Copies of author's previously published articles inserted. / Bibliography: leaves 187-209. / xiii, 209 leaves : / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Documents the establishment of a reproducible model of carcinoma implanted into the abdominal wall of an immunocompetent Dark agouli rat to study the relationship between laparoscopy and the development of port site metastases. / Thesis (M.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Surgery, 1998?

The purpose of this study was to monitor cardiovascular and endocrine changes in sedentary and training females during a six week period, and to assess the accuracy of a new, low-invasive sampling methodology (electrosonophoresis). Changes in fitness were measured using oxygen consumption (VO2). The impact on VO2 of sleep quality, sleep duration and alcohol consumption (recorded in sleep logs) was assessed. Cortisol, testosterone and growth hormone levels in plasma were monitored for acute changes following fitness tests, and chronic changes related to training, oral contraceptive use or alcohol consumption. Hormone concentrations in blood and saliva samples were compared to those in interstitial fluid (obtained using electrosonophoresis) to investigate the accuracy of electrosonophoresis. Mean VO2 increased by 3.3 ± 1.3mL/kg/min between Week 1 and Week 5 and the changes detected in heart rate (HR) during the fitness tests suggest that aerobic fitness of the training participants increased across the study. No significant associations between sleep quality, sleep duration or alcohol consumption and VO2 were detected. No acute changes in plasma hormone concentrations following fitness tests were detected. No chronic changes in plasma cortisol or testosterone concentrations were detected, although a non-significant trend towards increased plasma GH levels in training participants was detected. Resting plasma cortisol levels were significantly lower in oral contraceptive users compared with non-users. Plasma testosterone and growth hormone levels were unaffected by oral contraceptive use. Alcohol consumption had no acute detectable effects on plasma concentrations of the three hormones. Plasma testosterone levels were higher in participants who abstained from alcohol, and higher plasma growth hormone levels were detected in heavy drinkers. These results contrast with published reports. Concentrations of the three hormones in interstitial fluid and plasma exhibited highly significant positive correlations (r2 > 0.98) with an interstitial fluid:plasma concentration ratio of about 1:10 in each case. Equations to predict plasma concentrations of cortisol, testosterone and growth hormone from interstitial fluid concentrations have been derived. The electrosonophoretic method apparently provides an accurate, painless, low-invasive method for prediction of the plasma levels of these three hormones. This technology has far-reaching implications for research in human, animal and biomedical fields.

<p>En mängd forskning har gjorts kring kvinnors hinder att nå chefspositioner och vilka fördomar kvinnliga chefer möter. Många studier visar att fördomar bottnar i bristande överensstämmelse mellan den kvinnliga könsrollen och ledarskapsrollen. Syftet med studien (n = 683) var att undersöka attityder till ledarskap och jämföra hur män och kvinnor inom två könssegregerade yrkesgrupper, sjuksköterskor och poliser, attribuerar manliga respektive kvinnliga egenskaper till ledaregenskaper. Hypoteserna baserades bland annat</p><p>på social identitetsteori. Resultatet visade att bägge yrkesgrupper förknippade framgångsrikt ledarskap med både kvinnliga och manliga egenskaper. Dock var sjuksköterskors skattning av kvinnliga egenskaper kontra ledaregenskaper högre än deras skattning av manliga egenskaper i förhållande till ledaregenskaper. Signifikant högre grad av fördomsbenägenhet gentemot kvinnliga ledare kunde påvisas bland poliserna.</p> / <p>It has been shown that barriers and prejudice’s impede women’s progress to managerial levels. Studies show that prejudice’s derives from perceived sextyping of the managerial role. The aim of the present (n = 683) study was to examine attitudes towards leadership and compare how men and women within two gender segregated occupational groups, nurses and polices, attributes male and female characteristics to successful management. The hypotheses were based on social identity theory. Results revealed that both occupational groups associate successful management with both male and female characteristics. However, nurses’ valuation of female characteristics counter managerial characteristics was higher than their valuation of male characteristics versus managerial characteristics. A significant higher level of prejudice towards female leaders was found among polices.</p>

<p>The project identifies how the female owners of small and medium sized businesses deal with the issue of work and family balance in Vietnam – a developing country in Asia.</p>

