The spatiotemporal response of soil moisture to precipitation and temperature changes in an arid region, China

Soil moisture plays a crucial role in the hydrological cycle and climate system. The reliable estimation of soil moisture in space and time is important to monitor and even predict hydrological and meteorological disasters. Here we studied the spatiotemporal variations of soil moisture and explored the effects of precipitation and temperature on soil moisture in different land cover types within the Tarim River Basin from 2001 to 2015, based on high-spatial-resolution soil moisture data downscaled from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) soil moisture data. The results show that the spatial average soil moisture increased slightly from 2001 to 2015, and the soil moisture variation in summer contributed most to regional soil moisture change. For the land cover, the highest soil moisture occurred in the forest and the lowest value was found in bare land, and soil moisture showed significant increasing trends in grassland and bare land during 2001 similar to 2015. Both partial correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis demonstrate that in the study area precipitation had positive effects on soil moisture, while temperature had negative effects, and precipitation made greater contributions to soil moisture variations than temperature. The results of this study can be used for decision making for water management and allocation

Detecting the causal effect of soil moisture on precipitation using convergent cross mapping

As a vital land surface parameter, soil moisture influences climate through its impact on water and energy cycles. However, the effect of soil moisture on precipitation has been strongly debated. In this study, a new causal detection method, convergent cross mapping (CCM), was applied to explore the causality between soil moisture and precipitation over low- and mid-latitude regions in the Northern Hemisphere. CCM method generally identified a strong effect of soil moisture on precipitation. Specifically, the optimal effect of soil moisture on precipitation occurred with a lag of one month and clearly decreased after four months, suggesting that soil moisture has potentials to improve the accuracy of precipitation forecast at a sub-seasonal scale. In addition, as climate (i.e., aridity index) changed from dry to wet, the effect of soil moisture on precipitation first increased and then decreased with peaks in semi-arid and semi-humid areas. These findings statistically support the hypothesis that soil moisture impacts precipitation and also provide a reference for the design of climate prediction systems

Use of 3D-computed tomography angiography for planning the surgical removal of pineal region meningiomas using Poppen's approach: a report of ten cases and a literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are several treatment approaches for pineal region meningiomas, such as Poppen's approach, Krause's approach and combinations of the two approaches. We present our experience with the use of 3D-computed tomography angiography for planning the surgical removal of pineal region meningiomas using a suboccipital transtentorial approach (Poppen's approach) and evaluate the role of Poppen's approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>During the period from January 2005 to June 2010, ten patients presented to us with pineal region meningioma. MRI was routinely used to define the tumor size, position, and its relevant complications while 3D-CTA was applied to define the blood supply of the tumor and the venous complex (VC) shift before operations. Most of the meningiomas had developed at both sides of the tentorial plane and extended laterally with typical characteristics of a pineal region tumor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All tumors were completely removed surgically without any injury to the VC. Postoperative intracranial infection occurred in one case who recovered after antibiotics were given. Postoperative intraventricular hemorrhage and pneumocephalus were found in one case, but fully recovered after conservative treatment. In the nine cases of concurrent hydrocephalus, this was gradually relieved in eight patients and the single case that became aggravated was successfully treated with ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Moreover, the follow-up MRI examinations did not indicate any recurrence of the meningiomas.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found that the use of Poppen's approach is strongly supported for the successful removal of pineal region meningiomas without serious complications.</p

Monitoring and predicting drought based on multiple indicators in an arid area, China

Droughts are one of the costliest natural disasters. Reliable drought monitoring and prediction are valuable for drought relief management. This study monitors and predicts droughts in Xinjiang, an arid area in China, based on the three drought indicators, i.e., the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSMI) and the Multivariate Standardized Drought Index (MSDI). Results indicate that although these three indicators could capture severe historical drought events in the study area, the spatial coverage, persistence and severity of the droughts would vary regarding different indicators. The MSDI could best describe the overall drought conditions by incorporating the characteristics of the SPI and SSMI. For the drought prediction, the predictive skill of all indicators gradually decayed with the increasing lead time. Specifically, the SPI only showed the predictive skill at a 1-month lead time, the MSDI performed best in capturing droughts at 1- to 2-month lead times and the SSMI was accurate up to a 3-month lead time owing to its high persistence. These findings might provide scientific support for the local drought management

Optimized hydrophobic magnetic nanoparticles stabilized pickering emulsion for enhanced oil recovery in complex porous media of reservoir

