Hormone levels and infection of Haemoproteus danilewskyi in free-ranging blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata)

Annual spring relapse of blood parasite infections in birds is believed to be the result of hormonal changes associated with breeding. As part of a larger study on the epizootiology of Haemoproteus danilewskyi in blue jays in south-central Florida, we studied the relationship between H. danilewskyi infections and levels of luteinizing hormone, prolactin, progesterone, testosterone, estradiol, and corticosterone. We found a positive association between intensity of H. danilewskyi infection and corticosterone levels in females but not in males. We also found no association between infection and levels of prolactin, luteinizing hormone, progesterone, testosterone, or estradiol in males or females. In addition, we found a positive relationship between levels of corticosterone and handling time and between corticosterone and testosterone levels. We suggest a possible influence of corticosterone on spring relapse of Haemoproteus spp. infections in birds but provide no support for the influence of breeding hormones on relapse of these parasites.     

A rare study from the wintering grounds provides insight into the costs of malaria infection for migratory birds

Malaria parasites can have strong effects on the population dynamics and evolution of migratory bird species. In many species, parasite transmission occurs on the wintering grounds, but studies to determine the consequences of infection have taken place during the breeding season, when malaria parasites circulate at chronic levels. We examined the predictors of malarial infections for great reed warblers during the northern winter in Africa, where active parasite transmission is thought to occur and naïve individuals experience acute infections. Counter to expectations, we found that winter infection intensities were lower than those encountered on the breeding grounds. One potential explanation is that reduced immune function during breeding allows parasites to persist at higher chronic intensities. We found no relationships between the incidence or intensity of infection on condition (as measured by scaled mass index, plasma metabolites, and feather corticosterone), spring migration departure dates, or home range sizes. We also tested a prediction of the Hamilton–Zuk hypothesis and found that male ornament (song) quality was unrelated to parasitic infection status. Overall, our results provide the first evidence that long‐distance migrants captured on their wintering grounds are in the chronic stage of infection, and suggest that winter studies may fare no better than breeding studies at determining the costs of acute malarial infection for great reed warblers.     

Influence of light regimen and time of year on circadian oscillations of insulin and corticosterone in rats.

Male SPF bred Wistar rats were adapted to natural light (N) and to a 12:12 h (light-dark) artificial light (A) regimen in the course of the year. The rats were analyzed at 3 h intervals during 24 h approximately at the time of the vernal and autumnal equinox and at the winter and summer solistice. Serum insulin circadian oscillations depended on the season, being different in various light regimens. The mesors were the highest during summer, the lowest during winter in both regimens. The external acrophases of insulin in the N differed from those in the A group, contrary to the computative ones. The annual mean of serum insulin concentration was lower in the N than in the A group. The circadian oscillations of corticosterone were influenced primarily by the time of year. The mesors were the highest during summer, lower in winter and spring in N and A group. The computative acrophases were similar in both groups in all seasons except spring. The external acrophase was similar in both regimens during the year. The response of insulin, a major anabolic hormone, to various light regimens during the day and year was different from that of corticosterone, a major hormone of the stress reaction.     

Favorable spring conditions can buffer the impact of winter carryover effects on a key breeding decision in an Arctic‐breeding seabird

1. The availability and investment of energy among successive life‐history stages is a key feature of carryover effects. In migratory organisms, examining how both winter and spring experiences carryover to affect breeding activity is difficult due to the challenges in tracking individuals through these periods without impacting their behavior, thereby biasing results.
2. Using common eiders Somateria mollissima, we examined whether spring conditions at an Arctic breeding colony (East Bay Island, Nunavut, Canada) can buffer the impacts of winter temperatures on body mass and breeding decisions in birds that winter at different locations (Nuuk and Disko Bay, Greenland, and Newfoundland, Canada; assessed by analyzing stable isotopes of 13‐carbon in winter‐grown claw samples). Specifically, we used path analysis to examine how wintering and spring environmental conditions interact to affect breeding propensity (a key reproductive decision influencing lifetime fitness in female eiders) within the contexts of the timing of colony arrival, pre‐breeding body mass (body condition), and a physiological proxy for foraging effort (baseline corticosterone).
3. We demonstrate that warmer winter temperatures predicted lower body mass at arrival to the nesting colony, whereas warmer spring temperatures predicted earlier arrival dates and higher arrival body mass. Both higher body mass and earlier arrival dates of eider hens increased the probability that birds would initiate laying (i.e., higher breeding propensity). However, variation in baseline corticosterone was not linked to either winter or spring temperatures, and it had no additional downstream effects on breeding propensity.
4. Overall, we demonstrate that favorable pre‐breeding conditions in Arctic‐breeding common eiders can compensate for the impact that unfavorable wintering conditions can have on breeding investment, perhaps due to greater access to foraging areas prior to laying.

