Article Database

Job Mobility Among Millennials: Do They Stay or Do They Go?

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Millennials are a substantial segment of the workforce; they are perceived to be driven by higher pay, quick to be dissatisfied and leave a job, and committed to volunteering. This article examines how these perceptions translate to job mobility in terms of job switching within and across sectors, without drawing cross-generation comparisons. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort (NLSY97) from 2008 to 2013, we notice a trend among millennials of frequent job switching within rather than across sectors. Job dissatisfaction is the strongest predictor of public-sector employees switching jobs within the sector. For sector switching, we find some variation: Low pay corresponds with exiting the nonprofit sector, whereas job dissatisfaction is the strongest predictor of leaving the public sector. Millennials working in the public and nonprofit sectors are less likely to switch sectors if they volunteer. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Palm readings: Manicaria saccifera palm fibers are biocompatible textiles with low immunogenicity

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Plant-based fibers are a potential alternative to synthetic polymer fibers that can yield enhanced biocompatibility and mechanical properties matching those properties of tissue. Given the unique morphology of the bract of the Manicaria saccifera palm, being an interwoven meshwork of fibers, we believe that these fibers with this built-in structure could prove useful as a tissue engineering scaffold material. Thus, we first investigated the fiber’s in vitro biocompatibility and immunogenicity. We cultured NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts, human aortic smooth muscle cells, and human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells on the fiber mats, which all readily attached and over 21 days grew to engulf the fibers. Importantly, this was achieved without treating the plant tissue with extracellular matrix proteins or any adhesion ligands. In addition, we measured the gene expression and protein secretion of three target inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-8, and TNFα) from THP-1 human leukemia monocytes cultured in the presence of the biotextile as an in vitro immunological model. After 24 h of culture, gene expression and protein secretion were largely the same as the control, demonstrating the low immunogenicity of Manicaria saccifera fibers. We also measured the tensile mechanical properties of the fibers. Individual fibers after processing had a Young’s modulus of 9.51 ± 4.38 GPa and a tensile strength of 68.62 ± 27.93 MPa. We investigated the tensile mechanical properties of the fiber mats perpendicular to the fiber axis (transverse loading), which displayed upwards of 100% strain, but with a concession in strength compared to longitudinal loading. Collectively, our in vitro assessments point toward Manicaria saccifera as a highly biocompatible biotextile, with a range of potential clinical and engineering applications.

Multi-layer approaches to scaffold-based small diameter vessel engineering: a review

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Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. A characteristic symptom of cardiovascular disease is occlusion of vessels. Once vascular occlusion occurs there is a critical need to re-establish flow to prevent ischemia in the downstream tissues. In the most advanced cases, flow is re-established by creating a secondary flow path around the blockage, bypass grafting. For large diameter applications, synthetic conduits are successfully implanted, however in small diameter applications re-occlusion occurs and there is a critical need for new vascular grafts. There are many strategies and approaches that are being employed to design an effective and successful vascular graft. However, to date, there are no clinically available small diameter vascular grafts that are consistently successful in vivo long term (>7 years). As an effort to develop a successful graft there are several tissue engineering approaches: cell sheets, synthetic and natural biomaterial platforms, and decellularized extracellular matrices that are being investigated. While each area has its advantages, scaffold-based approaches are among the most widely studied. Scaffold based approaches are extensively studied due to tailorability and the availability of synthetic and natural polymers. Within the area of scaffold-based approaches, biomimicry has become an increasingly studied area, and structural biomimicry is one of the many approaches. The focus of this review paper is to analyze scaffold-based approaches. Particularly the advantages and disadvantages of using multi-layer scaffold-based approaches to engineer conduits for small diameter applications.

The MechanoBioTester: A Decoupled Multi-Stimulus Cell Culture Device for Studying Complex Microenvironments In-Vitro

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Increasingly being recognized is the role of the complex microenvironment to regulate cell phenotype; however, the cell culture systems used to study these effects in vitro are lagging. The complex microenvironment is a combination of biological interactions, chemical factors, and mechanical stimuli. Many devices have been designed to probe the effects of one mechanical stimulus, but few are capable of systematically interrogating all combinations of mechanical stimuli with independent control. To address this gap, we have developed the MechanoBioTester platform, a decoupled, multistimulus cell culture model for studying the cellular response to complex microenvironments in vitro. The system uses an engineered elastomeric chamber with a specially defined region for incorporating different target materials to act as the cell culture substrate. We have tested the system with several target materials, including polydimethylsiloxane elastomer, polyacrylamide gel, poly(1,8-octanediol citrate) elastomer, and type I collagen gel for both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cocultures. Additionally, when the chamber is connected to a flow circuit and our stretching device, stimuli in the form of fluid flow, cyclic stretch, and hydrostatic pressure are able to be imparted with independent control. We validated the device using experimental and computational methods to define a range of capabilities relevant to physiological microenvironments. The MechanoBioTester platform promises to function as a model system for mechanobiology, biomaterial design, and drug discovery applications that focus on probing the impact of a complex microenvironment in an in vitro setting. The protocol described provides the details characterizing the MechanoBioTester system, the steps for fabricating the MechanoBioTester chamber, and the procedure for operating the MechanoBioTester system to stimulate cells.

