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Nitric oxide (NO) plays key roles both in thermospheric energetics and upper‐lower atmosphere coupling. However, mesospheric NO in the polar night region has often been underestimated in whole atmosphere models, and the exact causes are not well understood. Recent high‐resolution (HR) WACCM‐X simulations show significant increase in NO in the polar night, and our analysis reveals distinct differences in the vertical transport between the HR and coarse resolution (CR) simulations: The residual mean vertical wind in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region displays mesoscale flow channels that are strong and alternate between upward and downward directions in the former, with large net downward transport over the polar region. In the latter it is much weaker and even upward over large latitude ranges. Moreover, the resolved waves in the HR simulations induce downward eddy transport of NO in the MLT much stronger than the parameterized diffusion in CR simulations. Plain Language Summary The Earth's thermosphere is heated by the solar extreme ultraviolet irradiance and by energetic particle precipitation during solar and geomagnetic storms, and NO is one of the most important cooling agent in the thermosphere. The NO level increases rapidly during storm time, making it a natural thermostat for the thermosphere. Moreover, NO is long‐lived in polar night region, where it can descend along with the general circulation into the middle atmosphere (MA) and effectively destroy ozone. It is therefore an important species for the energy balance of the upper atmosphere and the chemistry and dynamics of the MA. However, until recently NO in the winter middle and upper atmosphere is often underestimated in global models that simulate the whole atmosphere system. Newly developed HR whole atmosphere simulations, on the other hand, start to show considerable improvement. Our analysis presented in this study reveals rigorous downward transport in the winter MLT from the HR model that is not seen in coarse‐resolution simulations. The strong downward transport is mainly driven by gravity waves resolved by the HR model. Key Points Nitric oxide level in the winter mesosphere is higher in high‐resolution (HR) WACCM‐X simulations, in better agreement with observations Downward transport driven by resolved gravity waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere plays a critical role Residual mean vertical wind from the HR simulations displays mesoscale flow channels

Although metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been reported to be associated with cognitive decline and dementia, little was known about late-life MetS and cognitive decline among older old population. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of MetS and cognitive decline among men aged 75 and over in Taiwan. This is a prospective cohort study which recruited men aged 75 years and older with intact cognitive function living in the Banciao Veterans Home, a retirement community for veterans in northern Taiwan. All participants received complete history taking, physical examinations, global cognitive tests and laboratory tests. Cognitive status was re-evaluated one year after enrollment to evaluate the role of MetS to cognitive decline in this study population. Overall, 338 people participated in the study and 62 of them were excluded due to low baseline MMSE score, and the remaining 276 people (mean age: 82.4±4.2 years) were enrolled for study. The prevalence of MetS and annual cognitive decline were 22.5% and 15.6%, respectively. During the follow-up period, 9 (3.3%) participants died, 229(83.0%) complete the study. Subjects with cognitive decline were older and had lower serum levels of serum total cholesterol. Multivariate logistic regression showed that older age (OR:1.13, 95% C.I.: 1.01–1.25, P=0.026) and central obesity (OR: 4.19, 95% CI: 1.26–13.91, P=0.019) were independent risk factors for cognitive decline; and MetS defined by Adult Treatment Panel III was a protective factor (OR: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.04–0.94, P=0.041). The protective effect of MetS remained the same when MetS was defined by the criteria of International Diabetes Federation. Age and central obesity were significant risk factors of cognitive decline, but late-life MetS, however defined, had protective effect on cognitive function. Further investigation is needed to clarify the possible mechanism of MetS and cognitive function in older adults.

An efficient automated toolkit for predicting the mechanical properties of materials can accelerate new materials design and discovery; this process often involves screening large configurational space in high-throughput calculations. Herein, we present the ElasTool toolkit for these applications. In particular, we use the ElasTool to study diversity of 2D materials and heterostructures including their temperature-dependent mechanical properties, and developed a machine learning algorithm for exploring predicted properties.

