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Low-cost sensors are becoming an important component of air quality monitoring. They are used in various outdoor areas beyond the protective enclosure of air quality monitoring stations. Therefore, they are exposed to a wide range of environmental conditions. In this study, we investigated the operation status and performance of an air quality monitor consisting of low-cost sensors for measuring PM2.5 and CO under extreme air pollutant concentrations. Over deployment periods of three haze episodes in Beijing, China, and two bushfire episodes in the Blue Mountains, Australia, the monitors collected air quality data for community and research users. During the extreme air pollution episodes, the operation of the monitors was not affected by the extremely high PM2.5 and CO concentrations. They showed the greatest overestimation of PM2.5 measurements in comparison with the reference instruments during the Beijing summer haze period. The regression slopes between the monitors and reference instruments were 2.24 for the summer haze period, 1.58 for the spring haze period, and 1.54 for the summer haze period. Under the extreme air pollution conditions in the Blue Mountains, monitors overestimated PM2.5 in the winter bushfire period but underestimated it in the summer bushfire period. The absolute values of the PM2.5 and CO concentrations from the monitors may vary from the reference instruments; however, they captured the trends and rapid elevation of air pollutants under extreme air pollution conditions. The results of this study demonstrate that low-cost air quality monitors can be used under extreme conditions in different areas for specified purposes such as community, citizen applications, air pollution management, and scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the effect of mindfulness intervention on the psychological resilience and professional identity of nursing undergraduates during the epidemic and its mechanisms, and to provide strong evidence for improving the mental health status and professional identity of nursing undergraduates. Methods One hundred and eight nursing students were randomly selected from a pre-survey conducted at a university in Beijing from April 25-30, 2021, of whom 52 were placed in the intervention group for a combined online and offline mindfulness intervention, whereas 56 were placed in the control group and received no intervention. The Resilience Style Questionnaire (RSQ) and Professional Identity for Nurse Students Questionnaire (PINSQ) were used to assess the levels of psychological resilience and professional identity of members in both groups before intervention, 1 week after intervention, and 3 months after intervention (followup). SAS 9.4 software was used to evaluate the intervention effect using generalized estimating equations, and the Process test was used to analyze the mediating effect of psychological resilience. Results After intervention, the psychological resilience of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05); at follow -up, there was no statistically significant difference in psychological resilience between the intervention group and the control group (P > 0.05). The psychological resilience of students in the intervention group increased after intervention and at follow -up compared to before intervention (P < 0.05), but decreased at follow-up compared to after intervention (P < 0.05); there was no change in the level of psychological resilience of control students at each time point (P > 0.05). After intervention, the professional identity score of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05), and at follow-up time, the professional identity of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01). The increase in professional identity at each time point in the intervention group was statistically significant (P < 0.05), while there was no statistically significant difference in professional identity in the control group at each time points (P > 0.05). Mindfulness intervention affected professional identity by affecting psychological resilience levels, with a mediation effect ratio of 23.67%. Conclusions A mindfulness intervention could effectively improve the psychological resilience and professional identity levels of nursing undergraduates during the epidemic, providing a basis for subsequent psychological interventions and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reasonable assessment of urban ecological resilience (UER), as well as quantitative identification of critical thresholds of UER, is an important theoretical basis for the formulation of scientific urban development planning. The existing UER assessment methods ignore the dynamic relationship between protection factors and disturbance factors in urban systems and do not address the question of where UER starts to become unstable. Therefore, based on the "source-sink" landscape theory, we constructed a UER assessment model and a method to quantitatively identify the UER's critical distance belt (UER-CDB) using the transect gradient analysis. Additionally, we combined scenario simulation to analyze the change characteristics of UER and its critical distance belt in different urban development directions over past and future periods. The results show that: (1) Based on the "source-sink" theory and transect gradient method, the UER can be effectively assessed and the UER-CDB can be quantitatively identified. (2) The UER in Beijing shows a distribution pattern of high in the northwest and low in the southeast, and the High resilience area accounts for more than 40%. (3) The changes in UER-CDB in Beijing in different development directions have obvious variability, which is mainly influenced by topography and policy planning. (4) Compared with the natural development scenario (NDS), the ecological protection scenario (EPS) is more consistent with Beijing's future urban development plan and more conducive to achieving sustainable development. The methodology of this paper provides a fresh perspective for the study of urban ecological resilience and the critical threshold of ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The augmented proportion of impervious surfaces and heavy rainfall have resulted in waterlogging, nonpoint source pollution, and environmental degradation. Low impact development (LID) is an effective storm management practice. Based on six different LID paving scenarios, a four objective simulation-optimization framework coupled with stormwater management model (SWMM) and NSGA-Ⅱ that incorporates the ecosystem service value (ESV) was proposed for the optimal layout of LID facilities. A case study in Beijing, China, was taken as an example. The results showed that the rain garden paving scenario is remarkable compared to the other scenarios in realizing ESV, with the dominant ESV of net carbon sinks. The optimization revealed that the change in pollution control rate was more sensitive than the runoff reduction rate. Simultaneously, the optimization of these two indicators will be accompanied by more cost and lower ESV. The optimal solution achieved 32.48 % of runoff reduction rate, 82.22 % of water pollution control rate, 0.73×105 CNY of ESV, and 2.29×106 CNY of cost. The framework provides reference and technical support to achieve the synergistic objectives among cost, water quality and quantity control, and ecosystem services. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emission of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, is the main factor causing global warming. Due to incomplete statistical data on energy consumption at and below the urban scale of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), in this study, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) data were combined, and a neural network model and weighted average method based on DN (Digital Number) value were used to obtain CO2 emissions at the municipal and county scales with a resolution of 1 km × 1 km from 2000–2019. Next, a spatial-temporal analysis model and spatial econometric model were used to study the CO2 emissions at different scales of BTH. This study also solved the problem that STIRPAT analysis cannot be carried out due to insufficient urban statistical CO2 emissions data. The results show that the energy CO2 emissions in BTH present a distribution pattern of "East greater than West", with a trend of first rising and then slowing down. Moreover, the rapid growth areas are mainly located in Chengde and Tianjin. The degree of regional spatial aggregation decreased year by year from 2000–2019. Population, affluence and technology factors were positively correlated with CO2 emissions in Tianjin and Hebei. For Beijing, in addition to foreign investment, factors such as urbanization rate, energy intensity, construction and transportation factors all contributed to the increase in CO2 emissions. Among them, the growth of population is the main reason for the increase of CO2 at the urban scale in BTH. Finally, based on the research results and the specific situation of the cities, corresponding policies and measures are proposed for the future low-carbon development of the cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality Sr isotope data are critically dependent on the quality of reference materials that are used for instrumental calibration and data monitoring