Employment Situation of Parents of Long-Term Childhood Cancer Survivors.

BACKGROUND Taking care of children diagnosed with cancer affects parents' professional life. The impact in the long-term however, is not clear. We aimed to compare the employment situation of parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors with control parents of the general population, and to identify clinical and socio-demographic factors associated with parental employment. METHODS As part of the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, we sent a questionnaire to parents of survivors aged 5-15 years, who survived ≥5 years after diagnosis. Information on control parents of the general population came from the Swiss Health Survey (restricted to men and women with ≥1 child aged 5-15 years). Employment was categorized as not employed, part-time, and full-time employed. We used generalized ordered logistic regression to determine associations with clinical and socio-demographic factors. Clinical data was available from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. RESULTS We included 394 parent-couples of survivors and 3'341 control parents (1'731 mothers; 1'610 fathers). Mothers of survivors were more often not employed (29% versus 22%; ptrend = 0.007). However, no differences between mothers were found in multivariable analysis. Fathers of survivors were more often employed full-time (93% versus 87%; ptrend = 0.002), which remained significant in multivariable analysis. Among parents of survivors, mothers with tertiary education (OR = 2.40, CI:1.14-5.07) were more likely to be employed. Having a migration background (OR = 3.63, CI: 1.71-7.71) increased the likelihood of being full-time employed in mothers of survivors. Less likely to be employed were mothers of survivors diagnosed with lymphoma (OR = 0.31, CI:0.13-0.73) and >2 children (OR = 0.48, CI:0.30-0.75); and fathers of survivors who had had a relapse (OR = 0.13, CI:0.04-0.36). CONCLUSION Employment situation of parents of long-term survivors reflected the more traditional parenting roles. Specific support for parents with low education, additional children, and whose child had a more severe cancer disease could improve their long-term employment situation.

Studies of the structure and function of a fibrinogen binding MSCRAMM(RTM) from Staphylococcus epidermidis

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are recognized as important pathogens and are particularly associated with foreign body infections. S. epidermidis accounts for approximately 75% of the infections caused by CNS. Three genes, sdrF, sdrG, and sdrH, were identified by screening a S. epidermidis genomic library with a probe encompassing the serine-aspartate dipeptide repeat-encoding region (region R) of clfA from S. aureus. SdrG has significant amino acid identity to ClfA, ClfB and other surface proteins of S. aureus. SdrG is also similar to a protein (Fbe) recently described by Nilsson, et al. (Infection and Immunity, 1998, 66:2666–73) from S. epidermidis. The N-terminal domain (A region) of SdrG was expressed as a his-tag fusion protein in E. coli. In an ELISA, this protein, rSdrG(50-597) was shown to bind specifically to fibrinogen (Fg). Western ligand blot analysis showed that SdrG binds the Bβ chain of Fg. To further characterize the rSdrG(50-597)-Fg interaction, truncates of the Fg Bβ chain were made and expressed as recombinant proteins in E. coli. SdrG was shown to bind the full-length Bβ chain (1462), as well as the N-terminal three-quarters (1-341), the N-terminal one-half (1-220) and the N-terminal one-quarter (1-95) Bβ chain constructs. rSdrG(50-597) failed to bind to the recombinant truncates that lacked the N-terminal 25 amino acid residues of this polypeptide suggesting that SdrG recognizes a site within this region of the Bβ chain. Inhibition ELISAs have shown that peptide mimetics, including β1–25, and β6–20, encompassing this 25 residue region can inhibit binding of rSdrG(50-597) to Fg coated wells. Using fluorescence polarization we were able to determine an equilibrium constant (KD) for the interaction of rSdrG(50-597) with the Fg Bβ chain peptide β1–25. The labeled peptide was shown to bind to rSdrG(50-597) with a KD of 0.14 ± 0.01μM. Because rSdrG(50-597) recognizes a site in the Fg Bβ chain close to the thrombin cleavage site, we investigated the possibility of the rSdrG(50-597) site either overlapping or lying close to this cleavage site. An ELISA showed that rSdrG(50-597) binding to thrombin-treated Fg was significantly reduced. In a clot inhibition assay rSdrG(50-597) was able to inhibit fibrin clot formation in a concentration dependent manner. Furthermore, rSdrG(50-597) was able to inhibit clot formation by preventing the release of fibrinopeptide B as determined by HPLC. To further define the interaction between rSdrG(50-597) and peptide β6–20, we utilized an alanine amino acid replacement strategy. The residues in β6–20 that appear to be important in rSdrG(50-597) binding to Fg, were confirmed by the rSdrG(273-597)-β6–20 co-crystal structure that was recently solved by our collaborators at University of Alabama-Birmingham. Additionally, rSdrG(50-597) was not able to bind to Fg from different animal species, rather it bound specifically to human Fg in an ELISA. This suggests that the sequence variation between Fg Bβ chains of different species, specifically with in the N-terminal 25 residues, affects the ability of rSdrG(50-597) binding to Fg, and this may explain why S. epidermidis is primarily a human pathogen. ^

