Continuous monitoring of the isotopic composition of surface water vapor at Lhasa, southern Tibetan Plateau

The stable isotopes (δ18O and δD) of water vapor are used to characterize continuous variations in large-scale and boundary-layer atmospheric processes. We presented continuous measurements of δ18O in surface water vapor at Lhasa, southern Tibetan Plateau, from October 2018 to September 2019 to investigate how large-scale and local atmospheric processes influence variations in water vapor δ18O at different time scales. The water vapor δ18O measurements reveal different seasonal characteristics and diurnal patterns. At the seasonal scale, δ18O exhibits a W-shape with two maxima in May–June and October as well as two minima in July–August and February. The diurnal variations in the water vapor δ18O and meteorological data throughout the year present distinct occurrences of maxima and minima during different periods. We found that the significant seasonal variability is mainly associated with the transition between the Indian summer monsoon and the westerlies, which transport distinct moisture to the southern Tibetan Plateau. The local temperature, specific humidity and boundary layer height impact the diurnal variations in water vapor δ18O to some extent with remarkable seasonal differences.publishedVersio

What is learning in service-learning? Findings from service-learning research at Beijing Normal University

What is learning in service-learning? The question was put forward decades ago but has not been answered clearly in the international context. Focused on this important issue, we conducted a series of studies with mixed method approach. We surveyed 844 college students and 6203 middle school students respectively in mainland China. Results indicated that most students had some experience of service activities. However, the quality of such practice was not satisfying in the aspects of duration, intensity and link to curriculum. Based on the above investigation, we conducted a service-learning program through the course of Psychology of Learning for undergraduate students of Psychology Department in Beijing Normal University. The instructor, together with teaching assistants who had rich experience on special education, gave a two hour lecture in class each week and guided students to interact with special children (the mentally retarded, autism) in groups at weekend during one semester. Following the basic procedure of service-learning, students were encouraged to apply what they learned in classroom to the service practice and to reflect the effectiveness of their behavior modification plans for special children as well as their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors during interactive process. Especially, students were asked to think critically about issues on inclusion, welfare and social support for special children and their families. Students received feedbacks on their reflection journals and discussions after every service practice. This program had been conducted for about 3 semesters successively in BNU and more than 200 undergraduate students engaged in it. Data were collected and analyzed from interactive video, group discussion and focused group interview, self-report surveys, reflection journals and feedbacks from parents of special children. In general, the program had great effects on students’ attitude to special children and their families. Students showed significant change from unconcerned, wondering, sympathetic, or credit-driven at the beginning to caring, patient, empathetic, and problem-solving driven at the end of service practice. Results also indicated that service-learning improved students’ higher cognitive abilities such as transfer abilities of problem solving, critical thinking and students’ academic expertise, such as Applied Behavior Analysis skills

Contrasting fate of western Third Pole's water resources under 21st century climate change

Seasonal melting of glaciers and snow from the western Third Pole (TP) plays important role in sustaining water supplies downstream. However, the future water availability of the region, and even today’s runoff regime, are both hotly debated and inadequately quantified. Here, we characterize the contemporary flow regimes and systematically assess the future evolution of total water availability, seasonal shifts, and dry and wet discharge extremes in four most meltwater-dominated basins in the western TP, by using a process-based, well-established glacier-hydrology model, well-constrained historical reference climate data, and the ensemble of 22 global climate models with an advanced statistical downscaling and bias correction technique. We show that these basins face sharply diverging water futures under 21st century climate change. In RCP scenarios 4.5 and 8.5, increased precipitation and glacier runoff in the Upper Indus and Yarkant basins more than compensate for decreased winter snow accumulation, boosting annual and summer water availability through the end of the century. In contrast, the Amu and Syr Darya basins will become more reliant on rainfall runoff as glacier ice and seasonal snow decline. Syr Darya summer river-flows, already low, will fall by 16–30% by end-of-century, and striking increases in peak flood discharge (by >60%), drought duration (by >1 month) and drought intensity (by factor 4.6) will compound the considerable water-sharing challenges on this major transboundary river

A genetic study and meta-analysis of the genetic predisposition of prostate cancer in a Chinese population.

Prostate cancer predisposition has been extensively investigated in European populations, but there have been few studies of other ethnic groups. To investigate prostate cancer susceptibility in the under-investigated Chinese population, we performed single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array analysis on a cohort of Chinese cases and controls and then meta-analysis with data from the existing Chinese prostate cancer genome-wide association study (GWAS). Genotyping 211,155 SNPs in 495 cases and 640 controls of Chinese ancestry identified several new suggestive Chinese prostate cancer predisposition loci. However, none of them reached genome-wide significance level either by meta-analysis or replication study. The meta-analysis with the Chinese GWAS data revealed that four 8q24 loci are the main contributors to Chinese prostate cancer risk and the risk alleles from three of them exist at much higher frequencies in Chinese than European populations. We also found that several predisposition loci reported in Western populations have different effect on Chinese men. Therefore, this first extensive single-nucleotide polymorphism study of Chinese prostate cancer in comparison with European population indicates that four loci on 8q24 contribute to a great risk of prostate cancer in a considerable large proportion of Chinese men. Based on those four loci, the top 10% of the population have six- or two-fold prostate cancer risk compared with men of the bottom 10% or median risk respectively, which may facilitate the design of prostate cancer genetic risk screening and prevention in Chinese men. These findings also provide additional insights into the etiology and pathogenesis of prostate cancer.This work was conducted on behalf of the CHIPGECS and The PRACTICAL consortia (see Supplementary Consortia). We acknowledge the contribution of doctors, nurses and postgraduate research students at the CHIPGENCS sample collecting centers. We thank Orchid and Rosetrees for funding support. This work was also supported by National Natural Science foundation of China for funding support to H Zhang (Grant No: 30671793 and 81072377), N Feng (Grant No: 81272831), X Zhang (Grant No: 30572139, 30872924 and 81072095), S Zhao (Grant No: 81072092 and 81328017), Y Yu (Grant No: 81172448) and Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University from Department of Education of China (NCET-08-0223) and the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program 2012AA021101) to X Zhang.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Impact Journals via http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.725

Statistical data of all counties and cities in the Yangtze River Delta in 2019.

Statistical data of all counties and cities in the Yangtze River Delta in 2019.</p

How School Climate Influences Teachers’ Emotional Exhaustion: The Mediating Role of Emotional Labor

Currently, in China, improving the quality of teachers’ emotional labor has become an urgent need for most pre-kindergarten through 12th grade (p–12) schools because the new curriculum reform highlights the role of emotion in teaching. A total of 703 primary and high school teachers in Mainland China were investigated regarding their perceptions of school climate, emotional labor strategy and emotional exhaustion via questionnaires. The findings revealed that the teachers’ perceptions of the school climate negatively affected surface acting but positively affected deep acting. Surface acting positively predicted emotional exhaustion, and deep acting had no significant effect on emotional exhaustion. Moreover, emotional labor mediated the relationship between the teachers’ perceptions of the school climate and emotional exhaustion. Programs aimed at improving the school climate and the teachers’ use of appropriate emotional labor strategies should be implemented in schools in Mainland China