Comprehending particulate matter dynamics in transit-oriented developments: Traffic as a generator and design as a captivator.

In Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), the close integration of residential structures with community activities and traffic heightens residents' exposure to traffic-related pollutants. Despite traffic being a primary source of particulate matter (PM), the compact design of TODs, together with the impact of urban heat island (UHI), increases the likelihood of trapping emitted PM from traffic, leading to heightened exposure of TOD residents to PM. Although PM originates from two distinct sources in road traffic, exhaust and non-exhaust emissions (NEE), current legislation addressing traffic-related PM from non-exhaust emissions sources remains limited. This paper focuses on two TOD typologies in Manchester City-Manchester Piccadilly and East Didsbury-to understand the roles of TOD traffic as a PM generator and TOD place design as a PM container and trapper. The investigation aims to establish correlations between street design canyon ratios, vehicular Speed, and PM10/PM2.5, providing design guidance and effective traffic management strategies to control PM emissions within TODs. Through mapping the canyon ratio and utilising the Breezometer API for PM monitoring, the paper revealed elevated PM levels in both TOD areas, exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, particularly for PM2.5. Correlation analysis between canyon configuration and PM2.5/PM10 highlighted the importance of considering building heights and avoiding the creation of deep canyons in TOD design to minimise the limited dispersion of PM. Leveraging UK road statistics and the PTV Group API for vehicle speed calculations, the paper studied the average speeds on the TOD roads concerning PM. Contrary to conventional assumption, the correlation analyses have revealed a noteworthy association shift between vehicular speed and PM concentrations. A positive correlation existed between speed increase and PM increases on arterial roads. However, a negative correlation emerged on main, collector, and local streets, indicating that PM levels rise for both PM10 and PM2.5 as Speed decreases. These findings challenge the traditional assumption that higher Speed leads to increased emissions, highlighting the potential impact of NEE on PM concentrations. This paper calls for thorough design considerations and traffic management strategies in TOD, especially in dense areas, considering building height, optimising traffic flow, and enhancing compromised air quality associated with vehicular emissions.

Dynamics of carbon and water vapor fluxes in three typical ecosystems of Heihe River Basin, Northwestern China.

Understanding the dynamics of carbon and water vapor fluxes in arid inland river basin ecosystems is essential for predicting and assessing the regional carbon-water budget amid climate change. However, studies aiming to unravel the mechanisms driving the variations and coupling process of regional carbon-water budget in a changing environment in arid regions are limited. Here, we used the eddy covariance technique to analyze the relationship between CO2 and H2O fluxes in three typical ecosystems across the upper, middle, and lower reaches of an arid inland river basin in Northwestern China. Our results showed that all ecosystems acted as carbon sinks, with the alpine swamp meadow, cropland, and desert shrubland sequestrating -300.2 ± 0.01, -644.8 ± 2.9, and - 203.7 ± 22.5 g C m-2 yr-1, respectively. Air temperature (Ta) primarily controlled daily gross primary productivity (GPP) and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) in the irrigated cropland during the growing season, while soil temperature (Ts) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) regulated these parameters in the alpine swamp meadow and desert shrubland. Additionally, Ta and net radiation (Rn) controlled daily evapotranspiration (ET) in cropland, while Ts and Rn regulated ET at other sites. Consequently, carbon and water vapor fluxes of all three ecosystems tended to be energy-limited during the growing season. The differential responses of carbon and water vapor fluxes in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of these ecosystems to biophysical factors determined their distinct coupling and variations in water use efficiency. Notably, the desert shrub ecosystem in the lower reach of the basin maintained a stable balance between carbon gain and water loss, indicating adaptation to aridity. This study provides valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms behind the changes in carbon and water vapor fluxes and water-use efficiency in arid river basin ecosystems.

The Adrenal Gland of Squamata (Reptilia): A Comparative Overview.

