Epidemiology and mechanisms of sporadic and recurrent spontaneous abortion

There is no prospective data available on the incidence of sporadic and recurrent spontaneous abortion which the clinician can use to assess a woman's risk of recurrence, the factors predisposing to abortion and the benefits of treatment. The incidence of spontaneous abortion in 412 women, recruited prospectively from the general population, was 12%. The risk of abortion was influenced by the previous reproductive history, the most important predictive factor being a previous history of abortion. The possibility that an immunological cause might account for these findings was investigated by determining the incidence and natural history of anti-paternal cytotoxic antibody (APCA) in 306 of these pregnancies. The presence of APCA in the serum prior to pregnancy did not confer protection from spontaneous abortion. The development of a positive APCA test during pregnancy occurred in a minority of the patients, being rarely demonstrable before 28 weeks gestation and usually disappearing between pregnancies. These findings suggest that the absence of serum APCA are unlikely to be causally related to recurrent spontaneous abortion. The incidence of abortion among 200 couples with a history of recurrent abortion was 34%. In this population, immunisation treatment with paternal white cells did not improve pregnancy outcome. However, these patients demonstrated several characteristics which distinguished them from patients with sporadic abortion. A history of relative infertility and a delay in conception prior to the studied pregnancy were associated with a particularly poor pregnancy outcome. This association was further investigated by measuring luteinising hormone (LH) concentrations in 193 women before pregnancy. High follicular phase LH levels (>10iu/l) were a significant risk factor for spontaneous abortion. These data indicate that follicular phase LH estimations might be a useful test to assess the prognosis for a pregnancy. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate that pregnancy outcome can be predicted by a woman's reproductive history and her pre-pregnancy LH concentration. It is possible that these two factors are causally related and that many cases of spontaneous abortion are mediated by an endocrine abnormality of the ovary which is potentially remediable

Academic competence for technical reading in English as a foreign language

This project offers a strategy-based curriculum designed to increase academic competence in technical reading for Taiwanese students of English as a foreign language. Strategies include acquiring specialized vocabulary words, enhancing background knowledge, and increasing metacognitive awareness

The effect of psychosocial information resources on the psychological impact of genetic testing for patients

Genet Test Mol Biomarkers. 2010 Dec;14(6):807-15. Epub 2010 Oct 12. Living without a diagnosis: the parental experience. Lewis C, Skirton H, Jones R.J Genet Couns. 2011 Feb;20(1):80-97. Epub 2010 Sep 29. Can we make assumptions about the psychosocial impact of living as a carrier, based on studies assessing the effects of carrier testing? Lewis C, Skirton H, Jones R.The effect of psychosocial information resources on the psychological impact of genetic testing for patients Background: The genetic testing process has been shown to have a profound psychosocial impact on patients and families, yet research suggests that there is a lack of practical and helpful psychosocial information written to support decision-making. Ideally, this should be available for use both before and after genetic testing and should be easily accessed through genetic clinics. The development of pre-written leaflets or on-line resources which draw on the experiences and advice of families who have been through similar experiences, and are readily available through genetic clinics, might be one way of helping families make necessary adjustments. Aim: The aim of this study was to develop information resources for a) people undergoing carrier testing, and b) parents of children with undiagnosed conditions, and to pilot the use of these resources with service users. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify key themes to inform the content of the resources. To build on these findings, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 people who had undergone carrier testing and 14 parents of children without a diagnosis. Interview data were analysed using the grounded theory method. A grey literature search of existing patient information was also conducted. These three phases informed the content of information resources. The development process also included input from genetic specialists, patient group representatives and interviewees. Finally, a pilot study was conducted through three genetic centres to assess the feasibility of a study testing the use of the resources. Findings: The participants in this study were striving for empowerment: carriers sought reproductive empowerment; parents developed empowerment strategies in order to advocate for their child. Moreover, a theory named ‘reconstructing the meaning of being a parent’ was constructed to describe the experience of parenting a child for whom no clear care pathway existed. The importance of providing timely information was identified as being a key factor in supporting parents during their search for a diagnosis. A new model was built to summarise the overarching experience of participants in this study. Conclusions: Empowerment was identified as a dynamic and multi-faceted construct. Health professionals and support groups can help facilitate the empowerment process through the provision of timely psychosocial information. This is particularly important in an age when patients are expected to take greater control than ever before over decisions affecting their healthcare

An assessment of the effectiveness of knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination in women in Sierra Leone.

