Drawing Doctors vs. Nurses: Gendered Perceptions of Health Professionals

Although women and men are employed at similar rates, there remains a high level of occupational sex segregation. Existing gender stereotypes influence occupational choice because of gendered perceptions of occupations. In this study, college students (n = 48) were asked to draw a picture of an individual in a gender-typed health profession—either a doctor or a nurse—using a variation of the Draw-a- Scientist paradigm. Using quantitative and qualitative techniques, we find that doctors are drawn as women nearly as often as men, while nurses are drawn as women far more frequently than they are as men. Doctors are far more likely to be illustrated wearing white coats and stethoscopes, while nurses are shown wearing scrubs and using other medical paraphernalia in addition to stethoscopes. Finally, nurses are far more likely to be shown with their patients and to be described as helping others. Our findings provide key details related to presentational expectations for doctors and nurses, which in turn have important implications for occupational sex segregation. In other words, our data demonstrate which types of impression management (particularly attire, objects, and setting) individuals consider to be crucial signifiers for nurses and doctors, which may also influence their occupational choices

Microwave Gaseous Discharges

Contains reports on four research projects.Atomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(30-1)-184

Microwave Gaseous Discharges

Contains reports on six research projects.Atomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(30-1) 184

Plasma Dynamics

Contains reports on three research projects.National Science Foundation under Grant G-9330Air Force Cambridge Research Center under Contract AF-19(604)-5992United States Air Force (WADD Contract AF33(616)-3984)Contract AF19(604)-4551 with Air Force Cambridge Research CenterAeronautical Accessories Laboratory, Wright Air Development Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (Air Force Contract AF33(616)-3984, Project 8149, Task No. 61098)Atomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(30-1)-184

Plasma Dynamics

Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects.National Science Foundation under Grant G-9930Air Force Cambridge Research Center under Contract AF-19(604)-5992WADC Contract AF33(616)-3984, with the Electronic Systems LaboratoryContract AF19(604)-4551 with Air Force Cambridge Research CenterAtomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(30-1)184

Gender Separation Increases Somatic Growth in Females but Does Not Affect Lifespan in Nothobranchius furzeri

According to life history theory, physiological and ecological traits and parameters influence an individual's life history and thus, ultimately, its lifespan. Mating and reproduction are costly activities, and in a variety of model organisms, a negative correlation of longevity and reproductive effort has been demonstrated. We are employing the annual killifish Nothobranchius furzeri as a vertebrate model for ageing. N. furzeri is the vertebrate displaying the shortest known lifespan in captivity with particular strains living only three to four months under optimal laboratory conditions. The animals show explosive growth, early sexual maturation and age-dependent physiological and behavioural decline. Here, we have used N. furzeri to investigate a potential reproduction-longevity trade-off in both sexes by means of gender separation. Though female reproductive effort and offspring investment were significantly reduced after separation, as investigated by analysis of clutch size, eggs in the ovaries and ovary mass, the energetic surplus was not reallocated towards somatic maintenance. In fact, a significant extension of lifespan could not be observed in either sex. This is despite the fact that separated females, but not males, grew significantly larger and heavier than the respective controls. Therefore, it remains elusive whether lifespan of an annual species evolved in periodically vanishing habitats can be prolonged on the cost of reproduction at all

The Safe Use of a PTEN Inhibitor for the Activation of Dormant Mouse Primordial Follicles and Generation of Fertilizable Eggs

Primordial ovarian follicles, which are often present in the ovaries of premature ovarian failure (POF) patients or are cryopreserved from the ovaries of young cancer patients who are undergoing gonadotoxic anticancer therapies, cannot be used to generate mature oocytes for in vitro fertilization (IVF). There has been very little success in triggering growth of primordial follicles to obtain fertilizable oocytes due to the poor understanding of the biology of primordial follicle activation.We have recently reported that PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten) prevents primordial follicle activation in mice, and deletion of Pten from the oocytes of primordial follicles leads to follicular activation. Consequently, the PTEN inhibitor has been successfully used in vitro to activate primordial follicles in both mouse and human ovaries. These results suggest that PTEN inhibitors could be used in ovarian culture medium to trigger the activation of primordial follicle. To study the safety and efficacy of the use of such inhibitors, we activated primordial follicles from neonatal mouse ovaries by transient treatment with a PTEN inhibitor bpV(HOpic). These ovaries were then transplanted under the kidney capsules of recipient mice to generate mature oocytes. The mature oocytes were fertilized in vitro and progeny mice were obtained after embryo transfer.Long-term monitoring up to the second generation of progeny mice showed that the mice were reproductively active and were free from any overt signs or symptoms of chronic illnesses. Our results indicate that the use of PTEN inhibitors could be a safe and effective way of generating mature human oocytes for use in novel IVF techniques

Plasma Dynamics

Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects.Contract AF19(604)-4551 with Air Force Cambridge Research CenterAtomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(30-1)-1842Air Force Cambridge Research Center under Contract AF19(604)-5992National Science Foundation under Grant G-9330WADD Contract AF33(616)-7624 with Flight Accessories Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohi