IAAT, catecholamines, and parity in African-American and European-American women

Objective: We have recently reported that parous European‐American (EA) women have disproportionately more intra‐abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) than their nulliparous counterparts. Mediating mechanisms for IAAT accumulation remain unknown; however, some evidence suggests a possible catecholamine link. The objective of this study was to determine whether the IAAT‐parity relationship found in EA women exists in African‐American (AA) women and to determine whether catecholamines play a mediating role. Methods and Procedures: Subjects included 44 EA and 47 AA premenopausal women. Free‐living physical activity by doubly labeled water (activity‐related time equivalent (ARTE)), body composition (air plethysmography, computed tomography), and 24‐h fractionated urinary catecholamines were measured. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed parous EA and AA women had significantly higher IAAT than their nulliparous counterparts (100.1 ± 28.5 and 76.2 ± 34.8 cm² vs. 75.9 ± 29.1 and 59.6 ± 15.0 cm²). In AA women and nulliparous women, 24‐h urinary dopamine was significantly higher (AA parous 260.8 ± 88; EA parous 197.2 ± 78.8; AA nulliparous 376.5 ± 81; EA nulliparous 289.6 ± 62). Multiple regression analysis for modeling IAAT indicated that race, parity, dopamine, ARTE, and VO_2max were all significant and independent contributors to the model (Unstandardized βs: race ?32.6 ± 7.4; parity (number of births) 10.0 ± 3.4; 24‐h urinary dopamine 0.08 ± 0.04; ARTE (min/day) ?0.09 ± 0.04; VO_2max (ml/kg/min) ?2.8 ± 1.0). Discussion: Independent of the potential confounders: age, race, percent body fat, IAAT, 24‐h fractionated urinary catecholamines, physical activity, and VO_2max, parous EA and AA women had more IAAT than their nulliparous counterparts. Of the catecholamines, dopamine was found to be significantly lower in parous women and higher in AA's. Dopamine, however, did not explain racial or parity differences in IAAT.     

Sexual dimorphism,asymmetry, and the effect of reproduction on pelvis bone in the bank vole, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myodes glareolus</Emphasis>

Sexual dimorphism in anatomical traits has been widely studied in animals. Although pelvis dimorphism was mostly studied in humans, it occurs also in many other mammalian species. Here, we investigated sexual dimorphism in the pelvis of the bank vole Myodes glareolus using individuals with known sex and reproductive status of females (parous vs nulliparous). The analyses revealed that the size and shape of pelvis differed significantly between sexes, as well as between nulliparous and parous females. In comparison with males, females had a significantly longer pelvis and pubis bones and a longer obturator foramen length, but a smaller pubis width. Interestingly, the difference between parous and nulliparous females resembles that between females and males: parous females had bigger pelvis, which probably resulted from changes during pregnancy and after birth. Left bones were on average larger than right ones, but the magnitude of directional asymmetry was not different between sex and reproduction group. Moreover, we noticed that fluctuating asymmetry of pelvis and pubis length was higher in females than in males and higher in parous than in nulliparous females, what is presumably associated with locomotor performance. A discriminant function analysis performed for the four bone size traits showed that the traits can be effectively used for a nearly perfect recognition of sexes and also a quite reliable recognition of the reproductive status of females.     

Effects of age,cigarette smoking,and other factors on fertility: findings in a large prospective study.

Of 17 032 women taking part in the Oxford Family Planning Association contraceptive study, 4104 stopped using a birth control method to plan a pregnancy on a total of 6199 occasions. The influence of various factors on fertility in these women was assessed by measuring the time taken to give birth to a child. An appreciable inverse relation was observed between age at stopping contraception and fertility both in nulliparous and parous women, but the effect was much greater in the nulliparous women. The most important finding was a consistent and highly significant trend of decreasing fertility with increasing numbers of cigarettes smoked per day; it was estimated that five years after stopping contraception 10.7% of smokers smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day, but only 5.4% of non-smokers, remained undelivered. Some relation was found between fertility and social class, age at marriage, and a history of gynaecological disease, but weight, height, and Quetelet''s index were without noticeable effect.     

