试论美国文化精神的起源与发展

各国历史发展和进程的不同,既有政治、经济的影响,又有文化精神的动因。美国近一百多年来经济的飞速发展和政治进步,得益于它站在巨人肩上的起点,得益于它独特的地理环境和历史条件,更得益于它丰富而充满活力的民族文化精神。美利坚民族文化精神的形成,是有一个历史过程和特殊文化起点的,欧洲大陆的民主传统、清教精神的弘扬、开国者的政治远见、林肯的伟大的解放、进步主义运动之于文化的拯救,都在不同程度上推动和促进了美     

流动人口计划生育服务与生殖保健需求缺口及应对

流动人口是易于受伤害,合法权益难以保障的特殊人口群体。为确保流动人口都能享受到计划生育技术服务和生殖保健服务,本文探索了这两种需求服务的缺口及原因,并提出了规范服务的应对措施建议。     

Association between serum levels of testosterone and biomarkers of subclinical atherosclerosis

Objective: To investigate the association between serum levels of testosterone and biomarkers of subclinical atherosclerosis based on data from 119 middle-aged men of the general population.

Methods: Testosterone, Apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoA-1), Apolipoprotein B (ApoB), Apolipoprotein B-to-Apolipoprotein A-1 ratio (ApoB-to-ApoA-1), high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and fibrinogen levels were measured. Data were also gathered based on age, BMI, waist circumference, smoking, alcohol consumption, and family history of cardiovascular diseases. Men were classified into two groups based on testosterone levels: hypogonadal (testosterone ≤12?nmol/L) and eugonadal men (testosterone >12?nmol/L).

Results: When compared to eugonadal, the hypogonadal men were significantly older (56?years vs. 55?years, p?=?.03), had greater BMI (28?kg/cm² vs. 26?kg/cm², p?=?.01), and higher waist circumference (104?cm vs. 100?cm, p?=?.01). Moreover, ApoB, ApoB-to-ApoA-1 ratio, and hsCRP were significantly higher in hypogonadal men compared to eugonadal men (1.1?g/L vs. 1.0?g/L, p?=?.03), (0.8 vs. 0.7, p?=?.03), (3.3?mg/L vs. 2.0?mg/L, p?=?.01), respectively. On the other hand, ApoA-1 and fibrinogen levels did not differ significantly between groups (p?>?.05). In an adjusted multivariate regression analysis model, only ApoB showed a significant negative association with testosterone levels (β?=??0.01; 95% CI?=??0.02, ?1.50; p?=?.04).

Conclusion: Testosterone levels showed an inverse relation to ApoB, a biomarker implicated in subclinical atherosclerosis. These findings support the hypothesis that low testosterone levels play a role in atherosclerosis.     

STATISTICAL CHALLENGES OF AIDS: (The 1990 Knibbs Lecture, Canberra, 27 November 1990)

Issues that are central to the understanding and management of the HIV epidemic have generated numerous statistical challenges. This paper considers questions concerning the incubation period, the effects of treatments, pre diction of AIDS cases, the choice of surrogate end points for the assessment of treatments and design of strategies for screening blood samples. These issues give rise to a broad range of intriguing problems for statisticians. We describe some of these problems, how they have been tackled so far and what remains to be done. The discussion touches on topical statistical methods such as smoothing, bootstrapping, interval censoring and the ill-posed inverse problem, as well as asking fundamental questions for frequentist statistics.     

Survey of women's perceptions of information provided in the prevention or treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in an Australian tertiary obstetric hospital

BackgroundThere is limited literature to understand the perceptions of Australian women regarding the information provided by healthcare professionals relating to the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy.AimTo establish an insight into the key themes and trends within a tertiary obstetric hospital related to the provision of dietary advice and use of iron supplements in pregnancy.MethodsA prospective patient survey of pregnant women and women up to 4 weeks postnatal attending hospital.FindingsOf the 110 women who participated, 73.6% were provided with information on iron rich foods and 67% made dietary changes. Eighty percent of women were advised to take oral iron and 65.5% of women were taking it at the time of the survey. In women who had independently ceased oral iron, 41.7% failed to inform their healthcare professional. In the women who did inform their healthcare professional 89.5% received advice to help overcome the reason that led to cessation. The main causes included forgetfulness and side effects. Women were less likely to require intravenous iron if oral iron was commenced early.ConclusionsCompliance with recommended oral iron is variable within a population of pregnant women. Women are provided with information on a range of issues relating to the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anaemia; yet there is a disparity between the information provided and the resulting action. Further research should focus on targeted measures to improve understanding and compliance with treatment from the both women's and health professionals perspective.     

Body mass index and functional status in community dwelling older Turkish males

Abstract

Objectives: To assess sex hormones in men with obesity and prostate cancer (PCa) and to study association between androgens and the pathogenesis biology of PCa in vitro.

