Reproduction and human fertility Research Papers (original) (raw)

The current study analyses the impact of religion, education, and development on the spatial pattern of fertility in West Bengal, where different religions groups live together. Using the data from Fertility Tables of Census of India, 2011, it has considered the parameters of 'parity progression ratios', 'projected parity progression ratios',' TFR', 'age-order specific fertility rates', and 'cumulated order-specific fertility rates' and accordingly analysed. Multiple regression analysis has been used to determine the impact of development and use of contraceptive on fertility in West Bengal, while logistic regression analysis to understand the impact of religion and education on fertility. West Bengal has the lowest total fertility rate (TFR, 2.42) in the country (TFR, 2.89) and its spatial pattern shows that its four southern districts (Haora, Kolkata, South 24 Parganas and Purba Mednipur) and four eastern districts (Burdwan, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Hugli) have
lower TFR.

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- Geography, Human Geography, Population Geography, Demography

Acrosomal loss was induced in marsupial spermatozoa by an intermediate of the phosphoinositide pathway. The diacylglycerol, 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol (DiC8; 100 \g=m\moll \ m=-\ 1) induced acrosomal loss in 70% of brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) spermatozoa and in 80% of tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) spermatozoa. The DiC8-induced acrosomal loss was not enhanced by co-incubation with calcium ionophore A23187 and occurred in Ca2+free medium and in the presence of the calcium chelator EGTA (3 mmol l \m=-\1). There was no evidence of uptake of 45Ca2+ during the DiC8-induced acrosomal loss. Inhibitors of protein kinase C [1-(5-isoquinolinyl-sulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine] and phospholipase A2 dexamethasone] did not effect DiC8-induced acrosomal loss in wallaby spermatozoa. The phorbol ester, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, at a concentration of 10 \g=m\mol l \m=-\1had no effect on possum spermatozoa and induced acrosomal loss in only 6% of wallaby spermatozoa. It appears that the DiC8-induced acrosome reaction is not mediated by activation of the phosphoinositide pathway and that extracellular calcium is not required for the membrane fusion event. As acrosomal loss was seen only at relatively high concentrations of diacylglycerol (> 50 \g=m\moll \ m=-\ 1) and there is no evidence of involvement of other phosphoinositide intermediates or analogues, it is likely that its role is as a direct membrane fusogen.

- by John Rodger
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- Physiology, Reproduction, Calcium, Dexamethasone

The effects of four reagents on the activation and subsequent fertilization of equine oocytes, and the development of these after intracytoplasmic sperm injection, were investigated. Cumulus-oocyte complexes collected from equine ovaries obtained from an abattoir were matured in vitro for 40-44 h in TCM199 medium before being injected, when in metaphase II, with an immobilized stallion spermatozoon. The cumulus− oocyte complexes were then subjected to one of five activation treatments: (a) 10 µmol ionomycin l −1 for 10 min; (b) 7% (v/v) ethanol for 10 min; (c) 100 µmol thimerosal l −1 for 10 min; (d) 250 µmol inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate l −1 injection; and (e) no treatment (control). After 18-20 h further culture, the cumulus−oocyte complexes were assessed for activation by observing whether they had progressed through second anaphasetelophase and had formed a female pronucleus. The proportions of oocytes activated after each treatment were: 16/27 (59%) for ionomycin; 14/25 (56%) for ethanol; 22/28 (79%) for thimerosal; 15/27 (56%) for inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate; and 0/20 (0%) for the untreated controls. Thus, significantly more oocytes (P < 0.05) were activated by treatment with thimerosal than by the other four treatments. The proportions of oocytes that cleaved to the two-cell stage at 24-30 h after sperm injection in the groups treated with ionomycin, ethanol and thimerosal were 7/20 (35%), 5/19 (26%) and 11/23 (48%), respectively. No cleavage was observed in any of the control oocytes or those treated with inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate. Furthermore, evidence of normal fertilization was observed in 2/7 (29%), 2/5 (40%) and 7/11 (64%) of the oocytes treated with ionomycin, ethanol and thimerosal, respectively. These results demonstrated that: (a) it is possible to activate equine oocytes with the chemical stimulants, ionomycin, ethanol, thimerosal and inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate; (b) thimerosal is more effective than the other three reagents in facilitating both meiotic activation and normal fertilization of equine oocytes; and (c) chemical activation may also stimulate parthenogenetic cleavage of oocytes without concurrent changes in the head of the spermatozoon.

