Percent Rise Research Articles

The Role of Structural Funding for Stability in the German Banking Sector

We analyze whether, and if so by how much, stable funding would have contributed to the financial soundness of German banks in the time period between 1995 and 2013, before the Basel III liquidity regulation to address excessive maturity mismatches in the wake of the financial crisis via the Net Stable Funding Ratio can be expected to have been fully implemented. Using a dataset that contains information on critical events of German banks, we find that financing loans using fewer customer deposits would have been associated with a higher probability of financial distress for savings banks and credit cooperatives. A one percent rise in the loanto-deposit ratio from 1995 to 2013 corresponds to an increase in the probability of experiencing a critical event, implying approximately two additional savings banks and two additional credit cooperatives in financial distress. No such effect can be detected for commercial banks (excluding big banks), which are found to be far more heterogeneous with respect to their business models.

‘Globesity’? The effects of globalization on obesity and caloric intake

We examine the effect of globalization, in its economic and social dimensions, on obesity and caloric intake, namely the so –called ‘globesity’ hypothesis. Our results suggest a robust association between globalization and both obesity and caloric intake. A one standard deviation increase in globalization is associated with a 23.8 percent increase in obese population and a 4.3 percent rise in calorie intake. The effect remains statistically significant even after using an instrumental variable strategy to correct for some possible reverse causality and ommited variable bias, a lagged structure, and corrections for panel standard errors. However, we find that the primary driver (of the ‘globesity’ phenomenon) is the ‘social’ rather than the ‘economic’ dimension of globalization, and specifically the effect of changes in ‘information flows’ and ‘social proximity’ on obesity. A one standard deviation increase in social globalization increased the percentage of obese population by 13.7 percent.

A 20/20 vision of Internet of things

One of the trending terms Internet of as been around since the concept of wireless devices have been conceived. A dais where every device is connected with internet and are synchronized, IoT allows devices communicate in intelligent way. This smart way of communication by linking machine to machine has created abundance of new opportunities leading to business innovation. Its application is found in various areas namely- Manufacturing, education, healthcare facility, smart home, transportation etc. Even though wealth of opportunities is produced, this has led increasing security risks. Enabling intelligent and robust cyber security will make way for secured IoT. There are various definitions of IoT available on public domain. The International Telecommunication Union's Global Standards Initiative have defined IOT in following manner: The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects or things embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and connectivity to enable objects to exchange data with the production, operator and/or other connected devices based on. The another definition (Morgan J., 2014) given is : IoT is a giant network of connected ―things‖ (which also includes people). The relationship will be between people-people, people-things, and things-things. (3) It is a simple idea where network devices can sense and from various objects around, data is collected. Internet of is a simple concept where network devices could sense and collect data from various objects around us and then share this data through internet where it could be processed and analyzed for any business or personal purpose. In simple words IOT can be described as all the physical or objects in this world translated to a computer which is connected to internet. According to Gartner, they expect a 30 percent rise in the number of devices allied with the Internet of Things (IoT) this year. This growth will result in more than 6 billion devices joining the IoT, with an addition of 20 billion devices expected to be a part of the IoT by 2020.

Posttraumatic stress disorder influences the nociceptive and intrathecal cytokine response to a painful stimulus in combat veterans

ObjectiveAlthough posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain frequently occur in tandem, the pathophysiological mechanisms mediating this comorbidity are poorly understood. Because excessive inflammation occurs in both conditions, we examined the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of inflammatory response mediators interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) after prolonged suprathreshold pain stimulus in 21 male combat veterans; 10 with PTSD and 11 combat controls (CC). MethodsAfter completing baseline quantitative sensory testing (QST) and psychological profiling, all patients received an injection of capsaicin into the quadriceps muscle. Spontaneously reported pain was measured for 30min after the capsaicin injection. The evoked pain measure of temporal summation was tested between 70 and 110min post capsaicin injection. Inflammatory (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 TNFα) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) CSF cytokines were measured before (baseline) and after capsaicin injection over a time frame of 110min. ResultsFollowing intramuscular capsaicin injection, pro-inflammatory cytokines [TNFα, IL-6, IL-8] significantly increased (percent rise from baseline) in both groups, whereas IL-1β significantly increased in the PTSD group only. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 showed an immediate (within 10min) increase in the CC group; however, the IL-10 increase in the PTSD group was delayed and not consistently elevated until 70min post injection. ConclusionThese findings show significant central nervous system (CNS) differences in the inflammatory response to a deep pain stimulus in combat veterans with and without PTSD. They support the concept that abnormally elevated neuroinflammatory response to pain stimuli may be one CNS mechanism accounting for the high co-occurrence of PTSD and pain.

