Demographic and social characteristics of family planning acceptors in Jordan.
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Abortion, Induced↗
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Results for “Fertility Pattern Method”
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Rapid recovery of spermatogenesis after mitoxantrone, vincristine, vinblastine, and prednisone chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease.
PURPOSE: Because the effects of mitoxantrone on human male fertility were unknown, we determined prospectively the effects of three courses of mitoxantrone (Novantrone), vincristine (Oncovin), vinblastine, prednisone (NOVP) chemotherapy on the potential for fertility of men with Hodgkin's disease (HD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Semen analyses were performed on 58 patients with stages I-III HD before, during, and after chemotherapy and after the sperm count recovered from the effects of abdominal radiotherapy that was given after chemotherapy. RESULTS: Before the initiation of treatment, 84% of the patients were normospermic. Sperm counts declined significantly within 1 month after the start of NOVP chemotherapy. In the month after chemotherapy, 38% of patients were azoospermic, 52% had counts < 1 million/ mL, and 10% had counts between 1 and 3 million/mL. Between 2.6 and 4.5 months after the completion of chemotherapy, sperm counts recovered rapidly to normospermic levels in 63% of patients. In the remaining patients who were followed up for at least 1 year after standard upper abdominal radiotherapy, counts also recovered to normospermic levels. CONCLUSION: NOVP chemotherapy, like most other regimens, produced marked temporary effects or spermatogenesis. However, sperm production recovered very rapidly, within 3 to 4 months after the end of NOVP chemotherapy. This pattern was caused by killing differentiating spermatogenic cells, but there was little cytotoxicity or inhibition of stem cells from mitoxantrone or the other drugs. After the combination of NOVP plus abdominal radiotherapy, sperm counts and motility were restored in most patients to pretreatment levels, which were compatible with normal fertility.
Adult↗
A field-based population model for the sediment toxicity test organism Leptocheirus plumulosus: I. Model development.
We describe the development of a stage-structured population matrix model for the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus, a sediment toxicity test organism, based on regular sampling of a natural population for approximately 2 years. Annual population dynamics were characterized by abundance peaks in the spring and fall, and low densities in the summer and winter. We use a sequence of seasonal projection matrices to capture these qualitative patterns in population dynamics. We compare two methods for estimating transition probabilities: multiple regression and truncated singular value decomposition (SVD). Overall, SVD gave more realistic parameter estimates than regression, although fecundity estimation was problematic. There were predictable trends in growth, survival and fecundity within years. The SVD-derived model provides a framework for assessing the population-level effects of contaminants on Leptocheirus.
Animals↗
Effects of restraint stress in gestation: implications for rodent developmental toxicology studies.
Restraint has been used as a procedure to study the effects of stress on gestation outcome in rodents. The effects of restraint could potentially be used as a model for the impact of general stress produced by high doses of toxicants and other interventions. In mice, restraint in the peri-implantation period leads to implantation failure, and restraint at appropriate times in organogenesis produces cleft palate, supernumerary ribs, and resorption. In rats, there is some evidence for an association with restraint for implantation failure, but not for the morphological anomalies. Restraint in late gestation alters adult sexual behavior of male rat offspring, but consequences for their fertility are not known. Intrauterine growth retardation is not commonly associated with gestational restraint. In the few studies where they have been directly compared, different restraint procedures produced graded, qualitatively different, or no effects. Adrenocortical hormones have been implicated as mediating the effect of restraint on cleft palate, but not on supernumerary ribs, implantation failure, or sexual differentiation. Given the variety of restraint procedures and the varying species-dependent consequences, it is not possible to infer a generalizable pattern of developmental effects due to gestational stress from the restraint literature. As an alternative approach, contemporary methods in gene expression and developmental biology could profitably be applied to understanding different patterns of stress-mediated effects of toxicant exposures on intrauterine development.
Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
Sequential observation of mitochondrial distribution in mouse oocytes and embryos.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to elucidate changes in the distribution of mitochondria through the cell cycle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mouse oocytes and embryos were recovered sequentially from mice and stained with the vital fluorescent mitochondrial stain rhodamine 123. Mitochondrial staining pattern were classified into three types: aggregation (Ag), homogeneous (H), and perinuclear accumulation (PA). RESULTS: Sequential observations revealed that mitochondria of oocytes and embryos grown in vivo translocated in the cytoplasm during the cell cycle, showing the H pattern before human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration, the PA pattern 8-9 hr post-hCG, the H pattern again 10-14 hr post-hCG, and the PA pattern again 24 and 31-32 hr post-hCG following fertilization. In the two-cell stage, the Ag pattern was shown 35 hr post-hCG, the H pattern was observed 40 hr post-hCG, and the PA pattern was found 48 hr post-hCG. In the embryos cultured in vitro and showing developmental block, mitochondrial translocation was shown to be inhibited after they aggregated in the early two-cell stage (35 hr post-hCG). Moreover, the translocation of mitochondria was restored by the addition of superoxide dismutase or thioredoxin to the culture medium. Both of these enzymes have already been shown to have the ability to overcome developmental block. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that mitochondria translocated in the cell cycle and suggested that there is a close relationship between mitochondrial translocation and developmental arrest.
Animals↗
Sexual behavior of natural family planning users in Germany and its changes over time.
For 10 years, a prospective study has been taking place in Germany to examine the use of natural family planning (NFP). As natural methods are behavioral methods, use-effectiveness, acceptability and continuation rates are very much influenced by patterns of sexual behavior. Therefore we performed an analysis of the sexual behavior of NFP users. Out of the data base of 1211 clients and 12,591 cycles we could identify a group of 300 women, all NFP beginners, with 5900 contraceptive cycles, who contributed at least 12 cycles with reliable recording of their sexual activity. Different groups were analyzed with methods of analysis of variance and regression models to find out significant differences in their sexual behavior with respect to sociodemographic structure and time of use. Nearly half of all the women systematically combine the fertility awareness part of NFP with other family planning methods. They use barriers in more than 60% of their cycles. The other half never or only in about 7% of their cycles use additional barrier methods. The latter show a clear decrease in barrier use in the course of time, whereas the frequent barrier users constantly combine the advantages of two family planning methods. Regarding the frequency of intercourse they are the sexually more active ones and show distinct sociodemographic characteristics. We could confirm the existence of three groups of NFP users, which differ significantly in their use of NFP as a family planning method. Despite these differences the low pregnancy rates indicate the conscious and risk-related sexual behavior of the group members.
Adult↗
Luteal phase progesterone excretion in ovulatory women with polycystic ovaries.
BACKGROUND: Various studies have reported a prevalence of polycystic ovaries (PCO) of approximately 20% in the 'normal' population. Our aim was to investigate the frequency of ovulation and pattern of luteal phase progesterone secretion in a group of women with PCO who reported regular cycles and in whom ovulation had been established on the basis of previous investigations. METHODS: Subjects collected early morning urine samples for pregnanediol-3-glucuronide measurement from day 10 of the cycle to day 1 of their next menses. Results in three consecutive cycles from women with PCO (group 1, n = 10 and 29 for patients and cycles respectively) were compared with results from two groups with normal ovaries; with either infertility (group 2, n = 10 and 30) or proven fertility (group 3, n = 6 and 19). RESULTS: There were considerable variations in cycle length. The median (range) was group 1: 28 (23-47); group 2: 26 (21-36) and group 3: 27 (25-38) days with more short cycles in both infertile groups. There was more variation in pregnanediol:creatinine in the normal-ovary infertile and PCO groups than in the fertile controls. Levels were higher in the early luteal phase in the fertile normal group than in either infertile group, and the mid-luteal phase peak was lower in the infertile women with normal ovaries. In summary, there was greater variability in luteal phase pregnanediol:creatinine ratios in the PCO and infertile normal-ovary groups than in women with normal ovaries and proven fertility. CONCLUSION: Women with PCO did not have more variation in cycle length than fertile women with normal ovaries, but there were significantly lower levels of progesterone in the early luteal phase. This may contribute to the delay in conception in these patients.
Adult↗
Estimating the degree of sperm precedence in laboratory mating experiments: a maximum likelihood method.
Allozyme polymorphisms have been used frequently in laboratory mating experiments to study patterns of sperm utilization in multiply mated females. In some instances, due either to chance or to design, there is a diagnostic difference between male genotypes that allows unambiguous assignment of paternity. In other instances, there is some overlap in allelic composition of males, so that attribution of paternity is often uncertain. This paper presents a statistical method for analyzing data of the second sort obtained from twice-mated females, based on the principle of maximum likelihood. The method allows the estimation of a mating parameter, psi the frequency with which sperm from the first male fertilizes the female's eggs. Various hypotheses about the null value of psi may be tested by a likelihood ratio test statistic. Also presented is a method of testing for homogeneity in psi values across different broods produced by the same female.