The adrenal gland is a complex endocrine organ composed of two components: a steroidogenic tissue, which produces steroid hormones, and a chromaffin tissue, which mainly produces norepinephrine and epinephrine. Through evolution, their relationships with each other changed. They begin as isolated chromaffin and steroidogenic cell aggregates, typical of fish, and end with the advanced compact gland, typical of mammals, which consists of an external steroidogenic cortical zone and an internal chromaffin medullary zone. The adrenal gland of reptiles is unique because, with few exceptions, it is near the gonads and genital ducts, and the chromaffin and steroidogenic tissues are closely associated. However, the degree of mixing is variable. For example, in Squamata, the mixing degree of chromaffin and steroidogenic tissues, their reciprocal position in the gland, and the relative quantities of norepinephrine and epinephrine secreted by the chromaffin cells are extremely variable. This variability could be related to the phylogenetic history of the species. After a brief discussion of the adrenal gland and its main functions in vertebrates, this overview will examine the general characteristics of the adrenal gland of squamates, the differences in morphology of the gland, and the possible relationships with the phylogeny of the different species.

Higher sensitivity of gross primary productivity than ecosystem respiration to experimental drought and warming across six European shrubland ecosystems.

Shrubland ecosystems across Europe face a range of threats including the potential impacts of climate change. Within the INCREASE project, six shrubland ecosystems along a European climatic gradient were exposed to ecosystem-level year-round experimental nighttime warming and long-term, repeated growing season droughts. We quantified the ecosystem level CO2 fluxes, i.e. gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Reco) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE), in control and treatment plots and compared the treatment effects along the Gaussen aridity index. In general, GPP exhibited higher sensitivity to drought and warming than Reco and was found to be the dominant contributor to changes in overall NEE. Across the climate gradient, northern sites were more likely to have neutral to positive responses of NEE, i.e. increased CO2 uptake, to drought and warming partly due to seasonal rewetting. While an earlier investigation across the same sites showed a good cross-site relationship between soil respiration responses to climate over the Gaussen aridity index, the responses of GPP, Reco and NEE showed a more complex response pattern suggesting that site-specific ecosystem traits, such as different growing season periods and plant species composition, affected the overall response pattern of the ecosystem-level CO2 fluxes. We found that the observed response patterns of GPP and Reco rates at the six sites could be explained well by the hypothesized position of each site on site-specific soil moisture response curves of GPP/Reco fluxes. Such relatively simple, site-specific analyses could help improve our ability to explain observed CO2 flux patterns in larger meta-analyses as well as in larger-scale model upscaling exercises and thereby help improve our ability to project changes in ecosystem CO2 fluxes in response to future climate change.

Terrestrial CO2 exchange diagnosis using a peatland-optimized vegetation photosynthesis and respiration model (VPRM) for the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

Satellite-based light use efficiency (LUE) models have been widely used to estimate gross primary production in various terrestrial ecosystems such as forests and croplands, but northern peatlands have received less attention. In particular, the Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) which is a massive peatland-rich region in Canada has been largely ignored in previous LUE-based studies. These peatland ecosystems have accumulated large stocks of organic carbon over many millennia, and play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. In this study, we used the satellite data-driven Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (VPRM) to examine the suitability of LUE models for carbon flux diagnosis in the HBL. VPRM was driven alternately with the satellite-derived enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF). The model parameter values were constrained by eddy covariance (EC) tower observations from the Churchill fen and Attawapiskat River bog sites. The main objectives of the study were to (i) investigate if site-specific parameter optimization improved NEE estimates, (ii) determine which satellite-based proxy of photosynthesis produced more reliable estimates of peatland net carbon exchange, and (iii) examine how LUE and other model parameters vary within and between the study sites. The results indicate that the VPRM mean diurnal and monthly estimates of NEE had significant strong agreements with EC tower fluxes at the two study sites. A comparison of the site-optimized VPRM against a generic peatland-optimized version of the model revealed that the site-optimized VPRM provided better estimates of NEE only during the calibration period at the Churchill fen. The diurnal and seasonal cycles of peatland carbon exchange were better captured by the SIF-driven VPRM, demonstrating that SIF is a more accurate proxy for photosynthesis compared to EVI. Our study suggests that satellite-based LUE models have the potential to be applied on a larger scale to the HBL region.

Sir William Osler's fatal trip to Scotland: "Mrs M" and the University Grants Committee.

On 23 September 1919, Sir William Osler, after a telephone call from his friend Dyson Perrins, went to Glasgow where he saw a 40-year-old woman, Bethia Fulton Martin, in consultation with three local physicians. Osler called it "one of those remarkable Erythema cases (all sorts of skin lesions and three months on and off consolidation of both lower lobes)." Mrs Martin died 114 days later; her death certificate listed "angioneurotic oedema with chronic nephritis" and "tuberculous enlargement of the mediastinal lymph nodes." Osler died 18 days before Mrs Martin of complications from a respiratory infection acquired on his way home from Scotland. We discuss factors that possibly prompted Osler to go to Scotland, including his role with the newly formed University Grants Committee, and the differential diagnosis of the case, which is mainly between systemic lupus erythematosus and Henoch-Schönlein purpura.

