Breaking the barriers: How urban housing ownership has changed migrants’ settlement intentions in China

Since the abolition in China of unequal regulations and controls related to the urban labour market and rural–urban migration in recent years, attention has been paid to migrants’ settlement intentions and their integration into host cities. Settlement channels have become more diverse and more accessible to migrants, because of relaxed institutional constraints and the advanced market mechanism, which are essential to the pace and process of urbanisation, and welfare and service provisions in host cities. Using data from a survey conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economic of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Ningbo in 2014, this study examines migrants’ various settlement intention patterns, including traditional permanent settlement intention involving the transfer of one’s household registration ( hukou) status; de facto permanent settlement intention through purchasing urban housing; and long-term temporary settlement intention and short-term temporary settlement intention not involving the transfer of one’s hukou. This paper finds that hukou status has a limited impact on permanent settlement intention, and rural migrants tend to achieve permanent settlement through more flexible channels, such as purchasing urban housing in their host cities, thereby avoiding the institutional hurdle of obtaining a local urban hukou. The paper contributes to the study of migration in China by introducing a new concept of settlement intention, de facto permanent settlement intention, which has not yet been investigated empirically in the existing literature.

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Toward Human-Centered Urbanization? Housing Ownership and Access to Social Insurance Among Migrant Households in China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11133567 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (13) ◽

pp. 3567 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Christine Wen ◽

Jeremy L. Wallace

Keyword(s):

Affordable Housing ◽

Social Insurance ◽

Urban Housing ◽

Rural Migrants ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Permanent Settlement ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

The Government ◽

Migrant Households ◽

The City

For the past few years, China’s urbanization policy has focused on expanding welfare and affordable housing for rural migrants so as to encourage them to put down roots in the city. The international literature disagrees on the relationship between homeownership and welfare—whether the former is a substitute for or a consequence of the latter. Using multilevel logistic regression on a 2015 nationally representative survey, this paper explores the determinants of housing ownership among China’s rural migrant households in their city of residence, focusing particularly on access to urban social insurance. The results show that institutional ties to the city such as enrollment in local pensions and health insurance are associated with higher likelihood of homeownership. This paper argues that policy interventions should target the social security system, as rural migrants are likely unwilling or unable to invest in urban housing due to the increased risk and precarity they typically experience. The findings also suggest that to make urbanization more sustainable, the government should aim at making cities more family-friendly, expanding alternatives to employment-based social insurance schemes, and targeting efforts on interior cities in migrant-sourcing provinces that pose fewer barriers to permanent settlement.

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Rural–urban migration and childrearing values of rural migrants in contemporary China

Chinese Journal of Sociology ◽

10.1177/2057150x20929480 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 364-383

Author(s):

Yuling Wu ◽

Hong Xiao

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Survey ◽

Rural Household ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Related Factors ◽

Rural Migrants ◽

Household Registration ◽

Non Local ◽

Rural Urban Migration ◽

Using Data ◽

The City

In this study, we investigate the correlation between migrant-related factors and migrants’ childrearing values concerning community-oriented versus individual-based dimensions, with a particular interest in the effects of rural household registration ( hukou) status and settlement intention. Using data from the 2009 Longitudinal Survey on Rural–Urban Migration in China, we find that rural migrants stress individual-based qualities the most, such as independence, diligence, and responsibility, while they also emphasize certain community-oriented qualities, such as tolerance/respect, and obedience. Local or non-local rural hukou status at the city level is not an important factor in people’s migrant lives when it comes to shaping childrearing values. Instead, settlement intention is found to be more important than hukou status in affecting rural migrants’ childrearing values, particularly in non-local rural migrants, in that rural migrants with settlement intention tend to favor community-oriented values as opposed to individual-based values for their children.

