Systematic review of interventions for reducing stigma experienced by children with disabilities and their families in low- and middle-income countries: state of the evidence.

OBJECTIVES: To identify and assess the evidence for interventions to reduce stigma experienced by children with disabilities and their families in low- and middle-income settings. METHODS: Systematic review of seven databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, PsycINFO, Social Policy and Practice, CINAHL, IBSS) for studies of interventions that aimed to reduce stigma for children with disabilities published from January 2000 to April 2018. Data were extracted on study population, study design, intervention level(s) and target group, and type(s) of stigma addressed. A narrative approach was used to synthesise the results. RESULTS: Twenty studies were included. The majority (65%) of interventions targeted enacted stigma (negative attitudes) and the most common intervention approach was education/training (63%). Over half (54%) of interventions were delivered at the organisational/institutional level, and only four studies targeted more than one social level. The most common disability targeted was epilepsy (50%) followed by intellectual impairment (20%). The majority of studies (n = 18/20, 90%) found a reduction in a component of stigma; however, most (90%) studies had a high risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the lack of quality evidence on effective stigma-reduction strategies for children with disabilities. Validation and consistent use of contextually relevant scales to measure stigma may advance this field of research. Studies that involve people with disabilities in the design and implementation of these strategies are needed

Onset of Workplace Bullying and Risk of Weight Gain: A Multicohort Longitudinal Study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the onset of workplace bullying as a risk factor for BMI increase. METHODS: Repeated biennial survey data from three Nordic cohort studies were used, totaling 46,148 participants (67,337 participant observations) aged between 18 and 65 who did not have obesity and who were not bullied at the baseline. Multinomial logistic regression was applied for the analysis under the framework of generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Five percent reported onset of workplace bullying within 2 years from the baseline. In confounder-adjusted models, onset of workplace bullying was associated with a higher risk of weight gain of ≥ 1 BMI unit (odds ratio = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.01-1.19) and of ≥ 2.5 BMI units (odds ratio = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.06-1.45). A dose-response pattern was observed, and those exposed to workplace bullying more frequently showed a higher risk (Ptrend  = 0.04). The association was robust to adjustments, restrictions, stratifications, and use of relative/absolute scales for BMI change. CONCLUSIONS: Participants with exposure to the onset of workplace bullying were more likely to gain weight, a possible pathway linking workplace bullying to increased long-term risk of type 2 diabetes

Long working hours and risk of 50 health conditions and mortality outcomes: a multicohort study in four European countries

Background: Studies on the association between long working hours and health have captured only a narrow range of outcomes (mainly cardiometabolic diseases and depression) and no outcome-wide studies on this topic are available. To achieve wider scope of potential harm, we examined long working hours as a risk factor for a wide range of disease and mortality endpoints. / Methods: The data of this multicohort study were from two population cohorts from Finland (primary analysis, n=59 599) and nine cohorts (replication analysis, n=44 262) from Sweden, Denmark, and the UK, all part of the Individual-participant Meta-analysis in Working Populations (IPD-Work) consortium. Baseline-assessed long working hours (≥55 hours per week) were compared to standard working hours (35-40 h). Outcome measures with follow-up until age 65 years were 46 diseases that required hospital treatment or continuous pharmacotherapy, all-cause, and three cause-specific mortality endpoints, ascertained via linkage to national health and mortality registers. / Findings: 2747 (4·6%) participants in the primary cohorts and 3027 (6·8%) in the replication cohorts worked long hours. After adjustment for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, working long hours was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 1·68; 95% confidence interval 1·08-2·61 in primary analysis and 1·52; 0·90-2·58 in replication analysis), infections (1·37; 1·13-1·67 and 1·45; 1·13-1·87), diabetes (1·18; 1·01-1·38 and 1·41; 0·98-2·02), injuries (1·22; 1·00-1·50 and 1·18; 0·98-1·18) and musculoskeletal disorders (1·15; 1·06-1·26 and 1·13; 1·00-1·27). Working long hours was not associated with all-cause mortality. / Interpretation: Follow-up of 50 health outcomes in four European countries suggests that working long hours is associated with an elevated risk of early cardiovascular death and hospital-treated infections before age 65. Associations, albeit weak, were also observed with diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. In these data working long hours was not related to elevated overall mortality. Funding: NordForsk, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute on Aging, the Wellcome Trust, Academy of Finland, and Finnish Work Environment Fund

Staying Cool Across the First Year of Middle School

As students transition into middle school they must successfully negotiate a new, larger peer context to attain or maintain high social standing. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which the maintenance, attainment, and loss of a cool status over the course of the sixth grade is associated with student and classroom levels of physical, verbal, and relational aggression. To address this goal, we studied a sample of 1985 (55% girls) ethnically diverse adolescents from 99 sixth grade classrooms in the United States. Attaining a cool status at any point across the school year was associated with stronger aggressive reputations. Additionally, classroom norms for aggressive behavior moderated the association between changes in aggression over the school year and the stability of coolness such that students who maintained their coolness across the school year showed greater increases in their verbally aggressive reputations from fall to spring when they were in classrooms with higher levels of aggression. The findings illustrate the importance of fitting in with social norms for maintaining a high social status among a new set of peers in middle school

