Comparative Research on the Reform and Exploration of Balancing Urban-Rural Development

Balancing urban and rural comprehensive reform is the major reform and developmental strategy of China. On the basis of the concept and theory of balancing rural and urban reform, the two national pilot cities Chengdu, Chongqing and several provincial pilot cities including Ningbo, Yangzhou, Shaoxing and Zigong are compared. The experiences and connotation of balancing urban and rural areas are concluded from the following four aspects. Firstly, scientific plan is a prerequisite; secondly, promoting "three collections" is the core; thirdly, developing people's livelihood is the basis; fourthly, organization security is the key.

Reinstating Traditional Horsemanship of Ethnic Minorities in Southern China by Excavation,Sorting,and Comparative Research

In August 1991,the book Chinese Nation’s Traditional Sports History was published,and it was hailed as the“masterpiece of Chinese folk sports”by academic circles.In this masterpiece,the traditional horsemanship of 23 ethnic minorities and that of 10 southern ethnic minorities represented by the Miao,Yi,Bai,Shui,Hani,Naxi,and other ethnic groups has been included.For the first time,this masterpiece integrates the traditional horsemanship of the ethnic minorities in Southern China in one volume.The disadvantage is that most of the included traditional horsemanship of ethnic minorities only made a brief introduction to the time,place,and form of its development.However,under the global trend of the transition from traditional society to modern society and post-modern society,the traditional horsemanship of ethnic minorities in Southern China is facing an increasingly serious crisis of inheritance and disconnection,resulting in a gradual extinction of related traditional cultural heritage.The characteristics are gradually lost because of it.Therefore,it is essential to return to the historical and cultural field of traditional horsemanship,conduct rescue excavation,sort out the traditional horsemanship of ethnic minorities in Southern China,rescue the records of traditional horsemanship that is disappearing or undergoing drastic changes,as well as carry out comparative studies on this basis.This is not only an important way to inherit the traditional culture of ethnic minorities,but also means to protect the diversity of ethnic cultures and promote the development of exotic villages.

Comparative research on different air conditioning systems for residential buildings

Two types of air conditioning （AC） systems generally exist, namely, centralized and decen- tralized AC systems. This study focuses on three actual engineering projects of residentiat communities where centralized AC systems are adopted. The applicability of centralized AC systems in residential buildings is discussed and analyzed. In addition, the key elements that lead to different building energy consumptions and system efficiencies between centralized and decentralized AC systems in residential buildings are investigated. This study shows that in residential buildings, at the point where the centralized feature of the system meets the decentralized feature of users＇ load, the problems of high energy consumption and low energy efficiency could easily occur.

Delayed assessment and eager adoption of laparoscopic cholecystectomy:Implications for developing surgical technologies

Despite the prevailing emphasis in the medical literature on establishing evidence,many changes in the practice of surgery have not been achieved using proper evidence-based assessment.This paper examines the adoption of laparoscopic cholecystectomy(LC)into regular use for the treatment of cholecystitis and the process of its acceptance,focusing on the limited role of technology assessment in its appraisal.A review of the published medical literature concerning LC was performed.Approximately 3000 studies of LC have been conducted since 1985,and there have been nearly 8500 publications to date.As LC was adopted enthusiastically into practice,the results of outcome studies generally showed that it compared favorably with the traditional,open cholecystectomy with regard to mortality,complications,and length of hospital stay.However,despite the rapid general agreement on surgical technique,efficacy,and appropriateness,there remained lingering doubts about safety,outcomes,and cost of the procedure that suggested that essential research questions were ignored even as the procedure became standard.Using LC as a case study,there are important lessons to be learned about the need for important guidelines for surgical innovation and the adoption of minimally invasive surgical techniques into current clinical and surgical practice.We highlight one recent example,natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery and how necessary it is to properly evaluate this new technology before it is accepted as a safe and effective surgical option.

Which Research Is Needed to Support Clinical Decision-Making on Integrative Medicine?——Can Comparative Effectiveness Research Close the Gap?

In clinical research on complementary and integrative medicine, experts and scientists have often pursued a research agenda in spite of an incomplete understanding of the needs of end users. Consequently, the majority of previous clinical trials have mainly assessed the efficacy of interventions. Scant data is available on their effectiveness. Comparative effectiveness research （CER） promises to support decision makers by generating evidence that compares the benefits and harms of the best care options. This evidence, more generalizable than the evidence generated by traditional randomized controlled trials （RCTs）, is better suited to inform real-world care decisions. An emphasis on CER supports the development of the evidence base for clinical and policy decision-making. Whereas in most areas of complementary and integrative medicine data on comparative effectiveness is scarce, available acupuncture research already contributes to CER evidence. This paper wil introduce CER and make suggestions for future research.

Postrandomization Confounding Challenges the Applicability of Randomized Clinical Trials in Comparative Effectiveness Research

Different from trials for regulatory approvals of new interventions aimed to test the efficacy, comparative effectiveness research （CER） is the direct comparison of existing health-care interventions （compared with active controls） to examine which treatment works best, for whom,

What Can Comparative Effectiveness Research,Propensity Score and Registry Study Bring to Chinese Medicine?

