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This paper demonstrates two important aspects of regional dynamical downscaling of multidecadal atmospheric reanalysis. First, that in this way skillful regional descriptions of multidecadal climate variability may be constructed in regions with little or no local data. Second, that the concept of large-scale constraining allows global downscaling, so that global reanalyses may be completed by additions of consistent detail in all regions of the world. Global reanalyses suffer from inhomogeneities. However, their large-scale componenst are mostly homogeneous; Therefore, the concept of downscaling may be applied to homogeneously complement the large-scale state of the reanalyses with regional detail-wherever the condition of homogeneity of the description of large scales is fulfilled. Technically, this can be done by dynamical downscaling using a regional or global climate model, which's large scales are constrained by spectral nudging. This approach has been developed and tested for the region of Europe, and a skillful representation of regional weather risks-in particular marine risks-was identified. We have run this system in regions with reduced or absent local data coverage, such as Central Siberia, the Bohai and Yellow Sea, Southwestern Africa, and the South Atlantic. Also, a global simulation was computed, which adds regional features to prescribed global dynamics. Our cases demonstrate that spatially detailed reconstructions of the climate state and its change in the recent three to six decades add useful supplementary information to existing observational data for midlatitude and subtropical regions of the world.

Two questions motivated this study: 1) Will meteorological droughts become more frequent and severe during the twenty-first century? 2) Given the projected global temperature rise, to what extent does the inclusion of temperature (in addition to precipitation) in drought indicators play a role in future meteorological droughts? To answer, we analyzed the changes in drought frequency, severity, and historically undocumented extreme droughts over 1981–2100, using the standardized precipitation index (SPI; including precipitation only) and standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI; indirectly including temperature), and under two representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). As input data, we employed 103 high-resolution (0.448) simulations from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX), based on a combination of 16 global circulation models (GCMs) and 20 regional circulation models (RCMs). This is the first study on global drought projections including RCMs based on such a large ensemble of RCMs. Based on precipitation only,;15% of the global land is likely to experience more frequent and severe droughts during 2071–2100 versus 1981–2010 for both scenarios. This increase is larger (;47% under RCP4.5,;49% under RCP8.5) when precipitation and temperature are used. Both SPI and SPEI project more frequent and severe droughts, especially under RCP8.5, over southern South America, the Mediterranean region, southern Africa, southeastern China, Japan, and southern Australia. A decrease in drought is projected for high latitudes in Northern Hemisphere and Southeast Asia. If temperature is included, drought characteristics are projected to increase over North America, Amazonia, central Europe and Asia, the Horn of Africa, India, and central Australia; if only precipitation is considered, they are found to decrease over those areas. Fil: Spinoni, Jonathan. Joint Research Centre; Italia Fil: Barbosa, Paulo. Joint Research Centre; Italia Fil: Bucchignani, Edoardo. Centro Euro Mediterraneo Sui Cambiamenti Climatici.; Italia Fil: Cassano, John. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos Fil: Cavazos, Tereza. Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Super; México Fil: Christensen, Jens H.. Danish Meteorological Institute; Dinamarca Fil: Christensen, Ole B.. Danish Meteorological Institute; Dinamarca Fil: Coppola, Erika. The Abdus Salam. International Centre for Theoretical Physics; Italia Fil: Evans, Jason. University of New South Wales. Faculty of Science; Australia Fil: Geyer, Beate. Institute of Coastal Research; Alemania Fil: Giorgi, Filippo. The Abdus Salam. International Centre for Theoretical Physics; Italia Fil: Hadjinicolaou, Panos. Environment And Water Research Center; Chipre Fil: Jacob, Daniela. Climate Service Center; Alemania Fil: Katzfey, Jack. Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organis; Australia Fil: Koenigk, Torben. Swedish Meteorological And Hydrological; Suecia Fil: Laprise, René. Université du Québec a Montreal; Canadá Fil: Lennard, Christopher J.. University of Cape Town; Sudáfrica Fil: Kurnaz, M. Levent. Bogazici University; Turquía Fil: Delei, L.I.. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China Fil: Llopart, Marta. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil Fil: McCormick, Niall. European Commission Joint Research Centre; España Fil: Naumann, Gustavo. European Commission Joint Research Centre; España Fil: Nikulin, Grigory. No especifíca; Fil: Ozturk, Tugba. No especifíca; Fil: Panitz, Hans Juergen. No especifíca; Fil: da Rocha, Rosmeri Porfirio. No especifíca; Fil: Rockel, Burkhardt. No especifíca; Fil: Solman, Silvina Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina Fil: Syktus, Jozef. The University of Queensland; Australia. University of Queensland; Australia Fil: Tangang, Fredolin. No especifíca; Fil: Vautard, Robert. No especifíca; Fil: Vautard, Robert. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia Fil: Vogt, Jürgen V.. European Commission Joint Research Centre; España Fil: Winger, Katja. Université du Québec a Montreal; Canadá Fil: Zittis, George. No especifíca; Fil: Dosio, Alessandro. No especifíca

In this paper, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using gold nanoparticles/metal porphyrin porous compound (Au NPs@PAF-40-Fe) as a marker was developed. Quantitative detection of C-reactive protein (CRP) was achieved by UV-visible spectrophotometry under optimal conditions. The sensor has a good linear relationship in the range of 0.05–2000 ng/mL. The lower limit of detection was 0.017 ng/mL (S/N = 3), the linear correlation coefficient was 0.9921, and the average recovery was 100.74%. The ELISA has good selectivity and provides a sensitive way for detection of CRP.

A better understanding of the storm surge phenomenon is essential for coastal protection, future planning, and coastal ecosystem conservation. Using hourly sea level data from 15 tide gauges along the coastline of China the metrics, skew surge and residual water level, which are used to represent storm surges, are compared in this study. The relationship between residual water level, skew surge and predicted high tide were analyzed using two statistical measurements. The results showed that unlike the annual maximum residual water level, the annual maximum skew surge and the astronomical high tide tended to coincide more frequently (more than 50% of the annual maximum skew surges occurred at high tide). Thus, the skew surge was more suitable than the residual water level for use in risk-based coastal planning frameworks. Using the monthly maximum value and indices of the storm surge (storm surge number, duration and intensity), we compared the performances of skew surge and residual water level in expressing changes of storm surges. These two metrics can both capture changes in storm surge activities on seasonal, decadal and long-term scales, and correlation coefficients of storm surge intensity between residual water level and skew surge were greater than 0.80 at 11 tide gauges. At most tide gauges, the skew surge was significantly correlated with 4–5 nearby tide gauges while the residual water level was correlated with only 1–2 tide gauges, the skew surge may be a better metric for risk-based coastal planning frameworks if the interpolation method is used. The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can affect the storm surge frequency along the coastline of China. The effects of the ENSO were more obvious when the residual water level was selected. In conclusion, the skew surge can be selected for use in risk-based coastal planning frameworks, while the residual water level may be a better metric for capturing the relationship between storm surges and climate changes.

China has set ambitious goals for the development of offshore wind energy to meet the increasing energy demand of coastal provinces. Many studies have assessed the potential offshore wind energy in Chinese territorial waters. However, few studies have focused on the climatology, variability, and extreme climate of wind speeds and wind power, especially at hub height in this area. This type of study is important for selecting promising sites for offshore wind farms. In the present study, a 35-year (1979–2013) high-resolution (7 km) wind hindcast over the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea (BYS) at 100-m height was constructed using the regional climate model COSMO-CLM (CCLM) driven by the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset. The quality of wind speeds reconstructed by CCLM was assessed by a comparison with observation data at several stations. After verification, the climatology, variability, and extreme climate of winds over the BYS were spatially and temporally investigated. The results show that the 35-year mean wind speed is mostly between 7.0 and 7.5 m/s; in the coastal areas of the BYS, the mean is less than 7.0 m/s, and in the remote offshore areas, the mean is greater than 7.5 m/s. The daily mean wind speed is stronger (weaker) in winter (summer) half year, with stronger (weaker) spatial variability. Wind power density is mainly 300–500 W/m2. The interannual variability of annual mean wind speed and the wind power are in the range of 0.1–0.3 m/s and 10–40 W/m2, respectively. Decadal variances of the mean wind speed and the wind power are roughly within ±2% and ±5%, respectively, with a stronger variability along the southwestern coasts of the Yellow Sea. The distribution patterns of extreme winds (i.e., 5, 10, 30, and 50-year return values) are generally similar, with strength increasing from the northwest to the southeast. The wind energy characteristics for water areas and potential wind farm sites are summarized.