Minimally Invasive Reconstruction of the Medial Collateral Ligament of the Knee.

Background: This study describes a minimally invasive technique for the reconstruction of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior oblique ligament (POL) through minimal incisions on the tibial and femoral sides of the ligament using the modified Bosworth technique. Methods: This study included 19 consecutive patients who presented with chronic grade III injury; the mean age was 29.6 years (standard deviation ± 7.5 years, range 19-43 years), and five patients (26.3%) had no associated injuries. Ten patients (52.6%) had associated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and four patients (21.1%) had associated posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury. All patients were assessed 18 months postoperatively regarding functional outcome using the Lysholm score and medial joint space opening. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in the patient functional outcome as the Lysholm score improved from 55.39 ± 6.9 to 89.42 ± 6.4 at 18 months postoperatively. (P< 0.001). At the end of the follow-up, 16 cases had grade 1 medial laxity, 3 cases with grade II laxity, and no patients with grade III medial laxity. Conclusion: Minimally invasive MCL reconstruction with modified Bosworth technique gives very good results regarding the functional outcome and residual medial laxity of the knee.

Disentangling effects of natural and anthropogenic drivers on forest net ecosystem production.

Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) of forests is the net carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes between land and the atmosphere due to forests' biogeochemical processes. NEP varies with natural drivers such as precipitation, air temperature, solar radiation, plant functional type (PFT), and soil texture, which affect the gross primary production and ecosystem respiration, and thus the net C sequestration. It is also known that deposition of sulphur and nitrogen influences NEP in forest ecosystems. These drivers' respective, unique effects on NEP, however, are often difficult to be individually identified by conventional bivariate analysis. Here we show that by analyzing 22 forest sites with 231 site-year data acquired from FLUXNET database across Europe for the years 2000-2014, the individual, unique effects of these drivers on annual forest CO2 fluxes can be disentangled using Generalized Additive Models (GAM) for nonlinear regression analysis. We show that S and N deposition have substantial impacts on NEP, where S deposition above 5 kg S ha-1 yr-1 can significantly reduce NEP, and N deposition around 22 kg N ha-1 yr-1 has the highest positive effect on NEP. Our results suggest that air quality management of S and N is crucial for maintaining healthy biogeochemical functions of forests to mitigate climate change. Furthermore, the empirical models we developed for estimating NEP of forests can serve as a forest management tool in the context of climate change mitigation. Potential applications include the assessment of forest carbon fluxes in the REDD+ framework of the UNFCCC.

Effects of precipitation seasonal distribution on net ecosystem CO2 exchange over an alpine meadow in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Ecosystem carbon balance might be affected by the variability of seasonal distribution of precipitation under global climate change. Using the eddy covariance (EC) technique, long-term observations of ecosystem net CO2 exchange (NEE) were acquired over Lijiang alpine meadow in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau from January 2014 to August 2019. During the wet season (from June to October), Lijiang meadow functioned as a carbon sink (- 37.6 ± 22.5 g C m-2 month-1), while in dry season, the meadow varied between a weak carbon source and sink with an average monthly NEE of - 3.9 ± 11.9 g C m-2 month-1. Monthly CO2 fluxes were mainly controlled by air temperature and soil water content. A large annual variation of CO2 uptake was observed. The annual NEE was - 140.3 g C m-2 year-1 in 2014 while - 247.0 g C m-2 year-1 in 2016. Correspondingly, the precipitation in wet season accounted 90% of annual precipitation in 2014 and 74% of that in 2016 despite the annual precipitation was larger than 1200 mm in both years. More precipitation in dry season can lead to longer period of net CO2 uptake, while more precipitation concentrated in wet season depressed the meadow's light response through the decrease of the magnitude of light-saturated net CO2 exchange (NEEsat) at the onset and the end of growing season.

Effects of fire on CO2 , CH4 , and N2 O exchange in a well-drained Arctic heath ecosystem.

