不同强度运动对女子游泳运动员性激素水平的影响及特点

本研究以放兔分析法观察不同强度运动前后19名女子游泳运动员血清促卵泡激素(FSH)、黄体生成素(LH)、雌二醇(E_2)、孕酮(P)、睾酮(T)及胰岛素(Ins)的变化。受试者在卵泡及黄体两期分别进行短时间高强度间歇运动——6×50m全速力竭性游泳和长时间持续运动——1000m全速力竭性游泳。在运动前5分钟及运动后即刻分别采集静脉血测定各种激素含量。主要结果如下:受试者从事6×50m最大速度间歇游泳后,卵泡期各种激素浓度的变化均显著高于运动前安静状态,黄体期变化不一,FSH、LH降低,E_2、P、T及Ins升高。从事1000m全速游泳后,激素变化表现为卵泡期FSH、LH、E_2、P均升高,T及Ins降低;黄体期E_2、P、T升高,Ins降低,FSH、LH无显著变化,两期相比黄体期运动成绩优于卵泡期。上述结果提示:①受试者月经周期的黄体期机体有氧能力强于卵泡期,运动能力的增强与黄体期E_2、P、T水平升高有关。②FSH、LH与E_2、P分泌变化并非同步一致,说明运动中E_2升高并非受制于促性腺激素,而主要是卵巢分泌量升高所致。③运动中E_2、P、T具有协同效应,可抵抗疲劳,提高人体运动能力。     

Existing in-between two worlds: supporting asylum seeking women living in temporary accommodation through a creative movement and art intervention

ABSTRACT

In this reflective article we introduce Moving Space, a creative movement and art project supporting female Asylum Seekers as they move through the transient space of temporary accommodation. We explore how this cross-modal approach supports women to anchor experiences of displacement, loss and trauma through the use of embodied and visual creative process. Moreover, we argue that the transient nature of the therapeutic space brings into focus women’s resourcefulness and resilience despite the adversity and uncertainty they are experiencing.     

Female‐restricted syndromic intellectual disability in a patient from Thailand

Female‐restricted syndromic intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with developmental delay (DD)/ID, facial dysmorphism, and diverse congenital anomalies comprising heart defects, anal anomalies, choanal atresia, postaxial polydactyly, scoliosis, and brain abnormalities. Loss‐of‐function mutations in the USP9X gene inherited as X‐linked dominance were identified as its etiology in females of different ethnic groups. Here, we report a 15‐year‐old Thai girl harboring a novel de novo heterozygous one‐base pair deletion (c.3508delG, p.Val1170TrpfsX9) in exon 23 of USP9X. Her profound DD, dysmorphic face including attached earlobes, short stature, and congenital malformations including s‐shaped thoracolumbar scoliosis, hip dislocation, and generalized brain atrophy shared common characteristics of X‐linked syndromic ID. We have observed severely malformed oro‐dental organs and a choledochal cyst, which have never been reported. Our study presents the first patient from Thailand expanding the phenotypic and mutational spectra of the syndrome.     

A female with X‐linked Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in a family with inherited central diabetes Insipidus: Case report and review of the literature

There are two forms of diabetes insipidus, central (neurohypophyseal), and nephrogenic, caused by pathogenic variants in the AVP gene and the AVPR2 or AQP2 genes, respectively. We report on a four‐generation family, seven individuals had central diabetes insipidus (CDI) and the female index patient seen from age 16 to 26 years had (mild) nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. In her father with CDI, a known pathogenic heterozygous AVP variant c.232_234del p.(Glu78del) was identified, confirming the diagnosis of CDI in him and the other affected family members. In the proband, molecular analysis disclosed a novel heterozygous AVPR2 gene variant, c.962A > T p.(Asn321Ile) and an extremely skewed X‐inactivation, confirming X‐linked nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (XL‐NDI). Whole exome sequencing showed no further causative mutation. This is the first report on the co‐existence of CDI and NDI in one family. Our review of symptomatic female AVPR2 heterozygotes includes 23 families with at least one affected female (including this study). There were 21 different causative mutations. Mutation types in females did not differ from those in males. Both severe XL‐NDI and mild forms were reported in females. All six females with severe XL‐NDI had complete loss‐of‐function (null) mutations. The remaining 17 female probands had milder XL‐NDI caused by 14 missense variants and three null variants of the AVPR2 gene. X‐inactivation was studied in nine of these females; all showed extreme or slight skewing. The review underlines that XL‐NDI in female AVPR2 heterozygotes is always accompanied by skewed X‐inactivation, emphasizing a need for X‐inactivation studies in these females.     

Androgen insufficiency in women: diagnostic and therapeutic implications

The proposed key symptoms of the female androgen insufficiency syndrome (FAIS) include reduced libido, diminished well being and lowered mood. The diagnosis of FAIS is made on the basis of these symptoms in the setting of a low serum free testosterone level. However, there is currently no readily available inexpensive assay which reliably measures free testosterone levels in the female range. The diagnosis of FAIS is further complicated by the lack of data demonstrating a minimum serum free testosterone level which, if below this, correlates with the symptoms of FAIS. Despite the complexities involved with defining FAIS, the symptoms have been reported to respond well to testosterone replacement. There is a need for formulations of testosterone therapy specifically designed for use in women, along with clear guidelines regarding optimal therapeutic doses and long-term safety data.     

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1): a multifunctional role in the human female reproductive tract

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGFBP-1) is particularly important in human female reproductive physiology, where it is involved with other factors in a complex system which regulates menstrual cycles, puberty, ovulation, decidualization, implantation and fetal growth. This has implications for clinical obstetrics and gynaecology, where there is evidence for a pathophysiological role for IGFBP-1 in pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, polycystic ovarian syndrome and trophoblast and endometrial neoplasms.     

