Chinese Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States: Temporal and Spatial Dimensions.

Focusing on transnational entrepreneurship and immigrant businesses in new destinations, this paper studies entrepreneurship of Chinese immigrants in the U.S. using data from three surveys. In the analysis of transnational connections, we focus on the temporal dimension that links pre-migration and post-migration business activities. Results from logistic models reveal that the prospect of being self-employed among Chinese immigrants is significantly enhanced if they are from households in China with business backgrounds. This finding highlights the fact that transnational entrepreneurship is embedded in the multi-stranded connections between the immigrant sending and receiving societies. In the second part of the paper, sequence analysis is used to describe and classify business trajectories in traditional and new immigrant destinations. The results establish that while it may take a longer time for immigrants to achieve business ownership in new destinations than in traditional destinations, new immigrant destinations increase the chance of business expansion from one business to multiple businesses. These findings indicate a transition in immigrant entrepreneurs' business models. Businesses in traditional destinations mainly follow a survival strategy, while those in new destinations are adopting models that are akin to mainstream business operations, which gives rise to more opportunities for socioeconomic mobility.

Sociodemographic and Policy Factors Associated with the Transmission of COVID-19: Analyzing Longitudinal Contact Tracing Data from a Northern Chinese City.

To examine how sociodemographic characteristics and non-pharmaceutical interventions affect the transmission of COVID-19, we analyze patient profiles and contact tracing data from almost all cases in an outbreak in Shijiazhuang, China, from January to February 2021. Because of universal testing and digital tracing, the data are of high quality. Results from negative binomial models indicate that the counts of close contacts and secondary infections vary with the cases' age and occupation. Notably, cases under age 18 are causing an increased infection rate among their close contacts and leading to more within-neighborhood secondary infections than adults aged 18-49. Also, county-wide interventions and lockdown are found to be effective at containing the spread of COVID-19. These measures can reduce the number of close contacts that each case has and largely restrict the remaining infections to the case's neighborhood. These results suggest that transmission risks of COVID-19 are associated with the case's sociodemographic characteristics and can be reduced with interventions at the county level. Implications on mitigation measures and reopening plans are discussed.

Parental migration and anemia status of children in China.

Previous literature on parental migration and children's health outcomes mainly focuses on subjective measures and often omits the selectivity issue. Taking advantage of a unique nationally representative longitudinal dataset from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, this paper uses anemia status as an objective measure of children's health outcomes and examines the different effects of parents' current migration status, migration history, and migration duration. The results show that father's migration does not harm children's physical health, especially for children in rural areas, for whom father's migration decreases the likelihood of being anemic; while mother's migration increases the likelihood of being anemic. Importantly, children with return migrant mothers are less likely to experience anemia. We also find that the longer the father migrated, the better the child's health, but mother's longer migration duration is more detrimental. Our findings highlight the gender dimension in the migration story and indicate that policymakers should encourage the return migration of migrant mothers.

Family Arrangements and Children's Education Among Migrants: A Case Study of China.

As China is experiencing an urban revolution with massive rural-to-urban migration, millions of children are profoundly affected by their parents' migration and their decision on family arrangement. With the discriminatory Hukou system and harsh living conditions in cities, the dilemma migrant parents face is whether they should bring children to cities or leave them behind. This decision determines the household, school and community environment children live in, which in turn shapes their wellbeing. With a unique strategy of comparing "left behind children" to "migrant children" and a gendered perspective, this paper examines how different family arrangements among migrants and consequent housing conditions and gender dynamics affect children's educational wellbeing. Our findings demonstrate the complex impact of family arrangement on children, which is conditioned on wage income and the gender of absent parent and the child. We find that children from less favorable socioeconomic backgrounds benefit more from moving to cities. Children living with both parents and those living with mother and grandparents tend to do better. While the effect of housing conditions is marginal, family arrangement has a gendered effect on children. Related policy recommendations are provided.

NEW EMIGRATION FROM CHINA: PATTERNS, CAUSES AND IMPACTS.

Emigration from China has drawn increasing attention from the media and academia. In this paper, we survey the scholarly literature on emigration from China focusing on the post-1949 period. We review policy changes and patterns of emigration over time, and identify possible causes of emigration and impacts for migrant origin communities and China as a whole. To the extent relevant, we also explore how new patterns of emigration from China in the 21st century also impact migrant destination countries. Finally, we discuss potential contributions of the Chinese case to the general area of migration studies and identify future research directions in this field.