<p>Title: Female entrepreneurs in Sweden and Thailand – differences and similarities in motivation.</p><p>Problem: Female entrepreneur is an interesting topic in the entrepreneurship field of study since there are a few numbers of researches that show that female-owned businesses are gradually becoming an important factor to contribute growth in the global economy. The study of ‘how’ to start business and ‘how’ to keep the business successful and sustainable in global business world is the focus in most of the research. Still, what motivates an entrepreneur to start business is one interesting topic for further and deeper study in the field of entrepreneurship and especially female entrepreneurship. In addition to the motivation of becoming an entrepreneur, other factors that could have possibility in influencing the motivation as well as similarities and differences on motivation when comparing in nationalities are interesting to focus on in the study.</p><p>Aim: To describe the motivational factors for entrepreneurs, with focus on female entrepreneurs, and compare these factors with female entrepreneurs in Sweden and Thailand.</p><p>Method: Relevant literature review and conceptual framework were selected from entrepreneurship field, including male and female entrepreneurs, motivation and entrepreneurial motivation. Interview, both personal interview and e-mail interview, and questionnaire were used in data collection for the empirical data part. With application of literature review, conceptual framework, and empirical data, the analysis and conclusion parts are concluded and lead to the answer of the research question.</p><p>Result: Swedish and Thai female entrepreneurs are similar in motivation of starting the business in term of pull factors, such as need for independence, want to be one’s own boss, need for autonomy, and want for self-achievement. While we have no evidence that education background and career experience had an influence on the motivation of an entrepreneur to start the business, we did find however, that family background showed a result with some weight in influencing motivation from a majority of the respondents in the study.</p>

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Among young women vary the presence of urinary leakage between 28-80% depending on the study and the sport practiced. Poor support in the upper part of the urethra and urinary bladder base is considered the common cause of stress urinary incontinence. Supports are given by the pelvic floor muscles and the key muscles to prevent incontinence. Urinary leakage occurs more frequent in women who engaged in sports that provide a high abdominal pressure. Pelvic floor training is considered to be an effective and safe method to treat stress urinary incontinence and is recommended in the literature as the first treatment action. <strong>Aim:</strong> To examine young active women's experience of urinary incontinence affects their lives. <strong>Method:</strong> A qualitative design with tape-recorded interviews and semi-structured open questions were used as data collection method. A strategic selection was made. Six young active elite sportswomen interviewed. A qualitative content analysis was conducted. <strong>Results:</strong> Four categories were identified: manageable, social limitations, emotional and communication. Main findings shows that young women do not talk about urinary leakage as a problem, they have different ways to cope. Women experience a fear of urinary leakage shall be affected without prior notice and to lose control. The risk of urinary leakage gives concentration difficulties in training. The study shows a great lack of information. <strong>Weighted understanding:</strong> Among young women, there may be a risk that they are more affected by urinary leakage than middle-aged and older women, in terms of their experience of urinary leakage and leak impact on their lives. This in view of the ideals which today makes high demands and is difficult to live up to. Women get often their first information on the basin floor exercise to prevent urinary leakage at childbirth. This information should take place earlier.</p> / <p><strong>Bakgrund: </strong>Hos unga elitidrottare varierar förekomsten av urinläckage mellan 28-80 % beroende på studie och vilken sport som utövas. Dåligt stöd i övre delen av urinröret och urinblåsans botten anses vara den valigaste orsaken till ansträngningsinkontinens. Stödet ges av bäckenbottenmuskulaturen och dess viktiga muskler för att förhindra inkontinens. Urinläckage förekommer oftare hos kvinnor som utövar sporter som ger ett högt buktryck. Bäckenbottenträning anses vara en effektiv och säker metod för att behandla ansträngningsinkontinens och rekommenderas i litteraturen som första behandlingsåtgärd.<strong> </strong><strong>Syfte: </strong>Att undersöka yngre aktiva idrottande kvinnors upplevelse av om urininkontinens påverkar deras livssituation. <strong>Metod: </strong>En kvalitativ metod med bandade intervjuer och halvstrukturerade öppna frågor användes som datainsamlingsmetod. Ett strategiskt urval gjordes. Sex yngre kvinnliga aktiva elitidrottare intervjuades. En kvalitativ innehålls analys utfördes.<strong> Resultat: </strong>Fyra kategorier identifierades: Hanterbarhet, sociala begränsningar, Emotionellt och kommunikation. Huvudesultatet visar att yngre kvinnor inte pratar om urinläckage som ett problem, de hade olika sätt att hantera situationen. Kvinnorna upplevde en rädsla för att urinläckage skulle ske utan förvarning och för att tappa kontrollen. Risk för urinläckage gav koncentrationssvårigheter vid träning. Studien visar en stor informationsbrist.  <strong>Sammanvägd förståelse: </strong>Hos yngre kvinnor kan det finnas en risk för att de påverkas mer av urinläckage än medelålders och äldre kvinnor, när det gäller  upplevelsen av urinläckage och läckagets påverkan på  livssituationen. Detta med tanke på de ideal som idag ställer stora krav och är svåra att leva upp till. Kvinnor får oftast sin första information om bäcken botten träning för att förebygga urinläckage vid barnafödande. Denna information bör ske tidigare. <strong></strong></p>

