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The main advancements of the Beijing Climate Center (BCC) climate system model from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) to phase 6 (CMIP6) are presented, in terms of physical parameterizations and model performance. BCC-CSM1.1 and BCC-CSM1.1m are the two models involved in CMIP5, whereas BCC-CSM2-MR, BCC-CSM2-HR, and BCC-ESM1.0 are the three models configured for CMIP6. Historical simulations from 1851 to 2014 from BCC-CSM2-MR (CMIP6) and from 1851 to 2005 from BCC-CSM1.1m (CMIP5) are used for models assessment. The evaluation matrices include the following: (a) the energy budget at top-of-atmosphere; (b) surface air temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric circulation for the global and East Asia regions; (c) the sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific; (d) sea-ice extent and thickness and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC); and (e) climate variations at different timescales, such as the global warming trend in the 20th century, the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), and the diurnal cycle of precipitation. Compared with BCC-CSM1.1m, BCC-CSM2-MR shows significant improvements in many aspects including the tropospheric air temperature and circulation at global and regional scales in East Asia and climate variability at different timescales, such as the QBO, the MJO, the diurnal cycle of precipitation, interannual variations of SST in the equatorial Pacific, and the long-term trend of surface air temperature.

Background CD44 has been reported to be involved with tumor growth and metastasis and has also been implicated as a CSC marker in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). However, the prognostic value of CD44 still remains controversial; hence, we investigated the correlation between CD44 and the clinicopathological features of HNSCC by meta-analysis. Methods A comprehensive search was performed using PubMed, ISI web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to April 2013. Only studies with immunohistochemical staining of HNSCC were considered. Data on TNM classification, tumor grade, disease free survival and 3- or 5-year overall survival rate were extracted. Results Thirty studies with 2102 patients met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Fifteen studies used anti-pan-CD44 antibody, 9 used anti-CD44-v6 antibody, 2 used anti-CD44-v3 and 2 used anti-CD44s antibody, 1 used anti-CD44-v9, and 1 used anti-CD44-v6,-v3 and -v4-5 simultaneously. The total percentage of CD44 expression was 57.8%, with 49.3% in oral cancer patients, 66.4% in pharynx and 54.7% in larynx cancer patients expressing CD44. No significant correlation between clinical features and CD44 expression was revealed for oral cancer patients, but CD44 was shown to be associated with advanced T categories (larynx: RR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.01-1.76; larynx & pharynx RR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.35), worse N categories (larynx: RR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.99-3.21; larynx & pharynx RR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.35-2.82), higher tumor grades (larynx & pharynx RR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.04-2.79) and 5-year OS rates (larynx: RR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.47-0.83; larynx & pharynx RR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.47-0.94) in patients with laryngeal and pharyngolaryngeal cancer. In stratified analysis, pan-CD44 and CD44-v6 expression were both correlated with 5-year OS rate of patients with laryngeal (CD44: RR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.46-0.95; CD44-v6 RR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.37-0.77) and pharyngolaryngeal cancer (CD44: RR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.34-0.93; CD44-v6 RR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.37-0.77). Conclusions Our analysis suggested that CD44 is related to worse T category, N category, tumor grade and prognosis, in pharyngeal and laryngeal cancer, but no clear association was revealed between CD44 expression and oral cancer.

This paper reports findings from a diagnostic and modeling analysis that investigates the impacts of the boreal late-spring soil moisture anomalies over North Eurasia on the summer rainfall over northern East Asia (NEA). The soil moisture in May from the Kara-Laptev Sea coasts to Central Siberian Plateau is found to be negatively correlated with the summer rainfall from Mongolia to Northeast China. The atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with the anomalously dry soil are characterized by a pressure dipole with the high-pressure center located over North Eurasia and low-pressure center over NEA, where an anomalous water vapor convergence occurs, favoring rainfall formation. Diagnoses and modeling experiments demonstrate that the effects of the spring lower soil moisture over North Eurasia may persist into the following summer, then increase the low-level air temperature at higher latitudes through modulating local surface latent and sensible heat fluxes, and effectively reduce the meridional temperature gradient north of NEA. The weakened temperature gradient could induce the decreased vertical shear of zonal wind and generate an anomalously cyclonic center over NEA by affecting the baroclinicity around 60° N, associated with a favorable condition of local synoptic activity to increase rainfall. The above relationships and mechanisms are vice versa for the prior wetter North Eurasian soil and decreased NEA rainfall. These findings suggest that the soil moisture anomalies at higher latitudes may act as a new precursor providing an additional predictability source for better predicting the summer rainfall in NEA.

