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Abstract Zonal extensions of the Western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) strongly modulate extreme rainfall activity and tropical cyclone (TC) landfall over the Western North Pacific (WNP) region. These zonal extensions are primarily forced on seasonal timescales by inter‐basin zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradients. However, despite the presence of large‐scale zonal SST gradients, the WPSH response to SSTs varies from year to year. In this study, we force the atmosphere‐only NCAR Community Earth System Model version 2 simulations with two real‐world SST patterns, both featuring the large‐scale zonal SST gradient characteristic of decaying El Niño‐developing La Niña summers. For each of these patterns, we performed four experimental sets that tested the relative contributions of the tropical Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Atlantic basin SSTs to simulated westward extensions over the WNP during June–August. Our results indicate that the subtle differences between the two SST anomaly patterns belie two different mechanisms forcing the WPSH's westward extensions. In one SST anomaly pattern, extratropical North Pacific SST forcing suppresses the tropical Pacific zonal SST gradient forcing, resulting in tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean SSTs being the dominant driver. The second SST anomaly pattern drives a similar westward extension as the first pattern, but the underlying SST gradient driving the WPSH points to intra‐basin forcing mechanisms originating in the Pacific. The results of this study have implications for understanding and predicting the impact of the WPSH's zonal variability on tropical cyclones and extreme rainfall over the WNP. 

Monitoring of pesticide concentration distribution across farm fields is crucial to ensure precise and efficient application while preventing overuse or untreated areas. 

Post-transcriptional RNA modifications have been recognized as key regulators of neuronal differentiation and synapse development in the mammalian brain. While distinct sets of 5-methylcytosine (m5C) modified mRNAs have been detected in neuronal cells and brain tissues, no study has been performed to characterize methylated mRNA profiles in the developing brain. Here, together with regular RNA-seq, we performed transcriptome-wide bisulfite sequencing to compare RNA cytosine methylation patterns in neural stem cells (NSCs), cortical neuronal cultures, and brain tissues at three postnatal stages. Among 501 m5C sites identified, approximately 6% are consistently methylated across all five conditions. Compared to m5C sites identified in NSCs, 96% of them were hypermethylated in neurons and enriched for genes involved in positive transcriptional regulation and axon extension. In addition, brains at the early postnatal stage demonstrated substantial changes in both RNA cytosine methylation and gene expression of RNA cytosine methylation readers, writers, and erasers. Furthermore, differentially methylated transcripts were significantly enriched for genes regulating synaptic plasticity. Altogether, this study provides a brain epitranscriptomic dataset as a new resource and lays the foundation for further investigations into the role of RNA cytosine methylation during brain development. 

Abstract Seasonal predictions of tropical cyclone (TC) landfalls are challenging because seasonal landfall count not only depends on the number and spatial distribution of TC genesis, but also whether those TCs are steered toward land or not. Past studies have separately examined genesis and landfall as a function of large-scale ocean and atmospheric environmental conditions. Here, we introduce a practical statistical framework for estimating the seasonal count of TC landfalls as the product of a Poisson model for seasonal TC genesis and a logistic model for landfall probability. We compute spatial variations in TC landfall and genesis by decomposing TC activity in the western North Pacific (WNP) basin into 10° × 10° bins, then identify coherent regions where El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the western extent of the Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) have significant influences on seasonal landfall count. Our framework shows that ENSO and the WPSH are weakly related to basinwide landfalls but strongly related to regional genesis and landfall probability. ENSO modulates the zonal distribution of TC genesis, consistent with past work, whereas the WPSH modulates the meridional distribution of landfall probability due to variations in steering flow associated with the Pacific subtropical high. These spatial patterns result in four coherent subregions of the WNP basin that define seasonal landfall variations: landfall count increases in the southwestern WNP during a positive WPSH and La Niña, the south-central WNP during a positive WPSH and El Niño, the eastern WNP during a negative WPSH and El Niño, and the northern WNP during a negative WPSH and La Niña. 

Abstract BackgroundFolate is an essential B-group vitamin and a key methyl donor with important biological functions including DNA methylation regulation. Normal neurodevelopment and physiology are sensitive to the cellular folate levels. Either deficiency or excess of folate may lead to neurological disorders. Recently, folate has been linked to tRNA cytosine-5 methylation (m⁵C) and translation in mammalian mitochondria. However, the influence of folate intake on neuronal mRNA m⁵C modification and translation remains largely unknown. Here, we provide transcriptome-wide landscapes of m⁵C modification in poly(A)-enriched RNAs together with mRNA transcription and translation profiles for mouse neural stem cells (NSCs) cultured in three different concentrations of folate. ResultsNSCs cultured in three different concentrations of folate showed distinct mRNA methylation profiles. Despite uncovering only a few differentially expressed genes, hundreds of differentially translated genes were identified in NSCs with folate deficiency or supplementation. The differentially translated genes induced by low folate are associated with cytoplasmic translation and mitochondrial function, while the differentially translated genes induced by high folate are associated with increased neural stem cell proliferation. Interestingly, compared to total mRNAs, polysome mRNAs contained high levels of m⁵C. Furthermore, an integrative analysis indicated a transcript-specific relationship between RNA m⁵C methylation and mRNA translation efficiency. ConclusionsAltogether, our study reports a transcriptome-wide influence of folate on mRNA m⁵C methylation and translation in NSCs and reveals a potential link between mRNA m⁵C methylation and mRNA translation. 

We report the results of the second charged-particle transport coefficient code comparison workshop, which was held in Livermore, California on 24–27 July 2023. This workshop gathered theoretical, computational, and experimental scientists to assess the state of computational and experimental techniques for understanding charged-particle transport coefficients relevant to high-energy-density plasma science. Data for electronic and ionic transport coefficients, namely, the direct current electrical conductivity, electron thermal conductivity, ion shear viscosity, and ion thermal conductivity were computed and compared for multiple plasma conditions. Additional comparisons were carried out for electron–ion properties such as the electron–ion equilibration time and alpha particle stopping power. Overall, 39 participants submitted calculated results from 18 independent approaches, spanning methods from parameterized semi-empirical models to time-dependent density functional theory. In the cases studied here, we find significant differences—several orders of magnitude—between approaches, particularly at lower temperatures, and smaller differences—roughly a factor of five—among first-principles models. We investigate the origins of these differences through comparisons of underlying predictions of ionic and electronic structure. The results of this workshop help to identify plasma conditions where computationally inexpensive approaches are accurate, where computationally expensive models are required, and where experimental measurements will have high impact.