AIM: To elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics of clinically early gastric cancer in the upper-third stomach and to clarify treatment precautions.METHODS: A total of 683 patients with clinical early gastric...AIM: To elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics of clinically early gastric cancer in the upper-third stomach and to clarify treatment precautions.METHODS: A total of 683 patients with clinical early gastric cancer were enrolled in this retrospective study, 128 of whom had gastric cancer in the upper-third stomach(U group). All patients underwent a double contrast barium examination, endoscopy, and computed tomography(CT), and were diagnosed preoperatively based on the findings obtained. The clinicopathological features of these patients were compared with those of patients with gastric cancer in the middle- and lower-third stomach(ML group). We also compared clinicopathological factors between accurate-diagnosis and under-diagnosis groups in order to identify factors affecting the accuracy of a preoperative diagnosis of tumor depth.RESULTS: Patients in the U group were older(P = 0.029), had a higher ratio of males to females(P = 0.015), and had more histologically differentiated tumors(P = 0.007) than patients in the ML group. A clinical under-diagnosis occurred in 57 out of 683 patients(8.3%), and was more frequent in the U group than in the ML group(16.4% vs 6.3%, P < 0.0001). Therefore, the rates of lymph node metastasis and lymphatic invasion were slightly higher in the U group than in the ML group(P = 0.071 and 0.082, respectively). An under-diagnosis was more frequent in histologically undifferentiated tumors(P = 0.094) and in those larger than 4 cm(P = 0.024). The medianfollow-up period after surgery was 56 mo(range, 1-186 mo). Overall, survival and disease-specific survival rates were significantly lower in the U group than in the ML group(P = 0.016 and 0.020, respectively). However, limited operation-related cancer recurrence was not detected in the U group in the present study.CONCLUSION: Clinical early gastric cancer in the upper-third stomach has distinguishable characteristics that increase the risk of a clinical under-diagnosis, especially in patients with larger or undifferentiated tumors.展开更多
In the Upper-Yangtze region, especially in Guizhou Province and its adjacent areas, the Lower Cambrian is well developed and is marked by a succession from black shales of the basin facies to carbonate rocks of the pl...In the Upper-Yangtze region, especially in Guizhou Province and its adjacent areas, the Lower Cambrian is well developed and is marked by a succession from black shales of the basin facies to carbonate rocks of the platform facies. The drowning event of the platform occurring at the turn from Sinian to Cambrian resulted in a set of black shales, i.e. the Niutitang Formation, which makes up the bottom part of the Lower Cambrian. With the shoaling of the sedimentary environment, a set of carbonate rocks, i.e. the Qingxudong Formation, was formed in the top part of the Lower Cambrian. Thus, the Lower Cambrian in the study area makes up one second-order sequence that can be further subdivided into five third-order sequences, and forms a regularly cyclic succession of transgression-regression. There is a regularly vertical stacking pattern for the third-order sequences in the second-order sequence. From bottom to top, the succession of the "CS (condensed section) +HST (high-stand system tract)" of the third-order sequences is changed into the succession of the "TST (transgressive system tract)+CS+HST". Correspondingly, the drowning-type sequence boundary is changed into the exposure-type one. Therefore, both the second-order and the third-order sequences have similar sedimentary-facies architectures. A concomitant with these temporal changes, the Lower Cambrian with a thickness of 1000 m that contains five third-order sequences is changed into a condensed succession that cannot identify third-order sequences toward the southeast with the deepening of the sedimentary environment. According to the elementary features of the third-order sequences, i.e. the regularity o sedimentary-facies successions in space and the synchronism of sedimentary-environment changes in time, the detailed division of the third-order sequences at main logged sections in different paleogeographical background becomes the basis to establish the sequence-stratigraphic framework that can demonstrate two types of facies-changing surface and two types of diachronism in the stratigraphic records. This sequence-stratigraphic framework shows a growing process of the carbonate platform from the base of the condensed succession formed by black shales of basin facies. Resulting from the rapid transgression at the turn from Sinian to Cambrian the ecological space became open, which formed the antecedent condition of paleogeographical setting for "the Cambrian Biological Explosion". Ultimately, the genetic relationship between the depositional events and the biological-diversity events is very complex and there remain lots of problems that need further research in the future.展开更多
Typhoon Meranti originated over the western North Pacific off the south tip of the Taiwan Island in 2010.It moved westward entering the South China Sea,then abruptly turned north into the Taiwan Strait,got intensified...Typhoon Meranti originated over the western North Pacific off the south tip of the Taiwan Island in 2010.It moved westward entering the South China Sea,then abruptly turned north into the Taiwan Strait,got intensified on its way northward,and eventually made landfall on Fujian province.In its evolution,there was a northwest-moving cold vortex in upper troposphere to the south of the Subtropical High over the western North Pacific(hereafter referred to as the Subtropical High).In this paper,the possible impacts of this cold vortex on Meranti in terms of its track and intensity variation is investigated using typhoon best track data from China Meteorological Administration,analyses data of 0.5×0.5 degree provided by the global forecasting system of National Centers for Environmental Prediction,GMS satellite imagery and Taiwan radar data.Results show as follows:(1)The upper-level cold vortex was revolving around the typhoon anticlockwise from its east to its north.In the early stage,due to the blocking of the cold vortex,the role of the Subtropical High to steer Meranti was weakened,which results in the looping of the west-moving typhoon.However,when Meranti was coupled with the cold vortex in meridional direction,the northerly wind changed to the southerly at the upper level of the typhoon;at the same time the Subtropical High protruded westward and its southbound steering flow gained strength,and eventually created an environment in which the southerly winds in both upper and lower troposphere suddenly steered Meranti to the north;(2)The change of airflow direction above the typhoon led to a weak vertical wind shear,which in return facilitated the development of Meranti.Meanwhile,to the east of typhoon Meranti,the overlapped southwesterly jets in upper and lower atmosphere accelerated its tangential wind and contributed to its cyclonic development;(3)The cold vortex not only supplied positive vorticity to the typhoon,but also transported cold advection to its outer bands.In conjunction with the warm and moist air masses at the lower levels,the cold vortex increased the vertical instability in the atmosphere,which was favorable for convection development within the typhoon circulation,and its warmer center was enhanced through latent heat release;(4)Vertical vorticity budget averaged over the typhoon area further shows that the intensification of a typhoon vorticity column mainly depends on horizontal advection of its high-level vorticity,low-level convergence,uneven wind field distribution and its convective activities.展开更多
