Search

This study investigates dominant features of the atmospheric circulation evolution associated with extreme heat waves (HWs) in Russia during the summers of 2010 and 2016, respectively, and their possible association with Arctic sea ice loss. Results show that a region of Russia (20°–70°E, 45°–65°N) experienced a lasting 44-day HW event from 4 July to 16 August 2010 and a 26-day HW event from 2 to 27 August 2016. The associated atmospheric circulation anomalies are characterized by the summer Arctic cold anomaly in the mid- to low troposphere and an anticyclonic circulation anomaly over the Ural Mountains. Simulation experiments forced by summer Arctic sea ice anomalies reproduce the major characteristics of observational associations. Observations and numerical simulations indicate that summer Arctic sea ice anomaly is conducive to the formation of the summer Arctic cold anomaly, which is often accompanied by the enhanced baroclinicity in most of the Arctic troposphere and increased and decreased meridional temperature gradient in the high and midlatitudes, respectively. Such a configuration strengthens westerly winds over most of the Arctic and weakens zonal westerly over the southern Ural Mountains. This anomalous zonal wind pattern establishes the background conditions for the sustained positive geopotential height anomaly in the mid- to low troposphere that dynamically facilitates the prevalence of Russian HW events. Moreover, when compared with 2016, the weaker meridional potential vorticity gradient anomaly in the summer of 2010 prolonged the persistence of Ural blocking, which may lead to longer HW events in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the relationship between the summer Arctic Dipole (AD) anomaly and the climatic variability in Eurasia during the period 1979–2021. It was found that the summer AD anomaly experienced a phase shift from frequent negative phases before 2006 to positive phases after 2007, as manifested by the shift of the center of the positive (negative) AD anomaly to Greenland (in the Laptev Sea and East Siberian Seas) in the more recent period (2007–2021) from the vicinity of the Kara Sea and Laptev Sea (the Canadian archipelago) in the earlier period (1979–2006). Before the mid-2000s, a wave train was shown in the middle troposphere of Eurasia, and this teleconnection pattern of atmospheric circulation could have resulted in local warm and wet (cool and dry) anomalies over northern Russia and East Asia (Western Europe and the Far east). Since the mid-2000s, the wave train has experienced a notable adjustment that was conducive to East Asian and Arctic cooling, displaying anticyclonic anomalies around northern Eurasia and two cyclonic anomalies centered near the Arctic and East Asia. The presence of a cold Arctic anomaly was found to enhance westerly winds at high latitudes by modulating the meridional temperature gradient (MTG) and impeding the southward propagation of cold Arctic air. Additionally, the warmth of northern Eurasia may have also resulted in a reduction in the MTG between northern Eurasia and the mid-lower latitudes, favoring a weakening of zonal winds over the central region of Eurasia. The increased upper-level westerly winds over southern East Asia implied a weakened East Asian Summer Monsoon, which inhibited precipitation in northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the association of spring (April–May) Arctic sea ice melt with simultaneous surface air temperature (SAT) over mid-high latitudes of Eurasia from 1979 to 2019 by using observational datasets and simulation experiments. The results show that spring SAT anomalies associated with Arctic sea ice melt display a dipole pattern over Eurasia. A high Arctic sea ice melt corresponds to positive SAT anomalies over northern Eurasia and negative SAT anomalies over most of Asia. The 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies exhibit a wave train structure, and a dominant positive center is located over the Ural Mountains with two negative centers over East Asia and western Europe. This atmospheric circulation anomaly differs from the traditional Eurasian pattern and the North Atlantic-Eurasian teleconnection pattern due to their different spatial modes. Simulation experiments forced by Arctic sea ice anomalies reproduce the major characteristics of observational associations. Observations and numerical simulations indicate that high Arctic sea ice melt years are often associated with heavy sea ice in winter-spring, which is favorable for the occurrence of Arctic anticyclonic circulation anomaly and lead to a positive SAT anomaly in the Arctic. The Arctic warming not only strengthens polar zonal westerly winds by increasing local baroclinicity, but also weakens zonal winds in mid-latitude through a reduction meridional temperature gradient. It may contribute to the Arctic anticyclonic anomalies enhancement, and then induces a wave train southeastward propagating into the mid-low latitudes. This configuration of atmospheric circulation anomalies provides favorable conditions for the SAT variations over Eurasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing air temperature and atmospheric CO 2 concentrations ( C a ) can profoundly affect photosynthesis and intrinsic water-use efficiency ( iWUE ). However, the response of trees in boreal permafrost regions to rapid warming and C a increases is poorly constrained by prior research. Here, we evaluated long-term changes in growth (using regional curve standardization [RCS]) and iWUE of Dahurian larch ( Larix gmelinii ) and Mongolian pine ( Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica ) in the boreal permafrost region of northeastern China and species-specific responses to increasing C a and temperature. From 1930–2010, RCS growth of Dahurian larch and Mongolian pine decreased, while iWUE increased by 25.5 and 21.1%, respectively. RCS growth of both species was negatively correlated with winter temperatures, but Mongolian pine depended most strongly on previous December to current February temperatures and Dahurian larch depended most strongly on March temperatures. Moisture conditions only weakly influenced growth. We found similar long-term changes of tree-ring δ 13 C in the two species. Carbon isotopic discrimination of Dahurian larch and Mongolian pine was determined mainly by growing season temperature (positive) and moisture (negative), but with different signal strengths, suggesting that stomatal conductance influenced tree-ring δ 13 C. Commonality analysis showed that RCS growth was affected mainly by temperature, but also by the combined effect (interaction) of iWUE and temperature. However, the contribution of iWUE alone was lower for Mongolian pine. Our results suggest that the increased iWUE caused by increasing C a will not improve tree growth sufficiently to compensate for temperature-induced water stress. The rate of temperature increase has slowed around 1990, which would have stabilized the degree of temperature-induced water stress, and this could be helpful to tree growth recovery in the permafrost region of northeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important practical cryptographic protocol, quantum key distribution (QKD)-based quantum private query (QPQ) has gained widespread attention in the past few decades. However, many of these protocols require classical post-processing, and the number of transmitted qubits is often much larger than the size of the database. Recently, Zhou et al. proposed a QPQ protocol that uses the W state and relies on a third party, which only requires qubits of the same size as the database [37]. Unfortunately, we have discovered a potential attack strategy against this protocol. By using fake entangled photons, a dishonest third party may be able to compromise the privacy of both the database owner and the user. To address this security vulnerability, we propose an improved QPQ protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A new rice floral organ mutant bh1 , had a negative effect on grain yield. BH1 was fine mapped to 87.5 kb on chr2. A 55 kb chromosome segment was deleted in bh1. Abstract: The cereal spikelet is enclosed by the lemma and palea. The lemma and palea of the floral mutant designated bh1, a selection from a T-DNA library generated from the rice cultivar Asominori, takes on an abnormal curve-shaped appearance only late in floral development, finally forming a beak-shaped hull. The mutation had a negative effect on thousand grain weight, seed set rate and germination rate. Genetic analysis indicated that the mutant phenotype was determined by a single recessive gene. Through map-based approach, BH1 gene was finally located to a ~87.5-kbp region on the long arm of chromosome 2. An analysis of the gene content of this region indicated that the mutation involves the loss of a 55-kbp stretch, harboring four open reading frames. Transcription profiling based on qRT-PCR revealed that the genes OsMADS1, OsMADS14, OsMADS15, OsMADS18, REP1, CFO1, and DL, all of which are also involved in lemma and palea development and identity specification, were down-regulated in the bh1 mutant. BH1 is therefore an important floral organ development gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice blast, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, and brown planthopper (BPH) infestation are two of the most destructive problems of rice production in China. The development of multi-resistant varieties is widely recognized as the most efficient and environmentally friendly approach to controlling crop diseases and pests. Functional molecular markers (FMMs) have been developed from functional variants in the genic region associated with trait variation, greatly enhancing the efficiency of identifying and pyramiding valuable genes in crop breeding. In this study, two FMMs and a multiplex PCR amplification system were developed for two major broad-spectrum BPH resistance genes, Bph6 and