Climate warming reshapes seasonal flowering but stabilizes species interactions in a Tibetan alpine grassland.

Climate warming commonly drives asymmetric shifts in flowering phenology among species, potentially disrupting plant-plant interactions and threatening ecosystem stability. However, the mechanisms driving these species-specific phenological responses, and the extent to which resulting asynchrony destabilizes interspecific interactions, remain poorly understood. Using a 3-yr in situ warming experiment in a Tibetan alpine grassland, we monitored seasonal flowering patterns of 29 species and quantified interaction potentials across 812 species pairs from their flowering-time overlap.

Attenuated asymmetry of above- versus belowground stoichiometry to a decadal nitrogen addition during stand development.

Deciphering the linkage between ecological stoichiometry and ecosystem functioning under anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is critical for understanding the impact of afforestation on terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration. However, the specific changes in above- versus belowground stoichiometric asymmetry with stand age in response to long-term N addition remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated changes in stoichiometry following a decadal addition of three levels of N (control, no N addition; low N addition, 20 kg N ha year; high N addition, 50 kg N ha year) in young, intermediate, and mature stands in three temperate larch plantations (Larix principis-rupprechtii) in North China.

More sensitive microbial responses to the interactive effects of warming and altered precipitation in subsoil than topsoil of an alpine grassland ecosystem.

Subsoil is a large organic carbon reservoir, storing more than half of the total soil organic carbon (SOC) globally. Conventionally, subsoil is assumed to not be susceptible to climate change, but recent studies document that climate change could significantly alter subsoil carbon cycling. However, little is known about subsoil microbial responses to the interactive effects of climate warming and altered precipitation.

Tumor PHD2 expression is correlated with clinical features and prognosis of patients with HCC receiving liver resection.

The role of prolyl hydroxylase domain protein 2 (PHD2) in carcinogenesis has been studied in a variety of cancer types. However, the association between PHD2 and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been documented. A total of 220 patients with primary HCC who underwent a curative liver resection were enrolled in this study.

Role of leptin receptor (LEPR) gene polymorphisms and haplotypes in susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma in subjects with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Aim: The reported association of the leptin receptor (LEPR) protein with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) carcinogenesis prompted us to evaluate whether genetic polymorphisms of the LEPR gene affect susceptibility to HCC and its clinicopathologic characteristics.

Methods: A total of 417 subjects who were diagnosed with HCC and 551 age- and sex-matched subjects without HCC were enrolled in this study. All subjects had chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.