Yesterday at lunch with my colleagues the spookiness of coincidences was mentioned. How’s this for spooky coincidence: An Air France Airbus A330 flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on November 29 met the exact same meteorological conditions in the same region as the Air France A330 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1. Here’s Le Monde’s article with my dodgy translation:

Le 29 novembre, un vol Rio-Paris a rencontré des conditions similaires à celles de l’avion qui s’est écrasé en juin. C’est une information que révèle Le Figaro. Il y a dix jours, le vol AF 445, qui est le nouveau nom donné au vol AF 447 d’Air France depuis l’accident du 1^er juin dernier qui avait fait deux cent vingt-huit victimes, a subi de fortes perturbations exactement dans la même zone que celle où l’AF 447 a disparu.

November 29 a Rio-Paris flight met similar conditions to that of the plane that crashed in June. This information was revealed by Le Figaro. 10 days ago, the flight AF 445, which is the new name given to Air France’s flight AF 447 since the accident of last June 1 that killed 228, suffered severe turbulence exactly in the same zone as that where AF 447 disappeared.

Faute d’avoir récupéré les boîtes noires, toujours au fond de l’Atlantique, les enquêteurs attendent de pouvoir analyser les données du vol AF 445. Le bureau d’enquêtes et d’analyses (BEA) en charge de l’investigation sur le drame a aussitôt lancé une enquête.

As they failed to recover the black boxes, which are still at the bottom of the Atlantic, investigators are waiting to be able to analyse the data from flight AF 445. The Bureau d’enquêtes et d’analyses (BEA) in charge of the investigation into the case has also launched an inquiry.

Le parallélisme entre l’accident du 1^er juin et l’incident du 29 novembre est saisissant, note le quotidien. Le vol AF 445 aurait rencontré des conditions météo perturbées dans le “pot au noir” (zone de convergence intertropicale) proches de celles de l’AF 447. Il s’agit également de la même famille d’avion : un Airbus A 330-203 pour l’AF 447 et un A 330-200 pour le vol 445. L’incident aurait eu lieu à 18 kilomètres de la zone supposée de disparition de l’AF 447, la nuit aussi. En revanche, l’AF 445 n’a pas subi de givrage de ses sondes Pitot et de pertes d’informations anémométriques, à la différence du vol AF 447.

The parallels between the accident of June 1 and the incident of November 29 are astounding, the daily noted. Flight AF445 met disturbed weather conditions in the “pot au noir” (Intertropical Convergence Zone) similar to those that AF 447 encountered. Both planes were of the same family: an Airbus A330-203 for AF 447 and an A330-200 for flight 445. The incident occured 18 kilometres from the zone from which it is assumed AF 447 disappeared, also at night. On the other hand, the pitot tubes of AF 445 didn’t frost over, nor did it lose its airspeed data, unlike flight AF 447.

Well, I think I’ve got the right meaning across. I should note that a French-French dictionary is not as useful for French-English translation as I first thought. Trouble is, I have yet to come across a decent online French dictionary. I would like to know, if there are any sailors out there familiar with the tropics, if there is any English language sailor slang equivalent to “pot au noir”. I should also note that I have never seen an English translation of Bureau d’enquêtes et d’analyses- and it’s been in the news a fair bit recently, what with Air France’s crash and the crash of an Air New Zealand A320 into the Mediterranean off Perpignan.

Anyway, it’s strange to see a flight from the same airline, the same kind of plane, encounter the same weather in almost the same spot as where one plane was downed not so long ago. And if what I just read about the Intertropical Convergence Zone is accurate, then I have to wonder just how many other similar incidents there have been in similar areas.

Following on from my last post, 新京报/The Beijing News has an article today reporting several developments in Beijing’s preparation for the upcoming ‘flu peak season. The headline states that the city’s elderly will be able to get vaccinated against Influenza A H1N1 from next week. The article itself states:

据北京市疾控中心副主任庞星火介绍，60岁以上老人用的甲流疫苗正在向卫生局申请调配，预计下周内可在社区启动接种服务。

According to vice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Disease Control Centre Pang Xinghuo, an application to deploy H1N1 vaccine for over-60s has been submitted to the Ministry of Health, and it is expected that vaccination service in the community can begin next week.

But the article seems to be more a collection of interesting little tidbits of news than a single, coherent piece. Up until yesterday, 630 thousand Beijingers had been vaccinated against H1N1 and, as reported in the article I wrote about in the last post, the rate of adverse reactions is the same as that of the vaccine for seasonal ‘flu over the same period of time. When combined with vaccinations for regular ‘flu- which has been supplied free to over-60s and primary and middle school students, and for which vaccinations end today- a total of 1.9 million people have received ‘flu vaccinations, an increase over last year’s vaccination rate.

