Is gender inequity a risk factor for men reporting poorer self-rated health in the United States?

Theoretical approaches suggest that gender inequity increases men\u27s health risks. Previous findings from the United States support this contention, however only a small number of health outcomes have been explored. This study extends the range of health outcomes examined by using a cross-sectional, multilevel analysis to investigate whether measures of state-level gender inequity are predictors of men\u27s self-rated health. Data were derived primarily from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the full-case data set included 116,594 individuals nested within 50 states. Gender inequity was measured with nine variables: higher education, women\u27s reproductive rights, abortion provider access, elected office, management, business ownership, labour force participation, earnings and relative poverty. Covariates at the individual level were age, income, education, race/ethnicity, marital status and employment status. Covariates at the state level were income inequality and gross domestic product per capita. In fully adjusted models for all-age men the reproductive rights (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.01-1.11), abortion provider access (OR 1.11 95% CI 1.05-1.16) and earnings (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.02-1.12) measures all predicted an increased risk of men reporting poorer self-rated health for each 1 standard deviation increase in the gender inequity z-score. The most consistent effect was seen for the 65+ age group where the reproductive rights (OR 1.09 95% CI 1.03-1.16), abortion provider access (OR 1.15 95% CI 1.09-1.21), elected office (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.01-1.11) and earnings (OR 1.10 95% CI 1.04-1.16) measures all showed a significant effect. These findings provide evidence that some aspects of gender inequity increase the risk of poorer self-rated health in men. The study contributes to a growing body of literature implicating gender inequity in men\u27s health patterns

Thermal evolution of the crystal structure of the orthorhombic perovskite LaFeO3

CALD and CMK were supported by EPSRC DTA studentships (EP/L505079/1).The thermal evolution of the crystal structure of the prototypical orthorhombic perovskite LaFeO3 has been studied in detail by powder neutron diffraction in the temperature range 25<T<1285 K. A conventional bond length/bond angle analysis, combined with an analysis in terms of symmetry-adapted modes, allows key aspects of the thermal behavior to be understood. In particular, the largest-amplitude symmetry modes (viz. in-phase and out-of-phase octahedral tilts, and A-site cation displacements) are shown to display relatively ‘normal’ behavior, increasing with decreasing temperature, which contrasts with the anomalous behavior previously shown by the derivative Bi0.5La0.5FeO3. However, an unexpected behavior is seen in the nature of the intra-octahedral distortion, which is used to rationalize the unique occurrence of a temperature dependent crossover of the a and c unit cell metrics in this compound.PostprintPeer reviewe

Envisioning carbon-smart and just urban green infrastructure

To address the inter-connected climate and biodiversity crises, it is crucial to understand how multifunctional urban green infrastructure (UGI) is perceived to contribute to carbon neutrality, biodiversity, human well-being, and justice outcomes in cities. We explore how urban residents, including youth, associate carbon-related meanings with multifunctional UGI and how these meanings relate to co-benefits to biodiversity, well-being, and broader sustainability outcomes. Our findings are based on a survey distributed among urban residents of Helsinki, Finland (n = 487) and reveal how carbon-related meanings of UGI manifest at different levels of abstraction, agency, and scale, and incorporate community values and concerns attributed to the planning, features, functions, and transformational dimensions of UGI. Core carbon-related meanings of UGI emphasize either actions towards sustainability, carbon neutrality, biodiversity, or unfamiliarity towards such meanings. Perceived justice concerns and the socio-demographic contexts of the respondents covaried with carbon-related meanings associated with UGI. The results illustrate community perceptions of how it is not only possible, but rather expected, that multifunctional UGI is harnessed to tackle climate change, human well-being, and biodiversity loss in cities. Challenges for implementing the carbon-related benefits of UGI include navigating the different expectations placed on UGI and including residents with diverse socio-economic backgrounds during the process. Our findings contribute to a holistic understanding of how multifunctional UGI can help bridge policy agendas related to carbon neutrality, biodiversity protection, and human well-being that cities can implement when aiming for sustainable, just, and socially acceptable transitions towards a good Anthropocene.Peer reviewe

Does gender inequity increase men\u27s mortality risk in the United States? A multilevel analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study

