A review of occupational regulation and its impact

This Evidence Report develops a deeper understanding of the nature and impact of occupational regulation in the UK. The term, occupational regulation, is a broad heading for various mechanisms (including licence to practice and voluntary forms) through which minimum skill standards are applied within occupations. As such, occupational regulation is one of a range of levers, or best market solutions, which are designed to encourage employers to train on a collective basis. The use of occupational regulation as a mechanism for increasing the demand for, and supply of, skills was considered alongside other measures, as part of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ Review of Employer Collective Measures. However, that Review acknowledged the general topic of occupational regulation was under researched in the UK. This research, conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, helps to address this and deepens our knowledge of the area by: providing a discussion on the existing theory on occupational regulation by examining existing economic literature; providing a detailed review of the existing evidence on occupational regulation in the UK, America, Canada and Europe (Germany, France and Italy), again via existing literature; providing a comprehensive map of occupational regulation in the UK, through the mapping of managerial, professional and non-professional occupations at the Unit Group level of the Standard Occupational Classification (2000); producing estimates of the labour market impact of occupational regulation in the UK. Its prevalence is estimated by comparing the mapping output with Unit Group data obtained from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). Further analysis, via cross-sectional analysis, produces estimates on levels of qualifications, wages and rates of job-related training between workers in regulated and unregulated occupations. This uses QLFS 2010 data. And a Difference-in-Differences analysis is employed to evaluate the impact of switches in regulation status on skill levels, job-related education and training, wages and employment. This uses QLFS data between 2001 and 2010

Patient-Centered Communication for Discussing Oncotype DX Testing

Oncotype DX testing (ODX), a tumor gene expression test, may improve breast cancer care, however communicating results remains challenging. We identified patient-centered communication strategies/gaps for discussing ODX results. We applied a patient-centered communication framework to analyze qualitative interviews with oncologists about how they communicate about ODX with patients, using template analysis in Atlas.ti. Overall, providers discussed four patient-centered communication domains: exchanging information, assessing uncertainty, making decisions and cross-cutting themes. Providers did not report discussing emotional aspects of managing uncertainty, assessing decision-making preferences, and evaluating decisions. A patient-centered approach may be a model for communicating about tumor gene expression tests

Understanding the lives of separating and separated families in the UK: what evidence do we need?

This study was designed to address three broad questions: What are the evidence – and data – needs around family separation in the UK? How far are these needs met by administrative, survey and other research data that currently exist or are in the process of being developed? What additional data are required, and how would these best be collected

Variability in Tuberculosis Granuloma T Cell Responses Exists, but a Balance of Pro- and Anti-inflammatory Cytokines Is Associated with Sterilization

Lung granulomas are the pathologic hallmark of tuberculosis (TB). T cells are a major cellular component of TB lung granulomas and are known to play an important role in containment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. We used cynomolgus macaques, a non-human primate model that recapitulates human TB with clinically active disease, latent infection or early infection, to understand functional characteristics and dynamics of T cells in individual granulomas. We sought to correlate T cell cytokine response and bacterial burden of each granuloma, as well as granuloma and systemic responses in individual animals. Our results support that each granuloma within an individual host is independent with respect to total cell numbers, proportion of T cells, pattern of cytokine response, and bacterial burden. The spectrum of these components overlaps greatly amongst animals with different clinical status, indicating that a diversity of granulomas exists within an individual host. On average only about 8% of T cells from granulomas respond with cytokine production after stimulation with Mtb specific antigens, and few “multi-functional” T cells were observed. However, granulomas were found to be “multi-functional” with respect to the combinations of functional T cells that were identified among lesions from individual animals. Although the responses generally overlapped, sterile granulomas had modestly higher frequencies of T cells making IL-17, TNF and any of T-1 (IFN-γ, IL-2, or TNF) and/or T-17 (IL-17) cytokines than non-sterile granulomas. An inverse correlation was observed between bacterial burden with TNF and T-1/T-17 responses in individual granulomas, and a combinatorial analysis of pair-wise cytokine responses indicated that granulomas with T cells producing both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL-10 and IL-17) were associated with clearance of Mtb. Preliminary evaluation suggests that systemic responses in the blood do not accurately reflect local T cell responses within granulomas

Evaluating Cumulative Ecosystem Response to Restoration Projects in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary, 2009

This is the sixth annual report of a seven-year project (2004 through 2010) to evaluate the cumulative effects of habitat restoration actions in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE). The project, called the Cumulative Effects Study, is being conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District (USACE) by the Marine Sciences Laboratory of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Pt. Adams Biological Field Station of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST), and the University of Washington. The goal of the Cumulative Effects Study is to develop a methodology to evaluate the cumulative effects of multiple habitat restoration projects intended to benefit ecosystems supporting juvenile salmonids in the 235-km-long LCRE. Literature review in 2004 revealed no existing methods for such an evaluation and suggested that cumulative effects could be additive or synergistic. From 2005 through 2009, annual field research involved intensive, comparative studies paired by habitat type (tidal swamp versus marsh), trajectory (restoration versus reference site), and restoration action (tidegate replacement vs. culvert replacement vs. dike breach)