Using geographic information system (GIS) techniques and the newest seasonal and annual average precipitation data of 679 meteorological stations from 1971 to 2000, the multiple regressions equations of the precipitat...Using geographic information system (GIS) techniques and the newest seasonal and annual average precipitation data of 679 meteorological stations from 1971 to 2000, the multiple regressions equations of the precipitation and topographical variables are established to extract the effect of topography on the annual and seasonal precipitation in the upper-middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Then, this paper uses a successive interpolation approach (SIA), which combines GIS techniques with the multiple regressions, to improve the accuracy of the spatial interpolation of annual and seasonal rainfall. The results are very satisfactory in the case of seasonal rainfall, with the relative error of 6.86%, the absolute error of 13.07 mm, the average coefficient of variation of 0.070, and the correlation coefficient of 0.9675; in the case of annual precipitation, with the relative error of 7.34%, the absolute error of 72.1 mm, the average coefficient of variation of 0.092, and the correlation coefficient of 0.9605. The analyses of annual mean precipitation show that the SIA calculation of 3-5 steps considerably improves the interpolation accuracy, decreasing the absolute error from 211.0 mm to 62.4 mm, the relative error from 20.74% to 5.97%, the coefficient of variation from 0.2312 to 0.0761, and increasing the correlation coefficient from 0.5467 to 0.9619. The SIA iterative results after 50 steps identically converge to the observed precipitation.展开更多
The impact of mid-and upper-level dry air,represented by low relative humidity(RH)values,on the genesis of tropical cyclone(TC)Durian(2001)in the South China Sea was investigated by a series of numerical experiments u...The impact of mid-and upper-level dry air,represented by low relative humidity(RH)values,on the genesis of tropical cyclone(TC)Durian(2001)in the South China Sea was investigated by a series of numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting model.The mid-level RH was lowered in different regions relative to TC Durian(2001)’s genesis location.Results suggest that the location of dry air was important to Durian(2001)’s genesis and intensification.The rapid development of the TC was accompanied by sustained near-saturated mid-and upper-level air,whereas low humidity decelerated its development.Water vapor budget analysis showed that moisture at mid and upper levels was mainly supplied by the vertical convergence of moisture flux and the divergence terms,and consumed by the condensation process.The horizontal convergence of moisture flux term supplied moisture in the air moistening process but consumed moisture in the air drying process.With a dryer mid-and upper-level environment,convective and stratiform precipitation were both inhibited.The upward mass fluxes and the diabatic heating rates associated with these two precipitation types were also suppressed.Generally,convection played the dominant role,since the impact of the stratiform process on vertical mass transportation and diabatic heating was much weaker.The vorticity budget showed that the negative vorticity convergence term,which was closely related to the inhibited convection,caused the vorticity to decrease above the lower troposphere in a dryer environment.The negative vorticity tendency is suggested to slow down the vertical coherence and the development rate of TCs.展开更多
The combined influence of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability was evaluated using the upper-bound limit analysis theorem.The mechanism of slope collapse was analyzed by dividing it into arbitrary discrete soi...The combined influence of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability was evaluated using the upper-bound limit analysis theorem.The mechanism of slope collapse was analyzed by dividing it into arbitrary discrete soil blocks with the nonlinear Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion and nonassociated flow rule.The multipoint tangent(multi-tangent) technique was used to analyze the slope stability by linearizing the nonlinear failure criterion.A general expression for the slope safety factor was derived based on the virtual work principle and the strength reduction technique,and the global slope safety factor can be obtained by the optimization method of nonlinear sequential quadratic programming.The results show better agreement with previous research result when the nonlinear failure criterion reduces to a linear failure criterion or the non-associated flow rule reduces to an associated flow rule,which demonstrates the rationality of the presented method.Slope safety factors calculated by the multi-tangent inclined-slices technique were smaller than those obtained by the traditional single-tangent inclined-slices technique.The results show that the multi-tangent inclined-slices technique is a safe and effective method of slope stability limit analysis.The combined effect of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability was analyzed,and the parameter analysis indicates that nonlinearity and dilation have significant influence on the result of slope stability analysis.展开更多
CTD temperature, salinity and ADCP current data, which were observed by R/V Shiyan No. 3 during the intensive observational period (IOP) of the South China Sea monsoon experiment (SCSMEX), have been analyzed. Some st...CTD temperature, salinity and ADCP current data, which were observed by R/V Shiyan No. 3 during the intensive observational period (IOP) of the South China Sea monsoon experiment (SCSMEX), have been analyzed. Some study results from observations at a mooring station located at the vicinity of continental slope off the south of Dongsha Islands are shown. The dynamic and thermody namic structures as wall as their changes are analyzed to describe the upper-ocean variation in the northern South China Sea during the summer monsoon onset and maintaining periods. The response of near surface water temperature, salinity and current to local sea surface winds is also discussed.展开更多
It has been more than 30 years since the first Chinese Antarctic Expedition took place. Polar upper atmospheric observations started at this time. First began at Great Wall Station and then at Zhongshan Station in Ant...It has been more than 30 years since the first Chinese Antarctic Expedition took place. Polar upper atmospheric observations started at this time. First began at Great Wall Station and then at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, and later in the Arctic at Yellow River Station, Kjell Henriksen Observatory on Svalbard, and at the China-Iceland Joint Aurora Observatory in Iceland. In this paper, we reviewed the advances in polar upper atmosphere physics (UAP) based on the Chinese national Arctic and Antarctic research over the last five years. These included newly deployed observatories and research instruments in the Arctic and Antarctic; and new research findings, from grotmd-based observations, about polar ionosphere dynamics, aurora and particle precipitation, polar plasma convection, geomagnetic pulsations and space plasma waves, space weather in the polar regions, simulations of the polar ionosphere-magnetosphere. In conclusion, suggestions were made for future polar upper atmosphere physics research in China.展开更多
