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With the advancement of urbanization and acceleration of global warming, extreme weather and climate events are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, and climate risk continues to rise. Each community is irreplaceable and important in coping with extreme climate risk and improving urban resilience. In this study, the Dongsi Community in the functional core area of Beijing was explored, and the risk assessment of high temperatures and rainstorm waterlogging was implemented at the community scale. Local navigation observations were integrated into a theoretical framework for traditional disaster risk assessment. The risk assessment indicator system for community-scale high-temperature and rainstorm waterlogging disasters was established and improved from a microscopic perspective (a total of 22 indicators were selected from the three dimensions of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology was used to integrate geographic information, meteorological, planning, municipal, socioeconomic and other multisource information layers, thus enabling more detailed spatial distribution characteristics of the hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and risk levels of community-scale high temperatures and rainstorm waterlogging to be obtained. The results revealed that the high-risk area and slightly high-risk area of high-temperature disasters accounted for 13.5% and 15.1%, respectively. The high-risk area and slightly high-risk area of rainstorm waterlogging disasters accounted for 9.8% and 31.6%, respectively. The high-risk areas common to high temperatures and waterlogging accounted for 3.9%. In general, the risk of high-temperature and rainstorm waterlogging disasters at the community scale showed obvious spatial imbalances; that is, the risk in the area around the middle section of Dongsi Santiao was the lowest, while a degree of high temperatures or rainstorm waterlogging was found in other areas. In particular, the risk of high-temperature and rainstorm waterlogging disasters along Dongsi North Street, the surrounding areas of Dongsi Liutiao, and some areas along the Dongsi Jiutiao route was relatively high. These spatial differences were affected to a greater extent by land cover (buildings, vegetation, etc.) and population density within the community. This study is a useful exploration of climate risk research for resilient community construction, and provides scientific support for the planning of climate-adaptive communities, as well as the proposal of overall adaptation goals, action frameworks, and specific planning strategies at the community level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium (Li) metal is regarded as a promising anode for high-energy-density Li-ion batteries because of its high theoretical specific capacity and low potential. Unfortunately, the safety issues derived from Li dendrite formation have hindered their commercialization. Thus, fabricating a flexible, three-dimensional (3D) composite Li anode is an effective strategy to suppress Li dendrite growth. Lithiophilic nanoarrays are commonly constructed on a 3D skeleton to increase its surface area and lithiophilicity. However, the lithiophilic nanoarrays are unstable due to the conversion reaction during Li plating/stripping. Therefore, designing composite nanoarrays with an electrochemically stable inner core and a lithiophilic outer shell is conducive to providing a large surface area and promoting uniform Li deposition. Herein, CoS2 shell–Co(OH)F core composite nanowire arrays were prepared on carbon cloth (CoS2–Co(OH)F/CC) to fabricate a flexible 3D composite Li anode (Li@CoS2–Co(OH)F/CC), in which the electrochemically stable Co(OH)F core ensures the stability of the nanoarray and the lithiophilic CoS2 shell facilitates uniform Li adsorption. Moreover, the Co/Li2S configuration derived from the lithiation of CoS2 could promote homogeneous Li deposition, in which the lithiophilic Li2S phase and electron-conductive Co phase jointly facilitate uniform Li nucleation and charge transfer. Consequently, the symmetric cells and full cells paired with a LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode based on the flexible Li@CoS2–Co(OH)F/CC anode presented superior cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate in the source region of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Mekong River is of great research interest because of its sensitivity to global change and its importance in regulating water resources to densely populated and vast areas downstream. A five-century long record of spring (May–June) for the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) was reconstructed for this region using tree-ring width chronologies of Qilian juniper (Juniperus przewalskii Kom.) from five high-elevation sites. The reconstruction explained 46% variance in the PDSI during the instrumental period 1955–2005. The reconstructed PDSI showed that the occurrence of dry extremes became frequent during the last century relative to the previous four centuries. The standard deviation of the reconstructed PDSI in the 100-year window showed that the recent century held apparent high values of standard deviation in the long-term context. Sustained droughts occurred in periods 1582–1631, 1737–1757, 1772–1791, 1869–1891, 1916–1939, and 1952–1982, whereas relatively wet intervals were observed in 1505–1527, 1543–1564, 1712–1736, 1792–1816, 1852–1868, 1892–1915, and 1983–2008. Notably, in the context of the past five centuries, the study region showed an increased inter-annual variability in the recent century, suggesting an intensified hydroclimatic activity possibly associated with global warming. Moreover, through diagnostic analysis of atmospheric circulation, we found that the negative phase East Asian–Pacific teleconnection pattern may be likely to trigger drought in the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial to investigate the characteristics of meteorological drought in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region to improve the accuracy of agriculture and water resource monitoring and management. In this study, using instrumental observation data from 85 meteorological stations in the BTH region during 1961–2023 derived from the National Meteorological Information Center, we first calculated the meteorological drought comprehensive index (MCI) and analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of the MCI. In the BTH region, the MCI intensity from May to June was the most severe in the intraseasonal variation. The trend of the decreasing drought intensity