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Humanitarian Assistance and Permanent Settlement of Asylum Seekers in Greece: The Role of Sympathy, Perceived Threat, and Perceived Contribution

International Migration Review ◽

10.1177/0197918320949826 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 019791832094982

Author(s):

Elisavet Thravalou ◽

Borja Martinovic ◽

Maykel Verkuyten

Keyword(s):

North Africa ◽

Asylum Seekers ◽

Humanitarian Aid ◽

Humanitarian Assistance ◽

Perceived Threat ◽

Threat Perceptions ◽

Permanent Settlement ◽

Using Data

During the recent inflow of asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe, the native population in Greek frontier islands largely offered humanitarian assistance to these immigrants, while support for their permanent settlement in the area was low. To explain this discrepancy, we investigated whether sympathy toward asylum seekers, perceptions of threat posed by asylum seekers, and asylum seekers’ perceived societal contributions relate differently to native Greeks’ self-reported provision of humanitarian assistance and to their support for asylum seekers’ permanent settlement in Greece. Using data from a representative sample of 1,220 Greek participants, we found that Greeks who showed more sympathy toward asylum seekers were more likely to report having offered humanitarian assistance. Further, participants who felt more sympathy and those who perceived higher asylum seekers’ contributions were more positive toward asylum seekers’ permanent settlement, whereas participants who perceived more threat from asylum seekers showed less support for their permanent settlement. We conclude that policies geared toward motivating people to provide humanitarian aid to asylum seekers should focus on generating sympathy, whereas policies geared toward increasing long-term acceptance of asylum seekers need to additionally consider lowering threat perceptions and highlighting asylum seekers’ contributions.

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Clinical impact of myositis-specific autoantibodies on long-term prognosis of juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: multicentre study

Rheumatology ◽

10.1093/rheumatology/keab108 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuichi Yamasaki ◽

Norimoto Kobayashi ◽

Shinji Akioka ◽

Kazuko Yamazaki ◽

Shunichiro Takezaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Matrix Protein ◽

Multiple Drug ◽

Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies ◽

Inflammatory Myopathies ◽

Gamma Subunits ◽

Specific Autoantibody ◽

Long Term Prognosis ◽

Using Data ◽

Drug Free

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) in Japan for each myositis-specific autoantibody (MSA) profile. Methods A multicentre, retrospective study was conducted using data of patients with JIIM at nine paediatric rheumatology centres in Japan. Patients with MSA profiles, determined by immunoprecipitation using stored serum from the active stage, were included. Results MSA were detected in 85 of 96 cases eligible for the analyses. Over 90% of the patients in this study had one of the following three MSA types: anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) (n = 31), anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 alpha and/or gamma subunits (TIF1γ) (n = 25) and anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 (NXP2) (n = 25) antibodies. Gottron papules and periungual capillary abnormalities were the most common signs of every MSA group in the initial phase. The presence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) was the highest risk factor for patients with anti-MDA5 antibodies. Most patients were administered multiple drug therapies: glucocorticoids and MTX were administered to patients with anti-TIF1γ or anti-NXP2 antibodies. Half of the patients with anti-MDA5 antibodies received more than three medications including i.v. CYC, especially patients with ILD. Patients with anti-MDA5 antibodies were more likely to achieve drug-free remission (29 vs 21%) and less likely to relapse (26 vs 44%) than others. Conclusion Anti-MDA5 antibodies are the most common MSA type in Japan, and patients with this antibody are characterized by ILD at onset, multiple medications including i.v. CYC, drug-free remission, and a lower frequency of relapse. New therapeutic strategies are required for other MSA types.

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Increase associated risk of gynaecological cancer due to long-term exposure to high concentration of atmospheric SO2 industrial pollutant

Indoor and Built Environment ◽

10.1177/1420326x211003655 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1420326X2110036

Author(s):

Qian Xu ◽

Chan Lu ◽

Rachael Gakii Murithi ◽

Lanqin Cao

Keyword(s):

Time Windows ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

Gynaecological Cancer ◽

High Concentration ◽

The Past ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

Using Data ◽

Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽

Control Study

A cohort case–control study was conducted in XiangYa Hospital, Changsha, China, which involved 305 patients and 399 healthy women, from June 2010 to December 2018, to evaluate the association between Chinese women’s short- and long-term exposure to industrial air pollutant, SO2 and gynaecological cancer (GC). We obtained personal and family information from the XiangYa Hospital electronic computer medical records. Using data obtained from the air quality monitoring stations in Changsha, we estimated each woman’s exposure to the industrial air pollutant, sulphur dioxide (SO2), for different time windows, including the past 1, 5, 10 and 15 years before diagnosis of the disease. A multiple logistic regression model was used to assess the association between GC and SO2 exposure. GC was significantly associated with long-term SO2 exposure, with adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.56 (1.10–2.21) and 1.81 (1.07–3.06) for a per interquartile range increase in the past 10 and 15 years, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that different groups reacted in different ways to long-term SO2 exposure. We concluded that long-term exposure to high concentration of industrial pollutant, SO2 is associated with the development of GC. This finding has implications for the prevention and reduction of GC.

