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Bilingual children have been shown to differ from monolingual children in several domains of human cognition. Comparatively few studies have investigated social-interactional processes in bilingual populations. Here, we investigated whether monolingual and bilingual children demonstrate similar susceptibility to an aspect of social functioning with broad societal reach: racial bias. We measured both implicit and explicit biases against African race individuals in 2 groups of monolingual preschoolers (native speakers of English or Chinese) and in 2 groups of English-Chinese bilingual preschoolers (tested in English or Chinese; total N = 160). We found that monolingual children demonstrated greater implicit bias against African race individuals than bilingual children, independent of their native language. Monolingual Chinese children demonstrated greater explicit bias than bilingual children, although monolingual English children's explicit bias scores did not differ from those of bilingual children. Findings are discussed in terms of cognitive and experiential mechanisms that may link bilingualism and racial bias.

This research investigated the relation between racial categorization and implicit racial bias in majority and minority children. Chinese and Indian 3- to 7-year-olds from Singapore (N = 158) categorized Chinese and Indian faces by race and had their implicit and explicit racial biases measured. Majority Chinese children, but not minority Indian children, showed implicit bias favoring own race. Regardless of ethnicity, children's racial categorization performance correlated positively with implicit racial bias. Also, Chinese children, but not Indian children, displayed explicit bias favoring own race. Furthermore, children's explicit bias was unrelated to racial categorization performance and implicit bias. The findings support a perceptual--social linkage in the emergence of implicit racial bias and have implications for designing programs to promote interracial harmony.

Background: Limited information is available about pandemic H1N1-2009 influenza vaccine effectiveness in tropical communities. We studied the effectiveness of a pandemic H1N1 vaccination program in reducing influenza cases in Singapore. Methods: A surveillance study was conducted among military personnel presenting with febrile respiratory illness from mid- 2009 to mid-2010. Consenting individuals underwent nasal washes, which were tested with RT-PCR and subtyped. A vaccination program (inactivated monovalent Panvax H1N1-2009 vaccine) was carried out among recruits. A Bayesian hierarchical model was used to quantify relative risks in the pre- and post-vaccination periods. An autoregressive generalised linear model (GLM) was developed to minimise confounding. Results: Of 2858 participants, 437(15.3%), 60(2.1%), and 273(9.6%) had pandemic H1N1, H3N2, and influenza B. The ratio of relative risks for pandemic H1N1 infection before and after vaccination for the recruit camp relative to other camps was 0.14(0.016,0.49); for H3N2, 0.44(0.035,1.8); and for influenza B, 18(0.77,89). Using the GLM for the recruit camp, postvaccination weekly cases decreased by 54%(37%,67%, p<0.001) from that expected without vaccination; influenza B increased by 66 times(9-479 times, p<0.001); with no statistical difference for H3N2 (p = 0.54). Conclusions: Pandemic vaccination reduced H1N1-2009 disease burden among military recruits. Routine seasonal influenza vaccination should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Few studies have validated the effectiveness of public health interventions in reducing influenza spread in real-life settings. We aim to validate these measures used during the 2009 pandemic. Methods. From 22 June to 9 October 2009, we performed a prospective observational cohort study using paired serum samples and symptom review among 3 groups of Singapore military personnel. "Normal" units were subjected to prevailing pandemic response policies. "Essential" units and health care workers had additional public health interventions (eg, enhanced surveillance with isolation, segregation, personal protective equipment). Samples were tested by hemagglutination inhibition; the principal outcome was seroconversion to 2009 influenza A(H1N1). Results. In total, 1015 individuals in 14 units completed the study, with 29% overall seroconversion. Seroconversion among essential units (17%) and health care workers (11%) was significantly lower than that in normal units (44%) (P < .001). Symptomatic illness attributable to influenza was also lower in essential units (5%) and health care workers (2%) than in normal units (12%) (P=.06). Adjusted for confounders, unit type was the only significant variable influencing overall seroconversion (P < .05 ). From multivariate analysis within each unit, age (P < .001) and baseline antibody titer (P=.012) were inversely related to seroconversion risk. Conclusions. Public health measures are effective in limiting influenza transmission in closed environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study compared the effectiveness of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and the risk factors for NIV failure in hypercapnic acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) vs. non-COPD conditions.Design and Setting: Prospective cohort study in the medical intensive care unit of a university hospital.Patients and Participants: 111 patients with hypercapnic ARF, 43 of whom had COPD exacerbations and 68 other conditions. Baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar.Measurements and Results: The risk of NIV failure, defined as the need for endotracheal intubation, was significantly lower in COPD than in other conditions (19% vs. 47%). High APACHE II score was an independent predictor of NIV failure in COPD (OR 5.38 per 5 points). The presence of pneumonia (OR 5.63), high APACHE II score (OR 2.59 per 5 points), rapid