Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the First Decade of Life: A Study in the Portuguese Cohort, Generation XXI

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a modifiable risk factor for diseases throughout life. This study estimates the prevalence of ACEs in children, addressing associated sociodemographic characteristics and examining the relationship of ACEs with the child’s health and behaviors. We used information on 5295 participants at 10 years old, of the birth cohort Generation XXI, established in Porto, Portugal. Children answered a self-administered questionnaire on ACEs, based on the original ACEs study. Principal component analysis was used to group correlated ACEs, and a score was computed to assess their cumulative effect. Overall, 96.2% of children reported having been exposed to at least one ACE. The most prevalent ACE was a household member shouting, yelling, or screaming at the child (57.7%). Boys were more likely than girls to report “abuse”, “school problems”, and “death/severe disease”. Low parental education, income, and unemployment were associated with an increased risk of “school problems”, “death/severe disease”, and “household dysfunction”. We observed that the dimensions of ACEs could be identified at 10 years of age. A disadvantaged socioeconomic environment was associated with dimensions of ACEs. These data illustrate the natural history of dimensions of ACEs and their potential social patterning.This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education under the projects “BioAdversity: How childhood social adversity shapes health: The biology of social adversity” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016838; PTDC/DTP-EPI/1687/2014), “HIneC: When do health inequalities start? Understanding the impact of childhood social adversity on health trajectories from birth to early adolescence” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029567; PTDC/SAU-PUB/29567/2017) and “STEPACHE: The pediatric roots of amplified pain: from contextual influences to risk stratification” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029087; PTDC/SAU-EPI/29087/2017). It is also supported by the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia—Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UIDB/04750/2020) and Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR) (LA/P/0064/2020), Administração Regional de Saúde Norte (Regional Department of Ministry of Health) and Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; PhD Grant SFRH/BD/144503/2019 (to AA) funded by FCT through Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) and CEECIND/01516/2017 (to SF)

Childhood social adversity and clustering of health risk behaviours during early adolescence in a population-based birth cohort

Objectives: This study aimed to prospectively explore the association between early lifetime exposure to psychosocial adversity and engagement in health risk behaviours (HRBs) during early adolescence. Study design: This was a prospective study. Methods: This study used data from the baseline (2005-2006), third (2016-2017) and fourth waves (2018-2020) of the Generation XXI birth cohort. Socio-economic circumstances (SECs) at baseline, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; e.g. abuse, neglect, household dysfunction) at age 10 years and HRBs (i.e. alcohol consumption, smoking, physical exercise level, sedentary behaviours, sleep duration and eating behaviours) at age 13 years were measured. Patterns of HRBs were obtained using latent class analysis. Latent class regression analysis was used to estimate the likelihood of being engaged in HRBs according to the extent of exposure to ACEs (i.e. 0 ACEs, 1-3 ACEs, 4-5 ACEs and & GE;6 ACEs) and negative family SECs. Results: Adolescents whose mothers had a low level of education (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.72 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 2.33-3.18]), low occupational status (aOR = 3.21 [95% CI, 2.68-3.85]) and low income (aOR = 2.70 [95% CI, 2.23-3.28]) were more likely to be engaged in HRBs than their peers with higher SECs. Adolescents who experienced more ACEs were at a significantly increased risk of involve-ment in HRBs (aOR = 1.86 [95% CI, 1.33-2.63] for 4-5 ACEs vs aOR 2.41 [95% CI, 1.72-3.43] for & GE;6 ACEs). No significant gender differences were observed. Conclusions: Adolescents from families with low SECs were more likely than their more affluent coun-terparts to be engaged in HRBs. Furthermore, more ACEs contributed to widening health inequalities. & COPY; 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) , Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education under the projects HIneC: When do health inequalities start? Understanding the impact of childhood social adversity on health trajectories from birth to early adolescence (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029567; reference: PTDC/SAU-PUB/29567/2017) . It is also supported by Unidade de Investigacao em Epidemiologia-Instituto de Saude Publica da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UIDB/04750/2020) , Laboratorio para a Investigacao Integrativa e Translacional (ITR) , Porto, Portugal (LA/P/0064/2020) , PhD grant SFRH/BD/144503/2019 (to A.A.) funded by FCT through Fundo Social Europeu, and FCT Investigator contract CEECIND/01516/2017 (to S.F.)