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Assisting scalable diagnosis automatically via CT images in the combat against COVID-19

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83424-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bohan Liu ◽

Pan Liu ◽

Lutao Dai ◽

Yanlin Yang ◽

Peng Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Independent Set ◽

Reference Method ◽

Ct Images ◽

Loss Of Life ◽

Case Identification ◽

Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽

Using Data

AbstractThe pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is causing enormous loss of life globally. Prompt case identification is critical. The reference method is the real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assay, whose limitations may curb its prompt large-scale application. COVID-19 manifests with chest computed tomography (CT) abnormalities, some even before the onset of symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that the application of deep learning (DL) to 3D CT images could help identify COVID-19 infections. Using data from 920 COVID-19 and 1,073 non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients, we developed a modified DenseNet-264 model, COVIDNet, to classify CT images to either class. When tested on an independent set of 233 COVID-19 and 289 non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients, COVIDNet achieved an accuracy rate of 94.3% and an area under the curve of 0.98. As of March 23, 2020, the COVIDNet system had been used 11,966 times with a sensitivity of 91.12% and a specificity of 88.50% in six hospitals with PCR confirmation. Application of DL to CT images may improve both efficiency and capacity of case detection and long-term surveillance.

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Long-term effectiveness in patients previously treated with cladribine tablets: a real-world analysis of the Italian multiple sclerosis registry (CLARINET-MS)

Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders ◽

10.1177/1756286420922685 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 175628642092268 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Francesco Patti ◽

Andrea Visconti ◽

Antonio Capacchione ◽

Sanjeev Roy ◽

Maria Trojano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Real World ◽

Event Analysis ◽

Treatment Change ◽

Real World Data ◽

Indirect Measure ◽

Disease Modifying Drugs ◽

Disease Modifying ◽

Using Data

Background: The CLARINET-MS study assessed the long-term effectiveness of cladribine tablets by following patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Italy, using data from the Italian MS Registry. Methods: Real-world data (RWD) from Italian MS patients who participated in cladribine tablets randomised clinical trials (RCTs; CLARITY, CLARITY Extension, ONWARD or ORACLE-MS) across 17 MS centres were obtained from the Italian MS Registry. RWD were collected during a set observation period, spanning from the last dose of cladribine tablets during the RCT (defined as baseline) to the last visit date in the registry, treatment switch to other disease-modifying drugs, date of last Expanded Disability Status Scale recording or date of the last relapse (whichever occurred last). Time-to-event analysis was completed using the Kaplan–Meier (KM) method. Median duration and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated from the model. Results: Time span under observation in the Italian MS Registry was 1–137 (median 80.3) months. In the total Italian patient population ( n = 80), the KM estimates for the probability of being relapse-free at 12, 36 and 60 months after the last dose of cladribine tablets were 84.8%, 66.2% and 57.2%, respectively. The corresponding probability of being progression-free at 60 months after the last dose was 63.7%. The KM estimate for the probability of not initiating another disease-modifying treatment at 60 months after the last dose of cladribine tablets was 28.1%, and the median time-to-treatment change was 32.1 (95% CI 15.5–39.5) months. Conclusion: CLARINET-MS provides an indirect measure of the long-term effectiveness of cladribine tablets. Over half of MS patients analysed did not relapse or experience disability progression during 60 months of follow-up from the last dose, suggesting that cladribine tablets remain effective in years 3 and 4 after short courses at the beginning of years 1 and 2.

