Search

The Jing-Mi Diversion Canal is a large-scale water diversion project in Beijing. Routine monitoring is crucial for the reliability and stability of urban water supply. Compared with traditional monitoring methods, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has the advantages of large scale and high accuracy. Based on the small baseline subset InSAR, 187 ascending and 102 descending SAR images obtained from Sentinel-1 were used to detect the deformation along the diversion canal from 2017 to 2023. The results show that there was a sinking trend along the diversion canal. The subsidence was serious in the first half of the canal, and continued to sink from 2019 to 2020. The subsidence was alleviated in 2023. Combined with leveling measurements, the InSAR deformation monitoring results of important pumping station buildings were verified. The measurement accuracy of InSAR can reach the millimeter level. We extracted the groundwater level time series and subsidence for risky canal segments. Through pixel-by-pixel comparison, it was found that fluctuations in groundwater level would have some impact on surface deformation. Severe local subsidence or uplift deformation occasionally occurred. To ensure the safety of water diversion, the monitoring and maintenance of relevant pump station buildings in risky areas should be increased in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the frequency of extreme rainfall increasing, the risk of waterlogging is significantly exacerbated in subway systems. It is imperative to first identify the rainfall threshold for waterlogging risk for subway stations in order to develop effective waterlogging prevention and control plans. This study focuses on Line 11 of the Beijing Subway, using InfoWorks ICM to construct a model of the research area and simulate waterlogging at various subway stations under different rainfall scenarios. The results indicate that there is a risk of waterlogging at Jinanqiao station, Moshikou station, and Beixinan station on Line 11. The accumulated water may enter the subway station through exits A, B, C, and D of Jinanqiao Station. The inlet sequence of Jinanqiao Station always follows A(B), C, and D, and the difference in waterlogging time for each outlet does not exceed 10 min. We derived the rainfall threshold formula for waterlogging risk at Jinanqiao subway station. Among the three influencing factors of topographic features, step height, and drainage capacity of the pipeline network, step height has a significant effect on increasing the rainfall threshold for waterlogging risk. The conclusions obtained can provide reference for the refined management of waterlogging risks in subway stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past several decades, several air pollution prevention measures have been developed in response to the growing concern over air pollution. Using models to anticipate air pollution accurately aids in the timely prevention and management of air pollution. However, the spatial-temporal air quality aspects were not properly taken into account during the prior model construction. In this study, the distance correlation coefficient (DC) between measurements made in various monitoring stations is used to identify appropriate correlated monitoring stations. To derive spatial-temporal correlations for modeling, the causality relationship between measurements made in various monitoring stations is analyzed using Transfer Entropy (TE). This work explores the process of identifying a piecewise affine (PWA) model using a larger dataset and suggests a unique hierarchical clustering-based identification technique with model structure selection. This work improves the BIRCH (Balanced Iterative Reducing and Clustering using Hierarchies) by introducing Kullback-Leibler (KL) Divergence as the dissimilarity between clusters for handling clusters with arbitrary shapes. The number of clusters is automatically determined using a cluster validity metric. The task is formulated as a sparse optimization problem, and the model structure is selected using parameter estimations. Beijing air quality data is used to demonstrate the method, and the results show that the proposed strategy may produce acceptable forecast performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Two oral antivirals (Nirmatrelvir- ritonavir and Azvudine) are widely used in China practice during the Omicron wave of the pandemic. However, little evidence regarding the real-world effectiveness of these two oral antivirals in in-hospital patients. We aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir versus azvudine among adult hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from three Chinese PLA General Hospital medical centres. Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 treated with azvudine or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir from Dec 10, 2022, to February 20, 2023, and did not require invasive ventilation support on admission were eligible for inclusion. Results: After exclusions and propensity-score matching, the final analysis included 486 azvudine recipients and 486 nirmatrelvir-ritonavir recipients. By 28 days of initiation of the antivirus treatment, the crude incidence rate of all-cause death was similar in both types of antivirus treatment (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group 2.8 events 1000 person-days [95% CI, 2.1–3.6] vs azvudine group 3.4 events/1000 person-days [95% CI, 2.6–4.3], P = 0.38). Landmark analysis showed that all-cause death was lower in the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (3.5%) group than the azvudine (6.8%, P = 0.029) within the initial 10-day admission period, while no significant difference was observed for results between 10 and 28 days follow-up. There was no significant difference between the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group and the azvudine group in cumulative incidence of the composite disease progression event (8.6% with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir vs. 10.1% with azvudine, HR, 1.22; 95% CI 0.80–1.86, P = 0.43). Conclusion: Among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron wave in Beijing, similar in-hospital clinical outcomes on 28 days were observed between patients receiving nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and azvudine. However, it is worth noticing that nirmatrelvir-ritonavir appears to hold an advantage over azvudine in reducing early mortality. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to verify the efficacy of those two antivirus medications especially in early treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between lean body mass (LBM) and blood pressure (BP) is controversial and limited. This study investigated the associations between LBM indexes and BP in adults of different ages and with varying body fat distribution. Methods: The data for the present analysis was obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 1,465 adults (50.7% males) aged 18–70 years conducted in Beijing, China. Regional LBM and fat distribution, including fat mass (FM) and android to gynoid fat ratio (AOI), were assessed using a dual-energy X-ray bone densitometer. Generalized Liner Model (GLM) was employed. Confounders, including age, sex, height, weight, smoking, and alcohol use, were evaluated through questionnaires and physical examinations. Results: Males had higher rates of hypertension (11.19% vs. 4.92%) and prehypertension (21.57% vs. 14.59%) than females. The mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were 122.04 mmHg and 76.68 mmHg. There were no significant associations between LBM and DBP (p > 0.05). However, arms LBM (β = 1.86, 95% CI: 0.77, 2.94) and trunk LBM (β = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.73) were significantly associated with SBP. The association of LBM on DBP was stronger with increasing ages, and stronger in females than in males (p < 0.001). The association between adults' arms LBM and SBP was stronger in the high level FM group (β = 2.74 vs. β = 1.30) and high level AOI group (β = 1.80 vs. β = 2.08). Conclusion: The influence of LBM on SBP increases with age, particularly after the age twenty years in females. For adults with high FM or high AOI, LBM in the arms, showed a stronger positive predictive association with SBP. This suggests that, in addition to controlling fat content, future efforts to improve cardiovascular health in adults should include the management of LBM (especially in the upper body). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the characteristics and sources of carbonaceous species at different locations in Beijing in autumn and winter, online continuous observations of organic carbon (OC), element carbon (EC), PM2.5, O3, CO, NOx and meteorological factors were carried out simultaneously at urban and roadside sites in September and December 2020. The results showed that air quality was good during the study period, the p(OC), p(EC), p(PM2.5) were (5.66±3.54), (1.59±1.31), (32.9±25.1) μg/m³ at roadside site, respectively, which were 32%, 70% and 33% higher than urban site. PM2.5 pollution was heavier at roadside, vehicles may be a major contributor to the carbonaceous species especially EC, In autumn, there was no significant difference in OC concentration between two sites, and EC was 47% higher at roadside site, ω (total carbonaceous matter (TCM=1.4xOC+EC)) in PM2.5 were 29% and 25% at urban and roadside sites. In winter, OC and EC at roadside site were 54% and 83% higher than those at urban site, ω (TCM) were 27% and 31% at urban and roadside sites. PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants were higher in winter than in autumn, and higher at roadside than at urban site, except O3. Under weak wind conditions, the concentration of carbonaceous species at urban and roadside sites were 1.3~1.6 and 2.0~3.8 times of that under non-weak wind conditions. Therefore, it is crucial to take emission reduction measures under weak wind conditions to improve air quality. There were little difference between OC/EC ratios under weak wind conditions at two sites, OC/EC were 2.56 and 3.35 in autumn and winter. Local emission was the main influence factor under weak wind conditions, OC/EC were 2.99 and 1.86 at urban and roadside sites. The p (secondary organic carbon (SOC)) and SOC/OC, calculated using the minimum OC/EC (OC/EC)min in different meteorological conditions, were 1.99 μg/m³ and 47% at urban site, 3.13 μg/m³ and 55% at roadside site. In autumn SOC concentration was lower but accounted for a higher proportion of OC. In terms of diurnal variation, OC and EC kept low concentrations and fluctuated slightly throughout the day under non-weak wind conditions. Under weak wind conditions, OC at the two sites presented a bimodal distribution, with peaks around 12:00 and 19:00. Due to the atmospheric boundary layer changes and pollution emissions, the noon peak was not obvious and the concentration was prominent in the mid-night in winter. EC curve at urban site showed bimodal peaks in the morning and evening rush-hour with low concentration, EC showed a "V" shaped distribution and concentration continued to be high around midnight. In autumn, the correlation between PM2.5 and carbon components was weak, and roadside vehicles contributed more to carbon particles. The correlation was strong in winter, so attention should be paid to combustion emission transmission in the south and southeast of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Growth hormone (GH)/thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) cosecreting pituitary adenoma (PA) is an exceedingly rare kind of bihormonal pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). Its clinical characteristics have rarely been reported. Objectives: This study aimed to summarize the clinical characteristics and experience of diagnosis and treatment among patients with mixed GH/TSH PAs from a single center. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed GH/TSH cosecreting PAs from 2063 patients diagnosed with GH-secreting PAs admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 1st, 2010, and August 30th, 2022, to investigate the clinical characteristics, hormone detection, imaging findings, treatment patterns and outcomes of follow-up. We further compared these mixed adenomas with age- and sex-matched cases of GH mono-secreting PAs (GHPAs). The data of the included subjects were collected using electronic records from the hospital's information system. Results: Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 GH/TSH cosecreting PAs were included. The average age of symptom onset was 41.6 ± 14.9 years old, and delayed diagnosis occurred in 57.1% (12/21) of patients. Thyrotoxicosis was the most common complaint (10/21, 47.6%). The median inhibition rates of GH and TSH in octreotide suppression tests were 79.1% [68.8%, 82.0%] and 94.7% [88.2%, 97.0%], respectively. All these mixed PAs were macroadenomas, and 23.8% (5/21) of them were giant adenomas. Comprehensive treatment strategies comprised of two or more therapy methods were applied in 66.7% (14/21) of patients. Complete remission of both GH and TSH was accomplished in onethird of cases. In the comparison with the matched GHPA subjects, the mixed GH/TSH group presented with a higher maximum diameter of the tumor (24.0 [15.0, 36.0] mm vs. 14.7 [10.8, 23.0] mm, P = 0.005), a greater incidence of cavernous sinus invasion (57.1% vs. 23.8%, P = 0.009) and a greater difficulty of long-term remission (28.6% vs. 71.4%, P <0.001). In addition, higher occurrence rates of arrhythmia (28.6% vs. 2.4%, P = 0.004), heart enlargement (33.3% vs. 4.8%, P = 0.005) and osteopenia/osteoporosis (33.3% vs. 2.4%, P = 0.001) were observed in the mixed PA group. Conclusion: There are great challenges in the treatment and management of GH/TSH cosecreting PA. Early diagnosis, multidisciplinary therapy and careful follow-up are required to improve the prognosis of this bihormonal PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate risk factors of urinary calculi in men with gout. Method: A study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Beijing from October 2016 to January 2020. Male gouty patients were included. Logistic regression was used to establish the association between patients' characteristics and urinary stone disease. A cluster analysis was performed to identify distinct phenotypes of gout based on nine common comorbidities. Result: The prevalence of calculi was 23.6% among 454 patients. Longer disease courses and comorbid dyslipidemia were associated with an increased risk of urinary calculi, with an OR of 2.76 (95% CI 1.40–5.64) (p = 0.004) for patients with a disease course of 10 years or longer compared with those with a disease course of gout shorter than 1 year, and an OR of 1.71 (95% CI 1.04–2.88) (p = 0.039) for patients with dyslipidemia. Three clinical phenotypes were recognized. Cluster C1 consists of patients with large body mass index, dyslipidemia, and abnormal liver function. The prevalence of stone was 23.2%. Patients in cluster C2 had fewer comorbidities and the lowest stone risk (13.5%). Cluster C3 had more cardiovascular comorbidities and the highest prevalence of stone (47.1%). Conclusion: Longer disease course and dyslipidemia contribute to stone risk in men with gout. Three distinct phenotypes represent distinct pathophysiological mechanisms underlying stone occurrence, which would help us to optimize gout management. Key points • Patients with gout have higher risks for urinary stones. This study found that longer disease courses and comorbid dyslipidemia were associated with an increased risk of urinary calculi in largely untreated young men with uncontrolled gout. • This study reveals three distinct phenotypes of gout based on comorbidities. Among all, the group with more cardiovascular comorbidities has the highest prevalence of stones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological control using entomopathogenic fungi is a promising alternative to the chemical control of locusts. The current study collected many trains of Beauveria bassiana and tested their suitablility for migratory locust management. Twenty fungal stains were isolated from the soil (collected from three different climatic zones in China) using the Galleria mellonella bait protocol. The phylogenetic analysis of the collected fungal strains based on ITS1 and ITS4 sequences revealed that they all belonged to B. bassiana. The results of pathogenicity testing against the third nymphal instar of Locusta migratoria showed that eight strains were highly pathogenic, causing 100% mortality within 10 days of treatment. The LC50 values of the strains B. bassiana BJ (BbBJ), B. bassiana ZJ1(BbZJ1), and B. bassiana HN1 (BbHN1) were 2.27 × 105, 0.16 × 105 and 1.02 × 105 conidia/mL, respectively indicating the lowest LC50 values for strains collected from Beijing, Zhejiang, and Hainan, respectively. The LT50 values for fourth and fifth instar larvae and the horizontal transmission ability of strain BbZJ1 were 4.62 days, 8.69 days and 91.7% respectively proving to be the best among the three selected strains. In addition, analysis of virulence factors of the three regionally best strains showed that BbZJ1 had the highest germination rate, fastest growth (by 7.06 mm day−1), produced the most conidia (16.03 × 106 conidia mm−2), had higher protease activity, and a hydrophobicity value of 97.31%. BbZJ1 strain has an excellent pathogenicity against local migratory locust, and has the potential for developing fungal biopesticide for controlling local locusts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The flood risk management level of Beijing subway stations was assessed. • Beijing subway network was generalized into a complex network model. • The importance of subway stations as an important factor in assessment. • Weighted network analysis was used to reflect passenger exposure. • Results provide theoretical support for subway flood risk prevention. In recent years, the frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased due to climate change, resulting in a higher risk of flooding in urban underground spaces, particularly subway systems. Although effective equipment and technologies have emerged to mitigate flood risks in subway stations, there is still a lack of comprehensive flood risk management strategies. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the flood risk management level of subway stations as a first step toward devising effective flood prevention and control plans. This study takes the Beijing subway network as an example and uses complex network theory to establish a weighted undirected subway network model to determine the relative importance of each subway station. Passenger flow statistics are then conducted for each route, and the passenger exposure of each route is analyzed under flooding circumstances. Ultimately, the flood risk index for different subway stations is determined based on the flood risk map. The technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), network weighting method, and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) are employed to analyze the flood risk management level of subway stations. The findings indicate that the flood risk management level of Pinganli, Xizhimen, and Hujialou subway stations of Beijing is relatively high, making these subway stations particularly vulnerable to comprehensive disasters, including operational disruptions and passenger exposure, in the event of flooding. This study has significant academic value in the field of flood risk management in subway systems by applying complex network theory to assess the importance and passenger exposure of subway stations in urban operation, effectively capturing the flood risk associated with subway stations, and providing a comprehensive understanding of the functionality of subways as a public transportation mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare impulsiveness, negative emotion, cognitive function, and P300 components among gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)-addicted patients, heroin-dependent patients, and methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) subjects. Methods: A total of 48 men including 17 GHB addicts, 16 heroin addicts, 15 MMT subjects, and 15 male mentally healthy controls (HC) were recruited. All subjects were evaluated for symptoms of depression, anxiety, impulsiveness, and cognitive function through the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version II (BIS-II), the Beijing version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (BJ-MoCA), the behavioral test (response time), and event-related potential P300 detection. Results: (1) The mean scores of BIS-II in the GHB addiction group, heroin dependence group, and MMT group were significantly higher than those of the HC group (F = 30.339, P = 0.000). (2) The total scores of BJ-MOCA in GHB addiction group was the worst among the four groups, followed by heroin addiction, MMT group and HC group (F = 27.880, P = 0.000). (3) The response time in the GHB addiction group was the longest among the four groups, followed by the heroin addiction, MMT, and HC groups (F = 150.499, P = 0.000). (4) The amplitude and latency of P300 in GHB addiction subjects were significantly lower and longer than those of the MMT group and the HC group. (5) For the three types of addiction, the P300 amplitudes at Fz, Cz, Pz, T5, and T6 were negatively correlated with the scores of GAD-7, PHQ-9, and BIS-II; the P300 latencies were positively correlated with the response time and negatively correlated with the scores of the BJ-MoCA. Conclusion: People with an addiction were likely to have increased impulsiveness. The cognitive function of the GHB and heroin-addicted subjects, including the heroin detoxification and the MMT groups, was severely impaired, especially for the GHB-addicted patients. The impairment manifested as abnormalities of BJ-MoCA, response time, and P300 components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entropy indexes are widely used to measure the complexity of precipitation and its spatiotemporal variability, due to their advantages in quantifying the complex and nonlinear interactions of climate variables. However, different entropy indexes may provide different outcomes on the complexity of precipitation, thus causing difficulties in the assessment of actual complexity. In this study, we identified and chose the optimal entropy index from six entropy indexes based on the reliability and stability of entropy values, to assess the complexity of precipitation. The six entropy indexes considered are: information entropy (IE), fuzzy entropy (FE), approximate entropy (AE), sample entropy (SE), wavelet entropy (WE), and permutation entropy (PE). We implemented the approach on the monthly precipitation data observed over the period 1968–2017 at 58 meteorological stations in Beijing, China. The results indicated that the SE index was the optimal index with the best reliability and stability and, thus, was used to examine the complexity of the 58 monthly precipitation series in Beijing. The results also suggested that the complexity of precipitation can be viewed in terms of four sub-regions in Beijing. The precipitation in the 'Northern Mountain Area', with high complexity, was more affected by the interactions between the terrain and climate variability, compared with that in the 'Southern Mountain Area' with low complexity. The precipitation in the 'Central Urban Area' was more significantly impacted by the extensive urbanization than that in the 'Northeast Suburban Area', causing higher complexity in the former. At temporal scale, the complexity of precipitation in the 'Southern Mountain Area' exhibited the largest increasing rate due to the highest impacts of climate variability, followed by the 'Central Urban Area' with a moderate increasing rate of complexity of precipitation due to the impacts of human activities. However, the complexity of precipitation in the 'Northern Mountain Area' and 'Northeast Suburban Area' exhibited small changes due to relatively weak sensitivity to climate variability and human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the clinical features of and evaluate the treatment efficacy for IgG4-related thyroiditis. Methods: Fourteen IgG4-related thyroiditis patients and 42 randomly matched IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) patients without thyroiditis in a prospective cohort at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) were enrolled from 2011 to 2019. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters and treatment efficacy were analysed. Results: The prevalence of IgG4-related thyroiditis in our cohort was 2.0%. The average patient age was 42.8 ± 14.9 years, and the male: female ratio was 1:1. Goiter (14, 100.0%), hard thyroid (14, 100.0%) and neck compression (5, 35.7%) were the most prevalent onset symptoms observed. IgG4-related thyroiditis was characterized by asymmetric diffuse thyroid enlargement on ultrasound. Thirteen (92.9%) patients had hypothyroidism, and all patients had significantly elevated circulating thyroid antibodies. Compared with patients without thyroiditis, patients with IgG4-related thyroiditis had less submandibular gland involvement and lacrimal gland involvement and lower serum IgG4 and T-IgE levels (P = 0.019, P = 0.022, P = 0.004, and P = 0.006, respectively) and more single-organ involvement (P = 0.011). After treatment, the symptoms were relieved, while the size of the thyroid gland did not change significantly, and levothyroxine as a supplemental therapy was still needed. Conclusions: IgG4-related thyroiditis is a distinct subtype of IgG4-RD characterized by positive circulating thyroid antibodies and a high rate of hypothyroidism. Although compression symptoms could be relieved with treatment, the thyroid size did not change significantly, and the damage to thyroid function was often irreversible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual average concentration of PM 2.5 in Beijing consistently met the standard between 2021 and 2023. However, the