Female Inhabitants Research Articles

Understanding home cultures through syntactic analysis: The case of Berber housing

In his famous study of the Berber house the late Pierre Bourdieu underlined the symbolic significance of domestic spatial patterns. A simple rectangular form on a plan, the Berber house is divided into two parts, a division that becomes the basis for an elaborate system of binary oppositions of male versus female. The aim of this paper is to test this hypothesis coupled with the space syntax method on a Berber house sample from the M'zab in Algeria and to set the discussion within the social logic of built space. Space syntax analysis seeks to identify the structuring of space and the apparent correlation between spatial patterns and the system of social relations within houses. The preliminary findings identify two genotypes centred on key domestic female spaces. The results also show that the spaces that are defined as such are well integrated and not segregated as expected. The preliminary findings show that the M'zabite house is trans-spatially organized and space is structured in the image of the relations between male and female solidarities, which appears to be the dominant force shaping space. These results suggest that the idea, which many researchers adopt when describing the spatial sphere of the female inhabitants of the Muslim/Berber house, as secluded and segregated, needs to be re-defined. The results also show that the exterior zone is always segregated from the domestic life, which confirms the social code in such a culture. With regard to zone gender, and space; the study suggests that the spatial pattern of house expresses the cultural and social events of the users, regardless of house form and size of the space. Concerning the spatial interface between visitors and inhabitants the study provides further understanding of the M'zabite domestic environment in terms of the interface between visitors and inhabitants. In actual terms, the interface is between male visitors and family domains.

Usage of Antifungal Drugs for Therapy of Genital CandidaInfections, Purchased as Over‐the‐Counter Products or by Prescription: 2. Factors that May have Influenced the Marked Changes in Sales Volumes During the 1990s

The epidemiology of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and such recurrent infections (RVVC) has been difficult to study as the majority of episodes of these conditions are self-treated by the women affected. In Sweden, all pharmacies are owned by the state and all prescriptions and over-the-counter (OTC) products, such as antifungals, are registered in a database, which offers unique possibilities to study the epidemiology of VVC/RVVC. To analyze all prescriptions and OTC products purchased for therapy of VVC/RVVC and to establish reasons for any observed variation in the sales figures. Sales figures in the Swedish county of Skåne of antifungal drugs for therapy of VVC/RVVC were analyzed by the aid of the 'ACS' database of the National Corporation of Swedish Pharmacies for the years 1990--1999. The size of the female population in the county is approximately half a million. The study showed that 93% of all antifungal drugs for VVC/RVVC were sold as OTC products. An increase in sales of the drugs occurred until mid- 1993/94, followed by a decrease until end of the study period in 1999. Demographic factors (e.g. the number of female inhabitants in the county, pharmacies and health-care units), the pregnancy rate and pharmacy-dependent factors (such as the introduction of shelves for self-selection of antifungal products) did not explain the observed variations in sales. Distinct short-term variations in the number of prescriptions of fluconazole and itraconazole could be explained by drugs company sales campaigns and logistics factors in drug distribution. The sales volumes in the 33 municipalities in the county correlated with the density of the population, which was not the case for the total number of prescriptions made in the county during the 1990s. The variation in antifungal drug sales was similar to that of hormonal intrauterine devices, but this was not the case for oral contraceptives. The total Swedish usage of antibiotics showed a similar variation to that of the antifungal drugs analyzed. The study stresses the limited impact on the treatment of VVC/RVVC by the medical community. Behavior-related factors in the female population are the most likely explanation for the marked variations found in the usage of drugs for the two conditions.