Tumor hypoxia plays a fundamental role in resistance to therapy and disease progression. A number of studies have assessed the prognostic role of HIFs expression in head and neck cancer (HNC), but no consistent outcomes are reported. A systematical search was performed to search relevant literatures in PubMed, Web of Science and ISI Web of Knowledge databases. The patients' clinical characteristics and survival outcome were extracted. The correlation between HIFs expression and prognosis was analyzed. A total of 28 studies assessed the association between HIFs and HNC survival, the result showed that overexpressed HIFs was significantly associated with increase of mortality risk (HR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.52-2.94; I(2) 74%). Subgroup analysis on different HIF isoforms with OS indicated that both HIF-1α and HIF-2α were associated with worse prognosis. The pooled HRs were 1.72(95% CI 1.34-2.20; I(2) 70.7%) and 1.79(95% CI: 1.42-2.27, I(2) 0%). Further subgroup analysis was performed by different geographical locations, disease subtype, stage, types of variate analysis and cut-off value. The results revealed that overexpressed HIF-1α was significantly associated with poor prognosis in Asian patients (HR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.76-3.1; I(2) 48.9%), but not in European patients (HR = 1.13; 95% CI: 0.77-1.66; I(2) 78.3%). Furthermore, HIF-1α overexpression was significantly associated with worse OS in oral carcinoma (HR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.11-3.97; I(2) 81.7%), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (HR = 2.07; 95% CI:1.23-3.49; I(2) 22.5%) and oropharynx carcinoma (HR = 1.76; 95% CI:1.05-2.97; I(2) 61%), but not in laryngeal carcinoma (HR = 1.38; 95% CI: 0.87-2.19; I(2) 62.5%). We also found that the prognostic value of HIF-1α overexpression existed only when using staining and percentage as positive definition (HR = 1.82; 95% CI 1.42-2.33; I(2) 9.9%). This study showed that overexpressed HIFs were significantly associated with increase of mortality risk. Subgroup analysis revealed that overexpressed HIF-1α was significantly associated with worse prognosis of HNC in Asian countries. Additionally, HIF-1α had different prognostic value in different HNC disease subtypes.

Depression is a chronic psychiatric disorder and belongs to one of the leading causes of suicide worldwide. Peroxiredoxins (Prdxs) play a critical role in scavenging excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitigating oxidative stress. However, the role and underlying mechanisms of Prdxs in depression have not been fully illustrated. We carried out lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ICR depression mice and BV2 cell inflammation models. Seven days after LPS-induction, behaviors in ICR mice were assessed by open field test (OFT), sucrose preference test (SPT), and forced swim test (FST), and inflammatory factors levels in serum were quantified via ELISA. The expression levels of Prdxs were evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blotting (WB), and RT-qPCR. In LPS-induced BV2 cells, inflammatory factor levels in the supernatant were measured by ELISA. Nitric oxide (NO) levels were detected by biochemical assay. ROS levels were detected via fluorescence signal intensity. Prdxs expression levels were analyzed using WB and RT-qPCR. In LPS-induced ICR mice serum and BV2 cells supernatant, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) levels exhibited significant elevation (p < 0.05). In the hippocampus region of LPS-induced mice and LPS-induced BV2 cells, significant upregulation of Prdx1, Prdx2, Prdx4, and Prdx5 levels was observed (p < 0.05). The ROS and NO levels in LPS-induced BV2 cells also significantly increased (p < 0.05). This study revealed that Prdx1, Prdx2, Prdx4, and Prdx5 were elevated in depression models, which might relate to the occurrence of neuroinflammation, coupled with upregulation of oxidative stress responses. This study provided new strategies for the treatment of depression.

The cytokinin 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) is widely used to regulate the growth of horticultural crops. However, it is not clear how postharvest treatment with 6-BA at various concentrations affects the quality of Chinese flowering cabbage. In this study, harvested Chinese flowering cabbage was foliar sprayed with 6-BA solution at concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg·L−1. All 6-BA treatments protected the quality of Chinese flowering cabbage during storage, and the treatment with 20 and 40 mg·L−1 6-BA showed the most obvious effect. Treatment with 6-BA reduced leaf yellowing degree and weight loss rate; maintained high chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents; suppressed the declines in ascorbic acid and soluble protein; enhanced antioxidant capacity; and reduced oxidative damage in cabbage leaves. Furthermore, 6-BA treatment upregulated the expression of antioxidant genes and the activities of SOD, POD, and CAT, while inhibiting the expression of senescence-related gene (BrSAG12) and chlorophyll catabolic genes (BrPAO, BrPPH, BrSGR1, BrNYC1, BrRCCR). These results suggest that postharvest 6-BA treatment enhances antioxidant capacity, delays leaf senescence, and inhibits chlorophyll degradation, thereby maintaining the quality of Chinese flowering cabbage during storage. The findings of this study provide a candidate method for preserving Chinese flowering cabbage after harvest.