Added value (AV) from dynamical downscaling has long been a crucial and debatable issue in regional climate studies. To assess AV generated by COSMO Climate Local Model (CCLM), a model-reconstructed hindcast with 7 km grid resolution was compared against the forcing data set ERA-Interim (ERA-I) over the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, with satellite and in situ observation as reference. Both quantitative metrics and qualitative assessments have been used in the investigation of AV by CCLM. Land surface winds, extreme winds, a typhoon, a cold surge and a vortex street have been selected in the assessment process. Statistical analysis on surface winds reveals that high-resolution CCLM hindcast can add value to ERA-I in reproducing wind intensities and direction, probability distribution and extreme winds mainly at mountain areas, which may be related to the highly resolved and accurate description of terrain roughness length and orographic barriers in CCLM. With respect to atmospheric processes, CCLM outperforms ERA-I in resolving detailed temporal and spatial structures for phenomena of a typhoon and of a cold surge; CCLM generates some orography-related phenomena such as a vortex street, which is not captured by ERA-I. These AVs demonstrate the utility of the 7-km resolution CCLM for regional and local climate studies and applications.

Supplementary Materials and Tables. (a) The process of whole-exome sequencing (WES) analysis. (b) Table S1. Filtering process of WES analysis in our study. (c) Table S2. Candidate gene and variant identified by trio-WES. (d) Table S3. Variants validated by Sanger sequencing. (DOC 59 kb)

The variability across decades of years of migrating eddy activities in the South China Sea (SCS) have not yet been documented. We employ a daily global eddy-resolving (0.1 degree) model product called STORM that covers a period of 1950-2010 to fill this gap. The frequency and pattern of eddy occurrence in the simulation is broadly consistent with satellite-based (AVISO) data. On average, annually 28 anticyclonic travelling eddy (AE) tracks and 54 cyclonic travelling eddy (CE) tracks with long travel lengths were derived from the discrete sea surface height anomaly fields of STORM. Eddy centers most frequently pass by the Luzon Strait and along the continental slope in the northern SCS to the Vietnam coast. The lifespans range from 6 days to 240 days for AEs and to 293 days for CEs, and the longest travel lengths are 1941 km and 1988 km, respectively. EOFs of the spatial fields of eddy diameter (ED), eddy intensity (EI) and eddy number (EN) show almost white eigenvalue spectra, when calculated on the model’s 0.1-degree grid, but when the data are coarsened to grids with 1-degree and 2-degree grid spacing, meaningful structures emerge. EI and ED are highly correlated on both seasonal and interannual time scales. In general, CEs are much more active than AEs, but the AEs with high intensities or large diameters are more frequent than similar CEs. The monthly ED, EI and EN exhibit annual cycles, which are, however, not very stable. The variabilities of annual means of ED, EI and EN is large at interannual time scales, little at interdecadal sales and exhibits hardly a trend. The sizes and intensities of eddies in the SCS are hardly connected to the ENSO-variability in the tropical Pacific. The EOFs, the weakness of the annual cycle stability and the absence of a correlation with ENSO, point to a massive presence of internal variability (as opposed to variability provoked by large-scale drivers).

We review the state of dynamical downscaling with scale-constrained regional and global models. The methodology, in particular spectral nudging, has become a routine and well-researched tool for hindcasting climatologies of sub-synoptic atmospheric disturbances in coastal regions. At present, the spectrum of applications is expanding to other phenomena, but also to ocean dynamics and to extended forecasting. Additionally, new diagnostic challenges are appearing such as spatial characteristics of small-scale phenomena such as Low Level Jets.

We review the state of dynamical downscaling with scale-constrained regional and global models. The methodology, in particular spectral nudging, has become a routine and well-researched tool for hindcasting climatologies of sub-synoptic atmospheric disturbances in coastal regions. At present, the spectrum of applications is expanding to other phenomena, but also to ocean dynamics and to extended forecasting. Also new diagnostic challenges are appearing such as spatial characteristics of small-scale phenomena such as Low Level Jets.

The present study mainly investigates the storm surge variations at different temporal scales using hourly tide gauge data in the Bohai Sea. The seasonal variation, inter-decadal variation, long-term trend and the tide-surge interaction were analyzed separately. The results show that the storm surges in the southwest Bohai Sea are larger than those in the north. The storm surges were more serious in winter (Oct. to Mar.) than in summer half of the year. Significant inter-decadal variations exist in the Bohai Sea, and the extreme storm surge events have been intensifying since 2010. Storm surge intensities at three of the tide gauges (Qinhuangdao, Huludao and Tanggu) exhibited a decreasing trend from 1980 to 2016, with trends significant at the 95% level at Qinhuangdao and Tanggu. Significant tide-surge interactions were observed at all four tide gauges. The tide-surge interaction that results in peak surges mostly occurs during the flood and ebb tides. There is a statistically significant negative correlation between storm surge intensity and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) at Longkou and Tanggu, while there is a significantly positive correlation between storm surge intensity and the Siberian High (SH) at Huludao, Qinhuangdao and Tanggu. A linear regression analysis revealed that the variations of the AO and SH explained 19–48% of the variations in the storm surge intensity in the Bohai Sea.

In this work, a nano-mimetic enzyme Co3O4 nanoparticles with catalytic effect on the reduction of H2O2, was synthesized and used to label C-reactive protein antibody. Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) were loaded on COF-TpPa-1 to form Au NPs@COF-TpPa-1 with good biocompatibility and adsorption ability. A sandwich C-reactive protein immunosensor was prepared using Au NPs @COF-TpPa-1 as the immobilization matrix. The catalytic current of Co3O4 nanoparticles to the reduction of H2O2 was measured by the chronoamperometry which is in proportion to the concentration of CRP. The linear range of this immunosensor was 0.05-80 ng/mL with the linear correlation coefficient of 0.9955. The method demonstrated a good sensitivity with a detection limit of 0.017 ng/mL (S/N = 3) for CRP. When the C-reactive protein immunosensor was applied to real serum samples analysis, the satisfied results were obtained, indicating that the immunosensor is of prospect of application.

A 34 year (1979–2012) high-resolution (7 km grid) atmospheric hindcast over the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea (BYS) has been performed using COSMO-CLM (CCLM) forced by ERA-Interim reanalysis data (ERA-I). The accuracy of CCLM in surface wind reproduction and the added value of dynamical downscaling to ERA-I have been investigated through comparisons with the QuikSCAT Level2B 12.5 km version 3 (L2B12v3) swath data and in situ observations. The results revealed that CCLM has a reliable ability to reproduce the regional wind characteristics over the BYS. Added value to ERA-I has been detected in the coastal areas with complex orography. CCLM wind quality had strong seasonal variability, with better performance in the summer relative to ERA-I, even in the offshore areas. CCLM was better able to represent light and moderate winds but had even more added value for strong winds relative to ERA-I. The spatial digital filter method was used to investigate the scale of the added value, and the results show that CCLM adds value to ERA-I mainly in medium scales of wind variability. Furthermore, wind climatology was investigated, and significant increasing trends in the south Yellow Sea especially in winter and spring were found for seasonal mean wind speeds.

Reanalysis data sets have been widely used in regional climate dynamical downscaling studies. In this study, we test the use of various reanalysis data sets in constraining dynamical downscaling by assessing the reconstruction skill of the Yellow Sea coastal winds using the COSMO model in Climate Mode (CCLM) with 7-km resolution. Four reanalysis forcing data sets are used as lateral boundary conditions and internal large-scale constraints (spectral nudging): the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis data set (NCEP1) is downscaled to an intermediate domain with 55-km resolution (CCLM_55km), ERA-interim reanalysis data set (ERAint), NCEP climate forecast system reanalysis data set (CFSR), and Japanese 55-year reanalysis data set (JRA55). Several statistical analysis methods are employed to assess the modeled winds through comparison with observed offshore wind data from 2006, and it is found that the downscaled simulations yield good quality wind speed products. However, they all tend to overestimate observed low wind speeds and underestimate observed high wind speeds. Furthermore, the quality of the modeled wind direction is strongly associated with the wind speed intensities, exhibiting a much better reproduction of wind direction at strong wind speeds than at light wind speeds. The downscaling simulations driven by ERAint, JRA55, and CFSR are consistent with each other in the reproduction of local wind speed and direction; the simulations driven by ERAint and JRA55 are slightly better for strong winds and those driven by CFSR are better for light winds. All three simulations generate local wind estimates that are superior to those of the simulation driven by CCLM_55km. This superiority reflects the better quality of the CFSR, ERAint, and JRA55 reanalyses with regard to assimilated local observations compared with the CCLM_55km hindcast, which exploits only upper-air large scale NCEP1 wind fields.

A rapid, ultrasensitive, and practical label-free electrochemical immunoassay for measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) in real serum samples was developed. Molybdenum disulfide–polyaniline–gold nanoparticles (MoS2–PANI–GNPs) with high conductivity were employed as the substrate to assist the electron transfer. Compared with a bare electrode, an about 10-fold increase in the peak current could be detected for MoS2–PANI–GNPs. Moreover, MoS2–PANI–GNPs which have abundant adsorbing sites and a large surface area could greatly increase loading amounts of antibodies and thus, significantly improve the performance of biosensing. Under optimized experimental conditions, the proposed sensing strategy provides a linear dynamic range from 0.2 to 80 ng mL−1 and a detection limit of 40 pg mL−1. The proposed immunosensor has also been used to determine CRP in human serum with satisfactory results. This possibly makes it an attractive platform in bioanalysis of proteins and other molecules.

Background: Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) encodes a key enzyme to play a crucial role in alcohol detoxification, oxidative stress and inflammation regulation. ALDH2 rs671, a famous variant appreciably impairing enzymatic activity, is prevalent in almost 560 million East Asians. Accumulating studies have confirmed its association with serious illnesses including cancers, metabolic syndrome and organic damage, but supporting evidence from healthy population remains limited. Methods: Considering its prominent role in males suggested by previous studies, we recruited 1,491 Chinese males from health examination to comprehensively investigate the effects of ALDH2 rs671 on multiple biochemical indicators. Genotypes of this variant was detected by Sanger sequencing. Biochemical indicators were measured by standard laboratory methods. Results: ALDH2 rs671 was found to be widely associated with blood glucose, lipids, hepatic and renal function (P > 0.05). Remarkably, compared with wild type, males carrying rs671 A allele had less levels of risk index of hepatic injury (OR = 0.29, 95% CI= 0.21-0.41, P = 6.926x10-14) and metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.48, 95% CI= 0.25-0.94, P = 0.033), but interestingly, they were prone to suffer risk of renal injury (OR = 1.74, 95% CI= 1.27-2.39, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings highlight the wide and dual effects of ALDH2 rs671 on biochemical indicators in healthy Chinese males, which not only provide supporting evidence from healthy population for ALDH2-realted diseases, but also help to identify high-risk individuals for early warning. Funding Statement: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81601839). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests. Ethics Approval Statement: All the eligible subjects gave informed consent. This study was approved by the ethical review committees of the Tongji Hospital.

In this study, sea surface salinity (SSS) variability associated with two types of El Nino in the tropical Pacific is investigated using observational data and reanalysis products for the period from 1979 to 2017. The results show that the central (CP) and eastern (EP) Pacific El Nino events have distinct SSS signatures. During a CP El Nino event, negative SSS anomalies appear in the western equatorial Pacific, and positive SSS anomalies in the east. During an EP El Nino event, large negative SSS anomalies occur in the central equatorial Pacific and positive SSS anomalies in the west, with the core of negative SSS anomalies being shifted by about 25° longitude eastward compared with a CP El Nino event. A composite analysis indicates that large differences in SSS anomalies between the two types of El Nino are confined to the fresh pool and Nino 3.4 regions. Surface freshwater flux and horizontal advection are two major factors modulating the SSS there, but their relative importance in the two regions is different. In the fresh pool region, the positive SSS anomalies during an EP El Nino are much larger than those during a CP El Nino event. Their differences are mainly caused by surface freshwater flux anomalies, and horizontal advection anomalies play a secondary role. In the Nino 3.4 region, SSS anomalies are positive during a CP El Nino but negative during an EP El Nino. These differences are mainly caused by horizontal advection anomalies rather than freshwater flux anomalies associated with El Nino.

Recently, internal solitary waves (ISWs) were observed from remote sensing images of the northwestern South China Sea (SCS). Scrutinizing the crests of these ISWs, it was suggested that they were generated locally as a result of tide–topography interaction. To confirm this assumption, a 2-D, fully nonlinear, non-hydrostatic Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) was applied to investigate the generation process and mechanism of ISWs in the northwestern SCS. A series of numerical simulations were carried out to explore the influences from the bottom topography, strength of tidal forcing, stratification and different tidal harmonics on ISW generation. It can be concluded that the ISWs to west of the sills were generated when the tidal flow over the sills changed from an ebb tide to a flood tide, while the generation of those to the east of the sills was associated with the start of the ebb tide. Analyses of the Froude number and slope parameter, which govern generation regimes, indicate that the generation of ISWs in this area is subject to mixed lee waves rather than to a baroclinic tide regime or unsteady lee wave regime. Scrutiny of these ISWs reveals that the superposition of different internal wave modes exists around the sills, and well-developed first and second ISWs are pronounced further away from the sills. There are three sills in the model domain, labeled sills a, b and c from the west to the east, respectively. Numerical experiments suggest that ISWs to the west of these sills are generated by sills b and c, while sill a intensifies the nonlinearity of the internal waves and generates higher internal wave modes. ISWs to the east of these sills are generated by sill c only.