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Semi-permanent high-pressure systems over the subtropical oceans, known as subtropical highs, influence atmospheric circulation, as well as global climate. For instance, subtropical highs largely determine the location of the world’s subtropical deserts, the zones of Mediterranean climate and the tracks of tropical cyclones. The intensity of two such high-pressure systems, present over the Northern Hemisphere oceans during the summer, has changed in recent years. However, whether such changes are related to climate warming remains unclear. Here, we use climate model simulations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report, reanalysis data from the 40-year European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and an idealized general circulation model, to assess future changes in the intensity of summertime subtropical highs over the Northern Hemisphere oceans. The simulations suggest that these summertime highs will intensify in the twenty-first century as a result of an increase in atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations. We further show that the intensification of subtropical highs is predominantly caused by an increase in thermal contrast between the land and ocean. We suggest that summertime near-surface subtropical highs could play an increasingly important role in regional climate and hydrological extremes in the future. Subtropical high-pressure systems influence atmospheric circulation and global climate. Model simulations and reanalysis data suggest that summertime high pressure systems in the Northern Hemisphere subtropics will intensify as a result of climate change.

Lung cancer is the most common malignancy and leads to around one-quarter of all cancer deaths. Great advances have been achieved in the treatment of lung cancer with novel anticancer agents and improved technology. However, morbidity and mortality rates remain extremely high, calling for an urgent need to develop novel anti–lung cancer agents. 1,2,3-Triazole could be readily interact with diverse enzymes and receptors in organisms through weak interaction. 1,2,3-Triazole can not only be acted as a linker to tether different pharmacophores but also serve as a pharmacophore. This review aims to summarize the recent advances in 1,2,3-triazole–containing compounds with anti–lung cancer potential, and their structure–activity relationship (SAR) together with mechanisms of action is also discussed to pave the way for the further rational development of novel anti–lung cancer candidates.

Variations of the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH) western ridge and their implication to the Southeastern United States (SE US) summer precipitation were analyzed for the years 1948–2007. The results show that the movement of the NASH western ridge regulates both moisture transport and vertical motion over the SE US, especially in the last three decades, during which the ridge moved westward towards the American continent. When the NASH western ridge is located southwest (SW) of its mean climate position, excessive summer precipitation is observed due to an enhanced moisture transport. In contrast, when the western ridge is located in the northwest (NW), a precipitation deficit prevails as downward motion dominates the region. Composite analysis indicates that SW ridging results mainly from the NASH center’s intensification; whereas NW ridging is likely caused by stationary wave propagation from the eastern Pacific/US western coast. In recent decades, both the SW and NW ridge positions have been observed to increase in frequency. Our results suggest that the increase in the SW ridging consistently follows the NASH’s intensification associated with anthropogenic forcing as projected by coupled climate models. However, the increased frequency of NW ridging tends to follow the positive Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) index. Thus, the enhanced variability in the SE US summer precipitation in recent decades might be a combined result of anthropogenic forcing and internal variability of the climate system. Results suggest that, as anthropogenic forcing continues to increase, the SE US will experience more frequent wet summers and an increase in the frequency of dry summers during positive PDO phases.

This study investigates the changes of the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH) and its impact on summer precipitation over the southeastern (SE) United States using the 850-hPa geopotential height field in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis, the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40), long-term rainfall data, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) model simulations during the past six decades (1948–2007). The results show that the NASH in the last 30 yr has become more intense, and its western ridge has displaced westward with an enhanced meridional movement compared to the previous 30 yr. When the NASH moved closer to the continental United States in the three most recent decades, the effect of the NASH on the interannual variation of SE U.S. precipitation is enhanced through the ridge’s north–south movement. The study’s attribution analysis suggested that the changes of the NASH are mainly due to anthropogenic warming. In the twenty-first century with an increase of the atmospheric CO₂ concentration, the center of the NASH would be intensified and the western ridge of the NASH would shift farther westward. These changes would increase the likelihood of both strong anomalously wet and dry summers over the SE United States in the future, as suggested by the IPCC AR4 models.

