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Input-output analysis has been proven to be a powerful instrument for estimating embodied (direct plus indirect) energy usage through economic sectors. Using 9 economic input-output tables of years 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2007, this paper analyzes energy flows for the entire city of Beijing and its 30 economic sectors, respectively. Results show that the embodied energy consumption of Beijing increased from 38.85 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce) to 206.2 Mtce over the past twenty years of rapid urbanization; the share of indirect energy consumption in total energy consumption increased from 48% to 76%, suggesting the transition of Beijing from a production-based and manufacturing-dominated economy to a consumption-based and service-dominated economy. Real estate development has shown to be a major driving factor of the growth in indirect energy consumption. The boom and bust of construction activities have been strongly correlated with the increase and decrease of system-side indirect energy consumption. Traditional heavy industries remain the most energy-intensive sectors in the economy. However, the transportation and service sectors have contributed most to the rapid increase in overall energy consumption. The analyses in this paper demonstrate that a system-wide approach such as that based on input-output model can be a useful tool for robust energy policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To project the HIV/AIDS epidemics among men who have sex with men (MSM) under different combinations of HIV testing and linkage to care (TLC) interventions including antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Beijing, China. Design: Mathematical modeling. Methods: Using a mathematical model to fit prevalence estimates from 2000–2010, we projected trends in HIV prevalence and incidence during 2011–2020 under five scenarios: (S1) current intervention levels by averaging 2000–2010 coverage; (S2) increased ART coverage with current TLC; (S3) increased TLC/ART coverage; (S4) increased condom use; and (S5) increased TLC/ART plus increased condom use. Results: The basic reproduction number based upon the current level of interventions is significantly higher than 1 ( confidence interval (CI), 1.83–2.35), suggesting that the HIV epidemic will continue to increase to 2020. Compared to the 2010 prevalence of 7.8%, the projected HIV prevalence in 2020 for the five prevention scenarios will be: (S1) Current coverage: 21.4% (95% CI, 9.9–31.7%); (S2) Increased ART: 19.9% (95% CI, 9.9–28.4%); (S3) Increased TLC/ART: 14.5% (95% CI, 7.0–23.8%); (S4) Increased condom use: 13.0% (95% CI, 9.8–28.4%); and (S5) Increased TLC/ART and condom use: 8.7% (95% CI, 5.4–11.5%). HIV epidemic will continue to rise () for S1–S4 even with hyperbolic coverage in the sensitivity analysis, and is expected to decline () for S5. Conclusion: Our transmission model suggests that Beijing MSM will have a rapidly rising HIV epidemic. Even enhanced levels of TLC/ART will not interrupt epidemic expansion, despite optimistic assumptions for coverage. Promoting condom use is a crucial component of combination interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenoviruses have been recognized as important causal pathogens of community-acquired diarrhea (CAD) among children, but their role in hospital-acquired diarrhea (HAD) is not well-understood. Hospitalized children with acute diarrhea and children who visited the outpatient department due to diarrhea were investigated from 2011 to 2012. Adenovirus was detected in stool specimens by PCR and further characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. SPSS software (version 19.0) was used for statistical analyses. A total of 2233 diarrheal children were enrolled in this study; this sample was comprised of 1371 hospitalized children, including 885 with CAD (IP-CAD) and 486 with HAD, and 862 outpatients with CAD (OP-CAD). Among these 2,233 patients, adenovirus was detected in 219 cases (9.8%). The positive rates for adenovirus were significantly different between the IP-CAD (9.3%), HAD (13.8%) and OP-CAD (8.1%) cases (X2 = 11.76, p = 0.003). The positive rate of adenovirus was lower in infants under six months of age compared to the positive rates in the other age groups. Of the 219 of adenovirus positive patients, 91 (41.6%) were identified as having serotype 41. Although enteric adenovirus (group F) was the most frequently detected adenovirus among children with either CAD or HAD, the role of non-enteric adenoviruses, especially the adenovirus 