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Sewage epidemiology has been proven as an effective approach to estimate the use of illicit drugs by a population. In this study, sewage analysis was applied to examine the patterns of amphetamine (AMP) and methamphetamine (METH) uses in the urban area of Beijing. Influent and effluent samples were collected from all the thirteen sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the urban area during two sampling campaigns. METH concentrations in influents were found to range from several tens to several hundred ng · L − 1 , whereas AMP concentrations ranged from several to several tens ng · L − 1 . The concentration ratios between AMP and METH in influents at most STPs were close to the rate of AMP excretion following METH ingestion, indicating that AMP in sewage in Beijing was predominately from the metabolism of METH. Much higher METH loads were observed in the center part of the urban area in Beijing, indicating a strong correlation between METH use and economic level and entertainment activities. Seasonal variation in METH loads was significant, with greater use in summer than in winter. Significant difference in METH loads between weekdays and weekend days were observed in winter but not in summer. No clear trend in diurnal variation of METH use was observed. Nearly complete removal of METH occurred at the STPS in Beijing. Apparent removal rates of AMP were lower than those of METH, likely due to degradation of METH into AMP during the wastewater treatment processes. In summary, this study represents the first application of sewage epidemiology to the entire urban population of a metropolitan in mainland China and provided an overview of METH and AMP uses in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in wetlands was investigated in the Yeyahu National Preserve of Beijing, China, from July to December 2011. Stable isotope of nitrogen (15N) as NH4 + was added to experimental mesocosms vegetated by seven common wetland plants. The 15N abundance in soil and various plant parts were measured at prescribed time intervals during the 49-day experimental period. Rapid 15N enrichments were found in soil and aquatic plants during the first sampling event at day 3 and typically increased linearly during the experimental period. Highest 15N enrichment was found in submerged plants, followed by emergent plants and soil. No differences in δ 15N values were found among leaves and stems of all submerged plants (Potamogeton pusillus, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Najas marina, Ceratophyllum demersum), suggesting that these plant structures are equally effective in nitrogen assimilation. The roots of P. perfoliatus displayed the lowest enrichment compared to the stems and leaves. Such results indicate that submerged plant roots may have a relatively weak role in nitrogen assimilation. The two emergent plants (Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis) showed no differences in δ 15N values among all plant parts, suggesting rapid translocation of nitrogen from roots to other portions. This experiment demonstrates that wetland soil and plant stems and leaves are major sinks for dissolved nitrogen from the surface water and provides valuable insight into nitrogen retention and transport pathways in various wetland plants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of spherical aberration on visual acuity by correcting and inducing spherical aberration using an adaptive optics vision simulator. Setting: Laboratory of Vision Science, Capital Medical University, Beijing, and Institute of Optics and Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China. Methods: An adaptive optics vision simulator comprising a wavefront sensor and a 37-segmented deformable mirror was used to correct and induce aberrations of the eye. The effective ocular wavefront aberration was manipulated with the deformable mirror, as the resulting visual performance was simultaneously measured. Subjective visual acuity measurements were performed with a 6.0 mm pupil. Visual acuity at different contrasts was measured when spherical aberration was fully corrected and the other natural aberrations in the eye were present and when spherical aberration values were induced with the other aberrations corrected. Results: The natural root-mean-square (RMS) value of spherical aberration in the 8 subjects examined was between −0.11 μm and 0.14 μm. There was no significant improvement in visual acuity with spherical aberration corrected and the subjects'' natural aberrations present. When all aberrations were corrected, a decrease in visual acuity occurred when spherical aberration RMS was induced at 0.2 μm and 0.3 μm. Conclusions: When fluctuation of other natural aberrations in the eye were present, there was a slight effect on visual acuity when the spherical aberration RMS was approximately 0.1 μm. Therefore, an RMS value of 0.1 μm could be an acceptable amount of spherical aberration when correcting spherical aberrations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For curbing the global climate crisis, China has set an ambitious target of peak carbon emissions by 2030. Beijing, the capital of China, has implemented