Sub-micrometer particulate air pollution and cardiovascular mortality in Beijing, China

Background

While the link between particulate matter and cardiovascular mortality is well established, it is not fully investigated and understood which properties of the aerosol might be responsible for the health effects, especially in polluted mega-city areas.

Objectives

Our goal was to explore the association between daily cardiovascular mortality and different particle metrics in the sub-micrometer range in Beijing, China.

Methods

We obtained daily counts of cause-specific cardiovascular deaths in the Beijing urban area for the period March 2004 to August 2005. Concurrently, continuous measurements of particle number size distributions were performed. Particle number concentrations (NC) between 0.003 μm and 0.8 μm were converted to particle mass and surface area concentrations assuming spherical particles. Semi-parametric Poisson regression models adjusting for trend, seasonality, day of the week, and meteorology were used to estimate immediate, delayed and cumulative particle effects. Additionally, effect modification by air mass origin was investigated.

Results

We observed associations between daily cardiovascular mortality and particle NC for a 2-days delay. Moreover, nearly all particle metrics showed 2-days delayed associations with ischemic heart disease mortality. The strongest association was found for particle NC in the size range 0.03-0.1 μm (7.1% increase in daily mortality with a 95%-confidence interval of 2.9%-11.5%, per an increase of 6250 particles/cm³). Results for surface and mass concentrations with a lag of two days indicated effect modification by air mass origin, whereas effects of particle NC were not modified.

Conclusions

Results show an elevated risk of cardiovascular mortality in Beijing from short-term exposure to particulate air pollution in the sub-micrometer range. Results also indicate that locally produced smaller particles and regionally transported particles may exhibit different effects in Beijing.     

Conservation and adaptive reuse of industrial heritage in Shanghai

This paper takes a retrospective review of the evolution of the conservation of industrial heritage in urban Shanghai since the 1990s within the context of the international industrial heritage conservation movement, with the emphasis on the construction of preservation systems, technical regulation compilation and conservation practice. Active conservation and adaptive reuse is the focus within the framework of the conservation of the architectural characteristics of industrial buildings and the townscape of industrial districts. __________ Translated from Architectural Journal, 2006, (8): 16–20 [译自: 建筑学报]     

水下文化遗产国际法变迁下的遗产保护及其实践

在水下文化遗产的相关国际法及其具体实践的框架下,对水下文化遗产保护的发展趋势进行预测,提出保护遗产的建议,最终达到更好保护水下文化遗产、挖掘水下文化遗产价值的目的。     

凤城·展翅--2016年唐山世界园艺博览会2号主门区设计

第32届世界园艺博览会于2016年4月29日至10月16日在唐山举行,本届主题是“都市与自然·凤凰涅槃”。主门区是世园会的重要组成部分,能够直接展现世园会的园林景观与举办地的城市文化。位于南部的2号主门区确定了“凤城·展翅”的构思主题,通过对园艺文化、地域文化、民俗文化的挖掘提炼,运用绿色生态的设计手法,给人以强烈的视觉印象,展现出园林城市风采,树立起良好世园形象。     

由“地方社区生活”导向“基本建筑” ——二年级“社区活动中心设计”教学研究

建筑学专业二年级的建筑设计课既是学生学习设计的开始,又可以为其今后更好地学习建筑设计打下良好的基础,因而具有非常重要的意义。本文通过"社区活动中心设计"教学过程及模式的研讨,试图阐明两个方面的思考:一是二年级建筑设计教学的根本定位在于使学生正确地认知建筑设计的基本概念并初步建立基本的设计能力;二是对地方社区生活的观察理解与对"基本建筑"的认知在设计过程中是可以有机结合在一起的。     

高密度电阻率法在园博塔选址勘察中的应用

以隧道与围岩的电性差异为前提,应用高密度电阻率法在第九届中国（北京）国际园林博览会选址区勘探。根据全站仪准确定位和温纳方式现场数据采集,再对数据进行处理和地形校正后,应用Res2dinv高密度电阻率数据二维反演软件完成反演,结合二维地电断面解释结果,定量计算确定了鹰山1号隧道平面分布特征和顶部高程,为拟建园博塔的设计和修建提供了相关的技术依据。     

Niche comparisons: toward a new approach for analysing competition and organizational performance in the international construction market

Over the past few decades, studies on competition and organizational performance in the international construction market have been prolific. Construction companies are founded, then grow, compete, evolve, and die in the international landscape, a common process from an ecological perspective. However, few studies have considered the international construction market from this perspective. Using niche theory, which was initially populated in the field of natural bio-ecology and then introduced to business management and economics, a NW/O-L (niche width/overlap and location) framework is established in this study. With this framework, the niche evolution of the top 225 international contractors is explored along two dimensions—product and geography. The effects of a proper niche on an international construction company’s performance are also investigated using the cluster analysis method. It was discovered that, despite fluctuations over time, the contractor’s niche is highly related to its performance in the international construction market. The most appropriate niche for international construction contractors is a wide niche width, with a small niche overlap and with its location near to the market centre with comparatively more market resources. However, only a few contractors can survive in this niche, as the majority of contractors are in a narrow niche width, with a comparatively large niche overlap and far from the market centre. Contractors which do not fit either of these two niches have proved to be poor performers in this study.     

Organizational context and collaboration on international projects: The case of a professional service firm

In project teams that are distributed across the international subsidiaries of a firm, collaboration can be a challenge. The organizational context of projects is not always conducive to international collaboration. Priorities and interests of sub-teams are likely to differ from those of the central team. In a grounded theory study of international client projects in a project-based organization, the impact of organizational context on collaboration is explored. It was found that the organizational context can provide important resources such as authority, policies, procedures and systems that can be appropriated to enable collaboration. However, this applies only when there are drivers for collaboration, consisting of interdependency and interest in the project's success. Even in a context not conducive to collaboration, the drivers encourage teams to constitute informal mechanisms, enabling some level of collaboration. A framework for the impact of organizational context on collaboration in international projects is presented.     

大型空间连廊桥安装方法

连廊桥是一种大型构造复杂的空间桁架钢结构,安装技术要求高。科威特国际机场行政大楼与停车场之间的连廊桥钢结构安装,采用工厂预拼装,现场组装、内外框分别吊装,组装与安装流水作业施工方法,保证工程质量,降低施工费用。     

英国和中国历史建筑改造更新的比较分析：基于能源利用视角

在英国,更新改造成为节能减排的核心政策。尽管有很多实际应用的案例,但研究表明,更新改造和政策要全面实施仍然存在许多悬而未决的问题。与此同时,在中国等发展中国家,国际生态学者、开发者和决策者指明了更新理念和政策的发展方向。但是调查初步显示,在发展中国家,更新实践的全面实施也非常困难,这是因为与更新既有普通建筑和遗产地建筑相比,地方决策者和开发者对新建设项目更感兴趣。鉴于英国是较早实施更新改造的国家,而中国是近期开始更新实践的国家,本文选择它们作为核心案例进行研究。文章揭示了两个国家在更新历史建筑时面临的不同阻碍,探索了在各自的国情下,更新改造的潜在驱动力。