Stress on the Farm: A Test of the life-Events Perspective Among Iowa Farm Operators*

Although a great deal is known about the nature and severity of the recent financial crisis in agriculture, there has been little systematic study of the social and psychological effects of this crisis upon farm operators and their families. Using data from a statewide sample of Iowa farmers, this study tests some hypotheses about correlates of psychological stress. The findings suggest that many farm operators find their situations to be stressful and that such stress is related to the severity of their financial problems. In addition, the life-events perspective is examined in its utility to explain how adverse economic changes impact psychological well-being.     

The effect of placental removal method on the incidence of postcesarean infections

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine whether the incidence of postoperative endometritis and wound infection is associated with the method of placental removal at the time of cesarean section.STUDY DESIGN: Parturients undergoing cesarean delivery were prospectively randomized to have the placenta removed manually or spontaneously. Patients were excluded from participation if they had received intrapartum prophylactic antibiotics or had been determined to have chorioamnionitis. After delivery of the infant women in the manual group had the placenta extracted by the primary surgeon, whereas women in the spontaneous group had the placenta delivered by gentle traction on the umbilical cord. All study subjects received perioperative prophylactic antibiotics. The primary outcome variable was a postcesarean infection, defined as postcesarean endometritis or wound cellulitis requiring drainage and antibiotic therapy.RESULTS: A total of 333 women were enrolled in the investigation, with 165 assigned to the manual removal group and 168 allocated to have spontaneous removal. There were no statistically significant differences in mean gestational age, frequency or duration of ruptured membranes, frequency or duration of labor, or mean number of vaginal examinations between the two study groups. Postoperative infections occurred in 25 of 168 (15%) women in the spontaneous delivery group compared with 44 of 165 (27%) women in which the placenta was manually extracted (relative risk 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.4 to 0.9, p = 0.01). Subset analysis of patients delivered with ruptured membranes similarly demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of postoperative infections with spontaneous placental removal compared with manual extraction (20% vs. 38%, relative risk 0.5, 95% confidence interval 0.3 to 0.9, p = 0.02). There was a similar trend toward a reduction in postdelivery infections associated with spontaneous placental removal in women with intact membranes; however, this difference did not attain statistical significance.CONCLUSIONS: Spontaneous delivery of the placenta after cesarean delivery is associated with a decrease in the incidence of postcesarean infections. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997;176:1250-4.)     

外科手术中产生的烟气:仅仅是大量的热空气吗?

外科医生和手术室人员经常接触手术设备产生的烟气,病人也会暴露于烟气中,特别是腹腔镜手术中产生的烟气滞留于腹腔内这一密闭空间并被吸收.这些烟气是一种与香烟烟气相似的毒性物质,然而对这种毒性物质的影响还未引起足够重视.应该采取必要措施尽可能减少手术中烟气的不良影响.     

取代四氢异喹啉衍生物的合成及其生物活性

粉防己碱有钙拮抗作用,临床试用于治疗高血压,其裂解产物钙拮抗作用降低,但有α-肾上腺素能受体拮抗作用,本文以裂解物为先导化合物设计合成了两类取代的四氢异喹啉衍生物Ⅲ及Ⅳ。初步药理试验表明:大部分化合物有α-肾上腺素能受体拮抗作用,少数化合物钙拮抗活性有所增强,其中Ⅲ_15,19对正常麻醉大鼠有一定的降压作用、Ⅳ_17,19对实验性动物心律失常有明显的保护作用。部分化合物量化计算表明:化合物与α₁-受体作用方式可能是形成电荷转移复合物。     

Hemorrhagic and nonhemorrhagic brain lesions: evaluation with 0.35-T fast MR imaging

Two fast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques, advanced Fourier and partial-flip imaging, were used at 0.35 T to examine 21 patients with suspected intracranial lesions; the results were quantitatively compared with a conventional spin-echo study. Both of the fast MR techniques yielded a fourfold reduction in imaging time per section. The advanced Fourier sequence showed contrast that was identical to the conventional spin-echo study with signal-to-noise ratios of 58% and 57% for the first and second echoes, respectively. The partial-flip sequence showed a contrast of 109% and 57% for lesions versus substantia alba, and 107% and 78% for substantia grisea versus substantia alba relative to the first and second echoes of the conventional spin-echo study. The partial-flip sequence was particularly sensitive to magnetic susceptibility; this produced artifacts that may undermine the usefulness of partial flip for routine screening in certain parts of the brain. However, this susceptibility significantly improved the detection of intracranial hemorrhage when compared with the spin-echo sequence, particularly when combined with phase mapping of the partial-flip study.     

Serum concentrations of oestradiol-17beta, progesterone, relaxin and chorionic gonadotrophin during blastocyst implantation in natural pregnancy cycle and in embryo transfer cycle in the rhesus monkey

The present study was undertaken to assess the temporal association between the profiles of serum concentrations of oestradiol-17beta, progesterone, chorionic gonadotrophin (CG) and relaxin in pregnancies established naturally, and after embryo transfer, as well as in failed pregnancies in rhesus monkeys. In naturally mated cycles (group 1) a conception rate of 75% was obtained. In group 1, the mean day of CG detection in serum was 11.5 +/- 1.9 day post-ovulation, and for relaxin, 9.0 +/- 2.5 day post-ovulation. In group 2, embryo transfer to synchronous, non-mated surrogate recipients was performed; seven embryo transfer cycles yielded three pregnancies which were allowed to continue to term and normal infants were delivered. In embryo transfer cycles the mean day of CG detection was 14.8 +/- 1.8 day post- ovulation, and for relaxin, 11.4 +/- 2.6 day post-ovulation. A delay of about 3 days was observed in the appearance in circulation of CG (P < 0.05) and also of relaxin (P < 0.05) between natural mated and embryo transfer conception cycles. Significant differences (P < 0.05 for progesterone and P < 0.03 for oestradiol) were obtained for the areas under the curves for progesterone and oestradiol between days 12 and 16 in conception cycles compared with failed pregnancies. These data provide the first observation of the normal hormonal signals associated with maternal recognition of transferred embryos during the peri- implantation period, and suggest that the use of such an experimental primate embryo transfer model may help to elucidate components of maternal and embryonic signal-response mechanisms during embryo implantation.