Effects of visual landscape on subjective environmental evaluations in the open spaces of a severe cold city.

The environmental quality and subjective environmental evaluations in urban open spaces are essential. In this study, the effects of building, green, and water landscapes, which are typical visual landscapes, on the subjective environmental evaluations (including thermal sensation and comfort, and overall comfort) in different seasons were analyzed by conducting questionnaire surveys and field measurements in a severely cold city. It was found that the visual landscapes significantly affected subjective environmental evaluations in winter and summer, but there were no effects in the transitional season. In summer, compared with the building and green landscape, the thermal sensation vote in the water landscape was the lowest at 0.4, and the differences were 0.3∼1.0. However, the thermal comfort vote in the water landscape was found to be 0.6 times higher. In winter, the thermal sensation and comfort votes in the water landscape were the lowest, the average evaluation under different UTCI was -2.2, and the results were similar for the overall comfort evaluation. In addition, the subjects believed that green and water landscapes improved thermal comfort and had more significant effects on improving the environmental temperature in the three seasons. Additionally, visual landscape evaluations significantly affect subjective environmental evaluations in summer than in the winter and transitional season; the higher the visual landscape evaluation, the better the thermal and overall comfort.

Effects of different exercise types on outdoor thermal comfort in a severe cold city.

The promotion of China's National Fitness Program has caused an upsurge in the construction of outdoor sports venues and sparked an interest in research on the thermal comfort of people exercising outside. The design of exercise facilities and parks is usually function-oriented, and the spatial layout and arrangement of exercise paths are based on the exercise type. However, few studies compared the thermal comfort of different exercise types. This study investigated seasonal differences in thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and other influencing factors among people who engaged in various types of exercise in a severe cold city in China. The results showed significant differences in thermal comfort among the different exercise types. The acceptable thermal range of exercising people is greater than that of the resting ones. In the cold season, the thermal comfort of different exercise types had a significant correlation with thermal sensation, but not with humidity and wind sensations. On the other hand, the thermal comfort of jogging respondents was more affected by humidity, wind, and sun sensations during the hot season. The modified UTCI range of thermal stress category was proposed as a design reference for the thermal environment of outdoor exercise venues. Overall, this study can help enrich and guide outdoor thermal comfort research in severe cold regions and aid the design of urban exercise spaces.

Transcriptome Analysis of Pyrus betulaefolia Seedling Root Responses to Short-Term Potassium Deficiency.

Potassium (K) plays a crucial role in multiple physiological and developmental processes in plants. Its deficiency is a common abiotic stress that inhibits plant growth and reduces crop productivity. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in plant responses to low K could help to improve the efficiency of K use in plants. However, such responses remain poorly characterized in fruit tree species such as pears (Pyrus sp). We analyzed the physiological and transcriptome responses of a commonly used pear rootstock, Pyrus betulaefolia, to K-deficiency stress (0 mM). Potassium deprivation resulted in apparent changes in root morphology, with short-term low-K stress resulting in rapidly enhanced root growth. Transcriptome analyses indicated that the root transcriptome was coordinately altered within 6 h after K deprivation, a process that continued until 15 d after treatment. Potassium deprivation resulted in the enhanced expression (up to 5-fold) of a putative high-affinity K+ transporter, PbHAK5 (Pbr037826.1), suggesting the up-regulation of mechanisms associated with K+ acquisition. The enhanced root growth in response to K-deficiency stress was associated with a rapid and sustained decrease in the expression of a transcription factor, PbMYB44 (Pbr015309.1), potentially involved in mediating auxin responses, and the increased expression of multiple genes associated with regulating root growth. The concentrations of several phytohormones including indoleacetic acid (IAA), ABA, ETH, gibberellin (GA3), and jasmonic acid (JA) were higher in response to K deprivation. Furthermore, genes coding for enzymes associated with carbon metabolism such as SORBITOL DEHYDROGENASE (SDH) and SUCROSE SYNTHASE (SUS) displayed greatly enhanced expression in the roots under K deprivation, presumably indicating enhanced metabolism to meet the increased energy demands for growth and K+ acquisition. Together, these data suggest that K deprivation in P. betulaefolia results in the rapid re-programming of the transcriptome to enhance root growth and K+ acquisition. These data provide key insights into the molecular basis for understanding low-K-tolerance mechanisms in pears and in other related fruit trees and identifying potential candidates that warrant further analyses.