Remittance Behaviors of International Migrants in Comparative Perspective: The Case in Fujian, China.

Taking an origin-destination linked approach, we compare remittance behaviors of Fuzhou-US and Mingxi-Europe migrants. We find that different mechanisms predict propensity to remit and the amount of remittances. Altruistic remittance is more consistent with the remitting propensities of migrants from the poorer Mingxi region but is also reflected in the remittance amount of migrants from Fuzhou, where there is higher economic disparity and where people who fail to consume lavishly are socially sanctioned. When emigration is risky, circuitous, and expensive, we find, migration cost drives the remittance amount. In Fuzhou, where cultural practice is developed to confer honor on public project donors, more households are motivated to contribute to public infrastructure. These results provide economic, political, and cultural contexts for remittance theories, identify contexts that promote community development, and help reconcile debates derived from single case studies in various settings.

Migration, Family Arrangement, and Children's Health in China.

With unprecedented migration taking place in China, millions of children are profoundly affected. Using a sample of 916 children (aged 5-18) of migrants and the life course perspective, this article examines the impact of parental migration on children's health. Results show that migration has a complex impact on children's health. Although migrating to cities itself does not benefit children, poor housing conditions in cities have a negative impact on their health. The timing of parental migration is important, as preschoolers migrating with parents and teenagers left behind by parents have significantly worse health than others. Migration also has a gendered effect, as teenage boys benefit from migrating to cities but suffer from being left behind when compared to teenage girls.

From the Culture of Migration to the Culture of Remittances: Evidence from Immigrant-Sending Communities in China.

Extending the notion of "the culture of migration," we propose and elaborate the concept of "the culture of remittances" to examine the flow of remittances in the immigrant-sending province of Fujian, China. We argue that the culture of remittances influences two important variables in the study of remittances: amount of remittances and whether they are used for public projects for the community. A careful statistical analysis using data from Fujian province supports our two major predictions. We also find that elite immigrants are more likely to use remittances for public projects in immigrant-sending communities. Our policy calls for more strategies and services in dealing with major concerns such as family members left behind (i.e., the elderly) in communities and increasing land use issues, as well as more proactive strategies to cultivate elite immigrants who are increasingly transnational and are likely to become catalysts for economic transformations in these communities and beyond.

[Postoperative changes of Th17/Treg balance in patients with intracranial aneurysm rupture].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the dynamic changes of Th17/Treg balance in patients following surgical intervention for intracranial aneurysm rupture. METHODS: The percentage of Th cells and the intracellular IL-17 level, Treg cell percentage and transforming growth factor -ß1 (TGF-ß1) levels were examined in 73 patients with rupture of aneurysms before and at 24 h, 72 h and 1 week after operation, with 62 patients with unruptured aneurysms and 65 healthy volunteers as the control. The correlations among the immune cells, cytokines and clinical characteristics of the patients (NIHSS, ADL and hospitalization stay) were analyzed. RESULTS: Th17 percentage and intracellular IL-17 levels were significantly higher in the patients with ruptured and unruptured aneurysms than in the healthy volunteers, and were significantly higher in patients with ruptured aneurysms than in those with unruptured aneurysms. Treg cell percentage and TGF-ß1 level were significantly lower in patients with aneurysms than in the healthy volunteers, and were lower in patients with ruptured aneurysms than in those with uruptured aneurysms (P<0.05). Patients with intracranial aneurysm rupture showed significantly increased Th17 cell percentage and IL-17 level but significantly lowered Treg cell percentage and TGF-ß1 at 24 h following the surgery (P<0.05); these changes were reversed significantly at 72 h and 1 week after the surgery. Th17 cell percentage and IL-17 level were positively correlated with NIHSS and the length of postoperative hospital stay but inversely correlated with ADL; Treg cell percentage and TGF-ß1 were inversely correlated with NIHSS and hospital stay but positively with ADL (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with intracranial aneurysms, the systemic immune inflammatory response is highlighted by excessive Th17 cells and insufficient Treg cells, which are closely related with the outcomes of the patients following surgical intervention. Evaluation of Th17/Treg balance and the cytokine levels can help to assess the prognosis of patients with aneurysm rupture.

Changing Patterns of the Floating Population in China during 2000-2010.