Bph9. With the assistance of FMMs in the multi-resistant rice restorer-line development pipeline, two lines (Huahui7713 and Huahui3006) with blast and BPH resistance were developed by pyramiding three resistance genes Pigm, Bph6 and Bph9. Two new hybrid rice varieties, Weiliangyou7713 and Xuanliangyou3006, derived from Huahui7713 and Huahui3006, have been developed and commercialized in China. Weiliangyou7713 and Xuanliangyou3006 exhibit enhanced resistance to both blast and BPH, while maintaining optimal yield and grain quality. The adoption of Weiliangyou7713 continues to expand, now being cultivated on a large scale, which is promising for its future role in reducing the dependence on chemical fungicides and pesticides in rice production. This suggests that the implementation of Huahui7713 and Huahui3006 in targeted breeding programs could be highly beneficial for developing rice varieties with strong resistance to blast and BPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving quality is an essential goal of rice breeding and production. However, rice quality is not solely determined by genotype, but is also influenced by the environment. Phenotype plasticity refers to the ability of a given genotype to produce different phenotypes under different environmental conditions, which can be a representation of the stability of traits. Seven quality traits of 141 hybrid combinations, deriving from the test-crossing of 7 thermosensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) and 25 restorer lines, were evaluated at 5 trial sites with intermittent sowing of three to five in Southern China. In the Yangtze River Basin, it was observed that delaying the sowing time of hybrid rice combinations leads to an improvement in their overall quality. Twelve parents were identified to have lower plasticity general combing ability (GCA) values with increased ability to produce hybrids with a more stable quality. The parents with superior quality tend to exhibit lower GCA values for plasticity. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 13 and 15 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with phenotype plasticity and BLUP measurement, respectively. Notably, seven QTLs simultaneously affected both phenotype plasticity and BLUP measurement. Two cloned rice quality genes, ALK and GL7, may be involved in controlling the plasticity of quality traits in hybrid rice. The direction of the genetic effect of the QTL6 (ALK) on alkali spreading value (ASV) plasticity varies in different cropping environments. This study provides novel insights into the dynamic genetic basis of quality traits in response to different cropping regions, cultivation practices, and changing climates. These findings establish a foundation for precise breeding and production of stable and high-quality rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, China has experienced intense land use and cover change (LUCC). In this study, we modeled and explored the possible effects and mechanisms of realistic LUCCs on surface temperatures in China during 1984–2013 using the Regional Climate Model (RegCM) based on the annual dynamic LUCCs derived from Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS-GLC) data. We compared two sets of ensemble experiments, one with a fixed LUCC scenario (fixed at 1984) and the other with a dynamic LUCC scenario (annual conversions from 1984 to 2013). The results showed that LUCCs in recent decades have been characterized by reforestation (accompanied by a reduction in cropland) in southern China, grassland-to-cropland conversions in North and Northeast China and bare land-to-grassland conversions in northwestern China. Such LUCCs led primarily to significant cooling of the daily maximum surface temperature (Tsmax) by approximately − 0.3 to − 0.6 °C in summer and autumn over the reforestation areas of southern China, followed by moderate cooling (~ − 0.2 °C) of the daily mean surface temperature (Ts), while the effect on the daily minimum surface temperature (Tsmin) was weak (within ± 0.1 °C) and nonsignificant. During winter and spring, the impacts of LUCC on all temperatures were less pronounced. Further investigation revealed that the cooling of Tsmax was dominated by the direct effects of LUCC (over 90%), particularly the reduction in aerodynamic resistance associated with the cropland-to-forest conversions in southern China. Additionally, seasonal differences and uncertainties in the LUCC-induced cooling of Tsmax were likely due to a combination of the relatively stable direct effect of LUCC and the uncertain model internal variability. Overall, our study highlights the effects of realistic and transient LUCC scenarios, which could provide insightful scientific clues to better assess and understand climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid rice, as one of the most successful crops exploiting heterosis, has greatly contributed to global food security. Due to its high‐yield potential, approximately half of the