Annual cycles of four flea species in the central Negev desert

Bionomics of fleas (Siphonaptera) parasitizing rodent hosts, mostly the gerbil Gerbillus dasyurus (Wagner) and the jird Meriones crassus Sundevall (Gerbillidae), were investigated in the central Negev desert of Israel. Populations were sampled weekly (by Sherman trapping of hosts) from August 2000 to July 2001. Among 1055 fleas of nine species captured, four species predominated (94%). Two species of Pulicidae, Xenopsylla dipodilli Smit and X. ramesis (Rothschild), reproduced perennially, whereas adults of Nosopsyllus iranus theodori Smit (Ceratophyllidae) and Stenoponia tripectinata medialis Jordan (Hystrichopsyllidae) occurred only in cool months (October-March). During their main activity season on the most infested host species (estimated from > 300 trap-nights/month), prevalence of these four flea species reached 40-70%, 20-30%, 100% and 50-70%, respectively, with infestation intensities of 2-2.7, 7-12, 2-3.5 and 2.5-7 fleas per infested rodent, respectively. Xenopsylla dipodilli oviposition peaked during autumn with parous rate > 80% by September-October. During December-April, the majority of X. dipodilli females were immature and/or nulliparous (defined as having mature ovaries but no follicular relics). In contrast, X. ramesis had two reproductive peaks, in mid-spring and autumn, evidenced by the influx of immature females in late spring and summer (30-40%) and in winter (20-30%) after maximal parous rates: 80-100% in March-April and 95-100% in October-November. Nosopsyllus iranus theodori and Stenoponia tripectinata medialis adults occurred only during cool months. At the beginning of activity, during October-November, the sex ratio of N. i. theodori was strongly biased to females (86%) that were immature and/or nulliparous. In winter, adult females were 52-65% parous and 10-32% immature. In March, as the adult population of N. i. theodori declined, 78% of females were parous and 12% immature. Seasonal activity of S. t. medialis (November-March) was shorter than for the other three species; females were predominantly nulliparous in November (80%), after which the proportion of parous females increased gradually to 84% in February. Two females of S. t. medialis collected in March were mature but nulliparous, suggesting that this species of flea might 'oversummer' (as pupae or teneral adults) in the cocooned stage.     

Female life history and mating patterns among the M group chimpanzees of the Mahale national park,Tanzania

The mating behavior of receptive females in the M group chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Mahale Mountains, western Tanzania, was studied by intensive sampling over a period of 5 months. Restrictive matings were observed only between parous females mostly in the ovulatory stage and prime adult males, in particular the alpha. Young, nulliparous and/or non-ovulatory females tended to mate with immature or low-ranking adult males. By contrast, older, parous and/or ovulatory females tended to mate with adult and higher-ranking males. These confirmed the results of a previous extensive study of the same group. In addition, gradual shift from opportunistic to restrictive matings after inter-unit-group transfer was revealed for 2 ex-K-group parous females. The findings were discussed in relation to the life history of female chimpanzees. A National Park since 1984.     

Obesity-Mediated Regulation of HGF/c-Met Is Associated with Reduced Basal-Like Breast Cancer Latency in Parous Mice

It is widely thought that pregnancy reduces breast cancer risk, but this lacks consideration of breast cancer subtypes. While a full term pregnancy reduces risk for estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and luminal breast cancers, parity is associated with increased risk of basal-like breast cancer (BBC) subtype. Basal-like subtypes represent less than 10% of breast cancers and are highly aggressive, affecting primarily young, African American women. Our previous work demonstrated that high fat diet-induced obesity in nulliparous mice significantly blunted latency in C3(1)-T_Ag mice, a model of BBC, potentially through the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-Met oncogenic pathway. Experimental studies have examined parity and obesity individually, but to date, the joint effects of parity and obesity have not been studied. We investigated the role of obesity in parous mice on BBC. Parity alone dramatically blunted tumor latency compared to nulliparous controls with no effects on tumor number or growth, while obesity had only a minor role in further reducing latency. Obesity-associated metabolic mediators and hormones such as insulin, estrogen, and progesterone were not significantly regulated by obesity. Plasma IL-6 was also significantly elevated by obesity in parous mice. We have previously reported a potential role for stromal-derived hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) via its cognate receptor c-Met in the etiology of obesity-induced BBC tumor onset and in both human and murine primary coculture models of BBC-aggressiveness. Obesity-associated c-Met concentrations were 2.5-fold greater in normal mammary glands of parous mice. Taken together, our studies demonstrate that, parity in C3(1)-T_Ag mice dramatically reduced BBC latency compared to nulliparous mice. In parous mice, c-Met is regulated by obesity in unaffected mammary gland and is associated with tumor onset. C3(1)-T_Ag mice recapitulate epidemiologic findings such that parity drives increased BBC risk and potential microenvironmental alterations in c-Met signaling may play a role in etiology.     

