Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors and associated with decreased fecundity, pregnancy loss, and adverse obstetrical outcomes, however the underlying mechanisms remain to be established. ...Environmental factors can influence gene expression and cell function by modifying epigenetic marks, impacting the developing embryo as well as future generations of offspring. The impact of phthalates on placental gene methylation and expression is largely unknown. We studied the effect of maternal phthalate exposure on the human placental DNA methylome and transcriptome. We determined epigenome-wide DNA methylation marks (Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 850k BeadChip) and gene expression (Agilent whole human genome array) associated with phthalate exposure in first trimester placenta. Integrative genomic analysis of candidate genes was performed to define gene methylation-expression relationships. We identified 39 genes with significantly altered methylation and gene expression in the high phthalate exposure group. Most of these relationships were inversely correlated. This analysis identified epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as a critical candidate gene mediating the effects of phthalates on early placental function. Although additional studies are needed to determine the functional consequences of these changes, our findings are consistent with the model that phthalates impact placental function by modulating the expression of critical placental genes through epigenetic regulation.
Rationale
Allergic diseases are an increasing public health concern, and early life environment is critical to immune development. Maternal diet during pregnancy has been linked to offspring allergy ...risk. In turn, maternal diet is a potentially modifiable factor, which could be targeted as an allergy prevention strategy. In this systematic review, we focused on non‐allergen‐specific modifying factors of the maternal diet in pregnancy on allergy outcomes in their offspring.
Methods
We undertook a systematic review of studies investigating the association between maternal diet during pregnancy and allergic outcomes (asthma/wheeze, hay fever/allergic rhinitis/seasonal allergies, eczema/atopic dermatitis (AD), food allergies, and allergic sensitization) in offspring. Studies evaluating the effect of food allergen intake were excluded. We searched three bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science) through February 26, 2019. Evidence was critically appraised using modified versions of the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool for intervention trials and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence methodological checklist for cohort and case‐control studies and meta‐analysis performed from RCTs.
Results
We identified 95 papers: 17 RCTs and 78 observational (case‐control, cross‐sectional, and cohort) studies. Observational studies varied in design and dietary intakes and often had contradictory findings. Based on our meta‐analysis, RCTs showed that vitamin D supplementation (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.56‐0.92) is associated with a reduced risk of wheeze/asthma. A positive trend for omega‐3 fatty acids was observed for asthma/wheeze, but this did not reach statistical significance (OR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.45‐1.08). Omega‐3 supplementation was also associated with a non‐significant decreased risk of allergic rhinitis (OR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.56‐1.04). Neither vitamin D nor omega‐3 fatty acids were associated with an altered risk of AD or food allergy.
Conclusions
Prenatal supplementation with vitamin D may have beneficial effects for prevention of asthma. Additional nutritional factors seem to be required for modulating the risk of skin and gastrointestinal outcomes. We found no consistent evidence regarding other dietary factors, perhaps due to differences in study design and host features that were not considered. While confirmatory studies are required, there is also a need for performing RCTs beyond single nutrients/foods.
Our systematic review focused on the maternal diet in pregnancy and allergy outcomes in the offspring. Results from the observational studies provided no conclusive evidence on whether the mother’s diet when pregnant affects the development of offspring allergic disease. Data from the randomized controlled trials indicated that vitamin D supplementation in doses higher than recommended by most countries, lead to a 30% reduction in offspring asthma. As a result, no recommendations about what pregnant women should eat or which supplements to take, to prevent their offspring from developing allergic disease can be made at this stage. Further studies should be performed, using standardised methods focusing on the total diet rather than one nutrient, using validated instruments to measure dietary intake and clearly defining the phenotype ad genetic characteristics of each woman.
This ethnographic study uses the lens of ethnic difference to examine the experience of infertility and the cultural politics of belonging in modern Germany. The data are derived from participant ...observation and interviews conducted with forty-one ethnic Germans and thirty-three German Turks undergoing biomedical treatment for infertility at a fertility clinic in Berlin (1998–2000). Through their illness narratives, men and women symbolically link their loss of biological parenthood to losses in other life arenas, such as gender identity, social status and cultural acceptance. Results reveal that while both German Turks and ethnic Germans experience disruption and social suffering from their inability to conform to procreative norms, German Turkish sufferers exhibit higher levels of distress, which directly relates to their dual stigma as outsiders in both German Turkish culture and mainstream German culture. The findings suggest that the tensions surrounding individual reproductive practices are reflective of larger national tensions regarding the constitution of the body politic in an increasingly multicultural Germany.
This paper describes the IBM eServer(TM) BladeCenter® T system, an extension of the BladeCenter platform designed for the specific and rigorous requirements of the telecommunications industry, such ...as compliance with Telcordia Technologies Network Equipment - Building Standards (NEBS(TM)) specifications. The Telcordia NEBS documents and the analogous documents written for the European marketplace by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute define the range of environmental and electrical parameters presented by this market segment. A key characteristic of the telecommunications industry is its focus on the availability and redundancy of the equipment used to provide service to its customers. These requirements imposed significant design changes on the BladeCenter platform and software, while maintaining a solution compatible with the original BladeCenter architecture. This paper provides details of the design changes that were made in the areas of hardware, software, systems management, and integration, and concludes with examples and a discussion of customer solutions with the BladeCenter T system. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Title. Determinants of early retirement intentions among Belgian nurses
Aim. This paper is a report of a study to gain insight into older nurses’ retirement intentions and to establish factors ...determining early retirement intention in these individuals.
Background. In many developed countries, the working population is ageing. This will lead to a structural labour shortage in the near future. In nursing, this is already taking place. To retain nurses in employment, information on the determinants of their early retirement intentions are imperative.
Method. A cross‐sectional study was carried out in 2005 in one Belgian hospital. Data were collected by questionnaire with 100 nurses aged 45 or older. The response rate was 69·9%.
Findings. No fewer than 77% of the nurses wanted to stop working before the age of 65 years. The following individual, work‐related, and organizational factors contributed to older nurses’ intention to retire early: perceived health, marital status, gender, opportunities for change and development, workload, and negative stereotyping of older employees.
Conclusion. Our findings offer insight regarding the influencing factors of early retirement intentions in nurses. This information may be useful to human resource managers and may enable them to successfully prevent early retirement in nurses. More research on this topic is needed as this will enable the development, implementation and evaluation of well‐founded measures for retaining older nurses in the workplace.
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