Adverse childhood experiences and bodily pain at 10 years of age: Findings from the Generation XXI cohort

Background: Youth and young adults with pain conditions report having a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) more frequently than their healthy peers. The relationship between ACEs and pain before adolescence in population-based settings is not extensively researched. Objective: To examine the association between the history of ACEs and bodily pain at 10 years of age. Participants and setting: Cross-sectional analysis of 4738 participants of Generation XXI population-based birth cohort, recruited in 2005–06 in Porto, Portugal. Methods: Study includes self-reported data on ACEs exposures and bodily pain (pain presence, sites, and intensity a week prior to the interview). Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained from binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses to estimate the likelihood of various pain features according to the extent of exposure to ACEs (i.e., 0 ACEs, 1–3 ACEs, 4–5 ACEs, and ≥ 6 ACEs). Results: Prevalence of pain, multisite, and high-intensity pain a week prior to the interview increased with increasing exposure to ACEs. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, children who had experienced ≥6 ACEs were more likely to report pain [AOR 3.18 (95% CI 2.19, 4.74)], multisite pain [AOR 2.45 (95% CI 1.37, 4.40)], and high-intensity pain [AOR 4.27 (95% CI 2.56, 7.12)] compared with children with no ACEs. Conclusions: A dose-response association was observed between the cumulative number of ACEs and reports of pain in 10-year-old children, suggesting that embodiment of ACEs starts as early as childhood and that pain related to ACEs begins earlier than previously reported. © 2022 Elsevier LtdFunding text 1: This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education under the projects “HIneC: When do health inequalities start? Understanding the impact of childhood social adversity on health trajectories from birth to early adolescence” ( POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029567 ; PTDC/SAU-PUB/29567/2017 ) and “STEPACHE: The pediatric roots of amplified pain: from contextual influences to risk stratification” ( POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029087 ; PTDC/SAU-EPI/29087/2017 ). It is also supported by Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) ( UIDB/04750/2020 ), Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional (ITR), Porto, Portugal ( LA/P/0064/2020 ), PhD Grant SFRH/BD/144503/2019 (to AA) funded by FCT through Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) and FCT Investigator contract CEECIND/01516/2017 (to SF). ; Funding text 2: This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education under the projects “HIneC: When do health inequalities start? Understanding the impact of childhood social adversity on health trajectories from birth to early adolescence” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029567; PTDC/SAU-PUB/29567/2017) and “STEPACHE: The pediatric roots of amplified pain: from contextual influences to risk stratification” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029087; PTDC/SAU-EPI/29087/2017). It is also supported by Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UIDB/04750/2020), Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional (ITR), Porto, Portugal (LA/P/0064/2020), PhD Grant SFRH/BD/144503/2019 (to AA) funded by FCT through Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) and FCT Investigator contract CEECIND/01516/2017 (to SF)

Control of CO2 laser power by acoustic fields

The present study investigates the optimization of the operation of the CO2 laser in the acoustoplasma mode (i.e., dependence of the laser radiation power on the composition of the working mixture, pressure, value of the direct component of the discharge current, frequency, and modulation depth). A three-dimensional dependence on the frequency and modulation depth of the discharge current is experimentally obtained for the normalized efficiency of the conversion of the electric power supplied to the discharge tube into laser power. The maximum gain when transition to the acoustoplasma mode exceeds 2.5 times. The optimum depth of the discharge current modulation is 0.5–0.7. The laser radiation power modulation caused by the discharge current modulation is measured. Laser power is not modulated at modulation frequencies of current >1 kHz. Meanwhile, at current modulation frequencies <0.5 kHz, the modulation depth of the laser radiation power nonlinearly depends on the modulation depth of the discharge current and has a threshold character. The modulation depth of the laser radiation power is associated with the creation of an acoustoplasma and not simply with the discharge current modulation

Measurement of the Neutron Radius of Pb-208 through Parity Violation in Electron Scattering

We report the first measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry A(PV) in the elastic scattering of polarized electrons from Pb-208. APV is sensitive to the radius of the neutron distribution (R-n). The result A(PV) = 0.656 +/- 0.060(stat) +/- 0.014(syst) ppm corresponds to a difference between the radii of the neutron and proton distributions R-n - R-p = 0.33(-0.18)(+0.16) fm and provides the first electroweak observation of the neutron skin which is expected in a heavy, neutron-rich nucleus

The use of incorrectly posed inverse problems and catastrophe theory in acoustoplasmic studies

