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The Tigris–Euphrates dryland river basin has experienced a declining trend in terrestrial water storage (TWS) from April 2002 to June 2017. Using satellite observations and a process-based land surface model, we find that climate variations and direct human interventions explain ~61% (-0.57 mm month⁻¹) and ~39% (-0.36 mm month⁻¹) of the negative trend, respectively. We further disaggregate the effects of climate variations and find that interannual climate variability contributes substantially (-0.27 mm month⁻¹) to the negative TWS trend, slightly greater than the decadal climate change (-0.25 mm month⁻¹). Interannual climate variability affects TWS mainly through the nonlinear relationship between monthly TWS dynamics and aridity. Slow recovery of TWS during short wetting periods does not compensate for rapid depletion of TWS through transpiration during prolonged drying periods. Despite enhanced water stress, the dryland ecosystems show slightly enhanced resilience to water stress through greater partitioning of evapotranspiration into transpiration and weak surface \"greening\" effects. However, the dryland ecosystems are vulnerable to drought impacts. The basin shows straining ecosystem functioning after experiencing a severe drought event. In addition, after the onset of the drought, the dryland ecosystem becomes more sensitive to variations in climate conditions.

Plants are able to adapt to changing environments and thus survive droughts. However, most land surface models produce unrealistically low ecosystem resiliency to droughts, degrading the credibility of the model‐predicted ecohydrological responses to climate change. We aim to enhance the Noah‐MP modeled ecosystem resilience to droughts with an explicit representation of plant water storage supplied by dynamic root water uptake through hydrotropic root growth to meet the transpiration demand. The new model represents plant stomatal water stress factor as a function of the plant water storage and relates the rate of root water uptake to the profile of model‐predicted root surface area. Through optimization of major leaf, root, and soil parameters, the new model improves the prediction of leaf area index, ecosystem productivity, evapotranspiration, and terrestrial water storage variations over most basins in the contiguous United States. Sensitivity experiments suggest that both dynamic root water uptake and groundwater capillary rise extend the plants' “memory” of antecedent rainfall. The modeled plants enhance their efficiency to use antecedent rain water stored in shallow soils mainly through more efficient root water uptake over the U.S. Southwest drylands while use that stored in deep soils and aquifers with the aid of groundwater capillary rise in the Central United States. Future plant hydraulic models should not ignore soil water retention model uncertainties and the soil macropore effects on soil water potential and infiltration. Plain Language Summary Plants are able to adapt to changing environments and thus survive droughts. However, the plants represented in current computer models do not well survive droughts for lacking a representation of adaptation mechanisms. This study develops explicit representations of plant water storage and plant water availability, which are enhanced by root water uptake that is linked to the predicted vertical distribution of fine root biomass in response to soil water content. The new model enhances ecosystem productivity and transpiration under droughts in most large river basins in the contiguous United States. Virtual experiments reveal two “pumping” mechanisms for plants under droughts to use antecedent rain water. The plants tend to more efficiently use antecedent rain water stored in shallow soils through more efficient root water uptake over the U.S. Southwest drylands and that stored in deeper soils or aquifers with the aid of groundwater capillary rise in the Central U.S. basins. Soil water pressure becomes critically important for pushing the soil water into plant tissues and up to the leaves in the new model. Therefore, uncertainties in soil water retention models and the effects of soil macropores on soil water potential and infiltration should be well treated in future models. Key Points We developed a model of plant water storage supplied by dynamic root water uptake through hydrotropic growth in Noah‐MP It enhances plants' efficiency to use antecedent rain water stored in shallow soils and that in aquifers with the aid of capillary rise Future plant hydraulic models should consider soil water retention model uncertainties and soil macropore effects on water retention

