Scientific Advances and Weather Services of the China Meteorological Administration’s National Forecasting Systems during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was the first Winter Olympics in history held in continental winter monsoon climate conditions across complex terrain areas,there is a deficiency of relevant research,operational techniques,and experience.This made providing meteorological services for this event particularly challenging.The China Meteorological Administration(CMA)Earth System Modeling and Prediction Centre,achieved breakthroughs in research on short-and medium-term deterministic and ensemble numerical predictions.Several key technologies crucial for precise winter weather services during the Winter Olympics were developed.A comprehensive framework,known as the Operational System for High-Precision Weather Forecasting for the Winter Olympics,was established.Some of these advancements represent the highest level of capabilities currently available in China.The meteorological service provided to the Beijing 2022 Games also exceeded previous Winter Olympic Games in both variety and quality.This included achievements such as the“100-meter level,minute level”downscaled spatiotemporal resolution and forecasts spanning 1 to 15 days.Around 30 new technologies and over 60 kinds of products that align with the requirements of the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee were developed,and many of these techniques have since been integrated into the CMA’s operational national forecasting systems.These accomplishments were facilitated by a dedicated weather forecasting and research initiative,in conjunction with the preexisting real-time operational forecasting systems of the CMA.This program represents one of the five subprograms of the WMO’s high-impact weather forecasting demonstration project(SMART2022),and continues to play an important role in their Regional Association(RA)II Research Development Project(Hangzhou RDP).Therefore,the research accomplishments and meteorological service experiences from this program will be carried forward into forthcoming highimpact weather forecasting activities.This article provides an overview and assessment of this program and the operational national forecasting systems.

Simple, Reliable Isolation, Purification and Cultivation of Murine Skeletal Muscle Microvascular Endothelial Cells

Objectives: Microvascular dysfunction in skeletal muscle is involved in metabolic and vascular diseases. Microvascular endothelial cells (MEC) are poorly characterized in the progression of associated diseases in part due to lack of availability of MEC from various animal models. The objective was to provide a fast, simple, and efficient method to isolate murine MEC derived from skeletal muscle. Methods: Dissected abdominal skeletal muscles from C57BL/6J mice at 8 - 12 weeks of age were enzymatically dissociated. MEC were isolated using a modified two-step Dynabeads™-based purification method. With a combination of Dynabeads™ - Griffonia simplicifolia lectin-I and Dynabeads™ - monoclonal antibody against CD31/PECAM-1, MEC were isolated and purified twice followed by cultivation. Results: Isolated and purified cells were viable and cultured. MEC were characterized by using immunofluorescence to identify CD31/PECAM-1, an EC marker, and two specific functional assays, which include a capillary-like tube formation and the uptake of Dil-Ac-LDL. The purity of isolated cell populations from skeletal muscle microvessels, which was assessed by flow cytometry, was 88.02% ± 2.99% (n = 6). Conclusions: This method is simple, fast, and highly reproducible for isolating MEC from murine skeletal muscle. The method will enable us to obtain primary cultured MEC from various genetic or diseased murine models, contributing to insightful knowledge of diseases associated with the dysfunction of microvessels.

Recent Progress in Numerical Atmospheric Modeling in China

This review summarizes the scientific and technical progress in atmospheric modeling in China since 2011,including the dynamical core,model physics,data assimilation,ensemble forecasting,and model evaluation strategies.In terms of the dynamical core,important efforts have been made in the improvement of the existing model formulations and in exploring new modeling approaches that can better adapt to massively parallel computers and global multiscale modeling.With regard to model physics,various achievements in physical representations have been made,especially a trend toward scale-aware parameterization for accommodating the increase of model resolution.In the field of data assimilation,a 4D-Var system has been developed and is operationally used by the National Meteorological Center of China,and its performance is promising.Furthermore,ensemble forecasting has played a more important role in operational forecast systems and progressed in many fundamental techniques.Model evaluation strategies,including key performance metrics and standardized experimental protocols,have been proposed and widely applied to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the systems,offering key routes for model improvement.The paper concludes with a concise summary of the status quo and a brief outlook in terms of future development.

Advanced Radiative Transfer Modeling System(ARMS): A New-Generation Satellite Observation Operator Developed for Numerical Weather Prediction and Remote Sensing Applications

1.Urgent requirements for developing Feng Yun satellite observation operators In the past two decades,satellite measurements have been widely utilized for understanding and predicting weather and climate,and are now an essential component in global observing systems.

Nano-silica-decorated Poly(m-Phenylene Isophthalamide)Separator with Enhanced Mechanical and Electrolyte Wetting Properties for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Heat-resistant poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide)(PMIA)has attracted considerable attention as a novel separator for application in lithium-ion batteries(LIBs);however,its mechanical strength and electrolyte wettability are not ideal.Herein,a nano-silica-decorated poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide)(PMIA@SiO2)separator was fabricated with SiO2 nanoparticles uniformly attached to the pores and pore walls of the PMIA separator.The as-prepared PMIA@SiO2 separator has good mechanical strength(a 16%improvement compared with pristine PMIA)and wettability toward the electrolyte(the contact angle decreases from 34.0°to 23.1°).The PMIA@SiO2 separator also had a high ionic conductivity(0.75 mS/cm)and low interfacial electric resistance(75Ω).The assembled LiCoO2/PMIA@Si O2-liquid electrolyte/Li cell displays good cycle performance with a capacity retention of 88.1%after 50 cycles.Furthermore,the cycling performance and rate capacity rarely changed after high-temperature treatment.Therefore,the nano-silica-decorated PMIA separator is a potential candidate for application in LIBs with high safety.

The P2Y₂Receptor Interacts with VE-Cadherin and VEGF Receptor-2 to Regulate Rac1 Activity in Endothelial Cells

Vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) mediates homophylic adhesion between endothelial cells and is an important regulator of angiogenesis, blood vessel permeability and leukocyte trafficking. Rac1, a member of the Rho family of GTPases, controls VE-cadherin adhesion by acting downstream of several growth factors, including angiopoietin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Here we show that UTP-induced activation of the Gq protein-coupled P2Y2 nucleotide receptor (P2Y2R) in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) activated Rac1 and caused a transient complex to form between P2Y2R, VE-cadherin and VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2). Knockdown of VE-cadherin expression with siRNA did not affect UTP-induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) but led to a loss of UTP-induced Rac1 activation and tyrosine phosphorylation of p120 catenin, a cytoplasmic protein known to interact with VE- cadherin. Activation of the P2Y2R by UTP also caused a prolonged interaction between p120 catenin and vav2 (a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rac) that correlated with the kinetics of UTP-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of p120 catenin and VE-cadherin. Inhibitors of VEGFR-2 (SU1498) or Src (PP2) significantly diminished UTP-induced Rac1 activation, tyrosine phosphorylation of p120 catenin and VE-cadherin, and association of the P2Y2R with VE-cadherin and p120 catenin with vav2. These findings suggest that the P2Y2R uses Src and VEGFR-2 to mediate association of the P2Y2R with VE-cadherin complexes in endothelial adherens junctions to activate Rac1.

Research and Operational Development of Numerical Weather Prediction in China

Numerical weather prediction(NWP) is a core technology in weather forecast and disaster mitigation. China’s NWP research and operational applications have been attached great importance by the meteorological community.Fundamental achievements have been made in the theories, methods, and NWP model development in China, which are of certain international impacts. In this paper, the scientific and technological progress of NWP in China since1949 is summarized. The current status and recent progress of the domestically developed NWP system-GRAPES(Global/Regional Assimilation and Pr Ediction System) are presented. Through independent research and development in the past 10 years, the operational GRAPES system has been established, which includes both regional and global deterministic and ensemble prediction models, with resolutions of 3-10 km for regional and 25-50 km for global forecasts. Major improvements include establishment of a new non-hydrostatic dynamic core, setup of four-dimensional variational data assimilation, and development of associated satellite application. As members of the GRAPES system, prediction models for atmospheric chemistry and air pollution, tropical cyclones, and ocean waves have also been developed and put into operational use. The GRAPES system has been an important milestone in NWP science and technology in China.