Disease registry in the Armed Forces Medical Services: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Cancer incidence is rising across the globe. The incidence and patterns of various cancers among Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans is not known. We did the analysis of registry data maintained at our hospital.A retrospective analysis was performed of all patients registered at our hospital cancer registry between 01st January 2017 and 31st December 2019. Patients were registered with unique identification number. Baseline demographics and cancer subtype data were retrieved. Patients with histopathologically proven diagnosis and age ≥18 years were studied. Armed Forces Personnel (AFP) were defined as those who are in active service, and Veterans as those who had retired from service at the time of registration. Patients with Acute and Chronic Leukemias were excluded.New cases registered were 2023, 2856 and 3057 in year 2017, 2018, 2019 respectively. AFP, Veterans and dependents among them were 9.6%, 17.8%, and 72.6% respectively. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan represented 55% of all cases with male to female ratio 1.14:1 and median age was 59 years. The median age among AFP was 39 years. Among AFP as well as veterans, Head and Neck cancer was the most common malignancy. Cancer incidence was significantly higher in adults >40 years as compared to <40 years.Seven percent rise per year of new cases in this cohort is alarming. Tobacco-related cancers were the most common. There is an unmet need to establish a prospective centralized Cancer Registry to better understand the risk factors, outcomes of treatment and strengthen the policy matters.

Out of Reach: Regressive Trends in Credit Card Access

Despite the ubiquity of credit cards, it was not until the mid-1990s that a large share of lower-income Americans gained access to these useful financial products, which enable cost-saving consumer purchases, small business financing, and economic inclusion. High credit card debt, of course, can cause individual harm, and on the aggregate, booming household debt levels are a serious policy concern. Yet credit card balances account for just 6 percent of U.S. household debt levels, and as a share of disposable personal income fell from nearly 8 percent in the mid-2000s to 5.3 percent in 2015. We identify regressive trends driving decreased card usage, including that between 2007 and 2015, origination to lower-score accounts (generally lower-income consumers) fell 50 percent, and average credit card lines for these accounts shrunk 31 percent, likely forcing down card utilization. Lower-income Americans increasingly lack credit cards. Consumer credit demand, however, remains high, particularly among lower-income Americans. Supply-side factors – including: (1) a 250 percent rise in credit card regulatory restrictions by financial regulators; (2) bans on risk-based pricing; (3) a rising share of unbanked Americans; and (4) unpredictable Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) actions – are likely constraining lower-score Americans’ access to credit cards, revealing a tension between consumer financial protection and financial product access. Yet recent regulatory activity has at best only modestly improved customer experiences with credit cards, likely because Americans have historically used cards quite reasonably and expressed satisfaction with these products. We examine how regressive trends in credit card access will likely force consumers into more expensive credit products, hurt small business financing, and impede economic mobility, while also cautioning against high consumer debt levels. We conclude by recommending that policymakers act to curtail unintended regulatory impacts on credit card access by: (1) repealing some unnecessary restrictions on risk-based credit card pricing brought about by the CARD Act; (2) reforming the CFPB to better balance consumer protection with consumer financial product access; and (3) streamlining banking regulations to decrease the number of unbanked Americans.

Foreclosure Contagion and the Neighborhood Spillover Effects of Mortgage Defaults

I identify shocks to interest rates resulting from two administrative details in adjustable-rate mortgage contract terms: the choices of financial index and lookback period. I find that a 1 percentage point increase in interest rates at the time of ARM reset results in a 2.5 percentage rise in the probability of foreclosure in the following year; and that each foreclosure filing leads to an additional 0.3-0.6 completed foreclosures within a 0.10 mi radius. I emphasize price effects, bank-supply responses, and borrower responses arising from peer effects in explaining this result.

Colorectal cancer in the young, many questions, few answers.

