type of black soils, are highly fertile soils characterized by a thick, dark surface layer rich in soil organic matter. Mollisols are not only crucial for food security but also serve as a significant carbon pool. To predict the future evolution of these valuable soil resources, it is important to understand when and how they formed. However, due to intensive mixing by animals, plants, and freeze‐thaw processes, it is challenging to accurately obtain soil ages using traditional dating methods that rely on undisturbed sedimentation layers. Here, we utilized luminescence, a light‐sensitive property of minerals, to address the challenge of soil mixing. We analyzed more than 2,400 luminescence ages of individual K‐feldspar grains from a Mollisol profile in Northeast China. The results showed that the upper 80 cm of the soil body is currently mixed, with the mixing intensity being most intense at the soil surface and decreasing with depth. Additionally, we observed evidence of historical soil mixing over the past 50,000 years. The intensity of soil mixing increased around 16,400 years ago. We infer that the paleoenvironment might be favorable for forming Mollisols since then. Key Points: Single‐grain luminescence was used to quantify the intensity of pedoturbation in the Mollisol profile over the past 50,000 yearsDust accumulation fostered the formation of the thick, dark, humus‐rich surface layer of the Mollisol profileThe formation processes of the Mollisol profile were traced back to 16,400 years before present [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]