rice‐growing area in China is planted with hybrid rice varieties. However, the extreme vulnerability of hybrid rice to various diseases and poor grain quality pose great challenges to rice breeders. Here, we report the development of five new restorer lines pyramiding the broad‐spectrum blast resistance gene Pigm and low/intermediate amylose content‐associated gene Wxb by marker‐assisted and phenotypic selection. All these new restorer lines showed enhanced blast resistance in the disease nursery compared with the original restorer lines and had low‐to‐intermediate apparent amylose contents, ranging from 11.3% to 14.2%. Genetic background analysis based on next‐generation sequencing indicated that the proportion of Gumei 4 (donor of Pigm) genome in the five new restorer lines ranged from 9.89% to 21.69%. Eight of their derived hybrid combinations, which exhibited better grain quality and higher levels of blast resistance, have been certificated for commercial release in different ecological regions of China. Among them, Jing‐Liang‐You 3189, Yue‐Liang‐You 3189, Jing‐Liang‐You 1074 and Long‐Liang‐You 3188 meet the national standards for superior‐quality rice in China. These results confirmed the success of developing elite restorer lines through marker‐assisted and phenotypic selection, and these new restorer lines have great potential in developing more elite hybrid rice combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anomaly detection, an important branch of machine learning, plays a critical role in fraud detection, health care, intrusion detection, military surveillance, etc. As one of the most commonly used unsupervised anomaly detection algorithms, the Local Outlier Factor algorithm (LOF algorithm) has been extensively studied. This algorithm contains three steps, i.e., determining the k-distance neighborhood for each data point x , computing the local reachability density of x , and calculating the local outlier factor of x to judge whether x is abnormal. The LOF algorithm is computationally expensive when processing big data sets. Here we present a quantum LOF algorithm consisting of three parts corresponding to the classical algorithm. Specifically, the k-distance neighborhood of x is determined by amplitude estimation and minimum search; the local reachability density of each data point is calculated in parallel based on the quantum multiply-adder; the local outlier factor of each data point is obtained in parallel using amplitude estimation. It is shown that our quantum algorithm achieves exponential speedup on the dimension of the data points and polynomial speedup on the number of data points compared to its classical counterpart. This work demonstrates the advantage of quantum computing in unsupervised anomaly detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree-ring δ13C and δ18O of dominant Dahurian larch and Mongolia pine in the permafrost region of the northern Great Higgnan Mountains, China were used to elucidate species-specific ecophysiological responses to warming temperatures and increasing CO2 over the past century. Larch and pine stable carbon discrimination (Δ13C) 13C and δ18O in tree rings both showed synchronous changes during the investigated period (1901–2010), but with species-specific isotopic responses to atmospheric enriched CO2 and warming. Tree-ring Δ13C and δ18O were controlled by both maximum temperature and moisture conditions (precipitation, relative humidity and vapor pressure deficit), but with different growth periods (Δ13C in June–July and δ18O in July–August, respectively). In addition, stable isotopes of larch showed relatively greater sensitivity to moisture deficits than pine. Climatic conditions from 1920 to 1960 strongly and coherently regulated tree-ring Δ13C and δ18O through stomatal conductance. However, climatic-sensitivities of tree-ring Δ13C and δ18O recently diverged, implying substantial adjustments of stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate and altered water sources over recent decades, which reveal the varied impacts of each factor on tree-ring Δ13C and δ18O over time. Based on expected changes in leaf gas-exchange, we isolated the impacts of atmospheric CO2 and climate change on intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) over the past century. Higher intracellular CO2 in pine than larch from 1960 onwards suggests this species may be more resilient to severe droughts in the future. Our data also illustrated no weakening of the iWUE response to increasing CO2 in trees from this permafrost region. The overall pattern of CO2 enrichment and climate impacts on iWUE of pine and larch were similar, but warming increased iWUE of larch to a greater extent than that of pine over recent two decades. Taken together, our findings highlight the importance of considering how leaf gas-exchange responses to atmospheric CO2 concentration influence species-specific responses to climate and the alteration of the hydrological environment in forests growing in