     

A Single,Plastic Population of Mycosphaerella pinodes Causes Ascochyta Blight on Winter and Spring Peas (Pisum sativum) in France

Plant diseases are caused by pathogen populations continuously subjected to evolutionary forces (genetic flow, selection, and recombination). Ascochyta blight, caused by Mycosphaerella pinodes, is one of the most damaging necrotrophic pathogens of field peas worldwide. In France, both winter and spring peas are cultivated. Although these crops overlap by about 4 months (March to June), primary Ascochyta blight infections are not synchronous on the two crops. This suggests that the disease could be due to two different M. pinodes populations, specialized on either winter or spring pea. To test this hypothesis, 144 pathogen isolates were collected in the field during the winter and spring growing seasons in Rennes (western France), and all the isolates were genotyped using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Furthermore, the pathogenicities of 33 isolates randomly chosen within the collection were tested on four pea genotypes (2 winter and 2 spring types) grown under three climatic regimes, simulating winter, late winter, and spring conditions. M. pinodes isolates from winter and spring peas were genetically polymorphic but not differentiated according to the type of cultivars. Isolates from winter pea were more pathogenic than isolates from spring pea on hosts raised under winter conditions, while isolates from spring pea were more pathogenic than those from winter pea on plants raised under spring conditions. These results show that disease developed on winter and spring peas was initiated by a single population of M. pinodes whose pathogenicity is a plastic trait modulated by the physiological status of the host plant.     

Seasonal and diel transitions in physiology and behavior in the migratory dark-eyed junco

Body mass, fat stores, activities of lipogenic and lipolytic enzymes, and plasma corticosterone were measured throughout seasonal and diel transitions from fall through spring encompassing the non-migratory stages of early and mid winter, the prealternate molt, and the spring migratory stage in captive dark-eyed juncos to determine the physiological mechanisms underlying adaptations for migration. On a seasonal basis, lipid enzymes and corticosterone varied little throughout the stages even though the birds underwent dramatic alterations in mass, fat deposition, behavior, and activation of the reproductive axis. By contrast, diel changes were found in lipogenesis, lipolysis, muscle lipoprotein lipase, and plasma corticosterone when comparing birds in the two phases of spring migration--active flight and resting, as during times of stopover. In these two phases of migration, coordination of the lipogenic and lipolytic systems appear to maximize storage of fatty acids during rest and delivery/utilization during flight. Diel patterns of corticosterone revealed fairly consistent peaks during the night time (23:00) throughout the nonmigratory period. The profile of this pattern altered during the migratory period with variation between the flight and resting phases. In sum, the results from these captive studies offer a new approach for studying the regulation of migratory physiology in free-living birds.     

Long-term dynamic of fecal corticosterone and its ecological and social correlates in males of great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus Licht.). Non-invasive approach in studies of stress in natural populations