Wildfire frequency and expanse in the Arctic have increased in recent years and are projected to increase further with changes in climatic conditions due to warmer and drier summers. Yet, there is a lack of knowledge about the impacts such events may have on the net greenhouse gas (GHG) balances in Arctic ecosystems. We investigated in situ effects of an experimental fire in 2017 on carbon dioxide (CO2 ), methane (CH4 ), and nitrous oxide (N2 O) surface fluxes in the most abundant tundra ecosystem in West Greenland in ambient and warmer conditions. Measurements from the growing seasons 2017 to 2019 showed that burnt areas became significant net CO2 sources for the entire study period, driven by increased ecosystem respiration (ER) immediately after the fire and decreased gross ecosystem production (GEP). Warming by open-top chambers significantly increased both ER and GEP in control, but not in burnt plots. In contrast to CO2 , measurements suggest that the overall sink capacity of atmospheric CH4 , as well as net N2 O emissions, were not affected by fire in the short term, but only immediately after the fire. The minor effects on CH4 and N2 O, which was surprising given the significantly higher nitrate availability observed in burnt plots. However, the minor effects are aligned with the lack of significant effects of fire on soil moisture and soil temperature. Net uptake and emissions of all three GHG from burnt soils were less temperature-sensitive than in the undisturbed control plots. Overall, this study highlights that wildfires in a typical tundra ecosystem in Greenland may not lead to markedly increased net GHG emissions other than CO2 . Additional investigations are needed to assess the consequences of more severe fires.

Associations of the modified STarT back tool and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) with gait speed and knee pain in knee osteoarthritis: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The association of the modified STarT Back Tool (mSBT) psychosocial measure with gait speed and knee pain in knee osteoarthritis is not well defined. This study aimed to, in patients with knee osteoarthritis, (i) examine the convergent validity of mSBT with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and (ii) compare the predictive validity of mSBT and HADS with gait speed and knee pain. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of mSBT, HADS, gait speed, and knee pain outcomes data collected from 119 patients who received outpatient physical therapy. Of these patients who were evaluated at their first (baseline) physical therapy visit, 55 had available data at the Week-16 follow-up visit. RESULTS: mSBT and HADS showed moderately strong pairwise correlations (Spearman correlation > 0.57; p < 0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, body weight, and knee impairment variables in multivariable linear mixed-effects analyses, mSBT was associated with gait speed (p < 0.001) and knee pain intensity (p < 0.001) and it had comparable strength of association as HADS. In within-patient regression analyses, change in mSBT was associated with changes in gait speed (p = 0.04) and knee pain (p = 0.01) over 16 weeks. CONCLUSION: The mSBT had convergent validity with HADS and it showed predictive validity with gait speed and knee pain in knee osteoarthritis. Although broader validation is required, the 5-item mSBT psychosocial measure may be applied as part of routine clinical care to assess psychological distress in patients with knee osteoarthritis.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe 5-item psychosocial subscale of the modified STarT Back tool (mSBT) showed good convergent validity with the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in patients with knee osteoarthritis.The mSBT psychosocial subscale showed predictive validity, at both cross-sectional and longitudinal levels, with gait speed and knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis.The mSBT can potentially be used in the busy clinical setting to assess psychological distress in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Variations in seasonal and inter-annual carbon fluxes in a semi-arid sandy maize cropland ecosystem in China's Horqin Sandy Land.

Sandy cropland ecosystems are major terrestrial ecosystems in semi-arid regions of northern China's Horqin Sandy Land, where they play an important role in the regional carbon balance. Continuous observation of the CO2 flux was conducted from 2014 to 2018 using the eddy covariance technique in a sandy maize cropland ecosystem in the Horqin Sandy Land. We analyzed carbon fluxes (the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2, ecosystem respiration (Reco), and the gross primary productivity (GPP) and their responses to environmental factors at different temporal scales using Random Forest models and correlation analysis. We found that the sandy cropland was a carbon sink, with an annual mean NEE of -124.4 g C m-2 yr-1. However, after accounting for carbon exports and imports, the cropland became a net carbon source, with net biome production ranging from -501.1 to -266.7 g C m-2 yr-1. At a daily scale, the Random Forest algorithm revealed that photosynthetic photon flux density, soil temperature, and soil moisture were the main drivers for variation of GPP, Reco, and NEE at different integration periods. At a monthly scale, GPP and Reco increased with increasing leaf area index (LAI), so the maize ecosystem's carbon sequestration capacity increased with increasing LAI. At an annual scale, water availability (precipitation and irrigation) played a dominant role in explaining inter-annual variability of GPP and Reco. Affected by climate (e.g., precipitation) and field management (e.g., cultivation, irrigation), carbon fluxes differed greatly between years in the maize system.

