Research on the mobility behaviour of Chinese construction workers based on evolutionary game theory

The Chinese construction industry is characterised by the frequent job changes of lower-level workers, which has been identified as one of the principal causes of poor performance, quality and safety accidents, and high technology loss in the construction industry. Assuming that each party has incomplete market information about the other, we can thus define a dynamic game relationship between employers’ incentives to retain workers and workers’ mobility behaviour. By using evolutionary game theory, in this study we analyse various conditional evolutionary stable strategies and explore how employer behaviour influences the mobility of the workers in this industry in China. The results show that under the prevailing employment model, construction workers are bound to change jobs regardless of whether their employers adopt incentives to retain them or not. This finding suggests that the government, as the market regulator, should reform its employment model to ensure that construction workers switch jobs in an orderly and rational manner

State ownership, institutional development, and corporate philanthropic giving: an integrated view of legitimacy–efficiency trade-offs

We explore the trade-offs between social legitimacy and economic efficiency in the context of corporate philanthropic giving (C.P.G.). C.P.G. is viewed as a cost to seek legitimacy, which also serves as a resource to seek efficiency. Using a longitudinal panel data set of Chinese publicly listed firms, we examine how state ownership and institutional development shape firms’ response to C.P.G., and the contingent role of firm visibility and political ties. State ownership enables firms to prioritise legitimacy over efficiency, whereas institutional development enables firms to emphasise efficiency over legitimacy. We also suggest that the positive effect of state ownership on C.P.G. increases for visible firms, and the negative effect of institutional development on C.P.G. increases for visible firms but decreases for politically connected firms. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these finding

Increased risk for T cell autoreactivity to ß-cell antigens in the mice expressing the Avy obesity-associated gene.

There has been considerable debate as to whether obesity can act as an accelerator of type 1 diabetes (T1D). We assessed this possibility using transgenic mice (MIP-TF mice) whose ß-cells express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Infecting these mice with EGFP-expressing murine herpes virus-68 (MHV68-EGFP) caused occasional transient elevation in their blood glucose, peri-insulitis, and Th1 responses to EGFP which did not spread to other ß-cell antigens. We hypothesized that obesity-related systemic inflammation and ß-cell stress could exacerbate the MHV68-EGFP-induced ß-cell autoreactivity. We crossed MIP-TF mice with Avy mice which develop obesity and provide models of metabolic disease alongside early stage T2D. Unlike their MIP-TF littermates, MHV68-EGFP-infected Avy/MIP-TF mice developed moderate intra-insulitis and transient hyperglycemia. MHV68-EGFP infection induced a more pronounced intra-insulitis in older, more obese, Avy/MIP-TF mice. Moreover, in MHV68-EGFP-infected Avy/MIP-TF mice, Th1 reactivity spread from EGFP to other ß-cell antigens. Thus, the spreading of autoreactivity among ß-cell antigens corresponded with the transition from peri-insulitis to intra-insulitis and occurred in obese Avy/MIP-TF mice but not lean MIP-TF mice. These observations are consistent with the notion that obesity-associated systemic inflammation and ß-cell stress lowers the threshold necessary for T cell autoreactivity to spread from EGFP to other ß-cell autoantigens

Psychological contract’s effect on job mobility: Evidence from Chinese construction worker

The subject of this study is that the psychological contract (PC) approaches to job mobility within the construction industry with special reference to migrant construction workers in China. Using a semi-structured interview to elicit a full range of the PC’s con- tent of construction worker, we unravel the mechanism of such contract to influence the informal job mobility of workers through the lens of the evolutionary game framework. The results demonstrate that, in the case of fulfilling PC, the informal job mobility of workers is under control, and both workers and employers benefit from this situation. This study deepens the understanding of the PC’s effect on the job mobility of construction workers in China during the course of economic change. The theoretical and practical implications are discusse

Shifting trends and age distribution of ESKAPEEc resistance in bloodstream infection, Southwest China, 2012–2017