At a time where the incidence of colorectal cancer, a disease predominantly of developed nations, is showing a decline in those 50 years of age and older, data from the West is showing a rising incidence of this cancer in young individuals. Central to this has been the 75% increase in rectal cancer incidence in the last four decades. Furthermore, predictive data based on mathematical modelling indicates a 124 percent rise in the incidence of rectal cancer by the year 2030 - a statistic that calls for collective global thought and action. While predominance of colorectal cancer (CRC) is likely to be in that part of the large bowel distal to the splenic flexure, which makes flexible sigmoidoscopic examination an ideal screening tool, the cost and benefit of mass screening in young people remain unknown. In countries where the incidence of young CRC is as high as 35% to 50%, the available data do not seem to indicate that the disease in young people is one of high red meat consuming nations only. Improvement in our understanding of genetic pathways in the aetiology of CRC, chiefly of the MSI, CIN and CIMP pathway, supports the notion that up to 30% of CRC is genetic, and may reflect a familial trait or environmentally induced changes. However, a number of other germline and somatic mutations, some of which remain unidentified, may play a role in the genesis of this cancer and stand in the way of a clear understanding of CRC in the young. Clinically, a proportion of young persons with CRC die early after curative surgery, presumably from aggressive tumour biology, compared with the majority in whom survival after operation will remain unchanged for five years or greater. The challenge in the future will be to determine, by genetic fingerprinting or otherwise, those at risk of developing CRC and the determinants of survival in those who develop CRC. Ultimately, prevention and early detection, just like for those over 50 years with CRC, will determine the outcome of CRC in young persons. At present, aside from those with an established familial tendency, there is no consensus on screening young persons who may be at risk. However, increasing awareness of this cancer in the young and the established benefit of prevention in older persons, must be a message that should be communicated with medical students, primary health care personnel and first contact doctors. The latter constitutes a formidable challenge.

Short term effect of weather patterns on the incidence of hand foot and mouth disease aged ≤5 years old in Jinan city

To investigate the effect of weather patterns on the incidence of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Jinan. HFMD confirmed cases aged ≤5 years old for the period of 2012-2014 were collected from National Notifiable Disease Report System (NNDRS). Simultaneous meteorological data, including daily average temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind velocity, rainfall and duration of sunshine were obtained from the website of Jinan meteorological bureau. A negative binomial multivariable regression was used to identify the relationship between meteorological variables and HFMD. During the study period, a total of 40 405 HFMD cases aged ≤5 years old were reported. The incident peak occurred from May to July, a total of 22 254 cases were reported during this period, which accounted for 55.08% of whole cases. After adjusting by "year", each 1 °C rise of weekly average temperature corresponded to an increase of 6.70% (95%CI:6.35% to 7.06%) in the weekly number of HFMD cases, while a 1 kPa rise of weekly average atmospheric pressure corresponded to a decrease in the number of cases by 44.77% (95%CI: -46.23% to -41.91%). Likewise, a one percent rise in weekly average relative humidity corresponded to an increase of 1.96% (95%CI: 1.84% to 2.09%), a 1 m/h rise in weekly average wind velocity corresponded to an increase of 16.63% (95% CI:14.08% to 19.25%), a hour add in weekly duration of sunshine corresponded to a decrease of 0.82% (95% CI : -0.93% to -0.72%), in the weekly number of HFMD cases. Weather factors including temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind velocity, and duration of sunshine had a significant influence on occurrence and transmission of HFMD in Jinan city.

NaCl-induced physiological and biochemical changes in two cyanobacteria Nostoc muscorum and Phormidium foveolarum acclimatized to different photosynthetically active radiation

