Determinants of work-family balance satisfaction during the pandemic: Insights from Québec.

The first wave of the COVID pandemic was the most challenging for employed parents, and more specifically for women. In Québec, research has shown a deterioration in the psychological health of parents in the early weeks of the pandemic. In this research, we investigate how Québec parents who remained employed during the lockdown in 2020 perceived their work-family balance in the stressful context of new earning and caregiving constraints, drawing on survey data collected in May 2020.

Sulfate groups position determines the ionic selectivity and syneresis properties of carrageenan systems.

The salt sensitivity and selectivity feature of α-carrageenan (α-Car) were investigated and compared with κ-carrageenan (κ-Car) and iota-carrageenan (ι-Car). These carrageenans are identified by one sulfate group on the 3,6-anhydro-D-galactose (DA) for α-Car, D-galactose (G) for κ-Car and on both carrabiose moieties (G and DA) for ι-Car. The viscosity and temperature, where order-disorder transition have been observed, were greater in presence of CaCl for α-Car and ι-Car compared with KCl and NaCl.

Pregnancy-induced increased heart rate is independent of thyroid hormones.

Background: The heart rate increases by 10-20 beats per minute (bpm) throughout pregnancy in women, reaching maximum heart rate in the third trimester. During pregnancy, important changes in thyroid hormones also occur, with increases of up to 50% in the levels of triiodothyronine (T), the biological active thyroid hormone. In addition, T has been shown to regulate cardiac electrophysiology.

CSNK2B: A broad spectrum of neurodevelopmental disability and epilepsy severity.

CSNK2B has recently been implicated as a disease gene for neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) and epilepsy. Information about developmental outcomes has been limited by the young age and short follow-up for many of the previously reported cases, and further delineation of the spectrum of associated phenotypes is needed. We present 25 new patients with variants in CSNK2B and refine the associated NDD and epilepsy phenotypes.

Rare deleterious mutations of HNRNP genes result in shared neurodevelopmental disorders.

Background: With the increasing number of genomic sequencing studies, hundreds of genes have been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). The rate of gene discovery far outpaces our understanding of genotype-phenotype correlations, with clinical characterization remaining a bottleneck for understanding NDDs. Most disease-associated Mendelian genes are members of gene families, and we hypothesize that those with related molecular function share clinical presentations.

Reconceptualizing Parental Leave Benefits in COVID-19 Canada: From Employment Policy to Care and Social Protection Policy.

Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spurred critical and much-needed attention to re-thinking policy approaches to child care and long-term elder care, little focus has been given to its implications for parental leave policies and parental benefits for the care of infants and young children. This article is about reconceptualizing and reconfiguring employment-based parental leave policies in Canada both during and after COVID-19. Informed by theoretical insights from the fields of care economies, feminist political economy, and care and social reproduction and by national and international parental leave research, we argue that it is time to reconceptualize parental leave benefits not only as employment policy but also as a care and social protection policy.

La transformation de l'offre de services de garde au Québec: Une brèche dans la collectivisation du travail de reproduction sociale?

In 1997, the government of Québec instituted a low-cost and universal childcare services program most commonly available through the "centres de la petite enfance (CPE)" (early chilldhood centers). Since 2003, this model is being slowly dismantled on account of an explosion in the number of commercial daycare centers and, since 2015, an adjustment of rates according to family revenues. This research article gathers scattered information about the childcare services offer changes in Québec to demonstrate that tearing down a section of the Québécois family policy lowers the collectivization of social reproductive work.

Discovery of novel carbohydrate-active enzymes through the rational exploration of the protein sequences space.

Over the last two decades, the number of gene/protein sequences gleaned from sequencing projects of individual genomes and environmental DNA has grown exponentially. Only a tiny fraction of these predicted proteins has been experimentally characterized, and the function of most proteins remains hypothetical or only predicted based on sequence similarity. Despite the development of postgenomic methods, such as transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, the assignment of function to protein sequences remains one of the main challenges in modern biology.

Ancient acquisition of "alginate utilization loci" by human gut microbiota.

In bacteria from the phylum Bacteroidetes, the genes coding for enzymes involved in polysaccharide degradation are often colocalized and coregulated in so-called "polysaccharide utilization loci" (PULs). PULs dedicated to the degradation of marine polysaccharides (e.g.

DMTMM-mediated amidation of alginate oligosaccharides aimed at modulating their interaction with proteins.

Alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) with a weight average molecular weight of 5 kDa were efficiently amidated with amino acids and carbohydrates in aqueous media in the presence of 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride (DMTMM). Here, alanine, leucine, serine, as well as mannose and rhamnose, were amidated at high yields with a good control of the degree of substitution (DS). Amino acid- and carbohydrate-grafted AOS showed improved stability against degradation by alginate lyases having different specificities.

Angiotensin II Overstimulation Leads to an Increased Susceptibility to Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Higher Mortality in Female Mice.

Heart failure (HF) is associated with high mortality and affects men and women differently. The underlying mechanisms for these sex-related differences remain largely unexplored. Accordingly, using mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of the angiotensin II (ANGII) type 1 receptor (AT1R), we explored male-female differences in the manifestations of hypertrophy and HF.

Functional Exploration of the Polysaccharide Lyase Family PL6.