Now, I’m all for an increased vaccination rate, but those numbers don’t look quite so impressive compared to Beijing’s total population. Still, H1N1 vaccination has yet to start, so hopefully over the next few weeks the numbers will continue to increase.

What of those masks more and more people are wearing? First up, the municipal drug bureau says there are over 7 million of them stored up, which should be ample to supply the market’s demand. Apparently some company in Tianjin claims to have made a mask that can control the H1N1 virus. The municipal drug bureau says there are no such masks in Beijing at this point. And besides, according to the Ministry of Health’s disease control centre:

甲流主要通过飞沫传播，合格的医用外科口罩即可满足个人防护需求，身体健康的人在日常生活中最好不戴口罩。对于个别口罩生产及销售单位宣传的“抑制或杀灭微生物”功能，其实对防控甲流并无显著功效。

H1N1 is mainly spread through droplets, and standard surgical masks meet individual prevention needs. Healthy people should not wear masks in everyday life. As for the “control or eliminate microbes” function advertised by specific mask production and sales companies, in fact they have no noticeable effect on the prevention or control of H1N1.

I would like to bold that entire quotation for emphasis, but doing so would take away the emphasis. Try this approach instead:

• Standard surgical masks are perfectly adequate.
• Healthy people shouldn’t wear them, anyway.
• There are no masks that can control or prevent H1N1

There is also an attached “related news” article which sets out the rules decided by the education committee and health bureau for how universities must respond to outbreaks of acute respiratory illness and fever in both dormitories and within class groups. To be honest, I doubt I could get my head around the numbers in any language, but I’ll try:

In dormitories:

If half the students in one dormitory have acute respiratory illness and more than 10 students in a neighbouring dormitory have a fever, then all the students in the dormitories must stop going to class and must be quarantined.

Class groups:

In classes of 30 students or less, if 5 or more cases of fever (temperature over 37.5 degrees) occur in one day, or, in classes of over 30 students, if 20% or more develop a fever in one day, then the affected students should be quickly taken off for treatment and quarantine. Campus hospitals are instructed to give the appropriate treatment to students with mild symptoms, and send those with severe symptoms up to the next hospital.

Also, schools have to check students’ temperature daily.

I hope I got all that right.

There’s also an interesting little note at the end about district- and county-level education committees being told to prepare for “internet education” so that education will not have to stop in the event H1N1 forces school closures.

Assuming I’m reading all of that right, it’s comforting to see Beijing making preparations for a possible outbreak of H1N1 (and believe me, school dormitories are prime breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses) without any of those preparations going “over the top”. It’s also good to see the government calling “bullshit” on these masks.

新京报/The Beijing News reports that Beijingers can get free vaccinations against Influenza A H1N1. Anybody over the age of 3 who is willing and gives their informed consent and who is a registered Beijing resident can get their free vaccination from any of 402 vaccination centres any time between November 16 and December 13. I take “registered Beijing resident” to mean that foreigners and Chinese whose residence is registered in a province, municipality or autonomous region other than Beijing still have to pay for vaccines. Unfortunately the 3.63 million doses of vaccine Beijing currently has are for some reason not suited to over 60s, so the city’s elderly will have to wait.

The article also reports some interesting statistics regarding Beijing’s H1N1 vaccination programme to date:

北京自9月21日首先在国庆庆典参与人群中开展甲流疫苗接种以来，至昨日已累计为超过44万甲流易感人群（主要是中小学生，医务人员，司乘人员等重点岗位的社会公共服务人员）提供了甲流疫苗接种。

From the launch of H1N1 vaccination on September 21 among those participating in the National Day festivities up until yesterdaya total of over 440 thousand people susceptible to H1N1 have been vaccinated (mainly social and public service personnel in key positions such as primary and middle school students, medical workers, transport workers).

“不良反应发生率并不比季节性流感疫苗高，且多为局部的轻微不良反应。”市卫生局疾控处处长赵涛说，随着疫情发展，以及甲流疫苗在广泛人群中接种后的安全表现，现在，有意愿接种甲流疫苗的市民越来越多。

“The rate of adverse reactions is no greater than for seasonal flu vaccinations, and are mostly localised minor adverse reactions” said Municipal Health Bureau Disease Control Office directer Zhao Tao. Along with the development of the epidemic and the expressions of safety among the broad masses of those vaccinated, currently more and more citizens wish to be vaccinated against H1N1.