The high‐resolution Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere/ionosphere extension (WACCM‐X) is used to study the impacts of gravity waves (GWs) on the thermospheric circulation and composition. The resolved GWs are found to propagate anisotropically with stronger eastward components at most altitudes. The dissipation of these waves in the thermosphere produces a net eastward forcing that reaches peak values between 200 and 250 km at mid‐high latitudes in both hemispheres. Consequently, the mean circulation is weakened in the winter hemisphere and enhanced in the summer, which in turn impacts the thermospheric composition. Most notably, the column integrated O/N2 in both hemispheres is reduced and agrees better with observations. The mean thermospheric GW forcing in the meridional direction has comparable amplitude and acts to modify the gradient‐wind relationship. Plain Language Summary Small‐scale waves originate from the lower atmosphere have been shown to propagate into the thermosphere. To study their effects a high‐resolution whole atmosphere model has been employed. Using this high‐resolution model, which can partially resolve the small‐scale waves, we can directly quantify the force exerted by these waves on the general circulation in the thermosphere. We found that such force is strong, and affects the thermospheric circulation in both winter and summer hemisphere. This consequently changes the distribution of important thermospheric species. One measure of the thermospheric composition is the ratio of atomic oxygen and molecular nitrogen, which is an indicator of the relative abundance of atomic and molecular species. This ratio has been grossly over‐estimated in previous modeling studies. It is reduced as a result of the circulation change, and is much better agreement with observations. Key Points Gravity waves (GWs) resolved by high‐resolution WACCM‐X displays anisotropic propagation GW forcing alters thermospheric circulation The circulation change leads to a much improved thermospheric O/N2

The coupling of the ionosphere to processes from below remains an elusive and difficult problem, as rapidly changing external drivers from above mask variations related to lower atmospheric sources. Here we use superposition of unique circumstances, current deep solar minimum and a record‐breaking stratospheric warming event, to gain new insights into causes of ionospheric perturbations. We show large (50–150%) persistent variations in the low‐latitude ionosphere (200–1000 km) that occur several days after a sudden warming event in the high‐latitude winter stratosphere (∼30 km). We rule out solar irradiance and geomagnetic activity as explanations of the observed variation. Using a general circulation model, we interpret these observations in terms of large changes in atmospheric tides from their nonlinear interaction with planetary waves that are strengthened during sudden warmings. We anticipate that further understanding of the coupling processes with planetary waves, accentuated during the stratospheric sudden warming events, has the potential of enabling the forecast of low‐latitude ionospheric weather up to several days in advance.

Global change has been shown to alter the amount of above-ground litter inputs to soil greatly, which could cause substantial cascading effects on below-ground biogeochemical cycling. Despite extensive study, there is uncertainty about how changes in above-ground litter inputs affect soil carbon and nutrient turnover and transformation. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis on 70 litter-manipulation experiments in order to assess how changes in above-ground litter inputs alter soil physicochemical properties, carbon dynamics and nutrient cycles. Our results demonstrated that litter removal decreased soil respiration by 34%, microbial biomass carbon in the mineral soil by 39% and total carbon in the mineral soil by 10%, whereas litter addition increased them by 31, 26 and 10%, respectively. This suggests that greater litter inputs increase the soil carbon sink despite higher rates of carbon release and transformation. Total nitrogen and extractable inorganic nitrogen in the mineral soil decreased by 17 and 30%, respectively, under litter removal, but were not altered by litter addition. Overall, litter manipulation had a significant impact upon soil temperature and moisture, but not soil pH; litter inputs were more crucial in buffering soil temperature and moisture fluctuations in grassland than in forest. Compared to other ecosystems, tropical and subtropical forests were more sensitive to variation in litter inputs, as altered litter inputs affected the turnover and accumulation of soil carbon and nutrients more substantially over a shorter time period. Our study demonstrates that although the magnitude of responses differed greatly among ecosystems, the direction of the responses was very similar across different ecosystems. Interactions between plant productivity and below-ground biogeochemical cycling need to be taken into account to predict ecosystem responses to environmental change.

Background: There is some evidence for an association between traffic noise and ischemic heart disease; however, associations with blood pressure have been inconsistent, and little is known about health effects of railway noise. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effects of railway and traffic noise exposure on blood pressure; a secondary aim was to address potentially susceptible subpopulations. Methods: We performed adjusted linear regression analyses using data from 6,450 participants of the second survey of the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults (SAPALDIA 2) to estimate the associations of daytime and nighttime railway and traffic noise (A-weighted decibels) with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; millimeters of mercury). Noise data were provided by the Federal Office for the Environment. Stratified analyses by selfreported hypertension, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and diabetes were performed. Results: Mean noise exposure during the day and night was 51 dB(A) and 39 dB(A) for traffic noise, respectively, and 19 dB(A) and 17 dB(A) for railway noise. Adjusted regression models yielded significant effect estimates for a 10 dB(A) increase in railway noise during the night [SBP β = 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22, 1.46; DBP β = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.81] and day (SBP β = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.07, 1.13). Additional adjustment for nitrogen dioxide left effect estimates almost unchanged. Stronger associations were estimated for participants with chronic disease. Significant associations with traffic noise were seen only among participants with diabetes. Conclusion: We found evidence of an adverse effect of railway noise on blood pressure in this cohort population. Traffic noise was associated with higher blood pressure only in diabetics, possibly due to low exposure levels. The study results imply more severe health effects by transportation noise in vulnerable populations, such as adults with hypertension, diabetes, or CVD.

Prostate tumors develop resistance to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) by multiple mechanisms, one of which is to express constitutively active androgen receptor (AR) splice variants lacking the ligand-binding domain. AR splice variant 7 (AR-V7, also termed AR3) is the most abundantly expressed variant that drives prostate tumor progression under ADT conditions. However, the molecular mechanism by which AR-V7 is generated remains unclear. In this manuscript, we demonstrated that RNA splicing of AR-V7 in response to ADT was closely associated with AR gene transcription initiation and elongation rates. Enhanced AR gene transcription by ADT provides a prerequisite condition that further increases the interactions between AR pre-mRNA and splicing factors. Under ADT conditions, recruitment of several RNA splicing factors to the 3′ splicing site for AR-V7 was increased. We identified two RNA splicing enhancers and their binding proteins (U2AF65 and ASF/SF2) that had critical roles in splicing AR pre-mRNA into AR-V7. These data indicate that ADT-induced AR gene transcription rate and splicing factor recruitment to AR pre-mRNA contribute to the enhanced AR-V7 levels in prostate cancer cells.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer death, reflecting the need for better understanding the oncogenesis, and developing new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for the malignancy. Emerging evidence suggests that small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) have malfunctioning roles in tumorigenesis. Our recent study demonstrated that small nucleolar RNA 42 ( SNORA42 ) was overexpressed in lung tumors. Here, we investigate the role of SNORA42 in tumorigenesis of NSCLC. We simultaneously assess genomic dosages and expression levels of SNORA42 and its host gene, KIAA0907 , in 10 NSCLC cell lines and a human bronchial epithelial cell line. We then determine in vitro functional significance of SNORA42 in lung cancer cell lines through gain- and loss-of-function analyses. We also inoculate cancer cells with SNORA42-siRNA into mice through either tail vein or subcutaneous injection. We finally evaluate expression level of SNORA42 on frozen surgically resected lung tumor tissues of 64 patients with stage I NSCLC by using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR assay. Genomic amplification and associated high expression of SNORA42 rather than KIAA0907 are frequently observed in lung cancer cells, suggesting that SNORA42 overexpression is activated by its genomic amplification. SNORA42 knockdown in NSCLC cells inhibits in vitro and in vivo tumorigenicity, whereas enforced SNORA42 expression in bronchial epitheliums increases cell growth and colony formation. Such pleiotropy of SNORA42 suppression could be achieved at least partially through increased apoptosis of NSCLC cells in a p53-dependent manner. SNORA42 expression in lung tumor tissue specimens is inversely correlated with survival of NSCLC patients. Therefore, SNORA42 activation could have an oncogenic role in lung tumorigenesis and provide potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets for the malignancy.