Gel electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries continue to replace the organic liquid electrolytes in conventional batteries due to their advantages of being less prone to leakage and non-explosive and possessing a high modulus of elasticity. However, the development of gel electrolytes has been hindered by their generally low ionic conductivity at room temperature and high interfacial impedance with electrodes. In this paper, a poly (vinylidene fluoride)-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (PVdF-HFP) with a flexible structure, Li6PS5Cl (LPSCl) powder of the sulfur–silver–germanium ore type, and lithium perchlorate salt (LiClO4) were prepared into sulfide gel composite electrolyte films (GCEs) via a thermosetting process. The experimental results showed that the gel composite electrolyte with 1% LPSCl in the PVdF-HFP matrix exhibited an ionic conductivity as high as 1.27 × 10−3 S·cm−1 at 25 °C and a lithium ion transference number of 0.63. The assembled LiFePO4||GCEs||Li batteries have excellent rate (130 mAh·g−1 at 1 C and 54 mAh·g−1 at 5 C) and cycling (capacity retention was 93% after 100 cycles at 0.1 C and 80% after 150 cycles at 0.2 C) performance. This work provides new methods and strategies for the design and fabrication of solid-state batteries with high ionic conductivity and high specific energy.

Based on the gravimetric-technique-measured soil relative wetness and the observed soil characteristic parameters from 1992 to 2013 in China, this study derives a user-convenient monthly volumetric soil moisture (SM) dataset from 732 stations for five soil layers (10, 20, 50, 70, and 100 cm). The temporal–spatial variations in SM and its relationship with precipitation (Pr) in different subregions are then explored. The magnitude of SM is relatively large in south China and is low in northwest China, and it generally increases with soil depth in each region. The maximum SM appears in spring and/or autumn and the minimum in summer, and the SM seasonality does not vary as distinctly as that of Pr. For the top three soil layers (10−, 20−, and 50-cm levels), the linear trend analysis indicates an overall increasing SM tendency, and the mean trends (averaged across stations with trends passing a 95% significance level test) are 9.35 3 10−7, 7.37 × 1023, and 2.45 × 1023 cm−3 cm−3 yr−1, respectively. SM memory depends on the soil depth and regions, and it has longer retention time in the deeper layers. Furthermore, the correlation betweenSMand antecedent Pr varies with soil depth and lag time. The antecedent Pr anomaly (1 or 2 months in advance) can be used to some extent as a surrogate SM anomaly in most regions except for in arid regions. This result is further demonstrated by the relationships between the SM anomaly and the standardized precipitation index. The current SM dataset can be used in various applications, such as validating satellite-retrieved products and model outputs.

Land cover is one of the most basic input elements of land surface and climate models. Currently, the direct and indirect effects of land cover data on climate and climate change are receiving increasing attentions. In this study, a high resolution （30 m） global land cover dataset （GlobeLand30） produced by Chinese scientists was, for the first time, used in the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model （BCC_CSM） to assess the influences of land cover dataset on land surface and climate simulations. A two-step strategy was designed to use the GlobeLand30 data in the model. First, the GlobeLand30 data were merged with other satellite remote sensing and climate datasets to regenerate plant functional type （PFT） data fitted for the BCC_CSM. Second, the up-scaling based on an area-weighted approach was used to aggregate the fine-resolution GlobeLand30 land cover type and area percentage with the coarser model grid resolutions globally. The GlobeLand30-based and the BCC_CSM-based land cover data had generally consistent spatial distribution features, but there were some differences between them. The simulation results of the different land cover type dataset change experiments showed that effects of the new PFT data were larger than those of the new glaciers and water bodies （lakes and wetlands）. The maximum value was attained when dataset of all land cover types were changed. The positive bias of precipitation in the mid-high latitude of the northern hemisphere and the negative bias in the Amazon, as well as the negative bias of air temperature in part of the southern hemisphere, were reduced when the GlobeLand30-based data were used in the BCC_CSM atmosphere model. The results suggest that the GlobeLand30 data are suitable for use in the BCC_CSM component models and can improve the performance of the land and atmosphere simulations.

This paper describes a strategy for merging daily precipitation information from gauge observations, satellite estimates （SEs）, and numerical predictions at the global scale. The strategy is designed to remove systemic bias and random error from each individual daily precipitation source to produce a better gridded global daily precipitation product through three steps. First, a cumulative distribution function matching procedure is performed to remove systemic bias over gauge-located land areas. Then, the overall biases in SEs and model predictions （MPs） over ocean areas are corrected using a rescaled strategy based on monthly precipitation. Third, an optimal interpolation （OI）-based merging scheme （referred as the HL-OI scheme） is used to combine unbiased gahge observations, SEs, and MPs to reduce random error from each source and to produce a gauge--satellite-model merged daily precipitation analysis, called BMEP-d （Beijing Climate Center Merged Estimation of Precipitation with daily resolution）, with complete global coverage. The BMEP-d data from a four-year period （2011- 14） demonstrate the ability of the merging strategy to provide global daily precipitation of substantially improved quality. Benefiting from the advantages of the HL-OI scheme for quantitative error estimates, the better source data can obtain more weights during the merging processes. The BMEP-d data exhibit higher consistency with satellite and gauge source data at middle and low latitudes, and with model source data at high latitudes. Overall, independent validations against GPCP-1DD （GPCP one-degree daily） show that the consistencies between B MEP-d and GPCP-1DD are higher than those of each source dataset in terms of spatial pattern, temporal variability, probability distribution, and statistical precipitation events.