An Integrated Analysis of GWR Models and Spatial Econometric Global Models to Decompose the Driving Forces of the Township Consumption Development in Gansu, China

The investigation of township consumption patterns has become highly significant in order to emphasize the importance of township consumption patterns in economic development and policy formulation. To attain township consumption development in underdeveloped areas is a significant way to meet the general criterion of “rich life” under China’s Rural Revitalization strategy. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the driving forces that contribute to the development of township consumption in underdeveloped areas such as Gansu Province, China, and then scientifically design and implement a strategy for township consumption development in Gansu, all of which are related to the broader interests of rural revitalization. The study used 1233 township data of Gansu Province, China. The study integrated geographically weighted regression (GWR) and a spatial econometric global (SEG) model for data analysis and interpretation. The integration of these two models can comprehensively capture both spatial heterogeneity and spatial independence concurrently. First, we conducted integrated analyses of GWR and SEG models using consistent settings of spatial weight matrix elements, with GWR focusing on spatial heterogeneity and SEG models on spatial spillover. Second, the permanent resident population, the number of financial institution outlets, the types of townships, and the characteristics of townships had a substantial significant effect on the development of township consumption in Gansu, China. In addition, the ratio of residents with access to basic medical insurance was found to be negatively significant. The revitalization strategy for township consumption in Gansu Province, China should prioritize increasing the permanent resident population of townships, accelerating the development of township urbanization, accelerating the construction of township consumption infrastructures, and strengthening financial support from township financial institutions.

The impact of medical tourism on cervical cancer screening among immigrant women in the U.S.

Background Research on the relationship between medical tourism—traveling abroad for healthcare and cervical cancer screening is lacking. This study examines (1) the association between medical tourism and cervical cancer screening among immigrant women and (2) whether the association varies across years in the U.S. Methods We analyzed the New Immigrant Survey data of immigrant women aged 21–65 (n = 999). The outcome was having had a Pap smear since becoming a permanent resident, and the main predictor was medical tourism. Logistic regressions were conducted. Results Immigrant women who engaged in medical tourism had higher cervical cancer screening rates compared to those who did not engage in medical tourism (84.09% vs. 71.68%). This relationship was statistically significant only among women who have recently immigrated, after controlling for covariates. Conclusions Immigrant women who engaged in medical tourism had 2.18 higher odds of receiving a Pap smear than immigrant women who did not, after controlling for other covariates. Health educators should be aware of the practice of medical tourism and consider providing education on adherence to cancer screening guidelines and follow up abnormal results to ensure that immigrant women receive continuous cancer care.

Geriatric Depression and Inappropriate Medication: Benefits of Interprofessional Team Cooperation in Nursing Homes

An investigation of inappropriate medication use in treatment of depressivity in institutionalized older adults, based on a nurse-led evaluation of functional status and depressive symptoms in nursing home residents. Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter study was performed using records from 1087 residents cared for in fifteen nursing homes (NHs) in the Czech Republic. Inclusion criteria were being a permanent resident of one of the facilities, being 60 years of age or older, having a Geriatric Depression Scale score of 6 or more, and having a Mini Mental State examination score 10 or more. The final sample for analysis included 317 depressed NH residents. Results: 52 percent of NH residents with depressivity had no antidepressant treatment. Benzodiazepines were the only medication in 16 percent of depressed residents, and were added to antidepressant treatment in 18 percent of residents. Benzodiazepine users had significantly higher GDS scores compared to non-users (p = 0.007). Conclusion: More than half of depressed NH residents remained without antidepressant treatment. Residents inappropriately treated with benzodiazepines were more depressed than residents treated with antidepressants only, or even not treated at all. Cooperation of the interprofessional team in the screening of depressive symptoms has the potential to improve the quality of care.

SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 related primary care use among people with citizenship, permanent residency, and temporary immigration status in British Columbia: Cross-sectional analysis of population-based administrative data

Background: Having temporary immigration status affords limited rights, workplace protections, and access to services. There is not yet research data on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for people with temporary immigration status in Canada. Methods: We use linked administrative data to describe SARS-CoV-2 testing, positive tests, and COVID-19 primary care service use in British Columbia from January 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021, stratified by immigration status (Citizen, Permanent Resident, Temporary Resident). We plot the rate of people tested and the rate of people confirmed positive for COVID-19 by week from April 19, 2020, to July 31, 2021, across immigration groups. Results: 4.9% of people with temporary immigration status had a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 over this period, compared to 4.0% among people with permanent residency and 2.1% among people who hold Canadian citizenship. This pattern is persistent by sex/gender, age group, neighborhood income quintile, health authority, and in both metropolitan and small urban settings. At the same time we observe lower access to testing and COVID-19 related primary care among people with temporary status. Interpretation: People with temporary immigration status in BC experience higher SARS-CoV-2 test positivity; alarmingly, this was coupled with lower access to testing and primary care. Interwoven immigration, health and occupational policies place people with temporary status in circumstances of precarity and higher health risk. Extending permanent residency status to all immigrants residing in Canada and decoupling access to health care from immigration status could reduce precarity due to temporary immigration status.

Relationship between menstrual abnormalities, anemia and hematological parameters among university students

Objective: To determine the relationship between anemia, menstrual abnormalities and hematological parameters among students, who are studying at Sindh University and are the permanent residents of Hyderabad city. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out at physiology department, university of Sindh Jamshoro. Study duration was one year from August 2018 to July 2019. All participants were the permanent resident of Hyderabad, aged from 18 to 25 years, and willing to contribute in the study. The questionnaire was designed to elicit comprehensive responses from participants regarding hematological parameters and menstrual abnormalities. Menstrual abnormalities such as poly-menorrhea, menorrhagia, oligo-menorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and amenorrhea were determined using the menstrual history. Participants with a hemoglobin level of <12 gm/dl were deemed anemic. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 300 individuals were randomly selected for this study, and 283 of them agreed to have their blood drawn. The participants' average age was 20.99±1.87 years. Most of the participants had irregular cycle 44.52%, followed by oligomenorrhea 13.43%, Polymenorrhea 11.66% and remaining were normal. Hypomenorrhea was seen in 8.48% of the respondents while hypermenorrhea was seen in 7.42% of the respondents. 14.49% of females reported the duration of menstrual bleeding for fewer than three days, and 34.63% reported normal duration of menstrual bleeding. Longer menstrual bleeding days (>7 days) was 26.85% Anemia in the participants was 45.94%, out of this mild, moderate and severe anemia was 32.51%, 7.42% and 6.01% respectively. RBCs, HCT and WBCs were statistically significant in terms of menstrual abnormalities (P<0.05), whereas other hematological parameters remained statistically insignificant in terms of menstrual abnormalities (p->0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of menstrual abnormalities and anemia were observed to be frequently high among female students of Sindh University’s permanent residents of Hyderabad. Key words: Menstrual patterns, menstrual abnormalities, Anemia, University students

Spatial Inequality in China’s Housing Market and the Driving Mechanism

Housing inequality is a widespread phenomenon around the world, and it varies widely across countries and regions. The housing market is naturally spatial in its attributes, and with the transformation of China’s urbanization, industrialization, and globalization, the spatial inequality in the housing market is increasingly severe. According to the geospatial differences in the housing market supply, demand, and price, and by integrating the influencing factors of economic, social, innovation, facility environment, and structural adjustment, this paper constructs a “spatial–supply–demand–price” integrated housing market inequality research framework based on the methods of CV, GI, and Geodetector, and it empirically studies the spatial inequality of provincial housing markets in China. The findings show that the spatial inequality in China’s housing market is significant and becomes increasingly serious. According to the study, we have confirmed the following. (1) Different factors vary greatly in influence, and they can be classified into three types, that is, “Key factors”, “Important factors”, and “Auxiliary factors”. (2) The spatial inequalities in housing supply, demand, and price vary widely in their driving mechanisms, but factors such as the added value of the tertiary industry, number of patents granted, and revenue affect all these three at the same time and have a comprehensive influence on the development and evolution of spatial inequalities in the housing market. (3) All the factors are bifactor-enhanced or non-linearly enhanced in relationships between every pair, and they are classified into three categories of high, medium, and low according to the mean of interacting forces; in particular, the factors of GDP, expenditure, permanent resident population, number of medical beds, and full-time equivalent of R&D personnel are in a stronger interaction with other factors. (4) Based on housing supply, demand, price, and their coordination, 31 provinces are classified into four types of policy zones, and the driving mechanisms of spatial inequalities in the housing market are further applied to put forward suggestions on policy design, which provides useful references for China and other countries to deal with housing spatial inequality.

