Socio-environmental factors associated with small mammal assemblage and Leptospira prevalence in Suburban Areas of Terengganu,Malaysia

Objective:To examine the socio-environmental factors associated with the assemblage of small mammals and the prevalence of Leptospira pathogen in poor suburban communities of Terengganu,Malaysia.Methods:We trapped small mammals from 119 trapping points scattered around three suburban communities of Terengganu using sausage-baited live traps.On the average,we set up five traps for three nights at each sampling point during the trapping period.Kidneys of captured animals were harvested and processed for Leptospira investigation.Additionally,environmental survey was conducted at each trapping point to obtain information about possible variables supporting small mammal assemblage.We used a generalized linear model to evaluate the effect of different socio-environmental variables on small mammals’assemblage.Results:A total of 89 small mammals,specifically,Rattus norvegicus(n=39),Rattus rattus(n=27),Rattus exulans(n=10),Suncus murinus(n=11),and Tupaia glis(n=2)were captured from 1385 trap nights.Fourteen individuals(15.7%)of the captured animals tested positive for Leptospira bacteria using PCR detection.Results of our generalized linear model showed only residences bordering vacant lots as the variable positively associated with small mammal occurrence in the three study sites.Conclusions:Small mammal community,especially the often neglected species,could harbour and potentially contribute towards pathogenic Leptospira maintenance in the study sites.To adequately control small mammals’population and subsequent human zoonoses transmission,it is critical to advocate and promote appropriate infrastructure and suburban services,together with good hygiene practices that can reduce the animals’access to food and harborage.

Chemical compositions and source apportionment of atmospheric PM_(10) in suburban area of Changsha, China

Source apportionment of particulate matters with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm （PM10） was conducted in the suburban area of Changsha, China. PM10 samples for 24 h collected with TEOM 1400a and ACCU system in July and October 2008 were chemically analyzed by the wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence （WD-XRF）. Source appointment was implemented by the principal component analysis/absolute principal component analysis （PCA/APCA） to identify the possible sources and to quantify the contributions of the sources to PM10. Results show that as the PM10 concentration is increased from （85.6±43.7） μg/m3 in July 2008 to （107.6±35.7） μg/m^3 in October 2008, the concentrations of the anthropogenic elements （P, S, C1, K, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb） are basically increased but concentrations of the natural elements （Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, and Fe） are essentially decreased. Six main sources of PM10 are identified in the suburban of Changsha, China： soil dust, secondary aerosols, domestic oil combustion, waste incineration, traffic emission, and industrial emission contribute 57.7%, 24.0%, 9.8%, 5.0%, 2.0%, and 1.5%, respectively. Soil dust and secondary aerosols are the two major sources of particulate air pollution in suburban area of Changsha, China, so effective measures should be taken to control these two particulate pollutants.

Study on the Planning of Suburban New Countryside Construction with Yufa Township of Beijing City as a Case

The construction of new socialist countryside should be realized by diversified means due to the characteristics of different regions. From the perspective of planning, Liugezhuang Village of Yufa Township in Daxing District, Beijing City was taken as a case to study the characteristics and contents of suburban new countryside construction planning, and several suggestions were put forward for the implementation and management of planning.

Analysis of Protective Planning and Design of Suburban Linpan of Chengdu City in China

After the analysis of the general situation of suburban Linpan in Chengdu City,the paper has pointed out the differences between suburban Linpan and outer suburban Linpan,which are different guiding factors for Linpan declining and disappearing,existing architectural forms and styles in Linpan,infrastructure construction levels,villagers' economic sources and income levels,and villagers' attitudes towards Linpan.Based on this,it has pointed out main points for protective planning of suburban Linpan in Chengdu.It has discussed the protective design of water system,roads and agricultural lands of individual Linpan and that between Linpan and Linpan in the perspective of "patch-corridor-base".

Agricultural Development of Nanjing Suburban Counties based on Contribution Models of Production Factors

According to data in Nanjing Statistical Yearbook, contribution made by agricultural production factors was analyzed with contribution models of agricultural factors and the results showed that with restriction of labor force and land, Nanjing suburban counties have entered into a stage of ＂high input-high output＂, considering no matter from agricultural total value of output or from agricultural added value. In future, structure configuration of agricultural input factors should be optimized in Nanjing suburban counties by technology input to improve agricultural technology and technical efficiency in order to further achieve sustainable development of agriculture.