regions historically dominated by permafrost that will be changing rapidly in response to future warming and increased CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable isotopes in tree rings are increasingly used as proxies for climatic and ecophysiological changes. However, uncertainties remain about the strength and consistency of their response to environmental variation at different temporal (i.e. seasonal to inter-decadal) scales., We developed 5 yr of intra-seasonal and 62 yr of early- and late-wood δ13C and δ18O series of Smith fir ( Abies georgei var. smithii) on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, and used a process-based forward model to examine the relative importance of environmental and physiological controls on the isotopic data., In this temperate high-altitude region, the response, both δ18O and δ13C, is primarily to variations in relative humidity, but by different processes. In δ18O, the response is via source water δ18O but also arises from leaf water 18O enrichment. In δ13C, the response is via changes in stomatal conductance but is modified by carry-over effects from prior periods., We conclude that tree-ring δ18O may be a more robust climate proxy than δ13C, and δ13C may be more suited to studies of site-related physiological responses to the local environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree ring δ 13 C as a climate proxy is widely used for palaeoclimate research, however, its temporal stability response to the climate change remains unclear under more than one limited factors on tree growth. Here, we used a millennium tree-ring δ 13 C chronology combining two annual-resolution δ 13 C chronologies since 1800 from long-lived Qilian juniper ( Sabina przewalskii ) to assess its instability of the climate signal in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Tree-ring δ 13 C chronologies were strongly correlated with the regional mean April to August temperature from 1956 to 2008, but the associations were absent within the period 1901 to 1955 values in the CRU TS dataset. Comparison of the millennium-long δ 13 C series with reconstructed Asian temperatures also demonstrated that the δ 13 C chronology exhibited climate signal temporal instability. Substantial oscillations were revealed using a frequency-dependent analysis and 51-year running correlation analysis from the millennium-long tree-ring δ 13 C and δ 18 O series. Dual-isotope approach indicated that stomatal limitations created a statistical significant positive correlation between tree-ring δ 13 C and δ 18 O, but photosynthetic rate may be dominant when the correlations were not significant. Our results suggest that tree-ring δ 13 C series in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is responded instability to temperature variations in the past 1000 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree growth in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere reveals significant inter-annual variation in carbon sequestration, and the variations have been widely attributed to climate change, especially to the recent rapid warming and increasing drought stress. However, the response of natural trees under the different regions that exist in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau remains unclear. Here, we use nine Qilian juniper ( Sabina przewalskii) tree-ring width and basal area increment (BAI) chronologies from the middle of the Qilian Mountains and the northeastern Qaidam Basin to quantify tree growth trends and their response to the recent rapid warming. The trees, growing at high and low elevations, exhibited a consistent pattern of inter-annual variations, with increasing synchronicity in their trends since 1950. Responses to several climate factors indicate that increasing temperature accelerated tree growth in the middle of the Qilian Mountains, but restricted tree growth in the northeastern Qaidam Basin. Moving-window correlation analyses demonstrate a clearly contrasting response to the temperature variations. Our findings suggest that growth of Qilian juniper in the middle of the Qilian Mountains will increase steadily in the future rapid warming, but may remain constant or even decrease in the northeastern Qaidam Basin. These contrasting responses to temperatures provide valuable information on forest dynamics in the critical mid-latitude regions that should be incorporated into predictions of future forest carbon cycling under global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable hydrogen isotope ratios (δD) in tree rings are an attractive but still rarely explored terrestrial archive of past climatic information. Because the preparation of the cellulose nitrate for δD measurements requires more wood and a longer preparation time than preparation techniques for other isotopes in cellulose (δ 18 O or δ 13 C), it is challenging to obtain high-resolution records, especially for slow-growing trees at high elevations and in boreal regions. Here, we tested