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Resident consumption is an important link to smooth the domestic circulation and promote the economy to achieve high-quality development. To stimulate the vitality of residents' consumption and achieve the expansion and quality of consumption, we should not only focus on the scale and willingness of residents to consume, but also consider the motivation of consumption. The paper analyzes the impact of intergenerational income mobility on residents' marginal propensity to consume and consumption altruism motive by expanding the Over Lapping Generation Models and combining the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data. The results of the study show: Intergenerational Income Elasticity has a significant positive effect on residents' marginal propensity to consume. When Intergenerational Income Elasticity increases, the "altruistic motive" of residents' consumption will also increase significantly. Compared with rural residents, Intergenerational Income Elasticity has a stronger positive effect on urban residents' marginal propensity to consume and marginal propensity to consume education. With the effect of intergenerational factors, urban residents' consumption shows stronger altruistic motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented expansion and development of high-speed rail (HSR) in China provides a unique opportunity and a new way of thinking for addressing the problem of urban-rural wealth disparities. In this paper, I examine the impact of the introduction of HSRs on the income disparity between urban and rural residents in China. Using panel data from 285 prefecture-level cities from 2004 to 2018, in this paper I employ the double-difference method to assess the impact of HSR on the income gap between urban and rural populations and the mechanism of its action; furthermore, I explore the influence of HSR on urban residents' per capita disposable income and rural residents' per capita net income, as well as the impact of HSR on the flow of elements such as labor and capital. My research findings reveal that the introduction of HSR has greatly widened the income gap between urban and rural residents; however, there is heterogeneity between different East, Central, and West regions, as well as between different levels of cities. A further mechanism study finds that HSR lowers farmers' per capita net income, raises urban residents' per capita disposable income, and widens the urban/rural income gap via mechanisms such as facilitating the interregional mobility of labor and capital factors. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively assess the economic effects brought about by HSR, strengthen the construction of urban-rural transport networks, and improve support for rural areas, so as to promote the coordinated development of inter-regional and urban-rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the complex relationship between population change and surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect has important practical significance for the ecological transformation development of shrinking cities in the context of the prevalence of urban shrinkage and the global climate change. This paper compares the population change and SUHI effect between population shrinking region (Northeast Region, NR) and population growing region (Yangtze River Delta, YRD) in China, and explores their differences in driving mechanisms, using GIS spatial analysis and Geodetector model. Our results indicated that there are significant differences in population changes and SUHI intensity between these two regions. About 72.22% of the cities in the NR were shrinking, while their SUHI intensities increased by an average of 1.69°C. On the contrary, the urban population in the YRD shows a linear growth trend, while their SUHI intensities decreased by 0.11°C on average. The results of bivariate Moran's I index also indicated that the spatial correlation between the urban population changes and the SUHI intensity changes are not significant in the above regions. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the primary drivers of SUHI variations between these two regions. In the NR, underlying surface changes, including the changes of green coverage and built-up areas, are the most important driving factors. However, atmospheric environment changes, such as carbon dioxide emission and sulfur dioxide emission, are the key drivers in the YRD. Northam's theory of three-stage urbanization and environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis are powerful to explain these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically tests the relationship between digital finance and income distribution of residents in 280 cities in China from 2011 to 2020 using linear and nonlinear models, respectively. Based on the Greenwood-Jovanovic (G-J) theory of output grow, the empirical study shows that there is a Kuznets effect of digital finance development on the income distribution of Chinese residents, and most regions have not yet crossed the inflection point of the bell-shaped curve, and the income gap within regions will continue to increase with the development of digital finance. Furthermore, the threshold model test shows that the positive effect of digital finance on the income disparity of residents may initially increase with the increase of regional economic level. However, when the regional economic development reaches a higher stage, the negative effect of digital finance development on the income distribution of residents will be significantly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the digital economy has created new forms of inequality of opportunity. This paper studies whether the development of the digital economy expands the income gap between urban and rural areas from theoretical and empirical. The research based on the panel data of 202 cities from 2011 to 2019 in China shows that: (1) Although the digital economy can promote the improvement of both urban and rural absolute income levels, it has a greater positive impact on urban residents' income levels than on rural residents', resulting in a widening of the urban-rural income gap. (2) The analysis of the action mechanism reveals that employment in the information service industry and the depth of digital finance use are two crucial mechanisms for the digital economy to widen the income gap between urban and rural areas. (3) The spatial Durbin model(SDM) and the spatial error model(SEM) based on three spatial weight matrices show that the impact of the digital economy on the urban-rural income gap is also characterized by spatial spillover, and the development of the digital economy will also have a negative impact on the urban-rural income gap in neighboring regions as well. (4) The main conclusions still hold after the robustness of quasi-natural experiments based on the strategy of "Broadband China" and the selection of historical data as instrumental variables. This research is helpful to understand the effects, mechanisms and spatial characteristics of digital economy on urban-rural income gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is one of the countries hardest hit by disasters. Disaster shocks not only cause a large number of casualties and property damage but also have an impact on the risk preference of those who experience it. Current research has not reached a consensus conclusion on the impact of risk preferences. This paper empirically analyzes the effects of natural and man-made disasters on residents' risk preference based on the data of the China Household Financial Survey (CHFS) in 2019. The results indicate that: (1) Both natural and man-made disasters can significantly lead to an increase in the risk aversion of residents, and man-made disasters have a greater impact. (2) Education background plays a negative moderating role in the impact of man-made disasters on residents' risk preference. (3) Natural disaster experiences have a greater impact on the risk preference of rural residents, while man-made disaster experiences have a greater impact on the risk preference of urban residents. Natural disaster experiences make rural residents more risk-averse, while man-made disaster experiences make urban residents more risk-averse. The results provide new evidence and perspective on the negative impact of disaster shocks on the social life of residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of financial Inclusion on household poverty and vulnerability by constructing a household financial inclusion index using the China Household Finance Survey 2015. It is found that financial Inclusion significantly reduces the probability of poverty and vulnerability of households and has a more significant impact on vulnerable groups such as rural and urban low-income people. Further, financial Inclusion has a more significant effect on poor families that do not receive government support for poverty alleviation and can complement co-insurance mechanisms to help families better cope with vulnerabilities caused by synergistic community shocks. Finally, promoting entrepreneurship and improving risk management capabilities are the main channels of financial Inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Administrative division is an important resource to promote the urbanization process and economic growth in China. As an important way of urban spatial expansion, the effect of the removal of counties (county-level cities) into municipal districts(RCD) on economic growth remains to be empirically tested. In this paper, the panel data at the county level from 1998 to 2016 and the differential method were selected to study this problem. The results show that, during the study period, the RCD significantly promoted the economic growth of Chinese cities. The effect of removing counties (county-level cities) from large cities and megacities to set up districts is obviously better than that of small and medium-sized cities. In small and medium-sized cities with small urban permanent population, the RCD has obvious negative impact on economic development. The effect of county (county-level city) reform in eastern and central regions is more significant, while the effect of policy in western and northeast regions is not significant. When the development intensity of the municipal district is between 15%-20%, the effect of the RCD is relatively good, and the administrative division adjustment of the municipal district has a certain optimal window period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By taking 31 provinces (municipalities/autonomous regions) in Mainland China as the object of research, and using the data on urban population and built-up area of each region from 2005 to 2019, this paper measures the dispersion coefficient of population urbanization and land urbanization in each region through models and visually expresses the level and type of imbalance between them to reveal the temporal and spatial characteristics of imbalance. The results of the research show that since China's state-owned land was sold through bidding, auction, and listing, the overall urbanization of the population and land development have become unbalanced. There is obvious regional and category difference in imbalance between population urbanization and land urbanization. The degree of imbalance increases from the central, eastern, northeastern to western regions. The remaining 29 regions are generally lagging in population urbanization except for Beijing and Hebei province. This imbalance is mainly caused by China's dual household registration system, dual land system and the asymmetrical tax distribution system between financial rights and administrative rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The situation of the COVID-19 outbreak in the border areas of China and Vietnam is complex, and its progress may affect the willingness of urban and rural residents to receive the vaccine. Objective: This study aims to understand the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic situation on the willingness of urban and rural residents in China-Vietnam border areas to get vaccinated and the factors that affect the vaccinations. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe, a border area between China and Vietnam, using online and paper questionnaires from April 1 to June 4, 2021. A total of 8849 valid questionnaires were surveyed to compare the differences in the willingness of urban and rural residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Single factor analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to explore the influence of the epidemic situation on the willingness to be vaccinated. Results: In the border areas between China and Vietnam in Yunnan Province, both urban and rural residents had a high willingness (> 90%) to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, with a higher level of willingness in urban than in rural areas and a higher willingness among residents aged ≥ 56 years. Rural residents mainly concerned about the vaccination were different from urban residents (p< 0.05). About 54.8% of urban respondents and 59.2% of rural respondents indicated that their willingness to get COVID-19 vaccine would be affected by new COVID-19 cases. Respondents who were divorced, had an occupation other than farming, had contraindications to vaccination, were concerned about the safety of vaccines and worried about virus mutation, thought that the epidemic situation would not affect their willingness to get vaccinated (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The prevention and control of epidemics in border areas is of considerable importance. It is necessary to conduct targeted health education and vaccine knowledge popularization among urban and rural residents to increase the vaccination rate and consolidate the epidemic prevention and control at the border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The income gap between regions and its expansion are the main manifestations of the imbalanced and inadequate economic development in China. High-speed railway (HSR) construction is regarded as an important method to drive domestic demand, drive the pulse of the economy, and promote the coordinated development of regions. Based on the opening of HSR and the acceleration of ordinary railways, we used the weighted average travel time model and accessibility coefficient to estimate the changes on accessibility in 286 cities at prefecture-level and above from 2000 to 2018. Then, the influence mechanisms of improving regional accessibility on urban residents' income were estimated by using the bidirectional-fixed effects panel model and the recursive model respectively. We found that: (1) The accessibility of urban areas has been greatly improved due to the opening of HSR and the acceleration of ordinary railway, among which the improvement of HSR cities is greater. (2) The improvement of regional accessibility significantly promoted the income growth of urban residents, and the increase of the regional accessibility coefficient by 1 unit led to an average increase of 2140 yuan in the per capita disposable income of urban residents. (3) There is regional heterogeneity in the impact of improving regional accessibility on urban residents' income, and it has a significant effect on the eastern and northeastern regions. It has a greater positive effect on improving the income of residents in central cities compared with peripheral cities. (4) Regional accessibility can promote urban income growth through regional employment and fixed asset investment. In the future, the transportation network should be further improved to facilitate the regional economic cycle, strengthen the coordination and complementarity of regional economies, and promote regional economic integration so as to promote the improvement of resident income level and the common prosperity of the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand, foot and mouth (HFM) disease is a common childhood illness. The paper aims to capture the spatiotemporal characters, and investigate the influence factors of the HFM epidemic in 15 regions of Xinjiang province from 2008 to 2017, China. Descriptive statistical analysis shows that the children aged 0-5 years have a higher HFM incidence, mostly boys. The male-female ratio is 1.5:1. Through the scanning method, we obtain the first cluster high-risk areas. The cluster time is usually from May to August every year. A spatiotemporal model is proposed to analyze the impact of meteorological factors on HFM disease. Comparing with the spatial model, the model is more effective in terms of R2, AIC, deviation, and mean-square error. Among meteorological factors, the number of HFM cases generally increases with the intensity of rainfall. As the temperature increases, there are more HFM patients. Some regions are mostly influenced by wind speed. Further, another spatiotemporal model is introduced to investigate the relationship between HFM disease and socioeconomic factors. The results show that socioeconomic factors have significant influence on the disease. In most areas, the risk of HFM disease tends to rise with the increase of the gross domestic product, the ratios of urban population and tertiary industry. The incidence is closely related to the number of beds and population density in some regions. The higher the ratio of primary school, the lower the number of HFM cases. Based on the above analysis, it is the key measure to prevent and control the spread of the HFM epidemic in high-risk areas, and influence factors should not be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's announcement of its goal of carbon neutrality has increased the practical significance of research on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that result from urbanization. With a comprehensive consideration of population migration in China, this study examines the impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions based on provincial panel data from 2000 to 2012. Two indicators (resident population and household registration population) are used to measure urbanization rate. The results reveal that the impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions in China is closely correlated with the structure of urban resident population and interregional population migration. The estimation results are still robust by using generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator and two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimator. The proportion of temporary residents is