Costs of and Investment in Mate-Guarding in Wild Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis): Influences of Female Characteristics and Male–Female Social Bonds

Male primates living in multimale groups tend to direct mate and mate-guarding choices toward females of high reproductive value, i.e., high-ranking, parous females, or females with which they share strong bonds. Little is known, however, about the constraints that may limit male mate-guarding choices (the costs of this behavior) and the influence of the females’ quality on male investment in mate-guarding. We aimed to study the effects of female rank, parity status, and male–female social bond strength on the costs of and investment in mate-guarding by males. We carried out our study during two reproductive seasons on three groups of wild long-tailed macaques in Indonesia. We combined behavioral observations on male locomotion and activity with noninvasive measurements of fecal glucocorticoids (fGC). Males spent less time feeding when mate-guarding nulliparous females than when mate-guarding parous females and tended to have higher fGC levels when mate-guarding low-ranking nulliparous females than when mate-guarding high-ranking nulliparous ones. Evolution should thus favor male choice for high-ranking parous females because such a decision brings benefits at proximate (reduced costs of mate-guarding) and ultimate (higher reproductive value) levels. Further, male investment in mate-guarding was flexible and contingent on female reproductive and social value. Males were more vigilant and more aggressive toward other males when mate-guarding females to which they were strongly bonded and/or high-ranking ones than when mate-guarding other females. Our findings bring a new dimension to the study of mate choice by showing that males not only mate preferentially with high-quality females but may also aim to secure paternity with these females through optimized monopolization.     

Effectiveness of extra-ovular injection of prostaglandin E2 in tyloseR gel to ripen the cervix prior to elective induction of labor at term

Ripening of the unfavorable cervix (Bishop score ? 4) was obtained in 92 clinically normal gravidae at term (68 nulliparae and 24 parous women), not in labor and with intact membranes, by injecting one or two doses (250 to 500 μg each) of prostaglandin (PG) E2 suspended in a viscous gel (5% Tylose^R) into the extra-ovular space. On average 7 to 8 hours after the injection the mean increase of the cervical score was 3.7 and 4.1 in the nulliparous and parous women, respectively. Complications associated with placement of the catheter were few. The method is simple, well tolerated and no untoward maternal or perinatal effects could be directly attributed to it. However, suitable criteria for predicting both the effect of the procedure and the optimal PG dose to be administered are still needed.     

Effects of parity on pelvic size and shape dimorphism in Mus

The pelvis is a sexually dimorphic structure and although the causes of that dimorphism have long been studied, relatively little is known regarding the effects of partuitive events on the magnitude of that dimorphism. Here, we use a sample of Mus musculus domesticus to contrast dimorphism in body length and os coxae size and shape between males and parous and nulliparous females. We also test for correlations between relative litter size (L/M) and relative offspring size (O/M) with body length and os coxae size and shape in parous females. Males had greater body length than nulliparous females but were not different from parous females. Females as a whole had the largest os coxae, with parous females having the largest and males the smallest. Os coxae shape was also significantly different between groups and was most divergent between parous females and males than between nulliparous females and males. Os coxae shape differences between females are associated with differences in body length between females and O/M is correlated with os coxae shape in parous females such that females with the largest offspring have the most divergent shapes along the relative warp one axis. Pelvic shape differences between males and females were consistent with previous findings in other taxa which identify the pubo‐ischial complex as the primary region of dimorphism. J. Morphol. 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Parity and age composition for Anopheles darlingi root (Diptera: Culicidae) and Anopheles albitarsis Lynch-Arribálzaga (Diptera: Culicidae) of the northern Amazon Basin, Brazil.