Physical activity and normal body mass of women aged 45-55

The aim of this paper was to determine the degree to which physical activity in women aged 45-55 was an independent influence on body mass, as expressed by BMI, and to what degree it occurred in interaction with their level of education, financial status, and self-evaluated physical efficiency and health status. The material consisted of 212 female inhabitants of three cities in Poland, participating in physical exercises for at least one year. Statistical analysis of the collected data was carried out by the χ2 test, the H test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). A statistically significant relation between the level of physical activity and BMI values was observed. Women with a medium and high level of physical activity were most often of normal body mass, whereas women with low activity were characteristically overweight. Analysis of the data revealed that the normal body mass of women aged 45-55 was influenced by: the level of physical activity, level of education, and financial status of respondents. Physical activity was an independent factor influencing normal body mass of women, irrespective of social features (i.e., education and financial status).

Keats's Urn and Ovid's Pygmalion

Scholars have commonly speculated on how Keats, in 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' (1819), may have collected ideas for the poem's theme, central artefact, and split bacchic and sacrificial scenes from his known encounters with a number of classical vases and the works of various artists and writers.! An additional and hitherto unrecognised single inspiration for all of these aspects of the ode: theme, artefact and split frieze elements, however, may be found in the story of Pygmalion in Ovid's the Meta1110rphoses (c. AD 8). Keats's use of this collection of myths in the composition of EndY111ion (1818) and Hyperiol1 (1818-19) has been recognised from as early as 1905,2 but the apparent connections between Ovid's Pygmalion and the urn poem, it seems, have not yet been examined. In Ovid's recounting of the myth, Pygmalion, offended by the sexual wantonness of Cyprus's female inhabitants, and seeing how they 'spend their times/ So beast-like; [he] frighted \\lith the many crimes/ That rule in women';3 rejects the fleshly revelry he finds around him and chooses a 'higher' state of celibacy. Similarly, the speaker of Keats's ode, inspired by the urn's transfixed

Development of a urinary biomarker of human exposure to deoxynivalenol

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin frequently found as a contaminant of cereal crops and may be etiologically associated with adverse health effects in developing countries where considerable quantities of contaminated crops are consumed. We investigated the metabolism of DON in rats as a basis to establish methodology for a candidate biomarker of human exposure to this toxin and tested this methodology on urine samples from a potentially highly exposed population. Sprague–Dawley rats received a single dose of [ 14C]DON (5.0±0.1 mg/kg body weight, 5.5±0.1 μCi/kg) and the distribution of DON in body fluids was investigated over 72 h. DON and its metabolites were detectable in the plasma of rats with the highest levels at 8 h, at which time approximately 9% was bound to plasma protein. A total of 37% of the administered DON was excreted in the urine and DON-glucuronide was implicated as the major urinary metabolite based on reverse-phase HPLC analysis of β-glucuronidase- and sulphatase-treated samples. An immunoaffinity column (IAC)–HPLC method was subsequently developed to measure urinary metabolites, with a view to establishing a urine-based human biomarker. Urine samples were collected from female inhabitants of Linxian County, China, a high risk region for oesophageal cancer (OC) and an area of potentially high DON exposure, and Gejiu, a low risk region in China. DON was detected in all 15 samples following β-glucuronidase treatment and IAC enrichment with the identity of DON being confirmed by mass spectrometry. The mean levels of DON from the suspected high and low exposure regions of China were 37 ng/ml (range 14–94 ng/ml) and 12 ng/ml (range 4–18 ng/ml), respectively. This is estimated to correspond to daily exposures of 1.1–7.4 μg/kg/day and 0.3–1.4 μg/kg/day, respectively. This is the first reported measurement of a urinary biomarker for DON in both animals and humans and should facilitate epidemiological studies of disease associations with this mycotoxin.