introduced as a proxy variable for population migration. The panel threshold model regression results show that the proportion of temporary residents has a marginal effect on the relationship between urbanization and CO2 emissions. In regions with a higher proportion of temporary residents, the positive effects of resident population urbanization on CO2 emissions tend to be weaker. These findings are consistent with the theories of ecological modernization and urban environmental transition. This paper makes suggestions on China's urbanization development model and countermeasures are proposed to minimize the CO2 emissions caused by urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The income gap between urban and rural residents has long been a predicament for China. The differences between returns to education in urban and rural China are one of the important factors affecting the income gap. Using a combination of data from CHNS, CHIP, CGSS, CFPS, CHFS, and CSS, the differences in returns to education and its evolution in China from 1989 to 2019 were estimated. Results show that returns to education in urban China have been consistently higher than that in rural China. Returns to education in urban China show a trend of progressive increase, then a rapid rise, before turning into a slow decline and gradually leveling off; returns to education in rural China exhibit a slowly increasing trend before gradually leveling off; the differences between returns to education in urban and rural China show an evolution of first growing larger, then smaller, before gradually leveling off. The spouse's education was considered the instrumental variable of individuals' education. The robustness test was done with an estimation through a two-stage least squares (2SLS) method. Results indicate that the empirical conclusion has good robustness. The evolution of returns to education in China was explained in terms of the marketization of labor forces, the relative supply and demand of labor forces, the reform of the household registration system, and the evolution of the quality of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urban population in China is mainly covered by two medical insurance schemes: the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) for urban employees in formal sector and the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) for the left urban residents, mainly the unemployed, the elderly and children. This paper studies the effects of UEBMI and URBMI on health services utilisation in Shaanxi Province, Western China. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 4th National Health Services Survey - Shaanxi Province was studied. The propensity score matching and the coarsened exact matching methods have been used to estimate the average medical insurance effect on the insured. Results: Compared to the uninsured, robust results suggest that UEBMI had significantly increased the outpatient health services utilisation in the last two weeks (p<0.10), whilst the significant effect on hospitalisation was evident in the CEM method (p<0.10). The effect of URBMI was limited in that although being insured was associated with higher health services utilisation, compared with the uninsured, none of the improvement was statistically significant (p>0.10). It was also found that compared with the uninsured, basic medical insurance enrollees were more likely to purchase inpatient treatments in lower levels of hospitals, consistent with the incentive of the benefit package design. Conclusion: Basic Medical insurance schemes have shown a positive but limited effect on increasing health services utilisation in Shaanxi Province. The benefit package design of higher reimbursement rates for lower level hospitals has induced the insured to use medical services in lower level hospitals for inpatient services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further implement the "Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline" and actively develop the sports tourism industry, this study analyzed the independent variables and dependent variables that affect the urban residents' sports tourism risk perception consumption behavior.Finally, the simultaneous regression, stepwise regression and hierarchical regression models of sports tourism risk perception consumption behavior of urban residents are constructed. The purpose is to help people effectively screen all kinds of risks in the process of sports tourism, promote the growth of sports consumption, and provide theoretical and practical guidance for the development of sports tourism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that political participation does not only affect the flow of public resources but also creates positive feedback on participants' subjective perceptions. However, research on the relationship between political participation and the life satisfaction of Chinese urban residents is relatively scarce. Thus, this study investigates whether political participation helps improve the life satisfaction of Chinese urban residents. Based on 2577 samples of the 2015 Chinese Social Survey this study used the Ordinary least squares model, instrumental variable model, and propensity score matching model to explore the relationship between political participation and the life satisfaction of Chinese urban residents. The empirical results show that political participation can significantly improve the life satisfaction of urban residents. Compared with urban residents without political participation, the life satisfaction of the political participants was 0.145 units higher at a 0.05 level of significance. In addition, this improved effect varied in degree among different groups of urban residents and was more significant for females, members of the Communist Party of China, highly educated, and employed urban residents. In China, there is a significant relationship between political participation and the life satisfaction of urban residents, with the life satisfaction of urban residents improving significantly through political participation. There are differences in the level of this improved effect among different urban residents, and it is more significant for females, highly educated, members of the Communist Party, and employed urban residents. To improve the life satisfaction of Chinese urban residents, it is necessary to further broaden their political participation channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions from civil buildings refer to the carbon emissions generated during the operation of civil buildings. With the continuous development of the urban economy and the improvement of people's living standards, this part of carbon emission puts tremendous pressure on China to achieve the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutral. In the context of rapid urbanization, studying the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of the carbon emissions from civil buildings have strong practical significance for China to achieve the "dual carbon" goal. Based on the emission data from 104 prefecture-level cities in China, we examine the spatiotemporal characteristics of the civil building carbon emissions from the perspectives of temporal evolution trend, spatial distribution and its dynamic evolution, spatial difference and its decomposition, and spatial autocorrelation characteristics. Finally, we reveal the influencing factors of the carbon emissions from civil buildings using static panel data models and spatial dynamic panel data models. The results of the study show that: (1) During the sample period, the carbon emissions from civil buildings have increased year by year. The civil building carbon emissions have become an important source of China's overall carbon emissions. Realizing energy saving and emission reduction in the operational stage of civil buildings is crucial to realizing China's "dual carbon" goal. (2) According to the estimated results, there is a significant inverted U-shaped non-linear relationship between urbanization and civil building carbon emissions. Most Chinese cities are located in the upward part of the inverted U-shaped curve at present. Thus, the traditional economic growth model characterized by high energy consumption and high emission during rapid urbanization should be abandoned to reduce the carbon emissions from civil buildings. (3) Technological progress and fixed asset investment can effectively reduce the carbon emissions from civil buildings. At the same time, the level of marketization and social consumption expenditure positively affect the carbon emissions from civil buildings. It is necessary to improve the relevant market mechanisms, policy subsidies, and other means to encourage the application of green energy-saving technologies in civil buildings. Also, it is needed to guide the urban residents' consumption structure and lifestyle in a low-carbon direction, to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions during the operation of civil buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines local residents' place attachment (PA) to the city or town they live and investigates how this attachment influences their perceptions and support for tourism development (ST), as well as comparing the differences of these relationships among the city and town residents in a linear World Heritage Site (WHS) setting. Structural equation model was used to analyze samples of 226 city residents and 235 town residents along the Grand Canal Yangzhou Section, China. The findings suggested that residents' PA is positively correlated their ST. Results also suggested that the PA-ST effect is partially mediated by residents' positive perceptions in the city area while fully mediated by residents' positive and negative perceptions in the town areas. This study could help local governments make heritage development and management policies accordingly for cities and towns along the Grand Canal area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently designing a regional economic layout for high-quality urban development, shifting its focus from the primary stage of beautifying cities to the next stage of profound urbanization aiming at strengthening industry. This is of high importance given that the urbanization rate of permanent residents by the end of 2019 was 60.60%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. In the face of various factors such as the need to economize the intensive use of resources, urban stock development, and the need for urban constructions to maintain harmony with the surrounding ecosystem, regeneration has emerged as an efficient means to repurpose old residential districts. It conforms to the policy of stock planning and is one of the important methods to ensure the sustainable development of a city. Prioritizing the right attributes in renovation is one of the critical steps in the regeneration of old residential districts—instead of merely focusing on their selection and scoring by experts, more attention should be paid to the resident satisfaction (or the lack thereof) arising from them. Therefore, in this study, we have proposed a collaborative approach that requires communities to prioritize the appropriate aspects in urban renewal. This study employed the three-factor theory of customer satisfaction, to investigate the five attributes namely geographical location, infrastructure, traffic, residential management, and living facilities, of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of residents in the old city. This includes 327 samples based on the residents of Yanta old town in Xi'an. The asymmetric impact-performance analysis technique was used to explore, and quantify the asymmetric relationship between the attributes of old residential districts, and residents' satisfaction. The results proved that attributes were divided into three: excitement factors, performance, and basic factors, based on the asymmetric influence of attributes on residents' satisfaction. Residential management was into excitement factors, living facilities were categorized into basic factors, and the remaining three attributes were categorized into performance factors. The satisfaction of the residents regarding the renovation was maximized by comprehensively considering the performance of given attributes, adjusting the improvement strategies of each attribute, and further determining the focus of the