Using data from the 2000 and 2010 Chinese Population Censuses and applying a consistent definition of migration, this paper examines changing patterns of China's floating population during 2000-2010. We find that during the first decade of the 21st century, there have been significant changes in China's floating population, as reflected in continuing rise of interprovincial floating population and the rise of the floating population in China's western and interior regions, geographic diversification of destinations for the floating population, a major increase in interprovincial return migration, and significant improvement in education and occupational profiles among the floating population. We argue that these patterns are driven by a combination of complex domestic and international factors, including the newly released Labor Law, removal of agricultural tax, the western China development program, increased investment in education by the Chinese government, and the global financial crisis. We also discuss several challenges facing the floating population in the coming years, which include equality of educational opportunity for migrant children and adequate housing and social welfare protection for the floating population. Finally, we reflect on the future of migration research in China.

[Changes in CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) in the occurrence of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODS: Fifteen patients with spontaneous SAH, 15 with traumatic SAH, and 15 with headache without organic pathologies as confirmed by lumbar puncture (control group) were examined with flow cytometry for Treg in the peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid and intracellular cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-ß1) levels. The Glasgow score (GCS), neurological deficit score (NIHSS), headache, visual analog scale (VAS) and hospitalization time were compared between the two SAH groups. RESULTS: Spontaneous SAH patients showed significantly lowered peripheral blood Treg, IL-10, and TGF-ß1 in the cerebrospinal fluid compared with the patients with traumatic SAH and the control group (P<0.05), and the 3 measurements were comparable between the latter two groups (P>0.05). After administration of treatment, of Treg content in spontaneous SAH patients increased progressively and became comparable with those in the other two groups at the third and fourth lumbar punctures. Spontaneous SAH patients showed significantly lower GCS, NIHSS, and VAS with shorter hospital stay than the traumatic SAH patients. Correlation analysis showed that Treg, IL-10 and TGF-ß1 were all inversely correlated with NIHSS, VAS, and duration of hospitalization but positively correlated with GCS (the absolute r values were all greater than 0.6, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Treg deficiency can be an important mechanism for the occurrence of spontaneous SAH, and a higher level of Treg indicates a better outcome of the patients.

Migration within China and from China to the USA: the effects of migration networks, selectivity, and the rural political economy in Fujian Province.

This paper tests a new strategy for simultaneously studying internal migration within, and international migration from, China. Our theoretical discussion draws on ideas from migration-networks theory and studies of the transition to a market-oriented economy. Data collection is modelled on the Mexican Migration Project. We find that education is more important in initiating internal migration than international migration. Second, although the role of migration networks at a community level seems similar to that for Mexico-USA migration, the networks at a family level show a different pattern. Third, there is evidence that internal and international migration are competing options. Finally, we find that individuals with cadres (public officials) in the family are less likely to undertake internal migration, but more likely to participate in international migration, a finding that highlights the continuing significance of the cadres in coastal rural China.

Emigration from China in Comparative Perspective.

Comparative research on international migration has increasingly focused on immigrant integration rather than the process of emigration. By investigating the different streams of Chinese migration to the United States and Europe, as well as the different stages of Chinese migration to the U.S., this study examines the way in which both receiving and sending contexts combine to shape the process of emigration. Using data from a 2002-2003 survey of emigration from China's Fujian Province, we demonstrate that under restrictive exit and entry policies and high barriers to migration (i.e., clandestine migration from Fuzhou to the U.S.), resources such as migrant social capital, political capital (cadre resources), and human capital all play a crucial role in the emigration process. However, the roles of these resources in the migration process are limited when migration barriers are sufficiently low and when local governments adopt proactive policies promoting emigration (i.e., legal migration from Mingxi to Europe). Comparisons over time suggest that the importance of migrant social capital, political capital, and human capital has strongly persisted for Fuzhou-US emigration, as a result of tightening exit and entry policies. Despite these marked differences between Fuzhou and Mingxi emigration, the results also point to two general processes that are highly consistent across settings and over time-the cumulative causation of migration and the advantage conferred by traditional positional power (cadre status).

Effects of Conservation Policies on Forest Cover Change in Giant Panda Habitat Regions, China.

