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The incidence and mortality rate of cancer has been quickly increasing in the past decades. At present, cancer has become the leading cause of death worldwide. Most of the cancers cannot be effectively diagnosed at the early stage. Although there are multiple therapeutic treatments, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted drugs, their effectiveness is still limited. The overall survival rate of malignant cancers is still low. It is necessary to further study the mechanisms for malignant cancers, and explore new biomarkers and targets that are more sensitive and effective for early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cancers than traditional biomarkers and methods. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNA transcripts with a length greater than 200 nucleotides. Generally, lncRNAs are not capable of encoding proteins or peptides. LncRNAs exert diverse biological functions by regulating gene expressions and functions at transcriptional, translational, and post-translational levels. In the past decade, it has been demonstrated that the dysregulated lncRNA profile is widely involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cancer, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. In particular, lncRNAs have been revealed to play an important role in tumor growth and metastasis. Many lncRNAs have been shown to be potential biomarkers and targets for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. This review aims to briefly discuss the latest findings regarding the roles and mechanisms of some important lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of certain malignant cancers, including lung, breast, liver, and colorectal cancers, as well as hematological malignancies and neuroblastoma.

This paper describes the C-band multi-polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor for the Gaofen-3 (GF-3) mission. Based on the requirement analysis, the design of working modes and SAR payload are given. An accurate antenna model is introduced for the pattern optimization and SAR performance calculation. The paper concludes with an overview of predicted performance which was verified by in-orbit tests.

The cause of severe droughts over the Southwest China (SWC) during the local dry season is investigated based on the station rainfall data and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data during 1951–2010. The droughts are in general consistent with local anomalous descent in the middle troposphere. The diagnosis of the vertical motion (omega) equation indicates that the local descent is primarily maintained by the anomalous cold temperature advection processes. Both the advection of anomalous temperature by mean wind and the advection of mean temperature by anomalous wind contribute to maintaining the anomalous descent over the SWC region. A composite analysis shows that the circulation anomaly over SWC is induced by remote forcing from the tropical Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans. During La Niña years, enhanced heating over the Maritime Continent induces anomalous downward motion over SWC through the connection of local Hadley circulation. Adiabatic warming associated with the downward motion helps to set up and maintain the local anomalous anticyclone. Another possible route is through the North Atlantic-Asia teleconnection, in which downstream Rossby wave energy propagation plays a crucial role. A negative-phase North Atlantic Oscillation may trigger a large-scale wave train pattern that induces an anomalous anticyclone over the subtropical Asia and promotes the dry condition over SWC.

The subduction and export of Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) supplies the upper limb of the overturning circulation and makes an important contribution to global heat, freshwater, carbon and nutrient budgets1–5. Upper ocean heat content has increased since 2006, helping to explain the so-called global warming hiatus between 1998 and 2014, with much of the ocean warming concentrated in extratropical latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere in close association with SAMW and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW)6,7. Here we use Argo observations to assess changes in the thickness, depth and heat content of the SAMW layer. Between 2005 and 2015, SAMW has thickened (3.6 ± 0.3 m yr−1), deepened (2.4 ± 0.2 m yr−1) and warmed (3.9 ± 0.3 W m−2). Wind forcing, rather than buoyancy forcing, is largely responsible for the observed trends in SAMW. Most (84%) of the increase in SAMW heat content is the result of changes in thickness; warming by buoyancy forcing (increased heat flux to the ocean) accounts for the remaining 16%. Projected increases in wind stress curl would drive further deepening of SAMW and increase in heat storage in the Southern Hemisphere oceans.

Azimuth resolution and swath width are two crucial parameters in spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems. However, it is difficult for conventional spaceborne SAR to simultaneously achieve high-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) due to the minimum antenna area constraint. To mitigate this limitation, some representative HRWS SAR imaging techniques have been investigated, e.g., the azimuth multichannel technique, digital beamforming (DBF) technique, and pulse repetition interval (PRI) variation technique. This paper focus on a comprehensive review of the three techniques with respect to their latest developments. First, some key parameters of HRWS SAR are presented and analyzed to help the reader establish the general concept of SAR. Second, three techniques are introduced in detail, roughly following a simple-to-complex approach, i.e., start with the basic concept, then move to the core principles and classic technical details, and finally report the technical challenges and corresponding solutions. Third, some in-depth insights on the comparison among the three techniques are given. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review and brief perspective on the development of HRWS SAR.

