Search

Normal ECG values in newborns, infants, and children have been collected and published. ECG in the adolescent, however, remains, to be collected and studied. The present study was designed and carried out to establish the normal ECG standards in male and female adolescents. A total of 898 school children and adolescents screened and examined as healthy were divided by age and sex into 6-9, 9-13, and 13-18 years age-groups. A 12 lead conventional ECG was recorded in 10 mm/mV and 25 mm/s, utilizing an automated Fukuda Denshi FCP-4301, MS-DOS/IBM-AT ECG machine. Lead V3R was not taken. Analog-to-digital conversion was performed by Fukuda signal acquisition module at a sampling rate of 500 Hz. The data on 69 ECG parameters were analyzed for the mean, standard deviation, 2nd to 98th percentiles, 95% confidence intervals, and sex difference. Normal values on 69 ECG parameters, sex-specific heart rate, P-QRS-T interval, duration, axis, wave amplitude, and calculated R/S amplitude ratio and ventricular activation time by age-group and sex were established. Male and female difference was noted in 49 (71.0%) parameters, of which 3 (6.1%) began in 6-9 years age-group, 30 (61.2%) began in 9-13 years age-group, and 16 (32.7%) in 13-18 years age-group. No sex difference occurred in 20 (29.0%) parameters. Normal male and female ECG standards on 69 ECG parameters in the adolescent were established. ECG sex difference began to appear the earliest at ages 6-9 years, and it occurred mostly at ages 9-13 years and 13-18 years, reflecting the anatomical and physiological consequences of puberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nondestructive testing is usually carried out in two directions from the visual features and intrinsic mechanism features of the object. In order to identify the early embryonic sex of chicken eggs, a machine vision image acquisition system was constructed in this study. Under the light source of LED, the development pattern of the egg embryo in different incubation period was collected, and the images of 180 chicken eggs were obtained in 3th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 10th day. According to the principle of the definition of blood line and blood line integrity in the field of vision of the machine vision, the image of 4th day of incubation was determined to be used to identify the male and female of the embryo. The preprocessing of chicken embryo egg image was carried out, such as component extraction, median filtering, and region of interest (ROI) extraction, followed by the use of contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE), morphological processing, threshold segmentation of Otsu and eight connected domain denoise method to highlight the blood line texture. Through the gray level co-occurrence matrix to extract 5 dimensional features and the direction of the gradient histogram (HOG) to extract 2916 dimensional full information image features. In order to reduce the computational complexity, the processed image was sampled, compressed to a size of 35 pixels × 35 pixels, and the full information features of the 1225 dimension were extracted. Finally, the simplified features of 96 dimensional which was combination of PCA dimensionality reduction--gray level co-occurrence matrix were used to construct three types of chicken embryo eggs male and female identification model which were support vector machine (SVM), 3-layer back-propagation (BP) neural network, 4-layer the deep belief networks (DBN). Also the full information features of 1225 dimensional which was combination of PCA dimensionality reduction--gray level co-occurrence matrix were used to construct three types of chicken embryo eggs male and female identification model which were support vector machine (SVM), 3-layer back-propagation (BP) neural network, 7-layer the deep belief networks (DBN). In the experiment, the information feature of the image was more accurate than that of the simplified feature in the same model, and the recognition accuracy of the whole information feature - DBN model was the highest, reaching 83.33%. Among them, the accuracy of male identification was 76.67% and that of female identification was 90%. The discrimination time of the three models was analyzed for the test set samples, the discriminant time of the three models was SVM, BP, DBN in order of shortest to longest. Correspondingly, the higher the dimension of the input features, the longer the discriminant time of the model, and finally with the highest recognition accuracy which was the full information feature -- the DBN model had the longest discriminant time, which was 7.8350s. The results showed that the machine vision technology provided a feasible method for sex determination of early hatching of chicken embryo eggs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstrak Artikel ditulis berdasarkan teori bermain peran dalam pendekatan psikologi, yang akan membahas peran laki-laki dalam komunitas Minangkabau. Laki-laki memiliki peran yang banyak dalam masyarakat Minangkabau, seperti sebagai kemenakan, paman, dan pemimpin masyarakat. Sehingga, secara teoritis laki-laki memiliki kekuatan yang banyak. Mereka memiliki tanggung jawab untuk melindungi harta keluarga. Tetapi, sayangnya, posisi mereka ada di bawah kendali perempuan. Semua jenis keputusan harus dikonfirmasikan dengan perempuan (sehingga ada istilah Bunda Kandung). Ini artinya kita harus memikirkan kembali tentang perspektif gender dalam komunitas Minangkabau, karena perempuan mendominasi kekuasaan. --- Abstract This article based on role play (in psychological approach) which male have in Minangkabau community. The male has many role in the Minangkabau society, like; (a) as a nephew, (b) as a uncle, (c) as a community leader. So, theoriticaly male have a lot of power. They had responsible to protect their fanily wealth as one example. But, unfortunoutly, their possition in “underarm of women”. All kinds of dicission should be get confirm from the women (“so-called”: Bundo Kandung). It means that we should re-thinking about gender perspective in Minangkabau community, because female dominate the power.

