The Association Between Early Menarche and Preterm Birth

Exploring healthcare outcomes throughout a females reproductive life is an important area of research that is in need of more investigation. Specifically, there is a limited body of evidence available that explores the association between early reproductive behaviours and future pregnancy outcomes. Yet there is increasing evidence that points towards a relationship between the age at menarche and an increased risk for preterm birth. Therefore, this thesis explored the relationship between early age at menarche and the risk of preterm birth among a cohort of Canadian women. Responses from the Ontario Birth Study, a retrospective pregnancy-based cohort study, was used for the analysis. Summary statistics and a multivariable logistic regression were conducted, adjusting for covariates. Overall, 17% of the sample experienced early menarche. Additionally, 4.2% of all survey participants experienced a preterm birth. In total, 7.0% of women who experienced an early age at menarche went on to deliver preterm. The unadjusted association between early menarche and preterm birth was statistically significant; however, after adjusting for all covariates, the relationship was no longer significant. Significant determinants of a preterm birth included women who had any hypertensive disorders throughout their pregnancy, had fetal complications, or any placental issues prior to delivery. Conversely, those in the highest income group were at a decreased risk of a preterm birth. Recognizing risk factors is an important step to aid healthcare providers mitigate the risks associated with preterm birth. Future investigations are needed to probe deeper into the field and tease out social and environmental intricacies

The Insect abundance in the Woodlot and Grassland

<p>The purpose of this experiement was to see the attractiveness of species towards a certain colored bowls.Two Lab partners studied the abundance of the insects on the grassland (Stong Pond) and Woodlot (Saywell Woods) at York University. 18 coulorful bowls (white,blue and yellow) were placed along a transect 3m apart from each bowls, (9 bowls at each locations). A certain amount of solution was filled into the bowls to trap the insects. They were kept in there for an hour and then the bowls were studied for the trapped insects. The abundace (number of insects trapped) and the richness (different species) were distinguished on both the habitats.Grassland had more abundance and richness in the species than the woodlot. The weather was little windy and it was raining early in the morning.  </p

Field training with plants ( quadrat, transect, trait)

<p>The purpose for this experiment was to count the plant populations and communities at a certain location using sampling techniques.50 individual plants of different species were surveyed for this emperiment. The first dataset included transect which was placed randomly on the grassland and walked along with it. The Golden rod flower species was selected to count at every step the flower was available. Flowers that were only one meter away from the transect were counted and others were excluded from the data. Distance from the transect to the flowers and their heights were measured by using another transect in meters. The number of leaves and the flowers were counted manually.The place where the flowers were counted was mostly crowded thats why it was ranked as 3 (very crowded bunch of plants within 50cm) and 2 ( quite a few plants). This transect experiment was done on the grassland behind the Osgood Law School and the temperature was around 25 degrees. Only two lab partners were doing the transect counting and others were involved in the quadrat measurement.</p

The Study of Insect Abundance Using Quadrats in the Stong Pond Grasslands and the Saywell Woodlots at York University

<p>On Monday September 28st 2015, at approximately 3:30pm to 5:00 pm an experiment including 10 grassland plots around Stong Pond and 10 woodlot plots at Saywell Lot at York University were examined to collect data on insect abundance and diversity. The goal was to identify the abundance and richness of incest’s found in each location. The weather that day was slightly breezy, approximately a 2 on the beaufort scale, cloudy, with previous rainfall of 0.5 mm on the ground, and at a temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. A one by one-meter quadrat was randomly placed around different areas of the grassland and woodlot to determine the abundance and diversity of incest’s present. To randomize the selection of the grassland and woodlot plots chosen, a plastic bottle was thrown backwards while facing the sun. The quadrat was then placed around the bottle and the results were noted over a period of 4 minutes. The results were then classified into abundance and recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs). The only tool used during the experiment was the quadrat, a plastic bottle and a timer, the incest’s were visually classified by the experimenters. Among the examined plots, there were many varieties of incest’s including the Grasshopper, Moth, Beetle, Wasp, Butterfly, Spider, Ant, Ladybug, Mosquito, Snail, Cricket and Dragonfly. This experiment was done with the assistance of lab members Danika Gordon, Karen Lin, Israt Hossain and Raman Singh.</p