Parity and age composition for Anopheles darlingi and Anopheles albitarsis in the northern Amazon Basin, Brazil, were investigated. Anopheline ovaries and ovarioles were examined in order to determine whether hourly and seasonal parity status for the vectors An. albitarsis and An. darlingi would vary in two different landscapes (forest and savanna/forest) where malaria is endemic in the northern Amazon Basin. A total of 1,199 anophelines (535 An. darlingi and 664 An. albitarsis) was dissected for parity status, ovariole dilatations, and follicular stages. The total number of nulliparous and parous females for both species varied by time of collection, locality, and season. During the rainy season for the first two h of collection, more nulliparous An. albitarsis and An. darlingi females were collected in the first hour (18:00-19:00), but during the second hour (19:00-20:00) more parous females of both species were captured. During the dry season in Copaíbas, more parous females of An. albitarsis were observed in the first hour while more nulliparous females were observed in the second hour. Nulliparous and parous females of both species for both hours were not significantly different at Road 19 in the dry season. This location was characterized by a forest malaria pattern of transmission with higher numbers of parous females and population stability in the dry season. In Copaíbas, the density and parity of An. darlingi increased during the rainy season, and it could be classified as an alluvial malaria pattern of transmission. For Copaíbas, control measures would be more successful if adopted at the transition from dry to rainy season. Further investigation on longitudinal spatio-temporal change in longevity and survival rates would help us to clarify differences in vector competence for An. darlingi and An. albitarsis and add to the understanding of differences regarding prevailing landscapes in malaria epidemiology in the northern Amazon Basin.     

Home births in England and Wales, 1979: perinatal mortality according to intended place of delivery.

A survey was carried out of all 8856 births occurring at home in England and Wales in 1979. Of these births, 67% had been booked for delivery at home, 21% had been booked for delivery in hospital, 3% had not been booked, and for 9% the intended place of delivery was unknown. The perinatal mortality varied almost 50-fold according to the intended place of delivery, ranging from 4.1/1000 births in those booked for delivery at home to 196.6/1000 unbooked births. Deliveries that occurred at home but had been booked for a hospital consultant unit were associated with a perinatal mortality of 67.5/1000. Births that had been booked for delivery at home included the smallest proportion of babies of low birth weight: 2.5% weighed 2500 g or less compared with 18% of those booked for consultant units and 29% of those not booked. Within these low birthweight groups there were noticeable differences in perinatal mortality; births booked to occur at home had the lowest mortality and unbooked births had the highest. Perinatal mortality among babies who weighed more than 2500 g was generally low irrespective of the intended place of delivery; the only exception was in babies whose delivery had not been booked. In all groups perinatal mortality was considerably higher in nulliparous than parous women. Women booking a delivery at home are clearly a selected group, and some may have been transferred to hospital during labour and were thus not included in the survey. Nevertheless, these data suggest that the perinatal mortality among births booked to occur at home is low, especially for parous women.     

Predictors of Irrational Parenthood Cognitions in an Iranian Group of Infertile Women

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate possible predictors of irrational parenthood cognitions among infertile women seeking treatment.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study, 300 women who visited an Infertility Center in Iran during 2010 were studied. A pre-validated inventory was used to assess irrational parenthood cognitions. Potential predictors of the total irrational parenthood cognitions score were assessed.

Results

Mean irrational parenthood cognition score was 39.7(Range 0–56). Through bivariate analysis, the score on irrational parenthood cognition was inversely correlated with age and positively correlated with length of time seeking for infertility treatment and length of time expecting pregnancy. In a multivariate model, infertile women with higher education, especially academic education, or those with higher economic status were less likely to have irrational parenthood cognitions. However, higher motherhood motivation, no previous experience of pregnancy and being under social pressure, from others around, increased the likelihood of having irrational parenthood cognitions.

Conclusions

Some variables such as female spouse’s educational level and being under social pressure can independently predict irrational parenthood cognitions among infertile women that may be of use in designing health promotion plans in order to target the vulnerable women.     

Severe Adverse Maternal Outcomes among Women in Midwife-Led versus Obstetrician-Led Care at the Onset of Labour in the Netherlands: A Nationwide Cohort Study

ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that it is possible to select a group of low risk women who can start labour in midwife-led care without having increased rates of severe adverse maternal outcomes compared to women who start labour in secondary care.ResultsNulliparous and parous women who started labour in midwife-led care had lower rates of SAMM, postpartum haemorrhage and manual removal of placenta compared to women who started labour in secondary care. For SAMM the adjusted odds ratio’s and 95% confidence intervals were for nulliparous women: 0.57 (0.45 to 0.71) and for parous women 0.47 (0.36 to 0.62).ConclusionsOur results suggest that it is possible to identify a group of women at low risk of obstetric complications who may benefit from midwife-led care. Women can be reassured that we found no evidence that midwife-led care at the onset of labour is unsafe for women in a maternity care system with a well developed risk selection and referral system.     

