► We examine the relative concerns of rural-to-urban migrants in China using a novel dataset. ► We find that the subjective well-being of migrants depends on several reference groups. ► Relative ...concerns of the rural-to-urban migrants are negatively affected by the income of other migrants and workers of home regions, i.e., “status effect”. ► We identify a positive relative income effect vis-à-vis urban workers, i.e., “signal effect”. ► Results show substantial heterogeneity among migrants.
As their environment changes, migrants constitute an interesting group to study the effect of relative income on subjective well-being. This paper focuses on the huge population of rural-to-urban migrants in China. Using a novel dataset, we find that the well-being of migrants depends on several reference groups: it is negatively affected by the income of other migrants and workers of home regions; in contrast, we identify a positive, ‘signal’ effect vis-à-vis urban workers: larger urban incomes indicate higher income prospects for the migrants. These effects are particularly strong for migrants who wish to settle permanently, decline with years since migrations and change with other characteristics including work conditions and community ties.
Objectives
To identify clinical, angiographic and hemodynamic predictors of discordance between instantaneous wave‐free ratio (iFR) and fractional flow reserve (FFR).
Background
The iFR was found to ...be non‐inferior to the gold‐standard FFR for guiding coronary revascularization, although it is discordant with FFR in 20% of cases. A better understanding of the causes of discordance may enhance application of these indices.
Methods
Both FFR and iFR were measured in the prospective multicenter CONTRAST study. Clinical, angiographic and hemodynamic variables were compared between patients with concordant values of FFR and iFR (cutoff ≤0.80 and ≤0.89, respectively).
Results
Out of the 587 patients included, in 466 patients (79.4%) FFR and iFR agreed: both negative, n = 244 (41.6%), or positive, n = 222 (37.8%). Compared with FFR, iFR was negative discordant (FFR+/iFR‐) in 69 (11.8%) patients and positive discordant (FFR‐/iFR+) in 52 (8.9%) patients. On multivariate regression, stenosis location (left main or proximal left anterior descending) (OR: 3.301.68;6.47), more severe stenosis (OR: 1.771.35;2.30), younger age (OR: 0.930.90;0.97), and slower heart rate (OR: 0.590.42;0.75) were predictors of a negative discordant iFR. Absence of a beta‐blocker (OR: 0.410.22;0.78), older age (OR: 1.041.00;1.07), and less severe stenosis (OR: 0.690.53;0.89) were predictors of a positive discordant iFR.
Conclusions
During iFR acquisition, stenosis location, stenosis degree, heart rate, age and use of beta blockers influence concordance with FFR and should be taken into account when interpreting iFR.
Condensed
iFR‐guided revascularization is non‐inferior to FFR at 1 year, despite being discordant with FFR in 20% of cases. In 587 patients, we studied predictive factors for this discordance. Stenosis location involving the left main or proximal left anterior descending coronary, more severe stenosis, younger age and slower heart rate were significant predictors of a negative discordant iFR (FFR+/iFR‐). Lack of use of a beta‐blocker, older age, and less severe stenosis were significant predictors of a positive discordant iFR (FFR‐/iFR+). Clinical, angiographic and hemodynamic conditions during iFR acquisition influence concordance with FFR and must be taken into account when interpreting iFR.
The expected year-on-year intrinsic mortality variations/changes are largely overlooked in the existing research when estimating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality patterns. To fill ...this gap, this study provides a new assessment of the loss of life expectancy caused by COVID-19 in 27 countries considering both the actual and the expected changes in life expectancy between 2019 and 2020. Life expectancy in 2020 and the expected life expectancy in the absence of COVID-19 are estimated using the Lee-Carter model and data primarily from the Human Mortality Database. The results show that life expectancy in 21 of the 27 countries was expected to increase in 2020 had COVID-19 not occurred. By considering the expected mortality changes between 2019 and 2020, the study shows that, on average, the loss of life expectancy among the 27 countries in 2020 amounted to 1.33 year (95% CI 1.29-1.37) at age 15 and 0.91 years (95% CI 0.88-0.94) at age 65. Our results suggest that if the year-on-year intrinsic variations/changes in mortality were considered, the effects of COVID-19 on mortality are more profound than previously understood. This is particularly prominent for countries experiencing greater life expectancy increase in recent years.
This paper examines whether the subjective well-being of migrants is responsive to fluctuations in macroeconomic conditions in their country of origin. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel for the ...years 1984 to 2009 and macroeconomic variables for 24 countries of origin, we exploit country-year variation for identification of the effect and panel data to control for migrants' observed and unobserved characteristics. We find strong evidence that migrants' well-being responds negatively to an increase in the GDP of their home country. That is, migrants seem to regard home countries as natural comparators, which grounds the idea of relative deprivation underlying the decision to migrate. The effect declines with years-since-migration and with the degree of assimilation in Germany.
