Climate services for addressing climate change: Iindication of a climate livable city in China

China, like many countries, is under great pressure to reduce climate change and adapt to current situations while simultaneously undertaking economic development and transformation. This study takes advantage of climate opportunities and provides a new concept and mode of urban climate services in order to address climate change. Eighteen indicators based on climate and climate-related variables were used to provide an assessment, in the form of an index, of how livable a city is depending on prevailing climatic conditions. The resulting index can also be used to investigate how recent and future changes in the climatic conditions could affect livability. All Chinese cities and regions share the common goals of promoting low-carbon development, improving resilience against climate change, and integrating economic growth with climate actions. Climate services have been developed in China to provide decision-makers this measure of livability. Such a move facilitates sustainable development alongside economic growth by aiding government efforts in climate adaptation and low-carbon development. Our approach represents multidisciplinary and demand-driven research on adaptation to and the impacts of regional climate change, thereby transforming climate science into a climate service and ensuring that climate information can be provided in a scientific, practical, and customized way for policy-makers. The outputs can be used locally to take concrete climate actions and integrate climate services into decision-making processes

Identification and characterization of intestine microRNAs and targets in red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii infected with white spot syndrome virus.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding endogenous RNA molecules that play important roles in the innate immunity system of invertebrates, especially in the aspect of antivirus. In the present study, high-throughput small RNA Illumina sequencing systems were used to identify differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) from the intestines of Procambarus clarkii that were infected with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). As a result, 39 known and 12 novel miRNAs were identified in both NG and WG small RNA libraries. Seven DEMs were determined to be involved in the antiviral innate immunity in the intestines of P. clarkii. The results of the target gene predictions of the DEMs showed that the putative target genes of these 7 DEMs are related to tight junctions, vascular smooth muscle contraction regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, focal adhesion, RNA transport, mRNA surveillance, viral carcinogenesis, and Salmonella infection. These results provide theoretical insights for future studies on the antiviral immunity of crustaceans

Spatio-temporal changes of exposure and vulnerability to floods in China

A socio-economic data set on Chinas historical flood losses for the period 1984–2012 was compiled to analyze the exposed population, economy, and crop area as well as the vulnerabilities of the population and economy to floods. The results revealed that the exposed population was approximately 126 persons km−2 per year when taking China as a whole, in terms of the economy, potential losses due to floods were estimated to be approximately 1.49 million CN¥ km−2 and the crop area exposed to floods covered 153 million hm2 per year. Chinas total exposure to floods significantly increased over the analysis period. The areas that showed the higher exposure were mainly located along the east coast. The populations vulnerability to floods showed a significantly increasing trend, however, the economic vulnerability showed a decreasing trend. The populations and economies that were most vulnerable to floods were in Hunan, Anhui, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces. The municipalities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin showed the lowest vulnerabilities to floods

Spatio-temporal changes of exposure and vulnerability to floods in China

A socio-economic data set on China's historical flood losses for the period 1984–2012 was compiled to analyze the exposed population, economy, and crop area as well as the vulnerabilities of the population and economy to floods. The results revealed that the exposed population was approximately 126 persons km−2 per year when taking China as a whole; in terms of the economy, potential losses due to floods were estimated to be approximately 1.49 million CN¥ km−2 and the crop area exposed to floods covered 153 million hm2 per year. China's total exposure to floods significantly increased over the analysis period. The areas that showed the higher exposure were mainly located along the east coast. The population's vulnerability to floods showed a significantly increasing trend, however, the economic vulnerability showed a decreasing trend. The populations and economies that were most vulnerable to floods were in Hunan, Anhui, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces. The municipalities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin showed the lowest vulnerabilities to floods

Putative folding structure of predicted novel miRNA precursors in NG and WG libraries.

<p>The yellow shading regions in each structure delegated the mature predicted novel miRNA sequence.</p

GO analysis of target genes of differently expressed miRNAs.

<p>GO analysis of target genes of differently expressed miRNAs.</p

Length distribution of small RNAs sequences in NG and WG library.

<p>Length distribution of small RNAs sequences in NG and WG library.</p