A number of theoretical approaches suggest that gender inequity may give rise to health risks for men. This study undertook a multilevel analysis to ascertain if state-level measures of gender inequity are predictors of men\u27s mortality in the United States. Data for the analysis were taken primarily from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, which is based on a random sample of the non-institutionalised population. The full data set included 174,703 individuals nested within 50 states and had a six-year follow-up for mortality. Gender inequity was measured by nine variables: higher education, reproductive rights, abortion provider access, elected office, management, business ownership, labour force participation, earnings and relative poverty. Covariates at the individual level were age, income, education, race/ethnicity, marital status and employment status. Covariates at the state level were income inequality and per capita gross domestic product. The results of logistic multilevel modelling showed a number of measures of state-level gender inequity were significantly associated with men\u27s mortality. In all of these cases greater gender inequity was associated with an increased mortality risk. In fully adjusted models for all-age adult men the elected office (OR 1.05 95% CI 1.01&ndash;1.09), business ownership (OR 1.04 95% CI 1.01&ndash;1.08), earnings (OR 1.04 95% CI 1.01&ndash;1.08) and relative poverty (OR 1.07 95% CI 1.03&ndash;1.10) measures all showed statistically significant effects for each 1 standard deviation increase in the gender inequity z-score. Similar effects were seen for working-age men. In older men (65+ years) only the earnings and relative poverty measures were statistically significant. This study provides evidence that gender inequity may increase men\u27s health risks. The effect sizes while small are large enough across the range of gender inequity identified to have important population health implications

Frenkel Excitons in Vacancy-Ordered Titanium Halide Perovskites (Cs₂TiX₆)

Low-cost, nontoxic, and earth-abundant photovoltaic materials are long-sought targets in the solar cell research community. Perovskite-inspired materials have emerged as promising candidates for this goal, with researchers employing materials design strategies including structural, dimensional, and compositional transformations to avoid the use of rare and toxic elemental constituents, while attempting to maintain high optoelectronic performance. These strategies have recently been invoked to propose Ti-based vacancy-ordered halide perovskites (A2TiX6; A = CH3NH3, Cs, Rb, or K; X = I, Br, or Cl) for photovoltaic operation, following the initial promise of Cs2SnX6 compounds. Theoretical investigations of these materials, however, consistently overestimate their band gaps, a fundamental property for photovoltaic applications. Here, we reveal strong excitonic effects as the origin of this discrepancy between theory and experiment, a consequence of both low structural dimensionality and band localization. These findings have vital implications for the optoelectronic application of these compounds while also highlighting the importance of frontier-orbital character for chemical substitution in materials design strategies

Frenkel Excitons in Vacancy-Ordered Titanium Halide Perovskites (Cs₂TiX₆)

[Image: see text] Low-cost, nontoxic, and earth-abundant photovoltaic materials are long-sought targets in the solar cell research community. Perovskite-inspired materials have emerged as promising candidates for this goal, with researchers employing materials design strategies including structural, dimensional, and compositional transformations to avoid the use of rare and toxic elemental constituents, while attempting to maintain high optoelectronic performance. These strategies have recently been invoked to propose Ti-based vacancy-ordered halide perovskites (A(2)TiX(6); A = CH(3)NH(3), Cs, Rb, or K; X = I, Br, or Cl) for photovoltaic operation, following the initial promise of Cs(2)SnX(6) compounds. Theoretical investigations of these materials, however, consistently overestimate their band gaps, a fundamental property for photovoltaic applications. Here, we reveal strong excitonic effects as the origin of this discrepancy between theory and experiment, a consequence of both low structural dimensionality and band localization. These findings have vital implications for the optoelectronic application of these compounds while also highlighting the importance of frontier-orbital character for chemical substitution in materials design strategies

Envisioning carbon-smart and just urban green infrastructure

To address the inter-connected climate and biodiversity crises, it is crucial to understand how multifunctional urban green infrastructure (UGI) is perceived to contribute to carbon neutrality, biodiversity, human well-being, and justice outcomes in cities. We explore how urban residents, including youth, associate carbon-related meanings with multifunctional UGI and how these meanings relate to co-benefits to biodiversity, well-being, and broader sustainability outcomes. Our findings are based on a survey distributed among urban residents of Helsinki, Finland (n = 487) and reveal how carbon-related meanings of UGI manifest at different levels of abstraction, agency, and scale, and incorporate community values and concerns attributed to the planning, features, functions, and transformational dimensions of UGI. Core carbon-related meanings of UGI emphasize either actions towards sustainability, carbon neutrality, biodiversity, or unfamiliarity towards such meanings. Perceived justice concerns and the socio-demographic contexts of the respondents covaried with carbon-related meanings associated with UGI. The results illustrate community perceptions of how it is not only possible, but rather expected, that multifunctional UGI is harnessed to tackle climate change, human well-being, and biodiversity loss in cities. Challenges for implementing the carbon-related benefits of UGI include navigating the different expectations placed on UGI and including residents with diverse socio-economic backgrounds during the process. Our findings contribute to a holistic understanding of how multifunctional UGI can help bridge policy agendas related to carbon neutrality, biodiversity protection, and human well-being that cities can implement when aiming for sustainable, just, and socially acceptable transitions towards a good Anthropocene

