Job Satisfaction and Women’s Timing of Return to Work after Childbirth in the UK

This article examines to what extent multiple facets of pre-childbirth job satisfaction affect women's labor market outcomes after first childbirth in the UK. Using the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) we find that higher levels of overall job satisfaction increase the probability of returning to work sooner, and to the same job, during the sample period. Satisfaction with job security, work hours and the work content - but not with pay – are important determinants of mothers’ employment choices. We discuss the role of job satisfaction on women's ability to combine work and family responsibilities, and related aspects of job quality

Data Integration Model for Air Quality: A Hierarchical Approach to the Global Estimation of Exposures to Ambient Air Pollution

This is the author accepted manuscript. Available from arXiv via the URL in this record.Air pollution is a major risk factor for global health, with both ambient and household air pollution contributing substantial components of the overall global disease burden. One of the key drivers of adverse health effects is fine particulate matter ambient pollution (PM2:5) to which an estimated 3 million deaths can be attributed annually. The primary source of information for estimating exposures has been measurements from ground monitoring networks but, although coverage is increasing, there remain regions in which monitoring is limited. Ground monitoring data therefore needs to be supplemented with information from other sources, such as satellite retrievals of aerosol optical depth and chemical transport models. A hierarchical modelling approach for integrating data from multiple sources is proposed allowing spatially-varying relationships between ground measurements and other factors that estimate air quality. Set within a Bayesian framework, the resulting Data Integration Model for Air Quality (DIMAQ) is used to estimate exposures, together with associated measures of uncertainty, on a high resolution grid covering the entire world. Bayesian analysis on this scale can be computationally challenging and here approximate Bayesian inference is performed using Integrated Nested Laplace Approximations. Model selection and assessment is performed by cross-validation with the final model offering substantial increases in predictive accuracy, particularly in regions where there is sparse ground monitoring, when compared to previous approaches: root mean square error (RMSE) reduced from 17.1 to 10.7, and population weighted RMSE from 23.1 to 12.1 gm3. Based on summaries of the posterior distributions for each grid cell, it is estimated that 92% of the world’s population reside in areas exceeding the World Health Organization’s Air Quality Guidelines.Matthew Lloyd Thomas is supported by a scholarship from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Statistical Applied Mathematics at Bath (SAMBa), under the project EP/L015684/1. Amelia Jobling was supported for this work by WHO contracts APW 201255146 and 201255393

Neuregulin 1 Type III/ErbB Signaling Is Crucial for Schwann Cell Colonization of Sympathetic Axons

Analysis of Schwann cell (SC) development has been hampered by the lack of growing axons in many commonly used in vitro assays. As a consequence, the molecular signals and cellular dynamics of SC development along peripheral axons are still only poorly understood. Here we use a superior cervical ganglion (SCG) explant assay, in which axons elongate after treatment with nerve growth factor (NGF). Migration as well as proliferation and apoptosis of endogenous SCG-derived SCs along sympathetic axons were studied in these cultures using pharmacological interference and time-lapse imaging. Inhibition of ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases leads to reduced SC proliferation, increased apoptosis and thereby severely interfered with SC migration to distal axonal sections and colonization of axons. Furthermore we demonstrate that SC colonization of axons is also strongly impaired in a specific null mutant of an ErbB receptor ligand, Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) type III. Taken together, using a novel SC development assay, we demonstrate that NRG1 type III serves as a critical axonal signal for glial ErbB receptors that drives SC development along sympathetic axons

Association study of candidate DNA-repair gene variants and acute graft versus host disease in pediatric patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation

Acute Graft versus Host Disease (aGvHD) grades 2-4 occurs in 15-60% of pediatric patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The collateral damage to normal tissue by conditioning regimens administered prior to allo-HSCT serve as an initial trigger for aGvHD. DNA-repair mechanisms may play an important role in mitigating this initial damage, and so the variants in corresponding DNA-repair protein-coding genes via affecting their quantity and/or function. We explored 51 variants within 17 DNA-repair genes for their association with aGvHD grades 2-4 in 60 pediatric patients. The cumulative incidence of aGvHD 2-4 was 12% (n = 7) in the exploratory cohort. MGMT rs10764881 (G>A) and EXO rs9350 (c.2270C>T) variants were associated with aGvHD 2-4 [Odds ratios = 14.8 (0 events out of 40 in rs10764881 GG group) and 11.5 (95% CI: 2.3-191.8), respectively, multiple testing corrected p A) remained significant (adjusted HR = 2.05 [95% CI: 1.06-3.94]; p = 0.03) in the presence of other clinical risk factors. Higher MGMT expression was seen in GG carriers for rs10764881 and was associated with higher IC50 of Busulfan in lymphoblastoid cells. MGMT rs10764881 carrier status could predict aGvHD occurrence in pediatric patients undergoing allo-HSCT.Transplantation and immunomodulatio

Functional Complexity of the Axonal Growth Cone: A Proteomic Analysis

The growth cone, the tip of the emerging neurite, plays a crucial role in establishing the wiring of the developing nervous system. We performed an extensive proteomic analysis of axonal growth cones isolated from the brains of fetal Sprague-Dawley rats. Approximately 2000 proteins were identified at ≥99% confidence level. Using informatics, including functional annotation cluster and KEGG pathway analysis, we found great diversity of proteins involved in axonal pathfinding, cytoskeletal remodeling, vesicular traffic and carbohydrate metabolism, as expected. We also found a large and complex array of proteins involved in translation, protein folding, posttranslational processing, and proteasome/ubiquitination-dependent degradation. Immunofluorescence studies performed on hippocampal neurons in culture confirmed the presence in the axonal growth cone of proteins representative of these processes. These analyses also provide evidence for rough endoplasmic reticulum and reveal a reticular structure equipped with Golgi-like functions in the axonal growth cone. Furthermore, Western blot revealed the growth cone enrichment, relative to fetal brain homogenate, of some of the proteins involved in protein synthesis, folding and catabolism. Our study provides a resource for further research and amplifies the relatively recently developed concept that the axonal growth cone is equipped with proteins capable of performing a highly diverse range of functions