Fate of natural estrogen conjugates in municipal sewage transport and treatment facilities

The aim of this study was to investigate the fate of the conjugated forms of the three most common natural estrogens in the municipal aqueous environment. Levels of conjugated and free estrogens in (1) female urine; (2) a septic tank collecting domestic wastewater; (3) influents and effluents of six activated sludge sewage treatment plants (STPs) were measured. The analytical method was based on solid-phase extraction by using a Carbograph 4 cartridge and Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry. On average, a group of 73 women selected to represent a typical cross section of the female inhabitants of a Roman condominium, excreted 106, 14 and 32 μg/day of conjugated estriol (E 3), estradiol (E 2) and estrone (E 1), respectively. Apart from some E 3 in pregnancy urine, free estrogens were never detected in urine samples. Estrogen sulfates represented 21% of the total conjugated estrogens. This situation changed markedly in the condominium collecting tank. Here, significant amounts of free estrogens were observed and the estrogen sulfate to estrogen glucuronated ratio rose to 55/45. A laboratory biodegradation test confirmed that glucuronated estrogens are readily deconjugated in unmodified domestic wastewater, presumably due to the large amounts of the β-glucuronidase enzyme produced by fecal bacteria ( Escherichia coli). Deconjugation continued in sewer transit. At the STP entrance, free estrogens and sulfated estrogens were the dominant species. The sewage treatment completely removed residues of estrogen glucuronates and with good efficiency (84–97%) the other analytes, but not E 1 (61%) and estrone-3-sulfate (E 1-3S) (64%). Considering that (1) E 1 has half the estrogenic potency of E 2, (2) the amount of the former species discharged from STPs into the receiving water was more than ten times larger than the latter one and (3) a certain fraction of E 1-3S could be converted to E 1 in the aquatic environment, E 1 appears to be the most important natural endocrine disrupter.

The Emblematics of Gender and Sexuality in Indian Nationalist Discourse

At one point in the novel Kanthapura (1938) the eponymous village is literally emptied of men. Thereafter, the novel focuses, for the most part, on the remaining female inhabitants of the village and their resistance to male embodiments of colonial authority, namely the policemen. The moment dramatically foregrounds the whole question of gender in the novel which, though seldom noticed by critics, is one of the most fundamental issues in the text. Yet a gendered reading has been consistently overlooked in the critical discourse in favour of a reading which approaches the novel as an account of nationalist politics. In the effort to collapse the novel's politics into merely an instance of nationalist sentiment what is missed is the possibility of gendering a reading of nationalism itself. In other words, Kanthapura offers us the opportunity to locate Rao's representations of gender and sexuality within the discursive parameters of nationalist ideology in the 1930s and in so doing enable us to examine how these gender representations are in fact overdetermined by questions of identity, both communal and national. It is important, however, to recognize that Rao's gender representations—like those of many other Indian writers, thinkers, and ideologues—operated within the discursive framework of an ideology which had, over the years, elaborated a complex symbolism around signs of femininity. It is important, therefore, to trace the genealogy of gender representations within Indian nationalist discourse.

Coincidence of nonpuerperal mastitis and noninflammatory breast cancer

Background: Nonpuerperal mastitis may mimic breast cancer but the incidence of noninflammatory cancer among such patients is unknown. Aim: To estimate the risk of breast cancer in patients with nonpuerperal mastitis within 12 months of treatment. Study design: Two hundred seventy-seven patients with nonpuerperal breast inflammation were prospectively screened for breast cancer within 1 year after mastitis was diagnosed. The age-related standardized breast cancer incidence ratio of the female population was calculated. Results: Five women (35, 43, 47, 61, and 72 years, respectively) were identified as having noninflammatory breast cancer independently, and at a location distant from the infectious lesion. In 1992, breast cancer incidence in the German federal state of Saarland was 110.0 new cases per 100,000 female inhabitants (0.11%). This gives a standardized incidence ratio in our study population of 37.8 (95% confidence interval: 12.3–88.1) i.e. 37 fold increase in risk. Conclusion: Our data suggest that women with nonpuerperal mastitis (who do not have inflammatory breast cancer) are at significantly increased risk to have breast cancer diagnosed within 12 months following treatment. The reason for this higher incidence in the study population is unknown. Although benign mastitis is not thought to be a risk factor for breast cancer, patients warrant long-term surveillance after diagnosis.