Protein deglycase DJ‐1 (DJ‐1) is a multifunctional protein involved in various biological processes. However, it is unclear whether DJ‐1 influences atherosclerosis development and plaque stability. Accordingly, we evaluated the influence of DJ‐1 deletion on the progression of atherosclerosis and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. We examine the expression of DJ‐1 in atherosclerotic plaques of human and mouse models which showed that DJ‐1 expression was significantly decreased in human plaques compared with that in healthy vessels. Consistent with this, the DJ‐1 levels were persistently reduced in atherosclerotic lesions of ApoE−/− mice with the increasing time fed by western diet. Furthermore, exposure of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to oxidized low‐density lipoprotein down‐regulated DJ‐1 in vitro. The canonical markers of plaque stability and VSMC phenotypes were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. DJ‐1 deficiency in Apoe−/− mice promoted the progression of atherosclerosis and exaggerated plaque instability. Moreover, isolated VSMCs from Apoe−/−DJ‐1−/− mice showed lower expression of contractile markers (α‐smooth muscle actin and calponin) and higher expression of synthetic indicators (osteopontin, vimentin and tropoelastin) and Kruppel‐like factor 4 (KLF4) by comparison with Apoe−/−DJ‐1+/+ mice. Furthermore, genetic inhibition of KLF4 counteracted the adverse effects of DJ‐1 deletion. Therefore, our results showed that DJ‐1 deletion caused phenotype switching of VSMCs and exacerbated atherosclerotic plaque instability in a KLF4‐dependent manner.

Short-term power load forecasting is an important basis for the operation of integrated energy system, and the accuracy of load forecasting directly affects the economy of system operation. To improve the forecasting accuracy, this paper proposes a load forecasting system based on wavelet least square support vector machine and sperm whale algorithm. Firstly, the methods of discrete wavelet transform and inconsistency rate model (DWT-IR) are used to select the optimal features, which aims to reduce the redundancy of input vectors. Secondly, the kernel function of least square support vector machine LSSVM is replaced by wavelet kernel function for improving the nonlinear mapping ability of LSSVM. Lastly, the parameters of W-LSSVM are optimized by sperm whale algorithm, and the short-term load forecasting method of W-LSSVM-SWA is established. Additionally, the example verification results show that the proposed model outperforms other alternative methods and has a strong effectiveness and feasibility in short-term power load forecasting.

Malaria-associated lung pathology is a common complication of malaria in adults and often occurs during or even after antimalarial treatment, and current evidence suggests that it is associated with cytokine imbalance and dysregulation of immune responses in the lungs. In this study, we conducted detailed flow cytometry analyses, time-series bulk transcriptomics, and spatial transcriptomics to profile the immune landscape of malaria-associated lung pathology in a mouse malaria model and revealed that IFN-γ signaling in T cells plays a key role in the lung pathology. In addition, we identified a subgroup of CD8-expressing proinflammatory monocytes that exhibit heightened parasite phagocytotic capability.

The increase of ammonia nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, urea, and other dissolved nitrogen in prawn pond often causes eutrophication of water body and prawn poisoning, which brings great harm to aquaculture. Microalgae are the main biological factors in prawn pond, which can effectively utilize dissolved nitrogen. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of the forms and concentrations of various dissolved nitrogen on the uptake rate (ρ) by Oocystis borgei, and establish the relationship model between ammonia nitrogen uptake rate and key environmental factors using 15N isotope labeling technique. Temperature (A), light intensity (B), salinity (C), pH (D), and algal concentration (E) were the factors used to construct an empirical model. Study results showed that nitrogen concentrations had a significant effect on the uptake rates of ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, and urea (P < 0.05). Under various salinity and temperature conditions, the relative preference index (RPI) of ammonium was greater than that of nitrite, urea, and nitrate; Ammonium was the preferred nitrogen source for O. borgei. The optimal combination of environmental conditions for ρ(NH4+-N) was temperature of 20 °C, pH of 7.5, light intensity of 81 μmol m−2 s−1, salinity of 15‰, and algal concentration of 5.5 × 108 cell L−1. The model equation wasρ = 0.0017 × (A0.180B0.252C0.748D0.587E) + 0.0512, with the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.89. No significant difference was observed between the model-predicted values and the measured values (F = 0.789, P > 0.05), which demonstrated the high fitting degree of simulation equation. This study provides valuable insight into the removal of dissolved nitrogen in a controllable prawn farming mode such as high-elevation ponds by O. borgei.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect of anticancer treatment, which may influence its successful completion. The Huang-Qi-Gui-Zhi-Wu-Wu decoction (HQGZWWD) has been widely used to treat CIPN in China although the pharmacological mechanisms involved have not been clarified. Using the network pharmacology approach, this study investigated the potential pathogenesis of CIPN and the therapeutic mechanisms exerted by the HQGZWWD herbal formula in CIPN. The targets of HQGZWWD were identified using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) databases (TCMSP and ETCM) and prediction platforms (PharmMapper and TargetNet), and the genes of CIPN were collected by DisGeNET, GeneCards, and literature search. The common target interaction network between herbal formula and diseases was constructed by using Cytoscape. Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were used to reveal the mechanism and efficacy of HQGZWWD in the treatment of CIPN. A total of 153 CIPN-related genes were screened, and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network with 96 nodes and 424 edges was constructed. Sixty-three active components were retrieved from HQGZWWD, with a herb-composite compound-target network including 748 nodes and 5448 edges. Forty-one targets belong to the above two networks. The analysis of network results and literature review shows that the main pathological processes of CIPN may be the inflammatory response and nerve injury, and HQGZWWD plays a therapeutic role in CIPN by regulating inflammatory response and repairing nerve injury, thus verifying the reliable efficacy of this herbal formula. In addition, we found two new potential therapeutic targets (CDK7 and GSTM2) warranting further investigation. This study fully illustrates that TCM has the characteristics of a multicompound, multitarget, and multipathway treatment, which is of great significance to study the curative effect of herbal formulations.