a carbon reduction policy since 2012. Using the reduced and generalized forms of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), we deduce that both the cubic EKC and the genetic algorithm-based EKC have an N-shape. The first turning point of the three-order EKC occurs around 2011, demonstrating the effectiveness of the carbon reduction policy. However, the time series model predicts that Beijing will reach the second turning point around 2026, when the gross domestic product (GDP) is about CNY 5000 billion and carbon emissions will begin to increase again. Interpretable machine learning is proposed to explore the socio-economic drivers in carbon emissions, indicating that total energy consumption and GDP contribute the most. Therefore, we should accelerate the upgrading of energy consumption and adjust the industrial structure, thus facilitating Beijing to its peak carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the rise of democratic consciousness and the slowdown of urbanization and economic growth speed, the community development path in contemporary China is under transition, aiming at a more bottom-up and small-scale planning and design process. In order to reveal how the "social capital" affects the public participation and social governance in the process of community micro-regeneration in China, this paper takes two old communities in Chaoyang District of Beijing as examples, to compare the impacts of various social capital levels on participatory community planning and design. The study proves the significance of community social capital and community self-government for the success of residents' participation and community regeneration, as well as providing suggestions on how to improve public participation effects by strengthening social capital of communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region is the most important area for cotton production in China, where recycling of cotton stalks (CS) as a useful resource should be encouraged. This article investigated the technical feasibility of CS as a feed and fertilizer based on the transformation of P. brevitarsis larvae. Decomposition inoculant, fermentation duration, and cattle manure ratio were considered the key factors affecting the transformation capability of P. brevitarsis larvae on CS. The research showed that 40–50% of cattle manure, 0.1% VT inoculant, and a fermentation duration of 25–30 days were the optimal technical parameters. The protein content of the larval body was as high as 52.49%, and the fat content was 11.7%. The organic matter content of frass (larvae dung-sand) was 54.8%, and the content of total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (TNPK) was 9.04%, which is twice more than that of the organic fertilizer standard (NY525-2021, Beijing, China, TNPK ≥ 4.0%). The application of CS as feed (larval body) and fertilizer (larvae dung-sand) is feasible, promoting the utilization of both CS and cattle manure. Cotton stalks (CS) are a potential agricultural biomass resource. We investigated the use of CS as a feed for Proteatia brevitarsis Lewis larvae and the resulting frass (larvae dung-sand) as a fertilizer. Based on a three-factor experiment (decomposition inoculant, fermentation duration, and cattle manure ratio), the optimal parameters for the transformation of CS using P. brevitarsis larvae were determined as 40–50% of cattle manure, the use of VT inoculant and a fermentation duration of 25–30 days. Regarding the products of the transformation, the protein content of the larval body was as high as 52.49%, and the fat content was 11.7%, which is a suitable-quality insect protein source. The organic matter content of larvae dung-sand was 54.8%, and the content of total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (TNPK) was 9.04%, which is twice more than that of the organic fertilizer standard (NY525-2021, Beijing, China, TNPK ≥ 4.0%), and larvae dung-sand has the potential of fertilizer application. Therefore, CS as a feed and fertilizer based on the transformation of P. brevitarsis larvae is feasible, and it is a highly efficient way to promote the utilization of both CS and cattle manure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • PM 2.5 was associated with higher risk of incident OWOB. • PM 2.5 was associated with increased odds of being in larger BMI growth trajectories. • PM 2.5 was associated with increased odds of being in persistent OWOB trajectory. • Constituents including SO 4 2−, BC and OM are particularly relevant for these effects. The association of specific PM 2.5 chemical constituents with childhood overweight or obesity (OWOB) remain unclear. Furthermore, the long-term impacts of PM 2.5 exposure on the trajectory of children's body mass index (BMI) have not been explored. We conducted a longitudinal study among 1,450,830 Chinese children aged 6–19 years from Beijing and Zhongshan in China during 2005–2018 to examine the associations of PM 2.5 and its chemical constituents with incident OWOB risk. We extracted PM 2.5 mass and five main component exposure from Tracking Air Pollution in China (TAP) dataset. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to quantify exposure–response associations. We further performed principal component analysis (PCA) to handle the multi-collinearity and used quantile g-computation (QGC) approach to analyze the impacts of exposure mixtures. Additionally, we selected 125,863 children with at least 8 physical examination measurements and combined group-based trajectory models (GBTM) with multinomial logistic regression models to explore the impacts of exposure to PM 2.5 mass and five constituents on BMI and BMI Z-score trajectories during 6–19 years. We observed each interquartile range increment in PM 2.5 exposure was significantly associated with a 5.1 % increase in the risk of incident OWOB (95 % confidence Interval [CI]: 1.036–1.066). We also found black carbon, sulfate, organic matter, often linked to fossil combustion, had comparable or larger estimates of the effect (HR = 1.139–1.153) than PM 2.5. Furthermore, Exposure to PM 2.5 mass, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, organic matter and black carbon was significantly associated with an increased odds of being in a larger BMI trajectory and being assigned to persistent OWOB trajectory. Our findings provide evidence that the constituents mainly from fossil fuel combustion may have a perceptible influence on increased OWOB risk associated with PM 2.5 exposure in China. Moreover, long-term exposure to PM 2.5 contributes to an increased odds of being in a lager BMI and a persistent OWOB trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The maximum generalized entropy principle is introduced in the evaluation. • The impact of operating strategies on the integrated performance is studied. • Economical, energetic, exergetic and environmental indicators are considered. In order to promote the environmental conservation and energy efficiency, sufficient attention has been paid to biomass gasification-based combined cooling, heating and power (BGBCCHP) systems. Accurate evaluation of BGBCCHP systems is helpful to improving its performance. The maximum generalized entropy principle was introduced to reveal the essential characteristics of BGBCCHP systems. The BGBCCHP system was regarded as an open and evolutionary information network. Annual total cost, annual primary energy consumption, annual carbon dioxide emissions and exergy efficiency were used as evaluation criteria. Reasonable weights were conferred to the criteria so as to make the system stable. Moreover, an evaluation model based on the maximum generalized entropy principle was established to determine the eigenvalues of the BGBCCHP system. Self-organizing feature map network was used to simulate the evaluation model of the BGBCCHP system. A case study based on an office building in Beijing, China, was carried out. Three operating strategies (following the thermal load, following the electric load and following the hybrid electric-thermal load) were considered in the evaluation of the BGBCCHP system. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to investigate the impact of economic and technical parameters on the evaluation results. Results indicated that the evaluation model based on the maximum generalized entropy principle could be used to evaluate the BGBCCHP system operated under different operating strategies. The BGBCCHP system operated following the electric load achieved the maximum eigenvalue, which showed that its best integrated performance. On the contrary, the BGBCCHP system operated following the thermal load achieved the minimum eigenvalue, which showed that its worst integrated performance. The impact of sensitivity factors on the eigenvalues of the BGBCCHP system was different, which showed that the integrated performance of the BGBCCHP system was closely related to such factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To discover possible relationships between CXCL12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its risk factors. Methods: The present sib-pair study was conducted in a rural community of Beijing, China. SNPs rs2297630, rs1746048, and rs1801157 located within or nearby the CXCL12 gene were genotyped using the allele-specific polymerase chain reaction method. Haseman-Elston regression was used to investigate linkages between these SNPs and T2DM. A generalized estimating equation logistic regression model was used to discover associations between the SNPs, T2DM, and its risk factors. Results: A total of 3171 participants were recruited, comprising 2277 sib pairs. After Bonferroni correction (α = 0.016), rs2297630 was found to be significantly linked to (p = 0.003) and associated with T2DM (AA vs. GG/GA: OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.31–3.88, p = 0.003). There were interactions between rs2297630 and dyslipidemia (p < 0.001) and between rs1746048 and hypertension (p = 0.011). Compared to dyslipidemia-free subjects with rs2297630 GG/GA genotypes, dyslipidemia patients with rs2297630 AA had a higher risk of T2DM (OR = 4.15, 95% CI: 2.24–7.67, p < 0.001). Compared to hypertension-free subjects with rs1746048 CC genotypes, hypertension-free subjects with rs1746048 CT/TT had a decreased risk of T2DM (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.60–0.99, p = 0.045). Conclusions: A novel linkage and association was found between rs2297630 and