Do bank loans and local amenities explain Chinese urban house prices?

Using Chinese city-level data from 1999 to 2012 and considering geological, environmental, and social diversity, this study suggests that credit plays a significant role in driving up house prices after the Great Recession, whereas property prices only influence bank lending before 2008. Besides, local amenities such as higher education, green infrastructure, healthcare, and climate also positively affect house prices. Moreover, the impacts of bank loans and amenities on housing prices are interacted rather than isolated

Hai Di Lao Hot Pot: From Employee Stimulation to Service Innovation

The management of Chinese restaurant chains has for some time followed the western model while accommodating Chinese customers. The new Hai Di Lao Hot Pot Restaurant chain has established its own management style, pioneering chain catering management to help the Chinese restaurant industry establish a professional image, explore a local management model, and maintain high standards of food safety. The objectives of this case study are to introduce the Hai Di Lao managerial strategy, investigate the secrets of its success from a human resources management perspective, to explore its innovative service, and to assess why it has inspired both marketers and the catering industry. The results show that human resources management can change employees’ behavior and emotional states by addressing a wide variety of needs. In addition, attention to service quality can improve customer satisfaction and retention

Socioeconomic Factors and All Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality among Older People in Latin America, India, and China: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Cleusa Ferri and colleagues studied mortality rates in over 12,000 people aged 65 years and over in Latin America, India, and China and showed that chronic diseases are the main causes of death and that education has an important effect on mortality

Prevalence of stroke and related burden among older people living in Latin America, India and China

Objectives Despite the growing importance of stroke in developing countries, little is known of stroke burden in survivors. the authors investigated the prevalence of self-reported stroke, stroke-related disability, dependence and care-giver strain in Latin America (LA), China and India.Methods Cross-sectional surveys were conducted on individuals aged 65+ (n=15 022) living in specified catchment areas. Self-reported stroke diagnosis, disability, care needs and care giver burden were assessed using a standardised protocol. for those reporting stroke, the correlates of disability, dependence and care-giver burden were estimated at each site using Poisson or linear regression, and combined meta-analytically.Results the prevalence of self-reported stroke ranged between 6% and 9% across most LA sites and urban China, but was much lower in urban India (1.9%), and in rural sites in India (1.1%), China (1.6%) and Peru (2.7%). the proportion of stroke survivors needing care varied between 20% and 39% in LA sites but was higher in rural China (44%), urban China (54%) and rural India (73%). Comorbid dementia and depression were the main correlates of disability and dependence.Conclusion the prevalence of stroke in urban LA and Chinese sites is nearly as high as in industrialised countries. High levels of disability and dependence in the other mainly rural and less-developed sites suggest underascertainment of less severe cases as one likely explanation for the lower prevalence in those settings. As the health transition proceeds, a further increase in numbers of older stroke survivors is to be anticipated. in addition to prevention, stroke rehabilitation and long-term care needs should be addressed.Wellcome TrustWorld Health Organization (India, Dominican Republic and China)US Alzheimer's AssociationFONACIT/ CDCH/ UCV (Venezuela)Kings Coll London, Inst Psychiat, Epidemiol Sect, Hlth Serv, London SE5 8AF, EnglandKings Coll London, Inst Psychiat, Clin Neurosci Div, London SE5 8AF, EnglandUniv Nacl Pedro Henriquez Urena, Geriatr Sect, Santo Domingo, Dominican RepUniv Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, PeruPeking Univ, Inst Mental Hlth, Div Social Psychiat & Behav Med, Beijing 100871, Peoples R ChinaChristian Med Coll & Hosp, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaMed Univ Havana, Dept Clin Sci, Havana, CubaCaracas Univ Hosp, Dept Med, Caracas, VenezuelaNatl Inst Neurol & Neurosurg Mexico, Mexico City, DF, MexicoVHS, Dept Community Hlth, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychiat, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Ciencias Med Matanzas, Dept Internal Med, Matanzas, CubaKings Coll London, Inst Psychiat, Epidemiol Sect, Populat Res Dept, London SE5 8AF, EnglandUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychiat, São Paulo, BrazilWellcome Trust: GR066133Wellcome Trust: GR08002US Alzheimer's Association: IIRG-04-1286Web of Scienc

Quantifying the Impact of Immune History and Variant on SARS-CoV-2 Viral Kinetics and Infection Rebound: A Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: The combined impact of immunity and SARS-CoV-2 variants on viral kinetics during infections has been unclear. METHODS: We characterized 1,280 infections from the National Basketball Association occupational health cohort identified between June 2020 and January 2022 using serial RT-qPCR testing. Logistic regression and semi-mechanistic viral RNA kinetics models were used to quantify the effect of age, variant, symptom status, infection history, vaccination status and antibody titer to the founder SARS-CoV-2 strain on the duration of potential infectiousness and overall viral kinetics. The frequency of viral rebounds was quantified under multiple cycle threshold (Ct) value-based definitions. RESULTS: Among individuals detected partway through their infection, 51.0% (95% credible interval [CrI]: 48.3-53.6%) remained potentially infectious (Ct CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 viral kinetics are partly determined by immunity and variant but dominated by individual-level variation. Since booster vaccination protects against infection, longer clearance times for BA.1-infected, boosted individuals may reflect a less effective immune response, more common in older individuals, that increases infection risk and reduces viral RNA clearance rate. The shifting landscape of viral kinetics underscores the need for continued monitoring to optimize isolation policies and to contextualize the health impacts of therapeutics and vaccines. FUNDING: Supported in part by CDC contract #200-2016-91779, a sponsored research agreement to Yale University from the National Basketball Association contract #21-003529, and the National Basketball Players Association

