In: Alcohol and alcoholism: the international journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism (MCA) and the journal of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA), Band 39, Heft 1, S. 53-58
It is now about 15 years since the introduction of the market into health care in China. This produced fundamental changes in the way that health care is financed and resulted in the disappearance of universal free basic health care. Responsibility for provision of health services has been devolved to the provincial and county governments, and healthcare providers have been given considerable financial independence. A fee for service system has been introduced, and several different payment mechanisms are now in operation. The new financing and pricing structures are responsible for greater inequity of access to services and more inefficient use of resources. These problems are widely acknowledged, and a range of solutions is being developed and tested. Since the introduction of the reforms the measurable health status of the population has not declined, probably as a result of overall improved socioeconomic conditions and a continued emphasis on prevention.
China is the only country in the world where Western medicine and traditional medicine are practised alongside each other at every level of the healthcare system. Traditional Chinese medicine has a unique theoretical and practical approach to the treatment of disease, which has developed over thousands of years. Traditional treatments include herbal remedies, acupuncture, acupressure and massage, and moxibustion. They account for around 40% of all health care delivered in China. The current government policy of expansion of traditional facilities and manpower is being questioned because many hospitals using traditional Chinese medicine are already underutilized and depend on government subsidies for survival. Research priorities include randomised controlled trials of common treatments and analysis of the active agents in herbal remedies. As more studies show the clinical effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine, an integrated approach to disease using a combination of Western medicine and traditional approaches becomes a possibility for the future.
Current studies reveal that the sharing economy has faced new barriers and issues in its development context, such as trust and privacy issues. By integrating theories of sharing economy and service science, in our past work, we explored how to deal with the service issues of online car-hailing based on process chain network (PCN). We also explored services in the sharing economy on three different levels: personal behavior, platform service and government regulation. With service-dominant logic replacing product-dominant logic, we suggest that research in the sharing economy and e-commerce calls for further systematical application of important service science theories and should make use of emerging technologies to develop new research methods.
Epidemiologic and health impact studies have examined the chemical composition of ambient PM 2.5 in China but have been constrained by the paucity of long-term ground measurements. Using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model and satellite-derived PM 2.5 data, sulfate and ammonium levels were estimated over China from 2004 to 2014. A comparison of the satellite-estimated dataset with model simulations based on ground measurements obtained from the literature indicated our results are more accurate. Using satellite-derived PM 2.5 data with a spatial resolution of 0.1° × 0.1°, we further presented finer satellite-estimated sulfate and ammonium concentrations in anthropogenic polluted regions, including the NCP (the North China Plain), the SCB (the Sichuan Basin) and the PRD (the Pearl River Delta). Linear regression results obtained on a national scale yielded an r value of 0.62, NMB of −35.9 %, NME of 48.2 %, ARB_50 % of 53.68 % for sulfate and an r value of 0.63, slope of 0.67, and intercept of 5.14 for ammonium. In typical regions, the satellite-derived dataset was significantly robust. Based on the satellite-derived dataset, the spatial-temporal variation of 11-year annual average satellite-derived SO 4 2− and NH 4 + concentrations and time series of monthly average concentrations were also investigated. On a national scale, both exhibited a downward trend each year between 2004 and 2014 (SO 4 2− : −0.61 %; NH 4 + : −0.21 %), large values were mainly concentrated in the NCP and SCB. For regions captured at a finer resolution, the inter-annual variation trends presented a positive trend over the periods 2004–2007 and 2008–2011, followed by a negative trend over the period 2012–2014, and sulfate concentrations varied appreciably. Moreover, the seasonal distributions of the 11-year satellite-derived dataset over China were presented. The distribution of both sulfate and ammonium concentrations exhibited seasonal characteristics, with the seasonal concentrations ranking as follows: winter > summer > autumn > spring. High concentrations of these species were concentrated in the NCP and SCB, originating from coal-fired power plants and agricultural activities, respectively. Efforts to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions have yielded remarkable results since the government has adopted stricter control measures in recent years. Moreover, ammonia emissions should be controlled while reducing the concentration of sulfur, nitrogen and particulate matter. This study provides an assessment of the population's exposure to certain chemical components.
Epidemiologic and health impact studies have examined the chemical composition of ambient PM2.5 in China but have been constrained by the paucity of long-term ground measurements. Using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model and satellite-derived PM2.5 data, sulfate and ammonium levels were estimated over China from 2004 to 2014. A comparison of the satellite-estimated dataset with model simulations based on ground measurements obtained from the literature indicated our results are more accurate. Using satellite-derived PM2.5 data with a spatial resolution of 0.1° × 0.1°, we further presented finer satellite-estimated sulfate and ammonium concentrations in anthropogenic polluted regions, including the NCP (the North China Plain), the SCB (the Sichuan Basin) and the PRD (the Pearl River Delta). Linear regression results obtained on a national scale yielded an r value of 0.62, NMB of −35.9 %, NME of 48.2 %, ARB_50 % of 53.68 % for sulfate and an r value of 0.63, slope of 0.67, and intercept of 5.14 for ammonium. In typical regions, the satellite-derived dataset was significantly robust. Based on the satellite-derived dataset, the spatial-temporal variation of 11-year annual average satellite-derived SO42− and NH4+ concentrations and time series of monthly average concentrations were also investigated. On a national scale, both exhibited a downward trend each year between 2004 and 2014 (SO42−: −0.61 %; NH4+: −0.21 %), large values were mainly concentrated in the NCP and SCB. For regions captured at a finer resolution, the inter-annual variation trends presented a positive trend over the periods 2004–2007 and 2008–2011, followed by a negative trend over the period 2012–2014, and sulfate concentrations varied appreciably. Moreover, the seasonal distributions of the 11-year satellite-derived dataset over China were presented. The distribution of both sulfate and ammonium concentrations exhibited seasonal characteristics, with the seasonal concentrations ranking as follows: winter > summer > autumn > spring. High concentrations of these species were concentrated in the NCP and SCB, originating from coal-fired power plants and agricultural activities, respectively. Efforts to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions have yielded remarkable results since the government has adopted stricter control measures in recent years. Moreover, ammonia emissions should be controlled while reducing the concentration of sulfur, nitrogen and particulate matter. This study provides an assessment of the population's exposure to certain chemical components.
Abstract. On 5 June 2009, a catastrophic rockslide debris flow occurred at the crest of the Jiweishan range, Chongqing Municipality, China, killing 74 people and injuring an additional eight. We use L-band ALOS/PALSAR imagery to address landslide processes before, during and after the slide. We employ three different SAR methods, i.e., short baseline subsets (SBAS) interferometric SAR (InSAR), SAR backscattering intensity change, and InSAR stacking algorithm, to study any ground deformation before the rockslide, investigate the affected area, and calculate the topographic change by this slide, respectively. First, continuous deformation has been observed based on the available ALOS/PALSAR InSAR imagery during June and December 2007. Second, the area affected by the landslide can be inferred based on changes in SAR backscattering intensity as well as surface topography, with an estimated area of 0.47 million m2. Last, an InSAR-derived post-slide digital elevation model has allowed us to estimate surface height changes due to the slide, reaching about −80 m at the source region and about 60 m in the deposit region, respectively. Our InSAR-derived estimates have been validated using in situ data and 3-D lidar measurements.