Children of Immigrants: A Statistical Profile

Recent data from Census 2000 show that the foreign-born population in the United States has increased 57 percent since 1990 to a total of 30 million. In 2000, one out of every five children under the age of 18 in the United States was estimated to have at least one foreign-born parent, and one in four poor children had at least one foreign-born parent. Empirical evidence on immigration and inequality suggests that many of the more recent immigrants will remain economically disadvantaged throughout their working lives, and this disadvantage may be partly transmitted to their children. In order to develop strategies to address the economic hardship experienced by children of immigrants and their families, it is important to identify the particular demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of this population. As this report—which focuses on children in poverty—demonstrates, first- and second-generation immigrant children are distinct from third- or later-generation children across a range of characteristics, including parental employment and education, family structure, and race/ethnicity. Most research on poverty among immigrants has focused on families or adults. This report examines the unique position of the children of immigrants in American society

Circumstances Dictate Public Views of Government Assistance

Women who experience significant barriers to employment may be unable to either obtain or retain jobs and may require intensive services to help them overcome their problems and achieve economic self-sufficiency. The National Center for Children in Poverty's innovative Vignette Study tested the opinions of the general public toward governmental assistance by creating a female subject, Lisa, whose description randomly varied 11 characteristics, including her obstacles to employment (physical disability, mental illness, living in an area with high unemployment, and trouble with reliable child care among them) and whether she works or receives welfare. In all cases, she was described as the mother of two children who faces difficulties providing basic necessities for her family

Meta-analysis of genome-wide associations studies confirms a susceptibility locus for knee osteoarthritis on chromosome 7q22

Objectives Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent form of arthritis and accounts for substantial morbidity and disability, particularly in older people. It is characterised by changes in joint structure, including degeneration of the articular cartilage, and its aetiology is multifactorial with a strong postulated genetic component. Methods A meta-analysis was performed of four genome-wide association (GWA) studies of 2371 cases of knee OA and 35 909 controls in Caucasian populations. Replication of the top hits was attempted with data from 10 additional replication datasets. Results With a cumulative sample size of 6709 cases and 44 439 controls, one genome-wide significant locus was identified on chromosome 7q22 for knee OA (rs4730250, p=9.2×10?9), thereby confirming its role as a susceptibility locus for OA. Conclusion The associated signal is located within a large (500 kb) linkage disequilibrium block that contains six genes: PRKAR2B (protein kinase, cAMP-dependent, regulatory, type II, ?), HPB1 (HMG-box transcription factor 1), COG5 (component of oligomeric golgi complex 5), GPR22 (G protein-coupled receptor 22), DUS4L (dihydrouridine synthase 4-like) and BCAP29 (B cell receptor-associated protein 29). Gene expression analyses of the (six) genes in primary cells derived from different joint tissues confirmed expression of all the genes in the joint environment. <br/