Reproductive factors,exogenous hormone use,and risk of pancreatic cancer in postmenopausal women

IntroductionThe epidemiologic literature on menstrual and reproductive factors associated with pancreatic cancer has yielded weak and inconsistent evidence of an association. Furthermore, few cohort studies have examined the association of exogenous hormone use, including type and duration, with this disease. The aim of this study was to assess the association of these exposures with risk of pancreatic cancer in a large cohort of postmenopausal women.MethodsWe used data from the Women’s Health Initiative on 1003 cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed among 158,298 participants over 14.3 years of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations of interest.ResultsBeing parous vs. nulliparous was associated with reduced risk (HR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.70–1.00), and women who had 1–2 and 3–4 births were at decreased risk compared to nulliparous women, whereas women who had >5 births showed no decrease in risk. Compared to women who gave birth between the ages of 20–29, women who gave birth at age 30 or above were at increased risk (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.00–1.53, p for trend 0.003). Other reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use were not associated with risk.ConclusionsTogether with the existing literature on this topic, our results suggest that reproductive and hormonal exposures are unlikely to play an important role in the etiology of pancreatic cancer.     

The Effect of Age,Parity and Body Mass Index on the Efficacy,Safety, Placement and User Satisfaction Associated With Two Low-Dose Levonorgestrel Intrauterine Contraceptive Systems: Subgroup Analyses of Data From a Phase III Trial

Objective

Two low-dose levonorgestrel intrauterine contraceptive systems (LNG-IUSs; total content 13.5 mg [average approx. 8 μg/24 hours over the first year; LNG-IUS 8] and total content 19.5 mg [average approx. 13 μg/24 hours over the first year; LNG-IUS 13]) have previously been shown to be highly effective (3-year Pearl Indices: 0.33 and 0.31, respectively), safe and well tolerated. The present subgroup analyses evaluated whether or not outcomes were affected by parity, age (18–25 vs 26–35 years), or body mass index (BMI, <30 vs ≥30 kg/m²).

Methods

Nulliparous and parous women aged 18‒35 years with regular menstrual cycles (21‒35 days) requesting contraception were randomized to 3 years of LNG-IUS 8 or LNG-IUS 13 use.

Results

In the LNG-IUS 8 and LNG-IUS 13 groups, 1432 and 1452 women, respectively, had a placement attempted and were included in the full analysis set; 39.2%, 39.2% and 17.1% were 18–25 years old, nulliparous and had a BMI ≥30 kg/m², respectively. Both systems were similarly effective regardless of age, parity or BMI; the subgroup Pearl Indices had widely overlapping 95% confidence intervals. Placement of LNG-IUS 8 and LNG-IUS 13 was easier (p < 0.0001) and less painful (p < 0.0001) in women who had delivered vaginally than in women who had not. The complete/partial expulsion rate was 2.2–4.2% across all age and parity subgroups and higher in parous than in nulliparous women (p = 0.004). The incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease was 0.1–0.6% across all age and parity subgroups: nulliparous and younger women were not at higher risk than parous and older women, respectively. The ectopic pregnancy rate was 0.3–0.4% across all age and parity subgroups. Across all age and parity subgroups, the 3-year completion rate was 50.9–61.3% for LNG-IUS 8 and 57.9–61.1% for LNG-IUS 13, and was higher (p = 0.0001) among older than younger women in the LNG-IUS 8 group only.

Conclusions

LNG-IUS 8 and LNG-IUS 13 were highly effective, safe and well tolerated regardless of age or parity.

Trial Registration

Clinical trials.gov NCT00528112     

Reproductive factors,obesity and risk of colorectal cancer in a cohort of Asian women

BackgroundThis study evaluated reproductive factors and obesity in relation to colorectal cancer (CRC) in Asian women.MethodsThe study cohort comprised 28191 women who were recruited between 1994 and 1997. During 18 years of prospective follow-up, 404 and 212 women developed colon cancer (CC) and rectal cancer (RC) respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression was used.ResultsMenstrual factors were not related to the risk of CRC, CC and RC. Gravidity and parity were not associated with CRC or RC, but women who were ever pregnant had a HR of 1.87 (95%CI 1.12–3.14) compared to those never pregnant, and parous women had a HR of 1.79 (95% CI 1.10–2.92) compared to nulliparous women for CC. Use of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy were not associated with CRC, CC or RC.Compared to women with normal BMI, women who were obese had HRs of 1.39 (95%CI 1.12–1.74) and 1.64 (95%CI 1.24–2.16) for CRC and CC respectively. No increased risk was seen for RC. Adjusted for BMI, for colonic cancer, women in the highest quartile for Waist Circumference had a HR of 2.14 (95%CI 1.42–3.25) compared to the lowest quartile, for Waist Hip Ratio, a HR of 1.74 (95%CI 1.30–2.34), and for Waist-Height ratio, a HR of 1.80 (1.26–2.57). None of these measures were significantly associated with RC.ConclusionsObesity is positively associated with CC but not RC, and abdominal obesity exerts an independent effect. Reproductive factors had at best a weak effect on CC and RC.     

