Educational differences in early childbearing: A cross-national comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Recent research on fertility in industrialized countries focuses primarily on delayed childbearing, despite the facts that large numbers of women continue to enter parenthood at relatively young ages and that early childbearing has been linked to economic disadvantage. OBJECTIVE: This cross-national comparative study describes relationships between women's educational attainment and young age at first birth and evaluates the extent to which these differences have changed over time for women born 1955-1981. METHODS: Defining 'early' childbearing as the age by which 20% of first births have occurred to women in a given birth cohort and country, we describe differences in early childbearing by educational attainment across three cohorts of women in 20 countries. RESULTS: We find a strong negative educational gradient in early childbearing across all 20 countries and some evidence of an increase in the relative prevalence of early childbearing among the least-educated women. In 10 countries, the relative prevalence of early childbearing among women with low education is significantly higher for one or both of the more recent birth cohorts compared to the earliest cohort. However, many countries show no significant change, and in one country (Poland) there is modest evidence of a decreasing educational gap. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence that educational differences in early childbearing have grown in some countries is generally consistent with the notion of family bifurcation and 'diverging destinies' by socioeconomic status. However, the pattern is not universal and future work should examine the various factors that shape these patterns, including the role of public policies.

Comparison of the Effects of Pilates and Yoga Exercise on the Dynamic Balancing Ability and Functional Movement of Fencers.

This study was conducted to compare and analyze whether Pilates exercise and yoga exercise help improve the performance of female fencers and prevent injury, and the dynamic balance test (LQ-YBT) and functional movement screening (FMS) test score of the elite adult female fencers were compared and analyzed as evaluation indicators. Participants were randomly classified into Pilates (n = 10) and yoga groups (n = 10), members of which took part in 50 min of exercise (5 min of warm-up, 40 min of main exercise, and 5 min of cool-down) twice weekly for eight weeks. The results obtained from this study were analyzed via independent t-test and 2-way ANOVA. The results were as follows: LQ-YBT measures (reaching distance) increased significantly for both groups, as did FMS scores (deep squat, hurdle step, inline lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight-leg raise, trunk-stability push-up, and rotary stability). These results suggest that Pilates exercise and yoga exercise might be likely effective in improving the performance of adult female fencers and injury prevention by increasing their dynamic balance ability and functional movement.

Infant mortality in Kyrgyzstan before and after the break-up of the Soviet Union.

There is a great deal of uncertainty over the levels of, and trends in, infant mortality in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. As a result, the impact of the break-up of the Soviet Union on infant mortality in the region is not known, and proper monitoring of mortality levels is impaired. In this paper, a variety of data sources and methods are used to assess levels of infant mortality and their trend over time in one Central Asian republic, Kyrgyzstan, between 1980 and 2010. An abrupt halt to an already established decline in infant mortality was observed to occur during the decade following the break-up of the Soviet Union, contradicting the official statistics based on vital registration. Infants of Central Asian ethnicity and those born in rural areas were also considerably more at risk of mortality than suggested by the official sources. We discuss the implications of these findings, both for health policy in this seldom studied part of the former Soviet Union and for our understanding of the health crisis which it currently faces.

Comprehensive immune profiling and immune-monitoring using body fluid of patients with metastatic gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to profile the cytokines and immune cells of body fluid from metastatic gastric cancer (mGC), and evaluate the potential role as a prognostic factor and the feasibility as a predictive biomarker or monitoring source for immune checkpoint inhibitor. METHODS: Body fluid including ascites and pleural fluid were obtained from 55 mGC patients and 24 matched blood. VEGF-A, IL-10, and TGF-ß1 were measured and immune cells were profiled by fluorescence assisted cell sorting (FACS). RESULTS: VEGF-A and IL-10 were significantly higher in body fluid than in plasma of mGC. Proportion of T lymphocytes with CD69 or PD-1, memory T cell marked with CD45RO, and number of Foxp3+ T regulatory cells (Tregs) were significantly higher in body fluid than those in blood of mGC. Proportion of CD8 T lymphocyte with memory marker (CD45RO) and activation marker (HLA-DR), CD3 T lymphocyte with PD-1, and number of FoxP3+ Tregs were identified as independent prognostic factors. When patients were classified by molecular subgroups of primary tumor, VEGF-A was significantly higher in genomically stable (GS)-like group than that in chromosomal instability (CIN)-like group while PD-L1 positive tumor cells (%) showed opposite results. Monitoring immune dynamics using body fluid was also feasible. Early activated T cell marked with CD25 was significantly increased in chemotherapy treated group. CONCLUSIONS: By analyzing cytokines and proportion of immune cells in body fluid, prognosis of patients with mGC can be predicted. Immune monitoring using body fluid may provide more effective treatment for patients with mGC.

Nonstandard Work and Educational Differentials in Married Women's Employment in Japan: Patterns of Continuity and Change.

The rapid expansion of nonstandard work has altered the nature of women's employment, but previous research on married women's employment trajectories in japan has paid little attention to the role of nonstandard work. to fill this gap, we examine how patterns of employment in regular and nonstandard positions vary by married women's socioeconomic status using nationally representative longitudinal data. results from discrete-time competing risks models of labor force transitions indicate that university graduates have the most stable labor force attachment in that they are the least likely to move from standard to nonstandard employment and to exit nonstandard jobs. in contrast, married women with a high school degree or less are more likely to reenter the labor force to take low-quality nonstandard jobs. these results are consistent with a scenario characterized by both continuity and change. older patterns of labor force exit and reentry, combined with the rise in nonstandard employment, are most relevant for less educated women while the emergence of more career employment opportunities is most relevant for highly educated women. considering the role of women's income in shaping patterns of inequality, these findings have important implications for stratification in japan.