Bridging Alone: Religious Conservatism, Marital Homogamy, and Voluntary Association Membership

This study characterizes social insularity of religiously conservative American married couples by examining patterns of voluntary associationmembership. Constructing a dataset of 3938 marital dyads from the second wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, the author investigates whether conservative religious homogamy encourages membership in religious voluntary groups and discourages membership in secular voluntary groups. Results indicate that couples’ shared affiliation with conservative denominations, paired with beliefs in biblical authority and inerrancy, increases the likelihood of religious group membership for husbands and wives and reduces the likelihood of secular group membership for wives, but not for husbands. The social insularity of conservative religious groups appears to be reinforced by homogamy—particularly by wives who share faith with husbands

Predicting survival after pulmonary metastasectomy for colorectal cancer: previous liver metastases matter

BACKGROUND: Few patients with lung metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) are candidates for surgical therapy with a curative intent, and it is currently impossible to identify those who may benefit the most from thoracotomy. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of various parameters on survival after pulmonary metastasectomy for CRC. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 40 consecutive patients (median age 63.5 [range 33-82] years) who underwent resection of pulmonary metastases from CRC in our institution from 1996 to 2009. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 33 (range 4-139) months. Twenty-four (60%) patients did not have previous liver metastases before undergoing lung surgery. Median disease-free interval between primary colorectal tumor and development of lung metastases was 32.5 months. 3- and 5-year overall survival after thoracotomy was 70.1% and 43.4%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, the following parameters were correlated with tumor recurrence after thoracotomy; a history of previous liver metastases (HR = 3.8, 95%CI 1.4-9.8); and lung surgery other than wedge resection (HR = 3.0, 95%CI 1.1-7.8). Prior resection of liver metastases was also correlated with an increased risk of death (HR = 5.1, 95% CI 1.1-24.8, p = 0.04). Median survival after thoracotomy was 87 (range 34-139) months in the group of patients without liver metastases versus 40 (range 28-51) months in patients who had undergone prior hepatectomy (p = 0.09). CONCLUSION: The main parameter associated with poor outcome after lung resection of CRC metastases is a history of liver metastases

New Mouse Lines for the Analysis of Neuronal Morphology Using CreER(T)/loxP-Directed Sparse Labeling

BACKGROUND: Pharmacologic control of Cre-mediated recombination using tamoxifen-dependent activation of a Cre-estrogen receptor ligand binding domain fusion protein [CreER(T)] is widely used to modify and/or visualize cells in the mouse. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We describe here two new mouse lines, constructed by gene targeting to the Rosa26 locus to facilitate Cre-mediated cell modification. These lines should prove particularly useful in the context of sparse labeling experiments. The R26rtTACreER line provides ubiquitous expression of CreER under transcriptional control by the tetracycline reverse transactivator (rtTA); dual control by doxycycline and tamoxifen provides an extended dynamic range of Cre-mediated recombination activity. The R26IAP line provides high efficiency Cre-mediated activation of human placental alkaline phosphatase (hPLAP), complementing the widely used, but low efficiency, Z/AP line. By crossing with mouse lines that direct cell-type specific CreER expression, the R26IAP line has been used to produce atlases of labeled cholinergic and catecholaminergic neurons in the mouse brain. The R26IAP line has also been used to visualize the full morphologies of retinal dopaminergic amacrine cells, among the largest neurons in the mammalian retina. CONCLUSIONS: The two new mouse lines described here expand the repertoire of genetically engineered mice available for controlled in vivo recombination and cell labeling using the Cre-lox system

Genetically-Directed, Cell Type-Specific Sparse Labeling for the Analysis of Neuronal Morphology

Background: In mammals, genetically-directed cell labeling technologies have not yet been applied to the morphologic analysis of neurons with very large and complex arbors, an application that requires extremely sparse labeling and that is only rendered practical by limiting the labeled population to one or a few predetermined neuronal subtypes. Methods and Findings: In the present study we have addressed this application by using CreER technology to noninvasively label very small numbers of neurons so that their morphologies can be fully visualized. Four lines of IRES-CreER knock-in mice were constructed to permit labeling selectively in cholinergic or catecholaminergic neurons [choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-IRES-CreER or tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-IRES-CreER], predominantly in projection neurons [neurofilament light chain (NFL)-IRES-CreER], or broadly in neurons and some glia [vesicle-associated membrane protein2 (VAMP2)-IRES-CreER]. When crossed to the Z/AP reporter and exposed to 4-hydroxytamoxifen in the early postnatal period, the number of neurons expressing the human placental alkaline phosphatase reporter can be reproducibly lowered to fewer than 50 per brain. Sparse Cre-mediated recombination in ChAT-IRES-CreER;Z/AP mice shows the full axonal and dendritic arbors of individual forebrain cholinergic neurons, the first time that the complete morphologies of these very large neurons have been revealed in any species. Conclusions: Sparse genetically-directed, cell type-specific neuronal labeling with IRES-creER lines should prove useful fo

