The unequal distribution of child poverty: highest rates among young blacks and children of single mothers in rural America

Measuring by race, place, and family, this brief highlights poverty rates for two rural groups--young black children and children of single mothers--who each face rates around 50%

Total children covered by health insurance increased in 2009

This brief uses data collected in 2008 and 2009 from the U.S. Census Bureau\u27s American Community Survey (ACS) to examine changes in overall insurance coverage rates, as well as changes in types of coverage, and differences by region, state, and place type. The data show that together with new and more inclusive parameters for children\u27s health insurance coverage, rates of children\u27s health insurance have grown during the final year of the recession. Authors Jessica Bean and Michael Staley of the Carsey Institute discuss the complex factors contributing to the shift from private to public health insurance among children. The authors conclude that, because those who have health insurance are healthier overall and, more importantly, because healthy children are more likely to become healthy adults, focusing on covering eligible children should remain at the forefront of the nation\u27s agenda

Unemployment in the Great Recession: single parents and men hit hard

This brief discusses the sweeping impact the Great Recession has had on Americans, particularly men, single parents, young adults, and people with less education. Using data from the 2007 and 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, the authors report that unemployment is highest among men and among unmarried adults, regardless of place or parenting status. Although this was also true before the recession, gaps between men and women, and the unmarried and married, have widened considerably during the recession. Also during the Great Recession, unemployment rose more in central cities and suburban places than in rural places, perhaps because rural unemployment was already high prior to the start of the recession

Rates of public health insurance coverage for children rise as rates of private coverage decline

This brief uses data from the 2008, 2009, and 2010 American Community Survey to document changes in rates of children’s health insurance, between private and public. The authors report that, nationally, private health insurance for children decreased by just under 2 percentage points, while public health insurance increased by nearly 3 percentage points. Rural places and central cities witnessed significant declines in rates of private health insurance for children in nearly every region. Rates of public insurance coverage rose in every region and place type. Children’s health insurance coverage overall continued to rise in 2010, increasing by 0.6 of a percentage point since 2009, and 1.9 percentage points since 2008

Over sixteen million children in poverty in 2011

In this brief, authors Marybeth Mattingly, Jessica Bean, and Andrew Schaefer use American Community Survey data released on September 20, 2012 to address patterns of child poverty. To evaluate the changes in child poverty, they focused on two time periods -- change since 2007, as the nation entered the recession, and change since 2010. According to the American Community Survey, the overall child poverty rate for the United States rose slightly from 21.6 in 2010 to 22.5 percent in 2011, resulting in an estimated 16.4 million children living in poverty. Of these children, 6.1 million are young (under age 6). Forty-five percent, or 32.7 million, of America’s children reside in families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty threshold. They conclude that, in the wake of the recession, child poverty remains high, presenting significant challenges for children’s futures

One million additional children in poverty since 2009: 2010 data reveal nearly one in four southern children now live in poverty

In this brief, the authors use the ACS data released on September 22 to focus on child poverty. The authors report that between 2009 and 2010 an additional one million children joined the ranks of those in poverty. This brings the total to an estimated 15.7 million poor children in 2010, an increase of 2.6 million since the Great Recession began in 2007

Stellar Chemical Abundances: In Pursuit of the Highest Achievable Precision

The achievable level of precision on photospheric abundances of stars is a major limiting factor on investigations of exoplanet host star characteristics, the chemical histories of star clusters, and the evolution of the Milky Way and other galaxies. While model-induced errors can be minimized through the differential analysis of spectrally similar stars, the maximum achievable precision of this technique has been debated. As a test, we derive differential abundances of 19 elements from high-quality asteroid-reflected solar spectra taken using a variety of instruments and conditions. We treat the solar spectra as being from unknown stars and use the resulting differential abundances, which are expected to be zero, as a diagnostic of the error in our measurements. Our results indicate that the relative resolution of the target and reference spectra is a major consideration, with use of different instruments to obtain the two spectra leading to errors up to 0.04 dex. Use of the same instrument at different epochs for the two spectra has a much smaller effect (~0.007 dex). The asteroid used to obtain the solar standard also has a negligible effect (~0.006 dex). Assuming that systematic errors from the stellar model atmospheres have been minimized, as in the case of solar twins, we confirm that differential chemical abundances can be obtained at sub-0.01 dex precision with due care in the observations, data reduction and abundance analysis.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 13 pages, 6 figures, 7 table

More than one in ten American households relies on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most responsive federal programs to economic downturns, as evidence by the increases in SNAP use between 2007 and 2009. Nationally, more than one in ten households relies on SNAP benefits, and the rate is even higher in rural areas, with more than 13 percent of households reporting use. This brief examines the trends in SNAP use across the United States since the recession began in 2007 and considers the impact of legislation in the Congress on those who rely on SNAP to make ends meet

Comparing key compositional indicators in Jupiter with those in extra-solar giant planets

Spectroscopic transiting observations of the atmospheres of hot Jupiters around other stars, first with Hubble Space Telescope and then Spitzer, opened the door to compositional studies of exoplanets. The James Webb Space Telescope will provide such a profound improvement in signal-to-noise ratio that it will enable detailed analysis of molecular abundances, including but not limited to determining abundances of all the major carbon- and oxygen-bearing species in hot Jupiter atmospheres. This will allow determination of the carbon-to-oxygen ratio, an essential number for planet formation models and a motivating goal of the Juno mission currently around JupiterComment: Submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey as a white paper; thematic areas "Planetary Systems" and "Star and Planet Formation

Comparative Microbial Dynamics in Crassostrea virginica and Crassostrea ariakensis

Considerations to introduce the Suminoe or Asian oyster Crassostrea ariakensis along the East Coast have raised many questions regarding ecology, economics, and human health. To date, research has focused primarily on the ecological and socioeconomic implications of this initiative, yet few studies have assessed its potential impact on public health. Our work compares the rates of bioaccumulation, depuration and post harvest decay of indicator organisms (such as E. coli) and Vibrio sp. between Crassostrea virginica and Crassostrea ariakensis in the laboratory. Preliminary results suggest that the rates of bioaccumulation of E. coli in Crassostrea ariakensis were significantly lower than those for Crassostrea virginica, depuration of E. coli was variable between the two species, and Crassostrea ariakensis post harvest decay rates of Vibrio sp. were significantly lower than Crassostrea virginica. This research provides coastal managers with insight into the response of Crassostrea ariakensis to bacteria, an important consideration for determining appropriate management strategies for this species. Further field-based studies will be necessary to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the differences in rates of bioaccumulation and depuration. (PDF contains 40 pages