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Alanis Morissette has come to signify a particular kind of ageing Generation X female celebrity since her initial rise to fame almost three decades ago. This project traces her career and maturation in the glare of transnational media that often fail to accept evolutions in her music and identities as she ages. Exploring scholarship on intergenerational feminism, I seek to establish how Morissette is iconic of discourses that situate women within a specific generational context. Though she explores femininity and ageing in her creative works, media coverage of this musician often confines her to established social narratives that prescribe ideal life cycles of women. A tension between celebrity industry manufacturing of consistency and promotion of reinvention exists in even greater discordance with the representation and self-representation of ageing and self-development that celebrities undertake in their creative works and star images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the relationships between age and race performance in women's road cycling. Therefore, we consider public data from ProCyclingStats (PCS) on race results of 558 female riders present in the top 500 of one of the yearly rankings between 1993 and 2021. We apply a data-driven approach consisting of three subsequent steps. First, we train decision tree classifiers to distinguish between race profiles. Second, we cluster the riders based on the fraction of PCS points obtained in different race types and uniquely identified the speciality of a rider as Sprinter, All Rounder or One Day. Third, we use polynomial regression to determine relationships between age and a rider's yearly race performance, defined as the average number of points per race entered in a single year, for each cluster. We obtain that the yearly performance is independent of age for one-day specialists. For sprinters and all-rounders, we found that the race performance increases until it reaches a maximum at 28.7 (sprinters) and 27.0 (all-rounders) years and then decreases again. Our findings can be used as a benchmarking tool for monitoring the development of women's road cyclists, talent identification or constructing long-term training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question: Social media in sport management contexts is increasingly used to highlight social issues in sport and to advocate for change, such as expanding the opportunities for women to participate. The purpose of this study is to examine how and why people strategically used various Twitter conventions to advocate for women's cycling during the 2013 (men's) Tour de France. We draw on Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis to frame our exploration and analysis of the issue. Research methods: We analyzed the text of approximately 6000 tweets to examine the use of Twitter conventions, as discursive practices, in digital activism efforts to advance the women's cycling agenda. Findings and discussion: People used links, retweets, hashtags, direct mentions, and influencers' posts as individual discursive practices and for their collective potential to draw attention to, and advocate for, women's pro-cycling in the context of the 100th iteration of the men's Tour de France. We discuss why this was an important process in the context of women's cycling, and some of the impacts, ten years later, of this Twitter activity. Implications: Twitter conventions can be a useful digital activism tool for feminist agendas in sport. We are cautious of overstating this case as each cause will have different contexts, and the ability of trolls and other users to derail activism is ever present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobility plays a crucial role in constructing gender. This study provides empirical evidence of this by focusing on both the embodied and situational agencies of women to explore gendered mobilities in cycling tourism. Interviews and observations were used to collect data in Hainan, China. This study found that the bodily practice of cycling allows women to exercise agency by permitting them to express and improve their skills, which further enables them to reconsider gender identities and challenge traditional gender dualism. However, this agency also depended on context. The widely accepted ideas related to cycling and rural public spaces were maintained in cycling tourism. This study contributes to understanding the intersection of cycling mobility and gender through embodied and situational agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: to evaluate menstruation characteristics, perceptions, and health-seeking behaviours in women. Methods: We conducted this cross-sectional study with 394 women between February 2021 and October 2021. according to the self-perception of women, menstruation characteristics were divided into two groups, including 'normal' and 'abnormal'. the data were collected using the Personal information Form, assessment Form of the Menstrual cycle characteristics, and health-seeking Behaviour scale. Results: among all women, 49.7% perceived their menstruation characteristics as 'normal', and 50.3% perceived them as 'abnormal'. the menstruation characteristics negatively affected the daily life of 57.6% of women in the normal group and 68.7% of women in the abnormal group. Online health-seeking behaviour was the most common behaviour of seeking remedy; however, professional health-seeking behaviour was inadequate. among women who perceived their menstruation characteristics