On the age-specific correlation between fertility and female employment: Heterogeneity over sapce and time in OECD countries

<b>Background</b>: Though there has been profound research on the curious change in correlation between total fertility rate (TFR) and female labor force participation (FLP) in the mid-1980s, aspects of the compositional character of age-specific effects and the nature of countries' heterogeneity have been neglected. <b>Objective</b>: The present paper aims to contribute to filling this gap by analyzing annual total fertility rates and their equivalents for four age groups between 20 and 39 years as well as the respective lagged FLP from 17 OECD countries between 1985 and 2010. <b>Methods</b>: Random Intercept and Random Coefficient Models are applied, allowing us to assess both effects and country heterogeneity in slopes and intercepts. <b>Results</b>: The analyses reveal that the development of the correlation between FLP and TFR after 1985 is comprised of very different relations between age-specific fertility and labor participation. The youngest group's situation is determined by a decrease in both fertility and FLP, while countries' effects differ increasingly. The oldest women's fertility decisions seem to be detached from labor market influences, though country variation is high. Women in their late 20s and early 30s, in contrast, appear to be most affected by the incompatibility of childbearing and gainful employment. Though these effects seem to have overcome their low points during the mid-1990s, only women in their early 30s show country-convergence. <b>Conclusions</b>: The results highlight the fact that total and age-specific fertility behavior, FLP-effects and country variances are distinct concepts that add considerably to the broad understanding of the correlation between fertility and FLP

Newborn Screening for X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy: Review of Data and Outcomes in Pennsylvania

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is the most common peroxisomal disorder. It results from pathogenic variants in ABCD1, which encodes the peroxisomal very-long-chain fatty acid transporter, causing a spectrum of neurodegenerative phenotypes. The childhood cerebral form of the disease is particularly devastating. Early diagnosis and intervention improve outcomes. Because newborn screening facilitates identification of at-risk individuals during their asymptomatic period, X-ALD was added to the Pennsylvania newborn screening program in 2017. We analyzed outcomes from the first four years of X-ALD newborn screening, which employed a two-tier approach and reflexive ABCD1 sequencing. There were 51 positive screens with elevated C26:0-lysophosphatidylcholine on second-tier screening. ABCD1 sequencing identified 21 hemizygous males and 24 heterozygous females, and clinical follow up identified four patients with peroxisomal biogenesis disorders. There were two false-positive cases and one false-negative case. Three unscreened individuals, two of whom were symptomatic, were diagnosed following their young siblings&rsquo; newborn screening results. Combined with experiences from six other states, this suggests a U.S. incidence of roughly 1 in 10,500, higher than had been previously reported. Many of these infants lack a known family history of X-ALD. Together, these data highlight both the achievements and challenges of newborn screening for X-ALD

TemBi 2014 mesocosm study: Summer storm impact on water chemistry and physics in Lake Stechlin

We simulated an experimental summer storm in large-volume (~1200 m3, ~16m depth) enclosures in Lake Stechlin by mixing deeper water masses from the meta- and hypolimnion into the mixed layer (epilimnion). The mixing included the disturbance of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) which was present at the same time of the experiment in Lake Stechlin and situated in the metalimnion of each enclosure during filling. Water physical variables and water chemistry was monitored for 42 days after the experimental disturbance event. Mixing disrupted the thermal stratification, increasing concentrations of dissolved nutrients and CO2 and changing light conditions in the epilimnion. Mixing, thus, stimulated phytoplankton growth, resulting in higher particulate matter concentrations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous

Toward Gene Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis Using a Lentivirus Pseudotyped With Sendai Virus Envelopes

Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF) is making encouraging progress into clinical trials. However, further improvements in transduction efficiency are desired. To develop a novel gene transfer vector that is improved and truly effective for CF gene therapy, a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) was pseudotyped with envelope proteins from Sendai virus (SeV), which is known to efficiently transduce unconditioned airway epithelial cells from the apical side. This novel vector was evaluated in mice in vivo and in vitro directed toward CF gene therapy. Here, we show that (i) we can produce relevant titers of an SIV vector pseudotyped with SeV envelope proteins for in vivo use, (ii) this vector can transduce the respiratory epithelium of the murine nose in vivo at levels that may be relevant for clinical benefit in CF, (iii) this can be achieved in a single formulation, and without the need for preconditioning, (iv) expression can last for 15 months, (v) readministration is feasible, (vi) the vector can transduce human air–liquid interface (ALI) cultures, and (vii) functional CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channels can be generated in vitro. Our data suggest that this lentiviral vector may provide a step change in airway transduction efficiency relevant to a clinical programme of gene therapy for CF