renovation of the old residential districts. Simultaneously, it helped planners make more rational choices in urban renewal and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China's reform and opening-up in 1978, the income of rural residents has increased when compared with that of urban residents. However, the income growth rate of farmers is relatively low, and the income gap between urban and rural areas is widening. Using a sample of 1,325 large-scale farming households in Lin'an, this study constructs a theoretical path for how the level of vertical integration and an organization model affect farmers' income levels and empirically tests the path using a mediation effect analysis model. The results indicate that organization models and vertical integration are important factors that affect farmers' income levels. The total income and agricultural operation income of farmers who participate in agricultural operation organizations are greater than that of farmers who do not participate in an operation organization. In addition, the total income and agricultural operation income of farmers who produce and process and those who produce, process, and sell are higher than those of farmers who only produce. A farmers' organization model has both a direct and an indirect positive influence on their income level, with the indirect positive influence coming through the mediating variable of vertical integration. The application of the organizational model can promote the growth of rural households' total family income and agricultural income by 13.48% and 14.48% respectively, consisting of direct increases of 9.67% and 10.19%, and indirect increases of 3.81% and 4.29% through vertical integration. The results also show that access to credit, agricultural technology training, and the farmer's education level have significant positive impacts on farming income levels. The findings suggest ways to increase farmers' income by perfecting agricultural management organization systems, promoting agricultural industrialization, strengthening rural financial support, improving agricultural technical training for farmers, and increasing their level of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid economic development across China over recent decades, examining how urbanization may affect healthcare service use and its implications is more than urgent. This study estimates the association between urbanization and primary healthcare services use in China. We construct a prefecture-level dataset on healthcare services utilization and urbanization. We regress the proportion of residents using healthcare services in primary healthcare centers versus secondary or tertiary hospitals on a set of prefecture-level control variables. Results suggest that use of primary healthcare centers outpatient service is positively associated with being in the proximity of a provincial capital, but negatively correlated with the percentage of the urban population and the availability of public transportation. Higher likelihood of seeking care in major hospitals instead of primary healthcare centers is associated with urbanization, justifying a need for primary care physicians as gatekeepers in China's healthcare delivery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the availability and affordability of oral anti-diabetic medicines in Shaanxi Province, Western China. In 2015, the prices and availability of 8 anti-diabetic medicines covering 31 different dosage forms and strengths were collected in six cities of Shaanxi Province. A total of 72 public hospitals and 72 private pharmacies were sampled, using a modified methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International (HAI). Medicine prices were compared with international reference prices to obtain a median price ratio. For urban residents, affordability was assessed as the lowest-paid unskilled government workers to purchase cost of standard treatment in days' wages; for rural residents, days' net income was used. The mean availabilities of originator brands (OBs) and generics were 34.3% and 28.7% in public hospitals, and 44.1% and 64.4% in the private pharmacies. OBs and the lowest priced generics (LPGs) were procured at 12.38 and 4.52 times the international reference price in public hospitals, and 10.26 and 2.81 times the international reference prices in private pharmacies. Treatments with OBs were unaffordable even for urban residents. The affordability of the LPGs was good, except for acarbose, repaglinide and pioglitazone. Most anti-diabetic medicines cannot met the WHO's availability target (80% availability) in Shaanxi Province. The high prices of OBs had severely influenced the affordability of medicines, especially for the rural residents. Effective policies should be initiated to ensure the Chinese people a better access to more affordable anti-diabetic medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have explored the relationship between housing prices and environmental characteristics using the hedonic price model (HPM). However, few studies have deeply examined the impact of scene perception near residential units on housing prices. This article used house purchasing records from and open access geolocation data (including massive street view pictures, point of interest (POI) data and road network data) and proposed a framework named “open-access-dataset-based hedonic price modeling (OADB-HPM)” for comprehensive analysis in Beijing and Shanghai, China. A state-of-the-art deep learning framework and massive Baidu street view panoramas were employed to visualize and quantify three major scene perception characteristics (greenery, sky and building view indexes, abbreviated GVI, SVI and BVI, respectively) at the street level. Then, the newly introduced scene perception characteristics were combined with other traditional characteristics in the HPM to calculate marginal prices, and the results for Beijing and Shanghai were explored and compared. The empirical results showed that the greenery and sky perceptual elements at the property level can significantly increase the housing price in Beijing (RMB 39,377 and 6011, respectively) and Shanghai (RMB 21,689 and 2763, respectively), indicating an objectively higher willingness by buyers to pay for houses that provide the ability to perceive natural elements in the surrounding environment. This study developed quantification tools to help decision makers and planners understand and analyze the interaction between residents and urban scene components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding urbanization and evaluating its impact are vital for formulating global sustainable development. The results obtained from evaluating the impact of urbanization, however, depend on the kind of measurement used. With the goal of increasing our understanding of the impact of urbanization, we developed direct and indirect subjective indicators to measure how people assess their living situation. The survey revealed that the projected endorsements and perceived social ambiance of people toward living in different types of settlements did not improve along with the urbanization level in China. The assessment scores from the city dwellers were not significantly different from those from the country areas and, more surprisingly, both were significantly higher than the assessment scores of the town dwellers, which we had expected to fall between the assessment scores of the country and city dwellers. Instead their scores were the lowest. We dubbed this V-shaped relationship the “town dislocation effect.” When searching for a potential explanation for this effect, we found additional town dislocation effects in social support, loss aversion, and receptivity toward genetically modified food. Further analysis showed that only social support mediated the relationship between the three tiers of settlements (cities, country areas, and towns) and the subjective indicator. The projected endorsements yielded significant subjective assessments that could enhance our understanding of Chinese urbanization. Towns posed specific problems that require special attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study aims to explore the patterns and changes of active and passive smoking in the elderly population. Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys with representative samples of urban populations, aged between 60 and 95 years old, were conducted in 2001 and 2010 in Beijing. A current smoker was defined as a person who smoked a tobacco product at the time of the survey, and a passive smoker was defined as a person who had been exposed to smoke exhaled by a smoker for more than 15 minutes per day more than once per week. Results: A total of 2,277 participants in 2001 and 2,102 participants in 2010 completed the survey. The current smoking prevalence changed slightly in males (24.7 vs. 21.2%, P = 0.081), while the prevalence in females decreased significantly from 8.8% (95% CI: 7.3–10.3%) in 2001 to 4.1% (95% CI: 3.0–5.2%) in 2010 (P<0.001). The prevalence of passive smoking was 30.5% (95% CI: 28.6–32.4%) in 2001 and 30.0% (95% CI: 28.1–32.0%) in 2010. The main source of secondhand smoke switched from a spouse in 2001 to offspring in 2010. This trend was observed in both sexes. Passive smoking in males from a smoking spouse decreased from 5.7% to 2.4% (P<0.001), while that from smoking offspring increased from 7.3 to 14.5% (P<0.001). Passive smoking in females from a spouse decreased from 30.6 to 17.6%, while that from offspring increased from 5.3 to 15.4% (P<0.001). Conclusion: Offspring became the main source of secondhand smoke for the elderly. Our findings demonstrated the importance of implementing smoking prevention programs, to educate older adults who live with a smoking spouse and/or offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS), and evaluate the value of NAFLD as a marker for predicting the risk of MetS in a large scale prospective cohort from northern urban Han Chinese population. Materials and Methods: A total of 17,920 MetS-free at baseline cohort members was included in the current study between 2005 and 2011. The baseline characteristics of the cohort were compared by NAFLD status at baseline, MetS status after follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the unadjusted or adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for NAFLD at baseline predicting the risk of MetS. Results: 2,183 (12.18%) new cases of MetS occurred between 2005 and 2011. In unadjusted model, HRs (95% CIs) for NAFLD predicting MetS was 3.65 (3.35, 3.97). After adjusting the confounding factors of age, gender, the metabolic factors, smoke and exercise, the HRs (95% CIs) was 1.70 (1.55, 1.87). Gender difference was observed, adjusted HRs (95% CIs) of NAFLD for predicting MetS were 2.06(1.72, 2.46) and 1.55(1.39, 1.72) in female and male population, respectively. Moreover, 163 participants developed MetS among participants without any MetS component at baseline, and its adjusted HRs was still significant, 1.87 (1.12, 3.13). Conclusion: The present study indicates that NAFLD is an independent risk factor for predicting the risk of MetS in northern urban Han Chinese population, and the people with NAFLD should initiate weight and dietary control to prevent the occurrence of MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of poultry exposure in rural and urban areas in China have not been systematically evaluated and compared. The objective of our study is to investigate patterns in human exposure to poultry in rural and urban China. We conducted a two-stage household-based clustered survey on population exposure to live/sick/dead poultry in Xiuning and Shenzhen. Half of the rural households (51%) in Xiuning raised poultry, mostly (78%) free-range. Around half of those households (40%) allowed poultry to stay in their living areas. One quarter of villagers reported having contact with sick or dead poultry. In Shenzhen, 37% urban residents visited live poultry markets. Among these, 40% purchased live poultry and 16% touched the poultry or cages during purchase. Our findings indicated that human exposure to poultry was different in rural and urban areas in China. This discrepancy could contribute to the observed differences in epidemiologic characteristics between urban and rural cases of influenza A(H7N9) and A(H5N1) virus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]