as 'normal', excessive menstrual bleeding, extreme pain, and adverse effects on daily life increased health-seeking behaviour. among women who perceived their menstruation characteristics as 'abnormal', irregular cycles, frequent bleeding, low levels of bleeding, the use of too many pads, extreme pain, and adverse effects on daily life increased health-seeking behaviour. Conclusion: the participants in this study exhibited insufficient health-seeking behaviour for abnormal menstruation characteristics. Women should be directed by health professionals to reliable online sources to seek help, and they should be encouraged to display professional health-seeking behaviour. Short condensation: the knowledge and perception of menstruation characteristics among women is inadequate. the results of this study suggested that many gynecological symptoms that can affect women in their later stages of life may be unintentionally ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, there have been several efforts in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to increase the opportunities and improve the experiences of women cyclists in recreational and racing contexts. However, cycling in Victoria and Australia more broadly continues to be a male dominated sport. This study incorporates a digital ethnography of two Melbourne-based women's cycling Facebook groups including 11 interviews with stakeholders over the period of 2017–2018 to analyse how women and girls are harnessing social media to create counter sports spaces to enhance women's cycling. The paper explores the emergence of the "virtual clubhouse" which operates as a digitally networked counterpublic, providing a space for women and gender diverse cyclists to connect, coproduce and engage in knowledge sharing practices, and build a more inclusive culture for cycling that challenges dominant, mainstream narratives of women's sport. The "virtual clubhouse" addresses a gap in the physical bicycle landscape in which cycling and cycling knowledge (including bicycle maintenance) is largely mediated by men and cycling clubs are configured as masculine spaces within Australia. This research adds further depth into a specific localised network of women cyclists to consider how physical and online sports cultures and communities are intertwined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men. Recent research suggests an impact of oral contraceptive (OC) intake on PTSD and intrusive memories, a hallmark symptom of PTSD. Although a majority of women use OCs at some point in their lives, the effects on PTSD pathogenesis are only poorly understood. Objective: In the current paper, we aimed to investigate the impact of OC intake on the acquisition and consolidation of intrusive memories in healthy women after watching a trauma film paradigm. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of a pooled dataset (N = 437) of two previously conducted and published studies investigating the effect of oxytocin on the development of intrusive memories. Results: Women taking OCs showed an attenuated decline of intrusive memories over time after having watched the trauma film compared to naturally cycling women (F(2.75, 1167) = 3.79, p =.03, $\eta _p^2$ η p 2 =.01). Conclusion: These findings indicate that the intake of OCs is associated with the development of intrusive memories after a trauma film paradigm. This indication emphasizes the need to further investigate the complex impact of OCs and gonadal hormones on fear learning processes and PTSD. The objective of the current study was to analyze the effect of oral contraceptives on the development of intrusive memories after a trauma film paradigm by conducting a secondary analysis of previously published data. Women taking oral contraceptives show an attenuated decline of intrusive memories after watching a trauma film paradigm compared to naturally cycling women in the luteal phase. Women using oral contraceptives show higher basal saliva cortisol levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chicana Lesbians provides a fruitful theoretical framework to examine the documentary Ovarian Psycos, directed by Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle, about a radical Latina women's cycling collective founded in Los Angeles in 2010. Many of the group's members are lesbians, and all of them are feminists with radical politics who organise cycling-related events to protest against the gentrification of East Los Angeles, racism and violence against women. The film interweaves interviews with the collective's members with footage of their moonlit group bike rides. In one such interview, founding member Xela de la X explains that the group provides a safe space, a community and even an alternative family for its members, while their cycles are both a form of activism and a celebration of active Latina bodies. This article will situate the film's celebration of the group's activism in a brief overview of the history of cycling in order to highlight why cycling is a particularly apt symbol for the intersectional feminism espoused by the Ovarian Psycos. It will also examine the connections between the film and the exploration of issues such as family, motherhood, violence, and racial politics in Chicana Lesbians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qatar has used sport to portray itself as a modern progressive society for over 50 years. But the country's sportswomen have been conspicuous by their absence throughout this period. The widely held belief that has emerged as a result is that Qatari women