Emotional competence is the tendency to display emotions in a situationally and culturally appropriate manner. The present study explored emotional competence among Maharshi Dayanand University employees. A sample size of 200 university employees was selected with the age range of 21-40 and 41-60 respectively. Out of which 100 were male and 100 female employees. For the present study random sampling method was used. Scale of Emotional Competencies developed by Sharma and Bhardwajwas adapted to measure emotional competence. Findings of the study reveal that there is a significant difference between the emotional competence of male and female employees. Males can make effective judgment, express their emotions, feeling, moods better, cope with their problem better in comparison to females. But no significant difference was found on enhancement of positive emotions between male and female employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases (CD) are the most leading cause of death in both developed and developing nations. Diseases severity depends on multiple factors like sedentary lifestyle, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension. Blood samples from diagnosed cardiac patients from several hospitals and registered pathological centers, Midnapore District, India (Feb. 2013-Jan. 2014; >45 years, male 37, and female 23) and age-matched control (male 12 and female 9) were employed for biochemical studies on lipid profiles, SGOT, LDH, CPK/CPK-MB, and troponin T levels. Oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant component non-protein-soluble thiol (NPSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were tested. High lipid or fructose-fed (90 days, isocaloric to the control) rats was investigated to evaluate some risk factors and oxidant/antioxidant status in their serum, liver, and heart tissues. Serum SGOT and LDH in female cardiac patients were found to be significantly high in both trop T− or trop T+ patients. The present multiple comparison ANOVA test suggests that most of the factors and serum markers of female cardiac patients were at higher risks (significance value, p < 0.001) than those of male patients. It is noticed that the parameters are more severely impaired in trop T+ ( p < 0.001) than in trop T− ( p < 0.05-0.01) patients. The malondialdehyde (MDA) and NPSH levels were found to be higher in the case of serum samples of cardiac patients. In rat experiment, mean body weight of animals did not significantly change in different nutritional groups. However, the reno-somatic index (kidney weight/100 g bw) decreased significantly both in lipid or fructose-fed group. Cholesterol and triglyceride notably increased in lipid-fed and urate decreased in either diet group. The oxidant component MDA and antioxidant enzyme catalase and SOD1 activities significantly increased/impaired in rat liver and heart of lipid-fed group. It may be hypothesized that present markers and risk factors are significant for the disease initiation and pathogenesis both in male and female. The post-menopausal age group itself may be an independent risk factor in females. The animal experiment suggests that long-term high lipid consumption may initiate dyslipidemic condition with an increase in systemic oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative analysis draws upon data from a broader research study that sought to understand early career researchers' (ECRs) experiences of journeying from post-PhD researcher to independent PI status. A number of unprompted references made by interviewees to their broader lives (i.e., aspects beyond work) when charting their academic trajectories led us to examine this issue more closely. Contrary to existing work, we found that work and family life negotiation is an important concern of both female and male ECRs, although they conceive of it somewhat differently. Our results indicate that there is a need for academic institutions, policymakers, and academe leaders to be attentive to the life issues of both men and women when designing provision for reconciling work and family life in the academic work space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was carried out to verify the genetic differences in the morphometric traits between male and female tilapia GIFT under the selection for weight gain. The data set used contained information of 6650 animals of the third (2198), fourth (1720) and fifth (2732) generations of GIFT in Brazil, in addition to the 8590 animals, of the first five generations, included in the relationship matrix. The morphometric traits used were standard length ( SL: 19.8 ± 1.7), body depth ( BD: 7.6 ± 0.76), body width ( BW: 3.5 ± 0.54), body area ( BA: 151.3 ± 27.6) and body volume ( BV: 536.7 ± 143.5). Bicharacter analyses were performed considering the same morphometric measure evaluated for each sex as different traits to estimate the (co)variance components. The heritability and environmental common effects of the larval and fry phases for each trait of each sex were estimated. Genetic correlations between males and females for the same body trait were estimated. The larval effect was higher for females ( SL = 0.1; BD = 0.07; BW = 0.05; BA = 0.09; BV = 0.09) than for males ( SL = 0.04; BD = 0.03, BW = 0.01, BA = 0.04; BV = 0.03), while the fry effect was similar between the sexes. The heritability of males ( SL = 0.25; BD = 0.3; BW = 0.33; BA = 0.31; BV = 0.35) was, in general, higher than those present in females ( SL = 0.19; BD = 0.2, BW = 0.18, BA = 0.2; BV = 0.2), and the genetic correlations between males and females were below 0.5 ( SL = 0.5; BD = 0.39, BW = 0.42, BA = 0.45; BV = 0.43). Thus, it can be seen that the males respond differently to the females in terms of body shape, of the selection for weight gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage self-emotions and others' emotions and includes the intelligent use of emotions. This study aimed at investigating the emotional intelligence in male and female elite athletes in team and individual sport fields. The sample consisted of 62 female elite athletes and 74 male elite athletes selected from different individual and team sports. They filled out Schutte's emotional intelligence scale. The obtained data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance and independent t test at significance level of 0.05. The results showed no significant difference in emotional intelligence between male and female elite athletes (P>0.05). Findings also revealed no significant difference in emotional intelligence between individual and team sports (P>0.05). The results showed that female athletes benefit from emotional intelligence in their sport performance and progress as much as male athletes and also both individual and team athletes need the same degree of improvement of emotional intelligence and use it in their sport, so it is suggested that special exercises should be planned regardless of gender or sport type to increase emotional intelligence of athletes.