Thesis (M.N.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.This research is a follow up of a "Breast Week" which was organized in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The specific objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the knowledge and teachings given to the women who participated in this project. The unrecorded cases of breast lumps and breast cancer observed in women in Sierra Leone prompted the researcher to undertake this present study. A quantitative approach was adopted and a structured interview schedule and an observational checklist guided the data collection process. A sample size of 120 women (10%) who participated in the "breast week" was obtained through systematic sampling. The first part of the study involved assessment of the theoretical background of the research topic followed by the second phase during which the women demonstrated Breast Self-Examination to detect abnormalities of the breasts. Discussions and analysis of the findings are presented in three sections. Texts from open ended questions were categorized and explained in numerical terms as the study was quantitative in nature. The data was processed through use of SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Frequency counts were applied to the data, use of non-parametric tests on the number of women who practiced Breast Self-Examination before and after the breast week showed a statistically significant difference in the number of women now practicing BSE as a screening method for breast cancer after receiving the health education. It was found that the majority of the women linked breast cancer to the signs and symptoms associated with it and were able to describe the disease as one that kills women if not promptly detected and/or treated appropriately. Findings indicate that the majority of the women (78.3%) had previously had mmor breast problems. An assessment of the effectiveness of knowledge on breast cancer showed that these women could identify breast cancer as a disease that affects women and may cause deaths if not detected on time or treated promptly. These women were able to demonstrate to the researcher how they examine their breasts to exclude abnormalities. Three women had breast lumps detected through examination of the breasts during the breast week. Two of them had had the lumps removed and are currently on medication. One of the women who had a breast lump detected was financially constrained and could not afford the cost of surgery. The number of women who can now perform BSE increased (95.0%) after having the knowledge on breast cancer and BSE. The majority of the women (97.4%) received information on how to examine their breasts for breast cancer through the information provided during the breast week. It is thus concluded that the objectives of the breast week were met

Women and trade unionism : the effect of gender on propensity to unionise and participation in trade union activity

Women workers, typically, are disadvantaged in the workplace and in the trade union movement. In an attempt to explain the relationship of female employees to the unions, this thesis investigates the significance of gender for an employee's involvement in trade unionism. The importance of the sex variable for both the individual's union membership choice and rate of participation in trade union activity is explored. The aim of the study is to reach a much better understanding of the most important influences on women's position in the unions, and thereby provide some insight into the apparent failure of the trade union movement to gain equality for women with men in the employment sphere. Chapters two and three depict women's situation in the workplace and in the trade unions, in order to illustrate the importance of the study. Chapters four and five present a theoretical framework for the empirical analyses, discussed in chapters six to nine, concerning influences on the employee's propensity to unionise and union participation. Both crosstabulations and discriminant analyses are employed to establish the most important determinants of these two variables. Influences on the worker's attitudes to trade unionism are also discussed. Chapters ten and eleven present the results of a survey of nine large trade unions, conducted in an attempt to account for the inadequacies of the independent variables used in the quantitative analyses to explain fully the relationships explored. The thesis concludes that the lower level of involvement of women workers in trade unionism may be explained mainly in terms of differences between the sexes in hours worked, earnings and industrial relations traditions in male and female-dominated work. Also, however, significantly lower favourability to trade unions expressed by the women workers is found to contribute to the male/female union membership and union participation differentials. The thesis argues, in chapter twelve, that this apparent difference in satisfaction with trade unions between the men and women studied is, most probably, a result of traditional union culture, particularly the male-domination of the unions, and the unequal position of women in the trade union movement

The use of antibiotics and probiotics to prevent preterm birth

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The influence of the national question and the revival of tradition on gender issues among Maranaos in the Southern Philippines : between re-traditionalization and Islamic resurgence

Die Dissertation stellt das Machtgeflecht in der Islamischen Stadt Marawi City (Mindanao, Philippinen) dar, in die die dortigen Gender-Debatten involviert sind. In einer Umgebung, die als Konsequenz des Mindanao Konfliktes als “no war, no peace”-Umgebung definiert werden kann, gibt es drei Hauptdarsteller: die nationale Regierung des mehrheitlich christlichen Staates der Philippinen (GRP), die Autonome Regierung im Muslimischen Mindanao (ARMM), zu der auch Marawi City zählt, und die islamische Rebellengruppe Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), die einen islamischen (unter-)Staat fordert. Die GRP unterstützt Re-Islamisierungs- und Re-Traditionalisierungsbewegungen in der ARMM, um die Opposition zur MILF zu stärken. Die Konsequenz ist jedoch keine Kollaboration zwischen der GRP und der ARMM. Stattdessen nutzen Politiker ihre Privilegien aus, um ihren eigenen Absichten zu folgen. Sei dies, um politische Gegner auszuspielen oder das traditionelle Sultanatssystem zu fördern. Für Gender-Debatten gibt es in diesem Kontext der ungelösten nationalen Frage kaum Spielraum außerhalb einer Islamischen Narrative; dies bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass Gender nicht debattiert wird, sondern, dass die Debatten inner-Islamisch sind, hauptsächlich zwischen Repräsentanten des traditionell synkretistischen Islam und Vertretern Islamischer Revitalisierungsbewegungen. Speziell erstere erscheinen sehr einflussreich bezüglich Gender Strategien in der Region. Dies ist nur teilweise auf die Unterstützung der nationalen Regierung zurückzuführen, sondern ist vor allem eine Frage von Identität. Diese wiederum wird nicht vorranging über Religion, sondern nach ethnischen Maßstäben und im Speziellen im Rahmen von Clanstrukturen definiert

Southern Accent January 2001 - May 2001

Southern Adventist University\u27s newspaper, Southern Accent, for the academic year of 2001.https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/southern_accent/1078/thumbnail.jp