Heatwaves kill more people than floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes combined and disproportionally affect older persons and those with chronic conditions. Commonly used medications for chronic conditions, e.g., diuretics, antipsychotics disrupt thermoregulation or fluid/electrolyte balance and may sensitive patients to heat. However, the effect of heat-sensitizing medications and their interactions with heatwaves are not well-quantified. We evaluated effects of potentially heat-sensitizing medications in vulnerable older patients. US Medicare data were linked at the zip code level to climate data with surface air temperatures for June-August of 2007-2012. Patients were Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years with chronic conditions including diabetes, dementia, and cardiovascular, lung, or kidney disease. Exposures were potentially heat-sensitizing medications including diuretics, anticholinergics, antipsychotics, beta blockers, stimulants, and anti-hypertensives. A heatwave was defined as ≥2 days above the 95th percentile of historical zip code-specific surface air temperatures. We estimated associations of heat-sensitizing medications and heatwaves with heat-related hospitalization using self-controlled case series analysis. We identified 9,721 patients with at least one chronic condition and heat-related hospitalization; 42.1% of these patients experienced a heatwave. Heatwaves were associated with an increase in heat-related hospitalizations ranging from 21% (95% CI: 7% to 38%) to 33% (95% CI: 14% to 55%) across medication classes. Several drug classes were associated with moderately elevated risk of heat-related hospitalization in the absence of heatwaves, with rate ratios ranging from 1.16 (95% CI: 1.00 to 1.35) to 1.37 (95% CI: 1.14 to 1.66). We did not observe meaningful synergistic interactions between heatwaves and medications. Older patients with chronic conditions may be at heightened risk for heat-related hospitalization due to the use of heat-sensitizing medications throughout the summer months, even in the absence of heatwaves. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and also to understand the effect of milder and shorter heat exposure.

Even though honey bees in the field are routinely exposed to a complex mixture of many different agrochemicals, few studies have surveyed toxic effects of pesticide mixtures on bees. To elucidate the interactive actions of pesticides on crop pollinators, we determined the individual and joint toxicities of thiamethoxam (THI) and other seven pesticides [dimethoate (DIM), methomyl (MET), zeta -cypermethrin (ZCY), cyfluthrin (CYF), permethrin (PER), esfenvalerate (ESF) and tetraconazole (TET)] to honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) with feeding toxicity test. Results from the 7-days toxicity test implied that THI elicited the highest toxicity with a LC 50 data of 0.25 (0.20–0.29) μg mL −1 , followed by MET and DIM with LC 50 data of 4.19 (3.58–4.88) and 5.30 (4.65–6.03) μg mL −1 , respectively. By comparison, pyrethroids and TET possessed relatively low toxicities with their LC 50 data from the range of 33.78 (29.12–38.39) to 1125 (922.4–1,442) μg mL −1 . Among 98 evaluated THI-containing binary to octonary mixtures, 29.59% of combinations exhibited synergistic effects. In contrast, 18.37% of combinations exhibited antagonistic effects on A. mellifera . Moreover, 54.8% pesticide combinations incorporating THI and TET displayed synergistic toxicities to the insects. Our findings emphasized that the coexistence of several pesticides might induce enhanced toxicity to honey bees. Overall, our results afforded worthful toxicological information on the combined actions of neonicotinoids and current-use pesticides on honey bees, which could accelerate farther comprehend on the possible detriments of other pesticide mixtures in agro-environment.

Objectives In the present study, we aim to show the results of microwave ablation (MWA) for medically inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) with long-term follow-up. Methods From Feb 2011 to Mar 2016, patients with histologically proven clinical stage I NSCLC were treated with CT-guided MWA and retrospectively analyzed. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included disease-free survival (DFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and complications. Results A total of 105 patients with 105 lesions underwent MWA. The mean age was 70.7 years (range: 40–86 years), and the mean diameter of all lesions was 2.40 cm (range: 0.9–4.0 cm). Adenocarcinoma was the most common histological type (77, 73.3%), followed by squamous cell carcinomas (21, 20%) and undefined NSCLC (7, 6.7%). With a median follow-up of 54.8 months, the median DFS was 36.0 months, and 1-, 3-, and 5-year DFS rates were 89.5%, 49.4%, and 42.7%, respectively. The median CSS and OS were 89.8 and 64.2 months, respectively. The OS rate was 99% at 1 year, 75.6% at 3 years, and 54.1% at 5 years, while the CSS rates were 99%, 78.9%, and 60.9%, respectively. Patients with stage IB lesions had significant shorter DFS (22.3 months vs. undefined, HR: 11.5, 95%CI: 5.85–22.40) and OS (37.3 vs. 89.8 months, HR: 8.64, 95% CI: 4.49–16.60) than IA disease. Conclusion MWA is a safe, effective, and potentially curative therapy for medically inoperable stage I NSCLC patients. Key Points • In this multicenter retrospective study which included 105 patients, we found the median overall survival (OS) was 64.2 months. The OS rate was 99% at 1 year, 75.6% at 3 years, and 54.1% at 5 years . • Procedures were technically successful and well tolerated in all patients. Most MWA complications were mild or moderate .

