The Association of Ownership Type With Job Insecurity and Worry About Job Stability The Moderating Effects of Fair Management, Positive Leadership, and Employment Type

This study examined whether the ownership type is associated with job insecurity and worry about job stability and whether the type of employment contract, positive leadership, and fair management moderated these associations. Survey data from 1249 Finnish female elderly care staff aged 18 to 69 years were used. Job insecurity and worry about job stability were highest in not-for-profit sheltered homes. However, positive leadership and fair management were able to mitigate this insecurity and worry. Job insecurity was highest among fixed-term employees in public sheltered homes or not-for-profit nursing homes. Thus, promoting good leadership and fair management would be of importance.

Association of the G4 rotavirus genotype with gastroenteritis in adults

Rotavirus is the most common etiological cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide, yet its role in the adult population is less well understood. We have recently identified rotavirus as the causative agent of severe diarrhea in adults, specifically in two gastroenteritis outbreaks in separate care for the elderly homes. Strain typing has shown the continued presence of P[8]G1, the emergence of P[8]G9, and the reemergence of P[8]G4. A total of 26 community cases and 6 outbreak cases of rotavirus infection, positive via a molecular screening assay, were subsequently amplified using VP4 and VP7 specific primers (Con2/Con3 and 1A/1B primer sets, respectively). The age range of patients investigated was from

Association of MYH9/APOL1 with chronic kidney disease in a UK population

Following the first report on the association between MYH9 gene variants and glomerular disorders [1], many studies have evaluated MYH9 loci for association with a range of kidney diseases [2]. In 2010, functional mutations in the adjacent APOL1 gene were identified as the primary variants responsible for associations with kidney disease that had previously been attributed to the MHY9 gene [3]. Nevertheless, several loci within MHY9 continue to be independently reported as risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) [2, 4].

Delayed association of the NADPH oxidase complex with macrophage vacuoles containing the opportunistic pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia

Burkholderia cenocepacia causes chronic lung infections in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and chronic granulomatous disease. We have previously shown that B. cenocepacia survives intracellularly in macrophages within a membrane vacuole (BcCV) that delays acidification. Here, we report that after macrophage infection with live B. cenocepacia there is a approximately 6 h delay in the association of NADPH oxidase with BcCVs, while heat-inactivated bacteria are normally trafficked into NADPH oxidase-positive vacuoles. BcCVs in macrophages treated with a functional inhibitor of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator exhibited a further delay in the assembly of the NADPH oxidase complex at the BcCV membrane, but the inhibitor did not affect NADPH oxidase complex assembly onto vacuoles containing heat-inactivated B. cenocepacia or live Escherichia coli. Macrophages produced less superoxide following B. cenocepacia infection as compared to heat-inactivated B. cenocepacia and E. coli controls. Reduced superoxide production was associated with delayed deposition of cerium perhydroxide precipitates around BcCVs of macrophages infected with live B. cenocepacia, as visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Together, our results demonstrate that intracellular B. cenocepacia resides in macrophage vacuoles displaying an altered recruitment of the NADPH oxidase complex at the phagosomal membrane. This phenomenon may contribute to preventing the efficient clearance of this opportunistic pathogen from the infected airways of susceptible patients.

A genome-wide association study provides evidence for association of chromosome 8p23 (MYP10) and 10q21.1 (MYP15) with high myopia in the French population.

PURPOSE. Myopia is a complex trait affected by both genetic and environmental factors. High myopia is associated with increased risk of sight-threatening eye disorders such as retinal detachment. The purpose of this genome-wide association study was to identify susceptibility genes contributing to high myopia in the French population. METHODS. High myopic cases were genotyped using Affymetrix SNP 6.0 chips and population controls were selected from the GABRIEL French dataset in which samples were genotyped by Illumina Human610 quad array. The association study was conducted using 152,234 single nucleotide polymorphisms that were present on both manufacturers' chips in 192 high myopic cases and 1064 controls to identify associated regions. Imputation was performed on peak regions. RESULTS. Associations were found at known myopia locus MYP10 on chromosome 8p23 and MYP15 on chromosome 10q21.1. Rs189798 (8p23) and rs10825992 (10q21.1) showed the strongest associations in these regions (P=6.32x10-7 and P=2.17x10-5, respectively). The imputed results at 8p23 showed 2 peaks of interest. The first spanned 30kb including rs189798 between MIR4660 and PPP1R3B with the most significant association at rs17155227 (P=1.07x10-10). The second novel peak was 4kb in length, encompassing MIR124-1 and the MSRA gene, with the strongest association at rs55864141 (P=1.30x10-7). The peak of imputed data at 10q21.1 was 70kb in length between ZWINT and MIR3924, with rs3107503 having the lowest P value (P=1.54x10-7). CONCLUSION. We provide evidence for the association of MYP10 at 8p23 and MYP15 at 10p21.1 with high myopia in the French population and refine these regions of association.

Promoting a Sense of Place: An International Study of Architecture Centres

This paper details an international research project which examined over 50 architecture centres in 23 countries including four case study subjects:
•Kent Architecture Centre, England
•Chicago Architecture Foundation
•Museum of Finnish Architecture
•Netherlands Architecture Institute
The paper analyzes the project's main findings including issues of definition, reasons for foundation, cultural policy impact and the main goals of architecture centres. It summarizes recommendations for centres as they attempt to reach their aims.

Association of retinal arteriolar dilatation with lower verbal memory::The Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study

Abstract


AIMS/HYPOTHESIS:

Retinal vascular calibre changes may reflect early subclinical microvascular disease in diabetes. Because of the considerable homology between retinal and cerebral microcirculation, we examined whether retinal vascular calibre, as a proxy of cerebral microvascular disease, was associated with cognitive function in older people with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS:

A cross-sectional analysis of 954 people aged 60-75 years with type 2 diabetes from the population-based Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study was performed. Participants underwent standard seven-field binocular digital retinal photography and a battery of seven cognitive function tests. The Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale was used to estimate pre-morbid cognitive ability. Retinal vascular calibre was measured from an image field with the optic disc in the centre using a validated computer-based program.

RESULTS:

After age and sex adjustment, larger retinal arteriolar and venular calibres were significantly associated with lower scores for the Wechsler Logical Memory test, with standardised regression coefficients -0.119 and -0.084, respectively (p?<?0.01), but not with other cognitive tests. There was a significant interaction between sex and retinal vascular calibre for logical memory. In male participants, the association of increased retinal arteriolar calibre with logical memory persisted (p?<?0.05) when further adjusted for vocabulary, venular calibre, depression, cardiovascular risk factors and macrovascular disease. In female participants, this association was weaker and not significant.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION:

Retinal arteriolar dilatation was associated with poorer memory, independent of estimated prior cognitive ability in older men with type 2 diabetes. The sex interaction with stronger findings in men requires confirmation. Nevertheless, these data suggest that impaired cerebral arteriolar autoregulation in smooth muscle cells, leading to arteriolar dilatation, may be a possible pathogenic mechanism in verbal declarative memory decrements in people with diabetes.