simply don't do sport. However, a report published by the Josoor Institute in 2021 shows not only the opposite to be the case, but that the number of Qatari women taking part in various sports is growing annually. Cycling is one such sport that has experienced an increase in the number of women participants. Was there a specific effort to promote Qatari women's cycling in the country by the Qatar Cycling and Triathlon Federation (QCTF), the sport's governing body, and how did these riders adapt to an explicitly Eurocentric environment dominated almost singularly by competitive racing? This study tells the story of Qatari women's cycling, from the unfulfilled aspirations of the Ladies Tour of Qatar to the short-lived Qatar women's national team, to ultimately how dissatisfaction with the QCTF's Eurocentric bias led to these riders creating their own cycling community in Qatar, one specifically tailored to their cultural requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As I Cycling for Sustainable Cities i makes clear, the urban cycling movement has grown up with multiple global cities implementing large-scale cycling systems that have set a new standard for safe cycling designs. The book is organized around key issue areas in urban cycling scholarship with introductory and conclusion chapters by Buehler and Pucher acting as bookends to guide and synthesize key elements of the chapters. I Cycling for Sustainable Cities i edited by Ralph Buehler and John Pucher (2021) captures the key research findings and current debates of contemporary cycling scholarship and defines what works to make safe, well-used urban cycling systems. [Extracted from the article]

What is the relationship between bicycle travel and gender relations in changing social contexts? How can socio-cultural research contribute to a nuanced analysis of women and cycling without relying on universalizing translations? Drawing from intersectional feminist ethnography and decolonial theory, this paper complicates certain generalizations about the relationship between women and bicycling. Through a reconstructive approach to Mexican history, it examines the bicycle's changing roles and meanings as well as the ways that women confront gender stereotypes on and off of the bicycle. This paper aims to resituate diverse women's experiences in local cycling histories and current planning agendas. It posits the need for greater attention to the complex social processes that enable and restrict bicycle travel, engendering multiple and at times conflicting meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysmenorrhea and mastodynia are the most common gynecologic pain causes in women of all ages and races during their reproductive life. The following study aimed to show the influence of two POP´s in the development of dysmenorrhea and mastodynia after nine months of use. A total of 858 women with 6691 drospirenone (DRSP) cycles and 332 women with 2487 desogestrel (DSG) cycles were analyzed. Women included in this study were all child-bearing potentials, at risk of pregnancy, agreeing to use only the study medication for contraception for the duration of the study medication treatment, aged 18 to 45. At screening, 168 (19.6%) of the 858 patients using DRSP and 64 (19,3%) of the DSG patients reported that they had suffered from dysmenorrhea within six cycles prior to the first visit before starting with the medication. 20,2% of the DRSP and 10,9% of the DSG group had a sever dysmenorrhea. After 9 cycles this was reduced to 0,6% and 3,1% respectively. In total, 96 women (11.2%) in the DRSP and 49 (14,8%) experienced mastodynia within six cycles before the screening. Of these 91.6% in the DRSP group and 91,8% in the DSG group had no or mild mastodynoa at follow-up. The progestins 4 mg and desogestrel 0,075 mg showed a marked effect in the non-contraceptive aspects of dysmenorrhea and mastodynia so that new possibilities are opened for these two benign gynecological diseases. Future studies must reaffirm these first data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exacerbated perceived exertion and muscle pain responses during exercise might limit physical activity practice in fibromyalgia patients. Thus, nutritional strategies that can reduce perceived exertion and muscle pain during exercise in fibromyalgia patients would be useful. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of acute caffeine intake on the perceptions of exertion and muscle pain during a moderate intensity exercise in women with fibromyalgia. Using a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled and crossover experimental design, eleven sedentary women diagnosed with fibromyalgia (age: 44.6 ± 10.5 years; body mass index: 28.5 ± 4.5 kg.m−2) ingested a capsule containing either caffeine (5 mg per kg of body mass) or cellulose (placebo), 60 minutes before performing a 30-minute constant-load cycling exercise, with work rate fixed at 50% of their individual peak workload attained in an incremental exercise test. Ratings of perceived leg muscle pain and perceived exertion were assessed every 5 minutes of exercise. The perceived leg muscle pain was similar (F(1,10) = 1.18, p = 0.30, ŋ2 = 0.11) between caffeine (2.1 ± 1.2 arbitrary units) and placebo conditions (2.2 ± 0.9 arbitrary units). The perceived exertion, however, was on average 8 ± 6% lower (F(1,10) = 12.13; p = 0.006; ŋ2 = 0.55) during exercise in the caffeine condition (12.4 ± 1.3 arbitrary units) than in the placebo condition (13.1 ± 1.1 arbitrary units). These findings indicate that acute caffeine intake could be