Extreme Cold Events in North America and Eurasia in November-December 2022: A Potential Vorticity Gradient Perspective

From 17 November to 27 December 2022, extremely cold snowstorms frequently swept across North America and Eurasia. Diagnostic analysis reveals that these extreme cold events were closely related to the establishment of blocking circulations. Alaska Blocking(AB) and subsequent Ural Blocking(UB) episodes are linked to the phase transition of the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) and represent the main atmospheric regimes in the Northern Hemisphere. The downstream dispersion and propagation of Rossby wave packets from Alaska to East Asia provide a large-scale connection between AB and UB episodes. Based on the nonlinear multi-scale interaction(NMI) model, we found that the meridional potential vorticity gradient(PVy) in November and December of 2022 was anomalously weak in the mid-high latitudes from North America to Eurasia and provided a favorable background for the prolonged maintenance of UB and AB events and the generation of associated severe extreme snowstorms. However, the difference in the UB in terms of its persistence,location, and strength between November and December is related to the positive(negative) NAO in November(December). During the La Ni?a winter of 2022, the UB and AB events are related to the downward propagation of stratospheric anomalies, in addition to contributions by La Ni?a and low Arctic sea ice concentrations as they pertain to reducing PVyin mid-latitudes.

Morphodynamic response of an embayed beach to different typhoon events with varying intensities

Beach erosion has occurred globally in recent decades due to frequent and severe storms.Dongsha beach,located in Zhujiajian Island,Zhejiang Province,China,is a typical embayed sandy beach.This study focused on the morphodynamic response of Dongsha beach to typhoon events,based on beach topographies and surficial sediment characteristics acquired before and after four typhoon events with varying intensities.The four typhoons had different effects on the topography and sediment characteristics of Dongsha beach.Typhoons Ampil and Danas caused the largest(-51.72 m3/m)and the smallest erosion(-8.01 m3/m),respectively.Remarkable alongshore patterns of beach profile volumetric changes were found after the four typhoon events,with more erosion in the southern and central parts of the beach and few changes in the northern part.Grain size coarsening and poor sorting were the main sediment patterns on the beach influenced by different typhoons.Typhoons that occurred in the same year after another typhoon enhanced the effect of the previous typhoon on sediment coarsening and sorting variability,but this cumulative effect was not found between typhoons that occurred during different years.A comparison of the collected data revealed that the topographic state of the beach before the typhoon,typhoon characteristics,and tidal conditions were possible reasons for the difference in the responses of Dongsha beach to typhoon events.More severe beach erosion was caused by typhoons with higher intensity levels and longer durations,and high tide levels during typhoons can determine the upper limit of the beach profile erosion site.Taken together,these results can be used to improve beach management for storm prevention.

LncRNA DPP10-AS1 promotes malignant processes through epigenetically activating its cognate gene DPP10 and predicts poor prognosis in lung cancer patients

Objective:The purpose of this study was to explore the function and gene expression regulation of the newly identified lnc RNA DPP10-AS1 in lung cancer,and its potential value as a prognostic biomarker.Methods:q RT-PCR and Western blot were conducted to detect the expression of DDP10-AS1 and DPP10 in lung cancer cell lines and tissues.The effects of DDP10-AS1 on DPP10 expression,cell growth,invasion,apoptosis,and in vivo tumor growth were investigated in lung cancer cells by Western blot,rescue experiments,colony formation,flow cytometry,and xenograft animal experiments.Results:The novel antisense lnc RNA DPP10-AS1 was found to be highly expressed in cancer tissues(P<0.0001),and its upregulation predicted poor prognosis in patients with lung cancer(P=0.0025).Notably,DPP10-AS1 promoted lung cancer cell growth,colony formation,and cell cycle progression,and repressed apoptosis in lung cancer cells by upregulating DPP10 expression.Additionally,DPP10-AS1 facilitated lung tumor growth via upregulation of DPP10 protein in a xenograft mouse model.Importantly,DPP10-AS1 positively regulated DPP10 gene expression,and both were coordinately upregulated in lung cancer tissues.Mechanically,DPP10-AS1 was found to associate with DPP10 m RNA but did not enhance DPP10 m RNA stability.Hypomethylation of DPP10-AS1 and DPP10 contributed to their coordinate upregulation in lung cancer.Conclusions:These findings indicated that the upregulation of the antisense lnc RNA DPP10-AS1 promotes lung cancer malignant processes and facilitates tumorigenesis by epigenetically regulating its cognate sense gene DPP10.DPP10-AS1 may serve as a candidate prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target in lung cancer.

Quantifying the Spatial Characteristics of the Moisture Transport Affecting Precipitation Seasonality and Recycling Variability in Central Asia

Moisture contribution and transport pathways for Central Asia(CA)are quantitatively examined using the Lagrangian water cycle model based on reanalysis and observational data to explain the precipitation seasonality and the moisture transport variation during 1979-2015.Westerly-related(northwesterly and westerly)transport explains 42%of CA precipitation and dominates in southwest CA,where precipitation is greatest in the cold season.Southeast CA,including part of Northwest China,experiences its maximum precipitation in the warm season and is solely dominated by southerly transport,which explains about 48%of CA precipitation.The remaining 10%of CA precipitation is explained by northerly transport,which steadily impacts north CA and causes a maximum in precipitation in the warm season.Most CA areas are exposed to seasonally varying moisture transport,except for southeast and north CA,which are impacted by southerly and northerly transport year-round.In general,the midlatitude westerlies-driven transport and the Indian monsoon-driven southerly-related transport explain most of the spatial differences in precipitation seasonality over CA.Moreover,the contribution ratio of local evaporation in CA to precipitation exhibits significant interdecadal variability and a meridionally oriented tripole of moisture transport anomalies.Since the early 2000s,CA has experienced a decade of anomalously low local moisture contribution,which seems jointly determined by the weakened moisture contribution from midlatitudes(the Atlantic,Europe,and CA itself)and the enhanced contribution from high latitudes(West Siberia and the Arctic)and tropical areas(South Asia and the Indian Ocean).

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related circular RNAs in lung carcinoma

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)is a highly complex phenotypic conversion during embryogenesis,and is important for metastasis,which contributes to tumor deterioration and poor prognoses of cancer patients.Lung carcinoma has a high tendency to develop the EMT.Circular RNAs(circ RNAs)are involved in EMT-related cell invasion and metastasis in various types of cancers.Moreover,circ RNAs have been found to be a link to EMT-related transcription factors and EMT-associated signaling pathways.This review mainly focuses on the influence of EMT-related circ RNAs on lung carcinomas.More specifically,the roles of EMT-inducingand EMT-suppressive circ RNAs in lung carcinomas are discussed.With circ RNAs potentially becoming promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cancer managements,they will hopefully stimulate the interest of medical workers in the early diagnosis,personalized treatment,and positive prognoses in the era of precision oncology.

Emerging role of long non-coding RNA JPX in malignant processes and potential applications in cancers

Long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)reportedly function as important modulators of gene regulation and malignant processes in the development of human cancers.The lncRNA JPX is a novel molecular switch for X chromosome inactivation and differentially expressed JPX has exhibited certain clinical correlations in several cancers.Notably,JPX participates in cancer growth,metastasis,and chemoresistance,by acting as a competing endogenous RNA for microRNA,interacting with proteins,and regulating some specific signaling pathways.Moreover,JPX may serve as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for the diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment of cancer.The present article summarizes our current understanding of the structure,expression,and function of JPX in malignant cancer processes and discusses its molecular mechanisms and potential applications in cancer biology and medicine.