Dietary fish and meat intake and dementia in Latin America, China, and India: a 10/66 Dementia Research Group population-based study123

Background: Evidence of an association between fish and meat consumption and risk of dementia is inconsistent and nonexistent in populations in developing countries

The 10/66 Dementia Research Group's fully operationalised DSM-IV dementia computerized diagnostic algorithm, compared with the 10/66 dementia algorithm and a clinician diagnosis: a population validation study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The criterion for dementia implicit in DSM-IV is widely used in research but not fully operationalised. The 10/66 Dementia Research Group sought to do this using assessments from their one phase dementia diagnostic research interview, and to validate the resulting algorithm in a population-based study in Cuba.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The criterion was operationalised as a computerised algorithm, applying clinical principles, based upon the 10/66 cognitive tests, clinical interview and informant reports; the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia, the CERAD 10 word list learning and animal naming tests, the Geriatric Mental State, and the History and Aetiology Schedule – Dementia Diagnosis and Subtype. This was validated in Cuba against a local clinician DSM-IV diagnosis and the 10/66 dementia diagnosis (originally calibrated probabilistically against clinician DSM-IV diagnoses in the 10/66 pilot study).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The DSM-IV sub-criteria were plausibly distributed among clinically diagnosed dementia cases and controls. The clinician diagnoses agreed better with 10/66 dementia diagnosis than with the more conservative computerized DSM-IV algorithm. The DSM-IV algorithm was particularly likely to miss less severe dementia cases. Those with a 10/66 dementia diagnosis who did not meet the DSM-IV criterion were less cognitively and functionally impaired compared with the DSMIV confirmed cases, but still grossly impaired compared with those free of dementia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The DSM-IV criterion, strictly applied, defines a narrow category of unambiguous dementia characterized by marked impairment. It may be specific but incompletely sensitive to clinically relevant cases. The 10/66 dementia diagnosis defines a broader category that may be more sensitive, identifying genuine cases beyond those defined by our DSM-IV algorithm, with relevance to the estimation of the population burden of this disorder.</p

Gliese 12 b, a temperate Earth-sized planet at 12 parsecs discovered with TESS and CHEOPS

We report on the discovery of Gliese 12 b, the nearest transiting temperate, Earth-sized planet found to date. Gliese 12 is a bright (V = 12.6 mag, K = 7.8 mag) metal-poor M4V star only 12.162 ± 0.005 pc away from the Solar system with one of the lowest stellar activity levels known for M-dwarfs. A planet candidate was detected by TESS based on only 3 transits in sectors 42, 43, and 57, with an ambiguity in the orbital period due to observational gaps. We performed follow-up transit observations with CHEOPS and ground-based photometry with MINERVA-Australis, SPECULOOS, and Purple Mountain Observatory, as well as further TESS observations in sector 70. We statistically validate Gliese 12 b as a planet with an orbital period of 12.76144 ± 0.00006 d and a radius of 1.0 ± 0.1 R⊕, resulting in an equilibrium temperature of ∼315 K. Gliese 12 b has excellent future prospects for precise mass measurement, which may inform how planetary internal structure is affected by the stellar compositional environment. Gliese 12 b also represents one of the best targets to study whether Earth-like planets orbiting cool stars can retain their atmospheres, a crucial step to advance our understanding of habitability on Earth and across the galaxy

Gliese 12 b, a temperate Earth-sized planet at 12 parsecs discovered with TESS and CHEOPS

We report on the discovery of Gliese 12 b, the nearest transiting temperate, Earth-sized planet found to date. Gliese 12 is a bright (V = 12.6 mag, K = 7.8 mag) metal-poor M4V star only 12.162 ± 0.005 pc away from the Solar system with one of the lowest stellar activity levels known for M-dwarfs. A planet candidate was detected by TESS based on only 3 transits in sectors 42, 43, and 57, with an ambiguity in the orbital period due to observational gaps. We performed follow-up transit observations with CHEOPS and ground-based photometry with MINERVA-Australis, SPECULOOS, and Purple Mountain Observatory, as well as further TESS observations in sector 70. We statistically validate Gliese 12 b as a planet with an orbital period of 12.76144 ± 0.00006 d and a radius of 1.0 ± 0.1 R⊕, resulting in an equilibrium temperature of ∼315 K. Gliese 12 b has excellent future prospects for precise mass measurement, which may inform how planetary internal structure is affected by the stellar compositional environment. Gliese 12 b also represents one of the best targets to study whether Earth-like planets orbiting cool stars can retain their atmospheres, a crucial step to advance our understanding of habitability on Earth and across the galaxy