in May–June has occurred for the past 60 years. The southern region in the BTH region was more likely to experience droughts. Next, the spatial patterns of the top two EOF modes of the May–June MCI were depicted. The primary spatial pattern of the BTH, which was characterized by consistent changes in the MCI throughout the entire BTH region, could be represented by the first mode's R2 of 69.01%. Then, we compared the spatial pattern of the MCI intensity under different return periods. Using the May–June MCI of 1961–2023, the drought intensity gradually increased from northwest to southeast for the 10-, 20-, and 50-year return periods. However, the drought intensity decreased and then increased from northwest to southeast based on the 1991–2023 MCI. Notably, a 20-year return period of severe drought affected Beijing and northern Hebei in 2023. Finally, we discussed the linkages of drought in the BTH region and atmospheric circulation/sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, which were calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient and wavelet coherence. We suggest that the MCI variations in the BTH region may be related to the SST anomalies of the Indian Ocean in 1961–1990 and the Pacific Ocean in 1991–2023, respectively. The abovementioned studies have enlightened us to focus on predicting the Pacific SST for drought, which will facilitate agricultural production and water resource management in the BTH region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this study, we describe Labrys fuzhouensis sp. n. based on detailed morphology revealed by scanning electron microscopy and molecular data inferred from 18S and 28S rRNA. The new species differs from other Labrys species by a combination of several morphometric and morphological characters: vulva-anus distance 66-74 μ m, tail length 172-182 μ m, post-uterine sac 11-12 μ m, excretory duct less sclerotised, and hexagon-shaped labial disc. The novelty of L. fuzhouensis sp. n. is also confirmed by multi-dimensional scaling analysis. The 18S and 28S rRNA-based phylogenies suggest that the new species nested in the Labrys clade as sister to L. chinensis. In addition to the new species description, Coslenchus rafiqi is reported from China for the first time, the description being supplemented by the first molecular data (18S and 28S rRNA) for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Species of the family Tylenchidae are encountered in large numbers in soils. The genus Labrys was recently described characterised by a remarkable lip pattern that differs from all other known Tylenchidae genera. Here we describe a curious new species, Labrys fujianensis sp. n., that morphologically fits the genus Labrys but which is genetically divergent. The phylogeny was inferred based on 18S and 28S rDNA and light and scanning electron microscopy were used to extract detailed morphologies. The phylogenetic position of this species and its phenotypic convergence are discussed. The possibility of a long-branch attraction artefact was inspected both by removal of variable nucleotide sites and monophyletic testing of topologies. The results confirmed the divergent positioning of the presented species and it is demonstrated that the genetic diversity in Tylenchidae may be much higher than expected due to morphological homoplasy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of breast cancer is usually related to multiple pathways. A combinatory therapeutic system that combines drug/siRNA targeting several independent pathways has become an attractive approach to reduce the side effects and improve the efficiency of antitumor drugs. Herein, we designed a unique micelle-liposome hybrid nanoparticle platform for the combinatory administration of the cytotoxic drug DOX and Sphk2-siRNA for the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) cancer. The synthesized lipid dioleoyl ethanolamine (DE) and pH-responsive DOPE were used to produce DOX/siRNA co-loaded hybrid nanoparticle (DOX-MC-siSphk2/ASLNP), with high drug-loading capacity and transfection efficacy. We demonstrated that simultaneous cellular endocytosis of DOX/siRNA induced by nanoparticles in MCF-7/ADR cells could acquire higher drug cytotoxicity and contribute to increasing the apoptosis of tumor cell. Furthermore, DOX-MC-siSphk2/ASLNP could significantly block the tumor growth of MDR breast cancer in xenograft mouse model with lower cardiotoxicity. (A) Preparation of biocompatible hybrid nanoparticles (DOX-DE-siRNA/ASLNP) consisting of micelle-embedded pH-sensitive liposomes. (B) Sketch map showing the co-delivery of DOX-siRNA in cells by MDR breast cancer cells through DOX-DE-siRNA/ASLNP. [Display omitted] • Stimulus-responsive hybrid nanoparticle based on multiple lipids were successfully prepared for the co-delivery of DOX and Sphk2-siRNA. • DOX-MC-siSphk2/ASLNP hindered the leakage of payload under systemic circulation while releasing the DOX-siSphk2 co-loaded micelle according to the tumor microenvironment. • The micelle-embedded liposome structures and pH-sensitive lipid shells contributed to the DOX-siRNA concentration in cancer cells and prevented heart damage during antitumor therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tylenchidae is a widely distributed soil-inhabiting nematode family. Regardless their abundance, molecular phylogeny based on rRNA genes is problematic, and the delimitation of taxa in this group remains poorly documented and highly uncertain. Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene is an important barcoding gene that has been widely used species identifications and phylogenetic analyses. However, currently COI data are only available for one species in Tylenchidae. In present study, we newly obtained 27 COI sequences from 12 species and 26 sequences from rRNA genes. The results suggest that the COI gene is valid to delimitate Tylenchidae species but fails to resolve phylogenetic relationships., Tylenchidae is a widely distributed soil-inhabiting nematode family. Regardless their abundance, molecular phylogeny based on rRNA genes is problematic, and the delimitation of taxa in this group remains poorly documented and highly uncertain. Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene is an important barcoding gene that has been widely used species identifications and phylogenetic analyses. However, currently COI data are only available for one species in Tylenchidae. In present study, we newly obtained 27 COI sequences from 12 species and 26 sequences from rRNA genes. The results suggest that the COI gene is valid to delimitate Tylenchidae species but fails to resolve phylogenetic relationships.