The Responsibility Objection to Abortion: Rejecting the Notion that the Responsibility Objection Successfully Refutes a Woman's Right to Choose

This article considers the objection to abortion that a woman who voluntarily engages in sexual activity is responsible for her fetus and so cannot have an abortion. The conclusion argued for is that the conceptions of responsibility that can ground the objection that are considered do not necessitate a requirement on the part of a pregnant woman to carry her pregnancy to term. Thus, the iterations of the responsibility objection presented cannot be used to curtail reproductive choice.     

Abortion is incommensurable with fetal alcohol syndrome

A recent article argued for the immorality of abortion regardless of personhood status by comparing the impairment caused by fetal alcohol syndrome to the impairment caused by abortion. I argue that two of the premises in this argument fail and that, as such, one cannot reasonably attribute moral harms to abortion on the basis of the moral harms caused by fetal alcohol syndrome. The impairment argument relies on an inconsistent instantiation, which undermines the claim that personhood is irrelevant, and it does not fulfill its own ceteris paribus clause, which demands that no additional benefit be gained from abortion that would not be gained from causing fetal alcohol syndrome.     

Curculionid beetles in aborted flower buds and immature fruits of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceiba</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">pentandra</Emphasis> (Bombacaceae)

We determined the incidence of curculionid beetles of the genus Lonchophorus on aborted and not aborted flower buds and developing fruits of the tree Ceiba pentandra in southeastern Costa Rica. Beetle larvae were found in reproductive parts of all trees sampled trees. The frequency of beetle larvae was greater in aborted buds and immature fruits. A positive correlation between larvae development and flower bud development indicates that female oviposition occurred in an early flower developmental stage and time until bud abortion is variable. Weevil herbivory could be considered as one of the main factors that cause flower bud and fruit abortion in C. pentandra.

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Resumen Determinamos la incidencia de curculiónidos del género Lonchophorus en botones florales y frutos inmaduros tanto abortados como no abortados en el árbol Ceiba pentandra en el SE de Costa Rica. Las larvas de curculiónidos fueron encontradas en todos los árboles muestreados. La frecuencia de larvas fue mayor en botones y frutos abortados. Una correlación positiva entre el desarrollo larval y el desarrollo del botón indica que la oviposición ocurre en una fase temprana de este y que el tiempo hasta el aborto es variable. La herbivoría por larvas de curculiónidos puede ser uno de los factores más importantes en el aborto de botones y frutos inmaduros en C. pentandra.

     

NOD1 modulates decidual stromal cell function to maintain pregnancy in the early trimester

We sought to explore the functions and modulated factors of NOD1 in normal decidual stromal cells (DSCs) derived from the first trimester pregnancy and whether existed different expression of NOD1 between normal and unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (URPL) in DSCs. Twenty‐six patients with normal pregnancies that required abortion and 12 URPL patients at first trimester were enrolled for the study. As a result, we found lower levels of NOD1 in the DSCs derived from URPL compared with those from normal early trimester pregnancy. Furthermore, increased NOD1 expression in the normal DSCs induced apoptosis and increased monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1) and IL‐1β (interleukin 1 beta) secretion but decreased their invasion capacity. In addition, several cytokines such as IL‐1β, tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ), and interleukin‐17 (IL‐17) were present at the maternal‐fetal interface in RPL and were found to regulate NOD1 expression in primary DSCs. Our study indicates that RPL may be associated with NOD1 aberrant expression in DSCs, which plays a significant role in maintaining pregnancy via infection control and regulation of immune responses that might affect the pregnancy outcome. We expect that our results will bring more comprehensively understanding about the connection between NOD1 and RPL for researchers.     

Human organisms begin to exist at fertilization

Eugene Mills has recently argued that human organisms cannot begin to exist at fertilization because the evidence suggests that egg cells persist through fertilization and simply turn into zygotes. He offers two main arguments for this conclusion: that ‘fertilized egg’ commits no conceptual fallacy, and that on the face of it, it looks as though egg cells survive fertilization when the process is watched through a microscope. We refute these arguments and offer several reasons of our own to think that egg cells do not survive fertilization, appealing to various forms of essentialism regarding persons, fission cases, and a detailed discussion of the biological facts relevant to fertilization and genetics. We conclude that it is plausible, therefore, that human organisms begin to exist at fertilization – or, at the very least, that there are grounds for thinking that they existed as zygotes which do not apply to the prior egg cells. While this does not entail that human persons begin to exist at this point, it nevertheless has considerable significance for this latter question.     

