Place,scale and the racial claims made for multiracial children in the 1990 US Census

Multiracial children embody ambiguities inherent in racial categorization and expose fictions of discrete races. Nevertheless, parents of multiracial children were asked for the 1990 US Census to report a single race for their offspring. Using confidential 1990 Census micro-data, we investigate the choices parents made for the three most common racially mixed household types (Asian-white, black-white and Latino-white) in twelve large metropolitan areas. We find that context affects the reporting of children's racial identity. We examine these effects with models that incorporate three spatial scales: households, neighbourhoods and metropolitan areas. Model estimates reveal that racial claims made by parents of Latino- and Asian-white (but not black-white) children varied significantly across metropolitan area. A neighbourhood's proportion white increased the probability that parents reported their children as white, while a neighbourhood's racial diversity increased the probability that black-white parents claimed a non-white race (black or ‘other’) for their children.     

气候变化对渔区感知指数、生计策略和生态效应的影响

气候变化已对全球海洋生态环境产生了直接影响,并对渔业资源、渔业生产与渔户生计造成巨大的负面影响,而渔户也通过生计适应影响海洋生态环境。迄今为止,关于渔户对气候变化的感知、生计适应及其生态效应的研究成果较少,基于家庭调查的实证研究更鲜见于报道。选取中国东南沿海的一个典型渔区——福建省霞浦县牙城镇,采用参与式农村评估法(Participatory Rural Appraisal,PRA),基于158份渔户家庭的有效数据,构建气候变化影响感知指数,揭示气候变化影响感知指数与生计资本的内在关联,并进一步探究渔户的生计适应策略及其产生的生态效应。结果表明:(1)渔户对气候变化及其影响的感知较为强烈;(2)渔户的气候变化影响感知指数与生计资本呈现一定的相关性;(3)渔户主要调整了生计生产方式和多样化收入经营两方面策略;(4)渔户生计适应策略的调整会对海洋生态环境产生正面和负面的影响。在此基础上,提出保护渔户生计安全、防范气候变化风险、保护海洋生态环境的政策建议,为当地及其他典型渔区更好地应对气候变化提供有益参考。     

Tuberculosis models with fast and slow dynamics: the role of close and casual contacts

Models that incorporate local and individual interactions are introduced in the context of the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis (TB). The multi-level contact structure implicitly assumes that individuals are at risk of infection from close contacts in generalized household (clusters) as well as from casual (random) contacts in the general population. Epidemiological time scales are used to reduce the dimensionality of the model and singular perturbation methods are used to corroborate the results of time-scale approximations. The concept and impact of optimal average cluster or generalized household size on TB dynamics is discussed. We also discuss the potential impact of our results on the spread of TB.     

Adverse childhood experiences: a meta-analysis of prevalence and moderators among half a million adults in 206 studies

Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including maltreatment and family dysfunction, is a major contributor to the global burden of disease and disability. With a large body of international literature on ACEs having emerged over the past 25 years, it is timely to now synthetize the available evidence to estimate the global prevalence of ACEs and, through a series of moderator analyses, determine which populations are at higher risk. We searched studies published between January 1, 1998 and August 5, 2021 in Medline, PsycINFO and Embase. Study inclusion criteria were using the 8- or 10-item ACE Questionnaire (±2 items), reporting the prevalence of ACEs in population samples of adults, and being published in English. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022348429). In total, 206 studies (208 sample estimates) from 22 countries, with 546,458 adult participants, were included. The pooled prevalence of the five levels of ACEs was: 39.9% (95% CI: 29.8-49.2) for no ACE; 22.4% (95% CI: 14.1-30.6) for one ACE; 13.0% (95% CI: 6.5-19.8) for two ACEs; 8.7% (95% CI: 3.4-14.5) for three ACEs, and 16.1% (95% CI: 8.9-23.5) for four or more ACEs. In subsequent moderation analyses, there was strong evidence that the prevalence of 4+ ACEs was higher in populations with a history of a mental health condition (47.5%; 95% CI: 34.4-60.7) and with substance abuse or addiction (55.2%; 95% CI: 45.5-64.8), as well as in individuals from low-income households (40.5%; 95% CI: 32.9-48.4) and unhoused individuals (59.7%; 95% CI: 56.8-62.4). There was also good evidence that the prevalence of 4+ ACEs was larger in minoritized racial/ethnic groups, particularly when comparing study estimates in populations identifying as Indigenous/Native American (40.8%; 95% CI: 23.1-59.8) to those identifying as White (12.1%; 95% CI: 10.2-14.2) and Asian (5.6%; 95% CI: 2.4-10.2). Thus, ACEs are common in the general population, but there are disparities in their prevalence. They are among the principal antecedent threats to individual well-being and, as such, constitute a pressing social issue globally. Both prevention strategies and downstream interventions are needed to reduce the prevalence and mitigate the severity of the effects of ACEs and thereby reduce their deleterious health consequences on future generations.