Benefits of satellite XCO2 and newly proposed atmospheric CO2 observation network over India in constraining regional CO2 fluxes.

Top-down modeling estimates are among the most reliable information available on the CO2 fluxes of the earth system. The inadequate coverage of CO2 observing stations over the tropical regions adds a limitation to this estimate, especially when the satellite XCO2 is strictly screened for cloud contamination, aerosol, dust, etc. In this study, we investigated the potential benefit of a global ground-based observing station network, 17 newly proposed stations over India, and global satellite XCO2 in reducing the uncertainty of terrestrial biospheric fluxes of Tropical Asia-Eurasia in TransCom cyclo-stationary inversion. The data from selected 80 global ground-based CO2 observation stations, together with two additional stations from India (i.e., Cape Rama and Sinhagad) and satellite XCO2, helps to reduce the temperate Eurasian terrestrial flux uncertainty by 23.8%, 26.4%, and 36.2%, respectively. This further improved to 54.7% by adding the newly proposed stations over India into the inversion. By separating the Indian sub-continent from temperate Eurasia (as inspired by the heterogeneity in the terrestrial ecosystems, prevailing meteorological conditions, and the orography of this vast region), the inversion evinces the capacity of existing CO2 observations to reduce the Indian terrestrial flux uncertainty by 20.5%. The largest benefit (70% reduction of annual mean uncertainty) for estimating Indian terrestrial fluxes could be achieved by combining these global observations with data from the newly proposed stations over India. The existing two stations from India suggest Temperate Eurasia as a mild source of CO2 (0.33 ± 0.57 Pg C yr-1), albeit with prominent anthropogenic influences visible in these two stations during the dry seasons. This implies that the proposed new stations should be cautiously placed to avoid such effects. The study also finds that the newly proposed stations over India also have an impact in constraining nearby oceanic CO2 fluxes.

Sequencing and de Novo Assembly of Abaca (Musa textilis Née) var. Abuab Genome.

Abaca (Musa textilis Née), an indigenous crop to the Philippines, is known to be the source of the strongest natural fiber. Despite its huge economic contributions, research on crop improvement is limited due to the lack of genomic data. In this study, the whole genome of the abaca var. Abuab was sequenced using Illumina Novaseq 6000 and Pacific Biosciences Single-Molecule Real-Time Sequel. The genome size of Abuab was estimated to be 616 Mbp based on total k-mer number and volume peak. Its genome was assembled at 65× depth, mapping 95.28% of the estimated genome size. BUSCO analysis recovered 78.2% complete BUSCO genes. A total of 33,277 gene structures were predicted which is comparable to the number of predicted genes from recently assembled Musa spp. genomes. A total of 330 Mbp repetitive elements were also mined, accounting to 53.6% of the genome length. Here we report the sequencing and genome assembly of the abaca var. Abuab that will facilitate gene discovery for crop improvement and an indispensable source for genetic diversity studies in Musa.

Molecular Systematics of the Firefly Genus Luciola (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) with the Description of a New Species from Singapore.

The firefly genus Luciola sensu McDermott contains 282 species that are distributed across major parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific islands. Due to phenotypic similarities, species identification using external morphological characters can be unreliable for this group. Consequently, decades of piecemeal taxonomic treatments have resulted in numerous erroneous and contentious classifications. Furthermore, our understanding of the group's evolutionary history is limited due to the lack of a robust phylogenetic framework that has also impeded efforts to stabilize its taxonomy. Here, we constructed molecular phylogenies of Luciola and its allies based on combined mitogenomes and Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) sequences including a newly sequenced mitogenome of an unidentified taxon from Singapore. Our results showed that this taxon represents a distinct and hitherto undescribed evolutionary lineage that forms a clade with L. filiformis from Japan and L. curtithorax from China. Additionally, the Singaporean lineage can be differentiated from other congeners through several external and internal diagnostic morphological characters, and is thus described herein as a new species. Our phylogeny also strongly supported the paraphyly of Luciola with regard to L. cruciata and L. owadai, which were inferred to be more closely related to the genus Aquatica as opposed to other members of Luciola sensu stricto. The genus Hotaria was inferred as a derived clade within Luciola (sister to L. italica), supporting its status as a subgenus of Luciola instead of a distinct genus. This is the first time since 1909 that a new species of luminous firefly has been discovered in Singapore, highlighting the need for continued biodiversity research, even in small, well-studied and highly developed countries, such as Singapore.

