Does Gender of Administrator Matter? National Study Explores U.S. University Administrators' Attitudes About Retaining Women Professors in STEM

Omnipresent calls for more women in university administration presume women will prioritize using resources and power to increase female representation, especially in STEM fields where women are most underrepresented. However, empirical evidence is lacking for systematic differences in female vs. male administrators' attitudes. Do female administrators agree on which strategies are best, and do men see things differently? We explored United States college and university administrators' opinions regarding strategies, policies, and structural changes in their organizations designed to increase women professors' representation and retention in STEM fields. A comprehensive review of past research yielded a database of potentially-effective, recommended policies. A survey based on these policies was sent to provosts, deans, associate deans, and department chairs of STEM fields at 96 public and private research universities across the U.S. These administrators were asked to rate the quality and feasibility of each strategy; 474 provided data, of which 334 contained complete numerical data used in the analyses. Our data revealed that female (vs. male) administrators believed the 44 strategies were higher in quality overall—but not higher in feasibility—with 9 strategies perceived differently by women and men, after imposing conservative statistical controls. There was broad general agreement on the relative-quality rankings of the 44 strategies. Women (vs. men) gave higher quality ratings to increasing the value of teaching, service, and administrative experience in tenure/promotion decisions, increasing flexibility of federal-grant funding to accommodate mothers, conducting gender-equity research, and supporting shared tenure lines enabling work-life balance. Women (vs. men) believed it was more feasible for men to stop the tenure clock for 1 year for childrearing and for universities to support requests for shared tenure lines, but less feasible for women to chair search committees. Our national survey thus supported the belief that placing women into administration creates greater endorsement of strategies to attract and retain women in STEM, although the effectiveness of these strategies was outside the scope of this research. Topics of disagreement between women and men are potentially important focuses of future policy, because female administrators may have insights into how to retain women that male administrators do not share

Umbilical Cord Serum Ferritin Concentration is Inversely Associated with Umbilical Cord Hemoglobin in Neonates Born to Adolescents Carrying Singletons and Women Carrying Multiples

BackgroundIt has been proposed that the fetus prioritizes iron for hemoglobin production over delivery to tissues. However, few studies have evaluated the interrelations between hemoglobin and multiple iron status biomarkers in umbilical cord blood. A full understanding is needed of how these parameters influence each other within cord blood to fully interpret iron and hematologic status at birth.ObjectivesWe evaluated the determinants of neonatal hemoglobin and assessed the interrelations between hemoglobin, serum iron status indicators, and serum iron regulatory hormones in healthy neonates.MethodsThis was an observational study that assessed umbilical cord hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin (SF), erythropoietin (EPO), soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), serum iron, hepcidin, vitamin B-12, folate, IL-6, and CRP measured in 234 neonates born to adolescents or to women carrying multiples. Correlations between these indicators were evaluated and mediation models consistent with the observed significant determinants of cord Hb concentrations were developed.ResultsA highly significant inverse association was found between cord SF and Hb concentrations that was not attributable to neonatal or maternal inflammation (as measured by IL-6 and CRP). The inverse association was present in the combined cohort, as well as in the adolescent and multiples cohorts independently. Mediation analyses found that EPO and hepcidin had significant indirect effects on cord Hb, associations that are explicable by mediation through SF and sTfR.ConclusionIn contrast to observations made in older infants, a highly significant inverse association between Hb and SF, as well positive associations between Hb and both sTfR and EPO, were observed in umbilical cord blood from neonates born to adolescents or women carrying multiples. These findings, combined with review of the published literature, indicate a need for analysis of the relations between multiple parameters to assess iron and hematologic status at birth. These clinical trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01582802 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01582802) and NCT01019902 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01019902)

Vitamin D status is inversely associated with anemia and serum erythropoietin during pregnancy

ABSTRACTBackground: Vitamin D and iron deficiencies frequently co-exist.It is now appreciated that mechanistic interactions between iron andvitamin D metabolism may underlie these associations.Objective: We examined interrelations between iron and vitamin Dstatus and their regulatory hormones in pregnant adolescents, whoare a group at risk of both suboptimal vitamin D and suboptimaliron status.Design: The trial was a prospective longitudinal study of 158 pregnantadolescents (aged #18 y). Maternal circulating biomarkers ofvitamin D and iron were determined at midgestation (w25 wk) anddelivery (w40 wk). Linear regression was used to assess associationsbetween vitamin D and iron status indicators. Bivariate andmultivariate logistic regressions were used to generate the OR ofanemia as a function of vitamin D status. A mediation analysis wasperformed to examine direct and indirect relations between vitaminD status, hemoglobin, and erythropoietin in maternal serum.Results: Maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was positivelyassociated with maternal hemoglobin at both midgestation and atdelivery (P , 0.01 for both). After adjustment for age at enrollmentand race, the odds of anemia at delivery was 8 times greater inadolescents with delivery 25(OH)D concentrations ,50 nmol/L thanin those with 25(OH)D concentrations $50 nmol/L (P ,0.001).Maternal 25(OH)D was inversely associated with erythropoietin atboth midgestation (P ,0.05) and delivery (P ,0.001). The significantrelation observed between 25(OH)D and hemoglobin could beexplained by a direct relation between 25(OH)D and hemoglobin andan indirect relation that was mediated by erythropoietin.Conclusions: In this group of pregnant adolescents, suboptimal vitaminD status was associated with increased risk of iron insufficiency andvice versa. These findings emphasize the need for screening for multiplenutrient deficiencies during pregnancy and greater attention tooverlapping metabolic pathways when selecting prenatal supplementationregimens

Heterogeneous feeding patterns of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti, on individual human hosts in rural Thailand.