31 type (19.7%), cannot be ignored in diarrheal children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Norovirus (NoV) has been recognized as the most important cause of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis affecting all age group people in the world. Genetic recombination is a common occurance in RNA viruses and many recombinant NoV strains have been described since it was first reported in 1997. However, the knowledge of recombinant NoV in China is extremely limited. Methods: A total of 685 stool specimens were tested for NoV infection from the acute gastroenteritis patients who visited one general hospital in Beijing from April 2009 to November 2011. The virus recombination was identified by constructing phylogenetic trees of two genes, further SimPlot and the maximum chi-square analysis. Results: The overall positive rate was 9.6% (66/685). GII.4 New Orleans 2009 and GII.4 2006b variants were the dominant genotype. Four GII.g/GII.12 and one GII.12/GII.3 recombinant strains were confirmed, and all derived from adult outpatients. The predictive recombination point occurred at the open reading frame (ORF)1/ORF2 overlap. Conclusions: The GII.g ORF1/GII.12ORF2 recombinant has been reported in several countries and it was the first report of this recombinant in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited information is available on the molecular epidemiology of GII.4 Sydney-associated diarrhea in China in the winter of 2012–13 during the global epidemic associated with the emergence of GII.4 Sydney. Methods: Fecal specimens collected from 171 diarrhea outpatients (one from each) between late October 2012 and the middle of March 2013 were examined for NoV by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and sequences corresponding to both the NoV partial polymerase and partial capsid regions were analyzed phylogenetically. Clinical characteristics of GII.4 Sydney cases versus other NoV-positive cases detected in a previous study were compared statistically. Results: Twenty-six (15.2%, 26/171) outpatients with diarrhea were infected with NoV. Twenty-two of the 26 (84.6%) identified NoV strains clustered into GII.4 Sydney. There was a significant difference in symptoms of fever (χ2, P<0.05 ), abdominal pain (χ2, P<0.05 ) and diarrhea frequency (Mann-Whitney U test, P<0.05) between the GII.4 Sydney case group and other NoV-positive case group. Conclusions: The new NoV variant, GII.4 Sydney, has been circulating in Beijing, China and became the predominant strain in the winter of 2012–13. GII.4 Sydney causes severe fever, abdominal pain and higher diarrhea frequency clinically compared to other NoV infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early detection of HIV infection enables timely care and treatment. However, many men who have sex with men (MSM) remain unaware of their HIV status because they do not or are unable to access HIV testing services. Oral fluid HIV rapid tests have the potential to increase HIV testing. This study is the first to evaluate willingness to use the oral fluid test among MSM in China. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Beijing from July to October, 2012. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires. Results: Of 262 who participated in the survey, 223(85.1%) reported that they were willing to use the oral fluid HIV rapid test. Willingness to use the oral fluid test was associated with higher education (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–5.10), lack of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with male partners in the past one month (AOR: 2.38; 95% 95%CI: 1.15–4.95), having taken more than 4 HIV tests (AOR: 3.54; 95%CI:1.52–8.28), and having ever heard of the oral fluid HIV rapid test from gay friends or gay organizations (AOR: 3.24, 95%CI: 1.40–7.51). Among those who expressed willingness to use the oral fluid HIV rapid test, the median amount of money they were willing to pay was 8 dollars. Among the 39 participants who were unwilling to use the oral fluid test, 79.5% (31/39) expressed concerns about the accuracy of the oral fluid HIV rapid test results and 17.9%(7/39) reported that they were not familiar with the oral fluid test and did not know how to use such a test. Conclusions: A high proportion of MSM in Beijing appear to be willing to use the oral fluid HIV rapid test. Appropriate cost and education measures could help improve acceptance of the oral fluid test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the risk factors of scrub typhus infection in Beijing, China, a case-control study was carried out. Cases (n = 56) were defined