BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including maltreatment and exposure to household stressors can impact the health of children. Community factors that provide support, friendship and opportunities for development may build children’s resilience and protect them against some harmful impacts of ACEs. We examine if a history of ACEs is associated with poor childhood health and school attendance and the extent to which such outcomes are counteracted by community resilience assets.MethodsA national (Wales) cross-sectional retrospective survey (n = 2452) using a stratified random probability sampling methodology and including a boost sample (n = 471) of Welsh speakers. Data collection used face-to-face interviews at participants’ places of residence. Outcome measures were self-reported poor childhood health, specific conditions (asthma, allergies, headaches, digestive disorders) and school absenteeism.ResultsPrevalence of each common childhood condition, poor childhood health and school absenteeism increased with number of ACEs reported. Childhood community resilience assets (being treated fairly, supportive childhood friends, being given opportunities to use your abilities, access to a trusted adult and having someone to look up to) were independently linked to better outcomes. In those with ≥4 ACEs the presence of all significant resilience assets (vs none) reduced adjusted prevalence of poor childhood health from 59.8 to 21.3%.ConclusionsBetter prevention of ACEs through the combined actions of public services may reduce levels of common childhood conditions, improve school attendance and help alleviate pressures on public services. Whilst the eradication of ACEs remains unlikely, actions to strengthen community resilience assets may partially offset their immediate harms.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5699-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Aim: Precarious employment is known to be detrimental to health, and some population subgroups (young individuals, migrant workers, and females) are at higher risk of precarious employment. However, it is not known if the risk to poor health outcomes is consistent across population subgroups. This scoping review explores differential impacts of precarious employment on health. Methods: Relevant studies published between 2009 and February 2019 were identified across PubMed, OVID Medline, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Articles were included if (1) they presented original data, (2) examined precarious employment within one of the subpopulations of interest, and (3) examined health outcomes. Results: Searches yielded 279 unique results, of which 14 met the eligibility criteria. Of the included studies, 12 studies examined differences between gender, 3 examined the health impacts on young individuals, and 3 examined the health of migrant workers. Mental health was explored in nine studies, general health in four studies, and mortality in two studies. Conclusion: Mental health was generally poorer in both male and female employees as a result of precarious employment, and males were also at higher risk of mortality. There was limited evidence that met our inclusion criteria, examining the health impacts on young individuals or migrant workers.

BackgroundMass unemployment events are not uncommon yet the impact on health is not well recognised. There is a need for a preparedness and response framework, as exists for other events that threaten population health.MethodsFramework informed by a narrative review of the impact of mass unemployment on health (studies published in English from 1990 to 2016), and qualitative data from 23 semi-structured interviews with individuals connected to historical national and international events, addressing gaps in published literature on lessons learnt from past responses.ResultsEconomic and employment shock triggered by mass unemployment events have a detrimental impact on workers, families and communities. We present a public health informed response framework which includes (i) identify areas at risk, (ii) develop an early warning system, (iii) mobilise multi-sector action including health and community, (iv) provision of support across employment, finance and health (v) proportionate to need, (vi) extend support to family members and (vii) communities and (viii) evaluate and learn.ConclusionMass unemployment events have an adverse impact on the health, financial and social circumstances of workers, families, and communities. This is the first framework for action to mitigate and address the detrimental impact of mass unemployment events on population health.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are of great interest to scientists due to their application in cell therapy of many diseases, as well as regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Recently, there has been growing evidence surrounding the research based on extracellular vesicles (EVs), especially small EVs (sEVs)/exosomes derived from MSCs. EVs/exosomes can be secreted by almost all cell types and various types of EVs show multiple functions. In addition, MSCs-derived exosomes have similar characteristics and biological activities to MSCs and their therapeutic applications are considered as a safe strategy in cell-free therapy. The aim of this study was the characterization of MSCs isolated from the chorion (CHo-MSCs) of human full-term placenta, as well as the isolation and analysis of small EVs obtained from these cells. Accordingly, in this study, the ability of small EVs’ uptake is indicated by synovial fibroblasts, osteoblasts and periosteum-derived MSCs. Improvement in the understanding of the structure, characteristics, mechanism of action and potential application of MSCs-derived small EVs can provide new insight into improved therapeutic strategies.

Background Global evidence suggests that exposure to non-permanent or precarious employment can have negative effects on mental wellbeing, but research from the UK is sparse. This study explored whether these findings were applicable to the UK working population. As the employment market is evolving with more precarious working opportunities, we also ascertained whether any type of employment contract arrangement was more beneficial to mental wellbeing than being unemployed.Methods We retrospectively analysed the Understanding Society Wave 7 dataset (anonymous pan-UK dataset from 2015). In this study, we only included respondents aged 18-64 years, in paid employment or unemployed (n=18 525, 8473 men, 10 052 women). We used the seven components of, and the overall, Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Score. A score lower than 18•82 determined low mental wellbeing. Part-time contracts were defined as working 30 h or less per week. To examine the associations between the respective employment statuses (contract types, in or out of employment) and mental wellbeing, we did a χ² analysis and calculated odds ratios (adjusted for age group and gender). Findings The prevalence of low mental wellbeing was highest in those unemployed (30•1%, n=438/1457), followed by those in non-permanent (14•3%, n=135/945) and permanent (12•1%, n=1943/16 123) employment arrangements. Compared with individuals employed on permanent contracts, those in non-permanent arrangements were more likely to report struggling to deal with problems (odds ratio 1•26, 95% CI 1•01-1•58, p=0•042), being unable to make up their mind (1•57, 1•20-2•06, p=0•001) or think clearly (1•35, 1•06-1•72, p=0•014), and report not feeling close to others (1•48, 1•21-1•81, p<0•0001). The association between contract types (permanent vs non-permanent) and low mental wellbeing was not significant (1•16, 0•96-1•40, p=0•13) as were the associations between contract types and future optimism, feeling useful, or feeling relaxed. Unemployed individuals were more likely to report low mental wellbeing than permanent (3•07, 2•72-3•47, p<0•0001), non-permanent (2•59, 2•09-3•21, p<0•0001), full-time (3•16, 2•79-3•58, p<0•0001), or part-time (2•60, 2•25-3•01, p<0•0001) workers.Interpretation Precarious employment is associated with components of poorer mental wellbeing. However, the strongest associations for low mental wellbeing are observed in currently unemployed people. To understand and explore these complex relationships in greater detail, longitudinal research is required.