PurposeThere is a strong link between occupation and self-rated health. Existing research has revealed the effects of occupation on self-rated health outcomes and the corresponding mechanisms. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of state services on self-rated health in China. Therefore, this study focuses on exploring the effects of serving as a state functionary in China on self-rated health to enrich research in related fields.MethodBased on the data of 14,138 individuals collected from the 2016 China Labour-Force Dynamics Survey, the logit model was used to investigate the effects of serving as a state functionary on self-rated health and the difference in the effects across different populations.ResultsThe results show that (1) serving as a state functionary has a significant positive effect on self-rated health; (2) self-rated health of elderly state functionaries is higher than that of younger state functionaries; (3) self-rated health of state functionaries in non-eastern regions is higher than that of state functionaries in eastern regions; and (4) state functionaries with lower education have higher self-rated health than highly-educated state functionaries; (5) Higher self-rated health of state functionaries is achieved primarily through better work time, better work environment and lower relative deprivation.ConclusionServing as a state functionary in China has a significant positive correlation with self-rated health, with differences across populations of state functionaries. This study expands the current literature on the effects of occupation on self-rated health in the context of China.

Species of Ceratocystis and allied genera are pathogens of many trees, including Cunninghamia lanceolata. During a survey of 2020, we found a serious wilt disease of C. lanceolata in Yunnan Province, China. Three different fungi resembling Ceratocystis and allied genera were consistently isolated from discoloured foliage and stems on C. lanceolata. Morphological and DNA sequence comparisons based on 60S and LSU gene regions showed that the pathogens were Ceratocystis and related species. We included 4 isolates identified as C. acaciivora = C. manginecans, 10 isolates identified as Berkeleyomyces basicola ≡ Thielaviopsis basicola, and 1 isolate identified as Chalaropsis sp., from 3 geographical locations. Pathogenicity tests on potted plants showed that all three species were pathogenic. To our knowledge, this is the first report Ceratocystis acaciivora,B. basicola and Chalaropsis sp. causing C. lanceolata wilt in China.

Relevance deprivation syndrome refers to feelings of incompetence among retired people caused by them leaving their high status or influential jobs. The question then arises: do people in positions of power, like Danwei leaders in China, have a lower life satisfaction post-retirement compared to other groups? This study investigated the influence of serving as a Danwei leader before retirement on retirees’ life satisfaction, as well as differences in this influence and the channels through which they are affected. Based on the data of 5,873 respondents of the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, ordinary least-squares, ordered logistic regression, and propensity score matching models were used to investigate the influence, differences, and influential mechanisms of serving as a Danwei leader before retirement on retirees’ life satisfaction. We found that Danwei leaders experience a significantly positive impact on their life satisfaction post-retirement. Second, the positive impact of having served in this role on peoples’ post-retirement life satisfaction is related to the resulting higher income, social status, and better living habits. In contrast to the perspective of relevance deprivation syndrome, in China, having been a Danwei leader before retirement has a significantly positive impact on peoples’ life satisfaction post-retirement, with there being a significant difference observed among different types of retired Danwei leaders.

Background Political participation is an important component of civil rights. Several studies have shown that citizens’ political participation not only influences the allocation of public resources, but also has a positive correlation with participants’ life satisfaction. Recently, political participation has become increasingly frequent in China; however, the research on Chinese citizens’ political participation and life satisfaction is insufficient. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between political participation and life satisfaction in the Chinese cultural context, and how this relationship varied under different conditions. Methods Based on 8,475 respondents from the 2015 Chinese Social Survey, ordinary least squares modeling was used to investigate the relationship of Chinese citizens’ political participation and their life satisfaction, and the differences that might exist in this relationship. Results Political participation was closely related to life satisfaction. Compared with non-political participants, the life satisfaction of political participants was 0.133 units higher, which was significant at the 1% level. Regarding the types of political participation, citizens engaged in institutionalized political participation had higher life satisfaction, whereas citizens engaged in non-institutionalized political participation had lower life satisfaction. Furthermore, two social capitals, namely social tolerance and social trust, were the mediating variables linking political participation to citizens’ life satisfaction. Conclusions In China, citizens engaged in political participation had higher life satisfaction, in contrast, citizens engaged in non-institutionalized political participation had lower life satisfaction.