pollution situation persists, particularly during autumn and winter. With the diminishing capacity for local emission reduction in Beijing, the significance of regional transport has increased. To examine the impact of various air masses on PM 2.5 and its chemical constituents, a detailed analysis was conducted using wind direction data, hourly PM 2.5 values, and concentrations of major components from 2015 to 2020 in Beijing. The findings reveal that the southwest transport corridor remained a critical pathway for regional pollutant influx into Beijing, although the influence of pollutants transported from the east has intensified. During October to February, when the hourly increase in NO 3 − surpassed 10 μg/m³ and increases in SO 4 2−, NH 4 +, and OM exceeded 6 μg/m³, the likelihood of southwest and southern transport ranged from 56% to 60%, peaking at 56%–72% from December to February. From March to September, when the hourly increase in NO 3 − exceeded 10 μg/m³, eastward transport was probable at 63%, reaching 69% from May to July. Sharp increases in SO 4 2−, NH 4 +, and OM, related to combustion, primarily occurred during autumn and winter evenings, whereas a sharp increase in NO 3 − was observed mainly during spring and summer mornings. This study elucidates the correlation between hourly concentration growth of PM 2.5 chemical components and transport direction, offering a scientific foundation for mitigating regional air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. • The significance of regional transportation is increasingly pronounced in Beijing. • Hourly increments of PM 2.5 and components under wind directions are analyzed. • Southwestern region remains an important pathway for pollutant input. • The impact of pollutants transported from the east has been intensified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic authorities have taken various measures to mitigate vehicular-source pollution emissions, among which setting speed limits has been proved to be effective. However, most of the existing macroscopic research proposes idealized mathematical models to design optimal speed limit from the perspective of network equilibrium, and the simplified pollution emission functions cannot accurately reflect the emission mechanism. In order to improve the accuracy of emission calculation and obtain more reliable speed limit schemes in a large-scale network, an integrated traffic simulation approach was proposed herein to derive environment-friendly road speed limit schemes. First, this article built an integrated simulation framework to portray traffic operations and emissions comprehensively. Subsequently, a toy network was employed to demonstrate how to obtain environment-friendly speed limit schemes using this framework. Then this article utilized it to determine the corresponding optimal speed limit schemes on the Second Ring road network in Beijing under different scenarios. The results indicated that traffic authorities should impose adaptive rather than fixed speed limits according to traffic period and emission reduction priority. Moreover, imposing the derived speed limit schemes, the amounts of total emissions, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and fine particulate matter decreased by 2.24%, 0.72%, 0.13%, 1.61%, 2.32%, and 5.35% during peak hour, and by 8.31%, 0.60%, 1.92%, 7.16%, 8.60%, and 8.72% during off-peak hour, respectively. Implications: In order to alleviate traffic pollutions emission issues more effectively from the traffic management perspective, we put forward an integrated traffic simulation approach to derive the environmental friendly road speed limit schemes. We combined MOVES and PARAMICES to build the integrated traffic simulation framework to portray road traffic operations and emissions elaborately. To verify the effectiveness of our method on real large road network, we used this method to find out the corresponding optimal speed limit schemes within the combination scheme set on Second Ring road network in Beijing under different traffic demand scenarios. Comparing with the current speed limit scheme, our derived speed limit scheme contributed to lowering emission. The amounts of total pollution emissions, hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) decreased by 2.24%, 0.72%, 0.13%, 1.61%, 2.32%, and 5.35% during peak hours, and by 8.31%, 0.60%, 1.92%, 7.16%, 8.60%, and 8.72% during off-peak hours, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new mechanism of new particle formation (NPF) is investigated using comprehensive measurements of aerosol physicochemical quantities and meteorological variables made in three continents, including Beijing, China; the Southern Great Plains site in the USA; and SMEAR II Station in Hyytiälä, Finland. Despite the considerably different emissions of chemical species among the sites, a common relationship was found between the characteristics of NPF and the stability intensity. The stability parameter (ζ =  Z / L , where Z is the height above ground and L is the Monin–Obukhov length) is found to play an important role; it drops significantly before NPF as the atmosphere becomes more unstable, which may serve as an indicator of nucleation bursts. As the atmosphere becomes unstable, the NPF duration is closely related to the tendency for turbulence development, which influences the evolution of the condensation sink. Presumably, the unstable atmosphere may dilute pre-existing particles, effectively reducing the condensation sink, especially at coarse mode to foster nucleation. This new mechanism is confirmed by model simulations using a molecular dynamic model that mimics the impact of turbulence development on nucleation by inducing and intensifying homogeneous nucleation events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the implicit prices of hotel attributes in different time periods and different markets. Design/methodology/approach: With data from the travel meta-search engine, this paper chose 3- to 5-star hotels in Beijing's central business district and use hedonic price models. Findings: The results suggest that the attributes with significant implicit prices differ in different time periods; the same attributes with different implicit prices in different time periods; the same attributes with different implicit prices in different market segments. Originality/value: This study may help to explain the different findings on the relationship between the attributes and room rates of Chinese star-rated hotels in different time periods, and will be useful in both revenue optimization efforts and the design of new hotels projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgenic maize expressing the Cry1Ab and Cry2Ab protein simultaneously from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt-maize) has been grown for farm-scale study to investigate its potential impact to non-target arthropod (NTA). The trials were conducted between Bt maize 2A-7 and its parental line (B73-329) in Beijing, China, over 3 years. Richness (C), Shannon index (H), Pielou index (J), Simpson index (D), and Bray-Curtis index were used to evaluate the population dynamics and biodiversity of the dominant arthropods from per 50 plants in crop field. The mainly abundant groups were Aphidoidea, Araneae, Coccinellidae, Anthocoridae, and Thripidae which represented about 90% of the total number of NTA. Although the abundance of NTA varied from year to year, there is no significant difference between Bt maize and non-Bt maize field. Fluctuations were found at individual sample dates, but the trend of these descriptors remained consistent. Further analysis showed the biodiversity indexes of the dominant arthropods C, H, J, D, and Bray-Curtis dissimilarity between Bt maize producing Cry1Ab and Cry2Ab toxin simultaneously and its parental line had no significant difference except for some sampling dates. These results suggested that Bt maize is compatible with the NTAs and provides further evidence of the ecological impact of genetically modified maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At approximately 2:00 p.m. (Beijing time) on August 6, 2019, the previously controlled Leidashi landslide was reactivated near group 7 of Zhangjiagou village, Jianyang County, Sichuan Province, China. The 2019 Leidashi landslide damaged two main roads and 44 antisliding piles and posed a threat to another main road. This landslide was a reactivation of the 2010 Leidashi landslide and had an accumulation zone of 2.2 × 106 m3. To explore the deformation characteristics and failure mechanism, detailed field investigations, unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry, airborne LiDAR surveys, borehole drilling and inclinometer