Are Social Welfare Policies ‘Pro-Life’? An Individual-Level Analysis of Low-Income Women

This paper tests the hypothesis that low-income women’s likelihood of choosing abortion will decrease as their access to and participation in social welfare programs increases. Though an affirmative finding could challenge the coherence of a morally and fiscally conservative Republican coalition and thus improve prospects for the safety net’s political future, findings from a sample of low-SES, urban mothers do not support this hypothesis. Welfare program participation and state welfare generosity are positively associated with the likelihood of choosing abortion. The existence and magnitude of this relationship, however, is mediated by the rules of state welfare bureaucracies and also varies by women’s race and marital status. Limitations on abortion access appear to reduce abortions, while the nongovernmental safety net does not affect abortion decisions.

Antipathy toward undocumented immigrants risks fracturing support for social welfare among democrats

One of the few social issues where agreement crosses party lines is the unpopularity of undocumented immigrants. Laura S. Hussey and Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz argue that while Republicans tend to be against social welfare programs regardless of the recipients, Democrats’ support for such programs depends on their feelings about the groups that will benefit. They find that Democrats with the most unfavorable feelings toward undocumented immigrants are 20 percent more likely to oppose implementing welfare policies such as a national health insurance program, than are pro-immigrant Democrats

Referral of patients to plastic surgeons following self-harm: Opportunities for suicide prevention

Self-harm is a common source of referral to plastic and hand surgery services. Appropriate management of these patients is complex and includes the need for close liaison with mental health services. Self-harm is the single biggest risk factor for completed suicide, thereby increasing the risk by a factor of 66. (1) This study aimed to analyse the clinical pathway and demographics of patients referred to plastic surgeons following self-harm.This 6-year retrospective series included patients referred to plastic surgeons following self-harm within the Galway University Hospital group. Patients were identified through the Hospital inpatient enquiry system, cross-referenced with data from the National Suicide Research Foundation. Data collected included demographics, psychiatric history, details of self-harm injury, admission pathway and operative intervention.Forty-nine patients were referred to plastic surgery services during the study period, accounting for 61 individual presentations. The male-to-female ratio was 26 (53%) to 23 (47%). Mean age was 40 years (range 21-95 years). Alcohol or illicit substance use was recorded in 17 of 61 (28%) presentations. Mortality from suicide occurred in 4 patients (8%). Mental health assessment was not carried out in 9 presentations (15%). Documentation of need for close or one-to-one observation was made in 11 cases (20%) and was not referred to in 43 cases (83%) following mental health assessment.This study demonstrates significant diversity in the management of this vulnerable patient group and may inform development of referral pathways to improve the safety of transfer, surgical admission and discharge of patients following self-harm, in consultation with mental health services. (C) 2018 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.peer-reviewed2019-11-1

Establishment of a TGFβ-Induced Post-Transcriptional EMT Gene Signature

<div><p>A major challenge in the clinical management of human cancers is to accurately stratify patients according to risk and likelihood of a favorable response. Stratification is confounded by significant phenotypic heterogeneity in some tumor types, often without obvious criteria for subdivision. Despite intensive transcriptional array analyses, the identity and validation of cancer specific ‘signature genes’ remains elusive, partially because the transcriptome does not mirror the proteome. The simplification associated with transcriptomic profiling does not take into consideration changes in the relative expression among transcripts that arise due to post-transcriptional regulatory events. We have previously shown that TGFβ post-transcriptionally regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by causing increased expression of two transcripts, <em>Dab2</em> and <em>ILEI</em>, by modulating hnRNP E1 phosphorylation. Using a genome-wide combinatorial approach involving expression profiling and RIP-Chip analysis, we have identified a cohort of translationally regulated mRNAs that are induced during TGFβ-mediated EMT. Coordinated translational regulation by hnRNP E1 constitutes a post-transcriptional regulon inhibiting the expression of related EMT-facilitating genes, thus enabling the cell to rapidly and coordinately regulate multiple EMT-facilitating genes.</p> </div

Quantitative data analysis demonstrates the translational status of the TGFβ-induced post-transcriptional EMT gene signature.

<p>(A) Schematic of polysome profile analysis. Monosomal fractions (M; 40S, 60S, and 80S fractions) and polysomal fractions (P) from NMuMG or E1KD cells treated ± TGFβ for 24 hr were isolated by sucrose gradient centrifugation and pooled. (B) Heatmap of the raw signal intensity values of the differential gene expression profile for the EMT signature genes compared to total, unfractionated mRNA. (C) RT-PCR analysis of microarray RNA samples was used to demonstrate the differential gene expression profile of ILEI.</p

Number of genes from dataset assigned to a given biological process or pathway is compared to the number of genes expected by chance to map to the term.

<p>P-value adjusted for multiple testing using the Bonferroni method.</p

List of 36 potential BAT genes identified by the combinatorial approach.

<p>Despite minor changes in total RNA levels, the target mRNAs display a >5 fold increase in polyribosome association in NMuMG cells post TGFβ treatment compared to E1KD cells where the target mRNAs display constitutive translational activation. Target mRNAs display a decrease in temporal association with hnRNP E1 following TGFβ stimulation for 24 hr.</p