The present study is aimed at investigating physiological and biochemical behavior of two cyanobacteria Nostoc muscorum and Phormidium foveolarum acclimatized to different levels (sub-optimum; 25±0.5, optimum; 75±2.5 and supra-optimum; 225±3.5μmolphotonsm−2s−1) of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), and subsequently treated with two doses (30 and 90mM) of NaCl. PAR influences growth in tested cyanobacteria being maximum in supra-optimum PAR acclimatized cells. NaCl-induced maximum percent decline in growth was observed in sub-optimum PAR acclimatized cells, which was in consonance with a decrease in chlorophyll content. Sub-optimum PAR acclimatization stimulated phycocyanin content in control cells, whereas maximum carotenoids content was observed in supra-optimum PAR acclimatized cells. Photosystem II photochemistry viz. Fv/F0, Fv/Fm, Ψ0, ϕE0, PIABS, ABS/RC, TR0/RC, ET0/RC and DI0/RC was also influenced by PAR and NaCl. Maximum percent rise in superoxide radical (SOR), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and lipid peroxidation was observed in sub-optimum PAR acclimatized cells exposed to NaCl, which could be correlated with lower values of enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase) and non-enzymatic (NP-SH and cysteine) antioxidants. In supra-optimum PAR acclimatized cells level of oxidative stress markers was in parallel with enhanced antioxidants. The results suggest that PAR significantly changes physiological and biochemical responses of studied cyanobacteria under NaCl stress. Besides this, this study also shows that P. foveolarum is more tolerant than N. muscorum under test conditions.

Creating and sustaining a highly engaged company culture in a multigenerational workplace

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how organizations can create and sustain a highly engaged, high performing company culture, one that fully integrates and leverages the strengths of boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials. Design/methodology/approach – Once a company run with a command and control approach, Tasty Catering leadership was confronted by its younger generation, mid-level leaders who said, “We no longer wanted to be told what to do”. Instead, they wanted to be given clearly defined tasks with identified outcomes and measures, and the freedom to pursue those goals how they so choose. In short, they wanted to change from “command and control” management to “team” leadership. After considerable thought, Tasty Catering leadership decided to embrace this creative destruction and the transformation began. From all employees reading Good to Great and breaking into teams to discuss applicability to the company to employee-led development of company culture starting with core values, the leadership team witnessed the beginning of something they realized was going to take their organization to new heights. This case study will outline key steps for leaders and HR leaders with lessons learned and tips for success as they transform with team leadership, open-book management and engaging younger workers. Findings – Business and HR leaders should consider assessing their organizational culture and effectiveness to gain a baseline and make measurable improvements. PAS International administered Tasty Catering’s assessment using the Organizational Culture Inventory® (OCI®) and the Organizational Effectiveness Inventory® (OEI®), finding a rare and very strong match up of ideal and current operating culture for both employee and leadership segments in an organization. The results of the assessment, normed against more than a thousand other organizations, validate Tasty Catering’s healthy, high performing work environment. Originality/value – The culture-based leadership model and financial transparency led and implemented by Tasty Catering’s younger workers are examples of workplace practices that enable high employee involvement, growth, development and recognition. The company’s cultural efforts continue to pay off in high staff morale, as well as a 14 percent rise in sales and a 117 per cent increase in profits last year. Recognizing the importance of sustainability and continuous improvement, all of Tasty Catering’s employees, those representing every generation, are constantly identifying the best and new ways to maintain their strong culture and performance link.

The Perfect Storm: Using Snowstorms to Analyze the Effect of Theatrical Attendance on the Demand for Subsequently Released DVDs

Movies are distributed through multiple, carefully segmented, channels. This paper investigates how consumption in a movie’s theatrical channel affects demand in the subsequent DVD retail channel. We exploit exogenous variation in events that affect theatrical attendance in a geographic market to estimate the causal impact of theater attendance on home entertainment demand. Specifically, we use the occurrence of major snowstorms surrounding a movie’s theatrical opening weekend as an exogenous shock to theatrical demand in a local market.Using this instrumental variable (IV) approach, we find evidence that theatrical attendance causally impacts home entertainment demand: lower theatrical attendance in a geographical market that experiences an opening weekend snowstorm leads to lower DVD/Blu-ray sales in the movie’s subsequent home entertainment release window in that geographical market. Specifically, we estimate a 10 percent rise (drop) in theatrical attendance causes an approximate 8 percent increase (decrease) in the volume of DVDs/Blu-ray discs sold in the first eight weeks of the DVD release window. This result provides important managerial guidance in an industry undergoing significant changes in the how movies are marketed across theatrical and home entertainment channels.