Student diversity issue in school is one of the subjects in educational research. The quite apparent problem of student diversity in the school is gender differences. Male and female are different in some ways. Several studies have revealed the influence of gender differences on a wide range of students' abilities. Mahanal (2011) revealed that there was an effect of gender differences on metacognition skills and critical thinking abilities of high school students in Malang city. This research is aimed to determine the metacognition skills and motivation differences of male and female student on the biology subject through the implementation of Reading Questioning and Answering (RQA) combined with Think Pair Share (TPS) learning strategies. This research used quasy-experiment of pre test- post test nonequivalent group design. The research populations were all of

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that demographic and pharmacologic factors may play a significant role in the epidemiology of dementia. Sex differences in prevalence also depend on dementia subtypes, such as Alzheimer's dementia (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and mixed vascular-Alzheimer's dementia (MVAD). Therefore, studies are needed to investigate sex-specific differences, and identify potential therapeutic targets for both sexes., Methods: Data was collected from the Prisma Health-Upstate Alzheimer's registry from 2016 to 2021 for 6,039 VaD patients, 9,290 AD patients, and 412 MVAD patients. A logistic regression was used to determine demographic and pharmacological factors associated with gender differences in patients with VaD, AD, and MVAD., Results: In patients with VaD, African Americans (OR = 1.454, 95% CI, 1.257-1.682, p < 0.001) with increasing age (OR = 1.023, 95% CI, 1.017-1.029, p < 0.001), treated with aripiprazole (OR = 4.395, 95% CI, 2.880-6.707, p < 0.001), were associated with females, whereas patients treated with galantamine (OR = 0.228, 95% CI, 0.116-0.449, p < 0.001), memantine (OR = 0.662, 95% CI, 0.590-0.744, p < 0.001), with a history of tobacco (OR = 0.312, 95% CI, 0.278-0.349, p < 0.001), and ETOH (OR = 0.520, 95% CI, 0.452-0.598, p < 0.001) were associated with males. Among AD patients, African Americans (OR = 1.747, 95% CI, 1.486-2.053, p < 0.001), and Hispanics (OR = 3.668, 95% CI, 1.198-11.231, P = 0.023) treated with buspirone (OR = 1.541, 95% CI, 1.265-1.878, p < 0.001), and citalopram (OR = 1.790, 95% CI, 1.527-2.099, p < 0.001), were associated with females, whereas patients treated with memantine (OR = 0.882, 95% CI, 0.799-0.974, p = 0.013), and with a history of tobacco (OR = 0.247, 95% CI, 0.224-0.273, p < 0.001), and ETOH (OR = 0.627, 95% CI, 0.547-0.718, p < 0.001) were associated with male AD patients. In patients with MVAD, rivastigmine (OR = 3.293, 95% CI, 1.131-9.585, p = 0.029), memantine (OR = 2.816, 95% CI, 1.534-5.168, p < 0.001), and risperidone (OR = 10.515, 95% CI, 3.409-32.437, p < 0.001), were associated with females while patients with an increased length of stay (OR = 0.910, 95% CI, 0.828-1.000, p = 0.049), with a history of tobacco (OR = 0.148, 95% CI, 0.086-0.254, p < 0.001) and ETOH use (OR = 0.229, 95% CI, 0.110-0.477, p < 0.001) were more likely to be associated with males., Conclusions: Our study revealed gender differences and similarities in the demographic and pharmacological factors of VaD, AD, and MVAD. Prospective studies are needed to determine the role of demographic and pharmacological factors in reducing sex-based disparities among VaD, AD, and MVAD patients., Competing Interests: AI-N declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Stanley, Poupore, Knisely, Miller, Imeh-Nathaniel, Roley, Imeh-Nathaniel, Goodwin and Nathaniel.)