孕激素及人绒毛促性腺激素与药物流产后异常子宫出血的关系

目的:分析孕激素和人绒毛膜促性腺激素(h CG)与药物流产后异常子宫出血的关系。方法:选择2017年1月至2017年12月我院妇产科收治的药物终止妊娠的妇女150例,患者口服米非司酮配伍米索前列醇药物终止早期妊娠。将药物流产后子宫出血时间≤14 d作为对照组(n=75),14d作为异常组(n=75)。比较两组患者在药物流产后10 d、14 d、18 d、22 d血清中孕激素和h CG含量,分析两组患者孕激素和h CG含量相关性。结果:两组患者在年龄、月经周期、孕次、受孕天数、体重等方面比较无统计学差异(P0.05)。异常组在药物流产后10 d、14 d、18 d、22 d血清孕激素和h CG含量均高于对照组(P0.05)。两组患者在药物流产后10 d、14 d、18 d、22 d孕激素含量呈先降低再升高的趋势(P0.05)。对照组患者在药物流产后10 d、14 d、18 d、22 d血清hCG含量逐渐降低(P0.05);异常组在药物流产后10 d、14 d血清h CG含量比较无统计学差异(P0.05),在药物流产后18 d、22 d血清hCG含量低于药物流产后10 d、14 d,且药物流产后22 d低于药物流产后18 d(P0.05)。对全部样本的全部时点数据合并进行Pearson相关检验分析,孕激素和h CG含量呈正相关关系(P0.05)。结论:药物流产后异常子宫出血妇女血清的孕激素、hCG含量较高,两者呈正相关关系。药物流产后10 d、14 d监测血清HCG值无明显下降提示有异常子宫出血的可能,联合监测孕激素、hCG含量有利于药物流产后异常子宫出血的预测和治疗。     

ART患者早期流产组织染色体异常及相关因素分析

目的:分析ART患者早期流产组织染色体异常及其相关影响因素。方法:回顾性分析2013-2017年ART患者行早期流产组织染色体检查的409例样本,分析胚胎染色体非整倍性发生及其与女方年龄、不孕年限、不孕因素、促排卵指标之间的关系。结果:ART流产患者中,流产组织染色体非整倍性发生率为57.46%,发生频次以16三体占比最高(23.95%),其次是22三体(13.45%)及Turner(9.24%)。流产组织染色体非整倍性患者平均年龄高于染色体整倍性患者(P0.001)。16三体组患者年龄低于22三体(P0.01)及Turner组(P0.05)。16三体组患者平均Gn使用量低于22三体组(P0.05)。16三体组患者移植15天血HCG值低于22三体(P0.05)及Turner组(P0.01)。结论:ART患者流产组织染色体非整倍性与女方年龄正相关,但16三体及Turner的发生与女方年龄相关性不大,且16三体更容易引发早期流产。     

不明原因复发性自然流产夫妇MTHFR C677T位点多态性分析

目的：分析不明原因复发性自然流产（URSA）夫妇与亚甲基四氢叶酸还原酶基因C677T（MTHFR C677T）位点多态性的关 联性研究。方法：采用聚合酶链式反应- 限制性片段长度多态性( PCR-RFLP)对URSA 组和对照组各50 对夫妇的外周血进行 MTHFR C677T 的位点多态性进行检测分析。结果：URSA 组MTHFR 基因677 位点的T/T、C/T+T/T 基因型的发生频率显著高于 对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05),而对照组MTHFR 基因677 位点的C/C 基因型发生频率显著高于URSA 组（P<0.05）,两 组MTHFR 基因677 位点的C/T 基因型比较无明显差异（P>0.05)。另外URSA 组等位基因T 明显高于C 的频率,且URSA 组等 位基因T 发生频率显著高于对照组,对照组等位基因C 发生频率显著高于USRA 组,差异均具有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论： MTHFR C677T 位点的多态性与URSA 的发生密切相关,是该病的重要遗传风险因素。     

几丁糖和透明质酸钠对宫腔粘连的防治效果及并发症的影响

目的:探讨几丁糖和透明质酸钠对宫腔防粘连效果及并发症的影响。方法:回顾性分析本院2013年9月~2014年9月收治的150例人工流产患者的临床资料,均实施常规无痛人流手术,按照术前处理方式的不同分为空白对照组(50例)和几丁糖组(50例)、透明质酸钠组(50例)。术后随访6个月,观察两组的阴道流血持续时间和月经复潮时间,以及术后第14 d子宫内膜厚度和术后粘连发生情况、并发症发生情况,并进行比较。结果:术后几丁糖组和透明质酸钠组的阴道流血持续时间和月经复潮时间,以及术后第14 d天子宫内膜厚度和术后粘连发生情况、并发症发生率与空白对照组之间均存在统计学差异,各项指标均显著优于空白对照组,P0.05,但几丁糖组和透明质酸钠组二组间比较差异无统计学意义,P0.05。结论:对人工流产患者予以几丁糖和透明质酸钠处理均可以获得良好的临床效果,有效减少术后粘连以及各种并发症的出现。     

昆虫寄生与滇合欢种子大小和数量的关系

以云南地区含羞草科合欢属滇合欢Albizia simeonis为研究对象,在调查滇合欢正常种荚和被昆虫寄生种荚内种子数、种子败育数和种子大小的基础上,研究昆虫寄生对滇合欢种荚内种子数量、大小以及败育的影响,分析了种荚内种子大小和数量之间的关系。结果表明:完好种荚与受害种荚内种子总数差异并不显著,但完好种荚内正常种子数量显著高于受害种荚,而败育种子数则显著低于受害种荚。昆虫寄生并没有对滇合欢种荚内正常种子大小产生显著影响,但被寄生的种子体积显著大于正常种子。种荚内败育种子数与被寄生种子数呈显著正相关关系,表明昆虫寄生对滇合欢种荚内种子败育产生了影响。滇合欢种荚内种子数量与种子大小呈负相关关系,但完好种荚内种子数量与大小的相关性并不显著,而有昆虫寄生的种荚内种子数量与种子大小则表现出显著的负相关,即昆虫寄生加剧了滇合欢种荚内种子大小与数量的权衡。