Within-job gender pay inequality in 15 countries

Extant research on the gender pay gap suggests that men and women who do the same work for the same employer receive similar pay, so that processes sorting people into jobs are thought to account for the vast majority of the pay gap. Data that can identify women and men who do the same work for the same employer are rare, and research informing this crucial aspect of gender differences in pay is several decades old and from a limited number of countries. Here, using recent linked employer-employee data from 15 countries, we show that the processes sorting people into different jobs account for substantially less of the gender pay differences than was previously believed and that within-job pay differences remain consequential.

From the grocery store shelves to the neurologist's office: spinal cord effects of nitrous oxide

We describe a patient who presented with subacute ascending numbness who we diagnosed with nitrous oxide toxicity from recreational drug abuse. Characteristic neuroimaging is presented and the diagnostic process for this condition is reviewed.

Rising between-workplace inequalities in high-income countries

It is well documented that earnings inequalities have risen in many high-income countries. Less clear are the linkages between rising income inequality and workplace dynamics, how within- and between-workplace inequality varies across countries, and to what extent these inequalities are moderated by national labor market institutions. In order to describe changes in the initial between- and within-firm market income distribution we analyze administrative records for 2,000,000,000+ job years nested within 50,000,000+ workplace years for 14 high-income countries in North America, Scandinavia, Continental and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. We find that countries vary a great deal in their levels and trends in earnings inequality but that the between-workplace share of wage inequality is growing in almost all countries examined and is in no country declining. We also find that earnings inequalities and the share of between-workplace inequalities are lower and grew less strongly in countries with stronger institutional employment protections and rose faster when these labor market protections weakened. Our findings suggest that firm-level restructuring and increasing wage inequalities between workplaces are more central contributors to rising income inequality than previously recognized.

Non-infectious diffuse vesiculobullous rash in a pancreas and renal transplant recipient

Solid organ transplant patients are well established to be at risk of herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus infection and reactivation. We present a case of a 41-year-old woman with a history of pancreas and renal transplant who presented with what appeared to be disseminated herpes simplex virus or varicella zoster virus induced rash, but who was ultimately diagnosed and treated as linear IgA bullous dermatosis. This case alerts physicians to other non-infectious dermatoses as a cause of vesiculobullous rash in solid organ transplant patients.

Concurrent Sturge-Weber syndrome, facial infantile hemangioma, and cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita

We present a unique case of 3 vascular malformations-Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS), facial infantile hemangioma (IH), and cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita (CMTC)-with dermatologic manifestations presenting in the same patient. This case highlights the possibility of occurrence of multiple vascular malformations in the same patient; the potential role of epigenetic factors; and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to diagnose, treat, and manage this complicated interplay of vascular abnormalities to achieve the best outcome.

CBP Activity Mediates Effects of the Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Butyrate on WNT Activity and Apoptosis in Colon Cancer Cells

Mutations in the WNT/beta-catenin pathway are responsible for initiating the majority of colorectal cancers (CRCs). We have previously shown that hyperactivation of this signaling by histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) such as butyrate, a fermentation product of dietary fiber, promotes CRC cell apoptosis. The extent of association between beta-catenin and the transcriptional coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP) influences WNT/catenin signaling and, therefore, colonic cell physiology. CBP functions as a histone acetylase (HAT); therefore, we hypothesized that the modulation of WNT/catenin activity by CBP modifies the ability of the HDACi butyrate to hyperinduce WNT signaling and apoptosis in CRC cells. Our findings indicate that CBP affects the hyperinduction of WNT activity by butyrate. ICG-001, which specifically blocks association between CBP and beta-catenin, abrogates the butyrate-triggered increase in the number of CRC cells with high levels of WNT/catenin signaling. Combination treatment of CRC cells with ICG-001 and butyrate results in cell type-specific effects on apoptosis. Further, both butyrate and ICG-001 repress CRC cell proliferation, with additive effects in suppressing cell growth. Our study strongly suggests that ICG-001-like agents would be effective against butyrate/HDACi-resistant CRC cells. Therefore, ICG-001-like agents may represent an important therapeutic option for CRCs that exhibit low-fold hyperactivation of WNT activity and apoptosis in the presence of HDACis. The findings generated from this study may lead to approaches that utilize modulation of CBP activity to facilitate CRC therapeutic or chemopreventive strategies.

Binding of anthrax toxin to its receptor is similar to alpha integrin-ligand interactions

The secreted protein toxin produced by Bacillus anthracis contributes to virulence of this pathogen and can cause many of the symptoms seen during an anthrax infection, including shock and sudden death. The cell-binding component of anthrax toxin, protective antigen, mediates entry of the toxin into cells by first binding directly to the extracellular integrin-like inserted (I) domain of the cellular anthrax toxin receptor, ATR. Here we report that this interaction requires an intact metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) in the receptor as well as the presence of specific divalent cations. Also, we demonstrate that the toxin-receptor interaction is critically dependent on the Asp-683 carboxylate group of protective antigen, which projects from the receptor binding surface. We propose that this carboxylate group completes the coordination of the MIDAS metal of ATR, mimicking integrin-ligand interactions.

Reproducibility of Bayesian belief network assessment of breast fine needle aspirates

OBJECTIVE

To assess the consistency of diagnosis of fine needle aspiration biopsies of breast lesions by three experienced and five less experienced pathologists using conventional means and applying a Bayesian belief network (BBN) to 10 diagnostic features to support diagnostic decision making.

STUDY DESIGN

Forty fine needle aspiration biopsies, previously assessed by one of the experienced pathologists both conventionally and using a BBN, were assessed by two further experienced pathologists and five less experienced pathologists.

RESULTS

Using the BBN, the experienced pathologists arrived at diagnoses in agreement with an established consensus at a slightly lower rate than by conventional means. The less experienced pathologists arrived at the correct diagnoses no more frequently with the help of the BBN than conventionally.

CONCLUSION

As used in this study, the BBN did not help less experienced pathologists to interpret their observations but did not enable less experienced pathologists to identify how their observations differed and affected their diagnoses. The prototype system used in this study has since been upgraded by providing computer graphic displays of the features to be observed so that a more uniform mental image can be held by the participating pathologists. This will be tested with the same study design.