Dynamics of CO2 fluxes and controlling environmental factors in sugarcane (C4)-wheat (C3) ecosystem of dry sub-humid region in India.

In this study, CO2 exchange over sugarcane and wheat growing season was quantified by continuous measurement of CO2 fluxes using eddy covariance (EC) system from January 2014 to June 2015. We also elaborated on the response of CO2 fluxes to environmental variables. The results show that the ecosystem has seasonal and diurnal dynamics of CO2 with a distinctive U-shaped curve in both growing seasons with maximal CO2 absorption reaching up to -8.94 g C m-2 day-1 and -6.08 g C m-2 day-1 over sugarcane and wheat crop, respectively. The ecosystem as a whole acted as a carbon sink during the active growing season while it exhibits a carbon source prior to sowing and post-harvesting of crops. The cumulative net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross primary productivity (GPP), and ecosystem respiration (Reco) were -923.04, 3316.65, and 2433.18 g C m-2 over the sugarcane growing season while the values were -192.30, 621.47, and 488.34 g C m-2 over the wheat growing season. The sesbania (green manure) appeared to be a carbon source once it is incorporated into soil. The response of day-time NEE to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) under two vapor pressure deficit (VPD) sections (0-20 h Pa and 20-40 h Pa) seems more effective over sugarcane (R2 = 0.41-0.61) as compared to the wheat crop (R2 = 0.25-0.40). A decrease in net CO2 uptake was observed under higher VPD conditions. Similarly, night-time NEE was exponentially related to temperature at different soil moisture conditions and showed higher response to optimum soil moisture conditions for sugarcane (R2 = 0.87, 0.33 ≤ SWC < 0.42 m3 m-3) and wheat (R2 = 0.75, 0.31 ≤ SWC < 0.37 m3 m-3) crop seasons. The response of daily averaged NEE to environmental variables through path analysis indicates that PAR was the dominant predictor with the direct path coefficient of -0.65 and -0.74 over sugarcane and wheat growing season, respectively. Satellite-based GPP products from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (GPPMOD) and Vegetation Photosynthetic model (GPPVPM) were also compared with the GPP obtained from EC (GPPEC) technique. The seasonal dynamics of GPPEC and GPPVPM agreed well with each other. This study covers the broad aspects ranging from micro-meteorology to remote sensing over C4-C3 cropping system.

Non-exhaust traffic emissions: Sources, characterization, and mitigation measures.

Non-exhaust emissions (NEE) of particulate matter (PM) from brake, tyre, road pavement and railway wear, as well as resuspension of already deposited road dust, account for up to 90% by mass of total traffic-related PM emitted. This review aims at analysing the current knowledge on road traffic NEE regarding sources, particle generation processes, chemical and physical characterization, and mitigation strategies. The literature on this matter often presents highly variable and hardly comparable results due to the heterogeneity of NEE sources and the absence of standardized sampling and measurement protocols. As evidence, emission factors (EFs) were found to range from 1 mg km-1 veh-1 to 18.5 mg km-1 veh-1 for brake wear, and from 0.3 mg km-1 veh-1 to 7.4 mg km-1 veh-1 for tyre wear. Resuspended dust, which varies in even wider ranges (from 5.4 mg km-1 veh-1 to 330 mg km-1 veh-1 for cars), is considered the prevailing NEE source. The lack of standardized monitoring approaches resulted in the impossibility of setting international regulations to limit NEE. Therefore, up until now the abatement of NEE has only been achieved by mitigation and prevention strategies. However, the effectiveness of these measures still needs to be improved and further investigated. As an example, mitigation strategies, such as street washing or sweeping, proved effective in reducing PM levels, but only in the short term. The replacement of internal combustion engines vehicles with electric ones was instead proposed as a prevention strategy, but there are still concerns regarding the increase of NEE deriving from the extra weight of the batteries. The data reported in this review highlighted the need for future studies to broaden their research area, and to focus not only on the standardization of methods and the introduction of regulations, but also on improving already existing technologies and mitigating strategies.