Alginate, the main cell-wall polysaccharide of brown algae, is composed of two residues: mannuronic acid (M-residues) and, its C5-epimer, guluronic acid (G-residues). Alginate lyases define a class of enzymes that cleave the glycosidic bond of alginate by β-elimination. They are classified according to their ability to recognize the distribution of M- and G-residues and are named M-, G- or MG-lyases.

From Peptide Aptamers to Inhibitors of FUR, Bacterial Transcriptional Regulator of Iron Homeostasis and Virulence.

FUR (Ferric Uptake Regulator) protein is a global transcriptional regulator that senses iron status and controls the expression of genes involved in iron homeostasis, virulence, and oxidative stress. Ubiquitous in Gram-negative bacteria and absent in eukaryotes, FUR is an attractive antivirulence target since the inactivation of the fur gene in various pathogens attenuates their virulence. The characterization of 13-aa-long anti-FUR linear peptides derived from the variable part of the anti-FUR peptide aptamers, that were previously shown to decrease pathogenic E.

Reduction in Na(+) current by angiotensin II is mediated by PKCα in mouse and human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Background: Ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac deaths are among the leading causes of mortality in patients with heart failure, and the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Chronic elevation of angiotensin II (ANGII) is known to be one of the main contributors to heart failure.

Objective: We tested whether ANGII can alter ventricular conduction and Na(+) current using transgenic mice with cardiomyocyte-restricted overexpression of ANGII type 1 receptor (AT1R).

A risk-based, product-level approach for assuring aquatic environmental safety of cleaning products in the context of sustainability: The Environmental Safety Check (ESC) scheme of the A.I.S.E. Charter for Sustainable Cleaning.

Cleaning products have long been a focus of efforts to improve sustainability and assure safety for the aquatic environment when disposed of after use. The latter is addressed at ingredient level through environmental risk assessment, including in formal frameworks such as REACH. Nevertheless, in the context of programs to improve overall sustainability, stakeholders demand both environmental safety assurance and progress at product level.

Estrogen regulation of the transient outward K(+) current involves estrogen receptor α in mouse heart.

Background And Objective: We have previously shown that androgens upregulate cardiac K(+) channels and shorten repolarization. However, the effects that estrogens (E2) and estrogen receptors (ER) might have on the various repolarizing K(+) currents and underlying ion channels remain incompletely understood. Accordingly, our objective was to verify whether and how E2 and its ERs subtypes influence these K(+) currents.

Managing the Risk of Occupational Allergy in the Enzyme Detergent Industry.

Enzyme proteins have potential to cause occupational allergy/asthma. Consequently, as users of enzymes in formulated products, detergents manufacturers have implemented a number of control measures to ensure that the hazard does not translate into health effects in the workforce. To that end, trade associations have developed best practice guidelines which emphasize occupational hygiene and medical monitoring as part of an effective risk management strategy.

Inhibition of the ferric uptake regulator by peptides derived from anti-FUR peptide aptamers: coupled theoretical and experimental approaches.

The FUR protein (ferric uptake regulator) is an iron-dependent global transcriptional regulator. Specific to bacteria, FUR is an attractive antibacterial target since virulence is correlated to iron bioavailability. Recently, four anti-FUR peptide aptamers, composed of 13 amino acid variable loops inserted into a thioredoxinA scaffold, were identified, which were able to interact with Escherichia coli FUR (EcFUR), inhibit its binding to DNA and to decrease the virulence of pathogenic E.

Interleukin-1β reduces L-type Ca2+ current through protein kinase Cϵ activation in mouse heart.

Inflammation is now widely recognized as a key component of heart disease. Patients suffering from arrhythmias and heart failure have increased levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Evidence suggests that these cytokines are important mediators of cardiac remodeling; however, their effects on ion channels and arrhythmogenesis remain incompletely understood.

Upregulation of the hyperpolarization-activated current increases pacemaker activity of the sinoatrial node and heart rate during pregnancy in mice.

Background: Pregnancy is associated with a faster heart rate (HR), which is a risk factor for arrhythmias. However, the underlying mechanisms for this increased HR are poorly understood. Therefore, this study was performed to gain mechanistic insight into the pregnancy-induced increase in HR.

Performance of an antigen-antibody combined assay for hepatitis C virus testing without venipuncture.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is underdiagnosed and therefore increasing the opportunities for HCV testing without venipuncture may be useful.

Objectives: We evaluated the analytical performance of a modified, commercially available, combined HCV antigen-antibody assay (cEIA) (Monolisa(®) HCV-Ag-Ab-ULTRA) and a commercially available point-of-care (POC) device (OraQuick(®) HCV) on fingerstick blood (FSB) and oral mucosal transudate (OMT).

Study Design: FSB, OMT and serum samples were collected from 113 cases of HCV-antibody-positive patients and 88 HCV-antibody-negative controls.

Enzymes in cleaning products: an overview of toxicological properties and risk assessment/management.

Enzymes used in cleaning products have an excellent safety profile, with little ability to cause adverse responses in humans. For acute toxicity, genotoxicity, sub-acute and repeated dose toxicity, enzymes are unremarkable. Reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity are also not endpoints of concern.

Discoidin I from Dictyostelium discoideum and Interactions with oligosaccharides: specificity, affinity, crystal structures, and comparison with discoidin II.

Discoidin I (DiscI) and discoidin II (DiscII) are N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-binding proteins from Dictyostelium discoideum. They consist of two domains: an N-terminal discoidin domain and a C-terminal H-type lectin domain. They were cloned and expressed in high yield in recombinant form in Escherichia coli.