On the basis of hydrographic data obtained in November 28 to December 27, 1998 cruise, the calculation of the circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) is made by using the P-vector method, in combination with SSH data...On the basis of hydrographic data obtained in November 28 to December 27, 1998 cruise, the calculation of the circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) is made by using the P-vector method, in combination with SSH data from TOPEX/ERS-2 analysis. For study of the dynamical mechanism, which causes the pattern of winter circulation in the SCS, the diagnostic model (Yuan et al., 1982; Yuan and Su, 1992) is used to simulate numerically the winter circulation in the SCS. The following results have been obtained. (1) The main characteristics of the circulation systems in the central SCS are as follows: A coastal southward jet in winter is present at the western boundary near the coast of Vietnam; there is a stronger cyclonic circulation with a larger horizontal scale east of this coastal southward jet and west of 114°E; there is a weaker anti-cyclonic circulation in the central part of eastern SCS; there is a stronger and northeastward flow opposing the northeasterly monsoon between above a stronger cyclonic circulation and a weaker anti-cyclonic circulation. (2) The circulation systems in the northern SCS are as follows: 1) There is a cyclonic circulation system northwest of Luzon, and it has three centers of the cold water; 2) There is an anti-cyclonic eddy. Its center is located near(20°N, 116°40' E); 3)There is a warm and anti-cyclonic circulation south of Hainan Island; 4) There is a northeastward flow, the South China Sea Warm Current, in winter off Guangdong coast in the northern SCS. (3) In the southern SCS there is an anti-cyclonic circulation, and also there is a smaller scale cold water and cyclonic eddy. (4) The above pattern of winter circulation in the SCS agrees qualitatively with the horizontal distribution of temperature at 200 m level. (5) The dynamical mechanism which produces the above basic pattern of winter circulation is because of the following two causes: 1) The joint effect of the baroclinity and relief (JEBAR) is an essential dynamical cause; 2) The interaction between the wind stress and bottom topographic (IBWT) under the strong northeasterly monsoon is the next important dynamical mechanism. (6) Comparing the hydrographic structure and the horizontal distribution of velocity with the SSH data from TOPEX/ERS-2 analysis in the SCS during December of 1998, it is found that they agree qualitatively.展开更多
This paper investigates the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow of an incompressible upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid over a porous stretching surface. Similarity transformations are used to reduce th...This paper investigates the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow of an incompressible upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid over a porous stretching surface. Similarity transformations are used to reduce the governing partial differential equations into a kind of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The nonlinear prob- lem is solved by using the successive Taylor series linearization method (STSLM). The computations for velocity components are carried out for the emerging parameters. The numerical values of the skin friction coefficient are presented and analyzed for various parameters of interest in the problem.展开更多
Individuals with hemiplegia suffer from impaired arm movements that appear as a marked change in arm stiffness. A quantitative measure of arm stiffness would characterize rehabilitation therapy effectively, while litt...Individuals with hemiplegia suffer from impaired arm movements that appear as a marked change in arm stiffness. A quantitative measure of arm stiffness would characterize rehabilitation therapy effectively, while little mechanism is designed to implement the function. A symmetrical five-bar linkage consisting of two revolute joints and three prismatic joints is presented. Inverse kinematics and forward kinematics are obtained first. Then inverse singularities and direct singularities of the mechanism are gained. The global stiffness index is defined based on the results of kinematics analysis. Finally, optimal dimensional synthesis of the mechanism in terms of maximum stiffness is conducted by genetic algorithms. The calculation results show that with the length of both the two linkage a=830 mm, the interacting angle of the two guides 2δ=4.48 radian, and the maximum range of displacement of the two carriers dmax=940 mm, the mechanism achieves highest rigidity and its workspace is singularity-free, which covers the human left and right arm range of motion. The proposed novel mechanism featuring high rigidity and a singularity-free workspace can provide rehabilitation training, also solve the problem of quantitative measure of arm stiffness.展开更多
The East Asian upper-tropospheric jet stream (EAJS) typically jumps north of 45~N in midsummer. These annual northward jumps are mostly classified into two dominant types: the first type corresponds to the enhanced...The East Asian upper-tropospheric jet stream (EAJS) typically jumps north of 45~N in midsummer. These annual northward jumps are mostly classified into two dominant types: the first type corresponds to the enhanced westerly to the north of the EAJS's axis (type A), while the second type is related to the weakened westerly within the EAJS's axis (type B). In this study, the impacts of these two types of northward jumps on rainfall in eastern China are investigated. Our results show that rainfall significantly increases in northern Northeast China and decreases in the Yellow River-Huaihe River valleys, as well as in North China, during the type A jump. As a result of the type B jump, rainfall is enhanced in North China and suppressed in the Yangtze River valley. The changes in rainfall in eastern China during these two types of northward jumps are mainly caused by the northward shifts of the ascending air flow that is directly related to the EAJS. Concurrent with the type A (B) jump, the EAJS-related ascending branch moves from the Yangtze-Huai River valley to northern Northeast (North) China when the EAJS's axis jumps from 40~N to 55~N (50~N). Meanwhile, the type A jump also strengthens the Northeast Asian low in the lower troposphere, leading to more moisture transport to northern Northeast China. The type B jump, however, induces a northwestward extension of the lower-tropospheric western North Pacific subtropical high and more moisture transport to North China.展开更多
In [Perturbation of Spectrums of 2 × 2 Operator Matrices, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, Vol. 121, 1994], the authors asked whether there was an operator ?such that ?for a given pair?(A,B)?of o...In [Perturbation of Spectrums of 2 × 2 Operator Matrices, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, Vol. 121, 1994], the authors asked whether there was an operator ?such that ?for a given pair?(A,B)?of operators, where the operator ?was defined by . In this note, a partial answer for the question is given.展开更多
In this paper, a least-squares finite element method for the upper-convected Maxell (UCM) fluid is proposed. We first linearize the constitutive and momentum equations and then apply a least-squares method to the line...In this paper, a least-squares finite element method for the upper-convected Maxell (UCM) fluid is proposed. We first linearize the constitutive and momentum equations and then apply a least-squares method to the linearized version of the viscoelastic UCM model. The L2 least-squares functional involves the residuals of each equation multiplied by proper weights. The corresponding homogeneous functional is equivalent to a natural norm. The error estimates of the finite element solution are analyzed when the conforming piecewise polynomial elements are used for the unknowns.展开更多
P-wave waveforms in the distance range between 12°and 30°were analyzed to investigate upper-mantle P velocity structures beneath the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas.The waveform data from 504 earthquak...P-wave waveforms in the distance range between 12°and 30°were analyzed to investigate upper-mantle P velocity structures beneath the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas.The waveform data from 504 earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 5.0 between 1990 and 2005 that occurred within 30°from the center of the Plateau were modelled.We divided the study area into 6 regions and modeled upper-mantle-distance P waveforms with turning points beneath each region separately.The results show that the uppermantle P-wave velocity structures beneath India,the Himalayas,and the Lhasa Terrane are similar and contain a high-velocity lid about 250 km thick.The upper-mantle velocities down to 200 km beneath the Qiangtang Terrane,the Tarim Basin,and especially the Songpan-GarzêTerrane are lower than those in the south.The 410-km discontinuity beneath these two terranes is elevated by about 20 km.Highvelocity anomalies are found in the transition zone below 500 km under the Lhasa and Qiangtang Terranes.The results suggest that the Tibetan Plateau was generated by thrusting of the Indian mantle lithosphere under the southern part of Tibet.Portions of the thickened Eurasian mantle lithosphere were delaminated;they are now sitting in the transition zone beneath southern Tibet and atop of the 410-km discontinuity underneath northern Tibet.展开更多
In this study a coupled air-sea-wave model system, containing the model components of GRAPES-TCM, ECOM-si and WAVEWATCH III, is established based on an air-sea coupled model. The changes of wave state and the effects ...In this study a coupled air-sea-wave model system, containing the model components of GRAPES-TCM, ECOM-si and WAVEWATCH III, is established based on an air-sea coupled model. The changes of wave state and the effects of sea spray are both considered. Using the complex air-sea-wave model, a set of idealized simulations was applied to investigate the effects of air-sea-wave interaction in the upper ocean. Results show that air-wave coupling can strengthen tropical cyclones while air-sea coupling can weaken them; and air-sea-wave coupling is comparable to that of air-sea coupling, as the intensity is almost unchanged with the wave model coupled to the air-sea coupled model.The mixing by vertical advection is strengthened if the wave effect is considered, and causes much more obvious sea surface temperature(SST) decreases in the upper ocean in the air-sea coupled model. Air-wave coupling strengthens the air-sea heat exchange, while the thermodynamic coupling between the atmosphere and ocean weakens the air-sea heat exchange: the air-sea-wave coupling is the result of their balance. The wave field distribution characteristic is determined by the wind field. Experiments are also conducted to simulate ocean responses to different mixed layer depths.With increasing depth of the initial mixed layer, the decrease of SST weakens, but the temperature decrease of deeper layers is enhanced and the loss of heat in the upper ocean is increased. The significant wave height is larger when the initial mixed layer depth increases.展开更多
The Permian global mass extinction events and the eruption of the Emeishan flood basalts in the Upper Yangtze region should display certain responses during the evolution of carbon isotope. In this paper, the Permian ...The Permian global mass extinction events and the eruption of the Emeishan flood basalts in the Upper Yangtze region should display certain responses during the evolution of carbon isotope. In this paper, the Permian carbon isotopic evolution in the Upper Yangtze region is examined through systematic stratotype section sampling and determination of 13 C in the northern Upper-Yangtze regions and Southern China. Additionally, the carbon isotopic evolution response characteristics of the geological events in the region are evaluated, comparing the sea-level changes in the Upper Yangtze region and the global sea-level change curves. Results of this study indicated that the carbon isotopic curves of the Permian in the Upper Yangtze region are characterized by higher background carbonisotope baseline values, with three distinct negative excursions, which are located at the Middle–Late Permian boundary and the late period and end of the Late Permian. The three distinct negative excursions provide an insightful record of the global Permian mass extinction events and the eruption of the Emeishan flood basalts in the Upper Yangtze region. The first negative excursion at the Middle–Late Permian boundary reflected the eruption of the Emeishan flood basalts, a decrease in sea level, and biological extinction events of different genera in varying degrees. The second negative excursion in the Late Permian included a decrease in sea level and large-scale biological replacement events. The third negative excursion of the carbon isotope at the end of the Permian corresponded unusually to a rise rather than a decrease in sea level, and it revealed the largest biological mass extinction event in history.展开更多
The natural element method (NEM) is a newly- developed numerical method based on Voronoi diagram and Delaunay triangulation of scattered points, which adopts natural neighbour interpolation to construct trial functi...The natural element method (NEM) is a newly- developed numerical method based on Voronoi diagram and Delaunay triangulation of scattered points, which adopts natural neighbour interpolation to construct trial functions in the framework of Galerkin method. Owing to its distinctive advantages, the NEM is used widely in many problems of computational mechanics. Utilizing the NEM, this paper deals with numerical limit analysis of structures made up of perfectly rigid-plastic material. According to kinematic the- orem of plastic limit analysis, a mathematical programming natural element formulation is established for determining the upper bound multiplier of plane problems, and a direct iteration algorithm is proposed accordingly to solve it. In this algorithm, the plastic incompressibility condition is handled by two different treatments, and the nonlinearity and nons- moothness of the goal function are overcome by distinguishing the rigid zones from the plastic zones at each iteration. The procedure implementation of iterative process is quite simple and effective because each iteration is equivalent to solving an associated elastic problem. The obtained limit load multiplier is proved to monotonically converge to the upper bound of true solution. Several benchmark examples are investigated to validate the significant performance of the NEM in the application field of limit analysis.展开更多
Based on 25-year(1987–2011) tropical cyclone(TC) best track data, a statistical study was carried out to investigate the basic features of upper-tropospheric TC–environment interactions over the western North Pa...Based on 25-year(1987–2011) tropical cyclone(TC) best track data, a statistical study was carried out to investigate the basic features of upper-tropospheric TC–environment interactions over the western North Pacific. Interaction was defined as the absolute value of eddy momentum flux convergence(EFC) exceeding 10 m s^(-1)d^(-1). Based on this definition, it was found that 18% of all six-hourly TC samples experienced interaction. Extreme interaction cases showed that EFC can reach^120 m s^(-1)d^(-1) during the extratropical-cyclone(EC) stage, an order of magnitude larger than reported in previous studies.Composite analysis showed that positive interactions are characterized by a double-jet flow pattern, rather than the traditional trough pattern, because it is the jets that bring in large EFC from the upper-level environment to the TC center. The role of the outflow jet is also enhanced by relatively low inertial stability, as compared to the inflow jet. Among several environmental factors, it was found that extremely large EFC is usually accompanied by high inertial stability, low SST and strong vertical wind shear(VWS). Thus, the positive effect of EFC is cancelled by their negative effects. Only those samples during the EC stage, whose intensities were less dependent on VWS and the underlying SST, could survive in extremely large EFC environments, or even re-intensify. For classical TCs(not in the EC stage), it was found that environments with a moderate EFC value generally below ~25 m s^(-1)d^(-1) are more favorable for a TC's intensification than those with extremely large EFC.展开更多
文摘AIM: To elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics of clinically early gastric cancer in the upper-third stomach and to clarify treatment precautions.METHODS: A total of 683 patients with clinical early gastric cancer were enrolled in this retrospective study, 128 of whom had gastric cancer in the upper-third stomach(U group). All patients underwent a double contrast barium examination, endoscopy, and computed tomography(CT), and were diagnosed preoperatively based on the findings obtained. The clinicopathological features of these patients were compared with those of patients with gastric cancer in the middle- and lower-third stomach(ML group). We also compared clinicopathological factors between accurate-diagnosis and under-diagnosis groups in order to identify factors affecting the accuracy of a preoperative diagnosis of tumor depth.RESULTS: Patients in the U group were older(P = 0.029), had a higher ratio of males to females(P = 0.015), and had more histologically differentiated tumors(P = 0.007) than patients in the ML group. A clinical under-diagnosis occurred in 57 out of 683 patients(8.3%), and was more frequent in the U group than in the ML group(16.4% vs 6.3%, P < 0.0001). Therefore, the rates of lymph node metastasis and lymphatic invasion were slightly higher in the U group than in the ML group(P = 0.071 and 0.082, respectively). An under-diagnosis was more frequent in histologically undifferentiated tumors(P = 0.094) and in those larger than 4 cm(P = 0.024). The medianfollow-up period after surgery was 56 mo(range, 1-186 mo). Overall, survival and disease-specific survival rates were significantly lower in the U group than in the ML group(P = 0.016 and 0.020, respectively). However, limited operation-related cancer recurrence was not detected in the U group in the present study.CONCLUSION: Clinical early gastric cancer in the upper-third stomach has distinguishable characteristics that increase the risk of a clinical under-diagnosis, especially in patients with larger or undifferentiated tumors.
文摘In the Upper-Yangtze region, especially in Guizhou Province and its adjacent areas, the Lower Cambrian is well developed and is marked by a succession from black shales of the basin facies to carbonate rocks of the platform facies. The drowning event of the platform occurring at the turn from Sinian to Cambrian resulted in a set of black shales, i.e. the Niutitang Formation, which makes up the bottom part of the Lower Cambrian. With the shoaling of the sedimentary environment, a set of carbonate rocks, i.e. the Qingxudong Formation, was formed in the top part of the Lower Cambrian. Thus, the Lower Cambrian in the study area makes up one second-order sequence that can be further subdivided into five third-order sequences, and forms a regularly cyclic succession of transgression-regression. There is a regularly vertical stacking pattern for the third-order sequences in the second-order sequence. From bottom to top, the succession of the "CS (condensed section) +HST (high-stand system tract)" of the third-order sequences is changed into the succession of the "TST (transgressive system tract)+CS+HST". Correspondingly, the drowning-type sequence boundary is changed into the exposure-type one. Therefore, both the second-order and the third-order sequences have similar sedimentary-facies architectures. A concomitant with these temporal changes, the Lower Cambrian with a thickness of 1000 m that contains five third-order sequences is changed into a condensed succession that cannot identify third-order sequences toward the southeast with the deepening of the sedimentary environment. According to the elementary features of the third-order sequences, i.e. the regularity o sedimentary-facies successions in space and the synchronism of sedimentary-environment changes in time, the detailed division of the third-order sequences at main logged sections in different paleogeographical background becomes the basis to establish the sequence-stratigraphic framework that can demonstrate two types of facies-changing surface and two types of diachronism in the stratigraphic records. This sequence-stratigraphic framework shows a growing process of the carbonate platform from the base of the condensed succession formed by black shales of basin facies. Resulting from the rapid transgression at the turn from Sinian to Cambrian the ecological space became open, which formed the antecedent condition of paleogeographical setting for "the Cambrian Biological Explosion". Ultimately, the genetic relationship between the depositional events and the biological-diversity events is very complex and there remain lots of problems that need further research in the future.
基金Natural Fundamental Research and Development Project"973"Program(2009CB421504)Natural Science Foundation of China(40975032+2 种基金4073094841075037)Special Project of Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences(2007Y006)
文摘Typhoon Meranti originated over the western North Pacific off the south tip of the Taiwan Island in 2010.It moved westward entering the South China Sea,then abruptly turned north into the Taiwan Strait,got intensified on its way northward,and eventually made landfall on Fujian province.In its evolution,there was a northwest-moving cold vortex in upper troposphere to the south of the Subtropical High over the western North Pacific(hereafter referred to as the Subtropical High).In this paper,the possible impacts of this cold vortex on Meranti in terms of its track and intensity variation is investigated using typhoon best track data from China Meteorological Administration,analyses data of 0.5×0.5 degree provided by the global forecasting system of National Centers for Environmental Prediction,GMS satellite imagery and Taiwan radar data.Results show as follows:(1)The upper-level cold vortex was revolving around the typhoon anticlockwise from its east to its north.In the early stage,due to the blocking of the cold vortex,the role of the Subtropical High to steer Meranti was weakened,which results in the looping of the west-moving typhoon.However,when Meranti was coupled with the cold vortex in meridional direction,the northerly wind changed to the southerly at the upper level of the typhoon;at the same time the Subtropical High protruded westward and its southbound steering flow gained strength,and eventually created an environment in which the southerly winds in both upper and lower troposphere suddenly steered Meranti to the north;(2)The change of airflow direction above the typhoon led to a weak vertical wind shear,which in return facilitated the development of Meranti.Meanwhile,to the east of typhoon Meranti,the overlapped southwesterly jets in upper and lower atmosphere accelerated its tangential wind and contributed to its cyclonic development;(3)The cold vortex not only supplied positive vorticity to the typhoon,but also transported cold advection to its outer bands.In conjunction with the warm and moist air masses at the lower levels,the cold vortex increased the vertical instability in the atmosphere,which was favorable for convection development within the typhoon circulation,and its warmer center was enhanced through latent heat release;(4)Vertical vorticity budget averaged over the typhoon area further shows that the intensification of a typhoon vorticity column mainly depends on horizontal advection of its high-level vorticity,low-level convergence,uneven wind field distribution and its convective activities.