during LA-MC-ICP-MS analysis. A suite of natural plagioclase samples (BDL-1, BDL-2 and BDL-3) from the Badaling intrusive complex, Beijing were investigated here to test their suitability as a plagioclase Sr isotope reference material. Major and trace element analyses by EPMA and LA-ICP-MS showed that plagioclase crystals separated from two troctolites (BDL-1 and BDL-3) and one gabbro (BDL-2) were all characterized by extremely low Rb/Sr ratios (0.00012–0.00047), and low heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and high Sr contents (2377–2836 μg g−1). A total of 200 LA-MC-ICP-MS analyses for plagioclases BDL-1, BDL-2 and BDL-3 showed consistent and homogeneous Sr isotopic compositions with an average 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.70535 ± 0.00007 (2SD), which was in good agreement with solution-based data determined by TIMS or SN-MC-ICP-MS (0.70533 ± 0.00004; 2SD, n = 12), thus suggesting that BDL plagioclase can be used as a potential reference material for microbeam Sr isotopic analysis. Compared to the other available plagioclase Sr isotopic reference materials, the large quantities, long-term availability, high Sr content and extremely low isobaric interference (Rb, Er and Yb) of BDL plagioclase make it especially suitable for instrumental calibration and to adjust for inter-laboratory bias of the measured 87Sr/86Sr ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing water gauge reading approaches based on image analysis have problems such as poor scene adaptability and weak robustness. Here, we proposed a novel water level measurement method based on deep learning (YOLOv5s, convolutional neural network) to overcome these problems. The proposed method uses the YOLOv5s to extract the water gauge area and all scale character areas in the original video image, uses image processing technology to identify the position of the water surface line, and then calculates the actual water level elevation. The proposed method is validated with a video monitoring station on a river in Beijing, and the results show that the systematic error of the proposed method is only 7.7 mm, the error is within 1 cm/the error is between 1 cm and 3 cm, and the proportion of the number of images is 95%/5% (daylight), 98%/2% (infrared lighting at night), 97%/2% (strong light), 45%/44% (transparent water body), 91%/9% (rainfall), and 90%/10% (water gauge is slightly dirty). The results demonstrate that the proposed method shows good performance in different scenes, and its effectiveness has been confirmed. At the same time, it has a strong robustness and provides a certain reference for the application of deep learning in the field of hydrological monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourists, as the main beneficiary of historical block protection and tourism development, are considered qualified to speak on the matter of the preservation of space quality and regional characteristics. The study established a questionnaire using semantic analysis to investigate and evaluate tourists' perspective of various spatial elements in Beijing's three historical blocks. Factor analysis and IPA method was introduced to explore how various spatial elements affected the overall environmental perception of tourists. Based on the relative importance of spatial elements, suggestions for optimizing the space of historical blocks were proposed. The study found that: 1 The overall evaluation of various spatial elements of the historical block was relatively positive, and only the "environmental atmosphere" was closer to the negative evaluation, indicating that most tourists think the environment was too noisy; 2 All spatial elements can be classified into three indicators: "visual experience", "street form" and "perception of regional characteristics"; 3 Landscape planting and space interface needed to be improved first, followed by ground pavement, traffic organization, and advertisement signboard. The research provides a theoretical foundation for reducing the damage caused by improper tourism development behaviors, further improving the spatial quality of historical blocks, and enhancing tourists' satisfaction of the historical environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate matter (PM) has been a threat to the environment and public health in the metropolises of developing industrial countries such as Beijing. The microorganisms associated with PM have an impact on human health if they are exposed to the respiratory tract persistently. There are few reports on the microbial resources collected from PM and their antimicrobial activities. In this study, we greatly expanded the diversity of available commensal organisms by collecting 1,258 bacterial and 456 fungal isolates from 63 PM samples. A total of 77 bacterial genera and 35 fungal genera were included in our pure cultures, with Bacillus as the most prevalent cultured bacterial genus, Aspergillus , and Penicillium as the most prevalent fungal ones. During heavy-haze days, the numbers of colony-forming units (CFUs) and isolates of bacteria and fungi were decreased. Bacillus, Paenibacillus , and Chaetomium were found to be enriched during haze days, while Kocuria , Microbacterium , and Penicillium were found to be enriched during non-haze days. Antimicrobial activity against common pathogens have been found in 40 bacterial representatives and 1 fungal representative. The collection of airborne strains will provide a basis to greatly increase our understanding of the relationship between bacteria and fungi associated with PM and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adherence to oral anticoagulant therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in China is low. Patient preference, one of the main reasons for discontinuation of oral anticoagulant therapy, is an unfamiliar concept in China.Methods and Findings: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted to quantify patient preference on 7 attributes of oral anticoagulant therapy: antidote (yes/no), food-drug interaction (yes/no), frequency of blood monitoring (no need, every 6/3/1 month[s]), risk of nonfatal major bleeding (0.7/3.1/5.5/7.8[%]), risk of nonfatal stroke (ischemic/hemorrhagic) or systemic embolism (0.6/3.2/5.8/8.4[%]), risk of nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (0.2/1.0/1.8/2.5[%]), and monthly out-of-pocket cost (0/120/240/360 RMB) (0 to 56 USD). A total of 16 scenarios were generated by using D-Efficient design and were randomly divided into 2 blocks. Eligible patients were recruited and interviewed from outpatient and inpatient settings of 2 public hospitals in Beijing and Shenzhen, respectively. Patients were presented with 8 scenarios and asked to select 1 of 3 options: 2 unlabeled hypothetical treatments and 1 opt-out option. Mixed logit regression model was used for estimating patients' preferences of attributes of oral anticoagulants and willingness to pay (WTP) with adjustments for age, sex, education level, income level, city, self-evaluated health score, histories of cardiovascular disease/other vascular disease/any stroke/any bleeding, and use of anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy. A total of 506 patients were recruited between May 2018 and December 2019 (mean age 70.3 years, 42.1% women). Patients were mainly concerned about the risks of AMI (β: -1.03; 95% CI: -1.31, -0.75; p < 0.001), stroke or systemic embolism (β: -0.81; 95% CI: -0.90, -0.73; p < 0.001), and major bleeding (β: -0.69; 95% CI: -0.78, -0.60; p < 0.001) and were willing to pay more, from up to 798 RMB to 536 RMB (124 to 83 USD) monthly. The least concerning attribute was frequency of blood monitoring (β: -0.31; 95% CI: -0.39, -0.24; p < 0.001). Patients had more concerns about food-drug interactions even exceeding preferences on the 3 risks, if they had a history of stroke or bleeding (β: -2.47; 95% CI: -3.92, -1.02; p < 0.001), recruited from Beijing (β: -1.82; 95% CI: -2.56, -1.07; p < 0.001), or men (β: -0.96; 95% CI: -1.36, -0.56; p < 0.001). Patients with lower educational attainment or lower income weighted all attributes lower, and their WTP for incremental efficacy and safety was minimal. Since the patients were recruited from 2 major hospitals from developed cities in China, further studies with better representative samples would be needed.Conclusions: Patients with AF in China were mainly concerned about the safety and effectiveness of oral anticoagulant therapy. The preference weighting on food-drug interaction varied widely. Patients with lower educational attainment or income levels and less experience of bleeding or stroke had more reservations about paying for oral anticoagulant therapies with superior efficacy, safety, and convenience of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) causes high amounts of morbidity and mortality worldwide every year. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major pathogen of ARTIs in children. In this study, we aimed to investigate the epidemiology and genotypic diversity of HMPV in children hospitalized with ARTIs in Beijing, China. Methods: Hospitalized children aged < 14 years with ARTIs were enrolled from April 2017 to March 2018; nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected and subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction tests for HMPV. HMPV-positive samples were genotyped based on a partial N gene. Whole genome sequences were determined for samples with high viral loads. Results: 4.08% (52/1276) enrolled paediatric patients were identified as having HMPV infection. The epidemic season is winter and early spring, children aged ≤ 4 years were more susceptible to HMPV infection (47/52, 90.38%). The co-infection rate were 36.54% (19/52), the most common co-infected virus were influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. The main diagnoses of HMPV infection were pneumonia (29/52, 55.77%) and bronchitis (23/52, 44.23%), while the main clinical manifestations were cough, fever, rhinorrhoea, and sneeze. Among 48 HMPV-positive specimens, A2b (19/48, 39.58%) and B1 (26/48, 54.17%) were the main epidemic subtypes. Patients with HMPV genotype A infection had a higher viral load compared to genotype B patients (6.07 vs. 5.37 log10 RNA copies/ml). Five complete sequences of HMPV were obtained. This is the first report of a whole genome sequence of HMPV-B1 isolated in China. Conclusions: HMPV is an important respiratory pathogen in paediatric patients. Cases of HMPV infection could burden hospitals in the epidemic season. HMPV viral loads and genotypes have no correlation with co-infection or clinical characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submerged macrophytes and phytoplankton assemblage play significant roles in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. An experiment was carried out in Beijing in order to further evaluate the environmental factors that affect the growth of submerged macrophytes and phytoplankton assemblage. Submerged macrophytes (i.e., Vallisneria natans, Hydrilla verticillata, and Ceratophyllum demersum) constructed the growth system with some controllable influencing factors (i.e., the flow rate and water depth gradient). The flow rates were set separately as 4 L/h (1#), 6 L/h (2#), and 12 L/h (3#), while the water depth gradient was of 0.5–1.7 m in eutrophic water. Generally, all macrophytes could grow normally in the experiment, and the system could maintain and improve the effluent quality. The average removal rates of NH3-N, COD, NO3-N, TN, and TP were about 90%, 33%, 65%, 45%, and 40%, respectively. Seen from the results of the water depth gradient experiments, it is indicated that Vallisneria natans grows better in shallow water (0.5 m) and moderate shallow water (0.7 m) area, with an average relative growth rate (ARGA) of 57%. Hydrilla verticillata and Ceratophyllum demersum grow better in moderate deep water (1.2 m) and deep water (1.7 m) area (ARGA of 66% and 64%, respectively). Results of the flow rate experiments showed that the moderate flow rate (6 L/h) was the best for those three macrophytes' growth. As the fitting results of the rapid light curves (RLCs) showed that the utilization of light and the tolerance to strong light were different for these macrophytes, if they are ranked in the order of the utilization and the tolerance from strong to weak, they are Hydrilla verticillata, Ceratophyllum demersum, and Vallisneria natans. Microbial analyses indicated that the overall system diversity of the experimental groups have been improved after cultivation of macrophytes. However, the accumulated Cyanobacteria caused by the low flow rate (1#) would lead to the suppression of microbial organics decomposition and nutrient metabolism in the macrophytes. To sum up, the results of this study provided theoretical guidance and technical support for the restoration of submerged macrophytes in eutrophic water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Percutaneous balloon aortic valvuloplasty (PBAV), which is used to treat symptomatic aortic stenosis, requires ionizing radiation and contrast agent for imaging guidance. The aim of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of ultrasound-guided PBAV in patients with aortic stenosis. This case series included 30 patients (14 males; mean age, 61.5 ± 4.5 years) with moderate/severe aortic stenosis treated with ultrasound-guided PBAV at the Ultrasound Department, Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China, between January 2016 and July 2019. Cardiac function (New York Heart Association grade) was assessed before PBAV and 1 month after the procedure. Aortic peak jet velocity, aortic valve orifice area (AVA), mean transvalvular pressure gradient (MTPG), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDD), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) were determined before and immediately after PBAV using Doppler echocardiography. Preprocedural cardiac function was grade I in 3 cases, grade II in 9 cases, grade III in 10 cases, and grade IV in 8 cases. Postprocedural cardiac function was grade I in 22 cases, grade II in 4 cases, and grade III in 4 cases, suggesting that cardiac function was improved by PBAV. Ultrasound-guided PBAV resulted in significant improvements (P < 0.05) in aortic peak jet velocity (3.68 ± 0.811 m/s vs. 4.79 ± 0.63 m/s), MTPG (33.77 ± 13.85 mmHg vs. 54.54 ± 13.81 mmHg), AVA (1.96 ± 0.25 cm2 vs. 0.98 ± 0.12 cm2), LVEDD (51.90 ± 3.21 mm vs. 65.60 ± 6.81 mm), LVEF (63.46 ± 11.29% vs. 56.31 ± 11.04%), and LVESD (35.50 2.62 mm vs. 45.20 ± 2.42 mm). Ultrasound-guided PBAV is feasible and achieves good short-term effects in patients with aortic stenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are severe challenges for slurry pressure balance tunnel boring machine (TBM) tunnelling in sandy cobble soil of Beijing, Chengdu, and Lanzhou in China. And the problems caused by tunnelling from silty clay to sandy cobble stratum are more serious. With the change of stratum, the key parameters and surface settlement will change correspondingly. Controlling the key parameters and predicting the surface settlement accurately and efficiently is important for hazard mitigation and risk management. In this study, based on the Tsinghuayuan Tunnel project in Beijing, the key parameters and surface settlement while tunnelling from silty clay to sandy cobble stratum are studied. Firstly, the difference of key parameters while tunnelling in two different strata is analyzed. The analysis shows that immediate responses to changes in the stratum are recommended in order to ensure construction efficiency. Then, a refined 3D finite difference model is developed to simulate the slurry TBM tunnelling in different strata. For refined simulation, three key parameters obtained from measurement data were applied to the 3D models, and the simulation results were compared with the field data. Results show that the refined model has good performance in terms of the accuracy and efficiency. This study provides a good engineering practice reference for slurry TBM tunnelling in mixed strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upgrade of the laser pump time‐resolved X‐ray probes, namely time‐resolved X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (TR‐XAS) and X‐ray diffraction (TR‐XRD), implemented at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, is described. The improvements include a superbunch fill, a high‐efficiency fluorescence collection, an efficient spatial overlap protocol and a new data‐acquisition scheme. After upgrade, the adequate TR‐XAS signal is now obtained in a 0.3 mM solution, compared with a 6 mM solution in our previous report. Furthermore, to extend application in photophysics, the TR‐XAS probe is applied on SrCoO2.5 thin film. And for the first time, TR‐XAS is combined with TR‐XRD to simultaneously detect the kinetic trace of structural changes in thin film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An urban waterlogging model was constructed. • The waterlogging risk transmission path was identified and quantified. • An economic loss assessment framework of urban waterlogging was proposed. In this study, an economic loss assessment framework was proposed to evaluate the economic losses of urban waterlogging based on the integrated catchment management (ICM) model and information-based network environ analysis (NEA). First, the urban waterlogging model was constructed based on the ICM model to simulate the submerged depth, inundated area and duration of waterlogging. Second, the initial waterlogging risk of different economic sectors was combined with the submerged depth-disaster loss rate curve. Last, the information-based NEA was employed to quantify the distributed control relationships among different economic sectors. The results of a case study of Beijing showed that direct economic loss can reach 16.3 billion yuan in a recurrence period of once in 50 years. Forty percent of the waterlogging risk was transferred to the downstream regions or sectors via the national supply chain. The proposed economic loss assessment framework may help promote waterlogging prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Urban waterlogging risk in rainstorms was simulated with an ICM model. • Urban area was categorized regarding the accessibility of UGS for social needs. • Planning strategies were provided for the key imbalanced streets. Urban green space (UGS) contributes significantly to urban settlements with respect to frequent rainstorm events and population agglomeration issues, but there is limited understanding of the spatial match between green space supply and social demand. This study established an integrated evaluation framework relating to the supply–demand balance of UGS. In a case study of Beijing, the urban waterlogging