L’objectif de cette thèse est d’établir une ethnographie des formes de la mémoire de l’interdiction de l’avortement dans le régime totalitaire de Ceausescu. Entre 1966 et 1989, le régime communiste roumain a imposé des politiques pronatalistes, au nom du : binele natiunii socialiste (« le bien de la nation socialiste »). Une construction de la maternité comme « tradition roumaine » a été ainsi développée, en parallèle d’une stricte interdiction de l’IVG, et de la mise à l’écart des moyens contraceptifs modernes. La remémoration sociale de ce passé difficile reste encore un tabou dans la société roumaine d’aujourd’hui. Il semblerait qu’en Roumanie actuelle cette remémoration-faible joue un rôle important dans la santé reproductive, et qu’elle est déterminée par des relations d’intersubjectivité entre les différentes formes de la mémoire du pronatalisme, c'est-à-dire la mémoire officielle, la mémoire culturelle (publique) et la mémoire sociale-partagée. L’analyse développée sur ces formes et leurs relations d’intersubjectivité a pour base un terrain anthropologique (2004-2009) sur la mémoire de l’avortement en Roumanie communiste, et fut réalisée dans le domaine interdisciplinaire des Études mémorielles. / Taking the pronatalism of Ceausescu’s regime as a case study, this thesis is an an ethnography of the memory-formes of a recent delicat past, such as the banning of abortion in a totalitarist regime. From 1966 to 1989, the communist regime imposed extreme policies of controlled demography in Romania, as it was imputed, for ‘the good of the socialist nation’. A construction of maternity as ‘Romanian tradition’ was developed in parallel to the banning of abortion on request and the making of contraception almost inaccessible. The social remembering of such a difficult past is still a taboo in contemporary Romanian society. This law-remembering, which is maybe playing an important role in the current situation of Romania’s reproductive health, is influenced by the intersubjectivities devellopped between the different forms of pronatalist memory, i.e. its official memory, its cultural memory and its social memory. The analysis of those memory-formes and their intersubjectivities is based on an anthropological fieldwork (2004-2009) on the memory of abortion in Communist Romania, and is theoretically informed by the interdisciplinary field of Memory Studies.

This thesis analyses the nature, rationale, and implementation of United Kingdom and Australian regulation of research involving human embryos and cloning using legal materials, other documents and qualitative interviews with researchers, practitioners and regulators. It considers how law-makers have decided upon what to regulate and where to draw the line between permissible and prohibited activities, and the type of regulatory design strategies and enforcement approaches adopted in each jurisdiction (the ‘how to regulate’ question). It is argued that both jurisdictions have effectively decided upon permissible and prohibited activities as a result of thorough public consultation, research, reviews and the parliamentary process, and have appropriately balanced competing rationales for regulation. However, the type of regulation used in relation to those who are licensed to research in this area is unsuitable due to an over-emphasis on deterrence and the authoritarian approach taken by the regulatory bureaucracies. The central thesis is that a responsive regulatory system for licence-holders should be adopted. It is proposed that such a system would maintain the top level ‘command and control’ design strategies and deterrence approaches present in the current regulatory systems for breaches of legislation by non-licence holders and serious breaches by licence holders. However, greater use of co-regulatory design strategies and cooperative, educative and persuasive enforcement approaches should be used for regulating licensed research activities.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of commercially available natural (sugar cane molasses, white sugar and brown sugar) and artificial (Canderel™, Equal™, Natreen™, Sweetex™, Splenda™ and Swheet™) sweeteners on various physiological systems. The artificial sweeteners tested in this study may be categorised into their respective groups based on their primary ingredient. The brands Canderel™ and Equal™ contain aspartame, Natreen™ and Sweetex™ consist of saccharin and Splenda™ and Swheet™ are composed of sucralose. The inclusion of artificial or natural sweeteners in the human diet has been continually debated and their implication in the development of certain diseases has raised concern regarding their safe use. Therefore, it is necessary that these food products be subjected to a battery of tests to determine adverse effects on human health.