基金The National 973 Project of China, No.2001CB309404 O versea O utstanding Youth Cooperation Project, N o. 40128001/D 05N ationalN aturalScience Foundation ofChina,N o.49375248 Zhejiang Province Science Research (C33)Project,N o.2004C33082
文摘Using geographic information system (GIS) techniques and the newest seasonal and annual average precipitation data of 679 meteorological stations from 1971 to 2000, the multiple regressions equations of the precipitation and topographical variables are established to extract the effect of topography on the annual and seasonal precipitation in the upper-middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Then, this paper uses a successive interpolation approach (SIA), which combines GIS techniques with the multiple regressions, to improve the accuracy of the spatial interpolation of annual and seasonal rainfall. The results are very satisfactory in the case of seasonal rainfall, with the relative error of 6.86%, the absolute error of 13.07 mm, the average coefficient of variation of 0.070, and the correlation coefficient of 0.9675; in the case of annual precipitation, with the relative error of 7.34%, the absolute error of 72.1 mm, the average coefficient of variation of 0.092, and the correlation coefficient of 0.9605. The analyses of annual mean precipitation show that the SIA calculation of 3-5 steps considerably improves the interpolation accuracy, decreasing the absolute error from 211.0 mm to 62.4 mm, the relative error from 20.74% to 5.97%, the coefficient of variation from 0.2312 to 0.0761, and increasing the correlation coefficient from 0.5467 to 0.9619. The SIA iterative results after 50 steps identically converge to the observed precipitation.
基金supported by the National Basic Research (973) Program of China (Grant No.2015CB452804)
文摘The impact of mid-and upper-level dry air,represented by low relative humidity(RH)values,on the genesis of tropical cyclone(TC)Durian(2001)in the South China Sea was investigated by a series of numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting model.The mid-level RH was lowered in different regions relative to TC Durian(2001)’s genesis location.Results suggest that the location of dry air was important to Durian(2001)’s genesis and intensification.The rapid development of the TC was accompanied by sustained near-saturated mid-and upper-level air,whereas low humidity decelerated its development.Water vapor budget analysis showed that moisture at mid and upper levels was mainly supplied by the vertical convergence of moisture flux and the divergence terms,and consumed by the condensation process.The horizontal convergence of moisture flux term supplied moisture in the air moistening process but consumed moisture in the air drying process.With a dryer mid-and upper-level environment,convective and stratiform precipitation were both inhibited.The upward mass fluxes and the diabatic heating rates associated with these two precipitation types were also suppressed.Generally,convection played the dominant role,since the impact of the stratiform process on vertical mass transportation and diabatic heating was much weaker.The vorticity budget showed that the negative vorticity convergence term,which was closely related to the inhibited convection,caused the vorticity to decrease above the lower troposphere in a dryer environment.The negative vorticity tendency is suggested to slow down the vertical coherence and the development rate of TCs.
基金Projects(51208522,51478477)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(2012122033)supported by the Guizhou Provincial Department of Transportation Foundation,ChinaProject(CX2015B049)supported by the Scientific Research Innovation Project of Hunan Province,China
文摘The combined influence of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability was evaluated using the upper-bound limit analysis theorem.The mechanism of slope collapse was analyzed by dividing it into arbitrary discrete soil blocks with the nonlinear Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion and nonassociated flow rule.The multipoint tangent(multi-tangent) technique was used to analyze the slope stability by linearizing the nonlinear failure criterion.A general expression for the slope safety factor was derived based on the virtual work principle and the strength reduction technique,and the global slope safety factor can be obtained by the optimization method of nonlinear sequential quadratic programming.The results show better agreement with previous research result when the nonlinear failure criterion reduces to a linear failure criterion or the non-associated flow rule reduces to an associated flow rule,which demonstrates the rationality of the presented method.Slope safety factors calculated by the multi-tangent inclined-slices technique were smaller than those obtained by the traditional single-tangent inclined-slices technique.The results show that the multi-tangent inclined-slices technique is a safe and effective method of slope stability limit analysis.The combined effect of nonlinearity and dilation on slope stability was analyzed,and the parameter analysis indicates that nonlinearity and dilation have significant influence on the result of slope stability analysis.
基金South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) and by the Guangdong Provincial NaturalScience Foundation under contract No. 97027
文摘CTD temperature, salinity and ADCP current data, which were observed by R/V Shiyan No. 3 during the intensive observational period (IOP) of the South China Sea monsoon experiment (SCSMEX), have been analyzed. Some study results from observations at a mooring station located at the vicinity of continental slope off the south of Dongsha Islands are shown. The dynamic and thermody namic structures as wall as their changes are analyzed to describe the upper-ocean variation in the northern South China Sea during the summer monsoon onset and maintaining periods. The response of near surface water temperature, salinity and current to local sea surface winds is also discussed.
基金supported by the Chinese Polar Environment Comprehensive Investigation and Assessment Programs (Grant nos. CHINARE 2017-04-01, and 2017-02-04)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 41274164, 41374159, 41431072, and 41274148)+1 种基金Pudong Development of Science and Technology Program (Grant no. Pkj2013-z01)Top-Notch Young Talents Program of China
文摘It has been more than 30 years since the first Chinese Antarctic Expedition took place. Polar upper atmospheric observations started at this time. First began at Great Wall Station and then at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, and later in the Arctic at Yellow River Station, Kjell Henriksen Observatory on Svalbard, and at the China-Iceland Joint Aurora Observatory in Iceland. In this paper, we reviewed the advances in polar upper atmosphere physics (UAP) based on the Chinese national Arctic and Antarctic research over the last five years. These included newly deployed observatories and research instruments in the Arctic and Antarctic; and new research findings, from grotmd-based observations, about polar ionosphere dynamics, aurora and particle precipitation, polar plasma convection, geomagnetic pulsations and space plasma waves, space weather in the polar regions, simulations of the polar ionosphere-magnetosphere. In conclusion, suggestions were made for future polar upper atmosphere physics research in China.
基金This work is supported by the Major State Basic Research Program of China under contract No.G 1999043805.
文摘On the basis of hydrographic data obtained in November 28 to December 27, 1998 cruise, the calculation of the circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) is made by using the P-vector method, in combination with SSH data from TOPEX/ERS-2 analysis. For study of the dynamical mechanism, which causes the pattern of winter circulation in the SCS, the diagnostic model (Yuan et al., 1982; Yuan and Su, 1992) is used to simulate numerically the winter circulation in the SCS. The following results have been obtained. (1) The main characteristics of the circulation systems in the central SCS are as follows: A coastal southward jet in winter is present at the western boundary near the coast of Vietnam; there is a stronger cyclonic circulation with a larger horizontal scale east of this coastal southward jet and west of 114°E; there is a weaker anti-cyclonic circulation in the central part of eastern SCS; there is a stronger and northeastward flow opposing the northeasterly monsoon between above a stronger cyclonic circulation and a weaker anti-cyclonic circulation. (2) The circulation systems in the northern SCS are as follows: 1) There is a cyclonic circulation system northwest of Luzon, and it has three centers of the cold water; 2) There is an anti-cyclonic eddy. Its center is located near(20°N, 116°40' E); 3)There is a warm and anti-cyclonic circulation south of Hainan Island; 4) There is a northeastward flow, the South China Sea Warm Current, in winter off Guangdong coast in the northern SCS. (3) In the southern SCS there is an anti-cyclonic circulation, and also there is a smaller scale cold water and cyclonic eddy. (4) The above pattern of winter circulation in the SCS agrees qualitatively with the horizontal distribution of temperature at 200 m level. (5) The dynamical mechanism which produces the above basic pattern of winter circulation is because of the following two causes: 1) The joint effect of the baroclinity and relief (JEBAR) is an essential dynamical cause; 2) The interaction between the wind stress and bottom topographic (IBWT) under the strong northeasterly monsoon is the next important dynamical mechanism. (6) Comparing the hydrographic structure and the horizontal distribution of velocity with the SSH data from TOPEX/ERS-2 analysis in the SCS during December of 1998, it is found that they agree qualitatively.
文摘This paper investigates the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow of an incompressible upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid over a porous stretching surface. Similarity transformations are used to reduce the governing partial differential equations into a kind of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The nonlinear prob- lem is solved by using the successive Taylor series linearization method (STSLM). The computations for velocity components are carried out for the emerging parameters. The numerical values of the skin friction coefficient are presented and analyzed for various parameters of interest in the problem.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No U1304510)Development Foundation for Outstanding Young Teachers of Zhengzhou University,China(Grant No.1421321076)
文摘Individuals with hemiplegia suffer from impaired arm movements that appear as a marked change in arm stiffness. A quantitative measure of arm stiffness would characterize rehabilitation therapy effectively, while little mechanism is designed to implement the function. A symmetrical five-bar linkage consisting of two revolute joints and three prismatic joints is presented. Inverse kinematics and forward kinematics are obtained first. Then inverse singularities and direct singularities of the mechanism are gained. The global stiffness index is defined based on the results of kinematics analysis. Finally, optimal dimensional synthesis of the mechanism in terms of maximum stiffness is conducted by genetic algorithms. The calculation results show that with the length of both the two linkage a=830 mm, the interacting angle of the two guides 2δ=4.48 radian, and the maximum range of displacement of the two carriers dmax=940 mm, the mechanism achieves highest rigidity and its workspace is singularity-free, which covers the human left and right arm range of motion. The proposed novel mechanism featuring high rigidity and a singularity-free workspace can provide rehabilitation training, also solve the problem of quantitative measure of arm stiffness.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40905025)GYHY201006019, and GYHY200906017
文摘The East Asian upper-tropospheric jet stream (EAJS) typically jumps north of 45~N in midsummer. These annual northward jumps are mostly classified into two dominant types: the first type corresponds to the enhanced westerly to the north of the EAJS's axis (type A), while the second type is related to the weakened westerly within the EAJS's axis (type B). In this study, the impacts of these two types of northward jumps on rainfall in eastern China are investigated. Our results show that rainfall significantly increases in northern Northeast China and decreases in the Yellow River-Huaihe River valleys, as well as in North China, during the type A jump. As a result of the type B jump, rainfall is enhanced in North China and suppressed in the Yangtze River valley. The changes in rainfall in eastern China during these two types of northward jumps are mainly caused by the northward shifts of the ascending air flow that is directly related to the EAJS. Concurrent with the type A (B) jump, the EAJS-related ascending branch moves from the Yangtze-Huai River valley to northern Northeast (North) China when the EAJS's axis jumps from 40~N to 55~N (50~N). Meanwhile, the type A jump also strengthens the Northeast Asian low in the lower troposphere, leading to more moisture transport to northern Northeast China. The type B jump, however, induces a northwestward extension of the lower-tropospheric western North Pacific subtropical high and more moisture transport to North China.
文摘In [Perturbation of Spectrums of 2 × 2 Operator Matrices, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, Vol. 121, 1994], the authors asked whether there was an operator ?such that ?for a given pair?(A,B)?of operators, where the operator ?was defined by . In this note, a partial answer for the question is given.
文摘In this paper, a least-squares finite element method for the upper-convected Maxell (UCM) fluid is proposed. We first linearize the constitutive and momentum equations and then apply a least-squares method to the linearized version of the viscoelastic UCM model. The L2 least-squares functional involves the residuals of each equation multiplied by proper weights. The corresponding homogeneous functional is equivalent to a natural norm. The error estimates of the finite element solution are analyzed when the conforming piecewise polynomial elements are used for the unknowns.
基金supported by funding from the Strategic Priority Research Program(B)of Chinese Academy of Sciences through grant XDB18010304Natural Science Foundation of China through grant 41322027,41374060,41374079,41661164035
文摘P-wave waveforms in the distance range between 12°and 30°were analyzed to investigate upper-mantle P velocity structures beneath the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas.The waveform data from 504 earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 5.0 between 1990 and 2005 that occurred within 30°from the center of the Plateau were modelled.We divided the study area into 6 regions and modeled upper-mantle-distance P waveforms with turning points beneath each region separately.The results show that the uppermantle P-wave velocity structures beneath India,the Himalayas,and the Lhasa Terrane are similar and contain a high-velocity lid about 250 km thick.The upper-mantle velocities down to 200 km beneath the Qiangtang Terrane,the Tarim Basin,and especially the Songpan-GarzêTerrane are lower than those in the south.The 410-km discontinuity beneath these two terranes is elevated by about 20 km.Highvelocity anomalies are found in the transition zone below 500 km under the Lhasa and Qiangtang Terranes.The results suggest that the Tibetan Plateau was generated by thrusting of the Indian mantle lithosphere under the southern part of Tibet.Portions of the thickened Eurasian mantle lithosphere were delaminated;they are now sitting in the transition zone beneath southern Tibet and atop of the 410-km discontinuity underneath northern Tibet.