Previous Delivery of Macrosomia is Associated with Maternal Adiposity in Later Life in Chinese Parous Women with Normal Weight Before and/or After Pregnancy

Objective: Obesity has become a major worldwide health challenge. Macrosomic infants are more likely to experience type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity and hypertension in adulthood. However, whether macrosomia increases the risk of maternal adiposity later in life is still unknown.Methods: One thousand nine hundred eighty-six unrelated parous women of Chinese Han ancestry aged from 40 to 76 years were enrolled. Self-reported information about reproductive status, including age at menarche, number of children, previous delivery of macrosomic infants, and body weight before and after pregnancy were obtained from personal interview by trained interviewers using a standard questionnaire. Macrosomia was defined as birth weight greater than 4,000 g. Adiposity indexes were measured or calculated.Results: Prior delivery of macrosomia was associated with an increased risk of having obesity in parous women with normal weight before pregnancy (odds ratio &lsqb;OR] = 1.840; 95% confidence interval &lsqb;CI] 1.028, 3.294; P = .040), as well as a higher risk of overweight/obesity in parous women with normal weight after pregnancy (OR = 1.777; 95% CI 1.131, 2.794; P = .013). In addition, previous delivery of macrosomia was related with 1.919 (95% CI 1.207, 3.050; P = .006) times higher risk of overweight/obesity in parous women with normal weight before and after pregnancy.Conclusion: The present study suggests that prior delivery of macrosomia may be an independent risk factor for adiposity later in life in parous women with normal weight before and/or after pregnancy.Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio; WC = waist circumference; WHR = waist-to-hip ratio; WHtR = waist-to-height ratio     

Comparison of three methods for age-grading of female Neotropical phlebotomine sandflies

Abstract. Changes in appearance of the accessory glands (AG), ovaries (OV) and the absence or presence of crease marks at the edges of the genital atrium armature (GA) were compared as methods to age-grade female laboratory-bred (Lutzomyia migonei) and wild-caught (Lu.youngi, Lu.spinicrassa, Lu.ovallesi) Neotropical sandflies.
Dissections at different physiological stages revealed that all parous and high proportions of nulliparous (4/38 unmated, 12/12 mated) females showed similar residual AG secretions. Hence AG appearance (nullipars with AG translucent, versus yellowish opaque granulated AG previously regarded as signs of parousness) is unreliable for age-grading.
Readily recognizable changes in both GA (98% creased) and the OV (100% yellowish with loose ovarioles) indicated that these organs could be employed to discriminate between nulliparous and parous females. Despite finding one misdiagnosed female (a nullipar having creased GA indicative of parity), the GA method of age-grading is recommended because females may be examined satisfactorily at any stage of the gonotrophic cycle. Moreover, the GA characteristics of pickled or dry preserved sandflies as well as fresh slide-mounted specimens can be determined easily.
Among sixty-five wild-caught Lutzomyia females dissected (mostly Lu.spinicrassa and Lu.youngi) , the proportions of specimens yielding preparations suitable for examination were 97% for GA, 89% for OV, but only 58% for AG, which reinforces GA as the preferred character for age-grading.     

A Survey of Women Graduates from a Canadian Medical School

Information was obtained from 104 of 106 surviving women medical graduates of the University of Western Ontario in a study designed to determine subsequent working careers and related factors. Of those who had graduated six or more years before this study 85% were engaged in medical work (66% full-time and 19% part-time). General practice, psychiatry and preventive medicine were the leading categories of work. Childbearing was the most important determinant of occupational status. Fewer of the women who had borne children were currently engaged in medical work than were either single or childless married women. The apparent contribution of other factors to working status arose from their correlation with child-bearing. Comparison with other studies suggests that the percentage of female graduates doing medical work is substantially higher than in Britain and about the same as in the United States.