heart rate (OR 1.22 per 5 beats/min), and high PaCO(2) 1 h after NIV (OR 1.22 per 5 mmHg) were independent predictors of NIV failure in the non-COPD group. Failure of NIV independently predicted mortality (OR 10.53).Conclusions: Noninvasive ventilation was more effective in preventing endotracheal intubation in hypercapnic ARF due to COPD than non-COPD conditions. High APACHE II score predicted NIV failure in both groups. Noninvasive ventilation was least effective in patients with hypercapnic ARF due to pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Natural experiment on relation between other-race nanny experience and racial bias. • Nanny experience relates differently to children's explicit and implicit bias. • Extensive other-race nanny experience was associated with lower explicit bias. • Other-race nanny experience was not associated with implicit bias. Most existing studies on racial bias reduction have used short-term interracial interaction interventions with fleeting effects. The current natural experiment examined whether daily interactions with other-race nannies relate to reduced racial bias in the preschool years. We capitalized on a unique child-rearing situation in Singapore whereby children are often cared for by other-race nannies since infancy. Singaporean Chinese 3- to 6-year-olds (N = 100) completed explicit and implicit racial bias measures assessing their preferential bias favoring own-race adults over adults of their nannies' race. Differential findings were obtained for children's explicit and implicit racial bias. Extensiveness, but not mere presence, of other-race nanny experience was associated with lower levels of explicit racial bias in children. In contrast, neither presence nor extensiveness of other-race nanny experience was associated with children's implicit racial bias. Together, these findings suggest that long-term and extensive contact with an other-race caregiver could have subtle mitigating effects on children's explicit, but not implicit, racial bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Infant race preferences were investigated in a multi-racial society. • Infants were tested at 3-, 6- and 9 months. • Effects of variation in caregiver race were investigated. • Infants demonstrated consistent other-race preferences. • Other-race caregiving was associated with a more pronounced other-race preference at 9 months. Over their first year of life, infants express visual preferences for own- versus other-race faces. This developmental transition has primarily been investigated in monoracial societies where infants have limited personal or societal contact with other races. We investigated whether previously reported visual preferences for race generalize to a multiracial society (i.e., Singapore). In addition, we investigated effects of caregiver race on visual preferences for race. In Experiment 1, race preferences were measured at 3, 6, and 9 months of age for own-race (Chinese) versus other-race (Indian) faces in infants with no regular interaction with Indian-race individuals. Singaporean infants displayed a significant visual preference for Indian-race faces at each age group. Furthermore, infants raised with other-race caregivers demonstrated an age-related increase in other-race visual preferences. The visual preferences of infants for other-race faces were predicted by the extent of other-race contact. In Experiment 2, we confirmed that an other-race visual preference was not exclusive to Indian faces in a sample of 6-month-old Singaporean Chinese infants who demonstrated a similar other-race visual preference for Caucasian faces over Chinese faces. Findings are discussed in terms of the influence of other-race contact on visual preferences for race in infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: From June 22 through June 25, 2009, four outbreaks of infection with the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus occurred in Singapore military camps. We report the efficacy of ring chemoprophylaxis (geographically targeted containment by means of prophylaxis) with oseltamivir to control outbreaks of 2009 H1N1 influenza in semiclosed environments. Methods: All personnel with suspected infection were tested and clinically isolated if infection was confirmed. In addition, we administered postexposure ring chemoprophylaxis with oseltamivir and segregated the affected military units to contain the spread of the virus. All personnel were screened three times weekly both for virologic infection, by means of nasopharyngeal swabs and reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assay with sequencing, and for clinical symptoms, by means of questionnaires. Results: A total of 1175 personnel were at risk across the four sites, with 1100 receiving oseltamivir prophylaxis. A total of 75 personnel (6.4%) were infected before the intervention, and 7 (0.6%) after the intervention. There was a significant reduction in the overall reproductive number (the number of new cases attributable to the index case), from 1.91 (95% credible interval, 1.50 to 2.36) before the intervention to 0.11 (95% credible interval, 0.05 to 0.20) after the intervention. Three of the four outbreaks showed a significant reduction in the rate of infection after the intervention. Molecular analysis revealed that all four outbreaks were derived from the New York lineage of the 2009 H1N1 virus and that cases within each outbreak were due to transmission rather than unrelated episodes of infection. Of the 816 personnel treated with oseltamivir who were surveyed, 63 (7.7%) reported mild, nonrespiratory side effects of the drug, with no severe adverse events. Conclusions: Oseltamivir ring chemoprophylaxis, together with prompt identification and isolation of infected personnel, was effective in reducing the impact of outbreaks of 2009 H1N1 influenza in semiclosed settings. N Engl J Med 2010;362:2166-74. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]