Further down, the article states that from November 16 the vaccination centres will be open between 8am and midday and 1:30pm and 5:30pm. Somehow I doubt that many people reading this blog will be eligible for free vaccinations, but if you want to know where the nearest vaccination centre is you can check the Municipal Health Bureau’s official website (there are links to English, French and Japanese sites at the top of the page- but I hope others have an easier time trying to find the locations of these vaccination centres than I’m having) or dial 12320. Also, large-scale work units such as universities, schools, government institutions, and large enterprises may also get their own vaccination centres.

Three headlines grabbed my attention this morning:

Beijing: CCTV building soon repaired. Actually, I don’t care too much about this, but that burnt-out shell has been sitting there for so long… If, as the article says the architect claims, the structure is basically sound and it is salvageable, then cool, salvage it.

And in not-so-good news: 5.0 earthquake in Yunnan, 28 injured, Civil Affairs Bureau launches level 4 response. The quake hit Bingchuan, up near Dali, at 5:07am yesterday. No reports of deaths, at least not in that article, which is fortunate- and hopefully it stays fortunate- but there are plenty of damaged houses. Relief supplies are being rushed in.

Better news: 60% of central heating boilers already lit, won’t be stopped if weather warms up. To be honest, I haven’t even read that one yet. As soon as I read the headline I sprinted madly round the apartment bleeding the radiators. There was much hissing of slightly pressurised air coming out, followed by water. Cold water, but hey, that means there’s water in the pipes, and hopefully the cold water will soon be followed by hot. I did notice smoke coming from a heating plant not far north of here yesterday. I can’t see any other chimneys from  my apartment, but I will be looking out for them and hope to see plumes of smoke. And I hope to soon feel heat coming out my radiators.

新京报/The Beijing News reports on an interesting little development in Beijing’s central heating: Contracts. TBN’s Du Ding reports:

“供热合同”出台 供暖不达标将向市民赔偿

“Heating contract” promulgated. Citizens to be compensated if heating not up to standard.

北京今年出台“供热合同”，明年试行，今冬供暖11月7日点火试运行

Beijing promulgates “heating contract” this year, to be trialled next year, this winter heating to be lit November 7 for trial operation.

今后供暖期，供热单位将和市民签订“供热合同”，昨天，北京市市政市容管理委员会供热办主任郭维圻做客“首都之窗”时表示，为保障供热双方利益，今年北京将出台“供热合同”，明年试行并推广。内容包括供热企业达不到合同规定标准，将给市民赔偿等。

In the upcoming heating period heating companies will sign a “heating contract” with citizens. Beijing Municipal Cityscape Management Committee Heating Office chairman Guo Weiqi said yesterday as a guest on eBeijing (English) that in order to guarantee the interests of both parties, this year Beijing will promulgate a “heating contract” to be tested and promoted next year. The contents will include a requirement for heating companies to compensate citizens if they don’t reach the required standard.

今年出台“供热合同”

“Heating contract” promulgated this year

每年供暖期，都会发生部分市民、单位因嫌供热单位供热不到位而拒交供热费；一些供暖企业因收不到供暖费便降低供热质量。郭维圻表示，针对此问题，北京市 将通过立法的形式加以规范和完善，“立法过程中就要建立合同制度。”据介绍，该“供热合同”将由市民与供暖单位签订，如果供热企业达不到合同规定的标准， 将会给予市民相应的赔偿等。

In every year’s heating period there are some citizens and units that feel the heat supplied by heating companies is not up to standard and so refuse to pay the heating bill; some heating companies, because they don’t receive heating fees, lower the quality of heating. Guo Weiqi said that, with this problem in mind, Beijing would set standards and perfect the system through a legislative form. “We need to establish a contractual system in the legislative process.” It is said that this “heating contract” will be signed by citizens and heating companies, and that if heating companies don’t meet the standards stipulated in the contract, they will have to appropriately compensate citizens.

62357575供暖热线将开通

Heating hotline 62357575 opened

[eliding a paragraph- I don't think we need a rundown on how much gas and coal is ready to be burned to keep us warm]

李楠表示，全市各个供热应急抢修队伍11月7日开始实行24小时值班。另外，从11月7日起将向社会开通市级供热服务热线：62357575。各区县政府大型供热企业和单位，也要同时对社会公布服务电话。

Li Nan [note: a member of the Beijing Municipal Cityscape Management Committee] said that all the city’s heating emergency repair teams would start implementing 24 hour duty from November 7. Also, from November 7 a city-level heating service hotline, 62357575, would be opened to the public. Every district and county government’s large-scale heating company will also need to publicly announce a service phone number at the same time.

