Female participation increases and gender segregation. ESRI WP564, May 2017

This article examines the impact of a large increase in female participation on occupational segregation. Increases in female participation may decrease occupational segregation if women enter male dominated sectors but may increase segregation if they enter already female dominated sectors. Using Ireland as a test case due to the recent large increase in female participation rates, we firstly carry out a decomposition analysis between 1991 and 2006 and find that the rise in female employment was driven predominantly by increased demand while between one tenth and one fifth of the rise was due to women increasing their share of occupational employment. Formal measures of segregation show that occupational segregation fell over this time period. The formal measures of segregation show that the level of occupational grouping is important with stagnation or smaller falls in segregation using a broad occupational grouping and sharper falls using a more detailed occupational grouping. Our findings support previous U.S. research that found a rise in female participation resulted in a decline in occupational segregation

Arthropod diversity in peas with normal or reduced waxy bloom

Crop traits can alter economically important interactions between plants, pests, and biological control agents. For example, a reduced waxy bloom on the surface of pea plants alters interactions between pea aphids and their natural enemies. In this study, we assess whether the effect of wax reduction extends beyond the 2 or 3 arthropod species closely associated with the plants and into the structure of the broader arthropod community of over 200 taxa at our site. We sampled arthropods on lines of peas with normal and reduced wax in Latah Co., Idaho using pitfall traps within randomly assigned pairs of 5 × 5 meter plots. During the 1998 and 1999 growing seasons, we collected 12,113 individual arthropods from 221 unambiguously identified morphospecies. The number of individuals collected from each morphospecies responded idiosyncratically to the reduced wax peas. To test whether arthropod community structure differed between the collections from plots having peas with normal or reduced wax, we performed a randomization test. The collection from peas with reduced wax had higher species evenness and thus higher community diversity despite having lower species richness. Our results demonstrate the potential of a single plant trait, epicuticular wax, to affect a community of arthropods. Two pests of peas had opposite responses to peas with reduced wax. The number of pea aphids collected was greater from peas with normal wax peas than those with reduced wax. In contrast, the number of pea leaf weevils collected was greater from peas with reduced wax

Living with young onset dementia: Reflections on recent developments, current discourse, and implications for policy and practice

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.Recent research on young onset dementia (formal diagnosis at age <65) evidences emerging work around pre-diagnosis, diagnosis and the need to improve post-diagnostic support for this group. An increased awareness of young onset dementia has led to the establishment of peer-support groups, support networks and the involvement of people affected by dementia in research. However, the need to join up services at the systems level persists. Third-sector organisations that offer post-diagnostic support at the communitylevel rely heavily on volunteers. Implications for policy and practice are that community-based commissioning of integrated services between health care, social care and the third sector would go a long way to providing the continuity and stability required in dementia support and care along the illness trajectory. This discussion document was written in collaboration with diagnostic services, the charity sector and conversations with people living with, and affected by, dementia.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Library Association of Ireland Task Force on Information Literacy (TFIL): Challenges and New Directions

This paper outlines the work of Library Association of Ireland’s (LAI) Task Force on Information Literacy (TFIL), which was convened in 2011 to make recommendations to the LAI for the development of a cohesive national strategy for information literacy education and advocacy across all LIS sectors in Ireland. The paper will outline the background to the development of TFIL and how the group came together to advance the recommendations of the LAI Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL – 2006-2008). TFIL is represented by all library sectors and the paper will describe how TFIL has played a significant role in advancing a policy driven approach for digital and information literacy at national level and outline the rationale for the recent merger of TFIL with the LAI Task Force on Literacy & Numeracy. The paper will present the terms of reference of the group in the context of Government strategies for digital and information literacy and highlight the key role to be played by libraries in all sectors in Ireland’s digital agenda. The authors will highlight the key national digital/information literacy strategy initiatives of the past three to five years; identify the major themes and discuss some of the key concerns. TFIL is currently investigating best practice digital and information literacy activities in the various library sectors in Ireland, focusing on practical and collaborative ways in which DL/IL education can be further developed and advancing the goal of a more integrated national strategy. TFIL is also active in ongoing advocacy initiatives, promotion and dissemination of information, which have proved vital to raising awareness of the strategic value of digital and information literacy nationally. These activities will be discussed in the paper, in addition to some of the difficulties and practicalities of the cross-sectoral approach. Suggestions for further research and development and a vision for library participation in the digital and information literacy agenda in Ireland will also be outlined. The overall aim is to contribute to the development of a national strategy for digital and information literacy for Ireland and promote the development of these skills in education, the workplace and wider society. Context The authors are currently members of the Library Association Task Force on Information Literacy

An Investigation of the Relationships Between the Teaching Climate, Students’ Perceived Life Skills Development and Well-Being Within Physical Education