With an extensive application of flooding technologies in oil recovery, traditional emulsion flooding has seen many limits due to its poor stability and easy demulsification. Pursuing a new robust emulsion plays a fundamental role in developing highly effective emulsion flooding technology. In this work, a novel Pickering emulsion with special magnetic nanoparticles Fe3O4@PDA@Si was designed and prepared. To disclose the flooding mechanism from magnetic nanoparticles, the physico-chemical characterization of Fe3O4@PDA@Si was systematically examined. Meanwhile, the flooding property of the constructed Pickering emulsion was evaluated on the basis of certain downhole conditions. The results showed that the synthesis of Fe3O4@PDA@Si nanoparticles was found to have a hydrophobic core-shell structure with a diameter of 30 nm. Pickering emulsions based on Fe3O4@PDA@Si nanoparticles at an oil-to-water ratio of 5:5, 50°C, the water separation rate was only 6% and the droplet diameter of the emulsion was approximately 15 μm in the ultra-depth-of-field microscope image. This demonstrates the excellent stability of Pickering emulsions and improves the problem of easy demulsification. We further discussed the oil displacement mechanism and enhanced oil recovery effect of this type of emulsion. The microscopic flooding experiment demonstrated that profile control of the Pickering emulsion played a more important role in enhanced recovery than emulsification denudation, with the emulsion system increasing oil recovery by 10.18% in the micro model. Core flooding experiments have established that the incremental oil recovery of the Pickering emulsion increases with decreasing core permeability, from 12.36% to 17.39% as permeability drops from 834.86 to 219.34 × 10−3 μm2. This new Pickering emulsion flooding system stabilized by Fe3O4@PDA@Si nanoparticles offers an option for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

CBP loss cooperates with PTEN haploinsufficiency to drive prostate cancer: implications for epigenetic therapy

Despite the high incidence and mortality of prostate cancer, the etiology of this disease is not fully understood. In this study, we develop functional evidence for CBP and PTEN interaction in prostate cancer based on findings of their correlate expression in the human disease. Cbppc−/−;Ptenpc+/− mice exhibited higher cell proliferation in the prostate and an early onset of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. Levels of EZH2 methyltransferase were increased along with its Thr350 phosphorylation in both mouse Cbp−/−;Pten+/− and human prostate cancer cells. CBP loss and PTEN deficiency cooperated to trigger a switch from K27-acetylated histone H3 to K27-trimethylated bulk histones, in a manner associated with decreased expression of the growth inhibitory EZH2 target genes DAB2IP, p27KIP1 and p21CIP1. Conversely, treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat reversed this switch, in a manner associated with tumor suppression in Cbppc−/−;Ptenpc+/− mice. Our findings show how CBP and PTEN interact to mediate tumor suppression in the prostate, establishing a central role for histone modification in the etiology of prostate cancer and providing a rationale for clinical evaluation of epigenetic targeted therapy in prostate cancer patients

A Statistical Design for Testing Transgenerational Genomic Imprinting in Natural Human Populations

Genomic imprinting is a phenomenon in which the same allele is expressed differently, depending on its parental origin. Such a phenomenon, also called the parent-of-origin effect, has been recognized to play a pivotal role in embryological development and pathogenesis in many species. Here we propose a statistical design for detecting imprinted loci that control quantitative traits based on a random set of three-generation families from a natural population in humans. This design provides a pathway for characterizing the effects of imprinted genes on a complex trait or disease at different generations and testing transgenerational changes of imprinted effects. The design is integrated with population and cytogenetic principles of gene segregation and transmission from a previous generation to next. The implementation of the EM algorithm within the design framework leads to the estimation of genetic parameters that define imprinted effects. A simulation study is used to investigate the statistical properties of the model and validate its utilization. This new design, coupled with increasingly used genome-wide association studies, should have an immediate implication for studying the genetic architecture of complex traits in humans

Dual inhibition of AKT‐mTOR and AR signaling by targeting HDAC3 in PTEN‐ or SPOP‐mutated prostate cancer

Abstract AKT‐mTOR and androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathways are aberrantly activated in prostate cancer due to frequent PTEN deletions or SPOP mutations. A clinical barrier is that targeting one of them often activates the other. Here, we demonstrate that HDAC3 augments AKT phosphorylation in prostate cancer cells and its overexpression correlates with AKT phosphorylation in patient samples. HDAC3 facilitates lysine‐63‐chain polyubiquitination and phosphorylation of AKT, and this effect is mediated by AKT deacetylation at lysine 14 and 20 residues and HDAC3 interaction with the scaffold protein APPL1. Conditional homozygous deletion of Hdac3 suppresses prostate tumorigenesis and progression by concomitant blockade of AKT and AR signaling in the Pten knockout mouse model. Pharmacological inhibition of HDAC3 using a selective HDAC3 inhibitor RGFP966 inhibits growth of both PTEN‐deficient and SPOP‐mutated prostate cancer cells in culture, patient‐derived organoids and xenografts in mice. Our study identifies HDAC3 as a common upstream activator of AKT and AR signaling and reveals that dual inhibition of AKT and AR pathways is achievable by single‐agent targeting of HDAC3 in prostate cancer