Notes:

• 北京市市政市容管理委员会- well, I found their website easily enough, but I couldn’t figure out why, although their address (bjmac!) was clearly based on an English name, no English name was apparent, even if only in tiny type in the logo. So I just made up a name, and I think “cityscape” sounds way cooler than “Municipal Appearance Committee” or whatever it’s supposed to be.
• 北京市 将通过立法的形式加以规范和完善- I wound up just having to mangle that. If anybody has better suggestions, comment.
• I used “heating company” for every word referring to any kind of organisation responsible for supplying heat for simplicity’s sake.
• Yeah, I know, that last sentence I translated uglily.

Anyway, it’s good to know there’s likely to be hot water running through our radiators from November 7 and that they’re working to set and improve heating standards. Last winter our apartment hovered around the 15/16 degree mark on the coldest days and it was occasionally necessary to crank up the aircon.

Just came across an interesting article on Newenergy.org.cn: Apparently Inner Mongolia’s wind power industry is taking off, with installed capacity already No. 1 in China. Wang Yutian and Bai Bing report:

随着大批风电项目和风机设备制造厂落户内蒙古，当地风电产业迅猛发展。目前内蒙古全区并网风电装机容量３００万千瓦，累计完成投资近４００亿元，占全国风电装机总容量的四分之一，跃居全国首位。

Following the setlling of a large group of windpower projects and turbine equipment factories in Inner Mongolia, that region’s windpower industry has been rapidly developing. Inner Mongolia currently has an installed grid-connected windpower capacity of 3 million megawatts through the whole region, with a total completed investment approaching 40 billion yuan, accounting for one quarter of China’s installed windpower capacity, leaping into first place in China.

据内蒙古自治区发改委高技术产业处处长孟青龙介绍，近几年内蒙古风电产业发展速度加快，２００７年、２００８年内蒙古完成风电吊装容量较上一年分别增长１７５％和１４２％，产业规模快速形成。预计内蒙古风电装机容量今年年底将达到５００万千瓦。

According to the head of the High Technology Office of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission, Meng Qinglong, in recent years Inner Mongolia’s windpower industry has developed more rapidly. In 2007 and 2008 Inner Mongolia’s completed windpower hoisted capacity grew by 175% and 142% over the previous year, quickly forming the scale of the industry. It is predicted Inner Mongolia’s installed windpower capacity will reach 5 million megawatts by the end of the year.

And here I will admit defeat. I just cannot figure out this sentence: “与此同时，风电产业呈规模化发展趋势。”, and besides, the rest of that paragraph is just a city-by-city breakdown of windpower capacity, installed and under construction. Chifeng leads the way with a million megawatts installed already, and a bunch of other cities including Baotou and Tongliao in the 350 to 800 thousand megawatt range. And what’s under construction takes the total up to 5.9 million megawatts.

The final paragraph begins by stating that Inner Mongolia’s level of operational management of windpower has been unceasingly growing, but I can’t see how they prove it. Not that I doubt that statement, I just don’t see the relevance of the supporting sentences. Maybe that’s because I’m an English teacher, not an electrical engineer. Whatever, it does say that at the end of April, Inner Mongolia had 3.5 million megawatts of windpower connected to the grid, of which 2.24 million megawatts is fed into the Inner Mongolian grid (7.3% of the capacity tracked by the regional grid), 1.1 million megawatts into Northeast China, and 160 thousand megawatts into the Northwest.

Puff piece? Advertorial? Smells like it, but I don’t know. I don’t really think it matters, either. What matters is the rapid development of windpower in Inner Mongolia, and if there’s any truth to the reported numbers, what’s happening out there is looking very good.

Got an old car in Beijing? You could claim a subsidy for scrapping it and buying a new one, according to this report in 新京报/The Beijing News. Wei Xuezhen reports:

北京启动汽车“以旧换新”

Beijing starts “replacing old cars with new”

24日起将正式受理车主申请，将与黄标车政策同时执行

Applications formally accepted from the 24, to be carried out simultaneously with the “yellow sticker” vehicle elimination policy.