The relationship between fecal corticosterone concentrations and characteristics of the environment and population demography were studied in adult male gerbils (Rhombomys opimus Licht.) at the southern border of Kyzylkum desert (Reserve "Ecocentre Dzeiran", Bukhara region, Republic Uzbekistan) in spring and fall seasons from 1999 to 2004. We extracted hormones from air-dried fecal samples and analyzed their concentrations by radioimmunoassay (Gerlinskaya et al., 1993). An analysis for year-specific relationships between hormone concentrations and environmental variables of temperature and precipitation using Pearson's r statistic revealed that corticosterone concentrations correlated positively with total precipitation in January and February and negatively with precipitation during March and April. There was also a significant negative relationship between fecal corticosterone and the number of hot days in March (>20 degrees C). Demographic variables that characterized population densities (percent of burrow systems occupied, mean and maximum number of burrow systems/1 ha, number of females in the burrow system) correlated positively with corticosterone concentrations in feces in the beginning of spring, but these relationships were small compared with mean concentrations of corticosterone for the entire spring season that were strongly and positively correlated with number of gerbils, including all pups emerged, in burrow systems owned by one male (within its home range). In contrast, correlation coefficients of corticosterone concentrations with characteristics of feeding resources in the spring were low and negative. In the long-term perspective (interannual comparison), mortality among adult males was highly negatively correlated with mean corticosterone concentrations in the beginning of spring, which is within the period of maximum reproductive effort and potential stress. Body mass was independent of corticosterone concentrations in males in either the beginning of spring, or during the whole spring. In the fall, mean concentrations of fecal corticosterone in males was positively correlated with the number of days from June to October with mean daily temperatures exceeding 30 degrees C, and with percent of burrow systems where at least one adult, > or = 1 year old gerbil had survived. Mortality from fall to spring of the next year and the fall body mass did not correlate with concentrations of corticosterone in feces collected in the fall. When we analyzed corticosterone concentrations in spring seasons of all years combined using a stepwise regression analysis of a sampling of individual males (we analyzed residuals after withdrawal of year effect) on a set of variables representing habitat resources, distances between nearest neighbor males, and variables representing group demography we found low R2 values not exceeding 0.17. Within the six-year period, concentrations of corticosterone in the spring related negatively with abundance of annual herbs and positively with number of females in a male's social group. When only years of high density were analyzed, fecal corticosterone concentrations in males in the spring were again negatively determined by abundance of herbs, as well as by the nearest neighbor distance, and positively determined by the number of females within a male's home range. At the beginning of spring the only determinants were distance to the nearest neighbor male and number of females. In years of low density none of the variables were found to affect corticosterone levels during the whole spring, while in the beginning of spring only partial regression coefficients of abundance of herbs were negative and significant. Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed positive dependence (P = 0.05) of disappearance of adult males during summer drought on concentrations of fecal corticosterone in the spring, but only when burrow systems with at least one adult (male or female) surviving after the summer were considered. Our results provide evidence ground for the assumption that in a desert rodent with non-regular population fluctuations such as the great gerbil, density may be more suppressed by external factors and not by density dependent mortality mediated by stress. Density dependent increases of stress caused by intense reproductive effort occurred when feeding and climatic conditions were favorable to compensate for negative effects on survival. However, in individual gerbils mortality mediated by stress can take place because we found higher stress in the beginning of spring in males, which did not occur in the population after the summer drought.     

Effects of corticosterone on the negative feedback action of testosterone, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone and estradiol in the adult male rat

Corticosterone acetate (10 mg/day) was administered to gonadectomized and adrenalectomized male rats bearing 5, 10 or 15 mm long testosterone filled silicone elastomer capsules. It was found that the serum testosterone levels induced by these capsules were not influenced by corticosterone treatment and that the weights of the prostates in the corticosterone treated rats were not different from their controls. In contrast, corticosterone acetate increased markedly the LH and FSH inhibitory effects of testosterone. Since several brain structures are able to convert testosterone into 17-beta-hydroxy-5-alpha-androstan-3-one (5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone) and/or estradiol, and these metabolites are probably involved in mechanisms controlling gonadotropin secretion, we studied also the effects of corticosterone on the feedback action of dihydrotestosterone and estradiol. 5 alpha-Dihydrotestosterone was administered by 5, 10 or 20 mm long elastomere capsules whereas estradiol was given by daily s.c. injections of 0.125, 0.25 or 0.50 micrograms estradiol benzoate. In the presence of corticosterone acetate the gonadotropin inhibitory action of testosterone, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone and estradiol increased more than 2 times.     

Seasonal variability in the responses of the domestic fowl,Gallus domesticus, to endotoxemia

Summary The domestic fowl is reported to be extremely resistant toE. coli endotoxemia. We reported (Merrill et al., 1978) that in our hands this species displayed a lowlevel sensitivity similar to that seen in mammals. The discrepancy between previous reports and our recent findings could result from 1) seasonal differences in the responses of the domestic fowl to endotoxemia, 2) the age and nutritional status of animals used in these various studies, and/or 3) the toxicity of the different endotoxins used. Since there is a paucity of information regarding seasonal influences on the responses of experimental animals to shock and trauma, we have extended our earlier studies (conducted in October, fall group) to each of the remaining seasons of the year.Overnight, fasted, unanesthetized white Leghorn roosters (N=38) weighing 2.44±0.6 kg were injected intravenously with anE. coli endotoxin suspension (2.5 mg/kg). A separate group of birds (N=8) were injected with 0.9% saline. Plasma glucose, lactate, corticosterone, arterial blood gases and pH and selected hemodynamic variables were monitored for 24h or until death. Only four of eleven endotoxemic fall birds survived 24 h (LD64). All winter birds (N=9) survived the challenge (LDO), while seven of nine spring and summer-challenged animals (N=9 each group) survived for 24 h (LD22 both groups). The preterminal hypoglycemia and progressive lactacidemia seen in similarly-challenged mammals did not occur in any group. Plasma glucose levels in the fall group (least resistant) were significantly lower than in all other groups. The winter group (most resistant) showed the highest glucose levels. Elevation of plasma corticosterone following the endotoxin challenge was greatest in the winter group and least in the fall group. Similar corticosterone increases were seen in the spring and summer groups. We conclude that resistance to endotoxemia in the domestic fowl is influenced by the season of the year and that such seasonal influences are reflected, in part, by circulating levels of glucose and corticosterone.     