as persons who were diagnosed by PCR and serological method within three years. Three neighborhood control subjects were selected by matching for age and occupation. Living at the edge of the village, living in the houses near grassland, vegetable field or ditch, house yard without cement floor, piling weeds in the house or yard, all of these were risk factors for scrub typhus infection. Working in vegetable fields and hilly areas, and harvesting in autumn posed the highest risks, with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 3.7 (1.1–11.9), 8.2 (1.4–49.5), and 17.2 (5.1–57.9), respectively. These results would be useful for the establishment of a detail control strategy for scrub typhus infection in Beijing, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) ophthalmoscopically, to search for localized RNFL defects, and to assess factors associated with RNFL visibility in a population-based setting. Methods: The population-based cross-sectional Beijing Eye Study 2006 included 3251 subjects. Using color fundus photographs, RNFL visibility was assessed in grades from 0 to 8 in 8 fundus sectors. Localized RNFL defects were defined as wedge-shaped defects running towards the optic disc. Results: After exclusion of subjects with optic media opacities, 2602 subjects (mean age:58.1±9.0 years) were included. RNFL visibility score was highest (P<0.001) in the temporal inferior region, followed by the temporal superior region, nasal superior region, and nasal inferior region. In multivariate analysis, higher RNFL visibility score was associated with younger age (P<0.001;standardized coefficient beta:−0.44;regression coefficient B: −0.22; 95%CI: −0.24, −0.20), female gender (P<0.001;beta:0.11;B:1.00;95%CI:0.67,1.32), higher blood concentration of low-density lipoproteins (P = 0.002;beta:0.07;B:0.34;95%CI:0.13,0.56), absence of dyslipidemia (P = 0.001;beta: −0.07;B: −0.58;95%CI: −0.93, −0.24), lower blood glucose concentration (P = 0.006;beta: −0.05;B: −0.14;95%CI: −0.24, −0.04), hyperopic refractive error (P<0.001;beta:0.15;B:0.45;95%CI:0.34,0.56), smaller optic disc size (P<0.001;beta: −0.08; B:−0.72;95% CI:−1.04, −0.40), absence of glaucomatous optic neuropathy (P<0.001;beta: −0.06;B: −2.69;95%CI:–4.18, −1.21) and absence of non-glaucomatous optic nerve damage (P = 0.001;beta: −0.06;B: −4.80;95%CI:0. −7.64, −1.96). Localized RNFL defects were detected in 96 subjects (prevalence:3.7±0.45% (95% confidence interval(CI):3.0,4.4). In multivariate analysis, prevalence of localized RNFL defects was associated with higher blood pressure (P<0.001; odds ratio (OR):1.07;95%CI:1.03,1.10), higher concentration of low-density lipoproteins (P = 0.01;OR:1.42;95%CI:1.08,1.85), higher prevalence of glaucomatous optic neuropathy (P<0.001;OR:46.8;95%CI:19.4,113) and diabetic retinopathy (P = 0.002;OR:3.20;95%CI:1.53,6.67), and lower total RNFL visibility (P<0.001;OR:0.92;95%CI:0.88,0.96). Conclusions: In Chinese aged 45+ years, a decreased RNFL visibility was associated with older age, male gender, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, myopia, larger optic disc, and glaucomatous or non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Localized RNFL defects (prevalence:3.7±0.45%) were correlated mainly with higher blood pressure, higher concentration of low-density lipoproteins, glaucomatous optic neuropathy and diabetic retinopathy. These data are helpful for the routine ophthalmoscopic examination of the RNFL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body composition and meat quality traits are important economic traits of chickens. The development of high-throughput genotyping platforms and relevant statistical methods have enabled genome-wide association studies in chickens. In order to identify molecular markers and candidate genes associated with body composition and meat quality traits, genome-wide association studies were conducted using the Illumina 60 K SNP Beadchip to genotype 724 Beijing-You chickens. For each bird, a total of 16 traits were measured, including carcass weight (CW), eviscerated weight (EW), dressing percentage, breast muscle weight (BrW) and percentage (BrP), thigh muscle weight and percentage, abdominal fat weight and percentage, dry matter and intramuscular fat contents of breast and thigh muscle, ultimate pH, and shear force of the pectoralis major muscle at 100 d of age. The SNPs that were significantly associated with the phenotypic traits were identified using both simple (GLM) and compressed mixed linear (MLM) models. For nine of ten body composition traits studied, SNPs showing genome wide significance (P<2.59E−6) have been identified. A