北京市财政局、商务委员会和环保局昨日联合宣布，汽车以旧换新正式启动，从本月24日起将正式受理车主申请。北京环保局有关负责人表示，以旧换新与黄标车淘汰更新补贴政策同时进行，此前的差额部分将进行补贴。

The Beijing municipal Finance Bureau, Commerce Committee, and Environmental Protection Bureau together announced yesterday that the replacing of old cars with new will formally begin, that from the 24 of this month applications from car owners will be formally accepted. The person responsible at the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said that the replacing of old with new and the policy to eliminate and update yellow sticker vehicles would be carried out at the same time, and that previous differences would be subsidised.

Alright, I have no idea what “此前的差额部分将进行补贴” is on about. I would assume that there is some inequity in the two policies and that the authorities might be worried about people who’ve already scrapped their yellow sticker vehicles might be a bit put out to see people claiming these new subsidies getting more money than them. My assumption would seem justified, but:

补差额让车主“不吃亏”

Making up the difference so car owners “don’t lose out”.

按照规定，在2010年5月31日之前，报废使用不到8年的老旧微型载货车、老旧中型出租载客车，使用不到12年的老旧中、轻型载货车、出租车以外的老旧 中型载客车以及提前报废“黄标车”，并换购新车的，根据报废车型可享受3000-6000元不等的补贴。北京市环保局表示，由于今年年初，北京市率先实施 了鼓励黄标车淘汰政策措施，因此目前两项政策将同时进行。

According to the regulations, car owners who scrap and replace before 31 May 2010 old mini commercial vehicles and old minibuses used for up to 8 years, medium and light commercial vehicles and mid-sized passenger vehicles other than taxis used for up to 12 years as well as owners of “yellow sticker vehicles” already scrapped, and who then buy new vehicles can according to the type of vehicle scrapped enjoy subsidies varying from 3000 to 6000 yuan.  The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said that because Beijing took the lead in implementing measures to encourage the scrapping of “yellow sticker vehicles” at the beginning of the year, these two policies would be carried out simultaneously.

北京市环保局副局长杜少中昨日表示，由于黄标车淘汰补助水平总体高于以旧换新的政策，之前淘汰的少数车型补助低于以旧换新补贴，将补齐两项政策的差额，以保证车主“不吃亏”。根据规定，黄标车根据车型最高补助25000元。

Yesterday assistant head of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau Du Shaozhong said that because the overall level of the subsidies to eliminate yellow sticker vehicles was higher than that of the policy to replace old cars with new, and a small number of subsidies for vehicle types eliminated was lower than the subsidies to replace old vehicles with new, differences between the two policies would be patched up so that car owners would not lose out. According to the regulations, yellow sticker vehicles could be subsidised up to 25000 yuan depending on vehicle type.

Two things:

1. I wound up relying on Baidu’s image search to figure out what the different types of vehicles mentioned are exactly, and I couldn’t see a difference between “中型出租载客车” and “出租车以外的老旧 中型载客车”. They all look like minibuses to me.
2. It would seem, but I’m not sure, that some of those who have already scrapped yellow sticker vehicles got 25000 yuan in subsidies, while others got less than the 3000 yuan minimum subsidy under the new policy. I have no idea what the authorities are actually going to do about the differences in subsidies under the two policies, but I would be surprised if the government tried to claim back the difference from those who got more than 6000 yuan under the old policy, and I assume that those who got less under the old policy than the would have under the new one will be given a top-up. Or maybe I’m being too optimistic, I don’t know.

The rest of the article is about how to go about claiming the subsidies. I’m going to assume that those eligible for the subsidies read about them in the original Chinese-language reports and would not be reading anything on this blog (I may be wrong, but the types of vehicle mentioned….). It also says the Environmental Protection Bureau hopes to get an extra 20 or 30 thousand dirty cars off the streets.

So it’s been a while since I translated anything for this blog. 新京报/The Beijing News has a good reason to start translating again on their newly, nicely redesigned site: Beijing is going to subsidise geothermal heating:

利用地热供暖政府将给补助

Government to subsidise use of geothermal energy for heating

Ugh… That was an ugly mangling of the headline. Nevermind…

北京地下热能每年可供暖近10亿平米，达2020年规划目标

Beijing’s underground thermal energy could heat up to 1 billion square metres, reaching 2020’s planned target.

And it just gets uglier…. I’m way out of practice, aren’t I?

Anyways, Jiang Yanxin reports:

采用地温能供暖的小区，政府将对开发商提供30元到50元/平米的补助。昨日，北京市地勘局发布的报告显示，北京平原区地下蕴含的浅层地温能，每年可供暖9.59亿平米，潜力巨大。据悉，这种大区域性资源评价在国内外均属首次。

The government will provide subsidies of 30 to 50 yuan per square metre to developers in communities that adopt geothermal heating. A report released yesterday by the Beijing Municipal Geological Prospecting Bureau revealed that the heat energy contained in the shallow strata beneath Beijing’s plain area could supply heat to 959 million square metres, a huge potential. It is reported that this kind of large-scale resource appraisal is a world first.

