A web tool-based equal gender pay analysis for a competitive Europe (equal pacE): Overview, elements and lessons learned

The project equal pacE aimed to provide and promote a web tool by which companies can voluntarily analyse their pay structures and detect a potentially existing gender pay gap and its causes. The equal pacE web tool has been made available in five languages: Dutch, English, Finnish, French, and Polish. Its use is free of charge. The equal pacE web tool is based on the well-established web tool Logib-D that has been funded by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It was adjusted for the country-specific requirements in Flemish-Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as in Finland, France, Poland, and the United Kingdom

The sex-specific factor SOA controls dosage compensation in <i>Anopheles</i> mosquitos

The Anopheles mosquito is one of thousands of species in which sex differences play a central role in their biology, as only females need a blood meal in order to produce eggs. Sex differentiation is regulated by sex chromosomes, but their presence creates a dosage imbalance between males (XY) and females (XX). Dosage compensation (DC) can re-equilibrate the expression of sex-chromosomal genes, but because DC mechanisms have only been fully characterized in a few model organisms, key questions about its evolutionary diversity and functional necessity remain unresolved 1. Here we report the discovery of a previously uncharacterized gene (SOA, for sex chromosome activation) as a master regulator of DC in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Sex-specific alternative splicing prevents functional SOA protein expression in females. The male isoform encodes a DNA-binding protein that binds the promoters of active X chromosomal genes. Expressing male SOA is sufficient to induce DC in female cells. Male mosquitoes lacking SOA or female mosquitos ectopically expressing the male isoform exhibit X chromosome misregulation, which is compatible with viability but causes developmental delay. Thus, our molecular analysis of the first DC master regulator in a non-model organism elucidates the evolutionary steps leading to the establishment of a chromosome-specific fine-tuning mechanism

Impact of the Adipokine Adiponectin and the Hepatokine Fetuin-A on the Development of Type 2 Diabetes: Prospective Cohort- and Cross-Sectional Phenotyping Studies

Background: Among adipokines and hepatokines, adiponectin and fetuin-A were consistently found to predict the incidence of type 2 diabetes, both by regulating insulin sensitivity. Objective: To determine to what extent circulating adiponectin and fetuin-A are independently associated with incident type 2 diabetes in humans, and the major mechanisms involved. Methods: Relationships with incident diabetes were tested in two cohort studies: within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam study (628 cases) and the Nurses' Health Study (NHS; 470 cases). Relationships with body fat compartments, insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion were studied in the Tübingen Lifestyle Intervention Program (TULIP; N = 358). Results: Circulating adiponectin and fetuin-A, independently of several confounders and of each other, associated with risk of diabetes in EPIC-Potsdam (RR for 1 SD: adiponectin: 0.45 [95% CI 0.37–0.54], fetuin-A: 1.18 [1.05–1.32]) and the NHS (0.51 [0.42–0.62], 1.35 [1.16–1.58]). Obesity measures considerably attenuated the association of adiponectin, but not of fetuin-A. Subjects with low adiponectin and concomitantly high fetuin-A had the highest risk. Whereas both proteins were independently (both p<1.8×10−7) associated with insulin sensitivity, circulating fetuin-A (r = −0.37, p = 0.0004), but not adiponectin, associated with insulin secretion in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. Conclusions: We provide novel information that adiponectin and fetuin-A independently of each other associate with the diabetes risk. Furthermore, we suggest that they are involved in the development of type 2 diabetes via different mechanisms, possibly by mediating effects of their source tissues, expanded adipose tissue and nonalcoholic fatty liver

Adenosine receptor 2B activity promotes autonomous growth, migration as well as vascularization of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells

Adenosine is a signaling molecule that exerts dual effects on tumor growth: while it inhibits immune cell function and thereby prevents surveillance by the immune system, it influences tumorigenesis directly via activation of adenosine receptors on tumor cells at the same time. However, the adenosine-mediated mechanisms affecting oncogenic processes particularly in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the role of adenosine receptor activity on HNSCC-derived cell lines. Targeting the adenosine receptor A2B (ADORA2B) on these cells with the inverse agonist/antagonist PSB-603 leads to inhibition of cell proliferation, transmigration as well as VEGFA secretion in vitro. At the molecular level, these effects were associated with cell cycle arrest as well as the induction of the apoptotic pathway. In addition, shRNA-mediated downmodulation of ADORA2B expression caused decreased proliferation. Moreover, in in vivo xenograft experiments, chemical and genetic abrogation of ADORA2B activity impaired tumor growth associated with decreased tumor vascularization. Together, our findings characterize ADORA2B as a crucial player in the maintenance of HNSCC and, therefore, as a potential therapeutic target for HNSCC treatment

Transmission of MRSA between Companion Animals and Infected Human Patients Presenting to Outpatient Medical Care Facilities

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a significant pathogen in both human and veterinary medicine. The importance of companion animals as reservoirs of human infections is currently unknown. The companion animals of 49 MRSA-infected outpatients (cases) were screened for MRSA carriage, and their bacterial isolates were compared with those of the infected patients using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Rates of MRSA among the companion animals of MRSA-infected patients were compared to rates of MRSA among companion animals of pet guardians attending a “veterinary wellness clinic” (controls). MRSA was isolated from at least one companion animal in 4/49 (8.2%) households of MRSA-infected outpatients vs. none of the pets of the 50 uninfected human controls. Using PFGE, patient-pets MRSA isolates were identical for three pairs and discordant for one pair (suggested MRSA inter-specie transmission p-value = 0.1175). These results suggest that companion animals of MRSA-infected patients can be culture-positive for MRSA, representing a potential source of infection or re-infection for humans. Further studies are required to better understand the epidemiology of MRSA human-animal inter-specie transmission

Political transition and emergent forest-conservation issues in Myanmar.

Political and economic transitions have had substantial impacts on forest conservation. Where transitions are underway or anticipated, historical precedent and methods for systematically assessing future trends should be used to anticipate likely threats to forest conservation and design appropriate and prescient policy measures to counteract them. Myanmar is transitioning from an authoritarian, centralized state with a highly regulated economy to a more decentralized and economically liberal democracy and is working to end a long-running civil war. With these transitions in mind, we used a horizon-scanning approach to assess the 40 emerging issues most affecting Myanmar's forests, including internal conflict, land-tenure insecurity, large-scale agricultural development, demise of state timber enterprises, shortfalls in government revenue and capacity, and opening of new deforestation frontiers with new roads, mines, and hydroelectric dams. Averting these threats will require, for example, overhauling governance models, building capacity, improving infrastructure- and energy-project planning, and reforming land-tenure and environmental-protection laws. Although challenges to conservation in Myanmar are daunting, the political transition offers an opportunity for conservationists and researchers to help shape a future that enhances Myanmar's social, economic, and environmental potential while learning and applying lessons from other countries. Our approach and results are relevant to other countries undergoing similar transitions

Political transition and emergent forest-conservation issues in Myanmar.

Political and economic transitions have had substantial impacts on forest conservation. Where transitions are underway or anticipated, historical precedent and methods for systematically assessing future trends should be used to anticipate likely threats to forest conservation and design appropriate and prescient policy measures to counteract them. Myanmar is transitioning from an authoritarian, centralized state with a highly regulated economy to a more decentralized and economically liberal democracy and is working to end a long-running civil war. With these transitions in mind, we used a horizon-scanning approach to assess the 40 emerging issues most affecting Myanmar's forests, including internal conflict, land-tenure insecurity, large-scale agricultural development, demise of state timber enterprises, shortfalls in government revenue and capacity, and opening of new deforestation frontiers with new roads, mines, and hydroelectric dams. Averting these threats will require, for example, overhauling governance models, building capacity, improving infrastructure- and energy-project planning, and reforming land-tenure and environmental-protection laws. Although challenges to conservation in Myanmar are daunting, the political transition offers an opportunity for conservationists and researchers to help shape a future that enhances Myanmar's social, economic, and environmental potential while learning and applying lessons from other countries. Our approach and results are relevant to other countries undergoing similar transitions