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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder with significant health disparities, as it disproportionately and more severely affects vulnerable and disadvantaged population groups in the United States and around the world, that is, women, ethnic minorities, individuals living in poverty, less educated, and lacking medical insurance. Both, genetic and non-genetic factors, contribute to these disparities. To overcome these health disparities and reduce poor outcomes among disadvantaged SLE populations, interventions on non-genetic amendable factors, especially on social health determinants, are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hop has been used for centuries in brewing because of its aroma and bitterness; it is mainly cultivated in Northern Europe and in the United States; to date, few data are available about its performance in the Mediterranean environment. The hop contribution to the final taste of beers is related to the chemical composition of resin and essential oils resulting from both genetic material and environmental conditions. In the last decade, the rising of interest in craft beer has led brewers to use local ingredients to produce beers with a stronger identity. In this paper, the quality parameters of hop Var. Cascade recently introduced in Sardinia have been investigated. The hop fields were sampled for three crop seasons (2015, 2016 and 2017); the yield and the chemical composition of essential oil as well as the alpha- and beta-acids were evaluated by GC–MS and UV-HPLC techniques. The obtained data demonstrate that features of Cascade hop grew in Sardinia are in the same range of those cultivated in USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its introduction as a public health programme in the United States in the early 1960s, newborn blood screening (NBS) has evolved from the detection of phenylalanine levels on filter paper to the application of DNA-based technologies to identify T-cell lymphopenia in infants with severe combined immunodeficiency. This latter use of NBS has required the development of an assay for T-cell lymphopenia based on the quantification of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) that could be performed on dried blood spots routinely collected from newborn infants. The TREC-based NBS was developed six years ago, and there have already been 7 successful pilot studies since then. Similarly, efforts are now being made to establish a screen for B-cell defects, in particular agammaglobulinaemia, taking advantage of the introduction of the method for the quantification of K-deleting recombination excision circles (KRECs). A further achievement of NBS could be the simultaneous recognition of T- and B-cell defects using the combined quantification of TRECs and KRECs from Guthrie card blood spots. This approach may help the early identification of infants with T- and B-cell deficiencies so that they can then be referred to specialised paediatric centres, where a precise diagnosis of severe combined immunodeficiency and agammaglobulinaemia can be performed, and where then they can immediately receive specific therapy. Simultaneous TREC and KREC quantification should also allow classification of patients into subgroups and help identify children with less serious primary immunodeficiencies. This would help avoid the opportunistic infections and frequent hospitalisations that result from a late or lack of diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecuador recently experienced an unprecedented wave of emigration following the severe economic crisis of the late 1990s. Individual-level data for Ecuador and its two main migration destinations, Spain and the United States, are used to examine the size and skill composition of these migration flows and the role of wage differences in accounting for these features. Estimations of earnings regressions for Ecuadorians in all three countries show substantially larger income gains following migration to the United States than to Spain, with the wage differential increasing with migrants' education level. While this finding can account for the pattern of positive sorting in education toward the United States, it fails to explain why most Ecuadorians opted for Spain. The explanation for this preference appears to lie in Spain's visa waiver program for Ecuadorians. When the program was abruptly terminated, monthly inflows of Ecuadorians to Spain declined immediately. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Post-harvest residue removal is critical for high seed production of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). Previous work showed some accessions have little yield reduction with mechanical removal of post-harvest residue compared with the controversial practice of open-field burning. Using 10 of these accessions, our objectives were (i) to relate seed yield and yield components in spaced plants to yield in row-seeded plots, (ii) to link yield to growth and development factors, and (iii) to determine variation for seed production factors among accessions. Seed yield, seeds per panicle, panide number, weight per seed, heading, anthesis, and harvest dates showed strong accession differences on spaced plants in 2002 and 2003. Yields in row-seeded plots from 1998 and 1999 data were consistently correlated with yield per plant per area in spaced plants in 2002 (r = 0.75, P < 0.05) and 2003 (r = 0.90, P < 0.01). Turf quality was negatively correlated with yield per plant per area in 2002 and 2003 but was not consistently correlated with yield components. Days from heading to anthesis consistently correlated with yield per plant per area in 2002 (r = 0.81, P < 0.01) and 2003 (r = 0.85, P < 0.01). Variation for seed yield and yield components was observed within accessions both years and differed among accessions. The results show that seed yield per plant per area in spaced plants may be a useful predictor of yield in field stands and that a long heading to anthesis period promotes seeds per panicle and seed yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) predominantly affects women. Clinical phenotype and outcomes in SLE may vary by sex and are further complicated by unique concerns that are dependent upon sex-defined roles. We aimed to describe sex differences in disease-specific quality of life (QoL) assessment scores using the Lupus Patient-Reported Outcome (LupusPRO) tool in a large international study., Methods: Cross-sectional data from 1,803 patients with SLE on demographics, self-identified sex status, LupusPRO, and disease activity were analyzed. The LupusPRO tool has 2 constructs: health-related QoL (HRQoL) and non-HRQoL. Disease activity and damage were evaluated using the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment version of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index, respectively. Nonparametric tests were used to compare QoL and disease activity by sex., Results: A total of 122 men and 1,681 women with SLE participated. The mean age was similar by sex, but the damage scores were greater among men. Men fared worse on the non-HRQoL social support domain than women (P = 0.02). When comparing disease and QoL among men and women ages ≤45 years, men were found to have greater damage and worse social support than women. However, women fared significantly worse on lupus symptoms, cognition, and procreation domains with trends for worse functioning on physical health and pain-vitality domains., Conclusion: In the largest study of a diverse group of SLE patients, utilizing a disease-specific QoL tool, sex differences in QoL were observed on both HRQoL and non-HRQoL constructs. Although men performed worse in the social support domain, women (especially those in the reproductive age group) fared worse in other domains. These observations may assist physicians in appropriately addressing QoL issues in a sex-focused manner., (© 2018, American College of Rheumatology.)