Einzelbemerkungen zur Lieferung 3 - 6 der Holtzmannschen Mischna-Ausgabe [Rezension] : (Fortsetzung von Jahrg. 1918, S. 70-75)

Viktor Aptowitzer

Figuren zwischen den Zeiten : Zu Scholem Alejchems 75. Geburtstag

Leo Hirsch

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 75 - Antwortschreiben mit Angaben über Blésimaires Tanzfähigkeiten

u.a.: Ortsbeschreibungen; Beschäftigung mit der Mathematik;

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 75 - Korrespondenzen u.a. mit Armin Hodler (p. II 9, 1-88b)

37 Briefe und Beilage zwischen Armin Hodler und Max Horkheimer, 1935-1948; 14 Briefe und Beilage zwischen Hans Honegger und Max Horkheimer, 1941-1946; 1 Brief und Beilage von Max Horkheimer an Paul Honigsheim, 1943; 9 Briefe zwischen Hans Horkheimer und Max Horkheimer, 1945-1948 sowie 1 Reisebericht, Peru, 1939; 2 Briefe zwischen Susanna Huber-Weisser und Max Horkheimer, 1949; 5 Briefe zwischen Helen MacGill-Hughes vom The American Journal of Sociology und Max Horkheimer, 1949; 1 Briefabschrift von Max Horkheimer an Edmund Husserl, 28.10.1931; 1 Brief von Elizabeth Husserl-Rosenberg, 06.01.1948;

Ms. Praed. 75 - Flores ex libris Bernhardi Claraevallensis

Vorbesitzer: Dominikanerkloster Frankfurt am Main

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 341 - Bitte an Professor Hugo von Meltzl um die Veröffentlichung eines Manuskriptes anlässlich des anstehenden Schopenhauer-Jubiläums

u.a.: Ferdinand Laban;

Ms.Ff.F.Stoltze 3. 75 - Brief von Wilhelm Jordan und Eugen Gantter von Frankfurter Journalisten- und Schriftsteller-Verein an Friedrich Stoltze

Glückwünsche zum 70. Geburtstag

Ms. lat. qu. 75 - Biblia sacra ex vulgata editione

Vorbesitzer: Johann Hartmann Beyer

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 542 - Korrespondenzen mit Leo Löwenthal (p. VI 16, 147 - 341)

109 Briefe zwischen Leo Löwenthal und Max Horkheimer; 1 Brief von den Office of Strategie Services (Washington D.C.) an Leo Löwenthal, 23.10.1943; 2 Briefe von Leo Löwenthal an Frederick Pollock, August 1943; 3 Briefe zwischen Daniel Levison und Leo Löwenthal, August 1943;

Erasmus Gruberus Pastor et Superintendens Ratisponensis An. Aet. 75. Minist. 46. Pastorat 17. 1684

Signatur des Originals: S 36/G03103