Ultra-high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has important applications in military and civilian fields. However, the acquisition of high-resolution SAR imagery poses considerable processing challenges, including limitations in traditional slant range model precision, the spatial variation in equivalent velocity, spectral aliasing, and non-negligible error introduced by stop-and-go assumption. To this end, this paper proposes an improved extended wavenumber domain imaging algorithm for ultra-high-resolution SAR to systematically address the imaging quality degradation caused by these challenges. In the proposed algorithm, the one-step motion compensation method is employed to compensate for the errors caused by orbital curvature through range-dependent envelope shift interpolation and phase function correction. Then, the interpolation based on modified Stolt mapping is performed, thereby facilitating effective separation of the range and azimuth focusing. Finally, the residual range cell migration correction is applied to eliminate range position errors, followed by azimuth compression to achieve high-precision focusing. Both simulation and spaceborne data experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Nonlinear frequency modulated (NLFM) signals can be used to enhance the resolution, anti-jamming capability, and imaging quality of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems through optimized design, demonstrating substantial application potential. However, in a SAR system using NLFM signals, the non-start–stop effect, caused by the continuous motion of the platform during pulse transmission and reception, introduces significant errors, resulting in target defocusing. To tackle this problem, this paper proposes a general numerical error compensation method dedicated to NLFM signals. First, the error model is correspondingly derived from the non-start–stop assumption. Then, a phase compensation method is designed through numerical calculations. Simulation experiments are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. This method provides a robust error compensation framework for high-resolution SAR systems using NLFM signals.

Multistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a special mode of SAR system. The radar transmitter and receiver are located on different satellites, which brings many advantages, such as flexible baseline configuration, diverse receiving modes, and more detailed ground object classification information. The multistatic SAR has been widely used in interferometry, moving target detection, three-dimensional imaging, and other fields. The frequency offset between different oscillators will cause a modulation phase error in the signal. Therefore, phase synchronization is one of the most critical problems to be addressed in distributed SAR systems. This article reviews phase synchronization techniques, which are mainly divided into two methods: synchronization by direct microwave link and synchronization by a data-based estimation algorithm. Furthermore, the future development of synchronization technology is anticipated.

Background Feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1) is a life threatening highly contagious virus in cats and typically causes upper respiratory tract infections as well as conjunctival and corneal ulcers. Genetic variability could alter the severity of diseases and clinical signs. Despite regular vaccine practices against FHV-1 in China, new FHV-1 cases still commonly occur. The genetic and phylogenetic characteristics of FHV-1 in Kunshan city of China has not been studied yet. Therefore, this study was planned to investigate the prevalence, molecular characteristics of circulating strains, and phylogenetic analyses of FHV-1. This is the first report of molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic characteristics of FHV-1 from naturally infected cats in Kunshan, China. Methods The occulo-nasal swabs were collected from diseased cats showing respiratory distress, conjunctivitis, and corneal ulcers at different veterinary clinics in Kunshan from 2022 to 2023. Clinical data and general information were recorded. Swab samples were processed for preliminary detection of FHV-1. Thymidine kinase ( TK ), glycoprotein B ( gB ) and glycoprotein D ( gD ) genes were sequenced and analyzed to investigate genetic diversity and evolution of FHV-1. Results The FHV-1 genome was detected in 43 (43/200, 21.5%) samples using RT-PCR targeting the TK gene. Statistical analysis showed a significant correlation between age, vaccination status and living environment ( p  < 0.05) with FHV-1 positivity, while a non-significant correlation was observed for FHV-1 positivity and sex of cats ( p  > 0.05). Additionally, eight FHV-1 positive cats were co-infected with feline calicivirus (8/43,18.6%). FHV-1 identified in the present study was confirmed as FHV-1 based on phylogenetic analyses. The sequence analyses revealed that 43 FHV-1 strains identified in the present study did not differ much with reference strains within China and worldwide. A nucleotide homology of 99-100% was determined among gB, TK and gD genes nucleotide sequences when compared with standard strain C-27 and vaccine strains. Amino acid analysis showed some amino acid substitutions in TK, gB and gD protein sequences. A potential N-linked glycosylation site was observed in all TK protein sequences. Phylogenetic analyses revealed minor variations and short evolutionary distance among FHV-1 strains detected in this study. Conclusions Our findings indicate that genomes of 43 FHV-1 strains are highly homogenous and antigenically similar, and the degree of variation in major envelope proteins between strains is low. This study demonstrated some useful data about prevalence, genetic characteristics, and evolution of FHV-1 in Kunshan, which may aid in future vaccine development.

This study examines the unique annual cycle characteristics of tropical cyclone (TC) genesis in the South China Sea (SCS). In contrast to the TC bimodal structure in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and its unimodal pattern in the Northwestern Pacific (WNP), the SCS exhibits a distinct step-like pattern with two jumps—the first occurring from April to May and the second from July to August, with the flat condition during May–June–July. Hence, TC in SCS witnesses the surprising transition between BoB and WNP. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, the genesis potential index is applied for a quantitative assessment of large-scale environmental factors. Results indicate that in the SCS, the mid-level atmospheric relative humidity is the dominant factor driving the first TC genesis jump in May, whereas the vertical wind shear contributes to the second jump. In the WNP, the mid-level atmospheric relative humidity remains the most crucial for TC peak feature. This study advances our understanding of the unique annual cycle of TC in the SCS in comparison with the neighboring BoB and NWP, offering valuable insights to improve the forecasting skills in the region.