Seasonal and geographical variation of powdery mildew on susceptible cereal cultivars, 1958-68

Annual patterns of mildew on winter and spring barley, wheat and oats at NIAB trial sites for 1958-68 are reported. High intensities of mildew were preceded by early infections, particularly at sites where both winter and spring crops were infected early. Relative earliness and severity of infections in all six crops of cereals were generally similar at any site. This pattern was repeated within denned mildew ‘regions’, i.e. north, east and west. Sprowston (Norfolk) was atypical of the eastern sites, showing patterns of mildew infection more characteristic of sites in the west, where mildew values were 50 % higher than elsewhere. Dates of first visible infection became later further eastwards and northwards, particularly in winter cereals. This suggested the possibility of dispersal of inoculum by prevailing winds to the north, north-east and east, or a similar progression in climatic factors favourable to mildew development. Estimates of loss of potential yield in the trial plots of sites in each region and over the whole country were calculated for winter wheat, spring barley and spring oats using the formulae of Large and Doling, for which supplementary confirmation was provided.     

Influences of weather on reproductive function in male Song sparrows, Melospiza melodia

The avian reproductive cycle is integrated and timed by a variety of environmental factors that include day length, availability of food, nest sites, presence of a mate, etc. However, reproduction can be delayed or disrupted by inclement weather and, until recently, the endocrine responses of avian species to storms were entirely unknown. This communication describes changes in endocrine state in free-living male Song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, during gonadal recrudescence after a severe winter, and in response to storms in early spring and summer. Both the severe winter weather and an early spring snow storm delayed testicular development, and depressed circulating levels of testosterone. The sparrows did not appear to be stressed, however, since body mass and fat deposits were higher than in birds sampled during the previous spring after a less severe winter.
A second storm occurred in late May and early June when Song sparrows were feeding young. Curiously, plasma levels of testosterone were not affected, but the sparrows did appear to be stressed since there was a significant decline in body mass, and a marked increase in circulating levels of corticosterone. These data suggest that the effects of inclement weather on reproductive function can vary in relation to the stage in the reproductive cycle when the storm strikes, and that the endocrine mechanisms underlying acclimatization to severe meteorological conditions are also different.     

Fecal corticosterone, body mass, and caching rates of Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) from disturbed and undisturbed sites

We tested for hormonal and behavioral differences between Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) taken from a disturbed (recently logged) forest, an undisturbed forest, or a residential site. We measured fecal corticosterone and body mass levels in the field, and fecal corticosterone, body mass, and caching behavior in an aviary experiment. In the field, birds from the disturbed forest exhibited significantly higher fecal corticosterone levels than birds from either the undisturbed forest or from the residential site. Birds from the disturbed forest also exhibited lower body mass than those from the undisturbed forest but higher body mass than those from the residential site. Our aviary results suggest that these physiological differences between field sites are the result of short-term responses to ecological factors: neither body mass nor fecal corticosterone levels varied between birds captured at different sites. Aviary sample sizes were sufficient to detect seasonal variation in fecal corticosterone (lowest in summer), body mass (highest in spring), and rate of gain in body mass (highest in winter). Under "closed-economy" aviary conditions (all food available from a feeder in the aviary), there were no site differences in the percent of seeds taken from the feeder that were cached. However, under "open-economy" conditions (food occasionally available ad libitum), significantly fewer seeds were cached by birds from the disturbed forest compared to the undisturbed or residential sites. On average, there was only a two-fold difference in population levels of fecal corticosterone. This difference is about the same as an increase in fecal corticosterone induced by a 2-h increase in food deprivation and cannot be considered to be an acute stress response to disturbance.     