risk was simulated with an ICM model, and specific demand criteria of waterlogging hazards and population needs were considered. The street-scale supply–demand balance of demands for existing and future UGS was then quantified with the two-step floating catchment area method. Comparison of the street-level balance in large rainstorms and populated areas identified the key locations where the green space supply should be strengthened in Beijing. This study may provide an integrated evaluation of green space accessibility and a solid foundation for refined urban land-use planning strategies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing's local water resources have been overexploited and the ecological and environmental pressures exceed the carrying capacity of this densely populated megacity. This article examines the current status of Beijing's water resources with respect to its industrial, residential, and eco-environmental water usage and the challenges it may face in the near future. The article describes the context of water uses, the steps taken by Beijing to alleviate the water shortage problems, and challenges to Beijing's abilities to meet its urgent and future water needs. A multipronged strategy is proposed that aims at both the present problems and the anticipated future challenges. In particular, engineering and institutional approaches for Beijing's successful transition from overexploitation to sustainable utilization of water resources are explained. Actions include reasonable water utilization, water conservation, reclaimed wastewater, and importing water from neighboring areas. We conclude that Beijing must take additional steps in water resource management to ensure its sustainable development that involves continued urbanization sprawls and population growth. Future water resource management strategies should focus on strengthening water demand management through water conservation, efficient interbasin water transfers, use of nontraditional water resources, strategically reserving water supply, and promoting rehabilitation of the eco-environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality deterioration of reservoir served as municipal water source has been a potential threat to public health. Crowned as one of the largest reservoirs and water resource, Miyun reservoir has been paid attention to water quality protection. For the purpose of effective reservoir protection and management, comprehensive understanding of water quality spatiotemporal pattern is demanded. In this study, three dimensional (3-D) dynamic Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) model was used to simulate hydrodynamic and algal processes for Miyun reservoir. Main challenge was to demonstrate the water quality pattern and implying impacts on variations. Model structure and functionality were briefly described. Field data and estimated loads were used as nutrient forces. Calibration and summary statistics were presented. Results showed that spatiotemporal pattern of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, total phosphorous, nitrate and ammonia were consistent with in situ measurements. Several important impacts on the water quality variations in Miyun reservoir were discussed. It indicated that the existence of the patterns were highly related to the geomorphogical and hydrological characteristics as well as nutrient inputs. Temporal tendency was also linked to the seasonal climate. It proved that EFDC model was feasible for hydro-environmental simulation in Miyun reservoir, providing managers an efficient tool for strong supports on water quality management and water source protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrothermal synthesis was extensively used for the material preparation. In this paper, a capillary sample cell was designed for in-situ small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) studies during hydrothermal synthesis. Kalrez sealing ring was used to seal the liquid sample into a capillary. CO 2 or inert gases were used as the pressure transmitting medium. A three-way valve was used to switch the liquid sample or the pressure transmitting medium. Sheathed heat-blocks were used to heat the capillary. The hydrothermal pressure can be up to 4.0 ± 0.1 MPa, and the hydrothermal temperature can reach to 600 ± 1 K. In-situ SAXS, XRD, and XAFS measurements during the hydrothermal synthesis of bismuth carbonate oxide confirm the feasibility that the capillary sample cell can be used for real-time structural characterization. Its application in Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility is expected to provide users with a new experimental research means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview of the municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Beijing, a city with a resident population of about 19.61 million in 2010, is presented in the article. Economic development and population growth have resulted in a MSW generation increase from 2.96 million tons in 2000 to 6.20 million tons in 2007, fluctuating to 6.35 million tons in 2010. The components of MSW over the past decade are characterized by increasing food and paper contents, and a decreasing ash content. The percentage of food waste, the main putrescible component, increased steadily from 45.77% in 2002 to 66.98% in 2010. Combustible materials, such as plastic, paper, textile, wood and food waste, accounted for 94.66% of MSW in 2008. There are 15 landfill sites, 2 incinerators and 2 composting plants in Beijing, with a total designed capacity of 15,380 tons/day in 2010. The main waste disposal technology used in Beijing is landfill, which accounts for 92.27% of the total designed capacity in 2008 and 78.54% in 2009. The designed capacity of the existing disposal plants cannot cope with the actual quantity of waste generation, resulting in overloading and premature closure of landfill sites. Solid waste incineration has been given priority in technology development and financial support over other disposal methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Interactions of water resources in adjacent regions was examined. • Variations in water supply and demand were analyzed through autoregressive models. • Interaction relationship between multi-regional nexus water shortage was solved. • Water resources allocation strategies were obtained through the optimization model. • The models were applied in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration of China. Growing agricultural and economic activities have brought tremendous pressure to regional water resources management. Considering the interactions of water resources allocation among adjacent regions with connected water systems, it is necessary to pay attention to the unification of socio-economic development and environmental protection between the regions. This is of significance to many agglomeration areas that are composed of multiple large cities such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH) in China. In this research, an ensemble approach was proposed to tackle water resources allocation problems under the constraints of water resources to reflect interdependence of the composed three areas, i.e., Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. The approach included ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) method, ANN (Artificial Neural Network) modelling, copula functions, and multi-objective chance-constrained programming model. It can 1) reflect the variations characteristic of regional water supply and demands, 2) solve the interactions between multi-regional water resources, and 3) obtain desired water resources allocation strategies under multi- scenario and scale conditions. Then, the approach was applied in typical regions of China, i.e., Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. Considering 27 scenarios of the nexus water shortage risk, multi-objective joint opportunity constraint programming model aimed at maximizing economic benefits and ecological benefits, in combination with economic, agricultural, water resources and environmental constraints. As the optimal strategies indicated, the maximum GDP in BTH would remain at 8514 billion yuan. The minimum amount of water allocation and wastewater discharge would be 24–26 billion m3 and 2100–2101 million m3 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the regulation demand of the cascade gates group water diversion project during the flow adjustment period. A multi-objective optimization regulation model was coupled with the one-dimensional hydrodynamic model and the multi-objective genetic algorithm. Gate opening was used as the decision variable to generate the local operation-oriented cascade gates group regulation scheme. This study considered the Shijiazhuang to Beijing section of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The optimal operation model has a better control effect than the conventional control method, and the number of gate operations was reduced by 23.38%. The average water level deviation was less than 0.15 m when the feedforward control time of the cascade gates group water diversion project was not more than 24 h. The basic mechanism of maintaining water level stability during the short-term scheduling of the cascade gates group water diversion project makes use of the volume capacity, or the space of the channel pool adjacent