Cancer survivors at work : Work-related problems and factors associated with their employment, work ability and social support from the work community

Due to the improved prognosis of many forms of cancer, an increasing number of cancer survivors are willing to return to work after their treatment. It is generally believed, however, that people with cancer are either unemployed, stay at home, or retire more often than people without cancer. This study investigated the problems that cancer survivors experience on the labour market, as well as the disease-related, sociodemographic and psychosocial factors at work that are associated with the employment and work ability of cancer survivors. The impact of cancer on employment was studied combining the data of Finnish Cancer Registry and census data of the years 1985, 1990, 1995 or 1997 of Statistics Finland. There were two data sets containing 46 312 and 12 542 people with cancer. The results showed that cancer survivors were slightly less often employed than their referents. Two to three years after the diagnosis the employment rate of the cancer survivors was 9% lower than that of their referents (64% vs. 73%), whereas the employment rate was the same before the diagnosis (78%). The employment rate varied greatly according to the cancer type and education. The probability of being employed was greater in the lower than in the higher educational groups. People with cancer were less often employed than people without cancer mainly because of their higher retirement rate (34% vs. 27%). As well as employment, retirement varied by cancer type. The risk of retirement was twofold for people having cancer of the nervous system or people with leukaemia compared to their referents, whereas people with skin cancer, for example, did not have an increased risk of retirement. The aim of the questionnaire study was to investigate whether the work ability of cancer survivors differs from that of people without cancer and whether cancer had impaired their work ability. There were 591 cancer survivors and 757 referents in the data. Even though current work ability of cancer survivors did not differ between the survivors and their referents, 26% of cancer survivors reported that their physical work ability, and 19% that their mental work ability had deteriorated due to cancer. The survivors who had other diseases or had had chemotherapy, most often reported impaired work ability, whereas survivors with a strong commitment to their work organization, or a good social climate at work, reported impairment less frequently. The aim of the other questionnaire study containing 640 people with the history of cancer was to examine extent of social support that cancer survivors needed, and had received from their work community. The cancer survivors had received most support from their co-workers, and they hoped for more support especially from the occupational health care personnel (39% of women and 29% of men). More support was especially needed by men who had lymphoma, had received chemotherapy or had a low education level. The results of this study show that the majority of the survivors are able to return to work. There is, however, a group of cancer survivors who leave work life early, have impaired work ability due to their illness, and suffer from lack of support from their work place and the occupational health services. Treatment-related, as well as sociodemographic factors play an important role in survivors' work-related problems, and presumably their possibilities to continue working.

Group portrait, unidentified co-educational Jewish public school.

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Educational attainment: A genome wide association study in 9538 Australians

BACKGROUND Correlations between Educational Attainment (EA) and measures of cognitive performance are as high as 0.8. This makes EA an attractive alternative phenotype for studies wishing to map genes affecting cognition due to the ease of collecting EA data compared to other cognitive phenotypes such as IQ. METHODOLOGY In an Australian family sample of 9538 individuals we performed a genome-wide association scan (GWAS) using the imputed genotypes of approximately 2.4 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) for a 6-point scale measure of EA. Top hits were checked for replication in an independent sample of 968 individuals. A gene-based test of association was then applied to the GWAS results. Additionally we performed prediction analyses using the GWAS results from our discovery sample to assess the percentage of EA and full scale IQ variance explained by the predicted scores. RESULTS The best SNP fell short of having a genome-wide significant p-value (p = 9.77x10(-7)). In our independent replication sample six SNPs among the top 50 hits pruned for linkage disequilibrium (r(2)<0.8) had a p-value<0.05 but only one of these SNPs survived correction for multiple testing--rs7106258 (p = 9.7*10(-4)) located in an intergenic region of chromosome 11q14.1. The gene based test results were non-significant and our prediction analyses show that the predicted scores explained little variance in EA in our replication sample. CONCLUSION While we have identified a polymorphism chromosome 11q14.1 associated with EA, further replication is warranted. Overall, the absence of genome-wide significant p-values in our large discovery sample confirmed the high polygenic architecture of EA. Only the assembly of large samples or meta-analytic efforts will be able to assess the implication of common DNA polymorphisms in the etiology of EA.

Elizabeth Gottschalk with unidentified classmates on a field trip from Sophienschule; Hannover, Germany. Institutions; Educational; Schools; Portraits; Groups

Elizabeth Gottschalk is probably the student far left on the horse wagon

Unidentified girls class seated at desks in classroom Institutions; Educational; Schools; Portraits; Groups

"Chanukah" written on blackboard at rear left of classroom

Unidentified girls class Institutions; Educational; Schools; Portraits; Groups

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Students on the steps of the Lehranstalt fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Jewish teachers' seminary); Berlin Institutions; Educational; Schools; Portraits; Groups

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Students on the steps of the Lehranstalt fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Jewish teachers' seminary); Berlin Institutions; Educational; Schools; Portraits; Groups

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Optimal simultaneous maximum a posterioriestimation of states, noise statistics and parameters I. Algorithm

The simultaneous state and parameter estimation problem for a linear discrete-time system with unknown noise statistics is treated as a large-scale optimization problem. The a posterioriprobability density function is maximized directly with respect to the states and parameters subject to the constraint of the system dynamics. The resulting optimization problem is too large for any of the standard non-linear programming techniques and hence an hierarchical optimization approach is proposed. It turns out that the states can be computed at the first levelfor given noise and system parameters. These, in turn, are to be modified at the second level.The states are to be computed from a large system of linear equations and two solution methods are considered for solving these equations, limiting the horizon to a suitable length. The resulting algorithm is a filter-smoother, suitable for off-line as well as on-line state estimation for given noise and system parameters. The second level problem is split up into two, one for modifying the noise statistics and the other for modifying the system parameters. An adaptive relaxation technique is proposed for modifying the noise statistics and a modified Gauss-Newton technique is used to adjust the system parameters.

Optimal simultaneous maximum a posterioriestimation of states, noise statistics and parameters II. Numerical performance

A very general and numerically quite robust algorithm has been proposed by Sastry and Gauvrit (1980) for system identification. The present paper takes it up and examines its performance on a real test example. The example considered is the lateral dynamics of an aircraft. This is used as a vehicle for demonstrating the performance of various aspects of the algorithm in several possible modes.

The Spin-Statistics Relation and Noncommutative Quantum Field Theory

The efforts of combining quantum theory with general relativity have been great and marked by several successes. One field where progress has lately been made is the study of noncommutative quantum field theories that arise as a low energy limit in certain string theories. The idea of noncommutativity comes naturally when combining these two extremes and has profound implications on results widely accepted in traditional, commutative, theories. In this work I review the status of one of the most important connections in physics, the spin-statistics relation. The relation is deeply ingrained in our reality in that it gives us the structure for the periodic table and is of crucial importance for the stability of all matter. The dramatic effects of noncommutativity of space-time coordinates, mainly the loss of Lorentz invariance, call the spin-statistics relation into question. The spin-statistics theorem is first presented in its traditional setting, giving a clarifying proof starting from minimal requirements. Next the notion of noncommutativity is introduced and its implications studied. The discussion is essentially based on twisted Poincaré symmetry, the space-time symmetry of noncommutative quantum field theory. The controversial issue of microcausality in noncommutative quantum field theory is settled by showing for the first time that the light wedge microcausality condition is compatible with the twisted Poincaré symmetry. The spin-statistics relation is considered both from the point of view of braided statistics, and in the traditional Lagrangian formulation of Pauli, with the conclusion that Pauli's age-old theorem stands even this test so dramatic for the whole structure of space-time.

Nachman Zonabend 1939-1944

The records reflect the organizational structure of the Jewish ghetto administration and consist of the following: Correspondence with German government agencies, 1939-1941, including the Police and Gestapo, the *Oberburgermeister* of Litzmannstadt (German name for Lodz), the *Gettoverwaltung* (German administration of the ghetto). The correspondence pertains to the establishment of the ghetto, expropriation of Jewish property, resettlement of Lodz Jews into the ghetto, sanitary conditions, ghetto industry, anti-Jewish ordinances. Announcements issued by Rumkowski, 1940-1944. A complete set of daily communications to the ghetto population on all subjects pertinent to ghetto life such as: confiscations of Jewish property, food rationing, availability of work, relief distribution, deportations, liquidation of the ghetto. Files of various departments of the Jewish ghetto administration including labor divisions and workshops, the Jewish police (*Ordnungsdienst*), Statistics Department, Ghetto Court, Archives, Resettlement Department, Deportation Commission. Of special interest are the Archives files which contain essays and reports written by the Archives staff expressly for the purpose of historical record on subjects related to ghetto life. Outstanding in this group are reports and literary sketches by Joseph Zelkowicz, including his extensive account about the *Gesperre* (Yid. Shpere) - the deportation of the children, the old and the infirm in September, 1942. In addition, the Archives files contain bulletins of the *Daily Chronicle* of the Lodz Ghetto, transcripts of speeches by Rumkowski, and issues of the *Geto-tsaytung*, a short-lived official publication of the Eldest of the Jews. Iconographic materials, including photographs and albums. The photographs taken by Mendel Grossman, Henryk Ross, Maliniak, Zonabend and others, provide an extensive visual record of ghetto life.

Joseph A. Rosen Papers 1921-1938

With few exceptions, the bulk of the collection pertains to the work of the Agro-Joint. Records of the Agro-Joint Director General. Agreements of the American Relief Administration (ARA) and the Joint Distribution Committee with the Soviet government, 1922-1923. Agreements between the Agro-Joint and the Soviet government, 1924, 1927, 1928. Agreements of the Agro-Joint and the American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) with the Soviet government, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938. Materials relating to relief work of the JDC within the framework of the American Relief Administration, 1922, including the appointment of J. Rosen as the JDC representative at the ARA. Statistics, reports, miscellaneous correspondence relating to JDC activities in Russia. Minutes, memos, reports, legal documents, certificate of incorporation, and general correspondence relating to the ASJFS, its formation, fund-raising activities, 1927-1939. Records of the Agro-Joint Main Office, Moscow. Annual and periodi c reports of the Agro-Joint including statistics, financial estimates, financial reports, analyses of expenditures, relating to Agro-Joint work, 1924-1937. General correspondence files: incoming and outgoing letters, reports, and memoranda. Materials relating to land surveys and allocations in the Crimea: statistics, surveys, memos, correspondence, relating to the Salsk district, Chernomor district, Changar peninsula, Azov, Kuban, Odessa district, Samara district, Povolzhe, Krivoy Rog, Kherson, The Far East, Siberia. Materials relating to contacts with KOMZET. Correspondence, minutes of KOMZET meetings, statistical information, reports. By-laws of the OZET (Obshchestvo po Zemleustroystvu Trudyachtchikhsya Evreev - Association For the Settlement of Toiling Jews On Land) and AGRO-KUSTBANK (Evreysky Agrarno-Kustarny Bank - Jewish Agricultural and House Workers Bank). Register of Agro-Joint assets transferred to KOMZET. Records of the Agro-Joint Agricultural Department. Materials

Board of Delegates of American Israelites records 1859-1881, 1887, 1932

Contains printed copies of the 1860 constitution and by-laws, copies of proceedings and annual reports, 1859-1877, of the Board of Delegates; report on Jews in Roumania, an 1874 annual report of the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society, manuscript minute books and minutes of meetings, 1859-1876, resolutions, executive, financial, ritual slaughtering and other special committee reports, newspaper clippings and correspondence with synagogues and organizations in the U.S. who constitute the membership of the Board of Delegates, with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations with whom they later merged, the Union's Board of Delegates of Civil and Religious Rights, and with individuals and organizations in foreign countries including the Alliance Israelite Universelle, the Anglo-Jewish Association, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Committee for the Roumanian Jews (Berlin), the Koenigsberg Committee, and the London Roumanian Committee.