T2DM. Moreover, novel interactions were found between rs2297630 and dyslipidemia as well as rs1746048 and hypertension. These findings will help identify individuals at higher risk of developing T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degassing of carbon monoxide (CO), which plays a significant role in the contribution of deep carbon to the atmosphere, commonly occurs within active fault zones. CO degassing from soil to the atmosphere in the Basin and Range province, west of Beijing (BRPB), China, was investigated by in-situ field measurements in the active fault zones. The measured concentrations of CO in soil gas in the BRPB ranged from 0.29 × 10 −6 to 1.1 × 10 −6 with a mean value of 0.6 × 10 −6 , which is approximately twice as large as that in the atmosphere. Net fluxes of CO degassing ranged from −48.6 mg m −2 d −1 to 12.03 mg m −2 d −1 . The diffusion of CO from soil to the atmosphere in the BRPB was estimated to be at least 7.6 × 10 3 ton/a, which is comparable to the corresponding result of about 1.2 × 10 4 ton/a for CO 2 . CO concentrations were spatially heterogeneous with clearly higher concentrations along the NE-SW trending in the BRPB. These elevated values of CO concentrations were also coincident with the region with low-velocity and high conductivity in deep mantle, and high Poisson’s ratio in the crust, thereby suggesting that CO degassing from the soil might be linked to upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle. Other sources of CO in the soil gas are suggested to be dominated by chemical reactions between deep fluids and carbonate minerals (e.g., dolomite, limestone, and siderite) in country rocks. Biogenic processes may also contribute to the CO in soil gas. The spatial distribution patterns of CO concentrations are coincident with the stress field, suggesting that the concentrations of CO could be a potential indicator for crustal stress field and, hence is potential useful for earthquake monitoring in the BRPB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (∑ 16PAHs) were measured by gas chromatography equipped with a mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS) in 56 topsoil samples around Guanting Reservior (GTR), which is an important water source for Beijing. Low to medium levels of PAH contamination (mean=394.2±580.7 ng g-1 dry weight (d.w.)) was evident throughout the region. In addition, localised areas of high PAH contamination near steel and cement factories were identified, with ∑ 16PAHs concentrations as high as 4110 ng/g, dry weight (d.w.). There was a significant positive correlation (r2=0.570, p<0.01) between total organic carbon content and ∑ 16PAHs concentrations. Phenanthrene was the predominant compound, accounting for 27.2% of the ∑ PAH concentration, followed by chrysene>pyrene>benzo[a]anthracene≈ benzo[b]fluoranthene≈ benzo[a]pyrene. Four-ring PAH homologues (39%) were dominant. The higher proportion of 4-6 ring homologues, molecular indices, and the spatial distribution of PAH indicated that industrial discharges, incineration of wastes and traffic discharges were the major sources of soil PAHs around the water reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-criteria approach integrating demand for ecological and cultural services. • We quantified the consumption of green spaces using check-in data. • We applied the demand for ES to optimize the ecological security pattern in central Beijing. A growing number of studies have mapped the demand for ecosystem services (ES). Recently, demand for ES has been broadened to include cultural services in addition to ecological services, especially for urbanized areas. In this study, a multi-criteria approach is proposed that synthesizes the available ecological and cultural services to map the demand for ES: including 1) soil erosion sensitivity, 2) geological hazard sensitivity, 3) water management, 4) vegetation coverage, 5) permanent farmland, 6) accessibility, 7) population density, 8) direct use of green spaces, and 9) cultural heritage. The cultural services demand describes the desire or preference, and consumption or direct use of cultural services, e.g. recreation and cultural heritage. Most studies discussed only the desire or preference for cultural services because of the difficulty quantifying the actual consumption of these cultural services. This research gap was filled using the check-in data collected from WeChat (a major social network in China). Each criterion was assigned a weight so that the ecological services demand, the cultural services demand, and the overall ES demand could be quantified. The results suggest that in general, the mountainous areas, farmlands, and suburban areas have high demand for ecological services while public parks in urban areas show high demand for cultural services. However, the ES demand in the availability of some small green spaces in highly urbanized areas may be higher than that for large green spaces in suburban areas. This multi-criteria analysis is necessary to obtain a comprehensive assessment of ES demand, which will contribute to improving the applicability of ES in real-world decision making, e.g. green space planning and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]