Nogo-B is associated with cytoskeletal structures in human monocyte-derived macrophages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The reticulon Nogo-B participates in cellular and immunological processes in murine macrophages. Since leukocytes are an essential part of the immune system in health and disease, we decided to investigate the expression of Nogo-A, Nogo-B and Nogo-C in different human immune cell subpopulations. Furthermore, we analyzed the localization of Nogo-B in human monocyte-derived macrophages by indirect immunofluorescence stainings to gain further insight into its possible function.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We describe an association of Nogo-B with cytoskeletal structures and the base of filopodia, but not with focal or podosomal adhesion sites of monocyte-derived macrophages. Nogo-B positive structures are partially co-localized with RhoA staining and Rac1 positive membrane ruffles. Furthermore, Nogo-B is associated with the tubulin network, but not accumulated in the Golgi region. Although Nogo-B is present in the endoplasmic reticulum, it can also be translocated to large cell protrusions or the trailing end of migratory cells, where it is homogenously distributed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Two different Nogo-B staining patterns can be distinguished in macrophages: firstly we observed ER-independent Nogo-B localization in cell protrusions and at the trailing end of migrating cells. Secondly, the localization of Nogo-B in actin/RhoA/Rac1 positive regions supports an influence on cytoskeletal organization. To our knowledge this is the first report on Nogo-B expression at the base of filopodia, thus providing further insight into the distribution of this protein.</p

Comprehensive analysis of the ATM, CHEK2 and ERBB2 genes in relation to breast tumour characteristics and survival: a population-based case-control and follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) genes and amplification of the v-erb-b2 avian erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog 2 (ERBB2) gene have been suggested to have an important role in breast cancer aetiology. However, whether common variation in these genes has a role in the development of breast cancer or breast cancer survival in humans is still not clear. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive haplotype analysis of the ATM, CHEK2 and ERBB2 genes in a Swedish population-based study, which included 1,579 breast cancer cases and 1,516 controls. We followed the cases for 8.5 years, on average, and retrieved information on the date and cause of death during that period from the nationwide Swedish causes of death registry. We selected seven haplotype-tagging SNPs (tagSNPs) in the ATM gene, six tagSNPs in the CHEK2 gene and seven tagSNPs in the ERBB2 gene that predicted both haplotypic and single locus variations in the respective genes with R(2 )values ≥ 0.8. These tagSNPs were genotyped in the complete set of cases and controls. We computed expected haplotype dosages of the tagSNP haplotypes and included the dosages as explanatory variables in Cox proportional hazards or logistic regression models. RESULTS: We found no association between any genetic variation in the ATM, CHEK2 or ERBB2 genes and breast cancer survival or the risk of developing tumours with certain characteristics. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that common variants in the ATM, CHEK2 or ERBB2 genes are not involved in modifying breast cancer survival or the risk of tumour-characteristic-defined breast cancer

Circadian-Related Sleep Disorders and Sleep Medication Use in the New Zealand Blind Population: An Observational Prevalence Survey

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of self-reported circadian-related sleep disorders, sleep medication and melatonin use in the New Zealand blind population. DESIGN: A telephone survey incorporating 62 questions on sleep habits and medication together with validated questionnaires on sleep quality, chronotype and seasonality. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS WERE GROUPED INTO: (i) 157 with reduced conscious perception of light (RLP); (ii) 156 visually impaired with no reduction in light perception (LP) matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status, and (iii) 156 matched fully-sighted controls (FS). SLEEP HABITS AND DISTURBANCES: The incidence of sleep disorders, daytime somnolence, insomnia and sleep timing problems was significantly higher in RLP and LP compared to the FS controls (p<0.001). The RLP group had the highest incidence (55%) of sleep timing problems, and 26% showed drifting sleep patterns (vs. 4% FS). Odds ratios for unconventional sleep timing were 2.41 (RLP) and 1.63 (LP) compared to FS controls. For drifting sleep patterns, they were 7.3 (RLP) and 6.0 (LP). MEDICATION USE: Zopiclone was the most frequently prescribed sleep medication. Melatonin was used by only 4% in the RLP group and 2% in the LP group. CONCLUSIONS: Extrapolations from the current study suggest that 3,000 blind and visually impaired New Zealanders may suffer from circadian-related sleep problems, and that of these, fewer than 15% have been prescribed melatonin. This may represent a therapeutic gap in the treatment of circadian-related sleep disorders in New Zealand, findings that may generalize to other countries

The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.This paper draws on existing work in the discipline of human geography and cognate fields in order to develop the concept of the ‘geo-constitution’. This concept aims to: (1) highlight the importance of intersections between geography and political institutions in the constitution of government; (2) consider the path-dependent development of political institutions and their impact on statecraft and citizenship; (3) explore the implications of this for political reform. The paper provides an overview of current thinking in political geography and applies the concept of the geo-constitution to the example of devolution and localism in the United Kingdom