The prevalence of Behçet’s disease above the age of 10 years The results of a pilot study conducted at the Park Primary Health Care Center in Ankara, Turkey

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Behçet’s disease above the age of 10 years by means of a population-based study. METHODS The epidemiological investigation (cross-sectional study) was made between May 1997 and May 1998 at the Park Primary Health Care Center, which is one of the education and research divisions of the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University. The research aimed to cover all 17,256 (49.2% male, 50.8% female) inhabitants over 10 years of age living in this area. The screening team first surveyed and selected patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis. These patients were further examined, free of charge, in the Preventive Ophthalmology Unit of the Public Health Center, at Ibni Sina Hospital’s Behçet Center or in other clinics if necessary. In this study the International Study Group For Behçet’s disease Criteria were used. RESULTS As the final result of the screening, 11 female and 5 male patients with Behçet’s disease were found (female/male = 2.2). These patients represented 9 already known and 7 newly diagnosed cases of Behçet’s disease. The prevalence of Behçet’s disease over 10 years of age is 0.11%. CONCLUSION The existing regional prevalance studies conducted in Turkey have indicated that the real number of Behçet’s patients in our country is markedly higher than the number of registered patients. Therefore the National Behçet’s Disease Commity and Surveillance System was founded by our research group in December 1999.

Development of the fluorometric ELISA method for determination of alpha1-microglobulinuria in a cadmium-polluted area in Japan.

To evaluate the usefulness of a newly developed fluorometric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (fluorometric ELISA) method for quantification of alpha1 -microglobulin (alpha1-m, protein HC) in an epidemiological study. Urinary alpha1-m in 37 female inhabitants in a cadmium-polluted area, including seven cases with Itai-itai disease, and ten inhabitants in a non-polluted area in Japan were examined. The alpha1-m was measured by both the fluorometric ELISA and a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) method to evaluate correlation of the two measurements. Concentration of beta2-microglobulin (beta2-m) was also determined in the same samples. The detection limit of this method was 3 ng/ml or less of alpha1-m. A significant, high positive correlation was obtained between the alpha1-m concentrations measured with the fluorometric ELISA and that of EIA (r = 0.95, P < 0.0001). A significant association was also shown between the alpha1-m and beta2-m concentrations in the urine samples. The concentrations of urinary alphal-m of the inhabitants in the cadmium-polluted area (mean: 6.21 mg/l, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 4.06-9.50 mg/l) were significantly higher than those of the reference area (mean: 2.19 mg/l, 95% CI: 1.90-2.67 mg/l). The urinary alpha1-m level of the Itai-itai patients was shown to be highest at 39.63 mg/l (95% CI: 28.27 55.55 mg/l). When the cut-off value of 10 mg/l was employed, alpha1-m had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 100% for Itai-itai disease. These results suggest that this fluorometric ELISA is a useful tool to determine urinary alpha1-m in the epidemiological survey of renal tubular dysfunction, especially in the cadmium-polluted area of Japan.

Incidence of chronic myeloproliferative disorders in the city of Göteborg, Sweden 1983-1992.

An estimation of the incidence of polycythaemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythaemia (ET) and chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis (CIM) in the city of Göteborg, Sweden during the period 1983-1992 was made from a retrospective case analysis of patients registered as chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD) at the Departments of Medicine and the Department of Pathology of the two major hospitals in the city. A total of 125 cases of PV, 56 males and 69 females were identified. The number of cases as well as the age-specific incidence increased with age. The over all annual gender-specific incidence was 2.69 cases per 10(5) male inhabitants and 3.12 cases per 10(5) female inhabitants. The incidence of PV in relation to the European Standard Population was 2.02 cases per 10(5) inhabitants and year. There were 72 cases, 20 males and 52 females, with ET. The age-specific incidence was in all ages higher for females than for males and increased with age. The annual gender-specific incidence was 0.96 per 10(5) male inhabitants and 2.35 per 10(5) female inhabitants. The incidence of ET in relation to the European Standard Population was 1.28 per 10(5) persons and year. There were 20 cases of CIM, 11 males and 9 females. The annual gender-specific incidence of CIM was 0.53/10(5) male inhabitants and 0.41/10(5) female inhabitants. The incidence of CIM in relation to the European Standard Population was 0.31 per 10(5) persons and year. Seven persons, 2 males and 5 females, had a CMPD that could not be included in any of the above-mentioned groups, but were registered as CMPD, unclassified.

