213 research outputs found
Angiotensin II type-1 receptor and ACE polymorphisms and risk of myocardial infarction in men and women
Socioeconomic inequalities in suicide mortality in European urban areas before and during the economic recession
Few studies have assessed the impact of the financial crisis on inequalities in suicide mortality in European urban areas. The objective of the study was to analyse the trend in area socioeconomic inequalities in suicide mortality in nine European urban areas before and after the beginning of the financial crisis. This ecological study of trends was based on three periods, two before the economic crisis (2000-2003, 2004-2008) and one during the crisis (2009-2014). The units of analysis were the small areas of nine European cities or metropolitan areas, with a median population ranging from 271 (Turin) to 193 630 (Berlin). For each small area and sex, we analysed smoothed standardized mortality ratios of suicide mortality and their relationship with a socioeconomic deprivation index using a hierarchical Bayesian model. Among men, the relative risk (RR) comparing suicide mortality of the 95th percentile value of socioeconomic deprivation (severe deprivation) to its 5th percentile value (low deprivation) were higher than 1 in Stockholm and Lisbon in the three periods. In Barcelona, the RR was 2.06 (95% credible interval: 1.24-3.21) in the first period, decreasing in the other periods. No significant changes were observed across the periods. Among women, a positive significant association was identified only in Stockholm (RR around 2 in the three periods). There were no significant changes across the periods except in London with a RR of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.35-0.68) in the third period. Area socioeconomic inequalities in suicide mortality did not change significantly after the onset of the crisis in the areas studied
RXJ0256.5+0006: a merging cluster of galaxies at z=0.36 observed with XMM-Newton
(abridged) We present a study based on XMM data of RX J0256.5+0006, a medium
distant (z=0.36) galaxy cluster found in the Bright SHARC catalog. The
intracluster medium shows a bimodal structure: one main cluster component and a
substructure in the west. Despite the indication of interaction we do not find
any sign of temperature gradients. Due to the non-symmetric form of the main
cluster we extract surface brightness profiles in different sectors around its
centre. We see large variations between the profiles, which we quantify by
beta-model fitting. The corresponding r_c's vary between 0.1-0.5Mpc and the
beta's between 0.5-1.2. The variations of the beta-model parameters indicate
that the main cluster is not entirely relaxed. This hypothesis is strengthened
by the fact that the cluster is over-luminous with respect to the (z-evolving)
L_x-T relation found for nearby clusters. Comparing our profiles to the
reference emission measure profile of Arnaud et al., we find that only the
profile extracted north-east (NE) of the main cluster centre is similar to this
reference profile. This indicates that only the NE profile is representative
for the relaxed part of this cluster component. Using this profile and the
spectroscopically fitted temperature of T=4.9^+0.5_-0.4keV we find M_500~4
10^14 solar masses. This value is in agreement with the value obtained using
the z-evolving M_500-T relation from the HIFLUGCS sample. For the gas mass
fraction we find f_g~18-20% which is in good agreement with other work. We also
develop a simple on-axis merger model for the cluster. Together with a simple
ram pressure model we find that the most likely physical distance of the
subcluster to the main cluster lies between 0.6<d<1.0Mpc. We find for the ratio
of subcluster to main cluster mass values between 20-30%.Comment: 19 pages including 19 figures (including 4 figures in jpg and png
format), accepted for publication in A&
The relationship between maternal education and mortality among women giving birth in health care institutions: Analysis of the cross sectional WHO Global Survey on Maternal and Perinatal Health
Background: Approximately one-third of a million women die each year from pregnancy-related conditions. Three-quarters of these deaths are considered avoidable. Millennium Development Goal five calls for a reduction in maternal mortality and the establishment of universal access to high quality reproductive health care. There is evidence of a relationship between lower levels of maternal education and higher maternal mortality. This study examines the relationship between maternal education and maternal mortality among women giving birth in health care institutions and investigates the association of maternal age, marital status, parity, institutional capacity and state-level investment in health care with these relationships.Methods: Cross-sectional information was collected on 287,035 inpatients giving birth in 373 health care institutions in 24 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, between 