Structural, magnetic, and electrical properties of Bi1-xLaxMnO3 (x=0.0, 0.1, and 0.2) solid solutions

Possible ferromagnetic and ferroelectric orders in ceramic Bi1–xLaxMnO3 (x = 0.0, 0.1, and 0.2) samples prepared under 3–6 GPa pressure have been investigated. Rietveld fits to powder neutron diffraction data show that BiMnO3 and Bi0.9La0.1MnO3 adopt a monoclinic C2/c perovskite superstructure whereas Bi0.8La0.2MnO3 has orthorhombic Pnma symmetry. Both structural analysis and Curie–Weiss fits to magnetic susceptibility data show that high spin d4 Mn3+ is present with no significant Bi deficiency or Mn4+ content apparent. La substitution suppresses the magnetic Curie temperature of the monoclinic phase from 105 K for x = 0 to 94 K at x = 0.1, but the x = 0.2 material shows antiferromagnetic order similar to that of LaMnO3. Impedance spectroscopy and dielectric measurements on the x = 0.1 and 0.2 materials show modest bulk permittivity values (45–80) down to 50 K, and there is no strong evidence for ferroelectric behavior. The two samples have thermally activated conductivities with activation energies of 0.21–0.24 eV.PostprintPeer reviewe

Type-2-diabetes alters CSF but not plasma metabolomic and AD risk profiles in vervet monkeys

Epidemiological studies suggest that individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have a twofold to fourfold increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), however, the exact mechanisms linking the two diseases are unknown. In both conditions, the majority of pathophysiological changes, including glucose and insulin dysregulation, insulin resistance, and AD-related changes in Aβ and tau, occur decades before the onset of clinical symptoms and diagnosis. In this study, we investigated the relationship between metabolic biomarkers associated with T2D and amyloid pathology including Aβ levels, from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and fasting plasma of healthy, pre-diabetic (PreD), and T2D vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Consistent with the human disease, T2D monkeys have increased plasma and CSF glucose levels as they transition from normoglycemia to PreD and diabetic states. Although plasma levels of acylcarnitines and amino acids remained largely unchanged, peripheral hyperglycemia correlated with decreased CSF acylcarnitines and CSF amino acids, including branched chain amino acid (BCAA) concentrations, suggesting profound changes in cerebral metabolism coincident with systemic glucose dysregulation. Moreover, CSF Aβ 40 and CSF Aβ 42 levels decreased in T2D monkeys, a phenomenon observed in the human course of AD which coincides with increased amyloid deposition within the brain. In agreement with previous studies in mice, CSF Aβ 40 and CSF Aβ 42 were highly correlated with CSF glucose levels, suggesting that glucose levels in the brain are associated with changes in Aβ metabolism. Interestingly, CSF Aβ 40 and CSF Aβ 42 levels were also highly correlated with plasma but not CSF lactate levels, suggesting that plasma lactate might serve as a potential biomarker of disease progression in AD. Moreover, CSF glucose and plasma lactate levels were correlated with CSF amino acid and acylcarnitine levels, demonstrating alterations in cerebral metabolism occurring with the onset of T2D. Together, these data suggest that peripheral metabolic changes associated with the development of T2D produce alterations in brain metabolism that lead to early changes in the amyloid cascade, similar to those observed in pre-symptomatic AD

Population-level effects of human papillomavirus vaccination programs on infections with nonvaccine genotypes

We analyzed human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalences during prevaccination and postvaccination periods to consider possible changes in nonvaccine HPV genotypes after introduction of vaccines that confer protection against 2 high-risk types, HPV16 and HPV18. Our meta-analysis included 9 studies with data for 13,886 girls and women ≤19 years of age and 23,340 women 20–24 years of age. We found evidence of cross-protection for HPV31 among the younger age group after vaccine introduction but little evidence for reductions of HPV33 and HPV45. For the group this same age group, we also found slight increases in 2 nonvaccine high-risk HPV types (HPV39 and HPV52) and in 2 possible high-risk types (HPV53 and HPV73). However, results between age groups and vaccines used were inconsistent, and the increases had possible alternative explanations; consequently, these data provided no clear evidence for type replacement. Continued monitoring of these HPV genotypes is important