to the water demand change position, in advance. The multi-objective optimal regulation model of the cascade gates group that was constructed in this study can quickly generate regulation schemes for different application scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric radon is an ideal tracer that is widely used in atmospheric science. To meet the need fora continuous online measurement of atmospheric radon concentration, an upgraded radon monitor based on an electrostatic collection method was developed following Iida's measurement system. Two major improvements have been realized. First, an 18 mm × 18 mm Si-PIN detector and a multi-channel analysis system were used to distinguish different alpha particles. Second, the P2O5 desiccant was replaced by a new membrane drying system, and the influence of humidity was corrected by a humidity correction coefficient. Calibration and comparison experiments were carried out in detail, and a one-year continuous measurement was also performed. Results showed that the measurement sensitivity was evaluated to be 24.3 cph/(Bq·m−3), and the lower level detection limit was 0.2 Bq·m−3 for a 1-h cycle at the absolute humidity of 0.34 g·m−3. The annual average radon concentration of Beijing was 11.1 ± 4.0 Bq·m−3, which changed from 2.8 Bq·m−3 to 30.3 Bq·m−3 between 15 October 2018 and 1 October 2019. The upgraded monitor's high data acquisition rate and good performance indicate that it is suitable for long-term observation on atmospheric radon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unfractionated heparin is widely used in the intensive care unit as an anticoagulant. However, weight-based heparin dosing has been shown to be suboptimal and may place patients at unnecessary risk during their intensive care unit stay.Objective: In this study, we intended to develop and validate a machine learning-based model to predict heparin treatment outcomes and to provide dosage recommendations to clinicians.Methods: A shallow neural network model was adopted in a retrospective cohort of patients from the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database and patients admitted to the Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). We modeled the subtherapeutic, normal, and supratherapeutic activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) as the outcomes of heparin treatment and used a group of clinical features for modeling. Our model classifies patients into 3 different therapeutic states. We tested the prediction ability of our model and evaluated its performance by using accuracy, the kappa coefficient, precision, recall, and the F1 score. Furthermore, a dosage recommendation module was designed and evaluated for clinical decision support.Results: A total of 3607 patients selected from MIMIC III and 1549 patients admitted to the PUMCH who met our criteria were included in this study. The shallow neural network model showed results of F1 scores 0.887 (MIMIC III) and 0.925 (PUMCH). When compared with the actual dosage prescribed, our model recommended increasing the dosage for 72.2% (MIMIC III, 1240/1718) and 64.7% (PUMCH, 281/434) of the subtherapeutic patients and decreasing the dosage for 80.9% (MIMIC III, 504/623) and 76.7% (PUMCH, 277/361) of the supratherapeutic patients, suggesting that the recommendations can contribute to clinical improvements and that they may effectively reduce the time to optimal dosage in the clinical setting.Conclusions: The evaluation of our model for predicting heparin treatment outcomes demonstrated that the developed model is potentially applicable for reducing the misdosage of heparin and for providing appropriate decision recommendations to clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood disasters have appeared more frequently in recent years because of climate change and urbanization, and Integrated Flood Risk Management (IFRM) has emerged as an effective method to reduce damage from these floods. This research studies IFRM methods in three aspects: flood risk identification of high-risk areas, flood risk assessment to quantify economic losses, and flood risk management to identify structural measures with the greatest engineering benefits. These methods were applied to Beijing as a case study, and the results showed that the Zuoan-Road area was a high-risk area with economic losses ranging from 0.7 million to 35.9 million euros over different return periods. There are five structural measures in Zuoan-Road area, with engineering benefits ranging from 0.97 to 1.60 over different return periods, and the one with the greatest engineering benefits had a fifty-year return period. The results of this research can be used to support urban flood risk management in Beijing. •Engineering Management mostly reduces flood risk through structural measures, but doesn't consider the engineering benefit. •Integrated flood risk management can achieve a better engineering benefit than engineering management. •Flood economic losses and engineering benefits of structure measures can be calculated by integrated flood risk management. •A case study in Beijing was analyzed and the structure measure with greatest engineering benefits was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation can effectively reduce the use of freshwater resources including groundwater, addressing the increasingly severe challenge of water shortage. However, reclaimed water irrigation will cause potential pollution risks to groundwater, which needs to be further studied to ensure the safety of reclaimed water irrigation. An integrated quantitative assessment system including the modified DRASTIC model was developed to evaluate the pollution risks caused by reclaimed water irrigation and scientific strategies were offered for the development of reclaimed water irrigation in water shortage areas to avoid groundwater pollution. The groundwater intrinsic vulnerability index, the hazards of the characteristic pollutants, and the groundwater values were quantified to obtain the pollution risks distribution map. In the Beijing plain of north China, the low groundwater pollution risk areas were located in the midstream of Chaobai river baisin, Beiyun river basin, and Yongding river basin, accounting for 48.3% of the total study area. These areas in low pollution risk can be considered as safety areas for reclaimed water irrigation. The moderate groundwater pollution risk areas accounting for 46.9% of the total study area were suggested to apply water-saving irrigation measures for preventing groundwater pollution. The reclaimed water irrigation should be prohibited in the high groundwater pollution risk areas, which accounted for 4.8% of the total study area. This study highlights the reasonable strategy for the development of reclaimed water irrigation in water shortage areas and lay a foundation for finding alternative water sources for agricultural irrigation. Image 1 • The groundwater pollution risk was evaluated under reclaimed water irrigation. • Standard values were introduced in normalizing hazards of different pollutants. • Groundwater value was evaluated by aquifer richness, protection areas and quality. • A combined assessment was developed for obtaining the groundwater pollution risks. • A reasonable strategy for development of reclaimed water irrigation was proposed. The potential pollution risk of groundwater caused by reclaimed water irrigation (RWI) in Beijing plain was determined, and the corresponding development strategy of RWI was envisioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streamflow is likely affected by climate change and human activities. In this study, hydro-meteorological data from six rivers upstream of Beijing, namely, the Yongdinghe, Baihe, Heihe, Chaohe, Juhe, and Jumahe Rivers, were analyzed to quantify the spatial and temporal variability of streamflow and their responses to climate change and human activities over the period of 1956–2016. The Mann–Kendall test and moving t-test were used to detect trends and changing points of the annual streamflow. Results showed that the streamflow into Beijing experienced a statistically significant downward trend (p < 0.05), abruptly changing after the early 1980s, owing to climate and human effects. The climate elasticities of the streamflow showed that a 10% decrease in precipitation would result in a 24.5% decrease in total streamflow, whereas a 10% decrease in potential evapotranspiration would induce a 37.7% increase in total streamflow. Human activities accounted for 87% of the reduction in total streamflow, whereas 13% was attributed to climate change. Lastly, recommendations are provided for adaptive management of water resources at different spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) in China is a key metropolitan area with high development imbalance and serious environment pollution spillovers. While foreign direct investment (FDI) only accounts for 5% of local GDP in this region, Beijing direct investment (BDI) to its two neighbors starts to play an important role in promoting integrated development and tackling regional environmental problems ever since 2014. In this paper, we construct a unique dataset on 157 county-level administrative units in the BTH area as a host of BDI, and test if BDI has resulted in a pollution haven effect or a pollution halo effect in the industrial sector. Results show that BDI has been conducive to