Feature Article

Backward trajectories of individual Asian dust storm (ADS) events were calculated using the hybrid single particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT) at four representative stations in Korea. A total of 743 ADS events and associated 2229 (endings of altitudes at 1000 m, 1500 m, and 2000 m per ADS event) backward trajectories from four stations were traced from January 2003 to August 2015. Regardless of the locations of the observed stations and the threshold time divide, recent increase of ADS occurrence rate was statistically significant in 99.9 % confidence limit.

Attempts to measure the impacts of climate change on agriculture must invariably rely on models that translate changes in climate to changes in agricultural outcomes. This need for models exists even when assessing the impacts of climate trends that have already occurred, since simultaneous changes in other factors that affect agriculture, such as technologies and government policies, preclude direct observations of impacts. Over several decades, many approaches to developing these models have evolved, with most falling into one of two camps.

Devising agricultural management schemes that enhance food security and soil carbon levels is a high priority for many nations. However, the coupling between agricultural productivity, soil carbon stocks and organic matter turnover rates is still unclear.

A new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, locates hotspots of threats to wildlife and describes how they are related to consumers' demand in other parts of the world.

Identifying hotspots of species threat has been a successful approach for setting conservation priorities. One important challenge in conservation is that, in many hotspots, export industries continue to drive overexploitation.

Previous studies identified associations between maternal obesity and childhood neurodevelopment, but few examined paternal obesity despite potentially distinct genetic/epigenetic effects related to developmental programming.

Original Source

Emergency responders often have to operate and respond to emergency situations during dynamic weather conditions, including floods. This paper demonstrates a novel method using existing tools and datasets to evaluate emergency responder accessibility during flood events within the city of Leicester, UK.

Original Source

Dietary intake of added sugars has increased dramatically worldwide during the past few decades, coinciding with increases in obesity and noncommunicable diseases. About 75% of all processed foods and beverages contain added sugar in the United States.

Novel drug regimens are needed for tuberculosis (TB) treatment. New regimens aim to improve on characteristics such as duration, efficacy, and safety profile, but no single regimen is likely to be ideal in all respects. By linking these regimen characteristics to a novel regimen’s ability to reduce TB incidence and mortality, we sought to prioritize regimen characteristics from a population-level perspective.

Original Source

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in March 2016 that there was scientific consensus that the mosquito-borne Zika virus was a cause of the neurological disorder Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) and of microcephaly and other congenital brain abnormalities based on rapid evidence assessments. Decisions about causality require systematic assessment to guide public health actions.

A revised Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model with updated secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yields and a more detailed description of SOA formation from isoprene oxidation was applied to study the spatial and temporal distribution of SOA in China in the entire year of 2013. Predicted organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon and volatile organic compounds agreed favorably with observations at several urban areas, although the high OC concentrations in wintertime in Beijing were under-predicted.