Happiness, housework and gender inequality in Europe

Although the last few decades have seen a progressive increase of gender equality in almost all dimensions of society, roles concerning childcare and domestic work remain highly gender-specific. Gender division of labour within the family varies considerably within and across countries. Gender systems are likely to have an important impact on individuals' well-being. Improved gender equality has enhanced the general well-being of women, although its extent may depend on the context in which women live and operate. This work considers the effect of the unequal division of labour within the household, between women and their partners, on women's own subjective assessment of happiness. We conducted the analysis using the European Social Survey data. We included 26 European countries and explored, exploiting a multi-level model to investigate the determinants of, women's differing levels of happiness across countries. In particular, we examined the extent to which gender equality at the country level can explain variation in happiness at the individual level. © The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

Controversy over the pharmacological treatments of storage symptoms in spinal cord injury patients: a literature overview

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Microfluidic system for a label-free, real-time functional assessment of thrombotic risk

High incidence of thrombotic diseases worldwide, together with the variability of patients’ response to antiplatelet drugs, makes the management of antithrombotic regimes of paramount importance. Platelet function testing is the most promising tool in addressing this clinical need. Here we present the first prototype of a microfluidic system for rapid, label-free, real-time functional assessment of the thrombotic risk of patients undergoing antiplatelet treatment. Our platform allows to monitor pressure drop variations on a collagen-coated microchannel under a range of blood flow conditions, and to relate these measurements to thrombus formation and ultimately to platelet functionality. The preliminary testing campaign presented in this work demonstrated the feasibility of our approach and allowed us to determine the most suitable working range of the current system

Risk of cytomegalovirus reactivation in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases undergoing biologic treatment: a real matter?

The use of biological agents has grown exponentially in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID), often achieving a good control of disease progression and improving patients' quality of life. However, their use resulted in an increased risk of adverse events, including reactivation of chronic/latent infectious diseases. As for the risk of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation, very few data are available. We reviewed the literature reporting cases of CMV infection in IMID patients during biological therapy. Although the risk of CMV reactivation cannot be excluded, we concluded that there is no evidence to warrant CMV screening before starting a biological agent

A longitudinal examination of structural environments within U.S. college and university leadership development programs

This study sought to examine the structural elements of leadership development programs (LDPs) within U.S. colleges and universities. Much research has been written describing individual student effects of LDPs, however there has been a dearth of literature related to institutional mission alignment, theories utilized, targeted populations, financial and human resources, assessment and evaluation, and institutionalization of such programs. Utilizing the 2009 and 2015 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership – Institutional Survey (MSL-IS), a quantitative analysis of the above and other elements was conducted on the two time points. Results indicate that LDP institutionalization in 2015 had a positive significant relationship to an institution having a leadership center, programs primarily focused on leadership education, and programs incorporating mentoring relationships, and a negative significant relationship to programs primarily focused on individual skill building and development and level of LDP institutionalization in 2009. Leadership educators believe their LDPs to be more institutionalized in 2015 compared to 2009. In evaluating variables related to LDP institutional and programming changes from 2009 to 2015, the following conclusions were reached: (a) there was no difference in the number of institutions that incorporate student leadership development as an aspect of their institutional strategic plans; (b) more institutions have their primary co-curricular leadership program informed by a clear definition of leadership; (c) more LDPs are open to all students rather than to students with leadership roles or specific populations; (d) a higher number of LDPs are concentrating on leadership training and leadership development than leadership education and individual skill building; (e) LDPs are focusing on mentoring relationships, socio-cultural conversations, and community service “to an extent” or greater; (f) greater funding, but no additional staff, is being allocated to LDPs; and (g) LDPs are incorporating more sophisticated assessment techniques (such as pre-/post-tests and rubrics). Implications for theory include the creation of a definition of institutionalization for LDPs and consequences for practice include aligning LDPs with high-impact practices and other published research

Pulmonary tuberculosis followed by sarcoidosis in an HIV-infected patient: a case report and a simplified diagnostic flowchart for diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis

The diagnosis of sarcoidosis in a patient living with HIV infection is an uncommon event and a challenge for clinicians. Clinical manifestations are variable and fluctuating depending to adherence to ARV therapy and to the level of CD4 count. We analyze here one chronic case in which sarcoidosis appeared clinically two years after pulmonary tuberculosis. The course of the disease was influenced and prolonged by frequent interruptions of antiretroviral therapy. Moreover the diagnosis and the decision to treat have been delayed by the need of exclusion of other pathologies, principally tuberculosis reactivation/reinfection, other mycobacterial diseases, hematologic malignancies. We propose a simplified flowchart for diagnosis and follow up of sarcoidosis, which may also be applied to patients with HIV infection. Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) may be difficult in these patients, because the immunological paradox of sarcoidosis. For this reason, following exclusion of active tuberculosis, we advise to submit all sarcoidosis patients to IPT (isoniazid preventive therapy), when immunosuppressive therapy is started

Impairment of platelet function in both mild and severe COVID-19 patients

Abnormalities of platelet function were reported in patients with severe COVID-19 (severe-C), but few data are available in patients with mild COVID-19 (mild-C) and after COVID-19 recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate platelet parameters in mild-C patients (n = 51), with no evidence of pneumonia, and severe-C patients (n = 49), during the acute phase and after recovery, compared to 43 healthy controls. Both mild-C and severe-C patients displayed increased circulating activated platelets, low d-granule content (ADP, serotonin), impaired platelet activation by collagen (light transmission aggregometry) and impaired platelet thrombus formation on collagen-coated surfaces under controlled flow conditions (300/s shear rate). The observed abnormalities were more marked in severe-C patients than in mild-C patients. Overall, 61% (30/49) of mild-C and 73% (33/45) of severe-C patients displayed at least one abnormal platelet parameter. In a subgroup of just 13 patients who showed no persisting signs/symptoms of COVID-19 and were re-evaluated at least 1 month after recovery, 11 of the 13 subjects exhibited normalization of platelet parameters. In conclusion, mild abnormalities of platelet parameters were present not only in severe-C but also, albeit to a lesser extent, in mild-C patients during the acute phase of COVID-19 and normalized in most tested patients after clinical recovery

Childbearing intentions in a low fertility context: the case of Romania

This paper applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to find out the predictors of fertility intentions in Romania, a low-fertility country. We analyse how attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control relate to the intention to have a child among childless individuals and one-child parents. Principal axis factor analysis confirms which items proposed by the Generation and Gender Survey (GGS 2005) act as valid and reliable measures of the suggested theoretical socio-psychological factors. Four parity-specific logistic regression models are applied to evaluate the relationship between the socio-psychological factors and childbearing intentions. Social pressure emerges as the most important aspect in fertility decision-making among childless individuals and one-child parents, and positive attitudes towards childbearing are a strong component in planning for a child. This paper also underlines the importance of the region-specific factors when studying childbearing intentions: planning for the second child significantly differs among the development regions, representing the cultural and socio-economic divisions of the Romanian territory