If the discharge current into a plasma contains direct and variable components, the plasma develops wavelike acoustic instabilities and eventually becomes an acoustoplasmа. Such instabilities lead to bistability, multistability, and hysteresis phenomena of the current-voltage characteristics, causing abrupt changes in the state of the plasma medium. These changes can be imagined as phase transitions and described using catastrophe theory. In the present study, the experimental plasma data are approximated by the equations of catastrophes. After reducing the catastrophe equation to canonical form, the points of possible phase transitions are determined. The phase transition coordinates are then converted to coordinates in the experimental system by inverse trans-formations. In this way, we determine the points of possible phase transitions in a real experiment. Finally, the parameter changes in an acoustoplasma discharge are obtained by solving incorrectly posed inverse problems. The inverse problem of the experi-mental data is solved at each current time. Within the neighborhoods of singular points, the incorrectly posed inverse problems are solved by the theory of catastrophes. The proposed methods are applicable to various fields of science and technology.Если ток разряда в плазме содержит прямые и переменные компоненты, плазма развивает волнообразную акустическую нестабильность и в результате становится акустоплазмой. Такие неустойчивости приводят к явлениям бистабильности, мультистабильности и гистерезиса вольт-амперных характеристик, вызывая резкие изменения состояния плазменной среды. Эти изменения могут быть представлены как фазовые переходы. В настоящей работе экспериментальные данные плазмы аппроксимируются уравнениями катастроф. После приведения в соответствие уравнения катастрофы к канонической форме соответствуют точке фазовых переходов. Координаты фазового перехода преобразуются в координаты экспериментальной системы с помощью преобразований.В этом случае мы определяем точки Наконец, изменения параметров в акустической плазме получены с помощью решений. Обратная задача экспериментальных данных решается в каждом текущем моменте времени. В окрестностях особых точек неверно поставлены обратные задачи решаются теорией катастрофы. Предлагаемые методы применимы к различным областям науки и техники

New Measurements of the Transverse Beam Asymmetry for Elastic Electron Scattering from Selected Nuclei

We have measured the beam-normal single-spin asymmetry An in the elastic scattering of 1-3 GeV transversely polarized electrons from H-1 and for the first time from He-4, C-12, and Pb-208. For H-1, He-4, and C-12, the measurements are in agreement with calculations that relate A(n) to the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange amplitude including inelastic intermediate states. Surprisingly, the Pb-208 result is significantly smaller than the corresponding prediction using the same formalism. These results suggest that a systematic set of new A(n) measurements might emerge as a new and sensitive probe of the structure of heavy nuclei

Cleaning and sputtering using planar acoustoplasma magnetron

The paper describes the obtained experimental results for a planar acoustoplasma magnetron. The small radius of the anode loopallows focusing and accelerating the ionic component of the sprayed material.Argon was used as a buffer gas. The characteristics of the magnetron in case of direct current supply and in acoustoplasma mode(AP) (with modulated current containing constant and variable components) are compared. The sputtering speed in AP modeincreases. For the copper cathode, the gas pressure made < 1 Pa and current density of the order of 100 mA/cm2with increasingdistance from the anode to the deposited substrate from 2 to 4 cm in case of DC supply, the deposition speed drops 3.3 times (from17 to 5 nm/s), in the acoustoplasma mode – 2 times (from 13 to 6.4 nm/s).For the anode-substrate distance 4 cm, the gain in the deposition speed in the AP mode, compared with DC is 1.2–1.5 times. Thedependences of ion and electron currents on the substrate for different discharge parameters were measured. The study was basedon a scheme with two potential grids with fixed and variable potentials. The possibility of forming an annular vapor-plasma flowof fast particles is shown

Search for a new gauge boson in the A′A' Experiment (APEX)

We present a search at Jefferson Laboratory for new forces mediated by sub-GeV vector bosons with weak coupling $\alpha'$ to electrons. Such a particle $A'$ can be produced in electron-nucleus fixed-target scattering and then decay to an $e^+e^-$ pair, producing a narrow resonance in the QED trident spectrum. Using APEX test run data, we searched in the mass range 175--250 MeV, found no evidence for an $A'\to e^+e^-$ reaction, and set an upper limit of $\alpha'/\alpha \simeq 10^{-6}$. Our findings demonstrate that fixed-target searches can explore a new, wide, and important range of masses and couplings for sub-GeV forces.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, references adde