Altered Functions of Human Blood-Derived Vascular Endothelial Cells by Simulated Microgravity

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Recently, the increase in incidence of cardiovascular degeneration associated with weightlessness has drawn much attention to the detrimental effects of space travel on cardiovascular health. Particularly, the regulatory role of the endothelium in cardiovascular degeneration has been studied extensively. The goal of this study was to understand the effects of simulated microgravity on the proliferative, secretory, and anti-thrombogenic functions of endothelial cells differentiated from human blood-derived progenitor cells. Exposure to simulated microgravity enhanced proliferation, as well as the release of soluble nitric oxide while downregulating the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6). Interestingly, the cells also upregulated gene expression of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), which may be a potential adaptation mechanism of the cells to altered gravity conditions. However, the secretory and proliferative functions had no effect on the anti-thrombogenic functions of these cells. Their anti-coagulative and anti-thrombogenic abilities, as assessed by both upregulation of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and their ability to delay plasma clotting, were impaired on exposure to simulated microgravity. These results collectively provide a useful insight into various mechanisms involved in regulating anti-thrombogenic ability of the endothelium, as well as cardiovascular health in altered gravity conditions.

Mineralized DNA-collagen complex-based biomaterials for bone tissue engineering.

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DNA is a highly polyanionic biomolecule that complexes with both collagen and hydroxyapatite. By combining these complexes, we synthesized nucleic-acid collagen complexes (NACC) mineralized with hydroxyapatite. The composite complexes were made using a short, monodisperse single-stranded DNA, type I collagen, and mineralizing medium. They rapidly self-assembled into both mineralized NACC microfibers and 3D NACC gels. At the nanoscale, these complexes are hierarchical, interwoven, curly nanofibrils resembling native extracellular matrix, which mineralized an interpenetrating nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite phase. Mineralization was able to be done either before or after NACC formation enabling temporal control of the process. In response to the NACC material, primary human osteoblasts took on an osteocyte-like morphology. Moreover, the cells agglomerated and remodeled the NACC gels into densified, tissue-like structures within 3 days. NACC fibers and gels have promise not only as osteoconductive coatings and scaffolds, but as coatings and scaffolds for any tissue using this new form of naturally-derived biomaterials.

Reclaiming Health for Black Women and Girls: A Conversation with Dr. Jameta Nicole Barlow

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Dr. Barlow employs a Black Feminist praxis and Womanist epistemology toward applied research, as informed by her eighteen years of transdisciplinary collaborations and work in the federal government, national nonprofits, and universities. Committed to #ReclaimingBGWH, she utilizes decolonizing methodologies to disrupt intergenerational trauma, chronic health diseases, and structural policies adversely affecting Black girls’and women’s health.

What The Health (WTH)?: Theorising Southern Black Feminisms in the US South

Abstract:

The everyday lived experiences of Southern Black American women in the United States (US) are rarely explicitly
characterised in Black Feminisms’ discourse. The lack of an active discourse surrounding the Southern Black
women’s identity is a glaring weakness in the broader discussion of feminism (Rushing, 2009; 2017). From
Black women who historically worked as day workers, cleaning the homes of white families while their families
fended for themselves, to the contemporary phenomena of home health care aid workers charged with
cleaning and caring for individuals, often older and white, Southern Black women’s ways of knowing have
framed not only the civil rights movement (Emmons et al, 2013); but also contemporary social movements
such as #SayHerName and the agency of digital social phenomena such as Black Twitter. Past social
movements emphasised space and the meaningfulness of the South concerning civil rights, yet current
discourse fails to integrate region and location in the narrative of these movements, thus missing opportunities
to explore the “complexity and explanatory power” place contributes (Rushing, 2017:1). The proliferation of
digital platforms such as podcasts, videos, social media stories focused on health demonstrate how Black
women are reclaiming their health, and bringing others along with them. However, the theorisation of what we
term Southern Black Feminisms, specifically as it relates to Black women’s health, is lacking. This theoretical
article, informed by qualitative and quantitative data from both authors’ previous research, will build a profile
for Southern Black women in the US, characterise Southern Black Feminisms and propose a Southern Black
woman informed, evidence-based framework addressing health inequities among Southern Black women. The
goal is to demonstrate how the experiences of everyday Black women in the US South and the Global South
are connected, especially with African Diasporic women, and consider how potential alliances can contribute to
collective resistance and action.

Speaking for Ourselves: Reclaiming, Redesigning, and Reimagining Research on Black Women’s Health

Abstract:

Days after the 2016 US election, we, two Spelman sisters, public health sistren, and lovers of all things Black Feminist and Womanist, sat down at the National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference in Montreal and strategized. We reimagined a way of life for the health of Black girls and women. We explored philosophies of science, considered ontologies and epistemologies, and lamented over the major gaps in public health and health promotion efforts to effectively address the health of Black girls and women. We nodded in agreement with narratives of family and friends managing fibroid tumors, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancers, and mental health conditions. We considered the sacrifices of the warrior women we knew who battled—and sometimes lost, but also sometimes won—against interpersonal violence, police brutality, and structural inequities. We admitted, without any shame, our personal exhaustion with this work. The exhaustion was real. The exhaustion is real. We know, as our foremothers of the Combahee River Collective (2015) declared in their seminal 1977 statement

#WhenIFellInLoveWithMyself: Disrupting the Gaze and Loving Our Black Womanist Self As an Act of Political Warfare

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