- by Lee Morris
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- Physiology, Reproduction, Reproduction and human fertility, Ethanol

Investigations of the reproductive tracts of thirty-five female Procavia collected in the Kenya Rift Valley over a 1-year period are reported. The seasonal nature of breeding in these populations is confirmed. Parturition is followed by a period of lactation anoestrus. The appearance and internal structure of the ovary is described, together with an account of oogenesis and follicular development. Follicle and oocyte are large at the end of the first phase of growth, possibly due to the accumulation of lipid droplets in the oocyte. There was a high incidence of transuterine migration of ova in these animals. Considerable atresia of tertiary follicles during early pregnancy was noted. The ovary of Procavia shows general similarities to that of Dendrohyrax.

- by Frederick Kayanja
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- Physiology, Reproduction, Kenya, Mammals

The effects of nutrition on the testis were investigated in groups of five mature Merino rams that were fed either a sub-maintenance (low) diet or a supra-maintenance (high) diet for 69 days. Testosterone, oestradiol and inhibin were measured in blood plasma sampled simultaneously from jugular and testicular veins after an i.v. injection of 200 ng ovine LH kg \m=-\1.Plasma concentrations of testosterone, inhibin and oestradiol were higher in testicular than in jugular vein plasma for both diets (P< 0.01). After the LH injection, jugular plasma testosterone increased more rapidly (P < 0.01) in rams fed the high diet than in rams fed the low diet. This was not seen in the testicular vein. Oestradiol concentrations were higher in rams on the high diet than in those on the low diet, in both the testicular (P< 0.0001) and the jugular vein (P < 0.02). Diet did not affect inhibin concentrations. Testes were surgically removed and processed for light microscopy. Testicular mass and seminiferous tubule length and diameter were higher with the high diet than the low diet (P < 0.01). The number of Sertoli cell nuclei per testis was also affected (high diet: 120 \m=+-\6\m=x\108; low diet: 77 \ m=+-\7 \m=x\10 8; P < 0.001), whereas the proportion of testis occupied by Sertoli cell nuclei was not affected. The number of Leydig cells per testis was not affected by diet, but Leydig cells occupied a greater volume of testis in rams on the high diet than in those on the low diet (P < 0.001). The effects of nutrition on Leydig and Sertoli cells are consistent with changes in the endocrine and exocrine functions of the testis. The finding that Sertoli cell population was altered in adult rams may be explained by the GnRH-independent effects of nutrition.

- by Graeme B Martin
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- Physiology, Reproduction, Diet, Testosterone

STUDY QUESTION: Is patient screening for emotional risk factors before starting
IVF treatment feasible?
SUMMARY ANSWER: Introduction of screening for emotional risk factors by a
validated instrument (SCREENIVF) in couples treated by IVF or ICSI is feasible,
indicated by a moderate to high and stable uptake rate, a high acceptance of the
process of SCREENIVF, and a high acceptability of the presented risk profile by
the patients.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: SCREENIVF is a validated screening tool to identify women
at risk for emotional maladjustment preceding the start of their IVF/ICSI
treatment.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION: This was a prospective cohort study, including
data of two cohorts of patients (304 and 342 patients), with a duration of 3
months per cohort. For the first cohort, we sent a process evaluation to 210
patients and it was completed by 91 patients.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING AND METHODS: All 304 patients (male and female)
who started IVF/ICSI between 1 December 2009 and 28 February 2010 in our tertiary
IVF clinic were eligible. The uptake rate of SCREENIVF was assessed as the
response rate to the screening questionnaire. One year later, we re-assessed the
uptake rate in 342 new patients to assess the stability of the uptake rate. A
non-responder assessment in patients who did not complete SCREENIVF was carried
out. Finally, patients' characteristics and their experiences with SCREENIVF as
well as their consequent actions were assessed by an additional process
evaluation questionnaire sent some months later to 210 patients.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The uptake rate of SCREENIVF was 78-80%.
One-third of the responders were found to be at risk for emotional maladjustment,
which was comparable with previous studies using SCREENIVF. Of 27 non-responders
to SCREENIVF, 41% explained non-response by 'no actual need for psychological
help' and 19% forgot to complete the screening. The response rate to the process
evaluation was 43% (n = 91). Of these, 90% found the screening was useful, and
almost all patients were positive about the SCREENIVF questionnaire. Furthermore,
93% recognized themselves in the risk profile based on SCREENIVF. Of the patients
at risk, 21% reported planning to seek professional help, but 46% of the at-risk
patients experienced travelling distance as an obstacle to seek psychological
help. We concluded that screening patients for emotional risk factors is
feasible. In future, psychosocial care offered by the Internet may be promising
in meeting the barrier of travelling distance.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: People were asked to fill in SCREENIVF for
clinical purposes pretreatment. There might be a selection bias in the people who
did not fill in SCREENIVF, which may be due to already existing psychological
problems or language problems. The low response rate of the process evaluation
questionnaire and the mono-centre evaluation may be confounders and may have
influenced our analysis opportunities.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The generalizability of this data is unknown
with respect to other ethnic groups. Furthermore, more research is needed to
evaluate psychosocial factors in male partners. Future research should also focus
on the barriers and facilitators for help-seeking behaviour.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): There was no funding for this study and no
conflict of interest.