Variability and diversity of nasopharyngeal microbiota in children: a metagenomic analysis

The nasopharynx is the ecological niche for many commensal bacteria and for potential respiratory or invasive pathogens like Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis. Disturbance of a balanced nasopharyngeal (NP) microbiome might be involved in the onset of symptomatic infections with these pathogens, which occurs primarily in fall and winter. It is unknown whether seasonal infection patterns are associated with concomitant changes in NP microbiota. As young children are generally prone to respiratory and invasive infections, we characterized the NP microbiota of 96 healthy children by barcoded pyrosequencing of the V5-V6 hypervariable region of the 16S-rRNA gene, and compared microbiota composition between children sampled in winter/fall with children sampled in spring. The approximately 1,000,000 sequences generated represented 13 taxonomic phyla and approximately 250 species-level phyla types (OTUs). The 5 most predominant phyla were Proteobacteria (64%), Firmicutes (21%), Bacteroidetes (11%), Actinobacteria (3%) and Fusobacteria (1,4%) with Moraxella, Haemophilus, Streptococcus, Flavobacteria, Dolosigranulum, Corynebacterium and Neisseria as predominant genera. The inter-individual variability was that high that on OTU level a core microbiome could not be defined. Microbiota profiles varied strongly with season, with in fall/winter a predominance of Proteobacteria (relative abundance (% of all sequences): 75% versus 51% in spring) and Fusobacteria (absolute abundance (% of children): 14% versus 2% in spring), and in spring a predominance of Bacteroidetes (relative abundance: 19% versus 3% in fall/winter, absolute abundance: 91% versus 54% in fall/winter), and Firmicutes. The latter increase is mainly due to (Brevi)bacillus and Lactobacillus species (absolute abundance: 96% versus 10% in fall/winter) which are like Bacteroidetes species generally related to healthy ecosystems. The observed seasonal effects could not be attributed to recent antibiotics or viral co-infection.The NP microbiota of young children is highly diverse and appears different between seasons. These differences seem independent of antibiotic use or viral co-infection.     

Involvement of the corticoadrenal hormones in the pheromonal restoration of reproductive activity in aging rats

The involvement of the adrenal progesterone and corticosterone in the early gonadotropin secretion associated with the pheromonal restoration of ovarian cyclic activity (PRCA) in aging female rats is studied. PRCA is induced by male urinary pheromones and is preceded by an alpha-adrenergic-mediated release of the hypothalamic decapeptide luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and plasma increases of estradiol, progesterone and the gonadotropins luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. Aging reproductive Wistar female rats were used to study the effects of bilateral adrenalectomy and of a subcutaneous injection of the antisteroid RU486 on plasma levels of corticosterone, progesterone and gonadotropins in rats stimulated with nasal spraying of male urine (MU) or saline. The results demonstrate that progesterone and corticosterone released by MU are from adrenal origin, and that these adrenal secretory products are critical for MU-induced increase of gonadotropins. This suggests that olfactory stimulation of ACTH release stimulates adrenal release of progesterone and corticosterone, and both trigger the events that initiate the activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis that leads to PRCA.     

Chronic infections of Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) in the oyster Crassostrea virginica

Oysters inhabiting areas enzootic for the parasite Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) are exposed to infective particles each summer, and it is often difficult to distinguish newly acquired lesions from older infections. To study long-term parasitism without the complication of new infections, MSX-infected oysters were moved from Delaware Bay to a disease-free area on the New Jersey coast. Because infections seen after the transfer were acquired in Delaware Bay during a known infective period, it was possible to determine how long oysters remained infected and how they were affected by chronic parasitism. Chronic infections displayed the same seasonal cycle (high levels in winter and late spring, low levels in summer and early spring) that occurs in enzootic areas with annual reinfection. Within individual oysters, chronic MSX became localized, relapsed into general infections, and then became localized again in a sequence that was probably controlled by temperature. Some experimental oysters survived with MSX for at least 4 years. Hemocytosis persisted in these oysters, and their poor condition suggested that chronically infected individuals would have lowered resistance to additional stress.     

