Explaining the Associations of Education and Occupation with Childlessness:The Role of Desires and Expectations to Remain Childless

Although there are well-established relationships between women's higher education, labour force participation (LFP), and occupation on the one hand and childlessness on the other hand in the US, the underlying reasons and the role that childlessness desires and expectations play remain unclear. We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in the United States (N=4,198 women) and apply both logistic regression models to examine the role of childlessness desires early in life, and multilevel models for repeated measures to examine the role of childlessness expectations throughout the life course. We find that higher educational attainment and LFP are positively associated with childlessness. We do not find, however, that higher educated and working women more often desire or expect to remain childless. In contrast, we find that among women who ultimately remain childless, those women who work fulltime and have higher status occupations have higher expectations to have children throughout their life course. These results suggest that education and occupation produce constraints, resulting in the postponement of childbearing which hinders women in realizing their desires and expectations. Since many working women remain childless despite the desire and expectation to become a mother, our findings stress the importance of work-life reconciliation. It furthermore highlights the importance of increasing public awareness regarding the decrease in fecundity with age

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies raised against recombinant human granzymes A and B and showing cross reactions with the natural proteins

The human serine proteases granzymes A and B are expressed in cytotoplasmic granules of activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Recombinant granzyme A and granzyme B proteins were produced in bacteria, purified and then used to raise specific mouse monoclonal antibodies. Seven monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were raised against granzyme A, which all recognized the same or overlapping epitopes. They reacted specifically in an immunoblot of interleukin-2 (IL-2) stimulated PBMNC with a disulfide-linked homodimer of 43 kDa consisting of 28 kDa subunits. Seven mAb against granzyme B were obtained, which could be divided into two groups, each recognizing a different epitope. On an immunoblot, all mAb reacted with a monomer of 33 kDa protein. By immunohistochemistry, these mAb could be used to detect granzymes A and B expression in activated CTL and NK cells. The availability of these mAb may facilitate studies on the role of human cytotoxic cells in various immune reactions and may contribute to a better understanding of the role of granzmes A and B in the cytotoxic response in vivo

Aluminum strand coating for increasing the interstrand contact resistance in Rutherford type superconducting cables

The interstrand contact resistance (Rc) in Rutherford type cables for fast cycling superconducting magnets must be sufficiently high in order to limit eddy current losses. The required value for Rc depends on the cable and magnet geometries and on the foreseen cycling rate, but is typically of the order of one mW. Such values can be reached with a dedicated strand coating or with a resistive internal cable barrier. As a possible candidate Al strand coatings have been tested. For a Rutherford type inner conductor cable of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) made of Al coated strands Rc values higher than 500 Omega are achieved. The native Al2O3 oxide layer formed at ambient temperature in air is sufficient to reach this high contact resistance. A 6 h-200 °C oxidation heat treatment in air with 100% relative humidity further increases Rc to values above 600 μOmega . Due to the high thermal and mechanical stability of Al2O3 only a relatively moderate Rc drop of about 40 % is obtained during a 190 °C heat treatment under 50 MPa pressure (the so-called curing cycle of the coil insulation) subsequent to the 6 h-200 °C oxidation heat treatment

Topoisomerase I inhibitors: the relevance of prolonged exposure for present clinical development.

Topoisomerase I inhibitors constitute a new class of anti-cancer agents. Recently, topotecan and irinotecan were registered for clinical use in ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer respectively. Cytotoxicity of topoisomerase I inhibitors is S-phase specific, and in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that, for efficacy, prolonged exposure might be more important than short-term exposure to high concentration. Clinical development of those topoisomerase I inhibitors that have reached this stage is also focused on schedules aiming to achieve prolonged exposure. In this review, we summarize all published preclinical studies on this topic for topoisomerase I inhibitors in clinical development, namely 20-S-camptothecin, 9-nitro-camptothecin, 9-amino-camptothecin, topotecan, irinotecan and GI147211. In addition, preliminary data on clinical studies concerning this topic are also reviewed. The data suggest that prolonged exposure may indeed be relevant for anti-tumour activity. However, the optimal schedule is yet to be determined. Finally, clinical data are yet too immature to draw definitive conclusions

Outcomes of First-Line Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Leiomyosarcoma of Uterine and Non-Uterine Origin

Although leiomyosarcomas (LMSs) form the largest subgroup of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs), the efficacy of chemotherapy in this group is largely unclear, partly because older studies are contaminated with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). In this retrospective study we investigated the outcome of first line chemotherapy in 65 patients with unresectable or metastatic LMS. The overall response rate (ORR) was 18%; and the median progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 3.8 and 9.7 months respectively. No statistically significant differences in outcomes for uterine and non-uterine LMS were found. In non-uterine LMS, however, the PFS and OS seemed to be longer for females than for males, potentially negatively affecting outcomes in this group. If our observations are confirmed in other series, they would suggest that studies performed in STS patients should not only stratify for histological subtype but also for uterine versus non-uterine LMS and for gender

Charge dependent azimuthal correlations in Pb--Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.76 TeV