an attractive strategy to attenuate the exacerbated perceived exertion of fibromyalgia patients during moderate intensity exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to analyse the cardiorespiratory response to exercise during an oral contraceptive (OC) cycle in endurance-trained women. Sixteen low-dose monophasic OC pill (OCP) users performed an interval-running protocol. The protocol consisted of eight 3 min bouts at 85% of participants' maximal aerobic speed (vV̇o2peak) with a 90s recovery at 30% vV̇o2peak in two OC phases: a withdrawal phase (WP) and an active pill phase (APP). The non-parametric Wilcoxon test was applied to analyse differences (p < 0.05) in performance variables between OC cycle phases. Throughout the high-intensity intervals, higher ventilation (WP 80.90 ± 11.49 L/min, APP 83.10 ± 13.33 L/min; p < 0.001) and relative perceived exertion (WP 14.51 ± 2.58, APP 15.11 ± 3.11; p = 0.001) during the APP were found, whereas carbon dioxide production (WP 2040.92 ± 262.93 mL/min, APP 2010.25 ± 305.68 mL/min; p = 0.003) was higher in the WP. During the active recovery intervals, ventilation (WP 65.78 ± 9.90 L/min, APP 67.88 ± 12.66 L/min; p < 0.001) was higher in the APP, while heart rate (WP 159.93 ± 10.26 bpm, APP 159.74 ± 12.83 bpm; p = 0.029) was higher in the WP. An increase in ventilation occurs during the APP, which is accompanied by higher perceived exertion. Therefore, coaches and athletes should be aware of these variations, especially perceived exertion, in regard to women's training programmes, in order to improve their performance, wellness and adherence to physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the psychological domain of quality of life (PDQoL), anxiety and depression levels of infertile women with endometriosis versus non endometriosis who applied for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART).Method: This prospective case-control study compromised a total of 105 women who applied for IVF/ICSI program. Ninety-three women were divided into two groups as endometriosis (n = 37) and non-endometriosis (n = 56) after 12 patients who refused to participate in the study were excluded. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventory scales were used to determine the psychological stress levels.Results: A significant difference was found between the endometriosis and non-endometriosis groups regarding depression scores, while no significant difference was reported with respect to PDQoL and anxiety (p < 0.01, p = 0.897 and p = 0.058, respectively). A weak but significant correlation was observed between depression and endometriosis (CC: 0.435, p < 0.01). Though anxiety scores were found to be higher in endometriosis group this can not reach statistical significance (p = 0.058). Impact of PDQoL, depression and anxiety scores on pregnancy outcomes were found to be insignificant.Conclusion: Women with endometriosis seem to be more susceptible to depression and anxiety than women without endometriosis. Although infertility treatment outcomes are not found to be significantly affected, the impact of depression and anxiety over ART treatment success merit further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effects of myoinositol (Myo) in comparison to metformin (Met), in reducing the risk of OHSS and improving ART outcome in PCOS women undergoing IVF. Double-blinded randomized controlled trial (CTRI/2018/05/014196). ART Clinic, AIIMS, New Delhi patients: 102 infertile PCOS women undergoing IVF cycles were enrolled after evaluating for eligibility and allotted as 50 in group 1 (Myo) and 52 in group 2 (Met) after randomization. Recruited patients received Myo 2 g twice daily (group 1) and Met 850 mg twice daily (group 2). Pre- and post-treatment clinical (menstrual pattern, BMI), hormonal profile (LH, FSH, testosterone, prolactin [PRL], and AMH), biochemical parameters (HOMA IR, fasting glucose, and insulin), ovarian with antral follicle count (AFC) and side effect profile were assessed. After 3 months of therapy, patients were recruited for IVF cycle by antagonist protocol was involving controlled ovarian stimulation, cycle monitoring, oocyte recovery, insemination of oocytes and follow up with fertilization, cleavage, transfer of good grade cleavage embryos, or blastocysts pregnancy outcomes and OHSS incidence and medications was continued until the day of OPU. Primary outcome was OHSS and clinical pregnancy rate including spontaneous, IVF, and cumulative pregnancy rate including FET. Secondary outcome was ART outcomes and the change in biochemistry and hormonal profile between groups and inter group after medications at 12 weeks. Incidence of OHSS (Myo 5 (10.0) (n = 50), Met 10 (20.0) (n = 50) p.07) was not statistically different between groups. Clinical pregnancy rate (Myo 18 (36.0) (n = 50), Met 9 (18.0) (n = 50) p.04) cumulative pregnancy rate including FET (Myo 16 (43.2) (n = 37) vs. Met 10) 22.7) (n = 44) p.05) and spontaneous conception (prior to IVF) Myo 13 (26.0) (n = 50), Met 6 (12.0) (n = 50) p.07) was significantly high in Myo group. No between group difference in ovarian stimulation outcomes including duration and dosage of gonadotropins, E2, P4 levels, number of follicles >14 mm on day of trigger. Number of oocytes retrieved and grade of maturity were similar between groups. Fertilization, cleavage and number of good grade embryos were significantly higher in Myo group. However, implantation rate and number of embryos for freezing were similar between groups. Myo had improvement in fasting insulin, HOMA, Sr.AMH, and SHBG suggesting