Reconciling Lagrangian Diffusivity and Effective Diffusivity in Contour-Based Coordinates

The present study reconciles theoretical differences between the Lagrangian diffusivity and effective diffusivity in a transformed spatial coordinate based on the contours of a quasi-conservative tracer. In the transformed coordinate, any adiabatic stirring effect, such as shear-induced dispersion, is naturally isolated from diabatic cross-contour motions. Therefore, Lagrangian particle motions in the transformed coordinate obey a transformed zeroth-order stochastic (i.e., random walk) model with the diffusivity replaced by the effective diffusivity. Such a stochastic model becomes the theoretical foundation on which both diffusivities are exactly unified. In the absence of small-scale diffusion, particles do not disperse at all in the transformed contour coordinate. Besides, the corresponding Lagrangian autocorrelation becomes a delta function and is thus free from pronounced overshoot and negative lobe at short time lags that may be induced by either Rossby waves or mesoscale eddies; that is, particles decorrelate immediately and Lagrangian diffusivity is already asymptotic nomatter how small the time lag is. The resulting instantaneous Lagrangian spreading rate is thus conceptually identical to the effective diffusivity that only measures the instantaneous irreversible mixing. In these regards, the present study provides a new look at particle dispersion in contour-based coordinates

Institutionalized Governance Processes: Comparing Environmental Problem Solving in China and the United States

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Both China and the US have developed distinct governance processes to address environmental issues. The dominant processes of environmental governance in China take the form of (i) many laws but state planning is dominant and (ii) intermediate crisis scanning procedures and policy responses on an irregular or episodic basis outside the confines of the Five-Year Plans or other national plans. The parallel processes in the US involve (i) law-centered practices including the enactment of legislation, the promulgation of regulations, and the judgments of courts and (ii) federalism/multi-level governance featuring initiatives/innovations at national and sub-national levels of government and policy diffusion. These institutionalized governance processes are more deeply embedded in the political and social systems of the two countries than the range of factors commonly considered in discussions of policy instruments. Both sets of institutionalized governance processes produce successes in addressing environmental problems under some conditions and failures under others. But the determinants of success in the two systems are not the same, and there is no reason to expect the two systems to converge during the foreseeable future. The analysis of environmental problem solving in China and the US illustrates the power of the general idea of institutionalized governance processes as a basis for research on comparative politics in a wide range of settings.status: publishe

<i>SIL-TAL1</i> Rearrangement is Related with Poor Outcome: A Study from a Chinese Institution

<div><p><i>SIL-TAL1</i> rearrangement is common in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), however its prognostic implication remains controversial. To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcome of this subtype in Chinese population, we systemically reviewed 62 patients with newly diagnosed T-ALL, including 15 patients with <i>SIL-TAL1</i> rearrangement. We found that <i>SIL-TAL1⁺</i> T-ALL was characterized by higher white blood cell count (<i>P</i> = 0.029) at diagnosis, predominant cortical T-ALL immunophenotype (<i>P</i> = 0.028) of the leukemic blasts, and a higher prevalence of tumor lysis syndrome (TLS, <i>P</i><0.001) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC, <i>P</i><0.001), which led to a higher early mortality (<i>P</i> = 0.011). Compared with <i>SIL-TAL1⁻</i> patients, <i>SIL-TAL1⁺</i> patients had shorter relapse free survival (<i>P</i> = 0.007) and overall survival (<i>P</i> = 0.002). Our NOD/SCID xenotransplantation model also demonstrated that <i>SIL-TAL1⁺</i> mice models had earlier disease onset, higher leukemia cell load in peripheral blood and shorter overall survival (<i>P</i><0.001). Moreover, the <i>SIL-TAL1⁺</i> mice models exerted a tendency of TLS/DIC and seemed vulnerable towards chemotherapy, which further simulated our clinical settings. These data demonstrate that <i>SIL-TAL1</i> rearrangement identifies a distinct subtype with inferior outcome which could allow for individual therapeutic stratification for T-ALL patients.</p></div

Comparison between <i>SIL-TAL1</i>⁺ and <i>SIL-TAL1⁻</i> T-ALL patients.

<p>LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; WBC, white blood cell; CNS, central nerves system; TLS, tumor lysis syndrome; DIC, disseminated intravascular coagulation; CR, complete remission.</p>*<p>Not all patients were evaluated.</p

Drug treatment on murine xanotransplantation model.

<p>(A) The human CD45⁺ cells were detectable 2 weeks after inoculation in all 3 groups, but the peak of human CD45⁺ cell load was lower in vincristine treated group. (B) The survival of dexamethasone treated group (median 35 days) was longer than the vincristine treated group (median 26 days, <i>P</i> = 0.002) and saline control group (median 24 days, <i>P</i><0.001). The difference between saline control and vincristine treatment group was also statistically significant (<i>P</i> = 0.033).</p

Comparison between murine models inoculated with cells from <i>SIL-TAL1⁺</i> and <i>SIL-TAL1⁻</i> T-ALL patients.

<p>(A) The time of disease onset was 14±0 day for S<i>IL-TAL1⁺</i> models and 28.9±13.4 days for S<i>IL-TAL1⁻</i> models (<i>P</i><0.001). (B) The percentage of human CD45⁺ cells in mice peripheral blood was 96.3±1.5% for S<i>IL-TAL1⁺</i> models and 53.0±21.8% for S<i>IL-TAL1⁻</i> models (<i>P</i><0.001). (C) The median survival for S<i>IL-TAL1⁺</i> models was 5 days, which was shorter than any of the three <i>SIL-TAL1⁻</i> models: a (median 13 days, <i>P</i> = 0.001), b (median 43 days, <i>P</i> = 0.001), and c (median 16 days, <i>P</i> = 0.001). There were significant differences between the four groups (<i>P</i><0.001).</p

Comparison of serum biochemical and coagulation parameters between <i>SIL-TAL1</i>⁺ and <i>SIL-TAL1⁻</i> murine models.

<p>LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; PT, prothrombin time; APTT, activated partial thromboplastin time; FDP, fibrinogen degradation products; VCR, vincristine; DEX, dexamethasone.</p