Mid-life psychosocial work environment as a predictor of work exit by age 50.

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether psychosocial work characteristics at age 45 years predict exit from the labour market by the age of 50 years in data from the 1958 British Birth Cohort. METHODS: Psychosocial work characteristics (decision latitude, job demands, job strain and work social support at 45 years and job insecurity at 42 years) measured by questionnaire were linked to employment outcomes (unemployment, retirement, permanent sickness, homemaking) at 50 years in 6510 male and female participants. RESULTS: Low decision latitude (RR = 2.01, 95%CI 1.06,3.79), low work social support (RR = 1.96, 95%CI 1.12,3.44), and high job insecurity (RR = 2.27, 95%CI 1.41, 3.67) predicted unemployment at 50, adjusting for sex, housing tenure, socioeconomic status, marital status, and education. High demands were associated with lower risk of unemployment (RR = 0.50, 95%CI 0.29,0.88) but higher risk of permanent sickness (RR = 2.14, 95%CI 1.09,4.21). CONCLUSIONS: Keeping people in the workforce beyond 50 years may contribute to both personal and national prosperity. Employers may wish to improve working conditions for older workers, in particular, increase control over work, increase support and reduce demands to retain older employees in the workforce

Cationically modified membranes using covalent layer-by-layer assembly for antiviral applications in drinking water

In this work, a new approach towards virus reduction is taken, where modified membranes with large pore sizes (>450 nm) can reach high log10-unit virus reductions. Polyelectrolyte coatings were used to modify microfiltration (MF) membranes to impart antiviral properties. A stable covalent layer-by-layer (LBL) approach was used to create multilayers from a single polyelectrolyte, polyethyleneimine (PEI). Here terephthalaldehyde (TA) crosslinking was used to create crosslinked multilayers, both on model surfaces and on commercial polyether sulfone, (PES) MF membranes. The substrates were further coated with antiviral silver, and copper nanoparticles (Ag and CuNPs) stabilised with PEI. The specific fabrication during the LBL assembly was stepwise characterised using multi-surface analysis including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), ellipsometry, zeta potential and contact angle measurements. Model surfaces demonstrated a 4 log10-units reduction of MS2 viral titre, independent of the crosslinked PEI layer thickness. The crosslinked PEI and Ag/CuNPs-modified membranes efficiently reduced 4.5–5 log10-units of infectious MS2 bacteriophages by both adsorption and inactivation of viral particles. This was confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), which showed a stable performance over time. Pure water flux measurements on modified-membranes showed good long-term stability. Thus, 5000 L/m2 of virus-free water was produced in approximately 2 h, using gravity-based filtration. Furthermore, there was no observable leaching of nanoparticles from the membranes during filtration

Murine Cytomegalovirus CC Chemokine Homolog MCK-2 (m131-129) Is a Determinant of Dissemination That Increases Inflammation at Initial Sites of Infection

The murine cytomegalovirus CC chemokine homolog MCK-2 (m131-129) is an important determinant of dissemination during primary infection. Reduced peak levels of viremia at day 5 were followed by reduced levels of virus in salivary glands starting at day 7 when mck insertion (RM461) and point (RM4511) mutants were compared to mck-expressing viruses. A dramatic MCK-2-enhanced inflammation occurred at the inoculation site over the first few days of infection, preceding viremia. The data further reinforce the role of MCK-2 as a proinflammatory signal that recruits leukocytes to increase the efficiency of viral dissemination in the host

Reactivation of Latent Human Cytomegalovirus in CD14(+) Monocytes Is Differentiation Dependent

We have previously demonstrated reactivation of latent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in myeloid lineage cells obtained from healthy donors. Virus was obtained from allogenically stimulated monocyte-derived macrophages (Allo-MDM), but not from macrophages differentiated by mitogenic stimulation (ConA-MDM). In the present study, the cellular and cytokine components essential for HCMV replication and reactivation were examined in Allo-MDM. The importance of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the generation of HCMV-permissive Allo-MDM was demonstrated by negative selection or blocking experiments using antibodies directed against both HLA class I and HLA class II molecules. Interestingly, contact of monocytes with CD4 or CD8 T cells was not essential for reactivation of HCMV, since virus was observed in macrophages derived from CD14(+) monocytes stimulated by supernatants produced by allogeneic stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Examination of the cytokines produced in Allo-MDM and ConA-MDM cultures indicated a significant difference in the kinetics of production and quantity of these factors. Further examination of the cytokines essential for the generation of HCMV-permissive Allo-MDM identified gamma interferon (IFN-γ) but not interleukin-1 or -2, tumor necrosis factor alpha, or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor as critical components in the generation of these macrophages. In addition, although IFN-γ was crucial for reactivation of latent HCMV, addition of IFN-γ to unstimulated macrophage cultures was insufficient to reactivate virus. Thus, this study characterizes two distinct monocyte-derived cell types which can be distinguished by their ability to reactivate and support HCMV replication and identifies the critical importance of IFN-γ in the reactivation of HCMV