consistent region on chicken (Gallus gallus) chromosome 4 (GGA4), including seven significant SNPs and four candidate genes (LCORL, LAP3, LDB2, TAPT1), were found to be associated with CW and EW. Another 0.65 Mb region on GGA3 for BrW and BrP was identified. After measuring the mRNA content in beast muscle for five genes located in this region, the changes in GJA1 expression were found to be consistent with that of breast muscle weight across development. It is highly possible that GJA1 is a functional gene for breast muscle development in chickens. For meat quality traits, several SNPs reaching suggestive association were identified and possible candidate genes with their functions were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genome of HAdV-B14p1 strain BJ430, isolated from a six-month-old baby diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia at the Beijing Children’s Hospital in December 2010, was sequenced, analyzed, and compared with reference adenovirus genome sequences archived in GenBank. This genome is 34,762 bp in length, remarkably presenting 99.9% identity with the genome from HAdV14p1 strain 303600, which was isolated in the USA (2006). Even more remarkable, it is 99.7% identical with the HAdV-B14p (prototype “de Wit” strain) genome, isolated from The Netherlands in 1955. The patient and its parents presumably had no or limited contact with persons from the USA and Ireland, both of which reported outbreaks of the re-emergent virus HAdV-14p1 recently. These genome data, its analysis, and this report provide a reference for any additional HAdV-B14 outbreak in China and provide the basis for the development of adenovirus vaccines and molecular pathogen surveillance protocols in high-risk areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major pathogens of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Beijing, China from 2007 to 2009 were identified in this study. A total of 186 HFMD cases were included, and 136 cases (73%) were positive for enterovirus (EV). In 2007, 75% (27/36) were Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) positive and 19% (7/36) were Enterovirus 71 (EV71) positive cases. However, EV71 was the predominant virus in 2008, when 56% (31/55) of the cases were positive for EV71 and 22% (12/55) were positive for CA16. In 2009, EV71 and CA16, with positive rates of 36% (16/45) and 29% (13/45), respectively, were still the major pathogens of HFMD. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the dominant genotype of EV71 was C4, with co-circulation of genotype A in 2009. The prevalent cluster of the EV71 subgenotype C4 changed over time. A proposed new sublineage of EV71, C4a-2, was the predominant virus associated with the Beijing and nationwide HFMD outbreaks since 2008 and amino acid substitution, which possibly link to the central nervous system tropism of EV71, was found in genotype A viruses. Persistent surveillance of HFMD-associated pathogens is required for predicting potential emerging viruses and related disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulva prolifera, a common green seaweed, is one of the causative species of green tides that occurred frequently along the shores of Qingdao in 2008 and had detrimental effects on the preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games sailing competition, since more than 30 percent of the area of the games was invaded. In view of the rapid accumulation of the vast biomass of floating U. prolifera in green tides, we investigated the formation of sporangia in disks of different diameters excised from U. prolifera, changes of the photosynthetic properties of cells during sporangia formation, and development of spores. The results suggested that disks less than 1.00 mm in diameter were optimal for the formation of sporangia, but there was a small amount of spore release in these. The highest percentage of area of spore release occurred in disks that were 2.50 mm in diameter. In contrast, sporangia were formed only at the cut edges of larger disks (3.00 mm, 3.50 mm, and 4.00 mm in diameter). Additionally, the majority of spores liberated from the disks appeared vigorous and developed successfully into new individuals. These results implied that fragments of the appropriate size from the U. prolifera thalli broken by a variety of factors via producing spores gave rise to the rapid proliferation of the seaweed under field conditions, which may be one of the most important factors to the rapid accumulation of the vast biomass of U. prolifera in the green tide that occurred in Qingdao, 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]