Spatiotemporal variation of marsh vegetation productivity and climatic effects in Inner Mongolia, China

Net primary productivity (NPP) is a vital ecological index that reflects the ecological function and carbon sequestration of marsh ecosystem. Inner Mongolia has a large area of marshes, which play a crucial role in the East Asian carbon cycle. Under the influence of climate change, the NPP of Inner Mongolian marsh has changed significantly in the past few decades, but the spatiotemporal variation in marsh vegetation NPP and how climate change affects marsh NPP remain unclear. This study explores, for the first time, the spatiotemporal variation of marsh NPP and its response to climatic change in Inner Mongolia based on the MODIS-NPP and climate datasets. We find that the long-term average annual NPP of marsh is 339.85 g⋅C/m2 and the marsh NPP shows a significantly increasing trend (4.44 g⋅C/m2/a; p < 0.01) over Inner Mongolia during 2000–2020. Spatially, the most prominent increase trend of NPP is mainly distributed in the northeast of the region (Greater Khingan Mountains). The partial correlation results show that increasing autumn and summer precipitation can increase the NPP of marsh vegetation over Inner Mongolia. Regarding the temperature effects, we observe a strong asymmetric effect of maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperature on annual NPP. A high spring Tmax can markedly increase marsh NPP in Inner Mongolia, whereas a high Tmin can significantly reduce it. In contrast to spring temperature effects on NPP, a high summer Tmax can decrease NPP, whereas a high Tmin can increase it. Our results suggest different effects of seasonal climate conditions on marsh vegetation productivity and highlight the influences of day-time and night-time temperatures. This should be considered in simulating and predicting marsh carbon sequestration in global arid and semi-arid regions

Identify optimal HAP series scores for unresectable HCC patients undergoing TACE plus sorafenib: A Chinese multicenter observational study

BackgroundHepatoma arterial-embolization prognostic (HAP) series scores have been proposed for prognostic prediction in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). However, their prognostic value in TACE plus sorafenib (TACE-S) remains unknown. Here, we aim to evaluate their prognostic performance in such conditions and identify the best model for this combination therapy.MethodsBetween January 2012 and December 2018, consecutive patients with uHCC receiving TACE-S were recruited from 15 tertiary hospitals in China. Cox regression analyses were used to investigate the prognostic values of baseline factors and every scoring system. Their prognostic performance and discriminatory performance were evaluated and confirmed in subgroup analyses.ResultsA total of 404 patients were enrolled. In the whole cohort, the median follow-up period was 44.2 (interquartile range (IQR), 33.2–60.7) months, the median overall survival (OS) time was 13.2 months, and 336 (83.2%) patients died at the end of the follow-up period. According to multivariate analyses, HAP series scores were independent prognostic indicators of OS. In addition, the C-index, Akaike information criterion (AIC) values, and time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) indicated that modified HAP (mHAP)-III had the best predictive performance. Furthermore, the results remained consistent in most subsets of patients.ConclusionHAP series scores exhibited good predictive ability in uHCC patients accepting TACE-S, and the mHAP-III score was found to be superior to the other HAP series scores in predicting OS. Future prospective high-quality studies should be conducted to confirm our results and help with treatment decision-making

Potential candidates for liver resection in liver-confined advanced HCC: a Chinese multicenter observational study

BackgroundAdvanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized as symptomatic tumors [performance status (PS) score of 1-2], vascular invasion and extrahepatic spread, but patients with PS1 alone may be eliminated from this stage. Although liver resection is used for liver-confined HCC, its role in patients with PS1 alone remains controversial. Therefore, we aimed to explore its application in such patients and identify potential candidates.MethodsEligible liver-confined HCC patients undergoing liver resection were retrospectively screened in 15 Chinese tertiary hospitals, with limited tumor burden, liver function and PS scores. Cox-regression survival analysis was used to investigate the prognostic factors and develop a risk-scoring system, according to which patients were substratified using fitting curves and the predictive values of PS were explored in each stratification.ResultsFrom January 2010 to October 2021, 1535 consecutive patients were selected. In the whole cohort, PS, AFP, tumor size and albumin were correlated with survival (adjusted P<0.05), based on which risk scores of every patient were calculated and ranged from 0 to 18. Fitting curve analysis demonstrated that the prognostic abilities of PS varied with risk scores and that the patients should be divided into three risk stratifications. Importantly, in the low-risk stratification, PS lost its prognostic value, and patients with PS1 alone achieved a satisfactory 5-year survival rate of 78.0%, which was comparable with that PS0 patients (84.6%).ConclusionSelected patients with PS1 alone and an ideal baseline condition may benefit from liver resection and may migrate forward to BCLC stage A

Characterization of pig skeletal muscle transcriptomes in response to low temperature

