Regional Price Differences in Urban China 1986-2001: Estimation and Implication

Despite the intensive efforts made by economists to examine regional income inequality in China, limited attention has been paid to disentangle the contribution of regional price differentials. This paper examines regional price differential in urban China over the period 1986 to 2001. Spatial Price Index (SPI) is normally calculated using the Basket Cost Method, which defines a national basket and measures price variation of this common basket across different regions. The weakness of this method is that it arbitrarily assumes consumers’ preferences and has a strong reliance on good regional level price data, which are often not available. This paper adopts the Engel’s curve approach to estimate a Spatial Price Index for different provinces. The SPI obtained from the Engel’s curve approach indicates larger regional price variations than those obtained from the Basket Cost method. Further, regional price variations in urban China increased significantly during the late 1980s to early 1990s, stabilized at a relatively high level during the mid to end 1990s. Adjusting for the regional price variations our finding suggests that regional income inequality increased the most between the late 1980s and early 1990s, and stabilized in the mid 1990s, which contradicts previous findings using unadjusted income.spatial price index, Engel’s curve, income inequality, China

Intergenerational Income Mobility in Urban China

This paper estimates the intergenerational income elasticity for urban China, paying careful attention to the potential biases induced by income fluctuations and life cycle effects. Our preferred estimates are that the intergenerational income elasticities are 0.74 for father-son, 0.84 for father-daughter, 0.33 for mother-son, and 0.47 for mother-daughter. This suggests that while China has experienced rapid growth of absolute incomes, the relative position of children in the distribution is largely determined by their parents’ incomes. Investigating possible causal channels, we find that parental education, occupation, and Communist Party membership all play important roles in transmitting economic status from parents to children.intergenerational mobility, transgenerational persistence, political party membership

Does Education and Interrupted Work Experience Help To Explain Why Childhood Health Is Related To Later Life Quality: Evidence from CHARLS

China is experiencing rapid population aging. How to make sure prolonged longevity is accompanied by good quality of life needs to be investigated

Forecasting the Use of Institutional Elder Care in China: A System Dynamic Simulation

With the rapid population aging in China, the older adults who needs for long-term care (LTC) increased dramatically in the past decades. To forecasting the use of institutional elder care in China, this study constructed a system dynamic model for LTC use to capture the decision-making process of living arrangement and institutional care use among the aging population in China. The results showed that the number of older adults living at institutions will increase from 200 million in 2015 to 290 million in 2035, which account for an increase of 45%. This study provides policy implications that would assist policy makers understand the LTC delivery process and its influence factors, and help implement effective LTC policy scenarios.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 71503054)

Dual Sensory Loss, Mental Health, and Wellbeing of Older Adults Living in China

Introduction: Deterioration in vision and hearing commonly occurs as adults age. Existing literature shows that Dual Sensory Loss (DSL) is a prevalent condition amongst older adults. In China, it has been estimated that 57.2% of the population experience DSL. Based on a small number of research papers, it has been identified that DSL influences mental health and wellbeing. The aims of this study were to explore the relationship between DSL and mental health and wellbeing in a sample of older adults residing in China; and investigate whether the comorbidities of functional dependency [Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)] and chronic diseases influence the impacts of DSL on mental health and wellbeing.This study has been funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project (Number: DP160103023)

Sensory Loss in China: Prevalence, Use of Aids, and Impacts on Social Participation

