a b s t r a c tIn this study, soil moisture trend during 1996-2010 in China was analyzed based on three soil moisture data sets, namely microwave-based multi-satellite surface soil moisture product released from European Space Agency's Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI), ERA-Interim/Land reanalysis, and in-situ measurements collected from the nationwide agro-meteorological network. Taking the in-situ soil moisture as reference, it is found that ESA CCI generally captured soil moisture trend more accurately than ERA-Interim/Land did. From the spatial distribution of trend analysis results, it is seen that significant decreasing trend for summer soil moisture in northwestern China and northern Inner Mongolia, as well as the significant increasing trend for autumn soil moisture in northern China were identified by both ESA CCI and ERA-Interim/Land. This is in alignment with results from gauge-based precipitation provided by Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) and satellite-based precipitation from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). However, disagreements in derived trends between ESA CCI, ERA-Interim/Land and IGSNRR were observed in the southwest and north of China, especially in major irrigation regions, such as the oases in northern Xinjiang and large areas in Sichuan province. Prominent difference between soil moisture and precipitation exhibited in the extensively irrigated Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. The spatial coincidence between significantly wetting areas (identified by ESA CCI) and heavily irrigated areas, as well as the grid-based Student's t-test sampling from various irrigation levels revealed that the observed discrepancy was caused by massive anthropogenic interference in this region. Results indicate that, for regions with great magnitude of human interference, modules considering actual irrigation practice are crucial for successful modeling of soil moisture and capturing the long-term trend. Furthermore, results could provide insights on hindcast of historical irrigation areas using satellite-based precipitation and soil moisture data sets.

Rationale: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been the focus of many studies because of their abilities to modulate immune responses, angiogenesis, and promote tumor growth and metastasis. Our previous work showed that gastric cancer MSCs (GCMSCs) promoted immune escape by secreting of IL-8, which induced programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in GC cells. Mounting evidence has revealed that PD-L1 expression is related to intrinsic tumor cell properties. Here, we investigated whether GCMSCs maintained a pool of cancer stem cells (CSCs) through PD-L1 signaling and the specific underlying molecular mechanism. Methods: Stem cell surface markers, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, migration and sphere formation abilities were tested to evaluate the stemness of GC cells. PD-L1-expressing lentivirus and PD-L1 specific siRNA were used to analyze the effects of PD-L1 on GC cells stemness. Annexin V/PI double staining was used to assess apoptosis of GC cells induced by chemotherapy. Co-Immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and Mass spectrometry were employed to determine the PD-L1 binding partner in GC cells. PD-L1 Negative and PD-L1 Positive cells were sorted by flow cytometry and used for limiting dilution assays to verify the effect of PD-L1 on tumorigenic ability in GC cells. Results: The results showed that GCMSCs enhanced the CSC-like properties of GC cells through PD-L1, which led to the resistance of GC cells to chemotherapy. PD-L1 associated with CTCF to contribute to the stemness and self-renewal of GC cells. In vivo , PD-L1 Positive GC cells had greater stemness potential and tumorigenicity than PD-L1 Negative GC cells. The results also indicated that GC cells were heterogeneous, and that PD-L1 in GC cells had different reactivity to GCMSCs. Conclusions: Overall, our data indicated that GCMSCs enriched CSC-like cells in GC cells, which gives a new insight into the mechanism of GCMSCs prompting GC progression and provides a potential combined therapeutic target.

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Taking the Chagelebulu Stratigraphic Profile as a typical example, a comprehensive study has been conducted to elucidate the palaeoclimatic and geomorphic evolution patterns in the southern fringe of the Badain Jaran Desert, which were found to be complex and polycyclic in the past 130 ka. However, the fluctuating magnitude is not as remarkable as that in the eastern China sandy region. The shift in climate from interglacial to glacial and the uplift process of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau are the two leading forces driving the evolution of the climate and desert landforms in this area. Seventeen cycles of cold, dry and warm, humid climatic stages were recognized in the Upper Pleistocene Series of the profile. The sharp uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau superimposed a cool and arid climatic trend in this area. As a result of the climatic changes, the desert in this area has undergone multiple stages of expansion and contraction since 130 ka BP. The middle Holocene Epoch and the early stage of the Late Pleistocene Period were the main periods when the sand dunes became stabilized, and the early and late phases of the Holocene Epoch and late phase of the Pleistocene Epoch were the main periods when the previously stabilized sand dunes became mobile. The late phase of the Pleistocene Epoch was the most mobile stage, when the aeolian sand activities formed the essential geomorphic pattern of the Badain Jaran Desert. Copyright

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