The impact of evidence-based medicine and clinical epidemiology on clinical research has contributed to the development of Chinese medicine in modem times over the past two decades.Many concepts and methods of modem science and technology are emerging in Chinese medicine research,resulting in constant progress.Systematic reviews,randomized controlled trials and other advanced mathematic approaches and statistical analysis methods have brought reform to Chinese medicine.In this new era,Chinese medicine researchers have many opportunities and challenges.On the one hand,Chinese medicine researchers need to dedicate themselves to providing enough evidence to the world through rigorous studies,whilst on the other hand,they also need to keep up with the speed of modem medicine research.For example,recently,real world study,comparative effectiveness research,propensity score techniques and registry study have emerged.This article aims to inspire Chinese medicine researchers to explore new areas by introducing these new ideas and new techniques.

Health Analytics, Economics and Medicine toward a 21st Century Health Care System

After a review of recent developments in precision medicine, population health sciences and innovative clinical trial designs, and in health economics and policy, we show how innovations in health analytics can capitalize on the advances in biomedicine and health economics towards developing a data-driven and cost-effective 21st century health care system. In particular, we propose a mutually beneficial public-private partnership that combines individual responsibility with community solidarity in building this health care system.

A Positive Comparative Study of Regional Human Resources Quality

This thesis appraises the human resources in developed regions, relatively developed regions, moderately developed regions and underdeveloped regions in China by means of comprehensive fuzzy assessment of human resources quality. Then the interrelationship between regional economic development and human resources quality is analysed. The results can be of some value for decision making.

Research methods in complementary and alternative medicine： an integrative review

The scientific literature presents a modest amount ot evidence m the use or complementary ana al[erna- tire medicine （CAM）. On the other hand, in practice, relevant results are common. The debates among CAM practitioners about the quality and execution of scientific research are important, Therefore, the aim of this review is to gather, synthesize and describe the differentiated methodological models that encompass the complexity of therapeutic interventions. The process of bringing evidence-based medicine into clinical practice in CAM is essential for the growth and strengthening of complementary medicines worldwide.

Water as a common reference for monastic lives and spaces in Cistercian and Han Buddhist monasteries

Understanding the physical characteristics and cultural connotations of water is fundamental in obtaining a more in-depth view of the relationship between monastic lives and spaces.This study moves from several case studies to two case comparisons to a synthesis of two space prototypes to investigate how water management evolved into spatial water thought and became a common reference for monastic lives and spaces.Cistercian and Han Buddhist monasteries are investigated and considered to share many similarities in the internal institutional model of monks’lives,as well as their corresponding architectural core values.They are suitable cases for exploring this research idea.In Cistercian and Han Buddhist monasteries,the role of water in monks’lives and spaces is mainly reflected in the following aspects:1)the form of the water body shaped the monastic spatial morphology in site selection;2)the structure of water flow was closely related to spatial order and affected the spatial distribution;and 3)the performance of the water status formatted the connotation of space.This article attempts to depict a complete picture of the relationship between monastic lives and spaces from the perspective of water.Under the common pursuit of selfsufficient retreat life,water management was the common strategy for monastic venues to turn the wilderness into paradise refuges.Findings of this article show that the water culture of self-sufficiency and self-cleaning is the common reference,a shared universal value,and common parts of the spatial thought of the two monastic venues.Awareness of the importance of water in monastic lives and spaces helps us to pay attention to the relationship between the water environment and monastic venues.The research findings are linked to the current requirements of historical monasteries’preservation,restoration,and even reconstruction,which are fundamental in maintaining the sustainable development of monastic lives and spaces.

The social provision of healthcare to migrants in the US and in China

This article develops a comparative analysis of healthcare provision to migrants in the US and in China.It proceeds in three parts.First,we begin by describing the growth of the unauthorized population and trace the evolution of social provision of healthcare to immigrants,highlighting the restrictive nature of federal social provisions and greater autonomy of state and local governments in redefining eligibility criteria in the US.Second,we examine the impact of legal status on healthcare access and utilization among Mexicans,using original data from the 2007 Hispanic Healthcare Survey and the Mexican Migration Project.We find that unauthorized immigrants report the lowest level of healthcare access and utilization.Third,we then outline a China-US comparative agenda,pointing to similarities between the two migrant flows.In China,recent developments of healthcare coverage for both rural and urban populations have increased access to healthcare,but rural-to-urban migrants still report many barriers in receiving care and are often left out of this growing safety net.We then close with a discussion of lessons learned from the US experience and remaining questions for future comparative research.

A primer on multiscale modelling of infectious disease systems

The development of multiscale models of infectious disease systems is a scientific endeavour whose progress depends on advances on three main frontiers:(a)the conceptual framework frontier,(b)the mathematical technology or technical frontier,and(c)the scientific applications frontier.The objective of this primer is to introduce foundational concepts in multiscale modelling of infectious disease systems focused on these three main frontiers.On the conceptual framework frontier we propose a three-level hierarchical framework as a foundational idea which enables the discussion of the structure of multiscale models of infectious disease systems in a general way.On the scientific applications frontier we suggest ways in which the different structures of multiscale models can serve as infrastructure to provide new knowledge on the control,elimination and even eradication of infectious disease systems,while on the mathematical technology or technical frontier we present some challenges that modelers face in developing appropriate multiscale models of infectious disease systems.We anticipate that the foundational concepts presented in this primer will be central in articulating an integrated and more refined disease control theory based on multiscale modelling-the all-encompassing quantitative representation of an infectious disease system.