2004-2005 (in Africa and Latin America) and 2007-2008 (in Asia) as part of the WHO Global Survey on Maternal and Perinatal Health. Analyses investigated associations between indicators measured at the individual, institutional and country level and maternal mortality during the intrapartum period: from admission to, until discharge from, the institution where women gave birth. There were 363 maternal deaths.Results: In the adjusted models, women with no education had 2.7 times and those with between one and six years of education had twice the risk of maternal mortality of women with more than 12 years of education. Institutional capacity was not associated with maternal mortality in the adjusted model. Those not married or cohabiting had almost twice the risk of death of those who were. There was a significantly higher risk of death among those aged over 35 (compared with those aged between 20 and 25 years), those with higher numbers of previous births and lower levels of state investment in health care. There were also additional effects relating to country of residence which were not explained in the model.Conclusions: Lower levels of maternal education were associated with higher maternal mortality even amongst women able to access facilities providing intrapartum care. More attention should be given to the wider social determinants of health when devising strategies to reduce maternal mortality and to achieve the increasingly elusive MDG for maternal mortality
Impact of low fertility and early age at sterilisation on women’s formal education and skill development in South India
Cell Type–Specific Transcriptome Analysis Reveals a Major Role for Zeb1 and miR-200b in Mouse Inner Ear Morphogenesis
Cellular heterogeneity hinders the extraction of functionally significant results and inference of regulatory networks from wide-scale expression profiles of complex mammalian organs. The mammalian inner ear consists of the auditory and vestibular systems that are each composed of hair cells, supporting cells, neurons, mesenchymal cells, other epithelial cells, and blood vessels. We developed a novel protocol to sort auditory and vestibular tissues of newborn mouse inner ears into their major cellular components. Transcriptome profiling of the sorted cells identified cell type–specific expression clusters. Computational analysis detected transcription factors and microRNAs that play key roles in determining cell identity in the inner ear. Specifically, our analysis revealed the role of the Zeb1/miR-200b pathway in establishing epithelial and mesenchymal identity in the inner ear. Furthermore, we detected a misregulation of the ZEB1 pathway in the inner ear of Twirler mice, which manifest, among other phenotypes, malformations of the auditory and vestibular labyrinth. The association of misregulation of the ZEB1/miR-200b pathway with auditory and vestibular defects in the Twirler mutant mice uncovers a novel mechanism underlying deafness and balance disorders. Our approach can be employed to decipher additional complex regulatory networks underlying other hearing and balance mouse mutants
Gender gaps in education
This chapter reviews the growing body of research in economics which concentrates on the education gender gap and its evolution, over time and across countries. The survey first focuses on gender differentials in the historical period that roughly goes from 1850 to the 1940s and documents the deep determinants of the early phase of female education expansion, including preindustrial conditions, religion, and family and kinship patterns. Next, the survey describes the stylized facts of contemporaneous gender gaps in education, from the 1950s to the present day, accounting for several alternative measures of attainment and achievement and for geographic and temporal differentiations. The determinants of the gaps are then summarized, while keeping a strong emphasis on an historical perspective and disentangling factors related to the labor market, family formation, psychological elements, and societal cultural norms. A discussion follows of the implications of the education gender gap for multiple realms, from economic growth to family life, taking into account the potential for reverse causation. Special attention is devoted to the persistency of gender gaps in the STEM and economics fields
Introduction—Food Security and Food Waste Reduction: A Social Innovation Approach to Current Social, Environmental, and Political Concerns
This chapter presents the research rationale underpinning the book. It addresses the intertwining challenges of food security and surplus food management, discussing recent data and literature. It also presents how social innovation is conceptualized in the book as the theoretical framework to analyse partnerships between business and non-profit organisations in managing food surplus. The methodology of the research is also detailed, along with the book structure
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