The Unintended Consequences of the Carceral State: Chicana/o Political Mobilization in Post-World War II America

The twenty-first century has witnessed an explosion of scholarly interest in the expansion of the carceral state in the post–World War II United States. This scholarship centers on how repressive laws, combined with more aggressive policing and sentencing guidelines, fueled the 500 percent rise in the nation’s prison population since the 1960s. With black and Latino men imprisoned at several times the rate of white males, the consequences of mass incarceration have fallen primarily on these men, their families, and their communities. Another facet of the literature focuses on how increasingly aggressive police practices, such as police stop-and-frisk tactics, have greatly expanded in recent years. Due to the Supreme Court’s “reasonable suspicion” doctrine, police officers have almost unfettered freedom in choosing whom they stop and interrogate on the street. To cite but one example, more than 80 percent of stops made by the New York Police Department between 2004 and 2012 were of blacks and Latinos. These aggressive and biased law enforcement tactics, the scholarship tells us, have lessened civic engagement, endangered the children of incarcerated individuals, and stigmatized whole generations of brown and black men as criminals.1 The destructive consequences of the carceral state are real. They do not, however, tell the whole story. Populations negatively impacted by overly aggressive policing and mass

Impact of Silicon Expansion upon Lithiation on Electrode and Cell Thickness

The constant demand for more energy in smaller volumes requires the need for high energy density cathodes and anodes. While there exists a portfolio of available cathode materials with increasing incremental improvements in energy, the choices on the anode side of the cell have been limited to graphite and hard carbon. In recent years, attention has been directed to improving the graphite energy density by adding silicon. However, the volume expansion of a silicon particle can approach 400% upon full lithiation. This large expansion and contraction of the silicon particle during electrochemical cycling not only has a negative influence on the robustness of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer, but also negatively impacts the dimensional tolerance of the electrode, cell, and battery. In this work, the variation of the electrodes and cell thickness is measured for a baseline graphite and several silicon-graphite/graphene electrode systems. These values were determined before cycling, after formation, and at various states of charge by measuring the entire cell thickness change and the electrodes themselves after disassembly. For this study, xx3450 (format size) single-sided single-layered pouch cells were used with ~20 mAh capacity, and 1.2 M LiPF6 in EC:EMC (3:7 wt.%) + 10 wt.% FEC was used as the electrolyte. These cells were made and tested in Argonne’s Cell Analysis, Modeling, and Prototyping (CAMP) Facility. Figure 1 is a summary of the percent change in thickness for the anode only relative to the initial dry electrode for the baseline graphite anode and three classes of silicon-based anodes still in development. The silicon-based anodes in general have a higher percent rise in thickness than graphite alone, but with proper particle composition and morphology the impact on electrode thickness can be controlled to an acceptable level. In these cells, the cathode (and separator) changes were relatively insignificant. The impact of anode expansion on the total cell thickness was estimated for various anode-cathode pairings. With proper electrode design, it was found that the variation in cell thickness during charge and discharge could be held within 10% for the three classes of silicon-based anodes studied in this work, provided the silicon content was the minor constituent. While accounting for the thickness changes in anode systems is an important feature to monitor when using silicon-based materials, more work is still needed to enhance their cycle life. Support from David Howell and Peter Faguy of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Vehicle Technologies is gratefully acknowledged. This work was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies, Hybrid and Electric Systems, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357 Figure 1

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Government Debt and Economic Growth: Estimating the Debt Thresholds and Debt Intolerance

The surge of government debt during the post-global financial crisis and the ongoing euro zone sovereign debt crisis has begun raising concerns whether government debt levels have hit the tipping points. This study offers to contribute in the following ways: First, we find out whether the relationship between government debt and real GDP growth is weak for debt/GDP ratios below 90%. Second, we estimate different thresholds for groups of economies based on their debt regimes, political economy structures and types of political governance, geographical considerations, and income levels. Third, we find out whether there is a declining negative effect beyond the debt threshold. Our results find the debt thresholds to vary in the range of 84 to 114 percent of GDP. We estimate that every additional 10 percent rise in debt-to-GDP ratio beyond the debt threshold costs 10 to 30 basis points of annual average real GDP growth. We find that different groups of countries experience debt threshold at different levels. Debt thresholds are dependent not necessarily on economic factors alone, but on other factors such as political economies and governance structures, geographies etc. Debt thresholds are sensitive to horizon of analysis.