Environmental Controls on Multi-Scale Dynamics of Net Carbon Dioxide Exchange From an Alpine Peatland on the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Peatlands are characterized by their large carbon storage capacity and play an essential role in the global carbon cycle. However, the future of the carbon stored in peatland ecosystems under a changing climate remains unclear. In this study, based on the eddy covariance technique, we investigated the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and its controlling factors of the Hongyuan peatland, which is a part of the Ruoergai peatland on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Our results show that the Hongyuan alpine peatland was a CO2 sink with an annual NEE of -226.61 and -185.35 g C m-2 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. While, the non-growing season NEE was 53.35 and 75.08 g C m-2 in 2014 and 2015, suggesting that non-growing seasons carbon emissions should not be neglected. Clear diurnal variation in NEE was observed during the observation period, with the maximum CO2 uptake appearing at 12:30 (Beijing time, UTC+8). The Q10 value of the non-growing season in 2014 and 2015 was significantly higher than that in the growing season, which suggested that the CO2 flux in the non-growing season was more sensitive to warming than that in the growing season. We investigated the multi-scale temporal variations in NEE during the growing season using wavelet analysis. On daily timescales, photosynthetically active radiation was the primary driver of NEE. Seasonal variation in NEE was mainly driven by soil temperature. The amount of precipitation was more responsible for annual variation of NEE. The increasing number of precipitation event was associated with increasing annual carbon uptake. This study highlights the need for continuous eddy covariance measurements and time series analysis approaches to deepen our understanding of the temporal variability in NEE and multi-scale correlation between NEE and environmental factors.

Description of local carbon flux from large scale gridded climate data by a dynamic global vegetation model at variable time steps: Example of Euroflux sites.

Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) are commonly used to describe the land biogeochemical processes and regulate carbon and water pools. However, the simulation efficiency and validation of DGVMs are limited to varying temporal and spatial resolutions. Additionally, the uncertainties caused by different interpolation methods used in DGVMs are still not clear. In this study, we employ Socio-Economic and natural Vegetation ExpeRimental (SEVER) DGVM to simulate Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) flux with large scale National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) daily climate data as inputs for the years 1997-2000 at 14 Euroflux sites. It is shown that daily local NEE flux on chosen sites can be reasonably simulated, and daily temperature and shortwave radiation are the most essential inputs for daily NEE simulation compared with precipitation and the ratio of sunshine hours. Different running means (1 to 30 days) methods are analysed for each Euroflux site, and the best results of both averaged regression coefficient and averaged slope of regression are discovered by using 5 days running mean method. SEVER DGVM, driven by linearly interpolated daily climate data is compared at the monthly time step with Lund-Potsdam-Jena (LPJ) DGVM, which combines the linear interpolation of daily temperature with stochastic generation of daily precipitation. The comparison demonstrates that the stochastic generation of daily precipitation provides an acceptable fit to local observed NEE, but with a slight decrease in accuracy. Simulation experiments with SEVER DGVM demonstrate that daily local NEE flux inside a grid cell for a region as large as Europe can be modelled by DGVMs, using only large scale climate data as inputs.

Truly Existing or Hyped up? Unravelling the Current Knowledge Regarding the Anatomy, Radiology, Histology and Biomechanics of the Enigmatic Anterolateral Ligament of the Knee Joint.

Ever since its description, anterolateral ligament (ALL) of the knee joint remains as the hotspot of controversies. Though it has been described under various descriptions, the structure gained its limelight when it was christened as anterolateral ligament by Claes in 2013. The main reason for the controversies around it is the lack of concrete evidences regarding its attachments, morphology, biomechanical aspects and radiological appearance. Similarly the role of ALL in pivot shift phenomenon also remains as a point of debate. The advocates of ALL suggest that because of its ability to modulate internal rotation and attachment to the lateral meniscus, ALL contributes to the pivot shift phenomenon. Similarly, the orientation of ALL stands as the reason for varied documentation with respect to imaging techniques. With the growing body of evidence, it is imperative to fix our stand regarding the structure because, if found to be morphologically persistent, it can be used for concomitant anterolateral stabilization along with anterior cruciate ligament reinforcement surgeries. The present review tries to systematically review the anatomy, variations in classifications, descriptions, histology, radiology and biomechanical features of ALL. At the end of the review, we would like to find the answer for the question: Is ALL a distinct ligamentous structure located at the anterolateral aspect of the knee? What is the contribution of it to the tibial internal rotation stability?