热能达2020年供热目标

Thermal energy reaches 2020’s heating target.

昨日，市地勘局发布了历时3年完成的《北京平原区浅层地温能资源地质勘察报告》。

Yesterday the municipal Geological Prospecting Bureau released its report Geological Prospecting Report on Shallow Strata Thermal Energy Resources in Beijing’s Plains Area, completed over three years.

报告显示，北京平原区3米-150米浅层地温能每年折合标准煤0.662亿吨；冬季可利用资源量折合标准煤0.153亿吨，可供暖面积9.59亿平方米。十分接近于北京市总体规划目标，即到2020年北京市供暖总面积达到10亿平方米。

The report revealed that the thermal energy contained in the shallow strata from 3 metres to 150 metres below Beijing’s plains area amounts to 66.2 million tons of standard coal per year. In winter the equivalent of 15.3 million tons of standard coal could be used, supplying heat to an area of 959 million square metres.  This comes very close to the goal of Beijing Municipality’s overall plan to supply heat to a total area of 1 billion square metres by 2020.

Alright, I’m going to omit a definition that, even if it were rendered into good English by a competent translator (i.e. not me), would still give me a migraine. But to make it worse, puzzling out that long, complicated sentence makes it seem like the definition is so blindingly obvious it would only be necessary in a text for primary school kids. And besides, the word ‘troposphere‘ makes me think of a large ball whose inhabitants are all a bit nutty (hey, wait, that’s a pretty good description of Earth), and yet I can’t figure out why the lowest portion of the Earth’s atmosphere would be mentioned in a definition of the geothermal resources in question- last I checked, all of the Earth’s crust sits below the all of its atmosphere, except when things like volcanic eruptions and meteorite strikes send small parts of it flying.

Anyway, continuing:

市地勘局有关负责人表示，使用浅层地温能，比普通的燃气要便宜10元左右，由于可循环利用，在环保的同时还节能。

The person responsible at the municipal Geological Prospecting Bureau said that using shallow strata geothermal energy is about 10 yuan cheaper than using regular gas as it is renewable, making it both environmentally friendly and energy saving.

Alright, skipping over a restatement of the 30 to 50 yuan/m2 subsidies offered to developers to encourage them to use geothermal heating, and actually, just picking the one or two interesting bits left in the article:

目前北京已有1300万平米建筑利用浅层地热能供暖、制冷。

Currently Beijing has 13 million square metres of construction using shallow strata geothermal heating and cooling.

Yeah, cooling too. I have only the vaguest idea of the physics, but I have heard before that in the summer you can throw the whole thing in reverse and pump the heat back underground.

此外，考虑到资源开采可能对环境带来的影响，市地勘局已建立2个监测站、20多个采集点，对开采带来的影响进行监测。一旦地热大规模利用，北京将考虑建立20多个监测站、1000多个采集点进行监测，确保安全开采。

In addition, considering the possible influences of resource exploitation on the environment, the municipal Geological Prospecting Bureau has already built two monitoring stations and over 20 collecting points to monitor the influence of exploitation. Once geothermal energy is used on a large scale, Beijing will consider establishing 20 monitoring stations and over 1000 collecting points to carry out monitoring and ensure safe exploitation.

Alright, so I’m building up a good track record of thoroughly mangled translations here…. Anyway, it’s cool to see that Beijing has such awesome potential for geothermal heating of the city’s buildings, that the government is encouraging it’s use, and that the relevant authorities will monitor the effects of its use on the environment. Cleaner heating can only be a good thing.

I read an intriguing piece in Le Monde this morning before I’d gone for a walk, gotten lunch, and gotten blood flowing back to my brain, which noted that HIV+ patients how are now living longer thanks to new treatments, are even so ageing faster than the rest of the population, developing conditions of ageing markedly earlier than normal. I will now demonstrate for all the world to say just how badly my French has deteriorated over the last 10 years by translating at least some of it, perhaps all:

It has been lumbered with a rather dumbed-down headline, but what do you expect, Le Monde is mainstream media?

Le sida accélère le vieillissement

AIDS accelerates ageing

Umm, well, no, but nevermind:

Les personnes infectées par le virus du sida (VIH) vieillissent-elles plus vite que les autres ? Différentes études en apportent des preuves, comme l’a illustré un séminaire de recherche clinique de l’Agence nationale de recherche sur le sida et les hépatites virales (ANRS), qui s’est tenu à Paris début mai.