After long periods of deforestation, forest transition has occurred globally, but the causes of forest transition in different countries are highly variable. Conservation policies may play important roles in facilitating forest transition around the world, including China. To restore forests and protect the remaining natural forests, the Chinese government initiated two nationwide conservation policies in the late 1990s -- the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) and the Grain-To-Green Program (GTGP). While some studies have discussed the environmental and socioeconomic effects of each of these policies independently and others have attributed forest recovery to both policies without rigorous and quantitative analysis, it is necessary to rigorously quantify the outcomes of these two conservation policies simultaneously because the two policies have been implemented at the same time. To fill the knowledge gap, this study quantitatively evaluated the effects of the two conservation policies on forest cover change between 2001 and 2008 in 108 townships located in two important giant panda habitat regions -- the Qinling Mountains region in Shaanxi Province and the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary in Sichuan Province. Forest cover change was evaluated using a land-cover product (MCD12Q1) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This product proved to be highly accurate in the study region (overall accuracy was ca. 87%, using 425 ground truth points collected in the field), thus suitable for the forest change analysis performed. Results showed that within the timeframe evaluated, most townships in both regions exhibited either increases or no changes in forest cover. After accounting for a variety of socioeconomic and biophysical attributes, an Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model suggests that the two policies had statistically significant positive effects on forest cover change after seven years of implementation, while population density, percent agricultural population, road density, and initial forest cover (i.e. in 2001) had significant negative effects. The methods and results from this study will be useful for continuing the implementation of these conservation policies, for the development of future giant panda habitat conservation projects, and for achieving forest sustainability in China and elsewhere.

Migration and Remittances: Evidence from a Poor Province in China.

This paper examines patterns of remittances among migrants from Guizhou province of China. Our research is motivated by three lines of theoretical arguments, namely the new economics of migration, a translocal perspective linking remittances and development, and the culture of remittances. Taking individual, household, and village-level characteristics into account, we estimated multilevel logistic models of the decision to remit and multilevel models of the amount of remittances. Our results show that migrant remittance behaviour is responsive to family needs as well as household economic position in the village.. Migrants who come from entrepreneurial households are more likely to remit a large amount than other types of households. We find some evidence of "culture of remittances" in these villages. Consistent with our expectations, migrants who are from villages with higher amount of average remittances are likely to remit a larger amount than otherwise.

[Photoprotective mechanisms of leaf anthocyanins: research progress].

Anthocyanin is widely distributed in plant organs such as root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit, being a kind of secondary metabolites generated in plant morphogenesis or for stress response. Leaf anthocyanin has special chemical structure and spectral properties, playing important roles in plant photoprotection, and becomes a hotspot in plant photosynthetic physiological ecology. This paper summarized the recent research progress in the effects of leaf anthocyanin on plant photosynthesis, including the distribution of leaf anthocyanin, its spectral properties, and its relationships with photosynthetic pigments, with the focus on the potential mechanisms of anthocyanins photoprotection, including light absorption, antioxidation, and osmotic regulation. The further research directions on the effects of leaf anthocyanin on photoprotection were proposed.

Subchronic effects of perfluorooctanesulfonate exposure on inflammation in adult male C57BL/6 mice.

Previous studies indicate that exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), a ubiquitous and highly persistent environmental contaminant, induces immunotoxicity in mice. However, few studies have specifically assessed the effects of PFOS on inflammation. This study utilized a standard 60-day oral exposure period to assess the effects of PFOS on the response of inflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1 ß (IL-1ß), and interleukin-6 (IL-6)]. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were dosed daily by oral gavage with PFOS at 0, 0.0083, 0.0167, 0.0833, 0.4167, 0.8333 or 2.0833 mg/kg/day to yield a targeted Total Administered Dose (TAD) over 60 days of 0, 0.5, 1, 5, 25, 50, or 125 mg PFOS/kg, respectively. The percentage of peritoneal macrophages (CD11b+ cells) was significantly increased at concentrations ≥ 1 mg PFOS/kg TAD in a dose-dependent manner. Ex vivo IL-1ß production by peritoneal macrophages was elevated substantially at concentrations of ≥ 5 mg PFOS/kg TAD. Moreover, PFOS exposure markedly enhanced the ex vivo production of TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6 by peritoneal and splenic macrophages when stimulated either in vitro or in vivo with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The serum levels of these inflammatory cytokines observed in response to in vivo stimulation with LPS were elevated substantially by exposure to PFOS. PFOS exposure elevated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and proto-oncogene, c-myc, in the spleen. These data suggest that exposure to PFOS modulates the inflammatory response, and further research is needed to determine the mechanism of action.

Type 1 and Type 2 cytokines imbalance in adult male C57BL/6 mice following a 7-day oral exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS).