The Naturally Processed CD95L Elicits a c-Yes/Calcium/PI3K-Driven Cell Migration Pathway

Patients affected by chronic inflammatory disorders display high amounts of soluble CD95L. This homotrimeric ligand arises from the cleavage by metalloproteases of its membrane-bound counterpart, a strong apoptotic inducer. In contrast, the naturally processed CD95L is viewed as an apoptotic antagonist competing with its membrane counterpart for binding to CD95. Recent reports pinpointed that activation of CD95 may attract myeloid and tumoral cells, which display resistance to the CD95-mediated apoptotic signal. However, all these studies were performed using chimeric CD95Ls (oligomerized forms), which behave as the membrane-bound ligand and not as the naturally processed CD95L. Herein, we examine the biological effects of the metalloprotease-cleaved CD95L on CD95-sensitive activated T-lymphocytes. We demonstrate that cleaved CD95L (cl-CD95L), found increased in sera of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients as compared to that of healthy individuals, promotes the formation of migrating pseudopods at the leading edge of which the death receptor CD95 is capped (confocal microscopy). Using different migration assays (wound healing/Boyden Chamber/endothelial transmigration), we uncover that cl-CD95L promotes cell migration through a c-yes/Ca2+/PI3K-driven signaling pathway, which relies on the formation of a CD95-containing complex designated the MISC for Motility-Inducing Signaling Complex. These findings revisit the role of the metalloprotease-cleaved CD95L and emphasize that the increase in cl-CD95L observed in patients affected by chronic inflammatory disorders may fuel the local or systemic tissue damage by promoting tissue-filtration of immune cells

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Occupational ecology: An evolutionary theory of the social composition of occupations.

What accounts for shifts in the social composition of occupational groups? I demonstrate that the previous literature concerning the sociodemographic composition of occupations fails to satisfy a set of five criteria: (1) The Theory criterion (the study must be grounded in theory); (2) The Dynamic criterion (social composition must be examined over time); (3) The Multivariate criterion (multiple sociodemographic variables must be examined); (4) The Measurement criterion (segregation measures should not be used); (5) The System criterion (all types of occupational groups should be considered). This study fulfills these criteria by adapting a general ecological theory of competition from McPherson (1983) to model the social composition of occupations over time. The model assumes that the individual's social network mediates occupational outcomes and that social network ties are homophilous; the probability that any two individuals share a network connection is a function of their similarity. As occupational groups attract new members from existing network ties, these groups develop distinct sociodemographic niches in social space (e.g. in age, education, etc.). If two groups compete for individuals with similar sociodemographic characteristics, then their niches overlap. The competitive mechanism generates three testable dynamic hypotheses about shifts in the social composition of occupational groups. The first dynamic hypothesis posits that occupations move their niches (attract new associates with different sociodemographic characteristics) in response to competitive pressures produced from niche overlap (the movement hypothesis). The second dynamic hypothesis suggests that occupations increase and decrease in diversity in response to competitive pressures at the niche edges (the diversity hypothesis). The third dynamic hypothesis predicts that competitive pressures inside the niche produce growth and decline in occupational size (the growth hypothesis). I test the hypothesis with the Current Population Survey Annual Demographic Files, 1972-1989. I examine changes in movement, dispersion, and size in unidimensional social space (age and education), and multidimensional social space (age-race, age-sex, education-race, education-sex, and age-education for movement and dispersion only). I test the model in two separate time series (1972-1982 and 1983-1989), using two different occupational classification schemes. The data strongly support the movement and growth hypotheses

When disasters strike environmental science: a case–control study of changes in scientific collaboration networks

Studies of scientific collaboration networks reveal the social structure of scientific disciplines. Most of these studies assume scientists work under conditions of institutional stability. What happens to science when disaster strikes and research practice is disrupted? This study examines structural changes in a scientific collaboration network after serial exposure to major disasters. We analyze the collaboration network of wetlands scientists publishing research related to the marshes of the Louisiana Gulf Coast between 1996 and 2015, along with a control network from a wetlands setting in a different geographic area that did not experience any disasters over the same time span. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005) and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010) offer the opportunity to compare the Gulf wetlands collaboration network before and after the disasters. Results indicate changes in size, research activity, and connectivity in periods following the major hurricanes and oil spill