Do people infected with the AIDS virus (HIV) age faster than others? Different studies have shown evidence of this, as a clinical research seminar of the National Agency for AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Research (ANRS) held at the start of May in Paris showed.

L’évolution de cette maladie vers un profil de maladie chronique dans les pays développés s’est accompagnée d’une espérance de vie proche de celle de la population générale pour les personnes efficacement traitées. Cliniciens et chercheurs ont cependant constaté chez des sujets porteurs du VIH l’apparition de pathologies métaboliques, cognitives ou cardio-vasculaires associées au vieillissement à un âge nettement plus précoce que dans la population générale.

The evolution of this disease towards one with the profile of a chronic illness in developed countries has been accompanied with a life expentancy for those treated effectively close to that of the general population. Clinicians and researchers, however, have noted the appearance of metabolic, cognitive or cardio-vascular pathologies associated with ageing among HIV carriers at an age markedly younger than in the general population.

Cette sénescence prématurée est une réalité sur le plan biologique et clinique. “La comorbidité associée au vieillissement (ostéoporose, pathologies neurologiques, diabète, anomalies des lipides, cancers, etc.) apparaît dès 45-50 ans chez les patients VIH +, alors qu’elle touche les sujets de 65 ans et plus dans la population générale”, remarque la professeure Jacqueline Capeau (Inserm UMR 938, université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Paris), qui dirige le groupe de travail de l’ANRS sur ce thème.

This premature senescence is a biological and clinical reality. “Comorbidity associated with ageing (osteoporosis, neurological pathologies, diabetes, anomalies with lipids, cancers, etc) appear between 45 and 50 years of age in HIV+ patients, when they affect people over 65 in the general population”, notes professor Jacqueline Capeau (Inserm UMR 938, université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Paris), who directs the ANRS’ work group on this subject.

Ce phénomène est observé pour les troubles cognitifs dans les résultats préliminaires d’une étude baptisée CogLoc. “Les résultats concernant les 323 patients déjà inclus, d’un âge médian de 46 ans, montrent qu’une personne séropositive sur cinq présente des déficits légers ou modérés (avec dans ce cas un retentissement sur la vie quotidienne). Ces troubles ne touchent que de 3 % à 5 % de la population générale âgée de plus de 65 ans”, indique la professeure Geneviève Chêne (Inserm U897, Institut de santé publique, d’épidémiologie et de développement, université Victor-Segalen, Bordeaux), responsable de l’étude avec le professeur Patrick Dehail (CHU de Bordeaux).

This phenomenon is observed in cognitive problems in the preliminary results of a study named CogLoc. “The results for the 323 people already included, with a median age of 46, show that one fifth of HIV+ people present light or moderate deficits (affecting, in this case, everyday life). These troubles only affect 3% to 5% of the general population aged over 65″, says Professor Geneviève Chêne (Inserm U897, French Institute for Public Health, Epidemiology and Development, université Victor-Segalen, Bordeaux), responsible for the study with Professor Patrick Dehail (CHU de Bordeaux).

Lancée en 2007 par l’ANRS, l’étude CogLoc évalue la fréquence des troubles cognitifs et locomoteurs chez les patients infectés par le VIH, au sein de la “cohorte Aquitaine”. Les troubles cognitifs apparaissent corrélés à différents facteurs généraux : âge, niveau d’études plus bas, traumatisme crânien dans l’enfance, syndrome dépressif. Mais, ils sont également en relation avec l’avancement de l’infection par le VIH : “Les patients dont la maladie est la plus avancée présentent le plus de troubles cognitifs. Toutes les fonctions cognitives ne sont pas affectées de la même façon. Les capacités verbales et lexicales sont plus touchées que la mémoire”, souligne la professeure Chêne.

Launched in 2007 by the ANRS, the CogLoc study evaluated cognitive and locomotive problems in patients infected with HIV, within the “Aquitaine cohort”. Cognitive problems seem to be associated with different general factors: age, lower level of education, childhood head injury, depression. But there is equally a relationship with the advancement of HIV infection: “Patients in whom the disease is more advanced present more cognitive problems. All the cognitive functions are affected the same way. Verbal and lexical capacity are more affected than memory,” emphasised Professor Chêne.

Comment expliquer ce phénomène de vieillissement prématuré ? “En plus de l’hygiène de vie et surtout du tabagisme, trois facteurs peuvent jouer : le virus lui-même, le déficit immunitaire et les traitements antirétroviraux”, avance la professeure Capeau.

