Atmosphere pollutants and mortality rate of respiratory diseases in Beijing

In this paper, we apply the method of Granger causality, which is more accurate than classical correlation analysis method, to determine whether the main air pollutants--Nitrogen oxides (NO(x)), SO(2) (Sulfur Dioxide), CO (carbon monoxide), TSP (total suspended particulates), PM(10) (particulate matter smaller than 10 microns)--and the mortality of respiratory diseases of the residents in Beijing have causal relationship. After ensuring NO(x), SO(2) and CO as the responsible substances, we use the time series method to construct the autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) of the pollutants, so that we could predict the amount of the pollutants from 2005 to 2008. Then we use the predicted value of pollutants as the input of the neural network model and obtain the output as the change of the death rate of respiratory diseases from 2005 to 2008. In the end, reducing the amount of pollutants by 10% and inputting the data in the neural network model, we make the prediction to evaluate the level of the pollutants and concluded that NO(x) is the most important pollutant to control.     

Ambient temperature and mortality: An international study in four capital cities of East Asia

Extreme ambient temperature has been associated with increased daily mortality across the world. We describe the ambient temperature-mortality association for four capital cities in East Asia, Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo, and Taipei, and identify a threshold temperature for each city and the percent increase in mortality. We adapted generalized linear modeling with natural cubic splines (GLM + NS) to examine the association between daily mean apparent temperature (AT) and total mortality, as well as mortality due to respiratory (RD) and cardiovascular (CVD) causes in a threshold model. We conducted a time-series analysis adjusting for day of the week and long-term time trend. The study period differed by city. The threshold temperature for all seasons was estimated to be 30.1-33.5 °C, 31.3-32.3 °C, 29.4-30.8 °C, and 25.2°-31.5 °C for Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo, and Taipei, respectively, on the same day. For the mean daily AT increase of 1 °C above the thresholds in Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei, estimated percentage increases in daily total mortality were 2.7 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.2-3.1), 1.7 (95% CI = 1.5-2.0), and 4.3 (95% CI = 2.9-5.7), respectively. Beijing provided no total mortality counts. Estimated percentage increases were 2.7-10.5 for RD mortality, 1.1-9.3 for CVD mortality in 4 cities. This study identified increased mortality due to exposure to elevated AT. The importance of effects of AT and city-specific threshold temperatures suggests that analyses of the impact of climate change should take regional differences into consideration.     

Ambient air pollution and daily mortality in Anshan, China: a time-stratified case-crossover analysis

Few case-crossover studies were conducted in China to investigate the acute health effects of air pollution. We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover analysis to examine the association between air pollution and daily mortality in Anshan, a heavily-polluted industrial city in northeastern China. Daily mortality, air pollution, and weather data in 2004-2006 in Anshan were collected. Time-stratified case-crossover approach was used to estimate the effect of air pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂ and CO) on total and cardiopulmonary mortality. Controls were selected as matched days of the week in the same month. Potential effect modifiers, such as gender and age, were also examined. We found significant associations between air pollution and daily mortality from cardiovascular diseases in Anshan. A 10 μg/m³ elevation of 2-day moving average (lag 01) concentration in PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂ and CO corresponded to 0.67% (95% CI: 0.29%, 1.04%), 0.38% (95% CI: −0.06%, 0.83%), 2.11% (95% CI: 0.22%, 4.00%) and 0.04% (95% CI: 0.01%, 0.07%) increase of cardiovascular mortality. The associations for total and respiratory mortality were generally positive but statistically insignificant. The air pollution health effects were significantly modified by age, but not by gender. Conclusively, our study showed that short-term exposure to air pollution was associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in Anshan. These findings may have implications for local environmental and social policies.     

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.     

Ambient carbon monoxide and daily mortality in three Chinese cities: the China Air Pollution and Health Effects Study (CAPES)

Ambient carbon monoxide (CO) is an air pollutant primarily generated by traffic. CO has been associated with increased mortality and morbidity in developed countries, but few studies have been conducted in Asian developing countries. In the China Air Pollution and Health Effects Study (CAPES), the short-term associations between ambient CO and daily mortality were examined in three Chinese cities: Shanghai, Anshan and Taiyuan. Poisson regression models incorporating natural spline smoothing functions were used to adjust for long-term and seasonal trend of mortality, as well as other time-varying covariates. Effect estimates were obtained for each city and then for the cities combined. In both individual-city and combined analysis, significant associations of CO with both total non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality were observed. In the combined analysis, a 1 mg/m³ increase of 2-day moving average concentrations of CO corresponded to 2.89% (95%CI: 1.68, 4.11) and 4.17% (95%CI: 2.66, 5.68) increase of total and cardiovascular mortality, respectively. CO was not significantly associated with respiratory mortality. Sensitivity analyses showed that our findings were generally insensitive to alternative model specifications. In conclusion, ambient CO was associated with increased risk of daily mortality in these three cities. Our findings suggest that the role of exposure to CO and other traffic-related air pollutants should be further investigated in China.     

