In July to August 2022, Pakistan suffered historic flooding while record-breaking heatwaves swept southern China, causing severe socioeconomic impacts. Similar extreme events have frequently coincided between two regions during the past 44 years, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using observations and a suite of model experiments, here, we show that the upper-tropospheric divergent wind induced by convective heating over Pakistan excites a barotropic anomalous anticyclone over eastern China, which further leads to persistent heatwaves. Atmospheric model ensemble simulation indicates that this dynamic pathway linking Pakistan flooding and East Asian heatwaves is intrinsic to the climate system, largely independent of global sea surface temperature forcing. This dynamic connection is most active during July to August when convective variability is large over Pakistan and the associated divergent flow excites barotropic Rossby waves that propagate eastward along the upper troposphere westerly waveguide. This robust waveguide and the time delay offer hopes for improved subseasonal prediction of extreme events in East Asia.

Using potential vorticity to define Northern Hemisphere (NH) stratospheric polar vortex strength and position, the influence of the QBO on the polar vortex in winter is analyzed. The results show that the weakened/enhanced NH polar vortex in the lower stratosphere during easterly/westerly QBO (E/WQBO) phases is more noticeable in January and February than in November and December. Furthermore, the NH polar vortex shows a shift toward the Eurasian continent and away from North America in winter during EQBO phases compared with that during WQBO phases, with a greater shift in January and February than in November and December. The weaker QBO impact on the zonal mean zonal wind and temperature in February found in previous studies may be related to the cancelling effects of opposite‐signed anomalies over Eurasia and North America induced by the polar vortex shift associated with the QBO. During EQBO phases the upper stratospheric easterly anomalies in early winter increase the frequency of negative refractive index in the middle and high latitudes in late winter. Less planetary wave 1 propagates upward into the upper stratosphere and more wave 1 accumulates in the lower stratosphere, leading to the weakening and shift of the polar vortex in late winter. In addition, the poleward displacement of the subtropical jet during EQBO phases causes more poleward propagation of synoptic‐scale waves in the lower stratosphere, and thus more Rossby wave breaking events over Eurasia in late winter than during WQBO phases, further weakening and shifting the polar vortex in EQBO phases.

IRS4, a member of the insulin receptor substrate protein family, can induce constitutive PI3K/AKT hyperactivation and cell proliferation even in the absence of insulin or growth factors and promote tumorigenesis, but its regulation has only been explored at the transcriptional level.

In this study, observational and model datasets are used to analyze winter precipitation and its leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF1) mode over Southeast China. EOF1 displays a dominant monosign pattern during the last 60 years; however, its major impacting factors have a decadal transition near the mid-1990s. The first principal component (PC1) is related to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) after the mid-1990s and to the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) before the mid-1990s. An enhanced ENSO–precipitation relationship is associated with stronger ENSO-induced tropical zonal circulation and the westward shift of ENSO-induced SST over the tropical Pacific after the mid-1990s compared to before the mid-1990s. Negative correlation coefficients between QBO and precipitation are evident before the mid-1990s but are no longer statistically significant after the mid-1990s. This change originates from the interaction between QBO’s subtropical influences and the Holton–Tan effect. The QBO’s subtropical influence and the Holton–Tan effect lead to a zonal pressure gradient and meridional wind anomalies over East Asia before the mid-1990s, which further influence the meridional transport of water vapor and precipitation over Southeast China. However, the Holton–Tan effect is enhanced after the mid-1990s. Downward stratospheric polar vortex signals and the QBO’s subtropical influence cause a meridional pressure gradient over East Asia, and thus the relevant moisture flux divergence lacks statistical significance. The above results indicate that the subtropical response to QBO and the Holton–Tan effect should be considered together when using the QBO signal to improve forecasts of winter precipitation over East Asia. Significance Statement: Southeast China winter precipitation (SCWP) is often attributed to variation in lower-atmospheric dynamics and sea surface temperature, such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Few studies focus on the role of the mid- to upper atmosphere. In this study, we diagnose the influence of the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on SCWP. Both observational and modeling analyses indicate a strong decadal change in the QBO–SCWP relationship, which limits the use of the QBO in seasonal forecasts of SCWP. This decadal change originates from the strength of the QBO’s modulation of the stratospheric polar vortex. Our results provide a new perspective on the use of the mid- to upper atmosphere in seasonal forecasts of SCWP.

With dihydromyricetin (DMY)/high-amylose corn starch (HCS) composite particles as the emulsifier, Pickering nano-emulsions were fabricated by combining high-speed shearing and high-pressure homogenization. The effect of particle properties and processing conditions on the formation and physicochemical properties of the Pickering nano-emulsions was then investigated systematically. The results showed that the DMY content of the composite particles, the oil phase volume fraction of the emulsion, and the homogenization conditions had obvious effects on the droplet size of the emulsion, where appropriate DMY content in the composite particles (5-20%) contributed to the formation of stable Pickering nano-emulsions. The oil phase of the obtained emulsions exhibited good stability during high-temperature storage, and their β-carotene protecting performance against UV irradiation was superior to the emulsion stabilized by Tween 20. The in vitro simulated digestion analysis indicated that the nano-emulsions developed by the composite particles could enhance the bioaccessibility of β-carotene and inhibit starch hydrolysis.

To relieve freeway congestion during peak periods, ramp metering (RM) is often implemented to control the input flow from onramps on freeways. Many studies focus on proactive coordinated RM controls; however, successful implementation of proactive RM control still requires a more accurate prediction model and a less complex control algorithm. To this end, this study tests a proactive RM approach in micro-simulation, with goals to improve network-wide travel time and traffic flow. A METANET-based dynamic traffic model was adopted as a prediction model within a predictive control framework. The evaluation revealed a 6.50% amelioration in total travel time on the mainline and a 2.52% reduction of total time spent in the network. The applied algorithm was compared with the HERO algorithm and implemented in various peak demand scenarios. This analysis could lead to efficient and effective field applications of proactive coordinated RM control to improve freeway operation.