Separation of charges along the extreme magnetic field created in non-central relativistic heavy--ion collisions is predicted to be a signature of local parity violation in strong interactions. We report on results for charge dependent two particle azimuthal correlations with respect to the reaction plane for Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.76$ TeV recorded in 2010 with ALICE at the LHC. The results are compared with measurements at RHIC energies and against currently available model predictions for LHC. Systematic studies of possible background effects including comparison with conventional (parity-even) correlations simulated with Monte Carlo event generators of heavy--ion collisions are also presented.Comment: Published in the proceedings of "Quark Matter 2011", Annecy-Franc

Acute Cardiac Failure due to Intra-Atrial Mass Caused by Zygomycetes in an Immunocompromised Paediatric Patient

Cardiac zygomycosis can be a critical condition with sudden onset of severe congestive heart failure followed by severe hemodynamic deterioration. We report a fatal course of disseminated fungal infection with a massive intra-atrial thrombosis caused by a zygomycete, in a five year old boy treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In addition, we discuss the literature concerning infections caused by zygomycetes involving the heart. Prognosis is poor. A high index of suspicion and an aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic approach with the prompt start of preemptive antifungal therapy are key factors to improve outcome

Peripheral neuropathy induced by combination chemotherapy of docetaxel and cisplatin.

Docetaxel, a new semisynthetic taxoid that has demonstrated promising activity as an antineoplastic agent, was administered in combination with cisplatin to 63 patients in a dose-escalating study. As both drugs were known to be potentially neurotoxic, peripheral neurotoxicity was prospectively assessed in detail. Neuropathy was evaluated by clinical sum-score for signs and symptoms and by measurement of the vibration perception threshold (VPT). The severity of neuropathy was graded according to the National Cancer Institute's 'Common Toxicity Criteria'. The docetaxel-cisplatin combination chemotherapy induced a predominantly sensory neuropathy in 29 (53%) out of 55 evaluable patients. At cumulative doses of both cisplatin and docetaxel above 200 mg m(-2), 26 (74%) out of 35 patients developed a neuropathy which was mild in 15, moderate in ten and severe in one patient. Significant correlations were present between both the cumulative dose of docetaxel and cisplatin and the post-treatment sum-score of neuropathy (P < 0.01) as well as the post-treatment VPT (P < 0.01). The neurotoxic effects of this combination were more severe than either cisplatin or docetaxel as single agent at similar doses

Analisa Pembayaran Pajak Dan Persepsi Penghasilan Menurut Wajib Pajak Orang Pribadi Yang Membayar Persepuluhan

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui persepsi penghasilan menurut Wajib Pajak Orang Pribadi yang membayar persepuluhan. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan melihat definisi penghasilan menurut Wajib Pajak melalui pembayaran persepuluhan yang dilakukannya, karena pembayaran persepuluhan didasari oleh pemikiran masing-masing individu terkait apa saja yang termasuk dalam penghasilan (self-defined income). Jumlah responden yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah 30 Wajib Pajak Orang Pribadi di Surabaya yang menganut agama Kristen. Teknik analisa yang digunakan adalah metode sequential explanatory design, yang diawali dengan analisa kuantitatif menggunakan Uji Beda Dua Kelompok dan kemudian dilanjutkan dengan analisa kualitatif.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Wajib Pajak cenderung memiliki persepsi bahwa yang termasuk dalam definisi penghasilan adalah penerimaan kas, yang diukur dengan jumlah total kas yang diterima dalam suatu periode tertentu. Kemudian juga ditemukan bahwa tidak terdapat perbedaan antara pembayaran persepuluhan yang dilakukan oleh Wajib Pajak dengan pembayaran Pajak Penghasilan, yang artinya bahwa perilaku pembayaran Pajak Penghasilan dilakukan sesuai dengan persepsi penghasilan menurut Wajib Pajak. Dari analisa kualitatif dalam penelitian ini, ditemukan bahwa persepsi Wajib Pajak terkait dengan praktek perpajakan di Indonesia juga berperan dalam pembayaran pajak yang dilakukan oleh Wajib Pajak

Effective cross-over to granisetron after failure to ondansetron, a randomized double blind study in patients failing ondansetron plus dexamethasone during the first 24 hours following highly emetogenic chemotherapy

In view of the similarity in chemical structure of the available 5HT3-receptor antagonists it is assumed, whilst these agents all act at the same receptor, that failure to one agent would predict subsequent failure to all 5HT3-receptor antagonists. We conducted a randomized double blind trial of granisetron 3 mg plus dexamethasone 10 mg versus continued treatment with ondansetron 8 mg plus dexamethasone 10 mg in patients with protection failure on ondansetron 8 mg plus dexamethasone 10 mg during the first 24 hours following highly emetogenic chemotherapy. Of 40 eligible patients, 21 received ondansetron + dexamethasone and 19 received granisetron + dexamethasone. We found a significant benefit from crossing-over to granisetron after failure on ondansetron. Of the 19 patients who crossed over to granisetron, 9 patients obtained complete protection, whereas this was observed in 1 of the 21 patients continuing ondansetron, P = 0.005. These results indicate that there is no complete cross-resistance between 5HT3-receptor antagonists, and that patients who have acute protection failure on one 5HT3-receptor antagonist should be offered cross-over to another 5HT3-receptor antagonist. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign  http://www.bjcancer.co