decreased insulin resistance Myo is equally beneficial as Met in reducing the risk of OHSS and has better ART outcome in PCOS women undergoing antagonist cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International comparisons of cycling behaviour have typically been limited to high-income countries and often limited to the prevalence of cycling, with lack of discussions on demographic and trip characteristics. We used a combination of city, regional, and national travel surveys from 17 countries across the six continents, ranging from years 2009 through 2019. We present a descriptive analysis of cycling behaviour including level of cycling, trip purpose and distance, and user demographics, at the city-level for 35 major cities (>1 million population) and in urbanised areas nationwide for 11 countries. The Netherlands, Japan and Germany are among the highest cycling countries and their cities among the highest cycling cities. In cities and countries with high cycling levels, cycling rates tend to be more equal between work and non-work trips, whereas in geographies with low cycling levels, cycling to work is higher than cycling for other trips. In terms of cycling distance, patterns in high- and low-cycling geographies are more similar. We found a strong positive association between the level of cycling and women's representation among cyclists. In almost all geographies with cycling mode share greater than 7% women made as many cycle trips as men, and sometimes even greater. The share of cycling trips by women is much lower in geographies with cycling mode shares less than 7%. Among the geographies with higher levels of cycling, children (<16 years) are often overrepresented. Older adults (>60 years) remain underrepresented in all geographies but have relatively better representation where levels of cycling are high. In low-cycling settings, females are underrepresented across all the age groups, and more so when older than 16 years. With increasing level of cycling, representation of females improves across all the age groups, and most significantly among children and older adults. Clustering the cities and countries into homogeneous cycling typologies reveals that high cycling levels always coincide with high representation of females and good representations of all age groups. In low-cycling settings, it is the reverse. We recommend that evaluations of cycling policies include usage by gender and age groups as benchmarks in addition to overall use. To achieve representation across different age and gender groups, making neighbourhoods cycling friendly and developing safer routes to school, should be equally high on the agenda as cycling corridors that often cater to commuting traffic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to compare the efficacy of two different starting doses of recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH), 37.5 vs. 75 international units (IU) for intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles in non-obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A total of 109 women who underwent first rFSH stimulated IUI cycle were included in this retrospective cohort study. The primary outcome measure was the clinical pregnancy rate. No significant difference was found in terms of clinical pregnancy rate between the two groups (22% for the 37.5-IU group and 24% for the 75-IU group, respectively, p =.808). There was no significant difference in monofollicular development rate among the groups (p =.354). The total rFSH consumption was lower in the 37.5-IU group compared to the 75-IU group (p<.001). There was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rates between the 37.5-IU and 75-IU groups in both normal weight (BMI: 19–24.9 kg/m2) and overweight (BMI: 25–29.9 kg/m2) women (p =.889 and.518, respectively). These results suggest that the starting doses of 37.5 and 75 IU of rFSH do not show significant difference in clinical pregnancy rates in non-obese PCOS women undergoing IUI cycles. What is already known on this subject? Low-dose gonadotropin treatment is advised for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, there are few comparative data on the efficacy of different starting doses of recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) for intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles in PCOS women. What the results of this study add? There was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rates of non-obese patients with PCOS having IUI whether rFSH was started at 37.5 or 75 international units (IU). What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? A starting dose of 37.5 IU of rFSH may be a reasonable approach for IUI cycles in non-obese PCOS women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the effect of serum and follicular fluid (ff) Chemerin levels on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) outcomes in lean patients with PCOS. The study included 76 infertile reproductive aged women, between 21–35 years who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedure. Serum and ff Chemerin levels were evaluated. Fertilization and clinical pregnancy rate were compared between the groups. Serum (13.32 ng/ml versus 29.82 ng/ml) and ff chemerin (35.90 ng/ml versus 87.60 ng/ml) levels were significantly higher in lean PCOS patients compared to controls (p <.01). Serum (24.5 ng/ml versus 18.4 ng/ml) and ff chemerin (71.7 ng/ml versus 52.8 ng/ml) levels were higher in subjects without clinical pregnancy compared to the subjects with clinical pregnancy (p <.05). A cutoff value of 36.2 ng/ml