A conceptual design is presented of a novel energy-recovering linac (ERL) facility for the development and application of the energy recovery technique to linear electron accelerators in the ...multi-turn, large current and large energy regime. The main characteristics of the powerful energy recovery linac experiment facility (PERLE) are derived from the design of the Large Hadron electron Collider, an electron beam upgrade under study for the LHC, for which it would be the key demonstrator. PERLE is thus projected as a facility to investigate efficient, high current (HC) (>10 mA) ERL operation with three re-circulation passages through newly designed SCRF cavities, at 801.58 MHz frequency, and following deceleration over another three re-circulations. In its fully equipped configuration, PERLE provides an electron beam of approximately 1 GeV energy. A physics programme possibly associated with PERLE is sketched, consisting of high precision elastic electron-proton scattering experiments, as well as photo-nuclear reactions of unprecedented intensities with up to 30 MeV photon beam energy as may be obtained using Fabry-Perot cavities. The facility has further applications as a general technology test bed that can investigate and validate novel superconducting magnets (beam induced quench tests) and superconducting RF structures (structure tests with HC beams, beam loading and transients). Besides a chapter on operation aspects, the report contains detailed considerations on the choices for the SCRF structure, optics and lattice design, solutions for arc magnets, source and injector and on further essential components. A suitable configuration derived from the here presented design concept may next be moved forward to a technical design and possibly be built by an international collaboration which is being established.
The welding of transparent materials with ultrashort laser pulse at high repetition rates has attracted much attention due to its potential applications in fields such as optics, microfluidics, ...optofluidics and precision machinery. One demanding issue is the stable and reliable welding of different materials without the utilization of an intermediate layer or an optical contact. In this work, we maximized the size of the molten volume in order to generate a large pool of molten material which is able to fill an existing gap between the samples. To this end, we used bursts of ultrashort laser pulses with an individual pulse energy of up to
10
μ
J
. The laser-induced welding seams exhibit a base area with a size of up to
450
μ
m
×
160
μ
m
. Using these large modifications, we are able to overcome the requirement of an optical contact and weld even gaps with a height of about
3
μ
m
. Bulging of the sample surface and ejection of molten material in the gap between the two samples allow to bridge the gap and enable successful welding. We also determined the breaking strength of laser-welded fused silica samples without an optical contact by a three-point bending test. The determined value of up to 73 MPa is equivalent to 85 % of stability of the pristine bulk material.
(1) Background: Thymoquinone (TQ) is the leading compound accounting for the pharmacological effects of Nigella sativa seed oil, also known as black seed oil. This study aimed to analyze the TQ ...content of commercial black seed oils and black seed oil-containing capsules to obtain information on the quality of the products and to find a promising and safe study medication for a putative clinical study. (2) Methods: Six black seed oils and five black seed oil-containing capsules were analyzed. TQ was quantified using a validated method consisting of a simple methanolic extraction and a fast HPLC-UV analysis. (3) Results: The TQ content varied from 3.08 to 809.4 mg/100 g (mean). The highest TQ content was found in a bottled oil, which might be considered for a clinical study. A dose of 4 mL of this oil per day contains 30 mg TQ, which is unlikely to be harmful. Based on the literature, a safe daily TQ dosage appears to be <48.6 mg per adult. (4) Conclusions: These findings suggest that black seed products should be regulated regarding TQ content to enable consumers to buy black seed food supplements of known content for the maintenance and improvement of health.
Sunflower extraction meal (SEM) is an economically interesting protein source. During alkaline extraction of proteins, the presence of chlorogenic acid (CQA) in the meal gives rise to the formation ...of o-quinones. Reactions with nucleophiles present in proteins can lead to green discoloration. Although such reactions have been known for a long time, there is a lack of information on the chemical nature of the reaction products. SEM and model systems consisting of amino acids and CQA were subjected to alkaline treatment and, for comparison, to oxidation of CQA by polyphenoloxidase (PPO). Several green trihydroxy benzacridine (TBA) derivatives were tentatively identified in all samples by UHPLC-DAD-MS/MS. Surprisingly, in alkaline-treated samples of particular amino acids as well as in SEM, the same six TBA isomers were detected. In contrast, the enzymatically oxidized samples resulted in only three TBA derivatives. Contrary to previous findings, neither peptide nor amino acid residues were attached to the resultant benzacridine core. The results indicate that the formation of TBA derivatives is caused by the reaction between CQA quinones and free NH2 groups. Further research is necessary to elucidate the structure of the addition products for a comprehensive evaluation of food and feed safety aspects.
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