installation were carried out, and the collected data were analyzed. The results show that the 2019 Leidashi landslide could be divided into main slipping zone and activated zone according to movement state, and the main slipping zone could also be divided into main scarp area, main deposit area, climbing area, uplift area, and local landslide area according to the local movement and geomorphic features. The rapidly increasing landslide thrust caused by short-term but continuous heavy rain caused the failure of the antisliding piles and ultimately reactivated the 2010 landslide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to detect the distribution of Mycobacterium avium subsp avium (MAA) in naturally infected domestic Pekin ducks, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Ziehl‐Neelsen (ZN) staining were used and compared. Six organs, the liver, spleen, lung, kidney, duodenum and pectoralis muscle, were collected from naturally infected Pekin ducks. Paraffin embedded tissues were examined, and the results were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi‐Square test. The results showed that the detection rates by IHC were similar with ZN staining in liver, lung, spleen and pectoralis muscle, but the detection rates by IHC were much higher than ZN staining in kidney and duodenum (p =.013, p =.0044). The liver (87.5%) and lung (81.3%) had the highest detection rates. Acid‐fast bacilli (AFB) were primarily found intracellularly in six organs using ZN staining. Similarly, the MAA antigens in those selected organs were also detected in the cytoplasm with different cell types. Specifically, MAA antigen was distributed in epithelioid macrophages and necrotic centres within the liver, lung, spleen and kidney, while they were observed in macrophages of the lamina propria and duodenal glands and degenerative myocytes in the pectoralis muscle. This comparative study provides an important insight into the distribution of MAA in infected domestic ducks and indicates that the detection rate by IHC was higher than that of ZN staining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of aerosols on visibility through scattering and absorption of light and on climate through altering cloud droplet concentration are closely associated with their hygroscopic properties. Here, based on field campaigns in winter and summer in Beijing, we compare the size-resolved hygroscopic parameter (κgf) of ambient fine particles derived by an HTDMA (hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyzer) to that (denoted as κchem) calculated by an HR-ToF-AMS (high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer) measurements using a simple rule with the hypothesis of uniform internal mixing of aerosol particles. We mainly focus on contrasting the disparity of κgf and κchem between summer and winter to reveal the impact of atmospheric processes/emission sources on aerosol hygroscopicity and to evaluate the uncertainty in estimating particle hygroscopicity with the hypothesis. We show that, in summer, the κchem for 110, 150, and 200 nm particles was on average ∼10 %–12 % lower than κgf , with the greatest difference between the values observed around noontime when aerosols experience rapid photochemical aging. In winter, no apparent disparity between κchem and κgf is observed for those >100 nm particles around noontime, but the κchem is much higher than κgf in the late afternoon when ambient aerosols are greatly influenced by local traffic and cooking sources. By comparing with the observation from the other two sites (Xingtai, Hebei and Xinzhou, Shanxi) of north China, we verify that atmospheric photochemical aging of aerosols enhances their hygroscopicity and leads to 10 %–20 % underestimation in κchem if using the uniform internal mixing assumption. The effect is found more significant for these >100 nm particles observed in remote or clean regions. The lower κchem likely resulted from multiple impacts of inappropriate application of the density and hygroscopic parameter of organic aerosols in the calculation, as well as influences from chemical interaction between organic and inorganic compounds on the overall hygroscopicity of mixed particles. We also find that local/regional primary emissions, which result in a large number of externally mixed BC (black carbon) and POA (primary organic aerosol) in urban Beijing during traffic rush hour time, cause a 20 %–40 % overestimation of the hygroscopic parameter. This is largely due to an inappropriate use of density of the BC particles that is closely associated with its morphology or the degree of its aging. The results show that the calculation can be improved by applying an effective density of fresh BC (0.25–0.45 g cm -3) in the mixing rule assumption. Our study suggests that it is critical to measure the effective density and morphology of ambient BC, in particular in those regions with influences of rapid secondary conversion/aging processes and local sources, so as to accurately parameterize the effect of BC aging on particle hygroscopicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerosol liquid water (ALW) content (ALWC), an important component of atmospheric particles, has a significant effect on atmospheric optical properties, visibility and multiphase chemical reactions. In this study, ALWC is determined from aerosol hygroscopic growth factor (GF) and particle number size distribution (PNSD) measurements and is also simulated by ISORROPIA II, a thermodynamic equilibrium model, with measured aerosol chemical composition data taken at an urban site in Beijing from 8 November to 15 December 2017. Rich measurements made during the experiment concerning virtually all aerosol properties allow us not only to derive the ALWC but also to study the contributions by various species for which little has been done in this region. The simulated ALWC including the contribution of organics and the calculated ALWC are highly correlated (coefficient of determination R2=0.92). The ALWC contributed by organics (ALWC Org) accounts for 30%±22% of the total ALWC during the sampling period. These results suggest a significant contribution of organics to ALWC, which is rather different from previous studies that showed negligible contributions by organics. Our results also show that ALWC correlates well with the mass concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) (R2=0.66 , 0.56 and 0.60, respectively). We further noted that accumulation mode particles play a key role in determining ALWC, dominating among all the aerosol modes. ALWC is an exponential function of ambient relative humidity (RH), whose strong diurnal variation influence the diurnal variation of ALWC. However, there is a 3 h lag between the extremes of ALWC and RH values, due to the diurnal variations in PNSD and aerosol chemical composition. Finally, a case study reveals that ALWC Org plays an important role in the formation of secondary aerosols through multiphase reactions at the initial stage of a heavy-haze episode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the aging population in Beijing has rapidly increased and the demand for residential care facilities (RCFs) has also risen. As RCFs have quickly developed, the question of whether residential care resources dynamically match the changes in the demand of the elderly population is an urgent issue that must be addressed. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal variation in the supply and demand of RCFs, applies a Gaussian two-step floating catchment area method with a multi-level search radius to measure the spatial accessibility of RCFs in Beijing in 2010 and 2020, and evaluates the equity of spatial accessibility. The results show that the elderly population was decentralized from the central urban area to New Urban Development Area. However, the distribution of RCF beds shows further agglomeration towards the central urban area. The accessibility of residential care resources in the central urban area and New Urban Development Area has increased, while accessibility in Ecological Protection Area has decreased. The spatial disparities in accessibility have been reduced and the spatial equity in accessibility has been improved over the past decade. The findings provide policy recommendations for the future allocation of RCFs by considering the spatiotemporal changes in the distribution of the supply and demand of residential care resources. • The elderly population was decentralized from the central city to the suburban areas. • The RCF market has shifted from being dominated by public facilities to being predominantly private, with the most increase in the suburban areas. • The accessibility to RCFs has been overall improved, but the spatial distribution