<p>The number of people with another culture is</p><p>increasing in Sweden. This change in society brings</p><p>consequences in health care that has not any methods</p><p>to manage. The Muslim woman’s meeting with the</p><p>health care is one of those areas. The aim with this</p><p>study was to describe the nurses meeting with female</p><p>Muslim patient. The study carried out as a literature</p><p>study and the results which based on 9 articles</p><p>showed the lack of knowledge about culture and</p><p>religion among health care staff. The authors further</p><p>believed that to achieve an adequate result with</p><p>meeting between staff and patient requires</p><p>knowledge about different culture and religion. The</p><p>study shows furthermore a necessity for nurses</p><p>training individually to create instinct in how their</p><p>own cultural opinion affects the nurse in her/his</p><p>profession. The patients felt like nurses had a</p><p>stereotype to doing their job and got very difficult to</p><p>satisfy patients with the needs. In view of the</p><p>circumstances it notifies proposals to improvement in</p><p>the existing health care through curses and seminars</p><p>about culture and religion but even concrete</p><p>information about Islam and Muslim female patient’s</p><p>needed in an institutional care. Madeleine</p><p>Leininger’s theory of culture care was used as the</p><p>conceptual framework and support for the study.</p>

<p>Våld mot kvinnor är ett omfattande och angeläget samhällsproblem. Hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalen utgör en nyckelgrupp när det gäller att upptäcka och identifiera våldet. I mötet med den våldsutsatta kvinnan, likaväl som i mötet med andra patienter, är bemötandet och kommunikationen av stor betydelse. Syftet med studien var att belysa våldsutsatta kvinnors upplevelse av hur de blivit bemötta i sin kontakt med olika sjukvårdsinstanser. Metoden har varit kvalitativ med en induktiv ansats där nio kvinnor har intervjuats. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade. De teman som framkommer i resultatet är upplevelsen av ett bra bemötande gentemot ett dåligt. I studien har tre huvudkategorier kunnat identifieras; det goda bemötandet, bristfällig/utebliven hjälp och hinder i kontakten. Konklusionen av denna studie tyder på, liksom tidigare studier i ämnet, att kvinnorna anser att kunskap och strategier hos vårdpersonal, samt att ta sig tid och våga fråga om våld är det som upplevs som mest betydelsefullt.</p> / <p>Violence against women is an urgent and widely spread society problem. To discover and identify the violence, health and medical personnel is a key group. In the encounter with the victimized women, as well as with the meeting with non victimized patients, the communication and treatment is of great importance. The aim with this study was to enlighten victimized women’s conception of how they in their contact with different health care institutions have been treated. The method has been a qualitative survey with an inductive approach. Interviews have been made with nine different women. The interviews has been semistructured. The experience of good versus not so good treatment was the themes revealed in the result. Three head categories have been identified in the study; the good treatment, unadequate/non-existing aid and difficulties in the contact. The conclusion of this and earlier studies indicates that what the women finds most important is that the healthcare personnel has strategies and knowledge, in addition to offer time and dare to ask questions about violence.</p>

<p>About 30 % of all infertile couples suffer from infertility of an unexplained cause. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a glycoprotein produced by the endometrium and is an important cytokine in the implantation process. LIF exerts its biological functions through heterodimerization of its two receptors: LIF receptor (LIFR) and gp130. Point mutations in the LIF gene have been associated with female infertility. The aim of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes of LIFR and gp130 could cause reduced fertility in women. To this end, 115 samples from women diagnosed with unexplained infertility and 191 samples from fertile women were studied. Three SNPs in the gp130 gene and two SNPs in the LIFR gene were analyzed using real-time PCR. One significant difference and a tendency to difference were detected in the gp130 gene for women with unexplained infertility. There were no differences in the LIFR gene variations. In conclusion, polymorphisms in gp130, and thereby disturbances in the LIF pathway, could be one cause for infertility in women diagnosed with unexplained infertility.</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / 1 electronic text (218 p.) : digital, PDF file. Title from title screen. Mindy Stombler, committee chair; Elisabeth O. Burgess, Wendy Simonds, committee members. Description based on contents viewed Apr. 5, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-218).