Comparison of Ozone and PM2.5 Concentrations over Urban,Suburban,and Background Sites in China

Surface ozone(O3)and fine particulate matter(PM2.5)are dominant air pollutants in China.Concentrations of these pollutants can show significant differences between urban and nonurban areas.However,such contrast has never been explored on the country level.This study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban-to-suburban and urban-tobackground difference for O3(Δ[O3])and PM2.5(Δ[PM2.5])concentrations in China using monitoring data from 1171 urban,110 suburban,and 15 background sites built by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center(CNEMC).On the annual mean basis,the urban-to-suburbanΔ[O3]is−3.7 ppbv in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,1.0 ppbv in the Yangtze River Delta,−3.5 ppbv in the Pearl River Delta,and−3.8 ppbv in the Sichuan Basin.On the contrary,the urban-to-suburbanΔ[PM2.5]is 15.8,−0.3,3.5 and 2.4μg m^−3 in those areas,respectively.The urban-to-suburban contrast is more significant in winter for bothΔ[O3]andΔ[PM2.5].In eastern China,urban-to-background differences are also moderate during summer,with−5.1 to 6.8 ppbv forΔ[O3]and−0.1 to 22.5μg m^−3 forΔ[PM2.5].However,such contrasts are much larger in winter,with−22.2 to 5.5 ppbv forΔ[O3]and 3.1 to 82.3μg m^−3 forΔ[PM2.5].Since the urban region accounts for only 2%of the whole country’s area,the urban-dominant air quality data from the CNEMC network may overestimate winter[PM2.5]but underestimate winter[O3]over the vast domain of China.The study suggests that the CNEMC monitoring data should be used with caution for evaluating chemical models and assessing ecosystem health,which require more data outside urban areas.

Pollution characteristics of the rivers in suburban Shanghai

Forty middle and small rivers in three towns of Fengjing, Songjiang and Zhujiajiao of suburban Shanghai were chosen as sampling sites for water quality research. Measurement results of DO, CODCr, TP, TN and so on show that the rivers are under heavy eutropic conditions, which are several times greater than the critical values of the worst level (Type V) of water. Water pollution situation has different temporal and spatial characteristics. Non-point pollution, such as village domestic sewage, farmland runoff, livestock feces, has become the primary source of pollution of the middle and small rivers in suburban Shanghai.

ON THE SUBURBANIZATION OF BEIJING

Suburbanization is a stage of urbanization provess. The author discesses the situation of Beijing from the data of three population censuses(1964, 1982, 1990) and considers that the suburbanization in Beijing has been in process since 1982. During 1982-1990, population of all districts of the inner city lost 82 000 persons and in fact the permanent residents holding the household registration lost 144 000, which is about 6. 12% of permanent residents in the inner city.Like the West, suburbanization in China the happened against the macro backgrounds of improvements of transportation and loving conditions, growth of urban population moving from rural areas. But in the case of the forces that make decentralization possible, China is different from the western countries. In China, the levels of economy and urbanization are rather low, the red middle class is not rich; only very few Chinese families families provate cars, and the inner cities still have great attraction to Chinese people. The author considers three causes of decentralization: (1) reform of urban land use system brings about migration from the core area; (2) construction of a large number of city roads reinforces this process; (3) reforms of housing system and renovation of dilapidated houses encourage outward movement. However, the process wasn’t of spontaneity of any individual but of the leadership of government and “Dan Wei” (Work Unit).