Uterotrophic effect of a saturated fatty acid 17-ester of estradiol-17beta administered orally to juvenile rats

In comparison to estradiol-17beta, the naturally synthesized estradiol-17beta-17-fatty acid esters are potent estrogens when administered subcutaneously. A lipophilic character of estradiol-17-esters could partially protect them from metabolic inactivation. In order to compare their relative estrogenic potency when administered orally, the uterotrophic response to different dosages (0, 2.5, 25, 250 and 2500 nmol/kg BW/day) of estradiol-17beta and estradiol-17beta-17-stearate was assessed in juvenile Sprague-Dawley female rats. Estrogens were administered by oral gavage once a day for 6 days. On the 7th day uterus and vagina were dissected, weighed, and examined microscopically. At 2.5 and 25 nmol/kg BW/day, no difference was detected in the uterus weight compared to control animals which received the vehicle alone (corn oil). At 250 nmol/kg BW/day, the uterotrophic response was maximal in estradiol-17beta-17-stearate-treated animals (x2.40-2.70), whereas it was moderate in estradiol-17beta-treated rats (x1.86) at the same dosage. This differential weight gain effect of estradiol-17beta-17-stearate was correlated with typical microscopic changes in uterus and vagina. The results are in favour of a stronger estrogenic effect of orally given lipoidal estrogens compared to estradiol-17beta. This could be explained by a slower but sustained absorption of estradiol-17beta released from estradiol-17beta-17-stearate by esterases and/or by a facilitated transfer of esters in the lymphatic circulation.     

Selective sequestration of X4 isolates by human genital epithelial cells: Implication for virus tropism selection process during sexual transmission of HIV

X4 and R5 HIV strains are present in the semen of men infected with HIV but R5 isolates are transmitted preferentially. The role of human epithelial cells in this selection is addressed. Three human cervical cell lines-CaSki, SiHa, and HEC1A-and normal human vaginal cells from HIV-negative donors were characterized for HIV receptor expression and incubated with X4 and R5 laboratory-adapted strains or primary isolates. The infection was assessed by detection of intracellular HIV DNA. The three cell lines were shown to express on their surface the CXCR4 and GalCer molecules, but not the CD4 and CCR5 ones. The three cell lines and normal human vaginal cells were found to be selectively permissive to X4 HIV entry; the preincubation of the cell lines with rhSDF-1 inhibited this infection. The detection of the intracellular proviral DNA in the cell lines and in normal human vaginal cells demonstrated a selective integration of X4 strains. Additional experiments showed that no extracellular RNA was detected in the supernatants of HEC1A cells infected by X4 isolates either after 18 days of culture or after incubation with PHA-stimulated PBMCs and that no transmission occurred after co-culture between infected HEC1A cells and PHA-stimulated PBMCs. These results suggest specific sequestration of X4 strains by genital epithelial cells, which could explain, at least in part, the HIV tropism selection process during sexual intercourse.     

Minority mating advantage of certain eye color mutants ofDrosophila melanogaster. I. Multiple-choice and single-female tests

Alleles at the brown locus ofDrosophila melanogaster combined with homozygous scarlet provide a useful model to demonstrate minority advantage of males in mating. Heterozygotes with orange (O) eyes equal in numbers to homozygotes with red (R) eyes (1010 in both sexes) displayed no bias favoring either eye color, but each eye color was favored when males occurred in a minority ratio (218). In direct observation of single females with equal numbers of males (33) as controls,O males courted less and more slowly thanR males, but females mated with either type without bias. When unequal (41), the minority males were successful at more than twice the frequency expected. Whether successful or not, the minority males did not change their level of courtship, and thus cannot be said to compensate for their frequency in any way. The time between first courtship and mating was less for the minority males than for the majority males. We discard the hypothesis that the minority male will be accepted immediately or ahead of a majority male, because the opposite tended to occur: that if a minority male courted first he was less likely to be successful than if he waited until the majority courted. Our results then are in conformity with the hypothesis that a female samples males and their courtship cues, thus becoming habituated to the majority of the first courting male, but she accepts a male with a cue different from that which she originally detected but avoided. That male is most often the minority.This research was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grants GB-34206 to August 31, 1974, and BMS 72-02110 after that date.     

Retrograde migration of glove powder in the human female genital tract

BACKGROUND: This study in humans was undertaken to evaluate earlier results from animal research showing a retrograde migration of glove powder from the vagina into the intra-abdominal cavity. METHODS: One study group was gynaecologically examined with powdered gloves the day before an abdominal hysterectomy and another group 4 days pre-operatively. There were two control groups similarly examined with powder-free gloves. Cell smears were taken from the peritoneal fluid and during the operation further smears were taken from the Fallopian tubes, uterine cavity and cervical canal. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found for large starch particles at all locations between the study and control groups examined 1 day pre-operatively. Considering small starch particles, there were significant differences in cervix (P < 0.001), uterus (P < 0.01) and the Fallopian tubes (P < 0.01). The combined results also show significant differences between both large and small starch particles in cervix, uterus and the Fallopian tubes. There were also differences between the study and control groups examined 4 days pre-operatively, but these were not statistically significant except for small and large starch particles in uterus (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) and cervix (P < 0.05, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study has pointed out a retrograde migration of starch also in humans after a gynaecological examination with powdered gloves. Consequently, powder or any other potentially harmful substance that can migrate from the vagina should be avoided.