Previous studies indicate that exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), a ubiquitous and highly persistent environmental contaminant induces immunotoxicity in mice. However, clear mechanisms to explain any PFOS-induced immunotoxicity are still unknown. The study here sought to examine the ability of PFOS to potentially perturb T-helper (T(H))-1 and -2 cell cytokine secreting activities, as well as to cause shifts in antibody isotype levels, as possible mechanisms involved in PFOS-induced immunotoxicity. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were given by gavage 0, 5, or 20 mg PFOS/kg/d for 7 days. One day after the final exposure, spleens from these hosts were isolated and used for analyses of the ex vivo production of T(H)1-type (interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (IFNγ), T(H)2-type (IL-4), and IL-10 cytokines by isolated splenocytes. In addition, serum was isolated from these mice in order to assess their levels of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies. In all studies, levels of the cytokines of the antibodies were quantified via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot. The results here showed that IL-2 and IFNγ formation was reduced, but that IL-4 production increased by the 5 and 20 mg PFOS/kg/d treatments. Serum IgM levels decreased significantly (in dose-related manner) as a result of the PFOS exposures; serum IgG levels increased markedly with 5 mg PFOS/kg/d, but decreased slightly with the 20 mg PFOS/kg/d regimens PFOS exposure increased serum corticosterone levels in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicated that, after a high-dose short-term exposure to PFOS, a host's immune state is likely to be characterized by a shift toward a more T(H)2-like state that, in turn, may lead to suppression of their cellular response and enhancement of their humoral response.

Sub-chronic effect of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) on the balance of type 1 and type 2 cytokine in adult C57BL6 mice.

As a ubiquitous and highly persistent environmental contaminant, the clear mechanisms to explain any perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS)-induced immunotoxicity are still unknown. This study here sought to examine the ability of PFOS to potentially perturb T-helper (T(H))-1 and T(H)-2 cell cytokine secreting activities, as well as to cause shifts in antibody isotype levels, and possible mechanisms involved in PFOS-induced immunotoxicity. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to PFOS daily via gavage for 60 days [0, 0.5, 1, 5, 25, or 50 mg/kg total administered dose (TAD)]. One day after the final exposure, the ex vivo production of the T(H)1-type cytokines (IL-2 and IFN-γ), T(H)2-type (IL-4), and IL-10 cytokines by isolated splenocytes, serum levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) were assessed via ELISA or ELISPOT. The results showed that IL-4 secretion was increased at exposure ≥5 mg PFOS/kg TAD in a dose-dependent manner. PFOS exposure increased IL-10 but decreased IL-2 and IFN-γ formation markedly at 50 mg PFOS/kg TAD. Serum levels of sheep red blood cells (SRBC)-specific IgM synthesis decreased significantly with PFOS exposure in a dose-related manner; serum SRBC-specific IgG, IgG1, and IgE levels increased with 50 mg PFOS/kg TAD regimens. These results indicated that, after a long-term exposure to PFOS, a host's immune state is likely to be characterized by a shift toward a more T(H)2-like state that, in turn, may lead to enhancement of their humoral response and suppression of their cellular response at levels of upper range for occupationally exposed workers or approximately 150-fold for general human population.

The modifier protein of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase reduces free radical-mediated renal damage in a rat model of acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND: The modifier protein (MP) of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase has been shown to promote growth of renal epithelial cells in vitro. The aim of this study was to show the in vivo effects of MP in a rat model of gentamicin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). METHOD: MP was purified from monkey renal tubular epithelial cell line BSC-1 and confirmed by amino acid sequencing. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the following groups: normal control, gentamicin-treated, epidermal growth factor (EGF) plus gentamicin-treated, and MP plus gentamicin-treated, as well as control groups for EGF and MP alone. Levels of serum creatinine (SCr), serum and tissue lipid peroxide, nitric oxide and glutathione-S-hydrogenase for each group were measured on the 7th and 14th days of treatment. Tissue sections were studied with light microscopy. RESULTS: The gentamicin-treated group showed a marked increase in SCr compared to the normal control group. Co-treatment of gentamicin with MP and/or EGF produced similar significant decreases preventing the increase in SCr. There were also significant reductions in serum and tissue homogenate levels of lipid peroxide and nitric oxide, accompanied by an increase in the level of glutathione-S-hydrogenase, in the MP co-treated groups compared to the gentamicin-treated group. AKI was confirmed histologically in the gentamicin-treated group, with damage to the tubular epithelium recorded. This was attenuated by MP co-treatment. There were also reductions in the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in the MP co-treated groups. CONCLUSION: Using a gentamicin model of AKI, MP was able to reduce free radical production in kidney tissue and in the circulation, thus preventing oxidant injury and minimizing damage in renal epithelial cells.