BackgroundMosquito biting frequency and how bites are distributed among different people can have significant epidemiologic effects. An improved understanding of mosquito vector-human interactions would refine knowledge of the entomological processes supporting pathogen transmission and could reveal targets for minimizing risk and breaking pathogen transmission cycles.Methodology and principal findingsWe used human DNA blood meal profiling of the dengue virus (DENV) vector, Aedes aegypti, to quantify its contact with human hosts and to infer epidemiologic implications of its blood feeding behavior. We determined the number of different people bitten, biting frequency by host age, size, mosquito age, and the number of times each person was bitten. Of 3,677 engorged mosquitoes collected and 1,186 complete DNA profiles, only 420 meals matched people from the study area, indicating that Ae. aegypti feed on people moving transiently through communities to conduct daily business. 10-13% of engorged mosquitoes fed on more than one person. No biting rate differences were detected between high- and low-dengue transmission seasons. We estimate that 43-46% of engorged mosquitoes bit more than one person within each gonotrophic cycle. Most multiple meals were from residents of the mosquito collection house or neighbors. People ≤ 25 years old were bitten less often than older people. Some hosts were fed on frequently, with three hosts bitten nine times. Interaction networks for mosquitoes and humans revealed biologically significant blood feeding hotspots, including community marketplaces.Conclusion and significanceHigh multiple-feeding rates and feeding on community visitors are likely important features in the efficient transmission and rapid spread of DENV. These results help explain why reducing vector populations alone is difficult for dengue prevention and support the argument for additional studies of mosquito feeding behavior, which when integrated with a greater understanding of human behavior will refine estimates of risk and strategies for dengue control

Heterogeneous Feeding Patterns of the Dengue Vector, <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, on Individual Human Hosts in Rural Thailand

<div><p>Background</p><p>Mosquito biting frequency and how bites are distributed among different people can have significant epidemiologic effects. An improved understanding of mosquito vector-human interactions would refine knowledge of the entomological processes supporting pathogen transmission and could reveal targets for minimizing risk and breaking pathogen transmission cycles.</p><p>Methodology and principal findings</p><p>We used human DNA blood meal profiling of the dengue virus (DENV) vector, <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, to quantify its contact with human hosts and to infer epidemiologic implications of its blood feeding behavior. We determined the number of different people bitten, biting frequency by host age, size, mosquito age, and the number of times each person was bitten. Of 3,677 engorged mosquitoes collected and 1,186 complete DNA profiles, only 420 meals matched people from the study area, indicating that <i>Ae. aegypti</i> feed on people moving transiently through communities to conduct daily business. 10–13% of engorged mosquitoes fed on more than one person. No biting rate differences were detected between high- and low-dengue transmission seasons. We estimate that 43–46% of engorged mosquitoes bit more than one person within each gonotrophic cycle. Most multiple meals were from residents of the mosquito collection house or neighbors. People ≤25 years old were bitten less often than older people. Some hosts were fed on frequently, with three hosts bitten nine times. Interaction networks for mosquitoes and humans revealed biologically significant blood feeding hotspots, including community marketplaces.</p><p>Conclusion and significance</p><p>High multiple-feeding rates and feeding on community visitors are likely important features in the efficient transmission and rapid spread of DENV. These results help explain why reducing vector populations alone is difficult for dengue prevention and support the argument for additional studies of mosquito feeding behavior, which when integrated with a greater understanding of human behavior will refine estimates of risk and strategies for dengue control.</p></div

Pregnancy Induces Transcriptional Activation of the Peripheral Innate Immune System and Increases Oxidative DNA Damage among Healthy Third Trimester Pregnant Women

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Pregnancy induces physiological adaptations that may involve, or contribute to, alterations in the genomic landscape. Pregnancy also increases the nutritional demand for choline, an essential nutrient that can modulate epigenomic and transcriptomic readouts secondary to its role as a methyl donor. Nevertheless, the interplay between human pregnancy, choline and the human genome is largely unexplored.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal Findings</h3><p>As part of a controlled feeding study, we assessed the influence of pregnancy and choline intake on maternal genomic markers. Healthy third trimester pregnant (n = 26, wk 26–29 gestation) and nonpregnant (n = 21) women were randomized to choline intakes of 480 mg/day, approximating the Adequate Intake level, or 930 mg/day for 12-weeks. Blood leukocytes were acquired at study week 0 and study week 12 for microarray, DNA damage and global DNA/histone methylation measurements. A main effect of pregnancy that was independent of choline intake was detected on several of the maternal leukocyte genomic markers. Compared to nonpregnant women, third trimester pregnant women exhibited higher (<em>P<0.05</em>) transcript abundance of defense response genes associated with the innate immune system including pattern recognition molecules, neutrophil granule proteins and oxidases, complement proteins, cytokines and chemokines. Pregnant women also exhibited higher (<em>P</em><0.001) levels of DNA damage in blood leukocytes, a genomic marker of oxidative stress. No effect of choline intake was detected on the maternal leukocyte genomic markers with the exception of histone 3 lysine 4 di-methylation which was lower among pregnant women in the 930 versus 480 mg/d choline intake group.</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Pregnancy induces transcriptional activation of the peripheral innate immune system and increases oxidative DNA damage among healthy third trimester pregnant women.</p> </div

Select list of genes involved in defense response that were upregulated in third trimester pregnant women at the end of the controlled feeding study.

<p><i>P</i> values<0.05 with or without adjusting for leukocyte sub-populations as analyzed with general linear models or the LEMMA statistical package, respectively. Fold change was calculated as the average transcript abundance in pregnant women/the average transcript abundance in nonpregnant women.</p

Feeding patterns by vector age determined from mark-release-recapture experiments in Thailand, 2001.

<p>*Host house same as mosquito release house = S; different from mosquito release house = D.</p