Background: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death throughout the world. Analyzing the incidence of cancer by site, sex and age is essential to detect the burden of cancer. Throughout the twelve hospital based cancer registries of Nepal, a total of 29,802 cancer cases with known age, were registered from January 1st 2010 to 2013 December 31st. The purpose of this retrospective study is to present the incidence of all cancer sites in both males and females for this period. Materials and Methods: This paper reviews data from all the hospital based cancer registries over a four-year period. This retrospective study has illustrated the number of cases, frequencies and crude incidence of all cancers by sex and site. For statistical analysis, SPSS (version 23.0) and Microsoft Excel 2010 were used. Results: Over the four-year period from January 1st 2010 to 2013 December 31st the major cancer in males was identified as follows: lung cancer (17.5%) followed by stomach cancer (7.6%) and larynx cancer (5.4%). Among females, for the same four-year period, the three common cancers were identified as cervix (18.9%) followed by breast (15.6%) and lung (10.2%). Conclusion: This retrospective study concluded that cancer is being increased by calendar years both in males and females however, the incidence of cancer is higher in females compared to males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pandectele Române is the property of Wolters Kluwer Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent studies suggested a direct link between circadian rhythms and regulation of sodium excretion. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) regulates sodium balance by promoting natriuresis through the endothelin B receptor (ETB) in response to increased salt in the diet, but the effect that the time of day has on this natriuretic response is not known. Therefore, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that ETB receptor activation contributes to the diurnal control of sodium excretion and that sex differences contribute to this control as well. Twelve-hour urine collections were used to measure sodium excretion. On day 3 of the experiment, a NaCl load (900 μeq) was given by oral gavage either at Zeitgeber time [ZT] 0 (inactive period) or ZT12 (active period) to examine the natriuretic response to the acute salt load. Male and female ETB-deficient (ETB def) rats showed an impaired natriuretic response to a salt load at ZT0 compared with their respective transgenic controls (Tg cont). Male ETB def rats showed a delayed natriuretic response to a salt load given at ZT12 compared with male Tg cont, a contrast to the prompt response shown by female ETB def rats. Treatment with ABT-627, an ETA receptor antagonist, improved the natriuretic response seen within the first 12 h of a ZT0 salt load in both sexes. These findings demonstrate that diurnal excretion of an acute salt load 1) requires ET-1 and the ETB receptor, 2) is more evident in male vs. female rats, and 3) is opposed by the ETA receptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasingly rapid development of the internet has created a knowledge gap between those with good access and those with poor access to information. The latter will be left behind in terms of economic, political and educational opportunities. Women belong to this group. Indeed, gender role has been identified as one of the factors influencing internet usage patterns. In this context, the four objectives of this study were to identify internet usage patterns, to observe views on gender role, the level of computer anxiety and to explain the correlation between views on gender role, level of computer anxiety and internet usage patterns. A total of 280 students from the Faculty of Human Ecology, UPM were selected as respondents for this study using a nonproportional stratified random sampling method. Data collection was conducted by distributing questionnaires to the respondents. The findings showed that internet usage patterns for male and female students were different in terms of duration and internet activities. Although male students had a more traditional view of gender role compared to female students there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the level of computer anxiety. In correlation analysis, female students with traditional views on gender role had a higher level of computer anxiety. In general, this study found that gender roles influenced internet usage patterns, but it was not due to the level of anxiety towards computers. The implications of such findings are not just that they would add to the understanding of gender behavior in the handling of information, but also would allow lawmakers to assess the success of government initiatives in bridging the digital divide between genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current antimicrobial prescribing guidelines indicate that male and female patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) should be treated with same antimicrobials but for different durations. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in reconsultations and antimicrobial prescribing for UTI for both males and females. A total of 2557 adult suspected UTI patients participating in the Supporting the Improvement and Management of Prescribing for urinary tract infection (SIMPle) study from 30 general practices were analyzed. An antimicrobial was prescribed significantly more often to females (77%) than males (63%). Nitrofurantoin was prescribed more often for females and less often for males (58% vs. 41%), while fluoroquinolones were more often prescribed for males (11% vs. 3%). Overall, reconsultation was 1.4 times higher in females, and if the antimicrobial prescribed was not the recommended first-line (nitrofurantoin), reconsultation after empirical prescribing was significantly higher. However, the reconsultation was similar for males and females if the antimicrobial prescribed was first-line. When a urine culture was obtained, a positive culture was the most important predictor of reconsultation (Odds ratio 1.8 (95% CI 1.3-2.5)). This suggests, when prescribing empirically, that male and female UTI patients should initially be treated with first-line antimicrobials (nitrofurantoin) with different durations (50-100 mg four times daily for three days in females and seven days for males). However, the consideration of a culture test before prescribing antimicrobials may improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The signaling molecule hedgehog (Hh) is essential for cellular signaling required for body pattern formation in embryonic and individual development in vertebrate and invertebrates. Patched 1 (Ptc1), a receptor of Hh, mediates the activity of Hh by binging the Hh ligands. In this study, the Ptc1 of half-smooth tongue sole Cynoglossus semilaevis ( CsPtc1) was cloned and characterized. The full-length of CsPtc1 cDNA is 5 212 nucleotides (nt), and encodes a protein with 1 543 amino acid residues. CsPtc1 shared many features with Ptc1 of other telesot species. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed CsPtc1 mRNA expressed in brain, liver, heart, gill, intestines, spleen, gonad and kidney, with expression level in testis significantly higher than in ovary. In testis, hybridization signals were mainly detected in primary spermatocytes, secondary spermatocytes, and sertoli cells, while weak signals were found in oocytes. Correspondingly, the degree of methylation is higher in female than in male and pseudomale. Results indicate that CsPtc1 may be involved in Desert Hedgehog ( DHH) maintenance of the male and pseudo-male germ line and spermatogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the disease, whose mode of transmission is known and is largely preventable, but due to lack of knowledge and practices in general population causes its continuous spread. Aim and objectives: To assess the awareness level about HIV/AIDS among male and female of 15- 44 years age group residing in slum areas. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at slum areas of Jodhpur city to assess the awareness and knowledge about HIV/AIDS among male and female of 15-44 years age group. Total 741 persons were selected by multi stage sampling method in 254 households from 66 slums and a predesigned and pretested questionnaire was used to record the information. The data was entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using "Chi square test" of significance. Results: Only 20.1% were aware about the word "HIV" and only 8.7% of these knew the meaning of HIV while 68.8% subjects aware about word "AIDS" and only 12% of them knew the meaning of the word AIDS. Age, sex, religion, caste, literacy and socio-economic status were significantly influenced the knowledge gained (p<0.01). Unsafe sex (heterosexual) was most frequently (52.5%) known route of transmission by the respondents. Conclusion: In spite of having large scale information, education and communication activities, at the national and state level, the knowledge of various aspects of HIV/AIDS was deficient and myths about modes of transmission were prevalent in studied slum population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adipose tissue communicates with other central and peripheral organs by the synthesis and release of substances called adipokines. The most studied adipokine is leptin but others have been recently identified including resistin, adiponectin, chemerin, omentin and visfatin. These adipokines have a critical role in the development of obesity-related complications and inflammatory conditions. However, they are also involved in other functions in the organism including reproductive functions. Indeed, many groups have demonstrated that adipokine receptors, such as adiponectin and chemerin, but also adipokines themselves (adiponectin, chemerin, resistin, visfatin and omentin) are expressed in human peripheral reproductive tissues and that these adipokines are likely to exert direct effects on these tissues. After a brief description of these new adipokines, an overview of their actions in different human reproductive organs (hypothalamus, pituitary, ovary, testis, uterus and placenta) will be presented. Finally, comments will be made on the eventual alterations of these adipokines in reproductive disorders, with special attention to polycystic ovary syndrome, a disease characterized by dysfunction of gonadal axis and systemic nerve endocrine metabolic network with a prevalence of up to 10% in women of reproductive age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine whether the performance gap over a period of ten years between male- and female-owned small accounting firms has converged utilizing a resource-based framework to assess performance. The relevant assets for these firms included human, organizational, and entrepreneurial capital. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine whether the gender productivity gap converged over this period of time. The response rates were 30 percent and 23 percent respectively for the 1993 and 2003 investigations. An analysis of the data indicates several important findings that (1) a performance gap exists when measured by gross revenues between male- and female-owned small accounting firms, (2) this performance gap has converged after ten years, and (3) the performance gap as measured by the ratio of net profit to sales indicates that female-owned small accounting firms do better than male owned accounting firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appetite suppressing effect of tobacco products, via the main pharmacological agent nicotine, is a major reason for its usage both by woman and man. Food intake (FI) could be changed by altering either meal size (MZ) or meal number (MN), which are regulated dependently in a reciprocal manner. The present study investigated the effect of systemic nicotine administration on the rat feeding pattern. Because of gender differences in the effects of nicotine, both male and female rats were studied. Alzet mini-osmotic pumps (Model 2001) and the automated rat eatometer were used to evaluate the feeding pattern of male and female Fischer 344 rats during seven days of systemic nicotine infusion (6 mg/kg b.w. s.c.). The main findings are: 1) systemic nicotine infusion decreased food intake in both sexes; 2) the decreased food intake was due to significantly reduced meal sizes while meal numbers were not altered significantly in either males or females; 3) the cyclical pattern of vaginal smears, food intake, meal number and meal size of female rats was not affected by nicotine administration. We conclude that the feeding suppressive effect of nicotine, which is due to reduced meal sizes and thus satiation, is not sex-hormones related.

The author offers a study about Gender like a cultural and philosophical ideology. He criticizes the Islamic vision about man and woman. According to the anthropological vision of Koran, the male and the female are two beings that the same Creator made. This unity in the diversity can’t be cancelled. All religions in the world have to defend the difference between man and woman like a gift and a resource for the humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current antimicrobial prescribing guidelines indicate that male and female patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) should be treated with same antimicrobials but for different durations. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in reconsultations and antimicrobial prescribing for UTI for both males and females. A total of 2557 adult suspected UTI patients participating in the Supporting the Improvement and Management of Prescribing for urinary tract infection (SIMPle) study from 30 general practices were analyzed. An antimicrobial was prescribed significantly more often to females (77%) than males (63%). Nitrofurantoin was prescribed more often for females and less often for males (58% vs. 41%), while fluoroquinolones were more often prescribed for males (11% vs. 3%). Overall, reconsultation was 1.4 times higher in females, and if the antimicrobial prescribed was not the recommended first-line (nitrofurantoin), reconsultation after empirical prescribing was significantly higher. However, the reconsultation was similar for males and females if the antimicrobial prescribed was first-line. When a urine culture was obtained, a positive culture was the most important predictor of reconsultation (Odds ratio 1.8 (95% CI 1.3–2.5)). This suggests, when prescribing empirically, that male and female UTI patients should initially be treated with first-line antimicrobials (nitrofurantoin) with different durations (50–100 mg four times daily for three days in females and seven days for males). However, the consideration of a culture test before prescribing antimicrobials may improve outcomes.