Abstract Objectives The response of mammals to cold environment is a complex physiological activity, and its underlying mechanism must be analyzed from multiple perspectives. Skeletal muscle is an important thermogenic tissue that maintains body temperature in mammals. We dissected the molecular mechanism of pig skeletal muscle response to a cold environment by performing comparative transcriptome analysis in the Enshi black pig. Methods Three pigs were subjected to acute cold stress (3 days), three pigs were subjected to cold acclimation (58 days), and three pigs were used as controls. RNA‐seq was used to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of skeletal muscle. Results Using RNA‐seq methods, we identified 1241 DEGs within the acute cold stress group and 1886 DEGs within the cold acclimation group. Prolonged cold exposure induced more gene expression changes. A total of 540 key cold‐responsive DEGs were found, and their trends were consistent within the acute cold stress group and cold acclimation group. Gene expression pattern analysis showed that there were significant differences between the low‐temperature treatment groups and the control group, and there were also differences between individuals after long‐term low‐temperature treatment. Analysis of DEGs revealed that 134 pathways were significantly enriched in the cold adaptation group, 98 pathways were significantly enriched in the acute cold stress group, and 71 pathways were shared between the two groups. The 71 shared pathways were mainly related to lipid, amino acid, and carbohydrate metabolism; signal transduction; endocrine, immune, and nervous system; cardiovascular disease; infectious diseases caused by bacteria or viruses; and neurodegenerative disease. Conclusions In conclusion, this study provides insights into the molecular mechanism of porcine skeletal muscle response under low‐temperature environment. The data may assist further research on the mechanism of pig response to cold exposure

ALOS-Based USV Path-Following Control with Obstacle Avoidance Strategy

Path following and obstacle avoidances are used in heading control and path replanning for unmanned surface vessels (USVs), which have attracted the interest of many researchers over the years. This paper investigates the path-following and obstacle avoidance problems for USVs. First, on the basis of the current position and desired path, an adaptive line-of-sight (ALOS) algorithm is used to obtain the desired heading angle, and the sideslip angle compensation is considered. Then, to ensure that the USV follows the desired path. Model predictive control (MPC) is used to reduce the lateral error. The event-triggered mechanism (ETM) strategy is utilized to reduce the computational cost of MPC. Moreover, to obtain accurate state quantities in real time, a linear extended state observer (LESO) is used to counteract the effects of external disturbances and the nonlinear term of the model. Furthermore, an improved obstacle avoidance algorithm based on the geometric relationship is proposed. This method can better ensure USV navigation safety and reduce consumption and computation. Lastly, multiple simulation experiments illustrate that the algorithm improves the path-following capability and security and ensures smooth input changes by setting input constraints. Therefore, the designed controller has better feasibility and robustness

Pathway analysis of DEGs.

A. KEGG enrichment analysis of upregulated genes for chronic low-temperature acclimation group (-log10 (p-value)>1.3). B. KEGG enrichment analysis of downregulated genes for chronic low-temperature acclimation group (-log10 (p-value)>1.3). C. KEGG enrichment analysis of upregulated genes for acute short cold stress group (-log10 (p-value)>1.3). D. KEGG enrichment analysis of downregulated genes for acute short cold stress group (-log10 (p-value)>1.3).</p

Go analysis of differentially expressed down-regulated genes in B vs C.

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Table1_Comprehensive analysis of m7G modification patterns based on potential m7G regulators and tumor microenvironment infiltration characterization in lung adenocarcinoma.XLSX

Background: The non-negligible role of epigenetic modifications in cancer development and tumor microenvironment (TME) has been demonstrated in recent studies. Nonetheless, the potential regulatory role of N7-methylguanosine (m7G) modification in shaping and impacting the TME remains unclear.Methods: A comprehensive analysis was performed to explore the m7G modification patterns based on 24 potential m7G regulators in 817 lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients, and the TME landscape in distinct m7G modification patterns were evaluated. The m7G score was established based on principal component analysis (PCA) to quantify m7G modification patterns and evaluate the TME cell infiltrating characteristics of individual tumors. Further, correlation analyses of m7Gscore with response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy were performed.Results: We identified three distinct m7G modification patterns with the biological pathway enrichment and TME cell infiltrating characteristics corresponded to immune-desert, immune-inflamed and immune-excluded phenotype, respectively. We further demonstrated the m7Gscore could predict the TME infiltrating characteristics, tumor mutation burden (TMB), response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as prognosis of individual tumors. High m7Gscore was associated with increased component of immune cell infiltration, low TMB and survival advantage, while low m7Gscore was linked to decreased immune cell infiltration and increased TMB. Additionally, patients with lower m7Gscore demonstrated significant therapeutic advantages.Conclusion: This study demonstrated the regulatory mechanisms of m7G modification on TME formation and regulation of lung adenocarcinoma. Identification of individual tumor m7G modification patterns will contribute to the understanding of TME characterization and guiding more effective immunotherapy strategies.</p