Animals↗
Dynamic changes in the tubulin cytoskeleton during oogenesis and early development in the anuran amphibian Xenopus laevis (Daudin).
In order to find proper methods for preservation and visualization of tubulin-containing structures we applied different chemical fixation protocols, embedding and staining methods, as well as some methods of microtubule cytoskeleton preparation. As an example we studied the dynamics of such structures in growing oocytes, fertilized eggs and cleaving eggs of Xenopus laevis, using various immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase reactions. The results were evaluated and compared with results from CLSM studies by different authors, which let us suggest some reliable protocols for preservation and visualization of various tubulin-containing structures in animal cells. The origin and progressive complexity of these structures in the developing amphibian oocyte and fertilized egg is closely related to the origin of embryonic polarities and, because of that, to embryonic pattern formation.
Animals↗
The pattern of age reporting errors in the districts of Bangladesh.
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Age Distribution↗
Changing genetic world of IVF, stem cells and PGD. A. Early methods in research.
Genetics proved essential to introduce IVF, preimplantation diagnosis (PGD) and embryo stem cells in the 1960s. Its small input in early years was confined to aspects such as timing follicle growth and ovulation. Modest understanding in the mid- to late 1980s, mostly on studies in mice, involved the actions of single genes and the balance between maternal and zygotic transcripts in preimplantation stages. Human IVF began after human oocytes were matured in vitro, and their meiotic chromosomes analysed. Their fertilization in vitro led to PGD and embryo stem cells. Unlike mouse embryos, most human embryos failed to implant, so the best had to be selected to improve IVF pregnancy rates. Initially, faster-growing embryos proved superior. Later, patterns of polarized nucleoli in pronuclei, the degree of blastomere fragmentation and growth of embryos in vitro to blastocysts provided excellent markers. Single cells could be isolated from embryos using micromanipulation. Stem cells from inner cell mass, a branch of IVF, differentiated into immortal stem cell lines in vitro if disaggregated. They formed virtually all body tissues in blastocysts cultured intact or when injected singly into recipient blastocysts. Later, the genetic controls of ES cell differentiation were assessed, together with factors switching them along specific differentiation pathways. Marker genes identified ES cells differentiating into various tissues.
Animals↗
A continuous time model for first birth in rural environment of India.
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Abortion, Spontaneous↗
High fertility of Old Colony Mennonites in Mexico.
Old Colony Mennonites in Mexico appear to demonstrate natural fertility, using no form of artificial birth control and apparently not attempting to limit family size. The resulting fertility is nearly as high as that of the Hutterites, although the Mennonites lack the communal economic system of the latter. Most Mennonites in Mexico migrated from Canada in the 1920s, and the largest single settlement, called the Manitoba Colony, is one of four in the state of Chihuahua. A 1967 partial census obtained data from 38% of the Mennonite households. Family size in the sample was close to that in a local survey taken in the same year. Available church records matched with census forms permitted verification of and corrections to 560 female reproductive histories. The median number of live births to women over age 45 years was 9.5, compared with 10.4 in the Hutterites. Age-specific marital fertility rates and birth intervals closely resembled those of the Hutterites.
Adolescent↗
Expression profiles of endometrial leukemia inhibitory factor, transforming growth factor beta2 (TGFbeta2), and TGFbeta2 receptor in infertile bonnet monkeys.
The expression profiles of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), transforming growth factor beta2 (TGFbeta2), and transforming growth factor beta2 receptor (TGFbeta2R) were analyzed during the peri-implantation period in regularly menstruating, fertile bonnet monkeys and in animals in which endometrial nonreceptivity was induced by administering an antiprogestin, onapristone. Based on our previous experiences, a dose of 2.5 or 5 mg of onapristone was administered s.c. every third day during the menstrual cycle, because these dosages impair endometrial development without upsetting the normal gonadal endocrine profiles. Endometrial biopsy specimens were collected during the proliferative phase (estradiol levels about 200 pg/ml, n = 5) and peri-implantation period (Day 8 after midcycle peak in estradiol levels, n = 5) from normal ovulatory animals and during the peri-implantation period from onapristone-treated animals (n = 10). The biopsy specimens were processed to determine the expression patterns of LIF, TGFbeta2, and TGFbeta2R by immunohistochemical and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. Levels of both protein and mRNA for LIF, TGFbeta2, and TGFbeta2R (analyzed by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR, respectively) were greater in the endometrial samples collected during the peri-implantation period compared to samples collected during the proliferative phase in control animals. Treatment with either of the two doses (2.5 or 5 mg) of onapristone caused a significant (P < 0.05) down-regulation in the expression of LIF in the peri-implantation endometria. The endometrial expressions of TGFbeta2 and TGFbeta2R mRNAs were reduced significantly in animals treated with 5 mg of onapristone, but not in those treated with the lower dose. However, immunoreactive TGFbeta2 and TGFbeta2R proteins were significantly (P < 0.05) down-regulated in the endometrial samples from both the 2.5- and 5-mg-treated groups. The alterations observed in the expression patterns of LIF, TGFbeta2, and TGFbeta2R were specific, because the expression levels of epidermal growth factor receptor remained unaffected in the endometria from the treated groups. The present study demonstrates derangement in the expression profiles of LIF, TGFbeta2, and TGFbeta2R during the peri-implantation period in infertile bonnet monkeys. It may be hypothesized that TGFbeta2 function is one of the early steps in the regulation of the progesterone-driven cascade of events leading to endometrial receptivity, and that any aberration in this step may adversely affect the subsequent molecular events (i.e., expression of LIF). These data also suggest that potential aberrations in the functional network of locally produced cytokines and growth factors even may occur in an endometrium exposed to the optimal peripheral hormonal levels.
Animals↗
A five-year clinical trial of levonorgestrel silastic implants (Norplant TM).
Silastic implants containing the progestin, levonorgestrel, were tested as a long-term contraceptive system in 101 women. During five full years of use, no pregnancies occurred. The 5-year continuation rate was 54%. Menstrual irregularities were the most frequent reason for termination of use but only during the first year. More than half of the terminations for this reason were in the first year. Some of the subjects elected to continue use of the implants beyond 5 years, allowing release rate data to be obtained through 6 years. From the second through the sixth year of use, the implants delivered a constant 30 micrograms per day of levonorgestrel to the subjects, and even after six years 57% of the original steroid content remained in the capsules. Return of fertility following removal was essentially immediate and not related to time of use. Medical reasons for removal were infrequent and no pattern was discernible.
Adult↗
A pilot study of the effect of methotrexate or combined oral contraceptive on bleeding patterns after induction of abortion with mifepristone and a prostaglandin pessary.
Although a combination of mifepristone and a prostaglandin is a safe, acceptable alternative to vacuum aspiration for inducing abortion in early pregnancy, the longer period of vaginal bleeding after medical abortion is a disadvantage. The present study investigated whether administration of the combined oral contraceptive pill (COC) or the injection of methotrexate at the time of abortion would shorten the period of vaginal bleeding after medical abortion. After having a medical abortion induced with mifepristone (200 mg) and 0.5 mg gemeprost pessary, 80 women were randomized to four groups of 20 women each; Group A, COC; Group B, control; Group C, 50 mg/m2 methotrexate; and Group D, placebo injection. There was no significant difference in the duration of bleeding between Groups A and B (median 14 and 17 days) or between Groups C and D (18 and 15 days), or in the amount of bleeding (4 days of heavy bleeding in each group). The first period occurred sooner in Group A who took the COC (median/range: 25/15-54 control group versus 32/16-46 days, p < 0.04). The administration of methotrexate was associated with a temporary elevation in liver enzyme concentration in one woman. It is concluded that women who wish to use COC can start immediately after medical abortion. Addition of methotrexate after abortion has no significant beneficial effect on patterns of bleeding and cannot be recommended.
Abortifacient Agents↗
lacZ expression in germline transgenic zebrafish can be detected in living embryos.
Use of transgenic technology in zebrafish has been limited by the inability to efficiently express transgenes in early embryos of F1 and subsequent generations and to rapidly detect transgenic fish. We generated transgenic fish by injecting fertilized eggs with the Escherichia coli lacZ gene under the control of the Xenopus elongation factor 1 alpha transcriptional regulatory element. Four of five lines of transgenic fish we obtained express the lacZ gene in early embryos. The pattern of expression was distinct for each line, with two lines showing extensive expression beginning at approximately the midblastula transition, one showing patchy expression and one showing expression almost exclusively in motor neurons. Expression patterns were stable through the F2 generation in the three lines studied to date. The availability of these lines facilitated the development of a reliable and rapid method for live-staining lacZ-expressing embryos using the substrate fluorescein-di-beta-D-galactopyranoside (FDG). Positive embryos of the two most highly lacZ-expressing lines could be identified after 2-3 min of staining in FDG and then picked out and raised. These observations should prove useful for a variety of studies in zebrafish.
Animals↗