How to explain this phenomenon of premature ageing? “In addition to hygiene and especially smoking, three factors can be at play here: The virus itself, immune deficiency, and anti-retroviral treatments,” suggests Professor Capeau.

Même lorsque l’infection est bien contrôlée, le virus continue de se répliquer dans différents compartiments du corps appelés “réservoirs”. C’est le cas, notamment dans les macrophages. Très ubiquitaires, ces cellules qui participent aux défenses immunitaires infectent d’autres cellules dans les tissus voisins. L’activation sans relâche du système immunitaire aboutit à son épuisement et à une forme d’“immunosénescence”, explique la professeure Capeau. Enfin, certains antirétroviraux possèdent une toxicité cellulaire susceptible d’entraîner un vieillissement précoce.

Even when the infection is well controlled, the virus continues to replicate in different compartments of the body called reservoirs. It’s especially true in macrophages. Very widely spread, these cells of the immune sysem infect other cells in neighbouring tissues. The relentless activation of the immune system ends in its exhaustion and a form of “immunosenescence”, explains Professor Capeau. Finally, certain anti-retrovirals have a cellular toxicity likely to lead to early ageing.

Un mécanisme possible a été identifié. Il impliquerait une protéine, la lamine A/C, présente dans le noyau des cellules où elle contribue au maintien de la membrane nucléaire. Des mutations du gène de cette protéine sont en cause dans différentes maladies, dont certaines lipodystrophies (anomalies de la répartition des graisses) et la progéria, une forme de vieillissement accéléré.

A possible mechanism has been identified. It implicates a protein, Lamin A/C, presented in the nuclei of cells where it contributes to the maintenance of the nuclear membrane. Some genetic mutations of the gene for this protein lead to different diseases, including certain Lipodystrophies (“abnormal or degenerative conditions of the body’s adipose tissues” (wikipedia)) and Progeria, a form of accelerated ageing.

Reste enfin des conclusions médicales et médico-sociales à tirer du vieillissement prématuré des personnes infectées par le VIH. D’une part, mettre en oeuvre chez elles des explorations spécifiques afin de rechercher les manifestations d’une sénescence précoce. D’autre part, mener une réflexion sur l’éventuelle nécessité de créer des structures spécifiques pour la prise en charge institutionnelle de ces malades, lorsque la question se posera pour eux d’aller en maison de retraite.

There are still medical and medico-social conclusions to be drawn from this premature ageing of people infected with HIV. On the one hand, initiating specific investigations to research the manifestations of an early ageing. On another hand, leading a reflection on the eventual neccisity of creating specific structures for taking these patients into institutional care when the question of entering a retirement home arises for them.

Well, I definitely read French faster than Chinese, even after all these years, but I suspect this translation is no more accurate than anything I’ve translated from Chinese. Help, anyone?

I’m going to break my long silence (I’ll be very glad, and probably a lot more blogductive, when this semester’s over) with a very short, yet intriguing article in today’s 新京报/The Beijing News:

山西解救被拐妇幼67人

Shanxi rescues 67 kidnapped women and children

The report comes from a Xinhua release and the journalist named is one Hu Jingguo. Trouble is, it’s very short and kinda short on details. Anyway, here it is:

记者从山西省公安厅获悉，“打拐”专项行动开展以来，山西40天内打掉5个重大犯罪团伙，解救被拐妇女儿童67人。

This reporter learned from the Shanxi Province Public Security Department that since the launch of a special “anti-trafficking” operation, Shanxi has broken 5 large criminal gangs within 40 days and rescued 67 trafficked women and children.

自公安部4月9日在全国公安机关部署“打拐”专项行动以来，截至5月18日，山西共破案37起，刑事拘留43人，解救被拐卖儿童36人、妇女31人。

From April 9, when the Ministry of Public Security deployed Public Security organs throughout the country on a special “anti-trafficking” operation, to May 18, Shanxi has solved 37 cases, detained 37 people, and rescued 36 trafficked children and 31 trafficked women.

Now, this is, of course, superb news, but it leaves me hungry for more information….. Google to the rescue…. or not. Oh dear, the only Google news result is the same article published on Netease. Baidu? Hexun, this time, but otherwise just as useless. Shanxi Youth News seems to be even less helpful.

So I guess I’m just going to have to wonder about the rest of this story, all that stuff that didn’t make it through Xinhua, unless anybody out there can find any more info than I’m getting.