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Repeated blanching and flushing of the skin, usually the nail bed, is often called Quincke sign. This sign is commonly related to aortic insufficiency, although it may be observed in the nail bed of normal individuals. Case report: Quincke sign manifested on the wrist of a young healthy man. The patient had self-treated with topical antibiotics and steroids for a second-degree burn, but then developed contact dermatitis followed by cellulitis. He presented to the emergency department with a "blinking" effect of the skin lesion. Conclusion: The "blinking" effect is the result of focal subcutaneous arterial dilatation in the zone of subcutaneous inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pre-anesthesia hypertension (PAH) is the temporary elevation of blood pressure (BP), compared with normal ambulatory recorded BP or self-measured BP at home, in patients waiting for operation in the operating room (OR) before anesthesia induction. In general, the incidence of sustained hypertension (SH) increases progressively with age and the increase is greater in males than in females. In this study, we investigated the influence of age and sex on PAH. Methods: Sampling data on consecutive patients who were more than 20 years old and who had undergone surgery under general, intrathecal, or epidural anesthesia were retrospectively collected from hospital records and anesthesia records. Patients with SH, which was defined as a past history of hypertension and taking oral antihypertensive medications, were excluded from the analyses, and the data of 231 patients, 102 males and 129 females, were used for the analyses. Results: The proportions of male and female patients with a systolic BP (sBP) of more than 140 mmHg in the OR before anesthesia induction were 55.9 and 42.6 %, respectively. The proportions of male and female patients with a diastolic BP (dBP) of more than 90 mmHg were 34.3 and 23.3 %, respectively. There was no difference in the proportions of male and female patients with PAH. The differences in sBP between measurements in the hospital room (HR) before the operation and those in the OR (ΔsBP) in males and females were 22.9 ± 25.6 and 19.0 ± 24.0 mmHg, respectively. The differences in dBP between measurements in the HR and those in the OR (ΔdBP) in males and females were 12.7 ± 16.5 and 8.4 ± 17.9 mmHg, respectively. There were no differences in ΔsBP and ΔdBP between males and females. The sBP in the OR and the ΔsBP increased significantly with age in both males and females. Conclusion: Age is an important clinical factor related to PAH. Pre-anesthesia sBP and the change in pre-anesthesia sBP increase progressively with age regardless of sex. These findings suggest that the higher BP seen in the elderly in the OR before anesthesia induction, as reported previously, might be explained in part by a greater impact of PAH in older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A population of male and female robots evolves in an environment in which to remain alive they must eat the food contained in the environment and to reproduce they must mate with a robot of the opposite sex. The only difference between male and female robots is that after mating males can mate again (reproductively) while females have a fixed period during which they are nonreproductive. The results show that males have a greater variance in reproductive success than females; they tend always to be very active looking for the ‘‘scarce resource’’ constituted by reproductive females and eating any food they are able to find while they are looking for reproductive females. Reproductive females are less active than males and they adopt the reproductive strategy of waiting for males to find and mate with them. In contrast, nonreproductive females are as active as males, but they only look for food and are not interested in anything else. We also find a number of differences between males and females in their preferences for different types of food, and in offspring care if males do not have parental certainty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In mussels, stress signals such as heat, osmotic shock and hypoxia lead to the activation of the phosphorylated p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (pp38-MAPK). This stress activated protein has been efficiently used as a biomarker to several natural and anthropogenic stresses. However, what has not been tested is whether differences in gender or size can affect the response of this biomarker. The present study tested whether there was variation in the expression of pp38-MAPK in mussels Perna perna of different gender and size classes when exposed to natural stress conditions, such as air exposure. The results show that gender does not affect the expression of pp38-MAPK. However, size does have an effect, where mussels smaller than 6.5 cm displayed significantly ( p < 0.05) lower levels of pp38-MAPK when compared to those larger than 7 cm. Mussels are one of the most used bioindicator species and the use of biomarkers to determine the health status of an ecosystem has been greatly increasing over the years. The present study highlights the importance of using mussels of similar size classes when performing experiments using stress-related biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute and chronic ethanol exposure has been found to decrease hippocampal neurogenesis, reduce dendritic differentiation of new neurons, and increase cell death. Interestingly, abstinence from such treatment increases hippocampal neurogenesis and microglial genesis across several brain regions. The goal of the current investigation was to study cellular alterations on neuro- and cell-genesis during abstinence following alcohol self-administration using alcohol-preferring rats (P rats). Methods: Male and female P rats were given the choice of drinking 10% alcohol in water or pure water for 7 weeks. Social interaction behavioral assessments were conducted at 5 hours upon removal of alcohol, followed by bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU, 150 mg/kg × 1/d × 14 