Downtown Retailing Development Under Suburbanization——A Case Study of Beijing

The role of retailing has diminished in the center of cities of Western countries since its heyday in the 1920s. This trend was caused by violent transformations in the economic, social and locational contexts which involve resi- dential suburbanization, as well as new forms of commercial development out of town. As far as transforming China is concerned, the downtown retailing center has also come to turning point of development in the context of suburbaniza- tion. Based on the survey of Beijing residents’ shopping behavior, the present research tends to making clear the actual change and development problem of downtown retailing center. Combining with the macro retailing environment, re- lated influencing factors are further discussed too. Study results show that downtown retailing still plays an important part in resident’s shopping activity. However, with rapid urban sprawl, retailing in urban center has been greatly threatened by booming out-of-town commerce. In the course of such spatial change, the suburbanization of resident, the prevalence of new commercial forms and the change of consumers’ life style all have exerted their own pressure on downtown retailing. But for the special socioeconomic background of development and the support of government policy, it will still keep its vitality of retailing for a long period of time.

Suburbanization and Subcentering of Population in Beijing Metropolitan Area:A Nonparametric Analysis

This study focuses on the suburbanization and subcentering of population and examines the nature of spatial restructuring in terms of the population distribution in the Beijing metropolitan area.Instead of the classic density function approach,we employ the nonparametric analysis to characterize the spatial pattern of population densities in the Beijing metropolitan area and identify the suburban subcenters.Our findings suggest that the population has spread with rapid urban growth in the Beijing metropolitan area,and the compact urban form has been replaced by a more dispersed polycentric spatial distribution.However,compared with the decentralization of western cities,the spatial extent of the decentralization of population in the Beijing metropolitan area is quite limited.The rapid growth of population in the near suburbs has expedited the sprawl of the central city,with a larger central agglomeration of population dominating the metropolitan area.In this sense,the spatial pattern of the Beijing metropolitan area is still characterized by the continuous compactness.However,our findings do provide the evidence that the city has been turning to a polycentric structure.We find significant population subcenters have emerged in the suburbs of Beijing since the 1980s.But the polycentricity emerged in the Beijing metropolitan area is very different by nature from that observed in Western cities.The subcenters emerged are adherent to the development scheme planned for the city,so it can be referred to as the so called 'planned polycentricity'.

Breast Milk Lead and Cadmium Levels in Suburban Areas of Nanjing,China

Objective To evaluate levels of lead(Pb) and cadmium(Cd) in the breast milk in the second postpartum month,to investigate the relationship between Pb/Cd levels in breast milk and some sociodemographic parameters,and to explore whether these levels affect the infants' physical status or the mothers' psychological status(postpartum depression).Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2009 and December 2010.Altogether 170 healthy mothers were enrolled from Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital.The inclusion criteria were:voluntary to participate in this study,healthy,with no chronic disease,breastfeeding in the second postpartum month,living in a suburban but not non-industrial area of Nanjing,and not occupationally exposed to toxic metals.All the mothers completed a questionnaire and were evaluated based on the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale(EPDS) to identify the risk of postpartum depression.Pb and Cd levels in breast milk were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy.The infants of these mothers were examined for their z scores of weight for age,length for age,head circumference for age,and body mass index for age.Results The median breast milk levels of Pb and Cd were 40.6 μg/L and 0.67 μg/L,respectively.In 164(96.5%) of the 170 samples,Pb levels were higher than the limit reported by the World Health Organization(> 5 μg/L).Breast milk Cd level was > 1 μg/L in 54(31.8%) mothers.The mothers with a history of anemia had a higher breast milk Pb level than those without a history of anemia(41.1 μg/L vs.37.9 μg/L,P = 0.050).The median breast milk Cd level in those who were active and passive smokers during pregnancy was significantly higher than that in non-smokers(0.88 μg/L vs.0.00 μg/L,P = 0.025).The breast milk Cd level in the mothers not taking iron and vitamin supplements for 2 months postpartum was higher than in those taking the supplements(iron supplement:0.74 μg/L vs.0.00 μg/L,P = 0.025;vitamin supplement:0.78 μg/L vs.0.00 μg/L,P = 0.005).Breast milk Cd level at the second postpartum month was negatively correlated with the z scores of head circumference(r = 0.248,P = 0.042) and weight for age at birth(r = 0.241,P = 0.024) in girls.No correlation was found between the breast milk Pb/Cd levels and the EPDS scores.Conclusion Considering the high levels of Pb and Cd in breast milk in this study,breast milk monitoring programs are necessary.

A STUDY ON STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF SUBURBAN ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEM ─Taking Tianjin Suburbs and Counties for Example

Along with the development of urban economy. the growth of urban population and the increase of needs of urban society, the suburban ecological and economic system changes constantly and profoundly in its structure and function.Intensifying the research on structural analysis of suburban ecological and economic system is of great significance for grasping light the laws governing the development and evolution of the suburban ecological and economic system and leading this system onto a path of sound circle. By making comprehensive use of the cluster analysis and latent structural analysis the author attempts to explore a new avenue of revealing the structure of suburban ecological and economic system, taking Tianjin suburbs and counties as an example. The results obtained from the above-stated analyses show that it is entirely possible and extremely effective to study the structure and function of suburban ecological and economic system and provide scientific evidence for control of this system by using mathematical methods and statistical analyses.

Properties of summer radiation and aerosols at Xinzhou,a suburban site on the North China Plain

The properties of summer radiation and aerosols were studied at Xinzhou,a suburban site on the North China Plain(NCP)by using ground-based measurements in 2014.The radiation detections under clear and cloudy skies showed that longwave radiation presented a sigmate pattern,with a maximum of 392.6 W m-2at 1700 local standard time(LST)associated with the cloud radiative forcing,and a minimum of 360.0 W m-2at 0600 LST when the lowest surface temperature(17.1°C)occurred.Solar radiation,including global,direct,diffuse,photosynthetically active,ultraviolet-A,and ultraviolet-B,exhibited a single peak at^1300 LST.A bimodal size distribution,with fine mode aerosols showing a peak between 0.1 and 0.2μm and coarse mode aerosols showing a peak at^5μm,was observed at Xinzhou.The dominant aerosol type was black carbon coating on coarse particles(85.7%)for the cases with aerosol optical depth at 400 nm(AOD)greater than 0.4,leading to a lower single scattering albedo(0.81)than the typical value(~0.90)at the other stations on the NCP.The mean values of EAE and AAE(extinction and absorption?ngstr?m exponent,respectively)were 1.14±0.15 and 0.58±0.28 for the aerosol measurements.The average of instantaneous aerosol direct radiative forcing at the bottom of the atmosphere was-138.9±33.0 W m-2for the cases with AOD>0.4.The results in this study are expected to improve understanding at suburban sites on the NCP of aerosol properties and their impacts on regional radiation budgets.

Comparative and Empirical Study on Vegetable Input-Output Efficiency of Suburban and Rural Areas

On the basis of comparative analysis on the vegetable input-output efficiency of suburban and rural areas in 2011- 2012,this paper made co-integration test,impulse response and variance decomposition for the vegetable input-output relationship of suburban areas in 1998-2012. Comparative analysis indicated that the vegetable input-output benefit of suburban area declines,while that of rural area rises; empirical analysis indicated that there is a long-term stable relationship between labor cost of vegetable planting and vegetable income and between material cost of vegetable planting and vegetable income,but the vegetable income itself has certain lag effect,followed by material cost,and the labor cost has minimum influence. Finally,it came up with recommendations for improving suburban vegetable input-output relationship,including improving vegetable input security mechanism,improving farmers' quality and innovation ability,and increasing technological input.

Modeling Bicycle Conflict on Non-Motorized Paths on Suburban College Campuses

Bicycling is an important way for college students and employees to get around campuses. With a rise in bicycling on campuses there comes a rise in bicycle collisions with pedestrians walking to and from classes and work. The literature review showed many papers involving bicycle conflict modeling but on roads with motor vehicles. While some aspects of this research can be applied to non-motorized paths, there is a lack of research strictly focusing on only bicycles and pedestrians. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by developing a model to identify locations on roads and paths (hotspots) on college campuses that are likely to have a bicycle collision and predict the likelihood of a serious bicycle crash on a non-motorized path based on the characteristics of the path. This study identifies those interactions between bicyclists and pedestrians on non-motorized paths on a suburban college campus in Newark, USA. Findings suggest that pedestrian density of a path is a major factor in the maximum speed bicyclists can achieve. The wider the path is, the higher the maximum speed is that a bicyclist can obtain. This is because a wider path width decreases the pedestrian density. The grade of the path has little effect on bicycle speeds. The results of the models were displayed on a GIS map that is visually appealing to a viewer. The paths were color coded based on their level of safety, so it is easy to observe problematic areas of the network. This technique can be applied to the entire campus network of non-motorized paths to study the whole system. This can then be used by planners and designers to identify areas that need upgrading and improve the overall safety of the non-motorized path system.

