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Hydrological connectivity has significant effects on the functions of estuarine wetland ecosystem. This study aimed to examine the dynamics of hydrological connectivity and its impact on soil carbon pool in the Yellow River Delta, China. We calculated the hydrological connectivity based on the hydraulic resistance and graph theory, and measured soil total carbon and organic carbon under four different hydrological connectivity gradients (I 0–0.03, II 0.03–0.06, III 0.06–0.12, IV 0.12–0.39). The results showed that hydrological connectivity increased in the north shore of the Yellow River and the south tidal flat from 2007 to 2018, which concentrated in the mainstream of the Yellow River and the tidal creek. High hydrological connectivity was maintained in the wetland restoration area. The soil total carbon storage and organic carbon storage significantly increased with increasing hydrological connectivity from I to I gradient and decreased in IV gradient. The highest soil total carbon storage of 0–30 cm depth was 5172.34 g/m2, and organic carbon storage 2764.31 g/m2 in III gradient. The hydrological connectivity changed with temporal and spatial change during 2007–2018 and had a noticeable impact on soil carbon storage in the Yellow River Delta. The results indicated that appropriate hydrological connectivity, i.e. 0.08, could effectively promote soil carbon storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through restoration, degraded wetlands are thought to recover their carbon storage function over time. However, little is known about the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions after restoration of degraded wetlands. In this study, we selected four wetlands, two degraded (one grazed and one graze-released site), one restored for 6 years and one natural site from the Zoigê wetlands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China to investigate the dynamics of SOC following restoration. The concentrations of SOC, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), and heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC) in the degraded sites were significantly lower than those in the natural wetland. In contrast, soil δC (i.e. C/C ratio) in the degraded sites was significantly higher than that in the natural site. After 8 years of restoration, the restored and the natural wetland sites did not differ significantly in SOC, DOC, LFOC, HFOC or δC. Therefore, restored wetlands regained some of their role in carbon storage over time. SOC turnover was slower in the natural wetland than in the degraded and restored sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland stores substantial amount of carbon and may contribute greatly to global climate change debate. However, few researches have focused on the effects of global climate change on carbon mineralization in Zoigê alpine wetland, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is one of the most important peatlands in China. Through incubation experiment, this paper studied the effects of temperature, soil moisture, soil type (marsh soil and peat soil) and their interactions on CO and CH emission rates in Zoigê alpine wetland. Results show that when the temperature rises from 5°C to 35°C, CO emission rates increase by 3.3-3.7 times and 2.4-2.6 times under non-inundation treatment, and by 2.2-2.3 times and 4.1-4.3 times under inundation treatment in marsh soil and peat soil, respectively. Compared with non-inundation treatment, CO emission rates decrease by 6%-44%, 20%-60% in marsh soil and peat soil, respectively, under inundation treatment. CO emission rate is significantly affected by the combined effects of the temperature and soil type ( p < 0.001), and soil moisture and soil type ( p < 0.001), and CH emission rate was significantly affected by the interaction of the temperature and soil moisture ( p < 0.001). Q values for CO emission rate are higher at the range of 5°C-25°C than 25°C-35°C, indicating that carbon mineralization is more sensitive at low temperature in Zoigê alpine wetland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalized immunotherapy targeting tumor-specific mutations represents a highly promising approach to cancer treatment. Here, we describe an Asian lung squamous cell carcinoma patient demonstrating frank disease progression following chemotherapy and EGFR inhibitor treatment. Based on tumor mutational profiling and HLA typing, a saline-based multi-epitope peptide vaccine was designed and administered along with topical imiquimod as an adjuvant. Weekly neo-epitope peptide vaccination was followed by a rapid and dramatic regression of multiple lung tumor nodules, while a much larger liver metastasis remained refractory to treatment. Peripheral blood immune monitoring showed that specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) were induced primarily against peptide targets encompassing the widely shared EGFR L858R mutation, particularly one restricted to HLA-A*3101. Immunological targeting of this driver mutation may be of particular benefit to Asian lung cancer patients due to its relatively high prevalence within this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]