Sentiment Analysis of Public Opinions on the Higher Education Expansion Policy in China

Drawing on sentiment analysis, this study explores public opinions on the higher education expansion policy that was specifically implemented by China’s government to navigate graduate employment difficulties against the impact of COVID-19. The results indicated that the overall degree of acceptance of the expansion plan was highly positive, but some people expressed negative opinions and concerns about over-education and deferral of employment pressure. The results also suggested that the government is expected to deal with the balance between higher education expansion and graduate employment difficulties by prioritizing domestic graduate employment rather than opening up permanent resident applications for foreigners, allocating a regionally balanced expansion quota, covering social science disciplines, and creating more employment opportunities. The findings provide important suggestions for policymakers to improve policy practice and offer a referable sample for other countries in their management of graduate employment issues influenced by COVID-19.

The Impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on the Health and Social Needs of Sex Workers in Singapore

We evaluated the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the sex work industry and assessed how it has impacted the health and social conditions of sex workers in Singapore. We conducted a sequential exploratory mixed methods study amidst the COVID-19 pandemic from April to October 2020, including in-depth interviews with 24 stakeholders from the sex work industry and surveyor-administered structured surveys with 171 sex workers. COVID-19 had a substantial impact on sex workers' income. The illegality of sex work, stigma, and the lack of work documentation were cited as exclusionary factors for access to alternative jobs or government relief. Sex workers had experienced an increase in food insecurity (57.3%), housing insecurity (32.8%), and sexual compromise (8.2%), as well as a decrease in access to medical services (16.4%). Being transgender female was positively associated with increased food insecurity (aPR = 1.23, 95% CI [1.08, 1.41]), housing insecurity (aPR = 1.28, 95% CI [1.03, 1.60]), and decreased access to medical services (aPR = 1.74, 95% CI [1.23, 2.46]); being a venue-based sex worker was positively associated with increased food insecurity (aPR = 1.46, 95% CI [1.00, 2.13]), and being a non-Singaporean citizen or permanent resident was positively associated with increased housing insecurity (aPR = 2.59, 95% CI [1.73, 3.85]). Our findings suggest that COVID-19 has led to a loss of income for sex workers, greater food and housing insecurity, increased sexual compromise, and reduced access to medical services for sex workers. A lack of access to government relief among sex workers exacerbated such conditions. Efforts to address such population health inequities should be implemented.

Calestous Juma. 9 June 1953—15 December 2017

Until his untimely death in December 2017 Professor Calestous Juma was an internationally-recognized authority and leader in the application of science, engineering and innovation to sustainable development in developing and developed countries. His continuing original work focused on analysing the co-evolution of technological innovation and institutional change in socio-economic systems. He ran programmes that advanced science, technology and innovation policy research, especially biotechnology, provided high-level science and technology advice and promoted the conservation of biological diversity. Juma was a Kenyan national and US permanent resident.

The Global White Snake as Digital Activist Project

There is a long oral tradition and written record for the legend of the White Snake. As a woman, her “original sin” is being a snake. She is a snake who has cultivated herself for hundreds, if not thousands, of years to attain the form of a beautiful woman. Living as a resident “alien” (yilei) in the “Human Realm” (renjian), the White Snake has always been treated with suspicion, fear, exclusion, and violent suppression/exorcism. The White Snake is an immigrant to the human world, whose serpentine identity made her a “resident alien,” the legal category given to immigrants in the United States before they receive their “Green Card” and become a “permanent resident.” The implication of being a snake woman in the human world took on new meanings when the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the existing xenophobia, fear, and suspicion toward minority populations in the contemporary United States and throughout the world. Inspired by the Chinese White Snake legend, the three Anglophone opera, film, and stage projects from Cerise Lim Jacobs, Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, and Mary Zimmerman, energetically engage with issues relevant to minority activism in the United States and more broadly, through digital media and digital platforms.