of changes in the accessibility to RCFs is uneven. • The spatial equity of accessibility to RCFs has been improved in Beijing from 2010 to 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effectiveness of a novel inquiry-based instructional sequence using interactive simulations for supporting students' development of conceptual understanding, inquiry process skills and confidence in learning. The study, conducted in Beijing, involved two teachers and 117 students in four classes. The teachers participated in professional learning and were supported in enacting one of two different instructional approaches the Interactive Simulations Instructional Approach (ISIA) (experimental group) or conventional instruction (control group). Each student group completed pre-tests and post-tests, and classroom observations were conducted to ensure that the implementation of the intervention was consistent. Our findings reveal that students in the ISIA group demonstrated significantly greater gains in conceptual understanding, inquiry process skills and confidence in learning than their peers in the conventional instruction group. Neither students' sex nor their levels of academic achievement showed main effects on students' achievement in any of the three outcome types (understanding, skill, confidence). This study demonstrates that the combination of interactive simulations and inquiry-based learning can enhance the development of students' conceptual understanding, inquiry process skills and confidence in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As consumers' perceptions of quality change over time, service providers should track the dynamic changes in service quality and adjust their services to adapt to these changes. In the context of sharing accommodation, although many studies have focused on evaluating service quality, the dynamic changes in service quality over time remain unexplored. This study aims to explore the dynamic changes in the service quality of sharing accommodation. We propose a novel framework that uses deep learning and SERVQUAL to analyze online reviews of sharing accommodation services, thus contributing to the literature from a dynamic perspective. Using a 10-year-span longitudinal dataset of Airbnb's online reviews of San Francisco's listings (n 1 = 366,643), we construct a weakly supervised topic model that extracts service quality topics from online reviews and then classifies reviews into irrelevant-topics and relevant-topics. Each relevant-topic review is mapped to one of the SERVQUAL dimensions, combined with its sentiment analysis score, which constitutes the output of text mining. We then analyze the dynamic changes in the service quality. The results show that both the overall service quality and that in each dimension of SERVQUAL exhibit a slight downward trend. We obtain the similar results for the Beijing longitudinal dataset (n 2 = 251,081), which confirms that the downward trend in service quality is not unique to San Francisco. We discuss the reasons for this trend and provide managerial guidance for the platform and its hosts. • Proposing a novel framework combining deep learning and SERVQUAL. • Constructing a weakly supervised topic model to extract service quality topics. • Exploring dynamic changes in service quality of sharing accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Ageing in place" is the preferred choice for the majority of older persons in China, and community care services support them in living in their homes as long as possible. Based on statistics, interview data, and policy documents, this study analyses the provision and utilisation of community care facilities in Beijing by conducting spatial and qualitative analysis based on structuration theory. The mapping and spatial analysis reveal spatial inequity in the allocation of community care facilities in Beijing, which increased from 494 in 2017 to 1,201 in 2020. Communities in suburban areas, where the older population is growing the fastest, have poorer spatial accessibility to community care services than those located in the central city. Qualitative analysis based on interviews with 28 older residents in six communities, and six managers and staff members of community care facilities, revealed high demands for community care services including daily life support, emotional support, and healthcare services, with low utilisation of the services and many challenges for service provision. Poor perception and evaluation of the services by older persons result in low utilisation of the services. Financial difficulties in service provision and limited support from the government are the major challenges reported by the managers. Strategies have also been developed to meet these challenges by the older persons and managers. Text analysis of policy documents shows the development of regulations and policies on the construction, support, and quality management of the community care system. The complex dynamics of interaction between structure and agency in resource allocation and daily practice of service delivery shapes the provision and utilisation of community care services as a relatively new mode for aged care in China. The findings support understanding the challenges of community care service provision and utilisation from a health geography perspective. Joint efforts from local governments, communities, the private sector, and older residents are needed to support ageing in place in Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic basis of high level aminoglycoside resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates from Beijing, China. 173 A. baumannii clinical isolates from hospitals in Beijing from 2006 to 2009 were first subjected to high level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR, MIC to gentamicin and amikacin>512µg/mL) phenotype selection by broth microdilution method. The strains were then subjected to genetic basis analysis by PCR detection of the aminoglycoside modifying enzyme genes (aac(3)-I, aac(3)-IIc, aac(6′)-Ib, aac(6′)-II, aph(4)-Ia, aph(3′)-I, aph(3′)-IIb, aph(3′)-IIIa, aph(3′)-VIa, aph(2″)-Ib, aph(2″)-Ic, aph(2″)-Id, ant(2″)-Ia, ant(3″)-I and ant(4′)-Ia) and the 16S rRNA methylase genes (armA, rmtB and rmtC). Correlation analysis between the presence of aminoglycoside resistance gene and HLAR phenotype were performed by SPSS. Totally 102 (58.96%) HLAR isolates were selected. The HLAR rates for year 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 were 52.63%, 65.22%, 51.11% and 70.83%, respectively. Five modifying enzyme genes (aac(3)-I, detection rate of 65.69%; aac(6′)-Ib, detection rate of 45.10%; aph(3′)-I, detection rate of 47.06%; aph(3′)-IIb, detection rate of 0.98%; ant(3″)-I, detection rate of 95.10%) and one methylase gene (armA, detection rate of 98.04%) were detected in the 102 A. baumannii with aac(3)-I+aac(6′)-Ib+ant(3″)-I+armA (detection rate of 25.49%), aac(3)-I+aph(3′)-I+ant(3″)-I+armA (detection rate of 21.57%) and ant(3″)-I+armA (detection rate of 12.75%) being the most prevalent gene profiles. The values of chi-square tests showed correlation of armA, ant(3″)-I, aac(3)-I, aph(3′)-I and aac(6′)-Ib with HLAR. armA had significant correlation (contingency coefficient 0.685) and good contingency with HLAR (kappa 0.940). The high rates of HLAR may cause a serious problem for combination therapy of aminoglycoside with β-lactams against A. baumannii infections. As armA was reported to be able to cause high level aminoglycoside resistance to most of the clinical important aminoglycosides (gentamicin, amikacin, tobramycin, etc), the function of aminoglycoside modifying enzyme gene(s) in A. baumannii carrying armA deserves further investigation. Using broth microdilution method and PCR detection analysis, genetic basis of high level aminoglycoside resistance was investigated in the 173 Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates from hospitals in Beijing from 2006 to 2009. The armA gene was closely related to HLAR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Due to the continuous urbanization and industrialization in many countries of the world, heavy metals are continuously emitted into the terrestrial environment and pose a great threat on human health. A detailed study was conducted to determine the concentrations of six heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in road dusts in urban parks of Beijing, and assessed the health risk of these metals for local people. The dust samples were collected from 13 different urban parks in Beijing, China. The health risk was assessed using Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Health Index (HI). The results show that the average concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb in the dust samples are 69.33, 25.97, 72.13, 219.20 0.64 and 201.82mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were much higher than those in the background value of Chinese soil. The assessment of health risk indicated that there were mainly three exposure pathways for people: ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation. The main exposure pathway of heavy metals to both children and adults is ingestion. The values of HQ and HI are lower than the safe level (=1), indicating no health risk exists in present condition. Meanwhile, the HI value for children is higher than that for adults, indicating that children have higher potential health risk than adults in Beijing parks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study was conducted to examine the impact of vehicular traffic on the contamination status of urban traffic sites in Beijing with respect to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The soil and Pinus pinea needle samples were collected at 12 sites on Three Ring Road in Beijing, China, from July 2009 to March 2010. Total PAH concentrations at traffic sites ranged from 113.86 to 2226.24 ng g-1 with an average value of 658.71 742.41 ng g-1 in soil samples and 112.03 to 2016.80 ng g-1 with an average value of 680.29 485.61 ng g-1 in needle samples. The PAH pattern was dominated by two- and three-ring PAHs (contributing > 80% to the total PAHs) at all the 12 traffic sites. Seasonal variations of PAHs compounds indicated the PAHs concentrations in autumn and winter were higher than those in spring and summer due to temperature effects. This work indicates that the low ring PAHs were the major profile at the roadside of a busy street with heavy traffic in Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews the recent researches implemented in Chinese Academy of Sciences, with achievements on integrated resonant microcantilever sensors. In the resonant cantilevers, the self-sensing elements and resonance exciting elements are both topdown integrated with silicon micromachining techniques. Quite a lot of effort is focused on optimization of the resonance mode and sensing structure for improvement of sensitivity. On the other hand, to enable the micro-cantilevers specifically sensitive to bio/chemical molecules, sensing materials are developed and modified on the cantilever surface with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) based bottom-up construction and surface functionalization. To improve the selectivity of the sensors and depress environmental noise, multiple and localized surface modifications are developed. The achieved volume production capability and satisfactory detecting resolution to trace-level biological antigen of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) give the micro-cantilever sensors a great promise for rapid and high-resoluble detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis B vaccination coverage rates are low throughout most populations in China. Factors influencing low coverage rates, including population-specific hepatitis B vaccination barriers, may inform policies that promote vaccination. A cross-sectional survey of residents from 43 communities assessed their vaccination status and identified associated factors via uni- and multivariable logistic regression and subgroup analyses. In total, 11,280 of 36,007 respondents received a hepatitis B vaccine, indicating a 31.33% coverage rate. Multivariable logistic regression revealed non-Beijing (odds ratio (OR) = 0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76–0.85) and residents who self-rated their health as very healthy (OR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.68–0.99) were unlikely to be vaccinated. Farmers (OR = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.51–1.86), commerce and service workers (OR = 1.82; 95% CI, 1.63–2.04), government employees (OR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.38–1.77), professionals and technicians (OR = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.63–2.09), and students (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.10–2.59) had increased hepatitis B vaccination rates. The multivariable assessment revealed hepatitis B vaccination coverage rates are associated with confirmed or suspected family cases, vaccination unwillingness or uncertainty, and unawareness of its prevention of the hepatitis B virus. Low hepatitis B vaccination coverage rates among Beijing subpopulations highlight the need for improved strategies, including those that target specific populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban atmospheric boundary layer (UABL) is complex due to the heterogeneous underlying city surface. The nine anemometers installed at different heights along the 325 m meteorological tower provide an opportunity to carry out a refined study of wind properties in the UABL in central Beijing, China. Based on the recent 5-year high-resolution measured data, in total, 229,488 10-min length segments of wind records related to each anemometer are reliable for further analyses. Accordingly, the statistical properties of the wind speed and direction are first analyzed to present the local wind climate in a comprehensive way. Moreover, the pattern of the wind profiles related to two typical synoptic intense events are illustrated in order to give a preliminary perspective, then the statistical properties corresponding to a series of intense windstorms are described. Here, the deviations in the wind direction occur between 200 m and 280 m of the atmosphere, which might be due to the existence of an Ekman spiral; besides this, the laws of wind profiles based on open terrain are not suitable for the UABL, and the aerodynamic characteristic parameters of the UABL based on vertical stratified structures have to be considered. The results contribute to the establishment of revised models for the wind profile and are useful for the further understanding of the structure of UABL wind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Erdheim-Chester Disease (ECD) is a rare type of non-Langerhans histiocytosis. Skeletal structures are affected in over 95% ECD patients. Due to the lack of proper imaging assessment tools, the alteration of bone microarchitecture in ECD has not been well studied. High-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) is a newly developed assessment of bone mineral density and bone microarchitecture.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study with 13 patients diagnosed with ECD in Peking Union Medical College Hospital between October 2018 and June 2019. The diagnosis of ECD was based on typical pathological findings in the context of appropriate clinical and radiological manifestations. Bone geometry, volumetric bone mineral density and bone microarchitecture of those ECD patients were assessed using HR-pQCT at the non-dominant distal radius and distal tibia. Those HR-pQCT parameters were then compared to an ongoing population-based database of HR-pQCT for Mainland Chinese.Results: As a result, remarkable heterogeneity of osteosclerosis in the HR-pQCT images was found in ECD patients, ranging from apparent normal structure, scattered thickening of trabecula, to homogenous consolidation. In terms of quantitative measurements, total volumetric BMD (383.50 mg/cm3, 1.352 times of normal mean, p = 0.023) of the tibia differed significantly in ECD patients, due to the increased trabecular volumetric BMD (291 mg/cm3, 2.058 times of normal mean, p = 0.003). The increased trabecular volumetric BMD of tibia was associated with remarkably increased number of trabecula (1.7/mm, 1.455 times of normal mean, p = 0.002) and increased thickness of trabecula (0.37 mm, 1.466 times of normal mean, p = 0.003). These differences could be due to the existence of dense bone interposed in the trabecula.Conclusion: This study is the first to assess the volumetric bone mineral density and bone microstructure with HR-pQCT in a cohort of ECD patients and indicated that the application of HR-pQCT may help to reveal the nature of bone lesions in the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endogenous retroviruses (ERV) are viral genomes integrated into the host genome and can be stably inherited. Although ERV sequences have been reported in some avian species' genome, the duck endogenous retroviruses (DERV) genome has yet to be quantified. This study aimed to identify ERV sequences and characterize genes near ERVs in the duck genome by utilizing LTRhavest and LTRdigest tools to forecast the duck genome and analyze the distribution of ERV copies. The results revealed 1,607, 2,031, and 1,908 full-length ERV copies in the Pekin duck (ZJU1.0), Mallard (CAU_wild_1.0), and Shaoxing duck (CAU_laying_1.0) genomes, respectively, with average lengths of 7,046, 7,027, and 6,945 bp. ERVs are mainly distributed on the 1, 2, and sex chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the presence of Betaretrovirus in 3 duck genomes, whereas Alpharetrovirus was exclusively identified in the Shaoxing duck genome. Through screening, 596, 315, and 343 genes adjacent to ERV were identified in 3 duck genomes, respectively, and their functions of ERV neighboring genes were predicted. Functional enrichment analysis of ERV-adjacent genes revealed enrichment for Focal adhesion, Calcium signaling pathway, and Adherens junction in 3 duck genomes. The overlapped genes were highly expressed in 8 tissues (brain, fat, heart, kidney, liver, lung, skin, and spleen) of 8-wk-old Mallard, revealing their important expression in different tissues. Our study provides a new perspective for understanding the quantity and function of DERVs, and may also provide important clues for regulating nearby genes and affecting the traits of organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Twelve oligosaccharides were quantified by a targeted mass spectrometry approach. • Four pairs isomeric oligosaccharides in human milk are successfully separated. • The amount of 12 oligosaccharides in human milk varied among individuals. • Six pairs oligosaccharides are correlated with each other in human milk samples. Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are beneficial to infants' growth. Currently, the challenges were the complex operation and weak separation which limited the accurate quantification of HMOs. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) under multi-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was developed here to separate and quantitatively determine 12 oligosaccharides in human milk. The degree of polymerization of 12 oligosaccharides ranged from 3 to 6. Among 12 HMOS, four pairs of isomeric oligosaccharides (LNFPⅠand LNFPⅢ; LSTa、LSTb and LSTc; 2FL and 3FL; 3SL and 6SL) were successfully separated. Variations of HMOs among 61 individuals from Beijing, China were observed using the present method. Pairwise correlations analysis showed high correlation in abundance between LNDFH Ⅱand 6SL, LSTc and 6SL, LNDFH Ⅱ and LSTa, LSTa and LSTc, LSTa and 6SL. This method allows accurate and reliable quantitative determination of 12 oligosaccharides in human milk, and could be adopted in determining variations in HMOs among samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep has been suggested as risk factors for depression and social anxiety in children and adolescents, but little is known about the role of individual body composition on these association. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of children and adolescents aged 6–18 years in Beijing, China, in 2020, and assessed body composition by using iDXA dual-energy X-ray bone densitometer. Generalized liner model (GLM) and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were employed to analyze the associations between sleep and depression and social anxiety with different body composition. The attributable fraction (AFs) to assess the benefits of improvements of sleep in reducing depression and social anxiety odds. Depression and social anxiety accounted for 13.1 % and 30.3 % of the study population. Sleep time was significantly associated with depression (HR = 2.35[1.58, 3.50]), and social anxiety (HR = 1.65[1.24, 2.20]); and sleep quality was significantly associated with depression (HR = 7.27[4.87, 10.84]), and social anxiety (HR = 2.54 [1.99, 3.25]) among children and adolescents. The exposure to both insufficient sleep time and poor sleep quality were associated with a higher odd of depression and social anxiety, but lower BF%, higher muscle rate and FFM/FM alleviated the adverse effects of sleep quality on depression and social anxiety. Conclusions about causality remain speculative because of the cross-sectional design. Insufficient sleep time, poor sleep quality, high BF%, low muscle rate and FFM/FM can jointly associate with anxiety and depression. This study provides new evidence support for accurate prevention and control of mental diseases in children and adolescents with different body types. •.A cohort study used iDXA was to explore the associations with different body composition. • The exposure to both insufficient sleep time and poor sleep quality were associated with depression and social anxiety. • Lower BF%, higher MR and FFM/FM alleviated the effects of sleep quality on depression and social anxiety. • Good sleep quality theoretical benefited more in children with higher BF%, lower MR and FFM/FM. • This study provides evidence for accurate prevention of mental diseases in children with different body composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Knowledge remains limited about dairy consumption and childhood depression and social anxiety, which is our purpose.Methods: A cross-sectional study including children and adolescents aged 7-17 years was conducted in 2020 in Beijing. Depression and social anxiety were assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory and the social anxiety scale for children. Habitual dairy consumption was defined as ≥6 days/week. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were employed to analyze the associations between dairy consumption and depression and social anxiety. Subgroup analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the main results.Results: A total of 1353 participants were included, with a mean age of 12.06 (SD = 3.10) years old. There were 53.58 % habitual dairy consumers and nearly 11.01 % consumed of ≤1 day/week. The prevalence of depression and social anxiety was 14.04 % and 29.64 %. Compared to participants with less dairy intake, the scores of depression and social anxiety in habitual dairy consumers decreased by 1.725 (95 % CI: -2.939, -0.512) and 1.083 (95 % CI: -1.821, -0.345). Correspondingly, habitual dairy consumption was inversely correlated with depression (OR = 0.602, 95%CI: 0.369-0.982) and social anxiety (OR = 0.622, 95%CI: 0.418-0.923). Such inverse associations were more pronounced in younger participants, those without siblings, with higher parental education and higher consumption of fruits or vegetables.Limitations: Conclusions about causality remain speculative due to the cross-sectional design.Conclusions: Habitual dairy consumption is inversely associated with childhood depression and social anxiety. A potential attempt could be implemented when recommending dairy products as an adjuvant therapy for childhood mental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity demand in megacities may exert substantial stress on water resources, which is often expressed through the water scarcity footprint for electricity consumption (WSFE). Conversely, water scarcity may constrain electricity production, leading to increased vulnerability for megacities electricity production. The WSFE and the water related vulnerability of electricity production reflect two aspects of water-electricity conflict. This varies over time by both the amount and location of electricity production. However, no studies have conducted time-series analysis to evaluate the trends of these two indicators, both in terms of severity and spatial characteristics. Our study focused on evaluating trends in water-electricity conflict both within and beyond megacity administrative boundaries. China's four provincial-level megacities, i.e. Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing, were chosen as case studies. The results show that water related vulnerability of electricity production in Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing was diverse and can be classified as extreme, severe, moderate and minor, respectively. Between 2006 and 2016, the WSFE of Tianjin experienced an increasing trend, and its water related vulnerability of electricity production remained at the highest level. Beijing's WSFE has decreased, but its water related vulnerability of electricity production has increased. These differing trends highlight the need for joint reductions to both WSFE and water related vulnerability of electricity production in mitigating water-electricity conflict. [Display omitted] • Water related vulnerability of electricity production was dynamic during 2006–2016. • Water related vulnerability in four Chinese megacities was diverse. • Tianjin had the highest water related vulnerability and water scarcity footprint. • The external water scarcity footprint of Beijing was the largest, but decreasing. • Changes in water related vulnerability may differ to water scarcity footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]