Determinants of Inflation: Evidence from Pakistan using Autoregressive Distributed Lagged Approach

Controlling inflation is one of the biggest challenges faced by the macroeconomic policymakers in Pakistan. This research article is aimed at highlighting the main sources of inflation in the economy of Pakistan using an autoregressive distributed lag model for the period from 1980 to 2012. Findings of this study reveal that the one percent rise in the long run money supply, exchange rate, total reserve, and the gross national expenditure change inflation by 0.16, 2.12, 0.36, and 1.78 percent points respectively. The Error Correction model with negative sign remains statistically significant with approximate 81% speed of adjustment to restore the equilibrium in the long run, which shows the quick convergence.

Percentage Change in Plasma Cytokeratin 18 Is Associated with Clinical Outcomes in Patients Receiving Pemetrexed and Carboplatin for the Adenocarcinoma Subtype of NSCLC

Background: The adenocarcinoma subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (adeno-NSCLC) is routinely treated with chemotherapy if patients do not have molecular aberrations such as epidermal growth factor receptor mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements. There are currently no validated biomarkers that can predict if patients will gain clinical benefit from chemotherapy, leading to a majority of patients receiving many cycles of unnecessary chemotherapy. We hypothesized that the percentage rise in plasma caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 (cCK18) and total cytokeratin 18 (tCK18) assessed before and after chemotherapy correlates with the radiological response to chemotherapy. Methods: Plasma samples from 40 patients with stage IV adeno-NSCLC, treated with first-line chemotherapy with carboplatin (AUC₅) plus pemetrexed (500 mg/m²), were collected prior to chemotherapy and 48 h after treatment. ELISA was used to quantify cCK18 and tCK18. Results: The male-to-female ratio was 3:1, and the median age of patients was 63 years. Patients who had a clinical benefit (complete response, partial response or stable disease) at the first radiological assessment following chemotherapy had a significantly higher percentage change in plasma tCK18 levels compared to those who had no clinical benefit, i.e. progressive disease (69.5 ± 75.1 vs. 25.3 ± 30.9%, respectively; p = 0.042). The receiver operating characteristic area was 0.712 (p = 0.039). There was an increase in the percentage change in cCK18 in patients with clinical benefit compared to those without clinical benefit but this was not statistically significant (57.6 ± 112.8 vs. 24.38 ± 45.1%, respectively; p = 0.85). Conclusions: The percentage change in plasma tCK18 levels before and after the first cycle of pemetrexed and carboplatin chemotherapy is associated with clinical benefit. If validated in larger cohorts, this test can be used to identify patients unlikely to respond to treatment who can thus be offered alternative treatments or entry into clinical trials.

The Impact of a Rising Dollar on the U.S. Economy

Since June 2014, the dollar has strengthened dramatically. The effects of such a rise—and its likely continuation—on the U.S. economy are many, complex, and often obscure and could affect a number of business decisions. In this paper, the authors investigate the impact of a 10 percent rise in the value of the dollar against all other currencies through the use of a macroeconometric model. They examine direct effects and the full range of indirect effects and find that through a number of negative feedback the indirect effects will significantly offset the direct effects on GDP, interest rates, and many other macroeconomic variables—including the value of the dollar itself.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease epidemiological status and relationship with meteorological variables in Guangzhou, southern China, 2008-2012.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is becoming one of the extremely common airborne and contact transmission diseases in Guangzhou, southern China, leading public health authorities to be concerned about its increased incidence. In this study, it was used an ecological study plus the negative binomial regression to identify the epidemic status of HFMD and its relationship with meteorological variables. During 2008-2012, a total of 173,524 HFMD confirmed cases were reported, 12 cases of death, yielding a fatality rate of 0.69 per 10,000. The annual incidence rates from 2008 to 2012 were 60.56, 132.44, 311.40, 402.76, and 468.59 (per 100,000), respectively, showing a rapid increasing trend. Each 1 °C rise in temperature corresponded to an increase of 9.47% (95% CI 9.36% to 9.58%) in the weekly number of HFMD cases, while a one hPa rise in atmospheric pressure corresponded to a decrease in the number of cases by 7.53% (95% CI -7.60% to -7.45%). Similarly, each one percent rise in relative humidity corresponded to an increase of 1.48% or 3.3%, and a one meter per hour rise in wind speed corresponded to an increase of 2.18% or 4.57%, in the weekly number of HFMD cases, depending on the variables considered in the model. These findings revealed that epidemic status of HFMD in Guangzhou is characterized by high morbidity but low fatality. Weather factors had a significant influence on the incidence of HFMD.