Distance from adult tree to the closest sapling along a transect

<p>On Monday September 21st 2015 at approximately 4:00pm in the Saywell Wood lot south east of Stong pond at York University took place an experiment comparing adult trees (all of the same species) along the line of a transect to their nearest sapling. Our team placed the transect starting at the edge of the path and going towards the inside of the wooded area. One tree species was picked that was abundant along the transect tape and chose it as the species for the experiment (it was a pine tree). The experiment was to walk along the transect tape and when we neared our designated adult tree type we measured its DBH, the canopy percentage of the adult tree, the distance to the nearest sapling and the saplings DBH. Collecting this data permits the analysis of how well trees are able to grow and how the distance of its corresponding sapling affects its growth along the transect line that goes from the edge of the woodlot to the dense middle of the woodlot.</p

Insect Sweep Count at Stong Pond

<p>On September 28, 2015 a sweep study was conducted at York University's Stong Pond to determine the various insect species that exist there. The temperature was around 21 degrees Celsius with dark grey rainclouds covering majority of the sky, and slight breeze that scaled at 2 on the beaufort scale. We collected the data by sweeping the grassland for 30 seconds per trial following along a transect. After each trial the number of insects in the nets were counted and sorted into their respective categories then released.</p

Influences of density and soil temprature on Goldenrods

<p>For this experiment our team evaluated the effects of plant density and soil temperature on goldenrods at York University in the Stong pong grassland. On Monday October 5th our team did 25 replicates where were used a quadrat to help determine the density of the goldenrods. Each replicate was 3 paces apart starting at the edge of the water and continuing in the direction of the road. Exactly two weeks later our team returned to the Stong pond grassland to do another 25 replicates in order to have data that varied over time following the same methods as the previous time. The temperature was recorded with a thermometer and the number of individual goldenrods in each quadrat and the total number of stems was also counted to see if temperature and density had an effect on the ability for goldenrod plants to have multiple stems.</p> <p> </p

Soil Quality And Density Effects On The Number Of Stems In Goldenrods

<p>The location in which the study was conducted was the grasslands in Stong Pond at York University. The data was collected over a span of two days, a week apart each collection. The first 25 replicates were obtained on October 19, 2015. The temperature was around 16 degrees Celsius, with dark skies full of grey rain clouds. The second day the second set of replicates were collected October 26, 2015. Where the temperature was around 11 degrees Celsius with a partially cloudy sky. The data was collected by placing quadrants 3 steps apart one another starting from the waters edge of Stong pond all the way to the roadside of the grassland. Within the quadrant, the number of goldenrods will be noted as well as the total number of branches, collectively. Soil quality is going to be determined through soil temperature as goldenrods have an ideal soil temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. This will be sampled using a thermometer and categorized as, low (7-9 degrees Celsius), ideal (10 degrees Celsius) and high (11-13 degrees Celsius).</p

The Study of Plant Abundance Using Quadrats in the Stong Pond Grasslands of York University

<p>On Monday September 21st 2015, at approximately 3:30pm, on the sunny day with partial clouds at a temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, an experiment including 25 grassland plots of various different vegetation were examined in the grasslands around Stong Pond. A one by one meter quadrat was randomly placed around different areas of the grassland to determine the abundance and distribution of vegetation and grass. To randomize the selection of the grassland plots chosen, a plastic bowl was thrown backwards while facing the sun. The quadrat was then placed around the bowl and the results were noted. This experiment was repeated 25 times. Among the examined plots, there were many varieties of plants including the Common Plantain (Plantago major), Common Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), Late Purple Aster (Aster prenathoides), Heather Aster (Aster ericoides), and Wild Carrot (Daucus carota). The total coverage of vegetation and grass was visually estimated with the assistance of lab members Danika Gordon, Karen Lin, and Raman Singh.</p

The effect of density and soil temperature on the Goldenrod

<p>The purpose of this field experiment was to distinguish the effect of density and soil temperature on the Goldenrods to compare the hypothesis. The experiments were done in two weeks, and the data for both the weeks were calculated. 50 replicates were recorded, 25 on each week. It took place in the Stong pond of the York University. The weather of one week was windy and the other week was sunny. The first quadrat was placed beside the pond and then the other quadrats were placed 3 steps intervals away from the pond. The number of stems of Goldenrods of every root was counted, along with the number of branches in the quadrats. The density abundance was observed from the top view and recorded. Thermometer was placed in the soil for few minutes to record the temperature in the quadrats. </p