d) injections to label proliferating cells. Animals were then killed 4 weeks later to conduct immunohistochemical and confocal analyses using antibodies against BrdU and other phenotypic markers (NeuN for mature neurons; Iba-1 for microglia; GFAP for astrocytes; and NG2 for oligodendrocyte progenitors). Results: Mild alcohol withdrawal anxiety was detected by reduction in social interactions. The number of hippocampal BrdU+ cells was increased approximately 50% during alcohol abstinence (26 ± 2.8 in controls vs. 39 ± 4 in alcohol group). BrdU+ cells were also increased in the substantia nigra (SN) approximately 65% in the alcohol abstinent group (12 ± 1 in controls vs. 19 ± 1.5 in alcohol group). No gender differences were found. Confocal analyses indicated that approximately 75% of co-localization of BrdU+ cells with NeuN in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) resulting a net increase in neurogenesis in the alcohol abstinent group compared to controls. In cingulum, greater proportion of BrdU+ cells were co-localized with NG2 in the alcohol abstinent group indicating increased differentiation toward oligodendrocyte progenitors in both genders. However, the phenotype of the BrdU+ cells in SN and other brain regions were not identified by NeuN, Iba-1, GFAP, or NG2 suggesting that these BrdU+ cells probably remain in a nondifferentiated stage. Conclusions: These data indicate that abstinence from moderate alcohol drinking increases hippocampal neurogenesis, cingulate NG2 differentiation, and SN undifferentiated cell proliferation in both males and females. Such cellular alteration during abstinence could contribute to the spontaneous partial restoration of cognitive deficits upon sobriety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses male and female identity and the ways in which culture instructs men and women on the scripts of heterosexuality in an urban context. It is based on ongoing fieldwork towards a degree at the University of Chile. With the scene of heterosexual identity and its multiple actors as a background, we aim to reflect on the function of the "café with legs" as a specific cultural phenomenon, and on how male identity is socialized. Is it a merchandising product for which the female identity is only an advertising resource and an exotic element? This and other questions are part of a wider inquiry into a contemporary archaeology of male Chilean identity, in which this phenomenon plays only a part. Our final aim is to identify which stage (rise, transformation, or crisis) this urban phenomenon represents for male identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. It is known that genders differ in body structure and constitution resulting in different functional capability. These ancestral differences interacting with environmental factors in dental surgery can affect the prevalence of physical complaints among genders. The present study aimed at documenting and evaluating the specificity of self-reported chronic physical health complaints between genders among Lithuanian dentists. Material and methods. This study was conducted as a postal questionnaire survey of all (n = 2449) licensed dentists registered with the Lithuanian Dental Association. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate female and male dentists' physical health complaints during the last 12 months. Results. The response rate was 68.2%. In this study, we found that chronic physical disorders are very prevalent among dental practitioners in Lithuania. Chronic back pain (42.8% among men and 53.6% among women) and fatigue (31.6% and 39.7%, respectively) were the most prevalent physical complains of Lithuanian dentists among both genders. Female dentists suffer from chronic physical disorders significantly more than men. They also tended to report markedly worse general health than men. The chronic physical disorders' experience among genders differed with regard to prevalence, not the succession. Conclusion. Women are significantly more affected by chronic occupational hazards than men among Lithuanian dentists. The difference of the anthropological data between genders may be the cause; however gender roles in society could also affect the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the level of gender bias in Aristotle's Generation of Animals while exercising due care in the analysis of its arguments. I argue that while the GA theory is clearly sexist, the traditional interpretation fails to diagnose the problem correctly. The traditional interpretation focuses on three main sources of evidence: (1) Aristotle's claim that the female is, as it were, a "disabled" (πεπηρωμℇνo;ν) male; (2) the claim at GA IV.3, 767b6-8 that females are a departure from the kind; and (3) Aristotle's supposed claim at GA IV.3, 768a21-8 that the most ideal outcome of reproduction is a male offspring that perfectly resembles its father. I argue that each of these passages has either been misunderstood or misrepresented by commentators. In none of these places is Aristotle suggesting that females are imperfect members of the species or that they result from the failure to achieve some teleological goal. I defend the view that the GA does not see reproduction as occurring for the sake of producing males; rather, what sex an embryo happens to become is determined entirely by non-teleological forces operating through material necessity. This interpretation is consistent with Aristotle's view in GA II.5 that females have the same soul as the male (741a7) as well as the argument in Metaphysics X.9 that sexual difference is not part of the species form but is an affection (παθoç) arising from the matter (1058b21-4). While the traditional interpretation has tended to exaggerate the level of sexism in Aristotle's developmental biology, the GA is by no means free of gender bias as some recent scholarship has claimed. In the final section of the paper I point to one passage where Aristotle clearly falls back on sexist assumptions in order to answer the difficult question, "Why are animals divided into sexes?". I argue that this passage in particular poses a serious challenge to