Subjects and methods: One hundred and eighty-one men older than 45?years selected from of a population attending to Urology departments screening for PCa, (78 participants without PCa and 103 patients with PCa). All participants were assessed for body mass index (BMI), age, Gleason score, and PSA. Endocrine profile was determined for LH, total testosterone (TT), 17β-estradiol (E2), prolactin and leptin. Biochemical profile (HbA1c, triacylglycerols and lipoproteins) was also determined. In vitro experiments were also performed, involving the study of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and E2 in the presence of adipocyte-conditioned medium (aCM).

Results: All variables were continuous and described a Gaussian distribution unless mentioned. To determine the relation of aggressiveness, variable were transformed into categories. Thus, PCa aggressiveness is associated with the increase of age and BMI (p?<?.0001) but with is decreased with TT and E2 (p?<?.05). Moreover, adipocyte-secreted molecules increase aggressiveness of PCa cells in vitro. Lastly, DTH but not E2 enables invasiveness in vitro.

Conclusions: It was observed a coexistence of hormone axis profile alteration with sex hormones and BMI in PCa patients, in accordance with the new perspective of PCa pathogenesis.     

Low-intermediate dose testosterone replacement therapy by different pharmaceutical preparations improves frailty score in elderly hypogonadal hyperglycaemic patients

Abstract

An open-label follow-up study of low-to-intermediate dose testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) was conducted in 64 overweight patients (aged 65–75 years) with late onset hypogonadism (LOH) and increased fasting plasma glucose (FPG). Patients were subdivided into four treatment groups: oral testosterone (T) (T undecanoate, 80?mg/d), transmucosal T (60?mg/d), transdermal T (30?mg/d) or no treatment (control), and evaluated at 0 and 6 months. FPG, hemoglobin (Hb), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and total T were measured and the Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) index was calculated. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fitness level (6-min walking test), Aging Males’ Symptoms (AMS) scale, handgrip strength and energy expenditure with physical activity (Minnesota questionnaire for Leisure Time Physical Activity (LTPA)) were evaluated and a “frailty score” (based on: grip strength, gait speed and LTPA) was calculated. T levels increased in all treatment groups; the oral T group had values still in the hypogonadal range (5.9?±?1.1?nmol/L). PSA and Hb concentrations did not change in any group. BMI, waist circumference, FPG and HOMA-IR improved in all T-treated groups after 6 months, with a greater effect seen with transmucosal and transdermal T compared with oral T. This study indicates that low-to-intermediate dose TRT may be safely utilized in LOH patients to ameliorate somatic and psychological frailty symptoms in association with improved anthropometric and glycometabolic parameters in aging, overweight men with LOH and impaired fasting glucose.     

The Bleaching Syndrome Among People of Color

ABSTRACT

In the aftermath of mass migrations from Europe, most Americans have been of European descent, i.e., “white.” From said migration light skin evolved as the American ideal not irrelevant to people of color. Using a sample of African-American college freshmen, hypotheses were formulated to assess extent of the problem and by inference the Bleaching Syndrome. According to these data, there is a statistically significant relationship between self-identified skin color correlated with light skin providing evidence of the Bleaching Syndrome (the conscious awareness of the cognitive and attitudinal levels of the similarities and differences between the dominant group mainstream and dominated out-group to negate one's self for the purposes of assimilation). Those who study people of color are then challenged to decipher the maze of tradition and create a suitable climate for the study of human behavior in the social environment. In this they will accommodate social justice and an overall ability of diverse groups to assimilate.     

Testosterone supplementation's effects on age-related bladder remodeling – experimental study in rats

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the effect of testosterone replacement on the fibrotic process of the detrusor bladder muscle during the normal aging process.

Methods: 15 Wistar senile rats, aged between 18 and 20 months were divided into two groups: testosterone group – 11 animals submitted to the administration of testosterone undecanoate (50?mg/kg intramuscular), once per month; and, Control group – four animals underwent a sham procedure. At the end of eight weeks, animals from both groups were sacrificed; bladders were removed and subsequently stereologically evaluated to determine the volumetric density of collagen fibers. The success of testosterone administration was confirmed by the measurement of serum testosterone at the beginning and end of the experiment.

Results: In the replacement group, testosterone average was 3.2?ng/ml, whereas in the control group, the mean testosterone at the end of the experiment was 0.64?ng/ml (p?<?0.05). Analysis of stereological collagenous fiber showed higher density in the control group compared to the testosterone group I (56% versus 37.02%, respectively). The difference of volume concentration of collagen between both groups was statistically significant (p?<?0.000).

Conclusion: Bladder wall fibrosis was reduced in senile rats subjected to testosterone replacement.