The number of older adults with vision and/or hearing loss is growing world-wide, including in China, whose population is aging rapidly. Sensory loss impacts on older people's ability to participate in their communities and their quality of life. This study investigates the prevalence of vision loss, hearing loss, and dual sensory loss (combined vision and hearing loss) in an older adult Chinese population and describes the relationships between these sensory losses and demographic factors, use of glasses and hearing aids, unmet needs, and impacts on social participation. The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study is a population-based longitudinal survey conducted since 2011. The 2013 dataset for people aged 60 and over was used in this study. Items analyzed included demographic data (age, gender, education, rurality, and SES), self-reported ratings of vision (including legally blind, excellent-poor long, and short distance vision and the use and frequency of wearing glasses), hearing (excellent-poor hearing and the use of hearing aids), dual sensory loss (both poor/fair vision and hearing), and social participation. Of the sample, 80.2% reported poor/fair vision, 64.9% reported poor/fair hearing, and 57.2% had poor/fair vision and hearing. Few respondents (10%) wore glasses regularly and 20.1% wore glasses from time to time. Only 0.8% of respondents wore hearing aids although the proportion with hearing loss was high (64.9%). The proportion of unmet needs for glasses and hearing aids was 54.9 and 63.9%, respectively. Low socio-economic status (SES), poor education, and rurality were significantly associated with the prevalence of poor/fair vision and hearing, the use of glasses and hearing aids and the unmet needs of glasses/hearing aids. Poor/fair vision and/or hearing, and the unmet needs for glasses/hearing aids were significantly and negatively associated with social participation. Sensory loss is a significant health issue for older Chinese people that impacts on their social participation. Training primary care health professionals in identification and rehabilitation approaches is needed as well as increasing the numbers of vision and hearing specialists working in the field. Providing information on sensory loss and the use of aids to older adults will also help improve older adult's quality of life.This study has been funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project (Number: DP160103023)

Sensory Loss in China: Prevalence, Use of Aids, and Impacts on Social Participation

The number of older adults with vision and/or hearing loss is growing world-wide, including in China, whose population is aging rapidly. Sensory loss impacts on older people's ability to participate in their communities and their quality of life. This study investigates the prevalence of vision loss, hearing loss, and dual sensory loss (combined vision and hearing loss) in an older adult Chinese population and describes the relationships between these sensory losses and demographic factors, use of glasses and hearing aids, unmet needs, and impacts on social participation. The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study is a population-based longitudinal survey conducted since 2011. The 2013 dataset for people aged 60 and over was used in this study. Items analyzed included demographic data (age, gender, education, rurality, and SES), self-reported ratings of vision (including legally blind, excellent-poor long, and short distance vision and the use and frequency of wearing glasses), hearing (excellent-poor hearing and the use of hearing aids), dual sensory loss (both poor/fair vision and hearing), and social participation. Of the sample, 80.2% reported poor/fair vision, 64.9% reported poor/fair hearing, and 57.2% had poor/fair vision and hearing. Few respondents (10%) wore glasses regularly and 20.1% wore glasses from time to time. Only 0.8% of respondents wore hearing aids although the proportion with hearing loss was high (64.9%). The proportion of unmet needs for glasses and hearing aids was 54.9 and 63.9%, respectively. Low socio-economic status (SES), poor education, and rurality were significantly associated with the prevalence of poor/fair vision and hearing, the use of glasses and hearing aids and the unmet needs of glasses/hearing aids. Poor/fair vision and/or hearing, and the unmet needs for glasses/hearing aids were significantly and negatively associated with social participation. Sensory loss is a significant health issue for older Chinese people that impacts on their social participation. Training primary care health professionals in identification and rehabilitation approaches is needed as well as increasing the numbers of vision and hearing specialists working in the field. Providing information on sensory loss and the use of aids to older adults will also help improve older adult's quality of life

