From Breadwinner to Breadmaker: The Experiences of Stay- at- Home Fathers in Ireland Today

The experience and views of men who have become stay-at-home fathers has been an area of research that has, only in recent decades, become popular to study. This study highlights that there is a dearth of literature from an Irish perspective and that little is known about the topic.Internationally, research has shown that there appears to be a strong link between masculine identity and the realm of paid employment. It also shows that fathers struggle in their attempts to balance being involved fathers while maintaining a foothold in paid employment.The literature highlights that stay-at-home fathers begin to break down traditional notions that the domestic sphere is solely the domain of women. Findings from semi-structured interviews are presented and discussed showing that the experiences of stay-at-home fathers have a dramatic impact on fathers’ emotions. It also highlighted that, although the fathers felt them being at home was extremely beneficial to the father/child relationship, they had a strong desire to return to paid employment. Stay-at-home fathers appear to struggle with arenegotiation of their role within their family with many having had little experience of ‘caring’ tasks prior to this time. Recommendations are presented in view of the current research and the findings of this study.The experience and views of men who have become stay-at-home fathers has been an area ofresearch that has, only in recent decades, become popular to study. This study highlights that there is a dearth of literature from an Irish perspective and that little is known about the topic.Internationally, research has shown that there appears to be a strong link between masculine identity and the realm of paid employment. It also shows that fathers struggle in their attempts to balance being involved fathers while maintaining a foothold in paid employment.The literature highlights that stay-at-home fathers begin to break down traditional notions that the domestic sphere is solely the domain of women. Findings from semi-structured interviews are presented and discussed showing that the experiences of stay-at-home fathers have a dramatic impact on fathers’ emotions. It also highlighted that, although the fathers felt them being at home was extremely beneficial to the father/child relationship, they had a strong desire to return to paid employment. Stay-at-home fathers appear to struggle with arenegotiation of their role within their family with many having had little experience of ‘caring’ tasks prior to this time. Recommendations are presented in view of the current research and the findings of this study

Polymorphisms of the Flavin containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3) gene do not predispose to essential hypertension in Caucasians.

BACKGROUND: The recessive disorder trimethylaminuria is caused by defects in the FMO3 gene, and may be associated with hypertension. We investigated whether common polymorphisms of the FMO3 gene confer an increased risk for elevated blood pressure and/or essential hypertension. METHODS: FMO3 genotypes (E158K, V257M, E308G) were determined in 387 healthy subjects with ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements, and in a cardiovascular disease population of 1649 individuals, 691(41.9%) of whom had a history of hypertension requiring drug treatment. Haplotypes were determined and their distribution noted. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant association found between any of the 4 common haplotypes and daytime systolic blood pressure in the healthy population (p = 0.65). Neither was a statistically significant association found between the 4 common haplotypes and hypertension status among the cardiovascular disease patients (p = 0.80). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the variants in the FMO3 gene do not predispose to essential hypertension in this population

Does Self-View Mode Generate Video Conferencing Fatigue? An Experiment using EEG Signals

The ability to see or hide one’s own image is a typical feature of video conferencing platforms. This study will conduct an EEG-based neurobiological experiment to determine if the self-view mode generates video conference fatigue and if this differs between males and females. 40 volunteers will participate in a simulated video conference meeting with the self-view mode on and off at different times. In addition, an EEG-based fatigue monitor will be proposed to demonstrate the level of human mental fatigue. The experimental insights will provide direct biological evidence of the impact of video conferencing features on the user experience and these will be of benefit to inform the design of web conferencing platforms and improve the user experience of video conferencing

NK cells in childhood obesity are activated, metabolically stressed, and functionally deficient

Childhood obesity is a major global concern, with over 50 million children now classified as obese. Obesity has been linked to the development of numerous chronic inflammatory diseases, including type 2 diabetes and multiple cancers. NK cells are a subset of innate effector cells, which play an important role in the regulation of adipose tissue and antitumor immunity. NK cells can spontaneously kill transformed cells and coordinate subsequent immune responses through their production of cytokines. We investigated the effect of obesity on NK cells in a cohort of obese children, compared to children with a healthy weight. We demonstrated a reduction in peripheral NK cell frequencies in childhood obesity and inverse correlations with body mass index and insulin resistance. Compared with NK cells from children with normal weight, we show increased NK cell activation and metabolism in obese children (PD-1, mTOR activation, ECAR, and mitochondrial ROS), along with a reduced capacity to respond to stimulus, ultimately leading to loss of function (proliferation and tumor lysis). Collectively we show that NK cells from obese children are activated, metabolically stressed, and losing the ability to perform their basic duties. Paired with the reduction in NK cell frequencies in childhood obesity, this suggests that the negative effect on antitumor immunity is present early in the life course of obesity and certainly many years before the development of overt malignancies