- by Chris Verhaak
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- Reproduction and human fertility

According to the World Health Organization guidelines, ejaculatory abstinence (EA) of 2–7 days is recommended for semen analysis. This study aimed to determine how seminal quality may be affected by two EA periods from the same man. Seminal samples from 65 men were evaluated by conventional semen analysis and qualitative characteristics after 1 and 4 days of EA (two samples/man). The semen was qualitatively analyzed by examining oxidative activity (intracellular and seminal plasma), sperm function (acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity, and nuclear DNA integrity), and epididymal function. As expected, samples collected after 1 day of EA showed a decrease in volume and sperm total number compared to samples collected after 4 days of EA. The sperm motility of the samples collected after 1 day of EA was better compared to samples collected after 4 days of EA. Oxidative activity measured was lower after 1 day of EA compared with those measured after 4 days of EA. With regards to sp...

- by Fatima Okada
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- Reproduction and human fertility
- by Yali Hashash
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- Israel Studies, Gender, Eugenics, Mizrahi Jews

O presente trabalho procura mostrar como o livro O Conto da Aia (1985), de Margaret Atwood, e a série derivada dele, The Handmaid’s Tale (2017 – presente), são produtos que despertam a imaginação do/a espectador/a para possíveis futuros envolvendo mudanças climáticas, fertilidade da terra e fertilidade humana. Além disso, a dissertação evidencia como o livro e a série são fundamentados em realidades e servem como instrumentos de manifestação e mudanças sociais entre seus consumidores. Para tal, utilizaremos os conceitos dos Estudos Culturais. Neles, compreende-se a cultura como um fenômeno intrinsecamente envolvido com o poder, tanto em seus aspectos de produção e propriedade quanto em sua subjetividade. Desse modo, a cultura é também um instrumento pedagógico por reivindicar narrativas e memórias, além de influenciar e ser influenciada por visões de mundo. O materialismo cultural proposto por Raymond Williams será utilizado como metodologia, contando com o apoio de Pink (2008), Monaco (2009), Atwood (2012) e Kellner (2011) para a análise de produtos audiovisuais e literários, e as obras de Angela Davis, bell hooks e Hannah Arendt servirão como referências às teorias político-sociais abordadas.

- by Thamires Ribeiro de Mattos
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- Cultural Studies, Climate Change, Political Theory, Phenomenology
- by Shirin Naef
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- Anthropology, Bioethics, Kinship (Anthropology), Religious Studies

L’esperienza è fatta di eventi. Alcuni si ripetono senza farsi notare; altri sono così radicali da cambiare in modo decisivo i significati dell’esperienza stessa. La maternità surrogata rientra in questa seconda categoria, dando luogo a uno strano connubio tra ‘tecnologia’ e ‘carnalità’ in cui l’aumento della prima segna lo scindersi e il rarefarsi della seconda.
Per questo la pratica della surrogacy rappresenta qualcosa di mai visto prima: con essa non solo si appalta alla tecnologia l’atto generativo, ma anche il materno, che così viene scomposto, assegnando a tre figure femminili ciò che – nella generazione – avviene nel corpo dell’unica madre. Quanto accade durante i nove mesi della gravidanza esce semplicemente di scena, sulla base di quella stessa logica che considera irrilevanti per il ‘prodotto’, una volta finito, le circostanze e le procedure della sua produzione. Eppure, i piani di lettura del fenomeno di sostituzione di maternità sono davvero molto più estesi. Tanto che, inavvertitamente, sotto il nostro sguardo si va realizzando un mutamento di civiltà che espone lo statuto dei figli e di ciascuno al ‘deflagrare’ della differenza tra le ‘persone’ e le ‘cose’.
A rischio, così, è ciò che nell’etica ha il linguaggio della dignità e nelle relazioni quello dell’amore: il senso dell’unicità.

- by Alessio Musio
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- Bioethics, Biopolitics, Surrogacy, Bioeconomy

In recent years, a plethora of visualising and other monitoring technologies directed at female fertility and reproduction have emerged. The introduction of new software applications and hardware devices has led to novel ways of portraying and surveilling the fertile female body. Consonant with these technologies is the emergence of a discourse that valorises self-tracking, or the voluntary monitoring of one’s body for health, wellbeing and self-optimisation, often employing digital devices. These discourses and technologies configure the subject of the digitised reproductive citizen, or the woman who uses digital technologies as part of an ethos of devoting a high level of attention to monitoring and managing her reproductive functioning and health. In this chapter, I focus on the numerous digital technologies that have been developed to monitor, visualise and regulate female fertility and pregnancy. I argue that this genre of software is intensifying an already fervid atmosphere of self-surveillance, attempts at management and control and self-responsibility in which female fertility and reproduction are experienced and performed. Further, these devices enrol their users into the broader digital knowledge economy, in which users are configured as digital data assemblages, often for the purposes of commercial profit. The novel digital practices of ‘mastering your fertility’, therefore, bring together the private with the public spheres in new ways.

- by Deborah Lupton
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- Sociology, Medical Sociology, Gender Studies, Health Communication
- by Mottier Véronique
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- Critical Theory, Engineering, Sociology, Political Sociology

Soil is a critical part of successful agriculture and is the source of the nutrients that we use to grow crops. There are different types of soil and there are different properties of each soil. On these different properties, several types of crops grow. We need to know the properties and characteristics of various soil types to understand which crops sow in certain soil types. Machine Learning allows the user to feed a computer algorithm on an immense amount of data and have the computer analyze, make data-driven recommendations and decisions based to analyze the input data. Machine Learning techniques are used to model this process. Machine Learning has come into the picture with the big data technologies and high-performance computing that create new opportunities for data-intensive science in the multidisciplinary agri-technology domain. In this paper, we have proposed a model that can find whether the soil is fertile or not, Sowing crop seed on fertile soil, and at last predicting the crop yield on different soil features. According to prediction, it can be suggested and recommended which crops grow more. Various Machine Learning algorithms such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest, Naive Bayes, Linear Regression, Multilayer perceptron (MLP), and ANN are used for soil classification and crop yield. Test results show that the proposed ANN method follows a deep learning architecture which means it has several layers for input and output are connected to achieve better accuracy than numerous existing methods.

"Las relaciones de parentesco han sido definidas en términos de altruismo y mutualidad de los seres. En estas relaciones se sintetiza el aspecto cooperativo de los humanos. Los parientes son personas que participan intrínsecamente en la existencia de cada uno; son miembros unos de otros.
En este libro hemos querido presentar de forma etnográfica una de las relaciones que en nuestro imaginario cultural mejor expresa la relación de mutualidad del ser: la maternidad.
En la primera parte, Reproducción, adopción y acogimiento, nos hemos preguntado por los cambios que supone la medicalización de la concepción y del nacimiento en la maternidad. ¿Sigue el nacimiento siendo la condición inicial de la persona? ¿Cómo se introduce la donación anónima de gametos en la historia personal? ¿Cómo se construye una relación de mutualidad en la adopción y acogimiento? ¿Cómo las madres constituyen el inicio de la mutualidad en formas de nacimiento y lactancia que podrían ser consideradas «tradicionales»? ¿Por qué la tradición innova?
En la segunda parte: Nuevos contextos de filiación, presentamos diferentes formas de maternidad en parejas gays y lesbianas, en madres solteras por elección. Analizamos la maternidad en relación a personas con alguna discapacidad intelectual. ¿Cómo se constituye la mutualidad de seres en el caso de la otredad intelectual? Finalmente, nos preguntamos por el aspecto personal (mutualidad, amistad) y el aspecto político (el principio de justicia) que presiden los cambios actuales en la experiencia de la maternidad."

- by Diana Marre
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- Gender Studies, Social Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Reproduction

Major historical shifts in the field of fertility, childbirth and parenting have implications for feminist psychologists working on these topics. These shifts include approaches to sexuality and reproduction: a population control emphasis in the late 1940s, a reproductive rights paradigm in the 1990s, and progression from reproductive rights to reproductive justice. Feminist psychologists must traverse the political landscape created by these broad approaches. In this chapter, we suggest ways in which such engagement may be facilitated through examination of mainstream assumptions and outcomes and the use of nuanced feminist research. Drawing from transnational feminisms, the principles of reproductive justice, and examples of research and interventions in reproductive decision-making, abortion, obstetric violence, 'deviant' (m)others, early reproduction and contraception, we argue that feminist psychology should attend to both global and cross-cutting power relations concerning fertility and reproduction, as well as localised dynamics.

- by Catriona Macleod and +1
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- Feminist Theory, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Women's Health, Gender and Sexuality

Before the 1970's, the community of Tenganan Pageringsingan, which is located in the eastern part of Bali, was known by anthropologists to be one of the most secluded societies of the archipelago. Its population, which has been decreasing in size since the beginning of the 20th century and is currently amounting about 300 people, practised unique and very complex religious rites which were related to strict endogamic rules. Morbidity associated with a strong infant mortality were classical tropical features.
Traditional sanitary practices and traditional healing were the most common treatments. Rapid changes have occurred in the village since the 70's:, such as the development of local communications by the central government, the opening up to tourism, the breaking of the endogamic rules, a spectacular decrease in infant mortality and in general morbidity, and an improvement in sanitary practices. All these changes have been observed, analysed, and quantified by both a bio-anthropologist (G.B.) and a medical doctor (R.N.) who, between 1976 until 1995 during numerous missions, recorded genealogy, family history, medical history and medical examination of all the individuals of the above-mentioned community.

This article draws on three narratives from a Canadian research project on LGBTQ people and fertility clinics to illustrate how LGBTQ bodies, identities and family configurations are frequently misrecognized and unintelligible in the fertility clinic context. The flow of the patient through the clinic is disrupted by the inability of clinic staff to disentangle the assumptive links made between body parts, gametes, gender, sex, sexual orientation, sexual practice and family configuration. The author explores how the 'gender and kinship labour' and processes of objectification that typically operate in the fertility clinic to bolster conventional masculinities and femininities break down in relation to queer and trans bodies, and offers the beginnings of a framework to assist practitioners, and others, to conceptualize and work more effectively with LGBTQ people. Despite an increased LGBTQ clientele, assisted human reproduction (AHR) services in North America remain profoundly heteronormative spaces. When queer and trans people interact with fertility clinics, their bodies, identities and kinship configurations are often misrecognized and unintelligible. Sara Ahmed (2012) borrows Nirmal Puwar's (2004) expression, 'space invaders' to evoke the experience of entering a space in which you are not expected. Such is the experience of queer and trans people when they enter the world of AHR. Drawing on three narratives from the Creating Our Families study, a Canadian study of LGBTQ people's experiences in fertility clinics, 1 I explore the interactions between non-normative gender identities and kinship structures, and fertility clinics. I suggest that practices of gender and kinship labour and objectification, which typically enhance flow through the Sexualities 0(0) 1–20

In 2001, a study made the startling discovery that in tests 46% of subjects were unable to separate the placebo effect from established antidepressants from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) database (Laughren 2001). This is a qualitative study of the role of the placebo effect on 11 couples after a consultation with a predictive medical astrologer led to conception and the birth of a healthy baby. The astrologer advised them on the optimum times for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. How did astrology work from the participants’ point of view? Does a positive or negative predisposition to astrology affect the success of the outcome? Can the effectiveness of astrology give new insight into the placebo effect? How could this be tested and measured in a statistical study?

- by Nicola Smuts-Allsop
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- Placebo Effect, Medical Astrology, Meaning Response/Placebo Effect, IVF

We observe a modern approach that allows for the possibility of a planned separation between sexual relations and procreation. The widespread use of contraceptives created the possibility of sex without reproduction, just as reproductive technologies created the possibility of reproduction without sex. Consequentially, the individual's ability to control and plan childbirth has expanded, but parallel possibilities have been created for societal intervention in that process. The question whether society may limit one's right to be a parent through the use of reproductive technologies has become a crucial legal issue.Artificial techniques of procreation present a special problem. On the one hand, we are concerned with planning the birth of a child and not with establishing what is best for a child already born. On the other hand, it is not a matter that begins and ends in the bedroom. Moreover: persons requiring artificial techniques expect not merely non-intervention but posi...

- by Pinhas Shifman
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- Psychology, Social Psychology, Humanities, Social Sciences

Pregnancy is considered a feminine experience in mainstream Canadian culture. Babies identified as female at birth are expected to grow up to become feminine heterosexual mothers. This research considers the desires, choices, and experiences of individuals who were identified as female at birth, but who do not identify as feminine heterosexual women; this dissertation focuses on the reproductive desires, choices, and experiences of butch lesbians, transmen, and genderqueer individuals in British Columbia. Three methods and two distinct populations formed this research. Participant observation was conducted in 21 cities across southern BC. Questionnaires were completed by 28 health care professionals (HCPs), and by 46 butch lesbian, transmen, and genderqueer (BTQ) individuals. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 HCPs, 8 BTQ individuals who had experienced at least one successful pregnancy, and 4 BTQ individuals who had either experienced or been diagnosed with a condition linked to infertility. What I found, is that for many BTQ individuals, reproduction associated with the female body (ie: pregnancy and breastfeeding) is not exclusively considered a feminine desire or experience. In fact, what I discovered is that BTQ individuals who experience pregnancy and breastfeeding explicitly challenge the cultural fetish associating femininity with reproduction (including pregnancy, breastfeeding, mothering, and fertility). Thus, I highlight not only the typically ignored desire and achievement of pregnancy of BTQ individuals, but also how BTQ individuals have experienced breastfeeding, how some BTQ parents raise queerlings, and how some BTQ individuals have negotiated diagnoses and experiences of infertility. Overall, I highlight the unique and various expectations and experiences that butch lesbians, transmen, and genderqueer individuals have regarding their ‘female’ (and potential) biological reproduction. In the end, I hope that by presenting the diverse reproductive experiences, desires, and choices of BTQ individuals, that I can foster more of an understanding of these experiences, desires, choices, and individuals, and thus challenge the cultural fetish that links femininity with ‘female’-associated reproduction. Moreover, I offer recommendations for health care professionals in an effort to foster more understanding in BTQ health care, as well as help to facilitate more queer competent health care professionals.

- by Michelle Walks
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- Sociology, Medical Sociology, Gender Studies, Gender Studies

Masa remaja adalah masa peralihan dari masa anak dengan masa dewasa yang mengalami perkembangan semua aspek/fungsi untuk memasuki masa dewasa.

No aspect of human life seethes with so many unexorcised demons as does sex. No human activity is so hexed by superstition, so haunted by residual tribal lore, and so harassed by socially induced fear. Harvey Cox. The number two in Jungian Duality uses the following Hebrew bible verse regarding the two sexes. The words: us and our, imply sexual duality. This duality is in Genesis 1:26-27 and reinforced in Genesis 5:1-3. The Qur'an in The Fig 95:4 uses the word We. Genesis 1:26-27, (The Beginning) Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and all the creatures that move along the ground. Qur'an 95:4, (The Fig) Certainly We created in the best make.

- by Richard Matteoli
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- Christianity, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Ritual, Sexuality

The implications of the global trend of declining fertility rates and an increasingly ageing population have been extensively reported. This piece examines the complex intersections between men's experience of involuntary childlessness and agency, structure, and relationships. Childless men are, compared to women, missing from gerontological, sociological, infertility, and psychological research. These fields have mainly focussed on family and women. Feminist studies into infertility and ageing have highlighted the absence of the male experience. Involuntary childlessness has been viewed as a complex bereavement formed by multiple losses. Distress levels in both men and women in this population have been found to be as high those with grave medical conditions. This piece draws on my doctoral study framed by biographical, life course, gerontological and feminist approaches. I explore the factors that influenced the 14 participants' routes to involuntary childlessness. Findings countered the stereotype that fatherhood is not important to men and challenges research that reports that men are not affected by the social, emotional, and relational aspects of involuntary childlessness. I will offer how my research has influenced my own identity.

- by Dr Robin A Hadley
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- Sociology, Psychology, Feminist Theory, Social Sciences
- by Brett Lunceford
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- Semiotics, Rhetoric (Languages and Linguistics), Sociology, Cultural Studies
- by Marcelo Costa Lima
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- Reproduction and human fertility

In the dialogue between Timothy F. Murphy and Cristina Richie about queer bioethics and queer reproduction in this journal, significant points of the emergent and extremely important discussions on LGBT and queer bioethics are raised. Richie specifies correctly that queer bioethics can either complement or contradict LGBT bioethics and the queer standpoint against heteroconformity and heterofuturity is decisive here. As the field of queer bioethics is such a recent and essential part of consideration for bioethics and as it is still evolving , the objective of this intervention is to provide both an overview of important milestones of queer bioethics and to highlight that queer bioethics is not mono-logic and monolithic. In order to exemplify queer bioethic’s ‘many-headed monsters’, queer reproduction is revisited and complemented by a European viewpoint. It is central to my argument and here I disagree with Richie that to be against heterofuturity does not necessarily mean to be against queer reproduction. However, I also argue that there are other reasons why queer reproduction should not be pursued at all costs. Finally, I discuss the most recent debates on race, class and citizenship, e.g. queer necropolitics. These points still need to be addressed in queer bioethical agendas.

- by Doris Leibetseder
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- Gender Studies, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Bioethics
- by Lesley A Tarasoff, PhD and +2
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- Law, Family, LGBT Issues, Fertility

Commercial* surrogacy* is* a* challenging* contemporary* issue* that* raises* various* concerns*
because* it* commodifies* the* female* body* in* a* new* way.* It* is* now* becoming* increasingly*
common*for*couples*from*the*Global*North*to*seek*out*gestational*surrogates*in*the*Global*
South.* These* transnational* commercial* surrogacy* arrangements* raise* questions* about* the*
surrogates’*rights*to*bodily*integrity,*as*well*as*patient*rights*and*health*policy,*immigration*
and*citizenship,*race,*power,*gender,*consent,*and*agency*(Pande*2010,*Bailey*2011).*I*explore*
these* questions* in* greater* detail* by* reviewing* the* literature* on* the* rights* and* bioethics*
discourse* of* transnational* surrogacy* in* the* Indian* context.* I* also* examine* contemporary*
issues* concerning* the* intersectionality* of* transnational* commercial* surrogacy* from* a*
feminist* perspective,* especially* the* commodification* of* the* “othered”* reproductive* female*
body.

- by Anu Lotay
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- Bioethics, Reproduction, Bodies and Culture, Reproductive Ethics
- by Mottier Véronique and +1
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- History, European History, Sociology, Social Change

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that childhood attachment predicts whether a person has children in later life. Although being a parent is considered a typical part of the human life cycle in most parts of the world, childlessness has increased substantially in recent decades in developed parts of the world. It is possible that insecure childhood attachment has contributed to this phenomenon, but this hypothesis has been relatively little explored. This study is a cross-sectional survey of 394 men and women aged over 50 years old, stratified by geographical UK region from a research panel, and analysed using hierarchical logistic regression. Validated measures of childhood attachment and other psychological and demographic factors were used. The main finding was that, independent of the impact of other variables (age, sex, education level, marital status, life stress, health-related quality of life, mental positivity, and avoidant attachment style), people who were childless were significantly more likely to have developed an anxious attachment to their primary caregiver in childhood. This study is the first to demonstrate the significance of anxious childhood attachment as a predictor of producing children in one's lifetime.

- by Dr Robin A Hadley
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- Sociology, Psychology, Demography, Geriatrics

A paper originally prepared for #UCLfacesRACE: Eugenics@UCL event, 18.00-21.00, 10th October 2014. It was subsequently revised and expanded in the understanding that this, and the other papers from the event, would be published in an online journal associated with UCL. As this has not happened, it seems to me reasonable to add to the other unpublished papers on my website.

- by Lesley Hall
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- Gender Studies, Women's History, History Of Eugenics, Class
- by Judit Sandor
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- Human Rights Law, Gender and the Law, Biopolitics, Reproduction and human fertility

En este trabajo, el Rab, Dr. Szlajen expone y examina las modernas técnicas de reproducción asistida, y los fundamentos de la Ley judía por la cual las más importantes autoridades legislativas del judaísmo determinan según el caso el deber, permisión o prohibición de su implementación más la problemática y los desafíos en esta área de competencia. Esto último aplicable también a la sociedad en general transmitiendo el mensaje de la no reducción de la reproducción humana a una mera cuestión de posibilidad técnica o en función de los deseos o sentimientos del ser humano, sino concibiéndola como una cuestión de suma responsabilidad y compromiso no sólo en relación a los agentes partícipes sino también respecto de su descendencia.

- by Fernando G Szlajen
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- Jewish Studies, Bioethics, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Jewish Philosophy

Demographic changes are one of the indicators of sustainable development, expressed by the value of the natural increase in the human population, resulting directly from the fertility level, which is the subject of this article. Human fertility is a complex potential conditioned by the environmental, social, and economic factors. The multi-dimensional relations of fertility that may affect its level, constitute an unlimited field of research, study, and analysis. The inter-disciplinary scope of fertility research conducted by the authors has shown that fertility is an issue that, in its historical, social, political, and medical aspects, has the potential of contributing to societal development and raising the standard of living. The aim of this article is to answer the question: whether and how the fertility of an individual has an impact on the idea of sustainable development. To achieve this, the available literature was analysed and synthesised, as well as supplemented with info...

As the mammalian spermatozoa transcends from the testis to the end of the epididymal tubule, the functionally incompetent spermatozoa acquires its fertilizing capability. Molecular changes in the spermatozoa at the posttesticular level concern qualitative and quantitative modifications of proteins along with their sugar moieties and membranous lipids mostly associated with motility, egg binding, and penetration processes. Proteomic studies have identified numerous sperm-specific proteins, and recent reports have provided a further understanding of their function with respect to male fertility. High-throughput techniques such as mass spectrometry have shown drastic potential for the identification and study of sperm proteins. In fact, compelling evidence has provided that proteins are critically important in cellular remodeling event and that aberrant expression is associated with pronounced defects in sperm function. This review highlights the posttesticular functional transformation in the epididymis and female reproductive tract with due emphasis on proteomics.

- by gayatri mohanty and +2
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- Reproduction and human fertility, Sperm Proteomics

The paper presents an update of our 1993 model of ovarian follicular development in ruminants, based on knowledge gained from the past 15 years of research. The model addresses the sequence of events from follicular formation in fetal life, through the successive waves of follicular growth and atresia, culminating with the emergence of ovulatory follicles during reproductive cycles. The original concept of five developmental classes of follicles, defined primarily by their responses to gonadotrophins, is retained: primordial, committed, gonadotrophin-responsive, gonadotrophin-dependent and ovulatory follicles. The updated model has more extensive integration of the morphological, molecular and cellular events during folliculogenesis with systemic events in the whole animal. It also incorporates knowledge on factors that influence oocyte quality and the critical roles of the oocyte in regulating follicular development and ovulation rate. The original hypothetical mechanisms determining ovulation rate are retained but with some refinements; the enhanced viability of gonadotrophin-dependent follicles and increases in the number of gonadotrophinresponsive follicles by increases in the throughput of follicles to this stage of growth. Finally, we reexamine how these two mechanisms, which are thought not to be mutually exclusive, appear to account for most of the known genetic and environmental effects on ovulation rate.

- by Rex J Scaramuzzi and +2
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- Ruminants, Biological Sciences, Reproduction and human fertility, Ovulation

Numerous studies have shown that it is possible to manipulate follicular and luteal dynamics, thereby eliminating the need for oestrus detection in embryo transfer (ET) programmes. Fixed-time ET (FTET) protocols are based on the use of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and prostaglandin (PG) F or progesterone/progestogen (P4)-releasing devices and oestradiol. The FTET protocols increases the proportion of recipients transferred, and therefore pregnancy rates, compared with the use of PGF followed by ET 7 days after oestrus. Furthermore, the addition of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) to the P4 and oestradiol-based FTET protocols results in an even higher proportion of recipients transferred, and thus higher pregnancy rates. The beneficial effect of eCG treatment may be related to increased growth of the dominant follicle and increased plasma P4 concentrations during the subsequent luteal phase. In Bos taurus × Bos indicus recipients, pregnancy rates were positively correlated with the diameter of the corpus luteum (CL) and the number of CL at ET. When repeat-breeder Holstein cows were used as recipients, FTET protocols increased number of recipients transferred and pregnancy rates compared with the traditional PGF-based synchronisation protocols. In conclusion, the use of FTET protocols eliminates the need for the detection of oestrus and results in a greater proportion of recipients transferred and satisfactory pregnancy rates. Thus, FTET optimises the use of recipients, reducing labour and animal handling and facilitating the use of ET.

- by Roberta Ferreira
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- Breeding, Biological Sciences, Pregnancy, Progesterone

JBRA -Jornal Brasileiro de Reprodução Assistida | V. 11 | nº 4 | Outubro-Novembro-Dezembro / 2007 1 O sonho da sua paciente ganhando contornos, curvas e cores Fundada em 1906, a Serono atua em diversas áreas da saúde: Dermatologia, Endocrinologia, Neurologia e Reprodução Humana. No Brasil desde 1982, é considerada uma das líderes em biotecnologia. Uma parte deste sucesso está em acreditar que é possível um mundo melhor. A outra parte, em fazer o que se acredita. Por isso, a Serono investe em pesquisas e no domínio de tecnologias complexas para o desenvolvimento de novas gerações de produtos, até então, inéditas no mercado. Transformar o que parece impossível em novas possibilidades é um exercício que exige o pensamento positivo de todos, a todo momento. Acreditar é a melhor forma de tornarmos nosso amanhã ainda melhor. 4 JBRA -Jornal Brasileiro de Reprodução Assistida | V. 11 | nº 4 | Outubro-Novembro-Dezembro / 2007

- by Marcelo Costa Lima
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- Reproduction and human fertility, Birth Defects
- by Tomáš Sobotka
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- Fertility, European Union, Population, Family policy