Abstract Background ESKAPEEc contribute to a majority of bloodstream infections (BSIs) and their antibiogram have changed overtime, while data concerning about these alterations are lacking in China. Added that a paucity of studies referred to ESKAPEEc in pediatric BSIs, our study aimed to demonstrate the longitudinal alterations of ESKAPEEc distribution and antibiogram in adult and pediatric BSIs in Southwest China. Methods A multicenter retrospective surveillance study was launched from 2012 to 2017. Data of China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS) was analyzed by Whonet 5.6 and Graphpad Prism 6 Software. Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was used to examine and compare temporal changes. Results A total of 32,259 strains was isolated, with 17.4% from pediatric BSIs. ESKAPEEc contributed to 58.67% (18,924/32,259) of BSIs, with 65.3% of adult BSIs and 27.2% of pediatric BSIs. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) were the two predominant species. Carbapenem resistance was prevalent in 0.76, 4.60, 9.47,13.66, 59.47% of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), respectively. The proportions of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREFM) were 28.91% and 2.20%, respectively. Between 2012-2014 and 2015–2017, E. coli and K. pneumonia showed significantly increased resistance rates to imipenem but decreased to ceftriaxone and ceftazidime, while A. baumannii exhibited reduced resistances to almost all the beta-lactams tested. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance to most of agents against Gram-positive ESKAPEEc did not significantly varied during the same timeframe. In comparison with those from adult BSIs, K. pneumoniae from pediatric BSIs exhibited high resistance rates to all the beta-lactams tested, especially to carbapenems (12.79% vs 3.87%), while A. baumannii showed low resistance rates to all the agents. Conclusions Ongoing burden of ESKAPEEc in BSIs and increasing trend of imipenem resistance in E. coli and K. pneumoniae call for continued surveillance. Carbapenems are still active against Gram-negative ESKAPEEc, except for A. baumannii and vancomycin or linezolid is still effective against Gram-positive ESKAPEEc. Carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae in children and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii in adults necessitate effective antimicrobial strategies in consideration of age stratification

Determinants of Mortality in Patients with Nosocomial Acinetobacter baumannii Bacteremia in Southwest China: A Five-Year Case-Control Study

Purpose. This study was aimed to identify the determinants of in-hospital mortality in Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) bacteremia and to assess impact of carbapenem resistance on mortality. Methods. A five-year case-control study was conducted from January 2011 to December 2015 in a tertiary teaching hospital with 3200 beds, Southwest China. Clinical outcomes and potential determinants of mortality in patients with nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) bacteremia were evaluated using Cox and logistic regression analyses. Results. A total of 118 patients with nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia were included. Seventy-one percent (84/118) of them had carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) bacteremia. The in-hospital mortality of nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia was 21.2%, and the attributable in-hospital mortality rate due to CRAB was 21.5%. Significant difference of 30-day in-hospital mortality in the Kaplan–Meier curves was found between CRAB and CSAB groups (log-rank test, P=0.025). The Cox regression analysis showed that patients with CRAB bacteremia had 2.72 times higher risk for 30-day in-hospital mortality than did those with carbapenem-susceptible A. baumannii (CSAB) bacteremia (95% confidence intervals (CIs) 1.14–6.61, P=0.016). The logistic regression analysis reported that mechanical ventilation and respiratory tract as origin of bacteremia were independent predictors of mortality among patients with nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia and CRAB bacteremia, while high APACHE II score on the day of bacteremia and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS) during hospitalization were independent predictors of mortality among patients with nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia but not CRAB bacteremia. Conclusion. It was the severity of illness (high APACHE II score and MODS) not carbapenem resistance that highlighted the mortality of patients with nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia. The impact of mechanical ventilation on mortality suggested that respiratory dysfunction might prime the poor outcome. Protection of respiratory function during the progression of nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia should be given more importance. Early identification and intervention of patients with nosocomial A. baumannii bacteremia in critical ill conditions were advocated

Measurement and Analysis of Coastal Waves Along The North Sea Area of China

Taking advantage of coastal wave environment to carry out scaled ship model test is an effective testing technology for ship performance. In this paper, the method of spectral analysis is adopted to calculate the significant wave height, period, wave spectrum and some other parameters of some places along the North Sea area of China. The measured wave spectrum and the ocean spectrum are handled into non-dimensional form to evaluate their similarity. The influence of wind direction and tide on coastal waves was analyzed. And the results indicate that the coastal wave spectrum is similar to the ocean spectrum under some specific conditions