Background: Both education policies and curriculum documents identify the personal development of students as a key objective of modern education. Physical education in particular has been cited as a subject that can promote students&rsquo; life skills development and psychological well-being. However, little research has investigated the processes by which physical education may be related to students&rsquo; development of life skills and their psychological well-being.&nbsp; Purpose: Using Benson and Saito&rsquo;s (2001) framework for youth development theory and research, this study explored the relationships between the teaching climate, students&rsquo; perceived life skills development within physical education, and their psychological well-being.&nbsp; Participants and setting: Participants were 294 British physical education students (Mage = 13.70, range = 11&ndash;18 years) attending six secondary schools in Scotland and England. On average, these male (n = 204) and female (n = 90) students took part in physical education classes for 2.35 hours per week.&nbsp; Data collection: The data were collected via a survey which assessed perceived teacher autonomy support, participants&rsquo; perceived life skills development within physical education (teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making), and their psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life).&nbsp; Data analyses: The preliminary analysis used descriptive statistics to assess how participants scored on each of the study variables and correlations to assess the relationships between all variables. The main analysis sought to test Benson and Saito&rsquo;s (2001) framework using a series of mediation models which were tested via non-parametric bootstrapping analysis.&nbsp; Findings: This study demonstrated that students perceived they were developing the following life skills through physical education: teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making. Overall, the results supported Benson and Saito&rsquo;s (2001) framework for youth development theory and research. In all analyses, perceived teacher autonomy support was positively related to participants&rsquo; perceived life skills development within physical education and their psychological well-being. Participants&rsquo; total life skills development was related to all three psychological well-being indicators &ndash; providing support for the &lsquo;pile-up&rsquo; effect (Benson 2006). Total life skills development also mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and participants&rsquo; psychological well-being.&nbsp; Conclusion: The findings suggest that perceived teacher autonomy support, along with total life skills development, are related to participants&rsquo; psychological well-being. Interpretation of the results suggest that physical education teachers should integrate autonomy supportive behaviors into their teaching (e.g., provide choice in activities and encourage students to ask questions) as they are associated with young people&rsquo;s development of multiple life skills and their psychological well-being

Mothers\u27 Adaptation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Examination of the Effects of Meaning Making, Control and Self-Enhancement on Depression

With over 400,000 infants being hospitalized in the NICU annually, it is important to understand adjustment in their mothers. Taylor’s cognitive theory of adaptation asserts that three factors, meaning making, control, and self-enhancement, influence positive adjustment in a crisis situation such as a NICU hospitalization. Since it has never been examined, the purpose of the current study was to test the utility of Taylor’s model in mothers with an infant in the NICU. Data was collected from mothers with an infant in the NICU (N = 181) and the main hypothesis was that meaning making, control, and self-enhancement would explain a significant portion of variance in depression scores in mothers with an infant in the NICU. Results from this study did not support this hypothesis. Still, this study is important in guiding future research to better understand the adjustment process of mothers with an infant in the NICU

Beyond peer observation of teaching

OBJECTIVE To summarize the evidence on effectiveness of translational diabetes prevention programs, based on promoting lifestyle change to prevent type 2 diabetes in real-world settings and to examine whether adherence to international guideline recommendations is associated with effectiveness. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Bibliographic databases were searched up to July 2012. Included studies had a follow-up of ≥12 months and outcomes comparing change in body composition, glycemic control, or progression to diabetes. Lifestyle interventions aimed to translate evidence from previous efficacy trials of diabetes prevention into real-world intervention programs. Data were combined using random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression considering the relationship between intervention effectiveness and adherence to guidelines. RESULTS Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. The primary meta-analysis included 22 studies (24 study groups) with outcome data for weight loss at 12 months. The pooled result of the direct pairwise meta-analysis shows that lifestyle interventions resulted in a mean weight loss of 2.12 kg (95% CI -2.61 to -1.63; I(2) = 91.4%). Adherence to guidelines was significantly associated with a greater weight loss (an increase of 0.3 kg per point increase on a 12-point guideline-adherence scale). CONCLUSIONS Evidence suggests that pragmatic diabetes prevention programs are effective. Effectiveness varies substantially between programs but can be improved by maximizing guideline adherence. However, more research is needed to establish optimal strategies for maximizing both cost-effectiveness and longer-term maintenance of weight loss and diabetes prevention effects

P-glycoprotein and breast cancer resistance protein in acute myeloid leukaemia cells treated with the Aurora-B Kinase Inhibitor barasertib-hQPA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aurora kinases play an essential role in orchestrating chromosome alignment, segregation and cytokinesis during mitotic progression, with both aurora-A and B frequently over-expressed in a variety of human malignancies. Over-expression of the ABC drug transporter proteins P-glycoprotein (Pgp) and Breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) is a major obstacle for chemotherapy in many tumour types with Pgp conferring particularly poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Barasertib-hQPA is a highly selective inhibitor of aurora-B kinase that has shown tumouricidal activity against a range tumour cell lines including those of leukaemic AML origin.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Effect of barasertib-hQPA on the pHH3 biomarker and cell viability was measured in a panel of leukaemic cell lines and 37 primary AML samples by flow cytometry. Pgp status was determined by flow cytometry and BCRP status by flow cytometry and real-time PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we report the creation of the cell line OCI-AML3DNR, which over-expresses Pgp but not BCRP or multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP), through prolonged treatment of OCI-AML3 cells with daunorubicin. We demonstrate that Pgp (OCI-AML3DNR and KG-1a) and BCRP (OCI-AML6.2) expressing AML cell lines are less sensitive to barasertib-hQPA induced pHH3 inhibition and subsequent loss of viability compared to transporter negative cell lines. We also show that barasertib-hQPA resistance in these cell lines can be reversed using known Pgp and BCRP inhibitors. We report that barasertib-hQPA is not an inhibitor of Pgp or BCRP, but by using ¹⁴[C]-barasertib-hQPA that it is effluxed by these transporters. Using phosphoHistone H3 (pHH3) as a biomarker of barasertib-hQPA responsiveness in primary AML blasts we determined that Pgp and BCRP positive primary samples were less sensitive to barasertib-hQPA induced pHH3 inhibition (p = <0.001) than samples without these transporters. However, we demonstrate that IC₅₀inhibition of pHH3 by barasertib-hQPA was achieved in 94.6% of these samples after 1 hour drug treatment, in contrast to the resistance of the cell lines.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that Pgp and BCRP status and pHH3 down-regulation in patients treated with barasertib should be monitored in order to establish whether transporter-mediated efflux is sufficient to adversely impact on the efficacy of the agent.</p