reducing industrial pollution emissions in the host administrative units, a pollution halo effect and win-win situation for both Beijing and its neighbors. However, FDI is estimated to have a pollution haven effect for certain industrial pollutants or insignificant. Our results stand with several robustness checks, heterogeneity analysis and a further test on reverse causality, and point to a new avenue for regional environment improvement via environmental friendly and sustainable industrial relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cascade pumping stations (CPSs) in open-channel water transfer systems usually consume vast amounts of energy and are expensive to operate. For these CPS systems, scheduling optimization is a critical approach to save energy. In this paper, an optimized scheduling method based on station skipping is proposed, in which the use of one or more pumping stations can be reduced and the allocation of the gross head to other stations is optimized. In this method, a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model and a complex optimization model were established. The Miyun Reservoir Regulation and Storage Project in Beijing was selected for a case study. The results indicate that (1) some stations with low heads could be skipped at low or medium discharges compared with the design discharge; and (2) the optimization scheme with skipping pumping stations has a more substantial energy-saving effect than that without skipping any stations under certain conditions. This proposed method makes it possible to save energy and reduce cost at low or medium required discharges in such CPS systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sewer pipes health and failure consequences evaluation are vital to ensure the safety of urban sewer networks. Sewer pipes with low health and severe failure consequences should be the primary focus of daily maintenance and management for drainage authorities. Conversely, sewer pipes with high health and low failure consequences are temporarily not a primary concern, in order to reduce resource wastage within the constraints of limited economic and time resources. Thus, the scientific analysis of their relationships is deemed essential. This paper applies supply-demand balance theory to analyze the relationship. On the supply side, a health Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation model (HFCE) is proposed with weighted hierarchies established. On the demand side, a failure consequences FCE model (FFCE) is established. Each sewer pipe's supply-demand balance score is analyzed using matrix multiplication, highlighting two types of imbalanced pipes and sub-districts. Taking the Liangshui River Basin in Beijing as an example, the results show that the health evaluation can identify the spatial distribution of the health of sewer pipes, with low health levels V and IV accounting for 10.23 % and 4.43 %, respectively. The failure consequences evaluation can evaluate the spatial distribution of the severity of sewer pipe failure consequences, with high failure consequences levels V and IV respectively accounting for 10.97 % and 16.77 %. The supply-demand balance analysis identifies the proportion of the first and second types of imbalanced pipes, respectively 14.24 % and 6.80 %. This method, by analyzing the relationship of health and failure consequences, provides a decision-making basis for drainage authorities to prioritize sewer pipe operation management, repair, and maintenance. • Supply-demand balance to identify the relationship of health and failure consequences. • DEMATEL optimized AHP calculated weights by considering inter-indicator relationships. • Improved health evaluation via hydraulic metrics in drainage models, enhancing accuracy. • Identifying low(high) health/high(low) failure consequences areas for drainage authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A mathematical method is proposed to derive the sewage flow diurnal patterns. • Simulate the sewage pipe operation risk by infoworks ICM model. • Non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 affects municipal sewage flow. • Epidemic lockdown will increase sewage flow and pipe load in residential areas. • Homeworking will delay morning peak time and increase noon peak volume. Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) have been widely employed globally over the past three years to control the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These measures have imposed restrictions on urban residents' activities and significantly influenced sewage discharge characteristics within sewage network, particularly in densely populated cities in China. This study focused on the nodal flow diurnal patterns and sewage network operational risks before and after epidemic lockdown in Beijing from March to May in 2022. Nodal flow diurnal patterns on weekdays and weekends before and after NPIs were analyzed using measured data through statistical and mathematical methods. A sewage network model was established to simulate and analyze the operational risks based on InfoWorks ICM before and after epidemic lockdown. The main conclusions were as follows: (1) In predominantly residential areas, the total wastewater volume increased by approximately 28.76 % to 33.52 % after the implementation of strict NPIs. The morning and midday "M" peaks on normalized weekdays transformed into "N" peaks, and the morning peak time was delayed by 0.5 to 1 hour after the lockdown; (2) Following NPIs, More than 90 % of manholes' average water levels rose to varying degrees, approximately 50 % of pipe lengths exhibited a full flow state; (3) When the lockdown was in place during a hot summer day, sewage overflow phenomena were observed in 4.6 % and 9.6 % of manholes, respectively, with per capita daily drainage equivalent reaching 40–50 %. These findings hold significant implications for the proactive planning and operational management of water industry infrastructure during major emergencies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The residential building sector consumes a large amount of energy and is recognized as a high potential area where urban energy consumption and carbon emission can be reduced. To reduce the residential energy consumption, relevant policies and measures have been formulated in different places. However, due to the lack of adequate information in the process of policy formulation, the effectiveness of most energy-saving policies for residential buildings seems to be unsatisfactory. Although previous studies have analyzed the energy consumption for a single building or for the whole construction industry at the national level, few of them investigated the life-cycle energy consumption of residential buildings at the city level. Since municipal governments are the key implementers for the reduction of urban energy consumption, a city-level analysis on the energy consumption of residential buildings is highly needed for the policy making. To fill the research gap, this paper develops a life-cycle dynamic simulation model to fully reveal the characteristics of energy consumption of residential buildings at the city level. This easy-to-use model is validated by a case study of Beijing, which demonstrates its applicability and capability to help analyze multiple indicators of residential energy consumption and the dynamic trends of these indicators for municipal governments. Furthermore, the model can be used under the condition of limited input data, and can provide the situation analysis and simulation results of energy consumption of urban residential buildings for facilitating the policy making by municipal governments. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • The proposed model can analyze city-level energy consumption of residential buildings. • The model can be used with relatively limited amounts of input data. • Operation stage accounts for 67% of total residential energy consumption in Beijing. • Heating is the most energy-intensive activity of operation stage in Beijing. • Policy implications for residential energy saving are provided based on the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in soil radon concentrations are a potential precursor of earthquake and volcanic events. However, the unclear migration and variation mechanisms of radon concentrations in soil still limit its effective application. To elucidate the temporal variation and its possible influence factors on radon concentrations at different soil depths, a case study was performed at a suburban site in Beijing. A long-term continuous measurement system consisting of ten radon-in-soil monitors at depths from 0.1 to 5.0 m and other meteorological sensors was employed. The monitoring was carried out from January 8th to July 29th, 2022, covering 3445 h in total. Radon concentrations generally increased with soil depth. Diurnal variation of soil radon concentrations at depths of 1.2 and 1.6 m in winter and spring was observed, and a negative correlation between the soil radon concentration and the residual air pressure was found. This finding indicates a possible air exchange channel between the soil and the atmosphere at the study site. In addition, the soil radon concentration at 4.0 m depth was unexpectedly lower than that of neighboring depths and was steady throughout the measurement period. This is attributed to a possible clay layer in the soil structure at 4.0 m depth. The results of this field study indicate that the complexity of temporal variation of soil radon concentrations should be considered for its application in predicting earthquake and volcanic events. • Continuous monitoring of radon concentrations in ten soil depths to 5.0 m. • Bi-periodic diurnal variation of radon concentrations at 0.8–3.0 m depth. • Negative correlation between radon concentration and air pressure. • Air exchange channel between soil and atmosphere might exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterologous boosting is suggested to be of use in populations who have received inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a heterologous vaccination with the mRNA vaccine CS-2034 versus the inactivated BBIBP-CorV as a fourth dose, as well as the efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2 omicron (BA.5) variant. This trial contains a randomised, double-blind, parallel-controlled study in healthy participants aged 18 years or older (group A) and an open-label cohort in participants 60 years and older (group B), who had received three doses of inactivated whole-virion vaccines at least 6 months before enrolment. Pregnant women and people with major chronic illnesses or a history of allergies were excluded. Eligible participants in group A were stratified by age (18–59 years and ≥60 years) and then randomised by SAS 9.4 in a ratio of 3:1 to receive a dose of the mRNA vaccine (CS-2034, CanSino, Shanghai, China) or inactivated vaccine (BBIBP-CorV, Sinopharm, Beijing, China). Safety and immunogenicity against omicron variants of the fourth dose were evaluated in group A. Participants 60 years and older were involved in group B for safety observations. The primary outcome was geometric mean titres (GMTs) of the neutralising antibodies against omicron and seroconversion rates against BA.5 variant 28 days after the boosting, and incidence of adverse reactions within 28 days. The intention-to-treat group was involved in the safety analysis, while all patients in group A who had blood samples taken before and after the booster were involved in the immunogenicity analysis. This trial was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Centre (ChiCTR2200064575). Between Oct 13, and Nov 22, 2022, 320 participants were enrolled in group A (240 in the CS-2034 group and 80 in the BBIBP-CorV group) and 113 in group B. Adverse reactions after vaccination were more frequent in CS-2034 recipients (158 [44·8%]) than BBIBP-CorV recipients (17 [21·3%], p<0·0001). However, most adverse reactions were mild or moderate, with grade 3 adverse reactions only reported by eight (2%) of 353 participants receiving CS-2034. Heterologous boosting with CS-2034 elicited 14·4-fold (GMT 229·3, 95% CI 202·7–259·4 vs 15·9, 13·1–19·4) higher concentration of neutralising antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant BA.5 than did homologous boosting with BBIBP-CorV. The seroconversion rates of SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralising antibody responses were much higher in the mRNA heterologous booster regimen compared with BBIBP-CorV homologous booster regimen (original strain 47 [100%] of 47 vs three [18·8%] of 16; BA.1 45 [95·8%] of 48 vs two [12·5%] 16; and BA.5 233 [98·3%] of 240 vs 15 [18·8%] of 80 by day 28). Both the administration of mRNA vaccine CS-2034 and inactivated vaccine BBIBP-CorV as a fourth dose were well tolerated. Heterologous boosting with mRNA vaccine CS-2034 induced higher immune responses and protection against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 omicron infections compared with homologous boosting, which could support the emergency use authorisation of CS-2034 in adults. Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Jiangsu Provincial Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and Jiangsu Provincial Key Project of Science and Technology Plan. For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the utilization of wastewater recycling as an alternative water source has gained significant traction in addressing urban water shortages. Accurate prediction of wastewater quantity is paramount for effective urban river water resource management. There is an urgent need to develop advanced forecasting technologies to further enhance the accuracy and efficiency of water quantity predictions. Decomposition ensemble models have shown excellent predictive capabilities but are challenged by boundary effects when decomposing the original data sequence. To address this, a rolling forecast decomposition ensemble scheme was developed. It involves using a machine learning (ML) model for prediction and progressively integrating prediction outcomes into the original sequence using complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN). Long short-term memory (LSTM) is then applied for sub-signal prediction and ensemble. The ML-CEEMDAN-LSTM model was introduced for wastewater quantity prediction, compared with non-decomposed ML models, CEEMDAN-based LSTM models, and ML-CEEMDAN-based LSTM models. Three ML algorithms—linear regression (LR), gradient boosting regression (GBR), and LSTM—were examined, using real-time prediction data and historical monitoring data, with historical data selected using the decision tree method. The study used daily water volumes data from two reclaimed water plants, CH and WQ, in Beijing. The results indicate that (1) ML models varied in their selection of real-time factors, with LR performing best among ML models during testing; (2) the ML-CEEMDAN-LSTM model consistently outperformed ML models; (3) the ML-CEEMDAN-LSTM hybrid model performed better than the CEEMDAN-LSTM model across different seasons. This study offers a reliable and accurate approach for reclaimed water volumes forecasting, critical for effective water environment management. • An adaptive forecast-decomposition-ensemble scheme is proposed. • Gradually incorporating the single-model prediction results into the original sequence to contribute to the decomposition process. • Adding real-time information is helpful to improve the accuracy of single-model prediction. • The predictive performance of the proposed model exceeds that of both single-models and decomposition ensemble models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relocating Beijing's manufacturing industry, a key measure in the strategy for decentralizing Beijing's non-capital functions, may inadvertently increase environmental pressures in the receiving cities. This study develops a quantitative method to comprehensively identify the environmental effects caused by regional industrial relocations. First, a set of relocated industries is selected by considering the relevant policy motivations and sector-specific economic and environmental performance. Second, a discrete choice model is developed to simulate the relocating process, taking economic geographic factors as well as local environmental quality and regulation into account. Third, the Monte Carlo method is used to quantify the potential effects by considering the sectoral efficiencies of resource use and pollutant emissions. Three scenarios are developed for different priorities of economic growth and environmental regulation. The results show that the decentralization strategy is likely to reduce Beijing's industrial output value by between 68 and 176 billion RMB yuan, or 3.9%–10.1% of its annual total. Meanwhile, the decrease in Beijing's industrial water and energy consumption could range from 2.7% to 7.8% and from 6.4% to 8.1%, respectively, while the decrease in industrial emissions from various pollutants could range from 6.7% to 36%. The industrial output from the receiving cities in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region could increase in the range of 0.3%–17% in the scenarios, larger than their change rate of water and energy consumption (0.1%–3.5%) and pollutant emissions (0.1%–7.3%). Environmental pressures may intensify in Tianjin, Langfang, and Shijiazhuang as they are estimated to be the targets for 65% of all relocated industries. Overall, the results imply that the decentralization strategy is a promising approach for promoting regional sustainable development. The study recommends implementing stricter environmental regulations in the receiving cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the relationship between the variables of mechanical ventilation and circulatory perfusion and its association with ICU mortality during the first day of mechanical ventilation.