The gender division of labour: the case of Tuscan smallholders

What explains the gender division of labour in preindustrial economies? Although men and women frequently do different types of labour in any given society, men's and women's tasks vary considerably across different societies. In some societies, women engaged in trade and agriculture (in parts of Africa, for example); though these were men's duties in others (in parts of Europe, for example). At the same time, European historians discovered that women often engaged in tasks, such as agricultural labour and commerce, that were often assumed to be the domain of men, again suggesting a wide variation in the gender division of labour. Understanding the division of labour in preindustrial economies is important, because these historical cases often serve as implicit or explicit referents for understanding how much – or how little – has changed in contemporary societies.A number of excellent works, such as those by Barbara Hanawalt and Martha Howell, have explored women's roles in the economy. However, often missing from treatments that focus on women's history is an analysis of the gender division of labour, that is, an explicit comparison of men's and women's activities. Undoubtedly, such a comparison is hampered by the difficulties of finding documentary sources that provide the appropriate type of evidence.This article takes up this task in a particular way, by examining single-person households, composed of either males or females in fifteenth-century rural Tuscany. This empirical evidence is useful for several reasons. First, from an analytical perspective, it makes it possible to compare explicitly the activities of men and women who are in an identical position, that is, living alone. Second, as I discuss below, the documentary record from this period makes it possible to provide the evidence for this comparison. Third, this evidence provides historical information on a relatively under-researched group, rural widows and widowers. For example, there is generally more information available for Florentine women than for female rural inhabitants. Furthermore, little research explicitly compares men's and women's tasks to examine the gender division of labour. Although Piccinni and Mazzi and Raveggi provide much information about women's duties and activities in rural Tuscany, their work does not directly address the gender division of labour. While the archival evidence presented below cannot explain the division of labour at all points in individuals' life courses, it does provide explicitly comparative information about men and women.

Las profesoras de piano en torno al Conservatorio de María Cristina de Madrid en el siglo XIX

The study of the cultural practice of gender in the construction of industrial societies is thwarting the patriarchal interpretation which has covered up for years the artistic culture of spanish women.Above all simple empirical observation, this investigation tries to examine closely without accommodativeness some concrete facts, based on unpublished documents.Therefore, by studying the career of piano of two generations of women, it reveales on the one hand the progressive levelling of knowledge in the musical theaching process; then one the other hand the social and professional estatus of Madrid's female inhabitants who were dedicated to the teaching piano in a public center submited to a strong administrative centralism and also in a close entourage.

Sheltered Vagrancy in Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping

Departing from a representation of the silent or inarticulate female vagrant as simply projection or scapegoat, Marilynne Robinson creates in Housekeeping an articulate first-person narrator who is also a female drifter. Although the novel begins with Ruth recounting her childhood years under the care of various female relatives her mother, her grandmother Sylvia, her two great aunts, and finally her Aunt Sylvie it eventually turns into a story of how she is forced to leave her grandmother's home in Fingerbone, Idaho, to take up a life of drifting with her Aunt Sylvie, and how her sister Lucille leaves that same house to live with her Home Economics teacher, Miss Royce. During the course of Ruth's narrative, the grandmother's house occupies a role as central as that of the many female inhabitants it shelters. As much as this novel is about the homeless condition, it is also about coming to a new understanding of shelter and the ideology of home. In that context, it is worth noting that although Lucille's departure is voluntary, Ruth and Sylvie's is not: If they want to keep their household intact, they must leave the home they have created.

