Care leavers in early adulthood: How do they fare in Britain, Finland and Germany?

In this paper we examine the longer term outcomes of young people who experienced out of home care (OHC) as children, in Britain, Germany and Finland, countries characterised by different welfare regimes. While there is some evidence on immediate transitions after leaving care (up to age 21), there is less evidence on experiences around age 30, a phase of early adulthood. Drawing on existing longitudinal data for general population samples we focus on outcomes related to education, employment, family, health and receipt of welfare benefits for those who were ever in care and those who were not. We find evidence for continuing disadvantage regarding education and employment for those who were in care as children, but also indications of subjective wellbeing and commitment to family life – possibly a reflection of “normality” and efforts to “fit in” as parents. Surprisingly, despite variations in welfare system and differences in the scope and quality of available data, trends were similar in each of the countries, suggesting that none provide adequately for the needs of care experienced young adults. The findings point towards the need for a revised conceptualisation of the notion of “independence” which has to take into account the manifold and changing relationships between individuals and the state. Instead of a “cliff edge” approach there should be support for a more gradual shift from “dependence” to “independence” enabling those with care experience to develop their full potential. In interpreting the findings, limitations of the available data have to be acknowledged, pointing to the need for generating harmonised and longitudinal data on vulnerable subpopulations to enable effective monitoring of needs and provision

Use of local and global maps of forest canopy height and aboveground biomass to enhance local estimates of biomass in miombo woodlands in Tanzania

Abstract Field surveys are often a primary source of aboveground biomass (AGB) data, but plot-based estimates of parameters related to AGB are often not sufficiently precise, particularly not in tropical countries. Remotely sensed data may complement field data and thus help to increase the precision of estimates and circumvent some of the problems with missing sample observations in inaccessible areas. Here, we report the results of a study conducted in a 15,867 km² area in the dry miombo woodlands of Tanzania, to quantify the contribution of existing canopy height and biomass maps to improving the precision of canopy height and AGB estimates locally. A local and a global height map and three global biomass maps, and a probability sample of 513 inventory plots were subject to analysis. Model-assisted sampling estimators were used to estimate mean height and AGB across the study area using the original maps and then with the maps calibrated with local inventory plots. Large systematic map errors – positive or negative – were found for all the maps, with systematic errors as great as 60–70 %. The maps contributed nothing or even negatively to the precision of mean height and mean AGB estimates. However, after being calibrated locally, the maps contributed substantially to increasing the precision of both mean height and mean AGB estimates, with relative efficiencies (variance of the field-based estimates relative to the variance of the map-assisted estimates) of 1.3–2.7 for the overall estimates. The study, although focused on a relatively small area of dry tropical forests, illustrates the potential strengths and weaknesses of existing global forest height and biomass maps based on remotely sensed data and universal prediction models. Our results suggest that the use of regional or local inventory data for calibration can substantially increase the precision of map-based estimates and their applications in assessing forest carbon stocks for emission reduction programs and policy and financial decisions

A comprehensive assessment of four whole blood stabilizers for flow-cytometric analysis of leukocyte populations

Though cryopreservation of cell fractions is widely used in flow cytometry studies, whole blood cryopreservation is more challenging due to the presence of erythrocytes and effects of fixatives commonly used for preservation. Here, we evaluated and compared head-to-head the performance of four commercial whole blood cryopreservation kits; (1) Cytodelics, (2) Stable-Lyse V2 and Stable-Store V2 (SLSS-V2), (3) Proteomic stabilizer (PROT-1), and (4) Transfix. We found that PROT-1, Transfix, and Cytodelics maintained the distribution of major leukocyte subsets-granulocytes, T cells, natural killer cells, and B cells, on a comparable level to unpreserved samples, despite the attenuation of fluorescence intensities in flow cytometric assays. Moreover, these three stabilizers also maintained the activated phenotypes of neutrophils upon stimulation with N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and lipopolysaccharides. The upregulation of adhesion molecules (CD11b), Fc receptors (CD16), and granule proteins (CD66b), as well as the shedding of surface L-selectin (CD62L), was conserved most efficiently in PROT-1 and Cytodelics when compared to samples only treated with erythrocyte lysing. However, none of the stabilizers provided a reliable detection of CCR7 for accurate quantification of T cell maturation stages. We also evaluated the performance of Cytodelics in longitudinal clinical samples obtained from acute COVID-19 patients, where it allowed reliable detection of lymphopenia and granulocyte expansion. These results support the feasibility of whole blood cryopreservation for immunophenotyping by flow cytometry, particularly in longitudinal studies. In conclusion, the performance of different stabilizers is variable and therefore the choice of stabilizers should depend on cell type of interest, as well as antibody clones and experimental design of each study.Peer reviewe

Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria can Cause Disseminated Mycobacteriosis in Cats