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: The Department of Critical Care Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital.Patients: Patients who have undergone mechanical ventilation.Interventions: None.Measurements and Main Results: This study used the main clinical data obtained from the real-time bedside messaging systems of mechanically ventilated patients during their first day in the ICU from May 2013 to May 2016, including data on the variables of mechanical ventilation and circulatory perfusion. An analysis was then performed on the association of the above data with the patient's in-ICU mortality. There were 5,103 patients who received mechanical ventilation during this period, and of these, 309 patients died during their ICU treatment. Peak airway pressure, mean airway pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, FIO2, blood oxygen saturation, PO2, peripheral perfusion index, and lactate level were correlated with patient outcomes. A Cox logistic regression analysis suggested that mean airway pressure and perfusion index were the most independent risk and protective factors, respectively, for patient ICU mortality. The areas under the curve for a poor prognosis for mean airway pressure and perfusion index were 0.799 (95% CI, 0.77-0.829) and 0.759 (95% CI, 0.729-0.789), respectively. Further, mean airway pressure and perfusion index exhibited a causal interaction. The relative excess risk due to interaction was 2.061 (-0.691 to 4.814), the attributable proportion due to interaction was 0.210 (-0.027 to 0.447), and the synergy index was 1.306 (0.930-1.833).Conclusions: A higher mean airway pressure and lower perfusion index provided a worse prognosis in mechanically ventilated patients, and it appears that these two variables have a casual interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The waterlogging disaster has become a major threat to the resilient development of cities, which needs a unified and systematic accounting framework to estimate potential waterlogging effects in terms of forming disaster prevention strategies. In this paper, we developed an emergy-based waterlogging footprint accounting framework applying depth-damage functions, input–output (IO) analysis and ecological footprint, considering both economic and environmental factors. Taking the old town Beijing as a case study, we simulated the urban waterlogging distribution with a hydrodynamic model (InfoWorks ICM) over different return periods (1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, and 50 years) at high resolution. This study first considered the economic impact caused by urban waterlogging to evaluate the direct economic loss and indirect economic loss by using the depth-damage function and IO model, respectively. The environmental loss was assessed with an ecological footprint and was unified by emergy with economic loss. Then, four emergy-based indicators were established to quantify the specific impacts of waterlogging on urban resilience. The results show that the waterlogging footprints grew constantly by 284.57% from 1 year to 50 years. The waterlogging footprints driven by environmental loss, which were overlooked, accounted for 13.02% of the total. The waterlogging footprint density and waterlogging resilience index showed high spatial heterogeneity, indicating that the sensitivity of subdistricts to waterlogging varies greatly. Our study provides a useful energy-based tool for assessing urban waterlogging losses and supports decision-making for waterlogging disaster mitigation and risk zoning management. • An emergy assessment of hydrological-based urban waterlogging loss was first conducted. • Losses of natural capital due to urban waterlogging disasters were quantified. • Economic and environmental losses were incorporated. • Urban waterlogging resilience was explained in context of metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel urban flood simulation model SWTM is developed. • D8 algorithm and backflow effect are coupled to SWTM model. • A new sub-catchment area division method is proposed by D8 algorithm. • A rapid modeling scheme proposed greatly improves the efficiency of model establishment. • Higher accuracy of SWTM model is proved comparing with the traditional model. Urban flood is a serious challenge that increasingly affects the residents. Simulation of urban flood is becoming increasingly relevant in the world. However, how to improve the simulation accuracy is still a challenge in the field. This paper is developed to propose a novel model of SWTM (SWMM model and TELEMAC-2D model) coupling D8 flow direction and backflow effect, improving the simulation accuracy of inundation area, inundation depth and inundation duration. The model is organized into three parts: one-dimensional pipe network model establishment, two-dimensional surface inundation model, and coupling model SWTM construction. The D8 algorithm is introduced to subcatchment division. The linear interpolation in DEM is applied to improve the accuracy of D8 algorithm. It enables more accurate simulation of rainfall runoff processes using the path weighted average method for the calculation of feature width and feature slope in watershed. The overflow and backflow effect of inspection wells are both considered to simulate the flood inundation in the two-dimensional surface inundation model, which can obtain the maximum inundation depth and inundation area more accurately. In the coupled model, the overflow and backflow process of inspection wells are used as the input condition of the two-dimensional model to simulate the flooding process. The new model is applied to rainstorm waterlogging in Fangzhuang area, Beijing. It shows that SWTM model can simulate the changes of inundation range, inundation depth and inundation duration more accurately comparing with the traditional model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Spatial distribution patterns of urban floods in megacities were analyzed. • Patch Density, Green Space Ratio and Road Density were the main factors. • Potential exposure risks for population, housing, and traffic were evaluated. • An index was proposed to evaluate the exposure risks of urban flooding in cities. Serious urban floods are projected to occur more frequently in cities in the future due to continued global climate changes and accelerated urbanization. However, research dedicated to investigating the distribution patterns and exposure risks of urban floods among multiple cities is missing. The urban flood records of 8 Chinese megacities were used to explore the spatial distribution patterns and influencing factors of urban flooding and the potential exposure risks to population, housing value and traffic conditions. The results indicated that among the 8 megacities, Shanghai had the most flood events (264 points), and Wuhan had the highest heavy flood ratio (74.3%). The flood points in all cities were significantly clustered, but the mean distance between flood points in each city was quite different (443–1470 m). The main factors affecting urban flooding in these Chinese megacities were Patch Density of underlying surface, Green Space Ratio and Road Density based on the standardized coefficients of logistic regression. The most vulnerable cities in terms of the total flood exposure risk to the population, housing value, and traffic conditions were Tianjin, Shanghai and Shanghai, respectively. However, the flood points in Tianjin, Beijing and Beijing were the most vulnerable in terms of population, housing value and traffic condition, respectively. According to the exposure risk index results, the exposure risk of each flood point in Beijing was the highest (ERI point = 0.57), while the exposure risk of the whole city in Shanghai was the highest (ERI city = 0.71). The comprehensive urban exposure risk index we proposed based on the potential exposure risks to population, housing value and traffic conditions makes it possible to evaluate socioeconomic vulnerability among different cities and may provide guidance for stormwater management in megacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An application-oriented SOFC based microgrid model for size optimization is constructed. • The dynamic operation constraints and efficiency of SOFC and battery are considered. • The impact of inputs on microgrid dispatching strategy and economic are deeply analyzed. • The feasibility is demonstrated by assessing the economics of microgrid in different cities in China. The microgrid (MG) system based on renewable energy generators plays a significant role in sustainable development and environmental protection, which has been developed rapidly. As a promising clean energy conversion technology, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a clean, efficient and controllable power generator, which is very suitable to be integrated in a distributed MG system. Finding the optimal size configuration and the beneficial operation strategy of the Grid-connected MG under different operation modes are critical issues for MG application. In this work, a single-dwelling MG incorporating solar photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine generator (WTG), SOFC and battery energy storage system (BESS) is studied by minimizing the system levelized cost of energy (LCOE) on the basis of system multi-constraints. The dispatching problem of MG is modeled as a quadratic programming problem and an improved GA-PSO algorithm is employed to explore the optimal configuration. Then, sensitivity analysis is carried out to identify the impact of different distributed energy resource size on the performance of MG. Based on the optimal configuration, the operation strategy of the proposed MG under both off-grid mode and grid-connected mode, as well as the influence of electricity price and fuel price on the operation of the MG are investigated. Finally, the economic and environmental benefits of the MG are studied and compared. The results show that, in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan and Hulunbuir, the costs of the MG in both off-grid mode and grid-connected mode are lower than the grid-supplied price by up to 13%-28% and 28%-37% separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]