anyone attempting to absolve Aristotle's developmental biology of the charge of sexism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exercise-induced inspiratory muscle fatigue (IMF) has been reported in males but there are few reports of IMF in females. It is not known if a gender difference exists for inspiratory muscle strength following heavy exercise, as is reported in locomotor muscles. Therefore, the relationship between fatigue and subsequent recovery of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) following exercise to maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) was examined in a group of moderately trained males and females. Eighteen males (23+/-3 years; mean +/- SD) and 16 females (23+/-2 years) completed ten MIP and ten maximal handgrip (HG) strength maneuvers to establish baseline. Post-exercise MIP and HG were assessed successively immediately following a progressive intensity VO2max test on a cycle ergometer and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, and 15 min. VO2max, relative to fat-free mass was not statistically different between males (62+/-7 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) and females (60+/-8 ml kg(-1) min(-1)). Males had higher absolute MIP values than females at all time intervals (P<0.05). Immediately following exercise, MIP was significantly reduced in both genders (M=83+/-16%; F=78+/-15% of baseline) but HG values were not different than resting values. MIP values remained depressed for both males and females throughout the 15 min (P<0.05). Differences for MIP between males and females were not statistically significant at any measurement time (P>0.05). The findings in this study conclude that IMF, observed immediately following maximal exercise, demonstrated the same pattern of recovery for both genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section presents abstracts of several articles about pediatrics. Late Neurologic and Cognitive Sequelae of Inflicted Traumatic Brain Injury in Infancy, Karen M. Barlow, Elaine Thomson, David Johnson and Robert A. Minns describes the long-term neurologic, behavioral and cognitive sequelae in infancy. Inflicted traumatic brain injury has a very poor prognosis and correlates with severity of injury. Extended follow-up is necessary so as not to underestimate problems such as specific learning difficulties and attentional and memory problems that may become apparent only once the child is in school. Ethnic Differences in Parent Preference to Be Present for Painful Medical Procedures, by Melissa Jones, Mohammed Qazi and Kelly D. Young examines ethnic differences between white, African American and Hispanic parents in their desire to remain present during their children's painful medical procedures. Association of Melanin Pigmentation in the Gingiva of Children With Parents Who Smoke, by Takashi Hanioka, Keiko Tanaka, Miki Ojima and Kazuo Yuuki establishes the association between gingival pigmentation and active smoking. This investigation is the first to address the relationship between gingival pigmentation in children and passive smoking.

L’articolo legge il primo canto dell’Inferno secondo la prospettiva della ermeneutica dei generi sessuali. La iniziale contrapposizione, che criminalizza il femminile come genere basso e negativo nella linea della misoginia antica e medievale, si trasforma, nella seconda parte del canto, in una visione modernamente complementare dei generi, nella quale il femminile viene anzi ridefinito come categoria culturalmente alta e positiva.

This paper reconsiders Judith Kestenberg's classic work "Outside and Inside, Male and Female" in the light of subsequent work on gender identity and psycho-sexual development. Kestenberg argued that the fear of internal genital sensations was common to both men and women and an obstacle to sexual development. An understanding of the fears and phantasies men and women have about their bodies which they project onto each other is an important aspect of therapeutic work, which the author believes does not receive adequate attention. Through two case examples she shows where Kestenberg's theory is still valid and where it needs to be revised. While Kestenberg could assume a normative heterosexuality, the author suggests we must now reexamine our theories in the light of challenges presented by homosexuality, bisexuality and transexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six straightbred lines of mice, some of their F crosses and a synthetic line were used to evaluate male and female contributions to heterosis in lifetime performance measured on females. Females from each straightbred line or F crosses were pair-mated randomly at day 42 with either a male of the corresponding genetic group or from a synthetic line, and pairs were maintained for 155 days (lifetime). Each mother was allowed to rear all young born alive until day 18 when the young were discarded. Data were analyzed using a model in which the group mean of lifetime performance was expressed as the sum of (additive direct) genetic and environmental effects for each of the male and female genetic groups used for mating. Comparison of group means for lifetime performance revealed that estimates of F heterosis due to male and female averaged 10 and 9% for number of parturitions during lifetime, 7 and 28% for total number of young born alive, 6 and 31% for total body weight of young born alive, 8 and 33% for total number of young raised to day 18, 9 and 43% for total body weight of young raised to weaning, and 8 and 8% for days from first mating to last parturition. The male's contribution to heterosis in lifetime performance was smaller than female's contribution for productive traits (total number of young born alive and at day 18, and total body weight of young born alive and at day 18), and was nearly equal in reproductive traits (number of parturitions during lifetime and days from first mating to last parturition). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulletin de la Société de Pathologie Exotique is the property of John Libbey Eurotext Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)