Associations between child maltreatment and adolescents’ health-related quality of life and emotional and social problems in low-income families, and the moderating role of social support

This study aimed to examine the associations between different types of child maltreatment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and emotional and social problems in adolescents, and to examine the moderating effect of social support on those associations. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and June 2016 in Hong Kong. The sample comprised 351 parent and adolescent dyads from low-income families. The parents reported on child maltreatment (physical abuse, psychological aggression, and neglect), and the adolescents reported on their HRQoL, emotional problems, and social problems. The adolescents’ perceived social support was included as a potential moderator. Results of the study show that child physical abuse was strongly associated with emotional and social problems (B = 0.91-1.45, p < .05). Lower overall HRQoL was associated with psychological aggression (B = −3.96, p < .05) and neglect (B = −4.14, p < .05). Physical functioning was affected by psychological aggression (B = −3.16, p < .05), and emotional functioning was affected by neglect (B = −4.82, p < .05). Social functioning was impacted by all three types of maltreatment (B = −9.16 to −5.26, p < .05). This study extends previous literature by showing the varying effects of different types of child maltreatment on children’s health in the context of low-income families. The findings of this study also support that peer social support may buffer the effects of child physical abuse on adolescents’ emotional and social problems

Associations between child maltreatment and adolescents’ health-related quality of life and emotional and social problems in low-income families, and the moderating role of social support

This study aimed to examine the associations between different types of child maltreatment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and emotional and social problems in adolescents, and to examine the moderating effect of social support on those associations. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and June 2016 in Hong Kong. The sample comprised 351 parent and adolescent dyads from low-income families. The parents reported on child maltreatment (physical abuse, psychological aggression, and neglect), and the adolescents reported on their HRQoL, emotional problems, and social problems. The adolescents’ perceived social support was included as a potential moderator. Results of the study show that child physical abuse was strongly associated with emotional and social problems (B = 0.91-1.45, p < .05). Lower overall HRQoL was associated with psychological aggression (B = −3.96, p < .05) and neglect (B = −4.14, p < .05). Physical functioning was affected by psychological aggression (B = −3.16, p < .05), and emotional functioning was affected by neglect (B = −4.82, p < .05). Social functioning was impacted by all three types of maltreatment (B = −9.16 to −5.26, p < .05). This study extends previous literature by showing the varying effects of different types of child maltreatment on children’s health in the context of low-income families. The findings of this study also support that peer social support may buffer the effects of child physical abuse on adolescents’ emotional and social problems

The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy

The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) is the first interferometer dedicated to studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation at 3mm wavelength. The choice of 3mm was made to minimize the contributions from foreground synchrotron radiation and Galactic dust emission. The initial configuration of seven 0.6m telescopes mounted on a 6-m hexapod platform was dedicated in October 2006 on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Scientific operations began with the detection of a number of clusters of galaxies via the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. We compare our data with Subaru weak lensing data in order to study the structure of dark matter. We also compare our data with X-ray data in order to derive the Hubble constant.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ (13 pages, 7 figures); a version with high resolution figures available at http://www.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/~keiichi/upfiles/AMiBA7/pho_highreso.pd

Modifiable factors for the trajectory of health-related quality of life among youth growing up in poverty: a prospective cohort study

Poverty is a decisive risk factor for poor health and well-being, and its negative consequences could be more severe and substantial among children. Understanding the factors associated with improvement in well-being is vital to design interventions. This is a prospective cohort study of 546 youth growing up in families in poverty in Hong Kong. All participants were assessed twice, in 2016 and 2019, in regard to their physical and mental health, as well as for different economic, social, and psychological variables. The results show that approximately 41% experienced an improvement in their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Findings from the logistic regression analyses suggest that the health and development of youth in poverty may be restored by promoting social support, a sense of hope, future orientation, job stability, and money management practices, such as savings, during childhood and adolescence. The findings shed light on future policy making and forms of service development that could help to end the vicious cycle of poverty and hampered health

Measurements of the pp → ZZ production cross section and the Z → 4ℓ branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at √s = 13 TeV

Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp -> (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) -> 4l, where l = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 17.2 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 0.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 4l) = 4.83(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.29)(+0.32) (syst) +/- 0.08 (theo) +/- 0.12(lumi) x 10(-6) for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 4GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ. couplings at 95% confidence level: -0.0012 < f(4)(Z) < 0.0010, -0.0010 < f(5)(Z) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.0013

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV

Epidemiological Characteristics of 2009 (H1N1) Pandemic Influenza Based on Paired Sera from a Longitudinal Community Cohort Study

Steven Riley and colleagues analyze a community cohort study from the 2009 (H1N1) influenza pandemic in Hong Kong, and found that more children than adults were infected with H1N1, but children were less likely to progress to severe disease than adults