ガーナ人永久歯列弓の歯間空隙と上顎中切歯の捻転

Anterior interdental space and dental rotation are of great importance, as far as bite injury or dental mark as criminal evidences on site are concerned, and different interracially. Here is presented the interracial comparative study of anterior interdental space and Winging status with impression taken in Ghana in March 1996. The subjects comprised 197 male and 187 female inhabitants in Ghana between 15-39 years of age. Interdental space was taken to be that more than 1 mm by inspection. Winging was determined by Dahlberg's classification. Of 384, interdental spaces were identified in 182 (47.4 %), more than 36.5 % in the Japanese. As for region, maxillary intercentral incisor spaces were most frequently revealed (28.9 %), and bilateral spaces between mandibular lateral incisor and canine amounted to 26.1%. Median mandibular spaces were found in 11.5%, more than 1.3% in the Japanese. One space per one jaw amounted to 12.5% in maxilla and 7.6% in mandible, both were the most frequent. With interdental space existing, both the length and width of anterior dental arch were increased in the Ghanaian, as oppose to only length increment in the Japanese. Bilateral Winging was shown to be 13.8% more than 3.0% in the American White and 9.7% in the Japanese.

A follow-up study on renal tubular dysfunction in women living in the cadmium-polluted Jinzu River basin in Toyama, Japan. Part 1. Changes in the level of exposure to cadmium after soil replacement of polluted paddy fields and the related effects on the prognosis of renal tubular dysfunction

A follow-up study on renal tubular dysfunction was carried out on 193 female inhabitants of the cadmium (Cd)-polluted Jinzu River basin and 40 reference subjects living in an adjacent area in 1994-95. They were 54 to 70 years old when the initial examination was conducted in 1983-84. In the Cd-polluted Jinzu River basin, extensive reclamation of polluted rice fields has been conducted since 1979; as a result, the average Cd concentrations in polished rice consumed by the subjects in the 1994-95 study (0.12 ppm in 1994, 0.14 ppm in 1995) were significantly lower than those in the 1983-84 study (0.26 ppm in 1983, 0.29 ppm in 1984). The average Cd levels in urine in the follow-up study (7.5 micrograms/g Cr. in 1994, 7.7 micrograms/g Cr. in 1995) were also significantly lower than those in the initial study (13.5 micrograms/g Cr. in 1983, 13.3 micrograms/g Cr. in 1984). However, the mean values for urinary excretion of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-m) (3.9 mg/g Cr. in 1994, 3.7 mg/g Cr. in 1995) and glucose (203 mg/g Cr. in 1994, 251 mg/g Cr. in 1995) in the follow-up study were significantly higher than those obtained at the initial examination (2.0 mg/g Cr. and 125 mg/g Cr. in 1983 and 1.1 mg/g Cr. and 78 mg/g Cr. in 1984 for beta 2-m and glucose excretion, respectively). The magnitude of increase in urinary excretion of beta 2-m and glucose in inhabitants of the Cd-polluted area was significantly higher than that of the inhabitants of the reference area. Moreover, an increase was observed in the prevalence of renal tubular dysfunction determined by urinary beta 2-m exceeding 10 mg/g creatinine and urinary glucose exceeding 150 mg/g creatinine only among inhabitants of the Cd-polluted area; it is noteworthy that 31 new cases of renal tubular dysfunction were observed in the follow-up study. These results indicate that renal tubular dysfunction among inhabitants of the Cd-polluted Jinzu River basin is irreversible and progressive, and many new cases of renal tubular dysfunction were also noted over a period of 11 years, despite the fact that Cd exposure had decreased over the past 11 years.