Prognostic value of infiltrating immune cells in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

In this study, we attempted to evaluate the prognostic value of infiltrating immune/stromal cells in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), by using the immune scores and stromal scores based on the "Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumours using Expression data" algorithm to represent the levels of infiltrating immune cells and stromal cells. We found that the infiltrating immune cells were associated with poor prognosis of ccRCC. To assess the role of infiltrating immune cells in ccRCC cells, first, we performed differentially expressed genes analysis and functional analysis for validation. The results showed that the underlying mechanism by which infiltrating immune cells promoted cancer progression involved in regulating the nuclear division, angiogenesis, and immune response. Next, we investigated the relationship between infiltrating immune cells and mutations in ccRCC cells. We found that the infiltrating immune cells have certain effects on genetic mutations. In conclusion, infiltrating immune cells within the tumor microenvironment can be used to predict prognosis in ccRCC.

The Effects of Different Space Forms in Residential Areas on Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Severe Cold Regions of China.

In the context of global climate change and accelerated urbanization, the deterioration of the urban living environment has had a serious negative impact on the life of residents. However, studies on the effects of forms and configurations of outdoor spaces in residential areas on the outdoor thermal environment based on the particularity of climate in severe cold regions are very limited. Through field measurements of the thermal environment at the pedestrian level in the outdoor space of residential areas in three seasons (summer, the transition season and winter) in Harbin, China, this study explored the effects of forms and configurations of three typical outdoor spaces (the linear block, the enclosed block, and the square) on the thermal environment and thermal comfort using the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET). The results show that the thermal environment of all outdoor space forms was relatively comfortable in the transition season but was uncomfortable in summer and winter. The semi-enclosed block with a higher sky view factor (SVF) had a higher thermal comfort condition in summer and winter. The linear block with higher buildings and wider south-north spacing had a higher thermal comfort condition in summer and winter. When the buildings on the south side were lower and the south-north spacing was wider, the thermal environment of the square was more comfortable in winter.

Field Study on the Microclimate of Public Spaces in Traditional Residential Areas in a Severe Cold Region of China.

As residential environment science advances, the environmental quality of outdoor microclimates has aroused increasing attention of scholars majoring in urban climate and built environments. Taking the microclimate of a traditional residential area in a severe cold city as the study object, this study explored the influence of spatial geometry factors on the microclimate of streets and courtyards by field measurements, then compared the differences in microclimate of distinct public spaces. The results are as follows. (1) The temperature of a NE-SW (Northeast-Southwest) oriented street was higher than that of a NW-SE (Northwest-Southeast) oriented street in both summer and winter, with an average temperature difference of 0.7-1.4 °C. The wind speeds in the latter street were slower, and the difference in average wind speed was 0.2 m/s. (2) In the street with a higher green coverage ratio, the temperature was much lower, a difference that was more obvious in summer. The difference in mean temperature was up to 1.2 °C. The difference in wind speed between the two streets was not obvious in winter, whereas the wind speed in summer was significantly lower for the street with a higher green coverage ratio, and the difference in average wind speed was 0.7 m/s. (3) The courtyards with higher SVF (sky view factor) had higher wind speeds in winter and summer, and the courtyards with larger SVF values had higher temperatures in summer, with an average temperature difference of 0.4 °C. (4) When the spaces had the same SVF values and green coverage ratios, the temperature of the street and courtyard were very similar, in both winter and summer. The wind speed of the street was significantly higher than the courtyard in summer, and the wind speed difference was 0.4 m/s.