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ABSTRACT Wind chill temperature ( WCT) describes the joint effect of wind velocity and air temperature on exposed body skin and could support policymakers in designing plans to reduce the risks of notably cold and windy weather. This study examined winter WCT over Northern Asia during 1973-2013 by analysing in situ station data. The winter WCT warming rate over the Tibetan Plateau ( TP) slowed during 1999-2013 (−0.04 °C decade−1) compared with that of during 1973-1998 (0.67 °C decade−1). The winter WCT warming hiatus has also been observed in the remainder of Northern Asia with trends of 1.11 °C decade−1 during 1973-1998 but −1.02 °C decade−1 during 1999-2013, except for the Far East ( FE) of Russia, where the winter WCT has continued to heat up during both the earlier period of 1973-1998 (0.54 °C decade−1) and the recent period of 1999-2013 (0.75 °C decade−1). The results indicate that the influence of temperature on winter WCT is greater than that of wind speed over Northern Asia. Atmospheric circulation changes associated with air temperature and wind speed were analysed to identify the causes for the warming hiatus of winter WCT over Northern Asia. The distributions of sea-level pressure and 500- hPa height anomalies during 1999-2013 transported cold air from the high latitudes to middle latitudes, resulting in low air temperature over Northern Asia except for the FE of Russia. Over the TP, the increase in wind speed offset the increase in air temperature during 1999-2013. For the FE, the southerly wind from the Western Pacific drove the temperature up during the 1999-2013 period through warm advection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a medicinal mushroom long used in Asia as a folk remedy to promote health and longevity. Recent studies indicate that G. lucidum activates NK cells, but the molecular mechanism underlying this effect has not been studied so far. To address this question, we prepared a water extract of G. lucidum and examined its effect on NK cells. We observed that G. lucidum treatment increases NK cell cytotoxicity by stimulating secretion of perforin and granulysin. The mechanism of activation involves an increased expression of NKG2D and natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCRs), as well as increased phosphorylation of intracellular MAPKs. Our results indicate that G. lucidum induces NK cell cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines by activating NKG2D/NCR receptors and MAPK signaling pathways, which together culminate in exocytosis of perforin and granulysin. These observations provide a cellular and molecular mechanism to account for the reported anticancer effects of G. lucidum extracts in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]