北京地区某高校教室细菌气溶胶浓度随季节变化特性实测调研

为探究高校教室细菌气溶胶浓度水平与粒径分布特性随季节的变化规律,对北京地区某高校教室室内外环境中的细菌气溶胶浓度、环境参数(温度、湿度、颗粒物浓度)进行了实测调研.结果表明:室外细菌气溶胶浓度为7?1 237 cfu/m3,平均最高浓度出现在秋季,最低浓度出现在夏季;教室无人时,室内细菌气溶胶主要源自室外,通过门窗缝隙...     

Ambient energy in the UK

This paper reviews the position of the renewable energy resources in the UK in 1986. Their historical development is traced and the record of UK Government support for renewable Research and Development is compared with that of some other western industrial countries. Several resources show considerable promise and are already economically attractive. Each of the renewable possibilities is examined in detail in the paper, a number of socio-economic issues are also raised.     

硫酸盐环境下水稳基层的病害分析及防治措施

介绍了水泥稳定砂砾基层的作用机理,分析了硫酸盐环境对水泥稳定砂砾基层结构及强度的影响,并针对该环境下水稳基层常见的病害类型,提出了一些防治建议,从而确保道路的正常运营。     

The association between arsenic exposure from drinking water and cerebrovascular disease mortality in Taiwan

Background

Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with a variety of diseases, including cancer, peripheral vascular disease, and diabetes. However, its association with cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) has not yet been resolved. The aim of this study is to explore this association in Taiwan using nation-wide data.

Materials and methods

We analyzed mortality data in Taiwan from 1971 to 2005 and choose two geographic areas with populations suffering from chronic exposure to arsenic in drinking water for study, the blackfoot disease endemic area (BFDEA) in the southwest and Lan-Yang Basin (LYB) in the northeast parts of Taiwan. The Chia-Yi and Tainan Counties, which surround the BFDEA, and the nation of Taiwan as a whole were used as reference populations. Direct standardized mortality rates and gender-specific indirect standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for the four populations.

Results

The direct standardized mortality rate for CVD in Taiwan decreased from 2.46/10³ person-year in 1971 to 0.63/10³ person-year in 2005, and women had significantly lower mortality than men (SMR = 0.80; p < 0.05). The CVD mortality rates of populations with chronic arsenic exposure were significantly higher than the reference populations (SMR ranging from 1.06 to 1.09 in men and 1.12 to 1.14 in women; p < 0.05). The BFDEA had higher CVD mortality rates than the LYB, with SMR = 1.05 (p < 0.05) in men and SMR = 1.04 (p = 0.05) in women.

Conclusion

In Taiwan, while CVD mortality decreased in both genders between 1971 and 2005, chronic arsenic exposure from drinking water was associated with increased risks of CVD.     

Atmospheric metal deposition in a moss data correlation study with mortality and disease in the Netherlands

The present paper addresses the correlations between moss metal concentrations and epidemiological data on health and mortality rates in The Netherlands. Attention was given to both total and fractionated metal concentrations in the moss tissues, the latter by factor-analytical (mathematical) approaches, and to both grouped and specific diseases. Better than 95% probability correlations were found both for total moss elements and mortality due to specific diseases and for fractionated moss elements and mortality rates summed for grouped diseases. Overall, the presented data suggest that correlation studies between biomonitoring data on metal air pollution and (epidemiological) health data may prove valuable in turning attention to specific metal-health issues and in directing further study into possible dose-response mechanisms in air-associated metal epidemiology.     

Ambient and Solar Heating of Propane Containers

The heating of propane and other liquid-filled tanks by the ambient air and surroundings and by the sun is often a factor in accident investigation and safety analysis. Simple, lumped-parameter heat transfer models describe the experimental tests of this behavior reasonably well. In complex situations, these models give intuitive guidance but not detailed predictions.     

京九铁路连续梁病害整治施工技术

结合京九铁路泰和赣江特大桥工程概况,检测了该桥梁的病害类型,基于桥梁病害产生的原因,阐述了混凝土脱落及连续梁边跨直线段竖向裂缝的修补措施,确保了桥梁运营的安全性。     

环境设计在医疗建筑的应用

本文以实际工程为例,介绍几点人性化的环境设计在医疗建筑当中的应用。通过建筑的手段给医院空间环境注入一些情感的因素,从而软化高技术医疗设备及医院严肃气氛给人带来的冷漠与恐惧的心理。     

北京丽来富华花园

北京丽来富华花园坐落在别墅云集的温榆河富人区，拥有4万多平方米的人工景观湖，使人真正感受诗意别墅，寄情于其中。温榆河别墅版块的成熟，使得其对景观的要求已经步入景观至盛时代，体现出别墅买家对占有稀缺性城市景观资源的浓厚兴趣，我们强调别墅区建筑与景观的共生性，景观魅力在于意境交融，建筑与景观融合是人居最高境界。     

Numerical Investigation of Turbulent Plumes in both Ambient and Stratified Surroundings

Ventilation displacement systems have, during the last ten years, become more and more popular. In these systems cool air is supplied to the room, and the air is heated by heat sources. The rising air above these heat sources is of paramount importance to the behaviour of the ventilation displacement systems. In the present work the turbulent flow in plumes is studied numerically, using finite volume methods. The standard r-? model was found to underpredict the spreading of the plumes, and it was thus modified in two ways so as to predict spreading rates in agreement with experiments. We present a comprehensive comparison between predictions and experiments including spreading rates, velocity and temperature profiles, and turbulent shear stresses. The volume flow rate versus the vertical distance from the plume is also presented. Good agreement between predictions and experiments is obtained.     

Ambient wood smoke exposure and respiratory symptoms in Tasmania, Australia

Wood smoke exposure has been associated with adverse respiratory health outcomes, with much of the current research focused on wood smoke from domestic heating and cooking. This study examined the association between respiratory symptoms and outdoor wood smoke in Launceston, Tasmania, where ~ 30% of homes use wood burners for domestic heating. This ecological study examined data from participants of the 2004 Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study postal survey and compared the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in Launceston (n = 601) with that in Hobart (n = 1071), a larger Tasmanian city with much less wood smoke. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations of interest while adjusting for gender, atopy, history of allergic disease and current smoking status. There were no significant differences in symptom prevalence between Launceston and Hobart. Two subgroup analyses, which examined participants with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease, and those who reported actively using a wood burner in their home, also did not find significant differences. Any impact of wood smoke on non-specific respiratory symptoms might have been overshadowed by other important determinants of respiratory health, such as vehicle exhaust and tobacco smoking, or were too small to have been detected. However, the lack of detectable differences in symptom prevalence might also reflect the success of regulatory action by local governments to reduce wood smoke emissions in Launceston. The results of other epidemiological studies support an association between ambient wood smoke exposure and adverse respiratory health. Further investigations of wood smoke exposure in Australian settings are needed to investigate the lack of significant associations found in this study, especially studies of indoor air quality and health impacts in children and elderly populations.     

Relationship of hair calcium concentration to incidence of coronary heart disease

This study was designed to evaluate whether hair calcium concentration reflects the mortality from coronary heart disease on a UK-wide basis and to determine the effect--if any--of environmental factors which might affect calcium metabolism on this relationship. The study was based on our earlier findings of an inverse relationship between hair calcium concentration and that in the intima of the aorta and the association of high aorta calcium with severe alterations to the vessel walls which was found never to co-exist with hair calcium concentrations greater than 700 ppm. Hair samples were collected from 4393 males in an ethically approved study in 40 different health districts. These covered the range in known prevalence of heart disease as reflected in the published standardised mortality ratios (SMR). Data on water hardness were obtained from the Water Authorities and on mean annual sunshine hours from the Meteorological Office. Statistical analysis was by regression and multivariate regression techniques. Hair calcium was determined by XRF analysis and the accuracy validated by means of certified reference samples. Significant relationships were found between health district and county SMR and their respective mean hair calcium concentrations accounting for 37 and 55% of their respective variances in SMR. Water hardness and sunshine hours accounted for 39 and 49% of the variance in mortality from CHD. In combination they accounted for 54% of the variance and with the inclusion of hair calcium 65%. South-east England had the highest hair calcium, the hardest water and the most sunshine hours and the lowest mortality from CHD. The converse was true of Scotland. Hair calcium concentration did reflect the risk of CHD on a population basis and was strongly influenced by both the hardness of the water supply and the annual sunshine hours which also independently affected the SMR for CHD.     

奥运与北京——北京城市发展的机遇与挑战

本文从城市规划、城市景观、生态环保、城市交通、经济发展的方面，客观地介绍了北京为2008奥运会所做的规划工作：并指出奥运会也正是从这些方方面面给北京带来了新的发展机遇和挑战，同时奥运带给北京的影响也将是深远和长期的。     

《北京宪章》和"北京之路"工作组

时光飞逝,光阴如梭,转眼间国际建协“北京之路”工作组的工作已经告一段落了。“北京之路”工作组从1999年成立到2005年完成它的主要工作,历时6年。6年时间在历史的长河中只是一瞬间,但对于“北京之路”工作组秘书处和全体工作组成员来讲,却留下了难以忘却的历史记忆。“北京之路”工作组1999年6月,在北京召开了第20次世界建筑师大会,这次由中国举办的大会取得了空前成功。除了高水平的学术报告、丰富的展览和活动内容外,大会的组织工作也得到了国内外建筑师的一致赞赏,被国际建协誉为历史上最为成功的建筑师大会。这次会议的重要内容之一是…