RESUMEN: We have observed that the dry-season length (DSL) has increased over southern Amazonia since 1979, primarily owing to a delay of its ending dates (dry-season end, DSE), and is accompanied by a prolonged fire season. A poleward shift of the subtropical jet over South America and an increase of local convective inhibition energy in austral winter (June–August) seem to cause the delay of the DSE in austral spring (September–November). These changes cannot be simply linked to the variability of the tropical Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Although they show some resemblance to the effects of anthropogenic forcings reported in the literature, we cannot attribute them to this cause because of inadequate representation of these processes in the global climate models that were presented in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report. These models significantly underestimate the variability of the DSE and DSL and their controlling processes. Such biases imply that the future change of the DSE and DSL may be underestimated by the climate projections provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report models. Although it is not clear whether the observed increase of the DSL will continue in the future, were it to continue at half the rate of that observed, the long DSL and fire season that contributed to the 2005 drought would become the new norm by the late 21st century. The large uncertainty shown in this study highlights the need for a focused effort to better understand and simulate these changes over southern Amazonia.

Understanding how hailstorm trends have changed in the context of climate change is a persistent challenge, mainly because of the lack of long-term consistent observations of hailstorms. Here, we leverage hail damage records from Chinese historical books and extend hailstorm records to approximately 2890 years ago, exploring variations in the number of hailstorm days between 1500 and 1949 based on reliable and consistent data. We show that the number of hailstorm days was constant before 1850, but has increased significantly afterwards. This increase in hailstorm days seems to be associated with the increase in surface temperature after the population effect is removed. In addition to the trend, hailstorm activity is found to display both quasicentennial and multidecadal variability, with the former (later) dominating before (after) the 1850s, driven by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). These results suggest that long-term changes in hailstorm days in China are modulated by climate warming and natural variability, via the PDO. Future projections based on different climate change scenarios and a convolutional neural network model show a further increase in the number of hailstorm days in the 21 st century. The authors use historical hailstorm records in China dating back to 2980 years ago and show an increase in hailstorm days after 1850 attributed to global warming and internal climate variability. Future projections indicate further increases under sustained warming.

In many countries, thunderstorms are the main contributor to hourly extreme precipitation (HEP). Prior studies have shown that the number of thunderstorms decreased steadily in whole country of China; however, HEP has increased significantly in several areas over the past half-century. The role of thunderstorms in changes in HEP occurrence remains largely unknown in China. In this study, for the first time, we used continuous 32-yr records of hourly precipitation and thunder, and the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis (ERA5), to analyze changes in thunderstorms under various vertical wind shear (VWS) environments, and their contribution to HEP occurrence. The number of HEP events associated with thunderstorms (TD-HEP) increased significantly in southern China (SC) but decreased significantly in northeastern China (NEC) and east of the Tibetan Plateau (ETP). Weak VWS thunderstorms accounted for 69.1% of TD-HEP in SC. Changes in the most unstable convective available potential energy and precipitable water (PW) in SC favored an increase in weak-VWS thunderstorms, which resulted in an increase of 2.35 h per warm season in overall “station-mean” TD-HEP events from 1980 to 2011. As the major contributor to HEP in NEC, moderate VWS thunderstorms decreased by 0.37 h per warm season, due mainly to a reduction in PW, leading to a negative trend in TD-HEP events. Similarly, the decreasing TD-HEP occurrence on the ETP was due to a decrease of 1.12 h per warm season of moderate VWS thunderstorms. Studying the VWS environments of thunderstorms, and changes therein under a warming climate, can improve understanding of the changes in HEP in China.