Corticosterone levels as indicators of habitat quality: effects of habitat segregation in a migratory bird during the non-breeding season

During the non-breeding season, many species of territorial migratory birds exhibit a non-random pattern of habitat distribution, with males and females occupying different habitats. In this study, we examined possible physiological consequences arising from such habitat segregation in one migrant passerine species, the American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), on its non-breeding grounds in Jamaica, West Indies. For 2 years, we measured concentrations of corticosterone, at the time of capture (baseline) and 30 min after capture (profile of acute corticosterone secretion), in redstarts in two distinct habitats, one occupied predominately by males and one mostly by females. All redstarts in both habitat types exhibited similar concentrations of baseline corticosterone levels in fall (October), whereas in spring (March–April), redstarts in female-biased habitat exhibited significantly higher baseline levels regardless of age or sex. In fall, all individuals in both habitats exhibited significant increases in corticosterone concentration with capture and handling, but in spring only redstarts (both sexes) in male-biased habitat continued to exhibit acute corticosterone secretion. Redstarts in female-biased habitat had elevated baseline corticosterone levels and reduced acute corticosterone secretion. In spring, baseline corticosterone concentration was negatively correlated with body mass, suggesting muscle catabolism associated with high corticosterone concentrations or possibly that birds are leaner as a result of increased foraging effort. These results indicate that redstarts (primarily females) in female-biased habitats suffered a decline in physiological condition, which could in turn influence their departure schedules, migration patterns and even their condition and arrival schedules on the breeding grounds. Thus, segregation of populations into habitats of different quality during the non-breeding period may have ramifications throughout the annual cycle of such migratory species. Furthermore, these results show the usefulness of plasma corticosterone levels as indicators of physiological condition and thus habitat quality for birds during the non-breeding period. Received: 14 November 1997 / Accepted: 9 March 1998     

Prevalence of Dictyocaulus viviparus infection in Rocky Mountain elk in Teton County, Wyoming.

Dictyocaulus viviparus infections in Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis of Teton Countywere surveyed by fecal analyses during spring, summer and winter and by fecal analyses and necropsies during fall hunting seasons, 1968-1973. Prevalance of the lungworms was relatively high: 32-70% during the spring; slightly lower, 30-47%, during the summer; 21-39% in the fall; and declined to the annual low of 8-19% during the winter. Conversely, elk summering on Big Game Ridge showed an increase in prevalance of D. viviparus from 1969 to 1973. Decreases in prevalance of lungworms were noted on the National Elk Refuge at Jackson after management changes were effected in 1971.     

1 830例女性阴道炎患者阴道微生态调查

目的 调查分析本地区阴道炎患者的阴道微生态状况。方法 回顾性分析我院2017年1月至2017年12月妇科门诊就诊的1 830例阴道炎患者阴道菌群分布,并探讨阴道菌群分布与年龄、季节以及复发性阴道炎之间的关系。结果 1 830例患者中菌群正常者547例（29.89%）,细菌性阴道病（BV）319例（17.43%）,阴道假丝酵母菌病（VVC）331例（18.09%）,滴虫性阴道炎（TV）13例（0.71%）,混合性阴道炎（MCVI）94例（5.14%）。共有90例（4.92%）患者在治疗后复发,混合感染者复发率最高（10.64%）。阴道菌群异常者的年龄主要集中于30~40岁（73.00%）和41~50岁（76.06%）,混合性阴道炎、VVC和BV主要集中于30~40岁和41~50岁的患者。秋冬季患者菌群异常的检出率高于春夏季,春季BV检出率最高,秋季VVC和菌群抑制检出率最高。结论 阴道炎患者阴道菌群分布既可表现为正常,也可表现为失调状态,其中混合性阴道炎最容易复发不同年龄段,不同季节患者阴道菌群分布不同。     

Influences of weather on reproductive function in female Song sparrows, Melospiza melodia

Prolonged and severe periods of inclement weather can retard gonadal development in early spring or disrupt the breeding cycle in summer. Previous investigations on the endocrine responses of free-living avian species to storms have been restricted almost entirely to males. This communication presents the endocrine responses of free-living female Song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, during gonadal recrudescence after a severe winter, and during storms in early spring and summer. As in males, gonadal recrudescence was delayed by the severe winter weather, and this effect was exacerbated by an aseasonal snow storm in early spring. Unlike males, female Song sparrows did appear to be stressed by this snow storm, since body mass and fat deposit decreased, and plasma levels of corticosterone increased. A second storm in early summer did not, however, prove to be stressful to females, although males were apparently stressed by the same storm. At the time the early summer storm occurred, young had been fledged and were being fed mostly by the male. Females begin preparing for a second clutch of eggs and do not feed fledglings to the same extent as males. Thus it is possible that males are stressed by storms at this time, because they are feeding several young as well as themselves during a period of reduced availability of food, whereas females are feeding themselves only. These data suggest that, not only do the endocrine responses to inclement weather vary in relation to stage in the reproductive cycle when storms strike, but also that there are sex differences in those responses.