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First-Line Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab versus Sorafenib in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13050931 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 931

Author(s):

Chi-Leung Chiang ◽

Sik-Kwan Chan ◽

Shing-Fung Lee ◽

Horace Cheuk-Wai Choi

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Lifetime Cost ◽

Cost Effective ◽

First Line ◽

First Line Therapy ◽

Payer Perspective ◽

Life Years ◽

Using Data

Background: The IMbrave 150 trial revealed that atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (atezo–bev) improves survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (1 year survival rate: 67.2% vs. 54.6%). We assessed the cost-effectiveness of atezo–bev vs. sorafenib as first-line therapy in patients with unresectable HCC from the US payer perspective. Methods: Using data from the IMbrave 150, we developed a Markov model to compare the lifetime cost and efficacy of atezo–bev as first-line systemic therapy in HCC with those of sorafenib. The main outcomes were life-years, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), lifetime costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results: Atezo–bev demonstrated a gain of 0.44 QALYs, with an additional cost of USD 79,074. The ICER of atezo–bev was USD 179,729 per QALY when compared with sorafenib. The model was most sensitive to the overall survival hazard ratio and body weight. If we assumed that all patients at the end of the IMbrave 150 trial were cured of HCC, atezo–bev was cost-effective (ICER USD 53,854 per QALY). However, if all patients followed the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, the ICER of atezo–bev was USD 385,857 per QALY. Reducing the price of atezo–bev by 20% and 29% would satisfy the USD 150,000/QALY and 100,000/QALY willingness-to-pay threshold. Moreover, capping the duration of therapy to ≤12 months or reducing the dosage of bev to ≤10 mg/kg would render atezo–bev cost-effective. Conclusions: The long-term effectiveness of atezo–bev is a critical but uncertain determinant of its cost-effectiveness. Price reduction would favorably influence cost-effectiveness, even if long-term clinical outcomes were modest. Further studies to optimize the duration and dosage of therapy are warranted.

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Long-Term Development of Urban Agriculture: Resilience and Sustainability of Farmers Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084316 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4316

Author(s):

Shingo Yoshida ◽

Hironori Yagi

Keyword(s):

Urban Agriculture ◽

Food Systems ◽

Direct Marketing ◽

Farming System ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Short Term ◽

Short Supply ◽

Using Data ◽

Urban People

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has forced global food systems to face unprecedented uncertain shocks even in terms of human health. Urban agriculture is expected to be more resilient because of its short supply chain for urban people and diversified farming activities. However, the short-and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on urban farms remain unclear. This study aims to reveal the conditions for farm resilience to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the relationship between short-term farm resilience and long-term farm development using data from a survey of 74 farms located in Tokyo. The results are as follows. First, more than half of the sample farms increased their farm sales during this period. This resilience can be called the “persistence” approach. Second, short-term farm resilience and other sustainable farm activities contributed to improving farmers’ intentions for long-term farm development and farmland preservation. Third, the most important resilience attributes were the direct marketing, entrepreneurship, and social networks of farmers. We discussed the necessity of building farmers’ transformative capabilities for a more resilient urban farming system. These results imply that support to enhance the short-term resilience of urban farms is worth more than the short-term profit of the farms.

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Asymmetric competition causes multimodal size distributions in spatially structured populations

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2015.2404 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 283 (1823) ◽

pp. 20152404 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jorge Velázquez ◽

Robert B. Allen ◽

David A. Coomes ◽

Markus P. Eichhorn

Keyword(s):

Resource Competition ◽

Structured Populations ◽

Necessary Condition ◽

Small Scale ◽

Asymmetric Competition ◽

Size Distributions ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Multimodal Distributions ◽

Using Data

Plant sizes within populations often exhibit multimodal distributions, even when all individuals are the same age and have experienced identical conditions. To establish the causes of this, we created an individual-based model simulating the growth of trees in a spatially explicit framework, which was parametrized using data from a long-term study of forest stands in New Zealand. First, we demonstrate that asymmetric resource competition is a necessary condition for the formation of multimodal size distributions within cohorts. By contrast, the legacy of small-scale clustering during recruitment is transient and quickly overwhelmed by density-dependent mortality. Complex multi-layered size distributions are generated when established individuals are restricted in the spatial domain within which they can capture resources. The number of modes reveals the effective number of direct competitors, while the separation and spread of modes are influenced by distances among established individuals. Asymmetric competition within local neighbourhoods can therefore generate a range of complex size distributions within even-aged cohorts.

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