Climate predicts geographic and temporal variation in mosquito-borne disease dynamics on two continents

Funding: J.M.C., A.D.L., E.F.L., and E.A.M. were supported by a Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment—Environmental Ventures Program grant (PIs: E.A.M., A.D.L., and E.F.L.). E.A.M. was also supported by a Hellman Faculty Fellowship and a Terman Award. A.D.L., B.A.N., F.M.M., E.N.G.S., M.S.S., A.R.K., R.D., A.A., and H.N.N. were supported by a National Institutes of Health R01 grant (AI102918; PI: A.D.L.). E.A.M., A.M.S.I., and S.J.R. were supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) grant (DEB-1518681), and A.M.S.I. and S.J.R. were also supported by an NSF DEB RAPID grant (1641145). E.A.M. was also supported by a National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award grant (R35GM133439) and an NSF and Fogarty International Center EEID grant (DEB-2011147).Climate drives population dynamics through multiple mechanisms, which can lead to seemingly context-dependent effects of climate on natural populations. For climate-sensitive diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, climate appears to have opposing effects in different contexts. Here we show that a model, parameterized with laboratory measured climate-driven mosquito physiology, captures three key epidemic characteristics across ecologically and culturally distinct settings in Ecuador and Kenya: the number, timing, and duration of outbreaks. The model generates a range of disease dynamics consistent with observed Aedes aegypti abundances and laboratory-confirmed arboviral incidence with variable accuracy (28-85% for vectors, 44-88% for incidence). The model predicted vector dynamics better in sites with a smaller proportion of young children in the population, lower mean temperature, and homes with piped water and made of cement. Models with limited calibration that robustly capture climate-virus relationships can help guide intervention efforts and climate change disease projections.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Colorectal tumors require NUAK1 for protection from oxidative stress

The authors wish to thank the staff of the CRUK Beatson Institute Biological Services Unit for animal husbandry and assistance with in vivo experiments; the staff of the CRUK BI Histology core facility and William Clark of the NGS core facility; David McGarry, Rene Jackstadt, Jiska Van der Reest, Justin Bower and Heather McKinnon for many helpful discussions, and countless colleagues at the CRUK BI and Glasgow Institute of Cancer Sciences for support; Prem Premsrirut & Mirimus Inc. for design and generation of dox-inducible Nuak1 shRNA expressing mice Nathanael Gray for initial provision of NUAK1 inhibitors. Funding was provided by the University of Glasgow and the CRUK Beaton Institute. J.P. was supported by European Commission Marie Curie actions C.I.G. 618448 “SERPLUC” to D.J.M.; N.M. was supported through Worldwide Cancer (formerly AICR) grant 15-0279 to O.J.S. & D.J.M.; B.K. was funded through EC Marie Curie actions mobility award 705190 “NuSiCC”; T.M. was funded through British Lung Foundation grant APHD13-5. The laboratories of S.R.Z. (A12935), O.J.S. (A21139) and M.D. (A17096) are funded by Cancer Research UK. O.J.S. was additionally supported by European Research Council grant 311301 “ColoCan”.Peer reviewedPostprin

Ecology of Juvenile Salmon in Shallow Tidal Freshwater Habitats of the Lower Columbia River, 2007?2010

The TFM study was designed to investigate the ecology and early life history of juvenile salmonids within shallow (<5 m) tidal freshwater habitats of the LCRE. We started collecting field data in June 2007. Since then, monthly sampling has occurred in the vicinity of the Sandy River delta (rkm 192–208) and at other sites and times in lower river reaches of tidal freshwater (rkm 110 to 141). This report provides a comprehensive synthesis of data covering the field period from June 2007 through April 2010

Racial/ethnic differences in adults in randomized clinical trials of binge eating disorder.

Recent studies suggest that binge eating disorder (BED) is as prevalent among African American and Hispanic Americans as among Caucasian Americans; however, data regarding the characteristics of treatment-seeking individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate racial/ethnic differences in demographic characteristics and eating disorder symptoms in participants enrolled in treatment trials for BED

Race/ethnicity, education, and treatment parameters as moderators and predictors of outcome in binge eating disorder.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is prevalent among individuals from minority racial/ethnic groups and among individuals with lower levels of education, yet the efficacy of psychosocial treatments for these groups has not been examined in adequately powered analyses. This study investigated the relative variance in treatment retention and post-treatment symptom levels accounted for by demographic, clinical, and treatment variables as moderators and predictors of outcome