in the ff chemerin level was found to estimate clinical pregnancy with 83% sensitivity and 52% specificity (Area under the curve 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.53–0.79). A cutoff value of 12.7 ng/ml in the serum chemerin level was found to estimate clinical pregnancy with 91% sensitivity and 49% specificity (Area under the curve 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.52–0.78). Clinical pregnancy rates were significantly higher in group with lower serum chemerin levels (80.0% versus 30.4%, p <.001). High serum chemerin levels are associated with failure of assisted reproduction [OR:0.1(95% CI, 0.03–0.4, p <.001)]. PCOS is associated with higher serum and ff chemerin levels and high serum chemerin level is a risk factor for failed ART cycle [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) can be defined as a failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after transfer of at least four embryos of good quality in a minimum of three fresh or frozen cycles in women under the age of 40. RIF is often a complex problem with a wide variety of etiologies and mechanisms as well as treatment options. Anatomical conditions of the uterus, thrombophilia, genetic abnormalities, or immunological factors are only a few examples which could be responsible for RIF. The recommendations for women with RIF vary depending on the source of their problem. There is not just one treatment option, but many depending on the etiology and the severity of the problem. However, it would help to establish a set of standardized examinations and tests to use, in order to do a preliminary evaluation on each patient, which would then hopefully direct the approach of treatment for each individual couple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Anxiety sensitivity (AS), as measured by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), has consistently been studied as a trait-level predictor of a variety of emotional and physical health conditions, including premenstrual symptoms. The menstrual cycle influences symptom expression and stress reactivity among anxiety and stress-related disorders. However, research has yet to directly evaluate the stability of AS across the various phases of the menstrual cycle, particularly in clinical populations with high levels of AS and with documented menstrual cycle differences in symptoms such as women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Design and Methods: The current study examined whether AS fluctuates as a function of menstrual cycle phase among a community sample of trauma-exposed women (N = 48) with and without PTSD. Participants completed the ASI, including subscales assessing sensitivity to physical, cognitive, and social symptoms of anxiety, during early follicular and mid-luteal menstrual cycle phases.Results: Results revealed that ASI scores remained relatively stable across the different phases of the menstrual cycle assessed; evidence for stability was particularly strong for the subscale assessing sensitivity to physical symptoms of anxiety.Conclusion: This study provides additional support for the conceptualization of AS as a stable, trait-like, cognitive risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the problem of heterogeneity in cervical mucus hydration at different times relative to the mucus peak both between cycles and women, specifying and estimating appropriate multilevel latent class models for longitudinal data. We estimate multilevel and growth latent class models which classify women on the basis of the evolution of cervical mucus characteristics observed over the fertile period of each menstrual cycle taking into account that we observe a different number of cycles per woman and correlation over time between consecutive observations. The effect of potential covariates on mucus evolution patterns is as well evaluated. Results confirm the existence of heterogeneity in mucus evolution between cycles and women. Moreover, an important significant effect of a woman's age is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the effect of previously used contraceptive methods on women's short- and long-term fecundity. Use of hormonal contraception (HC) was compared with the use of a contraceptive mobile application (app). Methods: This real-life prospective observational study comprised 2874 women who were attempting to become pregnant using the Natural Cycles mobile app to monitor their fertility. The women registered to use the app between August 2014 and June 2016 with the intention of planning a pregnancy and had previously either used the same app to prevent pregnancy or had recently discontinued HC use. We calculated the average time to pregnancy (TTP) for all women who became pregnant during the study and performed Kaplan-Meier life-table analysis to examine the cumulative probabilities of pregnancy for all women in the study. Results: The average TTP was 2.