基金"973"Project(2013CB430305)Special Scientific Research Fund of Meteorological Public Welfare of China(GYHY201206006,GYHY 201106004)Shanghai Meteorological Service(TD201403)
文摘In this study a coupled air-sea-wave model system, containing the model components of GRAPES-TCM, ECOM-si and WAVEWATCH III, is established based on an air-sea coupled model. The changes of wave state and the effects of sea spray are both considered. Using the complex air-sea-wave model, a set of idealized simulations was applied to investigate the effects of air-sea-wave interaction in the upper ocean. Results show that air-wave coupling can strengthen tropical cyclones while air-sea coupling can weaken them; and air-sea-wave coupling is comparable to that of air-sea coupling, as the intensity is almost unchanged with the wave model coupled to the air-sea coupled model.The mixing by vertical advection is strengthened if the wave effect is considered, and causes much more obvious sea surface temperature(SST) decreases in the upper ocean in the air-sea coupled model. Air-wave coupling strengthens the air-sea heat exchange, while the thermodynamic coupling between the atmosphere and ocean weakens the air-sea heat exchange: the air-sea-wave coupling is the result of their balance. The wave field distribution characteristic is determined by the wind field. Experiments are also conducted to simulate ocean responses to different mixed layer depths.With increasing depth of the initial mixed layer, the decrease of SST weakens, but the temperature decrease of deeper layers is enhanced and the loss of heat in the upper ocean is increased. The significant wave height is larger when the initial mixed layer depth increases.
基金financially supported by The National Key Research Project of China (No.2016YFC0601003)Northwest University Graduate Innovation and Creativity Funds (YZZ17198)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 41390451 and No. 41172101)
文摘The Permian global mass extinction events and the eruption of the Emeishan flood basalts in the Upper Yangtze region should display certain responses during the evolution of carbon isotope. In this paper, the Permian carbon isotopic evolution in the Upper Yangtze region is examined through systematic stratotype section sampling and determination of 13 C in the northern Upper-Yangtze regions and Southern China. Additionally, the carbon isotopic evolution response characteristics of the geological events in the region are evaluated, comparing the sea-level changes in the Upper Yangtze region and the global sea-level change curves. Results of this study indicated that the carbon isotopic curves of the Permian in the Upper Yangtze region are characterized by higher background carbonisotope baseline values, with three distinct negative excursions, which are located at the Middle–Late Permian boundary and the late period and end of the Late Permian. The three distinct negative excursions provide an insightful record of the global Permian mass extinction events and the eruption of the Emeishan flood basalts in the Upper Yangtze region. The first negative excursion at the Middle–Late Permian boundary reflected the eruption of the Emeishan flood basalts, a decrease in sea level, and biological extinction events of different genera in varying degrees. The second negative excursion in the Late Permian included a decrease in sea level and large-scale biological replacement events. The third negative excursion of the carbon isotope at the end of the Permian corresponded unusually to a rise rather than a decrease in sea level, and it revealed the largest biological mass extinction event in history.
基金supported by the National Foundation for Excellent Doctoral Thesis of China (200025)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-04-0075)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19902007)
文摘The natural element method (NEM) is a newly- developed numerical method based on Voronoi diagram and Delaunay triangulation of scattered points, which adopts natural neighbour interpolation to construct trial functions in the framework of Galerkin method. Owing to its distinctive advantages, the NEM is used widely in many problems of computational mechanics. Utilizing the NEM, this paper deals with numerical limit analysis of structures made up of perfectly rigid-plastic material. According to kinematic the- orem of plastic limit analysis, a mathematical programming natural element formulation is established for determining the upper bound multiplier of plane problems, and a direct iteration algorithm is proposed accordingly to solve it. In this algorithm, the plastic incompressibility condition is handled by two different treatments, and the nonlinearity and nons- moothness of the goal function are overcome by distinguishing the rigid zones from the plastic zones at each iteration. The procedure implementation of iterative process is quite simple and effective because each iteration is equivalent to solving an associated elastic problem. The obtained limit load multiplier is proved to monotonically converge to the upper bound of true solution. Several benchmark examples are investigated to validate the significant performance of the NEM in the application field of limit analysis.
基金jointly sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41205032,41405048 and 41375050)China Special Fund for Meteorological Research in the Public Interest(Grant No.GYHY201406008)the Guangdong Marine Disaster Emergency Response Technology Research Center(2012A032100004)
文摘Based on 25-year(1987–2011) tropical cyclone(TC) best track data, a statistical study was carried out to investigate the basic features of upper-tropospheric TC–environment interactions over the western North Pacific. Interaction was defined as the absolute value of eddy momentum flux convergence(EFC) exceeding 10 m s^(-1)d^(-1). Based on this definition, it was found that 18% of all six-hourly TC samples experienced interaction. Extreme interaction cases showed that EFC can reach^120 m s^(-1)d^(-1) during the extratropical-cyclone(EC) stage, an order of magnitude larger than reported in previous studies.Composite analysis showed that positive interactions are characterized by a double-jet flow pattern, rather than the traditional trough pattern, because it is the jets that bring in large EFC from the upper-level environment to the TC center. The role of the outflow jet is also enhanced by relatively low inertial stability, as compared to the inflow jet. Among several environmental factors, it was found that extremely large EFC is usually accompanied by high inertial stability, low SST and strong vertical wind shear(VWS). Thus, the positive effect of EFC is cancelled by their negative effects. Only those samples during the EC stage, whose intensities were less dependent on VWS and the underlying SST, could survive in extremely large EFC environments, or even re-intensify. For classical TCs(not in the EC stage), it was found that environments with a moderate EFC value generally below ~25 m s^(-1)d^(-1) are more favorable for a TC's intensification than those with extremely large EFC.