Australia is a major immigration country and immigrants currently represent around 28% of the total population. The aim of this research is to understand the longterm consequences of this immigration ...and, particularly, how migrants respond to opportunities within the country after arriving through the process of subsequent (internal) migration. The focus is on major immigrant groups in Australia, including persons born in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China and India, and how their patterns differ from persons born in Australia. To conduct this analysis, we have gathered data for a 35-year period based on quinquennial census data. We also obtained birthplace-specific mortality data for constructing multiregional life tables for the immigrant populations. Subsequent migration is important for understanding population redistribution, and the relative attractiveness of destinations within host countries. Our results highlight the importance of subsequent migration and the diversity of migration behaviours amongst different immigrant groups in the context of overall declines in internal migration since 1981.
BACKGROUND Over 28% of the Australian population is born overseas. Understanding where immigrants have settled, and the relative attractiveness of these places in relation to others, is important for ...understanding the contributions of immigration to society and subnational population growth. However, subsequent demographic analyses of immigration to Australia is complicated because (1) the population is highly urbanised with over 80% living along the coast on an area roughly 3% of the country's land mass and (2) the diversity of immigration streams results in many immigrant populations with small population numbers. OBJECTIVE The objective of this research is to develop methods for overcoming irregularities in sparse data on age-specific mortality and internal migration to estimate small area multiregional life tables. These life tables are useful for studying the duration of time spent, expressed in years lived, by populations living in specific geographic areas. METHODS Multiregional life tables are calculated for different immigrant groups from 1981 to 2011 in Australia. To overcome sparse data, indirect estimation techniques are used to smooth, impose and infer age-specific probabilities of mortality and internal migration. RESULTS We find that the country or region of birthplace is an important factor in determining both settlement and subsequent internal migration. CONCLUSIONS Overcoming sparse data on mortality and internal migration allow for the study of the relative attractiveness of places over time for different immigrant populations in Australia. This information provides useful evidence for assessing the effectiveness of policies designed to encourage regional and rural settlement.
► We studied 256 men to see if PFOA and PFOS impacted semen quality or hormones. ► Blood and semen were analyzed for PFAs and reproductive and thyroid hormones. ► Semen quality was assessed using ...standard clinical methods. ► Neither PFOA nor PFOS was significantly associated with functional semen parameters. ► LH, but not FSH, was positively correlated with plasma PFOA and PFOS.
A total of 256 men were studied to evaluate whether serum concentrations of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) impacted semen quality or reproductive hormones. Blood and semen were collected and analyzed for perfluorochemicals and reproductive and thyroid hormones. Semen quality was assessed using standard clinical methods. Linear and logistic modeling was performed with semen profile measurements as outcomes and PFOS and PFOA in semen and plasma as explanatory variables. Adjusting for age, abstinence, and tobacco use, there was no indication that PFOA or PFOS was significantly associated with volume, sperm concentration, percent motility, swim-up motility and concentration, and directional motility (a function of motility and modal progression). Follicle-stimulating hormone was not associated with either PFOA or PFOS. Luteinizing hormone was positively correlated with plasma PFOA and PFOS, but not semen PFOS. Important methodological concerns included the lack of multiple hormonal measurements necessary to address circadian rhythms.
Numerous studies have established the influence of detrimental home conditions on child cognition and behavior; however, fewer have assessed these outcomes in the context of relatively "normal" range ...of home environmental conditions. Given the exquisite sensitivity to the environment of the neural substrates that undergird executive functioning (EF) and behavioral self-regulation in children, it is possible that a range of conditions within the home, even in the absence of maltreatment or economic deprivation, may impact these outcomes. The purpose of the present exploratory investigation was to further define the relationship between features of the home environment using the HOME inventory (a structured interview and observation of parent and child) and several dimensions of child EF and behavioral problems. In addition, this study sought to elucidate potentially differential associations between home and parent-reported neighborhood conditions-a hypothetically less direct influence on cognition in this age group-and level of child functioning. A battery of EF performance tasks and a widely-used checklist of behavioral problems were administered to 66 children, 8-11 years old from a lower middle income, working class sample. Results showed significant relationships between the home environment and several dimensions of EF and behavioral problems. In contrast, neighborhood conferred additional effects only on rule-breaking and aggression, not cognition, which is consistent with evidence that externalizing behavior in this age group becomes increasingly oriented toward outside influences. These findings warrant follow-up studies to establish causality. A broader program of research designed to delve further into the relationship between nuanced influences from the home and child cognition and behavior has implications for parenting strategies that foster healthy development. Neighborhood contexts should also be considered during early and mid-adolescent years based on existing studies and findings reported herein suggesting that this period of newfound autonomy and the heightened significance of peer relationships may influence externalizing behaviors, with implications for protective courses of action.
