Has the Integrated Medical Insurance System promoted return-to-hometown entrepreneurship among migrant workers? Evidence from China.

An important way to reduce urban-rural disparity lies in encouraging migrant workers to return to their hometowns for entrepreneurship. This paper examines the effect of the Integrated Medical Insurance System on the return-to-hometown entrepreneurship among migrant workers. Using microdata from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) spanning from 2013 to 2019, we find that the Integrated Medical Insurance System (IMIS) significantly increases the likelihood of migrant workers returning to their hometowns for entrepreneurship by 0.44%. This result remains stable after a series of robustness checks. Heterogeneity results indicate that this "pullback effect" is more pronounced for those who are male and with lower educational levels, higher income, larger social networks, and lower risk preferences. Finally, the interaction between the Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation policy (MEI) and IMIS can create a more significant combined effect in promoting the return of migrant workers to their hometowns for entrepreneurial activities.

Has new rural pension system reduced the intake of junk food among rural older adults? Evidence from China.

At present, China has become one of the fastest growing countries in terms of junk food consumption. However, there has been less previous evidence for the effect of endowment insurance on dietary health. Using the data China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014, this paper exploits a policy, the New Rural Pension System (NRPS), that only the older adults who have reached 60 years old can receive pensions and conduct a fuzzy regression discontinuity (FRD) to address endogeneity and examine the causal effect of the NRPS on the intake of junk food among rural older adults in China. We find that the NRPS can significantly reduce junk food intake among them, which remains robust after a series of robustness tests. In addition, heterogeneity analysis shows that the female, low-educated, unemployed, and low-income groups are more sensitive to the pension shock from the NRPS. The result of our study provides insights to effectively improve people's dietary quality and related policy formulation.

Transcriptomic Profiles of Splenic CD19+ B Cells in Mice Chronically Infected With the Larval Echinococcus granulosus.

Background: We previously reported that the larval Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) infection can expand the population of regulatory B cells in mice, thereby inhibiting the anti-infective immunity. However, the underlying mechanism is still largely unknown. This study further investigated the holistic transcriptomic profiles of total splenic B cells following the chronic infection of the parasite. Methods: The infection model of larval E. granulosus was established by intraperitoneal inoculation with 2000 protoscolexes. Magnetic-Activated Cell Separation (MACS) was used to isolate the total splenic B cells. RNA sequencing was performed to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after infection. The expression of selected DEGs was verified using qRT-PCR. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and Co-expression network analysis were applied to predict these DEGs' underlying biological processes, pathways, and interactions respectively. Results: A total of 413 DEGs were identified in larval E. granulosus infected B cells, including 303 up- and 110 down-regulated genes. Notably, most DEGs related to inflammation and chemotaxis were significantly upregulated after infection. In line with these changes, significant expression upregulation of DEGs associated with fatty acid oxidation, lipid synthesis, lipolysis, lipid transport, and cholesterol biosynthesis, were observed in infected B cells. Co-expression network analysis showed an intimate interaction between these DEGs associated with immune and metabolism. Conclusions: The present study revealed that the larval E. granulosus infection induces metabolic reprogramming of B cells, which provides a novel clue to clarify the immunoregulatory mechanism of B cells in parasitic infection.