Search

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 III 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/m2in 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.

This study considers the spatial variability of soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus storage in a drained alpine wetland and the possible relationships with soil properties. Top 0–0.30m soil samples were collected in a typical alpine wetland in the south-eastern Qinghai–Tibet plateau using grid sampling. There was high spatial variability for soil organic carbon density (SOCD), soil total nitrogen density (STND), and soil total phosphorous density (STPD) in the drained alpine wetland. Spherical models best described the structure of the semivariograms for SOCD and STPD, and an exponential model for STND, with the range parameter of <4m. Similar spatial distribution with lower or higher patches of C, N, and P storage were observed. SOCD, STND, and STPD were significantly negatively correlated with soil moisture (P<0.01), and significantly positively correlated with bulk density (P<0.01). However, no significant correlations were observed between SOCD, STND, and STPD and soil pH values. Wetland drainage might lead to higher C, N, and P densities in top 0.30m soils due to peat compaction; thus, it is necessary to incorporate water table fluctuations or the whole depth of peat layers to estimating precisely C, N and P storage.

ABSTRACTPersonalized 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.