The cost of work-related stress to society: a systematic review

Objective. A global and systematic review of the available evidence examining the cost of work-related stress would yield important insights into the magnitude and nature of this social phenomenon. The objective of this systematic review was to collate, extract, review, and synthesize economic evaluations of the cost of work-related stress to society. Method. A research protocol was developed outlining the search strategy. Included cost-of-illness (COI) studies estimated the cost of work-related stress at a societal level, and were published in English, French or German. Searches were carried out in ingenta connect, EBSCO, JSTOR, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Google and Google scholar. Included studies were assessed against ten COI quality assessment criteria. Results. Fifteen COI studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. These originated from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the EU-15. At a national and pan-European level, the total estimated cost of work-related stress in 2014 was observed to be considerable and ranged substantially from US $221.13 million to$187 billion. Productivity related losses were observed to proportionally contribute the majority of the total cost of work-related stress (between 70 to 90%), with healthcare and medical costs constituting the remaining 10% to 30%. Conclusion. The evidence reviewed here suggests a sizeable financial burden imposed by work-related stress on society. The observed range of cost estimates across studies was understood to be attributable to variations in definitions of work-related stress; the number and type of costs estimated; and, in how production loss was estimated. It is postulated that the cost estimates identified by this review are likely conservative due to narrow definitions of work - related stress (WRS) and the exclusion of diverse range of cost components

Aged-senescent cells contribute to impaired heart regeneration

Aging leads to increased cellular senescence and is associated with decreased potency of tissue-specific stem/progenitor cells. Here, we have done an extensive analysis of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) isolated from human subjects with cardiovascular disease, aged 32-86 years. In aged subjects (>70 years old), over half of CPCs are senescent (p16INK4A , SA-β-gal, DNA damage γH2AX, telomere length, senescence-associated secretory phenotype [SASP]), unable to replicate, differentiate, regenerate or restore cardiac function following transplantation into the infarcted heart. SASP factors secreted by senescent CPCs renders otherwise healthy CPCs to senescence. Elimination of senescent CPCs using senolytics abrogates the SASP and its debilitative effect in vitro. Global elimination of senescent cells in aged mice (INK-ATTAC or wild-type mice treated with D + Q senolytics) in vivo activates resident CPCs and increased the number of small Ki67-, EdU-positive cardiomyocytes. Therapeutic approaches that eliminate senescent cells may alleviate cardiac deterioration with aging and restore the regenerative capacity of the heart

Prophylactic Topical Tranexamic Acid versus Placebo in Surgical Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Tranexamic acid (TxA) is used in surgery to reduce blood loss. However, its safety profile is unclear. This review examined the efficacy and safety profile of topical TxA. Method: Electronic databases including Medline and EMBASE were searched from inception to May 2019. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in English comparing topical TxA with placebo were included. Primary outcomes were mortality and blood transfusion incidence. Secondary outcomes included venous thromboembolism. Result: 7,539 patients from 71 RCTs were analysed. Compared to placebo, topical TxA reduced blood transfusion incidence (OR 0.30, 95%CI [0.26 - 0.34], p<0.001). Topical TxA use had no impact on mortality (OR 0.78, 95%CI [0.45 - 1.36], p = 0.39). Pulmonary embolism (OR 0.73, 95%CI 0.27 to 1.93, p = 0.52) and deep vein thrombosis (OR 0.79, 95%CI [0.65 to 1.77], p = 0.79) were not associated with topical TxA use. Conclusion: Topical TxA is effective in reducing transfusion need in surgery without association to major adverse events. However, its optimal dosing regime remain to be determined

Ezrin interacts with the SARS coronavirus spike protein and restrains infection at the entry stage

© 2012 Millet 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.Background: Entry of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and its envelope fusion with host cell membrane are controlled by a series of complex molecular mechanisms, largely dependent on the viral envelope glycoprotein Spike (S). There are still many unknowns on the implication of cellular factors that regulate the entry process. Methodology/Principal Findings: We performed a yeast two-hybrid screen using as bait the carboxy-terminal endodomain of S, which faces the cytosol during and after opening of the fusion pore at early stages of the virus life cycle. Here we show that the ezrin membrane-actin linker interacts with S endodomain through the F1 lobe of its FERM domain and that both the eight carboxy-terminal amino-acids and a membrane-proximal cysteine cluster of S endodomain are important for this interaction in vitro. Interestingly, we found that ezrin is present at the site of entry of S-pseudotyped lentiviral particles in Vero E6 cells. Targeting ezrin function by small interfering RNA increased S-mediated entry of pseudotyped particles in epithelial cells. Furthermore, deletion of the eight carboxy-terminal amino acids of S enhanced S-pseudotyped particles infection. Expression of the ezrin dominant negative FERM domain enhanced cell susceptibility to infection by SARS-CoV and S pseudotyped particles and potentiated S-dependent membrane fusion. Conclusions/Significance: Ezrin interacts with SARS-CoV S endodomain and limits virus entry and fusion. Our data present a novel mechanism involving a cellular factor in the regulation of S-dependent early events of infection.This work was supported by the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (RGC#760208)and the RESPARI project of the International Network of Pasteur Institutes

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model