Objectives. The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not the mainstream reproductive rights organization Planned Parenthood of the Atlanta Area (PPAA) considered reproductive justice issues typically advocated for by non-traditional reproductive rights organizations. Methods. This research was a qualitative content analysis of discourse internal to PPAA (meeting minutes) and discourse communicated to the public externally via print media channels. Results. A total of 105 documents were analyzed as part of this study: 57 meeting minutes and 48 press clippings. The analysis revealed that, internally, PPAA did consider reproductive justice issues but that this was not directly communicated to the public via print media channels. Most noticeably, press characterizations of PPAA were slanted too heavily on the organization’s proliferation of population control as a goal and did not give enough consideration to its consideration of racial diversity.

Reproductive function is essential to the survival of all species. In mammals and other vertebrates, the control of reproduction relies on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, with the primary driving force provided by hypothalamic GnRH neurons. In the median eminence, the decapeptide GnRH are released in a unique pattern from GnRH neuroterminals into the portal capillary system as part of reproductive cycle. During aging, the biological rhythms of GnRH release are altered in a species-specific manner, with a reduction of GnRH pulsatility and surge in aging female rats resulting in reproductive senescence, which happens much earlier than gonadal failure in rats. Relatively few studies have focused on regulation of GnRH release at the neuroterminal level in the median eminence during reproductive aging. Therefore, the aims of this dissertation are to 1) Study the regulation of GnRH secretion at the neuroterminal level, focusing on glutamate transmission; 2) Ascertain the interaction between GnRH neuroterminals and their surrounding microenvironment focused on glial cells and the portal capillary system in the median eminence; and 3) Analyze age and hormone effects on GnRH neuroterminals and their microenvironment. An aging ovariectomized female rat model was used to study the effects of age and hormones on GnRH neuroterminal system. Fluorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used in conjunction with several imaging analysis tools. I mastered the use of cryo-embedding multi-probe immunogold labeling electron microscopy, which was essential to visualize and quantify the ultrastructral changes in GnRH neuroterminals. I combined the serial electron microscopy with cryo-embedding immunogold electron microscopy preparation and developed a new technique to examine biological markers with a three-dimensional perspective at the cellular level. Results from a series of four research projects showed: 1) There is a novel glutermatergic pathway in GnRH neuroterminals, which may regulate GnRH secretion; 2) There are dramatic age related morphological changes in the GnRH neuroterminal /glia/ portal capillary system of the median eminence that may be involved in reproductive senescence and other neuroendocrine system impairments with age; 3) Serial electron microscopy combined with immunogold labeling technique is a useful method to study the regulation of neuronal signaling pathway. Although my studies were performed on a rat model, it seems reasonable to predict that some of these changes in the median eminence with age may apply to other species, including humans, relevant to some of the menopausal symptoms in women. / text

Reproductive traits evolve rapidly at the morphological, physiological and molecular levels, a taxonomically robust pattern that is thought to arise from sexual selection. In internally fertilizing organisms, female promiscuity results in competition between multiple male ejaculates for fertilizations in the same female reproductive tract, extending sexual selection past courtship and copulation. In this post-copulatory arena, biochemical interaction between male ejaculates and female reproductive tracts form a dynamic molecular interface that modulates female post-mating responses essential to reproductive fitness. Consistent with the hypothesis that these interactions are subject to sexual selection, sperm and seminal proteins are known to evolve rapidly in a broad range of taxa. The female role in this process, however, in terms of both molecular mechanisms and evolutionary dynamics, remains unclear.The presented dissertation research examines the biochemical nature and evolutionary consequences of post-copulatory sexual selection in two sister-species of cactophilic Drosophila, D. mojavensis and D. arizonae. I first present data that female post-mating response in crosses between these to species is perturbed, severely reducing the reproductive output of heterospecific crosses. A breakdown of reproductive tract interactions in matings between divergent lineages suggests that male and female contributions to reproductive outcomes are coadapted. Next, I use a combination of bioinformatic analyses, comparative sequence analyses, and biochemical assays to elucidate candidate female reproductive tract proteins that may be involved in ejaculate-female dynamics. 241 candidate female reproductive proteins are identified, the most intriguing of which are recently-duplicated secreted proteases. Finally, I explore the evolutionary history of two families of secreted proteases within geographically isolated populations of D. mojavensis. I show that both families evolve rapidly through a complex process involving gene duplication, gene conversion, pseudogenation and positive selection, a unique pattern never before documented in reproductive proteins.Collectively, my dissertation research suggests that females are active participants in the evolution of reproductive tract interactions. Further exploration of how sexual reproduction coevolves between males and females, both in terms of interacting biomolecules, and dynamic evolutionary histories, remains an important challenge for future research.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of commercially available natural (sugar cane molasses, white sugar and brown sugar) and artificial (Canderel™, Equal™, Natreen™, Sweetex™, Splenda™ and Swheet™) sweeteners on various physiological systems. The artificial sweeteners tested in this study may be categorised into their respective groups based on their primary ingredient. The brands Canderel™ and Equal™ contain aspartame, Natreen™ and Sweetex™ consist of saccharin and Splenda™ and Swheet™ are composed of sucralose. The inclusion of artificial or natural sweeteners in the human diet has been continually debated and their implication in the development of certain diseases has raised concern regarding their safe use. Therefore, it is necessary that these food products be subjected to a battery of tests to determine adverse effects on human health.

Sex and sexuality issues are still sensitive and controversial subjects despite the growing numbers of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programmes for adolescents in subSaharan African countries (WHO, 2002; Department ofInternational Development (DFID), 2004). The purpose of this study was to examine and analyze the structure and procedural mechanisms adopted by adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programmes in two African countries. This study also explored the adolescents' perceived usefulness and relevance of these programmes in addressing their SRH needs. The study was conducted in Ghana (West Africa) and South Africa (Southern Africa) as a cross-national study in these two sub-Saharan African countries. A comparative case study design was adopted involving the use of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to data collection and analysis. Snowballing, critical case, and purposive sampling methods were used. A wide range of personnel from both countries including programme directors, managers, nurse/midwives, peer educators and youth counselors (n=48) were interviewed within the context of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) programmes and adolescents (n=247) participated through client exit surveys and focus group discussions. Records review, document analysis and observation of the facilities were employed through a checklist. A Tri-dimensional conceptual framework adapted from Donabedian (1980) and WHO (2001) for: (1) Structure, (2) Process, and (3) Output of ASRH programmes, guided the study and served as the frame for analysis and comparison. Qualitative data were transcribed and analyzed using framework analysis and quantitative data through use of SPSS Version 13.0. Findings of the study revealed that both Ghana and South Africa have established ASRH structures through development of programmes and policies for young people. They also shared common features related to programme focus and philosophy on ASRH matters. Both countries face several challenges associated with sexuality issues, inadequate human and material resources. Religious, socio-cultural, logistical and structural factors were identified as barriers, which hindered access and use of the facilities. These barriers were found to have a profound influence on programme implementation, achievement of objectives and future development. Adolescents in the two countries are confronted with a range of issues affecting their sexual health and general well-being for which they seek services from ASRH programmes. These programmes in both countries were generally perceived as relevant and important by youth utilizing the facilities. The need for changes in the attitude of service providers, structural layout, logistical improvement and staffing composition was expressed. Despite efforts made, there are still programmatic issues needing attention, for which specific recommendations towards improvement were made on the basis of findings from both countries. Findings from this study have implications for nursing practice, management, education, research and relevant stakeholders involved with adolescent health, including policy makers. Recommendations are made that may contribute to the development of an effective model of "Adolescent-Friendly" programmes in the two countries. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Social workers are increasingly being called upon to work with clients who wish to have a child but are unable to do so without medical intervention. This study, a cross-sectional survey design, examines the attitudes of couples towards donor insemination (DI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), contractual pregnancy, adoption and living child free. A random sample of 200 names was drawn from the membership of the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada, Toronto Chapter. Surveys were completed by 74 participants (37 couples). Participants were generally well educated, affluent and ranged in age from 26 to 63 years. Women were one third more likely to report feeling pressure to have children than were men. The source of this pressure was most often reported to be external/interpersonal relationships (e.g., friends, family, partner). Women were significantly more likely to strongly agree that they would use DI or IVF if they were infertile; whereas, men were more likely to only agree when considering DI, and to be unsure or neutral when considering IVF. The possibility of living child free was an alternative that very few participants had seriously considered, as many were still pursuing one or more reproductive alternative. Although significant differences were found within couples for DI, IVF and living child free in the vignettes, unexpectedly an overall theme of agreement between women and men was found as well. In addition, participants revealed a desire for support in their consideration of, and decision making regarding, the reproductive alternatives they may pursue. Clearly, the findings point to the need participants have to receive counselling, and/or follow-up to help them cope with their infertility and the possibility that they may not be able to have children.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2002. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.