To provide more accurate enrolment projections for local schools and to facilitate long-term education infrastructure planning, practitioners and researchers require detailed enrolment data to ...analyse school enrolment changes (GLA Demography 2015; National Center for Education Statistics 2016; Pajankar and Srivastava 2019; Raymer, Biddle and Guan 2017). We adopt the multiregional cohort component project model developed for regional population projections (Rogers 1995) to analyse and project school enrolments in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). This approach allows users to track the sources of school enrolment change over time. In this data visualisation, we present the application of a multiregional cohort component model to identify sources of school enrolment change in the ACT.
A total of 331 different VOCs and fixed gases from swine facilities in North Carolina were identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Of these, 203 were found in air samples ...adsorbed onto Tenax
®, 112 were found in air samples adsorbed onto cotton material, and 167 different compounds were identified in the lagoon samples. The compounds identified were diverse, and included many acids, alcohols, aldehydes, amides, amines, aromatics, esters, ethers, fixed gases, halogenated hydrocarbons, hydrocarbons, ketones, nitriles, other nitrogen-containing compounds, phenols, sulfur-containing compounds, steroids, and other compounds. The vast majority of these compounds were present at concentrations below published odor and irritation thresholds. Yet human assessments indicated that odors (and irritant sensations) in the immediate vicinity of the swine houses (and even at distances beyond 1000
ft) were strong. Comparison of the findings from chemical and human assessments points to the importance of the cumulative effects of hundreds of compounds in producing odor and irritation downwind of swine operations. Many GC peaks from the samples were too small to allow identification of the compounds, but their presence may also contribute significantly to the odor and irritation. Several methodological difficulties were associated with the human odor assessments. Odorous air evaluated in the field was simultaneously collected in Tedlar
® bags for evaluation in the laboratory; however, intensity ratings in the field were higher than those in the laboratory. This is due to the fact that organic dust (dried fecal material and feed) adheres to Tedlar
® bags and the tubing of collection/delivery systems; therefore, only VOCs from the vapor phase (but not the dust) reach the nose of the panelists in sniffing air samples obtained in Tedlar
® bags. Future collection and measurement techniques need to be developed that can evaluate odors from dust and vapor phases simultaneously in the laboratory. Dispersion models also need to be developed that account accurately for odor intensities downwind of animal operations. Finally, safety standards for odor exposures need to be determined that consider the risk of simultaneous exposure to hundreds of low level compounds.
The benefits of having consistent and complete information on migration flows within, from and to Asia are numerous and worth the investment. They include a much better understanding of how migrants ...are responding to economic developments across Asia and how they are transforming both origin and destination societies. The challenges to producing international migration flow statistics in Asia, however, are immense. Hardly any countries provide data, and for those countries that do, they are often incomplete or incomparable with other countries' measures of migration. In order to produce comparable statistics on migration flows and immigrant population stocks, one needs a range of data sources and estimation strategies.
A subset of private pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) epidemiological cohort was monitored around the time of their agricultural use of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid ...(2,4-D) and O,O-diethyl-O-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyl phosphorothioate (chlorpyrifos) to assess exposure levels and potential determinants of exposure. Measurements included pre- and post-application urine samples, and patch, hand wipe, and personal air samples. Boom spray or hand spray application methods were used by applicators for 2,4-D products. Chlorpyrifos products were applied using spray applications and in-furrow application of granular products. Geometric mean (GM) values for 69 2,4-D applicators were 7.8 and 25 microg/l in pre- and post-application urine, respectively (P<0.05 for difference); 0.39 mg for estimated hand loading; 2.9 mg for estimated body loading; and 0.37 microg/m(3) for concentration in personal air. Significant correlations were found between all media for 2,4-D. GM values for 17 chlorpyrifos applicators were 11 microg/l in both pre- and post-application urine for the 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol metabolite, 0.28 mg for body loading, and 0.49 microg/m(3) for air concentration. Only 53% of the chlorpyrifos applicators had measurable hand loading results; their median hand loading being 0.02 mg. Factors associated with differences in 2,4-D measurements included application method and glove use, and, for hand spray applicators, use of adjuvants, equipment repair, duration of use, and contact with treated vegetation. Spray applications of liquid chlorpyrifos products were associated with higher measurements than in-furrow granular product applications. This study provides information on exposures and possible exposure determinants for several application methods commonly used by farmers in the cohort and will provide information to assess and refine exposure classification in the AHS. Results may also be of use in pesticide safety education for reducing exposures to pesticide applicators.
PDF