Study on Integration of Suburban Forest Park and Eco-city into “Mega-landscape”

On the basis of analyzing the development of suburban forest parks, the paper proposed the combination of eco-city construction and suburban forest parks, and the construction of "mega-landscape" mode, which offers a new concept for the development of suburban forest parks.

On suburban leisure and tourism development: a case study of Wangcong Shrine in Chengdu

Suburban leisure and tourism are important supplements to the suburban economic development and urban tourism and of great significance under the background of urban-rural integran＇on Wangcong Shrine in Chengdu is still in the initial stage. Regarding the development Of tcowns the advantage of environment, transportation, Tourism development of Wangcong Sluine lands＇cape, architecture, content, identity, and publicity as well. Development of suburban leisure travel is one direction of tourism development of Wangcong Shrine. The people of Chengdu are main target tourists of a one-day trip, And various parks, Farmer＇s House Tour, leisure villa and other suburban attractions are its competitors. To developing Wang- cong Shrine tourism, increase of historical contents is its focus. The positioning of the civilization of ancient Shu should be shifted to Shu civilization; and renewal of the Huangcheng （Imperial City） is necessary to attract more Chengdu people for short tour and leisure.

Intestinal parasitic infections in suburban government schools,Lak Hok subdistrict,Muang Pathum Thani,Thailand

Objective:To provide baseline information of parasitic infections in 3 suburban government schools,Lakhok subdistrict of Muang Pathum Thani,Thailand.Methods:This study was conducted between May-June 2010 using simple direct smear and modified formalin ether and from a population of 1253 in 3 suburban government schools.Results:Total samples of 202registered and participated.The average of prevalence of infection from 3 schools was 13.9%,there were 13.7%,14.3%and 13.9%in N,S and R school,respectively with no significant difference between schools(P>0.05).The infection rates did not show significant difference between gender(P>0.05).The highest rate of infection was 20.4%in Pathom 2(8 years)students and the lowest was4%in Pathom 1(7 years)with statistically difference between age groups(P<0.05).The highest prevalence of pathogenic protozoa was Giardia lamblin(G.lamblia)which was found in 50%of infected cases,followed by 25%of Entamoeba Inictolytica(E.histolytica)and Blastocystis hominis(B.hominis).The highest prevalence of non-pathogenic protozoa was Endnhmat nano(E.nana)which was found in 88.9%,followed by 11.1%of Entamoeba coli(E.coli).Mixed infections between Blastocwstis hominis(B.hominis)and Endolimax nana(E.nana)were reported at 7.1%.The only helminthic infection found in this study area was hookworm,found in 1 student(3.8%).The formalin ether concentration technique showed a higher efficacy of detection(78%-100%)than the simple direct smear method(0%-50%).Conclusions:Surveillance of protozoan infections may need to be focused on suburban areas.

Landscape patterns and their evolutions in the suburban ecotone──A case study of the eastern suburb of Beijing

The characteristics and evolutions of the landscape patterns in the suburban ecotone are studied on the basis of landscape-ecological maps of different years derived from the corresponding aerial photos The relationship between landscape patterns and urban economical development is ana- lyzed. The diversity index is used to characterize the features of the landscape patterns in the ecotone and define the location of Sharp change.

Impacts of Suburbanization on Urban Eco-environment of Xi'an in China

Suburbanization in large cities is an important phenomenon in the process of urbanization development in China in recent decades,which plays a very important role in promoting city development,whereas some side effects on the eco-environment appeared at the same time.This paper,taking Xi'an City in China as a case study site,analyzed the features of population suburbanization and industry suburbanization and pointed out the impacts of suburbanization on urban eco-environment.Based on the research,suggestions of countermeasures for urban planning and municipal management of Xi'an City in protecting urban eco-environment and conserving natural ecology were put forward in the end.