whether annually pooled samples of Qinghai spruce ( Picea crassifolia Kom.) trees from northwestern China provided results similar to those derived as the mean of individual measurements of the same trees and whether the resulting chronologies recorded useful climate information. Inter-tree variability of δD was higher than that of measured ring width for the same trees. We found higher and significant coherence between pooled and mean isotope chronologies than that among the individual series. It showed a logarithmic relationship between ring mass and δD; however, accounting for the influence of ring mass on δD values only slightly improved the strength of climatic signals in the pooled records. Tree-ring δD was significantly positively correlated with the mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures during the previous winter and with maximum temperature during the current August, and significantly negatively correlated with precipitation in the previous November to January and the current July. The winter climate signal seems to dominate tree-ring δD through the influence of large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, i.e. the Arctic Oscillation. These results will facilitate reconstruction of winter atmospheric circulation patterns over northwestern China based on a regional tree-ring δD networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising atmospheric CO2 concentration (Ca) has increased tree growth and intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE). However, the magnitude of this effect on long-term iWUE and whether this increase could stimulate the growth of riparian forests in extremely arid regions remain poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between growth [ring width; basal area increment (BAI)] and iWUE in a riparian Populus euphratica Oliv. forest to test whether growth was enhanced by increasing CO2 and whether this compensated for environmental stresses in the lower reaches of the inland Heihe River, northwestern China. We accomplished this using dendrochronological methods and carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic analysis. We found an increase in BAI before 1958, followed by a decrease from 1958 to 1977 and an increase to a peak around 2000. Tree-ring carbon discrimination (Δ) and δ18O indicated significant negative overall trends from 1920 to 2012. However, the relationship shifted in strength and direction around 1977 from significantly negative to a weak connection. The seasonal minimum temperature in April to July showed strong influence on Δ, and δ18O was controlled by relative humidity (negatively correlated) and temperature (positively correlated) in June and July. The patterns of internal to atmospheric CO2 (Ci/Ca) suggest a specific adaptation of tree physiology to increasing CO2. Intrinsic water-use efficiency increased significantly (by 36.4%) during the study period. The increased iWUE explained 19.8 and 39.1% of the observed yearly and high-frequency (first-order difference) variations in BAI, respectively, after 1977. Our results suggest significant CO2 stimulation of riparian tree growth, which compensated for the negative influences of reductions in river streamflow and a drying climate during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart speakers are becoming increasingly popular and permeate many aspects of human life. To improve the security of smart speakers, voice commands transmitted over a network are encrypted; however, user privacy issues related to smart speakers continue to emerge. In fact, attackers are still able to infer the content of a user's specific voice commands from encrypted traffic through machine learning methods to obtain private information for advertising or to carry out malicious attacks. This traffic analysis attack is referred to as a voice command fingerprinting attack. In recent years, research on improving the accuracy of voice command fingerprinting attacks has become a hot topic and remains a challenging task. To improve the accuracy of voice command fingerprinting attacks, we design a new method in this paper. We use an adaptive and dilated residual network to process spatial features. In addition, we find that using temporal features helps improve fingerprinting attack accuracy, and therefore design an attention-based bidirectional gated recurrent unit. Then, we effectively combine the two models. Our method achieves an accuracy greater than 93.36% in a closed-world scenario, which exceeds those of other state-of-the-art methods (2020 WiSec Wang et al.). In a more realistic open-world setting, our model is still effective, obtaining a true-positive rate of 99.50% and a false-positive rate of 0.1% compared to Sirinam et al.'s rates of 90.66% and 0.1%, respectively. We also demonstrate that our model has good generalizability, as our model can also be applied to website fingerprinting and outperforms 2018 CCS Sirinam et al. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]