A study of health behavior of the elderly without occupation--correlation between participation in health examinations and health behavior

A survey on the health behavior of inhabitants without occupations, aged 60 or over who lived in city A in Kagawa prefecture (400 people), was performed. The results are summarized as follows: 1. The rates of participation in the general health checkup and the screening for colon cancer were high. In females, significant correlations were observed between the rates of participation in health examinations/screenings and age, but they were not significant in males. 2. The rates of good health practices were high in the items "Taking breakfast", "No change of body weight", "Sleeping adequately" and "Drinking moderately or no drinking". The rate of "Exercise" for males was higher than for females, and the rate of "No smoking" was lower for males than for females. For females, a correlation was observed between the score of good health practices and age, and this score decreased with age, but in males there was no significant difference. 3. The rate of participation in health education or health consultation was about 40 percent, and the rate of participation was larger for female inhabitants than for male inhabitants. 4. Persons who participated in the health examinations/screenings had more healthful practices than who did not participate. A correlation was observed between the rates of participation in health examinations/screenings and "Exercise." 5. Persons who participated in health education or health consultation had more healthful practices than who did not participate. 6. Correlations were observed between the rates of participation in health examinations/screenings and the rate of participation in the health education, or health itself. In this analyzed sample population, the health behavior of primary prevention and secondary prevention were related to each other, and the existence of common factors among health behavior for primary prevention and secondary prevention was estimated. Differences were observed between males and females concerning correlations between health behavior and age. It is thus necessary to improve health behavior via a continuous approach to the lifestyle for women. We think that good health behavior which continues over a long period of time can be instilled by approaching the lifestyle at the time of retirement for men.

Infertility and subfertility in Norwegian women aged 40-42. Prevalence and risk factors.

There are few population estimates of the prevalence of infertility that also include some information about medical conditions and social classification of study objects. This is a study of 4034 out of a total of 5139 (78% of all invited) women in one county of Norway. All female inhabitants born 1950 to 1952 living in the county were invited to participate in a health screening. The screening comprised a clinical screening and two questionnaires; one about reproductive history and infertility. This survey found permanent primary infertility in 2.6% of the women. Subfertility, as at least one year's delay of pregnancy, was reported by 7.7%. A history of different reproductive problems was associated with impaired fertility. Thirty-two percent of primary infertile women had a history of PID, 13% had experienced amenorrhea and almost 40% reported premenstrual tension, compared with lower frequencies in women with normal fertility (11.0%, 3.3% and 29.4% respectively). Up to 10% of the female population may experience infertility at one stage in their reproductive career. Clinicians should pay special attention to women presenting any genital or reproductive disorder regarding risks for future fertility impairment.

Personality traits of women with breast cancer: before and after diagnosis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which the diagnosis of breast cancer influences the self-assessment of personality traits by patients. In 1989 and 1990, all female inhabitants of Nijmegen aged 43 years and over were invited to participate in a population screening for breast cancer and were asked to complete a personality questionnaire. During 1989-1992, 25 women who were diagnosed as having breast cancer were psychologically assessed for a second time 1 1/2 years after diagnosis. A control group of 822 healthy women also completed the questionnaire twice. A statistically significant decrease in scores on three scales (Rationality, Emotional Expression-out, and Emotional-Control) was reported by the patient group compared to the control group.

The state of primary medical care in Bulgaria

This paper describes the state of primary medical care in Bulgaria and related issues. This component of the state health system is based on the so-called principle of the 'district physician'. It is built on the idea of establishing long-lasting contact between the physician and the patients. Primary care is provided by a district therapist (for populations of up to 3000 inhabitants), a paediatrician (for 800-1200 children aged up to 14 years) and an obstetrician-gynaecologist (for 16,000-18,000 female inhabitants), as well as by numerous freely accessible narrow-profile specialists. The main disadvantages of the existing system of primary medical care are the lack of opportunity for personal choice of physician, division of responsibilities among numerous physicians and other medical staff, expensive medical care owing to abundant polyclinical specialists, reduced physician's motivation and hampered users' influence on the quality of medical care. Questions about the future status of polyclinics and both children's and female health centres, as well as about the optimal ratio between family physicians and specialists, remain unresolved.