Dual Sensory Loss, Mental Health, and Wellbeing of Older Adults Living in China

Introduction: Deterioration in vision and hearing commonly occurs as adults age. Existing literature shows that Dual Sensory Loss (DSL) is a prevalent condition amongst older adults. In China, it has been estimated that 57.2% of the population experience DSL. Based on a small number of research papers, it has been identified that DSL influences mental health and wellbeing. The aims of this study were to explore the relationship between DSL and mental health and wellbeing in a sample of older adults residing in China; and investigate whether the comorbidities of functional dependency [Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)] and chronic diseases influence the impacts of DSL on mental health and wellbeing.Method: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Wave 2, 2013 data collection of a sample of people aged 60 years and over (n = 8,268) was used in this study. The sensory loss variables selected for analysis included a combined variable of self-reported vision and hearing loss (DSL). Mental health was measured by depression, and general wellbeing was measured by life satisfaction. In addition, chronic diseases, and limitations in IADL and ADL were used to test how their comorbidities with DSL influence mental health and wellbeing. Results were analyzed descriptively and using regression and modeling techniques.Results and Discussion: DSL was significantly and positively associated with advanced age, having difficulty in any ADL or IADL and experiencing depression and less life satisfaction. The observed negative associations between DSL and mental health or wellbeing, are indirect and could be partially explained by its comorbidity with chronic diseases and relationship to functional limitations. It is recommended that health services in China screen for DSL in older people and develop integrated services to assist with appropriate management and rehabilitation of older people with DSL focusing on both functional and mental health issues

Spectral and Wavefront Error Performance of WFIRST/AFTA Prototype Filters

The Cycle 5 design baseline for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRSTAFTA) instrument includes a single wide-field channel (WFC) instrument for both imaging and slit-less spectroscopy. The only routinely moving part during scientific observations for this wide-field channel is the element wheel (EW) assembly. This filter-wheel assembly will have 8 positions that will be populated with 6 bandpass filters, a blank position, and a Grism that will consist of a three-element assembly to disperse the full field with an undeviated central wavelength for galaxy redshift surveys. All filter elements in the EW assembly will be made out of fused silica substrates (110 mm diameter) that will have the appropriate bandpass coatings according to the filter designations (Z087, Y106, J129, H158, F184, W149 and Grism). This paper presents and discusses the performance (including spectral transmission and reflectedtransmitted wavefront error measurements) of a subset of bandpass filter coating prototypes that are based on the WFC instrument filter compliment. The bandpass coating prototypes that are tested in this effort correspond to the Z087, W149, and Grism filter elements. These filter coatings have been procured from three different vendors to assess the most challenging aspects in terms of the in-band throughput, out of band rejection (including the cut-on and cutoff slopes), and the impact the wavefront error distortions of these filter coatings will have on the imaging performance of the de-field channel in the WFIRSTAFTA observatory

Systems Integration of Biodefense Omics Data for Analysis of Pathogen-Host Interactions and Identification of Potential Targets

The NIAID (National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Biodefense Proteomics program aims to identify targets for potential vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for agents of concern in bioterrorism, including bacterial, parasitic, and viral pathogens. The program includes seven Proteomics Research Centers, generating diverse types of pathogen-host data, including mass spectrometry, microarray transcriptional profiles, protein interactions, protein structures and biological reagents. The Biodefense Resource Center (www.proteomicsresource.org) has developed a bioinformatics framework, employing a protein-centric approach to integrate and support mining and analysis of the large and heterogeneous data. Underlying this approach is a data warehouse with comprehensive protein + gene identifier and name mappings and annotations extracted from over 100 molecular databases. Value-added annotations are provided for key proteins from experimental findings using controlled vocabulary. The availability of pathogen and host omics data in an integrated framework allows global analysis of the data and comparisons across different experiments and organisms, as illustrated in several case studies presented here. (1) The identification of a hypothetical protein with differential gene and protein expressions in two host systems (mouse macrophage and human HeLa cells) infected by different bacterial (Bacillus anthracis and Salmonella typhimurium) and viral (orthopox) pathogens suggesting that this protein can be prioritized for additional analysis and functional characterization. (2) The analysis of a vaccinia-human protein interaction network supplemented with protein accumulation levels led to the identification of human Keratin, type II cytoskeletal 4 protein as a potential therapeutic target. (3) Comparison of complete genomes from pathogenic variants coupled with experimental information on complete proteomes allowed the identification and prioritization of ten potential diagnostic targets from Bacillus anthracis. The integrative analysis across data sets from multiple centers can reveal potential functional significance and hidden relationships between pathogen and host proteins, thereby providing a systems approach to basic understanding of pathogenicity and target identification