Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic Identity, and Substance Use Among Latina/os: Are They Gendered?

Background—Prior research suggests that stronger racial/ethnic identification offsets negative effects of discrimination on substance use. Yet research in this area and on whether gender modifies this association is limited for Latina/os. Purpose—The purpose of the present study is to examine whether different sources of discrimination (everydayand racial/ethnic) are associated with substance use (alcohol use disorder, smoking), if racial/ethnic identity buffers this association, and the potential moderating role of gender among these variables. Methods—We present cross-sectional, US population-based data from the Latina/o adult sample (1427 females and 1127 males) of the National Latino and Asian American Study. Respondents completed self-reported measures ofeverydayand racial/ethnic discrimination, racial/ethnic identity, smoking status, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) lifetime alcohol use disorder. Results—Weighted logistic regression analyses showed that before inclusion of three-way interactions and adjusting for covariates, everyday discrimination predicted increased risk for any DSM-IV lifetime alcohol use disorders. Moderation analyses revealed that the effect of everyday discrimination on the risk of being a current smoker was strongest for Latino men with high levels of racial/ethnic identity compared to those with low racial/ethnic identity. No differences were noted among Latino women. There were no main or interaction effects of racial/ethnic discrimination for any substance use outcome. Conclusions—Findings suggest differential associations for type of discrimination and outcome and that the role of racial/ethnic identity is gender-specific for smoking, appearing particularly detrimental for Latino men reporting high levels of racial/ethnic identity

It Weigh(t)s on You: Everyday Discrimination and Adiposity Among Latinos

OBJECTIVE: Evidence suggests discrimination increases the risk of obesity. The biopsychosocial model of racism posits that psychological factors such as depressive symptoms may link experiences of perceived interpersonal discrimination to obesity. This study tested whether self-reported experiences of everyday discrimination were associated with adiposity indicators and whether depressive symptoms explained these associations. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey data of 602 Latino adults living in Lawrence, Massachusetts, from the Latino Health and Well-being Project (2011-2013) were used. Participants completed questionnaires assessing perceived everyday discrimination and depressive symptoms. Anthropometric measures (i.e., BMI and waist circumference [WC]) were obtained by trained staff. Structural equation modeling was employed to test for direct and indirect effects of perceived everyday discrimination on adiposity. RESULTS: Perceived everyday discrimination was directly and positively associated with higher BMI and WC, independent of sociodemographic factors, physical activity, and stressful life events. Perceived everyday discrimination was not indirectly associated with BMI and WC through depressive symptoms. However, perceived everyday discrimination was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported everyday discrimination among Latino adults is associated with adiposity. Day-to-day interpersonal discrimination may be implicated in obesity disparities for Latino adults

Precision measurement of the structure of the CMS inner tracking system using nuclear interactions

The structure of the CMS inner tracking system has been studied using nuclear interactions of hadrons striking its material. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded in 2015 at the LHC are used to reconstruct millions of secondary vertices from these nuclear interactions. Precise positions of the beam pipe and the inner tracking system elements, such as the pixel detector support tube, and barrel pixel detector inner shield and support rails, are determined using these vertices. These measurements are important for detector simulations, detector upgrades, and to identify any changes in the positions of inactive elements

Description and performance of track and primary-vertex reconstruction with the CMS tracker

A description is provided of the software algorithms developed for the CMS tracker both for reconstructing charged-particle trajectories in proton-proton interactions and for using the resulting tracks to estimate the positions of the LHC luminous region and individual primary-interaction vertices. Despite the very hostile environment at the LHC, the performance obtained with these algorithms is found to be excellent. For tbar t events under typical 2011 pileup conditions, the average track-reconstruction efficiency for promptly-produced charged particles with transverse momenta of p(T) > 0.9GeV is 94% for pseudorapidities of |η| < 0.9 and 85% for 0.9 < |η| < 2.5. The inefficiency is caused mainly by hadrons that undergo nuclear interactions in the tracker material. For isolated muons, the corresponding efficiencies are essentially 100%. For isolated muons of p(T) = 100GeV emitted at |η| < 1.4, the resolutions are approximately 2.8% in p(T), and respectively, 10μm and 30μm in the transverse and longitudinal impact parameters. The position resolution achieved for reconstructed primary vertices that correspond to interesting pp collisions is 10–12μm in each of the three spatial dimensions. The tracking and vertexing software is fast and flexible, and easily adaptable to other functions, such as fast tracking for the trigger, or dedicated tracking for electrons that takes into account bremsstrahlung

Precision measurement of the structure of the CMS inner tracking system using nuclear interactions

The structure of the CMS inner tracking system has been studied using nuclear interactions of hadrons striking its material. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded in 2015 at the LHC are used to reconstruct millions of secondary vertices from these nuclear interactions. Precise positions of the beam pipe and the inner tracking system elements, such as the pixel detector support tube, and barrel pixel detector inner shield and support rails, are determined using these vertices. These measurements are important for detector simulations, detector upgrades, and to identify any changes in the positions of inactive elements