Mycobacteriosis caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a rising concern in human medicine both in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. In cats, mycobacteriosis caused by NTM is considered mostly to be a focal or dermal infection, with disseminated disease mostly caused by Mycobacterium avium. We describe three cases of disseminated mycobacteriosis in cats, caused by Mycobacterium malmoense, Mycobacterium branderi/shimoidei and M. avium, with no identified underlying immunosuppression. In all cases, extracellular mycobacteria were seen in the pulmonary epithelium, intestinal lumen and glomerular tufts, which could affect the shedding of the organism. The present study highlights the importance of mycobacteriosis as a differential even in immunocompetent animals. Considering the close relationship of owners and pets and the potential presence of free mycobacteria in secretions, cats should be considered as a possible environmental reservoir for mycobacteria. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Characterization of low-density granulocytes in COVID-19

Author summary The emergence of SARS-COV-2 and the ensuing COVID-19 disease has revealed an unprecedented need to understand the pathological mechanisms of acute respiratory infections in more detail. Granulocytes are highly abundant cells of the innate immunity, and thus first responders towards acute infections. However, their excessive activation can cause unwanted tissue damage and detrimental effects in humans. This study identifies a population of low-density granulocytes (LDGs) in COVID-19 patient samples, which has been poorly described in the context of acute infections so far. These cells were subclassified and found to be mainly of immature phenotypes. Further characterization revealed COVID-19 LDGs as a phenotypically diverse population with immunosuppressive characteristics, which seemed to be in line with an elevated recruitment and activation of granulocytes. Altogether, these findings suggest LDG may play a role in COVID-19 disease progression. Severe COVID-19 is characterized by extensive pulmonary complications, to which host immune responses are believed to play a role. As the major arm of innate immunity, neutrophils are one of the first cells recruited to the site of infection where their excessive activation can contribute to lung pathology. Low-density granulocytes (LDGs) are circulating neutrophils, whose numbers increase in some autoimmune diseases and cancer, but are poorly characterized in acute viral infections. Using flow cytometry, we detected a significant increase of LDGs in the blood of acute COVID-19 patients, compared to healthy controls. Based on their surface marker expression, COVID-19-related LDGs exhibit four different populations, which display distinctive stages of granulocytic development and most likely reflect emergency myelopoiesis. Moreover, COVID-19 LDGs show a link with an elevated recruitment and activation of neutrophils. Functional assays demonstrated the immunosuppressive capacities of these cells, which might contribute to impaired lymphocyte responses during acute disease. Taken together, our data confirms a significant granulocyte activation during COVID-19 and suggests that granulocytes of lower density play a role in disease progression.Peer reviewe

Educational effects of early or later secondary school tracking in Germany

This paper examines educational outcomes of pupils selected to secondary school types by different tracking regimes in a German state: Pupils are alternatively streamed after fourth grade or after sixth grade. Regression results indicate that, estimated on the mean, there are no negative effects of later tracking on educational outcomes in the middle of secondary school. Positive effects are observed for pupils with a less favorable family background. Quantile regressions reveal that the estimated effects of later tracking are positive for the lower quantiles but decrease monotonically over the conditional distribution of test scores

Voice disorders and mental health in teachers: a cross-sectional nationwide study

International audienceBACKGROUND:Teachers, as professional voice users, are at particular risk of voice disorders. Among contributing factors, stress and psychological tension could play a role but epidemiological data on this problem are scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate prevalence and cofactors of voice disorders among teachers in the French National Education system, with particular attention paid to the association between voice complaint and psychological status.METHODS:The source data come from an epidemiological postal survey on physical and mental health conducted in a sample of 20,099 adults (in activity or retired) selected at random from the health plan records of the national education system. Overall response rate was 53%. Of the 10,288 respondents, 3,940 were teachers in activity currently giving classes to students. In the sample of those with complete data (n = 3,646), variables associated with voice disorders were investigated using logistic regression models. Studied variables referred to demographic characteristics, socio-professional environment, psychological distress, mental health disorders (DSM-IV), and sick leave.RESULTS:One in two female teachers reported voice disorders (50.0%) compared to one in four males (26.0%). Those who reported voice disorders presented higher level of psychological distress. Sex- and age-adjusted odds ratios [95% confidence interval] were respectively 1.8 [1.5-2.2] for major depressive episode, 1.7 [1.3-2.2] for general anxiety disorder, and 1.6 [1.2-2.2] for phobia. A significant association between voice disorders and sick leave was also demonstrated (1.5 [1.3-1.7]).CONCLUSION:Voice disorders were frequent among French teachers. Associations with psychiatric disorders suggest that a situation may exist which is more complex than simple mechanical failure. Further longitudinal research is needed to clarify the comorbidity between voice and psychological disorders

Genes Suggest Ancestral Colour Polymorphisms Are Shared across Morphologically Cryptic Species in Arctic Bumblebees

email Suzanne orcd idCopyright: © 2015 Williams et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited