BackgroundCurrent knowledge about elder mistreatment is mainly derived from studies done in Western countries, which indicate that this problem is related to risk factors such as a shared living situation, social isolation, disease burden, and caregiver strain. We know little about prevalence and risk factors for elder mistreatment and mistreatment subtypes in rural China where the elder population is the most vulnerable.MethodsIn 2010, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among older adults aged 60 or older in three rural communities in Macheng, a city in Hubei province, China. Of 2245 people initially identified, 2039 were available for interview and this was completed in 2000. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data regarding mistreatment and covariates. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to elder mistreatment and subtypes of mistreatment.ResultsElder mistreatment was reported by 36.2% (95% CI: 34.1%–38.3%) of the participants. Prevalence rates of psychological mistreatment, caregiver neglect, physical mistreatment, and financial mistreatment were 27.3% (95% CI: 25.3%–29.2%), 15.8% (95% CI: 14.2%–17.4%), 4.9% (95% CI: 3.9%–5.8%) and 2.0% (95% CI: 1.3%–2.6%), respectively. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that depression, being widowed/divorced/single/separated, having a physical disability, having a labor intensive job, depending solely on self-made income, and living alone were risk factors for elder mistreatment. Different types of elder mistreatment were associated with different risk factors, and depression was the consistent risk factor for the three most common mistreatment subtypes.ConclusionOlder adults in rural China self-report a higher rate of mistreatment than their counterparts in Western countries. Depression is a main risk factor associated with most subtypes of mistreatment. Our findings suggest that prevention and management of elder mistreatment is a challenge facing a rapidly aging Chinese population.

Graphene serves as the most disruptive material in the twenty-first century and plays an unsubstitutable role in solving the sustainable development problems of energy crises, water shortages, and environmental pollution. Recently, obtaining a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in the field of graphene has gained increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners. However, few attempts have been made to summarize the SCA of this field by applying patent information. Basing on a patent-based multi-level perspective (MLP), this study aims to develop an approach to identify SCA in the target technological area by conducting a patent review from the comprehensive perspectives of the macro landscape, meso socio-technical system, and micro niches, and then integrate patent analysis with technology life cycle (TLC) theory to examine patents involving global technological competition. The effectiveness of the approach is verified with a case study on graphene. The results show that the graphene field is an emerging and fast-growing technological field, with an increasing number of patents over the year. The TLC of graphene technology demonstrated an approximate S shape, with China, the U.S., Korea, and Japan filing the largest number of graphene patents. Evidenced by Derwent Manual Codes, we found an increase in consideration given to technological application and material preparation topics over time, and research hotspots and fronts that have SCA. In terms of a leading country or region with SCA, the U.S., with a high foreign patent filing rate, large number of high forward citation patents, strong assignees’ competitive position, and large number of high-strength patents, was still the most powerful leader, with a higher SCA in the graphene industry. Korea also obtained a relatively higher SCA and will be a promising competitor in this field. Although China was shown to be catching-up very rapidly in the total number of graphene patents, the apparent innovation gaps in the foreign patent filing rate, high value patents, and Industry-University-Research Collaboration will obviously hamper Chinese catch-up efforts for obtaining SCA. As for patentees, the most powerful leaders with a higher SCA represented by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, International Business Machines Corp, and Nanotek Instruments Inc were identified. In addition, most of the high strength patents were owned by the above patentees. Further, valuable contributions to the understanding of SCA in graphene technology were summarized. First, the proposed patent-based MLP provides a new and comprehensive analytical framework for review research, as well as SCA analysis, and extends its research perspectives. Second, it introduces patent indicators to the previous MLP model, and provides a new theoretical perspective for the study of technological innovation in the previous MLP model. Third, this paper employs the TLC theory to explore the dynamic SCA in the given technology field, which further develops the concept of the MLP model from the temporal dimension. Finally, future research directions were demonstrated. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review of this field using patent analysis, comprehensively acknowledging the current technological competition and development in the graphene field and that of the future, and can be applied to various other emerging technology fields.

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BackgroundThere are few studies on trends in injury death rates in China during the recent decades of tremendous change in this society. This paper examined trends in injury mortality rates among women aged 15 years or older in Macheng City from 1984-2008.MethodsData on injury deaths in women from 1984 to 2008 were obtained from the Death Registry System in Macheng City. Injuries were classified using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), 9th and 10th editions.ResultsThe average overall injury death rate of women aged 15 or older was 87.6/100,000 in Macheng City from 1984-2008. Injuries were the leading cause of death for women aged 15-44 and the fourth cause of death for all women during this period. The all-cause injury mortality rate decreased from 149.01 per 100,000 population in 1984 to 32.90 per 100,000 population in 2008 for women. Road traffic injury (RTI) was the only injury for which the mortality rate increased dramatically from 1984 (1.35 per 100,000) to 2008 (4.63 per 100,000). For all age groups, suicide was the leading cause of injury death. For women aged 15 to 64, RTI and drowning were the second and third leading causes of injury deaths, respectively.ConclusionsThe injury mortality rate for women aged 15 years or older decreased by 77.92% from 1984-2008. In contrast, RTI deaths increased sharply in the 2000s compared with the 1980s. Although the suicide rate decreased dramatically, it was still the leading cause of injury death for women. Research is needed to identify risk factors contributing to the increase in RTI and decrease in suicides.

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