Marital Satisfaction, Perceived Organizational Support and Job Involvement Among Employed Women in South-West Nigeria

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify if there were relative and combined influence of marital satisfaction, perceived organizational support on job involvement of employed women.   Theoretical framework: Despite their demanding roles at home, employed women are expected to be at their best in the work-front.  The study investigated the influence of marital satisfaction and perceived organizational support on job involvement among employed women.   Design/Methodology/Approach: Two hundred employed women from South-West Nigeria chosen through proportional stratified random sampling technique served as participants. The 5-item Job Involvement Questionnaire (JIQ), a 20-item Perceived Organizational Support Questionnaire (POSQ), and Enrich Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMSS) of 16 items were the instruments used. Three hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance with multiple regression analysis and correlation matrices.   Findings: Results showed that marital satisfaction and organizational support combined to influence job involvement (F(2, 197) = 40.942, p < .05), organizational support (β = .202; t = 14.613; p < .05) and marital satisfaction (β = .134; t = 10.402; p < .05) had significant relative influence on job involvement, and there were significant positive bivariate relationships among the variables of the study.   Research, Practical & Social implications: It was concluded that marital satisfaction is an important area of life for employed women and along with organizational support, could significantly impact job involvement.   Originality/Value: Results revealed that relationships among marital satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and job involvement exist hence employees do have perceptions of organizations that may affect their attitudes, behaviours and performance

Letting the gene out of the bottle: the population genetics of genetically modified crops

Genetically modified (GM) plants are rapidly becoming a common feature of modern agriculture. This transition to engineered crops has been driven by a variety of potential benefits, both economic and ecological. The increase in the use of GM crops has, however, been accompanied by growing concerns regarding their potential impact on the environment. Here, we focus on the escape of transgenes from cultivation via crop × wild hybridization. We begin by reviewing the literature on natural hybridization, with particular reference to gene flow between crop plants and their wild relatives. We further show that natural selection, and not the overall rate of gene flow, is the most important factor governing the spread of favorable alleles. Hence, much of this review focuses on the likely effects of transgenes once they escape. Finally, we consider strategies for transgene containment

Italian cohort of patients affected by inflammatory bowel disease is characterised by variation in glycerophospholipid, free fatty acids and amino acid levels.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease is a group of pathologies characterised by chronic inflammation of the intestine and an unclear aetiology. Its main manifestations are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Currently, biopsies are the most used diagnostic tests for these diseases and metabolomics could represent a less invasive approach to identify biomarkers of disease presence and progression. OBJECTIVES: The lipid and the polar metabolite profile of plasma samples of patients affected by inflammatory bowel disease have been compared with healthy individuals with the aim to find their metabolomic differences. Also, a selected sub-set of samples was analysed following solid phase extraction to further characterise differences between pathological samples. METHODS: A total of 200 plasma samples were analysed using drift tube ion mobility coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography for the lipid metabolite profile analysis, while liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was used for the polar metabolite profile analysis. RESULTS: Variations in the lipid profile between inflammatory bowel disease and healthy individuals were highlighted. Phosphatidylcholines, lyso-phosphatidylcholines and fatty acids were significantly changed among pathological samples suggesting changes in phospholipase A2 and arachidonic acid metabolic pathways. Variations in the levels of cholesteryl esters and glycerophospholipids were also found. Furthermore, a decrease in amino acids levels suggests mucosal damage in inflammatory bowel disease. CONCLUSIONS: Given good statistical results and predictive power of the model produced in our study, metabolomics can be considered as a valid tool to investigate inflammatory bowel disease.This study was funded by Agilent Technologies, Regione Autonoma della Sardegna (L.R.7/2007, Grant Number F71J12001180002), and the Medical Research Council UK (Grant Number MR/P011705/1)