In line with the constraints of environmental problems and economic development, large-scale renewable-generation projects have been planned and constructed in recent years. In order to achieve sustainable power development and improve the power supply structure, China’s government has focused on distributed photovoltaic (PV) generation projects due to their advantages of clean emission and local consumption. However, their unstable output power still brings a series of problems concerning reliability, investment income, and available substitution proportion to traditional power, and so on. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the competitive development abilities of distributed PV generation projects and measure them effectively. First, through various investigation methods such as literature reviews, feasibility report analysis and expert interviews, the factors that influence the core abilities of distributed PV-generation projects were explored based on the micro-grid structure. Then, with the indexed exploration results, the factors were classified into 6 dimensions, i.e., investment and earning ability, production and operation ability, power-grid coordination ability, energy-conservation and emission-reduction ability, sustainable development ability, and society-serving ability. Meanwhile, an evaluation index system for core abilities of distributed PV-generation project was constructed using all quantitative indicators. Third, for examining the availability of the evaluation index system, combination weighting and techniques for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods were adopted to assess the practical distributed PV-generation projects. The case study results showed that installed capacity, local economy development, and grid-connected power quantity will influence the core abilities of distributed PV-generation project, obviously. The conclusions of the evaluation analysis on core abilities can provide useful references to operate and manage distributed PV-generation projects and promote their sustainable and health advantages. The proposed evaluation index system can also be used to assess power-generation projects in other types of energy, such as wind power and hydropower.

Fully covered self-expandable metallic stents (FCSEMSs) are inserted in patients with unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) to resolve malignant distal bile duct obstructions. Some patients receive FCSEMSs during primary endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and others receive FCSEMSs during a later session, after the placement of a plastic stent. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of FCSEMSs for primary use or following plastic stent placement. A total of 159 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (m:f, 102:57) who had achieved clinical success underwent ERCP with the placement of FCSEMSs for palliation of obstructive jaundice. One-hundred and three patients had received FCSEMSs in a first ERCP, and 56 had received FCSEMSs after prior plastic stenting. Twenty-two patients in the primary metal stent group and 18 in the prior plastic stent group had recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO). The RBO rates and self-expandable metal stent patency duration did not differ between the two groups. An FCSEMS longer than 6 cm was identified as a risk factor for RBO in patients with PDAC. Thus, choosing an appropriate FCSEMS length is an important factor in preventing FCSEMS dysfunction in patients with PDAC with malignant distal bile-duct obstruction.

•Our aim is to evaluate the relationship between serum UA level and MSA.•Lower serum level of UA is associated with an increased risk of MSA.•The correlation above is significant in males but not in females. Lower serum uric acid (UA) levels are considered to be related to the risk to develop many neurodegenerative disorders. However, the association between serum UA level and multiple system atrophy (MSA) remains controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the relationship between serum UA level and MSA. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for eligible studies. Standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated in a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model when appropriate. Subgroup analyses were carried out based on gender. A total of 6 eligible studies involving 547 MSA patients and 637 healthy individuals were identified. Meta-analysis results revealed that individuals with MSA had lower sera levels of UA as compared with healthy controls (pooled SMD is −0.51, 95%CI: −0.88 to −0.14; p = 0.006). The subgroup analysis to detect sex differences showed that the pooled SMD was −0.61 (95% CI: −0.82 to −0.40; p < 0.0001) for males and −0.22 (95% CI: −0.55 to 0.10; p = 0.18) for females compared with healthy controls. Our meta-analysis revealed that lower serum level of UA is associated with an increased risk of MSA and the relationship is significant in men but not in women.