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1, 2.4) and 3.7 (95% CI 3.4, 3.9) cycles for women who had previously used Natural Cycles and HC, respectively. The time to reach 30% pregnancy probability for women previously on HC was 1.6 (95% CI 1.5, 1.8) times longer than for women previously using Natural Cycles. There was no significant difference in the 13 cycle cumulated pregnancy probability between the two groups. Conclusion: The results show that fertility awareness-based methods of contraception increase short-term pregnancy rates relative to HC, but have no effect on long-term pregnancy rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of how athletes and coaches in a women's cycling talent development and selection programme negotiate and normalise athlete abuse in the media. A thematic analysis of six online cycling magazine articles and their representations of the Australian women's elite cycling development camp was analysed to explore athletic abuse and the (re)production of coaching practices using Bourdieusian theory. The findings revealed a link between the expression of coaching practice and the maltreatment of athletes. Analysis of these articles also revealed that athletes were complicit in the normalisation of coaching practices through the misrecognition of social power embedded in the coaching intervention. The representations by athletes within the articles contributed narratives related to the reproduction and proliferation of abusive coaching practices. This study extends understanding of how taken for granted and power laden aspects of coaching practices can be presented in the media and highlights the implications for coaches, athletes and the general public that consume online cycling media content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the association between methylation levels of HOXA10 and HOXA11 promoters, clinical parameters, and implantation outcomes after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVT-ET) cycles in women with repeated implantation failures and tubal infertility. Methods: Endometrium samples were collected from 34 women during implantation window before IVF-ET cycle to assess methylation status of HOXA10 and HOXA11 promoters using bisulfite sequencing. All participants had a tubal factor of infertility and at least two implantation failures in the anamnesis. A logistic regression model was used to predict the implantation outcome depending on methylation status and clinical parameters. Results: The methylation of CpG-islands of HOXA10 and HOXA11 promoters was identified in 76.5 and 100% of participants, respectively. The median methylation levels did not differ significantly between the groups with different implantation outcomes, but a logistic regression model based on HOXA10 and HOXA11 methylation and clinical parameters allowed to classify the implantation outcomes with the total percentage of correct predictions of 85.19%. Conclusions: Abnormal methylation levels of the HOXA10 and HOXA11 promoters were found in the endometrium of women with tubal infertility and repeated implantation failures. The findings suggest that methylation status could be an important factor of implantation failure during IVF-ET cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating estrogens fluctuate during the menstrual cycle but it is not known whether this fluctuation is related to local hormone levels in adipose tissue. We analyzed estrogen concentrations and gene expression of estrogen-regulating enzymes in breast subcutaneous adipose tissue in premenopausal women with (n = 11) and without (n = 17) estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Estrone (E1) was the predominant estrogen in premenopausal breast adipose tissue, and E1 and mRNA expression of CYP19A1 in adipose tissue correlated positively with BMI. Adipose tissue estradiol (E2) concentrations fluctuated during the menstrual cycle, similarly to the serum concentrations. In women with breast cancer median adipose tissue E1 (1519 vs. 3244, p < .05) and E2 (404 vs. 889 pmol/kg, p < .05) levels were lower in the follicular than in the luteal phase whereas in control women no significant differences were observed. In the follicular phase, mRNA expressions of HSD17B1 (median 0.06; interquartile range 0.05-0.07 vs. 0.17; 0.03-0.2, p = .010) and CYP19A1 (0.08; 0.07-0.14 vs. 0.22; 0.09-0.54, p = .025) were lower in women with breast cancer than in controls. In conclusion, the changes in adipose tissue E1 and E2 concentrations and the estrogen-regulating CYP19A1 and HSD17B1 during the menstrual cycle may be related to dysfunctional local estrogen metabolism in women with breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers how users employ extraorganizational technical communication to reshape technologies, both materially and symbolically, even after these technologies enter into common use. Specifically, I analyze how women bicyclists of the 1890s authored instructional materials to complicate gendered and classed assumptions about users implicit in manufacturer-produced texts. I argue that technical communicators, in their teaching and research, should consider the role that extraorganizational technical communication plays in generating vital and lasting cultural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in cycling as a sustainable form of transport has helped foreground questions of gender and mobility. This paper reports on a qualitative study into Australian women's experiences of cycling through the life course. It focuses on the circumstances in which women start and stop cycling and the spatial contexts in which this occurs. The study found that, after childhood, almost half of the respondents had returned to cycling several times through the life course. Changes in women's cycling patterns related to changes in housing, employment, health and family status. The findings suggest productive new way of researching everyday mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reports on bicycle-related perineal problems among women. Documentation of sexual and urinary tract dysfunction in female bicyclists; Traumatic contact with the bicycle top tube; Perineal numbness; Urethral stricture; Pelvic fracture.